Reshmonu's HARAPAN CD - Buy it!

If you have tuned in to our local stations when you make that daily grind to the office you most probably have heard Oh Anok Anok right? Yeah, that's the one, the catchy Kelantanese-inspired anthem. (Click for the MTV youtube video)

That's by Reshmonu and the lyrics are by my beloved, multi-talented sister, Pacha.

His first full-length Malay album has just made it to market, folks, with Pacha penning most of the lyrics. Pacha had also written his award winning 2004 hit Cintaku Pergi.

HARAPAN is up for 5 nominations for the upcoming A.I.M. (Anugerah Industri Muzik) Awards 2009 in May for Best Pop Album, Best Engineered Album, Best Music Video, Best Male Vocal Performance for 'Sayu' and 'Doa Untuk Dia'.

To order the CD, please go here. It comes with a nice denim CD "sock" by Key Ng.

If nothing else, proceeds from my sister's royalties will go towards me taking you guys out for teh tarik, eh?

Hiresh's lovely wife and son with Pacha.

Hiresh with my sister at the opening night of her first solo. In the background is my niece N and partly hidden by Resh's mic is A, niece of both Kak Ton's and Nuraina's.


Excerpt from Resh's Facebook:

Subject: My Album ‘HARAPAN’ earns 5 nominations for the A.I.M (Anugerah Industri Muzik) 2009

Hey there thought I’d share the good news.My latest full length malay album titled ‘Harapan’ just earned me 5 nominations for the upcoming A.I.M awards happening May 2nd. The nominations are for the following categories :

1. Best Engineered Album
2. Best Music Video - ‘Oh Anok – Anok’ the MTV
3. Best Male Vocal performance in a song ‘Doa Untuk Dia’
4. Best Male Vocal performance in a song ‘Sayu’
5. Best Pop Album

I ‘m overwhelmed at the fact that this first malay album of mine has earned a place among a majority malay music industry. I am humbled that it has earned its recognition among my fellow musical comrades…my only hope now is that ‘Harapan’ reaches you… my supporters! (available exclusively @ www.rrecords.net

) Would love to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone involved directly or indirectly in the production of ‘HARAPAN’.

BTW: With regards to the release of my next English album…mmmm???? All I can say is somethin’s cookin in my music kitchen!!!! (hint:- Soulfull Funky House music in session!).

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More (Yawn) Bike Stories

My boy turned 8 yesterday, and he also came out 3rd in his term exams, so what did I do to reward him amidst this raging recession and BN's recent humiliating loss? (Is this Perak's and Kedah's "gift" to the newly-crowned First Lady?)

I bought him a scaled-down replica of former world champion Thomas Frischknecht's race machine: A Scott Scale JR 20.

The "20" means twenty inch wheels when adult-sized bikes are 24 inch. So it's a kid's bike. But a serious kid's bike armed with Revo Shifters, front and rear derailleurs,front fork with 55mm travel, the whole works.

Come visit my other blog for more of this insanely inane, stupendously mundane and lame ho-hum stuff.

A Man In Mid-Life

Mat Salo in (poor) post training form, March 26, 2009. T minus 3 days to Race Day this weekend.

I guess like all men hitting the "magic 50" they start to do something "crazy" - and I'm certainly no exception to the rule.

Some take on mistresses or an extra wife, some will purchase a low-slung two-seater sports coupe, or a Mark Levinson (yes, Kim Catrall's hubby) hi-fi, or a big plasma TV. I wonder if going to umroh or haj is a consequence of mid-life too?

Back in '04 - GP Speda Race Series - note the "boghoi" factor

Me? As soon as I came back from Indonesia I decided to do something that I had not done since 2004: enter a goddamned MTB race. Back in '04 when I was not quite 45 I managed to complete 100 k on a road-bike. But that was five years and tens of thousands of sticks of cigarettes ago.

And I've also piled on the pounds, in case you haven't noticed.

Mean, but not-so-lean-nor-trim in '04

So this weekend I'll be competing in the men's "veteran" class (45 and above, of course) but for old-timers like us who couldn't get it up more than once a single night, the course is only over 15 km when normal UCI sanctioned cross-country MTB races would be at least 24 km or 4 laps on an average 6 km loop.

So why am I doing it? I don't really know dudes and dudettes.

Perhaps like all men in mid-life, we all start "losing it"?

Wish me luck this Sunday the 29th, eh?

If you're keen, it's near the old leprosy hospital in Sg. Buloh. Go here for directions.)

Brand New Shimano XT "clipless" installed at Joo Ngan yesterday.

Transferring "clipless" cleats from new to old shoes...

LDTL Stage 5 - The Curve to Genting (Mat Salo's favorite sport!)

This is my third live LDTL event, the previous two a couple of years back. I'm not often home in Malaysia so I was lucky as hell that Stage 5 today started at my front door - literally!

The Petaling Jaya to Genting Stage kicked-off right between Ikano Power Center and The Curve, in front of co-sponsor's VW Malaysia's spiffy showroom to be exact. So all I did was to get on my hand-made Santa Cruz Superlight, a full-suspension mountain bike with my trusty D300 and 18-200 VR II lens slung across my shoulder, my pack of Dunhill's and headed off to The Curve to witness the start.

