Saturday Morning Visits

I dread going to the dentist.
I have been there many times, and still that dread doesn't get any lighter. But of course sometimes we do what we need to do, and today, i needed a filling.
Heck, in my previous visits, i have never opted for any painkiller jabs, so this is just one of those days.

I walked up to the counter and presented my name, telling the lady at the counter that i have earlier made an appointment.
She couldn't find my card. I apologized for i forgot that i have actually registered as Daniel. No wonder they couldn't find my card, since it seemed like any other random chinese bloke name.

I went in to see the Doc. I told her that I may have chipped off a filling. She checked and confirmed that there was a growing cavity instead and I asked me if i wanted to do the filling. Yes...of course, i obliged. She started drilling and it hit my nerve. I winced. Then she asked me if i needed an anesthetic jab.
Reminiscing my past experiences with my filling sessions, i said...its ok..i can take the pain. Then she drilled somemore...I winced in 'slight' pain.

And then i asked her:- "you're almost done rite?"
She coolly stated :- " "i have just begun.....it's gonna be worse when it hits the decaying part"

OK. Screw it i thought. Bring me the jab! Suffice to say, the filling was done in no time and painlessly. In Fact, my mouth still feels numb as i type. hahaha..Damn....




The lesson of this post:- Sometimes, when the pain is too much, Don't pretend to be Hero or Macho. Nanti susah....

O' Ye of Lil' Faith

I swear if I'm still idle in office, I'm gonna hang my head and doze off. To remedy that, I need to write, and write I shall.

I admit, I have been a lousy supporter this season. Ever since Ronaldo's Judas-inspired departure to Real Madrid, I have written off United's hopes of retaining the BPL. I mean Crybaby Ronaldo has been fantastic for the seasons before, and with United heavily relying on him to conjure up the points,surely there is a huge void to fill following his departure. With Carlo Ancelloti at Chelsea's helm and a squad full of depth, surely they looked like Champions. These were my thoughts. I wrote off Arsenal as well, being a relatively young squad, but one to watch in the future and Liverpool....well...for obvious reasons...they suck! ahhaa..and hence..my undying faith in Manchester United ...seems to be wavering.....

8 months down the line, the title race is wide open, thanks to Chelsea blowing off most of their matches, I wouldn't have guessed that United were still in contention to achieve a treble (without the FA Cup but with the Carling Cup instead). Now Chelsea is playing ketchup, but with Arsenal keeping close tabs with United, this looks like another race to the finish. BUt what's interesting is also the battle for 4th spot, the final Champions League spot, between not 1, not 2 but 4 teams!! Lets see, Aston Villa, Spurs, Man City and Liverfool.

After the United v Liverpool match on Sunday, 21.3.2010, it further fortified Liverpool's position as a truly sucky team. My uncles are gonna kill me if they read this post, but it is highly unlikely that they will read this :) haha...


Park Ji Sung with the winning header against Liverpool

Suffice to say, KING ROONEY has filled the void left by Ronaldo. Many say Ronaldo's departure had paved the way for Rooney to play upfront more freely and with confidence. But the other player whom I would especially mention is Darren Fletcher, who has finally proved, after what...4 seasons me thinks, that he is actually a good player....if not, an industrious player. This is one season where I dare not kutuk him because he does not give me the opportunity to do so. Hence, I shall concentrate my kutukans on Berbatov, whom time and time again has failed to deliver.

So...I have been wrong...and gladly I accept that my judgments have been wrong, in good ways! Of course, the race is far from over, be it the BPL or the Champions League, we still have another old enemy to battle, Bayern Munich. I haven't watched a single Champions League match other than the highlights, and if United makes it to the final, I hope my Boss is willing to grant me the indulgence, to be a part of it.

OK now...i'm less sleeepy and i can continue on my written submissions.
:)Lethargy my good friend, we meet once again......

