PeNaNg IsLaNd JaZz FeStIvAl, 2o06
Bayview Beach Resort, Batu Ferringghi, Penang

From left: Tasha, Kak Aida, Me & Lokman (far right) with the talented Mr. Tompi !!

Okay, this is kind of a delayed posting.. this Penang Island Jazz Festival (PJF) was held earlier this month but it’s worth reporting coz I had lotsa fun.. the whole festival was totally awesome & it’s worth every penny.. well, I actually went to this festival to watch Tompi perform.. but it turns out that the whole act was amazing.. in case u guys don’t know, Tompi is an Indonesian Jazz act whom I really admire.. ever since I watched him perform with Dayang at A Nite Of Soulful Stars for a Hari Raya show, I’ve been star-struck.. his vocals are amazing.. his style of music & his songs are wonderful..!

Java 5 from Germany doing their thang..!!

Alrighty.. this PJF was held for 4 days.. there were workshops, mini-shows, jam sessions etc for the 1st 2 days.. and followed by the grand performances for the next 2 nights.. i went there on the 3rd day (Saturday) with Lokman.. Kak aida, Abg fred & Tasha came only on the 2nd day.. when we arrived on the 1st nite, Fairuz Hussein was performing.. she sang a couple of songs from her album and also famous cover tunes.. Fairuz is an extremely great vocalist and performer.. then we have a band from Sweden.. i forgot their name but they play standard jazz tunes, original & covers.. their music was realy tight but i'm not reallt a fan.. up next was a Korean trio which consists of 2 electric guitar players and a drummer.. they play fusion modern jazz.. their music is a contrast to the previous band from Sweden.. where they are not like any other convensional jazz musicians but they are more aggressive & experimental with their sound.. I totally love their style of music.. very refreshing..

Java 5 (pic above) from Germany continued to wow the crowd.. this group consists of 4 vocalist and 1 drummer.. the interesting thing about this group is that, their vocals are also their instruments.. they cana imitate the sounds of a trumpet, violin, sax and the bass with their vocals convincingly..!! and their song choices really caught the crowd's attention.. their songs tells story be it love story or even the funny ones.. one particular performance that the people really love was the lion song.. the bass vocalist imitates the voice of a tiger and that was really funny & impressive too..! they were the 1st act that recieved a standing ovation from the audience and they really deserved it.. the final act for the night was Koh the Saxman (pic left) from Thailand.. I didn't have high expectations for the saxman, but i was totally blown away.. i really didn't think i would enjoy it coz i'm more into vocal performances.. but boy, Mr Koh really know how to work the crowd and get them all hyped up.. his saxaphone playing was brilliant.. his music was fresh, modern and very ear-friendly.. i love every inch of his performance.. Mr. Koh really changed my view of the saxaphone and the music it produced.. totally mind blowing.. Koh the Saxman rawwkk..! End of nite 1.

From left: Lokman, Me, Abg Fred, Kak Aida & Tasha at my house in Penang.

The 2nd nite was more interesting coz there was Tompi.. hehe.. Kak Aida & family arrived at my house that morning.. so we had some leasure time during the day.. we reached Batu Feringghi that afternoon.. after taking some nap & rests, we decided to have some walk by the beach.. there local people doing business of jetski services, parachutes, horse-riding etc.. and believe it or not, me & Lokman tried the parachutes.. haha.. yup, that’s me & Lokman up there in the sky.. hehe.. it was an interesting experience I tell ya.. freaky at 1st, but once u get up there, trust me it’s a wonderful feeling u don’t want it to end..!! So after all that bersiar2 di tepi pantai, masa utk hiburan.. hehe.. we went there with high anticipation.. ye la, x sabar2 nak tgk Tompi perform..!!

Most of the performers for this 2^nd night were amazing.. the Roger Wang and Farid Ali duo (pic below) was very interesting.. Roger Wang is one of the most talented guitarist we have in Malaysia.. people might know him from the duo group with Mia Palencia.. while Farid Ali is the talented Gambus player.. he also plays the guitar.. and he sings too..!! the combination of this two talented musicians brings something different to the table.. in one song, they fuse modern jazz and traditional zapin music together making the sound very unique and refreshing.. their take of P.Ramlee’s beautiful song, Getaran Jiwa was mesmerizing.. Farid Ali’s vocals were enchanting.. then we have John ‘Kaizan’ Neptune from United States.. one of Lokman’s favourite.. not really mine though.. John plays traditional Japanese instrument like the bamboo flute and accompanied by his band.. he even demonstrated an instrument which he invented himself.. I forgot what it’s called but it’s pretty interesting..

