Free ice cube anyone?

Chunks of ice suddenly fall from the sky in Inobong Penampang (about 20 km from KK) last week. It lasted about five minutes. Can you imagine how noisy it was? *LOL*

Anyway this is not a strange or a mysterious phenomenon. It happened a couple of times before in other areas. Just pray the ice chunk will not be the size of a brick if it happen again.

Detail report

AF 6: Konsert 2

Berjumpa sekali lagi dalam sesi mencarut Konsert AF6..:=). Pada saya konsert kali ini agak baik dan meriah sedikit berbanding minggu lepas. Pengacara nampak semakin selesa dan banyaklah juga jokes beliau yang mampu menggamatkan dewan. Kehadiran pasukan RELA dalam dewan juga meriuhkan suasana.

Lufya – Cinta Ku Seratus Percent

Terbukti she cannot sing dangdut. Semput and pitching ‘everywhere’ (bak kata Ning..:)). She’s forcing herself. For her effort I give, C+

Toi – Sang Pencinta

Kali kedua berturut-turut Toi mendapat lagu up-beat. The good thing about Toi is, kira dia ni ‘kalis semput’ (another new term kah ni?..:)). Kawalan pitching baik walau banyak bergerak. But the green (ala-ala rain coat) outfit is very, very annoying...ergh!. B+

Stanly – Sudah Tu Sudah

Kurang menjadi persembahan Stanly kali ini. Silap dengar macam Pavaroti menyanyi R&B :=) pula. Walaupun nafas and pitching ‘everywhere’ kata Ning dia mampu juga melangsaikan one big note pada akhir-akhir lagu dengan agak baik. B

Rina – Ku Seru

Tidak kedengaran langsung ‘style’ Misha Omar. Nampak agak struggle juga untuk mencapai note-note tinggi but she managed with not much of pitching problems. B+

Aliff – Angan dan Sedar

Very limited vocal range. He can’t even reach the highest note in this song. Still need to improve a lot...kawalan nada, nafas…etc. D

Ika -Malu Tapi Mahu

Penonton terus disajikan persembahan hambar selepas Aliff. Bertungkus lumus beliau menyanyikan lagu ini, mana lagi nak control sebutan (lagu ini banyak perkataan), pitching, tempo etc..hmm kesian terseksa dia aku tengok tapi masih mampu control ayu.. E+

Naim - Aspalela

Duhh…masih belum ada kemajuan dengan pelajar yang seorang ni. Serba serbi tidak kena. Cuma baik sedikit saja dari si Ika. D

Faisal – Ranggi Metropolitan

A lot better than last week. What a surprised he’s very comfortable with this song. Kira menjadi jugalah persembahan rock mamat ni. Sudahlah hidung kena make-up ala-ala Amy Search :=). Kawalan suara juga baik. A

Saida – Doktor Cinta

Firstly thanks kerana kali ini peka dan menukar perkataan “need” in Indon to ‘perlu’ bukan macam lagu yang Ebi nyanyi musim lepas, dikekalkan perkataan b****. Saida rupanya tiada masalah sangat membawa lagu rancak sebegini. Dia ni kira ‘kalis semput’ lah juga. Walaupun banyak bergerak tapi masih mampu kawal suara. Cuma part high note akhir tu she failed to reach properly (siap dijauhkan mic lagi..hehe). Tapi satu yang saya perasan gesture dia ni, tangan kiri asyik meyentuh kepala seolah-olah memastikan hair clip tidak jatuh. Not a bad effort. B

Stacy - Rela



Woww! Very nice vocal tone and good delivery as well, she nailed the song. Cuma hairan sedikit kenapa part korus dinyanyikan hanya sekali (no repeat) tidak seperti versi asal. Majority sebulat suara menobatkan persembahan beliau ini sebagai terbaik untuk konsert kedua. Need I say more. I hope she can do just as good as this one for the future songs (familiar or not) assigned to her. Well done! A+

Riz – Separuh Masa

Another one yang mampu mengawal suara walaupun banyak pergerakan. But then image wise betul-betul mencacatkan persembahan. That hairdo is really funny :=). The outfit…alahai…nampak sangat potongan badan tong minyak. Coordination with the dancers pun macam tidak kena…kasih lah B

Nubhan – Tak Bisa Memilih Mu

This is the second time he gets a slow number and konsep lagu pun ala-ala sama dengan last week so prestasi pun lebih kurang samalah juga (which is excellent). Segalanya seperti ulangan persembahan beliau last week.Cuma kali ini kedengaran beliau hampir gagal kawal suara semasa mencapai high note di akhir-akhir lagu. Pergerakan beliau pun nampak funny sedikit (kaku). The ending looks weird too as if he's not stopping, penonton macam terkeliru and gave him sort of a delay applause (maybe they thought it's not the ending yet). A

Nadia -Umbrella

Since she’s the last performer I expected something outstanding from her (normally they save the best for last) but it turned out to be not as I thought. I was expecting something naughty, cute and sexy in this song but I didn’t see any. Nadia sekadar ‘carrying the tune’ lagu ini. anyway a good effort from her. Seperti juga Toi, Saida dan Riz beliau juga mampu mengawal suara dengan agak baik walaupun banyak bergerak. B+

Pilihan pengkritik terhadap Ika, Naim dan Aliff as the weakest performers begitu tepat sekali. Bila melihat talent mereka bertiga ni, tertanya-tanya pula atas dasar apa mereka terpilih ke akademi? I hope next week they call upon the three strongest performers pula.

