Pick This Week’s Freshmen Video: VOTE FOR ZEE AVI

YOU'D better VOTE for her! Yeah!

source: mtvU

Bambu, The River Phoenix, Dream Theater, Zee Avi and Ponytail are all vying for your vote that will get them into video rotation.

Reply to IRR

So I tested out your version of Yuna's Permission and Deeper Conversation.

The chords you gave for Deeper Conversation was a bit off in my opinion, like it didn't fit in, according to my ear at least. Felt like the chords you gave is in another key or something, but maybe I'm too used to my version, take whatever I said with a grain of salt.

For Permission, some of the chords fit nicely to my ear, but I think you had one extra chord for each line of the verse, which made them felt out of place. Some of the chords also felt like it didn't belong where you put them. But I can use your chords as reference for Permission and put my version of it.

Sorry for the really late reply. I got lazy... as usual.

Dream House

My dream house would be a small wooden hut by the beach with a barn or farm at the back. Most importantly for me is to have two coconut trees that have my hammock clinging on to both of them where I can strum my guitar, sleep and enjoy the wind. I don’t know whether my hut should have electricity, hmm, maybe it should, for the fan, washing machine, and kitchen I suppose. Yeah, my hut will have four different bins, one for organic waste and the other three are the recycling bins. There’ll be no beds, just thin mattresses and mats for me. Guests might have trouble adjusting to my hut but they’ll just have to put up with it. My hut will only have two tables, one for the kitchen and one for me to do my work or stuff like that or maybe I’ll just do my work on the one in the kitchen.

I fancy having a dog too, them active little critters, maybe a Golden Retriever or a Beagle, at least it’ll keep me company when there’s no one around. And when I’m lazy and am at home, I’ll have a cat by my side to stroke and play around with, and maybe I’ll get a hamster too. I think my hut wouldn’t really be that small, because I need to have rooms for my family (that’s eight of us mind you) and friends, a longhouse design would be perfect. I’ll hang a wind chime to add to the ambience of the hut.

A gramophone is a must in my hut and I’ll have a collection of vinyl records, though I don’t know where I could get them, I’ll find out soon enough. Then there would be a grandfather’s clock, the big wooden one, with the pendulum in sight, and a rocking chair, just because I like it. I would display my collection of guitars too, ones that I made, and the one signed by Zee Avi, and the ones that I bought. I’ll have a few posters of her up too, and a few other artistes. I won’t own a television, just a radio, though I might have one, for the guests that would stop by in my house. Something to keep them occupied because my hut would be quite dull for them.

My barn would have horses in it so that I can go horse-riding and maybe one day I could go around the world riding on one of the horses. I guess I could also stuff a few chickens, for the supply of eggs and the rooster can help wake me up too. Oh, I will put up a rabbit park, like the one in Bukit Tinggi so that when I lie down in the park, I have furry little creatures hopping around me, yeah, that would be nice. I wonder if they can take the heat, hmm, if they can’t then I’ll have to ditch the rabbits then. I would have a garden of flowers and organic vegetables, something for me to tend to everyday.

I will have a small boat for myself so that I can go fishing (well I don’t know how to fish) or just to lie down and enjoy floating with the waves. I guess I’ll get a kayak as well so I can use it if I don’t feel like lying down and still want to head for the seas. I’ll have a field for beach football and volleyball so that when my family and friends gather, we could play a few games. Uh huh, when family and friends gather, I’ll have a white screen outside the hut, and a projector too, for movies and stuff like that, then all of us would be sitting on the white sand (or maybe on a mat) and enjoy the movie.

Ahh, that would be great, living in a world without that much worries in my head and I could just enjoy life as it comes.

Reply to akey87

This is in response to a comment made by akey87 in my previous post. A quick one and I decided to use the national language because I think it is only appropriate that I do so. I will translate it after my finals and post it up. Seems like I've got a new topic to talk about for my next post.

Kepada akey87:

1. Ini bukannya soal maruah ataupun "identity", ini adalah soal penguasaan ilmu. Sebelum sesuatu bangsa boleh memajukan diri mereka bukan setakat perlu mempunyai ilmu, tetapi penguasaan ilmu juga.

