Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Flag Burning..
Yesterday was reading NST. Saw one article with a picture of one motorcycle helmet guy burning the Malaysian Flag. Very disappointed. Here is the article.
KUALA TERENGGANU: The rioters at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat ceramah here on Saturday night caused RM1 million in damage.
State police chief Datuk Ayub Yaakob said 23 people were arrested for rioting in the incident, adding that three were injured along with four policemen.
He said two of the rioters who were injured had been shot by a policeman when he was attacked.
He said the constable had fired twice in the air after being pushed to the ground, somehow hitting the two suspects.
Ayub said the two men and the constable were warded at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital, but the policeman was discharged yesterday.
Also warded was Federal Reserve Unit personnel Lance Corporal Azmi Hussein, who was assaulted with sticks by a group of about 20 men.
The others injured were given outpatient treatment at the same hospital.
The 23 suspects, in their 20s and 30s, will be charged under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting and for other offences.
The incident on Saturday saw 350 police and Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel quelling about 600 rioters.
A crowd of 200, which had been waiting for a ceramah by Keadilan treasurer Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in Jalan Sultan Mahmud, Batu Buruk, turned unruly after the police Light Strike Force asked them to disperse.
The crowd later swelled to 600 and began attacking the Light Strike Force, forcing it to call in the FRU.
The FRU then used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd, which became even more aggressive and began hurling Molotov cocktails and burning sticks.
The FRU started to retreat around 1am, three hours after the incident, hoping that the crowd would become less aggressive.
However, the mob pursued the police and FRU personnel.
Three bonfires were lit using plastic road dividers, tree branches and construction material.
Several flags were thrown into the bonfires.
Commenting on the incident in Petaling Jaya, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he felt police had acted according to the law.
He said everyone, including Umno and other Barisan Nasional component parties, were required to get police permits before holding functions.
"Such laws apply to all and not just to the opposition parties.
"The police acted accordingly. They have the responsibility of enforcing the law."
Asked to comment on the rioters’ refusal to disperse, Najib said they had to obey the law.
"If we don’t follow them, there will be anarchy in the country with no one respecting the rules and regulations."
Earlier, Ayub said he ordered the police and FRU to retreat to prevent the situation from turning ugly.
"Our main priority is to restore public order. We would have preferred it if no confrontation had taken place, but at the same time, we had to take action to show that we are not weak," he said.
Ayub said police had invited organisers of the ceramah to the police station here for talks over the permit but up to 6pm on Saturday, no one had turned up.
The permit for the ceramah, he said, was rejected on safety grounds as it was being held at a residential area and near government quarters.
Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said opposition supporters who were at the incident on Saturday had gone overboard in their actions by rioting and burning flags, including the Umno flag.
My dissapointment is, what did the flag ever do to them? Why did they have to burn it? They should be tried for treason for this.
Flags which ever country, is an important symbol for the country. Think of the men and women in Uniform who have defended this country and some even paid their lives for it.
One may not like the politicians or government of the day but who wins or loss, the Malaysian Flag stays the same.
Don;t ever disrespect our Malaysian Flag (or other country's flag).
KUALA TERENGGANU: The rioters at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat ceramah here on Saturday night caused RM1 million in damage.
State police chief Datuk Ayub Yaakob said 23 people were arrested for rioting in the incident, adding that three were injured along with four policemen.
He said two of the rioters who were injured had been shot by a policeman when he was attacked.
He said the constable had fired twice in the air after being pushed to the ground, somehow hitting the two suspects.
Ayub said the two men and the constable were warded at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital, but the policeman was discharged yesterday.
Also warded was Federal Reserve Unit personnel Lance Corporal Azmi Hussein, who was assaulted with sticks by a group of about 20 men.
The others injured were given outpatient treatment at the same hospital.
The 23 suspects, in their 20s and 30s, will be charged under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting and for other offences.
The incident on Saturday saw 350 police and Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel quelling about 600 rioters.
A crowd of 200, which had been waiting for a ceramah by Keadilan treasurer Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in Jalan Sultan Mahmud, Batu Buruk, turned unruly after the police Light Strike Force asked them to disperse.
The crowd later swelled to 600 and began attacking the Light Strike Force, forcing it to call in the FRU.
The FRU then used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd, which became even more aggressive and began hurling Molotov cocktails and burning sticks.
The FRU started to retreat around 1am, three hours after the incident, hoping that the crowd would become less aggressive.
However, the mob pursued the police and FRU personnel.
Three bonfires were lit using plastic road dividers, tree branches and construction material.
Several flags were thrown into the bonfires.
Commenting on the incident in Petaling Jaya, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he felt police had acted according to the law.
He said everyone, including Umno and other Barisan Nasional component parties, were required to get police permits before holding functions.
"Such laws apply to all and not just to the opposition parties.
"The police acted accordingly. They have the responsibility of enforcing the law."
Asked to comment on the rioters’ refusal to disperse, Najib said they had to obey the law.
"If we don’t follow them, there will be anarchy in the country with no one respecting the rules and regulations."
Earlier, Ayub said he ordered the police and FRU to retreat to prevent the situation from turning ugly.
"Our main priority is to restore public order. We would have preferred it if no confrontation had taken place, but at the same time, we had to take action to show that we are not weak," he said.
Ayub said police had invited organisers of the ceramah to the police station here for talks over the permit but up to 6pm on Saturday, no one had turned up.
The permit for the ceramah, he said, was rejected on safety grounds as it was being held at a residential area and near government quarters.
Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said opposition supporters who were at the incident on Saturday had gone overboard in their actions by rioting and burning flags, including the Umno flag.
My dissapointment is, what did the flag ever do to them? Why did they have to burn it? They should be tried for treason for this.
Flags which ever country, is an important symbol for the country. Think of the men and women in Uniform who have defended this country and some even paid their lives for it.
One may not like the politicians or government of the day but who wins or loss, the Malaysian Flag stays the same.
Don;t ever disrespect our Malaysian Flag (or other country's flag).
September 11 - 6 year on
(Note: Only during lunch time i realise i type wrongly, supposed to be 6 years on)
What was i doing on this day 6 years ago? I was getting ready to go to bed (around 9 something). My dad called home and told me to switch on the tv, CNN...US under attack. So i did and not long after my dad reached home and we watched the first tower burning.
About 20 minutes or half and hour in to it, second tower got hit. My dad and I watched the whole thing unfold live. As we all know, the rest was history.
Please spare a moment to think of those who passed on, the heros who risked their lives to save people and some of them even lost it.
To the families of the victim, i am sure every year around this time, its hard for them. Please pray for them that in time, their hearts will heal.
Lest we forget
They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
From Wikipedia
What was i doing on this day 6 years ago? I was getting ready to go to bed (around 9 something). My dad called home and told me to switch on the tv, CNN...US under attack. So i did and not long after my dad reached home and we watched the first tower burning.
About 20 minutes or half and hour in to it, second tower got hit. My dad and I watched the whole thing unfold live. As we all know, the rest was history.
Please spare a moment to think of those who passed on, the heros who risked their lives to save people and some of them even lost it.
To the families of the victim, i am sure every year around this time, its hard for them. Please pray for them that in time, their hearts will heal.
Lest we forget
They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
From Wikipedia
Monday, September 10, 2007
Some thing to share..
One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't anymore. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."
So while we have it, it's best we love it and care for it and fix it when it's broken?and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage...and old cars?and children with bad report cards and dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special, and so we keep them close!
I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.
Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.
And just in case GOD calls me home ?I LOVE YA!!! I'm so glad you're my FRIEND! And a part of my life!
Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised.
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments,
but what is woven into the lives of others."
~ Pericles
So while we have it, it's best we love it and care for it and fix it when it's broken?and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage...and old cars?and children with bad report cards and dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special, and so we keep them close!
I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.
Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.
And just in case GOD calls me home ?I LOVE YA!!! I'm so glad you're my FRIEND! And a part of my life!
Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised.
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments,
but what is woven into the lives of others."
~ Pericles
Tiger Woods did it again..
Tiger woods did it again. Coming from behind to win by 2 strokes. His never give up attitude is what separate him from others. At the age of 31, already won 60 competitions which includes 13 major titles. At the moment, he is The Man in golf.
LEMONT, Ill. -- Remove yourself from all the hype and hysteria surrounding the FedEx Cup. Forget about playoffs and Player of the Year awards and piles of cash. Consider the number 60.
It used to be pretty special in baseball, and remains so in golf.
Tiger Woods does not swat home runs, but he does pile up the PGA Tour hardware. And his victory Sunday at the BMW Championship means that one version of golf's Mount Rushmore will have to make room for the man who threatens to break every meaningful record in the game.
Woods matched the tournament 18-hole record by shooting an 8-under 63 at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, becoming the first player to do so twice. He posted the lowest four-day total (262) in 104 years of tournament competition -- which beat the previous mark by five strokes. He won the tournament that used to be known as the Western Open for the fifth time, just one behind Walter Hagen.
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Woods has now won five times at Cog Hill.
And he joined Sam Snead (82), Jack Nicklaus (73), Ben Hogan (64) and Arnold Palmer (62) among those with 60 victories or more in PGA Tour events.
