Much ado about a blog…
So it begins. I have started my own blog. I guess it was always a matter of time. Considering the fact that I spend a lot of time online, as well as the fact that I have way too many opinions of my own that I’d love to share, starting a blog is a given sooner or later.
Let me warn you though that I intend for this to be a means for me to voice out my views and opinions. I will not hold back if I have a thought on a matter, regardless of the sensitivity of the issue. If I think it is a spade, then I will call it a spade, so to speak. Thus, I hope any of you (is there any of you?) that do read my posts do so with an open mind. Oh, but do not worry, I am not a man with extreme views. Just a man with too many views.
The situation is… hazy
So, today… the haze. My goodness, when was the last time the Klang Valley was struck with such a bad case of ‘jerebu‘? If my memory serves me right, the last time the haze was this bad was around more than five years ago? I remembered when I was in school when the haze was particularly bad, and we had to wear those ‘masks’ thingys. Most of us brought the cheapest type of mask, the one made out of paper and had two strings attached on either ends. It later became a fashion statement, and students started drawing on the masks. Ahhh… the creativity of a young mind.
Back to the current situation, what made it worse this time around was the smell. There was a putrid smell of burning in the air. The whole situation just makes your brain scream ‘UNHEALTHY!!!’ to you and even if a state of emergency (darurat) is not declared, you wouldn’t want to spend much time outdoors anyways. You just know that the air right now is not good for you, by looking at it.
The authorities say that the jerebu is caused by the forest fires in several parts of Indonesia. If this is true, I wonder what causes this forest fires, is it because of the heat, or is it man-made? And are the Indonesian authorities controlling the situation? I watched TV3’s 8pm news and according to them, the news stations in Indonesia reported several districts affected badly by the haze, yet there is no mention of the response from the Indonesian authorities.
Let’s pick those Seroja flowers
Have anyone heard the song ‘Seroja’? It was most recently sung by Mawi during the Akademi Fantasia Final Concert last Saturday. The music arrangement made by Sham Kamikaze that night was simply superb, yet the song itself is wonderful. The lyrics are so meaningful and the tune is haunting.
Mari menyusun seroja
Bunga seroja ah… ah…
Hiasan sanggul remaja
Puteri remaja ah… ah…
Rupa yang elok
Di manja jangan dimanja ah… ah…
Puja lah ia oh saja
Sekadar saja
Mengapa kau bermenung
Oh adik berhati binggung
Mengapa kau bermenung
Oh adik berhati binggung
Janganlah engkau percaya dengan asmara
Janganlah engkau percaya dengan asmara
* Sekarang bukan bermenung zaman bermenung
Sekarang bukan bermenung zaman bermenung
Mari bersama oh adik memetik bunga
Mari bersama oh adik memetik bunga
Mari menyusun seroja
Bunga seroja ah… ah…
Hiasan sanggul remaja
Puteri remaja ah… ah…
Which brings me to a thorn that is in my side this past few days, the criticisms levelled by certain quarters at reality tv shows. Amongst others, these shows are criticised as ‘adopting western culture’ and ‘ignoring our eastern roots’ or something to that tune. A criticism that is unfounded, in my opinion. ‘Western culture’ whether we like it or not, is here and it’s staying. We not only have ‘adopted’ it, we have modified it as our own. And you know what? So have they, ‘the West’. Any anime fan will tell you how much the Japanese culture has influenced western pop-culture. We are living in an incresingly borderless world, and as such, countries and culture tend to influence each other, moulding into the current world we live in. So why fear ‘western culture’ so much? Seriously, what harm could these reality tv programmes do to us? And like a newspaper columnist pointed out last Saturday, some of these shows in fact bring a family togather.
A person is not going to kill someone just because he played Grand Theft Auto, or watched Kill Bill and likewise, Akademi Fantasia will make me a Westerner not. In fact, I think it brought me closer to my cultural roots, as I’m rediscovering songs like Seroja. I could not recall the last time watching the Perhimpunan Agung had the same effect on me 