2. Perlu dilihat juga jika bangsa itu merupakan pelopor dalam ilmu-ilmu sains dan matematik dan adakah bahasa tersebut tidak akan mengubah ejaan semata- mata?

3. Tahukah anda bahawa penggunaan bahasa Inggeris dalam bidang sains adalah lain sekali berbanding penggunaannya dalam bahasa seharian?

4. Pengajaran bahasa Inggeris dalam sains dan matematik secara amnya adalah untuk memudahkan pelajar memahami istilah dan formula yang kebanyakannya mempunyai dasar perkataan bahasa Inggeris.

5. Lihatlah formula ini. F=ma, formula yang digunakan di merata dunia tidak kira bahasa. Ini merupakan formula untuk mengira daya. F adalah force, m merupakan mass dan a mewakili acceleration.

6. Jika menurut bahasa Melayu, force adalah daya, mass merupakan jisim dan acceleration adalah pecutan, yang manakah lebih senang untuk dihafal dan difahami?

7. Jika kenyataan yang anda beri tentang Jepun adalah fakta, berikanlah sumbernya. Adakah fakta tersebut dipetik dari buku sejarah, ensiklopedia ataupun sumber-sumber lain yang sahih?

8. Jika benar pun negara Jepun tidak menggunakan secara keseluruhan untuk mengangkat nama negaranya, tetapi saintis mereka perlu mempunyai kemahiran dalam bahasa asing untuk membincangkan dan membentangkan hasil kajian mereka dengan saintis negara lain.

9. Pernahkah anda mendengar tentang "peer-review"? Ini merupakan satu proses di mana penemuan atau hipotesis baru dibentangkan kepada saintis-saintis lain agar penemuan/hipotesis ini dapat dibuktikan kesahihan dan kejituannya.

10. Ketidakupayaan dalam menterjemahkan hasil kajian kepada bahasa lingua franca akan menyebabkan kajian itu ditolak dan tidak diiktiraf.

11. Untuk menaikkan martabat sendiri, pakailah tatabahasa dan ejaan yang betul dalam penggunaan bahasa bangsa sendiri. Anda sendiri mencampur adukkan bahasa Inggeris dalam penggunaan bahasa ibunda anda walaupun ada perkataan bahasa Melayu yang boleh digunakan dan menggunakan bahasa "sms" bukanlah cara untuk meninggikan martabat bahasa ibunda anda.

12. Tidak perlu dilihat kepada orang lain untuk melihat keruntuhan bahasa ibunda anda, apa salahnya menggunakan "secara kesimpulan". Perlukah menggunakan "totalnya" di mana perkataan ini "dimelayukan" dari bahasa Inggeris?

13. I would like to inform that I am a Bidayuh and narcissistically proclaim that I can speak and write better in the national language than the native speakers.

The Future is in Our Hands

My country is currently having people who demonstrates against the use of English as a medium in teaching Science and English and it comes to the point of irritating. After doing a bit of digging and research (thank you Internet), here are some points I've stumbled upon.

Those going for the use of English

• Almost every reference book that students use in their higher education would be in English, the transition from mother tongue to English would be problematic as students would have to adapt to a whole new collection of terms and definitions. (Tell me bout it).

• English is the lingua fraca. Nuff' said.
  

• The Europeans studied Arab (no I don't know if this is true, go read up and tell me if I'm wrong, I'll post if I find proof) when knowledge was predominantly done by Muslims. This was when the Islam civilization was at its peak. Then this civilization collapsed and Renaissance began, the reverse then happened.
  

• We will lag behind, by the time we translate current findings to our language, there will be a lot more new researches or findings popping up. We will never be on par with those using English
  

• We have spent so much money and time in this policy (which I think is not properly planned), reverting back will cause great losses for students (mind you, future academicians in their respective fields) and teachers. The only people who will gain from this? Those in the textbook industry
  

• Translating most of the English terms into our language, it's merely spelling change, otherwise they're the same in pronunciation

• Those demonstrating are afraid of their postition being jeopardized because the younger generation are not into studying their mother tongue thus reducing the numbers of future experts in the literature of the languages. A case of fighting for own cause and not everyone's.

