Life after "Life after Work": June 2006

Friday, June 30, 2006

a half-baked AIDS-related query

i was all indignant and wanted to really give this a whole lot of effort... but it's 2am, and I'm not going to have much time tomorrow b4 i head off to the boozefest weekend with the gals.

So, here are some links, do click and read while they are still valid.
1. NST 30 June 2006: Spotlight: HIV: The rising fear factor
2. NST 30 June 2006 Spotlight: Blood test for couples poser
3. The Star 30 June 2006 HIV Blood doners[sic] to face jail term

Some reactions

1. Out of the blue , all of a sudden, this "donating of AIDS-infected blood" is a huge issue that requires a law to criminalise such acts? What on earth happened that this suddenly blows up? Did some VIP's relative get infected via blood transfusion therefore there's this hoo-hah?? I'm not negating the message here - heck if you KNOWINGLY donate "contaminated" blood of any sort, i do hope there's a corner of hell set aside especially for ya - but I am *so* curious why it's suddenly splashed on the front page of The Star. Nothing like this happens without a backstory. So what's the story??

2. "... there must be a concerted effort to stop the disease from spreading faster..." and you wanna do this by throwing infected blood donors in jail? Okay so you're perhaps preventing spread by contaminated blood transfusions - but please tell me what % of infection comes from cases like this? And (more importantly) - how many of these infected blood donors did it KNOWINGLY? And if they had been identified as being infected, were they properly advised & counselled? Did they KNOW they shouldn't donate blood? Hasn't the Malaysian AIDS Council faced an uphill battle trying to educate the masses (and the government!) on everything AIDS-related??!

3. "...all Muslim couples must go for HIV tests before getting married...": I'm sorry but why *just* Muslims? Does the govt not care if the non-Muslims are infected??? Seriously - without providing the rationale behind such a statement, one fills in the blanks with one's own speculation: "racial cleansing" was what popped into MY head.

there were more points - but brain fried.

bed is calling.

g'nite!

2006 books (Part 1)

... as mentioned early this year: I was going to keep track of the books I read this year, just so I have a record of sorts of my voracious reading appetite... and I *have* been keeping track... but seeing as I've already consumed over 40 books, it's going to be waaaaay to long a list to publish only in Jan '07, I decided to make it a two-parter.

So here the books for the first half of 2006:

January

The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Well, I *finished* (re-)reading it in 2006 :p Always an excellent read: the Arthurian legend from a highly female perspective.
It - Stephen King
Another re-read, but it was pretty fresh since I'd forgotten so much detail!
Forrest Gump - Winston Groom
Yet another re-read: finally decided to refresh myself on just how different the movie was from the original book which I'd read in the early 90's: yep, VERY different. But the movie captures the spirit of the book well, and while it takes so many liberties, I think it turned out much more appealing than the book.
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
First new book of the year! This is not so much a sequel as a spin-off of Neil Gaiman's excellent American Gods. Okay lah, but nothing to really shout about.
The monk who sold his Ferrari - Robin S Sharma
This "fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny" as a disappointing rehash of Covey's 7 Habits. Don't bother.
My Experiments with Truth - Mohandas K Gandhi
A long-overdue introduction to this simple man who helped change the lot of Indians, and perhaps even the world.
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
This Fable About Following Your Dream is certainly much better than the Ferrari-less Monk: well thought out, with subtle lessons imbedded in the tale; but it's probably a wasted read unless one discusses and shares insights with others.
The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need - Paul Pearsall
With a byline of Repress Your Anger, Think Negatively, Be a Good Blamer, and Throttle Your Inner Child, the author stresses that the entire self-help movement may be more harmful than helpful, and we all need to be more "mindful" as we go through life in order to get to this elusive "happiness".
The Identity Code : The 8 Essential Questions for Finding Your Purpose and Place in the World - Larry Ackerman
Crap. Total crap.

February

Locked Doors - Blake Crouch
A mystery / thriller that's perhaps a bit *too* simple in its narration & content.... and yet, definitely a good read. You'll be glued to the book, cringing at what goes on, wondering if *anyone* is going to survive the attention of the psychopath(s)... May be useful, but not essential, to read the first book (Desert Places) in this tale.
Old Souls: The Scientific Evidence For Past Lives - Thomas Shroder
A journalist's account of shadowing Dr Ian Stevenson documenting possible past-life/reincarnation cases in children, in as scientific a method as possible. That by itself is worth the read; then add to that getting the author's perspective of the chaotic life in Beirut & India. Highly recommended.

March
Currant Events - Piers Anthony
The 28th in the series, or Book 1 of the next cubed trilogy. Choc-full of puns as usual. Not outstanding, but it has its moments. I will continue to read this series, but via library books :-)
Alien Dawn: An Investigation into the Contact Experience - Colin Wilson
It explores the entire gamut of "alien contact", and comes to some very thought-provoking conclusions.

April
The Dilbert Principle - Scott Adams
Part 1 of a 3-book omnibus. Amusing. The last chapter about an OA5 workplace - actually makes a LOT of sense. I remember bringing it up at work, during that project that was supposed to be all about mindset change and stuff, and the consultants shut off as soon as I said "Scott Adams". Sheeesh.
TUNKU A Pictorial Biography - Tan Sri Dato’ Mubin Sheppard
Reference for my Lost Blogs participation. Fascinating insight to the man who became the Father of Malaysia. But my attention waned as soon as we hit the start of his political career.
The Dilbert Future - Scott Adams
Part 2 of a 3-book omnibus. Amusing but gets old FAST. Again, I liked the "serious" chapter at the end - I suppose that's Mr Adams' style: to add his more serious thoughts at the end of a "funny" book?

