Well I seem to be having more of these nowadays.

I was browsing Johnmayer's tweet when I found a link to Kennedy Dave's tribute for MJ. Wow he has such a lovely voice. He's singing what I call Pretty baby but it's actually The way you making me feel.



While we're on John Mayer - I have been in love with his song Daughters for just ever.
Father's be good to your daughters ....Mothers be good to your daughters too



Here's something interesting John Mayer is an active youtube user and posts up some of his random strummings all the time as well as notes for aspiring guitarists. Falling in love with his cover of Justin Timberlake's I think that she knows (interlude)



The original song by JT.

Anyway one thing took me to another thing and I found this song all I know its by Levent called Tell Me. Can't seem to find info on him - catchy song.



Back to MJ, Madonna did a tribute to him at the opening of her concert.



Then there was the Michael Jackson Tribute in Stockholm on July 8, 2009. Thanks to the Pierre for shooting the video. Dancers from Bounce based in Sweden, invited the public for a choreographed lesson before performing parts of Beat It at three locations in Stockholm. The video shows 2 - Sergels Torg and the Central Station. Lovely tribute if you ask me.


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Mexico's Isla De Las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls)

Mexico's Isla De Las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls) near Mexico City looks to be a dark and curious place, filled with old doll parts placed there over 50 years by Don Julián Santana, a hermit who died in 2001.



Found at Boing Boing

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“I want to say to Michael’s children, there wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy, it was strange what your daddy had to deal with.” - Al-Sharpton.

That’s when the camera focused on the children and instantly a beaming Paris Jackson stands up and claps. It was evident the children knew what surrounded their father.
Her heart warming message haunts me. The little girl’s grief is unimaginable but she needed to tell the world what he meant to her. How much of a father he was. If you watched the tribute, she stepped up to the mike, that’s how much the world has pushed MJ. That a child grieving the death of the one man who was her all had to tell the world how much he meant to her.

“Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just wanted to say I love you so much” – Paris Katherine Jackson

My heart goes out to the children. Stevie started me on the tears with his song.

"This is a moment I wished I wouldn't live to see ... As much as we may feel that we need Michael here with us, God must have needed him far more." – Stevie Wonder.

Gone Too Soon by Usher turned into my breaking point. MJ was gone too soon.

"On June 25th, because he was the best, I believe heaven and earth did pause indeed to say of Michael Joseph Jackson, 'Here lived a great entertainer who who did his job well." - Martin Luther King III

I still can’t believe he’s gone even as I sat there watching his casket arrive. The tribute was heartfelt, the silence in the arena was in a way a tribute to MJ. There was one thing that I felt should have been there, Michael’s voice. I wish they had played his songs. Heal of the world was lovely but it wasn’t Michael and truthfully I think the Malaysian tribute rendition with Michael’s voice was more touching.



My heart goes out to the dancers and singers who had spent so much time rehearsing and at the brink of their dreams to perform with Michael Jackson. Their dreams like my own regret of never having seen him in concert will continue to haunt us.

God bless his children, family, friends and all the fans mourning the lost of the Greatest artist who brought the world together.

MJ you will always be loved and thank you for being with me for the last 29 years. I never knew a world without you till your passing but you will live in all of us through your music.


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I am plump.

But I think I’m gorgeous. But most people who look like me don’t have the confidence I have neither do they think they’re beautiful. To make matters worse I‘m also dark and that’s apparently another huge disadvantage as an Asian.

How many dark women do you see in commercials that have nothing to do with festivals? I really don’t care what people think of me but most people do.

Having been a performer I can tell you one thing, people who used to enjoy my performances didn’t care how I looked. But people around me, teachers, friends and family weren’t that supportive, they were embarrassed I wasn’t super thin. At some point I did succumb to them, but with age I’ve grown up to realize they need to open their minds.

Most people grow up being self conscious of how they look, they starve themselves to fit an image or size that society sets. They try to imitate celebrities and models who are deemed the look to emulate, people condemn celebrities for how they look, they spend on facial products that promise to turn you into snow white coz you know you can only get married or get a job if you’re fair.

