Malaysia's 1st iBand!

The first ever of its kind in Malaysia which of whom yours truly is incredibly proud to be of. Def explains why I was so stoked about the whole Apple iPhone 3G launch by local telco/carrier Maxis.

From left to right: Kieran, Myself, Michael, Siew Haur.

Feel free to comment and rate. Thanks and enjoy!

Laters.

PS: A big shout out to voiceaway for posting this video up on youtube!

iBand Extravaganza

Heard about Maxis' iPhone Launch over at KL Convention Center this weekend?

Yes, loads of people have been complaining about the iPhone plan rates.

But, any good reason to be there? Or at least half a decent reason?

I Found The Remedy!

Sorry had to steal this, Sean!

Never knew a guy who showed up in relaxed khakis, a white V-neck tee and his trademark trilby could be such a musical genius! And make so many women (and men) swoon. Heck. I actually envy Jason Mraz. The fella is so unbelievably talented that it actually makes him sexy. Quote The Girlfriend; "He's schhooo damn sexy!" And I could only (unfortunately) agree. *Ego/SelfEsteemHurtsLikeHellDammit*

His stage setup is once of the simplest and most straightforward I've ever seen. It was dead simple. NO need for all those uncalled for AV shiznit and all. All he needed to captivate every audience was himself and his little ensemble. And man did it work.

Armed with a Taylor, he sang, crooned, beatboxed, danced and jigged his way into the hearts of everyone. Okay that was cheesy but that was how it felt like, really.

And there's this bit where he merged Remedy with Wonderwall. Ingenious.

Mr.A-Z was simply damn freaking incredulously amazing. To be honest, these words don't do his performance justice. It was that good.

Please do come again Mr Mraz!

Laters.

Bull, Ox, Cow, Kerbau, Buffalo.. Wtf..

Gong Hei Fatt Choy!

Have an abso Bullish year ahead fellas ;0)

J'ai Dix Hui Ans?

The first text I got when the clock stroke 0000 hours today was this: 

"Hey kel! Happy Birthday:). Haha. 

Youre a legal drinker and smoker now:D.

Haha.

Anyways. Happybirthday wei."

Got that from my dear friend Naren. Thanks mate! Save for the fact I don't smoke.

And thanks Keane and Melissa for a night of fine food, wine and killer company! Well, it's a pity The Girlfriend couldn't join us though. But that's a whole different story altogether. Pictures will be up soon.

Laters.

A New Year, A New Wish List.

Happy New Year, fellas! 

It's 0430 hours, I've just completed yet another set of push-ups and I'm as bored as can be. I wanna get ripped. That's if I can be persistently consistent and bloody dilligent. Okay, this blog needs some much- neglected attention. Haha.

With the prospect of hauling my considerable behind to get a job/ become a temp, I've amassed and compiled a pretty list of material indulgences I can acquire and splurge on with my resulting paycheck. This is defo an initiative for me to get a job during the vacant months leading up to college which for me, starts in April. 

Firstly, I want a REALLY, REALLY good kochmesser; chef's knife in English. Those which can last you a pretty damn long time and which can also double as a means to scare away and intimidate any threatening deejays (inside joke). Then I'd be as happy as a fat cow grazing on a lush meadow cos I already have a pretty decent serrated carving knife and small paring knife. But this lil' baby(Kai ShunC Chef's Knife DM0707) here will set me back a cool 592 bucks. *Whistles* So for now I'll take delight in my Ikea(Haha!) chef's knife which really, is quite for an amateur(aspiring?) foodie like me. 

I still vividly remember the time I picked up my first guitar, a baby Taylor. It was and still is a sweet-sounding guitar. As time passed, I started dreaming of being a rock star so I sorta bugged my parents for an electric guitar. But alas, I've to admit I had a very immature, limited and well slightly raw taste of musical genres then. So I got myself an Ibanez RG which I've to say has served me well for the past 4 years and has been my go-to axe of choice. But as genre preferences develop and change, so do guitar preferences. And what I'd absolutely REALLY wanna get my hands on now is.. a Gretsch Duo Jet. AWESOME guitar; 'nuff said. Killer finish and superb tone. Any other reason? Well cos The Edge(U2) utilizes a Duo Jet from time to time as well. Even Bono has been spotted playing one.

What a Beeauooty.

Close-up.

