7 Billion People!

An interesting piece of news caught my attention today on BBC. There is now officially 7 billion people in the world...that a 7 followed by 9 zeros!

When I was born on April 22nd 1980, there were only 4,437,950,810....I was the number 4,437,950,811 according to the special counter where you can insert your date of birth and see where you stand here

Wow...7 billion people....I guess it would be pretty hard to say I am one of a kind seeing that our unique traits will probably be coincidentally repeated by someone in the 7 billion...however,contradicting myself,it is truly a wonder that we are all still uniquely one in such a large number due simply to the fact that as a living being we evolve and mutate away from one another genetically becoming a unique one though having a common whole.

Doctors, Lawyers, Scientist,Teachers, Terrorist, Spies, Student, Filmmakers,Engineers,Botanist,Athletes,Prostitutes, Actors, Drivers...our species is truly unique in our sheer diversity in our work, fashion and food.I hope we celebrate our diversity...

I really hope being aware of how many people now share this planet... our species will clean up our act and be more environmentally friendly or we could really quickly deplete our resources resulting in our own suffering...

Cheers to all of you!!!!! My 7 billion friends!!!!

BRIDES MAIDS

16th August 2011 Cineleisure
Distributor : Universal/UIP
Release Date: May 13,2011 (USA)

I am not someone who will walk into a chick flick voluntarily. I skipped titles like sex and the city, definately and made of honour. When the poster of this movie is a couple of girls against a wall dressed up as brides maids and the poster further emphasize the fact with a huge glaring title 'BRIDES MAIDS' I honestly thought of staying away...far, far away.

However, I was curious to see this movie as producer Judd Apatow was involved and he seem to have knack about portraying the most ridiculous scenarios into absolute comic gems like 'knocked up' and 'the 40 year old virgin'.



The movie starts very unassumingly...with an exterior of a house and a sex scene where our lead protagonist Annie is having sex with a man who requests that she cups his balls. It follows with a scene of the morning after where Annie is freshening up before sneaking back into bed pretending she's always this pretty when awakes in the morning. Desperate for someone to love she's hoping he'll fall for her but he asked her to leave the house instead. Annie's effort here outlines the rest of the film where she is just desperate to pull her life together amidst the sudden announcement of her best friend’s wedding. There is also someone new in the picture competing for the affection of her best friend since childhood to further bump her off her equilibrium.

The shots in this movie are also framed very conservatively, the camera and lights were not actively used to create the excitement as the spice of the show did not come from visual but the performances. The performances in the film were so strong that it seems almost deliberate that the camera should be as ordinary as it is. Kristen Wiig performance was at the brink of being comedically overbearing but she still managed a very subtle sincere vulnerability comedy aside which made her character immensely relatable and ever so watchable throughout the dialogue character driven film. The rest of the cast supported her well.

The film does not look expensive to make but it has already made an immensely profitable USD$265,321,170 worldwide which is not suprising seeing that I laughed, reflected and enjoyed myself wholly up to the very much appreciated heart-warming tinge of an end. I would admit that I actually enjoyed and recommend this chick flick!

9/10

Praying for Peace.Allahu Akbar

I actually stood on the grounds of ground zero on the 8th aniversary of 911 two years ago... None of my relatives died on 911 but at ground zero...I knelt down and cried...overwhelmed by the overall outpouring of grief by friends and family of the victims of September 11th.
Osama Bin Laden is an evil evil man.Today he is dead.

Everything on TV is about Osama being killed today. Even though he may have promoted evil and the death of many...We should all pray for the soul of our lost brother Osama Bin Laden...we are all a family in God's eye...we should all learn to forgive and love...it is the only way we can ultimately have peace and bring foward the Kingdom of God....allahu akbar...

Blessed Good Friday

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

To all my Catholic friends...remember

"TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE"
(Luke 23:43)

Have a Blessed Good Friday and Easter Season. =)

SARAWAK ELECTIONS 2011.PEOPLE ALLIANCE'S (PAKATAN RAKYAT) RALLY.

If I were Taib Mahmud tonite...I'd probably drop to my knees and cry...I think it is quite overwhelming to have over 30 000 odd people jeering at you and chanting how much they hate you and want you to fall.

