It's been a while since I last posted. I just wanted to give you a quick summary of what has happened. Our children has grown up and they are now entering 18 and 14 respectively. Which gives us a whole new world to work with. This is new territory for my wife and I. How to deal with 18-year old teen who has that irritatingly know-it-all mentality but you know he is just as dumb as a door nail. How do you know when to let go, when to slowly reel it in and when to yank it like there is a Florida Marlin on the other end fighting for dear life.
Then there is female puberty kicking in with my daughter. Coming in from all sides that you feel like a lone space fighter being attacked by tiny hormonal Cylon space fighters coming from everywhere! Not a pretty picture. My son just completed his O-levels which is similar to high school finals and he now stands at a crossroad of what to do with his life. As a Chindian parent, which means we have the strongest education genes in the universe, college is a must. However, I am open enough to accept Chindian gut wrenching fact that he won't be a doctor, lawyer or engineer or accountant. I mean it took tons of morphine and valium to stop me from ripping his spleen out so that he will have to take up medicine to cure himself and law to sue me.
So as he sleeps until 2pm everyday and wakes up watching Anime (let's come back to that, what the hell is up with this Anime crap??), I am left wondering if he has any blinking idea of the path he wants to take. Scarily it seems there isn't any sense of urgency from his exterior. That would mean there is a plan right? WRONG!! His mind is a blank. IF I had to sell his mind right now, it will fetch a very high price as it's hardly used!! So I will have to figure this out for him but I am trying to figure it out WITH him and not FOR. Wish us luck!!
There is my princess. I took a sabbatical from work to spend some time with her. She is having problems with her school work. She's not doing well (or as well as we expect) and she seems to be exposed to some crazies in school who think that faking suicide is cool and a great way to get attention. Don't get me wrong, I am very sensitive to teens who are genuine depressed or deprived. I'm talking about attention whores who fake it.
Anyway, I got to spend time with her and to understand her more. Hopefully I was able to help and she now understand us a little bit more. She is very bright and has a fantastic sense of humour. She is also musically inclined (oh she took up drums! How cool is that!). She, however, is painfully shy and has the attention span of a gnat when it comes to books. It's like "Ok, this math problem needs you to look at the diameter of the circle and HEY I remember One Direction having a song about that! Let me turn on YouTube."
Yeah she's really into One Direction, Taylor Swift and some other teeny boppers. She just started her Anime phase though. I am hoping to curb it before it becomes terminal.
So that's us these past few years. WE have taken trips to China, Korea, Europe (Paris, London, Italy) and Japan. I will share some insights to all about that. So until next round.....Have a great 2015, God Bless and take care.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Thursday, December 26, 2013
The Global Chindian
Since becoming a Chindian, I had many very serious thoughts about it. Most of it from the deep recesses of my mind (about a quarter inch deep). One of the many thoughts was how would we fare globally? Will we do well? What could be contribute? How will we adapt? Will we open up a roti canai with sweet sour pork store in a convenience store that also does laundry?
I've had the blessing of being able to travel to some countries but in the different regions of the world. I've come to realize that our Chindian look is very global. Unfortunately our global look means 3rd world country look! Whenever I travel around SEA, I ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS look local. Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and even Indo-China.
There was once when I was in Thailand with my Aussie colleagues for our company meeting. After work, they decided they wanted to "check-out" Patpong. To the uninformed and liars who've never been to Patpong, it's Bangkok's red light district. When we got there, the "guest relations officers" jumped out and pulled my Aussies friends into their outlets. I was left standing alone in the street. After my friends decided on the "outlet", the GRO came out and got me in for a free drink but they led me to a corner and ignored me. I was totally confused as to what was happening. It took me a while for me to realize that they thought I was the local tour guide and the free drink and meal (if I wanted it) was my commission for bringing the "farang" or foreigner. WTF!!
The same in the Philippines. Every restaurant I was in with my colleagues, the servers will speak to me as they expected me to know what to order. And they speak to me in Tagalog. I don't feel so weirded out in Indonesia since I speak Malay and I can play the part. So we Chindians are definitely very at home in SEA. I've had recent trips to the US and the situation is just as amusing though one was quite terrifying.
Due to my work, I got the pleasure of traveling the US quite often and we typically land in LA or San Francisco. SF is one of my favourite places to visit due to the weather and it's generally nice. I remember the first time I visited SF in 1995, I went to Chinatown for Chinese food because we Chindians can only take so much of cold cuts, pasta, bread and salads. When I looked at the menu in this small Hong Kong-run Chinese restaurant, I realized that everything was called dumpling. Fish ball was called dumpling, so was wantan, sui kow and anything that looked roundish! Unable to differentiate, I spoke to the lady in Cantonese to order. While she looked shocked, she kept her composure and took our order.
I began to realize that something weird was going on and started to feel like a zoo exhibit. That's when I realized that there were LOTS of people outside the shop looking in but not coming in and the kitchen staff started to come out to look at me. It was a 5 table restaurant so it wasn't hard to know they were looking at me. After lunch, I was very curious and when I asked for the bill, I asked the owner what was going on. This was the conversation we had in Cantonese.
Me : What's going on? Why so many people outside?
Owner : Oh, those are my neighbours. They run the shops beside mine. They are here because I told them about you.
Me : What??? Why? What about me?
Owner : We have never met a Mexican that can speak Cantonese and speak it so well!!!!
Me : WHAT??????
To mess with her further....
Me : But I'm not Mexican. I'm Malaysian.
Owner : Ohh!! So you are Malay.
Me : No. I'm Indian.
Owner : What?????? Then how come you speak Cantonese.
Me : My mom's Chinese.
Owner : You just said you were Indian and Malay!!!
That went on for a while but it was nice messing with her.
In another trip, I was lost in San Pedro with another Chindian friend Patrick and 2 Malaysian Chinese friends. San Pedro is the harbour for LA and as the name suggests, there are A LOT of Hispanics who are blue collar workers there. When we were walking about, they were starting to get edgy about my Chinese friends and we "Hispanics" had to stay close to "protect" them. For a while it got a little tense especially when we sat for lunch. The Hispanic owner thought we were having a table talk over gang territory. Then when we ordered ice-cream, that kinda gave away we were more pansies than gang members!!
Patrick and I, at one time, traveled with 4 Malaysian Chinese girl colleagues (I had to add Malaysian Chinese else you think we were hanging out with Mainland Chinese girls!) and we were driving the mini van around SF Chinatown. The drivers' side windows were not tinted but the passengers and back were. We were "randomly" stopped by the police and when they saw all of us, it confirmed their suspicions that we Hispanics were smuggling female Chinese immigrant into Chinatown!!! There were A LOT of explaining and IDs flying out to San Francisco's finest.
