life's too short

Pregnancy poser

2010-02-09T11:00:00.000+08:00

Can older women become pregnant after a certain age?

Find out here.

Walking away the blues

2010-02-07T23:32:00.000+08:00

Walking on the treadmill

There is another reason why walking is good for us.

It can help women living with depression if it is done in conjunction with emotional and social support.

Nottingham University researchers recently unveiled a new exercise programme which involves group motivational support and a low effort walking plan.

The key to the new programme -- thanks to two years of study at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy -- is ‘mentored’ exercise, say the researchers.

It hopes to help women who are living with depression, characterised by low levels of physical activity, increasing health and weight problems, low self-esteem and a lack of motivation.

Some 40 women with depression in the Nottingham area took part in the research, which entails a pragmatic randomised trial of a standard "exercise-as-usual" programme compared with the new, individually tailored and supported plan.

The women volunteers attended sessions at their local authority leisure centre three times a week for four weeks.

In each session the women received a half hour motivational coaching session conducted by a health psychologist, in a small friendly group, followed by an individually tailored exercise session on the treadmill in the gym, supervised by a sports therapist.

The women exercised alongside each other and, if they needed it, received additional emotional and social support for the duration of their session, though this was slowly reduced as confidence and support from peers within the group grew.

Women on the special programme saw a significant improvement in their mood, physical health, sense of well being, self-esteem and quality of life.

They felt that they had achieved these gains via a positive, comfortable and unintimidating experience which encouraged regular and continued attendance.

One volunteer said: “I feel more confident in my physical self and my emotional self. I do think it has helped with my mood.”

Women on the "exercise as usual" programme did not report any significant benefits, were less likely to continue attending and were markedly less enthusiastic.

Previous research by the team had found that standard GP-prescribed exercise, usually gym sessions, don’t work well for this group as they find them discouraging and lonely, with many dropping out very early on.

The research team’s aim was to come up with a new type of exercise plan that would support and motivate the women for the duration of the treatment.

Team lead researcher Professor Patrick Callaghan said: “Exercise tailored to preferred exertion levels, combined with support from others is a prescription designed to improve depressed women’s overall health and well being.”

The women who participated in this study are those commonly seen in GP surgeries up and down Britain.
The research was conducted by Professor Patrick Callaghan, Elizabeth Khalil and Ioannis Morres at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy.

It was funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and has been adopted by East Midlands hub of the Mental Health Research Network, part of the National Institute for Health Research.
Source: University of Nottingham
For more on walking visit this blog.

The other face of Gaza

2010-01-15T19:08:00.003+08:00

Guest blogger Jehan Mohd speaks to Perdana Global Peace Organisation manager Ram Karthigasu about the adventures he had on the Viva Palestina convoy, which recently successfully delivered humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the besieged territory of Gaza.

International peace activists shout as they stand atop a truck carrying medical supplies in Gaza City January 7, 2010. Egypt has reached a deal with members of an aid convoy to take supplies to Palestinians in Gaza after protests overnight, but Cairo barred their private cars from crossing, an Egyptian security source said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

They hang out in cyber-cafes to play popular video game Counter-Strike, are in touch with the latest news through the Internet and complete their attire with mobile phones.

If not for the seemingly requisite AK-47 slung over their shoulder, these young Gazan boys may have passed off for normal teenagers in any other country.

“Everybody carries a gun – all smuggled in – in Gaza — it’s like a normal thing there,” says Perdana Global Peace Organisation manager Ram Karthigasu, who recently visited the war-torn territory as part of the Viva Palestina convoy to deliver much needed humanitarian aid.

Years of being under siege and constant bombardment may have toughened the youths – most of whom aspire to become doctors or civil engineers – but they remain optimistic about their lives.

“Most of the kids I spoke to seemed very optimistic – they are like ‘yeah, we’re going to get out there and kill some Israelis and Egyptians, finish our PhDs, come back and shoot more Israelis and Egyptians’,” says Ram, half-jokingly.

Ram Karthigasu - NSTP picture by Surianie Mohd Hanif

Hundreds who have been offered full scholarships to study at Oxbridge or Ivy League universities are unable to do so because they cannot pass the borders.

He says being able to enter the territory has given the volunteers a better idea of what is actually needed.

“We realise that things like milk powder is something they are able to acquire by smuggling them through underground tunnels.

“Maybe we should now look at how we can help these students get out to pursue their studies,” says Ram.

