Tujuh Saat Pertama

Saya sedang membelek sebuah buku tentang kehebatan 1001 lagu yang pernah diterbitkan di 'Popular Book Store', AEON Taman Equine sebentar tadi. Tanpa diduga terselit akan sebuah lagu yang pernah saya minati kira-kira 15 tahun yang lalu ketika saya masih belajar. Tajuk lagu tersebut ialah '7 Seconds'. Lantaran itu... tiba-tiba terbuka hati saya untuk membuka 'label post' baru yang berjudul 'Songs for Life Time'. Dan lagu ini menjadi lagu pertama...

"7 Seconds" adalah lagu yang dicipta oleh Youssou N'Dour, Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey dan Jonathan Sharp. Dikeluarkan sebagai 'single' oleh Youssou N'Dour menampilkan Neneh Cherry dan menjadi hit antarabangsa yang hebat pada tahun 1994. Ia kekal berada di dalam carta lagu selama hampir setengah tahun dan mencapai kedudukan tiga di puncak carta lagu di banyak negara seperti England, Perancis, Jerman, Itali, Australia, Rusia dan Poland. Single ini menduduki tangga No 1 selama 16 minggu berturut-turut di Chart Jomblo Perancis (yang merupakan pemegang rekod sebagai lagu paling lama menduduki puncak carta bagi tahun 1994). Lagu ini dimuatkan di dalam album Youssour N'Dour's yang berjudul Wommat. Pada tahun 1996, Neneh Cherry memasukkan lagu ini di dalam Album beliau yang berjudul 'Man'.

Lagu '7 Seconds' ini dinyanyikan di dalam tiga (3) bahasa: Youssou N'Dour menyanyikannya di dalam Bahasa Wolof (Bahasa Rasmi Senegal) dan Bahasa Perancis (ditambah paduan suara bersama neneh Cherry di dalam Bahasa Inggeris). Sementara Neneh Cherry pula menyanyikannya di adalam Bahasa Inggeris.

Menurut Neneh Cherry, '7 Seconds' adalah tentang 7 saat pertama yang positif dalam kehidupan seorang anak baru lahir di mana mereka tidak tahu tentang masalah dan kekerasan (violence) di dalam dunia kita. Hebatkan intipati lagu ini?

Seharian di Pulau Ketam

Pulau Ketam, jika diterjemahkan di dalam Bahasa Ingeris akan berbunyi seperti ini - 'Crab Island'. Ia adalah sebuah pulau kecil yang terletak di lepas pantai Port Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Mengikut sejarahnya ia ditemui sekitar tahun 1880an. Pulau ini mudah di akses/di lawati dari dermaga Pelabuhan Klang oleh feri/tongkang/sampan. Lokasinya dari tanah besar ialah sekitar 10 kilometer dan berdirinya pulau ini setinggi 10 meter di atas permukaan laut.

Jalan umum utama di pulau ini adalah konkrit yang sempit, sementara di daerah perumahan, yang lebih tua reyot pula dihubungi oleh titi papan kayu tua yang separa utuh. Tidak ada kereta di Pulau Ketam untuk meninjau dan menjelajahi samada berjalan kaki ataupun berbasikal saja. basikal boleh di sewa dengan kos RM5 untuk sebuah basikal sehari. Ada juga di kalangan penduduk tempatan yang memiliki basikal bermotor dan motosikal.

Penduduk tempatan terutama dari keturunan Teochew dan Hoklo (Hokkien) dari Negara China, dengan Teochew, Hokkien dan Mandarin adalah dialek utama diucapkan. Sudah tentunya mereka juga boleh berbahasa Melayu dialek pasar.

Terdapat hanya sebuah restoran yang menghidangkan makanan halal yang dikendalikan oleh orang muslim berbangsa campuran cina (terima kasih kepada seorang anggota polis yang menunjukkan kami akan kedai ini) dan seorang Pak Cik yang menjual makanan kegemaran saya 'apam balik/terang bulan'. Ada ais krim berbentuk telur yang bukan sahaja cantik tapi enak yang dikenali sebagai 'the perfect ice cream'. bekas plastik yang berbentuk telur ayam ini boleh dikitar semula sebagai bekas simpanan kelip kertas, butang baju melayu dsb.

Kemudahan asas di sini boleh di katakan lengkap. Ada Balai Islam (untuk menunaikan solat), Balai Polis, Pusat Kesihatan, Maybank dan Bomba. Jika ingin bermalam terdapat sekurang-kurangnya 2 buah inapan yang murah.

