End of the 08/09 season

1999 : Watching Solskjaer poke the winning goal against Bayern Munich ~ at the Chong Ah Har residence together with some 30-odd family members.

2008 : watching John Terry slip and hit the post with his penalty ~ all alone at home.

2009 : watching Lionel Messi - he of the short stature and magical left foot, and who does not head the ball all that much - head the ball past Van der Sar into the Man United net ~ at the MUSC club house together with some 40-50 people.

Manchester United in the Champions League Final is a special occasion whenever you're a Man Utd fan, and this was no exception to the rule. Even if Man United lost.

I have no complaints about the result as Barcelona simply passed the ball, and United, off the pitch. It could have been so different if Ronaldo or Park Ji Sung had scored with their chances in the early exchanges, but they didn't and that's that. Thereafter, it sometimes felt like the United players were chasing shadows as Barcelona players were popping up in all sorts of dangerous positions with the ball and a trailing United player desperately trying to recover his position.

So Barcelona deserved to win. Congratulations ! They are an exceptional team and it would be interesting to see how they progress from here as many of their key players are still young. I was also struck by the similiar philosophies of both clubs as Barcelona, like United, has a batch of players who have come through their youth system.

So the season has ended and the next thing to look forward to is United's visit to Malaysia in July. I've made plans for that so I'm looking forward to it.

American Idol 2009 has a winner....

and it's Kris Allen.

I'm happy for him, really I am. And the recording contract that he'll sign for winning will come in handy in furthering his musical career.

But what about Adam Lambert ? Well, I'm happy for him that he lost because now he's free to make that rock album that he so obviously craves to do. And he won't even have to release 'No Boundaries' as his first single as the winner of AI2009 is obliged to do (a middling to crappy song, BTW). And there's no way that there aren't a bunch of recording labels lining up for his signature right about now. Not when he's got a vocal range that's off the charts - I get a sore throat listening to him scream - and the musical sense to pick and adapt songs to suit him which make for good (and occasionally great) listening.

If I had to make a comparison, it's this : Kris Allen is a good singer, but there are many good singers around whereas there aren't too many guys who will be able to sing like Adam Lambert. I sometimes ask myself this as an acid test : Will I be listening to him 10-20 years from now ? I think that there's a great chance that this will happen with Adam Lambert but I can't say the same thing about Kris Allen. I think that my aunty put it best : people will remember Adam Lambert but they will forget what's his name ?

So this decision is a good win-win situation for both the finalists. And the American Idol show wins because they've introduced, to me, the most exciting vocalist that's ever graced their show.

I'll leave you with an Adam Lambert song that I've been repeatedly playing just to listen to that scream (for want of a better description). You'll know which one I'm talking about.



Just a note that this is a jazz song which is best remembered for Nina Simone's version. Adam, of course, did the rock version covered by Muse.

I'm looking forward to his first album.

Alison Krauss

I don't know when I first started listening to Alison Krauss. I think that it was around the time Shania Twain was dominating the Country Music charts and I was wondering what had happened to Country music - because what I heard sounded more like pop and rock than country music to me. I think that was when I first discovered bluegrass music, and Alison Krauss was sitting on top of that particular hill.


So today, I put her on the play list and this is a sample of what I'm listening to :

Bluegrass music being what it is, you're not going to get a bunch of bells and whistles with the music, and that's fine with me because I like what I hear here.

But just to show that life's full of ironies, Ms Krauss made an album in 2007 with Robert Plant. Yes, That Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. And to cap it all off, that album - Raising Sands- won a Grammy for Album of the Year.

No. 18 in the bag

Mike Phelan and Sir Alex Ferguson brought a trophy their for show-and-tell session

So, Man United have captured their 18th league title -  11 of which were won in the last 17 years. Quite an incredible statistic when you think of it. Those days of trying (and failing) to win the league year after year after year seem so long ago now.

Looking at this squad, I truly believe that this is the strongest squad that Sir Alex has ever assembled. I mean, they won the League cup playing a combination of reserves and reserve team players, for goodness sake !

