凡是跟阿拉伯人打过交道的人都会很熟悉‘印沙阿拉’这个口头禅。“印沙阿拉”是阿拉伯语代表“愿真主应许”的意思。当你问他们一个问题的时候十个有八个会常用“印沙阿拉”来回答。而且是问什么都可以这样回答。
煎茶：。。。好，我们下个礼拜再见。
他：印沙阿拉，希望下个礼拜能再见。
其实这样讲也没有错。人生无常吗，一个礼拜可能会有很多事情发生，搞不好还真的是见不了面呢？谁说得准？“印沙阿拉”也反映着回教徒的思想和文化。因为对他们而言，阿拉真主是主栽着一切的。
但是就有一些人喜欢碰到任何难题时，根本没有用大脑想过，就满口“印沙阿拉”的叫。这就变成是滥用！尤其在商业或工作场合时滥用，给人一种很不负责任的态度。遇到这种情况有时候会气死人，可是有时候又很好笑。有一个同事的太太到店里去买鸡肉：
她：请给我2公斤的鸡胸肉。
店长：对不起，今天卖完了。
她：请问明天会有货吗？我再来买。
店长：印沙阿拉，步库拉 （愿真主应许明天可能会有）
她：@_@
做生意的连明天有没有货都不知道，那他就玩完了！不过在中东这是很标准的回答。可能是他的供应商也跟他“印沙阿拉”吧，所以他没办法只好对客人“印沙阿拉”咯。而且最近鸡在生病，所以店长这样说也可能没有错。
我在工作时做贩促企划时会跟一些代理商贩促经理开会了解市场预测和贩卖预估，往往也都是一问三不知。代理商他们设贩卖目标，但是都没有想过怎么样去达成目标，只是希望阿拉会保佑。他们喜欢自己被处在被动的角度，所以有什么事情他们都不用负责任，因为阿啦都不答应还能要他们怎么办。记得有一次开会，一个营业所经理在发表他的贩卖动向：“印沙阿拉！我们应该能够多卖出几十台吧？”他一直“印沙阿啦”的叫，后来代理商总经理受不了就说：“你是营业经理，叫你多买几十台车你都要叫阿拉保佑你？”
人算不如天算百密中有一漏，事情往往会有一些预想不到的效果。如果做事尽了力，那么剩下来就只有印沙阿拉了。这是可以理解的，受不了的是那些喜欢把这句当借口，好像什么都不能怪他们。我有一个建议，就是找一些有创业性的音乐制作人把那首“爱拼才会赢”的福建歌翻译成阿拉伯语然后在中东发行，教育这些害群之马的下一代“七分靠打拼，三分天注定，爱拼才会赢”的真理。。。
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Lebanese War Victim
"You know I used to own three shops" said the taxi driver as he negotiated the Peugeot 407 round a left turn. "I imported leather jackets from Italy," the driver added as his left hand pulled at the leather sleeve of his right hand which stayed on the wheel.
The taxi driver was driving me back from the airport to my apartment after my Algeria trip. I had recently dropped off my colleague who travelled with me. We started a conversation of small talk and then the topic drifted to this.
"Then the war came and I lost everything" he continued, "They bombed all my shops. I lost about 500,000 dollars..."
I looked at the driver wondering how I should respond. He looked in his 60s, well groomed, mild mannered and spoke decent English. He must have seen better times but now he's driving a taxi.
"When a man falls down, he can get up again. But in a war, when he falls, he can never get up again. Halas! I can never recover what I had." he said with a tinge of hopelessness in his voice.
To a man who had lost his hope and future because of a meaningless civil war that ended 15 years ago , what should I say to him? Finally I managed, "Is your family still with you?"
Bad move. What if someone in his family was killed in the war?
"I have two children, a son and a daughter. My daughther is in the university, my son is in school. My mother stays with me and my wife" He said. I was lucky. I successfully steered the topic from material losses to focus on the intangible wealth that he still possess. "Well at least you have you family with you. That's is more important than money, right?" I offered. He agreed. Perhaps he had already made peace with the past...but would he have brought it up if he had?
The taxi driver has not lost any loved ones but only his fortunes. A victim of war nevertheless.I felt pity for his hopelessness and I hope his family is happy.
The taxi made a turn and ended up at the entrance of my apartment block. I paid him, got his card and promised to call him if I need a ride to the airport the next time.
Can a Singaporean, accustomed to a sheltered and provided life, truly understand the pain and anguish of someone who had lost something precious to heart in a war? How does one deal with a loss that has no meaning to it? In the Lebanese Civil War where there were no victors or losers, a loss of a loved one or one's fortune can never be justified with any causes. As can be seen increasingly in recent wars, civillians are paying the ultimate price no matter which sides are winning. The question remains, can people truly let go of their feelings of loss and move on with their life?
The taxi driver was driving me back from the airport to my apartment after my Algeria trip. I had recently dropped off my colleague who travelled with me. We started a conversation of small talk and then the topic drifted to this.
"Then the war came and I lost everything" he continued, "They bombed all my shops. I lost about 500,000 dollars..."
