faster than God.

i'm not a schumacher fan, but i hope he wins this year's championship and fucks off. anyone other than alonso. i hope schumi wins the next six races by a comfortable margin, i hope renault lose all their pace, and i hope that the final race makes everything come crashing to a head. how about a classic schumi knockout in the last race of the season? that'd be classic...akin to a zidane headbutt, except that we'd come to expect it from schumi. also, i hope that webber becomes renault's #1 driver (flavio is his manager, after all) coz he's not getting any younger. i'm getting used to the notion of putting kimi in a ferrari but it still doesn't seem right...the flamboyant red for the iceman? he seems more suited (image-wise) to the hard, german greyness of mclaren mercedes. it's how coulthard and red bull are a perfect mix. and i have to say, i love the squadro rosso car. the "give you wings" wing is fantastic. i've fallen in love with it.

the championship really has come to a head. all schumi has to do is to win the next six races and everything's gonna be alright. it's a tall order, but it's michael schumacher. he's faster than God (the ultimate superlative). i think alonso should just let him win. it's only fair. he can resume his quest for glory next season. let the old man go out in style, for fuck's sake.

i remember martin brundle saying something along the lines of how schumi might not want to retire because he still has his "adoring public". but it's better to go out on a high than on a low. we'll find out in september, no doubt, but this will he-won't he frenzy probably amuses schumacher more than us.

though what's scary is that expert analysis states that bridgestone has done well over extremely hot conditions i.e., hockenheim. michelin might pull it back from hungary onwards. just a little something to mull over. and renault's mass damper system is fucking awesome. in theory, anyway.

so. 60 points up for grabs. ferrari looking strong. renault staging a comeback. it's the italy vs. france again.

oh, the excitement. hold me.

one way down.

i wish i had a Camaro. i'd take that fucker out onto the open road and never come back home. figuratively speaking, of course. i always thought that i'd lead some form of nomadic lifestyle; travelling around with my family probably instilled the preparation mechanism to live like a modern urban gypsy. i don't have as much experience as my parents in living life on the (proverbial) run, but i'd like to think that i've gotten enough of a taste of it to appreciate it to the peak.

funnily enough, i've declined my father's offers to send me overseas to study. for starters, i genuinely feel guilty about spending his money on what i'd see as a paid vacation, and secondly, i just don't have the grades to cut it. thirdly, (i've said it a million times and for a million more) i really like it here in kl. but, just once in a while, it'd be nice to take the Landeater out onto the highway and just drive.

the problems are obligations. obligations to the life i'm supposed to lead, to the expectations that've bound their way onto me...wouldn't it be nice to pack it up and just fuck off once a month?... if i had a retreat home somewhere in the mountains of pahang where i could chill out and enjoy the hoots of the owls at night, while smoking a cigarette and plucking on my guitar? hell, yeah...it'd be good. i'd call some friends over and we'd have brewskies (okay, they'd have brewskies) and play chor tai dee 'til dawn. better yet, make all those friends girls and play strip chor tai dee.

damn.

but i'm stuck in the suburbs, wishing for the country life, with the country house, with the country wife. i bet...i bet that if i was there, i'd probably want the suburbs just as badly. then again, we don't have the "country" here that i'm thinking of. and i think that farming in malaysia is a lot less idyllic than it is in my head. the romantic notions of life in the country don't cut it here...driving by padi fields that we label as "breathtaking" is one thing...but not what, let's say, paul mccartney is doing in england. or not the ranch that matt mcconaughey has in texas. or george w., for that matter. no grilled steak and spaghetti-strapped blonde, no cows or antelopes roaming.

basically, nothing to really retire to (unless you want a beach house, which is a story for another day).

oh no. i can't escape the city. and i can't deny the city boy in me.

sigh. keep on trucking.

anyone know a good shrimp shack that i could visit along the coast? please?

what are friends for?

wax off your chest hair.

to be honest with you, i'd never imagined that lance bass would've been the gay one in nsync...i always thought it would've turned out to be either joey fatone or chris kirkpatrick. then again, with those bold, pretty features and those perfectly tweezed eyebrows, maybe it was just screaming for it. here's a mcD's ad that could've made us sit up with attention, all those years ago. this game of spin the bottle also has a cameo from britney, when she was still sizzling hot.



brilliant..

but for the straight guys...

