Sunday, July 25, 2010

Manchester United : The Conspiracy

Nowadays the internet is a fertile ground for the propagation of conspiracy theorists. These, sorry to say, ultra-paranoid individuals have the impression that everything that happens in the world is part of some secret society's plan to conquer the world. From 'The War On Terror' to everyday happenings, it is all part of these societies' dark plans to take over the world. Even football teams aren't excluded and of them is Manchester United FC.

As a graphic representation of a devil is used in the club crest, MUFC became the latest focus of conspiracy theory. Basically the club is said to incorporate devil-worship, masonic and min-control properties. The funds is also suspect as there may be Freemasons contributing...Here's what they say and my comment on the matter:

1. The devil insignia and devil-worship
They say: The devil , of course represents the devil and the shield represents a pentagram. The red colour is the 'colour of the devil'.
I say : While the devil DO represent the devil, in this context the devil is meant to represent aggresiveness (as many other sporting clubs who used the nickname 'Red Devils' and also soem military formation such as the British 1st Airborne Division of Arnhem fame). The shield was derived from the City Of Manchester coat of arms while the allegation that red is the colour of the devil was merely the result of the writer's imagination. I mean, if you said that the shield reprents a pentagram, how about any other football club which have the shield motif? Are they devil-worshippers too? And as for the colour, would that mean Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Bayern Munich, Tunisia and for crying out loud, Selangor and Kelantan are also devil worshippers because their jersey is predominantly, if not entirely in red?? How about the RED Crescent Society?

2. Paganism
They say : The two footballs in the MUFC crest represent the Egyptian sun-god Ra and that the shortened call-name of 'Man U' is an allusion to Hindu deity Manu.
I say : It's a FOOTBALL Club for crying out loud, of course there may be an incorporation of the ball in the crest. As for Man U and Manu, it is just a bloody COINCIDENCE all right? Even the term 'Man U' was not actually used universally.

3. Masonic motifs
They say : The said ball to represent the 'All Seeing Eye'. The letters M and A in 'Manchester' is attributed to 'MAson' and that the letters N,C,H,E,S,T,E,R, when converted to theyir respective numbers in the alphabet and manipulated will give Masonic numbers.
I say : Probably the most stupid reaoning of all. 'Al Seeing Eye? The ASE is only one eye...if the balls in the crest represents ASE, why there are TWO of them? The name Manchester is derived from the Roman name Mammucium which was derived from the original Celtic/Old English name Mammceaster ('breast [hill] town'). As for the numbers, these conspiracy theorists are probably wannabe Archimedes, al-Khawarizmi, Sir Isaac Newton or Charlie Epps.....

4. Malcolm Glazer ownership
They say : Malcolm Glazer is Jew therefore he is an enemy of Islam and that he is SAID to be sponsoring a Jewish organisation specialising in helping immigrant Jews in Israel.
I say : Yes Malcolm Glazer is a Jew and for all I know, he might have hatred towards Muslims or might not even care about Israel. He is just another owner of a football club who may be out by next season, ousted by new shareholders. Besides, his ownership isn't really liked by the supporters!

5. Evidence; the actions of fans reflects the conspiracy stated in 1-4.
They say: Looking at past and present records, the supporters of MUFC love to pick a fight with rival supporters, committed vandalism and thoroughly obsessed with the club (including spending a lot on souvenirs, staying up late or missing a prayer)
I say : Mind, hooliganism was not monopolised by MU supporters - just about every club has resident hooligans or ultras. Also, some of the worst hooliganism incidents happened in South America and Africa. About ultra-obsession, again there are fans who were thoroughly obsessed about their club be it Manchester United or Kettering FC.

Oh well, that's some people to you. As for Manchester United's crest, some ulama has decreed that it is HARUS or at most MAKRUH to wear the shirt.....

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Dr Movie The Next Chapter

Hanya satu garisan halus yang memisahkan antara keyakinan dan kesombongan; hanya satu garisan halus yang memisahkan cita-cita dan angan-angan.

