The Voice 2 - Hello Tony Vincent....I'm officially Team Cee Lo... :-)

When Season 2 of The Voice started, I was quickly prompted by a certain somebody in my life to pick a team to root for.

You see, last season, unknowingly (since we weren't really on good terms at the time), we both supported the same artist....Dia Frampton. She of course was on Blake Shelton's team. So, this year, seeming to like a few hopefuls on that team, that certain somebody declared he's Team Blake. I told him the ones I liked went to Cee Lo. There were TWO. One is Jamie Lono and the other one is this beautiful man.....

Tony Vincent!

Of course, I was totally biased towards him as he's a Broadway singer (I love stage musicals!), he sang a Queen song (my siblings and I love Queen and Freddie Mercury) and he totally looks like a rock star! True, his voice is a bit on the thin side and not as manly as some of the contenders but at the end of the day, he has the package. What criteria do I want from a contender? Must be someone who has what it takes to make me want to buy that ticket and stand in line to see him perform. This man has that worthy factor. Oh, he's also tall and thin like my musical hero Mr. Chris DeGarmo (formerly of Queensryche) which further explains the "biased" bit.

We Are The Champions

However, I wasn't so quick declaring myself a Team Cee Loo. At that point I hadn't really watched many other contenders and I wanted to see who else was worthy rooting for. I wanted to make my choice after the Battle Rounds.

I was sad to find out that Tony got paired up with Justin Hopkins (who has a great raspy manly voice). It meant one of them had to go.

This battle was placed last of the last. I think the producers knew these two would close the battle round spectacularly.

They obviously have tremendous respect for each other, performing more like a duet than a battle that night. I wish they harmonized at the "Oh...oh....oh....oh...." though with Tony doing the higher notes. That would make the performance even more spectacular. It's sad to think that one of these two had to go. I wish they were not paired up so they both would still stay till at least the Live shows. So unfair :-(

Yes, I finally sealed it. My final pick for The Voice 2. Didn't I say he's tall and thin like Chris DeGarmo? I "heart" that :-)

 Lord Voldemort came to LA and grew a nose!

As for that "certain somebody", all those he picked got booted out. Sorry dear :-)

Dia Frampton Covering 2NE1's Lonely

Talking about the Frampton sisters, I must say that currently I'm kind of addicted to this remake of a Korean girl group 2NE1's hit Lonely. Yes, I absolutely have no idea about the Korean group. Not a K-Pop follower.

Dia Frampton duet-ting with her sister Meg beautifully :-)

This is just perfect. I wish I have a voice as distinctive as Dia. Not necessarily sounds like hers but distinctively individual that people recognize as soon as they hear it.

I have no idea if the English lyrics match the Korean original though. How would I know? I'm not in line to register myself into a Korean language class any time soon.....haha.

Trying to tell myself that "Life Is Beautiful"........

Yeah people.

I'm trying to tell myself that "Life Is Beautiful". Those familiar with my rantings here would probably be able to smell that every time I write something like that, it means I'm being sarcastic. At myself. At life.

Things are not going well at work. Back before July, I blew the roof with my management when they tried to get me demoted. They wanted to split my Section by promoting my colleague to the same position as me meaning I would no longer be his Section Leader. The Management was trying to kick me out of my own Section. Another thing that angered me was their reasoning that it had been a long time since my colleague was last promoted. Excuse me?!!!! His last promotion was in 2006 and my last promotion was in 2005. Were they trying to throw it right at my face that to their eyes, my work isn't up to par to be given any acknowledgment?

I have slaved myself for the past 10 years, representing my management who always went AWOL every time there was an Audit or when some direct Customers coming over for new projects, being stationed away at our Suppliers' premises for Quality matters as the only woman working to wee hours alongside men, extra hours that I gave to the company (unpaid!), working my asses off coming up with new ideas bringing improvement to our Division, dedicating myself to giving education & training to new members to bring out th best in them for our Division and standing up for my colleagues when other people tried to stomp all over them.

In the end, I'm being paid back by getting demoted. Nowadays, my heart is not there anymore. Apart from my Section, I don't care about anything at my workplace anymore.

Below are several more reasons why I keep telling myself that "Life Is Beautiful" just to keep me consoled and positive (hope is a good thing):

1. One of my subordinates is leaving soon. She'll be no more with us starting October. I wish her well because this company holds no future for her.

2. My Section will be reduced to only FOUR people and the Management still hasn't found us the replacement manpower I requested months ago. Not to mention having stolen my Clerk from right under my nose.

3. My car oil is leaking badly and the exhaust has been emitting terrible smoke for weeks now. I'm torn whether to pool my money to overhaul the old engine or to put as downpayment for a new (but far less equipped and accessorized) compact car. I hate having to commit myself to car payment again but at the same time I feel now is the time to get a new car since before the interest rate goes further up.

4. There will be a Green Procurement Audit by SONY Japan in October and my soon-to-resign subordinate is the key person for that particular area that those SONY people want to scrutinize. *sigh*Why oh why must she leave at this time?

5. My car Stereo has "blown up". At first I had my Mp3 Player but suddenly it stopped working yesterday. exactly one year after I started using it. I saw its tiny LED screen bleeping while I was charging it yesterday and then "blank". The horrible thing is I have no backup over the songlist I put in it. So, I may have to put up with at least ONE WEEK of silence in my daily drive to and from work since I have no time to look for replacement during weekdays.