A Glass of Pink Martini

So, there i was in my office room on a Friday morning, having a McMuffin and browsing through the Star, hoping there won't be any pictures of the First Lady, but damn....there always is a picture somehow...and i was flipping through Metro for events. I hardly do this, but its been 2 years since i last went for a concert which Switchfoot, I figured I might as well check for some stand up comedy acts. I knew Placebo was coming, but that didn't appeal to me. While browsing, I chanced upon Zee Avi....hmm...her songs are not bad....maybe can la....and then i saw it...in an obscured tiny spot....PINK MARTINI, live in Dewan Philharmonik. I checked the for the dates....15 and 16 of March! Jeepers Creepers! Thats next week!!

I picked up the phone and called Colin, my usual concert kaki, but he couldnt make it. So I called Eugene, and he said maybe. And i posted in FB...useless effort. Within less than 4 hours, RM110 ticks were gone...and me and Eugene and He Xiang got ourselves RM150 ticks.....instead. :) Still, these were good ticks.

And so there we were on Monday night, 15 March 2010 in Dewan Philharmonik.At a Pink Martini concert! It was a formal event, and many were in their dresses and lounge suits. Everyone looked like Vesper Lynd and Bond. As for me, I was pretty comfortable without a jacket but still, not only did I feel underdressed, I felt out of place cause I thought i had stumbled upon some upperclass community gathering of sorts...but hey, I'm here for good music....and that's all that should matter to me. I was prompted by an usher, asking me not to use my camera (damn....no pics or evidence of me being at a Pink Martini concert, i thought!). Oh well..you win some you lose some. When the light went out, a bloke in a suit went up on stage, and gave the band it's intro...something like this;

"Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, mempersembahkan, dari Oregon, USA, Martini Merah Jambu!!!!"...hahaha...what a way to start....and when the music played....really....nothing else mattered at that time. We were experiencing our first sip of Pink Martini...

They started off with Bolero, an instrumental, which gradually introduced each member of the band/orchestra. After a grandiose introduction, Thomas Lauderdale, the pianist/ band leader thanked us for coming...in English and Bahasa Malaysia!! He carried himself very well, and we had a laugh as well. And then he introduced China Forbes, the female lead and voice behind Pink Martini. She told us that she had no idea how we have ever heard about Pink Martini, but nevertheless thanked us, to the laughter of the crowd. She started singing Let's Never Stop Falling In Love, in English and in Bahasa Malaysia!! hehaha...we clapped and laughed through the song.....it was excellent really.

And the band played on. Then they played one of the signature songs, Sympathique, which is probably an ode in French to people who refuse to work ...haha...and explained the meaning of the chorus. It was greeted with huge applause. The band then played some new songs from their latest album, Splendor in the Grass, with 2 concept pieces entitled ....hmm nevermind...i don't really remember the titles at this point.

The band had a 20 minute interval, and that's when me, Eugene and He Xiang went down to check out the Cd's on sale, for we were told that there will be a meet the band session! I wanted to get the latest album, but it was sold out and what was left was Sympathique and Hang on Little Tomato....so....i pondered for a while and....decided to check after the concert, if they had anymore stock of the latest album instead.

The band played on....again after the interval and further introduced new songs including the album titled song Splendor in the Grass, claiming it to be influenced from music by the Carpenters......and they were not kidding! It sounded like something out of my old AIWA hi fi cassette player when my dad played the Carpenters in it! Nostalgia habis!!

Before they closed, they stated that they were gonna play two songs. After playing the first song before the finale..and i knew that they were gonna end the night playing Brasil. That would have been a finale to remember! Instead....to my disappointment, they played Dovedanya Mo Bombino....it was ok larrr...but not what expected and wanted to hear....sei..:( but when they finished, the crowd (including myself)...gave a standing ovation. They truly deserved it! So they went backstage......and then they came out!! The crowd cheered and whistled!! I was correct. My hunches never fail me. I knew they would end with Brasil! Great! it was a rousing finale and it got the crowd to their feet and samba-ing albeit from their seats.... It was great fun to see the crowd and the band enjoying themselves. We were only an inch close before actually forming a mosh pit! haha kidding...and they ended with a Bang!

