Selangor sultan on trivial issues

Last week, the Sultan of Selangor came out to speak his mind on several matters. I'm impressed particularly with his views about dwelling on trivial issues. Trivial issues occupy trivial minds; weighty minds deliberate weighty issues. Who do you belong to?

15 years

"He didn't know he was doing anything illegal"
Can you believe him?

"I stand here today sorry, somewhat confused. I feel apologetic to people of state of Nevada. I didn't want to steal anything from anybody. I just wanted my personal things. I was stupid. I'm sorry. I didn't know I was doing anything illegal. I thought I was confronting friends. I thought I was retrieving my things. I didn't mean to hurt anybody and I didn't mean to steal anything."

(PG) In praise of .... prostitution

Some parental guidance (PG) may be required here.

In Singapore, prostitution is one of the biggest foci of attention right now, next to their worsening economy, technical recession and loss of jobs. This passage appeared in one of their fora. It made an interesting read:

Foreign workers and Singaporeans spend on prostitutes. Money earned by prostitutes if they are Singaporean are saved or spent in Singapore.

If they are foreigners, it is either sent home or spent here (probably both). If it is sent home, agents recieves commissions etc. Money spent here goes to businesses like hotels, restaurants and other services here.

Since foreigners spend their money on prostitutes, their salaries and remunerations are recycled into Singapore's economy. Foreign prostitutes, btw bring down the cost of sex and inflation. If not, foreign and Singaporean men will probably cross the causeway or go to Indonesia and pay not only for sex but for other services as well. With the vibrancy and availability of affordable sex, money otherwise spent on indirect services like food and drinks, hairdressing, gambling, hotel stays, transportation, condoms, healthcare, policing etc remains in Singapore.

We can't see where the money goes to but in a globalised econmy, it really doesn't matter. If one is petty, others will reciprocate. But money will recycle back if they moved overseas.

(Prostitution also prevents more social problems than causing them. If our women have to stay indoors because of fear of sexual crimes, the economy will probably be affected.)

Prostitution definitely stimulates the economy and minimises the effects of recession.

Multi-millionaire

You'll be an instant multi-millionaire in Zimbabwe if you're the owner of one of these new currency notes released by their government. However, whether or not you'll be a proud owner is a different matter. With this 100,000,000 dollar note, it's only good enough to buy 50 loaves of bread.

The Sire: truly a museum worthy of its name

I'm sure many people would have heard of The Sire. It is one of the latest restaurants in George Town and it's located on King Street, very near the junction with Light Street.


Now, what's so unique about this place is that it is both a restaurant and a museum which you can tour after you've completed your meals. And I tell you...you can simply spend an hour or two here without realising it!

The meals by themselves are not bad but it is the museum tour which should be the highlight of your visit here. For you see, the museum houses some of the most fascinating antiquities you'll ever find in Penang, courtesy of the Estate of Yeap Chor Ee. A lot of the artifacts from the former Homestead mansion in Northam Road have been restored and transferred here. So this place is now a monument to Towkay Yeap, a very poor and humble immigrant from China who made it rich in Penang during the last century. Towkay Yeap was, of course, the founder of Ban Hin Lee Bank which, sad to say, is now consigned to the memories of the thousands of people who used to work there or carried out their banking businesses there.

Don't let the exterior of the house deceive you. It may look small but when you go in, I'm certain your breath will be taken away by the vast interior. It's big. Four floors inter-linked through staircases, including a wrought iron staircase in the middle of the building.

Anyway, I've a final picture here. It's the same old house on King Street but it was photographed sometime in 1995 or 1996. Exterior still looked more or less the same, but what a difference has been made to Towkay Yeap's first property investment in old George Town!

Marriage proposal

This is a marriage proposal which can only happen in India. How real is this letter? I don't know. It has been going round and around the Internet for ages. But please...do go ahead and read it. And have a good laugh:

Madam:

I am an olden young uncle living only with myself in Bangaloru. Having seen your advertisement for marriage purposes, I decided to press myself on you and hope you will take me nicely.

I am a soiled son from inside Karnataka. I am nice and big, six foot tall and six inches long.

My body is filled with hardness, as because I am working hardly. I am playing hardly also.

Especially I like cricket and I am a good batter and I am fast baller. Whenever I come running in for balling, other batters start running. Everybody is scared of my rapid balls that bounce a lot.

