some years back the information ministry banned the use of pan asian models for our local ads. in recent years, they've relaxed a whole lot and our ads are once again saturated with 'celup' faces. the ministry has now once again putting a blanket over pan asian models in favour of actual local models.
celup is a slang term used to describe malaysians who have western (and by western, i mean white) blood. celup in its original malay context actually means dip. a local malaysian 'dipped" in some western blood hence, celup.
a lot of hue and cry were made by the leading "local" models over this ban. they are saying that they are actually malaysians who are of "pan asian parentage", meaning that one of their parents has some form of 'local blood' in their ancestry.
i do understand that these models are victims of circumstances. who should they blame for this? believe it or not, i think the fault lies at the very people who employ them i.e. the advertisers.
it had been ingrained our our puny minds that 'western' is always better. it must be the colonial influence from way back then before our independence day in 1957 (yes, it takes more than 50 years to change the mindset).
advertisers have it in THEIR puny minds that westerners are better looking than us ugly locals. even those with a tiny drop of western blood are much more beautiful. these advertiser have then brainwashed the public into believing their rationale, "corpse pale skin with round multicoloured eyes and blade like noses" is better than "exotic dusky skinned nymphs with warm mesmerizing dark eyes".
look at the cosmetic counters. a vast majority of their products are whitening. it's always so difficult for me to buy a normal NON-WHITENING skin care product. i barely have any to choose from. i'd prefer a healthy tanned look over the deathly paleness any day.
pan asian does not mean local mixed ancestry however much you try to market that. local mix includes the actual aborigines, chinese, indian, malay plus the smaller LOCAL minorities. it does not include australasians, europeans, americans and all the rest of those. heck, they're not even asians!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Monday, February 05, 2007
POP! POP! POP! doesn't mean fireworks
last saturday evening my hubby had to host an event, so i went out for dinner and some jalan-jalan with my parents at subang parade. we walked about a bit and shopped a bit and then headed to esquire kitchen for some food.
the place was crowded and it took a while before an outlet captain came and took our orders. i expected that it's gonna be awhile before we get served.
as we were chit-chatting we heard. POP pop POP POP pop!!! going on and on. i was wondering who was playing fireworks in the mall. fireworks (though they are illegal here) are often heard during the festive seasons in our country of a multi-cultural blend, especially during hari raya (a lot of little malay boys get injured or even worse, gets their limb(s) blasted off during the explosion of their home made fireworks), chinese new year and deepavali (or diwali). as the chinese new year is fast approaching, i didn't think twice of hearing fireworks, but just wondered why INSIDE a mall. as esquire kitchen is on the lower ground floor of the mall and situated right next to a side entrance, part of the restaurant has glass panes instead of walls, that's where we were seated, right next to the glass.
and then suddenly i see people running out of the building from the side entrance and some even ran into the restaurant. that when we started thinking that what we heard wasn't fireworks. there are a couple of goldsmith/jewellers one floor up. that plus the commotion = robbery. hence not fireworks, but gunshots.
our food arrived. i was very shaken up by then and had totally lost my appetite. i tried to eat a little bit as i'm pregnant and have to nourish the little one in my belly. the shutters of the outlet was finally pulled down, but there was this young chap (one of the restaurant's staff) who kept pushing up the shutters and going outside and coming back in, and out and in. was that idiot trying to show that he's a brainless brave or was he just too nosy for his (and ours) own good?? whatever he is, he's an ass of an idiot.
and then there was ANOTHER commotion. people were running down the outside staircase and back INTO building via the side entrance. that when everyone in the restaurant got really scared and ran to the back where there and actually walls intead of glass and huddled there. after a while, the captain told everyone that it was ok to get back to the seats and continue with our meals. all of us hesitantly went back to our seats (especially those of us who sat next to the glass panes!) some new customers came in and i could hear snatches of their conversation with others. there were a few robbers who started firing their guns all over the place, they were dark skinned (he thinks that they were indonesians, but as we all later found out, they were thai). another said that some guards were chasing after them and they ran outside the mall and hijacked a bus. guess that's when the people from outside started running down the stairs back into the building.
