masjid hajjah fatimah dan kawasan perkuburannye ( part i )

Once in a blue moon photo sharing session, layan gambar2 masjid2 kat Singapore/Malaysia yang a bit special untuk aku for some personal or whatever reasons. Ni kali kita gi Beach Road, Hajjah Fatimah Mosque. Pasal banyak photos jadi aku split dua kali round.


All photos were taken discreetly using Nokia N73 on different dates and times. Pls click photos to enlarge.
This is meant for sharing and knowledge, especially for the majority who are not aware or may not have the chance to view this old mosque in detail.

This post will be more to the interior prayer area, while the next one will more to the exterior parts and also the graveyards inside the mosque compound.


Masjid ni originally buat tahun 1846 gitu hasil sumbangan orang kaya nama Hajjah Fatimah ( kubur arwah pun kat sini nanti aku tampal lain kali gambo nye ). Masjid takkan roboh kot pasal Gomen dah gazette ni mesjid sebagai national landmark. So its good ler. Untouchable gitu.


Besides the mosque itself being over 160 years old and gazetted as a national monument, one thing which is famous for this mosque is its minaret is slanted. Something like the Tower Of Pisa in Italy.

Can see or not? got slanting right? About 6 degrees like that, not I measure, Wikipedia say one :-)


Actually from the base already can see the tower slanting like that
Sengetttt gitu..

Untuk aku, ni mesjid pun special pasal dia dekat ngan Beach Road Hawker Center, makan2 sedap2 dan murah2, nyum nyum nyum. Also depan Golden Mile, kalo naik bas turun bas senang gi Msia ( kalo malas nak naik bas kat Larkin ler ).


Ni nak masuk main hall dia...


Angle tepi sikit lak..

Dan banyak sangat ler susah senang wa, mesjid ni jadi saksi ekekeke. Sentimental beb ni tempat untuk wa. Tuhan je tau.


Outside nengok in..



And the sign says...
Dulu aku kecik2 selalu dengar orang cakap- baju bebek, baju bebek, aku fikir, apa tu baju bebek? la....rupanya baju Bare-backed. Kelakar jugak, ye la time tu satu word cakap omputeh pun aku tak paham lagik..



Nanti aku senang aku nak buat aku nye personal favourites of 2007, maybe foto paling feberet aku snap sendiri this year, aku pilih ni foto. Entah apsal...



The front portion, you got the mimbar and the mihrab, I think these are the right words to use.
Mesjid selalu ada those jam besar cam grandfather clock gitu eh kalo korang perasan.


Interior


Alih sikit angle henpon. Ni semua wa snap senyap2 ler. Kang ganggu lak orang gitu kan.


Ni dia nye interior of the dome gitu..
Melayu panggil apa eh dome? Kubah? ye kot?


Ni lak from the main hall looking towards the exterior. Mesjid ni kan, old timer ramai jugak, so its good kalo ada kerusi2 kat tempat strategic, senang nak rest kejap.


I think that small entrance leads to the top of the mosque tower. The curtain on the right is the area for the female worshippers while mostly hidden on the background is the Imam's quarters ( which I will post a bit of photos the next time k )



Lantai sejuk je, angin pun tiup sempoi2 bahasa, tak silau pasal ada bumbung dan pokok2 rendang, bila rehat2 tu kan...best tau..


Last bus for now, nanti lain kali ada kesempatan aku sambung part 2 lak eh...Nengok kubur2 dia lak k.

my klasik - LOUDNESS' Disillusion ( English Version )

Segmen baru dimana saye pilih koleksi2 saye yang saye anggap "perfect album" dan memang favourite. Jenis album yang mula sampai abis semua lagu gerek giler. Saye tak mau pilih album kompilasi dan kalo boleh elak Iron Maiden pasal Maiden releases semua pun mesti la perfect kan? So lets begin.

( click all photos to make bigger )

To kickstart a new segment about my personal favourite " Perfect Albums ", I have choosen to review and post photos of the Japanese band Loudness " DISILLUSION ( English Version ) album.
There will never be an album like this again. No rock band especially from the West can ever do an album like this because its so unique.

