33 posts tagged “malaysia”
The only morning show worth listening to these days is Red FM's. The djs are smart, witty AND actually talk about what's happening in the world, and not about the endless stupid male v female 'discussions' or punking hapless people.
Even if they have to be so berkias-kias like orang nak masuk meminang. XD
Haz: yay, petrol hike wank!
me: ??
where
Haz: there's a rally on tonight
to protest the hike
me: facepalm
Haz: sorry, not tonight
me: aiyoh
Haz: july 12
"Thousands of people would be mobilised for a mass protest against the shocking increase in fuel prices at the iconic KLCC Twin Towers on July 12.
MCPX
Organisers Coalition Against Inflation (Protes) hopes to gather 100,000 people to call on the government to reduce fuel prices to its original levels before the hike today."
me: ARE THEY STUPID
god
be unhappy with the implication of the measures
but to ask for that??
Haz: heeheehee
asking for the sun and the moon
me: in a sense i'm glad pr won some states
so anwar won't come up with some bs pandering to thisme: this is funny
but a v manglish explanation
abt the oil thing
http://seaweeds.livejournal.com/227238.html
Haz: re: post
that's exactly what's happening with fruits and veggies now
me: yep
Haz: wholesalers get almost a 80% margin
which is insane
me: ;_;
so basically japan's on the right track
abt suspending rice futures
hah hope pak lah's suggestion for the same for oil would be heeded
And not a political post either.
I shan't talk of the petrol subsidy cut and how, coupled with the power hike, will definitely result in a snowball effect in prices and a growing inflation, not in the least mitigated by any news of any meaningful wage increase (saying that our prices are still among the lowest in the region has no meaning when in relation to the actual spending power of the people, it's a hike that hurts their wallets). Taking the long view, I believe this is for the best, even if it really is world trends that's forcing our govt's hand. In any case, Malik Imtiaz's post on subsidies and corruption makes good reading.
In any case, I am seriously considering dusting up my brother's bike and using it around the neighbourhood and to the gym (no point talking abt my bike, he had gotten it involved in an accident yonks ago, so...) - speaking of, had a round with a trainer yesterday, who proceeded to pwn me so thoroughly my legs are like jelly today. Which is a splendid development to have I tell you, when it's post-petrol hike and everyone and their mother thinks it's a good idea to take the LRT to work today.
....Man, checking my Vox neighbourhood makes me realise I'm seriously slacking in posting pictures.
Let's see, on the vanity front, I've stopped using mineral makeup, for the simple reason that despite the natural coverage it gives me, it still has poor oil control for me, and it doesn't do favours to the dry parts of my skin either. For a change of scene, I bought Revlon's ColorStay, instead of my usual L'oreal True Match, which has good oil control I have to say, and man they weren't kidding about the lasting power of this foundation. You need to blend quickly though, it sets pretty fast. On impulse, because there was a 50% with-purchase discount, I got myself Revlon's Molten Metal Liquid Eyeshadow (I got the one in copper, despite my initial instinct for gold). Now this is one impulse buy I don't regret. Good golly, Miss Molly, the lasting power of this eyeshadow is unbelievable. And I look good in copper! I shouldn't be surprised.
Anyway, as you have no doubt guessed from my Twitter posts, I have picked up crocheting. And how! With a Ravelry account and everything. And Yasmin's proven right too -- at this v. moment I'm designing my own scarf pattern... yay, go me?? In any case, it's for Cin, who's leaving for .au for work. Goodness, it truly has been a season for job changes for people I know.
In the meantime however, welcome, to the exact centre of the Internet. Also, would you like to know how to spot a doctored photo? Here's 5 ways how to!
And for me to read later: How the Web Was Won.
