Simply laconic
May 25, 2008 Profiles
- Main Entry:
- la·con·ic
- Pronunciation:
- \lə-ˈkä-nik\
- Function:
- adjective
- Etymology:
- Latin laconicus Spartan, from Greek lakōnikos; from the Spartan reputation for terseness of speech
- Date:
- 1589
using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious
That was from the Webster’s dictionary.
This (the picture below) is from the store.
So yes, this is a plug (not sure how many readers in Penang) but I was out on an assignment with a bunch of brats (the Bright, Roving, Annoying kind, The Star’s young journalist programme) at Prangin Mall when I came across this store called Laconic. First thing that caught my eye were the leather wrist-wear (because I love those stuff - now you know what to send me in your fan mail heh heh) and because amid the very Sungei Wang Plaza-looking stores, this one totally stood out. Just look at the paintings.
It was a bit strange to see this store in between a camera store and another one with really badly-styled mannequins.
Anyway, I went in and asked for the name card - I thought it might make a nice story for the papers - and they gave me this (I took it out of the plastic holder because of the glare).
At first I thought it was such a unique idea for a name card until I (sigh) spent RM29.90 buying a ring made of leather which came in the same case. Except that when I asked for the name card, they included a small piece of leather which I suspect is supposed to be hooked on to your cellphone.
These are a few more shots I took:
Originally, I was going to blog on me walking along Penang Road in the evening, and I got a few nice pictures as well (if I do say so myself). I will share them here anyway.
I’m going on the Penang Ferry for the first time tomorrow - so excited (yeah, very the salah, I know). I’ll try to find some time tomorrow to blog on it.
Tags: brats, Laconic, penang, Penang Road, Prangin Mall
I want to be a Billionaire too!
May 23, 2008 Rantings
Just a quick note before I get on with my post. Am in Penang for a few days to run The Star’s BRATs programme. Access to the net isn’t a problem, but not sure if I can find the time. Will try though but just wanted to give the two people (hi mum, hi dad) who read my blog a heads up in case I don’t blog much until mid-next week.
And on to the post.
Okay fine, I’ll settle for just 10% of that but hey, it’s nice to dream, no?
I am, of course, talking about reports in the papers today (like this one from The Star) about how businessman Tan Sri Vincent Tan, the chairman and CEO of Berjaya Corporation Bhd has joined Malaysia’s billionaires club with a net worth close to US$1.3billion. This figure was released by Forbes Asia.
He is now in 9th spot, up from 14th last year.
Those in the top 10 are (Click here for all their pictures):
1. Tan Sri Robert Kuok
2. Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan
3. Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng
4. Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow
5. Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua and Family
6. Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan
7. Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay and family
8. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary
9. Tan Sri Vincent Tan
10. Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King
Notice a trend? They are all Tan Sris (well, short of Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua but she is the wife of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong and is appearing for the first time in the list). I know this ‘revelation’ is of no significance but I noticed it when I saw the graphic accompanying this story in today’s NST and thought I’d share my astute observation (yes, you may puke now). Shame they didn’t post up the image to accompany their story online. (Oh yeah, if I recall correctly, the NST image named Ananda Krishan as a Tan Sri, some sites did too, but others don’t so I’m not 100% okay?).
What is interesting however is this other article in The Star. The headline is:
Rich to pay more under new subsidy scheme
In the article, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said that the new scheme for subsidised items - including fuel - will be announced by the Prime Minister. The article didn’t mention when.
It also reads: “According to the current calculation, the Government has to spend RM45bil in fuel subsidy based on the oil price of US$120 (RM390) a barrel.”
That’s basically how much the top 40 Malaysians are worth ($46bil), according to the Forbes report. Of course, the report cites in US dollars so its wayyyyyyyyyyy more than that after conversion to the Ringgit ( and I don’t think I own a calculator that can covert that figure :P).
I can’t wait to see what the details of the scheme are, but Nor Mohamed has hinted that it will benefit those from lower- and middle-income groups.
I wonder how much those in the Forbes list will have to contribute each. Now, that will be interesting… heh heh.
Aiyah, just throw in a few million each and spare the rest of us the misery, can ah Tan Sris (and Puan Sri)?