I feel empty each and everyday. So, in order to keep my sanity intact for the following week, this will be my reigning life soundtrack. Though Mr. Sixx wrote it about his heroin addiction, however, just like he did, I feel like my life is being taken away from me with each passing moment. Thanks Nikki.....for this.

Sixx A.M - Life Is Beautiful

"Life Is Beautiful"

You can't quit until you try
You can't live until you die
You can't learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie

You can't breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you're the joke
There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

I know some things that you don't
I've done things that you won't
There's nothing like a trail of blood to find your way back home

I was waiting for my hearse
What came next was so much worse
It took a funeral to make me feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Alive...
Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Stumbling my way to the MTV World Stage 2010

My computer tech uncle said my PC motherboard is spoilt. He added that this is normal for any "chicken-brand" component. "Chicken-brand" is the term coined by Malaysian youth for "non-high-branded items". Well, the PC had served me well. Too bad it reached its expiry date in June which is the month that I usually need extra money to renew my road tax and car insurance. I had spent hundreds on repairing my car before that.

There is ONE very big problem not having a PC. There will be an MTV World Stage Concert in July and the only way to get in is by winning the pass from MTV website. Confirmed artists so far are Katy Perry, Tokio Hotel and the Wondergirls. The catch is one must go to the page linked by MTV from the email they sent out and wait for the small JavaScript Icon to appear in the shape of this character named Junior or this Bumble Bee.

I have no choice but to resort to my light-duty Samsung N150 netbook for my Internet activities. This is where I came to a stumbling block.

1. MTV pages are c***load full of heavy graphics, JavaScript, ads and what-nots making them very slow to load.

2. The netbook screen size of ONLY 1024 x 600 pixels means one is not able to view the page in one full view at a time. You have to scroll up and down just to read everything.

3. The Junior or Bumble Bee icon is supposed to appear either at the Top or the Bottom of the page.

4. I am able to view only HALF a page at a time!

5. In order to constantly watch out for Junior or Bumble Bee, I have to keep scrolling up and down in case they appear at either Top or Bottom.

6. Since the page is darn heavy, scrolling gives slow refresh rate meaning the probability of catching Junior or Bumble Bee is double difficult.

7. Nothing I could do to speed up even after upgrading to 2Gb RAM as the processor of the Netbook is only 1.66GhZ.

8. The next PC Fair is in August.

9. The concert is on 31st July!!!!


Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup....I missed Tokio Hotel first concert in Malaysia

That is so right. After all my blog posts about this band and even a blog Tag for them here plus the money spent on imported CDs and DVDs, I did not go to Tokio Hotel's first Malaysian concert on 1st May 2010 which was free, btw. What an irony. I really am nuts, huh?

I don't know why I was somehow unenthusiastic about their trip here. Not only my workplace is a mess but my finances aren't in the best situation at the moment. So, it was a choice of mine not to find a way to go see the boys. My hardened ego failed to stop me from feeling quite depressed though.

It started when my sister asked me to drive her over to the central bus station. As I was driving, a Tokio Hotel song called Hilf Mir Fliegen came on my MP3 player. That's one of my absolute favourite TH song as the lyrics speak to me.

On hearing the song, my sis had a huge grin on her face and told me that she was actually going to the capital city to watch TH live. I was shocked but calm. What?! Apparently, a friend of hers who's a TH fanatic won a bunch of tickets to the show and invited her friends to go. I said to my sis about her not telling me about going. Her reply was, her friend just told her the night before.

So, I dropped her off at the station and took my nephews to enjoy some chicken rice somewhere away. Trying to take my mind off it. This really sucked. Not only I am not able to go catch Deep Purple because no hotel room is available on the dates concerned. Now, my sis got to watch TH for free courtesy of her friend.

I struggled a bit to be matured about it. Yes, I survived the little depression by going on the net browsing through Amazon for rock n roll books I am planning to buy.

Oh, Hilf Mir Fliegen. I told you the lyrics speak to me. Help Me Fly.......


Come and help me fly

Lend me your wings

I'd trade them for the world

Against all that's stopping me

I'd trade them tonight

Against all that I have

That late noon, my sis texted me saying that she and her friends actually had extra tickets. Huh?! Well, what can I say other than, it was just not written in the sky for me.

How to torture like an Ancient Torture Device

Have any of you gone to any of those exhibitions of ancient torture devices? I have. TWICE. One of the items on display was a metal chair that one was supposed to be strapped buck naked onto then had the fire lit up underneath it.Since the chair's material is highly heat-conductive, you would be essentially grilled alive. Worse thing is, that chair was supposed to only torture you not kill you. In that situation though, you would be as good as dead.

That was how I felt yesterday as I was put on a hot seat. Really really hot. The highly competent people doing the Lab assessment ISO/IEC 17025 came to evaluate us. What I went through was the mental equivalent of the medieval hot seat.

As I did the recent `internal audit' on Quality Management area, I had to go through an `evaluation' by this lady who was the Lead Auditor. I will not reveal her name as she is a highly respected figure in this field in our country and overseas. It was impossible not to have admiration for this woman for her intelligence and spot-on method of getting to the roots of our problems. Man, did she put me on a grill! Yes, she grilled me. Really really grilled me!