Artis baru

Mr Hunk

Kekekek...yang buruyut pun tidak mahu ketinggalan. Habislah terpaksa tuck in perut sambil tahan nafas *LOL*

Noni AF5 kena 'magic'

Hehe...just kidding.

Tu dia...dapat inspirasi menjadi magician dari Gaya Street dia bilang (saya ingatkan dari menonton magic show David Copperfiled...:)). Tapi ngam juga ni kalau dia buat magic show ala-ala David Coperfield, si Noni jadi pembantu dia...:=)

Wanted! A new Raja SMS

This is how the Hits 1 song contest results look like (as you know Hits 1 is the RTM version of Anugerah Juara Lagu)

Juara : Ketentuan - Azlan Abu Hassan/Ad Samad/Ramlah Ram

Naib Juara : Mungkinkah Langitmu Lebih Biru - El Widyan/Norman Rasyid/Al Walid/Mawi

Lagu Popular (undian SMS): Joget Lambak - Adam

Persembahan Terbaik: Malu Tapi Mahu - Dina

Do you notice something odd here? Well..ok...Mawi is still listed as one of the winners. But take a look at the verdict for undian SMS. It belongs to Joget Lambak (Adam). Correct me if i'm wrong...but I guess this is the first time a popularity contest by SMS voting that involve Mawi won by other artiste. Could this be a sign that Mawi's fans are running away from him? Has it got to do with the recent article about his relationship with Ikin? The special relationship between them both is very noticeable, it's like a wide open secret. The lady (Ikin) has even put on a busana muslim and looks all set to sprint to the pelamin. Articles like "tudung from Mawi and cincin from Ikin" screams all over the media, yet they are both coolly denying it since day one! *LOL* are they playing jokes to the media/public or just a natural born liars?.

Credit
Apa pun syabas dan tahniahlah juga kepada Adam...nampak gaya Adam bakal dimahkotakan sebagai Raja SMS yang baru...ahakkss!

AF 6 : Konsert Top 14

Everybody seems to be talking about the AF 6 first concert. It just indicates AF is still popular. So pakcik pun tidak mahu ketinggalan lah juga bab-bab mencarut ni…pengkritik keempat lah katakan (hehe). Masa konsert start saja, yang mula-mula aku perasan is the stage. Yuppp, back to the familiar setting except it looks smaller and cramped, but hey…look what’s hiding behind...it’s a live band! Yahoo! Siap dengan back-up vocal lagi! Kelas! A totally different face then took over the stage as pengacara. I guess we have to get use to AC from now on.

On to the performances...

Rina (or shall we just call her Rina Turner) - The Best
As expected, very good! Maklum sajalah 20 tahun nyanyi di kelab malam. I like the way she moves around the stage. I thought of giving her a perfect ten. But there’s something about her that didn’t connect perfectly. Hmmm..I wonder what it is?! Hang on a second I think I got it! It’s her dressing! Taulah dia tu pangkat nenek. Tapi takkan lah nyanyi lagu Tina Turner kena bagi pakaian ala-ala secretary di pejabat. Bagilah pakaian yang ranggi sikit…yang ada bling bling! But again, minus the dressing/image, she really delivers. (8/10)

Aliff
He started very good and sounded great over half part of the song. Towards the end he sound fatigue. (4/10)

Lufya
Mancung banget hidung dia ni..:)! A face of a matured woman but a voice of a teenage girl (how’s that?..:)). Not a bad performance though and I just don’t get it when Ajai comments on her pitching problem. Poor girl…my rate for her…6/10

Naim
Like a school boy yang kena denda menyanyi masa school assembly. Very amateur….3/10

Ika
While watching Tirai Akademi the other day, I noticed one girl struggling with "Janji Manis Mu". Having not familiar with the students, I thought (and hope) the girl is one of those eliminated earlier (not in the top 14). But upon learning that she’s indeed Ika…pakcik hampir pengsan! Siapalah yang tergamak sangat memilih dia ni dalam top 24…then top 14…aduhh! Cantik sangat kah dia ni hingga terpilih!!...hmmm….she should be the one voted out. 1/10

