I can dream of you, at this 1 year station...
^^
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

I helped Muneer with his facebook account today.

for some reason i felt a sense of achievement after recommending friends
and tagging some photos of him. lol.

Connecting people is a good thing i guess.
That's what Facebook does...


In the meantime... i'm wondering... which colour should i?......










lolli-lolli-oh lollipop~~

posted at 8:23 PM by Aziz

Saturday, February 06, 2010

I reached home today and suddenly realised what a good day this has been.
Not a great day. But just good. Smooth sailing, refreshing, tantalizing.

No bus woes today. 195 arrived reasonably while 75 took less than a minute.
Had a mini "adventure" on learning how to use the library's printer with Shahril.
We're students about to enter year 3, but we knew nuts about getting our papers printed.

Entered the classroom being "fashionably" late.
Lecture practically ended as soon as we entered and the group presentations followed.
We were the last group to present so couldnt leave early. But i didn't mind.
It was the last class together and i'm kinda sentimental.

Eye candy came in some time after me. That much later; that much more fashionable.
A sight to behold. Won't be seeing her too many times i guess.
Moments later the door in front of me suddenly opened automatically.
I jumped on my seat. The class laughed. But for a moment i tot i was being the target of a mafia shoot and run. Think 'Godfather'

My presentation went smoothly; even had time to joke with the lecturer.
And also time to make glances towards the other eye candy. heh

After class went back to GESS.
Here onwards, i met so many people.
My Part A Platoon Sergeant from back when I was sec 1 boarded 16 a stop before the one i alighted at. It was a very short conversation.
But i felt that we caught up so much.
Told him about Chi Jie being the first one of us enlisting today.
On the way out of the bus i accidentally stepped on a lady's foot.
Sincerely apologized, and she sincerely forgave with a smile.

My mind was overloaded with NCC memories after my chance meeting with Nicholas.
At the security guardhouse of GESS, the guard enthusiastically told me to head on in without even needing the visitor's pass. It made me feel that i'm still welcomed in the GESS family.

Checked on the status of Annual Camp's preparations. Not that good, but we'll catch up.

Saw lots of familiar faces; Raymond and Sin Hua to name a few.
Glad to see there are others taking time out to help out the alma mater.

The guard waved us goodbye and opened the gate for us on our way out.

Had dinner then with Rahim, Wai Leong and Benny.
Mr Beh happened to be passing by. He then settled and had dinner with us, along with
giving us his fries.
That was when Alex came by as well. Always good to see an NCC senior/acquaintance.

Had a lengthy chat session with Mr Beh and the rest over kopi treated by him.
Impressed with Mr Beh's never ending plans to travel the world.
He plans his life really well i think.
Talked about lots of things.
And while doing so, saw other familiar faces who were walking by Bengawan Solo.
In this case, Ryan Chow and Zhao Feng and the bball guys.

10pm, waited for 195 with Wai Leong who was nice enough to accompany me until my bus arrived. In the bus, didnt notice i was standing next to Meixian until halfway thru the journey.
Walked our way home while catching up as well.
Seems like the only thing i talk to her about whenever i see her is school.
Her brother got into my course but is currently waiting for appeal results.

Reached home and chatted with Meixian's mom who happened to be downstairs.
She always talks about her son.
And even more so since i may well be his senior soon.

Ah Peng then appeared. He's Yi Fan's uncle. Yi Fan used to live at my block. Back then, all of us were a group of neighbours who played catching at the playground together.
Again, the memories rushed in.
Short chat with Ah Peng before the lift arrived.
He mentioned i got taller.
U wont know how much that means to me. :)

Nothing extravagant happened today.
Instead it was the small things that made me happy.
And looking at all the problems and issues i've been facing lately,
i think things are finally starting to get better.

Man, today was a good day.

posted at 12:11 AM by Aziz

Thursday, February 04, 2010

There was a time when I said to myself that I would never miss a Muse concert, live in Singapore.
The opportunity came in 2007, and i ended up giving it a miss.

Then, I vowed to never ever miss a Muse concert if it would ever come by again.
I'm not a man of my word I guess...
Well, I guess going to concerts are expensive and I'm kinda like always lacking in cash.
Funny how I've already booked a ticket for Brown Eyed Girls live in SG, costing me $98.

I heard there was a 3 hour wait for Muse yesterday.
They were supposed to arrive at 7pm but only arrived at 10pm I believe?
That wouldn't have been pleasant...

