I have always been fascinated by percussion instruments, and in particular, drums! Especially the chinese drums or even the Wadaiko drums. There is something so primitive about it and coupled with a strong performance, it is simply a feast to the senses. The first time I saw a Wadaiko drum performance, it was quite a few years back by a diminutive Japanese guy performing with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He literally used the entire surface of the drum, showcasing the myriad sounds which can be produced by a single drum. It was simply superb! This is just a sample:
And more and more now, we see such performances rendered on stage for pure entertainment. There is such beauty in perfecting the unity. What's more, for such performances, it is not only the music, but the entire conceptualising of the movements and all the other what nots:
Not that this is restricted to Japan, with the Americans also having a go at it, using their marching drums in similar fashion. And in our own shores, I have seen our local group, the Hands Percussion group perform, mingling stylistic drumming to ever fascinating rhythms.
And who is to say drumming needs to be restricted to err.. drums? Enjoy:
And do you know, our local Klang folks have their own Stomp group. Have seen them perform last year. Quite good too! Now, if only I have such rhythm in me and the fitness to play as such. Maybe I should sign up for some classes... hmm... good way to exercise too! :P
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Man In The Mirror
Trying to learn this for a gig next month. Different arrangements though, and not that big a group. Only 6 of us trying to do this acapella. Hmm... have to learn to get it crisp, with even more oomph and angle it to more pop! This is by the MADZ Philippine Madrigal Singers:
Fingers crossed all will go well.
Fingers crossed all will go well.
Innate ability
Truly I believe, that everyone is unique. And inherent in each one of us, is an innate gift. The ability to pick up languages easily, to be musically inclined, to be financial savvy, to interact easily with others, to bake or cook especially well, to have green fingers, and a whole lot more.As I sit here thinking about this, I do wonder if this is a product of reading comic books too much, and the exaggeration of such gifts renders a person to become extraordinary. I think there's also a fine line of being competitive to an extent that that the "kiasu" factor sets in, and the drive to win at all cost to the point of practising and being the very best all the time becomes contrary to the notion of being gifted. However, I do think that talents may be honed and may radiate brightly should the occasion arise.
I don't know, but a person's extraordinariness need not be a visual gift. Some find their gift early on, others later, but those gifted with a compasionate soul, may forever retain that compasionate soul.
What do you consider as your gift? And how have you displayed such gift or gifts to friends and family, and to society as a whole? To exercise a bit of humility, I guess I would say I have no gift, and I am just mediocre in most things. There are definitely a lot more people better than I am in all the things that I do, but I make do with my limited talents, and thank God for gracing me as who I am today.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Attack of the Coughing Germs
One of the things I detest most is falling ill. With the unhealthy city air (despite the rain to clear the very air we inhale), and the various congestions, both human and traffic, it is a wonder that one isn't ill most of the time.I guess germs would happily sing their la-la songs and would greatly procreate in such environment. With me being of such frail health, am easily susceptible to the ever constant migration of such microbes.
I tell you, every year, towards the middle of the year, I would get long bouts of chesty persistent cough which would be so difficult to get rid of. At the moment though, have progressed to the initial stages of coughing. Not to the extent of coughing until I wheeze and what nots, but bad enough that when I talk, my conversation repeatedly gets interrupted by me noisily expelling air from my lungs.
Oh, and headache comes with such symptoms too. Not only that, my vocal chords are slowly going off, gets harder to talk (let alone sing - arghh! may have to cancel my vocal class this Saturday). And what's more, my mood gets affected, and I get really crabby easily, shooting daggers with my eyes and woe to the unfortunate souls who cross my path and test my patience. Sigh, my only consolation is that my voice gets "sexier", but certainly not appreciated in such circumstances.
And you know what, I think my parents had the foresight to bestow upon me a chinese name "Great Health" as a form of protection or charm, otherwise, I wouldn't know where I would be today, probably coughing my lungs out even more I guess.
Anyway, as one would often wish to others, "Drink lots of water with extra dollops of honey" and don't stand too close to me, otherwise I won't be held liable for my coughing germs to go merrily a trotting to you to get better aquianted. Be well.
