Hail June 5th!

it's been aeons... since i'd went shoppin'...
alas ... a leisure stroll on one hot afternoon at the curve with Sis landed us at the MPH store. we were there to get some gift wrappings for Yang initially, but then we thought, since we were already there, might as well browse around the store.. indeed we were both insipid creatures when it comes to bookstore trawling... but hey, when you actually do take some time going through the shelves, you're bound to knock into something you like!
and i happen to come across this baby... yea, that's how i'd like to describe it..

the Asian Geographic edition #3/2009 ~ the GREEN EDITION. the cover did nothing less in capturing my attention, any images or words cast on a white background almost always does its thing for me. but more importantly, the word GREEN EDITION did the utmost of all...


this was the first time i came across this mag.. One part of me was being very curious on what they'd to say about all the old and new enviro issues plaguing us.. was especially interested on what "tiny" asia could do in terms of its efforts and tech. One other part of me was being very cautious on spending (again) on mags that look good but lay untouched on my desk after some few flip throughs...

"what do you think about getting a mag that's gonna cost me rm12?"...
"rm12? what's it about?... the Green Edition huh? i'd say you get it!"...

=P... i luv shoppin with sis... O~ the liberty of it all... lols....
of course, the photos display as i flipped through the pages didnt help less... i knew the mag would be a great read..!
and i'm glad that this edition did not disappoint. there werent really many (or any at all?) advertorial pages like other mags would have; .. each page was filled with very informative articles, one after the other.. peppered throughout with beautiful photographs of places beyond our normal means. and all these i assume, engineered painstakingly by AG's own editorial team and team of contributors.

well, not really an avid tree-hugger, but i am at the very least, somewhat concerned about our lil' ball of earth... and this, sortof really caught my thoughts...

http://www.whalesharkpetition.com/

this being a singaporean publication although covering the whole of asia... things most dear to the heart would obviously come from their very own backyard...

"Resorts World at Sentosa wants to import whale sharks for the attraction and entertainment of visitors. Whale sharks are vulnerable to extinction and have never done well in captivity. They can grow as large as two city buses, migrate thousands of kilometers in the wild, and live up to a hundred years. It is just plain cruel to keep them in glass cages.
Whale sharks have never fared well in captivity. Two whale sharks died within five months of each other at the Georgia Aquarium.
Write to the Minister of National Development, the Singapore Tourism Board and Resorts World at Sentosa before this tragedy happens on our shores."


looking at the hit rate counter... showing an impressive 10,141 hits at that moment in time, shows just how easily moved people are with enviro-causes like these. everyone wants to help out and 'do their little part'. not much effort were really required in "signing" this petition online... in fact, they even had a template ready for you. just fill in the necessary valid IDs and hit Go!
but then, wait just a minute. as you read along, you'd find that AG wasnt at all that biased. they do play it fair, by having a link right there and then to show at least, the other side of the story.
seems this resort entity had submitted the shark display as one of its attractions during its bid to win the IR (integrated resort) project on Sentosa way back in '06.

so... hmmhmm. when seemingly irrational ideas like keeping a whale shark in captive come all backed-up with some seemingly rational logics of upholding the integrity of a successful bid (not withstanding the legal aspects involved), how do you choose what to do? ... To send or not to send? and it being a marine life park project, they should have some terrific teams of marine-life professionals monitoring the exhibits right?~ and if we were to feel so strongly about viewing a whale shark through some glass displays, well then what would you have to say about viewing the white (almost) resident polar bear at the Singapore Zoo? or the spotted leopard in the pathetic steel cage covered with pathetic green foliage? or those thirsty looking camels on our own backyard... at the A'Famosa safari park?

well, as of the time the website was visited, the resort entity were still in stages of 'being finalized and options being explored'.

so we dont know yet whether we'll be able to see some whale sharks soon at the up and coming new IR across the straits... but i guess it's comforting enuff to know that efforts -regardless of whether they would end up as a lost cause-, are still being actioned by a bunch of driven enthusiasts.
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and oh, by the way folks, it's World Environment Day this June 5th.
i luv Earth.. woohoo~!
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another itch scratched...

prince Sid

had always had a thing for the tales of prince siddhartha... the mortal prince who eventually achieved enlightenment and became the lord buddha...

