i watch and i write

I'm addicted.. to the television!! Aarghhh.. ever since being temporary jobless ni, I find myself glued to the couch.. and I am addicted to none other than E! Entertainment Network, channel 76 on astro..sighh...I totally need my daily dosage of E..

Day by day, I feel like I'm a part of the Hollywood who's who.. (haha i wish..)
I guess it's just part of my highly curious nature, hence the insatiable thirst to know what's going on in other people's lives.. (that's just one of the segments on E!..the daily juicy goss..)
Anyway, I'm kinda enjoying the THS (True Hollywood Stories) segment, where it's some sort of a biography on the stars and any other newsworthy personalities..

(come to think of it, I have been enjoying biographies ever since I could read. maybe it's just that thingy of wanting to get into a another person's mind, i suppose. or maybe i'm just plain busybody..hehe!)

Luckily, while I was flipping channels, I stumbled upon a gem of a biography..the story of the late Sudirman..on Anak Gemilang - rtm 1. Call me a softie but I just couldn't stop the tears..Sudirman was, and still is the best..no one can ever replace him.. not only was he talented, but his work ethics were amazing. (my ex-boss was Sudirman's former manager, and that's what he said about him too.)

I grew up watching Sudir perform and listening to his music..I was not his biggest fan, but he had such a dazzling effect on people..on Malaysians. Not only the Malays knew him, but back in that era, even the Chinese and Indians and other races knew who Sudirman was. I guess that's why he's known as the People's Singer, among the other titles accorded to him. (His sister's house was next to my kindergarten in Bangsar, and I always longed to sneak a peek but never got lucky..)

I also learned more about the Chow Kit Road concert, (Malaysia's one and only attempt) while watching this Anak Gemilang program. Jenny Chin, his musician was interviewed and she related the concert experience as, "A feeling of high. You can't see where the flow of people ended..it was like, endless. We didn't want to stop playing, Sudirman didn't want to stop singing." She added that during the 80s, concerts or shows were done in hotels, and for Sudirman to come up with an idea for an open air concert in Chow Kit Road was just simply unbelievable. But he made it happen, as always. Apparently 100,000 people thronged Chow Kit that Monday night. To quote local newspaper The Star,"KL came to a standstill and it had nothing to do with the recession but with one man, Malaysia's top entertainer, an electrifying performance and most memorable night".

Sudir's demise was a great loss to the nation..and the cause of his death became widely speculated, by the public and the media. I remember, at 12 years old, being shushed by the grown-ups when I asked, "Why did Sudirman die, what was his sickness? He couldn't have just keeled over and die, could he?" But no one gave me a satisfactory answer. Even my ex-boss who knew Sudir so well, steered away from the topic when I posed the question to him..

I shall not elaborate more..for I am not writing a biography on Sudirman. I am merely relating some of the insights I've gained and the profound emotion that I felt while watching the program..

And no matter how many THS I watch on E!, I don't think any can top this TMS (True Malaysian Stories) on Sudirman.. which left me in tears (and goosebumps)