High Court McReversal of 2006 McDecision

Technorati tags: Humor, McDonald's, McCurry, High Court McDecision, WHO, Sex, Re-branding

Related post: Pau-maker undeterred by McCurry decision (and other goofy news)

Walski’s pre-post content mild warning: This post contains material that may be a little NSFW. It does not, however, contain any offending pictures. Only potentially offending text and ideas.

Those of you whom have been following myAsylum since the beginning may just remember that way back in 2006, Walski blogged about a local curry house, McCurry Restaurant, being prevented from using the ‘Mc’ prefix, as the High Court felt that McDonald’s (and only them) had the exclusive right to do so. There was, of course, other silly stuff in the post, but those were triggered by the news item.

Well, guess what? The decision was yesterday reversed, as reported by The Sun, by the Court of Appeal.

And this latest tidbit of news, of course, brings up all kinds of McPossibilities… 
(McBoundless fast-food possibilities, Swine McFlu, and more, in the full post)

Take, for starters, Air Asia. Tony’s airline could conceivable go into a catering tie-in with the global fast-food giant to sell their foodstuff on board. Just imagine…

Now, Everyone Can McFly

… which may cause Marty McFly to not be too terribly pleased, but then again, who really cares how a fictional character feels anyway, right? In any case, it’s not like we’re pissing off Jack Bauer… now that would be almost suicidal!

While he’s no big fan of fast-food, Walski has to admit that McDonald’s does serve the best fast-food French Fries. Which are only tasty when they’re hot, though. Cold McD’s fries has this unique quality of tasting like flavored Styrofoam, and yes, their cold burgers like beef-flavored cardboard. Probably the same with those other fast-food pushers, too. Which will pose a problem for Air Asia if the two ever tie up – keeping the McD’s toasty.

You probably wouldn’t want to see…

Now, Everyone Can McPuke

… as their follow up campaign. A flying puke-fest is an interesting and novel proposition, but probably one that won’t really take off.

Another possibility… if sex workers can somehow unite (with permission from their respective mommies and pimps), they can actually franchise what they do, calling it McFuck. A simple and concise name, definitively explaining what they offer – fast-food sex. Wham, bang, and hold the mayo, please. Plus, it has the added advantage of sounding better, and less cumbersome, than Kentucky Fried Fornication.

And Menus! Walski can almost imagine what some of the interesting offerings their menu would have. Needless to say, everything on the menu is a happy meal. As with their food analogues, these can be had in-house, or to go – just call 1-800-MCFUCK.

• Chicken McFuck – this will be the most basic menu item, available in Regular, Spicy, Extra Spicy, and Cardiac Emergency flavors.
• Double Sleazeburger – this delicious dish is actually a rebranding of that very well known activity called a “threesome”. It can also be ordered with cheese… which is an assortment of enticing body oils and other pleasurable liquids.
• HawtCakes^TM – these can be ordered in various quantities, depending on one’s appetite. This is one of the few items on the menu that are gender-specific. What’s offered here are model-grade girl hotties, dressed most succulently, and as an option, drenched in the best quality perfume and pancake syrup.
• HawtCakes^TM with Sausage – this variant is specifically for those who take it whichever way, and comes with one (or more) hot-bod male.
• Prosperity Bugger – Walski will leave this to your imagination. Suffice it to say that it involves anal action, and pregnant people.

There are, of course, a lot more to choose from, but McFuck has explicitly warned Walski not to reveal too much. It would just give their official announcement a little less bang. Deflate their exciting roll out, in other words.

Moving along…

Walski’s just come up with another term – McPanic. Essentially, it’s when you have widespread, and totally unnecessary panic. Being that we’re still stuck in the days of swine and bourses, the easiest way to exemplify what the term means would be in relation to the current, and worrying, swine flu outbreak.

Incidentally, the WHO (as in World Health Organization, and not the classic rock band) has been reported to have upgraded their 6-scale pandemic preparedness plan, to level 5, as reported by Malaysiakini today.

The first death outside of Mexico has also been recorded, with one toddler (who was Mexican, by the way) succumbing to the virus, while visiting relatives in Texas (via the same report).

Prepared as we must be, however, is it a time to McPanic? Well, Egypt seems to think so.

Not surprisingly, the move has been criticized by health experts as being unnecessary and a waste of resources. It also raises another question in Walski’s mind: how are they going to properly dispose of 300,000 pig carcasses, so that it doesn’t become another health hazard?

The Egyptian action of McPanic proportions is apparently the same way the avian flu epidemic, which hit the country hard in 2003, was handled – via culling.

Fortunately for Malaysia, such drastic action has not been called for. Pigs reared here have so far been tested negative for the virus. What we should be more concerned about is to screen all passengers arriving in the country, particularly from North America. Malaysia Airlines was reported (by The Star) to have issued standard operating procedures to handle passengers in wake of this outbreak. It would be safe to assume that culling is probably not one of the procedures.

Similarly, screening of passengers arriving at the airport is being carried out, similar to what was done during the SARS outbreak.

And finally, a implication of the High Court reversal decision on McPolitics.

Actually, it’s all very simple – just rebrand anything that’s unsavory politically. Like calling corruption Money McPolitics – or it’s Bahasa Malaysia equivalent, Politik McWang. As long as it’s not called corruption, it’s all good.

And what about Crony? Re-label it as McCrony. Hey, if it sounds delicious, it can’t be bad, right? Walski will, however, leave it as a reader exercise to determine what McCrony with Cheese would be…

Well, it is unfortunate, but McTime is not a luxury that Walski has in McAbundance, and so it’s back to work for him. It’s a necessary evil – to make loads of McMoola so that he’s not forced to resort to having to survive on generally unpalatable, fast-food McCrap…

Click here for the full post......

The days of swine and bourses

Technorati tags: Swine Flu, Health, Outbreak, Epidemic, Pandemic, Pigs

Apart from the continuous local politically-charged news, the media seems to be dominated with reports (ad nauseum) of swine flu, how swine flu is affecting business, and therefore, negative sentiments when it comes to the bourses.

Amazing, isn’t it, how entire economies can tremble over the fears of a swine flu pandemic. Maybe this fear is the after-effects of watching 28 Days Later, and its sequel, 28 Weeks Later, one too many times. The last time a strain of flu virus spread on a pandemic scale was in the period from 2002 – 2003, with the SARS virus. And take it from Walski, zombies are much more infectious.

