Janice Yap's MySpace Music

www.myspace.com/jymys

Here's a plug for Janice's MySpace page (female lead for Broken Bridges). It contains her bio, list of previous performances, audio streaming of her own compositions and much more so do check it out! The page was just recently completed, so add her as your friend if you're on MySpace :)

I Finally Watched Broken Bridges!

...and it was excellent!



Last Thursday, I brought my mother and sister to KLPac to catch the musical 'Broken Bridges'. I am not what you would normally call a very artsy-fartsy person, but I do enjoy the odd performance now and then.

Leaving my office at around 7:30, what would normally be a 15 minute trip took more than an hour thanks to the stupid rain, which caused the long-kangs in KL to overflow like a clogged up toilet bowl. This caused several areas in KL to flood, resulting in one or two kancils floating away (probably).

Thankfully, the show was delayed slightly due to the jam. The policy for such performances is that if you are late, you'll have to wait til the intermission before being allowed in. So strict hor, but I guess they have a good reason for it. I mean, who wants to be interrupted during a particularly rousing performance by a fat, sweaty guy squeezing himself down the aisles?

So after sitting in a jam for over an hour, rushing like mad up the steps of KLPac and hurriedly placing my butt in my allocated seat, I was all ready for a night of musical fun.

I really did like the show, and not just because my girlfriend is acting in it (hahah...I ain't THAT biased). To me, the songs, set, script were pretty good for a local production and they managed to very accurately capture the look and feel of Ipoh in the 60's.

From what my girlfriend told me, the original script was shortened considerably due to time constraints, so quite a number of important scenes involving the development of several of the plays key characters were ommitted. While this is the shame, the show still had enough humorous and tragic bits to keep you riveted to your seats.

My personal favorite characters from the show have got to be Mei Ling (of coz lah, my gf mah), Leong, Ringo and Mr.Wong. They really stood out from the rest with their acting and singing, so props to them.

I ain't a professional critic of plays so I don't have much to write here. I just want to say that if you haven't already watched it, do yourself a favour a get your grubby hands on some tickets pronto! :)

Dont try to be a Hero

The difference between Schumacher and me is....



Yesterday, I got into the stupidest accident of my life...EVER!. It's not even the kind you can brag about. You know those type of accidents lah...they usually sound something like this:

Brag-able accident scenario 1: "I was travelling at 250kmh when my car suddenly aqua-planned and made ten full 360 degree spins before coming to a halt, inches away from a 2,000 foot drop into vast nothing-ness"

Brag-able accident scenario 2: "I was performing a full-on, maximum opposite lock, tyre screeching drift down a winding mountain road when a cute little rabbit ran into my path, and being the kind soul that I am, I decided to drive into the divider just so that the lil' rabbit can continue living and indulging in loads of bunny-rabbit lovin with his harem of bunnies"

Brag-able accident scenario 3: "I was approaching the first corner of Sepang at around 300kmh when an overzealous back-marker caused me to stray off the racing line and into the sand trap"

Alright, that last scenario may be something only an F1 driver can lay claim to, but you get my drift. These kind of accidents are nothing to be shameful about. They are the type you'd willingly tell at any gathering of friends in order to impress the girls. Of course, the exact details may change depending on how many pints of beers you've downed, but the underlying, fundamental nature of the accident is something which you like to print out and frame it on your wall, next to a pic of your first-born.


Me on the other hand

My accident was slightly different. It involved me, my car, and a wall. You see, I have this strange fetish which I feel I have to admit to you dear readers. I like making my tyres squeal when I'm in a car park.

You know how your car's tyres go 'EeeEeEEeEee, eeEEEeEEee...EEeEEeeEEe' whenever you make a turn in a car park with cement floors? Well, to some that may be pure noise, but to me it's the equivalent of Strauss' Blue Danube. I love it!

Oh yeahh you dirty tyres, squeal for me...you like that don't you? Squeeeeeal for daddy, uh uh uhhhhh

*ahem* Okay, sorry. I got carried away.

Anywayyyyyy, my point is, I like squealing tyres. This, coupled with the fact that two days ago, as I was driving up the car park ramp in my office building, the floor was wet and slippery as it had just rained shitloads of cats and dogs a few minutes ago.

Are you beginning to see where I'm going?

It was at one particular car park ramp, where I had this brilliant idea of flooring the accelerator a bit and indulging in some squealing fun. Well, this 'brilliant' idea, plus the fact that the floor was slippery as hell, caused me to understeer like a nose-heavy tractor with jello for tyres. To those who are not motorheads, understeer basically happens when your front tyre loses grip, and your steering input has no influence on the direction your car is moving.

Now the difference between Schumacher and me is this. If it were Schumacher, he'd probably apply a little left-foot braking, causing the weight to transfer to the front of the car, and thus increasing the grip of the front tyres and smoothly sailing up the ramp.

Me on the other hand, just sat there like an idiot as my car missed the ramp entirely and plowed head-first into the neighbouring concrete wall. Mind you, I was travelling at a mind-boggling speed of about 10kmh. Not enough to cause serious damage to my car, but enough to crack my bumper, smash my headlamps, and leave a trail of nice, squiggly lines along the wall (For those of you who park in Plaza Mont Kiara, look out for my 'mark' at level 2 of Block C).


