Kidnapping a Subway

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Went to watch Taking of Pelham 123 starring Denzel Washington & John Travolta, both veteran actors whose work I admire a lot. It's about Ryder (Travolta) who hijacked a subway train in NYC and demand 10m from the mayor to pay off the hostages. Denzel happenned to pick up the phone when Travolta called control station.

Both actors are slightly unrecognizable (both Denzel & Travolta put on a lot of weight and they really look old). I thought the show was not too bad as the plot was quite good, and the actors did a great job, but some said it was rubbish so I'll leave you to be the judge of that.

Denzel Washington as Walter Garber, train station control operator

John Travolta as the bad ass hijacker

It's showing in cinemas now.

Of Wondermilk, 3D movies, art galleries, Nudes & pizzas

Sunday 26 July 2009

Busy busy Sunday. Su & Farsh came to pick me up for lunch and we headed to this little cafe called Wondermilk in Uptown. They are known for their innovative cupcakes but it wasn’t the cuppas that attracted me. It was the amount of ol’skool goodies that were there! Things I grew up on like chewing gum with that water tattoo thingy, gummy balls, paper dolls, yoyos, styrofoam aeroplanes, etc etc. Damn trippy the place layan.... Byron & Joel was supposed to join us back but Carolynn came instead. Poor girl had to work on a Sunday.

All the goodies at Wondermilk, Uptown

Went over to watch Ice Age 3 in 3D next. Tix were RM16 cause there was a RM5 rental for the 3D glasses. Was a cool experience but storyline not that great la - was hoping for more 3D stuff being thrown at the audience so we could dodge them :P but tak banyak lo...

We still had time before the NUDE event at Tamarind so decided to head over to the National Art Gallery for some culture. There’s a Mosaics of Malaysia exhibition by artist Zhang Zhou which was pretty awesome.

After the gallery closed, we drove to Tamarind Springs in Ampang. Azim & Rezuan joined us for the event. Programme said Antares will perform at 6.30pm but the event didn’t start until 8pm! That’s Malaysian time for you. The Orang Asli Temuan tribe performed with their bamboo percussions and so did Justin Lim. Lucky we came early else we wouldn’t have had a table near the area.

Managed to get VIP seats at Tamarind!

The best part of the night was this professional pole dancer who did amzing shit with her body. Damn is she strong! No sleazy shit, just pure skills. Wished I could do HALF of what she can I’ll be one happy ma f*$ker.

Awesome show of strength by the NUDE pole dancer

Performances at NUDE

Vic was supposed to spin at 10pm but since the programme got pushed back, and DJ Haze was just into his 1st hour, we decided to go off earlier. Stopped by Yellow Cab in Ampang for some pizza (Azim had been craving it the whole night). Was worth the stop man. Awesome fresh ingredients! None of those mass produced shit. This the real thing. If Azim says its good, you take heed of the Chef’s advice. Love their cute yellow Vespa scooters too :)

Loved the cute yellow Vespas of Yellow Cab Pizza

Tribute to a great Malaysian icon

Sunday 26 July 2009

It was after the Hennessy party that I first heard of Yasmin Ahmad’s passing. I refused to believe it. I was hoping against hope that it was just another malicious rumour (like the 1st one) that Yasmin passed OUT not AWAY.

Checked the Internet first thing when I got back and saw that Bernama already ran the story. I was devastated. Called Susan at 4am and started babbling away that Yasmin is really gone. She had always been my idol, a true saint that made me proud to be Malaysian.

I first saw her Petronas ads a long time ago and was amazed at the emotions she conjured out of us. Love, family values and racial harmony had always been her key message to all Malaysians.

I was most touched by the Raya ad (Aku Ingin Pulang) about the old father whom his kids made him eat alone outside with the cat because he kept messing things up in the house. It wasn’t his fault. He had arthritis. That’s NO way to treat your dad. I loved her and hated her at the same time, because she showed us that we are such horrid, cruel, selfish human beings, and there is so much more in this world than segregation and hate. I loved her for raising these issues but hated her (more likely hated myself) at the same time for how I felt about myself when I saw her ads.

Her relentless efforts in raising social issues through her films were extremely admirable, sweeping international awards left and right, but criticism was right in her own backyard. Among many, MALAYSIANS accused her of corrupting culture with her ideals of mixing languages (Chinese, Malay, Manglish, Tamil) and questioned her faith as there were many scenes in her movies that certain parties were uncomfortable with.

