First of all, wishing all Muslims a Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin. May we all have a barakah Ramadhan this year and years to come, Insha' Allah.
During the 4-day off, a massive exodus of people are leaving the cities, whether to go back hometown or simply, to take advantage of the holidays by going travelling. Due to the large no. of vehicles on the roads, accidents are prone to happen. Other than that, the slow-moving traffic may also cause some of us to make stops at rest areas. This had prompted me to share an experience that I encoutered, to some friends and families. Now to the rest of you, here it is...
"We all have heard this before: how someone's car was stolen after the driver stepped out of the car to open the house gate; or while the driver was taking a leak at a gas station. Such unfortunate events usually occurred when people left their cars with the engines still running. Even more unfortunate if the thugs took the cars with people (usually women and children) still inside.
Sometimes when we hear something like this happen to other people, we might think that it can never happen to us, OR we will always take necessary precautions to avoid such mishaps from ever happening to us.
Now a sensible lesson to learn from all this would be never to leave your car with the engine on and always to lock the car before you leave right?
But for those with families, they may encounter a situation where the children are sleeping inside the car when they need to leave the car for a short while. In such a case, as long as the spouse stays behind to lock from the inside, the engines and air condition will remain on.
So you thought by doing it this way, your family is spared from harm, until an honest mistake almost changed it all.
I could never forget the night when my family and I were heading back to KL from hometown. The traffic was heavy and slow. After reaching a main rest area, I had to stop for a break.
We parked at a well lit area and with people around. Since it was cool inside the car, I decided to turn off the engine and lock it. But just after walking a few metres away, the car alarm went off. Baffled, coupled with the urgent need for me to go to the loo, I turned the engine back on and asked my wife to lock from the inside.
Our little angel was sleeping soundly at the back seat with wife sitting next to him. After I left, she received a phone call. While on the phone, a man came, stood facing the driver's side of the car and tried to open the door.
Thinking it was me, she unlocked the door. Luckily, since she was sitting behind the front passenger's seat and with the phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder, it took her a while to unlock the door, and the man already left just as she managed to.
Realising it could not have been me, she locked it back again. Had she unlocked it a second sooner or the man returned upon hearing her at the door...?
After that incident, my wife and I had agreed on a system. Whoever has to leave, the other needs to lock immediately if the other stays inside the car. The one who leaves also needs to show the face first to get back inside.
Perhaps you could use this system too, if necessary. Show your smiley or cheeky face at the window all you want, if it can ensure your family's safety, then why not. These days, people with bad intentions can be anyone and they will act whenever an opportunity presents itself, where ever that may be.
We ought to protect our loved ones at whatever cost. It is our family who matters the most. Don’t you agree that we may meet different people every day, but it is our own family whom we always go back to. People may throw all sorts of nasty remarks and assumptions about us, but at the end of the day, we know who we are and our family are the ones who will never turn their backs on us.
May you and your family have safe journeys and great health, always..."
I submitted the 'article' to a major daily and it was published 10th September 2009 (see above). Only the gist of the story was featured, and as expected, the babbling parts were removed :-)
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When I had a 'berbuka puasa' (break fast) with my wife at this one restaurant the other day, the bill came with a short survey, asking for customers' feedback. The survey stated that a gift would be mail delivered to those who completed and returned the survey. I remembered answering the survey the first time we ate there, some months back. I also remembered we never received any gift whatsoever.
This had prompted me to write to the local daily again, and on 18th September 2009, it came out (see above). Many portions had been chopped off, mainly due to make space, instead of for clarity purpose. Personally, I think, the original article serves the meaning better, don't you think? :-)
"The public has been warned not to fall into the trap of some get-rich-quick schemes or dubious lucky draws, since such illegitimate methods are organised by unscrupulous parties in order for them to trick us into parting with our money.
But how about those other presumably 'legal' contests and product surveys which promise gifts and prizes to customers, sometimes by just entering/submitting entries? These companies gain extra profits and sales at the expense of customers' time and money (regardless how small the latter may be).
I remember when a well known brand for baby milk formula had a promotion of giving away free small packs to those who sent in a certain number of the brand's milk spoons. Till date, no free packs ever received by us. The company had called me once to ask for my wife's name and to confirm our address, but only to send an unrelated mail from their partner. How else would they know my phone no. and house address if the spoons hadn't reached them in the first place?
In a parenting magazine, our baby's photo was selected to be among the lucky few to receive product hampers. Two months had passed and still nothing (YES! I'm referring to the Pa&Ma magazine. See previous entry). The mag did not indicate that we have to pick up the hamper ourselves or we need to call them up to arrange for a delivery. If the latter is the case, why is that so? Why should customers care more instead of them?
A couple of surveys that I foolishly volunteered to answer (one to a music distribution company, the other a food outlet), after getting hooked by the promise 'A Mystery Gift Awaits You'. Again, still no gifts - quite a mystery.The public should have proper channels to lodge complaints when incidents such as these happen. Writing a letter directly to those organisers/companies would almost definitely fall on their deaf ears. It is one thing to have bad customer service, and another to trick customers with empty promises."
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Now here's the latest one. I had just sent this 'little' article to a few local papers. I made it as brief and straight to the point as possible and hopefully, it too will be published without under too much scrutiny of the editors' scissors :-)
"Whenever a major festival approaches, departmental stores would greet shoppers with festival decorations. Such decorations attract tourists and locals of all races alike.
Hari Raya may have been given double-standard treatment in the past with flimsy decorations in certain malls. But this year is a different picture. Despite the current economic uncertainty, there were more choices of places that offered Ramadhan buffets and the spirit of Hari Raya can be felt everywhere. Thank you to all shopping malls, departmental stores, specialty shops, hotels and restaurants who have given it all out to decorate their premises. Suria KLCC deserves a special mention for its unique kampong theme with Lat’s cartoons drawn on hard woods, shaped into individual cartoon characters, a kampong house, fences, trees etc.