I suddenly remember the more than 5 hour wait i went through
just to get close to Brown Eyed Girls and yet missing the meet and greet by standing in line
later than just 30 people or so.
That, was also not pleasant...





posted at 9:10 PM by Aziz

Monday, February 01, 2010

Hello people! After such a long time i'm back, and for no apparent reason!
Instead of creating a new blog, i just settled with using the old one, except
i changed the template to the one i had on my China blog.
I'm not familiar with all these HTML stuff so i really dont know what to do
with those archive stuff and all. Plus, it looks kinda messy,
but i'll be using this until i find myself bothering about finding something better.

Lots of stuff happened in my life in the period between this post and the last.
But i'm not gonna go through all those right now am I?

What I'd like to do is to make a belated reflection on the year 2009.
2009 is in many ways a milestone year for me.
Lots of changes, lots of developments, and also lots of issues.
At any rate, I hope 2010 will be an even better year.

I've got no school today so i actually went down to town with the intention
of at least buying one item. Eventually, I found nothing suitable. I don't know what
to blame. My small size, or the retailers who don't stock up enough 'S' sizes.
I hope the shopping trip with SBU will be a more fruitful one.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my first update in 2010. Have a nice day....

posted at 5:13 PM by Aziz

Thursday, October 01, 2009


Korean songs and their non-Korean counterparts.



Example 1
Timeless
English: Kelly Clarkson & Justin Guarini
Korean: Zhang Liyin & Xiah Junsu

For those who don't know this song, it was on the soundtrack of the movie, "From Justin to Kelly", starring the Winner and Runner-up of American Idol season 1 themselves, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. While the movie itself was a box office bomb, the song is actually incredibly nice.

More about their Korean counterparts, Zhang Liyin (Jang Ri In) is the first Chinese singer to break into the Korean market, debuting under SM Entertainment. Her first single is a remake of Kelly Clarkson's song, which she sang along with fellow label-mate, Xiah Junsu of DBSK.

Kelly Clarkson & Justin Guarini:



No official MV available btw,

And here's Zhang Liyin & Xiah Junsu:



Han Kyung and Siwon of Super Junior are the lead males here. Lee Yeonhee is the lead female, all 3 of which are also under SM.

Which is better?
It was kind of difficult to decide. For the male voice, some say Junsu put much more soul into it, but i think Justin Guarini did just fine. For the female voice i clearly think Kelly Clarkson did the song better. I dun think i have ever doubted Kelly's vocal prowess. Still, the Koreans gave an awesome MV to the song. There's a prequel to the video actually. Both combine to tell a touching tale of a Timeless Love.


Example 2
Right Round
English: Flo Rida
Korean: DJ Shine

A newer song. Was nvr really a fan of this song, but i admit sometimes its pretty fun to listen to, especially at the end credits of the movie, The Hangover. The song itself is actually a remake of a 1984 song, "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive. Flo Rida topped a few charts with this one, and a Korean remake soon followed.

DJ Shine is a hip hop artist originally from the group, Drunken Tiger. Drunken Tiger is said to have reformed the Korean music industry with their unique hip-hop sound and realistic lyrics
. So when the first song released by DJ Shine after going solo was a remake, many fans were disappointed.

Flo Rida:



And here's DJ Shine:



Which is better?
I dun have a clear opinion on this cuz the song isnt that great to me. But if i were to consider myself as a Drunken Tiger fan, i would definitely be disappointed with this song of DJ Shine's. With that said, Flo Rida wins this right round. (ha-ha-ha)


Example 3
Deal With It/Juliette
English: Corbin Bleu
Korean: SHINee

The song Deal With It is a song on the debut album of Corbin Bleu, of High School Musical fame. A fairly catchy song to me.

It was soon remade by SM Entertainment, for the boy band, SHINee. SHINee gained quite abit of success with this song, but i'm just not feeling it. AMIGO and Replay were far better songs.

Corbin Bleu:



SHINee:



Which is better?
I really cant make a decision on this one. Vocally, i guess SHINee is better, but for some reason this song suits Corbin better? This one's a draw i guess.


Example 4
Tell Me Your Wish/Raqsga Tushgin (?)
Korean: Girls Generation (SNSD)
UZBEKISTAN: Dineyra

Alright, this time round, its nt English vs Korean. This round we are featuring an Uzbekistan pop singer, Dineyra. Dineyra was actually the first to release this song but because Uzbekistan music isnt exactly mainstream, the song pretty much didnt cross boundaries.

