我的情怀 I ：她的第一次 My Nostalgia I : Her First Time

顺子 Shunza (1997)

The first artist I feature here is Shunza 顺子. I still remember when I first bought her cassette (not CD), one of my hostel mate Calvin asked me why I bought albums like that. Well, he's very much into Gigi Leung that time so I guess that explains hahaha.

I first heard the song 回家 (Come Home) <1997> over the radio (I mean REAL radio and not over the internet) and totally hooked. And I still remember I got to know that the MTV was going to be played in a TV program, something RIM Chart the Chinese version and made sure myself sit in front of the TV at 7pm. But I think the program showed on Sat and since I was staying in the hostel during my Form 6 years in La Salle Benildus House, time is really a luxury. I forgot what's the reason but that day, I think brother is not there or that was actually our free week so I get to sit in front of the TV and saw this MTV and it got me hooked.

The voice and style of singing is refreshing and the song above was an instant hit!

But not many people know the other songs that are good in her debut album! She's very talented musically, writing and arranging most of the songs herself. Not surprising for someone with both parents as musicians. Her parents separated during her childhood time and her mom brought her travelling as musicians and she's known as the gypsy singer. She didn't sing typical Chinese songs in the typical Chinese ways that time and this made her stand out from the others. Her works are critically acclaimed though not mass-friendly. She made history by winning both the Best Newcomer and Best Female Singer award in the Taiwanese Grammy.

Other listening-worthy songs are 不想一个人 (Nights Alone Cryin') 永远等待 (Where Did We Go Wrong?), 太阳 (Sun) and 那那那那 (Na Na Na Na). Her songs are mostly R&B and electronica. Very heavily influenced by the African-American style. Produced by 滚石, a guarantee of quality at that period of time.

P/S : Please let me know if you see the CD version of this album.

Back to Primitive Way

Thanks to liangmoi who loaned me her mini-compo (wonder how many youngsters now know this term???) for me to play my collection of cassettes (another out terms) to revoke my nostalgia haha.....

It's Cast; Again, What's Next???

Seriously, the outcome of the Perak fiasco isn't anything surprising isn't it? I again seriously think that PR can't do much to revert the outcome. Yeah...go sue the sultan but do you think the court will consider it? Sue based on what? Not following legal procedure? I think there're so much loopholes and given the efficiency of our courts, it's not going anywhere. Silap haribulan, it won't face the day when the next GE come.... Plus suing the monarch for whatever it is will invite backlash form the hardcore feudalism-embedded Malays, which are still aplenty especially in the rural area.

If PR (well...if PR still stays as PR) is really far-sighted, they should correct the fundamental mistakes they made in their candidates, both the state assembly and also the parliamentary seats. It's high time for them to REALLY assess their candidates for the future election. Come on, we know a lot of the candidates are NOT qualified or worse still, suspicious. How? Maybe they're the cast away people eliminated from their BN parties before this? Or those with corrupted-gene heavily infested in their mind lost out to their other super-corrupted-gene comrades in their previous BN parties?

For future election, I hope if I'm gonna vote for PR, I really hope I vote not only for PR but also vote for the candidate who impressed me as well.

What's Next? Or Rather Which State's Next?

Now it seems like it's confirmed that BN will take the helm of Perak. Hmm....I have mixed feeling now about Sultan Azlan Shah. But well, I'm not Perakian so can't comment much. But what to comment anyway right? It's His right. No one can say anything during the Menteri Besar must be Malay Muslim fiasco so what else the Perakian gotta do now? Aku yang bukan orang Perak apa lagi???

Now.... I'm waiting what's next. Selangor? Negeri Sembilan? Well, one thing about Negeri Sembilan.... if the PR alleged frogging majority is just merely 1 or 2, FORGET IT!!! What do you think the Yamtuan will do???? Just to remind you lah.... who own the IPP leh?

What's next for me? Go sleep have date with Mr. Zhao Gung zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Old people can't stay late!