how macho is macho...and is too macho not macho? what makes a man these days? most guys nowadays have a certain tinge of fag to them, whether it's deliberate or accidental...the way we dress, the way our hair's styled, even down to the way we walk and talk (especially what we say)...what makes a man these days? gone are the days of crotch scratching, beer guzzling, steak ravaging-beasts...that stereotype has been long dead. we're supposed to be sensitive, caring, witty orbs who're in touch with their feminine sides.

chauvinism is frowned upon by the women, who gush about that perfect man who just happened not to be straight.

there's a little bit of that man in all of us, ladies. (that sounds wrong if you think of it in that other context.)

then again, when looking sloppy is stylish in itself, maybe things are looking up. just maybe.

who's scared of being metrosexual?

the king of tetris.

yes. so i bullied two girls into losing at tetris. yes. so i mocked them constantly and made them lose their concentration. the bottom line is, i beat them both. and that's what counts. i'd like to give thanks to jeffrey for bringing his game boy color along for the last two days...i'm pretty sure you've come to regret that decision. tetris can keep you entertained for hours, really.

the first week of lectures is over. i survived relationship marketing. maybe mr. chew realized that i'd turned over a new leaf of sorts. either that, or he really couldn't fathom why i risked academic suicide and decided to let it be. i think i'm going to be hearing a lot from him in the coming weeks, though. i've fared better in statistics. the subject's changed a bit...they've actually added a little introduction to it to ensure that everyone remembers what they'd learnt in the beginning. a work of genius, seriously...especially for incompetent ol' me. it might get fun again.

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black cherry vanilla coke. try it. RM 2 per can at carrefour. i'm not sure if it's out anywhere else.

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happy birthday, denise! even though you don't really read this. happy birthday, sabrina! ditto for the line two sentences ago. it's been a long time. i hope you're okay. even though...aiyoh.

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think you're a lady's man? want love? click here. take your best shot...who knows? and hey...you'll be on television.

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i'd like to give a big........show of appreciation to paolo gomes, resident web genius. the banner up there hardly shows off his orgasmic design skills. i'll post some links of his work once i get them. there's nothing like free publicity, no? even though nobody really reads all this.

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i feel strongly against the bombardment of lebanon, but there're better ways to air your views than flagburning. it's tasteless. ugh. i don't get these umno dudes sometimes.

"allo! kita dari perak! kita nak kata 'tak nak' kepada serangan lubnan! kita akan bakar bendera amerika kerana kita megah!"

brainless twits. not exactly a good way to get respect, no?

----------------------------------

HELP has a lot of pretty girls. this last week back has restored my faith in the power of HELP. gotta lose weight. i just gotta. this is going to sound obsessive but i still don't know that girl's name...the one from the new diploma semester. she's so...cold. mmmmmm. i like.

i really do.

----------------------------------

it's good to know that lionel's up and kicking (figuratively speaking, of course) again. t.a.b.l.e.t.s. yea! pop the pills, my friend!

----------------------------------

okay. enough of these post bursts. i'll try to write something substantial in length, intelligible and focused tomorrow or whenever. yes. whenever.

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10 more months to go.
----------------------------------

the M factor.

back to school.

not much has changed in advanced stats, besides the fact that we now have one test, one assignment and one final to get through...formerly, it was two tests. the assignment is a nice twist...it's SPSS-based and may ann thinks that it'll be "easy". i date overachievers; the world's their oyster.

what's really getting me worried is mr. chew's reaction when he sees me in class...again. i can't emphasize this any more because there's only one setting for italics in blogger, but if you could italize the word "again" 3 more times, that'd show you how bad it is. i don't really want to show my face in class, to be honest...just sigh up for the subject, sign up for the tutorial and never go. he hates my kind (but who does like it, really?): underachieving bum, smart-mouthed with nothing to show for it. what's the term...NATO: no action, talk only.

how manglish'd.

i really don't want to show my face there. i'm really too ashamed and embarrassed. plus, we get the exact same assignment all the time. a little variety would be nice; you think that it'd be easier for me, but please, give me a research paper anytime. i don't mind slogging away in the library --- i'd done that for my bachelor management papers and did well for myself. i don't want to interview people who run private clinics or who delve in direct marketing...i've got better things to do.

i've got to finish ultimate spider-man from #1 to #96. let's do the math...a comic book takes about 10 to 15 minutes to finish. so...15 minutes X 97 issues (including #1, friends) = 1455 minutes. that's equivalent to 24.25 hours, which is a day. now, i can't go through a whole day reading comics. and if i read an issue a day, it'd take me over three months to get through it all. plus, new issues come out every month, so...i'm in trouble.

also...i've also got to digest all of ultimate x-men and ultimate fantastic four as well. and they're ongoing as well.

life is unfair.

i'm still waiting for that job where all i'd have to do is stay home, download porn and read comics for the whole day.

let's face it: my heart's never been set on studying, as opposed to living life ala instant gratification.

