Stop Being Sensitive

As a reader of the daily paper, it has become increasingly obvious to me that the government has been building up a fondness towards a particular word. Frequent as keris-wavings and as highlighted as natural disasters, are articles urging and reminding us once again to “be sensitive”.

The government’s intentions are not hard to comprehend: they believe sensitivity will bring unity, understanding and peace. However, it is a well-known fact to the Malaysian walking on the street that although the government’s intentioned situations manifest themselves on the surface, beneath the sun-touched exterior there are hushed murmurs of race, religion and rights in the dark.

To properly address the problem of sensitivity, we first have to know what “sensitivity” means. Based on the government’s usage (and not the Oxford English Dictionary), “sensitive” roughly means “do not talk or question whatever we (the government) are addressing”. An example of this would be:

PM: BE SENSITIVE TOWARDS RACIAL ISSUES.

Since we now know what “sensitive” means, let us translate this message:

PM: DO NOT MENTION OR QUESTION RACIAL ISSUES.

Is it not obvious why Malaysia remains racially segregated after more than a century of inter-racial mixing? It is because the government does not really solve the people’s problems, but instead they hush it. When an individual knows that he could be attacked by a number of sensitivity tools ranging from an organization called JAKIM to a nifty Article 153, he starts to wonder whether it really is a good idea to open his mouth.

Alas, simply avoiding the topic in public is not enough to extinguish the flame in the unsatisfied citizen’s heart. The citizen’s restlessness is consequently communicated to his brethren who share his views. Communication methods may range from hushed talks amongst family to charismatic preachings coming from the mosque several blocks away, but regardless of the method of output the feeling is the same- neither Muthu, Malik nor Ma Li is totally at ease.

In the virtual realm of the popular online game, issues are often solved when flaming scepter meets sharpened axe. However, I like to believe that we Malaysians are more than troll, goblin and dwarf and can settle our daily problems in reality with a more civilized approach by replacing swords with words (and not both at the same time). So you ask: how are we going to bring such hushed issues out into the public? The answer fellow Malaysians is this- insensitivity.

(and not both at the same time)

Being sensitive merely escalates minor issues by adding strong emotion towards accusations that may or may not be true. If I am a slit-eye Chinese and someone calls me sepet, then hey, that is what I am and there is no reason for me to get angry and give him a hard stare (though he may not notice it through my narrow slits). Or if I am a kampong-Malay and someone calls me lazy, then why get upset if the statement is false? Overreacting would simply mean I accepted that his statement is true. Instead, the better response would be to work hard and beat him, proving his accusation wrong. And as clichéd as it may sound, “Nobody is perfect” so either accept your shortcomings or change them, but do not overreact.

Insensitivity is the way to go for Malaysia; it will allow our inner unrest to be released to the public and the public will respond in a civilized and compromising fashion. And hopefully one day, Muthu, Malik and Ma Li will laugh about how Muthu has a higher probability of getting run over at night, how Malik has a slightly more naked genital and how Ma Li can be blindfolded with dental-floss, whilst they yam seng their teh-ais at the nearby mamak shop.

This is an article I wrote for the Taylor's College Yearbook - Winanga-li. It was approved by edboard members as well as the edboard teacher. However, it was eventually rejected by college management. The reason? "The issue is too sensitive."

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Songs that you (yes, you) should definitely get

Was sorting out my songs today and I decided to make a list of songs that I like the meanings of. So here it is:

Damien Rice - Volcano
"You give me miles and miles of mountains and I ask for the sea"
About someone who loves you, but you don't love them back.

Damien Rice - Cheers Darlin'
"Here's to you and your lover boy" "I should have kissed you when we were alone"
Meeting your ex and her new guy, but you still have feelings for her.

Franz Ferdinand - The Dark of the Matinee
"Take your white finger, slide a nail under, the top and bottom buttons off, my blazer"
"Time every journey, to bump into you, accidentally I, charm you and tell you"
"Not to look at you in the shoes, but the eyes"
Reminds me of high school and girls.

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
"And if you leave here you leave me broken shatterd I lie"
Classic. If you ever wondered what it was about, it's a song about the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (sejarah textbook anyone?), they shot his wife first. The whole song is in the voice of Mr. Ferdinand speaking to the assasin and asking the assasin to kill him because without his wife there is no reason to live.