On a slightly lighter note, a good friend of Walski’s remarked that all this business about swine flu has gotten police worldwide worried… and if you didn’t catch the joke, don’t worry, because it’s not in very good taste. Walski still thinks it’s funny, though…

You are probably wondering, like Walski was, why it’s called Swine Flu, right? It so happens that there are 3 classes of human flu virus, Influenzavirus A, B and C. Two of these, A and C, are also endemic in pigs. Typically, however, the specific strains of these classes in humans and pigs are distinct to each species. With every rule, though, there are exceptions, and it appears that the strain that’s currently causing this anxiety worldwide, has adapted itself to humans.

The present swine flu-fest apparently started in Mexico (first detected case), near a pig farm in La Gloria, Veracruz, Mexico (source: Times Online, via Wikipedia), where residents had long been complaining of the manure lagoons near the pig farms there, which had been attracting “clouds of flies”.

That’s a shitload of flies, people. Pun intended.

So again, untreated animal waste from farms has been identified as a health hazard (which is why the modern Projek Khinzir Raksaksa in Selangor is actually a good idea). But La Gloria being the epicenter of the swine flu epidemic is being refuted by the US corporation that partly owns the particular facility, and by Mexico’s pig producers national organization. Pork products is, after all, big business.

And whenever there’s big business, there’s bound to be swine around…
(more jittery oink-oinks, and more, in the full post)

But why are the businesses and bourses worldwide jittery?

Well, for one thing, 2002/2003 isn’t all that long ago, and the memories of SARS, and Avian Flu (some years earlier) are still fresh in people’s minds. One of the reasons these spread far and wide as because of air travel.

Pandemics… air travel…. well, naturally people don’t want to fly, or travel any other way, for that matter. And when that happens, tourism and air travel businesses get affected. Which then causes jitteriness in bourses because of the perceived effects these pandemics will have on business at large. And so on and so forth…

Although there are fears that the US may soon see its first swine flu casualty, interestingly enough, to date, all the deaths attributed to the current outbreak of swine flu have been confined to Mexico. This puzzling question is the focus of an article published on the CNN.com website.

As a species, though, humans are getting much better at tackling epidemics and pandemics. Around 90 years or so ago, the deadly Spanish flu pandemic killed over 50 million people worldwide, with a staggering 10% fatality rate of those infected. Compare that to Avian flu (1990 – present), which although killed 61% of those 421 persons infected, was much less widespread, even though by that time, worldwide travel was a lot more prevalent (source: Wikipedia).

The World Health Organization (WHO) is also not taking these virulent incidents lightly, and have recently elevated their alert level to Level 4, after infections were reported from a lot more countries (source: Malaysiakini, subscription required).

But despite experts’ insistence that this particular strain of virus behind the swine flu cannot be contracted from eating pork products (AFP, via GoogleNews), many countries have imposed bans on US and Mexican pork products.

Malaysian pig farmers have gone a step further in calling for a blanket ban on the import of any and all pork products – from anywhere. They also called on authorities to improve swine flu vaccines.

Their representative, Malaysian Federation of Livestock Farmers' Association (Swine Unit) president Beh Kim Hee said the move was necessary to prevent the Mexican swine flu from reaching Malaysian shores.

Speaking at a press conference in Subang Jaya today, Beh said previously the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) did not approve the vaccines because the situation then did not warrant so.

But now, Beh said, although the DVS had declared that Malaysian pig farms were free from the virus, a local vaccination program was crucial to protect livestock in view of the global spread of the virus.
(source: Malaysiakini, subscription required)

Rather alarmist, if you were to ask Walski, but then again, it’s their rice bowl. Calling for a blanket ban on the import of all pork products, however, sounds more like being opportunistic, rather than it being for health concerns. But then again, that’s just Walski.

This jitteriness among pork growers is not confined to Malaysia, however. And this simply adds to the overall jitteriness of the various bourses worldwide, adding pork producers to tourism and travel related businesses feeling the effects of this outbreak.

Which only means that for the next few weeks to come, until more definite news about this outbreak being contained, we’ll be seeing more swine flu news in the media. And, of course, its effects on the market in general.

It’ll be a while, as far as the media is concerned anyhow, before we’re totally over the days of swine and bourses…

Click here for the full post......

Chasing A Mirage

Technorati tags: Books, Islam, Islamic State, Political Islam, Chasing A Mirage, Tarek Fatah

Some months back, Marina M. suggested that Walski add someone as his Facebook friend. That someone happens to be Tarek Fatah, who is the host for Canadian weekly TV show Muslim Chronicle, an activist, and a writer.

His book Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, published last year, is a finalist for the Donner Prize, a Canadian literary prize awarded to writings that have impact on Canadian public policy.

The Globe And Mail recently featured the book, publishing the entire first chapter.

What’s compelling about Chasing A Mirage is that it attempts to debunk the myth that an Islamic State (read: Caliphate) is something that is necessary for Islam to flourish, and that is a “duty” for Muslims to pursue. It’s an idea that’s not rooted in the Quran or Hadith (sayings of the Prophet), but one that’s evolved over the centuries.

Since the first caliphate in Medina in the 7th century, clerics have continually reminded Muslims that their mission on Earth – to spread Islam – is impossible without the establishment of an Islamic State. Such edicts by caliphs and imams have gathered near-universal acceptance despite the fact that neither the Quran nor the Prophet asked Muslims to establish such a state. In fact, the five pillars of Islam, which form a Muslim's covenant with the Creator, do not even hint at the creation of an Islamic State.
(source: Chasing A Mirage, via The Globe and Mail)

The complete first chapter of Chasing A Mirage can be read here.
(the mirage, and the state of Islam vs. the Islamic state, in the full post)

In the last few decades, we’ve seen a growing resurgent call for the establishment of a global caliphate, through such organizations as the Hizb ut-Tahrir. There is a Malaysian chapter of this organization, too, who have been quite active in promoting the idea of a global caliphate. Many, however, see the movement as one that’s based on the glorification of an imagined past ideal, and using that ideal to forge the future. Similarly, there are critics of an Islamic State in itself.

