I forgot to pimp Broken Bridges. Go watch it because it has one of the most real emotional scenes. Almost made me cry. Almost. My friend wished she didn't wear mascara.

Colin Kirton's fatherly anger and disappointment reverberates through the hall in the last scene of the first half. So real, so intense and visceral, Ming (played by Douglas Lim) need not fake tears. Now this really hit me, unlike a Samuel Beckett play. This wasn't a play where you'd need to look beyond the symbolism. This was it, in your face. (Though the fact that it was in spoken dialogue instead of song probably helped.)

Major props to the costume designer for dressing the chicks in colorful 60's one-piece dresses. Makes my imagination go wild as to what is underneath. :) (Though you know what they say - Ipoh Mali Kencing Tada Bunyi.)

Also check out Davina, who takes hardly any effort to act (she already has experience playing a Goofy-like nerd and a hot waitress!)

While the plot jumps abruptly (where'd the hot sister go? Is she reappearing as one of the musical ensemble?) it's still easy to follow. Besides, the show would be longer if they explained everything. :P

It bummed me out because of the story - Ming was leaving Ipoh for the greener grass of Kuala Lumpur. Being from KL myself, I'd be selfish and beg them not-from-KL people to stay. Don't leave us! I'd miss your house parties and cooking and singing and rubbing your head for enlightenment. There'd be better modelling gigs in KL... right? There'd be rockier gigs in KL... right?

At the same time, some people want to leave this country. The reason why I stay is because I want to make a difference here... and there, they don't need my help as much. If you leave, things won't get any better. For those rockers unable to rock freely, go forth and teach your students how to jam on the blues! Inspire them, for these kids will be rocking out in the year 2010.

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The winner of the last quiz, "Guess What's Wrong With My Teeth", is Ms. Mamoyo! She has a most interesting blog, (with content leading to such ridiculous expressions like I am making) and has posted interesting videos of herself on Youtube. She also provides interesting conversation of interesting insight. Very interesting lady indeed.

Yes, the image is smaller to avoid the trauma of my expression here.

And now for the next quiz; guess what I thought of the moment I saw this:

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This loafer bread is not working! I need a gouda cheese.

In a cab ride to an LRT station: (Cab driver's speech in italics and language was made more grammatically correct)

So where are you going?
I'm going to meet a friend at Kelana Jaya, and then we'll take a cab to a friend's birthday party.
Oooh. Guy's birthday party or girl's birthday party?
A girl's birthday party.
OOOH, good. Don't waste your time going for a guy's birthday party. At least you go to a girl's birthday party, maybe you get a chance to sleep with her. Guy? Guy, what for?
Er, maybe he invited girls?
Yeah, but it's still better to be friends with girls. When you have no money, you can borrow money from them. Girls can pity you. Girls will lend you money!

As much as you may disagree, I know damn well that some girls prove his last statement right.

Wow, your pocket so big. What is that?
It's a digital camera.
Oooh. If I had one, I tell you, I will take pictures of pretty girls. Especially those with big boobs. I tell you, driving around all day, I see many girls with big boobs! It's quite fun to talk to them also.
Ooo.
But I tell you... boobs are nice to take pictures of, but if you wanna grab, better to grab the butt. More satisfying.
Eh? Why is that?
I tell you ah, sometimes they look big only. Pushup, dressing, all bluff you wan. When I touch ah, I disappointed lah. It only looks big, but not... fulfilling.
Maybe that's because we guys have a butt, and so we know what a butt feels like, and so we won't be disappointed?
Hmmm, yes, definitely.
Yeah, there was this Italian-Malay chick whose butt I grabbed, and it was much more satisfying than I thought for its size. So fulfilling. So full. (I don't know why I blurted that bit... and to this day, I refer to her as the "chick-whose-butt-I-grabbed". And no, I never blogged about her.)
Wah. Good for you young man!
Maybe because we don't have boobs, we see boobs, we don't know what to expect. We stare at them all day, then we end up expecting more? But if a girl likes girls, she surely won't be disappointed.
Yeah. Boobs are nice to look at. Butt is for grabbing.

There is some truth to his boobs-are-to-look-at, butt-to-grab observation - I just realized that I rarely take spy pictures of butts. A butt is easier to grab in public (I'm referring to consenting people, of course.)

No wonder some girls wish for a bigger ass.

