How Do You Pronounce It?

One thing Malaysians would notice when they are overseas, is how drastically different our pronunciation of certain words is compared to the foreigners. If we spend most of our time in Malaysia, I guess we wouldn't even know that we have pronounced it the wrong way all along:

• Species - We call it "spee-sis", they call it "spee-shees"
• Waffles - We call it "way-fers", they call it "woa-fers"
• Samples - We call it "sam-pers", they call it "some-pers"
• Tartare - We call it "tar-tar", they call it "tar-tare"

For the last one, when I asked for tartare sauce to go with fish and chip the other day, I pronounced it the Malaysian way and got a blank look. To add to my embarrassment, another customer in the line kindly clarified it for me, "Oh, he meant tar-tare sauce!" =.="

Anyway, can you think of more examples of wrong English pronunciation by Malaysians?

Don't You Love Paris Hilton?

"Someone you met in prison?" :D

via Digg - David Letterman destroys Paris Hilton

All Walks of Life

Monks in Myanmar are walking.

Lawyers are walking.

And what are we doing? Enjoying the yearly lollies? Thinking of whether which colour is fairest of them all? Or watching the tenth drama series this year, and meanwhile having no idea about the real life dramas unfolding before us?

Some people shrug and say "Aiyar there's nothing I could do". Many of us don't realize that we, the people are responsible for bringing a country to ruin, not the politicians. Don't forget, time after time, we put the politicians on the throne with our very hands.

Some might ask, "What could we do?" It's actually not that hard.

If you can write, write something. If you are above 21, register as a voter, and vote on the elections. If you have complacent friends, tell them how they could, and should save themselves.

There's so little one could do to improve a country, but when everyone start resting on their laurels, together there's so much damage people could inflict on themselves.

If you could spare a moment, read this article, "You Can't Run Away from Politics" by one of my favourite young authors, John:

It never fails to amaze me at how slow people are in making the link between politics and the state of the country, the state of our lives. Malaysians are pretty good at complaining about how bad our current circumstances are, but not quite as great at finding the solutions to our problems.

Everyday, I hear a new complaint about something wrong with the country. The roads are being unnecessarily retarred, while the LRT trains have leaking roofs. The JPA won't give you a scholarship to the Ivy League university that admitted you, but it will give a scholarship to some student at an Irish university nobody's ever heard of.

If you just think about it and reflect on it, it should be obvious to you why things are the way they are: because of the people we put in power. Just think about how you would change things, and the things you would need to effect change, and you realise pretty quickly that most of the things you complain about can only be solved by changing who holds the reins of power.

If your university is imposing a ridiculous dress code while refusing to tackle structural academic problems, whose fault is it? Of course the university officials. Who puts the university officials there? Who nurtures this culture of a facade of excellence while not giving two shits about actual excellence? The government.

The sad thing is that a lot of people don't realise this, and neither do most politicians. If they want to get the young excited about politics, all they have to do is hammer home the problem of education — it's a problem that every student and parent needs the answers to.

The problem is, our government has been very good at spinning politics as something not relevant to your life. It mouths the word "democracy", but it doesn't practice it, and sees to it that you never learn what it means. Even school elections are a facade because student leaders have no freedom.

It's no surprise that Malaysians can't see how to connect their problems to their source — poor governance and poor management. But the more you reflect on them, the less you can escape the reality of who is behind them.

Jeff Ooi was once known for blogging on information technology; even today his posts heavily emphasise that perspective. But he is known for his political writing, because he knows that to effect change in the IT world, what is needed is political change.

If something like IT is inextricable from politics, why shouldn't anything else be? The fact is, politics matters to all of us. You might not want to join a party (neither do I); you might not want to be a politician. But as a citizen, you have the choice to vote, or to not vote; the choice of which politician, which party to vote for. If you care about something, if you care about yourself, why shouldn't you vote? You can't run away from politics.

Let's walk together, let's build our own home.

Ever Wondered What Anaesthetists Really Do?

This is the absolute answer: (Winson, you will like this)

Everybody wonders what anaesthetists do
While the patient is asleep
Everybody wonders what we do for three hours
While the machine goes beep
Everybody reckons we drink coffee and we gossip and we're generally subversive
Everybody reckons we do crosswords and Sudoku and we chat up all the nurses

But do you really think that's all we do
Well let me tell you now isn't true...

'Cause we sometimes check the screen
And every now and then we write stuff
And if we have to intervene
We inject a bit of white stuff [propofol]
And we offer to alter the lights
Or the height of the bed
Or fiddle with the radio, change the CD
We even check the patient occasionally...
And if they move, we turn up the vapor,
And then we go back to reading the paper

'Cause when the patient's asleep
We just sit and listen to the beep
We just sit and listen to the...

Once upon a time I took pride in my job
But now I think it's time to depart
'Cause I just sit here everyday
And listen to bleeps of the heart

Having spent some time in surgery theatres with anaesthetists for the past few weeks, I can personally confirm that the description is accurate. :P

More medicine craziness to follow - "The Drug Song":



And finally, we have the ultimate "wonder drug" - Paracetamoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
It’s our brand new wonder drug we think you’ll find enticing,
Paracetamoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

The BNF has twenty thousand different drugs to take,
So we thought, “What could we produce to give you all a break?”
A drug that could treat anything from leprosy to SARS,
And you can give it in the mouth, IV or up the arse.

It’s Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
It can cure the common cold and being struck by lightning.
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

We tested it on animals and none of them survived,
But that’s OK cos when we wrote the paper up we lied.
It first choice for MI, MS and even for ME and COPD, HIV, PE and DVT

Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
It reverses impotence and makes you good at fighting,
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

There are some minor side effects and some are not that rare,
Like nausea, vomiting and losing all your hair,
And heart attacks, becoming gay and growing extra breasts,
But it’s fucking cheap, and hey, this is the NHS.

Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
There are cures for everything from AIDS to pubic lice in
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
We make it from the cerebellar cortex of a bison.
After that it undergoes some polygenic splicing,
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
It makes you smart as Einstein and as muscular as Tyson.
It brings an end to all that pharmacology revising,
Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin,
We sell lots in Japan cos it’s the antidote to ricin.
The minister of health we hear will shortly be advising
Take Paracetomoxyfrusebendroneomycin!

Damn Those Advertisement Companies

A father's voice.

A story told by a doctor.

The familiar "I love you forever" story, but touching nevertheless.

Another loving father (this one is not too convincing for me, though).

Finally, if the previous videos were too heavy for you, wait until you see this:

It Should of been "Should Have"

What's with native English speakers when it comes to spelling?

If there's one thing that non native speakers could beat English speakers in, it is definitely the spelling. In fact, many native speakers can't even get the word "definitely" itself right. The error is so rampant, someone even set up a website dedicated this error - and you guessed it right, the website is at http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com.

The correct spelling is definitely.

Not definately.

Not definatly.

Not definantly.

Not definetly.

Not definently.

And certainly not defiantly.

The correct spelling is definitely.

Haha! Have a look at a similar website at http://www.r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s.com

Some other common mistakes are the triplets of "there, their and they're", and for some reasons, writing "should of" when it should have been "should have".

Weird. "Should of" doesn't even sound close to "should have". Or does it?

I'm Online, I'm Immune

Note: This is sort of a continuation of the "no offense" post.


For some reasons, whenever someone writes some incendiary content and receive criticism, we always see claims which sound like this:

This is my blog, I have the right to write / do whatever I like. If you don't like it, just don't read it, shut up, and leave my blog!

This sort of defense is abundant in the blogosphere, people see it all the time in Xiaxue's blog (Disclaimer: NO, I don't read her blog), and some reader wrote it in defense of Kennysia's (in)famous article containing contentious photos of an accident.

Seriously, what gives these people such warped sense of ethics? What encourages bloggers to condemn criticism, and feel so righteous as to make the assumption of ethical immunity? Is it wrong at all to criticize one's public post at a public place? Is one's blog really one's personal sanctuary for one to bask in adulation and denounce criticism ethically?

In my humble opinion, such claims for moral immunity and the concept of "personal sanctuary" is totally unwarranted. A blog is as much public as it is personal - while it allows great freedom for authorship, it is also subject to public scrutiny as with any other publication material. Some people have a false sense of security while hiding behind the mask of anonymity, but as we increasingly integrate the virtual environment with our real lives, the maintenance of "it's all safe and sound when there are no sticks and brawns" is no longer valid. Your words and actions online are subject to as much examination and burden as your in-person conversation, speeches, gestures and charades.

So, it's best to be as tactful online as we would in real life.

Pride and Disgrace - Medicine in Malaysia

In the same week, we have this:

The previous Malaysian PM, Tun Mahathir Mohamad went in for his second coronary bypass operation today at the age of 82. The operation was done successfully and he's well at the moment. His operation was performed by local surgeons, Tan Sri Yahya Awang and Datuk Dr Razali Watooth with assistance of Dr Hartzell Schaff, the chief cardiac surgeon from Mayo Clinic.

And this:

Due to the negligence of specialists, little month-old Yok Shan got a screwed-up IV cannulation from a houseman (who isn't qualified to attend to an infant, but might have been under someone else's order), and ended up with an amputated, gangrenous arm.

I hope that we head towards the standard of the former and solve the underlying organizational weakness that contributed to Yok Shan's tragedy. We could really do better than another amputated arm or an ambulance without fuel.

A Military Conversation

Transcript of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995. This radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on 10-10-95.

Americans: "Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision."

Canadians: "Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision."

Americans: "This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course."

Canadians: "No, I say again, you divert YOUR course."

Americans: "THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT'S ONE-FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP."

Canadians: "This is a lighthouse. Your call."

It's actually fake, but who cares. As long as it's funny.