Happy Sweet 16, IMU Buddhist Society!

Many of you, even current IMU Buddhist Society members, probably do not know about this. IMU Buddhist Society is officially 16 years old!

Although it has only been 16 years, not much is known about the origin of the society. When I was in the committee, I got hold of some past documents that gave very little information that were vague. For one, the society was founded sometime around October 1998 by two medical students Tan Soon Kim(M1/97) and Chong Euming(M1/97), who should either be MOs, GPs or specialists by now. Back then IMU was still known as International Medical College and the Buddhist Society was known as Dharma Society. The person who might know more about this is Prof. Dr. Hla Yee Yee, who became the official advisor in September 1999 and is still the advisor until this day.

There is no doubt that IMU Buddhist Society has grown to be well established and isone of the most active societies in IMU. Throughout the years, more and more activities and programs were initiated such as regular Dharma talks/sharing sessions, meditation classes, educational trips and inter-religious forums. The blood and organ donation drive might be one of the most notable biannual events that was initiated by the society and since recent years has been jointly organized together with IMU SRC. Another activity would be the Friday Gathering, a concept conceived in 2009 that gathers members for short but meaningful activities together that fosters fellowship among all members.

the final printed newsletter published by IMUBS, September '09

My baby, the IMUBS blog is also turning 5 years old too. Not sure how many generations actually used it or whether it is still used today. I originally designed it as a medium to replace the monthly printed newsletter/bulletin. Back then as newsletter manager, I was tasked to generate monthly newsletters that was printed. There were only 2 other methods to publicize events and make announcements, SMS and the new social platform Facebook then. I ended up publishing only 2 printed issues and proceeded with multiple online-only newsletters accompanied with regular updates on the blog.

Committee members 09/10 and senior Ming Yi

It has been so many years since I last participated in an IMUBS activity and I really miss those precious moments. I sincerely hope IMUBS will continue to grow and continue to nurture more young aspiring healthcare professionals to achieve both intellectual and spiritual success in their future. May all be well and happy always.

Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

lalanandaFRY

Fire Power: Make My Day!

Fire power is not just about bullet size, nor is it even about shooting, it is about the person holding the gun. In this case, a Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver loaded with .44 Magnum that could blow anyone's head 'clean off'. So you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?

Remember this old man? When he was much younger, he had a thing for guns, starring in many famous spaghetti westerns in the 1960s, making a name for himself without an actual name in those movies. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, he played one of his most famous roles, a character nobody has ever seen before in films that has since been imitated so many times we forget how iconic it was at that time. Harry Callahan, more fondly known as Dirty Harry is now a term to describe reckless police officer who disregards conventional practices and policies, and it all started in Dirty Harry (1971), the first of five films in the series.

Harry and his friends Smith and Wesson doing what they do best in a diner

This character is at his best when he is faced with criminals who seem to get away from typical law enforcement. That's the main reason he is known as Dirty Harry, the guy who gets all the dirty job nobody else wants to do. However as reckless and crazy as he may seem, Harry has his principles. As seen in Magnum Force, he refuses to join the death squad when recruited by its leader because as he says "I hate the goddamn system, but until someone comes along with some changes that make sense I'll stick with it".

Over his film career, he has been nominated for many Oscars and won 5. This man is incredible in front as well as behind the camera and we should be glad that he just doesn't seem to stop making movies even in his 80s. Some say that even if he makes another Dirty Harry movie now, robbers and murderers won't stand a chance... he could deal with them with a walking frame if he has to.

This is a tribute to Inspector Harry Callahan, the great Clint Eastwood.

lalanandaFRY
28/9/2014

H&N: Bulan Kemerdekaan

Every year around late August and the first half of September we Malaysians will see a strange phenomena. Don't get me wrong, it is not strange to us, just observers who have no idea what is going on. There will be a bunch of drivers sticking one or more Jalur Gemilang (National flag) on their cars, Petronas and telcos come out with a variety of patriotic advertisements on the TV, Sudirman's voice singing the iconic Tanggal 31 Ogos song on the radio, TV and almost every departmental store! What in the world is going on?

Di sini lahirnya sebuah cinta
It's Bulan Kemerdekaan!!!

