SX

A boy was performing his freedom of expression at the bank of Melinau River, Mulu.

story:

he was in the river, but, seeing us approaching, he climbed on the boat, perched, put on a smile and flaunted his agile small body. i was giggling like maniac (i was at the front of the boat, so i noticed everything in front, first and it was an honour to get a free show such as this) and hurriedly took my camera from a strapped bag, just in time to captured this blurry image. good for him (and me).

by the way, along the river, in the afternoon, the Punan community have their cool bath. so, really, there're more scenic views than this flamboyant little boy, but, i, of course was polite enough to respect their privacy.

in the Dusun culture, taking picture of woman bathing in the river (without permission) is a serious offense and punishable under the sogit* law

sogit* = local law

BOOK: House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

i took a course in my sophomore year in Fakulti Pengajian Islam, (the only girl with gleaming black, long straight hair in the only lecture hall in the whole uni practicing gender separation) and get to know a very beautiful Iranian lady, Azadeh. my parents, just went for their overseas trip to Holy Land and took a lot of pictures from Jordan. so, i talked to her of Jordan and what little i knew of Iran. from her, i knew that Iranian speak Persian, not Arabic. she speaks Arabic because she studies at Jordan uni.
and how can you miss "Children of Heaven"?. click on to see the trailer

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edit: the trailer was cr*ppy. sorry, i've just checked it. the trailer failed to trailed the film. its a brilliant film. and i mean, really, brilliant in a very humble way.

if i have a chance to travel in the Middle East, i'll certainly put Iran in my itinerary. that, after i manage to pull all my courage to even think of going there. wars devastated the land and made it almost unsafe for women travelers to enjoy traveling in these part of the world.

the House of Sand and Fog was a story of Iranian family seeking asylum in the States, fleeing a new reign of power in their homeland. Behrani, a former military intel specializing in purchasing military weaponry (high salary) found himself with lowly jobs of picking trash along the highway and tending a small convenience store at night. he lived a double life, as he ought to keep appearance in order to get his daughter a suitable suitor. after his daughter married to a successful doctor, Behrani and his family moved to a smaller bungalow he got at a bargain price.

the bungalow was belong to a recovering alcoholic lady who was forced to leave her house because she failed to pay her tax. she befriended the policeman who evicted her and got in an affair with him. while struggling with his domestic chaos (divorcing his wife and leaving his kids), the policeman tried to help her to get her house back, up to a point he threatened the Behrani family to leave the premise.

the story ended tragically, with the lady hospitalized, the policeman jailed, Behrani and his wife went back to Iran to face a firing squad and his only son died, shot by the policeman.

this is a story, where you dont know who to pity. because, it seems, everyone was a victim.

and if you think the storyline's horrible enough to make a good movie, yes, there's a movie version of this book. Ben Kingsley played Behrani. and if you wonder how the author can even think of writing such heartbreaking story, do click Andre Dubus III. i read the book 3 times, each read tempted me to change the plot. its too helpless.

i'll give 3.5/5. because, i dont see a point of clearly defining the numerous sex act(s).

long overdue doc, but, ya, finally a review.

#1 honeymoon spot: Mulu National Park

ya, i was there last weekend

to see him

and his family

with my colleagues (me, apai jang, nyonya, is)

not on a honeymoon of course, but, this would be my first pick for honeymoon venue (no doubt).

i'm packing my whole family (9 adults) to this place. robbing the bank to fund the flight tix and thinking of going to the along for other expenses. i know, the place wont dissapoint.

for those with doubt (of thinking of going but not really sure what to expect), log onto their website
send e-mail to them. they patiently answered all my e-mails (about 9 in all, i kept e-mailing them since january until june with macam-macam soalan) and secured the booking of our accomodation. i think, this is the best kept national park in the country. neat without being too showy.

Addicted

my music pick of the week. partly, because this is a highly toasted video clip in the music community in malaysia at the moment. but, mostly because, i enjoy good music and this is quite good. Prema yin can sing and dance (she's hot!). and the guy, can act (if its even required, given the situation)

aaaa.. check his fluttered eyelashes at 4:06. super sexy.

pictures from the wedding

my fave pic from the wedding

ooo! never mind the P sticker on the car

ooo! look at the ruffles and the feather fan

ooo! not the most synchronize dance, but it was fun. purposely donned the selipar jepun to show uniformity?

good looking couple

as promised, pictures from the wedding we attended. the bride is a cousin from our mom's side. (we're closer to the cousins on our dad's side). i should watermark my pictures, i know.

connection

i love the idea of minimal usage of words to transpire something. or better still, with no words at all. But, only few people can do that with satisfactory result. the millions of us, have to rely on words. that's why FB is such a hit. and blogger like us, write and feed our own soul with words (most of the time, with no substance at all)

lovers should understand this most intimately. a little nod, sly smile and bamm! a go.

parents to their children. my parents never cease to amaze me with their extrasensory perception, my Gapa, for example, once, called me and asked if i was okey, and it was the third day in a row, my heart's in my throat, choked of depressions. but, how would he knew that? i said, i was okey and asked why he asked. and he said, o, having a bad dreams this past few days. bugger!, i suspected in depressed state, i released more radical ions and they went up to their original orbit in my dad's subconcious system and spread the news. how else?

we abuse words on the not so important things in life. but, when it comes to what matter the most, words fail. the heavier things in life, require more weight than mere words. action speaks louder. sometimes, (as of late, i learnt) a text sent was not as important as the act of actually sending it off. the idle talks and laughs between meal was just a poser for the act of actually being there on a date. the enjoyment came not from the conversation itself. but, from the connection. that deep down, you know, the other got you.

that's the level of knowing, i acknowledge as the climax in human relationship. the sense of belonging. and sorry, you cant bribe into one with words alone. unless of course, if you could write as good as this dude. he's unbelievably thrifty with words and yet manage to sully my heart to tears. thats what i hate of poetry. they pretend to belong, without me understanding a line.

sorry for this lenghty post. Pamuk poisoned my mind with his "New Life". and the picture, a teaser, i know.