Next on my little list here, is a Nikon D90. Keane, need I say more? Haha. Keane and Brian played around with Darren's D90 a while ago; comparing their respective D80's and.. let's just say they both felt like throwing away their babies after doing so and getting themselves a D90 too. So yea, I got the chance to tinker with one as well and all I can say now is it's a damn good camera. It's like a "D300 crammed into a smaller body, say a D80", quote Keane. And besides, it's the first SLR with a HD video mode; but only with a limit of 5 minutes. Well, good enough for me! And unlike the D80 (which it is based on), the D90 sports oodles more kick-ass features like built-in stereo speakers and also the necessary cabling for a full Dolby 5.1 surround sound setup. Oh, the ISO? 100-6400! I'm sure by now I'm talking gibberish so go check out the reviews yourself.

They say you're either a watch, belt or shoes person. I love shoes but hey, it def won't hurt to own a kick-ass timepiece. I do already own a few watches and I'd be receiving a Longines for my birthday but what I really really wanna own is a Tag Heuer Carrera. I was immediately stoked the first time I  laid eyes on it. It's so effortlessly stylish and versatile; it won't look out of place at a cocktail reception, makes you stand out at a party, pair it with slacks and a polo tee to shed a few years if you're in your 30's, adds a touch of class when paired with straight-cut jeans, a fitted tee and my Lacoste sneakers, and it def won't look out of place when you're signing that million dollar deal.

Oh $$$$, where art thou? 

I def wouldn't be able to afford the Tag Carrera with my paycheck! But I'm pretty sure the rest of the things listed above won't be labelled under my "wish list" anymore cos hey, I'll be turning 18 soon baby; which means presents, Mum and Dad! Haha.

Laters.

A Prom(pt) Update.

Hello folks!

Just a quick update and sort of reminder.Loads of people have been asking me about the availability of prom tickets. So to those who're interested, here's a little update.

Prom tickets (SMKTS Prom Night '08, obviously) are selling really fast. To those who're still interested in purchasing a ticket or tickets, please, if possible do, make your purchase by this month of October to avoid disappointment. Availability of tickets cannot be guaranteed after the month of October.

Thank you and all the best in preparing for the upcoming SPM examinations.

Laters.

Reason or Rhyme.

I wish I'd be able to come up with a recipe everyday to blog about and share with you guys but alas, time constraint and the fast approaching SPM examinations have kept me from doing so. And also because I'm still a student, not a practicing chef as some readers would've thought. Haha.

Okay before I go on, here's a little disclaimer: the following is NOT in any way an advertisement or a means of free publicity.


So here's the gist of it. Or rather to put it simply. My guitar mentor, Adrian Chew, is in a band called Crimson Epiphany. Yeap, the guy who owns the Gretsch Duo Jet. You might or might not have heard of them and if you haven't, here's a little peek into their music.

Anyways, they've been making waves on the local charts and they're within a whisper of claiming top spot in the Malaysian Top 10 chart show, Met 10, on hitz.fm. They've come a long way and have worked ever so hard, so i believe that they deserve to claim pole position this week. To vote for their song, click HERE. The song's called Reason or Rhyme, by the way.

Support your local music industry. Who knows, one day you might be standing in line to purchase a Re-Pulse CD ? *Wishful thinking* Haha.

Laters.

Razor Clam Pasta (Spaghettini).

This post has been a long delayed one.

This is merely a serving suggestion; and also one for the album ;)

Check out the size of those clams; massive eh?

Yea it's time for another recipe. I've tried this pasta a little over thrice and tweaked and played with the ingredients and flavours along the way.

The freshest produce and ingredients are always a joy to work with. Get the freshest seafood for this dish, not necessarily still swimming but as fresh as you can get, it really makes a difference. But if you're hard up on time and you've got to get some chow on the table, defrosting your seafood is fine too, just that you'd lose a bit of its sweetness and 'seafood-y' flavour. But don't despair, all is not lost.

This pasta dish is sort of like a cross between an aglio olio and a pasta con vongole, garlic olive oil and clam pasta respectively. But I've added a rather peculiar and unconventional mix, using Chinese Cooking Wine (Shao Hsing Hua Tiao Chiew) instead of white wine. Reasons being that I actually the heady taste of it and there were no white wines around my house at the time of cooking. Yes the latter is pretty sad. Cos my parents are pretty devoted fans of red and I'm well not of legal age. (Hmm..?). Back to the Chinese Cooking Wine; if you don't like it, you can leave it out, no problem. This recipe also doesn't require the use of cream.

