The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:26 PM PDT SEPT 30 — A black stretch limousine pulled up in front of Fifth Avenue's New York Public Library, and the woman everyone was waiting for on that sunny September morning stepped out to the flash of cameras, eager to capture her Medusa-like fingernails. Chris "The Duchess" Walton, a 45-year-old from Las Vegas, has spent the last 18 years resisting the temptation to bite her nails to become the world record holder for "longest fingernails on a pair of female hands." According to the Guinness World Records — a best-selling world records reference book published annually — they collectively measure a whopping 601.9cm long, as tall as an average male giraffe. Before a thicket of press lining the library's steps, the mother of five and grandmother of three joked that it took "candy and a lot of patience" to grow her nails.  The Duchess in all her long-nailed glory on the steps of the library! — Picture by Helen Hickey While she claimed it was never her plan to become a record holder, she is making the most of her debut in the Guinness World Records 2012 edition —themed "unique beauty" and recently on sale — with the simultaneous release of her first single "Phoenix" from the album "Live and Let Live". A rock star and world record holder; she may be both. But how on earth does she manage her daily ablutions? No one dared ask. Just minutes before The Duchess' arrival, I asked Samantha Fay, senior vice- president USA and head of global marketing for Guinness World Records, New York, what inspires people like The Duchess to do what they do? "It is all about being the best," explained Fay, a bubbly British expatriate dressed in aquamarine to compliment the book's cover. "It's about 'superlatives', people wanting to be the most pierced, the most tattooed, the fastest, the strongest, it's a human nature thing that starts off as the competitive streak you notice in kids from an early age," she adds. She's met the most pierced woman, Elaine Davidson from Scotland, who has 4,225 pieces of metal attached to, and inside, her body. The mere threat of someone trumping her record will send her scampering for more because "she absolutely has to be the most pierced woman in the world."  A phalanx of photographers greets the arrival of The Duchess. — Picture by Helen Hickey The Turkish 251cm "gentle giant", who also has the world's largest hands and feet, is not a (triple) record holder by choice: a pituitary gland tumour is responsible for his gargantuan proportions. Revolutionary gamma-knife surgery on the tumour has now halted its growth hormone production, although this hasn't deterred publicity-seeking sponsors from donating a custom-built house (the Turkish government), car, shoes (Converse) and his first pair of jeans (Levi's). Closer to home is New Yorker Ashrita Furman, who is arguably the "best" world record holder given he has the most — currently 102. The bullying he endured at school made him "determined to be good at something," explained Fay.  Fay (left) and Sultan on Top of the Rock in New York. — Picture by Sam Fay In 2002 he had the world's longest pencil assembled in Malaysia by Faber-Castell. It took 7,000 man-hours over a two-year period to build the 20m-tall pencil made from Malaysian lumber. It was housed in a glass enclosure outside Faber-Castell's facility near Kuala Lumpur, before being shipped to New York; did anyone see this? And speaking of Malaysia, take a peek at its 2012 world records; I shan't mention the "most canings" record — painful in many respects. As for current trends in world records, Guinness is witnessing a lot more technology records, like the world's smallest mobile phone, which "measures the size of my thumbnail" Fay confirmed with an air of bewilderment. Fay's all-time favourite record — and written on the back of her business card — is that of Walt Saine of Switzerland. Choosing this from 60,000 records currently listed on Guinness' files, she describes as her "duh moment." On October 30, 2010, Saine became the dubious holder of the most kicks to one's own head in one minute — 110 — having used both his right and left leg to kick himself in the forehead an average of 1.8 times per second. This record is apparently "broken" regularly. And me? As I stood, entranced by The Duchess' golden talons glittering in the sun's rays, I decided to continue with what I do best — "trying" my best. "Being the best" might well involve one very large headache... * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:04 PM PDT SEPT 30 — To practise a religion, one must understand that religion. And to understand the religion, one needs to know the religion. But is it even possible to know and understand a religion completely so one can actually practise that religion properly? Or would you really not be considered a true believer and practitioner if you don't totally understand the religion? I, for one, have to admit that I do not totally understand the religion I practise (Islam, in case you were wondering). What does that make me? An infidel? A kafir? A non-believer? Or maybe just a plain old bad and sinful Muslim? What I have been told by other Muslims (to my face even!) is that if you don't understand the religion, just keep quiet and do as you're told. Now isn't that wonderful? Just shut up and do what other people tell you, and everything will be all right. I guess ignorance is bliss. But lucky for me, something happened recently to pluck me out of the disillusionment I had of my fellow Muslims. My future sister-in-law, an "infidel", recently converted to Islam (hence infidel no more!), and I was there to be a witness. She had decided to go to Jawi (the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department) to do her conversion and the whole gang (her family and mine) tagged along. We all entered a small room and were greeted by a young officer whom we all just called "Ustaz" (his name escapes me at this point in time). Ustaz talked about Islam and some basic information like the Pillars of Islam (Rukun Islam) and the Pillars of Faith (Rukun Iman). Then the conversion happened. Ustaz asked my future sister-in-law to recite the Syahadah and that was it. She was no longer an infidel. What Ustaz said next was the thing that really stuck to me. He asked my future sister-in-law several questions to test her knowledge on Islam. "Do you know how to pray?" asked Ustaz, "Not really but I'm learning," said my future sister-in-law. "That's okay. I was going to say that you can actually pray any way you want right now since you don't really know how." "Really?" "Yes. You can even go to a mosque and just pray however you want. And if anyone asks you why you're praying that way, just tell them you just converted and are learning." "Oh okay." "But, of course, you need to start studying the proper ways of Islam. Then just go through everything slowly and naturally as you learn. It'll take time and you've got a long way to go. God will understand." "Thank you, Ustaz." I like the idea that Islam allows one to just practise the religion the best way one knows how and to take one's time to learn and understand it better. I also like the nice, patient and polite way the Ustaz explained everything to my future sister-in-law (and all of us there too). At the end of the session, Ustaz asked my future sister-in-law for her bank account because Jawi allocates a bit of financial assistance for new converts. "Why do you do that, Ustaz?" I asked. "Sometimes, converts are disowned by their families or face certain hardships. The money we provide is just to help them out a little bit. But your case today is what we like. Everyone is supportive and open-minded," replied Ustaz. We all nodded in agreement. But right before we started walking out of the room, my future sister-in-law's two brothers motioned towards Ustaz. "Ustaz, how much do you actually give out?" they both asked mischievously. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan