Streets of Kuching (Mystery Shots)

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Here are a couple more random shots that I took on my last visit to Kuching.

Let's see how many of you recognise where these places are ...

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Top of a distinctive building?

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Where is this dragon-protected palace?

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At least a couple of persons should recognise this place :-)

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Looks very familiar, doesn't it?

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Fancy some Bak Pau & Sio Bee?

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Where's this place for makanan & minuman?

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Game for some pot?

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Who and where is Mr D?

Anyone think they've got 8 correct out of 8 ?

Streets of Kuching

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There's an old song by Ralph McTell that I like called "Streets of London". Part of the lyrics goes something like "Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London, I'll show you something to make you change your mind ...". Well, today's posting focuses not on London, but rather our beloved home, Puss Town in this case.

It's been a while since I put in a collection of random shots of  Kuching. I've been told such postings are especially appreciated by those homesick chaps living far away from Sarawak, and also I'm sure the boys actually in Kuching would find some of the pictures of interest too. Some of the locations are quite obvious, others may require a bit closer examination.

Anyway let me know what if anything you see will "change your mind about anything", as the song goes ...

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Anyone can tell where this lion is from?

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The Allure of the Wonder Girls

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Pardon this slight digression into my personal enchantment with this musical group and its catchy hit song "NOBODY". Even if you've never heard of the Wonder Girls, a girl group from South Korea, I would suspect that many of you would have heard strains of this tune being played on TV, radio, music stores or even someone's mobile ringtone.

This is not usually the kind of musical group that grabs my attention, but I must admit their hit is extremely catchy and their performance style quite entertaining (I also find it amusing to imagine someone surnamed Chew or Chiu or Choo in the audience who must feel very flattered by their vocal rendition!).

The five person Wonder Girls, are managed by singer-songwriter Park Jin-Young of JYP Entertainment (who formerly managed that other Korean sensation, Rain ... tho' I must say I'm not as impressed by him!). This is an artifically constructed group with each of the five original members selected through auditions (kinda like the UK's Spice Girls a generation before). The Wonder Girls debuted in early 2007 and became popular later that year with the song "Tell Me." They have scored three consecutive #1 hit singles: "Tell Me", "So Hot", and "Nobody". In 2008, they won two Daesangs ("Artist of the Year" Awards).
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Even more impresssive was the fact that the group entered into the American market in 2009, with the lead single "Nobody" - which also became the first song by a Korean artist to enter the Billboard Hot 100.

Enough from me ... Turn up your speaker volume to the max and enjoy the music video ...

Like it? Share your views on this and other music groups you like.

Your All Time Favourite Movies

Someone recently asked me what my all time favourite movies were. I've watched a whole lot of movies in my fifty years so I had to think about this for a bit.

To qualify as an all-time favourite for me, the movie has to be special from several different perspectives - have a very good story and characters, excellent cinematography and effects, be highly entertaining and have an overall message that touches the heart. I also find myself drawn to storylines that are somewhat historic or have some historical leaning.

Based on these criteria. I reckon my top 3 English-language movies (not necessarily in order) are:

*  Gandhi

*  The Shawshank Redemption, and

*  The Last Samurai

I must say that a close fourth for me is Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor". And if I could squeeze in a fifth, it might be either "The Day of the Jackal" or "Spartacus" that might just make it.

Well, at least at this point in time, I think these are my favourites. If I think of some other great movie tomorrow, I might still revise my list ;-)  

What about you? Share YOUR all-time favourite movies.

Ben's Adventures in China

As some of you know, our buddy Ben Wong is proposing a trip to various parts of China. And Ben does know China pretty well as he has been there some 7 or 8 times. Here are some photos that reflect adventures that he and his family took in the Middle Kingdom.

Ben, I'll need you to give a commentary of what's where ....

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Enjoy the scenes ... if you're nice to Ben, he may bring you to visit some of them !

PUZZLE TIME #1

Alright, old chaps, I know you guys have been enjoying yourself eating and sleeping and travelling and whatnot .... it's time to get your brain cells working again.

See if you can get the right answer to this little puzzle, the solution to which may or may not need a tertiary qualification in Mathematics or at least an A-Level in Applied Maths.

And remember, you are NOT allowed to call Mr Clarence ! LOL



There are 6 volumes of an encyclopaedia on a book shelf arranged from volume 1 to 6. Each volume has 100 pages. A book worm eats his way through from page 1 of the first volume to page 100 of the last volume. It takes him 1 minute to eat through each page and 3 minutes to eat through each book cover. How long in minutes is he eating through the encyclopaedia for?


 
Have fun ! So that others can tear their hair out (i.e. if they still have hair) trying to get the right answer, send your answer to me by email (jslyong@hotmail.com) rather than revealing it in the comments. I will announce who gets the first right answer and send your "no-prize" by DHL.