All at age 31.
Even Woods, master of the routine, never one to be overly impressed with himself, acknowledged it is pretty special.
"I never, ever would have dreamt that this could have happened this soon," Woods said. "I've been out here, what, 11 years? This is my 12th season. And to have this many wins ... I just never could have foreseen that.
"I've exceeded my expectations and it's been a lot of fun to enjoy that whole road, that whole process, to get to 60. It's been a lot of work. There have been some changes along the way, you know? But I think that's all been great."
There have been swing changes and equipment changes. He got married, lost a father and brought a child into the world.
But other than a few brief dry periods along the way, not much changes when it comes to winning. Nobody does it better -- or more often -- than Woods. He now has won at least six times in a season five times. This year, four of his six wins have come at the biggest tournaments -- a major (PGA Championship), two World Golf Championship events (CA Championship and Bridgestone Invitational) and now a playoff event.
And his other two victories came at two of the more popular regular tour events, the Buick Invitational and Wachovia Championship.
Perhaps just as remarkable as his number of victories is the speed with which he got there. Nicklaus was 36 years old when he won his 60th title in 1976. Palmer was 41 in 1971 when he won for the 60th time. Woods could take the next five years off and still be on pace to surpass Nicklaus, Hogan and Palmer.
Or, as Justin Rose put it, "I'd have to win 15 times a year for the next four years to get there by the time I'm 31."
Rose played with Woods on Sunday and witnessed a clinic. Trailing by one when the day began, Woods made four birdies on the front nine but could not wrestle the lead away from Aaron Baddeley and Steve Stricker. When he failed to birdie the par-4 10th and the relatively easy par-5 11th, Woods simply became more determined and birdied four of the next five holes. And nobody could catch him.
For the tournament, Woods was third in the field in driving accuracy at more than 80 percent -- a scary proposition when you consider how wayward his drives can be at times. He also never had a three-putt and played just three out of 72 holes over par.
"You could just see him suddenly go into another gear," Rose said. "His focus was on to another level."
It is doubtful that Woods has ever fixed much of a gaze on the highly-promoted FedEx Cup race. He led the points standings for much of the year, stayed away from the first playoff event and fell to fourth in the standings, finished second to Phil Mickelson last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship and watched Lefty ascend to the top spot, and now has it all to himself.
There will no doubt be some fallout from the fact that Woods could be in position to win the $10-million retirement bonus that goes to the winner of the Cup without playing all four tournaments. And he has rendered this week's Tour Championship at East Lake a virtual money grab for all but four other players. Only Stricker, Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi will have an opportunity to overtake Woods to win the FedEx Cup.
Given his penchant for paying attention to detail, however, you can bet that Woods will know what he has to do this week to be the inaugural FedEx Cup champion.
Then again, the best way to get there is the only way Woods wants to get there.
"Winning takes care of everything," he said.
And nobody knows that better than Woods.
Bob Harig is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/columns/story?columnist=harig_bob&id=3012258
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Congratulation to England
Being a coach for England Football is not easy. Hopefully this win will let them qualify for Euro 2008.
Steve McClaren has pointed to England's best performance of his difficult time in charge and warned his players not to drop below those standards in future.
Goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Owen and Micah Richards guided the Three Lions to a 3-0 romp over Israel at Wembley which has significantly increased their chances of reaching Euro 2008 next summer.
A similar performance against Russia at the same venue on Wednesday would leave England tantalisingly close to booking their place at the finals in Austria and Switzerland.
But McClaren realises his team are yet to prove they are capable of maintaining such a high level of performance on a consistent basis. And he has left them in no doubt once is not enough.
'Yes, it is absolutely right. That performance sets the bar. It is not just the score; I would take taken one-nil. It is the fact that we had a lot of injuries, yet players have stepped in and done the job.
'Given the pressure beforehand and the fact it was our most important game so far, one we had to win, then yes, it probably was my best result as coach.
'And all of a sudden, we have competition for places, which has to be healthy.'
Under the circumstances, with Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Owen Hargreaves among the key men to miss out, McClaren could hardly have expected any more from his team.
They dominated from start to finish and, in Wright-Phillips, Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry boasted a trio who carried England's challenge despite rarely having had the opportunity to operate regularly on the international stage.
All that may change now, with Heskey and Barry, three and an incredible seven years after their previous competitive starts for England, under serious consideration for Wednesday's equally crucial encounter even though more established alternatives in Peter Crouch and Hargreaves are available.
Wright-Phillips can be more certain of his place.
The little winger has spent so long in the wilderness following his £21million move to Chelsea two years ago.
But, first for club and now with his country, Wright-Phillips is showing signs of recapturing the form which made him an international in the first place during his time at Manchester City.
He may not have the crossing accuracy of Beckham but the 26-year-old Londoner offers a rare ability to run at defenders at pace and maintain his balance. As Israel found to their cost, it is a skill which cannot easily be contained.
'Shaun is a nightmare to defend against when he is playing like that,' said McClaren. 'He has pace and power and works so hard for the team. He is so strong too.
'There are times when it looks like he is going to lose the ball but then he fights to get it back.'
Wright-Phillips' goal, a well-taken first-time effort after he had sprung Israel's offside trap perfectly to reach Joe Cole's angled cross was what McClaren described as 'the icing on the cake'.
Take out Owen and Steven Gerrard and it is not abundantly clear who is going to score England's goals.
Now, an answer may be at hand. And, while McClaren felt his team could have been far more clinical yesterday, he declared himself satisfied with the outcome - providing England have left a few in reserve.
'The goal was a key thing for Shaun because, while we knew we would get crosses in, we wondered who would get the goals from midfield if Steven Gerrard did not get them,' said McClaren.
'In a sense we followed on from the Germany game last month because we created a lot of chances and did not score as many times as we might have done.
'Hopefully, we are saving a couple for Wednesday.'
Other than the booing which greeted David Bentley's entrance and the Blackburn man's every touch thereafter, a legacy of the debutant's decision to snub under-21 duty with England at this summer's European Championships, there was barely a negative for McClaren to reflect on.
However, in confirming a 'hope' that Hargreaves would recover from his thigh injury in time to be considered for the Russia clash, the England coach did reveal Lampard is unlikely to have progressed enough from a similar problem to come under consideration.
'From what we have seen, Frank is going to struggle,' he said.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=461512&cc=4716
Steve McClaren has pointed to England's best performance of his difficult time in charge and warned his players not to drop below those standards in future.
Goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Owen and Micah Richards guided the Three Lions to a 3-0 romp over Israel at Wembley which has significantly increased their chances of reaching Euro 2008 next summer.
A similar performance against Russia at the same venue on Wednesday would leave England tantalisingly close to booking their place at the finals in Austria and Switzerland.
But McClaren realises his team are yet to prove they are capable of maintaining such a high level of performance on a consistent basis. And he has left them in no doubt once is not enough.
'Yes, it is absolutely right. That performance sets the bar. It is not just the score; I would take taken one-nil. It is the fact that we had a lot of injuries, yet players have stepped in and done the job.
'Given the pressure beforehand and the fact it was our most important game so far, one we had to win, then yes, it probably was my best result as coach.
'And all of a sudden, we have competition for places, which has to be healthy.'
Under the circumstances, with Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Owen Hargreaves among the key men to miss out, McClaren could hardly have expected any more from his team.
They dominated from start to finish and, in Wright-Phillips, Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry boasted a trio who carried England's challenge despite rarely having had the opportunity to operate regularly on the international stage.
All that may change now, with Heskey and Barry, three and an incredible seven years after their previous competitive starts for England, under serious consideration for Wednesday's equally crucial encounter even though more established alternatives in Peter Crouch and Hargreaves are available.
Wright-Phillips can be more certain of his place.
The little winger has spent so long in the wilderness following his £21million move to Chelsea two years ago.
But, first for club and now with his country, Wright-Phillips is showing signs of recapturing the form which made him an international in the first place during his time at Manchester City.
He may not have the crossing accuracy of Beckham but the 26-year-old Londoner offers a rare ability to run at defenders at pace and maintain his balance. As Israel found to their cost, it is a skill which cannot easily be contained.
'Shaun is a nightmare to defend against when he is playing like that,' said McClaren. 'He has pace and power and works so hard for the team. He is so strong too.
'There are times when it looks like he is going to lose the ball but then he fights to get it back.'
Wright-Phillips' goal, a well-taken first-time effort after he had sprung Israel's offside trap perfectly to reach Joe Cole's angled cross was what McClaren described as 'the icing on the cake'.
Take out Owen and Steven Gerrard and it is not abundantly clear who is going to score England's goals.
Now, an answer may be at hand. And, while McClaren felt his team could have been far more clinical yesterday, he declared himself satisfied with the outcome - providing England have left a few in reserve.
'The goal was a key thing for Shaun because, while we knew we would get crosses in, we wondered who would get the goals from midfield if Steven Gerrard did not get them,' said McClaren.
'In a sense we followed on from the Germany game last month because we created a lot of chances and did not score as many times as we might have done.
'Hopefully, we are saving a couple for Wednesday.'
Other than the booing which greeted David Bentley's entrance and the Blackburn man's every touch thereafter, a legacy of the debutant's decision to snub under-21 duty with England at this summer's European Championships, there was barely a negative for McClaren to reflect on.
