Pelikat Pants Designer

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Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Backstage Ketika Rehearsal Concert Merdeka KLCC 2005!!

Kepada kodok-kodok yang nak tahu apa dia aktiviti chief kodok semalam - Inilah dia. Korang ingat menang award ada orang nak bagi cuti ke..hampeh.. keje yop keje!!

1. Mak Yusni,Me, Hutch dan Zaibo - The Fusion Bhangra! Mission impossible kita untuk belajar menyanyi dalam bahasa hindi dan mereka nyanyi lagu 'AKU LELAKI' dari Album Fuuyo!!!!


2. Hutch - Tok Guru Bhangra Gua!! Kawan gua ni mempunyai koleksi minus one lagu hindustan yang terbesar di dalam dunia ni - katanyalah. A very nice guy. N' talented as hell!


3. Rosyam, selaku hos Malam concert Merdeka KLCC, tengah layan perasaan? Takkan Tak puas hati ngan gua kut? hee hee.. Apa-apahal pun gua respek gila kat dia ni pasal, selain dari gua, inilah sorang lagi orang tak senyuman yang bekerja tak henti-henti.


4. Ini penari2 Noraniza Idris. Penari tengah tu cunnn gila,! Nak berkenalan tapi malu nak bukak mulut! ahaks..


5. Gua dengan salah seorang idola gua, Aziz Sattar. Kagum aku dengan dia ni. Lagenda ini patut diberi peng - hormatan yang lebih tinggi. Jangan bagi dia jadi macam Allahyarham P.Ramlee - lah nanti, dah takde baru orang nak sibuk-sibuk bagi Tan sri-lah, apa-lah. RESPEKTAH Uncle Aziz!


6. MARSHA AF3 : "Mana abang afdlin tak sampai-sampai rehearsal ni...dahlah dia suruh i pegang trofi anugerah skrin dia....sampai lenguh tangan Marsha AF3 tau"


7. I dream of anak Jin!! Joe Wings, Selambakodok dan Rahim Maarof (legend KAPAK tuu!!)


8. Prana... Aji dan Samuel Dass tengah tuning guitar dengan Sitar! World!!. Muzik depa ni sangat meng - asyikkan ianya Gabungan music Indian ragga, bersama funk dan blues! Happeningkodok!!


9.Selambakodok di atas Pentas bersama rakan kekodok yang lain. Selamat hari jadi Malaysiaku yang sangat aku sayang, semoga kau terus kekal aman dan di lindungi Allah.


10. The Bhangra Posse - Symbol muzik progressif melayu berjumpa muzik tradisi punjabi!! Hilang akal!!


11. Yantzen yang kelaparan kerana rehearsal satu hari telah menjadi cannibal dan memakan tangan Bob. Anuar menyorak Yantzen supaya gigit kuat-kuat.


12. Amy Search bersama gang2 lain menunggu detik 12 malam - Malam Merdeka! (olok-olok)

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Frakk Me! what the hell just happened to my life on Friday??


I am stumped...
Dumbfounded..

I mean what he hell just happened in the last 24 hours of my life.

Got up a bit late friday morning because we had a rocking ACTORLYMPICS nite and i went to play futsal right after that and finished at 2am. Yes memang kita bebudak gila yang main bola ikut European time. I think i might have overstrained myself because at one point i did feel like i was going to die (i am so the drama sometimes, i make me puke). Anyway i got up and started preparing for the friday nite gig for the Malaysian Gas Association's annual dinner nite themed "DANGDUT FIESTA".

Before anyone comes up with a snyde anti-dangdut remark just remember that - hey, a guy's gotta pay the bills alrite!! heehee... Like the answer Forest Whittaker gave me when i asked him why he chose to do a crap film like 'SPECIES' at a dinner in KL, he just smiled at me and said "good call there"...he paused and then he said "Some things you do for love and some things you do because people are literally throwing money at you."

I had to miss Friday's Actorlympics and more importantly the ANUGERAH SKRIN TV3 2005 because we had this gig confirmed way back about a month ago. Being honest, I wasn't really expecting anything from the TV3 award show as i didn't even know wether my film was even considered for any awards and if you look at the stiff competition, you just don't know about your chances. It's not that i didn't believe in my film, it was just that after completing BULI BALIK, i had closed the book on my baby, BULI.

Feeling the need to be represented anyhoo, my bootifoo wife agreed to go in my stead to the awards show. (This is why all you single guys should think about getting hitched - The benefits are endless!!)

So there i was, all dangdut-ified in my batek sarong and ready to shake my bon-bons with the special guest star flown exclusively from Indonesia for this event, INUL!!! The number one Dangdut mega star in the world (yes people, she is much bigger than Mawi!)

where other dangdut singers only shake and swing their hips, this lady grinds and drills her bottom at a fever pitch! (not unlike one of petronas's oil drilling equipment. Holy Friholey, this woman can shake that behind, it was as if it had a mind of it's own and i promise you, after watching her move, you will never look at a woman's behind the same again. RESPECTA!!

During her show, i decided to look at my phone and suddenly i saw twenty sms-ses. when i opened one it said, "cogratulations!! you won best screenplay!!!" and i was stunned out of my mind... Inul's ass started to fade away into memory. I couldn't believe that there were still people who cared enough to still honor the writing i did for BULI which i personally believe is one of the better stories written in our day, besides Rabun, Sepet and even PGL. (Yes, i am shamelessly going into basket and carry myself - but what the hell, if i don't believe in myself, who will?)

Then another stream of SMS's came in and one the said said " You Bastard!! you beat M. Nasir & Rosyam Nor! Congratulations best actor!!"... What the hell. INUL...who?

I was shocked more than ecstatic, so i went out on stage after that dangdut singer from.. from... from... errr.. i can't remember where, finished her showtime, to do the lucky draw and after the last prize was given away, i decided to share this news with everyone in the event. I told them that at the TV3 skrin awards happening concurrently with this event, i had just won best screenplay and best actor. They good people of Malaysian Gas were ecstatic. (they were pobably thinking " thank god we got him before he won the awards because if after, sure he charge us more one!) And then i heard my manager, Shima, shout from the wings " You won best director tooo!!!!!

WHAAAT THE FRAAKK! (Syukur Alhamdulillah)... i was frozen. my feet felt like jello. My face drew a blank as if it was slapped multiple times by inul's butt. My baby won again. The crowd cheered louder but all i could hear was myself saying thank you god, over and over again - i didn't even know there was a trip to hollywood and cash prize involved!!

Somebody finally carried me offstage and my manager then told me we were going to PWTC to catch the tail end of the awards. Like a zombie i just obeyed and when i got there i was greeted with " Aiiya where were you???"... "A bit late aren't you?"... I could only smile, i didn't feel the need to justify myself.

