Hebatnya 'venue' itu

I really can't believe this :

[Link ]
While the government lambasted people for using rojak language even in TV dramas, we have our own supposedly national newspaper proclaiming the above when lokasi and gelanggang would've been perfectly okay as the choice of words in that context.

I was wondering if the article was originally written in English, or what?

Ciplak a.k.a 'I, Khairil M. Bahar, Film Geek'

Disclaimer : I'm usually partial towards indie and experimental movies, so I'm biased that way.


Khairil M. Bahar's CIPLAK should get every film student and filmmaker wannabes to think something along the line, "Hey, if he could do this with less than RM10k and a bunch of friends, I could too!"

While Ciplak is definitely a movie made by a self-professed film geek (it was made known none-too-subtly at least five times throughout the movie), for fellow film geeks, non-film geeks who like things done differently could also get a kick out of it. Ciplak might just do it for you what Lips to Lips (Amir Muhammad) did to me - got me sucked into the vortex that is indie films, with special mention to local fare. When the girlfriend was telling us the roots of ciggie-flicking and red sneakers persona it was fine, but the malookitmeaiyemafilmgeek factor did go overboard when one of the characters was made to mention Back to The Future at a particular scene - that made me cringe a bit. Probably Khai was too intent on getting the audience to 'get' it.


Looking at the subject matter, you'd be pardoned to think "How the heck did he get away with it?" I did too, and let me tell you how - on that level, Ciplak may explain and scratch the surface on why it happens and how the 'industry' works, but it definitely didn't show that it condones it or that it's cool and it's okay, in fact it was almost as blatant as those government-sponsored infomercial with the skeletonhead pirate in saying that piracy is bad, Bad, BAD.

I am easily amused, and bearing in mind the circumstances under which Ciplak was finally fit for fruition, I enjoyed it as it is. Yeah there were some draggy moments in the middle, Khai spews various cuss words and seposen sedozen, some of the acting could've done better and all that, but the quirky TV-pendidikan style start on Piracy 101 lessons, Khai's effortless transition to-and-from 'acting' - 'narrating' and the potong stim ending (after a rather la-di-da 'kembang tekak motivational talk' deus ex machina) which was such a brilliant surprise plus last but not least the witty laughfest before the end credits all more than made up for it.

There were about 10 of us in the international screen hall at GSC that night but everybody sure sounded like they enjoyed it. Oh, the reason it's being shown only at the international screen hall is solely due to the fact that it's the only one that's equipped for digital media movies - Ciplak was filmed with DV tapes and digitally edited on Khai's home PC - a pure labor of love.

So would I recommend this?

YES, if I know you are the type who either a) has a love for films or film-making b) dig quirky stuff c) partial with against-the-machine sort of things d) always open to new experience e) a dvd pirate; and NO if you are none of the above.

Miscellaneous

• Click over to Khai's blog

• Ciplak official site is recommended for amusing info and tid-bits on the making of the movie

• Last time I checked here, Ciplak is still being screened at GSC Midvalley, GSC One Utama (New Wing) and GSC Gurney Plaza. GSC Midvalley will run shows until at least 20th December 2006.

[As usual credit for all images goes to the movie's oficial site, setelah sedikit editing sesuka hatiku]

Kirby Dick's "This film is not yet rated"

I so want to see this.

From boingboing [Link] :

"TFINYR is a documentary about the MPAA's censorious ratings system, whereby a secret group of "parents" meet to determine whether a given film is safe for kids to see.

If they give a movie an NC-17 (no children under 17 admitted), it's a death-sentence: studios won't promote these movies (sometimes they don't even release them), most cinemas won't exhibit them, and Wal-Mart and Blockbuster won't carry them."

The producer has a blog.

Film review : CINTA (2006)

Sebuah kisah tentang kasih,
melatari sisi setiap manusia dalam perjalanan hidup

You wouldn't mind parting with your hard-earned RM (or rupiahs or dollars or renminbis) to watch something like this.

With classy acting, beautiful so-called "commercial-like" cinematography, memorable moments (by now everybody who watches local TV would've known that line "Isteri bukannya hakmilik, tetapi anugerah...", meaningful bits for film buffs, MTV-esque soundtrack and last but not least a couple of scenes right out of modern-day Mills and Boon or Judith Mcnaught (for those who dig it), I think it will be hard for CINTA to totally disappoint anyone, regardless of which mind-set (or sets) one came with.

Yes, you CAN have more than one mind-set while watching a movie.

I have to admit I try not to hope too much as I step into the cinema, despite getting positive feedback from Aliya who caught the earlier screening. Due cause - Alternate Studio's previous offering, Salon, of which I could only manage the first 12 minutes or so (on VCD) before I almost passed out of boredom. However when the invitation came (thanks, SM), my interest was very much incited mainly by the fact that Dato' Rahim Razali, a stalwart figure in the local scene, is part of the main cast. Of course, it helped to add up on the plus points when it was mentioned that the dishy Pierre Andre is on the list as well (despite failing to keep me glued to the screen in Salon).

Aku pernah beranggapan dahulu bahawa Sepet merupakan karya tempatan yang bakal menjadi 'jambatan' merapatkan jurang antara penonton yang mencari hiburan semata-mata dan penonton yang turut mencari ‘tid-bits lain’ dalam tayangan filem, tapi ternyata umum belum bersedia untuk garapan Yasmin Ahmad tersebut (namun ia tetap telah mencetuskan sesuatu yang baru dalam lanskap filem negara). Aku hanya menyedari salah satu perkara yang kurang disenangi dalam karya tersebut (selain isu berkemban, duduk di tangga mencari kutu dan cinta berbeza kaum-agama yang hangat didebatkan) adalah pendekatan gaya realismenya – paparan babak dan dialog yang sangat-sangat ‘natural’ – selepas tersentak seketika apabila ada rakanku memberikan komen "Ntah apa-apa entah, tunjuk macam kehidupan biasa aje tiap-tiap hari, macam real life? Macam bukan movie, tak ada cerita!". Waktu menontonnya aku tak terfikir pun ia sebagai satu gaya atau apa-apa, cuma yang aku tahu aku sangat suka cara filem tersebut, seperti kemudiannya aku terpaku apabila aku diperkenalkan kepada Nobody Knows/Daremo Shiranai tetapi orang lain mungkin menganggap ia sangat bosan dan menjemukan.

Komen tersebut menyedarkan aku bahawa adanya kelompok penonton yang 'mewajibkan' dalam filem-filem supaya ada unsur-unsur yang 'over-the-top', penuh dengan pomp, hoopla - the works. Ini adalah juga antara faktor mengapa karya-karya yang penuh dengan perkara-perkara melodrama (contohnya dialog yang puitis dan berbunga-bunga kalah kedai florist di tingkat bawah Hospital Ampang Puteri walaupun sekadar untuk bertanya khabar, watak-watak 'larger-than-life' seperti anak orang kaya balik balik oversea seminggu terus diserahkan bulat-bulat jawatan CEO/pengarah urusan (di mana dalam kehidupan mungkin mereka tak pernah jumpa pun orang seperti itu), kisah-kisah cinta dengan adegan naik motor besar diiringi aksi tutup-tutup mata dan iringan lagu bersama saat-saat indah dan ditambah iringan hujan apabila konflik berlaku dan awek itu ditinggalkan balaknya) yang selalu mengundang rasa 'buwerk' dan terlebih ‘cheese’ kepadaku, tetapi membawa kepada kepuasan sebenarnya kepada orang lain.

