Sunday, April 29, 2007

A Statistical Analysis Of A Malaysian Electorial District

Listening to: Heikki - Former Hero (buy here)








=====================

The news is in... its a Barisan Nasional victory in the electoral constituancy of Ijok. Or
iJok, for you Appleheads out there. K. Parthiban won by a majority of 1,800 votes over Parti Keadilan Rakyat's contender Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Thats a whole lot of fucking votes. I'll leave the bickering over whether or whether not electoral fraud had occured to the other bloggers and Mr. Raja Petra.


If one were to perform a study on the quality of public services & works, life, road conditions, and socioeconomic factors throughout time in any electorial constituancy in Malaysia, you might get the results below:

where C is the level just after the General Election.

A large spike can be seen just after the time whenever an elected representitive for the region has kicked the bucket. This sudden increase stops the moment the by-election is over and a new representative to replace the deceased guy has been elected. The quality of life in that area then gradually decays as time passes and election promises are unkept. This trend continues until the next Election.

So if you happen to live in that area and want to maintain a certain level of development in your area, technically you'll want as many by-elections as possible. And you'll also want them as close to one another as possible.

But thats also gonna mean a high death rate of elected politicians/representatives in your area.

Here's the solution to achieve this. No violence, just good ol' food, liquor, and tobacco.


Wednesday, April 25, 2007

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Listening to: The Concretes - In Colour







============================

As we Malaysians have heard, five-year old Muhammad “Yin” Nazrin who disappeared after wandering away in a Kuala Lumpur shopping complex, has been reunited with his family. Old news, as this happened weeks ago. While his parents were busy shopping, that little brat ran off and got lost in the huge crowd of shoppers that normally plague KL.

A Burmese couple found the kid and being unable to find his parents (duh!) among the streets of KL, took him back to their home in Sentul. It didn’t help that there’s a language barrier between them and a 5-year old kid who has the vocab of… well… er… a 5-year old with ADHD.

Now, unlike many Malaysians who have the convenience of media access or… can actually read, Mr. and Mrs. Abdul Rahman were illiterate and impoverished Burmese Rohingya refugees. Having fled the Burmese military regime, they fled to Malaysia and settled down in Sentul, the Harlem of Kuala Lumpur. No gunshots, just the slashing sounds of parangs and machetes.

Living in poverty with their five own children, their shack had no television, no radio, and of course… no Nintendo where Yin can hammer away on Mario Kart. So Mr. & Mrs. Abdul Rahman were totally unaware, or so they claimed… that the whole nation is out looking for that kid. Yin lived with the family in that slum for over a week. Oh yea, his head was also shaved bald.

The Burma-Shave treatment, I guess.

Only a week later, the couple saw a 'Missing' poster for Yin, one of many that had been plastered around the city. Realizing this, according to their story, they called the authorities.

Alls well, ends well... Yin was reunited with his family. And Mr. and Mrs. Abdul Rahman would get the thousands of ringgit in reward money for their deed, a hefty sum that'll greatly ease the burden of poverty and squalor they have to deal with daily. Unfortunately, that's only for Yin's family. For the Burmese couple, they would see none of the reward money that had been promised. Even worse, they were arrested by the cops on suspicion that they kidnapped the child. Their children were sent for DNA testing to see if they were actually theirs or collected from the street... like Yin. As for the slum community in Sentul where they lived, well... its gonna be demolished.

And the media went into another full feeding frenzy, this time speculating that the Burmese couple were part of a kidnapping ring that abducted children to be used as beggars. Amongst the many tabloids & newspapers ranting and raving about kidnapping gangs and those dodgy dark-skinned foreigners out to eat your young, local daily Utusan Melayu whipped up an editorial about begging syndicates that used children and somehow, that was related to Yin's case.

Eventually, the couple were freed after the cops were satisfied that no crime was committed. For their good deed in returning a missing child, Mr. and Mrs. Abdul Rahman had spent a few days in jail and were torn to shreds by a moral panic stirred up by the press. Little apology (if any at all), was offered for the trial-by-media they had to face.

I wonder if Michael Chong will now give them their two thousand ringgit?