As i entered the main hall, AZWAN ALI was still yakking on stage, but as the crowd noticed me come in some people started to applaud me... It was a very weird sensation. i could only smile. I saw my wife and we hugged. She then said, " i'm charging you for picking up this awards on your behalf!". We hugged somemore. She saw me create BULI from scratch and spend countless hours trying to make it the best i can, " You deserve it baby!" she said, and tears started to well up in my eyes like a MIYAZAKI anime character.

After that there were some interviews and photograph session laaa deee daaa deee daaa.

Chris (my wife), Shima (my manager) and myself, later had coffee at the Pan Pacific, and just looked at each other, quite proud of our achievement so far in the entertainment industry (We all are VISION WORKS the company that has been supporting my creative endeavours for 7 years). We all set out with one vision, to make the entertainment industy better, more exciting and to boldly go, where no Malaysian has gone before. We are not there yet, but i do believe we are a step closer.

what have i learned from this experience?

Maybe.... When you don't expect something and just do things to the best of your abilities all the time, everytime someone recognizes your work, it always feels like an amazing gift.

Thank you, terima kasih to all my kodoks for your kind words and thoughts, i am TERUJA to give you better work and to share all the great new technical and creative knowledge that i've learnt since BULI, in my upcoming films. LOVE U ALL.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

i'm out

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Happy women's day to all you georgous-gorgeous beautys!

My Beautiful Family.
Since today is wanita day, i would like to pay much respect an homage to all the women in my life... MY MOM especially, for being my strength and inspiration. My wife Chris, for her friendship, love and devotion, Miasara Shauki, my first child for giving meaning to my life, to Anais Shauki, my second busyuk bacin for teaching me what being a father is all about. To all my sisters, who have always treated me (their Yeop) no different from any brother (eventhough we don't meet up as frequently as i would like to anymore) and have alway been there to support me in many ways. My Sis In-law Priscilla, for her belief in me, For being the sane steadfast and driven person in running our company. My manager Shima, the ex-lioness, who without her persistance and muka tebal (asyik kena maki dengan client), i would not have achieved much of what i have today. Love you all and enjoy your day.

PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL UPDATE!

Hey i'm glad to hear that some of you dah dapat CD and cassettes, i am getting an average of a hundred emails a day. at this rate, by the end of this week, my music would have gone out to almost a thousand people. Tank you to those of you that have paid. The moneys will go to funding my next project ie. Afdlin & Hattan's blues project : Mak Ok Jer!!. Which we shall distribute to you too if you are interested in the next album. The fact that almost one thousand people have moved to do something about an issue that they are interested in or unhappy about, truly has made me belief that if we put our minds together, we, Malaysia, can achieve anything. Like eradicating poverty. MUCH RESPECT!! & MORE POWER TO ALL OF YOU.

There is also a change of email address for the PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL! which is no longer selambakodok@hotmail.com, to ...

  • selambakodok@gmail.com


  • Dalam masa lima hari ni gua punya hotmail punya space dah jardi critical dah. DAT is a good problem.
    Please take note. You beautiful-beautiful people. I am so touched by all the well wishers and friends who have my back. BOOYAKA SHAA!! You guys are the BOMB.

    Tuesday, August 23, 2005

    Revolusi kita bermula di sini.... viva la' internet!

    Tepat pukul 2.35 petang tadi the first batch of cds and cassettes were sent out to my friends in cyberworld. My music was sen out all over Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Germany, USA, UK, Singapore, Brunei and egypt. You know who u guys are! Thanks people, sincerely.

    The cds and cassettes were sent out to those who applied by sunday. Those who applied after sunday will be informed of the next scheduled shipment this week. Masaalahnya i have a small staff and we all yang responsible for the packing , timbang berat menatang tu, jilat stamp (DNA gua ada kat situ) dan mengeposkan the items for..

  • PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!


  • This coming week muka-muka ni jugaklah yang akan pergi menjadi stage hands, usherers for Actorlympics. Having said that, we are also committed to making this inter-net-working dream a reality so we will do everything to ensure that this will be a memorable, wonderful experience for you all. And guess what??....

    i spoke to Hattan yesterday about this thing i've created and he got excited too. Dia memang dah lama menyampah kat distributors kat Mesia ni. So we are going to work on a blues album together (something that we had planned since working together in BULI dulu) called Projek : Mak OK jer... and we will distribute it on the net the same way.
  • Dengar dulu baru beli.

  • We put the power of choice back in your hands, and not the distributors who always say "ini album tara jual punyaaaaa!". The tagline for baik punya cilok is "lu cilok gua, gua cilok lu!" i feel that the distributors have forgotten the consumers. They are churning crap stuff and still expect people to pay the same prices, eventhough their cost is lowered. They keep production budgets low because they say, "the consumers won't know the difference la, wether ko rekod album kau kat Synchrosound ke atau kat dlm jamban ke!", the problem is... I FRAKKING KNOW u mangkuk yang dihayun u!!!

    Kalau tidak, kenapa si Ahmad Dani dan DEWA tu pergi buat mastering kat Australia di Studios 301 (Same place FUUYO was mastered,..jangan marah!!) kenapa tak buat kat Indonesia aje. Murah pun murah. Sebabnya, mereka ambil kisah tentang kualiti muzik diorang yang akan keluar nanti dan akan terpateri seperti batu didalam cd itu. kalau hanjing kualitinya sampai bila-bilalah akan jadi hanjinng. Good musicians will always want to get the best songs, the best sound, the best performance to their audience. When the audiens get the best, they will pay for it.. Pasal i believe the basic rule when dealing with other human beings is, "gua respek lu, lu respek gua"...."gua kencing lu, lu kencing gua".

    Before i sign off, i would just like to say Happy Birthday to Yang Amat Mulia, Tengku Muda pahang who got PUNK'ED yesterday in a surprise birthday party that was planned as meticulously as the watergate conspiracy by his beautiful wife, Cik Puan Julita.

    You see, he thought he was going to launch the world cup promotion campaign for NTV7 (DAtuk Shazaly Ramli CEO of NTV7 being one of the major conspiritor - sent TM an ntv7 official invitation letter and all) and being passionate about football he said yes to it. A problem arised however for the main conspiritor (Cik PUan Julita) when he told her that she need not attend this event because it was a manly affair hee..hee..

    Panicked about not being able to attend the birthday party that she help set up, she got a friend who owns a college to send an official letter inviting her to officiate her college carnival. She told her husband about the invitation and got his blessings to go. The wheels were set in motion and there was no turning back...

