Reasons NOT to watch TV ...

Well, at least somebody holds the same opinion as one I've held for years.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, India's Health and Family Welfare minister :

"If there is electricity in every village, then people will watch TV till late at night and then fall asleep. They won't get a chance to produce children. When there is no electricity there is nothing else to do but produce babies... Don't think I am saying this in a lighter vein. I am serious... Eighty percent of population growth can be reduced through TV."

You think that Singapore's family planning body wouldn'y pay big $$ for information like this ?

bedtime routine

Catriona's settled into a particular sequence when I'm around :

* a drink, "juice, juice"
* wash her mouth
* she gets into bed and asks for bedtime stories, always insisting that a particular 2 are included i.e. "The girl who makes cupcakes" and "Morie, the mouse who went to the supermarket"
* a bed time prayer
* and she'll happily settle down to sleep. Hugs and kisses optional.

Just like many other little girls actually.
I just wanted to put this down so that those 2 stories are recorded for posterity.

Cameron Highlands

2 weeks after the trip, I finally got around to organizing the photos of our trip to Cameron Highlands.

Julian had booked his company bungalow and had the good fortune of missing the trip because he had to work in Canada. We, on the other hand, had an enjoyable 3 day break.

I really liked the place. My favourite shots :

the bungalow

It's a rarity to get out of bed and walk to the dining room to a breakfast waiting for me.

Tomatoes

Parsley mini forest

Hydrophonic vegetable farm

the star of the place - Strawberries.

@ Big Red Strawberry Farm

Survivor

Boh tea plantation.

Single lane road in, two way car traffic.

Mini laybys for passing through and 30 foot slopes.

NOT for the faint hearted.

amongst tea bushes.

Fire

Ye Olde Smoke House

Lunch

patio

Poseur

garden @ Ye Olde Smoke House

black rose

And Catriona had her own personal journal :

French Film

On Saturday, Catriona and I watched part of a movie and I pointed out to her a man named Cantona. And that's what she told her mama : "Mummy, that man's name is Cantona!"



She probably thinks that he's in movies.

Which he is.

Yasmin Ahmad RIP

You captured the multi-ethnicity of Malaysia better than anybody I've ever seen.

Sepet

When I first read that Yasmin Ahmad had just suffered a stroke, I was instantly reminded of just how talented a story teller she was (her blog here). I've watched all three movies in the Sepet trilogy and, like many Malaysians, a number of her commercials - the most famous ones being the ones she does for Petronas.

So here's hoping that she pulls through.

And in case you say, like some people have asked me, "Who's Yasmin Ahmad ?", here are two of her works :

from Mukhsin, the movie


a Petronas ad.

Numerous children were interviewed at multiple schools,

and Yasmin picked this interview for the ad.

None of the children's answers were from a script.

Last Call

Some photo stories from the United trip to KL.

Not only are there home kits and away kits and the third kit,

replicas of the training kits are also on sale.

Utd are so good that they can beat most teams even with a one leg handicap

The crowd celebrating Malaysia's 1st goal in the 1st match

A sea of humanity at the LRT station after the 1st match ended

The tallest player in this group is the 17-year old Kiko Macheda. By my reckoning, he's the player who signed the most signatures on this trip.

Darren Fletcher getting some love.

When Xavi and Iniesta were bossing the midfield against United in the '09 Champions' League final, I kept thinking to myself : "We really miss Darren Fletcher"

at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel

One of the things we did during the second Man Utd vs Malaysia match was sneak off at half time to head to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to play groupies for the night. The crowd was about 50-strong on the inside of the side entrance. I wasn't sure how many fans there were outside.

Most of the players just walked right past without stopping, though there were a few waves and smiles. From the few who did sign autographs, I ended up with the autographs of Sir Alex, Tomasz Kuszczak and Federico Macheda.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Rio Ferdinand

Tomasz Kuszczak

Federico Macheda

Hard to believe he's 17 years old

The Next No. 7

"I was quite shocked when the manager asked me to wear it, but obviously very honoured

You only have to look at the last half a dozen players to have worn the shirt... there are some fantastic players and I’ll obviously do my best to continue that tradition, score a few goals and to do the shirt proud.

I know it means a lot to the fans. That’s what the manager said to me straight away. He said I’d need broad shoulders to wear it and I told him that was fine, that I could handle that responsibility. I don’t feel it will add extra pressure - I think I’m old enough and wise enough not to let it get to me. I’m really proud to have it and hopefully I’ll do well in it."

Well, this surprised me when I first heard it too. I knew that there weren't too many other suitable candidates but as I'd expected Owen to be a reserve striker, Sir Alex handing Owen the No. 7 jersey was a shot out of the blue.

The Original No. 7

Back when Sir Alex Ferguson gave Eric Cantona the No. 7, a great deal was made of it because the 7 held a special place in the hearts of Man Utd fans. And the main reason for that special affection for the number is that it was the number of "Captain Marvel" Bryan Robson, United's longest serving captain.

Nowadays, many of the younger United fans assume that the No. 7 has always been special to United. But that was not always the case. Before Robson, the only player associated with the No. 7 was Steve Coppell, a player noted for his speed and work rate. George Best had also worn the No. 7 but not on a regular basis.

With United in Malaysia, the level of interest and activity in/for Man Utd has risen several notches. And this gave me the opportunity to pop in at the Club House last Saturday. Essentially, the entire day was spent at the club house and the friendly match between Utd and Malaysia accompanied by an old friend Quah (blog here) and his family, and later Michelle.

the crowd at the club house was overflowing

The Original No. 7

It was a two hour wait to get to 'Robbo' but well worth the wait

As an added bonus, the English Premier League trophy - the real one. There were 5 caucasian security personnel there; and they weren't there to guard Bryan Robson.

Now I can say that I've kissed the EPL trophy before Steven Gerrard has even seen his reflection in it.

Malaysia's next top model ?

From Catriona's first camwhore session on 13th July 2009. I snapped a few photos, then she started posing. I posted them in sequence for documentation purposes.

A new favourite

This is Catriona's favourite video of the moment :



And this one comes next :

follow the White Rabbit

Is it possible to look forward to a movie purely based on who starred or directed in it ?

There are some people who would go to every Tom Cruise movie. Or Leonardo di Caprio, or Nicole Kidman, or Megan Fox, or even Edison Chen.

For me, it’s Johnny Depp.

Mostly because his characters are usually so uniquely crafted (Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean – a character so drunk and memorable, I remember him long after I’ve forgotten what the movie was about).

Put the name Tim Burton beside Depp and I’d want to book my movie ticket right there and then. That’s how I feel about Alice in Wonderland.

It’s only due in 2010 but I’ve already got it penciled in. As is usually the case when the aforementioned two get together, Helena Bonham-Carter is in the film somewhere.

The film will be weird. It’ll be oddball. As it stands, the book already had some very giddy, offbeat characters like the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. Throw Tim Burton and Johnny Depp into the mix and you might end up with a smile that stays even after you’ve left the scene.