I’m not telling you to go pig out and not exercise. I’m saying if that’ your body shape (thin or plump) live with it and be proud of how you look. It’s essential that you eat healthy and stay healthy. If you can’t climb the stairs or walk the length of Midvalley (for example) it’s about time you get some exercise.

Our society has a set of perceived ideas for beauty, one size, one look, one age – anything out of the box and they are frowned upon.

I really believe we should stop idealizing one size and accept people for how they look and celebrate their inner beauty. So many talents are wasted because we can’t see beyond their size and looks. We scrutinize celebrities forgetting these were once ordinary people whose talents should be the one we judge and not how they look. Then we complain that these celebrities are setting bad examples to youngsters with their micro diets and what-so-ever. We’re a confused bunch aren’t we?

How are we going to educate the younger generation if we ourselves are confused? We should instill this into our children; tell them it is rude to call people names based on how they look. We should tell our children people come in different sizes and colour and you shouldn’t judge them by that.

So here’s the thing. What am I doing to educate people?

Well I’m organizing a photography competition in collaboration with KLPAC on the theme Beautiful Imperfections.

The challenge is to see imperfections as beauty and change the mindset on the perceived ideas of beauty. The idea is to show that everyone can be beautiful and it is the photographers duty to show them on their best side. Show how ordinary people are beautiful too. Let their inner beauty shine in your photographs.

So we’re looking for submission of photos of plump, old, super thin, non model/ model like, non muscular, wrinkles, disability and any kind of physical imperfections set by society.

People who take part in this exhibition must believe in the theme as you will be required to sell the idea to visitors at the exhibition. Don’t do this if you just want to exhibit.

The exhibition will take place under my flickr group SWAM in December so if you think your grandma, girlfriend, friend or anyone is beautiful and you can shoot them beautifully join the competition (read the rules first) and spread the message. ;)
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AEG released MJ’s last rehearsal video 2 days before his death. It’s been a week since MJ left us.



i just love the last smile of satisfaction on his face as the lights dimmed


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.... where's the head?? Ops Houston we have a problem!



Urbanscapes 2009 was as crazy as this art instalation. I kinda spent a long time standing in front of it (it was made of all kinds of black scraps). it was all over the place but still so intriguing.



Urbanscape 2009 is a music and arts festival powered by artists and organized by KLUE magazine. Everything from photography, music, drama, movie screening, live music performance both contemporary and more classical pieces are performed simultaneously. There was something going on everywhere!

I’d been given free tickets for the festival as my photos had been selected by KLUE to be showcased under their curated section. Since Kerv was supposed to get his passes from another project, I gave mine to another friend.

Oh but the heat had other ideas, while we were stuck waiting for Kervs tickets, my friend who had arrived earlier decided she couldn’t take the heat and was going home. I don’t blame her, I was so tempted!

Anyway since I had an extra ticket we decided to stop waiting and go enjoy the festival. The first act we watched or more like were drawn to the KL Stompers. Using pails, brooms, bottles and trash cans they swept our hearts off. They were a pretty brilliant rhythmic bunch.



There was a small shrine set up for MJ with just his infamous hat and a single white rose. They finished off with a rendition of We are the children with the crowd joining it. Props to them!

We finally ventured inside to escape from the heat and checkout the exhibitions. Loved the Kukubesi project set of photos – you couldn’t have missed him itself, the man in a kilt.

I was sorely disappointed with the quality of the projection of photos in the KLUE 24hour KL screen. The horrid resolution made all the photos look ugly! Sadly my photo was on the same screen under the selected submissions category. I saw both of my shots, but it really made me cringe seeing how blurred out the screen was. They also didn’t put up our names, typical of local media. They NEVER credit photographers.
KLUE I hope you look into this for next year, all the other screens seemed ok. I wouldn’t have taken part if I had known the quality would be so horrendous!

The good thing is I just realized KLUE had published 3 of my shots for their June issue out of the 4 I submitted. They did credit me there. Props for that.


