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So time nak recap balik some of the fun, but hectic activities yang aku sibuk sangat last week sampai collapse bagai.

Well, up to last Thursday memang meeting bersepah bagai. Was so bogged down rushing from one location to another, with a final meeting lewat petang. Sebelum meeting rush ke Bentley kat Damansara with Amir, nak ganti tali gitar dia sebab malam ada show kat Laundry Bar for Moonshine by Reza Salleh.

Masa nak tukar tali, aku irritated sikit sebab akibat 'tak cukup staff' orang kedai kata balik in an hour.

Malasnya nak ulang alik... so actually plan nak beli dan ciao Amir nak wat sendiri. Tapi singgah la sebentar usha instruments memacam.

And one thing caught my eye.

Now, you must know - aku ni technically musically illiterate. Untuk jurusan kejuruteraan bunyi dulu, I had music theory up to Grade 4. Tapi kalau nak main instrument - haram! The only thing I know how to play with is my own organ. Matilah ko!

But who's never dreamed of being a rockstar before right?

And I always liked the guitar because I thought it had a power of its own.

My dream guitar zaman dulu - Fender Stratocaster and Flying V - salah James Hetfield nya pasai la. Tapi nak beli - wat pe kan? Main hado tau...

Until I spotted this!


Isn't she a beauty! It's a Fender Stratacoustic! Sound dia memag delicious, crisp, full bodied and with just enough weight and depth!

Sebab Amir memang akustic persembahan dia - tanpa teragak aku pon sapu la beli. Heh! Janji puas dan dia leh guna. Lagipun, sebagai pengurusan dia aku nak dia punya kelengkapan untuk membuat persembahan.

And later in the night, when he performed half hour showcase dia (terima kasih backing cajon ye Shamiel - anak Erma Fatima yang memag skang kita rekrut jadi sessionist tuk Amir) - memang sound best gila!


Aku ada upload video-video persembahan dia kat Youtube, so pepandai la korang skodeng. Malas lak aku nak tempek satu-satu.

Dah lah balik lewat malam tu, dan letih, dan gak KO sebab telan ubat - esoknya tengahari gegas ke Duchess Place tuk soundcheck bersama Amir untuk persandingan Yasmin Hani.

Persembahan Amir hadiah dari aku buat Hani, and setiba nya aku kat lokasi sanding (petang akad nikah sana gak), aku kagum! I mean biasa kalau artis kahwin nak jadi sarkas siap lengkap memacam badut dan sebagainya... but this was so beautifully simple and yet elegant!






Tema English garden wedding tak la original sangat. Tapi aku suka execution nih. Memang malam tu bila kita balik tuk majlis (lepas redah ujan dan jam yang tak masuk akal), memang the atmosphere was amazing.

Jarang aku ke wedding yang aku rasa so beautiful. And this was one of the rare few.


Tapi lagi satu yang best nya memang majlis dia intimate and cozy, takde la sampai ribu raban orang. I think there was about 300 guests tops jek.


Anyway, Hani, all the best to you and Sha'arin - aku doakan korang bahagia ke anak cucu!

I guess you could say for me, it was a nice way to end the week going into the weekend.

Eh da la.. nanti aku update agik. Lenguh tangan nak taip banyak sangat (padahal kalau update Twitter tak hengat sampai asik kena limit je sebab over quota - matilah)

Will update more ASAP!

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Torch or pad?

Geramnya! Adik ku yang tersayang katanya... matilah ko... si Zahid tayang Blackberry Torch dia tadik. Si Akim arituh da tunjuk aku dia nya da. Nangis la.. Afdlin pon da beli. Linda Onn pon da. Ramai geng Torch.

I so want it! Nangis la camni. Masa serempak si Zahid kat berbuka puasa Celepets, dia dok tayang... geramnya... nak nak nak!

Aduh... control nafsu.. jap tarik nafas jap nak rilekkan diri.

Anyway, tang berbuka tu, ni some pics. All of the Celepets ada - kecuali Aishah Sinclair. Yasmin Hani, Atilia Haron, Dynas Mokhtar, Sazzy Falak, Serena C and Daphne Iking. Kengkawan artis lain - selain Zahid (sakit hati!!!) ada Ezlynn and Yasmin Yusuff. Ni some pics masa meka jamu anak yatim smalam.