Farid Ali (left) and Roger Wang playing beautiful music..

And then we have the much awaited Tompi, accompanied by Idang Rasjidi Quartet from Indonesia.. the quartet plays very tight music, and Tompi’s rich vocals just completes the whole sound.. they play standard jazz tune like Ain’t No Sunshine and Fever, and also originals.. and Tompi’s vocal, boy.. awesome..!! wait till u hear him sketch.. brathtaking..!! The final performance of the night was by Denise from the United States.. and I understand why she was chosen to close the show, coz she’s a fantastic performer..!! not only does she have great vocals, but her stage prescence and her overall performance was amazing.. she really got the crowd going wild.. everyone stood up during her set and sang and dance with her.. the set where she did covers of Stevie Wonder’s songs like Superstition, Living In The City, Overjoyed etc was probably my favourite.. she even invited all the other act to perform with her on-stage.. Tompi, Idang Rasjidi, Java 5 and other performers joined her on-stage and jammed together.. it was remarkable watching all these fine acts together on-stage showcasing their wonderful talents.. Denise closed the show with an encore of the song, Ain’t Nobody – one of my all-time favourite song.. the people just couldn’t get enuff of her..!! End of Nite 2..!

Mark, Denise & Tompi jamming..!

So the next day, we’re off back to KL.. we had a lot of fun and the trip was really worth it.. I enjoyed every single moment and was pretty satisfied.. can’t wait for next year’s Jazz Fest.. haha..!!!

My Sister's Wedding, Amy and Najib... 12 and19.08.06

Okie dokie.. before i update my blog on the hips & happening stuffs, let me blog on my sis' wedding 1st that was long overdue.. but 1st and foremost, i would like to congratulate Amy Fadzlina, my 2nd sister who is now happily married to Mohd Najib Yusoff on the 12 of August 2006.. they're on their honeymoon now..!! diorg diijabkabulkan on the 12th morning in my hometown in Penang.. she wore a white modern kurung from Jalinan Kasih.. and that afternoon that same day, a kenduri and majlis bersanding was held.. this time the theme was pink.. thanks sis for the pink kain..!! hehe.. so the entire hous was pink.. the pelamin, attire, hantaran, bilik tidur.. sampai bijik mata pun dah naik pink bak kata one visitor at my fotopage.. after the bersanding, and makan beradab, acara potong kek pulak.. they were supposed to change their to modern attire, white gown & tuxedo, but unfortunately the mak andam lmbt pulak smpai.. so x jadik salin baju.. but the potong kek still jalan.. sebut pasal kek ni, teringat lak pasal the foods.. this time special sikit.. besides the usual nasi, the guests were treated with bubur kacang & laksa.. so sape2 yg dtg lewat2 petang sikit around 3 plus tu dpt le makan dessert.. oh ya.. lagi satu, sama gak mcm my 1st sis pny wedding, my dad jemput a DJ utk memeriahkan majlis.. previously, jemput DJ Radio Penang, Dino.. this time turn anak pompuan dia pulak.. dahsyat jgk dia berceloteh mcm bpk dia jugak.. smpai my cousin yg kecik lg tny DJ ni tak penat ke berckp?? tak la kot sbb dah tu keje dia kan.. so the majlis ended around 6 pm.. standard la kan..

Ok yg tu event kat Penang.. now nak cite event kat Temerloh, Pahang lak.. yg ni grand sikit eventnya coz PM & MB Pahang nak datang.. ramai gak yg tanya my sister nape PM datag?? kakak ko kawen ngan kerabat diraja ke..?? no lah.. actually husband my sister ni keje ngan Pak Lah.. sape yg baca newspaper or happen to watch the news tau la kot.. semua paper & news from all TV stations ada.. and coincidently, Pak Lah ni dulu kawan kepada my dad masa my dad further study kat US dulu.. in fact Pak Lah ni la yg sambut kat airport masa 1st time kitorg arrive kat US dulu.. Pak Lah ni dari dulu mmng baik orgnya.. mcm tu la dia.. ada lagi gmbr kenangan dia dtg rumah siap bg duit lagi.. hehe.. tapi after kitorg balik M'sia and my dad pun dah tak aktif lagi dgn UMNO, so dah jarang la jumpa Pak Lah.. so this marriage kiranya brought the friendship back la if u could say so..