The Burmese couple have been reunited with their children, but now they and their fellow Rohingya villagers might face homelessness by future demolition of their settlement.

Some reward for a good deed...


And in future, we should all remember the mantra...






Monday, April 23, 2007

Its Nearly Tax Day, Do You Know Where Your Form BE Is?

Listening to: The keypad on my calculator as I add up my tax rebates...


=======================

So here I am, taking time off to calculate my income taxes before April 30th. The table in the darkened dining room is cluttered with receipts, files, a calculator, and that tax form. The lamp overhead gives a harsh yellow, but warm and welcoming light. I was never a fluorescent person.

I should get a Jack Daniels & an unfiltered Lucky to add in the mood. And a fedora too...

Thursday, April 19, 2007

"We Need New Roads"

Listening to: Nothing yet...


==========================

A State Assemblyman in some electoral district in Malaysia had all of a sudden been receiving gifts from his constituents. Now these goodies weren't coming from his business buddies or rich Datuks, but from ordinary working class to middle class citizens like you and me. They would present cartons of unfiltered Camel ciggarettes, cigars, durian fruits, beer, XO Brandy, Martell, chocolates, and even packets of tasty 'nasi lemak' to the Yang Berhormat when they got the chance to meet him.

Heck, even Ah Seng who runs the 'bak-kut-teh' shop down the road had pledged meals on the house to the politician. Free meals of succulent pork in tasty herbal soup, plus all that cholestrol...

Puzzled, the state assemblyman wondered why all of a sudden the common folk were so good to him. He thought of any deed he just did that would have earned such gratefulness from the 'rakyat'. But, he couldn't recall anything he had done for that place after 2004.

Then came Muthu, with a 12-pack of Guinness Stout... all for the YB. The politician questioned him on his kindness. Muthu replied:

"Sir, I know you're surprised that we're so good to you recently. Especially since crime is high, the whole town council is corrupt, the drains flood because your business partners dump their construction waste everywhere, the roads need repair, the rubbish collection service and everything else has gone bad to worse, and nothing has been done despite all the letters we've written to you. So... um... so...

We figured we need a by-election".



Monday, April 16, 2007

A Useful Invention

Listening to: Nothing yet...


========================

Scientists should develop a lie-detector that can be strapped to a person's face. Whenever the person lies when he or she speaks, the device will extend a rubber prosthetic nose. We could compel all the politicians in the world to wear it, especially in Parliament/Congress. That way everyone can tell if someone is lying or not.

I'll call it the VBS3000. Visual Bullshit Detector. The VBS3000-P ('P' for politician) will be an improved version with three times more extension length.



Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Weekend Gig Report: HSDD, Telebury, Love Me Butch, Bittersweet

Listening to: Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat



=======================

4th floor, 60 Weld Quay is where we meetup every two weeks for movies. It also happens to be the offices for an NGO or two that deals with social issues in Penang.

One floor below is the apartment/studio/crash-pad of Cheong from Huse Di-Dai (HSDD). Plans are in the works to upgrade the DIY-recording studio with acoustic padding and better equipment, or so I've been told.


Last Sunday, several well-known local bands played at the gig there. Although it was planned to start at 2, the show only took off at around five o'clock... as the folks from Bittersweet were STILL on their way from KayheL. And lets not forget the one hour delay for soundcheck... conventional indie wisdom in Malaysia dictates that the show will actually start half to one hour later than stated...

Opening for the show was Cheong's screamo band HSDD. Then came Telebury...



Love Me Butch was next...



and finally post-punk band Bittersweet... who's gigs have been recently advertized in Junk mag.



And everyone had a great time... despite the delay...

Love Me Butch and their pals...


...and some of the folks from Bittersweet with their posse.



Note to self: Cellphone cam blows balls. Remember to bring camera next time.



Saturday, April 07, 2007

I'm Gonna Lie Down By The Poolside...

Listening to: Black Tambourine - Complete Recordings (mp3 available)




=====================

Gig this afternoon's been pushed to Sunday, so I'm gonna chill today by the apartment pool with a cold Tiger and a book I should have finished reading months ago.

