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Promoting 'Barisan' and unity

While attending the National Christmas Open House on Saturday two questions in my mind were, "is the election coming really soon? (maybe in one or two months time)" and "is our unity seriously being under threat?". I posed these questions because first and foremost, the event comes along with a theme "Barisan Kita, Warisan Kita"! *LOL* Why the word 'barisan'?, I guess "Perpaduan Kita, Warisan Kita" or "Keharmonian Kita, Warisan Kita" sound much better. So you can guess what the theme is trying to tell us. :=). The inclusion of all races and ethnic groups in the performances, is a simple proof by the government that no one is being sidelined (thanks to the turmoil by Hindraf recently). One popular Christmas song was sung in all languages exist in Malaysia and greetings were uttered in all languages as well...(boring!). If I were the MC I would say "please let me know if I miss out one race/ethnic's language!" Duhh! After 50 years of independence, we still need a lot of things to do to unite the people. Maybe some races/ethnic groups in the country are still suffering the syndromes of inferior complexity and anxiety disorders...:=). Perhaps the best thing to do is to join the "line", queue up and wait patiently for your turn to get a better life...*LOL*

The 'barisan' artistes taking part in the event..:=D
I came late in the afternoon (miss out the goodies...erggh!) and not so sure if there was stage performance in the morning. Artistes seen performing in the afternoon are Velvet, Lotter, Abu Bakar Ellah, Clarice, Everistus and the RTM unity group comprising of Achapan, Angeline Tan, Abon etc.

...And now live from Padang Merdeka (versi kucar kacir)

Velvet singing Where Are You Christmas after the official segment ended at 5 pm. Since the event has a permit until 6 pm, the artistes took over the stage to entertain the remaining crowds until the permit ends

Choir and Boria Krismas (mana mau cari?..:=))

When record shop offers CD burning

I went to Centre Point this morning to look for some CDs. I bought two CDs at Leego record shop (a KD CD and an English CD). While paying at the counter, the lady was mumbling something like...."sepuluh lingit saja! tunggu ...3 minit!"...at the same time she showed me a CD-Rom. It took me awhile to capture what she was talking about. When I asked her to repeat, she pointed at the original CDs "sound sama, tapi masuk sini (showing a CD-Rom)...sepuluh ringgit saja..tapi tunggu 3 minit!". Can't she just said "CD-burning" (habis cerita) or perhaps I don't look high-tech enough for her to use such term! I stood aghast for awhile at the terrible discovery before saying "oh lu copy semua lagu masuk sinilah....bolehkah buat itu macam?....polis tidak tangkapkah?". "Manyak olang buat mah!!" she replied. But then I told her I settle for those with proper sleeves, photos and lyrics. She further offered for RM8, but i'm still refused. She looked surprise upon seeing my refusal (as if I'm the first ever soul she encountered rejecting such offer...:=0). *Sigh* In fact I wanted to ask her more, like how long has she been doing this, how's the response like etc.

Wow! Can you imagine, RM10 for one CD burning. They should have earned more by doing this than selling the original CD. I know this is not new at any cybernet where they offer such service. But to discover similar offer also available in record shop is totally a different thing. To me record shop is the place to get original CDs. My sympathy goes to the artistes (especially local Sabahan artistes) who had become victims of this irresponsible conduct. So if you find your album sale not as what you expected, this is probably one of the reasons. Who shall we blame, the 'demander' or the 'supplier'? probably both!

One of the CDs I bought

Perhaps...it takes an intellect to appreciate and pay high respect on intellectual properties!...Ehemm! :=)

Some events to look forward to

The National Christmas Open House will be hosted by KK this Saturday. By looking at the programs schedule all events will take place in broad day light. Hopefully the weather is sunny (as it is forcasted lately that we'll be receiving more rain and storm). No mention on the artistes involved though! There's only one way to find out...BE THERE!!

Countdown from the rooftop!

Calling all party animals....meow! Woww...woww!!...Cock!Cock!Cock..CoooocKK! Nyet..nyettt..nyett!! Nggokk! Reserve some energy (and money too) for the event below. Well, apart of the rooftop happening, Asia City will also be holding the first ever street party on the same day (31 Dec) starting at 6.30 pm. So it's gonna be from the street right up to the rooftop (hopefully no one takes the short cut jumping from the rooftop back to the street....die lah like that!)

Yeah.... let's party!

