Category: Hiburan

Yusuf Islam’s Return to Performing Music Received Criticism From Some Muslims

Yusuf Islam – formerly known as Cat Stevens – has rarely been seen on stage since he converted to Islam in 1977. In recent years, however, he has returned to live performing and, with new album Tell ‘Em I’m Gone out last month, Yusuf played two sold-out gigs in London this week as part of his European tour.

The British musician has now revealed that his decision to start producing and performing music again led to criticism from some Muslims.

“I was getting criticism from the Muslim community: why are you picking up a guitar again? What’s happening to you?” the 66-year-old said in an interview with AFP.

“I say: listen to me, this is part of Islamic civilisation, we have lost our contact with it, we lost our vibrant approach to life and to culture.”

Yusuf, who is performing songs from the new album, as well as classics such as Wild World, Moonshadow and Peace Train from his 1960s and 1970s heyday on the tour, said of his dual identity: “I’m a mirror glass for the Muslims as well as the Western world, which looks at me in a slightly different way, but they are looking in the same mirror.”

Yusuf will also return to the United States for his first tour there in 35 years. It comes 10 years after he was banned from the country after his name appeared on a no-fly list – a fact he blamed on mistaken identification.

“I feel very welcome now,” he said and described his inauguration into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a “significant moment where they kind of remembered me”.

“I think it’s [the tour] going to be pretty good, I’m hoping,” he said.

“One song I do is The First Cut is the Deepest. I try to remind people I wrote that song, not Rod Stewart.” Yusuf continued.

When he first converted to Islam in 1977, Yusuf hung up his guitar to dedicate himself to philanthropic and educational work.

He attracted controversy in 1989 when he defended the fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini calling for Muslims to kill British author Salman Rushdie for blasphemy. He later dismissed his remarks as in bad taste, but there are many who still reproach him for not apologising.

After his US experience, two British newspapers alleged that he was involved in terrorism. Yusuf successfully sued them for libel, but the whole experience has left its mark.

“It’s always on the knife’s edge as far as I am concerned,” he said of his relationship with the media. “I can never quite trust anybody anymore.”

Everyone, however, is welcome to come and see him perform live. “People who want to remember me as Cat Stevens – welcome. Those who want me as Yusuf, you’re here,” he said.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

November 10, 2014
20 Simple Childhood Snacks That Made Us So Happy We Didn’t Need Cupcakes Or Churros

Let’s put aside the crazy haze and think of happy thoughts like childhood snacks. Then compound that happiness by thinking of our adult spending power and that we can buy the snacks in bulk now.

1. Ice Lolly Tubes

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There are only two types of people in the world: The people who bite the top and twist the bottom, or those that break the tubes in half. Can you remember the ache in your teeth and the saltiness of your own saliva chewing through the plastic packaging? Whichever way you try to eat it, you’ll end up sucking away the fruit juice and leaving behind a flavourless ice stick.

2. Hiro cake

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When recess time comes, we stock up on these small cheapo chocolate covered sponges. We’d eat them on the school bus even though they were squashed flat in our schoolbags.

3. Kueh Balu

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Crusty on the outside, pillowy-soft on the inside. You can eat many of these at a go, dunking them into milo or a cold glass of milk.

4. Kueh Tutu

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Watching your Kueh Tutu being made is as good a treat as the kueh itself. You always marvel at how smooth the flour looked as the excess was scrapped off before putting into the steamer. Too bad they can only do 6 at a go, if not you’d buy 30.

5. Ding Dang
6. Tora

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This was our budget friendly version of Kinder Bueno even before that luxury treat arrived in Singapore. Nobody cared that it was obviously a copyright infringement of Doraemon.

And, apparently, Tora had more premium toys.

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7. Mr Softee

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Because 7-11 used to have something we really wanted. Like chendol softee. And that incredible chocolate fudge add-on for 30 cents. Slurp.

8. Super Rings

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Before Cheetos and Cheezels made their (orange) mark on our fingers, there was the ever-ready Super Rings that were sweet, cheesy and gone too fast.

9. Biscuit Piring

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We would wolf each dry and lightly-sweetened disc down, ending up with lots of wafer flakes on our laps. Who’s to say we didn’t use them as discuses?

10. Buttercream cake

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The cake shops downstairs of our flats were always smelling so good. And the buttercream cake was one of our most popular picks. Our birthday cakes were usually piped with jelly colours of the traffic light or the hottest cartoon of the year.

11. Kueh Lapis Sagu (九层糕, or literally 9-layer-cake)

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Just like its name, we tend to eat them layer by layer to prolong the snack’s lifespan. Some people are still convinced each layer has a different flavour.

12. Fruit Jelly

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Remember how you would tear the plastic top open carefully and quickly sip the syrup on top of the jelly before it falls all over your fingers?

Tip: these taste even better frozen.

13. Ang Ku Kueh (Red Tortoise Cake)

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Today’s AKK come in many variations (agar agar, yam, durian even!), but when we were younger, there would only be green bean, or peanut ones. I don’t know why everyone loves the green bean ones.

14. Haw flakes

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Do you like to it them one slice at a time or you’re one of those that would bite an entire stack? Whichever camp you belong to, the first bite probably stung your teeth and gums because they were so sour.

15. Beebee

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Bee-Bee was pretty smart to have a mascot that looked like Mr. MaGoo, and we were never put off by this super-artificial orange coloured snack because it was *so* cheap!

16. Push pop

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Taking it a level up from basic lollipops, we had Push Pops which could be consumed for a bit, and when classes started, we would “save” the lollipop for later consumption.

Our fingers tended to be stained with saliva and melted sweet though.

Was their advertising jingle “Don’t push me, push a Push Pop!”?

