The Waterboys and Brill Stuff ...

Brilliant stuff, this ...



I'd been listening to one of their other songs "Strange Boat" for years and really liked it but had never explored the rest of their catalogue - guess it's time to check them out.

Thieves and the Manic Pixie Dream Girl

Lately I've been listening to the current Queen of Quirk, Zooey Deschanel. She hasn't got a remarkable voice but most of her tunes are okay. Some have turned out really rather well. Like this.



Considering that she writes most of her original material and that she's known primarily as an actress, I'd say that she's one pretty talented lady.

the Boston Celtics Ad Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett

The final act to mark the end of the second Big Three era.

Pierce will always be remembered as a Celtic. Garnett will be remembered for bringing an NBA title to Boston by holding the team accountable for their play. Pierce is definitely getting his jersey number retired in Boston; as for Garnett, the chances of his number being retired are pretty high. In my opinion, both would be highly deserved.

It's telling that the Boston Celtics management did not take out ads to thank either Ray Allen or Doc Rivers. Both will be remembered for their roles in Banner 17, but their departures from the Celtics were on their terms. Unlike Pierce and Garnett.

66 Years Old ... and David Bowie still Kicks Ass

Released on his 66th birthday on January 8th this year. Without fanfare. It'll grow on you, it did on me.

Beautiful Mistake

It's a lovely title for a song, isn't it ?

I've admired Faye Wong for a long time. For the beautiful music she makes and for striking out on her own musical direction at a time when the Cantopop scene was filled with rather generic sounding music all around.

This is the one that's on my playlist now :

Penny Wise ...

The truth is I’m looking to leave. Let me rephrase that – I’m desperate to leave.

This place is so incredibly fucked up, it defies belief. Am I responding appropriately ? Damn, I’m responding horribly. Frankly speaking, I just couldn’t give a shit. Put me in the right environment and I’m a self-starting, responsible finance guy who would go out of his way to help the company. Put me in the wrong environment, and everything goes due South. And I just couldn’t give a shit.

Even if it’s a so-so environment, I would still make an effort to give my best. But the wrong environment ………. and there are so many things wrong here….

I’m just desperate to leave.

NB. On the flip side, I just don’t see how the CEO can continue to run the company with her present management style and make it succeed. I just see a train wreck in the future. Starting with the IT guys who want to leave. And join the others who’ve already gone. 2 Group COOs, 1 Financial Controller, 1 HR Manager, 2 Marketing Managers, a few Executives. All in the less than 5 months I’ve been here. With a maximum headcount at any one time of 16. Staff turnover rate above 100% per annum. And the CEO says it’s normal !

Good luck trying to set up your school that way. 

Kick Ass 2

No chance of seeing this in a Malaysian cinema anytime soon, is there ? After all, the first Kick Ass never made it to these shores.



If you can overlook the wayyyy over the top violence, this show could be really cool. Well, at least the first one was - Hit Girl is just such a great character ! Hoping I can get my hands on one copy somehow.

Yesterday .. Paul McCartney said ....

Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" is the most covered song in the world. I've heard a few versions, none as good as the original but this one by En Vogue comes pretty close.

GE13 ... the Aftermath of Malaysia's 13th General Elections

I must confess.

When the results of GE13 came out, I shed a few tears. I cried not for me. I cried not for the death of democracy - it hardly came as a surprise. I did not cry because the BN government retained their hold on power - I had suspected that gerrymandering would tilt the balance in their favour. And so it proved. I did not cry for the hope of the rakyat that had been so mercilessly crushed - by fair means and foul.

I cried for my children. They deserved better.
I cried for the young Malaysian children who would have to suffer another 5 years of BN misrule and corruption and the crap education system that the BN has bequeathed to us. They deserve better.
I cried because, for just a fleeting moment, there was hope that we could move forward as a nation regardless of race and religion. That corruption, deliberate stupidity, racism, entitlement and arrogance were things that we could reduce for the betterment of Malaysia. That Hope proved fleeting..

