History of Lyrics That Aren't Lyrics

Singing without words...
26 songs, 49 years...



Have a melodious weekend!
:-)

Big & small dates

Was hanging out in the parsonage when the Chinese church pastor gave us some of these as afternoon & after-church snack:

Pr.WS: Thanks for holding them

The biggest date I've ever seen in my life... [sorry again for my ignorance...]

[Both are from China. The one on the right has been pickled so it looks darkish]

The C(a)T Scan

I had CT scan when I was 16 years old - suspected tumor at my anterior pituitary gland. It was a very painful experience, not the scan itself, but the injection of dye before I was transferred into the cylinder. My head was tied and immobilized. I couldn't see what the nurse was doing. She just told me the injection on the inside of my elbow would be like ant bite. But then the pain was sudden and excruciating. Immediately I burst into tears.

After that whenever someone mentioned 'CatScan' I would feel the pain at the injection site. Even now I'm feeling it!

However, not every CT scan is painful, which I found out recently. It can be done at home - you just need a simple scanner and at least one obedience cat...

All these photos are found in The Cat Scan, a tumblr blog that features photos of scanned cat found in the Internet. You can also submit your own photos.

By the way, is the radiation from the scanner harmful to those cats?

Embrace the Rain

The rainy season has already started in Ipoh. Since I was a kid, I often heard people saying that if you get wet in the rain it'd make you sick. This statement is being repeatedly reinforced though movies and drama (a girl is shivering in her blanket and sneezing; and a boy who's her secret admirer comes with a bowl of hot soup [or a cup of hot drink, whatever it is] and then they fall in love).

Does rain really make you sick? My dad doesn't believe in that, so when I was a kid I got to stroll in the rain with him. Before he got a car, we were often soaked completely while riding the motorbike during rainy season. I'd never gotten sick because of the rain.

I remembered once the drain in the church was clogged up. It was raining very very heavily and the water was rising and approaching the house (we were still staying at the parsonage back then). Pr.WS & I marched into the rain with our hoes and got the drain cleaned up. We ended up running around on the half-flooded grass barefoot and kicking water up. It was one of the fondest rain memories I've ever had.

Will you let your children run in the rain? I definitely will - and I will run with mine!

Banned Books Week

This week is the Banned Books Week in the U.S. It is held every year at the last week of September. This event is to celebrate the freedom to read.

Books are powerful tools. According to A.Word.A.Day newsletter [19 Sept 2011]...

Though just a few ounces of paper and ink, books can be threatening to some. Governments try to ban them. Religious leaders try to shield their followers from them.

Of course, it's not the container, it's what's in them -- the ideas -- that frightens those in power. A good gauge of a free society is the freedom it enjoys to publish and read a book, even one some people don't agree with.

Throughout history, there have been many attempts to hinder people from gaining access to certain books. The possession of Bible was once banned during  the Middle Ages. Even now, owning the Holy Book is an offence in certain parts of the world. Many other types of books have also been the targets of banning.

Here is the list of 10 most challenged titles in 2010. I've read 2 of the them - Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich; and Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer. I can't believe that someone was trying to ban them; I don't think they warrant such serious action. Just because you don't like a book doesn't mean you should stop someone from reading it.

I've read only one once banned book in Malaysia...

from Din Merican

The Malay Dilemma was written by Mahathir bin Muhamad in 1970. At that time he was not yet the prime minister. At that time he just lost his parliamentary seat and was expelled from the ruling party. The book was banned right after its publication because it was deemed too racially divisive. The ban was only lifted when he became the fourth prime minister in 1981. The version I read was the one shown in the picture above; my dad bought it right before it was published.

The one below was not banned, but was very controversial. It was highly critical of the government and yet was allowed to be published because it contains only the author's parliamentary speeches.

from Lim Kit Siang's blog

Lim Kit Siang is the leader of one of the major opposition parties in Malaysia.Currently he serves as the member of parliament of Ipoh Timur - where I live. In this book, which was written in 1978 and banned  he elaborates about the issues that are going to "explode" politically and economically in Malaysia, such as highway tolls and racial segregation. Not an easy book to digest, especially during the period when it was published - people were condemning him for questioning the building of highway.

