Spring '11 Movie List Part Deux

The final stretch. Here are the movies that I've watched before ending my almost three-year stint in the United States & heading back to home. It's a genre mish-mash of very old, quite old and new movies; looks like IMDB's Top 250 can't cut it for me already. Need to venture to pastures new. Time to dive into indie/experimental/surrealist movies, then?

1. Thor
2. Super
3. Carrie
4. Scream
5. Gasland
6. Mad Max
7. Sunshine
8. Insidious
9. Scream 2
10. True Grit
11. The Killers
12. Videodrome
13. Funny People
14. Man Push Cart
15. Raising Arizona
16. Blue Moon Rising
17. Good Will Hunting
18. Hobo With A Shotgun
19. The Manchurian Candidate
20. Exit Through The Gift Shop
21. The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2)
22. Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari
23. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome(Mad Max 3)

Spring '11 Movie List

Did six movies better than during Winter Break (since I went back to Malaysia for two weeks). Slowly running out of ideas on what movies to watch now & am scouring for cult classics and B-movies. Any suggestions for old or new movies or even any directors I missed?

1. Devil
2. Se7en
3. Buried
4. Primer
5. Sleeper
6. Red Hill
7. Thirteen
8. Scanners
9. Amreeka
10. 127 Hours
11. The Game
12. Creepshow
13. Death Wish
14. The Fighter
15. Foxy Brown
16. Cabin Fever
17. Unstoppable
18. Philadelphia
19. Pleasantville
20. Swamp Thing
21. The Mechanic
22. State Of Grace
23. Black Christmas
24. One Hour Photo
25. Død Snø (Dead Snow) 
26. Paranormal Activity 2
27. Synecdoche, New York 
28. Waiting For "Superman"
29. CSA: The Confederate States of America
30. Casino Jack & The United State of Money

Kenapa

Kenapa setiap kali bila seseorang cakap kat kawan dia yang dia tak mandi lagi, kawan dia mesti cakap "Eee, busuknya!" walaupun dia memang tak bau busuk pun?

*****

Kenapa kita rasa geli bila seseorang tu cuci dubur dia dengan tisu sebab takde air? Kalau orang yang diajar mencuci dubur dia dengan tisu sejak kecil mesti rasa geli bila dia dapat tau yang ada orang lain cuci dubur dengan tangan & air, kan?

*****

Oh, semester ni aku berkesempatan mengambil kelas ballroom dancing (tari-menari) untuk memenuhi keperluan general education aku (aku suka sistem pendidikan universiti kat sini sebab selain kelas-kelas wajib dalam jurusan masing-masing, aku ada kebebasan untuk memilih kelas-kelas lain untuk memenuhi keperluan seperti sains sosial, kemanusiaan, sukan & rekreasi, seni dll). Kelas ni hanya 1.5 kredit dan berlangsung dua kali seminggu tetapi memang seronok ah. Setakat ni aku dah belajar tiga jenis tarian - waltz, swing & foxtrot. Waltz dan foxtrot lebih klasik dimana setiap pergerakan dan rangka tarian tu agak terkawal dan ketat. Aku lagi swing sebab tarian dia lebih "longgar" dan pergerakan dia lebih "cool." Paling best, aku dapat menari kepada irama "rock n' roll" seperti lagu "Rock Around The Clock" dendangan Bill Haley & The Comets. Aku tak sabar nak belajar salsa, tango & cha-cha nanti. Hmm, nanti aku akan paksa teman wanita aku belajar tarian-tarian ni. 

 *****

Bangsat. Boleh pulak sejuk balik. Dah turun ke takat beku pulak. Tiba-tiba, keinginan untuk melapah aiskrim & menghirup latte ais Dunkin' Donuts memuncak.

Travelogue Atlanta: Spring Break Special

Recently during spring break, I went down to Atlanta, GA with my mates from PSU's American Society For Microbiology. We visited the Center For Disease Control (CDC), volunteered three days for Habitat For Humanity building houses & met some new people along the way. All great times, right? Yes, but these memories made it greater.

March 9

• 6:02 pm - Saw a dude jumped the "Repair" sign of an escalator & proceeded to run down the out-of-order escalator.
• 7:12 pm - Lauren hugged her jacket tightly & wishing she brought along her pepper spray when walking around a shady-looking part of town.
• 8:27 pm - "Que?" Response of the shopkeeper when I asked her where the peanut butter was.

March 10

• 7:40 am - Amalina dressed-up as if she's like a kid going to school (or at least Atlanta Metropolitan College).
• 8:08 am - After traveling by train & bus using the MARTA seven-day pass  from the hotel to the build site, Juan asked "How do we get back?"
• 4:30 pm - Seven teenage girls being very, very raucous at the back of the bus with random sing-a-longs got warned by the bus driver twice.
• 4:39 pm - One of the seven aforementioned noisy brats somehow fell down the stairs at the train station.

March 11

• 7:37 am - Some voodoo-looking lady was preaching about "Jesus Christ" on the train & was asking for donations.
• 8:31 am - Improvisation 101: trashbag poncho!
• 1:24 pm - Dan being adamant that the English system was better than the Metric system in face of strong opposition by everybody else.
• 7:24 pm - Saw a dude wearing a Penn State hoodie at The Vortex at midtown Atlanta.
• 10:43 pm - Akmal mengigau. 'Nuff said.

