Madness and silence

Why is it, just when I start to think humanity is not so bad, something happens to make me revert to my original position? And wish for the nearest bed of sand to bury my head in?

Yesterday, Nazir and I met with (yet another) Nazir's friend. Nice English lady. We went to the Muslim Council of Britain's press conference. Sigh. Nazir had such weird taste - honestly, who cares about British elections and muslim issues? (hee. Nazir obviously). Anyway, while I sat through a marginally interesting presentation, observing the photographers and camera crew while around me reporters were scribbling like mad, there were raised voices, yelling and general disorder outside the library (where the press conference was held). All the reporters and camera crew rushed out (scenting a story obviously, a little rude I thought since the guy was still talking - but hey, the media, innit). After a few minutes, a troop of young men (ages ranging from 18-late twenties, my guess) entered the room, started yelling about how voting is Kufr Akbr (major apostasy), yelling a major speech, proclaiming MCB mushriks and rounded up the fine speech with loads of "Allahuakbar".

Made the news, the whole incident did. Check out BBC's report.

For giving me a headache with all the yelling, I was irritated. But more surprisingly, I was actually incensed by their behaviour. One, storming a mosque, a mosque, for God's sake, like it was Bastille. Two, yelling like mad people just to get their point across. Three, flawed logic. Four, dressing very badly while at it. (Ugh, honey, jubah, sports jacket and trainers just doesn't go. And army fatigues in London? Urban jungle it may be, but if a war really did break out, I do think grey would blend in better than green. Anyway.) Five, when the sec-gen of MCB tried to respond to their various accusations (accompanied by 'look at how silent they are's), they absoulutely refused to listen. How rude. Six, speaking for Muslims like they have the absolute bloody right to speak for us. Who made them our mouthpiece? (I guess with elections being 'kufr', they had to elect themselves. Hiakz) I'm sorry, but if I'm going to choose a mouthpiece, I would like someone with logic, thank you very much. I was really quite angry - I actually felt like punching them. But since it wasn't my fight....anyway. Grrr....world going to pots.

In spite of wishing for the nearest bed of sand, this incident made me reflect on the necessity to speak out instead of well, ignoring it and living out my life as a hermit. While it is better for my peace of mind, I wonder if it is the right thing to do. As Nazir points out (he's really full of such gems!), "The emergence of the people of falsehood is only possible with the disappearance of the people of truth". Well, not his own, but Saidina Ali r.a. (the fourth rightly guided caliph).Nicely put at any rate.

On other disgusting things that bug me about the world, checked my email today. After a scant day (a day!!!) of absence on the net. And my mailbox is reaching "critical". Ugh. Not missives from dear friends, mind, but stupid junk mail for penis enlargement. Don't even have a penis, innit?! It's really quite irritating. If it was one or two bytes, oklah. But hundreds of kbs!!! Piss-off junk mail jerk-offs! (Hee...thought that was most appropriate since these pple's closest relation is prob with their computer. Double hee. )

The end is here...

...of Nazir's essays! Ha ha. No worries, this is not a gloomy, doomy, end-of-the-world (although the world is ending in the Next world! Read review below) blog. Am v happy, have hardly anything to be gloomy about. After one whole week of inadvertant computer ban, as Nazir frantically finished his essays (all three of them! Sigh, the days gone by....and looming for me!), I have read two Nora Roberts books, re-read I, Robot and finished two (of four) Jasper Fforde books. Since Adik insisted I reviewed them, and she did recommend the v enjoyable books, I shall now do so.

The Eyre Affair starts the ball rolling. Thursday Next, a LiteraTec Operative, has to defeat Acheron Hades (hee), villian extraordinaire, who had kidnapped Jane Eyre, and threatened to kill her. What book would Jane Eyre be without Jane? Quite a pickle. In "Lost in a good book", Next's husband had been eradicated and only she has memories of him. She must out-manuever the Goliath Corporation (double hee), save the world from becoming pink goo, and defeat an enemy she cannot remember. Jolly good times, that, eh?

My views: Let's see. Off the top of my head, they are funny; full of puns (Fforde is a man after my own heart!) and hysterical book characters. Not just his characters but chracters from other books - like Sense and Sensiblity (his Marriane had me in stitches), Rochester of Jane Eyre (inspiring me to actually read the book). Can't say the Bronte sisters are my cup of tea; the things I find laughable in the heroes, he does. You can see why I love the books. Best of all, it's the kind of funny without being yaya papaya. I do hate pretentious, quote-dropping kind of 'clever'.

As to what the books are, well, I can't really place them in any genre. Not a bad thing - I do think that the best books are the unclassifiable. It just is. Best description I can come up with - a touch of Eoin Colfer, Hiaasen and literature 101, all rolled into one. But they are not derivative, so even that description does not do them justice.