I looked at the driver wondering how I should respond. He looked in his 60s, well groomed, mild mannered and spoke decent English. He must have seen better times but now he's driving a taxi.
"When a man falls down, he can get up again. But in a war, when he falls, he can never get up again. Halas! I can never recover what I had." he said with a tinge of hopelessness in his voice.
To a man who had lost his hope and future because of a meaningless civil war that ended 15 years ago , what should I say to him? Finally I managed, "Is your family still with you?"
Bad move. What if someone in his family was killed in the war?
"I have two children, a son and a daughter. My daughther is in the university, my son is in school. My mother stays with me and my wife" He said. I was lucky. I successfully steered the topic from material losses to focus on the intangible wealth that he still possess. "Well at least you have you family with you. That's is more important than money, right?" I offered. He agreed. Perhaps he had already made peace with the past...but would he have brought it up if he had?
The taxi driver has not lost any loved ones but only his fortunes. A victim of war nevertheless.I felt pity for his hopelessness and I hope his family is happy.
The taxi made a turn and ended up at the entrance of my apartment block. I paid him, got his card and promised to call him if I need a ride to the airport the next time.
Can a Singaporean, accustomed to a sheltered and provided life, truly understand the pain and anguish of someone who had lost something precious to heart in a war? How does one deal with a loss that has no meaning to it? In the Lebanese Civil War where there were no victors or losers, a loss of a loved one or one's fortune can never be justified with any causes. As can be seen increasingly in recent wars, civillians are paying the ultimate price no matter which sides are winning. The question remains, can people truly let go of their feelings of loss and move on with their life?
Monday, March 20, 2006
Lunchbox in Algeria
For the past eight days, lunch arrived in a box. Sometimes dinner too if there's no dinner appointments. The lunchbox in our Algerian office is no simple fare. Here quantity means everything, sometimes more than taste. Within the box is a box of salad, a bag of baguettes, a box of main course with sides, a packet drink and a fruit. There used to be another box of starter inside consisting of some meats until it was voted out of the menu to save cost.
I think I'm eating more than the recommended daily servings of vegetables for the past few days at lunch. I tend to keep my expectations low when it comes to lunch boxes and airline food. Tasty food don't seem to come hand in hand with aluminium foil packaging. But I'm somewhat amused by my colleague, who is suffering from eating too many lunchboxes during this trip.
Colleague: *Sighs* Same things everyday!
Sencha: Like in the army. They serve the same food in the army everyday.
Colleague: How is it?
Sencha: Not too bad today...
Colleague ate some chicken croquet
Colleague: Yewww...This is nice?! You must have loved army food.
Sencha: Yeah I can live with army food
I think I'm eating more than the recommended daily servings of vegetables for the past few days at lunch. I tend to keep my expectations low when it comes to lunch boxes and airline food. Tasty food don't seem to come hand in hand with aluminium foil packaging. But I'm somewhat amused by my colleague, who is suffering from eating too many lunchboxes during this trip.Colleague: *Sighs* Same things everyday!
Sencha: Like in the army. They serve the same food in the army everyday.
Colleague: How is it?
Sencha: Not too bad today...
Colleague ate some chicken croquet
Colleague: Yewww...This is nice?! You must have loved army food.
Sencha: Yeah I can live with army food
SG Election Blog
好奇的我今天想到新加坡’06年大选不知道进展如何所以上网找资料。我Google到一个叫SG Election Blog就点进去看。。。
他妈的！
既然中了Byte.Verify的Trojan病毒！到底是怎么搞得？
他妈的！
既然中了Byte.Verify的Trojan病毒！到底是怎么搞得？
Saturday, March 18, 2006
(Algeria) Lost In Translation
For the past few days, I'd been feeling what Bill Murray's character felt in the movie "Lost In Translation". Except that I'm in Algeria, not Japan, and everyone was speaking French. It was a meeting to evaluate and enhance our Algerian distributor's organizational efficiency. I'm here as part of an advisory support team. French is the business communication language in Algeria and we doubtlessly have to respect that.
It's funny how the mind play tricks on you. Remember the animated version of Peanuts? When Charlie Brown and gang were in class, the grown-ups spoke to them in incomprehensible tones that goes something like...wang wang wang wang wang... Five hours into the meeting, I suddenly woke up from my reverie because I thought I'm hearing that! So I started looking around to see if there's a beagle sitting at a corner with his little feathered friend, Woodstock. But no...I didn't get lucky.
And who says French is a sexy language? It's doesn't sound so sexy especially if you are the poor schmuck staring at the full wrath of the Country General Manager, who gave you a 15 minites lecture for failing to achieve your task. Poor bugger, I mused.
Not that the meeting was very successful anyway, at least from the point of view of efficiency. The famous Algerian lack of sense of time was blatantly obvious throughout the meeting. The 8 hours meeting felt as if like making a French guy watch an entire Taiwanese drama serial with a Chinaman...Excruiciating long story, full cast, lots of drama, all happening in one single set, foreign language and lost in translation.
