J ポップ is my ライフ!

Jpop is more than just music. It’s a part of my life. Exaggeration? Not so. I can say that besides country music, Jpop is the greatest genre in the world, even more so than Kpop. Jpop triumphs it easily.

Why?

Kpop stars are all about beauty, beauty, beauty that they [the girls] must do cosmetic surgeries. I mean, come on! I know being easy on the eyes are somewhat acceptable, but must you change all part of yourselves? Duhhh~! The guys meanwhile… I can say they all look the same! Repeat: they all look the same, except for some people… That’s still okay. What’s not okay is that many of them look like… girls!

Kpop songs… I don’t know where to start. I know they’re catchy AND I admit I listen to them, but catchy hooks and choruses don’t contribute to a good song. You just sing the same thing over and over again. Besides, many new Kpop artists don’t really have real talents. You can’t help but notice that many Kpop artists sound similar. The songs are similar too! In fact, I feel like Kpop artists [especially idol groups] are actually copying each other. On the other hand, Japan has lots and lots of artists, and they don’t sound the same, and definitely they have the talents! Nevertheless, there are lots of artists/groups [especially those with good grounds and have been around for a while] that stand out and are good.

Bubblegum Pop? Like hello!? I prefer solid type of music rather than... bublegum. One sure thing is Kpop seems to not have their own identity, meanwhile like other Japanese thingy, Jpop is unique and has its own identity. You can't doubt that. Luckily, there are many other Kpop artists that don't sing bubblegum pop, and of course I listen to them. Thank you!

Dance is a part of Kpop, but a good dance is just a good dance. You don’t see dance choreography in a song. Many people love Kpop just because they just like to see the choreography. Still, I have to admit, the dances are the things that are good about Kpop, and make Kpop uniquely Kpop.

Video-wise, Kpop's music videos are all the same, especially group artists’ videos. Dance, dance, damn dance! Always dance. No plots, no messages! And the videos are almost always in studios with makeshift stages. I can’t really see anything else beyond that. Luckily not all videos are like that, but then again, most of videos like that come from solo artists, and most people only recognise group rather than solos. Compare Jpop videos. They have [sometimes, really kawaii] dances, and stories to tell, and are not just confined in studios. You can't help but feeling happy watching Jpop's videos. Perhaps, Kpop videos should have some stories as the complement to the dance?

The songs are all about love, love, love. Isn’t Jpop the same? Not so. Jpop have messages. Kpop, simply put… don’t! Check the translations if you don’t trust me. Still don’t trust me? Watch anime and J-drama. Speaking about K-drama and J-drama, J-drama always has morals and good things to be told. K-drama is always the drama, and when I mean drama, it's about love! I can't stand it! J-drama is so much more better!

Korean music has no diversity. Don’t trust me? Kpop is just Kpop. We never have rock bands from Korea. They’re [almost] non-existent. Jpop is just a catch-all term for the diverse genres of Japanese music. Japan has underground/indie music scene, Rock, Pop, Hip-hop/rap, techno/electronic, and many more. One more thing more-than-worth noted here, Kpop is dominated, really, really, dominated with idol groups. How many idol groups are there? More than you or me can even count. Japan has bands, groups [both male and female], solo artists, and duos.

I don’t want to compare Kpop and Jpop really. I listen to many Kpop artists too, but I love Jpop more because of the reasons above.

Banzai FTW!

毒果 a.k.a. Dú guǒ equals to ?

Went out with Zell one day because she wanted to take some shots of Kota Kinabalu with her new camera, and as an addition, looking for lens with longer zoom capabilities. Now I know why lens are much more expensive than the cams.

We went all around the city, from Warisan, Waterfront, Gaya Street, Jesselton Point, etc. I love Gaya Street since it has charming architectures that boast their own identity. Besides, it is also an old part of KK. I also borrowed her camera and shot the photos below [yeah, not that pro!].

[P.S.: I love Big Apple's cheese doughnut!]

[P.P.S.: In case you're wondering why it's DOUGHnut instead of DOnut, the reason is people make DOUGHNUT with DOUGH, not DO.]

