The year 2008 ended with a big bang, or rather, plenty of big bangs, and they still carry on till today. No, I'm not referring to any particular celebrations in conjunction with the new year. But I reckon, you could have guessed already that I was referring to the war that is happening in Palestine.
I have long given up wanting to know too much in detail about the turmoil in Palestine. Whether the news is aired over the t.v., radio or from the newspapers, or from the Internet or email, I would usually avoid reading them, let alone viewing/looking at the related videos/photos.
Photos deemed not suitable for public viewing are usually not published over the mainstream media. However, they are still available aplenty from the Internet. Photos of bloodied, burned or blown off victims and in some instances, body parts and pieces of the victims scattered on the streets and among the rubbles.
I would cringe whenever my eyes caught a glimpse of such photos from the email I got. I also don't want to know all the gritty details that result from the war, like how many members in a family are killed this time or what is the age of the young girl lying motionless in the cradle of her crying father.
My heart can't take it anymore especially knowing that many victims are children!! More so these days, with me having a child of my own, it just breaks me. If I were to still keep track with the latest updates of what's going on in the Middle East (especially Palestine and Iraq), I would most likely be so overwhelmed by emotions - anger (I think those whose hearts don't feel the slightest anger, they are made of stone. I mean this is not about religions anymore, but about humans slaughter other humans), sadness and mad, so freaking mad, that I would tremble and feel very much wanting to go there and help the Palestineans.
The only help that most of us can extend to the Palestineans is in the form of donations and prayers. True, we should never deny or dout the power of doa', but it doesn't feel enough...don't you think?
The Israhell Zionis argues that they need to defend themselves from the Hamas. Bollocks!What gave them right to kill small children anyway?
The country that they, the Israhell Zionis, proudly call Israel, was never theirs in the first place.They occupied them illegally, and through Britain (and now they are leveraging on the US), they manipulated the UN to recognise the land they live in as their own country. Now, they want to expand their border by killing, chasing off the Palestineans. As the then Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir had said, this war is about territorial, with the sole purpose of getting rid of the Palestineans.
In a recent interview by the media, a lady (I didn't get her name and her position, but I believe she was either the head of MERCY Malaysia or Islamic Relief Malaysia) said that "You can say it is collateral damange if after you bomb a building, some civilians are killed. But these children have bullet holes in their heads and bodies, this is something else." True, it's a massacre, a genocide!!! What kind of self-defense (as the Israhell argues) would that be?
This tragedy made us realise about one thing - unless we are bed-ridden with some uncured diseases, or we are so poor, that we can't afford to send our children to school, or something else which are as serious, all other problems that we encounter seem so minute, surmountable and not worth our energy worrying about.
Maybe we should just shut the hell up and realise how lucky we are compared to the Palestineans. Problems like stuck in a traffic jam, or the weather is hot, or issues with colleagues, they are nothing, considering there are not even roads in Palestine to begin with since most of them are all bombed up; the Palestineans fled their houses with only the clothes on their backs and most of them had lost somebody - families, friends and colleagues.
Of course, sometimes, we DO need to let out our frustation on life's issues, but make it a point that they will only be shared with someone you can trust, and then.... HUSH! There is no point of making our issues known to everybody. Considering we are able to voice out those issues in the first place, meaning, we are still lucky enough!
There was a point in my life when I was influenced by the behaviour of some 'makciks' (aunties) that I liked to complain and complain and complain and complain - to friends, to bosses and even wrote them in this blog, until I realised one day, this was not in my nature, and that it had to stop! Since that day, never again did I complain, especially to people of authorities. This had also prompted me to delete some entries in this blog that I considered as 'petty matters'.
Meantime, in case any of you are wondering why there's a butterfly in my cartoon (above) or the cartoon looks somewhat familiar to you, I was actually inspired by the movie poster of Silence of the Lambs (see below).
P/S: One thing that I did regret though when speaking about the Palestine tragedy - this country was willing to cancel the New Year celebrations after it was hit by tsunami some few years back. Sadly, all those sinful celebrations (most of them are anyway) were carried on as usual this year, despite the fact that Palestine was first attacked in 27 December 2008, and as the new year approached, the attacks escalated along with the number of casualties! Where was the sensitivity of this country's leaders? If tsunami was the work of nature, the Palestine tragedy is much worse as it is the work of us humans.