There are many more global stories that I will share with you but the next time you see in the US news an hispanic arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap a Chinese girl, call the Malaysian embassy. It's just me taking my wife for a holiday in the US!!!!
I've had the blessing of being able to travel to some countries but in the different regions of the world. I've come to realize that our Chindian look is very global. Unfortunately our global look means 3rd world country look! Whenever I travel around SEA, I ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS look local. Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and even Indo-China.
There was once when I was in Thailand with my Aussie colleagues for our company meeting. After work, they decided they wanted to "check-out" Patpong. To the uninformed and liars who've never been to Patpong, it's Bangkok's red light district. When we got there, the "guest relations officers" jumped out and pulled my Aussies friends into their outlets. I was left standing alone in the street. After my friends decided on the "outlet", the GRO came out and got me in for a free drink but they led me to a corner and ignored me. I was totally confused as to what was happening. It took me a while for me to realize that they thought I was the local tour guide and the free drink and meal (if I wanted it) was my commission for bringing the "farang" or foreigner. WTF!!
The same in the Philippines. Every restaurant I was in with my colleagues, the servers will speak to me as they expected me to know what to order. And they speak to me in Tagalog. I don't feel so weirded out in Indonesia since I speak Malay and I can play the part. So we Chindians are definitely very at home in SEA. I've had recent trips to the US and the situation is just as amusing though one was quite terrifying.
Due to my work, I got the pleasure of traveling the US quite often and we typically land in LA or San Francisco. SF is one of my favourite places to visit due to the weather and it's generally nice. I remember the first time I visited SF in 1995, I went to Chinatown for Chinese food because we Chindians can only take so much of cold cuts, pasta, bread and salads. When I looked at the menu in this small Hong Kong-run Chinese restaurant, I realized that everything was called dumpling. Fish ball was called dumpling, so was wantan, sui kow and anything that looked roundish! Unable to differentiate, I spoke to the lady in Cantonese to order. While she looked shocked, she kept her composure and took our order.
I began to realize that something weird was going on and started to feel like a zoo exhibit. That's when I realized that there were LOTS of people outside the shop looking in but not coming in and the kitchen staff started to come out to look at me. It was a 5 table restaurant so it wasn't hard to know they were looking at me. After lunch, I was very curious and when I asked for the bill, I asked the owner what was going on. This was the conversation we had in Cantonese.
Me : What's going on? Why so many people outside?
Owner : Oh, those are my neighbours. They run the shops beside mine. They are here because I told them about you.
Me : What??? Why? What about me?
Owner : We have never met a Mexican that can speak Cantonese and speak it so well!!!!
Me : WHAT??????
To mess with her further....
Me : But I'm not Mexican. I'm Malaysian.
Owner : Ohh!! So you are Malay.
Me : No. I'm Indian.
Owner : What?????? Then how come you speak Cantonese.
Me : My mom's Chinese.
Owner : You just said you were Indian and Malay!!!
That went on for a while but it was nice messing with her.
In another trip, I was lost in San Pedro with another Chindian friend Patrick and 2 Malaysian Chinese friends. San Pedro is the harbour for LA and as the name suggests, there are A LOT of Hispanics who are blue collar workers there. When we were walking about, they were starting to get edgy about my Chinese friends and we "Hispanics" had to stay close to "protect" them. For a while it got a little tense especially when we sat for lunch. The Hispanic owner thought we were having a table talk over gang territory. Then when we ordered ice-cream, that kinda gave away we were more pansies than gang members!!
Patrick and I, at one time, traveled with 4 Malaysian Chinese girl colleagues (I had to add Malaysian Chinese else you think we were hanging out with Mainland Chinese girls!) and we were driving the mini van around SF Chinatown. The drivers' side windows were not tinted but the passengers and back were. We were "randomly" stopped by the police and when they saw all of us, it confirmed their suspicions that we Hispanics were smuggling female Chinese immigrant into Chinatown!!! There were A LOT of explaining and IDs flying out to San Francisco's finest.
There are many more global stories that I will share with you but the next time you see in the US news an hispanic arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap a Chinese girl, call the Malaysian embassy. It's just me taking my wife for a holiday in the US!!!!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Dad, Jude and Tagore - The hopeless case and the genius
I have a younger brother called Jude Tagore David. He was named after St Jude and Rabindranath Tagore. St Jude was the patron Saint of Hopeless Cases and Tagore was a well renowned Indian poet and writer from the early 1900s. He was given a knighthood by the British but renounced due to a massacre incident by the British and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. I used to tease my brother that he was an enigma because he was a hopeless case but strongly principled and cultured! Yeah, he didn't enjoy that! One wonders why.
My dad loved to read and he used to read Tagore's works at one time. I think we got our love for reading from him and we loved general knowledge, history and foreign culture in particular. My dad was an amazingly generous person and he would bring poor people he met on the streets home for meals. It will infuriate my mom and worry us because I would come home and find strangers in my house. Thank God they weren't psychos or serial killers. They can't be robbers because we were so poor, we would have robbed the thief!!
He was very logical and his reasonings were more often than not, fair. Importantly also that he was not very traditional. Indian fathers tend to take the dictatorial approach. You-follow-whatever-I-say-no-questions-or-I-will-kick-your-ass style. He was very democratic and very fair. I realize now how much I look to him in life and try to follow him. He truly was a real beacon for me. He absolutely adored his grandchildren and would spoil them silly by giving them Coke, sweets and whatever that drives my kids on a sugar high. There were many people we have never met at his funeral and they would we weeping and crying! My family would be wondering who the heck are these people??? That is the kind of blessings he had. I miss him so.
My brother Jude is an amazing character. He is one of the laziest crazies I have met but also a freaking genius!! He is one of those people you want to kill in school. He will goof off, sleep a lot and still do well in exams. He has an amazing talent for languages as he picked up Tamil in school and now he speaks Thai because of his wife. He taught himself to play the drums and not only to play but to play WELL!! He is in a band that plays at night spots around KL. That's SOOOO cool! If he learned notes, he would be playing professionally now.
He was always kind of huge, now and as a kid. You could always pick him out in any school photo as he will be twice the size of everyone. I remember when he was 9, he ate 8 char siew pau in one sitting! I can't even eat 2. Once also around 8 or 9 years of age, he tried a can of Guinness, without us knowing of course, and fell asleep for 9 hours on the bedroom floor. Typical drunkard!!! He is like a Sequoia tree trunk now and could make me into a cheap tosai. So every beginning of the school year, I will ask him to accompany my kids to school. My kids never gets bullied!!!