The Pakatan Rakyat(People's Alliance) had a major political rally tonight; as it is the eve of polling day tommorow for the Sarawak Elections 2011. Giving no free gifts and having no cute singers to grace the stage but relying purely on politicians highlighting political agendas; they impressively pulled in a monstrous crowd of about 30 000 people. A friend had this to say..."I bet BN is frustrated that they have to pay alot of money and monkey with dubious gimmicks like 'lucky draws' to get their small crowd while PKR impressively draw out thousands of people without promising them gifts. They even get them to part with their money willingly in support of the party when they ask for campaign contributions from the crowd.

It was obvious that I wasn't the only one mesmerized at the sights of the flags waving and the crowd all cheering "Ubah! Ubah! Ubah!" when the police showed up as early as 8.00pm with the intent to stop the gathering. It was not the first incident aroused by an obviously jealous and fearful opponent. Earlier in the day Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan of Bersih 2.0(The Coalition For Free and Fair Election) was also denied entry into Sarawak.

Grabbing the flags, the police who jumped up on stage uninvited tried to usher Chong Siew Chiang off the stage and end the rally but they were outnumbered by a flurry of party supporters who also rushed up on stage to keep the flags flying and to defend the Chong Siew Chiang by any means.

This resulted in a short tussle and I actually saw a glimpse of confusion in a few of the policemen faces who were obviously caught unprepared by how passionate and willing everyone was in keeping the flag flying high.Those off the stage cheered "UBAH! UBAH!" ever louder! Chong Siew Chiang immediately asked everyone to calm. He then politely asked what do the police officers want? A representative of the police said that the rally had to be stopped.The speaker posed the request to the people saying, "The police wants us to stop tonight..do you people want to stop?" The crowd shouted "No!" The speaker then said..."Well, we do not hurt these policemen, they are only working...doing their job,doing what BN has asked them to do to stop us gathering here!" The crowd went "Boo" Then as quickly as they appeared...the policemen shamefully disappeared.For a moment,I stood at awe, marveling at how stupid BN can be to provide free entertainment and to further demonstrate their capability at abusing power, effectively firing enthusiasm and support for me to vote for their rival political party. The night went on smoothly from there...first up was Tony Pua.

As he began to talk it also began to rain but nobody ran off...umbrellas came out but cheers were as loud if not louder.Then they went on to some light entertainment with Violet Yong as she sang various improvised songs about how Taib is a fool and should go while the crowd sang after her...Christina Chiew also arrived on stage after.A thunderous "Karpal!Karpal!Karpal!" preludes to the arrival of one of the highlight of the night, Karpal Singh. He arrive with a huge smile. Karpal was followed by Sim Kwan Yang,See Chew How, Chong Chieng Jen, Nurul Izzah binti Anwar and Nga Khor Ming respectively.
The agenda of the night was obvious.Among the things addressed were...(and these are not in verbatim...i scribbled down what I can in between taking pictures)

1)How BN should be shameful that they stop us from having free speech and highlighting our problems by banning media such as Malaysiakini.

2)How BN still admit to making mistakes. If you have not learn to govern in 50 over years, they should no longer be given a chance.

3)PAS will not turn the country into an Islamic one like BN claims...PAS respect that the country is made by many different religions and will respect the religion of others unlike BN who tried to outlaw the Christians using Allah and defacing the bible! PAS cannot and will not touch the rights of christians to use the word Allah.

4)Koh Su Khoon is nothing but a cowering 'Kao-Tao' SUPP has no balls.

5)While the Barisan National is in a position to deceive the people, the people has woken up and now the people must show their anger,the people must protest by voting BN out!

6)Vote for wht you want.Not what 'white hair' wants.

7)We love our mothers and fathers so we will give a special ang pao to all retirees every year.

8)At Sibu, the prime minister famously said 'you help me,I help you'...how come nobody arrest the prime minister then??? It is illegal what he is doing. What we are doing tonight is legal and the police dare do something illegal like disturbing and arresting us?

9)As we all know,we must defeat BN and win our freedom and defend our rights before all our freedom is lost.

10)Tommorow we send 15 rockets against BN!

Remembered how I said earlier that BN had to pay or provide gifts for people to attend ceramahs? Well, the final tally of the contributions to PKR tonite amounts to RM51,406. The crowds extended all the way to the back where some brave uncomfortable grass and muddy grounds. More people would sit on small stools across the storm drain next to the main road attentively listening to the dreams that lay ahead for all of us.