[P.P.P.S.: and I think 'donut' is American English.]

[P.P.P.P.S.: and yeah, I know 'and' shouldn't be in front of a sentence.]

Chinese lanterns on the long pedestrian bridge

Gaya Street [not the street... the location!]

Jesselton Hotel, established 1954 [this picture was taken by Zell. I like it, that's why it's here].

Shutter, f-aperture, bla3x...

Cheese doughnut is the best flavour ever...

Daily Express in one of many Sabahan newspaper company. The paper is primarily English with Malay and Kadazan languages pullout. Neat, eh?

Hainan building in Gaya Street

The Tugu Peringatan Malaysia in Gaya Street

A building's façade

Mau Ang Pau!

The Night's hosts.

Lion dance!

Vun Sen Wong gave ang pau. The difference? NO MONEY! Haha~!

Lions... [Even though you and I know the 'lions' are actually men, we still think they're cute... Haha~!]

Wushu!

Bolly dance by Rainbow Crew!

Tarian Zapin by Rainbow Crew!

Siew Hwa and Vivienne!

IPG Gaya's Pesta Ang Pau is always the best. With performances like Fusion dance, short stageplay, Beauty New Year dance, Rainbow Crew, Victory of a Princess, Wushu, and so much more, I could just say... Waliaowei!

Happy Year of the Iron Rabbit!

GPOY no. 4

I bought a nice little copper bell [I don't know what else to call it] made in Kudat from a souvenir seller on the very long pedestrian bridge near Plaza KK. According to my friend, the bell is actually a part of Rungus people's traditional costume in which a large number of this bell will be strung together to form a necklace. Of course, the drawing on the paper is the enlarged carvings on the bell. What animal is that? I don't even know.

A psycho guy needs to be counselled with the use of proper [lɪŋˈgwɪstɪks]... Duh~!

Self-reflection after almost four weeks in class…

Oh wait, here’s the list of the course I’m taking for the first semester:

EDU404 History and Philosophy in Education

EDU430 Introduction to Guidance and Counselling

EDU550 Educational Psychology

TSL420 Literature in English

TSL426 Linguistics in Language Teaching

CTU551 Tamadun Islam dan Tamadun Asia

…OK. Now back to self-reflection.

Numero uno, being a KO is such a stressful stuff sometimes, especially when I’m a bit ‘blur’… LOL.

The lucky number two: I am so in love with Linguistics! I know all the articulations, and phonology, and etc are a bit hard at first, but linguistics is such an awesome subject, especially when the reference book is user-friendly, entertaining, and actually funny!

Tri is Greek for three. My foundation’s CGPA is 3.43. I wish it is higher than that, but I guess I should just stick to that. I will work for it now that I’m in degree!

The fourth point: For Literature, the approaches that our lecturer used for this subject is actually quite fun, but it’s still too early to say more. Let’s just see.

I’m actually still figuring out about the other courses, not that I don’t like them… Haha. Maybe it’s because we are learning them for the first time. So far, Psychology is very entertaining to learn, History and Philosophy… I have practically nothing to say. Warghhhh~! Guidance and Counselling, I am starting to like it. TITAS, the lecturer just came in this week. So, NO idea!

Anyway, tomorrow’s Pesta Angpau! Can’t wait for it!

Population Earth: 7 Billion

Check this, according to the National Geographic Magazine [love it to the max!], by late 2011, our global population is expected to exceed 7 billion, which is a new milestone in the history of earth.

So, what does this mean to us?

One of the most critical things is about our food and natural resources. How are we going to feed a rising number of populations when our arable land is becoming scarcer? Imagine this, China has more than 1.2 billion people, but only 13% of its land is fit for agriculture. Around the globe, one billion people are in a serious need of nutritional food, and in any given moment, it is not always to those living in Africa or Asia. More and more land is changed into residential or industrial areas, and in other cases, edible crops that can be used to feed people are now being treated as green oil, further diminishing potential source of human food. Fish, one of humans' important nutrient sources, are not too fast in restoring its stock. The population is also straining the earth with the needs of depleting natural resources. Without oil, for example, can we drive our automobilesl? A condition known as peak oil [the time when we reach the highest rate of petroleum extraction] is fast approaching. We too are using other resources to build structures, or make consumers’ products. Using renewable resources like hydropower, geothermal, and solar energy or sources that can be replenish (i.e. bamboo) should be our priority now, but the developments are still slow.

