SCRABBLE

I just have to share this. It'd be selfish not to. I learn this from a book, Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis on the world of competitive Scrabble players which takes me ages to finish. I labour because this book, even though fascinating, is too dry to sustain my interest beyond 10 pages per reading that I have to interlace it with fiction. Since I have started this book, I have finished the exhilirating Carol Shields’ Republic of Love, attempted but decided not to finish the depressing Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and now in the midst of the beautiful Pulitzer prize winner The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (the film adaptation which Ebert conferred 4 stars has just been added to my list of must-have DVDs). Ok, coming back to the excerpts:

An anagram is a word or a phrase that is formed by transposing the letters of another word or phrase, Eg: MAIDSERVANT, ANIMADVERTS. ERIC CLAPTON, NARCOLEPTIC

The word anagrams itself anagrams to the Latin ars magna, or great art.

Anagramming can be about turning words into apposite phrases. Dimitri Borgmann, the father of modern wordplay, offers anagrams for:

VILLANOUSNESS – an evil soul’s sin
CONVERSATION – voices rant on
DESPERATION – a rope ends it

He also lists antigrams – words and phrases with opposite meanings, such as:

EVANGELISTS – evil’s agents
MILITARISM – I limit arms

Consider the following:

BRITNEY SPEARS – PRESBYTERIANS – best in prayers
President Clinton of the USA – to copulate, he finds interns.

The cleverest of all: 11 + 2 = 12 + 1 ; Eleven + Two = Twelve + One

Now to the three, occasionally four people who read my blog; I have one travel set and 1 deluxe set slowly rotting from want of use. When are you free for a match? We will try to emulate the professionals on one thing, i.e. to use the chess clock and each player keeps his/her game below 25 minutes, howzat?

Peculiar "Angin"

I accompanied a friend to Giant recently. As she was choosing microwave-able, rubber + plastic combo tableware, she explained, that she has stopped using ceramic plates or Corelleware, Pyrex or the like. I thought, she has small children in her house. Nope, she lives alone with the husband. Her children have grown and have left the nest. It's because the husband has a habit of hurling the bowl or plate of dishes he found not meeting his standard of "sedap".

"Ini macam orang pun ada ka?", the voice in my head retorted. To my knowledge, this friend is a very good cook. I didn't ask my friend how many times had the husband abuse her like that. But she mentioned that she had lost too many expensive dinnerware.

Now she uses matching Swordman tableware with individual lids.

LASY

When I began working some years ago, I invested in a set of Lasy building blocks for my then, 3 year old brother. I paid RM350 for the set which I thought was princely, but I bought it anyway because I wanted my baby brother to create and invent and be brilliant. That boy is now 22 years old and studying to become an engineer. Alhamdulillah!

Unforeseen then was these blocks would also be played again and again by 18 nieces and nephews as they came into the world and grew. The 19th nephew is only 5 months old, so he’s yet to discover the joy of Lasy. One nephew Hakeem, who is 8 years old still plays with the set. Whenever he comes to visit every other week, the first thing he does after shaking hands with Atok and Nenek would be to scour the toy bin for these pieces.The set is shrinking now as some pieces become damaged or simply disappear.

I think the Lasy set has been the best investment that I have ever made.

Here’s a picture of cousins Ashraf and Shasha in a creative moment.

Days Gone By

These days, my alma mater yahoogroup is very active when some of the members upload old photographs. We all cringe at our garb and hair. Those were impressionable days, good memories for some, but for me it was not quite so happy. I was infamous to my seniors for reason oblivious to me; they gave me a nickname "Desperado". Remember, at that time, it was a hit song by the group Bread. Until today, I still wonder why I was called that. But time is a good healer. I have since forgiven them all.

The above is a photo of the "boys". The guy in the middle (wearing tinted glasses) is today a very outspoken MP, seen here breaking fast with his buddies in 1981.



The next photo has the same MP and another ex-MP in a band. Those were the days, when our sole worry was how to make the selection to overseas U after our SPM. We are much older now, wrinkles, grey hair and reading glasses are the order of the day. Hopefully we are wiser too.

