The day the music died...

Looking back, .... some of the best times of your life were the ones in college.

Especially when you were famous , not academically tho'.

Our first AD years of ITM were not in Shah Alam but thrown into a remote small rural, former mining town called Dungun, Terengganu.

No entertainment, no senior influence, no distractions, just raw and unadulterated talent majority fresh from school.

Thus, after getting to know the 'freshies' a little better, among them emerged a bunch of musically inclined individuals. The need to perform during the 'Induction Night' necessitate for a band to be formed.

Sahimi Cik on the drums, Aidil Tasphin on the Bass, Asri Ahmad on guitar, Fauzi on Persussions and of course there were others who want to 'menempek' , whether playing the tambourine, triangle or anything that makes a sound.

That's how it all started and we played through the semesters and it did not matter whether we have fans or not we played to the AD crowd and even to no crowd at all, - 'janji syiok sendiri'.

Influenced by a small record shop found in the nooks of Dungun town we found albums from 10 CC, Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers and a couple more (which I can't remember - fakta umor), we had our regular shots of musical inspiration. Mostly Jazz , progressive, fusion and funk.

Unfortunately, at that time what was hot on the charts were not songs from our prefered 'genre' but from bands like D'Lloyd playing songs like 'Oh dimana, Semalam diMalaya, mengapa harus jumpa' just to name a few.

We were not that hot after all, and most of them thought that our music were very mengantuk .

Which explains why our locker doors had inscription of JAZZzzzzzzzzzz.

So much for being a jaguh kampung !

However, the AD guys and gals were proud of us and had been very supportive during our whole year in Dungun.

Moving on to our 2nd year, - it was ITM Shah Alam Main Campus.

Suddenly, we all found out that there was a buzz going around the whole campus about a small AD band from a remote village in the East coast was coming to town.

We felt famous again !

The rest they say was HISTORY ...

.

l to r - Fauzi, Aidil, Asri, Rustam and Imi.

We had to censor the background sponsored by a now defunk cigarette brand - BENSON & HEDGES -( at that time a packet of 20's cost rm 1.80.)

l to r - Aidil, Fauzi, Sofi (where are you now Mr Sax man) Asri, and Norman (architect turned full time musician )

Check out the speaker Telinga at the corner.

l to r - Fauzi, Asri, Sofi (yes the Sax man) Aidil, Imi, and none other than mr. guitarist Mus Jazz.

This was our first gig outside campus. Check-out the disco lights .

Of course there were times when we had to share the limelight. We had to be the back up band for a group of Business Students.

Menggelabah juga jazz band main lagu 'BORIA'.

So much for 'Syiok Sendiri'.

Any one for a Band re-union ?

We still do signing of autographs !

I am back

Yes I am back, a momentus occasion especially when yesterday happens to be my birthday.

The last I wrote was on 28th February 2009 right after I received a gag order. This is for something that I blog in honesty and was seen to jeopardise a 'business relationship'.

Actually I have been writing on another blog for my condominium. (sinaranukay.blogspot)

Today also marks the day I came out of hibernation from my Facebook. - 125 days to be exact.

It was good.

facebook or faceoff

I received this notification in my mail last night which heightened my suspicion of a conspiracy from the facebook team. Yes you heard me right. As I have mentioned in my last post, if possible refrain yourself from submitting all of your intimate personal details like addresses etc.  

Fair enough I am now accused and punished (not even suspected) of copyright infringement of my own video which I shot and edited personally making me the rightful owner.  

The thing that puzzles me is I have to fill in my phone number and home address which I had omitted in my facebook profile. I don't understand why do they need this. Do they want to visit me? Do they want to send me a snail mail?  

I am made to fill in a form and declare that I am the rightful owner otherwise face the consequences as stated below..

 

Hello, We have removed your video entitled "Goodbye Fandi" uploaded at 7:46am February 15th, 2009. We did this because we learned that your video might include copyrighted material owned by a third party, such as a video clip or background audio. If you are the copyright owner, or have permission from the rights holder to upload and distribute this material on Facebook, you may file a counter notice of alleged infringement by following the link below.  

Please note that if you re-upload this video without filing a counter notice, or if you upload another video that infringes on the rights of a third party, our system will again remove the content. This could cause your access to the Facebook Video application to be disabled, or your Facebook account to be disabled.

Lu pikir lah sendiri...

Ground Zero Memorial Park Bukit Antarabangsa

This is the spot where one can engage a clearer perspective on the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa where 5 lives were tragically lost.

Could this be a potential site for a Memorial Park ?

