Good Family Fare

Just saw 'Marley and Me'. It chronicles the story and antics of a indiscipline and fancy free dog called Marley and how it weaves itself along the way into the hearts and lives of John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and Jenny (Jennifer Aniston)and their three children.

A extremely light farcical comedy set in the newspaper world of New York and Philadelphia, this movie is easy to chew upon and even though Marley departs from the Grogan family in the end of old age,the fading scene is done in measured tones without the usual dramatics of a tearful farewell.

This movie can be quite predictable at times but 'Marley and Me' has its merits and is quite a good movie to watch if you have the time.

Downsizing.....

These days, brand no longer matter that much to well-heeled senior citizens. Even though they may reside in middle class enclaves, many of these senior citizens have forsake their Mercedes and have chosen the plain and diminutive Kancil; and are proud to be seen in one of them. In fact, a certain buddy of mind has chucked his Mercedes for the LRT. Yet, another friend whom I met today is driving a Kancil, in place of his Mercedes,talking about the Kancil's unrivaled fuel economy and its ease in parking.

Well, time sure has changed. For me, I am still driving my two old jalopies.....

Beauty-Just Savour the Sight of It

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty".
These words are immortalized by John Keats in his classic poem "Ode to a Grecian Urn". Then there is the other saying: "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder".



I am in support of both these assertions. Why?
Just take a look at this foxy mix-breed Filipino-French-Hawaiian beauty, Shannyn Sossamon and you know why.

Senior Citizens' Goodie Shops

Goodie shops-that's what my wife calls them. All you need is pay RM1 for entry to a 60 minutes health talk and then you can walk away with some daily use items ranging from tissue paper to biscuits and snacks.

So where's the catch?. What is the modus operandi? The RM1 entry fee is just to defray operational costs like contributing to some of the workers' pay,air-conditioning and the like.Actually,it will not even cover their daily expenses. Sometimes they also sell small priced items before the actual talk begins, to make some small money.

For something like 4 months they will have these health talks and will introduce health foods and health equipment. These are real expensive and cost nothing less than RM 1,000. Some even can go up to RM13,000 such as health exercise machines. If they can sell these, they will make a lot of money.

Believe me, these senior citizens are really loaded. Most of them are retired or receiving money from their working kids. They are on a high,buying up almost every health related product that was introduced. As usual, their hope-a cure for current ailments.For those that are big ticket buyers, they will be given free membership to organic food shops where they can buy things at discount prices.

For me, as most of these health talks are either in Cantonese or Mandarin or translations from Japanese, my attention literary fades away after 20 minutes.Before you know it, the talk ends and you hand over your little green cards to get your presents.

Goodie shops open all over the place in KL and PJ and the same senior citizens will be there to take advantage of the goodies that they dish out for just a mere ringgit. Very soon they will get to know one another and trade news on what is being offered at which goodie shop.

What a time to spend the morning just looking at these old folks and to listen to the rambling sales talk!

Love and Lust for a Woman

A very controversial topic.

I think most of us can second guess what is lust but what is love actually? Does love incorporates lust somewhere within itself? Is it love or both love and lust that brings about that notion of romantic love?

Love for many can range from platonic love to romantic love.

Love is a general term that many would agree, encompasses such worthy attributes as selfless devotion, active showering of care and concern, adorable demonstration of affection and constant dedication and doting after.

The love of a son for a mother transcends platonic love. For many, a son's obligations is the foundation for great motherly love. As such- Mothers' Day. The love here engenders devotion,dedication,care,concern and affection.

On the other hand,what about love for another woman who is not your kith and kin?On what basis, would you say you 'love' such a woman? How does such a love actually starts? What about its trajectory?

Romantic love is certainly not that of a love for a mother. What are its attributes, if there is such a thing as romantic love?

When you see someone that is beautiful,intelligent and compatible,what happens? Your mind conjures all kinds of possibilities. For many, romantic love starts with the appreciation of physical form. It might not necessarily be confined to just that but also the sound of her voice, the way she speaks and the way she walks- in other works how she carries herself. Some may call this sexual attraction.

After a brief period of acquaintanceship based on mutual interests, a bonding friendship develops and reinforcing positive responses lead to close proximity,call it dating, if you must.

So when does lust (basic instinct) quietly creep into this so called love relationship? It rears its head because once couples are in a love mode, possession and ownership of each other becomes desirably important to each other. That they have become a single item is a sign to the world to leave them alone to carry on into their romantic phase.

Physical love is at best, raw lust. The desire to be alone together-to be intimate. The desire to touch. The desire to be sexually aroused. The desire to do pleasurable things to each other.

For some, the lust phase ends when one of the lover gets bored of his mate and intends to seek other partners. Love dies, so they claim.

Oftentimes, in Oriental societies, the relationship faces its moment of truth when the couple is faced with family pressure;is confronted with religious issues and is forced to think about moral values. They have to make a decision or let go. Only those with a deep sense of commitment will cement their relationship at the altar. Henceforth commitment will be the bedrock for the love of a man for his mate as they venture into married life.

However, not many relationships will go this way in today's society. Values such as commitment is no longer sacrosanct or socially important. Once the lust phase of a relationship who many call "love" is over, the affair comes to an end and the lovers move on looking again for more love and lust.

Until such time when a man or a woman should find his or her soul mate, lust and love will continue to dwell in romantic love.

For many, it was fun while it lust!

Window Shopping at Suria KLCC

Well, what does one do with time on their hands if they do not need to follow an 8.30-5.30 job routine? Window shopping and catching in the sights of KL is one.

So after lunch, I set off for KLCC to wander around. After my wife had dispensed off her business with Tomei, we watch the O'brien boys produce Irish sandwiches. Not cheap, mind you. Cheapest on the menu was RM11.90.

We went to the Rasa Food court on the 4th Level for some cucuk udang and teh tarik. Not too bad.

Spent some time too at Kinokuniya Books and read some parts of a book on health and wellness. Cold Storage had some sort of sale on but we did not buy anything.

Came home at 5.30 pm.

I will be back next week again.

The Terubuk Fish

This is no fish to eat if you are afraid of fish with fine hairy bones. The closest relative is the parang.

Terubuk is well liked by the Malay community and are often roasted or deep-fried and eaten with some chili-onion-dark soya sauce dip.

I started eating terubuk this year after buying one from Mydin Hypermarket in Subang Jaya.

The flesh of this fish is certainly tasty and flakes off easily. In fact, you can say it practically 'melts' in your mouth as the flesh is soft and tender.

Whatever you do, just eat the fish carefully and gingerly. Do not ever attempt to eat it together with rice at one go because chances are, if you are unfortunate, you will get choked with an irritable terubuk bone sticking somewhere down your throat. Believe me, the experience can be most unnerving.

I remembered clearly what my mother said: the only way to get rid of it is by swallowing dollops of rice to dislodge it! Yes, it does work for me in bygone days- a frightful and painful procedure I could recall.