March 12

• 8:45 am - Everyone NEARLY didn't get out of the train at Inman Park. Tired and sleepy, perhaps?
• 9:00 am - Ilham kena kacau by some dodgy-looking dude.
• 9:13 am - Same dodgy dude sat beside Ammar on the bus and proceeded to fart at him.
• 1:59 pm - "This is Atlanta, it ain't New York baby!" A woman teaching some crowd manner of getting in and out of the train at Five Points station.
• 2:04 pm - A Penn State t-shirt sold at a sports shop at Underground Atlanta, that looks eerily similar to Sg. Wang Plaza.
• 2:10 pm - Met some Indonesians who were selling cajun food, of all places!
• 3:34 pm - Amalina randomly stepping on bricks with names etched on it for no apparent reason at the Olympic Park.
• 4:04 pm - Saw the first Jew in Atlanta in front of Coca-Cola World!
• 6:59 pm - "They get nervous with no brown people around" Free talking about Lauren & Dan who were left at the supermarket. In a Black neighborhood.
• 10:17 pm - Lauren grabbed Ammar's arm after claiming that a dude we passed while walking to the bus stop were checking her out twice.

March 13

• 6:55 am - Cool view of the sunrise from the train.
• 8:02 am - Saw a street named "Tiger Flowers Drive."
• 4:42 pm - Waved back from the bus at a dude who was randomly waving at the bus.
• 4:44 pm - Saw an intersection of "Gun Club Rd" & "Hollywood Rd."
• 6:51 pm - Ilham made a joke about trytophan which nobody understood.

Travelogue Miami: A Collection Of Random Memorable Moments

Inspired by Shazwan's obsessive-compulsive desire to record every interesting non-touristy moment during our travels in Texas, I did my own travelogue for the recent winter break trip to Miami, FL added with some interesting statistics (no entry for December 28 since I totally forgot about keeping tabs with my journal).

December 27

•  1:37 pm} "Gun or no gun, don't go." - desk staff Charlie's take on visiting Little Haiti.
  

December 29

• 9:04 pm} Our Key West tour guide Pieter "hijacked" a Toyota Yaris that blocked our tour bus and moved the car to an adjacent lane.
  

December 30

• 8:02 am} I got scolded by the scary hostel housekeeper ("Don't make no mess!") for misplacing the sugar although it was only 2 inches from its original postion. Boycotted the next seven free meals the hostel offered.
• 12:27 pm} "Don't you ever show that knife at me or I'll shoot your fucking head off!" - A police officer's response to a hobo who literally showed at knife at him on Ocean Drive.
• 4:37 pm} Two African-Americans, presumably poor, were at each other's throats on the bus as one of one them was clearly unhappy at the other for showing-off a.k.a. being a "bad boy."
• 7:50 pm} Shanaz got barked at by a dog for running to the public bathroom.
• 10:27 pm} Govind kantoi going out alone to the ocean front by hiding behind a traffic light post while the rest were at the hotel.
• 11:14 pm} Ganu put down three Queens after Na'el put down two Queens while playing bluff.

December 31

• 2:05 am} Shulhi lost bluff three times in a row; had to gulp down the wretched peanut butter smoothie.
• 11:43 am} Saw a hobo sunbathing by the coconut trees at Ocean Drive.
• 1:47 pm} "Well, yeah I had to endure the wrath of the cleaning lady" - dorm roomate Nik after being taught a lesson in cleanliness by the aforementioned cleaning lady.
• 2:40 pm} Saw an African-American, presumably in his 20's, belting out an R&B song by the sidewalk on Ocean Drive.
  
• 3:56 pm} Aizuddin & I saw our first orthodox Jew driving an SUV at Washington & 5th.
• 4:05 pm} "Yesterday my friend Stephanie called & asked 'What should I wear?' and I said, 'A dress of course!'" - some random woman by the beach.
• 4:53 pm} Got bitten by the first mosquito seen in Miami.
• 5:09 pm} Aizuddin & I noticed that Ari & Harris' hostel is "smoker central."

January 1

• 12:42 am} "I'm not yelling at you!!!" - One dude, very high/drunk, yelling at his friend.
• 2:00 pm} Ari kena burger on South Beach!
• 10:28 pm} Aizuddin's attempt at throwing a water bottle into the trash can failed, despite his experience at playing basketball.

January 2

• 3:54 am} Aizuddin was rambling about how the hostel desk staff white-out our names from the guest list soon after he woke up from his nap at the airport.

My Top 10 Albums Of The Decade

Yes! It's the time of the year for people to do lists & one list I won't be doing is "My New Year's Resolution" because face it, you'll be trying to break each and every one of those resolutions you wrote down before the end of next year. So, since this will be the end of the first decade of the noughties, I'll wrap it up with my best ten albums that holds dear to my heart & are musically, if not culturally, significant to the masses.

 











Green Day - American Idiot (2004)  
Green Day was the first ever band I listened to when I got into music & when this album came out I said to myself: this is the rock opera of the 21st century. Clocking at nearly an hour, this album takes you through the life of Jesus of Suburbia filled with hope & despair in typical three-cord punk rock fashion. All songs were solid but what surprised me was their two 9-minute epics "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming" that consist of five medleys played furiously non-stop, not letting me catch a breather at all. 
Favorite tracks: Letterbomb, Whatsername, Jesus of Suburbia.

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005)
Move aside The Killers, the real post-punk revivalists are none other than London's Bloc Party. First introduced by my cousin, it took a while to get into their groove but when it clicked, I just got hooked to it. Blending intense guitar rhythms, tight drum beats & Kele Okereke's hallowing voice, "Silent Alarm" also packs a punch with socio-political messages in their lyrics e.g. "Helicopter" is basically a bash on George W. Bush ["Just like his dad, just like his dad (the same mistakes); some things will never be different"].
Favorite tracks: Helicopter, This Modern Love, Pioneers.