However, in confirming a 'hope' that Hargreaves would recover from his thigh injury in time to be considered for the Russia clash, the England coach did reveal Lampard is unlikely to have progressed enough from a similar problem to come under consideration.
'From what we have seen, Frank is going to struggle,' he said.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=461512&cc=4716
Congratulations to Justine Henin
This post is dedicated to our badminton players who did not do well in this year's world championship.
I respect people especially sportsmen or women who overcome problems and emerge top in their game or sports they play. For our country it is our squash queen Ms David. She was down after the commonwealth games but since then she has not look back.
Same goes to Justine Henin for winning the Women's US open 2007. On route beat the Williams sisters. In the final she beat (trashed) Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3.
Season comes full circle for Henin
NEW YORK -- If Justine Henin had taken time last week to fill out one of those stress tests found in pop culture magazines -- the ones that assign point totals to dramatic events in your life over the past year -- she would have been off the charts.
Henin began 2007 as No. 1 in the world, with one of the most admired tactical games in tennis, but all was not well beneath the brim of her businesslike ball cap.
Her marriage was on the rocks, and she hadn't spoken to most of her immediate family in seven years. Although Henin had five Grand Slam wins under her belt, her fellow players and much of the public and the media perceived her as frosty and criticized her for withdrawing from big matches when she didn't feel exactly right.
Here's what Henin did. She let things fly, both on and off the court. This was her Year of Living Interestingly, the season she got on the plane and understood there would be turbulence and decided she wouldn't let it unnerve her.
This was the year she began to do what her longtime coach and mentor Carlos Rodriguez has been urging her to do for a long time. She dropped some of her reserve and let people get a glimpse of her passion for the sport as well as her skill.
The results -- well, the results have been "magical," as Henin said after winning her second U.S. Open on Saturday night with a 6-1, 6-3 whitewashing of Russia's No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"At the beginning of the year, we really asked ourselves where we were going -- we talked about a year of transition," she told French-speaking reporters, referring to the winning combination she has with Rodriguez, who has coached her for 11 years.
Henin, 25, of Belgium, called this championship -- which came after defeating Serena and Venus Williams back-to-back in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds -- her most satisfying Slam.
"There aren't many women who could do that here in New York," she said with quiet conviction. She did it without dropping a set, as was the case in May when she captured her third straight French Open title.
She has reached at least the semifinal round of every tournament she has played since the middle of last season, and she's healthy. Henin actually knocked wood when she said this might be the first season she gets through without injury.
Nothing has diverted Henin -- not divorce, not being diagnosed with a sudden onset of chronic asthma in March, not an emotional reconciliation with her family a few weeks before the French Open spurred by an older brother's near-fatal car accident, not the stunning upset pudgy French wonder Marion Bartoli handed her in the Wimbledon semifinals, not the fact that announcer Dick Enberg inadvertently addressed her as "Henin-Hardenne" -- her now-defunct married name -- during the trophy ceremony.
"No, I don't care about that," she said, flashing the smile that has been a standard all season. "I heard it, but that was OK."
Rodriguez told reporters he felt Henin had finally come out from behind the wall she'd constructed to try to hide any frailty from fans or competitors. "She understands, 'I am a human being, and human beings can have failures,'" he said.
Henin readily admitted the change. "I could feel a big difference this time in the States when I came here," she said. "People were coming much more easily to me. I think I look more open. I look [like] myself. I can be a funny person. You know, people that really know me, I love spending time with people that I love. I'm a normal person.
" … I think that people really start to really know me a little bit better, and it's been a big difference in my life the last few months."
Not that she doesn't have small lapses. Serving for the match, Henin was distracted briefly by a spectator who let out a war whoop between her first and second serves. She committed a double fault, one of seven she logged for the night.
Henin didn't necessarily play her absolute best tennis against Kuznetsova, but she didn't have to. The amiable Russian, who still wields a powerful forehand but is somewhat thicker around the middle than when she won the Open in 2004, played the same kind of uninspired, error-plagued tennis she got away with in a sloppy semifinal win over Anna Chakvetadze.
Kuznetsova stared straight ahead, obviously gutted, as she waited for her runner-up trophy, and she apologized to the crowd for not bringing her A-game.
Henin, by contrast, sprinted up into the stands to hug Rodriguez, and thanked him publicly even though he would prefer she didn't.
Asked why he thought their relationship had lasted so long, the animated Spaniard responded, "It doesn't surprise me. I'm surprised the players can change [coaches] so often. I can't work like this. I have to know the person."
Clearly, Henin is grateful to Rodriguez because, as the one person who gave her some continuity all these years, he knows her well enough to bring down the hammer.
He has asked her to come forward. To come forward in the technical sense -- lashing angled volleys that are her only chance of consistently beating bigger, stronger players -- and in the personal sense, in which she needed to work through her issues the way she tries to read a match in progress.
"I said to her, 'Try to have the courage to solve your problems -- only you, nobody else, not even me,'" Rodriguez said. "What advice can I give her? I'm a married man with two kids, 20 years older than her. She did this herself. … She has taught me as much as I've taught her."
Maybe Henin can be an example for other athletes. Personalities, even the ones on most public display, don't have to be set in stone. Change is possible, the same way a baseliner can start going to the net.
Henin is still No. 1 and has a good chance to end 2007 there, but she's actually in a very different place from where she started in January. We've all known for a long time that she would move mountains to win a match. We just didn't know she'd try to reach a personal peak and wave to us when she got to the top.
Bonnie D. Ford is a frequent contributor who is covering the U.S. Open for ESPN.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen07/news/story?id=3010076
I respect people especially sportsmen or women who overcome problems and emerge top in their game or sports they play. For our country it is our squash queen Ms David. She was down after the commonwealth games but since then she has not look back.
Same goes to Justine Henin for winning the Women's US open 2007. On route beat the Williams sisters. In the final she beat (trashed) Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3.
Season comes full circle for Henin
NEW YORK -- If Justine Henin had taken time last week to fill out one of those stress tests found in pop culture magazines -- the ones that assign point totals to dramatic events in your life over the past year -- she would have been off the charts.
Henin began 2007 as No. 1 in the world, with one of the most admired tactical games in tennis, but all was not well beneath the brim of her businesslike ball cap.
Her marriage was on the rocks, and she hadn't spoken to most of her immediate family in seven years. Although Henin had five Grand Slam wins under her belt, her fellow players and much of the public and the media perceived her as frosty and criticized her for withdrawing from big matches when she didn't feel exactly right.
Here's what Henin did. She let things fly, both on and off the court. This was her Year of Living Interestingly, the season she got on the plane and understood there would be turbulence and decided she wouldn't let it unnerve her.
This was the year she began to do what her longtime coach and mentor Carlos Rodriguez has been urging her to do for a long time. She dropped some of her reserve and let people get a glimpse of her passion for the sport as well as her skill.
The results -- well, the results have been "magical," as Henin said after winning her second U.S. Open on Saturday night with a 6-1, 6-3 whitewashing of Russia's No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"At the beginning of the year, we really asked ourselves where we were going -- we talked about a year of transition," she told French-speaking reporters, referring to the winning combination she has with Rodriguez, who has coached her for 11 years.
Henin, 25, of Belgium, called this championship -- which came after defeating Serena and Venus Williams back-to-back in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds -- her most satisfying Slam.
"There aren't many women who could do that here in New York," she said with quiet conviction. She did it without dropping a set, as was the case in May when she captured her third straight French Open title.
She has reached at least the semifinal round of every tournament she has played since the middle of last season, and she's healthy. Henin actually knocked wood when she said this might be the first season she gets through without injury.
Nothing has diverted Henin -- not divorce, not being diagnosed with a sudden onset of chronic asthma in March, not an emotional reconciliation with her family a few weeks before the French Open spurred by an older brother's near-fatal car accident, not the stunning upset pudgy French wonder Marion Bartoli handed her in the Wimbledon semifinals, not the fact that announcer Dick Enberg inadvertently addressed her as "Henin-Hardenne" -- her now-defunct married name -- during the trophy ceremony.
"No, I don't care about that," she said, flashing the smile that has been a standard all season. "I heard it, but that was OK."
Rodriguez told reporters he felt Henin had finally come out from behind the wall she'd constructed to try to hide any frailty from fans or competitors. "She understands, 'I am a human being, and human beings can have failures,'" he said.
Henin readily admitted the change. "I could feel a big difference this time in the States when I came here," she said. "People were coming much more easily to me. I think I look more open. I look [like] myself. I can be a funny person. You know, people that really know me, I love spending time with people that I love. I'm a normal person.
" … I think that people really start to really know me a little bit better, and it's been a big difference in my life the last few months."
Not that she doesn't have small lapses. Serving for the match, Henin was distracted briefly by a spectator who let out a war whoop between her first and second serves. She committed a double fault, one of seven she logged for the night.
Henin didn't necessarily play her absolute best tennis against Kuznetsova, but she didn't have to. The amiable Russian, who still wields a powerful forehand but is somewhat thicker around the middle than when she won the Open in 2004, played the same kind of uninspired, error-plagued tennis she got away with in a sloppy semifinal win over Anna Chakvetadze.