Have not arrived at the book with Heathcliff in anger management (am laughing like a loon even at the thought) that my sister told me about but am eagerly anticipating it. There's nothing like losing yourself in a good book. Triple hee.

All in all - highly recommended. :D

AJC and me

Have just finished two books by Meera Syal - "Anita and Me" and "Life is not all ha ha hee hee". I really enjoyed them, not just because she's funny (hello, Smeetha Smitten, Showbiz Kitten) but also because she writes from the position of the Other, but not as "Other". There is a fine distinction I think, because Syal manages to make the Other normal, something which I find lacking in a lot of books potraying Asians, or even written by Asians. I do believe these books panders to an idea of Asians, Asia that can still be catogorized as Other while Syal manages to make her characters a believable Self, a Self that is not white and middle-class.

Even though I am not British Asian, it's remarkable how I much I identify with the narrators. And how many of the jokes I get. I guess, in whatever guise...or colour (hee), racism is the same. This paragraph really got me - "...[T]hey leave us alone because they don't think we are really Indian. "Oh, you're so English, Mrs K!" Like it is a buggering compliment! If I hear that one more time..." Other than the 'har' factor and the 'damn right' factor, it encapsulates my whole problem with friggin' racists in Singapore. It's amazing (but not surprising) to hear "but you're different" i.e. not like the other damn Malays who are lazy etc (eyeroll) comments that I have heard in AJC echoed half a world away. "See, I'm not racist because I have a Malay friend" pretty much falls under the same category. Yes, they don't beat people up, or make loud rude remarks (thank god for that!), but this pitying condenscension is still racism. Not on par with "Go home, Pakis" but is racism. Please don't protest otherwise. In conclusion, grr?

Lazy days

The day started out great- bright and sunny. It was a lazy day for me...reading Anita and Me by Meera Syal. V funny. Then, I watched "Enterprise", without dear sister. SOB. All alone.....no one to appreciate Disco Zindi (though this week, there weren't any Disco Zindi to be had.) No more sarky remarks about Captain America (aka Capt. Archer. Bleagh. Bleagh.) Yesterday, Voyager came to my door. And watched it all alone too......Argh. No fellow trekkie. Only a fellow (Nazir) going "Apa ni?!" Sigh. Anyway, today's Enterprise was quite interesting - more Trek than the usual Enterprise eps. A shot of oh-so dishy Trip on a horse. "Have you ever ridden this animal?" says T'pol (pronounced Te[schwa, for my fellow elang students]-pol, not tee-pol. Hee.) with obvious disdain for aforementioned horse. And we all know what she thinks of his abilities. Har. "How hard could it be?" came the famous last words. To his credit though, he did not fall off the horse, managed to haul T'pol (v gentleman-like! Sigh.... and romance novel-like) onto the horse with one hand and trot off...eventually. Am so glad the writers decided to abandon the "T'pol/Archer" romance angle. Shudder. Capt. America. Yetch.

Okie....most of the people reading this (namely, my friends) wouldn't have a clue what I'm talking about. Just filling a void of missing my sister and talking Trek.

Onto non-TV news, yesterday, Nazir and I went for tea at Tooting Broadway. A friend of Nazir's. (errr....duh. Do I have any friends here? No! Ha ha. That's what happens when you are a hermit. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.) Anyway, went grumpy like, but was quite fun in the end. Surprisingly. The drive to and from went without incident....though I can't say am in love with London roads. Still awful, still confusing!!!!!

On hermit-dom, with a husband like Nazir, am forced to face society....but as I have found out on two separate outings (maybe three) , it is not as bad as I thought. Does this mean I would be expanding my social circle when I return? Ha ha. Hardly likely.

Return of the native

Well, it has been a long hiatus. Three weeks long to be precise. While my sister takes a holiday in London, I took a holiday from life. Have been going round London, bringing my sister round - and most importantly, "sisterly bonding" over Enterprise and Voyager, among other assorted shows.
Unfortunately for me, it was all over too soon. Yesterday, we (i.e. Nazir and I) sent kakak off. Sniff. The one thing that sucks about living abroad is the absence of dearest family. Sigh. Still, I'll be back in a couple of months. :D

Today, it's pretty much as quiet as yesterday night had been. It's amazing how the absence of a person - even one as quiet as my sister, can change the atmostphere of the house. When we came home yesterday afternoon, it was just so very different. Err....not very coherent now. Missing my sister and wiped out from going out - we had a very productive weekend: trips to Southend on sea, Stonehenge, Bath, in contrast to the other two weeks of lolling around in front of the TV.

Anyway, miss my sisters and parents most much!