Sayang... you can dance???!!!

Been tired running about ada hal sana sini. But malam tadi more so lor.

It's Indonesian themed week! My 'twin', Leo is in town, with Danny. So smalam lepak ngan meka kejap cause couldn't make it the night before sebab ada benda nak settle.

Yeay!! Leo got me a Project Pop CD. It's their compilation CD called Top of the Pop or something like that. Also some stuff he bought in Bali for me.

Pas tuh, rushed to Pavilion to see another Indonesian friend who was in town. Samuel Rizal!!! Gawd this dude is the best! Dia ni memang gila gila happy go lucky. So seronok dapat jumpa Sammy again cause the last time jumpa dia was about a year ago when he was in town pas shooting Sayang You Can Dance. And since this time he's only here a couple of days tak dapat lepak pun.

Anyway, thank to the invitation from kak Fati, joined her and uncle Rashid for the gala premiere of the event, which of course had Nani, Sammy, Dafi... ramai ler.

Also managed to catch up with friends there sebab ramai yang da lama tak jumpa, hadir.

On to pics je la.

The cast of Sayang You Can Dance



Camelia pun ada. Last jumpa dia pun da setahun


Adam joined to lend moral support


Don't you think Nani looks so damn sweet!


Soon to be mommy Leya. Due in June with TWINS!!!


Part of the happy family. Kak Fati is like another mummy so extended family betul la kiranya


Pas settle borak kat luar and they finished speeches and stuff, we all went in for the movie. Or otherwise, more camwhoring while waiting for the movie to begin (selain dari mengumpat apa yang patut la)

Marsha and Ajai


My other parents


Cam and her manager Magie


Samuel and I dok next to each other - and had the worst picture of me ever taken done. Argh..!!!!!! This is a case of bad angle!!! I look like a freaking beached whale!!!


Leya pun nak tau!!!


Anyway the movie was ok. Not disappointed, but it left a weird feeling cause the basics of a good popcorn movie was there, but lacking some punch. I don't know.

Technically the film was alright. Storyline a little cliche, editing was a little dodgy, choreography a tad disappointing and acting some of the cast members below par.

But it's got Sammy and Nani, so it was good enough for me. Go watch it. Worth it. Especially to catch the Yasmin Ahmad cameo tuh yang best!

Yawn.. ok la guys.. I need to turn in. The week is only beginning for me when it's ending for others. Esok aku ada lagik benda nak post. It's going to start.... by the way, jangan lupa Tirai Akademi Fantasia starts tomorrow night. The programme info semua on the right side punya sidebar. Later....


PS - Did catch up TV and watched Idol (predicted right for the third group and knew Jasmine and Anube would get in - THANK GOD Tatitana didn't), Heroes (pening siot.. every week cliffhanger memang suspen), America's Next Top Model cycle 12 (Tyra is so freaking cheesy!!!) and a couple of movies.

PPS - Faz shooting a telemovie so we all busy. Just one of those times...

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Mraz-a-lah!

I didn't plan anything semalam. Did think up of going to KL to pick up some stuff but that was it.

On the way, Burn dan Cham called. Berapa kali on air mesti kaco hidup aku dua orang ni tuk slot Petang Di Era. Heh... tapi takpe la.. kengkawan. Kali ni meka nak promo konsert Jason Mraz which, Era was of course the official radio station.

Did a set with them and that was it and headed to Mid Valley. Pas settle pick up some stuff, Juan kata dia ada dapat complimentary tickets to the concert, so thought why not. Pas settle gi pick up dia and we headed to Stadium Negara.

We got there maybe about 7.30pm and it was already packed. Thank goodness for a 4wd and it's abilities to naik divider nak parking right in front of the stadium entrance. Heh...

Jalan nak masuk serempak ramai kawan-kawan sangat. Cam reunion la pulak.Ye la... concerts and awards shows are the only places most of us congregate given the nature of our work, so to be expected.

We hauled ass into the stadium (after me sneaking burgers and drinks in my pants - don't ask... even Syazwan was grossed out... but sapa leh tahan concert without a drink kan?) Dumbfounded! Packed gila! I mean I'm no Jason Mraz fan, but I do know that us concert starved Malaysian would throng to the stadium... but this was ridiculous!

Masa kita masuk, ngan ramai lagik beratur kat luar, it was already so packed that if you raised your hand, you would have managed to smack eight adults, their in-laws and three children. Cam tin sardin. I seriously think more tickets were given out than the place was allowed to hold. Boo to the promoters nak wat duit sampai camtuh.

