The image of an airplane flying into one of the World Trade Centre towers in New York on that fateful morning was one few Americans could wipe out from their memories – a picture like one out of a Hollywood movie, dramatic and memorable, except this was no film-director’s creation. This was reality of a historic event relayed “live” into the American living rooms. Only minutes earlier, a first airplane had similarly flown into another twin tower, creating an effect similar to that from a rocket missile or aerial bomb, turning the skyscraper buildings into twisted wrecks within minutes of impact.
Since that September morn, when thousands of office workers stared at ‘weapons of destruction” wreaking havoc above the New York financial hub, the international stage of politics has been thrown into a new threshold of warfare. This is a higher plane of enemy encounter. In the 21st century “terrorist” war, the enemy wears no easily discernible human face. The terrorists can strike, equally and effectively, by day or night time, anywhere where the owners of terror weapons take them.
September 11, 2001, must surely rank as a landmark day in this relatively new millennium’s history – when the world was shaken to its core as helpless people watched “live” as well as through constant replays over television, two commercial aeroplanes allegedly commandeered by Muslim terrorists and used as “missiles” to crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, USA.
Suddenly, we were made to realise that the world has become a “very dangerous” dwelling place indeed, and even the United States, the sole superpower in the world, is as vulnerable as its poorer cousins in the African and Asian continents who hardly have enough rations to feed their people, what more having money to spend on weapons of mass destruction! We all woke up that day to experience what I think was the “rudest awakening” of this new century, that possibly transformed our lives forever in the most dramatic way, and evoked in us all the whole range of human responses, including grief, shock, rage, despair and bewilderment.
And how would human beings find a suitable channel, a meaningful outlet, for this spontaneous outpouring of grief and anguish, rage and bewilderment, shock and helplessness in the face of such great tragedy? This ruthless attack on humanity came “out of the blue” and certainly was beyond human imagination (initially some viewers thought the second airliner crashing into the WTC tower was an advertising trailer from the latest Hollywood blockbuster!), yet it was stark reality staring at us in our comfortable Malaysian living rooms. This “creature” resembling a suicide bomber wrought by fellow human beings motivated by things beyond our ken and understanding to wreak carnage and havoc on human lives and dignity, so how do we begin to even comprehend and cope with a “new” world thrust upon us?
Many American citizens, and feeling fellow humankind across the globe – enjoying common membership of the species called Homo sapiens -- responded with dedications of poems to 911, as the day of infamy has become identified. One online poetry website, operated by the International Library of Poetry based in Washington, D.C., immediately set up a dedicated page for people to share their responses. Poetry writing becomes a channel for release, and this is definitely useful therapy at a time of tremendous sorrow and grief.
This writer contributed one, titled Reflecting on Newton’s Law of 16 lines. I am reproducing here the said poem to demonstrate the brevity and niche theme summarising some key points flowing from 911, served adequately by just one quarter web-page. If Desiderata were to write a piece of prose, I believe an essay of a few thousand words would not be as effective.
Reflecting on Newton's law
To every action
There is an equal and opposite reaction
Goes one of Newtonian laws
governing physical forces and motion
Extrapolating on Newton's law to human affairs
In light of the tragedy of Sept 11 morn
I fear that human response to
such horrendous attacks on humankind
Usually brings forth an opposite but often,
more than an equal, reaction,
Inflicting more, and spiralling, violence and tragedy on innocent ones
Borrowing Dylanesque wisdom while we're
adrift in this wind of confusion and sorrow
"When will they ever learn?", I say,
Leave the wrath of the Maker
To visit upon the actors of such cowardly acts.
The premise of my poem was that in human affairs in inflicting violence, usually the reaction is often greater than a reaction to physical force, creating a spiralling chain of increasingly more violent events. I firmly believe there was no way the U.S. could avoid following up with retaliatory action, as some reaction must follow such an attack on humanity. It was only a question of how and in what form the “reaction” (retaliation) would be, and for how long, to justify the objectives once the enemy has been identified and the objectives have been spelt out. My final premise of the poem was that finally, an end must come, and only God – in whatever form we perceive Him to be - can exact the just retribution on the perpetrators of the terror attacks.
Coincidentally on September 17, a close friend of mine, J. Vong, who runs a business website called klsetracker.com, also wrote an article in prose, titled “Hope Amid the Carnage”, to mark what must be the rudest awakening ever in both our lifetime. He wrote that his was a “small voice pleading for reasoned thought and action amid the raging fires for revenge and retribution”.
Vong said the September 11 attacks on the financial edifices of the world and the center of the U.S. military power “mark yet again the frequent and unwanted blips in the long-march of peaceful civilization. ... However, reconciliation will ultimately have to succeed conflict … history teaches us that. Rebirth and regrowth must follow destruction … markets will boom after doom.”
He stated that it served no useful purpose from the perspective of human history for revenge and retribution. “Ultimately, building an international resolve to establish a system that can open more minds and hearts will undoubtedly, bring civilization to its next stage of evolution. Tearing down the walls of religious and racial bigotry is what makes for global leadership and this is the greatest chance for a global initiative by the United States.”
For the record, Vong has been a regular columnist for a local newspaper for more than 15 years, hence he could produce such a lengthy piece quickly, but I am also sure it would have taken him a lot of time. On current affairs in the economic field, Vong is a sort of Sifu to Desi. Comparatively, composing a poem for me is a breeze, butto write an economic topic, would have taken much research and archival recall which Vong is truly blessed, but it's the effort and time that counts. Usually, a poem would just focus on one theme or central idea, unlike an essay which would follow the format of Introduction, Body and Conclusion – quite a daunting task for most ordinary people.
Those who composed poems on 911, and readers worldwide who shared these works, would have reaped the benefit of “catharsis” so essential in the healing of wounds on the emotional and mental front. Poets worldwide demonstrated the range of subjects they touched on such challenging times, indicating the breadth and depth of the raw emotions that singular event evoked in different people. The contributors obviously benefited from releasing their innermost feelings, also fostering a common bond through sharing their poems, and bringing the world community closer together. Hopefully, this common bonding serves to unite the human race for a better tomorrow … and Poetry would have played a small, but meaningful, part in the process.
Therefore, it is seen that poetry on the heels of 911 had served, and continues to serve, as an outstanding medium of communication at a time of great tragedy and unfathomable distress, not just for Americans, but for all the world citizens. The world indeed becomes truly one and borderless under certain circumstances that hold momentous consequences for peoples of all nations as they mourn and commemorate the loss of some 2,800 lives.
However, with the passage of time, memory fades, and minds become dim, until the next “surprise” terror attack came out of the blue again to wake us up from a semi-settled state of peace and tranquility. The recent 7/7 -- or as Deesi terms it SEVEN7 -- event of the London bombings threw up the spectre of “terrorism” again – some four years of that landmark exactly four years ago today. The London bombings were of a smaller scale, but the terror wrought on the people of London, and the whole British nation, was never any less heart-breaking and agonising, especially for the victims’ families. Again, the world community mourned the human “losses”, but a second time around has reduced the “surprise” element – on many lips, the whispers now are “when” – not “if” – the next bombings will take place, and where. So sad. So tragic. So unfathomable to the human race on earth.
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DESIDERATA: If Sunday's rumination is too serious for thee, go back to Saturday's CHALLENGE S'X where another Booker Prize awaits the Winner.The Deadline -- NOT dateline! -- is 2400 hrs today (ie Midnite Sunday;) ENJOY! :)
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Sunday, September 11, 2005
CHALLENGE S’X
b=r=e=A=k=i=n=g that Never on Sunday Rule to exercise your unique Beautiful Mind tomorrow! Put on your THINKING CAP, lazy&I.Cowws, for the next 28hours! And this is an Order from Desi, as tomorrow is Desiderata.English Day!:)
This TeAser Challenge is only for those who are Above the Age of Non-Dissent, you decide for youself whether you’ve reached that, as Mark Twain famously said: “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Between now and 2400 hrs September 30, which is the deadline (please don’t confuse with the word dateline!) for C5, some of mGf complained they are getting bored. Me, I'm getting gored, so I have cooked up/cocked up/corked up (pick one, so easy nowadays with primary and secondary school tests, OBJECTIVE, they call them. -- YES, the Objective is to attain the highest pass-rate possible, even DISTINCTION RATE, under the present Education Minister so that in 50 years’ time, HIStory would be kind to ‘im, Ahem:) The immediate prior statement is bracketed so that my Esteemed Readers can imagine you can’t see those questionably "offending" words, in case they haul thee up as weaknesses against Desi in a defamation suit for brining down the Nama of the said minister. But Desi’s prima facie DEFENCE -a loyar buluk here!:(-is that if you did not start with a good NAMA at this juncture, how can a mosquito bite like the invisible claim above bring Down (or Up?) one’s monstrous name? And that’s another rhetorical Q!
The post is titled CHALLENGE S’X, but this writer takes some few hundred-word opening remarks to warm up. I tell you why – among mGf readers, few have practised CRITICAL or ANALYTICAL THINKING under the present education system. They either make them memorise facts by ROTI LEARNING, or they over-teach them to ask TOO MANY QUESTIONS (TANGENTIAL2!). This Xplains why it took eon(s) years for DESIDERATA to give away the First A CLALLENGE TO LOVE.
Okay, the GOoD NEWS this Sunday is that its author, not Desi, but Catherine De Costa, says she is giving away THREE MORE COPIES of the autographed r-o-m-a-n-t-i-c novel. This S’X CHALLENGE results in giving away one copy to the best answer for the following TeAser Challenge! The Other2 are for C5!!
Starts here:
“**DESIDERATA says he does not kNOw on what weekday he’s born. Mum is no more around to answer that Q. Also, he had not spied that Calendar that Primrose spied (in Singapore or from a fortune teller?:) that traced her to be confirmed as a FRIDAY’S CHILD, who is loving and giving …
I’ve now creatively at one day on which Desi was born, and your Challenge is to arrive at the “best” answer or Guess that approximates my pre-determined answer, which has been sealed in an enveloped and dumped at a deep vault at BankNegeri to which only I and other Other BN official have the keys, perhaps Alicia? So, either you spend the next28 hours making an EDUCATED GUESS, yes, accompanied by the RAT-ionale, a Mousey-one, also-can, or track down Alicia.
This post is uploaded at 2000 hrs Saturday September 10, 2005, and the deadline is 2400 hrs Sunday September 11, 20-not S’X! See, Desi works hard for his living, could be a Saturday’s Child, as I stated last Saturday. I'll try to announce the Winner Monday morn at BF time!
CLUES:
(1) Somewhere buried in that post “FRIDAY'S CHILD IS LOVING AND GIVING...” are a sprinkle of clues.
(2) This ditty also provides some leads:
The Beatles could be a mover, I suppose
Pak Lah could be a Friday’s Child, like Primrose
If it’s not Monday, Tuesday, Wednurseday
Thursday, Friday or Saturday
It can Never be a Sundae
So Pak Lah, like Desi, could be born
That Special Day
Appropriate for a PM
It's a .....day!
So think outside the box
Desi’s riddle is born of a fox.
(3) That NAME Desi’s decided is a soaring one, lifting Malaysians’ spirit towards Towering status, come what may;
But slightly mis-pronounced, can be disastrous, dangerous even, for then anarchy and violence could rule the day.
Each contestant can give ONE plus 2 ANSWERS, but the First must be accompanied by that RAT-IONALE, Mosey-one also-can!
