When a part of your life fades away completely..

Born Micheal Joe Jackson, Died Wacko Jacko.

Micheal Jackson was is and always will be the only pop icon I would ever take my hat off to. As a 5 year old kid in kindergarden I once asked mum if i could keep my hair long like him, I found a fedora hat and covered my eyebrows with it, and stood for hours in front of the mirror powdering my face and pulling my fringe down to look like him. His phenomenal feet made dancing seem so easy and effortless. His loosely attached limbs made punctuation seem so natural and his spine chilling voice sent his emotions entwined in his lyrics down your cochlea as you stamped your feet each time you heard Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Black or White.

Someone online today asked me if I had sold out on my metal agenda with my tribute to the legend, and I told him, music back then was different. If all of hiphop was like Run DMC i'd be a fan. If all of pop could emulate Micheal Jackson, I'd be a fan, if screamo rockers like Linkin Park could tone down and sound more like Iron Maiden I'd be a fan. Sadly music these days no longer share a similarity. He argued that I was practising double standards and I showed him my favourite MJ song ever, Give in to me - MJ feat Slash. It was during this video that a pyrotechnics malfunction causing 3rd degree burns on various parts of his body, explaining his infatutation with plastic surgery




MJ wrote this song in response to many that were calling him a Homo. Yes he was straight. He may have not lived with his wives, but he explains everything in his song.


He collaborated with Steve Stevens (Billy Idol guitarist) and Eddie Van Halen on Dirty Diana and Beat It respectively.

As I hit puberty I started understanding the pain and anguish behind most of his songs. Billie Jean was as we know today solely released as many women were claiming he had fathered their children. One particular woman alleged to have threatened to commit suicide if MJ didn't marry her inspired him to write this particular song. Thriller of course propelled him to stardom, but also brought more inner conflict as he was a Jehovah's Witness. And the depiction of ghouls and zombies was somewhat prohibited by the church he once attended. It was after this that Bad was released. Bad was the turning point of his career in my humble opinion. Thriller may have been his best selling album, but Bad was possibly the most personal one he wrote.

It was also around this time that his vitiligo had started acting up on his complexion and the sheer pressure from the media had ensured he underwent skin bleaching to match the tone of his hypopigmented skin patches. Rumours about his uncharacteristic behaviour shot to an all time great after the production of Thriller and it inspired a song called "leave me alone".

The video further vindicates his frustrations against the media and the general group of 'haters' as Katt Williams the comedian once called them. Allegations went as far as MJ wanting to buy the elephant man's skeletal remains. His hyperbaric chamber myth was another hot topic to reek further blemishes on his already tainted persona. It somehow didn't occur to them that he had 3rd degree burns and hyperbaric oxygen therapy does actually help recovery. I personally felt MJ's dad's domineering presence and abusive ways made him the timid boy who tried to relieve his childhood days again. Liz Taylor and Jane Fonda both provided testomonies to his childhood fantasies as he frequently loved buying toys-nope not those toys but real toys like hot wheels and shit- and he was so excited about a part he was once offered in Peter Pan the movie produced by Jane Fonda that never materialized.

I also vaguely remember the use of many stars that acted in Micheal Jacksons elaborate videos, such as Eddie Murphy, Paula Abdul, Dan Aykroyd, Vanessa Williams, David Copperfield, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherman Helmsley- lol that dude from jeffersons- Quincy Jones, Don King, Olivia Newton John, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bridgette Nielson, Spielberg, Travolta, Jordan, Iman, Magic Johnson, that Home alone kid, Tyra Banks and many more. It was when i was about 14 that started convincing my friends about his songwriting abilities after further reading up his lyrics and amazingly 2 years later he was indicted into the hall of fame for songwriting.

