Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Mixed Media Redux: As Time Goes By Necklace


"You must remember this,
A kiss is just a kiss,
A sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply,
As time goes by."
As Time Goes By by Herman Hupfeld

This is one of my favorite mixed media jewelry projects from last year, just change the date, the sentiment is timeless!

Click here for instructions! Last I heard, Ornamentea got these fab faux watch fobs back in stock!

Is it just me, or did 2010 go by far too quickly! Blink of an eye, anyone?!

Love,
Madge

Malaysia nak kena laser atau Jawa dicilipadi?

LEWAT MALAM

Hidup hidup. Hidup nasi lemak!
Hidup hidup. Hidup ikan patin!
Hidup hidup. Hidup sambal belacan!
Hidup juga. Buduk Kelantan!
Tambah lagi. Hidup cincalok!
Juga sedap. Hidup roti canai!
Hidup hidup. Hidup bakkuteh!
Hidup hidup. Hidup curry fish head!

Remgold tua kena makan humble pie.

Syabas Rimau Malaya.

Tapi rimau ni baru menang sekali saja!
Singapork - Singapura-pura dah menang Suzuki Cup TIGA Kali!
Hahaha.
Nak lawan tahun depan!?!?!

--------------------------------------


Berkoyan-koyan laser dah terjual di Jakarta.
Kita nonton bersama dari Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

FOR THE ONES WHO MADE THE DIFFERENCE........`

29th December,2010
Tuesday
Dear friends,
         Good Evening from Thrissur!
You know very well,I ALWAYS FOLLOW MY HEART.So,the heart aches are more.:)My Little Star teaches me to live each moment in full spirit.
''God took hold your hand
And with his loving heart
He placed it here in mine
And said we'd never part!''
Just a few days more and this year will come to an end.
Looking back on the months gone by,
It's time to think of my loved ones and friends....
To reflect up on whom we can really count  on,
As the fresh and new year dawns...........
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my dearies...........................
Thanks a lot for this wonderful morning message my friend........
''A first morning message does not mean that I am disturbing you;It means you are the first and the best person about whom I am thinking after opening my eyes................''
The span of nearly two years in blogosphere..............................
And there are many who have left their imprints in my life.........
They do really matter a lot........
Thank you so much for your moral support,
You stood by me when I felt low,
My very close friends who reached me ,
When I needed them the most.
I would like to apologise if I have hurt you,
Yeah,I know I have done it.......
There are beautiful memories left to be cherished
Some are too fragrant like my favourite jasmine.......
The loving and caring calls,sms and mails
Your constant contacts chasing away my fears.....
Your comments and words of appreciation...
Causing a beautiful smile on my face,
Encouraging me as a writer by asking for new posts,
Letting me know that my words make a difference...............
For walking beside me holding my hands,
Making me feel how much you love me
For the wonderful posts you have dedicated
Leaving me surprised and feeling great,
And someone dear even dedicated a whole blog
For my love for the cool drizzles........
Your act of love and kindness motivated me!
And my friends I will be always grateful to you!
When the stars twinkle  and the moon smiles,
I must let you know the truth..
You are the beautiful people who made a difference
And made my life meaningful!
I hope and pray you stay in my life forever!
Friends,
You make me feel I always do have something to give.
You taught me to dream higher.......
Your friendship made me stronger ,
Made it easier to find out the solutions........
I will be travelling  on New Year Day and will be missing all the new year bash!
Oh!Yeah!My New Year Rsolutions..................:)
It's never ending.......Some get abandoned,
Some get fulfilled.........
So,I have to really think and decide on them...
It's Anu signing off.........
''Happiness is not based on position,power or prestige
But on the relationship
With other people those who care and love!
Everyone has his/her own song to sing.......
Let us listen carefully........enjoying the rhythm and lyrics......
Forgetting the worries,hoping for the best,
When we move to the Wonderful and Prosperous NEW YEAR-2011,
Remember,Anu Loves You Dil Se...Hamesha.............
A wonderful year awaits you,
Which is peaceful and full of expectations....
Let's start our lives anew...
May this new year find you healthier and happier.....
So,never let love depart from your life,
I do think of you very often,
And you are always in my prayers.
When the New Year Eve is just a couple of days......
I can hear your sweet whispers of love and care....
The red carpet is spread,
The music is on air....
And I want to join the grand celebrations,
Shaking a leg to the tunes........ start counting your blessings now..........
It's amazing to know how wonderful you are!
May I say,You Mean A Lot To Me!
And you do always leave a smile on my face!
Wishing all of you A BEAUTIFUL AND LOVELY NEW YEAR -2011
Amma and my family join me in greeting you........
                             Sasneham,
                                           Anu

