At The Promenade In New Brighton

This is at the tip of the wirral peninsular at a little promenade town called New Brighton. The beach shows the banks of the River Mersey and Liverpool is at the distance.

Meanwhile, the classic posh restaurants remain.

Christmas Turkey

No, I'm not talking about the intellect of a Malaysian politician.

It's the Christmas tradition of eating, and prior to that, carving a turkey, which is a really big bird -- far bigger than a chicken.

If you thought that dealing with food was a woman's job, think again. Apparently carving turkey is a man's job!

Fortunately, eating it is everyone's job.

Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival

It's going to be the 4th festival so far, to be held on June 11-12, 2011 in Los Angeles.

I blogged about the 2nd event early last year.

The Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival is a non-competitive, annual arts festival dedicated to sharing and nurturing storytelling of the Mixed experience.

The Mixed experience refers to interracial and intercultural relationships, transracial and transcultural adoptions, and anyone who identifies as having biracial, multiracial, Hapa or Mixed identity.

Many Malaysians are just as multi-racial as the Americans.

It's a pity we do not celebrate our diversity.

Terry Fox Run 2010 KL

Sometimes when I think there is no hope for this country, I am reminded that there is a ray of light even in the dense forest.

One of them is the Terry Fox Run which will be held in KL this Sunday.

It is usually the civilised and developed countries that organise this run, but evidently Malaysia has its moments too.

Terry Fox is a Canadian who first lost his leg to cancer. He eventually lost his life to it as well, but before he departed, he ran to raise funds for cancer.

Must have been painful on only one normal leg. But he did it.

And so do many other people around the world every year.

If you're keen to help raise funds for cancer research, here are the details:

Date: 7-11-2010 (Sunday)
Time: 8:30am
Venue: Taman Tasik Titiwangsa

Child Marriage Is No Solution

Melaka is a place for good food. Unfortunately, it ends there.

Once upon a time, it was hailed as the cultural and historical heritage of Malaysia, the birthplace of our current nation.

I have been there a number of times, and I see nothing to shout about. Everything is touristy and fabricated. Perhaps I should have headed for the beaches instead of trying to explore the town.

But what can you expect from Melaka, when its state government has decided to allow child marriages to purportedly curtail out-of-wedlock pregnancies?

I won't say more on government policies and the need for restructuring society and addressing social ills, as this entry says it all.

However, I recall a bit of drama concerning teenage parents when I was in the UK last year. Apparently, a 13-year-old boy had fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend.


It was even more befuddling as the kid's voice hadn't even broken yet and he looked like a 9-year-old.

But Alfie Patten was going to raise the child well, he claimed. Never-ending news reports detailed how he had bottle-fed his daughter and changed diapers.

It was very hard for me to smother my cynicism. It is rather difficult for parents in their 20s to cope with raising their newborns - what more for teenagers?

Anyway, it turned out his girlfriend was a bit of a player. After numerous other teenage boys came forward claiming to be the father, Alfie Patten took a paternity test - only to discover that the little girl wasn't his.

So that was that.

I suspect if he had gotten hitched to his girlfriend, that marriage would have ended in divorce.

Children do grow up and change, after all.

Evening Is The Whole Day - Preeta Samarasan

About a year and a half ago, this article caught my attention.

It was of interest because there aren't all that many Malaysian novelists around, much less those who attract foreign attention.

A feeling of belonging in Malaysia

First novelists often get missed in the cacophony of new books from established or popular writers. And so it was with Preeta Samarasan, a Malaysian native and a recent graduate of the University of Michigan whose sweeping novel about a Tamil family in a changing Malaysia moved quietly along book circles this year, overshadowed by new works from such brilliantly popular names as Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie, Manil Suri and Amitav Ghosh.

It is getting increasingly awkward and rare for Malaysians to express themselves and explore their niche in this nation. Somehow, this writer manages.