Pas abih the simple but nice 'do, naik atas lepak jap. Sesi anyam ketupat dengan pantasnya bertukar menjadi sesi tayang gadget! Atilia kuarkan iPad dia. Nangis agik!

Tuh dia Atilia ngan Zahid lawan app apa entah.

But I like this app. Guitar app gituh. Si Zahid main sodap lak. Ada piano app gak... aku rasa kalao da ramai-ramai da ada iPad kan... leh form iPad band. pasang mic, main live terus.

The question is now... will I get my iPad soon. Blackberry Torch aku nak gak, but since da ada Onyx, tak perlu la rasanya.

Mmm... abih la aku. Bajet confirm burst jap gi nih.

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Fair & Lovely

Gituh... title entry yang sebenarnya takde kena mengena sangat pon. Well except the fair part.

Ni reaksi aku after reading artikel dalam mstar yang (KLIK SINI) and tergelak sikit la.

Mana taknya... ok camni. Sapa yang malas klik link tuh, ni quote from Norman aku nak share.

"Persembahan pentas mereka lebih matang, seperti yang semua maklum, ini bukan pertandingan nyanyian semata-mata. Saya menganggap mereka seperti berlakon teater.

"Dalam satu masa mereka perlu menyanyi sambil melakukan gerakan-gerakan badan dan tarian yang telah diajar. Sedangkan baju mereka sendiri juga bukan pilihan mereka.

"Jadi, saya rasa tidak adil jika mereka terus dikritik terutamanya di blog-blog. Kritikan biarlah adil, saya rasa masyarakat luar masih ramai yang menyokong dan mempunyai pandangan positif," jelasnya.

Ok. Pada press conference malam Debaran, memang aku stuju ngan Norman. All the dramatics atas pentas is part of the show, necessary or otherwise and it is in fact quite theatrical kalao banding ngan performance yang sebenarnya. Walaopon itu tak semestinya memerlukan pergerakan pose vogue ala ala Karam Singh Walia tangan angkat sana sini bagai.

But this is a fact - every year, Akademi Fantasia sama je. The requirements are the same. Routine ke baju-baju ke apa ke.. sama je. That is merely cosmetic. What is judged, is their ability. And the final result.

You don't get real points for effort - kalao tak ada hasil yang memuaskan. Trying alone isn't enough.

When you say there should be fair comment, do you understand what fair means? It means free from bias, dishonesty or injustice.

Bias? Aku rasa first person bias adalah pengetua. Ni anak-anak didik, so of course things will look different.

Camni je la. Tanya la artis mana pon. Da berejam, berhari, berminggu, berbulan rekod album, last-last bila kuar orang tak kuasa nak beli ke atau haukkan, or course sang artis akan rasa teramat teraniaya. Their opinion that makes it good - is biased because they are considering the labour put into the work. Not the final result.

In the entertainment industry - what matters is RESULT. Not just effort alone.

And the fact remains. Halfway through AF8, prestasi, tahap growth level bebudak, does not match up to previous seasons. Bab tuh, you can deny it till the cows come home, but in terms of talent and likeability, they are so far apart from their predecessors that it's not even funny.

We all judge based on what we see.

Kenapa Norman rasa tidak adil hanya kerana luahan peminat (termasuk aku as I write in a personal capacity in my blog)?

Lupakah? Akademi Fantasia is ALL about the fans. The ones who keep the sponsors coming is because fans invest heavily into the show, not just through AFUNDI but also the immense support through the years through websites, blogs and forums.

The online presence of Akademi Fantasia has repeatedly TRIED to be recreated by other shows tapi tak penah sampai. So somehow, I think this boils down to the fact, that no one in production or channel realizes or recognizes this.

Dishonesty? Injustice. Let me tell you what is fair and unjust.

Giving false hope, janji palsu kat bebudak nih that they're the best ever, making them think they have a brighter future than bebudak Akademi Fantasia musim-musim lepas. Berapa ramai dapat survive? Pikir balik tujuh musim lepas.

Almost a hundred 'graduates' dari Akademi Fantasia. Berapa ramai yang betul-betul menyinar bintang mereka?

The percentage of success REALISTICALLY is low.

Lain la kalao nak kata context competition alone.

The fact is, lagi kejam dan zalim mereka yang menipu, dalam sedar atau tidak, mengatakan bebudak ni bagus sangat when realiti hakikatnya akan amat berbeza.

They should be prepared for the hardship of the real industry, not continue to be surrounded by the fantasy which will last at most another less than five weeks.