CINTA, buah tangan Kabir Bhatia (yang membawakan kepada kita soap Idaman yang aku ikut penuh setia dulu) ada melodrama itu, tetapi tidak berlebihan dan diadun tanpa watak-watak dan babak yang boleh membuatkan kelompok penonton yang satu lagi merasa tertipu waktu menikmatinya (tidak seperti contoh Heart, filem Indonesia dengan paparan visual yang amat cantik tetapi mempunyai pengakhiran yang membohong dan menghina intelek). Ya, aku tahu filem-filem ini fiksyen, rekaan semata-mata, tetapi tolonglah berikan aku rekaan secara bijak dan logik sekiranya keadaan/realiti itu benar-benar wujud seperti watak-watak dalam Lord of the Rings atau para pelajar dan subjek pelajaran di Hogwarts (siri Harry Potter) atau sekurang-kurangnya doktor-doktor pelatih dalam Grey's Anatomy (mereka adalah rekaan dengan latarbelakang dan persekitaran rekaan, tetapi mereka tampak begitu 'real'), bukan watak-watak satu dimensi yang walau bagaimana aku pusingkan antena di kepalaku, aku tak boleh terima mereka sebagai 'real'.

CINTA laterally combines the five separate (but inter-connected) stories into a successful amalgam, with love as the main emotion/reason in the ups and downs of an important episode in the main characters' lives. Here the affairs of a laksa-selling makcik and a RM20-per-portrait street artist (no lah they're not together, each has a different story) are no less meaningful or worthy as the incidents of a bachelor-of-the-year CEO and his successful architect buddy - in the search for love, in accepting what their loved ones did, each becomes commonly as vulnerable, hurt or affected as the other.

Speaking of the cast, Fatimah Abu Bakar and Dato' Rahim Razali's manners, even a longing gaze alone practically fills in the nuances of being Rubiah and Cikgu Elyas. Nanu Baharuddin and Rashidi Ishak both gave very strong performances as Dyan the protective sister and Harris the jilted husband. I found Eizlan Yusof as well as (especially) Rita Rudaini much better than their usual fare. Pierre Andre as Taufiq the very budiman smalltime reporter and Fasha Sandha as Azura the bookstore girl however to me weren't very memorable, but not really due to any lack on their acting creds but more to the fact that their characters are somewhat similar to previous stints (Pierre, oh Pierre, will you PLEASE stop taking on more good-guy-who-becomes-the-shoulder-to-cry-on-for-the-pretty-girl-who-got-dumped characters, at least for a while?) Sharifah Amani is believeable enough as the gullible Arianna ("Awak ni seorang yang sangat negatif la") though at times too much drama, but erm, melodrama formula kicking in I suppose, while Que Haidar as Dhani swings a bit both ways ("Sampai bila kakak nak bercinta dengan suami orang!" - very solid, "Mana kakak?" - a bit lame). Very-very special mention however belongs to the much-underrated Shoffi Jikan as Dhani's street-busking friend (aku anggap dia sebagai reprise wataknya sebagai Zul Kapan dalam filem 'Rock') and the girl who played Harris-Airin's daughter. Again last but certainly not least, Ngasrizal Ngasri cemerlang sebagai cucu yang tersepit antara kasih dan keadaan. Satu lagi kekuatan nyata CINTA, pendukung watak sokongan turut membawa peranan masing-masing dengan amat baik (kecuali sangat jelas Gambit sebagai Khalif yang sungguh tidak berjiwa).

[Shoffi Jikan merenung masa depannya dalam bidang lakonan]
In the five stories, one would find it hard not to identify with at least one of the characters. We've all been there - maybe as the one who wasn't loved back, or the one who was lied to, or the one who had to leave, or the one who found true love, or the one who had to make sacrifices, or the one who simply looked on... the list is exhaustive. This is where it draws me in the most, when I found myself identifying with the characters and in turn makes us alliances against the world. Chewah, so drama!

The so-billed commercial-like shots worked, big time for me. Love 'em! Dhojee (executive producer together with Ara) amusedly remarked on the odd local perception that the camerawork of our commercials looks better than our films, whereas elsewhere it’s the other way around. Hmm... anyways, I calculated (using a most complex scientific equation involving no less than two unknowns [my wedding date, the real sexual orientation of da Vinci's Monalisa] and three pies [blueberry, apple, mud]) approximately 90% of the audience would think of 'Nescafe' too at the opening sequence. Tell me if you are one of the 10% who didn't ;)

Some might subscribe to the notion that ignorance is bliss (I used to as well), but I realized later that it does't hold itself up in all situations. In some instances (like watching movies like CINTA), 'knowing' is wayyy better. No doubt you wouldn't know what you're missing if you have no idea what it is, but once you do, you may be in for so much more. Like the 'tidbits' - the great timing of a scene where three trains went by at the same time, the use of colors, references to other films (omputeh and local fares oso), the subtext-ed parts without having shovels fuelling it down our throats and thank you, oh thank you the writer (Mira Mustaffa) for not applying the overused excuse of cancer and using another ailment instead as the illness of choice to afflict Dhani.

But the twin towers are still overshot here. Yes, it's a pretty engineering feat of a double-phalanx, but it's becoming a cliche lah. Then again, how can a story about love not become another cliche? Cannot, I tell you. Love is very universal one. Everywhere, I tell you. Anyway, to the guy who was overlooking the continuity? Erm, that part where Airin cries while reading the love notes. Shot 1, text on top, shot 2, text at bottom. Anal, I know, but I can't help noticing it.

But those are rather minor stuff. All in, CINTA didn't disappoint and is a production anyone who's involved in it would be proud to be associated with. It doesn't matter if you're looking for a movie that the whole family would enjoy, a soppy romantic to take your date to or a visually-pleasing work of art that would tease your attentiveness, you'll find it here. Ok lah, but not if you're looking for an action or a horror flick. Heh.

[The hard-working people behind CINTA. Tahniah!]


Highly recommended. CINTA starts showing in cinemas from 30th November.

For a bit of a spoiler, highlight below space between the Xs.

X The position of the couples in the poster tells you whether they'll be together or not in the end :) X

[All pictures from the official site, diedit sedikit dengan sesuka hati]

-----------------------

Read what others say too :

• sultanmuzaffar : "50 sebab mengapa saya suka CINTA"
• Fadz : "Satu-satunya Filem Cinta Yang Berjaya"
• KY : "..you will be surprised"
• Suanie : "a rollercoaster ride through love"
• Fireangel : "You and I could relate to it"
• Budiey : "Hebatnya aura cinta dalam filem ini"
• Mimpi Pari: "A Malaysian Movie Masterpiece"
• Lyana : "..a thumbs up. Or make that two"
• Abby : "superb cinematography, great screenplay, and phenomenal performances"
• Habri : "Jom tonton CINTA"
• muidlatif : "What is CINTA?"
• Vovin: "Cinta punya kecantikan tersendiri"

( mostly curi-ed from SM)

Original comments for this post here

'Mukhsin' on TV2, Friday 24th 10 p.m.