(4) If there is no Answer that tallies exactly with Desi’s, the closest in content and intent and spirit will be selected, BY DESIDERATA, whose decision is FINAL&MUKTAMAD!. I have prepared a CLOSET LIST nearest the “TeAser Answer’ – see how generous Desi's.
(5) Cos Desi is generous of heart, and in deed he has one left after almost months of Promoting, Parenting, Rushing, Ranting, Inspiring, Instigating, Mocking, Minding, Edging and Egging my EsteemedReaders to THINK, THINK, THINK.
For Challengees like Yan, Primrose and maybe a few others who o’lad’ have a copy of Catherine De Costa’s Challenge, I’m offering (generous Desi again here) an Autographed Copy of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, including packeageing and mailing costs, e- or non-e, to any part within spiritedestination, to the Winner! This prized work is autographed and precious to Desi, yet in his Cause to Promote Crttical Thinking apparently lacking here, he’s parting with that authographed copy from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but the signature is Mine-lah, NOT Shylock’s (he’s another kedekut1!).
ENJOY! ENJOY!! ENJOY!!! ENJOY!!!! ENJOY!!!!! ENJOY!!!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!
Q: How many times did Tunku Abdul Rahman lead patriotic Malayans in shouting “Merdeka!” on August 31, 1957 to declare our INdependence Day?
A: SEVEN!!!!!!!
PS: Desi has added FOUR MORE LINES to the poem at 1.45AM, so please note carefully.
Also note that you must READ ALL COMMENTS (Reader's plus Desi's Responses)as some flowers of hints may be sprinkled among the ********blooms!********
This TeAser Challenge is only for those who are Above the Age of Non-Dissent, you decide for youself whether you’ve reached that, as Mark Twain famously said: “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Between now and 2400 hrs September 30, which is the deadline (please don’t confuse with the word dateline!) for C5, some of mGf complained they are getting bored. Me, I'm getting gored, so I have cooked up/cocked up/corked up (pick one, so easy nowadays with primary and secondary school tests, OBJECTIVE, they call them. -- YES, the Objective is to attain the highest pass-rate possible, even DISTINCTION RATE, under the present Education Minister so that in 50 years’ time, HIStory would be kind to ‘im, Ahem:) The immediate prior statement is bracketed so that my Esteemed Readers can imagine you can’t see those questionably "offending" words, in case they haul thee up as weaknesses against Desi in a defamation suit for brining down the Nama of the said minister. But Desi’s prima facie DEFENCE -a loyar buluk here!:(-is that if you did not start with a good NAMA at this juncture, how can a mosquito bite like the invisible claim above bring Down (or Up?) one’s monstrous name? And that’s another rhetorical Q!
The post is titled CHALLENGE S’X, but this writer takes some few hundred-word opening remarks to warm up. I tell you why – among mGf readers, few have practised CRITICAL or ANALYTICAL THINKING under the present education system. They either make them memorise facts by ROTI LEARNING, or they over-teach them to ask TOO MANY QUESTIONS (TANGENTIAL2!). This Xplains why it took eon(s) years for DESIDERATA to give away the First A CLALLENGE TO LOVE.
Okay, the GOoD NEWS this Sunday is that its author, not Desi, but Catherine De Costa, says she is giving away THREE MORE COPIES of the autographed r-o-m-a-n-t-i-c novel. This S’X CHALLENGE results in giving away one copy to the best answer for the following TeAser Challenge! The Other2 are for C5!!
Starts here:
“**DESIDERATA says he does not kNOw on what weekday he’s born. Mum is no more around to answer that Q. Also, he had not spied that Calendar that Primrose spied (in Singapore or from a fortune teller?:) that traced her to be confirmed as a FRIDAY’S CHILD, who is loving and giving …
I’ve now creatively at one day on which Desi was born, and your Challenge is to arrive at the “best” answer or Guess that approximates my pre-determined answer, which has been sealed in an enveloped and dumped at a deep vault at BankNegeri to which only I and other Other BN official have the keys, perhaps Alicia? So, either you spend the next28 hours making an EDUCATED GUESS, yes, accompanied by the RAT-ionale, a Mousey-one, also-can, or track down Alicia.
This post is uploaded at 2000 hrs Saturday September 10, 2005, and the deadline is 2400 hrs Sunday September 11, 20-not S’X! See, Desi works hard for his living, could be a Saturday’s Child, as I stated last Saturday. I'll try to announce the Winner Monday morn at BF time!
CLUES:
(1) Somewhere buried in that post “FRIDAY'S CHILD IS LOVING AND GIVING...” are a sprinkle of clues.
(2) This ditty also provides some leads:
The Beatles could be a mover, I suppose
Pak Lah could be a Friday’s Child, like Primrose
If it’s not Monday, Tuesday, Wednurseday
Thursday, Friday or Saturday
It can Never be a Sundae
So Pak Lah, like Desi, could be born
That Special Day
Appropriate for a PM
It's a .....day!
So think outside the box
Desi’s riddle is born of a fox.
(3) That NAME Desi’s decided is a soaring one, lifting Malaysians’ spirit towards Towering status, come what may;
But slightly mis-pronounced, can be disastrous, dangerous even, for then anarchy and violence could rule the day.
Each contestant can give ONE plus 2 ANSWERS, but the First must be accompanied by that RAT-IONALE, Mosey-one also-can!
(4) If there is no Answer that tallies exactly with Desi’s, the closest in content and intent and spirit will be selected, BY DESIDERATA, whose decision is FINAL&MUKTAMAD!. I have prepared a CLOSET LIST nearest the “TeAser Answer’ – see how generous Desi's.
(5) Cos Desi is generous of heart, and in deed he has one left after almost months of Promoting, Parenting, Rushing, Ranting, Inspiring, Instigating, Mocking, Minding, Edging and Egging my EsteemedReaders to THINK, THINK, THINK.
For Challengees like Yan, Primrose and maybe a few others who o’lad’ have a copy of Catherine De Costa’s Challenge, I’m offering (generous Desi again here) an Autographed Copy of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, including packeageing and mailing costs, e- or non-e, to any part within spiritedestination, to the Winner! This prized work is autographed and precious to Desi, yet in his Cause to Promote Crttical Thinking apparently lacking here, he’s parting with that authographed copy from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but the signature is Mine-lah, NOT Shylock’s (he’s another kedekut1!).
ENJOY! ENJOY!! ENJOY!!! ENJOY!!!! ENJOY!!!!! ENJOY!!!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!
Q: How many times did Tunku Abdul Rahman lead patriotic Malayans in shouting “Merdeka!” on August 31, 1957 to declare our INdependence Day?
A: SEVEN!!!!!!!
PS: Desi has added FOUR MORE LINES to the poem at 1.45AM, so please note carefully.
Also note that you must READ ALL COMMENTS (Reader's plus Desi's Responses)as some flowers of hints may be sprinkled among the ********blooms!********
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Life Renewed
Today's post titled is plagiarised from a mNf (definition: N for New); I said yesterrday that fRiendship is at least two=way traffic, ofTEN it is extended to multi-way, and F1 introduces his/her fRiends to F2 and vice-versa. This lends meaning to making one's Life Anew, and simultaneously, make some of our lives RENEWED.
Monday's Child
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for their living,
And the child that is born on the sabbath day is bonny, blithe, good and gay.
DESIDERATA has also confess'd he does NOT know on which week-day he's born, and Mum is not more physically around to answer this question -- though I know she's always like my Guardian Angel Keeping Me and My Li'l Life in View.
I assume today I could have been born on a Saturday, so according to the li'l ditty reprised above,
"Today I must work hard for my living."
I'm continuing the subject of L've, falling out of L've, and reaching a certain point of No Return, which I hope teenagers today caught in such dire straits would not have to reach that precipice. Always, remember, seek out the BefRienders at 03-79568144.
As mortals who are born to be social animals and have a natural instinct to “love and want to be loved”, a partner who becomes one’s “soul mate” evokes in the loved one a tremendous feeling of tenderness and oneness that the condition is often like “in a dream”. As Stephen Foster's BEAUTIFUL DREAMER shows, the “beautiful dreamer” description, associated with the quiet and tenderness of “the moonlight”, enchanted with song (“soft melody”) sung in a low voice so that the quiet may not be disturbed.
We are all familiar with the phrase “Wine, Women and Song” – I guess some Players just get INtoxicated with this thing called LOVE.
Here’s a poet’s dedication:
To Celia
Drink to me, only, with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst, that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine:
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee, late, a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee,
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not withered be.
But thou thereon did'st only breath,
And sent'st it back to me:
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee.
Ben Jonson (1573-1637).
BUT How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?
But not all love affairs end with the fairy tale ending of “they married and lived happily ever after”. Just as love can bring joy and love-making ecstasy, many affairs end in sorrow and despondency. Men and women will always fall in, and fall out of, love, but many will tell you that it is better to have loved, and failed, than never to have loved at all! Yes, love can be painfully one-sided, as many who tasted “rejection” would be too heart-broken or shy to testify -- so Sir John Suckling penned this admonishment to such a a love-lorn man:
Why so pale and wan fond lover?
Prithee, why so pale?
Will, when looking well can’t move her,
Looking ill prevail?
Prithee, why so pale?
Why so dull and mute, young sinner?
Prithee, why so mute?
Will, when speaking well can’t win her.
Saying nothing do’t?
Prithee, why so mute?
Quit, quit for shame! This will not move,
This cannot take her.
If of herself she will not love,
Nothing can make her:
The devil take her!
Compare the above with what follows by Shakespeare. The two poems share some common features in that they indicate that human nature is “unchanging” for the unlucky in love, who will always “pine and sigh”, and the rhyming and musical (sound) devices were used in both poems with a catchy effect, and such poems have to be read aloud (you are allowed to, even if thy neighbours complain you're neighing!) for full enjoyment.
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more!
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea, and one on shore;
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into hey nonny, nonny.
Sing no more ditties, sing no moe,
Of dumps so dull and heavy!
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.
In modern times, very often such downcast youths would write to newspapers or magazines to seek advice on their “dilemma” of failed or rejected or even unrequited love. The “agony aunt” would normally express sympathy with the reader’s plight, then offer some insights on what life’s about to show empathy, leading to a final piece of advice that the “broken-hearted” lad/damsel should treat the affair gone sour as a “lesson in life”. The motherly counsel would run thus: “There are many fishes out there in the ocean – not just one – so go out there and you may be successful in your next fishing trip…”.
But sufferers of L'VE normally do not listen to advice. They only need some shoulders to cry on. Really, these words came from people who have been there. So if you are a fRiend, be there to lend your shoulders. That's the defining helping hand.
PS:
Uninitiated readers to Desi's Place may be tempted to ask: Why such a long post, man?
Short answer: To make up for Thursday's IMposter taking over Desi's Place and 1OR2 knotty RegularReaders making an MIA report at Seremban BalaiPolis all daway from Taiping&DU. DU-H! The polis char turned up at My Place, making me all red like a lobster, at SEVEN Saturday's morn. Before adjourning for late BF, I had to use black lipstick I "bollowed" one mGf to return from the red to the black. Have to pay for the BF, you see, as mGf des(s)serted Desi!
Goodness, Gracious,Me!
Amazing Grace Lyrics
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures.
When we've been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise...
then when we've first begun.
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
Monday's Child
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for their living,
And the child that is born on the sabbath day is bonny, blithe, good and gay.
DESIDERATA has also confess'd he does NOT know on which week-day he's born, and Mum is not more physically around to answer this question -- though I know she's always like my Guardian Angel Keeping Me and My Li'l Life in View.
