I remember the first time I went to Dewan Filharmonic Petronas when I was in my earlier 20s, horribly skinny and I had to rent an oversized jacket if not I couldn’t go in. Back then I went because I was dating an older lady – and she was into this whole culture/theatre/classical music kind of thing. So you know la, layan only.

10 years later, I’m dragging my young girlfriend to the Petronas Philharmonic Hall. Pretty interesting role reversal. This makes it the 4th time I’ve been to the Dewan Philharmonic Petronas in my life.

A bit about me and music – I’m happy to listen to whatever’s on the radio when I’m in the car, but you probably haven’t heard 90% of what I listen to at home, a lot of eclectic indie bands. I’ve got a Spotify Premium account, I’ve bought albums on iTunes, I was listening to MP3s back when people still used Winamp & Napster…I go for raves, I go for rock concerts, basically I like music like a fat kid likes cake

I’ll give you a quote from Madeon (an electro-house producer from France) that sums it up pretty nicely –
“Anyone hating any genre of music simply doesn’t know the context in which it’s meant to be enjoyed.”

One particular thing I like about classical music is that it gives a good background for my thoughts – a meditational aid in a way. And that it’s one of the first types of music that existed – before rock, before techno, and way before dubstep.

After collecting my tickets, and after a smoke in the lobby, I decided to pace around and talk to some people to take some pictures – the dress code has been relaxed significantly since 10 years ago, and it’ll be good to let people know what the dress code is nowadays that so that classical music can be more accessible to them. Honestly if you read it carefully it’s about the same dress code as going to Zouk – except for the jeans, sneakers and slippers part.

Check this out for a comparision:

Serendipitously, one of the first people I asked for a photo was an Asian woman talking with a friend – and it turned out that she was Akiko Danis, a harpshichord player who was going to be in today’s performance.

She’s married to one of the violin players in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

With Akiko Danis

You’ll be surprised that there are a lot of local fans of classical music –the majority of attendees are not expats/Europeans/American – I did notice a lot of local Chinese speaking Mandarin people.

The performance I attended was ‘18th Century Evocations’ by the way – featuring music from Stravinsky, Mozart, Rossini & Marcello. Most of you would have only heard of Mozart – and well, I would fall in the same category too.

I’m also going to tell you don’t be late – in order to ensure the enjoyment of other patrons, you have to be there on time – if not you have to wait outside. However if you are late u can watch the performance on a video screen while you wait.

I’m telling you this because I was late. Actually I wasn’t late, but my date needed to use the washroom and get some stuff….so I was late. But anyway. What happens then is they will seat you during an interval. We had to wait about 10-15 minutes to go in, as the performance had already started.

Smart casual attire. Yup I asked some random people to take a picture.

While waiting, I heard “dia pakai seluar mini?” buzz over the walkie talkie of an usherer. Needless to say hot pants are unacceptable attire for Dewan Filharmonik Petronas.

There are a few different seating levels, but basically there’s the normal seats and box seating – the equivalent of the VIP area at clubs. You will pay premium prices for that, and some are booked by corporations. Also everyone can see you higher up so the metaphor is appropriate.

When I came in, taking front stage was Alexei Orgrintchouk who played the Oboe. The room is dead quiet btw, very amazing acoustics – you can even hear every detail, even hear him take a breath to blow into the oboe.

If it’s your first time to a performance by the way, here are some tips – don’t clap till u hear other people clapping. And cough/sternutate/or clear your throat in between breaks when there’s a long silence. ‘Sternutate’ means ‘sneeze’ by the way – see, you’ve already learnt a new word!

Conductor was Paul Goodwin, who was very expressive and jaunty – you can see he was truly enjoying His job. Unlike a rockstar that faces the audience, the conductor will have his back to the audience for the majority of the performance – he is the one that makes sure you are enjoying yourself.

You know how you can see movement from the corner of your eye? My theory is that although most of the musicians will be looking down on their instruments, they can “see” the conductor to determine the pace and mood they should be playing in.

Anyway – here’s how it works for classical music – Whether it’s referred to as a suite, concerto, sonata, or symphony, think of it as a ‘mini album’. And within each ‘album’, there are ‘tracks’, which are called movements.