• More students answered in English in the last national tests, a sign of students being more confident in English.

• Being proficient in English doesn't make you less Asian or whatever race you are, you can be eloquent with English but your culture will not be tarnished.

Those against (some taken and translated from a memorandum)

• The younger generations will lose touch with their own culture and heritage, thus devaluating *insert whatever race/culture name here*

• If Germany and Japan can do it, why not us?

• It was proven (UNESCO did a research on this, from what I've read, haven't seen the real report) that students who study a subject in their mother tongue will absorb and understand the subject better. They took the Nobel prize recipient for 2008 who was a Japanese who did the research in the Japanese language as an example
  

• Apparently, there were more than 2000 Masters thesis written in the national language thus proving that studying in your own mother tongue can still get you further

• Those in rural areas will lose out to those in the urban areas. Lack of facilities, good teachers, etc, etc
  

• Current teachers are having problems with English themselves. This will create a destructive cycle because students will learn bad English and in turn, use bad English.

• To be good in English, you study English, not study it through Science and Maths. So focus more on the English subject, give more resources to it not changing the medium of two subjects into English.

• The mother tongue won't be a global language if we use a foreign language to master a certain field

• Students who are not good in English will falter in these two subjects and in turn, lose interest in the

Now for my opinion.

• First of all, I believe that students should learn and be exposed to English in Science and Mathematics NOT to improve their proficiency in English but rather, to learn the definitions and terms found in those two fields in English.

• When I first started university, it was quite a task for me to interpret the terms in English which differs very much from the one I've learned in high school which used the national language as the medium for teaching. And I thought I had a good command of English.

• Apparently English in Science and Mathematics is very different than the English language itself.

• I don't know what it's like for students currently studying these two subjects in English and how the teachers are with the use of English. I'm guessing around 30% to 50% of the teachers don't really have a good command of the language.

• I think (I have no proof again) that the policy was rushed, they did not prepare at least 50% of the teachers properly for this change in policy.

• Having a good command of language verbally requires a person 6 months and this rate is only achieved if this person is in an environment where only the target language is used on a daily basis. (Ask any exchange student and they'll say the same)

• A three month course will not magically transform a group of people into having at least a good command of the language verbally. Don't talk about grammar yet, that takes years and *coughs* maturity to understand them. (I didn't understand grammar when I was in primary school, only when I was 16 did it hit me like an epiphany)

• I've seen essays and the use of English of students taking TESL at my place and I have a very low opinion of them after seeing their work. But do they work to improve themselves? I doubt many of them do.

• But I've seen an increase in urban students who are very good in English taking up TESL, which might be both good and bad. People in my country know how the general view on teaching is, it's your last choice as a career if all else fails. I won't elaborate more.

• Will rural people lose out to the urbanites? My dad, who literally lived in a jungle when he was young, grew to a person who I believe speaks and writes in English very well. And his friends, who came from the same background as him, turned out to be very good English speakers and writers. This isn't a case of facilities, it's a case of mindsets. Facilities are what they are, to assist you, not to transform you.

• Though this might be the case because English was taught by native speakers during his time.

• Out of topic: More funds should be directed to schools in rural areas, especially for labs, computers and libraries and the human resources needed for these facilities. You don't build a computer lab expecting the teachers to fix whatever problem it might have right?

• The boarding school system is failing, they're taking the best teachers to teach the already bright students. I don't believe in this system, great teachers should help poor or rural students, not giving the privileged more handouts. This type of schools is becoming more of schools for "rich kids who are bright" schools. Gone the system where "students who are bright and above average from rural areas" are accepted into a boarding school.

• The reason Germany, France or Japan can excel even though they used their own language is because they started earlier than us and they actually do real thesis which changed or gave new light to the respective fields. NOT half-baked thesis which serves only to get a Masters or PhD.

• Taking examples like Brunei, Philippines, South African countries who use English as a medium but not excelling in science and technology proves my point further. These are all countries that achieved independence late and you don't turn into America or Germany within 50 or even 100 years of independence.