I assume today I could have been born on a Saturday, so according to the li'l ditty reprised above,
"Today I must work hard for my living."
I'm continuing the subject of L've, falling out of L've, and reaching a certain point of No Return, which I hope teenagers today caught in such dire straits would not have to reach that precipice. Always, remember, seek out the BefRienders at 03-79568144.
As mortals who are born to be social animals and have a natural instinct to “love and want to be loved”, a partner who becomes one’s “soul mate” evokes in the loved one a tremendous feeling of tenderness and oneness that the condition is often like “in a dream”. As Stephen Foster's BEAUTIFUL DREAMER shows, the “beautiful dreamer” description, associated with the quiet and tenderness of “the moonlight”, enchanted with song (“soft melody”) sung in a low voice so that the quiet may not be disturbed.
We are all familiar with the phrase “Wine, Women and Song” – I guess some Players just get INtoxicated with this thing called LOVE.
Here’s a poet’s dedication:
To Celia
Drink to me, only, with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst, that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine:
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee, late, a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee,
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not withered be.
But thou thereon did'st only breath,
And sent'st it back to me:
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee.
Ben Jonson (1573-1637).
BUT How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?
But not all love affairs end with the fairy tale ending of “they married and lived happily ever after”. Just as love can bring joy and love-making ecstasy, many affairs end in sorrow and despondency. Men and women will always fall in, and fall out of, love, but many will tell you that it is better to have loved, and failed, than never to have loved at all! Yes, love can be painfully one-sided, as many who tasted “rejection” would be too heart-broken or shy to testify -- so Sir John Suckling penned this admonishment to such a a love-lorn man:
Why so pale and wan fond lover?
Prithee, why so pale?
Will, when looking well can’t move her,
Looking ill prevail?
Prithee, why so pale?
Why so dull and mute, young sinner?
Prithee, why so mute?
Will, when speaking well can’t win her.
Saying nothing do’t?
Prithee, why so mute?
Quit, quit for shame! This will not move,
This cannot take her.
If of herself she will not love,
Nothing can make her:
The devil take her!
Compare the above with what follows by Shakespeare. The two poems share some common features in that they indicate that human nature is “unchanging” for the unlucky in love, who will always “pine and sigh”, and the rhyming and musical (sound) devices were used in both poems with a catchy effect, and such poems have to be read aloud (you are allowed to, even if thy neighbours complain you're neighing!) for full enjoyment.
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more!
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea, and one on shore;
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into hey nonny, nonny.
Sing no more ditties, sing no moe,
Of dumps so dull and heavy!
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.
In modern times, very often such downcast youths would write to newspapers or magazines to seek advice on their “dilemma” of failed or rejected or even unrequited love. The “agony aunt” would normally express sympathy with the reader’s plight, then offer some insights on what life’s about to show empathy, leading to a final piece of advice that the “broken-hearted” lad/damsel should treat the affair gone sour as a “lesson in life”. The motherly counsel would run thus: “There are many fishes out there in the ocean – not just one – so go out there and you may be successful in your next fishing trip…”.
But sufferers of L'VE normally do not listen to advice. They only need some shoulders to cry on. Really, these words came from people who have been there. So if you are a fRiend, be there to lend your shoulders. That's the defining helping hand.
PS:
Uninitiated readers to Desi's Place may be tempted to ask: Why such a long post, man?
Short answer: To make up for Thursday's IMposter taking over Desi's Place and 1OR2 knotty RegularReaders making an MIA report at Seremban BalaiPolis all daway from Taiping&DU. DU-H! The polis char turned up at My Place, making me all red like a lobster, at SEVEN Saturday's morn. Before adjourning for late BF, I had to use black lipstick I "bollowed" one mGf to return from the red to the black. Have to pay for the BF, you see, as mGf des(s)serted Desi!
Goodness, Gracious,Me!
Amazing Grace Lyrics
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures.
When we've been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise...
then when we've first begun.
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
Friday's child is loving and giving ...
Desi's delighted as he met a loving and giving child today…
And it’s doubly blessed because I met this Friday’s Child on a GOoD Friday.Yes! September 9, 2005 will stand out L'VINGLY in my life’s story-telling course.
Caught up with Challengee Primrose – winner of C4 which stands for Cabaran Yang ke-Empat, in case mGf like Sab is still clueless and wondering in the Perthian Haze. Digressing a bit, I see Sab, kyels and of course,Sweets, hacing been acting co-hosts at Desio's Place for the better part of yesterday and today. Terima kasih, which according to Oz mates, is the most striking way fo expressing garitude "Receive my Love" in deed.;)
Since Haridas could not be present to the honours, humble Desi stood in at the Booker przie presentation, and we raised two teh, “the non-tarik” type, since no susu lembu was available, as the Cowws didn't come home lastnoite,but I asuure you we sipped "branded" tea, for it’s from San Francisco, you see. A Challenge to Love was handed over to the smiling' recipient somewhere in the big bad city of Koala Lumpuh. Cutting to the race, (not chase, just in case there is wrong connotation here), Desi is extra careful when engaged in wordplay nowadays when the weather is hot, and most people don’t like someone who is windy angin-angin -- for sweetSpirit, who is Learning a New Word of BM a Day.
Primrose tells YLChong – whose penname, not actually a nick, for I adopted Jurassic years ago!,rhymes with Daisy, so appropriate in such blooming company, a li’l wind is okay with the flowers in her garden – she’s factually a Friday’s Child, who is born to be “loving and giving”.
I asked her how she knew. Oh, found out when filling up some forms relating to universitydocumentation (hope I gotta fact right... anyhow, genuine mistake also can't sue Desi, also not much currency2. Primrose said she was able to refer to a calendar that could track one's birthday down to that detail. Where on earth did she spy it -- no, primroe is not no secret agent-- in a neighbouring country?
And I assure thee, she truly and literally lives up to her name. Just visit http://primroses.blogspot.com, and you’ll be greeted by Bloom, Flower, Bloom, and acts of giving gifts like a Saint Frances even when Christmas is more than three months away.
I’m stealing one visitor’s comment from Primrose-y garden:
(NOTE: Case of The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak...Desi quietly stepped into Primsrosey garden to steal ome stalk of bloom, but he was stopped by a Fierce -looking Virus, screaming Access Denied. I wasn't wearing my LanSi badge!)
(Space here reserved for the theft!)
While I told her there is no such thing as a “free lunch” in this world, she brought me a book called Ghosts of London to frighten the wits out of me. As if Desi is not sufficiently endowed in that department? And Primrose, that’s certainly a rhetorical question!
I brought mNf up to speed on the newsfront -- she had galcotted the news the past two days as she had other priorities to attend to, really “bee-sy” with her flowers! – by mentioning in passing about some “cheer” in the Malaysian airspace which came from our Prime Minister Pak Lah.
FOR THE RECORD
I note the supposedly “cheery” news as reported it The Star September 8, 2005 news headlined
Quick relief
Road tax reductions up to 80% from Sept 12
No petrol, diesel and cooking gas price increase until year-end
No toll increase for this year and next year
Increased aid for senior citizens, poor, and disadvantaged children
The only “discerningly sensible” quote extracted from all the street polled responses came from a sole gentleman. The Star reported: “S.K. Lim, 62, who had worked for more than 30 years in the Inland revenue Department, said although the “package” appeared helpful, it was merely a short-term solution.
“Pak Lah needs to look at long-term measures to ease the burden pf the people,” he said.
In the past almost two years as Prime Ministe, I've discerned in our country's CEO a "loving and giving" person. Maybe he's also a Friday's Child?
Such generosity of heart -- on citiznes like Primrose and PaklLah, I deem worthy of emulation. No wonder one reader called her "Princess". Here I make a thread to yesterday's Post highlighting the issue of Teenage Suicides, not just in Malaysia, but also in other countries as shared by other Readers. My link is that Youth of Today must be encouarged to take part in socilaising and looking outwards, and not be lone rangers and looking inwards. If they involve themselves in VOLUNTEERING, the perosna will be outward ;ooking, and ofetn looking to lend a helping hand. That hand that gives abundantly will be rewarded SEVEN times SEVENty times over, mGf Mr Cowws says, and I add to that: Hear! Hear, Young Ears.
To a YoungHeart made of Gold
So today's Morsel for Thought:
If the youths of today learn to give and not looking forward to receive, they are liely to grow up POSITIVE. A person always looking to Self and always wanting to receive will be likely to feel disappointed, and a more vulnerable victim to suicidal tendencies. At one time or another, adults in their 30s onwards will tell you they would have met at least one encountered that made the heart bleed so babdly they wished the whole world wlould swallow them up into its bosom. Making the heartaches all disappear.
But don't edge towards that precipice. Cultivate fRiendships, and that means reaching out to others, before they can reach out to you. Friendship is a two-wy or multi-way traffic. Never stand alONE. I end with Max Ehrmann's counsel appropraie for a Loving Day, so that as many of us can aspite to become Friday's Child, wins a ove they say ...:)
Love Some One
Love some one – in God’s name
Love some one – for this is
The bread of the inner life, without
Which a part of you will
starve and die; and though you
feel you must be stern,
even hard, in your life of affairs,
make for yourself at least
a little corner, somewhere in the
great world, where you may
unbosom and be kind.
DESIDERATA apologises for an EveningPost today, but we can all s-mile to-night.Remembering Primrose's childlie departning S-m-i-l-e that stretches for m-i-l-e-s...
And it’s doubly blessed because I met this Friday’s Child on a GOoD Friday.Yes! September 9, 2005 will stand out L'VINGLY in my life’s story-telling course.
Caught up with Challengee Primrose – winner of C4 which stands for Cabaran Yang ke-Empat, in case mGf like Sab is still clueless and wondering in the Perthian Haze. Digressing a bit, I see Sab, kyels and of course,Sweets, hacing been acting co-hosts at Desio's Place for the better part of yesterday and today. Terima kasih, which according to Oz mates, is the most striking way fo expressing garitude "Receive my Love" in deed.;)
Since Haridas could not be present to the honours, humble Desi stood in at the Booker przie presentation, and we raised two teh, “the non-tarik” type, since no susu lembu was available, as the Cowws didn't come home lastnoite,but I asuure you we sipped "branded" tea, for it’s from San Francisco, you see. A Challenge to Love was handed over to the smiling' recipient somewhere in the big bad city of Koala Lumpuh. Cutting to the race, (not chase, just in case there is wrong connotation here), Desi is extra careful when engaged in wordplay nowadays when the weather is hot, and most people don’t like someone who is windy angin-angin -- for sweetSpirit, who is Learning a New Word of BM a Day.
Primrose tells YLChong – whose penname, not actually a nick, for I adopted Jurassic years ago!,rhymes with Daisy, so appropriate in such blooming company, a li’l wind is okay with the flowers in her garden – she’s factually a Friday’s Child, who is born to be “loving and giving”.
I asked her how she knew. Oh, found out when filling up some forms relating to universitydocumentation (hope I gotta fact right... anyhow, genuine mistake also can't sue Desi, also not much currency2. Primrose said she was able to refer to a calendar that could track one's birthday down to that detail. Where on earth did she spy it -- no, primroe is not no secret agent-- in a neighbouring country?
And I assure thee, she truly and literally lives up to her name. Just visit http://primroses.blogspot.com, and you’ll be greeted by Bloom, Flower, Bloom, and acts of giving gifts like a Saint Frances even when Christmas is more than three months away.
