A Fairy's Dreams

Anime Review: Bobby's Girl (1985)

2016-06-16T18:31:00.000+08:00

This anime has several names: Bobby ni Kubitakke, Bobby in Deep and Bobby's Girl.

An early Madhouse production before the studio rose to megastardom, this anime was one of the first animes to be produced and ultimately buried as 'better' things has taken up demand. It was considered a lost treasure when a fan unearthed their collection and found it. What followed was an arduous but professional restoration job. The original VHS material was damaged by age and un-use. As a result, the restored version as a 'foggy' and 'blunt' lined around the animation.

Started off as an experimental anime that uses novel animation styles (for that time period), Bobby's Girl is a very calm storyline, with a heavy gloom of bittersweet aura underneath it.

Akihiko "Bobby" Nomura is a 17 year old who does not care much for his education. He lives, breathes and sleeps on his blue motorcycle. His slacker attitude is his militant father's bane but he has a supporting younger sister who appreciates Bobby's passion for motorcycles.

Bobby ultimately decided to quit school and work several odd jobs including in a biker cafe frequented by professional riders, coincidentally named Bobby's Cafe. The cafe has on its display a magnificent antique black racer bike, which is probably the reason Bobby asked to work there. Bobby's father, furious at his decision, booted him out. His sister reports to him from time to time on what's happening at home.

A girl from a faraway Japanese district had seen pictures of Bobby of when he submitted his photos to a biker magazine, appearing to have fallen in love with him. She sent him a romantic and airy letter and the two began corresponding. While her letters are long and sweet, Bobby replies in short, straightforward replies. He does enjoy reading her letters but admitted to being awkward with her.

The girl confessed that she is lonely. Bobby asked that she calls him sometime and gave her his number. She arranges to call him on August 10th at 6.00pm, her birthday.

The manager and owner of the cafe saw Bobby's passion for motorcycle and brought him to his barnhouse that serves as a club of sorts for professional and retired bikers alike to hang out. Bobby appeared to have an epiphany. During the epiphany, he remembers that he had made arrangements to call the girl (today!) and raced back home. The ending sequence is a breathtaking pencil animation, an absolute visual treat.

A truck is seen coming from the opposite direction and Bobby was sent flying into the air.
The phone in his room rings at 6.00pm, with the audience knowing that Bobby would never be able to take that call.

The handful of reviews of this anime had called this anime a drivel; ordinary plot with extraordinary visualization; orgasmic animation sequence etc.

I think this story is fantastic. 40 minutes long but it perfectly captured the awkward teen melodrama, the 'floating' phase where a young person does not think about the direction in their lives and a lot of missed opportunities and unsaid feelings.

It was a truly bittersweet treat to watch this anime.

Highly recommended, just for the sake of taking a look into Madhouse's early production works: 9/10

Bobby (left) resembles Nicholas Brown (right) from GANGSTA a little too much. Secret love child? XD

Richard Huckle Must Die

2016-06-03T23:56:00.000+08:00

The filth that is making headlines globally for his sexual abuse exploits in Malaysia, Cambodia and other Asian countries is making headlines.

Tipped off by an Australian Intel, authorities in the British side of things were waiting to pounce on him and make sure he pays for the heinous things he did.

He has a total of 91 counts of child sex offences against him of which 71 of it he had admitted to doing. Most of the depravity being committed in poverty stricken orphanages across Asia. These are the voiceless children who are ignored by society and left to the charity of donations and volunteers.

This filth used the desperation and trust by those caring for impoverished vulnerable children, in the guise that he wants to help them. His every move and plans were calculated and cautious as he only wanted one thing: to bamboozle the children who were unrepresented by society. Because no one essentially cares for these kids, it makes them the perfect target. The filth used this disadvantage, to his advantage.

The filth's depravity and its kinds have no boundaries. Among his depravities:

1. He had a three year old girl whom he had likened to a "loyal pet dog" that he could use as he pleased. He said that he's "getting bored of her" as she's "very willing".

2. He wrote a 60-page manual on how to target vulnerable children as "they are easy". He was about to publish them.

3. Sells images of him abusing children to the other filths in the dark web.

4. Kept a ledger that served as a scoreboard whenever he managed to push his depravity one level further, making him more daring to one-up his activities.

5. Would jump from one impoverished children's shelter to the other, making collections for himself and his fellow filths.

6. Prided in not getting caught for so long.

7. He asked to look at his pictures before he agreed to admit to his offences. The people in the court actually had to watch him salivate at the pictures he took of those poor children before he admitted to be the filth that he is.

Arrested in Gatwick Airport UK, he admitted to his parents that he was a pedo. He had since been disowned and his parents relocated somewhere else.

This filth had literally sauntered across Asia, abusing children getting more brazen as he travelled.

He had the nerve to say he's sorry. He's only sorry he got caught, he had absolutely enjoyed committing his crime. So no, this filth can't back away now that he's where he's supposed to be, and hopefully will be for the rest of his life: this filth must be chucked into the prison at once and by jove I hope the prisoners in the murder him brutally.

I feel sorry for his parents who had to raise this filth as a son. They don't deserve this.

In short, Richard Huckle must die. Bring back the death penalty in the UK for this scum.

Bahubali (2015) Review

2015-07-19T22:58:00.000+08:00

WARNING: NOT SPOILER-FREE.

Smashing is the word that comes into my mind to describe this movie.

Excellent camerawork, engaging storytelling, compelling acting and all-round superb filming. That 40 million budget was put into VERY good use.

Princes, Queens and Kings actually LOOKED their part. And might I add that Ramya Krishnan was BOSS as the QUEEN. If someone told me she is the queen, I would fall at her feet going "Amma, deivameh!".

I am too overwhelmed to describe how awesome this movie was because the entire time I was beeming with pride on seeing such a well-conceived South Indian film.

Where do I start pinpointing this movie’s excellence?

1) Female characters with substance

The feminist in me was screaming YAS BITCH YAS seeing women in such important roles getting the same respect as the male characters. The women in this movie are not dolled-up damsels in distress waiting to be rescued. One was a nursing mother, a Queen no less who kicked ass in a dagger while holding a baby in her arms. The next scene was of her breast-feeding babies while having an audience with her royal council which very quickly turned into a bloodbath. And she was not done breastfeeding her babies. I don’t think even Western movies would depict a woman kicking ass while carrying a child. Did I also mention she walked miles with an arrow on her back carrying a child, killing two assailants while she was bleeding to death? THIS is the kind of strength I wanted to see in female characters.

All hail the Queen!

Tamannah to a certain degree was impressive in her role as a warrior. But her overacting killed it. I got a new sense of respect for her – getting down dirty in mud and wet with blood and muck all over is a very fresh thing to see from her usual roles of pristine, shining beautiful bishoujo. I felt like the director/producers wanted to keep that pristine pretty lady image of hers because I felt that her character could have been ‘more’ than a love interest. Her character development became stunted when she met the Protag.

Fun Fact: Typical sexism in Indian cinema. Not ONE depiction of Tamannah in her warrior outfit when I tried googling it.

2) Animation

I wouldn’t compare it to Avatar, but South Indian movies are notorious for using comical aniation quality. I mean look at the disappointment that is Kochaidaiyaan. Good script botched by abysmal animation. But we’re talking about Bahubali here. The animation in this movie was smooth and compatible with the flow of the movie.

This guy was scary-awesome weyh.

3) Costumes

This movie is a 3-hour long costume porn. I was jizzing the entire time. The amount of work and dedication put into the costumes were very, very commendable. Beautiful, stylish and practical. The costume and makeup of the Kalakeya people are something to behold! I am even glad that they took the trouble of inventing a ‘barbarian’ language.

4) Background sceneries

This movie does not disappoint MARK MY WORDS it’s like taking a gander on paradise.

Them abs. UNF.

5) Acting talent

Apart from Tamannah’s overacting – everyone else was pretty on point with their roles. Everyone nailed their roles flawlessly. It was easier as the younger actors were quite easy on the eyes! Cucilah mata habis-habis! The natural acting was one of the star points of this movie – even the extras were chosen carefully. An epic like this, you can’t have rookies.

6) Cinematography

The war sequence of this movie is definitely the highlight of this film, apart from the Portag’s gorgeous abs, of course ohoks.

So to sum it up – this movie is worth every penny.

If you’re the kind of machas and machis who prefer garbage like Maari or masala films, I advise you to still watch this movie, in the hope that you will learn to appreciate quality films.

10/10 would recommend.

Malaysian Passport Renewal - How To Guide and Shenanigans (Part 2)

2014-12-29T22:55:00.001+08:00

Continuation of this. The finale of an enthralling saga. Cheh wah.

So, yesterday was a thrilling day of waiting somewhat long hours for IC renewal. Today was the tedious job of renewing passport. Sleep and rest was not meant for me since Christmas last week. Siapa sumpah aku ah lanjiao.

Anyhoo, My work usually finishes half past four, so that gave me plenty of heads up to leave before the usual 5pm/5.30pm/6pm end shift hours.

I chose UTC Immigration Office for the following reasons:

a) Operating hours are amazing. They close at 10.30pm. Which means those who are working need not sacrifice their well-deserved rest on the weekends and attend the weekend passport office. After work they could come over to UTC which is located at:

b) Plaza Rakyat Ampang Line. That's like the transit station strategically located in Masjid Jamek Putra LRT. From Ampang Line Masjid Jamek, you will need to reach Plaza Rakyat station. It's the station right after Ampang Line Masjid Jamek. Satu jer, so jangan komplen. Right after reaching, just go down and exit. You wanna follow the signboard that says "Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock".

c) You will find yourself passing through a caged pedestrian walkway. It is a perfect opportunity to pretend you're in a zombie apocalypse movie. After an approximate 3-minute walk, you would come to a small descending of staircase, at this point you would want to turn immediately to your right and keep walking until you find a door. Your clue to know you're in the right place? As soon as you turn immediately right, it should be a place where they park motorcycles. Follow towards the door. You're now in a building that looks like an unfinished mall. Turn immediately to your left and look for a clear-glass elevator. Your clue here is that beside the clear-glass elevator, there should be a customer service pondok overlooking the building's main entrance.

d) Get on the funky looking clear-glass elevator. Get the fuck in it. You would want to go to the 2nd Floor. In the meantime, pretend you're in Willy Wonka's glass elevator.

e) After exiting the 2nd floor, look for UTC JPN Office. The Immigration/Passport Office is literally opposite UTC JPN.

f) Apalagi? Masuk and take a number lah!

What you need to bring:

a) Renewal
- Your IC (it has to be the 80k chip one, not the one you took when you were 12 or the blue IC implementation back in 2003 version.) Look for Part 1 to know how you can renew your IC.

- Your old passport. They must be snipped at the corners by the officers and be returned to you.

b) First Time
- Just walk in with your IC. Again, IC must the 80k chip, not the 2003 version or when you were 12 years old.

****

When you have the necessary documents, proceed to Counter 1 to get a numbah. You have the choice to take 2 years (RM100) or 5 years (RM300). Yours Truly is broke and doesn't travel a lot so she took the former. You're likely the 80th person in a 00' series. Take it from Yours Truly. So go yum cha, makan. There's a food court on the 4th floor. All Malay food.

Don't take too long to eat. Your number WILL be called one hour later. When it is your turn, you will need to produce your numbah slip, application form, old passport and IC. I went to renew mine. Officer would take thumb prints, ask to check an electronic application form that s/he printed, check the spelling, your name and all other details. Sign. You will be given a charcoal pad where you will put a thumbprint on the electronic application form. Your thumb print would also be taken electronically.

Take picture, don't smile a lot. A slight smile or no smile is the way. Globally, passport offices no longer accept a full-on gleeful smiles on your passport. Something about terrorist being frowny, grumpy-faced characters. Don't ask. There was a Malay girl who smiled from ear-to-ear, the officer actually said "Adik! Janagan senyum macam tuh, Nanti dia tak bagi masuk!". I ROLF-ed!

Also, wear dark clothes. If you happen to wear rainbow neon pink baju, s/he will ask you to wear a black blazer. Ears and eyebrows must be visible. By all means, again, don't smile like you smuggled Alpacas from Machu-Picchu.

