It is always interesting to stop and think as to what our priorities are. Do we celebrate something close to home when a catastrophe is going on in another part of the world? Lets just say that Malaysia's National Day celebration coincides with a major war going on in another part of the world to fight for sovereignty, do we still continue with our celebration or do we tone it down in respect of the other sufferers? How you answer this question would depend on your ethical and philosophical framework.
When a developed nation like US (though its distribution of wealth is highly irregular as well) faces a major natural disaster akin to the tsunami that hit other mostly third world nations on Boxing Day of 2004, should we extend help to them in terms of financial? Or should we let the country that hosts some of the world richest people to handle the problem themselves? Of course they would have a better organised rescue operation in comparison to the poorer countries, but does this mean that just because the Big Brother is a superpower, therefore, we should not be too bothered that millions of its citizens might have just been made homeless? It is a lonely position on top.
Talking about the National Day celebration in Malaysia, with its Blogging in the Malay Language campaign (I speak and write in the language pretty regularly so did not feel the special need to engage in it just for a particular day), I did not actually participate in it actively as a celebrant, other than when I walked the streets of an entertainment hotspot in Kuala Lumpur in the wee hours of the morning, coming out from somewhere where I had some business to attend to, and seeing the revellers gathering about coffee shops and cafes having their early morning meal before heading home. All dressed in their party clothings (casual or otherwise). To a majority of those celebrating, it is merely another occasion to party bigtime. I am not too sure if the actual significance of this particular day, with all its political implication, is looming much in their mind as they shout "Merdeka" and wish each other on the streets and clubs.
And today, I begin the celebration of a new chapter in my life. (:
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Friday, August 26, 2005
Tap performance on video and newspaper
Hi everyone,
Remember my last last posting where I spoke about being involved in a tap performance? Well, here is the newspaper article on it (you won't see me in it as the picture only focused on the centre-side dancers but you get to see some of the dancers and the kind of costumes we were wearing) and also a link to the video if you are interested. Cheers!
Talk about the power of the press, even though this is, IMHO, not a review proper. :P
This is the video-site
-------------------------Begins here--------------------------------
The Star Online > Central
Thursday August 25, 2005
Dance expression best conveyed with passion, pride
Story and photos by CHIN MUI YOON
NOTHING quite quickens the heart and captures the imagination the way dancing does!
There are many expressions of dance and the Federal Academy of Ballet (FAB) believes that the best way is to convey it with passion and pride.
Its recent annual Dance Extravaganza 2005 was staged to full crowds over the recent weekend at the Civic Centre in Petaling Jaya.
The girls are seductive and naughty in Outrageous wearing sheer black veils and sexy outfits.
Some 600 members from FAB’s five dance centres treated parents and guests to a graceful spectacle of performances.
They represented the full spectrum of dances offered by the centre – ballet, modern, tap, jazz and hip-hop.
The youngest dancers kicked off the show with their graceful flights into realms of springtime splendour, of swans, fairies and flowers.
Lovely ballerinas in Voices of Spring.
Wearing turquoise tutus, the little dancers performing Horn Concerto were absolutely adorable while Colours in the Wind had the older girls painting the stage in swirls of brilliant orange and green.
Flowers and ballerinas blended beautifully as seen in the Flower Girls presented by 13 children and Waltz of Flowers with arches of colourful blooms. A glitter and a shimmer shone in Fairies, as the dancers lit up the stage with their starry tiaras and fairy wands.
A memorable presentation came before the interval during the Rhythm of the Tambourines choreographed by Sandra Christian.
A vibrant tap dance performance in My Prerogative.
Oozing confidence, the girls gave a bold, delightful show with smart claps and clicks of their shoes. [Bloggernote: they are talking about us, the tap dancers. Though it was not clear at first. I remembered the the tambourine dancers did not clap with bare hands]
The excitement went up a notch after the break when the older and more seasoned dancers took to the stage.
Naughty and bold were the words for Outrageous while Party was a colourful burst of fun with tunes from the 60’s in which the girls were saucy, naughty but nice.
It wasn’t all about female dan-cers, as little Ronald Tan was a charming little fellow in his dance Le Piccadilly.
