US financial turmoil cartoons

Ever since the States was plagued with financial crisis, the world economy has suffered major setbacks, even Malaysia. Our KLCI has dropped to 800++, and looked like its heading to 600. Here are some cartoons from the states that my good buddy mailed to me this morning. It took me quite a while to digest, but found myself laughing after a few minutes.

Ban this, ban that....what's next?

What a joke. An utter embarassment to the Malaysian public. Clef and Kevin had posted about this and I guess it is my turn.

Why can't "they" turn to other issues besides how Muslim women wear or do. And I thought that we are living in a free country, so to say. Now my Muslim female friends and colleagues cannot wear long pants to work coz it'll make them look like lesbians. And to add to all their mushy toppings, now they cannot even practice yoga even though it's normally practiced for health reasons.

Now, for 32 years living in this country, having to breathe its polluted air stenched with smelly politicians armpits, and having our human rights revoked right from under our nose.....I have never heard of a Muslim woman converted into Hinduism because he/she practices yoga. Its YOGA for crying out loud!!! And if there are, how many cases were there?

Are they trying to offload this so that we the rakyats' attention are diverted from our current economic and political state. Come on man. Focus on more important issues rather than this skank. There are many more issues that you can tackle, for instance Mat Rempits (mostly Malay boys, please do not be offended of this as it is a fact. I dont really see Chinese mat rempits around), Malay couples kissing and groping in the streets (even in KLCC, broad daylight, in public...I saw this with my very own two eyes), babies left on doorsteps (also a majority by Malay couples) and lots more.

The more bans or stupid laws you put upon your own people, the more rebellious they would be. That's the consequences you have to go through. Just face it and deal with it. Not putting on bans and no nos....its foolish and childish.

Bukit Tinggi Trip on Deepavali

As Ive mentioned in my previous post, mum, Rach and I went on a day trip to Bukit Tinggi. The trip was ok, but Bukit Tinggi did dissappoint me a little. Anyways, we made our journey at about 9.00am, just after breakfast and reached our destination at about 11.ooam. To enter Bukit Tinggi, you'll have to pay an entree fee of RM10 per person. We headed on to the Japanese Garden 1st as it was at the highest peak.....approx 3,500 feet from sea level. The weather was fine, a little gloomy. It was humid and I was drenched in my sweat. But whatever it is, I had a great family bonding time. Mum and Rachel were very much closer than before, to my delight. It is so important for families especially in laws to be close. Here are some of my shots.....

This was taken on the way up to the Japanese Garden.

Mum and Rachel at the entrance.

I have no idea what this grapelike flower is.....

This is the flower on a banana tree...the banana is red in colour, mind you.

A tiny waterfall

Wild Orchids

At the Colmar Tropicale..

The street

And last but not least, we went to the Rabbit's Farm. Ive named this one Thumper.....like from the cartoon Bambi.

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The sight seeing took us about 2 1/2 hours. And since it was still early (2.30pm), we took a drive all the way to IKEA for some shopping. We headed home at about 7.30pm and reached Kuantan at 10.30pm. Being an "old" man now, I was exhausted. I had a leg cramp in Batu Caves due to the ever famous traffic jam, had tonnes of coffee for the drive and was unable to poo went I got back home. But it was a good trip...... :)

Road trip to Bukit Tinggi

Rachel has been wanting to go on a holiday, but our working days are so much different. Since both of us are on holiday this Deepavali, and most of my dear Indian friends aren't around for me to spend their precious money on Indian food, Rach and I decided to take mum up to Bukit Tinggi for the day. Gonna take loads of pictures and post on my photoblog, once its ready for your viewing pleasures. Ive recently invested in 2 more lenses costing me almost 4 grand......a Canon zoom lens EF 73-300mm f4-5.6 III USM and Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM. So, i guess the trip to Bukit Tinggi tomorrow would really benefit both these lenses and shall be put to good use......

To all my Indian buddies, both here and abroad Rach and I would like to say

"HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY DEEPAVALI"

What is P.O.L.I.T.I.C.S.?

I dont know about you, but I'm already fed up of our Malaysian politics. Hence, I decided to turn my attention towards the Americans. While the Democrats and Republicans in the States are busy rallying for their next Presidential Election, I think its appropriate to post a joke or two about them. We can also relate this with our very own......

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A little boy goes to his dad and asks, “What is Politics?” Dad says, “Well son, let me try to explain it this way. I am the head of the family, so call me The President. Your mother is the administrator of our money, so we call her the Government. We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People. The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we will call him the Future. Now think about that and see if it makes sense.” So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what his dad has said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severly soiled his diaper.

