Fuel price increases.... Inflation soars....

CRAP!

I think I need to get myself a bicycle. For realz.

We Malaysians live in an equatorial country where it is hot and humid the whole year round. We are built for hot weather, but we always complain about the heat and look forward to the cool monsoon season at the end of the year (as long as it doesn't flood our houses out).

So imagine the impracticality of wearing knee-high woollen socks and woollen scarves in this part of the world. Imagine wearing ski hats and hooded sweaters when it's 40 degrees Celcius outside.

Sadly, this is the fashion phenomenon here in Malaysia.

We try hard to emulate foreign fashion styles, notably Western hip hop and Japanese Harajuku-style wear. WITHOUT taking into consideration many things such as comfort or common sense.

It amused me greatly when I recently saw a bunch of Chinese girls in their late teens (or early 20s) wearing the type of white baggy knee-high socks that Japanese high schoolgirls would wear (Do they all? Or is that what's shown in anime and pr0n movies?). One of them matched the socks with a yellow long-sleeved off-the-shoulder synthetic fur top with totally faded blue jeans shorts. Maan. It doesn't sound as bad as it looked, really. I would have taken photos of them if I had my camera with me, and let you, my dear readers, to make your own judgments.

Her companion wore similar socks with a micro mini skirt and a baby-tee with necktie. Both her wrists were decorated with colourful bangles. It has to be mention that these girls were having a meal at downtown's MacDonald's. Hmmm.. I think their sense of fashion (or the lack thereof) is a blasphemy to real Japanese street fashion.

College kids go to college dressed to the nines. It's like they're on parade, trying to outdo each other with their outfits. Some vying for the "Best Dressed" title, some for the "Worst Outfit" and some probably for "The Most Skin Revealed Outfit". There are just all kinds of looks and noticeably, there seems to be influences of Japanese or Korean pop fashion.

I mean, I'm not against emulating foreign fashion, but why can't people do it tastefully?? That's what bugs me. The frenzy of looking cool and hip got overboard. It's just senseless bootlegging in most cases, which makes the original fashion look trashy as well.

It's as bad as wearing a kimono the wrong way because you follow blindly without finding out the facts and in the process, turning yourself into a living corpse and a laughingstock. But that's a different story altogether (refer to a previous locked entry), so I leave it for now.

See? Not only do we have bootlegged versions of foreign movies and music, but we have bootlegged versions of their fashion as well. Hahaha.. MALAYSIA BOLEH!

The green-eyed monster from Down Under

News that is not so welcomed: Pauline Hanson and her One Nation Party will try again in the upcoming Federal elections.

Maan. Doesn’t she ever quit?

Oh wait. Didn’t she say something about quitting.. what 3 years ago? And now she’s back?

Only dumbasses would vote for people who don’t keep to their words.

They should have kept her behind bars where uneducated racist rednecks like her rightfully belong.

Furthermore, this is really ( depressing news )


I really can’t believe that they actually passed that bill. It’s like saying One Nation was right after all. That it was right to be racist and xenophobic in order to protect the so-called sovereignty of white Australians.

OK, so the bill didn't exactly state that. But hello?? It's pretty obvious ne!

The sad thing is, racists like Hanson are only a minority in Aussie society. It’s just wrong to let them even win a small bit in any way. It's just wrong to create an image of Australia that is full of racial hatred.

In fact, in my entire stay in Down Under, I had only encountered racism once. It happened in a rural area up in the hills about 45 minutes away from Perth. The redneck was pissed drunk in late afternoon and started cursing at my Asian friends and I, calling us "Jap Nazis" and shit. It didn't intimidate us though. We thought he was just plain stupid because none of us there were Japanese anyway. It was just the drunken blabberings of an unfortunately uneducated white Aussie. And there are plenty of them around under-developed rural areas.

I suppose people are being racially nasty to hide their insecurity and lack of knowledge concerning immigrants. In a way, they're inferior and racism is the best way for them to feel good about themselves, by putting down and condemning the "outsiders". Blame it all on the aliens!