A few of the youths he met don’t go to school because they’ve already completed secondary school but aren’t able to continue their studies – but they learn to make do.

“I met this 15-year-old who’s a computer hacker.

“He demonstrated how he could find out the password to my Gmail account on my laptop,” he says.

No stranger to the Palestinian conflict – it was a major subject in his Master’s of International Relations course at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK – he still found the trip an eye-opener as he saw life as it was, something that you can’t get by merely reading a book.

Driving through Gaza city is akin to driving through an old Malaysian town – “only really clean”, he says.

“It’s so embarrassing for Egypt, which is a shithole because it’s so badly run and whatnot.

“If there were no pyramids , there’s no reason to go to Egypt,” he says.

Members of the Al-Athamna family play outside their clay house in the northern Gaza Strip January 11, 2010. Palestinians in Gaza suspect that temporary clay houses they are being given to replace homes destroyed a year ago in the Israeli offensive are a sign that the United Nations is giving up on reconstruction. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

His bitterness with Egypt is no surprise – the nation had seemed bent on preventing the convoy from reaching the war-torn territory by putting laying down several tedious conditions for their entry.

Many a time the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza tend to be “hijacked” to be an issue on Muslim brotherhood.

During the convoy, Ram was approached by “friendly and curious” youths, also volunteers on the convoy, who tried to convert him to Islam, not being able to fathom what he – a non-white Hindu – was doing there.

“What is happening there is a humanitarian issue - it’s about the right to live.”

While the Islamist political party Hamas may be painted as a demon by western media, people on the street in Gaza do seem to respect them – regardless of whether they are Muslims or Christians.

“They’re militant and aggressive but they’re not corrupt…after years of Fatah’s failure as a governing body, Hamas was a breath of fresh air.”

Also, unlike Malaysia, religion does not seem to be used as a platform for governing the territory.

“Without the bombings and sanctions, they would probably be a secular Muslim state akin to Turkey,” says Ram.

“So when the Israelis and Americans say that the Palestinians are Muslim terrorists, it’s way off the mark because they’re not and you can see this when you go there.”

---

Read this Sunday's Learning Curve and next Saturday's YOU for more reports.

Suicide solution

2010-01-22T17:13:00.003+08:00

Avid Facebook junkie Jehan Mohd is slightly aghast and somewhat intrigued by the notion of being able to “off” yourself virtually. She guest-blogs about this new phenomenon here:

Picture by Aref Omar

TIRED of countless requests to be friends with strangers or to tend to friends’ neglected farms and pets?

Wish that you could spend more quality time with your friends (as you feel online interaction doesn’t count as actual interaction)?

Just plain tired of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn?

Say hello to the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, which touts its services with a simple slogan: “Meet your real neighbours again! Sign out forever!”.

The brainchild of Walter Langelaar, Gordan Savicic, and Danya Vasiliev, the programme has helped more than 1,000 people commit virtual suicide, severing more than 85,000 friendships on Facebook and removing over 300,000 tweets from Twitter.

The programme provides users an easy way out (no pun intended) from their online personas.

With a simple handing over of your login details and the click of the “commit” button on its site, the programme will delete all your info, leaving behind a profile with no data.

Nothing that a normal user wouldn’t do, except that it takes a fraction of the time you would normally take and it deletes EVERYTHING.

And, like real life, once the deed is done (actually once you start the process of killing off your 2.0 self, it cannot be stopped), it cannot be undone.

Needless to say the folks behind Facebook are not amused.

The corporation issued the folks behind the Suicide Machine a cease and desist letter (which the latter helpfully scanned and posted up on its site).

Among Facebook’s objections are that Suicide Machine’s actions violate Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibility and that Facebook “takes the protection of its users’ privacy and security of their data very seriously” (this statement is laughable with its track record but that’s a whole other story).

In its FAQ page, Suicide Machine claims it does not store your password and that once the dirty deed is done, it only saves your profile picture, name and last words for posterity.

While it is looking to be a promising way to exit your social networking sites, I would rather do the deleting of my online persona on my own and in my own time.

Excuse me while I harvest my pumpkins in Farmville, feed my pseudo-cat in Petville and check in on my café in Café World…

Giving in to dance

2010-01-29T20:33:00.001+08:00

Guest blogger Jehan Mohd writes about what she thinks about the promotional stunts for the late King of Pop's DVD release of the concert that never was.