(these 2 were exhibited)



Kerv finally received his ticket and we went back down to get our bands (we didn’t realize we had to – signboards would have helped – we were sitting around the ticketing counter for a long time and didn’t realize it was needed)

It was torturous to go out in the heat again. So we quickly went back in and upstairs to check out one of the movies. Right before we landed infront of the 60 Ideas in a Box booth. The idea was to purchase a ciggerate box filled with ideas instead of buying a box of cigerates. Cool eh!



I ended up buying one coz of the idea and the lovely sales lady. She had such a lovely smile and ended up blushing when I asked her if I could shoot her.
Off we headed for Gadoh by . Now the story was predictable but the acting and flow was quite good. What I was irritated with was the poor lighting and cinematography.
It made watching the movie irritating as I kept mumbling about it. They could have just used the 1/3 rule and shot outdoors most of the time since it is a school based movie.



The thing that irritates me is, I later watch super low budget short movies that I didn’t get (surrealism) but I loved the cinematography. Simple clean and nice lighting.

So try to marry them both will ya?

Right after Gadoh, they started with the live performance by the Tugu Drum Circle. Every Sunday evening, this group meets up at the Tugu memorial and drums away, I haven’t been able to catch them yet till Urbanscapes. Wow they were awesome and together with the Rythm in Bronze group they created amazing magic. One of the ladies had such a beautiful voice, we were mesmerized. And I love the smiles on their faces while they played.



Feeling much more cooler, we headed outside coz I wanted to catch Pop Shuvit in concert. We were right in front next to the speakers. Actually we were standing to the back and side of the speaker at first, but our ear drums threatened to burst, we quickly went to stand at the side, which was right below the stage. They rocked the show. They have some wild fans, they were a bunch of guys jumping at each other and one gal (barely 15 I think) tried to pull Moots (the lead singer) shorts down. Hehehe it freaked him out and he practically jumped back. I was laughing my head off, though I think I lost my hearing.



We came out after that and listed to Yuna for a bit. Nice sounds funky dressing (she managed to make the muslim veil cool). We decided to go see other things after that. That’s when we saw this little gal running around with a bunch of balloons. She was just mesmerizing and so entertained by her balloons. The parents were amused seeing us watch her and told us she’s been at it for more than 30 minutes. ;p



That’s when we heard the drums and figured the Tugu drummers were at the drum circle. As we were getting there we were sidelined by a frozen Joker. There was a group doing impromptu poses as their character would do. I didn’t get their name though. One of our friends was in it as well.



While it was fun, the drums calling was getting louder and we were pulled there. Anyone was invited to join the circle and beat a tune. So after watching the first round, I decided to try my hand at it. I thought I took 10 mins, Kerv swears I was beating for an hour! Weird it really felt like 10 minutes!

Once they broke for a break we headed to get some food and drinks and that’s when fatigue finally hit us. I had wanted to catch more concerts later, but everyone was on a break till 8. So we decided to head back when we bumped into fire swingers. Well Kerv smelt kerosene and that’s how we knew they were gonna spin fire! Coz when I asked one of their members she told me no.



Oooh fire spinning is always fun, I think I never grew out of my obsession with shiny things! After that we said goodbye to Urbanscapes and headed home.

Urbanscapes 2009 was definetly good, I do wish we’d seen traditional performances as well and more dance. Maybe for 2010?
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I caught Gather the Lost in April and managed to speak to both the artist Nancy and Bill. Both of them have been traveling the world teaching dance and yoga while learning local cultures and dance. What I loved about their performance then was the amazing concentration; they were aware of their surroundings but did not react to anything eventhough they were performing in a crowded lobby area.


They were back to perform in KLPAC last month and I got a chance to watch them again during the Summer Solstice. This time the performance was called Gather the Energy. Their dance style is called tribal ritual dance and has elements of belly dancing, Indian, eastern and African moves.

The performance began outside the studio and at the end the group together with another dancer Vimala travelled back to their changing rooms with the audience and musicians following behind them. It was a Pied Piper moment, curious to see what was next and enchanted by their moves and the beating of the drums, people followed them out.