For classical music, each piece is usually separated into a few movements (usually 3-4, but can be as many as 8 even) – each movement usually have different themes from joyful, to poignant, to regal or dark. Keeping it mind that this music, when composed, was usually used to accompany an opera or serve as a background for a story.

You’re not allowed to take pictures inside – but I was there on a very special occasion earlier in the year, The Merdeka Awards (Which is where the first three pictures are from – and yes, that’s the Malaysian Prime Minister sitting behind me). The last picture (bottom right) is what I wore to that day at DFP.

I don’t know enough about classical music to tell you about the pieces I heard individually – but what you should know that the pieces that were played in the 17th to 19th century, you could probably think of this as the soundtrack to the time when the following things were first invented – the piano, the tuning fork, the steam engine, rubber was discovered, mercury thermometer & modern steel (yup – that long ago).

The performance I attended.

But here’s a few things that I can tell you – for the last quarter of the performance, half performers left the stage and Akiko took the centrestage to play the harpsichord. Pretty serendipitous that of all the people I choose to randomly talk to, she is one of the seminal performers for today’s performance.

What does the harpshichord sound like? Think ‘Dracula’ or ‘here comes the bride’ – it’s slightly churchy sounding, very bright, and just a hint of electronic – if dubstep is a hard brick sized rock with sharp edges, the harpischord is a smooth pebble in your hands.

And the final piece, Mozart’s ‘Symphony No35 in D major – ‘Haffner’, K385 (from 1782) sounds like it was made to crown a king, very regal – then moves into a graceful, dignified movement before moving into the next part, which is a elegant dance with occasional cheeky outbursts, and ends up with an enthusiastic finale.

You have now learnt the following words from this blog post – seminal (important), jaunty (lively & cheerful) , serendipity (pleasant surprise) and sternutate (sneeze).

Now go learn something new about music and head down to Dewan Filharmonik Petronas – we do have arguably one of the world’s best orchestra’s in Malaysia, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra there, and you should give it a visit. Check out Dewan Philharmonik Petronas’ website here for more details.

It’s my second time with Petronas joining along for their Sentuhan Kasih program, and this time for it’s for Sentuhan Harapan Deepavali. The last time was for Petronas Sentuhan Kasih Raya. We started the day early, heading down to Perak. We bloggers joined a group of Universiti Teknologi Petronas students, Petronas employees as well as a few Petronas vendors to go down to Kampung Wellington is located at Ayer Tawar in Manjung Perak (about 2 hours drive from KL). It was a pretty rainy morning…a nice one to sleep in haha. I’m usually never up that early, but that day I had to get up at 5AM to arrive there on time.

The program was run in collaboration with MyKasih, a non-profit organization.

Check out this video, hosted by Geethanjali (she’s a pretty famous Indian Radio DJ with over 28,000 followers on Facebook).

The Sentuhan Kasih program was started since 2005 and has benefited more than 8,000 families. And starting last year, they have been involving bloggers in the program too, who do the dual role of volunteering as well as covering the event on their blogs.

As I was shooting a video, I didn’t get to take much of my own pics. Spot me in this one!

Petronas VIPs, area representatives as well as the residents in a group shot.

The locals of Kampung Wellington are mainly rubber tappers, plantation workers and farmers…There are 500 villagers there, with about 66 families (average 7 people per family). Most of them are underprivileged with an average household income of less than RM700 per month.

For us KLites, especially working people it’s hard to imagine living on RM700 by yourself for a week or two, let alone feed a family for an entire month. Almost all the families are Indian, there is only one Malay family. The nearest school is 10KM away, and the children go by bus everyday.

Besides the cleanup, there were also educational programs for the villagers

The VIPs trying their hand at making a traditional Indian snack.

I like how I turned out in this shot lol. This was them passing out the gloves to the bloggers for the cleanup.

Some of the activities that were run include: cleaning up, clearing scrap wood, planting trees, repairing the community hall (which was in a bad shape and had a leaky roof), adding a new store room as well as a PA system and more amenities, as well as giving out shirts and toys to the children. There was also a substance abuse awareness talk by Red Crescent Malaysia and Persatuan Pengasih Malaysia, where the speaker talked about his own experience. The Sentuhan Kasih program isn’t just about a one off gotong royong, but the families also get monthly food aid for 2 years.

