A Penny For Your Thoughts

Raya Holiday in A Pig Sty

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Pardon the vulgar words, but that is exactly how I feel living in the new place. Like in a pig sty.

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The bloody sh*t of heavy stuff is still in living room, the TV is still playing dead on the freaking floor, the Screamyx is not yet installed, the kitchen is still not functional even after a week, the toilet constantly flooded and not flushable, the water heater is faulty and the landlady’s faulty furnitures is still not disposed.

I’ve gotten really pissed and contacted the agent to resolve the issue. Told the b*tch to get the toilet fixed and get the landlady to get rid of the furnitures instead of putting those stuff here and treat the place like her storeroom and the end what did I get?

My too kind and generous husband told me that the agent called him instead because of my lengthy sms and that whiny b*tch of the agent dare not deal with me because of the lengthy sms. Bloody b*tch. How dare you try to justify yourself by going around and whining about my complaints to my husband?Are you trying to wash your hands off the problems by complaining to that kind husband of mine?

All I want to say right at the moment is: Watch yourself before going around complaining about my complaints, B*tch, or I WILL make sure that your name will be rotten in the real estate industry! It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that the unit that you handed out is in good condition, not the other way around, and don’t expect me to keep blind eye to it, especially when the ‘merchandise’ that you handed out is overpriced from the market value!

Cleffairy : My life is just too wonderful. And I swear if these are not resolved soon, I’ll just pack my bags and camp in my parents’ place! Haven’t gone back in years and I’m sure they will be more than glad to have me! As they say, can’t solve it, just get the hell out of it until someone else solve it! GRRR! Why the f8ck should I deal with this? It is not even my fault to begin with.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Down The Memory Lane, Time Heals What Love And Reason Cannot

I don’t wanna go home

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Those who are really close to me or those who are in my friends list on Facebook will probably know what’s going on with me right at the moment. Plenty of expected AND unexpected things happened to me, and I have to admit that despite the fact that I was practically a nomad when I was a child and drastic changes was a norm, I struggled desperately to deal with the changes as an adult.

There is too much changes, and I find it difficult to deal with…it is too overwhelming, and I not only I feel difficult to breathe, but I feel trapped as well.

I know I seriously need a break from life before life will break me, but right now, even looking at vacation packages is not appealing…as I feel that there is no point escaping just for awhile…as when I return, I will still have to face reality and I’ll be back in a hellhole.

Cleffairy: Out of the sudden, I realized that I could never publish my novel in progress ‘Alternate Reality’.It was created and written in my image, and it reveals too much of my deepest, darkest desire to escape the reality that I’m living in.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts

Fed up, pissed off and annoyed

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So, how exactly you’re supposed to deal with such negative emotions that plague you all at the same time? I’m afraid that I have no answer for that, but I suppose, staying focused and having some distractions is kinda welcoming.

If you ever feel sick and tired of something, I suppose you can look for some distractions to steer you away from those negative feelings. I usually indulge in writing theraphy where I marathon against time to produce 5k coherent mini stories each time I feel that life is no longer meaningful or it would be better for me to just dig my own grave and lay in it.

So, ladies and gentlemen, how do you deal with uninspiring emotions? Please do share with me.

Cleffairy: It’s a good thing that killing people is a crime. If it’s up to me, I’d just go on a bloody killing rampage.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Down The Memory Lane, Event coverage

Iftar in Warisan Kaseh, Banting with Denaihati and e-Qurban

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This is a bit backdated, but last week, I was invited for an Iftar in Warisan Kaseh, a house for retired folks in Banting with my Denaihati friends. For those who are not familiar with the term ‘iftar’, iftar is a term used for breaking fast, and iftar is usually done in groups of people, where men and women are gathered together to break fast during the break of dusk, and after the breaking fast session, the group in question will proceed for a special Ramadan prayer known as the Terawikh. (Unlike the  normal 5 times a day prayers, Terawikh is a special kind of prayers that done only during the fasting month of Ramadan)
Let me be honest with you, I was supposed to attend the gala premier for ‘Hantu Gangster’ on the same evening of the iftar, but since I wasn’t really pleased on how the folks in RAM Entertainment managed the guests and did not attended to the bloggers RSVP until the day before the event. I feel that they did not respect the bloggers time, and they seems to think that it is all right to make bloggers be at their beck and calls, so I opt to join my friends in Denaihati and went to Banting instead.