Let's get the venting out of the way first. Following local news, mixed with news on various reforms (that really REALLY should've been instituted at least a term ago, but playing 'shoulda woulda coulda' is neither here nor there) are various demonstrations that either my fledgling understanding of politics and governance is really shallow, or do people REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT MACHINERY/AFFAIRS AND PARTISAN MACHINERY/AFFAIRS?? From Lee Kah Choon having to resign from Gerakan simply because he had the gall to accept the appointment to an arm of the state economic development apparatus, the dissolution of Selangor's MP Wives' Assoc and channeling the funds to the National MP Wives' Assoc as well as further examples of punishing opposition states by rerouting funding meant to them through to federal-level mechanisms instead, gives me no real optimism of all other reform measures being trumpeted right now. How can I? To carry out such reforms requires maturity in thinking, yet our BN politicians are acting like five-year-olds stamping their foot and threatening to bring all their toys home just because their portion of the sandbox got smaller. And it's not like it's even their toys - be that as it may that they may be developed by the BN govt, the key term here is 'GOVERNMENT'. I know 50-odd years of being in power may have blurred the lines, but BN/Alliance != Government. Parties leading the government may come and go, but the civil service remains.
Gah. To be honest, it's not like they haven't done it before. Kelantan and Terengganu are pretty much textbook examples of how the Fed Govt punished state opposition through economic structural barriers. And I never made that much of a fuss simply because I don't live in those states, though I have ties there. So, this venting is really me being selfish.
Protip guys: You want to recapture the electorate, it's not through the creation of moaaaar blogs. I don't give a flying fuck if you have them or not, if you people don't grow up.
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Over at the US, it's Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which means there're some interesting posts being made right now. I didn't pay much attention to it, until this happened: The Open Source Boob Project.The Open Source WHAT Project? Yeah. The original project itself seemed pretty empowering, started by women and participated by women, more than men. Unfortunately the post that started a maelstorm was written by a man who was there, who phrased it in such a privileged white male way that I literally could not continue, the mental slime dripping from the post was so thick.
My immediate reaction was: hmmm, isn't the problem is the objectification of women's body parts, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND?At Penguicon, we had buttons to give away. There were two small buttons, one for each camp: A green button that said, "YES, you may" and a red button that said "NO, you may not." And anyone who had those buttons on, whether you knew them or not, was someone you could approach and ask: "Excuse me, but may I touch your breasts?
Anyway, this whole kerfuffle happened to take place during this month, which gave more impetus for more people to post about the overall issue, as well as this particular incident: This is a good rundown and list of reaction posts dealing specifically with boob-gate.
A couple of other posts:
Thoughts of Men and Rape - The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. How pathetic is
it that, in our culture, the only thing you have to do to be a good guy
is say, "Hey, one of these days I'll write something about rape." Even
that sort of vague, empty comment about rape is enough to make you
stand out. Because that's already more than most guys seem willing to
say or do.
I noticed the same thing when I worked with Take Back the Night years ago. Practically all I had to do was show up, and I was some sort of freaking hero.
(incidentally, it made me compare and contrast with this post by a local blogger: But, is it possible that things can sometimes swing too far to the left? Where the burden of proof on a rape victim just becomes too low for justice to be served?)
-----------------------------2. Entitlement (part two.)
Related to the first: if you make me think that you're coming from a place of "but as soon as she sees how awesome I am, she will of course see that I am not one of Those Guys and want to reward me", that's entitlement too. This is what a lot of women mean when they derisively say "Nice Guy™" -- because, and sadly to say, a lot of men who say "I'm a feminist!" carry the distinct undercurrent of passive-aggressive "I'm a feminist! I'm one of the Good Guys! So it's totally okay for you to sleep with me, and in fact, you should do so right now and as often as possible."
In more vanity-related news of my life, reading this article You Walk Wrong: It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we're wrecking it with every step we take, reminded me of the Adidas Kampung, and how much I would like to buy one. But the places I've heard where it is easily available is too out of the way for me, le sigh.
Also, I tried to curl my hair with the rag curl method. It's incredibly kind to your hair, all things being relative, (AND CHEAP!) but my hair's too short and layered for me to properly wind it up, so though it has incredible body today, I also looked like a veritable fright. XD
And this Overheard at NY post cracks me up:
--------------------------------Teen girl #1: Don't read it.
Teen boy: Really?
Teen girl #2: It's so overrated. Everyone's like "Oh my god, Frankenstein is awesome!" but it's not. It isn't. Frankenstein sucks so hard.
