Fictional Furore

A (admittedly miniscule) blogo-furore has sort of erupted over the inclusion of a so-called muslim character as a Batmen-franchisee operating in France.

You’ve really got to love those passionate folks who wrote in their (to me, somewhat bigoted) views on the wrongness of such a move given that there is no actual person in fact.

22-year old Bilal Asselah aka Nightrunner is no more real than Bruce Wayne aka Batman will ever be. There a predictably muslim villain going by the name Colonel Abdul al-Rahman as part of the Liberators in Ultimates 2, so what is the big deal in having one as the front line good guys anyway?

Comics – fiction and fantasy that they are – can sometime be reflective of reality in the hands of great writers.

I still remember a Peter David’s Incredible Hulk take on the issue of HIV. A single issue with no preaching, and no answers pushed. Just like things are in real life.

The problem here is that the comics institution is pretty much localized.

Western comics – DC, Marvel, Dark Horse etc – are steeped in the ideals encompassed in Christianity, liberal, democracy etc.

Heck, our very own Zoy – whose super-skillful pendekars graced the Sunday pages of Berita Harian – infuses Malay, Islamic ideals in his fictional character.

Breaching these set barriers can be thus quite blasphemous in the eyes of chronically stoic-minded fans.

Do I think it’s a good idea to have Nightrunner @ France Batman?

Not really. It is after all so easy to run awry of ideals.

Hell, the character Batman himself is an anarchist, who skirts the law as best as he can. Sure, he doesn’t kill, but he bashes them all the same and do employ dubious methods in combating the so-called villains in his storyline, doesn’t he?

Bilal Asselah’s bashers do not need to worry as they will be times when the faith, belief of the French will be put to the test.

How the writers will tackled this eventuality will depend very much on their own set of beliefs and faith, won’t it?

Lighten up, dudes.

It is Comics after all.

Or would you rather than something like the Comics Code incident to recur?

Status Blipping Quo

It’s barely a week into the New Year and some things looked pretty much status quo for the country.

The (ahem) alleged dipping of greedy hands into public coffers and land reared its ugly head again with this piece of news today.

Curious though as to why this featured in the Metro instead of the national pages. Hmmm…

There are some nice aerial-view pictures, too, ala a dentist and former Selangor MB’s multi-million Shah Alam’s home expose some time ago.

From the article, it sure looks as though the alleged dipper (heh) had decided to “fu*&ing GungHo” it with regards a disputed land for public use to come up with some nice, beautiful, unaffordable to the masses, homes.

The report mentions some VIP as well, alas, minus their glorious names, as owners of these homes.

This land dipping allegation, however, show up a certain political solidarity with PKR, Umno and MIC in the thick of things notwithstanding the existence of the so-mentioned VIPs.

Kudos to them, I say.

I wonder what can be done against the alleged offender in this case. We’ve seen a fair share of illegally constructed building (mostly miniscule ones, though) being torn down in the past by local authorities.

Would Dewan Bandaraya similarly take a “fu*&ing GungHo” approached IF the encroachment is indeed illegal? Will it?

I seriously doubt so.

Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin was quoted in the report as saying that action will be taken in the matter against the alleged offender.

What kind of action? As paraphrased: “a notice would be issued to the developer”.

Sure makes you want to holler out loud until tears gush down your red, flushed cheeks, doesn’t it?

Expect the case to go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on…

Yep. No ending in sight.

Like I said, it’s pretty much status quo in Malaysia.

Déjà Vu, even.

Culinary Democratisation

For the life of me, I cannot recall when I first started eating raw fish aka sushi.

It could very well be something which followed closely my interest in the yesteryear Manga (the days of Domu, Akira, Lone Wolf and Cub etc).

Fortunately, this dish is now easily found in the country, thanks to Sushi King and other outlets without you having to frequent posh so-called Japanese restaurant for a taste.

I had a go at the real deal during my trip to Japan sometime ago. As a layman (as opposed to a true blue food connoisseur, I suppose) I could not really tell the difference between that and those I usually take in Malaysia anyway.

Aside from the authenticity factor, a sushi is as good as the sticky rice that goes with it. And, according to my tastebud, the tuna is also not half bad too as sushi ingredient. Add a dash of wasabi and you’re good to go.

Once I read this piece of news about a US396,000 342-kg blue fin tuna, my mind started racing as to how many sushi pieces this giant would be able to make.

At home, we are so used to cooking fish whole. This is so unlike the Western style of filleting and boning the fish, or the Japanese fine art-ish, sushi-pieces slicing act.

The years of intermingling of the racial/cultural cooking pot however, have certainly blurred this culinary divide, and nowadays, even Mat Sallehs can be found digging into Nyonya-style, fish head curry.

You just have to love the democratization of eating habits, don’t you?

Don’t bother looking into symbolism as this posting is nothing more than a rambling.

Now, if only there is a sushi outlet I can short-drop-by on the way home...