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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Christmas Family Dinner 2006

Sorry I was late posting this... got too distracted by all the food and sleeping. ^_^
Used Google's Picasa2 service to upload them. Only 250 Mb size maximum for free accounts but it's sufficient for now. ^_^

Click here to view.

We didn't take a lot of pics. Maybe because we were hungry. :)
The pics without flash were taken by me, because I like the dim lighting, creates the mood for it. However, the others preferred the pics to be totally brightened with the camera flash. Ugh... ^_^

Yes, it was dark after we took the pics, but that's not something we cannot fix after some brightness adjustment with Photoshop, right?


Me and my love. See? It's not that bad... ya?

From christmasdinn...




OK, hears a clear one to be fair.


Two of the three women I love the most in my life - Mama and Sharm. (My sis, Cindy, is in Japan :( )
From christmasdinn...



I have mentioned many times that I was out of shape. Many have doubted it. Here's the secret: it's all in the angles.



Here's how I really look like:

Our family dinner.

From christmasdinn...


--------

Overall, the dinner was really great, a nice buffet at Casuarina Hotel lounge restaurant, Ipoh. Sharm joined us, but I feel bad for not bringing her family along.

The food was excellent. Most of everyone left the salmon alone, so I literally ate half of the plate served on the buffet table. Other than that, the barbecued mutton and beef was juicy and nice. As with the local cuisines - ginger chicken, roasted duck, mixed veges, salad, "localized" pasta...etc. The fruits still sucks, it's the one thing that never change about this place. But the cakes... man, the cakes were fantastic. Why, I couldn't even bring myself to eat some of them because they look so nice.


U can't touch dis...

From christmasdinn...



Hope your Christmas was good too!

.... and now on to the New Year!!

Friday, December 29, 2006

Miracle turned Tragedy... because of "culprit" - NO FOLLOW UP!

I had hesitated to post this... but now I HAVE to get it off my chest.

Go here to read the previous post on this matter

Sunday December 10, 2006
Cops yet to receive instruction on SMS case


IPOH: Police are still waiting for instructions from the At-torney-General’s Chamber on whether to charge a woman for her alleged involvement with the SMS on the purported baptism of Muslims at a church here.

Deputy Perak police chief Senior Asst Comm (I) Datuk Tan Seng Eng said police had yet to receive any instructions after investigation papers on the matter were submitted at the end of last month.

The woman, in her 40s, and her 38-year-old husband, were released on police bail on Nov 27.

SAC (I) Tan was speaking to reporters after launching the Ipoh district police crime prevention campaign at a shopping complex here yesterday.

Early last month, protesters had gathered in front of the church in Silibin here after rumours of the purported baptism spread through SMS. It turned out to be the first Holy Communion for about 100 Catholic children.

Source here



Sunday December 9, 2006

Perak Deputy Police Chief SAC 1 Datuk Tan Seng Eng said the police had yet to receive any directive.
"As it is now, we are not making any more arrests," he told reporters after launching an anti-crime campaign organised by Ipoh City Police at a shopping complex here today.

Source here


In summary - it's been a month, and still no action taken. Nuff said.

And why am I not surprised?

1) Note that after the bail release, the "culprit" is being SENT HOME in a police car. With police escort. ... How nice. a good "VIP" treatment for criminals.

2) Note that the court is still UNDECIDED whether to charge the "culprit" under the Sedition Act OR to grant her an unconditional release... How noble. Eating their own promises and words. (They have boldly declared that the culprit would definitely be charged and punished, as echoed by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister)

3) Note that it's been ONE WHOLE MONTH since the bail release, and still no verdict, no action taken, no news at all... How thoughtful. To let the news fade by itself, hopefully the public may forget about it soon.

Bleh. I am going to be sick.

It all within my expectations on how the situation will end, way back when the problem first started. In fact, when I received the news about Item (2) above, it has sealed my predictions to the wall.

Here's a homework for you --> try and guess what would have happened if the races were reversed. i.e. Chinese/Indians protesting in front of a mosque.



You know... part of me had hoped, that at least something will change this time. But as you can see, the government and police have let us down. Yet again.



... And people ask me why I'm not supportive of my own country.


.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Of Christmas Holidays and a Blast from the Past...

Had relaxing holiday, I can't remember the last time I slept this much, but it was really therapeutic. My headaches have calmed down, but I don't expect it to go away soon. On Christmas night, had a wonderful dinner with my parents and my fiance. The pictures are in my pen-disk, but I'm too lazy to go dig it in my luggage. I've just reached home, and getting ready to sleep. Tomorrow's back to reality and work. *sigh*

Firstly, today is OUR anniversary, my fiance and me. Today was our 2 year anniversary of our first date. We met again on Christmas morning after separated for 9 years and I asked her out on the next day. Two years. Time flies when you're having fun, no? It wasn't just all fun, there were tears also. But I'm glad we made it this far. (Sounds like a love song I've heard somewhere?)... But it's been a swell two years, and I'm wishing the next two, twenty or two hundred years would remain the same.... (If we could live that long, that is. ^_^)

Secondly, need to show this... my haircut.



Needed a change of mood and therefore a change of hairstyle. Now I don a Visual Kei hairstyle. Dyed it brown-red, with spikes. This will take up an extra 10 minutes of my mornings to style 'em up. But it's worth it. Next, I need to work on my weight problem. No point having a cool looking hair but having a unfit body. So it's back to the weights and running shoes from this day on.

In other news.... a blast from my past.

Many years ago, I helped the Lagenda BEC in Taman Song Choon area, to start out a caroling troupe. With my previous experiences of caroling with the church choir, I was confident to lend what little help I can to get them started. It was a great fun and a successful endeavor. However, controversy arises when the church choir questioned my commitment and loyalty by doing this. Loyalty? Commitment? Golly, since when we have sub-societies within our church? Truly, I was torn apart between the two. But I decided to divied my time between the choir and training these group of people to be able to sing carols. End of the day, we had a blast, other than caroling in their BEC Christmas party, we even went commercial and performed in a hotel lounge. I watched a group of under-trained adults, teens and children, with raw and unpolished voices... transform into a group of mini-choir with voices of angels, singing with sheer confidence. But this has brought some unspoken tension between me and the church choir.

For a long time, the choir has been the Microsoft of the church. Total monopoly of carol requests and control on who gets in the choir or not. This, in my view, had the choir members' noses high up in the clouds, and that is not good. I followed my heart and gave a group of lay-people a chance, finally, to sing their hearts out, spreading the Christmas cheer in their own way. Also, hopefully, the church choir can learn something from this. But I ended up looking like a two-faced, double-crosser. Was what I did wrong? That question has haunted me for a long time.

Finally, an SMS from a leader of the BEC came today, with Christmas greetings... and short words expressing that they missed my carolling support, but they managed to do it on their own this year. I was happy, that at least I have made a difference in a small way. I don't know how many times that they have done it ever since I stopped leading their carolling, but I was glad that they didn't stop there. A certain feeling of nostalgia occupied my mind the entire day, and I can sigh in relief, that all my effort did not go to waste. Praise the Lord!

However.... when I shared this with three of the most important people in my life - Papa, Mama and my fiance,.... it was met with disinterest. I was saddened, that I can find nowhere to share my joy.... *sigh*... Oh well...

I wish the Lagenda BEC knew that they have made an old forgotten soul happy this day. And how they changed my life, just as much I hope I have changed theirs.

Will post the pictures mentioned tomorrow.... Peace ^_^

Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas to Everyone! ^_^

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Had a great Christmas morning. Usually I don't look forward to Christmas mornings, because I have to get up early in the morning to prepare for mass. I prefer lazing around me bed, wrapping myself in my blanket in the cold, and chilly morning. But it was worth the trouble.

Actually we saw some great things in church since yesterday. Last night we went for the usual weekend sunset mass. And where we sat, a young lady had pushed in an old man, with tubes still attached to his nostrils and wrists. He was clearly half dazed there, but I think he knows where he was. I've seen this old soul before, he was always there at the right wing, in a wheelchair pushed by his daughter (presumably) but this was the first time I saw him in half-conscious state and with tubes. Father Rudy (redemptorist priest from OMPH) descended from the altar and came to his wheelchair for a special blessing for him, which afterwards he addressed to the congregation that THIS was a miracle and an example to be learned. His message in his sermon and closing homily is to look deep in our hearts for a reason, to find joy even during our darkest times. This, I agree very much... only a couple of days since I posted the story of my injury history, and Father Rudy pretty much summed it up for me.