At least I didn't.....errmmm... hurt myself...or something

So there you have it. Stupid idea + wet floor + no Schumacher = Saturday with no car + wallet lighter by around 700 bucks + shattered ego.

Excellent :P

I Need To Resurrect My Blog

Lost Eden

It is with dismay that I survey the barren remains of what was a once proud and regularly-updated blog. It's a blogging wasteland as far as the eye can see. An undulating terrain of rushed posts, unoriginal quips and me-too photoshop'ed pictures stretch out for miles before me. What was once a cheesy, crappy, but uniquely 'me' landscape has now been turned into yet another random jumble of bits and bytes floating meaninglessly through the blogosphere - like how a piece of turd floats serenely through the foul smelling sewage of a Flora Alam sewerage pond.

Trudging through this desolate place, I stumble across a vast river whose waters were as still as night. The moonlight reflects of its surface in silverish hues of light, illuminating its banks with multiple hues of nothing.

From the depths of of its shimmering waters, the spirit of the countless bloggers whom I've mocked over the years emerge. Bloggers whom I've mocked for their gaudy tastes, lack of literary flair and senseless ramblings roll up slowly like a mist from the sea.

I can hear their tortured voices, haunting me...taunting me...

With their long, thin, crooked fingers they beckon in slow, curl-like motions...

...inviting me to the other side. A side where bimbo blogs and blogs about food consumed are the norm. A hellish place indeed.

I tried to flee, but my legs remained glued to the spot. My mouth opened, but there was no scream. Like a moth drawn to the fire, I felt my body inching ever closer over the edge of the river.

As my body careened over the banks of the river, sending me tumbling headlong into the inky darkness...I awoke with a start.

It was just a dream.

But it seemed so real. Glancing at my laptop, I saw the numbers 2 and 1 flash up on screen. It's the 21st of August, 6 days since I last updated my blog.

How long will this void last?

I have no idea

No idea, and ideas at all...

Sighhh

The Lord of the Perverts

28 years ago, a pervert was born

Last Friday night, I celebrated the birthday of one of my old friends, Mr. Shedden Ee. To some, he is known as the owner of Racecraft and Motorsport division, but to his close friends...we know him as a slut who likes to nothing more than to voice out-loud the minute details of his sexual preferences to any poor unsuspecting souls who happen to be standing within ear-shot.

Conversations with Shedden usually go something like this..

Me: Hey man, wassup
Shedden: I just had sex lah a few minutes ago
Me: Ermm...alright, so where do you want to go for lunch?
Shedden: The girl didn't blow me, so I feel darn potong stim
Me: You sick perv!
Shedden: What? Where got??!

You get the idea.

Anyway, for his birthday, a group of us headed down to RedBox, The Curve for a night of ear-drum busting, high-decibel fun.



Young sms'ed me the day before saying that everyone will be meeting up at around 8:30 at the Curve. As we all know so well, we Malaysians have a different understanding of the arcane concept of time. To us equator-dwelling folk, when somebody says "meet at 8:30", he actually means..."meet you when I've finally decided to wake up, throw on some dirty old clothes, spend a few minutes flicking through Astro, pick my nose, prepare myself a little snack, scratch my arse....and the list goes on and on"

Basically, you take the time which was 'agreed upon', add 2 hours to it, and you'll be pretty much on time. So it comes as no surprise that when I arrived there at 11:30, people were just beginning to show up. And btw, I came late because I had to pick up my gf from KLPAC alright, not because I'm a tardy git.

We finally began singing at around 12:30, and lasted till around 3:30 am before deciding to call it a night. We're all getting old lah, staying up till 3 in the morning is a herculean feat!

Anyway back to the birthday boy. In case you're wondering what he looks like (so you can tell your daughters to avoid him...hahah, just kidding dude!), here's a pic of him together with Lim Cheng Jin aka Harry. Don't they make a luvly couple?...aaawwwwwww.



The room we occupied was the VIP room, and therefore came equipped with a PS2 for the anti-social people amongst us. Needless to say, some of the guys were flocking to it like bees to honey. I did try my hand at a few laps of Gran Turismo, but I found myself thinking "what in the world am I doing, paying a few hundred bucks just to play Gran Turismo?". Heck no!



Some of us didn't feel the same way though, and had to be dragged kicking and crying from the PS2 in order to pose for a few pics, and sing a few songs. In fact, they probably short-circuited one of the PS2 controllers with their tears of anguish as it was cruelly wrenched from their balmy hands.

Hahah...serves them right.



In spite of Gran Turismo, the night ended well and everyone had a good time bonding. I'm too tired now (it is a Monday morning after all) so I won't post much. Here are some pics for you to enjoy. Laterz!

Freedom Should Not be Abused

I agree with Badawi, but....

