Only Reason

My grandmother once said: "Our future generation has to live better than their predecessors."

And I truly believe that it is this saying that drives the waves of migration out of China. Were my ancestors treacherous for leaving their homeland? No. All they wanted was to seek a better life elsewhere for the sake of their family. But it is this legacy of theirs that makes me grappling for a place to hold on to. Just because my grandfather, my great-grandparents were immigrants, am I merely a visitor in this land I call home? While their legacy is my history, it shall remain as that. I will not forgive anyone who call them 'traitors'. I will not allow anyone to call me 'pendatang'.

Maybe I don't have what it takes to succeed elsewhere nor the courage to start anew again. This place is home to me forever - and that is the only reason I need to stay.

The Malaysia That Could Have Been

The late Dato Onn Jaafar once proposed to open up UMNO's membership to all Malayans, regardless of ethnicity. His idea was rejected terribly by his fellow members and that marked the beginning of the end of his political career. 

He was indeed a forward-thinking man. Had his vision come true then, what would become of Malaysia now?

One could only dream.  

Keep On

yes, keep on crying your worthless tears when everyone is ahead of you. 
yes, keep on running away when even your shadow is larger than you. 
yes, keep on looking back when you can't even walk a straight road ahead. 
yes, keep on dreaming your dreams when it is a cruel reality you are living in.


-by jacys-

Beck: Movie Review

I cannot contain my excitement now. The atmosphere, the crowd and their expression, the lighting and most of all the music… totally overwhelmed me. ‘Beck’ the movie is amazing. Sure there are shortcomings here and there, like the rushed feeling of the movie or the awkward choice of actors for minor roles. But ‘Beck’ the movie hit several spots right – with the right main actors. 

The roles of Taira, Ryuusuke, Saku and Maho were well cast. Their acting was pretty decent. I am amazed by the resemblance between the manga/anime Koyuki and Takeru Satoh, the actor who played him. The eyes and facial expression were almost alike, except maybe Takeru Satoh was a little too skinny. In my opinion, the star who truly shined was Kiritani Kenta who played Chiba. Having watched the anime and read the manga, Chiba wasn’t really my favourite character. But in the movie, Kiritani Kenta totally became Chiba and he brought out Chiba’s boundless energy.

The music shines. As usual, Beck’s songs are really good – which is hard to compose, I bet. But composing Belle Ame’s nauseatingly horrible music? That is definitely harder to do! Anyways, the music – both the distasteful and the awesome – is done well. Lastly, I was a tad disappointed when Koyuki’s voice was muted out in the actual movie. WHY? But having finally watched their Greatful Sound performance, I appreciated the fact that their music was beautiful enough even without vocals. That, maybe the viewers are supposed to imagine Koyuki’s voice in their heads to bring out the ultimate movie experience, is what the director has in mind? And how right I was when I heard the actual version of the song, in which Koyuki’s voice is not muted. Takeru Satoh’s voice falls short of expectation. In a hindsight, I should have resisted wanting to listen to ‘Koyuki’s voice’ because I feel so disappointed right now.

All in all, I rate this movie 8 out of 10. It has been an enjoyable ride for me, because this adaptation stays true to the manga.  

the webs of lies you weave
entangle me
and yet,
they are the net
that cushions my fall

-untitled-
-by jacys-

:-)

Initially, when I heard the news, I thought: "This is good! The man who orchestrated Sept 11 attack is dead!"

But as more reports came out of how he was killed and then 'buried at sea' (a.k.a. dumping his body into the ocean), I felt a bit bad for him.

Nonetheless, no matter who he was or what he did in his life, he ought to be given a proper burial - an acknowledgment that he was too, human. If he didn't live as a Muslim, he should as least be buried as one.

Am I weird for thinking this way?

No one has the right to take another person's life. That is what I believe.

Allow me to further expand on this thought. His death should really mean nothing to terrorists out there, for he was just one among many. This is an issue that can hardly be resolved by violence alone.