Kenapa Sunni nak gaduh Syiah? Arab vs Parsi?

Saya jarang cucuk tulisan dalam blog lain sebab nak control damage sikap merapu saya ni.
Tapi setelah baca blog Dr Dzul, marah jadinya saya.
Bukan Dr Dzul yg tulis artikel tu. Tapi kerana dimuatkan kat situ, saya pun kasi pandangan semangkuk.

Saya memang tak syiok dengan kerajaan Saudi setelah mereka benarkan bangunan jam besar di Makkah yang pada saya merendahkan martabat Kaabah.
Dan buat hotel-hotel super-mahal yg jadikan Makkah tempat berkelah, bukan beribadah.
Ini pandangan peribadi, sebab mereka tentunya ada pandangan sendiri.

Tapi bila diselongkar cerita lama tentang bagaimana Saudi tertubuh dan buruk-burukkan keturunan Saud, too much lah pada saya.
Ceritalah yang baik sikit. Kan negara Islam juga.
Mereka dah buat universiti teknologi besar, KAUST (Sila Google, atau baca di penghujung posting ni).
Raja mereka pun dah beri wanita kebebasan lebih sikit. Sini juga.
Kedua langkah ini nak buka minda mereka sikit. Bila kamu kekang wanita, kamu kekang 50 peratus daripada minda umat. Yg jantan pemalas dan bongok sebenarnya, di negara mana pun.

Baca di bawah - ngobrol lama saya dan Timur Tengah/Doha mengenai strategi umat yg (pada saya yg kerdil ni) kita patut fikirkan.

------------------------------------
IRAN PUN SAMA JUGA

Saya pun tak suka pemerintah Iran masakini. Maaf ya.
Bukan sebab mereka Syiah dan benci Sunni.
Tapi sebab mereka ni sama corrupt dengan negara yg tak ngaku Islam. Tak ada sifat nak memperbaiki diri. Ada para ilmuan dan cendiakawan dari Iran yang terkenal dan dihormati dunia????
Yang menekan dan membunuh rakyatnya sendiri juga ialah Iran.
Baca cerita Neda dan bagaimana umat M dulu dapat semangat dari Iran, tapi kini mereka dan sesat.

Dah terlalu banyak artikel dan cerita yg saya baca dari luar dan dalam negara itu.
Yang paling sedih ialah ada seorang mamat Iran bandingkan zaman Shah Reza Pahlavi yg kejam, dengan zaman "Negara Islam" Iran hari ini (terbaca di sebuah majalah). Rakyat Iran itu berkata:
"Last time, we pray at home and drink outside.
"Nowadays, we drink at home and pray outside."

Maksudnya, ramai mereka masih togok alkohol.
Tapi dulu, mereka solat di rumah lepas tu togok di bar kat luar. Tapi kerana sikap hypocritical rakyat dan pemerintah Iran kini - maklumlah Negara Islam macam Malaysia - mereka adakan pesta togok kat rumah, tapi bila di luar semua olok-olok solat jemaah. Sama maca di Saudi - anak raja pesta alkohol di rumah, seperti yg terkeluar dari kabel WikiLeaks.