Don't forget.

Tune in to TV2 on Friday 24th Nov at 10p.m. to catch 'Impian', a telemovie debut for Syafie Naswip, the actor who played Mukhsin in Yasmin Ahmad's upcoming movie, 'Mukhsin'. Also featuring Rozie Rashid and Hamidah Wahab, with a cameo appearance of the scriptwriter, Nizam Zakaria.

Note to self : Office hours are until 5.00 p.m. only on Fridays and 5.30 p.m. for Mondays to Thursdays; and is never 9 or 10 or 11 p.m. for whatever day of the week.

CINTA - sebuah kisah tentang kasih

Review is under way. In the meantime please enjoy the trailer,




and a song from the soundtrack.



p/s - the above music video is composed entirely with footage from the actual movie. yes, ALL of them. very nice shots, eh?

comings

• Aidilfitri open houses

• CINTA movie preview

• School 10-yr reunion

• My first property investment

• Company bonus
  

Life, is beautiful :)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Let’s hear it from the Gadis in Jalan Burmah

(the length of this review alone is a clear testament to how much I loved the show, also proof that taking notes helps a lot hehe)

------------------------------------------

Kartini Shuib :
1) Marry a husband, make lots of kid, then get a van. Is that all?
2) Asyik-asyik tanya ‘Dah kahwin ke? Hang bila lagi?’- they are all propagandists.

I’m not sure whether it’s the-

• subject matter which resonates well with the fact that I’m currently unattached and do occasionally think of the clock going tick-tock-tick

• care-free way Soefira Jaafar becomes Kartini Shuib the 41-yr-old-deflowered-virgin who have had six (Syed the first love, Farid the vertically-challenged Kelantanese, David Lim the pilot, John the expat, AmatKacak from the net and Rizal the dangdut-loving fat guy) boyfriends and still looking for the ever-elusive Mr. Right

• set (rather elaborate compared to the Stor Teater kotak-kotak usuals, and where the hell did they find that grotty old-fashioned green oven-stove one?)

• ‘intimacy’ factor due to the closeness of the performer to the audience (which is something that could make them small plays score more feel-good brownie points than those big-extravaganza-got-moving-stage-actual-river-and-all types)

Anyways, at its preview last night GADIS JALAN BURMAH totally rocked my socks off!

(though they have ‘only’ Bollywood, cheesy Malay pop, disco and dance tunes as the sound track. no rock songs though.)

First things first, go go go go go see the play. Go!
Really. Go!

Especially if you are a, uhm, well, everybody. As long as you love to watch a good performance.

(Actually I was about to corner the bevy of women who’s gone through the highs and lows of doing the introduction-drinks-dates-head over heels in love-breakup circuit but decided otherwise).

I’m amazed that the playwright is a man. Kudos to Shahredza Minhat. Psst.. were you a woman in the previous life ?

Gadis Jalan Burmah starts with a domestic scene of cake-baking preparation. Kartini contemplates whether to give Kassim Rahman (whose business card lies on the table in anticipation) a ring. In between sifting the flour, measuring the sugar and ‘screwing’ (you’ll know what I mean if you catch the play) the orange half for juice; Kartini indulges the audience with reminiscence of her life – the trials and tribulations (oh cliché nya frasa ini haha) of growing up as the only non-Syed/Syarifah in the childhood gang, the pressure of being an Ustazah’s daughter, meeting the first love (Kartini : Suddenly flowers start blossoming all over the place I tell you!) and the first break up, all the way through the many curves that adulthood flung along her way. And in the end…. Well, go see lah. Hah.

Gadis Jalan Burmah explores the psyche of a woman that's already supposedly past her prime and is still not sure of where she's going next. Yet, she desperately clings to the notion that she is very much in control of her life (Kartini : This is MY show), denying the fact that she felt compelled to explain and justify the whats and the whys of things she did, although actually no one really cares. The portrayal of that pressure to get married is something that most of us would be able to relate to, whether you're in the same boat (damn! am I like that please God oh God don't let me turn into THAT) or if you're already married (this group can go 'been there, done that, phew thank God I'm married now').

I totally love the scene where she ‘summarized’ all her previous boyfriends with a particular line for each guy, simply hilarious. Also the ‘tangkap basah’ scene. Omg, they’ve imaginatively added another use for the senduk as a prop - that’s certainly something I can’t remember seeing recently!

Soefira started a tad self-conciously and there were little fumbles once or twice in beginning I think, but progressively she became more and more comfortable with being Kartini and took the audience along for a joyful ride. Which I'm sure will only get better day to day till the last curtain call on the 23rd. My only reservations (petty, petty me) would be the timing (it started a bit later than scheduled- ah, the bane of preview nights) and also the sound system - there were parts where the music almost drowns out Soefira’s voice – I understand it's meant to be loud to get into the mood but perhaps it could be toned down a bit to let us hear what she says better.

Nonetheless all in all, I enjoyed the play very very much and would recommend everybody to go catch the show. So far a couple of colleagues has fallen to that trap, heh.

Go!

------------------------------------

Gadis Jalan Burmah is playing at Stor Teater DBP on 13-16 Sept & 18-23 Sept @8.30pm and on 17 Sept (Sunday) 3pm only. Contact 016-2022 057 for info and reservation.

Presented by dramalab under 'A Season of Origins and Originals' program, produced by RPT theatre company, written by Shahredza Minhat, directed by David Lim and performed by Soefira Jaafar. Sofiera is also producer of the show.

Gadis Jalan Burmah is RPT's first project.

Credit of images used belong to the production.

I'd have given the same review even if I had to pay last night. (tq Megat for the invite)

Are you still reading at this point? Congratulations, you've proven that you have a very good attention-retention rate.

Now go see the play.

Gold Rain & Hailstones special bloggers' offer!

Did I ever tell you that bloggers are special people?

Dramalab is giving a special bloggers' discount at 50% off the tickets to acclaimed Jit Murad's current play Gold Rain & Hailstones. To get the discount, contact Eza at 019-619 2668.

Gold Rain & Hailstones is playing now at KLPac until Sunday 17th September. Directed by Zahim Albakri, performed by Jit Murad and Lin Jaafar. Full-priced tickets are at RM92/ RM72/ RM52. Calculate yourself lah how much at a 50% discount, hmmkay.

---------------------------------------------

Yes, I know. I hutang a review of the play. Last weekend some long-lost relatives came over, so we had to entertain. Of course that's valid excuse!

Showing this week : Gadis Jalan Burmah

PRESENTS A SEASON OF ORiGiNS AND ORiGiNALS

Featuring RPT's production of Gadis Jalan Burmah written by Shahredza Minhat, directed by David Lim and performed by the delicious Soefira Jaafar.

In Gadis Jalan Burmah, Kartini Shuib, an unmarried Malay woman who's about to "celebrate" her 42nd birthday, tells us about her attempts in trying to find her Mr. Right.