The Last Sermon Of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W)

One of the TV stations showed this message after an azan; I was particularly alarmed by the warning againsts Satan's tactics in misguiding us in small things. So I scan the internet for the complete sermon to be a constant reminder to us all.

This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul-Hijjah, 10 A.H. (632 CE) in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat in Makkah. It was the occasion of the annual rites of Hajj (the pilgrimage). It is also known as the Farewell Pilgrimage.

After praising, and thanking Allah (The One True God) the Prophet began with the words: "O People! Lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen carefully to what I am saying and Take These Words to Those Who Could Not Be Present Here Today.

“O People! just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that he will indeed reckon your deeds.

“Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) be waived.

“Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiah ibn al-Harithiah.

“O Men! the unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calender in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to prohibit which Allah has made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve in number. Four of them are holy, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Shaban.

“Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope of that he will be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

“O People! it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

“O People! listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat (obligatory charity). Perform Hajj if you can afford to.
“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.

“Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

“O People! No Prophet or Apostle Will Come after Me and No New Faith Will Be Born. Reason well, therefore, O People! and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QUR’AN and my SUNNAH (i.e., sayings, deeds, and approvals) and if you follow these you will never go astray.

“All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.

“Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people."

As part of this sermon, the Prophet recited them a Revelation from Allah which he had just received and which completed the Qur’an, for it was the last passage to be revealed:

This day the disbelievers despair of prevailing against your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me (Allah)! This day have I perfected for you your religion and fulfilled My favor unto you, and it hath been My good pleasure to choose Islam for you as your religion (Surah 5, Ayah 3).

The sermon was repeated sentence by sentence by Safwan's brother Rabiah (RA), who had a powerful voice, at the request of the Prophet and he faithfully proclaimed to over ten thousand gathered on the occasion.

Toward the end of his sermon, the Prophet asked “O people, have I faithfully delivered unto you my message?" A powerful murmur of assent “O Allah, yes!", arose from thousands of pilgrims and the vibrant words “Allahumma na’m” rolled like thunder throughout the valley.

The Prophet raised his forefinger and said: “Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people."

After the storm

Some new discoveries following GE12 (or PRU12)*, so far…

1. PAS is now “cool” to my eyes after seeing its “poster boy”** in a Parliament session. Thanks to YouTube.

2. Nurul Izzah is a chip of the old block. Boy, the lass can really talk. Thanks to YouTube.

3. The Sultans actually possess power to appoint their MB.

4. Tun Mahathir’s political history in 1969 which his son is set to repeat.

5. The stock market is one sensitive beast.

I am happy that the voice of the rakyat (and the bloggers) is a force to be reckoned with, but am a bit unsettled about the instability of the government. I wish I could use Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, “surreal but nice”comment, but I can't. I have butterflies in my stomach.

Notes:
* Not referring to the 2 giant insurance companies.
** Datuk Husam Musa.

Election Fever

This post is for the benefit of Acu, who is yet to vote. This time around, we have an interesting match. By this time next week, we shall know who rules in BTR. The polling day this Saturday is so "timely" in many ways than one. One thing for sure, it would provide us an opportune time to have a mini family gathering as most of our siblings will be voting in BTR, and the kids are already starting their school break.

Acu, I want to post more photos to give you the feel or aura of this business. But I keep getting 'kicked' by blogspot. Anyways, try to get it from this photo. That's Tapak Semaian Baharum in the background, clearly supporting BN. But the PKR's presence is not less felt. They even have mini booths scattered around BTR; there's one such booth in Jalan Makmur! Our lorong is more sedate as people keep their choice candidate to themselves.

Are you voting over there, Acu?