I suppose I can say that I’m truly glad that I went for the iftar with the Denaihati friends and the good folks from e-Qurban instead, as it was truly an eye opening experience. The purpose of this iftar was to celebrate the blessings of Ramadan with the old folks who are the resident of Warisan Kaseh.

It was the first, yet meaningful iftar for me. I have never went to any old folks home, or rather a retirement home before, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

Truthfully speaking, I was expecting the environment to be dull, uninteresting and full of sad faces. But that’s not the case with Warisan Kaseh retirement home. It was a completely different environment from what I imagine and from what the public’s general perception on old folks home and retirement home.image

I certainly did not expect a truly relaxing environment like this…the ‘kampung’ feeling in Warisan Kaseh was truly great, to say the least…

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It is an oasis in the middle of a secluded place. There was a small but functional swimming pool for the residents over here, and I was informed that there are various activities being done over here as a part of their recreational program.image

The garden was nothing but serene… and being in Warisan Kaseh, even just for a moment made me feel as if I was having a short getaway of my own. At some point during my short stay in Warisan Kaseh, I wish that the visit was way longer than just one evening. Yes… I like that place that much, and just a couple of hours over there is not enough. I wish I could get to spend more time over there.

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Since this retirement home is a Muslim base retirement home, there is a ‘surau’ (prayer hall) for the resident to make use of for their daily prayers. The surau is also occasionally used for motivational talks sessions every now and then.

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The rooms that accommodate the residents in Warisan Kaseh was fairly moderate with basic amnesties that includes bed and wardrobe along with a common area where modern facilities like TV and whatnot is situated. There was also a kitchen where the residents are encouraged to cook their own meals whenever they feel like it. This place… was a home away from home for some of the residents here.

Now, you’ll be asking me why there are no pictures of the old folks over here despite the fact that this place is a place for old folks. Well, I’m not putting those pictures in here in respect of their privacy. The owner of this place, Haji Masrukhin Marzoki has specifically made a request for the media not to expose any of the residents pictures here. They did not wish for their pictures and their personal lives to be on display anywhere on the media, and I respect their requests.

According to Tuan Haji, who is the owner and founder of both Warisan Kaseh and e-Qurban (e-Qurban is a company that helps the Muslims to perform the ritual ‘Qurban’ -the sacrificial slaughtering of lamb, sheep, cows, etc for religious purpose via online), Warisan Kaseh is aimed to be recreational place for the old folks instead of a place for the old folks to waste away and wait for Death to come.

It is a misconception that old folks homes is a place for old folks to waste away, as Warisan Kaseh is more like a retirement home where most of the residents in this place admits themselves voluntarily to spend a quiet, recreational and spiritual time with friends their age.

It is wrong to accuse the children who sent their old folks here as dumping their parents, as it’s not the case with most of the residents here. Most went willingly to spend their time here, and every now and then, they will go home to their families after spending their time in this place.

In short, Warisan Kaseh is not exactly an old folks homes, but a retirement homes for the golden boys and girls to spend their time doing things that they want to do with friends of their age freely, without interruption. The old folks here may come and go as they pleased, and I think the concept is really great.

A lot of old folks feels bored just staying at home in their children’s place and whatnot, and this place is just the thing that they need to get perky again.

 

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After browsing around, it’s time for iftar… or rather, breaking fast.

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The cendol drinks. Gosh, this is something to really WOW for. I had a few go at this… and it gave me sugar rush at the end of the night. LOL!

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Satay guy, preparing satay for iftar session
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Whole roasted lamb…. lol… turned into lamb-chops when it was done. I had a terrible headache after having this, though. I suppose lambs are too ‘hot’ for me. 🙁

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Some friend chickensimage

Finger food…my son loves these the most…image

Not exactly my favourite as I don’t really like veggies, but the caterer nailed it with this dish. It was lovely!

