The news these days are talking about the ‘Sky Kingdom’ group in Terengganu. It seems ever so often another one springs up from nowhere.All these talk of cults and deviant teachings in the papers only serve to remind me of this old song by Manowar (who themselves were quite terpesong!)…I suppose it’s a sign of the times…Guyana (The Cult of the Damned)Thank you for the kool-aid reverend JimWe’re glad to leave behind their world of sinOur lifeless bodies fall on holy groundRotting flesh a sacrificial moundWere you our God or a man in a play who took our applause and forced us to stayNow all together we lived as we…

I love my car. It’s an 8-year old beat-up road warrior that has seen better days, and my friends who are familiar with it (and have the ignominy of riding in it) can attest to the fact. But I love it. It has served me extremely well, through the good times and especially the bad. Through the years I kept it running well, even with my limited knowledge of engine mechanism and tight, tight budget. It suffered a few minor accidents here and there, including one where I had to have an entire door knocked back into shape. But yet the old warhorse faithfully sputtered to life every morning to…

Online auction site aren’t very big in Malaysia. As far as I know, other than lelong.com.my and eBay Malaysia, the others have died a slow death. But I suppose there aren’t many interesting stuff to be found on sale there, other than the usual second hand electronic items. But, hey, here are some items I’d LOVE to see put up on sale online here in Malaysia! A piece of roti canai miraculously bearing the image of Ayah Pin (Sky Kingdom) or Ustaz Ashaari Muhammad (of Al-Arqam fame). (Starting bid – RM 4.99)Complete collection of vintage multi-coloured Toong Foong bus tickets from 1985-1988 era (from 40sen to RM1.20) in pristine condition,…

A few months ago I went to the circus which was in town. This was supposed to be a Royal ‘Mat Salleh’ circus (but apparently owned by some Malaysian guy) and had an international cast of performers, from Iberian trapeze artists, Indian mahouts, Chinese acrobats, Eastern European cabaret girls etc. And the many animals on show. The one I watched they didn’t bring out the lions and tigers (we saw the big cats snoring in their cages outside the big top). But other that that they still had a large menagerie of performing animals on show, monkeys, ponies, one very small elephant, poodles and a bored looking house-cat. In fact,…

I was only away for two days and so many things have happened… contest for MCA top post, Tengku Mahaleel, Live 8 concert, WMDs shockingly still not found yet…I just heard about a rumour circulating on Thursday, June 30th about a purported petrol price increase. It turned out to be a false alarm, but according to my friend that didn’t stop hundreds of nutjob motorists from lining up to pump petrol at night, jamming up major roads and highways.Here’s what my take on the whole petrol increase incident:The telcos and petrol companies benefit the most – Guess how many SMS and phone calls were made on that day itself? “Pump…

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow marks the end of the first of 2005. That means 6 months has passed, another 6 more to 2006. I don’t know whether to celebrate or gripe. Regardless, this morning on the way to work, while in the traffic jam, I just realized a few things, in conjunction with this mid year milestone… Top Ten Things Simon Just Realized Today, 29th June 2005 He has just realized he has only achieved 2 items in his list of 25 resolutions for this year – ‘get through first half of the year without getting fired’ and ‘eat less complex carbohydrates’. He forgot to submit his tax returns.…

I have not been following the latest news for awhile. Apparently the correct term for vote-buying or corruption used in the newspapers is: Bribery / Corruption = ‘Money Politics’ Or in Bahasa Malaysia, the proper usage is as follows: Rasuah / Korupsi = ‘Politik Wang’ OK, I’m following so far. But here are some more popular Malaysian euphemisms, if I may suggest: Poison-Pen Letters = ‘Surat Layang’ Letters in a shape of a Kite = ‘Surat Layang-layang’ Poison-Pen SMS = ‘Sistem Utusan Ringkas Layang’ White Collar Crime (Jenayah Kolar Putih) = ‘Jenayah Oleh Orang yang Kolar-nya dibasuh dengan Breeze’ Blue Collar Crime (Jenayah Kolar Biru) = ‘Masalah Sosial Tenaga Pekerja…

Mike – Why did you bring your baby here? You’re supposed to be working! Jenny – Look, I’ve no choice! My babysitter cancelled at the last minute, my parents are out of town, and I can’t find anyone to look after her, so I had to bring her here! Mike – Jenny, this is an important job! If we screw it up, our bosses at the station are SO going to fire us! Jenny – No, no, Mike. Nothing’s going to happen, OK? You just do the interview, I’ll handle the camera with one hand and hold the baby with the other… She won’t cry, she’s such an angel. Mike…

Further to my entry last week about buying houses in the Klang Valley, let’s not forget those who stay in apartments. Most of my friends stay in apartments, and I’m pretty warm with the idea. Apartments (or condos, if the developer charges you RM20,000 more for the same thing) are usually in prime locations, near public transport and commercial areas like SS2 or Cheras. The main factors people consider when buying apartments/condos are the price, location, near LRT/bus route or not, rental market, etc. You know, the usual things. But here are some more factors (but LESS popular) you should consider:The view – Don’t waste an extra RM80k on a…

I just watch TechnoLAHgy’s Bash Video and it’s bloody good! Next year I bet there’s going to a live web-cast on PPS… Well, with no photos to show and me being out travelling the major part of yesterday, I didn’t do a PPS write-up, and so I can only do one here today. But if you want an excellent post about it with lots of cool pics, head on to Jayelle’s site here. Some more got dramatic storyline of how she made it at the last minute from Subang…! But if you want it all in a one-stop-centre, head over to Mudpond’s link post here. Yep, there you can find…