We didn't always get along when we were kids. He irritated me to no end and could always get away with murder with my parents. We did have our moments though. Once when bathing (as kids not now!!!!), we got into the bath tub and turned the water grey. We were in there for 30mins and when we opened the bathroom door, there was our mom with the cane. She whacked the daylights, night time and our puberty out of us...and we were wet and naked!!!! Despite our fightings, he never left me alone when it came to punishment by our mom.
He is my best friend, I love him dearly and wouldn't have it any other way.
MY PARENTS, GRANDMOTHER & JACKIE CHAN
My paternal Indian grandparents, Vincent Robert Joseph and Rita Joseph were born in Chennai and migrated to Malaysia during the 1930's. Working as an estate manager, my grandfather moved around a lot for work.
My maternal Chinese grandparents, Chan Chi Long and Lay Foon's heritage were from Dongguang, Southern China. My grandfather was killed during the Japanese occupation and this forced my grandmother to take on odd jobs to make ends meet for the family.
My father, David Joseph, is first generation Indian-Malaysian. My mother, Stella Chan, is second generation Chinese-Malaysian.
Born in Port Dickson in 1939, my dad is the 4th in a family of 10 siblings while my mom was the eldest in her family and born in KL. They both had little education due to the harsh war and poverty. They had to leave school to find work to support the family and siblings and eventually ended up in Kuala Lumpur to work.
Dad worked as a foreman with UMW and a volunteer police corp for a number of years. After retrenchment, Dad took up jobs as a factory manager and managing video arcades. Despite our situation, he always ensured the family was cared for especially educational needs. Mum, on the other hand, helped out by babysitting and helping to pay for our education. We were a poor family, and Dad struggled to make ends meet by taking on 2 jobs. My mom stopped working when I was born to take care of the family so because of that, I naturally gravitated to the Chinese culture.
Mum and Dad met when they worked together at a retail store called Kishu's in Batu Road. They began dating and after 7 years, tied the knot in 1970.
Initially, my paternal grandparents were against the marriage, as they were wanted Dad to marry within the race. They couldn't comprehend having a daughter in law who spoke a different language. There were many unhappy quarrels but over time, they warmed up to Mum, and gave their blessing.
On my mother's side, my grandparents were already open to it, as my aunt (Mum's sister), Violet Chan, had married an Indian man. Luckily for Mum, Aunt Violet had already educated her parents that not all Indian men were violent, wife beaters and drunkards, as the stereotype goes back in teh 60s. So when it came to Mum's turn, my grandmother had already been through the cultural shock.
From my own observations, both cultures can be quite different in some areas. For instance, Chinese parents are not used to praising their own children, even when they do well in school. The Indian parents, on the other hand, are more direct, and will praise or criticise when needed.
Until I was 7, I stayed with paternal Indian grandparents in Air Panas and Setapak. There, I was exposed to the Indian culture, language and food. When I turned 7, our family moved out to be on our own since we were stayng with my Dad's siblings and parents. From then till I left home,my maternal Chinese grandmother or Poh-Poh as I called her, stayed with us in Sungei Way.
Her influence on me was stronger as I developed into my own person. She was a big influence in my life and an inspiration, as she had been though hard times without the support of my grandfather. Without attending school, she taught herself to read and write and even took up sewing to help support the family. Hard work, independence and table manners were a few things my brother, Jude and I learnt from her.
When i was 8 years old, she began to teach me how to use the chopstick. At meal times, she would insist on making me pick a button mushroom or peas with my chopstick before I could eat. If you are able to pick one up, you could take a bite! While it may seem dictatorial, it was actually very funny to see us struggle with it.
The one actor she loved was Jackie Chan. She would always take me to the movies and in time, I was introduced to all his movies by my Poh Poh. I remember clearly the first movie we went to see together. It was in 1979 and the movie was called Drunken Master at Odean in Jln Tungku Abdul Rahman. What a swell time we had - grandmother and grandson in a movie! Ever since then, I've become a movie junkie!
She was very impartial when it came to movies, as she would take me to see movies I wanted to see, even English movies and Poh Poh didn't speak English! She would accompany me to watch movies like Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and even Jesus of Nazareth!!
Poh Poh also bought the Matchbox toy cars for my brother and I, as we both loved model cars. I think we have more than 80 cars still in mint condition, collected from the 70s and 80s. During the 1982 World Cup, my grandmother and I would discuss the games, the players and the countries. From her, I learnt the Chinese names of the footballing countries. Every football tournament after that, isn't complete without a daily discussion of the matches with Poh Poh.
It makes me smile to think that my grandmother even knew about football back then. My inspiration, my teacher and my friend.
My maternal Chinese grandparents, Chan Chi Long and Lay Foon's heritage were from Dongguang, Southern China. My grandfather was killed during the Japanese occupation and this forced my grandmother to take on odd jobs to make ends meet for the family.
My father, David Joseph, is first generation Indian-Malaysian. My mother, Stella Chan, is second generation Chinese-Malaysian.
Born in Port Dickson in 1939, my dad is the 4th in a family of 10 siblings while my mom was the eldest in her family and born in KL. They both had little education due to the harsh war and poverty. They had to leave school to find work to support the family and siblings and eventually ended up in Kuala Lumpur to work.
Dad worked as a foreman with UMW and a volunteer police corp for a number of years. After retrenchment, Dad took up jobs as a factory manager and managing video arcades. Despite our situation, he always ensured the family was cared for especially educational needs. Mum, on the other hand, helped out by babysitting and helping to pay for our education. We were a poor family, and Dad struggled to make ends meet by taking on 2 jobs. My mom stopped working when I was born to take care of the family so because of that, I naturally gravitated to the Chinese culture.
Mum and Dad met when they worked together at a retail store called Kishu's in Batu Road. They began dating and after 7 years, tied the knot in 1970.
Initially, my paternal grandparents were against the marriage, as they were wanted Dad to marry within the race. They couldn't comprehend having a daughter in law who spoke a different language. There were many unhappy quarrels but over time, they warmed up to Mum, and gave their blessing.
On my mother's side, my grandparents were already open to it, as my aunt (Mum's sister), Violet Chan, had married an Indian man. Luckily for Mum, Aunt Violet had already educated her parents that not all Indian men were violent, wife beaters and drunkards, as the stereotype goes back in teh 60s. So when it came to Mum's turn, my grandmother had already been through the cultural shock.
From my own observations, both cultures can be quite different in some areas. For instance, Chinese parents are not used to praising their own children, even when they do well in school. The Indian parents, on the other hand, are more direct, and will praise or criticise when needed.