This morning, more elderly, blind, and sickly people came for the Christmas morning mass. Father Michael Cheah was more than glad to come down from the altar as well, to present the Eucharist to those who have trouble moving around. Mama said to me that she wished that Ah Poh (grandma), though sickly, could have done the same. Ah, but... I know Jesus would have came to her room anyway. Though it could have been good for her to come to church, which she didn't for the last how-many years. Excuses? I don't know, that's between God and her.

I called up an old friend from Catechism class after mass, and set up a meeting with her. Gosh, she was still as beautiful as the last time I met her. She's single now. Anyone who wants her number can call me, but please remember to attach a cheque thereafter.

Then I called up another dude who was supposed to meet up with me for drinks last week. Haven't met him for some time already. So I'm roping him in, because we were Catechism classmates too (as is my fiance). This will be a cool reunion. ^_^



However, my Christmas present was given away. That was the only casualty.

The gramaphone that I wanted to pick up during this weekend, was given away to some fellow. It seems that the new owner of our old house gave the gramaphone set to the contractor (who was renovating the house), and in turn shipping it to another person. Papa and Mama was throwing blames at each other, while I, though disappointed, said that's it's fine. Shouldn't really claim back an item that was given away, sounds silly anyway. Papa was adamant, in spite of me asking him to give up, he stubbornly asked the new owner for numbers so that he can try to get it back. What a bloody waste of time.

I was cool about it, really. But what pisses me off is that Papa putting up some effort when it was already GONE. If something was to be done, it could have been in AUGUST, when I said I wanted it. Now it's making our family look like a bunch of laughing stock. *sigh*. I blame myself for not taking charge of the situation. Maybe the gramaphone set would have been around if I asked for the numbers a couple months back.

Now, I'm blogging, Papa's in the kitchen washing something and Mama's sweeping the hall. We're all obviously in a bad mood, and we're finding something to do, just to occupy our mind. :)
.... Well, you gain some,.... you lose some.... :)
Overall it's a good Christmas. Hope you had a merry one too.


Happy Holidays everyone!
Peace to all ^_^

Friday, December 22, 2006

Not quite right in the mind, body and soul.... But I'm blessed.

Angry Idiot: "You bastard!! You better go get your head checked or something...!!"
Me: "Well, actually I had an MRI scan last week. Thanks for your concern."

That would be my standard answer whenever somebody decide to insult me with the age-old muse of brain related put-downs.

**********


I went to the University Malaya Medical Centre to get an appointment with a neurologist in order to book a time to get an MRI scan. However the nearest date I can get is March 16th next year. That's what you get for being the best hospital with the best facilities. I was hospitalised there before when I got run down by a car years ago. Other than the poor security, that place is a cool place, one would mistake it for a hotel because of the good service.

Anyways, I went back to the clinic to see if I can get referred to another hospital for a sooner date, but no dice. Anywhere else will blow a big hole in my wallet. So I'm sticking to the booked date. And in the meanwhile, it's time I put on my running shoes again and shoot some hoops, to stay good health and hopefully keep me in better shape.

I rarely talk about my past injuries, but would gladly indulge whenever someone asks. So here's how it's like in a nutshell... for those who don't know.


This brain scan thing, is the second time I remember feeling this down. The first was when I was diagnosed with a case of slip-disc 9 years ago. Two herniated intervertabral disc, pressing against my spinal cord at the lower lumbar. I could have been paralysed from the left side of my body.

It was because I was super active in sports way back in school, particularly basketball. Did lots of weight-lifting and lots of running. Took part in "sports marathon" with my friends. (11 hours of consecutive running, basketball, soccer and swimming) I was in my fittest (and hottest) when I was 17. But my reckless weight-lifting practices and over-the-edge activity finally reached its limit. The last straw was when I was jumping for a rebound and swinging around for a behind-the-back pass on landing. That was when I hear the scariest sound ever - the "Crack!" sound of my lower back finally giving way. I remember sitting down, unable to stand, while assuring my team mates that I was OK. But I'm not. The images of the MRI scan of my back, showed me the most frightening thing I have ever laid my eyes upon.

I was in total state of anguish and self-hate. Even loathed God for my incompetent body and sad fate. Weeks later after I was discharged, I travelled 200km to Sunway Pyramid for the (now demolished) largest roller coaster ride with my godbrother. Two consecutive times. (Note: Roller coasters are forbidden for people with a weak heart or bad backs) I was hoping to get myself killed there and then. But it never happened. (Yeah, I was a real stupid teenager back then...)

I love sports, and my physical ability as the one thing I took pride in. I remember taking on 3 people at the same time in a basketball game, and beat them at it. But like Titanic, God took me down, crushing my pride to pieces. I think God was trying to teach me a lesson, the hard way. I soon reconciled with God a few years after. Right now, even though I cannot sit/stand for a long time without the feeling of pain in my back, even though I cannot lift heavy objects, even though I cannot take part in sports as vigorously as before, even though my fit and muscular physique is now replaced with a fat and undertoned body..... at least I am still breathing and I can still walk.


Now comes my headache. Possibly migraine, possibly burnout. I don't know. But I was feeling down yesterday. I tried to push my limits again, this time at work. I am the type that would give all my energy and effort to accomplish things. Will not hesitate to put up over-nighters and programming marathons if needed be. Even though for the past weeks, the office have been quiet... the side-effects of my activities for the past year have finally shown its ugly head. I attribute this NOT to genetic inheritance of my family's history of hypertension and high blood pressure. But to my excessive working hours, irregular eating/sleeping habits, and long periods in front of the computer. In short, unhealthy lifestyle. Again, my over-the-edge lifestyle have taken me down with a side Russian leg-sweep. But after all the concern and support given to me by Papa, Mama(who cried), my fiance and my boss, tells me that I don't have to be that miserable. My bad mood has lasted me less than 24 hours. I feel that I have made a significant improvement and is definitely a stronger person. (even though I don't look like it physically) ^_^

My head is not fully healthy, my body is a wreck, my soul definitely scarred... but indeed I am blessed.

Have a nice day... ^_^

Thursday, December 21, 2006

It's Back.... and worse than ever.....

Went to the doctor's today. Because of food poisoning. Also to double-check my headache and my blood pressure again. But the latter results made me forget to ask the doctor to check on my crummy stomach...

After some general diagnosis, and questions, the doctor decided to refer me to the neuro-specialist for brain scan or an MRI scan, suspecting that my headache may be because of migraine, and something more. I knew I shouldn't have told the doc about me seeing double-visions at night. I thought that was because of lack of sleep, but the doctor thinks otherwise. Scans and diagnosis like that costs a bomb, about RM 700 not counting consultation. So I asked the doctor to refer me to the General Hospital instead, it's cheaper that way.

Ya know,....I've been thinking of posting some old photos and old stories in my life, onto this blog. Sort of a "Flashback Special Series" blogging kind of thing. I remembered that it was said that when people facing death, they see their life flash before their eyes. A sign of things to come for me?

Have taken the half day off, will be going to office in a while. Still thinking whether I should take the referral to go the hospital, and when. I don't think my company covers this, so I have to pay through me nose. It's only days after I recounted my blessings, then this happens... *sigh*... Oh well....

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Stronium Family Photo


The working force behind the spectacular Stronium .

Let me know if you want an online store setup, or managed hosting services. Ya? ^_^

Wedding Photos... from last month

No, not MY wedding. ^_^ :)

Forgotten to put this up. Some photos from the wedding reception of my colleague, Tay, last month. It's a wonderful union of a long, long courtship. Befitting surname too, Tay and his wife Tee. (Teh and Tea, get it? ^_^)


The family photo (Working colleagues count as family too)


The kissing show (To show their ex's. That they have no chance no more)


Me and my colleagues, Shaun and Yen Ying (YY has gone back to school)


Me and Sabrina (Fake Charlie's Angel)

Monday, December 18, 2006

Blogging about blogging again... ^_^

My Hello! Project blog H!P - Hello Non-Pro Hour with Jinryuichi has been getting good response these days. Special thanks to all that have been regularly reading the blog. You guys rock! ^_^

Actually, I started that blog in the first place to document my search mission for news on Kago Ai. Then before I knew it, I was writing articles about topics that people want to read. It seems that I enjoyed writing more than I expected, and also because I can do it by typing on the keyboard now. I used to keep a diary, but the writing-with-pen-and-paper thing is just too tiring. With this motivation, I plan to write more. And hopefully write more things in THIS blog too.... :)

Recently I submitted my link to Ray of AmericanWota.com to add my blog to his feed community - Feed of Pop. So that my readership base can get even better.

