Tuesday, February 27, 2007

A strange dream.....

A few nights ago, I have a dream. I dreamt that I was standing in the front row of an assembly of men and women in the compound of a monastery awaiting the passing away of a frail looking old monk, perhaps, a Buddhist monk. I observed that the old monk was on a wheel chair, he was wheeled into his private room. Moment later, one of the monk assistant emerged from the private room with the empty wheel chair. On the seat of the empty wheel chair is a parcel wrapped in a piece of cloth. The wheel chair was wheeled in front of the assembly of men and women. The monk's assistant announced the meditative death of the monk, he then proceed to handover the parcel to me.

Immediately after I received the parcel, I woke up. Funny thing is, in the middle of the night, I actually saw a momentary yellow light glowing in my palm. I put on my reading glasses, but the yellow light disappeared. Hmm.... my poor eye sights is doing trick on me again... But anyway, I did felt a moment of strange contentment and peace. Perhaps, some unknown subconscious fears in me has been liberated.

What could the dream implied ? Should I go back to finish reading my Buddhism texts which I abandoned few months ago ? Well, I told myself, the guilt of not finishing what I started previously, is getting on my nerve again. I will find times to start the momentum again, I will. Yes, I will, immediately after I sort out some personal and business issues in the office. I guess the dream is only an escapism to relax my increasingly congested and corrupted mind.

After the "dreamy" incident, a few of my friends actually told me that they noticed a slight change in my appearances. They told me my face glows radiantly ! I am not sure what causes it. Maybe the glows are attributed to my recent "sea minerals" therapy. Maybe, maybe the old monk in my dream had spiritually enlightened me................. Ahhhh... wouldn't it be nice if the old monk can also enlightened me with precognitive knowledge of my habitat and future ? Dream on baby ! Sweet dreams are made of these habitual mental masturbations.....

Monday, February 26, 2007

Thou sahll be sharked....


After one week of Chinese New Year breaks, it is back to office to work..........

What greeted me was lots of loan sharks' stickers messily sticking at the main entrance of the office, mailbox, and all the visible places near the entrance. And, my mailbox is full of photocopied pamphlets and name cards of credit companies and loan sharks offering short term loans with enticing packages. Perhaps, they are all illegal loan sharks.

It is amazing to note that, these loan sharks or credit companies have no sense of respect at all for other people's properties. Their indiscriminate pasting of promotional materials with strong adhesives not only defaced the paintwork of the buildings, but also show their glaring disregards for laws and orders. There have been too many sad cases of loan shark causing social ills, but it seemed, the number of illegal loan sharks or immoral credit companies are on the increased. I wondered, why the authorities always claimed that they are not able to stop the illegal loan sharks' menaces. After all, the loan shark always advertised their contact telephone numbers and names. Why can't the enforcement officials of the authorities call the contact numbers, make appointment with them, and nabbed them on the spot ? Lack of manpower from the authorities ? Come on, we have the ratio of ONE civil servant to TWENTY SIX citizens ! If certain authorities have all the time worry about and devising scheme to hunt down unmarried couples enggaging in close proximity acts, why can't they spend a little bit more times to pay a little bit attentions to address this illegal loan sharking menances ? Is it less sinful to allow loan sharks to break up families and causing loan defaulters to commit suicides ?

"Wanting to take a loan from the banks but not qualified ? Don't worry, we are also not qualified !" This seemed like the arrogant catch words of the loan sharks. Any takers ?

Friday, February 23, 2007

The real-life "Rain Man"

Remember the character of Raymond babbitt played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1988's Oscar winning movie of "Rain Man" ? The character was inspired by the real life 55 years old Kim Peek. Kim Peek's brain has only one hemisphere compared to a normal brain that has two.

He was born in November 11 1951, and was diagnosed as mentally retarded at birth. He was not able to walk until the age of 4 but was gifted with the ability to read at age 2. He can read left page with left eye and right page with right eye simultaneously with astounding speed of eight pages in 53 seconds. He read as many as 8 books a day and is able to retain 98% in memory.

Kim also has unbelievable photographic memories. He knows detailed histories of all countries, knows every USA president's birth date, death, and history of their life. He knows all the words in every Shakespearean play. He can also recalled thousand of zip codes, phone codes, dates, facts, and figures. When attending a symphony, he knows every note of the music and knows whether a musician makes a mistake.