Franz Ferdinand - Auf Achse (it means "on axel")
This song, to me refers to human nature and the death of Jesus Christ. The beginning part of the song has lots of lines like "you see her, you can't touch her", "you want her, you can't have her" "she's not so special, so look what you've done boy". Then afterwards they change tempo and have a few lines that starts with "Now i'm here nailed above you, blood gushing from my side, with your sins you have killed me, thinking of your sins i die...". Then the song switches back to the original tempo and it goes back to the lines "you see her" but there is no "you can't touch her" line. Make your own conclusion to what that means. I'm an agnostic theist.

Franz Ferdinand - Darts of Pleasure
"You can feel my lips undress your eyes" "Words are poison darts of pleasure, die, so you die"
"Ich heiße Superphantastisch! Ich trinke Schampus mit Lachsfisch!"
To me its about talking someone into falling for you, not by looks.

Stars - Your Ex-lover is Dead
"When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire"
"And all of the time you thought i was sad, i was trying to remember your name"
"Live through this and you won't look back"
Doesn't everyone know this song? A Stars song is always well written.
"I'm not sorry i met you, i'm not sorry it's over, i'm not sorry there's nothing to say"

Stars - One More Night
"Dark little heaven on top of the stairs"
"I'll kill who you hate, take off that dress you won't freeze"
"Look him straight in the eye, and tell him right now that you wish he would die"
"Bleeding him empty just because he's a man"

Stars - The Big Fight
She: "It's death for the living"
He: "Yes I am a ghost"
The name means what it is.
"He doesn't want her but he just won't let her go"

Death Cab For Cutie - Tiny Vessels
"Yea she was beautiful, but she didn't mean a thing to me."

Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticsm
"I need you so much closer"


And as you can see, i'm getting lazier and lazier in explaining the songs.

Random lines i like (and they're all pretty good songs too):

Art Brut - Emily Kane
" I don't even know where she lives
I've not seen her in 10 years...
9 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes, 5 seconds"

Weezer - El Scorcho
The song's first line:
"GODDAMN you half-japanese girls!"

Weezer- Falling For You
"'cos i'm a burning candle and your a gentle moth teaching me to lick a little bit kinder"

Franz Ferdinand - Cheating On You
"Goodbye girlie 'cos it's only love"
"Goodbye girlie, yes i'm a loser"

Franz Ferdinand - Jacqueline
"Sometime these eyes
Forget the face they're peering from
When the face they peer upon
Well you know that face as I do
And how in the return of the gaze
She can return you the face that you are staring from"

Franz Ferdinand - Walk Away
"Stalin smiles and Hitler laughs, Churchill claps Mao Zedong on the back."

Arctic Monkeys - Riot Van
"Got a chase last night from men in truncheons dressed in hats"

Stars - He Lied About Death
"Keep watching the skies, 'cos you might get lucky again"
George Bush hate song.

Weird Al - Your Horoscope For Today
"All Virgos are extremely friendly and intelligent,
EXCEPT FOR YOU"