4 thumbs up for showmanship! They are one band which really enjoyed themselves while playing on stage. Its like, they were entertained by themselves playing music with each other! Well...there were 11 of them in all. Just imagine Slipknot, only with evening jackets,loungesuits and without the Boiler suits and masks. No cussing, swearing and shredding of guitars but delightful, easy listening and oft-quirky music. :)

Suffice to say, after the concert, I went down, got myself a copy of Sympathique (since they had no more stock for Splendor in the Grass) and qued with my concert kakis to meet the band and get my memorabilia stuff signed. In conclusion, I had a great night out and Pink Martini gives you goose bumps and a happy feeling and leaves you wanting more :)

Below are pictures during the meet the Band sessions, Lauderdale is the guy with the silver hair and the lady is China Forbes....the rest are members of the band. Pics far below, Eugene and He Xiang...and last picture below - yours truly...haha

Good night and selamat bekerja besok.

WCW live in Malaysia

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/55339-zaid-pm-is-two-thirds-crazy

The points laid out by Zaid Ibrahim in the Malaysian Insider link could not have been any clearer. The government isn't and was never going to accept a strong opposition. He pointed out that the US government flourished due to the battle of policies between the parties, which in the end, created better and improved policies. In short, good governance.

We do not have good governance. Everyday, in the newspapers, people are hopping more than ever. The Perak fiasco has clearly proven it is the people who suffer most from party hopping. I have voted for the legitimate state government, the PR state government, and even that has been robbed away from me.

I suppose, the party hopping encouraged by Dato' Seri Anwar has clearly backfired badly. And these days, PKR members hop like crazy. But it's a good thing in the long run. The bad need to go before the good comes in eh? Therefore PKR shouldnt be disheartened by it all.

As evidenced, perhaps we should be reminded that the current Federal Government has clearly put intentions of building the nation aside. Rather the agenda or policy before the next General Elections is to wrestle back the 2/3 majority. This is blatantly evident....everyday!!

So where does that leaves us? half baked policies for the Rakyat?? But whatever it is, i know who i will be voting for in the next General Election. Without a doubt.
So perhaps people, these few years before the next GM, be prepared for a reign of darkness before the morning arises. We are still at dawn at this point.

A Trip to the Endless

Back when I was younger and was collecting comics, I used to buy this magazine called Wizard. For those who collected comics and was a nerd like me, would definitely know. And in this Wizard mag, there is this section called the Casting Call, where they would do a casting call for upcoming movies, usually related to comics and would find the people, actors and actresses whom would fit perfectly into the roles of these comics characters. Yups, Spider-Man was one of em, and they had wanted to cast Wes Bentley (of American Beauty fame) to fit into the nerdy glasses of Peter Parker. Well, as we all know it didn’t happen but hey, they predicted it 6 years before it was made, and James Cameron was suppose to direct it as well. Anyway, they did this casting call for one of comicdoms greatest characters of all time, and I thought it was pretty apt, they people that they chose. Anyway, the Comic I’m referring to now is DC Vertigo’s Sandman. Hey, since they have executed V for Vendetta and Watchmen and Constantine (HellBlazer) pretty nicely, its only a matter of time before they did a Sandman movie eh? But so, what the heck, time flew by and I decided to do my own casting call and have chosen the few whom I would think fit the characters to a tee…..and the list goes like this……… Dream/Morpheus/Sandman He is what dreams are made of, good and bad. The Lord of the Dreaming and a sibling to the Endless. He is the Protagonist of the tale and an amoral one at that. So, the person whom would definitely fit him would be non other than Mr Weird himself, Johnny Depp. You see, Johnny Depp actually played him when he did this movie called Edward Scissorhands. He just didn’t know it. Now….what did I just tell

 ya..    Death Probably one of the Dreamings’ most fascinating characters, Death goes as silent as she comes. Looking very much like Goth Rock star, but having the grace of a kind character…sometimes. The older sister of Dream, she guides her brother in many ways and sometimes acts as his counsel and conscience. The last time Wizard had a casting call, they chose Winona Ryder. Yes, I’m going to put Winona Ryder in, but I was thinking of maybe Natalie Portman being another possible candidate. 

Nat Portman (left) and Winona Ryder (right) respectively, and various pics of Death Delirium Another fascinating character, the youngest sibling of the Endless. Sometimes aloof, but very often bordering psychosis. If you think having bipolar is bad, then Delirium has, I don’t know, multiple polars? Hahahaha. The old casting call casted Tori Amos (coincidentally, one of Neil Gaiman’s close friends and a fine musician), so yeah, I decided to go along. It was said that the character was based on Tori Amos. Quirky but true. But then in this modern age, perhaps Bryce Dallas Howard would be a good casting call to play Delerium with her red head good looks. She could even wear pink and green contact lenses to show the inconsistencies of Delirium. Top to bottom - Delirium, Tori Amos, Bryce Dallas Howard Desire Desire is the third youngest sibling of the Endless. Desire is also the twin for Despair. It is neither female nor male, but possesses these two qualities and is most often portrayed as being androgynous. Easily the cruelest of the Endless, it portrays itself as the desire of all, always yearned but never owned. And hence, it is called Desire. Wizard casted KD Lang, the singer as Desire. I think KD Lang would be pretty old by now. It was pretty difficult to get someone who would look good as Desire, having agender qualities. Nevertheless, I have consulted a friend of mine, Kelly and she gave pretty good casting answers. And so, I would cast Hilary Swank or maybe even Natalie Portman again into this role. Heck if I were to find a guy, I think Tommy Page would look something like that…..errr…then again….maybe not. Hahaha.. Top to Bottom - Desire, Hilary Swank, Natalie Portman Despair The other twin half of Desire. It is said that, what desire cannot give, despair will soon follow. In her realm, it is nothing but despair and melancholy. Often portrayed as fat, squabbly and has grey pale skin and has at times plotted with Desire to bring down Dream. I couldn’t think of many people whom I would cast, but I thought I would give Kathy Bates an ode for her excellent performance in Misery. In fact I think local artiste Adibah Noor could even fit the bill. An excellent choice I would say and a challenging one  Top to bottom - Despair, Kathy Bates, Adibah Noor ( i think they would really need to look more gloomier to play Despair) Destiny Now this is one truly enigmatic character, as he looks like the grim reaper of sorts. He is a tall figure, with a robe and a cowl, which covers his eyes most of the time. He carries with him a book which contains past, present and future events. He is blind, but he sees everything. Oxymoronic? Not in Neil Gaiman’s world it aint! Wizard originally casted Sir Alec Guiness of the original Obi Wan Kenobi fame. But then he died. So, I chose Mr Ewan McGregor, who wears a cowl and a hood as well as Obi Wan, and another candidate would be Paul Bettany for looking a lot like him when he played Silas in the Da Vinci Code. Check them out. Top to Bottom: - Paul Bettany, Ewan Mcgregor, Destiny Destruction The last of the Endless. Destruction has left the Dreaming for no longer being able to cope with his true destructive nature. He is often portrayed as a journeyman, with long red hair and a musket. Two persons came to mind. The first would be Triple H. But then, Triple H cant, I presume act to save his life. So I would also opt for Gerard Butler, last seen all buffed up in 300. I know all you gals were swooning at him in that movie. Anyway, here it goes. All Gerard Butler needs to do now is grow a beard and long hair. Top to bottom - Destruction, Triple H, Gerard Butler(he needs longer hair) And so, the Endless is complete. With that, I end my casting call, and until this movie is actually made, this shall be the list of the cast, well...least thats what i think they resemble....but if you know of any other better cast, do let me know. Until then, it is sleep time for me, and time for me to enter into the Dreaming.

1Malaysia? Happy Merdeka!