Bab aku highlight di mana Norman kata dia merasa TIDAK ADIL dikritik kat dalam blog dan sebagainya... aku nak je soal balik. Mampu ke that critic-free zone tuh bertahan lepas lima minggu lagi.

Sedangkan artis sebenar tidak lepas dari kritikan sesiapa. The fact is when you put out a piece of work to be evaluated, it will be rightfully done so. Takkan nak kata takleh hanya kerana kata-kata itu tidak dipersetujui secara peribadi?

Artis dan bintang camna nih nak dilahirkan? Yang takleh terima kritikan?

Aku terpikir bila tengok Idol, mampu tak bebudak ni hidup kalao berdepan dengan juri yang lebih professional? Dengan pengkritik sedia ada pon, dianggap kasar dan tidak adil pon... aduh.

Reality is going to be such a shocker when the kids come out.

Apapon, hakikat kebenaran akan kelihatan dalam masa tiga hingga enam bulan dari sekarang. We see how many of these fabulous kids will get ahead.

Dari nak menyangkal pendapat orang lain atau sentap, I think it would have been better for the production to work towards improving the show and the many weaknesses. NOT blame others for them - especially when the success of their show depends on the support of all untuk nak naikkan balik Akademi Fantasia.

Kalao betul mereka kata in so many ways this is the best Akademi Fantasia ever - senang je nak tally up things kalao betul meka yang asik kata ada orang cakap bagus dan sebagainya. See the volume.

Meka leh kata la jumlah penonton meningkat bagai. Tiap tahun subscriber base Astro increases, does that not mean an increase in penonton Akademi Fantasia as well? BUT is the percentage growth in tandem with that of the subscriber base? This is the question I keep asking.

Dari segi AFUNDI pulak... boleh tak meka tunjuk AUDITED numbers (bukan angka-angka diumumkan yang takleh verified on the standing of the AFUNDI through the years?)

Musim pertama did about 5 juta SMSes sent, while musim kedua did more than 15 million. Musim ketiga tak silap aku about 10 million.

Dengan tiap musim selepas itu, dengan pertambahan konsert (musim ni siap ada pra-konsert dalam Tirai) we should expect an increase kan? Dah capai ke?

Kejam kan nak compare numbers... but tuh based on their arguments of using numbers. Kalao by support? Again aku katakan, sapa yang sokong AF dari dulu tau dulu lagik meriah. Masuk musim je, forum Cari akan kecoh bagai... blogs AF tumbuh cam cendawan after a downpour and moderator @15 sampai kelam kabut nak clear messages sampai karpet kat channel tuh bergerak at the speed of light.

Sekarang?

Bottomline is - remember this la pada semua.

Berbeza pendapat - tidak semestinya bermaksud tidak sokong.

But the end of support is coming to an end with all these needless justification of how successful AF8 is... walaopon hakikatnya... erm... korang pon tau.

I for one, minggu ni tak kuasa nak layan konsert Akademi Fantasia, Aku gi layan Kelly Clarkson lagik better. Happening lagik. AF? Layan kat Youtube je kang.

These are songs I won't be hearing massacred this week.

Pelajar Lelaki
Maulana – Bila Rindu (Ruffedge)

Shahir – Kau Yang Satu (Ramli Sarip)
Iwan – Aku Cinta Kau Dan Dia (Dewa)
Daus – Selamat Malam (Faizal Tahir)

Pelajar Wanita
Nad – Jikalau Aku (Ezlynn)
Adira – My All (Mariah Carey)
Ain – Jujur Takkan Melupakanmu (Ella)
Farina – Mainan Jiwa (Rini)

Lagu Bonus
Konsert – Pak Balik Pak (Melati)
Debaran – Perpisahan Terasing (KRU)

Erm... ada lagu recycle dah penah wat dalam AF again... and ada lagu KRU.. again... Adira doing Mariah Carey? Nad jadik Ezlynn je aku rasa sesuai. Heh!

Moving on...

Saja nak share pic ni.

Ni pic comel those gorgeous ladies, Atilia, Sazzy, Yasmin, Aishah, Dynas and Daphne as well as Serena C masa shooting video clip lagu baru Atilia - Indah last week. Amik ko.. dalam video tuh gak ada Ning, Ida Nerina, mama Atilia iaitu Salamiah Hassan and Yasmin Yussoff. Me likey!

Sekian! Heh... banyak keja nak abih.