I am very nice man. I am always laughing loudly at everyone. I am jolly. I am gay.

Especially ladies, they are saying I am nice and soft. I am always giving respect to the ladies. I am always allowing ladies to get on top.

That is how nice I am. I am not having any bad habits. I am not drinking and I am not sucking tobacco or anything else.

Every morning I am going to the gym and I am pumping like anything. Daily I am pumping and pumping. If you want, you can come and see how much I am pumping the dumb belles in the gym.

I am having a lot of money in my pants and my pants is always open for you. I am such a nice man, but still I am living with myself only. What to do? So I am taking things into my own hands everyday. That is why I am pressing myself on you, so that you will come in my house and take my things into your hand.

If you are marrying me madam, I am telling you, I will be loving you very hard every day. In fact, I will stop pumping dumb belles in the gym. If you are not marrying me madam and not coming to me, I will press you and press you until you come. So I am placing my head between your nicely smelling feet and looking up with lots of hope.

I am waiting very badly for your reply and I am stiff with anticipation.

Expecting soon,
Yours and only yours
Ajit Gupchup

Odetta, the first lady of folk

Odetta. The First Lady Of Folk. Unfortunately, not many people would know who she was and it would take her death to make people appreciate her stature. My first exposure to Odetta's music was in the late 1960s through Harry Belafonte's landmark album, Returns To Carnegie Hall.


Odetta Holmes was one of the artistes introduced by Belafonte to the Carnegie Hall audience. She performed two songs: I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain and Water Boy and they left me spellbound. Of course, I was only listening to the record. Nevertheless, I was so greatly impressed by the two songs. The way she poured out her heart, the hall was so silent that the faint taps of her foot in accompaniment to her music was audible over the speakers. A really powerful performance, a really powerful voice. She was an influence on Belafonte himself.

Deep Purple weekend

River Deep Mountain High was the Tina Turner song written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich but it had many covers, among them a 10-minute version by Deep Purple. It appeared in the group's 1968 record, The Book Of Taliesyn. The first time I heard the Deep Purple version, I couldn't make anything out of it. Okay, the first half of the track was a grandiose instrumental experiment with Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarastrutha offering a dramatic start to the song. And on and on it developed with a lot of potential until...the band kicked in with River Deep. What happened to the sound, I wondered. Why has my hifi system suddenly gone flat? So you see my mixed feelings with Deep Purple's cover of this song.

Anyway, The Book Of Taliesyn and Deep Purple (their second and third studio albums) were products of the original Deep Purple with Rod Evans and Nick Simper in the line-up. They were then booted out and replaced with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. It was this combination of Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Ritchie Blackmore, Gillan and Glover that recorded In Rock and Machine Head.

Let's see what I liked about these four albums:

• The Book Of Taliesyn: Exposition/We Can Work It Out, Anthem and despite its quirkiness, River Deep Mountain High
• Deep Purple (the album): April ... I almost forgot that I was listening to a rock band
• In Rock: Speed King, Child In Time, Flight Of The Rat
• Machine Head: Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, Lazy

Pulling cables

My friend Eric is obsessed with his audio-visual hifi system just as I am obsessed with my vinyl records. For weeks now, he has been bugging me to tell him what I'm using as my inter-connect cables (between my CD player and my integrated amplifier) and my speaker cables. For weeks now, I've been delaying telling him because (1) I've forgotten what I have and (2) I was too lazy to move my equipment around just to find out.

But finally, I did it to satisfy my own curiosity - hey, I don't usually bother myself with such trivial matters, okay? (I know he'll cringe in mock horror that I've labelled cables as "trivial") - and to get my friend off my back (just joking....)

And what did I rediscover? My speaker cables are the van den Hul CS-122 hybrid (halogen-free) (mine's the green version, not the cream-coloured ones) while my inter-connect cables are the WBT 2016 with accompanying WBT 0144 RCA plugs. So there you have it, Eric, these are what I own.

Necessity the mother of improvisation

Always, necessity is the mother of invention but in this case, it's more of improvisation and a fine balancing act as this man, together with thousands more in Bangladesh, finds it necessary to carry as many bricks as possible in order to make a living. A sorry state of affairs but it happens. So be thankful for what you have, people!

Can we now forget the differences and try to work together?

