Friday, September 5, 2008

The Tioman Video

At last I found the time to make this video..

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Centralized Emergency Number

It's very nice to know that our emergency line system is getting centralized. In whatever situation now Malaysians had only to dial the numbers 999. Back then, if there's a fire we had to dial for 994. And I stated the number because that's the only other emergency line that I know of.

But then, what if there are so many cases to be handled by just a single line. Different cases had to be divided and diverted to appropriate departments. Our country is always excited about trying new things.. and somehow maybe they decided to make it automated!! Imagine if this would hapen....

After a case of burglary, Bala, bound, managed drag himself to the phone and dialed 999 with his nose.

[999]
(To Bala's shock, he heard the voice of an operator machine.)

"Thank You for calling the 999 emergency centre. We will try to help you."
"Please verify where you are calling from:"
"press (1) for Perak, press (2) for Selangor, press (3) for Pahang, press...."

[1]

"Please hold on while we redirect you to our Selangor branch"
(The music of Captain Comic is heard in the background)
"Please state the kind of emergency you are experiencing"

" if you had or witnessed a car accident press (1), if you have just witnessed a murder press (2), if you are being attacked or threatened by a wild animal press (4), if you are being held at knifepoint by abductors press (5), if you are about to be questioned by a group of aliens press(6), if you are victim of a burglary press(7), if you are experiencing problems with your Streamyx connection press.."

[7]

please state the location of the crime: for your own house press (1), for your friend's house press (2), for office press (3), for shophouse press(4)....

[4]

How many burglars are involved? Press the number and then press the hash# key to continue..

[5][#]

You will now be talking to our operator to take your address...

(The line is being redirected. Again the Captain Comic theme music is playing in the background)
(As the system is new, some mix-up occurred in the redirecting process..)

"Hello, Astro Customer Service, may I help you?"


In the back of your mind is what you think, feel, speculate, hypothesize, expect and everything .. In front of it however, is what you see

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

It Was..

Just got back from England. It was a beautiful trip. Yes it was. Will be back for more pictures.


Broad street, Birmingham

By the intercity canal

Piccadily

Law court.. or something

Monday, January 21, 2008

Good Musical

I have just watched a movie called "Once". And it was good.

Once is actually a musical and, as quoted from a website, is not your typical Hollywood musical where people burst into a sing and dance sequence, leaving anything they are in the middle of. And if you are lucky sometimes the frogs join in too.

Once tells the story of an Irish in err.. Ireland who got inspired by a Czech girl to get serious about the music he had been busking about every night on the streets of his hometown. The musical parts kick in appropriately, like when he is busking in streets, or when they are jamming together in a music store.
The film is honest in its storytelling and acting. I don't really know what I mean by honest but I do read it often in other movie reviews. So maybe that sounded just right. Come to think of it could it mean unpretentious? Because this movie is unpretentious. It is somehow a love story but not with a predictable outcome.

The stars of this are unknowns, at least to my familiarity. Only later did I find out that the lead actor is the frontman of an Irish band The Frames. First time I've ever heard of the band. All in all it's a very good movie with wonderful songtracks. I liked it after I saw it "once".

Here's a scene from the movie which I think is beautiful.




Talk about musicals, although i love music, I'm not a fan of musicals. There are a few exceptions though. The all time favourite Sound of Music is my all time favourite too. No one would have thought the World War to be melodic. Then there's the peculiar Dancer in the Dark starring Bjork. It's about a single mother going blind who entertains herself with her own music from the sounds of the environment. And who would've thought the factory is melodic.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Asal usul "mukui talipaun!"

Daripada kecik dulu aku sering mendengar Opah aku yang duduk di Bidor mengungkapkan kata "mukui talipaun". Mendengar frasa ini mebuatkan aku tertanya-tanya apakah itu? Satu adjektif ataupun sejenis jampi?

Apapun, setelah meningkat dewasa barulah aku mendapat tahu bahawa "mukui" itu berasal dari perkataan memukul dan "talipaun" adalah.. hmm telefon. Lalu membuatkan aku bertanya sebab untuk telefon itu dipukul. Rupa-rupanya telefon awam dulu-dulu adalah jenis dimana memerlukan satu pukulan pada sejenis tangkai pada telefon tadi. Hatta frasa "memukul telefon".


"untuk mengundi Amran, SMS Undi Amran ke 39999 ataupun pukul telefon anda terhadap talian tetap kami ....""