5 minutes of that. Done. Next, your number will be called again. Here you will proceed to Counter 9 for payment. Whatever that you choose, bayar. Lepas tuh itu akak kasi you satu receipt, you simpan itu resit baik-baik.

Again, exactly one hour later, your passport would be ready. Your number will be called. You would proceed to Counters 10-12 for pickup.

Produce your receipt and IC. Sign here and there, thumbprint, passport is yours.

Now go home. Get lost. You won't ever have to think about this place until you need it again.

I came in at 5pm, I left at 8.30pm. 3+ hours. NOT BAD FOR MALAYSIAN STANDARDS!

I am seriously happy with the overall service and the timescale it took for me to finish this. It is a real Godsend to have Passport Offices that open till 10.30pm. UTC Immigration Office deserves all the kudos.

Sekian.

Renewing Malaysian IC: How To Guide and Shenanigans (Part 1)

2014-12-28T20:57:00.002+08:00

Being born right in 1990, I would be 25 exactly next year. Let me detail you the events which led me to renew my IC to begin with.

It began when I started working. I was told that after my probation, I would be sent to UK for work training purposes. Then it clicked - my passport expired like, few years ago. So I choose the week of Christmas to do my passport renewal. Off I went to Shah Alam Passport Office which is about 12 minute taxi ride from KTM Shah Alam. Reaching there, I was told that the numbers sold out. Hungry, tired, disappointed and sleep deprived, I asked if I could simply take a number for tomorrow since I am from PJ and I don't have the luxury of coming here often. The Shah Alam officer said no but revealed that UTC Sentral Office near Plaza Rakyat Station opens from 8am till 10.30pm daily. 10.30pm daily. Until night?? 7 days a week?? That is awesome! So off we went to Masjid Jamek Station on December 26th (my office declared this day as holiday), transited to Monorail and took to Plaza Rakyat. Upon reaching there, the crowd was not that bad. I was told renewal can be done on that day itself just "tunggu 2 jam lah" (just wait 2 hours). Feeling upbeat, I presented to him my old passport and IC.

The immediate response was "Sorry Cik, IC kena IC baru, sebab Cik lahir tahun 90, sebelum 25 dah kena ada IC baru, Mandatori. Kalau tak, ada kompaun" (Sorry Miss, IC must be new, because you are born in the 90's, you must change to the new IC before you're 25. Mandatory, or else you would be fined). At this point, I had flipped my shit, because not only did I travel from one end of Selangor to another end of Kuala Lumpur, I had to sacrifice my sleep and holiday to do a shit that should not have taken more than 5 hours. And honestly I did not know rat squat about this new IC rule. But luckily, UTC is a one-stop place where most governmental bodies are located on the same floor (from police stations, JPN's, Commissioner for Oaths and of course the coveted Passport Office). UTC JPN was right in front of UTC Passport Office so we went there. Malang tidak berbau, 26th December 2014 was a Friday, which meant the Malaysian Government servants have a long lunch break that ends at 2.45pm. And UTC JPN does not open on weekends unlike the UTC Passport Office.

My driving class was scheduled at 3pm. It was 12pm when we were at UTC JPN front door.

This is impossible. I cannot cancel my class, I'd be charged RM30. I am not spending money on unnecessary bullshit.

So with a foul mood and equally foul words coming out of my mouth, I headed home where my next stop is my driving school.

With a heavy heart and burning anger, I programmed my brain to get used to the idea that my weekends would be spent waiting long hours in some crummy JPN office. And the "best" part is it came true.

On December 26th, After my driving class finished at 6pm, I headed to Midvalley where I bought tickets for The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies. I am anticipating a shitty long weekend might as well have SOME consolation where I'd be basking in Thranduil's beautiful brilliance. Got the tickets for 27th December and headed home at about 8pm.

Reached home close to 9pm. I had been waking/moving/mobile from 8.00am on the 26th and up till 8.00pm on the same day. I was furious, tired, disgruntled, moody, hungry and absolutely livid that my off-day had been ruined.

Let move on to the morning of 27th. Woke up at an ungodly hour, reached KTM Shah Alam before the office hours.

Fun Fact: JPN Shah Alam which is located in Plaza Masalam (6th Floor) at Section 9 is the only JPN that opens in the weekends for Selangor/Kuala Lumpur precinct. Accessible by car only. From KTM Shah Alam, a taxi there takes about 15 minutes, charging between RM5 to RM7. Opening hours are from 8am to 1pm only on weekends. Weekdays, normal working hours.

Shah Alam JPN was swarming with people. You'd think you would be the odd character who does their IC so late in life but no...ader jugak orang berpusu-pusu nak renew IC dan replace IC hilang.

I managed to get a number. I reached there 8.30am. I had 80+ people before my turn. Some showed up after their number got called, some didn't. Which helped sped up the waiting process as I wanted to finish this bullshit so I could get my passport done. I know that it won't be processed today.
When my number was called, I filled up a form and gave my old IC. Prints from both my thumbs were taken. Next, my IC picture. Bear in mind, you are required to wear dark clothes for your IC. If you wore bright clothes, a black jacket would be given. For Hijabi's, a black headscarf was provided.

But if you don't mind sharing the headlice and armpit sweat of random strangers, then cool wear whatever you want. I decided to wear a dark green shirt. So no smelly jackets for me!

The came the picture session. I was told to remove my glasses as they needed to see my face without any obstruction. So off my glasses went. Senyum! (Smile!). Aku tak senyum pun. Tak cukup tidur nak senyum apa? I don't even want to be there. Done, a receipt was be issued. Hold on to this receipt since this would be used to pick up your IC next day. The entire waiting process was 1.5 hours. Taking forms, my old IC and picture for new IC, 5 minutes. Reaching home from KTM Shah Alam to Petaling Station. 45 minutes. Reached home before lunchtime. That night, I had managed to bask upon Thranduil's beauty.

Let's move on to the 28th. Woke up a little late, since I know IC pickups will always have numbers and is relatively fast. Again the same routine - Shah Alam KTM> Taxi > Plaza Masalam > 6th Floor. At reception, produce the receipt, a number would be given. Wait for your number, I didn't have to wait long. Like the day before, some people missed their numbers and some had collected theirs relatively fast. My turn came. Went to the counter. Produced the receipt and old IC. Officer takes the old IC, both thumbs print verification, new IC issued. Took about 5 minutes at most.

Dah, beres. Selesai. Balik. Tak payah pikiaq tentang IC lagi.

This time, I balik rumah dengan hati yang lapang dan suka hati but extremely tired and sleep deprived.

I am seriously looking forward to the Public Holiday on 1st January 2015. I WANT TO SLEEP AND WAKE UP AS LATE AS I WANT MY LONG WEEKEND WAS FUCKING RUINED OMG.

Part 2 will be about the Passport Office in UTC near Plaza Rakyat Monorail. I am going there after work on Monday. Will tell y'all what happened. I gotta a feeling I would be bringing a book.

Sekian.

Silk Smitha: A Peek Into Her Bold, Charismatic Life

2014-10-03T20:31:00.000+08:00

I have seen this actress on-off throughout my life, mostly coming from my parents who watch movies from the 70's and 80's. I sometimes see this bold, and voluptuous young woman doing an item song, but her role as the young wife of a schoolmaster in Moondram Pirai left me with the most impression. At that time, the very tame and watered down 'sexy scene' with her ancient in-movie husband caught my attention. Indian movies have always been tame when it comes to women expressing their sexuality. But here is a tall, shapely woman gracing the silver screen oozing with it. She even donned a daring dress, lying down in it in the most unconventional way. She intrigued me but I was too young to read up about her in the internet.

source

While randomly surfing the web in my teens, I came across an infographic piece that highlighted Silk Smitha and her life. Curiosity once again ignited, I read up about her thoroughly. Disappointing results though, because every site I have been to regurgitated the same thing - small town Telugu girl trapped in poverty, forced to marry a much older man despite still in her teens, treated harshly by her in-laws, ran away from home and somehow fate worked itself along the way and she was noticed by a film director, Vinu Chakravarthy who brought her slowly into stardom, career took off in a flash and with the same speed her downfall arrived, next thing the cine-world knew, she had died in an apparent suicide.

Her life is the personification of shrouded mystery. There was even controversies about her given name - was is Vijayalaksmi or Vijayamala? From her debut, up till her death, there wasn't much highlight into her life. Maybe the actress herself managed to keep her life a mystery for personal reasons, but who knows? So many questions, so little answered.

source

They made a movie about her starring Vidya Balan as Silk, movie title: The Dirty Picture. The actress Vidya Balan acted flawlessly in this movie, it's worth a watch.

Let's begin where her life started - before her debut, she worked as a make-up artist and background dancing and minor roles. Her languid eyes, shapely figure and the bold way she carried herself did not escape the male gaze even then. A dance number as a village siren in Vandichakkaram got her noticed by the mass, and it was there her career shot up and given the screen name 'Silk Smitha'.

source

Aspiring to be a versatile actress, she did land herself on 'heroine-type' roles. But somewhere along the way, producers and directors exploited her sex appeal and gave her only roles that depicted her as a siren & a sex symbol, which she eventually came to be.

It was said that a movie need only a Silk Smitha dance number and the movie can be guaranteed in their ticket sales, such was her screen power. Within time, she had been featured in 400 films, rumour has it, she would have 3-4 shootings in a day. The cash flew in, she was one of the wealthiest actresses of her time.

I have always had this nagging feeling that her success as an actress is also her downfall as a woman. Surely, being typecasted as the sultry siren, seductress and temptress, contractually obliged to grind, shimmy and rub against various actors just to sell a movie would wear a woman down? Her role as the sexually frustrated young wife of an aging schoolmaster in Moondram Pirai was flawless, but repeatedly doing something time and again would garner a mastery over that 'something', wouldn't you think?

Silk Smitha in Moondram Pirai.

Silk Smitha was a professional - she was given roles of the only genre she was allowed to explore and she nailed it with ease. How long do you think she lasted until it broke her? I have seen the fiery passion with which she embraced her sexuality.

Did I fail to mention that she also has a softcore porn film under her resume? It became a cult classic apparently. It would seem to me Silk may have consented to being a sex symbol? If we omit extortion aside, can we assume she had consented to do softcore porn? Or was in her contract? A part of me feels like she had been contractually obliged to fulfill these roles, a part of me thinks she consented to be a sex symbol as a 'fuck you' to her negligent family and abusive in-laws. My feminist self is inclined to be believe it was the latter. After all, what better way to assert yourself to naysayers but to do exactly what they forbade you to do?

source

Testimonies from actors and actresses that worked with her revealed she was an introvert, taciturn. It was easy to mistake her silence as arrogance as she never approached anyone and yielded to no one. As for all introverts, she had to be approached. Other people needed to take the effort to get to know her. But once they do, not one is left without loving her to bits. Actress Anuradha described her as the cutest person she had ever met. Further investigations revealed she was also very genial and charitable but still kept to herself in sets.

It was said she had a lover, but it is still a blur of who exactly it was. Rumours varied between a certain divorced doctor with three children and the director Vinu Chakravarthy himself. It was said her lover lived with her. It got me wondered if this person was neither, but someone of a high position, so much so that he had paid the media to never reveal his name linked to her death? It is all very confusing. Her death was quite literally sudden. No one saw it coming - she was alive yesterday and today the highlighted televised news was about her death.

Like I said - so many questions, so little answered. It is as if someone out there is still working the wheels with which her death is to remain a mystery. My biggest concern is...there was apparently a suicide note; why wasn't it made public? Did it contain revelation so dangerous it imposed threat to certain people? My google-search prowess came to naught. I couldn't find anything on her 'suicide'. Mind you - even though her death was written of as "It is suspected that Smitha committed suicide by hanging.". It is either yes or a no. Suicide by hanging would have a mark on the neck, suicide by slashing would have lacerations on the arms or wrists, poison would show up in system/bloodwork. Suicide 'marks' are very telling on the nature of it, so why wasn't there a conclusion? Even her funeral seem to have been done in a hurry, as if the party involved couldn't wait for her to be cremated.

