As a part-time comedian, I can't but laugh after reading Sunday's news headline - YOGA BAN. Although the ban was quite expected since other 'thoughtful' fatwas were passed previously, I find this one slightly overboard. Overboard not because yoga, to me, is quite an innocent practice but it puts a huge question mark on how the religion of Islam is deemed by the clergies in Malaysia.
As one of my friends have pointed out, here in Malaysia we practice a commercialized version of yoga that, to an extent, distance itself from the whole chanting of Hindu mantras "with the aim of being one with God". Honestly, I didn't even know yoga has anything to do with Hinduism (and I bet many who practice it don't know it either or just don't give a shit) but thanks to our 'thoughtful' clergies, now I know.
I won't spill the beans, unlike our fellow fatwans, the fact that, for many years, our Malay Muslim friends have been enjoying a local delicacy called tapai, which is lovely blend rice and the natural-alcohol-producing process called fermentation. On this, allow me to quote from the today's paper - "one part of yoga would lead to another" (The Star) and DANG!, one tea spoon of tapai can lead to a generation of drunken Muslims? Gimme a break!
The article also pointed out that "practising yoga even as a form of exercise as it would ultimately lead to worshipping and chanting, which is against Islam. In Islam, a believer must not do things that can erode one's aqidah or faith." Hmmm. I may not be of any religion but I really do think that, as a believer of Islam, a Muslim should strengthen his or her beliefs from within himself or herself to vindicate themselves against, not only other religious practices and elements, but also against pessimism that a small element of another religion can actually affect a religion of Islam's stature. Whose aqidah eroded I wonder...
Plus, if the practice of yoga does allow its practioners to be 'one with God', a Muslim need not worry since there is only one God so its all one and the same one mah! Choi!
Before I make anymore Muslim enemies, I just like to issue a warning to the pole dancers, tap dancers, shufflers and swingers out there to be wary of the probability of getting haramed!
11.24.2008
11.17.2008
Robotech: The Movie?!?! THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH!
OK, movie producers have now crossed the line. First, they gave Optimus Prime puny-pouty mouth. Second, they shot a white boy as Son-Goku. Third, G.I Joe is conforming to the 'coolness' tag - all black uniforms and please... Destro is not Destro without his metallic silver head. Fifth, why the hell are they reprising RoboCop?
And now, they thinking of adapting Robotech in the big screen! ROBOTECH! NO! It's a classic so let's just keep it that way! Robotech used to be our perfect weekend wake up call - every Saturday, 9.30am, TV2. I'm calling out to all 80's baby out there to pray to whatever God or teapot you worship and stop these 80s cartoon carnage we are going through right now!
I hope they don't adapt Voltron. Voltron, please defend yourself. Always remember, you are "VOLTRON, DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE" *(sing with me everyone -dee, derd, derd, daaaa, derd, daaaaaaaa, derd, derd, daa, derd, derd, daa')
p/s: In spite of all that is said, adapting M.A.S.K in the big screen would be cool. Wouldn't it?
And now, they thinking of adapting Robotech in the big screen! ROBOTECH! NO! It's a classic so let's just keep it that way! Robotech used to be our perfect weekend wake up call - every Saturday, 9.30am, TV2. I'm calling out to all 80's baby out there to pray to whatever God or teapot you worship and stop these 80s cartoon carnage we are going through right now!
I hope they don't adapt Voltron. Voltron, please defend yourself. Always remember, you are "VOLTRON, DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE" *(sing with me everyone -dee, derd, derd, daaaa, derd, daaaaaaaa, derd, derd, daa, derd, derd, daa')
p/s: In spite of all that is said, adapting M.A.S.K in the big screen would be cool. Wouldn't it?
11.09.2008
Road to being almost famous...
~Maybe its the way I look~ That's what I always think or blame whenever I count my chances of being popular, famous or rather, just being recognized for what I do.
Its crap how most people, namely the double X's, judge others so quickly on face value. In my case, most people seem to perceive, almost naturally, that I am just a wannabe, not talented, underachieving, a tag-along, incapable and what not. Chicks don't dig me (not like I care la) and guys don't take me seriously. A Mr. Nobody.
These are the advantages that I can manipulate through my activities of interest - such as acting, performing, writing and so on, to raise a few eyebrows along the way and eliminating doubts of who/what I actually am or can be.
Take for instance, my debut stand-up skit. With my rather Thai/Cambo/Bugis look, I doubt people would actually take my comedy seriously. So, I developed a character that suits my looks and ultimately, allow people to project their stereotypes towards the character - a Chinaman. I didn't exactly pull the Chinaman role well but I'm doing whatever it takes to make jokes work. Especially if the jokes are from me.
Other than stand-up, there is a particular career that I've always wanted to venture in - acting. Yep. But chances are, this face will not land me a major role unless someone is planning a remake of The Elephant Man or another Trekkie flick on Klingons (pronounced cling-on, explains the way they are as well). Nevertheless, being a Chinese growing up in Malaysia means that I'm diffusely exposed to TVB dramas some point in my life and through the dramas, I find hope in pursuing an acting career here. In TVB dramas, there are the main actors, followed by the supporting actors and the KLFs (keh-leh-feh aka extras).