I can't describe how humiliated I was when she asked me to explain some of the things I wrote down in my Audit notes when I couldn't answer a lot of her questions.

"What do you understand an improvement is?"
"How did you as an Auditor draw a conclusion based on this?"
"Did you check the implementation or just simply acknowledge such and such documents exist?"
"Did you get what I mean?"
"Can you see the overall picture?"
"This wasn't that long time ago. So, you should be able to remember"
"Look at this document, can you see the problem? The fundamental problem?"
"See, there is a change in the procedure. So, the policy has changed. Have you, in fact, created more ways for things to go looser?"
"By doing this, you are making things ambiguous...."
"Overall, I'm not going to sugar-coat anything, the system is very weak"
.........etc.....etc.....etc.....

Nothing was a blurry vision to me. It was just blank. Blank space. Our Quality Manager said to me not to panic. No, this was not a panicky situation. My mind just went blank. That was it. I never filled in anything into it since last year as a matter of fact. This is beyond humiliation.


These are some of the things that can be summed up on my competency (or lack thereof):

1.  I was immatured enough to write the very childish statement "Not yet" instead of "Not applicable" in my Audit notes.

2.  Apparently, I couldn't tell the difference between an "adequacy Audit" and a "compliance Audit". She said all I did was skimming on the surface without looking at the overall picture of the system.

3.  I didn't check the implementation at all. Just agreeing to everything based on paperwork. She said I was influenced by the Auditee.

4.  I relied too much on a "Yes/No" type Checksheet.

5.  What on EARTH is "anti-clockwise measurement of a Torque Wrench"? Worse is, I wrote that down in my Audit notes and didn't even bother to understand what it is.

6.  I have "inadequate understanding of the Accreditation Bodies' Policies" because my "Audit findings on the Policy series were inadequately documented".

7.  I have the "Parrot Syndrome". You can teach a parrot to recite what you say but it doesn't necessarily understand what you say. So, I was, most of the time copying what the auditees said without really understanding what their work was all about.

8.  Since everyone is unclear about identifying which areas to improve, she said improving the Internal Auditor is one area we can all work on. Why do I have this feeling that she was talking about me? I'm a weak spot in the system that needs to be strengthened, people :-(


So, below is my response:

1.  Yes, Ma'am. You are right.
2.  With everything that went on at work for the past several months, I was not at all in the mood of learning or giving my all to my job. My friends leaving, my useless management, my paltry salary increase, my family health problems. I was and still am more keen to forget everything instead.
3.  Yes, I believed everything the Auditees said to me because they are the better-trained ones.
4.  Yes, I just recorded everything simply to finish the assignment instead of delving into the core functions of the Lab.
5.  I wish I were heartless or at least separate professionalism from feeling sorry towards my friends in the Lab team.

Being a professional that she is, the lady did point out that our Group really did have selected the right persons as Internal Auditors as we are actually able to pick up problems that we see. All we need (what I need) is to polish up our (my)skill and further understand the requirements and the importance of looking at things as one overall picture.


Now I can tell you an additional reason why I went blank yesterday. I have to admit that during the Q&A session, I was there as my body only. My mind was totally somewhere else.....with a bunch of old geezers.....namely......Deep Purple!

Before going into the meeting room, I printed out some info on the upcoming Deep Purple concert at Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands on 16th May 2010. I was checking about any possibility of me going such as the available ticket and hotel room. The ticket I can afford is for seats furthest from the stage near the doors. Every hotel on that land was not available. It's useless to go to a night event there with no accommodation. This is not like the Capital City where you can simply get a cab and check into any of the many hotels available. Hotels on the highlands are limited. The only one available is the MYR1000+ per night. There is one affordable hotel available but it's at the foot of the mountains which requires you to take the Cable car. I don't know when the last Cable car leaves the centre of the highlands. Besides, this hotel costs more than the affordable ones on the highlands. It's just not worth it. It's even more not worth it now that Ritchie Blackmore, my "first love", is not in the band anymore.

So, with my mind meandering over the Purple geezers and the highlands plus my obvious "rock star obsession", I think you have a pretty clear idea of where I was. This Soldier of Fortune was speeding on the Highway Star. Before she realized, she was already grilled and was blowing it all up like Smoke on the Water.

Another good reason for me to adore Tom Kaulitz ..... ;-)

I have another good reason to adore this honeybun :-)

I just have a soft spot for multi-instrumentalist musicians. There's just something about being able to handle more than one instrument that just fascinates me. Chris DeGarmo tinkles on the piano very well. I know even Ingo Schwichtenberg kept a keyboard in his apartment for him to play.

I know Tom is not the best of musician there is but that's not what he is about. He's just a guy who loves playing music the way HE wants to play it and NOT what others think he should. What he does is just perfect for the music his band is playing. It's those haters who are missing the point.

This is Tom practising the piano piece he has to play to accompany little bro Bill for the song Zoom.

Sure, this being Tom, he was talking dirty. That's ok with me. He isn't as vulgar as some guys/girls I know. Besides, I don't think he wants people to see his more serious side. It's his right to keep his real persona private.

Way to go Tomi :-)

The Grammy, Queensryche and the rock opera that should have been

I managed to catch the Grammy 2010 re-run last Saturday.

