A B*B* Story

The first piece in the 1997 book "Generation" that I'm currently reading is by Amir Muhammad and is titled "A Khinzir's Eye View". It's about how, one day, the word "babi" was thoroughly replaced by the more polite (and "almost glamorous" according to Amir), "khinzir", in our local media. 

This reminded me of something that happened years back when I was hosting Malaysia Hari Ini on TV3.

It was an episode near CNY, and my co-host and I were talking about what animal year it was according to the Chinese calendar, and what it meant for the people who were born in the year of that particular animal. 

Then, my co-host (who shall remain nameless) asked me, "MZul lahir tahun apa?"

I just smiled and said, "Tak perlulah tahu."

But she didn't give up. "Alah, ceritalah. Mzul lahir tahun apa?"

"Takpelah, nanti saya cerita lain kali."

She refused to give up. "Ceritalah, penonton semua nak tahu."

I didn't know what else to say, so I went to: "Ok, kita rehat seketika, jumpa lagi selepas ini."

As we went into the commercial break, I turned to her and said, "Alah you ni, I lahir tahun Babi lah."

The End 🤣🤣

Food, Glorious Food!: Tingkap Cafe, PJ Old Town

Breakfast Muo style in PJ! Alhamdulillah, semua sedap; sate, lontong, ubi, roti jala, kuih, kopi 434. Retro aesthetics, service tip top!  Definitely one of the best breakfast spots in the Klang Valley. 

PS: Tingkap Cafe is owned by Tan Sri Johan Jaafar's son. Was cool to bump into him this morning 😄

Never Forget

This morning we're at The Global Youth & Peace Conference for Palestine at Mahsa University. Heart wrenching performances children of Palestine and rousing speeches by Khaled Beydoun, Nurul Izzah and others.

Why Did We Learn How To Play The Recorder In School?

 

It's a really interesting and valid question. Some rather serious answers given were how it taught us breathing techniques, and that it provided us with a nice break from all the studying.

Have to say that I don't actually know what the thinking was behind it, nor can I give you the pedagogical reasons. But probably it was simply to introduce a form of arts appreciation in schools.

Of course, this is one area we've never been good at. In fact, the ARTS has always been seen as the "less intelligent" stream, and that it could never be as important as the other subjects in school. 

As such, the thinking has been cultivated from young; that arts and culture have no value to real life, and could never be a real career alternative.

I believe this has led to disastrous consequences to society in more ways than one. Without the appreciation of the arts, there's no appreciation of the artistes. That's why for so long, we've grappled with widespread piracy (cetak rompak). Because people simply do not appreciate the creative process. 

Even today in the digital world, there is little respect for intellectual property. People think arts and culture are merely hobbies that have no value. They don't think this as "work" for those who depend on it for their livelihoods.

It doesn't help too that there is no balance in the media when it comes to entertainment, arts and culture. Sure, we all enjoy gossip now and then, but the fascination has always been with the "artis", rather than what's "artistic". Hence, it's all lumped together as just entertainment, and nothing more.

Even deeper than that, the lack of appreciation for the arts, literature and culture has created a society of binary thinkers. A piece of of art can mean different things to different people (there is no right or wrong), but generally our people can't, and won't, agree to disagree, cos the answer to everything is either this or that. 

Everything must be on the nose, subtexts are often ignored, and it leaves us with a society that only judges others by what they see on the surface, and material gains. 

Oh how I wish we had learned more than just the recorder...

My Latest Obsession

My current obsession: Watching these historically important videos on the FINAS YouTube channel. Seriously, you won't believe how well-produced these are. There are more than 200 videos on the Retrospektif playlist and I urge everyone to watch them. 

So much to learn and so much to appreciate about our own history. Thank you Finas for restoring such wonderful and important content for our viewing pleasure.