long break from blogging

i realize i haven't written a single word in almost a month...lazy me.

will update on my recent Singapore trip soon.

Singing Fever

Malaysian Idol. Akademi Fantasia 2. Audition. This has resulted in an increased number of karaoke sessions for me and my friends. When we go to karaoke, we see another side of our friends. Some croon like a superstar, some can't carry a note, and some just plain annoying. I can bet that every person who's been to karaoke sessions with his/her mates must have encountered at least 1 annoying person. The dude who always has to sing louder than the person with the mic. The gal who snatches the mic from you. The dude who sings along by shouting so loudly for the entire session that you feel like slapping him in the face. The guy who can't sing at all but decides to sing along with you anyway, and spoils the only song you can sing well. The gal who thinks she can sing, but actually sucks. (That's probably me..hehe)

I wonder if there is a set of guidelines to make karaoke fun for everybody, e.g. a Karaoke Etiquette guide? A lot I found on the net deals with proper conduct in a karaoke Bar, not rooms like we have in Malaysia. I mean, there must be a way you can tell the prick to stop shouting without portraying yourself as a tight-ass jerk, right? I usually just smile and laugh, although it only encourages the person to continue shouting his lungs out. The problem is still not resolved. What else to do? I pun tak tau...If you know in advance the person is annoying, try to sit as far as possible from him/her, I suppose.

Annoyances from 35,000 ft above sea level

This has to be one of my worst plane rides ever. I'm seated in the middle of three seats, crushed between two men, who as usual must conquer both arm rests. The dude on my right is sucking on some mints very loudly. The dude behind me keeps kicking my seat. There's a toddler and his mother seated south-east of me. The mother seems to unable to control the volume of both her and her child's voice. The in-flight food came, and it sucked big time. Only the jelly they served as dessert was good. Again, the dude on my right enjoyed his meal rather noisily, emiting sounds similar to "nyap-nyap-nyap.." Just a few moments ago, the kid behind me put his tiny hands on my head and started pulling my hair. What on earth is wrong with this people?? AAAAARGHHH!!

Then again, these people are probably really annoyed with my non-stop coughing fits.

Aaah...I wonder if the people in first class are facing any irritations at all.

I'm going to stop writing now because my elbows are starting to hurt from being stuck in between two arm rests.

Bye.

Gli Italiani: The Dark, The Greasy, The Beautiful

mmm...these men are worth staying up till 4 in the morning for...heh.

On Apologizing

Why do we always find it so difficult to apologize? What is so difficult about saying the two words – “I’m sorry”? Why do we find it easier to apologize to our close friends, even if we hesitate a bit, but cannot bring ourselves to apologize to our partners/spouses? Why is it that people would rather tuck small arguments in the back of their minds, instead of talking about them immediately so both parties could say they’re sorry, and move on? Of course, I’m not saying that we should just blindly apologize when faced with a situation. I just think it should be done as soon as possible. Remember when we were little; we used to have those fights with our siblings? When my parents caught us fighting, they will always force us to say sorry and shake hands with each other. Short and sweet, no grudges held. In 5 minutes we were back to playing our childish games. However, as we get older, we build a thick wall of pride around us. So thick is the wall that we think it will kill us if we make any attempts to apologize. We wait and we wait…and the time arrives when we realize that we should apologize, to get things moving again. And we will apologize without knowing anymore what we’re apologizing for. We throw the cheap apology. We say we’re sorry, but sorry for what? Some simple rules on apologizing:

- know what you’re apologizing for
- understand the other party’s feelings and issues
- do not make excuses for your behaviour

more info can be found on the net by Googling “art of apologizing”.

IRRITAINMENT

irritainment: entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them." (Taken from New words for 2004)

I say there is an overflow of reality TV shows in this country, these days. First Akademi Fantasia, now we have Malaysian Idol, Audition, and several more. Irritainment. That's exactly what they are. I'm not much of a TV person, but I find myself loathingly watching Diari AF every night. In between shows and during commercial breaks, I will let my fingers guide the remote to Channel 15, to watch the AF auditions. It’s revolting, sickening, yet I still watch it. It’s like a love-hate relationship. What is it about these shows that the masses (myself included) find so captivating? I can't really pinpoint it to a specific reason, all I know is that there is something very alluring in watching regular people like you and me on TV, humiliating and exposing themselves (not literally, of course) to the nation or the world.

