January 2010

Summing it up with photos rather than write-ups. Here are some of my favourite photos for January.

Nidji's Showcase at Dragonfly Kuala Lumpur 

 










 

Sembang-sembang jam 3am

kekure: salam bos how are you doing?

yasminthestoryteller: salaam. very good, alhamdulillah

kekure: alhamdulillah..have you started your japanese titled movie?

yasminthestoryteller: pre-producing. the hero damn hensem!

kekure: alaaaa...jeles ni!more handsome than peter davis from sell out?

yasminthestoryteller: i didn't think peter davis was hensem.

kekure: saw him live..hensem la compared to the director himself hehehehe

yasminthestoryteller: i'm not big on mat salleh looks, you see.

kekure: yeap i know..

yasminthestoryteller: but i think joon han more attractive than peter davis!

kekure: joon han is cute..finally met him last nite at mid valley..it was nice talking to him about sell out

yasminthestoryteller: ah, i've never met him, though

kekure: gosh i miss our screening with the q&a session..stumbled into him at starbucks..he was with peter davis..

yasminthestoryteller: too busy lah, mem

kekure: you're such a busy bee

yasminthestoryteller: how's the film doing?

kekure: last nite it had about 30 people inside..the most interesting bit is that all of us didn't move even though it was already end of credit..joon han said that it's quite slow

yasminthestoryteller: oh dear

kekure: lots of bloggers wrote good things about this movie..so hopefully it'd help a bit with the tickets sale

yasminthestoryteller: malay bloggers like it more than chinese bloggers, apparently

kekure: yeah..i agree with that..maybe they feel like joon han is mocking his own people?

yasminthestoryteller: that wasn't the complaint. they just didn't like it

kekure: strange..i thought chinese would like it more than malays..

yasminthestoryteller: yah, i know. every time a chinese person says they didn't like it,mcgarmott and allan will attack them! so funny!

kekure: hahaha..semangat kesukanan betul!

yasminthestoryteller: mcgarmott says sellout is the best malaysian film ever..my favourite malaysian film in the last 12 months is "budak kelantan"

kekure: i haven't seen budak kelantan..but i got to watch wayang..not that bad though..after the preview one of the bloggers said to me that it was quite hard to digest the humour

kekure: the bottomline is the humour is quite tricky to digest..if you like the first 15 mins then you'll like it lthe rest of the movie..if you cannot stand it then you'd leave the hall then

yasminthestoryteller: hmmm... maybe

kekure: Clement Chan wrote at 11:06

I watched this on the 9th May at night at Sunway Pyramid with my best friend - 11.45pm showtime. Great movie, had us laughing out loud from the start to the end, and the last scene is just genius.

But I have to draw your attention, Joon Han, of what happened when we went to GSC Pyramid. We arrived at around 11.30pm, saw that there were only two other movies available (can't remember what they are now). We went to the counter, asked for Sell Out!, and she told us that there were only front seats left, but I asked her to show me the seats anyway. And guess what? Turns out that there were more than ample seats - in fact when we entered the hall later, it was half empty.

I don't know if this is a conspiracy against local movies or what, but I thought that you should know. Last I read, Yasmin Ahmad had the same problem before - which is just disappointing imo.

yasminthestoryteller: talentime had same problem as gubra. but i malas nak komplen dah

kekure: do you think that there is a conspiracy here?

yasminthestoryteller: dunno

kekure: it really is perplexing..maybe they want the movie to last only 1 week so that they could have the hall to screen blockbuster movies

yasminthestoryteller: *maybe. it's all about money. but mukhsin no sabotage

kekure: mukhsin's ticket selling was good and perhaps there wasn't any blockbuster movie at that time

yasminthestoryteller: i think the only way to sell tickets is to make all-malay films

kekure: like bohsia jangan pilih jalan hitam?

yasminthestoryteller: yes. even though not guaranteed. jangan tegur didn’t do very well