So the little boy goes to his parent's room and finds his mother asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little boy say's to his father, “Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.” The father says, “Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.” The little boy replies, “The President is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit.”

I e-meow you, you e-meow me...

Deer Ah Lian,

Thanks you for your ladder. Wrong time no see you. How everything?

For me, I am quiet find. You say in your letter your taukeh soh want you to chain your look? Somemore you must wear kick-kok soo, hope you can wok properly. You know, Ah Kau Kia now working in a soft-where company. Last week, he take I, Muthu & few of his flen to MayNonut to eat barger. After that he take we all go to kalah-ok. Muthu sing and sing no stop until the sky bright.

Next week, my fada mada going to sellerbread 20 years annie-wear-sari. My fada mada going to give a fist to all the kampong people. So you must come with your hole family, ok?

My woking flen say my england now got batter oredy. What you ting?

I hope one day we no need to light to itch other and send ladder. Better I e-meow you, you e-meow me. I will ketchup with you soon.

And when you got time, please few free to call me. Goo bye.....

Worm regard,

Ah Beng

Family time at Handicapped and Mentally Retarded Children Centre Kuantan

As mentioned in my earlier posts, my family and I will be attending a small party made specially for the Handicapped & Mentally Retarded Children Centre Kuantan. Rachel was unable to attend as she had to work......she was grumbling all morning. We reached our destination at 3.15pm sharp. Here are some of the photos taken during our visit :-

Waiting for the party to start...my bro in law in green and sis in white

We got the children involved so that they will see how blessed they are to be normal. They were also involved in the dancing introduction......both my nieces in pink.

Sis helping out with the dance steps

Although handicapped, she sang for us clips of Burung Kakaktua, ABCD, Rasa Sayang....and many more as the party progresses....

Me and Ah Boy.....Aunt Mary warned us of this one...he likes to touch pretty ladies.... :)

My bro in law dancing along

.....and he never stopped... :)

Some of us were guiding them in the dance

This boy in pink was so happy that he jumped and waved at us during the entire party...

Then it was high tea time....my mum helping out with the feeding.

This welcome mural was drawn and coloured by them

These are the children and adults staying in the shelter.....wonder why they call them inmates

The care centre was founded by an ex lorry driver.......im really ashamed of myself

Donations can be made by form of monetary or items that the children will be using daily. For eg, napkins, rice, flour, vegetables, toothbrushes, cooking oil...etc.

I noticed this on the wall. It states....."When there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time". How so very true.

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We adjourned at about 5.30pm. Having attended this party, made me thank God again and again for His countless blessings. We never know how blessed we are until we come face to face with these. Have you thanked God lately?

This is hilarious!!!

Im sure most of you have seen this....Im so outdated. But anyways, I still wanna share this for all. Its so hilarious.... :)

Shekinah CG site

This has been playing on in my mind ever since I've started blogging mid this year. A special dedicated blog for my CG group . After much consideration and prayer, I've got the consent and blessings from the group members and it was a go. There's no turning back....

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The meaning of "Shekinah" in hebrew means dwelling or settling and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God. The Church or Body of Christ does not only imply a certain place or building where Christians meet every Sunday for worship. It also simply means that our physical body is a temple of God. Hence, at Shekinah CG, we long for ourselves to be a walking and talking testimony for Christ.

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Our site address is as follows :-

http://shekinahcgktn.blogspot.com/

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It is still fresh and new, so there's only a post on our CG members. So friends, feel free to surf the site and give comments. If there's anything you need or want to know about Christianity, do drop us a mail. We're more than happy to oblige.

IQ Test

Late last nite, as I was having tea with my buddy at our usual kopitiam. We were blabbering about work and all of a sudden, he asked whether he could test my IQ. I told him that my IQ is only average and not to expect me answer the questions on the spot. Im not sure if you have heard of these before. If you do, please keep the answers to yourselves. Here goes :-

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Question 1 :-

You are in a dark room. On the table there are these items....a torch light, a kerosine lamp, a lighter and a box of matches. Which would you light 1st?

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Question 2 :-

You are in a dark room. In the room there are many pairs of black and dark blue socks. What will you do when you are required to take a pair of stockings of the same colour out of the room?

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Question 3 :-

(This question was given out to professors, university, secondary, primary students and a very young girl at the age of 5. The professors took 4 weeks to answer, the uni students took 2 weeks, secondary school students took a week, the primary school students took 3 days but the little girl answered correctly in an instant).