Butterfingers - Selamat Tinggal Dunia (2005)
I dare say that this was the album that sparked Malaysia's indie music scene three years later. Although panned by the local media,they made a right move in shedding their Nirvana-esque 90's grunge & took their experimental progressive folk a step further by launching a full-Malay album. The result: an absolute bliss of fusion  between their brand of music with Malay culture e.g. "Tentang-Tentang" was adapted from a traditional Malay tune ("Geylang Si Paku Geylang") and turned into a protest-folk song.
Favorite tracks: Daulat Tuanku, Selamat Tinggal Dunia, Kabus Ribut 

The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)
There's only one word to describe this album: monu-fucking-mental. Everyone thought "Fell In Love With A Girl" was a one-off hit for them but they came back with a big one. It's garage rock at its purest with Meg White pummelling the drums & Jack White plucking the guitar strings like the gods of rock riding on a thunderstorm. Case in point: the  mind-blowing "Ball & Biscuit" intertwines calm verses with gargantuan rollicking guitar solos by the male half of The White Stripes.
Favorite tracks: Ball & Biscuit, The Hardest Button To Button, There's No Home For You Here.

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) 
These Sheffield lads' debut album took the whole world by storm because 1) they used the internet to give away free songs and 2) they're just that good. What makes them differ from the rest of the garage/post-punk pack is their relentless tempo, that sexy Yorkshire accent & even more relentless tempo although they can tone down a bit with songs like "Riot Van" & fan favorite "Mardy Bum." Perfect album if you want to go mental.
Favorite tracks: A Certain Romance, I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor, Dancing Shoes.

Explosions In The Sky - Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever (2001) 
Truth be told, I became a fan of post-rock about two years ago but once I understood it, it's one of the best genres of music there is; this brings me to Explosions. They are a four-man orchestra that craft amazing songs that will evoke all kinds of emotions in you & you will always experience something new every time you play it. This album was my choice because out of all the five albums they released, somehow this one just gets me. 
Favorite tracks: Greet Death, Have You Passed Through This Night?, The Moon Is Down

 Couple - Top Of The Pop (2006)

I wanted to put in Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut but once I remembered Couple, there's no way Walcott's gonna get out of Cape Cod. "Happy, clappy but not crappy" aptly describes this band and their brand of power-pop is just a joy to behold; you just can't not dance to their music. Although the lyrics are cheesy, but hey who cares? This album is the best remedy when you're down. From "Now That I Can See" to "Are You Ready", your frown is guaranteed to turn into one big smile.

Favorite tracks: Now That I Can See, Rock N Roll, Tentang Kita 

 

Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002)
Before they started to spew mediocre mainstream rubbish, Coldplay was actually a pretty legit band. "Parachutes" was a breakthrough phenomenon but I had to go with their sophomore effort as this album layed-down the "Coldplay sound", stamping their own genre on the music industry. From the thunderous opener "Politik" to the maniacal "A Rush of Blood to the Head", this is Coldplay at its peak.
Favorite tacks: Politik, Green Eyes, A Rush Of Blood To The Head. 
  
 











Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
I'm not a fan of dance music, but dance-able music, now that's an interesting proposition. Scotland's very own art-rock outfit Franz Ferdinand got me first sucked in to their infectious  rhythms with their debut single "Take Me Out" that started out in typical indie strumming fashion before breaking out into an "everybody move!" moment. Yup, even when I'm doing assignments on my laptop while listening to them, I'll still imagine shaking meself on the dancefloor.
Favorite tracks: Take Me Out, Darts Of Pleasure, 40'.

Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)
Everyone's favorite animated band continued where they left-off from the self-title debut four years back & its just got better and better. Still having that gritty British feel to it, this album is a musicologist's wet dream with funk/rap ("Dirty Harry"), 80's-dub ("Last Living Souls") & dance ("DARE") mixed into the fray. They also had a "is it the music or are we high?" moment with their last three tracks that featured a spoken word ("Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head") proceeded by a haunting choir ("Don't Get Lost In Heaven" & "Demon Days").
Favorite tracks: Last Living Souls, Dirty Harry, DARE.

Random Ramblings

Random ramblings about whatever is going on in my head right now. Since I haven't updated my blog in a while, I'll try to do it every week by at least giving you five piece of my minds. Oh, don't you just love the beauty of memory, storing and retrieving all those worthless garbage information?

"Non-biotech quote from a biotech instructor of the week: 'Marketing people are the most evil people on the surface of the earth, they bring to the downfall of civilization' - M.T."

 "Whoever does that two-finger peace sign (V) in a picture should have those two fingers cut off."

"My parents are evil. Yesterday morning (Malaysia time), my dad lied to my grandmother (who's living with us) that I was in a deep financial crisis causing me to live in hunger and poverty. This made her breakdown and cried, immediately called me to check on my well-being; yes, she was literally sobbing and at first I thought she was faking it. Oh, pity too my sister too who just woke up and was absolutely clueless to the hoohaa in the kitchen."

"Things To Do In America #49: buy local produce i.e. apple cider from the Amish - check."

"My housemate's criteria of a Malaysian being 'Americanized': the ability to wear a t-shirt and pants/shorts without bringing along a hoodie or sweater during fall."

"Whatever that can be put on the bread, will be put on the bread."

"I know I'm a non-conformist. But I now realize that when I'm in a group of non-conformists, I'll try my best to be THE non-conformist of that group. Individuality at its best."

"I've been playing Vampire Weekend's "A-Punk" all week long. Fucking catchy song, that is. Oh, and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" too."

"Facebook Statuses of the Week: "Biar mati anak, jangan mati pucuk" - A.A. & "Don't worry, be hippies" - S.I." 

"Now that my hair is long (nearly shoulder length), I think I wanna try the wet look."

"Understood only by Penn State students: you know that person is a freshmen when he/she looks both ways on College Ave."

Movies I've Seen This Summer

In between those days I went traveling or hanging out along the Eastern Seaboard, I spend my time in State College by receiving a movie education; if you'd notice I had periods where I was digging into noir films (no. 3 - 9) & Spaghetti Westerns (no. 23 - 26). Hopefully next summer I'll find other stuff to do other than going on a movie binge.

