The celebration of the 9th day of CNY is a dick-measuring contest

The story of the week has been how everyone having not-enough sleep over the 9th day of Chinese New Year, a.k.a. the Pai-Ti-Kong festival, a.k.a. the Hokkien New Year. Since I am staying Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, the situation is just the worst. The excessive array of oblation, the luxurious food offering, extremely elaborate deco over an exaggerated high table, and of course the never-ending firework and firecrackers, the ridiculousness of all of it has made me rethink the purpose of the celebration.

First, the food waste must be a problem because there is simply no way each household could consume this huge amount of food. From what I heard before, there is also a misbelief that the food offerings are not meant to be eaten to worsen the situation. Second, we Malaysians often like to complain about the open air burning from Indonesia, but during this festival alone, the amount open air burning of the offerings plus the firework collectively, has made the air pollution spiked during that few hours. Third, all the plastic and rubbish created, who else gonna clean it up except the city council, a typical NIMBY mindset. And finally and especially, the most annoying problem of all, the excessive noise from all the firework and firecrackers.

This video was taken at 12am sharp. Imagine the same scene but over 3 hours long!

Perhaps I could understand firework and firecrackers for any kind of celebration. But firework at hours way pass 12am is just something that baffles me. Sunday night, Monday early morning, I could still hear the exploding sound of firework and firecrackers after 1am. The most annoying part is that the noise is sporadic, this house opens fire, 7mins or so later then another house opens fire. I thought the people are worrying about economic downturn. But from the amount of firework I have seen, it seems like everyone is doing just fine with so much money to burn, literally. It is not a nice way to put it but it is seriously feels like a dick-measuring contest, to see who's bigger, who's longer, who shoots higher and louder. To put it simply, those who have released firework after 1am are just selfish. To say that they assume everyone doesn't have to work the next day is just wrong because I don't think they think of anyone else. It is highly likely that they are the same people who complain about noise of firework during Hari Raya and Deepavali. Don't tell me that firework is not their tradition. If the celebration of the 9th day of CNY is to commemorate the Hokkiens hiding in the sugarcane plantation from a potential massacre, how the hell firework achieve that purpose? To simulate the chaos of the massacre?

When a tradition no longer makes sense, it is time to get rid of it. To be honest firework is only impressive for the first few minutes, after that it is just boring and annoying. All that is left is the prolonged sporadic noise. If firework is a must, why don't we all synchronize and release the firework together at 11am sharp, for example? I could imagine it to be an incredible scene to behold, instead of what we have now. In that case, everyone could also go to bed before 12am.

The king has returned with Santé

A good song evokes thoughts and emotions. Stromae's latest song, Santé, certainly does that for me. It makes me thoughtful and it reminds me of a lot of things, such as the fact that is clearly an ode to the blue collar workers, a.k.a. the essential workers, the backbone of the society, low pay but indispensable. The fact that "santé" means cheers and health at the same time, to which I see it as very fitting as the world just walks out of the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. The song is also meant to cheers for the healthcare workers as well, as they were the real heros serving at the frontline during this worldwide crisis.

Stromae disappeared for so long, only to return with this masterpiece. I know Stromae since Alors On Danse, arguably his most famous song. I could still remember when Alors On Danse was first released in year 2009, my second year living in France, it was played non-stop in every club and every dance floor in France. Stromae's songs have always been very danceable hits with a heavy dose of social commentary. This time it is no difference with Santé. I learnt from the video by Adam Neely that there is so-called micro-rhythm that carries the whole song. The slightly-off-beat beat is quite genius. Once you notice it, it becomes an earworm and it somehow just makes you want to move your body, dancing to it. I also like how the actors in the music video dance awkwardly and spontaneously. It is just fitting to such an unconventional beat, a pure expression of emotion.

Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest - a half-cooked tourist spot

Apparently it is a hotspot for bird watchers. But I am no bird watcher, the main attraction for me is the 200m long suspension bridge that goes through the canopy of the forest. It is an unique experience to walk on it. The forest is mainly made of swamp. Luckily there are many elevated footpaths that allow visitors to explore leisurely around.

Overall, it has a lot of potential, but it just never gets popular enough. My visit there just gives me the impression that the place is abandoned. At the unremarkable entrance, the letters of the signboard are either missing or at the verge of falling off. There is no entrance fee and no security guard either. There are a few shop lots meant to be eateries or souvenir shops but remain vacant and mossy. There are signs of expansion of the elevated footpaths with foundation pillars built and ready but as of now they are left to rot. There is also a jetty beside a nearby river, which I guess there used to be a plan to provide boat tour along the river but now left neglected as it is. The only commendable thing about the park is the clean toilet. But I guess even that is to be expected since not many visitors, means nobody uses it, means a clean toilet. Unfortunately that is the reality of many supposedly touristic spots in Malaysia. Money is invested initially, but due to a multitude of reasons, becomes either unfinished or left to crumble due to lack of maintenance. It is like the saying in Inception, this place is like an old man, filled with regrets, and waiting to die alone. It is just sad to see.