I felt quite amused yesterday when the newspapers reported that Lim Guan Eng had stepped into enemy territory when he visited the Wawasan Open University. Okay, granted that the WOU is the brainchild and the baby of the Gerakan party, if an invitation had been issued to him to attend the inauguration ceremony to instal Dr Lim Chong Eu as the university's chancellor, why must the invitation cause a stir when it was accepted? The only comment I can make is that the Gerakan (and by extension, the Barisan Nasional) must learn to grow up. And that goes for the DAP too (also by extension, the Pakatan Rakyat). No point fussing over such excitement. Political rivalries and differences can run deep but it's time to stop trying to score points and get down to the business of the day which is to contribute to Penang's economy whether as the opposition party or the governing party. With a possible recession staring at us, Penang can either choose to look backward or look forward. Frankly, we don't have much of a choice.


The Star wrote: "Arriving about 10 minutes earlier than Dr Koh, who is also the Gerakan president, Guan Eng took his place at the VIP seat right up front. Ever the gentleman, Dr Koh immediately rushed over to where his successor was sitting to shake his hand and pose for pictures upon arrival. While State Gerakan chief and former state Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan did not look pleased, Gerakan secretary-general and former Penang Tourism Development and Environment Committee chairman Teng Chang Yeow was his usual chatty self, cracking jokes with those around him."

The New Sunday Times was more diplomatic in its report, saying: "It is a rare moment when two former Penang chief ministers meet up with the current holder of the post. Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu (second from right), Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (right) and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (left) are bemused by the fact that they are attending the same function despite coming from different sides of the political divide."

(I don't know how much of this is true but I've heard that Dr Teng was overheard shouting at the organisers after Guan Eng arrived.)

Does divorce come easy?

I was chuckling to myself last Friday when I read the headlines: Malacca seeking a divorce from Penang over heritage issues.

It's wishful thinking on the Malacca chief minister's part. Together, whether he likes it or not, we are the two essential component parties in the Unesco heritage listing.

I know it's a fine mess to be in but surely, Penang will sort out the problems with the four high-rise hotels. It just remains to be seen how the discussions between the state government and the hotel developers work out.

Impossible dream

Oh, don't you wish to get back those carefree days of youth? I do...

BM Hill: Resuming my exercise

It has been two months since I last went up the Bukit Mertajam Hill. I haven't been lazy. In fact, I've been mopping around because I miss the weekly ritual. But the reason why I stopped my exercise is because I've been suffering from pain in my left heel. It has been quite tender and I believe it's either the tendon or the ligament that's giving me this problem. Walking had been difficult and I had to resort to wearing slip-ons to the office.

Anyway, I've been applying an ointment from the clinic as well as wearing a protective ankle guard. The condition has improved considerably and I'm back to wearing my office shoes.

I took a chance today to go up the BM Hill again. Gosh, what a relief that the ankle felt all right. I made it to the tea hut and decided to walk a few more hundred metres beyond. But most probably, I'll still refrain from making too many climbs. I'll need to save my knees and ankles for other adventures too.

It was quite misty as I went up at about 4.45pm. When I'm close to nature, nothing excites me more than to enjoy the mist as it swirls down the hill. Have always enjoyed the mist at Penang Hill, Maxwell Hill, Genting Highlands, Fraser's Hill and Cameron Highlands. Chalk BM Hill into the list. The mist could have been thicker but really, I can't complain.

More of Crosby Stills Nash and (sometimes) Young

I took the opportunity yesterday to finish listening to the remaining Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young albums in my little record collection. Already, a few days ago I was listening to the two compilation albums, So Far and the Celebration Copy.

Last night, the CSN debut album, imaginatively titled Crosby, Stills and Nash, was given a spin.

First, out came my carbon fibre anti-static dry cleaner. Wow, removed a layer of dirt on both sides of the record. I gave the record a good rub and followed up with a wet wash. Not underneath the tap, mind you. Gave that up months ago. It's now a do-it-yourself wash solution of distilled water, iso-propyl alcohol and a little surfactant. So far, so good. I've reduced the pops and crackles considerably.

I turned up the volume on Helplessly Hoping and filled the house with that distinctive CSN harmony. That's really one of the best songs I've ever heard and enjoyed.

The second album that came out from my cupboard was Deja Vu. Equally enjoyable but I still prefer the first album. Of course, this one had to have Woodstock in it. You know, the Joni Mitchell number that she wrote after the music festival was held, not before.