1. Serpico
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Double Indemnity
4. Sunset Boulevard
5. The Big Sleep
6. Once Upon A Time In America
7. LA Confidential
8. Citizen Kane
9. The Postman Always Rings Twice
10. Vertigo
11. Once Upon A Time In The West
12. A Fistful Of Dynamite
13. Barton Fink
14. Metropolis
15. A Streetcar Named Desire
16. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
17. 12 Angry Men
18. Requiem For A Dream
19. Forrest Gump
20. Paths Of Glory
21. The Wild One
22. Wall Street
23. A Fistful of Dollars
24. For A Few Dollars More
25. Django
26. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
27. Supersize Me
28. The Truman Show
29. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
30. El Orfanato
31. American Psycho
32. Training Day

Summer '09: Receving My First (Mistaken) Racial Remark

As the title goes, I can cross that off my list of things to experience in America. My 11-months uncut hair has given me the license to look like a Hispanic. Hence, the "(Mistaken)" in my post. The story goes like this:

I was waiting in line for the 126 NJ Transit bus to Hoboken at Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal after enjoying the night at Roseland Ballroom watching Rise Against and Billy Talent besides moshing to Rancid in between. There I saw this short, half-bald white guy talking to one of the gate operators.

When he was done he passed by in front of me and shoved me with his hand. After walking four to five steps while mumbling something he stopped and said "Papi, fuck you!" Then he left whilst the people lining-up behind were laughing in bewilderment.

I don't know if he's inherently racist or just pissed because USA lost to Mexico 5-0 in yesterday's Gold Cup final (it seems Americans DO care about their soccer) but it's kinda funny though that he totally mistook me as a Hispanic since I'm Asian through and through. It gives me a bad impression on New Yorkers and the city in general: ridiculous parking fees, dearth of public restrooms, people who are less friendly and helpful & now this xenophobe but I can accept that it's just part and parcel of life in metropolitan America.

Green Day 21st Century Breakdown Gig Recap

Finally, I can die a happy person. I have seen the five bands I want to see in America: it started this March with Dropkick Murphys followed by Bruce Springsteen, Explosions In The Sky, Less Than Jake and topped off with the first band that got me into music: Green Day. So, here's the random things I've experienced during & after the concert at the Spectrum, South Philly.

• After the opening act, The Bravery, was done I went to the restroom and saw two girls queueing into the men's. They made a smart choice since they knew that lining up into the women's will take ages & the men's line was pretty quick.
• Five minutes before Green Day started, a giant pink bunny came on the stage with bottles of Miller Lite (I saw it was light blue in color; product placement, duh!). That bunny proceeded to dance around and "drank" the three bottles. Simply weird since there were a lot of kids and teenagers at the show.
• A girl with a red Phillies tee went on stage and was "saved" by "Reverend" Billy Joe Armstrong during the East Jesus Nowhere. I think the girl was really shocked when the pyrotechnics exploded midway through the song.
• A saxophonist came on stage and did a solo during The Static Age & a disco ball descended up on the crowd for Are We The Waiting.
• During the hour mark (the show was more than two & a half hours long), Green Day played the oldest song of the set: 1992 Kerplunk's 2000 Light Years Away. A timeless classic before Dookie made Green Day the band they are.
• King for a day! Princess by dawn. King for a day! In a leather thong. King for a day! Princess by dawn. Just wait till all the guys get a load of me...
• Being totally fan-friendly, they let three fans sing three verses of Longview & for the encore, one fan played guitar for 3/5 of the epic Jesus Of Suburbia!
• While waiting for the train back to Ardmore, I had a chat with an old lady who also went to the show. Apparently, her son bought her a ticket as a Mother's Day present (Oh, she guessed my age as 23. Am I getting old faster...?)

Summer '09: Of Post-Rock At Central Park & The Greyhound Bus

A Soaked Out Post-Rock Gig
Hullo! I just got back from New York City on a short 4-day trip to watch "One of My American Bands To See Before I Die", the majestic quartet Explosions In The Sky from Austin, TX. It was a wet (approx. two hours rain before they came on stage, the only shower I had in New York!) but terrific show with Munaf Rayani, one of the guitarists, playing like a man possessed.

During the show, one idiot shouted "Please....I want First Breath [After Coma]" while everyone else was quietly focusing their ears and minds to another song; this heralded someone to shout "Shut the fuck up!," generating a couple of chuckles towards that mood-spoiler. Nothing feels better than crowd justice.

Greyhound: We're On Our Way
Once I was chatting with this American friend who asked me how I travel from State College to Philadelphia. My succinct answer was "Greyhound" and I got a rather interesting riposte: "Don't homeless people take the Greyhound?" I wasn't able to answer that until this trip. While waiting for my transfer at Harrisburg, PA I came upon a rather friendly guy who gave the ubiquitous remark "How you doin'?" and offered me a smoke which I politely declined. Then, that guy proceeded to chat with a woman beside him telling her that he was homeless because both his parents died in a car crash and he has been going from town to town vying his trade as an odd-job worker.

Shifting aside from this sad but true story, Greyhound with its bus terminals have that bizarre charm of producing all the quirky characters that you can imagine. While waiting for the bus at New York, I glanced upon this middle-aged man pushing his elderly mother on a wheelchair towards the departure gate. They were there for some time and suddenly were gone for about 20 minutes. When they came back again, the man was wearing a glittery red dress that was quite tight around the waist (to show his curves?!?) and had lipstick on. I don't know if it's a gag but doing it at 9:30 a.m. during morning rush hour is not the right time to prove a point. Fortunately, both went missing again and didn't board the bus to Harrisburg.