Teen girl #1: Victor spends half the book sick and the monster spends half the book spying on a family with a hot Arabian chick.
Teen boy: What about all the torches and Igor and everything?
Teen girl #2: Not there.
Teen boy: For real?
Teen girl #1: Just a lot of a Swiss guy crying and lying on the floor. I even have it in my notes, "Victor says: 'When in doubt, pass out!'" And there's a stick figure giving a thumbs up.
The other day at a supermarket bakery (which has to be one of the most depressing places on earth - stale refined carbs going for cheap!), I was entertaining one of my pet hypotheses for the use of temporal manipulation technology, in the F&B industry. Outlandish flights of fantasy over the use of hypothetical tech is one thing, but I tend to be more interested in the prosaic applications. Anyway, time travelling on a scale larger than an atom may not yet be possible, but the capability to freeze time may be more within reach. (Well, I guess, it's not like I have a degree in theoretical physics or anything). And I was spinning yarn with myself about how it'd be adopted by the F&B industry: for one thing, it beats conventional freezing for freshness. And how at the start it'd be prohibitively expensive tech and it'd only be available at high-end swanky joints, and that's the selling point, how the ingredients would be fresher than fresh. And then of course, the tech would grow to be more and more affordable (in the meantime, the poor or less able to afford could only have staler and staler (is that even grammatically correct) food). And of course, by the time the tech is readily available, there would be a backlash, with the ultra-elite renouncing this tech as being too... whatever (I'm sure they can think of a reason). And there would be a movement back to fresh food, that's not temporally frozen and 'unnatural'. I bet by this time the tech for time travel would eventually arrive, and thus nothing could be fresher than food that was teleported straight from the source! XD
I should stop hanging around supermarket bakeries so much.
On the way back home from gym, I passed by one of the schools that was used as a polling station in the recent elections. It's almost a week now, and the various party flags, banners and posters are listing forlornly in the post-shower evening. Within the context of results some of them have acquired a rather tragic patina to my mind. In any case, there is still a billboard ad that still stands proudly above all. It used to be used to peddle Milo, but ever since campaigning started, it's no longer a green background with an athletic youth as mascot but instead a stark blue and white of clean lines and simple slogan:
"THERE'S ONLY ONE CHOICE," it reads.
Oh how tempting was the feeling to approach that ad with a spraycan and scribble, "And it's NOT YOU, hahahahah!!"
I've been meaning to make a post, on the whole Anonymous taking on the Church of Scientology, which, while full of lulz and ultimately deals with something that for most of the world is a inconsequential real life boogeyman, ties into the greater trend in our society where the Internet is being used, with great effect, to mobilise civic participation. See: Barack Obama's campaign machinery in the US, and our Opposition parties' campaign machinery, and Opposition-affiliated public protests.
I wanted to post about how, if you live on the Internet long enough (and I do mean 'live' in the way cyberpunk authors had imagined years ago), you must realise that the major part of our social lubrication is driven by memes. I wanted to say that not for nothing, "Oh Fuck, The Internet Is Here" or "The Revolution Will Be Anonymous", have caught on with the vox populi. I wanted to say that the whole concept of Anonymous meant we, the people, now have the power to construct our own narrative, but even more than that, that Anonymous is the whole thesis of the Internet itself made into an organism. The Internet was conceptualised with Cold War-era thinking, that in the event of a nuclear strike, the network itself will remain intact. And in Anonymous, the masses have become a viable entity to be listened to by the elite of the society. Anonymous, whose structure probably resembles the many-headed hydra of myths to those who wish to defeat it, but is more likely to resemble that of Chaos, is us.
The other half of this post that I've been meaning to make, is me thinking long and hard about my vote. I am a registered voter - I do have friends who aren't, either because they've completely forgot to do so, or they have deliberately chosen not to. I understand the reasons of those who don't want to, but I cannot, in all honesty, share that opinion. Of course, in believing that my vote does count and have strategic value, I must also believe that the electoral process is not irretrievably and irredeemably broken.
