My very brief take on current issues: Take 1

There are times, I'm just fed up to give long comments or brag about how I feel about certain issues that touch on the lives of us Malaysians. There's a lot of ridiculous things going on and when one can easily pass the buck to our politicians for, well, politicising just about everything under the sun, I couldn't deny that the people, who are not politicians themselves, are not making living under the sun any much easier.

They say that politicians are like dogs. They bark and bark without ever knowing what they're barking about, but how about us, the ordinary layman who enjoys echoing the barkings? How about those who go spicing it up thus blowing all things out of proportion leaving most of the innocent bystanders to gape and trying to decipher what the hell was that all about.

Anyways, lest that I would fall into the spicing up category, let me just express how I feel for the many issues that makes it into the pages of our newspaper in the most shortest way possible:

1. Using the name "Allah" issue: Don't agree with High Court's ruling and if we can't find any amicable solution to this, then just drop the bloody issue once and for all!

2. High performance schools: Its blatantly unfair! We should not polarise the young ones with being selective as who should get more than who. I say the RM1m annually per high-performance school should be distributed to the so many under privileged schools throughout the country.

3. Penang Pakatan feud: Datuk Seri Zahrain outburst to Lim Guan Eng was funny. Personally, Lim got what he deserved. DAP chairman Chow had said that Zahrain was wrong but even if the guy had erred in his actions to say such things, then surely something is definitely WRONG somewhere that such squabbles had been conjured up. As they say in Malay, "kalau tak ada angin masakan pokok bergoyang". True or not?

4. Suspension of Khalid Samad by PAS: Serves him right for being a foul-mouthed prick. Period.

5. Arrest of six Nigerians over suspected links with al-Qaeda terrorist: WTF!!! But kudos to our speedy arrest by our enforcement team. Good job guys!

6. Adukataruna seditious blog remarks: Hang him!

7. Throwing of pigs head at 2 mosques: F*&$#@ *&!#@ &^$#) $#*^ $#%$@! ?+)%$#@!!!!!!

8. Churches arson: same answer as No. 7

9. Carot and stick for govt servants: You mean to tell me that after all these years that there was not carot and stick at all? Well that explains everything.

10. Maid abuse: *sigh*

11. Tiger Woods trysts and sex eaddiction: Who cares! Leave that guy alone. So what if he has a slightly higher libido than any other man out there, no need to be jealous and harp on the issue.

12. Malaysian music and movie industry: Not interested.

There you go. These are just some of the issues that had grabbed my attention whether I care about it or not. Hopefully the next paper that I grab would contain happy issues and that some of the issues highlighted above can be resolved quickly so we Malaysians can start bracing ourselves for the next.

From virtual to true friends

Used to be that making friends through the world wide web would simply gives me goose bumps. In fact, I've lived with this notion that people are not really who they truly are on the other side of the virtual world. Most of what is said on the net are either purely made-up, or tweaked to suit the user's imaginary thoughts. Which explains why I refused to chat or interact with strangers on the net.



But that all changed when I logged on to Yahoo! Answers Malaysia (which we fondly called it YAM, which I will get to it later).



It all started when I was seeking for answers for a matter which by now I couldn't recall what it was. I think it was two years or so ago. Yahoo! Answers came up, clicked on it and thought, not bad. Some of the answers were live and direct. Most of the answers given were crappy while some can really be very useful. After much browsing and clicking and answering as well as posting questions, I finally arrived to the Malaysia section (in the Travel/ Asia Pacific/ Malaysia section). Though its in the Travel category, I can assure you that none of the questions posted are related to Travel. And it is more like a chat forum than it is a Q&A session.



After few postings here and there, I got hooked. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I had fun and had become a regular. I made a lot of friends from all parts of the country and we even had one regular hailed all the way from Britain and the Philippines. And some also became my "enemy". Eventually, some of us who had developed a "cliqued" unofficially called ourselves the Yammers. We even created a Facebook group by that name consist of the regulars who, like myself, grew out of Y!am and eventually stopped visiting the site.



The Yammers continued to communicate via Facebook and its about time that we decided to meet up. We discussed and we planned and eventually, we met. There was only five of us ladies and thought that maybe the guys were a bit too shy to meet up. I was a bit nervous and don't know what to expect from the meeting but I have to say, it was all well worth it. We spent hours talking and giggling and there was never a stranger feeling to it at all. It felt as if we had been friends for ages.



That was a precursor to a good and hopefully a lasting friendship and decided to do it more often. That was when we decided to call on more Yammers to join in and chose a bowling tournament as a fun reason to gather and get to know each other outside the virtual world.

As the picture shows, that's me (white shirt holding the red ball) and some of the Yammers having a ball of a time at Alamanda Putrajaya Bowl. Some brought their boyfriends, husbands and children along and just like the first meeting, we never felt awkward with each other at all. We were like long-lost friends who had a hell of a good time. We had gifts-exchanging activities and later, dinner at Alamanda food court.
(Picture from left: Yantie, Ayn holding her daughter Aira, Suraya and boyfriend, me, Akma, Gigi, Zeeda, Mastura, Borhan)

Looking back, I have to say that I am glad that I clicked on to Yahoo! Answers (Malaysia). I had fun interacting (and quarelling also) and most of all, I made new friends.

What turns these sexual predators on?