Jason Lim’s dedication to fathers, Gone But Not Forgotten, was on a higher level with its melancholic expression.
Johann Strauss’s beautiful tunes accompanied Voices of Spring, where the lavender-clad dancers flitted like butterflies across the stage in this classical ballet.
“We have always worked with themes especially when presenting a show to raise awareness but this year, it’s all about happiness and just a pure expression of dance,” said FAB’s veteran principal of 38 years Lee Lee Lan.
“We love sharing our joy of dancing across borders where our dancers have performed in Europe and Asia. Proceeds from the Dance Extra-vaganza this year will go toward the Kiwanis Club of Bukit Bandaraya for their aid towards various educational needs of urban poor children.
A picture of grace and beauty in Waltz of Flowers in which the dancers twirled around with flower-entwined hoops.
“Through the years, we have witnessed FAB’s evolution from offering pure classical ballet to modern dance, hip-hop and even dancing for senior citizens.
“Dance is a timeless expression of the self. There is nothing like dancing that balances and brings out the best of both the left and the right sides of our brains. Hence, our dancers range from just two and a half to 80 years old!”
© 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
Remember my last last posting where I spoke about being involved in a tap performance? Well, here is the newspaper article on it (you won't see me in it as the picture only focused on the centre-side dancers but you get to see some of the dancers and the kind of costumes we were wearing) and also a link to the video if you are interested. Cheers!
Talk about the power of the press, even though this is, IMHO, not a review proper. :P
This is the video-site
-------------------------Begins here--------------------------------
The Star Online > Central
Thursday August 25, 2005
Dance expression best conveyed with passion, pride
Story and photos by CHIN MUI YOON
NOTHING quite quickens the heart and captures the imagination the way dancing does!
There are many expressions of dance and the Federal Academy of Ballet (FAB) believes that the best way is to convey it with passion and pride.
Its recent annual Dance Extravaganza 2005 was staged to full crowds over the recent weekend at the Civic Centre in Petaling Jaya.
The girls are seductive and naughty in Outrageous wearing sheer black veils and sexy outfits.
Some 600 members from FAB’s five dance centres treated parents and guests to a graceful spectacle of performances.
They represented the full spectrum of dances offered by the centre – ballet, modern, tap, jazz and hip-hop.
The youngest dancers kicked off the show with their graceful flights into realms of springtime splendour, of swans, fairies and flowers.
Lovely ballerinas in Voices of Spring.Wearing turquoise tutus, the little dancers performing Horn Concerto were absolutely adorable while Colours in the Wind had the older girls painting the stage in swirls of brilliant orange and green.
Flowers and ballerinas blended beautifully as seen in the Flower Girls presented by 13 children and Waltz of Flowers with arches of colourful blooms. A glitter and a shimmer shone in Fairies, as the dancers lit up the stage with their starry tiaras and fairy wands.
A memorable presentation came before the interval during the Rhythm of the Tambourines choreographed by Sandra Christian.
A vibrant tap dance performance in My Prerogative.
Oozing confidence, the girls gave a bold, delightful show with smart claps and clicks of their shoes. [Bloggernote: they are talking about us, the tap dancers. Though it was not clear at first. I remembered the the tambourine dancers did not clap with bare hands]
The excitement went up a notch after the break when the older and more seasoned dancers took to the stage.
Naughty and bold were the words for Outrageous while Party was a colourful burst of fun with tunes from the 60’s in which the girls were saucy, naughty but nice.
It wasn’t all about female dan-cers, as little Ronald Tan was a charming little fellow in his dance Le Piccadilly.
Jason Lim’s dedication to fathers, Gone But Not Forgotten, was on a higher level with its melancholic expression.
Johann Strauss’s beautiful tunes accompanied Voices of Spring, where the lavender-clad dancers flitted like butterflies across the stage in this classical ballet.
“We have always worked with themes especially when presenting a show to raise awareness but this year, it’s all about happiness and just a pure expression of dance,” said FAB’s veteran principal of 38 years Lee Lee Lan.
“We love sharing our joy of dancing across borders where our dancers have performed in Europe and Asia. Proceeds from the Dance Extra-vaganza this year will go toward the Kiwanis Club of Bukit Bandaraya for their aid towards various educational needs of urban poor children.