You know, the Merdeka celebrations are suppose to be a happy and a most joyous occasion, because we are celebrating the anniversary of the country’s independence right? Yups, rightly, it should be so. And with Najib’s 1Malaysia concept, it would be almost perfect to truly say that this country is a united nation with its diverse and multiracial community. But sadly, I’m not convinced of the 1Malaysia tagline. I hear it on the radio, I watch it on tv, 1Malaysia being propagated. I for one would like to believe in this 1Malaysia concept, and I truly and sincerely hope that this would come to past. Unfortunately, for now, I cannot reconcile this concept with the events that are happening in the nation.

In the advent of the latest Prime Minister’s helm, many things unfolded beginning with the unbelievable and truly scrupulous takeover of the Perak Government. The people of Perak were robbed of a legit and a government whom are actually implementing change for the state rather than just lip service like the governments before it. Yes, the Perak debacle cannot be reconciled with the 1Malaysia concept! Perak Crisis – 1 , 1Malaysia Concept- 0. Somehow, I have seem to lost faith for a justified conclusion for this crisis. I hope I am wrong, but even this time, I would hate to know that I am right. We can only wait for the Federal Court to hand the decision and my gut tells me, it’s not going to be a just one.

The next incident would be, hmm….oh yeah, the 1Black Malaysia incident. That would be the anti-thesis to the 1Malaysia concept, which was a show of frustration of the events that have happened in Perak. So…..1Malaysia once again? I don’t think so. Subsequent to that the arrest of the 5 lawyers and these arrests were absolutely baseless. An abuse of the Criminal Procedure Process I would say. And yet, I do not see 1Malaysia in this.

Then of course, we have witnessed the most famous ‘suicide’ this decade, the Teoh Beng Hock death saga. Death in the premises of the MACC building, foul play some might say. I do not know, but obviously my suspicions would be the fact that I’m already bias against the MACC. Anyway, I do hope the Inquest opens up more revelations for the nation to behold, and to let the people judge on what they see and whom should be accountable for all that has happened. 1Malaysia? Hahaa…surely I cannot be serious.

And wait, now the recent cow-head incident in Shah Alam. Do you really think the protestors are going to march singing the 1Malaysia song? So, with all this, where does the 1Malaysia concept come into play? Now, isn’t this somewhat going against the 1Malaysia concept? Where is the respect for one another as often claimed and bla bla bla? Some people say that there will be 'bloodshed'! What the heck? Since when have we fall back into the dark ages?! Somehow, I'm so much so inclined to think that this is another one of UMNO's ploys to well...play the racial trump card once again.

But wait, there is hope yet. Remember the Anti ISA rally by the GMI? Now that is what I will say is truly 1Malaysia. The rakyat fighting for the cause of the abolishment of the ISA. That was something to behold, and although the police sprayed teargas, water cannons and laced gas, it did not break the spirit of the people to show the nation how the ISA has become a legislative abomination, draconic to say the least. Now that’s truly 1Malaysia…and yet, certain mainstream newspapers downplayed that issue, claiming it to be racially incited. Damn it! They just have to spoil everything, hahaa…now perhaps against these people, the ISA has its uses! I mean, the articles keep churning and churning and each article seems to me as being more and more seditious! But no!!! I still believe in the abolishment of the ISA and even against these people, it should not be used, so much so cause it is not justified. Oh, how tempting a tit for tat would have felt, but why stoop to that level? No, we shouldn’t as a united rakyat!

So to sum it all up, the 1Malaysia concept is a noble if not, at this point a very utopian concept. Only when people start to change and truly respect one another, then only should we start singing these songs and choruses. It has to be seen in action, and not just lip service. You know, I believe that as things unfold, the people will gain an understanding and maturity against the work of several parties, who often play the racial card to gain votes and trust of the people. The people will realize that these people pay more lip service than thoughts in action. And perhaps in the next election, we will see an even bigger tsunami than the one we witnessed last March. I hope that day comes, when our thoughts, beliefs and goals truly transcend above all racial and ethnic minded purposes. Then, I will say proudly that we are truly 1Malaysia. But at this point, I cannot do so because it all seems so hollow.