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Some sweet-sour prawns…

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And of course, the guests during the iftar…children from the nearest orphanage were also invited to the iftar with the good folks in Warisan Kasih.

Overall, it was really a good and eye-opening experience for me, and I hope that there will be more events like this in the coming future.

Here’s the address to Warisan Kaseh case you’re interested:

WARISAN KASEH DARUL MAGHFIROH
Lot 3886, Kampung Sungai Kelambu Timur,
42700 Banting, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: 03-3187 5304 / 013-388 8234
Email: atus@streamyx.com / salmas1963@gmail.com
 

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Time Heals What Love And Reason Cannot

Grief

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How many of you would agree with me that at some point in your life, you’ll go through a difficult phase where the situation breaks you inside out and you had no choice but to face it all alone despite the fact that you’re well loved by many?

I don’t know how many of you will agree with me on that statement, but frankly speaking, I do feel that at some point in your life, you have no choice but to suffer in silence and grieve alone.

You feel that there is no point in opening up to those you’re close to anymore because they will never be able to comprehend what you’re going through unless they are placed in the same predicament themselves.

Yes…sometimes, shutting people out of our life, and our hearts is the easiest way to deal with grief as nobody will be able to judge you or condemn you for what you are feeling.

Cleffairy: Misery loves company, but that’s a tragically unrequited love story.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts

It takes TWO to be connected

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Do you guys remember reading my blog post on how two things work better together than one thing?

Well, apparently, not all of my readers and parents understood the concept of how two things can work better than just one thing on its own, especially when it comes to growing up milk powder.

It upsets me when I received comments such as these in my previous blog post on a certain brand of growing up milk powder:

  • I’m against formula milk…breast milk is the best for babies…
  • There’s a few growing up milk brand in the market that has more DHA than Anmum Essential, and costs cheaper.

Yes, sure, I won’t argue with you that breast milk is the best food for babies, but what I’m talking about here is not milk for babies, but milk for growing up children who are over the age of 1 year and has passed weaning stage.

Feeding your 2-4 years old toddlers with only solid foods is just not enough.  Growing up milk can play an important role in providing a healthy nutrition in your children’s diet! So, choosing a good growing up milk so that you children can benefit from the nutrition that’s specially formulated for their growing up years is a really good idea.

And, on the second comment, I would like to clarify that a growing up milk powder that contains high DHA content is not necessarily the best choice. There is much more to optimal brain bevelopment than just high DHA alone.

Sure, DHA is one of the key ingredient that helps build brain cells, and DHA is a must have in your children’s growing up milk. But Gangliosides are equally important and play a key role in the formation of brain cell connections. This just makes sense right?… build and connect – not just build. For learning to happen brain cells need to be connected – the more connections the faster the learning.

So, in other words, choosing a growing up milk powder that merely contains a lot of DHA it is not enough. The growing up milk powder needs to contain another key ingredient that helps brain cells to be connected in order to make learning happens.

DHA and Gangliosides needs to work together alongside one another like a team… just like this video below:


Watch the video above, and you’ll get what I mean. Whenever you choose a growing up milk powder for your children, you should think about choosing a growing up milk powder that combines both DHA as well as Gangliosides along with other vitamins and minerals in it.

And so far, only Anmum Essential is the only growing up milk brand in Malaysian market that contains not only more DHA, but more Gangliosides in it too.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Down The Memory Lane, Time Heals What Love And Reason Cannot

They made me feel that I’m worth something

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I have three children. One with two legs, while another two comes with fur and have four legs. The one with two legs is a special need child, and never really made me feel as if I’ve accomplished anything at all as a mother, due to the fact that his milestone is not exactly the same as other children his age, and I’ve always felt as if I have nothing to feel proud about.

