This story was forwarded to me a while ago by my school's mailing list. Never got round to reading it. Now that I have some time to myself to clear out the backlog of email, just thought I'd re-post this story for your viewing pleasure.

Thoughts? I have a few.

It's been a while since I last blogged. This is probably due to the extremely hectic past month. 3 trials, one still on-going (but I have just about had enough of) did not give me any room to breathe. I've stopped going to the gym because of work (still paying though). Lucky for me, two trial dates for today and Friday have been taken off so I have been given a little room to breathe.

I am now sitting in my room, sipping my wonderful Vietnamese coffee after finishing my bekal sandwich whilst casually reading The Sun.

Planned to meet Talib for lunch yesterday at Plaza Damas, but because Sherliza and Daniel wanted to tag along, I actually ended up meeting Talib for all two minutes because he had to leave early. Reason= my colleagues were late. Well it was Sherliza's birthday and her boyfriend surprised her with a bouquet of flowers during lunch time, so I suppose it could be forgiven.

Anyway, yesterday was futsal night. It was raining, but two hours prior to that I received a call from an old friend who I havent heard from in ages, asking me if futsal is still on. I told him yes, and he was at the place since 9. Futsal on Wednesdays is played at Taman Melawati's KK Klub (maybe. Probably a C not a K). The futsal field is actually outdoor, so when it was raining, we couldn't play. No one else was there. So we improvised and played badminton instead.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Yesterday, I had to go to the client's office in Seri Kembangan. With the help of my friends and the google maps application on my phone (quite useful, but I don't really know what every road is called) I managed to find the office. Spent quite a few hours there. The clients were quite hospitable, and I imagine that the few witnesses I intervewed were nervous about having to appear in court.

I left their premises at around 7 p.m and after an hour-plus journey, a weary me finally reached the office. On reaching the office I was supposed to enter the parking card using my season pass. However, I accidentally pressed the button for the ticket, and after the ticket was printed out, only then did I realize my mistake. Yikes. Luckily there were no cars behind me at the time so I quickly reversed my car and went in using the other entrance with my pass. As I entered I saw another car drive through the entrance where I took the ticket (the barrier was still up) and I was quietly chuckling to myself that the fella was going to get in a bit of a mess when he exits later because he did not have a ticket.

I arrived pretty early in the office this morning, as there was a meeting with another client at 10. After the meeting ended I noticed a pop from one of the accounts department, who just called me to say that the parking management has managed to track me down and want the return of the ticket. They also have in mind to fine me for my naughty little stunt last night. Sheesh. These dudes are efficient. I'll have to talk my way out of a fine after lunch. Turns out the driver had the last chuckle.

Lost a case today. Which we shouldn't have. Did our homework, covered every ground. Stretched every legal avenues and arguments available. We should have won according to the law.

The professional part of me, is of course, upset at the manner justice was handed out. It is most likely that the judge didn't read through the fruits of the hard work we put in the past week. The long hours. We put in everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to defend the client within our legal sphere, however morally repugnant the aftertaste was doing it. I think, in spite of the speedily manner the case was disposed, the judge saw through it. The facade. Even if the all important question remains: Is 'pure' justice the ultimate aim of the courts, or is it the law? When wiser people before me have come no closer to answering that question, I cannot pretend to be able to solve this conundrum.

However, to be honest, I'm glad we lost. Okay, not glad. But relieved. Justice is justice, no matter how the law can be used to try and deny it. Underhanded tactics, whether by paying people off, having them followed, using bomohs and whatever not should never be condoned. It isn't right. Leave your affairs in the hands of the judge. And leave the affairs of the judge in the hands of God. Is that simply too idealistic of me? Or shall I tick one score-mark for the redemption of my humanity?

She received the storybook from Ariff Aris yesterday. She's excited about it. So am I. Can't wait to see it. Although I must confess, I never knew that people make storybooks from pictures for engagements, weddings, etc. Its a bit like a wordless comic book really. But are words necessary to tell a story when emotions have been captured? You tell me. Anyway, sneaks :-




More to come obviously.

Speaking of comic books, Iron Man 2 is out today. I was asked by a colleague whether I was looking forward to watching it seeing as I am a self-confessed comic book geek. I can't really say that I am, in all honesty. Obviously I will at some point watch it, but there isn't any real desire to get stuck in the sometimes maddening opening-day crowd to watch it sort of excitement present. Iron Man has never been an interesting character to me, although there have been rave reviews about the Iron Man comic series' current run by Matt Fraction. I've read the first trade paperback and it's really good. You lot can pick up the trade paperback from Kinokuniya or Borders. The direction of the title is interesting but my monthly pull list doesn't really allow for another title. Besides, I already gave the short-lived War Machine series (who will also be appearing in the movie) a go when the series was relaunched last year. After a solid start in the first 4-5 issues, it sort of fizzled out despite the interesting premise by Greg Pak and I lost interest in it and dropped the title off my pull list regardless of the potential. The series has even now been canceled.