The prawns; I coked them separately and later added them to the clams and pasta. But you can cook them together with the clams as well. Spaghettini is a thinner version of spaghetti, often referred to as 'angel hair pasta'. Fret not, spaghetti or linguine can be used as well.

Okay enough talk, here it is.

Razor Clam Spaghettini
Recipe by Tan Kel Vin.

(Serves 4)

- 2 heaped tablespoonfuls of finely chopped garlic
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 fresh chillies, finely chopped
- A large handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

- 1/2 a lemon
- Some olive oil
- 500g good-quality dried spaghettini or spaghetti
- 800g-1kg of razor clams, preferably the large ones,
cleaned and debearded
- 8-10 large king prawns, peeled, heads removed and deveined
(save the heads to make seafood or fish stock, very flavourful)
- 1/2 a cup of Chinese Cooking Wine; alternatively a large
wineglass of white wine.
- Salt and black pepper

First of all, soak clams in salted water for a few minutes. Drain and pick through the clams, removing any impurities and barnacles. Discard the bad and nasty-smelling ones, obviously.

Cook the spaghetti or whatever pasta you'd be using according to packet instructions in a large pan of salted boiling water. When cooked al dente, drain the pasta in a colander. To cook pasta al dente, simply cook pasta 1 minute less than packet instructions. And using salted water to cook pasta is a MUST.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a splash of olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the onions. Then add the garlic. Once the onions have turned a little translucent, throw in the clams and prawns with the white wine or Chinese Cooking Wine. Cover with a lid and give it a good shake. Cook for a couple of minutes until all the clams have opened. Discard the ones that remain closed. Toss in your cooked pasta and stir around, adding a little more olive oil if necessary. Squeeze some lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper while tossing the pasta around. Serve immediately.

To garnish and add a little more flavour to the pasta, sprinkle the chopped chilli and parsley all around and over the pasta.

It's that simple.

Laters.

Love & Beauty.

Sorry had to steal this, Keane!

I still can't get over how they managed to squeeze and compact an abstract focal point into one hour. Many were left dazed and slightly gaping . Some thought it was riveting. I thought it was riveting. Kudos Chee Pang and Ollie! And also espesh Chris Ling.

The cool thing about this play is that the director, Chris Ling, told the cast to add their own flair and individualistic styles to the whole thing. So the lighthearted scenes were typically and entrancingly familiar, they had "CHEE PANG" written all over it. Haha. And the sex scene was disturbingly realistic too. Like wow. Like devout Jais officers would sooo flip at the sight.

I can even imagine my moral teacher gasping "Astagafirullahazzzim..!!". Or exclaiming it, more like.

Anyways, I'm no critic so I'll say no more. But I enjoyed it.

Laters.

I'm Hungry for Home.

Well err, I actually feel kinda shy talking about this.

So for full story, check out the missus' blog.

I can't believe I'm actually shy to talk about this. Haha.

Laters.

Your Blissful Ignorance.

Yea, look what that has gotten you into. Oh wait, perhaps you don't even notice. Gosh, wake up dear boy. It ain't doing you any good. IN fact, you're digging your social outcast hole a little deeper. Don't go wondering at the end of the day as to why you'd be at the receiving end of seemingly nonchalant cold shoulders. You're not living alone; you can't just do as you please, pissing everyone off. You've been bloody warned.

On a lighter(if I may call it) note, SPM trials have begun. Oh, the joy. More like agony and unabashed nail-biting nervousness.


The crunch papers have yet to come, the science subjects. Haha. This is what a seventeen year old Malaysian goes through.

Laters.

Illuminate.

Above is the invite to Shirts4Real's 'Illuminate' range launch.

When? 12th September o8', 3PM
Where? Positive Cafe, Subang.

Be there. They aren't just another T-shirt label; the designers create each piece with one reason in mind; which is to impact the lives of others. For more details and a more accurate account of Shirts4Real's origins, click on their blog.

For full details on the launch, go visit their website.

See you there.

Laters.

Sulking No More.

Dimitar Berbatov, more affectionately known by fans as 'Berba' or Berby' has finally put to bed his supposedly unending transfer saga (albeit after months of speculation and unrest) and penned a four-year deal for £30.75million.

He's actually smiling!!