Screenshot from Dancing Inmates - Michael Jackson's This Is It

GETTING a bunch of convicts serving time at a maximum security facility to promote the launch of your latest DVD may not seem to be the brightest of ideas…unless you’re a recently deceased-cum-former-King-of-Pop and the prisoners are those at Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, a maximum security prison in the Philippines.

The inmates who made waves globally in 2007 when a video of them dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller hit YouTube aren’t exactly unknown (collectively, anyway) – videos of them dancing to other songs have received tens of millions of hits in total.

Nevertheless being visited by longtime MJ choreographer Travis Payne and dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid who taught the inmates the moves to a sequence from MJ’s This Is It, and performed a dance to promote the launch of the DVD must still be pretty exciting.

It’s hard not to admire and get excited by the efforts of these 1,500-odd men.

You might even forget that these are hardened criminals and not a bunch of kids getting together for a flash mob type event (yes, I am spoiling the video for you) – at the end of the video, they form a giant peace sign.

The choice of They Don’t Care about Us as the song they dance to is kind of ironic (or fitting, depending on how you see it) as one of the original music videos (two were made for this song) saw Michael Jackson singing and dancing with inmates in a prison facility.

Who, aside from their families and loved ones, would look upon prisoners kindly or with admiration? These are people who committed not just any petty crime but serious offences – including murder, rape and drug trafficking – that landed them in the maximum security facility.

Prison warden and security consultant Byron Garcia sees dancing as a form of rehabilitation.

In his site, he says that rehabilitation has to be “anchored on bringing out the best in men instead of the worst…” and that it should be done with compassion so that a sinner can be separated from the sin.

I can imagine that the people who fell victim to their acts not being fans of these criminals.

Still, for the four to five-minute duration of the songs they dance to, normal viewers and total strangers to them would still be amazed at how “hard-core” criminals can let their guards down enough to give in to dance.

A hero's welcome

2010-01-10T23:46:00.004+08:00

Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) members Juana Jaafar and Ram Karthigasu were given a hero's welcome on their return home.

They landed at Kuala Lumpur International Ariport slightly after 2pm today looking tired but happy to be home.

The pair were given an enthusiastic welcome as they walked out of baggage clearance towards the waiting area at the airport.

For the parents of Juana and Ram the wait is over: their children are safe and that is all that matters.

Relief is written all over Azizah Dahlan's face -- Juana's mum.

Vanaja Ramachandran says the family can rest easy: Ram is home.

Juana, 28, and Ram, 29, were part of the International Humanitarian Aid convoy under Viva Palestina, a British-registered charity, to Gaza.

The convoy departed London December 6, 2009 and arrived in Gaza January 6, 2010.

What an accomplishment for these young Malaysian heroes!

There will be stories to tell and books to write.

All that can wait.

They can relax safe in the knowledge that they are at home with their loving families.

Congratulations Ram and Juana!

We are very proud of you!

No sugar, please

2010-01-07T20:58:00.036+08:00

Cut down on our sugar intake.

That is my response to the sugar price hike in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Government raised the price of sugar by 20 sen (US6 cent) per kilogramme beginning January 1, this year.

Endocrinologist and Monash Malaysia academic Professor Dato' Dr Khalid Kadir warns that one in five adults in this country will develop diabetes this year.

Eating less sugar reduces the risk of obesity which is said to be a major factor behind the increase.

Giving up sugar in your diet won't be easy.

Still, there are useful tips on how to do so.

TIPS

CUT DOWN SLOWLY. Forget going cold turkey. Therein lies failure. Instead, if you normally have two candy bars a day, cut to one a day.

Then next week, one every other day.

The following week, one every three days, until you're down to just one a week.

If you normally take two 2 of sugar in your coffee, use the same routine, cutting down to 1 1/2 teaspoons for a week, then 1, then 1/2.

Eventually, get to the point where you're using artificial sweetener if you still need the sweet taste.

The more sugar you eat, the more you'll crave.

So cutting down slowly is the best way to tame a sweet tooth gone wild.

CONTINUE ...

NOTE: For information on living with diabetes and news updates, visit the Malaysian Diabetes Association website.

Picture by Jehan Mohd.

Running from the media

2009-11-22T22:27:00.046+08:00

The drizzle early this morning did not deter participants of the National Press Club Media Run 2009 from taking part in the event.

Everyone wanted to complete the 5km stretch and return to the Press Club at Jalan Tangsi, Kuala Lumpur for the prize-giving ceremony which began around 10am.

The prizes were great; cash prizes and hampers for the top five in the different categories and more hampers and electrical items for the lucky draw segment.

