I see you

5 things I love about Avatar:

1. You stay awe-struck-gob-smacked throughout the whole movie. You do not want to blink your eyes even for a second, for fear of missing any of the insanely beautiful visual feast.
   
2. Tall people are cool.
3. The Americans are the bad guys for once.
4. The men in Pandora "communicate", "connect", "feel", "see". These are not alien concepts to them.
5. There's a 3D option.
   

5 things I hate about Avatar:

1. The Na'vi have 0% body fat. Urgh.
2. They don't have pink Ikrans.
3. Anybody could have written the dialogue. Anybody.
4. The soundtrack is so haunting at times you just want to cry. And I am such a wimp.
5. Dances With Wolves in outer space anyone?

But having said that, who cares about the weak narration, the deja vu storyline and the hideously beefed up Army Colonel with the scars (I was expecting to see stars as well on the other side of his head to go with the stripes)? We watch Avatar for its story of redemption, for the liberation of the hero. We watch the movie for the loud Green and anti-War message that it's trying to get across. We want to have all our senses awakened at the sheer fecundity of nature. We want to always have the images of the Pandora woods at night, in all its luminescent glory, imprinted in our minds. We applaud at the victory of the Na'vi, we want to believe that there is still hope in humanity and mankind. That we still have compassion, we still have empathy. And as we watch the movie right to the end, we secretly wish inside that such a beautiful yet alien land existed in our world. Avatar is truly a Pandora's box of wonders.

My hopes for all of you in 2010

In Brazil, most people wear white clothes on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and peace for the year that will follow. Many people in Venezuela wear yellow underwear to have good luck in the new year. In Mexico, some women especially wear red underwear in hopes of finding love in the next year.

Me, I just prefer spending some good quality time with close friends around a table spread with abundant food (so if possible, make sure to have friends with more than average culinary skills. They come in very handy at times like these). Eat, talk, laugh, have fun, reconnect. And then maybe watch DVD. Or maybe play with some sparklers after that. If I ever get to roll myself out of the couch, of course.

But I'm not taking any chances people. Tonight when I meet my friends for dinner, you can expect me to wear a white shirt, a white skirt with yellow panties and a red bra underneath. I'm going to need all the luck I can get to find l-u-r-v-e in 2010!

So let us all hope for a better year ahead. Peace, Love and Understanding. Sounds so cliche but seriously, guys, the world needs so much more of it. Along with some really kick-ass Salt n Vinegar chips.

Aina the anchovy

Aina is a little girl who thinks she's an anchovy. Every day when she comes home from kindergarten, she quickly goes up to her room and puts her bag on the bed. Then she sits by the window and looks out into the backyard, imagining that the tiny plot of land is the big big ocean. Her eyebrows crinkle as she looks closer. She can see all the lovely fishes swimming past her. Big ones. Little ones. In all shapes and pastel hues that she so adores. Her favourite one is a pink angel fish that she calls Wriggly. Each time she draws the curtain open to look out the window, Wriggly will be the first to swim towards her, until he is within arm's length, and waggle his long flowing tail at her. Maybe to say hello? She doesn't really know. Aina, you see, doesn't understand Wriggly speak.

Whenever Wriggly beckons her to join them, she will first close her eyes to find that quiet place in her mind where she can be with all the fishes. Then she opens them back et voilà! she is surrounded by all her Lovelies. Deep in the middle of the sky blue waters, floating dreamily, enjoying the rhythm of the ocean.

But she is always the only anchovy amongst her sea friends. And sometimes she wonders , " Why is that so?"

But then again, she can't really ask any one of them, can she? Because after all, she doesn't understand Wriggly speak.

Why am I the only anchovy here? Where are the rest? The questions play in her mind. Round and round, like a colourful carousel, playing in her mind.

The gentle nudge that I need

Hello.

This whole blogging thing started after I was approached by a few students last week (virtually that is, through Facebook). They expressed their desire to learn more English and yes, they realized the need to read more but have little attention span to finish a whole book. So they suggested that I do a blog in English. So that they can read some English, learn some basic structures and hopefully find the courage to have one of their own as well (written in English of course).

Well I think that this is a fantastic idea. I mean using blogs as a means of learning English. Blog postings are usually short. So you won't have to read so much and get lost in them. On top of that there is a huge variety of topics you can choose from, according to your likes and needs. The choice, I would say, is virtually endless.

I guess the main task for me now is to scour the Internet in search of blogs to suggest as good reading material. I don't know what your main interests are, guys, so I'll just select some that I think are interesting in terms of topic, language structure and content. And the rest is up to you. As for me, I will try to write in English most of the time but you know some things are just better expressed in our mother tongue (especially during those emo moments lol). Or I might also write in French whenever I'm in my cikgu Bahasa Perancis mode (habislah korang :)).

Before I end this posting, I would like to thank you for giving me the push in the right direction. I've always wanted to have a blog but I just didn't know what to write about. Well now I do. I can write about almost anything!

And thank you again for giving me the chance to do something that has meaning to you.

Kerana apalah erti hidup ini jika tidak memberi makna? Ibarat tudung botol air bergas yang bergolek-golek di tepi jalan raya, ditendang ke sana ke mari. Hanya menunggu masa untuk dilenyek tayar kereta.

Ada jurang sms di antara kita bro

"pkaba?"

"OK je."

"sy x chat rini. jp td g spital''

"Kesiannya. Dia sakit apa?"

"dia 2 saper?"

"Syarifah?"

"sy 2 saya."

"Oh. Habis tu berapa lama kat hospital sampai tak boleh chat?"

"saper kt x on9?"

"Tadi kata tak chat."

"x sihat."

"Ohhh."

"Tp skunk dh chat."

"Cepatnya sihat bro. Sakit apa ni?''

"X r. Skunk dh on9 blk."

PULAK.