Monday, January 03, 2005
Zahid, Carmen, Aviator, Closer, Tennis
Lepak sekejap with Zahid @ Dome KLCC
Tuesday, Dec 28 2004
Due to my trip to Bali, I missed the premiere of Zahid's 'Milikku' video clip at Muzik@RIA and missed Zahid's surprise birthday coverage at Trek Selebriti. Wasn't even back in time for the repeat :(
I've finally gotten hold of a taping of Muzik@RIA. Will pop it in the VCR after work. Ketinggalan train habis aku nampaknya, hehe. Heard that they've stopped playing it on Hitz.TV till they take out some parts yang agak controversial.
Anyway, even though tak dpt tgk Zahid's vid clip and surprise bday party, I was lucky to catch Zahid at KLCC the 2nd day I came back from Bali. Happy banget! :)
Was having lunch with my girlfriends when the hubby of one of them sms-ed saying that he's behind Zahid at the escalator. Apalagi... Terus le calling, tanya boleh jumpa kejap to say hi ke tak. He was about to watch 'Kungfu Hustle' so he said he'd call me back after the movie.
We met up at Dome after the movie and lama gak le lepak ngan dia and Hafez. Ada 1 ½ jam. Mmg puas hati. Kegumbiraan, hehe. Kebetulan, Lisa, model vid clip 'Milikku' was seated at the table next to Zahid. When her friends left she joined me, Zahid & Hafez for awhile.A few minutes after she left us, Zahid & Hafez pun minta diri, nak check out FCUK before going off to One Utame for a meeting with the Power Root folks.
He mentioned recording a 'padang pasir' song for the soundtrack of 'Qaisy & Laila' entitled 'Warkah untuk Laila' so watch out for it peeps! :)
Carmen Opera @ Istana Budaya
Dec 18, 2004
Watched Carmen when everyone else went to either 'Rock The World', 'Joe Flizzow & Friends' or 'Mangga BBQ'. Saw the 'Rock The World' coverage on Beat TV and what a great crowd. And hey, Zahid from Disagree is pretty cute, hehe :)
I've never been to an opera so I didn't really have any high expectations. What am I saying? Of course I had high expectations, I just lowered it, hehe. I mean, Carmen was Taiwanese and the cast was 98% Malaysian. I do not want to be biased, I'm just protecting my level of enjoyment by lowering my expectations.
Overall, I found it enjoyable - if you discount the minor hiccups :
Stage/set design - Uninspired, REALLY cheap looking, drab & boring! Really disappointing. During the middle of the play, the backdrop tore off! I still don't know if it was intentional or and accident. My friends think it was intentional but I tend to skew the other way.
The chorus (both adult & child) - Inaudible!! Esp the children choir. Nevermind they looked stiff and awkward onstage... I wanna be able to hear them first! And I was seated VERY near to the stage. Thankfully, there weren't too many chorus after Act I.
The leads:
Don Jose - Slow & sluggish start. Thank goodness he stepped up. Act I was just bad. I think he just lacks charisma.
Escamillo - No complaints at all. Exudes charisma and I could hear him loud & clearly.
Carmen - Ok lah. Has to discard her Taiwanese slang when speaking English. I think Micaela stole the show from her.
Micaela - Bravo!! Why is she not in the lead? Malaysia Boleh!! Cecilia Yap was the recipient of 2002's BOH Cameronian Arts Award for 'Best Solo Performance' for Opera.
Kudos as well to the excellent supporting cast - I liked Remendado, Dancairo, Mercedes & Frasquita a lot. They were alive!!
Casting a 98% Malaysian cast is ambitious but hey, if not now, when huh? That said, it was weird watching a Spanish setting with Asian looking people singing in French! It looked as if the set was in Manila or Vietnam to be honest!
Initially, it was pretty bad, but it got better. It is Carmen after all right? I was just so happy when we got to the much awaited Toreador song. I've heard Bizet played at PETRONAS' Philharmonic Hall lotsa time so it was nice to finally see it acted out. I'm glad they decided to stick with singing in French as the language is beautiful. They had subtitles anyway, so we understood what was happening.
Watching the Toreador act in Carmen brought back memories of my visit to a bullfight in Madrid. I was shocked to see that the matadors were really famous. Didn't expect people to be rushing for signed pictures of the matadors. And how sad to watch a strong, wild bull slowly weakened after repetitious attacks. It's kinda unfair though, as it was many against one bull.
And while listening to the Toreador, I immediately think of Schumi. It's really the Schumi song you know! :) They play it during the champagne spraying session after the end of a GP and really, Schumi's made the top podium his own the past few years, hasn't he? This year's campagin will most probably be a tough one though. Today is Schumi's birthday, so Happy 36th Birthday Schumi!! It's also JRR Tolkien's birthday today. Two geniuses sharing the same birhtdate, hehe :)
The Aviator
Cate Blanchett was just wonderful as Katherine Hepburn!!! I just love her!