Are we going to respect the dead only if our own fellow people are dead? Why can't we just drop those meaningless parties and festivals once and for all? What have we got to lose anyway?
dI'm sure you've come across low-life scumbags in your life before, and by scums, I'm referring to those who continue on 'pok-pek' ing about you behind your backs (i.e. gossipping/talking with the intention to hurt your feelings or talking without much understanding over the topics discussed, i.e. many false assumptions about you are thrown in). What can they be talking about? Well, mostly on your shortcomings, weaknesses and mistakes. Funny how sometimes, over one small harmless mistake, we are punished for our whole lives, huh?
You may not have time to pay heed to those insinuations, especially if you now have other more important stuffs to be concerned about, like for examples, you are now happily married with children, or you have a business to run, or your job scope is becoming busier, or you have parents to take care of etc etc. But then, those hurtful remarks that you (indirectly) hear, or the hateful stare that people give you can still bring you down sometimes. After all, you may have a thick skin, but how thick can it be right?
For those who are familiar with the X-Men stories and characters, it is basically about mutants with special powers, trying to live their lives without being pestered by other 'normal' human beings, who still count as the majority of the people on earth. As a result, just as there are good and bad people, some mutants have also turned bad, using their powers for their own selfish needs.
In the movie X-Men 2, there was a scene where Ororo Munroe (a.k.a. Storm) had a conversation with Kurt Wagner (a.k.a. Nightcrawler). I just love the lines that they had...
Nightcrawler: You and Miss Grey are schoolteachers? (Jean Grey is one of those good mutants) Storm: Yes. At a school for people like us, where we can be safe. Nightcrawler: Safe from what? Storm: Everyone else. Nightcrawler: You know, outside of the circus, most people were afraid of me. But I did not hate them. I pitied them. Do you know why? Because most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes. Storm: Well, I gave up on pity a long time ago.
Well, I gave up on pity a long time ago too. Pity - not only because they will never know anything beyond what they see through their eyes, but also because most of them lead a much pathetic lifestyle anyway, and usually, their friends are of the same low level of mindset with serious deficit in the intellect part. Think I sound like proud? Well, read Hippopotamus, the you'll know why we need to be proud of ourselves sometimes.
How about you? Maybe you should give up on pity towards those scums of the universe too, whoever they may be in your lives... and having said that, let's examine ourselves once in a while - are we too, scums?
I got tagged by Mel Ija to list down the type of foods that I drool over during Ramadhan. Well, frankly speaking, I'm the kind of person who basically eat all kinds of (halal) foods. Foods and drinks which are only slightly salty or sweet or bland, they don't bother me 'coz I'd still eat them all, without making any fuss about it. But luckily, that doesn't make me drool over so many foods during Ramadhan, let alone fail to fight the temptation to eat, hehehe.
I've heard comments before, made by some of us (including fellow Muslims) during the final days as Ramadhan approaches, something like "We'd better eat as much as we want Abdun, because when it's already fasting time, we can no longer eat." Such comments make me snicker everytime I hear it... I mean, is eating all that matters in life? Have they not realised the purpose of Ramadhan other than us not being able to eat and drink during certain hours of the day? I mean considering we have with all those stalls/hotels selling all kinds of foods and drinks during this holy month (including those that we won't normally see on other days), I think we are more spoilt for choice (of foods) in Ramadhan than any other months.
Ok, enough with membebel (ranting/babbling). Back to the topic...... The 5 foods that I feel like having now:
I'm sooo not fussy when it comes to sahur. A drink or two will do, a piece of bread is more than sufficient. In fact, during my bachelor times, I hardly got up for sahur.
Name 5 foods I'd most likely buy for berbuka today:
1. Chrysanthemum tea (not the one you buy from grocery stores but those sold in Bazaar Ramadhan) 2. KFC set menu with satay sauce? 3. Air kelapa (feel thirsty laaa, that's why need to have 2 different drinks) 4. Laksa Johor (the most unique and delicious of all laksa's, followed by Laksa Sarawak) 5. Grilled corn
So readers, especially the Muslim ones, feel free to comment about the food cravings that you have during this Ramadhan. May all of us have a Ramadhan full of barakah.