Evening's the worst time to do that... too many crazy kids splashing about. So I better go now...



Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Whoa, Deja Vu!

Listening to: Nothing


=======================

So I was at X Inc.'s cafeteria this evening. My workpals were supposed to meet me for teatime but they went somewhere else. Ah well... all the egg tarts for me then.

Looking out through the glass wall/window, there was a black cat passing by. We have a number of strays living around X Inc.'s compound, but I've never seen this cat before.


Then came another black cat just like it.

I looked around expecting Agent Smith to burst through the doors... and thennnn... nope, just one of the techs from Failure Analysis on teabreak.


And then, comes yet another black cat... following the other two...


(image from Bob Paz's sign shop)



Three black cats in a row, all the same size. Either a glitch in the matrix or siblings from the same litter.

You decide...

Sunday, April 01, 2007

News For Today


Breaking News: 81% of Malaysians Cannot Name Current Prime Minister, According to Tun Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR: In a press conference held today at The Renaissance in downtown Kuala Lumpur, former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad revealed new facts he described as “shocking and disturbing”.

“I’ve had my men question a sample of over 3,000 Malaysians on the street to evaluate the rakyats’ understanding of current events”, mentioned Tun Dr. Mahathir.

One of the questions in the survey was about who the present prime minister of Malaysia is. According to him, most answers to that particular question were “blatantly incorrect”.

“Can you believe that around 67% mentioned some person called Badawi?” he said. “I don’t know who this man is but he can’t be doing any good. Who does he think he is, influencing two-thirds of the population to think he’s PM?”

He also added that 8% of the respondents believed that Tun Daim Zainuddin was currently the Prime Minister, with the other six percent giving various answers such as Tun Abdul Razak, Elvis, Sudirman, Lim Kit Siang, and “a coconut” (sic).

On an optimistic note, he added that the remaining 19% of respondents gave “Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohammad” as the answer.

“Although it should be ‘Tun’, we should at least give them some credit for that”.

“But that should not cloud the fact that four-fifths of the rakyat are wrong!”

The idea among the majority that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is the incumbent Malaysian Prime Minister had apparently caused Mahathir some inconvenience. In February, his motorcade was stopped from entering the gates of the Prime Minister’s official residence.

“I told the guard that I live here. Can you believe he actually had the audacity to say that I’m no longer the PM?! I ordered his supervisor to discipline him and all he said was ‘Tun, Badawi kini PM’”

Dr. Mahathir is planning a meeting with Badawi to “clear the air” regarding this issue.



Lim Keng Yaik To Step Down, This Time For Sure

PUTRAJAYA: Current Gerakan party president Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik has once again confirmed that he will retire from his post after serving at that position since 1980. He mentioned that his decision was totally final and he really really meant it”.

“Time again, again, again and again in the past couple of years, I have said that I will step down. Now this time you will see it. Confirmed, I swear”.

Speaking to reporters at Putrajaya, Keng Yaik reiterated his decision to retire. Although potentially no longer Gerakan’s president, he will still retain his appointment as Energy, Water and Communications Minister.

“Perhaps I had a couple of false starts when I said I would be stepping down years back. Not this time. My detractors say I’m taking my time but Gerakan wasn’t ready yet. I wasn’t ready too. Now this time I will step down and I will mean it this time when I say I will step down”.

Chief Minister of Penang, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon is expected to succeed Keng Yaik as president of the Gerakan Party, whenever that may be.



Jesus Claims Responsibility For Disrupting Blogger’s Internet

PEARLY GATES: At a press conference held at the entrance to heaven today, Jesus Christ claimed to reporters present that he was the individual responsible for the temporary glitch in blogger Mohd. Niesham Juferi’s internet service, which left him without a connection to the world for a couple of weeks.

“It was simple, man. I jus went to the server, and severed… heh heh… pun intended… his internet by unplugging the network cable. That’s it!”

Jesus added that He and his followers then set back and observed as Mohd. Juferi, also known as Menj on Malaysia's online community, attempted to restore his connection by purchasing new hardware, cables, and finally, attempting to contact his subscriber's customer service.