P.S. Dide the (then) juvenile ass-grabber can attest to my butt being montel. Refer to my Friendster testimonials wayyy back. Yes, despite me looking like I have no ass I assure you she enjoyed grabbing it.

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I was in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, 7pm, 25th August 2006, during the legendary transformation of Masjid Jamek into Tasik Jamek. Seen are rescue vehicles rushing to the scene.

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Enter the floods.

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Despite all that, some people braved the waters.

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I even had time for panning shots; 1/6th of a second, F5.6, ISO200.

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This one rolls at 1/20th of a second, F2.8, ISO200.

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I took the Masjid Jamek underpass to the PUTRA LRT side. For some reason it reminds me of the teh tarik river.

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How deep is your love?

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"Oh nooo my car! Damn insurance doesn't cover natural disasters!"

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It was 10pm, and the waters were still raging in Titiwangsa.

And now, for pictures from the second week of Sunrise Mont Kiara Jazz & Rhythm Fest, 4th August 2006 and 5th August 2006.

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Clockwise from top-left: Sunset on the way to Sunrise; refreshments are blown your way; William Quah the emcee is a star; question the toll.

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Clockwise from top-left: Interesting halo cast by light; interesting shadow; Davina's hair looks so pretty in the light; spot the hot chicks.

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Opening act that Friday - belly dancers.

After that was the first act, Cosmic Funk Express, but I already blogged about them here:

An Ode To Cosmic Funk Express, Part 1
An Ode To Cosmic Funk Express, Part 2

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Jupiter@7 was up next.

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The vocalist's posture reminded me of Freddie Mercury somewhat.

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...except that they didn't play anything by Queen, but a few adult-oriented-radio covers. Where's the Jazz? (Which is incidentally the name of a Queen album.)

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Harping.

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Backing up on bass.

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Clockwise from top-left: Organic organ; percussions; guest percussionist Justin Lim (for all you rabid fans out there); gee-tar!

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After the show, the tables were lined up like an obstacle course. Grab the most flags while avoiding paintballs!

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Saturday's show started with Shelley Leong & Jazz Odyssey.

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Come away with me.

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Watch her play praise-worshipping angel...

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...and fiery pop jazz diva.

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Alda forgot the chords to this song.

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Spot the difference! Teehee.

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Stephanie is always hidden behind the drumset.

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Nisha Tham on keyboard...

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...with Shelley on percussion...

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...and later versus Az Samad.


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Az is always happy.

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Ooo ooo ooo ooo! I remember the notes now!

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Az: Kecoh lah mamat ni, blocking the view of chicks.

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Speaking of which, Vignes shoots with his legs open, and Davina shows us that she's enjoying herself.

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Next up was John Thomas & Funk Mob, with Wan of Alcentric shredding to jazz instead of metal.

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Check out his MIDI keyboard skills. His left hand controls the tremolo and wah effects; he even played two-handed like Zack of Cosmic Funk Express does. Oh waitaminute, Zack should get one of these instead.

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Julian has sax.

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And oh boy does he look like he's enjoying it.

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There was also Noryn Aziz, hot chick...

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...scatting along to the exact scattered bebop melodies the band was playing.

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Oh, and of course, John Thomas, for the ladies.

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Who's your daddy? Jose Thomas, of course. 2004's Jazz Fest saw him with Mia Palencia in a vocal showdown.

I've been ingrained to like funk-jazz, the exact style Funk Mob plays, ever since the days of Sesame Street. Remember the animation of a pinball going through a pinball machine? I loved it. I loved the music. I loved the animation. I loved the complexity.

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After it all, I bumped into Joyce The Fairy and friends at McDonalds, and this is the table she left behind. She insists that she did not drink.

What about the first week? Click here.

Pictures taken using my Canon Powershot A520 and my friend's Panasonic DMC FZ20. All shots at ISO200, 1/60th of a second or faster, as bright an aperture as possible.

Many a time, people have made plans to eat at certain places, to my objection. It is indeed funny then, that irony would bless me.

Case 1: Steven's Corner Banana Leaf Rice

I've never been a big fan of Banana Leaf Rice, but my colleagues were all excited and hyped up, craving BLR. So we got in a car and went there.

Nando's Flaming Hot Peri-Peri I can take without breaking a sweat, but Indian spices torture my tongue.

The food was alright, but they didn't enjoy it. A colleague asked, "Why did we want Banana Leaf Rice again?"

I was the only person who finished my leaf of rice.