Toi
Boleh lah pakai! Walaupun vokal ala kadar saja, yang penting sedap di dengar (tiada nada tersasar) and he looks like one of the Raja Lawak contestants too…entertaining! 5/10

Nadia
Tone suara mengingatkan kepada Ayu…very thick and loud. But Nadia's voice mostly kedengaran agak keras dan garau. Not much of a pitch problem (an advantage of having a thick voice). Tapi gesture dia ni macam banyak aksi tangan ala Karam Singh Walia…7/10

Riz
Vocal wise…lunak! I always believe it’s a brilliant idea to sing a song like this in falsetto for the first chorus before blasting it off in normal voice for the repeat chorus. I’m not so sure if this is how the song is done in the original version, honestly I never heard of it (*LOL* terbongkar rahsia bukan peminat setia Anuar Zain). He gives justice to the song. 8/10

Yana
Reminds me of Akma. Not much of a pitch problem and not a bad repertoire, the song suits her vocal very well. 6/10

Nubhan
Selamba ja mamat ni kan! Sekali menyanyi…fulamak…tone suara dia, bukan calang-calang…serak-serak gemersik (I really like his tone)! To me this is another “jujur” performance. I hope he stays long…..7/10

Stacy - No One


One word “Stylish”…now it becomes Stacy Stylish (how’s that sound!?). Vocal tone….sedap banget! Part suara dia yang kedengaran macam terloncat, tersarut, tersangkut (whatever you call it) yang mahal sangat tu. Not many people blessed with such voice. The only setback I think is too much movement. It slightly affects her note placing during the chorus. She should have paused during this part just to focus on the note placing. But overall very impressive, she creates a Grammy night ambience! What! she copycat Alicia Keys’ showmanship? but looks like Mary J.Blige to me *LOL* 8/10

Faisal
Duhh! Tone deaf kah dia ni?! Bakal menggugat kedudukan Mas dalam carta AF Tone Deafer!...kasilah 3/10

Saida

Her facial expression really kena dengan lagu ini (I just don’t get Ogy’s comment on her emotional expression). If I were her husband I may suspect something amiss “Macam real jer bini aku ni? Entah-entah dia ada affair dengan jantan lain tak?! Ishh tak boleh jadi ni….mesti kena siasat ni!”…hehe. Vocal wise, tersasar-sasar lah juga pitching dia ni and the tempo also not very good…macam Genervie Kam (pemain piano) pula yang barabis kejar dia. 5/10

(BTW apasal Ning panggil dia ni kakak? I thought Ning is older?)

Stanly
Ok! Ok! I know…you guys are amazed and impressed!...yupp…it’s his great vocal tone..I agree and I’m with you! But hang on, don't rush, take a listen carefully to his singing on this video. Let me switch on my radar...

Oops..my radar detects a couple of pitching problems. He’s also unable to generate proper or solid vibrator, his voice 'pecah' at minute 1:35 and another slight glitch at minute 1:55, a shaky and unstable voice as well. What stunned me, he’s unable to project falsetto for certain parts that need such vocal projection. It would be much, much nicer if he could softened (by falsettos or whatever) the notes “still” (at minute 0:27) and the notes “der” for shoulders (at minutes 1:07 and 2:16). He still needs to work hard on the proper timing to inhale in order to re-fill his fuel. Otherwise he sounded short of breath (pendek nafas). But penghayatan is very good…7/10

AC Mizal – Boleh lah pakai! Sebab bukan senang mahu jadi pengacara siaran live untuk TV. They need to stick with the timing allocated for the program so that it could end as scheduled (11.30 pm). Yang menariknya juga AC banyak defend para pelajar dari kritikan yang membingungkan (ala-ala Ryan Seacrest in American Idol). Tapi yang kurang menariknya dia announcelah pula kehadiran Sarimah and Siti Sara. Hmmm....buang karan saja! Masa David and Victoria Beckhams hadir di konsert AI last week pun Ryan Seacrest tiada announce. And AC shouldn’t be on stage masa student perform macam semak nampak. My rating (eh mau rate kah juga dia ni?…hehe) kasi lah. 8/10

Album Mila kurang laris?

I was slightly taken aback while reading an article about Mila's debut album. The album was released three months ago along with an aggresive promotion but so far only sold...like 4,000 units. This sales figure may not sound too good for someone who had garnered hundreds of thousands of votes to qualify her to be the winner of AF season five. Where are all the voters or could the votes only generated by 4,000 heads (unique votes)? Go figure.