According to his aging father, Fran Peek, "Kim is not behaviorally autistic. He has a warm, loving personality. He truly cares for people and enjoys sharing his unique skills and knowledge capacity. Known as 'Kimputer' to many, his knowledge-library includes World and American History, People and Leaders, Geography (roads and highways in U.S. and Canada), Professional Sports (baseball, basketball, football, Kentucky Derby winners etc), the Space Program, Movies and movie themes, Actors and Actresses, the Bible, Mormon Church Doctrine and History, Calendar Calculations (including a person's day of birth, present year~s birthday, and the year and the date the person will turn 65 years old so he or she can retire), Literature/Authors, Shakespeare, Telephone Area Codes, major Zip Codes, all TV stations and their markets. He can identify most classical music compositions and tell the date the music was written and the composer's birth date and place of birth and death. Kim has read (and can recall) some 7600 books. He also keeps current on world, U.S. and most local events by reading newspapers, magazines and by listening to the media. He reads constantly. He can also describe the highways that go to a person's small town, the county, area code and zip code, television stations available in the town, who the person's pay their telephone bill to, and describe any historical events that may have occurred in their area. His expertise includes at least 14 subject areas."

Kim has travelled extensively with his aging father to share his skills, about human brain's potential, and the the message on respect for differences in others. His message to the people in the world is "Learning to recognize and to respect differences in others and treating them like you want them to treat you will bring the peace and joy we all hope for. Let's care, share - be our best!"

A person with "mental retardation" going around the world spreading message of goodwills and love, while perfectly healthy human beings invoking the name of God to glorify message of deaths, intolerances, and hatreds !

God does indeed has a very funny sense of humors ! Why are people born with differences ? Is autistic savant a form of mental retardation or special gift ? Come to think of it, human perception is at times, scary. Will we ever be able to accept the differences we are born with, with dignity and love ? For more information on Kim Peek, please visit HERE and HERE .

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Unmarried lovers beware.....

Is it crime to being in love with each other and remained unmarried ? Apparently it is in the eyes of some self righteous "moralled" minority. But it is not a crime to carry out murders of innocent people in God's name ! What a contradiction ! Progressively, we are living on the seventh day where we glorify deaths but not love.

The Trengganu state government claimed to have devised an "ingenious" plan whereby a voluntary squad of spies are recruited to tip off the religious department for immoral activities. The state's Islam Hadhari & Welfare Committee Chairman, Rosol Wahid, said waitresses and janitors maybe recruited to act as undercover spies for the religious department. These spies would also be engaged to keep surveillance at parks and secluded areas to "monitor" dating couples in "close proximities". The janitors and waitresses will be rewarded for their tip-off. I guess, if Anna Nicole Smith, who once worked as a waitress, is still alive today, she will probably offer her service to help Rosol curb immoral activities in that immoral land of his. Why not also engage the GRO, prostitutes, and Gigolos to be part of the snoop squad ?

In this land of opportunity, maybe it is a good idea to migrate to Trengganu and work part time as a snooper. What better way to enjoy my life, getting paid by the religious department for my pervert ism of peeping and snooping on couples in love. By the way, I just wonder whether I can gain a few extra credit points from God by being part of the snooping squad.

Holding hands is a crime, being sexy is a crime, close proximities is a crime, kissing is a crime, and we even proposed a "same sex" discos, etc. What are we trying to promote ? gayism and lesbianism ? In the eyes of God or Gods, is it really a sin for couples to show affections and engage in act of love ? I rolled my eyes and shaked my head in disbelieve that in this times of modernity, we actually have people out there trying to impose their misguided morality on others based on inappropriate glorifications of outdated lifestyles.

Between two consenting adults, if they want to conduct illicit sexual acts in private, it is their own private affairs. By snooping and ridiculed the consenting adults, what farting morality are we trying to propagate ? Don't we have better things to do then infringing on lifestyles of others and imposing on them our misguided righteousness ? Narrow minded and mentally congested people never seemed to know their limits and are always incapable of having a reasonable mind to mind their own businesses.