It's funny how the mind play tricks on you. Remember the animated version of Peanuts? When Charlie Brown and gang were in class, the grown-ups spoke to them in incomprehensible tones that goes something like...wang wang wang wang wang... Five hours into the meeting, I suddenly woke up from my reverie because I thought I'm hearing that! So I started looking around to see if there's a beagle sitting at a corner with his little feathered friend, Woodstock. But no...I didn't get lucky.
And who says French is a sexy language? It's doesn't sound so sexy especially if you are the poor schmuck staring at the full wrath of the Country General Manager, who gave you a 15 minites lecture for failing to achieve your task. Poor bugger, I mused.
Not that the meeting was very successful anyway, at least from the point of view of efficiency. The famous Algerian lack of sense of time was blatantly obvious throughout the meeting. The 8 hours meeting felt as if like making a French guy watch an entire Taiwanese drama serial with a Chinaman...Excruiciating long story, full cast, lots of drama, all happening in one single set, foreign language and lost in translation.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
剪头发
最近有很多的初体验。
上个星期也是我在Beirut第一次剪头发。有一个Filipino同事带我去他常去的一间理发店。在Beirut其实有很多间Barber Shop收费很便宜（新币大楷5，6元左右），但是我都不放心给他们剪，因为他们让我想起了那些本地的Ah neh barber shop，会剪得很难看。我那个同事的发型看起来还不错，所以就听他的介绍。
同事介绍的理发店在Hamra购物区附近的饭店隔壁。理发店地方很小，只有一个理发师还有几个帮手。还有一些闲杂人等不知道在干什么，只是在那边说话。店里
有客人， 所以需要等才到我。那个理发‘头手’叫Wissam，看起来功夫不错，好像那些法国，意大利著名的发型设计师一样。在旁边剪我头发的时候还很有poise，剪头发的style又很独具一格，而且剪下来的头发还会飞，我还以为我在参加发型设计展。可是Wissam在剪头发时使足了劲，好像要把我的头发都拔下来才甘愿，而且还会有一点痛。到要好的时候他一边帮我吹头发，一边好像喷蟑螂似的帮我喷了大量的发型设定济。发型设定济很刺眼，害我可能因此而瞎掉！在经过洗，剪，吹，喷， 甚至还有烫过之后，最后结果看起来还蛮不错的，弄到有一点J-Pop的style （可是第二天就不见了!）。那些当偶像的原来是要受那么多的苦的啊？
在离开之前收费时Wissam跟我说下次我来他会剪得跟好，因为这一次算是第一次。他收费也蛮便宜的，这一次只花了我大概16新元。从技术跟价钱角度来看我想我还是会回去给他剪第二次吧。
上个星期也是我在Beirut第一次剪头发。有一个Filipino同事带我去他常去的一间理发店。在Beirut其实有很多间Barber Shop收费很便宜（新币大楷5，6元左右），但是我都不放心给他们剪，因为他们让我想起了那些本地的Ah neh barber shop，会剪得很难看。我那个同事的发型看起来还不错，所以就听他的介绍。
同事介绍的理发店在Hamra购物区附近的饭店隔壁。理发店地方很小，只有一个理发师还有几个帮手。还有一些闲杂人等不知道在干什么，只是在那边说话。店里
有客人， 所以需要等才到我。那个理发‘头手’叫Wissam，看起来功夫不错，好像那些法国，意大利著名的发型设计师一样。在旁边剪我头发的时候还很有poise，剪头发的style又很独具一格，而且剪下来的头发还会飞，我还以为我在参加发型设计展。可是Wissam在剪头发时使足了劲，好像要把我的头发都拔下来才甘愿，而且还会有一点痛。到要好的时候他一边帮我吹头发，一边好像喷蟑螂似的帮我喷了大量的发型设定济。发型设定济很刺眼，害我可能因此而瞎掉！在经过洗，剪，吹，喷， 甚至还有烫过之后，最后结果看起来还蛮不错的，弄到有一点J-Pop的style （可是第二天就不见了!）。那些当偶像的原来是要受那么多的苦的啊？
在离开之前收费时Wissam跟我说下次我来他会剪得跟好，因为这一次算是第一次。他收费也蛮便宜的，这一次只花了我大概16新元。从技术跟价钱角度来看我想我还是会回去给他剪第二次吧。
Monday, March 06, 2006
Lunch @ Dora
On Sunday yesterday, I took the bus again. Mrs. Cheek, Judy, Jeff and I were heading for Dora (read: Dowrah). It was the same bus service that took us to ABC Mall the day before. Passing the ABC Mall in Ashrafieh on the route back to Hamra, the bus took a right turn up to the Highway north of Beirut and headed towards the direction of City Mall. We got to Dora about 10 minutes later.
We got off the bus at a large roundabout where the Center for International Technology (CIT) is located. My first impression of Dora was of a down-to-earth part of an Asian city. In fact, the facade of conjoining shop-houses and low-rise buildings looks almost similar to older sections of Bangkok, Manilia, Kualar Lumpur and even Singapore.