I guess this is also the reason behind the delay of other AF stars debut albums. The numerous 'afundis' they gathered did not translate the actual number of heads who voted them. Well you know....something like....upon analysing the figures...Maestro found out that one contestant who have collected 100,000 votes for example has only 1,000 heads who have voted for him/her. You don't feel like producing an album that cost you thirty to fifty thousands ringgit (probably more) when only 1,000 people will buy it...ada untung meh? Maka ternanti-nanti lah peminat si bintang AF. Bukan penantian lima,enam bulan tapi bertahun-tahun....:O

Apapun terimalah saja persembahan dari peserta American Idol, Sayesha Mercado emotionally belting out "Yesterday" during the AI Top 11 concert (ni apa hal pula tiba-tiba tukar topik..hehe)

Another goosebumps performance....hah macam beginilah kalau nak gali lagu dek oi! Penghayatan tahap 5 bintang!

Terbaru di pasaran

Antara album-album keluaran Bamboo Sound Studio (BSS) yang baru diedarkan di pasaran

Kalis sumbang

Apa khabar anak-anak sekelian? Hari ini pakcik ingin memperkenalkan satu lagi istilah untuk pengetahuan anak-anak semua. Kalau sebelum ini anak-anak telah pernah mendengar istilah kalis air, kalis peluru dan kalis logop…(huh! Kalis logop?! Amende tu?...hehe). Ada satu lagi istilah ‘kalis’ yang anak-anak semua kena tahu…iaitu “kalis sumbang”. Kalau nak tahu apa tu ‘kalis sumbang’ atau orang Jerman bilang ‘out-of-tune proof’, hah dengar sajalah si David Archuleta ni menyanyi

Kekekek..terlupa lirik!
Sebenarnya bukan dia saja yang kalis sumbang ramai lagi (kalau setakat peserta American Idol saja…David Cook, Carly Smithson dan anak si Malubay tu pun kira kalis sumbanglah juga). Di Malaysia saja lagi lah ramai tapi Jaclyn Victor lah yang pakcik paling berkenan.

Dan bersempena cuti umum ‘Maulidul Rasul’ hari ini, eloklah pakcik ulang tayang persembahan budak bertuah ni menyampaikan lagu Imagine (video dulu tu Fox TV komplen suruh YouTube delete!). Yer lah kan lagu Imagine ni, kiranya ala-ala lagu nasyid lah juga…yang menyeru umat manusia sejagat hidup bersatu…aman damai…jangan bertembak-tembak (nanti mati). Pakcik tak sangka pula lagu John Lennon ni boleh dinyanyikan sebaik ini (other than John Lennon himself lah kan)…orang kampung pakcik bilang kalau mendengarnya alamat dapat ‘goosebumps’...amende ‘goosebumps’ tu pakcik sendiri pun tak tahu…kekekek!

Layannn!!...Zasssss!

Afundi Esther

Kepada mereka yang murah hati tu, semoga tidak keberatan menderma kepada keluarga adik Esther kita ni. Kesian dia!

Setahu saya memang ada Persatuan Buah Pinggang Sabah, si Datuk Lajim kah presiden kalau tidak silap. I've attended their fund raising dinner twice, the recent one was last year. They should be able to assist, otherwise macam rugi saja kita menderma during their fund raising dinner, when there's still a kid in dire need of help...:(

FELMA

Tu dia...melepas rindu...laporan ni bilang!...:D


...macam kurang berita sudah dua orang ni kan

Miss Sabah

Sabah's representative to the Miss Malaysia/Universe 2008

Atukk...ada juga majlis memperagakan santut!..:O

A mystery naked man

KOTA KINABALU: A man, believed to be mentally unstable, caused a stir when he ran across the Queen Elizabeth Hospital traffic light intersection naked, Saturday. The man emerged from a monsoon drain, claimed a taxi operator, and stood confused on the pavement before dashing across the road oblivious to the light morning traffic. "He looked high on something," said the taxi driver, who declined to be named, adding "he even wagged his private part at us. There was somekind of gluey substance on his head...maybe he was a glue sniffer," he said. He said the man ran back across the road and disappeared into the monsoon drain (Daily Express)

Perhaps nobody with camera handphone witnessed 'the show' or they were just too stunned to do anything...*LOL*

AF 6 : Kejutan Stacy

Terimalah video klip kejutan untuk Stacy. Mmmm....macam area Survey Penampang ja. Yang sedikit menghairankan masa video diambil dicatat jam 6.30 pagi(?), tapi kedai-kedai sudah start business dan kereta pun sibuk. Setahu saya kedai, terutama those workshops and car accesories shops buka jam 8.30 - 9 pagi.

Apa pun tahniah kepada Stacy kerana menjadi peserta tunggal mewakili Sabah dalam Akademi Fantasia ke 6 (pertama kali Sabah diwakili oleh hanya seorang peserta).

Stacy seperti yang diketahui telahpun menampilkan sedikit sebanyak kemampuannya menyanyi melalui sebuah kumpulan (E-Voke) dalam program Gangstarz 1. (sebelum itu pernah juga berjaya ke top 80 OIAM 1). Having seen her performed so far, all I can say is she’s got that distinctive character in her voice, a little bit resembling the American Idol ex-contestant Asia'h Epperson, yang tersingkir during the top 16 concert, and sounds a little bit of our very own Clarice as well.

