Paris

26 janvier 2010.
Champ de Mars.
Nikon D40 kit + Je l'aime toujours.

47

Anak ayam pulang, petang. Terlanjang. Badannya hanyir dengan sisa-sisa coretan sia-sia. Hatinya telah lama berkudis, perasaan-perasaan segala-gala gugur bak daun-daun kering dibelai angin berbisik manja. Dia tahu dirinya hina. Tak mengapa. Dia sudah terlupa siapa dia yang sebetulnya.

Through the viewfinder

June 2008.
Jalan Pluto, Subang Galaxy.
Sony Ericsson K610i + an avid collector's collection.

Benjamin, Biak Mayoh Penumbuh

A rockstar lived in my living room for close to a year. His name is Benjamin Ujang.

No, he don't have a band or a hit single, but he's a rockstar nonetheless.

Talented, eccentric, happy, eccentric, motivated, eccentric, optimist, eccentric, blatant, eccentric, open, eccentric, liberal, eccentric, traditional, eccentric, patriotic, eccentric, proud, eccentric, avant-garde, eccentric, eccentric, eccentric.

It often stresses me up at night when I'm trying to sleep and he's in the living room, blasting some screamo music. Other nights it would be some ethereal gamelan music while I remember those few days in August when he fell in love with Abdullah CB's original Tanggal 31 which Sudirman so famously covered.

But throughout all those footnotes, those few months were our most productive, creative and inspiring. Most of the works I'm proud of, I did with him, both directly and indirectly.

He's a catalyst.

When one day I saw a nice hill by the roadside that I think would look nice to photograph, he was the one who made me stop by the roadside, climb up that hill and shoot that photo.

During Earth Hour, we turned off the house's main switch, only to burn precious fuel driving to KL to see the city in darkness.

Yeah. He then compensated it by keeping the main switch off for a couple more hours after we got back.

Genius!

We don't always get what we want in life, sometimes we get something better, sometimes something worse. Sometimes we get nothing at all. But whatever it is the world wants to throw at Ben, he can surely take it and make the best out of it.

I can't think of one person who can't like Ben at first sight.

Like.

Don't worry to much about love. Love will find a way.

So macam mana housemate? Sweet tak?

Ramadan 1430.
Penang Road, George Town.
Nikon D40 kit + Adobe Lightroom + Makai Pandi aram.

Walk On

Ramadan 1430.
Cannon Square, George Town.
Nikon D40 kit + Adobe Lightroom + Amir 'Arif Azmi.

Quilt of the Dead.

Late 2009.
The Annexe.
Olympus OM10 + OM Zuiko 50/1.4 + Lucky SHD 100 + as lights is to shadows, as life is to death.

8 Januari 2010.

Allah tidak akan mengubah nasib sesuatu bangsa melainkan bangsa itu merubah nasibnya sendiri.

Soal perubahan yang macam mana, akal Allah dah anugerah.

2009 di kesenjaan.
Masjid Negara saya.
Olympus OM10 + OM Zuiko 50/1.4 + Lucky SHD 100 - Extremism.

Tookoo.

Before Kami, there was Kami.

One is about rich kids bitching about how hard their life is, the other is about poor, homeless orphans whose life are actually hard.

One was screened in 2007, the other was screened in 1982.

I would like to think that the makers or the 2007 Kami was making the movie in respect of the 1982 Kami, showing the same story of the struggle of adolescent in the city, in two different times.

Maybe. There are some resemblance in both stories if you look at it through a very loose scope.

Both are about kids growing up. Both are about broken homes. Both are about these kids wanting to be musicians.

Many people don't remember there was a Kami in 1982. Many people don't remember Sudirman was the main actor. Many people don't remember that it was a good film.

I remember watching it back when I was a kid in the early to mid '90s. I don't remember it being on air again in any time recently. I don't know why.

Of course, there's that urban legend that surrounds Sudirman's death and how his family asked for the movie to be shelved indefinitely in respect to the musician. Whether the family actually hold such rights are beyond me, though it is possible that it was done out of respect.

Possible, but quite unlikely. We still hear him singing don't we?

The movie is a gem for the Malaysian film industry, a gem that is being fast forgotten by the people, more so with us having another influential film bearing the same name.

We shouldn't let this movie be forgotten. Watch it.

Dari jari terus ke hati.

Tahniah Azim Rashdi & Saidah Saudah Menhat.

1 Januari 2010.
Hulu Langat & New York.
Nikon D40 + AF Nikkor 50/1.8 + Nikon SB800 + Cinta.