However, although Hari Raya lasts for a month, the ambience within the malls does not usually last that long. Decorations are taken down, sometimes barely a week into Hari Raya. Can't they wait for at least two weeks?"
From books to movies...of words and adaptations...
History has seen that quite a number of books (and in some cases, comics) out there that had been adapted into movies. The books may not necessarily need to be extremely popular for the movies to sell well at the box office. Likewise, best-seller books may not be well adapted into movies and the movies may flop.
Take Stephen King's books for example. With the exception of Christine and The Mist which received rave reviews and were quite well-accepted by moviegoers, other movies adapted from his books tanked!
I remember reading Phantoms by Dean Koontz many years ago. It was one of the scariest books I've ever read. Every page of the book was so vividly horrifying. Unfortunately, the movie, despite having big actors in it, failed to attract people to flock the cinemas.
I once had a dream to write a book. A book that I hoped, could open doors to other possibilities, and one of them was which to have it adapted into a movie (or a series of movies). The book already had a title; each characters named and their characteristics visualised; the draft was ready up to Chapter 7 (if not mistaken).... in fact for some chapters, they were almost complete.
Three friends read the draft. A couple of them had even showed their willingness to be a part of it.One was willing to be my editor, while another, a talented artist, drew some sketches so that we could later pick one to be the book cover. He also drew some of the monsters (see below) to be inserted into the pages of the book - plus he also loves to draw, so pretty much, he just wanted to (draw them).
Then reality hit me. I am not that great (in writing). I may have received comments before about how my simple style of English writing can still somehow grasp their attention. But, is it enough that based on these comments alone made by only a few people, I can expect (other) readers to be hookedby maintaining the same style throughout the book? Surely readers would want something out of the ordinary and simplicities, and expect me to get out of my comfort zone of writing.
The book project got postponed indefinitely, for so many years now. It never left my mind completely though, at least not yet. Hmm... maybe I should write it in Bahasa Malaysia (BM) first, although again, I'm not an excellent BM writer either. Or perhaps I should find myself a ghost writer or a co-writer. Or perhaps publish a graphic novel instead, a collaboration with my artistic friend there. Hmm... I don't really know.
This whole thing about getting my book out came back to my mind after reading an article, about how easy it is for a 9-year-old boy, Alex Greven, who initially wrote his book and self-published it at a school book fair, became almost instantly famous. Not only his 48-page advice book, "How to Talk to Girls" became a best-seller, it has also been optioned by Fox for a possible theatrical release. The film rights to him were sold for low-to-mid six figures. How lucky of him huh?
Reading the article made me think about the path I have threaded my way through all this while, and the future paths that I should take (and plan to take). We Muslims are always encouraged to appreciate the 5 things before the 5 things arrive. One of them was 'while we are still free before we are busy' and another one, 'while we are still alive before we are dead'.
More often than not, we are so busy with worldly matters, we forget about the world that follows. Then, we may say we are very busy, but usually busy for other people. In a recent Oprah Winfrey show, she said 84% of people hate their jobs. So, if we are too busy with jobs that we hate (or maybe not particularly fond of), isn't it time, we make it count? Isn't it time we become busy FOR ourselves for a change?...sigh...
Meantime, talk about adaptation from comics, you can view the trailer of the coming Wolverine movie here.
Ad 1: Fun Fun rain coat I went for a travel excursion the other day. The travel organiser provided us with a gift bag that consisted of some stuffs like mosquito repellant patches, a balm, a packet of baby wipes (they included this in because the wipes were safe to be applied on the face), a small bottle of sunblock lotion and a rain coat.
The label for the rain jacket struck my attention (see above) and made me and a friend laugh. Putting aside the possibility that the photo could have been Photoshopped, don't you think these models are rather sad/angry looking, as though they were forced to pose. I would say the brand name Fun Fun should have been Sad Sad instead. Perhaps these kid models areSad Sad because it rains, and putting on those rain jackets doesn't help in making things easier or any happier either :))
Ad 2: Sofa set
One day, as I flipped through an interior design magazine, I noticed the bi-lingual magazine contained so many grammatical errors. Whether the articles are in English or in Malay, I was appalled by the number of wrong words used. Considering that the magazine was published by a renowned Malaysian interior designer and tv personality, those mistakes should not have happened in the first place. I mean, didn't they proof read?
I do enjoy reading advertisements in papers and magazines sometimes. Since my wife and I were looking for contractors and contacts for interior items, I was browsing through the ads in the magazine too. On the second last page, there was an ad on a sofa set. Judging from the sets shown in the ad, I'd say, design wise....well... nothing intriguing about them. At least they were not as interesting as the words they used in their ad, which said:
"There is gene filling around view, it is as happiness, sweet and warm, and the thoughts are cleared in details, nobody knows where does confidence come from. Maybe it has thousands of resources, millions of embodiments, but when we are faced with the warm and real house, the confidence is easy to be found, placing myself into complete space, closing eyes such as the extending branch, colour stretching and white cloud disappearance field in deep heart becomes lovely soon....
When you want to sell something, credibility is built through proper use of words so that information about your product is delivered effectively to readers/potential buyers. I wonder if the ad was prepared by the same writers for the magazine since the words used are all too flowery and catchy, they lost their meaning. I as a reader, ended up dazed and confused - just what the heck were they trying to say here?
Now, let's quickly translate what could possibly be the message(s) that the ad was trying (too hard) to tell us, shall we?
"...gene filling around view..." and "...where does confidence come from..."
- hmmmm....if humans, animals, insects... whatever, are in the same room where the sofa is, kinda' hard to imagine that their genes could somehow exit their bodies and fill up the room.With regard to confidence, maybe it's in their genes (pun intended), hehee..
"...placing myself into complete space..."