Until I was 7, I stayed with paternal Indian grandparents in Air Panas and Setapak. There, I was exposed to the Indian culture, language and food. When I turned 7, our family moved out to be on our own since we were stayng with my Dad's siblings and parents. From then till I left home,my maternal Chinese grandmother or Poh-Poh as I called her, stayed with us in Sungei Way.
Her influence on me was stronger as I developed into my own person. She was a big influence in my life and an inspiration, as she had been though hard times without the support of my grandfather. Without attending school, she taught herself to read and write and even took up sewing to help support the family. Hard work, independence and table manners were a few things my brother, Jude and I learnt from her.
When i was 8 years old, she began to teach me how to use the chopstick. At meal times, she would insist on making me pick a button mushroom or peas with my chopstick before I could eat. If you are able to pick one up, you could take a bite! While it may seem dictatorial, it was actually very funny to see us struggle with it.
The one actor she loved was Jackie Chan. She would always take me to the movies and in time, I was introduced to all his movies by my Poh Poh. I remember clearly the first movie we went to see together. It was in 1979 and the movie was called Drunken Master at Odean in Jln Tungku Abdul Rahman. What a swell time we had - grandmother and grandson in a movie! Ever since then, I've become a movie junkie!
She was very impartial when it came to movies, as she would take me to see movies I wanted to see, even English movies and Poh Poh didn't speak English! She would accompany me to watch movies like Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and even Jesus of Nazareth!!
Poh Poh also bought the Matchbox toy cars for my brother and I, as we both loved model cars. I think we have more than 80 cars still in mint condition, collected from the 70s and 80s. During the 1982 World Cup, my grandmother and I would discuss the games, the players and the countries. From her, I learnt the Chinese names of the footballing countries. Every football tournament after that, isn't complete without a daily discussion of the matches with Poh Poh.
It makes me smile to think that my grandmother even knew about football back then. My inspiration, my teacher and my friend.
Monday, October 28, 2013
My new PC!
Hi everyone! It's been a long while since my last posting. I was too tired and just too hickety boo lazy! For that I apologize. So since my last posting, our country has gone through a lot. We had our elections and the controversy continues. UMNO elections are over as well and we had our first budget. Hopefully we can go back to bringing up our country quickly. In the sporting front, our top sportspersons continue to march on. There were talks of Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Dato Nicol David slowing down at the "ripe old age" of 30+. Chong Wei seems to be struggling a bit with 2 losses and so did Nicol for a while. But my Chindian sister has hit back. After losing 3 finals to an up and coming player as well as her arch rival, she beat them and won the last 3 tournaments. Not bad for a has been....
Liverpool seems to be doing slightly better. The question is how long can they keep it up. Some summer signings have been showing promise but there are some who are still lacking. My other fav teams in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus continue to flourish! However the LA Lakers struggled badly last season and looking at the off season, I don't think they will be doing well this year. Miami is still the team to beat.
As for my family, things are just as normal. We had some holidays that I have not been able to update you. Give me time and I will do so. We went to Beijing and Xian where we visited 2 of the world's most important historical monuments, the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Warriors. Then last year we were in Korea. KLY and I took our wives to London and Paris...LOT of brownie points this. In April Melissa and I took a trip to Dubai courtesy of my new company, EMC. Oh yeah, I joined a new company.
So all is good, some lows but many highs. I also got a new PC...after 10 years and I'm posting this from my spanking new PC. Just got in today and it was an very exciting feeling after 10 years. I mean I have the iPad, iPhones, Samsung gadgets but this is my family PC where we share. I asked FB friends since I don't know these young whippersnappers anymore, where is a good place to assemble my own config at an affordable budget. I got what I wanted and I'm tickled pink. I'm gonna sign off for now since it's past 1 am and I need my beauty sleep. Stay healthy and look after each other.
Liverpool seems to be doing slightly better. The question is how long can they keep it up. Some summer signings have been showing promise but there are some who are still lacking. My other fav teams in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus continue to flourish! However the LA Lakers struggled badly last season and looking at the off season, I don't think they will be doing well this year. Miami is still the team to beat.
As for my family, things are just as normal. We had some holidays that I have not been able to update you. Give me time and I will do so. We went to Beijing and Xian where we visited 2 of the world's most important historical monuments, the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Warriors. Then last year we were in Korea. KLY and I took our wives to London and Paris...LOT of brownie points this. In April Melissa and I took a trip to Dubai courtesy of my new company, EMC. Oh yeah, I joined a new company.
So all is good, some lows but many highs. I also got a new PC...after 10 years and I'm posting this from my spanking new PC. Just got in today and it was an very exciting feeling after 10 years. I mean I have the iPad, iPhones, Samsung gadgets but this is my family PC where we share. I asked FB friends since I don't know these young whippersnappers anymore, where is a good place to assemble my own config at an affordable budget. I got what I wanted and I'm tickled pink. I'm gonna sign off for now since it's past 1 am and I need my beauty sleep. Stay healthy and look after each other.
Monday, April 30, 2012
BERSIH 3.0 - Saving our country or destroying it?
We had another BERSIH movement and as expected, it turned ugly. For those of you who thought this was going to be a peaceful, simple gathering to show the government that we are not to be taken lightly....what simpletons you are. There are 2 sides to this message. I personally think BERSIH is a great idea! But I am very concerned that BERSIH is being taken advantage of.
Don't get me wrong. I am not against BERSIH and it's call for a clean and fair election. I am all for it. I am just concerned that the cause and the supporters are being used for the means and objectives of the few. BERSIH was ABSOLUTELY necessary. I for one am sick and tired of the arrogance in our government and how they feel they don't need to be accountable to the people and that they can be blatant in their mishandling of our country's funds. I laud the many who braved the elements and of course the violence, to stand up for our rights as citizens of Malaysia.
I have a few comments for those involved.
1. To the Government, namely the PM, DPM, Home Minister, MCA chief, MIC Chief (I don't even know who the heck is it), CM of Pahang, CM of Sarawak, the newspaper editors and (but not limited to) the IGP
I am sick of how naive you think we are. I am so livid that you insult our intelligence by controlling the media to say things like "Our education is the best", "Only 1% of our police is corrupt", "Our police were professional and restraint", "Non-Malays are immigrants", "Lynas is safe and we will dispose the waste in Sg Lembing". "I was only joking when I said Sg Lembing", "I am the first lady", "I am not involved in teh NFC","BERSIH is illegal", "BERSIH is not illegal" and the list goes on and on.
In an election year!!! Who the heck is your PR manager?
For goodness sake, no one believes the damn newspapers anymore. You can show as many pics that you want depicting exactly what you want to propogate. We are in the digital age now, you miscreants!!! If you use the internet once in a while instead of for porn, you will see how your lies are being exposed. If you spent half the time working on our country's issues instead of making away with millions, you would not only ensure success, you may actual reap benefits legally! No need for C4 and MACC.