Now the Feed of Pop is managed feed site, meaning it's handled manually. It's hard work for Ray to read all Jpop related sites that are included in his feed list, and he has to manually update it. Much respect~~! ^_^


Then I found that Ray took the time to read my archived posts and include it into the FoP. But then not all the posts are edited into "teaser" format. Maybe he forgotten. All I know is that for those posts, the site traffic would stop there, and there will be no click-through to my blog, because the reader can just read it off that page. I thought about asking Ray to edit it, but then again I realised how much work he has to do and it was really cool of him to search my archives and read my really long-winded posts. So I guess I'll leave it just as it is. ^_^

Changes and Miracles

A lot of things have happened this past week and many weeks before. Life has been interesting for me, as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of our saviour this month. Christmas shopping has started, along with the usual back-to-school shopping too. I have sought to bury a dark past of mine, starting from yesterday's penitential service. I hope I have done enough to "make the path straight for the Lord".

Now then.... there were some interesting changes in my fiance that took me by surprise. First up, she drove to Subang Parade from home at Jalan Templar on Friday, all by herself with one passenger. Sound normal? Not really. She's the type wouldn't that wouldn't dare to drive anywhere unfamiliar. I have never shown her the way to that shopping complex, and her passenger do not know the way. I've driven her to Subang Carrefour before, but the traffic jam in Subang Jaya had her scared already. So it's really a pleasant surprise to see her finally taking up the challenge to commute on her own..... But then again, this could be due to the motivation power to do shopping. :)

Secondly, during an early "boxing day" event in her office, everyone went out for a hearty lunch. During desert, she and her friends were looking the menu and found an item which not one of them have heard of. And so she decided to order it and give it a try because the name sounds interesting. Another big surprise for me! Because this lovely fiance of mine NEVER try anything type of food that she had never seen, heard, or tasted before. Curiosity never make her try new things before. She prefer to shy from taking up the challenge to try something new. This is something MONUMENTAL in the history of our lives. :)

Later, she told me that it was from my influence that made her make this change. And I am so happy about to hear that. ^_^

Last Monday, we have finally submitted our application to join the Weekend for the Engaged program, and confirmed the participation on Friday. It will be a 3 days 2 nights stay-in retreat for couples getting ready to get married. I prefer to have one weekend to go over this course rather than attending weekly classes that spans to about 6 weeks. This way, we can concentrate fully on the course without any interruption in between. This will be the n-th time I join any retreat and the first for her. So it will be interesting to know what she thinks about it.


Miracles have been popping up left and right during the week. And the pessimist little me is wondering if the end of the world is approaching. Man, we never count our blessings, but this time, I am thanking the Lord for these wonderful things.

I don't know if these are rewards, as a result of our many attempts and actions for making our wedding a conflict-less, problem-less, and hiccup-less event. If it was, I have only 3 words to say - "Praise the Lord!"

There were so many good things happening these days, I simply can't write them all down. It would mean having to write a mini novel. So I'll just highlight a few.

Mama won the lottery, at second place! But since her bets are higher than normal, it counts just as much as a first place winning. The payout is still not much, but it's just about enough to sponsor her week-long holiday trip to Taiwan with Papa. Hey, we're not greedy, cos it's the placing that counts, ya know. Mama gave me a phone call to tell me how this has been one of the happiest day of her life. This news made her trip worry-free because she don't have to think about having to curfew her spendings. I am SO happy for her. Other than that, I am so happy for Papa, being able to see the Pacific Ocean line from this trip. His descriptions of his experience on this trip has told me how much he enjoyed it. My wishes have come true, that my parents are finally being able to enjoy life, after many many many years of sufferings and turmoils of maintaining our family. Although I am sad, that those money did not come from me, but I am determined to one day send them to a trip with money earned from my sweat and blood. Mama will be retiring from her business, and Papa will be retiring from work next year. So I expect them to be traveling a lot.

So what's next? A smile. :)

The "smile" in topic, came from the one person that have protested my wedding of my fiance - her mother. At first, her protest was very loud, but had died down to a complete cold war against us and all around her. But something has changed. Last month, I attended the wedding of my fiance's cousin. Needless to say, her family was there too. For the entire day, I avoided eye-contact with her mom, to avoid any sort of ... well, anything. Then later that evening of wedding reception, just about when everyone is leaving, I swallowed my pride, approached her and extended my hand to her to say goodbye for the night - just doing my part, a simple gesture of respect to an elder. To my surprise, she took my hand, and even returned a brief smile. I must say, that I am most relieved, even if it could just be an obligatory gesture.

But it happened again yesterday. My parents who came back from their holiday trip, went for the morning mass, and coincidentally (or accidentally, if you will) sat right behind my fiance's family in the pews. After the mass had ended, Mama went ahead to start a short conversation with my fiance's grandma - a fatal action in my opinion. But it happened - my fiance's mom smiled back at Mama when she greeted her.

I don't know, if again, it's just a gesture or just manners. I am delighted by the whole turn of event. I think, next year would be a wonderful year. I am blessed. Now if some share of miracle could happen to the return of Kago Ai.

I do expect bad things to happen though, the devil always come to cause problems everytime we do God's bidding and keeping our peace. But whatever it may be, come what may. Because I am sure, things will be alright in the end.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Bloggy, Bloggy Blog - the test results

Actually, me typing while I'm halfway to slumberland, had a purpose to it. It's just a experiment to test how my mind works while I'm half asleep. There's a reason for this, and I'll explain later. Overall, I find the results quite... interesting, to say the least.

I typed the entire thing with my eyes closed, leaned back on my chair, both my hands extended over the keyboard, and typed away whatever comes to my mind. Just kept on typing, not sure if I DID really fall asleep at any point. And then, I forced my eyes open, without even reading the the blogs contents, squinting and struggling to find the "PUBLISH" button, clicked it, checked the clock, turned off the monitor, and jumped straight to bed. ^_^

As a result: 40 minutes of texts, and a blog post of random thoughts. I remember pausing in between paragraphs, but I seriously do not remember more than 50% of what I typed. Especially the Carlito Caribbean Cool quote of "That's cool" part. ^_^ For the most part, I am surprised that I am still able to do bit of formatting even though all I see is blackness.


The reason
I am conducting a simple but crude experiment to find out what ticks me, and what drives me. By being in a state of half-asleep, I am attempting to tap into my sub-conscious mind to see what is hidden at the back of my head. Usually you can do that by meditating quietly or lucid dreaming. But we're in the Information Age... let's do it cyber-punk style. ^_^
Do not underestimate the sub-conscious mind. I remember the time that when I spent days arranging and composing a song, I got a lukewarm response. But when I wrote another song with minimal arrangement, in the wee hours of the morning, sleepy and tired, spent less than 15 minutes on it,... the song was praised and noted. I think that we are at our most creative and innovative self, when you are able to dig inside your heart and soul, and express it so that others may feel whatever touches you and is dear to you personally.
.... probably that's why some musicians over-indulge themselves with alcohol and crack. Not that I am encouraging it, of course...


The production analysis
1)WYThIWYTy
Stands for "What You Think Is What You Type". And I think that I think in organized point-form manner. Scary... over the years of watching and analysing people, my mindset has warped to a point that I possibly conduct thesis and personality analysis on every person I meet. If I had taken classes on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), I would have either have a full head of white hair by now, or I am completed bald due to falling of hair.

2)WYTyIWYTh
Stands for "What You Type Is What You Think". I am able to express myself by just typing on the keyboard. I can be as one with the computer... Which is another way of saying that I am getting more nerdy than I think.

3) Repeating myself too much
19 words of part of words containing the word "blog". I'm getting old. And it's usually something I worry the most, which brings to the next point:

4) I ask too many questions
18 questions marks (?). Meaning I think too much and worry too much.


The content analysis
In summary, I worry a lot. That I know, but always I lost track on what I worried about. On content, I think that I have a lot on my mind with regards to blogging. I didn't talk much about my personal stuff or my Jpop stuff. I had regrets (that I did not record those memorable things on polaroid and paper) about my past, and I have not sought to reconcile with them. Probably, I am currently attempting to use this blog to overcome it. Along the way, I challenged myself with some other goals, like having at least 1 blog post every 2 days so that I don't get lazy,... but maybe got side-tracked just a little. Finally, realised that even though I always say that I do not mind what others think of me, my subconscious mind thought otherwise. However, I am certain that what I do mind is how my actions affect other people.


THE CONCLUSION:
- Created 2 blog posts of unscientific material (because I ran out of normal blog topics)
- Learned some new things about myself (because I rarely sit and reflect my actions)
- I lead a dual-life, and has kept it separated as much as possible (When I'm offline, I do not think about my incoming email. When I'm online, I do not want to be bothered by anyone)
- Need to check my English grammar before publishing posts (...yup, that's it.)
- Need to use less first person contexts e.g. I, my, me, myself ...etc (Don't wanna sound narcissistic)
- I sound like a crackpot when I'm half asleep (my fiance can testify to that)
- I have less work in office currently (have more time to think of crazy blog ideas like this)
- I need to backup my blogs soon (in case, the Blogger database server catches fire)
- UFA needs to bring Aibon back (Ok, I just sneaked this one in...)