A picture of grace and beauty in Waltz of Flowers in which the dancers twirled around with flower-entwined hoops.“Through the years, we have witnessed FAB’s evolution from offering pure classical ballet to modern dance, hip-hop and even dancing for senior citizens.
“Dance is a timeless expression of the self. There is nothing like dancing that balances and brings out the best of both the left and the right sides of our brains. Hence, our dancers range from just two and a half to 80 years old!”
© 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
When a father have sex with a daughter (or vice-versa according to the sharia rulings on incest)
I first heard this story when attending the Sharia workshop that I had blogged about previously. I know that this happens some time ago and most probably many have heard of it. For a few months earlier this year, I stuck my head under the sand in order to concentrate on the first drafts of my thesis and only started catching up on things sometime in June. So here is the link to it
http://www.muslimaccess.com/articles/Women/rape_zina_in_islam.asp
Hearing about it incensed me. Firstly, do you think that rape always have to be brutal? Do you think that one might not actually feel physical pleasure even when one is psychologically scarred during the incident, if it IS the aim of the perpetrator to make you FEEL pleasure? How do you think that two perfect strangers, with no love or attachment to one another, can actually still have sex and enjoy it?!? When one discusses, forget about talking about it MERELy as a violent crime. yes, some rape ARE perpetrated as a means to degrade women (and even men). Some are committed by psychotic men with a hang-up but by means not all. But I doubt paedophiles sexually abuse minors for that reason. In cases of incest, it is not necessarily that the father who rapes the daughter would go around raping all other girls of her age group in the village. Perhaps, we should see that rape can be perpetrated because of obsession with an illicit desire. A desire to break taboos, screw the consequence. Perhaps, other than merely throwing these perpetrators to jail, since they are already jailed under tax-payers money (not to mention us financing the people who canes them), why not have psychologists and anthropologists study more of what motivates them to do what they do? There have been much studies done in the west on this, and from my observation (though this is not necessarily concrete as I have not researched this in greater detail), incests happen relatively often in small, closed (and perhaps repressive) communities. Not that it doesn't happen in big cities. Of course not. But, when one has less options, what does one do? Especially in rural areas. Freud and a few other psychoanalysts have discussed incest obssession. One wonders about men who decide to take wives around the age of their daughers. Is that not merely a vicarious enactment of an incest fantasy?
By saying that a girl enjoys sex with her father(especially a village teenaged girl who is most probably not very exposed to the idea of sex itself), even if her body SEEMS to say that she does (when she mentally DOES NOT), is similar to justifying an industry of pornography that feeds the fantasy of incest/incest-rape.
Perhaps I'll write an article on this later, once I have the time to do better and more concrete research. Rather than it being totally my personal opinions. (:
On a slightly different vein, read this ht
Why do we let a few ignorant and most probably misogynistic group of men dominate the way laws are enacted and therefore make Islam an ugly religion to people who are nots its adherents? Oh, btw, apparently, who is IN or OUTSIDE Islam is apparently disputable. But more on this later. (:
http://www.muslimaccess.com/articles/Women/rape_zina_in_islam.asp
Hearing about it incensed me. Firstly, do you think that rape always have to be brutal? Do you think that one might not actually feel physical pleasure even when one is psychologically scarred during the incident, if it IS the aim of the perpetrator to make you FEEL pleasure? How do you think that two perfect strangers, with no love or attachment to one another, can actually still have sex and enjoy it?!? When one discusses, forget about talking about it MERELy as a violent crime. yes, some rape ARE perpetrated as a means to degrade women (and even men). Some are committed by psychotic men with a hang-up but by means not all. But I doubt paedophiles sexually abuse minors for that reason. In cases of incest, it is not necessarily that the father who rapes the daughter would go around raping all other girls of her age group in the village. Perhaps, we should see that rape can be perpetrated because of obsession with an illicit desire. A desire to break taboos, screw the consequence. Perhaps, other than merely throwing these perpetrators to jail, since they are already jailed under tax-payers money (not to mention us financing the people who canes them), why not have psychologists and anthropologists study more of what motivates them to do what they do? There have been much studies done in the west on this, and from my observation (though this is not necessarily concrete as I have not researched this in greater detail), incests happen relatively often in small, closed (and perhaps repressive) communities. Not that it doesn't happen in big cities. Of course not. But, when one has less options, what does one do? Especially in rural areas. Freud and a few other psychoanalysts have discussed incest obssession. One wonders about men who decide to take wives around the age of their daughers. Is that not merely a vicarious enactment of an incest fantasy?
