[Music Monday] I Couldn't Ask For More by Edwin McCain

It is an old song but there were two occasions that this song played on my mind during the past one year:

1. The day that I got married.

2. The day our son was born.

It is funny how these two things are not exactly something  that I would usually said as opposed to stuff like "dude, I'll buy that DeLorean when I retired," or "I totally want to get my hands on that self-lacing Nike shoes, man" but when the moments above took place, I realized that they were indeed the best things that happened to me so far...

...which is why there are really no other things that can really convey my feelings as good as this song.

Smiling just to see the smile upon your face,
These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive,
These are the moments I'll remember all my life,
I found all I've waited for and I could not ask for more.

All in all, I'm grateful. I know that this is just the beginning of a new chapter of my life that I'm still getting used to but right now, at this point of time, I'm really grateful for it.

(Video: castromusicfreak. Image: Flickred!, used under Creative Common license)

[Music Monday] Month of May by Arcade Fire

"Start again in the month of May,
Come on and blow the wires away"

Oh hey, what do you know, May is already here! Time to go out of my weekend slumber and get the gears working hard again.

Writing, running, fitness, learning...can you all stop leading me to things that will have me restarting doing things that I like again and over again? Can you?

Well, really hope you can. So, let's go!

(Image: crazybobbles // Video: Bonnaroo)

[Music Monday Coachella 2016 Edisyun] Welcome To The Jungle By Guns N' Roses Classic Lineup

...and I thought it would never happened in my lifetime. Axl, Slash, and McKagan back together as Guns N' Roses!

Then again, I guess it is most likely for old time's sake. I'm not expecting new songs and even if they somehow managed not to cat fight among each other throughout their current tour.

Nevertheless, I still wish I was at Coachella last weekend to catch this memory-filled glorious moment though. Even though I've seen GNR live before but...come on, this is just different. Oh well.

(Video: Hushabye Mountain. Image: Justin Santos)

[Music Monday CNY Edisyun]: That Shaolin Soccer Song...

When Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer became a hit, I recall that it somehow became a staple in Chinese New Year programming on TV for few years. Not this year though as I'm watching the first of From Vegas To Macau (what a timing since the third installement has just hit cinema) on 8TV as I'm typing this entry.

[Huiyoh] How A 290 KM/H Bike Crash Looks Like, Caused By A Blown Tyre

So, this particular crash actually happened in our very own Sepang Circuit few days ago which involved Loris Baz of Avintia Racing during MotoGP testing session. What happened was that the rear Michelin tyre on his Ducati race machine blown while he was going through Sepang's main straight near the start/finish line at around 290 km/h. Crazy!

[Huiyoh] When A F1 Car Goes Against Bunch of Rugby Players

Formula 1 has not yet started for this season and it is not surprising that Red Bull Racing has came out with several interesting concept to keep the noise coming even during the off season. There's driving its F1 car in ice, and then this, a scrum against rugby players. What?

[Music Monday] Let Love Be Your Energy by Robbie Williams

If you're willing to change the world,
Let love be your energy...

Similar to Smashing Pumpkins' Ava Adore, Robbie Williams' Let Love Be Your Energy is one of the many songs that I discovered through a TV channel which I couldn't remember its name anymore (could be either MetroVision or NTV7). I remember it mainly for its animated music video which has a rather interesting style although it was censored on the TV channel due to its adult nature.

[Swoosh]: Nike Air Force 1 Ultra Flyknit - The Lightest AF1 Ever, Now In Malaysia For RM 679

Just like its namesake, Air Force 1 (AF1) is a legendary silhouette among Nike's long line of sneakers. Originally born as a basketball shoe 34 years ago, the existence of Flyknit-based AF1 has been rumored for quite some time and true enough, here come the brand new Air Force 1 Ultra Flyknit into the picture.

In fact, it is now available in Malaysia. Awwww yissss~

[Swoosh]: Ousadia Alegria - Yet Another Special Edition Nike Hypervenom II Boots For Neymar Jr.

Truth to be told, this is not the first time Barca's Brazilian attacker Neymar Jr has its own version of Nike Football's boots (gold Hypervenom, anyone?) and I don't think it will be the last one either.

This time around, it comes in the form of special edition Hypervenom Phantom II that is called as "Ousadia Alegria".

[Music Monday]: La La La Kerja La by Meet Uncle Hussain

Ku harus kerja...
Ohhh mesti kerja...
Tiada ada apa yg percuma...
Realiti jika tiada kerja...
Ohhh, papa kedana...

When it comes to work, this particular part of Meet Uncle Hussain's song always hit the mark for me. Especially after a long weekend.

You know, that dreaded feeling to come back to work, after a nice additional day of rest days...even for me who enjoys my work, I feel that from time to time too.

I'm Officially Scared

October is here and I'm really scared, my friends.

Reason 1: I'll have half marathon this coming Sunday at Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2015. I've very little training, way lesser than the training I did for my first half marathon at Nike We Run KL earlier this year.

Reason 2: Hours after the half marathon, I'll be heading to an outstation assignment which is expected to be the highlight of my carrier. I've receive the agenda for this assignment and it is...a little bit overwhelmed. It has been a dream to see the places in this assignment...but I'm very scared of not able to deliver the story that I want to share with everyone.

