What rubbish!

I've just returned from a short trip to Kuala Lumpur where I discovered two diametrically opposite faces of the city.

While we are all so accustomed to seeing the relative cleanliness of the well-trodden public places, it is what you don't normally see that is appalling.

For example, from the relative cleanliness of my room at the Radius International Hotel ( a comfortable three-star hotel that provided me with the basic amenities - I really can't complain about this), I could see across the road at all the rubbish on rooftops, discarded by irresponsible people living in adjacent high-rise buildings. Just take a look at this picture:



And this one too:


And the residents in this run-down building in Jalan Alor are definitely some of the obvious culprits. Nobody else.

Happiness is...

"Shoot, shoot," said The Beatles!

By golly, someone at the University of Leicester has just measured happiness...the first measurement of happiness in the world. And it confirmed that to be happy, all that you ever need is to be healthy, wealthy and wise.

So here it is...the world's first Happy Country List in descending order. Where do you stand and do you feel much happier?

Denmark, Switzerland; Austria, Iceland; Bahamas, Finland, Sweden; Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg; Costa Rica, Malta, Netherlands; Antigua And Barbuda, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Seychelles, St Kitts And Nevis, UAE, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela;

Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Dominica, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Suriname, Bahrain; Columbia, Germany, Guyana, Honduras, Kuwait, Panama, St Vincent And The Grenadines; United Kingdom; Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Jamaica, Qatar, Spain, St Lucia;

Belize, Cyprus, Italy, Mexico, Samoa Western, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Trinidad And Tobago; Argentina; Fiji, Israel, Mongolia, Sao Tome And Perini; El Salvador, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Slovenia, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tonga;

Chile, Grenada, Mauritius, Namibia, Paraguay, Thailand; Czech Republic, Philippines, Tunisia, Uzbekistan; Brazil, China, Cuba, Greece, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Uruguay; Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Yemen; Portugal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Vietnam;

Iran; Comoros, Croatia, Poland; Cape Verdi, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, South Korea; Bangladesh, Congo Republic, Gambia, Hungary, Libya, South Africa; Cambodia, Ecuador, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, Peru, Senegal; Bolivia, Haiti, Nepal, Nigeria, Tanzania;

Benin, Botswana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Laos, Mozambique, Palestine, Slovakia; Burma, Mali, Mauritania, Turkey; Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Romania; Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cameroon, Estonia, Guinea, Jordan, Syria; Sierra Leone; Azerbaijan, Central African Republic, Macedonia, Togo, Zambia;

Angola, Djibouti, Egypt; Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Latvia, Lithuania, Uganda; Albania, Malawi; Chad, Ivory Coast, Niger; Eritrea, Rwanda; Bulgaria, Lesotho, Pakistan, Russia; Swaziland; Georgia; Belarus, Turkmenistan; Armenia; Sudan, Ukraine; Moldova; Congo Democratic, Zimbabwe; Burundi

In my opinion, don't you believe everything you read and it isn't even April Fools' Day yet!

Recovering

This will be a short post. Returned last night from a very hectic three-day trip to Kuala Lumpur with my family to enquire after possible accommodations for my daughter when she goes to UTAR this end May.

I think her best choice should be the Millennium Court hostels in Jalan Elmu, Petaling Jaya. The hostel caters solely to students so she should feel comfortable among her kind. More importantly, it's only about 1.5km from the university. Moreover, there's also an internal transportation service provided by UTAR to take the students to campus.

Spring equinox

Take note of today's date. It's 21 March, the day of the Spring Equinox as the sun crosses the equator. Theoretically, today's the day when you should have equal hours of day and night. Or haven't you noticed that dawn is getting earlier by the day??

To us of Chinese descent, the significance of the Spring Equinox will come in 15 days' time. Cheng Beng. The time to visit the graves of our ancestors, the time to give their graves a spring clean to rid them of the overgrown lalang and the dirt. It's an annual ritual.

Best buddies

If you are wondering whether there is any bad blood remaining between Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo after the controversial incident at last year's World Cup, this picture - taken in the dying minutes of the FA Cup replay between Manchester United and Middlesbrough on 19 Mar 2007 - dispels all doubts. Here, you see a very angry Rooney being restrained after Boro's James Morrison made a bad tackle on Ronaldo during time added on.

Can he?

You know who this is, right?

"I love Bayern Munich. I have grown up in Germany but I'm the only England player never to have played in England and Manchester United want to take me home. That prospect is a dream, especially when you look at the United team and the football they play. Once you are with the club you are connected with them for life."

