So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish (Christmas Special II)

If you don't understand the title, shame on you. Go look it up.

So much has been happening this month.

My blog has just celebrated it's 2nd birthday yesterday - although once again, I failed to do anything about it, Christmas is coming - yay! - and the year, this very interesting year, is ending.

Oh, yeah, and I'm leaving.

That Time of The Year Again (Christmas Special I)

I love Christmas.

Being a Malaysian, I've had the good fortune to experience many other festivals and celebrations besides my own. And, being a Chinese Malaysian, I get to celebrate two! Awesome.

However, I still, still feel that Christmas is still king, in terms of food, festive mood and overall celebration. The oft-mentioned Christmas mood is infectious, and I have no doubt my fellow Catholics will fell the same. No offense to other religions, races or cultures etc.

Sometimes, however, for some people, Christmas can be...quite a bit of a hassle.

Quite a few people will start moaning when it reaches this holiday season. The main reason? I bet you know: Gift-giving! The long, arduous process of thinking hard what to buy for your long distance nephew's cousin's daughter's uncle's son and hoping that it wouldn't get tossed into the trash can reserved for the "Worst Christmas Present Ever".

Take that, multiplied by about a hundred of uncles, aunts, granddads, grandmums, nephews, nieces, cousins, siblings, in-laws, and you're pretty much looking at very, very long weeks ahead.

Which brings me to...Arthur Christmas.

More Renovation and Moving

You might have noticed that the Starfighters tab/page at the top right of the page....is no more. Didn't notice? Well, I'm telling you. Look up. There.

Catholicism and Politics

Editor's note: This is not an easy post to write or post. The following is merely an opinion piece by the writer and may or may not reflect actual realities.

In the past, Suburban KID had disclaimers like the above too. Today, there are two core differences: i) It's posted at the top, and not with smaller-case words like before, and ii) This time I might actually need it.

All topics that I write about are usually quite close to my heart. That's the whole point of this blog, isn't it?  But sometimes, there are things that are best remained...unsaid, for the sake of "peace and harmony".

Today, no more holding back. I am writing this as an independent blogger, a young church-goer and, most importantly, a concerned Catholic.

STARFIGHTERS - Genesis (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5
First Encounters

How Far is Too Far?

Today, I'll talk about an issue close to my heart for a very long time. It's something I have....rather strong feelings about.

It's about commercialisation. (don't yawn)

A Letter to the 3A3-ers....

Dear 3A3,

First off, my apologies for writing this in English.

Random Talk

The following is a conversation between me and a fellow friend and blogger, Amanda NYC on ASEAN, Malaysia and traditional costumes. Find her on her blog at Her Effervescence.

I recently(very!) had a considerably long chat with Amanda, also an ASEAN scholar (Junior College) heading to Singapore next year. It started out normal, but as the issues we turned to are rather relevant to many of you Malaysians out there(doesn't matter if you're not), I decided to compose it into a something...readable for both our blogs.

We've Moved!

You heard that right.

The Suburban KID committee is proud to announce that Suburban KID, which used to be terencewang101.blogspot.com, has now the domain name www.suburbankid.tk, acquired from dot.tk.

The Elephant In the Room

Someone told me that short posts sometimes worked better than long, dreary ones.



So.

Good.

Luck.

PMR-ians. (quote Grace Goh)

(Yes, I'm lazy.)

Life, Love and Loss

Dear reader,

Do you believe in miracles?

Life itself, is a miracle. It's a chance, an opportunity to prove yourself, to change the world, and, more simply, to just live it out and enjoy every turn.

Yesterday, life once again presented a miracle.

Not Trying Too Hard

Sometimes, it's best not to try TOO hard at something.

For the past few weeks(months?), I've been trying and trying to create a good-looking template for my blog. Now, that wouldn't have been hard at all, but the problem with me is that sometimes I insist too much on being...authentic.

This means that I automatically refused to "just" modify Blogger's given templates and do my own instead. Which was okay, until the background part.

It went downhill from there.

Give Your Opinion

Let me get this straight: This is a rant.

So if you don't like to read outbursts filled with teenage angst and pent-up anger, you need to leave. As in, now.

