So the news have probably spread across the nation.Yasmin Ahmad is gone.I must admit,I am no fan of her films.IMO,they were too unbearingly slow paced and play along racial lines too much.However,I do admire her adverts she's done for Petronas.Below are my picks of her best,in no particular order.
The Chinese New Year one is probably my favourite,though the others are just as good.I am Hokkien after all and the women reminded me of my grandaunts and grandmother during their annual mahjong session.Good times.
Over the years,my tastes in music differ through various phases of my life.There was the "bubblegum phase" when I was a lil kid,listening to boy bands and cringe-worthy pop anthems.Then,I grew up and entered the "Seoul Man" stage,where I tried to be black and started memorising the lyrics to gangster rap songs and the like.Hardly a few months pass by before I entered the "Rock God" phase,where 80s rock and 5 minute guitar solos took up much space on my phone's memory card.Nowadays though,I've wisened up and cautiously pick my favourite music,careful not to choose songs that I will regret liking later in life.But there's one man whom I will never be ashamed of revealing myself as a fan.Before I begin,please watch the video below.
Jerome White,otherwise known as Jero in Japan,is the first black singer in Japan.And the genre that he has chosen is a unique one.He sings "enka",which literally means "performing song",a sort of old lounge music.The main demographic for this particular genre is the elderly.Therefore,not many youths ventured into it when becoming singers,bringing the genre close to death in Japan.Therefore,many record labels were reluctant to sign Jero as they are still running businesses after all and profit is king.Thankfully,one company decided to take a gamble on him,with the hopes of reviving the local "enka" scene.They did not make a mistake.Jero's debut single "Umi Yuki" which means Ocean Snow reached #4 on the Oricon music charts and sales shot through the roof.His fanbase was not just limited to the old as the young were attracted to his style of mixing old music with hip hop elements.
Jero attributes his love for singing "enka" to his late grandma,who sadly passed away 3 years before he became famous.when he was little,he would visit her house and listened to the "enka" records she brought along from Japan.Later,he even joined in her karaoke sessions,perfecting his Japanese.He clearly loves his grandma,and spends a lot of time with her.Her wish was to see him becoming a famous "enka" singer,unfortunately unfulfilled.However,it is obvious that if she were still alive,she would be proud of her beloved grandson.
On a side note,I am now scouring every music and DVD store I visit for his album.And no,I am not buying pirated copies or illegally downloading his songs,all in support of my current favourite singer of all time.Gambateh,Jero!
The truth was,I know nothing about the rules of dodgeball.Whatever knowledge I had of the game came from that Vince Vaughn movie and American teen flicks where the jocks bullied the nerds.Despite that,I almost got a team together from school when I first heard of The Star R.AGE Campus Dodgeball Championship.Sadly,we noticed the Campus part right before registering.Lucky me then that Ivy mass forwarded an email to all BRATs to join the tournament,age restriction be damned.Naturally,I was excited and gloated all about it to my friends the next day.Mature I was not.Anyway,I signed up right away and started annoying every BRAT on FB asking them to join,forgetting they had college and something called a Life.Regrettably I wasn't able to participate in the coaching clinic at Lake View as I was to go for a campfire at CHS(details two posts below).So I decided to train by myself and ignorantly felt that jogging five rounds around the lake for a week before the tournament was enough.
It wasn't.
I arrived at the venue at 8ish as the email stated to be there by half past.Boy,I should have understood the term 'Malaysian timing' better.Melissa was the only one who came before the clock struck 9.Then Andrea,Sandra and this BRAT whose name I didn't hear. Many teams had already gathered there by then and man,were they intimidating.It was obvious to see that many of them had been training and had experience participating in tournaments.It didn't help matters either that some of them were fit therefore,harder to hit.From the forwarded email,there were at least enough BRATs to make two teams.Sadly,that did not materialise.The last ones to arrive were Tan Kel Vin and Jir Wan.In desperation,we turned to Niki Cheong,whom many may know as the Bangsar Boy,to help us as he used to be a BRAT...in 1995.We were up against Boomers and we learned the hard way that you should never judge a dodgeball player by his physique.What they lacked in body size they made up for in skill.Long story short,we got trashed.10 nil.On a side note,I was out mostly because I stepped out of the lines too much and not because I got hit.And my throws were horrible.I only managed three(or was that two?) kills and had a lot veer off course.Yup,jogging didn't help,except for my brilliant but ultimately useless as a whole dodging.
Players in action.
The two commentators(Sarah Lian and some dude)on duty gameday.Unfortunately but logically,more people were interested in the games than them talking.So much so that I saw the dude having the time to just walk around One Utama aimlessly.