They have made some excellent improvements, the time taken for the rituals were shorter, they changed the feel of the performance which gave a vibe of energy compared to the first one’s sense of loss and the use of live percussionists which made a lot of difference.




You could feel their joy and love for dance in their performance and the way they engaged the audience. I came out of the performance feeling a sense of vibrancy and joy at being a part of such an energized performance. The excellent music by the KLPAC in house percussionists added to the experience.

Nancy teaches tribal belly dance at KLPAC.

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Thanks to the guy who recorded this, you’ll be able to hear the Sony Malaysian Tribute for Michael Jackson at 1 Utama. Just listen to the fans sing to Heal The World and you will get goosebumps. I’m somewhere in the video yeah I was like 4th row from the stage.

Then check out this article, a really sad one. Also my fav video so far on tributes around the world, theres another one on CNN that I love, the first view of Harlem as the news broke.

For 30 minutes of video showing most of the events at the tribute, check out these videos.





And finally a tribute by Malaysian band Pop Shuvit at Urbanscapes 2009.


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When I heard Sony was holding a tribute for MJ at I utama, I knew I had to be there.

By the time I reached 1 Utama at 6.15pm, most of the seats had been taken and I had been worried I’d be too early. I didn’t attend 2 weddings to be there. I knew I’d be a wreck if I missed it. I’m still wondering why they gated that space in front of the stage, it really never made sense.

I’d gone alone coz I really don’t have friends who love MJ that much. It didn’t matter coz quite a number of people turned up just to be somewhere where people understood our lost. I ended up making friends with a gal who had been there earlier than me and a bunch of MJ fans.



I was interviewed for Hitz.fm by Adam C, and I just went on and on about MJ. I think it was about my first memory of him and what I thought of his music and my favourite song. I said I loved all his songs but at the moment it would be They don’t really care about us. To me that was a song that really hit the note on emotional stress MJ went through. Sadly they didn’t play that song.

The next guy he interviewed seemed familiar. I think he was the former dj at a club I used to frequent. The interesting part of him was he managed to work on MJs concert in 96. He became the poster boy for the press with his Tshirt from the show.


They played a tribute video of what Jackson meant to many celebrities and then a sting of videos of his no 1 hits. The crowd would go crazy everytime he moonwalked. I wish we danced but the only soul that was dancing was this guy who pretty much hyped up the rest of us at that point. I guess the ropes barring us from sitting anywhere close left us feeling caged. We finally broke lose and just sat down and began singing and moving to his music. As time passed the placed was brimming with people from all ages.

Yeah I was sitting with a bunch of fans who didn’t care if people were looking at us, we just sang and clapped in rhythm to his songs. I was surprised I could still remember most of the lyrics, you see I have a bad memory, I can’t remember most songs I listen to. They had started opening the tribute wall for the fans to sign. The paper and guestbook will be flown to the US and delivered to the Jackson family. We were continuously eyeing the wall as there we were so close yet we didn’t go and sign as we didn’t want to lose our spot near the stage.

3 impersonators made their way on stage. Most Indians would be familiar with MJ Nada as he has been a local impersonator for some 20 years and a familiar face in the local industry and can he move! His speech left some of us teary eyed for a moment. But the mood of the night was more of a celebration of his music. We got goosebumps but we remembered him they way he should be remembered with music and dance.

The stage was then opened to the public to perform. This guy Pravin had drove down from Seremban to attend the tribute and my god he can really sing. So could the others who took turns dancing or singing. One 12 year old kid had our hearts brimming with joy as he moonwalked across the stage.

The one slack tribute was this So You Can Dance competition winner who made up his own steps during his piece. That we also can do.

We finally got to sway to his music as we held our candles high up and sang to You are not alone, Man in the mirror and Heal the world. The sad reality is MJ has written songs for his demise. ;(

Everyday I sit and ask myself
How did love slip away
Something whispers in my ear and says
That you are not alone
For I am here with you
Though you're far away
I am here to stay

For you are not alone
For I am here with you
Though we're far apart
You're always in my heart
For you are not alone
….you are not alone….