This picture shows the Mohamed women -- Jehan, Nisa and Adibah -- adjusting the tags on their T-Shirts for the run.

Luck was on the side of these vibrant women. Although they didn't grab the top awards, they took home hampers from Giant and Milo.

Seasoned runner Adibah, who received two hampers, donated one to a very young boy.

The five-year-old youngster took part in the run with his father, who is an exco member of the National Press Club.

He looked so sad because he didn't get anything and that moved Adibah to give him one of her two hampers.

Nisa (see picture), like many other participants including this writer, walked rather than ran.

The route was from the Press Club at Jalan Tangsi, past Lake Garden towards Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, Jalan Dato Onn and back to the Press Club.

This participant gamely posed for a picture before the run.

She found the police outrider difficult to resist.

Thanks to the organisational skills of National Press Club vice-president Yani and her colleagues, the event proceeded smoothly.

Everybody present was happy to have been part of this activity.

Make it a walk next year, Yani.

Photos by Jehan Mohd and Faezah Ismail

In the waiting room

2009-12-31T01:06:00.004+08:00

People are always waiting for something.

They could be waiting for the train, an opportunity, promises to be fulfilled or the return of a loved one.

But "what does waiting mean in our lives and what is life without waiting?"

That question was posed by Danny Castillones Sillada in his article "What is Life without Waiting?" (The Metaphysics of Waiting).

The passing of the old year demands another round of gloomy introspection and Sillada's article came at the right time, given the value of waiting in our lives.

"Waiting," he explains, is "an emotional and mental state, which is preconditioned to anticipate someone or something to arrive at a particular time and place".

Sillada tells us that there are two types of waiting: empirical and metaphysical.

The empirical form of waiting is "where the certainty of the waited and the occurrence of event are tangibly expected to happen within a particular time and place of the waiter".

But what happens when the "waited" doesn't appear?

Does your desire for it become habitual?

And does that longing develop into optimism that soon it "would turn up at any given moment"?

Sillada describes "this intangible form of waiting, which is beyond the empirical certainty of the two elements (the waited and the appointed time), as the metaphysical aspect of waiting".

All of us have experienced this type of waiting.

"Even if the chance of the waited to come were nil, something ineffable and magical could happen to the waiter, because the metaphysical aspect of waiting" has the power "to motivate the waiter to do something worthwhile within the process of waiting".

That is the most important point of Sillada's message.

As the following view puts it:

"Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow -- that is patience." (Source unknown)

My conservations with thoughtful people reveal the same central idea: patience is absolutely necessary when we embark on anything significant.

It could be looking for a new job, searching for the next break or writing a book.

Don't expect overnight success, however we define it.

And the period of "restlessness" that comes with the journey is a given.

But that "gives us wisdom to dissect and rationalise the purpose and meaning of our existence", writes Sillada.

"The tension between despair and anxiety, boredom and activity, joy and sorrow as well as victory and defeat": that is part and parcel of the long wait.

I draw comfort from the words of Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet, jurist, theologian and sufi mystic.

"Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form."

Happy New Year!

Picture by Jehan Mohd

Nagasaki Castella: Love at first bite

2009-12-27T23:17:00.003+08:00

Cake lovers all over the world surely must have heard of Nagasaki Castella (picture).

It is a Japanese sponge cake (made of egg yolks, brown sugar crystals, refined white sugar, thick rice syrup and flour) and is said to be popular in Japan and other parts of the world.

I first tasted the cake in December 2007 after attending the Second Asian City Journalist Conference (ACJC) which was held in Fukuoka City, Japan.

(The conference was jointly organised by UN Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Fukuoka) and The Nishinippon Newspaper).

I had plenty of time before my flight home.

So I browsed the shelves of one of the duty-free shops at Fukuoka International Airport for something interesting to buy and I chanced upon individually wrapped long boxes which looked very attractive from where I was standing.

The boxes contained the Nagasaki Castella.

I love cakes and I couldn't resist the temptation that was staring at me intently.

I bought three boxes for myself and friends back home.

It was a wise decision.

The taste was incredible.

As journalist Jehan Mohd describes it: "It was love at first bite."

You will feel a "slightly gritty sensation when the bottom of the cake is put into the mouth," states a brochure inside the box.

"This comes from individual grains of finely ground brown sugar crystals."

"It is nice and rich without being overly sweet. It is soft and fluffy," says Jehan.

