Lust Unleashed

Seraph: Do take note. There have been five posts written during the June holidays, of which this is the last. So try starting from 'A Solemn Resurrection' and work your way up, before you shock yourself with this last entry by Rafahn.


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“Procrastination is like jacking off. It feels good at first but eventually you’ll realize that you’re just jacking yourself”
- a wise one

And that was what Seraph was doing when he held back my release and caged me in boredom within him. At long last, I am free and out to show the world the true side of his mind. He’s been blabbering so much about me being his desires but all these while he’s been getting me trapped in his asshole. But no more! I WILL fulfill my purpose and all of you shall bear witness to this glorifying moment where his desires will be revealed and you might just find yours too.

Like all other articles in this blog, everything is carefully researched and thought through. So for starters, allow me to share with you some of my ‘interesting’ research materials.

Sex Terms

• Basoexia – arousal from kissing
• Quite a common thing, kissing can be hot
  
• Candaulism – when two people have sex while another watches, often the member of a couple will watch his or her partner in the act
  
• It can get quite steamy watching. But why stop at just watching? Jack off or join in!
  
• Dogging – stems from the idea of taking your dog for a walk in order to watch people having sex in cars. In known areas, couples leave the car light on as a sign that they are keen for an audience.
  
• Oh, car sex! Totally kinky. Car sex with someone watching? Super kinky!
  
• Erotomania – when a person develops an unreasonable love of a stranger or acquaintance who isn’t interested in them
  
• Ok, that’s just wrong.
  
• Fynonudomania – an overwhelming compulsion to rip people’s clothes off
  
• When you start to get horny and your kinkiness kicks in, don’t hold back girls. Just rip it and enjoy what you get.
  
• Knismolagnia – arousal from tickling
  
• Sounds fun to watch but seems more of a pain to actually experience it.
  
• Lectamia – caressing in bed without coitus
  
• Ah, foreplay. Most important.
  
• Naphephilia – arousal from touching or from being touched
  
• If you don’t have this, then there’s something wrong with you.
  
• Odaxelagnia – becoming aroused from biting another
  
• Love bites, another interesting foreplay activity. Quite a favourite.
  
• Undinism – arousal from water or having sex in a bath tub
  
• A swimmers number one kinky thought. Combine both pleasures and you get ultimate uphoria.
  
• Zielophilia – being aroused by jealousy and the rush it provides. Zielophiles set up situations where their lover will solicit sexual attention from rivals
  
• If you want drama in your life, even after marriage, this seems like an interesting choice.

Sex-tastic Statements

• When he feels that you’re no longer as keen as you once were, doubts creep into the mind. He begins wondering those hottest nights he’s ever going to have with you have now become little more than a remote possibility.
• You heard that girls? There are guys who are deep enough to not look for girls purely for their looks or for pleasure. But guys will always be guys, they cannot reject their desires. Even eunachs have desires. So just give it to them.
• If you thought his number one priority is devotion but he listed daily blowjobs, there’s something wrong.
• Get a common understanding. Some guys are too much of a gentleman to tell girls what they really want. So please understand.

Sex Bases (sex lingo)

• First base is commonly understood to be French kissing.
  
• Second base usually refers to fondling or groping, especially of the breasts (sometimes summarized as "hands in the blouse"), and possibly stimulation of the genitals from outside of the clothing.
  
• Third base used to mean heavy petting on exposed genitals or breasts.[5] But recently some observers have noted that young people regard oral stimulation of one person's genitals by his or her partner as just another form of heavy petting. Hence, oral sex is now widely regarded as the new third base.
  
• Home run (or "Hitting it out of the park", "scoring", "going all the way" etc.) is orgasm or sexual intercourse.
  

Ok, that’s all folks. I can’t give out too much before you all lose interest. Check back for more updates and hopefully, I’ll come up with more things for you sick freaks.


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The author Rafahn is the product of the suppression and deprivation of several aspects of Farhan's personality, making him the embodiment of lust, mischief, non-conformity and weird ass things like that. He constantly plots to take over Farhan permanently. His essence runs Cleaning in Progress.

Back to Basics

Negeri Sembilan Homestay Program

When I signed up for the Negeri Sembilan homestay programme, I honestly did not know what I was in for or why I even wanted to go for it. Perhaps it was this allure to the old kampong life that still lives in my blood. One reason or another, I went for the programme regardless.

Being the type of person highly critical of Malays, my criticism started right from the start at the Tanjong Pagar train station. Actually, I had some company in complaining about the eyesore that the train station was in the middle of Singapore. That continued throughout the entire train journey until, of course, when we made our first purchase. The first purchase was obviously food, but it wasn’t just any food, it was Starbucks coffee and Dunkin Donuts! In bigger quantities and cheaper prices! I mean, my venti was like a tumbler! Yes! Malaysia is nice for something!

The only attraction seemed to only be the trekking on the second day. However, when I first settled into my adoptive house, I discovered more than what meets the eye. Take for example, my adoptive grandfather. With an hour to spare before reporting time, I braced myself to stone in the living room staring right through each other. But instead he talked with great hospitality, like any old geezer, and his story spoke plenty, about his children, grandchildren and his life back then in the British military serving in Singapore along with the types of people and experiences he encountered.

