A great discovery in Tanjung Kupang! 30 mins from downtown JB, we went thru stretches of dark (and suspect) roads to get here, but it's all worth it. Apparently, it's quite popular as we had to wait for a bit for a table. But the food is top notch! The udang, sotong, fish semua fresh and sedap, Chinese Muslim style. Even the plain nasi goreng is memorable 😁 And yes, we're on top of the selat with views of Forest City and Port Tanjung Pelepas all around. Will be coming back, for sure 👍
Yes, just saw the news. And although I'm not a Selangor native, I have a very soft spot for Subang Jaya. After my SPM, my first job was at Toys R Us, Subang Parade. I remember the first time I walked into Parade. Wahhh, such a nice, big mall. Got water fountains, Parkson and Grandy's (or was it White Castle?).
Then I got into uni and the Matriculation Centre was at... SS15 Subang! Ended up two semesters there. (altho one semester I squatted at the KPP Suny/Buffalo hostels with my friends.)
I actually had the time of my life lah. Parade was always THE lepak place, especially after Solat Jumaat. Played video games at the shop houses. And of course makan and lepak at the famous stalls. Was when I discovered all the Kelantan/Thai type food. Never heard of Nasi Goreng Pattaya, Telur Bistik etc before coming to KL.
And yes, also lepaked at the stalls with one nasi goreng cina and sirap to watch wrestling for 3 hours straight!
To go to KL, we had to take the Sri Jaya bus. No 252 if I'm not mistaken, and we usually got off at Kotaraya. Lupa harga ticket tho.
And decades later, Subang Jaya is still our regular go-to place. Less hectic to buy groceries and have a nice meal at Parade/Empire. USJ too has some cool places, although some have closed down in recent times.
Congrats, Bandaraya Subang Jaya!
NASI BAMBOO SUNGAI KLAH lived up to expectations! Big crowd today (as usual), but they have a good self service system going, so you'll get your food hassle-free. And most importantly, semua sedap. Alhamdulillah. The nasi buluh itself is a winner. Good stuff from the grill station too: kambing salai buluh perindu, ikan tilapia, ayam panggang, semua 👍👍 Air per jug murah. We also had the keledek and pisang goreng. Panas and so good. So overall, highly recommended 😊
I just read this on RollingStone.com :
"Ziggy Marley is a global music royal with a deep Rolodex."
A couple of things. Pretty sure most of the younger generation don't even know what a rolodex is. And really, do people even use it anymore?
But most of us would know what the expression means. Even if not literally. So you can say that the sentence works.
Which brings me to something I've been thinking about. If you've been writing for a long time, you're used to old school idioms, metaphors and expressions. So, is it time to evolve and update our own writing, or maybe it depends on the platform and audience?
I mean, when I read "Lagu yang sering bermain di corong radio", I'll be like, who has radios with corongs anymore? Or even, "Lagu yang menjadi siulan ramai". Really? People might share the songs on TikTok, but whistle? But still, we know what they mean lah.
When I wrote the lyrics to "Lihatlah" for Yazmin Aziz, I began with "Malam tu aku terima nota suara". Cos I highly doubt people breakup via airmail or the public phone anymore. (Hey, at least I try to sound young 😕 )
So, what say you guys? Should we be dropping these words and expressions that have nothing to do with real life anymore, or do we keep them cos you know, we're incorrigibly old school...
A new month and the world is recovering. Best time to do some self-auditing. What is different now compared to 3 months ago? Are we kinder? More empathetic? More thankful of what we have? Or it's Business As Usual as per the pre-covid days? We live in a world where we need to APPLY to perform some of our prayers and the mosques are still closed at certain times. Let's ponder over what that truly means.
If we have less of everything now, imagine those who didn't have anything to begin with. How are they coping? Or does it mean we just have to be more selfish since we're getting less of the world's abundance? Think about our lowest points during this period. What were we praying for? Protection from the disease and death? To go out to buy bread? To see our loved ones? To keep our jobs? And what are we praying for now? So much to think about. And thank Allah that He actually stopped everything to make us sit and ponder, before it's simply too late.
At the end of the day, the arts industry will always be moved by those who want to do the right thing. It's a cliche, but you need passion to plug away year after year, heartbreak after heartbreak.
The truth is, you need money to run things. And money is usually with the big players. So it's important for everyone within sight of the money to do the right thing. Produce great content, pay people well (yes, PAY people), respect intellectual property, stay clean, learn and relearn the craft along the way, repeat.
And if you work for people down the chain like production houses, do your jobs honestly. Jaga discipline, so schedules tak lari. If you're in charge of budget, don't take cuts from caterers or other suppliers. (Last2, crew and artistes suffer kena makan crappy food, for eg). Be honest.
True, there have been good government initiatives to support the industry (like animation), so thanks to everyone who made things happen. But really, the powers that be will continue to disappoint with dodgy appointments to important posts, condoning sycophants, and by their severe lack of understanding and empathy for the industry. (Till today, there's still no one single overseeing body - having multiple agencies simply means more bureaucracy.)
And yes, be ready to also be disappointed by industry people who can never unite for a single day or work for other than their own ego and interests. In the end, it's about jawatan and what projects they can get.
So if you're in the industry, do the right thing with the right intention. You could be an actor, a painter, a writer, a producer, a publisher, a brand exec, a cameraman, whatever. Just don't let your selves down, and get things done.
If you're successful, build brands and businesses and help others with the same passion. Give back.