In the bus, I had the privilege to chat with this girl who came from Montreal, Canada to visit her family down at Newark, NJ. We had some small talk about our backgrounds and also about music whereby she put on a baffled face when I mentioned "Explosions In The Sky" and I envied her for being able to be part of Coachella (at least I still have All Points West to look forward to). Even though I have answered my friend's question about the nature of this bus company, I would say that it is more than just homeless people using it to get around. It is like a meeting point of people's journey through their lives: you have tales of sorrows, the downright weirdos and the formation of friendships.

Well, there you have it. The many faces of Greyhound.

Summer '09: Backpacking America (Part II)

Hello again. After filling my last five days watching 1940's American noir movies (Humphrey Bogart is the coolest actor of his time; he gets the ladies twice as fast as James Bond could), it is high time for me to continue on my tales during my travels.

Free Spirit
One of the many quirks that singles me out from the rest of my friends is my liking on traveling alone. Words that would come out of their mouth upon hearing that I'm going solo include "Wouldn't it be boring traveling all these places all by yourself?", "Wouldn't it be kind of dangerous; what if something happens to you?" and my favorite, "Ko gila ke?"

Well, my first dose of this kind of travel actually happened on a cold December night at England. I was at London for 12 days with my friend and his family during my school holidays & while walking around Tottenham Court Road, I stumbled upon this booth selling concert tickets and one my favorites during that time (2004) was The Darkness was performing at Wembley Arena. Since my pal wasn't interested, I decided to head to Wembley all by myself.

After the concert ended around 10 pm, I took the bus from the arena to Wembley Central and passed by ghettoes upon ghettoes of outer London which are creepy and dodgy at night. Anything you thought that could go wrong might just happen. I had to get off at a stop to transfer buses that'll take me to the city and whaddya know, behind the bus stop was a cemetery! I don't know how or why but I didn't feel scared a bit.I got on the second bus, passing more ghettoes, eventually reaching home safe & sound. So, I thought to myself: why not I do this more often? Of course it has its risks but its all fun!

Back to that favorite question, I answer "Yes. Aku gila." Since I had survived that episode when I was only 16 years of age, then of course its worth a shot doing it again someplace else. Well, since I've already grown-up to the "old enough" age of 21, I've gotten less daring and more philosophical about it. I see myself as a lone ranger who travels from town to town just wanting to grab the juice of knowledge out of that place; meanwhile, I'll befriend other traveling compadres and just hang out with them till my time has come. Once the bottle of juice is full & everyone parts with smiling goodbyes, I'll just move on to the next joint. Pardon the Wild West pun, I was thinking of Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad & The Ugly while doing this post.

And yes! It's true; New Orleans was the best time of my life. The hostel had a great atmosphere where people can lepak and just have a chat and it even culminated to a get together of mostly strangers and acquaintances from all around the world (dominated by Brits, they seem to be everywhere!) and we headed out to Frenchman St to check out the scene over there for a crazy Memorial Day weekend night-out. On another occasion, our group consisted of a couple of Germans and Dutch with a Canadian, an(other) English, a Danish and me, a Malaysian. Talk about multicultural!

There are a lot of untold (not untold really, just don't wanna bore you) benefits of traveling as a free spirit other than forming a web of networks with people from around the world. I'm not gonna force you on doing it but if you get the chance, try it once. At least for a short trip. An unexpected twist to your adventure or a wacky compadre could just etch an everlasting memory to your mind.

Summer '09: Backpacking America (Part I)

Greetings people of cyberspace. I have recently completed my 29-day journey of Austin, San Antonio, New Orleans and Pittsburgh and am safely back in rural central Pennsyvlania that is of State College. This serialized post would not be a detailed experience of what I did throughout my trip but what I learned as I skipped from city to city.

Stereotyping Stereotypes

Before we begin, if I say the word "Texas" what would be the first things to come to your mind? My guess would be cowboys, desert, George W. Bush & rednecks. Thanks to television and the silver screen all of us just simply know how a typical Texan look like: a gun-toting, horse-riding, take-no-for-an-answer, tough guy. Well, my experience at Austin seemed to disprove any stereotype I had before. One of my acquantainces whom I met during my travels told me that "Austin is a liberal oasis smacked in the middle of a huge conservative desert." How true he is.

Throughout my five days at Austin, I didn't see anyone wearing full cowboy gear except the occasional hat & contrary to the fact, people over there do not speak with a Southern accent. If you were to meet an Austinite in any other state, you wouldn't have guessed that person to be from Texas. It was only during my second last night at Austin that I finally savored the accent from a waitress at a Mexican restaurant at SoCo but there was still a suspicion that she might come from Oklahoma or Alabama.

Besides that, people over there are very friendly (think Southern hospitality) and modern; one example would be while I was paying for my falafel at Whole Foods Market, a quite high-end supermarket that sells local and organic food, the cashier had a chat with me about my t-shirt which portrayed the post-rock band Explosions In The Sky and when we shifted to the topic of music festivals in America, he told me he had been to Coachella six times! Really made me felt like a rookie.

Fat Americans
Another stereotype that citizens of other nations like to make fun about or to express disgust is Americans are a bunch of fat and lazy sods. True. BUT this premise only holds in the southern states. I was quite shocked to see a proportional number of fat people at Austin, San Antonio & New Orleans as compared to when I went to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City; one glaring reason for this apparent quantity of large people per square mile is down to their diet.

Food in the south is the best that you can get: steaks are in abundance, hence making it their staple and almost everything that can be deep-fried will be deep-fried while up north people tend to be more health conscious and have more variety to choose from. However, the media would spin it around and generalize that all Americans are overweight. This is a hasty surmise since their diet has already become part of their lifestyle and as far as economics is concerned, demand would not diminish as long as there is cheap supply.

Reporting From America! #3

Thanksgiving break is upon me: after nearly three months of laboring through the semester, the obligatory one-week semester break has begun! I am set for Philadelphia on Sunday, visiting my friends at Temple University & probably hanging out with my Cell Biology classmate, Antwoine. Before setting off on my adventure to the city (State College is a small town), here are some pros and cons of working and living in America.