Hoping a glimpse of a submarine

Does anyone know where in KK is this?...=). This is probably one part of KK that not many KKians know exist (oops...mind me calling KK people as Kaykeeans?...=D). Yupp..i'm talking about the newly completed KK Naval Base in Sepangar Bay (the second largest after the Lumut Naval Base). Since the past two weeks i've been frequenting the base for some works. Ya good guess....i'm supplying submarine to them! (how I wish). Having been involved since the very beginning of the development, i've been there countless of times but least expected that am still required to pay more visits after the navy officially took over. Of course things are no longer the same as the pre-navy occupation. Before, we were free as the bird to enter and exit the area. Nowadays...fuhh! It's like 10, 15 minutes before I finally granted entry....very strict and security checks are done by the armed-fierce-looking army personnel. That's what I experienced during my first few visits. But lately it's like passing through the 'touch and go' toll for me....=P

The main entrance aka security check point

The new coastal highway leading to the base (very conducive for Mat Rempit). This means no more boat rides from KK (Hyatt) or passing through the scary 'pilaks' squatters to reach the area

If you use a microscope you can see KK City far away at the background. Vice-versa the base is also visible from KK (picture taken while the base was still under-construction,you are not allowed to take picture freely nowadays)

Crystal clear blue water. But expect to see more sea reclamations in this area soon.

On entering the zone, first thing first, is to look at the dock hoping a glimpse of a submarine...:=D but so far no luck lah. I did ask one personal if there's a chance for public to see one. He said maybe yes maybe no...errgh! Hopefully they will have a public open house one day!. The facilities in the base are so impressive. I took a peek at the stadium, although not as big as Likas', it appears to have an aesthetic football pitch. The swimming pool is obviously olympic standard complete with multi level diving platform...;=O. I was like saying to myself "who the hell is going to dive there?" If this is a standard facility in any base, they should've produced many national champions divers . But I don't think any of those current champions come from naval base (Nantilah aku tanya kalau tu askar punya muka lembut-lembut sikit...:))

When some 'remedy' connected with Sabah

I just can't stop grinning reading this report...

In a fix over Sabah 'penis remedy'
25 December, 2007

Kuala Lumpur: More than 1,000 men are suffering from various complications after getting sandalwood oil jabs from "five-foot-way doctors" who claimed that the jabs could help enlarge their penises. Victims paid up to RM1,500 for the injection, only to suffer pain or impotence. Andrologist Dr Ismail Tambi revealed that the use of sandalwood oil for such purpose began in Sabah and Brunei, but it has since spread to peninsular Malaysia.

"I learnt of this from a patient of mine from Brunei. When I checked his penis, it looked really strange. He told me that he had received 15 injections for the treatment that had gone wrong," he added.

Dr Ismail said he received similar cases after that with some patients suffering from serious complications. He said most of the "doctors" would show their own private parts first, claiming the oil had done them good.

"I want to advise men not to fall for this ploy, especially with the attractive advertisements circulating on the Internet," he added.

When the doctor said "it looked really stranged", it probably something totally beyond his imagination. I completely have no idea how it looks like but the sight of the abnormal coconut tree with seven branches that appeared on paper recenlty, quickly come into my mind...*LOL*

Festive settings around town

kompleks Karamunsing
Warisan Square
Centre Point..mmm despite being a popular mall they settle for 'ala kadar' decorations..:(
Gingerbread house at Nexus (left) and City Mall's decor (right)
Source

Christmas radio show

O Holy Night

Just like many other Christmas tunes, this beautiful song has been recorded by so many big names in the pop music scene. Having listened to some of them (including Avril Lavign's version that sounds like a complete amateur high school girl..:))I've to settle for these two...

Sister Mariah....singing it live (?) but where's the mic? (pre-recorded live?..:=D)

I hope the male audience focus more on her singing instead of her 'package'
Rev. Groban...:=)

Simply superb! I really love the part... "NOEL!NOEL!Oh night oh night divine!..:=P

Merry Christmas

...Wishing you all the Happiest of Holiday(s)!..:=D

credit

More promo on 'Yahai'

Some updates on Rey, the winner of Bintang RTM 2007

Astro Kirana Short Film Contest - Results

Grand Prize - Beautifool Life (Calvin Lim Keal Boon)
First runner up - Shou Ji (Chan Kean Wah)
Second runner up - Hasrat (Martias Mohd Ali)

Best Videography - Shou Ji (Chan Kean Wah)
Best Perfomance - Shou Ji (Chan Kean Wah)
Best Story - Hasrat
Best Acting Performance - Shao Lin Goe (Ah Teh)
Best Sound - Akan Miss Hujan(Teddy Chin Leken)
Best Editing - The Contract (Yusmal Ghazali)
Audience Award - The Promise (Sia Yaw Yie)

There you have it. Looks like the entry Mimpi 3x didn't grab any award. According to the source all 10 short film finalists will be shown during Astro Kirana's Super Short Slot on the coming Monday (It probably refers to 24 Dec)

Source

Why Hady is the Asian Idol?

