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Fadzlishah Johanabas
Kuala Lumpur
Doctor. Author. Photographer. Gamer. Total procrastinator.
Interests: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fiction Writing, Landscape Photography, Figure Drawing, Reading
Recent Activity
I wrote to The Star sometime ago, but since they haven't responded, I'll go ahead and post what I wrote here. Oh, well. --@-- Pride. One beautiful word that has two polar opposite connotations; both have deep significance in the medical world. Eight years haven’t been that long since I... Continue reading
Posted Apr 13, 2013 at Murky Clarity
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The internet is a beautiful thing, and, like all things, it is neither good nor bad. We make the internet good. We make the internet bad. We, the people. There is a post circulating in Facebook about a nurse in Hospital Kota Bharu who allegedly abused a newborn child. A... Continue reading
Posted Mar 18, 2013 at Murky Clarity
Darkness. We have always been afraid of it. It holds too many secrets, too many monsters. Our ancestors learned to harness fire and huddled close to it, partly for warmth, but above all, for its light that kept darkness at bay. In time, we learned to banish the dark. It... Continue reading
Posted Mar 9, 2013 at Murky Clarity
noir noun /ˈnwär/ 1. crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings. --@-- Asian Angel was the name they gave him. They didn't know his age. They didn't know his story. They only knew he looked like a teenager. He didn't know his age. He didn't know his... Continue reading
Posted Feb 26, 2013 at Murky Clarity
Yay! Thanks. I watched a documentary about negligible senescence on Animal Planet some months ago, and I've been playing with the concept for a story. Which may or may not come to pass.
Toggle Commented Feb 15, 2013 on Sonnet: Impossible Wishes at Murky Clarity
I wish to experience summer here so that I’d feel the kiss of winter’s cold I wish for negligible senescence so that this love I have will not grow old I wish I was able to discover the cure for every illness there ever is I wish to know before... Continue reading
Posted Feb 15, 2013 at Murky Clarity
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I watched "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" during its opening weekend. By some unavoidable drama, I missed the first ten minutes or so. And I hate missing the first part of any movie. Like "Lord of the Rings", I've read the book long before the movies came to existence. Loved... Continue reading
Posted Feb 12, 2013 at Murky Clarity
Sorry, Brian. Was operating. You're right. As a reader, I've every right to be angered by the trick ending, the breach in contract. My review is justified--even if you say it's a bad review. I may be a writer, but I am a reader first. However, as a writer, I've broken the writer bro code. Even with the spoiler alert, I shouldn't blatantly reveal the ending. So here's my compromise: I've masked the spoiler text, and it can only be seen if people highlight the passage. If they end up reading the spoiler, it's not my bloody fault. Kris, I'm sorry to have revealed the ending. Hope the masking won't spoil the story for future readers.
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I always look forward to reading locally-published English fiction. Granted, a lot of them out there are bad, but there are also gems, brilliant in their own right. When Buku Fixi announced the launch of its English imprint, Fixi Novo, I was excited, ecstatic even. Fixi publishes pulp fiction, whose... Continue reading
Posted Feb 10, 2013 at Murky Clarity
We doctors are the best when it comes to suicide; we are among the most creative at it, too. We also have the highest suicide rate compared to other professions.1 It's no surprise, really. In learning how to heal, we indirectly learn how to kill. Armed with the knowledge, we... Continue reading
Posted Jan 13, 2013 at Murky Clarity
A is for the things I’m about to say B is the book you pretend to read, but you’re listening anyway. C is for the comfort I feel in your embrace D is the dreams we share across time and space E is for the emotions that I feel F... Continue reading
Posted Jan 7, 2013 at Murky Clarity
New Year's Eve used to mean something. I remember hanging out with Izaac watching fireworks. I remember running up the stairs shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" to my parents and siblings. I also remember mass-messaging friends and relatives, wishing them a great year ahead. I don't know when this happened, but... Continue reading
Posted Dec 31, 2012 at Murky Clarity
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If we categorize ourselves by social status, then I would say that I was born into a middle-class (or working class) family. Mama worked her ass off to make sure we had everything we needed, but some of the things we wanted (who am I kidding? MOST of the things... Continue reading
Posted Dec 23, 2012 at Murky Clarity
If you could only see the mess that is my room. Nope, I refuse to post it on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. I color-code my clothes the rare times I actually organize my things, but they return the state of appalling disarray within days.
Toggle Commented Dec 18, 2012 on Storytelling: the promise at Murky Clarity
When I met up with Sharon Bakar last Sunday for our "Readings from Readings 2" promotional slot at Art for Grabs, we chatted a little. She said that I have paid my dues in terms of publishing short stories in magazines and anthologies. Now I have to concentrate on having... Continue reading
Posted Dec 18, 2012 at Murky Clarity
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People who know me know that I'm a masochist. No, I don't derive sexual pleasure from pain--I wouldn't know, but eh. I'm open to new experiences--nor do I take pleasure from getting humiliated. But I am willing to subject myself to unpleasant and trying situations. I wouldn't be where I... Continue reading
Posted Dec 15, 2012 at Murky Clarity
Dearest heart, I have no idea if this letter will ever reach you. Even if it does, chance are, you will not even unseal the envelope. But I have to write this. I have to write this for us. I have to write this for you. Most of all, I... Continue reading
Posted Dec 7, 2012 at Murky Clarity
I think about you while I work. It’s funny how you keep appearing on my mind, no matter how fixated my attention is on something else. Right now, as I cauterize a bleeding vessel, the smell of charred meat reminds me of how you scrunched up your nose when the... Continue reading
Posted Dec 3, 2012 at Murky Clarity
Thanks, Yasmin!
Question: Do you hail from another planet, far far away? Do you now call Earth home; are you here to stay? Were you bitten by a radioactive insect, and then gained skills even acrobats respect? Are you secretly endowed with cybernetic implants? Are your senses, agility and strength enhanced? Has... Continue reading
Posted Nov 15, 2012 at Murky Clarity
é·lit·ism n. ...the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with a certain ancestry, intrinsic quality or worth, higher intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose influence or authority is greater than that of... Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2012 at Murky Clarity
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Beauty fades, they say Beauty, like the velvety red rose by the window, wilts and withers waiting to be replaced by a flower that still blooms. Beauty beguiles, they say Beauty, like the King Cobra swaying to the charmer’s tune, waits for you to falter and strikes you dead before... Continue reading
Posted Oct 26, 2012 at Murky Clarity
Dearest Falie, Assalamualaikum. I write this letter from the future, in the year 2012. Yep, this means we made it to 31. And no, the world hasn't ended. Yet. I know you're still trying to get over the fact that I'm 31. It's so...old, isn't it? You think that people... Continue reading
Posted Oct 19, 2012 at Murky Clarity
I had a patient last Saturday night. He was involved in a road traffic accident, didn't lose consciousness but had this massive headache, went to a clinic, and was discharged with analgesia. It wasn't until a few hours later that he lost consciousness. Textbook description of an epidural hematoma. In... Continue reading
Posted Oct 1, 2012 at Murky Clarity