the Road that turned into a Garden

I have mixed emotions about this. A neighbour has annexed part of a field, part of a road, and converted part of a road into a sidewalk - and he's turned all those public areas into practically his own private garden.

The negatives are that I don't have access to that road and nobody can use that road/sidewalk any more - which in turn affects the traffic flow on our road. Not to mention that what he's done is actually an illegal land grab.

All pretty negative stuff. On the other hand, he grew a garden.

So while I was very unhappy when he first started his conversion process, and I'm still not very happy now ....... on balance I think "could have been worse."

Is this apathy or an indictment of how things are run in Bolehland ?

How to cure the Angry Birds craze

How do you improve on Barcelona ?

How do you improve the best football team in the world ? Do you do it by buying Cesc Fabregas ?

The almost-all-conquering Barcelona team is rightly famed for it's 'tiki taka' style of football, it's La Masia youth academy and it's ability to attract Shakira to watch their games. Cesc Fabregas was their highest profile capture during the transfer window but Barcelona have snagged yet another world's best, though this was one that would have been missed by most football fans.

If you're wondering who this world's best is, wonder no more. Ferran Adria - of El Bulli fame - one of the best chefs in the world, has signed on to revamp the menu at La Masia.

He will fit right into the Barcelona set up. He's home grown - i.e. from Catalonia - which means that he's got the same cultural background as most of Barcelona's star players.

And ........ look at his cooking philosophy. You could almost say that it mirrors Barcelona's playing philosophy : "The ideal customer doesn't come to El Bulli to eat but to have an experience."

Bukit Gasing with a Kitten

3 weeks ago I took the kitten on her first trek through a secondary forest at Bukit Gasing. She was looking forward to it, so early one Sunday morning - 4th September - we were off. Rather late as it were since we only started around 0900 hours but the shade from the trees pretty much kept us sheltered from the sun.

All set to start !

Sun rays

About to enter the Rabbit Hole ...

On the way back

I think that she was happy at the end of it, apart from complaints that I didn't allow her to play with the sand there. But it's not the soft sand that you find at the beach, and stopping for too long was sure to attract mosquitoes so I just kept her moving along.

There was some carrying involved but mostly she walked. I think she covered about 1 km which I guess isn't too bad for a 5-year old.

All in all, we ticked another box in the 'Father & Daughter Things To Do' list.

I know it doesn't seem that way, but I didn't Photoshop this photo

Torresgate

As bad as Torres's missing of an open goal was - and it was really, really bad; in my mind it was already 3-2 - you have to feel some sympathy for the guy. There comes a point when even all that money he has in the bank is not enough consolation for that point he has reached. How much lower can he go ?

You can rest assured that opposing fans will be taunting him for weeks and months to come.

The point of reference that keeps on coming up for comparison is Ronny Rosenthal's miss. Which miss was worse ? I'd say Ronny's.

Zee's Swell

Just running through Zee Avi's "Ghostbird" album. Haven't heard all of it but this ........ this is Swell :



Two seconds of the ukelele strumming was all it took for me to start swaying my body and bobbing my head. Lovely. Swell.

and at the Hospital ...

Okay, maybe it's in keeping with the theme of the place, or perhaps it's just a tad baby-centric; but I found this painting at the corridor leading to the Delivery & Labour room at the hospital.

I'm guessing, but I suspect that most people passing by would not have realized the irony inherent in placing this painting at it's particular location.

Life's Great Pleasures #4

The smell of a new born baby. Or a 3-month old baby. Or a 6-month old baby.

There must be some reason though I haven't seen any research papers published on this. Somebody would make a fortune if he/she could bottle the scent and sell it.

Stepping Out

The first time I walked up the Eiffel Tower with my brother, we found it scary. Not terrifying .... scary. Even though the chances of slipping through the metal steps and railings and dropping down to mother Earth wasn't really a viable concern, walking up ..... and up ..... and up all the way to the 2nd level and feeling the wind blowing above, below and around us certainly made us feel ever so slightly weak-kneed.

The second time around with Dream was very different. A slight whisper of a wind - walking down from the 1st level to ground level - sunshine - and camera in hand. There were angles and shots which were simply not available if one had not walked or stopped to look or got off the lift a level or two early.

ahhhhh ........ Paris ......... I dream of you.

The It Girl (in Bahasa Melayu)

Twice I stood in front of a screen at a hypermarket staring at the video. Twice the video credits were not shown at the end. No artist, no band, no song title - nada, zilch, nichts.

Then I found it. Walking past a bunting with her face staring at me. Seeing her name appear in a newspaper article. And finally, YouTube.

I don't know why, but it sounded good while I was there at the hypermarket.

the Stork Delivers !

Finally, the Little Prince made his debut on 5th September. Bang on schedule for his ETA. And in keeping with his habit of being awake during afternoons, he arrived at 1428 hours.

I hope he's been practising his left leg like I've asked him to.

As for his sister, we asked her on Sunday night to speak to him. Her first words?

"Cedric, when you grow up ......... can you do the housework ?"

The Little Prince

Maybe it's just me - but it seems like the entire household is in a holding pattern waiting for the arrival of The Little Prince.

Which reminds me ..... we won't get a chance to drop in at the PINKS Fest at Penang this year as the little one would be too young to travel long distance when the festival is on in November. Pity - it's worth stopping by if you had kids and/or were interested in story telling.

Oh ! For the chance to hear "The Little Prince" performed by a story teller ......