Blog or Blocked?

Dear Friends,

Did you know that Malaysia has about 500,000 active bloggers, ranking the country among the highest in the world after Indonesia and the European Union? Today is exactly a year, 'WILYEO OR WILYEO NOT' is into its' blogging being. My inaugural blog, 'Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka?', (meaning Independence for my international readers - it is Malaysia's Independence Day today) was somehow nostalgic. In that post, I mull over my younger schooling years, of landing a crush on a Malay girlfriend in school. A Petronas, 'Tan Hong Ming' commercial, if you may.

People blog for various reasons. I blog for my love for linguistics. I blog to express my opinions, have them contested and allow it to be responded in an orderly manner. There are no limits to what I can and can’t blog about. No matter what, I will always love what I am writing about because I get to decide. However, I do not blog about delicate issues which may spark debates and disputes.

If you would observe on the right of this page, I have a bloglist of people whom I follow. I have always had respects for people who can write. The pen is mightier than the sword, if you may. I have a special admiration for KENNY SIA http://www.kennysia.com/ Kenny hails from Kuching, Sarawak in East Malaysia. He is very health conscious and runs marathons. He does not look it as he appears plump in most of his pictures. He spent close to 8 years of his youth growing up in Perth, Australia. Apart from the similarities that I possess with Kenny (being health conscious and being in Perth), I am nowhere near his blogging fame. (todate, he has close to 18 million visitors to his blog) His blogging style is humorous and original.

Another blogger who is impulsive, takes risks, unpredictable and a daredevil is Poh Huai Bin http://www.sixthseal.com/ Huai Bin is probably the first blogger in the world who publicly admits to taking drugs. He has photos and videos to attest to this in his blog doing them. He marvels at why he was never caught, especially when all his personal particulars were open to all and sunder to view on his blog. He was a safe drug user and he always encouraged existing users to practice safer drug use. He has been in and out of rehab and he has been clean for the past two years. By blogging, he is making a difference by bringing harm reduction and knowledge to the masses for dubious knowledge of the substances.

Last week I was invited to the press conference of 'Project Alpha', Malaysia's first online TV show about bloggers. It is a fast paced, fast cut, lifestyle driven online TV show featuring the real faces and lives of Malaysia's top bloggers. This show will take a sneak peek into their lives, who they are, where they live, how they tick and how they derive inspiration to capture the attention of so many online readers to their blogs on a daily basis. Every blogger is unique and they are opinion leaders on celebrity news, fashion trends, travel, entertainment and etc. Every episode will be 3 minutes in length and will air daily for seven weeks on http://www.hitz.fm/ (Hitz Radio Station's website), http://www.nuffnang.com.my/ (Asia Pacific's First Blog Advertising Community) and also YouTube. This will commence September 18, 2009. This project taps into the massive potential of the online market, at a time when the world has become increasingly familiar with YouTube videos and social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.

At the press conference, a question was posed and I addressed the issue on how quickly brands are evolving in the present. I further reiterated that it is not enough to just rely on above-the-line advertising these days. I was asked if it was risky to have bloggers write about a brand when we are not in control of their writings. The answer is this. Every business decision is a risky decision. In this era of blogosphere, can a brand not afford to flow with the bandwagon? With the emergence of digital communications, blogging denotes not just a fun activity for some but also a significant potential marketing solution. Apart from revealing the lifestyles and real faces behind these top bloggers, the purpose of this show is also to inspire up and coming bloggers and encourage them to start their own blog.

If you observed the top and bottom right of this blog, you would realise that I subscribed to Nuffnang and GoogleAds. I recognized that blogging has some income opportunities. Chances are I won’t make millions, or even thousands of dollars blogging. In all likelihood, with real resolve and desire I will make some money to pay for some of my bowling games.

By the way, it was really nice meeting Jojo Struys http://www.jojostruys.com/ , the Producer for Project Alpha and Timothy Tiah http://www.timothytiah.blogspot.com/ , the Co-founder of Nuffnang.

Happy Blogging :)

P/S: It is 1.20am now as I am posting this blog. I started blogging at 9.1opm. For no apparent reason, my entire posting was erased and wiped out as I was loading the pictures. Just imagine the anger and frustration. Such is a life of a blogger, sometimes.

I need to Fart!