17. Ring pop

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Diamonds were really affordable and tasty in those years. As they say today, if you like it then you should’ve put a ring on it.

18. Whistle pop

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You’d rather skip those recorder lessons and make some music with this simple whistle pop. At least there’s some tasteful sounds.

19. Cadbury Mini eggs

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These were more of a premium snack that you’d get lucky with if your parents were in a good mood. Speckled, sugary hard shell over smooth milk chocolate – what’s there not to love?

20. Whistling sweets

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A faster way to set up a school choir with one tune, we present the Whistle Candy. Along with a lot of saliva.

Source: http://mothership.sg

November 7, 2014
Aliff Aziz Claims He Did Not Steal Handphone

KUALA LUMPUR: Acara pradengar album Aliff Aziz berjudul Rebirth sebentar tadi diadakan di pejabat Sony Music Entertainment Malaysia di Publika, Solaris Dutamas turut menjadi ruang beliau menjelaskan apa yang terjadi kepadanya beberapa bulan lalu.

Bermula dengan isu dikatakan lari dari set penggambaran drama dan pulang Singapura sehinggalah timbul cerita beliau dituduh mencuri telefon bimbit di negara kelahirannya sendiri.

Menurut Aliff apa yang terjadi menjadi pengajaran terbesar sekali gus mematangkan dirinya.

“Isu mencuri telefon bimbit itu sudah selesai. Saya berada di tempat dan waktu yang salah. Natijahnya saya terpaksa mengaku bersalah biarpun saya tidak melakukan perkara itu.

“Undang-undang di Singapura berbeza di sana. Atas saranan pihak peguam bela, saya mengaku saja dan bayar denda untuk memendekkan proses berkaitan.

“Jika tidak saya perlu melalui proses pengadilan yang panjang. Kejadian ini terjadi empat bulan lalu dan itu antara sebab saya terpaksa berulang alik dari Kuala Lumpur dan Singapura,” katanya yang berulang alik ke Kuala Lumpur kerana melunaskan urusan rakaman album barunya itu.

Mengenai cerita lari dari set, penyanyi lagu Sayang Sayang ini tidak pernah wujud isu itu dan barangkali ia ditokok tambah pihak tertentu hingga jadi pelbagai versi termasuk isu berhutang.

“Pertamanya saya minta maaf kepada semua pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dan kecewa dengan saya. Tak nafikan saya berperang dengan komitmen lakonan dan melunaskan rakaman lagu.

“Saya memang tak pernah lari dari set penggambaran. Cuma ada kalanya kepenatan dan jatuh sakit, saya gagahkan berlakon juga. Saya sedar jika saya tak datang berlakon ia akan menjejaskan perjalanan penggambaran.

“Tapi bila saya datang berlakon dalam keadaan penat timbul pula cerita seperti bertebaran kononnya saya lalok,” kata Aliff yang mula sedar bahawa beliau belum bersedia untuk melakukan banyak kerja dalam satu masa.

Enggan mengenang kisah lalu, kehadiran album terbarunya berjudul Rebirth itu membawa semangat baru serta umpama kelahiran semula buat dirinya.

Album berkenaan sepatutnya diedarkan tahun ini tetapi atas beberapa masalah ia ditunda hingga ke Januari depan.

“Kali pertama saya muncul dengan album ketika berusia 16 tahun dan kini saya bakal menginjak 24 tahun depan. Jelas saya melalui fasa kematangan dan perubahan dalam hidup.

“Istimewanya pembikinan album ini turut diberi peluang memilih lagu yang sesuai. Proses pembikinan sejak setahun setengah hampir menemui penamat.

“Tinggal lagu ciptaan Awi Rafael saja yang belum dirakam. Saya juga sudah tidak sabar untuk kembali ke persada seni dan lupakan kisah lalu yang menjadi pengalaman berharga.

“Peluang berehat empat bulan lalu menjadi ruang saya bermuhasabah diri. Tak dinafikan saya tertekan tapi semua hikmah berguna, katanya.

Untuk album barunya lagu Selayaknya Aku ciptaan Faizal Tahir antara kegemaran Aliff. Selayaknya lagu itu dijadikan single pertama.

Lagu lain yang dimuatkan ialah Hari Ini, Coba, Setelah Kau Pergi, Dengarkan Aku, Pujangga, Novella, Tak Ada Cinta Sepertimu, Dan Lagi Cinta.

Source: www.bharian.com.my

November 7, 2014
‘The Infidel’ the Musical: Changing Mindsets or Plain Insensitive?

‘The Infidel – The Musical’ is the stage (and, yes, musical) version of the film starring Omid Djalili, about a British Muslim who discovers he’s actually Jewish.

Written by David Baddiel, with music by Erran Baron Cohen (Sacha’s older brother), it’s currently playing at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London.

Among the songs in the musical is ‘SexyBurka’.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk and http://stratfordeast.com

November 3, 2014
Chef Wan: Men Should Help With Housework. It Is Not An Effeminate Act.

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysians should eliminate the stigma that is attached to men who do housework – that such men are pondan (transsexual or effeminate, in Malay), says Malaysian celebrity chef Redzuawan Ismail, popularly known as Chef Wan.

Such a mindset negatively affects the family institution, he was reported as saying by Bernama.

He said: “Men who do housework are not necessarily weak and soft.

“They do it to help their wives who are probably tired after working in the office.

“However, in our society, the perception still exists but not in the West.”

Chef Wan was speaking to reporters after appearing as a panellist in the discussion, Re-defining Masculinity, held in conjunction with a woman’s forum on Wednesday.

He added that men, husbands and fathers should set a good example to children by helping in any way possible at home.

“In fact, from my own experience, I find that when you do housework, it not only lightens the burden at home, (but) is also a healthy activity,” he said.

Source: straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia

October 31, 2014