Have a nice day. Peace ^_^

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Bloggy, bloggy blog

Blogging about blogging.

That sentence itself sounds funny to my ears. But lately i have been thinking about it. I'm typing with me eyes closed and just typing whatever comes to my head. Will look disorganized.

And that previous paragraph is what I'm going discuss now.

I've been thinking, that at the end of it, blogging divided to the following types:

1) Blogging for yourself
2) Blogging for others

At first, I started blogging for myself. This one in particular was started and suppose dto be a place where I rant about my break-up. I know that my ex wouldn't discover it anyway, so I don't care. But then again, if that's the case, why do I publish it online over the net? If I wanted it to be personal and secret, shouldn't I do it with my text editor and save it in my hard disk? Part of me wants her to read it someday? Hell no. Which makes me wonder why do I do it anyway?

I blog so that I may record whatever that happens in my life, so that i have something to look back and think that my life has been colorfuland is not all wasted times. I regret that during my school years that I have not taken much pictures. I have done a lotta shit, including being in the military band, joining the Wushu club, lead the group in the Chinese Instrumental club, my first and only basketball tournament, the memorable school drama, the 3 day long camp inthe the wet hills...etc. If i have a photobook to record them all, i will have a olourful history to look back and remind myself that yes, I have my own achievements and probably have left my mark in someone else's heart.

I started my other blog about Hello! Project stuff so that I can jot down my findings and news, to chart and record my mission on fidnding news about my dear Kago Ai, the suspended artiste because of a careless and irresponsible action.

but the blog went on, and become a place where I mostly write so that others may see it and always, i look forward for any feedback and comments, to know i have done something worthwhile.

I know iknow. some people use blogging as a way to express themselves, and to showcase their works. so that one day they may compike it into a book and sell em off. some budding writers use it and the social network to hopefully get recognse one day.

Do i blog so that i get recognised too? I say that I blog for myself, but why do ikeep checking for any user comments, and why do i keep checking back the site visitor statistics to see if my writings are what people want to read about?

yes there is a sense of acheivement to know that my writings are appreaciated, but didn't i start bloggin for myself? when did the chagne happen? I feel like i blog now for others. sharing is one thing, seeking attention is another.

read swifty's blog andhis posting of his MSN conversation with his partner. It's hard to blog for him because he is trying to get recognition, and hop that some people may form a community there.

Is blogging for self centrerd and narcisstic people?

is it suppose to be pastime? has the author or the readers taken the blog seriously?

i'm sleeppy right now, my eyes are totally closed, and i'm typing it off my my mind. i may open my eyes and see the tons of typingand grammar mistakes.

is this what people call emo bloggin?

in conclusion.... i forgot what's the conclusion may be.
oh yeah right.... where d oi go from heere? do i stilll continue to do what ever i have now? will my bloggin topics change? do i blog to get attetion?////


ok i am close to falling asleep while typing.... now that would be an intersting thing to happen. waking up hours later and conuing the rest of the post.... and say that oh, i have done something weird to day.. am i typing for sake of typing,? i hate being me.... no actually i am fine being the way i am.... i doubt that many others can survice life being me. then again, i also doubt anybody wants to be me..... i am not playing for this year's christmas carols with the carlling troupe. the need to find new blood to join the group/ coming bakc will only encourage them to slack .



aibon please come back.....
found lots of similarities between me and my fiance today.... i think found a "mirror site" of myself.... and that.... that's cool. (bites an apple)

will read my own post tomorrow morning.... interesting to see what i am capable of while talking when half asleep....

g'night... love and peace.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Net Connection Down

Net connection down since yesterday, and just so happens that there was a problem with one the servers that I have been monitoring at work is down. Had to rush to the nearest internet cafe to solve it. I feel so paralyzed.

Oh I know how much I'm dependent on my net connection, but it sucks every time it happens. I was offline with my PC, and I'm staring at the monitor screen wondering, "what the heck am I going to do now?"

Damn...

I'm typing this from my office. Will be going down to the service centre tonight to settle the problem. If I had known that the centre was open on Sunday, I won't be having this terrible mood now.

Double damn...

Thursday, November 30, 2006

How I got into Jpop... better late than never

I have never discussed this subject with my friends. They know me as "that Japan-phile" or "That Japanese guy". I think everyone, in their heart, have at least one country or a place that they want to visit and experience someday. Mine was Japan.

I'm into music, it's my ultimate passion. I suspect that I have musical notes as one of my blood cells. For years, I listened to English songs (local or abroad), Malay songs, Canto-pop and Mando-pop (Chinese), Tamil and Hindi (Indian)... etc. I move from one language to another, but after a while, I get bored of all the predictability and stereotype-ness. With the exception of Indian music (which I still listen to), the others just don't appeal to me anymore. Just ask me which is my favourite on the American Top 40 charts, or which artiste do I like among the Hongkong stars, ... and I'll just answer "Err... Me like all of dem. Dem is all nice. Yes."
They're all the same, too little variety and too little musical value to my ever-growing hunger. Right up to the early nineties, I couldn't take it and began to look for alternatives.

Flashback - My first contact with anything Japanese was J-Dorama(dubbed), aired in the mornings daily. I would watch them religiously, when I was in junior school. There were two - one was about a team of volleyball girls and another about a girl who is like some sort of cosmic teenage-witch. I forget the names of the shows but it has got some cool 80's Jpop soundtrack that me and my friends dance to... in secret, of course. Then there was the Masked Riders, Ultraman, etc.

Fast forward to the early nineties, I got tired of the monotonous music that was beginning to build up. Lousy rocker bands, boybands and girl-groups are sprouting up like mushrooms after rain. Luckily for me, it was also the time where J-Dramas and animes are booming in Asia. This was when I started to really listen to JPop music, starting with anime and J-Drama soundtracks. My first ==> Slam Dunk's "Kimi ga suki da to Sakebitai" by Badd. Just playing that intro in my head gives me the nostalgic goosebumps, even till today.

Now, my list is endless - Anzen Jidai, Koji Tamaki, Chage and Aska, Fujii Fumiya, SMAP, Spitz, Le Couple, Noriko Sakai, Oda Kazumasa ( Yup, I'm old school. ^_^), ELT, Puffy, Toshinobu Kubota, Ken Hirai, Okamoto Mayo, DCT, Judy and Mary, SMAP, MAX, Speed, Kinki Kids, aiko, Yuzu, Da Pump, Gackt, Do as Infinity... current ones include Mihimaru GT, Bon Bon Blanco , High and Mighty Color, Sowelu, Orange Range, Rythem ...etc

Jpop isn't the only genre I explored, the Jrock scene was equally good. Luna Sea, X-Japan, Glay, Malice Mizer, L' Arc En Ciel, SADS, Janne De Arc, Pierrot, the Yellow Monkeys, Love Psychedelico, Kaggra, AliceNine... etc.

Of course there was the Hello! Project family. Go here to read how I got into Hello! Project in particular.

I was so crazy into Japanese music, my classmates started to ask me that question again - "What do you like so much about Japanese music? Don't you listen to anything on the Rick Dee's Top 40 charts?" and I will give that same answer again. "Oh no, I do. Me like all of dem. Dem is all nice. Yes.". Then I'll start to pretend that I like the Backstreet Boys or something. Being indifferent in high school here means you get bullied. (Sound familiar?)

Later I took Japanese classes to learn the language, because of a job in a multi-national company that I'm hunting for (They pay the employees very well). I failed to get the interviews, but I continued the classes anyway and I learn to appreciate the music a little more.

And so, I was hooked with Japanese music and never looked back. Tis' a lonely experience being the only one singing Japanese songs in karaoke sessions with my friends, but I hope to find a comrade one day.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Hard Love ... and Hard to Love

I did the most craziest thing today... I gave my fiance a hard lesson on being independent. But after all that, I came home and wondered if I did the right thing or not?

I'm hard to love, because I'm all about hard love. I don't mind playing the bad guy, just as long others get the message that I'm trying to convey. Not that I'm being all self-righteous and all-knowing... but sometimes I go to the extreme just to make my point.