YANG umat M kenapa macam ni, kita kan ramai musuh kiri kanan. Kenapa pula nak gaduh dengan orang Syiah? Yg kamu suruh Amerika bom Iran tu apasal? Kan lebih baik tekan tentang Israel - jika kamu tak control rejim Yahudi kami tak jual minyak kepada kamu?
Sama juga si Syiah Iran ni. Kenapa pula nak gasak Sunni?
Musuh kamu yg kapir harbi kiri kanan - kat Malaysia pun ramai. Yang nak bunuh umat dan aspirasi umat dan memperkecilkan umat.

Jika si Syiah di Malaysia buat huru-hara tangkap saja pakai ISA (saya penyokong ISA cara dijalankan di Spork. Maaf ya jika saudara/i tak setuju. Bukan ISA cara Syed Hamid Albar).
Kenapa 'nak pulihkan' aqidah mereka pulak? Saya tak paham Syiah dan tak akan ikut. Pada saya ia fahaman politik yg telah diagamakan (Macam di Malaysia - agama telah dipolitikkan).
Tapi pada saya paksa-memaksa ni tak pernah berjaya. Buang masa.
Lebih baik JAKIM JAIS IKIM dan yg lain turun padang berdakwah cara berterusan di bus stand Klang, Central Market dan Pudu. Mamat minah kat situ lebih perlu petunjuk.

-------------------------------------
Ini ulangan ngobrol baru-baru ini tentang umat M.

....sambungan....

(ingat ya: seperti biasa, di sini saya berbual kosong. bukan saya konon orang pandai nak talk down kpd anda!)

ini bawa saya kpd Malik,
kenapa negara arab tak sepandai china ni dgn strategy mereka.
jawab paling mudah: umat m bodoh sakan.
dulu saya tulis - umat m bodoh, yahudi pandai, ooi ramai yg herdik saya. syiok.
http://remgold.blogspot.com/2010/01/kenapa-yahudi-pandai-kita-bodoh.html

kerana umat melayu dan umat arab dapat mewah dgn mudah - negeri msia mewah dgn padi, perak (tin), getah, sawit, minyak - sehingga 2-3juta warga asing (termasuk saya dulu) cari makan di msia.
arab dapat minyak berbilion tanpa kerja kuat - berjuta-juta orang asing kerja di sana!

jadi kerana mudah mewah - macam anak kpd orang kaya - dia rilek. wang dah bercurah masuk. kenapa nak susah fikir itu dan ini? kita buat banglo bali kat shah alam sudah, terbang sana sini jumpa rakan di london, berkomplot. action dgn lambo.

saya kerap berfikir kalau saya jadi arab super-kaya. apa saya buat? setelah beli 20 penthouse dan villa di 20 negara eropah dan amerika, dan beli 100 kereta, nak buat apa lagi?
terus mabuk macam pak arab bahalol yg dgn joe low tu?
atau nak duduk kat makkah dan dlm masjid 24jam saja?
tak mahu tolong umat ke?

imej agama kamu dah dinajiskan satu dunia.
apa salahnya gunakan usd100mil atau usd1bil utk naikkan sikit nama umat.
kalau saya super-kaya saya buat ni (senang ler aku cakap, takut pula dah kaya lupa daratan):

1) bantu naikkan teknologi umat dan pengetahuan teknologi.
negara arab banyak kerja kosong.
kasilah budak dari msia, indon, bangla, paki, palestin dan umat arab lain kerja berpangkat tengah dan atas. kenapa mesti ambik angmor saja?
kalau terpaksa ambil yg lain biar jadikan orang No.2 hingga 10 umat m, agar mereka dapat belajar. dlm 10 thn mereka dapat ilmu, gaji besar. boleh terus stay atau tukar kerja di negara barat atau pulang ke negara sendiri dgn ilmu baru.
(brader pembaca blog ni di doha, mr timur tengah, tolong tambahkan sikit. ini berlaku atau tidak di sana? ada yg kata Ada, tapi ada juga kata pak arab lebih suka bayar angmor gaji berjuta tapi tak banyak latih umat m dari negara lain).

jika kamu tak bantu umat m, takkan kamu nak harapkan syarikat luar di negara lain nak tunjuk ajar.
bukan nak diskriminasi orang bukan umat m, tapi jika lebih ramai bijak pandai umat m, mereka akan jadi middle class dan educated class (atau dipanggil golongan 'elite' di indonesia) yg boleh menyuburkan idea dan mengurangkan sikap marah-bodoh dan miskin-terhina lalu nak letupkan diri.