Hari Lahir Yang Berlalu

Semalam, Embak menyambut ulangtahun yang berganda angkanya. Ustaz kata jangan terlalu gembira sebab itu juga bermakna umur kita semakin kurang. Tanda-tanda usia pun sudah ada. Dah dua kali embak dipelawa oleh situkang gunting untuk inaikan rambut. Mula-mula dulu Embak tanyakan harga. Kali kedua Embak datang dia tanya lagi. Iyalah, dah kerja diakan. Embak tak nak, jadi Embak beri alasan, tak suka rambut perang. "Tak kak, saya maksudkan, buat inai hitam". Embak telan airliur. Rupa-rupanya, uban dah banyak di kepala. Urat-urat di tangan juga dah mula timbul. Teringat tangan arwah nenek dulu, urat-uratnya timbul dengan jelas sekali. (Kalau Awang Goneng yang tulis ni, mesti dia dah dapat gambarkan macam mana tangan nenek).

Tarikh harilahir Embak, 3 Mac. Embak ingatkan mudah diingati, rupanya tak sebegitu. Ramai yang masih keliru dengan tarikh 13 atau 30 Mac. Huh? Walau bagaimanapun, banyak juga ucapan yang Embak terima, antaranya:

Se awal 6.43 pagi, ucapan pertama diterima dari Angah. Adik Embak, Alang, sebelum dia melangkah keluar pergi kerja, dia laungkan, "Kak Long, Happy Birthday!". Masa tu, Embak masih melingkar di katil. Semasa sarapan pagi, Embak nampak muka Abah macam nak wish aje. Tahun-tahun yang lepas-lepas memang dia wish, tapi janggal aje bunyinya. Nasib baik tahun ni dia tak wish. Tapi Embak tahu dia tahu.

N, bekas penyewa rumahku, SMS. Yang ini betul-betul tak disangka. Dah hampir setahun dia pindah. Embak tak tahu pun dia tahu.

Mungkal Deli juga SMS. 1 hb Mac haritu dia dah ‘confirm’kan tarikh sebenar birthday Embak. Petangnya, MD telefon, beritahu yang dia dapat anak sedara baru. So, lepas ni, dia kata for sure dia akan ingat birthday Embak. We shall see….

SN, client Embak -Saban tahun, dialah yang first sekali wish Embak. Jam 12.01 pagi je dah dapat SMS dia. Tahun ni, dia lewat sikit, tapi masih mengingati.

AZ, sahabat Embak yang ini telefon masa Embak memasak di dapur. Sebab Az akan resign akhir bulan ni, Embakpun berterus terang yang Embak sengaja tak kerja hari ni. Kalau sahabat Embak yang lain, Embak pasti tak cerita, kerana tak nak mereka cemburu.

Belah petang, RM SMS. Yang ni, Embak terharu, tak sangka dia ingat.

JA juga SMS, tanya betul ke birthday Embak. At least dia teka betul. She blamed it on advancing age for not being sure.

Dr S SMS dari tempat seminarnya di PD. Kebetulan, adiknya Bob pun celebrate birthday sama hari dan tahun dengan Embak.

MM sms beritahu yang dia selamat melahirkan anaknya. Sahabat Embak, L, ajak Embak untuk visit MM di sepital. Embak beritahu L, anak MM sama besday dengan Embak. Kata L, “La, I ingatkan 4 Mac! I dah tulis dalam diary I nak wish you esok.”

Yang tertinggal keretapi ialah Acu. 12.34 mlm, 4 Mac, dia SMS dari Jerman. Apa daa… Katanya, dia lupa perbezaan waktu. Tapi Dik, beza waktu pun 8 jam je, tapi bagi canlah, dia excited first day kerja.

Ucapan paling manis tahun ni Embak terima dari Tegalsari, hotel yang Embak inap di Bali 2 tahun lepas. Embak gembira mereka ingat birthday Embak, biarpun dengan bantuan teknologi. Sebagai balasan, Embak nak rekomenkan pada pembaca blog ni (yang 3 orang nih), kalau nak ke Bali, duduklah di Tegalsari, Embak garenti anda akan dapat layanan kelas pertama. (website: http://www.tegalsari-ubud.com/).

Satu je yang Embak terkilan, tak dapat "birthday wish" dari agen insurans. Hampeh punya agen!