A shot of the crowd as we entered the stadium... crazy!!!


Bahang memang terasa... not from the excitement of the concert, but the fact that it was sweltering. Apparently, comfort wasn't a priority of the promoters either sebab it was hotter than a sauna... and people weren't even partying yet!

We made out way into the 'rock zone' which is basically the arena, the area where you see the sea of people flocking to down there. RM138 worth and no decent place to stand for a claustrophobe like me. Pokaemon sangat! Takpe... though I can't believe I was doing it for a Jason Mraz show. I mean, Britney Spears I would...

And then the show started. Sound system hanjing sangat tau! Quality tahap mini compo bateri nak mati. If you were smack center in the directed path of the speaker stacks like we were ok... but anywhere else and it would show someone forgot to take into account the horrible acoustic value of the show which was way below par from so many other live shows I've attended.

But it wasn't so bad cause his performance was really good. And his musicians were the best money could buy (unlike the air conditioning and many more things one could bitch about)

The only real song I like from Jason Mraz is The Remedy, which was his opening number. Other songs are nice and easy listening like his other hits but The Remedy for me is something that is so.. groove-able.

Was singing along and then he got to one part, he did a snippet of another song. I managed to sing along, tapi tak ingat tajuk lagu tu. It was only an hour later, it struck me that it was Oasis' Wonderwall (after pecah pala nyanyi balik sorang diri trying to figure out what the damn familiar tune was). But it pretty much set the pace as the opener for the concert which I think musically was one of the best concerts I've been too (but it also grabs my attention as one of the WORST organised ever - and this means a lot considering I attend a lot of concert locally as well as in Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore.

Anyway... watch the video below. The images are crappy but the sound is ok. Thank my position somewhere in the middle of the sea of people.



Tapi one thing that killed my enjoyment a little were the skanky ho creatures you find at every one of these events. Ala... you know what I mean. Those who dress up either like they're going to a club, or a prom (for a stripper academy).

Ladies, take not. Don't be stupid and wear heels (this is one time comfort MUST be a priority - especially for those you step on), handbags (swing that thing and knock me one more time, bitch and...), long dresses (that make you trip up in your own material) or wear your hair loose (which you keep flipping and smacking someone in the face with considering the close proximity we all have to be in due to the sardine can scenario.

Case in point - this stupid ass Ah Lian who was in front of me. I don't know which new village she was from, but this cow asik libas rambut dia yang dia feeling bau Pantene (by that time more like bau peluh and rokok) in my face. If I wasn't a gentleman, I'd have bodyslammed her and thrown a metal chair to ensure maximum damage and permanent bodily harm.

To make matters worse, she didn't seem to have a clue where she was holding tight her big ass handbag which she could have used to smuggle her whole family in from across the border which - apart from her hair that kept swishing about in my face - kept poking me in the ribs annoying the bejeebers out of me.

Arghhhh!!! Aku panas gila ngan dia. And she glared at anyone who dared get close to her, like you had to keep a feet distance at least. Wei betina... ni konsert la. I'm claustrophobic and you don't see me griping about personal space. Sheesh!

Anyway, she didn't seem to even know who Jason Mraz was and seem totally uninterested in the concert - except when a lovey dovey tune was there and Ah Lian decided to get cosy with Ah Beng, her boyfriend who looked like a Taiwanese boyband reject. Owh... there was also the time when her and a couple of their friends decided to have a pose-off blocking our view so that they can, and I quote, "put Facebook and then you tag me ah can show we see Jason Mraz".

MATILAH KAUUUUUU!!!!!

Ah Beng in striped shirt hugging the irritating Ah Lian who would have been more at home in an A Mei concert


Panas hati tapi bersabar je la. And that was what I had to ensure within just the first three songs.

There's just something about this Bagan crowd that pisses me off. I mean I'm Chinese too - so please don't insult your own race by acting out a stereotype (I'm sorry? Owh.. you weren't acting!). I mean, I saw this other Ah Beng with platibum blonde hair, topped by a cheap ass Made In China top man hat, wearing a shirt, along with a knit vest. Are you serious??? Orang pakai t shirt pun da basah kuyup? Is it cold in the province you're from???

But all in the all the show was hot, and I'm not even talking about the heat and the various body odours of stale soap, cheap perfumes and assorted other stenches,... I mean scents.

Jason's performance was erm... blinding!


Pas lima ke enam lagu da tak tahan panas, and the Ah Lian, so moved to the entrance to have a smoke, and then back in to lepak near the left hand side of the stage where the piped in air conditioning which was doing nothing was.