Looking back at MJ, i can say his greatest contribution to music would probably be his meticulous and 3 pronged approach , setting a style and keeping to it, making an elaborate video that people will remember for life, writing songs with catchy tunes but hidden meanings that i felt really caught my attention. His daring attempts at spending millions on music videos did pay off as I've personally yet to see someone perfect the Moonwalk - nope Usher is a wanker -

Which reminds me I once had a game on my Sega Genesis back in 95 called Moonwalker based on themes from his dance videos. Round 1 was based on Smooth criminal, Round 2 on Beat it, Round 3 on Thriller and i never made it after that:) - you may download the game from here

http://www.games4win.com/games/michael-jacksons-moonwalker/

I guess a lot of us owe some part of our childhood to the great MJ for all he has contributed to music. To me his greatest feat was to be a renegade and try something no one else had attempted before. And in many ways he had succeeded. It is a sad tale though. A man who was made by the Media was later destroyed by the same medium. Scandals and treacherous cancer patients that never seem to die:) plagued him. He was estimated to be worth a few hundred million in 2003. Which is ironic seeing that Thriller alone sold almost 200 million copies - ensuring at least a billion dollars would be in his bank book. A series of payoffs to unscrupulous 'victims' who unceremoniously accepted 20 million dollar payouts after claiming molestation left me wondering what would've been if he had dragged some of them to court as he did with his final 2 that would later be ridiculed by Tom Mesereau (or something - cant spell his name for nuts man).

Sarah told me today, that at least he is at peace, and I do hope that at some point he does find tranquility amidst the chaotic life he lived. I for one, would never want to live his life today, although I once envied it. Looking back, MJ's death is a great loss to the music industy. Not since John Lennon has there been a talent so capable of invigorating so many emotions thru music. His contributions shall live on, and as Elton John addressed Diana, his candle may have blown out long before his legend ever will.

I overheard Napster on Traxx FM stating that there was once a rumour stating Justin Timberlake was the NEW King of Pop. First and foremost, JT is a wanker. He can cry a god damn ocean for all I care. The footsteps of MJ shall follow that of Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and John Lennon, as the greatest minds of the past century in terms of music, that the world shall ever know.

To Micheal Jackson, I bid you adieu and I hope you find a world that has already been healed.

tabula rasa

The social contract - a theory formulated by John Locke the great philosopher/socialist/enlighteners that shroomed from the era of Immanuel Kant and Jean Jacques Rosseau as well as Voltaire once said Tabula Rasa - meaning a blank slate, to signify the state of one's mind at birth. Clean, clear and capable of much molding.







I went to the bank today to bank in a few cheques and make some payments. I had double parked and left a note with my number on it so anyone who urgently needed me to move could contact me and does not have to honk like a barbarian for 20 minutes. Yes it happens ever so often and the worst type of driver would be the yuppie punkass Lala-fied Ah Beng who will stare at you as though its your fault. Ok lets hit the indians and the malays before the rest of you chinese people catch me for being a racist. Damn Indians will say sorry for no darn reason and malays will smile. Then again most Malays ride their motorbikes to banks or are Mak Ciks/Datins that are too afraid to double park so yeah. Anyway back to the bank, I was approached by a bunch of salesgirls from this company called Oosis. I had some time to spare and I am quite the gentleman:) i dont usually give someone the hand unless I really have no time. I usually push off sales people by saying no thank you:).

So one of them gives me a peel and win coupon promising me prizes so i play along and peel one and it says thank you. she says aiya... and tells me to try again so i did and the 2nd one says i won the grand prize, I become a shareholder in this company. Only 500 people in the country are selected for this she says. Then she calls all her friends and they all come and congratulate me. At this point my COMMON sense is smiling at me, damn this seems like a brilliant scam. So I play along. 4 outcomes for shareholders- 1 Vios + RM1800 monthly deposited into my account+Rm22000 in home appliances, and the 4th prize is a VIVA +RM600 deposited into my account +RM12000 worth of appliances. the rest are somewhere in between and I honestly can't recall as they took away all the evidence at the end. Anyway i was told that Oosis is a company that has does Direct Sales, (sorta like Amway and Cosway), Training for marketing staff, Home appliances -water filters and other health stuff that most Chinese people love, yeah the chinese, fear of drinking regular tap water and they wind up with the highest percentage of colon and eosophageal cancer. Sad as a bitch aint it. All my Chinese friends, learn to take a step back and not be so Kiasu, such go getters in life, it ain't good for your BP:)
So anyway, they stick this big mandarin newspaper article in my face in a valiant attempt to prove its not a scam