Case 2: SS2 Murni

I've never been a fan of SS2 Murni, since it takes ages to:

1. Call for a waiter (who will then signal to you that he/she will call someone to attend to you)
2. Wait for the waiter to come and take your order
3. Wait for your orders

Yeah yeah so you've got gigantic drinks in jars, but I've always settled for Teh O Ais (Iced Tea) or Sirap Ais (Iced Syrup).

Fate be it, then, that a big group of us were supposed to go to Hartamas Square, but couldn't find parking, so plans were diverted to SS2 Murni. Slinky and I were first to arrive, and we found two tables across the road, near the drain. We ordered our drinks, then the others came later, and found two tables nearer, on the same side of the road as the shop, which was also brightly lit.

We adjourned to that table, and as I walked there I spotted the guy with my drink. I took it and sat down.

"Aiyooo, this place service very slow lah. Why did we come here?"
"Don't worry, I know some people here." (She then hails a waiter by his name, who then signals to her to wait.)

For the next 10 minutes, the rest of them looked at me jealously as I sipped loudly. I ordered another Sirap Ais when the waiter finally came.

The lights then went out nearby! So it would've been the same as where I sat. And yeah, they awaited thirstily.

Case 3: Italiannie's The Curve

I'm not big on Italian food, or pasta, but the rest were craving the RM19.90 all-you-can-eat package. I ordered the RM11.90 minestrone soup instead, because:

1. I've heard that their pasta is done in a different style, an acquired taste, drier and cheesier that would otherwise cause slight nausea
2. I was broke, and I hoped that the soup would be in as big a serving as Fasta Pasta's, so it would be both my food and drink
3. I wasn't hungry, so an all-you-can-eat would be a waste, especially since I don't know my pastas

My minestrone soup came first, and everybody else's pasta came at different times, much later. The cherubic, innocent-looking Erin got hers last, after a waitress reminded us that all-you-can-eat cannot be shared (and then apologized).

As for the minestrone? Fasta Pasta was better, bigger, and had croutons! Baked crusty crispy bits of bread, soaking to their death in glorious minestrone soup!

So what is the lesson, people?

Listen to me when I say, "Hey let's not go there!" or I will get my order first (for once) and everyone else's will came loads later. I told you so.

...I just hope this doesn't mean that you all won't invite me to food outings anymore, lest such cases happen again.

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It was the Starbucks Music Series launch at Telawi's Starbucks a 28th of a July 2006 ago, and jazz/R&B/soul duo Rhapsody played, featuring Alda on double bass. Have you ever seen a double bass in Starbucks? Well now I have.

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Here's a picture of Nicole, since cute-eared-Ywenna kept bugging me about it.

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Modern rocker Broken Scar played next, followed by Lied.

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Adlin Rosli, Lied vocalist, then jumps out in the middle of his angry-white-boy songs with an emo romantic song, Oceans Apart, and proceeds to sing to various members of audience and the sound engineer.

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Yeah, something like this, in your face.

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And now, for pictures from the first week of Sunrise Mont Kiara Jazz & Rhythm Fest, 28th July 2006 and 29th July 2006.

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Dan Nizam is one fifth of...

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...the Rachel Guerzo Quartet, which...

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..features her father, Salvador Guerzo...

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...and her uncle Louis Soliano.

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Vincent Ong included makes five, so it should be a quintet, yes?

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Ivan, Shaz and Jasiminne get up on stage with kids to win prizes!

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Next up was Lewis Prasagam, hard-hitting drummer, with...

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...Chris Wright, who got all the girls' attention...

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...and Wan Asfarezal on bass.

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Bruno Leflanchec looks like Paul McCartney.

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He also plays a mean flute.

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Elvira Arul came on for guest vocals.

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Into the void.

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Keeran from the Malaysian Dhol Federation.

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Jimmy the "Prince of Sax"...

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...the photogenic...

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...snake charmer.

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Funky hair, yo.

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And on to Saturday the 29th!

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Steve Thornton...

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...and his percussion unit.

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Jamie Wilson on silent guitar.

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Amir Yussof.

And now, for a technical rant. The lighting was bright enough, so don't use flash! (This goes especially to those digital SLR users, who could afford ISO1600. One Nikon D70s user was afraid to go above ISO200. What the heck?) I'd underexpose by one or two steps (or else the motion blur will cause a white blurry mess). Never mind that the background was dark, as long as the details on white shirts can be seen. 'sides it would be better to have a dark, broody sharp (due to fast shutter speed) contrasting image than a bright, colorful, but blurry image. Also, the colored lights are funky.