A part of me is sad that this enigmatic woman is not alive, for I am sure that if she had somehow pulled through her dark times, she might have been someone who made a mark in history.

Eternally beautiful, eternally bold, eternally living by her own rules.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Smitha

AlyBongo : I Deserve To Be Raped

2014-09-13T18:20:00.000+08:00

A passionate PSA derived from the personal experiences of the vlogger. If you're male, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE A MALE, you must watch this.

Kuma-Chan Receives His First Knitted Scarf.

2014-08-26T22:11:00.000+08:00

Actually, this is more of my own very first knitted project. I have practicing techniques a bit, and decided I should use up my remaining yarns (at this point they're were so little in amount they're basically scraps) and it'll turn out to be a multicoloured as expected.

My sistah ordered a set of handmade & handpainted knitting needles - ChiaoGoo Blue Flower Knitting Needles from Etsy.

Packaging, this shit be trippy yo.

Baris, Baarriiisss - SEDIA!

Largest size in the whole wolf pack. This be the knitting needles I used for me project arrr...!!

I think I'll just let pictures do the talking from this point onward.

Before someone comes in with their high horses tryna bash me saying this is poor quality, Imma dish you some facts.

This is is my ACTUAL FIRST KNITTING PROJECT. I was gauging my technique, tension, and even experimented with rotation.
I know that first few bit where the yarn change is super visible, and in fact that is not at all how you change yarn colour but change yarn of the same colour.

Just let it slide this time, mmkay. After all, a professional was once an amateur.
I have been studying a lot on knitting, so expect my next work to be a little better.
For now, shut up and be happy that Kuma-Chan won't be cold at night anymore.

Now go back to your life.

My Retail Re-tale

2014-08-19T00:20:00.001+08:00

So.

Pardon the long absence, the dust bunnies on my blog accumulated so much I had to clean it first before posting anything.

So.

I guess those who are close to me isn't a stranger to my first, actual new job that entailed working in retail, in a remainder bookstore.

I won't name it, those who know it, please keep it to yourself. It's in my contract that I agree to not shit about my workplace in the event that I leave it. That's the reason, really.

I have so much to babble about I don't know where to begin really, but it's mainly about the customer service part.

IT SUCKS.

SUCKS BIG TIME LIKE OLD MAN'S BALLS.

I used to be the asshat that laughed at posts in NotAlwaysRight.com. I laughed at the miseries of retail and service workers. Until I became one myself, I hadn't known that the struggle, pain and misery is real.

I was a floor staff, which meant I did the grunt work of removing and reshelving and placement of the books. Despite the physical labour part of it, it was an interesting work, really. You only see the books being placed on the shelf ready for your browsing but you don't know the behind the scenes part of it. I felt blessed to be a part of it. Being the one to unbox the new arrivals also means I get the first glimpses of any awesome new/much sought-after books. =D Believe me when I said I utilized this privilege wholly. =P

I agreed to this job because I was often turned down in job interviews with the same excuse - I don't see any customer service/sales experience. Shall I offer you a [insert low-paying job which I am way overqualified for].

It was distressing and heartbreaking and a tad depressing, to say the least.
I saw my local bookstore has permanent vacancy for the same position I applied and I got the job in like, a jiffy, quite literally.

Or maybe the desperation on my face was evident so they hired me.

I was ecstatic, finally! A job of my own. Something I will earn my keep for.
The first few weeks was tiring but enjoyable. But as it went on, I found myself losing my humanity, my innocence and most of all the light in my eyes, little by little being sucked by fucktards. Read that as customers.

The culture in my workplace is that you have to seek out to teach yourself and learn skills, like Customer Service procedures and Cashiering. Which I proudly declare because I am an introvert and I managed my ~~hatred~~ reluctance for people interaction and sucked it up anyway.

It doesn't take a genius to know that the experience was less than pleasant. Here's some incidents that broke me.

Cashiering

This man had finished his transaction and later came back because he wanted a special promotion book. He slammed the book on the table and asked the book to be included in his previous transaction because he wants his membership discount on that book, which can only be given when the bill of a certain amount. Of course new book would mean a new transaction altogether but this man was recalcitrant, becoming a bully and demands to see the manager. Not wanting to distress other customers I set out to call my manager, even if it means putting my current customer on wait. When I came back, the man was gone and a co-worker had filled in for me. She told that he became embarrassed of his own rowdy behaviour and left without further incidence. This is not the only person who pulls this sort of shit, there were many more, and I suspect there won't be an end to this kiasu attitude.
Again, on weekdays, it was customary to have about only one cashier operating at one time as the crowd is substantially lesser than in the weekends. Again, I was the filler as the same coworker had gone to buka puasa. The line was long but at this point I had mastered the cashier system so I was quick to finish the transactions, I would admit the customers didn't wait long at all. Then came this assfucker who, after I had finished his transactions, rudely asked why am I the only cashier? "I had to wait for a long time!". So did the others. I had to tell him the cashiers had all gone to buka puasa and I was the only non-muslim staff available. With a scoff, he turned on his heel. Have a nice day to to you too, sir.
I was again the filler for the coworker who had gone to buka puasa, and I suddenly found myself entertaining a long line of customers. Mind you that I was the only cashier available. So it was this lady's turn, she came with her teen-aged daughter and said to me "It's okay, take your time. I am also sometimes slow like you.". Maybe she forgot that calling someone 'slow' in English means calling the other person stupid, or maybe she was well-aware of the nuances and didn't give a fuck because she's an arrogant bitch who had never had to work in retail. If I say I was taken aback would be an understatement because her insult affected me and I messed up her transaction as a result; which didn't help that I was already 'slow' in her eyes. My colleague came to help, luckily the matter was resolved in no time. The 'slow' jab the bitch made didn't help my mood for the rest of my week, so much so I have avoided any cashiering since then. I'd like to preserve what's left of my dignity, thank you.

Customer Service.

Where do I even begin with this?

We have MANY, disgustingly MANY customers who come in to exchange their books because they no longer find it interesting or that they have bought the wrong copy, or they simply don't want it anymore. We only have return/exchange policies for damaged books, not the cases mentioned above. Because really, in what way is it okay to ask for exchange because you made a mistake? I have been a customer to bookstores too and I wouldn't even think of exchanging a book because I bought the wrong one or somethin'. I'd merely sell them to a 2nd-hand bookstore or give it away as a gift. Books are never a waste. So assfuckers like this come in strolling like they own the joint asking for exchange and we must be really strict in doing so. Guess how many of them left amicably? Count the leaves of a tree in autumn.
Sometimes customers bring a plastic-sealed book, and if we don't have a browsing copy we open that copy for 'em. Many a time, the books are the last copies. Customers sometimes demand that the book be sold cheaper than it already is, simply because it is a last copy. If it was slightly damaged or dog-eared, I would have gladly come to some sort of compromise but it if it still brand new, jangan harap lah. This is a remainder bookstore, the books are already dirt cheap. You are not even buying 2nd-hand books, these are original books at an extremely discounted price, what more could you want? Kurangkan bangang. I even have customers who argue with the cashier that they want their perfectly good condition book in lesser price because "no one reads this author anyway". That'll be RM9.90, please.
After purchasing a certain amount, customers can get a free membership. They need to fill out a form, simple enough as it is and the data is key-ed in and voila! You're a member. Most people would feel privileged to have such a simple and quick process but there are those who argue that they don't want to fill up anything, "Just give me the card". This is where I will tunjuk berang and ask in a stern voice "say suppose you forgot your member card, you need only give your name or IC and it will show up in the system and you can enjoy our discounts. If we don't have your particulars, how would we give you your discount?" Grumble, grumble, filling out form, grumble, grumble. Bukan main hegeh nak discount but you're not giving the means to do so? What the hell.
We have free gift-wrapping services, and 99% of the time, customers leave with a big smile because not only do they get their books wrapped for free without spending a dime on wrappers, our talented CS staffs does them most prettily. One time, this woman bought a bunch of books - and wanted them gift wrapped in the speed of lightning. "My husband haven't eaten! We're rushing!". I was on floor but I saw that the CS was understaffed, I set out to help. There is an agreement among us staff that obnoxious idiots like this we would get rid of them as quickly as we can. On my defense, this woman was shouting and making a huge fuss that other patrons were starting to get uncomfortable. I started to wrap her books when she stopped me and said "NO, NO, NO! I want them wrapped with a pattern like this!". The more experienced staff has a method of folding the wrappers in a way that the final product has some diagonal lines at the front, which I didn't know how to do. Understandable, because it is her right as a customer to want her books wrapped a certain way. I just couldn't stomach it when she went to my MY BOSS at her workstation and demanded that she leave whatever she is doing and help her wrap her books. She then proceeded to the CASHIERS and told them all to stop what they were doing and asked them to help her wrap her books. Okay, if the cashiers are occupied with her, and other customers want to make their purchase, who the fuck is gonna do the transactions, I wonder? Kurangkan bangang. At last her husband has had enough of her ridiculous antiques and probably told her to behave in Chinese because she quieted down after that. This was the most ridiculous incident in CS I had ever come across.
The customer who just couldn't find his/her items when it is just on eye-level and complaint that we gave them the wrong info. I encounter this particular species all the time and I am not ashamed to say I will make it a point to escort their sorry ass to the shelf and pointed say "It's right here, how could you have missed it?" and walk-away. Rude, I know. Whatever, I have never liked people except for a selected few. Mind you, those who do come back and were super nice/sweet about not being able to find their book, I would gladly bring them the book and get the nicest copy for them from the shelf. It's the asshole ones that I would tunjuk berang, the nice ones memang I would go all out to help.

Working in retail had allowed me to open my eyes to a whole new thing, diminishing my ignorance for the better. I am now well-aware what people in the service industry had to put up and shamefully, I might have contributed in being an asshole customer before my wonderful existential experience in my latest workplace. It's the one thing I must thank my workplace for - is to open my eyes and make me into a more decent fucking human being. I will never, ever again be needlessly kiasu to servers. People behind the counters are human beings. Arguing with them doesn't get you anywhere. They don't have the power to decide anything more advance than their job specs. If you give them hell of a time, I hope that's where you will end up when you die in the future.

Protip for asshole customers. Siapa makan cili, dia rasa pedas.

Don't argue with the cashier. They only finish up your transactions. Don't tell them that they're 'slow' or 'hurry up' or god forbid, demand a discount because you were made to wait for your turn like everyone else. Always remember she/he might new to this and is learning the best way she/he can. Every expert was once an amateur too.
Don't let off steam to people in the service industry because you had a bad day, we did nothing to deserve the brunt end of your pissbaby mood.
Don't publicly humiliate CS personells or floor staffs (I have never been in this situation as a floor staff, just in CS and cashiering), it says more about you than it does about the staff. Ponder on that.
Leave your kiasu attitude at home, we are Malaysians, not Singaporeans. If anything, we Malaysians are famous for being friendly and amiable. Live up to the reputation, please.
Don't ask for discount if it is the last copy of the item. You don't get brownie points for graciously accepting a last copy. You pay up like everyone else. Unless the item is in less than savoury condition, allow me to speak with my supervisor to give you your money's worth.
If the store is obviously using computers for everything, don't take it out on the staff when the system is not at its best. If the computer is lagging or simply having a bad connection, we are as helpless as you. Don't you ever had computers or phones that simply wouldn't work that particular day for some strange reason?
If the store is near closing, don't bring your ass sauntering around our store because retail has a 9-hour shift and the staffs are tired. Have a heart. Don't be a 5-minute pest.

I am yet again jobless. Like I said, I just want this to job as a experience. My research told me potentials with experience in retail have a high chance of being hired in other job industries so I am counting on that.

This gif succinctly describes my before-after state working in retail.

This had been a angst-filled, rant-y post, an honest re-account my experience in retail. Not all of it was unpleasant, my coworkers are the sunniest, happiest and friendliest bunch I have had the privilege to get to know. My coworkers literally made things easier for me. I am forever indebted to them for being so awesome at their jobs.

For your perusal.

a) 8 Infuriating Customer Types.