Josh.my, RosalynTan.com, MissyCheerio.com and TianChad.com

We bloggers mainly took part in the cleanup as well as taking pictures of the activities. There were 20 bloggers, half of which were from Advertlets…and some of which were from the “other side” lol. You can check us out in the video here (Our very own Rosalyn Tan from Advertlets is in there too!)

The Alla Rippu traditional dance.

Aside from that, there was also entertainment for the children, like a kolam making activity as well as they got to try the Alla Rippu traditional Indian dance demonstrated by Universiti Teknologi Petronas students. I got to talk briefly with one of the kids from the village. He was shy but understood what I said, and told me his name and was happy to pose for a picture.

Group shot!

It’s good to have a program like Sentuhan Kasih to get started in volunteering – I’m happy to note that I will be taking part in Rockcorps Malaysia’s volunteer events this year as well (and Advertlets will be helping to push media coverage to get more volunteers). All in all it was a good experience, and it was nice to do something positive for a change – you could see that the people were genuinely excited to have visitors and help for their village, and it’s a humbling reminder that for most of us KL folk, our #firstworldproblems of being stuck in traffic jams and not having enough money to get the designer jacket we want pale in comparison to those who genuinely struggle and don’t have decent meals most of the time. Really puts things in perspective.

I think I have been wearing specs since I was 6 or 7 years old, strangely enough I got it from reading books, but in very bad lighting. Well since I didn’t get to watch much TV as a kid, I remember having a 3 TV program a week limit. Also, aside from that the bad vision (something I’ve to accept together with the good looks) – is hereditary – my whole family has horrible eyesight – we all either wear specs or contacts.

Most of you may have noticed that I am not with glasses anymore – around late August this year, I had LASIK done at Optimax (the TTDI branch). This is a picture from one of the first checkups I did where I had to put in some very trippy eyedrops that somehow, made my eyes unable to focus on close objects (it’s necessary for them to determine suitability).

So this is my account of my surgery– I am typing this without glasses, and as of far I am very happy with my new vision. And honestly looking back at my old photos I feel odd with specs. Haha.

Me without glasses now.

Check out this video blog below which should give you a great idea of what you should expect. So far I don’t think anyone has done anything like this in Malaysia. You’ll notice that I asked a lot of questions, some of them stupid – yes, it was for your benefit, I planned to shoot it as it’s a subject matter that not many people know about, and people have a lot of questions about.

A short history…since I was wearing specs since about Standard One, my eyesight is pretty bad. So without it, my power is quite high – 600 for one eye, and the other eye is about 250. So that makes me legally blind without my glasses last time. I tried contacts for a few weeks when I was 20 or 21 but I could never get used to it – the idea of poking my eyes everyday and having to remember to take it off at night was very uncomfortable. It didn’t help that I once had a friend who was confined to an eye hospital for 2 weeks for an eye infection (the probable cause was a recalled/banned contact lens solution, but it was not proven).

As you can see I was pretty into specs last time…those aren’t all the pairs I have I was trying to decide on a nice one.

I do see halos and glare when driving at night due to astigmatism and LASIK will not take that problem away, in fact it may make things slightly worse during the first few weeks or months. These problems are temporary and disappear completely within three to six months.But the thing is you can still wear specs on top of that. For day time use on a daily basis, it’s pretty alright, even for driving at night. But your doctor may recommend you wear tinted or slightly powered lenses when driving.

About the procedure

The machine used to make a map of your eye. Looks very psychedelic.

In the most simple way I can think to explain it, LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis) involves cutting the eye open, where they cut the cornea flap open and will laser whatever that is under there and then you will have better eye sight.

You will need to go for a few checkups beforehand, to ensure that you are a suitable candidate about 1 or 2 different sessions. After that you will be going for the actual surgery. The doctor will give numbing eye drops and then mark your eyes for the laser. There will be 2 machines to do it basically – one to open the cornea flap, the other to do the laser correction. You could refer to the video.

Generally speaking, every procedure has its own risks but this is an elective procedure. Well it’s not like you’re handicap then you need to operate your legs, so the risks are low enough. I am very thankful that the doctor that worked with me from Optimax has already done like thousands of surgeries; he’s been with them since they started in 1995 if I’m not mistaken. So choose a doctor that you’re comfortable with. Mine was Dr Stephen Chung (Optimax TTDI); I’d recommend him because he took the trouble to answer all my stupid questions (watch the video, I even feel rather annoyed at myself honestly lol) and he was very patient.