I'm trying to find a logic here. How is it that a father can ever rape his own daughter? It seems that this sickening trend has been making waves and splashed all across the newspapers. Even after reading so many stories on them, I just still couldn't comprehend other than feeling utterly disgusted.

It was only recently that I read about a father who had sexually assaulted and raped his 16-year-old daughter since the girl was 12. The daughter would have suffered in silence if it wasn’t for her mother who had detected semen stains on the poor girl’s clothes and the confrontation with the daughter. The poor girl broke down and had to spill the truth to her mom even telling her that daddy had threatened her if she were ever to tell a living soul about his sick trysts with his daughter. Imagine if the mother hadn’t bothered to question her daughter. The father would have probably continue to rape her or worse, impregnate his own flesh and blood. Just like what happened to another teenager whose predicament was far beyond anyone’s imagination.

Now this girl was just like any other school-going teenager where having lunch with friends at the school court yard is interlaced with gossips and incessant drooling over the latest heart-throb. And when all her friends are practically running to the waiting school busses or screaming in joy towards their parents who have been patiently waiting to pick up their children from school, this teenage girl was dreading to go home. For what’s waiting for her at home is a sex predator waiting to devour the innocence out of this 15-year-old woman. And the beast is no other than her own father.

It was reported that the girl had been suffering in silence since she was 12-years-old. Her father, who is a 45-year-old lorry driver had probably started out by molesting his daughter before going out on a full fledged raping. And when his appetite grew stronger, he thought that it would be okay if he could share his daughter with his 52-year-old plumber friend. The father would repeatedly rape her in their house while his sick friend will do it at other locations.

Her predicament went on for another 3 years when she finally got pregnant. It didn’t say who impregnated her but she was well in her seventh month when the girl finally told her aunt about the whole saga. Imagine her aunts horror to learn that her brother or brother in-law had raped his own daughter and even shared her with his old friend. However shocked and disgusted the aunt was, it was nothing close to the trauma and pain that her niece had went through. Its sadder to gauge that the minor is now heavily pregnant planted by an unlawful, unwanted seed. Giving up school is one thing but the lifetime trauma that’s weighing on her is too much to bear. Even us adults find it difficult to comprehend such a situation, let alone for a young girl of 15.

This is not an isolated case. There are other similar cases which is even harder for us to digress. What do these sex predators see in their prey especially if the target is their own daughter? How can you ever get turned on by your own child? Even animals would go all out to protect its brood and yet we have people like these who thinks its some kind of a fetish, a kinky adventure of doing something that are against the norms.

Who’s to blame. Childhood upbringing? Porno DVDs? Drugs and alcohol? Or just plain sickos. Its no wonder that incest and child rapist get beaten up when they are locked up in jail. Even some hardcore criminals couldn’t condone such acts committed by these animals. Its about time that these sexual offenders get what they deserve as punishment: death.

There is absolutely no point of jailing them and nourish them with free taxpayers food. These are psychotic criminals and it is more than likely that they’ll do it again if they are released. I don’t give a hoot if a bunch of human rights activist screams in justice to abhor such punishment because if they do, I’ll shove them the young victims right in their faces and ask them if its right for these girls to live with the scars for their whole entire existence.

NEW CABINET LINE-UP IS NOT SO NEW

I was gluing myself to the news this evening eagerly to learn of the PM, Datuk Seri Najib spilling out the new cabinet line-up.

There was much brouhaha about who's in and who's out in the line-up. Every one was talking about it and I was not exempted from giving my own guess of who would be chosen and who would be kicked out. I was told that even punters out there were busy making a beeline at their usual joints, betting on who would take the position of a second Finance Minister and what not. Go to any mamak stalls and you're bound to eavesdrop on few conversations regarding Najib's so-called major overhaul. Great anticipation but little or no information. It was, by far, Najib's deliberate intentions. He wanted it to be discreet until the April 9 when he will disclose the much awaited news.

So there I was, glued myself to Buletin Utama with high hopes that this new PM can really awe the people with his so-called 'fresh faces' line-ups.

But I was left disappointed.

Only God knows what he meant by 'fresh faces'. All I see was the same old faces holding different positions. Except for the consolidation of few ministries, the line-up failed to awe me. I was surprised that Khairy Jamaluddin did not get any ministerial post despite the fact that he was chosen as the Youth Chief. So what if he was allegedly involved in money politics. Give me one politician who is clean from money politics and I'll show you what a tight slap means. Khairy (or KJ as he is fondly known) may be a bit cocky but let's not deny that Umno needs young guns in their administration. I am no fan of KJ but we can't overlook his presence in this funny world they call politics. His only mistake was making a hard entrance which just doesn't seem to strike the right chord to some 'veterans', minus the fact that he is the former PM's son-in-law so people have this notion that he was there because he was a somebody. But Hishamuddin Tun Hussein was a somebody also but did it matter to anyone? Truthfully, I rather bet my dime on KJ to lead than Hishamuddin.

*Sigh*

Anyhow... the cabinet line-up has been disclosed. KJ was sidelined. Even his deputy get to be a deputy minister. Even Mukhriz Mahathir gets a deputy minister's role despite the fact that he lost the Youth Chief seat to KJ. So it was a great surprise for me when KJ did not get any minister post at all. Either he's not qualified for it professionally or 'they' just hate him.

