Monday, June 20, 2011

Farewell Clarence Clemons, Noor Azian Ahmad Said And Zami Ismail

The weekend of June 18 and 19, 2011 saw the loss of three great people who helped develop art and music in Malaysia and the United States.

They were Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen's band member, saxophonist and mentor, Noor Azian Ahmad Said, the mother of Malaysia's King of Cartoonists Datuk Mohamad Noor Khalid or Lat and film maker Mamat Khalid, and veteran Malaysian actor and comedian Zami Ismail.

Clemons, 69, also released solo albums and in 1985 he had a hit with You're A Friend Of Mine. He also starred in films as Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure with Keanu Reeves, and TV series as The Simpsons and Different Strokes. Clemons was married five times and has four sons.

Zami, 68, of Tapah, Perak, was best known for starring in long-running sitcom Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu. He also advertised Mamee noodles in television commercials in the 1970s where he voiced the Mamee monster and the Mamee singing chef. He is survived by his wife Hanizan Ibrahim and nine children including actor Opie Zami and director Latiff 'Hitler' Zami.

Noor Azian, 90, of Gopeng, Perak is survived by five children including eldest son Lat and youngest son Mamat.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Largest Malaysian Towns And Cities 2011

1 Subang Jaya 1 553 589
2 KUALA LUMPUR 1 475 337
3 Kajang 1 299 115
4 Klang 1 113 851
5 Ampang Jaya 804 901
6 Selayang 785 527
7 IPOH 704 572
8 KUCHING 674 281
9 SHAH ALAM 671 282
10 Petaling Jaya 638 516
11 JOHOR BARU 610 940
12 KOTA KINABALU 604 078
13 Sandakan 501 195
14 GEORGETOWN 482 976
15 SEREMBAN 477 908
16 Sekudai 465 360
17 MELAKA 433 047
18 KUANTAN 422 020
19 Tawau 381 736
20 Pasir Gudang 376 283
21 KOTA BARU 356 615
22 Sungai Petani 347 761
23 Bukit Mertajam 321 172
24 KUALA TERENGGANU 286 317
25 Miri 280 518
26 Muar 237 134
27 Batu Pahat 237 037
28 ALOR SETAR 231 045
29 Kulim 228 662
30 Taiping 212 562
31 Sibu 210 879
32 Kulai 201 861
33 Bintulu 199 514
34 Kluang 188 521
35 Penampang 169 769
36 Nibong Tebal 143 151
37 Temerloh 132 467
38 Lahad Datu 128 589
39 Bagan Serai 124 697
40 Sitiawan 122 329
41 Butterworth 122 322
42 Keningau 120 578
43 Kuala Selangor 119 648
44 Cukai 118 529
45 Port Dickson 102 259
46 Kuala Kubu Baru 96 611
47 Dungun 94 291
48 Segamat 94 255
49 Banting 93 497
50 Pontian Kecil 88 230
51 Labuan 81 151
52 Alor Gajah 77 521
53 KANGAR 74 396
54 Sungai Besar 73 290
55 Kuala Kangsar 72 625
56 Jitra 69 743
57 Semporna 68 839
58 Bentong 66 996
59 Tapah 66 511
60 Kota Tinggi 64 739
61 Teluk Intan 58 431
62 Batu Gajah 58 098
63 Banting 57 731
64 Raub 49 333
65 Kuah 41 605
66 Salak Tinggi 40 364
67 Jerantut 40 092
68 Papar 39 625
69 Labis 37 826
70 Bahau 36 645
71 Kampar 35 566
72 Limbang 34 351
73 Kudat 33 378
74 Pekan 33 089
75 Tampin 32 917
76 Tumpat 32 194
77 Sarikei 30 083
78 Tanah Merah 28 565
79 Sri Aman 26 110
80 Kunak 22 912
81 Marang 21 360
82 Mersing 21 309
83 Tanjung Malim 19 710
84 Ranau 19 521
85 Pasir Mas 19 231
86 Gua Musang 19 173
87 Kuala Krai 19 153
88 Simpang Renggam 18 711
89 Kuala Pilah 18 382
90 Beaufort 17 954
91 Kapit 16 689
92 Kuala Lipis 16 285
93 Jasin 15 113
94 Kota Belud 14 522
95 Besut 13 654

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Happy 85th Birthday Marilyn Monroe

From Wikipedia.

