The weekend is here!

I just read a fanfic inspired by this ad. Arthur, OMG.

*dreamy eyes*

OMG this is just nuts.

 


 Have a good weekend, y'all!

We must keep vigilant for empathy ...

I got that fabulous quote from this video:



which I stole from here.

This just underscores my immense love for the brothers Green.

And it's not just because of this picture.

Current love doom, La Cumberbatch giving not the Vulcan sign "Live Long and Prosper," but rather the NERDFIGHTER sign, OMGWTFBBQ!!!

I think y'all got a pretty big clue of the kind of nerd I am, yeah?

X marks the spot

Malaysians who are registered voters will be making X's and ticks on the sweet spot on the ballots to choose which joker gets to represent them at the state assembly as well as the national Parliament tomorrow.

 I don't know photoshop or I'd change the flag.

Things have gotten a bit tense with both sides going all out badmouthing the other party and praising their own (non existent) virtues, or as the Malays put it, masuk bakul angkat sendiri, (literal translation: getting into a basket and lifting it yourself. No, not in an elevator).

One side is promising transformation of the country into higher income nation and has put in place a number of policies to make this happen.  The other side accuses the incumbent of corruption, cronyism yada yada yada and is urging for CHANGE at any cost for whatsoever reason. Just give them a try. You know, like that outfit you liked at Debenhams. Except that you're gonna keep buying (and paying for it) for the next five years. According to them, if we don't like them, we can return them after the five years are over.

Right.

It is quite common to have a lot of mudslinging and accusations of money politic (face it; you'd do the same if you have the moola). There's really nothing new to that. Those who are intensely political (whether a member of a political party or no) are prone to grand pronouncement of the evil being/has been/will be perpetrated by the other side.

Whoever voted a pauper into office? 

However, the vitriol appears to be magnified with social media. Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, blogs etc has made lobbing accusations, speculations, half truths and downright lies to muddle things up beyond all recognition downright effortless. What with the pictures and videos and innuendos and blatant statements, there is no peace in scrolling down my FB wall. I am not going to put up examples of the idiocy they keep spewing every ten minutes; I don't think keeping my blood on boil is good for my health.

I actually longed to see anything but those toxic sewage and would gratefully accept my married friends posting sweet nothings to their significant others or the mommies crowing that their precious child had scored all As/had bowel movement/won the Nobel prize. Mind you, these are things that often made me grit my teeth and want to do massive de-friending.

It's enough to make me want to run screaming into the night.

 I wish I could escape too.

Politicians have behaved as they always did since people discovered that they can screw up society beyond belief (and profiting from it!) by holding elections. After all, a dictator only needs to make sure the gulags in the most inhospitable of countryside are well supplied to house any and all dissidents; no popularity contests needed. Since Malaysia boasts a democratic process to populate the Parliament under the Constitutional Monarch (our beloved Yang Dipertuan Agong), we see the shenanigans amping up since the nomination day some three weeks ago.

Just change the flag in the background and this is applicable worldwide.

Both sides claim that they can do the best for the country. I am pretty partisan, don't get me wrong. But this post is not about preaching to the choir or trying to convert the infidels. I am just as cynical as many about what politicians can actually deliver. The crushing blow experienced during the 2008 election has made the incumbent work harder to satisfy the grassroots, sometimes doing ridiculous things that make even their hardcore supporters wince or even explode in outrage. Nonetheless, this isn't necessarily a bad thing; gone are the days they can put up a flag pole as a candidate and they'll get the votes. They have to amp up the game and do whatever possible to make sure that this time around they'll coax the voters to give them a comfortable majority.

Glad-handing once every four to five years. In between election, the elected official often vanishes into the aether.