Ip Man 2, ironically (see what I did there?), is also out today and to be honest I'm more excited to watch that. I watched the movie during the flight on my way to London last year, and it was so good I watched it again during the flight home! When Sabrina recommended the movie to me, I couldn't really imagine why a movie about a guy who probably does Intellectual Property for a living would really be that entertaining. Talking about this has suddenly made me miss those classic Stephen Chow movies. Okay. Random deviation (is not the root of the contract *wink wink*) here.

Oh, and yesterday night I received an email from my comics store informing me that shipment has arrived. Yezza.

[Random Fact Nugget of the Day: My aunties told me that my dad used to have a chest full of Iron Man comics. This has never been admitted, nor denied to be fair, by my dad]

That is all.

They say that a tailored suit will look better than any off-the-rack suit because it is made specifically to suit your own body. It's a one-of-its-kind suit, the only one in the world, etc. etc. So I did some online research on how to make my own suit, what I wanted and etc etc. It was then that I actually found out that KL is well known for its quality and cheap suit-tailoring. I've heard of people going to Bangkok to make suits, but I never knew that people actually come to KL to make suits. Apparently suits in Bangkok fall apart after a few months. How about that eh? KL, suit-hub of the world.

The major stumbling block was to find a good tailor though. Apart from a few well-known tailors who make suits for royalty and celebrities (is there a difference anymore?) and whose price-range is also well beyond my reach (anything from RM2500-RM60,000) there were few other recommendations, especially from local and smaller tailorshops. The risk with having it tailor-made from a lesser known tailor is that you never know how it's going to turn out. I did find one guy plugging for a 'bespoke' tailor in Ampang Park with supposedly impressive credentials having trained in the UK. Or something. So I decided to go there. Only to find that it was closed -_-'. Determined not to let the day go to waste, I walked around and found that there were quite a few tailors in Ampang Park. I went and examined the suits on display, to check their quality and what not. If they show it on display, it should arguably be their best work, yes?

I came across one tailor whose couple of suits on display looked excellent as compared to the others and I walked right in. I had a nice chat with him. I asked him how long he's been in business (actually I asked him how long he's put up shop in Ampang Park, since it was pretty rude to ask him how long he's been in business. He told me he's been there since Ampang Park opened in the 70s, and his outdated catalogue of Italian magazines would testify to that!), his price range, and I had a look through the fabrics he had whilst waiting for my fiancee. He asked me how I came across his shop and whether anyone recommended his work to me . Politely, I told him no (hihi). During the course of discussion I mentioned to him what sort of suit I wanted, and the type of cutting I was looking at. He seemed to understand what I wanted, and called it 'the young man's fitting'. yeah, whatever you want to call it, old man. Having run out of things to talk to, and anxiously looking through the magazine I bought several times over, I told him that I was going to have a look around at the other tailors in Ampang Park . He didn't seemed bothered or annoyed about it and was still friendly. Another plus point.

The other shop of note which I came across looked slightly more established and had a larger shop-space with more materials on display. There was another customer who came with his wife and kids, but the vibe I got from the shop wasn't good. They couldn't be bothered with me, to be honest. I know there was another customer but there were 3 people manning the shop. Did all three need to wank over said customer? (not his fault by the way) I don't mind waiting really, if they had just told me to. Instead, it was pretty much: We're busy now and you can go f@ck off in the corner and we'll attend to you when we want to. I wasn't having any of it and just left. Hey, I even wore shoes instead of my trusty selipar! Maybe I didn't look 'smart' enough but it isn't really my loss. The customer is king, or haven't you heard? (Sedapkan hati sendiri).

There weren't any other tailors whose display pieces caught my eye (ceh macam best jeh), and so and lo I returned to tailor number 1. Who knew that choosing a colour could be so darned difficult? Grey is grey is grey right? Turns out it wasn't. There were so many hues, texture, patterns that it took us an hour to at least choose the colour, so much so that we even left the final decision on the colour until after the measurement. The tailor even conveniently reminded us that we have yet to decide on the colour, after he finished measuring me. It was quite difficult. Grey is definitely a colour I like, and I loved all of them. How could I possibly choose? I did anyway, but it was probably the hardest decision in my life! (Cue: exaggeration).

