GOODBYE WHITNEY HOUSTON

I was at a neighbourhood gathering when one of my colleagues called me. I was numb for a while when he told me about Whitney Houston's passing. It did not seem real and to me, it could have been another false report. As soon as I got home, I logged on to 'Classic Whitney' and there it was. The dreadful news. Another one of my favourite singers is gone. Whitney Houston died a few hours before the pre-Grammy party that she was supposed to attend. The whole thing came as a big shock to me since her pictures going out with friends and family members were all over the Internet a few days ago. She looked fine and there was nothing to indicate that she was sick or in need of serious medical attention. Life can be strange and full of mystery indeed. There are many things that we do not know and will never ever know. One thing for sure is when the time comes for us to leave this world, nobody can stop it. I also received a few phone calls and text messages from close friends to confirm the news since they knew that I was a huge fan of hers. It bugged me when they started talking about her 'negative' lifestyle. They also asked whether drugs were the cause of her death. I did not answer any questions and I told them to read or watch the news if they wanted to get more information since I did not want to get into any arguments. I have always believed that when someone dies, it is clearly in bad taste to talk about his or her 'mistakes' and wrong ways. Everyone deserves to be remembered with fondness and affection. If we can't remember any good thing about the person, the least that we can do is not to talk badly about him or her. I was still in college when Whitney Houston released her first album. At that time, there were not that many black singers especially female singers who could break into mainstream pop. Whitney did and she also paved the way for many other singers. Some of Whitney's songs may seem like bubble-gum pop but they were songs that I listened to on the radio at that time and you don't easily forget things that are part of your life. I am a fan of songs that have stories and underlying meanings behind them. Many of her songs are also the soundtrack to my own life. My ups and downs. Sadness and happiness. Hope and disappointment. Strangely, a few days ago I finally received my second copy of 'The Bodyguard' soundtrack that I had ordered online. I had already owned one copy of the CD but I simply felt that I had to have another copy. When the CD arrived, I took out every Whitney stuff that I owned (records, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, VCDs) and put them on the floor. I made a mental note of some of the stuff that I still did not own and wondered if I would ever have them in my collection. I'm quite sure some of her rarer stuff will increase in value now that she is no longer with us. There will also be a renewed interest in her music catalogue. Sadly, I can no longer look forward to any new releases from her except those that were recorded before her demise. Goodbye and thank you, Whitney Elizabeth Houston. You were much loved.

MAWLID AN-NABI 1433H

May the teachings and noble character of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) become the way we live our daily lives. إنشالله‎

يا ربي قد غفلنا وكلنا طمع
في عفو وفي كرم وفي اعتاق
وجنة مع سيد البشر
ندعوك... ندعوك ربي من الأعماق