May
Storm Front - Jim Butcher
Oh my. Take Sam Spade or a narrative-heavy cliche-laden detective like that. Add in an alternate vision of magic and demons, kinda like Angel. And you have the atmosphere for this Harry Dresden series. I'm definitely exploring more of this author!
The Joy of Work - Scott Adams
Part of 3 a 3-book omnibus. Overdose. I'll stick to his daily 'toons and occasional trips to his blog.
The Magic of Recluce - L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Yes, another fantasy book. But this is different enough to have me reluctant to put it down until I was done with it. The perspective of order vs chaos is intriguing, and the protagonist is this young confused man, who is as endearing as Robert Jordan's Rand is irritating. But I don't know if I liked it enough to buy the next book. Kinda cheezy sound effects too - if you've read it you'll know what I mean :p
The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
I just could NOT put this down! An excellent exploration into the Drakyula mythos. An unsual way of teling the tale (letters describing past events, which include more letters...) And if you were paying attention in the very beginning, you'd know that no matter what might have been thought to have happened, things were still "unresolved". Read it, you won't regret it!
The Stranger House - Reginald Hill
Another book I just could NOT put down! Two seemingly unrelated people find their way to a small village that has deep dark secrets it would rather not have revealed. Very engrossing, despite some kinda wild coincidences :p and the last page providing that one last bit of information to tie it alllllll back? Awesome!
Fool Moon - Jim Butcher
Book2 of the Harry Dresden files. Find out more about different types of werewolves as you get to know a bit more of this wizard in Chicago.
Grave Peril - Jim Butcher
Book3 of the Harry Dresden files. Okay so a bit more depth, a bit more mystery to things in Harry's past (his godmother is a Fairy Queen??!), but frankly this one wasn't all that great... okay so at the end of the day vampires declare war on the wizards, but, eh....
Summer Knight - Jim Butcher
... but in THIS one, Book 4 of the Harry Dresden files, things start to get more complex. You find out more of the power structure of the "other" world... and get a whiff of things being not *quite* right within the command structure of the wizards....
Shadow (Scavenger Trilogy Book 1) - K. J. Parker
A very. slow. plodding. tale. about a man who has lost his memory. The author lets us believe he could be a missing general, or a god out of legend, or just about anyone in between. Interesting, but SO slow that I only finished this book on the 2nd try (1st was perhaps 4 years ago - stopped about third of the way through). The ending was a bit of a let down. If I do choose to continue this tale, it's going to be with the assistance of the local library!
Death Masks - Jim Butcher
Book 5 of the Harry Dresden files.... each book is getting to be a more and more satisfying read - more depth in plot, in characters... in this case the Shroud of Turin gets stolen, Harry has to fight a duel with a vampire, but there are loads of undercurrents that will surely lead to some sort of showdown between Harry, the Wizard Council, and the Vampires! Have I mentioned yet that this is a GREAT series?
Blood Rites - Jim Butcher
Book6 of the Harry Dresden files ... more and more hints of Harry's history / legacy via his mother.... more and more build-up for a confrontation not just between vampires and wizards, but perhaps between wizards? And Harry is at the center of it all. All told with a backdrop of Harry's assignment to help solve the mystery of deaths of people in a particular porn movie being made.
Among the White Moonfaces: Memoirs of a Nyonya Feminist - Shirley Geok-lin Lim
One word: b l e a h! Read this because my mother thought I would relate to the memoirs of a Chinese Malaysian who ended up marrying an American gweilo. Instead I was totally put off by a book that I would label "self-involved". But I concede that for those who have not much exposure to Asia / Malaysia, this is as good (bad?) a book as any to get a feel for how things were in the early days of Malaya/Malaysia from a non-Malay perspective.

June
Dr Doolittle and the Secret Lake - Hugh Lofting
If all you have ever known of Dr Doolittle is the awful movie(s) with Eddie Murphy, please, go out and get the original books instead. Sure, they are written for children, and therefore very simple in style, but boy are they awesome :-) In this book, Mudface the turtle who lived through the Great Flood talks about life around the time of the Flood. A great trip down memory lane :-)
My Side of the Mountain - Jean George
Simple, but still moving. One of the books that had me yearning to live away from the hustle & bustle of city life.
Seal Morning - Rowena Farre
Enthralling even after all these years - the tale of a young girl and her aunt living in a croft out in the middle of nowhere, and the animals in their life.
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 - Sue Townsend
Mildly entertaining as a re-read. I wonder if I understood all the allusions when I first read it what seems like a lifetime ago....
Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
Eh. Another re-read. Not as gripping as the first time around. But I am reminded of the lengths some people would go in the name of religion...
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole - Sue Townsend
Again: mildly entertaining as a re-read... I was amused to remember how much I loved the Very Secret Diaries of LOTR characters, and that these were surely inspired/influenced by Adrian Mole.
True Confessions of Adrian Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lilian Townsend - Sue Townsend
Can you tell I was kinda scraping the barrel in finding things to re-read? And rereading this, I was reminded why I'd decided to NOT buy any more Adrian Mole books after this one. Can you say "sell-out"?
Blind Side - Catherine Coulter
This was such a crappy read. Nuff said.
Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years - Sue Townsend
This was bought by my mother. So was a 1st read. Okay lah. But the "magic" is long gone.
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
A chance pick-up in the bookstore - and another one i could NOT put down! Tears pricked the corners of my eyes at numerous parts of this tale where the narrator is a murdered girl, observing the goings-on on Earth from her perch in heaven. A very different perspective. Go get it!
Obernewtyn - Isobelle Carmody
A relatively short book, but it introduces us to a post-nuclear holocaust Earth, and how the survivors now live... survivors who include Misfits (people with paranormal abilities) who are persecuted by "normals". A lot of groundwork is laid for the rest of the excellent series.
The Farseekers - Isobelle Carmody
The next in the series; the Misfits now have Obernewtyn as their base, but a group goes across the Land in search of a beforetime library, and a very powerful Misfit. They meet others who oppose the Council, and also get more hints as to ElspethInnle's destiny.
Ashling - Isobelle Carmody
More excellent details emerge about the gypsy "Twentyfamilies", the desert land of Sadoria, slavery, and the various rebel groups....
The Keeping Place - Isobelle Carmody
According to my ruler, this book is 2.3 inches thick. And every page is excellent! More and more details, more and more mysteries... yes, the "hopping" in and out of "memory bubbles" and visitations of Ariel on the dreamtrails gets a bit tedious, but the tale itself... slowly unravelling the history of the mysterious Cassy / Cassandra / Kasanda, and the impact she had made during the beforetime as well as after the Great White... I wonder just HOW this series will end: have been waiting for the next installment for YEARS now,,, grrrrr!
The First Betrayal - Patricia Bray
It doesn't say "Book One of the Chronicles of Josan" until the end where they give a teaser for Book 2, but this is so obviously a set-up for a series. A series I will certainly consider following. The priest Josan, stationed in the boonies as a lighthouse keeper, has an attempt made on his life, forcing him to flee: in his search for answers, he finds out he may not be the person he thinks he is...
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Okay so if you are familiar with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, this book should be a blast. But you know what, even without such "knowledge" you can still totally enjoy this tale - you probably (like me) will just not get *all* the sly subtle allusions to the great body of English literature. Won't go into detail, but trust me: READ IT! btw, a major LOL: Shakespeare's Richard III a la RHPS??!! LMAO!!
Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde
Continuation from The Eyre Affair, and I enjoyed this one even more than the first. Maybe because I could relate to the literary allusions a bit more? Enjoyed the fact that the Cheshire Cat is technically no longer of Cheshire due to shifting of county lines. References to Kafka, Dickens, not forgetting a laundry label. Yep, u read that right. Intrigued yet? Go read it!
The Other Daughter - Lisa Gardner
bleh - the author thanks many people for answering her questions when doing the research for this book, and it seems as if she went ahead and cut&paste their answers right into the book. ugh. And even worse: unnecessary (and corny!) love scenes. The premise of the book *is* interesting: trying to figure out how a child, who mysteriously appears in hospital and gets adopted by the doctor who treated her, is related (or not) to a convicted child murderer who got fried by electric chair: a murderer who confessed the murder of the adoptive family's daughter. But.... don't bother. This is my first and last Lisa Gardner book.
The Golden Key - Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson & Kate Elliott
Read it. Yes, it's a long tale, but oh my what intricate details, and what a great premise: a Gifted painter who seeks to achieve perfection in his work, even if it has to take a few lifetimes.
So You Want to Be a Wizard - Diane Duane
If I'd stumbled across this series when I was much younger, I bet I would have SO wanted to be a wizard!! A simple tale targeted for young adult readers, yet having enough substance for an entertaining read even at this stage of my life.

