HATE ME 'COS I'M FAMOUS!

 Greetings people!


Yes, THE AQUINAS knows that he has not been updating thehornbillspeaks for what, 5 months? Guess what, he won't be dishing out excuses to justify his absence like Oprah Winfrey giving away Volkswagen New Beetles, instead he would attempt his best to write an entertaining post for the reading pleasure of anyone who comes across this blog of his (THE AQUINAS himself included).

As the title suggests, THE AQUINAS is interested to address a contemporary trend, whereby hatred, disdain and disgust could as well be one's ticket to fame and most probably, even success. It is somewhat a 21st century "thing" to be well-known just because one becomes a magnet of disgust and ill-feeling. THE AQUINAS opines that there are several reasons leading to this trend. To make things interesting, THE AQUINAS shall disclose the reasons in the form of real life personalities! That would illustrate things better, don't they?



CASE-IN-POINT ONE : Thou shall become the object of hatred because thou attempted to sing, even though thou cannot do so.

Picture courtesy of http://www.simonhar.com/2011/03/rebecca-black-friday.html

Picture courtesy of http://www.sodahead.com/fun/why-do-so-many-people-hate-justin-bieber/question-948598/

Youtube Autotune sensation Rebecca Black gained mass attention and of course, notoriety over her Ark Music Factory produced music video, Friday. There you go Mr Patrice Wilson, another free "honourable mention" for your enterprise. The Friday music video reached the 100 million views benchmark, just several months after its release with a significant amount of "dislikes". Well, who could blame the dislikes if you had watched the music video. THE AQUINAS hates to admit this, but he was among the first few viewers of her video. This happens despite of her inept ability to belt out a decent tune and ultimately, ridiculous lyrics. To put it up a notch, Friday was dangerously catchy. (THE AQUINAS could even sing the lyrics while writing up this post. Bad news). Come on, where else can you find a singer having a hard time to choose a seat in a car? This ain't RapidKL.

Miss Black exploded ever since, having appeared in Katy Perry's Last Friday Night music video. This is somewhat of a rubber stamp, not yet a cornerstone of how big she really is - all thanks to her rise as an object of hatred. Her latest music video, My Moment was in fact quite decent compared to her initial track. Well, at least there are now two words in her chorus. *APPLAUSE


CASE-IN-POINT TWO:  Thou shall become the object of disdain because thou assumed a foreign fad, claim as it thou own and pray to become notorious for it.

Korean pop, or better known as Kpop has spread seen its popularity, or frighteningly, its influence across the Asian continent. To be honest, THE AQUINAS in not a fan of this particular genre. THE AQUINAS finds it hard to celebrate a genre which has its myriad of songs that sound pretty much similar to one another, same dance moves in one video to another, the hospital scenes, the rain, the leaves that fall from a random tree to a random street and so forth.

The worst of all possible outcomes has now come upon us: we now have our very own Kpop band - enter Max 24:7 and Gula-Gula. The former is a 12-member boy band who had themselves publicised as "12 jejaka kacak". To see them for yourself, search Anti 24:7 on your facebook. You'll love what you see. The latter, on the other hand, is a 6-member all-female band, who made a name for themselves mostly via late morning talk-shows (and even danced in one. It was scintillating).

People,

Both Max 24:7 and Gula-gula has grown into a target of disdain. This is due to the notion that they are trying to replicate themselves after the Kpop boy-bands and girl-groups - and attempting to project themselves as an instant favourite among local music aficionados. To these people, it is similar to force-feeding oneself with kimchi fried with sambal. How's that for a combination?









Alright THE AQUINAS admits it, he was not at all sincere with the "scintillating" part. In his opinion, these two groups should go back to the drawing board. As a performer cum entertainer, a perfect entertainment that is worth your audience's money and time is something that we expect from you. THE AQUINAS could forgive the singing (who sings well nowadays anyway) since you have Autotune at your disposal. But could you please work on your entertainment value, let's say your dance, for instance? Have you ever heard of choreography? Heck, THE AQUINAS is not even sure whether these two acts will have that much of a staying power. To add insult to injury, they are modelling themselves after a genre that does not have a staying power in our local scene itself. Remember the reality-TV fad, circa 2000-2006? Remember FO-3, Bayu etc?


