The Onion Philosophy

As you get older, there’s always that slight chance that you get more sentimental. The pictures on the table speak of a thousand tales, of happy memories from a not so distant long ago. Little knick-knacks become more than just souvenirs; they’re like Horcruxes, bearing the soul of the one who once held them. As you hold one of the pieces in your hands, it’s as if a home movie plays in your brain, and you find yourself smiling at the sudden rush of nostalgia.

Unfortunately, where there is good, there will also be bad. Sad, painful memories that silently slice your heart. And probably even worse, those beautiful memories that leave you in a state of motionless delusion, forever longing for something which will probably never happen again. With each slice, your eyes, and most of the time your heart, can’t help but shed tears.

Good thing there’s The Onion Philosophy.

ONION. A simple acronym for five simple words that may not have much impact, but when you think about it, makes total sense.

Old news is old news. No matter how much I whine and wail, I won’t be able to bring back what’s already in the past. What’s done is done, so they say. The only recourse for me is to learn from what happened, and strive to be a better version of myself. I may not be able to bring back the past, but I also won’t let it bring me down.

With the start of the new year comes the exciting prospect of starting a new chapter in life. A new hobby. A new career. A new relationship. It can be anything that you can imagine; it’s an adventure that’s just waiting at the corner. With the new year also comes the dawn of a new hope, the beginning of a new journey. Good things are in store for you this year; you only need to go ahead and claim them!

So when the weight of the past drags you down, think of the ONION, learn the LESSON, and then MOVE ON. Unless of course, drowning yourself in hopelessness is your thing. If so, then by all means, peel an actual onion while you’re at it. Who knows, those simple words may suddenly hit you while you’re in the middle of your tears. And when you realize just how much of the present you’re throwing away, then maybe you can start truly living again.

.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arrive

-The Beatles, “Blackbird”

I used to admire Britney Spears

Hey, during my childhood i used to collect all Britney Spears Photos.. i keep it until now.
But my feeling towards her is no longer there..huhuhu.. why? i think she's not pretty as before anymore..hahah..
and her personality is totally embarrasing..

well, whatever it is.. i would like to share about her BIO that i found in Wiki..

" Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999. During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.
In 2001, she released her third studio album Britney and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003), which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went into hiatus. Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behavior and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album Circus was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer",it also included hits such as "Circus", and "If U Seek Amy". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour,^[2] The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. That same year she released a chart-topping single, "3" in October 2009 .Her seventh studio album Femme Fatale, released in 2011, has become the first of her albums to yield three top ten singles in the United States,including her fourth US number one single"Hold It Against Me".
Spears has sold over 100 million records worldwide.^[3] According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums.^[4] Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[5] She was ranked the 8th Artist of the 2000s by Billboard.<sup>[6]


Isn't she is great before.. hahahahahaha... Now? no more mehhhh!!</sup>

Oooooooowhh

HCheap DVDs for sale!
I've recently upgraded to Bluray (in addition to purchasing quite a few more legit Criterion DVDs), so I now have quite a few more duplicate titles on DVD, so I'm letting go of these as well. Check out the list below:

SPECIAL OFFER: Take EVERYTHING for RM150 only! That's 9 original DVD titles (but 12 discs in total) left + 14 bootlegs (17 discs total), very special price for u... hehehe

Original DVDs (a mixture of US, UK and Malaysian versions) - RM10 per disc:

    * Wanted (steelbook cover, 2-disc) - Timur Bekmembatov
    * Gladiator, Extended Special Ed (3-disc) -Ridley Scott
    * Taken - Pierre Morel
    * A Night At The Opera (Marx Brothers) - Sam Wood
    * A Night In Casablance (Marx Brothers) - Archie Mayo
    * Monsieur Hulot's Holiday - Jacques Tati
    * Star Trek (2009) - JJ Abrams
    * The Nutty Professor - Jerry Lewis
    * Open City - Roberto Rossellini
    * Watchmen Director's Cut (2-disc) - Zack Snyder
    * Breathless - Jean Luc Godard
    * Pather Panchali - Satyajit Ray
    * The Wind Will Carry Us - Abbas Kiarostami
    * M - Fritz Lang
    * Citizen Kane - Orson Welles
    * Day Of Wrath - Carl Theodor Dreyer
    * The Prestige - Christopher Nolan
    * Batman Begins (2-disc) - Christopher Nolan
    * The Dark Knight (2-disc) - Christopher Nolan
    * Casino (2-disc) - Martin Scorsese
    * Che (2-disc) - Steven Soderbergh
    * Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino
    * Death Proof - Quentin Tarantino
    * Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez
    * Shaun Of The Dead - Edgar Wright
    * Hot Fuzz - Edgar Wright
    * District 9 - Neill Blomkamp
    * Serenity - Joss Whedon
    * Stranger Than Paradise - Jim Jarmusch
    * Bottle Rocket - Wes Anderson
    * The Game - David Fincher
    * Up - Pete Docter
    * Fulltime Killer - Johnnie To
    * The Night Of The Hunter - Charles Laughton
    * Requiem For A Dream - Darren Aronofsky
    * The Wrestler - Darren Aronofsky
    * The Fountain - Darren Aronofsky
    * Drag Me To Hell - Sam Raimi
    * Alfred Hitchcock 2 Movie combo: The Lady Vanishes + Jamaica Inn