    So now our unsuspecting prince, came down all the way from his home in Kuantan to the Ritz Carlton hotel where the NTV7 banners were set up , Cameras and all were set up, photographers with flashing lights and all. When the ballroom door was opened he saw the room was darkened and suddenly like a band of Uruk-hai in the darkness we all yelled, "SURPRIIIIISSSEE!".
    The young prince looked confused... but when his wife came to embrace him amidst the crowd, i could see his eyes welling up...all this trouble for the man she loved, to give him the most memorable bithday ever. Amongst the alumni of people in attendance were his pahang football people, most of the pahang royal family, celebrities who have became his close friends over the years, close personal fiends from indonesia, Dubai, Phillipines were flown in by his wife (not personally-la) and the very handsome Prince of Jordan who came in to play polo with the royals last week (Ohh I say!).

    the very eligible prince of jordan did say something really funny i thought, When knowing the passion TM had for malaysia's number 1 sport , football, he commented that in his country, MARRIAGE is the number one sport. heehee kelako.

    One thing that i can personally say about TM is that he is the real deal. If he says he will do something, he will do it. He is a man driven by PASSION. A passion for his people, his state, for his family, for his state football team and for his friends. When he offers his hand in friendship to you, he expects nothing else but your companionship. And that kodok-kodok semua, is quality that is hard to find from a man in his position. He deserves all the good things that is happening to him in his life.
    Happy birthday tengku muda. You just got PUNK'ed! & cherish that bootifoo wife of yours. she is a diamond among the stones.

    Don't forget gang
  • PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!
  • is still on going , please continue your support as it is priceless to the success of
  • PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!
  • and the facel ift to the nature music is delivered to the public.

    POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

    Sunday, August 21, 2005

    PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!

    ACTORLYMPICS at Actor's Studio, Bangsar Shopping Centre

    Satu perkara menarik yang akan berlaku minggu depan (selain dari PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!) dgn gua, member gua harith, Ida Nerina, Edwin Sumun dan ramai lagi adalah kitorang akan membuat satu persembahan live di actor's studio bangsar dari

    25hb august hinggalah 28hb august.
    setiap malam pukul 8.00pm
    dan sabtu dan ahad ada extra show pada pukul 3.00 petang

    Harga tiket adalah
    a) RM37 b) RM 32 c) RM27 untuk pelajar dan warga tua

    Jemputlah datang beramai-ramai tengok ACTORLYMPICS!

    Maybe you are asking yourself right now, "What the jadah is Actorlympics?"

    Well kengkawan, Actorlympics datangnya daripada perkahwinan perkataan ACTOR dan OLYMPICS. Ianya merupakan sebuah persembahan lakonan komedi yang di improvisasikan.

    Soalan kedua anda. "What the jadah is lakonan komedi yang di improvisasikan?"

    Well kengkawan, Improv adalah apabila pelakon tidak membuat sebarang persiapan apa-apa dan akan membuat lakonan sketsa-sketsa on the spot based on whatever the audience suggestions are. Kita (pelakon) akan melakukan apa saja yang di cadangkan oleh audiens. contohnya

    The Translation game.
    Selalu kita tengok Miss Universe kan pabila tiba part soal-jawab aje miss venezuela confirm akan panggil seorang jurubahasa. Soalannya macammana kita tahu yang jurubahasa tu cakap apa yang miss venezuela tu cakap? kalau dia torak kita hidup-hidup pun kita tak tahu. Jadi permainan sketsa ini telah di buat untuk prove this point.
    1. Penonton akan memanggil dua pelakon untuk melakukan sketsa ini.
    2. Penonton akan memilih topic lecture yang akan di translatekan contohnya : Padah menghisap rokok sambil menyelam.
    3. Seorang pelakon akan menjadi lecturer dan seorang lagi translater. lecturer ini akan bercakap dalam bahasa planet asing
    dan pelakon yang lagi satu akan cuba menceritakan maknanya sebaik mungkin.

    Karaoke Muzik video director game.
    Semua orang tahu yang muzik video karaoke kat malaysia ni poyo-poyo belaka. Visual dia memang takde kena mengena dengan lagu. In honor of Malaysian Karaoke Music videos we designed this game.
    1. Penonton akan memanggil seorang pelakon ke tengah pentas dan menyuruh beliau membuat berberapa pergerakan yang pelik-pelik di atas pentas.
    2. Sebuah lagu akan dimainkan secara rawak dan pelakon kena menyesuaikan pergerakan pelik-pelik yang baru beliau pelajari itu dengan lagu karaoke yang akan dinyanyikan oleh pelakon lain.

    senang cerita, macam Whose line is it anyway la.

    BUKA MINDA ANDA dan cuba try tengok show ACTORLYMPICS ni. Tapi hati-hati, It's quite addictive. Layan beb.

    Kalau berminat dan nak tempah tiket bolehlah call : 03 2094 0400 / 1400 (Actor's Studio)

    sebelum gua chow, gua ada quote yang gua percaya sangat dan memberi inspirasi kepada gua yang gua nak share dengan semua.

    Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to meet many a journeys"

    -Annie Besant

    Saturday, August 20, 2005

    Happy birthday to my friend Hans!!




    Walaupun passion untuk PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL! masa lagi membara, i feel i have to move on and talk about some other things. Gua cepat bosan just thinking about one thing and i need to move on quickly. but for those of you yang nak tahu kebiolanPROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!saya ni teruskanlah ke link itu atau baca posting saya yang sebelum-sebelum ni.

    Ok kalau korang nak tahu, Hari ni adalah hari jadi member gua HANS ISAAC. Dah 34 tahun dia menghuni bumi ini dan semoga dia akan panjang umur serta murahlah rezeki dia ni. Sesuatu yang ramai tak tahu tentang hans ni adalah dia adalah seorang workaholic. Pada pendapat gua, kualiti beliau sebagai pelakon sekarang, jauh berbeza dengan titik permulaan dia. Dia takkan sampai sini if he didn't work at improving his craft. Now he is one of Malaysia's top leading actor next to Rosyam Nor.

    Walaupun dia bukanlah dari keluarga yang susah, dia tetap bekerja keras untuk menjamin masa depan beliau dan keluarga beliau.

    Maybe you are asking, " why?"

    the answer, i believe, is in his need to feel acknowledged for his work. His self-belief is quite amazing (i take my hat off to him for i realise that i am not as confident at times). Basically, you will buy a donkey instead of a perodua if he sets his mind to sell you that donkey. A natural sportsman and a natural salesman.

    He knows his worth. He knows how to use his popularity to get what he needs. Gua tak berapa upaya dlm part-part tu. Itulah sebab tak kaya-kaya.

    Osso because he is a bit of a pretty boy, i feel sometimes people do tend to not take him seriously but if you sit down and talk with him for a while, you will realise he is a man with a fountain of ideas.

