the poco-poco controversy...

Perak confirms poco-poco dance ban

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 19:13:00

IPOH: The Perak government will adhere to the ruling made by the Perak Fatwa Committee banning the poco-poco dance, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said today.

He said after the fatwa (edict) was issued, all quarters should respect it and not create any dispute on the matter.

The menteri besar was commenting on the report published by a local daily on Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria's statement that the committee had ruled that the dance is haram for Muslims.

Harussani was also reported as saying that the dance was haram because it had elements of Christianity and soul worshipping, and that the edict would be gazetted soon.

On another development, Zambry said the state government also called on MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd, which is responsible for implementing the Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified double-track project, to ensure that all problems arising from the project be solved immediately.

The menteri besar said 24 issues had been identified to have resulted from the project, including flash floods.

"We would like to stress here that we (state government) will give our cooperation, but the developer has to cooperate in solving the arising issues," he told reporters after chairing the state executive council weekly meeting here today.

Earlier, Zambry and members of the state executive council were briefed by MMC-Gamuda's representatives on the development of the project.

"Overall, we are satisfied with the implementation of the project, which is currently running smoothly and on schedule," he said. - Malaymail

it's just another day in Malaysia where idiotic remarks makes the news...sigh..

the smartass MB managed to pique my curiosity on the origin of the poco-poco dance, so i googled it up for more info but instead of sharing it word by word i'd rather you just click on the links provided below hehe :

1. The Minahasa.net

2. chittychat.wordpress

apparently, after much browsing i found out the topic of wanting to ban the poco-poco dance or statements to say that it was against Islamic teaching goes way back to 2009 (i could've sworn i saw an article relating to it penned in 2008).

i believe his intention was good, which is to protect our Muslim brethren from doing which may be against their teaching. but what annoyed me was, the dick face MB had the audacity to say (or imply) that it's a Christian dance! i mean, wtf dude!

sometimes, i am embarrassed to call myself a Malaysian. with leaders such as this MB who dares challenge the people's intelligence, it's no wonder we are (sometimes) the laughing stock of the world.

it's fine to make statements as long as it's backed up with solid reasoning or proof, but to say just for the sake of saying is an indication of how stupid a person can be and the sad part is, the majority listened and obeyed!

yeah, i'm pissed off only at him particularly for being such a bigot. good thing there are smart people out there such as Minda Tajdid and this person [Extracted from The Malaysian Insider] -it's in Malay, no time for translation...but will translate upon request hahaha.

wanna know what a poco-poco dance is?, here it is:

and here's the original video:

1Malaysia? yeah right. a long way to go peeps....

Morning Glory to me and to you...

i used to be passionate about my work, about what i do because i was good at it.

then... i moved to a new company and everything went downhill...my aspiration, motivation and passion was buried without realizing it.

then... i got back into my old brand though at a different property, but nothing changed. my mojo or groove was still at a standstill, personality got worse and work performance wasn't improving.

then...approximately 5 months later, a movie struck some sense into me, reminding me of who i was before; a person who was passionate about his job, a hard worker but yet still knows how to have fun either alone or with a bunch of people despite being an introvert, a friend and colleague who everyone is comfortable with.

then... tomorrow is a new day, i now realize what needs to be done for a change.

don't know what i'm talking about? watch this movie:



and when i say that i love my job despite being paid the lowest among my counterparts, i really really do mean it because, when you love what you do and the company (brand) you're working for, money is not a problem.

ciao...

mother nature's wrath on 11/03/2011

for the past few days, we've been kept on our toes with news of the tsunami disaster which happened in Japan. those who are capable of feeling share the victim's feelings of lost, pain and despair, some literally while others emphatically.

thousands of lives were lost, properties were destroyed, friends and family gone and the land devastated. those who are safely secured in their own homes and spared the wrath of mother nature can only imagine what the victims are going through.