Not-so-original DVDs - RM5 per disc:

    * The Apu Trilogy (3-disc) - Satyajit Ray
    * The Complete Jean Vigo (2-disc) - Jean Vigo
    * Le Cercle Rouge - Jean Pierre Melville
    * Short Cuts - Robert Altman
    * Salo, The 120 Days of Sodom - Pier Paolo Pasolini
    * Jour De Fete - Jacques Tati
    * L'Atalante - Jean Vigo
    * Requiem For A Dream - Darren Aronofsky
    * Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans - Werner Herzog
    * Hellboy - Guillermo Del Toro
    * Hellboy 2 - Guillermo Del Toro
    * Collateral - Michael Mann
    * The Battle Of Algiers - Gillo Pontecorvo
    * Walkabout - Nicolas Roeg
    * Do The Right Thing (2-disc) - Spike Lee
    * The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
    * Dead Or Alive - Takashi Miike
    * Dead Or Alive 2 - Takashi Miike
    * Dead Or Alive Final - Takashi Miike
    * The Man Without A Past - Aki Kaurismaki
    * Traffic - Steven Soderbergh
    * Before Sunset - Richard Linklater
    * Twenty-Four Eyes (2-disc) - Keisuke Kinoshita
    * Zodiac Director's Cut - David Fincher
    * Wings Of Desire - Wim Wenders
    * As Tears Go By - Wong Kar Wai
    * Batman Begins - Christopher Nolan
    * The Dark Knight (2-disc) - Christopher Nolan
    * Adventureland - Greg Mottola

Apologies for not being able to upload some photos, Blogger's kinda slow lah this morning, dammit!


Imported DVDs for sale - from the USA + UK
Did another spring cleaning after the one yesterday, and found that I have 2 copies of a few more DVD titles (when you're in the habit of buying Criterion versions or Special Editions of films, these things normally happen, hehe), so I'm selling the ones listed below. These are true blue, imported and ORIGINAL DVDs from the USA and the UK.

Price: RM30 each
Contact: encik.aidil@gmail.com

Titles:

1. Breathless (A Bout De Souffle)
dir: Jean Luc Godard
Region 2, UK version, released by Optimum Releasing
Special features include Charlotte Et Son Jules: A Short Film by Jean Luc Godard, Original trailer + 1983 Jim McBride remake trailer, Full production notes, Poster + Photo gallery

2. Stranger Than Paradise
dir: Jim Jarmusch
Region 1, US version, released by MGM, now out of print.
Includes Behind The Scenes featurette

3. The Nutty Professor (Special Edition)
dir: Jerry Lewis
Region 1, US Version, released by Paramount
Special features include Commentary by Jerry Lewis, Jerry Lewis Featurette + Documentary, Archival materials, Theatrical trailer

4. Death Proof
dir: Quentin Tarantino
Region 1, US version, Blockbuster exclusive, released by Dimension/Genius Products
Special features include The Hot Rods of Death Proof, Trailer + Poster gallery

5. Planet Terror
dir: Robert Rodriguez
Region 1, US version, Blockbuster exclusive, released by Dimension/Genius Products
Special features include Commentary with Robert Rodriguez, Audience Reaction Track, Comic-Con 2006 Featuring the Directors and Cast of Grindhouse, Trailer + poster gallery

Have fun shopping! Sorry I couldn't upload photos of the DVDs here, internet connection's being a real bitch today...
Posted by Aidil at 12:37 PM

Newspaper

I was scouring the newspapers for something appropriately funny to use as my first blogpost of 2012. There wasn't anything particularly funny the first couple of days. Then of course, my friend dropped a bombshell about joining Umno. Because he believed in Najib's transformation programmes or something like that. And so I took another day to calm my frazzled nerves and waited until today to share some funnies with you.  Just two la actually.

In the Star today is the funniest story of the year. So far.  It was reported that the Minister of Home Affairs, Hishammuddin Hussein had said that the organisers of the 901 - Free Anwar Campaign must guarantee that the rally will be peaceful. The police flers have also been very vocal in the media, both trad and alternative, warning people about attending the rally and that they (the police flers) will crack down hard on people attending ... blah blah blah.

Don't you think it's damn funny. The police threatening harsh action against demonstrators and the Home Minister wanting a guarantee from the organisers of the rally?

Things might have changed since I last went to sleep last night but isn't keeping the peace the role of the police? Why is it assumed that demonstrators will be violent? Damn funny kan?

Wait, wait, wait...actually Hishammuddin Hussein must take 2nd place for today's funnies la. His boys in blue are funnier! In The Star it was reported that some police fler in the ongoing investigation into the tear-gas and water cannon shooting incident at Tung Shin Hospital during Bersih 2.0 said that he didn't know that the building his men aimed the water cannon at was a hospital!!! HUH???