    Anyway semalam pukul dua belas kita (Saya, Erra, Umie Aida, Syanie, Harith, dan ramai lagi rakan-rakan) buat surprise birthday party untuk dia dekat bilik 2721 Crown Plaza Hotel. Umie aida cakap kat dia yang ada investor dari singapura nak invest dalam filem dan dia nak jumpa Umie di bilik hotelnya. Umie buat-buat takut untuk pergi sorang-sorang takut dia kena cekul. So macam hero malaya, si hans ni pun pergilah bersama si umie ni. Terkejut badak dia kena surprise dgn kita orang, although i could see he was also deeply touched (macam awek la lu ni hans or is it because ada awek kat situ...hee hee) And it was a memorable nite for us, his close friends too.

    Ok-la bro, walaupun ko ni lagi hensem dari gua, lu tetap brader gua.

    Friday, August 19, 2005

    Wow!!!!! we've created our own little FUUYO-NAMI!!

    I am humbled and amazed to inform all of my truly GREAT fans that,as of 10.50pm Malaysian time (Not melayu time)

  • PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!


  • Has received an outstanding overwhelming muntah darah response!!! Gua macam tak percaya siut!! in one day we have outsold the number of CDs that my @#$%* DITRIBUTOR has sold in a month. Thank you so much for caring and being a part of this mini revolution. I have to add though that due to the limited number of the limited edition first print (nama pun limited dik) of FUUYO, we can only send one CD or Cassette to one E-mail address. Bagi chan-la orang lain nak dengar jugak beb, the point of this exercise is to spread the music to as many people we can. Harapannya awak semua faham K,

    and VISITOR, this offer is open to anyone in this WORLD (this includes ULAN BATOR) except for the neighbouring planets yang belum ada system pos mereka tersendiri.

    I am willing to risk kena bangkrap for something that i am passionate about. PASSION BRO - That's the main reason why we do the things we do even though they are so many obstacles.

    Thank you all. You have made a difference. MORE POWER TO ALL OF YOU.

    Please read the previous blog to find out more about
  • PROJECT : AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH HILANG AKAL!
  • Siapa tak dengar lagi Album FUUYO atau tak boleh jumpa? AFDLIN SHAUKI DAH JADI GILA!

    At first, i was willing to let this issue slide but because i've been bombarded about the whereabouts of my debut solo album so often lately, i have to ask this question -

    Sekarang ni gua nak tanya siapa lagi kat Malaya ni yang tak dengar album FUUYO gua lagi?. I wanna know who hasn't heard my album? and is it true you can't find my album?

    Sebabnya, record company bangang yang gua bagi distribute this album say got no demand. Kalau betul kenapa semua orang yang i meet keep asking me where to get my album? Latest person was AMELIA AF3 who i met during a show we did together at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center for Petronas. She has a really good voice-la gang. She sang Gemilang by Jac (Malaysian Idol) better than the original artiste, something i thought was not possible. But then she said to me " i've looked everywhere on Langkawi for your album tapi takde abang afdlin!"

    Rasa macam nak bakar aje record company yg distribute album gua tu. Just because i self-funded the album and they wont make as much money as their own products, takkan nak anak tiri-kan produk gua. The first print we made was a mere 2500 limited edition CD copies and 5000 cassettes. Takkanlah aku tak de 7500 fans kat satu malaya ni????

    we made the album extra special because we included the making of FUUYO - the journey me and my musicians took over the years trying to complete this album. We added so many things to make this album a valuable experience.

    The spaceman with the microphone on the cover was my statement to taking malay music to somewhere its never been before and for the need to move forward as an industry.

    I feel the album was prejudiced by a few radio stations who did not want to play any of the tracks. One station manager actually said to me that my album is to NICHE. Kepala Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..... dia. So nak dengar lagu yang macam meleleh aje sampai mampus, sampai bila negara kita ni nak maju. Bagilah people the choice to choose. I knoow it may not be for everyone, but what about those people who want to hear afdlin shauki's song or even are waiting for something different / NICHE setan gondollll?

    Album tu dapat review yang amat baik sekali dari semua orang reviewers from all suratkhabar yg boleh di pakai. FARIDUL ANWAR actually said that it was the best locally produced album that he had heard last year. AHMAD DANI from DEWA heard it and completely loves it. SHEILA MAJID, DAYANG, ANUAR all loved the album (IF THEY LIED TO ME, THAN I"M LYING TO YOU OSSO LAH). FRAKK YODA IN THE BASS!!

    What i love about the album is that it is ME. Yes! i am biased, but i also know a good thing when i hear it. FUUYO consists of songs i wrote with my friends about my life and the state of mind i'm currently in. I believe, my worth as a song writer was aknowledged at the last JUARA LAGU when my composition for DAYANG won an award.

    That was an album made by the sheer love to make good and different malay songs. PACAI on bass, ACIS on keyboards, AJI on guitar, FENDI aka SOTONG on drums, MAC CHEW on pianos, JENNY CHIN string arrangements, and they gave their heart and soul to this project because they believed in it. We were all really dissapointed by the purported reception the distributor said was out there for FUUYO!.

    In this era where the music industry is dying an unnatural death, we believed enough in this project to spend almost RM130,000 on this album. Memang kerja gila tapi i memang dari dulu dah percaya yang i ni memang tak betul sangat. BUT i truly believe that to get good quality we have to pay for it. takkan nak buat 5 star hotel pakai cement class d. Nanti roboh pulak macam highway dan berkulat macam hospital yg keluar suratkhabar dulu. I know and understand that music appreciation is very subjective (it may be hard for the radio station programme manager to believe but i actually went to school and not semua artis malaysia ni BODOH dan Bangang macam dia. !!!) and not everyone will dig my music. I am fully aware of my albums' progressive nature and MAYBE brader kampung tu tak boleh paham. Tapi macammana kalau dia NAK cuba faham pasal, dia mahukan anjakan paradigma / paradigm shift? but if it is not given the chance to reach the people, than how will we educate people to listen to new malay stuff.

    I ammm pissseD man!!!!

    Okay this is what i am going to do, because i own the rights to the album i am going to do something yang gila dan tak pernah dibuat oleh sesiapa dan jangan harap recording company besar boleh buat benda ni. Baiklah this is it guys my insanity begins.

    OFFER BIOL AFDLIN SHAUKI YANG AMAT SERIOUS SEKALI DAN BAGITAHU SESIAPA SAHAJA YANG AWAK KENAL YANG MENYUKAI GUA -

    JIKA AWAK MAHUKAN ALBUM FUUYO AFDLIN SHAUKI, email direct kepada saya your full name and address anda ke selambakodok@gmail.com and write AFDLIN DAH HILANG AKAL! as the subject. Bagitahu saya jika awak nak cd atau cassette. Sebagai ganjarannya saya akan hantar kepada awak album first print limited edition FUUYO melalui POS MALAYSIA, DAN segment ini amat penting... The album album retails for about 35 bucks, tetapi JIKA ANDA SUKA ALBUM TU, AWAK BAYARLAH KEPADA KAMI BERAPA AJA YANG AWAK SUKA!!! JIKA AWAK RASA NILAI ALBUM NI 10 SEN, HANTARLAH 10 sen atau IF YOU FEEL THE ALBUM IS WORTH 25 bucks then send us 25 bucks, or any amount you wantlah basically, and send it kepada kami di dalam bentuk cash (kalo berani), cheque, bank transfer, T.T., money order or bank draft or whatever you sukalah, pada nama dan alamat yang akan kami samakan bersama CD itu.