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon
….gone too soon….



It was a touching moment. Everyone old or young was singing to the songs. Everyone had a story to tell, share and a love to express. We finally headed to the board to sign our own messages. The spot I was eyeing was still empty, the only problem, I had to crawl, stretch and do gymnastics to write there – hence the bad hand writing.

After signing the book and singing Heal the world for one last time, we finally left.

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I was probably one of the last people on earth to find out about MJ's death. I'd been home the last two days recovering from fever and going in and out of sleep at the oddest hours. I'd only slept at 6.30ish am on friday morning as all that medicine and s;eeping had screwed up my sleeping pattern. yes i had gone to sleep as the world woke up to the news of his death.

i got up around 9ish to inform the office i was still on mc and then dozed off again. i usually have the radio on as i drift in an out of sleep and prefer waking to the sound of the radio then to silence.

around 1ish i drop out of sleep to hear MJ on radio 6. Just as I was about to go back to sleep, the words MIchael jacksonin maraivu (the passing of Michael Jackson) and immediately I jumped out of bed to ask my mom did MJ die.

She asked me back the same question.

Frantic for an answer I logged online to read the devastating news. He was really gone, I was so shocked, my idol was gone. A part of my life had been cruelly taken away. All I knew was I had to write a tribute to the man who shaped my musical life, and I frantically searched the net for his photos as I typed my erratic tribute.

Few months ago I had been clearing up my memory drawer, you see I'm a hoarder I collect everything imaginable. and there were my media cut outs off MJ's visit to Malaysia. Yes I still have them and there was no way I was gonna throw them or Galaxie's issue with MJ on the cover.

Since MJ became less popular with the public in the last decade, I stopped talking about him to most people. You see I cannot take anyone criticising the great musician, it would just upset me and a few times I ended up arguing with people about him. Precisely the same reason I never write about him in the blog.

People had forgotten the amazing music he created, the beautiful messages in them, his contribution to children causes. how could people forget We are the world? The once famous anthem for children, is rarely sang anywhere now. I doubt if the younger generation even knows the song. So you don't like him, but 45 different artist sang in that song, a song that's still relevant and beautiful today yet you rarely hear it anywhere.

He was just wacko jacko to everyone, the man with the weird face and nose.

Did anyone ever sit back to remember the life he had, abused by his father, always in the limelight, and pressured to pefection and a family who always made fun of him? Despite that or his insecurities he always sang beautiful songs, that were usually songs filled with joy.

I only have one regret in life. most people would laugh at me or snicker. You see I see all my failures, mistakes or unfortunate events as the fingers that helped mold me as a person. Without them, without having to overcome them I wouldn't be the person I am today. If I could go back in time I wouldn't have changed anything but one thing.

I regret not attending MJ's 1996 concert in Malaysia. Not only was it my SPM trial week, I didn't want to burden my parents with the tickets that cost around RM 200. Dad was still paying for his kidney transplant, and I didn't think it would be fair on them though I don't think I could have convinced dad to let me go.

Now I will never be able to rectify my one regret. It may sound silly to you but not to me. I was telling my friend earlier "let me tell you how obsessed I am with MJ."

i have an MJ test criteria for love. I would never date anyone who hated MJ, they didn't have to love him but they'd have to like him the least. lol

So i don't know how many posts I will end up posting but that's the only way I can deal with grief or any emotion for that matter. According to 2 sources there will be a tribute for MJ at 1 Utama on SUnday. I'm not sure if its at 1pm or 7 pm, both KLUE and The Star have different timings.

The beauty of MJ has been the fact that his fans have been singing and dancing to his tumes all over the world since his passing. So I hoe this tribute materialises and we get a chance to celebrate him here as well.

I still wish this was just a PR stunt. ;(
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How could you go?

Why did you have to go?