(Performance will be in English and Malay)

Venue :Stor Teater DBP, Bangunan Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka
Show dates : 12 Sept (Preview), 13-16, 18-23 Sept @8.30pm, 17 Sept (Sunday) 3pm only
Admission by donation: RM22 (Adults), RM17 (Students ), RM15 (Preview night only)

Info & reservations, contact 016-2022 057

Synopsis

The world keeps telling her that she is running out of time. However, 42-year-old Kartini Shuib thinks otherwise.

So on her birthday, while trying to bake her own birthday cake, she contemplates whether or not to go out with Kassim Rahman, an insurance salesman, as suggested by her mother. But then, memories of a Chinese pilot, a Doktor Haiwan from UPM, an American expat and her Mak Long Piah among others return to haunt her. What does it all mean? Or does it mean nothing, and that the world is actually right – that she is running out of time?

Performed with a delightful mix of colloquial English and BM, this one woman comedy marks the second "English" play written by Shahredza Minhat, the first being the critically acclaimed "Toast!", which the Malay Mail described as "one of those rare gems that seemingly come out of nowhere".

------------------------------------------------

Semua orang cakap Kartini Shuib dah 'takdak' time! Tapi Kartini Shuib, tak pernah peduli pun.

Sampailah ke harijadinya yang ke - 42, beliau telah didesak oleh ibunya untuk keluar berpacaran dengan Kassim Rahman, seorang jurujual insurans. Fikirannya mula bercelaru, apa lagi, beliau terus dengan gigih cuba membuat kek harijadi 'special' untuk menenangkan jiwanya. Namun, benaknya yang serabut itu kemudian didatangi memori-memori lama, seorang juruterbang berbangsa Cina, seorang doktor haiwan lulusan UPM, seorang ekspatriat dari Amerika, Mak Long Piah dan geng antara lain, yang kesemuanya kembali menghantui. Siapa hantui siapa sebenarnya? Apa maksud kedatangan mereka? Atau sememangnya semua tidak membawa sebarang maksud.

Atau mungkin betul apa semua orang cakap - memang Kartini Shuib sudah 'takdak' time!

Gadis Jalan Burmah – sebuah monolog yang pastinya mencuit hati. Dipersembahkan dalam Bahasa Inggeris dan Bahasa Melayu.


--------------------

For more details on dramalab plays, click on to their official site

Reviewing the previews

Over the last three weeks I've had the opportunity to attend three preview sessions -

Yasmin Ahmad's Mukhsin (film)


Amir Muhammad & Naiem Ghalili's Susuk (film)


Jit Murad's Gold Rain and Hailstones,
directed by Zahim Albakri (theatre)

Ah, reviews a-coming, of course. Let's hope the weekend will bear some writing juices for the process.

Tentatively, Mukhsin and Susuk are in the planning for an early-2007 release. Let's see how things go.

Gold Rain & Hailstones is on now at KLPac - Pentas 1, Sentul Park till Sunday 17 September - call 03-4047 9000 (KLPac) or 03-2094 9400 (BSC) for tickets. The play also has a blog.

Sapotlah industri felem dan teater kita!

Buku! (part II)

The fantasy of a bibliophile.

If I'm ever to be cooped up for days somewhere due to natural catastrophe e.g. earthquake / killer waves / haze or to be quarantined due to whatever disease, I wish it'll be in a bookstore (MPH /Kinokuniya), or the very least, a decent library. Heh. My idea of a worldly heaven would be close to that.

Books, books and more books. Stacked on the shelves, lining whole expanse of walls. Spread them on the floor, like an ocean to slake the thirst of the minf. Fictions and non fictions. Thick and thin. All colors, all sizes. Bound pages by the hundreds of thousands (dare I say millions?) waiting to be caressed and pondered upon.

And the time to read them all.

Pheehhh.

Have you ever read.....?

• during class / seminars / talks ( there's an art to pretending you're listening when actually you're devouring Stephen King's It under the desk)
• while waiting for the bus / the blind date / your turn during track practice
• while walking someplace
  
• during school assembly
• on the train / car / plane
  
• on the john (eleh come on lah, lots of people do this)
• while taking a shower
• while driving (especially during massive traffic jams)
• while cooking
• while having breakfast / lunch / dinner

I wonder where or what else do people do, that could be supplemented with reading on the side? Tell me.

--------------

Image from "Read or Die" [image credit] :
an anime involving a world obsessed with books - imagine that!

Buku!

Tiba-tiba terasa jauh dari mereka. Buku-buku.

Aku rindu saat-saat membaca. Dulu.

Shahrizal - my first love story

(in lieu of Mukhsin)

We were seven.
His name was Shahrizal. We were in the same class. Satu Merah.

We would buy each other kuih during recess.
The only time he didn't take the curry-puff I gave him was because he had just had his bersunat and there were meat in it. "Kalau makan daging nanti ko*ek aku bentan, mak aku cakap", he said.

On the last day of the year, we had already chosen a place next to each other in our future Dua Merah class. Cikgu Zuraida had to stop us from putting our heads in each other's lap.

At recess that day he gave me packet wrapped in newspaper and told me he will be moving to another school.

I think I still have that pink-beads necklace somewhere.

I've never heard of Shahrizal ever since.

Mukhsin unseen

At the moment, I am officially immensely very-very jeles at The Visitor, Fadz, SM, Roy, NZ and Habri for all six of them have seen Mukhsin, and I haven't.

Jeles tau.
Jeles.

["You know, Aryana, Kak Ted has yet to see us in Mukhsin"]

(Addendum " 15/8/06 - Finally seen Mukhsin. Best.)

Food for the soul

Smells like what?

"Teen Spirit" is a U.S. deodorant brand sold by Colgate-Palmolive. Cobain got the song name when friend Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the riot grrrl punk band Bikini Kill at the time, spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall. Since they had been talking about anarchy, punk rock and similar topics, Cobain took it to be a slogan in that vein. The meaning, however, was that Kurt smelled like the roll-on deodorant brand that Tobi Vail, Hanna's band mate, and Kurt's then-girlfriend, wore. Cobain claimed that he did not know it was a brand of deodorant, and in retrospect was unhappy that a commercial product was named in the song.

In the months after the song became a hit, Colgate-Palmolive created an ad campaign to try to cash in on the connection. One TV commercial featured lines including "Do you smell like teen spirit?" and "Deodorant made for your generation".

Source : Wikipedia

Dedicated to Faizal of Akademi Fantasia, for this week's concert ;)

Selamat le awok nyanyi lagu ni!

Friday blessing

Last Friday, I got EXACTLY what I wanted. Just when I needed it.

I felt that God loves me.

onions

Shrek: Ogres are like onions.

Donkey: They stink?

Shrek: Yes. No.

Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.

Shrek: No.

Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs.

Shrek: NO. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
[sighs]

Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onion.

Quote from the movie Shrek, 2001

blast from the past

Did you watch this back in the 90s?


('Moero Attack' opening theme)

Summersault berkembar!!

(of course at that time I thought it was 'somersot bekembar!')

