Zooey inspired

Of piranhas and pirouttes

So here i sit, staring blankly at the screen...


What have I been up to after the whirl of crazy law exams? Well for starters, Ive been teaching little kids English at a tuition centre and I rate it as the best job ive had so far, in terms of job satisfaction. Sure I had to chafe and grate and squeeze my vocal chords to make my intentions heard amongst a classful of little piranhas with cute faces all clamouring for attention around the live bait that was me, but I guess Im just a huge mushbucket waiting to be let out of the closet when it comes to kids and their wide eyed gullibility.

Amidst being set up as the designated station for glitter application central for their parent appreciation cards( Mommy Daddy I love you for all you've done for me)and simultaneously having to deal with glitter stuck on my ass and kids trying to eat them, I reached a few epiphanic milestones:

1) I will set up a shrine for my former school teachers in devout reverence of the

shit they had to put up with while trying to shove knowledge down our screaming

throats.

2) I will always gape in admiration at a family of more than 3 kids, all well

behaved. Either the parents use non conventional methods of disciplining the youth

or they really are super star parents who've mastered the art of child management

(who can say they've really learnt) through experience.

3) I am definitely not ready to have kids for the next 10 years or until Ive

outgrown my own 6 year old kid in me( though i suspect he's a non ager). But then

again this 6 year old alter ego is what helps me connect with my students.

Speaking of paradoxes...

4) Its more challenging to teach kids but that I prefer teaching a class full of

rowdy kids to a one on one session with some awkward young adult who's a year or

two my junior. That very same awkward young adult would also be even more awkward because he won't know whether addressing me as Miss would be too formal for someone who's just a year his senior and also if addressing me on a first name basis might be a bit rude. So the result is that the AYA( awkward young adult) ends up "aheming" to get my attention whenever he needs to say anything or when he needs me to check his work.

5) That it takes real mad skills to manage a class full of rowdy, robust, hyperactive

12 year old kids and so far ive met only one person whom i admire for being able

to do that without raising her voice and that is Miss Nanee, the tuition centre's

owner and principal. Where I had to yell to bring what im saying to their

attention, Miss Nanee with 10 years experience under her belt manages to stride

in, get their attention through her cheerful but firm demeanour and gasp(!)

actually get them excited about learning!

6) That it's a fresh experience and would add that to the list of experiences that

make me feel law school is bad but not THAT bad.

In the mood for some soul food

“Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own
things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or
others.”
Plato



“Knowledge becomes evil if the aim be not virtuous.”
Plato quote



“Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be
prosperous. Though the land be good, You cannot have an abundant crop without
cultivation.”
Plato quote



“Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another”
Plato quote



“For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.”
Plato quote



“When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself.”
Plato quote




“Courage is a kind of salvation.”
Plato quote




“In politics we presume that everyone who knows how to get votes knows how to
administer a city or a state. When we are ill... we do not ask for the handsomest
physician, or the most eloquent one.”
Plato quote





“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life”
Plato quote




“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge”
Plato quote


“Courage is knowing what not to fear.”
Plato quote




“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is
when men are afraid of the light.”
Plato quote



“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up
being governed by your inferiors.”
Plato quote




“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what
amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the
peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
Plato quote



“If particulars are to have meaning, there must be universals”
Plato quote



“The measure of a man is what he does with power.”
Plato quote




“How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a
dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state?”
Plato quote




“Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.”
Plato quote




“Man - a being in search of meaning.”
Plato quote



“I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning”
Plato quote

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say
something.”
Plato quote




“Love is a serious mental disease.”
Plato quote



“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it”
Plato quote




“People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or
they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.”
Plato quote



“It is only the dead who have seen the end of war”
Plato quote



“No one ever teaches well who wants to teach, or governs well who wants to govern.”
Plato quote



“Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who
wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.”
Plato quote




“There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what
they cannot.”
Plato quote



“He whom love touches not walks in darkness”
Plato quote



“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”
Plato quote

Can't get enough of Marina and The Diamonds!