I guess we are still long way ahead towards the change that the government tirelessly shout about. To me, what change? Obama's change, yes. Our change? No. If change to them is recycling the same old faces albeit different ministerial post, then I think our government is retarding the nation's growth and should just stop yapping about change this and change that.

I reiterate... I am so bloody disappointed.

Rihanna: To come or not to come?

Hmm... it seems that another super duper concert might get cancelled. I'm talking about Rihanna's much awaited concert which was supposedly to kick off this Friday. The organisers says that its a mere postponement and urged ticket buyers to hold on to their tickets until further notice. But if you read the news about what happened to Rihanna and her abusive boyfriend Chris Brown, it's most likely that she would just had to cancel the whole thing off. She even cancelled her Grammy appearances what more with a concert in a country where she's probably not sure how to spell.

This is not the first case of international artists cancelling their appearances in this little country. If I can recall, David Copperfield had to cancel his show due to some alleged FBI investigations. Peter Cetera had to cancel his also due to reasons that we have no knowledge of. And who could ever forget the much publicised Kings of Tennis fallout? Mariah Carey almost axed herself from coming here all because the authorities asked her to dress decently. She came eventually but boycotted by wearing only one boring attire. Stupid ass... that's what she is. And now Ms Rihanna postponement? With a case she's in right now? I think cancellation is in the brink.

But for thousands of Malaysian fans out there who have been waiting for this golden moment, I hope Rihanna would do the right thing. Good thing I'm not into concerts and Rihanna otherwise I wouldn't be spared from the disappointment.

Ayo... not another election!

The state of Perak has fallen into BN's hands again....yadi yadi yada.... It's big news. I'd say it's huge. For some who only gave a wee blink to Malaysian politics will just consider the whole things as "duh" but for the other lot (me included) will probably spent the whole day at coffee shop talking about it incessantly.

I couldn't say that I'm glad of how things came out for Perak. Though I was not born in Perak, my parents are. I wish I don't have to take sides but somehow, we all know that the longevity of PKR's ruling over one of the largest state of the country is shortlived. The current MB is known more as a puppet than a ruler. His hands are tied and his movements are binded by his DAP counterparts. Nizar need not to deny this as even school children can tell that he can be quite an idiot himself. Poor guy but he should have known this coming and he was given the power to change both the state and himself when he was elected as the state's MB but he failed big time at doing so. You only get one big chance and he'd blew it.

But Nizar is the small issue here. The big one is the act of the 2 ADUN members who frogged out from PKR to BN. Then few others follow suit. Everyone smelled bribery but their actions has left the state's DUN to be short numbered thus a calling for disbandment and a new state general election is deemed necessary.

Again, this country will have to bear witness to another election. It seems that the March 8 last year's general election did not managed to put anyone at ease at all especially to the losing party, BN. We've just finished with Terengganu's by-election and BN lost again. And now Perak's election.

It seems that the government is busy raking power than focusing on the people's plight and the looming economic recession. People are losing jobs by the minute and crime is on the rise, but it seems that planting their seeds of power at every constituencies is more pivotal than the cries of the people.

This country has lost its glory that's for sure. Gone are the days when our fore fathers can think of nothing but to bring change and improvement to the country. They eat and sleep for the people. They fought and die for the people. But nowadays, things are shifting in reversal mode. The people have to fight and die for the leaders to be able to eat and sleep well.

I tell you folks, I have no bloody clue as to whom should I be casting my penny worth vote for the next general election. No freakin' clue...

REASONS TO CROAK ABOUT


Frogging is the new buzz in this small country called Malaysia. We are referring it to some MPs who thinks frogging is the new trend. Jumping from one party to another has not only becoming the fashion but is also creeping up on a lot of people's nerves. Especially to the loyal voters who have voted for their favourite rep only to be rewarded with a major disappointment.

I have to ask, what is it with this bunch of dimwits who calls themselves state reps? The idea is so very simple. You think you can change and improve your people's lives and so you signed up and later contested. People buy your story and thus voted for you HOPING that change will come as promised. Little did the poor people know, the politician jumped party just because few things doesn't come his way in his present part or most likely, he was bribed by the other party to join them. For whatever reason, only they themselves and God can only tell.

I'm beginning to feel that election is fast becoming useless so long this frogging persist. People's votes has been betrayed and don't blame us if we start to distrust our very own government. There's no such thing as chivalry in governance. When they talked about making frogging illegal, are they just croaking around or do they really mean it? It should be made illegal not for the party's integrity only but for the country's overall governance as a whole.

I'm beginning to feel that it was never about the people. It's about money and power.

And maybe they can add the award for who will be knighted as the slimiest toad in Malaysian political history.

Bush's Goodbye Gift

Here's what I think. I believe that Israel couldn't have chosen a better time to conjure up the demon in them when they invaded Gaza and kill innocent Palestinians along the way. However way you look at it, you just can't dismiss the fact that the demonic invasion points back to the Bush's administration. When Cheney repeatedly denied that Israel asked for their approval for the attacks, I'd say, bollocks! You see, the President-elect Barack Obama will take the seat on January 20 and this is what I think. I think that Israel decided to go all out and invade Gaza while Bush is still in power because they worry that Obama would exercise a different stance with the Jewish country and probably might quash their diabolical plans. In a way also this is probably Bush's way of saying goodbye. He has war under his legacy and it doesn't hurt to add one more and what better way than to have Israel as its idiotic proxy to do it. Bush has already lay the grounds for Israel after he had dismantled Iraq and killed Saddam and now Israel is safe to invade Gaza.