More people are becoming urbanised now. 2007 is the year when the urban population surpassed the rural population for the first time. Now, 21 megacities [cities with more than 10 million people, such as New Delhi, Tokyo, New York, and Mexico City] exist. Nevertheless, a common problem that occurs all around this megacities [and perhaps even smaller cities] is slum. Those living in slums like South Asia’s Dharavi and Orangi Township, Neza-Chalco-Itza in Mexico, or Nairobi’s Kibera don’t have excess to proper sanitary conditions, or electricity, and not to mention, many are living below the poverty line. So, actually how are we going to tackle this? The main crisis of every slum is not the large number of residents, but poverty and the lack of education. In another thing, what are we going to do about the dwindling number of rural populations? Are they not in the race of modernisation that happens in the cities?

Our world is becoming increasingly populated day by day. With almost 7 billion permanent residents roaming the streets, forests, deserts, or tundra all around the globe, one can imagine how many natural areas left in every corner. Have you ever think about how we alter the natural environment? As an example, we are undoubtedly making the night shimmers with light from buildings, street lights, cars, and even large fishing fleets or oil drilling buildings in the sea. Light pollution alters animals’ lives, such as disorientating birds in night and causing confusions to a baby turtle that needs to go to the sea after its hatch. The oceans are getting silent no more as we are invading them with too many of our artificial sounds that hinder those made by marine animals. One might say the best way to protect our nature is by establishing national parks or others similar areas, but the real threats lie beyond the parks’ boundaries – air, water, and land pollution, more people edging to natural areas, increasing carbon footprints. What’s more, we are also deleting a large number of unprotected forests from the face of earth for the sake of development. Let's not forget climate change.

Two main issues in connection with the growth in population are education and the elderly people. With education, a country’s birth rate can fall, as what European countries and Japan have shown us. Europe’s population now is around 700 million. Give her a few decades or more, and we’ll get just slightly more than 650 million. In fact Europe is the only continent to experience a population drop. In Japan, more elderly persons exist, and the country has a stable birth and death rate. Why is this happening? Educated people know their rights and are able to choose on how to live their lives especially in this time of economic downturn. Many developing countries have neither the expertise nor educated populations that can help to slow down the birth of babies. Nevertheless, the world’s birth rate now is smaller than in the 1960s, and is expected to plummet continuously. This leads us to a new problem, the appearance of a large number of the elderly. With lesser children, who are going to take care of them? In China and Japan, this is starting to take place.

As the earth is approaching its 7 billionth people mark, we are continuing our discrimination towards people, other living things how titanic or minute they are, and of course, earth, in a sad and regrettable manner. 7 billion is just a number. The real thing is how these 7 billion people, which include you and me, are starting the sole mission of saving this mother earth.

Saya Pelajar IPG Kampus Gaya

Cuti-cuti Sabah... Location: Karambunai Nexus Resort!

TESL Night... Retro style!

Photo session after the end of our stageplay, Macbeth!

We are the proud TESLians of IPG Kampus Gaya

Satu hari, saya sedang menyiasat blog-blog orang, dan ternampaklah satu segmen yang dianjurkan oleh BPM, bukan Badan Pencegah… err… Maksiat, tapi Blogger Pilihan Malaysia. Apakan segmen yang dianjurkan beliau? Segmen tersebut ialah:

Sahabat Blogger: Pelajar IPG/Maktab Perguruan

OK, now let’s begin our journey through my life as a student in IPG.