I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Why? Cos' Manchester City made an uncharacteristic and superbly late bid for Berba too. And also cos' the Red Devils are really looking like toothless piranhas up front. Which is pretty paradoxical considering the stupendous amount of goals racked up last season. Oh yea, that was when that boy Ronaldo was in sensational form; experiencing a seemingly infinite purple patch and ruthlessness in front of goal.

But we've got Berby now!

As always, there was a mad rush before the transfer window closed. A plethora of last ditch signings were made and at the centre of all that drama was (believe it or not, I can't actually), Manchester City. Oh yes, Thaksin did finally leave; only to be snapped up by Abu Dhabi United Group. And City's new owner, Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, was quoted saying' "I'm the new Abramovich." Hello mister, just about every owner of BPL clubs have been quoting that. But well, at least Dr Sulaiman's a realistic man, appearing to acknowledege that the real hunt will begin nest season though the club has had a promising start to the season.

Loads more happened before the close, though.

For the complete lowdown, click here.

Laters.

Panic, Sial.

It has been a week now since my interview with Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco was featured in R.AGE. Check it out here. It's actually been a month already since I interviewed Brendon but R.AGE was on a 3 weeks hiatus then so it was only published after that.

It's not the biggest of deals, really. I'd consider getting to play(or actually only just getting the feel of playing) a Gretsch Duo Jet w/ Bigsby a bigger deal. Haha. (The very fortunate owner of that brilliant piece of musical craftsmanship is none other than Adrian Chew of Crimson Epiphany).

The very good people at The Star, the Youth and R.AGE section helmed by Niki Cheong in partuclar, gave me the opportunity to meet Panic and I jumped at the chance. I had to, as did all the other BRATs, send in an essy stating my reasons why'd Panic'd be my dream interview. To cut the long story short, I got it. Thanks guys, once again.

Yeap, that's Brendon.

Oh the link? Here.

Laters.

Never See Birthday Before Ah?

Today's the 20th. Means that tomorrow is Sheng Li's birthday! Wait. Is it? Oh yea yea it is.

We've deflowered Sheng Li. No no, not in that context la sicko. All we did was just treating her to lunch at Jogoya and buying her a nice little birthday cake with all the trimmings. She even asked the missus to come along =) So nice of her, eh?

As happy as a kid in a candy store. Haha.

Yes, she had trouble cutting the cake. She went like "EH WHY CANNOT CUT?!"

Check out the missus' blog for a short video. But the dumbest moment by far and probably the highlight of the whole time was when Aaron (of Aaron i stupid no_) happily and very loudly went "Never see people celebrate birthday before ah?!!" when the other customers shot us peculiar glances while we sang Sheng Li her birthday song. Oh, yes that whole little commotion was caught on video too.

No food photos/ shots as everyone was busy either stuffing themselves silly, making repeated trips to the bathroom, or having fagging breaks in between.

Jogoya hasn't changed much; their forte is still in their extensive selection of the very fresh sushi and sashimi. And they now serve Haagen Dasz ice cream in place of Movenpick.

Yes, they still serve young Thai coconuts.

Laters.

When We Do.

We never know when it's going to strike. But when it does it takes you out so fast and cold you're left in a daze, shaken, bewildered, somewhat amused and utterly traumatised by it all. It's tragedy waiting to strike. Then we wonder.. "what if"..or "I could've, would've, I might already be..wait that's a scary thought.. Then it strikes; how precious and incredibly fragile, this, what we call and refer to as life.

It is undoubtedly scary. Terrifying even. But thank God, you're alright.

I'm not revealing what all this is about. I won't want to steal my very dear friend's thunder, so wait up and check it out here in about two days at most. Considering if I even still have a following/ readers. Haha. But please do check it out.

Thank You for every moment that I'm still breathing.

Laters.

Set The Twilight Reeling.

Hello folks, form 5's of SMKTS in particular, prom tickets are now on sale! The theme for this year's prom is "Set The Twilight Reeling", based on your votes. 

Details are as follows; 

Time : Doors open at 1900 hours; 7 p.m.

Date : 12th December 2008

Venue : Millennium Ballroom, Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur

Tickets are priced RM150. Early Bird Tickets are priced at RM130; only 33 Early Bird Tickets are up for grabs so, better hurry.

Yes I know you guys'd start whining, griping and complain about the price but before that please please take note the rice and petrol price hikes earlier this year and just recently respectively have directly and significantly altered the price of the tickets. Do understand, people.