No one knows what Obama has in store when it comes to international relations. Including Israel I presume. So that's why the Zionist might as well go ahead with their long time yearning to oust and kill the Palestinians and invade Gaza altogether. Hamas was just a bystanding issue to legitimize the attacks. There's no point in pointing fingers to neither Israel nor the Hamas over who's the terrorist in this matter. If Hamas hadn't act on behalf of the Palestinians then I wouldn't know who would. The Arab league is dumb as usual while the OIC is just using its "oh-I-see" attitude. Maybe they are only good at throwing shoes.



I hope that Obama can do something to help the Palestinians for a change. Besides, who could ever forget the “Change We Need” motto which has garnered him incredible support from people across the United States and to which has secured him the President’s chair. Just make sure that the change just doesn’t stop in his home country but throughout the global economic and political avenue as well. And I’m hoping that he can bring change, if not peace for the Palestinians.



And to the Israel government… go to hell.

The Caring Government? NOT!

Okay, I never like to write anything about the hubbub of politics of this country but sometimes, you just can't help it. When the clock strikes 8pm, majority of Malaysians I'm sure, me not spared, will glue ourselves in front of the telly watching the news. Most of the times, its the same old lame news about the government kept telling us, the people whom they think are a bunch of idiots, about how blessed we Malaysians are with a government that cares and feel for the rakyat. They go on and on telling us about govt. subsidising this and subsidising that and to add salt to the wound, they start comparing us with other countries as if we, the people failed to count our lucky stars.

I'm talking mainly about the recent fuel hike. Like who doesn't. The whole world are practically fuming over the matter. So maybe we can't influence the world oil price which has ineveitably forced our govt. to mark-up the local oil price. The world knows that its the speculators that drive the price madly high, which has caused an immense panic throughout the globe. And our govt. are panicking like hell and as a result they passed it on to the innocent people. Not only the price hike was almost doubled, the manner in which it was implemented was sickening. The PM thought it was clever to raise the price immediately without ever thinking about the shock suffered by the people and the ugly consequences to all businesses. This issue may be just a ripple in the water for them as they need not worry at all forking their money from their silver pockets to pump fuel. But its a huge tsunami for the people who do not even own a silver fork to feed themselves with.

Malaysians are puzzled at one thing. We are an oil producing country and the oil giant, Petronas, has amassed billions of ringgit in profits, in and out of the country's shores. And we're not counting the profits made from their activities outside the country. Yet, the govt. are complaining about having to subsidise their own people who had gave up half of their income in taxes just to have it mismanaged later in the end. In the eyes of an ordinary laymen with ordinary thinking, if the govt. is so stuck up with the burden of subsidies and are crying poor, then how come the civil servants are getting more and more salary hike from this? To another extent, do the people really need another mega bridge to be build in Penang when the current bridge is doing a job well done? What about the Eastern Corridor when the the only corridor we knew i.e. the Multimedia Super Corridor is nothing next to failure? And Putrajaya, the no-budget-specified-city cum government administrative centre. Do we really need to spend public's money to build the PM's and Deputy PM's residence to look nothing short than than the Taj Mahal? I doubt that they even stay there most of the time.

The evidence of the mismanagement of public funds are everywhere and let's not talk about the corruptions in just about anything and everything. So when the PM cry foul over having to subsidise the people over and over again on primetime news and newspapers, the people are just fed-up to its limits. Why are they being too calculative with the people? Is it one of their sick jokes over their shameful defeat in the recent general elections? Haven't we Malaysians have done enough to enrich the nation. If the govt. loves comparing us with other countries, why don't they compare how the people of Malaysians continue to work hard in contributing to the building of the nation's wealth?

Maybe they do have a clever plan to calm the people down. Or so they thought. In the midst of the panic fog that clouds the people of this nation, the govt. had put down their tall hat and took out a rabbit by introducing the cash rebate system to compensate Malaysian drivers. It did managed to drop some jaws, but before we can stand up and give the govt. a big round of applause, we realised that it was just another clever hat trick. The rebate was a one off thing, not annually as we all had thought it to be. Tricked again? I say.

So, we Malaysians beg you. Stop preaching on how bright your halo is when you're sitting on a pile of dung. Give us something to chew on, not things that we puke over. By bragging on how the govt. really and truly cares for the people in a midst of an economic crisis, is nothing short than a great insult to our intelligence.

In Loving Memory of the late Princess Diana

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the whole world is still so much in love with the late Princess Diana. I'm responding to the cover on the latest Time Magazine (August 27, 2007) issue by Catherine Mayer on "Why Diana Mattered". I agree with the writer when she quoted on the front page, "Why Diana Mattered; Ten years after her death, a look at how the princess transformed a nation". If I could add, the princess had not only transformed the British nation but had also transformed the whole world particularly in matters pertaining to children afflicted with AIDS, famine, poverty and endangerment. I may sound like a manic fan of Princess Di, and to tell you the truth, I am (note the present tense) one of her great admirer, even after 10 years since her tragic departure. My own country has many princesses and I know none of their names and I don’t really care because none of them can ever match to the greatness and of what charitable Princess Diana has committed during her course of life as the princess.

