Goodbye Life, Hello Social Marketing Disorder

Cliche but true. This year is the prelude to an amazing decade and we prepare to start a brand new one in another 13 months. The next decade begins in 2011. As I stare at my toes and post another picture up onto facebook, I wonder what my life would have been like without facebook, twitter and myspace. And I think, honestly, it would have had more time to do the things i like.

The peer pressure mounts online these days. Are you fb? You're NOT on twitter? Have you flickr'd our photo yet? Nuke 'em all! That's the plan anyway when I put to practise my 4-hour week (snigger). For now, every single brand is looking into it. And if they haven't, they had better, so say the experts. My prediction is that it already is a part of marketing practices worldwide. Humans flock to whichever communication tool that works best for them. Remember a time when SMS was new? How many people embraced that? Some countries are still aversed to it. How about when the CD Rom was first introduced? I still remember setting appointments for my boss to introduce the concept of CD Rom in 1993/4. Boy were they dubious!

So now social marketing... for those who use it as a marketing tool, they're the most effective thinkers. For those who are immersed in it, beware... how much time are YOU really spending on it. Yes, we hear the excuses everyday. That you need to go on fb to chat with others. But how about just going lo-tech and just picking up the phone? Seriously... just do it. It's nice to sometimes just hear the voice on the other side. It's personal. Life's personal.

Happy 2010!

YOUR DEEPEST FEAR by Nelson Mandela

Our deepest fear is not that we are
inadequate, our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that
most frightens us. We ask ourselves,

“Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?” Actually, who
are you NOT to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing
small does NOT serve the world. There
is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure
around you.

We were born to manifest the glory
that is within us. And as we let our
light shine we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own
fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.

Spoken by Nelson Mandela
1994 Inaugural Speech
Written by Marianne Williamson

Stand up for the sounds of the djembe...

Cast of Stand Up! where I co-emceed with Jojo

I first heard Jojo Struys recite her poetry by accident. She did it with flair! And so I asked her a few times if she would consider performing at one of our events. After many years of inviting Jojo, I finally receive a call from her to ask if I'd be interested to help out in a charity fundraiser. And here we are. Last night, we raised RM40,000!!!! Here is the team, cast and crew of Stand Up! a charity fundraiser for Creative Mentoring programme called Shambala for Kids. Once a week, the kids from Chow Kit are invited to Bandar Utama for sessions which inspired their 'right brain'. The good people behind this independently run non-profit is led by founder, Lina Sutton - email her if you'd like to volunteer - shambalaforkids@gmail.com and an impressive line-up of VERY CAPABLE WOMEN - Jojo Struys, Hannah Lo, Linda Aljoffrey, Virginia Kennedy, Muna the Princess, Angeline and the many others behind the scenes including Michael Lim. And thanks to the performers: The Ramanados, Andrew Netto, Papi Zak, Ash Nair, Yuri Wong, Dennis Lau, Harith Iskandar. And to the good people who attended the show and put their bids in for the auction items. We rawked NBT!

It felt good. And it was an affirmation of what I do. And I do things well when I FEEL IT. Here's another amazing magical thing that happened at the end of the night... just when all the waiters had gone home, and in No Black Tie were just a smattering of souls...

DJEMBE JAM

I spent last night watching, appreciating, listening to two very fine gentlemen 'jam' on the sacred 'Djembe'. At first, I didn't even know the name of one of the gentlemen. Sometimes, you don't need to know names or to know what a person does for a living. Sometimes it's just magic to realise that some people you will only have the privilege to meet for one time only. To not expect more. To just enjoy their company even if it was just for one night.

Valtinho Anastacio & Jothi with Evelyn Hii of No Black Tie watching

Valtinho Anastacio - a Brazilian Djembe Master who happened to be in KL, taught us to have 'conversations'... to listen, challenge and just open up our minds and not be restricted to notes we're familiar to. To not just answer a question, but to question the question. To listen, challenge, and answer the call in your OWN way. Next time I need answers in life, I think I'll just reminisc on the deep bass vocas of the Brazilian Djembe man... just let the resonance talk to your heart.

hini pini mini mino mo

Do i look sick? Do i look sick? After receiving a call from a business counterpart informing me that he had got it, i quickly dashed to the nearest hospital. private. And got turned away. I walked in and before I could get no further than the car porch, they screened me. I owned up. Yes, I'm a suspected case of hini. Yes, H1N1. Leetspeak is in. Immediately I was whisked away to the back end of the hospital. A nurse and a tourist cooped inside a 20' x 20' aircon tent looked up and out towards me and both shook their heads. "No, we can't treat you here. Go to HKL. Go to HKL". And I did.