You work for the people regardless of race. Though I must say, your divide and conquer tactic is working very well as you sow fear into the Malays by spreading lies that we want an end to their privileges or that we want to attack Islam and do away with it. Sadly, many Malays believe it and you have successfully sowed this hatred to distract them from your dirty laundry. Stuffing a few hundred ringgit here and there has helped you solidify your rotten soul into theirs as they sell out our country and our future. I assure you, there is only so much cheating and discord you can sow. You can't cheat all the people all of the time.
Please, please, please....clean up your acts. Read your history. No good comes from tyranny, oppression and corruption. Remember Suharto and Marcos? Keep it up and you will end up like them.
To the Opposition
Please remember why you are doing this. You sold us the dream that Malaysia needs a change and that you will provide it. I am very concerned that our opposition leader is the same person whom in his youth is known to like violent protests. He is a person who believes that a show a force, chaos and violence will achieve his aim. This person, when he was in ABIM was constantly talking about protesting, rallying, showing violence to meet his means.
And this person recently has stated in his own admission that he thinks the people of Egypt and Syria are doing the right thing and that we should use that as our examples. This person is of course Anwar Ibrahim. For those of you blindly following him, please don't forget he was from UMNO too and so are the majority of PKR people. They lost out politically and now they are resorting to taking over the govt to make their means. BERSIH didn't come from Pakatan. It was from Ambiga and I pray that they are not using this sentiment just to be in power.
The people are evolving and we are a lot more savvy and vocal now. We so need a change that we are willing to take a chance of the opposition who are made up of the strangest bedfellows. PKR, DAP and PAS???? Truly not a very sound formula but we are willing to take that chance. So don't blow this. Make it worthwhile and if you ensure our prosperity and fairness, you will prosper as well. Look at high income countries like SG, Australia, Scandinavian countries, etc.
Fellow Malaysians
To my fellow Malaysians, I would ask you to also to fair in your judgement. Let's not stoop down to the level of those corrupt in the government. We have to be responsible and ensure we have the right facts. Don't spread rumours, photo-shopped pics, wrong info, misguided facts that are used to twist us. That only gives the government more ammunition. Be truthful, fair and responsible. Also please be safe. Instigating the police was a bad idea. It always is.
God Bless you and all of us. See you at the elections.
Don't get me wrong. I am not against BERSIH and it's call for a clean and fair election. I am all for it. I am just concerned that the cause and the supporters are being used for the means and objectives of the few. BERSIH was ABSOLUTELY necessary. I for one am sick and tired of the arrogance in our government and how they feel they don't need to be accountable to the people and that they can be blatant in their mishandling of our country's funds. I laud the many who braved the elements and of course the violence, to stand up for our rights as citizens of Malaysia.
I have a few comments for those involved.
1. To the Government, namely the PM, DPM, Home Minister, MCA chief, MIC Chief (I don't even know who the heck is it), CM of Pahang, CM of Sarawak, the newspaper editors and (but not limited to) the IGP
I am sick of how naive you think we are. I am so livid that you insult our intelligence by controlling the media to say things like "Our education is the best", "Only 1% of our police is corrupt", "Our police were professional and restraint", "Non-Malays are immigrants", "Lynas is safe and we will dispose the waste in Sg Lembing". "I was only joking when I said Sg Lembing", "I am the first lady", "I am not involved in teh NFC","BERSIH is illegal", "BERSIH is not illegal" and the list goes on and on.
In an election year!!! Who the heck is your PR manager?
For goodness sake, no one believes the damn newspapers anymore. You can show as many pics that you want depicting exactly what you want to propogate. We are in the digital age now, you miscreants!!! If you use the internet once in a while instead of for porn, you will see how your lies are being exposed. If you spent half the time working on our country's issues instead of making away with millions, you would not only ensure success, you may actual reap benefits legally! No need for C4 and MACC.
You work for the people regardless of race. Though I must say, your divide and conquer tactic is working very well as you sow fear into the Malays by spreading lies that we want an end to their privileges or that we want to attack Islam and do away with it. Sadly, many Malays believe it and you have successfully sowed this hatred to distract them from your dirty laundry. Stuffing a few hundred ringgit here and there has helped you solidify your rotten soul into theirs as they sell out our country and our future. I assure you, there is only so much cheating and discord you can sow. You can't cheat all the people all of the time.
Please, please, please....clean up your acts. Read your history. No good comes from tyranny, oppression and corruption. Remember Suharto and Marcos? Keep it up and you will end up like them.
To the Opposition
Please remember why you are doing this. You sold us the dream that Malaysia needs a change and that you will provide it. I am very concerned that our opposition leader is the same person whom in his youth is known to like violent protests. He is a person who believes that a show a force, chaos and violence will achieve his aim. This person, when he was in ABIM was constantly talking about protesting, rallying, showing violence to meet his means.
And this person recently has stated in his own admission that he thinks the people of Egypt and Syria are doing the right thing and that we should use that as our examples. This person is of course Anwar Ibrahim. For those of you blindly following him, please don't forget he was from UMNO too and so are the majority of PKR people. They lost out politically and now they are resorting to taking over the govt to make their means. BERSIH didn't come from Pakatan. It was from Ambiga and I pray that they are not using this sentiment just to be in power.
The people are evolving and we are a lot more savvy and vocal now. We so need a change that we are willing to take a chance of the opposition who are made up of the strangest bedfellows. PKR, DAP and PAS???? Truly not a very sound formula but we are willing to take that chance. So don't blow this. Make it worthwhile and if you ensure our prosperity and fairness, you will prosper as well. Look at high income countries like SG, Australia, Scandinavian countries, etc.
Fellow Malaysians
To my fellow Malaysians, I would ask you to also to fair in your judgement. Let's not stoop down to the level of those corrupt in the government. We have to be responsible and ensure we have the right facts. Don't spread rumours, photo-shopped pics, wrong info, misguided facts that are used to twist us. That only gives the government more ammunition. Be truthful, fair and responsible. Also please be safe. Instigating the police was a bad idea. It always is.
God Bless you and all of us. See you at the elections.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
The end of my childhood.....errr.....my 2nd childhood
Many things in our childhood stay with us forever....for some reason. They manage to etched themselves in our memories due to situation, circumstances, etc. Things like your first love, a particular bad fall, your first job, or the time when you pulled your zipper too fast and got your foreskin caught in your zipper and your dad had to slap your thigh while he pulled the zipper so that the pain in the thigh will distract you from the pain of the zipper.
You know.....things like that.