DISILLUSION was actually released in two versions back in 1984, same music but Minoru Nihara recorded his vocals twice, one in Japanese, and the other one in English ( try imagining a Japanese Rocker in 1984 trying his best to sing in English with his Japanese accent all over the place and simple uncomplicated English lyrics which seems to be a direct translation from Japanese ) - the result, mind boggling. Together with one of the most exciting, thrilling and lots of surprising change of tempo and melody, loud entertaining playing and solos by Akira Takasaki, heavy rhythm section by Masayoshi Yamashita and Munetaka Higuchi, plus one of the most beautiful and haunting slow rock of all time "Ares Lament" and you have for me the best rock album of all time to come out from The Land of the Rising Sun.


DISILLUSION
released 1984
1. Anthem
2. Crazy Doctor
3. Esper
4. Butterfly
5. Revelation
6. Exploder
7. Dream Fantasy
8. Milky War
9. Satisfaction Guranteed
10. Ares Lament

Total Running Time - 40mins 18sec

Ask any older rock and metal listeners in both Singapore and Malaysia about Loudness and 99.9% of the time, they can either sing or humn you a favourite Loudness song of theirs, start talking about guitarist Akira Takasaki or maybe all you get is just a simple, " Heavy Chain ", which arguably is one of the most famous foreign song in the history of the Malay Rock Annals.

I first discovered the cassette tape of DISILLUSION back in 1987 when I was in secondary school, it was on the Roadrunner label with the " DRUGS ARE NO FUN " campaign slogan prominently displayed on the inlay. The cover was not as above but the Japanese language version artwork ( mosaic of an ancient Samurai warrior climbing some cliffs ). It was so exciting that the cassette stayed in my walkman all the time, till the old routine of lending it to a friend who lent it to another friend and you wont see your stuff again. But the album sticks on my mind all the time and it was one of the first cd I ever bought back in the 90s.



song by song review-
I ever read in an old Hit Parader interview that Minoru Nihara said DISILLUSION was the heaviest and most metal album ever done by Loudness. And rightly so.. This album was from my understanding recorded in Europe, and this was the album that was promoted by Loudness travelling to perform in the Western countries, which then result in them getting the international major label Atlantic signing them up to release their 1985 Thunder In The East album worldwide.

For me, Loudness prime was on this album and even when they were an international act later in the 80s to 90s, even later on with a " white man " Mike Viscera taking over the vocals, and the famous four reuniting in 2000 till now, I cant love any other Loudness era and albums as I love DISILLUSION. Except maybe on 2001 reunion album Spiritual Canoe there was this two songs called End Of Earth and Stay Wild which is super great for me, unfortunately the singing is in Japan so I dont understand them.



1. Anthem ( Loudness Overture )
The introduction. An instrumental of " light " music, sort of a national anthem of some country, which kinds of makes the anticipation of whats next all the more higher.

2. Crazy Doctor
When the singing starts, I am not surprised if some people asked " What language is he singing in? Is that in English? " :-)
Up to now, I believe this song is still a live staple when Loudness performs. It still appears in most live dvds of Loudness gigs after their reunion from the 2000 onwards.
Very catchy, very heavy, and that Akira guitar solo at the middle of this song - The kind that makes the world stands still.

3. Esper - The fast, heavy but melodic tempo continues with this song. Esper relates to science fiction imaginary. " Oh yeah never ending fire, Energy, secret mystery..Energy.."

4. Butterfly - The tempo drops a bit for this song. Seems to compare some woman with a butterfly, flying here and there. Not sticking to one place. The song has dramatic change of pace during the solos.

5. Revelation - In the 80s, its nothing out of the ordinary to have a heavy rock n roll band with all the fancy clothes and hairstyles singing praises for their parents in a metal song. " Father Wishing I was you, Good and strong as you ".
Those were the innocent years where everyone is having fun and life is good and balanced, when we work to live, not live to work. 20 years later to present times, its more about work and worrying about money.



6. Exploder - Akira's solo that makes the world stands still.

7. Dream Fantasy - Ah..my favourite fast track. Especially for that "OI!!" after the solo. The lyrics is so hilarious " Under the spell of a foxy girl ". The Japanese bands have all these incredible English lyrics ( check out X JAPAN my favourite Japanese band ever ).

8. Milky Ways - The best vocals for this album must definitely go to this song. It sounds like a teenybopper singing about Superman, The Galaxy, The Universe. The most beautiful song for me.

9. Satisfaction Guranteed - " You want Wock and Woll? You want it lowd? We'll drive you cwazy , knocking our heads ". Fabulous!!! A fantastic heavy metal song.