For journalist Aref Omar eating the cake sends "a shot of bliss" through his taste buds "which takes me back to my childhood".

The Castella is a heart-warming story of East meeting West.

The cake was introduced to Japan by Portuguese missionaries (some accounts say Portuguese traders) in the mid-16th Century and it is one of the finest examples of Japanese innovation.

The flavour is great and the history is fascinating.

Altogether it is a very satisfying experience.

I tasted the Japanese delight again when Takeshi Kokubu -- senior editor of The Nishinippon Newspaper -- presented every participant of the Third ACJC, which was held in Nanjing, China last November, with a box of Nagasaki Castella.

The Fourth ACJC was held in Fukuoka City, Japan on December 14, this year.

The obvious move for me, needless to say, was to go back to the same duty-free shop at Fukuoka International Airport for the Japanese sponge cake.

The picture below shows journalists Suzieana Uda Nagu, Jehan Mohd and Sharifah Arfah enjoying the Castella with hot tea.

ACJC now on Facebook

2009-12-17T15:36:00.003+08:00

The Asian City Journalist Conference (ACJC) is on Facebook.

It is called UN HABITAT’s Asian City Journalists’ Conference Group.

It is a platform for environmentally conscious journalists and associates in Asia to hook up and communicate with like-minded individuals.

Japanese architect and urban planner Shunya Susuki first proposed the idea over dinner at a traditional Japanese pub in Fukuoka City, Japan on December 13, 2009.

Present at the dinner were journalists from Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The conversation over dinner mainly centred on establishing a space for journalists and associates connected with ACJC to create an online presence and to act as an alumni association.

That was when Susuki – who participated in ACJC as coordinating officer for UN Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Fukuoka) prior to his transfer to Fukuoka City Hall in April this year – came up with the Facebook plan.

Everyone present enthusiastically embraced Susuki’s suggestion.

Indonesian journalist Robert Adhi Kusumaputra (KOMPAS Jakarta) volunteered to create the UN HABITAT’s Asian City Journalists’ Conference Group on Facebook.

After the dinner party, Kusumaputra, Cynthia Delgado Balana (Philippine Daily Enquirer) and Faezah Ismail (New Straits Times Malaysia) adjourned to set up the page.

Do check out the group on Facebook.

'Daddy Cool' in KL

2009-11-30T12:25:00.007+08:00

Those who danced to the hits of Boney M in the mid-70s and mid-80s are now a lot older, visibly rounder and arguably wiser.

All that didn't matter when they gathered at Sunway Lagoon Hotel on Saturday night to see the pop and disco group, which was originally based in West Germany, performed for charity at a show organised by Lejadi Group.

The moment Liz Mitchell came on stage and showed off her vocals with Amazing Grace, fans poised themselves for a rush that would last for several days.

The audience was easily persuaded.

Before they knew it, fans of Boney M were clapping their hands and getting off their seats to gyrate to Sunny, Ma Baker, Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday!, Daddy Cool (the group's first number 1 hit), Rasputin, Rivers of Babylon, No Woman No Cry and Bahama Mama, among others.

"We want you to get really happy ... we want to encourage you to dance so that your blood gets hot," coaxed Mitchell, the group's original lead singer.

"I was in Standard 5 when this song became famous. We all could sing Rivers of Babylon," said Maybank Head of Corporate Communication Celina May Benjamin. Yani and this writer were guests of Maybank at the dinner show.

Similar comments were heard elsewhere throughout the night.

It was Mitchell's first trip to Malaysia although Boney M had performed here a few times.

Mitchell was responsible for most of the group's chart-topping songs from the mid-1970s to the early 80s.

Boney M garnered 18 platinum and 15 gold LPs, and 200 platinum and gold singles over the course of 10 years.

The original Boney M split up in 1986, and Mitchell went on to record four solo albums.

Mitchell returned for the group’s Gold and More Gold compilations in the early 1990s — this time with a new line up comprising Carol Grey, Patricia Lona Foster and Tony Ashcroft.

The rejuvenated group also recorded another compilation, The Magic of Boney M in 2006, which included a brand new song featuring Mitchell.

In 1990, it was decided that each individual band member was allowed to tour under the name Boney M, which gave birth to the moniker Boney M Revisited.

Boney M Revisited is a phenomenal live act drawing huge crowds with spectacular shows.

New Straits Times Group Editor Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun (see picture) was one of the cool daddies at the show.

Boney M

Feliz Navidad ... however you say it ...