Actually, Dora is the Serangoon (Little India) of Lebanon although its not usual to find many Sri Lankans and Filipinos here. It still puzzles me to find so many Indians/ Lankans here as if they suddenly popped out of nowhere. I mean, during my half year stay in Beirut, I have not seen many Indians working here. Filipinos are common, as most of them are employed as domestic helpers or waitresses. And then suddenly, I came and I saw hundreds of Indian/Lankans congregated here in this small town completed with the quinessential "mama" shops and restaurants.
We headed to one of these restaurants located at the second floor of a "mama" shop where we ordered lunch. Our lunch was roti Chennai and Tosai. For those who don't know and I only just found out, roti Chennai IS also known as ROTI PRATA in Singapore!
It is difficult to believe that I can get Prata here in Lebanon! And it's one of the most delicious prata I've tasted! The fish curry was excellent too. The ambience was as authentic as any prata shop in Jalan Kayu or Fong Seng, complete with oily tables and Indian waiters walking around taking orders and dishing out free masala and curry. The restaurant serves only kosong prata, but after some convincing (and some language help from Judy), the cooks were able to come up with 2 delicious telok bawang prata (eggs and onions) for me and Jeff. The price was reasonable too as each prata cost about 1,000 L.L (SGD$ 1).
After lunch we shopped for a while at the "mama" shops, where I bought some green beans for boiling soup. There was also a departmental store that markets the cheapest kitchen ware I've ever seen in Beirut.
We left Dora in the late afternoon. Mrs Cheek and Judy alighted before we did to continue their shopping in Ashrafieh Spinneys supermarket, while we continued on to Jeff's apartment. We hung out for the rest of the evening in his pad watching "Terrorism Week" on National Geographic and the movie "Blade 2".
We got off the bus at a large roundabout where the Center for International Technology (CIT) is located. My first impression of Dora was of a down-to-earth part of an Asian city. In fact, the facade of conjoining shop-houses and low-rise buildings looks almost similar to older sections of Bangkok, Manilia, Kualar Lumpur and even Singapore.
Actually, Dora is the Serangoon (Little India) of Lebanon although its not usual to find many Sri Lankans and Filipinos here. It still puzzles me to find so many Indians/ Lankans here as if they suddenly popped out of nowhere. I mean, during my half year stay in Beirut, I have not seen many Indians working here. Filipinos are common, as most of them are employed as domestic helpers or waitresses. And then suddenly, I came and I saw hundreds of Indian/Lankans congregated here in this small town completed with the quinessential "mama" shops and restaurants.
We headed to one of these restaurants located at the second floor of a "mama" shop where we ordered lunch. Our lunch was roti Chennai and Tosai. For those who don't know and I only just found out, roti Chennai IS also known as ROTI PRATA in Singapore!
It is difficult to believe that I can get Prata here in Lebanon! And it's one of the most delicious prata I've tasted! The fish curry was excellent too. The ambience was as authentic as any prata shop in Jalan Kayu or Fong Seng, complete with oily tables and Indian waiters walking around taking orders and dishing out free masala and curry. The restaurant serves only kosong prata, but after some convincing (and some language help from Judy), the cooks were able to come up with 2 delicious telok bawang prata (eggs and onions) for me and Jeff. The price was reasonable too as each prata cost about 1,000 L.L (SGD$ 1).
After lunch we shopped for a while at the "mama" shops, where I bought some green beans for boiling soup. There was also a departmental store that markets the cheapest kitchen ware I've ever seen in Beirut.
We left Dora in the late afternoon. Mrs Cheek and Judy alighted before we did to continue their shopping in Ashrafieh Spinneys supermarket, while we continued on to Jeff's apartment. We hung out for the rest of the evening in his pad watching "Terrorism Week" on National Geographic and the movie "Blade 2".
Riding the Bus in Beirut
Last weekend, I took my first bus rides in Beirut with Jeff. The first time was on Saturday, we rode the bus from near Karakan el Druze to the ABC shopping mall in Ashrafieh to catch "Cheaper By the Dozen 2".
The bus service in Beirut runs on a fleet of Mitsubishi Rosa min-bus. Similar to Hong Kong,
passengers can get up and get off anywhere along the designated route. We both agreed that the bus is another good way to see Beirut because it moves much slower than cars. Also, they usually go through the residential parts of the city so we can observe the scenes of daily social life outside the bus window. It is also an extremely cheap form of travel, costing only 500 Lebananese Liras (about SGD$0.50) regardless of distance.
Bus travel in Beirut should be understood in context with travelling by taxi. Actually taxis are the most convenient and quite inexpensive way to travel in Beirut for obvious reasons. Usually, they charge between 1,000 - 5,000 L.L but in case of foreigners, they sometimes overcharge. All expats I know had been exploited by taxi drivers including non-Lebanese Arabs, even though they speak the same language! Moreover, a lot of time is wasted on the wait for the
willing cab to take me to my destination for the right price. Therefore, travelling by bus is sometimes more convenient, economical and hassle-free - if there is time to kill.