10. Ares Lament - which begins with " You made me smile when I think of you.. ", sigh..
This is the predecessor of So Lonely, that famous Loudness song from Hurricane Eyes album which appears in most Loudness compilations.
I guess this song is so good that they remodify it to become So Lonely, I wonder why cant they just use this song instead of remaking it as So Lonely. For me, Ares Lament is the best Loudness ballad every followed closely behind by Never Again.
The ending of this song with Minoru's melodic humming and Akira's solo is so perfect. What a way to conclude this album.


The OBI strip, anyway, the cd that I have is just a normal one. Maybe one day I want to get the remastered version of both the English and Japanese version if I can afford it, because DISILLUSION have so much great memories for me.

So you guys out there, maybe you just want to check out DISILLUSION. No regrets.





You make me smile when I think of you
Although you're many miles away, far away
But my heart's lonely, I love you still
This clown can't laugh today

* My arms are open for you
I need to hold you closer
Can't you see, you leave me so breathless
Why do you do this to me
I can't go on without you
I'll never leave you any more

** I am so lonely, so what can I do?
Oh baby, oh baby
I am so lonely, so lonely for you
Oh baby, oh baby

I have nowhere to go, no one to hold
Nothing to keep me here, I've thrown it all away
My heart is lonely, but still I'll try
This clown won't cry today

Ooo....oooo....
ooo....oooo....

makan~ nasik ayam penyet , nasik ayam hainanese, nasik ayam biasa

Aku rasa kan, tahun 2007 ni, jenis makanan yang paling aku banyak beli ialah nasik ayam. Tak kesah la nasik ayam apa pun, nasi ayam biasa yang orang melayu jual ke, nasi ayam penyet or aku slalu sebut penyek, or nasik ayam hainanese orang cina jual nye tapi halal gitu kan. Pasal nasik ayam ni simple, nak order makan senang, nak order tapau pun senang. Semua kat satu bungkus, nak makan kat mana2 pun, tepi jalan ke, makan berdiri ke, sambil buat kerja ke makan ke, pun tak jadi hal.
So ni ialah aku nye tribute dan ulasan to nasi ayam, ye la 2007 pun nak abis. Kira round up ler.

My Nasik Ayam Awards for 2007.


1) Nasi Ayam Penyet/Penyek paling best ~
Pusat Penjaja Beach Road Hawker Center. Yang gerai kat tengah nye, bukan yang tepi tu, kira gerai yang nasi ayam penyek dia ada keropok warna warni tu.
Firstly, for the same price $3.50 ngan gerai2 lain kat situ, tapi boleh nampak a bit more effort pun in la, ada keropok, ada tahu, ada tempeh, dan ayam dia besar. Kalo dari segi serving, gerai ni ada lambat sikit, maybe lambat seminit dua minit dari gerai nasik ayam penyet lain, tapi its worth the wait.

So korang yang belum makan kat gerai yang tengah tu ( dia depan gerai soto ayam Roshanaini or something tu ), korang gi try la. $3.50 je. Lagi sekali aku emphasis, gerai yang dapat keropok tu. Sila lihat gambar photo di atas.



2) Nasik Ayam Hainanese ( style cina ) paling best -



Hainanese Chicken Rice Chee Meng. Ni masih yang kat Bukit Bintang tu. Ni yang dulu kedai dia cam kedai kayu tu kat BB Plaza, lepas tu ceritanye dorang kena pindah pasal ada orang lain takeover pun bukak kedai nasik ayam jugak ( siap renovate cantik2 ), tapi still, dorang pindah along Bukit Bintang dan masih best giler.
Harga around the same la sikit lebih kurang maybe add few RM more. Tapi ok la pasal environment dia pun not bad.

So korang yang tak pernah gi makan, pegi k, ingat, Chee Meng, dia about depan Federal Hotel gitu, sana banyak kedai k, tapi try kedai ni. Dia punye Tahu Sambal best, aku tak bedek.

3) Nasi Ayam biasa ( yang orang melayu jual ) paling best -
K yang ni aku pun ambik gerai kat Beach Road tu yang kalau korang tau deret Deen kan? yang deret Soto Ayam Satay gerai Roshainaini or whatever tu kan? k, dia hujung the other end, kalo Deen on the left, dia hujung kanan.
Pasal... For $2.50, ok la sedap dan kenyang, kalo sapa nak tapau gi kerja lapar ke hapa kan, then nak budget nak senang, korang gi gerai ni.
Ni gerai pun ada jual macam2 those mee hong kong or whatever la. So give it a try ler.
Sorry no photo lak.

