This is it? Look, See, Visualize...

Life is a continuum that Man is trying to make sense of. Ignorance and the zest to acquire the hidden secrets of the universe, which he perceives as 'an awful waste of lots of space', linger on and will linger on till 'Thy kingdom come' (i.e. if you believe so). From time immemorial, Man tried to figure out various mind-boggling natural events like natural calamities, disease and emotions. The eldest amongst the pack, the most powerful, the most domineering, the bravest or the far-travelled will take charge and dictate how 'life' should go on. And life went on with a few hitches here and there. The magnificent forces of nature still could not have answered all their questions. The question of angering the 'forces' above came to mind. The leaders decided that certain manoeuvres be done to appease them.

Much to everybody's dismay, the misery just kept on rolling. Variations to ways doing things were introduced by disgruntled individuals. Alternative explanations were given to the occurrence of events. Later, science was introduced to negate the word God from the equation. The question just got more and more numerous to be enumerated than there were answers. Everybody gave their own explanation and it got complicated more. They went to the elders who gave their own interpretation of how it used to be done in the good old days but failing memory due to senility, diseases and apoplexy gave less credibility to the fact. Anyway, some of the answers were given in riddles and were lost in translation. Consummate believers made their interpretation and rules as they went on and called it a progression of religion (to satisfy themselves that the answer is indeed out there).

We can go on and on but believe you me, it will get more perplexing. And frightening when everyone starts thumping their chest emphatically and dancing to their war dance tune trying to prove their point at all cost, having no qualms in dying a martyr proving it.

Truly wonderful the mind of a child is.

Yoda

At least we can console ourselves in knowing that there is a common good and orchestrated system that these teachings give to the downtrodden and weaklings in the society by threatening its believers that somebody is watching their every move and taking points and would be judged at an unspecified date in the future or after-life! At least it gives some law and order to homo sapiens who would otherwise happily regress to their ancestral Neanderthal ways of the survival of the fittest with no remorse. And the grip of religion gives a purpose and grip to life when the going gets tough and all hopes seem forlorn! And pacify themselves that He knows best and it is all a trial and tribulation before things get better, something tuft of grass to grasp on to avoid jumping off the cliff or going berserk walking aimlessly in life losing all zest and purpose to live. In other words to persevere like in a scene from P. Ramlee's Pendekar Bujang Lapok where the trio goes to the graveyard at midnight to chant for 4D numbers and brushing off the funny eerie noises that they hear by saying "Cubaaa..n!" and carrying on the task at hand!

Of course, there is an alternative theory to all these. Predecessors of homo sapiens (hominids and Neanderthals) were walking (crawling, trotting, galloping) along when they were visited by alien visitors with advanced civilization and know-how. They infused their DNA to correct certain deficiencies and imparted their technologically advanced knowledge to them. They taught them the way how life should be lived after living in the universe way longer than their 'young' inferior friends. The Earthlings, awed by their culture and machinery idolized their visitors (mentors) by moulding structures after them and worshipping their greatness. Follow their teaching about your environment, the daily routine of life, interpersonal relationship, etcetera and your life will be paved with least resistance because they have been there and they have seen that. He is omnipotent and omnipresent.
May the force be with you!

Now, the following song 'I can see clearly now' has many cover versions. Apparently, there is a version with a joget beat too! Just that I cannot lay my hands on it.

Running all over the place

Born to run! That is the slogan of this year's Malakoff 12km run over the bourgeois hilly neighbourhood of Bukit Damansara. After becoming a running junkie, this is my third year in running this race. This time around Raj was there to keep company.
Born to run? People are born everyday for a heap of reasons. Some are born after years of tireless effort, a fruit after cascades of failures and disappointments. Others are born after a short unprepared unplanned unplanned (under the influence of) liaisons of forgotten meetings or partners. Once, about 2008 years ago, there was even one with no other intervention except one immaculate divine one.
People were born with various spoons - silver, wooden or plastic- for specific reasons; MK Gandhi to boost the morale of Indians for self-rule, Mother Theresa to embrace the downtrodden, Father Damian for lepers, etc.
I would say that I was definitely not born to run. We can leave that phrase to the Kenyans and Fauja Singh. I may fall into that big group of workers' colony of the ant kingdom who are born to make the numbers and contribute in their small but significant way in a seemingly bizarre mindless butterfly effect of events of the universe. Running is just a stress test before the next plate of mutton parratal!
Yeah, some are born to run all right but from the long clutching arms of the law (sometimes these arms may be in a persistent waiters' tip posture), maybe they can blame it on the large melanocytic naevus (mole) that they have at their ankle or foot - some Tamilians believe! Some have been bestowed with the frustrating downpour of a runny nose of allergy or vasomotor in nature.Thanks to Blackmore's Horseradish and Garlic Complex, it is history!
Some run, run, run to the loo as their alimentary canal is ultra sensitive to the spicy food or maybe their gut is just as fussy as they are. Or is it the product of constantly consuming food prepared by foreign cooks who cook with their dubious standards to commensurate their IQ and background of nurture and keep their kitchen like their backyards back home!
Now, why did Esso name their food outlet 'On the run', I wonder - I think way too much. I can never look at this outlet in the same light again!
As you can see, there were more things to think about than the Malakoff run. It was just another run in the park on a easy Sunday morning. 12km in 1h 13m.
I run to live through another day and life goes on. Oblabi Oblada...

