Rejects ?

I was walking along in the shopping complex, blissfully unaware of Liverpool's upcoming visit to Malaysia until I chanced upon this rather unfortunate banner ...

Feeling Fly like a G6

Okay, I am and have been out of touch with the current music scene. But every once in a while I stumble onto something worthy. And This is Worthy.

Think before you 'Like' ...

Sometimes I wonder if Malaysians think about the consequences before they 'like' on Facebook.

If Najib were to resign (admittedly unlikely), who would be the next Prime Minister ? Muhyiddin Yassin, the current Deputy Prime Minister.

Yes, that one. The one who declared that he is "a Malay first and Malaysian second". Is that who Malaysians really want when the next General Elections has to be held by March 2013 ?

I understand that Najib's all-race-inclusive 1 Malaysia is proving nothing more than an empty slogan. I understand that there is frustration because Najib flip-flopped on the Bersih 2.0 rally. I understand that the crackdown by the police and FRU on the rally participants was heavy handed and unnecessary.

But is making Muhyiddin - who is clearly more right wing - the next Prime Minister, what Malaysians really want ?

in the Aftermath ...

As a photographer, I find much to admire in this photo. It's a very strong image, and one that remains in my mind's eye even after I've stopped looking at it. The photo tells a story, and a compelling one at that - you just don't know what the story is.

It does make you want to find out what the story is, though.

Aunty Anne (as she is now dubbed) is a 65-year old who lives in Setapak, KL. She took a bus to participate in the Bersih 2.0 rally. It had been raining.

The boys in blue in the background are FRU personnel -there to control, break up, water cannon and tear gas the rally participants.

Fortunately, matters went pretty well and there was just the one fatality (in relative terms, considering that the rally had 50,000 people).

Hard as it may be to believe, Malaysia is actually a pretty peaceful country. Heck, even the police get on well with thieves and robbers who seem to be able to do anything they want in my neighbourhood.

It's All about YELLOW Today

It was supposed to have been a peaceful rally. Just march, hand over your petition to the Agong, and go home - no trouble. Bersih 2.0's 8 demands (here) are simply what any right-minded supporter of Democracy would have lauded.

Sadly, the government of the day have turned it into so much more.

Patsy Cline

And on the turn table this week ........... Patsy Cline. This is my favourite Patsy Cline song :



Not being an all out country music fan (I like it a lot but it's not the only thing I listen to), I didn't know about Patsy until 1996 - No thanks to the lack of airplay on Malaysian radio air waves. But 1996 was the year LeAnn Rimes emerged with Blue (live Abbey Road version here) and that song blew me away. A little research with pretty much every account saying that LeAnn was channeling Patsy Cline and ..... I guess that's how old or dead singers are re-introduced to new and younger fans.

Ratatouille

There was a time - some 2 years ago - when Catriona would ask to watch Ratatouille at regular intervals. She liked that rat but I loved it. It was French and it was about Food. A winning combination in my book.

So when I saw these big billboards in numerous Paris Metro stations, it was only natural to try to "capture a moment".

Somewhere in USJ21

After a game of futsal with the church youth on Saturday, I headed to a nearby housing estate in Subang Jaya for an ice cold bowl of cendol - that wonderful mixture of shaved ice, jelly, red bean, palm sugar and coconut milk.

Walking across the street from where I parked the car, I headed for the shade of a tree. As a light breeze blew, the umbrella-like shape of the tree provided shade from the afternoon sun. Restaurants would spend a fortune to get ambience like that.

So, despite the heat from the sun, there was a steady stream of hungry people waiting for their food. Cendol, mee goreng and mee rebus - that pretty much summed up the menu. So even though there were no fans, or air conditioning, and the heat of the midday sun was beating down, people waited while ...

our friend here ...

dished up the food.

I once asked him why he didn't cook Penang-style mee goreng; a slightly different variation but one which I liked more. He said that he started off doing that but people in KL just didn't take to it. So KL-style mee goreng it is, and he does a darn good job of it.

As I was leaving, a family arrived for their meal - proof that where food is concerned, 1 Malaysia already exists.

Life's Great Pleasures #3

Finding a beautiful song.

Any song, any artiste, any how, any where, any time.

on Pandas who Kung Fu ...

We haven't taken Catriona to watch that many movies but Kung Fu Panda 2 was one of them. That was all of 3.5 weeks ago. Since then, pretty much all her stories have been about the characters in the movie :

* Po, that big clumsy black and white bunch of fur

* Angelina Joli the Tigress

* Snake (can't remember this name...)

* Mr Crane

* Mr Praying Mantis

* Mr Sifu

* Mr Moo the cow

* Snappy the Crocodile; and of course

* The Peacock

If you can't recognise some of the character names, it's because they have been changed. How is this possible ? Well, some elements of the story have been changed too. And you know what else has changed ? Dragon ball biscuits are now a favoured food for her.

In the Jailhouse Now

Never actually watched the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou", but the soundtrack had quite a few good songs. And this one always stands out :

This version was by The Soggy Bottom Boys (what a wonderful name!) but I first heard it done by Steve Earl on a Jimmie Rodgers tribute album. Wonderful stuff !

vol. XIII