Bagaimana hendak ke sini? Mudah sahaja. Gunakan perkhidmatan awam. Gunalah perkhidmatan Komuter dari tempat anda dan berhenti di destinasi terakhir iaitu Pelabuhan Kelang. Dermaga untuk ke Pulau Ketam letaknya cuma di sebelah stesen ini. Perjalanan menaiki feri dari dermaga ke Pulau ketam mengambil masa kira-kira 40 minit. Feri terakhir dari Pulau Ketam bertolak kira-kira jam 6.00 petang. Jika lambat, bermalamlah di sini. Bolehlah menjamah makanan laut di sini.

Memancing? Bukan bidang saya tetapi saya kira ia boleh dilaksanakan di sini...

Kenangan saya dan Lisa, saya kira kami sudah lama tidak berbasikal, jadi ini merupakan peluang terbaik untuk berbasikal mengelilingi pulau. Kepulangan kami ke tanah besar lewat hari pertama tahun 2011 baru lalu di sambut dengan hujan yang agak lebat sehingga membasahi tubuh yang telah keletihan namun kepuasan...

Knockaround Guys

Four sons of well-known gangsters come face to face with their own legacy of violence and betrayal when they travel to a small Montana town to collect a large sum of cash.

Plot :
Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a mob boss, but he is used as little more than an errand boy. His relative and friend Chris (Andy Davoli) shares this urge to be part of something bigger, and Matty finally convinces his father to give him a job, with the help of his father's right-hand man Teddy (John Malkovich). Matty and Chris get their friend Johnny Marbles (Seth Green) to fly up to retrieve a bag full of money for Matty's father Benny "Chains" Demaret (Dennis Hopper), as there have been mysterious shortages in their money lately.

On the way back with the cash, Marbles stops in a small Montana town to refuel his personal plane. He has been instructed to guard the bag with his life so he takes the bag with him as he goes to pay for the fuel. However, Marbles sees the sheriff & his deputy and is paranoid that they may question him about the bag's contents. Marbles is also in possession of cocaine which he dumps on the runway. He drops the bag amongst a pile of luggage waiting to be loaded onto another flight, and despite telling the cashier to keep the change, the other flight takes off before he can retrieve his bag. Unknown to him, the bag of money was taken by two local teenage pothead skateboarders who work as baggage handlers at the airport.

He calls Matty and tells him the news. Matty, though upset, knows that he must fix the situation quickly and quietly if he ever wants to work for his father. Matty, Chris, and their friend Taylor (Vin Diesel) fly to the small town of Wibaux, Montana to help Marbles search for the missing money.

While in town, Matty and the other guys attract the attention of two local law-enforcement officers (Tom Noonan and Shawn Doyle) who find out about the money and want to keep it for themselves. The mob guys then try to negotiate with the officers to get the money back but are turned away. Matty calls Teddy and Teddy arrives in Wibaux with two other mob henchmen. Chris decides to leave for home and disappears. Marbles hangs around in a bar with the two mob henchmen who secretly hate him, while Taylor and Matty wait in their hotel for word from the Sheriff. After taking him outside in a friendly manner, the two mob men throw Marbles to the ground and ask about the whereabouts of the other three. Marbles tells them he doesn't know and the two shoot him several times and throw his body in a trunk.

Later that night, a deal is arranged for the Sheriff and Deputy to meet Matty and Taylor in a warehouse. When they arrive, the lawmen are planning to kill Matty and the others and keep the money, but Teddy and the two mob men show up when Matty and Taylor do and they entire thing turns into a Mexican standoff. Chris arrives and shoots the Sheriff's cousin who came to help the Sheriff, and Matty and Taylor inquire about Marbles. Chris says that he thought he was with them. Teddy gives a signal to the two henchmen and they all fire on Chris who is killed. The Sheriff and Deputy, in the chaos, shoot the two mob men. Taylor then kills both of the lawmen but is shot in the arm by Teddy. Teddy's gun is out and Matty holds him at gunpoint. Matty says that it is Teddy that has been stealing and causing shortages from his father all along. Teddy tries to reload and shoot Matty claiming that Matty doesn't have the guts to shoot him, but Matty kills Teddy. Matty and Taylor get the money and return home.

