How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Drumaoke, anyone?

Encore! A day after!

On Tuesday afternoon, I had a two-hour session of ‘drumaoke’ (coined by me to mean playing drums to music from a CD or VCD). I played mainly those songs which have interesting drum beats which included a couple from Maroon 5, Better man, Rod Stewart’s First Cut is the deepest, Pavarotti and friends’ Let it Rain with Jon Bon Jovi, and Se bastasse una canzone with Eros Ramazzotti, Santana’s Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va, and Beyond’s Hoi fut thin hung, to name a few that comes to mind.

Yesterday after lunch, when I got back, the contractor doing renovation for a neighbour and two of his staff came over to ask if I were the one playing drums yesterday. They said, "Carry on, play more Mandarin songs... or anything!"

Just in case anyone thinks I am a good drummer, no, still amateur and yet to get it right with certain parts of most songs. But who cares? There is a big difference between practising to get it right and playing for fun and improving as I go along without pressure. Just compare the live version with recorded version by performers and you will get the drift. I am sure entertainers play according to the audience response. If they feel good, they tend to play better and more naturally instead of sticking to the music piece.

I first got interested in drumming, when my second brother took me to watch Holiday on Ice at the Stadium Negara many years ago, and I noticed a lone drummer playing with the recorded music, which is basically what my version of ‘drumaoke’ is about.

When Dominik was here on his first visit, his tight schedule allowed me to squeeze in only one song and I chose Se bastasse una canzone because he knew the song as he had spent a couple of years in Italy. Was he impressed?

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