-----------------------

sometimes driving like a saint paces you better than someone driving like satan.

this lady had followed me all the way from bsc back to seputeh. the only difference was, i was in a v6 and she was in a wira. and it's not like she was deliberate following me; she took her time, whilst i was trying to prove my british racing heritage (the car's engineered by Lotus, after all). so despite my best efforts of cutting traffic and speeding along to Nelly Furtado, this anonymous woman caught up with me every step of the way. the traffic light at bangsar baru. the traffic light at the bangsar mosque 3-way. the traffic light at the bridge intersection from the federal.

it only proves that in kl, despite your best efforts to be a boyracer, an aunty could probably beat you on the merits of sensible driving.

-----------------------

your sister had sex with a slab of salami. i can drink more water than a cow can get milked. in italy, the women have hairier armpits than the gorillas. crow shit on your mirror is just as good as striking a hole in one.

i have no idea what nelly furtado is singing on No Hay Igual, off her Loose album. for starters, it's all in portuguese, so everything that i wrote up there might be correct to the indiscerning ear. secondly, it's got an irresistable beat to it. thirdly, it's only three and a half minutes long, so it comes and goes like *that*.

most importantly, it's seriously fun to drive to.

-----------------------

did i mention that i really don't want to go to college tomorrow?

-----------------------

congratulations to miss puerto rico for winning the miss universe title. you are the epitome of supreme hotness. i'm sure we can now all ban puerto rico altogether from competing in future miss universe events to give the others a fair chance.

like miss japan. oh. my. god. kurara, you make my heart race.

kurara in her swimsuit.

kurara in a samurai costume. lame, but...kawaii. to an extent.

kurara in her swimsuit with...accessories?

kurara in real life. funky!

some of you probably think that she's just okaylah. fair enough, i suppose. she's a 24 year old philosophy student. dammit.

adp material.

read her interview here! watch the flash video here! gambattei, motherfuckers.

i don't know why i do things like these sometimes.

-----------------------

think pink - steak, sotong, chicken, a bit of vodka and Captain Jack.

pinky and the brain.

pink is the new hog.

pretty lights. and although you can't see it, sizzling beef.

pretty lights again. sizzling beef. mmmmm.

honey on your meat?

lionel's a bit pink.

raymond wants to get pinker.

uh. can't caption this accordingly.

that's one happy khai lun.

if there was one person we bullied endlessly, it had to be carolyn. we mixed her novice mixing skills. and the fact that she was naturally high.

we crowded around her here...

i tried licking her here...

lionel and jason show me some manly love.

....

yep. phillipe's gonna kill us.
-----------------------

BBQs bring people together, as well as that old, reassuring shitfaced feeling. i don't drink, but i turned a bad shade of pink after sampling some of denise's "lemonade". to be honest, it really did taste like lemonade. yes, well, it was fun. i've never seen lionel so red before, and everyone had a good time playing drinking games whilst jeffrey and i took over the cooking duties for the second round of food. to be honest with you, holding out pieces of meat and slabbing on pieces onto a makeshift grill brought some self-fulfillment.

many thanks to khai lun for letting me into his home to almost cook his dogs.

(note: i've posted the photos where i don't look that fat in. since my dad came back, my size has ballooned again. the wanker.)