Did I tell you back in '04, at almost 45 years of age, I borrowed a RM 10,000 road bike and entered a UCI-sanctioned 100 km race in Perak? I finished fourth in my age category, barely missing the podium. But I was at least an hour behind the leader's though! I think there's hardly a sport greater than cycling, imagine day-in day-out going flat out for hundreds of kilometers a day until the end of the tour. The Tour De France, of course is the greatest of all - covering 3000 km in three weeks. How can anyone possibly do it? Doping? Naaah...


Yesterday's Malacca to Bangi Stage Winner - young upstart Samai of Indonesia who clocked an average of 42.08 km/hr for the 221 km run - that's faster than most non-rempits's kapcai I gather.

Wishing Anuar Manan of Team Malaysia well...

Lim Yew Meng and Indonesia's Samai, pros for Le Tua Cycling Team

Stretch 'em, dudes...

Samai acknowledging the crowd when called to the podium to "encore" yesterday's performance with teammate Jeremy Yates of New Zealand.

One of my all-time favorite Iranian cyclists - Ghader Misbani. He's done this since the inception, always posting impressive results.

Le Tua's Razif Salleh, nursing some stitches and abrasions from recent crashes.

Don't look let the "toy boy" look fool you. This Jap is a serious contender!

And they're off!

South African's Nolan Hoffman, yesterday's Malacca to Bangi Green Jersey holder checkin' out his rear...

Yanks Euser and Duggan of Team Garmin Slipstream (in blue, flanked by Team China) discussing whether they can ever be the next Lance Armstrong.

Made a new friend today, canine lover, TheStar's columnist, wheelchair activist, and get this - merangkap MBPJ councillor Anthony T who came as a VIP guest.

Anthony T demonstrating to me the workings of MBPJ's "mobility van". Thanks, bro'.

Columbian Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez, today's eventual Genting's conquistador!

Blog Bash - A Bit Player's Perspective

MAT SALO, Tokasid, Shah Cakapjer, Kerp and Dato' Jaffar had some months earlier decided on an end of year blog bash, a bash to end all bashes - a tit for tat response to last week's wildly successful Indonesian Pesta Blogger, an event spearheaded by their information minister and sanctioned by its government. Fuuyooo. Since bloggers in Bolehland are vilified scum (as decreed by Syed Albar, Razak Baginda & Co) so a private initiative was deemed necessary. We do not believe, in the near-term at least, the Malaysian government care to sanction such an inane gathering of unlike-minded individuals...

But what do we care? The point is to gather a diverse group of losers, has beens, washouts and sprinkle it with a dash of winners and wannabes and see what comes out of the mix.

Also, it was to coincide with Chegu Kata Tak Nak's visit to KL to grade exam papers, or so we were erroneously told. It turned out he was here to audition for the inaugural Bloggers Idol...

The upshot was some bloggers finally came out of the woodwork, and truth be told, some were sorely disappointed that their heroes and heroines turned out to be, well,  - your boringly average Mat and Minahs.

The men are mostly thick in the middle and sometimes thick in the head, with receding hairlines, graying and are notoriously poor dressers to boot. Take Mat Salo. He came in a tee shirt which Lady Elviza promptly commented, 'as one size too small'. This was deliberate on Mat Salo's part you see, a rather sly attempt to accentuate his biceps but unfortunately had the unintended effect of emphasizing his belly. That man needs a stylist, yessir. Yeah like a fish needs a bicycle. If you really must know, MS has never owned a comb nor uses deodorant. The bar soap (always industrial strength Dettol) when he showers also doubles as shampoo. Furthermore he has a distaste for underwear (the local variant known as spender), and considers Lynnard Skynnard's Free Bird as the greatest rock ballad of all time, surpassing Led Zep's Stairway even.

But the women? Oh the women! They were all beautiful, just as God had intended them to be. Especially Raden Galoh, who 'escaped' from the cancer ward this morning just to be with us. She looked so radiant and happy, showing us it's certainly possible to stare death in the face, and with her strong unwavering faith, still come out smiling. She still has a long way to go but for our sakes dear God, we need her around just to show us mere mortals what life and love is all about.

And Acciaccatura too. Her strength lies beyond our human scope to comprehend. So is Pi Bani, whose selfless devotion to helping people with HIV/AIDS is legendary.

Tok Mummy, Nuraina Samad, Wanshana, Jeejah Mantra, Fauziah Ismail, Galadriel,Nurbaiti and celebrity lawyer-blogger Elviza were all present to give us the much need glamor, glitz and sex appeal.

But I haven't made an exception to the men have I? There are, of course, always exceptions.

Former High Court jude Dato' Syed Ahmad Idid was among the first to arrive. He is not a blogger but a guest of our fellow conspirator Dato' Jaffar Lamri. Unfortunately DJ himself could not attend due to an urgent family matter so unfortunately too for the learned judge, he was forced to have ME instead as his Host from Hell: listening to my stupid jokes while I blew smoke in his face. 