PROS!
The First Amendment

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

In short, the freedom of speech. Americans proudly defend their democracy by saying that the country is founded on the rights of every American citizens to speak out whatever they want; from appraisals to criticisms. My American friends told me that if they lambast their own country and government e.g. "I hate America!" or "America sucks!" they would not get any form of censure or punishment because they are protected by the constitution.

Although this might seem crazy and alien to other people, I am a proponent for free speech. Walking around campus and downtown, I would sometimes see people holding placards advocating same-sex marriage, activists spreading anti-sweatshop pamphlets and even a pro-Palestinian group waving their nation's flag and shouting for the freedom of their motherland. Besides, my university even have its own resident preacher, famously known as the Willard Preacher, he would hang out in front of the Willard building preaching to students on his view of his faith which is Christianity and most of the times students would hang out and debate with him on his ideals.

I strongly believe that we should be given the right to exercise free speech because the benefits outweigh the harms. Although there are instances whereby certain parties abuse this amendment to spread hate and propaganda, the vast majority choose to use it in a responsible and sensible manner. Modern society is rapidly progressing intellectually and I'd hope that more and more people of the world will be aware of this great power and fight for their rights of free speech. You can obliterate a person's body but you will never stem his ideals.

Science & Teknology
Even though America is one of the 'youngest' countries in the world and still an evolving culture, it has improved leaps and bounds in terms of research, development and innovation of technology. Just say any type of industry and there always seems to be a top American corporation in the list. Other civilizations have laid the ground work and currently Americans are at the forefront of using all these knowledge to drive the enhancement of human life.

Pertaining to biotechnology and the like, America has managed to produce a great number of scientists in various fields of biology incessantly finding ways to cure a disease or to increase crop yield. As a future scientist, Insya Allah, these are exciting times for me as more and more new discoveries are being made and the rate of advancement in almost all fields of biology is reaching hyperdrive. One must make sure not to miss out in this new age of discovery.

CONS!
SiCKO
The title of Michael Moore's shocking (as all his documentaries are) expose on America's health care system. In fear of making medicine "socialized", this overtly capitalistic country shun the calls for a Universal Health Care system whereby all citizens in this country are entitled to free health services paid for by the government. Instead, you'd get this bunch of medicare insurance companies squeezing the people out of their pockets.

If you want to get treatment at clinic or hospital, you must have insurance BUT these so-called "caring" insurance corporations will find any means and ways to make sure they WON'T cover your ailment. Contrary to the concept of helping people become healthier, more and more people are dying because they are paying the premium and grossly expensive medical fees for the sickness their insurance company won't provide. In short, if you don't have money you might as well die.

HATE TEXAS...I MEAN TAXES
It seems that over here everything is taxed. As I have alluded in my previous post, everything here is taxed. You won't get it in restaurants because you will be tipping $14 to the waitress! Recent examples are taxes on your salary which is a lot: local, state and federal taxes must be taken off your monthly salary in the order of 10-15%. What is more ridiculous is that my friend who bought a car from a private seller (not from a dealership) also has to pay tax! 'Nuff said.

So, here are my recent (3 months) observation on this country called America. As time goes by, the more I learn about how things work here, I shall report to you as soon as possible and maybe my opinions on the matters above could change. This is Danial Ariff, signing off!

Post-Rock: Savior Of My Soul

I don't know why but suddenly I feel tired. Lethargic. Fatigue.

I walk everyday to class.
I take care of what I eat.
I have enough sleep.

But at the end of the day, I feel nonchalant and melancholic. I feel that there is nothing to look forward to during the weekends. The only thing to be excited for would be the upcoming tests and assignments in the next couple of weeks. Life is like a clockwork: it resets when the clock strikes 12. I have had this experience before during a certain point in the semester when I felt that my vigor and enthusiasm abandoning me, my energy dissipating to the cosmos & my passion being blunted by the sharp knives of boredom.

This is where post-rock comes in. You might dismiss it as a mere four or five-piece band playing pointless instrumental music for 5-10 minutes without any vocals but it is more than that. Simon Reynolds, the person responsible in coining this genre, defines post-rock as "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords." In layman's term, post-rock is magic.

The difference between this genre with other genres is that it enters deep down into your soul and connects with your feelings. If you are in emotional turmoil, rather than playing other genres of music I'd rather you give post-rock a chance. For example, if you put on Kelly Clarkson's Behind These Hazel Eyes it is YOU who has to listen to what the singer wants to express meaning that you don't really have an outlet to pour your anger, frustration or disappointment. She doesn't really care about what's going on in your mind. On the other hand, if you press play on your iPod to Explosion In The Sky's First Breath After Coma you can just take a deep breathe and THE SONG will be the one listening to your problems, nodding along to what you have to express.

It helps you to step back and think about what you have done or what happened. It helps you calm down and not to react harshly without thinking. It helps you to vent your pent-up anger which you are dying to release. It helps you to shed your tears which you held back for so long. It gives you time and space for you to work out a solution. It gives you hope and strength to weather the storm ahead. It gives you back your real self.

I am currently listening to Deepset's Every Instance Of Time Is A Journey Through Hope. As the title suggests, hopefully by the end of this weekend I will be rejuvenated and raring to go battle through the coming winter which will be dark, long and cold.

Finally, Encounter With Drunk Americans!

It was one of my mini-goals to accomplish when I came to the United States of America: observe the drunken culture of people over there! Here is a brief encounter of me and my friend Naim, with three Mat Sallehs while walking back home from campus (oh, we went to watch an improv comedy group!) around midnight:

Drunk 1: (Saw Naim with pizza boxes in his hand) Hey, looks like you have more than one pizza over there.

