Wednesday, June 30, 2010

WORDS -Part 2

Read a nice entry on OutSyed The Box [here] which reminds me of my previous entry concerning words [here]

Will edit this entry later but wish to highlight few points I found interesting.

There has never been a priest hierarchy in Islam, there have never been "head of Islam" allowed in Islam. There is no equivalent to a Pope, Vatican, installation rituals for religious clergy etc. There is no headquarters for Islam anywhere in the world, comparable to the Vatican for Christianity, the Pope for Catholics or other such beliefs in other religions. There is nothing comparable in Islam. There is no Chief High Priest in Islam.


There is not one single institution anywhere in the Islamic world that can certify anyone as an ulamak. There is no such thing. The only exception to this rule is the Persatuan Ulamak Malaysia, where by paying a few Ringgit registration fee, one is deemed an 'ulamak'. That is a joke not understood by those with impaired oxygen intake into the grey matter.

In Islam there is a direct relationship between man and his Creator. The Quran says "Allah is nearer to you than the veins in your neck". We do not need intermediaries.

Here is some info about the word 'ulama' from the Quran.

"Do you not see that GOD sends down from the sky water, whereby we produce fruits of various colors? Even the mountains have different colors; the peaks are white, or red, or some other color. And the ravens are black. Also, the people, the animals, and the livestock come in various colors. This is why the people who truly reverence GOD are those who are knowledgeable (al ulama). GOD is Almighty, Forgiving." Surah 35: 27-28


The Quran says the people who see all this Nature and observe all this Creation and appreciate all this handiwork of the Creator are called the 'ulama'. Clearly then this is a description of scientists. An ulama is therefore a scientist.


The word science of course comes from the Latin word 'scientia' which means knowledge. And the arab word Ulama is the plural of the arab word alim. Alim comes from the arabic word "Ilmu" which ALSO means knowledge or science.

An alim is therefore a knowledgeable person and ulama is plural meaning 'many knowledgeable people'. Ulama are therefore scientists who study everything around them and appreciate all the things that the Creator has created in this universe. Those are the ulama.

But will a Book such as the Quran fail to provide a proper name for the priests of religion, those guys who wear beards and robes, who dress funny, talk funny and behave funny who are part and parcel of every "religion"? Not at all. Here is the Quran again :

Surah 9:31 "They have set up their religious leaders (habar) and rabbis as lords, instead of GOD. . . "

The Quran refers to 'religious leaders' and the priests as HABAR. They are not referred to as ulama.

Habar are the religious priests who wear strange clothes, wear beards, speak strange and say that they are "closer to God". They can promise things like the keys to paradise. They are best given doodle pads to draw on and be locked up in asylums. If allowed to roam free, they can become "mursyidul am", ayatollah, pak sheikh and so on (in extreme cases).

BIGGGG Crisis

Need to post this pronto . Will edit later

Obesity Rates Jump in 28 States, Report Shows

And, as the report also shows, income is a major driver of the obesity epidemic. More than 35 percent of adults bringing in less than $15,000 a year were obese, vs. only 24.5 percent in the over-$50,000 income bracket

...In addition to geographic and economic differences, this year's report also focused on racial and ethnic disparities, finding that blacks and Latinos bear the brunt of the obesity problem. Blacks and Latinos outweighed whites in at least 40 states plus D.C.

...Racial/ethnic differences are closely intertwined with economic inequalities.






"The link between poverty, race and obesity is undeniable," Glover Blackwell said. "For example, Mississippi, the poorest state in nation with an African-American population of more than 37 percent, has the highest obesity rate of any state and highest proportion of obese children."





Poor and minority neighborhoods lack safe streets and parks in which to exercise and many are also so-called "food deserts."

Monday, June 28, 2010

Yesterday When I Was Young

Charles Aznavour
Yesterday When I Was Young



Yesterday when I was young
The taste of life was sweet like rain upon my tongue,
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game
The way an evening breeze would tease a candle flame,
The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned
I always built to last on weak and shifting sand,
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
And only now I see how the years have run away
Yesterday when I was young
There were so many songs that waited to be sung,
So many wild pleasures that lay in store for me
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see,
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out and
I never stopped to think what life was all about,
And every conversation that I can recall
Concerned itself with me, and nothing else at all.
Yesterday the moon was blue
And every crazy day brought something new to do,
And I used my magic age as if it were a wand
And never saw the waste and emptiness beyond,
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride
And every flame I lit so quickly, quickly died
The friends I made all seemed, somehow, to drift away
And only I am left on stage to end the play.
Yesterday when I was young
There were so many songs that waited to be sung,
So many wild pleasures lay in store for me
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see,
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung
Cause I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue
And the time has come for me to pay for yesterday
When I was young.