At around 1ish,the BRAT took on the RAGE team in a friendly match.What we thought was an easy match turned out to be not.Some dude called Max and Nasa Maria Entaban's boyfriend were good,throwing and dodging wise.Final result?A shameless 2-2 draw.Well,at least I hit Niki!
After that,there was nothing to do except watch the games as there was no work for the BRATs.Not being the one who likes to sit around watching other people have fun,I decided to go home.Before I begin,please be informed that the topic of this post shall now change to public transport.
I waited outside One Utama for a bus at 2.24 pm.
I boarded a bus at half past 3.Question time! Q:If one of the stops listed at the side of the bus says KL Sentral then the bus does stop there right? A:WRONG!!!! I counted about 3 such encounters until I got the right bus.WTF.
I arrived at KL Sentral at 4.15 pm.
Train under repair.Waited until half past 4.Had to run as the correct train was all the way on the other side of the track.
Reached Subang Jaya at 5.05 pm.
Amount of time spent from One Utama to SS 15 Subang Jaya? Approximately 3 fucking hours.
Obviously,I am no fan of Miss Rowling's novel about the boy wizard who sports a ridiculous scar shaped like a lightning on his forehead.Daniel Radcliffe's horrible 'acting' in the movies did not help change my mind either.I don't know about you but I've always felt that Miss Rowling is not a very good storyteller,at least after the movie rights to her line of books were sold.Since then,her characters have lost their magic and being made to resemble more like their counterparts on the big screen.In the first three books,I've never imagined Hermione to look like Emma Watson or Harry Potter like Daniel.When the first cast list was released,I found myself laughing and predicted a flop.Well,I have been proven wrong but my judgement remains the same.The Harry Potter line is one of the worst movie franchises to ever grace the cinema and television.Don't get me wrong,I love fantasy and I love Brit movies even more.But when Miss Rowling made her first million off Harry Potter,I felt that she released her books just to keep raking the money in.After all,it does not matter how terrible the writing is as she's got an established fanbase,ready to strike down naysayers on fan websites,forums and blogs(for another example,look at Twilight).I must admit that I did read her last Harry Potter book,though it was due to my mother having bought it at Giant and insisting I read or else I'll say goodbye to my allowance.I've already had my doubts that it would be the final book,and the poorly written epilogue seemed like it was copied and pasted from some fan fic site.Sure enough,she announced sometime after that she will write more books based along the Potter universe.What,Harry Potter's Kids and the Umpteenth Resurrection of the Dark Lord?Harry Potter True Hogwarts Story:I Was Dumbledore's Gay Lover?In conclusion,you definitely won't see me lining up to watch The Half Blood Prince after it premieres in local cineplexes.Heck,I didn't even watch Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix.But what's sure is that it will break box office records around the world.And you can bet Miss Rowling is not gonna stop milking her cash cow.Oh no.She's not done yet.
I do so love a good campfire.However,I do not have the pleasure of being to a lot of them.Only two stick out in my mind as the best of the best,namely Bukit Bintang Boys' School 05' and St.John's 08'.The rest range from decent to god awful.The most recent one that I attended,Catholic High's,falls in the middle of those two descriptions.Now,I have high respect for CHS.They house one of the best scout and girl guide troops in Malaysia and their campfires have always held the reputation of being overelaborate and memorable.The rotation system also intrigued me quite a bit.See,each year the scouts and girl guides would take turns to organise a campfire.Last year's which was organised by the scouts was not perfect but they deserve credit for trying to achieve it on a grand scale.I haven't been to the one in 07' but the things I heard from my friends who attended were good.So naturally when Zhi Min invited my school's troop,I jumped at the opportunity.Right now,I pretty much regretted being too excited as the higher your expectation,the more disappointed you'd be when it does not materialise.So to satisfy your curiosity,here's the rundown on the night's campfire.The theme this year was 'Flames of Freedom' and is suppose to represent the growth of the girl guides movement at CHS.Misinterpreting the invitation we received,the new troop leader,John Chia thought that the campfire would begin at 6pm.Therefore,he set the time of departure from our school at 5pm.He thought wrong.Registration started at 6pm.We were approximately an hour and a half early. The entrance to the campfire grounds.
We were definitely taken by surprise to how early we came.We were the first school to arrive and even the heads of reception were dumbfounded.Not knowing what to do,their course of action was to usher us to our seats and leave us to fend for ourselves from not being bored.
The syok sendiri band due to perform at the campfire.Our ears never bled so much.