Old Sungai Muda Railway Bridge - a hidden gem at the border of Penang and Kedah

While Taiping has Victoria Bridge, sitting at the border of Penang and Kedah, there is the now abandoned Old Sungai Muda Railway Bridge. Although shorter in length, this historical building is still quite charming. I spotted this bridge one day while I was mindlessly looking at the Penang-Kedah border on the Google Map. While I was there yesterday, not a single soul anywhere near the bridge. Walking on the rusty steel beam without guard rail and with the overgrown tree branches and grass, it was really scary to be on the bridge alone. My mom and I just walked a short way on the bridge, took some photo, and then immediately left. 

With such a beauty, it is surprising that nobody thinks to turn it into a tourist spot yet. It is definitely a spot that could lure people there for some instagram-worthy photos. To be honest, the current crumbling state of the bridge is a danger to anyone there. And trust me, a fence to bar people out of the bridge would just have the opposite effect and lure more daredevils there. May be Sanusi and Chow Kon Yeow could argue less and collaborate in this effort to at least preserve the bridge, may be construct a safer pathway on the bridge, and make it officially a heritage site.

5 Reasons why EEAAO is a Chinese New Year movie

Just like how people say that Die Hard is really a Christmas movie, Everything Everywhere All At Once should really be a CNY movie, alongside the classics like All’s Well Ends Well, Fat Choi Spirit, and My Lucky Stars. Even though it was not released during CNY, here are 5 reasons why it should be.

1. A movie about family

This has to be the most important element of any CNY movie. As chaotic as the multiverse as the main feature and plot device of the movie, at its core, it is really about family. It explores the relationship between husband and wife, between parents and children, the generational trauma, and the messiness of all of it. It also portrays accurately how different Asians show care and affections to family. It is often reserved and awkward. A hug simply doesn't come around so often in Asian family.

2. Set during the Chinese New Year

This one is evident, as half of the plot revolves around a CNY party and the preparation for it. The headache and the exhaustion from a CNY party is something that every parents could understand. 

3. Meet the parents (and the anxiety that comes with it)

It is a custom to bring home your significant other to meet the family during CNY. It is like some version of reality check, anxiety is sometimes unbearable. In the movie, the grandfather is coming from China to visit the daughter Evelyn and her husband Waymond in the States whom he has always deemed as a disappointment, while from the granddaughter, Joy brings home her girlfriend to meet her old-fashioned grandfather for the first time. Conflict is setup and it is a mine field to navigate through.

4. Celebration of Chinese cinema

It is not too far-fetched to call this movie an action film. It features so many fight scenes that are clearly a homage to Jacky Chan's slapstick action comedy style. Not only it has some awesome martial art sequences, it also pays tribute to Wong Kar-wai's style of dreamy cinema, which brings along the feeling of nostalgia, regret, and the inevitable passage of time. Combining these two almost contradicting styles into one movie alone, is no easy feat in itself. And EEAAO just nails it perfectly.

5. Michelle Yeoh

Talking about homage and celebration, this movie is also a celebration of Chinese Asians in cinema, as it stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and James Hong. Even one of the Daniels, Dan Kwan is also Asian. As a Malaysian myself, I am just so happy about how this movie is so obviously tailored for Michelle. It is because Michelle is not only a martial artist, she is above all an incredible actor. Her acting range has the chance to shine fully under the spotlight in this movie. Watching the emotional interview she did with GQ, I got emotional too. It is like after all these years in the industry, finally she gets the validation she deserves.

EEAAO is probably my favorite movie of the year 2022. I am so glad that I went to cinema to watch it last year in late April. Although it gets a lot of buzz recently after it gets many nominations and awards, it was not the case when it was released. When it was released, it was only doing averagely in the box office. By the time I was free, it only left with one cinema in my area that was showing the movie. I had to drive almost an hour just to get to the cinema. Very often we like to call a movie as an emotional rollercoaster, but after this movie, I can safely say that only EEAAO deserves this description. How the movie makes me laugh and then cry and laugh-cry again in the span of 5 mins is unbelievable. After the credit rolls, I had to stay at my seat for quite awhile because I was just a mess. Although there were only me and another couple in the entire cinema hall, I had to tidy up my face a bit to be more presentable because I still had to walk a long way through the shopping mall and back to carpark. The movie truly wrecked me.