Kuznetsova stared straight ahead, obviously gutted, as she waited for her runner-up trophy, and she apologized to the crowd for not bringing her A-game.
Henin, by contrast, sprinted up into the stands to hug Rodriguez, and thanked him publicly even though he would prefer she didn't.
Asked why he thought their relationship had lasted so long, the animated Spaniard responded, "It doesn't surprise me. I'm surprised the players can change [coaches] so often. I can't work like this. I have to know the person."
Clearly, Henin is grateful to Rodriguez because, as the one person who gave her some continuity all these years, he knows her well enough to bring down the hammer.
He has asked her to come forward. To come forward in the technical sense -- lashing angled volleys that are her only chance of consistently beating bigger, stronger players -- and in the personal sense, in which she needed to work through her issues the way she tries to read a match in progress.
"I said to her, 'Try to have the courage to solve your problems -- only you, nobody else, not even me,'" Rodriguez said. "What advice can I give her? I'm a married man with two kids, 20 years older than her. She did this herself. … She has taught me as much as I've taught her."
Maybe Henin can be an example for other athletes. Personalities, even the ones on most public display, don't have to be set in stone. Change is possible, the same way a baseliner can start going to the net.
Henin is still No. 1 and has a good chance to end 2007 there, but she's actually in a very different place from where she started in January. We've all known for a long time that she would move mountains to win a match. We just didn't know she'd try to reach a personal peak and wave to us when she got to the top.
Bonnie D. Ford is a frequent contributor who is covering the U.S. Open for ESPN.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen07/news/story?id=3010076
Hand Shake
When meeting someone for the first time, prize presentation, we usually shake hands. Some hand shake are firm and strong. Some are weak. My best friend's dad has a great hand shake, he will look in your eyes and his handshake are firm and strong. It is not like those who shake hand as if want to see who has the strongest grip.
A handshake is a short ritual in which two people grasp their right or left hands, often accompanied by a brief shake of the grasped hands.
The handshake is initiated when the two hands touch, immediately. It is commonly done upon meeting, greeting, parting, offering congratulations, or completing an agreement. Its purpose is to convey trust, balance, and equality.[1] Handshakes possibly originated as a gesture showing that the hand holds no weapon.
In Anglophone countries, shaking hands is considered the standard greeting in business situations. In casual non-business situations, men are more likely to shake hands than women. It is considered to be in poor taste to show dominance with too strong a handshake[2]; conversely, too weak a handshake (sometimes referred to as a "limp fish" or "dead fish" handshake) is also considered unseemly[3].
There are various customs surrounding handshakes, both generically and specific to certain cultures:
1) Generally it is considered inappropriate to reject a handshake.
2) In some cultures people shake both hands, but in most cultures people shake the right hand.
3) Scouts specifically use a left handshake, as do practitioners of Fencing. This is due to the right hand being employed holding a pole or a sword respectively.
4) Secret societies and fraternities and sororities often use secret handshakes to identify themselves as initiated brothers or sisters to outside members.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Golf game...
Last night have been raining almost the whole night. Thought the golf game with my bro will be cancelled. Recently have been trying to play at least one round of golf with him. So that he can improve his game (indirectly mine too..hehe)
Rained until about 6am. Woke up about 7 something, a bit sunny but some area very cloudy. We went out around 8:15am, went for breakfast, reach the golf course...cloudy. We took a chance....played for about 4 holes started to rain. Skipped one hole and reach the half way house to get some shelter. Waited for more then half and hour, rain stop.
So we continue our game, after 3 holes, rain again. My bro said lets go home, raining again. So ok, we skip the final hole, reach the club house, cleaned out clubs...pack everything, my bro got the next 9 holes voucher, so can still use it next time (rain check thingy). The rain stop and the sun came up. haha...by then the mood to continue the other 9 hole already gone. So we went to the driving range to hit few shots.
Any way, i would like to wish all of you a wonderful weekend with your love ones.
Take care and God bless.
Rained until about 6am. Woke up about 7 something, a bit sunny but some area very cloudy. We went out around 8:15am, went for breakfast, reach the golf course...cloudy. We took a chance....played for about 4 holes started to rain. Skipped one hole and reach the half way house to get some shelter. Waited for more then half and hour, rain stop.
So we continue our game, after 3 holes, rain again. My bro said lets go home, raining again. So ok, we skip the final hole, reach the club house, cleaned out clubs...pack everything, my bro got the next 9 holes voucher, so can still use it next time (rain check thingy). The rain stop and the sun came up. haha...by then the mood to continue the other 9 hole already gone. So we went to the driving range to hit few shots.
Any way, i would like to wish all of you a wonderful weekend with your love ones.
Take care and God bless.
Friday, September 7, 2007
IL DIVO
Have been a fan of Il Divo since their first album appeared in 2004. Today just bought Il DIVO The Greatest... 19 of their top songs. The one i like most is Mama...nice and meaningful.
How did this IL DIVO came about?
Il Divo, Italian for "divine male performer", is an international operatic pop vocal group created by pop impresario Simon Cowell, and signed to the Sony BMG music label. Il Divo is formed by singers Carlos MarÃn, Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard.
The idea behind Il Divo's creation came to Cowell after listening to Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman's rendition of Con te partirò. Aware of this new appreciation for lyrical voices and classical music, he decided to form a multinational quartet (the members hail from Spain, Switzerland, France, and the United States) that tried to sound like The Three Tenors and looked like Armani models. [1]
Cowell conducted a worldwide search for young singers who were willing to embark on the Il Divo project which lasted two years, from 2001 until December 2003, when the fourth member of Il Divo, American tenor David Miller, was signed. The well-established formation of Il Divo comprises a renowned Spanish opera and zarzuela baritone, Carlos MarÃn; two classically trained tenors, Swiss Urs Bühler and American David Miller; and a French pop singer, Sébastien Izambard.
Il Divo sings in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Latin. Il Divo was named the Most Multinational UK No.1 Album Group in the 2006 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. A star located in the Ursa Major constellation located at RA11h39m35.62s DEC+37.27479 MAG11.02. has been named "Il Divo" after this musical quartet.
IL DIVO 2004
Recording started in the first half of 2004 in Sweden, with the producers Quiz & Larossi and in the UK with producer Steve Mac. This self-titled album contained the Spanish renditions of Toni Braxton's hit "Unbreak My Heart" (Regresa A MÃ), which in turn was recorded by Braxton under the guidance of Il Divo; Their second single and original song "Mama"; Sinatra's "My Way" (A Mi Manera), an adaptation of Ennio Morricone's "Gabriel's Oboe" from the movie La Misión titled "Nella Fantasia" and 1994's San Remo Festival winner "Passerà ".
The album hit the #1 slot on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com after a breakout career-defining appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 5, 2005, where the quartet performed "Regresa a Mi".
In the United Kingdom, the Il Divo album topped Robbie Williams as number 1 in the UK charts (allegedly Williams said to them during the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film premiere, "Oi, you're the bastards that knocked me off!"). This multiplatinum-selling CD became number one in the charts in a total of 13 countries around the world, and achieved top 5 placing in 25 countries.
Ancora (2005)
Recorded in both Sweden and London with Per Magnusson and David Kreuger, and producer Steve Mac, who was also the producer of their first album. Released on November 7, 2005 in the UK, it hit number one both in the UK and Australia within one week. Ancora was released in the US on January 24, 2006. It entered the Billboard albums chart at number 1, selling more than 150,000 copies during its first week of sales.
Highlights include "Isabel", "I Believe In You (Je Crois En Toi)", a duet with Céline Dion, a Spanish version of Secret Garden's "You Raise Me Up" (Por Ti Seré), and a Spanish cover of Eric Carmen's "All by Myself". Two of the tracks on the UK and Australia release of this CD, "O Holy Night" and a version of Shubert's "Ave Maria", appear on the 2005 US-only release, The Christmas Collection.
Siempre (2006)
Released on November 21, 2006 in the United States and one week later in the rest of the world. Three weeks after its release, it was number one in the United World Chart, above the Beatles, Eminem and U2, having sold 472,000 copies worldwide, the largest sales increase in the week previous to the Christmas Holidays of 2006.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_DivoI also bought the DVD on their live performance titled IL DIVO encore. In the interview section, one of the member mentioned that some fans really followed them around to their concert...be it US, Europe and even Japan....hehe hope they are not stalkers.
They came to Malaysia in January this year. Ticket was RM1,500. If i was working in KL, would have gone to their concert...hehe.
I hope they will try to blend their music to country or golden oldies...that would be cool...right Uncle Lee...:)
Hehe Another tag..
Tagged
Here is the tag :- Ten Questions.
These are the rules :-Five answers to each question and then tagged five others.
Instructions :- Remove the first Blog and add your own blog last. Wishing On A Falling Star; Bokjae; simply888here; cat cat; Puteri's Musings 3, Carpe Diem
Here it goes.....Q1. What were you doing 10 Years ago?
1. I was studying in NZ.
2. I house sitted my friend's house during summer break
3. I watched Princess Diana's funeral on TV at my friend's house in Christchurch.
4. I drove my friend's car when he came back for summer break
5. I had one of my wisdom tooth taken out.
Q2. What were you doing 1 Year ago?