To reinforce his own defence Inspector Nor Hisham Razali, the officer in charge of the water cannon truck, also said that the 4 policemen controlling the water cannon truck were from Ipoh! If they are that clueless and from Ipoh how did they find their way to the hospital in the first place? Maybe got GPS in the water cannon truck lor. Then the Nor Hisham fler go and say that their vision in the truck was limited due to the rainy weather and water on the windscreen. Cannot see properly wor.

I was scouring the newspapers for something appropriately funny to use as my first blogpost of 2012. There wasn't anything particularly funny the first couple of days. Then of course, my friend dropped a bombshell about joining Umno. Because he believed in Najib's transformation programmes or something like that. And so I took another day to calm my frazzled nerves and waited until today to share some funnies with you.  Just two la actually.

In the Star today is the funniest story of the year. So far.  It was reported that the Minister of Home Affairs, Hishammuddin Hussein had said that the organisers of the 901 - Free Anwar Campaign must guarantee that the rally will be peaceful. The police flers have also been very vocal in the media, both trad and alternative, warning people about attending the rally and that they (the police flers) will crack down hard on people attending ... blah blah blah.

Don't you think it's damn funny. The police threatening harsh action against demonstrators and the Home Minister wanting a guarantee from the organisers of the rally?

Things might have changed since I last went to sleep last night but isn't keeping the peace the role of the police? Why is it assumed that demonstrators will be violent? Damn funny kan?

Wait, wait, wait...actually Hishammuddin Hussein must take 2nd place for today's funnies la. His boys in blue are funnier! In The Star it was reported that some police fler in the ongoing investigation into the tear-gas and water cannon shooting incident at Tung Shin Hospital during Bersih 2.0 said that he didn't know that the building his men aimed the water cannon at was a hospital!!! HUH???

To reinforce his own defence Inspector Nor Hisham Razali, the officer in charge of the water cannon truck, also said that the 4 policemen controlling the water cannon truck were from Ipoh! If they are that clueless and from Ipoh how did they find their way to the hospital in the first place? Maybe got GPS in the water cannon truck lor. Then the Nor Hisham fler go and say that their vision in the truck was limited due to the rainy weather and water on the windscreen. Cannot see properly wor.

Basic Forex Trading

Over recent years online Forex trading has now become big business and certainly in the financial sector this is the biggest market of all in the world. The reason why this market has grown compared to the many other financial markets is because of the rise in the number of traders working online rather than using the more traditional method of trading by using the phone. Because of this increase there are a number of sites which are now offering to people the chance of learning about this through taking free online Forex trading courses

Yes you will play commerce of Forex which online. Forex represents foreign exchange, became this only buy and sells forex currency and gets gain. Concept is that price to sell and purchasing of currency forex which is certain is changing a spell, even that moves from time to time

To be can do this you must comprehend is first tip and tricks in playing this money making game, because certain type from mean charts would thing and you must sell or buys certain forex currency. In fabforex.com, you can have information about forex which is online, does vinicity how to playing commerce of online forex or only some information about covenant forex sells at regular intervals

Active Directory

Active Directory service is one of service which is added value at windows server which has not there is completely at type network operating other system like Linux and FreeBSD. Active Directory hardly good for managing small network until big with type windows operating system as its the client like condition mostly now there is in companies.

When you are creating a project it is important that you do it and use some management for the projects to be sure of a job well done for you. But, it’s not easy managing servers if you don't have a background on network administration. It's a good thing that the industry is already flooded with service-providers. Check out ensim.com. It's a good place to start for businesses who want quality implementation of Active Directory, Active Directory Management, Active Directory Tools, Exchange Management and Exchange Tools.

With the time and effort that you can save there will be more things that you can do for the presentation of your projects. . Visit the Ensim.com that offer the active directory and have the advantage of using it for your projects.

Tips Chooses Web Hosting :)

Tips Chooses Web Hosting

 

Shares personal story in choosing web hosting payee (commercial), doesn't simply origin chooses Cheap Web Hosting. But also realizable must and has speed up access time which good. Most all companies races - competition offers price as cheap possible with facility completely unlimited. There even exists also offering unlimited space facility. This thing very impossible because most all infrastructures that is supporting web hosting to have limitation - limitation which cannot be avoided.

Following some that need to be seen in choosing web hosting

1. Reliability and speed of access

Besides having to web believable host and has access quickly, doesn't forget also guarantees its uptime (functional time of its term). Searching a minimum of uptime 99%. Even actually 99% is too low - be better if 99.5% or higher.

2. Transfer Data (Traffic / Bandwidth)

Transfer of data (sometime is conceived of “traffic" or “bandwidth") be number of bytes transferred from your sites to visitor when they look for sites kith. Recently a lot offers “unlimited bandwidth" or nonspecific, doesn't overconfident. Because basically, permanent of limited bandwidth

3. Disc Space

With the same reason like bandwidth story, watches out for scheme to sell ala “unlimited bandwidth" the. Most of sites only less than 10 MB web space, became if kith to have 200 MB or 500 MB (or “unlimited disk space"), darling also if only hosting one blog or website.

