If you say...
I think too much.
My response,
You think too little.God gave us brains to use. And we're recorded to use only 10% of it.
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I think too much.
My response,
You think too little.God gave us brains to use. And we're recorded to use only 10% of it.
I'm finally listed on IMDB. *grins* For Sumolah, of course. Then I searched Kopitiam, and discovered that one of the episodes I had written, "Scarlet Letters", was listed. Its now awaiting update to link my name to that episode. Whee!
It's hard to accept the one thorn among many roses of acceptance when it comes to work. This one very difficult client of late, is my first script rejection in my seven years scriptwriting for TV and corporate work. The thing about corporate writing jobs versus television is that the latter allows more creative freedom while the former requires almost every fact written out as the client wants it. And I'm very used to that, while they dictate and provide material of everything they say, I translate them into "broadcast language".
In this case, this client insisted his words were better than mine. No matter how many times I changed it to suit the voice over narrative, he changed it back. So I followed what he wanted, and just corrected the grammar mistakes in his "suggestions". Indirectly, I guess you could say I "gave up" fighting the client and was instructed to give him what he wanted.
Of course, guess what the outcome was when we told them the price of the job increased now that the duration of the video (jobs like these are charged per runtime of the video) is longer? He said that most of the things in the script were suggested by them, that not much professional ideas were contributed and that any fresh grad or "non-professional scriptwriter" could write that script. And the cherry on top? All parties should have anticipated a longer video duration. Hence there will be no extra payment.
This always seem to be the argument in Malaysia's creative industry, that a fresh grad or "my nephew/son/daughter can do it for free/cheaper". Ironic too to see that every previous suggestion and effort made to make the script professional was rejected in the first place, and then have me blamed for that. I wasn't about to give him any lessons in scriptwriting on why I changed his lines. But if those are the excuses they needed to make so not to pay what the video is worth, then this wasn't a job worth doing.
This whole thing affects me in another way though, humbled into thinking that I can't have a perfect record all the time. There will always have to be a first.
But in the case of the client, as they say, when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
And our governing political party is proud of it, there is obviously something very, very amiss.
Cuban Communist Party Impressed With UMNO, BN's AchievementsIs this the same Malaysia who fought against the Malaya Communist Party? And exiled the communist sympathizers? And banned Amir Muhammad's film, Lelaki Komunis Terakhir? What is our government doing allowing "its representatives as observers to the Umno annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur"?
From Mohd Bakri Darus
HAVANA, June 20 (Bernama) -- The Communist Party of Cuba is impressed with the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional (BN) government in administering the country and uniting its multi-racial population, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said here Wednesday.
"The fact that we could co-exist peacefully and together develop the country is what has particularly impressed the Cuban communist party," he told Malaysian reporters covering his working visit to Cuba. (more)
Communication is a two way street.
I read this article at the BBC news site.
Spoon-feeding babies puréed food is unnatural and unnecessary, a Unicef childcare expert has warned.Why do we need experts to tell us what to do? Why do we read about things that humans have been doing naturally before books, computers, universities? We've complicated our lives so much. So unnecessarily. That reminded me of this quote I found from an interview article...
I recently had a kid, and one thing my wife took - understandably - as a very hostile gesture was the fact that I never read any of those baby books. And I said, "People have been doing this for thousands of years! Cavemen didn't have What to Expect When You're Expecting!"~Paul Rudd, Knocked Up: Pregnant Pause (2007)Where's the f*cking "Dummies guide to Life"??!
The one with monetary wealth, mountains of books for knowledge, access to education, modern medical care and intellectual discourse; Or one who has family, rice on his plate, the ability to appreciate God's creation and none of what the previous man has?
Religion existed after the creation of man. Technically, it could be said that religion is man-made. Where do the people who lived before the days of Christianity, Islam or Buddhism go after they die? What was the state of the world before "civilization" and organized religion? Has civilization created more good, or evil?