But nevertheless, it is cause worth fighting for, I know it is cause that many would fight alongside as well. And I believe that these are the people who will put it into action and nore merely words which contradict their actions. So, because of that hope, there is still something to achieve. That would be my message to all Malaysian whom I love and know and care.

Put whatever you say into action and make it happen. Happy Merdeka to all Malaysians, in Malaysia and abroad! Please enjoy the parades and the fireworks and remember that there is much to be done before we are truly 1Malaysia.

Ridiculous Arrests.....and some soul searching

Think about this; you go and make a report at the police station. You bring a few friends, oh well, say maybe 4 of them, just to give you the extra courage when you file your report. When you get there, suddenly, you are handcuffed, for no apparent reason other than the fact that you wanted to make a report in the first place! Of course this scenario is far fetched, but then, no amount of fiction would deny that a similar scenario happened in the Brickfields police station recently.

19 people were arrested for attending a candlelight vigil for Wong Chin Huat. They were arrested. Fine. In this country, this sort of things are not uncommon. Why is it uncommon? That would perhaps be the discussion for another article. In the hour of need, 5 fearless lawyers from the Legal Aid Centre, Fadiah Nadwa, Puspawati Rosman, Murnie Hidayah, Syuhanie Safuan and Ravinder Singh rushed to the aid of the people who were arrested. As is entrenched in our constitution, vide Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution, any person so arrested shall be informed on his grounds of arrest and shall consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his (or her) choice. And that's why the 5 came to the rescue.

However, not only were they not allowed to see their clients, after pleading with the police, they were arrested by the police, on what grounds, only the police would know, but they would never tell. The 5 were subsequently released the next day, after much protest from the lawyers in the KL Courts. However, the damage has already been done.

To many and myself, the arrests of the 5 and the 19 was utterly ridiculous. Why the treatment? What are they so afraid of and whose orders were they following? I mean come on, if you wanna do something, at least do it nicely. Otherwise, don't do it at all! It seems to me that the arrest was a stop-gap measure of sorts. It serves as a warning to not 'illegally assemble'. But was this necessary? As a soon to be practicing lawyer, I knew I had to do my part in attending the BAR EGM. It's not surprising when the motions to bring legal action against the police for unlawful detention and IGP and the calling for the resignation of the Home Minister were agreed unanimously. This was simply unbecoming of the police.

The IGP then replied and to ask the BAR to do some soul searching and to question the acts of the 5 lawyers. Various parties have condemned the BAR because of this. People like Syed Ali, Abu Zahar and even Musa Hassan has claimed that the BAR should be a political party if it wants to act this way. Honestly, do they even know what they claim? They talk of lawyers not being professional. Please ler, the 5 lawyers were very much professional, when they have decided to aid the people who were detained without fear. Now thats being professional. I mean, seriously, what could they have thought, that when the BAR passed the motion for the AGM , they were siding with the pihak pembangkang? I suppose anyone in that position, BN or PR or whatever, Alien from outer space maybe, who needed legal aid, would be given aid when it is called for. Once again, baseless claims. Man, do they just come out with wild ideas out of thin air? And what's with the Syed Ali claim that the BAR consists mainly of Indians? What does that have to do with anything?!!! Seriously, if the BAR were to do 100 days of soul searching, I suppose they would still come out with the same conclusion.

So herein is another article, on the ridiculous ramblings made by Malaysians who sometimes need to do more soul searching themselves. Well, to be fair, I had the chance to meet some really nice police people in court and in balai and they are a helpful lot. I really appreciate people like them to give their best to serve the people. Its just that there are some who tend to make the whole force look bad, and unfortunately and sometimes unfairly, it has become a blanket for the rest of the police folk.

Anyway, there will be more revelations to come, beginning this Thursday when the Respondents appeal (on the MB v MB case) is finally heard. I doubt there will be any closure as of yet, but I hope there is one within the horizon. Whether it is justified or not, would be an entire different issue.