Monday, June 16, 2008
A mixed bag
Was back in my hometown over the weekend, and for those who generally display scenes of disbelief when I say there is such a thing as Tomato Kuay Teow, here is the proof. Slurpp!And of course, the authentic Sarawak Laksa. Personally, I don't know what the craze is about for Sarawak laksa. True enough, the laksa sauce plays an integral part, but the real taste comes from the belacan me thinks.
The recent bak chang season is over, celebrated last weekend I reckon. Have tried numerous bak changs, and I like the nyonya type the best, not that I don't like the other types though. The blue thingy you see on the bak chang is not colouring, but an actual edible flower. Cool!As for the more typical type of bak chang, well, I don't really like eating egg yolk, particularly if it is salted, and don't really fancy the dried shrimps (hay bee), and get put off "a bit" if the meat in the bak chang has so many layers of fat, so nyonya bak chang suits me best. And yes, I am not fussy, just particular in what I eat! :) And thank you to my friends who let me have a taste of their home made bak changs!
Saw this in the home compound area. My father is trying to grow pepper trees. My siblings asked:Siblings: Is it white pepper or black pepper?
Father smilingly said: Black!
Get it? :P
Friday, June 06, 2008
Decision Making
Got this via email. Thought it was very good:
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track. The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange.
You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids.
However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?
Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........
But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?
Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.
This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.
The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story, said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens.
If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because the track was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in the attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.
While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realise that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.
"Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right."
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track. The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange.You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids.
However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?
Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........
Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. Because to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally.
But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?
Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.
This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.
The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story, said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens.
If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because the track was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in the attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.
While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realise that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.
"Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right."
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
A Silent Lamentation
The last time I wrote about a petrol price hike, it was in 2006, and today, effective midnight, prices of unleaded petrol will go up by 78 cents to RM2.70 per litre.
Before 1990 - RM 0.89
Year 1990 - RM 1.10 (up RM 0.21)
01/10/2000 - RM 1.20 (up RM 0.10)
20/10/2001 - RM 1.30 (up RM 0.10)
01/05/2002 - RM 1.32 (up RM 0.02)
31/10/2002 - RM 1.33 (up RM 0.01)
01/03/2003 - RM 1.35 (up RM 0.02)
01/05/2004 - RM 1.37 (up RM 0.02)
01/10/2004 - RM 1.42 (up RM 0.05)
05/05/2005 - RM 1.52 (up RM 0.10)
31/07/2005 - RM 1.62 (up RM 0.10)
28/02/2006 - RM 1.92 (up RM 0.30)
05/06/2008 - RM 2.70 (up RM 0.78)
It's a massive 40.6% increase, and more price upside to be announced in August this year. Going by what has been previously announced, that prices of petrol will reflect global prices by August, that means there is at least about another RM1.00 to go in August.
Sure, the Government announced subsidies, and no details as yet at this present moment in time, except that there will be a yearly subsidy of RM625 if the vehicle is below 2000cc (which luckily, mine is just below that mark). Probably subsidise via road tax payments I reckon, but hard to say.
Following the price hike in 2006, we noted that the Consumer Price Index (which measures inflation), rose by about 0.53% for every 10 cents increase. Looking at it at a simplistic level, assuming that the CPI is now about 3.00% (due to heavy subsidisation), the CPI might very well hit 7.1% just on this petrol price increase, and thus is more reflective of current regional inflationary numbers (heck, even Singapore has an inflation rate of over 7.00%).
In 2006, petrol prices were about US$40 per barrel, and today, has hit above US$125. At that time, one of our internal oil and gas sector analyst predicted prices will hit US$100 and we heard with some disbelieve. His analysis was based mostly on demand and supply theory, but I guess the recent spate of bullish commodity as an asset class have pushed up prices above what may be fundamentally not right. Many have said that this is now an asset class which is hitting a bubble, and before you know it, the bubble will burst and prices will come a tumbling down, creating another round of financial crisis. Beware the commodity funds! As we like to remind ourselves in our line of work, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful".
One direct repercussion is that transportation costs are going to go up, be it for private vehicles or for public transport. However, I think the ramifications are more severe, especially the knock on effects on the prices of other goods and services. Already, news of several airlines in other countries have gone bankcrupt, unable to cope with the rising petrol prices. How many other sectors are going to be hit?
