I got a visit from a troll!

But really, a troll isn’t exactly as annoying as spam. I can say this because trolls are real people instead of soulless robots manipulated by greedy selfish jackassses. So, since I’m dealing with a person, there’s always the opportunity to retaliate. Here’s the story;

A long while back, I made a commentary about the Malays around me. I was honestly surprised at the sheer amount of positive responses I received. So I enjoyed a few minutes of fame, but then, it all came to pass and eventually I myself never did bother about it as more and more things came into my life and displaced that post away, tucked deeply in the archives.

Suddenly, I got myself a fresh new comment, for that very entry! As it was waiting for approval, decided to give it a look-see. This Anuar bin Ahmad [anuar@mac.org.my] fellow wrote;

The only thing I agree with you is that you do love your self too much. Is there any positive cell left in your body? Why all the hatred, I suppose this all goes back to your childhood. You think you were brought up in proper Malay Muslim environment, I doubt it. Yours is far as Pluto. I, for one lived overseas half my life but proud to be Muslim and Malay. Many of us do, unlike fakes like u. Sembahyang itu mencegah dari perkara yang keji dan mungkar. Post this if you dare.

I was honestly amused. Especially how he ended it. Post this if I dare? Man, he sure asked for it. So, being the nice person that I am, I decided to publish it, along with my reply;

Which nerve of yours did I hit? Let me hit it again.

I love myself too much? Yeah, that might explain why I don’t carry a gun and fight for the nation out in the front lines. I’m such a coward, despite all my monster kills in DoTA. Next. Positive cells left in my body? Did you mistake me for a battery or transistor or diode of any sort, cause I’m sick of listening to all that during my classes. This all does go back to my childhood I suppose. Probably played too much polissentri, bottlecap or watched too much Thundercats. I probably didn’t read enough newspapers or watched enough news to grow up into a matured person like you. Next.

Well, I DO believe I was brought up in a proper Muslim environment considering my Dad doesn’t come home in a drunken stupor every night [god forbid]. I’m as far as Pluto? Geez, TM sure has expanded their business big time, but I’m sure their connection would still suck a goat’s dick if it got there. Next. You lived half your life overseas? I bet you have no idea who Keluang Man is [don’t bother googling for him, it’s a waste of time]. That might also explain your lack courtesy by suddenly erupting here at me when you have NO idea who I am. I AM BIG SCARY PERSON LOVE TO SMACK GODZILLA’S ASS WITH KING KONG TOYS.

*cough*

Fake? Are you saying I’m not proud to be a Muslim, not proud to be a Malay? Eh, you sure you didn’t miss out on any paragraphs cause you sound like you skipped a hell of a lot of things. Sembahyang itu memang mencegah dari perkara yang keji dan mungkar. Aaaaaaand this comes under what assumption? That I ponteng sembahyang? Fuiyoh, you’re a damn psychic to be able to tell that just by reading ONE of my entries. I envy that ability [not]. As far as I remember, dengki dan fitnah tu perkara yang keji dan mungkar. Sapa yang ponteng sembahyang niiiiii….

Post this if I dare? OMGWTFBBQLOLOL,…You’re fucking kidding me - right?

note: if you were attempting to piss me off, well,… try better next time, n00b. Kill a kitten or something. Googling for ‘melayu murtad’, landing here, and then flaming me, all this WHILE USING IE… proves you’re a noob.

It doesn’t look like I’m as popular as Kenny or Xiaxue [thank god for that] to be receiving trolls on a daily basis. But yeah, I figured this to be quite an interesting thing to do to break the normal routine of blogging, lol.

I have plenty on my non-existent ‘to-do’ list.

I’ve got to send Boy for repairs since his drive shaft making creaky noises.
I’ve another Eggheads strip to draw.
I’ve got to plan another trip to the river.
I’ve got a stop-motion animation to try out.
I’ve got to burn some of the completed anime.

Despite all that… holidays have seen me being rather.. lethargic, if I may use the term. Seesh, I need to get back to my feet.

It amazes me sometimes how differently I see things from the way of my peers.

One of the most obvious is that of being a ’social’ person in a ’social circle’. Really, I don’t mind making friends. But I don’t really make it a point to ‘go out and meet people’ for the sake of ‘making new friends’ and expanding my ’social network’. Maybe I’m just meant to be a loner, as I always have been. Not to mention the fact that I actually enjoy being solitary.

I don’t exactly have a problem with that ideal or concept as a whole. It’s just that, it sucks when you live your life putting your privacy at the highest priority, yet you’re surrounded by people who can’t bear to go on another minute without company. There has been one time too many where these ’socialists’ - as I would [very much] like to call them - imposed their midsets onto me.

So I was sitting there, enjoying a quiet lunch with myself when suddenly a friend came;

Friend: Wah, have lunch never call me. Who you with?
Me: Uh,.. nobody?
Friend: Wah, why you so sad one? Come lah I teman you makan!

I really had absolutely no right to decline, since she invited herself to the table. But maaaan,… if I wanted company for lunch, I would’ve asked for it, no? It shouldn’t be that hard to figure out WHY I’m having lunch alone, yes? And then there’s the other scenario; I chatted with a friend while waiting for my food at the counter. He got his first, and mine follwed after. Again, I was going to have a quiet lunch by myself when this friend, out of courtesy invited me over…

Friend: Apsal duduk jauh sangat, meh la sini!

Yet again, I couldn’t possibly decline. So I joined his table, filled with people who I have no idea who they are. So I had my lunch quietly, as I’m not to keen on chatting with strangers, especially when there’s nothing to chat about. But shit hits the fan when my friend asks why I was being so quiet. A cheap excuse would be to fill up my mouth with food, point at my lips and just grin.

And then, the idea of going on trips.

If I were to go on a vacation, I’d like to go in a small group. Preferably no more than 6 people. Why? I think the idea is freaking simple. I hate crowds.

When going on vacation, I’d like to go and take my time enjoying the scenery, chill out, probably take a couple of photos. Say, if I end up at the beach, I’d like to spend some quiet time with as few people as possible. Really, just to let myself escape. Immerse myself in the thoughts of being at peace, being free and being happy about it.

Should I go on a vacation to an area I’ve never been to, I’d take my time sleeping in until brunch, drive slowly to enjoy the scenery. I’ll probably make a couple of stops before the destination just to take some photos. Basically I’d be taking my own sweet time, absorbing everything there is to absorb. The taste of the wind, the sound of the sunsets, the sight of the atmosphere, the feel of the culture, and the smell of freedom.

I’d hate to go in big groups where I get dragged by people to go places. I hate to be rushed while enjoying myself, and I hate to be slowed down if there’s a place I want to go. It inconveniences me, and the group I would be in. The bigger, the more problematic.

Yet, my closest friend thinks the greatest thing in the world is going on a tour group and having fun with everyone. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I’ve been on a couple of tour groups myself, one of them on a trip to China. I was with my eldest brother, and we landed in a tour group full of middle-aged women, all united in their purpose - spend their money on cheap Chinese goods. Needless to say, some destinations were cancelled because the power of women democracy forced the tour group to supermarkets and shopping areas.

At one point when we were supposed to visit the Beijing Zoo, the women were SO unhappy about it. We only went to the panda exhibit, and almost immediately after that, they dragged us out - yes, to go shopping. Hey, how did you guess that? A fucking shame, I tell you. Masuk zoo, tengok panda, blah. WTF lah.

But really that’s just one example. I hate the fact of being on a tour group because whatever you do you have to absolutely stick to the group and not wander out on your own. When you’re in a small group of only friends who share the same mentality as you will you not face the problem of ‘going astray’ when you decide to go on the path less taken.

I can say all this but then, there are people who prefer going in BIG groups to have a big fun-filled exciting trip. And people just can’t stop imposing this to me. How I should be going out, having fun, meeting new people, do exciting things. I’m not exactly *against* that idea. It’s just… it doesn’t suit me, and it’s not something I want to do while on vacation. Yet they tell me about having so much fun doing those exciting things, meeting new people and all that but frankly, I don’t envy them one bit.

I guess I’m just weird that way.

Holidays are here, and that only means yet another bandwidth-consuming Gundam review! [Man, the blogosphere really oughta thank me for this.] Next in the line of my most wanted Gundams is the not-so-new 1/100 No-Grade MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame of the Gundam Seed Astray manga series. I can’t really tell you much of a story since I don’t read that particular manga, nor do I care. But the only reason I decided to get this dude is because he looks awfully hot. Unlike the newer 1/100 No-Grade kits from the GSD line [which costs about RM110], the Red Frame costs only RM95! So anyway, let’s get straight to the details!

Kit Construction
As with most No-Grade 1/100’s, the Red Frame is relatively easy to build. The only real problem is getting it to look good. There’s plenty of panel lines to be drawn in, and plenty of nooks and crannies that have their own colour marks not available on stickers. It also has plenty of contact surfaces that can come off quite easily, so some glue or plastic cement really helps. This is definitely not a kit for total newbies. You will need at least a bit of experience of assembling and colouring model kits before attempting the Red Frame, unless you want something that looks dull, boring and/or extremely messy shit [like mine].

It also contains quite a number of small parts that can easily go missing if you mishandle them. So a certain amount of precision, caution and patience is needed. If you’re hasty you might go crazy and weep over it.

Features
The first thing you would notice on the Red Frame is the tremendous amount of details. As I have mentioned, there’s so much panels lines to be drawn I spent 2/3 of the time building it just penning them in and colouring some of the parts. Take a look at some close-up shots.