Life has taken a very bad turn for me at the moment. I could never have foreseen so much incoming trouble all at once. *sigh* Then again, most of it is the result of incubating and being unemployed for the last seven months. Serves me right for bad decisions.
It's very easy to say there are no blessings to count at this point. Not even my health. There are too many clouds in the way. I'm completely numb from frustration.
When it rains, it pours.
Y'know, I'm rather enjoying writing for Suite101. It's a good learning curve for me, not just in honing my writing skills for publishing, but also trying to figure out what's Google-able. I also like finally being able to sit down and hash out all those travel research and experience I've had in the last two years. There's obviously a lot more to come, with my previous recces to areas around West Java while I was working in Jakarta early last year. But just to plug the articles here, out of the five, these two are my faves--
A secret garden teeming with undiscovered wildlife lies in the eastern basin of the Malaysian state of Sabah. An ecologically diverse heartland blessed by the Kinabatangan river is the unprecedented destination for wildlife lovers. A trip down this river is an experience to remember. One that could make you swear off visiting any zoo.
~ read more of Experience Borneo wildlife: In the heart of the Kinabatangan
Life in Jakarta is hectic. With a population of almost 10 million, this sprawling metropolitan abuzz with life, day and night, is known as the Big Durian for many distinct reasons. A term of endearment cast against the infamous foul-smelling durian fruit, Jakarta is a city which you will either love to hate, or hate to love.If ya haven't already read them (and the others), or if you have, let me know what you think. Suggestions for future articles also welcomed ^_~
~ read more of Jakarta Reviewed: A Taste of the Big Durian
Lee's utterly speechless out of his mind that I've never read Dr Seuss. Something about green eggs and ham must've kept me away.
Seriously, I never heard of Dr Seuss until this last decade. Don't ask me where I've been.
I think my parents are ashamed of me.
I think they wish I had a regular job like everyone else's kids.
I think I failed to be what they expect of me.
I think I've never made them happy.
I think they disapprove of my marrying Lee.
I think they think I'm taking the hard road.
I think they think I'm stupid for it.
I think they wished I was marrying a Catholic, then life would be "easier".
I think everything I've ever done is worthless.
I think nothing I do will ever please them.
I think they won't ever listen to what I have to say.
I think because they are always right.
I know they still treat me like a child, who cannot make her own decisions.
I think I can never gain their acceptance.
What is the point of going on with life, if your own flesh and blood doesn't accept you for who you are?
Something I've once commented at the Bookaholic's blog.
Could writing be the soul realising itself? And reading be others connecting? Is that how we judge good writing?I believe it is, and this author inspires me to believe it even more.
Next to slide.com, here's scrapblog.com, another "powerpoint-like" slide show ^_~
Most weekday afternoons in Sydney were spent getting Ciara home from pre-school. Most days, we'd take the bus home. Her mum told me Ciara loves bus rides. I'm sure it was an adventure for a four year old, just as new to the city as I was.
We'd sit at the bench on Norton St watching the cars and buses go by. Sometimes, she'd be licking on an ice-cream cone. Other times, she'd have a bag of lollies. And every time, while waiting, she'd curiously ask me questions.
Why are the cars stopping? Why do some go that way or that way? Is that our bus? Why aren't we taking that bus?
It was easy to grow tired from the incessant questions children have. But I always made answering her a creative challenge for me, not realising that sometimes the answers I give reflects how limited our thinking as an adult has become.
That isn't our bus. That bus takes us far away from home. It's going in the wrong direction.How wrong I am. Hopping on a random bus could be quite an adventure. Taking us to places we haven't yet been, to see things we haven't yet seen. Eventually of course, there will always be a bus that will take us home. It's just a matter of which route we decide to take.
And very often we look for the easiest route. The one that takes us directly to our destination. Will we be any wiser if we shortened our journey? Or would we be more enriched, with more stories to share, when we take a detour?