    IF YOU DON't LIKE THE ALBUM!!,

    MY ONLY REQUEST IS, FOR YOU TO DESTROY THE WHOLE ALBUM! BY SENDING IT FOR RECYCLING.

    DO NOT!, I REPEAT, DO NOT PASS THE CD TO SOMEONE ELSE, DESTROY IT. THIS experience is only MEANT for you! the people who were actually initially interested in the album. this offer is valid until i run out of my last FIRST PRINT EDITION of FUUYO which will be a collector's edition bila gua mati nanti. People in general, only value something when it's not there anymore. This offer is open for anyone in this world who wants to experience the ALBUM


    THIS IS A SERIOUS OFFER and I will bear all costs for the sending of the album. LET's show the frakking distributors the power of internet NETWORKING and the power of the people.

    What is there to lose?.

    for you nothing. This is a win-win situation for you. NO BULLSHIT

    For me, money and more improtantly the belief in humankind. but having said that, you know what? I BELIEVE THAT MY TRUE FANS and my FRIENDS will act honorably.

    I wish all my visitors like Sultan Muzaffar, VISITOR, Greena, MUTEAUDIO, ALIF and everyone else can SPREAD THIS INSANITY TO AS MANY PEOPLE YOU CAN.

    So what are you guys waiting for? you want me to give my left arm also is it. LONG LIVE GOOD MUSIC and GOD, WHAT AM I DOING?.

    If this thing works, we will know we can change the world.. INI BARU WORLDDDDDDD!

    Wednesday, August 17, 2005

    Back in my beautiful country!!

    Nothing makes you realise how great your country is until you've been away. Thailand is great, the people are wonderful, the food is to die for and their hospitality is something else but as soon as i set foot on my country's soil without a doubt i know i am home.i have travelled the world and i enjoy seeing kelainan yang ada pada negeri orang, i think the diversity of all people is what makes us great. Granted, if you want to nit-pick, there are a lot of things yang kureeng di negara kita ni dan banyak hal-hal yang saya sendiri tak puas hati dengan keadaan negara kita ni seperti, di MALAYSIA ni tiada respect for intellectual property laws, tetapi, i realised, disemua negara di dunia ni, ada masaalah dan kekurangan mereka sendiri.

    When i got back, one of my first encounters was with a security guard who smiled at me and said " Fuuhh... apa gemuk sangat ni?" I asked myself, "how shall i react to this? shall i comeback with a similar and hurtful personal remark about him being a security guard or should i just belasah dia kat situ jugak?". Jangan dia ingat budak gemuk yang tenang tak ada bela buaya. In Bangkok everyone i met greeted me with so much respect and i in turn found it easy to return the respect. Then i remembered something that i learned at ASIAWORKS, Whatever wrong a person does to you, just ask yourself, "if the person knew better at THAT POINT IN TIME, do you think he will still do what he did?. He is making the best choice he can, based on his awareness about life, inter-personal relationships and his perception of the world". I'm sure there was no malice intended behind what he said and although it did hurt my feelings, i told myself, mata abang ni belum di buka. Mungkin ini cara dia nak bermesra dengan saya. Mungkin ini cara orang-orang dalam hidup dia berkomunikasi. Maybe i should have just been honest and told him that i am hurt by his remarks.

    We are all still learning how to become better human beings. Everyday we encounter a new problem and these are opportunities for us to make better ourselves. What's important is that we are open to new experiences.

    Saya pun masih banyak yang harus saya pelajari. Saya adalah manusia yang banyak kekurangan dan kelemahan. Setiap hari saya cuba baiki diri saya dengan memaksa diri saya belajar dari kesilapan saya yang lepas. Tetapi saya juga recognise, bersyukur dan berterimakasih ke atas pemberian tuhan yang sentiasa memberi ilham kepada kepala hotak saya ni untuk membuat pembaharuan. Memberi saya keberanian, to rise above small minded people who believe that in order to achieve something or win in life, somebody else has to lose. These are the people who are jealous of the achievement and success of others. I was once one of this people,

    but now,

    I believe that if we believe in the win-win formula, Malaysia can and will be a great nation. i want to be a great Malaysian and i want the people i know to be great. I want u to want to be great too. The definition of great is....... up to you to decide.

    A lot of people, celebrities, including myself, have wondered about the MAWI phenomenon. Why do people love him so much? Why did 12 million people vote for him for the AF3 finals? What does he have that i don't have? right?

    you know, i realised now, the question that i should have been asking myself is , "what can i learn from this boy?

    MAWI to me is not just a phenomenon. MAWI is a lesson, a greater power is trying to teach us. I feel people want to connect with someone who is real. I feel the malays want to champion someone who they can identify with, who potrays the common people, with the same values they have. Is the boy next door, themselves going against the odds.

    MAWI is what every average teenager, coming from a poor family, dreams to be.

    MAWI is a dream realised.

    MAWI means DREAMS CAN COME TRUE.

    MAWI, Semoga awak sedar kuasa awak terhadap sebilangan besar masyarakat yang look up to you. Macam dialog dlm SPIDERMAN,"With great power, comes great responsibilities." Stay true to your NAWAI-TU or honorable intentions"

    i salute you for what you have done to the Malaysian public, you have moved them and in Malaysia that is a big deal.
    More power to you bro. You are on your way to becoming a great Malaysian.

    Apa yang aku membebel ni ......??!!

    Sunday, August 14, 2005

    Sawaaadeeeekaaarrrppp! Me love you long time from bangkok!! Buli Balik still conforming not yet First print till monday!! i want to terrjuunetingkarp!

    Assalam' mualaikum and greetings kodok-kodok semua from the HAZE FREE city of Bangkok. Saya, Azman ABu Hassan dan Abang Indera Che Muda tiap-tiap hari sedut udara yang API indexnya kurang dari 500. Betul kengkawan, kat sini langit masih biru dan orang-orangnya sungguh beradab dan bersopan santun ya amat (mungkin ada yang tak percaya, tapi walaupun ada dari mereka yang makan babi, tetapi peradaban mereka, kalah sesetengah orang tak makan babi kat kl tu.)Saya rasa amat rendah diri di sini. I am so deeply humbled again, by this bangkok experience.

    Okaylah first of all, thank kayu daun kerladi kepada semua
    yang mengunjung blog ini dan kalau anda datang untuk spam site ini,
    biarlah satu hari anda termakan spam ketika berjalan-jalan mencari makan
    di luar negeri.