4) Nasik Ayam Penyet/Hainanese/Melayu yang paling kurang tak best tapi apa bleh buat kena bedal jugak kalo no choice award goes to-
Ada la satu gerai ni kan, kat around North part of Singapore. Nasi Ayam Penyet dia $4. ok la, harga up jugak aku tak kesah, tapi ayam dia, serving dia i mean like value for money dia, kureng gitu, well... ayam aku pernah dapat kecut betul...sikit je... Tapi well.., kalo dah lapa, dan nak cepat, well....

review cd~ SEARCH live at Planet Hollywood

Tampal gambar je la, pasal aku gi nengok ni konsert dan dah review and tampal gambo Ross Halfin tak jadi aku dah kat sini - http://deaf-angel.blogspot.com/2007/09/review-gig-search-live-at-planet.html



Cepat jugak keluar eh? 3 bulan lebih, lepas ni keluar versi vcd lak, mintak2 ada versi DVD.

Aku suka, suara Amy clear giler, dan nampak macam takde edit je. Apa Amy cakap ke hapa ke semua kat cd ni, cuma tu ah ending cd2 dia abrupt sangat pada aku. Tu DJ tu terus gi masuk lagu Earthshaker gitu. Also sound audience cam tak kuat pada aku.

Sapa yang tak pegi tapi dengar cd ni je, trust me the audience was super loud that night. Lagu 31 ogos tu kalo audience nye nyanyi2 dapat pick up masuk cd ni lagi best.

More photos of the packaging..


One last thing, Amy Search announce Selepas Banjir nye gig recorded, so dah release ni Selepas Banjir mana lak? kot nak tunggu boxset?
( review Selepas Banjir aku ~ http://deaf-angel.blogspot.com/2007/03/review-search-konsert-selepas-banjir.html )

Planet Hollywood nye September show was awesome pasal packed dan happening abis, tapi Selepas Banjir nye konsert kat JB pada aku lagi more emotional pasal Search tu jam dah berapa kali kensel gig so at last dapat nengok line up GME + Joe Wings buat a full 2 hr show memang gerek.



So buy this buy this, suara Amy best..dan aku suka drums dia punye sound..
In fact just buy this for the song Setelah Hujan by itself je dah puas hati hehehe..

Korban 2007

Photos of the Hari Raya Raya Qurban Sacrifices
Gambar & foto raya aji nye sembelih korban
( Macam biasa, some photos make be a bit gore to some of you )

Kalau 2006 dah kambings - http://deaf-angel.blogspot.com/2006/12/intermission-korban.html
So this year 2007 lak is the lembus.
( click photos to make bigger )

In the morning..after smayang raya..

people gather around..

first cow for the day - blue eyes. Mata lembu ni biru tau...

bring to position..

baca doa, takbir, then semelih

give space..

gi semelih next one lak..

then hide removing process and potong2 pun bermula..

then..

hind portion kena remove dah..

remove remove intestine thingy..

ribs..

Bring to tent to cut to smaller pieces..

apa eh tu? aku tahu makan je tapi tak tahu nama, paru kot, limpa kot

Meanwhile at the khemah.. lepas potong kecik2, siap timbang before packing..

meanwhile..more cows being semelih, and the kids pegang2..

while another cow is being cut, while budak kecik tu ngah nengok..

at same time blue eyes leftovers and skin is brought to another area for disposal and final salvage of usable parts and hide cleaning.

Meanwhile, more of the heads were arranged here together with their tails and hoofs ( betul ke? aku rembat je )

this one kena sit on lak..

ni yang 1st photo nye lembu2 kat atas tadi, abis dah..

headcount bertambah..

daging yang dah kena packed makin banyak..

ni tempat disposal dia gitu ler, lepas tu timbus ler..mana masih bleh salvage, usus2 tu nye bahagian gitu orang masih keluarkan.., waste lembu semua banyak jugak eh, tapi tak geli pasal semua cuma makan rumput jugak kan..

ngah bersihkan hide lembu2 tadi..

while the tempat potong2 makin busy...

final headcount

the end..
this post made while listening to the new Search CD " Live at Planet Hollywood " yang aku pun pegi nengok tu hari hehehe..Review live cd ni next change hohoho..

tak peduli kata orang terhadap dirinya..
tak peduli nista yang terlempar padaku...