I cried for Malaysia. We deserved a better Malaysia.

5.5.2013 the day Democracy died in Malaysia

Speechless!!!!

10,000 Reasons to be Grateful

Currently being sung by Catriona before going to sleep every night. The entire song - word for word - verse, bridge and chorus.

just Roll with It ..... or ..... oh Shit !

I've never worked in a company that rations it's toilet paper. Apparently there's a first time for everything - even this.

Mockingly, this wall decor is actually at the PJLA opposite my present office.

On Another Shore ...

Dedicated to Alan Zechariah, who passed on earlier this week.

He and Reezal Abdullah used to be a fixture on Sunday nights in my house with their radio programme "Memories Are Made Of These". That programme expanded the boundaries of my musical taste greatly as it used to play some really obscure songs in every programme ......

So, in signing off, here's the song that was played as the first and last song of that Sunday night radio programme - every single week. Thanks and Godspeed, Mr Zechariah.

How to Catch a Star

Saw this yesterday with the girl. It was a wonderful performance with a great story line for kids. There were a few touches of more 'adult' humour of the clean variety. Well worth the $ and time.

With each performance, Catriona is getting closer and closer to an age where kid's theatre will no longer be an attraction. Hopefully, there's been enough thrills and spills and water and imagination and magic imparted over the years which will remain with her through her teenage years. I'd hate to see her lose her sense of wonder and awe for things natural and imaginary; the real world, so to speak, in lieu of an ipad game.

It's been doing the rounds lately - Albert Einstein : "I fear the day when technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots."

Precision Parking

There is this car at my place which is usually parked at a not-quite-meant-for-one-car space. It's not a designated parking lot but I do not see anyone else try to 'fight' for this space. I notice it sometimes on my way past and it's always the same silver car/driver. You can see why.

 

I tip my hat off to the driver. I'm nowhere near as good at parking.

Grimes

I'd file this under "Good shit" .....



Don't think much of the video, but the music grows on you.

Life is what Happens .....

There is this line from John Lennon which I've remembered since I first read it.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

It is at once insightful, and has a certain wittiness about it. More importantly, it perfectly describes Life - Not as it always is, but as it could be at any time. Life changing possibilities abound at any moment in time, both good and bad. And all the while, people make plans and execute plans and procrastinate on plans and sleep on plans and give up on plans and make new plans ...



Life happened.

Literally.

Catriona's first LRT ride ... and the wider scheme of Things

Documenting Catriona's first ride on the LRT on 6th August 2012.

Maybe it's me, but I would like her to experience as much of this world as I can. There's a lot of beauty out there - be it natural or man made. There's also a lot that she needs to learn about poverty, charity, kindness, sharing and suffering. There are the performance arts, graffiti, street acts and street art. There's also the need for her to see the love that God has for Mankind. There's Dance and Song and Drama. There's the Present and then there's the Things which are Yet to come ....

And I would like her to see all of that outside of a screen.

I do not know if I can succeed, but I sure would like to try.

Long Gone ...

A-month-and-a-half after leaving my last job, I can confirm that I don't miss it .... at all.

Don't miss the back stabbing.
Don't miss the politics.
Don't miss the suspicious transactions that I'm so often the last one to know about. For a finance guy, that raises red flags all over.
Don't miss the smiling faces which mask the knives held behind their backs.
One thing I've learned from that place : Money talks. Especially if it's someone else's money residing in your pocket.

No. I don't miss it at all.

Whatever happens at my present place, I don't and won't regret leaving the previous one.

Winterlong

After a long hiatus which owed in part to, of all things, not being able to figure out how to log in when the Blogger settings were changed, I'm back with an introduction to yet another Neil Young song. This time, covered by The Pixies :

Les Miserables

Seeing the live show and the movie twice, fantastic. You need lots of tissues for this show.