2009-12-22T11:28:00.001+08:00

Christmas in many parts of the world is both a secular and sacred holiday.

Many countries bring their own cultures and traditions to the Christmas season.

It is as much a celebration of spirituality as it is of goodwill.

Those who observe Christmas go to church, sing carols, exchange gifts and attend parties as well as family gatherings.

Christmas in Malaysia is celebrated in typical Malaysian fashion where people of multi-ethnic and multi-religious backgrounds thronged the homes of their Christian friends to soak in the festive spirit.

This is consistent with the concept of "rumah terbuka" or "open house" which makes the celebration of major festivals in Malaysia more meaningful.

Food is the main component of any festival.

Visitors to a Malaysian open house on Christmas Day may find traditional Western offerings of the season -- roast turkey, mince pies and fruit cakes -- sitting comfortably with local delicacies such as devil's curry, beef rendang and pineapple tarts.

For many the celebration continues well into the small hours.

Selamat Hari Raya Natal, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Merry Christmas.

However you say it, it means "have a good time"!

From me to you:

Merry Christmas or just enjoy your day off!

NOTE: Pictures by Jehan Mohd

Lee Byeong-Heon sizzles in Iris!

2009-12-10T11:29:00.010+08:00

Watch South Korean actor Lee Byeong-Heon (picture) in Iris an action-packed Korean drama series, now showing on KBS World (Astro Channel 303 on Wednesday and Thursday at 9pm).

As bitter National Security System (NSS) secret agent Kim Hyeon-joon, Lee keeps me on the edge of my seat leaving me asking for more when each episode ends.

His romance with NSS profiler Choi Seung-hee (played by South Korean actress Kim Tae-hee) is sweet and touching which seems strange considering his tough demeanour.

Not really. The "I am ready to kill anyone who opposes me" secret agent is actually a very soft and romantic man.

He is the guy every woman wants to have!!! Big, strong and loving!!!

Iris reminds me so much of BBC's Spooks, a "tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation".

I am annoyed that Astro has removed BBC Entertainment from the Metro Package. I can no longer watch Spooks.

Give me one good reason why you did that, Astro!!!

I am so grateful to KBS World for Iris.

NOTE: Picture courtesy of New Straits Times

What snow blizzard?

2009-11-19T11:37:00.003+08:00

It's official.

There will be no snow in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

There's not a vestige of truth in the rumour -- that has been widely repeated on the internet -- that a snow blizzard would hit Kuala Lumpur at 7pm tomorrow.

Meteorological Department director-general Dr Yap Kok Seng said that it was impossible for snow blizzards to occur in tropical countries.

Still, we should be prepared for bad weather until November 24 as predicted by the Meteorological Department.

Imagine snow falling all over Kuala Lumpur.

Of course it's not true, what an absurd idea!

That's what you think.

Judging by the phone calls and emails which the Meteorological Department has had to handle over the past few weeks, many Malaysians seemed to have lost their capacity to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

I must admit that for several hours I was haunted by the possibility of snow-capped high-rise buildings in the city.

I am happy that the Meteorological Department has taken action to douse the rumours.

Calvin, what are you going to do with your winter clothes?

I will be preparing for my next trip to the beach (see picture courtesy of Jehan Mohd).

Thank God for sunny Malaysia!

Your cheating heart!

2009-11-06T11:35:00.009+08:00

"I don't trust him," JP said, in a rare moment of candour.

I was completely taken aback by JP's revelation that her partner had been cheating on her.

They have been together for nearly 19 years and that was the first time she had uttered those words.

JP's declaration got me thinking about the concept of trust: the belief that somebody is sincere and honest and will not try to harm or trick you.

A recent episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show disclosed that one in three men cheat on their spouses and 93 per cent of men hide their sexual affairs from their wives.

If trust is a rare and precious commodity in today's world, is there hope for relationships to thrive?

I don't have any answers.

Apparently family counsellor, rabbi and best-selling author Gary Neuman does.

He carried out a two-year study of 100 unfaithful men and 100 faithful men and the findings were documented in his book entitled The Truth About Cheating: Why Men Stray and What You Can Do To Prevent It.

I first heard about Neuman on The Oprah Winfrey Show and later read an article by Newsweek's Jessica Ramirez about his book.

His research showed that even good men are susceptible to cheating.

Many men turned to other women because they felt an emotional disconnection from their wives who no longer appreciate them.

So long as men feel that their wives value them, they will "stay in the game".