I read the first edition (the same as shown in the photo) almost 30 years after he had penned the book and most of what he said have  happened or are happening. Who in Malaysia is not complaining about the expensive tolls? Who is not affected by racial policies?

In 2009, the book was republished to mark its 30th anniversary. The political atmosphere in Malaysia has changed tremendously - the monopoly of the ruling party is fading and the opposition is gaining a foothold gradually.

A little anecdote....

Right after my dad bought this book, he got into an accident on his way home. He fell down from his motorbike and the book got ran over by it. That's why there are some tyre and dirt marks on the cover and the first few pages. After he had fallen to the ground, with all the pains and bruises, he still managed to find the book and clutch it (he didn't even think about his wallet, which, fortunately, was still in his pocket). What a booklover! - and I inherited this passion from him.

[Just checked the price in Amazon.com - the 1979 edition, which my dad owns, cost USD 312.89 - should I consider selling it? Have to ask my dad first...]

A cool bird that can mimic any sound!

In order to attract the opposite sex, a male lyrebird would mimic the sound of other birds, chain saws, camera shutters, fire alarms, humans, or any other you can think of!





This is even better than parrot... what do you think?

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

Mamee Snack

Another childhood favorite...

One of the cheapest snacks when I was a kid. At that time it cost only 10 sen (about USD 0.03). Even now, after more than 10 years, it's still quite cheap - 30 sen (about USD 0.10). The packaging has changed, but inside it's still the crunchy fried noodle!

During primary school, I'd munch on this while waiting for my bus to go home. My dad also bought it for me whenever we passed by the grocery on weekends. My secondary school canteen was not selling it (I still ate during my teenage!) so I would get a big pack (which contains 10 small packs) almost every week.

Even though I'm way past my childhood and teenage, I still love it. Nowadays I seldom ate snack anymore (for better digestion). However, whenever there were children or youth coming over to my house, I'd buy a big pack of Mamee for them. It just felt so good to watch them munching on my favorite childhood snack!

What's your favorite childhood snack?

Where is the window?

My guess is that it was stolen by drug addict and sold as scrap metals...

The Burning House

"If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question."

The Burning House is a blog where you can take and submit picture of the essentials you'd take along.

After following the blog for a few months, I noticed that most of the pictures included passport, at least one or two electronic gadgets (the most popular being mobile phone, camera and laptop) and other sentimental mementos such as stuffed toys, gifts from grandparents or other important people. There were quite similar - things that are treasured and cherished, but most of the time, nonessentials.

However, recently there was a submission that really struck me - it's by Paul Mading Kwaje, 22, a farmer from Sudan...

What he will bring if his house is on fire:
- bush knife
- favorite shirt
- wood bracelet
- largest bowls
- hoe
- water bottle

Compared with others, what Paul wants to bring are really simple. In fact, they are bare essentials. Since he is a farmer from Sudan, probably these were all the most precious possessions he owns. I wonder why he call the buckets "largest bowls"? Why does he need the largest bowls ? My guess is that since clean water is scarce, he might need to fill them when it rains, so that he can drink it even if he's on the run. And a hoe and a bush knife are the tools to make a living for a farmer, as long as there's an empty land.

Paul's water bottle is so used up that many who are living in the more developed countries will discard it right away (some said that used plastic bottle release chemicals that are harmful to health). However, for him, it could be the only container he has ever get his hand to so he is keeping it even though it's already yellowish.

I wonder how did Paul get Internet connection. Did someone take the picture for him?

According to the blog,

"What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities." 

A Sudanese farmer's priority when his only shelter is gone is about surviving the odds and how to live on the minimum. How about us? With so much possessions at hand, what will we grab?

Each A Cup

I seldom drank cold beverages. However, last Sunday I tried this...

I saw this stall many times but never thought of trying

Seems like it's quite famous in Singapore. According to one of the posters, Each A Cup was rated 9/10 by one of the magazines in that country. Went to Singapore last year, however, I couldn't remember seeing the stall at all.