Among the contemporary opponents of the Islamic State is the brilliant Sudanese-American academic, Professor Abdullahi An-Na'im, who teaches law at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. In his classic book, Toward an Islamic Reformation, An-Na'im writes about the unrealistic utopian dream of an Islamic State: “The authority of the caliph was supposed to be derived from popular support without any principle and mechanism by which that popular support could have been freely given, restricted, or withdrawn. This is, I maintain, one of the fundamental sources of constitutional problems with the sharia model of an Islamic state.” It is no wonder Muslims like An-Na'im are the prime targets of the Islamic religious right. Islamists consider secular, liberal, progressive, or cultural Muslims and even orthodox Sufis a greater threat than the West.
(source: Chasing A Mirage, via The Globe and Mail)

Time and time again we see that where an “Islamic State” has successfully been established, tyranny and chaos is not far behind. Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Iran are some examples. At the end of the day, it becomes more about consolidating political power, rather than creating an environment friendly to spiritual, intellectual and social growth,

Ironically, if there is nothing in the Quran or Hadith to suggest the necessity of creating an Islamic State, much less a global caliphate, why the obsession to do so among Muslims? And it’s a global obsession, not just isolated to certain parts of the Islamic world. Is the Islamic State really God’s plan for mankind?

Had the Islamic State been possible, Allah would have brought it about it by now. There were enough men of impeccable character and integrity that had the chance to turn their domains into a genuine Islamic State, but everyone who tried, experienced failure. Perhaps there is a reason why Allah did not mention the creation of such a state in the Quran. Perhaps this is why the Prophet Muhammad talked about the message of Islam reaching the four corners of the earth, but gave no instructions on the creation of the Islamic State. Perhaps he was giving us Muslims a message that we have failed to heed. Perhaps it is time to do just that and walk away from the pursuit of an Islamic State and instead work to create a state of Islam within each one of us.
(source: Chasing A Mirage, via The Globe and Mail)

So far, Walski has not found this important book in any of the local bookstores (and if you have, please let him know immediately!). Chasing A Mirage is, however, available for purchase through online book sellers, such as Amazon.com.

From what Walski can surmise, though, after reading the first chapter, Chasing A Mirage is an important read, for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. He also hopes that the book continues to enjoy critical acclaim, and of course, win the Donner Prize.

The funny thing about history is that, for those who don’t heed it, it has this strange way of coming back and repeating itself. Biting hard in the process. Perhaps this book, which looks at both the historical and contemporary aspects of the Islamic State idea (and why it’s not a good one), is one way for us to learn.

And hopefully take heed.

Click here for the full post......

DM - SOTU - Wrong

Technorati tags: Depeche Mode, SOTU, DM, Sounds Of The Universe, Album Release, Wrong

Cryptic? Confused?

Explanations later, but the real purpose of this post is to present to you a new music video, from one of Walski’s favorite music groups. It’s from their latest album released just a few days ago (April 20th in Europe, and North America a day later).

Depeche Mode - Wrong Video Clip
Uploaded by Mightybaut - Explore more music videos.

There is another reason for featuring Depeche Mode, but Walski will keep mum about it for now. The “mystery” will unfold all by itself in due time.
(the release of SOTU, and more DM, in the full post)

You may have figured out by now that SOTU is the acronym for Depeche Mode’s latest album, Sounds Of The Universe. If you haven’t, well, now you know. SOTU is DM’s 12th full album, released 5 years after their previous album, Playing the Angel.

The album contains 13 tracks, one of them being Wrong, which was released earlier this month (on April 6th) as the album’s first single.

He’s not sure if the album is available in Malaysia yet (it’s already available in Singapore), but the version that Walski would love to get his grubby hands on is the Deluxe Box Set edition. That baby contains all kinds of goodies, including 5 bonus tracks, a DVD, and loads of other stuff. Yumm…

Track list of the album proper:

1. In Chains
2. Hole To Feed
3. Wrong
4. Fragile Tension
5. Little Soul
6. In Sympathy
7. Peace
8. Come Back
9. Spacewalker
10. Perfect
11. Miles Away / The Truth Is
12. Jezebel
13. Corrupt

Bonus tracks (which to Walski’s knowledge is only available in the box set edition):

1. Light
2. The Sun And The Moon And The Stars
3. Ghost
4. Esque
5. Oh Well (released as a B side to Wrong)

Depeche Mode will be supporting the release of this album with a tour, aptly called Tour Of The Universe 2009. For right now, the Universe is limited to North America and Europe,  as the published dates so far (between May 6 and February 6, 2010) are only for those two world areas. Walski’s seen them live twice before, in New Orleans the first time (sometime in the 80’s) and more recently, a few years back, in Singapore. Fat chance we’ll ever get to see them in Kuala Lumpur, Walski thinks.

As for the other thing that Walski mentioned… well, you folks will just have to wait. Let’s just say that it’s a secret project of disarseterous proportions…

Click here for the full post......

Opinion Poll: Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?

Technorati tags: Humor, Opinion Poll, Perak Crisis, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

Since Walski’s last poll was totally sabotaged by the government’s recent announcement, he decided to close that poll. Since it’s pretty much moot anyway. Walski made the decision yesterday.

And then, almost immediately after he made the decision, Walski came across this posting at The People’s Parliament, inviting folks to attend a Bar Council forum, which will take place later today.

Which then gave Walski the idea of a new poll, albeit a totally inconsequential one (see the Bite Walski’s Poll section of the sidebar).

So, take the challenge and answer this crucial question: Perak Crisis – Animal, Vegetable or Mineral? 
(revenge of the sabotaged poll, and more, in the full post)

But seriously, the situation in Perak is so fucked up, Walski has no choice but to handle it with a pinch of salt. Make that a bucket of salt. Or, a stupid opinion poll, as the case may be.

Walski’s certain that Haris will be attending the forum today, and that he’ll report on it soon enough. It would be interesting to hear what the various opinions are, as to whether the crisis in the silver state is a constitutional, legal or political crisis.

Maybe, it’s all three rolled into one. In which case, if it’s a crisis so monumental that it is all three, it therefore begs the much bigger question.

Yup, you guessed it: Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?

When faced with fucked up situations, the only way Walski knows how to stomach them is to come up with equally silly stuff. Like the opinion poll that he’s now challenging you to take.

C’mon… it’s the weekend, people. Humor Walski a bit, won’t ya?

Click here for the full post......

Moot!

Technorati tags: Religion, Islam, Malaysia, Conversion, Conversion Of Minors

Related post: Opinion poll: Should forced conversions of under aged children be outlawed?

Here’s one more reason why the Malaysian government really pisses off Walski sometimes.

And in one fell swoop, it’s made the most recent opinion poll moot

Moot, Walski tells ya… freakin’ MOOT!

Damn it… and after all that effort, too. 
(all that is moot, and all that is not, in the full post)

But all kidding aside, folks, Walski’s happy with the announcement. It’s fair, and it’s the right thing to do. And boy, those guys were lightning fast in reaching a decision, weren’t they? Walski wonders if it has something to do with the fact that this case occurred in Ipoh, capital of that embattled state, Perak Darul Messed-up.