Most shots were in the 1/80th of a second range, ISO 200, F5.6 aperture (on those zoomed all the way).

My next Jazz Fest entry should include a musical rant then. :D

I'm going to rave about yet another movie. Monster House!

Monster House is about two boys, DJ and Chowder who live opposite cranky old man Nebbercracker, who chases people off his lawn. One day, the old man is yelling at DJ when he gets a heart attack and dies. His house then awakens to scare them and eat children all in time for Halloween. Yeah, some scenes may seem incredulous and yet hilarious, if you can spot the parody. Horror? More like action.

Steven Spielberg is co-producing, hence the legal rights to use parodies of War Of The Worlds. Do watch out for the Eddie Murphy cop parody! They had some pretty clever sequences and turn of events. Since the kids were experiencing puberty, the writers had the freedom to insert subtle sexual jokes and things of a more adult nature.

Jenny: [waves flashlight at chandelier] Look! That must be its uvula! *
Chowder: Oh. So it's a GIRL house.

* The uvula is that thing that hangs at the back of your throat, often confused with the tonsils. (Later, they teach kids how to induce vomiting! How wrong is that?) Check out more quotes from IMDB!

Graphics-wise, it was the most fluid 3D CGI movie I'd ever seen. No, it wasn't cartoony-physics Incredibles, it was human in expression and movement. Only their hair was a solid plasticine wig, but it was good that they didn't bother with animating the hair, as the rest of the animation made up for it.

It also had camera angles which were very unlike a regular 3D movie; quick movements, as if it was a human cameraman. I also loved the small depth of field to bits. It had soft focus in most scenes to give a dreamy, innocent childhood effect, but was all sharp in the monster. I'd have noticed the small depth of field in any other 3D movie, so I'd say this was the first I'd seen. I wonder how they'd do the out-of-focus bits in IMAX though.

My only gripe with this would be the name - Monster House sounded like a B-grade horror movie. (I don't read the sypnosis first because it's more fun that way.) Perhaps they could've picked a name like The Monster House Of Nebbercracker. Okay, maybe Nebbercracker's name would have to change, too.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and its offbeat humor. Will Ferrell is again an over-exuberant brute, but that's why we loved him in Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy.

So I watched The Two Of Us, a double-bill play consisting of two stories, Black and Silver and Chinamen. The former featured Ari Ratos in his usual bumbling routine (which could be funny for some, but his delivery is only 99% there) as a father on holiday with his wife and baby. Humor for the parents.

The latter featured Rashid Salleh and Joanna Bessey as a young couple inviting guests over for dinner. Problem was, the host invited a husband... and the hostess invited his wife and her new boyfriend. Chaos ensues as they try to keep the situation under wraps ala Frasier. The moment I saw the same actors playing the guests, I knew I was in for a fun ride, as Rashid effortlessly switches from inebriated estranged husband to forgetful host, and Joanna the worrying hostess and rapper! You'd know that two characters played by the same actor would never appear at the same time, so it was fun to see how they handled it, walking in and out doors.

It was also then that I realized how great these two were at comedy, especially timing. Joanna's expression turns to worry naturally, unlike a lot of plays I've seen recently where it seems like they just flipped a switch to contort facial muscles. Rashid, like any other comedic actor, has his signature expressions that get people laughing, but he manages to pull more comedic weight in dialogue subtly.

Catch the last show this Sunday the 20th of August 2006, 3pm. Worth watching for the second story (if you're not married with kids you probably can't relate to the first story.)

Details here.

And now, for a double-bill of different sorts; two pictures to one category.

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Flashing the steam.

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This was at Bar-B-Q Sunway Pyramid. I always laughed at the cartoon dragon statue that stood outside the branch at 1 Utama's Rainforest, whenever I used the escalator.

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Underexposed skies; note what appears to be a little worker!

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Somewhat macro.

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Chopped sticks.

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Chopsticks.

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Suria KLCC rooftop.

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Elevator shaft.

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Fishes at the Sentul Koi Centre, Sentul Park.

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Reach near and the koi will take you in.

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Cat's tails at Sentul Park.

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Leaves at the exit.

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I spotted this at the Bangsar LRT station.

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Tracks! What could've dug up so much mud?