Tags: Ananda Krishnan, billionaire club, forbes asia, Lee Kim Hua, Lee Shin Cheng, malaysians, Quek Leng Chan, rich, richest, Robert Kuok, Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary, tan sri, Teh Hong Piow, Tiong Hiew King, vincent tan, Yeoh Tiong Lay
School uniform uproar! (was Malaysian school uniform: Sexayyyy!)
May 22, 2008 Rantings
Update:
Many blogs have highlighted this issue so I think it’s safe to say that the statement caused an “uproar”. Reading the comments on the posts, some people have even gone as far as posting the link to the Friendster page of Munirah (the person who released the statement), which I suppose isn’t so hard to find. A search on Facebook showed that there is one such Munirah Bahari, but her profile is inaccessible to anyone who is not in her Friend’s list.
I won’t repost the Friendster link because I think a person’s personal profile is, well, personal but she does have a blog and you can visit it here to read the statement she released in its original form (in Bahasa Malaysia). She is also referred to as “naib presiden hal ehwal wanita” which either means she’s the vice president overseeing women’s affairs, or she’s the women affairs department’s vice president.
Lots of interesting comments on the blogosphere, though. My boss refers to Munirah and her group as Little Talibans, while Cake Eating Fool called the incident the Joke of The Month. A reader at I Know What You Think wondered what the statistics were for nurses who gets raped because of their white uniforms, while Scott from Burning Hot has a cute image of the “Tempteresses“.
George Michael was on Idol! *cardiac arrest* And United is the King of Europe. Wooo!!! ANNNDDD Congrats David (not gonna say who so as not to spoilt it for some of you guys)!
And on to the post.
Woke up early this morning to catch the American Idol results show which is on now. Some of the performances were great, and some are okay only lah, so I decided to read the papers while passing time.
Then I came across this headline in The Star:
School uniform sexy, says group.
WTF?
The story, a wire story from AFP, states that National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia released a statement saying that the white blouses that are part of a young girl’s school uniform encourages rape and encourages pre-marital sex.
“The white blouse is too transparent for girls and it becomes a source of attraction … It becomes a distraction to men, who are drawn to it, whether or not they like looking at it,” the article quoted the group’s vice-president Munirah Bahari.
Yes, the statement was released by a woman. How can a woman actually believe that this is true? Surely, you must have more dignity than that. Statements like this send the women’s right (let’s not even talk about the feminists) movement back centuries.
This is a long-argued debate, criticising women who wear make-up, wear “revealing” clothes etc and how this entices men to want to do horrible things to them - rape, included.
Again and again we argue that men have to take responsibility for their actions. Surely, the need to abide the law, a sense of propriety and, yes, even will power has to prevail. How then, can anyone, a woman at that believe that the way a woman dresses is to blame … what more young girls, most of whom are below 16 (the age of consent)?
This is really sad (and upset) … and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Already a couple of bloggers have posted their opinions. Here are two (one and two) blogs that I read this morning. Marina has also blogged about it.
Speak out, speak out against these people! Let’s put some sense in their heads! God gave you brains to think right?
Tags: Malaysia, rape, school uniforms
Indiana Jones: My thoughts
May 22, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
So much happening today. I missed American Idol final performances cos I was at Cineleisure Damansara to watch the new Indiana Jones movie. So, I have the performances loading on YouTube as I write this (should have fully loaded by the time I’m done). And the reason why I’m not in bed is cos I’m waiting for the United vs Chelsea game. And then up to watch the Idol result show at 8am tomorrow. Oh my God!
But who cares about me. I want to talk about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
I was actually really excited about the movie ‘cos, like for everyone else I guess, I never thought we’d see Indy and his hat again. Except on repeats that is. Heck, it’s been almost 20 years.
The good news is that the excitement stayed on throughout the show. I was extremely entertained - I loved how edgy it was, I loved how there were bits of humour, and I loved seeing Harrison Ford donning that hat again.
Performance wise, the show was brilliant. Harrison Ford is a legend. Not that I want to take his talents for granted but we’ve seen what he can do with Indy, and he’s done it all over again. But Shia LaBeouf was quite spectacular. When he first appeared on screen, I was thinking - oer, he looks a bit young for this part, too clean cut - but then when it came down to being dirty, boy, did he get dirty. I thought he was great (and if any of the rumours flying around is true, I look forward to seeing him as the next Indiana Jones!).