    Isu GOL dan GINCU yang sedang hangat diperdebatkan oleh dua orang heee... heee..
    Gua Ingatkan happening gila la debat tu rupanya dua orang aje. itu pun pasal WAR OF THE WORLDS oleh Prof Madya Steven Speilberg. (actually, dia full professor kerana mendapat doctor of film dari universiti beliau... dia tak mainlah madya, madya ni. Actually come to think of it, he doesn't even call himself professor Steven or Dr. Steven Spielberg dalam filem dia ek? kenapa hah?...hmmm )

    Anyway what was i talking about? oh yes, gol dan gincu. I agree with some of you that this is not a new story, this because all sports movie follow a similar type of formula BUT my argument is, the execution of this malay sports movie, like this!, is what i am excited about. It is a good story, to me. A film yang berjaya menghibur dan mendekatkan isu-isu topikal yang penting adalah sebuah filem yg berjaya bagi saya. Saya rasa fresh pendekatan Bernard and when i left the panggung, i tak rasa macam a) ditipu b) dihina c) diludah oleh director dan produser filem itu. Filem ini saya rasa cuba diberi balance di antara kesan komersilism dan artistik integritinya. Saya amat setuju yang kita jangan buat cerita bodoh, tetapi saya rasa penonton Malaysia sekarang masih dalam stage tengah membuka minda mereka dan saya rasa akan tiba masanya, the time will come when, the market will be big enough to support all types of malaysian movies, from the popcorn to the art. Sebelum kita tengok Wim Wenders dan Fellini pun dulu kita tengok ultraman taro dan Cumi dan Ciki dulu kan, so kena tak teh dulu la geng.... BUT CHANGE IS COMING AND IT IS COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU. Saya berdoa dan percaya.

    Back to GOL DAN GINCU...

    personally, i didn't feel the incest issue(or as it is more popularly known these days as sumbang mahram - sounds like a charity organisation doesn't it? "Sudahkah anda membuat sumbangan mahram anda?" hee hee... they should call it something more fiercely evil like, BAPAK BABI ROGOL ANAK or BABAROAN (bukan BARBARRAN eh kengkawan) for short.) Was forced and i thought a lot of care was put into that subplot as no words were even uttered on the matter. it was treated visually and we had to come to our own conclusions. But in the end people, GOL DAN GINCU is as i have said before, a popcorn teen flick sesuai untuk seisi keluarga. Take it for what it is and enjoy the ride. As a malaysian filmmaker i was proud of it. Tak malu dikelompokkan sebagai filem maker.

    Buli pun pada saya, banyak kelemahannya. Tetapi sebagai pembuka minda penggerak naluri ianya adalah pengajaran yang baik bagi saya, jika hanya seorang pun dapat sesuatu manafaat dari filem BULI itu.... gua dah alhamdulillah dah... plus dia box office!! jadi gua diberi peluang berkarya lagi.

    Saya berpegang kepada prinsip life is like school. As we move up the stages of life we are given opportunities to learn more complex ideas. Problems are our greatest teachers. Success is the great enemy of creativity. When the bass player stops playing, it's called a drum solo.. or ...errr something like that la.

    I want to be a great film maker! but i have given in to the realisation that what is actually more important is my journey into becoming a great film maker / storyteller. If i follow the path that i believe in, then maybe my children will one day be able to say loud and proud, " i had a great father!" and that would be enough for me.

    personally, i believe we have to make GOL dan GINCU a commercial success as i am already excited to watch bernard punya next film. In with the new and out with the... the... (you fill in the blanks lah)

    More power to you my friends and more power to MALAYSIAN FILMS.

    As for how buli balik punya post is doing in Bangkok, It is going great. Check print slightly delayed to monday, due to the Queen's Birthday and the monstrous release of Thailand's own TOM YUM GOONG, starring stuntmen turned actor TONY JAA.

    Like i told my mother, buli is like my architectural diploma it was for them, not for me, but Buli Balik is MY degree, something i did for me. I hope Malaysians will identify and find it in their hearts to love it too.

    Wednesday, August 10, 2005

    Goooollllllll go...go...go...go..go....gooooooollllllll!!!

    As a movie buff, Gua pi tengok gol dan gincu semalam. Best giler beb. giler pun tak best macam tu. The story was a teeny bopper flick ala ada apa dengan cinta tapi.... betul...betul goood story, well shot dan well acted. Fazura started a bit shaky but ended well. Karaktor2 di dalam gambar ini memang menarik sekali. Pujian yang tertinggi kepada Bernard Chauly. Memang very detailed work and effective storytelling. Gua rasa macam nak check kerja gua sekali lagi, supaya menjadi sekemas beliau. tapi gua sedar yang gua hanya boleh jadi gua.

    Lagi satu yang memang betul-betul bagus adalah persembahan lakonan SAZZY sebagai shasha. Budak ni macam dah berlakon berpuluh tahun gayanya. She is EXCELLENT!!.

    Tolonglah... ini adalah satu filem korang semua kena tengok. Tak malu jadi orang MALAYSIA.

    LONG LIVE MALAYSIAN MOVIES

    Tuesday, August 09, 2005

    Hmmm. the calm before the storm!!

    Just finish shooting a promo for a new show called LOL short for tolol. hee heehee, no-lah short for Laugh out Loud the first reality tv programme for budding stand-up comedians. its malaysian idol meet the apperentice and it is damn funny one. Going over to azman abu hassan's studio to check on the BULI BALIK reels before we go to Bangkok tomorrow.After that, going to watch my friends film premiere gol dan gincu. Will let you know how i feel about the film later. Then off to futsal in another vain attempt to lose weight. Should be back at the office by 2.00am. Then i'm going to menyembah berhala kat rtm untuk programme-programme rtm. (takkan program tv3 pulak ek!) Lemas...

    Monday, August 08, 2005

    Oh Ok i know oredi. I feel so bodo.

    Ohhhh.... so that little trash bin got function is it!!!.... Ohhhh that's why it's there. quite smartla this eblogger programmers.

    Blogging help required!!! HELLLPP!!!

    Okay, okay i am a bit bodo about this blogging things ok. Still learning ok!!??
    Alright, my question is -
    How the frakk do i remove a comment from my blog?.... bodo kan?
    HELP!! tolonglah hamba yang hina ini.

    My Super Mother is getting Married??!! AGAIN!!

    Apa yang boleh gua cakap pasal hal ini. Gua fikir pun macam tak percaya. Baru tujuh minggu lepas ibu gua kena stroke. Satu masa yang amat berat bagi gua. Gua rasa takut yang teramat sangat kehilangan Mummy. She is everything to me. Dialah sebabnya gua bekerja keras walaupun tak hensem dan gemuk untuk menjadi manusia seperti hari ini. Kita kurang bersua muka kerana aku masih lagi bekerja keras untuk memenuhi VISI aku, akan tetapi kita kerap berhubung telefon. Malam sebelum mummy kena stroke, gua bermimpi yang gua kehilangan ibu gua di dalam sebuah crowd dan walaupun gua cuba mencari beliau dimana-mana, beliau tidak gua jumpai. Gua terjaga bila mendapat satu panggilan telefon dari adik gua yang menyatakan mummy mungkin kena stroke. Panik gua dan air mata mulai berlinangan.