-----------------------

Pirates was a hoot. i mean that in a good way. go watch it, if you haven't yet. if you have, then i suppose it's justifiable of another viewing.

licky-licky.

i think i reintroduced the joys of cinema-going to my father. either that, or i've subliminally sent the message that we should get a home theatre system. i swear, i saw a smile on his face, and i don't think it was the movie as much as it was the whole "experience". maybe i'm not giving him enough credit, but i'm pretty sure that he never went to the movies with the Evil Woman (yes, i've resorted to juvenile, girlish name-calling) in Brazil. leave it to his son to save him, like what Luke did for Darthy. mmm. me? as luke skywalker? why not? we both whine like little girls.

one unpredictable thing was how he summarized the first Pirates movie in a minute and asked about how Davy Jones fit into the whole thing, and why that other captain was back (uh-oh...i've spoilt it). amazing. i never knew he watched the first one. lord knows i've watched it twice and still can't remember jack from it...but of course, we all remember Jack from it. and there're genuine laugh-out loud moments.

oh, the heat!

oh...never mind.

funkygeekdom: cyclops is a lucky man.

her...

or her?

random paragraphs held together with sentences.

i remember getting hit in the stomach and being shoved onto the ground by wei sheng back in year 7 (form 1). mr. sutter, my geography teacher made a quip about how lydia and i were a couple due to our sharing of the textbook. cute, i suppose, until someone told the guy who had a crush on her and all hell broke loose.

okay, it didn't break loose. he hit me, and i fell to the floor. some line about "don't you dare think of anything", etc. end of story. to be honest with you, i didn't expect it. a friend had yelled out my name and continued to tell me to run. i turned around and found a fist in my stomach. it was a good hit.

i'm a born pushover.

i mean, what could i have done? retaliate? i was chubby, slow, and 12. i'd never have won in a fight back then. thinking of it, i'd never win in a fight now.

i guess that i was brought up with hometown u.s.a. values. the "golly, gee" variety. i thought that "sonuvabitch" was the worst form of swearing when i was seven, and i refused to cuss until i was in year 9. even that was purely accidental. the person i am today was molded in year 9. i became a standalone raving nutcase.

it was the school bus. it really was. it didn't change me into a warrior. i doubt that i could've taken on wei sheng if he was still around at year 9. nope. the school bus gave me a sense of humour. and i owe it to the people who were there with me, who've probably forgotten me except for one or two of them.

school was fun back then. it was kind of a shell of sorts; i was never aware of what being in a public school felt like because all my life, i'd been shipped from one "international" school to another. imagine my amazement when i went into taylor's. it was like being let loose into the jungle to sow my seeds. and sow them, i did. reinvention. i took the tai and made him wry and dry. sarcastic, even. whiny, to the brim. and here i am now.

nothing to show for it.

when i dream, my teeth chatter and i make strange motions with my arms. the other day, while i was dreaming about wrestlers i started kicking lightly. at least that's what i was told. i also snore loudly. i wouldn't be the best bunking partner at camp. how often do you dream when sleeping? if you say that you don't dream, it's probably due to the fact that you don't remember what you've dreamt. i remember the tailend of my dreams...most of us do. it's amazing how our dreams seem to weave in and out of one another at a consistent flow. who needs the cinema when all the action we need is in our heads?

how bizarre.

i really did have a crush on lydia back then. funnily enough, i think she liked me, too. i never found out. after year 7, we were separated. i moved into the pioneering "m" class for year 8. we didn't have classes organized in terms of academic performance...it was the brainiacs and the idiots mixed up. equality for all. it was a democracy in school. amazing. anyway, i only would meet up with lydia again when i took up Art as a GSCE. by that time, there was no crush. but we bonded. as in the whole Art class. all 8 of us. memories.

oh man.

the israelis promised that they'd only attack the southern regions of lebanon suspected of being strongholds for hezbollah. it's saddening to see that beirut is under siege. it's even more saddening to see that nobody can stop israel. even the americans are letting it run amok. it just makes it look like they're actually condoning israel's actions. makes you wonder: if there was a high rate of american casualties, would the united states still be so accomodative?

i don't mean to sound anti-semitic, but israel isn't even really a country.

i'm watching the pirates sequel tomorrow with my father. i can't really remember much of the first one, but i suppose that won't dampen my spirits. the last movie that i'd seen with my dad...it was either baz luhrman's r+j remake or the special edition of star wars: a new hope while we were vacationing in bangkok. i love thailand. thai girls are genuinely pretty. they're striking. dare i say, the majority of them look better than our malaysian chinese variety (especially if you go further north).

i dated a thairish girl once. didn't really work out. happened back in laos, when i was vacationing there. i miss vacations. and i'd only vacation in the siam region during school holiday periods. i guess that means i miss school. i remember getting hit in the stomach in year 7 for a comment my geography teacher made back then.

i guess we've come full circle.