http://mykampung.sinchew.com.my/node/66629?tid=4

right, might as well speak to me in Hakka or something rite. They then showed me another article from Harian Metro. Now Harian Metro is similar to the Malay Mail or Kosmo, a sad version of a tabloid. So any credibility this so called well to do company had has dwindled by this moment. She then tells me there are 2 terms to me becoming the shareholder.
1. You kena ambik gambar masuk newspaper sama kita punya produk - Sounds feasible

2. You kena labur RM6,000 untuk proses.


She then says its not a scam and i should believe her and tells me to go to their office in Old Klang Road. She says there is a Royalty Certificate that guarantees payment for me, and even my grandchildren later on. Now thats marketing man. I know it sounds far fetched she says and she shows me some mathematical breakdown and says the company just needs 500 people to be shareholders and franchise holders so they can further diversify their company.

At this point she thinks she has won over my popping eyes. I forgot to tell her that I'm Indian and my eyes are naturally big and round:)
So yeah, i proceed to tell her that I am studying overseas and i dont have a local bank account. My parents have an account but they're at work and she's willing to follow me to my house to see them. So now i know that if i bring her home, mum's gonna slaughter me for wasting my time. So i tell her my house is in Klang and its far away. But i gave her an alternative solution. I told her I have Rm50 in my wallet. If she can give me RM200, we can set up an account at Public Bank under my name. I will be her proxy and if she pays the RM6,000, she can keep the monthly payment of RM1800 and the home appliances. I'll take the car. And I can sign an oath to not reveal our plan and not do anything to jeopardise her money in the account. She says its not possible and I ask her why not? I'm a law student --yeah cracking it up as usual-- told her of some bogus clause that says that we can open a joint account as friends and her name will not be mentioned in the venture and we can both make a profit off the company. She then says its against her company policy to which i say, no way, the company won't know.


She then realizes that she has just wasted her time and takes her pamplet back asking me to sign a clause stating I'm not interested telling me if I change my mind I can call her but offer ends this week. I promptly agreed. She said its free cash, why don't you want it. I told her cos I have loads already:). Now what she didn't know is that i sneak a pamphlet and boy you know i'm gonna post it up for everyone to browse. also her call card. and btw, i filled in a wrong IC number so i wouldnt be traced. I dont want shit junk mail in my mailbox man.


http://oasissuccess.com.my/

http://osbglobal.com/web/index.html

And to those of you who might think this is genuine, don't hesitate and please call her. she left her namecard with me. If you win some cash, don't forget to buy me a cup of coffee:) thats all I ask.

Also to girls, this is why we don't find Twillight that amusing:)

and this is why Transformers ROTF Freaking ROCKS!!!

Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis,

"Times change, and we change with them"

I address you today not as the Machiavellian but rather as a non conformist. One who wishes that time would stop. One who preferred to be born in a different era, when the mind was free to roam, and our trains of thought were unique, and immaculate.

Here's a quote from James Morrison - no not that one, James 'Lizard King' Morrison aka Jim Morrison - of the Doors

'The Negroes in the forest brightly feathered
They are saying, "Forget the night.
Live with us in forests of azure.
Out here on the perimeter there are no stars
Out here we is stoned - immaculate."