Mentioned to my colleagues just now upon hearing the news of the 78 cents hike, that my lunch pocket money is limited to RM5 per day, now I need to tighen my belt somehow and reduce it to RM4 per day. But with food prices going up? Even eating lunch in this day and age, I noticed that portions are getting smaller, or for the same amount of food taken, the vendors charge a higher price. Food prices have risen, along with prices of other commodities. You know how much rice costs nowadays? So waste not, want not.
After all that though, we are like children given a toy (petrol subsidy), and once the toy is taken away, there will be a whole lot of hullabaloo, but after a while, acceptance will be there. How spoilt can we be? But then again, we are not talking about toys here, but our own livelihood and the choices we make in our everyday spending patterns.
I remember something which my company's Human Resource staff once said which didn't sit well with me, that our yearly salary increment is based on the inflation numbers. I hope this time, they practice what they preach and adjust all our salaries higher in line with our fall in purchasing power. But alas, that is another year to go before we see any such adjustments.
Is that the end for today? Alas, also announced is that electricity prices will also be going up... Sigh...
Before 1990 - RM 0.89Year 1990 - RM 1.10 (up RM 0.21)
01/10/2000 - RM 1.20 (up RM 0.10)
20/10/2001 - RM 1.30 (up RM 0.10)
01/05/2002 - RM 1.32 (up RM 0.02)
31/10/2002 - RM 1.33 (up RM 0.01)
01/03/2003 - RM 1.35 (up RM 0.02)
01/05/2004 - RM 1.37 (up RM 0.02)
01/10/2004 - RM 1.42 (up RM 0.05)
05/05/2005 - RM 1.52 (up RM 0.10)
31/07/2005 - RM 1.62 (up RM 0.10)
28/02/2006 - RM 1.92 (up RM 0.30)
05/06/2008 - RM 2.70 (up RM 0.78)
It's a massive 40.6% increase, and more price upside to be announced in August this year. Going by what has been previously announced, that prices of petrol will reflect global prices by August, that means there is at least about another RM1.00 to go in August.
Sure, the Government announced subsidies, and no details as yet at this present moment in time, except that there will be a yearly subsidy of RM625 if the vehicle is below 2000cc (which luckily, mine is just below that mark). Probably subsidise via road tax payments I reckon, but hard to say.
Following the price hike in 2006, we noted that the Consumer Price Index (which measures inflation), rose by about 0.53% for every 10 cents increase. Looking at it at a simplistic level, assuming that the CPI is now about 3.00% (due to heavy subsidisation), the CPI might very well hit 7.1% just on this petrol price increase, and thus is more reflective of current regional inflationary numbers (heck, even Singapore has an inflation rate of over 7.00%).
In 2006, petrol prices were about US$40 per barrel, and today, has hit above US$125. At that time, one of our internal oil and gas sector analyst predicted prices will hit US$100 and we heard with some disbelieve. His analysis was based mostly on demand and supply theory, but I guess the recent spate of bullish commodity as an asset class have pushed up prices above what may be fundamentally not right. Many have said that this is now an asset class which is hitting a bubble, and before you know it, the bubble will burst and prices will come a tumbling down, creating another round of financial crisis. Beware the commodity funds! As we like to remind ourselves in our line of work, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful".
One direct repercussion is that transportation costs are going to go up, be it for private vehicles or for public transport. However, I think the ramifications are more severe, especially the knock on effects on the prices of other goods and services. Already, news of several airlines in other countries have gone bankcrupt, unable to cope with the rising petrol prices. How many other sectors are going to be hit?
Mentioned to my colleagues just now upon hearing the news of the 78 cents hike, that my lunch pocket money is limited to RM5 per day, now I need to tighen my belt somehow and reduce it to RM4 per day. But with food prices going up? Even eating lunch in this day and age, I noticed that portions are getting smaller, or for the same amount of food taken, the vendors charge a higher price. Food prices have risen, along with prices of other commodities. You know how much rice costs nowadays? So waste not, want not.
After all that though, we are like children given a toy (petrol subsidy), and once the toy is taken away, there will be a whole lot of hullabaloo, but after a while, acceptance will be there. How spoilt can we be? But then again, we are not talking about toys here, but our own livelihood and the choices we make in our everyday spending patterns.
I remember something which my company's Human Resource staff once said which didn't sit well with me, that our yearly salary increment is based on the inflation numbers. I hope this time, they practice what they preach and adjust all our salaries higher in line with our fall in purchasing power. But alas, that is another year to go before we see any such adjustments.
