For the love of movies.

I have not been writing a lot these days. One of them is due to work commitment that requires me to be doing something else in front of the computer except blogging. As if I dont have enough work to occupy my time, now I have another blog in place. I will be writing on that blog with my friend Ijan which will discuss about movie reviews, news and once in a while some feature articles that will be written by us.

I love going to the cinemas and Ijan does too, I think. So we figured that maybe we should write about something that we have been discussing all this while. We are by no means experts in this field but we figured that there are not many blogs that talk about movie in English. We will be discussing about international and, not forgetting, the local movies. While my blog here mainly talks about serious things, this movie blog will talk about about something light that we all love. I guess.

Have a look at www.dramaticdurian.com Hope you enjoy it.

Why Malaysia is better.

As the time of writing, many pro-democracy protesters are on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, demanding that Hosni Mubarak steps down. You do not have to take a flight to Egypt to actually see the effect of the protests. While they have many reasons for protesting, it is undeniable that there are some side effects such as unruly atmosphere that forces many foreigners to flee the country, including Malaysians. So what should have Mubarak done?

From my point of view, there are two. First, leave the country like what Tunisian ex-President Ben Ali did. Once he stepped down and left the country, the political unrest stopped and they are now looking forward to a new government.

Or, if he does not want to step down, make sure that the protest does not happen from the start. While the top military chief already declared that they "will not use force against protesters calling for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak ahead of a 'million people' march", but I guess it is already too late now. They should have used force from the start, preventing the protest from even happening. Like what Malaysian police usually do, even to a candlelight vigil protest. No protest, no problem.

I love Malaysia.

Misconception.

I was driving and as I reached a traffic light, the signal turned to red. Minding my own business, I looked at the traffic light while waiting for it to turn to green. It was at night and I was badly lit by the horribly maintained lamp post. Suddenly I looked at my right and I realized that a group of girls were looking at me. I tried to look around, just to be sure that they were looking at me. I was alone at that time, unless they saw something on top of my car and the smiles that they gave me were actually horrified look looking at some ghost with long legs just like in the movie Karak.

So I checked.Yeah, they were looking at me.Haha. They were smiling and grinning and I thought to myself, " Yeah, this feels good. Though it was dark at the time. They might be thinking in the car here looks like Ashraf Muslim though in actual it looks like Shrek."

Yes,this is how I look at night. But with hair.

So now I know why women like to get dressed, put on alot of make ups, get their hair done. It is because they like the attention! Don't tell me that they simply put on those thick make ups just because they like it. I was given a small attention by girls in cars and I already felt flattered. So no wonder that many false advertising like wearing skimpy clothes, being skinny are A-OK as they are already ingrained with the understanding that it is ok to be looked at, to show off what you have. If that is the common thing right now, I just can't imagine what would I do if I have a daughter in the future. Chain her to her bed?

So while women are being looked at by their looks, there are some of my friends who told me that men are judged by what car they drive. The bigger the car is or the louder the sound that it makes, the better men feel in their pants as they are judged by their cars. Talk about being shallow right?

Oh, by the way, I only drove a Kelisa that night, so either the theory about men with cars is false or the girls were just trolling me. I guess it is the latter.

History,books,Salina.

History is a delicate subject as sometimes it can be rather skewed, depending on who writes it. Those who propose a subject might be the heroes while those who oppose are being portrayed as the villains. Though history is a subject about facts, how it is being presented can actually change how the facts are being portrayed. For example, we know that the past Sultans and the lords are actually the people who gave away our land to the British when they need some support over territorial problems. Here the Sultans and the lords are being portrayed as those who were being cheated while the British were being portrayed as the sneaky opportunists. Well, if no one is fighting over some territorial prowess, no opportunists could even have the chance to fool anyone right?

So the problem of our history textbooks have been debated heavily once it was decided that History would be a compulsory pass subject. While some quarters are opposing the amount of 'biased' info in the text book, the latest uproar related to the BM literature novel for SPM students once again put the limelight on what do we teach our students. So some books have been burned, pictures of the author have been slapped with slippers all in the name of opposing the content of the book. While I have not read the book Interlok yet, I just wonder what was the fuss about. Did the writer write some false information there? Or did the writer incites the races in Malaysia to go against each other? If what have been described by the writer are things that actually happened, then what is wrong with that? Ok so the name calling might not seem so appropriate, but is it something that is false there? We have seen how P.Ramlee's movies have cursing words in it but well, that is just how it was at that time. No one kicked a fuss out of it, People are still watching the movies and no one is complaining. Interlok was published in the 1970s so maybe it was something normal at that time with the name callings. We just accept that it happened at that time. Wanting to change the terms in the book to please some quarters is like the idiot request of some people who wants to change the term of Harimau Malaya, our national football team nickname, to Harimau Malaysia to really represents the true composition of the country. What a load of bullshit when no one even cares when the team was losing but everyone wants a piece when the team is winning. So it goes the same here with the book. It was published in the 1970s and no one cared about the terms. Even if they disagree with the book, there is actually no need to resort to burning the books as books should be appreciated, not to be burned. Engage in an intellectual manner, not in a barbaric form.

