Thursday, June 29, 2006

Marty Casey and the tree song

While waiting for the lights to turn green, my fingers tapped on the steering wheel to a catchy tune from the car radio. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the DJ annoucing "That was Trees, by Marty Casey".

Good old Marty, first brought this song to fame in the final round of Rock*Star, a reality show staged by INXS last year to find their band's lead singer. This position was left vacant by Michael Hutchence who died in 1997 in a Sydney hotel room and soon after which his girlfriend Paula Yates committed suicide, leaving behind their young toddler named Tiger Lily Heavenly Hirani.

Though the front man throphy eventually went to the perpectually sulking JD, Marty practically brought the house down with this song that he wrote himself. He dedicated it to his ex-girlfriend, hoping that she will come back to him.

All my teh tarik kaki agreed unanimously Marty is too talented for INXS. He is better off creating his own music than walking in the shadow of Michael Hutchence. Good to see that he has his own album and band now.

All I need is a handbag

WASHINGTON - Speaking at a recent press conference , President George Bush announced his latest strategy to end the deadlock on the nucleur energy conflict with Iran. "All I need is a sturdy black handbag".

According to reliable sources, the President, apparently smitten by what the Queen of England had on her birthday, realized that if he could keep his neuclear warhead close by his side, he would be able to react to any external threat anywhere anytime. This would eliminate the necessity to deploy ground forces and hence resurrect his dwindling popularity back home.

Renowed designer Tom Ford whose masterpiece include the infamous Gucci saddle handbag was rumoured to be a hot favourite amongst the Whitehouse aids to become the Presidential handbag designer.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Her Majesty the Queen's Tea Party

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 80th birthday with 2000 chilldren, turning Buckingham Palace Garden into a magic wonderland with giant toy trains, walking mushrooms and characters like Wallace and Gromit, Winnie the Pooh and other familiar names from the children's classic.

The children , accompanied by their parents, received exquisite picnic basket prepared by chef Jamie Oliver. The highlight of the party was a drama of villians and heroes at the centerstage in the Royal Garden.

The Queen, playing herself, discovered that her handbag was stolen. The story unfolded with the search for her royal highness's handbag. Luckily all ended well when the heros defeated the villians and the missing handbag was recovered. The Queen, looking pleased , took out from her bag her royal reading glass and her speech. Her Royal Highness stressed the importance of reading and wished the children an enjoyable tea party.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Ma's new freezer

This is our family's new time machine, aka. ma's new freezer.

Our good old trusted Kelvinator freezer survived its 36th Mother's Day but stopped work a week before the 36th Father's Day this year. Sister S strongly contested the age of Kelvinator. She claimed that the old freezer should only be 26 because it arrived when she was a toddler. Hence parents are beefing up their defence with a key evidence : a comprehensive investment time chart punctuated with arrival dates of major household fixtures and appliances alongside that of their five children. After all, these five children certainly fit the category of cost centers; if ever they could be classified as investments.

We owed many beautiful memories to our old freezer. When we were studying abroad, ma would safekeep dumplings, mooncakes and other seasonal delicacies in the freezer. During the one month when we were home for term break, we got to celebrate all the festivals of the year in one go.

The good old Kelvinator was our family's time machine. It transported us back in time to relive many valuable moments which we would have otherwise missed being away from home. Posted by Picasa

"Guinness Stout"

Dad lured "Guinness Stout" into the garden by serving up a sumptuous feast of rice boiled with chicken bones. When being teased for kidnapping innocent young pups, Dad's reply was that the rice was left over anyway. While Guinness was happily chomping her treat, Dad swiftly locked the gate behind him.

When we came back a while later, we found to our surprise an empty feeding bowl and Guinness was nowhere in sight. I scanned the garden and backyard and under the longan tree . Then Dad spotted Guinness outside the gate playing beside her mother which is also a stray squatting at the neigbourhood football field. Dad has been feeding both mother and pups diligently for several months.

We concluded that Guinness must have escaped through the generous gap between the gate hinges and the wall separating neighbour Uncle Lim's house from Dad's house. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, June 18, 2006

How full is full ?

I heard this from the radio a couple of days ago:

A philosophy professor came into the class with a big empty glass jar. He raised it high so that everyone could see the inside of the jar.

He asked the students : "Is this jar full ? "
"No", the students answered.


He bent down and pulled out a bag of stones from underneath his desk. He poured the stones into the jar and filled up the jar.

He asked again : "Is this jar full ?"
"Yes", the students attempted.
"Really ?" asked the professor
.

He pulled out a bag of marbles and poured the marbles into the jar. The marbles filled up the spaces between the stones.

The professor asked again : "Is this jar full ?"
"Yes", the students answered affirmatively
"Really ?" asked the professor.

Then the professor poured some sand into the jar. The sand filled up the spaces between the stones and the marbles. Professor shook the now heavy jar and poured in more sand.

The professor asked again : "Is this jar full ?"
"Yes", the students roared
"Really ?" asked the professor
.

Out came two cups of coffee which the professor poured into the now packed jar. The coffee sipped through the sand, marbles and rocks.

The morale of the story is that no matter how busy you are in life, you can always find time for the things that you want to do. Even when you are really busy, you could still find time for coffee with a friend.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

What defines intimacy ?

We make decisions everyday, from big to small. While we like to believe that our decisions are our own business, how many of these are actually predetermined by the circumstances we are in ? How many of these decisions have no consequences on others ? How free is one's free choice ? How private is one's free choice ?

If it is true that there is in fact no such thing as free choice, does it imply that are born to a world that is by default inter-connected ? To stay detached is hence an unnatural choice and risking enormous resistance from the world we are in ?

But why do city dwellers succeed to appear more detached than town folks ? Or is it just to conceal the inner yearning for wanting to be connected ? Or is there a limit to intimacy ?

What defines intimacy ?

Exploring intimacy

Since the conversation with SK, I have been thinking about a theme that will fuel my creative mileage. One day while talking to Pathfinder, the word "Intimacy" rang in my ear. Since then I have created Breakdown and Whispering.

Recently a post from a Gingerly-Yours about Einstein exploring the issue of Faith and him drawing analogy to Heat, has triggered me to explore intimacy from the pespective of duality.

What is opposite of intimacy ? What takes the place in the absence of intimacy ? Can intimacy be perceived by an observer ? Does intimacy exist between non-living objects ? Is intimacy good or bad ? What is the definition of intimacy; a perceived emotion, or an active state of mind ?

Monday, June 05, 2006

The end of the beginning


I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.

On the day when I received the good luck card from mother, we secured the art gallery in Persatuan Sukan Chin Woo Selangor. After intensive consultation with the Guinness almanac on my kitchen wall, Student Exhibition 2006 for Apollo Adult Art Class, will be held from 30th Sept to 2nd Oct.

Impressionist art meets Chinese Martial art, expect the unexpected in my journey ahead. Time for one shot of whisky - it helps to calm the nerve. Posted by Picasa