... and there you have it! I count 33 new reads, 15 re-reads. Wonder how many I'll go through in the second half of this year????

And Kevin, I *do* intend to contribute to FWDT... but not just yet, I suppose - my mood's more concerned with reading than reviewing right now. For the moment, I'll just work on making sure I have token descriptions of /reactions to what I *have* gone through. :p

Cheers!

Thursday, June 29, 2006

obsessive and compulsive? moi??

Yeah, that would be an apt description of me these past few days.

Spurred by the thought of perhaps being able to leave for the U.S. within a month or so, I started going through some boxes of my stuff: setting aside stuff I want to bring with me (whether as luggage on plane, or ship via sea mail).

And figured it would be really good if I made a list of the contents of these boxes, since, well, I may not remember in a few years' time, eh?

And since most of the boxes contained books, I started essentially calatoging them.

Author, title, series, ISBN, box #, etc etc.

Kosh was errrr incredulous that I was even listing the ISBN ("listing that number just because it's there is like adding the artist of each Magic card I have" : not *quite* the same thing, right? heehehe! Oh, and that list of Magic cards? I did that, LOL! with the same degree of obsession and compulsion too!).
Ran out of "my" stuff.. and am now going through the other books in the apartment.

And once I'm done, I can spit out all the stats you'd want on the colection of books we have here: how many paperback vs hardcover books. How many by a particular author. How many books were printed in 1978. etc etc etc. Yep, I love Query Tables!

Anyways - I'm betting that the prolific Enid Blyton will win hands down on sheer quantity! And a slightly scary thing is happening: each book of hers I look at, I can kinda remember vaguely the plot. Yes, every Secret Seven, every Famous Five, every Five Find-Outers and Dog.... and I probably last read these books 20 years ago.

THEN.... as if that wasn't bad enough...

I've carried that listing/cataloging moomentum to my Yahoo!AddressBooks.

Once I'm back at the apartment, will continue on with the book cataloging. Have only gone through some of the books ocated upstairs. There are still tons downstairs. PLUS boxes and boxes waiting for me in the other house in PD.

Oh, and speaking about PD - will be there this weekend. The four gals (me, KS, Baby Angel and Rail) are gonna have a blast! or a boozefest. or both. :-) Don't think I'll be doing my cataloging then, though, so I may need to head on back there for another visit all by my lonesome, just to go through them boxes again.

Yes, I happily admit I am a freak :-)

And on that note.. i think i'll get back to that AddressBook and tinker with it a bit more.

Laters!!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

music memories revue

Music has always been an important part of my life.

The original source of music was my parents' collection of vinyls. They had The Beatles' HELP album, which I loved. I discovered excellent Irish folk songs from an album by Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers. Later, my parents bought the Voulez-Vous album by ABBA: I loved almost every song! So ABBA became one of my fave groups. (I was barely 9 years old, i think). I also discovered Gene Pitney. And the Bee Gees. But the FIRST will always be the sountrack of The Sound of Music: I'd spend hours sitting right by the speakers listening to it over and over and over again - I knew all the songs well before I ever saw the movie!

I'd sing along to all these songs, imagining I was part of the band, or fantasising myself into a situation being described by the song. At one point, I imagined that the "screams" on Dizzy Miss Lizzy were being provided by Ringo, a Ringo who was being beaten up by the other Beatles to get just the right effect, and that I stepped in to defend him. LOL!

I remember arguing with my brother about lyrics to The Archies' song: he insisted it was "... you are my handy girl ..." while I insisted it was "... candy ...": after all, the song's title was Sugar, Sugar maaaah!

***
One day, in secondary school, Venus mentioned something about listening to Kasey Casem and the American Top40. And o. m. g. that was the start of my plunge into pop: It was played for 1hr on M, Tu, Th & F every week, 10pm. I had a radio in my room, by my bed, and I'd listen without fail. What was that phrase? "Keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars"? *grin!*

***
My first ever CD owned was Poison's Flesh and Blood. It was a gift, probably X-mas 1990. My first year in the U.S. - one of the first things I did was buy me a SONY player - i suppose it was a boom box: double cassette deck, radio and CD player. Thus my CD collection started.

But.. my first year in the U.S. is also memorable because *gasp!* we had MTV!!! and it played GOOD stuff, not the crap you see nowadays.

I still remember hearing the start of a song, nice twangs of guitars, went to watch the video, and was just mesmerised by both the song as well as the droolicious lead singers : Matthew & Gunnar Nelson. Went to their concert too - and they sounded as good live as on their album. They were great!!! And at one time I actually knew which of the two had the bangs and which didn't, so I could differentiate them. Their poster graced one of the walls of my room!