Still here? I warned you.

The Pursuit of Perfection

The year was 2008.

I, being the forgetful person that I've always known to be, have forgotten most of what had happened on that fruitful year. I'm going to tell you about about a conversation, but I've even forgotten what was the whol;e issue about in the first place.

Yes, I'm terrible.

I do, however, remember this:

Dreams, Ambitions and Generally Serious Stuff

I will now make a huge announcement.

I'm back to blogging!

*cricket sounds*

Oh come on. I've been away busy for so long on my book, resulting in no time for me to do my 'normal' blog post. Yes, I'm aware that's mostly my fault, but I'm back now, right? And all you readers can now enjoy my wonderful-world-beating-hilarious-unstoppable-insane-crazy-but-lovable writing again, yes?

*more cricket sounds*

Someone needs to call the pest controller. 

EVERYTHING WRITTEN BELOW IS NOT TRUE

Inspired by a close friend's April Fool's post, I decided to do one myself. Because of all the obvious clues I've put down, all of you will guess right away. All of you will be fooled, badly.

I've shook hands with a government minster. (And washed my hands thoroughly after that.)

My novel, The Mercenary(Book 1: Internal Conflict) has found a publisher!

I'm finally upgrading to Windows 7,

I'm now in a relationship,

And I've won ICAS English 2010.

M.E.(Editor) : But you have won The ICAS English 2010.
I: Yes, so?
M.E.: But I thought everything here is supposed to be "not true"?
I: Er...
M.E.: Well?
I: Happy April Fool's?

One Short Letter for Me, One Big Step for Democracy

As you can see in the picture above, a letter has been sent to The Star daily to protest a new blanket policy on short hair in Bukit Mertajam, or even Penang.

Here the clincher: "Botak Boy" is me. Me, Terence Wang of Jit Sin High School.
(Note: I did not choose that pseudonym. I guess The Star wanted to protect my identity. Thank you, but it's unnecessary.)


I've wanted to write it for a long time. Make that ever since they came up with this silly policy. At first, I tried to get the grown-ups to write it. Adults have more authority, yes? When they write one, people will st up and notice, yes? And they're supposed to be more courageous and willing to speak up for us, the victims, their children, yes?

No.

So what's a guy gotta do when his good-looking hair is taken away from him? Or, to be more precise, when he isn't allowed to keep his hair?

Why, he takes the most gentlemanly and amicable solution available, of course. He writes a letter to the most widely-read English daily in Malaysia.

Something that has constantly frustrated me is that we Malaysians in general have never been brave enough to stand up for what we believe for. To speak up when something isn't write, or to fight for our ideals.

Well, if no one, none of 1800 male students in my school or the 10000+ in Bukit Mertajam or the 100000+ in Penang was brave enough to speak up, I would. I have to. So that's how the letter came to be.

Here, I want to extend a big 'thank you' to The Star for publishing my letter. If they decided to keep quiet and stay clear of any controversy, a lot of issues would not have been able to be raised and/or highlighted.

I now await for a reply from the education department. Hopefully they would even read it in the first place.

Ten Thousand

On 12th September 2010, I blogged about Suburan KID's first thousand views.

5 months and 12 days later, I proudly announce that Suburban KID has garnered Ten Thousand Views. That's ten times more than what I got in the first three months.

Confused? Okay, in the first three months that Blogger Stats were available, Suburban KID earned one thousand views. In other words, 3 months=1000. Now, it's 5 months=10000. I'm sure there's some percentage to be taken from this, but I'm too lazy to find out. All I know is, it's a LOT.

So, a very big thank you to Siangling, Jiawin, Kerryn, Emerlyn, Jarren(is that how you spell it? Sorry dude) and others who read this blog regularly. I even want to thank those who only stop by once in a while, or once in their lives.

No, wait, if you come by only once that's too short. Come more often! It's a whole new world here. (Begins singing A Whole New World)

Okay, singing isn't my strong point. Will halt immediately.

And I promise, there's more to come. Bigger and better. After the first book of The Mercenary is done(I admit that's quite some way away...), I will return to normal blogging, and work on writing even better posts.

