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Meet Uncle Hussain

J Shamsul — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:50:38 +0000

Eight years ago nobody cares who uncle Hussain was. Now everybody wants to Meet Uncle Hussain. Undoubtably one of Malaysia’s top rising acts in the local indie scene, Meet Uncle Hussain consist of Lan on vocals and guitar, Taja on guitar, Afatt on Bass and Kudux on drums.

Meet Uncle Hussain themselves are not new to the indie scene, but had recently hitched a ride on the fame train. Their big break happened when two of their songs were picked up to be featured in a hit teen TV series, K.A.M.I.

Meet Uncle Hussain is one of those bands that sounds good in recording, but sounds even better when performing live. You can see that clearly this band enjoys performing live.

The name ‘Meet Uncle Hussain’ is a peculiar name for a rock band, but they are not your ordinary indie rock band either. Most of their songs they sing in Malay, but this band refuse to be pigeonholed into becoming one of the local malay rock bands who sings sappy rock ballads.

Meet Uncle Hussain is not sappy at all. Listening to their songs, I can say that they draw influences from upbeat bands like Franz Ferdinand to The White Stripes and mellower sounds from bands like Radiohead. Their sounds are advance, radio friendly and very hard to dislike. No wonder the mainstream pick them up very fast.

Each time when asked, who is ‘Uncle Hussian’, the band replied with a different answer. Their answer ranges from an actual uncle that’s very close to the band, or wanting to sound uniquely local, and I’ve even read on a magazine that says it’s a tribute to Malaysia’s third Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn who was granted the soubriquet Bapa Perpaduan (Father of Unity). Whatever it is, the name is catchy and unique which represent the sound of the band.

These are two songs picked up from the K.A.M.I soundtrack that start it all for this band.

(Lagu Untukmu)

(La La La Kerjalah)

Grab their first EP, ‘7 tahun 3 bulan 90 hari‘ at their shows. Check out their MySpace page for more of their music.

Political debate on TV great spot for advertising

J Shamsul — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:34:12 +0000

Today, the day after the live debate between opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, everybody seems to be talking about it. It’s a hot conversation during breakfast, it’s the conversation around the office water cooler, it’s the conversation during lunch.

It’s as if the whole nation on that night was watching the live show. This is bigger then Akedemi Fantasia. Little children was ’shhh’ so that their parents can hear these politicians debate. I don’t think even the Euro 2008 finals get this much attention.

I did not plan to watch the debate as I got other thing to do, but I keep getting Tweets about the debate. I end up watching it online instead.

Looking at the outcome of the debate, an invisible light bulb above my head just light up. It is a gold mine. It is a prime spot on television. Companies all should go crazy in getting an advertisement spot during the debate. A lot of advertising money could be made here.

I can see it now, product placement at its best. Imagine a Spritzer mineral water bottle placed on top of each debater podium. Imagine a big Casio clock at the backdrop.

Nokia will run advertisement in between question slots, “Now you can debate with your friends with the new Nokia Nseries Debater edition”.

Vote via SMS on which debater you think has a point. Vote via SMS on who the next debater should be. We all know how crazy Malaysian are with SMS voting.

The debate is a gold mine for advertising. Who’s next? Nik Aziz against Zahid Hamidi? Azalina against Rafidah? Who needs reality shows when you have this.

If I’m in the media or advertising business, I’ll have my people on it right away. Damn.

Iran’s photoshoped missile test

J Shamsul — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:20:02 +0000

Last week, Iran did some missile testing. A photo of the missile firing was made public. The western media pick it up and run with it. The mainstream media uses the above photo in running the news.

However the photoshop savvy Internet people people found something wrong with the picture. Apparently someone had been busy playing with the clone tool. The photo below shows the highlighted area that were clone. Apparently it’s one missile to many.

Here is the original photo. It shows one unsuccessful missile launch.

Of cause the Internet people being such a geek had photoshoped more missile launch photos. Here are some that I’ve found.

Why stop at just four missile?

Got to have the LOL cats

More cats

How about Godzilla?

X-wing launch test?

Don’t you just love Internet memes

[via BoingBoing]

Get your free Sony VAIO laptop

J Shamsul — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:38:56 +0000

It has come to my attention that some classified Sony’s information were leaked out somewhere back in 2007. The VAIO Advance Technology Center was experimenting in the Parallel Realm Technology, in hoping that one day mankind may benefit from this research.