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Satay in Kg. Baru.

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Much respect for the dude, who is seen picking charcoal with his bare hands.

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Motion blur is achieved with a slow shutter speed.

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Pan around the object to make it look like it's moving. Yes, the eagle statue was not moving!

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It has been a while since I'd been to Paul's New Place; since the screening of Ciplak, Khai's independent movie. I was there for the Y2K "Pizza Salsa" album launch.


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Left to right, top to bottom: The crowd; FYI Entertainment expresses how they finally got around to producing Y2K's album; Rina Omar was the host and one-time Y2K drummer; a projection screen shows hilarious short clips of The Making Of the album (parodying Nacho Libre, Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster documentary, Karate Kid, Star Wars, and many others that Khai gets inspiration from); the sound-engineer's corner; Triple6Poser performing.


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Left: Eddy Lim, tattooed frontman and long-haired harmonica player; top-right: Khai rocks out; bottom-right: Jay on bass and Henry on guitar complete this hard-rocking bluesy classic rock/heavy metal band.

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Stonebay was the next opening act, with grunge-tinged vocals.

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Check out his guitar, yo.


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The last act before Y2K breaks onto stage is Dragon Red. Adam croons and shouts; Amil makes orgasmic faces while playing nu-metal riffs, while Natalie keeps it low on bass.

Interestingly, Adam found a hammer on stage, but I did not get to take a picture of it. Him holding a hammer in one hand and a mike in the other reminded me of Anchorman:

Ron Burgundy: Brick, where did you get a hand grenade?
Brick Tamland: I don't know.


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Finally, Y2K makes their way on stage, masks and all; Monsieur Poubelle was a rapper who lost his face and now plays bass.

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Hermano Grande is the lucha wrestler on a Flying V guitar.

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The Naq, fear-striking space creature, is not seen in the background. After a series of Spinal Tap-like drummers (from Asai the original cute Japanese drummer who drummed punk rock beats and sang at the same time, to Rina Omar, and some others, they were finally graced by The Naq.)

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Nazneen joined on stage when they needed female vocals.


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Look ma, no flash.


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They then swap positions! Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as just swapping instruments; Monsieur Poubelle was left-handed!

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Ahmad of The Blumps joins them for a crazy angry bridge! Check out the punk rock rage, yo.

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(A second-curtain flash would help in this slow-shutter-speed-flash picture, so his trails would be behind him.)

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The finale.

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Oh, but that's not all; check out their album case!

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RM19.90 for 19 songs of good, clean punk rock production, with hilarious lyrics and a few not-so-punk-genre songs. I'm not sure where you can get this uniquely packaged CD, but you can check Y2K's official site.

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Yes that's right boys and girls, I got to play with Jasiminne's pussy.

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"Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten."

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Fisting the pussy.

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Thank goodness its nails were trimmed.

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"My owner is mean, she tries to pass me off as a giant ginger-colored hamster to impress friends."

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"What, me, mean to pussies?"

Amongst all the chaos that is ensuing between my two computers, alternating between states of On and Working and Off and Blue-Screen-Of-Death-ing, there is one little thing that can bring me happiness.

A new chair.

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My old trusty Brokeback Chair. I don't know how it loosened itself to the point that I'd have to break out a pair of nutcracker pliers to turn the nuts back in place. After a while it would lean back again.

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My new stiff-back chair.

As you can tell, it's not exactly new. The offices upstairs were getting new chairs, and old chairs were going at RM20 a piece! I grabbed one.

You may also notice the mess around; I'd only clean it up once both computers are working. That means less pictures for all of you. :(

Over the past few days, I have been asked this question many times again:

"How come you're always surrounded by hot chicks?"

It's not just guys who ask. Girls who set up PLU blogs do, too. Straight girls too... I think.

So what is it about Albert, who is not as tall as a basketball player, does not have a car, does not have any publicly-visible tattoos, does not smoke, does not have a credit card, has long unruly hair, that lets Albert know these hot chicks?

I don't know, I could be good-looking or something.

But I'll tell you what I think works.

A guy should have technical understanding over something that is otherwise magic to young impressionable girls, namely fashion, gossip, rollies (for girls who smoke), contacts to free flow of alcohol, magic tricks with a deck of cards, lomography cameras, a camera with a swivel screen (to ease camwhoring) and maybe even a do-it-yourself infrared camera, like this:

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An infrared camera picks up infrared light as well as normal light, so it works better in the dark. Grace has conspired to steal my camera.