Yup,those were the seats for all present. The event proper only began at around 7pm.The emcees assigned to the campfire were obviously new to the whole thing and it showed while they were trying to liven up the atmosphere.They stammered and stuttered,trying to find the words that will bring about cheers from the attendees.They need not have tried as we were sympathetic to their predicament and made noise anyway.However,we had to stop when a teacher actually took the mic and told us to behave ourselves and not cause such ruckus.Just 5 minutes in and already we were told to shut up?I began to have doubts about this campfire.
Don't be fooled by my low quality camera phone.The phoenix was attached to some rope and was pulled upwards by three girl guides. After the problem with the phoenix was rectified(it got stuck midway),we were presented to a video introducing the organising committee.Amateurish would be the polite way to describe it.The jokes were lame and repetitive and the worst part was we had to watch it again 5 minutes in.Next,the organising committee performed a horrbly choreographed dance routine which was painstaking to sit through.They clearly did not have enough practice and it showed from their constant long pauses between moves and the apologetic looks they give to the audience.A few games later came the worst band performances I have ever seen.The musicians were out of tune and unsynchronised with the vocalist,who thankfully possessed a defective mic.If the actual bands they tried to emulate were present,these boys would leave the campfire bloodied and crippled.
The only performance which went according to plan.
The campfire then came to an abrupt end at around 10pm when the booklet they handed out indicated that 11pm was the closing ceremony.This left many attendees confused and spewing vulgarities as almost all of them had told their transport to pick them up at 11.My troop was not impressed either and we had to wait close to half an hour before our bus arrived.This event will definitely leave a blemish on CHS's record.What pains me even more is the thought that my juniors who came along would assume that all campfires are this terribly organised and so avoid joining campfires in the future.I made a speech later in the bus about how that is not so but I did not feel that I changed their minds.This is my final year in scouting and this would be my final campfire.as the saying goes,"Go out with a bang".CHS's campfire was more like a small pop.
I admit my first thought of attending a cheerleading competition was not favourable.I had this prejudice,fostered by years of guiltily watching those trashy American teen movies,that these cheerleaders are not the nicest of people around.And I was supposed to interview them?See one of the many tasks that I undertook during the two days of competition as a BRAT was to create vids and a blog post on the event.So naturally,I was nervous about how crappy I would get the job done.Thankfully,I was proven wrong.The people whom I met were one of the friendliest and smartest bunch of girls that I ever had the opportunity to talk to.Sure,there were a few bad apples among them but the rest were quite witty with their answers and had interesting stories to tell about their participation in the event.One girl I interviewed was the captain of the supporters team of Xavier,who has been attending the comp for 7 years already.Apparently,her school is very supportive of the sport and encourages its students to participate in CHEER,whether as a cheerleader or one of the many supporters.It only took one day to get everything organised,from the chants to the members of the supporters team.The aforementioned captain took time off her busy college schedule to take the captain's armband once more this year.Truly,remarkable stuff.You would never hear of such a thing at my school,which employs a ridiculously shallow and conservative woman as its HM.A few girls wanted to form a team a few years back but was told to wear 'tudung's and long pants to cover up.Obviously,the girls' wishes never materialised.So what exactly did I do at CHEER?
Most of my time spent was on the computer,whether it was editing the vid I just finished shooting or typing my blog post for RAGE's website. Ahh,the sweet life of being a member of the Youth Desk.Here,Ian occupies his time waiting between performances by amusing himself with iPhone games.Though,I was given a dose of reality later that his life was not that glamorous when he had to stay back after CHEER ended to write an article on the event.
This is the secretariat room which has been turned into a makeshift office for the BRATs and RAGE team members to concentrate on their work away from the din that generated around the hall every few miliseconds.Although we could still feel the thump thump thump of music blaring from the overlarge speakers outside,it was an improvement on being outside itself.
And what a din it was.To my eye,there were probably well over a thousand people cramped into the tiny stadium.It did not help matters either that the hosts and cheerleaders kept egging them on to "make some noise!" to which they promptly accepted.I know I shouldn't expect quiet at an event like this but on some occasions the crowd was uncontrollable.And I was only irritated because I wanted to get my work done which was not what Ivy had in mind for us BRATs.
She was pretty ticked off seeing us around the desk working and ordered us to have fun,to watch the performances.As we could not say no to the nicest and friendliest member of the Youth Desk,we obliged.But I have to admit that after a while the performances looked too samey.And cheers turned to yawns soon after.On the first day too.Ivy told me off,albeit in a teasing way,that I would make a terrible journalist if I continue this way.
Well,I can't help it if cheerleading does not interest me.And no,I did not go to CHEER to ogle at girls.One of the many reasons why I am considered a poof at school and home.