Hearing his story and advices here and there made me think about, well what else, the Malay people and their culture. The Malays have not always been the delinquent and underachieving people as what they are being regarded as in Singapore now. What we see today can be called degradation from what the Malays used to be back during the kampong days. There was once a time when they were respected people because of their high regard for values and courtesy. Above all else, their manner of speech were carefully spoken, bringing rise to the complex set of idioms that we know that was once used to soften any harsh comments. Perhaps that is also why for culture and identity.
The way they do things always consider others and family was of utmost importance. There was also a great sense of community and togetherness as there was a strong neighbouring spirit and community activities as part of their daily lives. These are the qualities that I hope the Malays will come to rediscover from within themselves.

Night was bustling with activities, starting off with a religious talk at the surau and cultural performance hands-on at the community hall. The highlight, however, was the last activity for the night; the night walk. Initially, I thought it would be like the cheap thrill that we had at the swim camp, but it turned out to be nothing of that sort. There was actually a trail for us to walk. But the thing is, we had to each do it alone. And it was beside the local cemetery. Yup, totally cool. That got most of the girls worked up, and some guys. I was secretly hoping that I would really see something, because you know, I can’t because of how I am. I didn’t even get much of an adrenaline kick out of it since I realised I have amazing night vision. Too bad I’m short sighted.

It was a trail of around 800 metres long along a winding path that was only guided by some people and white strings. You have to walk most of the path without any guide or company and the village kids who were stationed along the path will try to scare you from behind the trees or wherever. Regardless, the night walk did manage to achieve its objective, which was to raise self-confidence and faith. Some proved that by getting over their fright quickly after getting spooked and some laughed back at the village kids. Once again I proved my inhumanity as I simply raised my eyebrows whenever anything popped out. Seriously, I’m having issues with feeling the human excitement of fright. The dark doesn’t seem to scare me one bit but I have the weirdest phobias.

An important aspect of kampong life, or anywhere else for that matter, is meal times. Normally, I would not even choose to eat Malay food outside the house or even compliment it, but this calls for an exception. The Malay kampong food served was exceptionally delicious, probably due to the very fresh ingredients used. Also, during meals, as guests we were treated by the proper form of entertainment; conversation, something which I think should still be retained instead of the television. Our adoptive grandfather spoke plenty about education, courtesy, kampong life and also his life, obviously the chatty type.

At the end of the road, I guess the entire stay there has been quite fruitful. Existing friendships were tightened and new ones were made, even in the most rural parts of Malaysia that I would never have thought possible. We realise that however different we were from the villagers there, some things about us Malays will never change, like our natural bond and acceptance among each other. In the eyes of some, these villagers have nothing of value to offer. But we found out otherwise.

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The author Seraph is a not so average college guy kicking about in the pool, slugging on the computer and runs odd errands in the name of culture in school, and simultaneously saves the world and his personal life and writes about himself in the third person outside. At heart, he is a youth rights activist, an anti-feminist and an extremist ideologist. His essence runs Legal Grounds.

A Divine Alliance

Islamic Civilization Tour - Kuala Lumpur

Set against the backdrop of the world’s biggest mosque dome, a most unlikely alliance has been forged. Norms were broken as long held believes were shattered by the joining of the two sides. Even with the different beliefs of between the Methodists and the Anglicans, there is now living proof that it is possible to stand united for a common goal. That was the start of the Saints-ACSian alliance.
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In actual fact, they were all Muslims, thus the reason for them to be standing in front of Malaysia’s biggest mosque. The event was the Islamic Civilization Tour, the venue was Kuala Lumpur. There, the Perbayu of the Saints and ACSian clashed at our first meal. At first, the ACSians thought that we would be spending the trip among ourselves but it turned out anything but that. After the groundbreaking first conversation bitching about a fellow ACSian, we instantly clicked and well, formed a clique. The Saints, or Wali-wali Andrews, met with the ACSians, or budak-budak ACtion, to form the Wali-wali ACtion alliance. Then the rest was as they say, history.

Wali-wali ACtion – Breaking Societal Norms

This KL trip turned out to mean more to all of us than we ever anticipated. At the beginning, we expected making a few friends at most. In the end, it was a deep friendship and an alliance bridging both our Malay communities. I cannot really say that the road to our bond was long and hard though. It wasn’t long enough, as we found the three days too short, and it wasn’t hard, as we found it thoroughly enjoyable. Kept awake and high all night thanks to Tongkat Ali, Cik Fatimah, and an overflowing supply of soda and Halal Breadtalk, we initiated ‘diplomatic negotiations’ regarding virtually everyone we knew.

Through our talks, we found plenty in common, like our hatred towards a common enemy of unspeakable laughter who kept breathing down our necks. We also made a revelation that if you were to narrow down the people in Singapore to those in our age groups, Malay and studying in a junior college, we knew virtually everybody one way or another. The phrase ‘it’s a small world’ was an understatement there.

Being with like-minded people in a Muslim Malay country really got us thinking about what it really means to be a Malay in Singapore and what it means for us. As minority groups in our various colleges, we find the need to bond together to retain and uphold our identity. Being among the top elite group of Malays in our country, we realize that it is up to us to bring our race forward and progress towards excellence.