And the last of the three albums that I placed on my Rega Planar 3 was the double album, 4 Way Street. I listened to Sides Three and Four first, wanting to get the electronic music out of the way before I really settled down to a good listen of their acoustic numbers on Sides One and Two.

I tell you, listening to CSN and CSNY is bliss....

AirAsia X says you can still catch the Queen Mother having tea in London!

So it is confirmed that from March 2009, AirAsia X will be flying to London's Stansted Airport. I received an email from them yesterday. Advertising RM499 flying from Kuala Lumpur and STG99 from London. But all the other charges thrown in, it RM2000-plus for a return trip. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the destination guide link in the email and was taken on an instant virtual tour that extolled the attractions of London.

Okay, you really can't learn everything from here. It's very superficial. People have been writing thick books on London's attractions and culture for a long time and this virtual tour cannot do any justice. It very briefly skims the surface only. But for any would-be first-time visitor, especially if time is at a premium, I suppose the guide should whet their appetite and rouse their curiosity to search for more.

And I also don't know where AirAsia X's publicity people got their facts from. They have better learn to get their facts right or else they'll end up as laughing stock in the industry. Referring to the Cadogan, they wrote that this was a "place to stop by if you’d like to catch the Queen Mother and other famous personalities having their fair share of high-tea."

Excuse me? I vaguely remember reading that the Queen Mother is dead. A check on the Internet tells me that she died in 2002. That'd be six years ago. Bumping into the Queen Mother? I wouldn't want to bump into her having tea or doing the watusi or whatever, that's for sure!

Dresden chess olympiad, final blog post (I hope)

Hopefully, this will be my last blog post about the Malaysians at the Dresden Chess Olympiad but you can never tell!


Anyway, all that I want to say for now is that if anyone wishes to see the gristly statistics of how our players fared on a round-by-round basis, the website to visit is Chess Results. They have EVERYTHING except the games. I shall leave the analysis to you.

Note: Normal service (with a little less chess) now resumes.... :-)

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS:
Dresden, Round 11
Dresden, Round 10
Dresden, Round 9
Dresden, Round 8
Dresden, Round 7
Dresden, Round 6
Dresden, Round 5
Dresden, Round 4
Dresden, Round 3
Dresden, Round 2
Dresden, Round 1

Dresden chess olympiad, Round 11

So it has finally ended: the Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. Armenia are the champions, a successful defence of the title won two years ago in Turin, Italy. Congratulations to them. And congratulations too to Israel for taking the second spot and the United States for claiming third again. Ukraine lost out on the bronze by tie-break. As for Russia, I think they just gave up at the end. They don't look the powerhouse any more. China is still within the top 10 chess-playing nations in the world today and so is the emerging Vietnam. Congratulations, especially, to the Vietnamese for these achievements.

It would be ideal if I could tell you that our representatives in Dresden had played well but then I would be stretching the truth. Fact is, the results of the Malaysian team could have been better and the players know this themselves. It was not the losses against the better teams that disappointed. Instead, it was the inability of the team to produce the form when it mattered most. And usually, it would be the final round that was the most important.

Granted that the scoring system deployed in this year’s Chess Olympiad was a departure from past practices, but against a team like Guatemala, Malaysia should have won this match instead of drawing it. Winning this match would have added one more point to the team’s tally. Would this extra point make a difference? Sure. Definitely. It would have pushed them several notches up the final standings. Instead of tying with 18 other teams in the 82nd to 100th positions, the Malaysian team could have shared the 64th to 81st positions instead.

But maybe, this would have been too much to expect it from them, seeing how their dismal form suffered in the second half of the Chess Olympiad. From afar here in Malaysia, we were cheering them on but day after day, immediately after the first rest day of the Olympiad, fortune was against them.