Honestly, the only time I was excited about the Grammy was when Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. My high regards for the Grammy went downhill the year they started nominating Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys several years ago.

Look, I love pop music but leave the glamourous artists to other award shows like MTV Awards or American Music Awards and such. I have always viewed the Grammy as something more serious with high prestige. I enjoy watching Britney and BSB. In fact I have a lot of BSB CDs in my collection and I went to see them TWICE. However, the Grammy is NOT the place I want to see them. The pop artists who deserve to be there to me shouldn't be the 'bubblegum pop' type but real talented credible ones who can invent something new like MJ or George Michael.

I'm pretty satisfied with the pop artists this year. Beyonce (oohh....I knew she was a star when I saw her perform on the Top of the Pop stage at the BBC back when she was about 17) and Lady Gaga (she took awhile to sink into me but now that Madonna isn't as exciting as she used to be....I'd say go Lady!).

Enough about that. There are only TWO things I want to say.

First, I don't think Taylor Swift would win the Album of the Year if it wasn't for that Kanye West incident. Like a local DJ here said a few years ago, ".....we all know how that particular nation has a thing for 'over-compensating'......". Even in the Country Album category (which she won), hers was the least country compared to the other nominees.

Second, yet more importantly, I couldn't help feeling sad when Green Day came up onstage to sing 21 Guns with the cast of the musical based on Green Day songs.

Why?

As soon as the performance was announced and the lead girl sang the first line, I said to my siblings, "Queensryche already did this 20 years ago....".

Yes, Queensryche were so ahead of their time when they made Operation Mindcrime and before that Rage For Order. Sadly, the music industry was probably not ready for that in a mainstream way. I feel sad that people who are more musically talented are not there on that stage for the work they deserve the accolades for. Don't get me wrong. I do like Green Day and I'm happy for them to have reached that plateau. However, it's hard for me not to feel sad that a band like Queensryche who have produced far superior work still find it hard to bring their vision to a full musical show (other than their own concerts). A real rock opera. I keep reading, "...it's in talks...", for years already.

I'm happy for the success of the musical based on Green Day songs.......

......but.....

I also know a group of talented men who deserved that musical show TWO decades ago........



Queensryche were too ahead of their time.

Even sadder, Queensryche is not the band that come to most people's minds when they think 'Seattle' after the grunge era.

Sometimes, being ahead of your time doesn't work in your favour. I totally blame the big heads in the industry who dictated what we should listen to. It was cruel. All the metal musicians were treated like they didn't have any fans at all. It was the die-hards who loyally searched and connected with other fans to keep their favourite artists' careers alive. I remember feeling like a part of an underground movement just to get a Dokken CD. The ones I did find in the shop were on imports and ridiculously over-priced.

What's the closest that Queensryche ever got to the Grammy? A nomination for only ONE song I Don't Believe In Love from Operation Mindcrime. Then, the live performance for Silent Lucidity from Empire. Thank God that when every metal band (other than GnR had to resort to sappy big ballads just to get themselves heard on the radio, these men had come up with something a cut above the rest and no real music listener can label Silent Lucidity as a sappy ballad.

I'm grateful for the 'explosion' of the Internet culture. I think we are taking back our rights as music listeners to dictate back to the industry's big heads. It is just unfortunate that the bands I love missed that era by only a few years yet a world apart.

What if the bridge was never built?

I talked about wanting my bridge unbroken before.

Some people never even got the bridge built.

Jim Corbett National Park photo by Sumeet18

What if the bridge was never built?

I've been listening to this song a lot lately and thinking about how opposite my life is from the songwriter, one of my musical heroes, Chris DeGarmo.

- Bridge (by Chris DeGarmo) -

You called me up on the phone today
struggling with the right words to say.
Time can change a thing or two.
Time has changed the lives of me and you,
but you know... it could have been different dad.

The word brings back a sweet memory.
I'm sitting on a bluff on a broken tree,
by my side a distinguished man giving me
encouragement, telling me I can, and you know ...
you're not there.

You say, "Son, let's forget the past,
I want another chance, gonna make it last."
You're begging me for a brand new start, trying
to mend a bridge that's been blown apart, but you know...
you never built it dad.

So I sit here through the night, and I
write myself to sleep, and time keeps ticking...
Time has made you finally realize your loneliness and your guilt inside.
You're reaching for something you never had,
turning around now you're looking back, and you know...
I'm not there.

You say, "Son, let's forget the past.
I want another chance, gonna make it last."
You're begging me for a brand new start, trying
to mend a bridge that's been blown apart, but you know ...
you never built it dad.

- Queensryche -

It's a deeply personal song he wrote about his relationship with his father who walked out on his family when he was young.

For someone who carries such an emotional baggage, Chris certainly grew up into a fine man. An accomplished musician and a family man who has managed to stay married to the same woman longer than most rock stars out there.

It is just the opposite of myself. I wonder what kind of a person would I be had I lived his life instead?

What if I got "a distinguished man who's never there telling me I can", instead of "a distinguished man who's always there telling me I can't do this or that"? Would either way made me bitter that it really wouldn't matter which life I had?

Chris' father passed away during the making of this particular Queensryche album, Promised Land.

It's now July. Chris' birthday is in June and there is one thing I can learn from this Gemini star. The way I see it from observing him, we are what we choose to make out of our own life. Sure, life makes us but to Chris, only to a certain extent seemingly. I see him making choices and steering (or pilotting :-)) his life into the direction he wants to bring his destiny to.