- I wonder whether does the ad try to make us imagine being lost into complete space or it was describing what the copywriter was feeling when he/she wrote the ad. It sure sounds like the latter. Maybe the copywriter should write a novel some day.
- I think ads should always make customers understand what benefits they will get from choosing a particular product or service, and this can be achieved by using the word'YOU' instead of 'I/ME'. Say for examples, an ad for a fabric softener"Softness you can feel" or a courier service"The name you can trust!". Unless of course it's something like McDonald's tagline that says I'm lovin' it! - even THAT is putting us, the customers to say I'm lovin' it!, not the McDonald's owners/franchisees/franchisors.
"...extending branch, colour stretching and white cloud disappearance field in deep heart becomes lovely soon..."
- errrr... what?????
Ad 3: Hijama air vacuum
Hijama is the Arabic term for acupuncture. My parents have this one health gadget to help them perform hijama on their own. The gadget, just like the conservative approach, use cuppings. However, it provides a more relaxed and less painful way and does not cause blood to be drawn by vacuum since it does not involve skin incision or burning of papers inside the cup to make the cup cling to the skin. Nowadays, they no longer use it though when one day, my mum experienced some skin disorder at the site chosen for cupping.
I found the box with the gadget still inside it the other day, on a shelf. Judging from the 'instructions to use' on the box, obviously the whole thing is made in China. Then, on the side of the box, here's what the manufacture wrote with regard to the benefits from using the product:
Health care gift, old and little all proper - hmmmm, so how about those who are young and big? hehee..
Elegant features and economy enduring - great to know that the features are elegant that it can endure (if not help us to endure) the current economic turmoil.
Ego diagnosis, health care prevention - so it's recommended to any egotistical maniac out there who doesn't care about their health then?
Inside disease, outside remove, result special- I bet it is...
Traditional Chinese medicine, China treasure - how lucky we are...while archeologists spend years digging for treasures buried in the land of China, we could easily get this from the night market. Ads 4: Ad on radio and t.v. Don't you just hate it when you see or hear an ad over the t.v. or radio that ends with laughter? Say for examples, family members are laughing because the foods are delicious as mum cooks only with the cooking oil brand J or two friends can now play tennis together because they no longer have sprained muscles, thanx to the massage oil brand K or a customer laughs with a sales assistant when buying a washing machine at a well known electrical/electronic store......hahahaa, hohohoh, hehehehee...
Oh please....enough pretending already! These ads make me (and wife) sick...
Full name is Abdun Nizar Ahmad. With the exception of few relatives, everybody else in the family and at schools (primary and secondary) called me Nizar. A couple of relatives call me Abun, while all three cousins from my mother side call me.... guess what - John McKeterk, or in short, John. Since it's a made up name, I don't really know the spelling to the second name, but judging from sound, that should be it. To this day, they still call me John, their spouses also call the same, and their children - Cik John (Cik is the short for Pakcik, which is Uncle). As for my uncle and auntie (my cousins' parents), they sometims call me Nizar, and sometimes John.
Ever since I began my college/university years, everyone there called me Abdun with very few who prefer Abun. I remember a joke made by a housemate back in the UK - he said Abun Sabun (sabun is soap). Issshhh.. of all the names, but I didn't take it seriously :)
Now, if I meet someone new, if they are relatives (like in the case of my wife's side whom I never met before OR from my side, who may not remember my name), I'd introduce myself as Nizar. But, if they are not (going to be my) relatives, then it's gonna be Abdun. Don't ask me why. I'm comfortable of introducing myself that way.
The address book in my phone
Due to most people calling me Abdun, although I may not be the most important person in their lives, my name usually happens to be the first one in their phone's address book. This has a disadvantage. People had been accidentally calling me/sending me empty messages. What really annoying is that sometimes, the calls/smses caught me at the wrong times like in the wee hours of morning (if they are going to sleep with the phones by their sides, why can't they lock the phones, dang it!) or after rushing to get to the phone, only to hear people's conversations (the case of phones in their pants' pockets or handbags and the calls accidentally made) or kids' voices (obviously their kids are playing with the phones).
There was one time, my phone kept beeping due to receiving almost a dozen of empty messages, one after another, to the extent that it started to attract the unnecessary attention from people at the office. The smses were all coming from a person I met at a seminar.
Guess, I was in the wrong mood to be disturbed like that. You know what I did? I texted her, "since you hardly know me, you might as well remove my name from your phone book." Pretty nasty huh?
There was another incident where after picking up the phone, I heard a friend's conversation with another....and they were talking about me. Luckily, all I heard were compliments about me.I was smiling ear to ear....it took me a while before I hung up the phone :))
All these incidents had taught me something. In my phone book, I put 'abdun'and 'zzzdun' as the first and last names. The numbers behind those names are invalid of course, so those in the 2nd and 2nd last list are spared from any accidental pressing on their numbers.
My nature
I have stint eyes, but without my glasses, people perceive my eyes as rather big (especially if I roll my eyes). Well, so many people had said so, guess that is true. Wife said, my bulging eyes must be the reason why Ikhwan gets so excited whenever I do some acts in front of him.
I am a quiet person and shy by nature, ahaks.... I mean, seriously.. throw me into a social gathering packed with 'strangers', I'd definitely feel very uncomfortable. I think because I hate the fact that I have to put on a (fake) smiling face, and having to think what to say most of the time.
But once well acquainted, you will probably see my bubbling nature. Heck, some even said I was naughty.
On precaution steps
1. Before entering a lift, as the doors open, I always double-check that the lift floor is of the same level as the floor where I'm standing at. Why? Because stories about people who fell to their deaths when they entered the lifts which were not there (after the doors were opened) scare the crap out of me!
2. When driving, if the light is green for me to drive straight or make a turn, I will always make sure the light is really green - to the extent I have to verbally say it sometimes, for example I'd say "terus...hijau" (translation: straight...green). Sounds like I'm too safety conscious huh? Hmmm...despite of this, I still beat the red light once in a while, huhu...