FACT: According to MSNBC, Scorsese really wanted Blanchett for his film "The Aviator." He reportedly told his casting director ''Get me that girl who was in 'Elizabeth,'. If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'Veronica Guerin.' If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'The Shipping News'. :)
The lovely Cate Blanchett
Cate plays Katherine Hepburn
Interesting movie, definitely much much better than Alexander! Am not much of a DiCaprio fan, but he did quite ok. He still looked young at times but I'll give him props. I was moved and felt for the guy.
Closer
Cepatle keluar DVD9!! :) Highly doubt it'll get released in our cinemas.
Can't wait to see this!!! Natalie Portman looks stunning in this movie!
Natalie in Closer
Masters Cup Highlights
Caught the Masters Cup Highlights on ASTRO yesterday. Did anybody see this? Pretty cool documentary about the 8 players filmed from the locker room.
They showed how popular Safin was with the girls in Houston at the practice courts. There was this girl who waited for him (I see me in her, obviously!!) And that lucky *****, she got a pic with Marat!! Aaarghhh!!! When asked by the cameramen what does she think of Marat she said : "He’s just beautiful isn’t he?" Sigh, he is!!! Of course, we don’t like Safin just because he is sooo fine... We do appreciate his talent. She did mention his form is improving now etc :)
For the end credits, selected players held a namecard printed with a credit name. After they held up the card they flung it to the camera. Pretty cute.
So we had Roddick, Hewitt, Federer.. They were mostly at the courts and dressed in their tennis gear. Then comes Safin.
He’s in the locker room. Standing. Stark naked except for the name card covering his privates. That cheeky bastard!! He had this naughty grin and looked so hot I almost fainted! :) Can’t believe that escaped the censors. I was like "Fling the bloody namecard! PLEASE!!" :)
Now I am officially, seriously upset I am not going to the Oz Open. It’s just gruesome! I need to see Safin - stat!! :) Not only is it the 100th anniversary of the Oz Open, it’s probably one of my last chance to see Agassi do well in a Slam. If I knew Safin was gonna buck up and do well at the end of 2004 I wouldn’t have gone on 4 holidays!! :) Aaaargh, sayangnya!!! Both my man Safin & Andre seem to fare well at the Rebound Ace too. Sigh..
Australian Open starts 17 Jan 2005
Bangkok Open in late Sept 2005 seems ages!! I just hope Marat, FedEx & Roddick will make it to Bangkok like last year.
Till then, it’s the Hopman Cup for a quick Safin fix :)
Dang, Russia has lost to Germany!!
Germany def Russia 2-1
Anna-Lena Groenefeld lost to Anastasia Myskina 3-6, 3-6
Tommy Haas d Marat Safin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Groenefeld/Haas d Myskina/Safin 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10/6)
Tuesday, Dec 28 2004
Due to my trip to Bali, I missed the premiere of Zahid's 'Milikku' video clip at Muzik@RIA and missed Zahid's surprise birthday coverage at Trek Selebriti. Wasn't even back in time for the repeat :(
I've finally gotten hold of a taping of Muzik@RIA. Will pop it in the VCR after work. Ketinggalan train habis aku nampaknya, hehe. Heard that they've stopped playing it on Hitz.TV till they take out some parts yang agak controversial.
Anyway, even though tak dpt tgk Zahid's vid clip and surprise bday party, I was lucky to catch Zahid at KLCC the 2nd day I came back from Bali. Happy banget! :)
Was having lunch with my girlfriends when the hubby of one of them sms-ed saying that he's behind Zahid at the escalator. Apalagi... Terus le calling, tanya boleh jumpa kejap to say hi ke tak. He was about to watch 'Kungfu Hustle' so he said he'd call me back after the movie.
We met up at Dome after the movie and lama gak le lepak ngan dia and Hafez. Ada 1 ½ jam. Mmg puas hati. Kegumbiraan, hehe. Kebetulan, Lisa, model vid clip 'Milikku' was seated at the table next to Zahid. When her friends left she joined me, Zahid & Hafez for awhile.A few minutes after she left us, Zahid & Hafez pun minta diri, nak check out FCUK before going off to One Utame for a meeting with the Power Root folks.
He mentioned recording a 'padang pasir' song for the soundtrack of 'Qaisy & Laila' entitled 'Warkah untuk Laila' so watch out for it peeps! :)
Carmen Opera @ Istana Budaya
Dec 18, 2004
Watched Carmen when everyone else went to either 'Rock The World', 'Joe Flizzow & Friends' or 'Mangga BBQ'. Saw the 'Rock The World' coverage on Beat TV and what a great crowd. And hey, Zahid from Disagree is pretty cute, hehe :)
I've never been to an opera so I didn't really have any high expectations. What am I saying? Of course I had high expectations, I just lowered it, hehe. I mean, Carmen was Taiwanese and the cast was 98% Malaysian. I do not want to be biased, I'm just protecting my level of enjoyment by lowering my expectations.
Overall, I found it enjoyable - if you discount the minor hiccups :
Stage/set design - Uninspired, REALLY cheap looking, drab & boring! Really disappointing. During the middle of the play, the backdrop tore off! I still don't know if it was intentional or and accident. My friends think it was intentional but I tend to skew the other way.