And and and! not only did we have MTV, we also had GREAT radion stations! Sure, looking back I know them to "just" be good ol "format radio", but when compared to how radio programmes were done in Malaysia at that time, format radio was H.E.A.V.E.N.! (of course, NOW, I'm one of those lovin to catch the anti-format stations, e.g. BOB FM over at Bloomington [i think?], or The Chief in Champaign-Urbana).

Magic 104, broadcasting out of Oklahoma City was the favourite of most of us sent to Norman, Okla. that fateful summer of 1990. They had this request program at night called Magic After Dark. I so had a crush on the DJ. Me & housemate used to call up to request songs, and *i* would even be on the line with him for hours (but having to be put on hold every so often while he had to actually talk on air, LOL!). Even went out on a date. But then it seems he boasted to the station that he'd gone further with me than actual fact. Creep.

But how did I find that out? Through *another* DJ of that station, LMAO! That guy I never met, but he was really nice, and lent many sympathetic ears to me.

Really, I look back at those times and just HAVE to smile at my joie de vivre! Tho a LOT of it was joie der libertie, being AWAY from the restrictions of society in Malaysia.

***
Even during my past life as a member of the rat race, music was close at hand. Fitted my trusty car with a 10-disc CD changer, so I had a variety of artistes to accompany me while stuck in rush hour traffic getting to/from work.

At the desk I ever wanted to impose my music on others [seeing as most people liked Light&Easy or Top40 songs, and there I was with Metallica, GnR, Meat Loaf, Jackyl... i liked a sliiiiiiiightly heavier sound!], so I rarely listened to anything at work. And I don't like things tucked in my ears, so while I did play *some* music while listening with headphones, it wasn't very often.

***
And now - the digital era. MP3s are the in-thing. iPods and MP3players.

Eh.

I suppose I'll end up a fan - or a user. After all, Kosh has two iPod products. And I do like how I can get hold of just that ONE song I want, as opposed to having to buy one album with 9 other superfluous songs.

But.

If we move to just MP3s and purchasing these things online... what about album covers? all that excellent artwork - no more?!! what about the booklet and contents - especially lyrics??!! I like having a "physical" album!!!

I guess I'm a bit old school?

... then why have a TV?

I am puzzled.

I noticed that every Coffee Bean outlet I've been to recently has had a TV installed: obviously temporary in nature. I assumed it was for customers to be able to watch the World Cup.

But I was at a Beanie tonight, and the TV wasn't on.

And it was (still is) one of the matches I figured everyone would want to watch: Brazil vs Ghana. Brazil. Isn't that one of the fave teams?

But ... the TV stayed in its corner, dark and silent.

If you're not going to put the game on, why bother having the TV, y'all?

And really - WHY bother with the TV when the earliest game is at 11pm local Malaysian time (okay so previously they started at 10pm) and you SWITCH OFF THE LIGHTS at 1145pm?

No, I'm not bitter that I had to pack up the laptop in the dark.

I just think that giving your customers a bit of warning, like, oh, maybe flicking the lights off and back on 5 minutes before you switch them off for real *might* help people like me not get pissed off at ya. Just so you know. For next time.

Anyways. On MY part, I'll try to make sure I'm all packed up TWENTY minutes before you "officially" close next time, ya? I'll assume it's 12mn on weekdays and 1am on weekends. Might also help to post your business hours SOMEwhere! Sheeeeesh!

***

anyways... i *was* slightly productive while taking advantage of the fast laptop (especially compared to the crummy PC!) and great broadband connection: so those StMarians out there: go check out the June 11th pesudo reunion photos in my Yahoo!Photos.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

i got brained?!

H/T: View From the Cloud

Brain Lateralization Test Results
Right Brain (60%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain.
Left Brain (46%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Left brain dominant individuals are more orderly, literal, articulate, and to the point. They are good at understanding directions and anything that is explicit and logical. They can have trouble comprehending emotions and abstract concepts, they can feel lost when things are not clear, doubting anything that is not stated and proven.

Right brain dominant individuals are more visual and intuitive. They are better at summarizing multiple points, picking up on what's not said, visualizing things, and making things up. They can lack attention to detail, directness, organization, and the ability to explain their ideas verbally, leaving them unable to communicate effectively.

Overall you appear to be Right Brain Dominant

-----------------------------------------

According to Darwinian theory, optimal evolution takes place with random variation and selective retention. The evolution savvy individual will try many different approaches when faced with a problem and select the best of those approaches. Many historical intellectuals have confessed their advantage was simply considering/exploring/trying more approaches than others. The left brain dominant type suffers from limited approaches, narrow-mindedness. The right brain dominant type suffers from too many approaches, scatterbrained. To maintain balanced hemispheres, you need to exercise both variability and selection. Just as a company will have more chance of finding a great candidate by increasing their applicant pool, an individual who considers a wider set of options is more likely to make quality decisions.

Y'know, usually in tests like this one, I usually get a result of "middle-brained", i.e. well-balanced between right & left. But this is the most "skewed" I ever remember getting.... Hmmmmmmm,,,, maybe being a jobless bum for two years, no longer having to be in a regimented job, has made me less left-brained?

Go ahead, you know you want to: go brain yourself!

Friday, June 23, 2006

some LOLs for ya

Okay so most of us know that when a group of geese get together, one refers to them as "a gaggle of geese", right?

But... have you heard of...

An obstinacy of bisons?
A coalition of cheetahs?
A cast of falcons?
A smack of jellyfish?
A surfeit of skunks?

I hadn't, until I stumbled across this pretty comprehensive list of Names of Males, Females, Babies, and Groups of Animals.

* * * *

now THIS is why you shouldn't take candy from strangers!

* * * *

okay, I've heard of the poor girl named Ima by her parents, Mr & Mrs Hogg. It seems there are even worse (read: funnier! so long it's not yours!) names in the phonebook.

my fave: RECTION, Hugh G

They HAVE to be changing their names on purpose, on their own... because I really don't think parents would name their son JABLOME, Haywood, would they???

(the above links courtesy of Linky & Dinky, btw)

* * * *

don't remember who to H/T for this one: some fler's 100 GREATEST
MOVIE POSTERS OF ALL TIME. Some are interesting. What's amusing is at this point in time, there are not yet fully 100 posters up there, so if you have a suggestion/opinion, you can email the fler and see if he agrees with ya.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Of celebrities and language…

In the news: today’s The Star

Page N1

OMG surely the goings-on of local celebrities does NOT need to make it to the front page? So what if Siti Nurhaliza *may* be dating this Datuk K fella…. What appears on today’s front page is mere speculation!

