We hope you are safe but ya

Got this from Channel Newsasia.

SMU students in Chile for exchange programme are safe

SINGAPORE: Four of the six Singapore Management University (SMU) students who are in Santiago, Chile, for an exchange programme are safe.

One of the students has called home, seven hours after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit 200 miles southwest of the capital.

The other two students are not in the same dormitory but are also believed to be safe.

The massive quake had snapped power lines and severed communications.

Earlier, the student's mother told MediaCorp that the group arrived in Santiago at about noon local time and headed to a dormitory.

Until she heard from her Saturday evening, that had been the last time she spoke to her daughter, who is a third year accounting student.

"We are really worried because we are wondering exactly how bad the situation is and whether any of the buildings around her collapsed or anything like that," said Zerina Khushi, mother of Iman Ashil.

"I managed to speak to one of the families whose son is also there at the same time, and they haven't heard anything either and we are just praying really hard that she will be fine and somehow contact us as soon as she can."

The students are registered with the Singapore Foreign Affairs Ministry and the families are in touch with the Ministry.

Dangerous Wands

"Because there are some problems you can't fix with a reparo charm"

Coming soon

AI Alert

It's too early to tell now but when I first heard this on TV, I actually wanted him to play the entire song. Andrew Garcia, definitely one to look out for.

Reminiscing Muse Part 1

Muse opened with Uprising and just look at the crowd which went hysterical. And seriously they sound exactly the same live la. Freaking awesome stuff.



This is of lower video quality but from a very good vantage point. You can really hear the crowd singing. The part where it goes "Oooooohhhhhhh ya ya ya ya" semua orang macam faham. And I'm pretty sure one of those hands is mine. Make that two ah.



Lights and sounds. You cant ask for more.

If you guys can find better videos on YouTube, donts donts post it here. Dontsss ah.

Muse : The Aftermath

M.U.S.E. Mindblowing, Unbelievable, Stunning Experience. Anyone who was lucky enough to be at Big Night Out 2010 yesterday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium will have to agree with me. I know it's easy to be caught in the post-concert euphoria but I'm sure I'll be talking about this one even after the dust has settled down. BNO 2010 featured 3 bands in total but there was no doubt who the headliner was on the night.

To say that Muse lived up to its billing would be an understatement. Muse was beyond awesome. Right from their very first song Uprising, it had the crowd jumping wildly and singing in unison. It was by far the craziest crowd I've been in. There was barely any room for me to jump but I did anyway, crashing and bumping into the unsuspecting random people around me. Such was the atmosphere that everyone was literally on a high, to the extent of oblivion to their immediate surroundings. And this is no exaggeration but at the end of the first song when I was finally on my two feet again, I saw the world spinning around me and for a while I thought that was how it felt to faint. It was that intense and energy-sapping, surviving the concert is a feat in itself.

Looking back at all the songs Muse played, it will be hard to pick one that truly stands out. But I thought Muse totally killed me by playing Hysteria and Stockholm Syndrome back-to-back. To hear the opening bass solo of Hysteria was surreal, it was exactly what I imagined it to be and more having listened to them on my mp3 all this while. And then there was the small matter of Matt Bellamy slaughtering the solos. It sounded so much the same you could easily have mistaken for it to be played off a CD. Special mention also has to be given to songs like Starlight and Time is Running Out which had the crowd singing its every word. I guess everyone has their personal song favourites but they were all equally brilliant to me. Knights of Cydonia was the perfect song to close the show. It was an ending that will be etched in my mind for a good while.

It gives me the chills just reminiscing about it now. I just cant explain in words how it felt to be in the moment, there and then. Musical orgasm, that will probably be it. In fact, I might have to check my pants. Itu seluardalam aku.

Muse Official Setlist: 3rd February, Singapore Indoor Stadium:

1. Uprising
2. Supermassive Black Hole
3. Map of the Problematique
4. Resistance
5. Interlude
6. Hysteria
7. Stockholm Syndrome
8. Nishe
9. United States Of Eurasia
10. Sunburn
11. Helsinki Jam
12. Undisclosed Desires
13. MK Ultra
14. Starlight
    
15. Time is Running Out
16. Unnatural Selection
17. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1
18. Plug in Baby
19. Knights of Cydonia
    

So as you can see, it was a full setlist so no misrep. Matrep ada ah.

