The Miss Universe Contest in the Bahamas

Let's have a respite here.

Look at the picture of these three pretty competitors for the Miss Universe contest in the Bahamas. The one on the left is Miss Puerto Rico and on the right is Miss Mexico. Miss USA is standing in the middle. Aren't they all heavenly creatures?


And there are some more here, on the beach and a few having a dip in the glassy sea.

Don't Say Sayonara!

A beautiful love story released in 1957, Sayonara is a classic film showcasing the clash of cultural values between Americans and the Japanese.The main theme of the film is the romantic liaisons between American servicemen on R&R and local native girls in post-war Japan.

In the midst of the continuing but subdued enmity between these two people, came Major Lloyd Gruver played by Marlon Brando and his love for the enigmatic Hana-Ogi,an adorable and charming entertainer performing for a Takarazuka-like theater company,played desirably by Miiko Taka.

The story starts on a strong footing. Kelly (Red Buttons),an enlisted man once under Gruver's command in Korea, marries a Japanese woman, Katsumi, in spite of the disapproval of the United States military, which will not recognize the marriage. The Air Force, including Gruver, was against the marriage. Gruver and Kelly had an argument where Gruver uses a racial slur to describe Kelly's fiancee, but Gruver apologized, then agreed later to be Kelly's Best Man at the wedding.He then meets the elusive Hana-Ogi through Kelly and Katsumi. Resolving any difference they had, it was then on, romance in the moonlight and shadows for the secret lovers.It was sublimal!


There is so much magic and bravado that you will root for the American servicemen and their spouses/girlfriends as they fight against the might of the American army psyche and bigotry which is dead-set against liaisons of any kind with native girls; much less anyone who has married them or intending to. The ruling at that time was no foreign Japanese wives could be brought back to the US if these servicemen get transferred back to Stateside. If they should go against such transfer order, they will be court-martialed. Kelly and Katsumi killed themselves in an honourable double suicide in a desperate way to end their impasse, not knowing that Congress was soon to pass a law allowing American servicemen to bring back their Japanese wives back to the States.

The suicide of Kely and Katsumi was to strengthen Major Gruver's resolve to marry his Japanese lover. He confronts Hana-Ogi in Tokyo and demanded that she make up her mind whether she wants to marry him or not. "I will be outside your door," he tells her.

In a parting scene before the credits roll,when asked by a Stars and Stripes reporter what will he say to both the "big brass" as well as the Japanese,if the rumours were true that he intends to marry Hana-Ogi, Major Gruver has this to say:"Tell them I said 'Sayonara.'

So the 64,000 dollar question will be: Will Hana-Ogi marry Gruver? That is for you to find out!

You will assuredly be entertained to such delightful music by the maestro, Irving Berlin and Sayonara under the masterful direction of Joshua Logan is magical. I did learn a lot from this movie,the looks of post-war Kobe and Tokyo and the Kabuki theatre. What a joy of a movie.

Excellent movie. Unrivaled to this day.

"Great Train Robber" Biggs is Finally Released!

August 7 was a great day for Britain’s “Great Train Robber” Ronnie Biggs. He was officially released! Biggs stole the equivalent of $50 million (RM175 million), the biggest heist in those days, 46 years ago. He was freed early from prison on compassionate grounds as he lay in hospital gravely ill.

Biggs was a household name, a modern Robin Hood until his capture. He spent 35 years on the run, won notoriety and some popularity for his ingenuity in evading capture and for cheekily thumbing his nose at the law from sun-soaked beaches.

Biggs, frail and sick with pneumonia, will celebrate his 80th birthday on Saturday with friends and family – 46 years to the day since the heist.

With 11 other gang members, Biggs robbed a Glasgow-to-London mail train in 1963 and stole £2.6 million (RM15.2 million), which is about £30 million (RM175.3 million) in today’s money. The crime became known as “The Great Train Robbery”.

Train driver Jack Mills was hit with an iron bar by an unknown member of the gang and never fully recovered.

Biggs was caught and convicted the following year but escaped from prison after just 15 months using a rope ladder that dropped him on to the roof of a waiting van.

Following his escape, he spent decades as a fugitive, moving from Australia to Panama and Venezuela, before ending up in Brazil, where his playboy lifestyle and cocky defiance of the British authorities made him a criminal legend.

He was tracked down in 1974 by a British newspaper, but narrowly escaped extradition from Brazil because his girlfriend, stripper Raimunda de Castro, was pregnant.

Now 79, Biggs returned to Britain voluntarily in 2001 and has been in jail.

The government approved his release after being told he was unlikely to recover, reversing its decision last month to refuse him parole on the grounds that he had not shown remorse.

The Day They Had an Elephant Hanged

Angela Brown wrote this piece in the Associated Press in 1999.I have paraphrased to shortened her report on this bizarre event.

In a town called Erwin in Tennessee, a rogue circus elephant was hung in 1916.

Angela described the hanging.

"The railroad crane squeaked and strained as it slowly hoisted the 5-ton elephant. The chain around the animal’s neck tightened as the crane ascended, lifting first the front feet and then the back feet off the ground.

Moments later, with about 3,000 people watching, Mary the circus elephant was dead, her lifeless body hanging 6 feet in the air."

This bizarre tale has endured until this day though the people of Erwin would like to best forget about it.

