Taboo

I should not check for the schedule match in EPL. That a taboo to me, a bad luck for Arsenal and Wenger. Week before I was quite excited with the statistical data on EPL league. The Arsenal have score a big goal and qualified (defeated Celtic) for the next round for champion's league.

Then, I trangress the taboo. I've eager to look the next match for Arsenal.

It will be between Arsenal and the tradition enemy, Man U.

And I waited for the event to take place. I know this is taboo to me. To Arsenal as well. But the thing that has been done, it is imposible to undo. We are not computer right.

So that is it. Arsenal loose to Man U.

What dissapointed me, the last goal has been denied by the referree.

I, should not take a glance to the EPL schedule anymore.

Let Wenger handle everything. That will be fair.

Owh. Sigh.

p/s: The taboo is I can't have any feeling to follow up Arsenal progress in the league. If I try to catch thing up, the next thing will happen is, Arsenal will loose the match. This will be series of unforturnate event to Arsenal and Wenger. Mean that, it is forbidden for me, to even have feeling hoping Arsenal to win. So, big NO for any of football match! Weird? That's actually happen.

Kopitiam Gadhir: A Play That is Larger than life

Kopitiam Ghadir is a musical play written and directed by Faisal Tehrani who has been granted with Malaysia National Art Award. However, despite having the respected title, he was treated like dirt before the play was successfully presented to audience. The initial stage supposed at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (a department that secure the wellfare of culture and Malay language) but has been denied a week before the play is schedule to begin.

Despite being betrayed from the organizer, his production team manage to get green light from ITNM which give them place to act. If you think that ITNM has a proper place to perform an act, think again. ITNM does not have ampitheater or compatible place to perform a play. They only have a hall that is only suitable for book launching ceremony or a seminar. So, the audience and the actors will share the same floor.

Against all odd, the team manage to perform Kopitiam Ghadir for three consecutive nights, plus one evening performance.

Speaking the truth, it is a play which you can always watched it during students dinners and performance. If you ask me the significant impact in term of materials used, I would say-none. I would give credits for the scores because it was original and written by rising young music talent, but if the musical element missing there is nothing to say about Kopitiam Ghadir.

This is what I called a slum production group. An oppressed groups with limited sources and capital. No big sponsors, no grand props, no advance sound system, amature actors to add for the suffer, a big NO from the authority. Even the text was written by renown prolific Malay young writer Mr Faisal Tehrani himself, it seem that he was restrain from expressing art to mass audien. WHY?

If this is a work of a slum production, why they get a lot of obstacle before it can be shown to the public? What harm can four amateur actors and a song writer will do to audiens?

The answer lies inside the text. Kopitiam Ghadir has been written to highlight an event that occur one time ago at a place called Ghadir Khumm but been missing in centuries time in our community (more than 1400 years now). That what make KG larger than life. The text challenges people to use their brain and come to reason together. KG is also strategic because it will helps us to understand what are the causes that divide ummah into sects and schools.

Quoting what has been uttered by my fellow friend, the theater is huge in term of ideas and you need to have knowledge to be there to enjoy the play. This is not a play for ignorance and for people searching entertaiment. However, the theater is enjoyed enough as the idea has been put forward in simplistic version: a short discussion, songs and variety of characters.

I believe KG text as similar approach what has Dan Brown been doing all this while. However Dan Brown intentionally to challenge, but KG is to highlight what has been in box and kept silent for century to public. And this worries the authority badly, therefore they put lots of restriction to the production.

Yes, our community is not ready to speak out loud. Our community still not ready to seek truth from medium other than Masjid (mosque). Our community still can't accept that Ustaz can wear shirt and jeans, instead of rob and turban. Our community still can't hear the truth from places like ampitheater but from the altar. Our community only can accept words from sermon not from good musics and songs. Our community has been doctrine to accept words from authorised personality from government office only, not from those who live a life from the Quran.

KG production is the reflection of the event occur at Ghadir Khumm. As expected. Media keep silent to promote the show. Authority and sponsors deny the event on the promised date. The production have to move on their own, to struggle what they believe as truth.

Ghadir Khumm is like that. People questionning the event, weather it has took place or it just a myth that uttered by oppurtunist group. To speak the truth, there are a lots of academic writing that authenticated the event. There are a lot of scholar with high ranking post warranted that event. It is an event which is brighter than sun shine. But yet, people likely to stay in the state of denial.

KG is like that. So, what have had happen to the production is expected even so. But they pop up like daisies in winter. The are the water lily that live on lakes. What ever happen, come what may!

That what make KG special. It is an oppressed production. Small but yet significant. Amatuer but yet professional. It is just like to light a candle but explode with great impact. I think if Shaskespear live, he will try to do sometime like this.