4. Technical Support

Can be possibly searching web hosting with technical support 24 hours one day!

 

About Web Hosting

Want to have a website? If current this website is not more foreign goods, can be spelled website is land even food. In making the website there are 2 components that need to be prepared, that is the domain and web hosting. Domain is the name and address of a website, for example namedomain.com. So what is Web Hosting? Web Hosting is also called the Web Server is the room (space or domain) in the Internet. So that we can enter our website in the Internet, then we must have room in the first Internet. Once we have the Internet in the room, then we can enter our website to the Internet (in the room that we have had before). So that we can have the room, then we have to buy to a Web hosting company, you can buy to the company Web Hosting on the Internet.

On the Internet there are a lot of Web hosting companies, and each provides Web Hosting prices vary (depending on the facilities that they provide), and the price depends on the capacity of the room you want. The bigger the room you want, and then the price will be more expensive. In addition, the price also depends on the domain name you want. For example: .Com more expensive than .Net, .Org, .co.id and others. With room to buy, the Internet address will be like this for example, www [dot] mysitebusiness [dot] com or www [dot] mysitebusiness [dot] net or the other.

If you want to create a website, please feel free to explore some sites that adopt some of the web hosting tutorials (takes example in webhostingrating.com). The next step is to design a Website with FrontPage or other, and then enter it into your server. For beginners with little computer skills can create your own homepage, of course not be separated from some of the discourse that we can get in the web hosting articles and web hosting tutorials that are available.

My Thought

After probably 2 years of waiting, Susuk finally makes its way to our cinemas. At first I thought it'd already met with the same horrible fate that befell Dukun. But lucky for us, it's finally here! I've pretty high hopes for this film, since I'm quite fond of Amir Muhammad's debut film, Lips To Lips, and his docus like The Big Durian and Lelaki Komunis Terakhir.

One thing I must commend the film for is the slick visual style, and the script's very clever structure. No, make that especially the structure! It's very rare (in my case, it might even be the first time) to encounter a Malaysian film with that big "twist ending" ala The Crying Game, The Sixth Sense, The Game (just to name a few films). If you've been paying attention to the happenings in the story (and believe me, they do give you plenty of clues!), then it's even more enjoyable viewing, just to see the pieces fall into place. So I won't really try to provide a synopsis since it's one of those "don't reveal the ending" films.

What lets the film down though, is the shocking/scaring you part. Yes, it's very bloody and gory, and you do see some Dario Argento influence in the art direction and lighting (as pointed out by a lot of reviewers), but let's be honest here, when has ANY film by Dario Argento ever been scary? To me, the marvel in watching Argento's films is in watching the technique, the over the top colours in the art direction, the fancy camera movements and angles, and the hilariously horrible music used as cues to shock us. The acting and script in all the Argento films have always been serviceable at best, the acting even worse. And there's usually no suspense whatsoever, just shocks/surprise. Like Hitchcock once said: "A bomb explodes - that's surprise. Knowing that there's a bomb that may or may not explode - that's suspense." And for much of Susuk, what you always get are shocks/surprises, never suspense. And to me, what really makes a great horror film is the suspense. The shocks/surprises just make me laugh...

Another letdown is that I get really confused trying to figure out what Susuk wants to be. At times, you KNOW that it's sort of a satire on our celebrity obsessed culture, and things we do to even get close to fame. At other times, it seems more like the filmmakers are playing it absolutely straight and actually do want to make a straight horror film, and scare the bejeezuz out of us. By the end of the film, the impression I did make was that it was sort of a mess.

On one part the structure's quite brilliant, the acting mostly solid, with the exception of the boyfriend (sorry Gambit, still a bit kayu!), and the 2 divas played by Sofea Jane and Aleeza Kassim (but I forgive Aleeza already, for that priceless swimming pool scene, and the blink-and-you'll-miss-it verbal reference to her character's sexuality! Hehehe). Even Ida Nerina's kinda suspect behaviour/acting during the early to middle part of the film ultimately made sense by the time the film ends, such is the attention to detail about the film's structure. And don't even get me started about how kickass the scene transitions are in the film! Really, really well thought out in advance!

But it's the believability of the whole thing that bogs the film down. For all the talk about how great a diva Suzana and the 2 other divas are, the songs they sing are just plain bad, even for mainstream Malay music standards. One might try to make a case by saying that the badness of the songs is part of the satire, but if you ask me, that's just plain cheating. Even the Josie And The Pussycats movie have hilarious but absolutely believable and strong songs for the parodied boyband in the film. Let's not even get started about how great the 'satirical' or 'parody' songs are on films like A Mighty Wind, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and of course This Is Spinal Tap. Unless, and this is a big unless, the bad songs here serve to show us the power of the susuk, that is that people will be fixated with you anyway, even if your songs are bad and your singing sucks. But I seriously don't get that impression when I was watching the film.