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/charles_aznavour/#share


The irony is ... here I am wishing I have done all that ... being adventurous, having all the fun. Haihhh!!!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

First Taste of THE Cup: World Cup that is


I was born on this day fifty years ago.
When I was 15, I wondered how would it feel to be 50.
Well, I am 50 today.
When I looked at myself in the mirror this morning
I still see the same 'old' me
the 'me' I've always seen in the mirror
I never noticed when I gain height or weight
I never noticed when I grew up and grew old
'Coz, everytime I look into my eyes in the mirror
I always see 'me'
The one I have known since I was born
Half a century ago
I do have some more to pour out here
But I did not sleep until 6 am today
Watching a delayed telecast of World Cup
something I have never done my entire life
Last night, my girl came back
and got very excited watching the match 
between French and Mexico
While I was trying to finish the 'spring cleaning' job 
I started months ago
she went ...'haaa! haaaa!!! ahhhhhh!!! ISHKKKKKK!!!!!
haaa cantikkkkk [beautiful] ... nice one! come on!
I casted few glances at the 42" plasma Panasonic
and noticed
the players, all of them, both teams
have a very strong, confident control
over the ball
with their legs!
very much unlike the games 
I saw my students played on the school fields
or the local games I saw on tv years ago.
And there I was
my cleaning job forgotten
instead, I cooed over the beautiful games
taking over from my girl
who eventually fell asleep on the sofa
with a surgical mask over her nose
[for she suffers rhinitis and I was 'cleaning']
she has been sneezing her nose off non stop
since she arrived in the late evening.
To think that when my friend sms'ed me 
on the first day of the games
I replied ... "thanks but not my cup of tea!"
hehehehe!
Guess, after half a century,
I am learning to savour 
THE cup 
But now
this old lady
is going to take her afternoon nap.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Attitude

Huarrgghhh!!! Masuk minggu kedua cuti sekolah. Ada tiga kelas lagi nak kena siapkan tanda kertas. Mak aih! Bosannya!!! Nak lepas stress kat Farmville, dah berminggu tak leh access.
 
Orang pejabat telefon pepagi lagi. Kacau betul lah! Cuti pun tak senang. Ada ada je! Menyampessssss! Nak muntah. 

Untuk jimatkan kos, terus ke hospital ambil ubat darah tinggi. Patutnya pergi hari Jumaat. Farmasis ok jer tka banyak songel. 

Tengah jalan balik, nampak orang jual petai kat tepi jalan. Gecor air liur teringat makan petai jeruk kat rumah Tim di Maran bulan lepas. Baru minggu lepas telefon Tim minta dia belikan kat pekan sari Maran. Tim gelak. Bukan dibeli tapi dia buat sendiri rupanya. Dia ajar camana nak buat.

Harganya RM5 seikat. Seikat ada lima papan. Bulat bulat mata petai ... cam mata Uji Rashid ... hahaha! [jangan saman kak!]

Kalau ambik dua ikat, tak de diskaun ke dik?

Senyap.

Keluar not lima puluh ringgit. Budak tu pulangkan empat puluh ringgit.

Kat sebelah budak jual petai tu ada orang jual tembikai. RM1.30 sekilo. Minta dia belah nak tengok elok ke tak. Tak ada pisau. Tak pe lah. Timbang. Lebih sikit dari 5.6kg. 

"Bayar RM7.50 dah lah kak". 

Ok lah.

Hulurkan not sepuloh ringgit.

"Tak de duit kecik ke kak?"

Laaaa .... sepuluh ringgit, bukan seratus ... 

"Kak pergi tukar dulu lah kak"

&@#**+^&&%%$$$##@@

Tak payah lah.

Hidupkan kereta dan terus berlalu.

Kenapa?

Sakit hati.

Nak berniaga .. pisau tak de, kalkulator tak de, duit kecik tak de , budi bahasa tak de.

Eh???

Rasional aku...