Jesus at a press conference with reporters showing the
network cable he easily disconnected


“Of course, then after some weeks I took pity on him, walked to the server room, and put the plug back in. Even TMNet couldn't figure out the problem all this while! Anyway, their service reps are always playing Solitare when answering customers, so whaddaya expect?”.

Despite the critical articles about him and his followers usually posted on the webblog, Jesus praised the website for bringing humor and occasionally, “followers to Christ”.

The irony, he added, was the website was saturated with commercials, including advertisements for Christianity right next to an article condemning Christians.

“Man, I had a couple o’ atheists go there to ahem… ‘seek the truth about the deception of Christianity’ or some junk like that. They clicked on the GoogleAd ‘Christ Is Your Savior’ there, and next thing you know, they’re gonna be baptized next Sunday! Praise be to me!”

When contacted, Mohd. Juferi expressed anger at the claims made by Jesus and swore to further persist in efforts to criticize Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and the faith of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He added that the broken internet connection had also affected his source of income.

“I knew it was him all along! Oh, how could a naked guy swinging RefinanceYourHomeLoan from a cross defeat me like that?! Nonetheless, I will continue to GetAGreenCardNOW expose nonIslamic religions, especially Christianity for the fraud they are! I will have my revenge! Buy eggs online!” speaking to reporters at his Penang Island residence.

"Do you know through DiTech.com you can get mortgages at favourable terms?"

Mr. Juferi then went on an explanation about the advantages of purchasing flowers through the internet, in response to a reporter's question about his plan to prevent future disruptions to his internet service.


Kevin Federline's Album Reappraised By Critics

NEW YORK: In a reevaluation expected to rock the music world, many music critics worldwide have reversed their negative reviews towards Kevin Federline's debut album, "Playing With Fire". The singer and former spouse of Britney Spears has been plagued by overwhelming criticism tossed towards his musical career, with album sales flopping, premature dumping of excess CDs into discount bins, and low turnout at his concerts. But this recent development might change his fortunes for the better.

Most critics were unable to clearly explain the reason their turnaround. But many came to the consensus that Federline's album, although may sound banal on the first listening, can become appreciative if taken from a serious intellectual and musical viewpoint.

"I have changed my view on this", mentions famed critic Robert Christgau. "Clearly Mr. Federline displays his emcee prowess and one can emphatize with his storytelling about growing up on the streets of Fresno, California."

"Four stars out of five", he added.

Kevin Federline raps to a sold-out crowd
at Old Trafford Stadium in England

Included were also famed music magazine, Rolling Stone, who bumped Federline's album to Number 5 on their "Top 50 Albums Of 2006" list. Former No.5 position, Ghostface Killah's album "Fishscale", was knocked out of the list as a result. Pitchfork Media has also commended the album, giving it a rare 10.0 rating and praising the album's standout song "Popozao" for its "intrinsic ability to tear and indoubitably move the soul".

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Penang's Very Own Alternative Film Club

Listening to: Camera Obscura - Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi








======================

A bunch of film buffs got together last November and started an alternative movie club. Every two weeks on Sunday evening, we'd gather at a dingy office space at 60 Weld Quay (near the Penang Island ferry terminal). Films screened there would be stuff not so well known in Malaysia, such as 'Elling', 'The Motorcycle Diaries', 'Porco Rosso', etc. Occasionally, we would have short films made by a couple of members before the main feature...


Now, we have a website for the group, with a rather straightforward name:

Its called the Penang Film Club

Yeah, i'm a contributor there...


* * * * * *

Andddd... we have a show THIS coming Sunday evening. 8PM.

This weekend's flick will be "Night on Earth". Directed by Jim Jarmusch (this same bloke also did 'Broken Flowers' and the 'Coffee & Cigarettes' series), this movie is about the lives of five different taxi drivers working in different corners of the world, and their encounters with their passengers.

