Thanks for the memories, Mourinho!

September 20, 2007 in Sports, Games & the Like

Hail to the Special One! You will certainly be missed!

You’ve been a very inspiring force for the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Claude Makelele, without your motivational wisdom and tactical intelligence, the Chelsea Football Team would still not be able the heights of success. Who cares about that Russkie owner and his oily roubles? Without a good manager, a good, inspirational anchor, the team would be nothing! The only person to be blamed for your exit will always be Roman Abramovich!

We will miss the entertainment you’ve put on show for us, we’ll miss the delightful, arrogant and at times witty, repartee with your opponents (other football managers, referees, players, and Chelsea’s own business people), your touchline antics and most of all, your infectious and youthful confidence in the team.

Cheers to you, Mourinho! The team will try to survive without you… we must!

Links

Chelsea confirms Mounrinho’s exit.
Jose Mourinho’s past controversies
The Blues now need the “Perfect One”
Jose Mourinho severs ties with Chelsea.
Sound Bytes: Jose Mourinho

Pink Power – Our Malaysian kids should learn a thing or two from this!

September 15, 2007 in Citizen of the World, News Items, Youth & Children's Issues

This is a news story about how a school in Nova Scotia, Canada, whose students rallied together to stand up to homophobic school bullies who had harassed and threatened to beat up a younger boy who wore a pink T-shirt to school.

You can read the full story here.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I’d like to applaud the actions of David Shepherd and Travis Price for doing what they did to get back at the bullies in a non-violent way. Gandhi and Mother Teresa would’ve been proud of them. It’s about time for kids to be brave enough to stand up to bullies and to support and encourage those who are bullied. A person’s childhood should be filled with memorable, fun times, not one filled with fear, brutality and terror! Schools’ too, should be place where children learn in an environment that’s conducive, fun and exciting – not one where bullies reign in terror over the weaker and smaller kids and others standing around, pretending that bullying doesn’t exist, praying hard that others are the ones who get bullied and not them.

Bullying is a big, big issue and its prevalent in every society, in every country. I, myself, used to be bullied in high school for two years until I was brave enough to stand up to them after two scary years. I had been threatened at knife point, I was beaten up, called names and was just harassed most of the time because I looked nerdy, bookish, sissish, retarded and weak. My family doesn’t know about this, though I know if my sister is reading this, she’ll be very shocked.

Anyways, what I am saying is that if I had friends like David and Travis when I was in school, I could’ve been spared two years of hell in school. If I had friends who were brave enough to support me, help me to stand up to these bullies, I could’ve been spared the misery and the feelings of despair, helplessness and loneliness that I had felt in those two years in school.

And I am absolutely sure that there are many kids – boys and girls – in our schools today who are facing the same problems as I did when I was in school. They are out there – silent, fear and a sense of helplessness dogged them each they as they stepped into their school, always having to strategise ways to avoid the bullies. But no matter how good they are at hiding and avoiding them, the bullies would eventually get them. Really, how many places in school can you run and hide to and how can you hide when the bullies are in the same classes as you?

I urge everyone who has kids to let them know what a difference they could be when they learn to make a stand for a good cause. I hate to keep hearing some parents say “It’s not your business, don’t interfere!” to their kids when their kids share their friends’ problems with their parents. It’s no wonder kids like these would grow up to become less civic-minded and wouldn’t even lend a hand to help someone in need.

It’s time that parents be concerned and do everything they can to help their kids to help their friends who are in trouble! It’s time we shed this “I don’t care” attitude from our mindset! It’s time to CARE! It’s time that we mould and shape our kids to be like the David and Travis in this Canadian school! It’s time we send a message to bullies that enough is enough, their reign of terror must come to an end!

It’s time, my friends, to put an end to bullying in schools!

Please spare a thought for the Indonesians in Sumatra

September 14, 2007 in Citizen of the World, Personal Reflections

For the last three days or so, the Indonesian island of Sumatra had been plagued by earthquakes one after another with a magnitude ranging from 4.4 to 8.4 Richter scale, even triggering a mini tsunami. Dozens of people were killed and scores more were injured, left homeless and living in fear of the same fate that befell the island in 2004. For those of you who have forgotten (how could you even forget??), a massive earthquake measured at 9.2 Richter scale triggered a massive tsunami that left a huge trail of destruction across six nations, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and billions in losses.

