There is something strange happening lately, and I can’t fully grasp the sensation. I don't know why, but it is happening. For, when it comes to movies or cinemas or whatever box you may care to call, people are really divided. There are those who hate it, and then there are those who really, really, really hate them. But, the most irksome type would be those who hate to pay for it but love to watch it on DVDs, errrr……pirated copies of course, my dear sister included.
I still cannot overcome the ‘surprise’ sensation when my dear niece shared her delight to a movie session with her mum. My sister, after years of patronizing pirated DVDs, can suddenly have this urge to visit the local cinema? Unbelievable! And to make the surprise even more surprising was the theme “Hannah Montana!” What on earth is a 40-ish woman doing within an audience of hardly 15 years old?? Personally, the only way I can survive that movie is subjecting myself into a good sleep, only to be awakened by the giggling and screams to the songs of Miley Cyrus aka Hannah and Taylor whatever-is-her-name. And only then will I pretend all this pain isn't all there.
I don’t get it…songs like Let’s Get Crazy (shouldn’t it be Let’s Get Lazy?) and Let’s Do This (and that?) can make the movie grossed so much….. Don’t people care about title of songs anymore? Titles like Let’s Get Crazy or Let’s Do This, is probably the last thing a sane person would bother to have it as a title. They simply don’t click, you know. But then again, I may be an extinct movie or song critic. How am I to know anything more than the golden oldies? Songs that I am familiar, and songs that definitely have an appropriate title. I thought “Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree” is meaningful. People still tie yellow ribbons as a sign of home-coming, don’t they? I would have rhyme in synchrony if someone still plays “Knock Three Times” on the ceiling….(see songwriters then are so catchy, not on the door leh). And then “Puppy Love” would have us sung our hearts out for that ‘girl’. No? Then, you have never been through the sweetest years of your lives! And how about “Put Your Head On My Shoulder”, so ever a golden song; best for all occasion, mate. I guess I don’t have to elaborate the golden classics, they were songs that are definitely endearing and quite aptly titled, I must admit.
Enough said. Melody asked to come over my place later than usual this evening. She is going out with friends to watch Hannah Montana: The Movie……and yes, it opens today in Hong Kong. I am not invited to join her, or more appropriately she refuses to let her friends hear her father’s snore in the cinema! I am not sure this is the correct way to treat an old man especially when it is supposingly Father’s Day weekend.
Happy Father’s Day, and maybe I shall write a song at home, an absolutely stupid lyrics that goes something like ……I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping….and sweeping it shall be as always. How’s that, Nicole? Care to include this in one of your many songs…… like Paper Hearts? Or, should I say Let’s Go Lazy! Party on, dude.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, MELODY SAID.
Aiyoyo, drink Kopi-O also cannot meh.
I am not a political observer or analyst but it is becoming a political dismal to read our very own police saying “We are monitoring the targeted outlets and if necessary will arrest any person wearing black as they approach the outlets.” Hello, it is only a small crowd lah, I am sure you have better roles to play in keeping the nation’s crime rate from spiraling uncontrollably.
I don’t know about you but come tomorrow I shall immersed myself in the comfort within the aroma of the sophisticated grandeur of good old Kopi-O. Errrrrh……black of course! Hello kawan, tak bleh buat gitu, nanti orang gelak kita orang macam kerbau... ah..mari mari, jom minum Kopi-O kau kau..........hehehehehe
I have this humble thought when I witnessed the latest addition to my small township. Yes, we now have the latest of the series of hypermarkets, Tesco, in town. I don’t remember when but it would seem an eternity when the Brits left us for good, and now they are back. Not to govern us but to give my fellow town folks some stiff competition. Looking at the brighter side, all of us, in one way or another, want to change. I am not suggesting having a fat bank account, nor would I hint the idea of emigrating to a foreign land, or even harping for a leaner weight and get into a better shape. I am thinking along the lines of my fellow kampong folks re-discovering the convenience of free air-conditioning under the baking Malaysian sun. The sad side like it or not, is the imminent danger of big chains affecting the local businesses. Yes, the poor folks who still stood by and, in their shabby stores, providing or have been providing the much sought convenience of the past. Okay it is also equally true that the same poor folks may have, at some distance past, charged you a bomb over some peanuts stuff. That is another story for another time.
Everyone needs to change, sometimes. The problem is, as far as Kulaian is concern, we just don’t know how. I still remember our very first emporium, mini hypermarket, and there was much looting the very first day of business. While shopping in Tesco last weekend, I noticed small stuffs were packed under a magnetized container. Now, if that is not anti-theft, I really don’t know the hidden reason for it to be redundantly packed.
The fact is, I am afraid to say, change is hard. It's difficult to do well, and it's even harder to develop a lifestyle of change. Kulaian have the notoriety to drive contra flow despite being designated as “No Entry.” One of our town’s main artery roads was designated as no entry but after more than 20 years, you still, from time to time, confront on-coming traffic. I was entering Tesco when an apparent fellow resident tried to manoeuvre itself out but through the “No Entry” side. I guess over the years we have developed extreme caution and tolerance towards errant fellow drivers. However, that doesn’t preclude the idea of swearing silently over inconsiderate drivers, I must admit. I couldn’t help but smiled to myself, I haven’t really changed a bit, you know!
I suppose change is here, and change is happening whether we like it or not. As I write, I have to admit it is not about knowing the change; it's being ready for the change. It's not about having the right answers; it's about asking the right questions. But with the much monkey business happening around the country, I really wonder what wrong change has brought upon us!
I leave a thought here for us to digest. “How do we get from where we are, to where we want to be?” Here is the challenge, a Kopi-O from the kopitiam is $1 but it is $2.50 from Old Town Coffee and $7.86 from Starbucks! That is CHANGE, my friend. They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. I am going for to my faithful kopitiam, you want to join me?