as sympathetic and empathetic i am of the victims, i couldn't put my mind aside on the fate of all the animals both wild and domestic who once roamed the ground. did any of them manage to find refuge?

i realize that it's quite inappropriate for me to think of the animals' welfare when my fellow humans are suffering, but the animals themselves are capable of feeling..maybe not the same as we humans do, but the trauma experienced should be of the same impact.

a panda seeking solace from a human after the quake...

i try not to read up on the latest news of the incident. it's not that i don't care, it's just that i couldn't bear to imagine further of what they're going through because if i do start thinking, it's to the extent of feeling their pain, loss, confusion, anger, sadness. that's why i only read up on the positive angles such as:

this 4-month old miracle baby found under the debris three days after the incident, giving hope to the rescue workers of finding other survivors...

For other stories, READ here...

sometimes i wonder, why did God let this happen? i believe most people do as well, but as usual, there's no point in questioning His authority because there won't be any answer. the least we can do is to trust His works and powers blindly because i (and hopefully the rest of the population) know there's a silver lining in everything that have happened.

put it simply (in a religious context), if we are to receive His grace and blessings, then we should also receive anything given to us no matter how bad it is.

my condolences and well wishes to Japan, and those who are affected by the incident... God bless..

ciao...

Dosages of Humor...

one thing i look forward to when reading the papers, aside from the news worth reading are the comic strips. face it, the news reports nowadays are too depressing and the only thing that can bring back the optimism are the comic strips, regardless of how irrelevant they are.

the strips are a reflection of our everyday lives despite its inaccuracies. some are about the harsh reality of the world while others depicts scenarios which could or can happen depending on how we want to live our lives.

as the years progresses, we are getting more and more constricted with our responsibilities that we fail to live our lives to the fullest..and these comics are there to remind us not to take things too seriously (and sometimes too lightly) because life is much more enjoyable when it's simpler. even if we read through the most depressing strips, there are still lessons to be uncovered.

most of the source of my comic strips are from the newspapers and a couple of them from the web. and my favorites are (in random order :p):

1. On The Fast Track







-->> Technolgy

2. Baby Blues

-->> Family Affairs

3. The Duplex








-->> Singles

4. Peanuts (this is a classic!)






-->> Innocence

5. Garfield (another classic)







--> Pets

6. Pickles








-->> Family affairs

7. Dilbert







-->> Management

8. Calvin and Hobbes








-->> Innocence

9. Pooch Cafe








-->> Pets

10. Fusco Brothers








-->> Sarcasm

11. Insanity Streak








-->> Humor/ Sarcasm/ Wit

12. Zits








-->> Family Affairs

12. Argyle Sweater




















-->> Humor

13. Close To Home




















-->> Humor

the ones i follow from the net:

1. Something Positive




















-->> Wit/ Sarcasm

2. The Oatmeal




















-->> Wit/ Sarcasm

These are my daily dosage of humor i need in my daily life..without it, i'd probably be a grumpy 9-5 worker :p.

Enjoy the strips and links peeps! :D

LENT...

I JUST REALIZED IT'S ASH WEDNESDAY TODAY!!! well, not that it matters much. i haven't been a practicing Christian for quite sometime now but my faith haven't wavered one bit :D.

anyway, just in case if any of you out there who are ignorant of what lent is all about, here are something for you peeps to read:

Lent is the Christian season of preparation before Easter. In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the first day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count).

Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

Methodist, Presbyterian and Anglican denominations, and also by Roman Catholics. Eastern Orthodox churches observe Lent or Great Lent, during the 6 weeks or 40 days preceding Palm Sunday with fasting continuing during the Holy Week of Easter. Lent for Eastern Orthodox churches begins on Monday and Ash Wednesday is not observed.

Not all Christian churches observe Lent. Lent is mostly observed by the Lutheran, The Bible does not mention the custom of Lent, however, the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is found in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21.