So once again, thank you to everyone who reads this blog, provides feedback, criticisms and compliments, or has in any way contributed to the formation of this blog. Suburban KID wouldn't be the same without you.

I, M.E. and my$e!f,
Suburban KID Blog Committee

P.S. Okay, maybe not my$e!f. Not like he cares anyway.

An Incovenient Truth

Have you ever had that time when a good friend stands up to you and say: "You're a/an idiot/bitch/jerk/etc?"

I went through one of those times today.

Now, I want to make it clear: I appreciate these kinds of friends. They may sound harsh, but they really give you honest opinions, and most of your time, are your reality check. Your ONLY reality check.

So what's the fuss all about?

I was called arrogant. In other words, close to a jerk.

While this rather hurt me, it also forced me to sit down and take a good look at myself. I like being a confident person, but am I going too far? Am I becoming a self-centred person, who only cares of his own success and his well-being?

Am I becoming one of those people who makes sure nothing gets in his way to what he wants? One who doesn't care about being rude, just to look 'confident'?

Am I becoming self-possessed? To want everyone to know of my achievements, sticking my nose up to everyone else, who look inferior in my eyes?

I wasn't that confident and sure of myself some years back. And I can still feel traces of that uncertainty. I was scared to be in front of everyone. To stand up for what I felt was right, in fear of getting into trouble. Scared of being the one to stand up boldly and say, "Yes, I'll do it!" Scared to take that leap into unknown territory, in fear of looking weird or 'out-of-place', and not following the crowd. In short, scared of taking the risky path, in fear of the unknown.

But as I grew older, I realised that if I wanted new oppurtunities, new chances, I needed to let go of that fear. I needed to be sure of myself. Positive. Cool. Calm. Collected.

But really, am I going too far? To the point of no return?

I've thought for a long time on this. And the answer is: yes and no.

I know, it always is. But no one said life was easy. In fact, it's always the ****ing opposite.

The answer is yes when I apply this to my friends or family. Like what I always like to say, there's a time and place for everything. And the time for being over-confident is not with friends. Or family.

More importantly, no, during other times. Being slightly arrogant is part of my nature. It is part of identity, and to change that would be akin to getting a plastic surgery. And in truth, I like being confident. Who doesn't? I believe, if I can balance it properly, being arrogant is no bad thing. You're not going to get people looking up to you by being a coward.

Lastly, to that friend who stood up to me and said it to my face: Thank you.

Thank you for making me look at myself, something that I regretfully do too little. Thank you for making me realise that some parts of me are not as good as I think, and I need to work to change or balance myself. Most of all, thank you for being a great friend.

Seeing Red (Chinese New Year 2011 Special)

You can tell it's that time of the year again.
(Yes, yes, I'd said that I'll stop blogging for now but...)

The sofa cushions are red.

The flowers... are red.

 Well, almost...

The bed sheets are red.

The weird-looking lanterns, which look totally out-of-place against your modern fluorescent lamps, are red.

The cloth-like thing hanging over your front door for no particular reason, is red.

And of course, you'll be forced asked to wear red too, or you won't get any of those red-coloured packets, which, quite happily, contain money in them.

Name me one other time of the year where nearly the entire country is covered with a massive blanket of red-ness. No, Valentine's Day doesn't count, that's PINK(And I don't mean the singer).

So, here we are, at 2011's Chinese New Year! Year of the Rabbit, as it is. (lights fireworks-again. Yes, I have a habit to do that on festive occasions.)

Besides the obvious nausea-inducing red-ness and the craze of buying rabbits-thus leading to mistreatment by inexperienced owners, blah blah blah- there is nothing to dislike about the lunar new year.

I mean, come on. Money in packets, readily given out by relatives? Fireworks at the ready, to be fired into infinity(and beyond) at your whim? The best food you can get, and a whole group of relatives you've never even heard of?

When else?

Now that you've got that securely hammered into your head, I want to talk about a small issue of stereotyping of race and religion here in Malaysia. Because the weird thing is, during the weeks running up to CNY, whenever I raised a topic about it, my school mates will go, "Er, but you're Christian aren't you? Thought you didn't celebrate?"

Of course, the response given every time will be a "and why not?". But really, I find this absurd.

Yes, I'm a Catholic, but I am also a Chinese Malaysian. Why wouldn't I celebrate?

The answer, I suspect, lies in the Moral/Sivik textbooks from our early primary years. I did a little research -rummaging through theStar online archives- and found that I was right.

If you can remember, those textbooks thought us this: Malays are Muslims, Chinese are Buddhists and Indians are Hindus. Which is RIDICULOUS.

As far as I know, only the Malays are not allowed to convert to other religions(a topic that I will avoid debating here for obvious reasons). According to the Malaysian Constitution, other races can follow any faith as they wish. Question answered, and the Education Ministry should quickly correct those mistakes.

Funnily enough, my other Christian friends who don't speak English much seldom have this problem.
Why? Because apparently, Christians are supposed to speak English. And those who don't are assumed to be non-Christians. Yet another stereotype. Why are people who speak Mandarin assumed to be Buddhist/Taoist and English, Christians??? Idiots, but I can't blame them.

I could just end this post with my notorious gloomy 'Happy Chinese New Year', light some fireworks, and perhaps burn down the house, but I won't.

I'll just burn down the house.

Note: Oh yeah, you might have noticed that I have stop using the "Terence Wang on...(blahblahblah). Yes, I've dropped it permanently. It felt silly.

Although having said that he won't, Terence Wang still feels inclined to wish all readers a Happy Chinese New Year. And if you're married, he would particularly appreciate it if you give him a red packet or two. Yes, the ones with money in them.

REVIEW: Buried; Law Abiding Citizen; The Tourist; Knight and Day; Toy Story 3

First off, I want to clear this up: Since I'm reviewing so many of these at once, I will not do a full review, only a short one. A gloss-over. Something like that.

Now, where's that disclaimer?


WARNING: This review contains spoilers. Please proceed only if you a)have watched the movie(s); b)don't intent to watch the movie(s) but want to know more about it/them; c) are going to watch it/them, but want to know its/their plot and storyline because of lack of impatience.
You have been WARNED.

 

 Buried

Paul Conroy(Ryan Reynolds) is a truck driver in Iraq, who is kidnapped by terrorists and... buried. In a coffin. The title rather suggests that, doesn't it?

Before we go on, just imagine being buried. In a coffin. Underground. With absolutely nobody around, and only a Blackberry, a Zippo(lighter) and a few other items. Got the idea? Good, let's carry on.

Naturally, Paul tries to do all he can to save himself, ex calling the FBI, his employers, his wife etc.

You have to watch the movie to find out what happened, but I'll tell you this: It is FANTASTIC.

Before I watched it, I was wondering how the director was going to fill in 1.5 hours by just filming Paul in a coffin. I mean, come on. What can he do that is remotely interesting? Sing?

However, saying that Rodrigo Cortés-the director- pulled it off would be just an understatement. This is easily my personal second-best movie of 2010. What he manages to with so little-fill your heart with worry and anxiety for the him(Paul), share his pain and loss of hope and make you gasp at some of the awful things Paul has to do at the demand at the terrorists.

A fantastic job, considering how the director managed to bring so much out of so little. (8/10)

Law Abiding Citizen

Click on the pic, and you'll see the question "How do you stop a killer who is already behind bars?"

Good question.

Wikipedia: "Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) saw the murder of his wife and daughter (right in front of him) at the hands of Clarence Darby (Christian Stolte) and his accomplice Rupert Ames (Josh Stewart). During their trial, prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) informs Clyde that DNA evidence incriminating Clarence has been deemed inadmissible due to botched forensics because, according to Nick, the actions of the police at the crime scene affected its solidity in court, and that Clyde's testimony alone is insufficient to prove either suspect's guilt. Nick, interested in maintaining his high conviction rate, strikes a deal: Clarence gives testimony that will send Rupert to death row, and in exchange Nick allows Clarence to plead guilty to third-degree murder, for which he will only serve a few years in prison. Knowing that Clarence was the actual killer, Clyde is left feeling betrayed by both Nick and the justice system."

Sorry for such a long paragraph, but I didn't find a good enough way to describe the beginning of the movie.

I think you can guess what's coming next; what happens when someone is left betrayed so badly? Why, he kills them all, of course.