We haven’t seen much from the other contestants thus far. Tapi dari sedikit glimpse on Trek Selebriti, I’m amazed with Stanly capability singing ala El-Divo. Correct me if I’m wrong but as far as local goes, I guess he’s the first ever to introduce this type of singing to the mainstream in Malaysia. What a good idea to be another pioneer in the Malaysian music scene. So if you wanna be the ‘first’, rajin-rajinlah cari idea or sumber inspirasi dari penyanyi luar dengan konsep yang belum terdapat dalam pasaran Malaysia. Another lady with strong vocal character is Nadia and she’s got the x-factor too. That 44 years old Rin, is undoubtedly versatile, so far I’ve a glimpse on her singing jazz and dangdut (I wonder what rock number can she sings). The rest are just OK, biasa-biasa saja. Lufya reminds me very much of Amy AF3. And why are people making so much fuss about Saida? Other than being Siti’s elder sister I don’t see anything special on her. Masa nyanyi (dalam Tirai Akademi), suara hampir-hampit tak sampai (the other sister, Saerah is better than her). Some people even busy forming her fan club *LOL* (maybe they expect high appreciation from Siti by doing so...). Whatever! The bottom line is I’m all set to enjoy the drama in AF this season.

Diva Ketiau siap sedia ke mercu...

Ikutilah temubual julungkalinya Ayu dengan wartawan hiburan Sabah sejak bergelar juara OIAM musm kedua.

Manalah agaknya si Ayu beli rumah untuk keluarga dia ni. Ayu bolehlah dianggap sebagai peserta dari Sabah yang cukup bertuah. Sebelum ini Dg. Norani pernah menerima hadiah yang agak lumayan juga setelah memenangi Sinaran 6 (hmm...dari Putatan juga...ramai pula diva dari Putatan ni, belum lagi masuk Che'Nell. Nanti si Irsa AF6 pun silap haribulan jadi juara AF...kunun-kunun dia ni Rihana Putatan, siap nyanyi lagu Umbrella lagi masa audition).

I think penganjur OIAM tidak perlulah canang-canang sangat hadiah bernilai RM 1 juta, nanti ramai orang berpendapat buat apa beli album si juara, dia kan sudah jutawan. Penganjur-penganjur pertunjukan pentas pun either shy away from the winner or bagi bayaran rendah. Sebaliknya ramai pula pihak yang bersimpati dengan nasib si naib juara and then memberi sokongan padu kepada beliau. Last season OIAM had somewhat proven it. I wonder what happened to Suki now. Last time when she didn't make much impact, they gave reason that she's still studying, but now after finished her schooling I still don't hear much from her.

Anyway, I've uploaded Hanya Di Mercu by Ayu on Malay1 playlist. Best juga layan lagu si Ayu ni yang berkisarkan tema seorang insan yang serba-serbi kekurangan (terbatas) tapi memendam impian ke mercu....:). Kalau ada bunyi mercun di akhir lagu tu, lagi best mengkali kan!...*LOL*

Marsha diet gemuk

Bibir I yang 'plum' macam Angelina Jolie tu...bukan suntik botox tau, tapi sekadar mengaplikasi teknik terbaru bergincu...awas jangan kutuk!

...some article about Donggongon

I just goggle looking and reading this article about Donggongon. Firstly out of the many other places in that town, they choose to publish the picture of the messy verandah (most top photo) goodness me! Yet i'm thankful they didn't publish the sewerage treatment plant. There are few other interesting spots, joints and restaurants that are not mentioned (Egypt, The Rock, Hinompuka etc. a new hotel is being constructed and not to mention the controversial Mega Long shopping complex) And what's so important to mention that people with 'alternative lifestyle' frequent pubs in Donggongon *LOL*

Anyway i've to agree with the Tamu though, very well organized and lots of varieties.

AF6: Top 25

So AF6 had unveiled its 25 candidates (huh..25? Ramai juga). Their ages range from 18 to 44 years old. Checking on the list of candidates, not even a single boy from Sabah tersangkut this time *LOL* while two girls are on the list. The 25 candidates will be further filtered and the final cut will only be known on the 16 Mar (however it's not mentioned the number of finalists)

Two 'pengkritik tetap' are also revealed, Ogy and Ning Baizura. Probably the third pengkritik is a weekly guest (otherwise Astro decided to settle with only two pengkritik this season). My comment (does it matter? hehe), we've seen how Ogy criticised last year's contestants (I expect no changes from her). Ning Baizura? So far I only see her sits on the critics' chair once during AF3. She's so nice and merciful. Imagine a mother who sees her 6-year-old son conteng dinding and said softly "Yang...jangan conteng dinding yer yang! Mak saaayang...Boboi!" hah...cenggitu...she's that type of mother...penuh kasih sayang! But don't knowlah this time after she just got married (could she be extra loving?!)...:)

Sabahan hopefuls

Stacy

And some article about Stacy (when she joined OIAM 1)

Irsa

And Rin from KL, the 44 years old grandma with two grandchildren also made it to top 25 (hopefully nenek Maimon, the 89 years old nenek who contested in Kuala Terengganu parlimentary seat recently will vote for her)

...persoalannya...errr..."siapakah yang bakal dilontar pen biru kali ini?"