After much persuasion, the reporter managed to squeeze a statement of “I will make an announcement in early July” out of Datuk K: is that worthy of a front page slot? I think not.

Reminds me of when the (new, crappy) Malay Mail went around interviewing people on the street for their opinions of this match: someone actually said something like “Well, Siti *is* a celebrity and therefore we as her fans have a right to know what’s going on”. I’m sorry, but I think that’s ridiculous.

Enough already!

There are much more important things going on in this world than marriage speculation!

Page N4: King: Make BM universal language

“I believe Bahasa Malaysia* is capable of becoming a universal language in this region.” “… the language of unity, knowledge and modern communication.”

Hmmmm, I remember in history classes it was repeated over and over that Malay had been the lingua franca of the region a few hundred years ago. So proud of that past achievement, but can anyone tell me why it’s no longer the lingua franca? Yes, you can give me the knee-jerk reaction of blaming the influence of the Western World which has resulted in the dominance of the English language… but then I ask again: why English? Because it’s simple, and understood by almost everyone.

Malay, in its verbose flowery roundabout way, is great for literature – but for modern communication, or komunikasi moden? I think not.

I’m still flabbergasted that the new administrative capital of Putrajaya is divided into “presint” : that’s precinct to you English-speaking folks. Plenty more where that came from, unfortunately.

Page N36: Pertaining to local celebrities AND the beauty of the Malay language

The celebrity part:

It seems that in a Bahasa Melayu* test, a question was written essentially insulting the fiancée of Mawi (Mawi being one of the winners of Malaysian Idol, and as such, subject to much public scrutiny. He’s been in the news for postponing his marriage due to commitments that arose from his fame. Or something like that. I dunno, I really try to NOT know these things!).

The topic being tested was knowledge of Malay proverbs. A situation is provided, and the students would then choose which of the four proverbs best describes the situation.

The description: “Nordiana never appreciated gifts from her fiancé Mawi, although the gifts were expensive.”

Wow… there are SO many things wrong with the content… not only is it blatantly referring to a local celebrity couple (what’s so difficult to just change the names lah..), just the whole "not appreciating expensive things" is such a materialistic judgement call, eh?

The beauty of the Malay language part:
Here are the choices provided:

A. seperti ayam berak kapur
Translation: like a chicken shitting chalk (to be in a state of panic)

B. seperti kera mendapat bunga
Translation: like a monkey receiving flowers (to be unappreciative)

C. seperti kacang melupakan kulit
Translation: like a peanut that forgets its shell (to be ungrateful of one’s origins/roots)

D. seperti kerbau dicucuk hidung
Translation: like a buffalo with a pierced nose (to follow blindly [to be led by the nose?!])

I totally love the chalk-shitting chicken one – hadn’t heard THAT one yet!

btw - plenty more proverbs like that - if you're interested, I'll feature more.

It's always interesting to see how the same "gist" is described in different ways by different cultures...

One example:

English: Damned if you do, damned if you don't

Malay: Ditelan mati emak, diludah mati bapak (translation: if you swallow it your mother dies, if you spit it out your father dies)

One concerns just the individual in question (you decide, you suffer the consequences), the other the individual's parents (you decide, but others suffer the consequences). Can you tell which society places importance on the individual, and which on "community"? Interesting, no?

* NOTE: The King refers to it as Bahasa Malaysia, while in schools, or at least in that particular school in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, it’s Bahasa Melayu. We still haven’t figured it out, have we??

eggheads beware!

Fancy an egg?

How about a hard-boiled egg?

Like this one here.

Looks normal?

Anything unusual?

Anything?

Anything at all?

Seriously, anything???

Well, it seems that this egg was "boiled" by phones?!

Yep... cooked by phones!

Found this at AskForFun's place, btw.

I *did* hunt for something on this at snopes but came up with nothing.

Is this for real?

Anyone?

(i like the use of ciggie boxes as phone holders - wonder if the aura of tobacco influenced the trial any? LOL!)

messages of greetings

A scene from many many years ago:

The voice message in question?

Hi! I'm not answering calls right now because I'm trying to avoid someone... so please just leave me a message and I'll get back to you. And if I don't, well, maybe YOU'RE the one I'm avoiding! Haaahaha!

(Or something to that effect lah)

I'm still amused when I think about it: can't believe someone actually took that message seriously! I suppose she never got that e-mail listing humourous answering machine messages that circulates in cyberspace every few years or so... :p

Anyways... then... my most recent voice recording has garnered a lot of reactions, some of which are as below:

B: errr, i think you should change your voice message, it's very confusing
C: haahahaa!! cute!
D: Heeheh heehehe you really got me there!
E: what lah you! I kept talking and talking and then only realised it was a recording, what lah you!

The message this time around?

Hello? [pause] Hello? [pause] Helllooooooo??? [pause] Oh! Heehehe! You've reached the voice message. I'm probably not answering the phone because it's on silent mode. You can try again later, or even better, just sms or email me instead. Bye!

For B & E and others who felt like they were made fun of by this message, you can sigh in relief, I've changed it. It's pretty tame now.

When I think of another whacky one, I'll rerecord it.

In the meantime, enjoy not being confused, y'all.

While I ponder upon why my sense of humor just doesn't seem to fit with most people here.

p/s: I'm not bowing to pressure from friends, rest assured! I changed the message today because I'm expecting the PC repairperson to call today or tomorrow, and I'd rather not confuse/piss him off: you never know, that may translate into hidden charges maaaaah! :p paranoid much? ;)

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

the contents of my mind....

yes, i've been quiet...... i've been busy,,,,,, busy reading. :p

I discovered my Isobelle Carmody Obernewtyn books and decided to reread them. And for those who have yet to pick up this series, I urge you, please do! :D

But it's not just those books tho - have picked up a few others, some noteworthy, some not so...

no worries, even if I don't come up with a proper review for them all, I am listing them all down with a brief description/reaction... tho since I'm at over 40 now, I may publish a 6-month list instead of a year's worth of reads as originally planned!

aaaaaaaanyways,,,,,

a series I discovered recently - Jim Butcher's The Harry Dresden Files - is being made into a tv-series.