1. I was doing my MBA.
2. I drove my youngest brother to kindergarden.
3. I try to get the hang of my new job.
4. I spent too much money on items for my hobbies.
5. I tried to lower my golf handicap.
Q3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Potato Chips (Pringles, Jake and Jill)
2. Cadbury chocolates (is this consider a snacks)
3. Sanitarium fruity bars
4. Pineapple tarts
5. Dried Fruit
Q4. What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to?
1. That's Why (Michael Learns to rock)
2. Silent Night
3. My Way
4. Words
5. Without you (Air supply)
Q5. 5 things you would do if you are a Millionaire?
1. Pay off any loans.
2. Buy myself the latest model 4W drive.
3. Stay at the fanciest hotels while visiting USA.
4. 10% give to charity.
5. Buy my parents a new house.
Q6. 5 Bad habits?
1. I like to pick at my teeth in front of people after a meal. Gross!
2. When i drive only concentrate on the road, never notice who is next to me.
3. I spend too much time in front of my pc.
4. My desk is a mess, from office to home (my point of view..not messy..hehe).
5. Keep a lot of thing, thinking it might be useful in future.
Q7. 5 things you like to do?
1. Spend time with my GF.
2. Karaoke.
3. Sleep in.
4. Shop for books.
5. Play golf with my bro and sister.
Q8. 5 Favourite Toys?
1. My laptop
2. My digital camera
3. My iPod
4. My cell phone
5. My dvd collection
Q9. 5 things you would never wear?
1. Thick make up
2. Thongs
3. See through underwear
4. Red lipstick
5. Light green colour shirt
Q10. 5 things you hate to do?
1. House work
2. Last minute things
3. Go out on a really hot day
4. Wash my car
5. Exercise
I now tag:
1) Josh
2) A Women's diary
3) Ian
4) J.T
5) Pi Bani
Here is the tag :- Ten Questions.
These are the rules :-Five answers to each question and then tagged five others.
Instructions :- Remove the first Blog and add your own blog last. Wishing On A Falling Star; Bokjae; simply888here; cat cat; Puteri's Musings 3, Carpe Diem
Here it goes.....Q1. What were you doing 10 Years ago?
1. I was studying in NZ.
2. I house sitted my friend's house during summer break
3. I watched Princess Diana's funeral on TV at my friend's house in Christchurch.
4. I drove my friend's car when he came back for summer break
5. I had one of my wisdom tooth taken out.
Q2. What were you doing 1 Year ago?
1. I was doing my MBA.
2. I drove my youngest brother to kindergarden.
3. I try to get the hang of my new job.
4. I spent too much money on items for my hobbies.
5. I tried to lower my golf handicap.
Q3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Potato Chips (Pringles, Jake and Jill)
2. Cadbury chocolates (is this consider a snacks)
3. Sanitarium fruity bars
4. Pineapple tarts
5. Dried Fruit
Q4. What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to?
1. That's Why (Michael Learns to rock)
2. Silent Night
3. My Way
4. Words
5. Without you (Air supply)
Q5. 5 things you would do if you are a Millionaire?
1. Pay off any loans.
2. Buy myself the latest model 4W drive.
3. Stay at the fanciest hotels while visiting USA.
4. 10% give to charity.
5. Buy my parents a new house.
Q6. 5 Bad habits?
1. I like to pick at my teeth in front of people after a meal. Gross!
2. When i drive only concentrate on the road, never notice who is next to me.
3. I spend too much time in front of my pc.
4. My desk is a mess, from office to home (my point of view..not messy..hehe).
5. Keep a lot of thing, thinking it might be useful in future.
Q7. 5 things you like to do?
1. Spend time with my GF.
2. Karaoke.
3. Sleep in.
4. Shop for books.
5. Play golf with my bro and sister.
Q8. 5 Favourite Toys?
1. My laptop
2. My digital camera
3. My iPod
4. My cell phone
5. My dvd collection
Q9. 5 things you would never wear?
1. Thick make up
2. Thongs
3. See through underwear
4. Red lipstick
5. Light green colour shirt
Q10. 5 things you hate to do?
1. House work
2. Last minute things
3. Go out on a really hot day
4. Wash my car
5. Exercise
I now tag:
1) Josh
2) A Women's diary
3) Ian
4) J.T
5) Pi Bani
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Tenor Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71
One of the great Tenors of all time has passed on. May he now sings with the Angels up in heaven. Thanks for the lovely songs...
(CNN) -- Famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who appeared on stage with singers as varied as opera star Dame Joan Sutherland, U2's Bono and Liza Minnelli, died Thursday after suffering from pancreatic cancer, his manager Terri Robson said in a statement. He was 71.
"The great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, died today at 5:00 a.m. at his home in Modena, the city of his birth," according to Robson.
"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness."
According to Robson, his wife, Nicoletta; his daughters, Lorenza, Cristina, Giuliana and Alice; his sister, Gabriela; and other relatives and friends were at his side when he died.
The portly singer retired from staged opera in 2004, but was on a "farewell tour" of concerts when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor.
Although the remaining concerts of his tour were canceled, his management said that he hoped to resume the tour in 2007.
But in early August, Pavarotti was hospitalized in Modena with a fever and released 17 days later after undergoing diagnostic tests.
Pavarotti is survived by his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, and a daughter, Alice, along with three grown daughters by his first wife, Adua Veroni, whom he divorced in 2000, and a granddaughter.
Much as the star power of Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov revived widespread interest in classical ballet in the 1970s and 1980s, Pavarotti's beaming charisma and bravura style captured the attention of the late-20th-century audience for opera.
Widely considered the greatest tenor of his time, Pavarotti began his life modestly in Modena, the son of Fernando, a baker and amateur singer, and Adele, who worked at the local tobacco factory.
"I dreamed to become a singer when I was four and I hear my father singing in the church with a beautiful tenor voice," he told CNN in a 1991 interview. "And I say to myself, well, let's try to do something."
The young Pavarotti -- who played soccer with his town's junior team -- joined the church choir with his father and traveled with him to Wales, where the singing group won first prize at the Llangollen International singing competition.
Although the experience left Pavarotti enthralled with singing, he graduated from the local teaching institute in 1955 and taught elementary school for two years, then worked as an insurance salesman. He continued his vocal studies, however, working first with with Arrigo Pola and then with Ettore Campogalliani.
Then, in 1961, Pavarotti won the prestigious Concorso Internazionale and made his operatic debut at the Reggio Emilia Theater as Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme." His fame spread throughout Italy and then throughout the European continent as he made his international debut in Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" in Belgrade.
When Dame Joan Sutherland brought him onstage with her during a performance of Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" with the Greater Miami Opera in 1965, Pavarotti began his American career. He debuted at New York's Metropolitan Opera House three years later, and eventually marked 379 performances there, including his final opera, Puccini's "Tosca" in 2004, in which he performed as the painter Mario Cavaradossi.
In between Pavarotti sold millions of records and raised millions of dollars for charity through benefit concerts, often sharing the stage with pop stars as well as other opera singers.
Of his recordings, 1990's "The Essential Pavarotti" was the first classical album to reach No. 1 on Britain's pop charts, where it remained for 5 weeks. 1994's "The Three Tenors in Concert," with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, remains the best selling classical album of all time.
Pavarotti joined with Domingo and Carreras in 1990, and although critics complained that Pavarotti's vocal skills were waning, the trio performed together for 14 years.
Among his charities were a 1995 "Concert for Bosnia" that raised $8.5 million and other concerts that raised $3.3 million for refugees from Afghanistan and $1 million for refugees from Kosovo.
In artistic terms, Pavarotti brought to the stage a voice neatly suited to the traditional bel canto, or "beautiful singing" style, essential to 17th-century Italian opera. As much about intensity as pitch, bel canto focuses the voice, concentrating the sound with both outstanding warmth and agility.
So demanding is this work even of the best singers that Pavarotti in concert recital could be seen rising to the balls of his feet during the most challenging passages. A long, white handkerchief always hung from one hand as he sang, his eyebrows arched high in the effort, forming an expression seemingly of surprise at his own success.
From his small beginnings, Pavarotti rose to great heights, performing in front of 500,000 people in New York's Central Park -- a concert seen by millions on television -- and before another 300,000 at Paris' Eiffel Tower.
He won countless awards and honors -- including five Grammys -- and was named United Nations Messenger for Peace by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He launched an international competition, The Pavarotti International Voice Competition, in 1982. He even founded a teaching facility for young singers in his home town.
His signature aria, Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from "Turandot," was chosen as the theme music for the 1990 soccer World Cup, hosted by Italy. He also performed the aria at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
The great singer was also known as an equestrian expert, organizing one of the international show jumping circuit's most important competitions, the Pavarotti International, in Modena. Coinciding with that event, Pavarotti also staged an annual charity concert, Pavarotti and Friends.
When cancer finally stopped Pavarotti from singing, it was only the second interruption of his career.
"I think I just stop for one year when from a kid I become a man and the voice is changing," he said in 1991. "I was an alto and become a tenor and that is the only time I think I remember to have stopped singing. Otherwise I have sung all my life."