If the Aussies are so anti-immigrants, then they shouldn't have fought so hard to be included as an Asian country! Australia and Asia are two separate continents that don't even share a common border! If they insist to Australia for white Australians, then they should just keep their noses out of the affairs of Asian countries. What bigotry! The ignorance of some people, my gods. -___-;;;

I maintain my stance: John Howard is a blardy asswipe who's no better than Hanson. Politically feeble.

If I had voting rights in Australia, I'd vote for the Greens or Labor.

The advertising around here really lacks creativity, among many other things.

Open up the local papers and you see clutters of advertisements. Too often majority of them are done in bad taste. Look at the flyers that are thrown into your mailbox and you see… more horror.

Too conventional and ordinary, never mind, at least that’s safe territory for those afraid to venture away from the norm. However, some are obviously done in haste with horrible usage of Chinaman English or mangled English. And we are not talking about just any business advertising. We are talking about colleges advertising their courses!

There was a recent example of college advertising horror. I ask you, dear readers. Would you ever want to send your kids to a college claiming that their “Diploma provides a solid foundation which shares the same concepts with other walks of life”?? Or, their teaching faculty is “supported by a glittering array of top fly-in lecturers”??

Classic moments of WTF-ness, hey? Other walks of life? What, aliens from Mars?? I wonder why would anyone want to have anything in common with little green men. Glittering array of lecturers? Wait, are we talking about people or Christmas trees here?? I guess students would need to use sunglasses in class to protect their eyes from the glare! BAHAHAHA!

Some people are just trying too hard to sound intelligent but ended up looking stupid instead. Especially so when they chose to put up cheesy, horribly posed photos to accompany their already-dumb message. The result is one bad taste ad.

Oh. They teach you English too. Their English course enables students to master vital skills in order to function well in an English-speaking work environmental with a high degree of understanding of the English Language.

Spot the mistake??

*cringes* Really, if that’s the case, I think I’d rather learn Mongolian.

The worst thing? Students dig it! Yeah, they just fall straight for all the wrong English and crappy ads and stuff. Don’t they see that they’re going to be educated by little green men that glitter like Christmas lightings??

They just don’t see that their education will be handled as haphazardly as how the college handle the contents of promotional materials.

That’s just seems to be the sad case with the market here in Kuching. Intelligence and creativity in advertising and copywriting just don’t exist, if you leave them to the Tom, Dick and Harry who happen to be the Jack of all trades of their companies. Consumers are just price-motivated hogs, caring more for discounts and freebies than quality. Colleges are just aiming blindly into the masses hoping to hit whoever, whatever that’s remotely interested to take up courses with them, at discounted fees of course. Parents and students who look at the finer details are just the minority, an endangered breed.

Bleh. Sad huh?

Anyway, something to bear in mind: Good advertising does not always sell more than bad advertising, but at least it’s good!! and Worship thy dictionary (or equivalent) because it is GOD. Don’t be ashamed to use it!!

"Obenoxious" is a new adjective I coined for a certain someone (who I've been ranting about for the past 6 months or so) because it just SO describes him.

It's like combining yummy + delicious to come up with "yummilicious", so guess what words the above word is made up of?

Really. If I have to put up with the obenoxious fuktard (hoho, that's another one) for longer than planned, I could just drop dead soon. Quick quick, where's the exit?! Someone please show me the exit! Arghgh.

The view from my window...





THIS has been going on for YEARS.. and governments on both side ain't doing anything solid to solve the problem!! Who frikkin cares about cloud-seeding?? That's already a cure, not a prevention!

And why the eff do these people have to burn their forests?! Is there no other way to do agriculture.. why does it need to involve the destruction of Nature?!

@#$%$#!&^*#&@#@%$@^%@&$%@$$@!$^&@%#@$%%*&!&

It's one of many good reasons to migrate. Really.

I hate to generalize. But seems like it's part and parcel of local culture that whenever there're any major functions (especially those at high-class venues), there tend to be alot of "last-minute" guests or even freeloaders.

They are all drawn to the free food.

Talk about the mentality of hogs.

'Nuff said.

Good news and alot of bad news.