Still on 'the aftershock' of Asian Idol. Some media came up with the factors/theories that leads to Hady's crowning as the first Asian Idol. The factors include...he's got looks, he's got charm, his Malay appeal (grandparents were said to be Bugis from Sulawesi), his universal appeal, he kept it real, the whole package, good song choice, divine intervention and last but not least...he amassed 'the other vote' (which I personaly think is the main factor he won the contest)

...and this is what the media say (concerning "he amassed the other vote").

"Judging by posts on online forums dedicated to the competition, the most rabid fans came from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Given this, one would assume that it was a pretty close fight among the candidates from these countries. But because contest rules were such that each person had to vote for two candidates, fans were to give their 'other vote' to a 'neutral' competitor rather than a strong one. Hence, the theory goes, an Indonesian supporting Mohede would almost definitely not have voted Malaysia's (Jaclyn) Victor or the Philippines' Marcelo too. And who benefited from this? Harmless Hady.

Singaporean network engineer Ariff Yunos, 25, said: 'Because each voter has to root for two contestants, people would naturally vote for the contestant who poses the least threat to their country's representative. And Hady was that weakest link.'

the 'SMS freak' countries - referring to mobile phone users in Indonesia and the Philippines - would not vote popular Jaclyn Victor as their second choice but instead vote for 'safer' Singapore that they thought would have a slim chance to win."

(*LOL*...exactly like what I did). So if there were to be another Asian Idol contest in the future, they should get rid off the one vote for two countries system. It just have the tendency to produce a fluke winner!

OIAM 2 : The counter is now open..:)

The OIAM 'Top 12 Berhad' is now public listed. The counter is now opened for buying and selling activities. So trade you account wisely..=P.

Ab's profile Izwan Pilus look-alike..=)
Ayu's profile If only Oprah Winfrey can vote.:D

Well the judges had given their fair comments to the contestants and by looking at all the twelve talents' performances, I've to agree to most of what they had said (except maybe some comments on Rony). After watching the first showcase, I think Sarah and Roni had shown the true potentials to win the title. If x-factor is not the major concerned in the industry, these two deserve to win :=). One or two other names worth mentioned are Ab and Shila.

Mark's profile Totally lost his x-factor during high note

My personal ranking

Ladies; 1-Sarah 2-Shila 3-Rina 4-Ayu 5-Tiara 6-Intan 7-Joni

Men; 1-Roni 2-Ab 3-Mark 4-Shone 5-Izzi

Shone's profile Paul's choice..hmm..(I'm more in favour of Gideon)

KK to host National Christmas Open House

For the second time KK (Sabah) is chosen again to host the national Christmas Open House. However unlike before the hype is rather low this time, in fact the announcement came a bit late (just few days before Christmas compared last time which was a year earlier). So don't expect to see a giant Christmas tree this time. I can imagine the preparation is 'kelam kabut' for the event.

Sabah hosts National X'mas Open House on Dec 29.

Kota Kinabalu: The national Christmas Open House will be held at Padang Merdeka here

A statement from the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry here says the open house will be held from 10am to 5pm. Among the dignitaries expected to grace the event are Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Ahmadshah Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. There will be performances by Akademi Fantasia artistes and cultural dances by the various races and ethnic groups during the open house to be hosted by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry and the Sabah government.

Exhibition stalls will also be set up, the statement adds.

A champion's homecoming

Rayzamshah the gold medalist of the men 110 m at the recent Korat SEA Games being celebrated upon arrival at his hometown in Keningau

Salam Aidil Adha

...Selamat bercuti kepada semua!