P/S: The above photo was taken inside a new mosque at Jalan Hang Tuah, K.L. It was a beautiful mosque with marvellous designs and khats.
I think it's pathetic that.... ........ some of us consider their job is everything and the only thing that they have in life - in fact more important than life itself. ........it is also amazing that.... ....... despite some of us are being so fussy and nit picking (to the extent that it's suffocating to others), those people are still alive and kicking with no serious health issues.... ....however, it's pathetic that.... ........ they may be healthy and alive now, they may own fancy clothes with trendy hairstyle and tons of cash to boot, but they fail to realise that once that 'little' thing called life is snatched away from them, none of that matters anymore, even if they are dressed in fancy clothes and with notes strewn with them inside that 'little' thing called coffin, and even more pathetic, if they have nobody to inherit those fortunes or their fortunes are 'misused' by their heirs.... .... now how about this, isn't it pathetic that...... ...... despite having gained independence for 50 years, we are still not THAT independent.....
We all live in a fussy world. I mean, let's face it, we are surrounded by fussy people with fussy procedures to rule our lives and fussy issues that just keep popping up every now and then. I admit that I AM a fussy person (guess you can tell that from my blog huh? ;p). So, who else is better to write about this topic other than me?
First of all, let's define who actually fall into this fussy group. According to Hyperdictionary, those who are fussy can be perversely irritable. Why? They can go on and on babbling about their coiffure that didn't turn out to be as they expected, or how the cashier gave him change 20 cents short or how emotionally scarred she is when her favourite singer is voted out of a reality show or how the salary is far from enough to support the family (the list really goes on). Expressions like 'making a mountain out of a molehill', 'beating around the bush' and 'sore to the ears' aptly describe those who are fussy.
So, where can fussy people express their grievances and complaints? In other words, where can they unstuck this nail from their bottoms? Well, for starters, customers hotline, comments boxes and emails are there for a reason. Then, there's this blog phenomena where people can babble, nag and yack to hundreds or thousands of people without having to utter a single word. Though of course, not all blogs are about trivial stuffs mind you. There are those which feature serious issues and topics for discussion. As for mine, I see it as a mixed of everything - for some issues, I may laugh one day at how silly I was to be bragging about them; for other topics, they may provide me (and hopefully, readers too) with useful information and nostalgia on my drawing and writing collections.
However, let's not forget that sometimes, fussy stuffs are meant to safeguard us or to smooth things up. After all, one man's trivial is another man's crucial. For examples, some may think that wearing seatbelts or helmets while on the roads or filling up a form in BLACK CAPITAL LETTERS only as petty but such regulations are there to save lives and to save time.
So, what makes people fussy?
1. They try to avoid dealing with much bigger issues. My sketches above is a great analogy (I think). A man complaints about chips lying around on the floor when his whole house is actually one big mess and in need of an extreme makeover - fast!
2. They are too self-centred. Everything is about them. It is extremely difficult to please them. They lack emotional intelligence. They never put themselves in the shoes of others. They always think that bad things (despite how minute they are) should never happen to them. They are not grateful for what they have and everything must be either their way or the highway.
3. They may show kindness towards others but they are actually snobbish in reality. For example, an employer may scold the maid harshly just because the maid missed a spot, or a nosy staff who likes to find the small mistakes of colleagues and lets the boss knows about it.
4. Those who are facing some personal problems may become fussy about things in order to attract other people's attention or as a way to express their (hidden) feelings or in some cases, so that their fussiness would cause other people to leave them alone (since depressed people tend to think that nobody really cares about them). For example, parents may nag about their daughter who's still not yet married not because they enjoy doing so, but because that is how they show their worries over the daughter's future.
5. Some may drag frivolous issues just so that people would forget about bigger issues or as a mode to disunite the society.
6. A motivator once said in a seminar that it really annoys him when bosses like to snoop around in case they can catch their staff red-handed or those who like to make big issues out of small matters. In my opinion, bosses like these and those who run such companies are in desperate need for management and leadership trainings or something.