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I don't know why she calls herself thiathia, when her real name is Cindy. Nama glamour lari nak mampus. (Kel Li pronounces thiathia so obscenely!)

It would be good, too, to be metrosexual in knowledge. Identify mascara, eyelashes, eyebrows, etc. Don't just say that she has nice eyes. My long hair has helped me relate somewhat to the struggles of keeping long hair (as opposed to keeping in touch with my feminine side.) I can geek out about why Loreal smells better.

Who cares if you can solve the Rubik's Cube in under one minute? Who cares if you can play Yngwie Malmsteen stuff on guitar? It's all about the visceral effect. You gotta learn your pop songs so she can sing along.

...and yes, I'm reminding all of you here yet again, yes I do play guitar and I look sexy doing it.

I also take pictures, and that looks sexy to some people too.

Who cares if you're into philosophy? Don't try to impress her with intelligence, because she wouldn't be able to relate to the topics you talk about. :P (Whether that means pretty girls think of less complicated things, or that you think of more complicated things, is up to your own interpretation.)

Learn a skill that girls usually try to pick up, and then drop out of, e.g. how to tune a guitar and change its strings. You could also learn how to set up MMS/Bluetooth on any fashionista's phone (familiarize yourself with obscure phone brands for this!)

Even girls, girls like pretty girls. Girls don't go out alone. Girls don't go to the toilet alone. They gotta have friends to go shopping, and they gotta have hot friends. They want to feel happening too. They stalk hot blogs. So associate yourself with famous people, and lure them with the idea that they might get to meet them. Sorry Joyce, I abuse our acquaintance-ship. :P Here's your infrared picture from ages ago:

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"What, you've been going around telling girls that you know me and thus they get to say hi to me and think you're such a happening guy and therefore want to get in your pants?"

If you see a hot chick, she is more often than not with a bunch of hot chicks.

When was the last time you saw a bunch of hot guys? In a gay bar?

Guys generally do not hang out with hot guys. They're competition. Girls hang out with hot girls. They fail to see the logic, but who's to complain?

So, associate with one, and the rest will come rolling. Easier said than done, but once started, you'd wonder how it all began.

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Oh and a final random piece of advice: When buying a drink for a lady sitting over there, make sure the waitress gives your message written on a tissue and identifies you. The waitress passed the drink and message, but didn't identify the guy! This infrared picture shows that infrared photography makes written ink invisible. :O For the benefit of those unable to read embossed letters, it said, "CANT TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU".

It has been a while since I played with Photoshop.

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I chose the Red Channel, mucked with its levels, and pasted the monochrome picture in a new image. Same for the Green, whitening out the skies in favor of leaf detail. I then mucked with the Blue channel to bring out the contrast in skies, darkening the tree to a silhoutte. I then combined them with Multiply and Lighten; can't remember the order. I then pasted the original picture on top, with a Blending Mode of Color. Finally, I bumped up the saturation.

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The original file. Have fun go mad!

I won't be updating much with pictures (or the promised videos) as my main computer's main hard disk's main partition, namely C:\, is broke. S.M.A.R.T. reports that its status is bad but I can't access it to backup stuff. The good news is, C:\ is only 5 GB on purpose; the bad news is, my recent works are on my Desktop and My Documents, including my To Do list! ARGH.

DAMN YOU WESTERN DIGITAL. You were bad to Fazri. You were bad to JFK.

I bought 10 8x DVD+Rs and 10 16x DVD+Rs, but only backed up 4 DVDs so far. (And none is of the C:\ drive.) Damn my lazy self.

What's worse is the feeling of helplessness; I used to be so close to my computer. I used to fix it all and fix it good. Now there are random problems of unpredictable nature popping up.

Perhaps I should stop going out almost every day and stay home and clean up the house, clean up the mess, find the driver CDs and get in touch with my geek self again. I'm afraid I'd lose my touch - I used to be an expert VCR programmer, music video/Transformers/Mr. Bean archivist and a walking talking TV guide. Now I don't even know what's on TV.

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A glaring omission to my previous Cosmic Funk Express post would be, of course, super double-tapping guitar-shredding clean-sweeping orgasm-face-making Korean boy, Zack Kim!

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His (new) Ibanez Paul Gilbert Model is set up with low action and a fixed bridge instead of the default double-locking Floyd Rose bridge to do plenty of right-hand tapping...

