7 places of tension...

Obama talks about 7 sources of global tension. He talks about religious faith and in particular Islam. He talks about nuclear proliferation. He talks about world democracy. He talks about Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Israel and the Palestinian. He talks about violence, Taliban, al-Qaeda and the Hamas. That is how Obama perceives world peace which he categorically said as a real threat.

I have another view point on global peace. It is about the 7 places of tension and can be regarded as a very localised and internalised and situational to ones age and consciousness. The places are: dwelling house of family and internet, schools and developing the tender mind, universities and the discoveries, the dollar and cents in the malls and supermarkets, place of work with career expansion and expression, place of prayer and meditation, hospitals and clinics, place of games and recreation, and place of living an old age. Each and every place mentioned has its own sensitivities that are not well understood by the dweller, occupant, and the participant.

Obama, in a way is right in espousing the 7 sources of tension. If it allows to happen, we will be losing the very fundamental right of human needs and wants. Do we want a chaotic world and a chaotic life? The answer is in you and me.

A friend in Penanti Penang...

Dr Mansor Othman. Yes I know him. He was studying at Yale and I was studying at New Haven. But his and my university share the same city in New Haven, Connecticut. Since he is the only Malaysian studying at Yale at that time, I have a kind of feeling that this man one day would be somebody. My family celebrates Hari Raya at his apartment and were considered a family friend. Dr Mansor is a quiet and unassuming man but seems to be thoughtful. That is my impression of him. At that time he has only son and my sons called him Aly. His wife, Kak Chah, a former nurse, does all the talking and the cooking. And Dr Mansor does the thinking. Anyway, they were very friendly and expressed gratefulness for celebrating Hari Raya with them at their New Haven downtown apartment.

In terms of politics, Dr Mansor did not tell and reveal much except when I and two others follow him to IOWA university because he has to present a paper pertaining to "Bumiputera opportunities in Malaysia. " In fact the paper he has been presenting was still kept by me till today.

Back at Malaysia, he did try to contact me but I was not at home at that time. Then the news in him being the political secretary to Anwar Ibrahim, a keadilan chairman in Pulau Pinang, and he lost the general election by a narrow margin in 2008. I would have guess if he had won, Pulau Pinang would not have Deputy Chief Minister in Fairus but him. But the by-election in Penanti has brought a new lease of life to him. I could not imagine the joy in Kak Chah's face knowing her husband has finally won an election! Should I be proud of him? Personally, a person who has come into my life surely I would congratulate him for making good his studies at Yale and now the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang. I am happy for him and if I were to go to Penang I know I have a friend. But that was at Yale and New Haven. What about a friend in the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang? I don't know. Haven't met him yet.

A sharp mind, a clear thought, clears the way

We have been advice on this a lot of times. Many know it but many ignore it. As such they do not know where they are going and what they are doing. They patronise a wrong store. They see wrong friends. They indulge in wrong activities. And they SMSes to wrong friends. They read wrong newspapers. And worst they make enemies throughout their life till it is too late. A sharp mind and a clear thought, is it too difficult to achieve? Some couldn't care less so long they have a lots of money. Money, my friend, is not the answer to all woes. It creates many devils in disguise. I have seen lots of them. And some at a very young age has already been misled by the their materialistic and ungrateful friends.

Sunday pictures...

My own world...

My own world of knowledge, feel, and seeing things. It is more of a perception and at times it is a deception. But have to walk through the corridor of life here and nowhere else. So are everybody. They have their story to finish. And so am I. As one gets older, life is being seen as one's walk to an unknown place and unknown pace. Have no choice but it is the little things that we touch and say everyday that define life in its entirety now and before. But it still baffled me by the pace it takes to see something in its entirety. It is easy to see the path taken by others. It is their world. What about my world? I have my own world yet to see the conclusion. Am I too fast or too slow? The pace still baffles me. But never use others and their world as the milestone to the pace taken by you. You are with different milestones. You are your own world.

Come and go...

They come. And they go. But some come and it takes some time before they actually go. Memories come but it can never go away. So beware of bad memories that you happen to store in your subconscious. It might pop-up at awkward moment of the day and night. Some memories are so sweet to remember. But there are memories that can make a mess of your life. But all in all life is a balance of good things and bad things. It is also a balance of good people and bad people. If it is too much of one side then life seem to be of no challenge. In the beginning you might not accept things that has happened, but in the long run, what we have experienced served as a stabilizer to what we are going to face later on in life. It might be all bad and good. Nevertheless, it does come and soon it would faded and disappear not to come again in your life. What stays only memories. Strong and weak memories. And that is sweet.

Comes naturally...