By saying that a girl enjoys sex with her father(especially a village teenaged girl who is most probably not very exposed to the idea of sex itself), even if her body SEEMS to say that she does (when she mentally DOES NOT), is similar to justifying an industry of pornography that feeds the fantasy of incest/incest-rape.
Perhaps I'll write an article on this later, once I have the time to do better and more concrete research. Rather than it being totally my personal opinions. (:
On a slightly different vein, read this ht
Why do we let a few ignorant and most probably misogynistic group of men dominate the way laws are enacted and therefore make Islam an ugly religion to people who are nots its adherents? Oh, btw, apparently, who is IN or OUTSIDE Islam is apparently disputable. But more on this later. (:
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Sharia and Tapping
It was an exceedingly full weekend on Saturday, and a partially-filled one on Sunday, leaving me with little time for relaxation (Taken in snatches on Friday night and Sunday morning-afternoon). However, it was a great weekend. Here's why
1. I attended a workshop on Sharia law and gender, and learnt properly for the first time how Sharia laws are formulated in this country, how fatwa happens and all the details that had been rather hazy all these while. Will perhaps write a bit more on this in time. Not suitable to do so now since I am suppose to be at work (:
2. Finally did the concert for my tap dance, and I hope, well enough to convince my tap teacher to let me join the next level class.
3. Went for notthatbalai exhibition on Sunday evening. Missed the best part of it due to my not having check out the website earlier for details of their various interesting events. As usual, I assumed that it was going to be an ordinary visual art exhibition. My bad.
4. Went to some friends' birthday party that lasted all the way til midnight (and hence suffered a little of its effect by being late for work on Monday morning)
And oh, the British Council in Malaysia is having their Celebrate Scotland festival now so check out their website for more details. Maybe some might say that this is another cultural invasion by those damn Brits, though the Scottish, having been historically disenfranchised by the Anglo Saxons, cannot be blame for neo-colonialism (if they've never had the chance to colonise in the first place). Correct me if I am wrong.
A nobel laureate is coming to town but not sure what's gonna happen when he is around. Still waiting for news.
Will write more about that Sharia thing and maybe write more bout my tap dancing experience once I've successfully advance a level. (:
1. I attended a workshop on Sharia law and gender, and learnt properly for the first time how Sharia laws are formulated in this country, how fatwa happens and all the details that had been rather hazy all these while. Will perhaps write a bit more on this in time. Not suitable to do so now since I am suppose to be at work (:
2. Finally did the concert for my tap dance, and I hope, well enough to convince my tap teacher to let me join the next level class.
3. Went for notthatbalai exhibition on Sunday evening. Missed the best part of it due to my not having check out the website earlier for details of their various interesting events. As usual, I assumed that it was going to be an ordinary visual art exhibition. My bad.
4. Went to some friends' birthday party that lasted all the way til midnight (and hence suffered a little of its effect by being late for work on Monday morning)
And oh, the British Council in Malaysia is having their Celebrate Scotland festival now so check out their website for more details. Maybe some might say that this is another cultural invasion by those damn Brits, though the Scottish, having been historically disenfranchised by the Anglo Saxons, cannot be blame for neo-colonialism (if they've never had the chance to colonise in the first place). Correct me if I am wrong.
A nobel laureate is coming to town but not sure what's gonna happen when he is around. Still waiting for news.
Will write more about that Sharia thing and maybe write more bout my tap dancing experience once I've successfully advance a level. (:
Saturday, August 13, 2005
The danger of publishing your website in a different language
Hi again,
A follow-up to my last post. Read this
http://www.wintranslation.com/articles/art01_0001_dangers.html
I never knew that there are translation memory tools until I went to this website so looks like it is time to check that out.