2) saudi kini sedang menaikkan sebuah universiti
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
(http://www.kaust.edu.sa/). saya harap sungguh ia dapat menambahkan ilmu umat m, dgn membantu pelajar miskin dari negara m ni.
president universiti itu ialah bekas boss NUS di spore.
http://www.kaust.edu.sa/about/admin/president/presidentoffice.html

dan fakulti banyak dikepalai angmor. takpelah sebab baru lagi. harap lecturer dan researcher masukkan umat m. dan student juga.
harap banyak ler lagi univ seperti ini, selain al azhar dan univ madinah. baru kuat utk tempuhi akhirat dan dunia.

3) jika anda orang kaya di msia, tolonglah sponsor anak2 melayu ni belajar di univ.

di indonesia, orang kaya mereka, aburizal bakrie, sponsor beberapa anak indon belajar di univ ivy league america setiap tahun.
kenapa kaum super-kaya tak buat seperti ini?
spore ada Asean Scholarship. dari semua negara asean, setiap tahun spork sponsor mereka belajar di temasek - termasuk pelajar msia.

tentunya dah graduate mereka kerja kat sana juga.
kenapa yg arab kaya tak buat yg sama? sponsor the best umat m students around the world.
lepas tu bantu mereka dapat kerja di syarikat besar2 dan pupuk mereka jadi umat berguna.

setipa umat m yg berjaya di dunia mat salleh ni, dia tak payah cakap - 'i am a muslim, and i am not a terrorist' (macam shah rukh khan dlm movie barunya). orang akan hormat umat m dgn sendiri.

...bersambung....


...sambungan....

4) (maklumlah saya wartawan) beli Agensi Berita dunia atau kahbar eropah amerika yg besar.
china dulu melalui Xinhua News Agency (macam Bernama, agensi berita milik pemerintah) telah membeli AFX, agensi berita kewangan kecil.
nama ditukar kpd XFN = Xinhua Financial News. kenapa? naikkan nama negara - oh, china ni rupanya pandai dlm kewangan. ada wartawan sendiri.

al jazeera mencuba ini dulu dgn membuka al jazeera english, tapi kerana aggresif tak kena tempat dan ada kaitan dgn al jazeera arab (yg dituduh pro-osama), mereka tak dibenarkan masuk ke market tv terbesar iaitu amerika. dan dihalau dari spork kerana suka nah nak buat berita nak hentam pemerintah temasek.
baru-baru, kenapa tak rilek dulu, buat laporan yg orang boleh terima - take baby steps to acceptance, confidence building stories.

ini masuk spork terus buat cerita homelessness in spore, prostitution in spore. aish. salah strategy. cnn, cnbc, bbc tak kena halau pun.
jika wang arab dapat beli saham sedikit dlm akhbar besar atau agensi berita.
tapi janganlah kamu control editorial dia pulak.
cuma nak tunjuk = we muslims can become shareholder of media w/o insisting that media must follow what we want.
macam pak arab saudi kaya ada saham citibank.


ini arab giler beli syarikat bola. dan kerana wang mudah dapat, dia belanja tak kira bayar mahal. kalau kita kata bodoh, marah pulak.
gunakan wang dgn bijak. masuk bola ni pun ok, nak tunjukkan we are part of the world, tapi saya takut pak arab belanja nak menunjuk dia kaya, dan bukan dapat tunjuk financial prudence yg membuat orang hormat umat m.

kita suka demo dan pekik-pekik. maki itu dan ini. letupkan diri. hidup menunjuk. tapi tak pandai go-stan dan fikir strategi macam yahudi dan china.
lihat sini - istana, mahligai dan villa arab.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjKS6Pl8qR4

