westlife's fool again

For people who are kept in the dark, and are fools for love there's a song on the sidebar. The melody is great, the lyrics haunting.

I share Meeza's and Nazeemah's (best of friends) fondness for Westlife's songs. They are twelve and thirteen, and quite retro. No rocking, no metals, please. They're listening to Manilow and Pomeranz! Do I see a sort of renaissance?

amused2

A most ironic read today - a McCain-Hillary ticket ?
The race to become the next American President has gotten us transfixed and awed - because of the presence of drama replete with all the elements: a woman running, a white man running, a black man running (three exceptional candidates, to be trimmed to two) and the sub-plots - a worsening economy, a protracted war, etc. etc. Will we ever see this kind of jumbling and weird pairings ever again? It makes us, the audience ask for more. Enjoy this while it lasts. A positive note, though - America always survives the effects of its doings and undoings.

top 100 movies

This list would certainly belong to a fifty year old.

Godfather, The (1972)
Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
Godfather: Part II, The (1974)
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002)
Schindler's List (1993)
Shichinin no samurai (1954)
Casablanca (1942)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)
Star Wars (1977)
Citizen Kane (1941)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Rear Window (1954)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Usual Suspects, The (1995)
Memento (2000)
North by Northwest (1959)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Psycho (1960)
Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Goodfellas (1990)
American Beauty (1999)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Vertigo (1958)
Matrix, The (1999)
Cidade de Deus (2002)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
C'era una volta il West (1968)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Pianist, The (2002)
Third Man, The (1949)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Fight Club (1999)
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Boot, Das (1981)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Chinatown (1974)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
All About Eve (1950)
M (1931)
Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
Se7en (1995)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Rashômon (1950)
Raging Bull (1980)
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
Alien (1979)
American History X (1998)
Sting, The (1973)
Léon (1994)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
Vita è bella, La (1997)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
Finding Nemo (2003)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Great Escape, The (1963)
Modern Times (1936)
Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
Amadeus (1984)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Ran (1985)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Annie Hall (1977)
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Jaws (1975)
Apartment, The (1960)
Braveheart (1995)
High Noon (1952)
Aliens (1986)
Fargo (1996)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Shining, The (1980)
Metropolis (1927)
Blade Runner (1982)
Sixth Sense, The (1999)
City Lights (1931)
Donnie Darko (2001)
Duck Soup (1933)
Great Dictator, The (1940)
General, The (1927)
Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
Princess Bride, The (1987)
Dogville (2003)

the last 100 days

Our lives have gone on like the minute hands in our clocks. There's no stopping and pausing. My poignant wish was to take a time out and take stock of our lives and what we have been doing. I was being my thoughtful self - sort of looking in from the outside. Then, I realized there is a way to evaluate our lives. I would devise a summary of our lives every 100 days. So here it is for the last 100 days:

- led our lives with wry wit and humour
- ignored the Joneses
- confronted the unknown and the uncertainties
- wrote
- travelled some highways
- prayed and bared our souls
- wished for the stars

- came out of our shells

- broke out from our prisons
- did balancing acts
- fought for our rights
- cared for pets
- ate well
- rediscovered happiness in giving
- loved our parents, siblings, children and each other

Did you pause to think about your last 100 days?

hurtle turtle

As a child, I was smitten by turtles. However, I could not keep them as pets because of some myths that have in some ways creeped into my childhood. Old folks say that in captivity, they give bad luck. They crawl out and hurtle to a way out of man-made bondages and take their revenge. In the old days, when children got sick, the folk healers would direct family members to free the kept turtles. I've seen several incidents of turtles bringing bad luck and just last week a hurtle turtle caused a head injury that required seven stitches.

Did you know that turtles are bestowed divinity in some places? The Chinese believe that turtles are sacred because they carry the burdens of the world on their backs. The Hindus revere them. No turtles for pets. You can save them too by leaving them in their own habitats.

for a cause

It used to be that breast cancer was a non-issue in our young lives; we did not really hear of anybody having breast cancer. It's totally different now; breast cancer strikes women we know; women we care for. Having a mammogram (no matter how painful it maybe)now and then may save our lives. The earlier the cancer, the better the prognosis.

Early today, I joined hundreds of other women in the Walk for Breast Cancer. It was fun camaraderie. We started with some warm-up exercises that included belly-hip jiggling that got us wolf-whistling. A Filipino fitness guy led us on this one (Pinoy talaga!). Who said, we in Brunei are repressed?! Then, more fun - we walked the whole of the stadium premises.

A day well spent - a day for a cause - for camaraderie and awareness - a time to celebrate the survivors of this dreaded disease.

to catch a fish

Our new bubu - someday may be able to catch some tilapia.


Our old bubu. We kinda miss our old bubu shown on the left of Meeza.