Jeanie (that's what we started calling her) has been adopted by a realy loving family.. *sigh* part of me is really happy for her but i still miss her lots :( Oh well, this is a small photo tribute to Jeanie - she had so much love to give :)

How can you not love her when she looks at you with such sad puppy eyes??


All smiles...


Sleeepyy.....


nap time..

Theatre n.

1. A building, room, or outdoor structure for the presentation of plays, films, or other dramatic performances.
2. Dramatic literature or its performance.
3. A place that is the setting for dramatic events.

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We just got back from M the Opera and i have a few thoughts swimming around in my head..just thought i'd get them out..

We went early and as i was sitting there staring at the stage curtain for a good 20 minutes, i thought about what was going on backstage. The bustle, primping, pratice, nerves, laughs.. and i missed it so so much. All we saw was the curtain but what a curtain it was - beyond it was, i imagined, more drama and more excitement than what we were about to witness on stage.. unfortunately, that day dream turned out to be something of a premonition by the end of the night.

It's not that it was bad cause it wasn't. But i can't say it was brilliant either. While you watch it, you have thoughts about it, but once you've left the hall, it all sort of slips away. I tried but i can't really remember the songs or the characters in detail. Just an impression of whatever made an impression. At this, just allow me to say that i'm by no means trying to critique the performance for everyone involved gave it their all and for that they ought to be commended. Rather, i'm just airing some opinions - seems i'm in a funny mood right now.

My first thoughts during the opening scene were "that's a lot of people on stage".. and indeed that would surface as a recurring bemusement throughout the performance. I have to say that i rather enjoyed all the "silhouettes" in M!. The graphic composition of people during these shadow scenes was a high point as was George Chan's performance as Kerabat the "other guy". Honestly, just about the only real "character" in the M! is Kerabat. His voice really stood out (gosh he sounds like the guy who sang Marius in Les Misarable when i saw it at West End), the only performer with true emotion. The random dancers that appeared sporadically throughout the show only made sense when they appeared along-side him. My favourite scenes were those where he was dancing and they were dancing almost as if as an extension of the immensity of his emotions. Kudos to him and to Judimar Monflis for cheoragraphy :)

Khir Rahman as title character M brought levels of jiwang-ness to the show that at times tempted to make it a little Era.fm-ish ;p , I loved it when Doreen Tang (Sepi) hit the true soprano notes clear and strong. There's nothing quite like hearing someone hit the mark well when it comes to operatic sop parts. Sadly though, i think all those performances must be taking a toll on the performers. Most of them (except George) sounded a tad strained and lacked the "power" needed to carry much of the music. Casting Khir and Doreen as love interests also struck me as looking quite pedophilic. Doesn't do much for chemistry really & when Kerabat came along, i just really wanted her (Sepi) to ditch M and run away with him. Would have been much more operatic and dramatic ;) .

And here's another question.. so.. opera, hmms.. Mana draMa? Given the poor diction (the mics could have been turned up higher), the absolute crap english subtitles (interestingly enough, the BM subtitles were very good, even taking on a beautiful "puisi"-like transalation at times), the dialect heavy Malay rantings ( you say wha...??) and the masses of people chaoticaly running around on stage, i didn't really get it. The first half was populated mainly by disjointed "montage scenes" and only during the second half does the story actually show signs of being a story. Up until the second half, i really didn't get the point of the whole thing.

The music though was quite intersting. I really did like some of the Malay songs better than the english ones (the "cemburu" one's nice). Not so much because of their tune but more for the specific lyrics written - i was reminded that Bahasa Melayu is a very beautiful language and as good paint in the hands of a great artist, it serves well to create poetic lyrical pieces that are endearing.

Costumes were fabulous. Set was more innovative less imaginative. For an opera, i expected more than plain colour-wash backdrops. Cheoragraphy was creative though at times not necessarily coordinated. The little Sepi was adorable! I didn't dig the M and Sepi love scenes, the unorganised chaos, generous dishing of irritating screechy parts, dancers appearing for no apparent reason and other useless scenes. Good scenes include the silhouttes, Kerabat scenes (especially the solo one with the dancers just before the wedding), the accapella bit when Sepi first wore the wedding dress, the entourage entrance for the wedding scenes, the ending scene of echoes and present-past flashbacks (up until the part she stared howling - yeah i didn't get the wolf thing either).