The lure of FNM

Two weeks ago, while the Chinese celebrated their New Year in their hometowns, the rest of us celebrated the long holiday in our hometowns, or in my case in Penang where my sister calls home. As is in the past, my visit to Penang will not be complete without a trip to the (in)famous Feringghi Night Market (FNM). My nephews would invariably ask me, “Bila Mak Long nak pi Feringghi?” as then, is their chance to visit the place.

This time, I went with a buddy from KL who was also in Penang visiting her uncle and aunt. Even though Ani was brought up in KL, she and her other sibling are frequent patrons of FNM- much to the wonderment and amazement of their aunt and uncle. The Penangnites really don’t care for FNM. To them, it’s full of fake stuff and a dangerous zone to be in as raids are frequent even though most of the time they are for show only. I once was caught in such a raid, and whilst I was mildly shivering, I was treated with quite a magic show when the dvd stalls before me quickly transform themselves into sunglasses carts in a few blinks of the eye.

Truthfully, I fancy FNM for their ehem, bootlegged DVDs. It’s not that I want to support piracy, but what am I to do, as a fan of good movies, I need to have my DVDs. The vendors in FNM always have what I want, from the latest Oscar contender movies to past years’ titles that you seldom get to see in Malaysian cinemas. And they sell it bloody cheap! RM4 a piece! In KL, the titles are not as varied and the price is double that.

This time, I learned where to park for free, and more importantly my buddy showed me the shop that gives 2 free dvds for every purchase of 10 units. Other shops only give 1 free dvd. Being the second night into the New Year, a lot of shops were not opened, but lucky for me, the DVD vendors were there. This time, I even found a shop fully manned by Melayu. I figure, temporarily only-lah, whilst the actual owners are enjoying the festivities, maybe overseas.

My buddy didn’t care for DVDs (She still has not watched the 2 dozens DVDs she bought last year). She was looking out for a “patch-work” Coach bag which would cost USD400 if you buy the real thing. Education for you and I: “Coach” is a brand of middle range handbags, not as expensive as LV, but as trendy, nonetheless.

In the end, Ani didn’t buy the desired bag as the price and design were not to her liking. (Her rule: do not pay more than RM60 for an imitation bag, no matter how good the quality). Instead, she got herself a white Gucci bag, which price meets her approval. I also chanced upon an Italian tourist very happily buying a Prada bag. Moral of the story: The Italians don’t waste money on hype. I guess the Prada imitation in FNM is as good as the one at home!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Semasa Ramadan baru-baru ini, Embak mencari bagai nak rak resepi Chocolate Chip Cookies yang Embak buat saban tahun... tapi tak jumpa. Puas ditanya adik, ipar duai dan rakan-rakan yang Embak rasa pernah dikongsi resepi ini tapi tak sorang pun ada simpan. Tapi akhirnya jumpa , terselit antara buku-buku. Jadi Embak ingat, kalau direkodkan di blog ini pun bagus juga. Agar boleh dirujuk setiap tahun. Dengan harapan, tahun depan Embak dapat la hamper chocolate chip cookies pulak.

Asalnya resepi Embak ambil dari makalah Eon/Proton, tak ingat pulak masa Embak beli kereta pertama atau kedua. Kalau kereta ke-2 maksudnya dah 9 tahun, kalau kereta pertama dah 14 tahun. Banyak tahun tu jugaklah Embak dah pakai resepi ni. Yang takjubnya, resepi ni menjadi, tak payah adjust bahan-bahannya tak seperti resepi-resepi yang kedapatan di majalah-majalah di pasaran.

Ingredients:
100g butter
100g shortening ( if possible use Crisco brand)
200g soft brown sugar
4 drops vanilla essence
2 large eggs, beaten
200g chocolate chips
100g chopped walnut or almonds
1/2 level tsp salt
Sift together:
400g plain flour
2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda


1. Cream the butter, shortening, brown sugar, salt and essence together for 2-3 minutes, adding the eggs gradually. Fold in the sifted flour, chocolate chips and chopped nuts.
2. Using two teaspoons make small mounds of the mixture, well apart on a baking tray.
3. Bake 10-13 minutes until crisp and brown (temp 160 F). Transfer on a cooling tray and store in airtight container when cooled.