In the limelight for wrong reason

It's not the question whether Mila and Ebi are having an affair (cos the answer is absolutely yes) rather it's a qusetion of "siapa kongkong siapa?"...:=). One report said about the "babak ludah meludah" between them (kelas!). And the Melodi interview below further confirmed the incident.

That reporter mentioned the word "melayang"...bayangkanlah kalau Mila melayang terus tersangkut di kipas siling berpusing-pusing...:)

Laporan dari Gua pula melaporkan peserta-peserta OIAM 2 main-main cinta. Intan Sarafina is said to be going out with Shone (the report further said that Shone is a married man..oops). Another contestant, Mark, is rumoured to have frequently exchanging SMS with his duet partner, Farah Asyikin of OIAM 1 fame, who also happened to be bini orang.

Hmm...no comment!

Filmed in Semporna

"Duyung" a brand new film by KRU is being screened at cinema now (since 6 Mar). Actually I 'retire' watching Malay films in theatre cause I often fall asleep halfway through the movie (Cicak Man included). I just wait for them to appear on TV. So far I think "Jangan Pandang Belakang" really hypnotised me (but I also watch it on TV...didn't know it it is actually good otherwise I might've watched it at cinema). Back to "Duyung", heard that it is filmed in Semporna (perkampungan Bajau Laut). Good choice!...No?

Marilah..mari..pergi mengundi!

So the once-in-five-year event is here again and it's getting hotter and hotter towards the polling day which I think is merely hours away from now. Who could have avoided the atmosphere? Banners, billboards, posters, flags are just everywhere, not to mention the T-boards that transformed our landscape into something like a mass graveyards! I guess the campaign structures had been finally put up to the fullest huh!

And these are just some of the warcries that I manage to lay my eyes on (enough to make me grin..:))

Hhmm...macam mana mau undi ni eja "Tahi'" pun belum pass

(Talking about PKR's logo, we were once trying hard to figure out what the symbol is actually all about when it was first unveiled to the public. My guess is that it's a full moon. While we were busy cracking our head, a friend then asked "what was the crime the PKR president associated with?"..."err..sodoh mee" someone replied....."probably it's a loose ***hole!" **boom! a laugh exploded**. But later we learnt it's "the eyes" symbol, as memory to the bruise eyes Anwar once had while under detention)

The election campaign had also sparked off some dramas. For the curtain raiser we have the episode about the sudden withdrawal of the incumbent Matunggong Assemblywoman Jornah Mazihim (her candidacy had been endorsed and confirmed in the first place before Pairin suddenly dropped her out). This prompted her supporters rushed to see Pairin and begging him to re-nominate her. The scene of her supporters rallied around the Huguon Siou, crying and appealing incessantly is very unusual. It’s like seeing a group of mourners in grief on a funeral day. Phenomenal!

Isk!..isk!

Next up is the claimed by Joseph Kurup that he almost assaulted by the opposition supporters at the Nabawan Community Centre over some controversies during the nomination day. He said “he was nearly hit on the face and almost fell”…sounds to me like the punch didn’t land on his face, yet he was sent to Keningau Hospital for check-up!? (perlu kah? Buang masa doktor saja kan!). Anyway the controversy concerned is reported to be heading to court.

Manangkus nopo kio! Sikapon!

The Boss (Dr. Jeffrey) vs. Ex-Staff (Kanul Gindol) episode, just add up to the collection of comedy drama during the campaign period. Jeffrey described the pullout of his former Political Secretary, from PKR to join BN, as shameful and an act of betrayal “people will know…as betrayers they should be ashamed of themselves…their action proves they are more interested in pursuing personal interests…if you believe in something you should stick with it to then end” he said. Well, if the betrayer happened to be someone who knows you inside and out, be prepared for some pain in the ass reply …. “Jeffrey did not and does not walk his talk. Look, he left PBS, Akar Bersatu, PBRS and briefly with UMNO, so what is he talking about sticking to a party till the end?” said Kanul…(Ouch!). No further comment from the ex-boss since then!

