My Eyes - Travis

This is a special post dedicated to a very special child, Aisya.

Aisya is the daughter of Mrs NorHayati & En Shahidan. She was born with a very rare disease called Fraser Syndrome , where her eyelids are completely fused together, her fingers are webbed, her hearing is impaired and her larynx partially shut.

We were in Taiping when I first read about her in The Star Weekender pullout last December 2006. The article did not mention any contact numbers for assistance, so I immediately called the hospital she was based in previously. Sadly, noone knew who she was or maybe because I didnt get through the right person who knew Aisya & her family. In KL, I tried calling StarMag's editor, June Wong & asked for the contact number for the journalist who wrote that article. Turns out she is a freelancer and June took my number to be passed to her.

Finally, about two months later, Daphne Ling, the incredible young journalist who highlighted Aisya's condition, called me. Apparently, she has gone one step ahead, using her blog to bring the plight of Aisya to the public. Go here for more info:

http://daphneling.blogspot.com/2007/03/spare-your-change-help-aisya.html

http://daphneling.blogspot.com/2007/04/aisyas-list.html

I wanted to help Aisya since the first time I read that article.

So this is what's gonna happen: on June 2nd, 2007, we will be travelling down to Ipoh to pay Aisya & her family a visit. I am currently talking to Pn Hayati to find out what else does Aisya needs besides from what has been pledge by other kind souls.

Watch this space. If you would like to help, feel free to email me.

On a different note, I salute young people like Daphne for the causes she is into. We should have more young people like her. Please visit her blog & support the other causes too.

Thank you for reading.

Learn To Sing Like A Star - Kristin Hersh

Apparently, Andy Warhol said "Everybody will be famous in 15 minutes".

Going by that, I suppose the entire world right is infected with this disease called "looking-for -fame -and- fortune- even- though- I dont -really- know- what- Ive- got- to -deserve -that -thitis". Malaysians, ever the bandwagon jumpers, are not excluded. Called the Biohazard flamethrower squad already.

So here I am in The Curve, about to get my dose of word porn, when suddenly I am faced with a line of pimply faced teens, all lined up sign up for ( yet another one???) reality show called MyStarz, sponsored by a Korean applicance company and a local TV company. Everyone looks good. Until they start to open their mouths and let out that sad excuse of a "cough* 'singing voice'. Then it dawned on me, it doesnt matter if you can REALLY sing, its being on TV, its the exposure baby! nevermind how I look /sound like. All the camera flash, the crowd, the cameras at every angle, who wouldnt get turned on???

Not bad eh if you think about it?


Now excuse me while I go get my 15 minutes.













Are you kidding me? Virgin proses are calling me. Excuse me while I go get w(h)et on literati.

Dont let me be Misunderstood - Yusuf

Yesterday while book whoring at Borders, we chance upon a pleasant suprise: Ms. Dina Zaman, acclaimed writer & author of " I Am Muslim" was scheduled to be there for a bookreading/Q&A session. Having met her before at Ninie's mag launch, it was nice to know that she recognized me ( or maybe it was me yg perasan kut, for all I know, she could have been waving & smiling to the person *behind* me).

Looking splendid as ever despite her hectic schedule, she did a reading of a chapter from the book & then proceeded to take answers from the floor. A few interesting questions, one particular one from one Uncle who mentioned to her that he thinks she is the "rebellious" type ( in a good way of course!). Strangely enough, I was trying to make a mental picture of Che Guevara = Dina Zaman? so tak kena man....

Anyway, all in all , a plesant, polite affair, as compared to her previous book reading session. Now *THAT* was something else. Nonetheless, its good her book & her work is getting the recognition it truly deserves. If you have not picked it up, do it now. Esp, if you are a Non Muslim. No, the book will not give you an intellectual discourse on Islam but rather, a snapshot of what a lot of Malaysian Muslims are going through in their lives. Poignant, funny & most importantly, its Real.

Cepat2, only RM30. Borders ada 15% discount ending today! I ended up buying another copy, for my SIL , who is currently having some existentialism issues ( hahaha...sorry Nabilah, if you are reading this...kidding lah.just read thebook ok? :) )

What Sound - LAMB

Another obsession of mine ( one of many ; it must NOT be healthy to have too many obsessions, no? ) is one called MUSIC. Being the failed musician / indie star that I am, I surround myself with so much music I even wonder if I am ever going to listen to them. I reckon , some of the 500+ CDs that I have, some I may have only listened to ONCE. Tamak haloba punya pasal *? or the passion to listen to as much as music as possible? you be the judge.
( In fact, one of my so called ID ideas was to have all my CDs stacked agts the wall somewhere in the house. Sort of pseudo wallpaper-ish concept la. Show off la konon what the music snob that I am).