The Prophet's Last Sermon

This is the Prophet's last sermon...and for all those who accuse the Prophet of being a paedophile and an opportunist and tyrant, I ask one thing and one thing only, judge a person by the whole of his conduct and his words and these are his last words. It does not include any self interest nor hate nor bigotry. Ask yourself what a reasonable man would construe of a stranger's character by the most important words he would say when one is at the mercy of death. So for all those people that think blindly Islam is a religion of honour killings, discrimination against women and violence, just read the following excerpt and ask yourselves, are you making these deductions out of baseless ignorance which you justify as the rightful just because popular culture and the media is portraying Islam that way or are your deductions based on solid proof and authority?:

This sermon was delivered on the ninth day of Dhul Hijah, 10 A.H. (632 A.D.) in the valley of Mount Arafat. The contents of the message were collected from different narrations, and there are other parts to it that are not mentioned here. This sermon still needs the authenticity of all of its parts to be checked.

"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take interest, therefore, all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all interest due to Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib (the prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived.

Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiyah bin Al-Harith (relative of the prophet). O Men, the unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to forbid that which Allah had made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve; four of them are holy; three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumadah and Shaaban.

Beware of Satan

, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain right with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never commit adultery.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadhan, and give your wealth in zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to. All mankind is from Adam and Eve,

an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.

Learn that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim, and that Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to your selves.

Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others, and those to others again; and

may the last ones understand my words better that those who listen to me directly.

Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed Your message to Your people."

Things that piss me off

1) Ineffective government bureaucracies that levy exorbitant taxes on citizens towards whom they have failed in their governmental duties. Exhibit 1-Burmese Embassy. I mean not only do we have the crappiest government in the history of the world, but they also manage to extend their slimy fingers of evil tyranny and oppression all the way to a foreign country. Isn't it enough to torture people in their homeland? And when we appeal

"Sorry Maám the State won't allow that."

My ass they wont allow that.

2)

Annoying drivers

on the road who should be scrapped of their license forever. There're those idiots who drive like on the fast lane at 20 km/h with the rightful aura of someone whose mother paved that road. Then there are those idiots who swerve into lanes just when they see an oncoming car w.o signalling. Then there are bigger idiots who slow down suddenly and you have to step on ur brakes like there's no tmro.

3)Lecturers that

waste

your time with their knowledgeless yakking. Actually lecturers without substance or quality and the fact that this university would allow such sub grade lecturers to teach and no one says anything about it. I hate that I have no interest or confidence in their teaching and that i only go most days for the attendance's sake. There are a few rare gems but those are hard to come by and when i do, i feel like i just found utopia and cannot believe my luck.

4)Shallow judgmental people who

JUDGE

you based on what they think you are, without getting to know you first.

5)The two faced, double standard wise western media that portray the Jews/Americans as faultless and God Almighty and everyone else as their subordinates prone to faults.

6)The hypocritical assholes who call themselves the Muslim Ulama and the Taliban who are actually acting for their own interest in their BIGOTRY infused systems, under the guise of religion.

7) Horny bastards that

wolf whistle

whenever they see a girl walking past. Come on...Aren't we in the 21st century? What happened to chivalry and civility and manners? It doesnt help that im already a feminist. It makes me see guys as being prone to acting by orders of their other "head" i.e- who have no self control over their primal side. Who throw away their intellectual capacity as a higher being with mental prowess by that discriminatory act towards women. Sure a sluttily dressed woman might warrant such wolf whistles. But when a girl is dressed simply in jeans and a long sleeved tee, what is there to wolf whistle at?

This song is on loop in my head

Cats are evil, dogs are cool.

Haven't made a picture post in quite a while so here goes:

BB Brunes I Love You!

Courtesy of the coolest chick I know: Natasya K, introducing the best French Band ever...

Malaysia in the Era of Globalization

In Malaysia, religious teachers and ulama are treated with undue reverence. Critical thinking is not encouraged or allowed when they deliver their fatwas, khutbas, or lectures. Question or query them at your peril. Theirs is the ultimate truth.

By M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 4: Modern Model States

The Relevant Lessons For Malaysia

At first glance, Malaysians cannot readily identify with any of these three countries. Although they differ in a number of significant ways, nonetheless each has important lessons to offer Malaysia.