Just a list of other great songs:
Alien Ant Farm - Glow
Lostprophets - Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja
The Boy Least Likely To - Be Gentle With Me
Franz Ferdinand - Well That Was Easy
Franz Ferdinand - Fabulously Lazy
Franz Ferdinand - All For You Sophia
Aqualung - Left Behind
Aqualung - Strange & Beautiful
Athlete - Tourist
Athlete - Trading Air
Athlete - If I Found Out
Damien Rice - 9 Crimes
Damien Rice - Creep (Cover) (He makes it sound even more depressing then the original)
Damien Rice - La Fille Danse
Stars - Sleep Tonight (beautiful lyrics)
Stars - Calendar Girl
The Killers - Andy, You're A Star (great guitar)
The Killers - Glamorous Indie Rock And Role
The Killers - Midnight Show
The Killers - Uncle Johnny
The Strokes - Whatever Happened?
The Strokes - Reptilia (super guitar)
The Strokes & Regina Spektor - Modern Girls & Old Fashioned Men
The Strokes - 12:51
The Strokes - You Only Live Once
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Weezer - Say It Ain't So
Weezer - Only In Dreams
Weezer - Island In The Sun
Weezer - The Good Life
Weezer - Haunt You Everyday
Weezer - Keep Fishin'
Weezer - Dope Nose
Weezer - Across The Sea
Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum
Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down
Arctic Monkeys vs. The Killers - Scumbody Told Me
Bloc Party - Tulips
Bloc Party - Banquet
Bloc Party - Helicopter
Death Cab For Cutie - Photobooth
Death Cab For Cutie - Crooked Teeth
Death Cab For Cutie - Your Heart Is An Empty Room
Editors - Munich
Editors - Lights
Editors - Blood
Editors - Bullets
Flyleaf - I'm So Sick
Slipknot - Pulse of the Maggots
Slipknot - Vermillion pt. 1
Slipknot - Vermillion pt. 2
Interpol - Evil
Interpol - Slow Hands
Placebo - Meds
Placebo - Infra-red
Placebo - Because I Want You
Snow Patrol - Hands Open
Snow Patrol & Matha Wainwright - Set The Fire To The Third Bar
Snow Patrol - Chocolate
The Beatles - I Am The Walrus
The Beatles - Baby You Can Drive My Car
The Subways - Oh Yeah
The Subways - No Goodbyes
The Subways - Rock & Roll Queen
The Subways - I Want To Hear What You Got To Say
The Zutons - Valerie
The Zutons - Why Won't You Give Me Your Love
Tom Vek - C-C (You Set The Fire In Me)
Voxtrot - The Start Of Something
Hard-Fi - Cash Machine
Hard-Fi - Hard to Beat
The Kooks - Naive
The Kooks - Jackie Big Tits
The Kooks - She Moves In Her Own Way
The Thrills - Big Sur
The Thrills - Whatever happened to Corey Haim?
Wendy Rene - After Laughter (Comes Tears)
Nouvelle Vague - This Is Not A Love Song
The Feeling - Never Be Lonely
The Feeling - Sewn
We Are Scientists - Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
The Maccabees - Lego
Gorillaz - Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
Gorillaz - Slow Country
Gorillaz - Kids With Guns
Marion Black - Who Knows
MinMi - Shiki No Uta
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - We Believe
Daft Punk - One More Time
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
Robbie Williams - Man For All Seasons
Robbie Williams - Straighten Up And Fly Right
Grizzly Bear - Knife
Scissor Sisters - Take Me Out (Cover)
Oasis - The Importance of Being Idle
New Radicals - You Get What You Give
Motion City Soundtrack - The Future Freaks Me Out
The Outline - Shotgun
Garbage - Cherry Lips
Garbage - Nobody Loves You
The Chords - Sh-boom
Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag
The Servant - Cells (Sin City Theme Song)
Tom & The Cardigans - Burning Down The House

and many more...but that's enough.

if you can't find any of the songs, ask me :)

Echo and Narcissus

i

've
always thought

Art

(was and is)
never meant; for

Eyes

but
(always)
meant; for

Heart




Echo and Narcissus



Sometimes i think you and i are like that.

Of Life and Deck

An individual is like a card,
No two are exactly the same;
It is interesting how great society,
Can be compared to a poker game.

We start off with the two big groups:
The Reds and the Blacks-
Spades and Hearts at the front,
Clubs and Diamonds at the back.

Now countries must have rulers,
Thus comes the Kings and Queens,
Jacks to run the government
And Aces on TV screens.

And then there are the others;
The majority, - the numbers:

Ten, Nine and Eight-
Ministers, Heads of State;
Seven, Six and Five-
People working at the hive;
Four, Three and Two-
Collars coloured blue.

Their faces may be different,
But their backs are all the same.
They live in the same old box,
They play the same old game.

But this is where similarities end,
Cards and Humans are different packs;
For if Cards were exactly like Humans,
You would not be able to shuffle the deck.


-Warren Chan 24/02/07

E. E. Cummings

I have never asked for anything openly on my blog, but from past experiences i've found out that it actually works for those people who do post stuff they want on their blog (such as getting KL her the Gone With The Wind poster *that will arrive soon, kl*).

So this is something that i want, i am posting it now, far far away from any significant date. This is so that when a significant date does come and someone just so happens to give me this book, i'd most likely have forgotten all about this post and i'd be totally awestruck and ecstatic :D Haha, here it is:

95 Poems
by E. E. Cummings

So remember, if you feel like "O, i still owe Warren a present from last year" or perhaps "Warren's such a nice guy, and he's always been thoughtful and there for me"...well then now you know exactly what to do to put a smile on a Rabbit Hole :)

Taylor's. So much pretty, so little else.

My First Ever Comic

Yea, you'd think that if i have enough time to make a dumb comic, i'd have enough time to update this blog.

Well,

I'm lazy. :)

But in any case, look, comic!