Congratulation to KG productions!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

It is a good movie indeed, but there a lot to complaint.
Benjamin Button, as a part is an original. Quite unique, a character that is built to be contradicts what we have known as natural creation for all this while. Benjamin has been born, and he was born old! Imagine you have given birth to a baby, but having an old body and senses at 80’s. The body was weaken by arthritis, the sight deteriorate by cataract and all old symptoms. What that would be? How will be the life of the baby then? Can you imagine?

This is a story about a Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Brad Pitts as its anchor actor.

The story begins, with a focus to a clock that has been build for a famous train station at New Orleans. The clock smith was a man, but completely blind which has a son. The son has been forced to go to war (World War I) and serve the country but die as a patriot. His father, the clock maker was heart broken but still has put all his effort to build the clock even then. At the opening ceremony, Teddy Roosevelt came and more of important people were there to witness and celebrate the new clock. But everybody was shocked when the clock strikes its first second, the clock needle went backward. It is not surprised to the clock maker then, he meant to build that clock that way. He said, “The clock is to remind for our sons that lost in war hoping they can come back, make a farm, having a family and raise children.”

That the story begin, focusing on a weird clock. A functioning clock to tell other what is the time but its movement is all backward or we can call it as counter clockwise. The story resemblance the clock is as not natural, odd, bad omen and weird and to some people considered it is offend. To accept such to society is might be really abnormal, tough, like swimming against the current, and even face total isolation from the society.

The baby was born in a very rich family, a family which having their own factory to make buttons and supplied to the southern America (New Orleans) and to all over the state. When the father has the opportunity to look at him for the first time, he was trembling and shocked to death. He thought that the baby is a monster. At the same time his wife died of given birth. Without hesitate he snatched the baby from the cradle and abandoned him at the old folk house. The father gave him 18 dollar and leaved him at the house stairs. Luckily, he was found by a color women, Queenie, the care taker of the old folk house and raise him as her own child. She loved him and does what a mother would do to raise a child. So the baby monster survived the odd. This is the beginning the whole story for Benjamin. The biological body has been reversed but his mind grew naturally as a baby, kid, teenagers, adults and old. Imagine what is life to Benjamin Button then? He will never be natural as he has to grow reversing other. People were born as a child and grow old, but to Benjamin he grows young. He will witness the one he love die one by one as he grew young, but the other they get old.

Isn’t this is a very interesting story? To me well the Benjamin Button character was unique and has been design par excellent.

However, I will not give any credit on how the story was told to the audience as it is obviously not unique. The originality isn’t there caused you can easily compare to Forest Gump actor by Tom Hanks. The story is about life from different angle. The story is about life from the perspective of abnormal person, Benjamin as he grew young and Forest as a retarded boy with complication in movement. Benjamin too has been portray that way, not be able to walk as he has arthritis at the beginning. The one which protects both Benjamin and Forest is the mother and been raised in a home with a lot of people come and go, exactly the same. Moreover, both Benjamin and Forest have the opportunity to see world in many circumstances and then come back to be home again and to find their true love.

They inherited a fortune but don’t have any single attention on it as money is not everything and sometime not connected for happiness. For whosoever has watch Forest Gump and being a fan to that film, you will find that Benjamin Button is just another version of ‘life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you get’.

But still is worth to watch then. It is most amazing how man creativity will work for the same theme but at different angle yet they can still steal the spotlight from the audience.

However Hollywood movie still a Hollywood movie. Watching the movie produce from the famous industry with knowledge will eventually degrade you from the value and tradition that you have been upholding all this while. Watching Hollywood’s and believing what ever the story teller told you is true or at least you accept the value they sell to you as an absolute good, you will eventually let yourself of to become less human.

Why the story focus on a clock that the movement has been reversed because of the clock maker’s disappointment to the tragedy that has been put to his only son?

Why they portray contradict as a bad omen, and whosoever to face with that casualty will having a bad life and struggle?

Why they should give the idea being odd will eventually being isolated to the common society unless you have a home that suit with that?

They self claimed what ever natural to them is an absolute true. What ever contradictory with what they have accepted is reversing, not normal, not common.

The analogy lies on the clock that moved backward.

But have you ever stop and rethink, what is an absolute truth? The movement clockwise or the movements counter clockwise?

The whole universe if you at least learn some about the space and universe, you will always find that all of the objects are in the state of movement. Either they spin on their own, or evolve around others. The best example is the Earth herself. The Earth spin on its own and at the same time evolve around the sun to complete one cycle.

What is the movement then?

It is obviously counter clockwise. What is more obvious then?

If the world does not spin counter clockwise I will ensure you it will never support life and people will not have the opportunity to even exist.

So now you think, what is natural and what is not.