Turn of the Screw / The Innocents (1961)

2014-05-21T17:59:00.002+08:00

Watched the movie The Innocents last night after I got bored reading Ouija Board testimonials at sometime around midnight. The thing is, it is an adaptation of Henry James' Turn of the Screw and when I read the plot summary in Wikipedia, the movie plot was close to book itself. I guess a visual representation of the movie would greatly help someone to intrepret this seriously open-ended book.

This is my interpretation: I think each of the characters had an individual malady that somehow had been mistakenly bunched together as one connecting event.

If we look at each of the characters' 'malady', we would see why the governess intertwined the supposed haunting to the children's obvious unstable state of mind.

1. The Governess (Ms.Giddens in the movie, unnamed in the book apparently)

Her assignment as the governess to the Bly House children was her first. Though dedicated and passionate, she is inexperienced and nervous. Being away from home and nervous on what kind of children she would deal with, Ms. Giddens had already shown signs of impending (great) stress. First, Mrs.Grose's casual remark about the devil got Ms.Gidden's shaken up a little. Strange, I thought. Later it is revealed that she grew up in a warm, loving house of large religious family. So remarks about the devil got her reeling a bit. She had only known love and comfort, and does not comprehend, nor acknowledge serious symptoms in children that needed intervention. It is like she unconsciously refuse to admit that her wards are pair of children with serious mental illness.

2. Miles

He came across as a charming and polite boy. But the way he speaks tells me something was off about him. At first I simply thought since he is with adult more than children his age, he adopted an adult's speech. But then his behaviour consequently rang all sorts of alarm bells. The first one was the sexually charged poem he recited during his role play with his sister. Only an educated person with a strong inclination towards literature can decipher a poem. Ms.Giddens was distressed, as she was rightfully so. Children that age shouldn't have come across poems like that and show signs of understanding the meaning behind that poem! The second one where he uses phrases like 'My Dear'. One would think he is just mimicking the high-society gentlemen he might have seen chatting with ladies but the more he shows abnormal reactions to things, the more I became suspicious. When Miles kissed the governess goodnight, right on the mouth like a freaking adult, it confirmed my suspicions that Miles was sexually abused. It could be Quint, the former handyman who used to live in the house, or someone from his school. His sexual abuse, his loneliness of having dead parents with no one to turn to but a sister and an old housekeeper who doesn't really raise them added, and turned him into one messed up little boy.

3. Flora

This girl creeped me out since the beginning. She says things that comes across as simply a child with high imagination, but if you really took her words into perspective - you would see that she was extremely lonely and extremely depressed (hints of imaginary friends imminent). There are times when she would simply tune out her surroundings and not realize if anyone is watching her. She has a tendency to stare into distance, which I suspect is a compulsive day dreaming disorder, a means of escapism from her boredom, sadness and loneliness. When Flora was staring ahead in a daydream, coincidentally straight ahead where the spirit of Ms. Jessel was standing, Ms. Giddens mistook this as Flora being "lured in" by Ms. Jessel's spirit. Which is why Flora went into a hysteria when she was broken from her daydreaming reverie and a frantic Ms. Giddens pointing towards nowhere saying her dead governess is looking at her across the lake.

4. Quint and Ms. Jessel.

These two had a complicated relationship, but well-known that they were fucking each other, often times at inappropriate times. I wanted to write them separately but figured clumping them together seems best fit. Mrs. Grose disclosed that Quint was not a good person, hinting that he had a notorious reputation and that someone as educated as Ms. Jessel had no business dallying with the likes of him. He is also revealed to be quite good-looking, which means he had used his looks to get his way. Mrs. Grose had revealed that Quint once hit Ms. Jessel across the face and the dead governess looked like she was turned on by that violence. Hinting strongly that these two odd couples engaged in S &M sex. When Ms. Giddens walked around the house inspecting its doors and and corners, she head whispers and clear moans and groans of pleasure such as "knock before you enter!", "the children!", "love me! love me!", "you're hurting me!". It is strongly implied that the children had walked-in on Ms. Jessel and Quint going at it, but Quint being a depraved sort of man, did not stop and continued having sex. S & M involves some humiliation-play, perhaps Quint 'humiliated' Ms. Jessel who was clearly naked and exposed by continuing to have sex with her while saying words like "damned hussy", "old hag" etc. We could imagine many vulgar words were
spoken during this sex act and Miles eventually picked it up. Children repeat what adult's do and say. Miles repeated these words to his friends in school causing his expulsion. In Ms. Gidden's dream sequence, there was a very brief scene of Quint leading Miles to a small room [door?], presumably to molest him. Miles did look up to Quint as a strong male parental figure, Quint being a deprived human being, took advantage of him.

At this point you might wonder, how does all these fit in the seemingly supernatural part of the story? My guess is Turn of the Screw/The Innocents was meant to be a psychological thriller with both elements molded into one, beautifully by the author. Most people are trying to clump it in either the horror genre or the psychological genre.

Quint and Ms. Jessel are roaming around the house as ghostly apparitions because it is said people who die without their wishes unfulfilled tend to roam around as spirits. Quint who died in a freak accident obviously loved his life and Ms. Jessel who mourned the sudden death of her lover, her sexual needs unfulfilled (supplies of men who consent in S&M are hard to come by in the late 1800's), eventually had rot away with despair and consequent suicide.

Coupled with Ms. Giddens' determination to protect these sad lonely children from further harm, she came to a conclusion on what best made sense to her. A pair of couple who got separated too soon from each other are trying to reconcile/rekindle their relationship by possessing the living children. This may be the truth, or maybe the ghostly couple are merely stuck in a dimension that doesn't belong to them. Ms. Giddens is also religious, which means she is inclined to believe in the supernatural and mystic, referring to the ghostly pair as 'abominations'.

The equation:

Ms. Giddens religious background + her determination to look after sad children + the children's own manifestations of their mental illness + wrong attribution of the governess of the children's mental illness as ghostly possession taking place.

It is all a big misunderstanding because Ms. Giddens used the wrong approach to tackle the obvious issue at hand - the children's unstable psychology.
This is what I mean when I said - each of the characters had an individual malady that somehow had been mistakenly bunched together as one connecting event.

BONUS: Symbolism in the movie.

1. Butterfly on Ms. Gidden's back.
Something that is free and beautiful. Ms. Giddens can be assumed to have had a happy childhood.

2. Butterfly getting caught in spider web.
The happy and free butterfly has now landed herself on some real trouble, without her knowing.

3. Cockroach from Cherub's mouth.
Corruption. Ms. Giddens is going to face a lot of negativity/obstacles in her life, something her happy childhood had not prepared her well for.

4. Falling white rose petals.
Ms. Giddens is supposed to be 'pure' in mind. Her imminent challenges in the house will make her lose her pure mind.

5. Pendulum tapping on window.
The pendulum can be seen as a phallic object, the window as a yonic object, symbolizing the intense sexual acts of Quint and Ms. Jessel. Moans of pleasure was also heard during this scene.

6. The dove with the broken neck
Miles was hiding a dead dove with a broken neck under his pillow. Doves had always been a symbol of purity/virginity. A broken neck signify that this purity had been sullied, a somewhat dead giveaway that Miles 'purity' had been compromised. The act of hiding the dead dove may signal he is keeping it secret and hidden (shame and guilt), we could imagine Quint telling the boy to not speak of their adventures together. This uncomfortable scene ended in Miles kissing the governess goodnight on the mouth, something Quint might have done to Miles, or seen Ms. Jessel and her lover do it.

7. The Bly House itself.
Ms. Giddens repeatedly says how the house is so beautiful and large. I see a isolated, desolate, bleak house with too dark an aura. Despite having lots of windows, it is still dark and gloomy inside. Many closed doors in the house symbolize a lot of painful negative memories embedded in the walls of the house. Freshly cut flowers become limp immediately, suggesting the strong maladies in the house is making the living things inside it sick. Beautiful things do not thrive there. The house, just looking at it, gives me a claustrophobic, trapped feeling. It's gothic Victorian design makes you depressed just looking at it. Strange statues and figurines of odd humans and creatures makes the house completely unsuitable for living. Seriously, why do they have random statues of men in the garden, and if Ms. Jessel really killed herself, why is she buried in a churchyard?

So yah, that's it.

Mother's Day Crochet Projects.

2014-05-09T23:47:00.000+08:00

Mother's Day is around the corner. Although by logic you should express love to your mothers every day and just not one day in particular. Although mainstream store-bought gifts seem to be preferred by the mass, I personally think gifts should have a personal touch to them. Hence, using my recent hobby, crochet, I made about 6 doilies for the Mothership.

Never mind that I spent my one hour break during my work hunting for yarns in Daiso and spent 2 days crocheting 3-4 doilies in a day so she could have a surprise on Monday when she came back from Penang (prayers coz her mother died), only to have lukewarm response upon giving her the gifts because I know she's bummed they weren't in the colours she wanted. Well gee apologies then I can only made do with the cheap but excellent quality yarns Daiso has got to offer for me.

Anyway, despite the initial disappointment from her response, I actually enjoyed making them doilies. I had always loved doilies, whether I used them or not is another question but I just like them a lot, mmkay?

So without further ado, here are my renditions. Link to patterns will be posted.

a) The supply.

I seriously fell in love with these yarns. My favourite is the grey one and the one called Spicy Linen. I have eyes on their Kira-Kira yarn line too.

b) Doily Numero Uno: Granny Circle.

As opposed to its more popular counterpart - the Granny Square, the Granny Circle makes an equally solid and sturdy piece, with the most classic design in the world of crochet.

This tri-colour one was challenging to do, but the result is seriously satisfying.

This blue and chocolate combination is my 2nd favourite piece. Love the electric shout of the blue yarn and the more sombre colour of the chocolate one.

b) Mini Flower Doily

Although it is supposed to be made with fine yarn, I had used the regular worsted-weight yarn and this doily ended up being triple its intended size. Eh heh.

This was an incredibly difficult piece to do. I am never doing it again.

c) Small Flower Doily

This was the first to be made. And it remained my most favourite because I am simply crazy about the way the yarn just worked itself and its weight/feel in my hands. I am thinking to buy more of Daiso's Spicy Linen line and their Kira-Kira yarn line.

I decided to omit the V-shell seams and opted for a more traditional round shape.

c) GirlyBunches Doily and Maybelle Flower Coaster.

My favourite yarn!

GirlyBunches Doily pattern. I made one in red -

this one. I made this on a whim for my aunt on Mother's Day. The Mothership liked it and asked 6 doilies. I suspect she didn't like it that I made hers in grey.

I had A LOT of grey yarns left. So I made a flower coaster. =)

Maybelle Flower Coaster.

I liked this one too. Would randomly twirl and touch this between my fingers and hands. =)

So this had been enlightening and absolutely enjoyable to make. I still have lots of yarns left from this project save the Spicy Linen one. I am not sure what to make of them.

Any ideas? Probably more doilies I would only keep for *sangiam.

*A Tamil word to mean doing something for the sake of it.

First Crochet Project: Estelle Button Cowl by Fiber Flux

2014-03-21T13:06:00.000+08:00

So, some people may know that I have recently taken up crochet, teaching myself the techniques and shit.

I had long since wanted to crochet something as a gift. What better chance for my childhood friend whom I am meeting after 9 years being apart?

Scouring the entire Youtube on a crochet pattern that a novice like me could do, I stumbled upon The Estelle Button Cowl by Fiber Flux. You can watch the tutorial video here.

Don't even get me started on yarn-hunting. I went high and low to get a yarn that'll be of a yellow-green shade to compliment my childhood friend's line of work - a United States soldier. I was hoping it'll give off a 'camouflage' effect.

It costed quite a bit - the yarn, but I don't mind. I haven't seen the idiot for a long time I am hoping the scarf would be well-maintained.

So..here it is!

Made a swatch to test my gauge and technique for the pattern.

Ball of yarn in all of it's unused virginal glory.

Me grabbing some balls because I am related to Azog the Defiler.

This particular yarn is a wool-acrylic combination.It eyelashes easily and it's ply's also comes apart easily. I wouldn't use this yarn again. A little rough feel on the skin but strong and durable nonetheless.

