It is seldom that I post about my favorite Malay singers in this blog. However, this post is something I wanna share, that not many have notice. Some may even don't believe if this is true. No matter what he does, he is still No.1 in my books. This is JAMAL ABDILLAH.

Video 1 - Together with M.Nasir, Jamal delivered one of the best performance ever during the Malaysia's music award show. After this award-winning performance, nobody came close to match their standards...... till today. This is when he is SOBER.



Video 2 - Jamal is all alone at the Istana Budaya where he sang in front of dignitaries. Backed by the full orchestra and top-notch technical crew, he let loose his emotions to a blistering performance........ of coz, with the help of .......... In short, he's 'flying.......'. I say, if he need substances to perform like this, let him take whatever he wants!!!



While we're in Malaysia..... here's another favorite, Malaysia's version of SADE...... SHEILA MAJID.



Not forgetting one of Malaysia's sweetheart, 'live' in Royal Albert Hall in London. This is the encore performance.

Here's something for you to ponder......



I THINK OF YOU WHEN I'M STRESS...........




YOU, STRESS THINKING OF ME..............





and, the glass is always half full. Never half empty.

Frankly, I'm bored at doing product reviews. Not that I hate the product, but it's because most of the information needed are already available in the product's website. If that's not enuff....... there's always a smart-ass out there (or somewhere here) who seems to know more than the engineers and the developers. The best is, they are the ones who don't get to see, touch nor taste the equipments first-hand. Today, I met such person........ in one of the forums....... here.

Anyway, here's some latest toys for the big boys........

DN-MC 6000

DN-SC 2000

DN-X600

Before anyone tries to be smart and think they know better....... remember that the equipment is a non-living thing. What matters most is the person operating the system. Like YUKUN said, "Can means, CAN!"

To that 'guy' who still think that his Pioneer 1000MK3 and DJM800 is the most innovative DJ equipment...... I reckon you walk around Orchard Road with a Technics tee-shirt from Queensway SC, and have AFrojack and Sidney Samson on repeat mode in ur iPod Shuffle??

Saw a video of the Miss Singapore Universe 2010........



Then, it brought memories of the shamed Miss Universe Singapore 2009



I was just thinking......... why the heck did the local organizers go thru all the trouble to organise unnecessary rounds of selections, which in the end up with representatives of 'such' standards??? Why in the hell didn't they just send Otelli Edwards to the pageant..... for the past 3 yrs, or maybe, for the next 2 yrs......??!! No need to waste time, money and effort from all the different parties. Just get her the ticket, and let her choose her own outfits. I reckon we'll fair better. PWND!!!

Long ago, while in school, my Engrish teacher said to me, "If you wanna improve your Engrish, read more books and start speaking Engrish. Better if you mix with Engrish-speaking fwens." So, I did. Even though I didn't excel in my Engrish but I have since manage to write a few postings in my blog, wrote articles published in some magazines and hosted a few shows for the mass public.

Recently, I felt like I have been neglecting my own mother-tongue, the Malay language. Even though I managed to exhume a few praises from the former ministers like Sidek Saniff, Ahmad Mattar and Cikgu Suratman Markasan at a recent event which I hosted, in Malay!! I think I could do better with an improved vocabulary of the Malay language.

So, with that in mind I decided to improve myself, and that was when I remembered the former teacher's saying. I took the first Malay language peripheral I found at home and read it. It was a Malay magazine - Media Hiburan. To my disappointment, not only the words are still the same as it was 20 years ago, I thought I found spelling mistakes in all the articles. No improvement there, I decided to take the second advice. Start mixing with Malay-speaking fwens. Here is where I encounter more problems.

After a week with my Malay-speaking fwens..... I came home more confused than before as I didn't understand many parts of the conversation, In fact, I tried looking up some words in the Kamus (Malay Dictionary), but to no avail. Not sure if it's just me or the Malay language has gotten too sophisticated. Here's a list of words and phrases that I was still trying to figure out.

sachok, sachek - ??

wancheng - ???

berg - ???

step yek - ??

kajon - ??

"fuh, dek ni duk sek ah!" (referring to a girl?)

"mesti potong angin" - (I dunno what they were referring to....)

"ada budak kena kicap!" (I think it refers to a fight?)

"gua tak bohong ah, depan lampu gua cakap....." (got this from a fwen....)

Today, as I was breaking fast, I had my mind on the YOG volunteers. Not all, but the local volunteers....... especially those who had to 'volunteer' out of their own free will. Yeah, we know that many of the volunteers had to do it or risk having their grades, testimonial or course results being compromised.

I was wondering how they were today. Whether they have eaten, how much has the food improved, etc. It is no secret that some of the international delegates behave in unacceptable manner and treat our volunteers like slaves. They know as host nations, our volunteers are held hostage to any of their request, in return of just a simple smile and an appreciative gesture. I was told, only a handful of these athletes are like that.... and those are the ones from the smaller African countries.

I wonder if they know who Kunta Kinte is ..........??

Was watching the news on TV and saw how excited my fellow Singaporeans about the opening of the YOG. The never-ending praises and 'proudness' of being a Singaporean after the gutsy display of 'Youth' performance and technology........... Really?! A wise-old man use to tell me, "for every 10 person who says you're ugly, there'll be 10 more who will say the opposite". As we already know that it is just another propaganda, we, the normal Singaporeans, will only see what we're required to see....... on TV. Didn't I say before that our TV has something in common with the North Korean TV...???

First up....... congrats to Ivan - Creative Director and the whole technical team for the opening show. I know some people involve in the production team, and they've done some commendable things. Above it all....... how much difference is this from the NDP segments?? Same idea different concept? The showcase of how Singapore, from a fishing village turned into a metropolitan country. I heard someone whispered to me....... "If you think you know better, do lor......!" Seriously, with a budget of even a 10%th of $389 million, come try me (us). With partners like AIMS, and many others, I'm sure we can come out with something 'interesting'. Speaking of which...... how come the organizers couldn't reach an agreement with Sean Kingston's performance fees, which resulted in his MIA during the opening show. My question is, why didn't this issue sorted out way before the programme is confirmed?? Ok, enough of the opening event. We'll let you ponder about the show, as it will be on repeated telecast for the rest of the year.

One of the things that really made me cringe (apart from the 'Oh Yeah' song), is how they made (or force) Primary school students to stand in the rain to welcome the YOG torch. Were there any consent forms from the parents? Did any of the kids feel sick? Were there any safety measures taken as it was raining and there were some lighting flash?? This is similar to how we see the kindergarten students having to come out on a hot Sunday morning, waving the 'flags', because some MP in white is coming to the neighbourhood. Do you think they want to? Especially without the reward of a MacDonald's Happy meal. Talking about meals, I think our YOG volunteers would be extremely grateful if their meals are of MacDee's Happy meal. I wonder how're they doing today?? I wonder what are they eating today........? I was glad that I pulled out from being a volunteer.

As I was watching the repeat telecast of the repeated reports on the YOG network channel, I notice there are only 6 teams in the Soccer tournament? If the Youth Olympics is just second to the Olympics, why didn't the big countries participate?? Don't even ask about the young teams from Argentina, England, Holland or even Spain....... where are our neighbours Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia?? Long ago, they taught us in school, 'it's not only about winning or losing, participation already makes you a winner....' so what happen ah...??!

Well, maybe it's not fair to only point out the setbacks, faults and disgruntles of the YOG. I'm sure there a some good things that come out of these such as .......... err.......... mmmmm........ I'll get back to you on that. Anyway, there are many other stories out there to add to this post. It's up to each and their own to decide, choose and ponder of these writes.

On a different note, to the young state representatives, I know how excited it is to have the nation's flag on your uniform. I've been in that situation before, so, I know. Be proud and enjoy the moment. Btw, I'm sorry that I will not pay $30 to watch any of the games. You want us to come support, you give privilege to Singaporeans. We are already paying for the all these.

My VESTAX tee signed by DJ QBert. Btw, I realized that quite a number of new generation DJs who doesn't know QBert, Grand Wizard Theodore or even Jam Master Jay. Some commented that it is not important to know these names coz it's associated with Turntablism. Most newbies get into the fray with dreams of being another Armin, Guetta or Sinclair, as these jocks are widely known in the Electronic Dance Music scene. Even in EDM, does anyone even know who Larry Levan is.....??

Similarities or just coincidence.......??

9th of May

9th of Sept

9th of Aug

I'm sure most have already notice this..........

So, the YOG festivities has started. Millions of people will be in Singapore. In a month's time, they will all go back to their countries and share their experience about Singapore. Here, the government is taking great pains to make sure the level of service, hospitality and convenience is at it's best.

Unfortunately, all these effort may go to waste just because when those visitors tried talking to service staffs, they'll get this question.......

"你說普通話?"

Btw, does anybody know whats the national language is...???

WHO'S NEXT??


Obama-mama announces that the withdrawal exercise will start soon, 31st August to be precise. The diplomats will take over in 'helping' Iraq to recover it's economy and what-not. The next question is........ Who's next??!