I can't say what was the exact situation that has taken place, but basically, I allowed myself to be caught in a problematic state, my plans for the night ruined, my work interrupted, everything I planned become absolute havoc... all because of a decision that she made. I don't blame her. She's been protected all her life, and is still unaffected by the harsh city life that we live in. It's one of the reasons that I fell in love with her. But I cannot, really cannot let her be too dependent on me for everything. So I set an example for her. Got all pissed off, showed my tantrums, before finally gave her advice, after letting her see the consequences of what she did... and hope she understands.

Like I said, it's hard love, and I am hard to love.

I know a story of a woman (a celebrity), who quit her job to be full-time housewife for her family, and was well protected by her malevolent husband. She gets all the attention and love that a husband can give, and was dependent on him for everything. Tragedy happened, that man died in a vehicular accident abruptly. Out of shock, she fell into a emotional trauma, not knowing how to continue her life without her husband. Things that her husband always do for her, including taking care of the kids, caretaking the household etc., now she have to do on her own, and she had a really hard time picking it up. Even begged people for money online, because her husband had not taken a life-insurance package, and she lost the notion of finding a job.

I'll be damned if my lovely wife-to-be have to suffer the same.

I lived my life, learning the hard way, to be independent on everything. I prefer to get my ass burned just to learn. I was educated from young on how difficult life is, the value of it. The scars I bear after the countless times I self-wounded myself with a pocket-knife shows it.

I'm not being pessimistic or dark-natured about life. I'm not being fearful of responsibility. I am not being fearful of people being dependent on me. But I want everyone around me to be able to carry on, even after I go to the Father above.

I worry a lot, and always, always think about the worst case scenario. I worry for my fiance, if she receives enough love and attention that I am able to give, even after we get married next year. I worry about my parents, who are already aging, and if I have done my responsibility as the eldest and only son, and if I elevated myself from being a burden for them. I worry for my unborn children, and if they receive the love and education that we can give. I worry about my sister in Japan, alone and struggling hard to survive, without the physical presence and support from her family. I worry for the company I work for, if it achieves its eventual target, and I fought to do my job to keep it running its course smoothly without any hiccups, even if it includes my sacrificing of my own career path for another colleague, even if I get a bad impression in the end.

I gave up my own future for my sister's sake to be able to fulfill her dreams. I gave up my own dreams in order to stay within our family's financial means. I gave up my plans for my own immediate future and gave up my personal principles and swallowed my pride, so that my fiance can have a wonderful wedding next year.

Only a handful of the people who knows me, knows about the existence of this blog. And nobody knows what I think most of the time, and so I became the bad guy, everytime. It's fine, as long I do my job. Which I think, is my Calling in life.

I'm all hard love, and even harder to love.


To everyone else... Have a nice day.

Love and Peace
jin ^_^

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Miracle turned Tragedy... because of "culprit" - The follow-up

This has got to be one of the most emotional writing I have ever done. Apologies in advance for those who felt offended after reading. But I have to let it out of my chest. I can be patient, but when it trespasses my limit, I must say something already. And when I do, you won't like it.

This write-up has been re-edited to lower the hostility of its contents. I admit, I was fired up by the whole situation, but after a moment of pondering and praying, my anger has cooled down and removed a lotta shit.

Still, some of what remained may still anger some people. So, if you are a sensitive person, under-informed, less concerned about current affairs, or simply have nothing positive to add - please skip this post. You have been warned.

In summary, here's what happened.

In continuation, here's what happened next:
The police have commenced investigation on the origin of the SMS, while various politicians including our PM and deputy PM comments that the culprit be punished. The police have contacted Perak Mufti(Scholar and Cleric of Islam) Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria and celebrity sailor Datuk Azhar Mansor for assistance, as their names are included in the SMS contents. The police stressed that the Mufti is not (directly) involved with the SMS scandal. When Harussani returned from Syria (he attended a meeting there), he immediately went to the Perak Sultan to report the situation. Datuk Azhar once again had the people disputing his Muslim status, though he repeatedly proclaimed that he is still Muslim. Later the Harussani, revealed that on Oct 21 he DID receive a report from a certain 40-year-old unnamed woman about the alleged baptism of 600 Muslims, consisting mostly of students and will be baptised by Datuk Azhar. He also received a visit from the woman and her husband, who came with some documents supporting their claim. He then added that when the couple left, he discussed the matter in a meeting with his fellow committees in a meeting on Nov 2. He said that there will be no action taken until they verify the matter. The police have since published the picture of the woman known only as "Raja Sherina" on the papers, and have finally manage to locate and detain her on Nov 21. The remand has been extend to 5 days to provide the police more time for investigation.

In my opinion, here's what I think:

1) It was known where the SMS originated from:
Like I said, it was known who the "culprit" was in the first place.

2) "Culprit" has an agenda:
This "Raja Sherina" has something in mind. Definitely not a pretty conspiracy. Foolhardy though, as she did not do her homework on finding out the difference between baptism and first holy communion.

3) Datuk Azhar baptise the kids?:
Again, no homework done. Only a priest has the power to baptise. We common parishioners can only forgive sins.

4) No communication at all:
Why can't the authorities or Muslim leaders just call the church? They don't talk to each other no more? Is it forbidden? Do you go to hell for it?
The Mufti has reported to the State Government. So why is the police still in the dark? They don't talk to each other TOO?

5) No investigation:
Why can't they call up the tele-comm centre? It's so easy to track the identity of the SMS sender by looking up the database..... Well OK, maybe it's a little difficult, since it is a prepaid mobile.

6) So who spread the false SMS?:
It cannot be the work of just one couple. She reported to the Mufti, and nothing was done. But that doesn't mean she is the one spreading it. Another bitter fellow may have gone and say "Well, if the Mufti don't do nothin', I will!". A few hundred Muslims and their many religious leaders turn up on that day. The spreading by word-of-mouth and SMS is much stronger than we think. If that woman and her husband alone is punished (if that ever happens at all), they has become the scapegoat. There are many other who are involved have been left walking free.

7) The church is not a club
For the uninformed ones, the Catholic church DO NOT indiscriminately baptise anyone as they like. Especially Muslims. We have to undergo a long period of learning, studying and observation before we can get baptised. (For cradle-Catholics, the parents will do on the infant's behalf.) Even Archbishop Fernandez said that the Catholic Church in Malaysia had never conducted clandestine baptisms of Muslims.

8) To catch the thief, burn the neighbour's house:
If the idea of catching the wrong-doers is to catch them red-handed, do NOT do it at the expense of other's welfare. It is wrong under the civil law, and truly unfair for the non-Muslims. The kids at OLOL church now have a wonderful first holy communion memory thanks to the mob -> We now have white dresses, bouquets of lilies, parents and relatives praying and singing Latin hymms... while the guys outside joins the chorus with loud chants of "La illa ha il Allah! La illa ha il Allah!". Oh Lord.

9) "But we was trying to protect and uphold the Islamic faith"
Gimme a break, so when Muslims do it, it's righteousness, it's jihad, it's for the sake of our faith,...etc. When us non-muslims do it, it's rebellion - end of story. And off to the ISA we go.

10) Go to the Sultan for protection:
First thing to do after returning to Malaysia, is not to do your work and clarify with the press and the police, but go running to the Sultan. He'll save your ass. Yeah, that's the wisest choice, ain't it?

11) Just... do nothing.
"Raja Sherina" came around Oct 21, that's two freakin' weeks from the actual day. Waited 2 weeks doing nothing. Then finally, a few days before the baptism, tells his colleagues in a private meeting, and STILL advised that nothing is done until they verified the SMS. How wise. Thinking this is only a false rumour, so do nothing? This brings me to my next point...

12) Rumour or not, investigate it! And QUICK!
My job is a system administrator, if i hear a complain pertaining to a suspicion of a possible virus attack or hacker activity on the server, I investigate it anyway just to be sure. Even though later i found the suspicion is false, we came up and implemented the necessary security measures in case the real thing happens. It's hard work, but that's what we're paid for. Somebody's got to do the dirty job, in order to make the whole user-experience seem better and transparent to the user. Sound like a good protocol, yes? Now, why can't those lazy brothers do the same?




I am a Catholic, and have lived in Ipoh most of my life. During then, I must have heard a hundred rumours about Muslims converting in churches. This case is definitely not the first time. However, this is the one time that things have gone out of control. One may think that the inclusion of celebrity sailor Datuk Azhar's name is included in the SMS, (plus the previous scandal of his Muslim status) has caused the whole issue to escalate to where it is now. Overall, I am disappointed to see how the whole issue handled in such a nonchalant manner.

Firstly, to be clear, my stand is impartial. I believe, that no matter what faith we embrace, I only know that we must respect other's choices, no matter what they are. All is within the Will of God.