That's right, the buses can be incredibly slow at times! The driver will deliberately slow down the bus at certain parts of the route so that more passengers can be let in to fill up the seats. In addition, the bus service is not widely accessible in Beirut and concentrates mainly in local residential areas. Unfortunately, to my best knowledge, there are no bus service operating near the vicinity of my apartment yet.
The bus service in Beirut runs on a fleet of Mitsubishi Rosa min-bus. Similar to Hong Kong,
passengers can get up and get off anywhere along the designated route. We both agreed that the bus is another good way to see Beirut because it moves much slower than cars. Also, they usually go through the residential parts of the city so we can observe the scenes of daily social life outside the bus window. It is also an extremely cheap form of travel, costing only 500 Lebananese Liras (about SGD$0.50) regardless of distance.
Bus travel in Beirut should be understood in context with travelling by taxi. Actually taxis are the most convenient and quite inexpensive way to travel in Beirut for obvious reasons. Usually, they charge between 1,000 - 5,000 L.L but in case of foreigners, they sometimes overcharge. All expats I know had been exploited by taxi drivers including non-Lebanese Arabs, even though they speak the same language! Moreover, a lot of time is wasted on the wait for the
willing cab to take me to my destination for the right price. Therefore, travelling by bus is sometimes more convenient, economical and hassle-free - if there is time to kill.
That's right, the buses can be incredibly slow at times! The driver will deliberately slow down the bus at certain parts of the route so that more passengers can be let in to fill up the seats. In addition, the bus service is not widely accessible in Beirut and concentrates mainly in local residential areas. Unfortunately, to my best knowledge, there are no bus service operating near the vicinity of my apartment yet.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Tokyo Trip Afterthoughts...
Like all business trip schedules, this recent trip to Tokyo consisted of the usual routine of movement between hotel, office and restaurant. But this time, six reasons made a great difference to the trip.
Firstly, this visit to Toyota Tokyo Office provided me with the opportunity to meet up with several ex-colleagues when I was in the Asian operations. It was great to see them again, especially Ms. Satake, my Japanese counterpart for several years.
Secondly, I got to eat puffer fish for the first time! That evening I visited my ex-colleagues, Ms. Satake, Ms. Hirai and Ms. Kono invited me for dinner at a nearby restaurant that specializes in puffer fish. The dinner course was served with puffer fish skin appertiser (it tasted better than it sounds), sashimi and the main course,'nabe'(raw meat and vegetables cooked in a pot of boiling soup). We finished the meal with a cup of sake flavoured with grilled fin. The dinner was really good.
Third and surprisingly, I could still carry the entire dinner conversation in Japanese, although not without much help from my hosts. I'm out of practice for months.
Fourth, a colleague fron African operations invited some of us to Karaoke on our last night in Tokyo. We did horrible off-keyed renditions of English pop music but had a great time.
Fifth, we had a few hours of free time before our departure flight back to Lebanon on the last day. We decided to ride the roller coaster in the amusement park of Tokyo Dome City. After which we visited Shinjuku for shopping.
Sixth, I had the chance to shop for stuff for cooking like tsuyu, wasabi, soba noodles, and morinaga chocolates. Now I can prepare some donburi and noodles for my meals.
In Shinjuku, I learnt that the game 'Final Fantasy 12' is due in the stores soon. I stopped playing since Final Fantasy 8. Now, it really started to sound oxy-moronic, just when are they going to release the final 'Final Fantasy'?
Firstly, this visit to Toyota Tokyo Office provided me with the opportunity to meet up with several ex-colleagues when I was in the Asian operations. It was great to see them again, especially Ms. Satake, my Japanese counterpart for several years.
Secondly, I got to eat puffer fish for the first time! That evening I visited my ex-colleagues, Ms. Satake, Ms. Hirai and Ms. Kono invited me for dinner at a nearby restaurant that specializes in puffer fish. The dinner course was served with puffer fish skin appertiser (it tasted better than it sounds), sashimi and the main course,'nabe'(raw meat and vegetables cooked in a pot of boiling soup). We finished the meal with a cup of sake flavoured with grilled fin. The dinner was really good.
Third and surprisingly, I could still carry the entire dinner conversation in Japanese, although not without much help from my hosts. I'm out of practice for months.
Fourth, a colleague fron African operations invited some of us to Karaoke on our last night in Tokyo. We did horrible off-keyed renditions of English pop music but had a great time.Fifth, we had a few hours of free time before our departure flight back to Lebanon on the last day. We decided to ride the roller coaster in the amusement park of Tokyo Dome City. After which we visited Shinjuku for shopping.
Sixth, I had the chance to shop for stuff for cooking like tsuyu, wasabi, soba noodles, and morinaga chocolates. Now I can prepare some donburi and noodles for my meals.
In Shinjuku, I learnt that the game 'Final Fantasy 12' is due in the stores soon. I stopped playing since Final Fantasy 8. Now, it really started to sound oxy-moronic, just when are they going to release the final 'Final Fantasy'?
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
(Tokyo) Displacement Disorientation
After 1 hell of a rush packing @ the last minute, with 2 luggauges,
3 in-flight movies later, going through 4 airports altogether (Beirut, Dubai, Osaka, Kansai) and
17 + hours of flight time later - I've finally arrived in Tokyo.