So, cherish the small victories. Take pride in your unrelenting commitment. Cos everything else will just disappoint you. And that's a guarantee.
So, what now, right? Well, you can watch all 10 eps of The Last Dance over and over again, or you can check out these cool sports documentaries available on various platforms. (This is not an exhaustive list, just some of my recent favourites)
Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Netflix)
Equally engaging and illuminating. Go behind the scenes of the super fast world of Formula 1. The great news is - there are TWO seasons already available on Netflix. And oh, do turn up the volume for this one!
Kareem: Minority of One (HBO)
A more contemplative character, Kareem Abdul Jabbar also won everything during a dominant 20-year career in the NBA. Fun fact: The College Basketball Association (or whatever it's called), actually BANNED the slam dunk just to stop him from steamrolling over everyone.
Make Us Dream (Amazon Prime)
The story of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. Fierce and prodigious on the field, reserved and sensitive off it. The Istanbul scenes are guaranteed to give you goosebumps. Yet again.
Iverson (Netflix)
Another excellent bball documentary. Iverson was the bad boy destined for both greatness and destruction. A powerful story, this.
Senna (Netflix)
The heartbreaking story of the greatest F1 driver ever who lost his life on the track at his peak. And Formula 1 was wild back then, man...
Free Solo (NatGeo)
There are mental people who climb up rocks and mountains with no ropes whatsoever. And this guy, Alex Honnold, who conquered the famed El Capitan is one of the best. The dude's freakin' nuts lah.
Undertaker The Last Ride (WWE Network)
OK, this is the only one I've yet to watch. But it's about the Undertaker - so it must be awesome! And yes, wrestling IS sports. Wanna fight me?
It was LITERALLY like Supermarket Sweep! Only 30mins per customer. I stuck to the list for about 5mins before I started grabbing whatever I could. By the 20th minute, they were already making an announcement for green tag holders to go to the cashier counter. I was racing shopping trolleys with aunties and braders in tracksuits. A good workout AND I also got Gardenia bread. I need to lie down now.
Yesterday, I received the sad news from my cousin Bernie that my Auntie Doreen Regis née Castillo, passed away in her sleep. For nearly a year she had been having asthma medicine to help her breathing because her lungs were getting weak. She was also suffering from dementia and had been staying at a nursing home for 8 years in Sydney.
Bernie said that for the last 5 years she was alive but not living because she was bedridden, unable to walk and talk. Auntie Doreen was my late mom's closest sister. She was the most generous and one of the kindest souls I've ever known. She always made others happy, and she'll always be part of many of my happiest childhood memories; school holidays at her home in Singapore, trips to Penang and the times she came over with my cousins Bernie and Vicky to stay at our place in JB. She even used to help us out financially.
The last time I got to see her was some 9 years ago in Singapore and I smile when I think about how she still remembered my name despite her failing memory (far left in the pic here). You will always be loved, Auntie Doreen.
Hari Pendaftaran dan Taklimat. Kursus Pengajian Al-Quran, Akademi Pengajian Islam, UM. Class begins next week. Insya Allah 😊👍
Note: Classes were postponed indefinitely in March when the pandemic hit. A few months later, the course recommenced, but classes were held on Zoom :(
I first got to know about Malcom X thru my African American Ulum Al Quran lecturer who became a controversial figure herself later on. She lent me his biography and it was a crash course on Islam in America for me.
This was a man who went from being a convicted felon to a fiery influencer for the Nation of Islam. But he was also misled by a false prophet. He found a different path, but was eventually murdered.
The documentary is currently airing on Netflix. It's an absorbing watch, to say the least.
End of Part 1 of today's excellent seminar on Art of Differing: The Prophetic Approach In Managing Conflicts with Sheikh Hasib Noor.
Some notes to share:
If He wanted to, Allah could have made of us all one ummah.
Differing is normal and permissible vs division. We agree on objective but can differ on how to achieve it.
But Differing must go back to evidence. The effects of Differing must be mercy.
Our Prophet teaches us the multiplicity of reward.
Enlightening sessions at today's International Unity in Diversity Conference 2020 #uidckl. Some notes to share:
Sheikh Nuruddin Lemu (from Nigeria)
- religious extremists mimic mainstream Islam to appropriate legitimacy and recognition
- we need basic critical thinking tools which could be filters to folly
- invest time and effort to learn the basics of these 4 tools (refer pic). Not for us to become scholars ourselves, but detect extremism disguised as mainstream and for us to be alert always
- understand that the shariah is about justice, mercy, wisdom and good. We need to question when a fatwa or ruling is not guided and lead to this
Sheikh Omar Suleiman
- to focus less on merely responding to disasters and speak against policies that create the problems and taking control of the narrative
- revive our own Islamic ethos and live these concepts authentically
- the onus is on us to break out of the narrative of terrorism and Islamophobia and expand on the real meaning of Islam
- to do this, we need to invest in our own media and make sure we do it right by telling our stories in a compelling, honest and authentic manner
Sheikh Dr Yasir Qadhi
1. In the face of overwhelming adversity, La Tahzan Innalaha Ma'ana
2. Let us aim to strive for unity. Come together and help one another. Diversity of our ummah is a strength! Take the best of every race and culture
3. Need to learn and appreciate both revealed knowledge and acquired knowledge. Both are from Allah
4. Protect the pillar of family. Educate our children in an environment of love and compassion
Wallahu a'lam