How long does the procedure takes?

The actual laser and cutting process would take about 10-15 minutes at most Even if you include the marking on the eye and wait for the numbing eye drops to kick in which would probably take about 30 minutes as I remember. Checkups and consultation would take up the majority of the time – about 3-4 hours total as I remember. The machine on the left (looks groovy right) is used to generate a “map” of your eye to determine its weaknesses.

How long does it take to recover?

You could open your eyes almost immediately afterwards. They don’t require you to cover your eyes but it’s just that you’d be very sensitive to light. They say it takes 6-8 months for the power to stabilize, meaning your power will get better in time. I’m happy to say that I have 20/20 vision now, which means I can focus from 20 feet away.

What do you need to do during recover, or not do? Do you have to avoid certain things?

Apparently you should avoid smoky places but it’s hard, I didn’t go clubbing for few days (I know right, shocking). They will give you something to wear across your eyes to wear when you’re sleeping, like some kind of shield. But to be honest I didn’t wear it because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be rubbing my eyes or be tossing and turning. I’d recommend you to do if you’re a person that moves around a lot when you sleep or if you tend to rub your eyes or scratch yourself, please wear them. Other than that I put a lot of eye drops. They’ll give you a whole eye drop regiment that you’d have to follow; one is an anti-biotic/antiseptic thing and the other is the eye drops like artificial tears

How much does it cost?

There are about several places in Malaysia that offer LASIK, whether its specialist centers like Optimax, eye hospitals or hospitals that also offer Lasik. Some places offer RM2,000-RM3,000 per eye. I will tell you Optimax is not the cheapest (RM3000-RM4000 per eye, and it varies depending if you go for the standard or custom LASIK procedure), but um if you really want to go for the cheapest eye surgery then it’s really up to you la. Cheap is good for stuff like underwear and socks at the pasar malam, but you really can’t replace your eyes. The average working executive probably won’t be able to afford LASIK at one shot, but they have payment plans where you can pay in installments up to 24months.

Prepping before the eye surgery

Does it hurt?
No.  Honestly.The LASIK scene in Final Destination 5 has probably scared a lot of people off from laser eye surgery. First thing, it’s a movie. Second thing, they were predetermined to die because they avoided fate by not dying when they were supposed to. Third thing…there is no way they will leave you unattended with the machine. Fourth thing, if you’re really scared of pain, go zap your finger with the laser like I did in the video. And the eyedrops will numb your eyes, so when the doctor draws on your eyes with a marker it’s a very dull sensation.

The risks? Can undo anot?

Everything has risks. Honestly if you have a panicky personality and think you’ll freak out on the table, don’t do it. If you’re on any medication (or illegal drugs, lol)…don’t do LASIK or at least wait till its out of your system – if you’re wondering why its relevant…nearly all drugs dilate your pupils and affect your recovery). It’s important for you to be absolutely honest with your doctor so that they can determine if you are a suitable candidate for LASIK.

The longer you wait though, the higher the risks – the main factors that determine risk are the thickness of your cornea, and your age (the longer you wait the riskier it gets). I had a very good risk profile, with good cornea thickness and only being 29 at the time, I had a very low risk factor. LASIK is not reversible, unlike ICL (implantable contact lenses…something else I also considered) but for about 5-10% of people it will “wear off” and they may need to do surgery again(there is a lifetime warranty for Optimax though). But either way even if you have the perfect LASIK experience you will still probably need reading glasses when you get older. It’s LASIK, not magic, but it’s very freeing all the same.

Who are the people that will benefit most?

There are people that can’t wear contacts. And some people that look bad with spectacles. But its cool to have more options. I mean for the first time I can actually wear sunglasses which is really cool – and I’m now converting all my old glasses to powerless lenses. Which will give me a few different looks

Pic from one of my first checkups.

I have fond memories of a particular girl that steamed up my glasses, but it’s nice to be able to get close to that special someone without worrying about poking her in the eye. It is also nice to be able to swim and not to be worried about that. Also those that do sports, you would benefit greatly, I would say. Even if you play badminton or something like that, you don’t need to worry about your glasses falling off and things like that.

