I was at Giant this morning to get some stuff and antihistamines for a rather bad flu I'm having. Got the day off work too. Then I saw this at the checkout counter...
While in States, P.O.S. usually stood for "Piece Of Shit"... a term used to describe lousy equipment like Acer computers and Microsoft ME, as well as people you don't like.
For those who haven't worked as a cashier, P.O.S. in this case actually means Point Of Sale.But if the software crashes often, charges customers double, or fucks up your inventory records, then its certainly a Piece Of Shit System.
But I've never had any big problems with Giant at the checkout...
UMNO's General Assembly has come and gone. Daggers and keris were wagged and smooched, more promises made to uplift the Malays, and each delegate tried their best to outdo their rivals on the podium with non-issues and more rethoric. This time, the ruling party made the decision not to allow live TV coverage of the event. When they last did that, their antics was displayed for all of Malaysia to see and deride.
One of the most amusing parts of local politics is the creation of fanciful phrases. Mahathir did it with his "paradigm shift". Najib also did it with "glokal". For this General Assembly, this year's buzzword would be "mengangkasa bangsa", or "spacing the race" (and obviously the Malay race). Obviously this is a reference to Dr. Muszaphar, our first astronaut in space who blasted off last month, thanks to Russian rocket technology.
Translated, "mengangkasa bangsa" or "spacing the race" means uplifting the Malay race to lofty & stellar heights, socioeconomically, of course.
But translated LITERALLY, Najib's newfangled term "spacing the race" has an entirely different (and hillarious) meaning:
Spacing is a theoretical method of execution (or other sort of killing) by vacuum exposure in space. The primary cause of death would be asphyxia. Unlike the persistent myth, people do not explode due to vacuum exposure or explosive decompression (See Landis' article in links)
and...
Spacing is a staple of science fiction, usually accomplished by ejecting the subject through the airlock of a spacecraft or space station without a space suit.
Fortunately, Najib will get away with it... as not too many UMNO delegates are science fiction fans to understand what "spacing" actually means. Once the GA is over, its back to spacing ordinary Malays and Malaysians into the vacuum of ignorance with fanciful promises and race-baiting.
... and wishes of "Happy Diwali" to my Indian pals who celebrate it. All Indian Hindu colleagues in my workplace have gone back to Perak, Kedah, or Negeri9 for celebrations... so no visiting for me... methinks.
Hm... time to clear out some boxes of stuff from my apartment room... then perhaps tonight I'll hang around with some friends.
One-third of Georgetown's Birch Street was closed last weekend. The section north of Church & Birch up till the tower was condoned off by a bunch of RELA civil defense guys manning the roadblock. At first, I though it was Tenaga Nasional digging up the power lines again. They do that now and then... so no big deal. Two blocks away, there were a whole bunch of Mat Rempit bumming around... which was strange since they don't hang out in this part of Georgetown.
Later that evening at a friend's birthday party, one of the guests mentioned that her niece was working on a new film project, and that they were filming downtown. They also needed extras for the scenes, so she asked if I or any of my pals were interested. RM50/person was the rate.
The name of the movie? Cicakman II
Yes... you heard it. Cicakman II. The sequel to a local Malaysian superhero-movie that's actually a direct clone of Spiderman, right down to the plot... is being made.
It does not interest me that Cicakman II is being made. What interest's me... is that Cicakman II is actually being made. The KRU Brothers actually thought it'll be a Good Idea to make the sequel.
And true to being a direct clone of Spiderman, which is set in windy & temperate New York City, Cicakman II takes place in the cold season in the Malaysian megacity of Metrofulus. Hm... a Malaysian city with a fall/winter season.
It was a bit amusing to hear about the cast acting out in winter clothing. In downtown Georgetown. In the sweltering and humid Penang weather...
I missed the first movie. I heard from my Malay friends it was terrible, although it raked in a lot of cash in the theaters. Maybe I should checkout the sequel, to see how amusing it can be...
That probably explains all the Mat Rempits around Birch Street that night. Probably hoping to get their 30 seconds of fame as a movie extra.
Finally! Something for those pesky Malaysian bloggers!