    The doctor said "Your mother has lost the use of the right side of her body, but with physio, she might be able to walk in 6 months!"

    It's been 7 weeks.....

    and my mom is walking unassisted!!

    WHAT a fighter!!. If you want to know where afdlin shauki gets his perseverence, it is from this very special woman. Fadzilah bte Jelani. I am so proud of her, only god knows.

    And yesterday, My mom yang telah bercerai dengan papa bertahun-tahun lamanya, telah dilamar oleh seorang lelaki kenalan beliau. I thought this kind of thing only happens in movies. Mak gua nak kawin lagi.??!!! dan gua akan dapat papa baru???... gua dah tua siuuuut! gua confused!!!

    But you know, what? as long as my mummy is happy and this is her choice too. i am happy for her. I am truly happy for this woman who deserve everything good in her life. I love you mummy and may you be happy always.

    your son.

    Happy Birthday Harith Iskander.... Gua Punya Malaysian Idol!



    Semalam 7th of August merupakan hari jadi partner-in-crime ku Harith Iskander. Gua betul-betul nak ucap terimakasih pada beliau kerana segala-gala yang dia dah share dengan gua sebagai seorang aktor dan sebagai seorang manusia. Pada gua takde duanya Harith Iskander ni. Talent dia, baik hatinya dia ni hanya tuhan dan kawan-kawan dia saja yang tahu. Korang semua nampak dia sebagai seorang pak lawak tapi gua anggap dia sebagai seorang lagenda stand-up comedy kat malaysia ni. Walaupun dia tak sehensem gua, tapi part mengayat awek lu jangan ambik ringan. Semoga my brother will be happy and all the good things, come to his life. Semoga dia panjang umur dan rezekinya semakin melimpah-limpah. Semoga talent beliau dapat di kongsi bersama lebih banyak manusia di dunia ini. i love you bro.

    Aman Malaysia's Hiroshima day Peace March and Rally




    I am so humbled by the experience. So humbled by the willingness of my friends - Zainal Abidin and Dayang Nurfaezah who came in on last minutes notice. Thank You so much guys!!

    It was amazing to see Malaysians from all walks of life coming together for peace. I only wished that there could have been more people around than it could have really been GREAT. It was the first event that i have been to that all religions were represented in prayer before the event kicked off. That brought tears to my eyes because it really made me feel MALAYSIAN. Gue rasa jika lebih banyak acara begini dilakukan, mungkin orang kita akan sedar yang keamanan yang kita semua take for granted ni will not last if we don't INCREASE THE PEACE and make a stand against war.

    Saturday, August 06, 2005

    60 years of Hiroshima - SAY NO TO WAR! BAN THE BOMB!


    i am going to the rally today because i am afraid for my kids. i live in a life which has so far been free from war. I have seen the devastating effects of war thru films and the Discovery channel. i pray that no one has to go thru it. War to me begins when people stop talking. Yes it is a simplistic view but that is why freedom of speech is so important. if we don't let people say their peace in a level headed discussion, that is when the winchesters, the AK-47s, the Uzis, the Kalishnikovs come out. Do we really still need NUKES in our day and age. is any nation really that bad that it has to be obliterated for the sake of teaching their leaders a lesson. i have been told many times that we live in a civilised world, but with all the poverty, racial intolerance, rape, ragut, wives throwing acid on their husband's face (eventhough he was probably asking for it) and murder happening all around us, i reaally challenge that notion. Everyday i go out of my mind when i read the newspaper headlines. The country that claims to be the most civilized, has the most nukes!! go figure. GIVE PEACE A FRAKKING CHANCE PLEASE!

    Friday, August 05, 2005

    Los dan Faun - a murder mystery in the making!

    Projek ini akan bermula pre-produksinya pada 14hb August dan start shoot awal September. Memang gila schedule yang diorang bagi, tapi aku memang ramai orang kata gila pun. Nak tahu siapakah pemain-pemainnya? hasrat dihati ada seorang pelakon yang selepas gua bekerja dengan dia dalam BULI BALIK, dan gua teramat kagum dgn. kebolehan dan hati kering beliau ialah ADLIN AMAN RAMLI sebagai FAUN....

    dan LOS pula adalah Hans Isaac kerana LOS merupakan seorang budak serani keturunan Portugis (gua macam dah sain mati dengan Hans ni kan?!). Ada beberapa kawan baru seperti Khir Rahman (member futsal gua) yang juga gua ingin ketengahkan.

    DOP nya pula Kemungkinan Heil (juga geng futsal gua). Sebenarnya memang untung bermain futsal dgn. pengarah filem ni, kalau ayat power, mungkin sangkut satu job. hee...hee.. YASMIN KENAPA KAU TAK PANGGIL AKU BERLAKON GUBRA??!!!
    DAN... Kalau dia sudi, saya juga amat berminat ingin berkerja dengan pak ahmad Yatim.
    Ada dua orang yang gua tengah cuba nak risik berlakon filem ni, iaitu Ramli Sarip dan Khatijah Ibrahim. Kalau dapat Syukur alhamdullilah.
    Anyway kepada semua yang melawat blog ini, teruskan niat-niat murnimu.... bagitahulah satu kampung, biar kita kasi pecah blog site ni...Ha...Ha...Ha.

    Afdlin aka selambakodok

    Thursday, August 04, 2005

    Are you ready for Baik punya cilok? Check out our leading lady!






    CARRRRRRMEN SOOOOOOO......sedap!!!!. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the release of BAIK PUNYA CILOK. No one more than me!! There has been a little technical glitch with the CGI and that has interrupted its completion. The film is due to be mixed and mastered in Madras (home of the bollywood superstars) and will be encoded with DOLBY EX 6.1 surround by the infamous Mother of all downloader, multi-award winning, my battlestar gallactica season 2 pusher, AZMAN (if you don't put my name in this column i am going to hack your site) ABU HASSAN. Happy now!? So the sound will be meletup-letup in the cinemas, insyaallah. Trust me guys. you will enjoy this one gila babi.

    Going to Bangkok to do the grading and final mix on my new movie on the 10th to the 13th of august.




    These are some of the images from my new movie BULI BALIK which is nearing its post completion by the 13th of August. Then I start with my new movie LOS dan FAUN in early September. Oh my god! gotta finish the script by the 15th. Die-oh!
    But before that, tonight I have futsal! I know I am still such a crap player because of my incredulous size but it is an activity i really enjoy. Really love slotting that ball at the back of the net. It gives me confidence. Makes me feel like i am not so useless as a sports dude type. Makes me feel good mamachita. Know what I'm sayin' essei!!