In a perfect democracy, non-voting does says something. But this isn't a perfect democracy and quite simply, the system doesn't reward compliancy or apathy. If you shut up, you'll have to put up. So if my vote is going to be another tiny fist beating against the wall, I have to cast my ballot in the belief that my tiny little fist is but one part of a massive wave of either "yay" or "nay". One voice may be not be heard in the wilderness, but if we reframe that and see instead that it's not one voice, but instead one part that makes up a multitude, a chorus of one voice, then maybe we can see the strategic value of our one tiny fist.
Of course, as I said, to believe this I must also believe our system isn't broken.
In conclusion: I have a fist, but damn it if I know who to use it for or against. Oh, and check your electoral roll.
We are Anonymous. We are legion. We should not forgive. We should not forget. They must expect us.
Aw man, I do love that phrase. I can't quite do the Hudson. Or the reverse Hudson. (Or even the Hudson 360, come to think of it) But I can realise my vision... and make a macro! *polite applause*
Anyway, from Pancaindera, Mingguan Malaysia, 20 January 2008, page 10:
"Artis popular plagiat karya luar?
Hisy! Hisy! Hisy! Joyah hanya boleh geleng kepala apabila dengar cerita yang satu ini. Hangat jugak kisahnya kalau Joyah ceritakan. Kisahnya ini juga tengah hangat diperkatakan di Internet malah ada satu blog yang berdebat mengenainya. [Ah yes, that wanky, WANKY comment thread. Go Go Clueless Defender!!]Kononnya seorang artis popular telah memplagiat karya luar. [ORLY? YARLY.] Ramai yang kecewa [NO WAI!!] apabila mendapat tahu si artis popular yang cantik manis memplagiat satu karya luar yang dimuatkan dalam koleksi hasil ilhamnya [yeah, if by 'ilham' you mean 'things wot you crib from other people'] yang telah pun dilancarkan tidak berapa lama dulu.
Yang kelakarnya, khabarnya karya yang ditulisnya itu adalah sebuah karya yang diterjemah bulat-bulat daripada karya asalnya. Cuma artis kita tu tukar tajuknya sahaja untuk menjadikan karya itu miliknya. Benarkah begitu? [Lemme think...]
Hem... Joyah tak tahulah sejauh mana kebenarannya. [Innocent until proven guilty! Or until you get to a handy bilingual dictionary...] Nanti Joyah risik-risikkan. Apa yang mampu Joyah buat ketika ini hanya tarik nafas sahaja. BUkan nafas lega tapi nafas tapi nafas tak percaya. [ZOMG!!]"
Oh how coy! But how excited was I to read a blind item I completely have a clue about?? (Compared to say, 99.9% of the time.) It's very exciting, I feel very in-the-know.
Of course, if we're so much in the business of moral outrage, you'd think our press would be more ashamed, and well, outraged, over the lack of respect over intellectual property, copyright, and PROPER TRANSLATION (seriously, I am v. v. outraged over this. MY OUTRAGED FACE IS THUS: :O), rather than going verklempt over some scrawny shirtless guy with a smeared S thanks to the sweating on stage. Oh ew. Thanks a lot brain.
(ILU FAIZAL TAHIR)
Time to break out my favourite macros. Also dedicated to the various shenanigans being covered in the media (specifically the testimonies of some people... *koffs delicately*).
But instead, it's shorthand for mineral makeup.
I've always been a on a perennial hunt for that 'natural makeup' look (and no, you don't have to point out how oxymoronic that sounds). Benefit, the brand, was the closest I got to that look I'm searching (Some Kind-a Gorgeous and Benetint are excellent for it), but the price tag was a huge issue.
In my online 'researching' though, I stumbled upon the world of mineral makeup, which I only vaguely knew of before. Anyway, read up about it enough, I girded myself and embarked on a fruitless quest to find it in the local shops. No luck. Except for the big brands (Laura Mercier, and I heard Shins in Midvalley carries Bare Escentuals), which are not just prohibitively expensive to me (I mean, might as well take a deep breath and buy Benefit proper), but contains bismuth oxychloride, a well-known irritant. But I was in one of my shopping moods, and was *this* close to buying it anyway.