The late great Marilyn Monroe was one of the great sex goddesses of the modern era. Her 85th birthday is June 1, 2011.

Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jean Mortenson (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, singer and model.

After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946.

Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received.

By 1953, Monroe had progressed to leading roles.

Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comedic effect in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955).

Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range, and her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics, and she received a Golden Globe nomination.

Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince And The Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David Di Donatello Award.

She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959).

The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with.

The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture.

Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out.

In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.

In the years and decades following her death, Monroe has often been cited as a pop and cultural icon as well as an eminent American sex symbol.

Monroe was born in the Los Angeles County Hospital, the third child of Gladys Pearl Baker (May 27, 1902 – March 11, 1984).

Monroe's birth certificate names her father as Martin Edward Mortensen.

Baker had married Mortensen in 1924, but they had separated before Gladys' pregnancy.

Throughout her life, Monroe denied that Mortensen was her father.

She said that she had been shown a photograph of a man that Gladys identified as her father, Charles Stanley Gifford.

Gladys was mentally unstable and financially unable to care for the young Norma Jean, so she placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven.

While living with the Bolenders, an unusual incident occurred.

One day, Gladys came to the Bolenders and demanded that Norma Jean be released back into her care.

Ida knew that Gladys was unstable at that time and insisted that this situation would not benefit Norma Jean.

Unwilling to cooperate, Gladys managed to pull Ida into the yard while she ran inside the house, locking the door behind her.

After several minutes, Gladys walked out of the front door with one of Albert Bolender's military duffel bags.

To Ida's horror, Gladys had stuffed the now screaming Norma Jean inside the bag, zipped it up, and proceeded to leave the house. Ida charged towards Gladys and the quarrel resulted in the bag splitting open.

Norma Jean fell out and began weeping loudly as Ida grabbed her and pulled her back inside the house, away from Gladys.

In 1933, Gladys bought a house and brought Norma Jean to live with her.

A few months after moving in, Gladys suffered a mental breakdown.

Norma Jean was declared a ward of the state, and Gladys' best friend, Grace McKee, became her guardian.

It was Grace who had told Monroe that someday she would become a movie star.

Grace was captivated by Jean Harlow.

Grace married Ervin Goddard in 1935, and nine-year-old Norma Jean was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home (later renamed Hollygrove).

In 1937, Grace took Norma Jean back to live with her, Goddard, and one of Goddard's daughters from a previous marriage.

This arrangement did not last for long, as Goddard attempted on several occasions to sexually assault her.

Disturbed by this, Grace sent her to live with her great-aunt, Olive Brunings in Compton, California.

This arrangement also did not last long, as 12-year-old Norma Jean was assaulted (sexually) by one of Olive's sons.

In early 1938, Grace sent her to live with yet another one of her aunts, Ana Lower, who lived in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles.

The time with Lower provided the young Norma Jean with one of the few stable periods in her life.

By 1942, the elderly Lower developed serious health problems, and thus Norma Jean went back to live with the Goddards.

While attending Van Nuys High School, she met a neighbour's son, James Dougherty and began a relationship with him.

They got married that year.

In 1943, with World War II raging, he enlisted in the Merchant Marine and was shipped out to the Pacific.

Norma Jean found employment in the Radioplane Munitions Factory. She sprayed airplane parts with fire retardant and inspected parachutes.

During this time, Army photographer David Conover snapped a photograph of her for a Yank magazine article.

He encouraged her to apply to The Blue Book Modeling Agency.

She signed with the agency and began researching the work of Jean Harlow and Lana Turner.

She was told that they were looking for models with lighter hair, so Norma Jean bleached her brunette hair to a golden blonde.

Norma Jean became one of Blue Book's most successful models, appearing on dozens of magazine covers.

Jim Dougherty was oblivious of his wife's new job until he discovered one of his shipmates admiring a revealing photo of Norma Jean in a magazine.