From rottentomatoes.com (rated 80% fresh):
In Los Angeles, a young female driver (Winona Ryder) charms her passenger--an agent (Gena Rowlands) who believes she’s found her latest movie star in the tomboyish cabbie. In New York, a man (Giancarlo Esposito) gets into a taxi and finds that his immigrant driver (Armin Mueller-Stahl) has no idea how to drive. The Paris segment features an angry sightless woman (Beatrice Dalle) who provokes her African driver (Isaach de Bankole). In Rome, Roberto Benigni is a taxi driver who confesses his odd sexual practices to a clergyman (Paolo Bonacelli) and is shocked when the priest has a heart attack. The film’s climactic scene in Helsinki follows a cabdriver who listens to a tragic tale from one of his three drunk passengers only to top him with his own, sadder story...

See you there...





Monday, March 26, 2007

I Went To Kiasuland And Yo La Tengo Beat My Ass...

Listening to: Yo La Tengo - I'm Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass



========================

For some undetermined reason, most international bands mainstream or indie, would bypass Malaysia and head for Singapore instead. Yo La Tengo was among those who gave us the pass, and they were in Kiasuland for the Mosaic Music Festival. Unlike Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, or Roskilde, where you get all down and dirty with the chance to swim in a sea of mud like piggies …



"Oink... Oink..."

…Mosaic would be a prim and “proper” music fest at The Esplanade, which is a bunch of posh concert halls, exhibition galleries, and auditoriums overlooking Marina Bay. Seating here will be numbered… and expensive. Despite the average price of Sg$90 (RM200) for a good seat in the middle, the auditorium was packed. O yea… no photographs allowed.

There was no opening band. After a robotic introduction by the emcee, the band failed to immediately appear, and the audience started getting rather noisy. And then… the Trio appeared… kicking off two pieces from their earlier works… and later, the song “Pass The Hatchet” from their newest album “I’m Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass”.


From left: James, Georgia, and Ira


This whole track lasted a good over TEN damn minutes. Very… very… prog-rock.

Now, the thing about Yo La Tengo is they’ve been around for over 20 years, almost as old as me. Try as you might to pigeonhole them into a genre... YOU will fail. Lead guitarist Ira, drummer Georgia, and bass-man James has covered a wide variety of styles, most often putting their own innovation and twists to a particular genre they decided to do. Jesus & Mary Chain style shoegazing? Did that with a cover of the Beach Boys “Little Honda” among all else. Country? Ja! Ambient style electro music? Yep. Twee style pop? … its in their latest album, Track No. 12.

Working quietly in the darkened corner of the stage, was a bald dude tuning and preparing Ira’s guitars. For almost every different style of song they will next play, Ira Kaplan would swap guitars with the tech. I reckoned he went through around 5 guitars and did more than 8 swaps at least…


Even after this awesome sonicworks display of Yo La Tengo’s musical ability, I have to admit… I’m STILL not a fan, even after owning two albums, a single, plus an E/P that I fished out of the discount bin in a San Jose record shop this January. But lets just say that I do appreciate their music in a good way. As for the rest of the audience, it seemed the entire battalion of Singapore’s Yo La Tengo fans came out in full force tonight to have a good time.

The Trio left the stage, but later returned for an encore of two more songs. The first was just… to me… just got ‘interesting’ towards the end. Ira decided one more time to display his skills with his guitar by smacking his electric-guitar’s strings on his lap… an action that somehow produced a sound that melded coherently with the last third of “We Are An American Band”. For the last song which Ira decided to ask the crowd to choose, my request for “Little Honda” was drowned out by a cacophony of screams from the others for a whole other titles like “Sugarcube”, to “Danelectro”, to stuff which I’ve never probably heard. They settled on “You Can Have It All”.


Is Tiger Beer Singaporean?!

Sixty folks had the golden chance to meet them after the show. I was among them...

One of the lucky fans...


This girl above asked Ira if he's "enjoying the beer". When he said yes, she
said it is "our very own" Singaporean brewed stuff.

O RLY?!



And me finally getting to meet Yo La Tengo.
(For mystery points, I've cropped the portion where I am)


The Trio and I laughing at a funny piece of trivia in the mag they were
signing. Seems like Ira doesn't own a cellphone... a perplexity for many folks
today, especially Singaporeans & Malaysians.



Milling about in the foyer, I chatted with a bunch of Norwegians who were at the gig. Apparently they’re with this jazz band known as the Jaga Jazzists, playing tomorrow. Think.com.my has a review here of their performance.