Do you need to go for follow up checkups for post surgery? If yes, how often do you need to go for regular checkups after having Lasik surgery? Is there complicated after care procedures?

I think I was supposed to go for 2, and I went for the second one a week late because honestly I felt fine. Honestly I’m a horrible patient….I ask too many questions, had to postphone many appointments due to my schedule and I didn’t really follow the after care treatment (for example putting eyedrops on schedule, sleeping with a face shield…I know this isn’t a good thing, but I’m just telling you my honest experience, and that there is some allocation for patient failure to follow up properly, they will ensure you are safe.).

This is going to be my first post about LASIK – I will be following up with another since when I posted it on Facebook, I got a lot of questions… so drop me your questions in the comments and I’ll answer them in the next one. I’ll be also writing about life after LASIK (I still instinctively push my now non-existent glasses up my nose, and I feel the urge to clean my non-existent glasses when I see a lens cloth lying around). Some habits are hard to unlearn.

Honestly I was pretty apprehensive at first (try wearing spectacles for more than 20 years and try to imagine a life without them). But as someone who shifted out from my parents house at 21 years old…this was probably the second most important step towards my freedom and independence in life. I still like glasses, but as a fashion option, and I’m very happy I did LASIK.

Late at night, my mind wanders. I guess it’s better I write things down than keep thinking about things that I am unlikely to invent or don’t have the resources to . There used to be this section on Dilbert.com called “Lazy Entrepreneur” that was a place where people could just share the ideas that they had, and if someone liked them, they could just contact them to invest in it…or just steal the idea from there and nobody would know. So here goes what I would submit if that site were still around.

Today’s topic. Weight loss through technology!

Travel at light speed or in low gravity, and lose weight

These are going to be two possibilities in the distant future, but maybe not within my lifetime – weight loss through travelling at light-speed or in low gravity in space. Previous research has shown that astronauts undereat in space and have low appetites, mostly due to the lack of gravity. With less energy needed to lift your body off the ground, you need to eat way less. Commercial space travel is also going to be possible in the next few years with companies like Virgin Galactic (yes, part of the same Virgin Air, Virgin Music group) – the problem is more of regulations rather than being able to find paying customers – from the article : ($200,000 per person with a $20,000 deposit). As of May 2012, there are around 550 ticket-holders in line to fly with Virgin Galactic. Passengers who have already submitted their deposit include Stephen Hawking, Tom Hanks, Ashton Kutcher, Katy Perry, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie. So to go to space AND lose weight. Awesome kan?

Charge your phone, by plugging it into your own body.

As well as the possibility of burning calories and charging your phone by plugging it into your own body…converting body fat into usable electricity. Cybernetic implants/add-ons (eg Google Glasses) are gaining in popularity, but it’ll take a while before we get USB ports (or Apple’s new 30 pin port that was introduced in the iPhone, haha!)  in our body to charge our gadgets.

The problem is being able to convert energy from calories to electricity and be able to maintain an efficient enough conversion ratio, a lot of the energy is lost in conversion. For example, kinetic energy is enough to power a watch (chances are your watch is powered this way, but is not enough to charge your phone.).

You can also power a light bulb with a potato. No kidding

Nevertheless, if this body fat to electrical energy issue is worked out it makes for a very interesting proposition – staying slim and staying in touch with your phone (if you lose the connecting wire its still a problem though, lol). Of course, there’s also the potential of the USB port getting infected … or you die of starvation if you’ve left yourself plugged in too long.

Anyway, one day someone may invent these, and I’m hoping this is a blog post that they would have read in the course of inventing either. Good night.

To all Hindus celebrating Deepavali, I wish you a very Happy Deepavali and a Happy Holidays to myself!! To all my Hindu friends do take note, here are other things you can do after your prayers at the temple, open house visiting or possibly after a night of partying! (There are lots of good parties this week actually, due to the many public holidays.)

Do take a look at the schedule below (and check out the video for a preview)

‘Be The Light’ Exhibition at Galeri Petronas, Suria KLCC.