Here are the results of the top 10 tables in the final round:

China 1½-2½ Armenia
Lithuania 1½-2½ Germany One
USA 3½-½ Ukraine
Israel 2½-1½ Netherlands
Russia 2-2 Spain
France 1½-2½ Azerbaijan
Vietnam 2½-1½ Serbia
Hungary 2½-1½ Belarus
Georgia 2½-1½ Romania
Croatia 2-2 England

And these are the performances of the rest of the Asian teams:

Bulgaria 3-1 Kazakhstan
India 3-1 Slovakia
Australia 1-3 Cuba
Montenegro 3½-½ Uzbekistan
Luxembourg 1½-2½ Iran
Japan 0-4 Germany Three
Singapore 2-2 Indonesia
Argentina 1½-2½ Philippines
Italy 4-0 Tajikistan
Thailand 0-4 Bangladesh
New Zealand 1-3 Brazil
Mongolia 2-2 Qatar
Ireland 3-1 Iraq
UAE 2½-1½ Kyrgyzstan
Syria ½-3½ Faroe Islands
Pakistan 3½-½ Nicaragua
Malaysia 2-2 Guatemala
Jamaica 2½-1½ Palestine
Jordan 3½-½ Afghanistan
Namibia 1-3 Sri Lanka
Barbados 1-3 Lebanon
Chinese Taipei 0-4 Yemen
Nepal 4-0 Surinam
South Korea 3½-½ Hongkong
Macau 2-2 Aruba
Trinidad & Tobago 4-0 Fiji
Rwanda 0-4 Papua New Guinea

Our representatives in Dresden, Round 11: (left to right) Mas Hafizulhelmi, Lim Yee Weng, Mok Tze Meng and Edward Lee

At Table 41, Malaysia drew with Guatemala:

IM Mas Hafizulhelmi 2439 - IM Juarez Flores Carlos A 2358 1-0
FM Lim Yee-Weng 2396 - FM Lorenzana Wilson Estuardo 2202 0-1
FM Mok Tze-Meng 2308 - Quinones Centeno Carlos 2127 0-1
Edward Lee Kim Han 2054 - Galvez Dastin Eduardo 2178 1-0

FINAL STANDINGS:

19 points: Armenia
18 points: Israel
17 points: USA, Ukraine
16 points: Russia, Azerbaijan, China, Hungary, Vietnam, Spain, Georgia
15 points: Netherlands, Germany One, Bulgaria, England, India, Slovenia
14 points: Belarus, Romania, Serbia, Norway, France, Cuba, Greece, Sweden, Montenegro, Croatia, Canada
13 points: Poland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovakia, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany Three, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iran, Italy, Germany Two, Moldova, Latvia, Austria, Philippines, Bangladesh, Paraguay
12 points: Colombia, Uzbekistan, Switzerland, Indonesia, Scotland, Brazil, Portugal, Egypt, Australia, South Africa, Macedonia, Ireland, Faroe Islands, Singapore, UAE
11 points: Iceland, Pakistan, Qatar, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Argentina, Belgium, Tajikistan, Ecuador, Mongolia, Mexico, Luxembourg, Jordan, Japan, El Salvador, ICSC, Jamaica, Wales
10 points: Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Iraq, Bolivia, Guatemala, IPCA, Algeria, Dominican Republic, IBCA, Albania, Panama, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, New Zealand, Angola, Lebanon, Thailand
9 points: Palestine, Nigeria, Botswana, Monaco, Tunisia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nepal, South Korea, Andorra, Libya, Netherlands Antilles, Malta, Uruguay, Jersey, Nicaragua
8 points: Zambia, Barbados, Mozambique, Uganda, San Marino, Cyprus, Namibia, Ethiopia, Trinidad & Tobago, Guernsey, British Virgin Islands
7 points: Honduras, Mauritius, Surinam, Kenya, Hongkong, Papua New Guinea, Macau, Aruba, Chinese Taipei, Bermuda
6 points: Malawi, Liechtenstein, Ghana, U.S. Virgin Islands
5 points: Gabon, Fiji, Seychelles
4 points: Madagascar
3 points: Rwanda

Penang Times Square

Impressive and grand, right? I have some misgivings about its location. I dunno, but has anyone given any thought about the traffic congestion and traffic dispersion once it opens to the public?

Crosby Stills Nash and (sometimes) Young

The unique feature of these two albums is that they are compilations. If you don't have any of their earlier albums, these will be the ones to get. So Far was available on compact disc a long time ago but not the Celebration Copy. This vinyl record is rare and I've seen copies being offered for sale on Internet sites for STG45.



BTW, what's your favourite Crosby Stills & Nash track? Many people would say Suite: Judy Blue Eyes but in terms of harmony, there's nothing that can match this song. They might have passed their most popular period by the time they appeared on this show but there's no doubt in my mind that their harmony surpassed many other singers or groups. Here is Helplessly Hoping