*Sigh!* I want nothing from this election…except to see it ends as soon as possible! I’m so suffocated by those campaign structures….especially the graveyard-like landscape courtesy of the T-boards

Errgh! What an eye-sore!
And a classic pilihanraya song



...Anyway "Happy Voting" everyone!

Will he be stripped from Idol?

Another American Idol season, another contestant's dirty past revealed.

David Hernandez‚ a 24-year-old finalist from Glendale, Arizona, once worked as a stripper at Dick's Cabaret, appearing fully nude and giving lap dances to the club's "mostly male" clientele, the Associated Press reports.

"He had the look and the type that people like, so he made pretty good money here," club manager Gordy Bryan tells the AP.

Hernandez — who never sang at the club — worked there for three years until last September. "He never renewed his licensing with the state, so he hasn't been on my roster since then," said Bryan, adding that he believes Hernandez quit to focus on Idol.

Rumors of his stripper past — along with photos of a scantily clad Hernandez working as a bartender at a gay club — first surfaced on Idol fan site VoteForTheWorst.com.

Still no word on whether Hernandez will be be given the boot.

In 2003, Frenchie Davis was disqualified for appearing topless on an adult Web site. But Antonella Barba remained on the show last year even though racy photos of her hit the Internet.

Hernandez is set to perform with the other male contestants on tonight's show.

source: usmagazine.com

P/s: What a surprised, cause he's not a mover on stage. Simon even once said that he appears tense and needs to loose himself. This guy looks methodically technical while delivering his songs (as if he's focusing so much on applying the vocal technique that has been passed on to him). For his past two performances, his voice glitched a little bit. Yesterday's show saw him performed better. He's one of the strong contenders with strong voice though. Whether he will be stripped from Idol is an interesting question to ask...:)

Brand new single from Ms. Carey

Mariah Carey is back with a brand new single! Despite her silence the past few years, she's still listed as one of the top 15 Cash Queen in 2007 by Forbes (after earning 6 million dollar between June 2006 - June 2007! Woww..wee!!). With such earning, she has every reason to be kind and generous....to the extent of offering...errr..her body to be touched!..:D. Actually that's the title of her brand new single "Touch My Body"...the video was released I think less than a week ago.

Hot! Hot!

Mike Myers: The Love Guru

How much do you like Mike Myers' movie? To me it's not only Mike Myers...but bring me any Hollywood comedies, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Steve Martin...etc, I can sit there for hours watching these comics. Coming June (arrgh! still a long way to go huh!) we have every reason to laugh when Mike Myers' "The Love Guru" will be released. That tiny little actor (what's his name?) is still on the cast list and set to be extra tortured by the hero.

Funny! Funny!

Fulamak lagu "More Than Words" versi petikan Sitar India...cayalah!

And that Justine Timberlake scene in speedo had hit the state by storm..*LOL* (duh! tak kanlah Justine Timberlake pakai underwaer ja terus ribut satu dunia). The words circling around said, that he stuffed some tube socks "there" for the extra bulge...mmm..it's just make you wonder "is he really that bad to have some tube socks stuffed 'there'?"

Romeo & Juliet Hanya Di Mercu...:)

A video clip of Ayu performing her first single Hanya Di Mercu at the Grand Finale of OIAM 2 .

Mmm..let me see how to fix it. The good point about her voice is the volume is naturally loud. Some not so good point though, at certain time she sounded fatigue and at one time her voice squeak. So di sini pengadil tak bertauliah memberikan markah 5.3/10...:). Dari segi penghayatan pula (including gestures), memandangkan Ayu lebih mempamerkan expresi kesakitan dan sedih seolah-olah kecewa putus cinta (sedangkan tema lagu tiada kena mengena langsung dengan kekecewaan putus cinta) ditambah lagi beliau kerap mendongak 45 - 90 darjah sambil memandang siling (a gesture Paul once commented, as if she sings alone in a room, only for herself)...maka sekali lagi pengadil tak bertauliah memberikan markah 3/10...:D (punyalah kedekut pengadil! *LOL*). Hope to see more improvement from her in the future.

And here's Shila with her single Memori Tercipta

Nikki & Ebi - Rome & Juliet (Preview demo)

Here's the much awaited single by Nikki and Ebi, courtesy of Mr.Manager (at least anxiously waited by me...:))



