On Interesting Places and Exotic Foods ....

As much as I would like to be taking photographs of interesting places and exotic foods, panoramic vistas and photogenic people ..... the reality of it is that I don't travel every month, and I don't go to art galleries or rock concerts every weekend.

That's Life. That's having two lovely kids and a mortgage to service. That's making the early morning commute to work and looking forward to weekends. That's just the way it goes and you roll with it.

So in this mundane everyday life of a white collar worker, I look for opportunities to take photographs. It may not be Breathtaking .... It may not be Grand .... It sometimes may not even be Good.

But at least let it be Interesting.

Even if it's only Mildly Interesting.

Photo taken in the car while sending the girl to school one morning

900 not out

It just had to happen. On his 900th appearance for Manchester United, Ryan Giggs scores the crucial winning goal. In injury time, no less - classic Man United style. 21 years after his professional debut for Man United, the guy is still producing the goods.

Guess they'll have to change this poster now.

I'm Easy

I bought a CD on a whim 2 days ago because it was so very cheap - all of RM5. It was at a shop I've never seen before, at a location I seldom stop at. And, I was only around there because it happened to be convenient to stop to make photocopies of some documents.

So I was pleasantly surprised when the CD included Susan Wong's cover version of this song :

It was an echo from the past. The mind said "I've heard this song before" but I had to search to find out who and what it was.

Worth it though.

on the Intuitive Mind

Wow ! This is so true....

A Life Wasted ....

When Whitney had her first major hit with this song, I was instantly hooked. And her subsequent releases didn't disappoint. As time went on, and she got involved with Bobby Brown, Whitney eventually began to fade and then she disappeared into the abyss from which she has now escaped.

So even though she built up a pretty impressive catalogue, really, it could have been so much more. But through it all, this has remained my favourite Whitney Houston song.

So to all you kids out there -

DRUGS ARE BAD

Contentment

Nat King Cole songs on a Sunday night,

a cup of Tea by my side,

and Family all around.

Contentment.

the Linsanity continues ....

Six games in, five as a starter, and Jeremy Lin is still making headlines. And now, he has got a game winning shot cum defining image/moment to boot !

It's the exclamation mark on this streak of his - and you have to wonder how long he can keep it up - but in the meantime, the Linsanity continues.

Just look at that crowd standing up ... waiting to see what he will do at the end of the game. The anticipation and the way the crowd erupted in cheers when Lin hits the shot ...... and he's not even playing in his home ground New York.

It's a streak and a story that has captured the imagination of many. It's not just the Asian American flock, or the Asian/Chinese market searching for a Yao Ming replacement. It's a story that gives hope to the guy at the end of the substitutes' bench, the one who gets picked last, the one still clinging to his dream of getting that one chance to prove himself .....

It's a story to warm the cockles of your heart. It's Linsanity !

Just Repay the Loan ... Everything Can Settle.

When I saw this article, I was flabbergasted. You mean all the NFC have to do is return the loan money and all will be forgiven ? That's it ? And this from our de facto Law Minister.

Seriously ...... was it right or wrong for them to borrow the money ? If it was right and meant purely for business purposes, then why should the NFC return the money ? After all, don't they have ongoing operations to fund ? Where are they going to get the funds to return the loan ?

And if it was wrong for the NFC to borrow the money, then shouldn't there be repercussions ? Heads to roll, jail time, fines ? If all that needs to be done is to return the loan money and carry on as if nothing happened, then ladies and gentlemen, the term 'daylight robbery' doesn't even begin to describe the situation. The public would not only have been robbed in broad daylight, they would have been slapped, insulted, and told "Shut up, you can't do anything about this so you might as well grin and bear it!"

From where I stand, I can't see any gray areas. It's only white or black, right or wrong. It was either right for the NFC to receive the funds, or it was wrong; and the people involved should have to accept the reward or punishment accordingly. It certainly isn't "Repay the loan money and we'll forget this ever happened !"

the Coriander was Outstanding ...