But i can definitely assure you that it's going to be great and whomsoever partaking in attendance will have a blast and walk away feeling pleased and maybe a little reminisce. That's a promise. And oh here's a little sneak preview.

Spiffily posh innit?

So, be there or be square!

Laters.

Whattheff.

Check out Re-Pulse's new site; revamped, reconstructed, redid, well basically we deleted the old account and started afresh. Remember to please check out our demo's. Many thanks!

Oh heck. I hate this. Schools' starting tomorrow. And with it comes renewed drive and initiative to focus more and be that extra bit more diligent. Hopefully. Actually I could use some of that. Heck, I absolutely NEED that!!!

Just got back from Singapore not long ago. And by going down south I missed Click 5 in concert and The Star's Green Fest. Not that I'm a huge fan of Click 5 but the missus was going so yea.

Down south was very enjoyable. 3D2N trip. Last ditch trip before school reopens after a two-week hiatus. But Singapore was a welcome and refreshing change to KL. I visit that country every year save for the last but only on this trip did it hit how very different it is from Negaraku. And how quite far behind we are from our brother down south. I mean Singapore. We're at least 6 years behind?

And it's a welcome change to see, for example instead of the 'culturally challenged/confused' you get to see at Sungei Wang on weekends, you are treated to instead women and men alike impeccably and trendily dressed, textbook stuff, off the magazine pages- skinny jeans, that 'in' bag, suedes, the works. And men carrying totes are not at all a rarity. In fact, you find them in abundance. Espesh men carrying Gucci's. And oh, I stumbled upon this dude slinging this incredibly cool one around. 

All I could nail down is this picture, I tried googling the 'brand' but to no avail. But yea, it's cool innit?

Singaporeans can reeeaaaally shop. But it's unsurprising. They have a higher spending power and income per quota and dollar-to-dollar compared to Malaysians. So I was told that's it's a common sight to see long queues at LV, Prada, Gucci, Aigner, Miu Miu, Chanel, Kenzo and the like. And young professionals and older folks alike lugging around bags and bags containing all their designer barang's.

Another reason to "readily" embrace this country is for the streets and public places are unbelievably safe . Well it's much safer than ours over here. No fear of your tote bag being snatched while tucking in at Taka's food court, definitely. 

And the cabs over there are uber efficient. Two thumbs up. And oh, no such thing as motorcycle gangs and such. Sweet.

Their quirkiness is also noteworthy enough. Like, ever come across a restaurant with a Chinese name translating into "Mafia's Lair"? But in English it comes across much simpler, aptly named "Bosses".

If you can read Chinese, what does it mean?

Table came with a spectacular view, though.

Anyways, there's also this funky little shop called New Urban Male down at Vivo City. Their stuff, (mainly their tees) are wicked. They have this particular line called David and Goliath. And it's supposedly a spoof of Mr. Men and Little Miss. Some go:

Hehe.

Eh?

Yeap yeap. Oh yea, Tony Roma's over there serve pork ribs in place of beef!! Damn good. Must try.

And oh before I forget, KLPac's having this play, and me as a friend of a few of the casts would like very much for as many people as possible support it. Go go!

Laters.

Bright Rovi.. BRATs la!

I wouldn't at all be surprised if i were the last person from the Penang Workshop to blog about BRATs. But let me say this, joining BRATs has got to be one of the better decisions I've made thus far this year. No shit. By the way BRATs stands for Bright Roving Annoying TeenS

In case you're wondering, BRATs is a young journalist/writers program held on a yearly basis by The Star, a leading daily in the country. it’s been around since 1993, which makes this the 15th year since its launch. every year, applications are open to youths all over Malaysia from the ages of 16-19, to participate in camps in a variety of places.

I'll be talking about this whole workshop experience from a personal point of view or rather, my point of view.

To be honest, I headed north to Penang (where the workshop was held) without much expectations and even less enthusiasm. But there was still a slight measure of zeal and excitement la, of course. What more when it's going to be held in Penang, my all-time favourite among the states in Malaysia thus far.

Well to put it simply, the BRATs workshop was plain awesome. I loved and enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.

There's just so many things to say about the workshop. The people, activities, games, tasks, assignments and what not. And I'm damn lazy to talk about them all. Among the people I know who've "properly" blogged about the workshop are Sandra, Michelle, Sandheep, Joye and Qisthina.

 

So yea, go ahead and check them out.