3. I make sure I do these things before leaving the car (after parking it) - the gear is at PARKING, the handbrake is pulled, the aircond is off and the steering is locked. If say, I also need to switch off the headlights or the wipers or the rear window demister as well, I'd do those other things first, followed by the four, starting with PARKING, and the rest in that order. I would also sing them (the four things) in my head or hum them just to make sure they are done.
4. If there are routines that I do in the car, I also have own routine before leaving the house, especially where travelling is required, using the Power of 2 'formula'. Two things in my right pants' pocket - car key and hanky; left pocket - house keys and card holders (that hold credit cards, shopping reward cards and Touch N' Go card); elsewhere around the waist - small comb and wallet AND phone holder with phone in it; and upper body area - wrist watch and glasses. I hate forgetting things which may cause unnecessary strain to the brain. Even with having these routines, I still forget sometimes, usually involving bringing the phone holder but without the phone.
I'm a sucker for......
zombies. Movies have portrayed zombies to be moving so slow like....errr, the dead (but somehow still able to catch and eat the survivors, like in Shaun of the Dead), or can still run so fast, you might s*it your pants while trying to escape (like in 28 Days Later). Fast or slow, the zombies are either undead (Dawn of the Dead) or they are not yet dead, just infected with some kind of disease (I Am Legend). Either way, they are hunger for flesh and blood. Don't let them catch you, as they will devour you alive. If only your certain body parts are eaten or you were bitten or scratched by zombies, be prepared to join the zombies club soon. Movie-makers always come out with fresh storylines and some horrific/gory scenes never before seen involving zombies being killed or zombies killing people. Apart from zombie movies, as I also love horror and slasher movies. Hmmm.. maybe I should just say, I love movies. Period.
Friends and The Simpsons. I can watch all Friends episodes over and over again until I throw up (I've never actually done that, hehe). So far, no other sitcoms can beat Friends in terms of great storylines, and along with them, come those funny lines (Joey and Phoebe gets the best lines), outrageous acts (like Chandler's quirkiness), memorable characters (Monica's constant urge to clean) and unforgettable scenes (like the one where Rachel and Ross had a big fight when Ross, who thought they were on a break, had slept with someone else). Some favourite episodes would be (among others): the one with the wedding in London, the one where Phoebe tried to seduce Chandler who had been secretly dating Monica, the one with Brad Pitt as a guest, the one where Joey learned French from Phoebe, the one when Joey confessed to Rachel that he's falling for her etc etc etc.
With regard to The Simpsons, just like Friends, I've been a fan since school time. The longest ever running sitcom received its well-deserving airtime last Halloween with a dozen episodes shown back to back. I had a great time, especially since for some of the episodes, I've never seen them before.
I believe in...
respecting other people, regardless of differences in ages, ranks, races and faiths. Say, for example you have a kid niece or a nephew, it doesn't mean you as an adult can easily look down on him/her, because when they grow up, they can easily strike back at you. So how does it feel to be at the receiving end for a change?
good personal hygiene, which I think, should be taken seriously. It's understandable if after a long day, you still haven't gotten the chance to freshen up. What I can't tolerate is those who constantly disregard their personal hygiene. Heck, their bad body odour foul the environment and public places very early in the morning and they expect us to talk or be around them? I also can't stand those who spit in public. Sadly, we Asians are well known for this bad behaviour (other than generally being bad drivers and like to talk at the cinemas). I remember reading how the New Zealand government was trying to educate the Asians not to spit on their sidewalks. Wonder how that went...?
Movies that I watched this year and can't seem to get enough of:
Cloverfield and Bridge to Terabithia. Read my reviews on the movies here and here. While, here's the theme song to the latter. An excellent attempt from a cute-cum-excellent young actress:
I really feel like going.... to so many places in the world. One of them would be New York - probably influenced by how NY is portrayed in TV shows and movies, like in Heroes, Cloverfield, CSI:NY etc etc.
am mostly awed by... God's given gift - the human intellect. How babies develop physically, mentally and spiritually, starting from not knowing anything; new inventions are discovered numbering thousands every year;new catchy songs keep coming out, each sounds usually different from the other, considering there are so many singers for so many years and each album has at least 10 songs; ideas may be repeated but brilliant writers always know how to make the stories fresh and interesting.
scenic places - whether it involves beaches, mountains or lakes/lochs. Top that with a peaceful friendly neighbourhood and nice weather (the latter is open to your own interpretation). I always love to travel. I may no longer be able to travel extensively like in the past, but whenever opportunity to travel comes along, I always take some kind of memorabilia home, and it can be as simple and cheap as a nice looking paper/plastic bag that I get after buying a magazine. I still keep those bags, some, for 10 years now, that I collected from travelling. Now, I shall leave you with this beautiful photo that I found from the Net. Not sure where the place is, but it looks like Bergen in Norway.
As much as I want to start a tag on this, I've learned my lesson that people are not going to do it. But you are welcome to share whatever little things about you that you don't mind other people knowing.
- A certain black hole is feared at because of its powerful sucking power.
- A certain other black hole may cause a ship to sink.
- Some people find pleasure hitting a ball into a hole, only to pick it up later.
- A 'couple' of holes were very much talked about during a recent election.
- A certain hole in the heart may be amended through surgeries.
- A certain other hole in the heart may not be easily amended and healed.- Some people are willing to do just about anything to get themselves out of (hell) holes.
- Having holes in the pocket may mean it's time to pay a trip to meet a financial advisor, if not a tailor.
- Some people dig up more holes to cover other holes.
- Some people stuff their hands into holes in the ground in the name of science.
- Some people make tons of cash (if not lose them) by naming their albums"..holes" or making movies about people trapped in holes.