Like Mighty Sphinxes: Commentary by Suffian Hakim

And once again, the mighty Pharoahs are the rulers of Africa, winning their third consecutive African Cup of Nations with a 1-0 victory over fierce rivals Ghana in Luanda today. Individual honours were given to their footballing princes, captain Ahmed Hossem - the cultured midfielder was picked as Player of the Tournament, while attacker-slash-super-supersub-slash-hero-of-the-final Mohamed Gedo came off the bench to claim his Golden Boot.

Their dominance over African football in the first decade of the 21st century is remarkable. As big money brought about the globalization of football, Egypt was relatively insulated as compared to big exporters Nigeria (with the likes of Nwankwo Kanu, Yakubu and Jay-Jay Okocha) and Cameroon (the master himself, Samuel Eto'o, Geremi, Alexandre Song). In their current African Cup of Nations squad, the only player still plying his trade in Europe was Borrusia Dortmund's striker, Mohamed Zidan. Ahmed Hossem used to play in Belgium for heavyweights Anderlecht, but returned to Egypt two seasons ago.

And yet it was the Northern Africans who lifted the trophy in Luanda. And they did so without boasting a Didier Drogba or an Obafemi Martins or (had it not been for the terrorist attack) an Emmanuel Adebayor. Their winning goal in the final was scored by a 25-year-old who made his national debut less than half a year ago. Mohamed Gedo's total number of caps attained since then is less than a twentieths of 34-year-old captain Ahmed Hossem's 172.

Our Lions can learn a lot from the Egyptians. Sure, there are a lot of differences between us and the Egyptians. Their history has spanned for millenia, and they are hailed as one of the earliest civilisations in human history, Our history started mere centuries ago, with an Indonesian prince throwing his crown off his ship so it wouldn't sink. Their half-lion protector is the Sphinx, who presides before the Giza pyramids. Our half-lion protector is the Merlion, who spits out a lot of water into the Singapore River.

In football, the gulf is evident, but more bridgeable. We lack our own Ahmed Hossem - a charismatic leader so fine an athlete that he is capable of leading well into his 30s. A decade ago, we had such a player: only instead of Ahmed, he was an Ahmad. And instead of Hossem, he was Fandi. Fandi has since hung up his boots, and has since delved into the coaching and management aspects of the game. However, he had no successor in the national team. Indra Sahdan Daud, while intelligent and blessed with crisp finishing, has been inconsistent. Aleksandr Duric, imposing and towering, is foreign, and arrived into the scene too late to be a central figure in Singapore's international exploits. Noh Alam Shah perhaps possesses some of Fandi's guile, but lacks the discipline to achieve the latter's lofty heights. Khairul Amri, while blessed with talent, is still young and learning his trade.

The Egyptian team has a strong spine, with the rejuvenated defender Hani Said and experienced centre-back Wael Gomaa providing a stable platform to launch strong attacks spearheaded by the creative forces of Hossem, Shikabala and Zidan and the very enthusiastic Emad Moteab. Singapore has something similar. Baihakki Khaizan, Precious Emujeraye and Daniel Bennett, when on song, can provide a very solid base for Messrs. Hariss Harun, Khairul Amri and Indra to express themselves. And while this combination did bear some fruit regionally (a Bronze in the latest SEA Games), the Lions have yet to make their mark at a continental level, let alone in international football.

A problem with Singaporean football is also perhaps our over-reliance on young talent. The existence of a Young Lions team in the S-League bears testament to that. While this ensures that these prodigies are groomed to fulfil their footballing potentials, it deters, perhaps even inadvertently preventing, late bloomers from making that step up to become a force in the national team. Egypt's hero of the final, Mohamed Gedo, earned his first cap at 25 - a senior citizen among national team debutants - and went on to become the tournament's top scorer with his 3rd to 8th caps. Building for the future is good, as long as the efforts of the less green are also given recognition.

Egypt also has a much different footballing culture than most of the African teams. It is identified by a stronger Middle Eastern influence rather than an African one. While perhaps lacking in physical prowess as compared to their counterparts in the tournament, the Egyptian squad managed this record-breaking achievement through determination and a strong, disciplined approach. Singapore has a different footballing culture also. Taking its cue from manpower trends in Singapore, the national team has also imported foreign talent into its ranks, giving the team a much more metropolitan feel than other teams from the region. This diversity in talent and footballing styles, if channelled properly, could bode well for Singaporean soccer.

If our Lions can learn from Egypt's triumphs, perhaps one day Singapore too, can dominate regional or continental soccer the way Egypt has.

And then finally we can revisit Goal 2010, but for a later date.