Kalau aku di tempat penjual tembikai tu ... aku yang akan ikhtiar untuk tukarkan duit tu ... tukar ngan budak jual petai tu ke ..tukar ngan orang jual goreng pisang ke ... habis tak de .. aku akan menyeberang jalan ke kedai Caltex beli lah gegula sebiji, janji dapat tukar duit. Ringkasnya, aku akan pastikan aku dapat jual tembikai tu.

Hmm...

Entah entah penjual tembikai tu dok kutuk aku bertambun ... apa hal le mak cik tu ... ingat beso sangat ke duit dia ... kete pun wira buruk ... berlagakkk!!!

Aku bengkek sebab rasa attitude penjual tembikai di tepi jalan tu tak kena.

Mungkin dia pun bengkek kat aku sebab rasa aku ada 'attitude'.

Tapi kan ... 'customer is always right'

HEHEHEHE !!!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Raison d'etre

Been trying to finish marking the mid year exam papers. The whole week of the school holidays is gone. A rendezvous at Swiss Garden Resort has been cancelled due to the World Cup. Nothing much to look forward to. There is so much to get done.

18:03 a message came in. From Z. " I'm going for J** mp. What say u? Which platform shall I take?

I responded - "MasyaAllah! Take d right one. I believe ur choice is d right one."

He replied - "tq. I need your support k"

And I responded - " U have it. Always have. May Allah's blessing's b with u."

And then I burst into tears.

Sadness and anger intertwined.

Why did he tell me that? What was it for?

For support? Yeah I can give him my vote. ONE vote. I don't have anything to bring him other's.

How much support is that?

Is he SMSing everyone?

In that case, the one I received was just a politician's game 

... when I read more between the lines ...

*sighhhhh*


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Ketupat Sotong

Last month I had a sudden craving for a local Kelantanese delicacy called Ketupat Sotong. A strange sweet dish made from glutinous rice stuffed into squids.


Went to the 'nearest-to-a-supermarket' we have in this quaint little town to get my squids. They only have the large ones. Ketupat sotong is best made with small sized ones. Large ones tend to be tough and chewy. I bought two anyway. Just got to get over the craving. I might die 'kempunan' [unfulfilled wish]. Hehehe! 


I used only one squid. Washed it real good, making sure to take out the 'mandible'. Then I half filled it with cleaned and soaked glutinous rice. Put it in a pot, covered with thick coconut milk and sweetened with palm sugar. Half a teaspoon of fenugreek, julienned ginger and a crushed lemongrass are used to take away the fishy smell from the squid. The pot was left to boil on slow fire until the coconut milk was reduced to about a quarter. 


It took some times to get the liquid reduced. I forgot all about it until I smelled caramel [burnt sugar]. Well, the ketupat ended up slightly overcooked. The caramelised sugar gave it a slightly concentrated taste. But, the squid was just a wee bit too big and I probably have filled it a bit too much ... the middle part failed to cook properly. The ketupat ended up being a bit too chewy.


The endeavour became a great conversation piece with friends and family. Really. The delicacy is becoming extinct. It is a weird kind of food. Squids in sweet sauce? That is not strange to me. I grew up savouring it. Why, those Japanese chefs never have any problem coming up with such food on their menu [couldn't recall any at the moment but I know I saw them on Iron Chef].


Saturday, Epit came home. Took the opportunity to take the TV to be repaired. It's been turning green, red and yellow for some time now. Had had to resort to banging it to watch my fav shows. Robin Hood hit cinemas last week and Prince of Persia opened on Thursday. Hmm ... a good excuse to go to town.


First, took the TV to the repairman. He said it could be ready in one hour. What???


I have had to send it for repair every year. I was kind of hoping it would be BEYOND repair this time so I have a great excuse to go shop for a new one. HAHAHA!!!


Anyway, I wanted to watch Robin Hood and Prince of Persia. So I went to East Coast Mall in Kuantan. Had more than an hour before the show started. I was in a shopping mall. There were lots of TV shops. We stopped at Panasonic outlet. Well, we ended up with a Viera 42" HD plasma seconds before prince of Persia started at hall 9.


Sunday morning I was still in bed in Kuantan when Ma called. Wanted me to drop by her place on my way back.


And this is the reason.
TA DAAAA !!!!!!! Ketupat Sotong


Sweet, juicy, yummy!!!