A couple of Singaporean bloggers were also there and wrote reviews.
And, you can download two of Yo La Tengo’s songs for free:

Beanbag Chair
Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Statistical Fact: Did You Know That...

Listening to: Monsters Are Waiting - Fascination



======================


10,000 bloggers are women and 8,000 of them are liars, and 95% of statistics are made up on the spot...?
Trite but true...



Thursday, March 15, 2007

Ass Pee Em

Listening to: Nothing again...


=======================

So the Sijil Penilaian Menangah (SPM) results are out, and as expected the media runs its stories on who got how many As' and how they got it. Its a yearly ritual
.

For those non-Malaysians who are wondering, the SPM is some mandatory exam for high school students in Malaysia in order for us to graduate. Near-equivalents include the O-Levels, GCSE, and of course, the SAT. Yes, I took it. I HAD to take it...

Ten subjects I signed up for, the last being "Principles Of Accounting". The rest were the core subjects of Malay Language, English Language, History, Advanced Mathematics (Calculus, Statistics), Modern Mathematics (as opposed to "Ancient Maths"?), Moral Education and the Big Three of highschool science; Physics, Biology and Chemistry. At that time, we were limited to a maximum of around twelve courses... and I already had my back full with ten.

I won't go into the details of my results... but it included 8As and a C6 for Moral Education.

Speaking of "Moral Education", the subject was supposed to forge us into "better upstanding moral citizens" (or something like that) through blind memorization and regurgitation of moral values and their meanings. Somehow we would become better persons by just memorizing the characteristics of what a "honest" person should be like, and the difference between "baik hati" (kindness) and "murah hati" (generosity). Not suprising that many despised this asinine subject, but there was no escape from it as it was compulsary in our educational system.

On that day in 1999, half an hour before the "Moral Education" exam was to begin, some students decided to brighten up the mood... literally. An old Datsun had been abandoned on the road between SM La Salle (that was my skool), and the Hin Hua Chinese Secondary School. Apparently it had been sitting there for weeks. The guys overturned the piece of junk... and... set it on fire. Yep, just minutes before sitting for an exam on a subject that supposedly makes us into upstanding, obedient citizens of Malaysia. The irony.

To this day, I wonder if those runts were just having a bit of fun, or sending a message to Najib that this subject (and to an extent, the nation's public educational system) totally blows balls. They danced around the burning vehicle like tribals, had their photos taken with the flames in the background, and only fled when the fire department's sirens came.



Reading today's paper, it seems you can now take more than TWENTY subjects in the SPM.

What's the point exactly???

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

I Went To Kiasuland And Rode The Subway...

Listening to: Nothing


=======================

I've been out for the past 4 days in Singapore, on a well deserved break. Any time off work is well deserved anyway. The hostel at Little India had no computer terminals and the connection at the internet cafe next door sucked. So all I could do was check my email.

Yeah, I know whatta saying... "Dude, you can go to another cafe around the corner!" True, true... but I have better things to do in Singapore than pay 2 Kiasuland dollars/30mins to burn my eyes out in front of a yellowed pc monitor, you know...

Shopping isn't one of them, however...



Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Commujism Or Death!

Listening to: Nothing


=====================

I was reading today's "Questionable Content" comic... and nearly sprayed my monitor with the Jager+Sprite I was drinking...






Monday, March 05, 2007

No Wonder Penang's Bus System's Fucked Up

Listening to: Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One







=====================

"Public transport" and "Penang" are two words that should never be in the same sentence without the word "terrible", "atrocious", "shitty", or any other negative descriptor. Everytime the conversation shifts to the island's bus service, my relatives or colleagues will NEVER have anything good to say.