Takziah

Salam takziah to Nz for the loss of his father. May Allah bless his soul, and I hope the family is coping well. Amin.

Al-fatihah.

ayembek

Best giler ah!

A gazillion thanks to B, for prompting me to finally make the trip, and another gazillion thanks to Reno (the perfect host) and her family.

--------
Four hours before the flight back:

"Reno, satu lagi belum. Aku mau lihat rumah Ahmad Dhani lah, sempat nggak?"
"Boleh... tapi nanti kita lambat sampai ke rumah, bilang ama Mama kita macet, okay?"

Hehehehe

Leavin' on a jet plane

tan-tan-ta-raa

7 hours and counting

Macam uncle John Denver kata..
"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.."

Photo credit

paradiso

Sambil menonton tayangan Kelab Wayang Gambar di Astro Ria (1. Zul Huzaimy macam comel dalam cerita ini, hah I wish we had a teacher or a club like that when I was at school; 2. Apa ada dengan kopi dalam cerita ini?), aku terkenang hari-hari lepas yang menyeronokkan.

Bermula dengan kejayaan hari Rabu membelikan laser pointer untuk Papito (berapa kedai aku masuk nak cari benda alah tu, tak senang nak jumpa rupanya), dinner di Rahsia bersama B, Datin S dan suami disambung dengan sesi karaoke (oh... it's THAT song); selesai buat pasport baru (no. ke-62 untuk hari berkenaan, jam 10 pagi dah siap), menonton X3 dan jumpa bebudak Tsc pada hari Khamis; dan akhirnya berjalan-jalan di Bukit Tinggi, meniup buih sabun di bangunan menara Colmar Tropical bersama Sister dan Mamita hari ini.

Aku tak sangka kami akan meniup buih sabun di tengah-tengah keramaian itu. Kami gelakkan dewasa-dewasa lain yang rasa terkongkong dengan inhibitions mereka, aku yakin mereka juga teringin sebenarnya, hahaha. Seronok mengembalikan nostalgia zaman kanak-kanak yang itu, dulu seingat aku botol sabun dan peniup dia warna merah tapi hari ini warnanya kuning. We perfected the art of blowing bubbles -

The trick :
1. Bubble wand should be about 4 inches from your mouth, not too near
2. Blow air as directly as you could into the wand circle. Pucker up as small as possible
3. But don't blow too hard, rather try to keep the 'blow duration' as long as possible

By the way, ada sesiapa mempunyai Cinema Paradiso yang boleh dipinjamkan?

Photo credit :"Blowing Bubbles"

cerita pendek

==================
(Dalam Kereta)

+ (tiba-tiba) Eh, hari ni hari Jumaat la!

- Huh? Kenapa? Macam mana kau tau hari ni hari Jumaat?

+ Takdela, saja je. Semalam kan hari Khamis. Cikgu aku sekolah rendah dulu memang dah ajar, lepas hari Khamis, hari Jumaat lah.

- Cis!

=================
(SMS)

: Apa ucapan nak bubuh kat kad birthday waiem? Sila SMS segera.

+ Sempat lagi ke? Semuga waiem murah rejeki dan hepi selalu, pis2 kacang kuda. Buleh ke?

: Sempat. Eh part buleh ke? tu nak masuk ucapan jugak?

+ Tak la..

=================
(Di Pejabat)

* Eh, korang, buat apa? Kerja ke?

+ Taklah, main-main, memang saja suka duduk-duduk kat sini.

third time ain't no charm...

... when we're talking about asthma attacks.

Last Thursday, the moment I felt the wheezes really coming through was when I found myself panting from the short walk to the hotel room in Mersing and thought "uh oh I can just see where this might be heading to". Course at first I thought it's just due to exhaustion from the day trip, but it just got worse and worse and finally at B's insistence ("Your wheezing and coughing is scaring the shit out of me la") I went into a pharmacy (clinics in Mersing closed already at 9pm, somehow) and asked for anything OTC.

----------
"Inhaler, or pills?"

(Whoa, I didn't even know there's OTC pills for that. Told ya, it's been a while)
"Erm, pills please"

"How's your heartbeat? I gotta know that to give out OTC asthma medication"

(Huh? You think I'll admit something else is not right with me issit. They don't call me Ted the Iron Lady for nothing kay!)
"Dunno la. As usual, I suppose?"

"If it's too fast I couldn't give you the strong stuff"

"Err..."

"Would you mind if I check your blood pressure first?"

"Uhm.. okay"


Oh his name is Nik Mansur teehee

"81. That's kinda fast. I can only give you Volmax, not the other one"

"Whatever la..as long as I'll get to sleep tonight"
---------

Three times, this year alone (and it's only June), when previously there'd be perhaps only one attack a year since the days I left school.

I could blame it all on the air-conditioning, but with the way things have been going on recently I'm beginning to realize it might be rather something else. And that something else, could well be the s-t-r-e-s-s.

Yes, despite the fact that I had a very enjoyable companion (as B said, you're together with someone for more than 6 hours and bam! you get to know all those weird things about them), that niggling thought of the work I left behind and some other stuff is still at the back of my mind most of the time. Again, the Mersing stint is a work-related trip. In fact, in the last 10 days I've been on work-related trips to Pahang (then back), Kedah (then back) and finally Johor, with one- or two-day space in between before the next.

Big Boss has been telling me it's too much and chided me for the scheduling, but it's too late as everything's been set by then. And bla-bla-bla-bla. I didn't realize I actually had a choice, ya'know?

Ah well. We'll see how things go later. There's still about four tonnes of stuff I'm trying to get through before my Jakarta holiday with B comes up mid-June. I'll try taking it easy till then, if such a thing is possible.

In the meantime, better keep the Volmax tabs handy, I suppose.

i'm not Atlas

Dan tanganku ini
Masih memegang erat kepalaku
Semua yang membebaniku
Sungguh membebaniku
Sungguh membebaniku
Sungguh membebaniku

-Peterpan (2005) 'Membebaniku'
-Album : Alexandria

--------------

The news about Emy, a presumably healthy 29-yr-old who passed away recently of a heart attack scares me a little.

Okay. A LOT.

Rais Finds 'The Last Communist' Film Not Offensive

Now over to you, Internal Security Minister.

This reminds me of the KRUmania concerts ban in 1997. I hope the issue doesn't have to go up to the DPM or (gasp!) PM to be resolved, though. Banyak lagi benda lain diorang nak buat.

----------

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) -- The banned musical documentary "The Last Communist" is not offensive, said Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

"The plot isn't controversial and there's nothing that could be deemed as offensive from the cultural viewpoint," he said.

The facts portrayed in the documentary could be read in the book about former Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng sold in book stores, he told reporters after joining Members of Parliament to watch the film at the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) Sunday.

The Internal Security Ministry banned the documentary produced by independent film-maker Amir Muhammad on May 10 days before its screening in cinemas although it had been passed by the Censorship Board.

The ban followed criticisms that the film glorified the cause of the communists and Chin Peng.

The documentary was screened for the MPs at the request of parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang who wanted to see the justification for its ban.

Rais said there was nothing new in the film except for the interviews with the Communist Party of Malaya's former members.