The interesting activities you see above are brought to you by none other than Petronas and it will be taking place at Galeri Petronas, Suria KLCC. If you don’t already know, Petronas are usually very famous for their festival campaigns ; they really do take it to the next level.  Hmm… I can’t wait to see their activities line up for the upcoming Chinese New Year….last year’s one was pretty good too!

I, for one, will be sure to drop in for the “Art of Wearing Indian Costumes”. This year, my parents actually got me a dhoti from India – check out the detailing, this is pretty authentic stuff

And, sarees look great on the fairer sex too, don’t they. I shall leave you with this video by Petronas – Deepavali 2012, Be The Light.

There are also some interesting videos up on Petronas’ Youtube page with various Malaysians sharing their favourite Deepavali experiences (you may remember the very good looking “Erman” from the Petronas short film ‘Strangers).

You can also check out Petronas Facebook page for more information at:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/petroliam-nasional-berhad-petronas/be-the-light-list-of-activities-lined-up-at-galeri-petronas/10151139685003549

Happy Deepavali you all!

Lastly….

The entire fiasco between me and Donovan Chan has been solved and was a terrible misunderstanding. Donovan has of now, purchased the laptop from me as of today. Thanks and let’s not have many comments on this. We apologize to friends, families and clients whom have been dragged into this.

You’ll also find a statement from Donovan Chan here.

http://www.facebook.com/DonovanSTChan/posts/320265454694669

Check out my entry for the Petronas Reimagining Energy Chinese New Year Photography contest! Recently a couple of us Advertlets Bloggers and friends got together for an open house. It’s a laughably small yee sang plate, but you can feel the energy from all of together, can’t you?

Feel free to vote – it’s not the best one there, but hopefully good enough to make it to Galeri Petronas perhaps?

To vote, go to this Facebook App, and Look for Josh under the Gallery > Search > Professional Category.

You’ll probably be seen the banners for KLMU’s “Discover U” campaign running on Advertlets banners. And if you pay attention in cinemas, you probably know the KLMU song too But this post isn’t about that – here’s what its about in summary: school leavers make their way to the “Discover U” website where they could take a course personality test, discover what they are suited for, and ultimately win an iPad 2.

Needless to say, the campaign drew a huge success and saw a 400% surge in enrolment. The Internet quiz contest was officially launched on 6^th October. 1, 200 registrations later, and one Mohd. Shabiy Nukhari, a business and management student, emerged victorious. His outstanding entry reads: “When I finish my studies, I want to get more experience about my career and also practice what I study at this institution. After that, I want to have my own business.”

The best part, he says? Is that the personality test provides accurate matches to which career best suits the individual making it a pre-requisite for any fresh school leaver still undecided on which Yellow Brick Road to follow.

First phase: complete!

For the handful of you who missed out on the opportunity, fret not. Phase two of “Discover U”: initializes! Back by popular demand, is the online quiz contest – and this time, entries will be accepted all the way up till 30 March 2012. Here you are; another shot at winning yourself (or a loved one) an iPad 2! All you need to get cracking in on is a creative slogan entry besides participating in the “Discover U Course Personality Quiz” online, of course.

Oh, yeah and just FYI; enrolling early with KLMU has its perks. Namely, scholarships worth RM 1,000. See, with KLMU’s “Discover U” campaign, everybody’s a winner – regardless of whether or not you choose to take part in the contest. Head on over to www.discoveru.com.my right now or simply SMS KLMU DBG <space> NAME <space> STATE to 36600 for more information.

Image from dissasociatedpress.com

Here’s solutions to some common problems that most people may face now that they have to deal with the ‘crisis’ of the new Facebook layout. Your first thoughts of seeing the new layout were probably:

• Hey, the Facebook bar stays fixed! (Cool!)
• Er, where are the friends I care about? (They’re there, but hidden)
• Argh, wtf! (You have my sympathies)
• How do I change the Facebook layout back to how it used to be? (And now you can…at least partially. Read on!)

Here are solutions to some common problems…

“I see only recent stories, and not top stories”

Solution: Ever since the layout redesign, Facebook needs to start ‘learning’ again who is relevant to you. Use the arrow on the top left of each post in your news feed to mark interesting posts as ‘Top Stories’. Facebook will then show you more of those types of stories.