And so we get another half-half Malaysian film. Half of it's already well done, and close to brilliant, but the other half, by second-guessing themselves, or maybe even not thinking things up fully, end up making it a weaker film than it should've been. It could've been a real scorcher, a sort of brilliant kick up the ass of the Malaysian film industry like "Perempuan, Isteri dan ..." did back in the 90s, but I guess it's never meant to be...

Funny

Funny #1

I read in the Sunday papers today that the Sultan of Kelantan has been awarded the Darjah Kerabat Kedah by His Royal Highness the Sultan of Kedah.

Errr....why ah? For what ah? Is the Darjah Kerabat Kedah one of those awards that the royals give to each other just for fun?


Funny #2

First Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng announces that his people have declared their assets. So as to keep everything transparent and whatnot la.  And now today we read that the Chief Justice has announced that soon all judges will also declare their assets to ensure judicial integrity. Okay...but somehow as a Malaysian I am not really so impressed la. Declare la. But I am waiting for people like the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, that kind of level, to declare their assets for all to see. That would really be a red letter day in our history.  I think when that day comes we shall all be convinced that all our politicians' wive, children, relatives etc. are ultra-smart entrepreneurs and are all capable of making billions in profits from their business ventures. What you think? Anyway, like one of the comment-ers said, "You think what? We never heard of proxies ah? Niamah!!!"

Funny #3

The prime minister has announced that he has ordered the DPM and the minister of agriculture to find the best solution for the National Feedlot Centre. Best solution for the NFC? I thought we were more interested in finding out where the RM250millions have gone. No ah? Solution for what? The business has failed. Big time. And now there is suspicion that its failure might have been due to corruption. Come on guys! PRIORITISE LA, OI!

Funny #4

I came across a tweet from Nurul Izzah today which said that she was somewhere handing out Chinese New Year hampers. And of course over the past week there have been so many stories about politicians handing out goodies all over the country. Some ang pows here, some hampers there and some grants at the other place.

Does this sort of thing happen in other countries? Or is it just our Malaysian way of doing things? And if politicians and governments hand out goodies in the run up to elections doesn't that tell the electorate something suspicious about these politicians and governments?

Same rule, I suppose, applies to visits to your hometown by people like the prime minister. Today I read that Najib went on a walkabout, did some exercise routine and had breakfast with the people of Taiping. Phwaaaar!!!

Trust My Eyes

Look into my eyesssss....trussssssssst me.....trussssssssssst meeeeeeee


Good morning, Malaysia. It's Thursday. And why should a Thursday be any different from any other day here in Malaysia? No reason. It's as comical as any other day.

Funny#1

I'll bet you didn't know the real reason why our Lee Chong Wei could defeat his nemesis Lin Dan in the Korean Open right?  Determination? No. Training? Nope. Luck? Nah.  Lee Chong Wei's victory over the arrogant Chinese fler was due to.....

Rosmah Mansor!!!

I had a good laugh when I read the story in today's Star. (Highlights are mine.)

"The Prime Minister's wife had given some advice to Lee which helped him win the Korea Open on Sunday. Rosmah who spoke to Lee over the phone before the big game against his nemesis Lin Dan, told the 29-year old not to look at Lin's face during the game."

PhwaaaR!!! Another hidden talent of the FLOM.


It's Saturday and for want of something better to do I thought I'd look for something funny to post here for your weekend entertainment. Found some good ones too. Enjoy!

Funny #1


Did anyone read the front page of The Sun yesterday? On the right hand column the story was titled:

Sharizat takes leave to let MACC probe.

Hahahaha...I had a good laugh when I read that headline. But I think we're taking this love for sex scandals a little bit far already. No ah? :-)  Takes leave to let MACC probe. MACC got big enough...errr...balls or not?

p/s strangely the same story in the online version of The Sun does not carry this headline. I wonder why? Funny what.


Funny#2


It always bemuses me to read about Malaysian royals bestowing awards on their own family or relatives. Like a sultan giving an award to his teenage son. Or some ruler giving a Datuk Sri award to his cousin/sister/uncle/ or to another ruler. Royal or otherwise. What are all these titles and awards for?  I am sure that as a Malaysian you have often asked the questions, "Why?" Or if you're really pissed about it, "WAFFOR?"  Like can you tell me why one sultan bestows another sultan with an award? The baarger already has all those letters of the alphabet behind his name. 6 or 10 more is going to make his name and title take up almost half the page of the official letterhead.

If you're like me you would probably let out a curse whenever you read those congratulatory advertisements in the newspapers taken out for the latest Datuk Sri or Tan Sri or whatever. It would not be so bad if we, the ordinary tax-paying slobs, get to know what these fuckers are being awarded for.  Okay...the fler is a world sports champion. Great. That baarger performed this distinctive service for his community. Wonderful. This latest dato saved a village from the verge of starvation. Or something la. But do we ever get information like that? No! All we read about are these multi-millionaires, contractors, CEOs of MNC's getting awards from this Sultan and that Yang DiPertua etc.  Doesn't it piss you off? Come on! And when you read about beer company directors getting datukships, and car marketing company CEO's getting titles from royalty your mind starts to make up its own mind about corruption and things that aren't so royally kosher. Doesn't it? So can we, as ordinary members of the rakyat ask a favour or our royalty and heads of state? When you give out awards to these people can you also spend some time and money on some press statements to tell us what they are being rewarded for? May not even cost you money. Just spread the word online la because as much as Ng Yen Yen might not agree it actually will cost you nothing. It will make us happier to wake up in the morning and discover that we have another couple of dozen dato's and what-nots in our lob-sided sociey. Can Tuanku?  Thank you.