Look, we all know that the US is one of the biggest arms dealer in the world. Without war, they are in deep shit! Those army personnel who's coming home...... what are they gonna do? Most will never get back to society. Even if they do, the chances of psychological after-effects will remain in anything they do. The bulk of the US military personnel are young people who were drafted from the slums, projects or when they finished high school. How are these people gonna get back to real-life in America? Does America has the funds to support these people? So, what's the next best solution?

Get into another war............ who's next?

Got this in the mail about half hour ago...... I guess it was meant for me to post it here for the pleasure of my ardent readers.

If I'm right, the caption meant something like ...... "Invest in Shanghai bank and bring home a p*ki!!" - or else you guys can Google it from the Taiwan websites. This ad is from Taiwan.

Guess what...?! It comes in different colours!! I wonder if it's stored in a can. If it does, the Malays would call it "P*KI dalam tin......!"

C'mon...... it's Monday. Have some sense of humour, pls!

I was at the Singapore Flyer yesterday. While at the top, got to see parts of the rehearsal of YOG opening. It set me thinking back to where I was 1 year ago.

Sometime last year, I was offered the job to be part of the EXCO team to run the recreational village for the young Olympians at the NTI premises. As much as I was estatic to the offer, I had to turn it down coz at first they wanted me to be a Volunteer....... (for a whole year?) WTF?! Later on, they offered a sum of $2k/mth with a minimum working hours of 12hr/day. In short, I put aside the whole idea of joining the team. Anyway, that's not the point.

Today, I didn't regret it a bit even though I'm still unemployed. Don't get me wrong, it's great that Singapore is the venue for the inaugaural Youth Olympics. I was kinda excited about it, especially with all the hype, events and support for the younger athletes. The city looks nice and ready to open up to the world.

What made me lose interest and embarassed about this whole thing is....................









THE STUPID JJ LIN SONG AND IT'S ACTIONS!!!! KNNBCCB!!!!!



No offence, but this is insanely irritating!!!

High on Controllerism


Few weeks back I posted about the availability of the Reloop Digital Jockey 2 IE on the Embrace pages and a few other forums. The response was unexpectedly overwhelming and fast that we ran out of the controller in 3 days. No thanks to the people in Jakarta as they bought all the 15pcs of excess stocks.

Apparently, the jocks in Jakarta are fast getting into the digital set-ups. To them, having the versatility of playing with analog and digital is a commendable trait. Unfortunately, that can't be said the same way here. Some people here, detest DJs playing with softwares or digital set-ups. They will only make friends or allow other DJs to be part of their 'circle of trust' only if you're purely vinyl or CD. Well, it's alright. I detest boys smelling other boy's bootie...... whatever suit your style, aite. (btw, to those boys..... if you wanna smell my vinyl collection, let mw know, aite....)

Anyway, this morning I got a couple of emails from potential customers threatening to buy the out-of-stock controllers from other dealers. In fact, they even asked for big discounts because they, as customers, have been waiting for 2 weeks for the new stocks to arrive and they demand their 'rights'!!

Frankly, I'm really sorry that the stocks are late as it has to be shipped down from Germany and go through all the unnecessary red-tapes. I know how it feels..... 'the agony of waiting!' If I may, I would definitely throw in some freebies or something to pacify the addiction. On a different note, I don't remember Apple giving discounts to it's customers when iPad goes out-of-stock and we all have to wait for another month or two?? Oh, wait a minute..... we're not Apple. But then again......... ;-)

So there it is...... the new stocks will not be in for another few days. Either you guys wait, or, go get it from another dealer. Be prepared to pay $200 more, work with an older firmware, and, keep my mobile number coz you need to call me for after-sales support......... coz they will not give you any.

Some asked why I'm being too nice to these boys (who are my customers). The younger generation need support from seasoned people like us. Its a pity to see them get scounded by dealers whose only interest is to get rid of their stock, without offering any advise or support.


Come for a visit, you'll understand why it's not a retail shop........ it is the EMBRACE Showroom.

Thank You Note.

Just got back from a quick visit to Saigon for the PALME Vietnam exhibition. It has been a long time since I actually feel the vibe at the exhibition, but of course, no thanks to the organizers. It's the friends that made it worthwhile. It was also the first time in so many years that we saw a queue outside the exhibition hall before it opens.

Gotta say a big thanks to the E-Tech Magazine boys, Clarence, Thomas and Dennis. It was the right time to hang-out together and laugh at yourself!

Kamal Mahtani from KLOTZ Cables, my bro, we waited for 15yrs to have that drink. Finally!!

Jack and Colin - Medusa..... awesome night and thanks for the drinks!

Keegan and Josh - Pioneer DJ ....... it goes beyond the brand, bro.