In any case, whatever the reason, it’s the right thing to do. And don’t just take Walski’s say so for it, either. The “experts” agree, too.

Earlier today, The Sun today (on page 6) published a report touching on the issue of forced conversions, quoting International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) CEO, Mohammad Hashim Kamali.

“In my opinion, such ‘forced’ conversion is un-Islamic ... to use Islam in order to inflict or for purposes that are not part of the spirituality or aqidah of Islam, whether it is marriage, whether it is divorce or custody and there is a tussle between the wife and husband over the children does not make sense,” said Mohammad.

“To go to the Syariah Court and claim that the child, who is two or three years old, has been converted to Islam, what does it mean? You convert a twoyear-old child or five-year-old to Islam, it doesn’t really make sense when you look at this phenomena from the texts and guidelines of Islam,” he said.
(source: The Sun)

Also included in the same report were statements from former Indonesian foreign minister Dr. Alwi Abdurrahman Shihab, who responded to questions after a lecture at the IAIS center yesterday (emphasis by myAsylum).

Alwi said such issues (conversions) were unknown in Indonesia.

“I do not really see any such phenomenon (forced conversions) in Indonesia today. Muslims might sometimes raise complaints over the Christian missions, but today I think we are not very concerned over forced conversions. I do not know whether there are isolated incidents but we are proud to be a nation respectful to other faiths,” he said.
(source: The Sun)

Which, Walski might add, is something that Malaysia only pays lip service to. We might say we are respectful to all faiths, but the actions shown in the past several years, both by individuals and various governmental agencies, tell us otherwise.

No surprise that while Indonesia is slowly getting back in sync with the rest of the free world, Malaysia is headed in the opposite direction, at least as far as basic liberties and human rights are concerned.

And if the freedom to believe is not a basic human right, Walski doesn’t know what is…

But today’s announcement by the cabinet is more than welcome, Walski thinks. Whether or not it will be met with resistance by certain quarters, and whether or not the little Napoleons at the various departmental levels will live up to the Government’s directive, is left to be seen.

Walski expects some resistance to this, by the way. The only question is: from whom? And that is a question that’s far from moot.

Unlike poor Mr. Survey… thanks, and no thanks, to the government. But Walski thinks he’ll leave it up for a while, and see if there are any interesting results. Maybe for another day or three.

Meanwhile, we wait with bated halitosis to see if the government announcement amounts to anything more than just talk. Yes, Walski’s sceptical and yes, he’s cynical, to boot. It’s just that talk hasn’t amounted to a lot more than just that of late.

And Walski doesn’t mind one bit to be pleasantly surprised if it pans out that talk is followed through with some real action...

Click here for the full post......

A bunch of gimps called GMP

Technorati tags: GMP, Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider, Police Report, Gimp

First, the Bernama report, which was later parroted by many of the other mainstream media parrots.

And then, another bunch of idiots, who call themselves Pemuda Kuih Lapis Pelapis, pick up the Berita Harian version of the report, and happily start moralizing about how to “report responsibly” (translation & emphasis by myAsylum).

Jadilah wartawan yang profesional sekalipun menyokong pakatan haram PR. Kita tahu ia bukan lagi satu rahsia kerana Malaysiakini lebih pro kepada pakatan pembangkang walaupun sekali pandang kononnya ia cuba berlaku adil. Di sebalik tabir media tersebut terdiri daripada pemimpin pembangkang. Semua orang tahu.

Become professional reporters, even though you support the illegitimate PR coalition. We know that it's no longer a secret that Malaysiakini is more pro-Opposition, even though on the surface, they seem as though they are trying to be fair. Behind their media curtain are leaders of the opposition. Everybody knows that.
(source: Pemuda Kuih Lapis Pelapis)

They even insinuated that Malaysiakini had “deleted the article”, either in panic or because the media site was instructed to do so.

But there’s one big problem: the so-called insulting article was not even published by Malaysiakini!

And the gimps called GMP, plus their Kuih Lapis supporters, were just too stupid to realize it. Not to mention Bernama, who didn’t even bother to verify the story – something that could’ve been done with a little Google-action.  
(kneejerk mental gimps, and more, in the full post)

And then there’s another problem – what exactly was insulting about the article? Which, incidentally, was published on The Malaysian Insider, not Malaysiakini. You can find the article, in its entirety, here.

The Malaysian Insider article was pretty much a verbatim account of the Perak regent’s, Raja Nazrin, speech during the state sultan’s 81st birthday ceremony. What the gimps found offensive was apparently the reader comment section. Many of the readers felt that based on recent events, especially the role of the palace in the Perak political fiasco, what the prince regent said during his speech didn’t hold water. It was felt the speech was trying to defend the undefendable. Namely, the role his father, the Sultan of Perak, played.

The gimps at GMP, probably lacking the ability to analyze, saw any disagreement – and mind you, the comments were very civil and polite – as an insult. The fact that the police report was made without even reading the article, or knowing where it came from, shows that it was nothing more than a kneejerk reaction by a bunch of gimps.

Malaysiakini actually managed to get a clarification from GMP. And an apology later on. But what GMP had to say was, shall we say, rib-tickling in itself (from their related news report today):

Malaysiakini contacted GMP this morning to seek clarification over the police report and was told by Mohd Hilmi that he was not aware if Malaysiakini had carried such a report before going to the police.

“I didn’t know about the said article. I was informed by my staff and I lodged a report,” he said.

Woah... filing a police report on blind faith. How lovely. But it gets better.

When asked if he realised that he could have tarnished Malaysiakini reputation with his police report, Mohd Hilmi asked: “Isn’t Malaysiakini the same as Malaysian Today or some other blogs?”

Well, needless to say GMP has a shitload of damage control to do. To their credit, they have apologized to Malaysiakini, and are in the process of rectifying their original police report, plus informing all the other media parrots of their mistake.

But damage control all they want, and it still won’t take away the fact that GMP are a bunch of kneejerk mental gimps…

Walski’s gimpish terminolgy clarification footnote: The term gimp is a derogatory one, referring to someone with a physical impairment (from Urban Dictionary). It has an alternate meaning, like the context used in this post, to mean someone who’s incompetent and/or stupid. Not unlike GMP. Which funny enough, also sounds like ‘gimp’.

Click here for the full post......

Opinion poll: Should forced conversions of under aged children be outlawed?