Naim: Yeah, but both are for my friends back home.

Drunk 2: That's alright, man. By the way, do you guys know where Hamilton Avenue is?

Danial: Yeah, it's just down this road.

Drunk 1: I'll take your word for that man. We'll just follow them while they drop bits and pieces of pizza to us.

Everyone: Hahahahahahahaha...

Then, Naim asked me "Ko tau ke jalan ke Hamilton Avenue ni?" and I replied "Tak salah aku kat depan ni je. Kalau salah, cabut lah!" We then proceeded to walk our usual fast pace leaving the group of three drunkards behind and fortunately for us there was a group of girls walking towards us. They passed us but got stopped by the gang of three. Then, we never looked backed again...

The Forces Of Nature Are Against Me

I am baffled. Amazed. Bewildered. It is as if I have done some injustice in this world and by karma, I get punished by it. As they say, "What goes around comes around." Have I made enemies among my friends? Have I deliberately kicked a dog or cut down a tree? Have I thought about any ill intentions in doing something despicable towards mankind?

Why is it that everytime when I am walking to campus the pedestrian "WALK" sign turns to "STOP"? There are two junctions on the way to campus: South Allen St-Beaver Avenue cross junction & South Allen St-College Avenue T-junction whereby every day, every SINGLE day I approach these two junctions I am halted by the "red" man. Usually, when I am in sight of the junction the "WALK" sign will suddenly flash. Thinking that I could make it across the road, I walked with my usual pace. However, when I was halfway through to the traffic lights the countdown timer began starting from 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...

And whaddya know when I arrived exactly under the traffic lights at the cross junction, the countdown was over and I had to stop or else I would get run down by one of those solid, monstrous Ford Heavy Duty pick-up trucks. And same goes when I arrived at the second junction. It's as if these traffic lights are playing around with me; they are mocking and laughing at me when I huffed & puffed towards them and in the end I'll just end up waiting for the "red" man to go away. You may call me paranoid but this is a REAL LIFE event. I'll get my revenge. Wait till I get my chainsaw and we'll see the "red" man turn to "yellow." Hehehe.

First Ramadhan In America

As I have completed 30 days of fasting during the holy month of Ramadhan in America, I feel somewhat rejuvenated rather than feeling relieved that it was over. Probably it was due to some of my American & international friends who was amazed that I could NOT eat or drink anything from dawn till dusk for 30 straight days!

"I don't know how you guys can do it; if it was me I'll probably die!"
- Angelos Nicolaou

Words of bewilderment from my Greek classmate who knows what it's like to fast as he lived in Saudi Arabia before. My American friends whom I met through The Asylum (gig organizers under Penn State) were also surprised about how tight the restrictions during fasting was but they were really supportive. I would say that their reactions gave me the impetus to fast as I feel these people really appreciate those who have the mental strength to go through this yearly ritual whereas in Malaysia it is like a normal, obligatory thing to do.

Another interesting observation is that the Eid Mubarak celebrations here are low-key although we have a considerable numbers of Muslims in the area. On the first day of Syawal, we all head to the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center which is on-campus to perform our Eid prayers and listen to the khutbah. After that, we would all wish each other a happy Eid Mubarak and have a light breakfast. I do not know how grand Eid is celebrated back in their home country but as I see it here, they don't seem to emphasize on making it a "big" thing unlike in Malaysia.

The justification by Malaysians that Eid must be celebrated 30 days since fasting in Ramadhan was observed for 30 days is unfounded. It is as if that Malaysians feel that Ramadhan is more of a burden than a blessing whereby we are released from our "shackles" come Syawal; although the choice of word I used sounds offensive it is what I have experienced too every year back in Malaysia: I somehow felt glad that Ramadhan is over and done with. However, this year I have gained a new, different perspective on the significance of Ramadhan. It is the month where we have to sacrifice a lot of things to get Allah's blessings and don't expect to get anything in return when Eid comes because we shall be rewarded in the hereafter.

One bad habit prevailing among Malaysians during Eid is that more and more of us are jumping into the "open-house" bandwagon. I know that the niat of doing an open-house is always good i.e. to strengthen the bonds of friendship and family but if people start competing on making grand open-houses, these good intentions won't be accepted by Allah. Another habit the hosts would do is to always provide a lot of or even too much food for his guests. It is good to show goodwill towards your guests but providing them with a long buffet table of local dishes which will eventually won't finish is just wrong. Coupled that with 10-20 open houses invitations we get and the amount of food being thrown away is enormous! We have to remember that there are thousands, millions perhaps of Muslims around the world celebrating Eid in poverty i.e. without food or shelter.

Thus, in sharing their burden, I decided to take the optional six days of fasting from the 2nd day of Syawal till the 7th; it is just a small token compared to what they are going through. I hope that you would take up this chance being offered by Allah so as to cleanse your mind, body and soul. This past month in America has opened my eyes on the true meaning of Ramadhan which is about self-sacrificing yourself for the hereafter and restraining yourself from self-indulgence when this holy month has passed.

Reporting From America! #2

How's it going? Hehehe. In this second part of my expose on America, I shall talk a little bit on the Americans themselves! Since you know a little bit of how this country works in my first report, now I have some things to kutuk, I mean, to say about this bunch of people who we usually see in our well-loved cinemas (FYI, there aren't any cinemas at State College. The nearest is at Nittany Mall which is 20 minutes by bus from downtown. It's weird people here seem to like to place shopping malls in the middle of nowhere):

FASHION SENSE
People in State College, including Penn State students do not have a proper fashion sense. I know that this town isn't really a fashion capital and the "dress code" here is laid back but all they wear is our university's t-shirts which I would say is kinda monotonous in color (white, blue, grey & colorful/hippie). I wanted to buy the "I Heart PSU" tee but unfortunately it's only for girls. Well, hopefully that designers and manufacturers of Penn State's merchandise can be more creative in the future by having a much larger variety in colors and designs. Walking along College Avenue seeing these people wearing the same tees with the same boring colors makes me depressed.

