4 months now ....

Things are different with this second child.

Where it use to be one kiss, now it has to be two because #1 asks "where's my kiss?"

We can take different styles of portrait shots that we just never thought of for #1. And all the good ones for #1 can be recreated for #2.

And all the time that used to be showered on #1 is now split between two children. You may be able to multiply love, but you can't multiply time.

I took this photo because it reminded me

of two mice peeking out from their hole

Cedric's now trying to turn but he hasn't figured out how to do it yet

I didn't have to use vivid settings for this photo

but it was already so colourful that everything just popped

Saying it like it is ...

Sidney Bechet

One of the things I like most about movies is how they often expose me to musicians I've never heard before.

I'm not talking about action movies from the likes of Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel, et al. It's the more whimsical movies, the romantic comedies, the period movies (O Brother Where Art Thou ?), the coming-of-age movies. The ones where the soundtrack is so prominent, it's practically a co-star.

The latest entry ? Sidney Bechet, a contemporary of Louis Armstrong. Featured in Midnight in Paris, this song makes me want to do two things. Either slow dance with a loved one, or walk hand in hand beside water - river or sea - it doesn't matter.

It makes me want to do the things that really matter.

Midnight in Paris

Have just greeted 2012 with a walk down memory lane by watching Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.

Having watched the movie, I guess you could call it Woody Allen's love letter to Paris - 'cos that's what it felt like. Paris was everywhere in this movie, not just as a location or a backdrop. And Woody Allen makes this very obvious from the beginning when the first 3-and-a-half minutes of the movie features shots of Paris - without a single actor on screen.

It was lovely.

And a thrill as we recognised the various locations used in the movie - Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, the stairs of the Rue Foyatier, Pigalle and along the banks of the River Seine .....

... a shot of this bridge. This exact spot was chosen from the few-kilometers long walkway beside the River Seine. And this photo, just like the scene in the movie, doesn't show the top of the bridge.

I guess, sometimes a movie isn't just a movie.

View from a Hill

Well, the blog's been left unattended for the past few days as we headed to Penang over the Christmas break. As always, it was a great trip even though we didn't get a chance to rediscover the little nooks and crannies that make Penang such an enchanting place. There was food, though - lots and lots of it.

And there was this view that we were fortunate enough to enjoy from the peak of Penang Hill.

And the panorama version :

a Spanner in the Banner

Courtesy of a franchise chain. See if you can spot what made me look ...

the Inherent Huggability of Baby

It's amazing how much this soft toy has been a part of our lives.

Having been a constant companion of Catriona for the 5 years, he's always in her hands come bedtime at night (even if Catriona refers to Baby as a She). So when Cedric was fretful and was having trouble falling asleep, I plonked Baby in his arms. He fell asleep within one minute.

Magic !

The sister's promised to hand over Baby to Cedric when he's 3 years old (we were teasing her ...). Somehow, I very much doubt that it will happen.

Life's Great Pleasures #5

Bak Kut Teh.

The wiki :

The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours.^[1] However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant. Garnishings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.

There are many great dishes in the world. Bak kut teh is one of them. There are a few varieties including soups which place more emphasis on the meat flavour, or with additional amounts of pepper. As for me, I prefer the variety commonly found in Penang i.e. a soup with more emphasis on herbs.

In any case, pretty much all of them taste good. And many taste great !

the Eclipse

I was watching out for the eclipse of the moon two nights ago, but the clouds overhead put paid to that hope. All I have is a photo of the full moon which I captured on the prior night.

Whenever I hear of an eclipse, it reminds me of the time that I watched one from beginning to end.

I had been hiking all day at Pulau Pangkor with my team during an Outward Bound course. We had gotten lost and didn't reach the designated base camp that night. Instead, the team set up camp on a beach with the intention of finding our way back early next morning. With the camp set up and dinner finished, we kicked back on the beach and stared up into the sky.

And the moon turned orange.

Having been cut off from any news or outside events for the past few weeks, we were not aware that there was going to be an eclipse.

We got one.

With a clear sky. Whilst chilling on a beach. Accompanied by the sound of waves. And the occasional sea breeze.

It's an enduring memory.

Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues again ...

What a great title !

For anything.

I heard this on BFM 89.9 yesterday and my first thought was - even though I had never heard this song before, and it wasn't him singing - that's a Bob Dylan song. The half talk/sing phrasing was distinctive and reminiscent of Dylan. It was a cover version by Cat Power and sounded great in the car. And that horn section ...... muah !

And the Dylan original is here.

vol. XVI

For what is likely the last time, my Sony Ericsson Cyber Shot 5.0 was emptied. What emerged were 5 recent shots and one blast from the past.

on the way to church

at church

the Blast from the Past.

That phone's been a faithful companion through some memorable journeys.

On the way to the wrong building while trying to pay a cheque to EPF.

Do you know that there are 5 buildings in Shah Alam that have exactly the same name ?

All named after some royalty. If that isn't brown nosing, I don't know what is.

Mosaic

at a car park, after lunch

LCCT2 ? KLIA2 !

No wonder the cost of the new airport has doubled ! Mind you, this is Malaysia, where cost overruns and variation orders for government projects and GLCs are as common as house flies. If the budget is currently RM3.9 billion - already almost double the first budget - one wonders what the final actual cost will be when the airport is completed.

I wonder :

* what happened to the original plan to build a second low cost carrier terminal ? As it is, the project is now dubbed the KLIA2 instead of LCCT2.

* what happens to KLIA now that the KLIA2 can cater for aircraft as big as the A380 ? Wouldn't that make KLIA redundant ? As it is, the KLIA is already under utilized.

* Would adding an extension to KLIA make more financial sense ? I'm not privy to the numbers so I don't know.


And saying that passengers will not be charged for the additional higher specifications is pure bunkum. I guess I'll be paying higher airport tax while flying on a low cost airline ..... sigh. As much as I would like to believe otherwise, one wonders if there is any leakage going on.