Note from Bro Columba

Here's a brief note from Bro Columba to HBC based in the UK ...


From: columba gleeson
Subject: Re: Address
To: B C Ho
Date: Monday, March 15, 2010, 2:33 AM

Hi Boon Chiang,

Just returned to Belfast and found the '76-er's souvenir pack waiting for me. Thank you very much for taking the trouble to forward the items. Please also convey my sincere gratitude to the Committee responsible for issuing the souvenirs. Their gifts are much appreciated and will continue to refresh memories of years gone by!
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Regards and best wishes to all.
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Bro. Columba.

Beware the Ides of March

Today is 15th March. Do you know the significance of this day? Have you heard the phrase "The Ides of March"? If not, let me tell you the story ...

The Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martias) is the name given to March 15 in the Roman calendar. The term "ides" was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October. The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held.

However in modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was killed in 44 B.C. According to philosopher and writer Plutarch, Caesar was warned by a soothsayer to be on his guard against a great peril on the Ides of March. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey (where he would be assassinated at a meeting of the Senate), Caesar saw the soothsayer and joked "Well, the Ides of March have come," to which the seer replied "Aye, they have come, but they are not gone."

This meeting of Caesar and the soothsayer is famously dramatized in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned to "Beware the Ides of March."  The relevant passage goes as follows:

Caesar:
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music
Cry "Caesar!" Speak, Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Soothsayer:
Beware the ides of March.

Caesar:
What man is that?

Brutus:
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2, 15–19


It is clear that prior to Caesar's assasination, the Ides of March was just another day ...  but after the event, it took on a special significance. In the letters of Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero from the months after the Ides of March., he even writes, 'The Ides changed everything." The phrase "Ides of March" came to represent a specific day of abrupt change that set off a ripple of repercussions throughout Roman society and beyond.

So why was Caesar killed? There were a number of reasons, but the main one was that some members of the Senate feared that he was going to revive the monarchy. The Romans had no love for kings. While Caesar had made clear public statements of turning down offers of kingship, he showed no reluctance to accept the office of "dictator for life" in February 44 B.C. (It is interesting to note that at the time the term "dictator" didn't have the negative connotation that it has today.) Indeed Caesar had been pushing his influence (and luck!) quite a bit. It has been noted by historians that Caesar was the first living Roman ever to appear on the coinage, an honour previously reserved for the gods. The plot's conspirators regarded themselves as "liberators".

So nowadays, those who know (or care to remember) regard the Ides of March as a day of infamy, somewhat like the better-known Friday the 13th.

Looking at the influence of Caesar and his demise on modern culture, I note that there have been many movies and TV series depicting the rise and fall of Julius Caesar. For me, one of the best is still a 1953 screen adaptation of Shakespeare's work, whch starred luminaries like Marlon Brando, John Gielgud and James Mason. There was also an interesting mini-series from 2004 starring Jeremy Sisto (as Caesar) and Richard Harris (in his final performance).

I am told that the Ides of March is celebrated every year by the Rome Hash House Harriers with a toga run in the streets of Rome, in the same place where Julius Caesar was killed.

There is one US-originated music group who call themselves "The Ides of March" and at least two other groups who have released tracks on their albums with the name "The Ides of March", though I'm not sure they even mention Caesar as I haven't listened to any of those albums yet.

Anyway my friends, I hope you've enjoyed this little detour into a bit of history, culture and tradition ... Just to be on the safe side, grab your lucky rabbit's foot, coin or charm ...

... and BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH   ;-)

Musical Interlude from the 70s

Turn up your speakers. Here's a popular song that we used to hear a lot back in the mid 70s. I think the St Mike jukebox also had this single by the Hollies.

It's called "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" and it certainly brings back memories for me.

Hope it does for you too. Enjoy ...

The Curry Man at Stutong Market

Every time I'm back in Kuching, I make it a point to go to Stutong Market. I like browsing around the various stalls selling vegetables, fruits, chinchalok, belacan, meats, fish and much more.

The last time I was there, I noticed an elderly Indian man at his stall, selling colourful curry powders and paste.. I never asked his name ... let's just call him Muthu. Muthu's stall was located on the ground floor, about two-thirds of the way in from the front entrance.

I enjoyed watching Muthu pack mixtures of curry for his customers. There are many different types of curry powder or paste - chillies, tumeric, cinnamon, cardamon, ....  The colours varied from bright yellow to orange to different shades of brown. And it was not just the sight, but also the smells that were pleasurable.
 

Muthu will ask what kind of curries you are planning on cooking, and mix the appropriate amounts of the ingredients to suit the dish as well as your stated hotness tolerance.