To the likes of Rosol, let me tell you what is sinful and immoral. Illegal drugs addiction and distribution, lack of infrastructures, lack of maintenance of public amenities, rape, incest, corruption, robbery, murder, unemployment, religious fanaticism, racism, etc. are sinful and immoral. Aren't the administration suppose to pay more attentions in these areas ? Where is the priority ? Please show us your efficiencies, productivities, and ingeniousness as government servants to combat these crimes. Trying to divert attention to couples in love and blame them for all the social ills made you a hero and champion of morality ? It merely reflect to me a brain that is full of protein deficient protoplasm echoing stupidities trying to gain recognition. Please, please, be secular in your thinkings and strategic posture, and mind your own business. What other people do in private is their private affairs, stop farting your misguided religiosity and morality on others.

With all due respect, who among us are not sinners ? Let those who commit no sin casts the first stone......

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Happy Chinese New Year 2007

Chinese New Year, also known as Spring festival, is celebrated on the first day of the first lunar month. For 2007, the first day falls on 18th February 2007. The celebration lasts for 15 days, and it will be celebrated by more than 1 billion Chinese all over the world. The 15th day is known as Chap Goh Meh (十五晚). A few days prior to Chinese New Year, Chinese, usually from urban areas "migrate" to their parental homes in the kampungs. In Malaysia, the migration begin on Friday, where Chinese rush home to to get ready for a sumptuous and elaborate Chuxi/s (除夕) or New Year Eve's family reunion dinner.

No insensitivity is intended to my Muslim friends. This year, 2007, is the year of the PIG. I know PIG is haram in certain religion. But the Chinese has been grading the new years with animal signs for the past 4704 years. I do sincerely hope all those religious apology seekers and grievance seekers out there can observe the sensitivity and basic decency to respect this cultural celebration and refrained from imposing their perverted religious opinions.

I shall be taking a good rest, this blog will not be updated during the Chinese New Year Celebration. In the mean time, to all the Hokkien, I would like to wish you "COCK Hee Huat Chai". To all the Cantonese, "Kong Hei FUCK Choi". To all the bananas (yellow outside, white inside), "Happy Chinese New Year". To all the Chitan ( white outside, yellow inside), "Gong Xi FART Chye"

Xing nien tau..... xing nien tau.... Tong tong Chiang.... tong tong Chiang.... tong Chiang, tong Chiang... Gongxi gongxi nie yah...... gongxi gonxi nie yah......

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

No hold bra.....


Sometimes I do wonder why men are so fascinated with women boobs. Craving for childhood's hungers ? To a country bumpkin like me, a woman body is unique and a piece of art by the Almighty. It doesn't really matter whether a woman has a pair of big or small boobs, they are all beautiful boobs! And sometime, it can even drive me into great achievement of stupidities !

A survey in Europe by Triumph International, one of the world largest bra manufacturer, revealed that British and Denmark women have the biggest breasts size. The survey found that 57% of the British women and 50% Danish women weared bra with the cup size of D. Sweden and Switzerland have the largest number of women with cup size of A. The Italian and Austrian women has the smallest boobs with 69% and 61% respectively having cup size of B and below. All these sizes of cups are getting very confusing for ignorant man like me. But for the time, let make it simple, size A is small and Size D is super BIG. But is there a standard cup size that fits all ? Yes, I think so. It is called the World Cup.

I was once also told that, there are religiosity associated with bra types. For example, there are the Catholic, the Salvation Army, the Presbyterian, and the Baptist types. The Catholic type supports the masses; The Salvation Army type lifts the fallen; The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright; and the Baptist type makes mountains out of mole-hills.

In Malaysia, what is the average cup size for Malaysian women ? I don't know. You know ? But it is safe to assume that some Malaysian men are so religiously righteous that the mere sights of a worn out bra can drive them into orgasmic irrationality spewing religious obscenities. But again, depend on which states you are in, you could even end up being fined for indirectly exposing your sexy bra. It is haram as in HARAM... you know...So let us observe some sensitivity to these self righteous religious perverts by not speculating about cup sizes of their women. They probably believe that their women's cup size of A is bigger than Mount Kinabalu.