In the end, I decided to make a two-button, three piece suit and also a shirt to wear it with. Fitting will be sometime in May, and I'll be looking to see what the tailor comes up with. The price he came up with was really reasonable, and if his work is good, (I hope) I'll definitely be recommending him to others.

Having such a gorgeous bride-to-be, I really need to keep up and try to look good. But will I look like this? I doubt it. But this was what I had in mind, although the final colour chosen is much lighter than this.



It also just came to me yesterday (in a dream) to have my shirt collar double-buttoned. So I text-ed the tailor to tell him I'm thinking of some adjustments to be made to the shirt. I then unintentionally came across this yesterday, and I'll be taking this picture to the tailor and see if he can come up with this. Since it's my wedding shirt, I think it'll have to be a bit different. How different? Let's hope the tailor can pull this baby off :





Haha, I might end up looking like a douche. Seriously, its more than just an imagined possibility at this point. But at least you can't fault me for effort. Right?

Tomorrow I have continued trial at the High Court.

The thing I most look forward to when going to Duta Court?

The kuah sardin at the High Court Corner stall. You'll be hard-pressed to find anything like it in KL. Lip-smacking. The roti jala at the Makcik's Colonial Cup drinks stall is quite decent too, but you should absolutely try the kuah sardin.

In an attempt to save this post from being yet another random and ultimately useless entry, check out some interesting statistics and facts on sardines from www.whfoods.com. The page includes health benefits, how to store sardines, (huh, what?) how to ENJOY them (yeah, I chuckled too), and other stuffs too like this spiffy chart below. Cool eh? Enjoys!

I had a pretty good weekend.

The highlight was of course, the Mighty Tottenham Hotspur beating Chelsea. They played brilliantly, the best comprehensive beatdown of Chelsea I've ever seen. Sure, Chelsea was poor, but Spurs played well enough and could have won 6-1 with ease. This is fantastic considering that the result came off the back of the 2-1 win against Arsenal on Wednesday night. Two consecutive wins against the top 3. It was an extended wankfest all throughout! This was Spurs' first league win against Arsenal in 20 matches or something as the commentators kept reminding. Having supported Spurs for as long as I can remember (since 1990 to be exact, but hey, years go by so fast when you're in love) and going through so many downs and a handful of ups, a Spurs supporter should know better than to put faith in hope (aghhh Porthsmouth!) but I can't help it. We look good for fourth place, in control of our own destiny for a spot in the Champions League. Everything just feels right in the universe again.

Man Utd next this Saturday, and having put in very poor performances in the past two months, I really see and expect them playing "anti-football" to contain Spurs, just like they do when they come up against football-playing sides. Man Utd are full of "rough" players bordering on the dirty such as Rooney, Scholes, Fletcher, Vidic and as usual will get protection from the referee.

I'm no David Platt, but tactically, I think Fergie will assign Darren Fletcher to stick to Modric like an unwanted mole, and put Park Ji-Sung on the right to help Neville double-team Bale. Which is why I think its very important for Bale to play left mid, with BAE at left back to overlap and Modric in the middle, where he's been a revelation. Read somewhere that people complain that he doesn't dominate games like Fabregas, but people just doesn't seem to get that that's not his game. He's a player who excels at keeping possession, keeps play going, makes space and always look to make himself available to receive a pass. Also has a brilliant footballing brain. More to come from him, definitely. Fergie himself has publicly praised Modric last season, I hope he keeps his grubby hands off him. Keep your Berbatov and Carrick. I think that's enough on Football for now, I can really keep going forever on this topic.

Also went "swimming" (attempts to, more like) early Sunday morning with my mates Suweb Kacang, Suweb gemok and Shakir which is always fun.

On the wedding preparation front, it was also a good weekend. Followed Sabrina and Cho to buy fabrics for her wedding dress, and the colour combination definitely, definitely looks good. Gray is definitely a colour I like and although I can't yet visualize how the dress will turn out to look, I am quietly confident that the bride will look stunning on her wedding night. There's a pressure for me to look the part, but I really can't see how I can even compare. And the wedding shoes? Let's just say it was the first thing that caught my keen eye many months ago. It is simply stunning, and I'm sure everyone will agree.


Sabrina also got the makeup artist she wanted for her nikah, so things are slowly, but surely falling into place. Had a lot of quality time with my beloved the past week and the weekend was the icing to the topping of a cheese cake. Err. You get my drift.

Also watched Kick Ass. It is definitely the best movie I've seen in a long while. Funny all throughout and devilishly brilliant, I'll definitely have to make another post on the movie. I will.