Technorati tags: Islam, Conversion, Forced Conversion, Malaysia, Religion

Yes, folks, another case of under aged children forced to convert to Islam, because one of their parents converted. This story, according to The Nut Graph, dominated the Tamil press last week.

The following Malaysiakini.tv segment (via YouTube), provides a backgrounder to the story.

The video reveals that poor non-Muslims are allegedly being enticed to embrace Islam for monetary gain. If this is true, it makes Walski wonder: why this obsession to lure someone into your faith, for all the wrong reasons? Something to think about, for sure, and perhaps something that Walski will delve into further in another post.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on this – should forced conversions of under aged children be outlawed?  
(the opinion poll, and more, in the full post)

And that is the topic of the current opinion poll that Walski’s just put up.

Putting aside the sad reality of what Malaysia has become aside for a moment, Walski looks at this purely from a humanistic viewpoint. He thinks that the decision of which religion to follow, in cases of divorce via conversion, should be left with the children once they are of legal age to decide. In Malaysia, that age happens to be 18. Personally, Walski is of the opinion that any other option would not be fair to all parties.

Coming back to the sordid reality of our 1 Malaysia, what’s fair to all parties brings us to an impasse because of our two-headed Hydra of a legal system, when it comes to matters of family disputes, such as the one faced by M. Indra Gandhi, her estranged husband Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah (formerly Pathmanathan), and their 3 children.

According to the Nut Graph article quoted above, what’s even more bizarre is the fact that the children were not even present when their conversion took place – all Mohd Ridzuan had to do was produce the children's birth certificates, and… Hey Presto! they were all converted.

Because of the two court system’s jurisdictional non-coverage in matters such as these, coupled with a government that doesn’t have the scrotal gumption to tackle the problem fairly, cases such as these continue to happen, and after a while simply disappear from the public’s attention span. Until the next time it happens, that is. Problem not solved.

The poll will be up for about one week, beginning today until midnight on Thursday, April 30th. As with the previous polls, if you’re blogging on the Blogger platform, Walski provides you with the opportunity to feature the poll on your blog (just click the “Add to Blogger” icon below the poll).

 

Click here for the full post......

The new face of PPS

Technorati tags: Blogging, Project Petaling Street, PPS, MENJ, VCTech Network, Blog Aggregators

Updated @ May 7, 2009: A mistake in misspelling the company name the company name that acquired Project Petaling Street has been amended, as pointed out by MENJ in his recent posting. Typos do happen, and any bruised egos as a result of this one is regretted. Not much, but regretted.

Not to make a big deal or anything, but myAsylum quietly celebrated its 3rd year in the bloggerhood earlier this year on January 21st. At the time, Walski was so caught up with the goings on in his real world, that he forgot all about it, too.

But this is not an anniversary post, or anything of the sort. A tad bit very late now, anyway. Walski only mentions it in passing, but for a reason. And that reason is Project Petaling Street, or PPS for short, at the time the leading Malaysia-centric blog aggregator.

As a fledgling blogger, PPS did help to provide exposure to this blog, and help it gain a foothold in the congested bloggerhood. For that, Walski will be forever grateful.

About around the third week of March, the Malaysian bloggerhood was abuzz with news about PPS having a new owner. As it turns out, the new owner is none other than MENJ, via his company VCTech Network.

Well, those of you who’ve been following this blog long enough will probably know that MENJ is not exactly Walski’s most favorite person in the world. That said, Walski would like to congratulate him anyway, and hopes that Project Petaling Street continues its success under his ownership.

What was quite disturbing, however, was that the first thing MENJ did was to ban a blogger with whom he had been having this long-lasting feud, ShadowFox. In addition, MENJ also claims to have filed a police report against ShadowFox, who has since gone on indefinite hiatus.

Many in the bloggerhood felt that what MENJ did was totally unprofessional, because the banning was based on something personal. While MENJ has given his word that ShadowFox will be the only blogger banned (he did casually threaten to ban another blogger, Kamigoroshi of Footsteps In The Mirror), it’s left to be seen whether or not the guy will live up to his assurance.    
(alternatives to PPS, and more, in the full post)

In fact, a few bloggers have even called for an all-out boycott of Project Petaling Street, namely Jed Yoong and Alexallied.

Well… whatever.

Here’s the thing, though. PPS was kinda wallowing miserably even before the acquisition by VCTech Network, and so far, MENJ has managed to spruce up the site considerably. But cosmetics, and turning the aggregator into an ad-filled wasteland, will probably not help bring PPS back to its grandeur of old. At least not in the immediate term. What it needs is to build back its reputation, particularly after the ShadowFox incident, because from the looks of it, quite a number of Malaysian bloggers are pissed off, and probably are staying away from PPS on purpose.

The bloggerhood has changed considerably since 2006 (when Walski started blogging), and so has technology. Because of these factors, PPS doesn’t really contribute a lot in terms of traffic to myAsylum anymore, like say about a year ago. It used to be that Walski would religiously ping PPS after (almost) every post. Well, he stopped doing that earlier this year – but NOT entirely, though. Being that this blog is hosted on Blogger, pinging PPS means having to do it manually.

For starters, RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication) plays a big role in how traffic comes to this blog nowadays. If you’re a blogger and don’t already know what RSS is, or how it works, well, let’s just say it’s high time you did. The delivery mechanism of choice for Walski happens to be Feedburner (now owned by Google), which provides a few options as to how readers can subscribe to RSS-based feeds.

And then, there are other blog aggregators apart from PPS, to which Walski has, over the years signed up with, or have picked up myAsylum on their own:

• SARA – Sara who? This site is one designed for a wider more regional South East Asian audience, although a quick glance will show that many Malaysian blogs are part of the collective. The nice thing about SARA is that once you submit your blog, updates are posted automatically, using RSS as the base technology. Walski signed up a long time ago, around about the same time as he started pinging to PPS.
• Other Malaysian aggregators – and there are a few, such as Xblog, Malaysiakita, Planet Malaysia, Beras Padu and Beras Terpilih. Some of these provide listings across the board (like SARA), while some are more focused on Socio-Politics (or SoPo). 
• Malaysian Blog Listings – in addition to aggregators, there are also blog directories that focus on Malaysian blogs, such as Blog Malaysia, Malaysia Central, and the more niche SoPo ones like SoPo Central of Malaysia and the CAIR Site, listing 50 Malaysian SoPo sites.
• Localized Digg-alikes – Digg is a popular social bookmarking platform, that has spawned a whole host of lookalikes, including some that have been launched specifically for localized markets. For Malaysia, the most well-known Digg-alike would probably have to be Negaraku.net. But in general, these sort of sites haven’t really taken off very well because Malaysian bloggers (well, in general) have this habit of only wanting to promote their own stuff, and don’t bother to share interesting posts from other sources, or sometimes don’t even bother to vote for those links posted – which is one reason why Project Petaling Street has maintained its popularity all these years (source: comment at Footsteps in the Mirror by blogger Shaolin Tiger).