In Evening Is The Whole Day, she describes the relationship to the 'motherland' many Malaysians still hold on to:

"Somewhere in all that hoping and studying and preparing, something else changed: India ceased to be home," Samarasan writes while describing how the Rajasekharans became Malaysians. " . . .  This, this flourishing, mixed-up, polyglot place to which they had found their way almost by accident, this was his country now. Malays Chinese Indians, motley countrymen they might be, but countrymen they were, for better or for worse. What was coming to them all. It would be theirs to share."

It is just heart-breaking that race relations in Malaysia, which once flourished, are now steadily deteriorating.

Read what Preeta Samarasan had to say about May 13 last year.

Save Yvonne's Sight

Masterwordsmith tagged me for this Save Yvonne's Sight meme.

Yvonne Foong, 22, has neurofibromatosis type II, which has severely affected her sight and hearing due to tumours in the brain and spine. She is scheduled for an operation between 1 and 4 December 2009. The cost of surgery is USD44,000 or RM54,770, and the cost of staying in hospital for two weeks is USD915 or RM3219.

She has raised about RM52,454.28 of this and is hoping to raise the rest by republishing her book I'm Not Sick; I'm Just a Bit Unwell in English and Chinese.

The books are now available in Malaysian bookshops and from her web site store. She is also selling T-shirts at bazaars and via her web site store. You can read about her surgery and donate to her fund.


You can also help by sending on this meme. If you do, please follow these meme rules:

1. Create a blog entry titled “Meme: Save Yvonne’s Sight”
2. List three things you love to see. Add in the picture of Yvonne’s book cover. The URL is http://www.yvonnefoong.com/images/banner/my-story.jpg
3. End with the line, "Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight thanks to neurofibromatosis (NF). Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com".
4. Tag 5 blog friends. Be sure to copy the rules, OK?
5. If you have a Facebook account, please check out Ellen’s new invention, a “feme” pronounced FEEM, a meme designed for Facebook here. And if you want to blog about NF, that would be great too!

Three things I'd love to see:
1. Africa
2. The face of this guy whom I have an intense crush on (not telling who)
3. Websites (especially blogs - both political and general) and books - I love reading!

I'm tagging:
1. Patricia Goh - The English Cottage
2. Antares - Magick River
3. Ella Mae - The Dandelions
4. Bernard Khoo - Zorro Unmasked
5. Shar - O.B.E

Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight thanks to neurofibromatosis (NF). Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com.

The London Shot

I assure you it was purely by accident, but I managed to capture the very epitome of London in one shot.


The London Eye overlooks Big Ben while the Thames flows along quietly. A double-decker trundles away inconspicuously.

I am inordinately proud of myself, though I know I needn't be. :)

Wall Street

Preston's answer to America's financial district in New York. :)

To cope with the credit crunch, throw in a Spring Saver deal.

CHEAPSIDE

My mother would wager that it was called 'Cheapside' because of the revealing clothing worn by the undergarment models.

York Minster Cathedral

If you've never heard of the York Minster before, this should get you started.

I'd originally planned on visiting York, but not the cathedral, because I'm not particularly a culture vulture.

And it did cost a whopping £9.50 per entry, and that is - based on the current exchange rate - about RM49.40 which is quite a bit to see an old building.

But somehow, I had this gut feeling that it would be well worth it, and it was.


It is a vast and immense building...


...with a lot of stained glass - something that someone long ago took great pains to create. Something that someone today takes great pains to restore.

They even have apprenticeships dedicated to restoring this entire piece of architecture.


They still have their regular services.

Squirrelly Request

One thing about the squirrels in England is that they are really friendly.

Technically, this little fellow isn't British. He's a foreigner (though I bet he doesn't have a passport or a legitimate visa) - the American grey - and he has the reputation of being more aggressive and hardy than the native red squirrel.

He came begging for nuts and wasn't the least bit timid about approaching us. And he sure knew how to turn on the charm.