Almost everyday scores of visitors keep coming by at this location to have a closer look.

After all if we still fail to learn from the past, we anticipate that life will return to normalcy in a couple of months and all will be forgotten.

Our prayers goes out to the families of the victims. Amin.

Like I have nothing else better to do

About a week ago, we had our residents meeting with the joint management committee of my condominium. As usual during these kind of meetings, there were the usual hostility and grievances about service fee etc. 

I suggested that we should organise more social events , like  makan-makan , garage sale etc. to forge a better understanding of our neighbours whom we don't know very much of.

Suddenly I found myself being appointed as the unofficial volunteer to make things happen. As though as I have nothing else better to do, I have to quietly take up this responsibility and started to activate the following steps. 

The first thing that comes to mind is of course communication. A line that connects to as many people as possible. A quick google search found that there are quite a number of residents who are bloggers. Therefore creating a blogspot is the obvious thing to do.

Check it out...  http://sinaranukay.blogspot.com/

smalltalk on bukit antarabangsa

Last night at 'Ole Cafe' Changkat Bukit Bintang I presented an informal kakireka smalltalk about the recent Bukit Antarabangsa landslide. What was suppose to be a personal account as a designer reserved for my blog ended up as a public presentation to my fellow comrades in the creative industry.

At first I was quite sceptical on the topic with regards to its relevance but as I dwelt deeper into it I realised that it was actually an eye opener for our well being as responsible designers.

Thanks to Gary and of course Kenneth for persuading me into presenting this talk when we had our brainstorming session in Mid valley a fortnight ago.

Thank you for those who have given their relentless support to the smalltalk.

Its one way of realising our hope that designers be 'thinking' designer rather than just a 'visualising' designer.

click here to access the link to the presentation on pdf.

In conclusion, the talk ended with a question thrown at the audience on the willingness of us designers going down to 'ground zero' and contribute like the good people from the SPCA.

Bangkok Lane revisited

There are more than just food, architectural heritage and quaint homes along Bangkok Lane, Penang. A pleasant surprise, was the intimate atmosphere and artistic elegance of A2 Gallery founded by two artists namely Jeff and Alfred. 

The latter was kind enough to enthusiastically show me around the current exhibition by artist Jane Yap whose works were magnificiently enhanced by the interior architecture of the gallery. 

Along Bangkok Lane, sits A2 Gallery, where Alfred curates.

Staircase to more works, where young heart dreams of..

sitting where Jane's works are currently being displayed.

Worthwhile dropping by in Penang or in cyberspace. 

http://www.a2artgallery.com

some pix courtesy of   

a2 Gallery,

27 Bangkok Lane, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: + 604 227 4985

Regional Pantun Raya

I thought this was worthy of publishing courtesy of the colourful Pok Ku.

http://bustamann.blogspot.com

Kelantan...

Make ikke cicoh budu
Jange lupo tamboh satar
Kelik rayo toksir laju
Nanti rayo dale sepita

Terengganu...

Makang ubi jamang jepung
Makang kerpok cicah cuke
Bulang pose mung bingung
Bulang raye mung gile

Pahang...

Sepadan Pahang ada kasino
Nasi dagang ikan patin
Jange mu masam muko
Raya makan rendang sadin

Johor...

Cegitu cegini awak suke
Awak suke kite tak suke
Esok luse hari raye
Sama-sama bersuke rie

Melaka...

Hawau kau berak merate
Kaki bengkak ulau patok
Kalu balik naik kerete
Jangan pandu kalau ngantok

N. Sembilan...

Masak lomak cili api
Campo dongan daun turi
Hari rayo kolumpo sopi
Tinggal penyamun dongan pencuri
(org kolumpo jgn kocik ati!!)

Selangor/K.Lumpur...

Wa cakap lu wa tak tau
Tapi wa tipu sama lu
Raya jangan buat tak tau
Angpau ada bagi gua dulu

Perak...

Gulai tempoyak ikan mayong
Deroyan busok tebok tupai
Pandu hemat ingat kampong
Asal teman selamat sampai

Kedah...

Mai Aloq Staq pala hang aku putaq
Lapaq perut makan pau
Macam mana aku tak ketaq
Kena paksa bagi angpau

Penang...

Nasi kandaq kedai mamak
Anak mami juai pesemboq
Lepas raya usah dok triak
Kalu ceti mai ikut dapoq

Perlis...

Padang besaq kecik aja
Tempat siam lalu lalang
Hari raya kita berbelanja
Jangan sampai menambah utang

Have a Safe & Happy Hari Raya