P/S: Speaking about a movie on people trapped in holes, I saw Apocalypto recently and I should say, what an awesome movie! Totally original! Not a chick flick though... errr..I guess...
If there is a single 'deja-vu' feeling that is felt by many other people at the same time, it'd be during election times. What with the poster wars, the political talks and (certain) politicians taking turns in throwing slanderuos remarks against their opponents (luckily in Malaysia, no killings is involved). It all looks and feels so familiar as the same 'road' is taken, over and over again, whenever election time is near.
As I make a left turn at a junction, I notice how the corner of the road has become the centre of expressing one's artistic skill. Artistic indeed for not a single inch of the two lamp posts at the corner, is not covered with posters of a political party. Luckily the lamps do not suffer the same fate. Another political party does not want to be left behind by having a huge banner tied between the two lamp posts and a flag perched on top of a tree.
The same scenario can be seen almost everywhere. Posters of political parties and election candidates are by every road sides throughout Malaysia. Not just lamp posts and trees, some walls of buildings and road signs are also pasted with the same and practically everything that stands on pillars have strings of banners tied to them. Back in 2008, BN, the ruling party since Malaysia gained its independence, saw the worst defeat in history. 5 states were lost to the opposition parties (which consists of PAS, PKR and DAP), while for other states in the Peninsular, a significant number of the seats was lost. Although BN still ruled the country, in the Parliament, BN didn't actually win the 2/3 of the seats. What a shame...shame...shame...
When Pak Lah took the trone as the head of the country, many were dissatisfied and not enthusiastic with the idea for he lacked the leadership skills that someone in his position should have (that being one of the many reasons only).
One after another corruption cases and scandals involving some high-profile politicians were exposed, especially by the opposition parties. This inevitably resulted in the dis-unity among the component parties in the ruling government. The citizens were in a state of unrest for quite some time but managed to maintain peace.
The election this year marks a difference. While BN is about to crumble and probably turns to dust, the opposition parties are getting stronger. Those (the opposition candidates) who won have proved they are worthy of leaders and representatives of citizens' voices. PAS, PKR and DAP have also managed to put aside any differences and work together as one big strong team.
With PAS making sure that Islam is always put first before handling and carrying out other matters, it's apparent that their fight and efforts are solely for Allah and for the rakyat. PKR leads in the sense of strategic planning and execution, while DAP makes sure the interests and rights of the non-Bumiputeras are well-guarded and fought for, without having to eliminate the special privileges that the Bumiputeras have been enjoying all this while.
08 March 2008 (flashback)
We left our house to go back hometown about 8 in the morning. Coincidentally, my mother was in KL after helping out my wife taking care of our baby Ikhwan who was recuperating from chicken pox.
When we arrived in Muar, not wanting to waste any time, I decided to stop to cast my vote, since the voting centre was by the main road we took to go home.
My wife and mother fulfilled their responsibility after lunch. Wife voted at a different area, and both places saw the fight between BN and PAS candidates. Each of the PAS candidates was a doctor. The one at my area was our family doctor.
Night time - we eagerly awaited for the polling results. If we didn't watch the special TV programme that covered the election, we would constantly look at the results appearing at the bottom screen when a different programme was running.
Many anticipated the opposition would win big, although it was a tough call. As for me, I rooted for PAS and PKR. So, when the opposition won in 4 states and the Federal Territory (KL), with PAS managed to maintain their credibility by winning in Kelantan again, the news shocked the nation a little bit.
What's more? A few BN candidates who were known for their loud 'uninsured' mouths and arrogance (not to forget, stupidity?) were lost to the opposition candidates. Well, served them right, although in my opinion, more of them should have suffered the same public humiliation for their 'open secret' corruption cases and exploitation of people's money for their own good.
Johore (where Muar is part of it) has always been considered as BN's stronghold. But that year marked the beginning where the opposition landed their feet there. DAP won 4 seats, while the 2 seats where my wife and I cast our votes were won by PAS. I could say the trip back home was well paid off for I had helped PAS to break history!
When the movie ‘Blair Witch Project’ hit the big screen almost 10 years back, it made headlines and created a lot of buzz, especially among the Netizens (those who frequent the World Wide Web). Long before the movie was released, the movie makers aroused people’s interests due to the whole movie was documentary-like, i.e. shots made by some ‘student filmmakers’ who were investigating the eponymous local legend, the Blair Witch. In other words, people got to view the horror that the characters experienced after getting lost deep in the woods, through the lenses of video cameras taken by them. Back then, some viewers were naïve enough (if not foolish) to think that it was a true story and those characters did actually get murdered.
It was said that the movie’s documentary –style was inspired by the opening scene of another hit horror movie, (the original version of) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (TCM). Another unique feature of the Blair Witch movie was that its cost of production was so low, the profit that the movie had reaped could be considered staggering.
If TCM inspired the makers of the Blair Witch movie, the latter had inspired the making of another movie, released this year. The year 2008 opened with a bang, not from the firecrackers that lit up the skies during New Year celebrations, but from the roar of a new monster movie - Cloverfield. Talk about a monster movie, surely one would suspect, it must be influenced by another monster movie. True enough. Well, let’s just say, combine Blair Witch and errrr, sadly to say, Godzilla, plus a little bit of Alien, a reminiscent of the 9/11 tragedy and the movie Escape from New York (which inspired the Liberty head scene), Cloverfield was born. Then, as Manal had commented (see the comment section), it was probably inspired by those live recordings (as recorded by human activists) on the horrors of the Israeli regimes tormenting the palestinian kids too (although I doubt this was the source of inspiration).
If you were not a fan of either the Blair Witch or Godzilla, don’t be put off to watch Cloverfield. This is one good example of how one can use ideas that have been used before, but still end up with something that is somewhat original, impressive and awesome.