Some of us would argue that our childhood ends when we hit 15-18 but I gotta tell you that I am still clinging on to my childhood so that I don't totally grow up or outgrow my childhood memories. But back in 2001, I went to see a movie that firmly started my 2nd childhood. That movie was called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
I had heard something in the news about these sets of children books and about how it contradicted with religious values. I didn't pay much attention as it was children books.
Then came the movie.
The sight of this skinny, short, shy, tormented, unloved and under valued boy in round rim glasses, just tugged at my heart strings. The story of how he had lost his parents and how abused he was then, displayed a whole new magical world that didn't seem improbably at all. You absolutely could see Diagon Alley and Hogwarts in real life. Right??? This new magical world brought back many childhood fantasies involving me having magical powers and saving the world and impressing my first crush. Who among us have not fantasized about having magical powers, raise your hands? I thought so.
Immediately after the movie, I bought the first 4 books and spent every night reading this marvellous adventure Harry and friends were on. I couldn't put it down and it just took me deeper into my imagination as I fantasized about being one of their friends, being an 11 year old, protecting Harry, playing Quidditch with him and kicking Draco's ass. How deliciously evil was Lucius Malfoy? I waited impatiently for the 5th book and every book after that. I talked relentlessly about it with my cousins and fellow admirers. I absolutely fell in love with this magical world.
While I would argue that the quality of each movie after that kinda deteriorated, the magic did not. I cried when Sirius died, when Dobby died, I cried when he first saw his parents at the mirror of Erised. The last scene when so many loved ones died. Felt warm when he realized how he belonged to Hogwarts and cheered when the tormented, unloved boy, became a hero in his first Quidditch match.
My favourite character was of course Harry. Ron provided some comic relief with his "Bloody Hell" and his scared version of "Harry...." when spiders appeared. But Hermione also got my attention. She is the only full Muggle to be called to Hogwarts, after Harry's mom, as far as the characters go. Snape in the end was also very noble, brave and loyal to his love. Though I know it's just a character, I also felt that Snape was very petty, giving in to his petty jealousy of James Potter by treating Harry very badly. Dumbledore frustrated me as he could have told Harry everything and thus protected him more....silly old geezer. I am also very reassured by the calm and coldness of Professor McGonagal.
So when Deathly Hallows finally came out, it presented with a dilemma to me. While I wanted to know how it ends, I also didn't want it to end. At the movie, I was quietly willing it to last as long as it could. When I walked out of the cinema, I couldn't help feeling a certain emptiness, like you have lost a best friend. A best friend that kept you company for the last 10 years, drawing out every emotion and whisking it together so that you have a combination of feelings, emotions and mind boggling, synapses inducing creatures in a world that appeals to the child and adult in everyone alike.
The 3 main cast played their parts to perfection. JK Rowling, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and all the other cast, there are not enough superlatives to express my feelings and gratitude. So I will just say Thanks, May the Force Be With You and Live Long and Prosper.
Thanks for my 2nd childhood. EXPELLIARMUS!!
You know.....things like that.
Some of us would argue that our childhood ends when we hit 15-18 but I gotta tell you that I am still clinging on to my childhood so that I don't totally grow up or outgrow my childhood memories. But back in 2001, I went to see a movie that firmly started my 2nd childhood. That movie was called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
I had heard something in the news about these sets of children books and about how it contradicted with religious values. I didn't pay much attention as it was children books.
Then came the movie.
The sight of this skinny, short, shy, tormented, unloved and under valued boy in round rim glasses, just tugged at my heart strings. The story of how he had lost his parents and how abused he was then, displayed a whole new magical world that didn't seem improbably at all. You absolutely could see Diagon Alley and Hogwarts in real life. Right??? This new magical world brought back many childhood fantasies involving me having magical powers and saving the world and impressing my first crush. Who among us have not fantasized about having magical powers, raise your hands? I thought so.
Immediately after the movie, I bought the first 4 books and spent every night reading this marvellous adventure Harry and friends were on. I couldn't put it down and it just took me deeper into my imagination as I fantasized about being one of their friends, being an 11 year old, protecting Harry, playing Quidditch with him and kicking Draco's ass. How deliciously evil was Lucius Malfoy? I waited impatiently for the 5th book and every book after that. I talked relentlessly about it with my cousins and fellow admirers. I absolutely fell in love with this magical world.
While I would argue that the quality of each movie after that kinda deteriorated, the magic did not. I cried when Sirius died, when Dobby died, I cried when he first saw his parents at the mirror of Erised. The last scene when so many loved ones died. Felt warm when he realized how he belonged to Hogwarts and cheered when the tormented, unloved boy, became a hero in his first Quidditch match.
My favourite character was of course Harry. Ron provided some comic relief with his "Bloody Hell" and his scared version of "Harry...." when spiders appeared. But Hermione also got my attention. She is the only full Muggle to be called to Hogwarts, after Harry's mom, as far as the characters go. Snape in the end was also very noble, brave and loyal to his love. Though I know it's just a character, I also felt that Snape was very petty, giving in to his petty jealousy of James Potter by treating Harry very badly. Dumbledore frustrated me as he could have told Harry everything and thus protected him more....silly old geezer. I am also very reassured by the calm and coldness of Professor McGonagal.
So when Deathly Hallows finally came out, it presented with a dilemma to me. While I wanted to know how it ends, I also didn't want it to end. At the movie, I was quietly willing it to last as long as it could. When I walked out of the cinema, I couldn't help feeling a certain emptiness, like you have lost a best friend. A best friend that kept you company for the last 10 years, drawing out every emotion and whisking it together so that you have a combination of feelings, emotions and mind boggling, synapses inducing creatures in a world that appeals to the child and adult in everyone alike.
The 3 main cast played their parts to perfection. JK Rowling, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and all the other cast, there are not enough superlatives to express my feelings and gratitude. So I will just say Thanks, May the Force Be With You and Live Long and Prosper.
Thanks for my 2nd childhood. EXPELLIARMUS!!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Difference between culture and race
Now many people use these 2 terms interchangeably. They don't mean the same thing at all. For example I am one of the very many few individuals in this earth that is both Indian and Chinese by race. So by Malaysian law, I am listed as Indian because my father was an Indian and our Government despite being independent for 50 years still insists on race segregation and therefore require us to have a race but didn't have the foresight for people with dual races. That is one of the ways to maintain control.
Screw that shit for a while....I wanted to discuss culture and race.
So you would think that being of both of the oldest and established civilizations in the history of the world would render having "culture" up the wazoo! Well unfortunately I only adopt a part of the Indian and Chinese culture. Mainly in our cultural celebrations. Being a Christian, I don't celebrate religious holidays like Diwali or Wesak or Thaipusam. I do celebrate Chinese New Year which is a cultural holiday. And due to the vast cultural and ethnic diversity in India, we are confused as to when is the Indian new year.