I do believe that for our government to work well, we need a strong and decent Opposition. Sadly, that is not what we have. We have a loose "coalition" of three parties (actually five, but one got absorbed into the Big Brother's party and the remaining adik is being mercilessly bullied by the rest) which doesn't even share common goals or ideals. But hey, politics make for stranger bedfellows and all the best to those who believe in their earnest exhortations on how they are actually BFFs (who stab each other in the back on a regular basis) who are the best people to run Malaysia. They will give us free education! Lower the price of petrol (or gasoline to those who speak American)! Abolish toll roads! Vote us and you'll go to heaven!

Standard campaign promises. For some, the manifesto is not a promise.

And the BS goes on.

(Yeah, you can probably see which side I'm leaning on, hehehe).

What really got my goat is their rallying cry of "Ini kalilah!"; an abuse of the national language which does not endear them to me AT ALL. Kalau aku tanya "Baru turun tongkang ke?", marah pulak nanti...

It's definitely a chicken vs egg situation.

Anyhoo ... if you are a registered Malaysian voter, please understand that you are incredibly precious to the country. Not just your contribution to the country's economy, but also for ensuring that we elect the right person to lead the nation.

Remember, your vote counts. Unless you spoil it. 

You are spoilt for choice! You can choose from the incumbent coalition, the Opposition (in a few places, they actually fielded more than one candidate from different parties. I told you it's a loose coalition *rolls eyes*) and a whole slew of Independent candidates (most of whom are actually sulkers from either the incumbent or the Oppo; a few are genuine believers that they have a chance at winning).

Choose which ever your heart desires ...

Whichever party that wins, we must come back together as a nation. It is sad that politics have driven a wedge that separates us, but I have faith that Malaysians can see the bigger picture and put aside our differences to continue to make our country the best that it can be.

For that purpose, Anas Zubedy of the famed "Let us add value" advertisements (that rival Yasmin Ahmad's films on triggering tearful reactions) that appear in the newspapers during the National Day and Malaysia Day has initiated a campaign to heal this rift.

So please participate in this, and help us put the silliness of the elections behind us as quickly as possible. Let us make a conscious effort to not hold grudges, to stop reading and spreading poisonous materials that are put up on our FB walls, and to just keep on living our lives the way we always have (or at least aspire towards): with dignity, grace and kindness.

Moar shameless self promotion

Recollection of culinary adventure recounted here.

Hehehe.

Shameless self promotion here

Tonight is the night that I got inspired to tickle my keyboard for more tales about my Daddy.

Be a darling and visit my Malay blog and Cowbird.

I'd love to know what you think.

*hugs*

Unforeseen hiatus

I have disappeared from posting here for over a month. Was I missed? I would like to think so (narcissist, much?).

My Daddy passed away last month on the third. It was a stunning blow for our family; we took it for granted that he'd live as long as his mother did, his father and his siblings (only two died before hitting sixty). I guess we forgot that all of us were born to die and that there is no promise or contract to let us know how long we have in this world. I have had my Daddy for over thirty five years (he had his for much less, so did my Mum), but I don't think there was ever enough time to have with the people you love, right?

I penned (typed, rather) a little tribute to my Daddy on Cowbird. You can see it here.

Goodbye, Daddy. See you on the other side.

Slow start to the new year

Holy God!

I just remembered today that January is almost over and my last post here was last year for Christmas. In my defense, I have just started a new job, has a steep learning curve to keep up to (and slipping down the slippery slope every so often) and has been falling asleep before 11 pm on a daily basis.

When is a girl gonna have time to update her blog? Does anyone read me anyway?

But then I recalled that my aim for starting this blog wasn't to impress anyone with my (lack of) mad writing skills. I did it to have a repository of some kind to store items that crossed my way that are:

1. Interesting
2. Funny
3. Made me think

I noticed that my writing has slowed down since I got me a smartphone after mooching phones off of my Dad and Sis for the past unknown years. Yeah, the first time I forked out a tonne (or what felt like it) of money for a toy that's gonna be rendered obsolete in a few months time. But in the mean time, I have been using the Flipboard app to read interesting stuff from the New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, Al-Jazeera, The Atlantic, BBC World, The Atlantic Wire, Forbes Tech News, Futurity.org, Popular Science, NYT Bits and many more.