But one team did caught my attention for the two days and the honour goes to SMK Cochrane's Pirates.They were without a doubt the best boys team at CHEER,topping the sometimes glitchy performances by Stunners All Boys and Vulcanz All Boys.
And I made it no secret that I was rooting for them to win,in spite of better teams.Though they finished in sixth place,just outside of the placings that would grant them medals,they managed to win the well-deserved Best Sportsmanship title.
In the end,it was the Blitzers from SMK Damansara (4) that were crowned champs.Not only that,they managed to sweep up some of the major awards,including Best Supporters(which I think should go to Xavier of Convent Bkt Nanas)and runner-up for Best Makeup.Excuse the terrible pics,I was using my crappy 2 MP camera phone.
As the event drew to a close and everyone(well,everyone who weren't upset by the results) gathered at the mosh pit to listen to some bands perform,the BRATs scrambled to the desk to finish off whatever work incomplete.Thankfully,mine was done and over with.
A parting shot by me.The cheerleader is actually a BRAT who together with everyone else in the pic were participants at the Ipoh workshop.Great bunch of guys,hope I would work together with them again.For more pics,please visit me on Facebook and for my extremely short blog post and the vids I helped produced,visit the RAGE website.Till the next event,which is the carnival at Berjaya Times Square,this is Tristan Toh,the Star BRATs.
So the dust has settled and the question on everyone's lips are:"Have you been selected for National Service?".Right after the local newspapers featured a brief article on the selection of new recruits for the 2010 series,many youths around the country converged on the website,causing slowdown.And when the Internet failed,the local telecom companies saw a surge in phone use(and profits no doubt).Yours truly only realised that the list had been released when he logged into his MSN yesterday night.A conversation window suddenly opened with the words "you checked yet?" courtesy of Natalie Chang.Confused,I asked her what she meant.It was only when I saw my homepage in Facebook that I understood.National Service was on everyone's What's On Your Mind box.There were people relieved for not being chosen,and there were people who posted panicky and biased misconceptions about the programme.Wasting no time at all,I too tried my luck.When the above image popped up,I was torn between two emotions,relief and disappointment.Relieved that I would not become a probable casualty at a poorly managed camp,and disappointment of not being able to experience all the cool things asscociated with the military like arms training.The same cannot be said for the rest of my friends.Save for a considerate few,they are ecstatic that their IC was not on the list and torment those who do.Prancing around school with their heads held high,they question passers-by about their status.Not being selected constitutes a high five and selection results in playful mockery.And yes,I do admit that I took part in some of their immature idiocy.Whatever the case may be,I am volunteering for service next year anyhow.Many may think I am crazy but it is for good reason.Everybody(except the children of those who hold high positions in government)will eventually get called up for service.And I do not want that to happen midway through my college studies.Imagine having to go to camp during my first degree year or similar.It will definitely be a setback to my education as I could be months behind when I return.I am currently waiting for volunteer applications to be open so I could register.And I got my fingers crossed that I would get to a good camp where clean food and water is are sufficient and the trainers are colour blind.
Before I end my blog post,I would like to wish the chosen ones good luck!And for those who weren't,your time will come.Muahahaha.
I am not a real big fan of fantasy movies.But I do take notice when the director is either Guillermo Del Toro or Tim Burton.In this case,it's the latter.Coming out on March 5,2010 is a new Alice in Wonderland movie.Famous(or notorious,whatever your opinion is of the guy)for his adult and dark interpretations of seemingly innocent tales,Tim Burton chose to go down his usual path and spin a new take on the children's classic.Here's a little snippet I cut and pasted from Wiki,"Alice, 17, attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of snooty society types. She runs off, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years before yet doesn't remember".Pretty interesting stuff,no?Plus the cast list is awesome,with a few familiar faces in it.Long time collaborators Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp ain't no surprise there,but do watch out for comedian Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat,Christopher Lee as Jabberwock and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts.Suddenly,2010 seems too far away.
Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter,Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. I feel a tear in my eye.
Day started off with a bang,a bang in my heart that is.Wesley actually showed up dressed in just T-shirt and shorts instead of his school uniform which was against the rules and would get the team disqualified.At least he was able to call his parents and return home to change clothes.Team was nervous and rightly so,considering the faces of all the participants present who looked like they had practised for weeks.I hadn't even touched the dictionary,something that I would regret later.But first things first,the coverage of the whole event.