Have you read the book Salina by A. Samad Said? I would really suggest you to read that. I read it when I was in school, around 15 or 16 years old. I never really knew about the book at that time but I guess the red cover of the book intrigued me to read it. I can not really recall all the points in the book now as it has been a very long time since the last time that I read it. What I can remember is that the book is a story about Salina, a prostitute who lives in a run down house with a very poor environment. I can still remember the description of the feces being passed in the book. So the book actually refers to Salina as a prostitute, so does that mean that I should be angry because I do not believe that my race should be portrayed as prostitute? What is wrong with us now that we have become too sensitive with everything? We keep on trying to reach for perfectness when in truth we never will be. Just embrace the fact that we are not perfect but we must never give up to improve ourselves. The more we try to find perfectness, the more imperfectness will come creeping out of the closet. By that time we will realise that we are just mere human, not God.

Malaysia Boleh!

The result of AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 for the first leg at Bukit Jalil Stadium has a positive effect on everyone it seems. Being at the stadium itself to watch the game is beyond description. Watching a football game at the stadium, compared to watching at the comfort of your own house it totally different in terms of the atmosphere. You have to be there to know how it feels.











And a video that I took using Pentax K-5 with Pentax Fisheye 10-17mm.



Malaysia Boleh!

People's First.

I was caught in a traffic jam the other day. I would not have mind if it is because of accidents, as we are already used to that. The thing that pissed me off was because it was in the middle of the highway and the cars were stopped by some policeman because we were supposed to give way to some VIP in black cars which were being escorted by policemen with at least one patrol car and five motorcycles. It got me thinking while waiting that whole 30 seconds for the VIP cars to pass by.

Why would we need a whole entourage for some VIP cars?

If it is because of protection,you don't need to have the whole IPD to escort some VIPs. This is Malaysia, have you heard about VIPs being hijacked while in a moving car? Maybe it can happen in other countries, but not here. We don't need that.

Why can't the VIPs just drive like normal people? They have to rush to some place else so they need the policemen to escort them so that they would have a smooth journey? Personally, the only situation where we would need police escorts is during life threatening situation like delivering a baby or bringing an injured person to the hospital.

People say that they cannot connect with people in power as they cannot see the similarities between them. While people in power enjoy the privileges, the normal people still have to shove around just to get into a crammed train, have to skip dinner just because they don't have money to buy food while other people eat lavishly. Putting people as the main priority is helping the people to live comfortably without burdening them. Making people's priority first is not merely snapping pictures with some baby or taking a train ride once in a while and publicise it to the whole world. It is making decisions with helping the people in mind.

How To Know That Your Boyfriend Is A Douche

Getting a prince charming, someone who is 'tall, dark and handsome' is on top of every woman's list. But let's face it, we are not living in some kind of fairy tale. Some women might make mistakes in having some douche as their boyfriend. So how do you know if your boyfriend is a douche?

1. Constantly calling you on the phone.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Except, in this case, constantly calling you, texting you, asking your whereabouts is rather annoying. You should not get bogged down from living your life just because you have to text him every 23 seconds and inform him of your whereabouts. Some concern is ok, but too much isn't. So get a life.

2. Making you feel guilty.
Sure, everybody has baggages, things that they hope would be ignored. The problem is when your boyfriend keep on mentioning it just to make you feel guilty so that you keep on nodding your head whenever he gets angry at you. If your boyfriend really loves you, why should he be mentioning about the past? He is with the current you. If he keeps on mentioning about the past, ask him to meet Dr. Emmett Brown, last I heard, DeLorean is still with him.

3. Using exes as an excuse.
This is somewhat related to number two, someone who is still stuck in the past. A guy who narrates a sappy story of him and his ex is just pathetic. The trick is to cry out loud that his ex did bad things when they were together, so he is being overprotective now because he is paranoid and not wanting the same thing to happen again. Remember, this is an old trick that guys use, don't ever fall for it and thinking that it is ok to put up with a guy who treats you as if you are his ex.


4. Has no respect for your family.
Sure, being in a relationship makes you feel like there are only you and your boyfriend in this world. But remember, the world does not revolve around you two. There are other people too, such as your family. Your boyfriend should know how to have a good manner when he is around your family. If he behaves like a total ass with your family, expect the same when he's with you in another 10 years.



5. Hitting you on the pretext of correcting you.
Let's face it, we are no saint. Once in a while, we make mistakes. But if making that mistakes entitle you to be hit by your boyfriend, then you better get out from the relationship. He will say that he wants you to learn not to make the same mistakes but if it leads to bruises and broken bones, that is not teaching, that is abusing. You better get ready with the pepper spray.

No matter what the reason, guys who act like a total douche should be dumped. Women who are still stuck with this type of men are either very loyal or too dumb to see. Though I hate to admit it, I think it is because of the latter. Love makes you blind, eh?