I personally like how the reds and whites alternate and complement each other nicely. As you can see, there’s plenty of tiny bits and pieces, and they’re a pain to put together. However, as a result, a fucking beautiful sculpture. The body, especially, is a masterpiece. The amount of detail there alone is staggering.

Weapons

Red Frame sports the default weapon sets of most mobile suits in the C.E. Gundam universe i.e. a beam rifle and shield. Nothing special about the rifle, though. But the hand that holds the rifle is. Instead of the regular fist, it’s got an additional hand unit with an extended forefinger to be placed at the rifle’s trigger. Pretty damn sweet, I say.

The shield looks like a recoloured version of Strike’s shield, LOL. But then again, the plot goes that Astrays are built upon stolen technology that can be found on Strike. Not too surprising imo. The mechanism on the shield is quite cool, too.

Different positions of the shiled grip. Neat stuff IMO.

The Red Frame also carries two beam sabers in it backpack. The ‘blades’ are standard issue transluscent pink plastic. However, the fists don’t grip it quite well so it’s quite loose and falls off easily when tilted, so nahhh…

Speaking of the backpack, I find it to be an interesting piece. You can shift its position to either lock it on the shoulders, or unlock it and rest it on the lower torso. I think a practical use would be to act as a counterbalance when leaning forward. Then again, it doesn’t carry much weight be fill up that position. Aside from a place to hold its boosters and beam sabers, it really isn’t anything special. Looks nice, though.

Here’s comes the highlight of the show, the one thing that sets the Red Frame apart from other Gundams; its Gerbera Straight Katana, a big shiny metallic sword that makes it look even more menacing than Sword Impulse with its two Excaliburs! Comes equipped with a sheath that locks at the left waist.

It’s an absolute beauty. The only gripe I have is when I got down to colouring it, LOL. It’s got plenty of features that require precise and clean colouring. Otherwise you get a plain white hilt in a plain white sheath. I tried colouring it, but it turns out quite messy, though. I was told only airbrushing produces top notch results. But hell if I care, it’s not like I’m joining a contest.

Mechanism
This has to be my favourite part of the review. The Red Frame is probably the most flexible model I have in my collection. Let’s start off with the arms. While keeping to traditional articulation, the arms are designed nicely where the elbow joints are locked. The upper arm has an additional block that allows the whole arm to swing out and rotate on it. It’s also attached to a special shoulder joint that plugs from the top of the torso instead of the sides. This allows the whole arm to swivel an additional 30 degrees or so.

This is the best best BESTESTESTEST part. My previous models have a fixed wrist that ends with a socket to plug in the ball-jointed hands. The Red Frame however takes an extra step further. To allow greater poseability with the sword, they built in an extra hinge at the wrists! For a No-Grade, I think that’s absolutely awesome.

On to the legs. This too, is a piece of wonder. It took me quite a while to build each leg, but the results amazed me greatly. Because it doesn’t have a skirting plate of any sort, it’s legs can easily swing back and forth to sweep an angle of over 135 degrees! However, the hip joints are plug-and-socket instead of ball-and-socket. This only means it comes off quite often while posing. However, it’s thighs attaches to the hips via an additional hip block, like the shoulders and allows for greater poseabilty than any model I have built [oh, please, I've only built 3 before this one, LOL]. The knees, like the elbows, are locked joints yet they allow for a full bend and lets you do a crouched leg pose.

Those circles you see? That’s where the joints are. Yes, bitch, SEVEN OF THEM! Did you see that? The feet, while attached to a standard ball-and-socket joint, has an extra ANKLE joint! This allows each foot to fully flex upward when you swing the legs back to do that crouching pose. My only complaint is that the feet can’t flex downward, so it really can’t put it’s best foot forward :p

As an added bonus, there yet ANOTHER extra joint. Just below the chest is a little hinge that lets the body do a slight ‘bow’ whenever you do any sword poses. It deserves a cookie for that one!

Conclusion
So there you have it. Overall I’d say it’s the most fun Gundam I’ve built, excluding the fact that the colouring turns out messy and shit. It’s not exactly noob-friendly, so I suggest newbies to get a hang of building Gundams by making some other kits first. For all it’s goods, it deserves a 9 out of 10, the only point missing is for the colouring difficulties and feet flaw.

While discussing the subject of budu, belacan, tempoyak, and cencaluk…

Jyh Yian: I feel so like katak bawah tempurung now
Me: kahahkahka
Jyh Yian: ehh i just realised
Jyh Yian: I USED A MALAY PROVERB!!!
Jyh Yian: WoooHOooO!!!!
Me: :P can lansi to ppl leh.
Me: [ive been using chinese phrases for so long and nobody notices]
Me: XD
Jyh Yian: issshhh!
Jyh Yian: like what ?
Me: TIU NIA MA CHAU HAI
Me: i think thats a full sentence.
Jyh Yian: that is not NOT NOT a proverb
Me: i said phrases, what?