لو كان بيننا الحبيب
لدنا القاصي والقريب
من طيبة قبل المغيب
طالباً قرب الحبيب

بقربه النفس تطيب
وتدعوا الله فيجيب
أنوار طه لا تغيب
بلغنا لقاه يا مجيب

هداك الكون الرحيب
رحمة الهادي القريب
حديثك النهر العذيب
جوارك الغصن الرطيب

فدتك روحي يا حبيب
محمد مكرم الغريب
بقربك الروح تطيب
يا رحمة للعالمين

يا حبيبي يا محمد
يا طبيبي يا ممجد
أنت ذوالفضل المؤيد
جل من صلى عليك

GOODBYE NOMOT

My oldest tomcat, Nomot, had been acting quite strangely for the past two weeks. He ate a little and stayed most of the time at home sleeping on my table. He only went out of the house for a while and he would be back not long after that. He did not show any symptoms that he was sick but it was clear that he was not his usual self. He did not even fight with Milo, a big grey cat that often sneaked into my house to steal food. Friday had always been a special day for him. He knew I would be going to the 'pasar malam' in my housing area for my weekly shopping and that meant there would be fried chicken for him. He would often wait for me until I came back and as soon as he saw me, he would be running to get me. He loved fried chicken but last Friday, he only nibbled on the fried chicken that I bought for him. It was as if all his appetite was gone. A few days ago he became terribly sick. He hid himself under the bed and only came out when I called him. I could detect the inevitable smell of death emanating from him. I immediately knew that he had been poisoned. I'm quite sure he had eaten grass which had been sprayed with insecticide or pesticide. I realised that the end was near and I had to be mentally prepared for it. I talked to my Mom and told her about the situation. From time to time, I would give him some fresh water to drink since that was all that he could manage to take. I knew he was suffering but I did not take him to the doctor. I did not want to put him to sleep. It is not something that I believe in. I've learned from past experiences that nothing much could be done when poison has entered a cat's bloodstream but I was still hoping that something miraculous would happen. My dear beloved Nomot did not make it. He finally breathed his last breath tonight. I was in the living room when I heard a choking sound from him. I knew that the time had come for me to say goodbye. I stroked his stiff body and whispered comforting words to him. I told him that everything was okay and he would go to a better place. My sweet protective Nomot died on my lap while I was still holding him. Goodbye Nomot and sleep tight. We will meet again in a beautiful place made for me and you. And I promise you there won't be any more suffering for us.

ALLEYCATS : SAMPAIKANLAH SALAM CINTAKU

As much as I love cats, this entry is not about any cats at all. This one is a story about me and the Alleycats, the Malaysian music group. Well, to be exact, it is not even about me and them. It is actually about me and a very good friend. You might wonder how the Alleycats are part of this story and I'm going to tell you how. Although none of the musicians are Malays, the Alleycats were very popular among the Malay music listeners back in the 80s and 90s (they still are). Back in 1985, I attended a concert (Malam Kerana Kau) at Stadium Negara with a very dear friend (who will remain anonymous of course). It was a last-minute decision to go and see the Alleycats in action. As a result, we arrived quite late since we were not familiar with the route to the venue at all. It was also raining slightly that night and the motorbike ride all the way from Serdang (I was studying there at that time) to the stadium was not pleasant at all. By the time we reached the place, we both looked like two skinny cats (no pun intended) which had fallen into a drain. But how wonderful it was to be young and carefree! To be without heavy responsibilities and life-long commitments. It was definitely a night that I will remember and cherish until the end of time. That was almost 27 years ago and now, both of us have gotten older and hopefully, wiser too. The sad thing is we are not even speaking to each other anymore. We had a falling out back in 1986 and we have stopped talking to each other ever since. We had been friends for years and suddenly, everything went down the drain just like that. It's obviously stupid when we fight over petty matters but it's even more stupid when we lose someone over something that can easily be avoided. Looking back, I wish I had not allowed my foolish pride and ego obscure my judgment and decision. I humbly admit that everything was due to my own folly and none of my friend's.

Sampaikanlah salam cintaku padanya
Walaupun terluka namunku merindu
Kerana cintaku tiada akhirnya
Walaupun kau telah menghancurkan

Sampaikanlah salam cintaku padanya
Walaupun sengsara namun ku masih sayang
Kerana cintaku mewangi dan harum
Walau tercampak di mana jua

Andai ku tiada, andai ku pejam mata
Biar ku abadi cinta yang setia ini
Biarpun kau jauh, sambutlah salamku
Kerana aku masih menyayangimu
Tidak pernah aku membenci dirimu

p/s Dear friend, you are not forgotten and will never be. Terima kaseey for the wonderful times we had!

The ticket stub from the Alleycats' 1985 concert.

GONG XI FA CAI!