I smiled tonite.My country may actually change...wait...let me put that more correctly...I may actually have a country soon. Seeing how BN treats the Chinese and Indians like the 'pendatang' , stamp a book I consider sacred and various other atrocities...I really don't feel like I belong to a country. All the whiles the Malays are too short charged while only cronies prosper...'Ubah!' means change...

Today...in about 5 hours...Sarawak will start voting. I will hold in my hands a vote...I will hold in my hand the future of my country. Democracy can be a very romantic thing...I get to have a choice in choosing what dreams I want... I am quite sure I will be making the right choice...

I hope others will do the same.

It's time...REFORMASI!!! HIDUP MALAYSIA!!!

Magnitude 8.9 earthquake rocks Japan

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-quake-20110311,0,1950058.story

Al Jazeera English: Live Stream - Watch Now - Al Jazeera English

Hold My Hand. Micheal Jackson

This is Micheal Jackson's newly released music video....and a new song.

I think this is absoultely gorgeous and the King of Pop is so alive in spirit and good will...someday, if I die and have left something so beautiful behind...I'll smile to myself in my grave knowing that I have done well...thank you micheal, you are truly a legend...

I Hope My New Film 'Prayer' Provokes People

I am sorry I have been away again from this blog. I have been busy dividing my day between client work and a new short film entitled Prayer.

Prayer is a my own personal response to how sad the state of affairs is in my country; a country that is quick to declare religious tolerance in its tourism brochures and yet it has, in the span of a year, demonstrated its intolerance on more than one occasion.





I respect Islam. How can I not when many of my friends are of the Islamic faith. In fact, Muslim law considers Jews and Christians 'protected people'(dhimmi)and does not encourage their conversion to Islam. Muslim persecution of the dhimmi was not only forbidden by Islamic law; the Prophet also warned: 'He who wrongs a Jew or a Christian will have me as his accuser on the day of Judgement!'

So how can the modern, educated, so-called peace-loving Muslims in my country be so ignorant as to torch a church over the Christians' use of the word Allah. Do they not know the word Allah is derived from the word al - 'the' and ilāh - 'God'? Allah simply means 'The God'. I am not picking on all Muslims, mind you. The Catholic faith has had, through the centuries, it's fair share of faults. It's just very sad to me that many are quick to be outraged and slow to learn about their religion and to actually pray.

When I asked a close Muslim friend of mine what she thinks of Jesus, she answered: 'I will not be a good Muslim if I don't respect Jesus for he is a prophet in Islam.' I teared immediately at her answer.
So what is my short film prayer about? Am I trying to provoke people?

When asked, I tell people that my new short film is about 'a ten year old girl going on jihad'. Almost immediately, I can see a weird expression on their face. To them, I may as well have said 'ten year old suicide bomber!' and admit to being the next Namewee. Somehow the word Jihad is synonymous with Terrorist. Actually the true meaning of the word Jihad means 'religious struggle'. Something I go through everyday as a Catholic, and something any God fearing person of any religion should go through in their journey of faith.

Insya-Allah, my new film prayer will provoke people... provoke them in a good way, and inspire them to pray for peace, hope and love. I think our country Malaysia desperately needs it.

KEEPING COCKROACHES

Yes. Among my many hobbies, I keep cockroaches. I love them. I've kept cockroaches when I was young.Before the onset of playstation resulting in the stay indoor(perpetually forever infront of the LCD) kids nowadays, we kids back then had to amuse ourselves with various hobbies we would create.While some collected stamps and some that make jump rope out of rubber bands, I was the kid who tried to keep any little critter he finds in a bottle. The weirder the critter the better! So when my friend Dennis told me a few years back that he was breeding cockroaches...I was over at his house in a heart beat to see his cockroach collection. Then I couldn't resist but to start a 'cockroach box' of my own. What is a cockroach box? Well it's one of those RM20 plastic boxes for storing any miscellaneous items. We throw a few egg crate in to make a comfortable living area for our cockroaches and use it to store and breed them.

And whenever we want to spend quality time with our cockroaches, we simply open the lid and dip our hand into the box. The little dearies will immediately crawl up our hand lovingly.