Amid reports this week that his condition was worsening, it was announced in Rome on Tuesday (Sept. 4) by Italy's cultural minister, Francesco Rotelli, Pavarotti is receiving a newly created prize for excellence in cultural achievement.
The New York Times' Alan Riding pointed out in a February article that ironically, the modern-day popularity of operatic work has prompted the building of new opera houses in many major centers including Copenhagen, Tokyo and -- coming next year, Beijing -- at a time when the repertoire remains rooted in centuries-old work and the costs of production make tickets prohibitive for most younger would-be audience members.
For opera to survive today, Riding wrote, it needs not only new music but also "exciting young singers." Pavarotti was that singer, in the right place and the right time for his generation.
CNN's Porter Anderson contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/06/pavarotti.dead/index.html
(CNN) -- Famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who appeared on stage with singers as varied as opera star Dame Joan Sutherland, U2's Bono and Liza Minnelli, died Thursday after suffering from pancreatic cancer, his manager Terri Robson said in a statement. He was 71.
"The great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, died today at 5:00 a.m. at his home in Modena, the city of his birth," according to Robson.
"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness."
According to Robson, his wife, Nicoletta; his daughters, Lorenza, Cristina, Giuliana and Alice; his sister, Gabriela; and other relatives and friends were at his side when he died.
The portly singer retired from staged opera in 2004, but was on a "farewell tour" of concerts when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor.
Although the remaining concerts of his tour were canceled, his management said that he hoped to resume the tour in 2007.
But in early August, Pavarotti was hospitalized in Modena with a fever and released 17 days later after undergoing diagnostic tests.
Pavarotti is survived by his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, and a daughter, Alice, along with three grown daughters by his first wife, Adua Veroni, whom he divorced in 2000, and a granddaughter.
Much as the star power of Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov revived widespread interest in classical ballet in the 1970s and 1980s, Pavarotti's beaming charisma and bravura style captured the attention of the late-20th-century audience for opera.
Widely considered the greatest tenor of his time, Pavarotti began his life modestly in Modena, the son of Fernando, a baker and amateur singer, and Adele, who worked at the local tobacco factory.
"I dreamed to become a singer when I was four and I hear my father singing in the church with a beautiful tenor voice," he told CNN in a 1991 interview. "And I say to myself, well, let's try to do something."
The young Pavarotti -- who played soccer with his town's junior team -- joined the church choir with his father and traveled with him to Wales, where the singing group won first prize at the Llangollen International singing competition.
Although the experience left Pavarotti enthralled with singing, he graduated from the local teaching institute in 1955 and taught elementary school for two years, then worked as an insurance salesman. He continued his vocal studies, however, working first with with Arrigo Pola and then with Ettore Campogalliani.
Then, in 1961, Pavarotti won the prestigious Concorso Internazionale and made his operatic debut at the Reggio Emilia Theater as Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme." His fame spread throughout Italy and then throughout the European continent as he made his international debut in Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" in Belgrade.
When Dame Joan Sutherland brought him onstage with her during a performance of Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" with the Greater Miami Opera in 1965, Pavarotti began his American career. He debuted at New York's Metropolitan Opera House three years later, and eventually marked 379 performances there, including his final opera, Puccini's "Tosca" in 2004, in which he performed as the painter Mario Cavaradossi.
In between Pavarotti sold millions of records and raised millions of dollars for charity through benefit concerts, often sharing the stage with pop stars as well as other opera singers.
Of his recordings, 1990's "The Essential Pavarotti" was the first classical album to reach No. 1 on Britain's pop charts, where it remained for 5 weeks. 1994's "The Three Tenors in Concert," with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, remains the best selling classical album of all time.
Pavarotti joined with Domingo and Carreras in 1990, and although critics complained that Pavarotti's vocal skills were waning, the trio performed together for 14 years.
Among his charities were a 1995 "Concert for Bosnia" that raised $8.5 million and other concerts that raised $3.3 million for refugees from Afghanistan and $1 million for refugees from Kosovo.
In artistic terms, Pavarotti brought to the stage a voice neatly suited to the traditional bel canto, or "beautiful singing" style, essential to 17th-century Italian opera. As much about intensity as pitch, bel canto focuses the voice, concentrating the sound with both outstanding warmth and agility.
So demanding is this work even of the best singers that Pavarotti in concert recital could be seen rising to the balls of his feet during the most challenging passages. A long, white handkerchief always hung from one hand as he sang, his eyebrows arched high in the effort, forming an expression seemingly of surprise at his own success.
From his small beginnings, Pavarotti rose to great heights, performing in front of 500,000 people in New York's Central Park -- a concert seen by millions on television -- and before another 300,000 at Paris' Eiffel Tower.
He won countless awards and honors -- including five Grammys -- and was named United Nations Messenger for Peace by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He launched an international competition, The Pavarotti International Voice Competition, in 1982. He even founded a teaching facility for young singers in his home town.
His signature aria, Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from "Turandot," was chosen as the theme music for the 1990 soccer World Cup, hosted by Italy. He also performed the aria at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
The great singer was also known as an equestrian expert, organizing one of the international show jumping circuit's most important competitions, the Pavarotti International, in Modena. Coinciding with that event, Pavarotti also staged an annual charity concert, Pavarotti and Friends.
When cancer finally stopped Pavarotti from singing, it was only the second interruption of his career.
"I think I just stop for one year when from a kid I become a man and the voice is changing," he said in 1991. "I was an alto and become a tenor and that is the only time I think I remember to have stopped singing. Otherwise I have sung all my life."
Amid reports this week that his condition was worsening, it was announced in Rome on Tuesday (Sept. 4) by Italy's cultural minister, Francesco Rotelli, Pavarotti is receiving a newly created prize for excellence in cultural achievement.
The New York Times' Alan Riding pointed out in a February article that ironically, the modern-day popularity of operatic work has prompted the building of new opera houses in many major centers including Copenhagen, Tokyo and -- coming next year, Beijing -- at a time when the repertoire remains rooted in centuries-old work and the costs of production make tickets prohibitive for most younger would-be audience members.
For opera to survive today, Riding wrote, it needs not only new music but also "exciting young singers." Pavarotti was that singer, in the right place and the right time for his generation.
CNN's Porter Anderson contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/06/pavarotti.dead/index.html
Chess- update..
Hehe...just lost another game. Since the start of my blog, in July, i have now lost 3 games. hmmm...not too sure how many games i am still playing. But once again, thanks for playing. I really hope one of these games i would win..hahaha.
Blogging tip..
First time being tag. Thank you Asiana Pat .
If you get tagged this is what you have to do. Write a short, concise tip on what you think bloggers need to do to attract readers and add your blog at the bottom of this list (copy paste the list). Put a star on the blogs/tips that you like that is already on this list.
1.Look, read, and learn. http://www.neonscent.com/****
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. http://www.bushmackel.com/****
3. Don’t let money change ya! http://www.therandomforest.info/******
4. Always reply to your comments. http://chattiekat.com/*****
5. Blog about what you know & love. http://sugar-queens-dream.blogspot.com/******
6. Don’t use filthy language-buy a dictionary. http://shinade.blogspot.com/*****
7. Blog about something educational http://climateofourfuture.org/***
8. Be yourself; others will follow http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com/ ***
9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain http://cubicledenizen.blogspot.com/*****
10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting and organised! http://erishaling.blogspot.com/ *****
11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!! http://www.leslieho.com/ ****
12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy! http://groovy-olives.com/blog****
13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic. http://www.jessieling.com/***
14. Don’t clutter your blog with ads all over the place. IT’S IRRITATING. http://oliviasy.blogspot.com/
15. Don’t comment for the sake of commenting. Some looked too fake and its a big turn off! http://sashablablabla.blogspot.com/**
16. Share something interesting and you will gain more readers.http://judychow.blogspot.com/*
17. Show that we care to all bloggers, treat each other as friends. http://mummyinvain.com/*
18. Pictures say a million words. Keep them coming! http://familyfriendsnfood.blogspot.com/**
19. Blogging should be fun or you’ll get tired of it pretty soon. http://justmyrambling.com/ *
20. Don’t think people will come to your blog if you’re not willing to pay a visit to them. http://joshualai.blogspot.com/
21. Everyone loves read short posting and best, illustrated with a picture http://www.demoments.net/blog/ *
22. Keep those food pictures coming! http://puterismusings.com/weblog**
23.Be friendly,share wonderful,interesting stories and Beautiful Pictures are bonus :) http://www.asianapat.blogspot.com/ **
24. Share life stories, be civil with other bloggers. http://nightwing88.blogspot.com/
Ok,And now I want to tag :
1) Feli
2) Josh
3) Ian
For those who decline..It's Ok :) I understand...Have fun!!
If you get tagged this is what you have to do. Write a short, concise tip on what you think bloggers need to do to attract readers and add your blog at the bottom of this list (copy paste the list). Put a star on the blogs/tips that you like that is already on this list.