But when SNSD of SM Entertainment sings it, half of Asia sings along. "Tell Me Your Wish" was not as successful as "Gee" but it still was quite a big hit. The controversy dat arose was that a few weeks after TMYW was released, resourceful netizens found the Dineyra version which was released earlier. Anti-fans were quick to pounce on this, claiming that SNSD had plagiarised. The truth it, it was Dineyra's agency that had acquired the song without any permission.

Dineyra:



SNSD:



Which is better?
I actually felt that Dineyra's version didnt sound half bad at all. But if 2 women heads are better than 1, then what about 9? Clear win for SNSD.


Example 5 (i'm gonna be done soon)
Under My Skin/Mirotic
English: Sarah Connor
Korean: DBSK

I don't know much about Sarah Connor, but i know she's not the Sarah Connor from The Terminator series. This Sarah Connor is a German singer who is said to be one of the most successful, with sales of more than 12 million copies worldwide.

Still, it is the Korean counterpart DBSK's version that we are more familiar with. The song was originally written for the German singer, but SM Entertainment (notice i've mentioned them 4 times alr) also bought the rights to this song and gave it to DBSK, who turned this song into one of their greatest hits, so much so that it spawned a Japanese version, and even a Mandarin version.

Sarah Connor:



DBSK:



Which is better?
I must say, both are amazing. Sarah Connor is HOT. And honestly speaking, i once had a inferiority complex when i looked at DBSK's Jaejoong. I think he's way too perfect. He's hot. Okay, moving on, i want to say that its a draw, but that wudnt be much fun. If i HAD to make a choice, it'd be DBSK, because i'm more familiar with them.


Example 6
Insomnia
English: Craig David
Korean: Wheesung

We all know this song. "Imsomnia" is a damn fine song and Craig David is probably one of the best R&B singers i've heard.

Unlike the cases of SM Entertainment, where they buy the rights to songs and remake or cover them, Craig David personally requested Korean R&B singer, Wheesung, to sing a Korean version of "Insomnia". Wheesung has recieved quite abit of success in Korea but apparently, his full potential is yet to unleased.

He is now preparing for an American debut. His album is being produced by Rodney Jerkins, who has produced albums for Michael Jackson, Beyonce and more. Moreover, one song will be featuring R&B supertar, Ne-Yo himself, and the song was actually originally planned to be on Michael Jackson's new album.

Craig David:



Wheesung:



Which is better?
I find it hard to admit, that i think Wheesung did this song better than Craig David himself. At times, the Korean lyrics were probably too long and rushed. But Wheesung added in some amazing ad-libs. And the scream/howl at the end of the song just before the dance break, was what nailed it for me. Wheesung wins.



'nuff said



posted at 8:28 PM by Aziz

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I'm not quite done spazzing
about the MONSTER of a match
that was Man Utd vs Man City just now.
Probably one of the best ive seen in my life.

Moments like these is exactly why i
SIMPLY
LOVE
FOOTBALL.
(and Man Utd)

Manchester United v Manchester City


"Wayne Rooney will take this free kick. This has to be the last moment. Rooney... That's Ireland...Tevez... Rooney up to Ferdinand, out by Lescott... Ryan Giggs... Great pass; MICHAEL OWEN!! TO WIN IT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED!!!...
...
.. UN--BELIEVABLE..."



'nuff said




posted at 10:46 PM by Aziz

Friday, September 18, 2009


Epik High is back!

30 new songs to ring in my ears again and again,
and so far, the songs on the new album, [e]
doesnt disappoint.

The 30 songs are split into 2 CDs,
15 tracks each.

the songs on CD1 [e]motion,
are slower and have a more sentimental feel to them.

the songs on CD2 [e]nergy,
are fast paced, and have a stronger and more dynamic beat.

'Wannabe' is the title track that they're
promoting rite now.
Epik High always loved to utilize a
simple, sweet and pleasant female voice
for the chorus of their song,
and Wannabe is the latest example.

With their hits 'One', 'Love Love Love'
'Umbrella', 'Fly', '1 Minute 1 Second'
all having featured a female singer,
i cant help but feel that this is one of
Epik High's winning formula.

Here's the MV for Wannabe,
released moments ago.



besides Epik High,
mapthesoul.com partners,
Planet Shiver and MYK also appear in this MV


and this here is the Korean movie
that they sort of parodied




No matter wad, Epik High's unique music
nvr fail to impress me.

I'll get this album when i've got the cash.
However, my VIP instincts tell me
i shud be buying upcoming Taeyang and 2NE1 albums first...




posted at 10:53 PM by Aziz