Travel notes...
Movies watched:
Walk the Line (Great performances from Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix)
Sky High (fell asleep watching it....duh)
Elizabethtown (Kirsten Dunst looks very good in the show but someone tells me the point of the movie???)
Confirmed: House MD is a good series (Kudos to Terence for the recommendations!)
Reading "The Time Traveller's Wife" grabbed from Dubai airport bookstore. Engaging story so far...
Drank: 5 cl of JD on the rocks! Taste great but what's 5 cl anyway?
Travel notes today is proudly brought to you by: ... Morinaga Milk Chocolate ...
Yes, it tastes great...
3 in-flight movies later, going through 4 airports altogether (Beirut, Dubai, Osaka, Kansai) and
17 + hours of flight time later - I've finally arrived in Tokyo.
Travel notes...
Movies watched:
Walk the Line (Great performances from Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix)
Sky High (fell asleep watching it....duh)
Elizabethtown (Kirsten Dunst looks very good in the show but someone tells me the point of the movie???)
Confirmed: House MD is a good series (Kudos to Terence for the recommendations!)
Reading "The Time Traveller's Wife" grabbed from Dubai airport bookstore. Engaging story so far...
Drank: 5 cl of JD on the rocks! Taste great but what's 5 cl anyway?
Travel notes today is proudly brought to you by: ... Morinaga Milk Chocolate ...
Yes, it tastes great...
Friday, February 17, 2006
Controversial Cartoons...(Deux)
Some in the Islamic world have opted for a "freedom of expression" in response to the publication of the controversial cartoons under "freedom of speech"
The headlines of Aljazeera.net today quotes:
A Pakistani Muslim cleric and his followers have offered rewards amounting to over $ 1 million for killing the Danish cartoonists who drew caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that have enraged the Muslim world.
Cleric Maulana Yousef Qureshi, said in his interview: "If the West can place a bounty on Osama bin Laden and Zawahri, we can also announce reward for killing the man who has caused this sacrilege of the holy Prophet"
Denmark has already shut its missions in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Indonesia.
The headlines of Aljazeera.net today quotes:
A Pakistani Muslim cleric and his followers have offered rewards amounting to over $ 1 million for killing the Danish cartoonists who drew caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that have enraged the Muslim world.
Cleric Maulana Yousef Qureshi, said in his interview: "If the West can place a bounty on Osama bin Laden and Zawahri, we can also announce reward for killing the man who has caused this sacrilege of the holy Prophet"
Denmark has already shut its missions in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Indonesia.
Art of Living Abroad
Living abroad requires a sense for adventure and the will to try and err. Important lessons are always learnt (oft times must pay school fees)...
Lately I've learnt that...
...when it gets really cold, I like to wrap myself in the quilt like a "popiah" (Chinese wrap) when I sleep
...even if my bed is super-single sized, I should have gotten a queen-sized quilt
...I'm getting fat
...I should not have bought the ceramic portable heater because it lights up like a Christmas tree at night when I want to sleep!!!
...it feels terrible to crawl out of my nice warm blanket/quilt in cold temperature
...luncheon meat costs triple here
...beer is very cheap (SGD 0.80/can)
...I own two knives, two ladles, two pasta scoops because I forgot that I bought them before
...because I don't speak Arabic so when I want to buy a green pepper, I ended up with 1 kilo
...1 kilo of green peppers is very cheap compared to Singapore (less than a dollar)
...I can eat green peppers like I eat apples
Lately I've learnt that...
...when it gets really cold, I like to wrap myself in the quilt like a "popiah" (Chinese wrap) when I sleep
...even if my bed is super-single sized, I should have gotten a queen-sized quilt
...I'm getting fat
...I should not have bought the ceramic portable heater because it lights up like a Christmas tree at night when I want to sleep!!!
...it feels terrible to crawl out of my nice warm blanket/quilt in cold temperature
...luncheon meat costs triple here
...beer is very cheap (SGD 0.80/can)
...I own two knives, two ladles, two pasta scoops because I forgot that I bought them before
...because I don't speak Arabic so when I want to buy a green pepper, I ended up with 1 kilo
...1 kilo of green peppers is very cheap compared to Singapore (less than a dollar)
...I can eat green peppers like I eat apples
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Owen & Mzee
Nope, this isn't Brokeback Animal Planet. It's a tale of a friendship between two animals - a hippo and a tortise. I remembered that I first came across their story from a national geographic magazine onboard an SQ flight in early 2005. It's nice to know that they are still the best of friends today.
Owen, the one year old baby hippo, was separated from his mother during the Tsunami in December 2004. He was rescued and placed together with a 100 + years old tortise, Mzee ("old man") in a wildlife preserve. The wildlife rangers believed that Owen was initially attracted to Mzee because the tortise is of a similar color as that of an adult hippo. But the amazing fact was that Mzee was gradually got used to the presence of Owen. Since then they have became inseparable pals in their daily activities and even developed a unique way of communicating with each other. Owen's keepers are now trying to introduce Cleo, a female hippo, to be his girlfriend.