Dougherty corresponded with her via several letters stating that once he returned from service, she would have to give up her modeling.

A dissatisfied Norma Jean, who now saw the possibilities of a modeling and acting career, decided then to divorce Dougherty.

The marriage ended when he returned from overseas in 1946.

Her successful modeling career brought her to the attention of Ben Lyon, a 20th Century Fox executive, who arranged a screen test.

Lyon was impressed and commented, "It's Jean Harlow all over again."

Lyon did not like the name Norma Jean and chose Marilyn Monroe (Monroe is her mother's maiden name) for Norma Jean.

Marilyn Monroe's first movie role was an uncredited role as a telephone operator in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in 1947.

She won a brief role that year in Dangerous Years and extra appearances in Green Grass Of Wyoming and You Were Meant For Me.

In 1948, Monroe signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and was introduced to the studio's head drama coach Natasha Lytess, who became her acting coach for several years.

She starred in the low-budget musical Ladies Of The Chorus.

She had a small role in the Marx Brothers film Love Happy (1949).

Love Happy brought Monroe to the attention of the talent agent, Johnny Hyde, who arranged for her to audition for John Huston's drama The Asphalt Jungle, playing the young mistress of an aging criminal.

Her performance brought strong reviews and was seen by the writer and director, Joseph Mankiewicz.

He accepted Hyde's suggestion of Monroe for a small comedic role in All About Eve as Miss Caswell, an aspiring actress.

Monroe enrolled at UCLA in 1951 where she studied literature and art appreciation, and appeared in several minor films playing opposite long-established performers as Mickey Rooney, Constance Bennett, June Allyson, Dick Powell and Claudette Colbert.

In 1951, she appeared as a presenter at the 23rd Academy Awards.

In 1952, Monroe appeared on the cover of Look magazine.

In March 1952, Monroe faced a possible scandal when one of her nude photos from a 1949 session with photographer Tom Kelley was featured in a calendar.

The press speculated about the identity of the anonymous model and commented that she closely resembled Monroe.

As the studio discussed how to deal with the problem, Monroe suggested that she should simply admit that she had posed for the photograph but emphasised that she had done so only because she had no money to pay her rent.

She gave an interview in which she discussed the circumstances that led to her posing for the photographs, and the resulting publicity elicited a degree of sympathy for her plight as a struggling actress.

She made her first appearance on the cover of Life magazine in April 1952, where she was described as "The Talk Of Hollywood".

Stories of her childhood and upbringing portrayed her in a sympathetic light.

It was during this time that she began dating baseball player Joe DiMaggio. They were married in 1954.

Four films in which Monroe featured were released in 1952.

First, Clash By Night, a Barbara Stanwyck drama, directed by Fritz Lang. It was favourably received by critics.

Next came We're Not Married!, Don't Bother To Knock and Monkey Business.

Darryl F. Zanuck cast her in Niagara, as a femme fatale scheming to murder her husband, played by Joseph Cotten.

Her next film in 1953 was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes co-starring Jane Russell and directed by Howard Hawks.

This was followed by How To Marry A Millionaire, River Of No Return and There's No Business Like Show Business.

In 1954, shortly after There's No Business Like Show Business, she starred in The Seven Year Itch.

Not long after the film, she and DiMaggio were divorced.

In 1955, Monroe dated playwright Arthur Miller. She studied at the Actors Studio, and befriended actors Kevin McCarthy and Eli Wallach.

In Bus Stop, Monroe played Cherie, a saloon singer with little talent who falls in love with a cowboy, Beauregard "Bo" Decker, played by Don Murray.

She received a Golden Globe nomination.

She married Miller in 1956. A year later she co-starred with Lord Laurence Olivier in The Prince And The Showgirl. In 1959 came Some Like It Hot which earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress.

From 1959 onwards, Monroe became addicted to drugs. She became an ardent fan of the new United States President John F. Kennedy and had an affair with him.

Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a drug overdose at her home on August 5, 1962. The last person she spoke to was Kennedy. Many fans believe the CIA killed her in order to implicate Kennedy. She and Miller had been divorced in earlier that year.

She was buried on August 8, 1962 at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles.