Tag: Life

Highway 61 (But Not Revisited)

How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone

Robert Allen Zimmerman, “Like A Rolling Stone”, Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

A few weeks back, I began my journey down Highway 61, having reached the end of Highway 60 on my annual traipse around Sol. So, if you were excited that this post might be yet another review of Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited… well, sorry to disappoint.

So yeah, Happy Birthday to me… But seriously, no wishes necessary; I consciously chose that my 61st circumambulation be without fanfare, without any fuss. Pretty much like how most of my recent circumambulations have been.

About the only reason why I chose to reference Dylan’s 6th studio album is because of the title. By the way, the album will celebrate its 60th this year (released on 30 August 1965), a year-plus younger than yours truly. Give it a listen if you haven’t before. And if you have, give it a listen anyway.

While I am at the age I am, it might be of interest to know that Walski – that pesky third person who used to write on my behalf – is many years younger. Walski was born into this world sometime in the mid-1980s, courtesy of my very close college friend Jeff Suhy, who came up with the nickname during one of our close-knit group’s late-night mind-melding sessions. Let’s just say it was around 1987, give or take. Which makes Walski a very youthful 38 this year. The bastard…

Walski represents the repressed petulance I wish I could express in my everyday life. He is the conduit for my idealistic and liberal thoughts. Those who have followed my blog – both here and in the original Blogspot-based one – would realise I used to write in a third-person voice. As Walski himself.

But Walski hasn’t been repressed in any way, just so you know. He is alive and well, and still is who/what informs my general outlook when I write what I write here. And just because he doesn’t have a “voice”, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a voice. If you know what I mean.

It’s not easy being me. Been that way as long as I can remember. Growing up, nobody else I knew loved the music I loved, read the things I read. TV shows were perhaps the one commonality I had with my school friends. Speaking of school friends, my family moved from place to place every three years or so, due to my late dad’s career as an educator, and as a result, I never really had friends I’ve known since elementary school.

And now, I once again live a nomadic kind of life, co-running the art business with my better half; we do art fairs and collaborations around the region, so we’re never in Malaysia for any significant period at a time. Connecting the dots, life’s come full circle in that respect.

Other than in my college years, I never really had a peer group – friends with similar interests and outlooks – save for a small handful. But even they don’t completely have the same interests and outlooks as I do.

Does that sound like I’ve had a very lonely life? Well, to be perfectly honest, it does feel that way sometimes. There’s so much I’d like to share, so many thoughts to express… but hey, I’m not complaining. I mention this only because it kind of explains why I write what I write and express what I express. It’s better than talking to myself, and certainly much better than talking to Walski… ha ha.

If you’ve gotten this far, a quick thank you for putting up with this aimless verbal/textual diarrhoea.

But yeah, I’m a few weeks into my traversal down Highway 61. I think I’ll survive. Again. But with the completely FUBAR world we live in right now, who knows? Walski and I can only hope it will not end in tears. Or worse, nuclear winter.

As the world cycles through swinging as far right as the pendulum of reality allows, those of us closer to the other end of the political spectrum can only hope the pendulum doesn’t snap altogether.

And in times like these, I dare say that hope may just be the only counterbalance the pendulum has to swing back to territories of normalcy… at least the cautious optimist in me thinks so.

Time, and other illusions

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)

Remember what Walski said in his post early this year, about wanting to post more, better time management, etc.?

Well, while he didn’t outright lie about his intentions at that point, time had other ideas. And what Walski had intended didn’t come to pass. On that count, Walski apologizes. Profusely.

The reality, though, is that what’s happening in Malaysia today – and how it gets reported in the news and on social media – means that there are too many issues and too much stuff going on to comment on every single thing that irks him. Unless he’s willing to be stuck behind the computer screen indefinitely, which he doesn’t.

To summarize 2023 thus far, Malaysian Islamists seem to be winning the narrative game. And it doesn’t help that the government seems to be bending – or at least acquiescing – to what they want. Granted, PM X has Islamic (and some argue Islamist) credentials. But is the current governmental stance going to help in the long run?

Flashback some 3-plus decades past: Dr. M the then PM, as a response to PAS’s growing influence opened the Islamist floodgates by making the government more “Islamic”, albeit in a moderate manner. Walski won’t rehash what’s transpired since, but the moral of the story: once the Islamic genie has been unleashed from its bottle, there’s no way to rein it back in.

When it comes to the current government, Walski can think of two possible thinking modes why the strategy is what it is: one, being friendly with the Islamists and acquiescing to what they want is to prevent losing in the upcoming state elections; or two, the idea that the Madani government can manage it better than Dr. M.

That’s Walski’s guess anyway.

On other fronts, UMNO wants Najib to be pardoned, and UMNO’s president (who’s also Deputy PM) wants the charges against him dropped.

It is Walski’s ardent hope that neither comes to pass.

And that’s all he can do – hope.

Because if there’s one thing Walski’s realized and come to terms with after all these years: just like time, citizen empowerment in Malaysia is an illusion. There may be the occasional small wins, but almost negligible compared to the major losses that have come in tandem. About the only saving grace: the current government is serious about institutional reforms.

Whether or not it will be allowed to realize those reforms, without too much compromise (that would make those ‘reforms’ pointless), is left to be seen.

In any case, Walski really wanted to post more here since the aforementioned January post, but had to give in to other more pressing matters. There’s only so much headspace in his advancing years, and priorities had to be made.

The ugly truth is that keeping this blog alive with content (that folks wanna read) has become a chore. And frankly, compared to the other stuff he has to do, myAsylum is of low priority. Walski realizes that he doesn’t have the luxury of time like he used to, particularly since with every passing day time is slowly but surely running out.

Be that as it may, Walski will return once in a while to populate this blog with his thoughts. Hopefully thoughts that matter and not simply barking like a rabid dog against a deluge he cannot stop, and for a cause that is, for all practical purposes, lost.

And that lost cause? Malaysia.

Walski, on this tenth day of April 2023 is one dejected son of a bitch… and that, dear reader, is the honest truth.

But he sincerely hopes you’re having a better day. And an even better tomorrow.

p.s. – before Walski forgets, his real-world alter ego decided to start writing on Substack recently. While there’s nothing much of interest posted there – yet – Walski thought you might be interested to know. Reportedly, it is supposed to be less ranty. Good luck with that…