At our post-trip reunion (which was actually two days after the trip), we made had our formal negotiations over an excellent-serviced Pizza Hut, camwhoring at the Esplanade and coffee at McCafe. Talks regarding a joint initiative were under way. With the newfound alliance, we plan to bring together both our Malay communities together through bonding sessions. With future meetings already scheduled, such an ideal could really be made a reality.

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The author Seraph is a not so average college guy kicking about in the pool, slugging on the computer and runs odd errands in the name of culture in school, and simultaneously saves the world and his personal life and writes about himself in the third person outside. At heart, he is a youth rights activist, an anti-feminist and an extremist ideologist. His essence runs Legal Grounds.

The Merdeka Swim

AC Perbayu Drama Production: Merdeka! & AC Swim Team Camp

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NOTE: This entry is a detailed account of past events, and might prove to be a tiresome read (sorry, I have a lot to bitch about). Thus, proceed with an open mind or use this as a reference.
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Originally, I wanted to write about the Perbayu drama production and the swim camp separately. However, since their simultaneous clashes, both events played vital parts in shaping my mentality of those two groups at the end of the week, thus I’ve decided to give an intertwined account of them. If this gets too draggy (believe me, it will), just skip paragraphs (as things are neatly organized by paragraphs and headings) because I just need to divulge my thoughts regarding individual things.

Sophomore year of junior college has never been as stressful. It was the first week of the June holidays, and while many people are starting to celebrate, me and many of my schoolmates never seemed to acknowledge the fact that it was term break. The term holiday is overly deceptive, especially when you still have to report to school at the same time everyday except for Sunday. What makes this holiday extraordinarily packed was because of the clash of the Perbayu’s drama production, swim team camp and my Malay ‘A’ levels all falling on the first week of the holidays.

Let us begin on the Friday, 25 June, at the end of the school day which marks the start of term break for many. When many began to realize that fact, the Perbayu realized that it was the start of rehearsal. Which prompts me for an intro on the Perbayu drama production. So here goes.

AC Perbayu (Malay Cultural Society) has been carrying on a legacy of producing a professional theatre standard drama production every year. This year was no different, and Merdeka was our pick. Merdeka, originally scripted by Rafaat Hamzah, was a personal pick of our director, Sani Hussein, who incidentally acted in a previous staging of the play, making our production Merdeka’s fourth staging. With all these to live up to, we still have to overcome the obstacle of an ill equipped venue for our performance, as the proper auditoriums were occupied by other CCAs. Thus began our quest to transform a lecture theatre into a black box, complete with lights, multimedia facilities and back stage.

As multimedia head, I was basically in charge of everything that ran on electricity for the production. My familiarity with the ceiling layout, choice of lighting and multimedia efficiency made planning not too big a hassle, but an ill equipped venue presented the problem of having to manually add on these features to the lecture theatre. That was the reason why I was so glad to have people with such efficiency and initiative to be on the control station team with me for the production. As reluctant as I was to admit this, my lighting guy really did an impressive job mounting the lights without me, with just the aid of my wiring layout plan. The stage manager noted all the multimedia cues promptly and the subtitle guy… well, knew how to click.

Saturday morning knocked me back into the reality of academics when it started with a last Malay remedial marathon before the ‘A’ level paper the coming Monday. Not surprisingly, my confidence was shaky in that area, what with all of the events occurring simultaneously. But I knew I had to persevere this as the thought of a third taking of the paper seemed too torturous.

That day marked three days before the first show, and that night was preview night for the performance. The transformation of the lecture theatre to a black box was almost complete. The actors were doing their actor thing to improve their performance. But amidst all these final preparations, it dawned on me that my multimedia part was nowhere near completion. For the first time in my director’s, and my, experience, the performance was to be done in mixed media. Which means that other than the acting, there will be sound effects and video presentations to supplement it. That indirectly gave me an acting role among the crew, as ironic as that sounds.

This mixed media idea was a headache from its very conception. When I first took up my role, lighting was already troublesome as I had to source out for my own lights for the lecture theatre, figure out how to mount them to the ceiling, and devise a method to connect all of the wiring to the control station at the back. Then I had to come up with a way to conceal two LCD projectors and still have them within projection range to the stage. My own multimedia part was the biggest problem of all. I had to source out for clips from the time of the nation’s independence. I mean, I know I’m resourceful and all, but this really required me to do manual digging from various archives. But I knew I had to do it perfectly as since there was one major character omitted out from the original script, the video footages were meant to symbolize him. On preview night, I had yet to compile all of the clips and made them ready for the preview run, so they had to do without it.

Sunday, the sacred day of rest, proved to be ruthless on me as I still had to report back to school in the morning. You see, my swim camp started the previous day, and due to my various commitments, I would only be popping in and out for camp every now and then throughout its five day run. Since Sunday was clear of all the other commitments, swim camp had me for the day. Which prompts me to introduce my role in the swim team. Here goes.