we finished our dinner and went to pay. at the payment counter i heard one staff telling another that two guards had died. as we walked out to the concourse area of the mall, we could see that all the outlets/shops of the mall had their shutters pulled down and there wasn't anyone around the concourse area, save for a few workers who are desperately covering up their little stores in the middle of the concourse. i sensed movement up above. i looked up and i saw the yellow police crime scene tapes at the goldsmith shop area. police personnel were working the crime scene. there were loads of people at the corridors of the upper floors all looking at the crime area. it was so quiet, even with that many people up there, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
here's the local newspaper account of the robbery
the place was crowded and it took a while before an outlet captain came and took our orders. i expected that it's gonna be awhile before we get served.
as we were chit-chatting we heard. POP pop POP POP pop!!! going on and on. i was wondering who was playing fireworks in the mall. fireworks (though they are illegal here) are often heard during the festive seasons in our country of a multi-cultural blend, especially during hari raya (a lot of little malay boys get injured or even worse, gets their limb(s) blasted off during the explosion of their home made fireworks), chinese new year and deepavali (or diwali). as the chinese new year is fast approaching, i didn't think twice of hearing fireworks, but just wondered why INSIDE a mall. as esquire kitchen is on the lower ground floor of the mall and situated right next to a side entrance, part of the restaurant has glass panes instead of walls, that's where we were seated, right next to the glass.
and then suddenly i see people running out of the building from the side entrance and some even ran into the restaurant. that when we started thinking that what we heard wasn't fireworks. there are a couple of goldsmith/jewellers one floor up. that plus the commotion = robbery. hence not fireworks, but gunshots.
our food arrived. i was very shaken up by then and had totally lost my appetite. i tried to eat a little bit as i'm pregnant and have to nourish the little one in my belly. the shutters of the outlet was finally pulled down, but there was this young chap (one of the restaurant's staff) who kept pushing up the shutters and going outside and coming back in, and out and in. was that idiot trying to show that he's a brainless brave or was he just too nosy for his (and ours) own good?? whatever he is, he's an ass of an idiot.
and then there was ANOTHER commotion. people were running down the outside staircase and back INTO building via the side entrance. that when everyone in the restaurant got really scared and ran to the back where there and actually walls intead of glass and huddled there. after a while, the captain told everyone that it was ok to get back to the seats and continue with our meals. all of us hesitantly went back to our seats (especially those of us who sat next to the glass panes!) some new customers came in and i could hear snatches of their conversation with others. there were a few robbers who started firing their guns all over the place, they were dark skinned (he thinks that they were indonesians, but as we all later found out, they were thai). another said that some guards were chasing after them and they ran outside the mall and hijacked a bus. guess that's when the people from outside started running down the stairs back into the building.
we finished our dinner and went to pay. at the payment counter i heard one staff telling another that two guards had died. as we walked out to the concourse area of the mall, we could see that all the outlets/shops of the mall had their shutters pulled down and there wasn't anyone around the concourse area, save for a few workers who are desperately covering up their little stores in the middle of the concourse. i sensed movement up above. i looked up and i saw the yellow police crime scene tapes at the goldsmith shop area. police personnel were working the crime scene. there were loads of people at the corridors of the upper floors all looking at the crime area. it was so quiet, even with that many people up there, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
here's the local newspaper account of the robbery
Friday, February 02, 2007
bitchy pig
a couple of days ago i was at the shop getting some groceries and fresh produce. there was this fat woman with her toddler son. she was being such a pain in the ass. she being fat, was already blocking up a lot of space. she also took her own sweet time to choose her stuff, leaving the rest of us to wait for her to finish before having the chance to get what WE need.