The official site for Nana 2 movie is UP! Not much there yet, except for a teaser trailer.

That's the good news.

The bad news..?

Miyazaki Aoi has been replaced!! Of all the actresses who they could look for... they found Ichikawa Yui!! And Matsuda Ryuhei too has been replaced by Kyou Nobuo!!!

WTF-ness.

One: WHY A GRAVURE IDOL FOR THE ROLE OF SWEET LIL KOMATSU NANA?!?!?!?!

Two: I was just getting used to Matsuda as Ren and now they're taking him out?!?!

DOUSHITE?!?!!?

The confirmed returning cast are as follows:

Nakashima Mika retaining her role as Oozaki Nana
Tamayama Tetsuji as Ichinose Takumi
Maruyama Tomoki as Takagi Yasushi

As you can see, Narimiya Hiroki (Nobu), Matsuyama Ken-ichi (Shin) and Ito Yuna (Reira) has yet to confirm their roles!!!

ARGHGHGHGHGH!!! Noooooo....! I WANT THE ORIGINAL CAST BACK!!


Nana (2005)

Furthermore... Nana 2 will wrap up the entire story! More WTF-ness. *sigh*

I'm soo depressed now.

Scenario:

You have been working for Company X for 10 years when you were offered a better deal at Company Y. Company Y is smaller in comparison, and you have only one other staff working in the same department as you.

Things you ought to remember:

1. Learn to be adaptable / flexible. You’re not the catalyst of change. You change to fit the new company. Despite what all the management gurus tell you about CHANGE, most people are resistant to it and they will hate you if you try to modify their existing policies and methods that have proven to be effective and efficient so far.

2. Don’t bring your old work values and culture to Company Y. Never ever try to impose them on your new colleagues. Also, don’t ever try to impress them with your previous “success stories” and talks of how you could bring similar success to the new company. Prove yourself worthy by taking solid action, not just bullshitting.

3. You’re not indispensable. Behave yourself. Don’t blatantly apple-polish your boss. Don’t fan the fire of rumors. Don’t harass your colleagues with lame or sexist jokes. Bear in mind that everything you do and say could be used indiscriminatingly against you, so please just shut the fuck up.

Welcome to the real world!

For those of you who have been reading my journal for some time, I think you'd remember those few rants about some Sinocentric people in my social circle. These friends of friends are typical Chinese-educated traditionalists with backward ideas on social and political issues, are pro-China and anti-Japan but think Japanese AV idols are hot and drive supped up Hondas and Toyotas. Oh and they just enjoy making fun of my love for J-rock music, among other insufferable things.

Well, today I had the misfortune to spend lunchtime with them. If I knew these idiots would be there, I wouldn't have gone. Seriously. They had nothing better to say other than stupid stuff and to show off photos from their China trip, which they just got back from last week. Yadda yadda they went on and on about beautiful China and beautiful Chinese girls. ~_~

The purpose of this post is to point out an unforgettable (but decidedly daft) opinion from one of the guys, who gushed about historical sites and the extensive Chinese empire of bygone days:

You notice, we were never a "bowing" culture. People bow to show respect and awe for superiors, but only like a servant bowing to his lord. Bowing is for lowly serfs. Ordinary Chinese people don't bow to each other. I mean, not to every Tom, Dick and Harry they meet. Not like the Japanese or Koreans, who bow to everyone, regardless of status. That kind of mentality has been in practice for so many centuries. I think it began when they were lowly ancient states, in comparison to the Chinese empire. Chinese contributed so much to Japan and Korea, like our language and traditions. Japan even paid tribute to us in the old days. That shows we're actually a more sophisticated and confident race. We don't bow every second or grovel at people's feet but walk and talk with confidence. I'm definitely proud to be Chinese in that sense.

(Bear in mind the guy didn't use those exact words. I'm interpreting from his Manglish usage, which was a mishmash of broken English and Hokkien.)

Soooo... what the friggin nut is that all about?!

THAT is a sad lot of distorted and outrageous trash. The fool had the gall to speak them out. I felt sooo embarrassed listening to him, but his two other equally stupid friends agree with him. Please read up on actual Asian history and cultures before you speak, you peabrain. "Bowing" is about being respectful AND courteous, not being inferior. The way he put it, made it sound a lot like as if Chinese people are arrogant and impolite who refuse to give in to a simple bow, although he meant it the other way round. Stupid huh?

The other two guys couldn't stop talking about "hot authentic Chinese girls" and the clubbing scene in Shanghai. They described everything in such a show-offish, we-are-so-elite manner that it was seriously intolerable. Our other lunch companions looked like they could punch them in the face or something. Well, it ain't my idea to invite those primates along and put us through an ordeal over pizza! It's a wonder I didn’t suffer from indigestion after lunch.

Fuktards. I seriously wonder what people learnt at those independent Chinese schools? Was their education really that nationalistic? Most of my Chinese friends were from national Malay/English-medium schools like myself, so I don't really know. I think it's high time I find out, so at least I know where these fools stand.

Hah! Chinese lent its language and culture to its neighbors eh? Now, I don't think the fools would fancy having nationalistic Koreans hear a word of that! They'll probably get shredded to pieces for daring to suggest that the Chinese had anything to do with the 5000 years of unique Korean culture. I guess they have yet to encounter a first-hand experience with true "Korean Pride" and its intensity. :P

New Line Cinema to remake Battle Royale?!

In a shocking move, New Line Cinema have picked up the rights to remake the late Kinji Fukasaku's "Battle Royale". The controversial cult film, which involves a class of delinquent teenagers being dumped on an island, armed to the teeth and forced to kill each other as part of a government run game, is bound to cause outcry in the U.S. in particular, where the original has yet to be released. The remake is to be handled by, surprise, surprise, producers Roy Lee ("The Ring" and "The Grudge") and Neal Moritz ("The Fast and the Furious"). At the moment no directors or possible cast members have yet been mentioned, though it is quite possible that the film's characters will age somewhat during the translation. There is a definite air of pointlessness hanging over the project, since the result is likely to feature blaring rock music and overaged teen television stars poking at each other with sticks. The original film was essentially satirical, a scathing attack on modern Japanese society, shot through with guilt, shame and war imagery, and it is hard to imagine a Hollywood film attempting the same level of depth.

WTF?!?!

NOOooOOooOOoo!!!!!!!!!

First they banned the original in USA because of the teenage violence plot. NOW THEY WANT TO REMAKE THE MOVIE?!? WTF FOR???

We all know how much most Hollywood remakes of Asian movies SUCK!! Please tell me this isn't going to be true!! NO WAY Hollywood is able to pull it off as neatly as the original Battle Royale!! Had they forgotten COLUMBINE?! BR remake will FLOP big-time in US of A!!



Can the audience stomach THAT??? I was going to put up a really gory pic of the lighthouse shooting aftermath, but changed my mind.

And if they should modify the plot alot just to suit American taste, I guess all BR fans should just nuke Hollywood. Don't you think so? The original movie was already a slightly modified version compare to the novel. Imagine how much amendments are to be made in order to appease the mainstream audience! Anal fans like me ain't happy at all!!

*sobs*

肌に合わない
Hada ni awanai

Literally means, (it) does not suit my skin. Can be used in context to:
· A person whose tastes, ideas or personality you do not like; or
· A job that does not suit your temperament and aspirations.

Ahem. そうですね! Hmmph. How appropriateね~

今の仕事がいやになった！！Grrr.. ボスの行動はうんざりだ！！毎日、「アントニアこれ、あんとにあそれ」。滅茶苦茶な指図、いつも頭が痛むことは少しも不思議ではない！！辞任をしたい！！でも、チャンスはまだ来ているよ！どうして？？嘆かわしい！！ ああ、忍耐することができる！ *深呼吸する*

馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿馬鹿!!!!!