win some, lose some.

may ann left for sydney this morning. there goes my only source of debauchery. it was a fun three weeks...on a whole, it's been a good two months, including the work needed for the ball. the last few weeks have been what i've needed...sometimes we're we can't help but wish that we could relive certain periods...the last month has been good to me because i've done nothing at all and failed to achieve any goals that i might've set beforehand (like reading comics and finishing up on Lost). yes, well.

i've warned myself that these peculiar long-distance relationships don't work. i really don't know. three weeks is an awfully bad solution to a few months' worth of repressed hormonal sweeps. it's not just the physical aspect of it; i really do need someone there all the time for me. we've heard of clingy girlfriends --- i'm the boyfriend from hell. it'd be a lot easier if she was in kl. at least a dinner date would be a drive away as opposed to a 6 month wait. funnily enough, i've taken may ann for granted so many times that i don't really feel the emotional drought of her leaving as much as i should.

i'm evil.

i'm mean.

since we've established that, it's on to other things, then.

after years of never getting around to it, i downloaded the New Radicals' maybe you've been brainwashed, too. if you're a child of the 90s, you'd remember their hits (to be fair, the New Radicals were really one man) you get what you give and someday we'll know. the former song took a dig at corporate america and highlighted the disillusionment of the youth, whilst the latter song was just beautiful. really. the first time i'd heard the album was in the masterful surprise's red satria, on cassette. the first track came on...mother we can't get enough. stellar. granted, it was the only non-single i'd heard, but it was fantastic. good enough to make me want to grab the album.

six/seven years later...and i can safely say that it's 30% good and 70% rubbish. a real letdown of sorts, judging from the fact that the man behind it all has produced brilliant material from Ronan Keating (life is a rollercoaster, which really was a killer pop song --- i'm ashamed to say it, but i have his first album) to Texas. ah, well, you can't win it all.

especially when it comes to cell phones.

the 3310 is dead. it's been serving me faithfully for what feels like an eternity. it's survived being dropped from a car, daily dosages of table dropping, table smashes and public invincibility tests in the presence of friends. the irony, then, that i've got to dispose of it coz it won't read my sim card anymore. the sim card's gone loose, and the tiny plastic piece holding it steady can't do its job anymore. not to mention that the metal sim guard was broken years ago in a game of football.

how the mighty have fallen.

i might not be reachable these next few days aside from being online. there're no spare units at home so i've got to make do without a phone. bugger. i honestly thought that the phone would outlive me. it probably could.

you can't fight inevitability. death is one thing you can't run from.

college is another. (well, you could, but it wouldn't be a smart thing to do.)

relationship marketing and advanced business statistics.

again.

that wily mr. chew and the exuberant dr. ben.

again.

jesus, joe and mary...the fun never stops when it comes to me, does it?

i suppose that i'm going to have to value this last week of holidays the best that i can.

it's time to find that Ronan cd.

holy shit avril's married!

call me late, but i just popped into pink and...voila. wow. i don't read the papers, obviously.

the pumice stone.

although it sounds incredibly strange, i like picking the dead, hardened skin off the bottom of my feet. after i play football for a few days, the skin's bound to crack and i like pulling it out. what can i say...i need hobbies.

those days are going to go soon, though. may ann bought me a pumice stone from watson's. for those of you who don't know what a pumice stone is, fear not. i didn't have the foggiest until i wiki'd it. since i've got absolutely nothing to talk about...

Pumice is a highly vesicular pyroclastic igneous rock of intermediate to siliceous magmas including rhyolite, trachyte and phonolite. Pumice is usually light in colour ranging from white, yellowish, grey, grey brown, and a dull red.

...Pumice is widely used to make lightweight concrete and as an abrasive, especially in polishes and cosmetics exfoliants. When used as an additive for cement, a fine-grained version of pumice called pozzolan is mixed with lime to form a light-weight, smooth, plaster-like concrete. This form of concrete was used as far back as Roman times.

yeah. lord. what a boring weekend.

-----------------------------

i haven't watched formula one since silverstone, so it came to my disgust and horror to learn that juan pablo montoya had moved to NASCAR. to paraphrase a wise man, NASCAR's basically a bunch of taxis turning left for 500 miles. yes, you've got car setups made to tackle the different (left) corners, but it's not exactly riveting stuff.

schumacher is on pole again. could this be a ferrari resurgence? is he going to hold off alonso again? i hope so. i hate alonso.