I arrived at HKL queued up and man.... was I nervous. Everyone was coughing. It felt quite unnerving actually. But the efficiency of our Malaysian public hospital still leaves a positive impression in my mind. Within 2 hours, I had already seen the doctor, gotten a blood test and had the results! I was cleared. Back to work :)

Lips curl down, panic

Have you ever faced a camera or been interviewed and thought that you were speaking normal only to find out that your mouth curls a certain way... uncontrollably? Well, this happened to me years ago when Ady Suwardy and I headed for a casting for news anchors... hehehe. To think that after all these years, the lips still curl... it's called panic in control.

Fate of river veins

Is it really possible
to twist fate
when it's clear
that rivers only flow
in one direction?

Far above the ground
at approximately 15,000 ft above
you look down from
Seat 22C and notice
the brown river veins flow

High from a spate of anger
emancipated a woman she is
she chooses to be right
and makes the stride towards the door
and doesn't look back

Yet she knows she will regret
when she sits alone
in the dining room gloom
Staring at pots potted last Deepavali
Dead.

Keeping up the pretense

Do you sometimes feel that this online life is taking over your offline persona? What will happen when you become so well known online but it's totally restricted to the www / web2.0 and doesn't exist beyond those borders? Is someone else watching us and gaining the big picture view like Truman show? How many tweets did you log today?

MILK MAID

I watched MILK. And cried. And thought how I, at the age of 39 have yet to fulfill what I'm here to do. But I know I will. Soon...

We're all here to do something great - passively or actively. And I believe that wholeheartedly. That brings a question to mind. I returned from a decade in Australia an emancipated sexual being, and naturally brought home with me freedom of expression, sexuality and speech (some).

Btw, it sickens me sometimes when I break into the, "When I was in Sydney...". Almost puke-able. Pretentious. But truth of the matter is, I did 'grow' up there, formed most of my beliefs there. But I chose to return home to KL when the haze formed, when the market crashed, when the city was buzzing with the sounds of closets being opened back in 1998. And I returned 'home' thinking I was still enveloped by anti-vilification laws. But there are none. None to protect me nor my sisters and brothers who live in the pink triangle, from the name calling, verbal bashing or even in some cases, physical violence. So how do we live?

Ironically, beneath the blanket of confirmity lies a thin thread. This is called the thread of hope and faith. The thread is pulled ever so lightly once in awhile and we watch the blanket gather, bunch up, only to be pulled and straigtened in no time. We, are the people who live beneath the blanket. And it's rather snug. I pull here. And there. And sometimes poke my head up and yell for attention. But most times, I can be silenced by the comfort of living under the blanket. It's comfortable. They are tolerant until they're not. And when they're not, I have a plan. And we'll have the largest party of our lives!

Twit her

So you may now follow me on TWITTER @ gojasminelow...
if you like :)


For your entertainment. Here's something from PINK.FM hahahaha! Way to go Air New Zealand!

Enviro rock chick

Rockin' for the Environment was a pretty cool event. I offered to help out by raising my hands and getting it dirty with the guys from Benchmarx. Even Rina Omar, previous host of 8TV Quickie got her hands dirty and came to the party! Good one guys! What the band set out to do has caught on... can't wait til next year!

Greenwashing. Like grey water, it's a little murky when companies start to use those catch words like 'green collar jobs' or when CNN changes the colour of its logo to green. Jumping on the band wagon? Well, your new enviro rock chick will tell you, at the end of the day, if it's an indie run project, it'll always come from the heart. Hard for corporates, which ARE ABOUT MAKING MONEY and at the same time, paying its dues from its CSR coffers to not appear to be greenwashing. Then again... think about it. If a cigarette giant is suddenly pumping millions to fund an environmental project, how much of a greenwash is that?

So there's even the Carbon Emissions Index. http://www.carbonfootprint.com/ Gosh! More to come.... i need to go away as am turning green

2009 - The Year for Friends

This year
I dedicate to my friends
The people who offer reflections of myself
My mirrors

Without friends
I would fail to evolve
fail to resolve
The best there is in me

Greets from Sydney - the city where I spent my formative 20s

Can a person live in two cities? Can a lover have enough for two? Are there two soul mates for every person? Or does it exist our Doppelgangers? Life in duality exist in mirrors. Reflections of us as individuals and us as a part of a couple can sometimes show stark differences. Some live it well. Some hide it well.

I? I just want it all. Maintaining my individuality. And I usually do this. 1 part Jaz + 3 parts Jasmine Low = A Balanced Girl.

But I'm re-adjusting my recipe for life this year. It'll have to be 2 parts of Jaz + 2 parts of JLow.