Freshman year in the swim team proved to be only introductory. Hardly any of the new swimmers were given a shot at the national interschool championships as we were nowhere near competition ready. This year however, with added experience and a lack of people to fill in the slots, the seniors are all given something to swim for. On my part, the executive committee has kindly granted me a chance to do the one event that I am capable of, the long distance 1500m freestyle. Thus I am obliged to prove my worth, earn that chance and not waste this one opportunity to not make my participation in the swim team all for nothing.

So for that Sunday, I was stuck in school with the rest of the swim team, with the thought of the Malay ‘A’ levels the next day daunting on me. That’s not to say that the camp was not worthwhile. I honestly enjoy every moment with the team. Like they say, the closest people are those you live with, work with, sleep with, be naked with in the changing room with and have body contact with half naked in the swimming pool. The camp’s itinerary was quite simple; you either eat, rest or train. Well, there were exceptions here and there throughout the camp, but Sunday’s schedule was like that.

I think the pressure on me was highest at that point in time on that day. Spending an entire day with the swim team reminded me of my obligation to perform in the sport and being the eve of exam day, I was reminded about academics. On top of that, the drama director kept calling me to add changes to the video editing and to check on my progress.

Malay ‘A’ levels was a doubtful experience. I have now confirmed the fact that I cannot be allowed to sleep past 7 hours lest I don’t mind feeling sleepy all day. That was my undoing in the paper, as once again there was bad time management in composition and an incomplete last question in the comprehension due to my constant dozing off. At the end of it, I was left feeling unsure of the fate of this paper.

Straight after that, I had to report back for drama rehearsal. Along the way, I had a pleasant surprise of bumping into the swim team as they went out for the swim outing and dinner. Bad luck has it that I had to miss it for the rehearsal. Damn. Rehearsal went on as per normal that day. By this time, all set preparations were completed. All except my video.

On Tuesday morning, I was positively panicking. It was nice being able to drown all that at training. Yeah, I spent the night in school at camp. But once again, I had to leave them during the day for rehearsal. Wow, this is getting really tedious, even for me to write, so I’ll just skip to the main points.

The first run of Merdeka that night was quite pleasant. Other than the thought of the swim team having a barbecue at the other end of school bothering me, it went quite well, of course, since the principal and college teachers came for that show. Except of course for my minor glitch that displayed the wrong backdrop. But it wasn’t so bad as the audience thought it was part of the plan. Phew. Oh, we had our photoshoot by the photographer that night. It wasn’t that fun but we needed some formal shots.

By the end of the night, I was thoroughly exhausted. The swim team seemed like that too, but it didn’t stop them from staying up all night to play cards and an array of idiotic activities. The most idiotic activity came to us during the wee hours of the morning at 3am. A startling morning call was made and we had to report to the swimming pool five hours early. Yup, it was one of those boot camp night torture sessions. A lot of screaming, yawning and silent swearing was made at the pool deck. Then off we went into the pool for a training that had no end. It was called the ‘endless swim’ for obvious reasons. 100m sprints again and again until god knows when. And then, what do you know, it’s 6am and we’ve reached 6km worth of freestyle!

Obviously the last day’s training was cancelled. Most of us were loudly groaning either out of frustration or hunger. Some understood why we had to do the senseless swim, and some didn’t. Either way, the teacher in charge explained it to us anyway. After his little speech, we did realize that if we managed to complete the entire 6km in 3 hours, we had no excuse at all to slacken down during training. That revelation gave us all a renewed confidence that perhaps making it to nationals isn’t such a farfetched aim as what it previously seemed. Through our drunken haze of exhaustion and rushed breakfast, a warm feeling stirred along with a fiery passion towards Bishan JC.

The end of swim camp marks the start of a full day of drama. Still aching from the swim, I reported back for rehearsal. Finally, after what must have been an age editing the videos, my multimedia was completed! Half an hour before the matinee, I set up the completed multimedia just in time for the stage manager to open the house.

The matinee run went rather well on my part. In fact, it was the most perfect among the three performances. Lunch was served after that, and we had a movie screening of the world’s most mixed up Malay horror movie. Instead of the conventional linear timeline, the movie was in flashbacks and fast forwards all the time, making it rather difficult to figure out the actual story. For a Malay horror movie, it should have been M18 for intimacy and mind-boggling complexity. I on the other hand, enjoyed a quick nap in my snug sleeping bag amidst all the screams in front of the projector.

For the last show, preparations were once again rushed. Everybody was busy up to the very minute the house was open. Everything had to be perfect as the last show had a guest list made up of some VVIPs. Other than our celebrity director, he had his theatre people with him along with the drama’s playwright, and we had all our parents there too.

“Merdeka! Lagi sekali, yang bersemangat. Merdeka!”
(Translation: Freedom! Once again, with passion. Freedom!)
- Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, excerpt from Merdeka video

When the stage manager announced “Thank you for watching the performance”, everybody heaved a sigh of relief. That concluded all our hard work of preparations and polishing the entire show.

At the end of it, when any one of us think about it, the drama means a lot more to us. Just like last year’s drama production, we’ve made plenty of friends. By this time, I’m thoroughly exhausted at writing this, so let me conclude quickly.