I can’t say he’s achieved much things, and I can’t exactly shout out on how advanced he is and bla bla bla while other mothers can do exactly just that when they meet up with each other. In other words, I’ve long accepted the fact that I’ll be condemned to feel self-conscious when it comes to the boy and will be damned to sit aside and watch other children progress steadily as they grow whenever I meet up with friends who have children. (And not to mention that plenty of people are gonna scrutinize me for being a bad mother, etc for my son’s lack of progress, but I’m not gonna bother about those people anymore, cuz they are the uneducated ones. They are the one who never bothered to understand about special needs children, and I shouldn’t lower myself and listen to any of their judgmental and foolish opinions. I owe them nothing, anyway)

But God has his way of comforting me, I suppose. My two-legged child may make me feel so small and insignificant all the time, but my four-legged children made me feel as if I’m worth something, and they made me feel that if I’m given the chance to have a normal child with average ability to make reasonable progress for his or her age, I would have at least achieved something.

Do you know why I said that? Well, I think some of you may have realized that I’ve recently adopted another kitty. I thought I’d make a lousy ‘mother’ to two cats at home,considering the fact that there’s a lot things needs to be done so that my first cat will not harm the little one and make friends with the younger one. I was really anxious, and I was kinda overprotective towards the younger kitty.

But in the end, I managed not only to make them bond, but managed to discipline them and make them follow certain routine too, and I feel really good about it. Their learning progress is excellent too, and they learn tricks pretty fast. On top of that, they never failed to understand what I try to communicate to them.

My four-legged children made me feel a tad wistful at times whenever I see them interact and enjoy playing and eating with each other. They made me feel that… perhaps…one day, if I ever have the chance to be a mother to two or three human children, they could be exactly like that-makes me feel proud, and worth something.

Above is the video of my furkids during the first 3 days knowing each other. The elder one used to avoid playing with the younger one, and would hiss at the younger one whenever the younger one goes near, but now, after one week being introduced to each other (after plenty of nagging and coaxing on my part, of course), they are almost inseparable. They do a lot of things together; play together, eat together and even watch tv together. 😀

Cleffairy: Maybe God does not want me to have anymore children as I probably make a better mother for furkids instead of human kids. Maybe tonight, I’m gonna pray to God to give me a zoo instead of a baby daughter of my own!

 

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A Penny For Your Thoughts

Ermm… so the moral of the story is?

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Are you familiar with ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ story? You know, the story where a young princess is cursed to die on her 16th birthday? Well, there’s plenty of version of this story, but the one I’m familiar with is the Walt Disney’s version and this version of the story:

Once upon a time, in a magical Fairy Kingdom, a Princess named Aurora was born to a wonderful King and Queen. The Kingdom’s Fairy of Protection, Lilac Fairy, and all of her maidens were invited to celebrate Princess Aurora’s birth. In the midst of the excitement, the royal family forgot to invite the wicked fairy, Carabosse. Although Carabosse is distraught by their neglect, she and her crew come to party anyway, but with evil intentions. She disguises herself as a beautiful fairy and pretends to enjoy the festivities. However, her evil becomes her and she casts a spell over Princess Aurora saying that on her 16th birthday she will prick her finger and die. Quick to save the Princess, the Lilac Fairy casts another spell saying that she will only fall asleep after pricking her finger. Once Carabosse leaves, the party is restored and everyone continues to celebrate.

Sixteen years later, the royal family begins to celebrate Princess Aurora’s 16th birthday. Since the night of her birth, the King had ordered that all sharp objects be kept out of the kingdom so she could not hurt herself. His rules were broken, however, on the night of her party. During the celebration, Carabosse disguises herself again, this time as a beautiful seamstress, and presents Princess Aurora with a beautiful tapestry. Enchanted by its beauty, Princess Aurora grabs the tapestry and pricks her finger on a needle that Carabosse secretly embedded. Carabosse laughs in victory and runs out of the castle. Remembering the spell she had cast before, Lilac Fairy appears to make sure Princess Aurora fell asleep. Lilac Fairy casts a spell on the entire family and court to fall asleep ensuring them of their safety.

One hundred years later in a dark forest, a Prince by the name of Florimund is hunting with his friends. He leaves his friends and insists on being alone. Lilac Fairy hears the commotion and ventures out to Prince Florimund. He tells her that he is lonely and is in need of love. She has the perfect idea. She presents an image of Princess Aurora to him and he instantly falls in love.

