RIFLE RANGE BOY

Did you forget to reflect? shuttershock.com Living in the fast lane is not for the faint-hearted. After the recent Weinstein-type of exposé in a hospital in Malaysia, my thoughts were drawn to an event that happened more than some 30 years ago.  As the Weinstein effect goes on hyperdrive, one cannot help but wonder whether how the perpetrators did what they did. It baffles how they got away with it. Did they not realise that it was morally wrong what they were doing? Are they too engrossed into it that they find it difficult to untangle? Was it an addiction? Was the power trip too compelling? Did they think that it was mutually agreed upon; hence it was entirely legitimate? I remember a varsity friend, who, with his new found freedom away from the prying eyes of his parents and having almost securing himself of a degree, wanted to live to savour the forbidden fruits of life. With his self-perceived appreciation of his physique, he ventured into the business of swinging. Ju...

I remember one of my classmates, KT, asking a teacher when we were in Form 2. It was a Malay language class. And the guy had a coarse way of demanding an answer to his question. He asked,  “Why are the people so stupid? Why do people say, ‘ jatuh hati ’ when you fall in love, ‘ patah hati’ when you are heart-broken or falling out of love?” trying to sound like a smart alec. “We think with our brain, not liver!” ( Hati  is liver in the Malay language) Sounds like a simple question but believe me, it is not. Greek philosophers have been arguing that the soul a person is in the heart or the mind. It was Galen who first proposed the tripartite division of souls; the rational one in the brain, the spiritual one in the heart and appetitive one in the liver. As love and lust are forms of desire just as appetite satisfies the culinary desires of an individual, they must have bundled to arise from the liver. So, the message is, do not listen to heart, do not rational...

(...Cont. from Oh deer, my dear! ) I swear I had seen that surname somewhere. But the name Indie? Surely it must be a shortened version of the name Indiana. Indiana for a British? Strange. Anyway, I never understood why someone who name a child after a state. Saying that, Malaysia was the most popular newborn girl’s name in the USA last year among the black community. The only association between England and Indiana that I remember was the riddle when I heard as a young adult about where Prince Charles spent his honeymoon! Go figure. In the modern age, when in doubt, what does a sane person usually do? Google of course. Within a fraction of a second upon typing the surname, the whole anthroponymy of the said name appeared in full glory. Now, it made sense. I could not have guessed. When she offered vegetarian food for the dinner as she thought we did not consume beef as she thought venison and beef were from same cattle of fish (pardon the pun), I was wondering why she said ‘de...

........as I was passing... Like the Sword of Damocles, it hung over his head. There was a constant nagging heaviness over his temples. He knew it was bad, really bad. He had certain arbitrary lines but this one had crossed it all, imaginary or otherwise. But still, life had to go on. And the show too. He knew it was a bad idea. With all these problems plaguing him, he thought it was inappropriate for him to partake in this event. But then, it was also a lifetime achievement. A success hailed upon by his kinsmen as the epitome of his checkered life. Akin to a water lily, growing wild amongst the filth of marsh, stench and reptiles honoured to glorify the lotus feet of Buddha, an achievement enviable to some but yearned by all, privileged to a few! Anyway, the problem is not an overnight one. Like a crystal, the lattice had developed over the years slowly but surely to its full wrathful glory. How could he have been so dumb? Or was it beyond his control and was decided by the con...

Fargo (1996) Story, Production, Direction: Joel and Ethan Coen Homespun murder story on embroidery frame? Get the punch line? This movie can be said the most successful one coming from the Coen brothers with their special brand of quirky dark comedy. They start the film with a caption with says... "This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred." At the end of the credits, however, the usual inter-title claiming that the characters are all fictitious still appears. Now which is which? It is set in dead cold winters of Minnesota. People who are native to Minnesota who are well versed with the Minnesota accents will appreciate the sing-song nature of their speech. The film goes at length to poke fun at their accent and some mannerism which sounds more like Swede or Norwegian - with the yaa...

Freud's suggestion that human beings are irrational creatures was proven true by the turn of events this weekend. The ushering of spring, which was initially celebrated with pomp and splendour by pagan farmers was given a religious perspective by including some event in the scripture. Whereas, some quarters sneer at their behavior for they were referred to as 'April Fools' as they were thought to be oblivious of the creation of the Gregorian calendar and were unaware of fast forwarding of days!   Evidence of irrationality came to fore during the recent colorful event of Holi. People who were particular fussy about getting any part of their body wet or soiled, decided to forgo their stance. If normally they would run away from the rain, this time around they decided to hire a container load of water to splash water on them. If appearing neat, fair and presentable was their forte, this time too, they dirtied themselves with stashes of brightly hued colors so much so that the...