Funny#3

Set to become condom king screamed the page 3 headline in The Star today.

Yes Malaysia is set to enter the record books as being the world's biggest manufacturer of condoms. JAIS? JAKIM? How? Can ah?

Have a good weekend.

Almost

It's been almost a year! Ahahaha. Well, if anyone is still following, I'd just like to apologise for being such a lazy ass, but like every other lazy ass on this planet, I have my reasons! Hehe. I've been writing reviews and the odd article for Junk magazine, and I also now have a column in the Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/aidil-rusli).

I've also just started a blog for my band Couple, apart from maintaining our Myspace, Facebook, Friendster, Twitter and all sorts of other pages. Ahhh the joys of technology... So as you can see, I'm one very busy guy, LOL.

But not too busy to miss out on watching all the good and bad films being made out there, that's for sure! As some of you might notice, apart from my unreasonably good taste of liking high-brow art films, I also like the other end of the spectrum (noooo, not porn!) i.e. B-movies/vulgar comedies/rom-coms etc. And maybe some torture porn as well (nooooo, this is NOT porn - it just happens to have that word in it).

Anyways, being an ardent follower of the career of David Twohy (he of The Arrival + Pitch Black 'fame'), I was more than excited to watch his latest opus, A Perfect Getaway, starring 2 actors I like in Steve Zahn & Milla Jovovich, and I'm happy to report that I'm liking it a lot.

And that's my review. The less you know about the movie, the better your experience will be. Yes, my laziness plays a little part in the shortness of my review, but actually it's my love for you readers (so much so that I don't want to spoil your experience) that makes it so.

But seriously, I'l try not to be too lazy anymore okay? And in case I do get lazy, you can just check out the links I put up here for more of my meandering writings, that way you won't miss me too much, hehehe.

It's been almost a year! Ahahaha. Well, if anyone is still following, I'd just like to apologise for being such a lazy ass, but like every other lazy ass on this planet, I have my reasons! Hehe. I've been writing reviews and the odd article for Junk magazine, and I also now have a column in the Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/aidil-rusli).

I've also just started a blog for my band Couple, apart from maintaining our Myspace, Facebook, Friendster, Twitter and all sorts of other pages. Ahhh the joys of technology... So as you can see, I'm one very busy guy, LOL.

But not too busy to miss out on watching all the good and bad films being made out there, that's for sure! As some of you might notice, apart from my unreasonably good taste of liking high-brow art films, I also like the other end of the spectrum (noooo, not porn!) i.e. B-movies/vulgar comedies/rom-coms etc. And maybe some torture porn as well (nooooo, this is NOT porn - it just happens to have that word in it).

Anyways, being an ardent follower of the career of David Twohy (he of The Arrival + Pitch Black 'fame'), I was more than excited to watch his latest opus, A Perfect Getaway, starring 2 actors I like in Steve Zahn & Milla Jovovich, and I'm happy to report that I'm liking it a lot.

And that's my review. The less you know about the movie, the better your experience will be. Yes, my laziness plays a little part in the shortness of my review, but actually it's my love for you readers (so much so that I don't want to spoil your experience) that makes it so.

But seriously, I'l try not to be too lazy anymore okay? And in case I do get lazy, you can just check out the links I put up here for more of my meandering writings, that way you won't miss me too much, hehehe.

Story three

...from the sieve of her hands...

Sorry haven't been here for a while. Trying to go forwards...Hope you are all well and using up the last of the year well. During the week I got onto a tube in London feeling very tired and despondent, as you often do cramming onto a tube at rush hour, and without a book to read I stared up at the adverts and among them was this poem. It is called 'Prayer' and was almost in answer to one in that moment, and was so lovely I thought I'd put it here. I hope you think so too...

PRAYER - Carol anne Duffey

Some days, although we cannot pray, a prayer
utters itself. So a woman will lift
her head from the sieve of her hands and stare
at the minims sung by a tree, a sudden gift.

Some nights, although we are faithless, the truth
enters our hearts, that small familiar pain;
then a man will stand stock-still, hearing his youth
in the distant Latin chanting of a train.

Pray for us now. Grade 1 piano scales
console the lodger looking out across
a Midlands town. Then dusk, and someone calls
a child's name as though they named their loss.

Darkness outside. Inside the radio's prayer -
Rockall. Malin. Dogger. Finisterre

It would be enough wouldn't it... to write something like that. Even just once...

Not sure why, but this poem seems appropriate today.

Sonnet to Orpheus

Oh you gentle ones, every once in a while step
into the breath that is indifferent to you,
let it be parted on your cheeks,
behind you it trembles, reunited.