And there had been this campaign to get James Marsters (SPIKE!!!!!) to play the role of Harry. (In the end, Paul Blackthorne has been chosen. Oh well.)

Turns out ol' Spike's been doing the audio versions of the books!

Small world :-)

Oh, btw, he's a Leo (20th August), and he's recorded an album??!!

On another note: Did you know that Bab5's JMS and Bryce Zable (whoever he is, LOL) had toyed with the idea of "rebooting" the Star Trek universe? Here's BZ's blog about it, and a link to their proposed storyline (I haven't clicked it... i assume i'll suffer with my dial-up connection :p).

A special man in my life had a special day last Sunday - Paul McCartney turned 64! Happy birthday, Sir Paul!

And on yet another note: discovered the existence of "The Evil Overlord List" (tho i'm familiar with its idea - that' been going around for a long time now)... here's a site with many many lists in a similar vein to laugh at :-)

okay brain fried.

sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

Saturday, June 17, 2006

i suppose i was an early bird...

... because I'd certainly caught a worm! :p

that previous entry about the lesbo email thingy? was a worm targetting Yahoo!Mail users. thanx for all y'all's comments/thoughts on that, btw.

but that's not why i've been silent....

... i suspect the PC's modem might be fried or something... i just. can't. dial. up! but using the exact same connection with the laptop is fine. grrrrrr!

... and then... can't sign in to blogger... so I'm doing this via flickr... we'll see lah if this gets posted or not....

"this" being the pic of the 11 of us who attended the pseudo-reunion a week ago. i was going to list all 11 of us, but that would involve coming up with too many pseudonyms at a time when my brain is feeling a bit fried.

so no names lah.

which one am I? the one in green lah! ;-)

Monday, June 12, 2006

ohhhh cr*p!

i got an email from a Lost Blogger.. two, actually, from the same person; same subject line and all, i think it was "new pix update" or something like that. opened one, and it seemed to be this majorly forwarded email to do with lesbian photos or something.

deleted them both.

i didn't open no attachments, yo

but a few mins ago Kosh IM'd asked me why i'd forwarded him some lesbo email.

awww cr*p!

Kosh has been having trouble getting his butt outta c-u and into chicago - tons of loose ends to tie up maah. and the suspicion of having his 'puter infected is going to see him obsessing over THAT for a few hours, eh?

wonder if Macs are immune???

oh, and that particular email account? that's the one I use for not just blog-related stuff, but for correspondance with my ex-colleagues from my ex-work.

double cr*p

so sorry y'all!

I'm updating Spybot AND Avira as I type, and will be letting them do their jobs while i try to catch some sleep. I've gotta be in the LRT by 730am, arrrggh!

And if you recieve an email like that in your inbox: DELETE!!

soooooooo tempted!

... okay so if you remember from a while ago, i got information on the hoops i need to jump through.. (click... and see the "update" in green at the bottom)

So.. have been doing some "jumping" based on that "info pack",,, and recently I got info on the *next* phase, involving of course new hoops and another set of forms.

So, I went online lah hunting for newer versions of these forms. Couldnt find 'em anywhere.

So... i wrote "them" an email seeking clarification on a few things, including the following:

I have looked online for the soft-copy versions of the [...] forms [provided the form #'s], but to no avail [inserted site where the other forms had been obtained]. Are they in fact available online?

Their unedited reply:

Why are you looking for soft copies while you have the hard copies with you..? Anyway, this forms are not available online.

Can I reply as follows?

Hmmmm, let's see... maybe it's because ALL the hard copy forms you've EVER sent me have been OUTDATED and OBSOLETE, that's why!!!! One of them was TWENTY YEARS out of date; and most of them even have this not inconsequential note at the bottom saying "PREVIOUS VERSIONS OBSOLETE", for heaven's sake!!

And these forms in particular? They expired in 2004.

In case you haven't checked the calendar lately, it's now 2006.

So what if these particular forms don't seem to have that "previous versions obsolete" notice on the bottom. Technically they are "expired". I want to use the latest/current/VALID versions of these forms, precisely because where&when I live right now, it's 2006.

I'd like to be able to submit forms that are actually valid for this portion of the space-time continuum.

So YOU tell ME why I should NOT be looking for these forms online.

Please. Enlighten me.

Oh, and while you're at it, how about keeping an eye on your English? For example:
singular/plural agreement: "...this forms are not..."
confusion over homophones: "... wants the forms [...] are received ..."
past/present tense agreement (1) : When asked "Do I need to ...", your answer was "... you did not need to ..."
past/present tense agreement (2) : "... documents will be mail to you ..."

Cheers,
*lynne*

Can you tell I'm just a weeeeee bit exasperated? :p

it's been a while...

... since i last blogged... blame blogger lah. I logged to post so often, but all i'd get was some half-loaded page. grrrrrrr!

Anyways, it was an eventful weekend:

Saturday
1. "supported" mom who gave a talk to a bunch of expats, kinda like a brief overview of names and titles in Malaysia: explaining different aspects of Malay/Chinese/Indian names PLUS the frigging honorifics and titles (Dato' vs Datuk, for example).

2. Took Veya for a massage/torture session. She survived (of course, the auntie did soft-soft lah, first-timer maaah!). She says she's up for more sessions. Muaaahahahaaaa!

Sunday
ST MARIANS "CLASS OF '89" PSEUDO-REUNION!! pix and details later.

Monday
1. release of Rail's not-so-little-anymore terrapin into the wild [a pond in a nearby housing area]
2. fung shui shopping @ mid valley [saw one or two potential items : my fave was this pair of mandarin ducks in rose quartz on a jade leaf]
3. essentially from 10am - 930pm talk talk talk talk talk, waaah and could have gone on if it wasn't for Rail being tired and having to work the next day

Tomorrow
- have an exam of sorts, that i'm not "studying" for.. details later.

Wednesday
Tentatively planning for another Ladies Nite out: Rail & Baby Angel can't make it, and I'll see if anyone from Sunday's meet would be "interested" in such an outing, but even if they can't i know me & KS are gonna have a blast :-) Will surprise Jen during her hotel lounge piano playing session, then move on to Planet again :-)

Thursday
*gasp!* no plans yet! how will i survive???

Friday
mayyyyyyyybe will go see that stand-up comedy act at Actors Studio@Bangsar Shopping Center.