"They were vague, not conclusive for any quarters... that's normal," he said, adding that whether the ban would be lifted was the prerogative of the Internal Security Ministry.

He said his ministry would give its views if it was asked to do so but he hoped the issue would not be blown out of proportion.

Lim said that he could not see anything controversial that could justify the banning of the film.

"When I went in, I was prepared to be outraged. But, hard as I tried, I could not find anything to be outraged about because it does not glorify the Communist Party or Chin Peng, and does not even promote communism.

"It just used the Chin Peng connection to make a documentary about life in the country and a little bit about life at the border. Some scenes such as the charcoal factory (in Taiping), petai boys (in Bidor) are an eye opener for many and highly educational," he said.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar said it was a simple film portraying the life of a group of Malaysians in the 1940s and 1950s.

"It does not even tell a full story on the communist insurgency in the country nor is it a propaganda film," he said, adding that it would not leave a negative impact on the audience.

-- BERNAMA

Link

win, lose, or ....

Kocokan dadu di tangan berharap nasib baik
Orang yang menang langkahpun semakin naik
orang-orang yang kalah peluang makin susah
Kalau salah salah langkah bisa bisa masuk penjara
Dana umum dan kesempatan hanya untuk yang bernasib baik
Dana umum dan kesempatan hanya untuk orang yang menang
Ini hanya permainan
Ini monopoli Ooo...
Ini monopoli Ooo... main monopoli
Orang-orang yang menang menguasai segalanya

'Main Monopoli'
Slank
'PISS!' (peace) album, 1993

----------------------------

Someone said, winning isn't everything.

But, who wouldn't like it to win it all? Honestly. I would. Of course. Why not?

An optimist like me do believe that it's possible to have a "win-win situation", where to win some, you may have to lose some as well. But that must be better than one-wins-all and the-rest-lose-all. Especially when you're at the losing end.

We do get 'Chance' cards in life. It's just that we may not realize it since it most probably come in various disguises. In Monopoly though, we may get to keep the card to use when we think fit. In life, we gotta know it when it comes and grab our chance before it's gone. Swoosh!

Main monopoli, hah. Banker jugak yang confirmed kaya, ekcerli.

Ban of Lelaki Komunis Terakhir

Read the director's own take on Why is Lelaki Komunis Terakhir banned in Malaysia.

But basically, I think it's first and foremost because of the title. Not just because it has the word "komunis", but also the fact that there was a previous local movie with the title "Perempuan Melayu Terakhir". There's already a sort of romanticism and feel-good factor to the phrase Perempuan-Melayu-Terakhir (PMT), and suddenly Amir came and put forth a Chin Peng-inspired documentary titled Lelaki Komunis Terakhir.

If there's no previous PMT movie, would people readily accuse a documentary titled Lelaki Komunis Terakhir as an attempt to "glorify the communist leader when the country has much more credible people that we can learn from"?

Do we only learn from the good things that happened? Shouldn't we also learn about the bad? Learn, i.e. to not repeat them. Learn, to know that A is wrong and B is right. Learn, why is it such.

There's a Malay saying that goes, "Yang baik jadikan tauladan, yang buruk jadikan sempadan".

As far as I'm concerned, Chin Peng is one to be considered as sempadan.

I've not seen Lelaki Komunis Terakhir yet, and I want to.

Why?

Not because I think Chin Peng is someone to be glorified.
Not because I'm insensitive to the hurt that he's caused to our countrymen during his time, the fathers and the grandfathers of fellow Malaysians today.
Not because Communism is an ideology I'm interested to see in practice.

But because I'm interested to know how a semi-musical-documentary would be like, because Amir Muhammad made a couple of movies that I've enjoyed watching before and because I want to learn whatever I could (if there's any) from the movie. Either as a teladan or sempadan. I'm a product of a local school system. I read local dailies since I was five year old. Of course the mere notion of Chin Peng, to me, is a sempadan.

You think by watching a semi-musical-documentary of places he's lived in, would change that?

Let we think for ourselves, lah. Listen and make decisions based on facts, not just notions and the mere mention of the word "komunis". Take it within the context. Lelaki Komunis Terakhir. The Last Communist. Why won't the title be taken as Amir's patriotic claim to Malaysia successfully banishing all commies from its terra firma then?

IF

Chin Peng = Communist
Chin Peng = exiled from Malaysia

AND

last = the only remaining

THEREFORE

"The Last Communist" = The only remaining Communist, Chin Peng, who has been exiled from Malaysia

Conclusively means,

In Malaysia, there are no more communists!

Tak patriotik ke tu?

Err... geli!

Some people just have that ingrained ability to make you go..

kembang tekak.

Euwrr.

kuah tumpah

Kecik-kecik lagi dah pandai nak capai kamera. Asal nampak kamera je dia mula posing. Terbedik-bedik mata, senyum dan excited tiba-tiba. Pelik lah, cemana dia tau kalau nampak kamera kena posing ah?

Betul la kut, mungkin sebab abah dia jurugambar... menurun = genetik?

sunday is a day

1. Kawan-kawan

Friendships could be strange things that defies explanation.
How they came about, or how they got unravelled.

You could find the best of them coming from places you don't really expect to, with people you don't really plan to.

And you could find them getting undone, with things you did that you thought were the best.

Then you may even forget the when, how and why, but one will always remember the who and the good times had. And when that time comes, it's best to just move on.

-------------

2. Lantai T(onggek) Pinkie

Lantai T. Pinkie the musical was a yawn in the middle. The singing scenes were quite enjoyable though, and Nasha Aziz sure is one pretty lady.

-------------

3. Che vs Gie vs Chin Peng

Watched The Motorcycle Diaries (tq JLo!) three times already. And have seen a picture of the dead Che. And read the wiki page on him. Still couldn't make up my mind whether to admire him or not. But at least I know now the rough idea of the man, instead of the many who may just have his mug on their tshirts / slingbags / caps without having the faintest clue about the guy.



Watched Gie, once. Maybe I have to see it again. But I think The Motorcycle Diaries is a much watchable movie. And not just because the actor who played Ernesto is so hensem.

Am keyed for local release of Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (supposedly 18/5/06). But the latest development is quite a suspen one, hope all goes well.

------------

I just like something different, sometimes.
But please don't put me on the list of people to sign up for that party.

Muhibahnya kita

Sepet dan Gubra : Pencemar budaya Melayu?

Budaya Melayu, jika tercemar, orang-orangnya sendiri yang mencemarkan.
Bukannya kerana, atau diburukkan lagi dengan Sepet dan Gubra.

-----------

SMS to Visitor yesterday morning :

"There he was making such racist comments on national TV last nite, and here I am a tudunged Melayu SMS-ing a cina guy while making small talk to another cina (rather cute oso!). He'd have a heart attack!"

-----------

Syukurlah dulu aku turut satu kelas dengan para-para Tham Keen Fung, Yuvarajah, Ng Say Seong, Loretta George, Nithiyaletchumi dan Pam Ang Mei Li sama, bukan hanya dengan para-para Massabrina, Aida Hani, Khairil Sazlin, Nadiah, Ahmad Azwan dan Iskandar Dzulkarnain saja.

