Warung Kopi See Sharp Minor

Three dimensional. 3D. Many related to cartoons and visual effects (vfx). Gaining huge fans all over the world although 2D fans are still plenty. Movies, tv series, local & international, advertisement, print media and many other peripherals and accessories will quickly follow the three dimensional world or 3D. Watching Underworld: Awakening at 3D cinemas today is an awesome experience. Literally, you can see silver nitrate dust in the air! Hey dude? What happen in Malaysia? Lots of 3D stuffs are hyping up here right? Or was it yesterday’s news already? Indeed, Malaysia is a good example in being a creative nation. It’s not too boastful to say that Malaysians are amongst best world’s artistes… creative… but not so lucky perhaps ;-) Well, I’m not going to continue whining about those grants and rhetorical initiatives stuffs here any further. Let’s just appreciate 3D, shall we? Metaphorically if we are to define 3D within life’s perspectives, it’s obvious there are ample ...

The first fossils of modern cockroaches with internal ovipositors appear approximately during the Cretaceous period which refers to the age following Jurassic, more than 300 million years ago. The term modern cockroach is used because the fossils are similar in nature to cockroaches we see today. Ancestors of these cockroaches survived extinction events of this world, just to pest around scavenging waste disposals? Well, that doesn’t sound too smart of a reason for the Creator of this annoying creature. ALLAH s.w.t recorded in Surah Ali Imran : Verse 191, “Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire”. If it’s “not for naught” then the cockroaches too must have its own wisdom of creation. According to the same Qur’anic verse upon...

Muslims all over the world can agree that vast proportion of global population towards the end of 20 th century and the beginning of this millennium haven’t been able to favor Islam as a respected peaceful and merciful religion. The fact that there are more Muslim communities across the globe remain unrest is not helping the goodwill of such a loving belief to be perceived as what it deserves. This once most dominant and prominent religion in the whole world is today’s one of the feared brands in some skeptical nations, often associated with negative connotations including extremism, violence and gender oppression. Notwithstanding various kinds of haters who never rest from smearing the goodness of Islam, some unconcerned and arrogant Muslims themselves added deterioration to the existing injured perception upon this religion.

Off lately, it’s becoming more rampant to find people contemplating about conspiracy theory involving Freemason, Illuminati and stuffs. Comparatively before the age of information technology, this subject matter had limited avenue of diffusion. To a certain extent, some people tend to become highly fanatical in blaming all sorts of occurrences to such theory. According to claims of those talks, the Illuminati are referred back to Iblis or Lucifer and its worshipers or Luciferian. There are abundant rationales that justify the claims and theory; both in actual happenings and hearsay. Without discrediting the possibility of the theory, the relevance and truthfulness of it has yet to become proven fact as the Illuminati and Freemason themselves are seemingly keener to respond in denial by pushing the wondering thoughts even further towards uncertainties and confusion. Many aspects of life are said to be related to the Luciferian plan, which focuses on mankind abandoning Godly beliefs...

Prohibition. Some say forbid, disallow, sanction or injunction. Either way, it still means DON’T. It can be in the form of ‘stop doing it’, ‘never attempt to do it’ or ‘prevent from doing it’. Any form of ruling including religious has its own sets of injunctions. It’s obvious to note some countries differ from each other; subject to style of ruling, type of leadership, government system etc. Some tribes even have their own exclusive sanctions. Some religions; although similar by name, may differ in its prohibitions according to nations. One thing leads to another. That’s pretty common; be it in goodness and kindhearted manners or evil and wickedness. Put it onto causality or perhaps to Darwinist to lay it on evolution theory. For Islam, every prohibition has its own divine wisdom. Some are blatantly evident while some are undeniably observable although arguably understandable in the skeptic eyes of non-believers, non-practicing Muslims and deviant teachings such as the Shi’ites.

Worries on ummah. That was Prophet Muhammad’s s.a.w focus until the moment on his deathbed. Why was he relentlessly persistent thinking about his ummah? Are there any threats upon his ummah from others then? Who would threaten the Muslim? Why would they do that anyway? Ok wait… first things first, let’s see how they would do it? “And those who disbelieved are allies of one another. If you do not do so, there will be slander (fitnah) on earth and great corruption”. (Al-Anfal : 73). So… seemingly that is what obviously happen around us nowadays... isn't it??? As a Malaysian Muslim, our worries should include Malaysia being used as branding platform on Islam but towards the slant of secularism that discriminates religion from life. In retrospective of mighty colonial nations, they would boast that if it had not because of their effort colonizing other nations, the world today could’ve been much worse because it’s difficult for different nations to converse in one similar language. Th...

“ Burung Kenari riuh berkicau …”, “ Oh burung nyanyikanlah, katakan padanya aku rindu …”, “ His eyes are on the sparrows …”, “ Eagle fly free let people see …” and a lot more birds were recorded as song lyrics all over the world. Birds with the ability to fly and roam the sky are simply ideal to represent free-spiritedness that beats the odds of human capacity. Flying men and women are popular myths; with superman, batman, supergirl, wonder woman or even X-men for that matter is not sufficient to elucidate the special feeling of birds flying and chirping. ‘Burung’ is the Malay word for bird. Countless species of birds in this whole world have given us different stereoscopic meanings in life. Perhaps some inherited negative meanings such as Vulture as carcasses’ scavenger, Crow as garbage vandal, Chicken as coward etc are just a small friction of birds' negativity. Our cultural legacies that affect our worldviews sometimes offer contending definitions to similar species such as Owl ...

Mind your own business. Haaaa…. That’s a pretty neat idea! People even come up with sellable software program out of that saying. Other than, "do yo own kinda thin, ain't no bitchin no nigga's thin, never mindin nobody’s bisnes thin and chillin " stuffs, what else does it le ad to? Malays even have their own version, “Jaga tepi kain orang” that is normally uttered with a don’t or in Malay, ‘Jangan’ to begin with. Wait… wait… wait… do you mean Malays actually concur with such connotation of not bothering to know other people’s stuffs? Culturally, as claimed by history, Malays commonly live in extended family instead of a nucleus. In fact, considering ancestors of Malays in most Archipelago islands, it's a given fact that Malays are communally close-bonded society. Today Malays are inhibiting most of South East Asia, with some splinter groups scattered all over the world such as Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Australia etc. How would a society based on extended ...

Following Tunisian political hegemony, several neighboring Arab countries felt the uprising prowess of the people becoming more undeniable whilst some leaders fear over such trend is turning inevitable. Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Jordan are seemingly next neighbors to get caught by the same stir in some political analysts’ anticipation . Is it merely a passing trend that blows in the wind? Pros and cons critics upon what’s currently going on are flying across conventional and alternative media channels all over the world. Concerns on humanitarian as well as political directions of Arab nations grew alongside expectation towards betterment by democratic and liberalist’s definition. Although not so popular, some skeptics are contemplating over someone else’s “bigger agenda” involving ideological indoctrination similar to the world’s previous historical conundrums. Although this time Muslim entities are directly involved in driving rallies and demonstrations that cry out democracy and ...

People are like sheep, that’s why most Prophets were Sheppard. That may sounds simple and straight forward but the underlying truth and meaning is indeed profound. Human civilizations throughout the history of mankind including Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman etc. proved that only when we can identify knowledge and started using it towards our favor, our living standards shall be upgraded from disorganized individuals and horticultural to communal and societal. Over time we can witness how human basically feed on information and knowledge mentally and intellectually. The more we learn and know things, the more we realize how to behave attitudinally in conformity with practical human values. Philosophically the shared purpose of all genuine knowledge leads towards realization of truth, which in relation to human rationale turned into expectation to create a balance between sheer wisdom and ability to govern life.

Azan adalah sejenis bunyian. Bahasa moden bagi bunyian ini kita gelar sebagai 'audio', tuan-tuan. Untuk menentukan samada audio azan yang keluar di corong-corong masjid itu perlahan atau kuat, maka pengerusi dan AJK sesebuah masjid harus mengambil inisiatif untuk buka buku (kalau malas, upah orang), dan baca sedikit sebanyak tentang apa itu audio. Dalam dunia audio, tiga perkara berikut harus difahami betul-betul: i) Volume, ii) Intensity, dan iii) Loudness.

“We made a covenant with you, that you shall not shed your blood, nor shall you evict each other from your homes. You agreed and bore witness” (AlBaqarah : 284). This verse is recorded in AlQur’an to remind us what sort of breach had Bani Israel committed in history. The history was precisely recorded with the following verse explaining how the covenant was breached. And today, the same act of tyranny is happening again in the land where Baitul Muqaddis remains. For crying out loud, despite AlQur'an being sent upon Muhammad s.a.w and his believers mor e than a thousand years ago, how could the Israelis surprise Muslims with similar disobedience stated in the verses above when they declared the State of Israel in 1948? The Book of Truth (AlQur'an) has clearly reminded us to be wary of Bani Israil who disobeyed Prophet Musa a.s and other prophets sent to them. In some cases, they even killed their own Prophet. Further on from that moment when they claimed independance, killing a...