We didn't have any nuts for him. But next time, we will.

Dealing With Hostile Passengers On Malaysia Airlines

I don't know why they market themselves as "Living Malaysian Hospitality", because what it should really be is, "Exhibiting Malaysian Incompetence".

Ms Radhika Iyer-O'Sullivan was one such victim of poor service by MAS when she was seated next to a hostile passenger during a flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur.

The cabin crew were unfortunately nonplussed (and I'm being kind here) as to what course of action to take, in what I would personally regard as a reasonably simple situation.

Someone who writes in as 'Former MAS Frequent Flyer' agrees with me. In fact, his assessment of the situation was identical to mine.

MAS royally screwed up when they didn't immediately remove the hostile and aggressive passenger from his seat immediately upon the first signs of a temper tantrum.

They went on to exacerbate their mistake when they eventually moved the victim instead of the aggressor. And not to Business Class, which they claim was full on that flight.

Business Class was full?

That's something I wouldn't believe for even a second because on an international flight (say, Dubai to KL) I deduce that the aircraft would probably have been an Airbus A330 which has over 40 seats in Business Class.

Let's be conservative and assume it was the smaller variant, an Airbus A330-223 which has a seat configuration of 0 First Class, 42 Business Class and 187 Economy Class. Ref: 229 (-/42/187)

Frankly, I find it rather hard to believe that all 42 seats would have been taken, and you would too, if you only knew how much Business Class costs.

So they didn't relocate her to Business Class. Instead a flight attendant took her to "the kitchen", of all places!!

Now there are no kitchens on airplanes; what she was referring to is probably the galley.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is no place for a traumatised passenger. And neither is coke and water the solution for soothing frayed nerves.

I think this situation occured because the cabin crew were not adequately trained on what to do in situations like this. As the victim was non-confrontational, they insensitively opted to "resolve" the matter by the easiest way possible: sending her away.

I am surprised there was no sky marshall on board. Such a hostile passenger should have been handcuffed to his seat for the safety of ALL other passengers on board, not just Ms Iyer-O'Sullivan.

Evidently, MAS does not have much regard for its passenger safety. It should because it is, afterall, a national carrier and Malaysian reputation is at stake.

I checked its blog and found only a whinging response saying that the aggressive and hostile passenger was a Malaysian and describing how shocked the cabin crew were at his behaviour.

Read further and you will find even more disturbingly lame excuses.

Do you know what Malaysia Airlines offered as a service recovery? A miserable 25% discount off her return flight. At this point, I just had to send them a piece of my mind.

I am appalled to hear of such poor service by MAS. At no point in time should Ms Iyer-O'Sullivan have been removed instead of the hostile passenger. In fact, the situation should never have been allowed to escalate to such a point.

You obviously have poorly-trained staff with a severe lack of quick-thinking and problem-solving measures. I am even more disturbed to hear that the only measures being taken are a miserable apology and a 25% discount on the return flight ticket.

Do you seriously expect Ms Iyer-O'Sullivan to patronise MAS after such deplorable service? I have flown MAS a number of times for business purposes when I had no say in the booking of the ticket, but you can be assured that the next time I am booked on MAS, I will flatly refuse to travel on it.

I don't know if they will publish it as they do moderate their blog. Probably not, if they want to maintain the pleasant facade of a stream of satisfied customers.

But do you know what I really think Ms Iyer-O'Sullivan should do?

While I'm not a fan of legal action because so many lawsuits have reached the threshold of frivolity (especially in the USA), I personally believe she should sue their pants off for causing such trauma through their insensivity and incompetence.

Perhaps being relieved of a substantial amount of cash would spur them to provide better service to their customers in future.

Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival

I believe there are very few people in the world who can claim to have descended purely of one particular race.

The fact is, our ancestors have been on the planet for quite a while now and there's no way we could collectively have existed without finding someone of another race appealing.

Possibly appealing enough to make babies with.