Linda and Ekin at Karnival Budaya Ranau

The unexpected Idol

For those who watched Asian Idol result show last Sunday might have seen Hady Mirza's reactions upon being declared the winner of the inaugural Asian Idol. The picture below tells it all. He was completely in total disbelief. At home, I feel like Adam Sandler (in the movie Click) had just pointed the remote control at me and press the pause button. I sit still staring blankly at the TV screen....twice as much in total disbelief :=)

Being the underdog Hady deserves to react in such a way. Upon asked whom they think will win the title, none of the judges mentioned his name. Looks like Jac, Mike (Indonesia) and Mau (Philippines) are the judges' favourites. Personally I want no one else to win but Jac, cos she has that extra 'umph' on stage. But my instinct strongly tells me that it's got to be Mike cause he has the edge as compared with the rest. He represents a host country with over two hundred million population. Aside of his talents he also appears more often on stage than the other contestants. If there would be a spoiler, I thought he's got to be the Indian guy (again backed by Indian's billion population) . But once the result was announced it was something far from crossing my mind (and the judges' minds too). Hady's victory just leads to some speculations, ranging from mostly young girls voted for..err..his look to the out-of-symphaty inclusions of SIN in the unique one vote for two countries SMS voting system (might as well they have two winners by having this voting system!). Whatever it is the result is final and...there we have it ladies and gentlemen....our very first Asian Idol....Hady Mirza of Singapore! (Clap! clap! clap!)

Some forummers came up with this complete results but yet to be confirmed!

1.Hady Mirza (Singapore) 28%
2.Jaclyn Victor (Malaysia) 27%
3.Abhijeet Sawant(India) 15%
4.Mau Marcelo (Philippine) 12%
5.Phu'o'ng Vy (Vietnam) 11%
6.Mike Mohede (Indonesia) 7%

Mimpi 3X

I haven't seen this short movie and so curious to watch it. But it sounds pretty much like the Twilight Zone show, where they have, like three short segments in one series...:D

Let's just hope they win this contest.

Hampir 10,000 saksi Dewa?

According to this report. Hmm...I'm sceptical (10,000 is like the crowds at Bon Jovi's concert and it was nothing like that)

Well, actually Sabah's flag can also be seen during the opening acts but after Dewa took over the stage, Indon's flag and flags bearing Dewa's 'star' logo start to appear.

Night of worshipping the ‘Dewa’

Perhaps the title sounds a little too much, but that's what I observed during the concert featuring Dewa 19 held at Likas Stadium last weekend. It almost turned the venue into a shrine of a new religious cult (oops!..:=)). The concert presented by Celcom XPax draws a large crowd (probably not fewer than 5000). The security protocol is the strictest I’ve ever faced since the Masculine Concert held in November 2005. Every soul entering the stadium was screened thoroughly for dangerous weapons including cigarette lighters. However despite the strict rule banning lighters in and the venue being a smoking-free zone, ‘dragons’ were seen everywhere puffing smokes casually out of their nostrils. “Where the hell did they get lighters from?”, asked a person. “They hide it deep inside their rectum I think” replied another. “Don’t expect much from the scanning, it’s just a formality” chipped in a voice (who happened to be a smoker himself), “See! (Pulling off his cap and proudly showing his lighter) I got through!” *LOL*

The strict and slow screening plus big turn out equals bottleneck flow at the access. A large crowd was hold up outside the gate. They overflowed to the main road, risking themselves to cars passing by (no traffic officer was around to control the condition either).

While pondering why on earth the organiser didn’t use the spacious main entrance over the other side at the east, instead they chose a spot with limited space by the main road. The answer is.…”who the hell is going to notice you, if you’re not by the roadside?”. Obviously, judging by the huge banner, their target is the traffic flow at the main road. Money first mah! Safety comes last!..:D

The atmosphere inside was so electrifying (yet much more relaxing compare to outside). In front of the flashy altar.errr...I mean stage, amid blaring sound from the speakers, the impatience devotees..:=), chanted in unison ”Dewa! Dewa! Dewa!”. Their chanting turned into thunderous roar as the lights were being dimmed and thick fog pumped out to the stage. A figure slowly emerging from the thinning fogs. The crowds continued chanting on seeing the figure, only this time louder. Lights up! It turned out to be Dewa Mahabhrata…an Indian guy delivering his role as MC cum discipline teacher. He reminds the audience to stick by some rules, “kalau kamu aman-aman saja di bawah sana, kami pun bisa aman-aman juga di atas sini dong!” I quickly turned around looking at the VIP section just to find out if Musa Aman was in there! But it’s too dark to see.