There will be a third inquiry over her death even after being told that her death was a mere tragic accident. However, many people out there, especially the Britons could not rest the fact that the accident was an espionage which was immaculately planned to oust the princess.

Why do we love her so much? Personally, I think she carried herself as what true princess should be. We grew up reading stories about princesses with unmatched beauty and angels at heart. And this was how Princess Diana cast herself to be. So what if she has had dark secrets, who doesn’t? But at least she changed a lot of things, and these include the culture of the boring British monarchy. Rather than giving out boring speeches and visiting old folks home, Diana went through bizarre length as to jump into the fields and to show her genuine concern over the so many predicaments and sufferings of the people all over the world. Remember her at Angola land mines? Remember her kissing an African child suffering from AIDS? This is the true princess that the world wants to see.

Last but not least, I truly love, love, love her style. Simple, classy, elegant and so Diana. She epitomized the true definition of elegance. And she's what the paparazzi are crazy about. No matter what she does or what pose she gave, it's a work of art. I guess even if she was caught picking her nose, it will be plastered on every front page and people will still gawk at her. Just like the way people gawk at Princess Grace of Monaco long time ago, except that Diana has more brains and brawn plus the unmatched beauty, which is pity though that her former husband, the Prince Charles was too blind (way too blind) to see. Speaking of the devil, the Prince's decision to divorce her had made Diana more popular and powerful. Every people still looked up to her even after the divorce and forever considered her as Princess of Hearts. On the contrary, Prince Charles has descended into more of a frog. As Princess Diana once quipped, "I kissed a prince, and he turned into a frog". How true is that...

Princess Diana Biography
Fast Facts

Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, nee Spencer was born on July 1, 1961. She died on August 31, 1997.

She is most often referred to as "Princess Diana", but in actuality this is not her correct title. Diana, Princess of Wales is her proper title.

She was married to HRH The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales for 15 years.

She was mother of the second and third in line to the British throne, HRH Prince William of Wales and HRH Prince Henry of Wales. William's nickname is "Wills" and Henry uses the name "Harry".

She became one of the world's most photographed and popular celebrities. The public enjoyed her fresh outlook and down-to-earth attitude which she stayed true to throughout her life.

Humphrey Bogart was her 7th cousin.

She was a descendant of King Charles 1 of England.

She was an accomplished pianist and a daring and bold bridge player

Musings over David Blaine

I was tapping on to my laptop yesterday and David Blaine was on TV. I am of the opinion that this guy is not only a magician, but a very scary man. A twisted scary sort of man. He speaks in this low and whining voice and he always look so dark and sombre and sad. I've seen some of his street acts on TV a couple of times before and I realise that this guy is one hell of a complete weirdo who has this morbid sickening fascination with pain. He's more of a stuntman than he is a magician. Never mind that his magics are bizarre and perfect but he enjoys flirting with death by inflicting himself with many types of physical endurance stunt such as chaining himself for days in a tank of water, standing on pole on a frigid cold weather, etc.
I am one person who is so not into this type of stunts because it depresses me to see people who put themselves in such greater pain and enjoying it so much just to amuse other people. You know the age old caption of "Kids, do not try this at home"? Well here's a surprise, not only kids, but some no-brainer adults do imitate some of the bizarre and death defying acts shown on TV and I wish that he could just stick to his magic tricks.
I have nothing against this guy, he's one of a kind I'm sure, but watching him toying with pain doesn't amuse me. Life is harsh enough and to wallow on pain and championing it makes life even more miserable. If there is anything positive about the whole stunt thing is that he's proven that the mind does overcome matter if you focus on to what you're trying to achieve and work towards achieving it. Even if it means inflicting yourself with danger I guess. But most of all, I wonder if he's adequately and properly insured?

First Gwen, now Beyonce...

Oh wow...it's getting better and better. Gwen Stefani has not yet arrived and now we receive news that Beyonce is planning a concert right here in this small almost insignificant country. Beyonce is hot! Maybe hotter than Gwen and that's probably because Beyonce's gyrating hips and her trademark booty shakin' in those skimpy hot pants makes her the hottest female artist of the world. Anybody who is everybody knows who Beyonce is. You can't help but to notice her, she's everywhere from TV, news, female magazines, mens magazines (of course, why not eh?), internet, billboards, best dressed list, worst dressed list, etc.
I am no fan of Beyonce and I can hardly spend a minute listening to any of her musics but I love her style. Beyonce's has grown so much after her departure from Destiny's Child and it's high time that she split from the group, otherwise, her talents would have been overshadowed by being in a group. I would look at Beyonce as akin to Diana Ross during her hey days with the Supremes. Ms Ross stood out from the rest and everybody knew that she'll make it big as a solo artist and she has proven everybody right. And Beyonce did just the same, if not better.
I've always thought that Beyonce only appeals to the younger masses but I was wrong. Her musics, yes but her sexy demeanour and sexy performances and video clips has brought down many jaws of elder men and some, may drool over her. Believe me, I've seen an 80 year old man who can't take his already protruding eyes off Miss Beyonce while watching one of her video clips on MTV. If Beyonce would have performed anymore sexier, the old frail would probably be struck down with a major heart attack!
Beyonce has power and its not so much in her voice. Personally, I don't think she has a good voice and to categorize her as a diva is probably far fetched. She lacks the power punch which other Black American female singers such as Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys and even Jennifer Hudson has. I guess Beyonce has a certain aura that you just can't decipher and she charms people not only with her looks, but her versatility and stamina on stage and genuine choreography. And she's probably one of the very few artiste who has a special and close relationship with her mother who, by the way, designed most of Beyonce's clothes (with little success sometimes).
By the by, it's really an honour to have Beyonce performing here in Malaysia and hoping for more A-listers to perform in this country. I probably wouldn't hesitate to spend a fortune just to be at the front row of the stage so I can get a better view of Beyonce and probably collect her sweat as souvenir. But I'm such a concert-pooper and would just prefer to read the reviews from the local dailies.