Well, thank goodness I didn't. Thanks to my google-fu, I found a couple of useful threads at the malaysianbabes and lowyat.net forums. Which lead me to Simply Naturale, a local small-time distro for Signature Minerals. They're offering starter kits at RM29.90, and the postage's free (though I suspect it's possibly already included in the price). Delivery's through Pos Ekspress, which means 1-day delivery period (if you live in the lucky postcodes).
The challenge for any makeup I wear is that I have combination skin and I walk to and from the LRT and my office. So far, it's holding up well, and I do feel my skin can breathe. Oil production *and* moisture retention remains an issue, and for crying out loud, I need to get a better blusher brush. But hey, this is only my second day. Once I get the hang of this, it should be fuss-free application, which is also the other thing I'm looking for (shaving off minutes = more time to eat/sleep!).
But I do like the finish. It's not ashy or particularly flat, it has a satiny feel to it. One thing I will say, its feel on your skin doesn't turn to 'yuck' even after a particularly sweaty activity (er... Hot Yoga, if you must know -- I had to test this claim out; ALWAYS remove regular makeup before exercise). The choice of foundation shades seem particularly Asian-friendly, and Simply Naturale offers combination packs that provides with all that you need to start in mmu should you decide to take the plunge. For that, I highly recommend it.
That said, I was surfing around, and Lumiere, whose foundation finish is highly touted, is offering a sample starter kit of four foundation shades, a finishing veil and blush, for only US$9, with free shipping worldwide and a US$5 coupon that you can use for your next order to cancel out the shipping costs. It also accepts Paypal, not just credit cards. So give that a go too, if you like, but just remember, if you're unfamiliar with mineral makeup, or even makeup, research research research. There are key differences in terms of application and concerns. For example, an investment into a good kabuki brush (what their applicator brush is called) or a good facebrush is required.
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Now, after all that vanity talk, onwards to other things in a vain attempt to prove to this empty space wot is my blog that I'm not as shallow as... as... *grapples as witty simile that is not a cheap shot at plagiarists-cum-poet/model/actors/slashes, Britney Spears, Datuk V.K 'What, I wasn't drunk!!' Lingam; gives up*
- In the world's ongoing attempt to not disprove of my personal theory that Malaysia, being a nation that started its life pirating its national flag* and its national anthem, is a land whose people have no problems with piracy whatsoever, I am presented more stories of plajiariztz. (previously: Sri Cempaka staging 'Wicked', except it's called 'Witches of Oz', because if you change the name, no one will know, amirite? Amateur school production my ass!), I have learnt that local model/actor/professional slash Natasha Hudson IZ A PLAJIARIZT. (classic wanky behaviour includes: defensive replies and deletion/locking of own journal. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Someone needs to do a write-up of this for otf_wank. OTOH, fandom_wank's hot with reports of various plagiarism wanks at the moment, all of which brings a joyful tear to my eye.)
This N.Hud wank is supremo man. Basically she's been found out, that instead of original Malay poems, her book of poetry (for children! WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN??) contains a number of poems that sounds suspiciously like they've been translated from well-known English poems. Mind you the samples I've been reading sounds like someone did it with a slightly superior Babelfish engine, but anyway: Someone should make a makro, with a pic of th DBP Kamus Dwibahasa with the caption: ICANHAZPLAJIARIZMNAO?
- Blogging the Quran - a no less wanky, but substantially more brain-building avenue. :P This Guardian blog is interesting because the Quran is approached by two commentators, one Muslim, the other a non-Muslim Westerner, though neither, it must be said, are specifically theological or exegesis experts. Still, here's the explanation for the project.
- Stephen Fry's blog - just because!
*To play the broken record, I only wish I'm kidding - I read the 1957 newspapers (and other non-57 materials) dude, and the guy who won the flag-design contest, pretty much admitted he was inspired by USA's flag. Oh, like that wasn't obvious at all. Oh ye, buy the 'Chronicle of Malaysia' book! And remember, I may be part of the editorial team, but any factual errors aren't my fault at all! :P
Like, I don't know why I'm even on this one mailing list anymore, its discourse is dominated by the wanksters and everyone else is too Malaysian polite to lay the smackdown (which does include me, but can I plead the fact I'm very much a peripheral member?) or worse, considers the art of argument and debate as one that goes, "No, it isn't/Yes, it is!". I tend to delete first than read the emails more often than not, aside from some of the times where I see the usual suspects and decide to give it a go and take a quick read only to conclude, "yup, still a wanker."
