Sinatra_Z - Sauna and Manliness

There's something really manly about Saunas..

Imagine,
a bunch of 3 quarter sweaty naked men, with nothing but towel sitting inside a steamy hot room yet not a word can be spoken.

You come in, you sit, you do nothing, you say nothing and when you're done you leave and no one says anything about it.

No talking, no touching, feeling and what not.

Let me define sauna -
A place where half naked sweaty men sit together in a totally heterosexual manner.
In fact even a gay dude would automatically turn straight once he enters a sauna.

It's like a gentlemen code and Sauna is a sacred place where you just sit and sweat.

It's a guy thing.

Sauna = Serious Business

Sinatra_Z - An Answer

Art Harun wrote this in TMI
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/art-harun/43907-enemies-of-the-state


And I answered -

I'm pretty sure,
those starving hard working farmers in India who has to fight drought and fertilizer prices don't give a damn about freedom of speech or expression. It is those comfortably well paid lawyers with some extra time on their hands who are more concerned about these things and write about it.

Meaning,
Before you talk about democracy perhaps it is wise to first elevate the people's (rakyat) quality of living, because like the maslow's hierarchy of needs there are more important things to fulfill before they get to the self actualization level.

India has one of the most open democracy in the world yet the people are still racists. Now what does that tell you, democracy does not make you less racist, education is. In fact during the times of Soviet Union Russians aren't racists at all because communism knows no colour, yet now in a democracy they have the biggest population of skinheads and nazi groups because of economic factor.

If given the chance to an Indian labourer on whether he would prefer to go to Shanghai and lose his democratic rights yet get a good job and stay in Bangalore and be paid peanuts yet he can vote, I think we can pretty much guess the outcome.

And yes Dr M says China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan will lead the charge.
Japan has been ruled by the same party for over 50 years before, South Korea and Taiwan was once ruled by dictators who are horrible in human rights but spur fast economic growth and efficiency during their time.

There is such a thing as too much democracy, look at Pakistan, apart from cricket the national's favourite past time is politics and it is dominated by lawyers, look how screwed up it gets.

On the other hand, China is being ruled by a group of Engineers and they are flying high.

Dr M is a lousy philosopher yes I agree, and that's why people like him because Philosophers will only talk and do very little while technocrats (like Doctors) do more and talk less. Philosopher ini macam Anwar Ibrahim.

Sinatra_Z - PAS dan Negara Islam

Penulisan terbaru di The Malaysian Insider

PAS merupakan parti pembangkang yang terbesar dalam arena politik Malaysia, walaupun mempunyai jumlah kerusi yang paling kurang di dalam Parlimen dan nampak seolah-olah terpinggir dari segi kepimpinan dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Suka atau tidak kita perlu akui yang PAS merupakan parti yang mempunyai ahli terbanyak dan mempunyai kedudukan keuwangan yang paling mantap.

Dari segi keutuhan parti, tidak seperti rakan mereka PKR dan DAP, belum ada satu pun ADUN PAS yang melompat parti kerana kecekalan mereka membuat bai’ah. ADUN PAS lebih mana sanggup menceraikan isteri mereka tiga dari mengkhianati parti, begitulah dapat kita gambarkan keutuhan perjuangan mereka. Malah kehebatan jentera mereka ternampak jelas apabila diadakan perhimpunan atau demonstrasi jalanan yang mana sebahagian besar datang darinya adalah dari ahli atau penyokong PAS dan sangat kecil dari datang dari rakan-rakan PR.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/zaidel-baharudin/43792-pas-dan-negara-islam-

Sinatra_Z - Thoughts

I'm trying to finish up my TMI article so no stories for your monday blues.

But nonetheless here is some random thoughts I had during the weekends.

On Writing -
When I write I would sleep late = less sleep.
In a way writing is detrimental to my health.
But hey, I like writing and I consider it as an indulgence, like chocolates or cigars to some. Thus indulgence is always bad for health no?

On Son In Laws
Once there was a blogger who declared war on UMNO because of Pak Lah and his Son in Law thus using the nickname kickdefella. He then joined PAS and became a huge fan of Nik Aziz. Now kickdefella got kicked by the fella he least expected, Nik Aziz, because of his confrontation with Nik Aziz's Son In Law. Life is ironic isnt' it.

On Singing
I'm not a singer, I'm a crooner. Go google crooner.

On Prime Minister.
Zaid Ibrahim proposes Nik Aziz to head Pakatan Rakyat. Does this mean Anwar Ibrahim is not going to be PM if PR wins? Hurricane Hattie of PR strikes again.

On Subtitle
Saw Mahathir's documentary on History Channel, they interviewed a bunch of people including Lim Kit Siang. Apparently they only subtitled Lim Kit Siang. Kesian. I mean his english is not that bad what, maybe got slang a bit lah.

On being an 'artis'
Saturday went crooning at Superstar karaoke and sunday went to Celebrity Fitness. Ahh so Glamour likat that. Macam artis. hahahaha.

On Selangor
Anwar declared war in Selangor to combat UMNO's plan to retake the state. You know instead of declaring war in Selangor how about PKR proves it's worthiness by governing Selangor which it has yet to do.

On matters of the heart.
Someone said that we should be honest to our heart. I say, people are always honest to their heart it's just that people usually are not honest to the person who they have heart for.

On Pall Mall
Pall Mall Cigarettes apparently means Peluk Abang Lama Lama Membutakan Abang Lemah Lesu.
Damn!

That's all folks.

Sinatra_Z - Living Life To The Foollest

It's interesting on how you find things at the most unexpected places.

I was reading some of the comments they posted on Low Yat (which is an online forum) and this guy with the nickname "Ah Wang" wrote "Live Life to the Foolest"

I can't remember why he wrote it but I remembered that line. Although he wrote it as a jest but it got me thinking, perhaps it can serve as a pretty good life motto.

Think about it,
"Live life to the foollest"

Because many times in our lives we avoid on doing something because of the fear that we might be seen as someone foolish, a fool. Be it dancing on the stage, public speaking, asking for directions, pretending to understand a certain conversation, learning how to ski and many-many more.

But think about it.

When one falls in love he or she tends to do foolish things right? And I am pretty sure we have fallen in love least once in our lives. Though you might not notice it but if you have fallen in love, had a crush or like someone chances are you already have been a fool once.

When arriving or visiting a foreign country or even a new place like a new town you must have looked like a fool when you got lost not knowing which road to take and keep going in circles. That seemed quite foolish no?

The first time you tried to make a new dish and the curry tasted more like burned charcoal, how about the time when you first learn how to drive, the first date you had or the time when you asked the shopkeeper which one of these leaves is a spinach.

Without realising it, You have been a fool many times before and guess what you came out fine and no one seems to remember it. Well at least most of it.

Many of us have dreams,
dreams on achieving something, dreams of doing something and dreams of changing something.

I have a dream,
and I too have been ridiculed for it, called names because of it and even doubts from many people. Some say it's too much, some say I have false hopes and that I am a fool for even thinking on taking that path.

Yes,
it seems tough, but that's what dreams are all about. They're supposed to be hard, only then it is worth dreaming about.

I don't mind if I seem to look like a fool for believing in it,
I don't mind if I fail in trying to get it,
I don't mind doing things that might seem foolish for it.

Because,
I have made myself look like a fool many times before,
but every time I did that I would always discover something new, be it good or bad.

Because in the end, I'd rather try achieving something and look foolish doing it then just sit by the road, complaining all my life and pretending to be cool.

So I look like a fool sometimes, but I don't mind it, and you shouldn't too.

You are not a cat, you only got one life, so why worry so much on what others might think of you, it's not going to affect your savings account or anything.

I mean, what's a little dent on the ego and a slight scar on the reputation.

Life is like that.

Try to be a fool sometimes ok, you might discover something new.

So here's to living life to the foollest.

Sinatra_Z - Cerita-Cerita Rakyat

Dah lama tidak saya mengarang dengan Bahasa Melayu.

Ohh maaf Bahasa Malaysia ye, Bahasa Melayu itu perkauman.

Nampaknya penulisan yang berjudul "The Look Of Love" telah mendapat sambutan hangat dari gegadis, bekas gadis-gadis, lelaki yang bermuka ganas tapi berjiwa gadis dan juga gadis yang marah atau kecewa dengan kisah cinta lampau.

Ah begitulah resam kehidupan,
sesungguhnya Chenta itu adalah suatu perniagaan yang tidak mengenal siapa pelanggan siapa pembeli.

Cheh boleh tahan jugak lah ayat aku ni dah macam penyair sepi de lereng bukit, boleh buat skrip untuk drama swasta Yusof Haslam ni.

Jadi,
para pembaca sekelian untuk meningkatkan semangat anda di pagi hari rabu (ye saya tahu anda banyak membaca karangan di waktu pejabat) maka terimalah kisah-kisah pendek cerita rakyat yang saya kumpul di sepanjang minggu lepas.



Kisah I

Sedang kami duduk minum-minum di kopitiam mak saya pun teringat kisah lama lalu diceritakan mengenai "Honey Moon" masa baru kahwin dulu.

Sepanjang hari duduk di dalam hotel di Cameron Highland ayah saya yang dah bosan duduk dalam bilik sahaja pun cakap...

"Eh jom kita pergi jalan-jalan, bosanlah duduk dalam bilik je."

Jadi Mak pun dengan gembira kata "Eh seronoknya, romantik la jalan-jalan dekat Cameron highland, boleh tengok bunga semua."

"Ahh memang, boleh jalan-jalan tengok pokok bunga."

Dia ingatkan nak pergi pasar ke tengok bunga segar, atau ladang teh tengok pokok teh menghijau tak pun pergi ke tempt tinggi tengok kabus di celah-celah gaung dengan pepohon menghijau.

Sekali keluar bapa saya bawa dia pergi padang golf, rupanya jalan-jalan tu bermaksud jalan-jalan teman dia main golf. Dia pinjam Golf Set dari Kelab.

"Haa tengok tu pokok bunga cantik."
Katanya sebelum dia memukul bola golf dengan batang Iron nombor 5.