There are more, of course, but if you’re a new blogger, in addition to PPS (if you still wish to use it), you should also investigate these other options that can help you extend your reach. The best practice is to use as many as possible, to maximize your reach.

PPS, however, remains a good place for new bloggers to be get discovered. And despite all that’s happened between Walski and MENJ in the past, he has no beef with the man, and wishes him great success with PPS. In business, however, pride and emotion should not be brought into the mix, and hopefully, the backlash from the ShadowFox incident has taught MENJ a thing or two.

Click here for the full post......

Children of the Taliban

Technorati tags: Pakistan, Taliban, Terror, Swat Valley, Peshawar, Children of the Taliban

On Saturday April 18, author, fellow blogger, and friend, Syed Akbar Ali, posted a story by journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, about the Taliban and their expanding influence into Pakistan. The story is based on a 36-minute PBS Frontline episode entitled Pakistan: Children of the Taliban.

This brilliant journalistic piece exposes the extent to which the Taliban will go in order to expand their influence into Pakistan. Walski realizes that there are some folks out there in the Malaysian bloggerhood who actually think what the Taliban are, and what they’re doing, are good and righteous. He hopes that this 4-part program will at least make you reconsider your position.

The following is the PBS program in its entirety, via Metacafe, in four parts.

Part 1 of 4

(parts 2, 3 and 4, in the full post)

Part 2 of 4

Part 3 of 4

Part 4 of 4

Still think that the Taliban are the good guys?

Click here for the full post......

One Malaysia revisited

Technorati tags: Politics, One Malaysia, Concept, Clarity, Commentary

You might be wondering, why “revisited”? Well, it’s not because just about everyone else has talked about it, and Walski being the latecomer (so to speak) is revisiting the topic.

The truth is, Najib stole the “One Malaysia” idea (but not concept) from Walski.

Shocked? Well, okay, Walski doesn’t have actual proof that Najib was the who-dunnit. But over a year ago, as part of Nizam Bashir’s brilliant blog project, 50 Posts To Independence, Walski’s contribution was called… well, you guessed it, One Malaysia. Which also came with this logo.

Ironically, Nizam’s follow up project, 51 Ideas for a Better Malaysia, totally fizzled out after post #9 (number 9, number 9, number 9…), ominous, perhaps, of the fact that we wouldn’t be seeing any better a Malaysia any time soon.

And then, Najib comes into office, as Malaysia’s 6th Prime Minister, with his concept of One Malaysia. Fortunately, with a different logo.

But stolen or not, Walski doesn’t really care, because his is a concept meant for all Malaysians, regardless of whether you’re brown, off-white, pink, wear a tight-fitting turban, or think Britney Spears is God’s gift to music.

It’s essentially one nation, comprising of one people – Bangsa Malaysia – with one common set of laws – equality and justice for all. That’s Walski’s idea of One Malaysia.

In some respects, Walski reckons that it’s exactly this, too, that Najib’s concept entails. Provided, of course, everyone’s on the same page. Which, going by some of the frothing of the Malay-language press, and the prognosticative punditry of the rest of us, indicates that we’re not all on the same page.

Which is where the problem comes in…
(One unclear idea leads to many viewpoints, and more, in the full post)

For example, UMNO-controlled Utusan has, of late, been fanning the war drums of Malay anxiety, through its editorials and reporting (for example, this piece by Awang Selamat), almost like giving a big tight slap on the face of Najib’s One Malaysia. Deputy PM Muhyiddin, too, has been mouthing off stuff that’s contrary to the spirit of One Malaysia.

So, what gives?

All good ideas and concepts need a certain amount of clarity. Until that clarity is not established, the concept of Najib’s One Malaysia will be as fuzzy as the minds who think they know what it is.

And to a certain extent, Najib has explained, via a press conference held this past week (as reported by Bernama), although not as far as to indicate how government policy would be molded with respect to the concept. Well, not explicitly anyway.

But one thing has been clarified – One Malaysia is not the same as the DAP championed Malaysian Malaysia. Does that mean that there will not be equality for all Malaysians?

Not a good thing, if you ask Walski. But not surprising, either. There is this warped thinking that in the Malaysian context “equality” does not (and cannot) be equated to being “just”.

Implying that One Malaysia will look very different depending on what ethno-political basket case you happen to belong to.

One Malaysia for the Malays, One (different) Malaysia for the Muslims, One (again different) Malaysia for the nons… and on and on it goes.

To be fair, Walski thinks what Najib is trying to promote, idea-wise, is a good thing in the right direction. Whether or not he has the scrotal perseverance to do what’s right, and not what’s politically correct and expedient, remains to be seen. It’s clear that One Malaysia will face lots of resistance from Najib’s own party, which wants the status quo view of NEP to remain.

But here’s what Walski thinks: if the NEP’s aim is (in part) to eradicate poverty and uplift the standard of living for those in need of uplifting, why not remove altogether the ethnic connotation?

Walski’s reasoning goes something like this: restructure the NEP to help those in need of assistance, regardless of cultural and ethnic background. That way, IF the Malays are the majority of the poor (as the ultra Malay politicos & NGOs never fail to remind us), then aren’t they by default taken care of anyway? And at the same time doesn’t leave anyone else in the lurch?

Now, what’s so wrong about that?

Unless, of course, the ultra Malay politicos & NGOs choose to wallow in decrepitidity forever, since that’s their rallying call card. Walski, for one, wouldn’t. He’s got more pride and integrity than to want to claim, in perpetuity, that he belongs to a group of people so hopeless, and quite frankly, useless, that after 30+ years of affirmative action, they’re still in such a sorry state.

Any policy, after close to a third of a century, if it doesn’t achieve its objective, is a policy that’s way overdue for revocation, or at least a frank and thorough overhaul.

Think about it.

In any case, justice cannot ever be achieved without equality – that’s the law of nature, which by default, also means that its God’s law. Spin this however you think you can, but it will always come back to this one simple fact.

Equality is a prerequisite for justice.

