Dendam by Affifudin Omar

google image

Title : Dendam

Author : Affifudin Omar

Publisher : Buku Fixi, 2011

Pages : 309
Genre : Fiction - Urban, Contemporary

Bought at : MPH Sunway Pyramid

Price : RM20.00

Dendam means revenge in Malay language. This is one of the "fresh from the oven" novels published by the newly-launched publishing company, Buku Fixi. For those who want to know about Buku Fixi and its urban and contemporary novels, you can refer to this blog that I always go to for surveying interesting reading materials.

Dendam is a life story of Khalil Gibran, a Malay and Muslim billionaire in Malaysia. At a young age, he is already revengeful and his heart is full of hatred for individuals and body of power after his father, a member of an opposition political party was severely wounded and incapacitated by a police officer during an arrest. The story revolves around his life as he grows up and fast becoming richer and powerful in the corporate world, and become a man of power himself. Starting from being a vicious interrogator in the police force, his rise to the top is full of manipulation, cronyism, criminal acts, and womanizing. Khalil can go to the max to get what he wants and to achieve his goal. In between honest and dark business deals, and his conquest of female companions, Khalil is sometimes torn between his sins and his goodwill towards others. At the end, there's a transformation. Will Khalil find salvation? Or will he be lost forever?

On a personal note, I picked this one up for a read because I would like to experience something new. When I read the first few pages, I was undecided whether to continue reading or not, because I felt like reading a simple, common Malay television drama in book form. However, as I put a little bit of faith in this novel and continued reading, I found myself wanting to know more and more, what will become of Khalil Gibran? The story flows smoothly, and easy to digest. At certain points of the story, I came across a few events that are quite familiar with the real events that we may have read in the national newspapers. Perhaps, the author is trying to explain and reveal his thoughts about those national issues that people always talk about on their backs and not able to publicly say it up front. All is possible. Anyway, the story is not so emotionally-laden but also not exactly dry. It still carries a lot of good messages and the style of the ending is satisfying.

And I finished it in one night. Not so much thrills, but I'd say, it's a good read.

Going Places : Nightwalking in i-City, Shah Alam

Date of visit : 24th June 2011

Organized by : My housemates...

I have heard of i-City just a year ago. When people talked about i-City, it was always about show of lights and beautiful scenery at night. After a little bit of research on the internet, i-City is a city where the MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) -Status companies resided. From my understanding, it is a city with the best office environment due to its highly advanced information and communication technology. You can read more about it here.

Well, i-City might be a buzzing cybercentre during the day, but at night time, it is a city of digital lights. Perhaps thousands of LED lights in many shapes and forms lighting the area in various colours. It is a beautiful sight to behold and a heaven for photographers, professional or not. Starting this year, visitors can also enjoy a snowy winter experience in its new 'Snowalk'. With an entrance fee of RM25 for adults and RM20 for children, senior citizens and disabled persons, you can enter the the snowy park with winter jackets provided. However the boots are for rental and if you do not wish to spend more RMs, it is advisable for you to wear your own shoes and not sandals inside there because it is so cold, the temperature is below 5°C. You can also use your RM10 parking ticket as a voucher for a reduced price to enter Snowalk. Inside the Snowalk, you can walk around the place full of carved ice and snowy grounds. You can also play the slides on ice.

Although we had a nice time walking around and enjoying the view, we weren't so pleased with our eating experience here. It was rather expensive, imagine ordering a simple hot lime juice for RM3.50 instead of RM1 or less in other place. And there's not so many eating place that open their service that night. You can only count on the sempoi sweet corns, or fried nuggets or things in the 7-Eleven if you need to snack on something while enjoying the night.

So, that was our first time experience in i-City. Now let's enjoy the photos that I managed to snap with my sempoi camera.

all year round is christmas i guess..

a snapshot with Sara the Iguana and parrots

the Snowalk

inside the Snowalk

merchandise on sale

from G-Men to X-Men..

Of course X-Men : First Class is where the war between the mutants and human actually started. By now, we have known that mutants has existed since WWII, somehow their sorrowful fate (mainly of Magneto's) intertwined with the race-eradication process during the Holocaust era. We were taken back to where the teenage Magneto..or Erik, his real name, lost his mother to the cruelty of Klaus Schmidt (who later known as Sebastian Shaw) and then became the lab rat of Schmidt's insane and ambitious experiment. We were also introduced to the young Charles Xavier and Raven who would later be famously (and notoriously) known as Professor X and Mystique. These 3 characters; Professor X, Magneto and Mystique, are the super-seniors of X-Men.

Then, after almost 20 years passes, the bad-ass mutants found their way to meddle into the human's atrocious business by taking advantage of the Cold War to wage their own war towards the homo sapiens. By now we meet Erik, already an adult, is in search of Schmidt who has now become Shaw, to avenge his mother's death and the torture he went through under the experiment of Shaw. In the meantime, Charles and Raven somehow unofficially aiding the CIA to investigate the involvement of the bad-ass mutants led by Shaw. During the process, Erik and Charles met and subsequently bonded by friendship and their same mutant 'nature'. Together, with the help of a CIA scientist and an agent, they recruited several more young mutants to help them address the current situation. These young mutants are conflicted, they knew of their differences but yet unable to accept it due to the difficulties of living among normal people.