Why we should not be fussy? People may avoid and misunderstand us; being fussy increases the risk of getting a heart attack, high blood pressure and the like; a fussy person would cause unnecessary stress to other people; employees may make a noise or resign at the slightest dissatisfaction (especially if there's not much benefits to please them in the first place); children may become rebellious; and bigger/much serious issues may not be given enough attention than it should or they may be totally discarded away.
So, if fussy people are getting on your nerves, perhaps it helps to think of them as Hippopotamus.
Recently, the Head of Syari'ah Dept. of Takaful (an Islamic based insurance company) issued an email to his staff, stating that they should not extend their Deepavali greetings to Hindus, for fear of being syirik. Such a matter has somehow leaked to the general Malaysian public and caused an uproar to some people (including those who are not directly affected....d'uh!). I have then sent a letter to The Sun newspaper expressing my views on the so-called big issue. As of yesterday, the letter has not been published (I have not checked today's). But I'd like to post it here too (and I hope the paper won't mind since this is more like a free publicity for them... err, I think). Anyway, here's the letter (edited):
"Referring to the recent news that broke out over the directive to Takaful's Muslim employees not to greet the Hindus, Happy Deepavali. First of all, let me ask this question - what's with all the fuss? It seems to me that some Malaysians these days are quick to jump and react over the slightest matter. I fear that our harmony may be easily shaken or disrupted in the future, just because we tend to drag on an issue that is so trivial.
Second of all, I'm not a Takaful staff but I would like to clarify a few things on behalf of Takaful people especially, and the whole Muslim community, generally.
Muslims can greet and wish fellow non-Muslims during their festivals, provided that the festivals are cultural and not religous ones. With regard to the latter, we are strictly forbidden to celebrate, participate or attend festivals which contain religous ceremonies/rituals.
The same goes with attending funerals. We can show our respect to the deceased and their families, but not participate in the ceremonies involved.
I believe the same goes with those of other religions. I never see them pray together or 'amin' our prayers too.
In our case, the reason for God to forbid us from attending such religous ceremonies is to safeguard our aqidah. In our daily prayers, we have pledged in our syahadah that there is no God but Allah and that prophet Muhammad is Allah's messenger. Therefore, by participating in ceremonies which worship other than Allah, will contradict with our pledge. After all, to lie in our court of law, we will be held in contempt. Therefore, our pledge with Allah should not be any difference or be taken lightly. In fact, it should be taken far more seriously.
However, as a show of respect and to preserve peace, there is no harm to simply greet or wish our fellow non-Muslims. I've extended my wish to my non-Muslim friends before, countless other people have done it too. There is no need to condemn the person who wrote the email. The author is simply thinking differently of what Muslims can and cannot do.
There is also no need for the person to lose his job. We've seen people who exploit and abuse their powers to much worse extent, like using vetos indiscriminately and making evil decisions that have caused the loss of innocent lives. Look at where they are now, still in their seats right?
Meantime, in one feedback by Malethy, she assumed that Takaful has sidelined the feelings of non-Malays working there. Do you know that for some high-rise buildings out there (malls, offices and hotels), they can't even allocate a room (surau) for us Muslims to pray or their suraus are in a very sorry state?
The companies who run those buildings may brag about the classes they belong in, with floors marbled and walls/ceilings furnished with expensive items, but to go to their surau (if there is any), we have to go through smelly kitchen and moldy/smelly underground pathways. Obviously, the management of those buildings have sidelined the feelings of their Muslims staff and guests too, for 365 days, all year round."
With regard to buildings with no prayer rooms, I have since avoided/boycotted them. I think their management is not so much of disrespecting Muslims. It's just that they are arrogant and/or ignorant. Having said that, I am deeply grateful that the Malaysian government is still run by Muslims majority and that Agong is the Head of Religion.....
How to survive the "Hippopotamus" (updated in green)
What shape us as a person? Is it genetic, upbringing or environment? For example, we look like the way we do because of genetic factor; like brown stint eyes, long sharp nose, thick curly hair or having dark skin.
If genetic determines (mostly) our physical; upbringing and environment mould our behaviours. I was blessed to be born and raised in a loving environment - with loving parents, (late) grandmother and elder sister. I guess that's why I easily feel attached to someone who is nice towards me (and my family), especially if the kindness is uncalled for. Don't get me wrong! There are many kinds of love. Heck! I even love my cat, Sky, so darn much, to the extent that I always talk to him like Sky is another human being.