My dear dear MJ















When I was a kid, I grew up watching you dance and sing. I was so crazy about you. So was my family, I remember we'd sit and watch your shows on this show that was called the golden Disco or something. The thing is we watched you as a family, my parents who weren't crazy of western music would watch you. That's how much we loved you.

I was the kid who didn't understand the words of Billie Jean but you walking through that street lighting up each stone still bewitches me. Your videos were revolutionary, your music amazing and your dance just out of this world. Your music shaped my life.

I loved every single song of yours, I can't pinpoint just one song that was my most favourite. YOu were the only King of Pop for me. I'd get so angry if anyone criticised you. So much so if anyone said anything I'd just walk away or tell them to stop saying anything about you.










You had to pick 1996 to come to Malaysia! I was so devastated. There was no way my parents would let me go not when we were having our trials at the same time! My whole class had always been fans, yes thank god for that.

We were super crazy about you just as many teens from our era. People who loved you with all our heart, people who were blessed to have grown up watching you.

Yet 2 of my classmates did go and I don't think anyone of us concentrated on our trials. All we could do was relive their moments at the concert. They told us every little thing, in between our papers. We'd finish one paper start talking about you and then sit for the next.

Those 2 still rub it in. the fact that they got to watch you.

That was my lifes biggest regret not watching you in concert. I've always hoped you'd come again, I've always hoped I'd see you perform somehow, I've always wished I could meet you one day.

How am I supposed to see you now?

I'm crying writing this, my moms laughing at me. You didn't even cry at your fathers funeral?

The world has lost an amazing man, musician, the man with no bones who went through so much. I'm losing the icon of my life. He deserves every single tear. You went to soon Michael. 2 months short of your 51st birthday!

God bless you Michael. I will always love you.

29th August 1958 - 25th June 2009

Your crazy fan who is still in shock

Visithra

ps : the banner will remain till the end of August as a tribute to MJ


















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“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”
W. M. Lewis

We’re often waiting for things to happen, things to be handed to us, opportunity to find its way to us or simply waiting for the right time to do something.

We play the waiting game, hoping everything will fall into place. Patience does pay, but without trying or making the first initiative, you’re left with nothing.

Push yourself to do things, even if it means sleeping less hours of the day, seek out opportunities, you might fail the first 1000 times, but you could win the 1001th time. We wouldn’t have electricity of Albert Alva Edison had given up the 1st time he tried and only succeeding at the 1000th attempt!

Most of all do not give up on your dreams, somehow, sometime it will become reality.

ps : thanks to a friend for the quote when i was raking my head finding one

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We often feel saddened by stories of children suffering around the world.

But what about our own children who are abandoned, left to beg, victims of abuse or just plain forgotten?

A lot of kids in Malaysia are left to fend for themselves or their siblings. These children remain invisible to most. We seem them begging on the streets, sometimes supervised by their parents, and instead of asking the kids why they aren’t at school we ignore or hand over money.

On one of my visits to spend time with the children of AGATHIANS SHELTER, this little one tells me he wants to pose for me and strikes this pose.

AGATHIANS SHELTER in PJ is a registered orphanage for boys that was founded in 2003 by a team of young adults. The home runs on private funds. It was set up to save a group of children from being turned out to the street and to provide a home for them.

The children are from various backgrounds; some are orphaned, some only have a single parent who can't afford to feed them and others are either abandoned or neglected. There are currently 30 boys (all under 18 years old) residing in the home.

Most of the children are from families that are no longer capable of looking after them, so there were quite a number of them who are siblings. There are at least 40 kids on a waiting list to get into the home. Any kind of help, monetary, voluntary or necessities can help ensure these children remain hopeful of a brighter future.

Is there hope for these children? You can make a difference.

Find out more info about them at www.agathians.org/ or
Phone : 03-7954 1680

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This was one of the stories that were displayed together with our exhibited photographs during my June exhibition in/Visible 2009.

Our aim was to tell stories with our photos. Each photo was accompanied by a story or message we wanted to share. SO take your time to read them and our synopsis to understand what we did. People really enjoyed the stories from our feedback. Only we knew how much we raked our heads to find the right story from our blogs and write a few fresh ones.