Peter Wong, Lee - Performance Audio ...... ready to Rock??!

Juan & Ron - DAS Audio ........ please explain what is 'urgent' speaker demo?? hahahh!!!


Thub & Sebastien - d&b audioteknik ...... always the friend when u need one.

Glenn & TSM Marketing ...... good to see you guys again.

the management of ICE BLUE Bar Saigon - thank you for the hospitality!

WHAT'S NEW??!

Friend : Bro, got new club opening tonight. Let's go check it out!

Me : Check what out??

Friend : Check la.... see what they have, who DJ,what system, drink prices, bla, bla, bla.....

Me : Err..... isn't it the same everywhere?

Friend : But it's new..... maybe got something new.....

Me : Bro.... same operators from those clubs before.....

Friend : Maybe they are smarter now?

Me : What's new? Servers wear only G-strings? DJ, music, system? People all trying to look cool, hold 1 glass of champagne all night? Whatever they have at the bar, I'm sure there are other bars have it also. Whatever new music they play, I'm sure it will change in 3 mths time. Looking at the history of the previous clubs, it's gonna be 'hit & run' again??

Friend : Just go la, bro. Check how the girls are......

Me : Errr.... same la, bro. Unless the girls have that 'thing' down there that can talk or sing like Lady Gaga.... I'll go.

Friend : Ya la.... KNN!!

Why Malay women choose foreign partners
(taken from Berita Minggu 11th July 2010)

The headline reads "LELAKI MELAYU TAK GUNA!!" (Malay men are useless!!)

First of all, this is not a debate to show the male ego side of me, nor it is to correct the writer, Ms Lulu Marlya. As it has all been in this blog, I'm looking at it from a different perspective, different environment and a sub-culture which is not favoured by our people.

Some of the reasons why Malay women opt for the non-Malays are :-

- Lack of academic qualifications
- Failure to communicate broadly due to the lack of knowledge
- Malay men are more egoistic compared to other races
- Malay men thinks they are of higher status than women
- the more qualified men are all taken.....

To be frank, I do agree with those reason to a certain extent. I, myself have come across Malay men who has the failure to communicate due to their limitations of knowledge, superbly-egoistic (we called it Mat-Champion), lack of academic qualifications and such. But..... I have also met many who are the opposites. Does this writer heard of the single guys at APM, 4PM or even Mendaki? The women interviewed also mentioned that the good ones are all taken..... hmm. Wait a minute...... are these reports taken from the 12 women she interviewed or.... her perceptions from the thesis she did??

Anyway, looking at the writer's pic, her name, dress-sense and family profile.... the 'foreign-factor' does play a part in her findings. But again, this is just me being judgemental and stereotyping of the Malay women. In fact, how these women socialize does have a great influence in what kind of men they prefer.

(actually, I wrote a 300-words rebuttal of these report. but I soon realize that it is useless to post them as the report was written based from an egoistic view of a Malay women who thinks that she's 'all-that'. On a different note, we should have a drink and discuss 'things', no?)

Moving on, some women would prefer to lead or when thinks she is in a better position to lead due to her qualifications, position at work or how much income she brings back for the family. If it works for the particular family, good for them. If it doesn't...... well, move on. Many forget about the mutual respect, love and compassion they had for each other. Driven by the society we live in, family values are left forgotten, love took a back seat and when all is gone, we'll blame others instead of looking at the mirror first.

I believe there are still a few good men out there. Some are hidden, some are still waiting, and some are as confuse as I am. Those who think there aren't any left, I think you're looking at the wrong places or haven't look hard enough. Those who have found these men and made them wait so that you can find a better man, (there aren't any better men). Those women who have been hiding these few good men for their own benefits - make sure these men are well-rewarded (with extra benefits). There are no such thing as a 100%-man. If you got a man with 80% attributes, be thankful......... coz the 20% will come from the women who loves her man.

Maybe we should learn to be thankful with what we got ....... Syukur Alhamdulillah.

"a few good men...."

Project 2010?



Few years ago, there was a project called 2010. Not really sure what the real details are but it's something about the sports fraction aiming for the 2010 World Cup. Yup, the target was for the Singapore National soccer team to qualify for the World Cup. So, here we are and Singapore doesn't even come close to beating war-torn Iraq. What happen to the project? God knows......

On a different note, looking at all the big soccer stars and soccer nations, most of the players actually come from humble beginnings or even hardships. They are the ones who had nothing at all, and soccer was their way out to success. Their hunger for making life a lil' bit better for their family was the first reason these guys gave everything to soccer, and achieving it. These guys are always very hungry to achieve something, even when they reached the status of God-like players.