One on one

Didja see the wonder goal that was scored by the Tottenham goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, in their match with Watford last night? It was the stuff that all goalkeepers would want to remember - or forget, if you were in Ben Foster's shoes.

It was a free kick that flew over the heads of all the players, bounced once in front of Foster and landed in the net behind him.

Here is the wonder goal from YouTube:

She's the King!

My wife tells me that I can be rather excessive at times, and it is not only about food. But I've got to admit. Yes, many times, I over-eat. So, this is something I must cut down especially at my age.

But no, there are other excesses in my life that she complains about. Like, for example, my passion for music. She complains about my collection of vinyl records, she complains about my cassette tapes, she complains about my compact discs. Luckily, she did not say anything about my minidiscs. I hope not. Three out of four is bad enough.

This morning, I was looking through my music collection and goodness ... here's an excess that I found: three vinyl records and five compact discs by Carole King. You've heard of her, right? I mean Carole King, not my wife. If you haven't, cheh! Such an influential singer/songwriter and you don't know who she is!

I've loved her music ever since Tapestry came out as a vinyl record. Such wonderful songs, straight from her heart. Then, when CDs became fashionable, I bought Tapestry again. Wait...not just a copy but two! The second one was a remastered version that contained some extra songs. I simply had to buy it. Isn't that excessive for you?

Tapestry and her concert at Carnegie Hall are two of the most endearing CDs in my collection. A friend lent me The Living Room Tour last year but it wasn't as impressive as Carnegie Hall.


Anyway, if you look at the picture above, you'll also see the cover for The City CD hidden somewhere there. The music in that album was the forerunner of Tapestry and it was already influential. Blood, Sweat and Tears covered her song, Hi-De-Ho, while the Byrds used Wasn't Born To Follow on one of their albums. The City featured Carole King, Danny Kortchmar, Charles Larkey and Jim Gordon.

Finally, I just want to lift some verses from You've Got A Friend, a very poignant song but one with some great meaning and comfort. Here's the first verse:

When you're down and troubled
And you need some loving care
And nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

And this is the second verse:

If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you'll hear me knocking at your door

These are words of hope that swell from the deepest despair. Great stuff!

Busy busy busy

Looks like the next three weeks will be a very busy period for me:

22-24 Mar: I'll be in Kuala Lumpur with my wife, daughter and her friend. We're going there to look at some possible accommodations for my daughter who is applying to the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman this May. She'll be there for two years and it's best to start looking around for places to stay.

25 Mar: I'll be giving a talk on Career Planning at the Penang Caring Society Complex (Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang) in Jalan Utama. Last minute replacement speaker. I hope I can pull this one off successfully.

01 Apr: Cheng Beng, the Chinese Old Souls' Day. We'll have to visit the graves of my grandparents very early in the morning to avoid the anticipated traffic jam and also the Triple Wisdom Temple in Pangkor Road where my parents' memorial tablet is placed. Then in the afternoon, off to the Penang Caring Society Complex again but this time, to listen to a panel discussion on Creative Careers. I especially want my daughter to listen in because one of the panelists will be talking about careers in mass communication and that's what she's studying.

08 Apr: And this is my actual, scheduled talk at the Penang Caring Society Complex, on Writing A Better Resume.

The Ides of March

Beware the Ides Of March. That's today, the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC.



But to me, The Ides Of March is also forever associated with the name of an oldies American rock and roll group from Illinois.

They are best known for their May 1970 smash hit, Vehicle, with its big brassy sound. I've always had a liking for groups with big, brassy sounds so it was very natural for me to like The Ides too. The song was written by their lead singer/songwriter Jim Peterik who went on to find success with his other band, Survivor, that recorded Eye Of The Tiger.

But incredibly, the Ides Of March are still together today, a bunch of middle-aged men who still tour the Oldies circuit to make good music.

It's almost impossible to find any of their albums here in Malaysia but I'm mighty glad to have a copy of the CD, Super Hits Of The 70s Vol 16, which features their seminal song, Vehicle.

BTW, here are The Ides today, that they use as their new promo photo:

Filho da puta

I've just learnt a new phrase today...a fanciful foreign phrase.

Filho da puta.

Hmm...it sounds nice but it doesn't necessarily mean that it has a nice meaning.

Uttered by The Pouting One - certainly a person that would beggar respect from a lot of people, me included - it means "son of a whore."

Wassat?