Getting started.

Close up.

The colour-run is pretty.

Close up of the pattern.

First ball of yarn being used.

At this point, I have started a second ball of yarn.

One ball of yarn used up 27-28 inches.

And measures 7 inches across.

Site where yarn change had taken place. The straggler pieces had been weaved in.

2nd ball of yarn using up.

Finished product.

Close up.

More close up because I am a show-off.

This had been a fulfilling project. Very happy with how it turned out despite being a 6 month-old novice in crocheting.

The Mother was jelly and made orders. Figures.

The Downfall of Bronies and Otakus.

2014-03-17T17:20:00.000+08:00

I am expecting to get a lot flame and hate over my convictions over this piece so I am here to stay that I am firm in my standpoint and I have no plans of budging away from it.

So here goes nothing.

*You should have an idea of what Bronies and Otakus are to read this piece.

Let us start by Bronies since I have always been a fan since the first generation by Hasbro.

Urban Dictionary defines Brony as such: A name typically given to the male viewers/fans (whether they are straight, gay, bisexual, etc.) of the My Little Pony show or franchise. They typically do not give in to the hype that males aren't allowed to enjoy things that may be intended for females.

The female fanbase is called a Pegasis, though not popularly used.

Recently, the My Little Pony fanbase had been under ire by the media because the fans had taken to sexualizing cartoon animals. Just google MLP r34 and have a look at the disgusting monstrosity yourself.

My Little Pony, since it's conception, had always been intended for preteen girls. It wasn't until Gen 4.0 My Little Pony - the ponies that we know today - that catapulted into overnight sensation. Among the male fanbase.

This was indeed unexpected and a pleasant surprise, as MLP Gen 4 is a sign that gender roles and norms are breaking, that boys are no longer afraid to be part of a seemingly exclusive female fanbase.

What My Little Pony is that it is a feminist cartoon for girls - it is empowering, encouraging, intelligent, filled with excellent life lessons, good morals and overall goodness.

It teaches girls to be themselves, it teaches girls to stand up for adversities, it teaches girls that there is no competition between them, that they're not beneath other people - subtly hinted 'not beneath their male counterparts'.

It is a fucking good show for girls, each of the main characters in the show has her flaws, and she overcomes them, learns from them with the healthy support of her peers and environments.

But something happened along the way - something absolutely fucky.

Some irresponsible people started to draw these ponies in explicit sexualized forms, performing acts that only adults can comprehend.

Granted, the cartoon has a strong male fanbase - but did they not forget that this cartoon was made for little girls and will remain so? A quick google image search of MLP is sure to have a smattering of R34 ponies in full view of children who are barely out of puberty.

The very mention of being a fan of My Little Pony had resulted a bastardized perception of the fanbase, thanks to a handful of assholes who don't know the limit between personal choices and borderline bestiality.

I find myself hesitating to admit that I am a Brony. The last thing I want is to people picture me as a deprived human being scribbling ponies in nefarious elements. I want to be known as a fan who appreciates the show for all its goodness glory.

It is a shame that something so phenomenal has had its reputation tarnished because the actions of the minority of the fanbase had been brought into attention in wrong magnitudes.

Now on to Otakus.

The very mention of Otaku, automatically links the term to the wonderful world of anime.

I am NOT a middle aged man living in his mother's basement, spending my day surfing hentai of the most depraved nature and wanking off to 9-year-old virtual girlfriends with double D's.

Do not mistake an Otaku for a NEET, these two are not the same. It just happens to that these NEET's, are oftentimes an Otaku.

There is a difference with being synonymous and being a sub-group.
It is as bad as saying all Christians are bible-thumping homophobes.

Granted - the anime genres themselves, the artwork and intended population of the anime leans heavily towards the male population. With what having preteen girls in the bodies of young women, anime girls in barely there clothes, skirts a little too short for reason. Don't even get me started on stereotypical anime girls with screeching voice and peppy attitude. I have no idea why that is considered attractive, seriously.

But then, have a look at these diagram.

Can you see? Can you see where exactly is the problem??

As long as there is a demand, there will be supply - this is the basic principle of a Capitalist society.

Anime had never been about providing fap material to its audience. It has always been a genuine expression of art.

Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and other Studio Ghibli productions are also animes, will you group them with the mainstream genres that you are currently in perception of?

Can't stomach the thought, can't you?

Why give exclusivity to one but hard on the other?

Anime is an intelligent industry. It is ever evolving, ever surprising, always wonderful.

It is a source of comfort to many. Admittedly, animes leans towards being dramatic and exaggerating but fiction is fiction and imagination fuel is imagination fuel. You do not have the right to disrespect someone's source of comfort, exclusion being with those deprived ones we discussed earlier.

I am especially affected by this negative notion of being an Otaku - anime literally saved me from suicide and depression. The stories in animes taught me important life lessons.

Angelique taught me to do whatever I can to keep myself happy as my happiness should come above everything else. Rurouni Kenshin taught me self-redemption and the importance of forgiving myself for things that I can't control. Psycho-Pass recently taught me that I must always question my government and demand to be freed from a large-scale tyranny because a society is run by the people, not the country. Shingeki no Kyojin and Dragonball taught me that every life is important and precious, and if we have power to change something for the good, even if it means sacrificing yourself - you must do it. Bartender taught me that people are always burdened with problems, no one has it easy, no one lives through their life traipsing on daisies. Each one of us has our problems and with good social support, we can help others and ourselves find light in darkness. Great Detectives Poirot and Marple (yes, the very same Poirot and Marple by Agatha Christie) taught me that my decisions in life led me exactly where I should be, and that I am exactly where I should be.

If you still regard Otaku's as some dungeon-dwelling perverts, well too bad and shame on you. We are more than that. We are lovers of art and everything that is fine. We do have a good and firm grip on reality, thank you very much. Anime provides a refreshing and inspirational getaway from life's troubles, temporarily and effectively.

I may not have convinced to alter your initial perceptions of Otakus and Bronies, but here's hoping you'd look at things from both sides of the coin from now on.

Peace out.

MH370 - What the Fuck Happened?

2014-03-13T19:35:00.003+08:00

And what the fuck is going on?

Illustration purposes only.

Let's recap.

Plane went missing.
Plane is said to have lost it's signal in the Vietnam Gulf.
Intense SAR was initiated. Malaysians bore witness the unity of all the 14 countries that is helping Malaysia to locate the missing plane. As a Malaysian, you have my vast gratitude.
The ministry and military and marines release contradictory statements one after the other. People are reasonably angered.
Malaysia attempts to give monetary compensation to the affected families in Beijing.
The Chinese government expressed great anger over Malaysian government's incompetence to handle this professionally.
The parties involved suddenly revoked all issued statements and began searching for the missing plane in the Malacca Straits, where the plane is said to have made a U-turn.
The Vietnamese troop froze the search for the plane temporarily because the Malaysian government is exhausting their resources and frankly, they're exasperated by continuous misinformation from the Malaysian troop.
Search continues but no one knows where now - it can be assumed it is being done at both the Vietnamese gulf and Malacca Straits.
A self-proclaimed 'world-class' Bomoh (read that as Charlatan) is making a fool of himself at the KLIA airport, performing some epic WTF rituals involving a magic carpet, umbrella, basket and 2 coconuts. The world is laughing.
At this point, more clusterfuck is to be expected.

Side note:

1. The pilot is revealed to have broken various ethical codes when it comes to flight regulations.

2. Safety check was not done on the plane prior to take off.

3. Two Iranian passengers were said to have boarded the plane via stolen passports, acting as some Australian pax. This was highlighted for a while, not it has completely died down.

4. It's last known recorded transmission of the flight heard the pilot said "Goodnight". It is assumed that at this point the plane was still fine and someone deliberately turned off the transmission.

Book Review: Zombie Apocalypse! by Stephen Jones.

2014-02-19T16:12:00.000+08:00

Zombie Apocalypse!!

The title of this book is pretty simple and straightforward, but not so much it's content. It is set in the modern world, the catalyst of this whole mess starting with excavating a graveyard that is fabled to house plague victims of the old - we are talking about 5 or 6 centuries ago, with the possibilities of some 'evolved' Bubonic plague.

So this graveyard mostly has countless of those who died of horrific plagues and were all stacked in one bundle and sealed until it was to be excavated to make way for a self - serving political festival that had inadvertently unleashed basically every plagues that were known to mankind and plagues that were kept in such tight secret because they were too horrific to comprehend. The book is a collection of perspectives - a professor who followed her gut instincts to delve deeper into the history of the kind of people who were buried there because it is a very old graveyard and that Health regulations for excavating sites had been breached to the highest order, from doctors who deal with patients who were infested with this plague, civilians confined to their homes under military supervision, live tweets of a boy with an errand zombie ON A PLANE that killed everyone, medical journal entries and teenage girl's, newspaper cuttings, history backstories, transcribes of various documents and so much more. I'd say the book is brilliantly executed.

This is not your typical White person saves the world and tryna survive flesh eating entities. Nay, this is a very realistic representation of what it is really like, on various walks of life that is struggling to survive a fast-deteriorating world. As the book progresses, you will sink further and deeper into despair and hopelessness. Because quite frankly it's chaos out there. I am seriously liking this book, a concise hypothetical outcome should a catastrophe befall mankind, because humanity is at it's most peaceful right now and we will NOT survive the shock of having it disrupted.

Imagine M.J rising from the dead and started doing Thriller.

2014-02-04T20:26:00.001+08:00

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Iranian Man Did Not Take a Bath for 60 Years.

2014-01-20T21:24:00.000+08:00

So this kind of a recent buzzing news now : this man who didn't bathe for 60 years.

Yahoo news made it a point to make a paltry 'news' out of this with a minute-long video that played the exact same 5 screenshots over and over again with what I think supposed to be ominous music.

It is extremely sad, really. Seeing such a person in an obviously destitute condition, instead of finding out what happened that he is in his current condition, people thought it was better to take a picture of him and make him into an internet sensation with most people making a mockery outta him.

First of all, consider these things:

a) Is he homeless and shunned by the nearest townsfolk for some reason?

b) Is he mentally ill? (depressed people are known to neglect their personal hygiene)

c) He appears to live in a desert area - the place seems like you will breathe in dust instead of air. So...maybe there wasn't enough water for him to bathe but just enough for drinking?

So far, I can not find anymore information on this news, did they say his name in the video? I can't understand the speaker's accent.

But he is an intriguing character though, who is he? What is his story?

Goodbye Love.

2014-01-11T20:13:00.001+08:00

I have read many books where the books starts with the introduction with the death of someone. This subsequently becomes the cataclyst for the main character to run throughout the book, a backstory of sorts for the said protagonist. He or she would recall this death of someone in a grim tone, eloquently explaining the experience of regulating of his or her lived experience of going through the death process. Oftentimes, hyperboles like 'the atmosphere smelled like death' doesn't get me. I thought it was meant to aleviate how much the protagonist grives the said death. Little did I know they were something that you ACTUALLY SENSE. For the first time in my life, I had smelled the smell of death.
I don't wish to go through it again.

My childhood pet, and beloved family of 15 years had passed away peacefully in the wee hours of the morning at around 5-6am. Her name was, is, Tiffany.

People who knew me for a long time would be familiar with my tendency to go on and on about Tiffany so they would understand what she meant to me. Because she really is a dog with the most colourful personality that you would ever meet. Stellar reputation even amongst my family members who aren't too fond of dogs, she makes us proud in so many ways. Each and every one who met her would have high praises for her - such a good dog, she's so well behaved, she's so quiet, she has good manners, how does she know the acceptable place to do her business when she is at someone else's house?, how does she know what to do when so-and-so happens?

Easy, whatever we do - we include her. When we are gazing out the window, we would carry her with us, have her look at the world we are looking at. In time, she would ask to be included when we are doing something, anything.

So she became familiar with our body language - asesseing the situations where she needs to make herself scarce or make a grande appearance like the little superstar she is. When she needs to be alert and when she can have her guard down, how to behave with visitors to the house - the whole shang-ri-la.