Kisah II

Kawan yang tengah baca Suratkhabar...

"Peh Khalid Samad kata kalau nak masuk bertanding untuk PAS kena buat Baiah, kalau buat hal kena cerai isteri."

"Mak aih, apahal?"

"Diorang tak nak wakil PAS lompat masuk UMNO."

"Ooh itu macam ka, kalau lompat masuk UMNO kena cerai isteri, habis kalau UMNO lompat masuk PAS macamana pulak?"

"ahh itu dia kena Kahwin lagi satu."



Kisah III

Kawan yang sedang membaca soccernet di pagi isnin

"Peh MU kalah siot."

"Hahahah MU Kalah macam Kelantan."

"Ko tau tak orang paling sedih pagi ni orang apa?" tanya Zaki

"Apa?"

"Penyokong MU dari Kelantan."



Kisah IV

"Peh ko takkan takde gadis yang ko suka?"

"Ada"

"Habis tu apa tunggu lagi ko ni pun"

"masaalah lah, leceh sikit"

"masaalah apa, kalau ko dah suka tu apa lagi masaalahnya?"

"Masaalahnya dia tak suka kat aku. Itu je, kalau masaalah tu aku berjaya selesaikan dah lama dah aku masuk."


Kisah V

"Eh apasal orang Melayu, isteri dia panggil suami dia Abang ah?"

"Perempuan Melayu mana panggil suami dia abang lah."

"Eh ye lah, kan diorang panggil suami diorang abang."

"diorang tak panggil suami diorang abang la."

"Habis tu diorang panggil suami apa?"

"Dia panggil Abaaang.."

"ohooo, abaaang, ok kenapalah dia panggil tu?"

"because it rhymes with the word that is used for numerical coefficient of cylindrical objects, stiff and long. Probably that's why."

Sinatra_Z - The Look Of Love

Being a writer,
or at least someone who like to write (Since I consider myself as an Engineer) you will have this habit of seeing things in a third perspective.

It's like being a spectator in a chess competition and noticing the flaws that the players make, yet you will not see them if you're in the game itself.

This habit of mine,
I tend to jot it down, usually it's just your usual mundane daily things, but like what is written on the right side of this blog that in between these mundane random things that you encounter in life, sometimes you find something meaningful, a treasure of sorts.

Last Saturday I was invited to lunch at a friends house, his wife had just gone through a surgery safely and he just found out that he is about to be a dad. So he invited a bunch of friends over for some "makan-makan" at his home, pretty low key but cozy nonetheless.

So I went there with a friend and there we met some of his friends from work, all Engineers, age around 24 to 27 and recently married, the stable sort of people unlike his friends from hometown who are the "bujang trang tang tang" funfair folks. They talked about work, football, being married but mostly about work, pretty mundane to me. Didn't join in the "married" conversation instead I joined in the "bujang senang" folks and started talking cock on one side.

Then this newlywed couple came, one of their friends from workplace and he was bringing his wife for the first time to meet his friends here. They got married in less than a month and it seems that they have not met him for quite sometime. The usual "selamat pengantin baru" greetings.

So the husband was surrounded by his "guy" friends while his wife was sitting on the opposite side of the living room looking at their lively conversation. The husband was explaining to his friends on his life, about his new job, his new home and what happened after they left the company and etc.. It seems that he has been doing quite okay, he got a better offer and he tell them stories of his new career path. He didn't brag about it but you can see his enthusiasm when he talks about his new work.

What grabbed my attention in that scene was the wife who was sitting on the opposite side. From the start of the conversation where her husband is being probed by friends to the end she just kept looking at him and mind you this is not just looking at the whole conversation but more like focusing on her husband.

From her eyes and her slight smile in her lips you can tell that there was a mixture of happiness, admiration, pride and a bunch of other feelings. With her palm on her cheek it seems that she really enjoyed looking at her husband in a new light, her husband with his friends. Probably the first time she saw him in this manner. That look that she had on her face, no one saw it but I did and I think it is best described as the look of love.

It was quite something,
that gaze of her's. It's not like the loving gaze that one have over looking at his/her crush/love from afar. It's more like the gaze of someone who knows that this is the person whom she loves, and that he is her's and that she can't help but feel happy and grateful that they are together here right now at this place doing this utterly normal, usually mundane thing. The gaze of someone whose love has been answered.

I don't think the husband realised it thought, takes someone from outside to notice it. But it was there all right, in the middle of it all, quite secluded, partly hidden in a way and I saw it. Like a sight of a really rare bird in between the trees.

Do I feel envious about it?
Not really, but I sure do feel grateful that I managed to see that.
I think that it's a very rare sight,
wanted to snap a picture of it but I decided not to, didn't want to ruin the magic.

Frank Sinatra once sang...

I've seen the look of a jockey on a winner
I've seen the look of a fat man havin' dinner
I've seen the look of those spacemen up above
But the look that closes the book is the look of love....

It's thunder, it's lightning, the gentlest breeze
It's friendly, it's frightening
And more surprising than an elephant's sneeze

He was right all right, man he was right.

Sure did found something valuable on that Saturday afternoon.