Take Note

Hello - please note that all pictures posted here belong to me, unless otherwise stated. So, if for whatever reason you'd like to use them, do let me know. And use appropriate citations - nothing short of APA style, please! ; )

Cereal Inspiration

"The landscape of the quaint town was changed by the ubiquitous rivulets that formed after the deluge, and the pugnacious townsmen reacted in an insolent way when they saw this."

The words that have been italicized were randomly generated over several weeks, as part of a breakfast-game that we played at camp. One morning, over cereal, I suddenly thought of these words, and a sentence formed itself in my head. Those words must have been playing up there for a bit. huh.

Good Vibrations

The feel of really clean teeth: $20.00

A saved trip to the dentist: $300.00

The look on your sister's face when you trick her into thinking that's your vibrator: Priceless.

BERSIH - syioknyer.

The article & all pictures in this post were ripped-off Malaysiakini.com. I hate to rip-off their work, but this is for the benefit of all those who don't have accounts there. This will not be a common occurence, so, do yourselves a favor, and subscribe to malaysiakini.com

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40,000 protest for free and fair elections Nov 10, 07 8:16am

Tens of thousands of protesters massed outside Istana Negara this afternoon, facing off against riot police in defiance of a government ban on the rally calling for clean and fair elections.

The demonstrators, an alliance of opposition parties and civil society groups, had marched in the driving rain to the palace, chanting "Election Reform" and "Justice".

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had vowed to suppress the demonstration, backing police who said they feared riots could break out.

But the rally went ahead despite efforts to close down the centre of Kuala Lumpur, with a heavy police presence and roadblocks that caused traffic snarls.

"There are close to 30,000 protesters here at the moment. We have agreed to have them sit down in front of the palace and have four representatives present a petition" to the palace representative, a senior police officer told AFP.

Bersih: 40,000 at palace gate

Organisers of the rally said that at least 40,000 had turned up for the rally.

Some 400 police in riot gear were deployed at the palace, including dozens armed with automatic weapons and several with tear gas launchers. Two water cannons were set up behind police lines.

"The Malaysian public must be allowed to express their opinions and views," parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said at the palace gates before going in to deliver the petition.

"It is not fair for the government not to issue a permit for this rally to take place as it is only the voice of the people being expressed here," he said.

Organisers had planned to hold the rally at the city's Dataran Merdeka but were forced to shift the venue after police sealed it off.

Anwar made short speech

Anwar Ibrahim, who was heir apparent to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad until 1998 when he was sacked and jailed for sodomy and corruption, was only allowed to make brief remarks at the rally.

He yelled out his slogan of "Reformasi" or "Reform" and thanked the crowd for coming.

"We want free and fair elections and clearly Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his cabinet are complicit to the crime of cheating Malaysians from having free and fair elections," he told reporters later.

Anwar's sodomy conviction has been overturned but the corruption verdict stands, barring him from standing for public office until April 2008.

Protests are rare in Malaysia, and the last major rallies were seen in 1998 during the "Reformasi" movement that erupted after Anwar's sacking.

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The pictures below are that of my family - ah, riot police, tear-gas, 40 000 protestors. A normal family gathering. ; )

Mary, Mary, quite contrary...

I love grocery stores.
I love grocery stores, and fresh food markets, and fish stalls and butchers. I love the way time slows down in my mind as I peruse the aisles, taking in labels and colours, smells and textures. I love the way the names jump out at me...fig-almond butter, olives stuffed with goat cheese, sesame & soy glazed slow roasted duck, rasberry-wine vinegarette.

But it isn't just the gourmet grocery stores that I love. I adore the sight of fresh vegetables and fruit, the vibrant colours and the marks where little insects nibbled a little on them, proof of their freshness. I love holding the fruit, smelling it for it's true essence, unmarked by the spray of fertilizers.


Mary, Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?

I live with my brat,
In a high-rised flat,
So how the hell should I know?