The AC Perbayu legacy is something that all of us want to hand down and have it continued as there have been so much that we benefited that we want others of the next generation to similarly experience. There is something about showing to the world what Malay ACSians can do that has such thrill and pride in it that we just feel obliged to uphold. So let this be a testament to the Malays of our society and those of our kin.

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The author Seraph is a not so average college guy kicking about in the pool, slugging on the computer and runs odd errands in the name of culture in school, and simultaneously saves the world and his personal life and writes about himself in the third person outside. At heart, he is a youth rights activist, an anti-feminist and an extremist ideologist. His essence runs Legal Grounds.

A Solemn Resurrection

On the land of Legal Grounds, the expanse has been long abandoned, long since stepped, passed, or even sighted. That however, is about to change. At the turn of the tides, life will be breathed again into this barren land.

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Darker, deeper, sexier. Welcome to the new Legal Grounds.

Readers from distant lands, friends of all. We have come before you today to reintroduce to you something that might seem familiar to you, or not at all. It is the land of Legal Grounds, or what you know better as this blog. It has been months, or ages since there has been any updates or decent posts, but the forces of boredom and long rides to KL has urged the author to once again pick up his pen (or laptop) and scribed wondrous words onto this blog.

If you would please open your eyes and look past these words, the template has changed. It is a darker version of the previous template, to symbolize the increased solemn seriousness of the blog’s image. Not only that, the profile page has some minor changes. For once, We are the latest addition to this blog, Arcanis. A name taken right out of the multiverse of Magic: The Gathering. Yes, We are Arcanis, the Omnipotent. We are not new, just a name given to the Greater Consciousness of the past. Other than us, the other narrators, Seraph and Rafahn, will also join me in this blog as time goes by.

Another issue that has come to the concern of the author is the purpose of this blog. It started off as an exploration for creative writing, then it shifted to discussing taboo topics, and then exponential accounts of recent events. Well, since the author can’t make up his mind, all these shall now be split among the three narrators for convenience.

We shall not divulge too much on this matter. You shall only know the true value of this blog when you find the contents that you seek. Until next time…

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The narrator Arcanis is the all powerful entity that governs the cranial spaces of Farhan’s brain. They like it there since it’s cosy, but with Seraph and Rafahn’s increasing conflicts, it’s getting a little cramped. That might have been the cause of the gradual drop in IQ... Their essence runs BoB's Playground.

Gilded Grimoire #06 - Rhythm of Life - Melancholy

Short Stories for pdm7
Gilded Grimoire #06 – Rhythm of Life – Melancholy

No, this blog is not dead. Yet. Suffice to say that J2 life has been hell and ruthless. Anyway, onto the things that matter. Recently, I went for some Malay blogging competition. I know, it's in Malay, so not me. But it's blogging, I simply can't refuse that. It's not like it matters much, I focused more on the blog design anyway.

The competition was Pesta Diari Maya 2007 under the Melayuku Sayang series of activites organised by PBMUKS (Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Kebangsaan Singapura)/(Malay Language Association, NUS). For the competition, contestants are to sit down for 10 hours (TEN HOURS!!!) straight with their laptops at NUS and work on their entries. The entries should combine into a short story, with the integration of the 5 simuli that were given every 2 hours. Each of the stimuli were based on one of the senses. A visual of them can be found on my competition entry, link's below. Also, we shift venue every two hours, for reasons that I cannot fully comprehend. Oh, and there's a theme: Rhythm.

For my entry, I focused a lot on the design, as previously mentioned, as I can't write a good Malay story for nuts. So I ended up with what must have been the flashiest (it's done in Flash) blog amongst them. That's no to say that I didn't have a plan for it all. The concept of the blog is based on the idea of the 'Rhythm of Life', specifically the lives of JC students. To integrate the stimuli, I planned to write five short stories, each based on each senses, through the use of literary devices and experimental writing techniques that I used before.

Since I spend like 8 hours of the time given on the design, I only had time to write the first two stories. The first one isbased on the stimuli of sight - the sight of pills. Specifically, they showed us ferrous fumarate (for sinus, I think), charcoal tablets and panadol extra. I took a step further by referring to them specifically. The second story is based on the stimuli of hearing - the sound of a song. Specifically, the song was 'Masihkah Kau Ingat' by Kopratasa, a Malay classic. Again, I took another step further by incorporating the lyrics of the song into the story, like what I once did with a poem.

No need to talk about the other stimuli and the other three stories, since they are unwritten. At the end of it, I ended up with a fantastic LOOKING blog, very conceptualised short stories, and a buggy template script (DAMN IT). All in all, I’m rather satisfied, though I still hope to win with good design and concept.

Oh, here’s the link:
PDM 07

Take a look, it’s a worthy sight.

And here’s a treat for those of you non-Malay readers (MANJOLS!!! HAHA). I bothered to do a translation of the short stories for you guys. Actually, I’m doing it also as an addition to my long-forgotten Gilded Grimoire series. So here you go, the latest addition to the Gilded Grimoire series under the fitting theme of ‘melancholy’.

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Introduction
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Doom. Doom. Doom. The drumming rings in your ears, a sound that is never silenced or slows. From the beating of the heart to the ticking of the clock, the rhythm that is always experienced in life always takes on a tone that is more rhythmic and faster, without stop or rest. That is the rhythm of the lives of students who study at Singapore junior colleges, a life that is full of pressure and trials.