Ghostly encounters

Why is it that so many people are into ghost stories? It's one question I should be asking myself also. Me, my mom and my brothers and sisters are into ghost movies and our all-time favourite is the original The Exorcist. Not the prequel or the sequel. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who would put this movie top on their charts of scary movies. I can never watch this movie alone because it'll haunt me in my sleep. The make-up, the movie effects are bone chilling and the scene where she floated horizontally in mid-air and the head turning thing has become a trademark.
So, going back to the question of why we are so fascinated by ghost stories? I am of the opinion that anything that has no logical explanation intrigues our thoughts more than seeing things objectively and with perspective. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that ghosts ever existed. And there are no real equipments that can tap into the spiritual realm. And because of that we tend to provoke our minds to become more creative and extremely imaginative as to how a ghost would and should look like. Try asking 5 people and I guarantee that 3 would come up with their own personal experiences of ghostly encounters.
I for one have had the experience of ghost encounters. I remember at one time, I think it was 10 years ago that I was stunned by a ghostly hello. I was alone in a store room at my workplace and was searching for something and let me remind you again that I was the only breathing human being in that dingy room. As I was standing in front of the giant shelves scanning for the items, I felt a slight chill and a wispy sensation through my neck. I have spent a good ten minutes in the room and it was until then Istarted to feel scared. I tried keeping cool and continue to eye the shelves before I started to realise, at the corner of my eye, someone or something was standing beside me. I could swear to God that no one was there when I first entered the room. It was near enough that I can hear the faint “oi!” coming from the figure. I know I couldn't look towards he figure and I grew numb all over. All I did was to continue staring at the shelves and tried blinking my eyes, but the thing was still there. By then, I couldn't recall what I was searching for on the shelves and before I could clear my thoughts, it started humming. A very slow hum and then it started to give a small chuckle. I knew that if I stayed there any seconds longer, this thing will start shrieking and laughing and will do whatever in its spriritual power to make me wet my pants.
I tried to catch my breath and slowly turned my back against the figure and ran towards the door, still have enough courage to lock it behind me, and ran and ran to my work unit. I had spoken to no one about it except to the storekeeper which he later confirmed that the room is haunted. There was a CCTV camera installed in the store room and he said he’ll try to coax the security for the footage. A week later, the storekeeper called and told me that he saw the footage and confirmed that I was alone in the room and the only activity caught was me staring at the shelves and running towards the door. After hearing this, part of me was delighted because after all the numerous stories about ghost encounters, I finally had my fair share of paranormal encounters. But a large part of me was laden with curiosity. Who or what was this thing and where did it come from? Was it something that my mind had conjured it or was it a real ghost? Was it a loose spirit or more of a demonic being?
It’s one issue that we can’t exactly put a finger on to it. We hear plenty of stories and experiences by people who have had their paths crossed with the spiritual realm. Each story is unique and the truth of it is held solely by the teller. But that’s the best thing about ghosts isn’t it. Not knowing whether it is real in life as it is real in mind. Is it true that some people are able to communicate with the ghosts? These are some of the questions raised by a lot of people but I guess that by not given the answer is what kept the mystery alive. It is one thing in life (apart from the existence of aliens and Santa Claus) that has never fail to amuse our thoughts and I feel that it’s best that we keep the mystery alive. So keep the ghost stories rolling!

The Agony of Catching the Bug

This is my second day of feeling under the weather and speaking of the weather, it's been pretty harsh with sunny and humid at one second and then it's wet and windy the next. I've runny nose with a very sore throat which makes swallowing so painful as if I'm swallowing gravel. I'm not sure whether I should blame the weather or germs that I contracted from my numerous journeys around the city.
It seems like ages ago when falling sick was very infrequent and it was one thing I was hoping to get so that I can skip school. I remember putting myself in many sorts of conditions just to get the fever such as dancing in the rain, swimming and drinking cold drinks, or even tried strenous activities, but rather than getting sick, I became healthier. And when I finally catch the bug, I felt more happier than miserable.
But not these days... getting sick was more frequent and much, much more unbearable, and this is just a misery associated with tiny rise of temperature that any child can bear. I thought that with my constant defense of multi-vitamins and plenty of water can send the doctor away, but the germs nowadays are getting stronger and stronger and found its way of mutating according to the weather and lifestyle. It'll only take one poor being coughing in the same elevator you're in and hey presto, you're all sniffing and coughing the next day to work. The snuff and coughs is one thing, it's the other anatomical effect such as the throbbing headaches and blank mood that makes passing through the day a living hell. The only good thing about coming to work being sick is that we are allowed to look as miserable as we want to and that people tend to pity you more. They even dare not give you the second look because you're not wearing a single make-up. And it's also the time when suddenly, you get a lot of advice and home-made recipes for speedy healing.
They say that once the flu gets to you, there's not much else to do than a good rest and plenty of water. Minus the much deserved rest, I do try to take plenty of water and it helps a bit with the sore throat but that's so much that it can do. My doctor would like to give me the jab, along with other prescriptions but I'm trying not to push my liver into an overdrive. Part of me is so tempted into taking the short cut by swallowing all kinds of chemicals but another part of me are into healing the slower traditional way. You know, like ingesting chicken soup and porridge and what not. Whichever way, this is one tough bug I'm fighting and it will continue to persevere and try to hang on to my poor system as long as its tiny killing nucleus can take.
Like everyone else, I guess I'll just have to endure this virus for a few more days before I can jumpstart to feeling normal, before the next bug attack (and my guess would be the next two months). My mom says that the more you age, the slower it is for us to recover from sickness. But I prefer putting the blame on the weather, and the poor bloke I shared the elevator with the other day than poking on to my age as the factor... it's kinder that way.