Although, I constantly wonder, are those people really portraying their actual self on TV? I wouldn’t know. It could be a front, a strategy to build a fan base. In a segment of yesterday’s Diari AF, the students were given a lecture on the importance of being themselves. At the end of the lecture, the students gathered in a circle, crying their eyes out. Yep, even the male contestants. I don’t understand what made them so terribly sad that they could not hold back their tears till they get off-camera. They made promises to each other that they will be friends forever, and that no matter what happens, they will always stay together. Yeah right, I don’t see Vince and Khai hanging about with the other losers after last season ended. Vince and Khai are now happily charging over 10-grand for live performances, while the others got stuck co-hosting cooking shows or game shows. Anyway, getting back to the part about being individuals, I find it a bit ironic that all 12 contestants cried simultaneously. All 12 contestants also shed tears when they went in front of the camera to wish their fathers “Happy Fathers’ Day.” Please-lah, I’m sure they didn’t bawl when they wished their dads Happy Fathers’ Day at home last year. Despite just going through the individuality lecture, they seem to be acting uniformly, with only their faces differentiating them from each other. And, when they start their crying sessions, keep an eye on the screen, you will see Premiere tissue boxes casually lying about in the background.

Which brings me to the topic of sponsorship. After AF’s fortuitous success last year, the second season meets the fans with not-so-subtle product advertisings. Every single activity in the show is an opportunity for marketers to market their goods. Premier Tissue (as above) for wiping tears and snot, Coke in case you get thirsty, B.U.M. Equipment for clothing, and many, many more. How does this benefit the students? In no way whatsoever, other than finding themselves graduating from the academy, a bunch of anonymous, run of the mill talents trying to make it in the entertainment business. In 3 years, they will be forgotten. I recently saw a local magazine cover with some first season AF graduates, with some local artistes. I couldn’t tell them apart, with their similar make-up and coloured contact lenses. I wonder if personalized advertising would be a better idea. E.g. each contestant endorses a specific product that would supposedly be his or her favourite brand. At least we would hear people saying, 3 years down the road, “Alah, si polan Akademi Fantasia tu…yang suka minum Pepsi tu…” or something like that.

Well, whatever it is the producers aim to achieve; it is definitely doing very well. Again, I ask the question, why do the masses love it so much? I Google-d “the psychology of reality shows” and found some interesting articles. Here are some quotes:

“The message of reality television is that ordinary people can become so important that millions will watch them. And the secret thrill of many of those viewers is the thought that perhaps next time, the new celebrities might be them.” (Psychology Today: Why America Loves Reality TV)

“It IS a circus. It has to do with our needs to become voyeurs, to peek into the deepest and darkest parts of our fellow human beings.” (Bob Simmerman)

Oops…this is getting too long. I suppose I’ll continue rambling on this topic another time.

heelies?!!?

does anybody know where i can purchase those shoes on wheels? i'm planning to purchase their entire stock, because those kids on heelies annoy the heck out of me. they zoom past me everywhere...in the shopping mall, in the supermarket, in wet markets. arghrarghrgh!!

Will Young - Friday's Child

Anybody heard Will Young's new CD? Titled Friday's Child. I heard some samplers, and I think the songs are pretty good. (For those who don't know who i'm talking about, Will Young was the winner of the British Pop Idol). But the CDs in Tower Records, etc etc...are molto expensivo!! RM44..man! I was looking around in one of the CD shops in PJ last night, saw a William Hung cd for RM42!! Who would pay RM42 to listen to William Hung? Now, Will Young, he's different. I still can't bring myself to pay RM44 for a CD though. I need testimonials...is the cd really that good? help!

photo of the day

A picture taken with my Zire 72 yesterday, when i got stuck in a massive traffic jam near hartamas.

young hearts

as i'm sitting in this cafe, busting my brains out trying to remember facts and figures, i observe the constant stream of college boys and girls coming and going out of this place. among themselves, they act without boundaries. the boys surprise the girls from behind with big hugs. the girls prop themselves on the boys' laps as a greeting. i feel like an old grandma as i notice myself giving them the, as people would say "pandangan slack". i look at the four multi-racial boys sitting outside, with heaps of books and files in their hands, smoking their lungs out. the girls would walk in and out of this cafe, wearing tight jeans and tops that resemble handkerchiefs, babbling in their loud american accent (probably perfected by watching re-runs of Sex & the City and Friends). i try not to be judgmental, but i am.

i should get back to my studying.