We Live In Interesting Times........... And Sabah is Weeping to See Another Comrade Falling Soon...........OH And I Think Brunei Sultan Is Stranded???

Well....first of all, the day starts as a boring and dreadful one for me. I had fever yesterday and spent the night with the weakening medication. Woke up quite early as I have to settle some work before driving outstation to Kunak, which took about 4 hours one way. Yes.... dreadful!!! And the rain never stop.............

I started my journey around 9am and reach my customer's site around 2pm and it's raining ALL the way. Finished my job about 5pm and still raining. Rushing back lah!!! Apa lagi???

Along the way I saw the water level on the drains along the road almost seeping into the tarred road already hence it's like those disaster movies I'm driving my Ford trying to leave the scene as soon as possible while the flood sign getting more and more prominent!

The real pang hit when I reach Mile 16 Sandakan near the Gum Gum Market. There was a line queuing up already and most of them are small sedan car... The Proton Wira in front of me trying to be a WIRA lah.... and potong the queue wanting to storm across the flooded road but stopped just before that. But it blocked the two lanes lah!!!!!!!!!! Aiyah brother....sometimes gotta ukur baju di badan sendiri lah......

My Ford bravely crossed it without much trouble. 4x4 high mah kan? The next one was Sepilok and then it had a few more. The stretch between Golf Club and the Rotary Club Clock Tower roundabout is the worst and after I crossed it, there was a Gen2 with smoke coming out from the exhaust and engine. Another hurdle was the entrance of the Forestry Department.

During the adventurous journey, my friend Amanda called and told me about the PR Perak government might be toppled according to the evening news. And it crossed my mind. Sabah is WEEPING. Why??? Kenapa????? It's all because Sabah is the first victim of defection-caused government change. That is why it's WEEPING.

Speaking of the Perak government fiasco...gosh....I just said I refrained commenting any in my previous post but I couldn't help it now.

Look at this :

1. BOTA defected to PKR. Anwar gembiranya!!!

2. "Corruption-trial" duo rumoured to defect to UMNO.

3. DAP Hee still ding dong as she'll be the determining factor.

4. Suddenly BOTA defect BACK to UMNO????

My Take :

1. BO ta Assemblyman mempersiasuikan.

2. The duo lagi tak payah cakap.

3. Ah Sou you can keep on ding ding dong dong lah.

4. Alanis Morrisette's "Ironic" playing in my head..... It's like rain on your wedding day - Err....it's the 25th anniversary of Sultan Azlan Shah's throne. Well, it's kinda an irony for Anwar as well. Remember the Sabah PBS case?

Also........SULTAN BRUNEI IS IN SANDAKAN. Dengar dengar dinner in Libaran Mile 7.... Aiyah....if flooded just stay in Musa Aman's house lah... though it's not as big as Sultan Brunei's palace but dengar dengar that one also not that bad wor............

Last but not least..... I hope Sultan Azlan do the right thing. Let's pray..........

oh, one more thing......... besides the Land of Sodomy, Malaysia proudly present herself as the Land of Missing Person (Maybe the TV program Without A Trace should have a local spin-off) well.... we have Bala the SD guy, DAP's Hee, the "duo", the UMNO-PKR-UMNO Nasaruddin and many to come I guess, though those we hope REALLY go missing and never come back still lingering around. SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wa Wa Wa......

I mean.... how much obvious can it be? I do not want to be dragged into the arguments of the morality of defection, or the validity of the pre-signed resignation letter or the EC's decision to reject the resignation.

I just want to ask this. COULDN'T IT BE MORE OBVIOUS THAT THE 2 ADUNs ARE TRYING TO BARTER SOME DEAL ON THEIR SOON-TO-BE TRIALED COURT CASE FOR CORRUPTION???? And to think they do this blatantly in front of us!!!!!!!!

Sigh~~~~ POLITICIANS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday

It's the 7th day, traditionally known as HUMAN DAY. So, Happy Birthday!

Classic TVB

All's Well DIdn't Ends Well

Just back from a disappointing movie outing. I know that there should be no expectations but this is beyond it.