Even though I am of both races, there are many things culturally, I won't be accustomed to. For example, my culture is now Malaysian where we visit people of different race and religion during the holidays. Only the current government thinks we don't and would like to keep it that way. Divide and conquer.
If you are in India or China, that doesn't happen very much. People still stick to their own. Here is a list of "cultural" things people do in China and India where I wouldn't be caught dead doing.
1. Spitting wantonly.
When you walk in China, you have to be careful not to step on spit! People, young, old, frail, strong, female, male, foetus will just spit wherever they want, whenever they want. Spittle may consist of phlegm or just spit bubbles. Sometimes different colours as dependant on what was eaten by the spitter.
2. Kids urinating wantonly.
Kids with well dressed parents, will pee wherever they want. This includes on the pavement, in front of luxury malls, in front of your shoes, in front of your office, anywhere but the urinal. Even when they are in the toilet, they will pee anywhere. Small puddles of water on the pedestrian pavement may be some kid's pee. No disposition whatsoever. Need to go, stop, pull down pants and pee. Thank goodness this is restricted to kids. Adults will pee behind buildings, parking lots, quiet lanes.
3. Taking a dump like a farm animal
Why I am comparing to farm animals is because I haven't seen other animals take a dump. There is a saying in China, if you need to find the toilet, just follow the smell. While most of Beijing was cleaned up for the 2008 Olympics, it's only at the Central Business District. I went into one of the toilets and it looked as if someone's ass exploded!! Crap was EVERYWHERE!!! I had to stand in front and pee in.
4. Everyone can see you when you pee
I am not sure about this but for some reason, the toilet doors are designed in such a way that when men pee, people outside can see you. I am at loss of words here.
5. The cow is sacred
Now I am not one to diss anyone's religion but there has to be a line drawn to how much we want to respect the cow. If she sits on the highway, all traffic comes to a stand still.
"Your honour, I am sorry I am 2 hours late. Her most holiness "A-Random-Cow" was taking a nap."
6. Movies are too DAMN long
Indians need two things in life. Cricket and Bollywood movies. I don't understand both. How do you have a game that can go on for days?!?!?!
Mother: Where have you been? You have been away for 5 days!! Not a call or a tweet!
Son: Cricket game. India beat Pakistan
Mother: Oh praise the Random Cow. Then it's alright. Have you eaten?
Movies are just as bad. Not only it's long, it's not realistic. How often do you see whole villages or random crowd just break into the same song and same dance steps? Also where is the music coming from??? Notice also after all the fighting, there is no blood and not even a bruise....I can't figure this out.
7. Diarrhea
Some people get offended by this. But you gotta admit, 9 out of 10 tourist get this. In fact we are told not to drink the tap water or even use it to rinse or brush your teeth. We have to use bottled water and I am too afraid to ask where that came from.
8. There is shit smell everywhere
I don't know if cow dung is sacred but you can smell it almost anywhere. So much that it's part of the environment.....like fresh air.
I know I am going to get a lot of rebuke from this but you know it's true. While I am still very proud of my race, it doesn't mean I have to follow everything in its culture. I am first a Malaysian by birth and by culture, then Chindian.
Suck on that!
Screw that shit for a while....I wanted to discuss culture and race.
So you would think that being of both of the oldest and established civilizations in the history of the world would render having "culture" up the wazoo! Well unfortunately I only adopt a part of the Indian and Chinese culture. Mainly in our cultural celebrations. Being a Christian, I don't celebrate religious holidays like Diwali or Wesak or Thaipusam. I do celebrate Chinese New Year which is a cultural holiday. And due to the vast cultural and ethnic diversity in India, we are confused as to when is the Indian new year.
Even though I am of both races, there are many things culturally, I won't be accustomed to. For example, my culture is now Malaysian where we visit people of different race and religion during the holidays. Only the current government thinks we don't and would like to keep it that way. Divide and conquer.
If you are in India or China, that doesn't happen very much. People still stick to their own. Here is a list of "cultural" things people do in China and India where I wouldn't be caught dead doing.
1. Spitting wantonly.
When you walk in China, you have to be careful not to step on spit! People, young, old, frail, strong, female, male, foetus will just spit wherever they want, whenever they want. Spittle may consist of phlegm or just spit bubbles. Sometimes different colours as dependant on what was eaten by the spitter.
2. Kids urinating wantonly.
Kids with well dressed parents, will pee wherever they want. This includes on the pavement, in front of luxury malls, in front of your shoes, in front of your office, anywhere but the urinal. Even when they are in the toilet, they will pee anywhere. Small puddles of water on the pedestrian pavement may be some kid's pee. No disposition whatsoever. Need to go, stop, pull down pants and pee. Thank goodness this is restricted to kids. Adults will pee behind buildings, parking lots, quiet lanes.
3. Taking a dump like a farm animal
Why I am comparing to farm animals is because I haven't seen other animals take a dump. There is a saying in China, if you need to find the toilet, just follow the smell. While most of Beijing was cleaned up for the 2008 Olympics, it's only at the Central Business District. I went into one of the toilets and it looked as if someone's ass exploded!! Crap was EVERYWHERE!!! I had to stand in front and pee in.
4. Everyone can see you when you pee
I am not sure about this but for some reason, the toilet doors are designed in such a way that when men pee, people outside can see you. I am at loss of words here.
5. The cow is sacred
Now I am not one to diss anyone's religion but there has to be a line drawn to how much we want to respect the cow. If she sits on the highway, all traffic comes to a stand still.
"Your honour, I am sorry I am 2 hours late. Her most holiness "A-Random-Cow" was taking a nap."
6. Movies are too DAMN long
Indians need two things in life. Cricket and Bollywood movies. I don't understand both. How do you have a game that can go on for days?!?!?!
Mother: Where have you been? You have been away for 5 days!! Not a call or a tweet!
Son: Cricket game. India beat Pakistan
Mother: Oh praise the Random Cow. Then it's alright. Have you eaten?
Movies are just as bad. Not only it's long, it's not realistic. How often do you see whole villages or random crowd just break into the same song and same dance steps? Also where is the music coming from??? Notice also after all the fighting, there is no blood and not even a bruise....I can't figure this out.
7. Diarrhea
Some people get offended by this. But you gotta admit, 9 out of 10 tourist get this. In fact we are told not to drink the tap water or even use it to rinse or brush your teeth. We have to use bottled water and I am too afraid to ask where that came from.
8. There is shit smell everywhere
I don't know if cow dung is sacred but you can smell it almost anywhere. So much that it's part of the environment.....like fresh air.