For those of you with short memories (and for some, shorter ahem) Dato' Syed is the Last Malaysian Hero. He was a High Court judge from 1990-1996 when he made the startling allegation of corruption involving twelve of his fellows in the judiciary. This was about ten years ago during the reign of CJ Tun Mohd Eusoff Chin and Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah. Not forgetting too the CEO of the Land at the time was Tun Che Det. The 'flying letter' episode had caused him to be investigated instead, forcing his resignation and losing his pension in the process. That's why it is so important that we get our lawmakers to pass our own Whistleblower Act. 

Ten years down the road the good judge was still subjected to another degrading ordeal: listening to Mat Salo's 'oilfield thrash' stories and inhaling second-hand smoke from his endless Dunhills. My apologies Dato', for being a such lousy host. I understand Your Honor frowns upon judges to mingle with riff raff  like me. But for you to bear such indignities in silence speaks volumes of the man you are, Sir. Thank you.

Of course the other exception was our guest of honor Chegu Kata Tak Nak. To me he looks even better in real life that tweaks in my Nikon settings could never do justice. Well, some people just have it. And this good chegu has it in spades.

Even Dato' A. Kadir Jasin showed up and slapped some fifties in my grubby hands. It's for the pot, you see. Thanks for coming, Dato' AKJ. And I do envy your waistline, Sir!

Other notable attendees (ALL were notable, mind you): Mute Audio, Al-Husseyn, Pak Idrus, Pokku, Bunga Telur Ballyshoes and not forgetting (arguably) the best (living) Malay writer (on Malaysian shores) in the English language: Mat Bangkai.

Finally, PAS Central Committee and Shah Alam Member of Parliament YB Khalid Samad (Yes, Minister Sharir Samad is his brother, believe it or not) came by. In the picture you can see Chegu KTN and him having a go.

As soon as the crowd faded off, A Voice showed up to dish some dirt up on our next generation of Ultra Malay National Organization leaders. Thanks for coming bro'.

Hope you like the photos. They were in-camera shots, hand-held in available light without the benefit of flash. Apologies to the ladies if the wide angled lens err, just made you go 'wide'. Yeah right, blame the equipment, never the photographer.

N.B.

I have also deliberately not attached names to the faces in the hopes that you'd be able to tell anyway. (Truth is, I'm just a fat, lazy slob.)

Pacha's First Solo

VIP Guest: P.104's London-born Kelana Kaya MP Gwo-Burne at Pacha's solo ...

Some inspired guests : My niece (left) and her best friend. Hmm, isn't that Nuraina's niece?

Pacha, The Artist.

Bali Meranti's real life lesson in Art Appreciation ...

IT IS THE LIFELONG DREAM, THE RECOGNITION, THE CULMINATION of any artist to host their first solo. What more if the artist in question found her calling very late in life; she was in her late twenties before she picked up that first brush to canvas.

That artist is my sister, Pacha. And the exhibition's titled "Pomegranate and 1000 Birds".

Entirely self-taught, she bagged Bank Negara's second prize for her Imperfect But Beautiful in 2004 that won her a silver trophy and an RM8000 cash prize.

She is married to Adrian Edris of Ahmad Izham Omar's Monkeybone label, who manages artistes like Faizal Tahir, Suki, Norayu Damit and Shila. Adrian's also currently involved in 8TV's One In A Million and Kami -The Gig. They have a daughter, Bali Meranti.

Please do come and visit the Gallery. The Exhibition will run until December 12.

For more stories and pictures, please come visit my other blog.

Them I Will Forget / But YOU I'll Remember Always

Them I Will Forget / But YOU I'll Remember Always...

(Some scenes on a Tuesday morning)

Haris, worrying incessantly about RPK's spirit, in Red.

Some words of comfort

Check out the vest (Geriatric Model: B.Khoo)

Single Malters and friends

The Stalwart

Title for the blog is something I stole from Bob Dylan's Workingman's Blues 2. I've been spinning it on my 8 -Gig Ipod or in my car 24/7 - and my spouse isn't amused.

She'd rather have Rain.

I can't help myself, it's that good. And it gets better as I understand the lyrics . Dylan's latest album, Modern Times, which Workingman is Track # 6 -- is a gem. I urge you to get it because the lyrics and melodies reflect EXACTLY of our very own, very Malaysian, 'Modern Times'.

Check out the opening verses of Workingman: (excerpts)


There's an evenin' haze settling over town

Starlight by edge of the creek

The buyin' power of the proletariat's gone down

Money's getting shallow and weak

Well, the place I love best is a sweet memory

It's a new path that we trod

The say low wages are reality

If we want to compete abroad...


After the economic implications of the opening verses, Dylan alludes to politics, and for some reason I can imagine RPK echoing these ...


Well the burned my barn,

and they stole my horse

I can't save a dime

I got to be careful, I don't want to be forced

Into a life of continual crime

I can see for myself that the sun is sinking

How I wish you were here to see

Tell me now, am I wrong in thinking

That you have forgotten me?


No, Pete, because...


Them I Will Forget

But You I'll Remember Always ...