Owen and Mzee's keeper has a blog
Monday, February 13, 2006
February 14th in Lebanon
To the world, February 14th is Valentine's day. Perhaps everyone is trying to blog about their love experiences so close to V-day, which is why I had so much difficulty logging into blogger today.
In Lebanon, February 14th this year marks a full year since the ex-prime minister, Rafik Hariri was assassinated (just 400 m from my apartment!) Last year's post V-day saw the largest ever demonstration by Lebanese calling for the withdrawal of Syrian control over Lebanon. I expect a repeat demonstration to take place this year as well and I would not be surprised if it takes on a religious overtone. After all, its been less than a month since the prostest sparked by the Danish cartoon controversy here.
Investigations by the UN is still on-going as to who is behind the Hariri assassination. Some evidence pointed to the possible involvement of Syria but the evidence had been dismissed by critics citing ulterior motives. Several months after the Hariri bombing, some prominent anti-Syrian figures had been targetted and assassinated. Some public places had also been bombed but without serious casualties. The mastermind behind these political killings remain unknown today.
Hence, it's everyone guess what will happen tomorrow. Big demonstration? Bombings? Flag burnings? Political rallies? Hopefully the day will pass smoothly without any lives lost.
As for the rest of the world and to my girlfriend: Happy Valentine's Day!
In Lebanon, February 14th this year marks a full year since the ex-prime minister, Rafik Hariri was assassinated (just 400 m from my apartment!) Last year's post V-day saw the largest ever demonstration by Lebanese calling for the withdrawal of Syrian control over Lebanon. I expect a repeat demonstration to take place this year as well and I would not be surprised if it takes on a religious overtone. After all, its been less than a month since the prostest sparked by the Danish cartoon controversy here.
Investigations by the UN is still on-going as to who is behind the Hariri assassination. Some evidence pointed to the possible involvement of Syria but the evidence had been dismissed by critics citing ulterior motives. Several months after the Hariri bombing, some prominent anti-Syrian figures had been targetted and assassinated. Some public places had also been bombed but without serious casualties. The mastermind behind these political killings remain unknown today.
Hence, it's everyone guess what will happen tomorrow. Big demonstration? Bombings? Flag burnings? Political rallies? Hopefully the day will pass smoothly without any lives lost.
As for the rest of the world and to my girlfriend: Happy Valentine's Day!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Friday, February 10, 2006
Atkins Wouldn't Have Approved Of This
Moroccan Coucous Lunch
I had an extremely heavy lunch on Couscous (kous kous). It's a traditional staple diet of the Arabic parts of Africa. Basically, the dish consists of coarse semolina granules steamed with a variety of vegetables such as onion, raisins, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, potatoes, and meats like veal or beef. This fragrant dish is the Arabic answer to the Spanish pilaf.
The Couscous in the picture served 7 of us although its enough for 20! (Check out its size relative to the plate!) Yes, its a whole lot of bad carbs....
Stiff Immigration Checks @ Airports
Recently I seem to be facing stricter checks when I go through airport immigration checks. I've faced slight inconveniences when I went through immigration checks in Istanbul, Paris, Beirut and yesterday, Casablanca. Then I read this today:
Bush said that in October 2001, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that year, had set in motion a plot for another attack inside the United States using shoe bombs to hijack an airplane and fly it into the tallest building on the West Coast.
Rather than use Arab hijackers as in the 11 September attack, Mohammed "sought out young men from southeast Asia whom he believed would not arouse as much suspicion", Bush said.
(article from http://www.aljazeera.net)
Bush said that in October 2001, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that year, had set in motion a plot for another attack inside the United States using shoe bombs to hijack an airplane and fly it into the tallest building on the West Coast.
Rather than use Arab hijackers as in the 11 September attack, Mohammed "sought out young men from southeast Asia whom he believed would not arouse as much suspicion", Bush said.
(article from http://www.aljazeera.net)
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Wish List
I was looking @ my Blogger account and found out that I can create a wish list through Froogle (read Frugal: smart shopping through google). It's linked to a list of products on google, from which I can create a shopping list that is linked to my wish list. Sounds complicated?
Put simply, I pick a list of products from google. People who want to buy me gifts just need to click on items on my wish list and get me those gift via online shopping. The google people are damn smart lor!
But then my wish list very simple...
1) BCD
2) A 365D365N LiveAboard Cruise around the world so I can dive, dive, dive, dive, and dive until I look like Kiam Chai !
Put simply, I pick a list of products from google. People who want to buy me gifts just need to click on items on my wish list and get me those gift via online shopping. The google people are damn smart lor!
But then my wish list very simple...
1) BCD
2) A 365D365N LiveAboard Cruise around the world so I can dive, dive, dive, dive, and dive until I look like Kiam Chai !
Controversial Cartoons...
The recent controversial cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed had sparked off a furore in the Islamic world.