-----------------------------

word of advice: never spill bovril on your keyboard.

-----------------------------

today's sunday, and desa seputeh f.c. might be facing off against the regular visiting team, indians of bangsar f.c. at the desa seputeh mini-pitch. seriously. it's probably a liverpool-everton rivalry at this point. we've soundly defeated the visitors twice, the last match ending 6 - 2. kick off starts from 5:30 to 6 (if you're interested).

i've returned the camera to its rightful owner. starting from monday, i'll post all the remaining joga seputeh clips, just to make ck happy.

the return of the king.

everyone's favourite strip is coming back after a hiatus. okaylah, not everyone's, but it can be. blame this man for it all.

timbeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr?

ah. datuk mohd said yusof shall grouse all he wants to about Customs as long as he really knows what he's talking about. a Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (that's a mouthful) will hear him out. maybe even give him a pat on the back or two.

funnily enough, nobody remembers the wood. and he might turn into some kind of hero for bringing light to the irregularities in selling seized cars. if it's not that much of a sham on his part.

but what about the timber? isn't there going to be some kind of disciplinary hearing? an ad hoc committee brought together to investigate him?

close one eye, indeed.

supernova?

what happens when you put gilby clarke, jason newsted and tommy lee together? supernova. and where're they going to find a vocalist? reality television, of course. the second season of rock star has butch walker as a judge...i didn't get to see him in the episode i'd watched earlier, but it sounds promising.

seeing the old stage and the house band made brought a soothing feeling for me, really. the mayan theatre's still a great venue. speaking of soothing...they're still using inxs' new sensation for the opening theme music.

i can't really imagine the three men of supernova being so...cordial...in...uh...(pardon the pun) reality. it sort of saddens me to see them watered down for mass consumption...i mean, tommy lee used to set his knickers on fire (not to mention pamela's crotch) and gilby clarke was fired from g n' r for being an arse. jason newsted was the bastard of metallica. they should be thrashing hotel rooms or at least heed the need to be censored every minute.

(on a sidenote, the show is subtitled as "the tommy lee project"...just in case you don't know who clarke and newsted are, i suppose. he's the notorious one, that lee).

where's the rock?

...you know there's something wrong when reality tv gets a hold of it, no?

the goat's head. i should start using it for acoustic performances. oh yeah. that'd incite a riot.

anyway, the house band is the shit. maybe next season could be used to find a vocalist for the band. that'd make more sense, really. rockstar: mayan house band. booyah.

---------------------------------------

Paul Mirkovich
Musical Director/Keyboardist/Background Vocalist

In his second year with "Rock Star," keyboardist-composer-musical director Paul Mirkovich continues to lead the show's impressive house band to rocking heights. A Los Angeles native from a large family of 12 children, Paul's credits are vast and noteworthy. His past musical work includes serving as band director for both Janet Jackson and Anastasia as well as performing and recording with, among other talents, Peter Gabriel and Shawn Colvin. He was also a member of the multi-platinum bands Whitesnake and Nelson. One of his leading achievements comes from his 16 years working alongside Cher as band leader, keyboardist and duet singing partner for the legendary performer. A proud father of two daughters, Zoe and Charlotte, Paul's happily marrie to his wife Michelle, and is currently recording new material.

Jim McGorman
Guitarist/Keyboardist/Background Vocalist

Guitarist Jim McGorman once again brings an eclectic energy to "Rock Star" that's served him well throughout his varied musical career. Among other artists, the native Philadelphian cites the classic soul of his hometown (like Gamble and Huff) as well as Coldplay and U2 as major musical influences. Once a member of the influential band The New Radicals, he's also served as music director to multi-platinum artist Michelle Branch. He's seen many tours, including memorable routes with Poison, Marc Broussard and notably, Cher. On Cher's Farewell Tour, Jim played not only guitars and keyboards but also sang a duet with Cher each night. Jim's credits also include writing and performing original songs for television including the shows, "One Tree Hill" and "Smallville." Other TV performanced include work on "The Tonight Show," BBC's "Top of the Pops" and MTV's "TRL." You can check out Jim's new solo album at his website, www.jimmcgorman.com.