In some countries, like the USA, parents pay for their kids to play soccer. Some of these kids don't even want to play soccer but were made to do that as part of their curricular activities. These are the kids who come from middle-income families to all the rich ones. Most of them play soccer coz they have to or just for the fun of it such as socializing. How many of them would have the hunger to achieve success and give it all?? As much as the US team are in the World Cup, they will never reach the standards of Argentina, Brazil or Uruguay. If you wonder why teams like Nigeria are not successful anymore, it's because the players are rich people now and they got nothing much to fight for themselves. Ever wonder why the French team acted like they did in the WC2010? Well, it didn't help coz they're just French.

Coming back to Singapore, I notice that for the past 3 years, the soccer culture has become familiar like the one in US. Parents here pay for their kids to be in well-known soccer schools, mixing with expat families or train under ex-soccer celebrities whose only aim is to make sure they earn enough for a car, condo, annual holidays and dining in restaurants every other day. Do you think the new generation will be hungry to achieve all this? By that, means a whole lot of sacrifices, determination and discipline.

I still remember those days where we see kids playing soccer at the void decks, basketball courts, carpark, etc. Name it, well make a pitch out of it. Nowadays, u don't even see them anywhere. Sometimes, not even on the futsal courts coz the Mat-Reps are there to loiter and create nuisance. Not forgetting we have to pay like a gazillion dollars just to play soccer on a proper pitch. With all these, what actually make you think that we gonna be in the world cup in the near future??

There's more to be said but, would anybody even bother? Where's the hunger?? Hungry?? Or just 'hung-out-to-dry'?? Let's see whose hungry enough to win this year's WC2010?? Vamos Argentina!!!!!

Blast(ed) from the PAST!!


A recent gathering of ol' (not too old lah....) mates brought back fond memories of our childhood. With much pleasure I said 'fond memories' coz that was the only thing I could remember. At times, I felt dumbfounded, flabbergasted and mostly yakety...... there were too much to catch up, too much to tell, too much to say, too much to show. Unfortunately, time wasn't in our favour.


Nevertheless, it was worth the wait, worth the time. As expected, there were changes in all forms imaginable to the human anatomy, but, the kid-self in all of us was still there. I'm glad that it stayed like that. Still, I wish I had more time to stay and catch up. However, with the technology we have now, there is no reason why we can't keep ourselves updated.

So, there you go. To all the Mats and Minahs from MacRitchie Primary (Yr of 1983)..... cheers to all of us, to those who went before us, Al-Fatehah kami kirimkan, to those who refuse to acknowledge our existence, 'gasak korang ah!!'........ to those who are still missing....."Where the FARK are you guys??!!'....... and, is Norazhar really gay? did he turn to a transvestite? (nah...... I'm joking, just speculating on this one. Please don't quote me!!) hahahahahah!!!

Here's one for all the 'hot-Mamas'.....(jangan perasan ah!!)



"*due to restricted limitations and legal rights, some pix have been ordered to be taken down to minimize any intended discriminiations."

I just put the phone down after a 35-minute conversation with a bar owner in Boat Quay. He called to ask me for help in getting him proper DJ equipments. As far as I know, he just bought new equipments like less than 6 months ago. When I asked him what happened, he answered, that his DJ always 'chao-beat' during sets, player stops abruptly and the sound level goes uncontrollably haywire. When he asked his DJ what happen, the DJ told him that the equipments sucks and is not of 'industry standard'. FYI, the equipments was not Pioneer, Denon, Vestax or Numark. It was from another reliable brand but from the mid-range product.

The owner also said that his DJ had asked for Pioneer CDJ2000, which he claims to be the 'industry standard' for DJs. However, the bar owner is not willing to splurge $7000 for the Pioneer stuffs. He also asked if I have similar products that cost lower.

After much thought, I decided not to take advantage of his 'misfortune' by selling him stuffs. Instead, I told him to try changing his DJ before replacing his existing DJ set. Some of the reasons I told him was........

1. Those equipments are non-living things, the operator is. Maybe the operator has insufficient knowledge to handle such equipments.

2. The present equipments he has is also seen being use in bigger clubs, and there are some good reviews. It is also quite a known brand.

3. Why need such an extensive set-up for a small place??

4. There is no such thing as 'industry standard'........ we called it 'preferred choice'.

But then again, that's how the scene here in Singapore. There are some really good DJs who can play with anything but don't get a chance, whereas, there's also mediocre DJs who doesn't have basics but has the 'voice of a lion'. There are some bar owners who do care about their DJs, unfortunately, they don't justify their concern.

In simple words, CAN means CAN...... got proper basics can play anything. Its a matter of whether you like it or not. Don't like, don't play lor........