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Long awaited....

I know I promised you guys these pics ASAP tapi aku sungguh sibuk sampai tak larat nak edit pics ni bagai and upload.

Sebelom aku terbabas pot pet panjang, ni gambar-gambar majlis persandingan Umie Aida yang memang wedding of the year (and one of the best celebrity weddings in a long time). Aku malas nak comment too much, so korang enjoy these pics je la ek.

Apapon Umie, woman... you looked gorgeous that night, dan aku doakan ko bahagia disamping abang tercinta sampai ke anak cucu cicit etc, ok. It's so hard to imagine you finally married, being independent woman and all... but I can see how happy you are, and I pray the happiness will last forever for you.

First... the venue. Awesome. Ballroom kat One World Hotel never looked more gorgeous. Congrats to Jovian Mandagie! Memang kelas usaha ko!

Ni souvenir cokelat. Me like the box a lot. Jovian nya keja kalao Indonesian stuff ni memang meletop. I think it's unique and extremely cute!

The menu... tak makan sangat malam tuh pon. Saja jejalan tengok usha kaco Umie, and then berborak ngan orang orang TV dan filem yang hadir. Best! Macam reunion kengkawan lak... pada meka yang perlu...

Nih Engku Emran jadik VVIP usher escort Tun Dr Mahathir masuk. Erra lak escort Tun Dr Siti Hasmad masuk.

And ni the bride. Maapkan the quality or lack thereof, of the pictures. Biasala amik pakai Blackberry je (tu pon kira da meletop ok!). Malas nak galas bak camera berat sana sini time nak la la la... cantik sungguh baju Umie nih.

Again more on the decor. Memang classy and elegant... something missing in a lot of weddings bila nak feeling lavish. Umie's memang a wow and memang aku rasa ramai akan cuba niru kang.

Performers malam tuh, ada Farhan.. ada Ziana Zain... tuh je kot. Tak perasan lak...

My sis! Susah ni nak dapat time lepak ngan Nasha. Ni pon masa jumpa nak lepak borak, ramai nak amik pics ngan dia je.

Takpe la... kang lepak gak. Anyway, I think Nasha looks prettier by the day. I think people try so hard to look good, with her it's almost effortless!

Dan ni antara kengkawan industri yang hadir. Aku tak sempat snappy semua, but I think most of those I can call friends sempat aku snappy.

Ada yang TAK PENTING aku langsung tak endah pon. Ehem... no komen la kan.. bior jerk!

So here's Misha, Dynas, Nabila, Iqram, Nora, Fahrin and Linda - among the beautiful guests yang hadir malam tuh. Ramai lagik... sapa tak sempat snappy, sorry sangat. Ballroom penuh manusia sangat tak sempat spot semua pon. Apa agik nak sesi ngumpat. I know Sazzy and hubby pon ada, Liyana Jasmay... erm.. ramai la.

Korang mesti ingat aku posekan Fahrin dan Linda kan sampai dedua pose peace. Eh.. takde ok. I'm friends with both and I don't take sides. Apapon, I only hope both of them move on soon... tanak la bebenda tak elok ni.

Anyway.. hah... takyah speku. Ni pon Umie flash a peace sign.

But I LOVE the detailing on her second outfit. Amik ko! Thousands of little rosettes all over the bottom half while the top is crystals and lace and what-nots.

This is what you call haute couture!

By the way kalao korang nak tau, berat bahagian bawah baju tuh pon dan berbelas kilo ok! Aku cuba angkat pon terkejut. Umie mintak try angkat kain bawah tuh.. aiyo! Heavy gila! Tabik kat dia camna dia jalan pose bagai.

Beauty is pain, gituh!

Nih lak some shots of her with hubby dearest. Romantic abih aku tengok couple ni. Best! I like!

Ni pon pasangan romantic. Heh... except in this picture, Shidi lak ngada wat moka pose belakang Vee masa perasan aku nak snappy pics. Heh!

Ni bride's bouquet lak. Aku bak balik! Heh! Umie tak campak ke apa... entah tetiba Nasha bak kebas dari mana ntah. Pastu aku main-main benda tuh, si Nasha bagi aku. Bak je la. Keringkan.. kenangan gituh!

Ni Umie with her sister dearest. Erma nampak happy sangat that night... but I guess a lot of us were to see Umie so happy.

And yes... Umie Aida. Ko da jadi isteri orang. All the best, luv. Lots of hugs... after all these years, who would have thought!

