26 Oct 2008

It's Deepavali, and I'm still ill.

Hello all, well this weekend is the Hindu festival of Deepavali (that's what they call Davali over here, not too sure why, but I think it's cos UK has mainly Northern Indian descendents, but here they are mainly descended from Southern Indian migrants - from Tamil Nad and Ceylon mainly).
So the Indian parts of town are all jolly nice fun, lots of people, food, lights and that music from those mad long wooden flute/trumpet things wot is very Indian. The ones that snake charmers use in the movies innit.

I've been pretty busy and stressed this past couple of weeks, editing a music video for a Malaysian superstar (so he is indeed, no diggety) and it's rather a tough gig, with a mad heavy edit, I'll show you in a couple of weeks when it's done and released. I get to be on TV, because they interviewed me as they made the "making of" video. So I got to rant on about all the crap things here (mainly braindead drivers and the litter), and generally be a super arrogant white bastard, after all I have to keep up appearances, right? And nothing works better in Malaysia than a racial stereotype, so don't want to confuse the poor misguided buggers, oh no, so best to play up to the English = Arrogant.

Can only be a quick posting, cos I got a big render going on which is nearly done.

Footnotes: Mum, sorry no email, read above, hecticness, will email soon. Have you got my parcel yet??? If not I will have to bitchslap my friends that brought it over. Let me know.

Andrew, we shot half of the video on the Red camera. Mmmmmm. Red Cam. Mmmmmm. Sexy. 4k. Mmmmm. Jealous? Mmmm? Not even a little bit.

Others: If Andrew doesn't read my blog, please be sure to rub his nose in the above footnote.

Love to all

14 Oct 2008

It's a bit warm today

Well today I seem to have come down with a bug, some form of fever mixed with a minor chest infection. That's really very helpful and couldn't have come at a more opportune moment, as today I start a shoot for a music video, with one of Malaysias big boys Reshmonu.

So here we are, shooting a pop video, in a big studio with lots of lights, and the air conditioning is a little bit less than good, in fact it is a bit poo. Add that to the midday heat (around 34 in the shade) plus a slight fever and you may detect a touch of sweat on my forehead.

Oh and also we have a TV crew here filming us, for the delight of many viewers of bad Malaysian TV, and I have to do some sort of interview later on, in Malay (ha ha ha, that'll give them a surprise), but I sound like I have been gargling with broken glass and keep coughing up lumps of phlegm that look like they belong in the Aardman props cabinet.

Then I get to spend the next 2 days running around in the jungle getting covered in leeches, which I will take photos of for you.

Life's back to normal

1 Oct 2008

Selamat Hari Raya

Hello all, and a very happy Eid Al Fitr to you all. Yes, it would seem that the fasting month of Ramadan is over, and now everybody of the Islamic faith will be at home with their families, eating, drinking (orange cordial) and being merry. It's also a public holiday today, and was yesterday too and the whole of KL is pretty much a ghost town.
It's a bit odd in fact, as around 60% of the population of the cities all go home to their villages and small towns, and the rest of us with no place else to go get to wander around and actually imagine what KL was like before it became a big stinky traffic filled crap-hole. It's quite nice really, just being able to take a walk without thr risk of some mental running you over, and not having to fly to a different country to do so.
But then in the next few days the millions will return (but not before several thousand have killed each other on the remote back roads because they never learned to drive ever, and are now "drunk" with a belly full after gorging themselves on good food after a month of abstinance. Then all the food places will be open again all day (which again, I kind of got used to having nice empty cafes all to myself, just me and the papers, ho hum, am I selfish? Don't answer) and normal life will resume.
In fact, things are going to start happening again, as for the last 2 weeks whenever you ask somebody if they can do something, the answer is basically "After Raya", well now is Raya, so, hopefully things will happen again.

So, spare a thought for our muslim brothers and sisters around the world, as they enjoy their equivilent of Christmas. And mother, if you see any of your islamic friends from work, I think you're supposed to say "have a safe and prosperous Eid, may I be forgiven for any wrongdoing I have done to you this year" - I don't know the Arabic translation, but I rekon the English would make them happy.

Love to all