In other bits regarding real life, is it me, or does it feel like the local politicians, especially the 'mouthpieces', have no clue about the political process and the very system of government they're supposed to be serving?
Also, you know what's the most horrifying realisation I had about that Chua Soi Lek sex DVD scandal?*
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WOULD PAY MONEY TO SEE HIS NAKED ASS.
Take a step back, read that statement again. Oh world, you be so crazy (and nosy).
Also, I just realised I remember the mechanics of the American political system than the Malaysian one. *makes a face of abject FAIL*
And Manila was interesting! I wish I had gone there not for work, cos there wasn't much sightseeing except the interiors of hotel and conference rooms. Did not get to ride a jeepney or ate a Jollibee's spagetti, but my inner linguaphile was having fun at learning about the Filipino loan words. Like what we, inheritors of the British colonial system, call 'tea(time)', they call 'merienda'. And they assimilated 'sio pao' and 'sio mai' (their spelling). There's a version of fried noodles they call 'pasit' (I THINK), and it's unmistakably Chinese to them, and is basically fried mee and meehoon together inna plate. OTOH, I learned exactly ZERO AMOUNT of Tagalog (or Filipino, as it's known now officially). My colleagues don't really speak it to me, just *around* me. But I did still get a certain amount of it directed to me, because hey, no surprise I look like a local.
Of course, that was the week when the ISA arrests took place, and unrelated to it, but apropos of the event, I learned of a quote, popularly attributed to Ben Franklin (but not): "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
And with that, I'll probably see y'all in another month. XD
*The other realisation is not so horrifying as much as it is darkly amusing: Yes, go on with your self-righteous self, and condemn the guy for doing the same thing you were probably doing, oh, LAST THURSDAY.
btw, I didn't scour for most of these links -- I'm just sharing, and adding what I found. This is a continuation of my previous post.
Compare and contrast:
BBC: Malaysia police break up protest
CNN:Teargas used on rare Malaysia demo
A pictorial coverage of the rally - his commentary's in Malay, but I find his last paragraph interesting: "Last night on TV, it was shown the incident where FRU launched water cannons around Dataran Merdeka. From a few sources at the site of the incident, I was made to understand that it was only the governments 'shadowplay' to not embarass Pak Lah [me: PM Abdullah Badawi]. Merely it was to show that what he said truly happened [me: that there has never been a 'peaceful rally/gathering', and it will lead to unrest].'
Say what you will about Jeff Ooi, but at least he was there.
SUARAM's press statement
24 released, 5 still being held
NST:Illegal gathering causes traffic chaos in city
The Star: Teargas and water cannons used on illegal assembly, 245 held
Sinar Harian, a Malay tabloid which my mum bought this morning: 'Perhimpunan haram gagal' (Illegal rally failed) --
Videos:(rough translation)
front page subheader: 4,000 police officers controlled the situation for public interests
article 1 headline: BERSIH failed to gather 100,000 supporters - 'The number of those who joined the illegal rally far below the target of 100,000 people.'
article 2 headline: The scene of BERSIH's illegal rally at the city capital
article 3 headline: Illegal rally did not harm national unity
article 4: Illegal rally: public is disappointed, angry
article 5: BERSIH rally disturbed public transport operations
- A proper video capture of the Al-Jazeera piece
- A recording of BBC's piece
- Malaysiakini's coverage of the handing over of the memorandum at the National Palace
- Al-Jazeera's interview with our Minister of Information - how embarrassing that he used to be a journo... please to be commencing your headdesking.
ETA: More links!
IHT:International rights group slams Malaysia for banning rally calling for free elections
BERSIH's blog for November '07
Thank you to my fellow Voxers zombiebite (esp. her post here) and Melissa