Oh you blessed ones, oh you whole ones,
you who seem to be the beginning of the hearts.
Bow of arrows and target of arrows,
your smile beams eternally with tears.

Do not fear to suffer the heaviness,
give it back to earth's weight:
heavy are the mountains. Heavy are the oceans.
Even what you planted as children,
the trees, have long become too heavy;
you could not carry them.
But the breezes... but the spaces...

Today it was the smell of lilacs that got me. I turned a corner, on a road I'd never walked down before, quite close to home, and bang... There I was a child of seven or eight again, dragging her feet on the way to the big houses under the railway bridge, where on some Sunday mornings, a tiny lady who lived in one of them sold us rhubarb, and bunches of mint for potatoes. Delicious smells...but before we got to them, we walked with our huge bundles of rhubarb along a crescent-shaped road that was full of (what I now know to be) lilacs, and the smell cleared everything else from your mind. For a while, everything...One of the saving graces of childhood. To this day I love lilac - the colour, the smell, the look of them...and of course the way they make my mouth water for rhubarb crumble.

Grateful

Be grateful for the freedom to see other dreams...

Psalm 91 for my sins, this for pleasure. I wish I had written it...

To An English Friend In Africa
— Ben Okri
Feb, 2006. For the past five months I have been living alone in a car at the edge of the woods — jobless and homeless and totally unable to find a way out. I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't scream loudly enough, alI I can do is write. So here I am laying down tracks...hopefully the start of an online paper trail out of here. (Update: my blog was 'discovered' and I eventually got a publishing deal and made it out of my car to write a book about it... Miracles do happen.)


Be grateful for the freedom to see other dreams. Bless your loneliness as much as you drank of your former companionships. All that you are experiencing now, will become moods of future joys. So bless it all. Do not think your way superior to another's. Do not venture to judge, but see things with fresh and open eyes. Do not condemn, but praise when you can, and when you can't, be silent.

Time now is a gift for you. A gift of freedom to think and remember and understand the ever perplexing past and to recreate yourself anew in order to transform time.

Live while you are alive. Learn the ways of silence and wisdom. Learn to act, learn a new speech. Learn to be what you are in the seed of your spirit. Learn to free yourself from all the things that have moulded you and which limit your secret and undiscovered road.

Remember that all things which happen to you are raw materials. Endlessly fertile. Endlessly yielding of thoughts that could change your life and go on doing so forever.

Never forget to pray and be thankful for all things good or bad on the rich road; for everything is changeable so long as you live while you are alive.

Fear not, but be full of light and love. Fear not, but be alert and receptive. Fear not, but act decisively when you should. Fear not, but know when to stop. Fear not, for you are loved by me. Fear not, for death is not the real terror, but life magically is.

Be joyful in your silence, be strong in your patience. Do not try to wrestle with the universe, but be sometimes like water or air, sometimes like fire, and constant like the earth.

Live slowly, think slowly, for time is a mystery. Never forget that love requires always that you be the greatest person you are capable of being, self-regenerating and strong and gentle--your own hero and star.

Love demands the best in us. To always and in time oversome the worst and lowest in our souls. Love the world wisely.

It is love alone that is the greatest weapon and the deepest and hardest secret.

So fear not, my friend. The darkness is gentler than you think. Be grateful for the manifold, dreams of creation, and the many ways of the unnumbered peoples.

Be grateful for life as you live it. And may a wonderful light always guide you on the unfolding road.

Alan Bennett

Last week...almost the week before now, I met the writer Alan Bennett. Well, I stood next to him in a cafe, both of us queuing for coffee...

Alan Bennett! Of all the writers to meet, to have him, the writer who wrote The Lady in the Van. Has anyone read that? It's a book about a lady who lived in her van in Alan Bennett's driveway before she died! One day, (as you do at the beginning) I Googled myself - 'Wanderingscribe' — and in amongst 'woman living in her car' articles, and references to Wanderingscribe, and all the dross, I came across the book by Alan Bennett. I bought it the very next day. It is a slim volume, and of course I read it in one sitting... She wasn't like me at all; the Lady he writes about was a real bag lady, who had lived like that for years - though who knows that I might not have turned out like that under other circumstances. Anyway, I went on to read lots of Alan Bennett in the end, this way or that way. His name seemed to generally cross my path — as it does when you come across something new: I'd go into a bookshop and there it'd be, a book by Alan Bennett on the table or the counter, or a picture of him on the book jacket or some publicity flyer. He writes plays too, he wrote the 'History Boys', which was turned into the film, and so his picture was there in all the publicity for that, so you couldn't help knowing what he looks like. And I remember going to the Southbank one evening for a reading of 'Nocturnes' by Kazio Ishiguru, I think it was, and in one of the other theatres must have been something on by Bennett because there in the corner was a lifesize cardboard cut out of him. Yes, the long coat, the green scarf, the shirt and tie under a v-neck, the black specs, the newly cut hair, that boyish grin. It could have been him standing there in the corner, life-size, watching the comings and goings in the foyer. Anyway, it's a image everyone is probably familiar with, iconic almost.