At a holy time when they should be fasting in peace, observing the practices of their religion are most likely the last thing on the minds of the people living in Sumatra. Though the level of destruction had not been as massive as the 2004 catastrophe, there’s no denying that the spate of earthquakes had left nerves in tatters. Many fishermen are now afraid to go out to the open seas, jeopardising their livelihood. Many buildings that are still standing have cracks on them following the earthquakes, and if another big one happens, these buildings can’t stand a chance. Many will not dare to live in them until they are sure that the situation has stabled.

Unfortunately for them, being so close to the Pacific Rim of Fire, stability is unheard of. Who knows when the next big one is going to happen next?

So, please, I urge you all to spare a thought for these people. Pray to whichever gods that you pray to for mercy and for divine intervention, that the people of Indonesia can slowly live in peace and have a sense of normalcy back in their lives. These people had already lost much, it’d be too cruel for them to suffer more.

Links

Indonesia hit by another earthquake
Indonesia hit by four earthquakes in 24 hours
Aid groups rush to asses after Indonesia quake
5th strong quake hits Indonesia in 3 days

“I was elected to lead, NOT to read!”

September 13, 2007 in Local Politics, Social Activism & Religious Matter

That line really had me laughing my ass off in the cinemas. For those not in the know, it was a line uttered by President Schwarzenegger in The Simpsons Movie.

On retrospect, that line perfectly, accurately and correctly describe some, if not most, of our leaders in the world who uses these excuses “I only sign the contracts,” “It was approved before two years ago, before I was sworn in as minister,” and “I don’t know” whenever their wrongdoings, shady dealings and other dirty laundry were exposed to the whole wide world.

Well… maybe not so much leaders of the world… it would be much, much, much more accurate to say leaders in Malaysia, be it in the government, civil service or the corporate world.

I’m tired of dungu leaders in the blardy gov’ment. What about you? Let’s pray, for our country’s and our sakes, that each of the government depts and ministries read every little contract detail over and over again as they are carrying out the plans and initiatives in the Budget 2008, 9MP, the Northern Region Economic Corridor and the Iskandar Development Region.

Enough wastage!!!

We rakyat want to see our hard-earned money put to good and proper use, and NOT ending up in some unworthy and unscrupulous contractor’s or ministry underlings’ filthy pockets!

Links

“I’ve nothing to hide”, says Hishammudin.
Go through A-G’s report in detail, ministers told.
Agencies must explain irregularities.
Public will avoid paying taxes if wastage continues.

Happy Ramadhan to all my Muslim friends!

September 13, 2007 in Celebrations & Festivals, Local Politics, Social Activism & Religious Matter

Hope you guys and girls have a great time of fasting and reflection this year! Just make sure that you’re fasting because you really want to and that you believe in it, and not fast just for the sake of fasting or that everyone else you know is doing it.  And, to the girls… don’t force yourself if you can’t take it, alright?

And to the rest of the non-Muslims, please, please be sensitive to our Muslim brethren and sisthren as they observe this holy month. Be courteous and nice! Don’t tempt them by eating in front of them! You don’t have to add fuel to the fire… Muslim and non-Muslim relations are already quite strained as it is (no thanks to a bunch of gobloks in the government!), don’t give them any more reason to hate us.

That is all I ask. For peace and harmony in our country, forever! Happy Ramadhan, everyone!

Amazing!

September 7, 2007 in Personal Reflections, Quizzes, Memes & Questionnaires

This so accurately describes my present situation now that I just can’t believe it! All I did was click on colour coded cubes that I feel most at harmony with in order of preference and TADA… it automatically describes my personality/current situation! Simply amazing! From ColorGenics.

You are seeking an affectionate relationship, offering fulfilment and happiness. You are capable of powerful emotional enthusiasm. Deep down, you are a kind loving person, always helpful and willing to adapt yourself if necessary to realise the bond of affection that you desire. But you need the same consideration and understanding from others and it is this need that will sometimes hold you back… so let go, trust and you may pleasantly surprised at what happens.