And that, folks, is Walski’s One Malaysia. What the hell is yours?

Click here for the full post......

Poll Position, Digested Cabinet, and a cartoon surprise

Technorati tags: Humor, Politics, Cabinet, TAO, Poll Position, Cartoon

It’s been about a week since the Cabinet of TAO was unveiled. Or unleashed, as some would say. And as promised, Walski gives you his two-bits about what he thinks. Finally. After lots of consideration, digestion, and Pepto-Bismol.

Under normal circumstances, the result of whatever Walski digests is not pretty. In fact, it’s downright nasty. And so, in the interest of intellectual hygiene, Walski has had to sanitize and deodorize it some. The last thing he wants is for you lot to be puking all over this blog. Unless you’re one of those fecal-fetish types… but as Walski’s better judgment told him, let’s not go there.

Moving along…. oh yeah, TAO’s cabinet. But first, a look at what you lot thought about TAO becoming Prime Minister, via the most recent opinion poll, which closed after the cabinet announcement. Not that it made much of a dent in the results. Which, in itself, is quite telling.

At best, only a 36% approval rating!

Even if Walski were to take a broad definition of “approval rating” – taking ‘Optimistic’ and ‘Apprehensive’ both into account, the approval rating is a dismal 28%. And that’s being extremely generous. And going one step further, if Walski wanted to be extraordinarily kind – and include ‘Unsure’ – the percentage becomes a still dismal 36%.

But back to the cabinet – as Walski mentioned previously, he’s not impressed. It became quite evident really fast that it was a politically expedient cabinet. Overall, it seemed designed more to please the interests of component BN parties, rather than a cabinet to really face the challenges of the nation.

The most glaring omission? None other than Khairy Jamaluddin, of course.
(more cabinet analysis, and the cartoon debut, in the full post)

As much as KJ is despised as a politician, you have to hand it to him that the guy’s bright. But, perhaps, a tad bit too ambitious for his own good. This is the guy who, at one time, unabashedly announced that he wants to be Prime Minister before he turns 40.

Such talk, unfortunately, rings all kinds of alarm bells in the heads of more senior politicians. Plus the fact that in Malaysia, youth is not exactly something that is appreciated.

His omission, though, disappointed many, including fellow blogger Aisehman, who was rooting for the young gun. And if the snub wasn’t bad enough, KJ’s UMNO Youth deputy Razali Ibrahim was appointed Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, and defeated Youth head candidate Mukhriz Mahathir – yes, that Mukhriz – appointed as Deputy International Trade Minister. The latter’s appointment, plus the fact that KJ was left out, has raised the speculation that Dr. M had some influence in the decision.

But be that as it may, the other inhabitants of TAO’s cabinet raise some questions in Walski’s mind, too.

Deputy PM, Muhyiddin Yasin, who’s there for no other reason than him also being UMNO Deputy President, was given the Education portfolio. To Walski, Education is perhaps the most important ministry – because the policies formulated by this arm of government will have trans-generational effects. Something decided today will only have its effects seen 5, maybe 10 years down the road. Sadly, it’s also a ministry that’s seen as a stepping stone one, necessary for the path to ascend to the premiership.

Well, the first big test for Muhyiddin as Education Minister will be in tackling the non-issue-elevated-to-political-issue-of-importance – what language to teach maths & science in. Walski’s prediction is that Muhyiddin will choose to do what is most politically expedient, and not necessarily the right thing. We’ll leave it at that, for now, and come back once a decision has been made.

But not one week after holding the No. 2 position, Muhyiddin made a big faux pas in stating that the non-Malays (the Chinese, in particular) were ungrateful for not supporting BN in the recent by-election in Bukit Gantang. He’s since denied it, saying that what he said was taken out of context and manipulated by the media.

Oh, really? If that’s the case, why did NTV7 edit their news archive footage, purposely omitting the part where Muhyiddin said what he allegedly didn’t quite mean what he said? The Sensintrovert, a few days ago, posted screenshots from the Catch Up News for April 12, with the ominous footnote “Catch it here, before it's too late”. Unfortunately, by the time Walski got to it, it was too late. NTV7 didn’t remove the clip altogether, but edited out bits around the 4:20 timeline. Which is presumably where Muhyiddin allegedly said what he didn’t mean. Or is that didn’t mean to say it how it sounded?

Whatever… In any case, Walski has lots of trepidation when it comes to him helming the Education Ministry. We’ll just have to see how the guy performs with the PPSMI thing…

Of course, Walski could do a blow-by-blow dissection of each ministry and put in his two-bits about each and every one of ‘em new ministers. But he won’t. For two reasons: the first is that what Walski has to say won’t be much different from all the criticisms we’ve been hearing so far, the most damning being that made by Tunku Aziz (via The Malaysian Insider, with any emphasis by myAsylum):

If you want my honest opinion, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s People’s Cabinet is totally uninspiring and insipid to boot. And that is being charitable. What a sad commentary on the paucity of proven talent and integrity within the ranks of Barisan Nasional that all Najib has succeeded in putting on offer is a team of recycled political expendables, many with personal records of integrity that will not bear close scrutiny.

Najib has done nothing more than a bit of tinkering. Is this the clean and honest team that he has promised the nation? Instead of calling it a Cabinet, a more accurate and honest name for it is surely “baggage room” because most of those who are our new ministers, including Najib, unfortunately, are perceived to be carrying oversized baggage into office. If this had been a team chosen by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, I should not have been surprised.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)

Walski’s thoughts: it’s a slightly smaller, minorly refurbished cabinet, and not a brand-spanking new, lean and mean one. What’s more, it’s also one that’s too testosterone-laden, with a marked decrease in female representation – two ministers and eight deputies – making it 7% of the cabinet, and 20% of the deputies. And as Marina M. points out, far short of the 30% Malaysia agreed to after signing the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

More importantly is this question: is this cabinet one that can take Malaysia to greater heights and to a position of more esteem, where it rightly should be?

Which leads Walski to answering the question, by way of introducing something new to myAsylum. It’s something that’s been brewing for quite a while in his mind – a comic strip. And the answer to the question posed, is:

(click on image for a larger version)

More about the strip, it’s characters, etc. later on, but suffice it to say that Walski plans loads more of them. And maybe even a spin-off blog... who knows?

So that, in the final analysis, is Walski’s opinion – it’s an old cabinet, with new varnishing. And you can’t teach an old cabinet new tricks…

Click here for the full post......

"And Another Thing..."

