Music That Speaks

I'm not sure what's happening to the music scene these days. What happened to music that you can actually listen to each and every word and understand what's the singer is singing. The trend nowadays seemed to lean towards incessant, speedy, incomprehensible mutterings. What is wrong with singing something that people can actually understand? Or are their lyric writing skills so bad that they have to cover it up by speeding through the lyrics like a runaway train?

But then thinking about it, I was never really in sync with the crowd in terms music preferences.

However, I'd like to introduce you to some of the songs that I really liked.

1. Katie Melua - Nine Million Bicycles
I stumbled upon this when I was a sad and lonely soul in Vietnam and the lyrics really speaks to me. Finding that someone special among the crowd.

2. Adam Sandler - Grow Old With You
Well, most of you would be familiar with this one from the movie "The Wedding Singer". Super funny and touching lyrics.

3. Hugh Grant & Haley Bennett - Way Back into Love
This one has a lovely tune as well as clear audible lyrics which conveys the meaning of the title of the song itself. How simple and nice is that? It's like the K.I.S.S rule that engineers always use. :)

4. Katie Melua - The Closest Thing To Crazy
Another wonderful piece by Katie Melua. I was simply mesmerized by her voice. It's a kind of sad song that reflects the sadness and craziness of youthful romance. At least that's my take of it.

5. The Beatles - Hey Jude
Everyone has heard of this song. Take a sad song and make it better. How more positive can it be?

6. The Beatles - All You Need is Love
A song cannot be simpler and more direct in it's message. There's nothing that is impossible but all you need is to learn to be yourself and of course "Love".


From this selection of songs it is clear that I'm missing someone dearly. So I dedicate all these to you, CH. Especially this one.



To everyone else, I hope you can rediscover the enjoyment of music in it's simplest form. Hope you like it.

Big Sam!

It was a really healthy weekend for me. For the first time during my stay in US, I went for a hike. A hike of about 7 to 8 miles! Darn proud only. :P

The season is autumn, though it did not make a difference to the view here in Houston. It looks almost the same year round. The slightly cooler weather however, made the hike more enjoyable.

The place is Huntsville State Park.

The crowd, a whole bunch of people from WHCC.

The journey. Starts from a eating place in Bellaire (chinatown). With Mike voluntarily offering his car and taking the wheel, Michelle & Victor (the entertaining couple) and yours truly as noisy passengers.

The experience. Interesting, but not again. Fed mosquitoes, worn myself walking for 4 hours. All for 1 view. One!


The dangers of hiking!


If this is considered a nice view, then there are 2 views along this 4 hour hike.


The view of the lake. I have to admit that it's a breathtaking and welcoming sight ... especially after 2.5 hours of hiking.


This pic should be named "The Fleeing James". That's the view of the better part of our chosen trail.


Tired and spent. The crowd trudging along towards the car park.

What is a trip without a pic to show that I was there!


A bit blurry due to wrong focusing. Should be a good enough proof of my participation though.

Almost forgot.

Before we reached Huntsville State Park, we stopped by the Sam Houston Statue. Supposedly some historical big shot.


Here's his mug shot...


That is said to be the worlds largest statue of an American Hero. The one in white! not the one in black!


Finally... a group photo to end this post. With special thanks to Patrick the organizer, Mike the driver extraordinaire and Michelle & Victor for great company!

Crazy Saturday

A few weeks back, we were supposed to go for lunch at Ulu Yam for the infamous Loh Mee. Ulu Yam is famous for its Loh Mee and also a destination for outdoor wedding photoshooting. There are a few waterfalls nearby which we planned to visit after the lunch..

While we were enjoying the lunch, it started to rain... After a bad experience in Kuala Woh, we dared not visit waterfalls during heavy rains anymore.. A crazy idea strike my colleague... Why not go to Genting Highlands? It is just 27 km away.. slightly more than 30 minutes drive..

It was still raining when we reached Genting Highlands

Cold weather.. See .. SH and I were wearing sleeveless t-shirts and shorts

Nothing better to do than taking pics because all the "God of Gamblers" cannot go into the casino in shorts and slippers.. :p Lucky for me... or else I'll be bored to death..

Walking through the garden, it reminds me how my schoolmates and I used to disturb love couples who were dating at the garden at night :P. That was 9 years ago.. How time flies..

There was another time I went to Genting Highlands with CY out of boredom during the uni days.. We took a midnight train from JB to KL Sentral. And then a bus directly to Genting Highlands..

While I was enjoying myself in the Theme Park, Tweety smsed me about a quiz that was scheduled on Monday.. OMG!!! I had a quiz on Monday but I was still enjoying myself in the Theme Park.. I totally forgot about the quiz! But lucky.. I still managed to pass the quiz..In fact, with flying colours.. Phew!! Thanks to CY for the tutorials :) Miss him so much..

Tired of walking, we sat down at Starbucks for a cup of hot and aromatic chocolate. What is better than a cup of hot chocolates/coffee in the cold and windy weather?

A cup of hot chocolates is better than a jacket?

On the way down the hill, we stopped by at a temple..

See the view.. Their photography skills are improving...

Night view of Genting Highlands..

This trip reminds me that Genting Highlands is not only about its Theme Park and Casino. There are more things to do other than gambling and yelling your lungs out in the roller coaster. If you have the right bunch of friends, you'll enjoy yourself even though you are shivering cold... even though you do nothing than posing for pics and drinking hot chocolates..

I Have to Admit ...

There's something that I have to admit. This strikes me as a rather surprising revelation.
We were traveling to Dallas for a weekend (will cover this later on), when the theme song from the movie "Notting Hill" (When you say nothing at all by Ronan Keating) lodged somewhere within the hundreds of songs in that MP3 CD was played. It brought back memories of this film as well as of the time when I saw this film. That night after we checked in to the hotel, guess what's on TV? ...It's the movie itself. Talk about coincidence.

It's now a boring Monday evening and I was longing for a good movie to watch. This reminds me of the movies that I've really liked. That's when I come to this revelation.

I hate to admit this, but I think I like sappy Brit films!

There are not many films that leave a good and lasting impression for me. Some might like Star Wars, Lord of The Rings or some other epic movies, but I like Brit films! I don't know if it's the accent or the fact that Malaysia is a former British colony. So, in order to share my love for Brit films, here's some which I really liked.

1. Love Actually
2. Four Weddings and A Funeral
3. Shakespeare in Love
4. Wimbledon
5. The English Patient
6. Notting Hill
7. Bend it like Beckham
8. Billy Elliot

Listed in accordance to my preference. Give it a try and see how you like them. Be warned though, sometimes it's kinda hard to understand the accent.

It should be easy to get your hands on these films in Malaysia. *wink*wink*