We have never treated her like a dog - we talked to her, had conversations with her like you would with a human being. She listens, she understands. When a familiar word is being uttered, like 'walking', you'd have her full attention. 'Bath' makes her into a floppy fluid-like blob, refusing to move, but she always end up having a bath anyway. Her method of reproach to us - sitting on a corner and sulking.

She was born somewhere between late March or early April in 1999. We brought her home after her sister from another litter (Juwie, 5 months old R.I.P), died suddenly on Cheng Beng.

Juwie's loss was too sudden for us. We were not able to handle it and begged our father for another puppy. Something happened in between, my memory is a little fuzzy here - in my defense I was 9 years old.

So to prepare the arrival of then 1.5 months old Tiffany, we made a mini-house with a large box, newspaper and a bowl filled with milk.

She took a hard time adjusting weaning off her mother but in less than 5 days, she was barking at my dad who was coming home from work. Talk about being hardcore.

She was intelligent, curious and definitely had indescribable gung-ho-ness about her. She would tackle a problem instead of running away; having a natural inquisitive mind, she would sniff at everything. We encouraged and even introduced new scents and objects for her to sniff at.

Growing up, she was a bundle of energy. She was obscenely hyperactive. She was a light sleeper. At that time, we had a HUGE garden so she would move from one end to the other, inspecting every nook and crook.

Anything she deems suspicious, she would inspect it even more diligently. There were times when we had to remove her from potentially harmful situations because we know of her tendency to tackle things head-on. She was HARDCORE.

She hates being alone. She likes to sit beside you and sleep or just relax. She is the sort of person who needs company. So just imagine whenever we come from a 4-day holiday her hips would do a little hula dance! We absolutely ADORE that sight. Perhaps we are the only ones who understand seeing her happiness upon seeing us return from the said long holiday. The rest of the day is spent with lots of pampering, kisses and of course, treats.

She loves the camera, when she is in the mood for it of course. I can show many a picture that clearly shows she is posing for the lens. And my, was she [she is] a photogenic lovely little lady!

We like to buy her/get her gifts - dog sweater, fancy treats, new food bowl and even blankets. And everytime we gather the groceries, she would be at standy because she knows all too well that we would have gotten her something - a special favour dog food is oftentimes how we indulge her. She likes this Japan-made dog food that has lamb and rice as its ingredients.

She used to play 'predator' with socks that was wrapped on our hand. She would pretend-play, treating the sock-wrapped hand as a prey-thing, and engage in her own little teacup predator imagination. When she is done playing with the sock hand, she would lick it, indicating that she had played to her heart's content.

My two fondest memory of her is when she was still young, about 3-4 years old; she had rummaged the dustbin and actually went INSIDE the dustbin and rummaged the trash. I woke up at that time, going downstairs for a drink when I heard some rustling sound. We had mice infestation then, thinking I had finally caught the culprit, I took a heavy load of newspapers and yanked close the open dustbin. I heard something between a yelp and a squeak. "Wait, this is not tikus.". I removed the newspapers, only to have globular brown eyes staring at me with such guilt at having caught red-handed. I couldn't help but laugh but, punished her still by giving her a bath. It was 3 am yes but we can't have a mischivious pup who stinks like gutted fish.

My second fondest memory of her is when she managed to catch the said mice (finally) with her own paws. But she was clumsy and pounced on the mice instead of pinning it's tail, which resulted the mice to make a SOMMERSAULT in mid-air while plunging into a pail that was nearby. Even Tiffany was confused as she did not see the mice sommersaulting in mid-air and its landing in the said pail! In between hysterical laughing fits, I loaded some heavy newspapers to trap the mice in.

Everytime I tell this story to my family, we still laugh.

The crazy shit she does, man! It's too long to list them all here. Let them remain as fond memories in our hearts between my family.

On March 22nd, she suffered a massive heart attack at 3am. I was preparing to go to sleep when I heard a loud cry that emanated so much pain, sounding almost human. To be hearing that sort of sound at 3am, you can't help but think if you have a special visitor. But something in me prompted me to go out my door and look for Tiffany. She sleeps outside our rooms since she poops between the night, the toilet more accessible to her if she sleeps outside the room.

I found her laying stiff in an odd position, in a place I know she wouldn't normally sleep, her eyes were unblinking. Panic rose in me and I woke everyone up. Mother came first dashing and tried to revive her. My sister came a little while later and joined in reviving her. I felt my entire being shake and tremble, we have never experienced this.

It took about half an hour before she rose her head asked for water. Drinking some, after some time, she began to move about normally. My mother and sister took the day off to bring her to the hospital that very same day when the hospital would be in business.

We were given grave news. She had a serious heart attack and it was congenital. There was nothing to do except that we make her as comfortable as we can. The message was clear - brace yourselves.

Prognosis was 2 months. Because her heart was enlarged and one of her discs in her lower spine was deviating. Doctors advised that if she is starting to feel pain due to the spinal disc, we must take the most human decision for her. Because there is no traction or physiotherapy for dogs with spinal ailments. But her heart was the main focus here. Her pulse was haywire, the heart wasn't pumping enough blood so she suffered water retention. We visited the hospital weekly to get it drained.

This is the dog prior to her heart attack had only been to the vet clinic 5 times in her life for allergy reactions. Now she is a frequent visitor to a hospital.

Helluva lot of money was spent on her, the medical checkups and procedures and her medicines were filthy expensive.

Initially she was doing well. So well. There were signs of stability. We thought with constant vigilance - she'd somehow pull through till her time comes.

In between, she did have several attacks - surviving all.

For the past 2 months, her health deteriorated at an alarming rate. She refused to eat, her toilet trips were something else to manage, eventually, she didn't even wanted to move. We had to carry her here and there and assist in everything.

For the past few days, she refused food totally no matter how much cajolling we did. She didn't sleep too well either, she just lied down, drowsily looking at things.

It was when she soiled herself last night while sleeping did we realize - her time had come. Last night, we were talking about making arrangements for a vet to come to the house to finally put her to peace and the pet funeral service fees etc.

After making plans, mum slept in sis's room, tucked her between them and fell asleep. It was my mum who discovered that she had breathed her final somewhere in the wee hours of 5 or 6 am.

The two of them gave her bath and while my sis dried her off, mum knocked my door. The first time she knocked I didn't want to get up because I know what news was awaiting me. The second she knocked, I got up and mum uttered these words - "she died".

I leaned over and saw that my sister was on the floor drying off her stiff body with cloth and hairdryer.

I didn't know what to do. Perhaps there was nothing I could do. I moved around the house helplessly, doing mundane this and that. I offered to inform my father about the news, so that kept me busy for a while.

After washing her, we put her on a blanket and covered her. Mum went to the internet to check for Sanskrit calender to check the time and date of her death. Today is Vaigundha Ekadasi - it is an event that happens only once a year where the heavenly gates are said to be open. Those who pass away on Vaigundha Ekadasi is said to go straight to heaven and they do not get reincarnated. They remain in heaven. I suppose Tiffany held on for good 10.5 months because she had her own plans.

Now her loss is greeted with relief and some happiness, because at least she died on an auspicious day. Her existence in our lives taught us everything we needed about a pet. It was because of HER that the subsequent pets that come along would get treated like kings and queens because we had a good teacher in Tiffany.

Thank you Tiffany, for everything. Everything.

Darling, Dearest, Dead

(Lemony Snicket, Letters to his Deceased Fiance).

The 'Allah' Issue

2014-01-10T19:34:00.002+08:00

So Malaysia is now abuzz with the hoo-haa of certain extremists claiming the word 'Allah' and several other 'Malay' words strongly belonging and exclusive to the Malay race.

It came to a point that I am no longer angered to see my mother tongue that is as old as 10 000 years old being claimed by a civilization that was merely a farming community still in the 1900's, which coincidentally had solid proof of having Indian and Chinese merchants coming to their straits and introduce the art of trade and business, subsequently - Islam and basically formed a proper civilization.

I think a 'thank you' is long overdue.

The following words are a list of banned words for non-Muslims.

I can vouch on my great-gandmother's grave that none of these words are 'Malay' but Arabic and Sanskrit derivations. So where, and how, did the arrogance of 'language ownage' came from?

Let me list you some words that are blatantly Sanskrit but is being used by a good vast of ignorant Malays and Malaysians.

Putera - Puttra, literally means 'Prince' or 'Son' and the exact meaning is still used by Malays today.

Puteri - Puttri, literally means 'Princess' or 'Daughter', the exact meaning maintained.

Bumiputera - Bhoomi, literally means 'earth' or 'world' and Putera as mentioned above, son or prince. Put together? Sons of Earth.

Jaya - Success, literal meaning maintained.

Putrajaya - Puttra - son, Jaya - success. Put together? Victorious Princes.

Dosa - dhosham, literal meaning maintained.

Derma - Dharma, literal meaning maintained.

Raja - exact meaning 'King'. How should I address my sovereign now since the government claimed this word exclusive to the main religion?

Rani - exact meaning - Queen. So is 'Permaisuri', in Sanskrit it is 'Parmaisuri".

Menteri - Mandhiri. Exact meaning maintained.

Perdana - Pardana, meaning 'Prime'. Therefore, Perdana Menteri is literally a romanized Sanskrit term.

Warna - Varna, meaning mainatained, which is 'colour'.

Wakil - Vakkill, meaning maintained, which is 'representative', now it is a common term for 'lawyer' in Tamil. Tamils still use this word till today.

Rahsia - Ragasiam or Ragashyiam, exact meaning maintained, which is 'secret'.

Aniaya - this exact word is used in Tamil which bears the same meaning - 'to inflict cruelty".

Asrama - Ashram, exact meaning maintained - 'hostel'.

Samudera - samudra, exact meaning maintained - "the ocean".

If I keep listing them all, this blog post would be obscenely long therefore have a look at this comprehensive list of Sanskrit words that were borrowed by the Malays. Also, there are words borrowed from English, Arabic, Chinese and other Eastern languages. Malay is basically a mish-mash of borrowed languages. But certain people became insecure that their identity was 'inherited' from other cultures. What is there to be embarrassed about? The fact that you are still living today carrying on the legacy of an ancient language where the inventors and people of the language themselves have long been extinct, signifies how much we have come far as a society, the influence of the language on a global level and how we are the living proof that certain old things from ancient times perseveres till modern age is a miracle in itself.

Why are we not seeing it this way? Why such burning insecurity that marginalization as a form of self-validation was opted instead?

The story of Hang Tuah and his brothers were removed from History textbooks when it was revealed that he was of Chinese descent and not Malay, like the erroneously long held belief. But the thing is, he was part of the entourage that escorted the Princess Hang Li Po from China, and her five escorts comprised of five brothers whose names starts with Hang coincidentally...how was that not clue enough that he was Chinese? Hang Li Po could very well be their sister!

Parameswara was Indian prince who allegedly converted to Islam from his marriage to a Persian princess so...his descendants have Indian blood, no?

If we could stop altering history as we see fit, that'll be great.

To be frankly honest in the most brutal way, Malays did not even have a culture until the arrival of the Indians and Chinese merchants some few hundred years ago. I can't give you the exact date because it happened so that along our course of Malaysian history, many things have been changed, altered and destroyed to suit the tastes of certain people with superiority complex. There really is no telling when exactly did we came but the earliest record that the Malaysian historians have maintained thus far dates to 500 years. Everyone who is honest with themselves probably knows it dates WAAYYY back beyond that timeline, when Srivijaya made a stronghold in Kaddaram back in the 7th century. What is Kaddaram, you are wondering? We Malaysians know it as 'Kedah". See? Not even the names of our states are "Malay".

If you're a Malay reading this, and have been ingrained a superiority complex by irresponsible people, and you have any ounce of humility left in you, you'd be embarrassed.

But then there are several extremists who go out of the way to make Malaysia a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. Malaysia once had a slogan of 'Malaysia Boleh' it seems that now 'Malaysia Tak Boleh' is the preferred slogan, all thanks to recent events.

If renowned Muslim scholars from the Middle East themselves, where Islam was birthed, are baffled over our ruling of the usage of the Allah issue, then isn't it time to take a step back and re-evaluate this whole situation?