A follow-up to my last post. Read this
http://www.wintranslation.com/articles/art01_0001_dangers.html
I never knew that there are translation memory tools until I went to this website so looks like it is time to check that out.
Lack of South East Asia Language translator?
I personally believe, and I will later use facts and figures (such 'objective' measurements!), that the number of its users and its hegemony within the information-cyber network determines the availability/probability of the language being included in the list of web language translation tools. It is definitely difficult to find any that allows you to translate Malay to English, and the only website listed as being able to do so is not available. Let me know if any of you out there could enter because I sure can't from home. Reason for doing this is because I am curious to see how my Malay articles will look like once subjected to the machinations and polishing of natural language computational tools. Being highly interested in how intuitive language can translate itself into language AIs, I hope to later pursue my studies in this area.
Looks like, for now, I have to personally translate my Malay articles into English since I cannot afford to pay a good translator to do the dirty work for me. (:
Looks like, for now, I have to personally translate my Malay articles into English since I cannot afford to pay a good translator to do the dirty work for me. (:
Thursday, August 11, 2005
The plight of the comfort women
Taking a break from the state of emergency that is Malaysia and to look further afield :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4749467.stm
In recent years, whole monographs have been written about the plight of these women, and I see it as another form of Holocaust of East Asian women (and also a few non-Asians who were trapped within the gulag). As quoted in the news, when you know you are going to die anyway, you have nothing to lose.
Will write more on this issue when I have the time. Might upload more materials on this in the wing dedicated to women's issues
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4749467.stm
In recent years, whole monographs have been written about the plight of these women, and I see it as another form of Holocaust of East Asian women (and also a few non-Asians who were trapped within the gulag). As quoted in the news, when you know you are going to die anyway, you have nothing to lose.
Will write more on this issue when I have the time. Might upload more materials on this in the wing dedicated to women's issues
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Some interesting links and food for thought
For any would-be historian interested in the May 13, 1969 incident in Malaysia (there is more that could be said about it), and who would like to add their two cents, Wikipeadie offers such an option
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_13th_Incident
I've read this interesting article in Malaysiakini about Cyberjaya and what its semiotical implication. I am working in Cyberjaya now and can see it for what it really is, and this article will definitely enlighten the drones working/not working in this 'pastoral' techie 'haven'. Not wanting to divest Malaysiakini of its earnings, I suggest that you pay a few ringgit of subscription (for one month/day) and go read it.After all, you can afford to spend ringgits on a cup of cappuccino.
For readers from other countries, Cyberjaya is a satellite township created by the Malaysian government in their impatience to promote a township governed by high-end technology and multi-media facilities. It has now become a wasteland of 'high-tech' factories and building grounds for cost-cutting multinationals who want to take advantage of its 'flexible' offerings, usually to the detriment of the poor employees, with a mortgage and car to pay off
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_13th_Incident
I've read this interesting article in Malaysiakini about Cyberjaya and what its semiotical implication. I am working in Cyberjaya now and can see it for what it really is, and this article will definitely enlighten the drones working/not working in this 'pastoral' techie 'haven'. Not wanting to divest Malaysiakini of its earnings, I suggest that you pay a few ringgit of subscription (for one month/day) and go read it.After all, you can afford to spend ringgits on a cup of cappuccino.
For readers from other countries, Cyberjaya is a satellite township created by the Malaysian government in their impatience to promote a township governed by high-end technology and multi-media facilities. It has now become a wasteland of 'high-tech' factories and building grounds for cost-cutting multinationals who want to take advantage of its 'flexible' offerings, usually to the detriment of the poor employees, with a mortgage and car to pay off
Worsening conditions in Malaysia
No. 1 We're gonna be shrouded in haze for the rest of the next two months. Is there a way of escaping? I might try leaving the Klang Valley for 1 1/2 weeks in Sept that I am off and hopefully things will be better when I come back. And it is not likely that they will release the API readings. You think tourists will come to a country where their health is likely to be jeopardised? Maybe the foolhardy and the ignorant would.