And just like that same old lady, who played the perpetually crying maid in a post-WWII genre drama, the good hearted citizen in another medieval China drama and the sneaky-mahjong-playing-rumour-spreading aunty in another contemporary drama, one can make a living out of just being a KLF! I hope the industry is like that back here in Malaysia cause I held rather small but significant (Ahem!) role in Kerana Karina 3! I play Marvin, a sound engineer, whose moralistic ideals determine the fate of the main character and ultimately, the flow of the series itself! MUAHAHAHAHA!
Click here, watch the video and try to spot me around minute 2:50. MUAHAHAHAHA!
Fame, here I come!
Its crap how most people, namely the double X's, judge others so quickly on face value. In my case, most people seem to perceive, almost naturally, that I am just a wannabe, not talented, underachieving, a tag-along, incapable and what not. Chicks don't dig me (not like I care la) and guys don't take me seriously. A Mr. Nobody.
These are the advantages that I can manipulate through my activities of interest - such as acting, performing, writing and so on, to raise a few eyebrows along the way and eliminating doubts of who/what I actually am or can be.
Take for instance, my debut stand-up skit. With my rather Thai/Cambo/Bugis look, I doubt people would actually take my comedy seriously. So, I developed a character that suits my looks and ultimately, allow people to project their stereotypes towards the character - a Chinaman. I didn't exactly pull the Chinaman role well but I'm doing whatever it takes to make jokes work. Especially if the jokes are from me.
Other than stand-up, there is a particular career that I've always wanted to venture in - acting. Yep. But chances are, this face will not land me a major role unless someone is planning a remake of The Elephant Man or another Trekkie flick on Klingons (pronounced cling-on, explains the way they are as well). Nevertheless, being a Chinese growing up in Malaysia means that I'm diffusely exposed to TVB dramas some point in my life and through the dramas, I find hope in pursuing an acting career here. In TVB dramas, there are the main actors, followed by the supporting actors and the KLFs (keh-leh-feh aka extras).
And just like that same old lady, who played the perpetually crying maid in a post-WWII genre drama, the good hearted citizen in another medieval China drama and the sneaky-mahjong-playing-rumour-spreading aunty in another contemporary drama, one can make a living out of just being a KLF! I hope the industry is like that back here in Malaysia cause I held rather small but significant (Ahem!) role in Kerana Karina 3! I play Marvin, a sound engineer, whose moralistic ideals determine the fate of the main character and ultimately, the flow of the series itself! MUAHAHAHAHA!
Click here, watch the video and try to spot me around minute 2:50. MUAHAHAHAHA!
Fame, here I come!
11.03.2008
To sell a gun...
After watching Iron Man for like 8 times the past few months, the movie got me thinking: HOW DOES ONE ADVERTISE FIREARMS?
OK, I might think and sound like a nerd some times, but frankly, most of the time I'm a geek. Moving on swiftly, the basis of the question came out of watching movies like 'Thank You for Smoking' and 'Lord of War', which underline one issue: HOW DOES ONE SELL GOODS THAT PROMOTE DEATH?
In the TYfS, despite stringent regulations limiting cigarette ads on all media plains, the MODs (Merchant Of Death) are able to negotiate tie-ins with prominent people from various industries and at the end of the day, an inherent message that tells us to smoke is out somewhere, waiting to lure the weak and the healthy. As for LoW, Cage's character depended on revenue from his underground connections, who seem to know so much about guns without the means of attaining information about one. Hmmm.
Then, the Iron Man movie brought up an issue co-relating wars and advertising for firearms. In the scene where Tony Stark presented a new missile 'that you only have to fire once' before launching it at a nearby mountain range, reducing it to a pile dust (without first considering any inhabitants within the proximity. Very American.) , a neurotransmitter in one of my lobes sparked and a question popped up - How does one advertise firearms?
Well, WAR of course!
For instance, the recent Iraq bombardment: news reporters stationed at the outskirts of Baghdad, waiting to capture the impending US attack without a hint of fear who being killed. Why? Maybe its a well planned marketing strategy or guerilla advertising or what not. The spectacle of Baghdad's destruction and the sheer firepower, accuracy and might of the US Army's latest firearms in every news headline around the world seemed too good an advertising and PR initiative for a country that controls 69% of firearms production in the world.
Unfortunately, things turned for the worst in Iraq, dismantling Iraq's status quo under Saddam and the capture of the alleged tyrant wasn't enough bring about peace, as the US assumed. Yet, the apparent war in Iraq dragged on, taking more lives than any tyrant or leader that has ever graced the land formerly known as Babylon. Oh, I forgot, what was the US mission again? Was it to find weapons of mass destruction, to assasinate a tyrant or to find oil? If its not accomplished, did it fail? No wait, I can't say that yet since the US Army is still fighting there even if they have no direction and purpose. OK, then what is the mission NOW?