Bye Bye Astro, Hello UniFi!

Continuing my journey like a sage performing Lord Shiva's prayers at Mount Kailash (oblivious to his surroundings), I have discovered yet another outlet to release the stress of modern living. If cable TV was blamed for all the decadence of society, there can now say bye-bye to Astro, our local cable TV and turn their accusing fingers to its competitor - UniFi.
For a TV junkie like me with a daytime job who is hard-pressed for time, Astro, with its frequent reruns, erratic transmissions due to Malaysian's tropical weather, mind belittling unnecessarily loud advertisements and mind boggling schedules was a real turn off.
Along came Telekom's next generation high speed broadband Internet connexion. And there is no stopping now...

I just downloaded the whole season of Law and Order SVU Season 8 on line with the help of bit torrent and thumb drive. The thumb drive is inserted into my DVD player and viola, there I have, crystal clear screening with home theatre system with rewind facilities at my disposal at my leisure minus the nonsensical interruptions by meaningless advertisements. And to forgot the less carbon print left on Earth. After viewing the shows, I just delete them and save something else on it.
There goes the livelihood of my friendly neighbourhood illegal DVD  pedlar!
So, for next nights, it is going to be bye-bye Astro and I am going to have a time of life viewing the roller-coaster seat grabbing thought provoking plots of SVU with Detectives Stabler, Benson, Munch, Fin and the rest of the gang. Hello NYPD!

Frankly, what is it with ranking?

Ranking: is it necessary at all?
Now the Malaysian universities are spiraling down the rung of ladder of ranking. First they were contended in hovering along the 200th mark whilst our southern neighbours were comfortably at the early double digit level. Over the years, as fewer and fewer students actually bother to secure a place in any of the public universities, the slide has worsened. Naturally, as a defense mechanism, our mortar-board wearing keepers of academic excellence insist that ranking is like a pulling wool over the eye, a whitewash! Yeah, right!
Standards are ascertained by what the majority of people expect of a product. In most cases, the best way to gauge of improving effectiveness and quality of something is to compare it to its neighbours or in this case to a list that has already been around for many years.

Real McCoy and impostor
Alike but not the same!

 Many years ago, badminton pundits used to wonder the greatness of teams from Indonesia and China. Those days, these two great powers of the courts never had the chance to meet as they were from different camps -IBF and WBF. Only when these two governing bodies of badminton merged (BWF) did we see the greatness of both teams and generally for the improvement of the game and spurring the calibre of new players.

This just mirrors our experience in PPSP in USM. Five years of studies did not clear the seed of doubt in our minds on our ability to perform as the man with the stethoscope. Only when we started working and performing better than products from more established establishments did we consider ourselves at par with the rest of the world. And the post graduate certifications just sealed the fact.

Singapore as a new nation on 1965, decided that to progress, they had to use highly acclaimed institutions as their yardstick of measure. Progress, they sure have. They do not have to bother about ranking anymore because they are already there, having transcended all the uncertainties of a underdeveloped, developing or newly industrialized country!

King again!

1972

13th December 2011: Today, Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah ascends the throne as the constitutional King of the nation for a second five-year term. His first term was about 41 years ago when Rifle Range Boy was getting used to living in 'high society' - staying 15 storeys above ground and the great stories to blog about quarter a century later.

He is the oldest monarch to have been crowned Agong at 84 years and the only one to have sat on throne twice!

Many things have changed since his last reign. He has a new consort (after the demise of the previous majestic looking scholarly one) and the feudalistic acceptance of his subjects have declined over the past two decades. Daulat Tuanku! 

An attempt at British glory?