Technorati tags: Humor, Books, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams, Eoin Colfer

Life in the hereafter must be boring. Incredibly and excruciatingly boring.

Those were the exact thoughts that ran thru Walski’s mind when The Lord Panda sms’d him this morning, telling Walski that the 6th installment of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy would be coming out in October this year.

Why? Well, for starters, the author of the extended-play trilogy, Douglas Adams, died in 2001. And more importantly, time travel has not yet been made commercially available for all and sundry to abuse. Not even Douglas Adams, post-humorously.

So, how could it be that another book would be released, 8 years after Adams’ death, making Hitchhiker’s the longest ever trilogy? Something just wasn’t cricket…

As it turns out, the book release was, in fact, old news. BBC had reported, back in September 2008, that a new author had been selected to continue the timeless travels of Arthur Dent (bathrobe and towel in tow, no less). So, no, it won’t be Douglas Adams writing it from the great beyond.

And the author selected (by Adams’ widow) is none other than the creator of the best-selling Artemis Fowl children's book series, Eoin Colfer. The new HG2G author, whose first name is seemingly much more difficult to pronounce than Douglas (it’s pronounced similar to Owen, apparently), in his New Year’s video message, expresses both excitement and some trepidation about the 6th Hitchhiker’s book, entitled “And Another Thing...”.

Trepidation, because of the expectations put upon him. Colfer said that he expected some people are probably going to “burn it in their fireplace”. Which is something, he added, he’d not be able to do much about.  
(many other things, and then some, in the full post)

And which is something that Walski can truly understand and appreciate. Taking over the responsibility to continue with somebody else’s literary legacy is no enviable task. While for Douglas Adams it may be an SEP – he is, after all, dead and gone – for the living fans, it becomes something else altogether. And Walski thinks that the most natural thing to happen is for fans to start comparing Eoin Colfer’s writing to that of Douglas Adams.

Which, in a nutshell, is a sure recipe for disaster and disappointment.

There can never be another Douglas Adams. This is something Eoin Colfer knows, and it’s something that Walski realizes as well. It’s a book, while continuing with the characters we’ve all come to know and love, that will be more Eoin Colfer than Douglas Adams. Which, going by the Artemis Fowl books, is something Walski will actually be looking forward to.

And that’s something we’ll all have to live with.

Incidentally, on a total tangent, should anyone be interested to continue with this blog once Walski (the real person behind the persona) becomes worm food, do write in, and he’ll put you in his will.

Which is something Douglas Adams didn’t get to do. Walski reckons that “being dead at 49” wasn’t exactly something the beloved HG2G author penciled into his date book, and so bequeathing the franchise probably wasn’t high on the list of priorities.

But such is life – it goes on, regardless. As will the HG2G series, Walski thinks. Even after Eoin Colfer, in all improbability. So, look out for it in your favorite local book-pusher, come October this year.

And wouldn’t you know it? It’s Thursday.

Walski’s HG2G blatant reference abuse apology footnote: It would probably take a fan of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy series to appreciate the fact that this post is rife with references to the trilogy of five (soon six) books. But if you’re not, and you’re confused – especially it being Thursday and all – do accept Walski’s apologies.

Click here for the full post......

Life, the Universe, Everything, and then some...

Technorati tags: Humor, War, Peace, Birthday, Forty Two, And Then Some

Today is the third anniversary.

That’s where the “and then some” part comes in. And as everyone (and his/her pet dolphin) should know, the ultimate answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, is 42.

If you didn’t already know that, well, get off your butt, go get the book, and read the damned thing. Or risk Douglas Adams coming back to haunt you. Which would not be a pretty sight. At all.

For those of you who have difficulty in counting (and Walski’s encountered 2 people so far  today), 42 + 3 does not equal 42. Even on planet Malaysia, where money politics does not equal corruption, where pedestrian crossings are cleverly designed accidents waiting to happen, and where it takes 222 battalions to safeguard the country in peace-time mode (armed with their postal votes, probably), against that dreaded scourge, which threatens the very core of our sovereign existence: renegade goats (originally via NaSTy Pee – look at the 2nd-to-last paragraph).

Cryptic cynicism aside, Walski turns 45 today.
(birthday wish, thank-you’s. and more, in the full post)

So, what does Walski want for his birthday. Well, lots, truth be told.

First, he’d like more hours in a day. Which, theoretically, can be done if we stop the Earth rotating for a few hours each day. And like all other simplistic solutions, who cares what the cataclysmic side effects are, right? As long as Walski gets his few extra hours.

But if he can’t get that simple wish, then Walski will settle for peace on Earth, and for other planets wishing the same, too.

His proposal for world peace? Simple. Propose to the UN that all soldiers may only be armed with throw pillows and a few spliffs. Only hand-to-hand pillow combat allowed, preferably while stoned. Whomever doesn’t die laughing first, wins.

Suicide bombers? Try stand-up comedy instead. That way, when you bomb, no one else gets hurt. Oh, and confetti bombs. You can’t truly have world peace without confetti bombs.

But impossible dreams aside, life’s been pretty good for most of the 45 years, enough to notice that it’s been a good four and a half decades. Laughing on the inside for much of it. And sometimes out loud, too. It’s great for the heart, and as Walski’s real-world friends and acquaintances will attest, keeps you youthful.

With the ongoing comedy show called the Najib Era, the only option is to laugh it off. Either that, or get horribly depressed, shrivel up, blog, then die. Walski chooses the first option. Everyone else can choose the second option if they want… which translates to more brewskis for Walski. And more brewskis is always a good thing.

Speaking of the current era, Walski still owes you lot his thoughts on cabinets and such… Well, hang tight, ‘cause that’s coming your way in not too long. As soon as Walski gets his extra few hours.

Meanwhile, thanks for all the nice birthday wishes and fish sticks, be it in person, via SMS or on Facebook. Walski does feel blessed to have so many people in his life who care. So, yeah, thanks a zillion, peeps!

There’s this cliché about today being “the first day of the rest of your life”. Which make yesterday and tomorrow extremely confusing from a timeline perspective. But rather than rack his brain on this conundrum, Walski thinks he’ll just savor today for what it is.

Forty two, plus 3. And a nice quiet dinner with the Mrs later on. Or a not very quiet one (depending on where we’ll be) would be A-OK fine with Walski, too.

And now, it’s off to face the Vogons, who apparently want to buy some stuff, but need some awful poetry recited to ‘em first. Dang… now where on Earth did Walski put his towel?

Bartender… four pints, and a bag of peanuts, please…

Click here for the full post......