Sinatra_Z - Oh My.....

This fever,
has really taken it's toll on me.


Sinatra_Z - Memories of Melancholic Melodies

Few years back in Uni,
as I was lying in the dark trying to put myself to sleep,
there was this whispering melody vibrating in the air.

Curiously,
I tuned my ear,
only to find out that it sounds familiar.
Tunes of old songs that I listen to.
As I navigate myself to the source of that melody, I find myself in front of my friend's room.

"Dude, what's with the oldies?"

"Ahhh, you sure got good taste bro, I copied most of these songs from your computer."

"Glad you liked it, these sort of songs are this hour, what's up?"

After a long silence

"She's getting married tomorrow bro"

As he lit up another cigarette the story then flows,
no advice was given, no point of view was shared nor was any counter argument forwarded.

Only silent nods and bitter smiles exchanged.

The general rule is,
once the story is out it's time to leave him alone with those tunes.

And as I walked away, the soothing Sinatra Saloon Song fills the air...






Sinatra_Z - Gereja Roman Katolik dan Jakim sependapat tentang perayaan Hari Valentine

Wahai para pembaca sekelian, tajuk di atas bukanlah satu kesilapan.

Ya memang,
Gereja Katolik di Vatican sependapat dengan Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia mengenai sambutan hari Valentine.

Sebelum saya menjawab persoalan yang bermain di minda anda sekelian izinkan saya memberi kata-kata aluan.

Teringat ketika di Universiti dahulu setiap kali menghampiri hari valentine, Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Universiti Teknologi Malaysia akan menyebarkan risalah, papan kenyataan dan menjalankan kempen di kalangan mahasiswa untuk mencegah mana-mana pasangan bercinta untuk menyambut hari kekasih ini.

Antara sebab utama dalam penulisan mereka adalah kerana Hari Valentine adalah satu perayaan Kristian yang menyambut kematian St Valentine seorang paderi dari Rome. Kononya, St Valentine adalah paderi kesayangan Ratu Sofia dari Sepanyol dan telah dikaitkan nama Valentine ini dengan penghapusan umat islam di Cordoba.

Saya bukan marah atau tidak setuju dengan kempen PMI UTM ketika itu, jangan salah faham ye dan jangan cuba nak putar belit kenyataan. Cuma, satu perkara yang saya tahu tentang orang Malaysia ini dan penulis risalah PMI ketika itu ialah Fakta yang dipetik selalunya bak kata pepatah "Main Cedok" dan kebanyakan rakyat malaysia memang malas untuk buat kerja rumah.

Sesungguhnya semua fakta di atas adalah salah, melalut lagi rekaan semata-mata.

Baik Kisahnya begini.....

Tahukah anda,
memang sebelum ini Gereja Katolik ada menyambut Hari Valentine, yang mana nama Saint Valentine diletakkan di dalam Kalendar Sambutan Wali-Wali Kristian "Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints"

Namun terdapat satu masaalah tentang Wali Kristian yang bernama Saint Valentine ini, yakni, Gereja Katolik sendiri tidak pasti, sangsi dan tidak tahu tentang asal usul kewujudan Saint Valentine itu sendiri. Terdapat tiga kisah mengenai asal usul St Valentine iaitu

1) Seorang paderi pada zaman Empayar Rome yang membantu penganut Kristian sewaktu pemerintahan Claudius II yang ditangkap dan dipancung pada tarikh 14 Febuari.

2) Bishop (ketua paderi kawasan) bandar Terni yang dipancung juga ketika pemerintahan Claudius II

3) Seorang Paderi, kononya di Africa yang membantu pasangan muda berkahwin, ditangkap dan dibunuh yang mana anak gadis menulis surat dan memberikan hadiah kepadanya supaya dia tidak kesunyian di dalam penjara.

Namun semua yang dinyatakan di atas adalah khabar cerita dan bukan fakta penulisan sejarah, ianya hanyalah berdasarkan cerita popular yang menjadi buah mulut zaman berzaman. Boleh jadi St Valentine bukan salah satu dari mana-mana di atas.