Twilight light

It's nearing twilight and i look above to see the white moonlight...

Simple Love

Written for my friends, Nadia & Marleene on their wedding ;P
- 14 Feb 2009 -
Read at Carcosa Sri Negara on Valentine's Day, Kuala Lumpur

(adapted from a song I originally wrote in 2004)


As I look above and watch the raindrops fall
I can only think of things that make me smile
Simple simple things like the happy creases on your face
Simple simple things like the sound of thunder and lazy days

I never feel fear when I hear the deep oceans rumble
I can only wonder what lies beneath the surface
Simple simple things which appear too large to handle
Simple simple things are truly worth the struggle

Simplicity is so strange
It's only us that make things seem big
It's simple to be loved
It's only us that make it difficult

As we watch those who make one of two
Doesn't it make you wonder
If you could do it too?

For you, my family, friends and lovers
Let the simplicity of love cuddle us into the night
And let us embrace these two gorgeous souls
As they make their lives one of two.

I'm not lightning

Unpublished / unperformed
Written 12 Jan 2009
Copyright Jasmine Low

Some nights, I wish I was lightning
A startling flash of light, unnerving and unafraid of consequences as I strike

But I'm not so bright

Or, thunder, that offers no compromise in its loud and crashing sounds
as they hit the surface of the black tar road along Jalan Raja Chulan

But I'm not loud by nature

I could dance up the beautiful steel structures of the KLCC
like the sensual winds of the South China Sea

But I’m not so graceful

I think of the Monsoon rain, fierce and unrelenting,
bravely descending upon the city lights at Teluk Chempedak
like how I wish I could stealthily approach you

But I haven't

I could display these attributes the way Mother Nature intended
If I was born during December, the last month of the year
A time of reckoning, madness and forgiveness

But I wasn’t

So I bask in the consistency of the constant rays from the full moon
And instruct it to shine down upon you when you’re asleep

And I call upon dawn to come just as you’re about ready to rouse
And invite the caustic sunrays to seep moisture from your skin
Leaving you thirsty

For me

I am as vast as the ocean
And as faithful as the perpetual rise and fall of the waves beating across the shores,
I place my wishes in a bottle, hoping it’d reach you in the next continent of your mind

But this constant chase between the tides tire you
And we find ourselves inside a chamber that is as dark as the darkest night
To find only each other and nothing else but a faint flicker of our shadows

A glimmer of light from a tiny red light bulb 20 kilometres away
Gather glimpes of my hungry weekends
I sleep a deep slumber
And awake midnight
And chase your light

At the end of your lifetime,
You will realize that there may be a thousand lightning bolts,
A million decibels of thunder
Endless windstorms
would have picked you up in their passionate haste

But there’s only one of me,
And it is my consistency
That earths you
And it is this resonance
That lasts forever

For you.

Not loud by nature

I'm not loud by nature

Unpublished / performed once at a spoken word event
Written 12 Jan 2009
By Jasmine Low

Some nights, I wish I was lightning

A startling flash of light, unnerving and unafraid of consequences as I strike

But I'm not so bright

Or, thunder, that offers no compromise in its loud and crashing sounds

as they hit the surface of the black tar road along Jalan Raja Chulan

But I'm not loud by nature

I could dance up the beautiful steel structures of the KLCC

like the sensual winds of the South China Sea

But I’m not so graceful

I think of the Monsoon rain, fierce and unrelenting,

bravely descending upon the city lights at Teluk Chempedak

like how I wish I could stealthily approach you

But I haven't

I could display these attributes the way Mother Nature intended

If I was born during December, the last month of the year

A time of reckoning, madness and forgiveness

But I wasn’t

So I bask in the consistency of the constant rays from the full moon

And instruct it to shine down upon you when you’re asleep

And I call upon dawn to come just as you’re about ready to rouse

And invite the caustic sunrays to seep moisture from your skin

Leaving you thirsty

For me

I am as vast as the ocean

And as faithful as the perpetual rise and fall of the waves beating across the shores,

I place my wishes in a bottle, hoping it’d reach you in the next continent of your mind

But this constant chase between the tides tire you

And we find ourselves inside a chamber that is as dark as the darkest night

To find only each other and nothing else but a faint flicker of our shadows

A glimmer of light from a tiny red light bulb 20 kilometres away

Gather glimpes of my hungry weekends

I sleep a deep slumber

And awake midnight

And chase your light

At the end of your lifetime,

You will realize that there may be a thousand lightning bolts,

A million decibels of thunder

Endless windstorms

would have picked you up in their passionate haste

But there’s only one of me,

And it is my consistency

That earths you

And it is this resonance

That lasts forever

For you.