Given a choice again now, I won't watch it. :( Why is it so hard to get some laugh?

Happy Chinese New Year

As much reasons as there are for a joyous celebration, spending quality time with family and friends who come back from overseas or other places, these long holiday is the perfect time to spend a little of it for yourself. Get some rest, recharge and turbo ahead in the definitely challenging bull year. Well, at least I gotta.

Happy Chinese New Year

KT in Focus (Updated)

And by the way.... tomorrow is the by-election of Kuala Terengganu.

UPDATE:

PAS won with majority of 2631.

The CNY Breeze and The Prawn Cracker

I suddenly felt it this morning. The once-a-year CNY breeze. It's cool and a kind of its own. I hope the sun comes out more often as the prawn crackers I helped my mom to make are not dried yet! Otherwise, no famous prawn cracker this CNY.

With the Astro for my entertainment and the simplest basic ingredient for the prawn cracker, i.e. pepper powder and salt....

Doing manual labour trying to mix the fresh prawn paste with the flour. Took lots of pounding and mixing before rolling them into medium sized rolls. Steam it and cut it into thin slices after it's cold. Then dry it under the sun and voila!!! It's homemade original (means rich of prawn....not full of flour) prawn cracker. The dried unfried slices can be kept for years.

Oh... it's only about a week time left.

Hati-Hati Ya....

Hujan turun...errr sebenarnya lebih daripada turun; hakikatnya, lebih mirip kepada curahan air dari tangki bertan-tan isipadunya. Akan tetapi sepanjang perjalanan Sandakan-Lahad Datu-Tawau lebih kurang 380km panjang itu tidaklah dilimpahi hujan sedemikian rupa. Tatkala kereta yang dipandu mendekati persimpangan ke Lembah Danum di mana hujan bertukar pula menjadi renyai-renyai, aku ternampak polis trafik membuat sekatan jalan. Hatiku segera bertukar tempo; bukannya aku melebihi had laju atau tidak mengenakan tali keledar keselamatan tetapi disebabkan terpaksa menghentikan kenderaan yang sudah selesa perjalanannya.

Sesudah kuberhentikan kenderaan, aku menurunkan tingkap kenderaan di sebelah penumpang. Terpampang muka seorang polis pertengahan umur kategori pakcik dengan senyuman ramah berkata, "Hati-hati ya dik. Pandu perlahan-lahan. Jalan licin" dan sekali disudahi dengan senyuman ramahnya itu.

Benakku sedetik tersentak, terharu bercampur sebak. Kuteruskan perjalanan dan pakcik polis kelihatan semakin menjauh dari cermin pandang belakangku dalam kereta. Hujan renyai-renyai kembali bertukar lebat. Sebuah senyuman terukir di bibirku. Terima kasih. Moga hujan cepat berhenti, bukan saja di luar kenderaanku juga di dalam hatiku.

Such A Big Frog Leaping Around On The Street (Cantonese-tranlated Idiom)

Dear Sir/Madam:

PART-TIME JOB OFFER

Our warehouses are filled with great new and used warehouse equipment and racking products, ready for fast shipment.Due to the large amount of order we receive from Asia, most especially Malaysia, China and India, we are in need of agents who will work from Malaysia as payment agents.Customers will make payments into your account. Instructions on how the funds will be sent to us will then be given to you.

You will be paid RM 2,000 on every transfer and also get a Monthly Payment of $3,000 (USD)

Please provide us the following details to proceed.
Full Names:
Contact Address:
Mobile Phone Number:
Bank Name:
Account Number:

We only accept CIMB and Maybank Accounts.

Visit our website for more details.www.american-equipment-inc.com/Online.html


Management
American Equipment Inc.
223 6th Street Brookings,
SD 57006 USA
www.american-equipment-inc.com/Online.html


I MEAN... ARE THERE STILL PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THIS KIND OF THING????????????

Lost.Indulgence (2008)

Karen Mok is enough reason for me to buy this. Review soon....

Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

An old work from Woody Allen. Great ensemble. Julia Roberts. Edward Norton. Drew Barrymore. Natalie Portman. Goldie Hawn. Gosh... it's 12 years old movie!!! And it's a MUSICAL well.... before musical becomes vogue again these few years!!!

Review coming........

Changeling (2008)

Rumput Bertuna @ Tuna-ed Grass

Well, since we are in the process of ushering in the new Ox year (2009 is ox year according to the Lunar calender), I am following the example of the ox... by eating grass. Though I slightly modify the menu by adding tuna, I think ox nowadays don't mind lah kan? Speaking of which, maybe I need to compartmentalize my stomach like ox too?

Love Is In The Air - Congrats Min Min and Keah Vee

I went to a university coursemate's wedding in Penang and to end the 2008 attending their wedding cum my short vacation inn Penang (the last time I was there was during my graduation from my alma mater USM with my parents and with liangmoi and Richard together), it was a great one.

Keah Vee doing his declaration of love thingy. Took a long time but I feel that Keah Vee fought with his shyness and poured out finally. Love do conquers!!! The "sisters" did a good job insisting haha....

The smile of happiness 幸福. Lots of ants around lah Min Min

Mission kinda accomplished as Min Min was led out from her room already.

The wedding was in Lone Pine Resort Batu Ferringhi and it's a perfect venue not to mention perfect weather!!!! Outdoor garden wedding's biggest enemy is rain or gloomy weather but the couple was blessed with none of those!

The ambience is just nice and filled with the right elements. Min Min and Keah Vee got a band playing too!!! Such a treat to the ears after so many senses satisfied with the nice environment nice to the eyes and delicious dishes for the taste buds. 16 tables under the tent outside the garden nearby the seaside a band was playing... what else??? Perfecto mundo!!! (oppsss.... pardon me for the Italian)

I forgot to turn on the image stabiliser so sorry for that. The flower girls and boys were so cute!!!

Wish this to be clearer. Min Min is like those big superstar who's sensitive to the camera. Mind you, I was few tables away!!!

I made a request to the band to play L.O.V.E. which I think is a nice add-up to their existing line up of songs. The band rocks and the female vocal has an aptitude for some Spanish as well. Mucho gracias anyone??? :)

The guests danced to the tune and in the picture was Maya (or is it Tia?) with her father!

The USM gang : (l-r) Mei Wan, Phang Chee Hoong, Yen Nee and yours truly.

Another one with the couple.

The mandatory "yum-sheng" session with the bride and groom. Our table had to get "import-player" from other table, i.e. Mei Wan and Yen Nee.

A great night. And yeah.... Min Min looked all lady-like and pretty that night. What they says are true, brides are always most beautiful.

For more professional picture, just visit the blog of the photographer that night at www.malcolmfoo.com/blog Thanks Malcolm and Keith for all the sharing.

Malcolm's photos are stunning and the picture below is one of them...my favourite

Thanks to Min Min and Keah Vee for their great hospitality (err.... I even stayed at their new apartment and they haven't really move in yet... I know I know.... it's so paiseh....). It's the best wedding dinner I had ever been to. Small but warm, filled with love and blessings from all the friends and family, which is what matters at the end of the day.

Last but not least.......... quoting what John, the emcee was saying that night.........

20 babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 2008

The 2008 passed already. As cliche as it may sounds, it was kinda like a whoosh. Just flew away like that. How did I capture the moment? Nothing spectacular but having some drinks with friends at a-not-so-memorable cafe. Thanks to the friends.

Well, I'm not gonna write a review of my 2008 and indeed decided not to. Until few seconds ago when I listened to the replay of the midnight radio show of 嘩！嘩！嘩！打到o黎! and pardon me for copying what the DJs were thinking.

As a summary, my 2008.

王靖雯/王菲-愛與痛的邊緣 Faye Wong's cover version of 有多少愛可以重來.

張學友 - 如果愛 It's not perhaps. IT IS.

Looking forward to 2009.