the ignorant` in me who knew nothing much of buddhism, let alone its principles and all... first got hooked thru the vivid retellings in this movie back in 1993~

had i not remembered wrongly, Sis was the one who took me to the cineplexes then, to catch this on show. i guess she culdnt reali find anyone else of her fren to go with her, so i was naturally of choice. bless her and blessed me then.

it was a light tale... a light version of retelling, starring Keanu Reeves as the prince. nevertheless, that point not withstanding, i remember i enjoyed it immensely. so much so that when the vcd version came out (yea.. back then, vcds were still the thing), i had no qualms getting myself a copy for keeps.

fast forward a decade plus now... i am still, kinda fascinated with the tales of siddhartha. although not yet feverish to the extent of actually visiting the sri lankan buddhist temples in brickfields, yet, i was still kinda intrigued with what i saw in the star papers last weekend...

there is currently a musical staged at the Istana Budaya.. and it all ends this 31st may..

a rush suddenly came thru... after randomly goin' thru the names i culd instantly recall in my brain, i culd still.. only.. came to think of Sis. who else wuld wana go watch this mandarin production with me i figured.

either way, a rush being a rush, it quickly frittered into mere thots. and soon, forgotten. until i saw Sis on tue. i told her what i thought of, and she instantly offered, 'Me!'... but soon after i told her that the cheapest ticket is not that cheap (rm68..) she added, 'if you're buyin'... =)

so again, it became another mere conversation piece.

today while taking the lift up to our 3rd floor office, i passed through the Ann Perreau Music School, our tenant at the 1st floor. some kids had shared the lift and were getting off. as the lift doors drew slowly to a narrow gap, i saw it. the poster. of prince siddhartha the musical... pinned, right smack there on their bulletin board =S

is this what you call fate? or do you call that karma? or dejavu? or wuteva?

or perhaps, simply .. i'd just been thinkin too much lately.

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another itch scratched...

smitten~

by the cool 80s... ^^

::Johnny Hates Jazz::







wahahhahhah~!!!....

another itch scratched...

part of the ocean~

it all started one night after some dinner & drinks ended 9-ish at The Curve..
having had a lil' sumthin' alcoholic for drinks, and it being a friday.. the weekends approachin' yet with the night still so young, i deliberately skipped the elevators down to my car, 'stead walked aimfully towards Borders...

like i said, havin' had a lil' to drink, i was finally in the mood to part with some hard earned cash on some 3 for 2 'bestsellers'...
this is not at all me... the last that i've ever finished a book was Amy Tan's the bonesetter's daughter, many moons ago. that and of course, plenty of sweet valley highs back in SMK time... =P

seriously, as sad as this may sound like, as i aged, or grew, should i say?.. i found it less gratifying finishing a book. heck, that is if, i could even finish a book!
the patience and peace within, required to simply sit down undisturbed to finish a book... hmm, pretty daunting.

that pretty much explains why, it took me close to exactly more than a month to finish just 192 pages of a 'bestseller'. sigh... well, at least i've managed to finish it today, even that.. was after all other futile attempts at hogging the tv (dad beat me to it), withstanding the afternoon heat (my lappie's in my hot, steamy room)... all which failed miserably. so, with the sunday papers done and nothing else on hand, i sat down on the rattan chair in the living room with the stand-fan blasting at my face... to finish Mitch Albom's tuesdays with morrie (heard it was good, and.. it was the thinnest book available there that nite..)

to sum it all up (the book), i'd like to quote the following paragraph(s) from page 178++, of a story of a little wave:

"the story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. he's enjoying the wind and the fresh air - until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore.
" 'My god, this is terrible,' the wave says. 'Look what's going to happen to me!'
"then along comes another wave. it sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him, 'Why do you look so sad?'
"the first wave says, 'You dont understand! we're all going to crash! all of us are going to be nothing! isn't it terrible?'
"the second wave says, 'No, you dont understand. you're not a wave, you're part of the ocean.' "


wishin' all who's reading this, a good week ahead... :)

another itch scratched...

the Real Thing ...