I think it is still not too late for me to wish all those who are celebrating to have a wonderful Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the Water Dragon; supposedly a very auspicious year to get married and have children. Neither one of them will be happening to me, I can assure you that. I was at the bank today when I saw a Lion Dance troupe getting ready for a performance. I have seen a few Lion Dances before but I've never had any opportunities to take any pictures. This time, I had my old but reliable camera along. I am not a photographer (I never will be) and my camera is not one of those sophisticated DSLR types (it never will be either). Still, I kept on snapping pictures like there was no tomorrow. The banging of the drum and cymbals added to the merriment of the occasion and I stayed until the whole performance was over. The lions moved animatedly from one part of the bank to another much to the excitement of the bank customers. They would stop and eat the mandarin oranges that were placed all over the bank before spitting out the rinds to people who were in front of them. At the end of the performance, one of the lions plucked the lettuce which was hanging at the entrance of the bank and spat the lettuce all over the bank manager who then rewarded the lion with a red envelope. For those who are not familiar with the ritual, it can be a truly ROTFLOL moment when you see lettuce flying out of the lion's mouth before landing on whatever that is nearby (including people!). FYI, I have a long Chinese New Year holiday this year and will only start work next week. Let's hope that the Water Dragon will bring us a lot of 'ong' this year. To all, Gong Xi Fa Cai!

SHARIFAH AINI : BIDUANITA NEGARA 1 & 2

Finally, the CDs that I've been waiting for are here. I found out that the music shop from which I ordered the CDs had lost my phone number and that was why they never called me to inform me that the CDs had arrived. Well, it was worth the long wait (more than two months actually). Kak Pah's pictures on the CDs covers are truly 'divalicious' and classy; befitting her status as a 'biduanita'. I won't say anything about the song selection but I'm really happy to hear certain songs that I haven't heard in such a long time. They truly took me back to another place and time when life was much simpler and less complicated. Unlike Kak Pah's other compilations, one can tell that these CDs are special. All the 10 CDs were priced at RM 89.90 and to me, that was super duper dirt cheap. Where else can you get a nice compilation like that at such price? A few online sites that I've checked are selling them at a much higher price and that doesn't even include the postage. To all Kak Pah's fans, go out and buy these CDs. You know you want them!

Diva!

FLASHBACK: ENID BLYTON

I'm pretty sure many of us in Malaysia are familiar with Enid Blyton especially those who grew up in the 70s and 80s. Despite criticisms regarding her work, she has managed to attract a lot of fans from all over the world. Some libraries even withdrew and banned her books due to elements of racism, sexism, separation of class and xenophobia in the books. Her books have been translated into more than 90 languages and here in Malaysia, the task of translating her books into Malay language was initially done by Fargoes Publication. Federal Publications (and a few other publishing houses if I'm not mistaken) took over the job of publishing the translated books later. I started reading the Malay versions of Enid Blyton's books before slowly (and painfully) graduating to the original English versions. I was only a 'kampung' boy whose exposure to English was very limited so a lot of things in the stories totally eluded me. In addition, the setting of the stories was 1940s until 1960s Britain which was totally alien to me. The Malay versions tried to maintain the stories as original as possible but in a Malaysianised context. My favourites have always been the Famous Five (Lima Sekawan) and the Five Find-Outers (Lima Penyiasat Dan Anjing). I did find the Secret Seven (Tujuh Persik) too simple for my liking and I always had difficulty remembering the names of all the seven characters (and who's who) from the series (I still have problems remembering people's names until now). Another favourite of mine is The Secret Island (Pulau Rahsia) from the Secret series. I borrowed most of the books from the school library since I clearly did not have the means to own them. I managed to get some of the books later with my small savings and pocket money. The first Enid Blyton's book that I bought was Lima Sekawan Di Pulau Kanari Lagi (Five On Kirrin Island Again) and that was in 1977. I guess that is why I still treasure a lot of things (especially books, magazines, cassettes and records) from my younger days since they did not come easy to me.

Lima Sekawan Di Pulau Kanari Lagi (Five On Kirrin Island Again)

Lima Sekawan Di Tepi Laut (Five Go Down To The Sea)

Lima Sekawan Riang Merantau (Five Have A Wonderful Time)

To get more information on Enid Blyton's stories which have been translated into Malay, visit this wonderful blog duneoworld.blogspot.com. Another website that is a must for all Enid Blyton's fans is enidblytonsociety.co.uk. Have fun going down memory lane!