I am referring to roughly a month between 31 August (Merdeka day) and 16 September (Malaysia Day) every year. I personally am very excited and passionate about this month. Unfortunately after watching multiple videos and reading surveys online, I noticed there are still so many Malaysians who are... to put it bluntly, blind/deaf/disorientated (sorry for being insulting). It is actually very disappointing that there are many Malaysians out there who do not know the significance of Bulan Kemerdekaan.

I embrace this celebration as though it is my birthday. I have a little Malaysian flag at my desk, a row of flags at my pharmacy counter, sing Negaraku wholeheartedly during monthly assemblies and actually bother to remember all 6 Prime Ministers' full names. Anyway, why not try out the basic Namewee Merdeka quiz. These are questions that every Malaysian should be able to answer instinctively, even standard one students can. So if you cannot answer them, shame on you... hahaha... but seriously how can these REDpeople not get these right?

1. Which year did Malaysia/Malaya declare its independence?

2. Who is Malaysia's Father of Independence?

3. What is the capital city of Pahang?

4. What is the next sentence after "Raja Kita..." in Negaraku?

5. Which of the following famous people are not Malaysians?
P. Ramlee, David Arumugam, Muhammad Ali, Lim Lian Geok

On a lighter note, did you know that there are many Malaysians who made it big internationally and yet nobody seem to know that they are/were Malaysians? Some may surprise you, especially those of you who couldn't answer the questions above.

James Wan (top-left) is a Hollywood producer and director famous for directing Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring and Fast & Furious 7. Dato' Jimmy Choo (top-middle) and Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh (top-right) probably need no introduction as he is one of the most famous shoe designers in the world and she is a well known actress in both Hong Kong and Hollywood movies. Datuk Pua Khein Seng (bottom-left) may not be recognizable at first glance, but his invention of the USB flash drive has revolutionized the tech industry. Yuna (bottom-middle) is an up and coming singer who is currently making her name in MTV scene and had her album produced by Pharell Williams. Ling Tan (bottom-right) is arguably Malaysia's first supermodel, who made it big in international runway shows as the face of top designers around the world.

It has been very sad and unfortunate for Malaysia in the past year with the disappearance of MH370 and the tragedy of MH17. I hope Malaysians can continue to be strong and stay united to face challenges ahead. So before it is too late, remember to learn more about Malaysia, especially if you are Malaysian. Now is the best time to be patriotic and embrace the love for our country. Happy 57th Birthday Malaysia!

lalanandaFRY
13/9/2014

H&N: I'm a Loner

외톨이야 외톨이야 daridiridara du~
외톨이야 외톨이야 daridiridara du~

(oetoriya oetoriya daridiridara du~)

Sorry, I always wanted to put that at the beginning of a post, I like CN Blue very much! But seriously I read this article 23 Signs You're Secretly An Introvert and it got me thinking, should I be proud of it? To be honest, sometimes it feels much better being by myself... How do everyone blend in to working environment so easily? How do everyone mix with roommates so easily? How do everyone travel in big groups so comfortably? Some people say I have the "talk to me" face but it is only because I don't know what to say.

I work in an environment where I am the odd one, the underdog trying relentlessly to blend in, at least for now. I don't know whether my staff and colleagues agree because I always enjoy working alone. The good news is that being head of my little unit forces me to learn to work with people and make decisions together with my staff instead of doing everything by myself. For many this may be a piece of cake, unfortunately it takes time for me to adjust... I am still working on it.

Guess what? I set my camera on timer to take this picture.

I have a little confession to make. *my parents must be mad if they know this* When I was still studying in secondary school, I used to have long study sessions at my table where I stared blankly at my reference books with my earphones on, listening to the radio I hid under the table. Music is like a really bad study friend, I lost so many precious study hours just because I was out of this world then... It has been 7 years since and I still have my MP3 player and earphones on whenever I am alone. I had a couple of posts about my solo trips to several places and I always had this same set of accessories on.

One thing I find when travelling in groups is that things always never go as planned... and it pisses me off. When I plan a solo trip, I get meticulous about everything like ticket prices, timing and routes. So before I even start my journey I always try my best to anticipate. Unfortunately there is this guy Murphy and his law that screws everything up. Years ago I used to think that going for any trip in a group of more than three people will definitely end with a screw-up somehow. Obviously that is rubbish... things go wrong even when I go for solo trips, click this LINK to find out why.