For the most part, we Malaysians are routinely denoted by our races - Chinese, Indian and Malay, and of course the pribumi in Sabah and Sarawak - even though most of us are products of a mixed marriage.

Our government is racist. You and I know that.

But here's something interesting.

Have you heard of Mildred and Richard Loving? They were the first couple in the USA to win a landmark United States Supreme Court case in defense of their interracial marriage.

Once upon a time, it was illegal to marry someone of a different race.

But they're celebrated every year on the 12th of June in what is called Loving Day.

To complement that, there's a celebration of people with mixed roots in the USA. They're having a Film & Literary Festival which is an annual event celebrating films and literary works exploring racially and culturally Mixed heritages.

The largest west coast Loving Day celebration kicks off the 2nd Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival on June 12, 2009. The Festival celebrates storytelling of the Mixed racial and cultural experience and brings together innovative artists, film and book lovers, and families for two days of writing and film workshops, readings, film screenings, a special family event and live performance by talented comedians, musicians and actors. All events are free and open to the public.

Anyone is welcome. That includes Malaysians.

And if there are any amongst you with talents - either literary or film (and I know there are plenty of you in Malaysia), send in your submissions! Make us Malaysians proud, dammit!

God knows I'd be infinitely more thrilled about it than the mere notion of sending a man up in space to make roti canai.

Do You Know...

... who these two little boys are?


You don't?

No?

Well, neither do I. They came up to my colleague who was busy snapping shots of the general area and asked him to take a photograph of them.

He evidently obliged.

And well, they disappeared just as suddenly as they materialised. You can't blame them - they're British - it's hardwired into their genetics to be rather strange.

But hey, here's to their few minutes of fame on the other side of the planet! :)

Brown In India

It looked like an ordinary news title which had me casually thinking, "Yeah well, it's normal to be brown in India."

Only a while later did I realise, that it wasn't refering to the common skin colour found in India, but to the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

I suppose it's a good thing they didn't send Condoleeza Rice or David Curry as well, to pacify the Indians over the latest terror attack in Mumbai.

Having Rice and Curry might have been a bit overmuch.

Boys & Girls

When I was in Australia, my friend Tim decided to take me to the zoo to give me a comprehensive education on native Australian animals.

Now I'm fairly certain that peafowl are not native to Australia, so frankly, I have no idea what they were doing in that zoo.

Nevertheless, they were quite entertaining to observe.


For one, the male is really very attractive and majestic.

And the female? She's disturbingly ugly and haughty to boot.

This one in particular looked at Tim rather disdainfully as he snapped pictures of her, while the male had posed for the camera quite obligingly.

And then, without a word, she stalked off without so much as a goodbye, leaving the hopeful male surprised at her sudden departure.

"Where did she go, mate?" Tim asked the woe-begone peacock. "She's left you, has she?"

Both Tim and I tried to spot the peahen, but she obviously had some privacy issues to defend. Not a trace of her.

The peacock was obviously not going to get lucky. Not today, anyway. "Better luck next time, mate."

Seaplane In Sydney

The seaplane at the Barrenjoey Boathouse at Palm Beach.


If I'm not mistaken, it's a deHavilland amphibious Beaver.

Friendly Reminder

It's relatively easy to recognise an Asian-owned store in Australia. Every square inch of space is occupied with items for sale except for the token space necessary for customers to walk.

The Hot Dollar shop in Eastwood was no exception.

You obviously got your money's worth here.

But a good bargain always attracts the menagerie. And sometimes they have dirty hands.

So Hot Dollar is compelled to put out a sign in impeccable English as a friendly reminder to ...


... actually, I have really no idea what it means.

Possibly, "Do not open".

Beach Bum

I met her at Shelly Beach, in Manly.

She'd just laid her eggs and was burying them in the sand. Of course, I didn't want to get too near just in case she took offense at the intrusion of her privacy.

With legs like that, I reckon she could run pretty fast.