Previous US war campaigns weren't spelt out in full either. After WWII, firearm production companies were left in a lurch; left-over guns, bombs and bullets piled in heaps waiting to rust. So, the government, unable to re-pay the companies, financed wars instead to establish the US as the 'world's peacekeeper', 'force of democracy' and what not to encourage others to fight for the same cause, thus, creating new customers. Just name me a post-WWII US president without a war in his CV or anything close to a war lah.
The ad campaign theory also explains the reason behind the post-WWII wars and proxy-wars
1) 50's Korean War (wtf for again?)
2) 60's Bay of Pigs (almost a) War (The Cuban Missile Crisis - didn't pull a trigger but sight of US Destroyers parked at the porch of Cuba is a good ad!)
3) 70's Vietnam War (other than the Vietnamese tactics, pre-war research and survey probably lost the war of the US but hey, new product - Napalm bomb!
4) 80's US providing firearms mercenaries in South America
5) 90's The Gulf War (re-use of WWII left-overs and 40 tanks trundling across the desert and kicking-up dust is a cool ad!)
6) 00's War on Terrorism (OK. This is the confusing one since US have surpassed the killings of their alledged terrorists. Right now, the terrorists are just killing to live up to their name.)
7) 06's Lebonese War (Its just a soft way to take out Hezbollah's strong hold that is Lebanon. Everyday kidnappings and hostage situations happen in that part of Middle-East but flattening a country for just two kidnapped Israeli soldiers is a really bad excuse)
Right... now where was I? Dang, I lost my plot. Oh well, I've typed this much already anyway...
OK, I might think and sound like a nerd some times, but frankly, most of the time I'm a geek. Moving on swiftly, the basis of the question came out of watching movies like 'Thank You for Smoking' and 'Lord of War', which underline one issue: HOW DOES ONE SELL GOODS THAT PROMOTE DEATH?
In the TYfS, despite stringent regulations limiting cigarette ads on all media plains, the MODs (Merchant Of Death) are able to negotiate tie-ins with prominent people from various industries and at the end of the day, an inherent message that tells us to smoke is out somewhere, waiting to lure the weak and the healthy. As for LoW, Cage's character depended on revenue from his underground connections, who seem to know so much about guns without the means of attaining information about one. Hmmm.
Then, the Iron Man movie brought up an issue co-relating wars and advertising for firearms. In the scene where Tony Stark presented a new missile 'that you only have to fire once' before launching it at a nearby mountain range, reducing it to a pile dust (without first considering any inhabitants within the proximity. Very American.) , a neurotransmitter in one of my lobes sparked and a question popped up - How does one advertise firearms?
Well, WAR of course!
For instance, the recent Iraq bombardment: news reporters stationed at the outskirts of Baghdad, waiting to capture the impending US attack without a hint of fear who being killed. Why? Maybe its a well planned marketing strategy or guerilla advertising or what not. The spectacle of Baghdad's destruction and the sheer firepower, accuracy and might of the US Army's latest firearms in every news headline around the world seemed too good an advertising and PR initiative for a country that controls 69% of firearms production in the world.
Unfortunately, things turned for the worst in Iraq, dismantling Iraq's status quo under Saddam and the capture of the alleged tyrant wasn't enough bring about peace, as the US assumed. Yet, the apparent war in Iraq dragged on, taking more lives than any tyrant or leader that has ever graced the land formerly known as Babylon. Oh, I forgot, what was the US mission again? Was it to find weapons of mass destruction, to assasinate a tyrant or to find oil? If its not accomplished, did it fail? No wait, I can't say that yet since the US Army is still fighting there even if they have no direction and purpose. OK, then what is the mission NOW?
Previous US war campaigns weren't spelt out in full either. After WWII, firearm production companies were left in a lurch; left-over guns, bombs and bullets piled in heaps waiting to rust. So, the government, unable to re-pay the companies, financed wars instead to establish the US as the 'world's peacekeeper', 'force of democracy' and what not to encourage others to fight for the same cause, thus, creating new customers. Just name me a post-WWII US president without a war in his CV or anything close to a war lah.
The ad campaign theory also explains the reason behind the post-WWII wars and proxy-wars
1) 50's Korean War (wtf for again?)
2) 60's Bay of Pigs (almost a) War (The Cuban Missile Crisis - didn't pull a trigger but sight of US Destroyers parked at the porch of Cuba is a good ad!)
3) 70's Vietnam War (other than the Vietnamese tactics, pre-war research and survey probably lost the war of the US but hey, new product - Napalm bomb!
4) 80's US providing firearms mercenaries in South America
5) 90's The Gulf War (re-use of WWII left-overs and 40 tanks trundling across the desert and kicking-up dust is a cool ad!)
6) 00's War on Terrorism (OK. This is the confusing one since US have surpassed the killings of their alledged terrorists. Right now, the terrorists are just killing to live up to their name.)
7) 06's Lebonese War (Its just a soft way to take out Hezbollah's strong hold that is Lebanon. Everyday kidnappings and hostage situations happen in that part of Middle-East but flattening a country for just two kidnapped Israeli soldiers is a really bad excuse)
Right... now where was I? Dang, I lost my plot. Oh well, I've typed this much already anyway...
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