The chorus (both adult & child) - Inaudible!! Esp the children choir. Nevermind they looked stiff and awkward onstage... I wanna be able to hear them first! And I was seated VERY near to the stage. Thankfully, there weren't too many chorus after Act I.
The leads:
Don Jose - Slow & sluggish start. Thank goodness he stepped up. Act I was just bad. I think he just lacks charisma.
Escamillo - No complaints at all. Exudes charisma and I could hear him loud & clearly.
Carmen - Ok lah. Has to discard her Taiwanese slang when speaking English. I think Micaela stole the show from her.
Micaela - Bravo!! Why is she not in the lead? Malaysia Boleh!! Cecilia Yap was the recipient of 2002's BOH Cameronian Arts Award for 'Best Solo Performance' for Opera.
Kudos as well to the excellent supporting cast - I liked Remendado, Dancairo, Mercedes & Frasquita a lot. They were alive!!
Casting a 98% Malaysian cast is ambitious but hey, if not now, when huh? That said, it was weird watching a Spanish setting with Asian looking people singing in French! It looked as if the set was in Manila or Vietnam to be honest!
Initially, it was pretty bad, but it got better. It is Carmen after all right? I was just so happy when we got to the much awaited Toreador song. I've heard Bizet played at PETRONAS' Philharmonic Hall lotsa time so it was nice to finally see it acted out. I'm glad they decided to stick with singing in French as the language is beautiful. They had subtitles anyway, so we understood what was happening.
Watching the Toreador act in Carmen brought back memories of my visit to a bullfight in Madrid. I was shocked to see that the matadors were really famous. Didn't expect people to be rushing for signed pictures of the matadors. And how sad to watch a strong, wild bull slowly weakened after repetitious attacks. It's kinda unfair though, as it was many against one bull.
And while listening to the Toreador, I immediately think of Schumi. It's really the Schumi song you know! :) They play it during the champagne spraying session after the end of a GP and really, Schumi's made the top podium his own the past few years, hasn't he? This year's campagin will most probably be a tough one though. Today is Schumi's birthday, so Happy 36th Birthday Schumi!! It's also JRR Tolkien's birthday today. Two geniuses sharing the same birhtdate, hehe :)
The Aviator
Cate Blanchett was just wonderful as Katherine Hepburn!!! I just love her!
FACT: According to MSNBC, Scorsese really wanted Blanchett for his film "The Aviator." He reportedly told his casting director ''Get me that girl who was in 'Elizabeth,'. If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'Veronica Guerin.' If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'The Shipping News'. :)
The lovely Cate Blanchett
Cate plays Katherine Hepburn
Interesting movie, definitely much much better than Alexander! Am not much of a DiCaprio fan, but he did quite ok. He still looked young at times but I'll give him props. I was moved and felt for the guy.
Closer
Cepatle keluar DVD9!! :) Highly doubt it'll get released in our cinemas.
Can't wait to see this!!! Natalie Portman looks stunning in this movie!
Natalie in Closer
Masters Cup Highlights
Caught the Masters Cup Highlights on ASTRO yesterday. Did anybody see this? Pretty cool documentary about the 8 players filmed from the locker room.
They showed how popular Safin was with the girls in Houston at the practice courts. There was this girl who waited for him (I see me in her, obviously!!) And that lucky *****, she got a pic with Marat!! Aaarghhh!!! When asked by the cameramen what does she think of Marat she said : "He’s just beautiful isn’t he?" Sigh, he is!!! Of course, we don’t like Safin just because he is sooo fine... We do appreciate his talent. She did mention his form is improving now etc :)
For the end credits, selected players held a namecard printed with a credit name. After they held up the card they flung it to the camera. Pretty cute.
So we had Roddick, Hewitt, Federer.. They were mostly at the courts and dressed in their tennis gear. Then comes Safin.
He’s in the locker room. Standing. Stark naked except for the name card covering his privates. That cheeky bastard!! He had this naughty grin and looked so hot I almost fainted! :) Can’t believe that escaped the censors. I was like "Fling the bloody namecard! PLEASE!!" :)
Now I am officially, seriously upset I am not going to the Oz Open. It’s just gruesome! I need to see Safin - stat!! :) Not only is it the 100th anniversary of the Oz Open, it’s probably one of my last chance to see Agassi do well in a Slam. If I knew Safin was gonna buck up and do well at the end of 2004 I wouldn’t have gone on 4 holidays!! :) Aaaargh, sayangnya!!! Both my man Safin & Andre seem to fare well at the Rebound Ace too. Sigh..
Australian Open starts 17 Jan 2005
Bangkok Open in late Sept 2005 seems ages!! I just hope Marat, FedEx & Roddick will make it to Bangkok like last year.
Till then, it’s the Hopman Cup for a quick Safin fix :)
Dang, Russia has lost to Germany!!
Germany def Russia 2-1
Anna-Lena Groenefeld lost to Anastasia Myskina 3-6, 3-6
Tommy Haas d Marat Safin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Groenefeld/Haas d Myskina/Safin 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10/6)