P.S - jika kau kenal semua nama-nama di atas, email aku!

kritikus jumpa pembikin filem

Last night after persistent SMSes from the Visitor I finally decided to attend the Bicara Filem event at Akademi Seni Kebangsaan. We arrived quite late, the screening of Dato' Rahim Razali's much-acclaimed Matinya Seorang Patriot was already well into the second half of the film already.

The panelists for the forum were filmmaker Dr. Mahadi J. Murat and Berita Harian journalist (journalist kan?) Akmal Abdullah, and the title was "ANTARA KRITIKAN DAN PEMBIKINAN FILEM: DI MANAKAH TITIK PERTEMUANNYA?.

What I learnt :

1. To be a critic, one needs to have at least some knowledge of films. Anybody can give a review, and anybody can try to be a critic, but it takes a good knowledge base for one to become a real critic.

2. A critic is usually influenced by his own experience and school of thought, as well as the time he lives in. Therefore a critic in 1980 might say one thing about a film made in 1980, and another critic in 2006 could watch the same 1980 film and could likely have a different opinion from the first.

3. Critics should first and foremost be eclectic in making up their opinions, and not based on one pre-set specific theory or principle.

The surprising thing was that we, the audience found what a couple of members of the audience had to say were more interesting and engaging than the panelists'. Well, of course but then it has to be noted that members of the audience who had their say included Mansor Puteh and Pak Hassan Muthalib :)

But hats off to Dr. Mahadi who nicely played along to Akmal's off-the-track comments and very nicely tried saying "Dude, what I think about Y is such and such, but then again the forum is supposed to diccuss about X" (of course lah he didn't say it like that, but I think that's what he meant). But the other panelist seemed to fail to (or pretended not to?) realize that people thought he's about a mile off track already.

Just for thoughts - is it possible for a film reviewer-critic to jot down whole pages of notes about narrative of the film, the storyline and his thoughts on what this and that meant bla-bla-bla, and in the process forgot* the name of the MAIN CHARACTER as well as the love interest? Okaylah, the love interest I can kasi chan, but to have no idea of the main character's name for God's sake?

I realized while driving back that I wanted to ask this question-

"Through the internet as an alternative medium to existing media channels, with the emergence of self-acclaimed film reviewers cum critics in self-made sites as well as filmmakers with blogs/websites themselves thus enabling two-way interaction between the filmmakers and the critics as well as Joe Public - could this be seen as a positive contribution towards the so called 'meeting point', and are these self-published individuals actually worthy to be reckoned as film critics in that sense?"

Maybe I should email the question to Akmal and Dr Mahadi? Anyone got their email addresses?

--------------
Rujuk * di atas - Aku tak rasa kejam bila aku katakan pada Fadz aku fikir dia patut tembak** aje kepalanya.

Rujuk ** di atas - Okeylah, sebagai seorang yang baik hati, tembak dengan lastik getah aje.

Ted, millionaire

Picked up a book at MPH today while waiting for a movie to start. It was such good stuff that I finished almost the whole book - hurray for bookstores that allows free reading!

According to The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach, these are basically the only things you need to do in order to become a millionaire and retire comfortably around 50+ :

1. Pay yourself first every month before paying everyone else i.e. put aside a certain amount of money from your monthly salary into your retirement investment. At least 10% or more depending on the lifestyle you want. (Here we got EPF already, well, add another investment to that. ASB, ASW 2020, money market etc).
2. Buy a house as soon as possible and pay it off quickly! Get a home loan that allows you to make payments every two weeks instead of monthly, there's a great reduction in total loan term and amount that you'll have to pay if you do that.
3. When you finished payment on the first house, buy a second house. Live in one, rent out the other.
3. Don't live on debt. Credit cards interest rates are such a killer to your money.
4. Identify you Latte Factor* and do without it. Add that money to your retirement investment (in item 1) instead.

On top of that, items 1 & 2 should be done AUTOMATICALLY (hence the term 'Automatic Millionaire') i.e. through automatic deductions by the company you work for and by your bank. Therefore you don't need to be disciplined about it anymore as it is taken out of your hands and done for you. You'll get used with the lesser amount and make do with only the balance as that's the amount you'll get to spend. Nak harap disiplin tiap2 bulan masukkan duit dalam bank? Heh... duit dah dalam tangan.. bye-bye la selalunya, ada aje benda yang nak dibeli, kan? Kan? So after the money is taken out of your hands, you can spend how you like it without even having a budget. BUT spending freely means only the cash in your hands, NOT the cash you don't have! That means NO CREDIT CARDS.

So the biggest hurdle here actually is item 4 lah where you got to put some effort in. He suggested if you have many credit cards now, pay it all off (beginning with the account that you owe the least) then cancel the cards one by one. Maintain just one account to be used for things you need, but make sure you can pay it off at the end of every month!

I'm on my way to become an automatic millionaire. Are you?

* Latte Factor -
the small stuff that you spend money on regularly (maybe even daily) without realizing you don't really need it, and that over time, the total money spent on it is really a lot. E.g. the fancy RM10 coffee you buy everyday before you start work (when u could easily make your own), or that two-pack-a-day cigarette habit (which also kills u slowly in the process), or that three-times-a-week pizza, or that full package Astro subscription when you hardly watch the Sports and News channels etcetera. Something that you don't need but still spend money on, something that you could do without, without compromising your lifestyle. You don't even need to do TOTALLY without it, having less of it also can lah - only two days buy Starbucks, make your own coffee the other three; smoke only a pack a day; cook or get nasi campur two times out of three; get only the Astro package with channels you really watch.

Could you count at least a RM100 savings monthly if you do that? With compounding interest, an additional RM100 invested monthly starting this month would become an additional RM59,000 for your retirement in 20 years time at a modest 8% annual return. Which one sounds better? Those weekly pizza dinners and full package Astro, or RM59,000?

Surirumah terdesak

At 3 a.m. this morning, me and my mother were still watching Desperate Housewives on DVD. Season 2 (Lynette succeeded in getting a child-care centre set up at the office).

That's one of the things we do when we're left just the two of us on the weekends - watch DVDs or go catch a movie at a nearby cinema, then maybe go shopping for groceries, send our cars to the workshop, cook something simple or get takeaway chicken rice from the kedai makan at the back. There was this one weekend that we became total couch potatoes and watched TV from morning till night for the whole day.

It's a fun thing to have a mother that loves to watch stuff like Desperate Housewives, Lost and C.S.I. as much as you yourself do.

But I'm still the only one in the house who adore The Simpsons. D'oh!

[image source]

Planning to watch GUBRA? Read this first.

This post is in whole from Mr. Visitor's blog (with permission) to spread the word.
----------------------

TO ALL WHO ARE GOING TO SEE GUBRA, PLEASE READ THIS:

As they say, "kuch kuch hota hai". Something, something, is happening. Yasmin wrote on her blog that several friends, including her producer Elyna, had gone to the cinema to buy tickets for Gubra but was told that the show they wanted was sold out. But their friends who had managed to get tickets for the same show went into the hall and found it half empty.