I’m stealing one visitor’s comment from Primrose-y garden:
(NOTE: Case of The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak...Desi quietly stepped into Primsrosey garden to steal ome stalk of bloom, but he was stopped by a Fierce -looking Virus, screaming Access Denied. I wasn't wearing my LanSi badge!)
(Space here reserved for the theft!)
While I told her there is no such thing as a “free lunch” in this world, she brought me a book called Ghosts of London to frighten the wits out of me. As if Desi is not sufficiently endowed in that department? And Primrose, that’s certainly a rhetorical question!
I brought mNf up to speed on the newsfront -- she had galcotted the news the past two days as she had other priorities to attend to, really “bee-sy” with her flowers! – by mentioning in passing about some “cheer” in the Malaysian airspace which came from our Prime Minister Pak Lah.
FOR THE RECORD
I note the supposedly “cheery” news as reported it The Star September 8, 2005 news headlined
Quick relief
Road tax reductions up to 80% from Sept 12
No petrol, diesel and cooking gas price increase until year-end
No toll increase for this year and next year
Increased aid for senior citizens, poor, and disadvantaged children
The only “discerningly sensible” quote extracted from all the street polled responses came from a sole gentleman. The Star reported: “S.K. Lim, 62, who had worked for more than 30 years in the Inland revenue Department, said although the “package” appeared helpful, it was merely a short-term solution.
“Pak Lah needs to look at long-term measures to ease the burden pf the people,” he said.
In the past almost two years as Prime Ministe, I've discerned in our country's CEO a "loving and giving" person. Maybe he's also a Friday's Child?
Such generosity of heart -- on citiznes like Primrose and PaklLah, I deem worthy of emulation. No wonder one reader called her "Princess". Here I make a thread to yesterday's Post highlighting the issue of Teenage Suicides, not just in Malaysia, but also in other countries as shared by other Readers. My link is that Youth of Today must be encouarged to take part in socilaising and looking outwards, and not be lone rangers and looking inwards. If they involve themselves in VOLUNTEERING, the perosna will be outward ;ooking, and ofetn looking to lend a helping hand. That hand that gives abundantly will be rewarded SEVEN times SEVENty times over, mGf Mr Cowws says, and I add to that: Hear! Hear, Young Ears.
To a YoungHeart made of Gold
So today's Morsel for Thought:
If the youths of today learn to give and not looking forward to receive, they are liely to grow up POSITIVE. A person always looking to Self and always wanting to receive will be likely to feel disappointed, and a more vulnerable victim to suicidal tendencies. At one time or another, adults in their 30s onwards will tell you they would have met at least one encountered that made the heart bleed so babdly they wished the whole world wlould swallow them up into its bosom. Making the heartaches all disappear.
But don't edge towards that precipice. Cultivate fRiendships, and that means reaching out to others, before they can reach out to you. Friendship is a two-wy or multi-way traffic. Never stand alONE. I end with Max Ehrmann's counsel appropraie for a Loving Day, so that as many of us can aspite to become Friday's Child, wins a ove they say ...:)
Love Some One
Love some one – in God’s name
Love some one – for this is
The bread of the inner life, without
Which a part of you will
starve and die; and though you
feel you must be stern,
even hard, in your life of affairs,
make for yourself at least
a little corner, somewhere in the
great world, where you may
unbosom and be kind.
DESIDERATA apologises for an EveningPost today, but we can all s-mile to-night.Remembering Primrose's childlie departning S-m-i-l-e that stretches for m-i-l-e-s...
IMposter on the run!
This is an IMposter
making an entree on the run
So Desi's typing faster
Cos of that son-of-a-gun
W: whining and pen-ning
O: overworked like a cowboy
R: hence the running, te gunning
K: yet I get a high, o Joy!
My regular visitors think I'm MIA
Make thee at home, it's okay
Duty comes before duty, the Wise Ones say
Or my gaji is goone, and complin I may
So I slogged from midnite till 3AM
Reporting by 8, at sunrise, again!
Desi's in a lousy mood
BF foregone, the writin' is not guud
So if from my six-shooter I aim
At you, at thee, it's all-A-game.
I only only get back to Serious
After 8, at sunset, ReadersMostEstemed
Rise up to the GOod and tedious
That my NAMA might yet be Redeem'd.
DESIDERATA: has to work 16-hour-day Thursday (The child has far to go...remember?)
to put bread&butterMAYbe some kaya (rich am Desi) on the table
But I've a alk in the aprk later
Plucing some flowers,oops, enjoying some blooms
See, but NO TOUCH! it's still Ecstasy of Heavenly Order.
Sweets, I kNOOw thou 'iss'd Desi,
But I'm engaged, do't you seee...
But you and kyesl and Sab make selves at home
The hostess'll get back, by 8PM, Insya-Allah, on her own
making an entree on the run
So Desi's typing faster
Cos of that son-of-a-gun
W: whining and pen-ning
O: overworked like a cowboy
R: hence the running, te gunning
K: yet I get a high, o Joy!
My regular visitors think I'm MIA
Make thee at home, it's okay
Duty comes before duty, the Wise Ones say
Or my gaji is goone, and complin I may
So I slogged from midnite till 3AM
Reporting by 8, at sunrise, again!
Desi's in a lousy mood
BF foregone, the writin' is not guud
So if from my six-shooter I aim
At you, at thee, it's all-A-game.
I only only get back to Serious
After 8, at sunset, ReadersMostEstemed
Rise up to the GOod and tedious
That my NAMA might yet be Redeem'd.
DESIDERATA: has to work 16-hour-day Thursday (The child has far to go...remember?)
to put bread&butterMAYbe some kaya (rich am Desi) on the table
But I've a alk in the aprk later
Plucing some flowers,oops, enjoying some blooms
See, but NO TOUCH! it's still Ecstasy of Heavenly Order.
Sweets, I kNOOw thou 'iss'd Desi,
But I'm engaged, do't you seee...
But you and kyesl and Sab make selves at home
The hostess'll get back, by 8PM, Insya-Allah, on her own
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Thursday’s child has far to go ...
Today’s post is one postponed from last Monday, because Desiderata had planned for a GOoDNewsweek starting warm September 5, but as I said yesterday, Reality sometimes Bites. So I have to bite the bullet again, sorry folks. If you’re inclined towards depression, please be advised the journey is far and long and arduous for this Thursday's child ... Don't linger, go back to enjoying TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE...Or buy Catherine De Costa's A CHALLENGE TO LOVE, but it's rated 18SX according to one of mGf, so keep away from there2. I understand most of you are under the age of non-dissent, aren't you!
Cutting to the chase (see I’m really trying level best to chase thee away from BadNewsday!) – see page 17, The Star, September 5 news item reprised here:
Teen found hanged after being scolded by mum
JOHOR BARU: A 13-year-old girl was found hanged by her younger brother at their home in Permas Jaya here.
It is learnt that M. Sugumary, the eldest of three children, had gone up to her room after being scolded by her mother on Saturday.
The girl’s mother had asked her to bring in the laundry when it started to drizzle at around 2pm.
When Sugumary procrastinated saying she would do it later, her mother scolded her.
After neing reprimanded, she went up to her room, and only came down at around 5pm for a drink before going back upstairs.
Johor Baru (South) acting OCPD Supt Idris Ismail said the girl’s father sent her younger brother up to her room at 7pm to ask her to come down.
“When the boy opened the room door, he saw his sister’s lifeless body hanging from the fan with a towel arpund the neck,” he said.
Thus goes another heart-breaking story of a Malaysian teenager who could not think rationally at a crucial short moement –- and maybe for lack of a fRiend to talk to -- a Young Life was lost forever. IF only … there are just TOO MANY “if”s in life, and Desi is not going to add more to the list.
What I’m trying to say is directed to ALLParents&Teachers out there. Teenagers today are all living in a very stressful environment – yesterday’s feedback from Readers, even YoungOnes but more discerning, about the KeepingUpWithTheHones syndrome being very much alive, whether in Malaysia or overseas. Pressuring the child to get maximum As in term tests, not even in public exams, rushing them Here,There&Everywhere for tuition, followed by Ballet or Piano lessons. There is no more time for Leisure,..no time to stand and stare ...as WH Davies said in his poem.
Kyels reported that even a child at age SEVEN is pushed to best the neighbourhood peers and rewarded RM100 for an A in Bahasa Malaysia. Then the rush to Art or Music class -- Bah! Kyels exclaimed.
This modern stress and strain placed on young shoulders would have unexpected repercussions. Parents caught in similar situations like young Sugumary have to live a life full of regrets, and tears.
To MyYoungfRiends a few of whom I became acquainted due to YAN's fRiendship via IgnorantCows.blospot.com like Timothy Su, and one who deemed himself “insignificant” but in reality is quite the Opposite, Desi says: GOoD on you, for being involved in more maningful activities and sharing&caring. This young teenagers in Sarawak have banded together to form what I believe is the first TeenagersWeBlog to write daily journals of school life and youth activities and to foster fRiendships to help each other along. At those tender gropwing years, peer pressure is definitely a challenge, as Timothy wrote in one Posting that Desi quoted. And parents and teachers must be able to help these teenagers cope with these youthful challenges, and not allow situations similar or close to Sugumary's to develop.
Yesterday I saluted people like Mr Coww who dedicate themselves to true Service Above Self. There is another brigade out there – people involved in Volunteer-ing activities who should be accorded high regard too. They find time and efforts to devote themselves to make Others happy, give some cheer to the less privileged and fortunate in society. Desi salutes these Samaritans working on the QuietFront.
Contrast them with another group, which we cannot deny also exist – people who hanker to sit in so-called charitable offices, but actually not even remotely motivated by charitable objectives. They seek public acclaim. They seek medals and honours. They chase for those funny prefixes and suffixes we see now in abundance in front of their natural names, such as …..JKR, JJR, PPN, PPM and whatNOTorIDIOTs, I’d better not name them, one of two LanSi among them may just sue Desi, and Desiderata2000 may just do a disappearing act, and surely my EsteemedReaders do not want that, do you! (that's another rhetorical Q!). And I’m already half a pauper, so I can't afford a courtly suit! Just verify with Mr Coww – he likes to compare me with a Church Mouse:( when I liken him to that which goes Moo-Moo:).
To teenage school children caught in “tough” situations, please seek advice from the School Counsellor, or consult your FavouriteAuntie (still thriving at certain gardens) or Uncle (dying species I believe…), I’m no authority. Maybe seek out a church pastor, temple priest or any sort of certified spiritual adviser in moments of crisis.
Today I’m inclined to do some community service because I can’t accept Mr Coww’s challenge to go on a spirit-filled mission where at the end of the day, night does not fall, it’s always rainbow on the horizon. I wished girls like Sugumary had encountered the likes of Mr Coww and Others in the same domain -- To this legion of dedicated men of calling, God Bless them every step along the Sacrifice Way. For the Young&IgnorantCowws who steal peeps at Blogs like Desi’s, please hold the following number in your wallet. Don’t Do anything rash when you’re upset and without a mate you can talk to. In an Emergency when your Heart bleeds like Hell, please call the counsellers at:
Befrienders: 03-7956-8144.