Sebelum ni ada aku cerita pasal DDR (Datuk Dr) yang nak buat filem kan? Antara entri tu dengan yang ini, macam-macam statement yang DDR keluarkan antaranya menyalahkan Syarat Wajib Tayang (SWT) FINAS yang menyebabkan filemnya tertangguh dari Mei ke November (dan juga membantutkan perkembangan industri filem tempatan). Padahal rata-rata produser filem tempatan kata SWT yang membantu industri filem tempatan bernafas dan bersaing dengan filem luar negara. Dan macam biasa, projection kutipan box-office makin menaik dari RM12juta pada awal tahun 2010 ke RM20juta pada Mei ada akhir sekali RM40juta!! Juga sasaran tayangan meningkat dari 100 skrin ke 400 dan sekarang 500!!

Statement DDR ni dapat perhatian penerbit filem tempatan yang dah lama berkecimpung dalam bidang ni. Presiden Persatuan Penerbit Filem kata, DDR sendiri tak faham prosedur dan masalah bersama yang dihadapi produser filem tempatan...atau dengan bahasa pasarnya 'masuk rumah tak bagi salam' memandangkan DDR orang yang teramat baru dalam bidang perfileman.

Pasal kutipan box-office tu PFM tak ada apa-apa komen cuma mengenai tayangan di 500 skrin tu, Presiden PFM cuma ketawa sebab.....tu jumlah kesemua skrin tayangan di seluruh Malaysia! Kata beliau lagi, produser yang banyak modal mungkin boleh 'bayar' pemamer/'tauke wayang' tapi mereka ni pun peniaga...nak ke ambik risiko tayang satu filem aje? Kena pulak masa tu nak masuk Disember dengan filem luar negara untuk musim Krismas.

Balas balik DDR pasal hal ni membuatkan aku tertanya...adakah DDR yang dua alam? (alam nyata dengan alam khayalan, haha) Sebab ini petikan komen dia....

"Pemilik panggung nak untung. Kalau saya bagi wang tetapi dari segi kutipan mereka tak dapat untung apa-apa, ia tak guna juga. Sebaliknya mereka bersetuju nak tayang filem saya selepas melihat kehebatan 2 Alam" Juga dia kata dia dah buat persetujuan di mana semua pemilik panggung akan henti tayangan filem barat untuk bagi laluan kat filem dia....
- Kalau tauke wayang teruja, kenapa masa Mei dulu daripada 80 panggung, tak sampai separuh saja yang setuju nak tayang? Dan adakah ini bermakna tiada pilihan langsung untuk 'moviegoers' pada November nanti?

"Dia (Ahmad Puad - Presiden PFM) tak tahu apa-apa. Dia hanya pandai cakap saja tapi saya orang berniaga, saya tahu apa yang saya buat"
- Statement agak meninggi diri bagi newbie...memandangkan Ahmad Puad Onah dah lama jadi produser filem...dan produser-produser filem ni sah-sah la 'orang berniaga'

"Di mana-mana pergi pun orang tak sabar nak tonton filem 2 Alam kerana saya berjaya mempengaruhi perasaan mereka bagaimana hebatnya ini"
- Ya mungkin ada yang teruja, tapi ramai mana? Memang belum ada buat cerita camni kat layar perak (tapi kat layar kecil berlambak!)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Pakcik Kayo!!!

Benda ni patutnya aku tulis lama dulu tapi tersangkut...PDRM pun dah bust sindiket ni...tapi takpelah, buat peringatan dan pengajaran.

SMS Pertama
NO Simcard anda tlh terpilih untuk memenangi wang RM(20,000,00) dr POWER ROOT M. (Sdn bhd) Sila dail di talian 012-806xxxx TERIMA KASIH

SMS Kedua
"TAHNIAH" Simcard anda B'jaya memenangi RM 30.000.00, - Dr "COCA-COLA" No. PIN : DT2547 Sila hub. Office: 012-806xxxx Terima Kasih

Alhamdulillah aku tak termakan umpan tapi ramai lagi rakyat Malaysia yang termakan yang menyebabkan kerugian RM20 juta! Sebenarnya banyak tanda-tanda penipuan yang jelas lagi nyata dalam SMS-SMS tu, yakni

1. Kalau pun peraduan tu betul, kita kena sertai bukan syarikat tu tak alih-alih cakap kita menang. Nombor ekor pun kena beli dulu baru ada peluang menang...bukan tiba-tiba datang SMS dari Spain ke, UK ke kata kita menang loteri US$2 juta!

