Here's to Sam, Woody, Carla and the Gang...

"Making your way in the world today,
Takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries,
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name.
And they're always glad you came.
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same,
You want to be where everybody knows your name. "

Play Cheers' Theme Song

Do we all not bleed the same red blood????

WHYYYYYY?????? why God why???????????? know what pisses me off more than just about anything else? ESCORTS! no, i am not talking about those lady escorts for old, fat, ugly, and rich datuks. the escorts i'm talking about here are those police motorcades that shoo you out of the way when some rich politician is about to come through. Why? I mean if they're in such risky positions, i'll bet they can more than afford a bulletproof car. Whats up with the escorts? why must the roads be cleared for them to come through? why must an entire toll lane be emptied just for them? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY??? Whenever I see these escorts I just feel like throwing something. It just pisses me off to high heavens (quote unquote fareez!).

I am reminded of a Shakespearean line...

"To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hinder'd me of half a million, laugh'd at my losses, mock'd at my gains, scorn'd my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes; hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer that a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? why revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction."

The line in bold orange is more applicalble to the situation at hand, although basically the entire line carries pretty much the same message. Are we not human? Why is it when you have a title and a huge bank account to back that title up, you get these stupid extras? I mean if you want to bloody buy an island or have 30 servants waiting for you hand and foot, then that's your business. (Although I will make it mine if you mistreat the servants... this is another thing that pisses me off, people who wrong their servants, but that's for another entry...) But if you have police escorts and make things difficult for everyone else who are also using the road, then that is just wrong! What is so difficult about going out perhaps an hour earlier to beat the traffic jam? If you have places to go to, well don't we all?

Oh well, I guess our country is one that is deeply rooted in its sense of standard and class. We have been slaves to it for so long, why stop now? If it was entirely in my hands, i will abolish all this stupid escort services!

...and they all grew up....

(i posted this particular writing on my old blog, and decided to move it here, especially for those of you who haven't read it yet).

Once upon a time, there were a few boys and girls who looked forward to the Raya celebrations every year because it meant that they could all get into the car and be driven by their parents back to their beloved little magical hometown, the land of great adventure and delicious cuisines...taiping... A few days before Raya they would all gather at their grandparents' home, aptly called Rumah Kampung Jambu, because of its location in Kampung Jambu, and wait patiently for Raya to come. The more daring uncles would rush out to purchase the forbidden Raya necessity... the bunga api and the secret hiding place for these things once it reached home was in the little storage compartment of the old grandfather clock. The less daring uncles would frown at this act of crime but deep inside they secretly longed to reach out for one bunga api and relive their own childhood... The mommies would be in the kitchen, baking the ever traditional biskut arab and kulcha. One person would be assigned to ketupat duty, someone else would be incharge of the decorations and the rest would either lounge in front of the tele or be assigned to shopping duty.

Now where were the boys and girls? Hmmm....... As usual, they're off somewhere in the house fighting over one thing if not another. The girls would indulge in a certain activity, namely recording songs into the cassette player and the boys would come along later and take the cassette, listen to it, and mock the girls. But eventually they will all sit together and record something together. The eldest boy was very talented in mimicking the voice of Rowan Atkinson, and another boy was beginning to show a keen interest in music, and this was exhibited with the help of the old piano underneath the stairs. The eldest girl would always suggest that they play entertainment quizzes. The boys were in one team, and the girls in another. And they almost always end up accusing the other team of either cheating or of not playing fair.

And then of course, there's the trip into town, or the magical land of the great lake garden... where monkeys and transvestites co-habit in peace... It's a wonder how they never disturb each other's business in public... As they ventured into town, one of the must visit destinations would be the ais kacang stall. After that comes the bubur kacang stall. And then, the more adventurous ones would make their way to the waterfalls. Let's not forget the old cinemas, where the eldest girl had to endure a screening of a Kamal Hassan tamil movie...