A Prayer for ALLtheChildrenOfTheWorld
"Let every child be touched by an Angel
Let a Guardian Angel watch his every step
Let him/her go safely yonder to school&play
Let him/her come home dancing to Dad&Mum every day." - Amen/Amin (c)YLChong 8.9.05
Song: I Have a Dream Lyrics
Artist: Lisa Stokke Lyrics
SOPHIE:
I have a dream
A song to sing
To help me cope
With anything
If you see the wonder
Of a fairy tale
You can take the future
Even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream
I have a dream
COMPANY:
I have a dream
A fantasy
To help me through
Reality
And my destination
Makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness
Still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream
I have a dream
I'll cross the stream
SOPHIE:
I have a dream
I'll cross the stream
I have a dream
Cutting to the chase (see I’m really trying level best to chase thee away from BadNewsday!) – see page 17, The Star, September 5 news item reprised here:
Teen found hanged after being scolded by mum
JOHOR BARU: A 13-year-old girl was found hanged by her younger brother at their home in Permas Jaya here.
It is learnt that M. Sugumary, the eldest of three children, had gone up to her room after being scolded by her mother on Saturday.
The girl’s mother had asked her to bring in the laundry when it started to drizzle at around 2pm.
When Sugumary procrastinated saying she would do it later, her mother scolded her.
After neing reprimanded, she went up to her room, and only came down at around 5pm for a drink before going back upstairs.
Johor Baru (South) acting OCPD Supt Idris Ismail said the girl’s father sent her younger brother up to her room at 7pm to ask her to come down.
“When the boy opened the room door, he saw his sister’s lifeless body hanging from the fan with a towel arpund the neck,” he said.
Thus goes another heart-breaking story of a Malaysian teenager who could not think rationally at a crucial short moement –- and maybe for lack of a fRiend to talk to -- a Young Life was lost forever. IF only … there are just TOO MANY “if”s in life, and Desi is not going to add more to the list.
What I’m trying to say is directed to ALLParents&Teachers out there. Teenagers today are all living in a very stressful environment – yesterday’s feedback from Readers, even YoungOnes but more discerning, about the KeepingUpWithTheHones syndrome being very much alive, whether in Malaysia or overseas. Pressuring the child to get maximum As in term tests, not even in public exams, rushing them Here,There&Everywhere for tuition, followed by Ballet or Piano lessons. There is no more time for Leisure,..no time to stand and stare ...as WH Davies said in his poem.
Kyels reported that even a child at age SEVEN is pushed to best the neighbourhood peers and rewarded RM100 for an A in Bahasa Malaysia. Then the rush to Art or Music class -- Bah! Kyels exclaimed.
This modern stress and strain placed on young shoulders would have unexpected repercussions. Parents caught in similar situations like young Sugumary have to live a life full of regrets, and tears.
To MyYoungfRiends a few of whom I became acquainted due to YAN's fRiendship via IgnorantCows.blospot.com like Timothy Su, and one who deemed himself “insignificant” but in reality is quite the Opposite, Desi says: GOoD on you, for being involved in more maningful activities and sharing&caring. This young teenagers in Sarawak have banded together to form what I believe is the first TeenagersWeBlog to write daily journals of school life and youth activities and to foster fRiendships to help each other along. At those tender gropwing years, peer pressure is definitely a challenge, as Timothy wrote in one Posting that Desi quoted. And parents and teachers must be able to help these teenagers cope with these youthful challenges, and not allow situations similar or close to Sugumary's to develop.
Yesterday I saluted people like Mr Coww who dedicate themselves to true Service Above Self. There is another brigade out there – people involved in Volunteer-ing activities who should be accorded high regard too. They find time and efforts to devote themselves to make Others happy, give some cheer to the less privileged and fortunate in society. Desi salutes these Samaritans working on the QuietFront.
Contrast them with another group, which we cannot deny also exist – people who hanker to sit in so-called charitable offices, but actually not even remotely motivated by charitable objectives. They seek public acclaim. They seek medals and honours. They chase for those funny prefixes and suffixes we see now in abundance in front of their natural names, such as …..JKR, JJR, PPN, PPM and whatNOTorIDIOTs, I’d better not name them, one of two LanSi among them may just sue Desi, and Desiderata2000 may just do a disappearing act, and surely my EsteemedReaders do not want that, do you! (that's another rhetorical Q!). And I’m already half a pauper, so I can't afford a courtly suit! Just verify with Mr Coww – he likes to compare me with a Church Mouse:( when I liken him to that which goes Moo-Moo:).
To teenage school children caught in “tough” situations, please seek advice from the School Counsellor, or consult your FavouriteAuntie (still thriving at certain gardens) or Uncle (dying species I believe…), I’m no authority. Maybe seek out a church pastor, temple priest or any sort of certified spiritual adviser in moments of crisis.
Today I’m inclined to do some community service because I can’t accept Mr Coww’s challenge to go on a spirit-filled mission where at the end of the day, night does not fall, it’s always rainbow on the horizon. I wished girls like Sugumary had encountered the likes of Mr Coww and Others in the same domain -- To this legion of dedicated men of calling, God Bless them every step along the Sacrifice Way. For the Young&IgnorantCowws who steal peeps at Blogs like Desi’s, please hold the following number in your wallet. Don’t Do anything rash when you’re upset and without a mate you can talk to. In an Emergency when your Heart bleeds like Hell, please call the counsellers at:
Befrienders: 03-7956-8144.
A Prayer for ALLtheChildrenOfTheWorld
"Let every child be touched by an Angel
Let a Guardian Angel watch his every step
Let him/her go safely yonder to school&play
Let him/her come home dancing to Dad&Mum every day." - Amen/Amin (c)YLChong 8.9.05
Song: I Have a Dream Lyrics
Artist: Lisa Stokke Lyrics
SOPHIE:
I have a dream
A song to sing
To help me cope
With anything
If you see the wonder
Of a fairy tale
You can take the future
Even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream
I have a dream
COMPANY:
I have a dream
A fantasy
To help me through
Reality
And my destination
Makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness
Still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream
I have a dream
I'll cross the stream
SOPHIE:
I have a dream
I'll cross the stream
I have a dream
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
i count THEE among mGf in the plural
mGf is defined as myGOoDfRiend in both the singular and plural. GOoD is written thus as I believe they are all GOD-fearing people, so the Almighty is embedded in the good in them. Mutually, Desi hopes that they include me on their list -- as in Abou Ben Adheim's angelic list.
I am happy to report that one of mGf Mr Coww recently sat for the final part of a course on Theology that would see him authorised to be a Lay Pastor very soon. I have written substantially on Mr Coww – not so Ignorant or Insignificant as Desi and many other Cowws who stroll or stray here,(see http://ignorantcows.blogspot.com)-- in fact, he is quite scholarly, in both Chinese and English literature, and now the Scriptures – so I would be seeing less of him in four months’ time to discuss literature, but the Holy Manna is just as well.
I recently quoted a line to the effect: "One can readily see the ….. in thy neighbour’s eye, but can’t see the beam in one’s own eye."
I had left that …..”blank” , hoping one of my EsteemedReaders would respond to fill in the gap. But no, it was all Quiet on the Writers’ Front for some weeeeks. So I consulted mGf, soon to be Pastor Coww, what was that “word” I just could not recall, but I know it’s buried in the deep recesses of my mind. You know one of those times –- when you want to use that word, it escapes thee.
Mr Coww said it can be “thistle”, “thorn”, then (that light bulb came over my head!), I said “mote”; and Coww smiled, adding "also-can", adding somemore that “beam” can also be replaced by “branch”. But he said the most commonly pair quoted from the Bible are “speck” and “beam” respectively. (So Desi has not strayed so far fromthe straight&narrow after all -- can still use some Verses in the right context or for contest, just as GOoD as quoting from Julius Kaiser (!)"fRiends, Romans, countrymen, Lend me your ears ..." OR (!!) "Hail 'Itler! Thy woes be with thee!" The (!) is Shakespeare's, the (!!) is mine(d).
So now you know why Desi also calls him Counsellor with due respect. He also wants to tell me about YangKueiFei, the exquisite flower among many concubines of a Chinese Emperor whose beauty surpassed that of Cleopatra …but that’s for another day, not fitting this Wednesday, cos …I’ll explain later.
When I mentioned the impending celebration of Mr Coww’s moving on to serve out of Seremban -- to where the needs are greatest -- one mutual acquaintance, he heard me partially, and rambled on: “I have a friend in Port Dickson involved in agriculture who may be able to call on Mr Coww’s experise, do some soil tests …”. I was nonplussed while he shot off-tangent, then it dawned on this Coww it was a “g” instead of a “t” that led the acquaintance to believe Mr Coww was tending to “soil”, not “soul” terrain.
Desi was always challenged by Mr Coww to go on a “spirit-filled” mission, but I said I do my writing with “passion”. To me, the spiritual path amounts to a different calling, much higher than a mere writer like me. I have always held in high estem these fervent servants answering that calling to serve mankind, truly Service Above Self. No, Desi is not in that domain, far, far from it, I honestly told Mr Coww. I stand humbled.:)
Journalists have always put the subjects – VIPs and VVIPs in the limelight – while they do their jobs behind the glare of the public eye that it’s a RELUCTANT JOURNALIST who makes it as a media subject. I don’t know about others, my close circle of media friends are similarly inclined.
Yesterday one of mGf-cum-journo – YAN of yancorner.blogspot.com – was thinking aloud whether she should throw Desi a challenge to review Mitch Albom’s TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. I begged to decline – citing “tiredness”, which is only half the truth, the OtherHalf is that Desi is committed to more work at a friend’s finance portal very soon as one of the staff is soon going on maternity leave. Desi is trying to fill her place – no, not the pregnancy, it’s that seat in front of da PC terminal looking at KLSE’s highs and lows and WhatHaveYous.
In recompense, I said I would render her WEDNESDAY’S CHILD, Matt Monro-style. The diction is clear, the delivery silky smooth, Matt’s, not Desi’s -- and the music is h-a-u-n-t-i-n-g-l-y beautiful. An if you aspire to speaking impeccable English, do it Matt Monro style. Remember Born Free, From Russia with Love …? Oh, I forgot I was Wednesday’s Child, not Sunday’s Meek&Mild!
“**
Wednesday's Child
Lyrics by Mack David
Music by John Barry
Vocal by Matt Monro
From the movie "The Quiller Memorandum"
Wednesday's child is a child of woe.
Wednesday's child cries alone, I know.
When you smiled, just for me you smiled,
For awhile I forgot I was Wednesday's child.
Friday's child wins at love, they say.
In your arms Friday was my day.
Now you're gone, well I should have known,
I am Wednesday's child, born to be alone.
Now you're gone, well I should have known,
I am Wednesday's child, born to be alone.
Wednesday's child, born to be alone.
I believe the composition is derived from this nursery rhyme:
“***
Monday's Child
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for their living,
And the child that is born on the sabbath day is bonny, blithe, good and gay.
***”
PS: So what am I going to do with Yan’s Challenge? I suggested to her to run another similar Challenge 5 at her weblog, coopting me as co-hostess, mainly serving TehTarik, bungkus from HariDas’, all the way from Seremban to Catsville. That’s where Yan resides, Kuching! Let’s visit her at Yancorner – In Touch, to see if Yan is brave enough to “ho®st” CHALLENGE 5 …
UPDATE @ 8.38AM:
"******* Yan said...
YAN happily accept's Desi's CHALLENGE 5 to run a
Booker Review of Mitch Albom's TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE.
The First Prize is an autographed copy of CHALLENGE TO
LOVE by Catherine De Costa (donutted by Desiderata;);
and also First PUBLICATIONS RIGHTS to BorneoPost
(where Yan has a little say!) to feature THE TOP
2or3 REVIEWS:);) where normal payments just like for any
other freelance contributions apply...