To see the rest http://v-eyez.blogspot.com/2009/06/curiosity.html

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I’m having a music moment. There is one reality show that beat all shows, Rockstar: inxs. Most of the singers on that show were amazing, creative and had just amazing voices. Sadly no of them actually made it. My favourite was Jordis Unga. I still hope Jordis Unga will release an album, instead she’s singing for private functions! Someone give this woman a record deal!

There was of course the winner who was another favourite. Wonder what happened to INXS after that? I did love Pretty Vegas.







While we're on music - let's have a dose of Queens coz I just felt like listening to Bohemian Rhapsody. Which ended with me getting hooked to Love of My life. Just so beautiful, though I have an aching question, there seems to be less and less clothes on Freddie, while the rest of the band members are fully clothed. Did he ever go all out? ;p






Anyway enjoy the music, I’ll be at KLPAC for our last weekend at our exhibition.
In/Visible runs from 1 – 21 June 2009 at KLPAC - Please sign up at our Facebook page here
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109196019072
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I just read they awarded the late Sudirman a datukship (honorary title) and I’m like what???

You waited 17 years after he died to do that??? Why the hell would he want one? Why the hell does he need one? After P Ramlee, he would be the one loved by all Malaysians, everyone listened to him, even my mom! So I leave you with songs from that amazing man.



He sings in Malay but trust me just watch the video, you’ll laugh ur head off.





This song was written by him for our national day.



He sings the Banana Boat Song



He sings a song from Sangam – mere mangke gange



Singing a Chinese song



On an infamous road here


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There was a Porsche parked outside an engagement party we were headed to. A stylish yummy silver one. My mom quickly goes.

Mom: Is that a Ferrari

Me: Nope, that’s a Porsche

Mom: Can’t you settle for a Porsche?

Me: Nope only Ferrari’s

Mom: It’s a pretty car!

Me: Yes but no I want a brand new red Ferrari all for myself!

Mom: My daughter is useless!!

Me: Thank you ;p

Hehehe coded story, details of which will not be revealed.

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The power of music is only realized by a few. Music has always been my pathway to god. Every single time I sing, I look at it as an aradhana or offering.

I was at the temple on Friday and seeing that they were not many people and I was itching to sing. I sat down and sang all my fav songs. I hadn’t been to the temple for a long time, neither have I been singing.

Eyes closed, I could feel energy vibrate through me. I cannot explain this feeling. But occasionally she energises me with her grace. Since I was a child, I play a game with her while I sing, if she wants more songs, she would have to show me a sing and so as a song ends, a bell would ring or I’d hear the sounds of the gecko (we have a thing with them).

At the last song, tears whelmed my eyes, not of despair but that one songs energy sometimes moves me to tears. I was reminded of the time I sat at the feet of Mysore Chamundeshwari singing her songs and she bestowed me with an oorvalam just as I was about to leave.

Her beautiful face shown like a full moon night. We had spent the whole day famished on a train due to another derailed train. That was when I realized why we had gotten stuck, just to see her that close as she danced on the shoulders of her devotees around the courtyard of her temple.

I opened my eyes drowned in the vibration, it’s a high you’ll have to experience to understand. Stand in the midst of the sounds of the chenna mella and trumpets of Kerala as they play with your soul, increasing and decreasing the rhythm, you move unknowilling and most of the time unwillingly to the sway of the music. That was the energy I felt and it took all my effort to walk out slowly.

Thunbameh eyarkai ennum sohlai marandhiduvohm
Inbameh vehndi nirphom yathum aval tharuval
Nambhinor Kedhuvathillai nangu maari theerpu
Abhigaiyai saran pugunthal adhigavaram peralam
- Mahakavi Bharathi -

Let us forget that life is filled with problems, pray for happiness and she shall bestow it all

Seek her truly and fully, mother does not betray, she will shower you with love and happiness

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Thanks to the American Embassy and Annexe Gallery we had the privilege to attend a talk by the famous photographer Steve Mcurry. He is the man who shot the Afghan Girl for National Geographic.

