Nuffnang!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

FULL BOOK REVIEW: Marley and Me

FULL BOOK REVIEW: Marley and Me.


I finished reading this book. It’s called “Marley and me” by John Grogan. Believe it or not, this is just my 3rd book ("above 300 page" category) I successfully read cover to cover since January 2008. I tend to read often but struggled to finish most books. This book is special to me as it’s in a nutshell about “life and love of a Labrador” which I’m coincidentally also a Proud Owner of one (mine’s Golden Labrador, “Pluto”). Hence, my immediate bond with the book as I can easily imagined his descriptions about Marley’s mischievous actions.

The book I’m holding is a Special UK edition (1st 2006 edition) with 8 pages of photos of Marley (16 photos total throughout the book) in the middle of the book, better paper quality bigger text and an appended column reprinted from “Philadelphia Inquirer, January 6 2004” at the end of the book. I bought it at Popular Bookstore with 30% discount. I’m disappointed to say that Current 2007 “2nd US edition” COSTS THE SAME as my edition (BEFORE DISCOUNT @ RM32.90).

But it came with 1) poorer paper quality, 2) Only 2 Marley photos throughout the book, 3) Smaller fonts. 4) No “Philadelphia Inquirer” article found in my book.

I read the first 110 page in 1 sitting, something I RARELY done. For the record, 1 read 1 ppm (page per minute). The book is so good that I look forward to it each time I pick it up. The book with intense appeal it tenderly follows its subject from sunrise to sunset, from the Hilarious puppy stage (laughed at first half of the book) to the heartbreaking farewell (so much so that my tears flowed freely at the end of the book).

Here’s an interesting extract of the book well worth reading it’s in page 30 to 32 in my book

“Marley was growing at a furious pace. Like one of those amazing jungle vines that can cover a house in hours, he was expanding exponentially in all directions. Each day he was a little longer, a little wider, a little taller, a little heavier. He was 21 pounds when I brought him home and within weeks was up to 50. His cute little puppy head that I so easily cradled in one hand as I drove him home that first night has rapidly morphed into something resembling the shape and heft of a blacksmith’s anvil.

His paws were enormous, his flanks already rippled with muscle and his chest almost as broad as a bulldozer. His slip of a puppy tail was becoming as thick and powerful as an otter’s.

What a tail it was, every last object in our house that was at knee level or below was knocked asunder by Marley’s wildly wagging weapon. He cleared coffee tables, scattered magazines… sent beer bottles and wineglasses flying. He even cracked a pane in the French door. Gradually every item that was not bolted down migrated to higher ground safely above the sweep of his swinging mallet… Our friends with children would visit and marvel “Your house already babyproofed!”


Marley didn’t actually wag his tail. He more wagged his whole body, starting with his front shoulder and working backward. He was like a canine version of slinky. We swore there were no bones inside him, just one big, elastic muscle. Jenny began calling him “Mr. Wiggles”.

And in no time did he wiggle more than when he had something in his mouth. His reaction to any situation was the same: grab the nearest shoe, pillow or pencil – really, any item will do – and run with it. Some little voice in his head seemed to be whispering to him, “Go ahead! Pick it up! Drool over it! Run!”.

Some of his objects he grabbed were small enough to conceal, and this especially pleased him – he seemed to think he was getting away with something. But Marley would never made it as a poker player. When he had something to hide, he could not mask his glee. He was always on the rambunctious side, but then there was those moments when he would explode into a manic sort of hyperdrive, as if some invisible prankster had just goosed him. His body will quiver, his head will bob from side to side, and his entire rear end would swing in a sort of spastic dance. We called it the “Marly Mambo”.

“All right, what have you got this time?” I’d say and as I approached he would begin evasive action, wagging his way around the room, hips sashaying, head flailing up and down like a whinnying filly’s so overjoyed with his forbidden prize he could not contain himself. When I would finally cornered and pry open his jaws, I never came up empty-handed. Always, there was something he had plucked out of the trash or off the floor or, as he got taller, right off the dining room table. Paper towels, wadded Kleenex, grocery receipts, wine corks, paper clips, chess pieces, bottle caps… One day I pried open his jaws and peered in to find my paycheck plastered to the roof of his mouth.”.

The author, John Grogan tells a simple story of one family’s life, a mostly typical family. But he does it so beautifully and the reader (yours truly included) is drawn in by his “voice” until you become part of his tale, shaking your head at Marley, laughing at his wits, delighting in his high points and worrying when things aren’t going well. You’ll understand the gift that Marley was to his family.

Grogan has crafted a loving but unsentimental memory of his dog and what he meant to him, his wife and children. That’s his gift to us, this book I’m holding. This is a book with intense but narrow appeal that it’s strictly limited to anyone who has ever had, known or wanted a dog.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Goodbye SE K810i, Hello SE K850i

Monday, December 03, 2008

Goodbye SE K810i, Hello SE K850i



Above, this is how my previous phone looks like...

In case you are wondering what "SE" Stands for, it's SONYERICSSON. Yup, I bought a new handphone to replace my K810i. It's no other than K850i. Colour: Silver Blue (new colour). I bought this phone for RM500 after selling off my 9 months old K810i for RM400. Why I ended up buying this phone?

I originally paid a RM80 booking for SE C902 Titanium Silver James Bond Edition. But at RM1200, I don't have the money to pick up as I can't find my Public Bank PASSBOOK. I told the shop ("Venus Comm" in Digital Mall, PJ) that I will collect 1 week later. Well, 1 week passed and I still can't raise cash to pick up the "James Bond Phone".

To cut the story short, I only managed to raise RM1000. Went back to the shop, Looked at other options, realised that I can get a "BETTER EQUIPPED BUT THICKER PHONE" for RM9xx including Warranty Extension (to 18 mts phone and 12 mts LCD). It's no other than "Silver Blue" SonyEricsson K850i.



The Screen is bigger (2.2" vs 2"), ALSO Touch screen menu, Xenon instead of LED Flash, Cool backlights (See picture below), BETTER Camera and Picture Quality overall. Only "letdown" is that the phone had been in the MARKET for 12 months, compared to NEWLY LAUNCHED TWO WEEKS AGO James Bond Edition.

FINAL WORD: NO REGRET buying This phone though I COULD HAVE been 1 OF THE 1st Owner to own a JAMES BOND PHONE Sigh...

Here's MORE PICTURES of the K850i...


Front view


Side right

Back view


Menu View



Here's the specifications of the K850i... (1)

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100

Status Available. Released 2007, October
Size Dimensions 102 x 48 x 17 mm
Weight 118 g
Display Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- Wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3
Customization Composer, download, order now
Vibration Yes
Memory Phonebook 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call
Call records 30 received, dialed and missed calls
Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2)/microSD , 512 MB card included
- 40 MB internal memory
Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD No
EDGE Yes
3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps (K850i only)
WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB Yes, v2.0
Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/HTML (NetFront), RSS reader
Games Yes + downloadable, order now
Colors Luminous Green, Velvet Blue, Quicksilver black
Camera 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA@30fps), xenon flash and 3LED video light; auto lens cover, secondary videocall camera
- Java MIDP 2.0
- FM radio with RDS
- MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player
- TrackID music recognition
- T9
- Image viewer
- Picture editor/blogging
- Organiser
- Built-in handsfree
- Voice memo/dial
Battery Standard battery, Li-Po 930 mAh (BST-38)
Stand-by Up to 400 h
Talk time Up to 9 h


References:
(1) www.gsmarena.com

That's all folks... Thanks for having the patience to read it...