LAMA TAK BERBAHASA MALAYSIA
Due to the nature of this second post, I think it is better for me to blurb in proper but awkward Malay. Here it goes: saya ingatkan orang Amerika bijak sangat. Kalau tidak pun mereka ini rajin dan mempunyai semangat ingin tahu dalam mata pelajaran yang diambil. Namun, selepas mengharungi satu bulan di sini saya mengamati bahawa mereka tidak seperti yang dikatakan. Sebagai contoh, rakan semakmal saya dalam kelas Fizik (dua orang perempuan) tidak membuat sebarang persiapan untuk melakukan aktiviti makmal dari segi teori dan langkah-langkah yang perlu dilakukan. Akhirnya, kami terpaksa mengambil masa yang lama untuk menyiapkan aktiviti yang boleh dikatakan mudah itu. It's not that I'm belittling them but it shows that over here, likewise in Malaysia, there are lazy and hardworking students. It's just that I haven't met any geniuses or 4.0 flatters yet but as they say, first impression (kinda) counts.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
I'm not that always mean so here's one thing which surprises me about them: after all the 9/11 hoo-haa about Muslim terrorists attacking their country, Americans seem pretty laid back about Islam & Muslims! So far, I haven't seen any form of discrimination or threats against Muslims, especially Arabs and the Americans whom I have met and know are pretty open to me being a Muslim. If I told them that I don't drink because of my religion, they would understand that. However, they don't seem to be that curious about Islam but sometimes I would tell them about praying, fasting etc just to give them some insight on how Islam works. Over here, as long as your don't overstep the border, everyone's fine.

SOMETHING TOTALLY UNRELATED BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO READ
Just wanna say that I have gone to my second gig at Sozo where I saw locals bands perform. I'm now slowly getting into the scene and next weekend there'll be a battle of the bands! Woo-hoo!

Reporting From America!

The auspicious date of 080808 was the date I arrived at the Land Of Hope & Dreams, America. A land for my hope to graduate with a degree in Biotechnology and for my dreams to become a scientist since I was small....ZzzZzzZzzz. I do not want to talk about my studies here in State College, PA as it won't be the first question my friends ask about America since they are more interested in knowing the "culture" there although America is considered a "new" country. Hence, here are some musings on the American way of life:

PERFECTLY NORMAL
America's a little bit like Singapore in terms of cleanliness & obedience towards the law except Singapore is freakishly clean and from one of those novelty t-shirts, a "fine" city. Here it's clean too but you can still see a couple of rubbish by the sidewalk people do use the pedestrian crossings & not blindly cross the road anywhere they like (oh, how I miss Malaysia!) but sometimes they would cross the street when there are no cars even when the "STOP" sign is flashing which is an abomination in Singapore. These examples make Americans pretty normal human beings: you bend the law but not break 'em.


HANDPHONES & NETWORK OPERATORS
Over here, you can't just buy a handphone per se; you have to buy it with a plan. So, if you decide to buy a phone and take up a plan with one of the network operators here (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon etc), your phone will bear the logo of that network operator. Sucks, huh? Feels like our phones are like tools of advertisements ("This phone is sponsored by T-Mobile"). However, the best bit is the phone plans whereby these network operators here epitomizes capitalism: maximum profit. I'm currently using an AT&T prepaid whereby the deal (Pay As You Go) is like this:

• $1.00 airtime/day if I call any AT&T number. If I don't, I don't need to pay the airtime fee.
• I get unlimited minutes if I call any AT&T number i.e. doesn't matter how long or short I still pay $1.00/day.
  
• Additional $0.10/minute if I call other network operators.
• Additional $0.15/text message.

Sounds like an honest, fair deal huh? The catch is even if someone from an AT&T number calls you and you answer it, you have to pay the $1.00 airtime fee reason being that you are using the service. Next, even if you receive a text message from any mobile operator users, you have to pay $0.15 for the same reason. So, if I send you a text message or vice versa both of us have to pay $0.15 each & the mobile operator is the one raking in all the profit! I'm not so sure about the postpaid (called contract over here) plan but most of my friends using it are complaining about the...


TAXES
The confusion over taxes, gratuity & tips is overbearing for a foreigner. If you decide to go out for lunch or dinner at a restaurant, be prepared to pay them tips. Once I had lunch at this Thai restaurant with five of my friends, we had to pay 18% gratuity which was about $14. FOURTEEN DOLLARS TIPS! No wonder the waitress was superbly kind to us. If you go shopping at Walmart you will also get taxed: 6% state tax (in this case Pennsylvania. State taxes differ by states) and dunno how many percent federal tax. Thus, my friends who opt to use the postpaid plan here will have to pay about $10-$15 taxes per month. No wonder this country is rich, people pay taxes for everything!


HOW'S IT GOING?
The culture of meeting & greeting people here is by asking

1. "What's up?"
2. "How are you?"
3. "How's it going?"

and the usual responses would be

1. "Good"
2. "Great"
3. "Excellent"

even if you don't mean it. They don't want to know how or what you are actually doing; as I said just now it's just a greeting. Besides that, people do also say "Have a nice day" or "Have a good night" when leaving and the usual response would be "You too". At first, I find it kind of fake but once I get used to it, it doesn't feel that awkward anymore and find it quite fun since it's a cultural thing like giving salam for Muslims and shaking hands for Malaysians.


CABLE TV
Our landlord "gifted" us free expanded basic cable television for the whole year so we get around 60 channels, which is more than we wished for. Nothing much to say other than I've been watching Family Guy on [adult swim] on weekday nights from 11pm till midnight. Eat my shorts, Homer Simpson!