and I say...

This has to be one of my worst plane rides ever. I'm seated in the middle of three seats, crushed between two men, who as usual must conquer both arm rests. The dude on my right is sucking on some mints very loudly. The dude behind me keeps kicking my seat. There's a toddler and his mother seated south-east of me. The mother seems to unable to control the volume of both her and her child's voice. The in-flight food came, and it sucked big time. Only the jelly they served as dessert was good. Again, the dude on my right enjoyed his meal rather noisily, emiting sounds similar to "nyap-nyap-nyap.." Just a few moments ago, the kid behind me put his tiny hands on my head and started pulling my hair. What on earth is wrong with this people?? AAAAARGHHH!!

Then again, these people are probably really annoyed with my non-stop coughing fits.

Aaah...I wonder if the people in first class are facing any irritations at all.

I'm going to stop writing now because my elbows are starting to hurt from being stuck in between two arm rests.

Bye.

mmm...these men are worth staying up till 4 in the morning for...heh.

Why do we always find it so difficult to apologize? What is so difficult about saying the two words – “I’m sorry”? Why do we find it easier to apologize to our close friends, even if we hesitate a bit, but cannot bring ourselves to apologize to our partners/spouses? Why is it that people would rather tuck small arguments in the back of their minds, instead of talking about them immediately so both parties could say they’re sorry, and move on? Of course, I’m not saying that we should just blindly apologize when faced with a situation. I just think it should be done as soon as possible. Remember when we were little; we used to have those fights with our siblings? When my parents caught us fighting, they will always force us to say sorry and shake hands with each other. Short and sweet, no grudges held. In 5 minutes we were back to playing our childish games. However, as we get older, we build a thick wall of pride around us. So thick is the wall that we think it will kill us if we make any attempts to apologize. We wait and we wait…and the time arrives when we realize that we should apologize, to get things moving again. And we will apologize without knowing anymore what we’re apologizing for. We throw the cheap apology. We say we’re sorry, but sorry for what? Some simple rules on apologizing:

- know what you’re apologizing for
- understand the other party’s feelings and issues
- do not make excuses for your behaviour

more info can be found on the net by Googling “art of apologizing”.

irritainment: entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them." (Taken from New words for 2004)

I say there is an overflow of reality TV shows in this country, these days. First Akademi Fantasia, now we have Malaysian Idol, Audition, and several more. Irritainment. That's exactly what they are. I'm not much of a TV person, but I find myself loathingly watching Diari AF every night. In between shows and during commercial breaks, I will let my fingers guide the remote to Channel 15, to watch the AF auditions. It’s revolting, sickening, yet I still watch it. It’s like a love-hate relationship. What is it about these shows that the masses (myself included) find so captivating? I can't really pinpoint it to a specific reason, all I know is that there is something very alluring in watching regular people like you and me on TV, humiliating and exposing themselves (not literally, of course) to the nation or the world.

Although, I constantly wonder, are those people really portraying their actual self on TV? I wouldn’t know. It could be a front, a strategy to build a fan base. In a segment of yesterday’s Diari AF, the students were given a lecture on the importance of being themselves. At the end of the lecture, the students gathered in a circle, crying their eyes out. Yep, even the male contestants. I don’t understand what made them so terribly sad that they could not hold back their tears till they get off-camera. They made promises to each other that they will be friends forever, and that no matter what happens, they will always stay together. Yeah right, I don’t see Vince and Khai hanging about with the other losers after last season ended. Vince and Khai are now happily charging over 10-grand for live performances, while the others got stuck co-hosting cooking shows or game shows. Anyway, getting back to the part about being individuals, I find it a bit ironic that all 12 contestants cried simultaneously. All 12 contestants also shed tears when they went in front of the camera to wish their fathers “Happy Fathers’ Day.” Please-lah, I’m sure they didn’t bawl when they wished their dads Happy Fathers’ Day at home last year. Despite just going through the individuality lecture, they seem to be acting uniformly, with only their faces differentiating them from each other. And, when they start their crying sessions, keep an eye on the screen, you will see Premiere tissue boxes casually lying about in the background.

Which brings me to the topic of sponsorship. After AF’s fortuitous success last year, the second season meets the fans with not-so-subtle product advertisings. Every single activity in the show is an opportunity for marketers to market their goods. Premier Tissue (as above) for wiping tears and snot, Coke in case you get thirsty, B.U.M. Equipment for clothing, and many, many more. How does this benefit the students? In no way whatsoever, other than finding themselves graduating from the academy, a bunch of anonymous, run of the mill talents trying to make it in the entertainment business. In 3 years, they will be forgotten. I recently saw a local magazine cover with some first season AF graduates, with some local artistes. I couldn’t tell them apart, with their similar make-up and coloured contact lenses. I wonder if personalized advertising would be a better idea. E.g. each contestant endorses a specific product that would supposedly be his or her favourite brand. At least we would hear people saying, 3 years down the road, “Alah, si polan Akademi Fantasia tu…yang suka minum Pepsi tu…” or something like that.

Well, whatever it is the producers aim to achieve; it is definitely doing very well. Again, I ask the question, why do the masses love it so much? I Google-d “the psychology of reality shows” and found some interesting articles. Here are some quotes:

“The message of reality television is that ordinary people can become so important that millions will watch them. And the secret thrill of many of those viewers is the thought that perhaps next time, the new celebrities might be them.” (Psychology Today: Why America Loves Reality TV)

“It IS a circus. It has to do with our needs to become voyeurs, to peek into the deepest and darkest parts of our fellow human beings.” (Bob Simmerman)

Oops…this is getting too long. I suppose I’ll continue rambling on this topic another time.

does anybody know where i can purchase those shoes on wheels? i'm planning to purchase their entire stock, because those kids on heelies annoy the heck out of me. they zoom past me everywhere...in the shopping mall, in the supermarket, in wet markets. arghrarghrgh!!

Anybody heard Will Young's new CD? Titled Friday's Child. I heard some samplers, and I think the songs are pretty good. (For those who don't know who i'm talking about, Will Young was the winner of the British Pop Idol). But the CDs in Tower Records, etc etc...are molto expensivo!! RM44..man! I was looking around in one of the CD shops in PJ last night, saw a William Hung cd for RM42!! Who would pay RM42 to listen to William Hung? Now, Will Young, he's different. I still can't bring myself to pay RM44 for a CD though. I need testimonials...is the cd really that good? help!