she was putting her basket (which is already heavily loaded) on tender foodstuff, thus spoiling the less sturdy vegetables. what an ass of a person!!
as we were lining up to paid for our stuff, i had the misfortune to be right behind the wicked witch of the west. her whiny son was hanging on to her fat legs and as she was moving on she bumped her own son and he fell on my foot. i cushioned his skinny little butt with my crocs. and that cunt had the fucking audacity to make a comment sounding like "can't you see a little boy is down ah?" as she didn't have the guts to say that to my face, i didn't think much of it and let it slide. i was just wondering if she really is such a prick of a person who expects a pregnant woman carrying her own groceries to pick up that whiny little brat for her. Jeez!
as we reached the payment counter, she put her basket on the outside of the counter and i hoisted my own on rest on the inside of the counter. that cuntface started berating me for not waiting and cutting queue and pushing her and all that. i knew she was just waiting for the opportunity to say something after all these while. truth to be told, i was itching for a fight with her as well.
as i retorted and counted all her inconsiderations from earlier on, hindering the rest of us shoppers, she just widened her eyes and glared at me as though i was a young kid and should be afraid of her. i found it so ridiculous that she thinks that it's gonna work on me and i almost burst out laughing. i couldn't of course, had to maintain my game face. i squinty-eyed glared(kinda clint eastwood like, at least i'd like to think so) back at her and said, "what the hell is YOUR problem??!!" she was so flabbergasted that she was speechless. my hubby came into the grocers at that very moment and thought that his pregnant wife was being bullied by a fat-assed pig. he very calmly inquired, "are you having a problem with my wife?" i think she got scared at that moment and quickly replied, "no, no". she quickly paid up and left the shop.
i had so wanted to poke her on her pottu and say "YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF YOU LAH, LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!!" i know, i know, it would have taken the class out of my composure to do something like that. plus that would have been rude and brought me down to her level. but i so wanted to do that. i didn't, but i wanted to.
she was putting her basket (which is already heavily loaded) on tender foodstuff, thus spoiling the less sturdy vegetables. what an ass of a person!!
as we were lining up to paid for our stuff, i had the misfortune to be right behind the wicked witch of the west. her whiny son was hanging on to her fat legs and as she was moving on she bumped her own son and he fell on my foot. i cushioned his skinny little butt with my crocs. and that cunt had the fucking audacity to make a comment sounding like "can't you see a little boy is down ah?" as she didn't have the guts to say that to my face, i didn't think much of it and let it slide. i was just wondering if she really is such a prick of a person who expects a pregnant woman carrying her own groceries to pick up that whiny little brat for her. Jeez!
as we reached the payment counter, she put her basket on the outside of the counter and i hoisted my own on rest on the inside of the counter. that cuntface started berating me for not waiting and cutting queue and pushing her and all that. i knew she was just waiting for the opportunity to say something after all these while. truth to be told, i was itching for a fight with her as well.
as i retorted and counted all her inconsiderations from earlier on, hindering the rest of us shoppers, she just widened her eyes and glared at me as though i was a young kid and should be afraid of her. i found it so ridiculous that she thinks that it's gonna work on me and i almost burst out laughing. i couldn't of course, had to maintain my game face. i squinty-eyed glared(kinda clint eastwood like, at least i'd like to think so) back at her and said, "what the hell is YOUR problem??!!" she was so flabbergasted that she was speechless. my hubby came into the grocers at that very moment and thought that his pregnant wife was being bullied by a fat-assed pig. he very calmly inquired, "are you having a problem with my wife?" i think she got scared at that moment and quickly replied, "no, no". she quickly paid up and left the shop.
i had so wanted to poke her on her pottu and say "YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF YOU LAH, LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!!" i know, i know, it would have taken the class out of my composure to do something like that. plus that would have been rude and brought me down to her level. but i so wanted to do that. i didn't, but i wanted to.
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