Whenever things that we do not like happen, we each do many different things. Arif, my grandson, retreats under the nearest table. Here he has cousin Aiman Naim to comfort him. As for me, my mother taught me to "ok". No, it is not "okay" but "OK" that rhymes with "rock" or "sock" if you wear a pair. "OK" is Terengganuspeak for "tahan" or bearing with it, tolerate. So when "Malaysia Today" was blocked a few days ago, I "okked". It was okay with me to a certain extent because I can bypass TMnet. Long before MCMC came into being, I bypassed Jaring's blockade of the Playboy site. Stop sniggering. I am not into bushes (airbrushed or not) but more into Shel Silverstein, the jokes and the cartoons and the forum. Stop saying "Right" okay?
But blocking blogs is another matter. I have to admit that some comments in "Malaysia Today" are as obscene as Playboy's bushes (airbrushed or not) but Pete (that's what Elida called YM Raja Petra) writes well. We might not agree with him all the time but he should be allowed to say his piece. If and when he breaks the law, by all means charge him and let him defend himself in court. Blocking his website is as Pete's maternal ancestors would say "Not cricket" not to mention making a mockery of the MSC Charter. The powers that be must understand that "Malaysia Today" existed because people cannot "ok" the prevailing conditions in the country. Sites like "Malaysia Today" are for people who cannot "ok" when things are not okay. If everything is honkey-dorey and above board, there will be only blogs like mine talking about mundane things and grandchildren and stuffs.
Please understand what Internet is all about. It is about freedom to choose what information you want. If laws are broken, which is daily on the streets of Kuala Lumpur and PJ, punish the law-breakers. Blocking websites is lame.
For those not familiar with proxy servers, you can go to "Malaysia Today" by clicking here.
August 24th 2008 was a Sunday and as you can see from the pic above taken at around 3.30pm on that day, it was a rainy day. And my pc rained on my parade.
I got an early birthday present from 4 of my children who pooled their hard earned money to get me a Western Digital 1 Terrabyte "My Book" USB harddisk. I was happily transferring files from my cramped drives to My Book when I got the message "Files cannot be copied/moved. Your disk might be full". Full? It is a 1 TERRABYTE harddisk for goodness sake. I soon found out that the file system is FAT. All the other drives are NTFS. Maybe I can solve the problem if I convert the My Book to NTFS. I am sure no lawyers will hold any forum on this conversion. The conversion worked! Then my troubles started. First the mouse refused to click any icons. It also started drawing rectangles on the screen. I borrowed Mimi's mouse and confirmed that my mouse was on the blink.
I picked up a new mouse after my birthday celebration atop KL Tower (highest Rendang Tok and lemang in KL). Then the monitor started to switch off every few minutes. I have to reinstall Windows which solved some of the problems. Now you know why this post is late.
Being old has its advantages. If I were much younger, I would have thrown the whole PC down over the balcony especially since I cannot complete the format on any of the drive. Instead, after weeks of not smoking, I soothe myself by sucking on a Romeo y Juliet Habana cigar and singing the Beatle's "When I Am 64" under my breath.
Izani after demolishing most of Paya Serai's watermelon and going "I like it! I like it!" (Click to get a bigger picture)
Sometimes I can't help but envy my young grandchildren like Izani. Apart from having more teeth than me and having a voracious appetite, they have absolutely nothing to worry about. They do not get upset that Malaysia did not get a gold at the Olympics or disgusted that Tv stations allowed their airtime to be used as vehicles for name-calling.
My younger grandchildren, alhamdullillah, are too young to swear on anything or swear at anyone.
I wonder what Malaysia will be when they grow up. Will they start swearing at their parents and grandparents for leaving them a less than perfect country? Will the selfishness and narrow-mindness shown today make Malaysia a worse place tomorrow? Do our leaders and politicians ever think of Izani's generation?
Will Izani look around and still say " I like it! I like it!"". I wonder.
In a few more hours the Beijing Olympics will officially start. There will be drama on and off the field. Once again we will see who in the world is faster, higher and stronger. For the young people of Salsabila Kindergarten, Kelana Jaya, the games began earlier. On Sunday, August 3rd, the whole kindergarten - accompanied by parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and assorted cousins cramped into the SS3 Community Hall for their mini-Olympics. No records were broken but everyone had fun.
Preparing for the March Past.
Arif and fellow rabbits stepping out (with a little help)
Brother Akif, in rabbit's colour (pink) engrossed in his breakfast... .............Ferried by cousin Aliya.
Let us leave ugly things aside and look at beautiful things for a change. Above you can see a sample of Ismail Zain's digital calligraphy. Now, you too can have these work of art printed on canvas, varnished and framed for your wall or as corporate/housewarming gifts. You will never get these masterpieces from any malls or shops. If you are interested in getting one, email me. I am using the commission to renew Veteran RTM's website.
Price List: IMAGE SIZE SIZE WITH FRAME RETAIL WITHOUT FRAME
30 in x 20 in 36 in x 26 in RM 650 RM 500 (vertical)
24 in x 24 in 30 in x 30 in RM 550 RM 450
18 in x 18 in 24 in x 24 in RM 500 RM 400
12 in x 12 in 18 in x 18 in RM 450 RM 350
(Price includes delivery within Klang Valley.Current courier charges will be added to Outstation orders. Mode of payment: Maybank2u. Details in response to your email). While you are at it, email this page to people you know interested)
Whenever things that we do not like happen, we each do many different things. Arif, my grandson, retreats under the nearest table. Here he has cousin Aiman Naim to comfort him.