New Kid on Da Block

We've just hired a new kid to assist us in the day to day running of the bookstore. It's a she and well... I think (or rather I hope) that she can do well. I am one employer who doesn't believe in conjuring up all kinds of hell just to make my staff's life a living nightmare. But this girl is a safe bet probably due to the fact that she looks like the girl next door. I've had few candidates whose looks can be such a put-off and that's important because first impression is a lasting impression. I need to have a certain level of trust particularly when this person will be handling cash sales. It's almost like gambling and taking risks, which explains why close circuit cameras are are fast becoming a must haves nowadays.
To train a new staff can be very very tiresome. There's the briefing on the remuneration scheme, which usually never fails to create a knot on their brows. And then the never-ending subject about the products, pricing, regulations, customer satisfaction, yadi yadi yada... And the next thing you know, that'll be the last time you see them. This is the dilemma that I've been forced to swallow everytime a post is made for the "lower" ranking positions. I know I can't be expecting too much from a candidate who later learned that their would-be salary is much less to be desired. But then again, I couldn't be offering a fortune for just a job of arranging books on the shelves. My friend once said, "if you give peanuts, you'll get monkeys" and in my case, monkey it is. Who says you can't train a monkey...?
But I'll give this new girl a break and hopefully she'll persevere. It's only her first day and it's way too early to judge her. At this time of writing, it has been her 6 hours of working and lets just hope that she'll make another appearance for tomorrow. Otherwise, it'll be another monkey...

Gotta love Sir Branson for this...

I picked up my Saturday newspaper and the picture of Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, clad in full traditional Malay attire, equipped with a "tanjak" or headdress, usually worn by Malay warriors and Sultans (Man, I love this guy!)
How many of our Malay rulers would wear a "tanjak" in any ceremony and the number you'll get is close to nil. This piece of headdress, which is worn mainly by the Sultans comes in a variety of forms and each state of the country will carry its own unique knots such as this one which is a national "tanjak" for the Sultan of the Perak Region;
The one worn by Sir Richard Branson was the basic "tanjak" and judging from his complete attire, it looks as if his wardrobe advisor copied ones of the Perak sultanate.
After seeing this picture, I have great respect in this guy who obviously went through a lot of effort and guts to appear in such garb, which by the way, receives great applause from the crowd. I'm sure all Malaysians would grow to love and admire Sir Branson because of this. It's funny that none of our rulers (except the Sultans) are bothered to acknowledge our own traditional costume. The African delegates for instance are never short of shame to put on their full traditional attire while attending official events in any country. Same as the Arabs. Well, we do have the batik shirt but boo... we will probably be mistaken with the Indonesian delegates who wears it better (not to mention that its the original batik!).
I'd like to see our government officials start wearing this full attire, with the "tanjak" to official ceremony because I don't see why they should shun from wearing full traditional attire, because if we do not, then who else would? Sir Richard Branson I assume...

No black tie please...its Gwen Stefani!

Gwen Stefani is coming to Malaysia!! Yey!
I don't know how that would affect me because I don't really fancy her music but for the sake of so many Malaysians, it's about time that an A-list superstar will perform for us. We have had Mariah Carey before but that was a time when her star stopped shining so bright. Lionel Ritchie was here also but, hmmm...he's alright but it doesn't appeal to the masses, at least not in this part of the world. Besides, the tickets for his show were ridiculously expensive in which I don't see the reason for such a blatant pricing for a seasoned ex-Commodores star (no offence). And oh, Engelbert Humperdink I hope I got the spelling correct) will be performing, for the second time. Singing the same old song... We also had to witness such embarrassment when the Surpremes wannabe and lookalikes rendering their talents (Omigod! What were the organisers thinking?) And then there was this boy band, Blue or something...
But Gwen...now that's something. Again, I'm no Gwen fan but my niece is head over heels over her. She's only 11 and I was surprised to learn that she can practically sing most of Gwen's songs without spending as much time as she would in reciting her multiplication tables. But, you see, that's Gwen's appeal. She appeals to the masses, young and old, American and non American.
If there's one thing that I do notice (and who doesn't eh) about Gwen, is her flirty clothes and attire. It could have taken the poor girl hours (or seconds) to put on such garbs. But no matter how silly, it looks good on her and only Gwen can pull it off.
I won’t be joining the screaming crowds though even if the tickets are free. Concerts are so not my thing unless if its the real BeeGess or Abba or Barbra Streisand, then I might be tempted. But I’m sure that Gwen will deliver her usual blast and energy that she’s so good at. And I certainly hope that Gwen will have a good stay, good time and good performance in this little country. She was adored in Japan and I strongly believe that Malaysians will too. Have a good time at the concert people and please, behave yourself, and be back by 11pm. Nah, just kidding.

