Monday, July 21, 2008

Drama Melayu For Dummies

During my now on-going-away holidays of about one month plus, I would spend most of my time at home and some part of that time watching television. And since my grandmother has now acquired a taste of watching homemade dramas while at the same time using her seniority to grasp the remote control from our hands, I joined in. From what I can conclude from three weeks of watching 3-4 local dramas & a sinetron is that no wonder Malaysians are becoming stupider! Here are some points generally noted when watching these series:

  1. Always starts with a Malay ballad i.e. "lagu jiwang karat". However, new dramas portraying hipper, younger & sexier actors and actresses would have catchy themes songs.
  2. Usually portrays Malay families from different social background (rich & poor) or same social background (rich & rich), which usually has to do with the corporate world.
  3. Almost always has Dato' Jalaluddin Hassan as the rich businessman dad. However, after Janji Diana he has taken a hiatus I think. He acted in Tangisan Bulan Madu but got killed off in the earlier episodes.
  4. Mind-numbing plot. The characters would never have any common sense on how to solve the problems. If the conflict, as there'll always be, is resolved in the first episode then there won't be any drama.
  5. In true spirit of soap operas, the main characters are romantically involved with some villains thrown in to try and break apart their undying love.
  6. The main theme is none other than love with minor themes such as greed ("Kita mesti dapatkan harta dia!"), trust ("Aku tahu kau keluar dengan perempuan jalang itu lagi!") & jealousy ("Aku pastikan hubungan Tatia dengan Rafli akan hancus!")
  7. Since it is a soap opera, it must be hundreds of episodes long! There's no such thing as breaking it into seasons; if it has to stretch for one year, so be it!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

How Indie Are You?

After going to many gigs, I have seen many kinds of people & now know which "indie" category they fall into. If you have any ideas or categories you wanna add, do drop me a line!

The One-Band Hardcore Fan
This type of fans are the ones who come to gigs ONLY to see their favorite band perform. As for the other bands performing, they just simply couldn't care less. They would rather waste their time waiting/lepaking outside for these other bands to finish before their idols take the stage. As an example, during early 2008 I would always get pestered with this question at gigs: "Bila Hujan perform?"

The KAMI Wannabe
An interesting category whereby these type of fans sprouted from nowhere post-KAMI. Suddenly you can see them dressing in "happening" (I don't wanna get into the details) clothes wandering aimlessly around MCPA Hall or Annexe, doing almost anything except enjoying the bands. Basically, they are quite easily influenced by the modern media and now feel that indie is the latest fad. Seriously, do you wanna spend RM15 so that you want to be seen?

The Serial Moshers
Those who come to gigs to really enjoy the bands, showing their appreciation by moshing/pogoing/crowd surfing/hardcore dancing etc. Not necessarily a fan of certain bands but just wanna have fun or in Malay, memeriahkan suasana! Warning: those who are afraid to sweat it out or get bruised should not place themselves in this category.

The True Indie Spirits
Like the title suggests, this type of fans are placed on a higher category than the previously mentioned three although sometimes Serial Moshers can be put under this category. The true indie spirits are the ones who come to gigs to enjoy their favorite bands while supporting other bands performing on that day. They do not discriminate & think of being trendy; they sincerely pay their entrance fee for the sake of supporting their local independent scene.

Monday, July 14, 2008

I Heart Kuantan

When at INTEC, we would like to compare our hometown with each other to see who's hometown is better, cleaner & more happening. So, when you go through my musings you'll see some of my posts whole-heartedly dedicated to my current hometown:

Kuantan Bandar Palma!

REASON #1
Just switch on the radio & wait for the hourly traffic report. You'll never ever hear Kuantan being mentioned having any traffic jams. Even if there were any traffic jams during the morning and evening rush hours, it would disappear within 10 minutes tops!

Well, this is one of the perks living in a town compared to a city. Yes, I know Klang Valley is a vibrant and bustling cosmopolitan but living two years in Shah Alam really opened up my eyes on how stressed out people are having made to go through these mindless torrents of traffic jams everyday.

To me, it's just not worth it.

HxC

Forget shuffling, hardcore dancing owns.


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Hi Guys, Welcome To My Blog!

Hey friends & all users of the world wide web!

I'm very new to this whole blogging thing so I'd hope that by reading your blogs around this ever growing "blogosphere", I'll learn to become a better, more productive blogger and who knows probably I can become famous too one day?

My name is Danial and I can say that I'm an easy-going, adventurous person who blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. Okay, here's the thing. Although this is technically a blog, I'll use it as a medium for me to spout some filth, voice any discontent, instill some hatred (that's evil, ain't it?) & become an agent provocateur as and when I see fit. Well, sometimes I'll show my honest, sensitive and caring side for the sake of being human. Some other times I'll also show my wacky, existential, out-of-this-world side for the sake of being inhuman. Hahaha.

Welcome to Not My Problem.