Hmm.... what is the problem with me ? getting so obsess with the bra but not paying attention to the breasts ! Are we being unconsciously indoctrinated with the wholesome goodness of American's bra ? Big & snappy, One yank and it is off ? hmmmm... sinfully declicious.... Forget about the bra, what the bra holds can kill you....... didn't your mother told you not to judge a book by its cover ?

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Is it okay for me to fart also ?

Tun Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, praised the Iraqi insurgents for their roles in the Iraq's conflicts. He deliver the words of encouragement to the insurgents on February 7th 2007 where he convened an ALTERNATIVE War Crimes Tribunal to fight for 'justices" for abused victims in Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon. In respond to Mahathir's forum, the Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, said Mahathir is FREE to express his views as citizen of Malaysia because "This is a free and democratic country and it's very nice to see freedom being exercised"

How nice to have a former senior politician from Malaysia wanting to fight for INJUSTICES in the world. I am indeed deeply touched by Mahathir's passions to fight for justices for NON MALAYSIANS, and Syed Hamid's assurances of allowing Malaysians to exercise FREEDOM OF EXPRESSIONS.

Wow, what a noble gesture and intention ! But, before we start beating our chests, looked and commented on other countries' backyards. Why not for a start, Mahathir champions a Domestic Human Rights Crimes tribunal in Malaysian to fight for equality and justices for all Malaysians first ? Why not initiate actions to identify, shame, and prosecute racial pariahs, grievances seekers, and rent seekers in Malaysia ? These good deeds of championing equality, justices, and human rights in Malaysia will gain him more domestic and international respect and score more credit points from GOD. Our words in international arena should be consistent with our actions domestically. Otherwise, we will always end up being viewed as international pariahs by civilized societies.

I have limited political knowlege of the Middle East. But, ONE fact I do know, those warring parties in Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine are always perpetually at wars with each others and among themselves, where all the parties always claimed God is on their sides, and they always potrayed themselves as the aggrieved parties. Let us as Malaysians have the moral impartiality of not getting involved in other countries affairs where we have no knowledges. And, I believed we will never be able to understand the madness there. So, let us not be blinded by our misguided hatreds or biases to blindly take side and indirectly become a guilty party that encourages more violences in that lands of perpetual warfares.

By being influenced by our misguided biases to take side will eventually perpetuates and encourages the warring parties to commit more violences. And, let us not put ourselves in the vicious cycles of violence begetting more violences. Malaysia, as a signatory of the charter of United Nations should allow and support United Nations' effort to manage the middle east's conflits there. So, I guess we do need to behave in accordance to our commitment to the charter of United Nations and not let emotional comic strips behaviors influencing our moral objectivities. If we think the United Nations is incapable of implementing fair international justices, then we should have the moral courages to withdraw our membership in the United Nations. Otherwise, keeping our mouths shut and refrained from biases would be much appreciated by the civilized world.

Another War Crimes Tribunal ? Fighting for injustices and inequalities in other part of the world ? Please lah, let's us practiced what we preached in our domestic affairs first before we ventured outside the country with perceived inappropriateness.

It is insensitive to celebrate Valentine's Day ?

Bernama, the Malaysia's national news agency reported that, the Deputy Chairman of Trengganu's Islam Hadhari Development Committee, Muhammad Ramli Nuh, has advised Muslims not to celebrate Valentine's Day. According to him, St Valentine is an enemy of Islam because he once conducted warfare against Islam in Spain. He also advised "hotels to be sensitive to the religious beliefs of the people" and asked that celebration of Valentine's Day not to be allowed in hotels also.

Celebrating Valentine's Day is now also going to be considered as being insensitive to the religious beliefs of "other" people ? Well, what else can I say ? and honestly, I do not wish to say anything or made any comment that may unnecessary caused insensitivity to a sensitive man like Muhammad Ramli. But, would it be too much of a asking to ask Muhammad Ramli to respect "other" people's rights to celebrate Valentine's Day and other traditional events ?

The mighty imperial armies of Japan once invaded Malaysia and caused unparalleled miseries to Malaysians during the second world war. But, the Malaysian government did have a good bilateral and trade ties with Japan after the war. Because, the Japanese are hardworking, disciplined, and honest people, as a result, Malaysia, in general benefited from the Japanese's investments in Malaysia. So going by Mohammad Ramli's logic, are we also going to treat the Japanese as enemy of Malaysia ?