Casting :
Barry Pepper as Matty Demaret
Andrew Davoli as Chris Scarpa
Seth Green as Johnny Marbles
Vin Diesel as Taylor Reese
John Malkovich as Teddy Deserve
Arthur Nascarella as Billy Clueless
Tom Noonan as Sheriff Stan Decker
Nicholas Pasco as Freddy the Watch
Shawn Doyle as Deputy Sheriff Donny Ward
Kevin Gage as Gordon Brucker
Dennis Hopper as Benny "Chains" Demaret
Andrew Francis as Matty (age 13)
John Liddle as Heslep the barkeeper
Kris Lemche as Decker
Dov Tiefenbach as Teeze
Catherine Fitch as Louise
Ceciley Jenkins as Claire
Jennifer Baxter as Terri
Josh Mostel as Mac McCreadle
Mike Starr as Bobby Boulevard

Nota Jase :
It is a very old movie by Vin Diesel, nearly 9 years old (it is out in DVD Format in 2003, the movie was shown on silver screen in 2002). I bought this original DVD from a sale item at Carefour Alamanda late last year (it is so cheap - only RM7.90 per piece). It quite a good move to watch during your free time (as I got additional in-lieu today). Although it is nothing new offered by Vin but his acting is very convincing (especially the action part and when he advicing Marty not to become mob anymore). Furthermore it is a feel good movie of an happy ending. Two Thumbs for Vin. Is this a new start for me to collect Vin's Movie? Let's time decide...

2011 Katanya...

Ramai yang memberitahu saya yang tahun 2011 ini jika disoroti ada 4 tarikh yang akan menjadi rebutan. 1.1.11 (semalam yang telah berlalu), kemudian akan datang pula 11.1.11 (lebih kurang 8 hari dari sekarang), diikuti pula 1.11.11 (hari pertama bulan November akan datang) dan akhir sekali 11.11.11 (dimana angka 1 akan diulang sebanyak 6 kali).

Selalunya angka-angka sebegini akan menjadi perhatian mereka yang ingin berumah tangga.

Hmmm... Apa ada pada Angka? Tepuk Dahi tanyalah Diri sendiri !!!

Projek RM570 juta !

Pertama kali saya dan Lisa memijakkan kaki ke sini. Ia memang sungguh gah sekali. Lagaknya seperti sebuah Bandara ataupun Lapangan Terbang. Projek yang menelan belanja lebih kurang RM570 juta ini sebenarnya ialah sebuah terminal bas ekspres bersepadu bagi pengangkutan dari selatan Kuala Lumpur. Ia mula dibuka pada 1hb Januari 2011. Terminal ini mengikut beritanya dapat menampung 1000 bas keluar masuk setiap hari. Sehingga kini 8 daripada 51 syarikat bas telah mula beroperasi di sini.

Apa yang menarik di sini? Tempat Letak Kereta yang berbumbung dan percuma sehingga 145 Januari 2011. Ada tempat penyimpanan bagasi yang luas dan selamat. Ada Balai Ketibaan Eksklusif. Ada Balai Polis. Ada Kaunter Tiket OKU. 150 buah perhentian teksi. Terminal utama yang berhawa dingin. Sudah ada juga kedai makan yang di buka (Restoran Mamak rasanya). Lokasi santai yang hebat jika hendak dibandingkan dengan Hentian Puduraya mahupun Terminal bas Sementara Bukit jalil yang amat kotor itu !!!

Dabangg = Fearless

Plot :
Chulbul Pandey, a young boy, lives with his younger half-brother, Makhanchan "Makkhi" Pandey, stepfather Prajapati Pandey (Vinod Khanna) and mother, Naina Devi (Dimple Kapadia) in Laalgunj, Uttar Pradesh. His stepfather is always partial towards Makkhi which constantly angers Chulbul.

21 years later, a gang of robbers steal money from a bank and are counting the loot, when Chulbul (Salman Khan), now a cop, apparently tries to recover the money by beating up the robbers but, it becomes clear later that he keeps the money for himself. Chulbul (who now calls himself Robin Hood Pandey) still lives with his family and does not have a good relationship with his stepfather and Makkhi (whom he bullies at times).

Makkhi (Arbaaz Khan) is in love with a girl called Nirmala (Mahi Gill) whose father, Masterji (Tinu Anand) opposes their relationship. And, Chulbul is in love with a girl called Rajo (Sonakshi Sinha), whom he chances upon during a police encounter.

Chedi Singh (Sonu Sood), (who is the president of the student council of a regional political party called Lok Manch and is a goon), meets Chulbul and tells him that the people he beat up and stole the money from are party workers and that they were getting money for the party. But, he forgives Chulbul on the condition that Chulbul "works for him". Chulbul flatly refuses.

