After another long absence, I returned to Pelangi Utama Block DEF in PJ to attend a KEPENTAS meeting. My first this year.
There were just five of us yesterday. And the evening's topic was on sales pitching.
Ustaz Mohd Asri Ismail set the tone for the meeting, acting as both trainer and opening speaker. And he plugged his "nasi minyak tiga puluh tahun".
Faizol discussed his property snagging services. Ali Shaifulakbar Talib promoted his Smart Health Healy socks.
And I, predictably, pitched my second book "The Pearls of Your Speech" to everyone at the meeting. Actually, only three members mattered and I sold one copy. 😌
The meeting was held in a relaxed atmosphere at Sandy Tan’s home, where we enjoyed a simple Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
Raya vibes are here! Wishing a joyful celebration to those celebrating and rapturous happiness to all!
This year, I picked Mekdi's Hari Raya reel titled "Pulang":
[If you're wondering what I mean, it's my own small way of celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri on my lonesome. 😊].
I came across this news report from The Star on March 19.
A woman on an evening walk in Macau, China appeared to have suffered from small 't' trauma and was briefly hospitalised after a humanoid robot startled her, police told AFP on Wednesday.
Police said they had received a call for assistance for the woman, who “was startled when she suddenly noticed a robot behind her while using her mobile phone”.
Video widely shared online showed a woman angrily confronting a robot as it waved its metallic arms at her, while a crowd of curious onlookers gathered around.
“With so many other things to do, why bother me? Are you crazy?“ the woman yelled at the unperturbed bot in Cantonese, as she gestured agitatedly towards it.
The woman wasn't harmed in any way; there had been no physical contact with the robot, but she required hospital treatment, police said in a statement.
“She has since been discharged and has not pressed charges regarding the incident”, which took place earlier in March, the statement said.
Social media videos showed officers leading the robot away, though police made a point to stress they “did not seize” the bot.
The robot was operated by a Macanese man in his 50s, who said he was conducting a test and intended to use it for promoting his business.
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.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to everyone celebrating!
I'm sharing this "Minyak Maaf", a Raya ad from Saji Malaysia that has an old-school 90’s comedy feel to it, where the plot totally tak masuk akal but masuk akal at the same time.
The blame for the destruction of Libya should be put squarely on NATO. They conducted a vicious campaign of airstrikes against the then Moammar Gadhafi’s government between March and October of 2011. One report said 26,500 sorties were carried out by NATO warplanes and they only ended after Gadhafi was ousted and killed (Alchetron, September 19, 2022 updated).
And a bitter civil war ensued – a domestic landscape torn apart by competing claims to power and with interference from regional actors serving to entrench divides.
Today, an uneasy peace has arrived but the country remains deeply divided.
So, Libyans are celebrating Islam’s Eid al-Fitr holiday – and ending their month-long Ramadan fast – on different days this year because of bitter political splits that stubbornly persist.
Religious authorities in east Libya, aligned with the parliament which is based there, said they had sighted the crescent moon on Thursday, making it the last day of fasting and setting Friday as Eid.
In Tripoli, the capital, religious authorities linked to the national interim government said they had not seen the moon and the holiday would not begin until Saturday, meaning people should fast another day.
“This is madness and I pray it ends here”, said fifty-year-old Ahmed Mesbah, in Tripoli, who has chosen to celebrate Eid on Friday. “We are divided among those who fast and those who have stopped fasting”, he added.
Wishing all my Muslim friends "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, mohon maaf zahir batin!"
Celtic inched closer to a 52nd Scottish title yesterday despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home by nearest challengers Rangers.
The former stay six points clear with only three games remaining and with a near insurmountable 19-goal advantage over the Scottish Premiership holders.
Celtic overcame early Rangers pressure to take the lead through Jota's close-range finish in the twenty-first minute. The latter however, levelled to prolong the title race.
Now unbeaten in 29 league games since September, Ange Postecoglou's side effectively only need three points from their three remaining games – at home to Heart of Midlothian and Motherwell and away to Dundee United – to officially secure Celtic's 10th title in 11 years.
Anwar Ibrahim has released a video yesterday in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
In the video, the PKR de facto leader reminds Malaysians that the fight is not yet over, and there is just “a little bit more” to go:
The video starts with a sombre looking Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is seen sadly looking at an empty chair – Anwar’s seat at the dining table – in the couple’s home.
The deputy prime minister is seen reflecting on the years Anwar was imprisoned between 1998 and 2004, and 2015 and 2017, followed by the news of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong agreeing to grant the latter a full pardon.
Anwar is then shown checking his books in his home library, while speaking to his daughter Nurul Nuha Anwar.
“So how? You’re free now papa. What are your plans? We rest first alright, papa?” Nuha tells Anwar.
A smiling Anwar then replies, telling her that he has rested long in prison, and now is the time to continue working for the people, to not betray the trust they invested in Pakatan Harapan.
“People are waiting. They gave us the trust. If we don’t fulfil the trust and support they gave, it will be a waste", he says. “If we think about our comfort, then we are no different from the old regime”, Anwar tells, adding that the goal now is to make democracy more meaningful for the people, and to lessen the burden of the people.
“We continue just a little bit more. Hopefully, Allah wills it. InsyaAllah”, he adds, before planting a kiss on Nuha’s forehead.