The best thing about my weekend though, and last last weekend as well, is that I feel properly rested. Rejuvenated. Hurrah! My weekends used to make me feel more sluggish, more tired and the tiredness would accumulate throughout the week. It was a horror cycle, a bit like Akademi Fantasia on repeat. It was never two days of relaxation, more like trying to cram the most of things to do which you couldn't during the weekdays. Which is the point of weekends, really, but I think most people, well, me definitely, over-do it so much that we don't realize the effects it causes. The key was probably last, last weekend, which was pretty uneventful. I slept in the most of Saturday I think I slept from after Subuh to 12, then after picking up my Ted Baker shirt I bought online (on the cheap) (from someone who is married to someone Sabrina knows and has invited to the wedding) (on facebook) and a quick, semi-scout for apartments, slept again from 4-8. Woke up to pray, and after watching some utterly forgettable football on telly (can't even remember who played), I slept again around 10.

That Sunday, I picked up the kursus kahwin certificates, then on the way back I did a quick pit-stop at my local comics shop only to find out that there were no comics shipment that week. After that I hung out with Tasha, Hafshams and Talib for a while playing cards and watching a dvd Crazy Heart (Pisau Cukur was first choice, but there were technical issues) literally on a wall with the help of a projector. That's home theater for you, folks. There was also the Portsmouth result which pretty much ruined my weekend (okay, I'm not going there again. All is forgiven, Spurs ^_^) but it was a pretty much chill-out weekend. As a result, I just feel better. Proper sleep is something I've missed for a long time. Yes, I can survive and definitely have survived on minimal sleep every day since my schooling days. But who was I really trying to impress? Not my body, definitely. More sleep is definitely the way to go. I think I can appreciate that a little better now.

And last night's futsal game playing in the rain was very fun. Never ever cancel futsal when it's raining. Never. Slipped and lost footing a few times, but thankfully I didn't fall over like a few did. Very pleased with my play. I can feel that it's coming back.

All in all, I'm buzzing and feel fantastic. That's what a good weekend can do to you.

al hakawati (the storyteller) zaabeel park, dubai image courtesy visiondivision

the thyssenkrupp elevator award was a competition which asked architects to develop an iconic tall emblem structure for zaabeel park in dubai .

for their proposal visiondivision designed a statue based around al hakawati - a storyteller, whose profession that goes way back in ancient arabic times and still is performed in the arabic world today. the statue will be a home of stories; a children’s library in its base and various spaces for performance and reading inside of the statue.

in every part of the park, small speakers will be set up so people can gather around them and listen to the statue when he recites stories; perhaps great legends from one thousand and one night, historical anecdotes from the city itself and future speculations, all this performed with an animated body language.

the statue

the walls in the base are stairs on the outside which leads to the platform where the storyteller begins to rise. windows punctuates various stairs for a bright indoor environment without any direct sunlight. the statue also has big rooms inside of it for reading,relaxing and other social activities. each big room has its own theme, be it a gold room, a crystal cavern, a green room or a room full of fish tanks, or the night views of dubai

technical aspects

the statue can move its arms and head; this demands an articulate joint between the elevators and the floors on these critical points. the joints are similar in function to those seen in joint buses, and will guarantee an uninterrupted movement inside of the statue, even if he slightly tilts his head.



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I like the name. Al-Hakawati. The Storyteller. When I was small, I always wondered what my profession would've been if I have lived in olden times, stemming from my interest for all things ancient. I'll leave that for another post. Maybe.

No, I wouldn't want to have been one, at least I didn't imagine myself to be one when I was small, but I read that the story teller played an important role in the those days. When the many wonders of the world were still not fully explored and still waiting to be discovered, surely there were many tales to tell, of wonder, of dread, and myths. An important component of society, the storyteller seems to have become extinct the moment the magic of wonderment and imagination no longer exists. The storyteller has become redundant, they say.

Funny that, I have now become a storyteller myself. This is the path I have chosen, and I will not turn back. Not yet. However, the storyteller that I am or have become is one stripped of all wonder, depraved of any excitement. I have become a storyteller yet with no tales of my own. I sing or scribe to the tune of paying authors. Authors of great misfortune, sometimes of their own doing. Sometimes authors causing great misfortune and anguish to others. I do not regale or bewitch anyone except for a tired audience consisting of one.

In my storytelling, there is no room for error. No room for doubts. No room to flinch or breathe. No room for conscience. At all. Hesitation is for the weak, I am quickly taught. I have become a sweetener of harsh words, a concealer of unimaginable faults. It is a skill I have quickly picked up through study and through training, a skill I am becoming quickly adept at. Balancing between the underlining of minute, unnoticeable virtues and spinning silky tales, weaving intricate falsities. Was it this thankless? was it such a drudgery?