Ok. I used to trash it when people said that Gemini is a good balance for Aries, which I am. I said Gemini people were boring. Looking at Mr. Chris DeGarmo, hmm....I'm 'pilotted' to change my mind.

Thank you Chris. You've always been a magnificent bridge.

Here's the song:

How do I know that I'm a Michael Jackson fan?

Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

The biggest news last month has got to be the passing of one of the world's most loved superstars the King of Pop Michael Jackson.

When a colleague informed me the news, I seriously thought it was one of those jokes people made of him. As the day went on, it started to dawn on me that the news was real this time.

What finally made me want to write about MJ's passing on my blog is when I came across another blog where the author said that with his sudden death, there was also an influx of people claiming to be MJ's fans. Add to that, MJ's CDs sold out in some music stores in this country! The author then questioned whether those people claimed to be his fans just to 'be part of it'. It made me question myself, am I a genuine MJ fan?

So, how do I know that I'm a genuine Michael Jackson fan?

Here's my list:

1. I knew him before Thriller.

2. When I was still a kid in primary school with limited understanding of English, I was already able to sing One Day In Your Life.

3. I could easily cry singing One day In Your Life which I used to sing back to back with Sheena Easton's For Your Eyes Only.

4. I remember being able to pronounce 'boogie' which was the only word I could decipher from Blame It on the Boogie. I would run around phonetically singing it my way :-)

5. I remember the melody of the chorus to Don't Stop Till You Get Enough. I didn't understand a word he was singing of course :-)

6. I even sat in front of the TV with a piece of paper and a pencil when watching Grammys and American Music Award to total up MJ's many award wins for the Thriller album.

7. I waited for days for the world premiere of the music video Bad. Me and my brother made sure that we 'booked' the TV so we wouldn't miss anything. Yes! We watched the entire video with the short movie in the beginning and all.

8. I was actually able to memorize the acapella 'gangsta' adlibs that Michael did with the dancers at the end of the Bad video.

9. People go ga ga over MJ's moonwalking but his dance move that I yearn to learn the most is the Michael Jackson's 'pirrouette' where he would spin around like his feet were surgically attached to skate boots.

10. Many times, when I'm sitting, concentrating on my work etc, I found myself singing Man In the Mirror, the lyrics of which still inspire me to believe that any change one wishes for the world must start with the person him/herself.

11. I have one of his CDs, Bad. Bought it in the UK while I was studying there. Ok, I'm not a very good fan now that I have only 1 CD. Hey, at least I have the CD years before his passing so that technically takes me out of that group of people who bought MJ stuff coz he died.

12. When Jarvis Cocker of Brit band PULP invaded MJ's performance at the Brit Award 1996, I was of course backing up Michael when my buddy and I argued about it. She supported Cocker. Me? I took MJ's side of course :-)

* Jarvis has put the whole episode behind him now and praises MJ for being a musical genius who tragically didn't live up to his 80s heyday.

13. Play any MJ's videos up to Dangerous album, I'll watch them. His work after Dangerous honestly is not as exciting BUT play any of his concert videos, I'll watch them and still go ga ga over his dance pirrouettes, moonwalks, his adlibs of "hee hee" and what seems to sound like "jamone(?)", the Smooth Criminal leaning tower spring back move (genius!) and the guitars (more about this later).

14. When MJ had to go to court, I would always take his side. Hey, one is only guilty when proven guilty and they couldn't prove anything. Besides, people who are willing to take millions of dollars of settlement after claiming of being molested aren't 'victims' to me. Money can't buy dignity. It can buy greed and opportunity.

15. I believe MJ was innocent.

16. I am sad that nobody wanted to talk about what a charitable person MJ was.

17. I still watch all the tributes every channel gave him. No boredom.

18. I know the songs he duetted with Paul McCartney, Rockwell and Saeidah Garrett (his own backup singer)

19. I of course know the THREE metal guitarists he worked with. Eddie Van Halen, Steve Stevens and Slash. It showed how open-minded Michael was and that was why he was the ultimate superstar who managed to cross so many boundaries musically, artistically and socially.

Goodbye Michael.
Thanks for the inspiration and being a big musical part of my childhood.
My personal wish is that you left with the faith and peace you longed for.
Only the Almighty knows.

My first rock star crush's latest wedding............Ritchie Blackmore married again!

It's October and an event that certainly caught my attention this month other than Halloween is the legendary band Deep Purple's founder Ritchie Blackmore's wedding to his longtime girlfriend Candice Night, singer of Blackmore's Night.

In my book, this man named Ritchie Blackmore is forever etched as my First Rock Star Crush.

As noticed by some who read my blog, it's obvious how I have this love for hard rock and heavy metal music. Deep Purple was the band that first got me into it. Ritchie was already in Rainbow at the time. It was around 1979-1980. Then, I got to know other bands most notably the Scorpions who beautifully combined catchy melodies, twin guitar attacks and naughty lyrics (I didn't know they were naughty words back then). I was just a little child who quit kindergarten because I found that "boys were evil".

There was a cassette of Rainbow (I do not remember what album) my cousin displayed by the windowsill of our playroom. Somehow he managed to find a photo of Ritchie in a newspaper article and he cut it out to be placed in the cassette sleeve.