“I see mainly acquaintances in my feed, and less of people I’m interested in/close to”

Solution: Organize your close friends into ‘Lists’. From the main page, use the Lists feature (it’s on the bottom left of your tabs, below Pages & Groups). Click more, then make Lists to add in your friends (eg college mates, close friends, ex-girlfriends, hot chicks you met in clubs etc). That way you can keep track of friends by group.

“That real time feed keeps moving. It’s annoying!”

Solution: Resize your window horizontally. It will disappear. Or hide the chat sidebar (it’s the button on the bottom right of your screen)

“I find the constant changes stressful! Why can’t things stay the way they are?”

Solution: Try not to worry so much, because change is inevitable, and its best to choose to deal with change positively and resourcefully. Taking control will be your gain, getting angry will be your loss.
This was written by me. Please credit http://www.josh.my or @joshlim on Twitter when sharing. Thanks!

Meet the finalists of the Miss Malaysia World 2011 Beauty Pageant!

Would you like to know their names? The 25 finalists are…

1. Flora Oh Swee Lian
2. Eliza Tang Siong Heng
3. Gail Tan Mun Yee
4. Desiree Tan Xiao Ci
5. Lavania J. Balasingam
6. Kavita Kaur Chopra
7. Yong Wan Jun
8. Carron Kho Siew Ching
9. Karen Koey Huey Ling
10. Laura Loh SIao Min
11. May Salitah Naru Kiob
12. Penny Lim Pei Huan
13. Celine Chan Wai San
14. Kohinoor Kaittiani
15. Cherish Lim Mei Yen
16. Jessica Fang Yun Ying
17. Chua Yee See
18. Lee Yvonne
19. Lilian Lee Zeyein
20. Gaayathri Raj
21. Pamela Tam Mei Yun
22. Chloe Chen TIen Nee
23. Evelyn Huan Poh Chin
24. Priyalakshimi Rayer
25. Janet Bennet

Thanks to by Brian from FusionExcel (on right) for the invite to attend the press conference! Here’s the rest of the bloggers that attended, together with Miss World Malaysia 2010 Nadia Heng.

At the post-press conference lunch: From left: Kavita Kaur Chopra, Gail Tan Mun Yee, Carron Kho, and me.

This is Yong Wan Jun, she’s one of the youngest contestants.

So who’s your favourite? The winner will be announced on 20 August 2011!

Having already conquered three cities this year, the country’s number one clubbing phenomenon, H-Artistry ‘The Global Art of Mixing’ will be storming through a further two cities on July 6 and 9. After capturing the imagination of more than 2,500 clubbers back in April, H-Artistry returns once again to Penang (Sixty9ine Mansion, Batu Ferringhi – July 6) and Kuala Lumpur (Mist Club, Bangsar – July 9). This time around, with an expected crowd of over 2,000, the upcoming H-Artistry party promises to enthral party-goers to two explosive partying experiences where sights, sounds, and tastes collide.

I’ve been to all but one of the Hennessy Artistry parties so far, and I have to tell you that it’s always pretty awesome.

With collaborative performances, visual stimulations and new digital interactions, H-Artistry promises to surprise folks with a contemporary clubbing platform that is bold, daring and fresh, culminating in the ultimate blend of urban sounds and cultures that come together through electrifying performances that will leave guests awestruck and craving for more.

For an idea of what to expect (besides of course, great drinks all night!), check out this video that I shot and edited of Hennessy Artistry back in April. It shows:
Hennessy Mixing Bar, Hennessy Music Mix Synth (the music blocks), Hennessy iMix Challenge (iPad game) & the Hennessy Interactive Photowall

Party-goers who register themselves on the official H-Artistry Facebook fan page for both the upcoming parties in Sixty9ine Mansion and Mist Club will also be receiving a new Hennessy ID Tag (a wristband equipped with radio frequency identification – RFID – technology) which will allow them to log on to their respective Facebook accounts and automatically post their activities as status updates whenever they scan their wristbands onto a Hennessy ID reader located at each Hennessy Mixing Zone booth. For example, registered guests will be able to instantaneously tag photos of them on their Facebook profile simply by scanning their wristbands on a reader whenever they have had their pictures taken at the Hennessy Interactive Photowall.