The most obvious difference is that none of three countries have multiracial societies and the accompanying interracial problems. South Korea is ethnically and culturally homogeneous. There may be some tension between the Buddhist majority and the Christian minority, but that does not lead to serious social or religious conflict. Polarizations and schisms in Korean society are more along regional and class lines.

Argentina is also deeply divided along class lines; between landowners and workers, and urban and rural dwellers. Ethnic differences are not significant as they are all essentially Europeans. Granted there are significant differences between the Germans and the Italians Argentineans (language, culture, religion), but those are of not of the same scale as the differences between Malays and Chinese.

Ireland may be closer to Malaysia in its communal dynamics, what with the profound differences between Protestant and Catholic residents. Even then it would be hard to tell just by looking a Protestant Irish from a Catholic one (of course the crucifix hanging around the neck would be a definite giveaway!). In Malaysia, by and large you could readily tell a Chinese from a Malay, and a Malay from an Indian, those mamaks notwithstanding.

Since the Irish independence however, the Protestants had been effectively pushed out to emigrate. Today they are an insignificant minority. To the north however, the Catholic and Orangemen are very much still at each other’s throat. Although many of the leading Irish institutions (Trinity College for one) and venerable industries (Guinness, Irish Times) were of Protestant origin, they are now fully Irish (that is, Catholic) in ambience and character. A couple of generations ago the Irish had a comparable “Malaysian” problem, with the Protestant minority controlling the economy while the Catholic majority was marginalized.

Ireland in particular offers three major lessons for Malaysia: one, reducing the influence of institutionalized religion; two, population control; and three, the issue of education and language.

The Catholic Church had more influence in Ireland than in any other country, including Italy where the Vatican is. The Irish Church controlled the social services, education system, and everything else, including perhaps the thought processes of its followers. In the past, the clergy was to the Irish what the Ayatollah is to Iranians today. Educational institutions in Ireland were for a long time not so much learning as indoctrination centers. Irish social services were meant less to alleviate the social pain and sufferings, more to entrap the faithful to the church.

Substitute Catholicism for Islam and Irish for Malays, and we have the situation in Malaysia today. Just as the Irish were gripped and strangled by the Church, so too are today’s Malays by governmental Islam. This brand of Islam has intruded into every facet of Malay life; from our schools and into our minds. Malaysian Muslims risk being branded “deviationist” and suffer the worldly consequences should they by chance stray from the official line or dare express independent thought. Many Muslim scholars have been jailed without due process for braving to give new meaning to our faith. If some Muslims leaders in Malaysia have their way, apostasy would be a capital offence.

There is a proliferation of Islamic institutions in Malaysia. Even universities supposedly designed for science and technology have large Islamic Studies departments. Yet despite the quantity, alas their scholarly works remain unimpressive. No new thinking or fresh insight emanates from these hallowed halls. These Islamic establishments are less scholarly and religious bodies but more government propaganda machinery. They serve to stamp an Islamic cachet to every official pronouncement and policy. No less significant, they are also massive public works programs for the glut of otherwise unemployable Islamic Studies graduates.

Islamic leaders give endless fatwas (edicts), often on topics for which they are completely clueless. Their training is narrow and rigid. Granted no one can be knowledgeable on every topic and issue, but these Islamic officials are not shy of making pronouncements outside their scope of competence. They seem to have all the answers; they do not feel compelled to seek advice from worldly experts. When you presume to have a direct line to the Almighty Allah, you certainly do not need the advice and counsel from mere mortals. Their intellectual certitude is exceeded only by their moral arrogance.

In Malaysia, religious teachers and ulama are treated with undue reverence. Critical thinking is not encouraged or allowed when they deliver their fatwas, khutbas, or lectures. Question or query them at your peril. Theirs is the ultimate truth. To these modern Islamic ‘scholars’ and ulamas, everything is deemed settled; all the students have to do is absorb whatever is spouted from their teachers’ mouth, and retain it long enough to be regurgitated at examination time. No wonder when these students grow up and face the problems of the world, they are befuddled.