21 December 2010 00:20


--------------------------------------------
TAMBAHAN 1PAGI - MRT, LRT

Ah kan, ah kan. Saya lagi nak ngamuk ni.
Rakan wartawan Anil Netto, mamat Penang yang selalu timbulkan persoalan yg jitu dan patut dijawab kerajaan, bincang tentang sistem LRT yang nak dibina di banyak bandar Amerika.
Beliau bertanya kenapa Msia nak bina MRT, bukan LRT macam mereka.
Saya tumpang semangkuk juga:


anil,
with respect and correct me if i am wrong.
the reason why these american cities are moving into light rail trains (LRT) and not mass rapid transit systems (MRT) is because they ALREADY HAVE underground systems, ie what we call MRT.
washington and new york definitely do have miles and miles of these tunnels underground, and it would be massively costly to build more in such built-up environment in the city centres.
but heck, the underground trains of these two big cities are ancient and smelly. the ones in spore, hk and even kl's underground LRT stations are much nicer cos they're newer.

and so these american cities want to build LRTs - mostly ABOVE ground systems which are cheaper.
but do note this also - from the experience of spore where i live.

the MRT (mostly underground) system can carry many more people at much faster speeds - that is why they have the word "mass" and "rapid".
in spore the LRT - "light rail" - has two cars and merely supplement the MRT.
ie u take the MRT from orchard road for eg, and then once u reach your township (say in the east or west), u change to the two-car LRT to reach your home.

of course, i do think msians have every right to question the COST of the mrt system that najib wants to build.
but to me at least it does not make sense to build more LRT tracks to outlying places like sungei buloh and kajang. better to build "mass" and "rapid" systems. not all the tracks should be underground, as it is cheaper to build them above ground.

the KTM Komuter trains are there also. it is a "mass", but not quite "rapid" system. let's talk about reliability.

being above ground - ie elevated - the LRT trains in spore and kl CANNOT, i think, move much faster for safety reasons. unless one could build WIDER tracks.

the singapore MRT and LRT map is here: pls enlarge it.
http://www.smrt.com.sg/trains/network_map.asp

the LRT systems are in grey-green colour = three on the top right and one on the top left. all have closed loops that look like tennis bats. they are for short distance travel.
the rest are MRT tracks (red, purple, bright green and orange).



i stand corrected bro.



Errr. kalau kamu nak tahu - rumah saya di Bishan Station = betul-betul kat tengah Singapork Darul Kasino (Intersection MRT Red Line dan Orange Line).

a) Office saya di Braddell Station, one station away, 2km.

b) Orchard Road Station jauhnya lima stesen dari rumah saya.

c) Jika saya nak ke Changi Airport, misalnya, saya naik Orange Line (dipanggil Circle Line) hingga ia bertembung Green Line (East-West Line). Tukar tren, hingga ke Changi Airport.

d) Jika saya nak gi Pulau Sentosa, saya naik Orange Line sampai ke Purple Line (Northeast Line). Tukar tren.
Lepas tu naik sampai line ni habis di Harbourfront.

Maaf, ini bukan nak menunjuk apa.
Tapi beginilah rancangan MRT yang sedang nak dibuat di Klang Valley tu. Anda di masa depan boleh "lompat tren" dari satu tempat ke tempat yang lain.
Nak gi kerja seorang diri, atau jalan-jalan dengan keluarga akan lebih mudah.


Alah, kini pun dah boleh buat gitu kan - train hopping di LRT Masjid Jamek atau di KL Sentral.

Itulah sebabnya jangan diperdaya orang yang memperkecilkan rancangan MRT ini. Ia akan mempermudahkan hidup anda. Guaranteed!
Ramai tentu dah masuk banyak bandar-bandar besar tanpa tahu direction, tapi dengan Peta saja boleh train hopping di New York, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Tokyo.

Cuma yang nak dipersoalkan ialah harga MRT Klang Valley berbilion tu - tak boleh rendahkan lagi ke? Mengapa kasi si mamat-mamat tu jugak kontrak tersebut secara direct.