3 worms were crawling side by side on a flat surface. The 1st worm on the right stood up and said..."There are two worms on my left". The the 3rd worm stood up and said.."There are 2 worms on my right". Then the 2nd which was the middle worm stood up and looked to his right and left and said...."Hmmmm, there are no worms here besides me". Why is that?

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Also try this....this is called the "Stupid game". I played this game with some of my church's youths during our stay in Rompin last August. (I'll give the answers for this)

1st, run out to a friend of yours and ask him/her to play the "Stupid Game". Shake his/her hands but do not let go. Then ask the 1st question :-

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a. How do you spell "Your Name"......normally, they will spell out their own name, which is wrong. "Your Name" is spelled Y.O.U.R.N.A.M.E......then congratulate him/her and say that they are 20% stupid.

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b. Next question.......emphasize on the bolded word. IS the egg yolk white, or ARE the egg yolk white?......when you emphasize on the IS and ARE, usually normal people will answer either one...IS or ARE. The answer is the egg yolk is "Yellow". Congratulate and inform that they are now 40% stupid.

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c. 3rd question. An Indian man got married with a Chinese lady. What colour is the baby's teeth. Again......a "normal" human being would say...WHITE lor. Answer, a baby has got no teeth.....Congratulate and confirm there are now 60% stupid.

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d. 4thly, remember, you're still holding his/her hand all this time. Do not let go just yet. Now place your free palm right in front of his/her face....almost touching, and then ask...Am I touching you? If he/she says NO, then show him/her that you're still shaking hands all this while. Congratulate and say that he/she is now 80% stupid. If the answer is YES, then fine.

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e. Lastly, ask what was the 1st question you gave just now. He/She should be answering.....How do you spell "Your Name". Answer, wrong....the 1st question was, would you like to play the "Stupid Game?". Your friend is now officially 100% stupid.... :P

A Chef wannabe....

About a week ago, Rachel and I was in Popular Bookstore hunting down for mags to read for the weekend. As usual, I was busy searching for the photography ones but couldnt find any. As I was walking away frustrated, and cursing btw.. :P, one of the books in the foodie section caught my attention. The front cover was a delicious looking prawn mee. The book is entitled "Bowl Food - The new comfort food for people on the move". I was glancing thru the pages and lo and behold, in every 2 pages, there was a picture of the most delicious food Ive ever seen. The photography was excellent too. They have sections for soups, salads, pasta, rice, wok and curries, both eastern and western. All of the sudden, I wanted to be a chef. After going thru for about 10 minutes, I bought it.

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And since it was a Friday, I decided to play chef the next day. I told my mum to relax and let me do the cooking. I couldnt make up my mind on what to cook at first, because all the food were not complicated and takes only about 5-10 mins. And so at last, I decided to prepare these two dishes for my family to enjoy.

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Vietnamese Chicken Salad

(Serves 4)

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Ingredients :-

400g of chicken fillets

1 stem of lemon grass, white part only (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

2 teaspoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoon of sweet chili sauce

200g Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced (I would recommend lettuce as it is easier to take in)

1 carrot (cut into ribbons with a vege peeler)

1/2 small red onion, sliced

1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves (make extras)

1/2 cup of roughly chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons of chopped peanuts

1 tablespoon of crisp fried shallots

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How to do:-

Place the chicken and lemon grass in a deep frying pan of lighty salted water. Bring it to a boil and reduce heat, simmer gently until the chicken is cooked. Leave aside, but do keep it warm.

Combine the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and sweet chili sauce in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved (this will be your sauce, it is good for any kind of salad). Place the cabbage/lettuce, carrot, onions, coriander and mint in a large bowl and toss together well. Drizzle over 3/4 of the sauce. Slice the chicken thinly and arrange over the top of the salad. Garnish with extra coriander leaves, chopped peanuts and the crisp fried shallots.

Veal Tortellini with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

(Serves 4)

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Ingredients :-

500g veal tortellini (I substituted this with maccaronis, since I couldnt find the suggested pasta)

1/4 cup of olive oil

600g Swiss brown mushrooms thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

1/2 cup of dry white wine

300ml thick cream (double cream)

A pinch of ground nutmeg

3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley

30g grated Parmesan cheese

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How to do :-

Cook the pasta and drain. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 mins, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 min, then add and stir the white wine for an additional 5 mins, or until the sauce has reduced by half.

Combine the cream, grounded nutmeg and parsley and add to the sauce and cook for 3-5 mins, or until it thickens slightly. Divide the pasta or maccaroni into 4 serving plates. Dont forget to sprinkle some parmesan cheese before serving.