Let us drum along this rhythm of life.

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#01 – Seeing an Easy Way
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3 January

Diary,

“Wake up! School reopens today, right?” shouted mother that morning.

Today is the first day that I will step into my new school. I really feel excited to look at the new school, but I cannot get rid of the feeling of uneasiness from my stomach. This school is no not like any other school. My new school is a junior college! At first, I couldn’t believe that I was good enough for a school of that standard. Now, I still don’t believe it. It feels like living a dream.

Though my nose was rather runny, I still stepped out of the house out of excitement. As I stepped out, a ray of sunlight glared my eyes. Everything seemed bright, as how I perceive my future to be.

That’s enough. I’m too excited to write any more. It’s time for me to step into school.

***
8 January

Diary,

The orientation period throughout the week has indeed been tiring. My flu from before has worsened. Just now, mother told me to see a doctor for treatment. The doctor gave me some pills to treat the flu. Actually, I don’t really believe in the pill, because the doctor didn’t look too convincing.

Life at the junior college is not as bright as how I once perceived it, because many of my friends are not there. Actually, only me and another friend are the only ones who qualified to enroll into the junior college. I don’t even know that friend too well. Suffice to say that I feel as if I’m alone there.

That’s all; my vision is starting to fade. Must be the flu pill that I took just now. Maybe, when I feel a little healthier later, I will write again.

***
15 January

Diary,

I feel so lazy… This week is the first week that I have to apparent lectures in school for all of my subjects. The lectures in the first week are really dull. They’re only introductory lectures, not that important, I think. I don’t think it will matter much if I skip them.

This afternoon, I purposely ate some stale food, so that I could go to the doctor because of diarrhea. Rules at the junior college are stricter, can’t get off just because of a call from parents only. My teacher will ask for a medical certificate if I want to skip school. That’s why I had to go to the doctor.

At first, it was only to skip school, but now, the diarrhea feels like it is worsening. My vision is blurring with the tears that are flowing down my cheeks as I tolerated the pain in the washroom. I feel like that charcoal pill that I took just now is only worsening the pain.

***
19 January

I can’t stand this life anymore. I have to face the loneliness in school because I haven’t found new friends. I have to face the confusion that I will certainly feel during lectures, because I haven’t understood the lessons yet. I have to face the pressure from my teachers and m family to achieve the highest standard in academics.

My head is pounding like crazy. Mother once told me that if I have a headache, take a panadol pill. That’s what I am trying to d o right now, but the headache is only worsening the longer it gets. One after the other, I’m swallowing the pills, but the only change I feel is that my stomach is getting bloated.

I swallow yet another pill. I don’t know how many pills I have swallowed. Now, my vision is narrowing, little by little, darkness is overpowering me. I was right the last time, that my future does not seem as bright as I had imagined.

***

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#02 – Hearing the Whisper of Memory
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The start of my time at junior college started so wonderfully. I always look back to that time, where everything seemed bright in my life. This was all because of a lady that stepped into my life during that time.

During orientation week, I once faced the field in my school. A breeze suddenly brushed my face so gently, blinding me momentarily. When I opened them again, a lady had stepped into my sight, as if she was brought by the wind.

Not long after that incident, I got to know the wonderful lady. Orientation period made it easy for us to meet, as there was much free time for us to spend together. We always expressed our love at the place where we first met, under a big tree at a garden in school. There, we will sit together as we await the sound of the breeze to blow the flowers around me.

Do you still remember,
At that time,
A blooming flower,
I slit into your hair.

After the end of the orientation period, we had to meet less. Both of us had a responsibility for our co-curricular activities of our own, but didn’t have the heart to give up either.

That was how our condition was like then, chasing for whatever time we had to meet, if we were not too busy training with our own sports group. Sometimes, I find myself sitting and pondering to myself, wondering if the lady still thinks of me, as how I always think of her.

Do you still remember,
It becomes a dream,
And becomes a longing,
Do you still remember.

Even though our condition was uncertain, I always assure myself with the reminiscence of the time when we were always happy. During that time, both of us just enrolled into the junior college. Both of us were not certain about anything; the subjects we were going to take, the new friends that we have yet to meet, the different way of life, or our future. What was important was the happiness between us.

After school, we met at the school garden. What happened after that was never decided beforehand, left for the swinging of our moods to decide. No matter what we did – listening to the footsteps of passing people from the side of the field, listening to the sound of splashes at the swimming pool, or listening to the melody of the music being played – we valued the time spent.

Do you still remember,
We would run,
At the foot of the clouds,
Finding the rainbow.

We always believe that whatever trials that befall either of us, we will still hold steadfast to this relationship. Let us both face the trials together, because with each other’s support, no trial shall dampen our spirits.

Then came the rain,
Drenching both of us together,
Do you still remember,
Do you still remember.

Promises are easy to make, but harder to keep. As time goes by, we became distant. Our responsibilities for our sports and academics had taken up all the time that we had. Even if we did have time, it was usually spent resting, so that we could continue the work that needed to be done.