Gigi – Sang Pemimpi (OST Sang Pemimpi)

sambut hari baru di depanmu
sang pemimpi siap untuk melangkah
beri tanganku jika kau ragu
bila terjatuh ku kan menjaga
kita telah berjanji bersama
taklukkan dunia ini
menghadapi segala tantangan bersama
mengejar mimpi-mimpi
berteriaklah hai sang pemimpi
kita takkan berhenti di sini
kita telah berjanji bersama
taklukkan dunia ini
menghadapi segala tantangan bersama
bersyukurlah pada yang maha kuasa
hargailah orang-orang yang menyayangimu
yang selalu ada setia di sisimu
siapapun jangan kau pernah sakiti
dalam pencarian jati dirimu
dan semua yang kau impikan
tegarlah sang pemimpi
berteriaklah hai sang pemimpi
kita takkan berhenti di sini
kita telah berjanji bersama
taklukkan dunia ini
menghadapi segala tantangan bersama

Black Mood

Patutnya pada waktu sebegini seperti kebanyakan manusia normal lain di Malaysia aku patut tidur. Tapi aku tak boleh tidur. Jam tubuh aku sudah lama rosak dan sukar diperbaiki lagi. Kalau jam tubuh adalah jam dinding mungkin sudah patut ditukar bateri. Akibat daripada itu aku mula menjelajah ke laman web New York Post dan Reuters. Tiada berita menarik kecuali kisah ini lelaki misteri dari Malaysia.

Lagipun ia adalah hari minggu di sebelah sana. Kebanyakannya sedang sibuk berada di atas katil, mengubati hangover atau masih berjimba-jimba.  

Kata orang selepas pukul 2 pagi kita sepatutnya berada di atas katil dan tidur. Tiada benda baik yang berlaku selepas pukul 2 pagi. Benar, aku pun selalunya di tahan polis selepas pukul 2 pagi. Tapi pukul 3 pagi kita boleh menyanyikan lagu P Ramlee. Masuk pukul 4 pagi sila dendangkan lagu Gwen Stefani bertajuk 4am. Pukul 5 pagi lebih baik tak payah tidur pasal dah nak masuk subuh pun.  Kalau nak tidur juga silakan. Nasib baik boleh la subuh gajah dan kalau nasib tak baik haruslah tidur berselimutkan kulit babi. Maka aku yang tidak ketahuan mula menjelajah ke FB seorang pelakon drama yang sedang hangat di pasaran. Aku bukan ‘stalker, cuma mahu melihat apa yang ditulis oleh para peminatnya. Lagipun best layan bosan sambil melihat gelagat manusia di Internet. Aku selalu menyamakan sifat manusia di FB seperti sifat pemandu Malaysia di atas jalan raya. Di luar tampak sopan, hensem, cantik dan sebagainya. Bila mula memandu hilang semua sifat-sifat baik dan tampak kelihatan sifat ganas seperti pemandu di dalam Need for Speed. Macam tu jugak di FB. Di gambar profil nampak sopan,manis,hensem dan lain-lain sifat baik tapi sifat gedik,mangkuk,ganas dan poyo boleh juga terpancar di ‘posting’ FB. Keutaaman diberikan ke atas gambar profil yang menunjukkan aksi ‘pouting’ mulut ikan emas. Sudah terbukti di dalam kajian bahawa itu adalah sifat sebenar ‘cam whore’.

Aku pun tak faham apa sebenarnya yang berlaku di ‘wall’ beliau. Mulanya hanya kelihatan gambar-gambar yang terhasil daripada aplikasi ‘cute’ seperti My best friends (aku tak pasti sama ada mereka benar-benar mengenali pelakon tersebut atau ia hanyalah satu percubaan untuk memancing perhatian beliau) dan tak kurang juga mutiara kata yang di tulis bagi membakar semangat beliau untuk terus memberi lakonan yang merembeskan memberangsangkan. Tidak seberapa lama kemudian mimpi ngeri aku pun bermula.