Many of you probably think the cockroach box would stink.Well, in actual fact it doesn't.Just like any animals or humans...cockroaches stored ina clean environment and eating a healthy diet does not stink. The homeless prostitutes in Chow Kit probably stink but you don't stink do you? Get the picture? My cockroaches live on a diet of 'koko-crunch' and apples.

So why do I enjoy this hobby? Well there is something weirdly satisfying about opening your cockroach box to 1000 critters running about happily that makes it all worthwhile...also it is an awesome conversation piece.

Here are more pictures of some of my six legged dearies!

Yasmin Ahmad, The Storyteller 1958 2009

Drinking Monkey Pee

When any friend of mine look sad...I would always say ..."the best remedy is to drink and swim in monkey pee!" At this point they give me a weird stare. I mean it really...I am not a certified dietician and am not qualified to advise anyone on this but I believe drinking monkey pee, rotting leaf tea,fish shit and mud regularly really revives me...all these important nutrients for nourishing a more lively life is amazingly free and found in waterfall water. And true to that, me and my friend try to go for a dip in the water almost weekly! Here are the photos of my water moments...to convince you guys to try these therapy too... It's really as fun as it looks in these photos!

Here I am dipping in the famous agua azul in mexico

My dog always 'enjoys' the water with me.

Painting. Try it

My girlfriend Carol cannot figure out how I can just sit and paint for hours; seeing I cannot wait a minute in traffic without my blood boiling. It's simple. Painting is incredibly calming and relaxing and I really urge any of you who have never tried it to pick up the brush and try it.

First, find a subject matter that you like to observe and paint. I reccomend something simple for first timers.

For my latest painting, I decided to paint a jungle scene from a hiking trip. It's a picture of a ginger flower growing in the midst of vines. Now this is the painting process.

Determine the composition of the entire painting. I never really draw with a pencil, I simply lay out all objects with a simple brush line. I then start by painting the shadow area dark.

I typically fill up the background first, so that I don't have to paint in the background in between the foreground later. As a general rule of thumb, use more subtle colours in the background so that the foreground will stand out.If you need to use a strong colour like RED in the background, I suggest lowering its intensity by diluting the paint with water or mixing it with a dull colour.

Also you can paint the background blurry as if it is 'out of focus range'. To blur the background simply omit details in your subject and paint it more liberally with blotches and no sharp brush strokes.

After the background is done, I start on the forground subject. With every painting, I am faced with new challenges to create the image by combining paint. There is no answer as to how to do this aside from experimenting.Your technique will develop as you gain familiarity with the brush and experience handling the paint. Also, sometimes you have to paint something in a few layers. What this means is simply painting multiple layers of colour that combine to become the richly coloured final layer. How do you do this?

Paint one layer of colour.Let it dry and then paint another layer on top, thinning the top layer with more water so it will have a transparent quality where you can see the bottom layer through the top layer.Look at the leaves two leaves. This is layer 1.

Now look at the same leaf after a few layers.

I was having trouble figuring out how to paint the main subject, the ginger flower.

Many at this point will give up. The best advice I can give here to anyone is to just proceed.Unlike colour pencils or crayons; with acrylic paint, you can always cover the bottom layer completely and redo a mistake if you do not like what you have done. Also sometimes, brush strokes that may not look 'correct' at the start will look much more better and 'correct' as you progress and you can see the picture as a whole.

Once you reached this point where the entire canvas is painted, sit back and take a look at your painting. Looking and criticizing yourself is a good way to teach yourself new techniques and fine tuning your painting skills.

Also start detailing the picture and believe you can make it better.

Although I have a proper easel and painting space; I much rather just use a chair to prop up my canvas and paint in my living room with my television accompanying me in the background. Other than that, you'll need a canvas (easily purchased in an art shop in one utama or ikea) and some paint. I typically use only four colours. Titanium White, Cadmium Red or Scarlet Red, Cadmium Yellow and Prussian Blue. I mix all my colours from these four basic colours.I do not use black. You need a brush and any bottle to hold some water and a board for a palette. the entire start budget should be in the range of RM 50 including canvas. The pet snake(notice sofa arm rest) is optional.

I hope you enjoy painting. =)

any question do ask in the comments and I'll respond.