31 August 1957 is oft-repeated in Malaysia as our Independence Day, commererated by the whole nation with lots of useless fireworks and parades. However, that day is immortalised in time as the independence of the Malaya, Peninsular Malaysia as it is now known. History books do not ignore the fact that Sabah and Sarawak only joined the Federation on 16 September 1963 and that is truly our real independance day, but they do not glorify it as much as we would like it. Maybe we shouldn't make such a big deal of it, after all, the land mass of both states are larger than Peninsular Malaysia, more diverse in their native population, one of the best diving spots in the world is located of the state of Sabah or that Sarawak has one of the world's largest reserves of natural gas yet the population in both states feel as if they have to celebrate 31 August when it would be better to celebrate and acknowledge the fact that we only became independent from British rule 16 September 1963 only to be ruled by the nationalist fervour of Peninsular Malays.
It saddens me to think that Malaysia is folding into herself even more and unable to be forward looking. In an age where almost everyone has access to the Internet, the free press is still controlled by the ruling party and all news about the government has to be positive. It is sad that my country still insists on censorship, if there is a kiss on screen it is deemed too racy and will be cut from the film. And the government wonders why we cannot eradicate black market DVD sellers at every pasar malam? It is because we are intelligent enough to know when we are being duped and would like to watch the full length movie in full.
It's time for me to stop rambling now, and collect my thoughts on the matter but I love my country, am really proud to be a Malaysian but some things are really to paradoxical for words.
Later.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Greenbelt is over!
Ah... five nights sleeping on the ground, on a summery evening in England. The weather wasn't all that bad. One more year at Greenbelt, my second year running with Mary. We went as workers, so we got a free ticket and some meal vouchers. Greenbelt got five to six hours of our day every day. Not a bad deal, we didn't really miss anything that we desperately wanted to see.
Right, who did we see? The one band that sticks to mind is
One Nation They were pretty amazing, I even bought their CD although it wasn't so good. Also saw Emmanuel Jal, who headlined the Eden project concert for Live8 but I didn't think that he was that great. Jazz Jamaica, who was billed as the great big band jazz/swing/funky music type band was really cool too. And random bands which I can't remember now. Some photos follow. Am too sleepy to write more! It was one tiring weekend, Thursday to Tuesday morning. whew..
This was taken before we watched Paul Karensa, who was a stand up comic kind of guy. He was pretty entertaining.
We were just walking back from another tent to out tent when we saw this full drum kit in the middle of a group of tents. It amused us.
Another amusing art installation type thing. Some clothes left behind with a note just outside the ticket office.
Wow, this is amazing. 20,000 people in on field, praising and singing to God and enjoying what is known to Greenbelt as communion on Sunday.
Greenbelt banner thing on the side of the wall. Something to prove that I was at Greenbelt.
A very very close up photo...
Some metal spring like things, a semi-dance semi-art installation thing walking around, trying to show us, something. Taken from in front of the Tiny Tea Tent, the best place to hang out at Greenbelt.
Close up photo of Mary...
Am falling asleep now but found some photos of Elona's farewell dinner which was a couple of days before I left for Greenbelt, so they are going up as well! Can't wait until I get to Albania, should be really exciting. Talk about a random holiday destination. :-)
Alvi,Elona,Alessandra,Jean-Marie,Andres,Akua and me somewhere there with my head mostly in the picture.
Elona and Alvi,don't they look good together?
All that food on that one table!
Time for me to sleep now, I will add more random thoughts later. I can barely even type.
Night night. God bless.
Right, who did we see? The one band that sticks to mind is
One Nation They were pretty amazing, I even bought their CD although it wasn't so good. Also saw Emmanuel Jal, who headlined the Eden project concert for Live8 but I didn't think that he was that great. Jazz Jamaica, who was billed as the great big band jazz/swing/funky music type band was really cool too. And random bands which I can't remember now. Some photos follow. Am too sleepy to write more! It was one tiring weekend, Thursday to Tuesday morning. whew..
This was taken before we watched Paul Karensa, who was a stand up comic kind of guy. He was pretty entertaining.
We were just walking back from another tent to out tent when we saw this full drum kit in the middle of a group of tents. It amused us.
Another amusing art installation type thing. Some clothes left behind with a note just outside the ticket office.
Wow, this is amazing. 20,000 people in on field, praising and singing to God and enjoying what is known to Greenbelt as communion on Sunday.
Greenbelt banner thing on the side of the wall. Something to prove that I was at Greenbelt.
A very very close up photo...
Some metal spring like things, a semi-dance semi-art installation thing walking around, trying to show us, something. Taken from in front of the Tiny Tea Tent, the best place to hang out at Greenbelt.
Close up photo of Mary...
Am falling asleep now but found some photos of Elona's farewell dinner which was a couple of days before I left for Greenbelt, so they are going up as well! Can't wait until I get to Albania, should be really exciting. Talk about a random holiday destination. :-)
Alvi,Elona,Alessandra,Jean-Marie,Andres,Akua and me somewhere there with my head mostly in the picture.