Was going through web forums and blogs on the net. It seems like most people are debating at the wrong direction. They were talking about the right to choose their own religion in Malaysia and about the actions of the mob reflect that of the Muslim terrorists that has been active in the USA and Middle East. There were debates about the Islamic tenet of the Holy War - Jihad. There was even one brother saying that while the action of the mob gathering in front of the church is wrong, he is pleased to see the unity that is achieved among the many sects of political and religious groups.

You know, it doesn't matter if Islam is a one way ticket or not. It doesn't matter if there is fairness achieved. Even the mindless-mob protesting in front of the church in Silibin does not matter one bit. It is not about Muslims and Jihad, Christians and Baptism, unity amongst believers, choice of religion, law on religion, apostasy.... etc. If those with authority do not practice the basics of society governing, and the citizens haven't the slightest civic mind for dialogue before conflict, then there is absolutely no room to talk about religion and stuff. You will only make matters worse.

OK. If we HAVE to debate on it, here's the cold water for you --> we live in this country, and the laws are such. Therefore we have no choice but to abide by it. End of story. Want some change? Fine. Migrate to another country, OR step forward to campaign for your own political party and fight for the right. Can't do either? Then keep your peace.
No need to whine anymore that it's not fair that we cannot choose our faith...blablabla. For the record, Islam can be a beautiful religion. Recently, an old friend of mine have married a Muslim guy (which I would blog about in a separate post), she is Chinese but now has converted. And I know she will be happy. She had told me why she embraced the faith, and it is a really funny and bizarre story. Which brings me to my next point --> Different people have different levels of faith and how they perceive religion. To some, seeing an everyday situation like a stranger helping an old lady cross the street makes them wonder about their faith. To others, they need to hear a loud booming voice in the sky or witness an awesome miracle in order to believe. If it is in God's plan, that some of our brothers and sisters to convert to another faith to make his point - then so be the Will of God. The conversion may not be only for the benefit of the converter, but to those around him/her. Maybe to test your own faith, and to see what you would do or say about it. There is a Reason and a Plan for everything. Let God be the judge, not you.

On topic - this is not the first time we have this kind of mobs parading around our churches. I have seen Muslims standing at the gates of our church, handing out flyers and pamphlets containing slanders and accusations about the Catholic faith. Some even came all the way to the doorsteps and shouting random gibberish. During a peninsular-wide Charismatic Convention that I attended many years ago, there were Muslims who came to the centre distributing flyers again and trying to collect the attendees' signatures, to express their protest to our peaceful meeting, and furthermore accused us of conspiring against the government. There are more to the list, but I'll stop here. But we managed to control the situation and the conflict ended quietly.

We live in a multi-racial, multi-religion country. Control of any sort of conflict is paramount. What I see, is the authorities and all those involved are handling the SMS scandal with such low commitment and low sense of urgency. The action taken to diffuse and prevent the matter has no weight at all. The Perak Mufti for one, need to act on any sort of report urgently and diligently. Yes, he said that he did report it to the State Government and the related authorities, but he needs have a follow-up on the matter to ensure the investigations are carried out properly. Two weeks of zero results is just absolutely incomprehensible to me.

I hope that the government and all related authorities that are involved with the investigation of the SMS scandal to step it up, to give us our tax payment's worth. Because if they continue to slack, this sort of a problem will happen again.

Apologies if I offended anyone. Thanks for reading.

Peace ^_^
jin





Sources:

November 24, 2006

Remand extended for couple in SMS case

IPOH: A couple held in connection with the SMS on a purported baptism of Muslims at a church have been remanded for five more days.
Magistrate Syamsul Rezal Md Ariff allowed the application made by the police in his chambers here yesterday to extend their remand until Monday. State CID chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Patrick Jiges Sijore said police needed more time to complete their probe into the SMS sent out earlier this month. The couple were brought to the court here under police escort at about 2.15pm. The woman, in her 40s, appeared calm while her 38-year-old husband looked dazed. The couple were first detained in Alor Star on Monday evening and remanded on Tuesday to help with the investigation.



November 22, 2006
Woman in SMS case held
Police have detained the woman in connection with the SMS sent earlier this month about a purpoted baptism of Muslims at a church.
State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Aziz Bulat said the woman, in her 40s, and her 38-year-old husband were picked up outside Alor Star Hospital at 9.30pm on Monday.
He said the woman became hysterical when she was approached by police officers and had to be treated at the hospital before being brought here.
DCP Aziz added that the woman’s statement would be recorded after a remand order had been obtained.
Magistrate Syamsul Rezal Md Ariff ordered the couple to be remanded for three days



November 21, 2006
Perak police are seeking the help of a woman over an SMS sent earlier this month about a supposed baptism of Muslims at a church here.
RAJA SHERINA: Her help is sought in connection with the SMS baptism case.
State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Aziz Bulat said police were releasing the photograph of the woman, whose name was given only as Raja Sherina, after she failed to turn up to give her statement despite the authorities giving her a deadline to do so.




November 13, 2006 - 'Baptism' message started by woman, claims Perak Mufti
Perak Mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria has named a woman in her 40s as the originator of a text message that claimed a group of Muslims was going to be baptised at a church here last month.
He claimed the woman is a graduate of the International Islamic University, who later studied at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
Harussani: ‘What I revealed was meant to stay within the confines of the meeting’
“Upon her return, she joined a missionary group that carried out social work. She later converted to Christianity and now claims to have returned to Islam,” he told reporters at his home in Kampung Melayu Gunung Rapat here yesterday.



Sunday November 12, 2006 - Mufti seeks audience from Sultan
Perak Mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria is trying to seek an audience with the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah.
He said he has been trying since Friday to contact the palace secretary so that he could brief the Sultan on the case of an SMS alleging that a group of Muslims were going to be baptised in a church in Silibin here.
“If I could, I would see him today. I will keep trying. I am ready to see the Tuanku anytime, anywhere,” he said when contacted here yesterday.




November 15, 2006
Woman who sent SMS urged to contact police
They will publish Raja Sherina’s photograph if she fails to do so.
Perak police chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Bulat said she may be charged under the (Akta Hasutan) Sedition Act or the Multimedia and Communications Act for causing public unrest.
The New Straits Times learnt that the woman in her 40s is unemployed and stays in Sungai Petani, Kedah.
It was also learnt that she also went by the names Raja Norashikin Raja Azman and Shireen.



Polis minta 'Raja Sherina' tampil bantu siasatan kes SMS pembaptisan
November 14, 2006
Ahad lepas Harussani menyatakan rasa kesalnya dengan tindakan pihak tidak bertanggungjawab menyebarkan SMS mengaitkan namanya berhubung isu pembaptisan itu.
Beliau turut berkata seorang wanita membuat pendedahan mengenai upacara berkenaan dengan mengirimkan SMS kepadanya selain datang berjumpa beliau.
Bernama melaporkan Abdul Aziz berkata polis mengenal pasti wanita berkenaan menerusi siasatan terhadap nombor telefon bimbit prabayar yang digunakannya dengan bantuan syarikat telekomunikasi.
Beliau berkata siasatan terhadap beberapa individu lain juga sudah dijalankan berhubung penyebaran SMS berkenaan dan yakin kes itu akan dapat diselesaikan dalam tempoh seminggu dua lagi.
"Raja Sherina" diminta menghubungi Pegawai Turus D-9 DSP Shahadan Jaafar di IPK di talian 05-2451222.

======

November 6, 2006
WANTED:Penyebar SMS yang gemparkan Ipoh
Kedua–dua Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak telah bercakap sendiri dengan Ketua Polis Negara Tan Sri Musa Hassan mengarahkan pihak polis membuat siasatan segara.
"Mereka perlu dihukum dengan keras walau apapun niat mereka," kata Perdana Menteri kepada wartawan Malaysia di Islamabad Isnin.
"Saya selalu cakap isu agama adalah isu sensitif dan tidak boleh dipermainkan... tidak dijadikan jenaka. Tidak boleh digunakan untuk buat orang tergempar, terkejut dan hendak berseronok... nak tengok apa yang berlaku. Ini bukan jenaka," katanya. Najib berkata kepada para wartawan di Johor Bharu, “Kita mesti cari siapa yang buat."
"Siapa yang bertanggungjawab mesti dikenakan tindakan kerana SMS seperti ini amat berbahaya, boleh membawa kepada perbalahan kaum dan juga ketegangan dalam negara," katanya. Musa yang ditemui wartawan selepas satu majlis di Melaka menyifatkan perkara ini amat serius kerana ia boleh menghasut orang ramai dan memecah belah masyarakat. Menurutnya satu unit siasatan diketuai oleh Ketua Polis Perak dengan kerjasama Bahagian Siasatan Jenayah Bukit Aman telah diarahkan memantau dan menyiasat perkara berkenaan. Beliau mengakui usaha mengesan individu yang bertanggungjawab menyebarkan SMS berkenaan melalui telefon bimbit pra bayar bukan mudah. Musa juga menjelaskan adalah tidak benar dakwaan mengatakan Mufti Besar Perak, Datuk Harussani Zakaria bertanggungjawab mendedahkan mengenai sekumpulan orang Melayu akan dikristiankan di sebuah gereja di Ipoh kerana beliau tidak ada di dalam negara pada ketika ini. “Kalau beliau tidak ada di dalam negara saya tak tahu macam mana beliau boleh dedahkannya seperti yang didakwa di dalam SMS tersebut,” ujarnya.