A random message that I received from a random Mixi.jp member:

ハイ、僕の美人！遊びをしたい！興味がある？ さぁ、情熱的なセックスをしよう！ メッセージくれ！

*coughs.sputters.chokes.dies*

Remind me again the reason why I stopped using Friendster actively..? OH YES, because of the repeated random messages I got from random persistent perverts. -__-

It seems inevitable that once you’re on a social networking site, you’re bound to get this sort of crap. Ah well, let’s see how bad the situation goes at Mixi. I’m reluctant to abandon it like I did to Friendster.

Somehow Orkut is still the safest ne, with invitation to friends only. If you could call any of them "safe".

Today, it dawned on me that I might have a LINGUISTIC DISORDER (If you could possibly call it a “disorder”). This sudden revelation is quite devastating for a self-professed lover of languages.

What could the problem be, you ask? Well, lately, it seems that whenever I speak English to less-fluent speakers (e.g certain Chinese-educated morons folks), I’m constantly lapsing into the dreaded Manglish (Malaysian English or Mangled English, whatever you wanna call it – See a previous post). I mean, it’s not wrong to speak like that, but it IS wrong when it’s in a FORMAL situation. Yes, I spoke in Manglish when I’m not supposed to, causing unnecessary embarrassment to myself. Yet it did not seem like anything out of the ordinary to those morons folks because that’s probably the normal language they speak and hear every day.

Much to my frustration, I HAD to continue with Manglish to get my message across to the majority. To the others around who are proficient, I had probably sounded like a clown to them, judging from some amused looks. I had never addressed a large crowd of people in Manglish before, with the neurotic mishmash of English, Malay, Mandarin and Hokkien. I had probably sounded as bad as those who I ranted about!

At one point the crowd got really exasperating and I was quite beyond myself, although outwardly I was still calm. What came out from my mouth was even fouler than broken English. I swore right under my breath. Colorful swear words came out in both Korean and Swedish. I couldn’t help it, the words just came out naturally. After the realization of what my wayward tongue had spilled out, I was like “Crap!” and kinda cracked up. Talk about being inappropriate. Thank goodness nobody understood me even if they had heard, which they probably didn’t because they were too noisy among themselves. Hah!

OK, I guess the so-called disorder could be explainable in a simple linguistic term: code-switching. I think because of its frequent occurrence in daily conversation, it’s becoming the norm even to the casual code-switching bi- or multi-lingual person. It’s getting to be so common, to the point of being uncontrollable (like in my situation). The horror!! I couldn’t afford to let that happen, if I’m going to pursue what I will pursue someday. I couldn’t afford to gab away in Manglish all the time! But.. but how could I not when I’m surrounded by people who speak like that?! Gahhh! -__-;;

Wow, amazing indeed. Someone bothered to go through my old entries and used them to rankle me via emails. Yes, you cowardly anonymous troll with your horrendously broken English. You must have had plenty of time on your hands to do what you did, you retardo. Then again you do amuse me much with your stupidity. If you’re someone I know in real life, you’re one PATHETIC fuktard for going all out in this.

I was called something akin to “Japanese-supporting whore” and a whole bunch of other things in Mandarin and bad English, because I posted this, this and this. Entries from July, August and November 2005 respectively.

People who know me WELL enough would know that my interest for anything Japanese or Korean runs deeper than just mere infatuation. It’s no fetishism, as some idiot had put it. Nor is it a sign that I’m casting off my Chinese identity. Pop cultures aside, there’s much to learn and to be shared in this triangle of Chinese-Japanese-Korean affair. It’s not a matter of "pro-" this or that or "anti-" anything.

Actually, I shouldn’t need to justify anything at all. Everything is pretty self-explanatory. I just wish that some people are less retarded in their views and somehow learn to let go of the past, the victims and the aggressors alike. History IS history. We should learn from past blunders and make sure things improve for current and future generations. 60 years of hatred is a long time, isn’t anyone tired of hating?

There is no room in my life for ethnic bigotry. Not when I’ve got big plans for my future. Peace and understanding through culture and education. My love for languages plays a huge role, but again this is not something I’d disclose in detail at this time. It’s a worthy endeavour, one that I will be embracing with an open heart, a sound mind and a firm voice.

Humanity is in tatters because people like YOU exist, you pathetic worm.