Come to think of it, this coming Chinese New Year is the Year of the PIG. So, whether we like it or not, the next 12 months is going to be under the shadow of the great Pig. And, I know, Pig is haram in Islam ! I have a dilemma here, if I celebrate this coming Chinese New Year, would I be viewed as being insensitive to Mohammad Ramli's religious beliefs also ?

So Mohammad Ramli, you see, instead of you demanding respect and sensitivity to your religious beliefs. For a start, why not you learn to show some respect and sensitivity to other people's religious and cultural needs. Please try to understand, Malaysians are friendly people with moderate and accommodative religious upbringings. So, let's not rock the boat and cause disharmony with your self centred understanding of history and religion. Please try to have a bit of self respect for yourself and maybe a little bit more mutual respect for each other.

I respect your right not to celebrate Valentine's Day or any other traditional events that are deemed not suitable to your religious teachings. But, would you be equally righteous enough to respect my rights to celebrate traditional, cultural, and religious events ? Practice what you preached, and let your actions be consistent with your word.

I shake my head......

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is not part of our Malaysians' culture. But whether we like it or not, commercialism and influences of western culture has made this banana shaped little potato country of the east increasingly westernly inclined. Malaysian women loved to be valued, appreciated and be reminded of their worths on this special day of February ! When a Malaysian woman said she is not that particular about Valentine's day, be very careful about her deceiveful orientation ! This is basically a very intricate oriental behavior of communicating otherwise to test a man's sensitivity towards a woman needs.

If you think it is okay to skip Valentine's Day and make it look like any ordinary day because she said so, then you are in for a big emotional surprise. Hello, which woman has no wish to be pampered with gift and love on Valentine's Day ? So, when your wife or girlfriend told you she is not expecting any Valentine's Day's gift, be very afraid and insure your life by showering her with all the gifts and attentions you can afford. You simply need to meet her hidden expectations of commercial goods consumerate with her self worth. Otherwise, you may end up living the rest of the year in misery and sarcasms. Forget about your daily prayer to God. God is more forgiving ! The wraths of a woman are more scarier than you can imagined. The person who came up with the idea of celebrating Valentine's Day ought to be shot. I would love to put a bullet through between his legs.........

So, you macho guys out there, please remember the date, it is February 14th 2007 ( Wednesday ). It is okay to impress the woman you love with your sensitivity and shower her with commercial gifts. I don't know much about women, but one thing i do know, women love men's stupidities. So what I am going to do on Valentine's Day ? Maybe, just maybe, I might take a day off, serve her breakfast with my specially brewed hot aromatic black coffee, eggs and sausages on the bed......

Happy Valentine's Day....

In the year of the pigs......

Friday, February 09, 2007

'till death do us part ?

Archaeologists have discovered a pair of human skeletons lie in embrace at the Neolithic archaeological site near Mantova, Italy. Elena Menotti, who led the team of archaeologists, said the skeletons is believed to be a man and woman and have been buried there for 5000 to 6000 years. Test will be carried out to determine their sex, age at time of death, and how long they have been buried.

An eternal love ? Well, Italians are famed to be great lovers and romantically inclined.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

This baby is Big !

A healthy huge size baby, Antonio Vasconcelos, was born on early Monday, Jan. 29, 2007 by Caesarian section in Cancun, Mexico. He weights 6.4kg (14 lbs) and 55cm (22 inches) in length at birth. His weight doubled the weight of average newborn babies. He is now the new sensation in this resort town of Cancun, where residents have been crowding the ward to have a glimpse of him. Antonio's mother, Teresa Alejandra Cruz, 23, had also previously gave birth to a 11.46kg girl seven years ago ( at the age of 16 ?). However, Antonio is not the biggest baby in the world. According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest baby was a boy born in Aversa, Italy, in September 1955 weighing 22 pound 8 ounces.

What special diets did the mother observed to deliver such huge size baby ? Too much chili, tortilla chips, pepper, tabasco, and taco ? I am amazed how did the mother manage to carry such heavy weight for 9 months without breaking her back and bones. Well, miracles do happen in the land of speedy Gonzales.... Ariiiiivaaaaa.... Ariiivooooo..... and OOoopppp, here come Super Tonio !