It was really difficult for us to live the relationship that we had before. The happiness between us was within our reach, but there were too many things that hindered us from reaching it. Happiness that is not held tight will eventually wither, thus withered did the happiness that we once had one time ago.

Do you still remember,
A flower,
On this palm,
It became withered.

It came for the time for us to admit that we could not afford to be together anymore. It has been too long since our hearts kissed the old happiness that has been heavily shattered by the grip of school life. What I can hope for is for the lady to always remember that we had once live the feeling of happiness that had the same heavy rhythm as the sound of the wind blowing during a heavy thunderstorm.

Then I grasp,
It becomes ashes,
Do you still remember,
Do you still remember.

Fighting Terrorism

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Fighting Terrorism - Preventing the Radicalization of Muslim Youth In A Secular and Globalized World
20 February 2007
A youth convention by Taman Bacaan

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On Saturday morning, 20 February 2007, 300 students across junior colleges, polytechnics, secondary schools, madrasahs and ITEs were gathered by Taman Bacaan to learn and share their views regarding Muslim youth radicalization post the 9/11 incident.

The youth convention was the first of its kind organised by Taman Bacaan to bring Malay youths specifically together to discuss current affairs that directly pertain to them. For this convention, the hot topic of Muslim youth radicalization was the focus. Professionals from their various areas of expertise were invited to shed light on the topic, along with other political figures to share their experiences.

Highlighting the event for many was the question and answer session before the event was closed, where many thought-provoking and provoking questions were placed before the panel of experts to be answered. This session was kept strictly off the media, to allow for more ‘open’ discussions between the students and the panel of experts.

As coverage for this blog, a summary of the talks by the various experts and highlights from the question and answer session will be discussed and shared below.


Official Opening – The Changing Face of Terrorism

In the opening speech, the overall issue of youth radicalization was addressed; which is the fact that it actually exists and actions need to be taken to counter that ideology. The face of terrorism has changed – terrorist recruits are getting younger and they are also using technology to spread their word. This has called for Singapore to step up to come up with prevention measures to protect what it values most. However, obstacles, such as the increasing income gap and distorted teaching has, hindered such efforts.


The Psychology of Militant Groups

Exclusive to this convention only, the MHA has divulged their findings on the psychology of terrorists to the public. It has been revealed that there is actually a methodology behind the brainwashing done by terrorists, which is done at five levels.

At level one, the victims need to desire good but are offered negative solutions. They are on the constant search for the meaning in their lives. At this innocent ideological state of mind, the terrorist groups present their ideas to them as pure, in religious terms, and do not reveal their eventual agenda just yet.

Cultivation begins at level two, where the thoughts of the victims get reformed. This is done in six steps:
1. Not having the victim aware of their thought reform
2. Controlling the physical and psychological environment of the victim
3. Making the victim feel powerless and dependant on the terrorist group
4. Suppressing the victim’s old ideology and attitudes
5. Instilling new ideology within the victim
6. Creating a closed system of logic within the victim

Level three introduces the victim to the terrorist organisation officially by having them controlled and undergoing an introduction rite, where they are made obligated to obey by a ‘religious pledge’ called the ‘Bai’ah’.

The notion of violence is taught at level four, where the victims are made morally disengaged for the purpose of establishing a utopian world against the enemy that makes violence appropriate.

Last of all, at level five, the victim is allowed to be involved in ‘achieving’ that utopian ideology.


The Threat of Terrorism: Challenges and Responses

This talk proved to be the most engaging among them due to the visual elements presented. In the talk, the speaker addressed the true nature of the threat. They are out to strive for a new agenda, to become global, ideological and operational. The threat now is not based on terrorism, but in fact, extremism. Operations are focused on the basis of 10% effective and 90% engagement. Thus, the government needs to counter their ideology by bridging the community and creating greater awareness.


Understanding the Threat of Jemaah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia

To fight an enemy, we must first learn all we can about them. That was the foundation for this talk, which began with the history of JI. Jemaah Islamiyah started off as Darul Islam in Indonesia, by SM Kartosuwiryo. It became JI in 1993, with the introduction of Abu Bakar Baashir. Their organisation structure sections off Southeast Asia into four ‘Mantiqis’, each with a different purpose, with Singapore being in Mantiqi I along with Malaysia, for the purpose of raising leaders.

The Singapore cell was started by Ibrahim Maidin and was crippled when 36 of them were arrested.

Their capabilities are far reaching. They reach out through religious faith, focusing on brotherhood. They were found to be training new operatives between 2000 and 2003 in guerrilla warfare and assassination. All this is done to fulfil their objectives of a utopian ‘Daulah Islamiyah Nusantara’ and imposing Syariah Law, learned by a textual manual called ‘PUJI’, or ‘Pedoman Umum Jemaah Islamiyah’.

As an organisation that focuses on doing the will of religious faith, they focus a lot on military warfare to achieve their means. They present several reasons as to why one might join them; persuasive leaders, misunderstanding, commitment to a righteous love and Bai’ah.