Juan kena tegur sebab tengah video the performance but dia laser staff Rela tuh, terus mamat tu tak berani tegur. I mean come on... seriously? Apart from Youtube, you really think anyone can make money off these video clips?

But ok... respecting intellectual rights and all, perhaps the promoters should set an example. Like not having their own staffers sibuk masuk tengok show (padahal time keja) and recording portions of the show while blocking paying (not me cause my ticket was complimentary) attendees of the concert. Case in point... refer to the pic below.

Oh look.. Axcess ticketing staff not only sibuk tengah layan the show instead of their job - also recording the show ignoring their own warnings not to make any recordings


I was in a better mood by now though, so didn't give a toss. I was in front of like one of the six air conditioning ducts in the whole stadium. So being freezing in an otherwise panaih nak mampuih environment helped me not to get nasty.



More songs... the end... and an encore and it was over. Zoomed out before the crowd swarmed for the exits.



Tired out by the end of it... which came pretty fast. Headed to Pelita for a quick meal and then back home. Ngantuk gila... esok keja kul 10 pagik lak. Nanti je aku update lagik. Layan The Remedy one more time...


PS - Sorry for the quality or lack of, of the photos and video. Tak bawak my digital camera and this was the best I could do with my phone.

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Transformasi bermula... (Part 2 of 2)

Ok here's the second part of the entry. I know it took some time, but sebab nak edit, upload, server lembab, ada keja, letih, layan noya orang... all in one... akibatnya baru sempat nak up kan. Hope it didn't take too long.

Firstly, here's the video of them performing snippets of songs ketika memperkenalkan diri kepada media petang smalam.



Second video ni is more of a slideshow with more photos of the kids.



And now on to the pics of the event. By the way, masa pembukaan majlis, Riz, Dafi, Farah dan Marsha menyanyikan lagu Seribu Impian. So jangan tertanya lak kenapa meka ada kat sana.

The stage is set


Farah, Marsha, Dafi dan Riz membuat persembahan pembukaan dan kemudian 20 calon pelajar joined them onstage






Calon-calon pelajar Akademi Fantasia 7



The boys


The girls


Farah



Riz


Nora tumpang nyelit


Marsha dan macam macam pose dia




Kak Mah


Alamak door gift pun amik pic? Biasalah.. penambahan koleksi memorabilia Akademi Fantasia


Aku rasa da ramai tanya aku... apa yang transformasi nya Akademi Famtasia tahun ni? Nak ubah camna lak... nampak sama jerk. Well, all I can say is the show is getting a facelift of sorts. Walaupun baru berusia tujuh tahun (and you wouldn't really need a facelift at that age) TV shows ni lain. To stay relevant and fresh, quite a bit of changes have been made which you will get to see in the next week or so. Korang tengok je la... aku mana leh bagitau.

Nak sangat aku bagitau? Hah... ni dia. Mr Bola Bola da ada bentuk muka dan da pakai baju. Ni prototype trophy for Akademi Fantasia tahun ni. Stylo tak?



NOT!!! Of course you know I'm joking about the trophy bit. Ni perhiasan kat bilik aku. Tapi cam Mr Bola Bola tuh kan? Heh... saja je nak selit masuk sini wat gempak. Mesti kalao korang tak terus baca ni, korang pun tertipu sikit kan.

Anyway...tengok mulai sehari dua nih, banyak updates aku kot. Korang kena usha. Takleh cakap pasal apa.

Anyway... aku bebetul letih ni. Been up early... and really need some rest. Hold on to your hats, cause Akademi Fantasia is beginning.


PS - Seronok KL tadik ujan sampai banjir kilat. Seronok sebab tak bak Wira aku, bak Nissan 4WD yang main rempuh je air ala motorbot padahal orang lain sangkut, dan akhirnya dimandikan aku. Heh... matilah kena sumpah seranah.

PPS - Noya seharian ada je yang uji kesabaran aku. Dari pagik tuh!