2. Dan kalau betul, SMS akan masuk ikut nombor 5 digit, bukan nombor talian mudah alih peribadi!

3. Syarikat korporat takkan bagi SMS dengan bahasa pasar siap dengan kependekan (b'jaya, hub., tlh dll)

4. Syarikat korporat mana guna nombor talian mudah alih sebagai nombor pejabat?

5. Nombor talian mudah alih tu berkepala '8' maknanya didaftar di Sabah....sedangkan Coke (di bawah F&N Holdings kat KL....Power Root pulak kat Johor.....apasal pulak nak pakai nombor Sabah?

Akhir sekali...kalau kita MENANG, apasal kita kena keluar duit? (Kecuali kes menang kenderaan sebab penganjur tak masukkan kos insurans dan cukai jalan) Dan kalau jenis mintak nombor pin online banking, bank kita sendiri tak pernah mintak!

Monday, July 12, 2010

A Night At The Museum's Zoo.....

Banyak filem mengenai binatang bercakap..dari filem animasi Disney (sampai teko dengan cawan pun bercakap!) sampai la filem macam Dr Dolittle. Kat Malaysia dulu kita ada crita OK lakonan kambing.....dan sekarang kita ada cerita Zoo di mana satu zoo boleh bercakap!

David Teo kata, filem dia tak cilok intipati filem Night At The Museum. Dia cuma kata 'genre sama cuma cara penyampaian berbeza. Walaupun aku tak tengok cerita Zoo ni tapi dari bacaan sinopsis nampak sangat sama!

Genre sama - betul sebab kedua-duanya genre aksi-komedi.

Watak Lan - sebelum kerja di Zoo selalu bertukar-tukar kerja
Watak Larry - selalu bertukar kerja sebelum jadi pengawal di Muzium Smithsonian

Cerita asas - Haiwan di Zoo bercakap pada waktu malam. Bahan pameran di muzium hidup pada waktu malam. Pokoknya, bahan pameran buat benda yang kontra dengan waktu siang!

Subplot - ada pencuri nak curi haiwan zoo. NATM - ada pencuri nak curi bahan pameran muzium. Dalam dua-dua filem, ada penglibatan orang dalam.

Larry nak kena berhenti.....Lan pun nak kena berhenti.

Haiwan bantu tangkap pencuri....bahan pameran tangkap pencuri......

Jadi cara penyampaian berbeza tu setakat...satu kat muzium, satu kat zoo!

p.s. Apa2hal aku memang takde hajat langsung nak tengok hatta kat CD pirate...Lan Pet Pet memang turn off!!!

p.s2 - Tengok gambar Lisa Surihani kat paper semalam mengimbau nostalgia stesen keretapi Aber yang 'antik' sangat masa aku kat sana.....sekarang nampak dah cantik sikit......

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Kill The Octopus!

First of all, I just wanted to say how disappointed I am when Carles Puyol's header went into the net last night.....Nahhh I didn't bet even a single cent but as someone who have supported Germany since there was 'West' in the name and Karl-Heinze Rumenigge rules the roost, it is something bitter to swallow....

I bet (figuratively speaking) by now everyone has heard about Paul teh octopus who selected Germany to win against England and Argentina...and Spain to win against Germany. As Paul was based in a Berlin aquarium I guess his next fate would be 'sotong sumbat' hahahaha!

Now bookies and gamblers everywhere are waiting for his next prediction, I guess. As Muslims we shoul;d not believe in such predictions, however uncanny they are as everything has been in the Qada and Qadar of Allah. There are also certain quarters who alleged that the World Cup results since 1990 has been fixed by FIFA and sponsors - which to them explains why Brazil only won when the hosts are at the opposite ends of Europe (South Africa has the same time zone as Europe anyway). There are even some who speculated that Paul the Octopus was actually influenced (by drugs or some chemicals) in order to attract gamblers hence greater profits for the betting companies (and syndicates too?) and then leave them all penniless after Spain beat Germany....yeah I know it's far-fetched but for conspiracy theorists, everything is possible!

Oh well, for the final, I'm going to support Holland!