On the left is Pr. WS' Lemon & Lime. CLO + P is my Chocolate Orea with pearls (the black roundish things at the bottom; made from tapioca starch, commonly added in Bubble tea). Usually if I ordered smoothie I'd choose chocolate flavor. That's my favorite.

According to another poster, the chocolate used here is authentic and imported from France. After taking the first sip, I was surprised to find that it's really good - smooth and rich. There was no "powdery" taste, which indicates low quality chocolate. There was plenty of pearls, which were also chewy, unlike those squishy ones I'd tried before.

Another thing I like is that the cups are totally sealed. You can swing them in any directions and not a drop of that smoothie will spill. Very neat!

This really made my day! :-)

Happy Malaysia Day!

Since 2010, we celebrate 2 national events - Independence Day, 31 August; and Malaysia Day, 16 September.

Today is the second Malaysia Day. It was only declared a public holiday since last year. Before 2010, we only celebrated our independence from British colonial rule and the formation of Malaya, which did not include Sabah and Sarawak. These two East Malaysian states and Singapore joined Malaya and formed Malaysia on 19 September 1963 (Singapore separated from Malaysia 2 years later).

[Coincidentally, 16 September is also the birthday of Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore. To read about how Singapore got separated from Malaysia, read his two-volume memoirs, The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, and From Third World to First : The Singapore Story: 1965-2000.]

Our national anthem, Negaraku (which means My Country in Malay), a cappella...



Happy Malaysia Day!

2 minutes of laughing

Have a good laugh!


LAUGHS! from Everynone on Vimeo

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Still in love! :-)

Just recently one of my colleagues commented, "From the way you talk to your husband, it seems like both of you are still deeply in love, like you haven't gotten married yet."

This reminded me of a common remark we received while we were still dating each other in the college, "It seems like both of you have already gotten married for many years" - since we didn't hold hands, and never showed affection in public. Some Westerners mistook us for brother and sister, because we were always together and we shared the same surname (for them all Asians look alike). Some Chinese friends even teased us and called us 老夫老妻 [lao fu lao qi], which literally means old husband and old wife, a saying used to described couples who are married for a long time.

It's amusing to hear contradicting comments such as these. Before we got married, we were told we look like we are already married. After we got married, we were told we look like we haven't gotten married. The way I talk to my husband has never changed. We still don't hold hands, don't show public affection. The only difference is that we have signed the marriage certificate - and that changed the entire perception of others on us.

How is an unmarried couple supposed to talk to and treat each other? How about a married couple? There are no fixed rules. Be natural. Different couples show affection in different ways. The most important thing is that you are still deeply in love with each other!

Shakespearean Insult

A more literary way of insulting...

from Random Infinity

Love these - "the tartness of his face sours ripe grapes" & "I was searching for a fool when I found you"!

Anyway, I don't agree with any form of insulting. It's best to read only those words rather than using them on other humans. What saith thou?

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 911, a day where lost family members was commemorated and cherished.

Today is the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which is also the Mid-Autumn Festival (some call it Mooncake Festival, but I prefer the other name, because it's not just about mooncake), a day of family reunion.

What would a Chinese think of today if he/she had lost a loved one during 911?

While celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, let's us also remember the lives which were lost during 911.

但愿人长久，千里共婵娟
[Dàn yuàn rén cháng jiǔ qiānlǐ gòng chán juān]
- May we all blessed with long life, so that even though we are thousand miles apart, we will still share the beauty of the moon.

from Jenn

Eating avocado for the first time

Our neighbor gave us a few avocados. I've never eaten the fruit before. Sorry for the ignorance, but avocado in Malaysia is as exotic as durian in Canada. I learned from my neighbor that in order to determine whether an avocado is ripe you just need to shake it. If you can feel the seed moving within the fruit then it's ready to be eaten. However, I had no idea how to eat it (forgot to ask my neighbor). Had to call a friend to find out.