Monday, December 27, 2010

A Christmas Tale

Our White Christmas

Ah, the holidaze. So much preparation, so much futile racing around and around to make it all so perfectly perfect. So many hours spent pouring over the pristine pages of Martha Stewart Living magazine feeling woefully inadequate. We bake, we decorate, we thoughtfully purchase, we wrap every item with care...and then it's over in a blink of an eye, isn't it?

We had a turkey malfunction on Christmas Day. Well, let me rephrase that, K. Roger had the wrong directions on their turkey breast package. I should have followed my instincts, I knew there was a problem and yet I thought to myself, self, how can this possibly be wrong? Why would K. Roger want me to have an epic fail holiday dinner? I mean, what would be in that for them?

So I marched bravely forth into the fray with my Christmas spirit in tact and a goofy grin on my face, only to watch a full pot of boiled potatoes turn to glue while the turkey stubbornly took an entire hour longer than promised by said aforementioned faulty package to cook. The stuffing was...unfortunate. The broccoli met an untimely death. Were it not for the defiantly moist and delicious turkey and the amazingly unburnt Pillsbury crescent rolls, all hope would have been lost.

Thanks a lot, K Roger. Way to go.

We did, however, have a White Christmas, and that was a treat indeed. In fact, if Santa is listening, I'd like a White Christmas annually followed by a dearth of snow until the following year. Forever and ever amen.

Christmas has come and gone and now New Year's lurks around the corner. We hosted a family party every year for the past several, but we're too far away now. I've always felt New Year's was a holiday that came with far too much pressure to have fun. I'm afraid this year we'll be snoring in front of the TV covered with potato chip crumbs before the clock strikes midnight...

Another year bites the dust. Here's to a clean slate and to trusting our instincts. If it feels wrong, it probably is. That goes for turkey packages and major life choices. Oh and for the record, being fortunate enough to have a warm home in which to have a turkey malfunction for the holidays is a gift I treasure.

Love
Madge

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Day At Country Wings In Phoenix






Tony and I Christmas Day.
He was practicing to be Santa,


I think he made a pretty good one,

but can we shave the beard NOW?







Baby James sharing his First Christmas.








Destyne singing and laughing away.
 Isn't she precious? Our youngest son,


her Daddy, Phillip is in the background

on the left of the pic. 








Kain opening presents. He couldn't eat lunch,

he was so worried about the presents.








Left to right:

Isabel, Destiny and Elyse. (December 25th

is also Elyse's birthday.) She turned 15.

Happy Birthday Elyse.








My daughter, Heidi and her husband Ryan.

I love this picture. 








My oldest son TJ opening presents.

He needed slippers. Is the size right?






Hope you have a Happy New Year

Sweet Friends...

However you may welcome it,

Whatever you may do.
Here's hoping that the New Year,


Will be wonderful to you.









And for all of you out there in cold weather,

where the snow is hitting hard?

Snuggle up with your family,

Share some memories and enjoy

the warmth of my fireplace.



As always,

thank you for stopping by,

my little piece of heaven,

here in the desert,

that I so love to call home.



Country hugs and much love,














post signature


















The Garuda has landed - boleh menang Sang Kancil?

10 MALAM

Ish ish ish. 3-0 si baju biru menang.
Seluar hijau kalah.
Tapi nampak macam goalkeeper Jawa 'kelong' pulak. Senang sangat nak ditewaskan.


-----------------------------------------


Walau sebenarnya team bola Malaysia lebih wajar dipanggil Harimau - baju depa pun kuning, hitam.
Takpe ler saya lebih gemar Sang Kancil. Kecik tapi cute-miut.
Biar Garuda act ingat dia binatang besar terbang sana sambar sini, kancil lari kat bawah gelecek masuk gol.
Errr.... tapi boleh menang ke?
Nanti kita perhatikan.

Dah nak pecah dah Bung Karno Stadium. Ini belum mereka kalah lagi!

Saya teruskan ramalan saya, 5-3 setelah dua permainan.

Hidup, hidup. Hidup tempe!
Hancur, hancur. Hancur nasi lemak!