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...as well as left-hand tapping. Alda often jokes that he wanted to be a piano player.

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So what happened to his previous guitar? Why, he mounted it and placed a hairband (to mute open strings).

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The previous guitar, also an Ibanez Paul Gilbert Model, had its Floyd Rose cavities filled up, and the back springs completely removed!

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Broken Scar looks like he is shooing Zack off stage.

It's sad to hear that he will have to go back to Korea. The next he comes back he better be doing his world tour. And I better be getting in backstage to see his groupies flash him.

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And now, for a technical note on taking pictures at more formal-like concerts like these; don't use flash (spotlights give nice color), use a fast shutter speed and higher ISO, underexpose by setting the EV to -1 or -2. The camera, be it point-and-shoot digicam or digital SLR, will still try to expose the background so it is brighter. Screw the background! Let it be underexposed so it does not distract from the performer. It's better that you lose detail in shadows while getting dramatic lighting. In this picture, it is not underexposed, but the problem with this picture is that there is no detail in highlights; on the right, the same picture was put through Photoshop, Image - Adjustments - Levels, Input Levels - 0, 0.10, 255. As you can see the frets are barely there. In case you're wondering, the left settings were: 1/160s, F4, ISO 200, EV 0. It should've been 1/640s, F4, ISO 200, EV -2.

Oh, and all the shots were photographed with my Canon Powershot A520, or a friend's Panasonic DMC FZ20, both on ISO 200, and mostly in Shutter Priority mode, 1/60 to 1/100 seconds exposure, EV -1. You have no idea how frustrated I was when my frustrated Nikon D70s owning-friends were going "so blur lah have to use flash!" and I told them off for using ISO 200 on this dSLR. I also went, "Underexpose! Underexpose!" which may audibly make its way to the bootleg videos I will post up.

Yes I sound elitist, but I strongly believe that one should learn up the science of exposure before getting a dSLR.

And now, for less technical things.

After their performance, I bumped into Alda.
Me: After all your calling and promoting the very single Zack, is Zack a virgin?
Alda: Uh gee, I don't know... is he?
Me: Well, if he is, as band leader you have failed! Failed to give Zack the rock star dream!

Okay, so the conversation was exaggerated, on my part. But hey girls-who-fall-for-guys-in-rock-bands, Zack is as hot as they get, because he's Korean (aren't you girls crazy over Koreans now?) and he's good with his hands. Very good with his hands. You can even bring him over and get him to teach you guitar! He also becomes immensely funnier (and red) with a few beers. Uh. A few beers. Very few, last I remember.

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Alda: We regret to inform you that this will be Cosmic Funk Express's last gig.

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In times like these, they must put on their hats and carry on.

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Their last performance was at the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest, August 4th, 2006. (They also performed last year and the year before.)

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Howdy cowboy.

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Alda has always been an entertaining bassist with stage presence.

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This picture is so wrong. (Alda has a knack for standing on things.)

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Alex Ang on drums.

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This guy is a technical beat math whiz.

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Izwin joins for the covers, including the very funky Incubus - Summer Romance. Yes, Cosmic Funk Express is otherwise an out-of-worldly instrumental funk/jazz rock band.

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Savy is the often forgotten keyboardist, who joined for the covers. I did not notice if she played for all the songs.

I've been following Cosmic Funk Express since their first drummer, Elliot. I'm not sure if the first time I'd seen them play was at Shelley Leong's album launch. I mourn the loss of an amazing Malaysian band, who'd play Eric Johnson - Cliffs Of Dover when I shout for it. A band that would win a Battle Of The Bands. The first time I touched a Canon EOS 350D, I took pictures of them.

Please click on the links in this post, so you can see what my pictures used to look like. If you haven't done it, scroll up!

Yeah, maybe you noticed that I introduced the band in alphabetical order - Alda, Alex, Izwin, Savy, and... and... Z... ZZZ. I gotta sleep man. Next update: The superstar of Cosmic Funk Express, and videos, when I figure out how to reencode them.

And now, for pictures from the 15th of July 2006 KL Sing Song performance!

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Jasiminne sneaking up to Ariff Akhir of The Sofa Sessions, with Nicole of Rhapsody looking over.

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Performers perform their songs in round-robin fashion, meaning they take turns to play one song each.

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Ariff, with Lagu Malas.

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...but really, he's funny.