Hah... so tuh la entry aku pasal Umie nya wedding yang overdue. Masuk bab lain.

Ni Diari dari semalam. Layan dulu... then aku komen.

Nih dia pemerhatian aku dari Diari hari Isnin.

*Aku tak paham the endless play on ‘salah pengundi’ tak Afundi so terkeluar akibat thingie. Basi… la la la …
*Already Debaran haus, kenapa masih perlu repeat bits from Debaran again in Diari? Redundant. So can play airmata lagik ke? Does this drama still work? Aiyo!!! Dah lapan tahun takde lagik idea ke.. find something new to play on. Five minutes of tears… boo!
*Alamak… that stupid monkey makes noises now. Yawn!
*FUCK!!!! More crying???? Bodoh la asik perah airmata je keja. Dari gelak, jadik meluat jadik benci aku nak tengok sekor-sekor cenggeng melampau tak kena tempat. It’s not like they fucking died! Shit… Da masuk tiga minggu masih main drama airmata yang takde perisian. Ni ke katakan meka ada character? Bazirkan airmata pada benda yang camni. Stop it already! It’s just coming to the point of being ridiculous! Tunggu la meka keluar tengok how much respect for being weepy all the time. Puke!

And that was it! Itulah satu episod Diari yang nan hado.

Erm... Diari hari Selasa malam tadik lak. First of all.. ni lagu tugasan minggu ni.

Pelajar Lelaki

ALIF – Sesuatu Janji (Taufik Batisah)
SHAHIR – Derita Cinta (Jamal Abdillah)
IWAN – Permaisuriku (Jay Jay)
MAULANA – So Sick (Ne-Yo)
DAUS – Separuh Jiwaku Pergi (Anang)

Pelajar Perempuan
AIN – Cinta Antara Benua (Arni Nazira)
FARINA – Cantik (Nikki)
ANUM – Kau Atau Aku (Main Tarik Tali) (Elyana)
NAD – Bulan Cinta (Eva)
ADIRA – Kini (Feminin)

Korang perasan tak tiap minggu mesti ada lagu KRU? Memang la they have SOME good songs in their catalog. Tuh tak nafikan. Lagu Kini ni pon memang 'evergreen' pop (matilah aku evergreen). Betul la kan... sapa tatau lagu Feminin... iconic gituh.

Cuma seriously they need more variation. Hasilnya semua jadik ala produk KRU sounding. Oh well...

Tapi ni yang kelakar.

Lagu Bonus Debaran
GENERASI HEBAT – (Hafiz, Aril, Akim & Black)

Aiyo!!! Honestly? Tak cukup ke semua edisi program Akademi Fantasia kali ni sumbat botol Brands dalam moka kita, pastu sebut dalam 3,726,211 kali dalam dua minggu pertama sahaja?

Ni lagu pon kena lagu iklan? Damn!

The girls have a better selection though, tapi minggu ni aku rasa Farina either mati ngan lagu Cantik, atau meletop. Dia yang paling kritikal sebab lagu ni may be straight up poppy dance, but it's difficult. Kenapa tak bagi Anum lagu ni (gelak sorang jap)

*What’s with the siren gimmick? Pengetua nak form groups of three katanya. Perlu ke? Aiyo.. so freaking unnecessary. I really don’t see why they bother with these kind of attempts langsung demi nak dapat some sort of plot or storyline. Nampak sangat haus idea. Aduh.. it gets worse and worse. Kira cam America’s Next Top Model or Project Runway meka dok sebilik, bila partner tersingkir more drama ler. Or drama gaduh/cinta. Perah, jangan tak perah!!!
This has nothing to do with reality. They can’t even get themselves in order nak focus on teamwork. Heh… macam-macam.
*”Hey you, don’t move and I’ll KELL you”????? Another product of our wonderful education system.
*Aduh.. Shahir ni… tuk budak nasyid serious horror la sora dia. Berkali aku katakan biasanya dak nasyid mesti vokal power. Ni.. erm…
Ok.. so semalam talking monkey. Today we back to the talking motorcycle. What are we watching la? Akademi Fantasia ke Alice In Freaking Wonderpets Land???
And that was the whole freaking Diari!
Only thing cute was watching kak Fati, Siti Hajar and Que acting up in the end.

The whole Akademi Fantasia series – FAIL!
Three tenaga pengajar having fun – WIN!

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