You are totally dissatisfied with your present situation. Matters are not going right for you and you are seeking a means of escape. Your mental state of mind necessitates that you need to change your thinking patterns. Remember, if one particular modus operandi doesn’t seem to work, then try something different.

It is hard for you to accept that your needs and desires are misunderstood by almost everyone within your sphere of influence and there is no one to rely on. Your pent-up emotions and inherent egocentricity make you quick to take offence, but as matters stand you realise that you’ll have to make the best of things as they are.

You are presently experiencing excessive stress as a result of self-restraint. You act and think differently from the common herd and you want to be liked and admired for yourself and to associate with people who feel and act as you do. Because of this need to be self-reliant and to break away from mediocrity, you are finding this situation most uncomfortable and you are experiencing considerable anxiety – perhaps even more than you feel the capacity to cope with. You need to find a ‘soul mate’, someone whose standards are as high as your own – but where? Keep on searching… The situation is uncomfortable and you would like to break away from it, but you refuse to compromise with your opinions. You are unable to resolve the situation because you are continually postponing the making of necessary decisions. You are stubborn but this is no deterrent to a happy life, so why drop your standards. Think positively, everything will work out. It has worked out successfully for you in the past and it will again in the future.

The tensions and stresses that you have experienced of late have been the result of trying to cope with conditions which are really beyond your capabilities. You feel completely inadequate to cope with the situation and you would like nothing better to escape from it all and to be able to relax in a problem and pressure free environment where you can do your thing.

MY ‘HEROES’ EXPERIENCE!

September 3, 2007 in Adventures in Travelling, Lights, Cameras & ACTION!!!, Personal Reflections, Work

This blog’s back in English, people! Am I glad! Not to say that I didn’t have fun posting stuff in Malay, I did, it’s just hard to put certain things into proper context in Malay as my Malay vocab isn’t as big as my English’s.

Anyways, let’s get to the gist of this post: my FREAKING AWESOME trip to Singapore to cover the ‘Heroes’ WORLD TOUR!

Let these pictures be the judge of how much FUN FUN FUN I had all round!

Though I am absolutely BUMPED that I didn’t get a one-on-one photo op with Ali Larter, cos she’s really, really so very GORGEOUS! The bodyguards were very protective and strict about her, no surprise since she’s the only female star in the group. Though the stars didn’t really mind being asked for their autographs and pics, the organisers were really pushy and strict. I guess I can’t blame them since they were all pushing for time. Still, I just can’t help feeling that they should’ve left us journos with extra time with the stars. Well, can’t be too demanding anyways or we’ll be blacklisted!

I wasn’t really much of a Greg Grunberg fan on the show, but now that I’ve met him in person, I couldn’t help but love him and his character! He’s so different in person – taller, stockier, much more jovial and is a very funny chap! He had a lot of us journos laughing every minute! He really knows how to charm fans and journos! The pic of me and him is arguably my fave of the lot. If only Masi Oka didn’t duck too far back when I took the shot!

Masi Oka has always and will always be my No.1 fave though, followed closely by Zachary Quinto. Masi, Masi… what can I say about him, he’s every bit as adorable and huggable (NO! I didn’t get to hug him, as much as I wanna!) as on TV, except with a much more fluent English with a teeny bit of Japanese accent. He looked very relaxed, always with that cute smile of his. Pity we journos forget to ask him to do his famous “YATTA!” shout.

Sendhil Ramamurthy a.k.a Dr Mohinder Suresh… the Indian version of Prince Charming. I’m quite sure many female hearts (and a few guys too, I’m sure!) were all a flutter being in the same room as he is, flashing us with that disarming smile of his.

I’m still on a “Heroes” euphoria high. It may take quite a while for me to recover… I am so amped for the 2nd season that’s gonna begin end of this month! From what’s been spilled by these four, 2nd season is going to be a TOTALLY MAJOR KICKASS! Oh, boy, oh boy! I can’t hardly wait! I’m just going to go catch up on my DVD of Heroes now! Check y’all later!

Oh btw… more pics and a vid as well as a much more ‘formal’ report of my trip on my webzine here. Leave your comments, ya! Always appreciate what people thought of this baby of mine and my boss’.