Monday, January 5, 2009

Pure Shiite, Rocky and Walla

What an interesting day this has turned out to be. After a morning of drudgery to testify as a witness in a mundane employment dispute over inane matters, I was ready to make it up to satD the person behind the very incisive blogsite Pure Shiite, for having postponed our December teh tarik session.

I called satD to establish that he was still on Malaysian soil and, thankfully he was still here. And, even better, he was able to avail himself for the teh tarik session despite the frenzy (I would imagine) over the impending birth of his third child.

For good measure, I called brother Walla to form the quorum. Alas! commentator ben was unavailable this time. No matter. We had to press on.

I arrived early at Devi's Corner in Desa Sri Hartamas and arranged for a car wash and polish before settling down at the alfresco section of Devi's.

Two cigarettes later (a description of time best known to Iban trackers), I spied the superstar blogger Rocky strolling into Devi's. Two paces ahead of Rocky was a slim, bespectacled, T-shirted young man whom I correctly assumed to be brother satD.

Bloody satD had brought along Rocky! Will wonders never cease.

After some fifteen minutes Walla finally showed up, having gone to the older part of Sri Hartamas by mistake.

Naturally, the discussion turned to the profound mind of Sakmongkol. Walla and I were quite happy to confirm that Sak's intellectual reach was truly as impressive as was the man's natural serendipitous and modest demeanour in person.

Unfortunately Rocky had to excuse himself for another engagement.

http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/images/gallery/Roti_Telur_and_Teh_Ais.jpg.
Picture borrowed from here.

satD told Walla and I that he had met Rocky in Bangsar. Nuraina Samad had been with them.

It was a singular thrill for Walla and I to have met with the great Rocky.

But, let me say that in the course of our chat, I concluded that satD is one of the finest Malaysian exports to Indonesia. A financial brain the size of a planet rests on his slender shoulders. Malaysia's loss (hopefully, not for too long) is definitely Indonesia's financial and capital sector's gain.

For now, Malaysia will have to be contented to experience the incisive albeit acerbic views of satD at his blog, Pure Shiite. The latest victim of satD's invective are the people involved in the IJN saga.

What a brain on such a young and bright Malaysian who, despite being transplanted to Jakarta, still has pure and unadulterated Malaysian blood flowing through his veins and arteries.

17 comments:

walla said...

satD came across as an extremely bright and cultured professional with a deep concern for the future of Malaysia and her youths. Needless to say, his knowledge on financial matters in the region solidly engaged our attention. De minimis and i were privileged to receive his sharp insights into diverse matters of enduring concern, and those gems were all the more superb for their clear and calm delivery.

De minimis himself was of course in his element; if you like the way he writes, you should hear him speak.

My only regrets are that Rocky had to leave early and sakmongkol wasn't here.

de minimis said...

Right on, bro walla. satD was brilliant company. Rocky was an unexpected special bonus. I'm looking forward to meeting with Sak again and, mamasita (the pleasure of whose company I have yet to enjoy).

satD said...

Hihi Bro de minimis and walla

u making me malu here... :)

It was a pleasure indeed...

Best Regards
satD

mekyam said...

wah, good food for the minds AND the tummies!

if the gorgeous ena and mamasita were there, you guys would have had an eyeful as well. ;D

i suppose it's okay for indonesia to borrow our satd for a while. after all we're using quite a bit of the neighbour's human resource, non!

[donc satd, t'attends déjà d'accueillir ton troisième enfant? wow, à la bonne heure, mon ami! :D]

p.s. ct, "emu cream" was what my late mum used as a rub for her joints. she swore by it. fast effect, soothing, non-greasy and odourless. i love it too and still use it for muscle pains etc.

emu oil comes from this thick pad of fat on the back of the bird. it apparently protects the animal from the extreme temperatures of its oz homeland.

de minimis said...

Hi mekyam

Your French dialogue with satD leaves the rest of us filled with a desire to learn the language.

Yes, we certainly could have done with some gender balance. It would have added even more character to the impromptu gathering.

Emu cream sounds intriguing. Dare I say it is the oz equivalent of Tiger Balm?

satD said...

Mekyam

Yup, we're breeders like rabbits..

:D

satD said...

Mekyam

where to get emu oil, my wife n mum inlaw is interested

Anonymous said...

de minimis and walla,

Thank you for sharing. Looks like I missed out all the fun and teh-tarik kau-kau! ;-D What to do, it clashed with my other appointment.

satD,
Hope to be able to join in the fun next time.

Anonymous said...

hi,
hope i am not jumping in awkwardly into this interesting discussion between the great bloggers and commentators. i wont hide my admiration for you people.

i've been following your trails of discussions and comments on various intellectual yet controversial blogs. i cannot imagine how would the persons behind such advanced written thoughts would look like in tangible matter form.

this special post by de minimis is very revealing to the avid readers like me and dozens others. tell me, can walla and the great 'apocryphalist' be the same person? at one time i thought there was a similarity in their writings. just a wild guess.

i wonder if JMD or KijangMas would surface one day in their true human form before our eyes.

de minimis said...