CASE-IN-POINT THREE:  Thou shall become the object of hatred, disdain and disgust for whatever reason that might be.

A picture says a thousand words.

Picture courtesy of http://dailyskoop.blogspot.com/2010/10/justin-bieber-looks-so-gay-with-makeup.html

THE AQUINAS has spoken.

Make 'em Today, Dump 'em Tomorrow

If one would flip the pages of any of the local papers nowadays, one could not help but to shudder and express, in their own ways, their feelings of disgust, sadness and perhaps anger when one would come across unfortunate yet real stories of babies being discarded and disposed off in the most unlikely of places ― garbage dumps, bushes, monsoon drains, dark footways, toilet bowls etc.

In some instances, these media reports may contain photo shots of the dead foetuses, or perhaps graphic description of these babies being ravaged by stray dogs, succumbed to insect bites and defenselessly exposed to harsh weather conditions. It is even no longer surprising if we come across news of babies found dead with their umbilical cord STILL attached to their bodies.

                                                Picture courtesy of http://www.dimensionsguide.com/

The next question that  typical Malaysian would ask is "who should be blamed for this societal mess??". (GOTCHA THERE DIDN'T I?). Yes, a very-the-typical Malaysian spirit, constantly seeking as to whom the blame should be put on when there is any issue affecting our society. Certain quarters even went to the extent of blaming pornography for this so-called societal illness.
.

                                          This is no porn.  Picture courtesy of http://medindia.net/ 

Just for the record, THE AQUINAS will not point his finger towards anyone in this matter, since there are many others who are more than willing to do just that for him. 

Moving on. With regards to this pertinent issue, there is currently a notion that suggests the perpetrators of such inhumanely act to be charged for culpable homicide or in the extreme cases, murder. The sentence for the latter, in Malaysia, is of course punishable by death, thanks to Section 302 of the Penal Code. The rationale behind it? However arguable this may sound, please allow THE AQUINAS to lay down some knowledge on this rationale, as knowledge by itself is the only asset that never depletes when given away..

The significant ingredient for murder, besides the very act of killing itself, is of course the wrongful state of mind while committing the act of murder. If you non-legal entities would like to impress your peers with some Latin lexicons, THE AQUINAS' legal brethrens call this element mens rea. To cut to the chase, the knowledge that such act would result in death, on the part of the perpetrator, can be considered as a mens rea. With the bare legal essentials done, let us now try to piece this together. When a person contemplates as to whether or not to dump his/her baby, it is not impossible to rule out the possibility that he/she has the knowledge that the chances of the baby dying is in fact very material. However, he/she decides to do it ANYWAY. In other words, he/she has the knowledge that such act of dumping babies could lead to the death of the baby itself. Simple as it may sound, but believe me, the real process of pursuing a criminal liability against a person is far from easy as compared to what THE AQUINAS had painted.

What does THE AQUINAS think about this? Well, to him, THE AQUINAS is of the opinion that imposing a death punishment is not at all an automatic call to end this societal menace. Well, the death punishment didn't even stop people from murdering one another, why would it stop baby-dumpers? I can still recall the time when we heard of people lobbying a death sentence for rapists. As per one of my esteemed lecturers, this is the Malaysian attitude - impose the death sentence, end of story.

THE AQUINAS has spoken.

ENTER SOPHIA MOORE Part I

The AQUINAS is officially in his second year!

                                          Picture courtesy of http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?               pid=4419847&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=1495119165&id=636334232#!/album.php?id=636334232&aid=190422&s=20&hash=e17c508f993e3cd77ab58d92a2544877

The reality of me entering into my sophomore year has finally set in, as this new semester promises lots of excitement and anticipation (for me, at least) ahead.

Safe to say, THE AQUINAS & Co. kicked off this new semester on a high note, credits to the numerous activities awaiting the UM Law School Fraternity just after the new semester opens its curtain. Talking about a complete and rapid shift from a stagnating off-season to a fast-pace, and of course hectic championship season, huh.