November 13, 2006
Perak Mufti tells how he got controversial SMS
Perak Mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria on Sunday revealed how he had received a short messaging service (SMS) from a woman claiming knowledge of an alleged baptism of a group of Muslims at a church here last Sunday involving national mariner Datuk Azhar Mansor.
Speaking to reporters at his residence here after an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak Sunday morning, Harussani said on Oct 21 he received the SMS from the woman claiming Azhar had informed her that he would come to Ipoh to perform the baptism of several Malays in church on the date specified.
"I asked whether what she claimed was true. She claimed it was true and that she had received another telephone call from Azhar saying they would be coming to Ipoh.
"Then, on the eve of Hari Raya, she came to my house with her husband and confirmed that the function would take place," he said.
The circulation of the SMS raised a controversy and almost sparked off inter-racial and inter-religious tension when a group of Muslims gathered at the compound of the church on that day to obtain verification of the alleged baptism.
Harussani said the woman, who had claimed that she had renounced Islam, had not contacted him since the incident last Sunday.
"I have also not contacted her. I understand that her telephone line has been disconnected. She had studied at the International Islamic University (IIU) and the Al-Azhar University," he said.
Harussani said he conveyed the matter to the State Government and the Special Branch.
He said on Nov 2, a meeting was held by the national-level committee on the Islamic Convention at the meeting room of the State Mosque here to discuss the agenda and strategy for the convention scheduled for Dec 23 and 24.
"At the meeting, I was asked to explain the need for and objective of the convention. I said the convention was solely to seek ways to strengthen the faith of Muslims which lately, according to information received, has been tainted," he said.
"I also touched on the SMS sent to me by the woman for the information of those at the meeting. I said we should not do anything until we have verified the matter," he said.
Harussani dismissed allegations spread by certain quarters that he had made a public announcement of the matter and that he found it strange for a group of Muslims to get angry with him over the alleged disclosure.
"I find it strange that there are Muslims who are angry with me when I am the mufti. The main task in my position is to safeguard the faith of Muslims, uphold the 'syariat' (Islamic law) without blemish. That is my responsibility.
"So, when news such as these emerge, it is necessary for me to act to contain them. That is my responsibility, similar to the responsibility of police in maintaining security. If there are people who have been angered, it is a mistake," he said.
Harussani had an audience with the sultan Sunday morning to explain the controversy over the circulation of the SMS.
Harussani said the Sultan asked him not to issue any statement at the moment.
"His Majesty advised me, for the moment, to remain silent but all of you (journalists) have come. How now?" he said.
Harussani said several senior police officers led by Perak Chief Police Officer Datuk Abdul Aziz Bulat met him at his home Saturday evening to obtain information on the incident. - Bernama



Friday November 10, 2006
MB: Mufti not involved in SMS episode
In clarifying this, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali said the mufti's name, like that of mariner Datuk Azhar Mansor, had been misused by certain people who were now under police probe.
“I just want to emphasise that the mufti is not involved. The SMS merely mentioned his name and some quotes allegedly made by him,” he told reporters at a Hari Raya celebration in Beruas on Wednesday.


November 8, 2006
Government may use ISA on those sending offensive SMS
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Government is considering the use of the Internal Security Act – besides the Sedition Act – to deal with culprits whose actions are tantamount to instigating others and eventually stirring instability in the country.
The move would also target those who spread lies and rumours through the SMS with malicious intent, said Deputy Security Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum.
Mohd Johari: ‘We have to mete out punitive punishment’



November 08, 2006
Police Action To Be Allowed Against Students Over Ill-intended SMS
The Ministry of Higher Education will not interfere with police action against students of tertiary institutions found to have sent a short-messaging service (SMS) note alleging baptism of a group of Muslims at a church in Ipoh last Sunday.




From the the bloggers:


November 07, 2006
Baptism of 'Muslims' in Ipoh SMS Caper and why Muslims Reacted So!
Malaysia's Muslims are a very easily roused lot!
Yup! Never take them for granted that they don't care about what's taking place in this land and that they can be taken for a ride by others!
They are mostly people who do love their religion and will come together when necessary!
The irony is that it's mostly a case where such devotion to the faith is sadly superficial ..let's say for about 60% of the adherents who are trying their best to live up to the tenets of the faith ; the rest just give lip service to being Muslims.



Sunday, November 05, 2006

MORE PICS- SMS About BAPTISM CEREMONY of “Muslims” at CHURCH Of Our Lady of LOURDES, IPOH; Several NGOs Found out “MUSLIMS” Were ACTUALLY Indians.


The SMS:

ABOVE: The offending False SMS:
"Sejumlah melayu akan dibaptiskan oleh Dato Azhar Mansor esok di Gereja Silibin Ipoh. Seramai 600 pelajar Politeknik Ungku Omar Ipoh telah masuk Kristian. Pendedahan oleh Mufti Perak ptg td di masjid Negeri. Pagi esok 8 pg dmntrasi bantahan besaran depan gereja Silibin. Dtg bramai2 [obscured text] NGO2 Sebarkan Demi agama"

Translated into English, it says :

A number of Malays will be baptised by Dato Azhar Mansor tomorrow at the Ipoh Silibin Church. A total of 600 students of the Ungku Omar Polytechnic in Ipoh have converted to Christianity. Exposé by the Mufti of Perak last afternoon at the State Mosque. A large demonstration will be held in protest at 8 am tomorrow morning in front of the Silibin church. Turn up in numbers [obscured text] NGOs. Distribute this for our religion's sake


The “INNOCENT” Perak Mufti Received ORIGINAL Message Convened MEETING with NGO To CATCH “Red Handed” the “MUSLIM” CONVERTS in a CHURCH? What was his real Intentions? Why can’t he called up the Church and confirm? NO Interfaith Dialogue?
This is interesting revealation from the perak Mufti, reported in the STAR, Nov 12 06.
Is this woman an “infiltrator”? Coverted and reconvert? Spying on the Christian missionary to convert people? Do you think the Mufti has done the right thing? Adding “salt & fire” to make message more “tastier” or appealing or setting the stage to trap the so call “converts” red-handed? There are so many possibilities. If he is more responsible instead of just “to remind Muslims of the threats facing Islam today” he could have just make a call to the Church (or is it haram?); and nip the problem in the bud to diffuse the threats to peace. ONLY after the incident he asked “leave it to the police to investigate”
One wonders how many SMSs went around. Did he actually show the “ORIGINAL” the one he received (see below, cannot be deciphered) to the Police? Is the widely publicised one the ONLY one?

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

I'm Yellow and Nerdy!

Found this nerd test from a fellow blogger

Guess what? After years of swearing that I would not indulge in computers and technology, after years of mentioning to people that I hate computers... I AM a nerd!

Here are my results:

I am nerdier than 90% of all people. Are you nerdier? Click here to find out!


My computer geek score is greater than 100% of all people in the world! How do you compare? Click here to find out!


I don't think you can score this high if you can answer the geeky questions just because you are a programmer by occupation. I guess I am already geeky at heart. :)

Some additional test results/facts produced by the second nerd-test:

The average score for the gals is 38, while the guy average is 56.

Of the Computer Geek Quiz Takers:
17% are scared of links
17% of Windows users curse it
4% of Linux users selected Bill Gates as their hero

What operating system are you taking this quiz on?

Response % Response Avg. Score
Windows82%45
Apple7%60
Linux7%84
Unix2%89
Other2%52

How often do you back up your important documents?

Response % Response Avg. Score
Never15%22
Rarely39%42
Monthly19%56
Weekly13%67
Daily14%78

Not including "work," how long do you spend on the computer daily?
Response % Response Avg. Score
Less than an hour6%21
About two - three hours29%36
About four to five hours30%52
About six to seven hours16%59
more than eight hours19%70

Friday, November 10, 2006

Me? High Blood Pressure?

Apparently, high blood pressure can be inherited from your parents, or forefathers...