Unfortunately, there was a minor glitch in the system. Nine parts of the VAIO Advanced Technologies went missing. Some investigation reports are saying that these nine technology are scattered all around the world.

All effort had being put by Sony’s Intelligence Center of Research and Advanced Technology Investigation to get back the missing technology, but time is running out and they are running out of resources. Most of Sony’s secret agents are either still recuperating from the recent Blu-Ray HDDVD wars or are involved in the ongoing PS3 gaming console war.

I was contacted by Sony to help them search for the missing VAIO technologies. It is a less known fact that apart form my day job being a web/php programmer, I sometime freelance as a secret agent and a world class spy. I have worked with secret agencies like S.H.I.E.L.D and CONTROL. This time it was Sony.

The task however is more difficult then as aspected. It is crucial that these VAIO technologies are recovered soon or else the knowledge is lost forever. Therefore I’m asking the help from my fellow readers.

This is highly classified information. Please visit this secret website Sony had put up, and register yourself to get a VAIO passport. You might have to travel across the world in order to search for clues.

By the way, Sony is also giving away a VAIO laptop as a reward for the agents that manage to recover those missing items. However that is not the goal here, it is about finding those missing technologies that one day may benefit mankind.

…..

The objective of viral marketing is to have people talking about the product or services. This might just be Sony’s latest attempt in viral marketing. A VAIO hunt around the world. Check it out.

Weekend of apps touching

J Shamsul — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:50:37 +0000

Last weekend was an iPhone and iPod Touch weekend. People all around the world lined up to buy their new iPhone 3G. By ‘all around the world’ I meant, ‘the countries that Apple is selling its iPhone 3G’. Malaysia not included.

However with the coming of the new iPhone 3G, it also means that new iPhone and iPod Touch firmware is available. I spend the last weekend waiting, upgrade iTunes, waiting, updating my iPod Touch, browsing the iTunes app store, downloading and trying out apps.

Read all about it over at MyMacBUZZ. Also incase you haven’t yet found out, iTunes Store is now available in Malaysia. Only apps are for sale no music or video catalog.

Culture clash during anti-oil hike rally

J Shamsul — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:29:31 +0000

Last weekend we saw a culture clash. In Malaysia, indie punk rock scene doesn’t mix well in our socio-political movement. A protest against the recent petrol price rise was held at Kelana Jaya Stadium leads to a unwelcome event.

The highly choreographed buttocks antics of Carburetor Dung’s singer while performing the song “Mari Nyanyi Menjilat“, normally would be a crowd pleaser, but not to the crowds at the Kelana Jaya’s protest.

Crowd reaction to Carburetor Dung’s performance.

The crowd watching the band, majority of them are strong supporters of the opposition parties and its hero Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, they got the wrong impression from the act and was provoked into thinking it was a sexual innuendo referring to their leaders alleged homosexuality. If the crowd had listen to the explanation from the band beforehand and where they are coming from with their songs, it has nothing to do with the current issue of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his sodomy allegation.

It is a performance, and some performance are meant to provoke. Sadly the idea that arts can sometime be provocative does not mix well with the majority subset of our society. Which is why censorship in mainstream media is reverent in keeping order in the society we live in.

However, I was wondering what an anti-establishment punk bands are doing in a event driven with political agenda. Then again one of the strong activist organizing the protest event, and most probably the person responsible in bringing bands like Carburetor Dung and Dum Dum Tak to the protest rally, is Hishamuddin Rais.

An activist cum film director, one of the movies he had directed was, “Dari Jemapoh ke Manchester” which featured the band Carburetor Dung, with its soundtracks also features tracks form bands like Koffin Kanser, Republic Of Brickfields and many more.

Even-though he might not be new to the underground / indie / punk / where-ever-you-call it scene, but bringing such bands to perform in a mostly conservative crowd was a bad idea to begin with.

The indie scene should stay indie. Stay away from events of political nature. Events organize in to promote political agenda. The people can protest on their own, not with political parties.

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Polymorph robot

J Shamsul — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:12:50 +0000

Those mad-scientist hobbyist over at Xrobots has created this organic-looking robot with some curtain rods, electric screwdrivers, motors, put together using polymorph plastic. If you have never seen Polymorph before, it’s a plastic that can be melted in hot water, molded with your hand and when it dries, it’s rock solid.