Since I am a firm believer of *cough2* buying *cough2* original CDs, I became an impulsive buyer today and bought these Cds from Amazon. So, after a few hundred RMs poorer, this is what moi got:





Midnight Movies - Lion the Girl
VelvetUnderground re-updated to the sound of now. Gena Olivier ( vocals) may be the new understated Queen of Icy Cool Female Singers , you know, the "Oh Im so cool I dont care about you". Niko would have been pleased. But hey, the music's good.





Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
this guy is weird. His music is weird, in a nice sort of way. The sort that you know you shouldnt be liking this but it somehow sticks in your head & you end up humming & bopping your head when noone's looking. Real funny in a deadpan , black humour kind of way.




Feist - The Reminder
How can you NOT love Feist? Organic & whimsical. Thats how I would describe her music. Just check out her video 1-2-3-4 on Youtube. Ala2 Iklan GAP gitu.




The Twillight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters

Music critics have lauded them as "The new U2 plus Mogwai combined!". One article on the net says men with Scottish brogue are mysterious & sexy ( this band is from Scotland). they sound good & epic enough on their myspace, so i decided to get this as well.

Aqualung - Memory Man
Dare I say; much2 better than Coldplay? Matt Hales, the creative force behind Aqualung, writes excellent pop( read: love) songs without trying to make it sound TOO epic that it falls flat in the face of its own melody ( take a cue Mr Martin). "Pressure Suit" should get ridiculous amount of airplay. if it doesnt, then all radio programmers should die a horrible death.




Malajube - Trompe-L'oeil
Ahh, Quebecois French Indie Rock, all the way from Montreal. Happening city that. Sedara mara dgn Arcade Fire. Check out their videos on Youtube. tersgtlah cantik.




Blonde Redhead - 23
Very pretentious. Very shoegazer. very indie. very groovy. I loike.
Plus they have a Japanese female vocalist ala Cibo matto & Asobi Seksu ( another excellent NYC shoegazer band). That is always a good thing in my books.

Books from boxes - maximo Park

I have a confession.





I am addicted to buying books. Make no mistake, I DO read them but I go crazy ( so does my wallet) if ever I am near Borders the Curve or Kino in KLCC. I dread to spend an entire day there because I know will pick up any book on whim ( in certain cases, I will even make notes in SMS form on my form to remind me of books for future purchases ; yes I am old school, i have no PDA ). One of my idea of bliss is to surround myself in a sea of books, just getting lost in the moment. Sad to say, its one of those things to I do just to feel smart ( shallow, I know)








books to finish :

Anyone volunteer to read it out loud for me?

So much books ( greedy2 bastard you, tsk tsk) so little time.

One step forward, two steps back

How does one start to write again after almost a year of absence?

For a blog that was never intended to have more than a few words as a blurb, as a title.

I was ( still am) lazy. So, konon2nya*, a picture is worth a thousand words la.

Then even that one slacked.

So damn susah** I tell you.

The problem with me is; one moment Ive got ideas of cosmic proportions but by the time those neurons sends signals for my finger motors to tap on the laptop, yilek ***.

So, ive decided ; piecemeal.

A collection of events in no particular sequence whatsoever, whatever my rusty grey matter remembers. Kena cepat sebelum aku jadi**** senile.



* like pretend like that
** hard, difficult
*** nada.zilch.
**** must do fast2 before I get

Now where's that crux?

*ExBEAR boulder cave, Beijing*

Dragon's Lair

*Entrance to Forbidden City, Beijing, China*

AXN Amazing Mall Challenge

Last Saturday's pseudo-amazing race

Counting the moolah! ( Not us though!)


We didnt win. But we had fun. Esp when we get to cam-whore. The camera just loves drama teams! For an excellent race reporting, go to Stupe's blog. Congrats to him & bandit for winning the Malaysia's 1st AXN Amazing Mall Challenge.

Durian Hutan Session,Segamat, Johor

First stop: kampung food. Amongst them, ikan maung masak lemak ( a type of river fish)

Through rubber plantations.

Mrs Choco's grandma's legacy - the tiger/wild boar spotting hut

A banana tree growing in a drain pipe.

Mrs Choco getting personal with the King

The aftermath : the durian was so good, we didnt have time to take pictures of the durian itself. To busy eating!

Sarang Murai ( Magpie's Nest)

Green & Orange.


The bookshelf .
Aunty Rosnah - a very interesting lady.

The food

The house.

Thanks to Adly from FriedChillies for the invite.

Chilling

Chilling waterfalls, Kuala Kubu Bharu. Thanks to Lita, Raphael, Alex, Ash, Lucy for making it a memorable trip.
Despite the traffic ticket. Which Ive yet to make a appeal letter for ( does that answer your que Lita? been extremely busylah...)