And before they've even finished popping the champagne to celebrate no. 18, Sir Alex is already thinking of no. 19 next year. The hunger and drive in this man is just incredible !

And a shout out to Federico Macheda, whose goals against Aston Villa and Sunderland were directly responsible for adding four points to the United total. He won't even get a medal because he hasn't played enough league games to qualify for one. Pretty much every one would agree, though, that he's made a decisive contribution for no. 18.

Now it's Barcelona in Rome next where further glory beckons in the Champions League final.

About PSD Scholarships

When Michelle sent me this article here entitled 'Top scorers discover again PSD scholarships are not guaranteed', I thought 'here we go again'. 

It seems to be an annual rite of May that top students in the SPM will cry out in dismay that they did not receive scholarships to study overseas or get the courses of their choice in local universities even though they fulfilled the criteria for selection. My symphaties are with them for their crushed hopes but let's take a look at the criteria here :

Currently, Ong Tee Keat said, the selection is based on four criteria - merit (20%), race (60%), Sabah and Sarawak citizens (10%) and students from underprivileged groups (10%).

He said if meritocracy was part of the criteria, the students’ co-curriculum activities and interviews should not be included for consideration.

“Meritocracy means it should solely be the students’ results and not any other areas,” he said.

So for all the crying and gnashing of teeth, I hope that our top SPM students realize that all the effort they put in will gain them marks in only 20% of the total score. Maybe it's brutal, but it's a reality that they face at the moment. 

So let's be practical here. There are 4 choices available to them :

* Appeal, but don't get your hopes up too high

* Accept what is offered

* Make your own way with your own funds

* Go to Singapore. They'll be happy to take you in.

As for Ong Tee Keat saying that ECA and interviews should not be included for consideration - that's crap. According to Dictionary.com, meritocracy is "A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement". As far as I can see, ECA falls under ability and achievement. And interviews are regularly used by many universities as criteria for acceptance and scholarships.

In any case, why is OTK talking about merit when it constitutes only 20% of the score ? Perhaps he's missing the forest for the trees ? Maybe even deliberately ?

That's 20% assuming that everything is above board which, as we know, isn't always the case in Malaysia.

Perak III

I read this article which made me feel malu : UMNO raps Gerakan’s Teng for comment on Perak crisis .

An excerpt from the article :

Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan said it should be explained to the people of Perak why BN had the right to govern the state as BN had the majority in the state assembly.

"The Perak political crisis is a national issue and needs to be explained to everyone in the state to avoid confusion," he said.

Ahmad, who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said he would explain every issue pertaining to the Perak political crisis during his visits to the states soon.

All this while I was under the impression that the PR was the legitimate government in Perak because they had the majority. It seems that I am confused and have been misinformed.

Malu sajalah. My apologies to all of you. Excuse me while I go hide under a rock.

Perak II

This just in from Dr Mahatir :

When asked if the current impasse in Perak would affect the ruling Barisan Nasional's chances in the next elections, he said: "I hope people will have short memories."

This, from the guy who once wrote a speech entitled 'Melayu mudah lupa'. Was he trying to be ironical or sarcastic ?

Love him or hate him, but you just can't ignore him.

Perak

At the end of the day, Tengku Razaleigh hit the nail on the head with this statement :

“Those unable to rise above narrow party interests to understand what happens to a country when a government loses respect for the law might want to consider this: it is better for BN to risk state elections that we may lose rather than to lose the entire country by being seen to be opposed to decency, the rule of law and the will of the people,” 

How much time does Najib have till he has to call the next general elections ? Almost 4 years. Until then, all PR elected representatives are moving targets that Najib can take pot shots at. Or make them 'independent but friendly to BN'.

What can a jump shot get you ?

I remember this ad where the voice over goes :

"A jump shot can get you a shoe deal, a big house, a supermodel, fancy cars, a bunch of 'yes men', a Swiss bank account.

But none of these things can get you a jump shot."

It was an ad for sportwear.... a basketball shoe, if I remember correctly. It was a great ad, if you're a basketball fan. 