(from about.com.Christianity)

Ash Wednesday is the official start of the Lent season (although some denominations start the Sunday before). Traditionally, during Ash Wednesday services, the congregation receives the sign of the Cross in ashes on their forehead from the priest as a sign of repentance and a reminder that we came from dust which God breathed life into so without Him we are nothing.

Lent then runs for 40 days (although, again, it should be pointed out that some denominations don’t count Sunday’s during that time as they are considered mini-Easter’s so lent is actually 46 days long) until Holy Saturday. The significance of 40 days can be found throughout the Bible:

• After His baptism, Jesus was taken into the desert for 40 days to be tempted by Satan (Matt. 4:11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke:4:1-13)
• Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai receiving the ten commandments from God (Exodus 34:28)
• God flooded the earth for 40 days saving only Noah and his family (Genesis 7:10-12)

(from Dating God)

okay, from what i can gather is that the Lent season is the time where we be less indulgent on the things we do or like, in other words, to give up on our vice and do something good which will bring us closer to God.

all my 31 years of living, i thought Lent is the time when we refrain from eating meat on Fridays until the 40days is up. believe me, trying not to eat meat one day in the whole week can be quite tough, not because of the craving or temptation but because we are too conditioned to eat anything on any day that we tend to forget that friday is a no meat day hahaha.

okay yeah, you caught me...i didn't know about giving up our vices during this season was part of the preparation and i can tell you beforehand that i'm doomed to fail even before i begin hahaha.

now let's see, what are my vices?..
a) smoking
b) drinking
c) porn
d) procrastinating
e) selfishness
f) etc, etc

hahahaha, man..this is going to be tough, especially the smoking part hahaha. but since this is lent, i think i'll try once again to MINIMIZE smoking since that is my current major vice :p. and the good deed that i'll be acting on is to see nothing but good in people regardless of how obnoxious or annoying they are (okay, i can say that because it's not valid until later this evening hahaha)

so for you Christians who will be taking part in this year's Lent, have a blessed lent and GOOD LUCK! cheers :D

My Idol- The Lion Whisperer :D

just in case if anyone is interested to know what kind of animal person i am, well i'm a cat lover (not in that perverted sense!). i love animals but the number one specie in my list is the cat family. here's the top three list of animals that i like:

a) Cats
b) Dogs
c) Birds

having this list doesn't mean that i dislike the other animals. in fact, i have a soft spot for all animals in general even the crocs and snakes. the list is just an indication of animals i'd like to be surrounded with (especially the ones with furs, thick furs) haha. since we're not living in the wild, the least i can compensate with ever getting close to a tiger or a lion is a domestic feline hahaha.

anyway while going through a facebook page, a video was posted which has a similar quality to what i had posted in my previous entry. yeah, it's none other than a man being up close and friendly with a lion but this latest video that i watched was way more inspiring. this guy was actually rolling around with the lions and to top it off, he not only have that effect on lions but also on other wild felines as well, now that's sick :D!

watching him play around with the big cats actually made me feel a bit annoyed because come on, it's like he's teasing me with my own golden dream (other than from winning the million dollar jackpot) of doing the things he's doing, a mockery of some sort as if saying 'hey dude, get a new golden dream because this one is taken'. but you know what, you suck Kevin Richardson. i'm going to bed tonight and dream that you'll be marred by those beautiful creatures and i'll be laughing my ass off with every frakking shrieks and screams whenever they tear your flesh and rip your bones apart!! muahahahahaha (evil mode on....:p)

okay okay, i was just kidding. but the envy part is real :). Kevin Richardson (gotta love wikipedia haha) is the man! he's doing what every feline lovers dream of doing which is playing with the big cats. he's like in the major leagues of the feline pride, someone like tarzan and beastmaster although he's only limited to cats hahaha. but it's still something, normal people would be a meal if anyone were to attempt the feat haha.

here are some pictures (obviously from wikipedia haha) of the man being one with the wild.