You To Me Are Everything





believe it or not...
this is the song i "ran" to those days when i still go to the gym...
you cannot imagine my drive then, goin' into hyper-mode whenever they blast this song on the speakers... i'd wish the song NEVER end!!! hahahhah!!! ^@^
the speed was just right, the rhythm complementing...
heck, i might just go get myself an ipod and subscribe to gym once more yea?? =P



another itch scratched...

reality bites..

you know how sometimes things go 360?
yup.. reality bites... what a BIG UPSET!!
just finished American Idol on a thur nite... yup.. results nite.
Adieu`!.. Danny Gokey... again, waht a f*cking Big Upset.... darnn!!..
no offence to Kris Allen... he was great coverin' kanye's heartless... he's gud with the newer smash hits no doubt. but like kara, i've been a fan of danny since the audition rounds too!!!

well.. childish sulkin' aside..
cant help but feel amused with the opening act featurin' Ben Stiller...
yeah.. Night @ the museum 2 is out (... Battle of the Smithsonian) .. like waht in the world??
but the most uncanny of all things is...
dig this:
had been infatuated with Lisa Loeb's "Stay" for the past few days, playin' repeat on my dell and my sony ericsson endlessly...
so i dug up what's with this song... wat was the story about and all....

wikipedia splashed across... the motion picture "Reality Bites" ... release date: Feb 18, 1994.
starrin' Winona Ryder (i knew that), Ethan Hawke (of coz i remembered him)... and Ben Stiller! (like, really?)
and this was also, surprise-surprise!:
the directorial debut of Ben Stiller!!

so this was how ben looked like in '94. Gosh! can you even recognize him there? well i really had no idea seriously... hahaha!!

cuz for all i know, i onli remember ben stiller in forms like these...

or maybe something like this... this is kinda neat actually... dapper~

and more recently, something like this... (with jack black, 1 of the Frat Pack)..

so when it wuz just at a time, when i 'am' bombarded with so many things ben stiller, i came across ben in his latest form . . . this morning, on msn news. . .

~U.S. Actor Ben Stiller arrives at the World film premiere of 'Night at the Museum 2', at a cinema in London, Tuesday, May 12, 2009.~

looks kinda rod stewartish no? with the small pecks of whites at the sides?
well i guess 15 years on and with over 50 films under his belt... this is what you'd get out of a man.
An accomplished man.

like, when you get to a point when .. you dont have to crack a single joke and people's faces still lighten' up when they just need to see your face... you know you're there.

and oh, since i'm at it... i'd like to pile on the creditations to fellow bright star: Will Smith.
(i especially liked him in I Am Legend)



so i guess this is after all... some scribblings on revelations i find stunnin' n amusin'...
=D




another itch scratched...

gibberish...

i dunno why, but these few days i just like to write (or type..)
it's only like the 8th day of the month and ive already got a few posts here...

anyhow... it's finally the weekends, Sis and Yang finally left for home after hanging around the house for a week.. Yang went for his follow-up check at the clinic today, i'm sure he should be doin' fine now... =)

coffeebreak ended kinda early today... 2am to b exact. well it started at 10 tho, so 4hrs is actually more than enuf for a break i guess... haha! and did i mention before that Starbucks closes at 2am in the weekends now? well at least the one at Mont Kiara does... "cost cutting" measures, thats what the barista said to us previously... heheh...

drivin' to Mont Kiara on my own earlier, i took a slow ride and tried to absorp in the atmosphere of Kepong at nite. i mean, this is where i live but seriously, there's been a lot goin on here which i never knew of. like how KB now has a spanking new Ba Xian vegetarian restaurant, at the stretch of shoplots where Bank Simpanan is. that bungalow opposite my ex-boss' too, it's all well-done by now, spanking new too with all the fancy lightings and high walls... and i didnt know that King's confectionary at KB houses a kedai kopi Pak Hailam too. all these wouldnt hav escaped me if i were still working at UHSB.
well, not that i'd like to be still working at UHSB... =)

our topics tonite covered mostly on songs. the fever now is to go back on songs from yesteryears. yes, indeed some songs used to be (and still are) so nice to hear. we tend to forget about them with all the new ones from the beyonces and katy perrys of today. anyhow, yea.. i shall go hunt for Lisa Loeb's 'Stay' soon...

a friend will be leaving for his hols in europe soon... amid the recent scare of the Influenza A (almost pandemic). but oh well, even though, the virus is now officially in 29 countries, but still, the Star did report that: "The WHO also repeated its guidance that international travel should not be restricted as a result of the outbreak." Good to hear no?

hmm... there's nothin' much new on FB... guess i shall retire early for a saturday nite..
and wake up in time to meet up with Ling over lunch... (if all goes well...) =P
another round of healthy bitchin' is to be ensued... !!!



another itch scratched...