Stereotypes, Myths, Biases, and final thoughts

Some of the stereotypes about Malayasians are that they are lazy; manipulative; have inferiority complex; steal (from people and cultural ideas from Indonesia); ultra religious; hate westerners; inhospitable; wear bright, colorful clothes; every long-term visitor is expected to convert to Islam; men chauvinistic, have mistresses; arrogant; corrupt, Muslim terrorist; racist (violence to Chinese in the past). As well as some of the same stereotypes of the Chinese like being good at math, knowning kungfu, etc.
Some Malayasian myths are Bajang: the spirit of a stillborn child in the form of a civet cat (musang). Hantu kopek: a female ghost with large bosoms who lures men who cheat on their wives. Jembalang: a demon or evil spirit that usually brings disease Puaka: nature spirit of a place which are typically said to reside in abandoned buildings. The Malay word for ghost is hantu.

Here are some specific to Penang: Kitchen God or Tsao Chun. Considered one of Penang’s real local Folklores, the Kitchen God story goes like this: Tsao Chun or Chow Kong, was once a mortal man, married to a virtuous lady. But he left his wife for a young girl he fell in love with. And bad luck followed him. And the Kitchen God became penniless and blind, the young girl left him and he has to resort to begging. He happened to beg for food in his former wife house. Being blind he did not recognize her. Being a virtuous person, she show mercy on him and invited him in. She cooked him a fabulous meal and tended to him lovingly. As she was kind to him, Tsao Chun related to her his story and as he began to cry.

Another good Penang myth is called Goddess Parvati. Goddess Parvati Vel is about a folklore of the evil demons who had such a big ego that he did not want to surrender to Lord Muruga.He though he could hide from Lord Muruga in this Goddess Parvati Vel. When he took the form of a mango tree but Lord Muruga's spear split the tree. One part he turned to a peacock as His vehicle. The other he turned to a cock as his flag or banner. The Vel (sacred spear) which Goddess Parvati gave to Lord Muruga is the most powerful weapon in his armory. Lord Muruga fought for ten days and destroyed the evil Soorapadman and his brothers. The above was one of many told to me by different locals as I probe for more understanding of the Indian folklores. It was great to find out more about the many incarnation and roles Parvati and Lord Shiva played in each. Parvati is one of the major aspects of Devi, the universal goddess folklore. She appears as Lord Shiva's consort, considered in this form to be a mountain goddess.

From what I have read most of the media bias of Malaysia, in general, comes from Indonesia. However, the most media bias that I saw was during the most recent election. So much so that some experts at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus had to make sure that the election was covered fairly and diverse views. They found that both print and news wire (radio) did not present well balanced or fair news, but that online news and Mandarin language print newspapers did.

My thoughts on this project are of amazement. As I did my research I found a lot of information about a country that I had no real idea about. It is interesting how similar this country is to the United States. Actually, on my salary I could live in Penang and pay the same amount of rent that I currently pay. Some of the stereotypes seemed somewhat misinformed. But it seems there is a lot of internal struggle between the Indonesians and the Malaysians in general. I enjoyed the stories and myths of Penang as they were very fun to read. After doing the research I would actually like to visit Penang, Malaysia as a tourist. There are a lot of fun things that I would love to do there, especially go to the theme park Escape! In the future if I didn’t know much about a country I would actually research and see what it has to offer. There is a chance that I maybe missing out on a dream vacation because I don’t know about what the world has to offer.

How people live in Penang, Malaysia

Penang is split into two areas, the island (Penang Island) and the mainland (Seberang Perai). Penang is mostly flat, with the island being somewhat hilly. The Penang currency is called the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR). One RM is equal to .23 cents in U.S. dollars. The cost of living in Penang, Malaysia is low but that doesn't mean the standard of living isn't extremely high. Rent in Penang is mostly dependent on location. The closer you are to more tourist laden ares (such as the beach, Georgetown, bridge to mainland) the higher you will pay in rent. Renting a furnished apartment short term will cost you about RM1800-5000 a month. An unfurnished apartment for 12 month + will cost you around RM800-3000. Utilites are about water RM8, gas RM5, electric RM200, cable RM49, and internet RM18. The following link gives more information of Penang's cost of living. http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Malaysia&city=Penang

The climate in Penang is tropical, which can be effected by the sea and wind. There is a dryer season during what we would consider the winter, which averages about 83 degrees plus/minus. Rainy season is also between Apr-Nov with October having the most rain.