The scene in Gubra where the Muslim cleric on the way to the mosque in his songkok & sarong patted a dog on the road and asked him to move aside as he will be hit by a car - remains etched in my mind.

The scene in Gubra where the imam patted the dog on the street

Although I only had the privilege of meeting and chatting with her for two hours at her Leo Burnett office (I was interviewing her for a Merdeka cover - Tan Hong Ming in Love - and boy was I so extremely excited to be meeting her for the first time. I think I told everyone about it!), she made me feel so comfortable, as though she had known me for years. There’s no pretence in that lady. No “I’m a big shot director and you’re a small time reporter”. She mad me feel as though I was important. That we were all just the same. She made me feel special.

Yasmin & I after the interview at her office

The Merdeka cover I did in 2007

I’ve met her at several events after that and was always excited to see her but never had the courage to say more than a shy hello. She never failed to reply with a big warm smile.

Her loss is a great one. To the country, the nation, humankind and the world. I don’t think there would be anybody close to replacing her and it’s a great loss that her work is not finished here. I only hope that her passing will make us realise that we’re taking everything we have for granted. Racial harmony in our country is a gift that is unique in this world. Yes, there are multi-races living together in other parts of the world but our country is the only one that has different races living harmoniously. Yasmin, you will be missed and I hope we will continue to make you proud.

Yasmin, may you rest in peace in Heaven.

From the heart,

A proud Malaysian.

Hennessy Artistry

Saturday 25 July 2009

Headed to Hennesy early, well, 9pm isn’t actually the earliest but it was early enough. The girls took one car and the boys came in another. Bloody gentlemen boys didn’t offer us a parking pass so we had to park at the Securities Commission and walk all the way in our high heels & skirts. Bloody boys parked inside. Curse them for my poor delicate aching feet.

Place was packed already with a long queue at the front. Thank god we had VVIP passes which gave us access to all zones (and of course, easier access to booze). Half of our group were on VIP passes only so we compromised and ‘parked’ our arses there instead.

The decorations were amazing! Have to give them credit for that. It was built on the dressage area but you wouldn’t have guessed as they created a whole makeshift indoor disco complete with lighting, stage, stairs & upper floors!

Scene at the Bukit Kiara dressage area

Line-up was so so la.. didn’t know who they were... but the DJs were good though. Only gripe is they put mandarin pop after house??!! What flow is that? Oh well, everybody seemed to be having a good time! For a non-brandy drinker, Hennessy & apple juice tastes good by the way..

And I met my sister and my brother there. Introduced her to everyone who didn’t believe I had a sis, what more a brother. Had to tell them that she was my REAL sister from the same parents. Haha.

Me bro & sis in the top right pic

We left early cause we started early. Organisers were thoughtful enough to provide free water on the way out. Nice touch for the drunkards.

Merchants of Bollywood

Saturday 25 July 2009

Finally decided to see Merchants of Bollywood- The Musical at Istana Budaya. This would be my actual musical (unless you count Chity Chity Bang Bang which I caught in Singapore) and boy was I excited to be at Istana Budaya for the first time! Hah! Jakun.

Went with Carolynn but Susan called to say that her meeting ended early so she could join us. But unfortunately, we couldn't sit together but it was alright. We bought the cheapest seats anyway but not too bad la.. place is small so still can see the stage.

Inside of Istana Budaya . It was full house. This was taken before the show.

I totally enjoyed the show! Loved the brilliant costumes & the dance chereography. Lead guy had a HOT bod & ooohh can he dance. So could the lead lady. Nothing much to say about the story line but what the heck - it's not about that anyway. I want a bhangra band in full costumes at my wedding now :P

Awesome dance moves & costumes

The girls - Carolynn, Su & Me

Rohan's New Pad

Friday 24 July 2009

Friday evening. I STILL had nothing planned. Watched a sob romantic show on HBO (PS, I Love You) and got restless after that so called Deep to ask what he's up too. He said he was gonna go over to Rohan's new pad at Le Chateau as he just finished some major renovations to the place.

This venue is extremely dodgy as the place is situated next to a graveyard. Creepy even, not much lights. Place looks like a dump from the outside.

Rohan's pad, was a totally diffrent contrast. He even renovated the outside with granite which looked luxuriously expensive. CCTV monitors were around as well.

Inside was nice! He colour coordinated the place in black and red (to suit his golf bag hah!) There was a well equipped bar downstairs and the living room was spacious and clean.

Since it was a penthouse, we had to go upstairs to his pad, which took up the whole of upstairs. The door's impressive enough, Japanese style. He had a party section complete with DJ turntable software, mic and a disco ball. What a fat cat.

Rohan was a great host. Gave me a CD he mixed of songs from the backroom days (Commercial House) like Big Lovin, King of My Castle, etc. Brings back memories of Sunny days (who happened to call Rohan when we were there!) What a small freakin world.

Ghostly Girlfriends

Thursday 23 July 2009

It’s my wifey’s birthday today! But her boss was taking her out for lunch so had lunch with Max & Farah instead as it was Max’s last day at The Star.

Went for movie at night. Thanks to Tyng for the premier tickets of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. It’s a chick flick about this playboy who was visited by his revered playboy Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas!) who told him that 3 ghosts (past, present & future gfs) will show him how his life will turn out to be if he continue with his loveless playboy ways.

McConaughey was worth the watch

Wouldn’t buy a ticket for it. Would maybe watch the DVD. Not worth going to cinema for this unless you’re a major McConaughey fan (damn that guy’s gorgeous). Part where he destroys the wedding cake was hilarious.

Went to Azim’s place to smoke some shisha before heading back home.

Happy Birthday Wifey!

Wednesday 22 July 2009

My wife will be celebrating her birthday today, 23 July 2009, but we decided to celebrate it a day earlier as most of the girls were free then. Su, being kinda anti-social sometimes, wanted a small gathering. She said she didn’t want the fanfare and she didn’t want the attention (so unlike her other half - ME! hahha).

But that was not to be as more and more people heard about the plans (well, to be honest, we haven’t really firmed up anything like the invite list, venue & time) and they wouldn’t hear of it for a quiet do.

Deep suggested Yuen Steamboat in Sunway Mentari, the buffet steamboat place for less than RM30 a head for all you can eat. There were all sorts of shellfish, fish, crabs, prawns, sotong, chicken wings (yummy!) and whatever you wanted la. I don’t know the actual price cause Zadin secretly took care of the bill before we could pay. Deep brought toddy & I brought tuak.

Azim even bought a candle which played the Happy Birthday song

Thank you to the entire crew who came

A total of 16 people turned up for my wifey’s birthday which was so sweet of them. Even though Su wants to portray a ‘Brutal Bitch’ attitude, I know my wifey and I know she was touched by all who turned up. On behalf of Su & Zadin, thank you to Tyng Tyng, Redwan, Farsha, Farah, Deep, Henry, Max, Azim, Reis, Khaidi, Yasmin, Mia & Rubin.

Wifey, hope you had a great night. Thank you for being with me for the past 12 years. Love you very very very much.

SLR made Simple

Sunday 19 July 2009

Lunch with Deep & Henry at the infamous Ipoh hor fun place down my road and got ready for my first photography class ever. Farsh & I signed up for Simple SLR with Andy Lim. Price was RM250 each.

Had our theory first at Secret Recipe, TTDI, where Andy explained the relationship between ISO, aperture & shutter speed and how everything’s connected. Was a good intro as at least now I understand what the hell depth of field means. He mad us experiment with various settings indoors on still & human objects.

Indoor still shots

I have plenty of photographer friends but being excellent at taking photos doesn’t mean you are a good teacher. We’re paying Andy (who has EXTREMELY good patience) to teach his trade to photography idiots aka yours truly.

Next was the practical session at Kiara Park where he thought us how to freeze and capture motion. Thought us a few tricks too like special swirling effects & how to make objects appear larger than it seems. All in all, quite alright la but definitely need more lessons or practice.

Our teacher Andy Lim

Making objects appear larger than it seems

Headed right to Sid’s after that cause it was Byron’s last night in KL before he flies off to Singapore for more than a month.

Byron & I with funky shades

Dancing in Silence

Friday 17 July 2009

Raul called to say that there’s some sort of Kent party happening later tonight. Invited party with free flow (42 Below) on the house. How could I say no to that?

Theme was black and red. Was supposed to pick Deep and meet up with Raul but Rubin was already there at Deep’s so he became our driver.

The concept was Silent Disco! It’s where the entire club is quiet and each of us is given a headset to layan to our own music. They had an R&B and a House channel. Felt quite weird at the beginning cause you can’t hear anybody with the headset on and it’s weird dancing with no music at all! Hahah concept didn’t catch on for long as they turned up the music around midnight.