okay, now i don't feel weird kissing my cat like this hahaha

woahhh, now this picture says alot!!!

okay, so here are the videos which made headlines:




Kevin Richardson, you're now my new favourite alongside Anderson Cooper, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Buble, Jennifer Aniston and Mother Theresa (there are several others but these are the ones that i can think of right now hahahaha)!

if i were a woman, i'd definitely ask you to marry me muahahahahahaha. just watching the video gives me the butterflies, ciao peeps and enjoy the vid :D

'R'-less :)

after being introduced to the sitcom the 'Big Bang Theory' by a fellow gidiot, i've been an avid viewer of the show. unfortunately, it's not aired in any channel in this country so i've been catching up with it via online streaming.

the scientific and trivial facts infused in the show are what makes it interesting, not to mention the quirkiness of the characters...especially the zany Sheldon Cooper played by Jim Parsons, gotta love the character hahaha.

anyway, in its latest episode- The Toast Derivation (season 4 episode 17), Sheldon said something about to stop using the letter 'M' in their conversations and honestly speaking, the thought was intriguing :p. i mean, wouldn't it be interesting to see how our conversations would turn out if we decide to stop using a particular alphabet in our daily correspondence, it could be any letter from a-z hahaha. so, taking into consideration that i may not be able to apply the theory to the test in a real time conversation, i thought it would make a good experiment to try it in this blog instead. so starting from now until the end of this entry, i'll refrain from using the letter.......'R' hahaha.

but to make this moe inteesting, an alphabet which is mostly used should be chosen fo it to be moe conspicuous because we don't use all of the 26 alphabets in ou daily convesations. some of the lesse used lettes ae the lette 'q' and 'z', which means we can ule this two out in this test.

but, would it eally make a diffeence if we do decide to ignoe one particula lette? of it couse it would because in nomal convesations, any pesons who couldn't ponounce the ords ight would be diagnosed as having a speech impediment, which is to some snobs anothe wod to being a etad.

hahaha, i'm actually smiling to myself doing this. maybe i should tag someone to paticipate in this expeiment and see what they can come up with. but then again, it would only be wasting thei time so i'd ather not bothe them (okay, i'm liteally laughing at myself. i would say that i'm laughing while olling on the floor but i guess that would be stetching it a bit hahahaha). but if i do have to, i'd like Mel and Yo to do it hahaha.

anyway, if you have the time do ty to watch the show. the fist season wasn't that inteesting, but it gadually picked up like a olling stone gatheed moss. it's moe appealing to the geeks o neds because some of the jokes, tems and explanations used ae quite difficult to compehend, especially by those who doesn't spend much time with books, science o comics hahaha.

haha this was fun, till then (man, i am easily amused aen't i? hahaha). ciao peeps :D

looking good or good looking? :p

having been inactive for quite sometime when it comes to sweating it out, i'm not really sure if my metabolism can keep up with the physical stress that i intend to put on this weak and fragile body of mine (hahaha, weak and fragile. ok ok, overweight and flabby hahaha). but if i were to believe that my metabolism is just the same as the last time, i'll be losing some kilos in just a matter of time :p.

anyway, you must be wondering why the sudden interest in losing weight. well, in approximately 2 weeks time, a Tioman trip will materialize and then in a month or so, a Sipadan trip.

for those of you who doesn't know know where or what these places are, both are islands with Tioman in West Malaysia located in Pahang and Sipadan in East Malaysia located in Tawau, Sabah. Apparently, TIME magazine once selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful island (Wikipedia) in the 1970s while Sipadan was made known by Jacques Cousteau in his late 1980s documentary 'The Ghost of the Sea Turtles' and made famous by the Abu Sayyaf incident (see, there's no such thing as bad publicity :p). I'm not really sure how Tioman looks like so i can't really vouch for the things said about the place, but i highly recommend everyone who has the time and money to visit Sipadan at least once..i'm not a diver, but based on what the other divers had said, it's an underwater paradise down there.