Congratulation for the BIG size baby... May you have another bigger baby soon to break the Guinness World Records.

A prayer for a friend.....

God,
grant me your blessing
to transfer this healing energy
to a dear friend of mine.

God,
depart from her the workers of evils.
Grant her
your steadfast love, blessing, and protection.

God,
restore to her
the soul, courage, and determination
to endure and overcome the illness.

God,
empower the physicians
with the skills, wisdom, and knowledge
to restore health to her.

God,
the almighty divine healer,
I seek you now
for your blessings and empowerments.
Please accept this humble prayer for healings.

The reunion

I went back to Taiping last weekend to attend a King Edward VII School's old boys gathering at the Taiping New Club. I don't really have much expectations going to the gathering except the hope of meeting some old friends which I had lost contact. I was a bit disappointed of not able to meet some old friends. Like i said before, I do not have any expectations. If the luck is with me, it will be an emotional bonus to meet them again. But I guess, luck is not my side this time. Well, I will let it be and look forward to another reunion gatherings.

However, I am glad I do have the opportunity to meet up with "old boys" from different generations. Looking at the faces of the "old boys" from different "passages of times", I guess, the only commonality is, we have all experienced the life of being educated in most colourful school in Malaysia. Those unique educational experiences during our formative years has shaped us to be man of principle and pride of the nations.

Funny, it seemed like not so long ago we said farewell to this famous school and parted way with school mates to seek our own destiny. But now, we are all living like salmon longing to be back to our places of origin. Looking at all the "old boys", some have gray hairs, some are on the verge of losing all their hairs, some have grown fatter, and some have became bespectacled..... Physically, we have all changed ! All the years that had passed, the only consolation is, we have all grown older, wiser, and are enriched with life experiences. But looking deep into our eyes and hearts, there is still a boy in all of us which we all still hold dear and refused to let go. We shared stories of our "glorious" pasts. We all remembered our pranks and misadventures. In a brief moment of looking back into those teenage years, maybe the boyish excitements did made me feel young again ....... I do hope, the next reunion gathering, I will still be around and hopefully, all of them will also be around to enjoy the brief moments of "forever young"

Magni Nominis Umbra.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

The begining of an eventual death for local media ?

I used to start my day with a copy of New Straits Times or The Star in the morning, but that old habit has changed since a year and a half ago. Looking around, most of my friends or associates has also stop subscribing to the local newspapers ! Are printed media suffering from declining readership ? The big question is, has there also been a decline in advertisement revenue in the printed media ? For those businesses that are still putting up advertisements in the printed media, probable they should also begin to look elsewhere to spend the advertisement budget more effectively and efficiently. There's been a dramatic increase in Internet users, and majority of this Internet users are well educated with propensity to spend. So businesses who traditionally advertised their products and services in traditional media, will have to relook into their advertising mix to dramatically shift the advertising budget into other medium such as Internet to stay relevant.

Is this age of environmental awareness and knowledge based society, stop buying printed media would probably saved more tree from being fell indiscriminately. "Readers" now are more environmental friendly. In my satiation for news reports and other reading habits, I am also pretty much well awared of my environmental conservation responsibilities. In addition to this "noble" gesture towards the environment, my other reasons for not subscribing to printed media are also purely driven by the convenient of Internet technology and the impartiality and relevances of Internet news sources.

With broadband Internet technology, I can simply search at my finger tips a single news topics from multiple sources at a fractions of a minute as compared to flipping through the bulky media. I believe, even if local media put up on line editions on the Internet, they will still suffer the same fate of declining readerships. "Readers" are also more educated nowadays and wanted to be better informed, they no longer want to waste their time reading perceived lopsided, biased, and propagandized news from local media that are seen to be politically influenced and heavily regulated. So, it is really not surprising to have the finality of local media being gradually disregarded by local readers.

So, are local media now beginning to trace the path of dinosaur into eventual extinction ? I am not a pessimist, but a realist. My answer to that is, YES, the local printed media is a dying industry. I guess, for the local media to survive, they have no other choice but to redefine their business, inject relevancy and impartiality in their editorial contents, and restructure their shareholder equity structures.