Saturday
midnight, Mother leaving for Swiss trip (THREE WEEKS!! whoohooooo!!). May not have time for massage session for me&Veya. Maybe i can go on thurs or fri myself?

yeah.

moving on.

thot i'd share this quote with y'all:

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

k... g'nite!

Thursday, June 08, 2006

lynne the quizmeister

H/T: Tyler :)

Take the quiz:
What Kind of Music Are You? :::pics:::

Emo
You are all about yourself. You're a lover and when things don't go your way you become depressed. Chances are you're a very nice and likeable person but most people don't see that in you. You endulge in writing poetry and music and perhaps art. You're all about being loved and sometimes it gets to the point that your love becomes selfishness.
Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!
Hmmm... really???

You are Palm OS. Punctual, straightforward and very useful. Your mother wants you to do more with your life like your cousin Wince, but you're happy with who you are.

You are Palm OS. Punctual, straightforward and very useful. Your mother wants you to do more with your life like your cousin Wince, but you're happy with who you are.

Which OS are You?
Hmmm... this sounds more like it, down to the "my mother doesn't understand me" bit, LMAO!

And... this one, which included the question "what is your favorite African nation?" with possible answers:

Myanmar
France
Peru
Lebanon
Uzbekistan

You are Luisa Estrada. You are the wife of the former President of the Philippines. You wish me to go to Amsterdam to help you collect $30 million which you siphoned off. You enjoy reading, and stealing money from the poor.

Which Nigerian spammer are You?

hey... that's not even a Nigerian! LMAO!

Found one last one:
Take the quiz:
Which Magical Dark Creature Are You?

Witch
We all know that there are some good witches out there in the world - like Glinda in her poofy pink dress. But that's not you. You're a regular house dodger and you know it. Always seeming to be pissing other people off and being pissed off at other people you have a nack for not fitting in many places. You prefer being alone because of this and though very independant, you are very wrathful upon whomever may cross your broomstick. Youre as bitter as ground parsley. I think you need a hug.

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!
a witch with a capital B perhaps? L. M. A. O.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

twenty three

Last December i realised I had 30.

In March, the number had gone down to 21, and I shaved it even further down to 16 after a marathon of posts.

But... now... my drafts are back up to 23!! arrgh!!

.. and that's *excluding* stuff on paper I'd jotted down: some misc thoughts plus reviews of the various books i've consumed recently.

... ... but when i sit in front of the PC, instead of working offline, I get online to check emails ... then since/while I'm online I might as well go check out my blog reads... then the creative juices get kinda stunted cos i'm doing passive surfing instead of active typing... ...

i *do* want to clear this "backlog" of posts....
mañana!

A greeeeeeeen sunday coming up!

P. O. P. E. pope sedang meletup di ataslah terak Stadium Merdeka
Kami sorakkan agar berjaya kerana itulah idaman semua

A pseudo-cheer (more like a song with changed lyrics) for my "house" in high school.

We were all assigned "houses" of different colors (the usual being red blue green & yellow), and that was how we were grouped for sports activities.

In primary school, I was in yellow house. Felt no affiliation or loyalty one way or another.

But in SECONDARY school, it all changed.... there seems to be more "spirit" associated with your "house".

A lot of my friends and I were assigned to the green house.

Unfortunately, pope house had a history of being last all the time. Malaysians being Malaysians, so many popians didn't like being in the losing color, and didn't have much spiritor enthusiasm, therefore certainly not helping in getting the house on par with the others.

Never mind. My friends and I, we turned it around. So what if we were the house that always lost? If were were going to come out on the bottom, we'd do it with full enthusiasm!

Sure, we had to wear school uniforms during school. But we'd take great pride in writing in green ink. having green wallets. amassing green shirts. I had fluorescent neon lime green tights worn under a long green tee-shirt. neon green shoelaces in my shoes. i think u get the idea.

Anyways - so this Sunday... it started out as seeing who would be available to meet up,,, and it's snowballed into a pseudo-reunion for St Marians "Class of 1989".

And since the majority of the initial "yes count me in!"s were from Pope house... it was decided that the "dress code" for Sunday would be jeans and a gren top.

muuaaahahahahaaaaa!

What can I say - "my" batch of popians are the best :-)

This Sunday is going to be a blast!

****
NOTE: All four colors were assigned a name of an ex-headmistress.
- Pope = Green
- Pring = Yellow
- Playne = Red
- McNeil = Blue (yes, the blues are the odd one out)

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

azan memories

it is around 715pm, and the calls to prayer are heard all over town.

i am transported back to my early tweenage years.

we are at a beach in Port Dickson. it is one of the rare occasions that we are together with the relatives: for a variety of reasons, my dad isn't "close" with his family, and it's rare to get toegther apart from the mandatory Aidil Fitri and other occasions.

Someone's rented a beachhouse, and we all converged there for the weekend.

i am standing on some rocks with my cousin, as night falls.

It's maghrib, and the muezzins start calling out the azan.

I'm talking or joking with my cousin, and she hushes me up.

I'm puzzled and rather taken aback. She was okay 30 seconds ago!

Yeah so it's prayer time... so what??

I notice she's whispering stuff, perhaps following along with the words of the azan.

(I learn much much later that there are some "call-out lines" [whisper-along lines?] recommended when one hears the call to prayer).

I feel... so out of place.

A few minutes before this, I'd already been made to feel "malu" and awkward: So there I was in a swimsuit, while everyone else - male AND female - was in shorts and teeshirts, because one shouldn't show so much skin. I was SO out of place. On top of that, the blue-and-yellow swimsuit was for "girls" as opposed to "women": i.e. no padding in the chest area. So my nipples were pushing against the poorly-designed swimsuit that had the YELLOW portion exactly where my budding breasts were. My cousin made a comment about my being "tak malu" (having no shame). I already had the towl draped around my waist so that my thighs were covered... i couldn't cover my chest/boobs except by kinda folding my arms high on my chest - any other way and I'm probably draw *more* attention to them!

Then came the whole azan-shushing-"call-out" observation.

Fun.

can we say "outsider"?

I mean, I'm not "blaming" my parents for making sure I had a swimsuit instead of teeshirt & shorts like the others - by that time perhaps I should have known better anyway? But .. i *didn't* know better... plus the whole "acknowledging and keeping silent during azan" thing... I was caught is such an awkward situation... sooooo not helping the self-confidence...

An even earlier memory:

I might have been 8 years old.