A few months after that, I went out for the day to London, a place where there is a large park and, nearby, lots of smart cafes and the kind of little boutiques where dresses are chained to the rail, and I'd be terrified to even slow down to window shop past, and as I was choosing between cafes, walking towards me, looking very pleased with himself, grinning that grin, was Alan Bennett. Larger than life, pushing a bike, with a bunch of yellow flowers in the crook of one arm, and a couple of A4 writing pads under the other. Just walking towards me as if he had walked straight out of one of his own book jackets, Writing Home, or that cardboard cut-out I saw at the Southbank. Except surprisingly tall, taller than you'd imagine from the photos.

I haven't been to that place since. Until the week before last. Again I was out for the day, and walked from the train along to one of those cafes. This time I had some writing in my bag, and so hurried there, determined to finish a chapter of something. I chose my cafe, staked a claim at a table outside, ordered a coffee and then wandered down to the bookshop further along to get a book. The bookshop owner commented that he personally knew the author whose book I ended up buying. It wasn't Alan Bennett, but was apparently one of his neighbours. 'His children go to school with our children. He often pops in...' he said. And as he said it, it reminded me of the writer I had seen the last time I was there. I had it in mind to tell him my Alan Bennett story: that the very last time I was there I saw him, walking down the street towards me, pushing his bike with those yellow flowers in the crook of one arm, the writing pads under the other. I didn't tell him though. But as I walked out into drizzle and down to drink the coffee already waiting on the table, I had that image firmly in my head. It was as clear as if he was there again, slowly walking towards me along that same stretch of pavement, in that long coat and scarf, those yellow flowers tucked in the crook of one arm, and then past me, walking on, with that expression as if laughing at a continuous stream of jokes he is inventing as he goes along.

I forgot about the image. I drank my coffee. I lost myself in the writing. The words came so well in the end that I didn't dare break the spell and decided to stay and have a second coffee. I went inside to order at the counter at the far end, and as the waiter wiped cappuccino pipes and frothed milk in a metal jug, I turned around and who was walking down the long aisle towards the counter...but Alan Bennett! I did a double take, cleared my vision by staring blankly at the waiter, and then glanced around again and there he was, still there. No yellow flowers under one arm. I gave a cautious, probably very stunned, half-smile of aknowledgement, which he returned with that boyish grin. He then almost dropped himself into a chair at a small table by the counter, and waited to order. Seeing him sitting there, Alan Bennett dressed as Alan Bennett, was like looking at the cover of a book and again made me smile. It was table service, so sitting at that small table by the counter, he could only have been there for takeaway. I tried not to say hello. I tried hard...but in the end I couldn't help myself. I said in one breath, 'I know I shouldn't speak to you...' at which he waved a hand and said 'no, that's fine' which I spoke over anyway saying '...but it's almost like I just summoned you up, because I was literally just thinking of you as I walked along from the bookshop... ' He threw his head back and laughed when I said that, and I told him about nearly telling the man in the bookshop about seeing him last time I was in the area too, and how instead, just twenty minutes or so ago, I'd carried his image in my head all the way back down the street to my waiting coffee. I didn't tell him that I was there to write that day, that I'd taken my book bag with me and was writing for the first time in I don't know how long...and then I think of him coming from the bookshop and turn at the counter and there he is walking up and queuing beside me for a coffee! Amazing! On the day I blow the dust off my notepad as well...Hopefully a good omen.

I wished I'd said more...I wish I'd been able to say more: 'Can I walk with you, Mr Bennett, talk to you about writing?' The things he could have told me...the tips, the advice. I think mostly I wanted to tell him that I lived in my car too, like the woman he wrote about, and that I wrote about it too. That maybe I wrote for her, maybe I wrote her side of things, or a not too dissimilar version of it maybe...? Maybe I'm how it starts,the Mrs Shepherd thing, maybe she was how it could have ended. There but for the grace of God...But of course I couldn't have told him any of that...He did chat for a few minutes though as we waited for coffee, he was relaxed and approachable, with this great avuncular charm about him. He told me he used to live in Gloucester Place, and in the 60's lived in a flat around the corner from where we were, which he loved so much he wished he had back. When my coffee was ready, I could either hang around like some stalker or go back to my table outside. I wanted to hang around and talk to him, about anything, just be in his aura for a bit. But of course I said how nice it was to meet him and left, and minutes later saw him walk away in the other direction with his takeaway coffee, the long coat swinging as he walked off home. In a way I'm still kicking myself for not talking to him, for there not being a way to do that.

If you know Alan Bennett's agent, could you mention it: Anya Peters would love to get a message to him! I'm joking of course, why would he ever contact a complete stranger, I don't think he even uses email (although apparently his partner is editor of one of those glossy ideal home type magazines, surely he uses it. Borrow it Mr Bennett, drop me a line: wanderingscribe@btinternet.com and next time you have coffee at that cafe I could share one with you, show you some writing I've done, get some advice on it. Or just talk. Of course you won't... I'll probably have to just summon you up again one day, instead...