?!?!?!

endless procrastination in writing my football paper has brought me to D-day minus 2. It's due on friday. and i'm only 30% done. and i'm still watching Shrek 2 tonight. writing this paper has started me thinking. is it just the quality of our football games that is stopping us from becoming one of the most watched leagues in the world? it didn't used to be this way. 10-15 years ago, mokhtar dahari, dollah salleh and zainal were the kings of football. now it's beckham..ronaldo. even in newspapers we get more coverage of foreign football matches compared to local ones. and it's not only football. take badminton as another example. i remember in boarding school, we all got exemptions from our evening preps so everybody can sit in the great hall to watch the Thomas Cup finals. we all remembered the names of all the Sidek brothers. but nowadays, if somebody asks, "when's the next Thomas Cup?" The usual answers you get are "tak tahu?" or "thomas what??". not that many people even ask that question, i think.

i dunno..is it just the lack of talent of our local atheletes, or can we push some of the blame on the severe lack of publicity? then again, if there was no demand, there would be no publicity. could artificial demand be created in order to revive the spirit we had a decade ago?

Death by Chocolates

A trip down to KL last Saturday ended with a superb dinner buffet at Shangri-La's Cinnamon Cafe. The choice of food was endless. Cold cuts, indian, chinese, italian, etc. I just didn't know where to start. As I was making my rounds, i found a chef, hidden in a corner, serving noodles. But best of all, the famous Chocolate Fountain. Dip anything you want through the fountain, biscuits, grapes, strawberries, kiwi fruit, dates, bananas. It was superb! I even dipped my chocolate tart in the fountain. mmmm yum! The buffet is a bit too expensive (about RM90 i think), so if you decide to go, make sure you go with an empty stomach.

Machai Paradise

I'm suddenly bogged down with things to do. School work, office work, social obligations, etc. We complain we we're bored, we complain when we have too much to do. We humans will never be satisfied with what we have.

Feline update: Cats fully migrated to new home. They seem unhappy sitting in the cage all day.

Movie update: Van Helsing alright, Taking Lives worth the money, Starsky & Hutch absolutely funny!

Streamyx question - who do you have to know in Telekom to get requests moving in there? If you have an answer, leave me a note. I can't live without streamyx. Got things to download, things to upload and research to be done.

Zire 71 Update

The Zire 71 has been sold. I have now upgraded to Zire 72, which is much much much cooler, in terms of looks and functionality. The camera is 1.2 megapixels, instead of the measly 0.3 MP on its predecessor. It can also record video. It's got bluetooth (not that I extensively use it..hehe). It's much sleeker than the old zire, and the color is much nicer. The only thing i don't like about it is the power button, which seems to be difficult to press. All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase.

Here's a sample

Zire 71 For Sale

I'm selling my Zire 71. Bought on 26th June 2003. Unit replaced with a new one in January 2004. Warranty ends in June 2004. It's a cool, fun toy for people who don't care about bluetooth, wireless and things like that. You get the standard pack (unit, charger, casing, installation CDs, owner's manual, box). On top of that, you'll get the 2-in-1 USB synchronizer and charger, worth RM65. All for RM 500.

I'm selling it because I'm upgrading to another palm. This unit works like new. It's also supported by PDA Expert (Midvalley), so you can go see them to get software, etc. If you're interested, email me at shazrin@yahoo.com.

For more info, check out the Zire page.

Mr. Frodo, the 3-month old kitten

the attention-seeking kitten.