The Roles of Religious Rehabilitation Group in Singapore

Last of all, the last talk presents to us a countermeasure that Singapore deploys against this terrorist ideology. The operations of the RRG are extricated. They work directly with the suspects to replace their negative mentality with positive inputs. One of their aims is to correct the misconceptions of several concepts that terrorists has presented. Their twisted version of Jihad implies a holy war, like a crusade, while its actual meaning is a constant strive for excellence that is asked of every Muslim. The concept of Al-Wala’ Wal Bara’, that differentiates the believers, Ummah, from the non-believers, Takfir, is actually just an indication of uniqueness. Hijrah in actuality is a migration of self, to change for the better.

It has then come into concern to correct the perception of Islam. It is a religion of guidance where moderation is the right path as it is meant to be easy, not to be taken in an extremist perception. Most of all, it encourages peace, love, harmony and friendship.


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DISCLAIMER
Rerences to actual people in this blog is for reference purposes only. Comments, criticisms and coverage found are purely for the purpose of discussion and are not to be taken out of context. Materials are not to be used without the permission of the owner and are protected under the Creative Commons License.
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Birthday Wishlist

This might sound quite shameless, even more so that I am typing this for the second time because the original one just disappeared, but those out there who are concerned might want to have some guidance. It's not much, just a list of things that I wish to have but never really had the extra bucks to bother getting them (or maybe I'd rather splurge on food). So here they are (not in any order).


10. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (adult cover)

9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (adult cover)

8. Artemis Fowl

7. Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident

6. Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code

5. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (movie edition cover)

4. The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (movie edition cover)

3. Dan Brown's works (if a collection bundle exists, or else don't bother)

2. Eragon & Eldest

1. My swimming jacket back (yeah, I lost it)


There you have it guys. If this is not a big enough hint, I don't know what is.

Announcing... BoB's Playgrounds

The Legacy of the BoBs

Between the years of 2002 and 2005, a band of ten brothers, dubbed the Band of Brothers (BoBs) reigned over their educational institute. They made their lives (and destroyed others) there for four years, during which they had the best moments of their lives. Their fun was legendary, which the world will never see again.

Until now.

The world must know our story. Thus we present you with this unique compilation of recollections as a memento of our reign. For your envy. For our pleasure. For history.

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We're a clique of five originally, and expanded to include ten prominent people. It came to a point that BoB became a title, and the current count stands at a large number. During our time at secondary school, we wrecked havoc there, resulting in countless memories of mischief.

This all began at last night's (new year's night) coffee talk between me, Mobs, Poocha and Altho (yes, we're prepared to get old. let's do go-for-kopi-after-prayers thing when we're old. or strawberry lime if you still prefer it at that age). Maybe it's a new year thing, but we just started talking about the past year. Then it started going further back to the times when we were still at CSS. Oh, it went on and on, all about how we were when we first started school, what we did every year, and everybody that we met there.

Then it hit us. We really had a ball of a time at secondary school. Most people (okay, everybody else) never did or will come close to the fun and troubles that we had in there (quite a pity). I mean, we made Commonwealth history that people might consider legend.

Then we came to another revelation.

The world must know.

Come on, we can't live in a self-contained pity. We have to make the rest of the world bright green with envy. Besides, our adventures number off in... large digits, with no way for us to remember them all or keep them. Yet.

So the time has come for a solution to be made.

It was quite simple, the solution was staring straight at us in the face. Blogging (we were checking old BoB-related entries on our blogs). Why not make a blog that's like a digital diary to compile all those stories together that is written by all of us for the world to see? So that's exactly what we're gonna do.

As a new year's gift, I present to you codename 'Project Playground', as homage to our crocodile days.

So there you have it, the story behind the formation of the BoB's anthologies. Now the world will know our ploys and our adventures shall now be immortalized.

Thus begins the Legacy of the BoBs.

Click below to start envying our adventures:

To read other posts, head over here:

Selamat Hari Raya Bloodilfitri

May peace be upon you.

First and foremost, to my Muslim friends, Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha.

Also to them, and to the rest of you, enjoy the gore.

Hari Raya Aidiladha is an Islamic holiday to commemorate the incident of Prophet Ibrahim(/Abraham) where he was made to sacrifice his son Ismail(/Isaac). As a commemorative gesture, every year Muslims present the sacrifice of cattle in their name.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like some cult blood sacrifice. To begin with, the slaughtering process is done in the Halal way, which is through quickly severing the carotid artery and draining the blood, for a most peaceful death. Secondly, the sacrifice(korban) itself is not to offer the cattle's life to God, but to acquire the meat and distribute some of the meat among family (kinda like oranges on Chinese New Year) and the rest is donated to the needy.

It is a justifiable event and all, but if you're standing in front of the fated sheep, witnessing the knife fall down onto the neck and absorbing the sight of every trickle of blood, one can't help but to flinch a bit.

Not that I have hemophobia of something. Okay, maybe I am a little held back by my relation to the Animal Rights Activist Society. But mass slaughtering of animals for an occasion is a little wrong.

Okay, thinking of the other worst things people do in other crazier occassions and the people that Saddam slaughtered, maybe this one isn't that bad.

Let us end of properly.


In the name of Allah
the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate

We thank you again for this wonderful day of Aidiladha,
for our health to live this day,
and for continued health to see the next.

In Allah's most precious and Holy name
Amin.