Silent Disco. Weird concept but thank god the drinks were courtesy of 42 Below.

The crew really on in the night with our respective headphones which played diffrent music. We were one of the firsts - hahah eager beavers

Went to the club next door to dance with the poles. Looked like a gay club. Half of them were gay, the other half, us. Had fun with the poles but Feroz almost got mauled by one dude there hahah.

After a few drinks... hey, give us credit. We still look normal.

Had lok lok (courtesy of Rubin) before heading home for after party.

Wasted the whole of next day recuperating. My body’s too old for this shit.

Fruit Tuak Experiment

Thursday 16 July 2009

After pilates, I decided to get busy and finally work on my fruit tuak. Got the recipe from the Iban boys who told me to just cut the fruits and add it to the ready-to-drink tuak. All I gotta do is be patient and wait a month or so for the fruits to ferment in the tuak.

Cut up some mangoes, dragon fruit (from my kampung), rambutans, oranges, lemon and halia (special order for Khang). I bottled half of the tuak with various fruits and half just normal in case the fruits tak jadi. Fingers crossed! We'll see how it turns out!

Took me 4 hours to cut, mix, seive & bottle. Betta be worth it!

Bottle galore... this just the fruit experiments. No worries, bottled a few original tuak bottles without the fruits too just in case..

Happy Birthday Hema & Congrats!

Wednesday 15 July 2009

RV sent out a mass sms an email to everyone that he was planning a surprise party for the birthday girl Hema. Sneaky RV.. Hema didn't suspect a thing! Thought that they were just having a quiet birthday dinner together. Well, sorry to dissapoint Hema!

Had a nice dinner with high school mate David earlier (it's amazing that he managed to squeeze me into his busy schedule!) and took him along to Hema's celebrations after that.

GB, me & the birthday girl, Hema.

Me, David & RV

New Chapter

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Today marks a closure of a chapter in my life.

It was good but it's time to chart a new course.

*Let's bow our heads in silence as a mark of respect*

Back in KL and straight to Sid's

Monday 13 July 2009

It's the end of the festival. Time to head back home to life as we know it and civilisation. Soon as we touched down, LT suggested we head straight to Sid's for our homecoming drink and so we brought all our luggage and camped at Sid's. Brought waiter Man a bottle of tuak from Sarawak. Oh was he happy.

Till next year Sarawak.

RWMF 2009 - Day 3

Sunday 12 July 2009

Farsha flew from KL today!!! Yea!!! Ada teman dah!! Caught the Voice of my People workshop which featured female voices of the bands. Awesome. They did an interactive workshop too.

Farsha doing the Piko Piko Toro Toro at the Voice of my People workshop

Chilled with the gang at our own personal gazebo and Farsh got a henna tattoo later.

Concert started off with Akasha as the opening act. Why they put such a fast paced band right at the beginning beats me. Oh well, maybe they knew no one would want to come so early for Red chamber so that's the only way to get the crowd. It worked. Akasha was awesome! They even managed to inject MJ's Beat It to their tune. Malaysia Boleh!

Akasha sneaked in a little MJ Beat It to their tune which got the crowd roaring

Red Chamber who came after them was a stark contrast. They tried, I'll give them credit, coz they called a few members of Akasha to jam with them - their only saving grace. Otherwise, it will just be toilet break time for the crowd again.

Can't remember much of Inti-Illimani from Chile and Muzsikas from Hungary but they were ok la. I remembered the Zawose Family from Tanzania. The sisters shooked the house with their drums and asses. They can really shake their booty. Transported us right to Africa there. MC said it took them 3 days to travel from their country to here.

Zawose Family from Tanzania rocked the house

Finale was ok only la. We've had better. The bands came out one by one to feature their music. Was hoping for more fusion where everybody jams towards the end but that did not happen. Maybe their music was too diversified.

Scenes from the Maori group during the finale

The crew (except Byron who kantoied early & bEn who was lookin for his Bitches). Everybody's like all sengeted over the place.

Last pic by the Bidayuh Bridge with some new friends

Stole the raft at night and Khang took us around the lake in pitch darkness. It's tougher than it looks! I couldn't move the raft where I wanted it to go. Salude to Khang our boatman.

