spam, spam, spam!

sorry guys if you can’t post any comments. I am being spammed by a @#$%%^& who thinks it’s funny! Grrrr! I am trying to solve this problem, but I am not an expert and for the time being all comments go to the spam garbage bin, because my email was being inundated as well. So please be patient… Thanks. and happy new year.

Monty Python

I love the Monty Python. While surfing today, from blog to blog, from comments on the return of Noir Desir to pictures of chalets in the snow, I came across this link to a Monty Python site on Youtube. Check it out.

http://fr.youtube.com/user/MontyPython

Malaysian hospitality

One more acquaintance was robbed two days ago, and murdered.

When my mother came to visit a few years ago, she was surprised by the iron grills on all the openings of the house (windows, door, sliding doors). She could not understand why we had to live in a prison. Then, four days before she was due to fly back home, she finally understood. Burglars entered the house, and took away everything they could carry, mainly jewelry and cash, but also watches, handphones, laptops…

The modus operandi is always the same. A group of 3 or 4 Indonesians (fact, not racist fantasy) come at around 3 or 4 in the morning, when people are fast asleep. Barefoot and silent as cats, they cut open the locks on the above-mentioned grills and come into the house. They put a knife or cleaver on your throat while tying you up with electric wires or the husband’s ties, and they proceed to take everything they want. If you resist, or scream, or try to call anyone, they slit your throat. On top of that, they also threatened to rape my daughter. In about half an hour, it is all over, and you sit there, in your own piss most probably, thanking whoever or whatever that you’re still alive.

Did I mention that I have so far been burglarized twice already? Still, I consider myself lucky. Nobody was hurt, raped or murdered. We only lost material possessions, and I truly consider myself reborn: I no longer have my engagement or wedding rings; my baptism chain and medal; my baby bracelet; my grandmother’s ring; the swatch I bought in England when Amelie was born… No more souvenirs from my life ‘before’, only memories. And with my failing memory, that’s not much!

Now, I no longer value material things either, so I guess that’s good. I value my friends, and I am glad for the old friends I have found again after so many years (Thierry, Edith, Annie, Jean-Denis). I am also glad for the new friends I make, because that’s what counts in life.

I value my children and the time I spend with them, building memories. Who knows, tomorrow may never come…

I try to be a good person, so that I can like myself. I still have a long way to go.

All in all, this has changed my perspective on life. Sadly, though, robberies here are so common that the police don’t even bat an eyelid. They just don’t bother. So, celebrate life, my friend!

guidelines for cats

This link provides guidelines for cats, so that they know how to behave in any situation. Personally, my cats don’t seem to think they are feline creatures, they are the owners and we are the pets.

http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/hum1/guidelines_for_cats.htm

Lim Wei Ling gallery

This is a link for a gallery in Kuala Lumpur with an interesting collection of Malaysian art:

http://weiling-gallery.com/

Enjoy!

Creatures big and small

Life in Malaysia is exotic. Well, yes, but exotic does not always mean nice. Here are some of the creatures I have found so far in my garden or inside my house: a 20 cm-long scorpion, countless monkeys (they come to steal my bananas), slugs, scores of spiders (big and hairy, with loooooooong legs), 4 cobras, a nest of baby cobras (couldn’t count them, too many of them and not enough guts), and thousands of cockroaches.

We don’t eat dates any more, they remind us of legless cockroaches (you get an idea of the size of these babies!). Cockroaches are fearless. They do not crawl away when you appear. Some even rush at you as if to attack, and even though you are much bigger than they are, you run away. The worst type is the flying type. not only do they rush at you, they go right for your face!

I just found a roach killer that poisons them. so now we collect dead cockroaches every morning all over the place, and we have to do it before morning coffee, so that the cats don’t eat the little poisonous bastards.

yeah, exotic they say….

tropical storm

it’s raining cats and dogs here, or rather, just cats. In this Muslim country, they neither touch pigs nor dogs; supposedly impure?! so, it’s raining cats, let’s say. When I was a kid, we used to say ‘il pleut comme vache qui pisse’, or like a pissing cow, but you would only get the analogy if you’ve ever been on a farm, waiting for your fresh milk, in the ambient and penetrating fragrance of bovine urine that will never get out of your hair after that. you’re waiting in line patiently, and suddenly WHOSH!!!!!  a cascade, a waterfall, the dams of hell opening up, and this warm liquid splashes everywhere… ah, fond memories…

So, yes, it IS raining like a pissing cow right now. The funny thing about these tropical storms is that they arrive without much warning, except for a very dark sky. But the temperature does not drop (it NEVER goes below 28 degrees during the day anyway). Suddenly, the sky opens up, lightning starts all around you, you are drenched in less than 5 minutes. The water rises very quickly, and if you are not wearing plastic slippers, you know you are going to have to go shopping for a new pair real soon. Forget about any umbrella, it would get twisted out of shape and be blown away. So you take cover (not under a tree, if you want to live), and you wait for the end of the downpour.

In about 30 or 45 minutes, it’s over. The sides of the road (no, I did not say ’sidewalk’, it’s just grass usually) are still muddy, but the roads are dry. And it’s hot again, back to the normal 32-34 degrees Celcius we have every day. Activities resume: street vendors sell their fried pastries and sweet drinks, Indonesian maids bring their charges out and chat with their friends while keeping an eye on the toddlers playing in the mud, school children look for ice-cream to eat before reaching home, and housewives get ready for their daily gossip session.

The next day, in the paper, you learn that some houses lost their roof, some city got flooded, and someone got struck by lightning. The routine.

period

an Oprah Winfrey show.

No, I would not do that. I will never do it. Period.

Subtitle (in Malay): Tidak, saya tidak akan buat begini. Tidak. Menstruasi.

Translation of subtitle: No, I will not do that. Never. Menstruation.

I’m not old

I’m not old. I blog, I twitter, I wear Crocs, and my son bought me the latest Metallica album!

formative years

Which artists/groups/musicians/singers did you like in your formative years? And does that say anything about you?

I was told that I was a fan of Sheila when I was one year old, and could sing and dance to ‘l’ecole est finie’ before I could even walk… shame on me! and shame on the adult who let this happen!

I remember Mongo Jerry when I was 11 or 12, which was a lot better than the Julio Iglesias stuff my father listened to.

and then, the Revelation, the Epiphany: FRANK ZAPPA! That was not even admiration, that was LOVE! He opened my mind to so much more than music. I think he opened my mind to opening my mind, if you know what I mean: being ready to explore, expect the unexpected, have the guts to be different, be your own person… I could have married the guy, I was (and still am) so in love with him.

and at the same time, but on a completely different level, there is Georges Brassens. Because of the texts. He sang songs that you had to listen to. And in a way, he is the father of all the present Benabars and Luce. This is something that does not exist here in Malaysia: songs with words you need to listen to. only stooooopid songs for the brain-dead.

So who did you listen to when you were growing up? Come on, ‘fess up, no shame. Here is my list: Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Bernard Lavilliers (he made me feel like a rebel), Led Zeppelin, Georges Brassens, Hubert-Felix Thiefaine (I went to his first concert in Dijon!), Leonard Cohen.