    Here is an article from New Man magazine, that i wrote, when i was the guest editor a while back that i'd like to share with you.

    The Boy who became a Man to become a boy.
    By Afdlin Shauki


    I do so many things that sometimes I forget who I am. A quick peek into my wallet reveals that I have no money to buy my daughter’s pampers, as well as confirming that I am Afdlin Shauki the man. A quick peek at the poster of my debut album ‘FUUYO!’ on the wall of my office reveals that I am Afdlin Shauki the product. A funny, weird, big kid who loves entertaining people and making them happy. Being the man and the product under the same name however is not exactly a good thing for my personal life. People can find out where I live just by looking up the yellow pages, It’s almost impossible to get any privacy when you’re out and about with your family in public places, it’s easier for the income revenue services to find me (not insinuating that I am avoiding them!) and most tiring off all is I can never stop being Afdlin Shauki.

    Ignorance of the workings of the entertainment industry, while I was younger, made me to choose my own name as my stage name. However, I cannot deny that to a certain extent, the uniqueness of my name has contributed to my success. I have yet to meet another person whose name is Afdlin Shauki and this makes me feel kind of special (like the kids in special ed). A great honor was bestowed upon me last year when a fan named their first born after me. Another Afdlin Shauki was born! That’s really wild. Who would have thought that a once insecure overweight boy from the DBKL flats could have reached the heart and minds of so many people, I sure didn’t. But life is funny like that.

    Personally, I didn’t enjoy being a kid. My childhood seems like a big blur somehow. What I can remember is that, being the eldest; I had to take care of my younger siblings and become the man of the house. There was no time for fun and games and I had to take on a lot of responsibility early in life. Looking back, I guess I am the man I am today because of it and I am thankful.

    As a grown up and being able to afford all the things my family couldn’t get me as a kid, I allowed myself to be a kid again, maybe to make up for the supposed lost years. I thought then that I could be a kid forever, but I soon found out that things would change, if you let it.

    When I was in my late teens I thought I had a good grasp on what the world was all about. I was very brash and believed that I would never change any of my ideals and ideas about life. For example, being a music lover, I used to love clubbing and remember telling myself that I would still be clubbing even when I’m old and grey, with all my teeth fallen out and even when I’d have to use a walking stick to enamor my adoring public with my dazzling display of break dancing and Solid Gold inspired dance moves. What was I thinking? At present, clubbing doesn’t make any sense to me anymore.

    Among my reasons for this are:

    1. You can’t really enjoy yourself because they don’t play music anymore, just an eclectic mix of mind-numbing loops of ambient banging noises, which you can get without a RM35 cover charge, if you live next to a high-rise construction site, like I do.
    2. The girls you want to try and pick-up are mostly there with their ever so affluent dates, sporting cars that you can only get to touch by flicking through the pages of your borrowed copy of the Malaysian Motor Trader, and the girls that are left are mostly semi-conscious or drugged up.
    3. You somehow always end up smelling like you’ve just fallen into a huge ashtray and your clothes stink to high heaven.
    4. The prospect of getting vomit on your good self isn’t as exciting as it used to be.
    5. The clubs are mostly filled with oily men, (where are all the oily women? One wonders.)
    6. We all look like the cast of Children of a lesser god (a movie about the deaf) when we try to have a conversation over the loud music.

    Personally, I don’t think that my ideals have changed much but with all the knowledge and experiences that I have acquired within the last decade, I have formed some new, stronger ideals which now takes precedence over the previous, leaving them to be mere secondary objectives. I am a firm believer that people don’t change, but rather, they adapt to change. The older you get and if you open yourself to new experiences, the wiser you will be.

    There is however a difference between growing older and getting wiser. At one point in my life I actually just did the former. I moved along in my life without opening myself to new experiences. My career had taken off; I had a great family, a nice apartment and a kickass car, in short, everything I ever dreamed of. That’s when it all happened. I became content with what I had, I lost my playfulness, I didn’t push myself to reach greater heights anymore, I stopped dreaming, my career which has always been a fine balance of fun and work, had now become just work and complacency became my best friend. In short, I had become bland. No longer the childish, fun loving crazy guy of old, the kid in me had disappeared.

    I have always loved kids. Kids have an innocence that is quite endearing to me and I’m sure to many adults too. I guess that could be one of the main reasons why people open up to me so easily and are comfortable with my ramblings and quip comments, for to them, I am childish, a kid trapped in a grown ups’ body (And what a beautiful body it is too). And who’s to say I’m not. I take that as a compliment. I think the child’s mind is a wonderful thing, full of maybes, what ifs and most importantly whys. I often ask myself when was the time that I stop asking these questions, because then I would remember the first day I had stop growing and begin my journey into the great abyss called normality.

    I believe I am a grown up kid because I still think like a kid. I am still constantly asking the questions. Still curious about the new things and stuff I have yet to encounter. I am not shy to make a fool of myself in the name of fun and experimentation, much to the horror of my wife and family members. I have learned that the only way to solve a problem is by facing it first; running away only prolongs the inevitable. For example, I’m sure many mamaks had to go through a bunch of pagoda t-shirts and suffered many minor third degree burns, before they finally mastered the art of tea pulling or teh tarik making. I have learnt that the only way to get my wife to stop nagging is to talk to her calmly and find out what’s bugging her. Yelling at her or pretending she isn’t there would only makes her nag twice as fast at a higher armor piercing pitch while hurling an inanimate object towards my person.

    Jokes aside, my wife is my cauldron of strength and the love of my life. She provides balance in my life and grounds the man-child when he gets a bit out of hand. She is also the mother of my children, Mia Sara Shauki and Anais Shauki, who are like little cherubs that constantly bring me joy. Having children, I think, is the best thing that I have experienced in my life, second only to the actual act of making them.

    I thank the almighty for blessing me with the two little reminders of what it is like to be free of the constraints of a mind which has been weathered down by experiences that closes it up and set certain beliefs based on the standards set by society. The kind, which says things like, fat, is ugly! And their idea of looking normal is to look like Brad Pitt or Heidi Klum. If you trained a dog often enough to play dead, eventually it will think that playing dead is a normal part of life. This is called conditioning.

    I realize that the way I am is very closely related to my experiences in the past as certain habits were starting to form. Three years ago, after attending the Asiaworks Training program, an experiential self-awareness course, I realized that to move forward in life, we must forgive and let go of the shackles that hold us back in the past. Everyone says, “Aiiya, I know that already-laa!” and that they are familiar with the saying, but not many actually take any action to live by it. Unless you have actually experienced the feeling you get from letting go, I live it hence I am free.

    Me in coversation many moons ago