Before this, I was kind of thought Nikki's voice is way too polished to be matched with Ebi's amateur voice (perhaps you need those giant voices like James Ingram, Luther Vandross, Luciano Pavarotti or that local guy Lan to duet with her) but having heard this demo, bravo! a successful and good colaboration indeed...:). As for the melody, obviously it's nothing like the standard ballads namely Ceritera Cinta (Jac/Rio) or Celine/Ingram's "A Whole New World" (what shall I call this...err..."aggresive balada"?..:P). So personaly I need some times to attune to the melody (maklumlah kan pak cik ni kena lahir zaman perang Jepun). The vocal arrangement is quite difficult or shall I just say challenging (bersahut-sahutan gitu), as if the voices need to overpower one another but as a whole I only hear one brilliant harmony, a great fusion indeed. One thing about Audi Mok, he always comes out with different concept for his works. Having heard Nikki's Cara Mu, I least expected that Drama is actually Audi's work and who would have thought Mahakarya Cinta (Faizal) is his karya too, they come in totally different shape and style (unlike most other composers, KRU for instance, where you can easily recognise their works). To me exploring new ideas, experimenting new things, new concept are his specialty perhaps Romeo & Juliet is just one of them. This is only the preview demo (but sounds good enough) minus the killer bridge (can't imagine how killing it is). Having said that, I’m all prepared to defend myself from being killed by the 'killer bridge'...:D.. once the complete version is released (I hope very soon) and am all set to see this single climbing the charts and wins awards just like most of Audi’s previous works.

A lucky girl named Ayu

So OIAM 2 concluded last night. Five Sabahans in top 12, at least one of them should win...zam..zam kalakazam! we have it! Ayu the girl from Kg Ketiau Putatan was finally pronounced as the winner. A big, big congratulations to her.

Although she lacks some interesting features as compared to Shila, I wasn’t that surprise she wins. This is probably due to the fact that most online forummers are so supportive to her (thanks to her second attempt in OIAM). She must have impressed them with her vocal prowess. No doubt she has a nice vocal tone, especially her ability to generate big resonance during high notes. But to me it ends there, her special feature restricted to her resonance alone. As far as singing skill and stage presentation are concerned, this girl still needs lots and lots to learn and developed. Every time during high notes she tends to twist her neck in the process of adjusting her head to raise it up about 45 degrees (sometimes more). Her facial expressions often show her pain of straining and struggling to reach high notes instead of emotionally interpreting the lyrics of the song. She still subscribes to the belief that high and big notes mean powerful voice (which is not necessarily true). The term ‘raw’ as Syafinaz often mentions is very well described Ayu. She deserves to win if the primary aim of OIAM 2 is to search for raw talents to be further groomed. She’s just the right raw material for that kind of factory.

While Paul was reading viewers posting, somebody asked what sort of songs that suit Ayu. To me just give her any ballad synonym with Ziana Zain or Zaiton Sameon. In fact Ayu’s voice and singing style are very much resembling Zaiton Sameon (don’t you think so?). But just make sure the song doesn’t have too many of the vowel ‘U’ at the end of its big note. I noted Ayu always have difficulty delivering big note ending with the vowel ‘U’ (or sometimes ‘I’). She’s unable to perfectly ‘round’ it to make it sounds soft and pleasant like the sound of a flute. Too bad her single last night was entitled Hanya Di Mercu. She struggled to deliver perfectly the note with the word ‘MercU’. Big notes ending with the vowels ‘A’ (samudera, cinta), ‘O’ and ‘E’ suit her very well cause all she needs to do is simply shout them out and generate big resonance (no need skill one).

Image wise? I don't think she's that bad looking but still needs a little bit of improvement. The good thing about Ayu is she humbly aware of her appearance. She even said to the press, if she wins the first thing she’ll do is to fix (straightening) her teeth (sometimes in this industry a Halle Berry smile/teeth will be helpful...:) what more if you're required to open your mouth wide for those big notes). With the one million ringgit, she has so many choices. She can go for the visible bracelet (like the one ‘Ugly Betty’ wears, it’ll cost her RM 4,500 in Sabah), the radiance or less visible bracelet made of ceramic or polymer (RM 6,000 – 7,000), the totally invisible bracelet they call it lingual treatment (fixed behind your teeth) cost RM 15,000 and the latest technology called 'invisalign' (a plastic casing bracelet) that cost from USD 3,000 onwards (anyway this one is not available yet in Malaysia!).*LOL* just how do I know all these craps (you guess) and I’m not a dentist either. I wonder if our first astronaut Dr. Syeikh Muzzafar still practise orthodontics. Perhaps Ayu can get treatment from him (must be expensive). I guess once Ayu had the necessary dental cosmetic treatment she’ll look just fine. No need to fix the other parts of her body. If Oprah Winfrey can look good, why can’t Ayu…right!?

In short, a proper vocal coaching (I think Syafinaz can easily handle this), graceful stage presentation, suitable songs (ala Zaiton Sameon) and dental cosmetic treatment are all she needs. Having done all these I’m sure she will “berdiri sama tinggi, duduk sama rendah” with other female artistes in Malaysia. There you have it, my 5 sen worth of opinion about Ayu. I hope she will continuously shine and won’t have to go through the same fate as other past Sabahan national winners like Dg. Norani, Azharina, JIAJA (am still waiting for their debut album) and Rey (Fiq I think is doing quite ok). Good luck and all the best to Ayu!