He sounds so awkward speaking in Indon. Aiyoo tdambi! Tara perlu cakap Indon la! Lu tara bacakah? Ini KK juga bukan Indon!!

Enough with the school assembly session, the show starts rolling with Jinbara doing the opening act. After belting out two fast songs including Cinta Padang Merdeka, the lead singer started losing his stamina. I was wondering how he is going to cope with his next number. He announced a ‘surprise’ guest to the audience. Guess who? It’s Felix Agus! (Surprise kan! Cos he wasn't on the list of performers that night). He belted out Jinbara’s Kasihnya Laila before continued with Farhana. Jinbara themselves accompanied him live. Felix is not in his best. He sounded tired like someone who just woke up from sleep (sick? Not ready for the show because of last minute invitation?).

Dewa Mahabhrata reappeared just to say “apalah kk ni macam kurang rock lah!”. Mind you, he said this after ‘devotees’ were seen doing possessively the head banging!

Ready or not, Ella is next, belting out Rama Rama and Resah.

JENG! The moment the audience has been waiting for finally arrived. Dewa Mahabhrata eventually called on Dewa 19. After tuning up their instruments they started belting out the first of their 15 repertoires. And the crowds? OMG! Unruly…wild…insane…in fact I don’t know how to describe them precisely.

I’m not a hardcore fan of Dewa 19. To prove it, I only know a couple of the songs they performed that night such as Pupus, Sedang Ingin Bercinta and Dewi (and Queens’ I Want To Break Free of course). But having seen they performed, I feel like listening more of their songs especially their past albums. Everything seems perfect. The lead singer Once was just awesome! I set my radar closely for any glitch on his voice. Surprisingly I can’t detect any! He sings well in tuned, pitch-perfect, and energetic with no sign of losing his stamina physically and vocally (Pak! Jamu apa kamu makan pak?). I’m into bands with vocal harmony and Dewa 19 has it. Apart of the band members doing the harmony themselves, they also get help from two women as back-up singers. Their harmony was balanced. All these just lead my suspicion to the controversial cheating technique practised by some western singers (including Madonna). They pre-recorded their so-called ‘live performing’ voice in studio and miming it out during a concert to make it appear as a real ‘live’ voice. Who knows Dewa is creatively and secretly applying the same technique here! But it’s just a suspicion. They did excellent job

A young lady in the audience collapsed and carried (like a gunnysack) to the backstage by a RELA member. This happened While Dewa was performing their third song.

Dewa took a break halfway through the shows to make way for the lady trio from Indonesia who called themselves Dewi-Dewi. They are promoting their debut album here. Their sexy repertoires surprisingly received lukewarm responds from the crowds. Probably the crowd was just too tired and presumed their segment is nothing less than a commercial break.

It’s the best show I’ve seen this year. Dewa 19 simply delivered what I expected from a band with such a high calibre. It’s more than worth the RM 30 ticket to see them (actually it’s a RM 30 worth of reload coupon). So I get myself a reload coupon while get to watch some high-class gigs at the same time…killing two birds with one stone. Will I be joining the cult next time around? Hell no!..=). BTW three lucky people were awarded RM 5,000 each during the lucky draw. Pakcik jealous banget!

Album YAHAI

Here's the promo of the album that will be launched at Buhavan Square next Thursday (20 Dec 2007). It features two artistes Ateng and Benn.

Their RTM interview (click here)

Sabah's entry in Top 10.

A short film from Sabah is amongst those selected to be in the Top 10 of the Astro Kirana Short Film Contest. Find out more from this report. Congrats to them!

OIAM 2: Top 12

Don't forget to catch our talents tonight on OIAM 2 (8TV, 9 pm). Tonight's episode is the elimination round to select the Top 12 and suppose to be thrilling but since our spoiler had revealed it all..:D you only need to sit back and relax watching the show (best juga ada spoiler ni tidaklah berdegup-degup jantung saya...:=)). The good news is four of the Top 12 are Sabahans. They are Ayu, Mark, Shone and Abraham. The bad news is..."matilah macam mana mau undi ni!". Another guy, Ronnie, whom I suspected from Sabah (since I've seen him performing somewhere in town before) is actually comes from Labuan (if i'm not mistaken he auditioned in Johor). Another Sabahan in the Top 20, Gideon, didn't make it...:(

Top 12 credit:Gurangak's blog (click for more pics)

All the best to them!