(3) mGf Desi has promised to be hardworking Judge (along with Yan Co-Pilot) and
his&her decisions are final&muktamad, to be announced
Three Days after BPost's use of the 2or3 reviews.
(4) Entries of at least 2,500 words must reach YAN by
Email at phylliswyy@gmail.com or chongyl2000@yahoo.com
(5) Deadline is 2400 hours, September 30, 2005.
ENJOY! ENJOY!! ENJOY!!!
WRITE & L'VE!
Yan
7:55 AM
desiderata said...
Hi there EVERYBEESYBODY!
YAN has generously, after some nudging from/with TehSi, accepted to run CHALLENGE 5!
SEVEN bravos to mGf from Sarawak, where the CEOs still headhunt, and the GalsNextDoor still pun
Desi at SEVENam seneraded her with Wednesday's Woes
She said yes! So Here C5 goes!
8:17 AM
I am happy to report that one of mGf Mr Coww recently sat for the final part of a course on Theology that would see him authorised to be a Lay Pastor very soon. I have written substantially on Mr Coww – not so Ignorant or Insignificant as Desi and many other Cowws who stroll or stray here,(see http://ignorantcows.blogspot.com)-- in fact, he is quite scholarly, in both Chinese and English literature, and now the Scriptures – so I would be seeing less of him in four months’ time to discuss literature, but the Holy Manna is just as well.
I recently quoted a line to the effect: "One can readily see the ….. in thy neighbour’s eye, but can’t see the beam in one’s own eye."
I had left that …..”blank” , hoping one of my EsteemedReaders would respond to fill in the gap. But no, it was all Quiet on the Writers’ Front for some weeeeks. So I consulted mGf, soon to be Pastor Coww, what was that “word” I just could not recall, but I know it’s buried in the deep recesses of my mind. You know one of those times –- when you want to use that word, it escapes thee.
Mr Coww said it can be “thistle”, “thorn”, then (that light bulb came over my head!), I said “mote”; and Coww smiled, adding "also-can", adding somemore that “beam” can also be replaced by “branch”. But he said the most commonly pair quoted from the Bible are “speck” and “beam” respectively. (So Desi has not strayed so far fromthe straight&narrow after all -- can still use some Verses in the right context or for contest, just as GOoD as quoting from Julius Kaiser (!)"fRiends, Romans, countrymen, Lend me your ears ..." OR (!!) "Hail 'Itler! Thy woes be with thee!" The (!) is Shakespeare's, the (!!) is mine(d).
So now you know why Desi also calls him Counsellor with due respect. He also wants to tell me about YangKueiFei, the exquisite flower among many concubines of a Chinese Emperor whose beauty surpassed that of Cleopatra …but that’s for another day, not fitting this Wednesday, cos …I’ll explain later.
When I mentioned the impending celebration of Mr Coww’s moving on to serve out of Seremban -- to where the needs are greatest -- one mutual acquaintance, he heard me partially, and rambled on: “I have a friend in Port Dickson involved in agriculture who may be able to call on Mr Coww’s experise, do some soil tests …”. I was nonplussed while he shot off-tangent, then it dawned on this Coww it was a “g” instead of a “t” that led the acquaintance to believe Mr Coww was tending to “soil”, not “soul” terrain.
Desi was always challenged by Mr Coww to go on a “spirit-filled” mission, but I said I do my writing with “passion”. To me, the spiritual path amounts to a different calling, much higher than a mere writer like me. I have always held in high estem these fervent servants answering that calling to serve mankind, truly Service Above Self. No, Desi is not in that domain, far, far from it, I honestly told Mr Coww. I stand humbled.:)
Journalists have always put the subjects – VIPs and VVIPs in the limelight – while they do their jobs behind the glare of the public eye that it’s a RELUCTANT JOURNALIST who makes it as a media subject. I don’t know about others, my close circle of media friends are similarly inclined.
Yesterday one of mGf-cum-journo – YAN of yancorner.blogspot.com – was thinking aloud whether she should throw Desi a challenge to review Mitch Albom’s TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. I begged to decline – citing “tiredness”, which is only half the truth, the OtherHalf is that Desi is committed to more work at a friend’s finance portal very soon as one of the staff is soon going on maternity leave. Desi is trying to fill her place – no, not the pregnancy, it’s that seat in front of da PC terminal looking at KLSE’s highs and lows and WhatHaveYous.
In recompense, I said I would render her WEDNESDAY’S CHILD, Matt Monro-style. The diction is clear, the delivery silky smooth, Matt’s, not Desi’s -- and the music is h-a-u-n-t-i-n-g-l-y beautiful. An if you aspire to speaking impeccable English, do it Matt Monro style. Remember Born Free, From Russia with Love …? Oh, I forgot I was Wednesday’s Child, not Sunday’s Meek&Mild!
“**
Wednesday's Child
Lyrics by Mack David
Music by John Barry
Vocal by Matt Monro
From the movie "The Quiller Memorandum"
Wednesday's child is a child of woe.
Wednesday's child cries alone, I know.
When you smiled, just for me you smiled,
For awhile I forgot I was Wednesday's child.
Friday's child wins at love, they say.
In your arms Friday was my day.
Now you're gone, well I should have known,
I am Wednesday's child, born to be alone.
Now you're gone, well I should have known,
I am Wednesday's child, born to be alone.
Wednesday's child, born to be alone.
I believe the composition is derived from this nursery rhyme:
“***
Monday's Child
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for their living,
And the child that is born on the sabbath day is bonny, blithe, good and gay.
***”
PS: So what am I going to do with Yan’s Challenge? I suggested to her to run another similar Challenge 5 at her weblog, coopting me as co-hostess, mainly serving TehTarik, bungkus from HariDas’, all the way from Seremban to Catsville. That’s where Yan resides, Kuching! Let’s visit her at Yancorner – In Touch, to see if Yan is brave enough to “ho®st” CHALLENGE 5 …
UPDATE @ 8.38AM:
"******* Yan said...
YAN happily accept's Desi's CHALLENGE 5 to run a
Booker Review of Mitch Albom's TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE.
The First Prize is an autographed copy of CHALLENGE TO
LOVE by Catherine De Costa (donutted by Desiderata;);
and also First PUBLICATIONS RIGHTS to BorneoPost
(where Yan has a little say!) to feature THE TOP
2or3 REVIEWS:);) where normal payments just like for any
other freelance contributions apply...
(3) mGf Desi has promised to be hardworking Judge (along with Yan Co-Pilot) and
his&her decisions are final&muktamad, to be announced
Three Days after BPost's use of the 2or3 reviews.
(4) Entries of at least 2,500 words must reach YAN by
Email at phylliswyy@gmail.com or chongyl2000@yahoo.com
(5) Deadline is 2400 hours, September 30, 2005.
ENJOY! ENJOY!! ENJOY!!!
WRITE & L'VE!
Yan
7:55 AM
desiderata said...
Hi there EVERYBEESYBODY!
YAN has generously, after some nudging from/with TehSi, accepted to run CHALLENGE 5!
SEVEN bravos to mGf from Sarawak, where the CEOs still headhunt, and the GalsNextDoor still pun
Desi at SEVENam seneraded her with Wednesday's Woes
She said yes! So Here C5 goes!
8:17 AM
Tuesday with Worries
There is a heArt-warming book by Mitch Albom ttitled "Tuesdays with Morrie" which I recommend all mGf to read. If today you don't want depression, go to the bookshop nearest you; do me a quick-as-lightning review; then I can sit back and relax while posting up thy GOoD-sent review for coming desiderata.english as Desi is getting very tired, Not that "tired of being tired"-ness mitochondria complained about. But yesterday's news began to have mito-c's defined tiredness creeping back onto me. See if it's doing the same to thee on this Tuesday with Worries:
From the NEW STRAITS TIMES
Monday September 5, 2005
Page 1 headline:
FEELING THE PINCH
MORE MALAYsians concerned about rising prices
25% Find it difficult to cover their living expenses
40% Not too happy about economic conditions
“The situation is not critical, but the balance overall is sgowing a negative picture. There’s a sense of people tightening their belts.” –- IBBRAHIM SUFFIAN (Center for Opinion Research programme director)
Besides the front-page quoting four sources expressing dismay and alarm, The Goooode (for once!) Olde NST - reliable consumerist that it is occasionally- also ran two full pages of the subject of concern to JoePublic on pages 4&6.
Those who miss’d the paper yesterday can borrow it off Desi’s, but be prepared to meet me at Haridas’ tonight at 8pm – 10pm when I get an update economic picture from this down-to-earth “economist”. I don’t kNOw if you can still recall, I sounded similar alarm bells months ago – based on some "reliable" feedback, including from Haridas’s report of declining business1 of some 50%, over a longer working hours2!
Page 4 leads off with headline:
Rising prices top concern
""**Kuala Kumpur, Sun. – What is the main concern of Malaysians? It is certainly not terrorism, nor the haze.
Most people. A survey reveals, are worried about rising prices.
And many are discovering the meaning of frugality.
@1While most feel confident that the economy is doing well, about one in two Malaysians are worried they will not be able to cope with inflation.
@2The rising cost of living is the top concern of almost two in five people, according to a survey on consumer sentiment by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research.
That’s four times more than in April, when just one in 10 were worried about inflation.**"" (ends quote from news report)
The report, now paraphrased here, went on to say the Center polled more than 1,000 people, a sample structured to be representative of peninsular Malaysia. The survey has a 3.1 percent margin of error.
Just an important quote:
"To supplement their incomes, Malaysians will probably have to get second jobs or work longer hours, said Uday Jayaram, head of broking in Malaysia for Australian financial group Macquarrie Securities.
"It's a necessary economic adjustment. Malaysians will have to bite the bullet."
What worrries Desi is that second report on Page 4, headlined:
Cutting back on necessities to splurge on luxuries
Briefly, a 29-year-old civil servant said she was careful on spending on groceries. and buying clothes and shoes during sales. She, however, saves to buy an Apple's cool IPod, costing anything from RM1,200 to RM2,200, which is equivalent to her monthly pay.
She's not the only one. "Consumers have been cutting back on necessities but only so that they can splurge on extras and luxuries, according to a street poll by the New Straits Times.
DESIDERATA: Go spend RM1.20 on buying an old copy (maybe you can get it from thy neighbour for 1/2 prcie!) to educate yourself more, don't just rely on Desi's, cos he could be mis(S)-reporting!
Just a word of advice: You put more faith on a proper survey (which the Merdeaka Center presumably has done!) than on a street poll, OK? -- because I know in journalism world, such polls are very prone to bias, filtering out "unwelcome" comments, just running reports that fit into the Editor's inclination. Got my drift? (Just for the record, I served some 10 years in mainstream media, now freelanicng in non-stream, but I may be Xtream!
SPECIAL NOTE TO:
@1 and @2. I detect a contradiction is the first sentence, read along with the next. How can one report "...most feel confident the economy is doing well..." and in the same breath, write "...one in two are worried they will not be able to cope with inflation..."? Desi's perplexed, dumbfounded, or is my Ingerris not up to mark? I think I have to review my decision yesterday to continue with Desiderata.English on Sundaes! Write me to add your two sen worth. RM1 coins are NOT WELCOMED OR ALLOWED! However, you can shout AUSD worth!:) See, SweetSpirit, to answer your Q. why I'm late today -- Desi's in teAsing mood, or mode, or whatever ...:)
From the NEW STRAITS TIMES
Monday September 5, 2005
Page 1 headline:
FEELING THE PINCH
MORE MALAYsians concerned about rising prices
25% Find it difficult to cover their living expenses
40% Not too happy about economic conditions
“The situation is not critical, but the balance overall is sgowing a negative picture. There’s a sense of people tightening their belts.” –- IBBRAHIM SUFFIAN (Center for Opinion Research programme director)
Besides the front-page quoting four sources expressing dismay and alarm, The Goooode (for once!) Olde NST - reliable consumerist that it is occasionally- also ran two full pages of the subject of concern to JoePublic on pages 4&6.
