Tuesday 22 February 2011

Bloody River


"The shooting is not designed to disperse the protesters,” said one resident, who wanted to be identified only as Waleed, fearing for his security. “It is meant to kill them.

Muammar Gaddafi’s son mentioned “rivers of blood in Libya.”

He meant Rivers of Libyans' blood.

And his goons are making good his promise.

Senseless. Lunacy. A leader gone MAD.

Yet we are still keeping a deathly SILENCE?

WHAT THE HELL ARE WE WAITING FOR?!

Monday 21 February 2011

Silent Prayers

“You can’t send your troops with machine guns, kill people and then expect to start a dialogue.”

It is disheartening to read the news on the protests in Libya and Bahrain.

In reports of security forces firing live bullets into crowds: benevolent rulers don’t do this to their own people.

Why?

Were they armed and dangerous?

Or was it that the shouts for some measure of dignity to return became too deafening?

Too much that it had to be silenced.

Silence too seems the golden keyword over here.

Deathly silence.

Begging the question: Why are we? Why are we selective in our holier-than-thou?

In Memoriam - Tehran, June 20, 2009

Neda Soltan

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Lateral Visitations

Google has a new toy named googleartproject and it looks great.

Ever since the search engine made, uhm, searching for stuffs easy, searching for paintings (apologies for the triple - now quadruple – use of the phrase "search" ) became a cinch.

Well, relatively a cinch as sometime it will lists everything under the internet sky (not so brilliant after all, eh, Mr Google?) that you still have to go through a whole lot to get to the one you are looking for.

Being a fan of Vincent (he who cut his earlobe off) Van Gogh, I was excited to see that the Amsterdam Museum is one of the listed few.

It was a mixed experience as nothing beats being there since the 3D rendering is a bit clunky Рala those old days FPS games Рso visiting the museum virtually does feel pass̩ at best.

The View Artwork option, though, is another thing altogether and brilliant is certainly an adjective to describe it.

Well into several frames of vibrant colors, I had to force myself to quit the site as it was getting too much of my attention. You really could get lost in the show od detailings.

It really IS the closest you can get to seeing the real thing real time.

Also read from the Edge that googleartproject features some 486 artists’ paintings (sculpture etc).

Am looking forward to some quiet time some time (there I go again!) to start exploring.

TQVM, Google Sir.

At the very least, though, reading this took my mind (and attention) away from some growing histrionics on the country’s mammoth MRT project that’s looking a lot like a “bulldoze first and ask questions later” decision.

Then again, this is what you usually get from consulting the public – grouses.

Did read some glowing, rave comments though, mainly by analysts who think the properties in and around the areas where the new MRT line lie will appreciate in value.

Really, ah?

Did they, with hindsight of the now positively Paleolithic LRT, Monorail and Komuter lines?

I think I shall go back to looking at paintings than muddle my mind with this rethorical question.

Saturday 12 February 2011

Off Peeled


MBPJ is going for a neighborhood-wide Gotong Royong later this month at my workplace.

A target of this Clean Zone programme: To clear those pesky illegal advertisement and the likes.

You know them: Personal loans. No guarantor, Blacklist also CAN, Adult toys kinda ads.

When I first joined the job market, these illegal adverts were among the best - sometimes the only - avenue if you're looking for room to let at a very, very afforable rate and preferably with minimal deposit to be placed.

The tear-off, self-printed ad jobs were everywhere. More often than not, strategic locations where the advertisers think the room seeking lads and ladies would converge.

You'd see them at bus stops, phone booths, empty (no longer when one ad appears as others will follow like mushroom after a bout of rain!) walls...

Not public toilets, though. Those are the different kind of ads. Specific ones, too.

Anyway, the lure of the tear off ads is understandable as they are pretty cost effective in getting the most number of response.

So, was my first one rented room led by similar source? Nope, I was lucky to have a friend who is already renting and could afford a squatter who soon heard of another vacancy close by.

My second was such, however, and I got myself a house and a housemate that could spun tales whole novel long. Loads of memories from there. Mostly the bad sort. Maybe something for another time, another post.

Nowadays though with the internet providing a far easier, more cost effective not too mention the widest of audiences, I wonder why people still resort to these pasted (some even hung) ads.

The cost of printing them, paying somebody to go around pasting, hanging them etc must be marginally more (ie more than FOC) than posting on the many free-ad service websites.

Those looking for rooms and houses are quite pampered nowadays with some pretty specific sites catering for just such needs.

Be careful of doing some actual checks on your housemates, though.

I've been there, and its quite the goosebumpy experience to be had.