So now I am inundated with COOL STUFF TO READ. Well, as long as my battery is still alive, that is; my addiction to Word Feud puts a significant dent on my battery. But the drawback to using the smart phone is that the multitude of access to COOL STUFF TO READ has kinda slowed down my writing; I still haven't figured out how to update my blog using the phone. On the other hand, typing is darn slow (*shakes fist at touchscreen keyboard*) and redolent with spelling errors (no, auto correct doesn't always help).

Anyhoo, I am promising myself (hah!) that I shall work harder on writing on this blog (and the others that I have, hehehe) and to post something at least once a week. We'll see how that goes.

Well, inaugural post for the year is of course sharing prurient stories (which are always the best kind) with a scientific bend. The first of which is good news for men who drink green tea and take the little blue pills to keep their soldier upright. A team of Japanese researchers from Kyushu University have found that the healthily arousing cocktail is beneficial to suppress cancer or to promote the effectiveness of chemotherapy on cancer. Of course this exciting experiment has been conducted only on rodents at the moment, but I am sure there won't be a lack for human volunteers.

And other non-Homo sapiens volunteers.
(Stolen from http://morgueradio.blogspot.com/2009/06/lol-cats-and-immortal.html)

So far so good, right? Hehehe. Not quite.

Bad news for Internet porn aficionados is next. Apparently, viewing Internet porn  has serious effects on your working memory. So if you have been missing appointments, forgetting your significant other's birthday (how could you with Facebook?) and finding it difficult to concentrate on work, take a long, hard look at your Internet porn habits. Granted, the study was only on a small number of men (n=28, all claiming to be straight), but it is highly likely that the same outcome will be seen in females as well as non-heterosexual males AND females.

Spanking the monkey wasn't an experimental parameter in the study.

(Stolen from http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/omg-masturbating-lolcat.jpg)

The Internet has helped democratise pornography. Previously, it can only be obtained furtively from shady stores and if you are from countries that heavily censors the reading and viewing material of its citizens, great pains are involved (aided and abetted by your local friendly DVD pirates). But the cyber revolution has helped everyone with a computer and a modem to access a plethora of erotic materials in various forms and genre. Gone are the days where a flash of flesh is enough to make a sex-obsessed person's (this goes for males and females of all ages, ok? No ageism) day, it seems that vanilla sex is no longer good enough for those who are actually getting some. Porn addiction has been changing expectations of both partners and not for the better. Oh dear. There are more scientific studies out there on this issue and not just a Cosmopolitan survey, but you can Google those up on your own free time.

Perhaps this new year (with the upcoming lunar new year) we should resolve to clean up our Internet habits, should this pertains to us. Ahem.

*whistles and looks innocent*

Talking to yourself ...

... is not a bad thing. Sometimes a little navel gazing and self reflection is good for you.


Because if other people talk to us the way we talk to ourself, we'd kick them out of our life.


Is your personal equation killing you? Think about it.

Space is pretty.

Nothing wrong with this. Nothing wrong whatsoever.

Sweep hey derry!

I have unhinged love for everything Ilona Andrews. It all started with a novella featuring a shapeshifter in denial. I fell in love with Andrea and Raphael and wondered about the friend who cooks Hesperides apples for her boyfriend.

Then I came across Bayou Moon and fell in love all over again with a changeling warrior and his violent conman girlfriend. I have no words to describe my utter joy with the book; it hit all the sweet spots perfectly. Crazy characters who grew and evolve? Check. A roller coaster ride of a plot and twistier than Twister on steroids? Check. A horrible antagonist who may make a reappearance? Check. Just to name a few.

And now they give away free serial reads?

How fantabulous is that? Go there and find out how an innocuous innkeeper kicks the ass of a werewolf and lived to talk about it. And there're scary old ladies who could eat you up; literally. This urban fantasy sci fi is a super fun read.

Go on. Click on the link and enjoy the clever wordsmiths at work.