(A word of caution: continue reading this at your own risk - spoilers ahead!) Through the lens of a video camera recorded by a character, Cloverfield shows you the mayhem that ensues when a monster attacks the city of New York. Hear the horrific sounds that the monster and its children make (yes, you read that right, this particular monster brings along it vicious little children to terrorise us humans). Despite no music score whatsoever, with the help of Dolby Surround sound, the shriek of the monster(s) is menacing enough, the blasts of the guns and bombs are shattering to the ears and the screams of the people feel very close to you.
In Cloverfield, unlike most other monster and disaster movies, you don’t get to see hi-tech gadgets and weaponry, nor any heroic characters trying to save the world. In Cloverfield, everyone is pretty much trying to save themselves. You won’t hear people throwing comments and theories over the origin of the monsters, or ways to kill them. In Cloverfield, you pretty much hear comments made by the person behind the camera most of the time, and comments made by those around him.
Putting the monsters aside, Cloverfield centers around five young people – two brothers, Robert and Jason Hawkins, Lily (Jason’s girlfriend), Hud (a close friend to the brothers), Beth (Robert’s close friend cum soul-mate?) and Marlena (Hud has a crush on her). The movie starred Mike Vogel as Jason (he is said to be Hollywood’s next action hero who appeared in the remakes of Poseidon and TCM before); Michael Stahl-David as Robert (best known for his role in TV series, The Donnellys), Jessica Lucas as Lily (starred in She’s The Man), Lizzy Caplan as Marlena (known for her role in Mean Girls) and the rest are relatively newcomers.
Back to the movie - Robert and Beth were long-time buddies. Jason got his job promotion and would be transferred to Japan. What a perfect timing for romance to spark between the two and for them to cross over from friendship to relationship. But when Robert’s brother and friends threw a surprised farewell party for him, Beth showed up with a date. They both ended up having a fight and Robert threw some sarcastic words just before Beth left the party.
During the party, Hud was appointed by Jason to record goodbye wishes from those who attended the party. Reluctant at first, Hud was tricked into doing the job after hearing Marlena would be there that night. From that point henceforth, Hud would be the man behind the camera, recording the events that followed.
The first tremor was felt while Robert was discussing his Beth issue with Jason and Hud. A few blocks went dark for a few minutes after electricity was cut off. A news broadcast suggested an earthquake, and reported an oil ship had toppled over near the Statue of Liberty. Since Robert’s apartment was close to the Statue, they thought of getting a better view from up the roof.
While up on the roof, they heard a few sirens had went off. Tensions flare. At that point of time, Hud brought up the same thing I had in mind. What a spot on! He said something like this to Robert, “You wished you had left sooner, didn't you, Robert?”
What was great about the movie is that as Hud’s camera moves about, we feel the movie is taking us along for the ride. We feel like the attack is real enough and the monsters (especially the ‘mother’) are actually right in front of us. We feel the adrenalin rushes through our veins, as the characters run for their lives; how loud and scary it would be to be caught in the middle of combat as the armies try to shoot down the monster; and how shocking it must be to witness the Liberty head being thrown off or the bridge ripped apart or the slanting apartment building, lying precipitously against another building or the giant monster, crawling its way through the city.
Some memorable scenes would be the first giant explosion with debris hitting the nearby buildings, the Liberty head rolling along the street, the attack at the Brooklyn bridge, the first close up view of the giant monster caught by Hud’s camera and the final REALLY close up view of the giant monster caught by Hud’s camera.
The movie brilliantly shows the first glimpses of the monster (and its children) via news broadcast over the TV, as air and ground news cameramen caught shots of them. I too found myself peeking, hoping the TV news would do justice in showing how the monster looked like.
The movie had a few scenes that evoked emotion of sadness. Like the scenes when the monster attacked right above Jason’s head, when Robert relayed the news about his brother’s death to his mother and the final death scenes.
As I mentioned earlier, due to the ‘nature’ of the movie, the movie feels real. As a result, the conversation among the characters doesn’t sound scripted and the acting looks natural. If this were real life and you were one of them (character-wise), who would you be? I think I’m more like the Hud character – speaking my mind that irritates people (like the scene in the tunnel when Hud remembers the story about the homeless being torched to death – not the kind of story you wanna hear while walking through a dark tunnel, would you?), easily manipulated and used by other people (Hud was tricked into recording the party, remember?) and still wanting to record despite people telling me not to.
With regard to the latter, a friend commented the movie is illogical since Hud still wants to continue recording despite the life and death situations. But then, as Hud had put it, “People are gonna wanna know you know, how it all went down.” After all, if we don’t put logic outside the door, many movies (if not all) would not have been created in the first place.
But I do want to comment on one particular scene though, i.e. after Jason was killed. It would have been perfect if Hud doesn’t focus right on the faces of his friends, especially Robert’s. I mean, Hud is not some heartless news cameraman whose only interest is to capture people’s expression during times of sorrow and broadcast that for the whole world to see. Hud too is a close friend to all of them, especially Jason and Robert.It would have been perfect if Hud just drops the camera and tries to comfort his friends but at the same time, despite lying on the pathway, somehow, the video camera still manages to record them (since this is quite an important scene and I think Stahl-David’s credibility as an actor is tested here). Also, the part where the soldiers agree to allow Robert to rescue Beth is very Hollywood-like.
Despite its flaws here and there, Cloverfield is still a splendid monster movie to start off the year and is one of the best. Buy a ticket or two, join the ride – you won’t regret it!
P/S: Just a reminder to my fellow Muslims, if you do want to watch this movie or any movie for that matter, let’s not forget our duty for Allah, shall we (you know what I mean)...
We entered the Anakku contest a few months ago. The contest required participants to submit either a photo or a video that showed times of intimacy between parents and their kids. The photo (or video) also needed to be titled and described in less than X number of words.
When I found out about the contest, I thought why not I gave it a try, or should I say, two tries to be exact. I submitted two photos - one photo with Ikhwan hugging his Ibu while the other depicted Ikhwan touching my face.