As the story went,Mary was owned by Sparks World Famous Shows, a small traveling circus. She was featured prominently on advertisement posters: “Mary — the largest living land animal on Earth; 3 inches taller than Jumbo and weighing over 5 tons. A positive feature at each exhibition.”

Before the performance in Kingsport on Sept. 12, 1916, Mary and the other elephants walked through town in the circus parade. Walter “Red” Eldridge, a drifter who had joined the circus the day before in Virginia, was handling Mary.

When the elephant stopped to nibble on a watermelon rind, Eldridge hit her head with a stick. Suddenly Mary lifted him with her trunk and threw him into the side of a wooden stand. Then she walked over and stepped on his head.People ran screaming, but the elephant never charged the crowd. In fact, Mary quickly calmed down and the show — with her in it — went on that night.

The next day, the circus traveled about 40 miles to Erwin, and rumors about Mary’s attack began spreading. Some residents heard the governor had ordered Mary killed. Others claimed Kingsport residents were headed to Erwin with a cannon to blow her up.

The mayors in nearby Johnson City and Rogersville threatened to cancel circus shows in their towns if Mary kept performing.

Circus officials were reluctant to take action because Mary was such a valuable part of their show. But they knew they had to do something and apparently decided to kill her in spectacular fashion.

Circus workers wrapped a chain around Mary’s neck and attached it to a 100-ton derrick car, used for lifting and moving railroad cars. The chain broke during the first attempt. Witnesses said Mary broke her hip and did not squirm as much when she was hoisted the second and final time. She was buried near the track.

There were all kinds of stories on events before Mary was hanged.One strange and unbelievable account that remains popular had the townspeople of Erwin actually putting Mary on trial, convicting her of murder and sentencing her to death.

So believe it or not, they do hang even animals in days of yore!

Jokes with Funny Word Puns

1. Losing all your friends:
Man comes home and finds his wife with his friend in bed.
He shoots his friend and kills him. Wife says 'If you
behave like this, you will lose ALL your
friends.'

2. Brother wanted:
A small boy wrote to Santa Claus, 'Send me a
brother'....
Santa wrote back, 'SEND ME YOUR
MOTHER'....

3. Meaning of WIFE:
Husband asks, 'Do you know the meaning of WIFE? It
means 'Without Information Fighting
Every time'!'
Wife replies, 'No, it means 'With Idiot For
Ever'!!!'

4. Importance of a period:
Teacher: 'Do you know the importance of a period?'
Kid: 'Yeah, once my sister said she has missed one, my
mom fainted, dad got a heart attack & our driver ran
away.'

5. Confident vs. confidential:
A young boy asks his Dad, 'What is the difference
between confident and confidential?' Dad says, 'You
are my son, I'm confident about that. Your friend over
there is also my son, that's confidential! '

6. Anger management? :
Husband: 'When I get mad at you, you never fight back.
How do you control your anger?'
Wife: 'I clean the toilet.'
Husband: 'How does that help?'
Wife: 'I use your tooth-brush.'

Lim Kok Thay is the CEO on Cloud Nine

Yes, he is the most highly paid CEO in Malaysia.

GENTING Bhd chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay is the highest income earner among chief executives of public listed companies - earning RM77.7mil (S$31.9mil) in 2008 despite a 10% pay cut.

Nanyang Siang Pau reported that he also topped the list in 2007 with RM86.5mil.

According to the daily's calculation, Lim earns around RM212,800 (S$87333) a day.

In his capacity as Genting Malaysia executive chairman and chief executive, Lim is in third place with an annual income of RM37.25mil in 2008, compared with RM41.5mil in 2007.

In second place is IOI Corporation Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, with an annual income of RM41.15mil, almost doubling his 2007 income of RM21.6mil.

Lee, in his capacity as executive chairman of IOI Property, came in sixth with an income of RM8.6mil following a 67% pay rise.

So, now you know what a pittance you earn! Remember in a capitalist economy, if you have a ringgit, the government will give you another ringgit. If you have none, just too bad. Shoo off!

Play Matrix for a Year....

Matrix International will soon change its name to reflect its owners. It will be known as Berjaya Assets. After a re-capitalisation exercise in 2008, it is on solid ground to move ahead. A rights issue plus a convertible warrant was given sometime in 1H,2008. The warrant can only be exercisable with RM1 cash per unit share on par with current shares.It is for 10 years. At today's price, none has been exercised and perhaps some if the price should reach at beyond RM1.00. So what do you think will be the Matrix play? One thing,they are on a profit trail, not like in 2007 when they were swimming in red ink.

After the EGM on 3 August which changed its name to be a Berjaya stable company,the price started moving out beyond the 30 sen level. It has now sprung into action touching a high of 49.5 sen. I believe a 10% increase for a day is a big jump. However, being a low priced counter and a Berjaya counter at that, it may attract strategic retail buyers very soon.Today's price went to as low as 46.5 sen. It is a profit making corporate but will not pay dividends at least for another year or so. Best thing, it runs a number forecast in Sarawak.

Looking at the current market, price of Matrix will be range-bound and so its buying time.It should go up when the next leg up happens in our market.When? Rightly, after ASNB pumps in the new largesse from the AS1M funds. Playing up the blue-chips and syariah compliant shares will certainly move the market. Remember in March when EPF lent Valuecap RM5 billon? The Bursar went up like an arrow.

I will benchmark Matrix to Dijaya Corporation's price or may be beyond..........