Yes, you heard me right and I'll say it again. Filho da puta. Son of a whore.

And because of this crass utterance, made at the FA Cup quarter-final match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs on 11 Mar 2007, the Chelsea manager faced possible action from the Football Association.

Unfortunately, the FA decided to take no action against that Filho da puta... Drat!

Suvanno's last farewell

I feel sad that I was unable to attend the Venerable Suvanno's last earthly journey today but I'm fortunate to be able to share his last words with you, courtesy of a postcard that was passed to all devotees who visited the Lunas Buddhist Hermitage these past three days.


In case you are unable to read the handwriting, just click on the picture to see a larger image. But if you are still unable to read the message, here's what it says:

"Dear devotees,

This is a short note from me, to remind you to take the opportunity to develop yourselves. Cut away greed, hatred, delusion and lead a very calm life, so clam and so tranquil until you really see that you have already escape from birth, getting old, sickness and death, and never to come back from further rebirth - attain Nibbana.

Saddhu, saddhu, saddhu.

(signed Ven. A. Suvanno)"

Ven Suvanno (1920 - 2007)

I really had to go to the Buddhist Hermitage in Lunas this evening to pay my last respects to the late Venerable Suvanno Mahathera who passed away early this morning at 6.30am. He was 87 years old. Farewell...

Mt Rushmore and Deep Purple

Don't you think these granite sculptures simply look majestic? The Mt Rushmore national memorial in Dakota, USA, was carved to celebrate the 150 years of the history of the United States.


From left to right, the former US presidents featured are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

I learnt of Mt Rushmore in school. At that time, photos were still in black and white, so it was difficult to envision the grandeur of the monument. But I knew of its significance and its magnificence.

Then came Deep Purple. One of their seminal albums was called Deep Purple in Rock.

I loved that album - from the intro bars of Speed King (with its manic laughter) to the end of Hard Lovin' Man. And in between, one of Deep Purple's most famous songs, Child In Time, with its amazing crescendos.

And the first thing that fans saw was the cover, like this:


It was a depiction of the five musicians on Mt Rushmore. What could fans say? What could I say? You either loved the cover or you loved the songs. To me, they were both breath-taking!

In case you can't recognise the members of Deep Purple here, they are, from left to right, Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover and Ian Paice.

Penang transportation

I came across some incredible pictures of the old transport system in my hometown, George Town, here in Malaysia. Pretty astounding pictures that showed the evolution of the bus services in this part of the world. Here are some of them...


This picture is really vintage stuff. It's an electric tram car at the Penang Road/Gladstone Road/Magazine Road/Brick Kiln Road/Dato Kramat Road/MacAlister Road junction (Goh Pah Teng) at the start of the 20th century. If I'm not mistaken, that tower was part of the old Fire Brigade building.


Another fantastic monster, probably along Chulia Street or Leith Street. This one is a trolleybus with something that looks like a cow catcher in front. Perhaps that's how you clear people, animals and unwanted debris out of its path. But I wonder how fast this bus could actually go. Probably quite slow.


A very quaint bus that plied the Penang Hill Railway Road, a journey of not more than one kilometre. Maybe that's the reason why it was so small. It couldn't have carried more than 10 seated passengers. But then, in those olden days, where do you hear of passengers having to stand in buses?


A little bit more modern now, the electric trolleybuses. Funny how those old buses didn't have registration number plates. It made the bus look incomplete. In this picture, the bus was probably turning out from Prangin Road into Penang Road. The bus must have slowed down or stopped to allow the cyclist and trishawman to pass first!


And yet more modern. Must be in the early 1960s. I still have memories of seeing these buses on the roads. This must be near the Ayer Itam roundabout.

Music prophet

What do you know of the musical tastes of the present Pope, Benedict? That he likes classical and sacred music, and he dislikes modern music?

His predecessor, John Paul II, knew how to endear himself with the popular masses. He knew the world belongs to the youths and he supported the healthy activities of youths. And what better representation or expression of youths is there than in their music? Pop music?

Traditionally, the Vatican has been holding a fund-raising Christmas concert that attracts pop stars to it. But last year, it was cancelled on orders from Benedict. Disappointment.

But it was not unexpected from one who dislikes modern music, especially Bob Dylan. I read today on Reuters that Benedict's dislike of Dylan extended to his opposition of the singer's appearance in an Italian youth event in 1997 which John Paul II attended.

