Salam Aidilfitri

To those who are celebrating, may this Hari Raya brings you closer to your loved ones and may your home be filled with laughter and joy. Salam Aidilfitri!

"Kias Rindu" is my pick of Hari Raya commercials this year!

Highway concessionaire Plus Malaysia Berhad produced an emotional family drama in store for their 2025 ad, which tells the story of an elderly couple who just want to spend more time with their two children who are working in the city especially during the festive season. 

The heartfelt short film's cinematography, from its tones and framing to its music and even the words of wisdom at the end of the video felt almost like a homage to the late Yasmin Ahmad, the godmother of Malaysian festive commercials.

US Revokes At Least 300 Foreign Students' Visas

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) said Thursday the State Department have revoked 300 or more student visas, as the White House increasingly target foreign-born students whose main transgression seems to be activism.  

"We do it every day, every time I find one of these lunatics", he boasted on Thursday when asked to confirm how many student visas the administration had revoked in their crackdown on rhetoric at universities that they considers anti-Israeli. 

Trump officials have said they are making use of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the State Department to deport non-citizens who are "adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests" of the US. The arrests are a part of Trump's pledge to combat what the administration has classified as antisemitism, which was written into an executive order in January. 

One of the highest profile arrests involves Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist, who remains in a Louisiana detention facility without charges. 

Another is Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fullbright scholar from Türkiye, who is in a doctoral program for Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. Again, no charges have been filed against her. 

She has reportedly participated in pro-Palestinian protests. And also co-wrote an opinion piece in the student newspaper last year that called for her university to divest from companies with ties to Israel and acknowledge "Palestinian genocide". 

Already, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old permanent US resident, originally from South Korea and who took part in campus protests against Israel's military offensive in Gaza cannot be detained as she fights orders for her deportation. 

US immigration officials signed an administrative arrest warrant for the Columbia student on March 08, the day Khalil was arrested. But they have not managed to find Chung to carry out a warrant for her arrest. 

The White House also revoked $400 million in Columbia funding over allegations the university failed to combat antisemitism on their campus, and threatened to do the same to other universities.

All because the US has a special relationship with Israel. Therefore, blame everything on Palestine because Israel can do no wrong.

Vladimir Putin Vows to Finish Off Ukraine

It's been some time I blogged about the Russo-Ukrainian "war". Even as US President Donald Trump tries to push for an unworkable ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin in remarks delivered on March 28 signaled that his country's military are gaining robust momentum across the entire line of contact and vowed to "finish off" Ukraine.

Already, he highlighted that the Lugansk People’s Republic has been 99% liberated, while over 70% have been liberated in the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.  

And TASS yesterday cited a Russian Defense Ministry report that Russian units in the Kursk Region are forging ahead steadily to the state border between Russia and Ukraine. More so, when Kiev lost its main hub and fortification after Russian forces liberated Sudzha on March 12. 

Just in Kursk alone, the enemy has lost more than 70,890 servicemen, 402 tanks, 329 infantry fighting vehicles, 290 armored personnel carriers, 2,234 armored combat vehicles, 2,569 vehicles, 590 artillery guns, 53 multiple rocket launchers, including 13 HIMARS and seven US-made MLRS, 26 anti-aircraft missile launchers, 56 units of engineering and other equipment, including 23 engineering demolition vehicles, a UR-77 demining unit, as well as 15 armored recovery vehicles and a command and control vehicle.

As Putin himself said Russian forces are "liberating one territory after another, one location after another. On a daily basis".

Slava Rossiya!

In yesterday's Scottish Premiership game, the table leaders thumped Heart of Midlothian Football Club 3-0. Daizen Maeda was Celtic's standout performer again as they returned to winning ways against the Edinburgh side to move closer to another title.

The first goal was a move of top quality with Daizen Maeda dashing in behind to finish with aplomb in just the seventeenth minute.  

A second arrived seven minutes later when Nicolas Kuhn beautifully released Maeda, his header crashed off the inside of a post and winger Jota surged in from the left to slam home.

For the third, centre-back Maik Nawrocki started the move and Reo Hatate stretched to send the ball through for Kuhn to race down the right wing. The German winger delivered Maeda's 30th goal of the season on a plate with a perfect low cross in the 41st minute.

[V]olodymyr [Z]elensky's Delusional Choice of Artwork

A photo published by Time magazine showing Ukrainian President [V]olodymyr [Z]elensky in front of a painting depicting a burning Kremlin had sparked outrage in Moscow on Tuesday. 

"Well, I suppose this illustrates in the best way the level of spiritual development and inner state of the one posing for these images. In any case, this does not flatter those who capture and publish it, as well as those who pose for such pictures", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said of the photo published by the US magazine on Monday, according to the TASS state news agency. 

The 2022 painting entitled "Dream" by Georgian artist Sandro Antadze is said to be [Z]elensky's favorite symbol of victory in the Russo-Ukrainian war. The image, which hangs in a room behind the president's office according to Time, was also on display during his New Year address on December 31, 2023. In the speech, he said that those bringing hell to Ukraine would one day see it from their own window. 

In the article, Time reports that a picture of a Russian ship sinking in the Black Sea in 2022 hangs over Zelensky's bed. Another painting shows Ukrainian troops in combat on Russian soil. 