Banyaknya nota kaki ni.... - tak kuasa aku nak melayan binatang yang nak ngata aku belakang-belakang. Nama je teman media, tapi nak merungut pasal speku aku nak masuk tenaga produksi Akademi Fantasia kenapa? Konon aku diberikan perhatian sangat antara semua rakan media. Hello mangkuk jamban! Jangan malukan geng media leh tak? Orang cam ko ni la yang busukkan nama wartawan. Aku sekarang FREELANCE dan bebas ikat kontrak dengan sesiapa. Kalao ko nak sangat... ko beranikan diri berhenti makan gaji, and go freelance for a living Pokaemon! Bodoh la bangsa camni... *breathe in... breathe out* Lantak la... dari dulu ada je suara sumbang. Nak layan carutan camni buang masa. Nak carut silakan. Tapi biar ada asas... jangan kang orang kata tak sekolah lak perangai walaupun feeling educated bagai. Don't make me get to the point of confronting you (cause you know I can and will). And if I do, I'll get Shetangi on you (Project Runway fans will understand that one - not the person in question cause you probably need subtitles) And on that note... a nice day to you too.

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Transformasi bermula... (Part 1 of 2)

This is the entry aku rasa ramai tunggu. As announced in the press conference tadik, inilah 20 calon pelajar Akademi Fantasia yang bersaing untuk tempat memasuki Akademi minggu depan.

Berapa ramai yang akan masuk ke dalam Akademi masih misteri... tapi sebelum masuk bab tuh, let's get to know the kids. Heh.. kids sangat la kan... ramai yang da berumahtangga, dan siap ada anak pon.

Inilah mereka yang berjaya menambat hati juri setelah ujibakat di Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Sabah dan Sarawak dilakukan yang dihadiri lebih 9000 orang - a record by even Akademi Fantasia standards since it began.

So... ladies first... and the the boys.






















Pada pendapat aku la, some of them nampak potential. But this time around, I think they all seem very raw. Borong the metaphorical kertas pasir, and start proses menggilap sebab banyak layers nak ilangkan sebelom the star potential starts shining through.

Not an impossible task... as some of them might just be able to surprise people. But at the moment, tahun ni - wat pertama kali, aku takde rasa sorang pun berjaya pikat hati aku ngan persembahan mereka.

Granted we only got snippets of their performance ketika diperkenalkan tadik... but still, not one of them stuck me as THE ONE.

So it's still an open race. It's anyone's guess sapa dapat tempat.

Aku post sampai sini je.... sebab next entry je aku letak pics and the video from the press conference just now. Banyak nak edit dan upload. Wait for it...

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Soalannya...

2-Mar-2009 | Oleh: Murai Batu

Mawi, Fitri Sertai Pasukan AF7?

KL, 2 MAC 2009: Sebelum ini, Murai Batu ada dengar desas-desus mengatakan ada segelintir bekas pelajar Akademi Fantasia (AF) akan menjadi penasihat atau pun tenaga pengajar untuk AF7 kali ini.

Dengar-dengar, Raja SMS yang baru berkahwin tu, Mawi, dikatakan akan terlibat dalam senarai itu. Betul ke? Tapi tak pula Murai Batu pasti pula apa jawatan Mawi kelak.

Ada sumber cakap, Mawi akan terbabit dengan Diari AF. Hai, adakah Mawi akan jadi pegawai yang menjaga pelajar lelaki? Sebelum ini model kacak, Syafiq, memikul tugas itu dan dia terus jadi popular gara-gara AF6.

Selain nama Mawi, Murai Batu dengar nama bekas pelajar AF2 yang handal dalam selok belok fesyen, Fitri pun disebut-sebut juga. Mana tahu, mungkin penglibatan Fitri nanti lebih ke arah penasihat fesyen pelajar setiap minggu. Dulu kan Fitri yang reka jubah graduan masa final AF2...

Kalau ini semua terjadi, bermakna Astro mahu bekas-bekas bintang AF dulu turun padang membantu perjalanan AF7 kali ini kerana mereka lebih dulu makan garam. Bagus juga idea itu.

MURAI BATU: Betul ke wartawan popular mulut laser - Joe Lee - jadi krew AF7? Apa tugas dia?

Kredit : Murai


Soalan cepumas aku, statement Murai Batu last tu... popular ke? Mulut laser ke? Ok... bab laser tuh is understating is, while popular is memang overrating it la kan? Anyway... erm.. apa aku nak cakap ek.

Well I think kalao betul (matilah kalao betul... nak mengelak kan statement.. propah sangat kan) it's a good thing if Mawi dan Fitri involved. I don't know in what function Mawi leh masuk but bab Fitri tuh aku setuju kalao as consultant bab fesyen sebab dia more than capable.

In fact kalao leh aku nak top up kan suggestion. Apa kata amik Bob sebagai pengkritik bab vocal. He really is one of the best technical singers in town, and I think Akademi Fantasia, yang bertanggungjawab for one of the best male vocalists in the industry, needs someone like him, who not only knows what they're talking about, but also comment from the point of view of someone who has been through all that, and then entered the real music industry.