Is there a way out of this situation? Please do tell me, I'm an loner who wants to break out of my shell! Be kind and friendly to me, teach me how to blend in.

lalanandaFRY
1/9/2014

Greatest Films of All Time

What is a good film?

What is the greatest film?

Who is to judge?

There are many films throughout the decades since people started using cameras to film pictures that move but how many will be remembered? How many films can you remember watching in the cinema, at home or anywhere else that somehow set a standard in which you use to judge what is a good film? Of course with the internet, everyone has easy assess to every film in existence, some way back to the silent era of film. Let's recount some of those films people consider the greatest and why...

CITIZEN KANE

Nowadays most people are so used to colour films that black and white films are just dismissed. Sadly at some point, I was one of those people. I admit I had this film in my library for a long time but did not consider watching it. But now I know that there were many films without colour that were great, this one in particular is still considered by many, and now me, as one of the greatest film of all time.

Citizen Kane tells about a news reporter who is trying to find out the meaning of the word 'Rosebud', the last word uttered by a tycoon, Charles Foster Kane. Throughout the film, the reporter interviews many people closely associated with him, giving audience a flashback of his life. Kane is a man who has all the money, the women and everything else he could buy but had no happiness. Similar to other 'greatest films', this film was relatively successful but did not get the recognition it deserved until many years later. This is a film with deep meaning that was expressed perfectly through excellent cinematography and directing. Give it a watch!

VERTIGO

You know that plump bald guy who made himself a celebrity by appearing behind the camera, his name was Alfred Hitchcock a.k.a. the Master of Suspense. Even people who have not heard of this person definitely know at least one of his films. Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window and North by Northwest are some of his most famous works. But recently Vertigo is the one that took the spotlight for being the film that dethroned Citizen Kane as the greatest film of all time in the Sight & Sound poll.

Vertigo is a tragic story of a middle aged detective Scottie who is forced to retire due to acrophobia and is hired by an old acquaintance Gavin as a private investigator to follow his wife Judy. However this relatively simple task became complicated when he starts to fall for her, leading to multiple twists in the plot. Obviously I am not going to spoil the experience here, you have to watch the film to appreciate the twists that make this film a masterpiece.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

I have always been a geek who loves everything sci-fi. However I'll admit this movie made me fall asleep twice before. But that was long before I learnt to appreciate the epic cinematography and story telling by Stanley Kubrick. Sci-fi films set in space I am used to have always included exciting battles, exotic aliens and lots of loud explosions (that not supposed to be heard in space), so at some point watching the camera shooting a spaceship flying for several minutes accompanied with classical music was boring to me then. The film defines the word epic and watching it is an experience of a lifetime.

2001 has a bizarre plot that follows the novel of the same name quite closely. The plot surrounds a black monolith that appeared millions of years ago to man-apes, then later in the 'future' being studied in secret by Dr Floyd in the second act of the film. The third act is the part most people know about the film when two astronauts on their mission to Jupiter have to deal with problems with their sentient computer controlling their spacecraft. Then the story wraps up in the forth act that I won't spoil here. This is a stylish film that takes its time to bring audience into Kubrick's world of the 'future'.

Those I mentioned above are regarded to be the greatest of their respective genres, Citizen Kane being the greatest biography drama, Vertigo being the greatest psychological mystery and 2001 being the greatest sci-fi. How about other genres?

• Greatest Sports Film

ROCKY (1976)

• Greatest Action Film

DIE HARD (1988)

• Greatest Fantasy Film

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)

• Greatest Sequel Film

THE EMPIRE STIKES BACK (1980)

• Greatest Horror Film

ALIEN (1979)

• Greatest Animated Film

THE LION KING (1994)

• Greatest Adventure Film

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)

• Greatest Comedy Film

GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

I am sure there are many other genres and films I have left out. I highly recommend watching all these films as they represent their individual genres perfectly. As a film buff and collector, I am certain there is no such thing as a single Greatest Film of all time, nor are there any particular greatest films of any genre. It all comes to the appreciation of film as an art and how it entertains us as viewers. Everyone will have their own personal list and those above are mine. Please note that this is my list, I have not watched every single film in the world, so if you think there are better film in each genre, do recommend them to me!

lalanandaFRY

19/8/2014