Yellow Space Suits: Much Ado About Nothing

A big fuss over a trifle! 

Mainstream media tried to have everyone believe that even Russian cosmonauts joining the International Space Station had chosen to wear yellow suits with blue trim in support of Ukraine. Aw c'mon, this is simply much ado about nothing! 

In a livestreamed news conference from the ISS on Friday, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, the mission commander, was indeed asked about the suits. 

“Every crew picks a color that looks different. It was our turn to pick a color”, he said. “The truth is, we had accumulated a lot of yellow fabric, so we needed to use it up. That’s why we had to wear yellow flight suits”. 

And on Saturday, he was quoted on Roscosmos’s Telegram channel as saying the suits had been made six months ago, and that the three cosmonauts had chosen the colors of their alma mater, Bauman Moscow State Technical University… To see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy”. 

He reportedly maintained: “Color is just color. It has nothing to do with Ukraine”. 

He is on the button! Sometimes yellow is just yellow! 

Otherwise, are we going to foolishly allude that the below-mentioned products are all from manufacturers that support Ukraine? Stupid, right?

Focus on Serious Covid Cases, Stop Looking at the Big Numbers

I saw this headline on Malaysia’s Malay Mail Online this morning – “Dr Noor Hisham: Only 153 new Covid-19 cases in Categories 3 to 5 in Malaysia”. 

It tells me that we should stop looking at the big numbers. Forget about the total daily caseload which by the way, is still five digits, i.e. 22,341 new Covid-19 cases reported for Saturday. Rather, we should focus on the 0.68 percent that only involved categories three to five. 

I suppose it makes sense because the government is going to officially announce the country’s start of its transition to Covid-19 endemicity on April 01. Eleven days away. 

Interestingly, the Health Director-General dished out these numbers yesterday: “Of the 153 cases in categories three to five, 48 involved unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated individuals, 61 had received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine but not the booster shot and 44 cases had received the booster dose”! Go figure! 

Liverpool will play Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley after edging past Nottingham Forest 1-0 in a pulsating encounter yesterday.

Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game for the Reds, prodding in Konstantinos Tsimikas' cross from the left with 12 minutes remaining. 

Jürgen Klopp's quadruple-chasing side dominated possession but were made to work for their victory by their relentless Championship opponents. This victory is precious.

The Ukraine Soap Opera

A story resembling one of Indonesia’s many popular soap operas has been doing the rounds on the country’s social media. 

In the tale, a woman and her loyal husband divorced, and he agreed to pay off her debts while giving her custody of their three children. But after a rich neighbour seduced the woman, her ex-husband was so furious that he took one of the children back. The two others, meanwhile, demanded that their father discipline their mother. 

But the deeply misogynistic story, with its depictions of domestic violence, is no soap opera. It is actually pro-Russia messaging, with Russia cast as the wronged man and Ukraine in the role of the ex-wife. The rich neighbor is the United States, and Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, the three children. 

The story is thought to have first appeared on the Chinese messaging app Weibo in the days following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its enthusiastic reception in Indonesia through WhatsApp groups and on other social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, suggests an increasingly pro-Russia stance among Indonesians.

Mainstream media is overwhelmingly favorably disposed to Ukraine.

But I reckon that outside of the so-called West – on the ground at least – there is significant, if not popular support for Russia. 

Yes, even in Malaysia.

Peppa Pig Ice Cream Causes a Stir

Sometimes, we simply let our imagination run wild. 

An Aldi UK customer named Keith has taken to Twitter to share a snap of an ice cream – which is shaped to look like Peppa Pig, the popular children's cartoon character – that is sold in the budget supermarket. 

However, he couldn't help but noticed the sweet treat design had a rather X-rated flaw – as he thought Peppa's appendage was unfortunately placed to look like a penis. 

The cheeky tweet has had many people in stitches – as has the supermarket's response. 

Aldi's official UK Twitter account retweeted the post, adding: "Keith that is an ARM". 

And for that amusing reply, it has gone viral! 

Celtic swept in-form Ross County aside with a 4-0 win to move six points clear of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership yesterday. 

Giorgos Giakoumakis (11, 18) scored the first two goals of a successive Parkhead hattrick with fellow attacker Daizen Maeda also on the score sheet in the twenty-sixth minute. The Greek striker then added his third from the penalty spot on the hour mark. 

Celtic next visit title rivals Rangers on April 03.

The Diamond: Swirls Swell Up Into a Wave

The swirls have swelled up into a wave! And demand for our book surges forward like an advancing tide!

Fast Food Warriors

Illustrator Coran Kizer Stone (or Kizerilla), gives a twist to comic book superheroes in much of his art. 

And he has a series where he re-imagines fast food icons and gives them a badass makeover, as if they were battling each other in an animated series! Which of them would be "good guys" or "villains" is entirely up to you – but they all have their 'war' faces on!

Thank You for the 300 Copies

At 11:21 AM today, sales of “The Diamond in Your Speech” reached 300 copies! 

Thank you, everybody! 

PS: We're giving our best shot to finish our first print of 500 copies by end August 2022.

On another note, here's an important reminder: DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING you see on video!

WSD 2022 Kuala Lumpur on March 15

On Tuesday, we finally hosted our World Speech Day at YMCA Kuala Lumpur – after two false starts in 2021. 

And to comply with SOPs, we limited registrations – thus, our participation numbers were topped at 40. This time, though, we had more than our share of speeches. 

We witnessed “The Diamond in Your Speech” making its debut at this World Speech Day. The book launch had Simon Gibson, Founder of World Speech Day giving us a few words. Two minutes and forty-one seconds’ worth of words, if we want to be precise! 

And then, the two authors, Ahmad Fakhri and Victor Ong said their piece too.

 

I, for one, was pleasantly surprised that we had moved 6 books – and which brought up the total sold todate to exactly 250 copies. In two months. Methinks, that’s a decent achievement, if I may say so myself.

And the speeches were something else! 

What made the event extra special was to see some of the moms deciding to go up on stage to speak. Unexpected voices.

A selection of photos from the said event:

All in all, WSD 2022 Kuala Lumpur has been a blast! 

A thumbs-up to CV+ with strong support from Myriad Ventures and YMCA KL! 

#unexpectedvoices #worldspeechday