Now, this is extremely odd. Unless there were some massive coincidence, it wouldn't be that every single one of the booked tickets were uncollected.

Read about it here.

Yasmin found out later that someone has been making large bookings. She says:

"What's been happening is this. Someone, or some people, out there have been making false bookings in large numbers. However, only half the seats are available for bookings. which explains why the screenings are very often exactly only half full.

"I don't know what can be done about it, but that, it would seem, is what's been happening."

Strange, isn't it?

Anyway, no one wants to speculate, and certainly no one wants to make any accusations. But what we want is to make sure those who want to see the movie are able to do so.

So, here's my suggestion:

DON'T MAKE PHONE OR INTERNET BOOKINGS. GO STRAIGHT TO THE CINEPLEX COUNTER AND WAIT UNTIL HALF AN HOUR BEFORE SHOWTIME. THIS IS WHEN THEY RELEASE THE UNCOLLECTED BOOKINGS. BUY YOUR TICKET THEN.

I think it should be alright to buy tickets at the last minute, because the first 10 minutes of showtime are usually ads and trailers.

So, here's hoping we are able to rectify the problem from now on.

Tell all your friends about this, SMS them, send emails, get the message through. Blog about it.

SPREAD THE WORD!
-------------

So yeah, like Mr. Visitor said, we don't want to speculate or accuse anyone of anything. It's just that, if you're planning to watch Gubra, and was told it was fully-booked / sold out, it's worth your while to wait and try again to get your tickets half an hour before the show starts.

Terengganu

'Twas a working trip. I swear.

Bos Aku

Bos aku.
Bagi paperwork
banyak.

Bos aku.
Selalu suruh aku cari sendiri
macam mana nak selesaikan kerja,
"Belajar", katanya.

Bos aku.
Membuatkan aku merungut
bila aku pressure
dengan tugasan yang tak siap-siap.

Bos aku.
Tunjukkan cara menyelesaikan masalah yang besar itu.

Bos aku.
Betulkan kesalahan aku
dalam kertas kerja yg nilainya berjuta.

Bos aku.
Belikan aku nasi
apabila aku tak ikut mereka keluar tadi
kerana kakiku terseliuh.

Bos aku.
Tahu
kewujudan
blog ini.

Bos.
Aku.

Hehehe.

tikettikettiket

organizing a movie 'togethergether' online for 90+ people is definitely not rocket science, but it's no simple matter either. there's one who books for 10 persons, one who hasn't even arrived in malaysia yet, one that keeps changing the number of people in his party etc. etc.

i hope everything goes well and we'll manage to get tickets for everybody.

to tell the truth, erm. better not, haha. you may be one of those who's gonna go.

okay, to tell the truth. we're still not 100% sure of
1) what time it's gonna be (hope my 9-ish guess is correct)
2) the meeting place (duduk depan ticket office nanti orang ingat ulat tiket pulak?)
3) whether we'd be able to get the good seats

and i gotta be away for three days starting monday. haha.

thank god for the the friends i have with their bigger-than-big networks (social and otherwise), which comes very very much handy at times like these.

ted, go out and get to know more people!

this is no war

Dear diary,

He called what I was doing 'crap'.


We all pick our battles differently, on different grounds and for different reasons.

If you want to call my battle crap, so be it. The invitation for you to join in the crapola still stands :)

1 & 2

(1)
Thanks to my colleague.

Yea, I still buy them cassettes as my kereta kecik's stereo system only allows for that. And so as not to increase sales of Indonesian albums on local shores, these were ordered directly from Jakarta. Teehee. Jangan marah ya, bung. Bukan bajakan ini, semua udah lunas PPN, ya cumanya dalam rupiah. (PPN tu apa? Rujuk sini)

------------------------------
(2)

"Wahai jiwa-jiwa yang tenang..
Jangan sekali kali kamu..
Mencoba jadi Tuhan dengan mengadili dan menghakimi
Bahwasanya kamu memang tak punya daya dan upaya
Serta kekuatan untuk menentukan kebenaran yang sejati..
Bukankah kita memang tercipta laki laki & wanita
dan menjadi suku suku bangsa.. yang pasti berbeda
Bukankah kita harus saling mengenal dan menghormati
Bukan untuk saling bercerai berai
dan berperang angkat senjata"

Dewa 19
Laskar Cinta “Chapter Two”

Tapi sebenarnya, ini bukan pertama kali kita pernah dengar atau baca ayat-ayat ini, kan? Cuma apabila ayat-ayat ini diangkat oleh kumpulan popular dan dinyanyi dan berkumandang di radio, melekat lebih pulak.

Aku tak rasa ada salahnya walau "Propaganda!", kata sesetengah.

Itu, bahan kelabu dalam kotak kranium kau. Gunakanlah.

P.S - Bahagian yang diboldkan dituju khas buat Pakcik George Bush dan sekutu-sekutunya dan semua pihak yang sedang berperang-perangan dan bercerai-beraian dengan ucapan "Cintailah kedamaian", ke arah dunia seperti dinyatakan dalam stereotype ucapan wajib bakal-bakal ratu dunia di filem kaca Hoolywood bagi soalan terakhir pusingan penentu kejuaraan "..and I also wish for.. world peace" (insert senyuman bercahaya dengan kilatan Vaseline di sini).

YM-ing Yg Mulia

During Parliament observer duty today, there was this guy on my left who was diligently tap-tapping on his laptop during the morning session. Upon further glances on his screen, guess what?

He was actually busy having instant-message conversations using Yahoo Messenger amidst the speeches by the Yang Berhormats and Yang Dipertuas from the look at the small message windows with avatars on the screen. Too bad my PDA’s battery was on low, or I would’ve definitely risked for a picture evidence.

The thing is I couldn't get even a single signal bar for my mobile once I’m seated in the Dewan Rakyat Yang Mulia.

Must be some powerful hardware he got there. Or, my mobile is the cikai one.

date with Gubra

Note your calendars, for Gubra, the latest film by Yasmin Ahmad is scheduled to start its local screening on the 6th of April, 2006 (as at time of publish).

6.4.06, okeys. Nice date, ya. Anam-ampat-kosong-anam.

For early reviews of Gubra go here and here (beware of *spoilers*), here for an account of the gala premiere in Singapore and here for an interview with the cast.


Well, wayang siapa kalau bukan wayang kita? Don't shoot Yasmin for having it premiered in Singapore though, that's done and we'll be watching the same version as Gubra has passed through the National Censorship Board with zero cuts, so we'll be seeing the film in its full, ahem, entirety. Singapore aside, still it's Nazrul alone who owns the claim to fame that Gubra's first 'public premier' in September 2005 was at his cool Ikea-furniture-laden bachelor pad :)

And here's a small tip - do WAIT until the end of the credits instead of heading straight for the exit once they started rolling. You won't regret it.

[All photo credits owned by Gubra's production team]

No snip

Surprise, surprise.

Gubra (Yasmin Ahmad)
Passed with NO CUTS


Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (Amir Muhammad)
Passed with NO CUTS


Garasi (Agung Sentausa)
Kissing scene snipped, but song performed with lyrics "shut the f*ck up!" passed through