Epic Rap Battles of History is a YouTube series originally created by Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. The series puts famous historical and pop culture figures, real and fictional, against one another in a rap battle format.
As of June 2015, it is the sixteenth most subscribed channel on YouTube with over 12.2 million subscribers and over 1.7 billion total video views.
I have been a fan of Jack Nicholson for a long time now. And when he took the role of The Joker, I was impressed. And then, Heath Ledger came along. In the same role too. And I was of two minds.
The video clip below attempts to find out who is the better Joker!
On Wednesday, two Toastmasters Clubs had a joint meeting: Taylor’s Sri Hartamas and Tan Chong Segambut. I was in KL’s Sri Hartamas for the second time this month and I took up two meeting roles – as Table Topics Evaluator and Evaluator for CC speech #7.
This meeting earned a score of 5 over 10.
And afterward, I was in Subang Jaya to attend the Subang Toastmasters meeting. I was an Evaluator for CC speech #9. A good speech, I reckoned. In fact to be honest, all the speeches were good.
The meeting started late but members made a conscious and successful effort to recover lost time and that was commendable.
I would give this
meeting an 8 score over 10. And I was voted Best Table Topics Speaker and Best Speech Evaluator.
Gerakan Harapan Baru (or in English, New Hope Movement) was launched on July 13, 2015 – and this came about following the defeat of progressive PAS leaders at the party polls a month earlier.
PAS are politically savvy and so they went ahead by shooting themselves in the foot. Party delegates at the sixty-first muktamar made the decision to sever ties with DAP, prompting the latter to pronounce Pakatan Rakyat dead.
A welcoming political development that augurs well for Malaysia. The idea behind GHB is three-fold. First, to be an alternative Islamic party to PAS; second, to present a fresh image of Islam and third, to pave the way for Pakatan Rakyat 2.0.
LOTR and The Hobbit are film trilogies that I consider some of my 'best-est' movies.
Here's the scene from the film “The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey” where the dwarves sing the “Misty Mountains” song at Bag End:
But wait! The Warp Zone – nerdy sketch comedy, gaming, and music videos brought to you by five dudes – has created the “Misty Mountains Rap”, a musical Middle-earth parody of The Hobbitfilm trilogy:
I love the original and I also love the rap version!
On Wednesday, I was in PJ’s Jalan 51A/223 to attend the Scope Toastmasters meeting. I was the speech evaluator for CC#10 and yes, I enjoyed the meeting too.
I am reminding myself that I shouldn’t take too long to make a return visit. My score for this meeting is a 7 over 10.
Minions, the 2015 animated feature does not just bring the laughs.
You may not have realized it but it is also an educational movie. Radhika Nair (Startup World, July 18, 2015) offers 6 insightful lessons in leadership and entrepreneurship from this movie:
1. Take risks: Kevin, Stuart and Bob need not have made that perilous journey out of the cold, snow-covered cave the Minions had made their home. They could have wallowed in collective misery. But they did not give up and so found the ‘boss’ they wanted so desperately. A number of startups/companies flounder because the founder/leader is scared to try something new. Only if you take a big risk, do you stand the chance of a big reward.
2. Hedge your bets: The entire Minion colony did not follow Kevin when he hatched the plan to go find them a big, bad boss. They only sent guitar-strumming Stuart and little Bob with Kevin. When expanding into new categories or creating a new product, it might not make sense for the entire team to change track until there is validation that the new category or product works.
3. Take care of your team: It was Scarlet Overkill’s super villainy that made the Minions want to work for her. But they wanted the soft beds, bedtime stories and, of course, bananas to be happy with her. You might be the biggest and ‘baddest boss’ and your minions might have joined you because of your badness. But if you are bad to your minions they are not going to stay with you for too long.
4. Don’t be scared of super minions: Scarlet Overkill could not handle it when Bob was crowned King, even though the Minions handed her the crown and she was able to achieve her longest held wish. This was her downfall. A leader should not be worried about being overshadowed by super talented juniors. Rewarding and encouraging them will be the key to your success.
5. Take responsibility: When Scarlet Overkill went nuclear against the Minions, Kevin did not cower behind the rest of the Minions. He took on Scarlet and protected his ‘buddies’, since he was their leader and he was responsible (primarily) for her hating the Minions. A leader will not blame his juniors nor expect them to take responsibility for his errors. Kevin earned the Minions’ respect and so will you as a leader when you stand up for your team.
6. Jump for the bigger opportunity: Despite everything Scarlet Overkill did to the Minions Kevin did run behind her, as she was the biggest super villain he had ever known (a genetic flaw of the Minions). But the moment Kevin lay his eyes on Felonious Gru he knew – here was a bigger, better villain. Many leaders, especially startup founders, cannot let go of their product or the market they were targeting even if a bigger opportunity slaps them in the face. Don’t be so married to your idea that you do not exploit a larger market.
"Minions" is the prequel to “Despicable Me”, taking place in the years – millennia, actually – before they hooked up with the dastardly but undeniably delightful master villain Gru. Kindly check out the movie trailer:
Speaking to The Wrap, Minions creator Pierre Coffin said he couldn't picture females being "dumb" enough to be a Minion.
And I can hear the reverberating applause and the strident screams of approval from women everywhere!
Minions sprang onto our screens in 2010 with the Despicable Me movie, which sees the little guys serving supervillain Gru. Following a sequel in 2013, the dungaree- and goggle-wearing yellow sidekicks have been given a movie of their own this year.
On Wednesday afternoon, I was in Damansara Perdana in PJ to accept VP Education Foo Han Piew’s invitation to be the General Evaluator for the Gamuda Toastmasters Club meeting.
And in the evening, I went to the city –Bankers Club, to be precise – to attend the ITC Bintang Toastmasters meeting. I was an Evaluator for CC speech #6. This was a very well-attended meeting with thirty-three participants.
For sure, I enjoyed both the meetings. My scores for the two meetings were identical too – an 8 over 10!
