RIFLE RANGE BOY

Neerja (2016) They always say that we all have that 'selfish gene' in us that helps us and our dependents to survive and continue our progeny. It is our inborn safety mechanism. This 'gene' theory just remains a theory and has never been identified. There are, however, certain chemicals and hormones in our body that are secreted in abundance at certain times to initiate 'proactive' gestures to build that bond that paves the way to the 'protected list'. Progestrogenic hormones during pregnancy, parturient and lactational times ensure the protection of unborn and newborn. Flooding of the blood and brain with feel-good hormone of oxytocin during passionate and intimate moments cements the closeness of two individuals to provide security for one another. To go the whole nine yard, to endanger one's self for someone unrelated for humanity sake is a feat often praised relentlessly. Why do some go beyond the call of duty, risking one's life is any...

The tagline 'Now everyone can fly' must be the most overused, ridiculed and abused business tagline ever in Malaysia. Now only every Tom, Dick and Harry can fly, and Jane and Mary be stewardesses; the news on a podcast recently convinced me that even any Ahmad, Ah Chong and Samy can fly a plane! You see, there was an analysis of the ill-fated Air France 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. As we all know, it went down, and it took 2 years for its wreckage and flight decoder to be found and analysed. My untrained aeronautically challenged mind interpreted the simplistic turns of events as such... The plane, an Airbus, was cruising on autopilot at 37,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean. It was manned by 2 co-pilots after the captain retired to take a nap as the going was easy. There was a minor storm, noting alarming, but it caused a little frosting over one of the wings. That is when all hell broke loose. Airbus has an automatic system called 'fly-by-wire'. It is suppose...

Wanting to stay away from hassle and bustle of modern living, I managed to escape for a short getaway! As it was a last minute after thought, I had to settle for a regular ticket from a regular airline as all the tickets from the no-frill ones were either taken up or the their websites were too darn user un-friendly! Guess everyone wanted to fly away to greener pastures just because everyone can fly. As it had been a mighty long time since I flew in a national airline, it was an eye opener on what most people have been missing. Somehow, from the time of its inception, a journey on a plane has been associated with bourgeois living. People got dressed to the nines. Fair maiden fall all over and bend over backwards to serve the passengers. Servings on flight had to be first class and exquisite and comfort is of paramount importance. All that changed with young punks who came out thinking out of the box and forever changed the experience amongst the clouds. "We make it cheap for ...