Anyway, back to the event.. mula2 Pak Lah & MB Pahang, Tok Nan arrive kat rumah pengantin lelaki before dibawak ke tapak persandingan.. ni 1st time jumpa Tok Nan.. surprisingly, he's such a nice person & peramah orangnya despite his image yg agas ganas tu.. Pak Lah as we all know, mmng sgt le berjiwa rakyat.. then pengantin diarak naik gajah.. as i was running nak gi depan ambik gmbr pengantin atas gajah tu, x sangka la it was captured by cameraman tv3.. so masuk la kejap the scene where i was running tu dlm Buletin Utama TV3.. hehe.. nasib baik crowd mmng ramai gile so dlm tak perasan sgt le dlm TV tu..!! so after dah habis berarak, disambut oleh Pak Lah, then ada silat 2 sikit, pastu baru walk on the red carpet aisle ke tempat bersanding.. masa ni, mak aaiii.. packed betul.. ramai gile org.. it was estimated around 6000 plus org yg dtg.. tp jgn risau, makanan semua cukup coz 16 kampung gotong royong masak makanan..!! so dah bersnding, upacara merenjis & tepung tawar oleh PM, MB, YB2, parents from both sides, then baru makan2.. then ada ucapan from MB & Pak Lah himself.. then after abis makan2 & ucapan semua tu, upacara potong kek plak berlangsung bersama2 ngan parents, PM & MB.. after abis tu, event pun selesai.. PM pun berangkat pulang.. and officially it was over..

Below are some pix which i got online from MStar, Utusan Online and Bernama.. (click image or open in new window for larger size)..

For stories on this in the media, just click on these links.. The Star, Utusan Malaysia, Bernama, Berita Harian & News Straits Time and for pixies from my lense, visit my fotopage at: http://izuddin81.fotopages.com

Oklah.. that's it for now.. will update next on One In A Million, Pot-Luck Party with Ning & Zoom In Dayang Nurfaizah..c ya in my next posting.. very very soon aigght..!

Demam World Cup 2006

Phew.. it’s been quite some time since I last wrote an entry in this blog of mine.. one, becoz i’m pretty bz these days with my studies and work etc etc.. 2nd there haven’t been much happening things going on lately.. so most of the times if I’ve nothing to do, I’d rather be at home watching the tivo.. tambah2 lagi dgn demam World Cup 2006, pastu ada bahana AF pulak.. and the latest reality talent show, One In A Million..

Anyway talking about World Cup, since day one I’ve been rooting for the Netherlands & Azzuri – the Italians.. I’ve been supporting these teams since I was in school lagi.. ingat lagi masa I was in boarding school dulu, bangun kul 2, 3 pagi pastu senyap2 turun bukit gi kantin skolah to watch World Cup.. that year was 1998.. TV kat our TV room kat hostel dulu rosak so terpaksa la jalan jauh sikit.. hampeh tul.. w’pun kena sound ngan warden semua, tapi lantaklah kan.. 4 years tunggu beb..!! takkanlah sbb tgk bola nak kena buang skolah kot kan..?? hehe.. then utk final match, France vs Brazil, siap buat perjanjian lagi ngan warden & HEM nak tgk the match dgn penuh hemah & penuh tata tertibnya.. kelakar betul.. but that experience mmng x leh lupa la.. mmng best gile.. tgk ramai2 yg best tuh..

Nway, my early prediction this year is that Argentina will take it all and Brazil will settle for 2nd place.. (or probably it will go either way).. but surprisingly, both teams failed to advance to the semis.. how weird is that..?? i mean, two great teams who everyone think will lift the cup have now gone home.. the Argentines lost to the host Germany who have been consistent thus far, while Brazil lost to France, who out of a sudden tiba2 bangkit starting from the 2nd round where they beat the Spaniards.. padahal in the group matches, they barely made an impression.. kalah ngan Swiss plak tu for Group G top placing.. who would've thought France who played badly in the earlier stage would march through to the semis.. same goes with Italy.. they haven't been impressive in the 1st round and barely made it to the quarter when they only menang tipis dgn Australia 1-0.. many thought that they don't deserve the win over the Ozzies.. i think so too.. it's a shame though coz the Italians are such great contenders and have won the cup for an impressiive 3 times.. they won against Ukraine in the quarter and will face the host in the semis.. so they better buck up, step up to the plate and prove they deserve the spot.. and this is meant to France as well.. if not, i don't think they deserve the Cup coz they played poorly earlier on..