Pn Cheam waiting in line to register the team.Was surprised to see the list of competing schools.A total of 200+ students gathered at the LG floor,waiting for the comp to start.And the organisers were pretty organised,beginning the event right on schedule.Some guy from NST tried to pmp up the crowd but failed due to his lameness and funny accent.Anyways,the panel of judges were introduced afterwards.The chief judge seemed a nice enough lady,though you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Group photo of the team in front of stage.Please notice the numbers on our placards.I'm number 109,which meant I would have to sit through the spelling of 108 people before me.Finally right before we broke for lunch,it was my team's turn.Was fortunate to receive easy words like decipher and installation,though the team wasn't as lucky.Amirah got whirlygig and Bhindia got axiom.The rest of the batch weren't that good,and I was in the final.However I think I did piss off the chief judge with the intentional arrogance I portrayed on stage and the hand signals I kept giving to Keenan and Calvin,who came to support.Was pointed out that cheating would not be tolerated,though I wasn't.Just gesturing how easy my words were.I'm gonna get what's coming to me later.
Still able to smile though they were eliminated.Actually stayed to support me,which of course sent me on these constant guilt trips for the boredom of the whole event.
Yeah,I was bored.
Amirah too.
Walked around Pyramid a bit as many of us started getting restless from sitting on our butts too long.When we got back to our seats,we were horrified to learn that the words given to the other contestants were so easy.For example resistance,upholstery and manicurist.And yet,many were wrong and got eliminated.What a waste.No wonder the level of English among teens are terrible if the wordlist was anything to go by.Met some pretty nice girls from Sri Aman who had one of them in the final too.
After the tea break,all the finalists were ushered to their seats on stage.
First word I received was bilious which I spelt wrong when I added an extra 'l'.Damn.Two more words to go.
Peripatetic.Added an extra 'h'.Last chance saloon now.
Didn't know how to spell nimbostratus so I just winged it.Was surprised to hear "Correct" from the chief judge.
Still hated her though.She asked me really tough words which I've never heard of.Probably revenge for earlier,to put me in my place.Bitch.Was disappointed with the words asked to the others.Child's play stuff.
Me with the winner of the comp.Asshole received words like abaft and ricochet.And he got to walk away with my RM2000 grand prize.And I so wanted that Mount Kinabalu trip.
Finally,day ended with the closing ceremony.Left right after we received our goodie bags and certs as watching the winners get their mock checks and photos for the NST was quite heartbreaking.Stayed from 9 am to 7 pm for nothing.Just a piece of fancy paper and a bunch of useless stuff.Sigh.At least I maximised my final year in high school.5 years of wasting my time procrastinating the entering of big events and comps.Good thing I realised that and signed up for BRATs and was more active in co-curricular activites.Now if you'd excuse me,I'm gonna run a hot bath and slit my wrists.
Initiation of new recruits during the Tenderfoot Camp this year.
A couple of days ago,my class received the results of the mid term English examination.As I was browsing through some of my friends' Paper 1s,I chanced upon an essay by the troop leader of my school's scouts movement Tay Chia Chang. For his Section B,he chose to write on what he would miss most after he leaves school and that would be scouting.Though his essay wasn't much to shout about in terms of grammar and vocab,I definitely felt his spirit and love for scouts.As a fellow member of this co-curricular unit,I understood his pangs of loss.Scouting has left a big mark on my life,both emotionally and physically.The friends and experience gained cannot be reproduced anywhere else.Scouting was where I felt I belonged.The jokes exchanged while carrying out activities,the injuries proudly shown off as 'battle scars',the sense of accomplishment after earning a badge;all these moments are priceless.Sure,scouting may be hard on the mind and body in the first few years,but the rewards received cannot be arguesd with.I admit,I was not much of a sociable person in Forms 1 and 2,prefering instead to do everything on my own and having few close friends.However the many meetings held and the numerous camps attended changed all of that.I found something in common with total opposites of who I am.We worked together,we laughed together,we...ahem...slept together.My confidence and self esteem grew,and so did my circle of friends.In fact,I would dare say that scouting set my mind on becoming a journalist in the future.Besides that,I noticed that my body changed as well.Before,I had really fair skin and got tired too easily.So much so,coupled with my inability to like any girls,made me the poof among the boys.Even my dad got into the act,insulting my manliness every chance he got.A few months of scouting later,and all my doubters learned to shut up(not my bloody dad though). Clearly,scouting has helped me in so many ways.This will definitely be something I would miss when I leave school and enter the scary realms of adulthood.Everything I've gained from scouts will never be forgotten and will be applied into almost every aspect of my daily life.Thank god there are mobile phones,MSN and Facebook to keep in touch with when everyone's gone off to study their field of choice and make new friends.Till then,I have to appreciate and make every moment spent scouting count.