Will yield about one and a half standard-sized plastic jars or approximately 750g cookies. If you add up the mass of all the ingredients, the yield is much less. I wonder where the rest of it goes!

Some unimportant updates

My, it’s been weeks since my last post. My vacationing brother has come and gone, Ramadhan too, is ending very soon. What’s to update? These are the trivial things:

1. I have repainted my car. Now it is respectable again. It’s funny how it drives better too.

2. I finally got the hang of “torrents”. Too bad for the “pirate” merchants of Ferringhi night market. I now watch House MD Season 4 almost as if I'm in America. The torrent will be available 1 or 2 days after the episode is aired. J'adore les torrents!

3. And I have fallen in love with the music and word wizardry of Jason Mraz. Try listen to his debut album “Waiting for My Rocket to Come” – you’ll be hooked. Here’s a sample of the words from his song “Life is Wonderful”, from his sophomore album:

And it takes no time to fall in love
But it takes you years to know what love is
It takes some fears before I trust
It takes those tears to make it rust
It takes the dust to have it polished.

Brilliant!

4. I am a few pages into “A Walk In The Woods” by Bill Bryson. God, help me finish it. I like to finish my books as fast as I could, but this one is difficult – it is so funny. Last night, I laughed until tears came out. I’ll give it another go tonight.

That's all for now. I'll come back after the Eid, insyaAllah. So, happy celebrating y’all. Drive safe.

Peribahasa

Dari poster di Muzium Padi, Kedah:

Peribahasa Melayu yang menggunakan perkataan padi, beras dan nasi.

1. Padi dikebat dengan daunnya
2. Padi ditanam tumbuhnya lalang
3. Padi masak, jagung mengupih
4. Padi rebah mangsa terkukurlah
5. Padi setangkai bernas semuanya
6. Ada kerak ada nasi
7. Ada padi masak adalah pipit
8. Beras tinggal, sekam melayang
9. Jika ada padi, adalah hampanya
10. Beremas kemas, berpadi menjadi
11. Bersisih antah dengan beras
12. Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi

Maksud:

1. Modal yang sama digunakan lagi.
2. Nasib malang
3. Berkali-kali untung
4. Dapat untung tanpa susah payah
5.. Keluarga yang hidup bahagia
6. Tiap kejadian ada bekasnya
7. Orang yang baik budi disayangi orang
8. Yang baik akan kekal, yang buruk akan dibuang
9. Kalau terasa bila disindir, tentulah bersalah
10. Orang kaya, semua kehendaknya tercapai
11. Yang miskin tidak bercampur dengan yang kaya
12. Orang yang dipercayai mengkhianati

Grand Family Outing 2007

I just came back from 3 days and 3 nights stay at hotel Le Maziah in Tasek Gelugor, Penang where our family (comprised of some 30 odd adults and children) stayed for this year's gathering. It was a lot of fun. To summarize, here was our programme:

Saturday nite 18th Aug - Feringghi night market with children in tow for quick shopping. Of course yours truly only hang out at the pirated dvd stalls. My Penang bred nephew told a first-time going Uncle that he only visits the FNM when Mak Long comes to Penang!

Sunday 19th Aug - Three-quarter day at the Carnivall, a water-themed park in Sg. Petani (Much thanks to Uncle for sponsoring the tickets). Everybody had a wonderful time.

Monday 20th Aug - A whole day in Alor Star. A visit to my landscaper friends' who fed us laksa Kuala Perlis (sans belut) and loads of rambutan and dokong. Next to the Muzium Padi where we were awed by a panoramic 3d painting of a kampung. Then to the famed Pekan Rabu for some kuali shopping.

We reached home at midnight, and today I give myself one day to rest. Going on a holiday is so tiring!