In those days, the cal to prayer would also be aired on the tv, followed by the reciting of a doa or some sort, the same exhortation to Allah, ending with something related to "granting us a place in paradise, that You have promised (".. yang telah Engkau janjikan.")

So one evening, this parent of mine, who at that time was a fun person to be around, seemed to have a sense of humor, and made us laugh,, he motioned to my brother and me while this post-azan exhoration was going on.

"Listen, listen!" said the parent, with this mischevious grin on its face.

My brother and I were all excited wondering what this parent was up to.

Then came the last few words ".. yang telah Engkau janjikan."

"There!" exclaimed the parent jubilantly.

"Tak janji pun!", said the parent. (rough translation: "What promise?")

My brother and I, still very young, and [if you don't know by now] without much if any "religious" upbringing, ,, and at that time having that parent kinda up on a pedestal for the jokes and fun stuff,,,, so we howled with laughter and mimicked what we'd been shown.

over the next few days, whenever the tv was on, and it was prayer time, and the doa was being said, we'd wait excitedly, and as we heard "... yang telah Engkau janjikan." we'd hop up and down, and dismiss what we'd heard, saying "tak janji pun!" "tak janji pun!" and laughing ourselves silly.

Until the OTHER parent heard us one day.

*gasp!* "what are you saying??!!!"

"[this parent] taught us! So funny!" was our reply.

Well, we got a sound scolding, and warned never NEVER to say that again.

Spoilsport :p

I *assume* the other parent got a severe telling-off about it.

So there you have it... yet another glimpse into the past that's helped shape me into the person I am today: "spiritual" but "not religious" [among the *many* labels one could throw at me lah, haahaha... i reject them all. I am what and who I am!]

***

p/s: showing my ignorance yet LOVING the link: found out that MINBAR is not just the homeworld of the Minbari, but also a pulpit in a mosque! :-)

pungent!

Dinner last night consisted of:

garlic naan
butter chicken
mutton khima
palak paneer (spinach)
brinjal pajeri

... SO WHY DID MY PEE THIS MORNING SMELL LIKE I'D CONSUMED LOADS OF DURIAN??

Friday, June 02, 2006

it's all Kosh's fault :p

so we're chatting (Yahoo!messengering lah) today, and he says he noticed my amazon wishlist is kinda out of date... i assumed it was Bab5 related stuff... kinda... then he mentions the Bab5:Lost Rangers movie i'd not heard of... i kinda follow the link... again get sucked into looking at stuff about the recently late G'Kar... find out he was the one-armed man in The Fugitive... and that he was in an episode of Enterprise (I'd been all excited before, when finding out he was on ST:TNG as a Romulan)... stumbled across a Bab5 links site - okay so many links were expired, but among those still active, I found Claudia Christian's site (really weird to see her as a girl-girl, as opposed to the more "macho"/tough (!) Ivanova); Shadows In The Dark - a Bab5 parody about changing a lightbulb .. omg i almost spit water all over the screen at some of the lines [Garibaldi) I said he smuggled light bulbs, I didn't say he was bright.]; and something i'll just have to explore when i'm not on friggin dialup: Babylon Park: A mix between Babylon 5 and South Park spoofing various Sci-Fi shows. And I found out that Jeffrey Willerth, who played Ambassador Kosh in B5 is married to Patricia Tallman who played the rogue telepath Lyta Alexander. And yes, (my)Kosh, they met on the Bab5 set. Oh oh oh and there was (link dead) a Bab5 drinking game, whose introduction went "Thirsty, I come. In Bacchus' name, I take the drink which has been prepared for me. I am drunk. I stand between the pitcher and the toilet. We are drunk. We stand between the table and the floor." LMAO would be cool to know more about it!! Oh, and for those who didn't know by now, yes, "my" Kosh's nickname is (mainly) based on Ambassador Kosh from Bab5. Okay that's enough blabber for the moment. In 12hrs time i'll be getting yet another torture/massage session, whoohooo! G'nite! G'Kar! G'Quan! G'Lan! lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

(note: blogger didn't let me post this at 30mins past midnight. glad I managed to salvage it all into a Word file. so I can still ~~subject you~~ share it with y'all, teeheeheee! massage pick-up in 15mins!! yikes!)

Thursday, June 01, 2006

a tragedy strikes (for the FIFTH time??!!)

A FIFTH fatal landslide since 1993 has occurred in the Ulu Klang area. (photos; news)

And the same bugger fler who pissed me off about dealing with the the flood issue, this time taking on the persona of a fuming toyo(L), has the gall to place all the blame on developers who insist on building on steep gradients. ... ... Forgetting, yet again, that even though people may have the bad idea of wanting to build not just houses but huuuuge apartments on hillsides, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT to approve or reject such projects.

And if they are stupid enough to approve such projects, to then CHECK and ENFORCE whatever caveats/conditions imposed on such projects.

... and not that I'm saying the developer is blameless, but,,, so what if "the state government’s technical team foresaw the problem and had recommended the developer take mitigation measures to prevent a landslide"?? As I understand the meaning of the word "recommend", they were ADVISED, not INSTRUCTED / ORDERED to take these mitigation measures. If you really thought there would be a problem, you would have INSISTED on such measures, right?

Then tragedy strikes.

Then these VIPs come out and visit the area.

Then they make the necessary sad faces, give fuming speeches... but will anything really ever get done? To quote Patrick Teoh: "... Watch out for more talk and pronouncements from our elected representatives. And then be prepared to die ..." (Read the full post here)

How much more crap are going to put up with before we oust such buggers?

if I had a penis...

Thanx to Keb, I found out that IF my name was Lynne and I had a penis, it would be named:

Your Penis Name Is...

Free Willy

Penis Name Generator

L. M. A. O.!

And what would be more appropriate, at this stage, than sharing the lyrics to this magnificient Monty Python ditty?

Penis Song

Guaranteed to bring a smile on my face! And while we're on the subject, here are some of my other faves from the Monty Python Sings album (in no particular order):

Eric the Half a Bee
The Medical Love Song
Finland
I'm So Worried
aaand, of course... my earliest recollected exposure to Monty Python...
The Lumberjack Song

Okay I am grinning *so* widely my mouth hurts!

(3.20pm update: Karl has something kinda related. And it involves Mr Loaf himself! welll, kinda :p Drop by and see!)

Life after "Life after Work"