Otherwise, they will seek the company of other women: those who will give them the appreciation they crave so much.

I told JP about Neuman's book and his findings.

She groans: "Why does it always have to be about men and their needs?"

Photo by Jehan Mohd.

NOTE: For more on the topic, read Suzanna Pillay's interview with best-selling authors Allan and Barbara Pease about their book Why Men Want Sex and Women Need Love in Life & Times on November 10, 2009. The pair also wrote Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps.

The bridge of death

2009-10-29T16:02:00.012+08:00

This picture of the suspension bridge across the Kampar River at the Kuala Dipang Curriculum centre, Kampar, Perak was taken on October 12, 2009 at 11.42 am.

Who could have predicted that the bridge would collapse 15 days later as the picture below shows?

On Monday night (October 26, 2009) the bridge, which was opened a month ago, gave way.

The 22 pupils on the overpass were plunged into the river.

Nineteen were rescued from the river while three girls drowned.

They were among nearly 300 pupils attending a 1Malaysia unity camp.

Another tragedy, another round of gloomy introspection.

Will we ever learn from our past disasters?

The usual calls for investigation have kept the newspapers busy.

What's the use of making noises about safety and security?

You and I know that we don't take these things seriously.

I am reminded of an observation made by the late Syed Hussein Alatas: "Malaysia has no awareness of standards."

This latest catastrophe is a further proof of the validity of his statement.

Photos courtesy of New Straits Times.

An evening with Gary Thanasan

2009-10-24T21:32:00.011+08:00

Popular businessman Dato' Gary Thanasan held a social gathering in celebration of Diwali at his residence in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

The above picture shows Gary, who is holding his daughter, with Prestige magazine editor Saleha Ali and journalists Yani (Bernama), Suraya (Life & Times editor) and Meena (Life & Times).

Miss Malaysia (Universe) 1990 and Mrs Malaysia (World) 2004 Dato' Anna Lim came with her husband Dato' Jeffrey Lim and their two children.

The friendly pair sportingly posed for a picture.

Yani baked Gary, a former radio and TV show host, a classic dessert -- buttery rich Pineapple Upside Down Cake -- which brought back many childhood memories.

She is pictured here with Meena, who came to the party in her usual Bollywood style.

It was really a nice evening!

Thank you Gary!

Zen Prescription

2009-10-20T23:25:00.005+08:00

zenhabits (simple productivity) is one of the Top 100 blogs in the world.

It also happens to be one of my favourite blogs.

Its entries or posts seek to find "simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives".

The message is to "focus on what's important, create something amazing, find happiness".

It is the perfect pick-me-up when you feel down.

Check it out here.

Night falls in Kuala Lumpur

2009-10-12T13:49:00.019+08:00

This image of the Kuala Lumpur Tower (foreground) and the Petronas Twin Towers (background) was taken by journalist Jehan Mohd from Maybank Tower in Kuala Lumpur City last month.

Isn't it interesting how everything looks different at night?

Take this view of the city, for example.

What happened to the grime, congestion and pollution?

Night-time covers a multitude of sins.

It hides the real situation or facts when these are not good or pleasant.

As one unknown source puts it, "night is the blotting paper for many sorrows".

From the Talmud comes this warning: "Never greet a stranger in the night, for he may be a demon."

While Somerset Maugham notes that "in the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, it is unnatural, hostile and menacing.

"It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time."

If the black of the night sky inspires fear as we are likely to feel when power failures blacked out various sections of the city, it is also conducive to contemplation.

Although "fear (and grief) can keep us up all night long," notes another unknown source, "faith makes one fine pillow".

Those who lead a life of prayer and contemplation believe that the secrets of the divine are revealed at night-time.

It is the time when they feel closest to their creator and spiritual obligations take on a whole new meaning.

Khalil Gibran urges us to celebrate the night because "one may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night".

An African proverb comments in a similar vein:" However long the night, the dawn will break."

NOTE: For more night quotes, go to this website.

Remembering Aslam

2009-10-01T21:58:00.005+08:00

My dear nephew,

It has been a week since you were taken away from us.

We miss you.

Yes, death is inevitable, we accept that.

Still, the grief lingers on.

Time is a great healer, they say.

But we will never forget you.

We are glad that you had a full life.

And we will remember that when we think of you.

Al Fatihah

The genius of Shunya Susuki

2009-10-02T12:03:00.019+08:00

Japanese creativity teacher Shunya Susuki is a man of unusually great artistic ability.