One of the many books I bought during the 'Big Bad Wolf' warehouse sale includes Jeffrey Archer's Path of Glory. Being the nationalistic British leader he is, he decided to claim his British mark on the alleged achievement his countryman on the the highest peak on planet Earth, Mount Everest.
A little bit of background for the uninitiated, Jeffrey Archer is an English politician and author who did time for his wrongful involvement with the law and money issues. Good for him and us that he stuck on his daytime jobs. And writes well he does.
I bought this copy off the shelf during the Big Bad Wolf warehouse sales, not because I was dying to read this book but rather because it was going cheap and had heard that he was a prolific writer but never had the chance to read his books.
I thought to myself that it must slow paced and draggy as most books on drama-in-real-life are, furthermore it was set at the early of the 20th century. How wrong I was! It turned out to be all the things I did not expect it be. It can be said to be one of the books that you buy at the airport and finish reading before you board the flight. It is that engaging and fast paced.
The Englishman is trying to relive the nostalgic good old days when they were king and ruled the world at the name of their country.
George Mallory, son of a pastor, fearless even as a child, makes a grand entrance to an interview at Cambridge by scaling the wall as he was late and the intervi ewer, morbidly particular about punctuality, had locked the entrance. His passion for climbing found its place when he was indicted into the mountaineering club.
A history teacher by profession, married to a socialite's daughter with a fat bank account, he continued his passion. Even though exempted by law, he enlisted himself to serve his country during World War I. His tour of duty to an end when a bullet grazed his foot. Reading through the alleged conversations that took place between soldiers, we come to know that the abbreviations to the word 'Fornication Under the Consent of the King' is not a recent invention. Soldier in World War I were using the catch phrase to emphasis their dismay at the progression of war and the Germans.
His calling to scale higher heights was met when his circle of friends in higher places suggested him on an expedition to tame Mother Chomolungma, the guardian of Mount Everest, 29000 ft above sea level.
His first visit to India described aptly the behaviors of subservient Indians who would literally prostrate in front of their colonial masters for some crumbs. Paying peanuts, they still managed with climb in style with mammoth supplies, donkeys and Sherpa at their disposal (as if the whitemen knew best)- they still managed to have a lavish outing with English tea and all. The locals respected the sanctity of the mountains and did not want to disturb her guardian Goddess .
Unfortunately, Chomolungma decided not to take it lying down. She decided to manifest her displeasure by ticking an avalanche. This took away the living daylights of the zest of our hero's desire to conquer Everest at least for sometime and also the lives of some climbers including George's favourite and skilful Sherpa assistant.
The author brought in some interesting characters including a conceited Australian, Finch, a  fellow member of the first expedition but fell in dispute after his ungentlemanly conduct with the wife of the Governor General of India, his advocacy on usage of oxygen and that the mere fact that he was Australian, not British! Due to politics of this nature, Finch was voted out of the second expedition in spite of his climbing skills. During his trips (WWI, American and Everest trips), George had faithfully written romantic letters to his wife without fail.
Returning home, George found himself jobless but a timely shot in the arm was a job offer to narrate his Herculean endeavor to an audience in the US.
Americans here are described an uncouthed enterprising mavericks devoid of the gentlemanly traits of the Englishmen despite their almost common mother tongue! After a lukewarm reception which drew little money for his sponsors, the Royal Geographical Society, he returned home. Even the ladies are painted in a bad light. George, being true to his one love, scaled down a building to escape the advances of a philanthropic widow and her dangling carrot of a fat cheque with lure of sexual services!

Final ascent: George Mallory (L) and Andrew Irvine (R) preparing to leave their camp on the north col, 1924. Photograph: AP/John Noel Collection.

Final ascent: George Mallory (L) and Andrew
Irvine (R) preparing to leave their camp on
the north col, 1924. Photograph: AP/John
Noel Collection.

It was during this trip that George Mallory is famously quoted as having replied to the question "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?" with the retort "Because it's there", which has been called "the most famous three words in mountaineering"!
The lure back to the mountains was rekindled after a big contribution from the proceeds of a movie based on their early expedition. In spite of George's insistence of Finch to be included in the second attempt at Everest, the team had to go with George as the leader after royal interference!
The novel is supposed to be based on a real events. The catch phrase is based on, not the real quotation of a journal, masala must have been spiced up along the way to make it sell-able or like the people in media would say 'sexed up'!

George H.L. Mallory

(June 18, 1886 – June 9, 1924)

It had to be to boost the British pride and joy. The book ends with George Mallory and Andrew Irvine scaling down the treacherous slopes of the range. The rest of the team who saw them scaling up Everest failed to spot them leaving with the million pound question -did they make it to the top?
Like a suitable ending to this saga, after the funeral (without a body), George's widow receives another mushy love letter sent before the last ascent! And the epilogue ends with George Leigh Mallory II (his grandson) placing a photo of his grandparents on the summit of Everest in 1995.....

N.B. In real life, however, his quest for the summit unanswered. His body was found in 1999. In his wallet, his wife's photograph was missing meaning that he could have left it in the summit. Oxygen cylinders indicated partial usage (used during ascent) and goggles were in the pocket as their descent were made after sunset. The camera which may hold the secret of their endeavour is sadly missing. If he and Irvine did reach the summit, they would have preceded Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay by a good 29 years. Whether Mallory et al will ultimately be proven to have reached the top or not, the team certainly are to be commended for had climbed to an altitude of at least 28,000 feet in 1924 with clothing and equipment far inferior to what is available today – a remarkable feat.

from http://malloryexpedition.com/george.htm

Images of the Everest expedition of 1922 (Everest Base Camp). From the Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society

Images of the Everest expedition of 1922 (Everest Base Camp). From

the Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society  

Comic strip of yesteryear!

Aubrey Collette was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), as the son of a photographer. He was an art teacher for a while, before his political cartoons started appearing in newspapers The Times of Ceylon and The Ceylon Observer. When the political climate became volatile, he left for Australia in 1961. There his comics and cartoons first appeared in The Bulletin, and later he joined The Australian as an editorial cartoonist. He won the Walkley Award for Best Cartoon in 1970. He moved to Melbourne, where he started working for the Melbourne Herald, but never lost touch with Asia, where his work appeared in magazines such as Asia Magazine, The Straits Times and the Ceylon Observer. A popular newspaper comic strip by Aubrey Collette was 'Sun Tan, the Asian Sensation'.