Graduation

Here are some pics from today, they're all in very reduced resolution otherwise it would have taken too long to load them all. Although i put my tshirt at the end on a reasonable resolution so that it can be read.

So here are something's to remember (not all, of course):


listening to Jee Ian's scientific thoughts and Hyder's PAS passion.


Warren to Lin: Wanna camwhore camwhore?


Really boring speeches


The Chloe & The Claire


Talking to the lovely ladies sitting in front of me. Thanks for bearing with my smelly feet :p


Joking with Jason and Ram. (WAHAHAHAH SO SMALL!)


the family


Michelle Jane- Editor-in-Chief, Si Xuan- Librarian President/Oriental Music Vice President, Hoong the Zeng Jia Zi, Yi Ning


Michelle Jane's Sweaty Hands


...and her small feet.

...and her orange bras and mickey bras. Whoops that's censored.


Teasing John's baldness (and stupidity).


Wooly peole :D


The fact that our school is freakingly irritatingly chinese.


Seeing Jee Ian read the Complete Works of Oscar Wilde/Stephen Hawking's "Brief History of Time"/Advanced Physics while everyone's studying, yet still gets 1st in class.




Pretty nice pretty people. Lin.Mel.Midge. Future successful women of Times.


HELP Debate team (and 1/2 the form 5 male Indian population). War.Eli.Shan.SB


1


2


KDU Debate People!


Making black jokes with Brendan (approximately 1/8 the form 5 male indian population).


Ivan and his latest porn star crazes.


Gabby. The future serial killer.


Kim Tat: Wah, prefect also bring handphone to school!
Warren: Wah, vegetarians also can be fat!

***

And here's my shirt

Back


Front

Be it the scribblings of signaturess on my shirt,
Or the scribblings of memories on my mind,
Shall they never fade.

Snippet 11 : And for the last time...

It's GREEN



thank you :)

another one for sis

The Maidens of Mahjong

Every Friday mum plays mahjong. This usually occurs at a friends house in Tropicana, but this time mum decided to be the host.

These women will play fooooreeevverr. A typical Friday starts off in the early morn with a game of golf. Then after a shower and makan, they adjourn to someone's abode for this ancient chinese game. I took these pictures (it's a combination of 3 photos) at 4pm, they had started playing at around 1pm.

and even now, as I write, they play.

Snippet 10: Egypt

A column in Luxor Temple (or was it Karnak?)
You can see that the guy's face is chipped off, well that's cuz Romans saw it as pagan belief
They chipped the beautiful sculpting of the Egyptians
Yea, Talibans and Roman Catholics ain't so different.

I kinda forgot the name of this God.

Ok, for story's sake, let's just call this dude John (for obvious reasons =p).

One day, John's village had to go to war, thus all the men left to fight in the war, leaving behind only their wives and children. Hence, to guard the town, John was left behind as well.

Al'abaster figures of John.

When the soldiers came back, they found that all their wives were pregnant. Now that's one seriously busy John.

As punishment, his arm and leg was chopped off (i reckon that this is so he can't do doggy style).

So what God is he? Yeap, you guessed it,

The God of Virility

Who chipped of his dick? Nope, not the Romans.
The Egyptians scraped of his dick and made it into a drink, thinking it would make them more virile.

Snippet 9: Myanmar

Cicadas anyone?

They taste like chicken :D

My Cousin Is Lala

Here's my conversation with my cousin (in form 3) who lives in limbang.
I am quite sad, it's conversations with her like this that remind me how my cousin....is a l-llllall.....
LALA.

I took screenshots so that you can see the numerous smileys that come with lalaness.



later on, she changed her diplay pic again..



M is your screen having a different picture now?

W yea now it shows me ppl posing with the peace sign

M no lah
M is not a peace sign
M is just a post only

W you mean "pose", not "post"

M ya
M ok

W regardless of whether it is a pose or not, it's still the peace sign

M o ya ^_^ !

***

Sigh, why is it that God has given me a lala cousin?
I have nothing against lalas as persons, I just have something against their fashion.

I created this a few months ago:

Yes, that is Jay.

iPod Nano Remastered.

Presenting,



THE iPOD NANO REMASTERED

Iit comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB.


The 8GB version only comes in black.


My ipod mini's menu button got spoilt.


It's actually much slimmer than the pic makes it seem,
it's thinner than the pencil.


I cut my hair again last week.

you know you love me :)