Terdapat 27 IPG di seluruh Malaysia, dan IPG yang menjadi pilihanku [sebenarnya computer mana entah yang pilih… Haha] ialah IPG Kampus Gaya, Kota Kinabalu,Sabah. Betapa jauh tu dari tempat asal aku. Huhu…

Aku baru saja masuk B. Ed (Hons.) in TESL, jadi kiranya ini tahun pertama aku dalam degree a.k.a. ijazah la. Perkara yang membezakan kelas aku dengan kelas TESL lain dalam IPG Gaya ni ialah jurusan B. Ed ialah untuk mereka [termasuk aku] yang bakal menjadi guru Sekolah Menengah. Jadi, kitorang dikembarkan dengan UiTM Shah Alam. Pada 2012 nanti, kami akan berpindah ke sana, tapi 2014 akan balik semula ke IPG Gaya untuk praktikum, harap maklum. Kalau dah ambil TESL, mesti la jadi guru BI kan? LOL…

Moving on…

Sepanjang lebih 1 ½ tahun aku di Sabah ni, pelbagai perkara pahit, manis, tiga rasa, dan lain-lain berlaku. Pertamanya, sudah pasti la pasal aku tinggal di Sabah. Best la gak. Sebagai budak [wei, 20 tahun dah! Budak apanya!] dari semenanjung, kehidupan di Sabah bagi perspektif yang baru [warghhh… aku tak suka perkataan ‘baharu’!] kat aku. Tambah-tambah duduk amat jauh dari ibu bapa kan? Apa lagi? Dapat ramai kawan dari pelbagai kaum dari seluruh negara. Melanau, Kadazan, Bidayuh, India, Cina, Melayu, Murut, ahh… banyak arr… Memang seronok pasal dapat mendalami budaya masing-masing. Sudah pasti Kursus TESL, terutamanya masa Foundation amat best… capital-letter BEST! Memang banyak aktiviti yang kami lakukan. Drama Macbeth, TESL Night, TESL Camp especially the trip to Kundasang and Ranau part, exam [huh?]… Sudah pastilah kelas aku pun buat aktiviti sendiri, macam pusing-pusing seluruh KK or siapkan assignment sehari sebelum tarikh hantar [ke aku je?]… Haha!

Sebagai pelajar IPG yang bakal menjadi guru, apakah perubahan yang akan aku lakukan kepada system pendidikan negara? OK. Bahasa Inggeris ialah subjek kritikal, pelbagai perkara yang kerajaan buat untuk memastikan para pelajar menguasai subjek ni. Di Malaysia ni, subjek BI di Malaysia ni lebih kepada belajar, belajar, belajar, tapi praktiknya ndak ada, bha~! Subjek BI patut dijadikan lebih fun, lebih approachable. Cam mana? Pelajar-pelajar boleh buat mini stageplay, atau create poems or present their own-made stories, mungkin juga buat language games, group presentation, and memacam lagilah. The possibilities are endless. Sebagai guru [atau bakal guru], kita kena kreatif. Selain tu, facilities yang ada kat sekolah-sekolah kita, lebih-lebih lagi yang pedalaman, haruslah dipertingkatkan. Tak guna guru cemerlang tapi kemudahan hampeh… Hilang motivasi nak ajar anak bangsa, percayalah. Jurang perbezaan akademik dan ko-kurikulum pelajar-pelajar di bandar dan luar bandar pun harus dirapatkan.

OK… Memang panjang sangat dah ni. Orang len buat pendek je… sorry. Haha! See you next time~!

P.S.: I'm glad that I'm a TESLian!

The First Day of Being 20 Years Old

The first day of being 20 years old. Muka selepas kena kantoi ngan bebudak kelas… Hampeh… Senyuman dalam kesedihan… Haha

12 Januari 1991 TM = 25 Jamadilakhir 1411 AH

No more ‘-teen’ as a part of my age.

I’m officially 20 [well, not really. I was born on 10 o’clock in the evening]. Anyway, how’s my life so far? I want to say Alhamdulillah, my life turned out to be great and awesome, thanks to His grace. Of course my yesteryears were not as great, but as time flies, new things and experience and knowledge come like many. I am determined to make myself worthy.