I am not surprised that it has come to this. If you've read the papers yesterday, Badawi warned all bloggers that those who are found disseminating disruptive lies and untruths will be detained. He went on to say that the full-weight of the law will be felt by those who instigate social unrest and religious tensions by spreading lies ad rumous over the Internet.

Now I agree with what Badawi is saying. Some people might call this an infringement on our freedom and rights, but let us step back for a second and try to determine what true 'freedom' really means.

To me, the word 'freedom' does not conjure up images of a society in which there are no rules and regulations. In fact, in such an environment, anarchy will reign and true freedom will ultimately suffer. Some shallow people in fact equate freedom with the ability to, say, run down the streets naked, have sex with any person (or animal...ughhh) they want to, or to do whatever he or she pleases, irregardless of the consequences. These views are so obviously wrong that I sometimes wonder what's wrong with those people. How can they not see that true freedom flourishes when people have the ability to function within clearly socially and culturally defined 'rules'?

Just compare Malaysia, a land with (what some would say) many rules and regulations, with Iraq, a land where (at the moment) basically anything goes. In which country are the people more 'free'?

The same goes for freedom of speech. Some people equate freedom of speech with the ability say whatever they want, nevermind the fact that it may consist only of lies and untruths. Now these lies and untruths, while they may seem relatively harmless, can easily snowball into something which has the potential to undo all the progress which has been made over the past decades. Now who wants that eh?


..but I doubt that this new ruling will be implemented fairly

Yup, you heard me. I agree with Badawi that people should be held accountable for the things they post on the Internet. However, I do have my reservations on how effective this approach will be.

You see, I don't entirely trust that our government and it's related bodies (the police, the ISA etc) will be unbiased in their assessment of what sort of comments and posts are punishable, and what are not.

Will they crackdown as hard on the bloggers who spread lies about the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia? Or are they mainly focusing on stamping out the allegedly anti-Bumi, or anti-Islam posts which are swirling about in the blogosphere?

What if someone were to post blasphemous lies about the other religions such as Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism? Will the government even bother to crack down on the people responsible? Or does their 'tough stance' only apply to posts which criticize Islam?

Although I hope that the government will be fair and unbiased in this, past experience has taught me a lot.

I won't be holding my breath.

My Mini Holiday

Don't Laugh

Yes, you heard me...stop snickering. What's wrong with going to Genting for a holiday? Only cool people go there. The really cool ones. Just ask Uncle Lim Goh Tong.

My trip can't really be considered a 'holiday' though. It was just a one day's trip, going there in the afternoon and staying on til dinner time. Some of my friends booked a room at Awana to stay for the night but I decided not to. I can't afford to take leave you see. The thought of work piling up in my absence is enough to send any holiday-goer into a nervous, nail-biting frenzy.

To be honest, the thought of going to Genting doesn't exactly thrill me. I was only going up for the drive actually. After a rough week at work, the best way to unwind (IMO) is to tackle a few twisties with all the gung-hoism of McRae on steroids.

Alas, my dream of powering my immensely powderful plotong up the steep roads of Genting and executing glorious 4-wheel drifts with tons of opposite lock vanished the moment I hit the foot of the mountain. It was raining pretty heavily you see, and Malaysian drivers have this weird habit of slowing down to a 2kmh crawl whenever there is even the slightest hint of a drizzle.

So what was supposed to be a fun drive up turned into a 'Federal highway at rush hour' crawl a llthe way up. Bloody frustrating. After trying to pull of a few heroic overtaking manoeuvres (and almost getting killed in the process), I docilely pulled back into line between a crawling Toyota Unser and a black-smoke belching express bus.

Oh joy.


Why do people go to Genting??

After goodness knows how long, we finally arrived at the Theme Park Hotel only to be greeted by the sight of yet another friggin long traffic jam. Cars of all shapes and sizes are battling it out as they recklessly lunged around in their search for a parking spot.

Sweet :P

It took me 40 minutes to get from Subang to Genting, and another 40 minutes to find a parking spot. Bloody annoying. Plus, I was getting a headache.

Oh, did I also mention that the abovementioned drizzle had not escalated into a full-blown tropical downpour? All the outdoor areas were deserted (duh) and everyone crammed into the indoor themepark of the First World Hotel.

I've only been to the First World Hotel a handful of times since it first opened. And upon visiting it again last weekend, I was reminded of the reason why. The whole place was just too gaudy for my taste. Too plastic and artificial. Not to mention that the hotel sports what has got to be the worst paint-job of ANY building in the history of mankind. Whoever made the decision to clothe the building in such garish colours deserves to be packed into a box and shipped off to some remote island where the natives eat human genitals for dessert.

It's just so darn fugly! Most Malaysians will know what I'm talking about so I won't bother posting any photos of it here.

What I will post however are pics I took during my time there. I didn't manage to take that many pics coz my camera's battery died on my after a few shots. But I did manage to take pictures of, what I believe are, the world's most retarded looking bears. Are they supposed to attract kiddies? or send them running back into mommys arms while bawling in fear?

Beats me.











I wish to apologize to the those of you who are easily frightened by fugly bears. It wasn't my intention, really. To make up for it, here are some pictures of Me.. muahahah.