Asked Papa and Mama about this pulsing vein thing on my head, and they have no doubt that it could be high blood pressure. Grandma and Grandpa (Mom's side) also had high blood pressure. A week's worth of extensive work pressure, lack of sleep may have contributed to this. On top of that, I have been blogging and crawling heavily all week. (On the pretense that something about Aibon may turn up this week, but i was wrong) So basically, I have been in front of the computer monitor screen the entire day. The breaks in between are commuting, lunch and dinner.

So I took Papa and Mama's advice to take a shower, go to bed early,... and go to the doctor's for a checkup in the morning. This has gotta be one of the earliest nights of my life. Yes 10:22PM is early to me...

Signing off now... Good night. Love and Peace... ^_^

Funny Sensation on My Head

I've been having this throbbing sensation on the right side of my head, above my right temple. It feels like a vein or blood vessel up there just pumping and throbbing away. Been like that for a few days now.

I wonder if it is due to lack of sleep, high blood pressure, work stress.... or all of it?

It's been quite bothersome, and it's happening now as I am typing this. Gosh, I don't even know how to explain this to the doctors...

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Koi no Dance Site on Classical Guitar - side tracked

Got another song up. But I was tired from work, so I couldn't get the song right, after so many NGs. So I side tracked and played the song in some other versions, just for fun:



The other versions sound good in their own way, I think. :)

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

You can get pizza in Hell...

Seriously... I don't think there is food in Hell. But New Zealand thinks otherwise.

There's a pizza chain named "Hell Pizza" in New Zealand. Looks like any other pizza restaurant, except that all their menus, brochure, food names, phone numbers... anything to do with them, has something to do with Hell. Or anything satanic or biblical. Seems interesting... names like that can never pass over here in Malaysia.

Hell Pizza website

Kenny Sia's been there... he'll tell you more.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Miracle turned Tragedy... because of "culprit"


Cops to probe baptism SMS
By CHAN LI LEEN

IPOH: The police are investigating a rumour which spread like wildfire through SMS, claiming that a group of Muslims will be baptised at a church here.

As a result, a large crowd gathered at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Silibin from 7.30am yesterday to protest against the alleged baptism only to find out that it was actually the first Holy Communion for 98 Indian children.

State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Aziz Bulat said the police would verify how the SMS had started.

“There could be some people out there who have a personal agenda to create disharmony among the races,” he said when met at the church.

DCP Aziz said the police had also received the text message and had, therefore, placed the Federal Reserve Unit on standby since 7am.

He advised the public to be wary of such messages.

“Don't accept everything you read or hear as total truth,” he said, adding that he would call on all involved parties to help with the investigation.

The protesters, who included members of opposition parties and non-governmental organisations, gathered for some four hours and refused to disperse initially despite warnings from the police.

They finally started to leave at 11.20am after Deputy OCPD (II) Supt Lai Yong Heng issued a stern warning.

Perak Religious Department director Datuk Jamry Sury, who was present to monitor the situation, said the department would also investigate the incident.

“We will take action against the culprit,” he added.

Perak Pusat Khidmat Islam secretary Mohd Nazri Sahad said he was there to check if there was any truth to the message.

The police were still on standby at the church last night.

Father Fabian Dicom, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Penang, which covers Perak, said the church was extremely concerned that a group of people had been sowing ill-will through rumours.

“We are concerned as to how others have come to believe these rumours,” he added.

He noted that the incident had also infringed on the church members' right to worship.

“The Catholic Church has always believed that dialogue is the best platform to resolve issues and as such is extremely disappointed that there was no attempt whatsoever for dialogue,” he said.

Read source here


A few points of focus:
1) The origin of the text message is unknown - Either they are really THAT gullible to believe a random few lines of an SMS sent by a stranger, or they are really trying to cover-up the "culprit" (probably out of shame, since it turned out to be a misunderstanding)
2) No verification of authenticity of message before action - Either they have already believed the message 80%, or they have no idea that they can call up the network to investigate or they did not bother to check at all.
3) The herd behaviour - Other political/non-political parties came and joined the party, out of the draw of the crowd,.... AND also without checking the message origin.
4) "Culprit" is not a catholic - The "culprit" obviously do not know the difference between a baptism and first Holy Communion.
5) Verdict before trial - Action are taken before investigation, before sitting down to discuss, and before inviting the church party to talk. They have ample time to do that, but instead they decided to make a tiger show out of it.
6) Miracle turned tragedy - This is supposed to be a day of celebration, and historical too. 98 children, imagine that. The kids surely will remember this day for the rest of their lives.... Somebody must be REALLY jealous.

Somebody please pass me the phone number of those people who believed the message, so that I can forward them a message to ask for their help in transfering my $25 million Nigerian bank account out of the country. By the way, I hear that a rogue Tibetan monk is planning to do a striptease for charity in Kampung Mangkuk's mosque next Tuesday.

Geez....

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Google Spiders Have Priorities?

I really think so.

I make use of one the many Google services called "Google Alerts". With this service you can tell Google to return any search result based on your criteria as and when it happens. Quite handy, so that I don't have to go their search engine all the time. And since it reflects the latest link they find, I don't have to sieve through the search results all the time.

I have Alerts that return any search result that have anything to do with "Morning Musume", "Hello!Project" and the sort. Today, within a couple of minutes after publishing my last entry on my H!P blog, immediately I receive an email from Google Alert about it.

Either a Google spider have coincidentally been browsing my blog at that time, or Google crawls their own domains first (and whatever domain that have been acquired by them) with the highest priority.

So I guess it's a good thing to use Google's services if you want your contents to be frequently featured on Google search results. ^_^

Productive Day...err... Night... I mean, MORNING!

Yeah, I'm still awake. This is my final post before I hit the bed. Otherwise I will be watching the sun rise out my window. It's crazy, but I'm really on a roll today. Or yesterday, which occurred 7 hours earlier.

On the side note, Sharm called to tell me that she will looking for some job to do while she is in Ipoh. No point sitting around the house doing nothing, she says. And I agree, but she could have done it here in KL, where she is always accessible to any sudden interview offers. But I guess she had already made up her mind. She was afraid that this will anger me, but I was calm about it and she was relieved. At this point, I'm at the stage that whatever she decided on, I will have no other choice but to offer the best support I can give. It sucks to be unemployed, and I know that too well, cos I've been there. That's why I understand how she is feeling.

However, sometimes I hoped that she listened to me earlier so that things won't be this bad at the very least. Oh well, I suppose we can't have everything our way. God has a plan for all of us, I always say.

So back on topic, it was a swell day. But it didn't start off well, cos I had a problem recording with my webcam. I'm assuming that there is a driver conflict between the webcam and the soundcard. I reinstalled the driver and webcam application, but no dice. Then I found a workaround - chuck the webcam app aside and use MS Movie Maker. As much as I hated to use it, I guess I have to. I've be using it to edit my recordings currently anyway. It will be temporary though. At least until I clear enough space to install Adobe Premier.

Afterwards, managed to finally video chat with Papa and Mama. It's really cool though we had some problems with the sound. At first I thought it was their mic/webcam having problems but further testing proves that maybe it's my microphone. We got loud noises when I speak to my mic. It's like this -> I spoke to the mic, it picked up the sound and emitted through their speaker, back into their mic and came out in my speaker, then back to my mic and it goes on and on. Sounds like hellspeak. :) After I get back home next weekend I'll check their machine out.

Later on, I video chatted with my sis in Japan. And surprise, surprise, nothing happened. No noise, no nothing. Really weird, so my mic problem is ruled out. BUT after chatting with her for a couple of hours (yeah, we can do that. Who says brothers and sisters can't get along? ^_^ ) the problem came back again - right after my Messenger app hung. So the next probable assumption that it is my webcam. You see, it comes with an embedded mic in it. So that may be the cause. However, sis says that she had the same problem while chatting with Papa and Mama. So I guess I better check by putting their mic farther from their speaker. Funny, funny.... but all in all. It was real fun being able do all this. Really bonded our family ties closer. ^_^

Next up, I'm able to record my transposition (as posted earlier) without any hiccups. Well, actually some mistakes here and there but it was close to perfect. Usually I have to do a few takes before I deem it acceptable. I thinking of doing "Furusato" next. Sounds easy, but again, it's a quality song. And like all good songs, there will be some challenges ahead.

....ahh... I spoke a little too soon. I'm at the end of this post, and I saw the sun rising up already... I guess hibernation is in the way. :)

Good day!

Peace ^_^

Two More Morning Musume Songs Transposed

Shiroi Iro Wa Koibito no Iro - W (DoubleU)

Video Link

Mushoku Tomei na Mama de - Morning Musume

Video Link