Barring Entry for War-torn Countries

The Taliban group has done it again. This time, abducting 21 South Koreans as hostages in exchange for the release of their fellow prisoners. To make matters worse, they already started killing 2 of the hostages and I'm not convinced that more of the hostages lives will be spared (touch wood).
This is a Catch-22 situation for the Afghanistan authorities. If they bow to the rebels' demands of releasing the Taliban prisoners, it means that they are actually signing their own death certificate. If these prisoners are released, they will not sit still and repent their past actions. Further terror against the government will be plotted and more killings will follow. However, by not bowing to the demands will result into more deaths of the innocent South Koreans.
I’m no politician and it is rare that I usually voice out my thoughts on matters such as these. But I can't help but to be angered at some people, or groups who does not seem to understand the greater risk they put themselves into by visiting war-torn countries such as that of Afghanistan. At times like these, no peacekeeping or relief programmes will do much good as long as these rebels are not apprehended. This does not mean that I am being selfish and ignorant to the plight of the so many people out there that requires every bit of help from blessed nations. But if one does not mind putting oneself in a gun-point situation, maybe they should think about the bargains being put forward in replace of the hostage's safety. Most of the times, the captors will use their captives for some bargain that are so absurd that it'll put the local authorities in difficult situation. And this is the situation that the Afghan authorities are dealing with.
I feel for the hostage’s families who are extremely distraught and the world is praying hard for their safety and release. The clock is ticking fast and the Afghan government is forced to resolve this extremely delicate matter in so little time whilst contemplating the assistance of the American government and their military intervention. Whatever their next course of action shall be, the hostages’ lives are compromised and the Taliban captors’ patience is wearing thin. In the meantime, I hope that anybody who does not have a death wish, forbid from going to places like these or the world will have to endure another video clip of hostages reading out pleas of help and impossible bargains at gun point. These rebels cared nothing about other people's lives and as long as we still love ours, be alert about the places we visit by considering the political environment and social unrest if any.

The Beckhams Posh Entry

Los Angeles has a new neighbour and its the Beckhams. There's so much brouhaha over their arrival that even poor Paris Hilton attempted to share the limelight by inviting Victoria (aka Posh) to become her BFF (personally, Posh was right to diss the offer).
Anyway, back to Mrs Beckham. It seems that this self-professed Posh has been stealing all the glamour surrounding the real reason of them emigrating to America in the first place i.e. David Beckham joining the Galaxy. One can either hate her or love her. And if this lady finds it so hard to put up a smile, give it a rest okay. I'm sure she has a valid reason to look so smuggish and besides, she looks ugly smiling. It's her trademark (along with the fake chocolate tan) and lets just leave it like that.
As much as the constant uptight look that she's been wearing with uber success, one cannot deny that this lady works so hard to keep her family together, albeit David's naughty scandal with Becky Loos. With three growing boys and a husband who's busy kicking balls, Victoria is taking it with elegant stride and I admire her for that.
You may ask that, why on earth am I writing about the Becks? No idea. I just happen to read the newspaper and the picture of Posh in a striking pink dress waving to whoever she's waving at just ticks me. I don't say that I like or loath her. It's just that reading about them on the prints makes the day seem brighter, especially when the news are flanked with children dying, war in Iraq and Hillary Clinton's cleavage.
Most of all, I'm sure the Americans are eagerly awaiting to see the what difference will David Beckham bring to Galaxy and to the whole American football scenario which we hear so little about. And what will be Posh's plans to further boost her regal presence in the country but whatever it is, I just hope, that it will have nothing to do with her jumping into acting. Or singing.

"Whammo! Black Eye".

I bought this book with the intention as agift for my friend. After browsing through the jokes, I decided to keep it for myself. This book has 470 pages of jokes that'll sure make you fall off your seat laughing. This is one of my favourites:
John saw Bob in the pub. Bob had a black eye.
"What happened?" asked John.
"Well," said Bob, "I was in church last Sunday, and we stood up to sing a hymn. I noticed that the dress on the woman in front of me had caught up into the crack of her bum. I thought to myself, that will be uncomfortable when she sits down, and it wouldn't look good for her to be squirming on the seat in church. So I reached forward and pulled the fods of her dress out from where it was caught. She turned around and slugged me, whammo. Black eye."
"Some people have no gratitude," opined John.
The following week they meet again. Bob's other eye is blackened.
"Not that woman in church again?" asked John.
"Sure was," replied Bob. "Same deal. We stand up to sing a hymn and her dress is caught in the crack of her bum. Only this time it's the guy next to me who pulls it out."
John asks, "And did she think it was you and slug you for it?"
"Oh no. You see, I knew that she didn't like her dress being pulled out of her bum, so I tried to poke it back again. Whammo. Black eye."