Edward De Bono in his ever popular “6 Thinking Hats” recommended a particular black hat that represents negative thinking as a manner of asking, “What could go wrong?” A bit too often nowadays we come across, thoughts of that kind swirling in the atmosphere of our society, especially in politics. Be that office politics, village politics, sultanate politics and even more so politics of the political weasels in this country’s animal farm. Political bickering is becoming more rampant as we speak. Media is one of the grounds for people to exchange ideas and occasional curses with a sprinkle of condemnation. Beyond that level, hatred, disgust, vengeance, lust, passion and sheer entertainment continue seeping into the minds of generations; young and old alike, in the name of lifestyle indoctrination. At this point, I have to be comfortable concurring with Vanilla Ice the white rapper’s lyric, “Will it ever stop? Yo… I don’t know” How black is black? What kind of impulse that was first being...

Every now and then Muslims rose to condemn atrocious attacks on their Palestinian brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles. Some took their stirred emotions to street rallies, demonstrations, petition signings, charity aid events as well as vocalizing in media and internet. Let’s guess how many from these Muslims realize that the State of Israel was declared by the Jewish in 1948 as an intended outcome upon the morale unifying effort following the publication of Der Judenstaat that coined the term Zionist in 1896? Out of those who knew, how many can really understand what ought to be done in order to confront Jewish lawlessness in Palestine? Perhaps it is fairer to assume that lots of Muslims are aware of the fact that Jewish tribe existed long before Theodor Herzl wrote the first book containing a vision of an independent Jewish state, in which 52 years later, such vision was declared as an official ambition with blessing by the Queen of England. The Jewish including their...

Some truth come to us plain and simple. Our justifications are normally the reason a truth gets challenged. A man is worthy if he is true to his words although that is supposedly the cheapest thing any normal man can do. Is it fair to judge people from their talks? If it is, how fair is this fairness should be? A simpler rationale to dismiss the notion that a man is worthy of his words ought to be “action speaks louder than words”. Many times in our lives, we felt deceived upon not getting what has been promised by others. Rationally our sanity decides whether or not we should and can trust someone else’s words or promises. Some of us withhold higher skeptics than others. Some being realists prefer to take it as it is while some prepare for the worst despite hoping for the best. Neither a man nor any woman can actually foretold precisely what fate holds in the future but sometimes it feels so right to put up a hope as we plan. Rightfully, what is the optimum level for a good thought to...

The new Media especially internet and mobile related is growing prominence even as we speak. Surpassing 60% of total population currently engaged in internet literacy and usage is a clear indication that Malaysia too is adapting comfortably towards accommodating screenagers prominence. Undoubtedly what comes together with these new Medias is a whole lot of overloaded entertainment and information. Abundance of entertainment and information avenues has very much influenced individualistic values in choosing a media. In fact, the current trend indicates that there are more individuals who prefer multiple Medias at one time. Inasmuch one remains as a loyal viewer to a TV channel; that doesn’t stop preference towards other channels in mobile and internet medium. Very much so, this era has been going through massive intellectual revolution as opposed to the time when media channels were limited and more focused towards the role as a medium of propaganda. Looking at the exponential trend...

Yasmin Ahmad, Asri Rabbani and Din Beramboi. Three big names in Malaysia, known for their sheer outstanding charisma in media and entertainment industry, were recently called to meet their All Merciful Creator. Moving on is always tough at first especially to close friends and relatives, but that is parts and parcels of life. No doubt life goes on although some lives stop living while their deeds continue to fill up memorable fond spots in the hearts of others. Yes, life goes on, yet never the same as before.

In many ways, the spectrum of art expression and appreciation; particularly in music and entertainment, is often perceived as relative abstract over personal preference which upholds individualistic values as a priority. Sometimes the epitome is congruent amongst fellow mankind but most of the time, other factors of generalization such as religious, cultural and knowledge play detrimental roles in influencing one’s mind towards or against certain societal sentiment. Sensitivity leads to different kinds of reactions positively as much as negatively. One can change behavior towards the better upon being touched and moved by certain work of art. Similarly one can turn to aggression once offended by a trigger of artistic impression. Either way it goes, those who posses creativity to create powerful artistic outputs have the opportunity to gain attention and influence.