Anyway, I was hoping my other favourite Holland to at least bag the 3rd placing.. but unfortunately they lost to Portugal in the 2nd round.. too bad for them coz I think they have a tight team this year.. they gave a very great match with Ivory Coast which I think is one of the best match in the 1st round.. and also their encounter with Argentina.. but oh well, anything can happen in a football match.. and interestingly, England once again lost on a penaltu shoot out.. this time against Portugal.. for me, i've expected the outcome.. that they would loose, but not on a penalty shoot out though.. never in a million years would i thought they would loose that way again.. England ni, on the paper, yes, they do look like the team to watch out for.. they have really great players in Rooney, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard etc, but on the field, they didn’t offer as much.. perhaps its true that England is all hype and style but no substance.. apa2 pun, pagi ni the semis will start.. i'll predict that Germany will face Portugal and the latter will take it all.. what an anti-climax it would be huh..??!! haha.. anyway, we just have to wait and see la ye.. nak komen lebih2, aku bukannya expert pun.. so kita layaaannn je lah ek..??

tAyAnGaN kOmUnItI bLoG, BuLi BaLiK

TgV, OnE uTaMa

Last week, a special preview of Buli Balik was held at TGV One Utama.. thanks to Joe Klubbkidd for providing me with the info, and of course thanks to Sultan Muzaffar for organizing such event.. and not to forget, the biggest thanks to bapak segala kodok, Afdlin Shauki for the generousity and giving the opportunity for us bloggers, blog readers and langau2 blog (bak kata SM) to watch this movie ahead of the general release.. i went there with my officemate, Ewea (together we escaped office.. haha!) and Lan (who is now a blogger himself!).. there we met some other friends, Kak Suzie, Nana Chubby, Adek Brunei, my long-time-no-see friend who is also my senior in high school - Judd (yep, we also share the same nick), Kak Farah (my lecturer in varsity, who has now become one of my crazy & happening friend!), Joe Lee & Juan Danza (need i introduce these famous top bloggers..??!!), and also my new found friends, Mukeh (also a reknowned blogger) and Dewi.. thnx for introducing us Joe.. So there we were with another 80+ viewers watching Buli Balik with much anticipation.. and as expected, at the end of the move, i can proudly say that this movie is in the class of it's own.. letaknya adalah pada kelasnya yang tersendiri.. memang enjoy.. tapi enjoy bukan dgn sekadar hiburan semata2, and ketawa bukan dgn lawak2 slapstik yang tak mengembangkan minda.. tapi mesej, nilai2 positif walaupun diterapkan dgn nilai2 humour dan unsur2 pengajaran yang senang diterima menjadikan filem ini sememangnya filem yg bagus.. betul kata Afdlin, filem ini memang bagus.. and he's not just making that up..

Those that turned up.. credits to SM for this pic..

About this film, the theme is simple.. amat mudah.. rentetan drp filem Buli, filem ini menceritakan tentang Nordin (Afdlin Shauki) yg dulunya sering dibuli di zaman sekolah and even setelah bekerja, kini mendapat peluang untuk balas dendam atau buli balik Roy (played extremely well by Hans Isaac) - hence the title, org yg bertanggungjawab merosakkan hidupnya, menjatuhkan maruahnya, merendahkan self-esteemnya & yg sewaktu dgnnya.. so bertitik-tolak dari situ bermulalah satu episod dlm hidup Nordin & Roy serta rakan2 terdekat (dan bukan rakan) mereka sperti Dr Ika (Nasha), Rudy (AC Mizal), Shaff (Ako Mustafa), Dr. Selina (Umie Aida), Farah (Syanie), Tan Sri Michaelsoft (Patrick Teoh), which revolves around friendship, revenge, love, trust etc.. and along the way, terjawap pelbagai persoalan berhubung dengan bagaimana Roy menjadi seorang pembuli, zaman kanak-kanaknya, hubungan Nordin dgn Dr Ika and how Rudy interferes into their lives and caused all the chaotics in the movie.. segala ketegangan yang tercetus akhirnya membawa kepada satu ending yang tragis and very unexpected.. so when you watch this movie, expect the unexpected..