Why the sadness and why the happiness? As in a tree, it grows naturally, if given a proper shade and light, truthful and honest management. Don't have to bark at trees. It would fall naturally when it is about time to fall. Don't have to say it aloud, tomorrow he would find himself a leader of an empire of ghostly people. A rich man might die a poor man. And so is a poor man would see his ending days a happier one surrounded by happy family members. The opposite of negative is positive. One has to be sure of one's position in order to make good the positive side of existence. Some, unknowingly, have been on the negative side for so long that anything negative comes naturally to them. And so is my writing. It comes naturally given the right and proper practices to that effect. I have always been on the flair side of things, so to speak. What about you? Which side have you been all this while? What comes naturally to you but not to your favour then it is time to change side. Can you?

Pushing on into a world of new dimensions..

Just like leaving a body into a new man with fresh motivations of doing things. I am leaving behind a legacy of life that has been so muddle in thought in creating a standard of good life. In the beginning seems like to be caught in the middle of staying or leaving. But it is an opportunity not to be missed especially a chance of seeing a world in the new mental state of colours, light, sound, motion, and emotion. After spinning through a frightening moment and here I am ready to face a new world, a new dimension.

Braver by the day...

Sees world differently. Everything is within reach. Sees kindness. Sees evil trying to destroy everything along his way. Hard thought. No softness in people. Again their selfishness are well displayed by they said and done. The one-eyed man is trying to lead the way. Nobody listens anymore because they see what the one-eyed man do not see. Hate hypocrisies and those who try to destroy the very basis and fundamentals of cultured life and good living. Words are full of respect but the heart are speck with dark intention and wishing of seeing others destroyed. They are the coward ones who sees nothing but himself. We have heard the slogan of one Malaysia. But are we truly one in terms of mind, heart and soul? By right we should be braver by the day. What do we get instead? Sees slow, sees hollow.

A loose word and a tightening of events...

What are being said before is beginning to take a shape today. Unfortunately many do not see it that way. To them what are being said today are of no meaning and being looked at it as sheer nonsense. Thus they see it as a phenomena and something that is unlikely to happen. And as for today it might be said as a slip of the tongue or an action that has the spirit as spur of the moment. Living is loose and death is tight. Healthy is loose but not with sickly and dying. Wealthy is loose and being poor is tight. It is a tightening of event that has its source in yesterday. We have seen words are being said jokingly, but the poke is hurting and bloody and the world has seen a phenomena in Hitler and Aidi Amin to name a few. That is history and so is Tsunami that has killed hundreds of thousands of people from a few countries. What have they said and done in order to deserve that? And in the similar vein how would tomorrow being shaped from what have we said and done today? It might be a loose word but it has always been a part of the tightening process....

I am no warrior in the golf field...

Everybody is a warrior for something. I was at Dungun, Terengganu on the 20th May and 21st May trying to seek the warrior spirit in me in the game of golf. The thoughts and the will are there but when come to unleashing it on the field I am no where to be among the top 30! Frustrated? Knowing I am no warrior however hard I try, golf is only a game where old friends renewed their friendship and make new ones. That should be the true spirit of playing the game. To that end, then I am a true warrior, not in the field but outside. Any body dare to play golf with me?

The Mysterious Golf..

Again I am trying to improve myself in golf. 20th and 21st Mei 2009 playing at Terengganu. The last time I played there was also on the 20th and 21st Mei but in 2006. Sama tarikh dan sama tempat ye..jangan jangan dengan flight member yang sama...tengoklah besok.

Identity crisis...

I have been a lecturer for quite a long time. In all those years, what seem to bother me more and more is the identity crisis the students are facing. Confusion seem to be the right word that have been facing the students. They don't know what they want. They are just confused with a lot of things ranging from balik kampong, overslept, pptn, handphone, assignment, and friends. They seem not to have a mission in life. Do they take the opportunity to have an intelligent discussion with the lecturers? For the past few semesters, I have not seen even one student doing that. Not with me. Despite being a mediocre in learning but still unashamedly begging for a better grade. As a student they should display the skill in thinking and being argumentative in all sorts of topics. At the end of the semester what do I get? A memory of students who just want a passing grade. Do they deserve it? I have only a few more months with this profession. Only half of my time here give me a good and positive memory pertaining to student's development and teaching. What about the other half? I just don't want to remember it!

Sunday shadow..

It is a Sunday shadow. Walks in the park. The birds and the bees whizzing through trees. Winds blew in the face. Cold wind. Thoughts emptied for the sake of the beautiful scenic glacier lake. Suddenly the blazing sound of guns. A battle sound. Got shot in the head. My friend drops dead. Pity him. So young and naive in things said. Where am I? At Logger Head.

The what..?

The what? They don't know what. Anything that comes has not been understood in depth. Thus the purpose of life has not been understood properly. The what? If only they can say for sure what, then comes the how. Unfortunately, many are loss with the very first word 'the' and don't know what then. So what is so important with the next? haha.