Fast forward, the other side of the mutants has now realized that they are not only going to fight the humans but also the diplomatic, peace-keeping band of mutants led by Charles and Erik. Finally, the moment of truth came when Erik finally encountered Shaw, and as the final scenes ended the story, we started to see how the X-Men started to evolve. Now we understand;

a. how Erik became Magneto (and how he got the helmet..);

b. how Professor X became wheelchair-bound (and then started his academy..);

c. how the relationship between Magneto, Professor X and Mystique started;

d. how Mystique changed her heart (and preference..); and

e. how Beast became Beast, of course..

Yes, it's like learning the history of X-Men. Please don't get confused with the involvement of WWII, Holocaust and Cold War in this 'history'. Get your facts right. Somehow, fictions can be derived from facts, and fictions can be mixed with facts. The reality has become the background of the story, crossing political and geographical borders. However, at some point, this fiction can be the mirror image of what has happened in reality. In conflict between two sides, there's always the third party that acts as batu api, or provocateurs (heih..betui ka translation aku nih..). 

Okay, anyway..during the 'recruitment' sessions by Charles and Erik, it's interesting to see a few famous mutants in a flash, like Storm when she was little and Wolverine. And in this movie, we get to see the not-yet-X-Men-but-soon-to-be mutants wearing the black and yellow suit, as in the original senior version. All in all, this is a mutant movie with lots of feelings and emotions involved. Be yourself. Learn to accept your unique qualities and you will earn the respect of others. An enjoyable watch.

google image

hanya di radio...

....Teringat pulak pada satu hari aku terdengar satu program bual bicara ni kat radio..tak pasti pulak masa dalam perjalanan ke tempat kerja atau dalam perjalanan balik...biasanya aku masuk keta je aku check channel ni, adakah kena masa program bual bicara atau tidak, kalau kena aku dengor la, kalau tak, aku layan mp3 aku je..aku tak kuasa dengor program2 lain...panggilan hangit ke, tengik ke, den tak kuaso nak dongar...sama ada program berintipati atau halwa telinga pilihan sendiri...so, apa-apa lagu ngetop dalam carta sekarang pun aku tak tau..maka aku adalah ketinggalan zaman dalam department itu..tak kisahlah

....Apapun aku dah terbabas dah nih, menda yang aku nak cakap tadi ek?.. Ooh, program tu...aku tak dapat nak dengar lengkap dari awal sampai habis, sekadar sebahagian..tapi part yang aku dengar tu menarik pulak..tetamu program ni mengatakan, suatu hari anak dia menangis-nangis di rumah kerana nakkan ibunya, sedangkan ibunya bekerja shif malam, dia sebagai bapa ingin memujuk anaknya...Ok, selalu kita dengar kita pujuk anak-anak begini, "Ibu/Ayah pegi keje, nak cari duit...nanti nak belikan adik baju Ultraman, mainan (etc.)". Menurut tetamu ini, kata-kata sedemikian seolah-olah menanamkan idea dalam minda anak-anak bahawa ibu bapa ni keluar untuk menjadi hamba duit, atau menjadi orang yamg meminta-minta. Lagi satu, dengan berkata sedemikian, seolah-olah kita menjadikan sesuatu mainan itu (atau apa saja objek yang menjadi bahan pujukan anak-anak) punya kuasa atau tahap yang labih tinggi dari ibu dan bapanya..kerana, jika ibu atau bapanya tidak membeli atau mendapatkan benda-benda itu, anak-anak tidak mengumpamakan mereka. Kalau dapat, anak sayang ibu, anak sayang ayah. Tapi kalau tak dapat, anak menangis, merajuk.

....Maka, menurut tetamu itu lagi, bukankah lebih baik kita menyemai nilai-nilai yang lebih baik dalam fikiran anak-anak kita tentang ibu bapa mereka yang keluar bekerja. Isteri tetamu itu adalah seorang jururawat. Maka tetamu itu menerangkan pada anaknya, dengan menjalin kaitan dalam kehidupan, lebih kurang begini.."Apabila kita sakit, atau jatuh dan luka, kita perlukan ubat untuk sembuh, kan? Maka, kita ke klinik atau hospital. Di sana, jururawat yang meletakkan ubat dan membalut luka kita. Nah, itulah yang ibu buat di tempat kerja. Ibu keluar kerana ada ramai orang di luar sana yang perlukan bantuan ibu...".

....Dalam kata lain, kita menumpukan peranan ibu bapa yang bekerja di luar sana, bukan sebagai orang yang meminta dan mencari, tetapi sebagai orang yang memberi, orang yang menyumbang. Setiap kali apabila anak bertanya, terangkan menggunakan pendekatan begitu, lama-lama anak akan memahami bahawa ibu bapanya mempunyai tanggungjawab penting di luar sana. Lebih kurang begitulah yang sempat aku dengar, mungkin penerangan aku tak sebaik penerangan asal yang disampaikan oleh tetamu jemputan itu, namun diharapkan konsepnya masih menepati. Topik ini menarik minat aku, sebab rasa-rasanya aku sendiri pernah terguna cara yang kurang sesuai itu pada anak saudaraku masa diorang kecik dulu-dulu.

....Ia mungkin topik yang dirasakan kurang penting, tapi bak kata pepatah, melentur buluh biar dari rebungnya. Menjaga anak ni bukan setakat cukup makan, pakaian dan sekolah sampai tamat, tetapi pendidikan rohani, ilmu kehidupan dan pembentukan pekerti dan jati diri juga sangat perlu diutamakan, kan..

~tamat alkisah~

the best in you

(..some more old posts..)

..the best time is our conversation, 
..the best moment is when you show you care, 
..the best part of you is your concern, 
..but I don't mean that when you pay my fare. 

..the best characteristic is your understanding, 
..the practical thinking, and parallel to mine, 
..the place, the value, the faith...notwithstanding, 
..I'd rather say, all seems fine. 

so here we are, my precious one, 
at the crossroads, we ride the fun, 
in the end, lover or best friend,
whatever, time will mend...


originally written May 6, 2009
2nd version June 14, 2011 
The Dreamer©2011

..weeping heart..

(this one was written almost two years ago..)

are you a blessing?
are you a test?
are you the arrow
that shot right through my chest?
if you're a blessing
then why my heart is breaking
struck me to the core
bleeding me more and more
but if you're a test
then i have failed
Dear God,
i'm so frail
unable to contain
this feeling
that i dare not to keep
this night i weep..

June 14, 2009 9.30pm
The Dreamer©2009

resistance

(formerly titled ..d.t..)

i wasn't this person before
what had happened..
where have i gone?
who am i now?

i never want this before
but where would i be if not here
but i may be somewhere--

but why am delving
into something of no substance
into something unreal
when my body is here

but my mind is elsewhere
incarcerated
one foot is inside
but another is dying to get out
incarcerated
hands reaching out
incarcerated

but who owns me
other than myself
why would i let this stopping me
why am i holding back
why am i such an anti
why..

there's something wrong
there's something right
which is one
which is not
incarcerated
am i?

May 31, 2010 9.39pm
The Dreamer©2010

Going Places : A day in Kasama Tsutsuji Park

Date of travel : 3rd May 2009

Organized by : Aki-san and her hubby, with us friends.

It has been a while since I last posted an entry in "Going Places" series. I even haven't finished writing about my Sanriku study trip. Anyway, lets leave Sanriku for a while and back to Ibaraki prefecture. A Japanese friend, Aki, whom we knew from our school, along with her husband and a friend invited us one day to visit Kasama Tsutsuji Park in Kasama City. Tsutsuji is azaleas, from the rhododendron genus, a kind of native flower in Japan. Dakara, we could see a lot of azaleas in this park. At a certain time during April to May (maybe during that time the azaleas bloom graciously...), there will be a tsutsuji matsuri (azaleas festival) in this park. And during this festival, there is also himatsuri ( fire pottery festival) happening at the same time. As we understood it, Kasama is famous for its pottery products. And so, that was the purpose for our trip that day.

Our arrival was greeted with a squadron of potteries, arranged in lines and decorative shapes. There's pots everywhere! So please enjoy some of the photos from the trip. 

all lined up for the guests' arrival

pottery products in abundance

Himatsuri ~ Fire Pottery Festival

rows and rows of azaleas planted on hills,
 above the festival grounds

a stream or a channel connected
with a nearby rice field

~POTS GALORE~

all that you can buy

~plus some other pretty flora~

That day was quiet a hot day, but it was really nice. Although we didn't actually buy anything, but I personally had lovely time. :)

Battle of the Eastern Giants

Sabtu 11.06.2011 8.30 mlm

Perlawanan Akhir Piala FA

Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil

Football is not my thing. Apapun, harapannya agar kedua-dua pasukan dapat bermain dengan baik dan penuh bersemangat dengan semangat kesukanan sejati. Namun, bukan pemain-pemain saja yang kena ada semangat kesukanan, penyokong-penyokong pun kena la menyokong dengan semangat kesukanan juga. Toksah nak emo tak tentu pasal, jadilah penyokong yang bijak mengawal perasaan. Losing does not mean that it's the end of the world, babe. Anyway, it's just a sport, not a war.

All the best!

sembang rawak....harapan

kata-kata harapan saya pada hari ini.....

a. saya nak pindah rumah

tapi susah juga nak cari rumah ke, apartment ke yang menepati bajet, citarasa, dan jarak jauh dari lokasi-lokasi penting...buat masa ni, kawasan rumah sewa saya sudah cukup strategik, tapi...huhu kondisinya tidak menyelerakan langsung...i want space, refer here...

b. saya nak travel around the world

takdelah dalam masa 80 hari, dua tiga hari pun cukup...yosh! mungkin saya akan meng'M.I.A.'kan diri saya suatu hari nanti...ini pun ada reference, kat sini...

c. saya nak ....eh, segan lak nak tulih...heheh..adalahh, benda2 menarik yang saya nak venture..diam-diam dulu noo... :)

bye!