I'd have submitted a video as well, like the one where I sang a song that I wrote for Ikhwan. But the contest rule said the video should be smaller than Y size. Due to not having the technical know-how in video compressing and lack of time to tinker with softwares (plus not sure which is the best software to do the job in the first place anyway), I decided to just go ahead with the 2 photos.
Last week, I received a letter announcing that one of my entries had won Ikhwan a RM 100/- voucher (not a 1st prize though). The voucher needed to be picked up by myself at the Anakku boutique at The Curve. I enquired at the boutique which one of my entries actually won but the sales assistants couldn't help me. I don't feel the need to take the trouble calling up the Anakku HQ, so I guess it's best to just let it stay unknown. All that mattered was that the voucher had entitled our baby to a new stroller.
Actually, Ikhwan already have a stroller - it was a present given by my colleagues, and we are so grateful for it. But the stroller is quite a tad too big. It cannot fit into my wife's car boot and does occupy a large space of my car boot. It's also a bit tricky to fold and unfold it and its weight makes it incovenient for my wife to carry in the event that she travels with Ikhwan alone. Though we still use the first stroller once in a while, we found it to be more suitable to use when Ikhwan gets 'older' (the stroller can take a kid up to 6-7 years old). So, my wife bought him the second stroller - a much smaller one where once folded, it looked like an umbrella. But the stroller is no longer suitable for Ikhwan whose body is now quite big. So, it was time that we got him his third one and luckily, by using the voucher, we managed to find the perfect one that matched the criteria we were looking for.
Ok, enough about strollers....I shall talk more about them when it's time to share with you about Ikhwan and his gadgets :-)
Now, going back to the contest we had won, for the fun of it, here are the 2 entries (un-edited) that I submitted for the contest.Which one you guys think won? There's no right or wrong answer of course. Honestly, I don't have any preference, because I like both entries just as much and really enjoyed squeezing my brain, during the times when I tried to come out with catchy photo titles and descriptions.
Photo Title 1: My huggable and adorable boy
Photo description: Ikhwan knows where to focus his eyes on whenever he is photographed or video recorded. He, who loves to cuddle and being hugged, is all set here to be photographed with Ibu. After all, Ikhwan is indeed a very huggable and adorable baby boy.
Photo Title 2: Ikhwan The Explorer
Photo description: My baby Ikhwan is quite a natural explorer especially when it comes to faces. Here, as his hand-eye co-ordination helped him explore my face, at the same time, I was admiring his, envying how soft and smooth his complexion was.
P/S: Now that occasionally, I have more blog visitors (who also read hopefully, instead of just visiting) from the US than from my home country, Malaysia, I find that I need to be aware of my English. Better brush up on my grammar and writing styles huh? Hehehe.... Also, it'd be great if those non-Malaysians can say hi or comment or something... :-)
Creativity thinking - A cartoon side OR a child(ish) side?
An acquaintance had asked, how come there are cartoons (drawn by me) nowadays in my blog? Though he did not comment on the quality of the cartoons (mind you, I'm not a pro!), he did say some of them tickled him.
Well, as they say, there are two sides in every human being - the good side and the bad side. It's up to you how you interprate what's good and what's bad. But logically, donating to earthquake victims is a good deed, while attacking other countries on baseless reasons other than to fulfill one's vendetta and greed, is way way, a bad deed(s).
As for me, I'm glad to say that, there is another side of me. A cartoon side. I don't think I am feeding my childish side though, since liking cartoons (whether reading or watching or drawing them) doesn't have anything to do with our level of maturity. Look at those famous cartoons out there, in prints or in screens. They are created by adults and liked/loved by people of all ages.
How you interprate what cartoon is, is also up to you. A cartoonised version of a human being may have one arm bigger than another, eyes looking like they are about to pop out or a hair style so retro, the tip of the hairs may reach the ceiling.
But on the other hand, a cartoonised version of a human being can also be so detailed and true to nature. The fine lines on the forehead are visibly drawn, brownish body hairs on parts not covered by clothes or eyes so glassy, we are almost fooled into thinking that we are looking into a mirror.
The way the cartoons are drawn and the punch lines they utter can tickle our funny bones (depending on how many bones of that type you have or whether you have any funny bones at all haha).
The (hidden) message behind a cartoon strip may make us ponder (unless the message is so well hidden, we don't get what it means).
Cartoons can also make us understand certain instructions or guidelines better, since they 'say' straight to the point (like a cartoon flyer that explains the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle).
A well thought-of idea of a novel-length story can be delivered to readers via cartoons. Unlike authors, a cartoonist can clearly describe a poorly lit and dampy alley with some stray dogs digging through a large dustbin at one corner and a homeless man lying motionless at another, in a two-by-four-inch box, compared to maybe more than a page of a book that an author needs.
Cartoon animations (2D's or 3D's), especially those which are realistically portrayed, can make us, children and adults alike, eagerly wait in line for cinema tickets and stay glued to the screens.
Whatever the reasons may be, we can all agree on one thing - that cartoons affects us emotionally. They make us laugh, feel sad or simply feeling awed.
I remember when I was in my pre-teens, I had 'published' this one monthly magazine of my own, called Ragam A. Nizar (A. Nizar's Antics). By published, I mean every month, I would use a new exercise book (plain pages or with lines) and would draw and write any ideas that came to mind. There were even columns like Letters From Readers, comics series, advertisements and contests, in addition to the many one-page cartoon strips. The only difference was that, all drawings and writings were contributed by me. As I can vaguely recall, they were not that bad and quite funny too.
Each month, the mag covers carried different themes. I remember the cover I had for one December month. It showed a Santa Claus slumped on a chair in his flooded house with all the presents floating around him. Fyi, towards end of the year, particularly in December, Malaysia is a wet season with flood in certain areas, thus the reason behind that particular cover.