Whatever the activity, be it swimming at the falls, or fighting till the wee hours of the morning, or making roti canai segera at 12am, they were all very happy and always looked forward to the next adventure. But then after a while, the boys and girls grew up and trips to the magical hometown began to decrease. Soon they no longer went back for Raya there, as everyone decided to spend it in the big city.

One day, the eldest boy sent out word to the boys and girls asking them to come home to taiping to relive the good old days, and they all accepted with much enthusiasm. Seven of them set out on a bright saturday morning, after having a very tough time waking one of the boys up. But he soon got out of bed and they all piled into two cars and the journey began...

Suddenly, Rumah Kampung Jambu looked a lot smaller than they had all remembered. Perhaps they were tiny ones back then. But now they all possessed the heights of runway models and basketball players. Taiping was still like it used to be, waiting for its occupants to return... A land of tranquility and calmness.... Modernity was apparent but it was still old, in some ways.... Something all of them welcomed with open arms...

No trip to taiping was complete without taking a drive down lake garden. The monkeys outnumber the transvestites this time around... And then of course, a trip to the taiping zoo where the animals all look as though they were plotting an escape... either that or a takeover... Next agenda was the food... Bismillah roti canai and their special maroon couloured kuah, which believe it or not, has never been seen in any other kedai mamak throughout malaysia... the ais kacang and bubur were also on the list... although the ais kacang, according to the boys and girls did not taste quite the same because the aunty passed away and her brother took over...

The great taiping getaway, as they called it, was a huge success, although it was rather weird, because they were all such grown ups now... but one thing remained the same though, the bond that they have shared ever since childhood, the ties that brought them all together, that made them like brothers and sisters, the fights and the teasing... inside each and every one of them, that child form their childhood days lives on...... and it is the hope of the eldest girl that they will always come back to this magical hometown... be it ten years or even fifty years down the road... rumah kampung jambu will forever be the place they return to... the place where all good memories lie, waiting for us to walk down memory lane and remember them all...

Art for Art's Sake, Anyone?

Astro appears to be cutting cost these days. at least i think that's what they're trying do. otherwise what else would explain this bizarre act by a broadcasting company. allow me to enlighten you on the most recent act that has incurred my annoyance and generally managed to piss me off.

i was watching akademi fantasia's weekly concert earlier (don't ask me why) and AC DISINI after that (again don't ask me why) and at the end of the programme, during the end credits, i noticed that they cut down on the crew list. all that appeared were the producers name, the director and the stage manager or location manager. what the hell happened to the rest? the production assistants, the cameramen, the audio dudes, the editing dudes, the lighting guys, etc etc. do they have any idea the insane hard work those people go through in order to get the show to run smoothly? one of the rewards that comes with working behind the scene is when you see your name in the credit roll. the satisfaction of knowing that you contributed something and that your contribution has been recognized and appreciated. that's the least the executive producers could do. i remember the first time i saw my name on the credit roll. i felt like i was on cloud nine million!

come on astro, bring back the crew list! you know they deserve it.

once upon a time, i used to ignore the end credits. but after i got a job as a production assistant and knowing first hand how terribly demanding and difficult the job is, i now make it a point to pay attention to the credit roll. i may not know half of the names listed, but i want to do my part in making them feel appreciated and recognized. as hard as this is to believe, the actors aren't the only thing that makes a production. it's the hard work of the crew that allows you to be entertained day in and day out. so ladies and gentlemen, i suggest that from now on, pay a little attention to the end credits. it's not just something they add in to fulfill the time slot requirement. it's the effort of so many individuals who do everything in their power to bring you entertainment. even if the show is inane and stupid. that's usually not the crew's fault but the executive producer's or the director's. more often than not, it's the fault of some rich businessmen who think that money is all you need to get into the entertainment industry. they want the glitz and glam, but they fail to realize the one crucial thing required in this industry: CREATIVITY! Contrary to popular belief, money can't buy everything.