Reason 3: Less than 2 months left before I become someone's husband. Man, marriage. Who would have thought.

So, yeah. I'm really scared, man.

(Image: Bunnies Do Scream by MisterIngo @ DeviantArt)

[#music] Lost In You by Garth Brooks/Chris Gaines

Have you ever tried to look for an old song that you heard during you growing years and finally found it again after so many years? Well, I did recently and man, it was such a joy.

Seriously, you won't believe how long I've been trying to find this song: Lost In You by Chris Gaines - the pop alter-ego of country music superstar, Garth Brooks.

[#musicmonday] Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

With the super funky melody and golden voice that Bruno Mars has, Uptown Funk is one of those “perfect” radio song that my ears needed in the era where too many songs on the radio are singing about asses.

However, there’s one particular part of the lyrics that really got my attention.

[#Nike] Roshe Flyknit: When Simplicity Meets Innovation

The formula is rather simple: pick one of the most popular style as of recent and then come out with a version that is built using the equally popular method of shoe construction. That's the Nike Roshe Flyknit, for you.

Truth to be told, the Roshe Flyknit is not exactly a new release as it has landed in selected stores such as Sole What outlets since few months ago. Then again, new colors were released in February at Nike Sportswear retailers throughout the world including Malaysia since last month.

[Lowyat.NET] Win GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 960 4GB G1 Gaming Graphic Cards!

They might not come very often enough but once in a while, there would be free stuff to be won from Lowyat.NET. For this round, there are three units of graphics card to be won! Woohoo!

Specifically, the graphics card is the newly released GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 960 4GB G1 Gaming! It is technically a mid-range graphics card but features double the amount of VRAM as compared to the original release of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 two months ago which features only 2GB of VRAM.

#MusicMonday: Stay With Me by Sam Smith

So, my KTM 200 Duke broke down today. For the first time since I bought it in 2013.

I'll save the story for other time since it is rather long. The whole ordeal was almost 11-hours, after all...yup, my Monday totally gone with the wind because of it.

Nevertheless, when it broke, Sam Smith's Stay With Me immediately popped up in my head and was on repeat continuously (in my head, still)  till now. Could be because I'm really wishing for speedy recovery of my bike which is the only personal mode of transportation that I've at this moment.

Guess I might have loved my bike that much (no offence to the missus)...but paying the repair bill later is still going to be a bitch apparently, as hinted by the mechanic.

Oh man... o(╥﹏╥)o

[Video: YouTube. Image: SideStageCollective @ Flickr, used under Creative Commons license]

#MusicMonday: Baek by Joe Flizzow

So, Flizzow's Baek is the second video that the famed rapper has shot in New York many months ago with the first being the critically acclaimed (baru menang Juara Lagu kot) Apa Khabar. Apart from the scenic view of Brooklyn, the video featured plenty of cameos.

See if you can spot them below:

IMHO, the video is just like the song: playful. I'm don't know how having Brooklyn and cameos in the video helped convey the meaning behind the tongue-in-cheek song but...somewhat, I kinda understand. Well played, Joe. Well played.

All in all, ok lah, not bad. Just that, IMHO, Flizzow might have took too long to release this video. Remember, this song came from an album that was released in 2013.

Also, I realized the intro and the ending of the video are slightly different from the song. If you have Spotify, you can take a listen below. Mmm hmm. :3

[Source: Sony Music/Kartel Records @ YouTube, Kartel Records @ Facebook] 

Farewell 2014, Hello 2015: Thoughts For The New Year

2014 has been an interesting year. There were many great things happened in 2014 but those are now in the past and no longer on my mind apart from them being happy memories and motivations for the future.

What's actually on my mind as we transition from 2014 to 2015 are the many promises that I broke throughout the year. I truly apologize for all that and I'm striving from now, on the first week of the new year, to make things better in 2015.

Again, please accept my sincerest apology. Let's work to make things more awesome in 2015... together. It is going to be heck of year, hopefully. :)

*bows*

- Yours sincerely, Syefri "Chapree" Zulkefli, Content Editor of Lowyat.NET and Sole Boss Kuli at ChiefChapree.NET -

[Music Monday] The Day I Tried To Live by Soundgarden

"One more time around,
Might do it,
One more time around,
Might make it," - The Day I Tried To Live, Soundgarden.

My life is ok, my work is ok (I think). But I do feel quite tired right now. Too many things, too little time.

But then again, at the same time, I think I didn't try hard enough. I believe I didn't hit the benchmark that I want and can be proud of. Hence: "one more time around, might make it".

The AF1 Theory by Hundred%: Malaysian Streetwear Movers and Shakers Take On Nike Air Force 1

Those who in the know most probably have been aware of Hundred% for the longest time but for those who doesn’t, well…it’s one of the most prominent streetwear retailer in Kuala Lumpur, to say the least.

Last week, the store has launched a rather interesting project called the AF1 Theory which revolves around sneaker customization and as the name implies, the focus of the project is the iconic Nike Air Force 1. However, it is not just any AF1 model.