However, I realise there arethose who are born in a broken family. Parents divorced or killed; or the child is abused physically (like being beaten or raped) or mentally (like hearing parents fight all the time). How about those who are born in a war-torn country. They witness brutalities and atrocities being committed right in front of them even before they leave their cradles. For these children, they will encounter much turmoil and difficulties in their life paths ahead (although not necessary the case, of course).
But then, would you agree that, despite how good (or not too good) the way we are brought up, environment influences us the most. And I'm talking about environment outside the family. For example, say a child raised with much love by his family, but instead of putting him in a good school, he is sent to jail with the rest of criminals, and is labelled a criminal as well. Let him serve his 'sentence' for a few years. Chances are, the kid would eventually think and act like he too is a criminal, even though he really is NOT.
I'm just trying to make a point here. Because I think we spend many hours at school/studying and at work, and these are the environments that shape our lives.
I guess no matter how great the upbringing can be, but when certain people keep labelling you with some bad names, after a while, you'd start to believe you are who you have been labelled.
And in these environments, there are certain groups of people that you should approach with caution. These are the people whom I'd like to refer to as HIPPOPOTAMUS.
Have you ever been stabbed in the back (not literally I hope), or someone bad mouthed you so bad, it's appalling you ever knew that person at all.
They are nice in front of you, but behind you, they will tell stories about you - things you are not comfortable with, secrets that you thought would never leak and worst, lies so heinous, people start to perceive you differently (in a bad way).
Then, they are also people who are judgemental (they are just plain mental, if you ask me). They immediately judge you in a certain way, especially if you are slightly different from the rest of the crowds. And they way they judge and assume and theorise, wow..., it's like they own a few PHD's in the field.
Such behaviour (BACK STABBING AND JUDGEMENTAL) is typical among us humans. Whenever someone is (slightly) different from norm, other people start to pass all sorts of judgements; like WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OR NOT CAPABLE OF DOING, WHAT HE'S LIKE, WHY HE SHOULD BE AVOIDED AND RIDICULED AT, BLAH BLAHH BLAHHH... As though they know so much about him, making him feel bad and low about himself. What makes they think they know so much?? DO THEY THINK THAT THEY ARE SUCH PERFECT CREATURES, THEY HAVE TO JUDGE OTHERS?? Whatever they bad-mouth about the other person, those things will definitely come back to them (if not their own loved ones), in ten folds much worse. SOMEONE SHOULD JUST SHOVE SOME BAMBOO STICKS WITH SHARP ENDS INTO THEIR ASSES, THAT SHOULD SERVE THEM GOOD....
So, who are Hippopotamus? They are people who are: 1. Back stabbers 2. Judgemental freaks (or just plain 'mental').
Those who fall in the 2nd category of Hippopotamus, usually jumps to the 1st group, as they will start to BABBLE things that they have no business in and have little/absolutely no knowledge about.
Here's a story about Tom, who represents his school in a public speaking contest during his senior primary years. There is a short break prior to him giving a speech. He chats with another contestant siting next to him, trying harmlessly to make a new friend. Then all of a sudden, this fella says "Djinn is your school mate, isn't he? Well, he's my neighbour. He says you used to stammer badly until only recently, you recovered, right? Haha, surprisingly the school picks you as their contender."
Yes, it is surprising for Tom too. Not because his school picks him as a contender. But because he doesn't really know this Djinn sucker that well. What's in it for Djinn to bad-mouth him? Djinn is not interested in public speaking. He doesn't even compete at school level. So, jealousy can be ruled out as the reason. So, why the heck would Djinn make stories behind his back when he never actually harms Djinn before?
Face turning red after hearing such remarks, Tom encounters difficulties delivering his speech. His stammer problem resurfaces, which affects his performance on stage.
When Tom goes for further studies, unfortunately, Djinn is the only one from his school who goes to the same college as he does. As expected, Djinn starts spreading news about his Tom Tam label (Tam as in sTAMmer). Therefore, Tom has issues blending in, since some students already judge him a certain way before they even get to know him. Quite a GOSSIP KING this Djinn fella huh? And considering this Djinn person acts like he's manly and everything, he's actually a DRAMA QUEEN. Yep, that's the correct word! What a FUC*ING BIT*H!!