And if they are not declaring an emergency, I soon will go to the clinic and get MCs for the next 1 week. I am allergic to bad air.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/10/nation/11727033&sec=nation
No.2 The state of Perlis in Malaysia has made it easier for Muslim men to get second wives without their first wives' consent and they are making no apologies about it.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/10/nation/11728443&sec=nation
And if they are not declaring an emergency, I soon will go to the clinic and get MCs for the next 1 week. I am allergic to bad air.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/10/nation/11727033&sec=nation
No.2 The state of Perlis in Malaysia has made it easier for Muslim men to get second wives without their first wives' consent and they are making no apologies about it.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/10/nation/11728443&sec=nation
Friday, August 05, 2005
An academic crisis or multiply-layered hyprocrisy? -and an aside
Food for thought from the blog of late journalist, Steven Vincent.
In what particular description on how women are forced to abide to the rule of wearing abiyas, it has always been the norm in many places in Malaysia, including universities, to regulate the dressing of their students. Perhaps those who had studied abroad and never had to use the libraries or any of the facilities here might never had encountered this issue. Basically, clothes that I can wear to work (in an environment that is not strictly corporate) are not allowed in the hallowed grounds of the universities in this country. Or else, you will be accused of wearing clothes that are "menjolok mata" (I believe an apt translation would be "intoxicating" though that is not a direct translation. Basically, you might not even be wearing anything sexy, but show too much of a flesh (like forgetting to include sleeves to your garb) will have the moral vanguards go into an apoplexy. I've been told off a few times within the grounds of a local university just because I failed to look "decent" by their standards. Perhaps I'll buy a head-scarf and wear it TO university just to make a political statement. Though I am sure that will go over their heads and they will accuse me of insulting their religion.
It's not the religion that's very problematic here. It's the practitioners.
I am currently reading up on masculinities and femininities in preparation of writing the fourth chapter of my thesis. THe first two chapters came back from my supervisor with much comments which I will have to focus closely on as I restructure and fine tune my arguments. Reading up some basic tenets on critical writing posted by my friend here.
Pretty elementary for those already practising them but reading through the links there provided very necessary reminders to myself. Theoretical knowledge is one thing, but when one puts these into practice, one still encounter the pitfalls one is warned against unless one consciously bears these rules in mind as one writes. A poorly formulated argument can basically destroy whatever great theories you have thought out, as I have encountered again and again. There is a tendency to be sloppy and I have to always force myself, again and again, to be highly critical and meticulous in whatever I write, especially when it comes to more scholarly pieces.
In what particular description on how women are forced to abide to the rule of wearing abiyas, it has always been the norm in many places in Malaysia, including universities, to regulate the dressing of their students. Perhaps those who had studied abroad and never had to use the libraries or any of the facilities here might never had encountered this issue. Basically, clothes that I can wear to work (in an environment that is not strictly corporate) are not allowed in the hallowed grounds of the universities in this country. Or else, you will be accused of wearing clothes that are "menjolok mata" (I believe an apt translation would be "intoxicating" though that is not a direct translation. Basically, you might not even be wearing anything sexy, but show too much of a flesh (like forgetting to include sleeves to your garb) will have the moral vanguards go into an apoplexy. I've been told off a few times within the grounds of a local university just because I failed to look "decent" by their standards. Perhaps I'll buy a head-scarf and wear it TO university just to make a political statement. Though I am sure that will go over their heads and they will accuse me of insulting their religion.
It's not the religion that's very problematic here. It's the practitioners.
I am currently reading up on masculinities and femininities in preparation of writing the fourth chapter of my thesis. THe first two chapters came back from my supervisor with much comments which I will have to focus closely on as I restructure and fine tune my arguments. Reading up some basic tenets on critical writing posted by my friend here.
Pretty elementary for those already practising them but reading through the links there provided very necessary reminders to myself. Theoretical knowledge is one thing, but when one puts these into practice, one still encounter the pitfalls one is warned against unless one consciously bears these rules in mind as one writes. A poorly formulated argument can basically destroy whatever great theories you have thought out, as I have encountered again and again. There is a tendency to be sloppy and I have to always force myself, again and again, to be highly critical and meticulous in whatever I write, especially when it comes to more scholarly pieces.
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