Those who miss’d the paper yesterday can borrow it off Desi’s, but be prepared to meet me at Haridas’ tonight at 8pm – 10pm when I get an update economic picture from this down-to-earth “economist”. I don’t kNOw if you can still recall, I sounded similar alarm bells months ago – based on some "reliable" feedback, including from Haridas’s report of declining business1 of some 50%, over a longer working hours2!
Page 4 leads off with headline:
Rising prices top concern
""**Kuala Kumpur, Sun. – What is the main concern of Malaysians? It is certainly not terrorism, nor the haze.
Most people. A survey reveals, are worried about rising prices.
And many are discovering the meaning of frugality.
@1While most feel confident that the economy is doing well, about one in two Malaysians are worried they will not be able to cope with inflation.
@2The rising cost of living is the top concern of almost two in five people, according to a survey on consumer sentiment by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research.
That’s four times more than in April, when just one in 10 were worried about inflation.**"" (ends quote from news report)
The report, now paraphrased here, went on to say the Center polled more than 1,000 people, a sample structured to be representative of peninsular Malaysia. The survey has a 3.1 percent margin of error.
Just an important quote:
"To supplement their incomes, Malaysians will probably have to get second jobs or work longer hours, said Uday Jayaram, head of broking in Malaysia for Australian financial group Macquarrie Securities.
"It's a necessary economic adjustment. Malaysians will have to bite the bullet."
What worrries Desi is that second report on Page 4, headlined:
Cutting back on necessities to splurge on luxuries
Briefly, a 29-year-old civil servant said she was careful on spending on groceries. and buying clothes and shoes during sales. She, however, saves to buy an Apple's cool IPod, costing anything from RM1,200 to RM2,200, which is equivalent to her monthly pay.
She's not the only one. "Consumers have been cutting back on necessities but only so that they can splurge on extras and luxuries, according to a street poll by the New Straits Times.
DESIDERATA: Go spend RM1.20 on buying an old copy (maybe you can get it from thy neighbour for 1/2 prcie!) to educate yourself more, don't just rely on Desi's, cos he could be mis(S)-reporting!
Just a word of advice: You put more faith on a proper survey (which the Merdeaka Center presumably has done!) than on a street poll, OK? -- because I know in journalism world, such polls are very prone to bias, filtering out "unwelcome" comments, just running reports that fit into the Editor's inclination. Got my drift? (Just for the record, I served some 10 years in mainstream media, now freelanicng in non-stream, but I may be Xtream!
SPECIAL NOTE TO:
@1 and @2. I detect a contradiction is the first sentence, read along with the next. How can one report "...most feel confident the economy is doing well..." and in the same breath, write "...one in two are worried they will not be able to cope with inflation..."? Desi's perplexed, dumbfounded, or is my Ingerris not up to mark? I think I have to review my decision yesterday to continue with Desiderata.English on Sundaes! Write me to add your two sen worth. RM1 coins are NOT WELCOMED OR ALLOWED! However, you can shout AUSD worth!:) See, SweetSpirit, to answer your Q. why I'm late today -- Desi's in teAsing mood, or mode, or whatever ...:)
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Again, It's Adieu, Not GoodBye!
kyels, one of mGf in the plural, and regular conversationists here, wrote that the NAME arrived at by gritty nitty Primrose -- how appropriate in the field of springtime blooms! Challengee for OUR I-LAND -- spiritedestination -- is "awesome". I like her description, apt and crisp.
Yes, the name is awesome, cos it was an INSpiraTION thingy, thanks to the "commonest" nick budded, bloomed and flowered in our cyber gardens, SssssSpirit, who at this moment=to=moment, is taking a "long" (living to her co-inspirator's NAME)hiatus.
I didn't realise that mGf from Down Under was "serious" until she responded to one of my comments when I visited her at http://sweetspirits.blogspot.com. But today, I'll remind her again, "hiatus" means just that "a break" from blogging, we take you for your word you'll be back. "Again" was because several weeks back, she said in one post she was planning to "close" down her blog altogether. Many fRiends urged her, including Desi, just to take that "hiatus" and come back, refreshed and re-energised. I too reiterate the call today, take that break -- yes, GO BREAK A LEG! -- come back, renewed and rasing to go, like my "horse wind".
Spring has just dawned on these Lucky OZ folks, and by extension also NZ (where allgrownup Sabrina dwells, and swells), the younger sister or brother -- in 21st century, the lad' doesn't know whether it's mail or femail, neither does Desi!:).
It's easy1 to write today's post because it's written from the deepest wells of my heART, which combines two luvly words, he and ART -- see, even on a Monday , Desiderata wants to impose his bloody Ingerris tuition on us.
Another reason it's easy2 is that I'm resorting to CUT&PASTE, just wait&4!
From SweetSpirits':
""**Tuesday, August 30, 2005
We Dont Say Goodbye
For the past 23 months i have read blogs ,been addicted to blogs, made some gr8 blog friends.
But like everything in life all things come to and end , i've done my time in blogland and its been
good its been sad its been bad at times ,there has been laughter and tears throughout the almost two years.So i never say goodbye but i shall say take care :) Now i must go email a special friend whom i have neglected.
cheerz tcz
posted by sweetspirits @ 9:41 PM **""
Some comments that followed:
"""***
letti said...
sweetie!!!! i can't believe this..but I guess there is a time to move on to other things. I just hope you'll be in touch and my thoughts are with you.
8:34 AM
sweetspirit said...
Hi sweety of course i'll be in touch n log by, it is the first of spring over here and i just bought a car like the one on my blog,i pick it up at 4pm yay.Maybe i will blog again in winter when i hibernate hehe,,,
cheerz gal ill log by
hugs tcz
10:26 AM
Broken Hearted said...
Hey Sweet,
Great to hear that you bought your car already. That's awesome.
As for moving on, it's hard but I guess all of us have to move on right.
I've been having a few probs in moving on because I just can't but... Am trying now.
Take care and huggies for you!!
Cheers!
5:13 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Kyels
Yeah moving on is hard ,but sometimes we just have to and no matter how long it takes eventually one will arrive at the next door or next stage in life..
huggies n cheerio gal mail me anytime
tcz
10:42 PM
desiderata said...
We don't say goodbye? (I kNOw about the car-buy) And wat's this Moving On...art thou serious SssssSpirit?
I peekd by but there has been NO updates at this Blog -- then I realise You're Serious!
Anyway, Glod Be With Thee wherever you are
Always miss your Hi-spirits -- in fact, come to Desi's Place early Sunday morn (less than 1/2 day from now) and you'll 4 (for see!) I've dedicated somethin to thee!
It's just adieu, NOT goodbye...
9:49 PM
Broken Hearted said...
Sweet,
But I don't know your email address. And would love to email you though. Can I have your add?
Sometimes it's really hard to move on. Really, really hard. Hmmm..
Thanks. *hugs*
10:49 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Desi
Yeah im serious no blogging for me but reading blogs i shall do.I really feel its time to move on and it feels good of course its not easy.
Spirited destination kewl ,maybe we'll meet there oneday Insya Allah '
My God be with Thee always
adieu tcz
1:57 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Kyels
Yes indeed moving on can be very hard ,but it is also normal to find it hard to move on from something to of which has played a significant part of our lives .Email me anytime i am online almost everyday doing something .
sssssspirit@hotmail.com if u wanna chat n e time and use im just add me.
Cheerz girl n tcz
huggies 2 u
2:02 PM
desiderata said...
SssssSpirit:
I know you enjoy song and dance.
So as you ove on, I want to remind you of this "Liverpool
anthem":
When Sab worte on FAITH RALLY...I "borrowed" if off her. Also I do have faith. My faith in the Almighty.
Who makes the Stars and the Moons and the Earth.
Who oversees human behaviour and oversights the governance of Man on Earth.
Who rules our Day, our Night.
Wo makes me wonder
As a Child, as an Adult, and as the Me-in-the-Future.
I just know because I have Faith--
I’ll Never Be Alone.
So SssssSpirit:
You'll Never Walk Alone
When you walk through a storm,
Hold your head up high,
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm,
There's a golden sky,
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown..
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone.......
You'll never walk alone.
(Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) – music, Oscar Hammerstein II(1895-1960) – lyrics)
PS: pls continue to "log" by at Desi's, kyels, sab's so we can continue our home-y chats and to remind each other, We'll never walk alone.
10:55 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Desi
Thank you :)
I am sure you are aware that i have faith in God and in my life time i have lost many things but never lost faith ,for i know that God has been
with me in my darkest hour and my happy hour actually his been with me all along :) and he will never leave me as i shall never leave him.
So i never walk alone as God is my guide.Thank you again for your comment and for making me feel at home at your blog, it can be my cyber home .You know your blog is a comfort to many bcoz you relate to others and i thank you for taking the time reply to my comments .
So tcz my friend and i will be there at your blog often.
cheerio
10:59 AM ***"""
DESIDERATA ends, with some saulty H2O flowing somewhere?, with this short message: "SssssSpitit -- The piping-hot (like thee?) teh tarik from Haridas is waiting her for thee, Hari Hari does it!"EasyDoesIt3!!!
Also, REP:RISING:
It's just adieu
I miss you so, my friend
A daily diet of AM
now is denied me
I miss the invigoration
The quality words
the beautiful lines
I hope AMigo
I'll see your face again
Smiling to greet me at early morn
I drank of your wine, made of
Grapes of soothing rhyme
Songs of knowledge sublime
But you said it's time
To ring down the curtain
As the money has run dry
I wish I could write out
A cheque for a million
To make you AM stay
I pray it's just adieu
And not goodbye.
Copyright YLChong©2005
Yes, the name is awesome, cos it was an INSpiraTION thingy, thanks to the "commonest" nick budded, bloomed and flowered in our cyber gardens, SssssSpirit, who at this moment=to=moment, is taking a "long" (living to her co-inspirator's NAME)hiatus.
I didn't realise that mGf from Down Under was "serious" until she responded to one of my comments when I visited her at http://sweetspirits.blogspot.com. But today, I'll remind her again, "hiatus" means just that "a break" from blogging, we take you for your word you'll be back. "Again" was because several weeks back, she said in one post she was planning to "close" down her blog altogether. Many fRiends urged her, including Desi, just to take that "hiatus" and come back, refreshed and re-energised. I too reiterate the call today, take that break -- yes, GO BREAK A LEG! -- come back, renewed and rasing to go, like my "horse wind".
Spring has just dawned on these Lucky OZ folks, and by extension also NZ (where allgrownup Sabrina dwells, and swells), the younger sister or brother -- in 21st century, the lad' doesn't know whether it's mail or femail, neither does Desi!:).
It's easy1 to write today's post because it's written from the deepest wells of my heART, which combines two luvly words, he and ART -- see, even on a Monday , Desiderata wants to impose his bloody Ingerris tuition on us.
Another reason it's easy2 is that I'm resorting to CUT&PASTE, just wait&4!
From SweetSpirits':
""**Tuesday, August 30, 2005
We Dont Say Goodbye
For the past 23 months i have read blogs ,been addicted to blogs, made some gr8 blog friends.