More educated and well informed Malaysians are also turning into other uncensored and independent international on line news sources at the expense of local media. In addition, blogs are also increasingly becoming credible alternative to local media. For example, some local blogs managed by Malaysians claimed to have hits exceeding few hundred thousands a day ! significantly much higher than the established local media ! Sometimes during the second half of 2006, the established local media put up indirect news blitz to discredit the local Malaysian blogs claiming that the information presented in these blogs can not be trusted and are irrelevant. But this blitz does not in anyway affected the daily hits of the local blogs at all. The sad conclusion is, either nobody is reading the "estabished" local media any more, or the content of the local media are no longer taken seriously.

In January 2007, 2 prominent Malaysian bloggers are sued by a local media conglomerate for defamation. This is probably the first time in the world where printed media sued small time bloggers for defamation. Whether the media conglomerate win the legal battle or otherwise, my perception and prediction is, it is not going to alter the future bleak possibilities of the local media. Their arrogance days are numbered. They will died an eventual painful death due to future insignificant circulations / readerships and declining advertisement revenues.

So, before we finally say Adieu or Sayonara to the local media, let face it, blogsphere will expand, and online internet resources will continue to gain prominence. Printed media is dead and manipulated media in other forms are also dying... stop blaming blogs and other independent online news sources for the declined. Let's get over it. The sooner the better !

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Endless Love ?

That fires
that brought them together years ago,
has it gone diminished ?

Years ago,
they were young.
Of the wild things they do together,
of making wild love in foreign lands,
and the burning urges and desires
to be closer to each other,
and to be ONE.
To explore, experience, and share
life together....

Now,
they still share the same bed.
But, separated by the invisible
line drawn by habitual familiarity.
Silently acknowledging each other presence,
She read her magazine, and he read his book,
on their own side of the bed.
Slowly dozing off to their own separate world.

Familiarity breeds strange apartness ?
The visible closeness of yesteryears
slowly inched away by invincible bonds.
Silently apart, yet serenely close together.

This odd couple,
their youth had passed them by.
They have grown old together.
But,
death will do them part......

Friday, February 02, 2007

Lord Murugan rules......

February 1st 2007 is the Federal Territory Day in Kuala Lumpur. For 2007, it is also a day for celebrating Hindu's Thaipusam. In Malaysia, the grand event for Thaipusam celebration is at Batu Cave Hindu Temple, Kuala Lumpur.

The temple management is expecting more than 1.5 million Hindu and non-Hindu devotees to climb the 272 steep steps to reach the hill top temple at Batu Cave this year to pay respect and devotion to the Hindu God, Lord Murugan ( also known as Lord Subramanian). For Hindu devotees, it is part of their annual pilgrimage of carrying offerings to the hill top temple to repent and seek forgiveness for past deeds and to thank Lord Murugan for their wishes granted.

One of the most interesting feature of Thaipusam celebration is the carrying of "Kavadi" and pulling of chariots, where skewers and hooks are pierced into the tongues, cheeks, backs, and chests of the "Kavadi" carriers, usually males. Thaipusam is one of the biggest religious celebration in Malaysia. The faiths of these Kavadi carriers are so strong that it defied logics to note that they felt no pains and no bloods are dripped during the process of piercing and unpiercing into the various parts of the body of the carriers. The women usually carries Jug of milk on their head on their journey to hill top temple.

Thaipusam is celebrated mostly by the Malaysia's Tamil community during the Tamil Month of Thai ( the tenth month of Tamil calender, which usually falls between Jan 15th and Feb 15th). "Pusam" refers to a star which is at its brightest during the period of the celebration. The celebration is to honour the birthday of Lord Murugan, the youngest son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is also to celebrate the day when Goddess Parvati bestowed upon her son, Lord Murugan, the “vel” or lance to defeat the evil demon, Soorapadam. Another interesting fact is, quite a significant number of Malaysian Chinese are also beginning to celebrate and fulfilling their vows during Thaipusam.

Vel, Vel....... May the spirits of Lord Murugan be in the hearts of all Hindu. May all evils be defeated, and may mankinds be blessed with good health, hapiness, and prosperity.