Makkhi asks his father to arrange his marriage with Nirmala, but his father refuses saying that he needs money to repay the loans he took to make his factory so he needs his son to marry a rich girl. Makkhi, in desperate need of money, steals it from Chulbul's cupboard, but is caught red-handed by his mother. He tells his mother that he intends to give the money to Nirmala's father, who in turn will return the money after marriage through dowry. Although his mother refuses, he takes the money and gives it to Nirmala's father.

Meanwhile, Chulbul meets Rajo and proposes marriage. She rejects it saying that she has to look after her father, Haria (Mahesh Manjrekar), who is always drunk and that she cannot marry while he is alive. Chulbul then comes home to find his mother dead. He goes to his stepfather to make peace, as he is the only family left. But, his stepfather says that Chulbul is not part of the family anymore.

Chulbul is then attacked at the railway station by Chedi's men, when he is with Rajo and her father, but, he beats up all of them in a fight.

He sees Makkhi buying new clothes at the market. He doesn't suspect that Makkhi stole the money. Makkhi tells him that he is getting married to Nirmala and invites Chulbul to the marriage. Chulbul tries to convince Rajo's father to give his daughter's hand in marriage to him and to stop drinking. Rajo's father accepts and after Chulbul leaves, he plunges into a lake and commits suicide, as he knows that his daughter won't marry anyone while he is alive. Chulbul takes Rajo to Makkhi's wedding and marries her there. Nirmala's father, Masterji feels disgraced and cancels the wedding.

Makkhi beats up one of the workers in his factory due to a small accident. The worker goes to the police station along with his mother to file a complaint. But, instead Chulbul beats up Makkhi in public, thus disgracing him. Chedi Singh decides to take advantage of the situation and suspend Chulbul. He takes Makkhi and his father to the police station. But, Makkhi's father resolves the situation by accepting an apology from Chulbul. Chulbul meets Dayal Babu (Anupam Kher), the leader of Lok Manch, who also dislikes Chedi Singh. They both come to an agreement to keep Chedi Singh in control. Chulbul adulterates the breweries of Chedi Singh due to which many people fall ill and Chedi Singh is blamed. Chedi Singh is confronted by Chulbul who openly reveals to him that he adulterated the breweries.

To take revenge, Chedi Singh burns Makkhi's factory. Makkhi's father gets a heart attack due to shock and is hospitalized. Makkhi, in desperate need of money for his father's treatment agrees to do anything for Chedi Singh, without realizing that it was Chedi Singh who burnt his factory. Chedi Singh, gives him a task telling him to deliver a crate of mangoes to Dayal Babu's house. But, unknown to Makkhi, there is a bomb in it. After he leaves the house, it explodes, killing Dayal Babu. Chedi Singh gives Makkhi a task to kill Chulbul. Makkhi, knowing that he wouldn't do it, accepts it and meets Chulbul. He confesses to Chulbul that he was sent to kill him by Chedi Singh. He reveals to Chulbul that Chedi Singh made him plant the bomb unknowingly. Chulbul forgives him and reconciles with his stepfather.

Makkhi meets Chedi Singh, who thinks that Makkhi killed Chulbul and reveals to Makkhi that he had killed Makkhi's mother. Chedi Singh is then informed that Chulbul is arriving with a huge police force. Makkhi reveals to Chedi Singh that he didn't kill Chulbul. In a final battle, Chulbul arrives and takes down all the goons and rescues Makkhi. He then kills Chedi Singh in a one-on-one fight after Makkhi reveals to him that Chedi Singh killed their mother.

In a happy ending, Chulbul gets Makkhi married to Nirmala in the presence of their father, while, Rajo reveals that she is pregnant.

Nota Jase :
Saya sedang menonton Dabangg. Filem lakonan Salman Khan. Filem ini adalah Filem yang memperolehi kutipan paling tinggi di India bagi tahun 2010 dan Kutipan kedua tertinggi untuk Filem sepanjang zaman di India di belakang 3 Idioits. Bukan filem dari genre yang saya minati tetapi saya menonton untuk mengenalpasti apakah faktor 'wow' yang membuatkan filem ini pecah panggung di Bollywood. Jika ada yang telah menonton bolehlah berkongsi dengan saya.

Salam Tahun Baru 2011

Dear All JaseMario Readers...

I wish you Health...
So you may enjoy each day in comfort.

I wish you the Love of friends and family...
And Peace within your heart.

I wish you the Beauty of nature...
That you may enjoy the work of God.

I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities...
For those things that really matter in life.

I wish you Generosity so you may share...
All good things that come to you.

I wish you Happiness and Joy...
And Blessings for the New Year.

I wish you the best of everything...
That you so well deserve.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 !!!