Benedict was mentioning this in his new book, "John Paul II, My Beloved Predecessor." But it is funny that he should refer to Dylan as a prophet, although he qualified his statement by saying "the wrong kind of prophet."

Does Dylan consider himself a prophet? Certainly, I do not consider Dylan a prophet. But I consider Dylan to be a GREAT song writer, one who wrote words that meant a lot to me and millions of fans around the world.

Benedict has strong views but he is wrong and out of tune with popular music lovers.

Chap Goh Meh

Omigosh! Is this already the 15th day of Chinese New Year? How time flies!

Anyway, I was at the Swee Cheok Tong (Quah Kongsi) this morning to celebrate Chap Goh Meh.

This Swee Cheok Tong is a clan association in Penang that "was originally established in Pia Gor Year in the reign of Emperor Toh Kong (AD 1846) by a number of Ow-Quah clansmen who were members of the family of "Hye Inn Tong" in Ow-Quah Sia, Tia Boay village, District of Tung Uahn Kuan, Prefecture of Chuan Chew Hoo, Hock Kian Province, China." Members of the Tong Su family of the same clan emigrated to Penang from other parts of China and were subsequently admitted to the membership of the Swee Cheok Tong.

There .... the above was extracted from the Rules of the Swee Cheok Tong. I'm one of the members like my father, grandfather and great grandfather before me. There isn't more information, unfortunately, so this is as detail or brief as it gets!

Anyhow, one of my fellow trustee members had arranged for his troupe of Chinese performers to give a short show before our altar of the Tai Tay Eah and Tua Pek Kong deities.

It was certainly a refreshing change from the usual lion dances. Here's the best photo that I managed to take of the occasion. BTW, the figure in the centre is said to represent the God of Prosperity (Chai Sin Eah).

Happiness is ...

... finding my old The Definitive Penang Food Guide (previously known as SS Quah's Guide to Penang's Hawker Delights) after a long, long search.



I had been quite resigned to admit to the loss but suddenly, while going through an old harddisk that I was planning to thrash soon (a lot of bad sectors), I chanced across a long-forgotten folder. Lo and behold! The file's there! Every single word of it! Happiness!

Of course, the content's quite old and dated, and much of the information is already useless. But it sure was good to see the stuff I was writing about in the early days of the Internet.

But even in 1998 or 1999, I was already rather exposed to the Internet. Way back in 1994 when I wanted to become a member of Jaring, I had to fill a long application form and get one of the senior managers in my old employment to certify that I was a bona fide staff. It took a lot of convincing before my senior manager agreed to sign on the dotted line. So there I was, one of the pioneers of the Internet in Malaysia. My Jaring membership number was 3125. I suspect the last digit was a check digit and if so, I could have been Jaring's 312th Internet user, nationwide.

Alright .... enough of the digression. So what am I to do with my newly rediscovered food guide? Until I decide, here's a jpg image of it (above). You'll have to click on it to view a slightly bigger image. Sorry about the jpg quality but it seems that this is the best I can achieve for this blog.

Ryan Giggs

My all-time favourite football player, Ryan Giggs, plays his 700th game in his one and only Manchester United Number 11 jersey tomorrow at 1245 GMT (8.45pm Malaysian time) against Liverpool.

After 16 years in the game, Giggsy is ManUnited and ManUnited is Giggsy. No question about this!

Carlos Queiroz, Manchester United's assistant manager, pays Giggs this tribute: "He plays with so much fantasy, creativity and entertainment. Outside and inside the pitch, he is a professional and really a role model for the game."

Threesome

I met some inconsiderate drivers/motocyclists on my way to work today.

Firstly, when I turned out into Jalan Kulim, an old man on a motorcyclist immediately in front of me suddenly stopped his bike in the middle of the road. Reason? He wanted to wave to a driver in an on-coming car. I had to apply an emergency brake and hope that the car behind me would do the same too. The nerve of this old man. Doesn't he know that he is a menace to society, doing what he did? I gave him a big tootle on my horn. And glared at him.

Next, along the busy Jalan Baru, a rascal in a car sweetly swerved from the kerb into my path without even giving a damn whether there was any vehicle behind him. Another menace to society. And another recipient of a big tootle on my horn. Gave this chap another withering glare. He was apologetic.

Finally, along busy Jalan Bukit Gambir, there's this car travelling so slowly in the middle of the road. Hey, c'mon .... surely you know that you should be on the left lane, not the innermost lane? This old man - yet another one - was so oblivious to the queue behind him, so everyone began overtaking him on the left lane.