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Gotta love the lights and smoke.

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These colored lamps gave me a comfortable 1/13 to 1/40 seconds of exposure at ISO 200.

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Broken Scar.

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This time, the modern rocker performs alone.

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"Watch the orange explode..."

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Ywenna observes.

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It is then Rhapsody's turn to play, with beautiful jazz/soul/R&B melodies.

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"No nonono no no no nooo!" is one of her most memorable lyrics.

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A candid moment as they remind the audience what their website addresses are.

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The next three performers get on stage, including...

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Meor the bare-footed busker, singing the gritty blues.

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These feet were well-travelled.

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Another well-travelled face was Pete Teo, acoustic singer-songwriter extraordinaire.

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Once upon a time, he was a heavy metal shredder, but found acoustic guitars more challenging.

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Check out his boots, yo.

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Mei Chern had some songs of activist nature.

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In the meantime, while waiting for their turn, they look pensive.

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Pete playing a game of chess in his head.

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This is how tall the stage was; long exposure, no flash.

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The unspoken rule is that flash photography is not allowed when you have such bright lights on the performers, but one annoying n00b kept flashing, such that they made it a spoken rule during the intermission. Guess which one was the n00b!

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Backstage, flash photography was allowed.

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Joy Lee sook fun behind the video camera!

Edit:
Original pictures are at Broken Scar's (so you can see what Photoshop can save from a noisy ISO 200 picture), with more shots at Jasiminne's. Also, a review for Xfresh.

I was at KL Performing Arts Centre to buy tickets (turns out my BSN debit card only works for manual transactions, not online ones, so I had to go there) when I passed by Sentul Park, and lo and behold!

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Starlight Cinema was back!

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I went there just to ask the ticket price and a movie list... but the guy insisted that I enter. He then stamped me.

"Tomorrow you come ah! Bring your girlfriend... no, bring your girlfriends!"

Uh.

Do I look like I have this amazing power over women? Do I look like I date models? I don't even have a car!

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The projector. You could see them loading in reels regularly. Quite fun to watch.

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A panoramic shot, sort of.

I then went to the Walls stall to get an ice-cream, and the girls there seemed so eager to see me. They were kinda cute, too. Or maybe it was because it was the second night, and there were only 50 people on the field. However, I'll stick with my inflated ego for the moment.

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After watching King Kong for free (and feeding mosquitoes for free) I walked out to Jalan Ipoh. (Remember, I don't have a car?) On the way, I spotted a snail. :D

I then hailed a cab, and when I got in, I pointed at the CD player and said, "Eh, Cromok!"

There is no better compliment to a mat rock taxi driver, to recognize his metal. He looked clean-cut though.

He then asked if I was Malay or Chinese, since Chinese usually listen to techno. I explained how I found the Cromok - Untitled album (2004) lying around the office, popped it in, and loved their thrash metal. I explained that I wasn't Chinese-educated. I also justified that one of the members was Chinese and is now with a PR company.

"Wah, ini lagu banyak panjang, sampai rumah pun masih main." - me commenting on Dying To Live, the 11-minute song that was playing the moment I entered the taxi until I reached home.

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Freebies. I only ever use hair gel when I get it free.

Pictures from the Moonshine gig, 13th July 2006, at Laundry Bar.

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Broken Scar, modern rock, with Kevin on guitar and Alda on bass.

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Shelley Leong guest stars sings. Note the T-shirt she bought from Sungei Wang!

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Lied has a knack for stealing bassists from Dragon Red, be it Adam the crooner or Natalie the bassist.

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Adlin feels a pain in his tummy. Must be karma, all those bad reviews he wrote on movies and CDs. :D

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Seng Kiat on guitar.

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Az Samad, the usually uncaptureable-without-flash violent acoustic fingerstyle guitarist sits down!

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Malokaigruv's vocalist is hot, singing to some upbeat funky jazzy stuff.

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Telebury returns with softer indie rock.

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TwoSidesToAStory, alternative rock.

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Chris Theseira on open mike.

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I didn't catch this band's name.

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Grace the photographer uses my shoulder as a tripod. Check out the tattoo on the girl walking by!

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I couldn't do justice to Suzanne Lee's funky highlights. She was to braid them the next day. Argh.

And now, for random shots from Kelana Jaya.

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Freshly minted.

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Punk is green.

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Nurse, I got spots!

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Some of us have to wait, wishing the situation was inverted.