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Archive for April, 2009

Idolization

22 Apr

American Idol should be left with the Top 5 in just a matter of hours. My personal hopes are that the final three end up being Allison, Adam, and Kris. And in all honesty, despite the vocal prowess of Adam and his ability to charm the audience in every song, I hope Kris wins. Kris somehow strikes me as a more sincere singer, and someone who has worked hard on the show to get to where he is. Adam will be fine, with or without the show, and we all know that already by now.

I don’t really like Matt, and was somewhat uneasy when the judges decided to use their one and only save on him. Still, he is good, it’s just that he isn’t one of my favorites at all.

I found this video of Matt and Kris during one of the very early stages of the competition, when they were singing in a group in Hollywood. Sometimes it is nice to go back to the beginning and see how these singers end up being the stars they are today.

Adam’s good – too good maybe. It’s obvious he has been in music theater for a long time, just by listening to how he manipulates his voice in almost ALL his songs. After a while, they sort of sound very Adam-ish, which could make him lose the competition. At least that’s what I think. If he wins, good for him.

Still, Kris deserves my vote more for now :) His smooth voice and his very humble personality seems very attractive and I think he should win. If he doesn’t, he’ll end up being another Daughtry nonetheless.

When it comes to Britain’s Got Talent, however, I start getting goosebumps and tears. This show has real true beauty in it – and I’m glad that so many talented people are given the chance to show what they are capable of in this show.

Susan Boyle has literally become a household name. She gives the phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ even more meaning now. Just as Paul Potts did not very long ago.

Then there’s Andrew Johnston, who started out as this timid boy who was the target of his school’s bullies, and ended up being this confident finalist on the show.

I was moved by the spirit and energy of George Sampson in last year’s season.

He ended up becoming the winner of the season.

Tony’s story literally made me cry.

And some people make me laugh like mad!

Paula is slowly getting on my nerves, and Kara is actually a good judge despite her being unliked by the other judges when the show started. I hope she stays next season.

 
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Posted in American Idol, Britain's Got Talent

 

Spring

17 Apr

spring

Spring is here, or at least the flowers are.

According to the calendars, Spring arrived a few weeks ago, and supposedly Spring should give out a liberating feeling where flowers bloom, as should we all. Still, I can’t help but feel like the remnants of Winter is still overpowering Spring, for now at least.

The mornings are cold still, and I wake up to a very cold unheated room. I like it, but sometimes the shivering gets tiring.

I walk out of the house and I doubt if Spring has actually arrived or is playing tricks on us. Either that, or Winter is having too much fun and is refusing to leave and visit my friends Downunder.

Thankfully, today’s temperature is very welcoming, despite the 4 degree Celsius attack early in the morning. Right now, as I type, the temperature is 15 degree Celsius, and it is expected to reach somewhere between 19 and 21 some time during the day. Now this is what I call good weather. Once in a while the weather warms up here. But more often than not, the cool air gets unbearable, and the strong cold icy wind does not help much either. Maybe I should not walk back home too late at night.

The bad news is: rain is expected over the next few days. The worst news is: the next few days is the weekend!

So what should I do over the weekend with so much rain?

Easy,

make use of the new red umbrella I bought from CVS. It is very water resistant (the water slides off so easily when I walk indoors), and it attracts a lot of attention amongst the very common black umbrellas everyone uses when the so-called rain storms come. By the way, in Malaysia, when we say it is raining or drizzling heavily, here it is said to be a rain storm. Wait till they see our tropical typhoons and then they’ll know what a rain storm is like. Just like everyone here told me not to walk outdoors during a snow “storm” when all it was to me was just snow flakes hitting my face. No big deal. Maybe people here just need an excuse to stay indoors?

Anyway,

This is the first year I have been following American Idol very closely – from the first audition to the last live performance that was shown a few days ago. Interesting people this year. And fyi, my next blog post will be on American Idol and a bit of Britain’s Got Talent.

Stay tuned!

Springing forward,
MatSalleh aka Dom

 
5 Comments

Posted in American Idol, weather

 

Trailer

16 Apr

sellout

I think I sent an email about this to several people already, but anyway…

The film Sell Out! will be screening in Singapore, 21 April, at the Singapore National Museum as part of the Singapore International Film Festival. And there is a scene in this move where a young man watches a show on TV and starts to get emotional. Yup, that guy in the film is me! So if you are in Singapore or going to be there around that time, drop by the Film Festival at 9pm, and enjoy this film. It’s won several international awards already, and has received excellent reviews all around the world already, making Malaysia more famous than it already is :)

By the way, the Youtube video on the top of this blog’s sidebar is the Malaysian trailer of the film. Below is another trailer. The film will be shown in Malaysian cinemas in the next few months.



 
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Posted in film

 

Intolerance

15 Apr

mooo

Gone are the days when I could enjoy a whole pint of ice cream for myself, and still enjoy the full creamness of it and live the rest of the day happily.

I remember that when I was a kid, I used to put a lot of Milo powder into a huge mug, and add in lots of milk, mix them slightly together, just enough to create a semi-muddy mixture. I called it ‘yucky-milo’ and I could have a few cups a day. But then I remember always feeling a bit uncomfortable after that. I would feel very tired and my body would start to feel uneasy. I always thought it was normal: too much powder and milk mixed together. But then it happened a lot, even after eating ice cream or just drinking too much milk.

It took me a while to actually realize that I am lactose intolerant.

It just struck me one day, thinking back about how my milk drinking days were, and how I would feel the pain after drinking too much of it.