But of course, it was Cate Blanchett who stole the show. That woman is amazing, she can do almost anything! She plays this Russian scientist (evil at that) and she played it to the T (except for one moment when she first appears, I thought I heard a hint of her Aussie twang). But my god, that woman can act!!!!!
I liked that Steven Spielberg didn’t overdo the effects etc - Indy has always been very raw that way - and except for the moments where he had to, I think he stayed quite faithful to the legacy.
Now comes the part that I didn’t like - try hate - about the movie. It’s a spoiler so scroll down if you don’t want to know.
* SPOILER BEGINS *
I can’t believe they made the plot based on paranormal activities. I mean, it’s Indiana Jones for crying out loud. He’s an archeologist. It’s supposed to be about tombs, and dust, and dirt - not clean, shiny spaceships!
Of course, this was only revealed almost to the end so I enjoyed most of the show but I have to say this spoilt it for me. I can take insinuation, but this was pretty full on aliens and more to the point where I was expecting Octimus Prime to fly out to save them all.
Totally ruined the show for me. Sigh.
* SPOILER ENDS *
That said, I can’t say that I dislike the show. I enjoyed it for what it is. Plot aside, it was everything I expected it to be. I’m actually quite excited about the next instalment now. By then, Shia would be much older and I think he’ll fill Indy’s shoes pretty well.
Can’t wait.
Tags: Cate Blanchett, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Shia LaBeouf
V(V)esak Day
May 20, 2008 Events
A couple of nights ago, my friend Larry was in town from Singapore and we met up for drinks along Jalan Bukit Bintang. I told him I couldn’t stay out late because it was Wesak Day the next morning, and he asked me, “Why is it spelt with a W? Not with a V?”
I’m not sure either. I remember it being ‘V’ all this while, but everyone lately’s been using ‘W’. Maybe I am just confused.
Anyway, so I woke up early yesterday for my annual ‘pilgrimage’ of sorts. My family would usually head over to the Brickfields Buddhist Temple on this day. I was quite gutted ‘cos I wanted to take some photos but sleepyhead here (read: me) forgot to bring my camera.
Thank God (or Buddha?) for the iPhone. I managed to get some shots.
The one below is me being blessed by two of the monks (is that the right term?). This is routine for most visitor to the temple on Wesak Day where we queue up, get holy water sprinkled on us and then get the yellow string which we usually wear around our wrist.
As we were leaving, this band of young performers playing some sort of percussion equipment led someone very important - I suspect he is the high reverend of the temple or something like that ‘cos the comentator on the PA system asked everyone to stop all activities as he is lead out to perform some prayers.
What I thought was quite interesting this year also is the picture below.
Yup, DiGi had a stall among the many lining the road leading to the entrance of the temple. Usually, these are stalls selling Buddha figurine, religious books, vegetarian dishes etc. But DiGi was pretty conspicuous there, offering free bottles of mineral water. Whatever I think about their service (I still can’t get reception at my table in the office!), this is brilliant marketing, no? Magnum (yes, the 4D company) also had bottles of water distributed (didn’t see them, but saw the bottles laying around.
Finally, the good news is that no one attacked mum this year. Previously, mum would bring lots of loose change to distribute to the rows of beggars at the entrance of the temple.
But last year, we as a family decided that she should not do it after their literally “attacked” her. What happened was mum took out her loose change and started dropping some in each beggar’s cup, but upon seeing this, the ones at the end of the line just rushed towards mum, grabbing at her hands. She almost fell down backwards as they were pushing her.
So while I sympathise with these poor folks, my mother’s well-being is my priority. So mum donated the money to the Myanmar Cyclone Nargis relief fund and the China earthquake fund that they were collecting for in the temple instead.
I didn’t manage to get many shots as I prefer taking these shots using my camera, and I was rushing to head back to work. I did ge t some shots last year - if you’re interested in seeing them, you can view them at my Flickr page.
Tags: beggars, brickfields temple, DiGi, Magnum 4D, vesak, Wesak