Ya, benar sekali. Mimpi ‘spoilers’ aku telah bermula di ‘wall’ berdarah ini. Tak berapa lama dulu aku telah pun membantah akan ‘posting spoilers’ di wall beliau. Netiquette ada tapi tak mahu belajar. Kalau nak tepek spoilers boleh tapi sila letakkan amaran supaya takde yang gedik nak klik di situ. Aku fikir memang sifat manusia pentingkan diri sendiri dan pantang ditegur serta tak kurang juga bersifat ‘holier than thou’. Mungkin golongan yang suka menempek spoilers itu sedang menempuhi fasa menopaus atau mungkin mereka suka jika orang anti-‘spoilers’ seperti aku hilang mood untuk menonton. Hello, ko ingat ini filem sifu dan tongga ke? Aku memang takde niat nak tengok pun jadi memang aku alu-alukan kalau ada orang yang letak skrip penuh kat Internet. Tapi ini drama kegemaran aku ok? Bukan senang aku nak suka drama Melayu. Haruslah pasni aku tonton The Mentalist dan How I met your Mother serta Spongebob sahaja. Takpe, gua cool fasal gua tahu ‘spoilers’ tu salah. Satu lagi mungkin itu sifat penonton Malaysia yang cetek ilmu perfileman maka kurangnya kefahaman mengenai ‘spoilers’ dan kesannya kepada penonton. Satu lagi memang sifat orang Malaysia, suka buat bodoh. Bila diajak daftar mengundi mula la keluar soalan : kenapa nak mengundi? Nasib baik aku tak sumbat borang daftar mengundi dalam mulut. Apsal la baghal sangat dek non oiiiii? Takat nak gi karaoke ngan kenkawan pun ko kene undi pusat karaoke mana yang jadi pilihan inikan pulak nak mengundi pemimpin kerajaan. Ada duit PTPTN sibuk joli katak. Kan ke bagus kalau duit tu ko beli majalah Off the Edge dan fahamkan kenapa ko perlu terlibat dalam kempen Perlembagaanku.

Nama pun manusia, ada akal dan ada kelemahan masing-masing. Berbuih mulut aku menerangkan kenapa ‘spoilers’ itu patut dihindari tetap masih tak mahu cuba memahami. Kalau dah memang jenis degil nak mampus dan suka memusnahkan kegembiraan orang lain makanya akan ditepek jugak ‘spoilers’ tanpa meletakkan amaran awal. Berbanding dengan kejadian lepas di mana ada video bagi episod yang bakal ditayangkan di ‘wall’ FB pelakon tersebut pada malam itu, kejadian kali ini lebih parah dan langsung mematikan perasaan aku untuk menonton episod seterusnya. Itu baru cerita fasal FB peribadi beliau, belum lagi aku meleret sampai ke forum. Terpampang sinopsis bagi setiap episod. Perlu ke nak tulis fasal episod seterusnya dengan perincian tanpa sebarang amaran awal? Kalaulah mereka semua ni bersemangat buat perincian macam ni di tempat kerja maka aku berharap agar syarikat swasta atau jabatan kerajaan di mana mereka ini berkhidmat mencatatkan rekod produktiviti yang membanggakan. Syabas uols! Haruslah bonus tahun depan dapat 6 bulan gaji kan? Boleh la beli Coach AAA satu lori.

Well there goes my guilty pleasure thrown out of the window. So, anyone wants to go out with me this Friday?

My heart is in my boots

When Ajami asked me to help out with the subtitle, my heart leaped with joy. As always I jumped in with both feet. Little that I know I’d end up not having the strength to do it. The first time I watched the clip, I felt as if she is still here sitting next to me. Commentating like a commentator in United versus the Kop match. I dreaded to finish it off and ended up doing some other projects along the way. After a while, I finally gathered my strength and suffice to say that I did the subs while holding up the tears.

Boss, it is true that you still have a long way to go.

Hapus Aku

Yakinkan aku tuhan

This is not about me raising a rumpus

Yes! 6 months without a permanent job! What a record! Hey, at least I save you guys from having to read about how lazy I am with work, why the bitch at the office makes my life miserable and what not! Frankly, I don't miss writing up manuals and SOP's that much. Nobody is going to read manuals unless they got into mishaps with their laptop or couldn't fix the WBS though they have kicked it for the umpteenth time. Now, life is all about seizing the moment and yes unto thine own self be true. Praying hard for more good things to come and we all know too well how God works in mysterious way.

Perhaps I should recap what I have done for the last 6 months. Listing is not in any particular order.