Is that the end for today? Alas, also announced is that electricity prices will also be going up... Sigh...
Sunday, June 01, 2008
College
Since the last time I posted about my old college, some of my old school mates have been reminiscing about old times, and the bunch in Hong Kong recently got together for a reunion. I was invited of course, but didn't make the trip over.
The recent facebook craze has indeed found old friends, and found old pictures of my college and the town of Dover. Will leave some pics taken from the photo archive created in facebook:
The upper picture shows the school chapel and school house, with the "close" (the green lawn) in front of it. That's where punishment is meted out by making the juniors run around the close. The bottom left shows the school's entrance, and towards the left side of the gate, you can just about see Leamington House, my boarding house where I stayed for a good four years.
This shows the school chapel where I sang as a member of the choir. It's an Anglican Church, with beautiful Anglican music in four parts. I fondly remember the various Christmas services towards the end of Michaelmas term. Oh, the chapel has a pipe organ too! The bottom picture is the living quarters of the senior members of Leamington House (6th formers) situated at the back of the main Leamington House. The white looking room (bottom right picture) is a special classroom for foreign students whose English was the second language. Intensive English classes to brush up the linguistic skills.
The top picture is the Dover waterfront. Alas, it wasn't sandy beaches, but pebbles. Spent some good afternoons there just chilling listening to the sound of the waves. The bottom left picture is the main Dover street, and next to it, a picture of a guy from Cyprus who serves the best Donner kebab ever, and comparatively cheap and affordable for students. GBP2 for a small Donner kebab and extra large was GBP3. The exchange rate at that time was about GBP1=MYR3, but if you don't convert, it's like having RM3 for a extra large helping of an out of this world Donner kebab! And you know how fussy I am with food! :) I think the secret was in the sauce, and since leaving Dover, I have not enjoyed a good Donner kebab like the one sold at the shop.
This is a picture of inside the Refectory, where we would gather to have our meals. I remember there was a "hot" section and a "cold" section of food where we lined up for our choice of food, before entering the main area to goggle them all up. Not as glam as the Harry Porter one, but has similarities.
And how could I finish this post without a final photo? :) This is me playing the piano during one of the various concerts. It was in a hall situated outside the school grounds. I don't remember what music I was playing in this photo though, but my goodness, it has certainly been a while!
The recent facebook craze has indeed found old friends, and found old pictures of my college and the town of Dover. Will leave some pics taken from the photo archive created in facebook:
The upper picture shows the school chapel and school house, with the "close" (the green lawn) in front of it. That's where punishment is meted out by making the juniors run around the close. The bottom left shows the school's entrance, and towards the left side of the gate, you can just about see Leamington House, my boarding house where I stayed for a good four years.
This shows the school chapel where I sang as a member of the choir. It's an Anglican Church, with beautiful Anglican music in four parts. I fondly remember the various Christmas services towards the end of Michaelmas term. Oh, the chapel has a pipe organ too! The bottom picture is the living quarters of the senior members of Leamington House (6th formers) situated at the back of the main Leamington House. The white looking room (bottom right picture) is a special classroom for foreign students whose English was the second language. Intensive English classes to brush up the linguistic skills.
The top picture is the Dover waterfront. Alas, it wasn't sandy beaches, but pebbles. Spent some good afternoons there just chilling listening to the sound of the waves. The bottom left picture is the main Dover street, and next to it, a picture of a guy from Cyprus who serves the best Donner kebab ever, and comparatively cheap and affordable for students. GBP2 for a small Donner kebab and extra large was GBP3. The exchange rate at that time was about GBP1=MYR3, but if you don't convert, it's like having RM3 for a extra large helping of an out of this world Donner kebab! And you know how fussy I am with food! :) I think the secret was in the sauce, and since leaving Dover, I have not enjoyed a good Donner kebab like the one sold at the shop.
This is a picture of inside the Refectory, where we would gather to have our meals. I remember there was a "hot" section and a "cold" section of food where we lined up for our choice of food, before entering the main area to goggle them all up. Not as glam as the Harry Porter one, but has similarities.
And how could I finish this post without a final photo? :) This is me playing the piano during one of the various concerts. It was in a hall situated outside the school grounds. I don't remember what music I was playing in this photo though, but my goodness, it has certainly been a while!
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