(Pic: Garden of Eden gourmet market, Brooklyn, NY)

I walked by a fish market today, and overheard two teenage girls complain about the smell. 'It smells so...', - alive? real? like home? I thought to myself. There's something to be said about standing in water that has been muddled with fish guts, being bumped about by aunties and their pasar-baskets and brushing the dirt of the sayur...it's grounding and incredibly real.
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Below: Pictures taken from my trip to Wholefoods (love it!), on a rainy NY evening.

Empire State Building

Union Square Park

Homeboy Got Game

On my way back from a fantabulous dinner with Rubi & Medina @ Africa Kine (gorgeous Senagalese food ; i had thiebou yapp, mmm), I had several hillarious encounters with some...'interesting' strangers-on-public-transportation.

Scene 1: Mother & child at the bus stop.

The little girl (about 3 years old) fixated all her energy on hitting the poor, innocent billboard (I usually hate ads, but this was a public service ad that read "can one person change a city?"). The mother, tired from telling the child to stop, decided to take disciplining-through-truth to a whole new level.

Mother: "You have to stop that. It's glass. Glass will cut you. And you will start to bleed. Blood will come gushing out of you. Blood will be everywhere. Then I'm going to have to take you to the doctor. The doctor is going to give you the needle. The doctor will then tell you that you can't go home, ever."

I think she was a breath away from telling her child that if she didn't stop her vandalistic-attempts, she would DIE.

Scene 2: Subway station with an old man, a young hatted man & me.

Old man: Woah, homeboy got game. Bringin' out the moves!
Young man: Oh yeah, he's pumpin out the rythm alright.

These two strangers were observing a young chinese chap practice dance steps (we couldn't hear any music). They were right, he really was breaking down the funk...that guy was going to town with the shakestepswaypumptwisturnshimmy. Hilarious sight, especially sans music. The young hatted man observed "this is what i love about noo-yowk, you can do anythin and nobody gonna mind ya".

Scene 3: On the bus back home, a young couple cut in front of an old man

The old man, although right to be annoyed that the line was cut when entering the bus, really took anger to a whole new level. He decided the best way to teach the young missy & lad a lesson in manners would to yell at them from the opposite end of the bus. How glad were we, the innocent bystanders, to be privy to this man's wise words of advice on etiquette & decorum.

Sir Angry Augustus: Where yall get off cuttin the line like that?! No manners! Didntcha mamma teach ya no manners? So rude! So rude! No Manners!! No manners!! You dont go cuttin peoples lines! So rude!

-No, it doesn't stop there. and yes, he had a penchant for being repetitive, as you'll soon see. Here's the real clincher, the real manners-momento-

Sir Angry Augustus: F***in' A**holes!! F***in' A**holes!! F***in' A**holes!!

He then continued to repeat "F.A" about four thousand times, louder and louder. By the second hundred yell of F.As, the whole bus started cracking up. Nobody could contain their laughter anymore. One guy had tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard. Now, it's not as if we were all foul-mouthed people who laughed at vulgarities. It was just hillarious that a man who would get so upset over people getting rude would scream curses at them as a way of teaching! Oh...*sigh.

The world is full of funny sights. Keep your ears and eyes open. There really is never a dull moment.

"Life is real! Life is ernest!"

Excerpt from Notes from the Park (Maliamauv, 2007)

4.10 pm - November 7th, 2007, Bethesda Terrace, Central Park

I'm sitting on a bench, in front of a gorgeous fountain, eating an empanada. It's cold, about 3 degrees celcius. In the background there's an opera recital going on. I can't see them, but their voices ring clear against the acoustic canvas of the fountain. An old man sits on a bench a short distance from me, a black umbrella his lone companion. Near the lake, a photographer snaps, shoots and directs a couple - standard actions before he Photoshops out the dull depths of the man's eye and the over hopefulness of the lady's fifth avenue smile.

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Excerpt from Being Whimsical by the Water (Maliamauv, 2007)

If I ever marry someone painfuly wealthy, I'd love for my wedding reception to be in The Boathouse, facing The Lake in the park. While guests sway to the soothing serenade of sparkling champagne & a string quartet, we'll steal away for a private moment for a row on The Lake - a ridiculous but charming sight we'll be; me in my wedding dress, he in his Neru-tux, laughing & reciting our private vows in an old, rocking, wooden boat.