• In the 1800s scientists discovered cilia, an organelle (umm, it's like a cell's organ), that is at a microscopic level. What were we doing at that time? Being colonised and polarised (and we still maintain that system *coughs* verna *coughs* I should stop)

• Mother tongues should be taught by parents if they want to keep that culture alive and I would like to emphasise on why it's called heritage. You inherit it. The intricacies of the language? Entirely up to the person to delve deeper or to let it be
  

• I believe the conservation of cultural and traditional heritage is not the responsibility of the school but the parents'. If you want to argue that making another language as a medium in a lot of things will make your children less of whatever race they are, then it's your fault for not teaching or emphasising it to them. I can't speak my mother tongue, which only a small population of 100, 000 people practice it. Do I blame the school for this?

• If the students lose confidence in English then it's their fault for not being motivated to improve themselves. Teachers and parents can only assist and motivate so much but in the end, it depends on self-realization and self-initiative of the student.

• So, should the policy be stripped? That is a question that needs to be analyzed, dissected and debated openly, not discussed by a group of people who we don't even know who they are. I am in no position to give a verdict as it would be without any manner of professionalism in it.

• But in my humble opinion, train the future teachers fully; make sure they have at least a good command of English. If they are not good in English and they don't work to improve themselves, fail them. Set a high standard, we want the best even if it means failing 90% of the students, this is our future we're talking about. Great and above average teachers should willingly offer themselves to go to rural areas, they need you more there. As a university student, I wished that I had the chance to learn Science and Mathematics in English when I was in high school.

I have really GREAT friends!

And I'm grateful that I know them and even more so because they have came into my life. I can pick many instances when they did things that surprise me and which also touched me. Recently, I was beleaguered by a very bad bout of burnout and I had no motivation to study or do anything related to studies. I just wanted to stop and give up on everything. I was supposed to finish an assignment but I couldn’t care less about it and decided to sleep over it which was when my roommate (who knew that I was having a bad burnout) came into the room and said to my other roommate, “Hey, come let’s help him out with his assignment”. I can’t describe how surprised and moved I was when he said that. They could have played their PSP or went to sleep, most people wouldn’t give a damn but they took the initiative to help me out, it might sound trivial but well, it just shows their character. And we got the assignment done. Great roommates they are.

The other day, I did a prank to two of my best friends, saying that I had a broken leg and would be bedridden for three months. It was supposed to be a two-day thing but my mobile had a problem and it became a one week thing. They actually went out of their way to call every single hospital in the state and worry their minds out for me, one even came back all the way from north to visit me. I still feel really guilty for doing that prank, they even got me a Fossil watch even after they found out that it was a prank. They should really put a noose around my neck.

I’m very lucky to have my friends, each and every one of them. They have helped me define who I am and they will still do so. Thank you to all of you, for being there, for all the help, the laughter, the time spent, the woes we shared, and most of all for being great friends. *insert The Rembrandts’ “I’ll be there for you” here*
Man I sound cheesy.

An Issue Mentioned Repeatedly

Lately, I haven't been bothered by world issues except for the Gaza conflict. Oh, and there's the first black President of the United States too, congratulations to him on stamping his name in the pages of history, I bet the future history textbooks would mention his name alot. It's amazing, who would've thought the US would be headed by a black guy but he has a lot of work to do, I wish him luck on that.

The word "boycott" is used much lately and even I was dragged into it, through discussion. My stand was, it's a bit too late to boycott anything and rather than wasting energy promoting and encouraging boycott, people should direct all that energy into supporting local brands or alternative brands.

I tried to picture the event from both sides: those who agree with the boycott and those who disagreed.

For those who agree with the boycott, their main reasons would be:

1. Getting the message across, the war is a crime against humanity. Childrens are being killed, something must be done to put an end to this.
2. For the Muslims, it is their "brothers" who are dying there, the Jews are oppressing the Muslims there.
3. They sympathize with the innocent people who are unwillingly involved in the conflict.
4. It stopped the apartheid in South Africa, then it could stop the war.
   