My shopping list has been altered a bit as of late. I now go shopping for lactose-free milk, lactose-free ice cream, lactose-free cheese, lactose-free yogurt, etc. To my amusement I find all these things easily at the store near my house. And so my cereals are now accompanied by real milk, just minus the lactose. By the way, too much cereal does the same to me, because of the lactose content. So far, I have not found any lactose-free cereals.

When I was in KL, I found it hard to get my hands on any kind of lactose-free products. They weren’t available in many stores, and so that is how I began falling in love with soy milk.

But soy milk with cereal every day isn’t exactly the nicest thing, because some cereals, like Post, are made for real milk, yum-yum!

Anyway, I had ice cream today, not the lactose-free one, but normal creamy “lactosey” ice-cream. I know the right amount to take in now so that I don’t feel weird for the next few hours.

Have mercy on me!

Milk for life,
MatSalleh aka Dom

 
7 Comments

Posted in health

 

Langdell

14 Apr

langdell

I spend a lot of my time at Langdell Hall, the world’s largest academic law library. It takes about 10 minutes to walk there from where I live, and this is the place I spend hours just sitting in front of my laptop typing out essays for my classes, and chatting online. I study here a lot whenever I can, which is quite often

The thing I like about libraries is that you are surrounded by people who are focused on their books, their thoughts deeply stuck in some other world. And as for me, I like being put in this kind of ‘peer pressure’ situation where I feel the tension in the air. The thought that if I don’t study in the library, everyone will think I am some lazy idiot who just comes to the law library for the free coffee and tea. Oh, did I mention we get free coffee and tea in Langdell Hall? Don’t worry, I’ll mention it again.

The building is, to my knowledge, the biggest Harvard Law School building, and is seen in many movies. I’ve seen this building in so many movies, I feel like I am in a movie when I am in Langdell too. I happily start acting like a very diligent student, and pretend like I am working on my essays when I am actually spending an hour on Facebook and then another hour on Youtube. It still amazes me how I manage to pass up my assignments on time and finish up all my readings for my classes. Please, if you need tips on how to make full use of your time in college, do consult me. I believe I have found the perfect way to strike the best balance between work and play, so that you won’t end up dull like Jack.

Back to Youtubing,
MatSalleh aka Dom

 
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Posted in studies

 

Brandeis

14 Apr

070

Some people have started to wonder where I went off to. In case I did not get the chance to say my goodbyes before heading off to Boston and explain what kind of new journey I am embarking on, I would like to fill in the gaps for you now.

I am now a student at Brandeis University, located probably no more than 20 miles out of Boston City. I’m doing graduate studies in Musicology and Gender Studies, two very interesting fields. Musicology is a very vast field on its own, but do a wiki search on it and you’ll know what I mean.

I love Brandeis: the scenery on campus is so serene and almost magical. The people are fun, funny, and yet like all students should be, very serious when it gets down to studying. The campus is hilly, which gives me a good workout everytime I head to class… and you don’t want to know how it feels like being late for class, running up a hill, and still looking calm when you walk through the door! It takes skill. But wait, I’ve only been late once. Train was late, not my fault.

So yes, I don’t live on campus. I stay in a lovely town called Cambridge, just outside the actual city of Boston. I live around Harvard University, where there’s a perpetual flow of academia in the air. And to get to Brandeis, I take the subway, then the commuter rail, which the people in Kuala Lumpur would know more as the KTM. It takes less than 40 minutes to get to Brandeis, and I only have classes three days a week. Great, isn’t it? The other days I stay at home studying. (my parents read this blog!).

I chose Brandeis because of its wonderful condusive campus, and also for the fact that the faculty for both music and gender studies are renowned and really amazing people. And so far, I am enjoying all the courses that I am taking. Tough, but challenging in a very satisfying way. Oh ya, the food in Brandeis is good too. So if you ever drop by Boston, I’ll give you a nice trip to Brandeis and eat REAL good campus dining hall food :)

I am loving graduate studies for now. Hope it lasts.

Missing mamak,
MatSalleh aka Dom

 
3 Comments

Posted in studies

 

Anew

14 Apr

171

I don’t like staying in one place for too long. I guess I just like moving on quickly and get curious easily. Which is why I now have a new address in cyberspace. If you’ve been following my blog since the beginning, you probably would know by now that after a year or so, I end up starting something new. It has to do with my real life, though. Being in a new country now has made me feel like I should start a new blog, and move on to greener pastures (or colder climates!).

In fact, I should apologize for not updating my last blog in a while. Honestly I got lazy. I could have done something with it, but I didn’t want to. So here’s some champagne to celebrate my new resolution to keep you entertained with my twisted thoughts.

I have started a new life in Boston. Life here is good, and obviously the studying is keeping me busy. Still, me being who I am, I have found enough time to relax, reflect, and reorganize my thoughts. I  mean, what else can I do when I need to travel to my Uni by train? Read a book? Well, sometimes I do. But I realized I get distracted easily when I read on the train. Too many things to see and people to observe.

OK, seriously. I am doing fine here. I managed to survive through the gruesome winter, which was actually wonderful sometimes. I have found good makan places that are affordable. I have visited quite a few places and met many old and new friends. So, I shall not complain. Life is good. The internet is fast here – extremely fast! What more can I ask for?

Anyway, stick to this blog when you can, and I’ll be updating it regularly. Not sure what will become of my previous blog but I’ll put it to good use somehow, don’t worry.

Shivering in my socks,
MatSalleh aka Dom

 
2 Comments

Posted in Life