Elona and Alvi,don't they look good together?
All that food on that one table!
Time for me to sleep now, I will add more random thoughts later. I can barely even type.
Night night. God bless.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Exciting Catholicism
Not normally two words that you would speak in the same breath!
"Many Catholics were aghast when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was chosen to succeed Pope John Paul II in April. This programme biography unravels the chequered history of a man once hailed as a radical reformer, but now reviled in some circles as a major obstacle to the modernisation of the church."Channel 4 excerpt.
But with all the media attention on the new Pope and World Youth Day just gone in Cologne, it is an exciting time to be a Catholic. Right now, I am watching a prime time documentary on the new Pope, Benedict XVI. In one of the most secular societies of the world, a religious-type documentary at 8pm is strange. Titled 'God's Rottweiler', the first thought was that this was going to be exceptionally biased against religion. It hasn't worked out like that so far but I could be wrong! The words used by the narrator tends on the dramatic side but at least the interviews seem to balance it out.
It covers the most pressing issues in the church at the moment, homosexuality, women priests, paedophile priests and ecumenism. It then moves on to the personality of the man itself, with various persons being interviewed describing him.
The documentary questions if a catholic fundamentalist is suitable to heal the divisions of the church? It also asks how a new pope can stand for the Truth in a culture that no longer believes? It balanced out the narrators fundamentalist point of view which implies that Benedict XVI will be a dangerous fundamentalist by others who explain that a new pope has a new name and becomes a new person, with the example of how Benedict XV brought the faithful in Europe through World War I.
Now, I am a liberal Catholic but I am not too disturbed by the very fundamentalist Pope. I think that a man who believes absolutely in everything he stands for and is willing to fight for it and not be swayed by populist opinion should be applauded. But I am waiting with bated breath for more of his teachings on issues which divide the church, to see if he wil repair them or increase the divide.
"Many Catholics were aghast when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was chosen to succeed Pope John Paul II in April. This programme biography unravels the chequered history of a man once hailed as a radical reformer, but now reviled in some circles as a major obstacle to the modernisation of the church."Channel 4 excerpt.
But with all the media attention on the new Pope and World Youth Day just gone in Cologne, it is an exciting time to be a Catholic. Right now, I am watching a prime time documentary on the new Pope, Benedict XVI. In one of the most secular societies of the world, a religious-type documentary at 8pm is strange. Titled 'God's Rottweiler', the first thought was that this was going to be exceptionally biased against religion. It hasn't worked out like that so far but I could be wrong! The words used by the narrator tends on the dramatic side but at least the interviews seem to balance it out.
It covers the most pressing issues in the church at the moment, homosexuality, women priests, paedophile priests and ecumenism. It then moves on to the personality of the man itself, with various persons being interviewed describing him.
The documentary questions if a catholic fundamentalist is suitable to heal the divisions of the church? It also asks how a new pope can stand for the Truth in a culture that no longer believes? It balanced out the narrators fundamentalist point of view which implies that Benedict XVI will be a dangerous fundamentalist by others who explain that a new pope has a new name and becomes a new person, with the example of how Benedict XV brought the faithful in Europe through World War I.
Now, I am a liberal Catholic but I am not too disturbed by the very fundamentalist Pope. I think that a man who believes absolutely in everything he stands for and is willing to fight for it and not be swayed by populist opinion should be applauded. But I am waiting with bated breath for more of his teachings on issues which divide the church, to see if he wil repair them or increase the divide.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Some photos
These photos were taken when Jean-Marie's mum and stepdad came to visit for a bit. I will add some but just getting the hang of using Flickr now. Never knew there was so much to learn! And I thought it would be simple and plain sailing....
cunningly, you can also click on the photos for your downloading pleasure...mmm...
cunningly, you can also click on the photos for your downloading pleasure...mmm...
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Saturday!
Hrms, you've got to love the weekends, even more of an excuse for students to sleep even more.
But I ended up watching CSI until too late last night and woke up late. Did manage to meet Mary for a couple of hours for shopping and lunch. I bought some jeans.... which I'm still deciding if I want to keep but as I'm wearing them while typing this I don't think they are going back.
Five more days to Greenbelt!
Was talking to Nom and he asked me for my mailing address, I had to ask him which one he wanted. I then discovered that I have three postal addresses and five email addresses. Strange, but then again, when have I been normal?
I'm done with my rambling for now, my laundry should be done, cannot believe that I have to pay £1.20 for each wash!
Will post some photos later. Ta-ta.
But I ended up watching CSI until too late last night and woke up late. Did manage to meet Mary for a couple of hours for shopping and lunch. I bought some jeans.... which I'm still deciding if I want to keep but as I'm wearing them while typing this I don't think they are going back.
Five more days to Greenbelt!
Was talking to Nom and he asked me for my mailing address, I had to ask him which one he wanted. I then discovered that I have three postal addresses and five email addresses. Strange, but then again, when have I been normal?