Listen to this, and I'll tell you 'bout the heartache
I'll tell you 'bout the heartache and the lose of God
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
The meager food for souls forgot
I'll tell you 'bout the maiden with wrought iron soul

I'll tell you this
No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn '

In recent times, I have failed in my valiant attempts to forge an identity for the generation that I am present in. the 90s and the 00's. the 10's and 20's shall continue with dull repetitive routines as we look back in time at the 60's, 70's and 80's as defining moments in the history of mankind. The 60s brought on an era post WWII, where a well defined group of nations reigned supreme, an era when the Empires were dwindling away and the many leaders that would later become legends and fill up the many blank pages in World History fought for independence. They had with them the charisma, the vibrancy, the vigour, the exceptional wanting/need/lust to be in a group that thought along no preset rails. A group in which trains of thought were being laid out in front of them, refusing to conform to the routines of life. The discovery of recreational drugs - be it with a potential for abuse, was first initiated during these times. ENIAC- the world's first big ass computer was invented around this era. But this generation would best be remembered for being the pioneering batch of rock n roll. A form of music so different it led on to the 'immaculate' era of the 70s. We shall discuss that era in a moment.
The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Animals, Jimi Hendrix, The Yardbirds, Cream, Johnny Cash, Dylan, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, LED Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Deep Purple, Santana, Sonny and Cher, and countless others acts revolutionized the music industry. An era so filled with creative brilliance- the Clint Eastwood series - A fistful of dollars, A few dollars more and The Good the Bad and The Ugly, were released. Psycho, to kill a mockingbird.


A generation of nonconformists were also protesting the Vietnam war across streets all over the world, a time when University students from Berkley and other prestigious institutions left their books aside and chose to take the it to the streets to make their views count. The era when worlds like socialism, communism and anarchy crept into gatherings of thousands of people wanting to break traditions and change the course of history. The greatest orator of all time, JFK was assassinated. The most compelling speech of all time "I Have A Dream" was uttered for its very first time by Martin Luther King, Che Guevara's allegience to Castro turned sour resulting in his death and his emasculation as the face of counterculture till this very day. The first Diva- Marilyn Monroe was at the prime of her day. Malcolm X and Charles Manson laid foundation stones in both their respective fields - Blaxploitation and Black nationalism as well as Sociopathic serial murders by the latter.
In an amazing end to the 70's Nixon was appointed President of the United States, Churchill passed on, Lennon Said - "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I do not know what will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity...We're more popular than Jesus now" - which was to be his most damning statement as Mark Chapman cited that as the primary reason for ending his life. Yoko Ono tore the Beatles apart, England (finally after all that crappy history of theirs) won the world cup.

10 years back then seemed like such an eventful time, with so many great minds and fists - Frazier vs Ali. And yet all it took was a small nudge and break in the implanted mindset tailor-made by the authorities back then. An era when nonconformists detailed the beauty of uniqueness and the downside of ubiquity.
I had this conversation with a fellow medical student who brushed aside this topic saying that people then had 'nothing better to do'. And when I informed him Che Guevara was a fellow medical student as well, he was stunned.

I know some are licking their lips uttering the phrase conspiracy theorist but i finally think 'they' have won. The same 'they' Steven Hyde refers to, those that determine culture. those that oppose counterculture, the oppressors of free spirit. be it the government, politicians, music industry, religious ministers and health professionals have influenced us to such an extent we think it is forbidden to repeat the events of the 60s for fear of death. We are merely ants in a glass container. ( for the health professionals bit- how many of you out there eat multivitamins just because companies market them as essential without knowing that an average meal contains sufficient enough of nutrients to support daily life). CHomping down placebo like multivites and purchasing patented drugs like panadol instead of plain PCM (paracetamol) have become issues so unnoticed that we commit these actions without realizing how much our thoughts have been influenced by culture.

As for myself, I am wondering if I was born in an era where history was only meant to be studied and not made. the pointless wars like the iraq and afganistan wars are proof of bullying by big brother and hoodwinking by those who deem to be the frontiersmen in Intelligence. Sleep well tonight o' fellow readers. Shall you wake up tomorrow realising even your sleep cycle is not in your control anymore, as we sacrifice more and more for less and less. We sleep less and work harder - to 'improve quality of our life' by working to the brink of exhaustion. Quality indeed. We currently live in a generation when monetary gains shall never suffice, and the timid obscure members of society are abundant.