1.Look, read, and learn. http://www.neonscent.com/****
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. http://www.bushmackel.com/****
3. Don’t let money change ya! http://www.therandomforest.info/******
4. Always reply to your comments. http://chattiekat.com/*****
5. Blog about what you know & love. http://sugar-queens-dream.blogspot.com/******
6. Don’t use filthy language-buy a dictionary. http://shinade.blogspot.com/*****
7. Blog about something educational http://climateofourfuture.org/***
8. Be yourself; others will follow http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com/ ***
9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain http://cubicledenizen.blogspot.com/*****
10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting and organised! http://erishaling.blogspot.com/ *****
11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!! http://www.leslieho.com/ ****
12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy! http://groovy-olives.com/blog****
13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic. http://www.jessieling.com/***
14. Don’t clutter your blog with ads all over the place. IT’S IRRITATING. http://oliviasy.blogspot.com/
15. Don’t comment for the sake of commenting. Some looked too fake and its a big turn off! http://sashablablabla.blogspot.com/**
16. Share something interesting and you will gain more readers.http://judychow.blogspot.com/*
17. Show that we care to all bloggers, treat each other as friends. http://mummyinvain.com/*
18. Pictures say a million words. Keep them coming! http://familyfriendsnfood.blogspot.com/**
19. Blogging should be fun or you’ll get tired of it pretty soon. http://justmyrambling.com/ *
20. Don’t think people will come to your blog if you’re not willing to pay a visit to them. http://joshualai.blogspot.com/
21. Everyone loves read short posting and best, illustrated with a picture http://www.demoments.net/blog/ *
22. Keep those food pictures coming! http://puterismusings.com/weblog**
23.Be friendly,share wonderful,interesting stories and Beautiful Pictures are bonus :) http://www.asianapat.blogspot.com/ **
24. Share life stories, be civil with other bloggers. http://nightwing88.blogspot.com/
Ok,And now I want to tag :
1) Feli
2) Josh
3) Ian
For those who decline..It's Ok :) I understand...Have fun!!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
World is Flat- Follow up
I have been reading this book by Thomas Friedman, i mentioned it in my blog a while back (World is Flat) . Hehe...a bit slow in finishing this book, cause there is a lot of interesting in there that i want to let it flow into my head.
For example, if not because of internet no one would have been able to blog or visit one another's web site. And from there, some one came up with the idea where one can get even get paid by blogging.. Evolution from one thing to another. Now who would have thought of blogging twenty years ago, hand phones can be use as a camera in today's world, using handphones to surf the net and check emails.. Former Secretary of State, Collin Power uses his handphones to surf and check mails.
A lot of jobs is now been outsource to India and China. Most students in the US Universities doing engineering are from Asian countries. A lot of American students are not taking maths and science anymore. Bill Gates has research centers in India and China. Top students from that country will try to be interns for the centers.
He also mentioned that in the past, parents usually tell their children 'please finish your food, think of the people in China and India who has no food to eat..' Now adays parents should tell their children to 'please study hard, cause students in China and India are studying hard to get your job'.
If can, please try and get this book and have a read. A lot of great stuffs in there and it is not boring. The author also has his own site http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/.
For example, if not because of internet no one would have been able to blog or visit one another's web site. And from there, some one came up with the idea where one can get even get paid by blogging.. Evolution from one thing to another. Now who would have thought of blogging twenty years ago, hand phones can be use as a camera in today's world, using handphones to surf the net and check emails.. Former Secretary of State, Collin Power uses his handphones to surf and check mails.
A lot of jobs is now been outsource to India and China. Most students in the US Universities doing engineering are from Asian countries. A lot of American students are not taking maths and science anymore. Bill Gates has research centers in India and China. Top students from that country will try to be interns for the centers.
He also mentioned that in the past, parents usually tell their children 'please finish your food, think of the people in China and India who has no food to eat..' Now adays parents should tell their children to 'please study hard, cause students in China and India are studying hard to get your job'.
If can, please try and get this book and have a read. A lot of great stuffs in there and it is not boring. The author also has his own site http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/.
Spare a moment
Our former PM Tun Dr Mahathir had undergo a five hours operation yesterday. Thank the Lord it went well. I am sure a lot of people were praying for him and his family. Please continue to pray for his recovery.
Monday, September 3, 2007
One lucky dog...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Leona Helmsley's decision to leave $12 million to her dog so it could live out its life in luxury proved once and for all that she was not one of the little people.Leona Helmsley holds her dog, Trouble, in a 2003 photo.
But legal experts say that, size aside, Helmsley's gift to her beloved pet -- a Maltese named Trouble -- wasn't unique.
A growing number of people, not all wealthy, have been setting up trust funds or adjusting their wills to ensure that their pets are well cared for if they die, according to attorneys and animal welfare groups.
States have rushed to make such gifts easier. At the close of the 1990s, only a handful recognized so-called "pet trusts." Now, 39 states plus Washington, D.C., have enacted laws dealing with such gifts.
The types of bequests vary. Some well-off Americans go as far as to set aside tens of thousands of dollars to allow their pets to continue to live comfortably in their past homes with a professional caretaker, rather than be shipped off to a relative. Watch how Trouble can go on a spending spree »
Others leave money for future veterinary bills, or just to compensate a new owner for taking on the responsibility of a new dog or cat.
Rachel Hirschfeld, an estate lawyer in New York who specializes in pet trusts, said the idea isn't so crazy.
"People really think of their pets as their babies," she said.
Yes, she said, gifts like Helmsley's are extraordinary. Her clients more commonly leave $5,000 to $10,000, although she had one who set aside $5 million.
Tales about eccentric millionaires leaving chunks of their fortune to a pet go back decades, but the creation of trusts for that purpose became easier in 1990 because of an update of the Uniform Probate Code, a model upon which many states base their laws regarding wills.
Animal welfare groups have also lobbied for a federal bill that would create tax benefits for a pet owner who creates such a trust, then leaves the remaining money to charity when the animal dies.
Sara Amundson, a director of legislative affairs for the Humane Society of the United States, said even a small gift can keep a pet from winding up in dire straits.
"As a nation, we still euthanize 4 to 6 million cats and dogs every year, and a good number of those are pets left without care when their owners die," she said.
Pet owners of moderate means can ensure some stability for their animals by including a few lines in their will spelling out who gets the family dog, said Kim Bressant-Kibwe, associate counsel of trusts and estates for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"Maybe it's a situation where a person only has $500 or $1,000 to leave for a pet's care, and that's fine," Bressant-Kibwe said. "What we want people to think about is making arrangements."
The specifics of Helmsley's gift to Trouble are spelled out in private trust documents and aren't publicly known. Her will says only that the dog will be cared for by her brother, and that when it dies, its remains will be buried next to her own in a lavish family mausoleum.
Hirschfeld, who was also a longtime acquaintance of Helmsley's, said that even given the hotelier's famous penchant for fine living, the trust's size is startling.
"Twelve million is outrageous. Come on! Let's get real!" she said. "If someone had come to me and said, 'I want to leave 12 million bucks, I'd say, 'why?"'
One possible reason, she speculated, is that money left over after the dog's demise might ultimately be destined for animal-welfare charities.
A strongly written trust, she said, could likely protect the dog's gift from becoming the subject of a court fight.
New York state law allows a court to reduce bequests to pets if a judge finds they are more than needed for the animal's care, and there is always the possibility that disappointed relatives might be waiting in the wings to argue that the dog got too much.
Helmsley, a hotel and real estate magnate who died Aug. 20 at age 87, decreed that the vast bulk of her multibillion-dollar estate would go to charity, not to her family, although she made individual gifts of $5 million to $10 million to several relatives.
She also expressly stiffed two grandchildren with whom she had feuded, saying in her will that they would get nothing, "for reasons that are known to them."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/31/helmsley.dog.ap/index.html
Ah Beng the nut
AH BENG the nut
Why did Ah Beng go to a movie with his 18friends?
Because below 18 not allowed Lah !
Ah Beng wants to buy a TV set. He goes to ashop.
Ah Beng : "Do you have color TV ?"
Salesgirl : "Yes !"
Ah Beng : "Give me a green one, please "
Ah Beng is filling up an application form for ajob. He supplied theinformation for the columns on Name, Age,Address etc. Then he comesto column on "Salary Expected", but he is not sure of the question.
After much thought, he writes " Yes "
Ah Beng goes to a store and sees a shiny object.
Ah Beng : "What is that shiny object ?"
Salesgirl : "That is a thermos flask."
Ah Beng : "What does it do ?"
Salesgirl : "It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold"
Ah Beng : "I'll buy it" The next day, Ah Beng goes to work with his thermo flask
Boss : "What is that shiny object ?"
Ah Beng : "It's a thermos flask."
Boss : "What does it do ?"
Ah Beng : "It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold"
Boss : "What do you have in it !?"
Ah Beng : "Two cups of coffee and one cup of ice cream"
Ah Beng always smiles during lightning storms because he thinks hispicture is being taken.
Why can't Ah Beng dial 911?Because he can't find the number 11 (eleven) on the phone.
Ah Beng talk to a long-distance telephoneoperator.
Ah Beng: "COULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME THE TIMEDIFFERENCE BETWEEN Taipei AND LAS VEGAS ?"
Operator: "JUST A MINUTE..."