I know I am going to get a lot of rebuke from this but you know it's true. While I am still very proud of my race, it doesn't mean I have to follow everything in its culture. I am first a Malaysian by birth and by culture, then Chindian.
Suck on that!
The importance of your racial beginnings....really?
It has been a while since I blogged. No excuses, just lazy....so much to catch up on.
One of the many things I find that the human race is obsessed with is race. Which ethnicity they are from, who, they can marry and whom they can be friend with. I guess in Western civilization, it is not as apparent. If you go to Europe or the US, they assimilate pretty well. You can't really tell where they are from...I mean you can make an educated guess but it is of no real significance.
In Asia and Africa, we place so much importance to the ethnicity of fellow humans to the point of murder. If you marry out of your race, most parents will disown you as will the families ir even maim you. I have cousins and uncles who inter-marry and go through hell. Heck I witnessed it first hand. My mom went through some major mental torture when she first got married but her experience enabled our family to be more open to other races.
Having said that, I am not saying that we shouldn't care where we originated from. We should be proud of our race and help spread the understanding of our own culture and inner ticking of our race to others. I am extremely proud to be both Indian and Chinese. I am a product of the 2 oldest civilizations, culture and largest population today. How can I not be proud.
But I am a racist as I would prefer my children not to marry people who are too obsessed with their race. Indian, Punjabi and Malays are extremely against inter culture marriages. For Malays, the in-laws have to convert for fear of diluting the Islam religion. Which by the way is the fastest growing religion. If you have faith, why the insecurity of your religion being diluted?? I don't get that part. Chinese folks just think they are better than everyone. Indians and Punjabi are afraid that there won't be enough of their race in the country.
Sigh......
In short, I have been made a racist by society because they want to be their own so much, it doesn't leave a place for us multi culture folks. What a bunch of multi culture bullshit. However, you can't keep a good idea down as I see many inter marriage kids these days and there will be more to come. I think you should be a racist and shouldn't marry out of your race....which is the human race.
One of the many things I find that the human race is obsessed with is race. Which ethnicity they are from, who, they can marry and whom they can be friend with. I guess in Western civilization, it is not as apparent. If you go to Europe or the US, they assimilate pretty well. You can't really tell where they are from...I mean you can make an educated guess but it is of no real significance.
In Asia and Africa, we place so much importance to the ethnicity of fellow humans to the point of murder. If you marry out of your race, most parents will disown you as will the families ir even maim you. I have cousins and uncles who inter-marry and go through hell. Heck I witnessed it first hand. My mom went through some major mental torture when she first got married but her experience enabled our family to be more open to other races.
Having said that, I am not saying that we shouldn't care where we originated from. We should be proud of our race and help spread the understanding of our own culture and inner ticking of our race to others. I am extremely proud to be both Indian and Chinese. I am a product of the 2 oldest civilizations, culture and largest population today. How can I not be proud.
But I am a racist as I would prefer my children not to marry people who are too obsessed with their race. Indian, Punjabi and Malays are extremely against inter culture marriages. For Malays, the in-laws have to convert for fear of diluting the Islam religion. Which by the way is the fastest growing religion. If you have faith, why the insecurity of your religion being diluted?? I don't get that part. Chinese folks just think they are better than everyone. Indians and Punjabi are afraid that there won't be enough of their race in the country.
Sigh......
In short, I have been made a racist by society because they want to be their own so much, it doesn't leave a place for us multi culture folks. What a bunch of multi culture bullshit. However, you can't keep a good idea down as I see many inter marriage kids these days and there will be more to come. I think you should be a racist and shouldn't marry out of your race....which is the human race.
Monday, July 18, 2011
More than meets the eye!!
Tranformers 3 was a movie that was a real enigma to me. Now the story wasn't too bad though predictable. Then again, this is Transformers not Sherlock Holmes' detective hour. So there aren't going to be any last second twist to the plot. Bad guy gets technology that humans don't understand and bad guy tries to bring Cybertron (Transformers' home) to earth. It is up to the robots and good guys to stop them.
Keeping with the theme of the movie, the humans are fringe players and don't do very much. They don't even have weapons that can do real harm to the robots! You mean to tell me that the Autobots didn't have the decency to share their weaponry knowledge so that they can do some serious damage and contribute to the battle?! What we had were some sad excuse of ex-Marines being scared to go into battle.
That was my problem with this sequel. There were too many fringe players. Roles that were not necessary at all. The biggest of them all was John Malkovich. Really!! Do you really need that whiny, stupidly stereotyped role??? Then there was the team of ex-Marines that Epps went to ask for help. Of course they would need help but just use the extras. No need to give them lines. No need for comic relief (they weren't even close).
I am not sure about the girl as well. At least Megan Fox was hot, could hot wire cars and bikes and could run and fight. This one only had a set of extremely long legs and the sausage lips. She can't act, fight, talk back, no humour and she wasn't even seductive. Seriously, if she wasn't in the movie, will she be missed? I tell you who would be missed.....Megan Fox!! Patrick Dempsey also played more of a cameo role than a main. So it was like a cameo for some big stars except for the girl, which only has big lips.
Even Shia was not as active. Didn't do much or anything that directly helped with saving the world. This was an Optimus Prime movie. While it was not as bad as some made it to be, it was a very poorly executed movie. This is a movie, you will see no matter what....so good luck and don't be too anal about the historical details.
Keeping with the theme of the movie, the humans are fringe players and don't do very much. They don't even have weapons that can do real harm to the robots! You mean to tell me that the Autobots didn't have the decency to share their weaponry knowledge so that they can do some serious damage and contribute to the battle?! What we had were some sad excuse of ex-Marines being scared to go into battle.
That was my problem with this sequel. There were too many fringe players. Roles that were not necessary at all. The biggest of them all was John Malkovich. Really!! Do you really need that whiny, stupidly stereotyped role??? Then there was the team of ex-Marines that Epps went to ask for help. Of course they would need help but just use the extras. No need to give them lines. No need for comic relief (they weren't even close).
I am not sure about the girl as well. At least Megan Fox was hot, could hot wire cars and bikes and could run and fight. This one only had a set of extremely long legs and the sausage lips. She can't act, fight, talk back, no humour and she wasn't even seductive. Seriously, if she wasn't in the movie, will she be missed? I tell you who would be missed.....Megan Fox!! Patrick Dempsey also played more of a cameo role than a main. So it was like a cameo for some big stars except for the girl, which only has big lips.
Even Shia was not as active. Didn't do much or anything that directly helped with saving the world. This was an Optimus Prime movie. While it was not as bad as some made it to be, it was a very poorly executed movie. This is a movie, you will see no matter what....so good luck and don't be too anal about the historical details.
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