It has been a long two decades. I know there are billions of things still hidden ahead. I know some things will not be easy, a number of experiences may cause scars, and the road will be bumpy, but all that are small if we try to compare them with the good stuffs, the enormous opportunities, the great family and friends we hold dear to, the amazing life we have.

Just smile! Have fun! Be sad when you have too! Make yourself crazy!

Life is all good!

[P.S.: To all my friends and family who wished me, thank you so much! Love ya’!]

Kounsikaan Kinohodion a.k.a. Happy Birthday!

Twenty, Dua Puluh, Duvo Ngopod

12^th January 2011

Tomorrow is the new phase of my life.

My Birthday, My Twentieth Birthday!

Kounsikaan Kinohodion!

[Not just to me, but to my twin, Zell!]

TESL Night 2011 is going to be a Blast! Banzai!

TESL Night 2011, coming soon. Yeah... I can't wait for it. Most probably it will be held this March. The committee members had been chosen a few days ago, and I'm in it, acting as one of the Publicity Managers. My fellow class/starmate, Zell is the other one. If you think publicity is easy, think again. We need to create a poster that represents the Night with full justification, and not just that, we then have to make the lucky draw cards, invitation cards, lots and lots of cards... and they must be made with Ps... I like!!! Haha! Let's say I am eager on doing all those stuffs... Wheee!

2011 TESL Night will be the biggest ever [we have more than 120 attendees. Can you believe that?], and we'll make sure you'll have fun! You can count on us!

[Please beware that the poster above is just for promo. The theme is not determined yet. The last thing we want to see is someone wearing pajamas complete with hand-held teddy, thinking that the poster shows that 2011's Night is a Slumber Party. Anyway, if you want to know about last year's TESL Night, go here and here.]

Rockstar Garage Members' Photoshoot [as if! LOL]

Get Rockstar Garage debut album in your nearest CD store right now.

[Parents are advised to check the contents first]

LOL!

I love this photo...

...and this too because of its perspective...

...and this one too...

...and this one also! Haha!

looks like KOMTAR... Haha!

Berlagak! Haha!

OK, the real thing. Zell bought a camera, a Nikon 14MP DSLR camera with the nickname of Jem, in honour of one of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird.

So, the four of us, who are of course not photogenic, but photogedik, decided to have a photoshoot ala Music band in Taman Rimba! Come on... You don't get chances like this everytime right? Haha!

Thanks Zell!

I Got Band 5! Nope, Not a Garage Band! MUET's Band!

I got Band 5 for my MUET a.k.a. Malaysian University English Test! Alhamdulillah! Praise be to Allah! Thank God! Thanks friends, lecturers, and family... especially my Mak and Abah!

Between Wizards and Vampires... Who'll Win?

Why Harry Potter is far better than the Twilight Saga.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron are a much better trio than the Twilight trio [honestly, I don’t want to put their name…].

Bella is the most useless girl ever while Hermione is the best-est girl ever! Hermione is the greatest wizard and a valiant and loyal fighter! Bella? She only thinks about boys...

Bella meets, fall in love, and kisses Edward in just one book. Harry meets, fall in love, and kisses Ginny seven books later. Now, let’s not mention Ron and Hermione.

Fork is not cool, Hogwarts is!

You don’t have awesome spells in Twilight. All you got is vampires sucking people’s necks.

Is there any theme park by the name of Twilight's Forks Park? I know they have The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the Muggle world.

Cute in the beginning. Now, he’s hot!…

To be frank, I find Rupert Grint to be extremely hotter that those Twi-boys [sounds weird when it is conjured by me. Haha]…

...and speaking about that, Ron plays chess, wonderfully! How about Ed and Jacob? Ed can, sadly, sparkle only under sunlight, while Jacob can only transform into a werewolf. I think Harry can use the transform spell to change him into something else, like a chihuahua.

What do you get from her? Brain, brawn, beauty!

Not forgetting, Emma Watson [and the other girls] is gazillion times more beautiful than who's-the-person-I-can’t-remember-her-name.

Bellatrix gives a much better performance than Bella.