So, there was this picture of a man with his big mass of dark hair, hairy chest and a pair of very intense eyes that seemed to stare out of the picture directly into my inner sanctum. I would sit staring at the picture as I listened to his songs Smoke on the Water, Woman From Tokyo, Soldier of Fortune, Gates of Babylon, Temple of the King etc. There was something about him that mesmerized me.

Ritchie and Rainbow

Needless to say, I didn't understand any of the lyrics back then. Hey, even now I still don't understand some of the lyrics. One element I really enjoy about Ritchie's music is his fascination with fantasy, legends, folklore and medieval life. When I listened to the his music, I would always imagine a world with castles, horses, people in elaborate clothes, ancient musical instruments, knights in armours, lush green fields and forests and magicians.

Rainbow with one of my favourite male singers Joe Lynn Turner

Therefore, it is befitting that this time Ritchie got married in the medieval theme complete with a castle of course!

It's a rarity finding pictures of Ritchie smiling you know

The medieval theme suit them like gloves

Now, checking their ages. Ritchie was born in 1945 and Candice in 1971 which makes Ritchie a few years younger than my dad and Candice a few years older than me. He's 63 and she's 37. Oh, would you believe that? She claims they have been together since 1989 which makes her 18 at the time they met. Whoa.....this man really does have a taste for younger (young enough to be his daughter) women.

Anyway, may this be your last marriage Mr. Blackmore. I'm so over you.....he...he...!

My take on VMA 2008

Well, it's been more than a week since the VMA 2008 in LA and it's been a week since I last posted anything on this blog. I watched the recorded show last Saturday on MTV and it was heavily 'beeped' for Malaysian TV. Duh!

The minute host Russell Brand opened his mouth, I could sense the uneasy feeling from some in the audience (it must have been that strong since I live thousands of miles away). I knew immediately that this wouldn't go down too well with the Americans. After a few minutes, I turned to my sister and said "I don't think the Americans understand British humour".

If one thing I knew about the Brits is that's the way they joke around. Mostly poking fun at themselves and their aspects of life which include politics, sports, food, public transport, the weather (ha..ha..!). Of course, when they go out, they apply the same thing and it may not necessarily work out the same way, unfortunately.

Chill people.......relax. No need for controversy.
He pokes fun at everybody including himself when he said his hairstyle in normal situation would immediately brand him a lunatic.

....OR.......

do it like the Malaysians.............BEEP everything........pah!

It was obvious Russell knew what he said would create controversy and somewhere in the middle of the show, he talked lengthily about 'pissing off teenagers' which actually was a sarcastic go at the way you have to be 'politically correct' all the time in the America. The 'purity ring' jokes would have been laughed off in the UK but apparently they didn't in the US.

The Jonas Brothers are cool about it.

I guess the old-fashioned upbringing is paying off as they've been choosing to deal with it like gentlemen.

Britney's back!
Back in business and back into her fit curves......jealous......jealous..

The media loves 'shooting stars' and quite literally too. I do feel sorry for the way they treated Britney Spears for the past 2 years. When MTV started promoting the VMA event on the channel showing host Russell Brand and Britney chatting together, I saw the sweet girly Britney who won the world over 8 years ago. Her warm laughter and her down-to-earth persona. Personally I blame the media as being partly (major part!) responsible for her breakdown. Honestly, her VMA performance last year wasn't bad at all. It was the way the choreography was designed. Slow and slinky to fit the feel of the song. Did anybody even watch the dancers' moves? Oh, but then people would read more if they put a title 'Britney sleepwalked through her performance'. Her triumphant wins this year screams to people that her fans stuck to her side yet MTV still couldn't resist 'shooting' her like they do in this article here. I mean, rhyming her surname 'Spears' with 'Schmears'?

BTW, to be fair to both sides, I found this link to a video supposedly showing 'how she really sounds like onstage' at PopWrap. Not sure about the authenticity of it. That's ok though as she's never been a good singer but she's a great performer first and foremost.

Lastly, the 'creme de la creme'. The best reason to watch, at least for me. Tokio Hotel....!

My babies won!

Tom, Bill, Georg and Gustav.
These young lads have the most enviable hardcore Internet-fanbase in the world right now.

Just last year, MTV edited out their EMA 2007 performance (the only one they chopped out mind you) from American MTV for being unknown in the USA (what a reason!). With the power of fandom ruling, they have just become the latest US MTV darlings after less than a year.

The 'big' arrival on a Bigfoot

Who needs a limo? This is America. Go for the Bigfoot! Blast your own song on a super woofer monster speaker too. It couldn't get any grander than this!

They immediately caught the attention of the American media who eagerly asked them to speak their native tongue.

A little brotherly support wouldn't hurt


......and the Coolest Outfit award goes to Bill Kaulitz........

Bill's red carpet outfit


Bill's award-receiving outfit

......... TWICE....!

...and of course, no other contender for the Coolest Hair Award
.......except maybe Russell Brand? He...he....

My Helloween & Tokio Hotel CDs are here......yeah!

Hey, something good can come out of today too.

Something arrived in the mail today!

Look at what greeted me on my bed upon my arrival home.

These are my recent purchases on eBay. Tokio Hotel Schrei so laut du kannst CD and the Helloween CD I successfully bidded on, the Expanded Double CDs of their album Walls of Jericho.