As in Ireland of yore, the system of education in Malaysia today is heavily influenced by religion, in this case Islam. This is a recent development. Before that religion had minimal or no role in the Malaysian educational system; it was essentially secular. However, with the greater emphasis on Islam, partly as a planned strategy by the UMNO-led government to steal the Islamic thunder from the opposition Islamic party, the government has been emphasizing religion in schools and other establishments.

It is not religion – specifically Islam – that is so destructive in the education of young Malays, rather the manner in which the subject is being taught. Religious teachers treat their students as subjects to be indoctrinated. Students are viewed as empty bins to be filled in with dogmas. They are taught to treat their teachers like the Pope – infallible – never to question what is being uttered no matter how ridiculous. Religion is reduced to a series of do’s and don’ts. Rote learning rather than critical thinking is valued.

The sad and destructive part is that this teaching philosophy gets transferred to other subjects. Before long we will get a generation of Malays who are nothing but robots controlled by the state.

Next: The Relevant Lessons for Malaysia (Cont’d)

My Favourite Game

Best Rock Band in the World

Japanese people are geniuses!

Apparently my skinny ass could save some weasels from starvation

Created by Oatmeal

All i want is you-Juno

Big Bang Big Boom: Awesome animation art

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Hello world!

Ok so I havent posted anything in quite a LONG while. For starters, here are the newbie realizzies(realizations) as I call them:

1) I thought 4th year law school would be well a little different but cynicism has put me back in place. Law school: no life, the thing should have been life revolves around coffee, library,coffee, lecturers that look like hindi movie police inspectors, fines, fines and more fines, books that cost a bomb, still no cute guys( you'd think slodging through for 4 years, they'd have some sort of consideration waiting for you at the end).

2) Futsal is fun but if the sun is your enemy, and i dont mean in the vampire sense, then you also tan like a roti boy bun on overbake.

3) I love my friends. They are so retarded that they are the new COOL. They are what makes my life in law school bearable.

4) I saw the light at the end of the tunnel in the form of life after uni. But today it was spoiled when I saw the people showcasing the popular law firms look the same as the people here. The only difference is you see more panda garb( ie black n white).

5) If the distance I walk to and from library to class and back to the parking were to be converted into energy, it would be enough to power my law faculty for all the 4 years of my cul de sac life here.

6) I have a bald dean who turns purple giving passionate lectures about Evidence Law and whose veins pop out like a drug addict in serious need of rogaine. I like that he bursts out in random trains of thoughts...in tamil. It just sounds so funny.

7) I hate AIKOL cafe because the stench of all the fried, oily stuff there sticks to your clothes like tar. Nevermind that you can't go in w.o soiling your favourite baju kurung for eternity and beyond, olfactory wise. But then I shoved my own stand down an imaginary mafia midget with a toothbrush when I fell for the lovely cucur udang with chilli sauce...Thinking about those cucur udangs make me so hungry.

8) I swear AIKOL cats are laughing at you all the time. They have an underground, very hush hush campaign to slowly drive students to madness with their constant furry presence and hijacking of bag space. They are evil.

9) I have come to the conclusion that my skin complexion is akin to a burned, toasted tofu. Sigh.

10) I want macaroons. I don't care how. I want them now.

Tsunami Rider

This has got to be the craziest, bravest surfer ever! Respect~!

World Cup Fever is insatiable!

Fact File 1#

1# Totally helplessly in love with the new Moschino Light Clouds edition despite the funny kiwi shaped bottle head...It really does make me think of light fluffy clouds on a cool, worry free day, a day perfect for kite flying and ice cream that melts on your fingertips.

2#That my boss is also human, ie he too checks out entertainment pieces while working-in his case while overseeing a case.

3# Finally believes in the existence of Bambi Prunes( translation: a recently discovered species of ancient, adorable, white tufted, balding, pocket sized indian men of prune like texture and appearance along with big dewy bambi eyes behind ancient half moon spectacles-eyes prone to staring into space for hours at a time after which subject would suddenly snooze off like a dead log).