Rolling in The Deep

Have you listen to Adele's Rolling in The Deep? gorgeous!. this one is waaaaaay lively than my last favourite from her. Click on the first link to download the song. and to h**l with MCMC intention to shut us from the generous websites linking to freebies. this is an example of the amazing talent we'll be missing with no Youtube around. yup, Mike Tompkins beatboxing Adele's Rolling in the Deep. Amazing.. amazing.

Mike Tompkins, heavy boxbeater

and to MCMC, you know, you're rolling in deeps**t, if the hackers pay homage to our domain.
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my bad, Youtube was not listed in the blocked (banned?) sites. click to this link to get the story straight, Keong. be warned, he writes in haste and in anger. get the cream, leave the rants.

BOOK: The Edible Woman by Margaret Artwood

For background information and summary of the book, click onto this wiki link

This book was written when she was 24 (1965), so there's a lot of nervous energy, doubts and idealism presented in the story, as expected from a young writer. but the effortless way she wrote about matters undoubtedly deep and witty. the book pushed Artwood's career to the sky, when due to negligence the publisher only published her book in 1969, coinciding the heat of Feminism movement in North America.

She surely have secured her place in my must read list. i love the way she wrote, the raw passion and honesty. the dialogues were totally believable, the storyline fantastic. she wrote lots of quirky nonsense that actually make sense, once you try to think it over. and she's funny.

OOOO... forget all those qualities, she won my heart over when she correctly mentioned pitcher plants as bulbous leaves. Kukuanga* loves you girl.

so, i must thank siti, for lending me this wonderful book. because on my own, i wont go near this type of book (feminism and all). its too intimidating. i dont see the point of fighting for something as elusive as gender equalisation. where in the end, the fighter dont even know how to handle victory. that's the problem with us girls, we dont actually know what we really want.

i was dumbfounded when a certain lady in position within the Ministry i serve made a comment on the paint colours of our building when the main discussion was on the future intakes of students and development planning for the college.

* Pitcher plant (in Dusun language)

the southern men

i once made a mistake of showing my admiration over Dr. Chua Soi Lek manly attitude over his sex scandal issue. i thought, its pretty brilliant that he confessed and admited the scandal publicly. my colleagues hooted over my opinion and regarded it as admission to a lower moral standard in our political leader. i dont agree on his 'sin'. i just admire the guts and determination in his action.

and just as i thought i'll never be wowed by a malay political figure. Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad did just that in 2006 by going against the party policy by agreeing to the motion by opposition leader in Parliament. he stood his ground. which was rare occurance in Malaysian politic. and for that, should he write an autobiography, i'll be among the first to queue for it.

The reason why i write the 2 paragraphs above is this man: Said Zahari for his triology. i'll dig my piggy bank to get those books. his life is worth reading.

skeins that skinned me

i really should post this in my other blog, since this relates to my cross-stitch project. i have this beautiful peacock picture for cross stitch and a senior colleague will retire in october. he once commented on how beautiful cross-stitch hangings are. so, i'm making this for his retirement gift. (i certainly wont hang a peacock on my wall!)

i dont know about your place, but it's a bit hard to get DMC floss here in Kota Sentosa, Kuching. i have to hop from one store to another to get all the colours, and the quantity of skein per colour is also limited. and it's RM1.60 per skein!, last year, its only RM1.40. and for this particular project, i need about 23 colours, 92 skeins.

so i thought it's a clever of me to get a deal from e-bay, USD100, 275 skeins + 5 arranging boxes and 100++ ziplock plastic baggies for the thread. the shipping cost is USD62. pandai. so, per skein i'm paying RM2.00. i just failed my domestic economy 101. i'm paying extra for the boxes and the baggies, yes? as if i need those that much. but, hey, they're pretty neat. and the lady in Iowa is so charming! and finally, i got the chance to activate my PayPal account.

Oh, yes, lets just say, the skeins really just skinned me off my tight budget. we're planning a trip to negara orang yang lebih maju and i refuse to sleep in their lovely park. hence the arahan menghimpit belanjawan bulanan.

Kaamatan

i'm away for long holiday break in my home state. our family Kaamatan* celebration went well. we went picnic in the morning and dinner in the evening. we really should do that more often. it was quite fun. i'll put on pics soon.

i brought home, Dr. Hidayah's books, with intention to read and write reviews. but, so far, i havent finished reading any. i bought two books in KL a day before i flew home. that too lay dormant in my backpack. the holiday mood seep through me thoroughly, making it hard to concentrate on reading, however light. i spent too much time watching movies on DVD. my sis have quite a collection.

Two days of movie marathon, about 8 movies down, only two worth mentioning: Black Swan and The Blind Side. Black Swan for, Oh! so there seductions (it's a very sexy film) without being too pornographic. The Blind Side for, Oh! glorious tresses and fine outfits. and finally i watched Hikayat Merong Maha Wangsa, which requires a post on its own. the movie was impressive, minus the Chinese princess and her handmaiden and the mirror laser, the fake tiger's skin, and the tattoos and way too white....ya, better create a separate post eh?

A bit late, but better late than never, here's my wish to all Dusuns: Kopiinsanagan do Tadau Kaamatan and to the Dayaks: Selamat Gawai. May we truly understand the spirit of the celebrations.

* Harvest (festival)