I'm done with my rambling for now, my laundry should be done, cannot believe that I have to pay £1.20 for each wash!
Will post some photos later. Ta-ta.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Brother Roger
Read about the death of Brother Roger who was the founder of the Taize Community. I never had a chance to visit it and would love to go.
Prayers for his soul and the woman who stabbed him.
Prayers for his soul and the woman who stabbed him.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Greenbelt!
Yay, only 8 days until I go to Greenbelt!. Can't wait.
Hrms, sleeping in a tent, on a field, during August Bank holiday in England, maybe I shouldn't get so excited...
p/s-can't believe it's taking me so long to figure out how to get stuff looking the way I want it to, maybe I'm getting old
Hrms, sleeping in a tent, on a field, during August Bank holiday in England, maybe I shouldn't get so excited...
p/s-can't believe it's taking me so long to figure out how to get stuff looking the way I want it to, maybe I'm getting old
Random thoughts
I work with fruit flies (ok,ok, Drosophila if you must) and think they are quite cute. But I love the gene names more, here's a selection which make it so much fun working with flies!
· ken and barbie - male and female flies with this mutant gene lack external genitalia
· kojak - the wings of these mutants' lack bristles, and are as bald as its hard-boiled cop's namesake
· indy - acronym for "I'm not dead yet" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail; the lifespan of these mutants is nearly double that of normal genes
· lush - mutations cause an increased affection for alcohol
· swiss cheese- holes in mutants' brain give the appearance of this dairy edible
· yuri - like the famous Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, these flies also have problems with gravity
· ken and barbie - male and female flies with this mutant gene lack external genitalia
· kojak - the wings of these mutants' lack bristles, and are as bald as its hard-boiled cop's namesake
· indy - acronym for "I'm not dead yet" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail; the lifespan of these mutants is nearly double that of normal genes
· lush - mutations cause an increased affection for alcohol
· swiss cheese- holes in mutants' brain give the appearance of this dairy edible
· yuri - like the famous Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, these flies also have problems with gravity
Photo 2
Photo from my college ball, me in my element!
Will post more when I figure out a photo sharing service.
Waking up, I don't really do early mornings but I do wish that I could. There's a ton of errands to do and then have to start figuring out stuff for my holiday
Am going to Albania and Bulgaria in September, which should be an interesting/exciting/strange holiday. Will be visiting Elona (who's Albanian and is going home in 9 days or so) and stopping off to a side trip in Budapest. My only reason to see Budapest (really), is to see the river that seperates the city. As long as I get to stand on a bridge and see Buda on one side and Pest (wrong spelling, but I can't be bothered now) on the other, I'll be a happy girl.
Simple minds....and all that...
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
I can add a photo!
Have been playing around this for a while. Trying to figure out how to post pictures on here. I suppose this is a test post. The picture was taken at a dinner a month or so ago now with the great house that I shared last year with other students from St Cross . A couple of people didn't live with us but it made living there more fun!
Left to right, roll call, Aqua (I'm sorry if your name is wrong!!), Jean-Marie, me, Andres, Oli, Elona and Marigold.
I am now truly going to bed and will try to figure out the rest of this blogging malarky tomorrow.
My first post!
I am posting a blog. Have joined the revolution? Maybe not.
But I am crap at emails and this is an easy way for people to sort of have an idea of what is going on in my life. Especially since I am now connected to the Internet 24/7 at my new place.
Went punting today. For those not in the know, punting is an Oxbridge (Oxford, Cambridge) thing. Flat boat, river, long pole, alcohol and students. ahh...the life for those who participate in this grand educational institution. yeah, right. It's quite fun, a lot of work but fun. It's similar to the gondola boat rides you get in Venice, except that you have to push the boat. It's quite funny when you are not so good at steering as you zig zag from one side of the river bank to another.
Aside from that, not much. I am watching CSI:NY at the moment on TV. Haven't seen this series yet but am obssessed with the other two. It's scary. I am not doing too much work on my PhD at the moment. That will have to change at some point. Too many things in my life that distract me from actually doing it. I hope no one who is concerned with my work or lack of it will be reading this.
I'm done for the night. Over and out.
But I am crap at emails and this is an easy way for people to sort of have an idea of what is going on in my life. Especially since I am now connected to the Internet 24/7 at my new place.
Went punting today. For those not in the know, punting is an Oxbridge (Oxford, Cambridge) thing. Flat boat, river, long pole, alcohol and students. ahh...the life for those who participate in this grand educational institution. yeah, right. It's quite fun, a lot of work but fun. It's similar to the gondola boat rides you get in Venice, except that you have to push the boat. It's quite funny when you are not so good at steering as you zig zag from one side of the river bank to another.
Aside from that, not much. I am watching CSI:NY at the moment on TV. Haven't seen this series yet but am obssessed with the other two. It's scary. I am not doing too much work on my PhD at the moment. That will have to change at some point. Too many things in my life that distract me from actually doing it. I hope no one who is concerned with my work or lack of it will be reading this.
I'm done for the night. Over and out.
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