Are you a Hippopotamus? If you are, please do change and ungroup yourself from these people. Why? It's because of Hippopotamus: 1. Religions are misjudged and misinterpreted. 2. Certain people are labelled wrongly and feared at (unnecessarily). 3. Truths are hidden and concealed, yet lies blossomed and revealed. 4. Friendships and marriages are broken. 5. Respected figures degraded by society. 6. People lose their self confidence and shun themselves away from society. 7. People lose their jobs/means of income. 8. People get killed. 9. Countries go to war. 10. ... many other efects that you may have seen or encountered. In fact it's not too drastic to say, that Hippopotamus has contributed much to the instability in the world.
If you ever come across one of them, here's what you should do.
Most probably, the Hippopotamus is far from being better than you. Try to imagine them looking so ugly like a Hippopotamus with boils all over the body, with stinking armpits (ugh!) and much stinking behaviours. Most likely, they are also less successful than you; lower ranking job, lower IQ, uglier, immature, have less achievements etc. etc. Not trying to be arrogant or anything, just to boost yourself back up. Heck! they make you feel so low right? So, why don't you look down on them in return; even though you're just judging them quietly and to yourself. Well, it works - trust me! However, if they ARE better in many ways (better looking, better income, better job position, etc), but in terms of faith towards God, he might not be. Although of course, you should NEVER EVER JUDGE OR ASSUME that another human being is at a lower level in the eyes of God than you are. That is between him/her and God. Who are we to judge their faith anyway, right??However, it does help, if you can still imagine them looking like the ugly Hippopotamus.
Also, try to think, is this person really important to you? Have they ever contributed a single dime (or help) to bring you to where you are now? Chances are... NEVER... so, toss them away, like how you toss filthy garbage into the bin or flush them down the toilet (not literally, ok!)... You'll start to feel good about yourself in no time. Those people are definitely NOT worth the time and energy for you to keep thinking and become all stressed out about.
But then, what if that person IS important to you, you DO need him/her, they DID help you in many things before. This is the case where your heart is crushed the most, I believe. In that case, talk diplomatically to this person, personally or with the presence of a counsellor/psychiatrist. Obviously, you need CLOSURE dudes... Or better still, just FORGIVE and FORGET, like it all never happens before. So, decide what's best. At the end of the day, it's your own life that you should be concerned about.
You can cry your eyes out all you want or scream your heart out as loud as you can. Whether to suppress your anger or to let it all out (BUT PLEASE... DON'T HARM ANY LIVING THINGS WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY, OK?? ), just bear in mind, you may NOT be able to FORGIVE someone for what they've done, but it is the vengeance that is burning inside you that you should try to FORGET. The vengeance of causing as much hurt to those people, like maybe pray bad things happen to them, steal something from them, (hire someone to) beat them up, humiliate or degrade them, cast some kind of spell on them (that can happen you know), burn their houses, rape their children and worst of all, kill them... And always remember this:WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU, MAKE YOU STRONGER. Incidentally, I recently came across this quotation and very much like to include it here. Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801), a Theologian once said, "Don't speak evil of someone if you don't know for certain, and if you do know, ask yourself why am I telling it?" We have TWO ears and ONE mouth for a reason: To speak less, but to listen more (depending on circumstances, obviously).
And in case you wonder, why Hippopotamus? It's from the word hypocrite.
COMING SOON: 1. Num8ers: Coincidentally, this number is significant in my life. 2. Learn alphabets from movies: 'D' is for diamond (The Pink Panther); Destination (Final Destination 3); Descending (The Descent); Dick (Have Fun With Dick And Jane); Diego (of Ice Age 2); Death Call (When A Stranger Calls) and Disney (The Wild). While 'V' is for Vampires (Underworld 2) and Vendetta. 3. Also reviews on The Manly Girl (She's The Man), The Sinking Ship (Poseidon), The Impossible Mission (MI-3) and err... The Hilly Eyes? (The Hills Have Eyes).
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
The year 2008 ended with a big bang, or rather, plenty of big bangs, and they still carry on till today. No, I'm not referring to any particular celebrations in conjunction with the new year. But I reckon, you could have guessed already that I was referring to the war that is happening in Palestine. 