Well, the Celtics have living proof of this in Glen Davis - their reserve power forward. In a crucial game 4 playoff match against the Orlando Magic, he nailed this game-winning jump shot in the final second of the game.

How crucial was that shot ? Well, the Celtics defence of their NBA title would have been hanging by a thread if Glen hadn't nailed that shot. And how does this relate to the jump shot ad ? Well, Glen Davis didn't have a jump shot last year.

You see, the Celtics coaches had two instructions for him after last season ended. Stay away from the dinner table, and practice that 15-20 foot jump shot - and practice he did. He worked on it during the off season, pre season, regular season and now he's suddenly a credible scoring threat because of that jump shot. 

It will extend his NBA career and add 1-2 million to his contract every year. If we're looking at a 10 year career, that's USD10-20 million extra that he'll get all because of that jump shot. You can get a lot of big houses and fancy cars with that kind of loot. And to top it all off, he's been invited to try out for Team USA (along with his team mates, Perk and Rondo) for the 2012 Olympics.

But none of these things happen without a jump shot in his repertoire and as the ad goes, none of these things can get him a jump shot. 

It's not as easy as it looks. There are bucket loads of professional players who struggle to hit a jump shot on a consistent basis. And that's when they're standing all by themselves on a basketball court. Try hitting a jump shot when you have a 7-foot guy rushing out to block your shot. Practice helps a lot, but there's still some innate talent involved.

ps. This guy has the one of the best nicknames I've ever heard. He's 6-foot-9 and 289 pounds and his nickname ? Big Baby.

pps. As bulky as that sounds, Big Baby is actually light on his feet. One of the things that Danny Ainge liked about him is that he has great footwork. Check this out :

Nizar is Perak MB

A short, straight to the point headline which took me completely by surprise when I first read it at 1800 hours today. It doesn't indicate the amount of money, shenanigans, vitriol, confrontations and political manouverings that led up to that headline. And it doesn't give a clue as to more of the same going forward.

It took me completely by surprise because I had not thought for a moment that such a judgment was going to be handed down. This in spite of the law and legal precedent which favoured this ruling. That's how much faith I have left in the Malaysian judiciary.

As such, I have to commend Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim for having the guts to make this ruling. I hope that he will not be made to pay for sticking to his principles and making judgment according to the rule of law.

Isn't she lovely ?

The thing about letting kids dress themselves is that their idea of what's fashionable isn't always necessarily the same as their parents. Like so :

I musy say though that the colour coordination is pretty good. And I love the chunky bracelets.

What does the S stand for ?

Would you act dumb (or pretend to act dumb) for a chance to win $10,000 ? How about the chance to get your own photo spread for a magazine ? Or perhaps for 15 minutes of fame ?

Reality TV has hit a new level as Singapore introduces ............ the S Factor !

I haven't watched the show, if you're wondering. But I do wonder how much of what is shown by the girls is an act. You know what they say about not judging a book by it's cover ............. after all, William Hung did make a fair bit of money after his terrible audition for American Idol here.

On the other hand, maybe they really are that dumb. Who knows ? Guess you'll have to tune in to find out.

Da Vinci Code

I got this on a mailing list.

Written across the wall of the cave were the following symbols:

It was considered a unique find and the writings were said to be at least three thousand years old!

The piece of stone was removed, brought to the museum, and archaeologists from around the world came to study the ancient symbols. They held a huge meeting after months of conferences to discuss the meaning of the markings. http://www.funandfunonly.net/

The President of the society pointed to first drawing and said: "This is a woman. We can see these people held women in high esteem. You can also tell they were intelligent, as the next symbol is a donkey, so they were smart enough to have animals to help them till the soil. The next drawing is a shovel, which means they had tools to help them."

Even further proof of their high intelligence is the fish which means that if a famine hit the earth and food didn't grow, they would seek food from the sea. The last symbol appears to be the Star of David which means they were evidently Hebrews.

The audience applauded enthusiastically.

Then a little old Jewish man stood up in the back of the room and said, "Idiots, Hebrew is read from right to left......

It says: 'Holy Mackerel, Dig The Ass On That Chick!'