Truthfully I don’t think that’s his best shot, my fav is this shot of a lady and a child peeking into his taxi on a rainy day in Mumbai the other is this sculpture engrossed in his work surrounded by his creations again in India. The other was a shot in a mosque in Srinagar where light streams through magically. Apparently they got a letter asking why the lights were at different angles, only then did he think of it and realized it may have been distorted by the use of a wide angle lens.



He has been to India 85 times and still exclaims his amazement of the country and another 35 times to Afghanistan. His photos to me have a sense of celebration of life and hope and doesn’t focus on the poverty or the conflicts in that country. I asked him was it a personal choice to do so.

“I never liked shooting the combat, to me it was the people caught in between that I felt an urge to capture. The innocent bystanders of war who have no choice but to continue living in these conditions that inspire me to shoot.”



“I look for human connections, I try to shoot other things but I’m always drawn to people and humanity.”

“What I shoot is never different from what I see and feel."

He remembered every single location he had been to and if we had more time he’d probably tell us stories from each place. He was a true story teller.

I had 2 more questions to ask him did he have a favourite country and a least favourite, but his presentation kinda answered it for me.

I also wanted to ask there are no cities and skyscrapers here or on your site, do you dislike shooting city folks? I don’t blame him – they aren’t the nicest.

I think Mr Gear head in front annoyed him who kept asking about his gears. If you must know he travels with 5 lenses but usually never changes his lens and only uses one and prefers natural light. See even the great think it’s irrelevant so why are you obsessed with lenses? I think he has an obsession of light too, check out his galleries there’s one for shadow and light!

He is known to do dangerous stunts like sticking out of a moving train watching his breakfast delivered from the outside (it arrived somewhat cold with a toast or two missing!) and patiently waiting for hours for the right shot.

We paparazied him later, as we were trying to get a shot with him, so we kinda squeezed into a spot net to him. Then as we were heading back, we caught him at his van. The organizers wanted a shot with him so I offered to shoot It for them. In return we bugged him to pose with us. Oh well I’m allowed to be a crazy fan once in a while.

Had a good time meeting old friends and meeting some flickr photogs for the first time and making new friends. Yep we even had time for that ;p

www.stevemccurry.com/main.php

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I was cursing poor 2009 for a string of events when I realized why blame 2009 for doing me good and relieving me of parasites.

What else can you call “friends” who are around when they need you, when they need to cry and someone to listen, when they have problems with their family, boyfriend; when they need to complain about their bfs and then act goody two shoes with those poor unsuspecting guys, when they call you at such odd hours of the day, when they need people to hang out with, when they need to use your name to sneak out and lie to their parents, when they need entertainment, when you agree to their rules and regulations, when you shake your head and agree to everything they say and smile sweetly, when you do things for them, when they need your help, information or access to people, when they squeeze knowledge and information from you but never acknowledge them, when they use your images and never acknowledge them, when they had no life and needed you to introduce friends and show them how to enjoy life.

Parasites who make snide remarks about you when they don’t get what they want, who glorify their selves when they put you down, who put you and your character down when you didn’t bend to their rules and regulations, who restricted you with rules but don’t follow the same set of rules, who are rude to you once they’ve sucked everything they needed from you.

So yes 2009 is the year you get rid of parasites. Thank god for it.
As a friend said last night “if someone calls you selfish or negative for being the same person you have always been, agree and remember karma will bite soon!”

So yes I am selfish for being who I have always been and standing for my rights and beliefs.

Yes I am such a bad influence for agreeing to lie and always being there for you.

Parasites always try to bring people down, but there is karma and god is always watching. No one who has ever broken my trust or deceived me has ever escaped karma. I can tell you stories.

Of course when you have god sending you great news and lovely surprises everytime parasites emerge, it changes your outlook and pushes you forward even more. When karma bites, I will hear about it and remember I will laugh at you.

Thanks 2009 and god ;p

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