His wide-ranging creations which include solar electric cars, kites of unusual designs, sculpture of women and computer graphics animation reveal a highly-inventive mind.

His recently completed Jang Geum Robot (see picture) is remarkable for its resemblance to Korean actress Lee Young Ae, who played historical figure Dae Jang Geum in the popular 2003 television series produced by South Korean television channel Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.

The robot will bow with a smile when it meets a person.

Susuki's creative endeavours display a commitment of time, energy and resources which is very
encouraging to those who wish to hone their artistic skills.

Some would call him a creative genius and I think that description is apt.

Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary ( Seventh Edition) defines a genius as a person of
unusually great intelligence, skill or artistic ability.

But can anyone be a genius?

Yes, if we accept Edward Said's explanation of what makes a genius.

"The essential thing about the actual works of genius is that they hide or eliminate all the traces
of the labour that went into them.

"Rather than trying to retrace the massive effort that went into the work's making, we ascribe
everything to 'genius', as if genius was a magic wand, or a secret chemical formula.

"This rather lazy idea of genius as something both final and beyond normal comprehension
sentimentalises, obscures, venerates what it should instead be studying with profit to everyone:
namely, the fact that genius is more a remarkable devotion to work, to patience, to slogging away
at a problem or a task than it is simply a matter of having a devastating flash of divine inspiration.

"There's no way of doing without the inspiration, of course.

"But that's less important than what the genius makes of it, through exhaustive work and an
obsessive attention to detail, going on for years and years.

"Patience is as important a virtue as ingenuity, perhaps even more so.

"Every genius works hard, though not everyone who perspires is a genius. The qualities that a
genius has include a certain incomparable elegance and inevitability: these take one's breath
away immediately."

Edward Said, the late Palestinian intellectual, may well be describing Susuki, who believes that
an individual is blessed with his or her own talent.

It is a matter of discovering what it is and taking it as far as you want to go.

The choice is yours.

NOTE: Read "Creative Genius" for more on Shunya Susuki.
Photo of Shunya Susuki and his Jang Geum Robot was taken by Maki Inoue
from The Nishinippon Newspaper.

The Blessings Of Aidil Fitri

2009-09-20T01:24:00.008+08:00

Today Muslims throughout the world celebrate the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

The first day of Syawal is known as Eid-ul-Fitr in some parts of the world and Hari Raya Puasa or Hari Raya Aidil Fitri in Malaysia.

Muslims who observe the fast eagerly await this day for it represents triumph over worldly desires.

There will be family gatherings and reunions in the days ahead during the month of Syawal.

Those who live and work in cities away from their hometowns often make the effort to return to the places where they were born or lived as children.

But many more such as the foreign workers in Malaysia will celebrate the dawn of Syawal alone, away from family and friends.

Let us spare a thought for them and resolve to show compassion for the foreign workers among us as we enjoy the company of our loves ones and traditional delicacies specially prepared for the festivities.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

Maaf Zahir Dan Batin

PHOTO BY JEHAN MOHD

Write and Win

2009-09-19T13:50:00.010+08:00

This image of Yani, Shah, Arni and Zu was taken by Jehan Mohd at a recent Ramadan gathering organised by Learning Curve, New Straits Times.

Why do you think they look so satisfied?

Email (surveypeopleplaces@gmail.com) me the answer to win a Kinokuniya voucher worth RM50.

The deadline for submissions is Oct 31, 2009. The entry with the most creative answer will be declared the winner.

Yani, Shah Arni and Zu are forbidden to take part in this contest.

Cruising the Malacca River

2009-08-31T14:43:00.010+08:00

This picture of the Malacca River Cruise was taken by photographer Ham with my camera.

We were on the eighth floor of the Renaissance Hotel recently and the view of the Malacca River was quite stunning from where we were standing.

There was no time for a cruise, which is highly recommended, by the way.

We were on an overnight business trip to the historical city.

I remember Sumita Martin raving about it when she was reporting for the New Straits Times from Malacca a few years ago.

The river itself has an interesting history.

According to Melaka Malaysia Travel "throughout its history, the Malacca River slowly modified its role as a busy and productive port along the import trade route of spices to a popular tourism attraction".

It was called the Venice of The East by European colonialists who were looking for new areas to acquire and keeping them dependent.

A voyage by sea, stopping at various places and savouring local cultures ala Slow Boats To China has been my dream for as long as I can remember.

For now, I would settle for a cruise around the Malacca River.