He told us that you can eat it raw, or sprinkled with sugar or salt, depending on our preference. I decided to try all three (the bottle on the left is sugar, the right, salt). I didn't even know how to cut it, so Pr.WS did the job (found a blog here that teaches you how to open an avocado). I scoped out the seed with a spoon and scrape the remaining brown peels.

Compared with the photo in Wikipedia, it seems like my avocado was not very ripe. Its flesh was still greenish rather than completely yellowish. Anyway, I still gave it a try. First we ate it raw. It's bland, but very creamy (due to its high fat content). Then I tried with sugar. Not bad. Then salt - I didn't like it, tasted bitter.

A closer look at the seed...

The red "line" at the left of the seed was caused by the knife

Compared with a Westerner eating durian, there's nothing dramatic with a Malaysian eating avocado, which doesn't exude much odor nor has a peculiar taste like durian. However, now that I've tried it, I can proudly announce it in case somebody brings up the topic during conservation - Yes, I tried avocado before! 

:-P

A freezer that boils water?

Bought a hot pack recently. These instructions are at the back of the box.

Read instruction #1 in hot therapy (hot water) - you'd need a freezer to boil water!

This product was made in Taiwan. I guess the person who wrote the instructions just copy and paste without double checking. It's a very serious typo - what if someone followed the instruction literally and aggravate his/her symptoms? [I wonder who'll it be...]

How pencils are made

I like especially the sharpening of the pencils at the end of the video. That's so neat!

[After watching this video, I took a really good look at one of my pencil. Found the lines that indicate where the 2 pieces of wood were pressed together]

De Garben?

It's supposed to be De Garden

Saw this a few weeks back while passing by the area. I guess by now someone has already put the d back to its original place. Today if I passed by the area again I'm going to take a good look at it...

Live video conference with GC President, Pr. Ted Wilson

The event that thrilled me (probably also the rest of us) the most during the YES! Youth Congress was this...

A live video conference with our General Conference President, Pr. Ted Wilson, through Skype. It was 10 p.m. in Taiping, and early morning in California. Pr. Wilson's lappy had crashed, so he went over to his uncle's house (kitchen, to be more specific) to have this video conference with us. There was no major interruption and the entire process went pretty smoothly (except a bit of lagging, which is common in Skype. It felt surreal to wait for about 1 second for him to wave to us after we had done so).

According to Pr. Wilson, the was the first ever such video conference across the continents in Adventist history. He gave us a short message about the important role young people and encouraged us to hold fast in doing the work of God. He also stressed the importance of the 3 angels message, which we are to bring to the world. Then Pr. Wilson showed us his iPhone (if I'm not mistaken, it's the latest model), from which he quoted a few Bible verses and Ellen White's writing.

The video conference lasted for about 40 minutes. It was concluded by a prayer for Pr. Wilson. He needs our prayer in his leadership of this worldwide church. I pray that through his guidance, our church will expand and we will reach out to more people and bring them the Gospel. I also pray that the Holy Spirit will be with all the youth in the church, so that they can finish the work God has entrusted to them.

I was greatly strengthened by the simple and yet meaningful message and prayers. I look forward to more interactions with church leadership in the future!

YES! Youth Congress

I'm back!

Been quite busy with church activities the entire week. Didn't even get a chance to login to FB or blogger.

Attended YES! Youth Congress at SSL Traders Hotel, Taiping, a small town just about 45 minutes driving distance north of Ipoh. YES! = Youth Empowered to Serve!

Saw this while on our way to the hotel. A very tall extension of the house. Too small for a room. I wonder what's its function, and how long it's going to stand... [Photo credit: Ken Foo - thanks!]

The TV in the hotel room. It's 'snowing'. Had no time to watch it, so it didn't matter

Our room. I like the red chair!

Another corner of the room

The food at the hotel was very wonderful - simply, but with a good variety. Never expected this (usually hotel food is bland & boring). During the Congress, I actually looked forward to every meal!

[These are just some random photos taken by using my phone. More "serious" photos will be uploaded in FB soon!]