The covers even came complete with price tag, circulation no, name of month, etc... just like how usual publications would look like. I published them without fail for about a year or a year plus, mainly for my safe keeping and with friends occasionally reading them. Just think of it as my version of Gila-Gila (a local publication) and Mad magazines....
For more than 10 years, I had somehow lost touch with my cartoon side. Not only that, I had even completely forgotten about my 'magazine.' When I became a guest speaker for Cedko'sCartoonist Conference a year ago on a non-cartoon related subject, I somehow had this deja vu feeling, that I used to like to draw before. Talk about having amnesia huh?
The memory snapped back at me after my wife relayed the conversation she had with my mum one day. She said that mum regretted the fact that she had thrown away all my Ragam A. Nizar magazines. Otherwise my wife would have gotten the chance to read them. No wonder I had suppressed memories on cartooning. Only since then, had I remember how artistic, creative and perhaps, entrepreneurial I was. And since then also, I've started to stay in touch with my cartoon side.
For me, creativity breaks ourselves from the norms of life, from all those typical stuffs we encounter with daily. For example, a factory worker may need to do soldering work as his routine. But his creativity, or rather, imagination, can spice it up by imagining those transistors, capacitors and resistors come to life.
I also value creativity greatly, something that is outside the box and out of ordinary. For example, don't you just hate it when another typical car advertisement is just showing you the clutch, the seats and the headlights? But an advert about a father fixing the seatbelt of his bubbly and talkative daughter from the outside of a car, and the father then runs a little bit to get to the driver's seat, not wanting to miss what the daughter is saying as she still keeps on talking, gives you a refreshing look on the car AND father-child relationship.
Another close example that we may all relate to - compare a dull power point presentation with all long-worded texts to complement a monotonous speaker, with the one that comes with animations and sound effects (as long as not overly-done).
Creativity also lets ideas flow and helps form solutions to problems. For example, I've read from many sources before, that for an aspiring author to succeed in his writing endeavour, he/she should just keep on writing when ideas pour in. Don't stop and think too much, for the ideas might stop or the stories lose creativity. Screw the grammar, screw the sentence structures. Those can be dealth with/edit later.
As our cute and slightly overweight member of the family, Mr. Sky (photo above) had said the other day, when he quoted the words of Edward Albee and Gerald G. Jampolsky, "Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow........" which meant, "The thing that makes a creative person is to be creative and that is all there is to it," and "A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations." What a wise middle-aged 'man', Mr. Sky is. :-o
P/S: If drawing own magazine was something that I openly let other people see me doing when I was younger, how about imagining having own TV cartoon series while taking a shower (well, for most of the times)? Each episodes would revolve around the characters that I created, with dialogues that I scripted. They even came with sound effects (yep! this mouth can produce such effects haha), with hand movements and all, to represent the flow of the stories.
Guess, now you know I was (or am) such an introvert huh, and perhaps, the reason why I still take quite a long time in the shower (though no longer talking to myself in the room laaa...:-p)
The Oxford Dictionary says "boulevard" means wide city street, often with trees on each side. As for me, "boulevard" is the path that I thread my way through in life. At times, the trees give me protection from the hot sun above. While at other times, no amount of trees can comfort me when it pours. Come rain or shine, the road continues to provide me with the journey of life until it reaches its destination.
People say I'm sweet, kind, a gentleman, caring, romantic and observant (let's just concentrate on the good attributes). I love those who matter to me, and care about things that count. I'm a Malay Muslim and proud to be one. I DON'T think Islam should be judged by those nasty followers. Islam should be judged by the religion itself; its teachings and the purpose behind them. I mean, humans will still behave like humans right? Usually, regardless of religions that they embrace. It is also in my nature to please, since I believe that TO PLEASE EVERYONE IS AN IMPOSSIBLE FEAT, BUT NOT TRYING TO PLEASE ANYONE OTHER THAN ONESELF IS A POSSIBLE DEFEAT (own quote). Apart from sharing the things I read, watch and listen to, I'd also share my thoughts and feelings, and express my views on certain issues. Last by no means least, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE OF YOU OUT THERE ABOUT ANYTHING! If we knew each other 'in the previous life' and had lost contact, or we hardly contact each other nowadays, do email me or comment on my entries. Feel free to explore my blog & website (http://members.fortunecity.com/abdunmy/). Cheerio & Wassalam.
Sometimes, to boldly go (where no one has gone before) at warp speed may cause you unnecessary troubles.
Own quote, based on Star Trek
Lesson from the quote: Rushing to reach your destinations or goals may get you there fast, but may not always be the smartest thing to do!
"Note The Quote (Malay translation)"
Kadang kala, perjalanan (ke tempat yang tidak pernah ditujui) pada kelajuan maksimum boleh menyebabkan kesusahan pada diri sendiri.
Rekaan sendiri, berdasarkan dari Star Trek
Pengajaran: Terburu-buru untuk sampai ke destinasi atau matlamat hidup mungkin boleh membawa kita ke sana dengan cepat, tetapi langkah itu tidak semestinya yang terbaik!
You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you'll stop at the first giant hurdle.
George Lucas (Film Director and Producer)
"Favourite Note The Quote 2"
A sign in a mosque on the need to switch off handphones:
P/S: Email me if you wish to receive a "Weekly Note The Quote" newsletter, a compilation of quotations that appear here in this column or in any of my blog entries within a particular week. Please put Note The Quote in your email subject. TQ.
If you have a specific field/term to search on Islam, you can also enter your search item(s) at Islamic Web Directory, available at the bottom of an entry entitled Proofs. For your convenience in accessing the Directory, Proofs is available in "Other own (cool) stuffs" column. Thank you.
Penguin Rush
First of all, wishing all Muslims a Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin. May we all have a barakah Ramadhan this year and years to come, Insha' Allah. 