Cat Update

All cats have been adopted. By kind families, I must add. Hooray!! Thanks to Najah, who helped me spread the word. Some of them are still with me, waiting to be picked up during the long weekend. I will miss them. Especially, especially Kitty. boohoo!! I'm now left with the four cats I'm keeping: Cookie, Alf, Mr Frodo and Gedompol (a rather fat one). Pictures below: Cookie (left) and Alf (right) @ 4 months old.

Freaks, Creeps, etc.

You see many strange things in KL these days. People don't even stare anymore. Except for me, I think. I can't help but stare at strange things I see around me. For example, today, while having lunch in KLCC, opposite me sat a person. I said 'person' because I couldn't make out whether that person was a man or a woman. That person has a girly face, but was wearing men's working clothes, complete with men's shoes. I didn't see no boobs!! Hmmmm.. But that wasn't the strangest thing about the whole thing. The person had a doll...nicely set up on the table. And he/she stared at it every so often. Weirdo! I was worried that he/she might start a voodoo routine or something. Finished my lunch quickly and left.

H20 Bar

was having teh tarik with some friends today, when the topic of lifestyle came up. one friend brought up the topic of mineral water, and how mineral water sales will soon exceed the sales of carbonated drinks. it's because these days, mineral water producers are marketing their water more aggressively, with an extensive array of variety, e.g. the water comes from the Swiss Alps la, the water comes from Alaska la, the water comes from a reservoir that hasn't been touched in 300 years la, etc. etc. Heck, drinking water is even more expensive that petrol these days!! So we came up with an idea....how about an H20 bar? people could have an H20 martini, 10% water from the Swiss Alps, mixed with water from that 300 year old reservoir, on the rocks, topped with cherry and a little umbrella? we could also have "Water of the Day (WOTD)", ice-blended water, etc. then came the story about this place in KL where you can leave your crawling baby, and for like rm30/hour, the baby could crawl freely without us being worried that it'll knock its head on the wall or staircase. my gosh, things like this also can make money ah?

lifestyle sells, doesn't it? we were fine 20 years ago when all we drank was boiled tap water. when we crawled around the house as babies, surely we did hit some hard objects, but we did grow to become normal humans, didn't we? but today, lifestyle sells. the gym is not selling its gym facilities, it's selling the healthy lifestyle. Coffeebean isn't selling its coffee, but the lifestyle of hanging out and looking cool. as a friend pointed out, to which i agree, if 10 years ago we came up with the idea of selling RM10 coffee, "sure people will laugh in our faces punya lah...siapa nak beli?? Kopi 444 pun dah cukup best, baru 50 sen." very true. (note to self: must come up with a great lifestyle idea to make my first million)

on another note, one of my cats, Mr. Frodo, is a chronic attention seeker. as i'm typing this, it's trying to grab my fingers so i would pet it. now it's rolling at my feet, seeking for attention. an now it has climbed on my shoulders, noyt sure whzt it wants. can't stype pr0perlya since it's now ssdfpounding ist paws /on the ksyboarsd. shoh!! shoh!!

on another note altogether..i need some ideas on how to commercialize Malaysian Football, and how we can learn from the US and UK. any help is much appreciated. =)

moving out

In a couple of weeks I will be moving back to my new-old home. Old being the neighborhood and house i grew up in, New being the recently renovated home i will be moving back into. I have been staying in the "temporary" home for almost 2 years now. (No, we didn't tear down the other house and rebuilt it, the contractor took 2 years to do a 5-month job). But anyway, 2 years. Two years of being an anonymous person in a rather unfriendly neighborhood. Nevertheless, I will miss the anonymity. I will miss the peacefulness of the area, where the cats can run freely without my worrying that they'll get hit by a car. I will miss the short journey to work (20-30 mins, vs 1 hour!). I will miss the occassional sound of the Commuter and ERL. But I will NOT miss the neighbor behind us who stole our papayas, claimed those as theirs, and refused to share some with us. Also the guy next door who hates our cats and will never smile at us when we pass by.

I can't wait to move back to the familiar and friendly place I came from. At the cost of the cats' movements being constrained to a 3ft x 4ft x 5ft cage. Fair enough, I think.