Ah Beng : "THANK YOU lah" AND PUTS DOWN THE PHONE.
After completing a jigsaw puzzle he'd been working on for quite sometime, Ah Beng proudly shows off the finished puzzle to a friend."It took me ONLY 5 MONTHS TO DO IT", Ah Beng brags."FIVE MONTHS ? THAT'S TOO LONG", the friendexclaims. "YOU ARE A FOOL." Ah Beng replies, "SEE THIS BOX, IT IS WRITTEN FOR 4-7 YRS".
At a bar in New York, the man to Ah Beng's left tells the bartender,"JOHNNIE WALKER, SINGLE"and his companion says, "JACK DANIELS, SINGLE".The bartender approaches Ah Beng and asks, "ANDYOU, SIR ?"Ah Beng replies : "Tan Ah Beng, MARRIED lah"
Why did Ah Beng go to a movie with his 18friends?
Because below 18 not allowed Lah !
Ah Beng wants to buy a TV set. He goes to ashop.
Ah Beng : "Do you have color TV ?"
Salesgirl : "Yes !"
Ah Beng : "Give me a green one, please "
Ah Beng is filling up an application form for ajob. He supplied theinformation for the columns on Name, Age,Address etc. Then he comesto column on "Salary Expected", but he is not sure of the question.
After much thought, he writes " Yes "
Ah Beng goes to a store and sees a shiny object.
Ah Beng : "What is that shiny object ?"
Salesgirl : "That is a thermos flask."
Ah Beng : "What does it do ?"
Salesgirl : "It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold"
Ah Beng : "I'll buy it" The next day, Ah Beng goes to work with his thermo flask
Boss : "What is that shiny object ?"
Ah Beng : "It's a thermos flask."
Boss : "What does it do ?"
Ah Beng : "It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold"
Boss : "What do you have in it !?"
Ah Beng : "Two cups of coffee and one cup of ice cream"
Ah Beng always smiles during lightning storms because he thinks hispicture is being taken.
Why can't Ah Beng dial 911?Because he can't find the number 11 (eleven) on the phone.
Ah Beng talk to a long-distance telephoneoperator.
Ah Beng: "COULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME THE TIMEDIFFERENCE BETWEEN Taipei AND LAS VEGAS ?"
Operator: "JUST A MINUTE..."
Ah Beng : "THANK YOU lah" AND PUTS DOWN THE PHONE.
After completing a jigsaw puzzle he'd been working on for quite sometime, Ah Beng proudly shows off the finished puzzle to a friend."It took me ONLY 5 MONTHS TO DO IT", Ah Beng brags."FIVE MONTHS ? THAT'S TOO LONG", the friendexclaims. "YOU ARE A FOOL." Ah Beng replies, "SEE THIS BOX, IT IS WRITTEN FOR 4-7 YRS".
At a bar in New York, the man to Ah Beng's left tells the bartender,"JOHNNIE WALKER, SINGLE"and his companion says, "JACK DANIELS, SINGLE".The bartender approaches Ah Beng and asks, "ANDYOU, SIR ?"Ah Beng replies : "Tan Ah Beng, MARRIED lah"
Missing rib
Conflict in relationships is normal. What sets a working relationship> apart is the ability to communicate and work through the issue.>>> ********************************************************************************
A girl in love asked her boyfriend. Girl: Tell me. Who do you love most in this world?
Boy: You, of course!
Girl: In your heart, what am I to you?
Boy: The boy thought for a moment and looked intently in her eyes and said, "You are my rib. It was said that God saw that Adam was lonely, during his sleep, God took one of Adam's rib and created Eve. Every man has been searching for his missing rib, only when you find the woman of your life, you'll no longer feel the lingering ache in your heart."
After their wedding, the couple had a sweet and happy life for a while. However, the youthful couple began to drift apart due to the busy schedule of life and the never-ending worries of daily problems, their life became mundane. All the challenges posed by the harsh realities of life began to gnaw away their dreams and love for each other. The couple began to have more quarrels and each quarrel became more heated.
One day, after the quarrel, the girl ran out of the house. At the> opposite side of the road, she shouted, "You don't love me!" The boy hated her childishness and out of impulse, retorted, "Maybe, it was a mistake for us to be together! You were never my missing rib!" Suddenly, she turned quiet and stood there for a long while.
He regretted what he said but words spoken are like thrown away water, you can never take it back. With tears, she went home to pack her things and was determined in breaking-up. Before she left the house, "If I'm really not your missing rib, please let me go." She continued, "It is less painful this way. Let us go on our separate ways and search for our own partners."
Five years went by... He never remarried but he had tried to find out about her life indirectly. She had left the country and back. She had married a foreigner and divorced. He felt anguished that she never waited for him. In the dark and lonely night, he lit his cigarette and felt the lingering ache in his heart. He couldn't bring himself to admit that he was missing her.
One day, they finally met. At the airport, a place where there were> many reunions and good byes. He was going away on a business trip. She was standing there alone, with just the security door separating them. She smiled at him gently.
Boy: How are you?
Girl: I'm fine. How about you? Have you found your missing rib?
Boy: No.
Girl: I'll be flying to New York in the next flight.
Boy: I'll be back in 2 weeks time. Give me a call when you are back. You know my number. Nothing has changed. WON.
With a smile, she turned around and waved good bye. Good bye...
One week later, he heard of her death. She had perished in New York, in the event that shocked the world. Midnight, once again, he lit his cigarette. And like before, he felt the lingering ache in his heart. He finally knew. She was the missing rib that he had carelessly broken.
**********************************************************
Things happen each day, many of which are beyond our control. Let us treasure every moment and everyone in our lives. Tomorrow may never come. Give and accept what you have today Sometimes, people say things out of moments of fury.
Most often than not, the outcome could be disastrous and detrimental. We vent our frustrations 99% at our loved ones. And even though we know that we ought to "think twice and act wisely", it's often easier said than done.
The virtue of true love is not finding the perfect person BUT loving the imperfect person perfectly. Love doesnt have a happy ending coz it simply doesnt end. Sometimes when our hearts feel challenged and we're afraid of the unknown...
We say and do things we don't really mean . Love is not to forget but to forgive, not to see but to understand, not to hear but to listen, not to let go but to HOLD ON !
A girl in love asked her boyfriend. Girl: Tell me. Who do you love most in this world?
Boy: You, of course!
Girl: In your heart, what am I to you?
Boy: The boy thought for a moment and looked intently in her eyes and said, "You are my rib. It was said that God saw that Adam was lonely, during his sleep, God took one of Adam's rib and created Eve. Every man has been searching for his missing rib, only when you find the woman of your life, you'll no longer feel the lingering ache in your heart."
After their wedding, the couple had a sweet and happy life for a while. However, the youthful couple began to drift apart due to the busy schedule of life and the never-ending worries of daily problems, their life became mundane. All the challenges posed by the harsh realities of life began to gnaw away their dreams and love for each other. The couple began to have more quarrels and each quarrel became more heated.
One day, after the quarrel, the girl ran out of the house. At the> opposite side of the road, she shouted, "You don't love me!" The boy hated her childishness and out of impulse, retorted, "Maybe, it was a mistake for us to be together! You were never my missing rib!" Suddenly, she turned quiet and stood there for a long while.
He regretted what he said but words spoken are like thrown away water, you can never take it back. With tears, she went home to pack her things and was determined in breaking-up. Before she left the house, "If I'm really not your missing rib, please let me go." She continued, "It is less painful this way. Let us go on our separate ways and search for our own partners."
Five years went by... He never remarried but he had tried to find out about her life indirectly. She had left the country and back. She had married a foreigner and divorced. He felt anguished that she never waited for him. In the dark and lonely night, he lit his cigarette and felt the lingering ache in his heart. He couldn't bring himself to admit that he was missing her.
One day, they finally met. At the airport, a place where there were> many reunions and good byes. He was going away on a business trip. She was standing there alone, with just the security door separating them. She smiled at him gently.
Boy: How are you?
Girl: I'm fine. How about you? Have you found your missing rib?
Boy: No.
Girl: I'll be flying to New York in the next flight.
Boy: I'll be back in 2 weeks time. Give me a call when you are back. You know my number. Nothing has changed. WON.
With a smile, she turned around and waved good bye. Good bye...
One week later, he heard of her death. She had perished in New York, in the event that shocked the world. Midnight, once again, he lit his cigarette. And like before, he felt the lingering ache in his heart. He finally knew. She was the missing rib that he had carelessly broken.
**********************************************************
Things happen each day, many of which are beyond our control. Let us treasure every moment and everyone in our lives. Tomorrow may never come. Give and accept what you have today Sometimes, people say things out of moments of fury.
Most often than not, the outcome could be disastrous and detrimental. We vent our frustrations 99% at our loved ones. And even though we know that we ought to "think twice and act wisely", it's often easier said than done.
The virtue of true love is not finding the perfect person BUT loving the imperfect person perfectly. Love doesnt have a happy ending coz it simply doesnt end. Sometimes when our hearts feel challenged and we're afraid of the unknown...
We say and do things we don't really mean . Love is not to forget but to forgive, not to see but to understand, not to hear but to listen, not to let go but to HOLD ON !
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