Maka atas sebab itulah, pada tahun 1969, Gereja Roman Katolik telah membuang sambutan hari valentine dalam Kalendar Rasmi Gereja Katolik.

Maka sama seperti JAKIM dan kebanyakan Mufti Islam yang lain, Gereja Katolik juga tidak menyambut Hari Valentine sejak tahun 1969. Walaupun ada beberapa gereja tempatan yang masih menyambut namun ia hanyalah sekadar tradisi popular.

Asal usul Hari Valentine, sekiranya dikaji dengan lebih mendalam, mula-mula diperkenalkan oleh Pope Gelasius I untuk menggantikan sambutan Hari Lupercalia yang disambut oleh golongan pagan Rome.

Tibanya Hari Lupecaria, teruna-teruna muda Rome akan mencabut sebuah loteri yang mana di dalamnya tertulis nama seorang gadis. Kemudian, apabila loteri telah diabut dan nama diketahui, teruna berkenaan akan mendampingi gadis berkenaan sebagai teman seksual (friends with benefit) selama setahun.

Pope Gelasius yang dipercayai langsung tidak menggemari aktiviti penuh ghairah ini kemudianya telah memperkenalkan Hari Valentine dengan tujuan untul menggalakan anak-anak muda ketika itu menjauhi aktiviti berkenaan dan ubah kepada hari yang mana mereka menghantar surat dan hadiah kepada gadis yang mereka suka.

Barangkali, ini spekulasi sayalah,
Manusia tetap manusia, Hari Valentine telah diubah sedikit sebanyak kepada tradisi Leupcaria maka Gereja Roman Katolik pun merasakan bahawa tidak wajar untuk diadakan sambutan ini terutama bila kewujudan Saint Valentine itu sendiri dipersoalkan.

Maka,
Tidak seperti yang diperkatakan ramai.

Faktanya, sama seperti JAKIM, Gereja Katolik tidak menyambut Hari Valentine secara rasmi.


Rujukan


Kalendar Rasmi Wali Katolik

Wikipedia Hari Valentine

Encyclopedia New Advent




Sinatra_Z - Prayers

Our "Semboyan Lance Corporal" lit yet another cigarette, one of many that afternoon by which dozens of butts near his feet can bear testament to that. White noise coming from the HF Radio by now has assimilated into the background as we patiently await for a communication breakthrough.

Everyone was quite, sombre, fact is after many hours we have yet to receive any contact from the other side and I began to wonder what on earth is going on in the field. Maybe it was raining, maybe a blind spot but whatever it is I'm not going to call any more as my mobile phone bill had hit the ceiling.

It was then when Tok Mat dropped by, perhaps after looking that the young uniformed corporal he felt nostalgic, or maybe our insanely bored face prompted him to share his commando stories.

"So you were with PASKAU? (Pasukan Khas Udara)" Asked the Corporal

"Yeah I was, but it was a very long time ago when I was young, before you guys were even born, ahahahaha man I'm old. I was one of the first few batches you see."

"So what was the training like Tok Mat?" I inquired

"Well basically it was crazy, took me a while to assimilate back to society after that, they really brainwashed us good, not that it's a bad thing or what, after all we were trained for war and being a commando is mostly about operations behind enemy lines, so you know what it's like if we were caught by the enemy, but slowly after that we learn to intergrate and mingle with society."

"What do you mean by crazy, tough training?"

"Well tough training is one thing but more like crazy things, like this one instructor we had,."

"His name was... I can't remember but we called him Mat Kedil, you see every morning while the recruits were doing their push ups, Mat Kedil would walk to one recruit, randomly picked, different one each day, unzip his pants and does his morning routine piss on that fellow's head, suppose to test our mental"

"Holy crap! What did you felt when he pissed on you?"

"Well, as I can remember, it was warm."

"That was a long time ago, he is probably dead by now, the last time I heard about him was that he was wandering around his hometown with his mind going all bonkers, crazy, lost his head completely."

"The training was tough huh? Mentally?"

"Not really, after all he was the one doing the pissing, plus most of us turned out okay."

"Oh what happened? He got into an accident or something?"

"You see, imagine this, every morning he would piss on someone's head, every day during training season and each of the person he pissed on would curse him in their heart. Now you imagine how many people cursed him on a training season, hundreds maybe, say it goes on for 10 years, thousands of curses was thrown to him by thousands of different individuals."

"You're saying that he gone crazy because was cursed?"

"Sort of, you see there's the Malay saying that goes, if you say the same thing for more than 40 times it becomes a prayer."

"So?"

"Maybe, those curses, by which for the same reason, after so many times over became a prayer, perhaps god answered that prayer."

"But those recruits didn't pray any harm for him, plus isn't it forbidden to do so."

"Well, prayers need not necessarily be in it's literal form, a thought or a wish can be a form of a prayer after all. Which is why, those who help others always find themselves some sort of happiness even in the most dire situation, because of the kind wishes and thoughts that came from those who they had helped hence they are always blessed."

"Praying vehemently is good, but it's better to do good to people, because praying per-Se is a prayer from one person, but good deeds spread and it works both ways you know, it's the same for sins."

"I mean if you keep saying that 'I have no money to buy this or to do that because I'm poor' again and again and again when you're not really, perhaps someday god might grant you that wish"

"So always be mindful of your thoughts, of others as well, for prayers they may be."


Sinatra_Z - Rapunzel

Rapunzel,
was a long haired blonde who was locked in a tower by a witch with reasons I am not that bothered enough to find out.
She was imprisoned there since she was 12 and many years after, possibly when she has arrived at the age of driving, legal drinking and out from the boundaries of "Statutory Rape" a handsome prince came and rescue her. Conveniently.

This of course, like any other fairy tale was her happy ending.

However unlike other fairy tales, there is quite an interesting distinction to be noted from Rapunzel's story. Cinderella was rescued from forced domestic labour, Snow White was rescued from an eternal sleep while Rapunzel, may I simply conclude, was rescued from boredom.

I mean she looked all fine and dandy and obviously she was well taken care off, after all it takes pretty good grooming to grow that long beautiful strong blonde hair. Imagine the amount of shampoo it takes to wash that. There was no dragon, the prince didn't have to battle anything and all he had to do was climb up and rescue her from that cursed life of staring and ponder.

Occasionally one may encounter with a Rapunzel or a variation of her. May not necessarily be bored to death but in waiting for a prince to come and rescue her from her life. Though female empowerment is quite the trend these days there are that one girl who awaits and dreams of that one man who would rescue her from that small town, a form of a tower.

And like Rapunzel,
one indeed is quite the fair maiden.

Sadly though, like Red Riding Hood, more than note, instead of a prince, she get's gobbled up by the big bad wolf who wears a convincing disguise.

You know,
I never see myself as a knight in shining armour what more a prince.
I don't have the glitter, persona what more the look of a prince nor do I see myself sparkle in a shining armour or to actually fit in one.

Rapunzel wanted me to rescue her,
Too bad, instead showing up in a white horse, I rode off to fight in a crusade, leaving Rapunzel in her tower waiting for someone else to climb up and rescue her.

I don't wager my life for the hand of the fair maiden,

Instead,

I'd wager it for king and country.

Perhaps,
maybe someday Rapunzel would learn to climb down herself, using her hair as rope and cut it off when she gets down. Instead of waiting, maybe she could get into her own adventures, learn and see things beyond her window, to actually dream of many dreams and rather than the usual "They lived happily ever after" it's "Off to another adventure!"

But then,
If she cuts off her beautiful hair, she would no longer be a princess and for some that may be a wee bit hard to do.

Well....

Screw it!
I'm off to hunt some Saracens!















Sinatra_Z - Drama lewat Mohd Romzi bin Abdul Hashim

(Unedited, as raw as it gets)

Saya ni........
Kalau nak kata jahat atau nakal langsung tidaklah. Bukanlah nak kata saya ni alim atau tok imam sebagainya tapi nak kata buat benda tak elok tu seingat saya takdelah.
Nak kata saya ni AJK masjid tidaklah, tapi saya cubalah tak tinggal sembahyang lima waktu. Kadang-kadang terlepas tu biasalah, qadha lah kita. Tapi kalau nak diikutkan saya tak minum saya tak main perempuan saya tak menipu duit orang atau buat anaiya kat orang kiranya tidak langsunglah.