Hi river

Your query just cracked me up silly. Would you believe that I've asked walla a similar question when we first met? He hasn't given me a straight answer :D

I maintain a healthy scepticism that walla is only just walla. Maybe he has multiple personas in cyberspace tho' for the life of me I can't imagine how it is possible to completely conceal one's persona despite one's best efforts. There will always be some idiosyncratic pet phrase that inadvertently creeps in.

Clark Kent is Superman. Bruce Banner is the Hulk. Peter Parker is Spiderman. Bruce Wayne is Batman. Walla is ...????

mekyam said...

ct, walla and satd,

i order my blue-emu from this site:

http://www.blue-emu.com/

i'm not really sure if they ship abroad.

if not, perhaps there are retailers in or closer to malaysia and indonesia that could be found either via the Internet or otherwise.

for all we know, maybe in malaysia, Guardian Pharmacy already carries emu-oil products. :D

mekyam said...

hi river! [have long been a fan of your comments since coming across them... probably at kickdefella's!]

walla and apo, same person? i think not. :D

from where i'm sitting, their one similarity is that both are extremely erudite and have that astounding capability of sustaining and arguing several complicated thoughts and arguments in parallel. in highly technical but sophisticated and graceful prose, no less.

apart from gleaning bits and pieces from their comments here and there about their apparently different academic and professional backgrounds, my purely intuitive yardstick also says they have "a different twinkle their eyes when they comment". ;D

based on their styles, i'd say apo's twinkle is sardonic while walla's is elfish [or "elvish" if i go by my tolkien religion].

also somehow neither come across to me as someone who'd go for the multiple id's. using nicks aside, they both seem to me very comfortable in their own (internet-handle) skins. :D

Apocryphalist said...

Can Mr Walla wiggle his ears AND whistle at the same time, both underwater, wearing goggles and literally nothing else? No? Then I am not Walla.

Can Walla hafal sifir 13 whence others diajar hafal up to sifir 12 sahaja? No? Then I am not Walla.

Has Walla ever masuk pertandingan mengaji kecik2 dulu and got number 12 out of 12 contestants? No? Then I am not Walla.

Was Walla ever the only person in class kene lempang 2 kali oleh Mr Wong masa darjah 3 sebab tak buat home work whereas the rest of the class kene lempang sekali jer, thereby traumatizing him until dia besar, always asking himself, "Why am I always special"? No? Then Walla I am not.

Was Walla ever mistaken for a movie star in Klang, a holy saint in Kampung Baru, a rock singer in Tampin and at the same time an insane person in Keramat, a blind beggar-musician in Jalan TAR, a bum-wino in Wangsa Maju and a pizza delivery boy in Cyberjaya?

No? Then I am not Walla.

Is Mr Walla a great conversationalist, a great writer and a great orator in the net that conveniently hides his insecurity whilst in real life he is nothing more than a meek, scaredy, tongue-tied, nerdy, geeky, dweeby cartoonish character too insignificant to be of any use except perhaps as an extra, holding lembing or perisai near the palace gate in any future remake of "Sultan Mahmud Mangkat diJulang"?

No? Then I guess I am not Walla then.

de minimis said...

Hi Apocryphalist

You're as witty as ever :D

Anonymous said...

hi mekyam,
if my memory has not subconsciously confused you with someone else, i was made understood from your comments here and somewhere that you run a business abroad. people like you inspire us, a worthy evidence that despite how low certain quarters would look upon us, we do have the mojo to break beyond average achievements. like satD being exported to the Indonesians for his caliber in his domain.

i guess you are right. walla and apo are two different distinguished beings. apo can write pieces that could beat the faeces out even of the western sasterawans, while walla mesmerizes when he writes scientific analogy, like when he described the term 'inertia' with Dato' Sak once. but hmmm..

gasp..
the 'Apocryphalist' himself has spoken.
i am most honoured to occupy a tiny space on this discussion platform with you sir.

Ariff Sabri said...

bro de minimis,

sorry for this late reply. read this posting of yours the very day. loss for words to respond to the passing mention of sakmongkol's name in the meeting of terrific minds- walla, satD, yourself and of course the godfather of blogworld- Rocky.
but Thank you for your kind thoughts. the next time, hopefully this weekend, when we are up in KL, we will call you up and maybe meet up for a teh tarik session. i will make sure mamasita will not be mopping the floor of our daughter's place.
with warmest regards/sakmongkol.

de minimis said...

Bro Sak

It is always a pleasure to receive a note from you no matter when. I look forward to having some "frothy pulled tea" with you and mamasita at any time.