I have taken the liberty to attach some academic journal publications for your reading on the true history of Malaysia. If you are an extremist that prone to violence because your 'culture' is being challenged, you can turn back and bask in your own bobble of ignorance as this will definitely rattle your jimmies.

1. Malay and Javanese Loanwords in Malagay, Tagalog and Siraya (Formosa).

2. The Competition of Religious Terms in Sanskrit and Arabic in Malay manuscript on Hindu-Buddha Transitional Period of Classical Malay Literature : Case Study Hikayat Marakarma.

3. Sanskrit Loan Words in Indonesian.

4. Indic Transformation.

5. An Inscribed Tablet from Kedah: Malaysia. Use Ctrl+F and key in Sanskrit.

6. The Extent of the Influence of Tamil on the Malay Language.

7. The Jawi Writing System and Vocabulary.

8. Unveiling Secrets of the Past.

Back in the times of my parents and grandparents, this was never an issue.

Never.

My parents and grandparents would recall fondly how the Malays, Chinese and Indians were so comfortably united because of their difference, the closeness of friendship among all the races. Racial slurs and tensions were unheard of.

It is sad that Malaysia was once a proud example of racial unity, envied by many and even lauded for our miracle of staying in one piece because of our racial differences.

What the hell happened to us along the way?

Japanese Fitness App Insults You While You Work Out.

2014-01-05T21:31:00.000+08:00

Those who know me well know of my absolute love for anime and manga. No, not Japan. I do not agree with some of their cultural practices but I do love them for their anime and manga. That's where I draw my line. Visiting the Akibahara one day is sort of a daydream of mine.

But Japan has some appalling weaknesses - treatment of women especially. Many women are choosing the single life over marriage because they lose their worth as a person after getting married and is expected to serve her husband and his family. Not much different from my own South Indian culture.

Meet Nensho! For Girls. The original version was intended for as a fitness app for guys with pretty cutesy girls cheering him on as he works out. So the female counterpart was released. With macabre intentions in mind.

What better to lose weight fast than a bunch of good looking anime boys insults you with fat-phobic slurs and ultimately falls in love with you after you lose your target weight? Why is that the masculine app of this has positive reinforcements in the form of cutesy animated girls being supportive but the feminine app form has abusive underpinnings? What kind of Scumbag Steve are you conditioning your Japanese girls to see as the ideal boyfriend archetype? A pretty looking boy who insults you into thinness, but excused because he's beautifully animated? How does this even remotely make sense?

Here's a sample of the audio available in the app:

“Hey, fattie,”

“You do know there’s a limit to being well-rounded, don’t you?”

Eating disorders is on the alarming rise in Japan among the females, of all ages, some start as young as 12.

This would end only in disaster when it comes to their mental health. In a circuitous perception, you would condition girls to believe from a very young age their most important asset is their bodies (Brumberg, 1997).

Does fat-phobic mainstream products really need to be conjured to further deteriorate your girls' mental health?? Or is the government propagating this eating disorder as a method to consolidate their anti-obesity campaign? Dreadful.

To think that back in Heian-era, a fat woman was considered a beautiful woman. Just read Genji Monogatari, which was written in the Heian-era, it describes women with with apple-plump cheeks and large build as 'beautiful' because it was a sign of health.

I am not here to propagate fatness, I am merely saying it is never right to criminalize one's weight using societal standards as an excuse.

This is truly disappointing. Well, I guess right and wrong is exclusive to culture. Just hope they don't extend that to outside. But given how ethnocentric Japan is, that is highly unlikely.

Nensho! For Girls - (Source)
Cited chapter in the book - The Body's New Timetable, (Brumberg, 1997)

My Reaction to Mandy Du's article in The Real Singapore.

2014-01-05T12:07:00.001+08:00

Once in a while, you are slapped with the reality that although the women you hang out with generally have good head on their shoulders when it comes to settling down, out of the blue, you get thrown in gems like Mandy Du, who is absolutely clear that she wants to marry a robot.

I seriously hope to God she meant this piece to be a satire because some parts clearly leans towards that way. Or at least it appears to lean towards satire. I don't know - the more I read, the more I am convinced that Ms.Du is earnest in her convictions.

Be warned though, by the end of that sparkling gem of a writing, you might end up like this:

Let's analyze her writing chronogically. Not all would be quoted here, just some that is worth mentioning the reaction I had since I believe I speak for everyone as we all read her eloquent dating resume.

"Guys who send me a FB friend request must be itching to talk to me every minute of every day. That is a sign that he is really interested in me. Anything less than that, don't waste my time. I have better things to do."

Are you like, on the perception that you're a real catch?

"If you are contacting me from interstate or overseas, please make sure you are wealthy enough to fly to Perth to meet me in person (if we have chemistry). I am not willing to travel to other states or countries on the principle that a girl shouldn't have to go the distance for a guy."

"I don't like or love people easily but if I like you, then obviously you must be special. But you have to try your very hardest for me to like or love you. I get upset easily and I have a big temper. When I'm angry, I am more vicious than a pack of hungry wolves. So I suggest you don't go there. But if you don't believe me, I dare you to try."

Excuse me, my brain just bled a little.

"I have very expensive taste and I enjoy the finer things in life. I am not a simple girl with simple tastes. I simply refuse to have a boring housewife life where I just manage the home and take care of the kids and not have a life of my own. I want a guy who will provide me with an extravagant lifestyle- he must be able to take me on expensive cruises and holidays and stay at 5 star hotels and dine at the finest restaurants and take me on shopping sprees. I want a guy who treats me like a princess all the time."

Pretty sure this how most gentlemen readers of this article looked like.

"I am a genuine and a nice person. I am thoughtful, sweet and understanding. I will go out of my way to make my boyfriend/husband happy (if he makes me happy)."

Are you sure Ms.Du? Are you really sure?

"I don't have a model figure nor am I super skinny. I don’t aspire to be like models because I am comfortable in my own skin and I like the way I am. Anyone telling me differently will get an earful of my cussing. I believe every girl is beautiful whether they’re a size 6 or 16. If you're purely after looks and if you want a slim girl I'm not it. That is a physical relationship. I don't do physical relationships because I think it's truly revolting to like someone based on looks."

I take that you look something like this then.

"I don't like dogs. I hate living with them. So if I ever get to a point where I am living with a guy and he has a dog/dogs, it or they are going to have to go. If you choose a dog over me, well firstly you're dumb enough to let a great girl go and secondly, you will never get me back so you might as well marry your dog."

"I do not believe in pre-nuptial agreements. And I will not sign one when I am about to get married. I stick by : "What's mine is mine and what's your's is mine too".

""I will not tolerate guys talking back to me or trying to win arguments. That isn’t going to work. I like having the last word. If you think you simply can’t resist snapping back at me, well….there’s the trash can and you can go sit in it."

"Hmm, let's see....I have a pretty long list but essentially I want a boyfriend who will potentially become a husband. He must be good-looking (or at least decent-looking), clean, hygenic, caring, generous, loyal and faithful. He must be patient, tolerant, kind, honest, trusting, gentle and respectful. He must also be hard-working and committed and dedicated to building a future with me and giving me a luxurious comfortable life."

You want to be the on the receiving end only and not reciprocate?

Good luck, madam.

"I will not entertain sleazy guys, rude idiots or guys that are full of themselves. There's a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance."

She haven't listened to herself speak, has she?

"I want a guy free from his past relationships and ready to commit to me and me only. His relationship history must be exactly that: history. He must not linger on thoughts and feelings for this past girlfriends. Make sure you completely get over them first. He must only have eyes and the heart for me. I will not settle for less."

She thinks the universe revolves around her!

""I want a guy who will financially provide for me. And I must be able to choose if I want to work or not. A genuinely nice guy will give me that freedom of choice. And if I work, I should get to keep what I earn all to myself. If you're scared of that, then you're not the guy for me and you should probably bugger off right about now."

Somewhere, far away in the glen, a guy breathes a sigh of relief.

"Sounds good to me!" he says as he saunters off in a field of daisies.

"I'll tell you upfront that I am looking for a rich guy. He must be financially able to pay for EVERYTHING- bills, petrol, groceries, mortgage, kids, wedding, honeymoon, etc...and I should not have to pitch in a single cent. I am NOT paying for anything. With me, there is no such thing as ‘going halves’, ‘you pay this, I pay that’ or 'let's split the expenses'- none of that nonsense. I believe the guy pays for everything and I am never backing down from that ever. If that doesn’t suit you, don’t click the ‘contact’ button. It’s simple. I was raised in a very Asian culture and this concept of halving household bills and stuff is unheard of and I am not about to start that ridiculous trend."

"I want a guy who buys me gifts, lots of gifts such as expensive jewellery, perfumes, clothes, surprise getaways, takes me out to fancy dinners and balls and is always willing to go to the ends of the earth to make sure I stay happy all the time."

"He also must not go to pubs and clubs at all- I absolutely forbid it and he must not contact or go out with female friends. I don’t have any friends who are guys and I want a guy who doesn’t have any female friends either. If you want to keep them, don’t contact me. He absolutely must not be into disgusting things like pornography."

"Also, with all due respect, please don't contact me if you are physically disabled in any shape or form. Frankly I don’t want to spend the rest of my precious life nursing a man child with a condition."

If anyone needs a nursing, it's Ms. Du's ego.

"I must be number 1 in your life. I must come before anything and anyone else. I will not accept anything less. I must always be a priority. I will not take the back seat. If you think you’re going to struggle putting me number one, I won’t be interested in talking to you. Guys with exes who are still tagging along, with children, divorced, separated, going through divorce or separation- please don’t contact me at all."

With that attitude, fat chance.

" And I can tell what kind of personality you have just by looking at your FB account details."

To be fair, everything that you have written in that article of yours speaks volumes about you.

That last bit was actually written in the earlier part of her piece but I thought I'd keep the best for the last.

Cotton House Store: 12-set Aluminium Crochet Hook Set

2013-12-27T18:17:00.001+08:00

So, I bought a 3.5mm crochet hook set as a starter to practice my crochet skills and wrote a review of the store I bought it from. I did tell you that I was very happy with their service so this time I saved up a lil' and bought the entire crochet hook set, that comprises of crochet hooks from various sizes.

Yet again, I am very happy with their services. They also sell crochet hook sets made from aluminium, plastic, bamboo (I was tempted to buy this set actually because I like wooden products but they would get 'eaten' with age and would not be kind on the yarn fabric so with heavy heart I had to change my mind) and acrylic.

Here are some pictures to show you what an aluminium crochet hook set - the one that I bought - looks like.

The package.

The content. Guess which one contains the crochet hook.

That's right! The brown one!

*gets slapped for bad joke*

*Jaws theme music at the background*

Ta-da! Look at all the pretty colours.

If you want to know how long, and the thickness of those hooks are,

I am going to use my own hands as a measurement comparison.

My hands are quite big, you see - about 20cm.

The smallest of the crochet hook set, 2mm.

To the touch it was extremely fragile and delicate. If handle roughly it will snap into two.

The largest hook of the set, 8mm. This was very comfortable to hold in my very big hands. Crochet hook from the size 6mm onwards was held very cozily in my hands.

To be honest, my mother was more happy than me to receive this package and insisted that I open it before her 'cause she wants to see it. Macam budak kecik. XD

Peace out.

Swamiji's and Guruji's Exploitations.

2013-12-19T15:07:00.003+08:00

I am extremely angered by all the quack Hindu holy men that are recently sprouting by the dozen in Malaysia. It signifies a decay in religion and most of all - intelligence. I am at a loss of words at how some people can be so stupid as to believe some random guy who claims to be a representative of God and heaven forbid, some enlightened yogi or Guruji. These are holy titles you EARN by years of obeisance, prayers and other religious ritualistic procedures. They are not achieved by merely dressing up and sitting solemnly on a badly photoshopped lotus flowers and halo background.

Fie upon you.

I literally had to stop to take a breather whilst writing this piece because I am absolutely LIVID.

A) First of all, let me educate you a little bit about cults.