Revellers can also keep a look out for the Hennessy Mobile Photo Tagging team who will be making their way around the venue to snap pictures of party-goers. Photos that are taken can then be edited to resemble a magazine cover whereby guests will also be able to instantaneously tag their pictures on their respective Facebook profiles.

On the music front, the event will see a blend of musical talents from Malaysia and Denmark belting it out on a night that promises to be bold, daring, and fresh, ultimately, culminating in a blend of urban sounds and cultures that come together through electrifying performances that will leave guests awestruck and craving for more.

Headlining the line up at the upcoming H-Artistry party is German electro/house duo, the Beautiful Beat Girls. The group comprises of Meliah, the globetrotting vocalist of the duo who have performed at some of the best clubs in the world alongside some renowned DJs, and DJ/producer Dinakeen whose technical proficiency and ability in heating up any dancefloor has helped place the Beautiful Beat Girls as a dynamic performing duo. Making their debut on the H-Artistry stage, this German electro/house outfit is ready to infect the dance floors of Sixty9ine Mansion and Mist Club come July.

Check out the video below of their introduction:

Staying true to H-Artistry’s innovative approach in blending musical genres of the East and West, the upcoming party will also see Malaysia’s very own acclaimed singer-composer Reshmonu take on the famed H-Artistry stage. Multi-talented and award-winning Reshmonu forged a career in the Malaysian English music scene virtually single-handedly, going from humble beginnings as a sound engineer to becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the Malaysian English music industry over the past five years. Known for his talents in singing, writing, producing, arranging and engineering his own music, he has since established himself as the premier English Language market entertainer in Malaysia. Among some of his standout credentials include performances for Alicia Keys, Prodigy, Pussycat Dolls and Ryan Star of RockstarSupernova. Armed with his R&B prowess, Reshmonu will be looking to heat up the H-Artistry party in Sixty9ine Mansion and Mist Club.

Joining him on the H-Artistry stage is Malaysian progressive trance group TRIMIX. For the duo (Droolotte Tasha and Samuel Dan), TRIMIX symbolises the mixture of three different compounds into one, resulting in an ecstatic result. With this in mind, their sets are designed to be unique, exquisite and truly phenomenal. TRIMIX’s wide-ranging sounds cover progressive, tech and trance and unleashes phenomenal energy through its beats. Set to bring a whole new experience in progressive trance, TRIMIX will be looking to conquer the dancefloor at H-Artistry through some of the most infectious and addictive tunes the country has ever heard. Bringing to life its trademark repertoire, ‘The Global Art of Mixing’, revellers can also expect to be blown away by H-Artistry’s trademark special collaboration performances by all three acts. Truly one-of-a-kind, party-goers can look forward to experiencing the blending of music at its best.

With more than just music reverberating through the clubs’ walls, H-Artistry ‘The Global Art of Mixing’ is where music and drinks find the perfect match. The blending of different musical genres provides the core essence, while the versatility of Hennessy V.S.O.P mixed in the form of its signature long drinks provides the inimitable spirit to complete the distinct ultimate clubbing experience.

A global musical phenomenon, H-Artistry ‘The Global Art of Mixing’ parties also takes place in some of the largest cities around the world which includes New York, Shanghai, Taipei, and Los Angeles. Among some of the big names who have performed at these international parties includes Ciara, The Roots, Mike Posner, Alexandra Burke, Harlem Yu, Jay Chou, Jacky Cheung, and Sammi Cheng. The parties in Malaysia have also been nothing short of impressive. Locally, the event has in the past, featured a host of star-studded performers such as Flo-Rida, Kardinal Offishall, Shayne Ward, Boys Like Girls, The Ying Yang Twins, Da Mouth, and many others.

Passes to the H-Artistry ‘The Global Art of Mixing’ parties are by-invitation only. To stand a chance to be invited to these upcoming exclusive events, visit H-Artistry’s official Facebook fan page at www.h-artistry.com.my/facebook to register. Registrations close 1 week before the actual date of the first event.

Alternatively to receive updates about the upcoming parties follow H-Artistry on Twitter: www.h-artistry.com.my/twitter. Both the H-Artistry parties in Sixty9ine Mansion & Mist Club are strictly open to non-Muslim guests aged 21 years and above only. ID verifications will be carried out at the door.