now this puts me in the mood to discuss akademi fantasia. who else thinks that this show should be axed? i know it's making money, but at what cost? the main goal is to cash in as much as they can from the sms votes. but what about the fact that it's promoting lies? perhaps i'm being a little too brash, but hear me out. can anyone genuinely look me in the eye and tell me that last year's winner can hold a note? can someone look me in the eye and tell me that he won solely based on the fact that he has a beautiful voice? if the goal and purpose of akademi fantasia is to bring to light the hidden talents in our country, then i do believe that they are doing a horrible job. this show does not care one bit about finding talents. if they truly do care about that, and they believe that malaysians can vote justly, why not start the voting only after the last singer finishes his performance for the weekly concert. like american idol. that way we know that people will truly vote based on talent and not on who's the cutest or who is able to tell the funniest joke or who looks good in a small t-shirt. akademi fantasia is a business, and it is using art as a front. this may sound like a heavy accusation, but that is exactly what i think they're doing. they use heavy drama to gain the viewers' attention, they focus a lot on the daily activities of the students and how they interact with each other and how they live together...bla bla bla. if that's what they want to do, don't use singing as a front. put twelve people in a house and call the show Big Brother! singing is a beautiful art, and we are tarnishing it. isn't it enought that the beauty of malaysian cinema is being destroyed by the likes of Dato' Yusof Haslam and Professor Razak Mohaideen? Don't even let me get started on these two and those who are following in their footsteps. You would think that with the title Dato' and Professor, they would feel compelled to churn out quality instead of garbage. but i guess money's conquers all and proves to be a very good motivation. what would P. Ramlee think if he was still alive today? But perhaps if he were, the entertainment industry would not be what it has turned out to be today. these directors don't seem to understand that without P.Ramlee, we probably wouldn't even have a film industry. by churning out crap, they are directly insulting the efforts, talent and creativity of P.Ramlee. why would anyone do that? the least they could do is try to be creative. but judging by what they're screening nowadays, it seems like they did not try at all.
don't tell me yusof haslam tried very best to produce quality when he did sembilu, or gerak khas or whatever other projects of his. have you ever sat through one yusof haslam flick? well i have sat through a few and it was so mind-numbing i felt like throwing up. the same goes for razak mohaideen. i may not be a penangite but i think i can safely say that his anak mami series has been more of an insult rather than compliments to the actual anak mamis out there. and like that's not enough, he had to dabble in horror flicks.

oh well, what can i say... i guess art for art's sake is fast becoming a thing of the past. it is a path one follows to reach the place where art is a thing of beauty regardless of the physical value. it is what's underneath that matters. the value of a masterpiece lies not in what the naked eye perceives, but rather in what the heart understands. and the heart will never be able to comprehend trash even if it is being spoken by a beauty queen or a dashing prince. art is precious and cares not for monetary gains. satisfaction lies in being understood, by the heart of a kind soul.

oh before i forget, i have a bone to pick with ahmad fauzee, the actor/director. he was one of the judges on akademi fantasia earlier and he said something that really pissed me off. he was commenting on one of the students. this student is the funny one in the group and he has a way of making people laugh. ahmad fauzee said this to him,"rasanya kita sudah bertemu dengan pengganti
aziz satar." what the hell gives this ding dong the right to decide that we have found a pengganti for aziz satar? aziz satar is a wonderful actor and comedian and there is no way he can be replaced. aznil was quick to save the day when he added,"bukan pengganti, tapi penyambung." perhaps ahmad fauzee has never been introduced to this little verse from a sheila majid song...

"patah tak tumbuh lagi, hilang belum berganti, kerana kau TERSENDIRI..."

yes this song was written for P.Ramlee, but this verse applies to all the real talents out there...
talent and individuality...things that our entertainment industry are seriously lacking. think about this ladies and gentlemen, the next type you type AFUNDI on your handphones or IDOL or whatever it is. art is not that difficult to comprehend. all you have to do is open your ears, close your eyes, and listen with your heart...

"A long, long time ago... I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those people dance,
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.

But February made me shiver,
With every paper I'd deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep...
I couldn't take one more step.

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died......"

*Don McLean's American Pie.