HP has far more magical creatures than Twilight, which only has three... Vamps, Werewolf, and Bella.

Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny end up with magical children. Bella and Edward end up with… talking human-vampire hybrid baby.

Read this: Harry, the Boy who Lived; Ron, the King; Hermione, the Greatest Wizard of Her Age. I don’t think the Twilight Trio has honorific or something…

Andrew Furtal, "Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength, and doing what is right in the face of adversity… Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."

A fight between Vampire and Wizard: The vampire jumped to kill the wizard. “Avada Kedavra!” the wizard said, and the vampire died.

“Wicked!”, “bloody hell!”, “Expelliarmus”, “Crucio”, and many others are from HP, not Twilight. In the the poorer fantasy, the only thing you hear is “Edward, I need/love/can’t-live-without you.”

HP's last book had been given the limelight to be split into two parts a long time ago, not Twilight!

HP don’t sell teen sex for that matter [okay, I know there is one scene in HP7, but honestly, Bella asking Edward for sex is just to… weird. Woman power?]

Love in HP means to sacrifice oneself in order to save others that we adore from ultimate destruction and despair. 'Love' in Twilight means to sacrifice oneself by changing into a vampire and leaving other things that are, ultimately much more important than BF of GF! Stupid sacrifice!

The message in HP: Courage, bravery, and love are always in you. The message in Twilight: Girls can't live without BF.

You have Quidditch in HP, nuff' said!

Emma Watson is the face of Burberry and People Tree [if I'm not mistaken], and get this: she's in the NYU! The girl who plays Bella, I don't know if she's into something... Haha! Daniel Radcliffe showed his skin for the play Equus, while RPatz showed his [CGI-animated sparkling] skin in the movie only. Rupert Grint has a a REAL ice-cream truck in REAL life... Wheee! What do you expect to have from RPatz in real life? Sparkling skin? Hell NO!

Bloody hell, mate! That is why I love Harry Potter~! Wicked!

GPOY no. 3

Foundations of Education by Ornstein and Levine, the book for the subject History and Philosophy of Education that will be taught by Mr. Chan. About 530 pages long and we need to photocopy it into 20 sets. Woo woo~!

This is Our Destiny

Sebelum pulang ke Gaya!

Hangpa jangan pikir bukan-bukan! [tidur lak si Nana ni...]

So, we had an orientation known as Minggu Destini Siswa in UiTM Sabah, Kampus KK. Why did we have our orientation there? UiTM Shah Alam told us to do so. Nevertheless, UiTM KK is not for TESL students, so our presence there actually put hardships to the Peers Mentors [PM] and not to mention, US!

I mean, during one time, we just sat in the hall and watched the students from other courses [like Accountancy, Banking, and Tourism just to name a few] listened to their lecturers talking about their courses. Like usual, if there's orientation, there will be lots of taklimat and ceramah. That equals to sleep [but not all, okay], haha! Like my friend said, “boring mau mampus”.

Did I forget to mention I [and one-half of my class] got sick? The halls' temperature was set to the bone-freezing 16°C. Untuk urang kurus macam sia, mau sakit jadinya. Kesejukan melampau. Haha. The food? Terima ja la bah! Kita duduk di tempat urang, makan-makan jak la.

Anyway, this is not to say that we didn’t learn anything. I managed to learn two UiTM songs, OBE or Outcome-based Education, and some other things beneficial to our studies. Abang-abang and Kakak-kakak PM, each and every one of them is nice and tough [and scary] at the same time. Hey, it’s their work! If we were tired, they must be much more exhausted.

The orientation was over, no more sleep under 4 hours, and no more “Siap kamu!” from kakak PM.

Now, we’re back in Maktab Gaya, and with utmost pleasure, sky-high happiness, and overall positive feeling, the students of SM are now in Degree!

[Lupe lak... Yang paling tak menahan, bebudak siswa-siswi UiTM yang sebenar suruh kitorang nyanyi Sabah Tanah Airku... Haha... Kitorang dah ade kat Sabah 1 ½ tahun la... Tutup mata pon dapat... Haha]

Hello 2011