1. What is a cult?

A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object - Google Search.
Cue: Look at the joker in the picture above.

2. What are the characteristics of cults?

a) The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (for example: the leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity).
Check.

b) The group is preoccupied with making money.
I heard this clown charges about RM700-900 per session with him?
Check.

c) The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.

Check. ~~(just are just some of them, mind you).~~

d) Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

"After all the insane speech, there’s come the time to eat bulb. This is the time where I realized he is using black magic. How? Around 20 people each time were asked to stand and u needs to look into his eyes while your mind should need to focus in your throat. Then he starts to mumble some mantras and suddenly I could felt something pass through my throat (it’s like air pass through). Once he completes doing that with everyone, now everyone is ready to eat the bulb (just a very tiny piece of broken bulb). I’m not sure it is a black magic or he plays with our mind set. After that he teaches on how to do meditation daily and how this meditation can make you to communicate with him indirectly".

Excerpt taken from Maire1.com - Bulb Eating Cults.

Check.

c) The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them/ questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

"those who believe him will succeed everything in their life but those who don’t they will be worst and never succeed anything”.

Excerpt taken from Maire1.com - Bulb Eating Cults.

Check.

d) Is hypersensitive to how he is seen or perceived by others.(updated 20/12/2013)

Remember the dude sitting on the lotus flower?

The ones one the left are his goons.

Check.

e) The guru is worshipped, rather than the principles or doctrines

Need I say more?

~*~

B) Now let me give a quick tour of what it means to be a holy religious person and the characters of ACTUAL yogis and gurujis and swamijis.

a) They both have very little ego. This means that they do not identify themselves with their five senses, mind and intellect but with the soul (ātmā), that is the God within.

Seeing how this Guruji requires his followers to revere him like God himself, I don't think he passed the No-Ego test. He calls HIMSELF God so the whole thing about finding your inner God thing is non-present as well.

b) He himself practices the spiritual truth and explains the spiritual practices to the devotees by setting an example and explaining to them the practices in detail. He is content with the income as though it is a blessing from divine. Such a true guru can confer the true knowledge.

You hear that? Conversations with you is his income! He doesn't need your dime!

c) A true Guru is not attracted by opposite sex and is beyond the weakness for money. He doesn’t expect anything of anybody.

DING-DING-DING-DING!!! What did I say??

d) He is steadfast in his devotion, he meticulously follows the spiritual injunction in all details, abides in his SELF, is never insincere, he doesn’t desire worldly wealth.

Read the last part, over and over again - DOESN'T DESIRE WORLDLY WEALTH.

c) He should not be short tempered, overconfident of his disciples, boastful of himself and jealous of others

The key word here is 'overconfident' and 'boastful'. Our local clown passes this with stellar qualifications.

d) Does not present himself or herself overly fashionably and glamorously.

Cue: maniacal desperate laughter.

Just read this article - it has a succinct information on what quack holy men comprises of. Our Guruji passed this test, again, with flying colours.

GOD it is good being a psychology student.You are exposed to ways of the world, however on the surface.

Now do you see? You lot who follow this conmen are being bamboozled, robbed in daylight and being made a sap out of you simple folks. He is taking advantage of the very aspect that is deep rooted in most Indians - religiousness. These clowns know that when it comes to religion most Indians are not discriminatory hence this well thought out, large-scale organized crime that sucks your money. I have heard that the followers of this cult have resorted to borrowing money from others to receive blessings and prasadham's.

I facepalmed so hard at all these bullfuckery that my face is swollen. True holy men are those who have absolved all material possessions and even absolved the lust to own material possessions. They voluntarily reject all worldly lusts and possessions living with minimal, basic needs. True holy men would not ask for your money for you to earn his blessings - they would give it to you for free. All you have to do is talk to true holy men a lil' and ask for spiritual strength. THATS WHEN TRUE MEN WOULD GIVE YOU THEIR BLESSINGS. They wouldnt ask even a DIME from you! Just look at the points I have written in (B) and the link to the websites which I have referenced! These snakes lead a cult by duping the masses that CAN be duped.

This picture makes me extremely angry. This is the picture that catapulted me into writing this piece. I know Kali Yuga is the age of vice and evil but this just too much. That man is sitting on a pedestal and having his ego grew bigger the more people bow to his feet and sprinkle his dirty water on their heads. What kind of nonsense is this?

The unfortunate victims of these conmen mostly consist of poor Indians and lower middle class Indians who are desperate to make their ends meet. So how are they working towards it? By showering a shady character with their hard earned money hoping to give them MORE money. Excuse me but my logic has run away from all this nonsense, let me go and retrieve it back. Jokes aside, I'm sorry but you are never seeing that money again, EVER.

I hope this gets widely shared so those who know of this or even involved in this would get a real eye opener and start doing the right thing by sticking to proper religion and not because some fantastical conmen who had polished his talent for lying utilizing this despicable act for his own purposes.

~*~

References:

Characteristics of Cults

a) Characteristics of a Religious Cult
b) The False Guru Test
c) Characteristics of Dangerous Cult Leaders

Characteristics of Guru's

a) Who is a Guru?
b) Qualities of a Guru.
c) Characteristics of a Good Teacher

Cotton House Store Review

2013-12-10T16:51:00.001+08:00

Yeap. My recent interest in knitting have led me to try crochet as well so I made some research about it, watched shitload of Youtube how-to videos on crochet and knitting and I think I would come to prefer crochet better.

I just love them pretty doilies, mmkay?

So, did you know - there are virtuously no embroidery supply shop in KL that sells yarns for cheap? Ipoh? Plenty! They have seriously good selection in the Old Town area but KL, aduih nak pengsan.

So I came across this online website - www.cottonhousestore.com.

Yeah, that's their homepage. I love the Maple Leaf logo. It reminds me of weed.

Not that I smoke that it's just something about weed that's hilarious.

Moving on.

The package.

The content. BEHOLD.

I purchased a crochet hook, size 5, the standard size for beginners I think.

I have previously purchased 100% cotton yarn from a flea market vendor. It was completely unsuitable for knitting so in order not to waste it I decided to crochet something using that yarn.

Ignore the prune fingers I just came out of shower XD

I was pleasantly surprised to find out they had enclosed samples of their wool!

To summarize, I am darn happy with my business with them. I fully intend to purchase future supplies with them. Also they are having year end sales for their products so make sure you check 'em out. (if you are a knitter, crocheteer, that is heh).

Peace out.

Death is, But Another Life

2013-12-05T15:21:00.000+08:00

I felt compelled to write this yet another piece on death because this is the THIRD time I am witnessing death this semester. It doesn’t help that I am seeing a string of number 4’s everyday. Which is disturbing in itself ‘cause if you’re Asian you know what the number 4 signifies in our culture. Be it Indian or Chinese, the number 4 in the Hindu religion signifies Kethu (with his/her partner Raghu) signifies death. In Cantonese, 4 is pronounced as ‘Sei’ which also means death. So it all fits. Lemme tell you about how these strings of death relate to the number 4.

First, in late September, a coursemate of mine whom I did not know existed to begin with until his death announcement on my Psych course website, passed away in a horrific motorcycle accident. Many people mourned his death. I would admit that I felt nothing because quite frankly, I did not know the guy. Why should I mourn for someone I didn’t know? Such was my twisted logic. For a week, the frenzy of his passing was all over my course. To my surprise, the deceased boy who I did not know until his death, was dearly beloved by many. Many good, praiseful things were spoken of his person. There was a small regret in my heart, that I dismissed this person not worthy of my sympathy simply because I did not know him personally. Out of morbid fascination I managed to asked a friend of his how he died. Such was my twisted mind.

I know I had a lot of growing up to do, I just didn't know that I had a lot of catching up to do when it comes to being human. My complete lack of empathy and sympathy to the woes and plight of another person who had lost their beloved is disgusting to say the least.

Then came the incident of that boy who fell from my apartment floor in a freak accident. I felt a small fraction of sympathy for this boy because I had seen him around rascalling with his fellow friends. My sister saw him hanging around with his friends the next thing she knows, quite literally a few minutes later he had apparently plunged to his death from the 5^th floor of my apartment, in front of my apartment unit. He fell straight to the ground head first resulting in a split skull and immediate on-the-spot death. Again, this sick side of me emerged. Morbid fascination, I had. How did he fall to his death? Suicide? Murder? More than feeling sorry for the boy who lost his life and those who will grieve him, I was more interested in the details of his death.

Nope, still stupid.

Then on December 1^st, I spoke to a close Facebook friend of mine. My interactions with him had been completely within the limits of Facebook, never actually met him in person. Sure, there were plans for lunch dates to discuss psychology stuff but these plans were never seen through. Work and odd hour demands happened in such a way that I wasn't able to meet him at all. Taking for granted that we will eventually meet, we kept putting off our lunch dates.

We even made tentative plans to go hiking and swimming. I made tentative plans with him to be his swimming buddy since he recently took up swimming as a part of his fitness journey and I am a pretty deft swimmer myself, thought it’ll be those funny ‘pro-swimmer vs rookie swimmer’ relationship. =’) Boy, I would be lying if I said I hadn't daydreamed about doing the Butterfly Stroke with him to challenge him! I did, I imagined my swim date with him, the two of us competing various swimming styles. I was particularly keen on doing the Butterfly Stroke with him. Now, they remain as mere daydreams.

Yes, this close Facebook friend, who was respected and loved by many due to his natural tendency to reach out to others a helping hand, passed away on Tuesday December 3^rd in a hiking accident with his hiking buddy in the notorious Bukit Tabur hiking arena. I received the news on December 4^th at mid-evening via another friend of mine who was even closer to him. My vision dissociated from the shock of it all for a moment. “Deryk has passed on”, that was the message.

I was like whut? WTF. OMFG. My mind raced on what the heck happened, that only 3 days ago he told me about how he wanted to keep an eye on an acquaintance that showed signs of suicide. Then I got the news of his death. I was numb the whole day. Sure, I managed to focus here and there but not without him on my mind the entire time, trying to get used to idea I will never have meaningful Facebook conversations with him ever again, that I can send him Facebook messages that will never get replies. Him with his dry humour. Him with his passionate and elaborate accounts of his passions. And his major crush for my friend (the one who broke the news to me). Him with his occasional rudeness. But hey, who’s perfect.

It took me the death of my friend to wake me up from my previous selfish, twisted self who reveled in someone’s death and their accounts. It took me the passing of an important person my community of friends and acquaintances to make me realize how serious the passing of a loved one can be. All those times that I reveled in someone’s death made me feel ashamed to be a human being, that to think at my age I’d have more common sense than to have childish fascination on what is clearly an issue that requires much love, understanding and empathy.

A friend had to die for me to grow up.

Maybe on a more metaphysical level, his time on earth is due but relating his death to how I have been reacting to other deaths that I have been witnessing thus far is a serious wake up call to my person, more importantly, my mental well being, or lack thereof.

Prior to the events that led to the announcement of my friend’s death, my Facebook dash was bombarded with the news of the tragic and sudden death of Paul Walker, the star of Fast and Furious franchise. Again, with morbid fascination, I weaseled on information of how he died. Never mind that million would be genuinely mourning his passing. I just wanted to know how he died. I even watched that aftermath footage of his crash that appeared shortly on my Facebook dash. With excited giddiness.

I need professional intervention.

Then came the news of the death of my friend. This had been a serious slap on the face. Truly, I have disappointed people who look up to me. I am better than this. I will be better than this.

Did I tell you that for my Philosophy of Life and Death extra credit assignment I did a short defence on Death? I even went as far as saying “perhaps people believe in the afterlife because they want the best for their loved ones, basically death of a loved one means you lose control and closeness with that person, so in an attempt to console yourself you conjure this afterlife concept and hope they are happy there”.

Just look at that ignorant statement of a bitch who hasn't lost someone dear to her until this point.

Well, I take it back. I take it all back and I stand corrected. For the sake of my friend I now believe in the afterlife and I hope he is heaven. Because god fucking dammit, I care enough for this person to wish him the best and want the best for him.

Why are all the good people dying?

R.I.P My dear friend. Till next time.