RIFLE RANGE BOY

The First Phone Call from Heaven Mitch Albom (2013) I picked up this book during a long wait at the airport. You fly low-cost, your time is also low-cost (cheap), and they expect you to come early and wait. After reading all his books thus far, it is only natural for me to lay my hand at once. His books deal mainly with important things in life like death, heaven and Godly matters. This time around, too, he dwells on 'life' after death and incorporates Alexander Graham Bell's invention, the telephone, as the means to receive a call from the heavenly world! Interestingly, we learn a few snippets here and there about Bell's journey to his invention, which is still being contested by the original discoverer. His invention almost did not make it to the forefront, thanks to the Brazilian King who worked with Bell and the hearing impaired, who insisted that his device be seen. Despite all the hurdles, it has stood the test of time. In fact, in its infancy, there were sug...

So the day finally came.... My iPhone 4 which had been patriotically serving me 24/7 over the past couple of years had given up on me. 3,2,1,...poof went the flicker and all the king's men and the king's horses could not put IP4 to tick again. This work horse served its purpose well through all the hard knocks and immersions (in sweaty conditions of the running environment, waterproof casing came in much later) that life had to offer. The passing of the patriot reminds me of the story of a national laureate's composition  'Matinya seorang Patriot', a critical assessment of the duel of the two greatest Malaccan warriors - Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat. We all know the duel, immortalised by P Ramlee's 1957 film. Usman Awang The bone of contention here is whether Jebat, the fallen, did the correct thing by avenging for his best friend against a corrupt and unreasonable monarch who had their own yes-men and plenty of cloud and power over the people. The eternal q...

* The famous first words spoken by Dr Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant, Mr. Thomas Watson on the first phone. A mobile phone rings when a lady is undergoing a gynaecological and a Pap smear examination in a gynae clinic. What would a normal warm blooded vertebrate educated of a Malaysian lady worth of her salt do in a delicate and personal situation as this? Well, pick up the phone and start yakking while the good doctor finishes his work, what else (duh!). In another instance, after waiting for 40 minutes to see a doctor for a 2-minute consultation, the phone rings. Again the good Malaysian says, "Sorry ah!" and goes into a frenzy answering his call walking aimlessly around the consultation room talking on top of his voice oblivious to happenings of the surroundings. I am just waiting for a day for someone to walk out his house or clinic naked as most people go into a trance once their cell phone rings. In fact at one juncture,the Mayor of new York was contemplati...