Rafael Moreira
Lead Guitarist/Background Vocalist

Versatile, intuitive and gifted guitarist Rafael Moreira returns to "Rock Star" armed with his impeccable credentials and well regarded skills. Widely known as the lead guitarist for multi-platinum recording artist, Pink, the Brazilian native has toured the world, performing in Germany, Sweden, England and further. His recording credits include work with the afore-mentioned Pink and last season's star band, INXS. He's also performed with artists including Marc Anthony, Mya, Steven Tyler, Richie Sambora, Christina Aguilera and Slash. In addition to these performers, Rafael recorded on the debut project for the group Shapes, produced by Jimmy Haslip, during which he performed with legendary Brazilian greats Airto and Flora Purim. Rafael's appeared on TV with "Top of the Pops," "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Saturday Night Live" among his credits. He's also performed music heard on the video game "Spawn." The graduate of the Musician's Institute in Hollywood also keeps busy in the Los Angeles music scene, performing with his band, the hard rock power trio Magnetico. You can learn more about Rafael's projects at www.rafaelmoreira.com.

Nate Morton
Drummer

As graduate of the renowned Berklee College of Music, Nate Morton brings a definite wild side to his esteemed musical pedigree. A chief example is one of Nate's primary influences--Animal from "The Muppets." He also cites both his parents and his first drum instructor, Grant Menfree as important support during his early musical years. Such an intriguing brew of inspiration resulted in Nate's noteworthy accomplishments which include his gig on "Rock Star," but also serving as drummer for artist Vanessa Carlton, his two years of work with jazz great Natalie Cole and touring with Chaka Khan and Poe. He also performed with Madonna at the 2002 Grammy Awards, and more recently worked a national tour with the "American Idol" band. Nate's stick-hitting chops are endorsed by Pearl Drums, the number one drum manufacturers in the world, as well as Zildjian sticks and cymbals and Remo drum head. Glean more of Nate online at his website www.N8Drums.com.

Sasha Krivtsov
Bassist

"Rock Star's" Sasha Krivtsov is an artist of many talents and prominent disciplines. The Soviet-born bassist immigrated to the United States in 1991 after performing with Zemlyane, the number one rock band in the Soviet Union. Though he performed in front of mass audiences and sold 20 million records, he sought new ground in Paris, New York and finally Los Angeles. Since moving to Los Angeles he's served two years as bass player for the platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated, singer songwriter Vanessa Carlton and has toured with R&B soulster Ricky Fante, notorious punker Billy Idol, and the multi-platinum pop group The New Radicals. Sasha is the bassist on the debut international smash album by James Blunt, including the worldwide # 1 song "You're Beautiful." He's also recorded with Badly Drawn Boy and Vivian Campbell's side project called Clock. In addition, he produced the album "Washed Away" with Erik Eldenius for the band Alan Smithee. An accomplished visual artist and sculptor, you can explore his impressive work at www.desaart.com. Sasha and his wife Deon have two boys, Jazz and Tyler.

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mad. rockstar: houseband. it'd be fun.

what about the food?

murni's can be heaven at times.

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on the left is a standard-sized drink. on the right is my limau ais besar.

darryl's carbonara spaghetti. i'm so uncultured that i'm not sure how to spell it.

my maryland fried rice. fried rice complete with a slab of a maryland chop, an egg and fries.

khai lun's chicken murtabak.

jeff and jason had a chicken chop fried rice each. awesome shiat.
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yes. murni's can be heaven at times.

farewell, miss chin.

we had to say goodbye to melissa, who's flying off to brisbane on saturday morning. the only place we could think of was...uh...murnis. yep. it'd been a while for me. i was quite happy.

it's meant to be the murnis sign. honestly. there was a blackout in random parts of ss2 and we were lucky enough that murnis was mostly unscathed.

jeff, pei pei, mel, khai lun and...me. staring into space.

the tai (finally) returns to murnis.

carolyn and felicia need denise's shoulders.

khai lun can be so gangsta sometimes.

awwwww.

i can't seem to enjoy my food but phillipe and carolyn like the photo op.

sometimes i wish i could do that to jeff.

top: ? (sorrylah), darryl, khai lun, ye haau
middle: me, mel, pei pei, jeff
bottom: phillipe, carolyn, felicia, denise, jason

i really wanted to finish the drink, at least.

i can't seem to focus on the camera that's actually taking the photo in group pics.

the same goes for some of these girls.

three's company.
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farewell, mel. God Bless.