RWMF 2009 - Day 2

Saturday 11 July 2009

Day 2 started off later with me getting up from bed at 11am. Cousin Tracy was supposed to pick me up at 12.30pm to balik kampung at Bau. We didn’t tell Babai & Sumuk (grandpa & gandma in Bidayuh), & aunty uncles we were coming so it was a nice surprise as I haven’t gone back in 2 years.

Bit hard to understand Sumuk as she slighty nyanyuk already but Babai’s malay was still intelligible. Met Uncle Jo & his wife Auntie Florence at the farm behind & she gave me a dragonfruit to take home (which I made to tuak).

Visited Babai’s old wooden house (sadly, it was demolished cause the maintenance was too high) but the old rice mill hut still remained. All in all, good visit and was nice to go back. Missed today’s workshops though but nvm.



Concert started off with Malaysian band Asika which was pretty decent but since I was tired, I skipped their performance. Lan E Tuyang came on again and it was Oudaden from Morocco next. Their dancer with his big cheeky smile made the performance entertaining.

Finnish band Jouhiorkesteri was next with their interesting traditional string instruments. Moana and the Tribe followed after that. Maori warriors are always good fun to watch and Moana had such a strong woman personality. Very proud of their land and heritage these people. Enjoyed their set.

Moana and the Tribe - New Zealand

Jeff and Vida from the USA came on with their western country and Portugese Dazkarieh rocked the night away towards the end. They had a HOT HOT chick there.

Hot Portugese chick from Dazkarieh

Met some new friends too - Vinod, Vignesh, Shaqti & her bf

The crew - with some missing

After the concert, we went over to the Iban longhouse again to try the sago worms I brought back from Satok market. I asked the Iban boys to cook them and he said ‘makan saja la hidup’, picked up the fat squirmy bugger and chomped it. *gasp!*

My turn. Couldn’t do it so Khang made the first move and tried it. Ok what! He said. Er.. my turn. Got called a useless half Sarawakian so HAD to try la.. safe face ma.. It’s actually not too bad. Bit squishy but taste ok if I didn’t know it was a worm. Didn’t like the hard head coz it got stuck in my teeth!

I’ll remember this for sure :P

Fat juicy sago worms

Khang having a go

Me having a go

Posing with an Iban warrior

RWMF 2009 - Day 1

Friday 10 July 2009

Was awaken bright and early by a band conducting sound check at the main stage and contractors desperately trying to set up the last minute finishes to their stalls, oh and the in house dj downstairs that played quite good music actually.

I was the only gung-ho one who went for all the workshops – by myself. Yes, call me an eager beaver but the workshops are my favourite part of the festival. Here was the line up that I managed to catch :

Fiddle Dee Dee – 2pm, Theatre
Theatre wasn’t very packed as it was the 1st workshop and it was a Friday. The only band that had the people grooving was French band playin the gypsy jazz. That’s when I first noticed the sexy French violinist Jean-Philip Steverlynck.

Dance, Dance, Dance! – 3.15pm, Theatre
This workshop was awesome! Featured all the dance moves from the bands. The Maori warriors were the best! Tanzanian chicks can really shake their booty and it was hilarious when the Iban warrior took on the Maori warrior. Here’s a clip from the workshop.

Groovin – 4.30pm, Dewan Lagenda
Decided to catch the drums. Drums are always good. Vik from Malaysian band Akasha did an excellent job leading the workshop with his ‘acoustic’ version of the tabla.

Scenes at some of the workshops

After the workshops were over, just chilled around the Village soaking in the atmosphere and activities going on. They had a Capoeira workshop and a performance by our local ‘Maori’ boys which were entertaining. Took some pics with an Iban warrior.

The concert kicked off right on time with Kinabalu Merdu Sound. The young girl’s voice was good but found the music to be a bit slow. Lan-E Tuyang, local sape band, is good for hotel lounge but def not for rockin the crowd. I personally thought Korean band Noreummachi sounded like Chinese funeral music. :P Not much to say bout Bali’s Sekaa Jaya Jenggala.

What a start to the concert. Music finally picked up with Polish band St Nicholas Orchestra but died again when China’s Red Chamber came on stage. Randy did bad with the flow of the line up this year. How can you put a slow band after a rockin one? Totally potong…

The saving grace was Poum Tchack from France where my sexy violinist was playing. They rocked the house pretty good with their version of Gypsy Jazz. And oh.. isn’t Jean just sexy – he was dripping in sweat by the time he finished his gig. Here he is – sorry video senget for the first part.

Poum Tchack - France

Ahh.. the sexy Jean-Philip Steverlynck