The caricaturizations first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September. One of the drawing shows Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped as a bomb. Another depicted him holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle. Islam prohibits any pictoral representations to prevent idolatory. Consequently, Muslims worldwide claimed that Islam has been deeply wounded by such derogatory depiction of their beloved Prophet.
Newpaper editors in question claimed that they published/reprinted the cartoons to support the principle of free speech.
...Which is a load of Crap!
Free speech without sensitivity to and respect for cultural and religious practices of others is a deplorable act. The controversial cartoonist and editors had simply demonstrated their incapability of reflecting on the impact of their actions on others.
Let's suppose if their mothers are depicted in another cartoon in the most deplorable and lewdest way. Let's also assume that they love their mothers as much as Muslims love their Prophet. Are they gonna shrug it off with a laugh because after all, its a practice of free speech. Or perhaps they will consider pressing charges for libel, thereby go against free speech?
In today's world of cultural diversity and religious pluralism, people should to try to respect and accomodate other people's perception or else it will easily lead to conflicts. One cannot claim national sovereignity as techology has made national boundaries porous. Obviously the readership of the Danish newspaper, that published the controversial cartoon, is not limited to within Denmark.
An innocent act has unintended consequences let alone irresponsible acts which cause big unintended repercussions. Action begets karmic reaction. A butterfly flapping its wings in Japan could cause a tornado in California (The Butterfly Effect). Sociologist Merton calls it the Law of Unforseen circumstances. Hence better be prudent and reflect upon the consequences before acting.
On another note, there is obviously an over-reaction on the part of the Muslims. While most Muslim leaders are using diplomacy to resolve the issue, which is highly commendable, others had taken to the streets in protest i.e. in Lebanon and Iraq etc.
One wonders how many of these protestors had actually seen the cartoons? Surely the cartoons are an insult to Islam as a religion but I'm sure that Islam isn't for violence and mob-mentality.
The violence that happened seems to suggest manupilation of the crowd by radical fundamentalist groups that have a deep rooted hatred for the western world. Hopefully, Muslim and Danish leaders can alleviate the situation in a non-violent way as much as possible without extra cost to human life.
The caricaturizations first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September. One of the drawing shows Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped as a bomb. Another depicted him holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle. Islam prohibits any pictoral representations to prevent idolatory. Consequently, Muslims worldwide claimed that Islam has been deeply wounded by such derogatory depiction of their beloved Prophet.
Newpaper editors in question claimed that they published/reprinted the cartoons to support the principle of free speech.
...Which is a load of Crap!
Free speech without sensitivity to and respect for cultural and religious practices of others is a deplorable act. The controversial cartoonist and editors had simply demonstrated their incapability of reflecting on the impact of their actions on others.
Let's suppose if their mothers are depicted in another cartoon in the most deplorable and lewdest way. Let's also assume that they love their mothers as much as Muslims love their Prophet. Are they gonna shrug it off with a laugh because after all, its a practice of free speech. Or perhaps they will consider pressing charges for libel, thereby go against free speech?
In today's world of cultural diversity and religious pluralism, people should to try to respect and accomodate other people's perception or else it will easily lead to conflicts. One cannot claim national sovereignity as techology has made national boundaries porous. Obviously the readership of the Danish newspaper, that published the controversial cartoon, is not limited to within Denmark.
An innocent act has unintended consequences let alone irresponsible acts which cause big unintended repercussions. Action begets karmic reaction. A butterfly flapping its wings in Japan could cause a tornado in California (The Butterfly Effect). Sociologist Merton calls it the Law of Unforseen circumstances. Hence better be prudent and reflect upon the consequences before acting.
On another note, there is obviously an over-reaction on the part of the Muslims. While most Muslim leaders are using diplomacy to resolve the issue, which is highly commendable, others had taken to the streets in protest i.e. in Lebanon and Iraq etc.
One wonders how many of these protestors had actually seen the cartoons? Surely the cartoons are an insult to Islam as a religion but I'm sure that Islam isn't for violence and mob-mentality.
The violence that happened seems to suggest manupilation of the crowd by radical fundamentalist groups that have a deep rooted hatred for the western world. Hopefully, Muslim and Danish leaders can alleviate the situation in a non-violent way as much as possible without extra cost to human life.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Lebanon Excursion: Baalbek
UNESCO description of Baalbek:This Phoenician city, where a triad of deities was worshipped, was known as Heliopolis during the Hellenistic period. It retained its religious function during Roman times, when the sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter attracted thousands of pilgrims. Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee. (http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=294)
I recalled a scene from the movie "Gladiator" where the black gladiator said to Maximus: " I cannot believe this is built by humans!" or something to that effect. They were staring at the Roman colosseum which they were about to enter. I probably felt the same when I visited the massive Roman temple complex of Baalbek.
The once proud Roman architecture now stands in ruins, damaged by time, nature and man
A glimpse of its former glory - some parts of architecture are still relatively well preserved
Of the 54 columns that used to hold the Temple of Jupiter, only 6 remained erect. (Suggestion: New idea for Singapore government's logo for Total Defence? =P)
Temple of Bacchus (god of wine) is extremely well-preserved.
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