I don't care what people think of my musical tastes. I do love heavy metal music along with pop, rock, classical, country whatever. Regardless of the fact that typical fans of Helloween would normally hate Tokio Hotel and most Tokio Hotel fans probably have never heard of Helloween.

The pumpkin is a Halloween souvenir belonging to my sister. I envy her for owning the thing.

The inner sleeve of the double CDs. It's weird that the record company put in singer Michael Kiske's picture here as he wasn't part of the band when this album was released many years ago.

Helloween during the Walls of Jericho era back in the glory days of 1980s metal.
How I miss those days.......me a little child dreaming of marrying a metal musician one day. It came true in my dreams only...... :-)

The bidding left me with a much lower price than I would have to pay at the CD shop (if they're available here anyway).

Ok. At least, I have a reason to smile today.

Happy 19th Birthday dear Tom and Bill Kaulitz!

I would like to wish these two very special boys Happy 19th Birthday.

It's amazing how far they've come.

The humble beginning of a pair of identical twins who knew they wanted to do music for life since age 9 (if I'm not mistaken). Young Bill started writing songs and lyrics since age 7 while older brother Tom learned the guitar at age 9 and found his destiny.

Tom (left) and Bill, when they still looked indentical, performing together in this old pic.

They had their share of hardship for many dreamy musicians out there. Performing at small functions for whoever wanted to listen. They did the small clubs gigs together. Bill went through the humiliation of entering the German Star Search singing, of all songs, It's Raining Men and lost.

They recorded their first album as Devilish and changed it later to Tokio Hotel for the subsequent albums.

Shooting their first video with no fancy props. Not knowing that the song would land them on the #1 spot on the German chart.

When success started to come knocking, so did the paparazzi.



They each found their own identity

Appearing on JB Kerner after the twins turned 18 last year.

They just won an award at the MTV Europe Award 2007 at the time. They were booed by the crowd (it was held in Munich after all) when they appeared but the performance erased the booing and they received a huge applause at the end of the song.

That performance was edited out when the show first went on air on States-side MTV on the basis that the band was unknown in the US. Within less than 1 year, the boys are slated to appear at the VMA 2008 in the USA. Amazing!

One of those rare moments nowadays when the twins look identical

Happy Birthday boys!

Your journey has been very inspiring to me.

Beating the Murphy's Law

Ok. Things have not been going great for me since yesterday. It's the Murphy's Law! Things start going bad one after another.

1. My Division was audited on our Environmental Quality Control System by the guy I myself audited on Wednesday. Haha. I think he took the chance to get back at me for 'grilling' his division's control. Oh, he really did get me. I accepted it with an open mind. Ok. So, now we're even!

2. My car stalled at a busy traffic light on the way home. I had a colleague with me in the car. Usually I would drive her home when she needs transport on the occasional stay-back-at-work days.

It was embarrassing! I turned on the emergency light. Steadily rested my right foot on the accelerator and after some feel-like-ages minutes, I managed to drive the car to a compound of a Chinese praying house next to the traffic light. I had to call my father and my colleague called her hubby. We joked about it while waiting.

3. I came home to log in on my eBay account to bid on the Tokio Hotel CDs I wanted.

Man! These boys are hot cakes or what? I was defeated badly in every bid even to the last seconds. Huaaah! :-(

I guess I have to resort to the "Buy Now" listing. The only sure-fire way to get the things you want.

4. I got stung by a bee this morning! In my own bedroom.

I know this sounds weird but animals have the knack of turning my parents' house into their homes. We have at least 9 cats (all strays). Sometimes frogs 'visit' our outdoor shower.

I have bees living in my bedroom. I don't know where they actually put up their home but they're in there all the time. They don't come out as a swarm. Instead, they appear as 1 individual at a time........on my floor, on my desk.

This morning I thought I saw a dead one on my floor and tried to pick it up. It was alive! I got stung and the bee died. The worst thing is it stung me on my right index finger....... my most used finger.


Why I think I kinda beat the Murphy's Law?

1. Two more colleagues told me they are open to accepting Mr.B into the other section that needs manpower.

2. While waiting at the Chinese praying house, a few friendly Chinese guys helped out checking my car. 1 guy actually had the same car model. Another guy was a mechanic. They said my car was OK. Just the engine oil level dropped a a bit and the brake oil needs topping up. The car had difficulty probably due to 'contact point' wear and tear. My brother drove the car home without a hitch last night.

3. So, I didn't get the Tokio Hotel CDs last night but I did win my bidding for a Helloween expanded album Walls of Jericho. Then the guy whose Tokio Hotel's US version Scream CD I successfully bidded sent a message saying my CD had been shipped out yesterday. Yeah!

The Helloween boys back in 1989. I was too young for any of them back then.
Ingo (♥♥my sweetheart♥♥), the gorgeous drummer in the sunglasses sadly died in 1995.

Now, I'm hoping to bid for another Helloween CD Chameleon. Bought it twice on cassette years ago and it's time to upgrade. If I fail again, I'll just resort to buying it straight away.

Hope things go well today.

MTV Asia 2008 - my verdict

Frankly, I watched MTV Asia this time without very high expectation. In the past, the Asian version of the show had only been a reflection of how the world saw us.