For starters, the wonderful people of the UM Law School welcomed the new first year's batch to its illustrious family. As per tradition, there is no better way of welcoming these new family members of ours other than the Orientation Week. =P

The UM Law School Orientation is unique in its very own way, whereby the end result is that the freshies are able to establish a familial bond between themselves and of course, with the rest of the faculty. This long standing tradition of this faculty in many ways has helped the new members of the law faculty in terms of adjusting themselves to life in law school - a demanding and hectic one, yet exciting and rewarding. Orientation Week propagates respect, humility, self-consciousness, the mental acumen, the ability to handle pressure, voicing thoughts and opinions and of course, self-worthiness. These qualities are just some of the values that a student need in order to survive law school, apart from the other qualities that one picks up on their own as he or she  matures throughout law school. At the end of the day, the goal of the Orientation Week boils down to a significant one: To orientate, not disorientate.

                A picture perfect gift for the disoriented. Picture courtesy of  http://images.allmoviephoto.com/


In other words, everyone is considered as a worthy part of this wonderful family of the law faculty, ONCE they have took part in the Orientation week. Unfortunately, there are some haters out there who cannot seem to comprehend this idea of Orientation Week, what more to register this into disputably-functional head of theirs, labelling such event as a "platform for overzealous seniors to vent their seniority on freshies". The reality is, haters, if we would want to be so-called "overzealous", we might as well do it without the Orientation Week. THE AQUINAS would like to apologize if this ruins your orgasmic experience of dissing the Orientation Week, but you haters should experience this hallowed tradition in order to appreciate the underlying message of it (which is something that you haters have not done), before you can see yourself in a justifiable position of pursuing such an outburst. Well, these haters indeed do a great job in making the hoots on what is on the surface don't they? To put a little bit of cliche to it, look into the mirror and have a good look at yourself before you tell on others.


THE AQUINAS has spoken.

In the Midst of the Craze

The FIFA World Cup 2010 is HERE!!!!

The timing has never been this perfect. The world's most anticipated spectacle, an event that enthralls the the whole universe once in every 4 years is actually taking place during MY SEMESTER HOLIDAYS! hahah!

Being frequent it may not, this spectacle called The World Cup is a reason for the world to anticipate, and of course, spending wee hours in the morning glued to the tube (or at the mamaks, your in-laws' house, your friends house, your girlfriend's house, or the electrical appliances store. you cheapskate=P). I, THE AQUINAS, happens to dwell in the craze as well, spending 90 minutes or more of my youth watching two teams of 11 men chasing a lightweight ball all around a field. I mean, who cares? It's The World Cup.

                   Some Oranje juice in a Cup, people? Picture courtesy of http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

Speaking of which, there's another group of people who are unfortunately left out, stranded miles away from the mob of the Coupe el Monde. Yes, I'm taking about the Non-World Cup Watchers, the NWCW as what i would love to call them. These people, for whatever reason it may be, happens to not really join in the fray, or to an extreme extent, HATES the World Cup.

Kick no balls. Picture courtesy of http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2010/01/index.html

This our course, include wives and girlfriends. Guys out there, this is the time when your significant other (chewah) cringes for your attention, longing for the touch or ritual kiss on the forehead (or wherever the kiss maybe) every night at 10pm or so, but you can't do so, as Argentina or Brazil or Spain is playing at that time.

GF/wifey: Can I get a good night kiss?
Guy: Yeah, but not for long (half a second peck)
GF/wifey: Honey. That's the pillow you're kissing. Do it right this time okay?
Guy: Owh maybe not now baby, the match is about to start...
GF/wifey: Can u kiss me after your match?
Guy: Hmm I'll see about that. Coz that is when they show highlights, post match analysis etc etc...
GF/wifey: *GRUNTS*

Speaking on the behalf of my brethren, ladies, this is the time of the year...wait. scratch that. This is the time ONCE in every four years that the guys will devote every ounce of their being to the excitement and grandeur of the World Cup. You see, take it as a give and take situation. He watches World Cup, you get yourself a spa treatment. Make sure it's on him. There's a lot of "Getaway from the World Cup" packages nowadays, so give yourself a lil' time out, pamper yourself, rejuvenate yourself....so that you'll be fresh and ready for him once the World Cup is over. (evil smirk=P)

Well, till next time!


THE AQUINAS has spoken.