FLASHBACK: FLASHDANCE

It has been almost 30 years since the movie 'Flashdance' was released in 1983. As embarrassing as it is, I have to admit that I still enjoy watching it from time to time. I don't care much if people say that I am still trapped in the 80s. To me (and a lot of other people as well), the 80s were the best of times. Maybe it was because I grew up in that era. Nowadays, I am only growing 'out' and 'old'. The movie is definitely not of the so-called 'intelligent' genre so don't expect to be mentally stimulated watching it (guys might be stimulated in other ways though). The plot (is there one?) is much, much thinner than Victoria Beckham on a diet and the acting is clearly not one endorsed by Lee Strasberg. I love this movie and I love it very, very much (I'm a sucker for 'love stories', didn't I tell you that?). I love the cardio workouts and dance routines in the movie (FYI Jennifer Lopez and Geri Halliwell even copied the final dance routine from the movie for their music videos). I love Jennifer Beals (she was such a cutie then and she is still now) who plays Alex, the main character and the way she dresses (totally secondhand and Salvation Army chic!). And I love the songs especially 'I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is' and 'Maniac'. Despite the watery and clichéd storyline, there are a few lessons that we can learn from the movie. The movie is all about never giving up and reaching for your dreams despite all the odds that go against you. Those are the mantras that we should abide by in life if we want to succeed. And if love comes your way, grab it and never let it go. Now, who says that only Bollywoodwood movies and Malay dramas are melodramatic and over the top?

This is the pirated copy of the movie soundtrack that I bought way back in 1983. With my limited pocket money, that was the only thing I could afford back then.

And these are my original cassettes and CD.

365 MORE DAYS TO GO!

The first day of 2012 is over. Now, we have 365 more days to spend before 2013 comes and greets us.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 - LET'S KARAOKE 21 : SPICE GIRLS -VIVA FOREVER

Happy New Year, everyone! Last year, I 'vogued' myself into 2011 but for 2012, I'm geared towards a more reflective and mellow mode. I hope all the good and positive things that I have experienced so far will go on to greater heights. I also hope that all of us will have a wonderful year ahead. This time, to usher in 2012 I have chosen 'Viva Forever' by the Spice Girls. Do I need to explain why? Nah, I don't think anybody will be interested.

Anyway, Spice Girls' Viva Forever was the first interactive CD single that I bought back in 1998. At that time, interactive CDs were still considered a novelty and I can still remember vividly how fascinated and amazed I was with its multimedia sophistication. I have to admit that I like this song very much. The melody and instrumentation are very soothing and there is a little story behind the lyrics too. The video clip for this song features the animated 'Spice Girls' since Geri Halliwell@Ginger Spice had already left the group at that time. The single that I have does not contain the instrumental version that I have used for this karaoke. Instead , it contains the 'Tony Rich Instrumental' which (I think) is the instrumental version of the 'Tony Rich Remix'. I managed to secure the instrumental version from the Internet and this is the final result. This song is quite easy to sing and I'm quite sure almost anybody can pull it off without sounding gruff as if they've had too much spice in their curry.

The single's cover

Do you still remember
How we used to be
Feeling together
Believing whatever
My love has said to me
Both of us were dreamers
Young love in the sun
Felt like my saviour
My spirit I gave you
We'd only just begun

Hasta mañana
Always be mine
Viva forever
I'll be waiting
Everlasting
Like the sun
Live forever
For the moment
Ever searching
For the one

Yes I still remember
Every whispered word
The touch of your skin
Giving life from within
Like a love song never heard
Slipping through our fingers
Like the sands of time
Promises made
Every memory saved
As reflections in my mind

Hasta mañana
Always be mine
Viva forever
I'll be waiting
Everlasting
Like the sun
Live forever
For the moment
Ever searching
For the one

Back where I belong now
Was it just a dream
Feelings unfold
They will never be sold
And the secret's safe with me

Hasta mañana
Always be mine
Viva forever
I'll be waiting
Everlasting
Like the sun
Live forever
For the moment
Ever searching
For the one