Her 4 Minutes is Up

Madonna is undoubtedly an industry heavyweight. She's hardworking and (sometimes) innovative/provocative. But I find it hard to connect to her newer albums. I enjoy her singles immensely, but the rest of the album always felt mediocre. This is true as far back as Ray of Light, on to her latest Hard Candy.

4 Minutes is such an enjoyable song even from the first listen, but I find it really hard to say the same thing about the entire album. I forced myself to listen to a few songs several times. While some of them slowly got better (Candy Shop), most of them didn't stick (like throwing oil onto a Teflon-coated wall).

When can we expect her to regain her former glory of Vogue, Take a Bow, Papa Don't Preach, and heck, even Holiday?

Duffy Ain't A Duck

If you find Norah Jones relaxing, Katie Melua enchanting, and Amy Winehouse interesting, you will absolutely fall in love love love with Duffy. Why are you still reading this? Go listen to her Rockferry album now!

My current favourite song is "I'm Scared", revealing the vulnerability one feels after losing a loved one. Her emotions in the song really pulled me in, making me feel I was in her position. Definitely a keeper.

Lyrics excerpt to "I'm Scared":

The blank pages of my diary,
That I haven't touched since you left me,
The closed blinds in my home
See no light of day.

Dust gathers on my stereo
Cos I can't bear to hear the radio
The piano sits in a shaded space
With a picture of your face.

I'm scared to face another day
Cos the fear in me just won't go away.
In an instant, you were gone and I'm scared.

Eating My Words

OK.... I'll have to eat my words. Blend it, add some salt and oregano, and drink it all down. My previous post lambasted (hey! I used 'lambasted'!) Les Mills for apparently favouring Fitness First members.

Alright, so I was mistaken. Long story short I submitted my application and I got my confirmation letter yesterday. So yeah, I'll become a full fledged BodyJammer by 8th June if all goes well.

This is it! A milestone is finally in reach! The countdown begins! Dreams shall be fulfilled! (How many more cliched expressions can I conjure?)

Bye Bye BodyJam?

Been so long since I updated about gym-related stuff. BodyJam training seems to be out of reach again. There's one scheduled in June, but according to my gym's Jam instructor (Chris) the training is completely dominated by KLites. No thanks to the instructors there who cleared too many members in their auditions. True enough, the training schedule lists the trainings but do not provide the reference number necessary for registration. Like it's for formality purposes only.

I'm not expecting NEP-like quotas or special protection, but we should be judged equally. I feel like it's a snub to all the great members here who can't go just because, like Malaysians at a buffet, KLites rushed to the front of the line and took the whole tray of oysters with them.

Rant aside, I hope Les Mills will consider having more trainings in Malaysia so we don't have to fight over such petty things. Except, it ISN'T petty to the people whose chances are denied.


Anyway, on to happier news!

I feel my choreographing skills are improving immensely. I'm better able to match music styles to the right moves. For example, I already have a wicked choreo to Shakira's Objection (Tango) with moves from Tango and Paso Doble wrapped in a delicious Line Dance format. The challenge now is to think about how to teach it ala BodyJam and modifying the music to suit my tastes.

Another great news is that renovations to my company's Sports Centre is complete. Say hi to my new home:



It is HUGE compared to the staircase closet I used last time (you can visualize how small it was from my older videos). It's totally as big as some gym's Group Exercise rooms (I'm looking at you, Fitness First Island Plaza).

The only downside is the lack of a wireless microphone system, but at least the sound system works well. I can't wait to teach next week!


I'll be in Singapore 19 to 21 April. Leaving tonight by coach. Just to check out the sights again, and catch up with old friends. Schedule is tight so I wouldn't be meet some of you there (you know who you are) Some other time maybe! :)

Oooh what a Mistake!

Not sure if it's still there, but I took a screenshot for posterity:

If you don't see the big deal, look at the photo and then the caption. An omen, perhaps?

Medicine Makes Me Hungry

Perhaps some of my medically-savvy readers can clue me in on this. Well, I believe at least some of them are doctors, doctors-to-be, or doctors-wannabe.

One of the unintended side-effects on putting me on NSAIDs and antibiotics is making me feel hungry easily. The effect is especially pronounced once the drugs kick in. I'm not sure if it's just the paracetamol, or it must be combined with an antibiotic. Either way, they make my stomach sing for an unhealthy snack.

And with me being sick for a few days already, that means a quickly-expanding wastline! I'm not kidding - I woke up this morning and found my tummy protruding in the wrong direction (abs totally not in sight). So I'm caught between resting at home or going to the gym tonight... Certainly a big dilemma for the modern man.

The Govt Should be Afraid of Its People

I'm so glad that I got off my butt and registered as a voter, coz now I'll never forget my first election vote! I helped make a difference in Penang.

 

This really goes to show that people should not be afraid of the government - it's their choice, their representation.

 

Meanwhile, the propaganda yarn over at The Star is in full production. Check out this gem - which lamented that MIC leadership is in shambles due to Samy's loss, and therefore, Indians will have no voice in Parliament. Halfway through I had to check if it was an opinion piece. Surprisingly, it's considered news!

 

Check out the last paragraph:

Because of the defeat in some states, Indian representation is nil, making it a challenging task for the Barisan Nasional power-sharing formula to work. 

 

What power sharing? The reason they lost heavily this time is because they kept promising power-sharing but we only see the Umno puppet master pulling the strings.

 

Anyway, today's the dawn of a new era.