Earlier I had a chat with this guy who's a member of the Bus User's Group, a commuters' organization pressing for better public transport in Penang. The bus companies, according to him, actually RENT out their buses to independent individuals/organizations, who then do the actual task of running the vehicles. That's right folks... he said "rent". So that explains the following:
  • buses departing based on number of passengers, not schedule
  • which means buses never arrive on time (very long delays are common, and we're not talking 15 minutes)
  • buses not sticking to their planned route... drivers will make detours if they find out their planned route is choked with traffic, which is inevitable in Penang
  • the lack of numbered buses, routes, proper schedules & maps
  • drivers (sometimes the same guys who rented the bus) trying to make as many trips per day
  • drivers forcing passengers of mid-route. "Ok! We'll stop in Burmah Road here. Semua turun! C'mon, get out! You going to Tanjung Tokong? Aww... too bad! Anyway, here's a 50sen refund"

After all, if you're an indie operator renting a bus from some guy who's too lazy to run things themselves, your objective is to make as much cash as possible by the end of the workday. Especially when you and your ticket conductor partner are paying RM200 (~U$53) to have your own bus for the day...

Maybe I should rent my own bus, get Tam from Church Street to be conductor and plow the route between Komtar and Bukit Jambul. That would be a sweet way to make extra dough in the weekends...

Thursday, March 01, 2007

PAKU-ed It On The Head

Listening to: Nothing


========================

A local celebrity who was supposed to appear at the Oscars' in Los Angeles, apparently went AWOL due to a "wardrobe malfunction". Fortunately her partner who came along for the show did make it on the carpet, amidst the glamour, champaign, and flashbulbs. One Malaysian didn't get her chance at a small sliver of fame...


On the other hand, a bunch of Malaysians just left this Tuesday for the UK. My pal Lina's one of them, and her band "Paku" will be touring Britain, Ireland, and hopefully(?) France.

Nice shades babe!


Paku is signed to indie-label Deathstar Productions . Their publicist/manager was game enough to arrange a tour of the British Isles, which is something EMI or the majors won't do for you. Clueless record exec: "What? You wanna play at Glastonbury?! Er... anyway... I think your new album needs more 'cinta' & 'rindu' in it, plus we should add more synthisizer. And we've already chosen the front cover for you... designed by my cousin."

So far, they did an interview yesterday with BBC Radio's Adam Walton. Right now as I'm writing this... they're about to do a gig at The Monkey Bar in Swansea, Wales...

Then on March 4th, it'll be at Whistlebinkies in Edinburgh...

If you Malaysian readers within those areas in England are interested... go see them.


And then, where next & when? Gee, the website is all jumbled up... its hard to get show info at a glance. Hey Alan, streamline your webpage will 'ya?! Here's a good example if you need one! Simple, no Flash, easy to read, and information easily (and quickly) available. And yes, I've seen the Watson Twins live.

Ok thats it. Thank you for listening to WPNG. Goodnight and good luck...



Monday, February 26, 2007

Probably Not A Cultural Desert...

Listening to: Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country









=====================

I was thinking of writing about my trip to see M Ward in San Francisco last Feb 3rd. But then, several things have been going on recently, that I think I oughta to write first...

So Matt... you'll just hafta wait... sorry


One of my friends just left Penang for Singapore... after six years on The Island she needed a different environment and a new change in her life. Penang was becoming too stagnant for her after six years... especially in the A&E field. To me, Singapore may be cooler when it comes to the arts, but when it comes to political stuff or things that encourages the masses to start thinking critically... it remains rather sedated, forcefully.

I've lived here for just over a year, and I had always found it to be snail paced and underdeveloped when it came to public transportation and entertainment, given its large population. Last Saturday, I had a chat with a painter/art-gallery manager after joget-ing with a 50-something Nyonya in a slinky kebaya at some exhibition of Penang Chinese cultures near Armenian & Chulia Street. His frank opinion was... that the Penang crowd aren't very appreciative of art, despite living in among the most historical and culturally richest cities in Malaysia. Given the large throngs of locals at the event, I could not agree totally... but I felt some sense in what he said. He wasn't the first person I had met in Penang to bitch about the scene... or lack thereof...

For an island-city of 1.5 million people, there's surprisingly little demand for entertainment aside from commercialized pop music (English, Chinese, and Malay), film, and theatre. GSC-Gurney is nearly empty when its screening non-Hollywood/Hongkongwood/Bollywood foreign movies and indie local flicks. And according to a friend, USM-Penang once had a film club that did screenings. But it died out due to a lack of interest amongst the students. An on-campus film club going bust because no students were interested?! Now that's a shock.