All in all, M! the Opera is an interesting addition to the Malaysian arts scene at the moment. Putting together an original work of this scale is quite a feat so give them a break - this is only the first time it's been attempted in this way. They will get better and when they do, it will be great. The potential is there but at present, the heart of the whole performance is lost. To me, M! the Opera is like a Faberge Egg - visually exquisite on the surface but when you open it up and look inside, it's... empty.

Just my two kupang's worth. Do go see it and decide for yourself :)

Composite image chucked together in Photoshop by yours truly


Twilight n.

The time between sunset and dark, between moonlight and bright, when the skies are changing their guards, all is still. It is during this brief lapse in time and space that i find comfort, clarity, calm and conviction. It is a time away from the chaos and the frantic surge of the passing world. A time apart from time itself. Often i stay up labouring over work and sometimes i stay up just because i crave the silence. This time of dreams, of waking, of wishes.

Twilight is the curtain call. Beyond that, we are backstage and i love backstage. All we see in the day is the sunny-side up of the city. Buildings stand, shops are furnished, everything is ready - the performers are made up and the stage is set. But beyond twilight, that's when things really get done. Roads are cleaned, problems fixed, things get delivered, facades are dropped.. You meet the strangest people after dark, have the most meaningful conversations, delve into your deepest thoughts. It's a wonder why few ever truly appreciate it - but maybe, it's better this way.


"In the twilight of morning to climb to the top of the mountain,
Thee to salute, kindly star, earliest herald of day,
And to await, with impatience, the gaze of the ruler of heaven.
Youthful delight, oh, how oft lur'st thou me out in the night. "

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Venetian Epigrams

Lost doggy

This poor little dog got lost during a thunderstorm today (21 March 06 - Tues) .. the scared thing was running around in the rain looking for shelter and followed me home. It was staring at me with those big puppy dog eyes as i opened the gate and my heart just broke so i let the lil dudette in thinking it would run off and find its way home later. But when we let it go after the rain, it just came back Anyways, we can't really handle two dogs so we're looking for the owners of this dog or anyone willing to adopt it (we may have to send it to SPCA if nobody claims/adopts it & i really really really don't want to do that).


Colour : Light Brown (Golden Brown)
Marking : Red-ish mark on forehead between eyes
Collar : Red - White & blue pictures; Black buckle
Gender : Female

Character : Very friendly & loving; Seems adore human company, cuddles, playing catch & children (and there are alot of those at my place ;p); Barely barks but whines for company as we keep it outside (my pampered dog Cookie is sooo jealous).


Note : This dog is obviously domesticated though it doens't have a dog license attached. Please someone claim / offer to adopt this dear dog cause she just sits outside my door, rests her head on the grille and looks at us with sad sad eyes all day! And i can't let her in cos Cookie doesn't quite get along with her (sigh, my dog is too spoilt...argh!!).

You can contact me or my dad (o12-682 6256) if you're the owner or interested in adopting it

Today i was just reminded about how absolutely brilliant our governemnt system is. *sigh* the major conclusion is that according to the various government/city hall/developer parties that i was directed and redirected to, the specific building i'm enquiring about seems to have just popped out of the ground on its own accord... thereby fully explaining the lack of existance of a project architect... very intresting (i have another theory that this is all a ploy by the telephone service providers - the number of calls i had to make and the amount of time i spent on hold listening to carousel music is quite astonishing) . Anyways, the ellusive "site" has been sneakily dodging me these past few weeks. Panic mode has start to set in and presentations are around the corner *eep, faints*



Vertigo - don't look down it's a long long way to fall...

Hahaha... do excuse the El'Lame-O title of this pic but i just really couldn't help it! Been feeling a little heading today. Still zingy from the weird ginger-honey-lemon-soda-mint-herbal-drink-thing that i had last night at La Bodega. Feeling quite happy really. Just went to cut me hair (yes, FINALLY).

Tired like crazy but still mildly in buzz mode. Must be because of the haircut.. lots of hair got chopped off.. hence the light headed-ness *weEEeee...*

I am hungry. I'm waiting for my mom to feed the dog before we can go eat. I'm so hungry. For some reason, this pic of a padi field in Bali looks appetizing.. *gosh* i must be hungry...