Referring to the paintings, [Z]elensky tells the magazine: "Each one's about victory... That's where I live". Time magazine had earlier interviewed [Z]elensky and published photos of him posing in front of these paintings. The US magazine describes its report as an exclusive on the endgame in Ukraine.

To me, it definitely demonstrates how delusional and deranged the man is.

Donald Trump Wants to Do a TikTok Deal with China

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the short video app used by 170 million Americans. 

ByteDance have an April 05 deadline to find a non-Chinese buyer for TikTok or face a US ban on national security grounds that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law. 

The law is the result of misconceived consternation and misplaced concern in Washington that TikTok's ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government and that Beijing could use the app to conduct influence operations against the United States and collect data on Americans. 

And if you recall on January 20, his first day in office, Trump had warned that he could impose tariffs on China if Beijing failed to approve a US deal with TikTok. 

Didn't I tell you he's a bully?

Hmmm, I can't help but notice that these days, a lot of my posts point to Trump. It's getting too much sometimes. I think I need to get away from him for awhile. 

Let's make today a Let's Laugh Day!

😂😂😂

After all, the most wasted of all days is one devoid of laughter!

Ne Zha 2: My POV

South China Morning Post's James Marsh describes "Ne Zha 2" as "a 144-minute barrage of mythological mayhem" and adding that it is "by turns exhilarating and exhausting". 

Yes, I watched Ne Zha 2 and I for one came away impressed! Very impressed!

Ne Zha 2 showcases the power of storytelling. It tells us that powerful stories can cross cultural boundaries when they tap into something so fundamentally human. 

More importantly, Westerners and Western-influenced audiences grow up with Disney's hero narrative mode of "the chosen one discovering their mission" – but this Chinese behemoth of a blockbuster avoids copying Hollywood's formulaic piffle. Instead, it turns it on its head and brings its own Chinese vision to the table. 

I have to tell you it's kinda weird but "kuih lapis" straightaway pops up in my head. I guess it's because this is a very layered movie and I don't think it's easy to get everything in on the first viewing. That's why a second (or even a third) time may be necessary to fully appreciate Ne Zha 2.

Truly, the best stories are the ones that reveal new layers each time you watch them. That is what makes this movie a real classic!

A point to note is that cinema goers don’t need to see the first movie in order to understand Ne Zha 2. The sequel provides a brief recap that goes over the main characters and necessary plot points from the original film (i.e. "Ne Zha"), setting up the audience with the essential information. 

The film's plot is excellent. Sure, it immediately sets up expectations that Ne Zha and Ao Bing will be on a journey to rebuild their bodies with the seven-colored lotus and keep the bodies alive. However, it’s far from a straight line from Point A to Point B in terms of narrative development. Nothing goes quite as expected, offering emotional twists and turns that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The story uses a great deal of foreshadowing without feeling so heavy-handed that it becomes predictable.

Note that Ne Zha’s relationship with Ao Bing is at the heart of both the first film and the sequel, as the two are literal soul mates made from two halves of the Chaos Pearl. Although they’re supposed to be opposites, Ne Zha and Ao Bing serve as foils for one another. Ne Zha is a human boy rejected because he’s born of the demon orb, while Ao Bing tries to prove himself because he’s a demon dragon born of the spirit pearl.

Ne Zha 2's animation is visually ambitious. Vibrantly stunning. Viscerally spectacular. A lavish cinematic landscape that keeps you glued to the screen as you watch it unfold and then spread out before you. I tell you, this is a must-see for anybody who appreciates the art of animation. And you have to see it on the big screen.   

Nothing captures it better than the film's high-energy action. It is absolutely insane. The scale and scope of the sweeping battle scenes are comparable to LOTR – but massively bigger. And epic in every sense of the word. The fluidity, the flow, the constant state of flux demands your assiduous attention. TBH, this is probably the best action animation I've ever seen.

That's not all. I didn't expect it to pack with so many emotions. They sweep over me in bursts and in waves. Despair. Grief. Hope. Love. Regret. Sadness. Schadenfreude. And more. The movie is an evocative statement on the human condition as it cleverly agitates, arouses and awakens every fiber of your being. And this is an animation movie, not a live-action.

Moreover, its sprawling story arc is loaded with abundant messaging. It centers around familyhood. It highlights friendship. It emphasizes loyalty. It informs you about staying true to yourself. And I could go on and on. 

Delve deeper and the story carries philosophical underpinnings of morality, fate, power, redemption and self-discovery. The most standout lesson I got is this quote from the movie: "If there's no path ahead, I'll carve one; if heaven disapproves, I'll overturn the cosmos". (Meaning, fate is the weak's excuse, the strong's motivation).

Go watch it – not because it's breaking records or it's getting ensnared by the Oscar buzz but because it's part of this amazing awesome moment where you and I discover the stories that move us, lead us to think and make us feel, don't have to come from where we expect them to.

And know this, Ne Zha 2 is proudly, unapologetically Chinese. 100%. 

I'll give this movie full marks. Suck it, Hollywood! I repeat, go watch it!

TDIYS Making Good Progress

In spite of our new focus on our latest and second book "The Pearls of Your Speech", we're not at all neglecting "The Diamond in Your Speech". 

We're pushing sales of both books with equal vigor and intensity. 

With TDIYS, we're still very much making good progress! So far, we've already sold 1,249 copies. That leaves us with a balance of 251 copies.

Indeed, we want to reach our 1500-book target on or before September 30, 2025. Let's do it!