Categories
Pop culture

[2325] Do you hear the people sing?

When I first decided to ride a bus from Paris to London, I did not plan on watching anything at West End. A friend in Paris encouraged me to watch something but I ignored her, telling her I would not want to watch it alone. I changed my mind when I got out of Victoria Station, where I spotted a theater hosting Wicked. I watched Wicked with her in Sydney and I like the show. Remembering how much I like it, I told myself, the West End is in London. So, I looked around and decided I wanted to watch the famed Les Misérables.

I am glad I watched it.

Right now, the songs sang in the show keep ringing in my ears. It does not help when the television keeps airing news from Libya and the Arab world in general, reminding me of songs of Les Misérables sung when French student group in Paris led a failed rebellion against the authority.

I have not watched too many musical. That makes me easily impressed. I in fact was impressed as soon as the show began. As the show began, I could read ‘Toulon 1815’ floating in the air on the stage. Seeing how the words were floating, thought that was a hologram. I said to myself, whoa.

It was when they rolled up the thin screen in front of the stage that I realized those words were projected onto a screen. The screen and the smoke gave the appearance that the words were floating in the air.

And then it began with this song…

[youtube]apYnUnMDRuU[/youtube]

The video is the best I could find on Youtube. Be aware that the video shows a recording of a concert rather than a play. While the scene in the video is continuous, in truth there are multiple scenes cut out. And of course, in the play, the actors do not just stand there in front of the microphones.

Anyway, what impressed me the most was the stage; specifically, the wheel that acted as a rotating mini-stage. As a person with limited education in theater, I found this to be absolutely ingenious way in portraying a moving street. It allowed the actors to walk while staying still with respect to the whole stage. Not only that, the rotating stage was especially effective during the fighting scene where the student group was at the barricade fighting the army. Because of that, the change of scene was seamless. This is what I mean by rotating stage:

[youtube]ln-7Rhuy-Gg[/youtube]

Although I have absolutely no use of this knowledge, the idea astounds me even till today, 3 weeks after I watched the show at Queen’s Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.

This is the Queen’s Theatre.

The songs that I associate with the situation in the Arab world are these two: Red & Black…

[youtube]iuBNLsvNntw[/youtube]

…and Do You Hear the People Sing?

[youtube]1VR1bOha40U[/youtube]

You know what is cool? Knowing and having been to some of the places mentioned in the songs and the play in general.

My favorite is Confrontation.

[youtube]2WdoAnlQ30U[/youtube]

I like how the counterpoint works.

There is of course the song which a lot of people who are unfamiliar with Les Misérables know, I Dreamed a Dream, when in the story, Fantine was just fired from work unfairly before being forced into prostitution.

[youtube]pD-q2YuKb6c[/youtube]

And then, One Day More…

[youtube]odrZ6NtPR2M[/youtube]

There are other great songs which you could watch on Youtube. I will not post all the videos here because the whole play last over 2 or 3 hours.

In fact, you should watch the real thing it if you have the chance.

Categories
Politics & government

[2324] Shadow cabinet: give Pakatan Rakyat a break

The formation of a shadow cabinet in Malaysia is ideal. That demand has been made multiple times to Pakatan Rakyat, especially by those unfriendly to Barisan Nasional. While shadow cabinet formation does indicate the seriousness and the preparedness of Pakatan Rakyat in governing Malaysia when the time comes if it comes, and that itself has some value, one — specifically those who are unfriendly to Barisan Nasional — has to be reasonable.

Although relations between the components of Pakatan Rakyat appear to be on good terms, there have been frictions from time to time. For instance, observe the issue of Islamic state. Members and sympathizers of Pakatan Rakyat have defended some of the frictions by stating that it is part of democratic culture, where there will always be difference of opinions. That however does not cover up the fact that there are groups within Pakatan Rakyat that have different ideals. Gaps exist. Part of the gaps is due to party loyalty. The way Anwar Ibrahim has been managing it is one of the wonders of Malaysian politics.

Now, a shadow cabinet indicates that that person would be the minister if Pakatan Rakyat forms the federal government. In other words, a shadow cabinet hints who is who. Imagine what a shadow cabinet could do in exacerbating those gaps. The amount of goodwill between parties that could be lost for something that might not happen — Pakatan Rakyat as the federal government — is not worth the effort. The bickering that might happen due to who should be whom might even reduce the chance of Pakatan Rakyat winning the next general election.

Right now, the foremost requirement for Pakatan Rakyat is to present a united front, especially when a general election is expected soon. The so-called shadow committee covering the existing ministries should do fine at the moment.

Besides, what is the purpose of a shadow cabinet?

Is it about knowing who is who, or about knowing what are the alternative policies?

Given the current general circumstances, I would say the latter. There is more substance in alternative policies compared to alternative persons. I am interested in issue-based politics, not personality cult.

So, Pakatan Rakyat should cross the bridge, only when they come to it. And the bridge is not in sight yet.

Nevertheless, members of those shadow committees need to raise their game. They are too quiet. Some of the members of the shadow committees have defected, making the members list outdated. It has to be updated.

Categories
Photography Travels

[2323] The National Gallery, London

I took over a thousand shots while I was in London. Yet, the amount of good photos that I have is astoundingly limited. Part of the reason probably has something to do with the fact that these days, I frequently shoot in manual mode.

This is one of those good photos.

This is the National Gallery in London.

Categories
Economics Politics & government

[2322] Bus operators should go bust

Here is another case of private gains but socialized losses.

The Star reports that some bus operators wanted the government to bail them out. They reasoned that they would go bankrupt. Fares “that they collect can no longer cover costs.”[1]

That is nice, is it not?

When things go awry, get somebody to pay for you. When the going is good, keep the money for yourselves.

Without any doubt, I prefer bankruptcy to bail out. In fact, bankruptcy is likely to be good for these bus operators.

One, if they face competition along the routes that they serve, then some of them will be out of business, which then grants the surviving operators  monopoly power. The fares can be raised after that, subject to other constraints, like train services, cabs or private cars. The government of course should refrain from the temptation of regulating those fares. If they cannot compete with these other means of transportation, then clearly the market does not appreciate the bus service, and thus, no need for this type of bus service.

Two, these bus operators will stop losing money once they are bankrupt. That is the point of bankruptcy, anyway. Coupled with limited liability, bankruptcy can do wonders. Of course, some banks in Malaysia demand individual guarantee, which makes limited liability irrelevant. Still, that is a different issue that requires solution that I cannot think of right now.

Apart from that, the Pan Malaysia Bus Operators Association president Ashfar Ali reasoned that the “government is no longer our proponent, but our competitor.”

This is the only hard point to counter.

I however prefer the government to privatize some of the services instead, like that belonging to Mara, i.e. Transnasional. For others like RapidKL and RapidPenang, I wonder how many of these private bus operators actually compete with RapidKL and RapidPenang?

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

[1] — PETALING JAYA: Hit by escalating cost of operations, stage bus operators nationwide have asked the Government to take over their businesses and liabilities.

Pan Malaysia Bus Operators Association president Datuk Ashfar Ali has sent a memorandum to Land Public Transport Commission (LPTC) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Syed Albar proposing that the Government buy over their assets. [It’s bailout or bust, bus firms tell Govt. Teh Eng Hock. The Star. February 21 2011]

Categories
Photography Travels

[2321] Trafalgar Square

I wish I stood slightly to the left when I took this shot.