The population of Penang is about 1,500,000. The Island of Penang is the most populated island in Malaysia, as the highest population isChinese followed by Malays. Malay is the official state language but Standard Mandarin is taught in medium school and is increasingly become popular. English is also spoken in Penang but mostly for the working environments and is predominantly British English. Most of the population of Penang is Muslim with Buddhism as the second most common religion. Penang has two local authorities one for the island called Penang Island City Council and for the mainland, Seberang Perai Municipal Council. Penang is a federal representative democratic constitutional monarchy, with a Prime Minister as head of government. There are two main parties in Penang are Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional. The Federal legislative power is in the federal parliament and 13 state assemblies. Judicial system is independent of the executive and legislative branches. The Federal Constitution of Malaysia was created in 1957.

Transportation in Penang various but is similar to the US. Buses are cheap and modernized with AC and free Wi-Fi. There are paved roads and highways so having a car makes life easy. But cars are very expensive but you can also rent those too (which is cheap). Motorbikes are also used around the mainland and island. Georgetown has the best public transportation system in Penang. There is also an airport called Penang International Airport which can handle 3 million passengers at any given time. There are even Trishaws and ferry services.

Penang has a rich entertainment industry and nightlife. With a wide variety of events, clubs, attractions, shopping, music, bars, restaurants, etc. There is also a booming tourist area and even eco friendly amusement parks. So much so that there is a Hard Rock Café Hotel on the island. Timeout.com has a wonderful guide to Penang and getting to know the activities of this area http://www.timeout.com/penang. Some of which aren't that expensive, example for a family of four to go to the cinema is only RM40 (9.10 U.S. Dollars!)

I got the Job!!

So I'm back in Penang. But I have made my way to Butterworth, Penang where RMAF Butterworth is located. I decided to join the Royal Malaysian Air Force. I figured this would be the easiest way to get citizenship and continue to do my job. My rank equivalent is called an Air Sergeant (Sarjan Udara). I decided to move into an apartment complex that is only about a 17 min drive or a 2 hour bus ride. Guess which one I will be taking in the morning. The apartment is single story and all ready furnished and rents for RM3,200 a month (728.18 U.S. dollars). I can see the Penang island from here.

I fly on the KC-130J which is a variant of the U.S. version built by Boeing. This thing is huge and it also air refuels fighters. Man do I love my job. I typical day at work involves me going out to the jet, preflighting the jet, and 2-6 hour missions. Within those hours we carry mail, sometimes food, supplies, and people to various places. We even refuel our training jets and practice refueling procedures and emergency breakaway. The military is loved here so I'm happy about that.

How to travel Penang

I had previously visited Penang for about a week. This time I have loosened up the reigns and have no plan. I am scared but excited. Today I visited George Town which is the capital of Penang. There are beautiful 19th century buildings (such as mosques, temples, and churches). I've been traveling for about 5 days so far. Before I went back to Penang I learned to speak both Malay and Mandarin so that I could feel more at home and visit more of the less tourist areas of Penang. I wanted to feel as if I lived here.

 On my first day I stayed on a sandy beach in Batu Ferringhi. there I eat with the locals at the night market. I was exposed to all types of fish and exotic foods that I had never even heard of.  The bus ride was fun and it even had Wi-Fi, so that I could check in from time to time with family. Mostly because I had no real plans. after the beach I found a Tropical Spice Garden, which is another wonderful Eco site. Most of the food here was Thai food and was in the middle of the rainforest. I even took a small cooking class.

While making may way around Penang I ran across a festival. It was called the Nine Emperor Gods Vegetarian Festival.  The vegetarian ritual is known as Jiuhuang. From what I have read the festival goes like this, "On the eve of the ninth moon, temples of the deities hold a ceremony to invoke and welcome the nine emperors. Since the arrival of the gods is believed to be through the waterways, processions are held from temples to the sea shore or river to symbolize this belief. Devotees dressed in traditional white, carrying incense and candles, await the arrival of their excellences. A carnival-like atmosphere pervades the temple throughout the nine-day festival. During this period of time, the constant tinkling of a prayer bell and chants from the temple priests are heard. Most devotees stay at the temple, eat vegetarian meals and recite continuous chanting of prayer. It is believed that there will be rain throughout the nine days of celebration.
The ninth day of the festival is its climax. A procession which draws scores of devotees sends the deities back home."