anyway, when going to places such as these where being half naked is a norm, it's nice to have a good physique to show off. you don't have to be buffed with bulging muscles and a six pack (though it would be good if you were..or rather, if i were hahaha) to show how great your body is, but at least a lean (lean as in not skinny and definitely not fat hahaha) physique would suffice. on my end, i just need to get rid of my beer belly and love handles :p.

but if you're happy with how you look like, by any means do ignore what i just said about looking good with a six pack because different people have different perceptions and tastes, it's all in the matter of preference. for example, some might prefer those on the bony side and some would rather be with someone plus sized (well, some might look good with a few extra pounds haha :p). so regardless of whether you're a hottie worth dying for, if you don't fall into anyone's category you'll just be another face in the crowd :D.

most of us are insecure about our appearance (including us guys though we rarely fuss about it :p). i mean, it's only human nature to want to look good in front of the others but why do we need to look good? because first impression matters (most of the time). people will judge us by how clean or good looking we are before wanting to know us more. yeah, it's sad to think that us humans are a shallow minded bunch :p.

one best way for us to look good is through healthy living, which encompasses good dieting and lots of exercising. but being humans with full of dislikes, most of us would rather look the other way around and hope that somewhere out there someone is on the verge of discovering magical consumables which would enable us to appear how we want to be without having to go through the traditional boring paths of good exercising and dieting hahaha.


anyway like i said, if you're happy with how you are right now, then don't try changing because when you're comfortable with yourself the others will be too :D.

Cheers :D

Twestival KL!

Just so you peeps know, Twestival is back! what is Twestival you say? well, looks like somebody hasn't been reading the papers or being active in their social networking sites for quite some time now, shame on you! haha, nah kidding :)

okay, so what exactly is a twestival? honestly i don't really know :p. my first impression of it was a twitter festival which involves partying (booze :p) and fun, but the real history behind it? *shrugs shoulders*.

from what i can gather from the net (yeah, i googled or yahooed it up haha), it is a worldwide event where it 'is a single day, global movement which uses the power of social media to organize offline events that mobilize communities in support of a local causes'. waddya know, it's right up my alley where i can have fun and be a part of a charitable cause! haha.

this event is relatively new in the market. it first started in 2009 and i was lucky enough to have attended the event which was held for the first time in Kota Kinabalu back in 2010. initially, the event appeared to be a twitters gathering of some sort and kinda expected free flow of booze (yeah, i'm a cheapskate haha) and man, was i wrong hahaha. but despite the non-existent free flow of any form of alcohol, the event turned out good! :D

so what happened last year? there were laughters, booze (which weren't free haha), performances by local bred artistes and the highlight of the night, the human bidding where good looking guys and gals are 'sold' off to the highest bidder!

bear in mind, although for some people it may look a bit rowdy or inappropriate with the involvement of alcohol (just as last year haha), this event is meant for charity which means all proceeds will be channeled to the chosen organization. and what's more, it's a win-win event where contributors will be having fun while contributing and the selected organization/s will be smiling ear to ear with what will be collected haha.

since i'm now working in KL, i may attend the festival on this other side of the country. not sure how fun it will be without my buddies back in KK (yeah, i may attend as a lone ranger haha) but hey, the hell with it..i'll make do with what i have. heck, i'll even entertain myself if i have to hahaha.