Dear Friends,

I am one of those who is real careful with what I eat and drink. A little 'over the top' sometimes with restrictions to better things in life; I don't even drink Coke, for crying out loud! I decided to break rules yesterday morning and decided on a 'cheat day'. I gobbled down three glorious 'Roti Canai Empat Segi' with Dhall curry almost instantly. The taste was just beyond description, kind of like a mouthful orgasm.

As I was facebooking on my laptop in the afternoon, my daughter Charmaine went, "Dad, is that you...AGAIN? - Disgusting!". I love it when I irritate her - 'farting in her face', so to speak. This is my home for goodness sake. I can fart wherever and whenever I want. I find it unnatural if I have to go, "Charmaine, excuse me ar, Daddy is going to fart". Having to 'request for permission' from the few around me, I would have needed to shit by then. In the office, it is similar. Whenever the 'Mamas' are told to stand outside my door to speak to me, they understand and appreciate the 'punishment' of standing at the door.

It is funny that farting has become such a part of our lives that we take this practice for granted. I bet you that when asked why do you fart, you wouldn't have an answer. Did you know that the average person farts 14 times every day? The amount of actual gas released ranges from as little as one cup to as much as one half gallon per day. Gas is made primarily of odorless vapors such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sometimes methane. The unpleasant noxious odor of flatulence comes from bacteria in the large intestine that release small amounts of gases that contain hydrogen sulfide.(smells like sulphur) Contrary to popular belief, women have just as many passages as men, and older people, have no more gas than younger individuals. As much as 80 to 90 percent of rectal gas (flatulence) is formed by bacteria. Eventually these gases exit through the rectum. (arsehole to some:D) Certain foods produce more flatulence than others because they contain more indigestible carbohydrates. Beans are well known gas producers. (Damn, the lentils I ate!) The beans pass through the small intestine and arrive in the large intestine without being digested, which causes flatulence to occur.

Fart - we all have it, and it is a normal part of life. It is a natural result of good digestion. Farting is a more familiar term to many people.(flatulence to the refined educated ones) Most of us try to make light of it so as to not be embarrassed by its occurrence.

So, it is alright to fart. If you have to do it the next time, don't be shy. Among family in your house, you just fart and don't even bother explaining. Around friends, you tell them you just farted and ask, "Why, you don't fart meh?". In the company of strangers, be polite and ask, "Do you mind excusing me, for I need to break wind, as I can feel some intestinal gas aka flatus coming through my rectum? Please don't mind the sound and smell that is coming your way without any sight."

Farting is Embarrassing, but it doesn't have to be!

Long live the sounds of life..."POOOOOOT....!!!"

Gay? I am Not

Dear Friends,

"Amboi, Amboi, Amboi"!!

This is the 'trademarked' salutations TV personality Azwan Ali repeatedly recites. In the newspapers today, he denied being a homosexual.

It sprung up following postings putatively about his gay tendencies he made on his blog. http://silaserazwanali.blogspot.com/

Quote, "Only GOD and my mother knows my sexuality, it is not for me to answer if I am gay or not", unquote. His feeblemindedness for not explicating to the speculation has created even thicker speculations.

Homosexuality is a sexual inclination or tendencies directed towards a person of one's own sex. The prevalence of homosexuality among humans is difficult to determine accurately; studies suggest between two and twenty percent of the population exhibit some degree of homosexual tendency, though in many earlier cultures homosexual relations were highly prevalent. Many homosexuals hide their feelings and activities out of fear of disapproval or violence; they are commonly said to be closeted.

In many cultures, homosexuals are frequently subject to prejudice and discrimination. Closer to home - in Thailand; Kathoey, or "ladyboys," have been a feature of Thai society for many centuries. While Kathoey may encompass simple effeminacy or transvestism, it is most commonly treated in Thai culture as a third gender. They are generally accepted by society, and Thailand has never had legal prohibitions against homosexuality or behavior. There also exists a widely-believed stereotype, even perpetuated within gay culture, that gay men can be identified by a certain accent or way of walking, both of which are perceived as less masculine.

So, Azwan Ali, stop personifying yourself as 'Mak Hayam Gebuss' or 'Azwana Alia'. Personal or imaginary characterizing, you have created an avenue for your own character bashing. You are known in the industry as 'laser mouth' and it is difficult for perpetrators to differentiate what is true and what is over the top.

Can the public accept homosexuality if they are convinced that it is inborn and immutable?

As for me, I think I am 'lesbian' because I still feel for the opposite sex.