Those who disagree will say:

1. Almost everything we use are from *insert name of country here*, we can't escape from them.
2. Boycotting them will only affect our country!!! Our people would suffer because many of us work in their company!
3. Why should we meddle in the conflict? It's none of our business, let them fight till the war ends!
4. We shouldn't say or do anything about it, it would get us into trouble, do you want our country to have rain of bombs because of us trying to upset *insert country name here* economy?
5. Boycotting *insert country name here* means you're supporting the opposition that's blowing themselves up!!!
6. 1.6 billion Muslim population boycotting? Tell me, how many are actually living properly to even afford buy the products in the first place? (This is me being the devil's advocate)
   

I am against violence in any manner used on innocent civilians and especially children. No child should live through such trauma and atrocities.

I do not condone the act of Israel using their superior military power against a small group of rebels nor do I agree with the act of Hamas firing rockets.

I find it saddening whenever I discuss this issue, people would attack me for not looking at the Israelites side and supporting Hamas when I was only trying to reason out why people opt boycotting. I have always believed in delving into the views of both sides before giving my stand or opinion as I think it is only fair that everyone's view are taken into account.

My view on the conflict? I put both sides at fault, plus the Great Britain for their agreement with both the Arabs and Zionists which personally (there's no professionalism in here) I think, is the cause of all this. The Muslims should do like what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did during his time, agreed to a truce even though the conditions were blatantly not in the Muslims favour. I think this was the Hudaibiyah agreement, if I'm not mistaken.

Like I've said before, people should focus their energy on promoting local brands or alternative brands at least and the local brands should take this to their advantage. Rather than saying "Boycott *insert name of country*!!!", they should instead say, "Buy local brands or use this products instead of *insert name of boycotted products*". The local brands should also consider a rebranding strategy, in my country, they are obviously targeting the Muslim consumers only with names like Safi, Najwa, etc, etc. They should widen their focus, I myself have used some of these local brands and they worked as fine as the international brands.

This rage of boycotting amongst MOST of the Muslim community are blind rage, they never did their research on the companies which were mentioned by various sources (and disputable ones too). I'm sure that more than 70% would resume using the boycotted products once the coverage on the conflict subsides. These people don't have a strategy for a systematic boycott and they forget that the Palestinians are comprised not only of Muslims but also other religions too, though their numbers have been greatly reduced since the past 60 years.

The non-muslims in my country, from those I've encountered, would care less about the conflict because it doesn't mean anything to them, even if it meant children being shot at. Why do this happen? It's the Muslims fault, they act as if this is a religous thing when it is not, and most of them label Jews as Zionists, gladly label them as pigs, curse them openly, damn them to hell, calling them the root of all evil and whatnot. This is the reason why the war will never end.

I will openly condemn them and tell them off when I see people condemning the Jews. The Jews have had their share of oppression, they were persecuted and hunted down during the anti-Semitic times and the Holocaust. It is the Zionist movement which are the ones governing Israel now (of whom should take the blame too) and they are only a minority in the Jewish community (uhh, I think so, I have to check again). People should not label the Jews as pigs and whatnot, they also condemn the act of the Zionists oppressing the Palestinians. The mindset of most of the Muslims in my country thinks that all Jews are at fault, which is very worrying so to speak.

The Muslims, who are the followers of the religion of peace should condemn all war, and not only the ones affecting their brethren. During the South Ossetia conflict, not many Muslims I know condemn the war, some didn't even know that it was happening. There weren't any funds raised for the South Ossetians, no posters going against the war, no demonstrations and this in a way, showed that Muslims only care for their own kin. This point has been used by many to attack the Muslims and I do think that Muslims should fix this issue.

Through various discussions, I've changed my stand to boycotting is not too late to be done but that we should focus more on developing local brands.

Hitherto, everyone should work towards peace and try to stop the war, taking sides will not work as the fault of this current conflict lies in both sides. People should think about the children, the mothers, the elderly, and the innocent civilians. They should think about humanity, this is no more an issue of religious differences, this is for the future of the generations to come. We do not want more children growing up in rubbles, we do not want children turning shrapnels and empty bullets into toys, we do not want more children fearing whether they could live through the day.