So who says the storyteller no longer exists or plays a negligible role in society?

I am one of such. Ana Hakawati. I am a storyteller.

SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE LOVELY BONES

Yesterday I watched the movie, The Lovely Bones featuring Mark Wahlberg, the lovely Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and the excellent Stanley Tucci. The movie is basically about the murder of Suzie Salmon, who refuses to let go of the living world and is stuck in the in-between. I didn't know it was a novel adaptation until I googled the movie to see who played the excellent Mr. Harvey. Oh yeah, there was also the girl who played Suzie, I think she's the girl from the nanny (if I'm not mistaken) I've seen her before but I'm not sure where. It didn't matter much.

The cast

Mark Wahlberg played the loving parent/father. You could tell that he had high hopes for suzie, particularly as it is shown that Suzie is the only daughter showing an interest to continue with his obsession-passion passed from his grandfather. I thought it was a nice touch to show that despite all the efforts of a father being obsessed with uncovering the truth and finding justice for his dead daughter, he is hit with the inevitability of a person's limitation, no matter how determined.

Rachel Weisz's character wasn't that well defined imo. Thought it was weird for her to walk out of the family. The dynamics of her relationship with her mother also wasn't shown. Why she had to come wasn't explained. If at all, it was her husband who faced more problems than her. A bit weird then that her mother had to come and do the house work when there were no indications that Weisz' character was too depressed to do anything. It was shown that she was perfectly okay, but just a bit upset that her husband has yet to let go of suzie's death. But she looked lovely and has lost a lot of weight though since her Mummy Return days. Susan Sarandon provided a bit of (supposed) comedy relief, but did not do much otherwise.

Stanley Tucci was excellent. He had child molester stamped all over his lousy moustache. He even perfected his perverted laugh and twitch. Eerie and creepy, everyone should really punch his face every time they pass by his house. In fact, the whole neighbourhood should open a ticket counter in front of his house and charge an entrance fee to punch his face. It'll be a full house and sell-out every day. His acting was that superb.

(Anyone with an eerie moustache and a terrible comb-over like this should immediately be locked up)

The movie

It was a good movie with the proper amount of pacing. Basically the movie portrayed how a family copes with the loss of a family member to a murder. At the same time, it showed Suzie's "journey" and stubborn refusal to let go of the world without actually doing anything.

There were bits of the movie that annoyed me though. I didn't quite take in the visualization of Suzie's heaven, although I suppose that may be how 14-year old girls think their heaven might look like. I don't know. In fact, I didn't fancy most of Suzie's involvement in the movie except her portrayal before she died. The girl who could see ghosts was also a let down. She didn't do much other than stealing Suzie's crush. And Ray Singh. what on earth was he thinking kissing an image of a dead girl? Necrophilia isn't cool, kids. Imaginary or not.

Again, my guess is that it's just the over-elaborated fantasy of Suzie but they could probably take out the whole of Suzie's part in the movie and the movie would've still been entertaining and wouldn't have suffered. I now know that I have no patience or time to layan the fantasies of a 14-year old.

At several parts of the movie, communication beyond the dead were hinted at which I felt was unnecessary, because it was thrown out of the blue and without any follow-up but thankfully the movie didn't really dwell on it. Perhaps it was just to show that it might have been possible? Beats me.

Where the movie excelled is not just the portrayal of totally believable characters, but at creating an atmosphere of suspense and dread. Not the over the top, scary "BEHIND YOU" thriller stuff, but something realistic. Suzie going in the "play house" and his sister breaking in were two examples of this. Harvey wasn't this "I refuse to die" guy, and our hero Mark Wahlberg getting his ass handed to him on a silver bat were excellent touches. I thought that was really refreshing to see. I also loved the ending where it shows that there are no happy endings. You do not always get the satisfying justice you crave, and even if justice is delivered you don't always get the satisfaction of knowing it. People have to move on.

Conclusion

So is it better than the "shit movie" Avatar? In a word: Yes. Take out the visual effects of Suzie's in-between world and you'd still have a good movie. Take out Avatar's superior visual world, and you're left with pocahontas feat. the smurfs. The fact that it was an adaptation from a novel explains certain things, like the end monologue (which didn't make sense really). Not that I'd go out and read the novel, but I wouldn't mind watching the movie again, mainly because of Mr. Harvey.

p/s:- forgot to mention the appearance of Christopher Moltisanti from the Sopranos. Massive letdown because he didn't swear though.