It's hard to ignore the fact that the world still sees Asia as a 3rd world market full of industry-wannabes. The biggest names in the industry hardly ever made it to this region.

Knowing the bureaucracy of this country didn’t help either. I just thought why should it be any different this time?

However, I think overall, the show did have improvements compared to its original Asian inception a few years ago. We were still given 3rd rate treatment though (very few performance slots for us).

What I'm thankful for:

1. The presenters spoke like normal people. Thanks Heaven! Before, they had been reduced to puppet and clown level with stupid "jokes" which were scripted by people who obviously thought that Asians couldn't speak English.

2. What's MTV Awards without hook-ups by different artists? I'm fully satisfied with the hook-up segments this time which had been fully Asians. Singapore's Electrico and Stephanie Sun's medley was electrifying although she went off-key a few times. Then, the mega collaboration of Project E.A.R. combining Malaysia's Pop Shuvit and their friends from the Asian region Thaitanium, Saint Loco, Slapshock, Silksounds and Ahli Fiqir in a multi-lingual headbanging, screamo yet melodic (we're Asians after all) extravaganza despite the cramped 2nd stage. It was clear that the boys worked their asses off to make it happen and they put 110% into the performance. Result? Not just the highlight of the night, it’s one of the best MTV Awards performances ever. Not just Asian but internationally.

3. The international artists took effort to incorporate Malaysian/Asian elements into their performance.

.........

The Click Five, who had been to this country a few times before, infused their song with the Malaysian traditional percussion instrument the "kompang" which I can best describe as a lighter version of the Celtic 'bodhran'. The difference is we play it by hitting its goat skin surface directly with the palm of our hand.

4. The Pussycat Dolls actually had clothes on. Surprise! Surprise!

What I'm glad they got rid off:
1. The notion that we can't speak English

2. The idea that Asians are karaoke singers’ level. I can’t forget that cringe-inducing duet between Thailand's Tata Young and Brit's ex-Blue member Lee Ryan for the song............a karaoke staple...........Endless Love. Yuck! What the hell did the folks at MTV think we were?

What I have to live by:
1. That big names won't come here. The international music artists who came were the new ones who mainly have 1 or 2 albums to their names. Let's see. Panic at the Disco, The Click Five, Leona Lewis, OneRepublic, Pussycat Dolls and not to forget Jared Leto himself.

What the International stars have to live by:

.......

1. The podium and microphone will always be designed to suit Asian bodies in our award shows.....he...he.... Sorry. You will have to hunch down your 6-foot statures for us.

What I'm surprised and disappointed by:
1. No Japanese! Why were the Japanese artists excluded totally? The Japanese is Asia's most influential force in the music industry with their artists breaking language and cultural barriers all over the world and they were not there? This is so wrong :-(
2. Neither were the lively Indian stars there.

What I think ALL singers should have done:
1. Learn from Leona Lewis on how to sing live. That girl's singing is phenomenal. Perfect like a CD.

What I think the event organizer should have done:
1. Fillers...! They must learn this lesson from Hollywood. Notice how the Oscars always have the seats full when the camera pans over the audience? No, not because the stars have super bladders. That's because when the stars leave their seats to relieve themselves or go backstage, a special group of volunteers called "fillers" would be filling in. It wasn't a pretty sight to see the stars' empty seats in the front rows when the camera panned over them.

What I think I should have done:
1. Auditioned for the Mosh Pit crowd. 'nuff said. Bladders? Pampers, here I come :-)

2. Left for Genting Highland anyway and prayed that I'd bump into Jared Leto..........ah....dream.

3. Should I meet Jared, I'd trick him into riding that super-slow "caterpillar" ride at the Genting Theme Park. It's that yellow "train" in this picture.

The last time a friend of mine took that ride, he went "missing" for what seemed like 1 whole hour. It’s THAT slow. I’d love to get stuck in that stupid ride with Jared *:-)*

Who do I think should have sponsored the event:

1. Mastercard. Why?

The look on the boys of the Filipino band Chicosci after they hugged the Pussycat Dolls...........PRICELESS.

Jared Leto really doesn't look his age!

Many years ago, when I as still a student in the UK, I got to know a TV series My So Called Life starring the teenage Claire Danes and this beautiful guy Jared Leto.

Jared was here in Malaysia presenting the MTV Asia Awards 2008 which was held here for the first time after its previous run in Singapore and Thailand mostly.

Actually I wanted to go and was eyeing the possibility of auditioning for the "Mosh Pit crowd". However, what stopped me in my track was the following requirement:

Must be able to hold your bladders!

Hey, that's crazy!

Anyway, I did watch it on MTV channel on Saturday.

What mesmerized me about Jared was the fact that he looks at least 10 years younger. His skin clear and wrinkle free. His hair shiny. His piercing blue eyes glowing. It's like time never moves a hand on him since My So Called Life.

Jared looking not a day over 25!
Can you believe this guy is approaching 40?

It's great that this guy is one of the very few current darlings in rock music who is actually older than me whereas many rockers today are barely out of their teens. He's 37 and I'm 34. But looking at these pictures, he certainly doesn't look a day older than 25.

As a guy who's into environmental issues and living well and healthily, Jared is the epitome of what we can be if we live clean living. He's a vegetarian if I'm not mistaken and I think it shows its benefits judging from these photos.


Ok. Now I think I'd hold my bladders for him....... :-)