First, he gets revenge on Rupert by switching the drugs for his death sentence to let him die a painful death. Clarence is suspected for this, but Clyde leads him away from the police... into his own hands. Ouch.

I would say that he proceeded to torture and cut him into (personal estimate)14378 pieces, but to keep this below 18+ rating...

The audience will be shocked when Clyde surrenders himself to the police. Even more when he demands a high quality mattress in return for a confession. A mattress, for heaven's sake.

Ah, but wait: Clyde is a master tactician.

I won't give out too much, but even the entire city has to be put on marshal law because of what he's doing. Even in jail.

However, I feel they have overdone it a bit in terms of action and violence. You know, the type that Hollywood feels is necessary to be put in every film they make?

Otherwise, though, a good watch, especially for those who love a well crafted plot/storyline. (7.5/10)

The Tourist

Ah, two big names from Hollywood together. Should be a hell of a film, yes? No?

Neither. Sadly, I might add.

Elise(Jolie) is a woman who is being trailed by Scotland Yard. She receives a letter from a former lover, Alexander Pearce(who has stolen 2 billion from a gangster and is wanted by the British government for tax evasion) telling her to board a train to Venice, pick a man who looks like him and make the cope think that it is him. She does so and picks Frank(Johny Depp, but you probably guessed this)

Interesting, isn't it? And the rest of the plot is actually quite interesting too.

Where it falls apart is the acting. It's obvious that Depp and Jolie don't bond well(although I like Jolie's lines). The pace of the movie is also too slow and cumbersome for an action film. The action itself is mediocre. It's like they want you to take a good long look at the beautiful scenery that they're shooting. A holiday commercial then? Perhaps.

It's sad, really, because the scenery is beautiful. The movie isn't. It's just average. And for a big film with two big stars and a big budget, it's not enough. (5/10)

Knight and Day

Yet two big names again. The difference is these two are nearer to their expiry day than the other two mentioned above. An even bigger recipe for disaster?

Not really.

June Havens(Diaz) is a woman going to her sister's wedding that happens to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. To be more specific, the wrong plane and flight time. This is because she ends up with Roy Millers(Cruise), an agent on the run. Who has plenty of enemy agents(both from his former employers and outside gangsters) and after him. She must now stay with him, because if the enemy agents get her, she will be interrogated, tortured and possibly raped(ok I made that up). As Tom Cruise puts it, "If you're with me, your chances of survival(raises hand)-this high. Without me(lowers hand), this low. With me; without me. With me..."

Unlike the previous film, the actors here are pretty good. They are fun and humorous, especially Tom. This is because this film is pitted as an cool, funny and breezy-type action movie. Plot is ok.

What spoilt the movie for me was the unrealistic scenes. I understand that they want to make it funny, but showing Tom desperately hiding from the bullets, then just walk through the battlefield to walk over to Cameron? Cameron managing to drive a car unknown to her through a tunnel full of other motorists without a scratch? Really?

It's still an ok watch; just don't expect to care much about the storyline.(6.5/10)

Toy Story 3

Being the third and final of the series, one wonders whether the great Pixar will finally screw it up. I mean, just look at the movies destroyed by prequel; Terminator and Meet The Parents, anyone?

Guess what: They've done it again.

I'm to lazy to write the plot as my arm is already aching by now, so....

Wikipedia: "Andy is now 17 years old and packing for college, and his toys who have not been played with in years feel forgotten and abandoned. Andy decides to take Woody with him to college and intends to store the other toys in the attic. By accident, Andy's mom throws the other toys away, making them think they are no longer wanted; they escape and decide to climb in a box to be donated to the Sunnyside Daycare. Woody, the only toy who saw what really happened, is forced to follow the others and tries to explain they were thrown out by mistake, but they refuse to listen."

Woody leaves, but later finds out that the toys have been tricked. I'm stopping here, because any more would ruin it.

This movie represents everything that is good about Pixar: Awesome scenes and scenery, great and funny lines, themes that touch your heart, characters that you can relate to, and an ending that will make you cry. Literally.

It's my favourite movie of the year, and my favourite Pixar movie. And that's saying a lot. (10/10)