There are times when an approach of 'everything and the kitchen sink' works. Dinner yesterday was one of those times.

It looks wonderful, doesn't it ?

I Don't Care for 1Care

There are many things that this present BN government have done wrong. And there's a whole laundry list for previous BN governments for the past 30 years. Over the past few weeks, this present BN government has shown that it is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Firstly, to use EPF money to provide housing loans to retirees and people who do not have a reliable income. That's an invitation to defaulted housing loans if ever there was one. And they are funding that with my money !

Whether the money is lent to a government body or is guaranteed by a government body is irrelevant. After all, isn't government money just public funds which belong to the citizens ?

Secondly, mandatory salary deduction for the 1Care scheme.
I buy medical insurance. I'm healthy and can't remember the last time I visited a clinic. I can't remember the last time I took medical leave but I'm certain that it was over 5 years ago. The last time I went to a hospital for health reasons was eight years ago. Why should my salary be deducted to provide medical care for others who are not healthy ?

Especially when you consider that many of the diseases are self inflicted through smoking, lack of exercise, obesity, lack of dietary discipline and what not. Why should I be penalised for the excesses of others ? Isn't the fact that I pay taxes enough ? As far as the principle is concerned, it doesn't matter whether it's 10% or 1%. As far as money is concerned, it could take a big chunk out of my salary. And if I'm honest with myself, I believe that Malaysians could dispense with this scheme and provide adequate healthcare for all if we cut out the corruption which is ingrained into our current government and public service.

There is a saying "Better the devil you know". But if this BN government is the devil I know, then I'll take my chances on the devil I don't know.

Dreams Do Come True ...

Fast becoming a Twitter trend : Jeremy Lin, the Harvard graduate who has come out of the blue to become the 1st choice point guard of the New York Knicks. Well, for last week anyway.

Lin had no athletic scholarships out of high school and was undrafted out of college. At 23 years old and with a Harvard degree, you'd think that he would be looking around for opportunities that had nothing at all to do with basketball ...... You'd be wrong.

Having been waived by 2 NBA teams and also spending some time in the in the D-League, Lin was a 3rd choice point guard for the Knicks. Hardly anything to shout about. But injuries to team mates gave him his chance and he's taken it with both hands and is now running into contention to be the 1st choice point guard for the Knicks - having raised eyebrows with some exceptional performances this past week.

So, major props to the guy. Not to mention it , but his cult following of fans (Lin's the only Asian American playing in the NBA!) is jumping out of the roof right now.

Jeremy Lin is proof that persistence can pay off and that dreams do come true.

Less noticed is the confirmation of Greg Stiemsma's contract by the Celtics. All of 26 years old, Stiemsma is pretty old to be making his NBA debut. But he stuck around, played in international leagues some, and is now a bona fide member of the Celtics team this season.

Stiemsma is proof that persistence does pay off, and sometimes the little guy can win. Even if that little guy is all of 6-foot-11 like Stiemsma.

Angry Birds invades CNY ...

... on ang pow packets, no less. I've seen them turn up in lots of places but gate crashing CNY is kinda pushing it. Real cute ang pow packets though.

Flipping the Cedric

Yesterday was a landmark day for the boy. He managed to flip himself upright for the first time.

Here, his sister is celebrating with him but what's notable is the fact that she is wearing his shirt. He's six months old and she's 5 years older so even though the shirt is a little short, she is still slim enough for the shirt to fit.

The Song that Didn't get Played

Originally this was slated to be played as the entrance song at our wedding reception. However, my aunt said that it's style wasn't romantic enough for a wedding. I agreed, and got to play the song that I really wanted - Buddy Holly's True Love Ways. Nevertheless, that shouldn't detract from the fact that Etta James gave a splendid performance with this song :



Etta James passed away some two weeks ago aged 73 but singers do tend to leave a legacy of songs behind - fortunately for us.