She leads him to the castle to rescue the beautiful Princess and put an end to the evil fairy, Carabosse. Lilac Fairy reveals the hidden castle to Prince Florimund. Just when Prince Florimund steps into the castle doorway, Carabosse appears before him. She will not let him pass and a battle quickly follows. Prince Florimund finally overpowers her and he races into the castle. Knowing the only way to break the spell, he quickly finds Princess Aurora and kisses her. The spell is broken and Carabosse is finally defeated. Princess Aurora and her entire family wake up from their deep sleep. Princess Aurora accepts Prince Florimund’s proposal for marriage and her family approves.

The castle is filled with music and laughter as the family and maids clean the dusty old castle for the wedding. The wedding is attended by the Prince’s family as well as the fairies. And like every great fairytale, they seal their marriage with a kiss and live happily ever after.

Sleeping Beauty is really quite a wonderful yet boring story to tell children. I’ve always preferred those fairy tales where the heroines are not a damsel in distress awaiting for her prince to save her. I’ve always liked strong heroines… and so, I’ve always wondered what exactly the moral of this story is?

I never knew until one fine day, it occured to me that this story is telling us not to forget to invite some acquintance or important people in the society to our party or function. This is because some people are simply sourgrapes and they will attend your party uninvited and do nasty things to crash your party, or get back at you in a nasty way afterwards.

In Aurora’s parent’s case… the wicked Carabosse cursed her to die on her 16th birthday. Tsk tsk tsk…what a tragedy. Luckily she was just sent into a deep sleep! Poor princess…I can’t imagine how bad her breath was when she woke up!

Cleffairy: So…ladies and gentlemen, if you’re hosting a party, please double check your guest lists before finalizing your guest list. You’ll never know who you’ve missed out and who will appear and play Carabosse in your party!

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A Penny For Your Thoughts

Facebook Timeline for all on 7th August

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Are you a Facebook user? Not sure if you’re a Facebook user, but I’m certainly one. I’m on Facebook most of the time. I lurk there for updates from friends as well as to waste my time away playing Facebook games.

I noticed this thing on the top of my facebook wall a couple of hours ago:

Timeline is your collection of the photos, posts and experiences that help tell your story. People won’t start seeing your timeline until 7 August. This gives you a chance to:

1. Review what’s on your timeline now.
2. Add or hide whatever you want.
Want people to see your timeline before 7 August? Just click Publish Now. Learn more.
Oh-uh…. does this mean that all Facebook users will be automatically converted to Timeline? I have nothing against Timeline, but personally I think it’s rather cluttered and messy. I wish Facebook would allow us the option to view our Facebook account in the ‘classic mode’, but from the look of it, it’s not likely. 🙁
So, ladies and gentlemen… if you’re not already using Facebook Timeline, are you excited and looking forward to Timeline?
Cleffairy: A lot of people are disliking the idea of changing to Timeline…I’m one of those people who prefers the clean look, but then again…Timeline has it’s advantage and I suppose I can adapt.
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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Event coverage, IT/ Computing, Product review

Breaking Fast with the new Sony Cybershot

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Last week, I was invited to break fast with Sony Malaysia, in conjunction of their newly launched Cybershot.

The event was held in Eco Bar. It was really a laid back place

A few minutes before breaking fast…

There was a modest spread prepared for us

Some exotic Greek-style tomato rice, my personal favourite that night…

The usual pasta

Some creamy roasted chicken

Along with some fried fish fillets

Stuffed roasted tomatoes topped generously with cheese

Cakes and pastries as desserts

Along with assorted puddings

And cut fruits…

Now, the breaking fast spread was marvellous, but it was not the main attraction of the day, so I won’t be elaborating on the food. The main attraction of the day was the Cyber-shotâ„¢ RX100.

Bloggers were divided into a group of four to have a hands on experience on the new camera.

Looks just like any other digital camera, no?

Yes… it looks like just any other ordinary digital camera, with LCD screen and all that. But don’t underestimate this small thing…the quality is almost as good as DSLR camera.