Self pimping!

Come stroll along my memory lane here.

Forewarning: it is almost completely in Malay (my mother tongue). If it sounds awkward it's probably because the only Malay book I have read in the past ten years is the English-Malay Dictionary.

*shame face*

Mooning ...

You were born during a Waning Gibbous moon
This phase occurs right after a full moon.

- what it says about you -
You love to let people in on the story of how things come together. You know the background of ideas and have a deep understanding of things others just touch the surface of. You can surprise people with your wide variety of knowledge, and they'll remember and appreciate you for it.

What phase was the moon at on your birthday? Find out at Spacefem.com

Do you think the description fits me?

 *blushes demurely*

Honey coated poison

I have not read either authors. What can I say; I am shallow and only like to read happy stuff. But their philosophy (as described here) does gave me pause.

Well, I will have to go with Aldous Huxley on this one. The hedonist in me quivers in fear.

My life philosophy ...

Population control.

Oh dear. I've always wondered whether the alien method of propagation is viable on their home planet. Such a large parasite ...

Prophylaxis is the key here, people.

Foolosophy

My reading philosophy?

If you like it, read it.

Don't matter if it is a website manual, manga, romance, self help or porn.

I don't believe in censorship, but age appropriateness is important. On the other hand, I started reading romance novels (Mills & Boons and Loveswept, mind you) when I was 11.

Heh.

Free verse

Loneliness can keep haunting you ...
        Buried in your psyche ...
                Loving the journey ...
                        Dreading the destiny ...

 Stolen faith, lost tenderness

 Buried under water ...

Aurgasm

Nina Persson started out her singing career with The Cardigans, purveying sweet bubblegum pop music that hid a dark core, telling stories more relevant to Brothers Grimm than Disney sweetness. Kinda like sucking a lime candy and then you hit the super sour melty centre. Their first huge hit made me think about what it's like to hit acid just before going out on a date with your crush.



Yes, I have a weakness for retro-like music. This song was practically the soundtrack of my pre-university days. Now you know how old I really am.

Massive fangirling and moar ear candy after the cut.

The ties that bind

Pregnancy is a miraculous thing. The human body is designed to expel whatever that is strange or foreign to it; that's the basis of our immune system (yes, our bodies are racist, get over it). But here we have an infestation of an organism (or even more) with half of its genetic material coming from a foreign source, and the woman's body adapts to nourishing and protecting it (except in rare cases).

When the time comes, the foreign organism makes the host's body expel it, with a great deal of labour (ahem) and pain. Et voila! A baby is now born. A helpless, piteously mewling little thing that is completely dependent on the former host (if lucky, and host's partner) for everything from food, water to shelter. And for the most part, the host is supportive and protective.

O_____o

I mean, this organism has made your life difficult for the best part of nine months,  takes it's own sweet time to get out with much effort and discomfort on your part, and you welcome it with open arms? Superficially, it doesn't sound logical to grow attached and wanting ferociously to take care of what is, essentially, a parasite on your physiological and material resources.

But you do and that is thanks to the bonding molecule, oxytocin. No, not superglue.

Oxytocin doesn't just make a mother tend to be more nurturing (particularly breastfeeding mum), but it can also be stimulated in others. Visual cues such as a baby's cuteness, is thought to elicit the hypothalamus to produce oxytocin, making us want to coo and cuddle the adorkable little things.

To wit, my current source of oxytocin tsunami.

 Stolen with permission from my cousin. 

 

Escape artist have escaped the swaddling.  

  Dinner with mummy, post bath.

Tea time with big sister. 

 Oxytocin has also been implicated in development of trust and relationship-building behaviour. It appears that oxytocin starvation leads to impaired moral conduct. Could we one day modulate antisocial behaviour with judicious application of oxytocin?

Who knows?

But it would be great to find out, don't you think?

*flails*

The cutest photobomber to rival Mr Gosling!

I can't wait to see this. Love how non-American actors are brilliant at sounding more American than apple pie.