Personality wise dia kena all out la kalao camtuh but anything's possible kan? Seronok gak konsep mengimbau kenangan light light bila bebudak dari Akademi Fantasia lepas kembali untuk tolong menentukan direction dan feel musim terbaru.

Erm... bab lain tuh.. erm... ngantuk lak (matilah aku tetiba ngantuk kan) Takdela... apa apa aku bagitau korang ok. Lagikpon, terang lagik berspotlight gituh bagi meka yang memang da lama ikut sini da kan.

Anyway, aku tanak post panjang lebar sebab esok, entry yang confirm menyakitkan jiwa yang very long.

If you've been keeping track of the return of Akademi Fantasia, esok pengumuman calon-calon pelajar Akademi Fantasia untuk musim ketujuh. Hajat hati aku nak blog seara langsung but no guarantees. Sidang akhbar tu bermula (sepatutnya) pukul 2 petang. So guaranteed updated latest by pukul 5 ke 6. Korang usha usha ler....

Until then.. ciao.


PS - Debaran sangat tunggu transformasi AF7

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Nokia N97

Damn... and I thought my Nokia N95 8GB was good enough. Until I came across the Nokia N97!

Forget the crappy N96, the Iphone, the Samsung Omnia or whatever je model yang ada skang. I want a damn N97! Here are some of the features of only the second the touchscreen phone which comes built in with a tilt slider.

Specifications
Form factor	Tilt Slider
Platform / Operating System	S60 5th Edition, Symbian OS v9.4
CPU	32bit Freescale MXC300-30 ARM11 600 MHz (not confirmed)
Memory (RAM\Flash\MMC)	32GB internal, 16GB Micro SDHC included (32GB Max MicroSDHC available in 2009), 48GB total (64GB max).
GSM frequencies	850/900/1800/1900 MHz
HSDPA frequencies	900/1900/2100 MHz
GPRS	Yes, class 32
EDGE (EGPRS)	Yes, class 32
3G	HSDPA (3.5G), 3.6 Mbit/s
Main screen	TFT Touchscreen, 16,777,216 colours, 360x640 pixels, 3.5 inches
Camera	Front 0.3 Megapixel, 2x digital zoom & Rear 5 MP, 2584x1938 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA@30fps), flash, f/2.8, 5.4mm focal length
Video recording	Yes, MPEG-4 640x480 @ 30fps, nHD 16:9 video recording, MPEG-4 SP 640x352 at 30fps
Multimedia Messaging	Yes
Video calls	Yes
Java support	Yes, MIDP 2.0
Memory card slot	Yes, SDHC, hotswap, 16GB Maximum
Bluetooth	Yes, 2.0+EDR
Infrared	No
Data cable support	Yes, Micro USB 2.0, Nokia AV 3.5mm
Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
Email	Yes
Radio	Stereo FM Radio with RDS
Music player	Yes, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, MP3, WMA
Video Player	Yes, H.264/AVC, MPEG-4, RealVideo 7,8,9/10, WMV 9 @ 30fps
Polyphonic tones	Yes, 64 voices
Ringtones	Yes - MIDI, AMR (NB-AMR), WAV, MP3, AAC2
HF speakerphone	Yes
Offline mode	Yes
Battery	BP-4L 3.7V 1500 mAh
Talk time	Up to 6.6 hours (GSM), 5.3 hours (WCDMA)
Standby time	Up to 430 hours (GSM), 400 hours (WCDMA)
Weight	150 grams
Dimensions	117.2 x 55.3 x 15.91(18.25 at camera area) mm,
SAR-Rating	0.5 W/kg
Availability	Q2/2009
VOIP Support	Skype support (Coming in 2009 Q3 with firmware update)
Else	A-GPS support, Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch, digital compass, TV out, document viewer.

Yang penting, the Nokia N97 supports up to 48 GB of storage, including 32 GB of on-board memory, expandable with a 16 GB microSD card. Holy shit!! Bab tu je aku da meleleh air liur. With continuous playback time of up to 1.5 days that's helluva lot of music and movies.

The only downside is the standard 5-Megapixel camera.

The Nokia N97 is expected to begin shipping in the first half of 2009 at an estimated retail price of EUR 550 before taxes or subsidies. Damn... I don't care...by hook or by crook I wanna get one before they launch it in Malaysia.

CLICK HERE for the full specs. I'm drooling over it... nak sangat!!!

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