Wan Azizah then walks in, telling Anwar that it will be a hard task from now, as there were many things to fulfil, in terms of PH’s promises to the people.
“Since we have won, it is even more difficult, dear. We have to fulfil all the promises. Why? because we need to fill our win. If possible, with the support of the people, we can do it”, Wan Azizah says.
“Alright. Like how we did before, all this while, we will be together, in good times and bad”, Anwar says, hugging the two women.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslims everywhere! Maaf zahir dan batin kepada semua!
The number of Brazilians who claim they have no interest in football has grown considerably in the last eight years.
A Datafolha poll conducted in January 29 and 30, 2018, shows that 41% of respondents said they had no interest in football. The rate is ten percentage points higher than the survey carried out in April 2010, the last to address this topic.
The drop in the number of those who claim to have no interest in the sport was also followed by a decrease in the percentage of people who say they have great interest (from 32% to 26%) and little interest (from 16% to 9%) in the sport.
The variation in the number of people who say they have average interest in football was within the poll's margin of error of two percentage points (from 22% to 23%).
Even more interesting is that the research revealed that football, at least nowadays, is not the sport of the masses. People with lower purchasing power – the largest population in Brazil – were the least interested in the sport.
Not even the World Cup (June 14–July 15, 2018) in Russia seems to be doing the trick.
In line with results from the general football poll, the number of people interested in the World Cup has dropped, and the rate of those not interested at all has gone upward from 18% to 42%.
I’m not too keen on the World Cup too. It’s pretty much predictable.
In the current round of fixtures, there will be the obvious moments of A-list gold. Matches involving Uruguay and Russia from Group A; Spain and Portugal from Group B; France and Denmark from Group C; Iceland and Nigeria from Group D; Brazil and Switzerland from Group E; Germany and Sweden from Group F; England and Tunisia from Group G; and Colombia and Japan from Group H should keep us all glued to the TV screen. Those are my predictions anyway. I believe they should make it to the Round of 16 – but don't discount Mexico and Peru because they might just spring a surprise.
Presently, thirty-two teams compete in the World Cup – although FIFA plans to expand to 48 teams for the 2026 tournament.
Oh my, that sounds like a placid World Cup format that is bound to make me jump with rapturous disinterest.
As in previous World Cups, I'm keeping faith with Germany. And France.
This Hari Raya greeting card was created by Chrristine Ngiam. Thank you!
Selamat Hari Raya semua!
Setahun hanya sekali, meraihkan hari yang mulia ini!
Wonder Women: Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot. Image credit: Charbonneau/REX/Shutterstock
Wonder Woman” surpassed the $600 million mark worldwide Wednesday. Actually, tickets sales added up to $601.6 million, consisting of $289.2 million domestic and $312.4 million overseas. And the superhero epic set a new milestone on Friday when it became the highest-grossing live-action film to be directed by a woman. This means that the adventure blockbuster had eclipsed the $609.8 million racked up by “Mamma Mia!” the Abba musical that was directed by Phyllida Lloyd. Comic fans loved “Wonder Woman”, praising it as a breath of fresh air after a series of downbeat comic book films such as “Suicide Squad” and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”.
“Wonder Woman is set to be one of 2017’s biggest hits, a huge profitable success beyond the studio's expectations, acclaimed by both critics and audiences, and the biggest Warner DC Universe film that doesn't include Batman! And Wonder Woman 2 is already a virtual lock.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to Muslim friends everywhere. And may the joy of Syawal bring happiness and harmony to all.
The piano-sized New Horizons Spacecraft. Credit: NASA
The most detailed view of Pluto yet from New Horizons on July 13, 2015. Just before the flyby. Credit: NASA/APL/SwRI
A journey of nine years and 4.8 billion kilometers (three billion miles) finally came to its summit on Monday as NASA’s unmanned New Horizons spacecraft reached the dwarf planet Pluto. And what a discovery it is – Pluto has a heart!
The distinctive heart shape, instantly beloved on social media, is believed to have been caused by an impact at some point in history. One side of the heart is smoother than the other. Researchers believe the crater is filled with frozen gases from the atmosphere – namely nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide.
For 85 years Pluto has been little more than a white dot on a black background. Now we are seeing it as a fully-formed world. Jaw-dropping!
Did you know that this year's Hari Raya Open house hosted by Prime Minister Najib Razak and the Malaysian Cabinet cost a whopping RM2.8 million? Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim confirmed this profligacy in a written parliamentary response on September 24, 2013.
Najib can afford to be lavish, extravagant and opulent – and why not? He’s spending taxpayers’ money. Ordinary Malaysians, however, have no choice but to tighten their belts as the cost of living escalates!
Absolut Vodka is an interesting drink. It's a brand of vodka from Sweden but its advertising caught the world's attention when it began to stretch the boundaries between advertising and art. The ads are all witty variations on the same simple theme: a picture of the Absolut Vodka bottle with a two to three word caption starting with the word Absolut and often saying something complimentary about the product or its consumer. Always, a flash of recognition will come as you make the unlikely connection.
Check out a sample of these ads:
Today Absolut Vodka is a media sensation. And all because the advertising campaign is centered around two simple guidelines – (1) all advertising should center around the bottle and (2) the product should not be identified with any particular lifestyle.