Zaman muda-muda dulu nak kata nakal sikit-sikit tu adalah tapi nak kata liar memang jauh sungguh lah. Ye lah masa tu nak kata bercinta pun takdelah meriah mana pun. Orang tua saya orang kampung biasa dekat mersing, bapak saya pencen sarjan polis mak saya pulak suri rumah, habis sekolah dapat belajar masuk ITM buat akaun, kat sana saya kenal lah bakal bini saya, ambik kursus perguruan, kenal sebab AJK asrama sama.

Biasalah, kenal-kenal, makan sama-sama lama tu bercinta la. Lama lepas dah habis belajar, bawak balik jumpa mak abah, diorang berkenan, biasalah orang kata tak baik bercinta lama maklum pun kahwinlah.

Orang kata senang kahwin cikgu ni, kerja sekerat hari, senang jaga anak, dapat macam-macam kemudahan kerajaan lagi, pinjam perumahan lah, hospital lah, macam-macam lah. Tapi bukan sebab tu la kami kahwin tapi nak ditunjukanlah waktu tu memang sesuai sangat lah kiranya memang takde sebab lah orang kata nak tak puas hati ke apa ke, kira baguslah.

Lama ye lah, dapat sorang hero lepas tu lagi sorang hero, bini teringin nak ada anak perempuan syukur dapat la pulak sorang puteri. Beli rumah, beli kereta, daftar anak pergi sekolah, hujung minggu pergi shopping, cuti sekolah balik kampung, benda-benda biasa.

Jadi nak kata saya ni sedih ke,
nak kata kecewa dengan kehidupan takdelah sangat, takdelah langsung kot. Kiranya nak kata mewah tu tidaklah tapi orang kata lengkap lah hidup tu.

Tapi entahlah,
kita ni manusia, orang kata hati ni susah sikit nak faham. Kalau ikut akal memang tak masuk akal tapi kita ni bukan robot.

Kalau dah 15 tahun, rasa macam lain sikit lah. Mungkin lah bila ditengok balik, rasa macam terlalu teratur, tenang tak pun orang kata bosan pun ada. Tak tahulah saya.

Nak guna alasan bosan dengan kehidupan tenang sebagai alasan macam tak kena lah pulak, tak sepatutnya lah tapi boleh kata salah satu sebab bolehlah kita anggap begitu.

Nak kata lawa macam 'artis' atau pelakon drama takdelah mana, jauhlah jugak tapi orangnya bergaya lah jugak. Ini bukanlah anak gadis muda mana, dia takdelah muda mana kira dekat sempadan anak dara dah lanjut sikit lah, biasanya perempuan umur dia ni dah kahwin tapi ye lah, mana lah kita tahu sebab apa kan. Muda lah dari saya tapi takdelah jauh sangat, kalau awak bayang Bung Mokhtar dengan Zizie tu memang langsung tidaklah.

Mungkin sebab bau minyak wangi ke, rambut dia perang sikit atau orangnya bawak semangat atau entahlah mungkin dia bawak benda baru dalam kehidupan saya yang dah macam berulang-ulang ni.

Nak kata saya mengorat dia tidaklah,
saya ni bukanlah macam Datuk-datuk mana yang berharta dok pasang awek muda cuma bila dia masuk mesyuarat tu kira seri lah sikit saya rasa.

Mula-mula tu memanglah kita seronok bila makan bersama tengah hari berborak pasal macam-macam tapi jauhlah saya nak fikir pasal benda-benda ni, ye lah saya ni makan gaji biasa je, pengurus takdelah pangkat besar mana langsung tak terfikir apa-apa pun.

Cuma saya rasa,
akan ada suatu detik atau waktu yang mana sesuatu berlaku yang merubah terus hala tuju kehidupan kita. Ada yang mengalami perasaan atau keadaan yang nyaris mati, ada yang melihat sesuatu kejadian atau satu tindakan drastik sebagainya, untuk saya dia mula dengan satu panggilan telefon pasal tayar pancit.

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