I have decided to go camping for the remainder of my trip, however long that will be, at the Penang National park. Where I swear I crossed the smallest bridge in creation. The trails in this place are very beautiful and captivating. It was previously called Pantai Acheh Forest Reserve but was changed to its current name in 2003. Here I found sandy beaches (where I camped), a lake, obviously rainforest, and coastal areas. I never want to go home.

 

Hard Rock Hotel, Penang Run, and Foam...Best Vacation Ever

So I decided I wanted to visit another country. I mean I have been outside of the country before but never to Malaysia. I'm staying at the Hard Rock Hotel Penang. This hotel is great and comfortable. Last night I went to a party called the Ultimate Foam Party for RM30, but I got in free because I'm a lady. Happy dance. I've been to foam parties before but this was the first where children where allowed to be here. After 7 of course it's all adults and man do these people know how to party.
The plan ride here was long...very long...It's a whole day plus 6 hours. But it is cool because I went back in time! I was so excited. The foam party will be amazing!! They speak English here though it is mostly broken when speaking to older individuals. The dominant languages seems to be Mandarin and Malay.

I have been here in my hotel in about a week. During that time I have also ran in the Penang Run. Which is the real reason I was here. I registered online about a year ago. I have been so excited. The race cost about RM60 which is about 13.55 in US dollars. The RM stands for Malaysian Ringgit. There are four races that you can actually run in. I decided to run in the 8k Fun run, so I only got one piece of the medal. I'm still proud. To me it was similar to running the Spartan Race in the US.

The final place I went to, to conclude my trip was Escape Theme Park. It's an Eco park that uses solar energy to power it. There is vegetation on the roofs to keep things cool and all the water used is harvested from rain water. I got go on the jungle swinger. The whole park is actually a forest with a small amount of electronics as possible. All ages are welcome and the experience was phenomenal. Unfortunately, I have to go home in two days. This was a really fun vacation though.

Saying hello from Los Angeles...visited a local target. Good times!!

The roof...is on fire!! Red dot

Sometimes when your not looking it can knock you right over. Fire hydrant!

Stop...in the name of dots...

Sometimes the easiest things are already in your grasp. Something as beautiful as a stop light can hold the key to fulfilling homework. Yes this is my car's taillight. In a world full of square, rectangle, and other four sided taillights mine are actually round. Beautiful indeed.

Bricolage vs Counter-Bricolage

Bricolage is the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process. It is also when you use things, in such a way, that they are dislocated from their expected or normal use.


Counter Bricolage is the appropriation by mainstream marketers and producers. This takes things and makes them "cool" and is counter to the original intent of the Bricolage strategy.


One of my favorite examples of Bricolage/counter Bricolage is the stage production of Stomp. When Stomp the two members where apart of a street band, where they used everyday objects (trashcans, brooms, etc.) as percussion instruments. While people liked this brand of music it was considered low class street art. I wasn't until one of the members of Stomp directed and financed his first production of Stomp before high class people would see it. Between 1990-present Stomp has been shown around the world.
So in this example the original form of Bricolage was the use of trashcans as musical instruments. This due to the fact that trashcan and broom are used primarily for clean up and trash.
The counter Bricolage is that Stomp was created and turned into a musical with world wide acceptance taking it from street art to becoming urban musical. That made the use of trashcans, newspapers, and brooms cool. Also, other people started to create music with non traditional instruments like trash can lids, static from TVs, etc. Please enjoy this fun example of Stomp the musical: Brooms

Denotative vs Connotative

Denotative: is a specific and direct meaning of an image. Can have apparent truths to the viewer that becomes evidence of an event. This is the literal, explicit meaning of an image.


Connotative: is the suggestion or association of an image. This can have implying or suggestive power over an image and is in addition to what is explicit. They are informed by the cultural and historical contexts of the image and felt knowledge of those circumstances. What is means to the viewer personally.

The Denotative of this image is a man and a woman helping children onto a train as they are escaping from unknown source.

The Connotative of this image is from a movie titled Rosewood. The historical relevance of the image depicts blacks (women and children) trying to escape Rosewood from a city wide cleansing of blacks in 1923. This was due to a lie started by a white woman that I black man had raped her. Millions were hung, burned, and slaughtered, this is one of the less grizzly images of that day.

Dry Hands...yes please

I found this lovely red dot while drying my hands at work yesterday. It's interesting how you brain may process details even if they aren't important to you. Because I'm sure I've seen this red circle (dot) there before. But until now it was never important. Hope you guys enjoy. :)