At the heart of the Cyber-shot™ RX100 is the world’s first1 1.0-type Exmor CMOS sensor with a resolution of 20.2 effective megapixels. Specially developed by Sony, the sensor has an area that’s around four times larger than the 1/2.3-type imager in regular point-and-shoot cameras. Capturing far more light than small-sensor cameras, it’s the key to beautiful, detail packed images and Full HD movie clips with very low noise.

The larger sensor is partnered with an ultra-bright Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with 3.6x optical zoom range. In contrast with standard point-and-shoot cameras, the wide F1.8 maximum aperture lets in more light to complement the resolving power of the large 1.0-type Exmor CMOS sensor.

In common with high-performance DSLR optics, the lens features seven- bladed circular aperture. This makes it easy to produce pro-style ‘bokeh’ effects, with subjects in sharp focus against a smoothly-blurred background. The lens also features an Advanced Aspherical (AA) glass element that contributes to the camera’s extremely compact dimensions without sacrificing optical performance or resolution.

Complementing the 1.0-type sensor and lens, the optimised BIONZ image processor maximises shooting responses while assuring exceptionally clean, natural images. It also extends sensitivity right up to ISO 256002 (using Multi Frame Noise Reduction), allowing exceptionally clear handheld images in dim light. Speedy burst shooting at up to 10 frames per second (full-resolution) lets you grab split-second photo opportunities, while high-speed autofocus locks onto your target in as little as 0.13 seconds1.

Even if you’re shooting outdoors, it’s easy to see subtle details and tones on the bright, high contrast 7.5cm (3″) Xtra Fine LCD. With an extremely high 1229k dot resolution, the screen debuts new WhiteMagicâ„¢2 technology that uses white pixels in addition to RGB to boost screen brightness.

It’s easy to fine-tune your image with a wide range of manual adjustments, whether you’re shooting stills or Full HD video.

Experienced photo enthusiasts will appreciate the unique Control Ring that surrounds the lens body. Allowing smooth, fingertip adjustment of exposure, zoom, Picture Effect and other functions, it makes versatile DSLR-style creative control over your image easily accessible. Frequently-used functions can be assigned to a handy Fn (function) button for instant access. Memory Recall stores up to three groups of settings for instant recall – a big time-saver when you don’t want to keep adjusting parameters for favourite scenes.

Just like a DSLR camera, there’s a choice of auto and manual focus modes for even greater control over your image. If you’re focusing manually, MF Assist magnifies your image to simplify fine adjustments. There’s also a convenient Peaking function that highlights sharply-focused areas of the image on screen.

There’s a generous choice of artistic options to expand shooting possibilities for enthusiasts and novice photographers alike. It’s easy to fine-tune the look of your image with a choice of six Creative Styles to suit the scene or your personal preference. Picture Effect offers an inspiring choice of ‘in camera’ effects that can be previewed on the LCD screen, including Toy Camera, Partial Colour, Pop Colour, HDR Painting, Miniature, Illustration, Watercolour and other (Note: real-time preview not available with all Picture Effect settings).

Shared with the latest α range of A-mount and E-mount cameras, Auto Portrait Framing makes it simple to capture personality-packed photos of family and friends. Cyber-shot™ does all the hard work, automatically detecting faces and cropping the scene to create tighter, pro-style compositions without sacrificing pixel count.

Pretty cool for a mini camera, huh? I must say that it’s really cool and those who prefers to travel light would appreciate this camera.

It’s rechargeable battery features a slim, energy-efficient design to allow up to 330 still shots or 80 mins AVCHD video shooting per charge. Exclusively designed to match the camera, the LCJ-RXA is a stylish ‘jacket style’ carry case with an attractive leather-look textured finish and supplied shoulder strap. Attaching securely to the camera, the case opens to allow easy shooting while you’re on the move. Awesome for backpackers and globetrotters.

The new Cyber-shotâ„¢ RX100 digital compact camera from Sony will be available in Malaysia from early August 2012 with the price range of RM2,400++

Are you interested in getting one for yourself? I’m certainly interested, but I’m not quite sure if my savings will allow that. 🙁

Cleffairy: Do take note that this camera does not have a touch screen function. You might want to get a hands on experience and play around with it first before purchasing this…

 

 

 

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