There are several motors on the knee joints, and a network of bungee cords and strings will act as muscles. It is clear that the designer is going for a human-like look.

Sure it starts with a bunch of curtain rods, but this is yet another step closer to an army of human-like robots, which in the future will become self aware and rule the world. The few humans resistance left will need to send one unit, with a german english ascent, back in time to protect their soon to be leader.

The robot leg measure in 26 inches tall and it looks like it is well on it’s way to becoming a full body humanoid killing machine.

[via Hacked Gadgets]

Blogs, Internet and a world with no privacy

J Shamsul — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:40:04 +0000

We live in a time where one’s privacy is being taken lightly. We live in an era where informations travels in the speed of light. Someone did something wrong at somewhere, expect it to be blogged, tweeted, with photo evidenced uploaded to Facebook or other social network sites.

In recent events, has the local blogosphere are talking about none other then the police report lodged against Anwar Ibrahim. Not long after that, pictures of the alleged person who filed the report made it to the Internet, on blogs.

In a not so recent event, a minister committed adultery, the video spreads like wildfire.

Unlike the mainstream media, blogs are not bound by journalistic rules and regulations. Looking at local Malaysian blogosphere, it’s all about he says, she says, these days.

It seems that bloggers nowadays are more fierce then media journalist in being the first to broke a story. Most of the time they don’t bother going through the facts.

Don’t think that blogs are nothing serious and that nobody reads blogs anyway. Nowadays, employers are goggling (using Google) to search for informations about their future employees. Like it or not, all your personal information are available online. Either its from things you put up on social networks, or things you put up on your blog, or things your friend put up on their blogs, everything gets aggregated.

Taken from the a line in the TV series, Gossip Girls, “You are nobody until you are talked about”.

Twitter a love and hate relationship

J Shamsul — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:20:55 +0000

I love Twitter as it makes it possible for me to send messages to a bunch of strangers, on the net, and sometime those strangers replies back to me. I hate Twitter as it often goes down, forcing me to be a little bit productive at work. Thank god for RSS and blogs keeping be busy procrastinating. I’m a professional procrastinator.

However, all is forgiven for Twitter’s downtime as they keep coming up with cute downtime images. Soon they will ran out of cute things if this trend continue.

If you are still not in the Twitter bandwagon, check it out. Also don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.

Indie festival this weekend

J Shamsul — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:56:11 +0000

If last weekend’s KLue Urbanscapes 2008 festival wasn’t enough for you, prepare yourself for another weekend of awesome arts and music festival. The KL Indie Fest ‘08, is an event dedicated to all indie lovers. Will be held on 5th July 2008 (this saturday), at KL Tower. This comes as a short notice, as it was recently bought to my attention.

It looks to be yet another wholesome event. The KL Indie Fest 08 will features a whole mix of bands. From old hard-hitters bands like Butterfingers, OAG, One Buck Short and the reunion of Dead Mushroom to new sensations Bittersweet, Meet Uncle Hussain, Couple, The Times, They Will Kill Us All.

There is more, to finish up the band list, A.C.A.B, Julie’s Love, Pinheads, Republic of Brickfields, Roots n Boots, Sinopsis, Skudap-skudip, The Official, Stonegarden, The Aggrobeats and The Pilgrims are all planed to be performing on the Event.

However in the same weekend, somewhere the other side across town there will be another indie festival. The Indie Youth Festival, a three day event held in conjunction with Electronic Sports World Cup national finals will be held at 1 Utama on 4th till 6th of July.

The concept behind the Independent Youth Festival 2008, with the tag line, “Celebrating digital culture”, is centered around youth doing things for themselves, being free to explore and discover things that they are passionate about. Apart form live bands performances, there will be short film contest, video game demo play, creative writing workshop and many more.

On the second day which is the 5th July 2008, there will be a fine line up of indie bands, among them are Telephony Delivery, Lightcraft Estrella, Deserters and Oh Chentaku. On Sunday, 6th July, it’s going to be a more mellow acoustics session with live performance by Otam, Mia Palencia, Reza Salleh and new sensation Yuna.

So where will you be? I have two friend’s weddings to attend, but am also planing to go to KL Indie Fest ‘08 at KL Tower.

Jiboneus.com

Meet Uncle Hussain

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