We spoke a little about his business. He said that business hadn't been very good these days. It was much better in the old days. He spoke with a tinge of sadness about the old market at Gambier Road. That was where his mother used to run the curry stall. He had taken over from her as she advanced in age. All the stallholders had to move when the authorities stopped the operation of old market in June 2008. Gambier Road Market was Kuching's oldest meat and produce market, with buildings dating back to 1929. All the buildings were demolished in 2009 to accomodate a riverfront walkway.

The stallholders were given the opportunity to move to Stutong Market. Some however decided to retire for good, while others moved their operations to Stutong Market or to other markets. But for Muthu it was never quite the same again ...

Chris Sim reconnects with Chris Kuek

HOT NEWS !!!

I just received these photos from Chris Sim Kay Guan.

CSKG just met with Chris Kuek (5Sc, 1976) this afternoon at the Pan Pac hotel at KLIA. CK had just come from Mumbai, India and was enroute to Indonesia. CSKG related that "... he looks exactly like when he was in Form 5. We caught up on what we've been doing for the last 6-7 years and shared info on some of our classmates. After that I sent him to LCCT for his Air Asia flight to Pekan Baru."

Actually at the end of last month, CK had called CSKG and myself, when he was on his way to India. That was when he and CSKG arranged to meet at KLIA. Unfortunately he didn't pass thru Singapore, so I haven't had a chance to meet him. Another time but soon, old buddy.

Chris Kuek is now based in Ballarat, Melbourne together with his wife, Sarah, and 2 children, Bernard (19) and Katherine (15). He has been working with English Chinese Clay for 12 years now and his area of coverage is from Australia to China and from India to Japan. His personal e-mail: kuekb@bigpond.com. He is keen to reconnect with old friends.

My reaction to the above photos is: What the heck is CK eating that's making him look so young? I took a look back at his old school photos and it's amazing. See for yourself ...

CK, if you've found the "fountain of youth" or the "elixir of life", don't keep it for yourself.  Please share with your fast "maturing" buddies !

Best Caption Time ... once again

Take a look at this most interesting photo from more than 30 years ago. Can you identify the handsome young man in the photo? Why was he smiling so sweetly? What was he doing? What was he thinking? Does he still have such sexy legs?

The usual rules apply. Put in what YOU think is the best caption for this photo. Attractive no-prizes apply for the most creative captions.

Ahh, the good old days. As the song goes ... "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end" ... da da da da ...

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Gourmet Tips #3 : HCMC

If any of you should happen to be in central Ho Chi Minh City and want to sample good Vietnamese food in a nice, clean environment, check out this place "LEMONGRASS" on Nguyen Thiep Street. That's just off Dong Khoi Street (in District 1), and within 3 minutes walk from the Sheraton Saigon Hotel.

Here's what it looks like inside. Quite cosy.

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Many of the dishes are delicious but I would recommend the Pho (either beef or chicken) and the Sampler Dish (I can't remember the name, but here's a picture of my order the previous time I was there).

The prices at this place are very reasonable too.

Happy dining ...

Advice for a Daughter

This is the second part of the Advice pair of postings. The previous one was about advice for your son. This time we look at what have you advised your daughter?

I guess some advice applies at all ages, but others are specific to different phases of their growing up. So share what wisdom you have imparted.

Mothers tend to give different advice to daughters, but I think since this blog is geared towards the St Joe guys, we want to explore what advice the father figure imparts to the child.


Over to you, Dad ...

Advice for a Son

This is the first of two posts, geared towards exploring what kinds of advice you have for your offspring, based on your own years of life experience. This post is for your son and the next post will be for your daughter.

Rudyard Kipling wrote a beautiful poem called "IF", which is about one father's advice to his son. It goes like this ...

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

.If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
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If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
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If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 
Well, it's over to you, Dad ...

Soundtrack of Your Life

Movies have soundtracks, the background music or score that accompanies the visual action. Sometimes it is referred to as the theme music.

When it is done well, we tend to remember the soundtrack from a movie for a long, long time.

For instance, from the classic "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), I'd say many of us would remember the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow".

I also bet you can whistle the theme music from the war movie "The Bridge over River Kwai" (1957) or the western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966).

And what about that tearjerker "Love Story" (1970) ? Then there's the theme music of "The Godfather" (1972), "Star Wars" (1977) and "Forrest Gump" (1994) which are so memorable.

Your children would probably know the theme music from the Harry Potter movies.

Someone once asked me: what is the soundtrack of your life? Like the soundtrack of a movie, the music might go high or low, faster or slower, louder or softer based on the significant events of your life. Think about it for a moment. What is the soundtrack of your life?