Da' Man... the many faces of Afdlin Shauki..!
 

Unlike Buli, this film has a darker feel into it.. i would say kinda like a drama-comedy.. and the ending, nothing to laugh but instead, i may warn that you may need to prepare some tissue.. yep, it's a sad ending.. a very rare ending for a Malay movie which normally ends with - and they lived happily ever after.. but i guess that phrase is no longer appropriate in today's era.. we have great film makers (Afdlin, Shuhaimi Baba, Yasmin Ahmad, Osman Ali, Ho Yuhang just to name a few) who appears to be brave in their creation by not sticking to the old klise storyline - cinta terhalang, menempoh pelbagai halangan, and at the good prevails and they finally lived happily ever after.. so u people out there, this movie is certainly not to be missed.. in this film, for the first time i'm very impressed with Hans Isaac's acting skills.. hats off bro! Nasha, seems to be more natural, lebih bersahaja and i like that.. AC & Sharifah Shahira - naturally funny.. but as a whole, the ensemble is pretty impressive..!!! tambah lagi dgn kehadiran cameos like Ramlah Ram, Aziz M. Osman, Harith Iskandar, Shahira.. memang menggamatkan suasana.. as a whole, although there were minor hiccups in this film, and few glitches here and there which left rooms for improvements, but Afdlin and his movies are definitley going the right way that a comedy film should be going.. (not like the most of Malaysian comedies).. so flock to the cinemas u people..!! support our local (BUT quality) films...!!!!!

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MeMoIrS oF aGeIsHa

Alrite, nuff bout Buli Balik.. now we're on to the international movie scene.. last Saturday, i went to watch Memoirs of a Geisha which to me, i seriously think is the most anticipated movie of the year.. simply becoz 1st) it is helmed by one of most remarkable director, Rob Marshall who gave us Chicago, 2nd) it features an incredible line ups, i mean INCREDIBLE actors and actressess in the likes of Zhang Zi Yi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe and 3rd) it was adapted from Arthur Golden's controversial 1997 best-seller..

I watched the movie with much anticipation.. and u know what, not a single second i was bored.. i came out of the cinema with mixed feeling.. overwhelmed with the beautiful movie and remarkable story telling.. i love the move pretty damn much..!! the characters are beautiful, the acting are beautiful, the story is beautiful, the cinematography & visuals are exceptionally beautiful, the kimonos are beatuful (need i mention that..?? haha..!!) simply put, seriously i think the movie is very beautiful.. and i really mean that...

The story revovles around a Japanese girl, Chiyo (Zi Yi) sold into slavery to an Osaka okiya — a geisha house.. along the way, she runs afoul of spiteful, volatile queen bee geisha, Hatsumomo (Gong Li) who is jealous of her but not really explained why.. probably, deep inside she sense that this girl have potential of becoming a graceful geisha and putting her out of the lime light.. with her chronic disobedience and Hatsumomo's plans, Chiyo often enrages Mother - the okiyo owner.. but just as Chiyo seems doomed to spend her life as Mother's servant, fate offers a glimmer of hope when a kind stranger, The Chairman (Ken Watanabe), spots her crying and gave her a cherry ice, money and some advice..

Since then, she has set high hopes of becoming a geisha and one day to meet again the kind stranger, The Chairman.. and years later she did become the most famous geisha in the name of Sayuri with the help of Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), but not without gruelling fights, turbulence, jealousy and backstabs along the way.. so did Sayuri manage to get the man of her dream..? will the World War II be an obstacle to rekindle her love..? well, that is for you to find out.. as many great epic love stories of literature and cinema transpire around or during war, for example Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and The English Patient, Memoirs of a Geisha falls into this category..  
At its heart, this is a romance that transpires against the background of an ever-changing Japan during the 1930s.. so, if u like epic romance, then i pretty much recommend this movie to all u people out there.. i don't know how u'll feel about this movie, but to me it's one of the most amazing movie of this era..!!