So far, there's still no news of where twestivalKL will be held this year although the date is confirmed:

Event: Twestival
Country: Malaysia
City: Kuala Lumpur
Date: 24 March 2011
Area/Venue: To be advised (hahaha)

for more info on what Twestival is about or a listing of such event in your respective areas, you may want to log in to Twestival Worlwide or for facebook updates go to TwestivalKL if you're in KL, TwestivalKK if you're in KK and since my cousin will spearheading the TwestivalAuck i might as well put the link here as well haha. you can read on why she decided to organize Auckland's first ever twestival here :).

so, for those of you who have nothing better to do on a weekday at the above mentioned date, you might want to get your ass off that couch and chill in this worldwide event! afraid of going there alone? well..suck it up, you're not a child anymore. it's for charity peeps! hahaha

The man behind 'what are words'...

earlier i posted a youtube video of Chris Medina, the American Idol 2011 contestant who didn't make it to the top 24 but touched the hearts of many with his love and loyalty towards his fiancee who is brain damaged.

for those who have seen the video, you may be surprised by how beautiful the song was sung and may even be touched by how the singer expressed his emotions into his singing. well, he was able to do it because aside from being able to feel the song, a great composer was behind the lyrics and music.

the composer is unknown to people like me who doesn't really look into the people who came up with the songs as long as it's music to my ears. apparently, after much googling, the writer and producer of Chris' single 'what are words' is none other than the famous Rodney Jerkins whose credits include Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson.

so who is this Rodney Jerkins?

you can read up on him here: Darkchild or Rodney Jerkins

thank God for beautiful songs, thank God for love, thank God for creative minds :). There's still hope for human kind after all :p

Chris Medina- What are words...

despite not admitting it verbally, i am a sucker for good love songs. give me any ballads, rock or alternative love songs, as long as their tunes are catchy or it has meaningful lyrics i'll defiintely become one of the pathetic guys who can only imagine what the songs portrays.

i think being in love is quite is easy, all you need is to have someone you like to like you back and walla, a relationship based on misunderstood notion of chemical interference is formed where after awhile the reality bites you back in the ass for the mistake committed hahaha.

anyhow, if we were to look at the love songs sung and played over the years or centuries, by renowned artistes, only a handful of them actually knows the sacrifices of being in love. and these sacrifices isn't only about tolerating your spouses' bad habits or fighting over which side of the bed you'd like to sleep on but rather, the bitter sweet journey of sticking true to your feelings knowing that whatever happens, there's only one person you'd like to stay true to.

and then there's Chris Medina, first discovered during this year's (2011) American Idol audition. Having managed to win the judges over with his voice, he fell off the bandwagon during the search for the best 24 contestants. but despite not winning the spot, he had won the hearts of the million of viewers out there with his heartrending story of love and loyalty with his fiancee. yeah, put it this way ... he stayed on with his fiancee in better or worse even after she was struck with an accident leaving her with what most people would consider a major disability and where most guys would instantly walk out the door instead of staying behind and keep the promise of forever after. in other words, he stayed with her when she was beautiful (she really is) and he stayed on even after she was left in a somewhat vegetative condition.

My congratulations to him on his first single, 'what are words' and hats off to him for singing this song because in my opinion, he is the right person to be singing beautiful love songs...

Anywhere you are, I am near,
Anywhere you go, I'll be there,
Anytime you whisper my name,
You'll see,
Every single promise I'll keep,
'Cuz what kind of guy would I be,
If I was to leave when you need me most,

What are words
If you really don't mean them when you say them,
What are words
If they're only for good times then they're done,
When it's love, yeah, you say them,
All of those words,
They never go away,
They live on,
Even when we're gone,

And I know an angel will say
Just for me and I know I'm meant,
To be where I am and I'm gonna be,
Standin' right beside her tonight,
And I'm gonna be by your side,
I would never leave when she needs me most,

What are words
If you really don't mean them when you say them,
What are words,
If they're only for good times then they're done,
When it's love, yeah, you say them,
All of those words,
They never go away,
They live on,
Even when we're gone,

Anywhere you are, I am near,
Anywhere you go, I'll be there,
And I'm gonna be there forever more,

Every single promise I'll keep,
'Cuz what kind of guy would I be,
If I was to leave when you need me most

I'm forever keeping my angel
Close.

if more people understood what true love really is, the world would be a much better place... unfortunately, not everyone is lucky to have found their better half or soul mate even after several lifetimes...