4# Saw the massivest book ever- 8 inches thick. If that book were dropped from the 7th floor of a building onto the head of some poor unfortunate soul, not only will the head be smashed to pulpy powder but he will also be driven like a nail, a few inches into the pavement.

5# Malaysian drivers use the fast lane to talk on their mobiles, apply makeup or perform daily hygiene runs( read: pick nose, cut nails) while on the run. Side effects include accidents that cause long ass jams that are completely unnecessary.

6# I'm turning 22 in 15 minutes time. Wish God would give me a break and freeze me at age 21 or at least take away my age tracking ability so that in my head ill forever be 21. I think shops like Forever 21 exist to reinforce this wanton reluctance to grow up.

Spiffifying Quotes!

Another IJR epiphany

Ive just realized that a lot of my posts start with I've just realized. Therefore from now onwards ill abbreviate and it shall be "IJR''. IJR that i have an intense thing for mythologies especially Greek and Egyptian. One of the things i like about media concerning Greek and Eyptian mythologies is how everything is narrated to sound magnanimous and otherworldy. For example "Therefore Kratos embarked on a journey that Zeus had feared he would" in that mysterious, aged, feminine voice. I feel like ive been transported to that world, that giant titans with temples on their backs and vengeful sadistic gods made the world their playground. It's exhilarating and exciting, a good escape if mortal earthly life gets too boring which isn't hard to come to fruition for the likes of someone like me-i get bored SO easily!

I was thinking how fun I'd be if I could have my own personalized booming female voice to announce the daily ups and downs of my life. " Su thus woke up to a treacherous morning and faced the moat of metal mobiles that crunked her groove and made her late for work''. ''Thereafter he was called the Ladoo for his intrinsically shaped cylindrical form and a ruddy leer accompanied by a sneering, silky voice that felt like verbal rape to the person he was speaking to''. '' She felt like her soul was on fire but she tried to put on a metal mask to block out the burning furnace from prying eyes.'' ór '' She was overjoyed at the prospect of that which made her irrevocably happy, without the need for dishing out her moolah''. It'd at least make me feel like SOMEONE if i had a booming personalized mythologized voice dictating important events in my life. Imagine how much more funnier it'd be if it were narrating something retarded in that voice. '' The mini in front of Su's sleek little box car bucked like a horse on heat and capsized upon collision with the hillock that called itself a tollbooth, lying on its side, wheels a turning' to the chagrin of Su who hates obstacles on the road''.

Hahaha im high.

Btw anyone who hasn't played God of War, regardless of gender or race is a loser and has not lived life to the fullest.

E.E. Cummings: making poetry popular culture

a clown's smirk in the skull of a baboon

a clown's smirk in the skull of a baboon (where once good lips stalked or eyes firmly stirred) my mirror gives me,on this afternoon; i am a shape that can but eat and turd ere with the dirt death shall him vastly gird, a coward waiting clumsily to cease whom every perfect thing meanwhile doth miss; a hand's impression in an empty glove, a soon forgotten tune,a house for lease. I have never loved you dear as now i love behold this fool who,in the month of June, having certain stars and planets heard, rose very slowly in a tight balloon until the smallening world became absurd; him did an archer spy(whose aim had erred never)and by that little trick or this he shot the aeronaut down,into the abyss -and wonderfully i fell through the green groove of twilight,striking into many a piece. I have never loved you dear as now i love god's terrible face,brighter than a spoon, collects the image of one fatal word; so that my life(which liked the sun and the moon) resembles something that has not occurred: i am a birdcage without any bird, a collar looking for a dog,a kiss without lips;a prayer lacking any knees but something beats within my shirt to prove he is undead who,living,noone is. I have never loved you dear as now i love. Hell(by most humble me which shall increase) open thy fire!for i have had some bliss of one small lady upon earth above; to whom i cry,remembering her face, i have never loved you dear as now i love

There and back again

It's been ages since Ive updated my blog. And for good reason too, what with work and being taken on a non stop emotional bungee. These pictures perked me up and made me smile; the reason why I have a blog at all :)

Tipsy over Tiffany's!

I'm going crazy over Tiffany's...I'm going to own the classic set of pearl's from Tiffany's before my time is done here. That i promise.