• Prepare online contents and I came to know about interesting places in Malaysia that I never know about before 
• Book editing opportunity that let me have more experience explaining things in words of one syllable and lots of knowledge on Mak Yong too
• Some articles published, nothing significant but still a good start and hopefully no one died of heart attacks or whatever while reading my piece
• Done subtitles while terribly having to hold up my tears and praise to Allah for the strength given. Kak Min if you read this, I just want you to know that I miss having lunch with you. Lapchiuuu

I suppose Metric’s Gimme Sympathy fits well with this posting

Get hot, get too close to the flame
Wild, open space
Talk like an open book
Sign me up
Got no time to take a picture
I'll remember someday all the chances we took
We're so close to something better left unknown
We're so close to something better left unknown
I can feel it in my bones
Gimme sympathy
After all of this is gone
Who'd you rather be?
The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?
Oh, seriously
You're gonna make mistakes, you're young
Come on, baby, play me something
Like, "Here Comes the Sun"
Come on, baby, play me something
Like, "Here Comes the Sun"
Don't go, stay with the all-unknown
Stay away from the hooks
All the chances we took

To the faithful departed

Salam abah,

It’s been quite a while since I last wrote to you. I was driving home alone at 4:44 am this morning and I suddenly felt the urge to write to you. Well, it’s the fifth year of Ramadhan without you and yeah I still miss your wake up call for sahur. I suppose you’re doing great on the other side. Maybe after all these years you’d already have a bunch of friends to hang out with down under. I hope you got to see nenek there. You know, she missed you much. Tell her that I say hi. Please tell her that I am sorry for not attending her funeral. I know it sounds selfish but I can’t help but thinking that she is as irrelevant as UMNO in my life. I am terribly sorry and I know you’d have disowned me should you still here but the least I could do is to recite Fatihah to her everyday.

I think Ramadhan 1430 would always be the most special and memorable ones. It’s not that I go to terawih every night, mind you. I won't try to make up some lame excuses but you know how I am. I could easily distracted by invitations for movie previews and what not. I'll try harder next year, Insya-Allah. I had to go through lots of things, learnt something along the way and I might have found some wisdom as well. Don’t you think that’d be enough reason to celebrate life?

I got good news that is worth sharing. Imah gave birth to a lovely daughter on your birthday last August. Swell, huh? I haven’t got around visiting her yet. Call me a crybaby but thinking about the birthday alone would bring tears to my eyes. You know that I always wanted to sleep through August but with the new addition to our family I don’t think I could escape it anymore. Mak is doing well, I think. You can ask more from Zura. Oh Zura is pregnant and expecting in November if I’m not mistaken. I don’t have wide knowledge on the latest buzz in our family. Ask me anything on the twilight saga instead. I can answer faster than Gaban could I tell you. Sorry about that. I’ve been busy caving in and don’t give much thought on stuff other than how to survive my miserable life.

Nothing much to tell you about the political scene except that your favourite party is jinxed with loses in seat by-election. Another one is coming in October, so far the score is 7-1. They don’t have much choice it seems, either revamp or take a hike. Football scene in Malaysia is quite boring, so I won’t touch on that issue. United sold C Ronaldo but it seems like it doesn’t affected their performance so far. Rendra passed away last August. I didn’t realized how sad it’d be until I read a piece written for him in Rolling Stones Indonesia. Well you know what they say, good people always die first. Should you cross his path, tell him that these are my favourite lines from Sajak seorang tua untuk isterinya:

Hidup tidaklah untuk mengeluh dan mengaduh

Hidup adalah untuk mengolah hidup

bekerja membalik tanah

memasuki rahasia langit dan samodra,

serta mencipta dan mengukir dunia.

Kita menyandang tugas,

kerna tugas adalah tugas.

Bukannya demi sorga atau neraka.

Tetapi demi kehormatan seorang manusia.


Ok Abah.Wish I could write more but I have to continue struggling for my survival. Have fun visiting around, hopefully you cover more grounds this Ramadhan. By the way, I won't be visiting your grave this year. No hurt feelings ya?

Love

your ever miserable daughter