The Star Online: Citizen's Blog (4th Batch)

These are the 4th batch of posts I submitted to The Star Online's Citizen's Blog. Haven't been actively writing in the Citizen's Blog page lately. Anyhow take time to look through them and check out the new "Featured Video(s)" embedded to the right as well as the previous blog post below, have a nice day!

Title: Sports, experience vs youth, and new blood
Content:
This past weekend showed that Malaysian sport, namely badminton, has got what it takes but is not quite enough. The performances of all the Thomas Cup teams gives a mixed bag of signals, such as the Peter Gade vs Chong Wei match: experience won out while the Lin Dan vs Peter Gade: youth won out.
With that in mind, the Malaysian team stands to learn a thing or two about improving for the next Thomas Cup in 2 years time. As a good friend of mine pointed out: the doubles pairs aren't getting any younger. So it's time to pass on that knowledge and experience to their future successors while they are still sharp in their game.
New blood has to be brought into the sport. Veteran players showing the new players a thing or two would not only be beneficial to the young'uns, veterans can gain new insight into their game. Much like how a group study session works. It will bring assurance to the future prospect of the team and new challenges for players to excel.
Anyhow, congrats to the Malaysian Thomas Cuppers on getting the bronze medal, good effort especially to the doubles pairs and nice try to Beng Hong for being a clutch player.


Title: Connecting back to childhood
Content:
Gone are the simplistic days of waking up and watching our favorite cartoons before getting ready for school. Now for those who are approaching adulthood, these simple pleasures are placed among the lowest of priorities in daily life. Assignments, obligations, classes, lectures, work, errands occupy time, leaving not much else for destressing.
How ironic it is that when we were kids, we wanted to grow up as quickly as possible but when we're adults we want to go back to our childhood days. That is why we should always think young to stay young. Do not be afraid to indulge in simple pleasures that other people might deem childish, such as watching cartoons on weekend mornings.
If simple and easily achieveable methods of relieving stress like this can be done, well why not? Even playing games, be it traditional games like congkak or guli (marbles), or boardgames like Cluedo or Checkers, can bring out the inner child in you, then go on ahead.
It is all a state of the mind, so think young, act young and feel young. Have you connected with your inner child lately?


Title: A poem for the world, country & community
Content:
Pollution is rife,
It's health that we strive,
Trying to buy time for ourselves,
Bottles of supplements on our shelves.

Prices rocket higher,
Than value of gold now dearer,
Retrenchments now commonplace,
Oh how, MAS has lost face.

Not to worry Malaysia will bounce back,
Which we always have a knack,
Monsters who kidnap and kill for money,
Should not be granted an attorney.

In such a high stress world,
Such news make you hurl,
Scandals, crime and bearish markets,
Are the leaders in straitjackets?

Let us now stand back and look,
Though life is not that like a book,
Appreciate those around us,
For their guidance, love and trust.

The time is now, the action is yours, the effect is theirs, the future is ours.


Title: What has the world become?
Content:
Though it is nothing new, but it still sickens to see the tragic news that fill up the papers day-in day-out. Right after the nation is hit by the tragedy of the boy murdered, bagged and floated, there's the case of the missing girl now found dead. What kinda sick world we live in. Not only do we have to worry about wars, viruses, price hikes, we are not even safe from our own relatives!
These monsters play on our trust, manipulate us like puppets on a string. It's these people who should be executed. Efforts and focus should be given towards capturing such banes to society instead of worrying about wearing bow ties, constructing a scenic causeway or even worse, gossiping about "Datuk K".
Does knowing celebrities are dating who make ur life safer? Does it provide security for the family? Will it protect you from the next pandemic? I think not! Also, rather than cry foul over a literary work that is deemed "Fiction", why not hold seminars and talks to bulk up on morals than debunk "Fiction".
This is not a complicated code, you don't need a art genius to figure out that resources are misused on low priority matters.
And frankly speaking, if efforts were made to make us citizens more secure both physically and economically, politicians wouldn't need to scratch their heads over why seats were lost in the last election.
Nature's signals to us are strong, so do you want a catastrophic world-ending signal to finally jolt us into taking responsibility of our actions and righting what is wrong?
Do the right thing, put a stop to these heinous crimes so that our future generations can live to see the light of day without any fear, whatsoever.


Obi-Kwan Kenobi, 2006