PS: We have our own little society (started last November) near Weld Quay that shows alternative foreign films via projector onto a white wall. If you're interested, email me.


I wonder sometimes if KL acts like this giant vacuum cleaner... sucking in all the A&E people from all over Malaysia (including Penang) into it? Kuala Lumpur offers better opportunities, a better appreciative crowd, and a bigger pool of fellow filmmakers, artists, and musicians that you can draw support and influence from.

Or maybe the people are there, but they're all scattered among the island with no idea of finding folks with similar interests?


Thursday, February 22, 2007

Finally, A Putera UMNO Idea I Support...

Listening to: Deathmole - Pavement Were A Bunch Of Lazy Wankers [mp3]


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Call the Royal Malaysian Airforce and ask if they've picked up any flying cows on radar... Because Putera UMNO has finally proved itself potentially useful. After the past few years of keris-waving, race-baiting, threats, and fascist rethoric they've been spewing onto the Malaysian political landscape, they've finally come up with a plan that would potentially benefit all law-abiding Malaysians.

Mat Rempit to jump at North Pole

20 Feb 2007


KUALA LUMPUR: Ten Putera Umno members, mostly Mat Rempit, will attempt a free fall jump from an aircraft over the North Pole in April.

Led by its chief, Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, the team will also be accompanied by TV3 personality Hazran Mohammed and three skydiving instructors.

The participants, aged between 18 and 25, were selected from 100 youth tested all over the country.

Malaysia is the only Asian country, along with New Zealand, United States and United Kingdom, to participate in the jump on April 18.

The event is also being held in conjunction with the 50th Merdeka celebration this year.



Can you believe how fucking cool this is?! Instead of racing to death on the street and almost getting mangled in my Oldsmobile's wheel-well, you can now parachute from a transport plane at several thousand feet over inhospitable terrain perpetually covered by snow and ice, where the nearest form of civilization is several hundred miles away in a form of a research station or Inuit settlement. Did I mention the Government is paying for all this?

I reccomend that Putera UMNO expand this expedition to send more Mat Rempit's to the North Pole. Heck, the Government should step in and make this mandatory for all Mat Rempits. Gerakan and MCA can also join by sending large numbers of Ah Bengs and Ah Longs captured by Michael Chong. Hishamuddin should also go along as a squad leader to lead by example...

All you Greenpeace/WWF-types bitching about "damage to the Artic environment" shouldn't worry. The harsh environment and hostile fauna (like polar bears) should work itself and remove all traces of the expedition members' presence in a short period of time.

If you don't support this expedition, then you are not patroitik. That goes for you too, Uncle Lim!



SMS Your Views


> Dr Mahathir's nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Cngrats 2 DrM 4 dis. Hope u get it. u make Malaysia proud and proud for all malaysian.

If liek this, then oso Saddam can get? Maybe shud nominate Bush also, since Dr M can.


> Mat Rempit menace


Now Putra umno want use mat rempit as police? wat next, send mat rempit to north pole?


> Air Asia vs. MAS


Price war is good for all Malaysian. Low price means i can go Kuching-KL back very cheap. Now only RM59.99

Air Asia service sux. Cannot change flight easily. Very dificult. 44 min before flight check in mean you cannot get on. Screw u Tony!

I take the train anyways. Like to see the countryside. Not applicable 2 me.


> Vijay_d_deejay6485 is gay

Vijay is a faget. After sk00l im gonna bantai you muthafukka. u wach out!


> Fake bomohs

Every day got people trick by fake bomoh n monk. MCA pls do sumting!


> Potholed roads

Chulia Street in penang very bumpy. MPPP pls do something

Gelugor roads very bumpy. MPPP please do something

Got big potholes in downtown KL. what is DBKL doing?! Pls do something

No more clean underwear, help. Goverment pls do something


> SMS your views expensive

Y sms is RM2.99 per msg?! cheating! Should report to CAP!!


> Standard of English declining

Evry day English gettng bad 2 worse in country. ppls use slang. Govermen pls do something!