But like everything in life all things come to and end , i've done my time in blogland and its been
good its been sad its been bad at times ,there has been laughter and tears throughout the almost two years.So i never say goodbye but i shall say take care :) Now i must go email a special friend whom i have neglected.
cheerz tcz
posted by sweetspirits @ 9:41 PM **""
Some comments that followed:
"""***
letti said...
sweetie!!!! i can't believe this..but I guess there is a time to move on to other things. I just hope you'll be in touch and my thoughts are with you.
8:34 AM
sweetspirit said...
Hi sweety of course i'll be in touch n log by, it is the first of spring over here and i just bought a car like the one on my blog,i pick it up at 4pm yay.Maybe i will blog again in winter when i hibernate hehe,,,
cheerz gal ill log by
hugs tcz
10:26 AM
Broken Hearted said...
Hey Sweet,
Great to hear that you bought your car already. That's awesome.
As for moving on, it's hard but I guess all of us have to move on right.
I've been having a few probs in moving on because I just can't but... Am trying now.
Take care and huggies for you!!
Cheers!
5:13 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Kyels
Yeah moving on is hard ,but sometimes we just have to and no matter how long it takes eventually one will arrive at the next door or next stage in life..
huggies n cheerio gal mail me anytime
tcz
10:42 PM
desiderata said...
We don't say goodbye? (I kNOw about the car-buy) And wat's this Moving On...art thou serious SssssSpirit?
I peekd by but there has been NO updates at this Blog -- then I realise You're Serious!
Anyway, Glod Be With Thee wherever you are
Always miss your Hi-spirits -- in fact, come to Desi's Place early Sunday morn (less than 1/2 day from now) and you'll 4 (for see!) I've dedicated somethin to thee!
It's just adieu, NOT goodbye...
9:49 PM
Broken Hearted said...
Sweet,
But I don't know your email address. And would love to email you though. Can I have your add?
Sometimes it's really hard to move on. Really, really hard. Hmmm..
Thanks. *hugs*
10:49 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Desi
Yeah im serious no blogging for me but reading blogs i shall do.I really feel its time to move on and it feels good of course its not easy.
Spirited destination kewl ,maybe we'll meet there oneday Insya Allah '
My God be with Thee always
adieu tcz
1:57 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Kyels
Yes indeed moving on can be very hard ,but it is also normal to find it hard to move on from something to of which has played a significant part of our lives .Email me anytime i am online almost everyday doing something .
sssssspirit@hotmail.com if u wanna chat n e time and use im just add me.
Cheerz girl n tcz
huggies 2 u
2:02 PM
desiderata said...
SssssSpirit:
I know you enjoy song and dance.
So as you ove on, I want to remind you of this "Liverpool
anthem":
When Sab worte on FAITH RALLY...I "borrowed" if off her. Also I do have faith. My faith in the Almighty.
Who makes the Stars and the Moons and the Earth.
Who oversees human behaviour and oversights the governance of Man on Earth.
Who rules our Day, our Night.
Wo makes me wonder
As a Child, as an Adult, and as the Me-in-the-Future.
I just know because I have Faith--
I’ll Never Be Alone.
So SssssSpirit:
You'll Never Walk Alone
When you walk through a storm,
Hold your head up high,
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm,
There's a golden sky,
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown..
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone.......
You'll never walk alone.
(Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) – music, Oscar Hammerstein II(1895-1960) – lyrics)
PS: pls continue to "log" by at Desi's, kyels, sab's so we can continue our home-y chats and to remind each other, We'll never walk alone.
10:55 PM
sweetspirit said...
Hi Desi
Thank you :)
I am sure you are aware that i have faith in God and in my life time i have lost many things but never lost faith ,for i know that God has been
with me in my darkest hour and my happy hour actually his been with me all along :) and he will never leave me as i shall never leave him.
So i never walk alone as God is my guide.Thank you again for your comment and for making me feel at home at your blog, it can be my cyber home .You know your blog is a comfort to many bcoz you relate to others and i thank you for taking the time reply to my comments .
So tcz my friend and i will be there at your blog often.
cheerio
10:59 AM ***"""
DESIDERATA ends, with some saulty H2O flowing somewhere?, with this short message: "SssssSpitit -- The piping-hot (like thee?) teh tarik from Haridas is waiting her for thee, Hari Hari does it!"EasyDoesIt3!!!
Also, REP:RISING:
It's just adieu
I miss you so, my friend
A daily diet of AM
now is denied me
I miss the invigoration
The quality words
the beautiful lines
I hope AMigo
I'll see your face again
Smiling to greet me at early morn
I drank of your wine, made of
Grapes of soothing rhyme
Songs of knowledge sublime
But you said it's time
To ring down the curtain
As the money has run dry
I wish I could write out
A cheque for a million
To make you AM stay
I pray it's just adieu
And not goodbye.
Copyright YLChong©2005
Sunday, September 04, 2005
THE ANSWER to CHALLENGE 4 IS: ..................!
spiritedestination!
SpiriteDestination!
And the WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE is:
PRIMROSE!
Congrtas! Congrats!! Congrats!!! Congrats!!!! Congrats!!!!! Congrats!!!!!! CONGRATS SEVEN TIMES!
as SEVEN is also Primroses' fave number!!!!!!
This Esteemed Reader showed lots of grit and gumption. She truly represents the MODERN MALAYSIAN GAL.
Believe It or Not! primROSE spent more than an hour -- like 75 minutes from10.45pm last night trying to arrive at the final DESTINATION, landing at OUR I-LAND! She complained towards the closing she in fact had spent the better part of Saturdy sribbling on tonnes of paper (could have gone into making another romance novel!) jotting down the potential answers. TRUE GRIT.
Give PrimRose SEVEN ENCORES as the Challengee who kept the Challenger on his toes for an interesting ding-dong CONVERSE, taking Desi till about 15 miutes past MidNight!
THE RAT-IONALE (c)YLCHONG
A Mousey One also can, Desi has avowed!
BACKGROUND
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
A COUPLET POEM IS GIVEN BELOW
to the First Poem,
Giving DIRECT CLUES to Glue the Jigsaw puzzle TOGETHER!
********Me and SS are two of a kind
We help each other to raise RM20million
For that OUR I-ISLAND
She in OZ, me in Msia
No MalAustralysia, no AustraMalia
The COMBO has to reach a final place
A bit dissect-ed, still rising,
Up.Up & Away!********
Dear EsteemedReaders esp ThePlayers:
I'm piecing the clues together line by line from the initial POEM -- here we go!
(1)A combo -- COMBINATION>> combing from ...
(2)Mark Twain -- duo, twin, >>two ...
(3)dissected nick -- broken up,or separated, but notice "ed" is in italics,>> may or may not have some "significance" ...
(4)nick -- short for >>nickname
(5)Commonnest yet chick -- >>Desiderata & SweetSpirit; could be Sabrina and kyels
(6)To attain that Utopia -- Utopia suggests Heavenly Place, Paradise, >>Final Place of Rest of Human Longing
(7) Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA? -- This was explored as a possible NAME when Desi proposed the merger of two countries to form a >>new Country/Nation
(8)Perhaps not, just a trick -- first Red-Herring ...
(9)Mayhaps -- a word coined by Desi (using Poetic Licence) which is a combo of "maybe" and "pethaps" ... >>may or may not be useful as a clue, I dunno...
(10)Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek -- Notice each word starts with a CAPITAL letter (Upper Case?), hence >>S-O-A-R-I-N-G ...always associated with Spirit/s, as in Soaring spirit/s
(11)To Our Final 'hore -- The Capitals in the first 3 words are to MIS-LEAD (Second Red Herring); the (')Apostrophe can mean the 4th word is Whore or >>Shore...>> destiNATION
(12)Can't give more ... means exactly what it says. Desiderata believs that the IQ of his EsteemedReaders is soaringly high that within this Poem, there are ENOUGH CLUES for you to reach that NAME for OUR I-LAND!
REVIEW:
Taking all the above inferences, now aided by the COUPLET POEM, and the further HINTS sprinkled among the ROSE Garden, any Dr Watson should be able to conclude: those word in BOLD with the 12 points analysed, dissected, indeed point to the ANSWER, the OFFICIAL NAME FOR OUR I-LAND!
spiritedestination!
SpiriteDestination!
DESIDERATA must apologise to Primrose when I also got "blur" last night -- I did NOT notice she had sent in HER RIGHT ANSWER among the many machine-gun ammo she was firing away, TIMED 8.37 am (translating to 11.37pm Malaysian time, i.e. a safe 23 minutes before deadline! SEVEN Congrats to a gritty gal after Desi's heArt! My Converse with her said she beat the deadline by seconds, which is now proven NOT CORRECT! (On trace back in my more sober moment, I verified she had beaten the deadline by a comfortable 23 minutes!)For the record, Primrose spent some 75 minutes, yes, one plus 1/4 hours!from 10.45pm last night doing the challenge. Dsi helped by sprinkling some roses of hints, and new clues, or glue, along the garden path.
WELL DONE, PRIMrose!
Add another SEVEN teh tariks, yes, from Haridas' wherelse, which we'll adjourn to at 11.59pm?!:);) for our PRIZE PRESENTATION! Hari Hari does it will do the honours!
By the way, primROSE enjoys R-o-M-a-N-c-E, which makes her a Bloody, Damn GOoD Winner of A CHALLENGE TO LOVE, a romance novel by Catherine De Costa, from Seremban.
SPECIAL REQUEST FROM DESI:
Now re-visit OUR MARATHON CONVERSE -- between Desi and Primrose, whoelse? -- don't get jealous! For the details, VOYEURS can turn back TIME and p-e-e-p at the COMMENTS of post CHALLENGE 4 - MORE C(G)LUES, of September 2, 2005.
ENJOY! (18 times, for a GOoD REASON………………)
NEXT, please visit PrimRose at her Garden where Roses and Other Flowers Bloom to give her Hugs&Kisses (Ladies only...:) and Hugs&Misses (Lads only ...;)
NEXT2, EsteemedReaders please give a Frank Critique on the way Desi has DESIGNED THE CHALLENGE.
RATE the design, not Desi! from this coring scale, so that Desi has an indea of where his I.Coww's IQ stands, or sits.
(A) Excellent
(B) Very Good
(C) GOoD
(D) Fair
(E) Teruk!
mGf -- myGOodfRiend in the plural -- would be entertained with a constant flow of TehTarik (MistyEiz, spiritedestination's official TehTarikGal! art thou ready?), and Desi has promised he will continue with his sunday's column, desiderata.english, because You Asked For It!
Desiderata now adjourns at 7.33am for that bourgeosie meal on spiritedestination -- now in the wilds of the minds, Yours and Mine -- with mGf in the plural for a singularly outstanding supper-cum-BF-cum-lunch -- nice COMBO of Continental, Oriental and OZ!!!!!!!
SpiriteDestination!
And the WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE is:
PRIMROSE!
Congrtas! Congrats!! Congrats!!! Congrats!!!! Congrats!!!!! Congrats!!!!!! CONGRATS SEVEN TIMES!
as SEVEN is also Primroses' fave number!!!!!!
This Esteemed Reader showed lots of grit and gumption. She truly represents the MODERN MALAYSIAN GAL.
Believe It or Not! primROSE spent more than an hour -- like 75 minutes from10.45pm last night trying to arrive at the final DESTINATION, landing at OUR I-LAND! She complained towards the closing she in fact had spent the better part of Saturdy sribbling on tonnes of paper (could have gone into making another romance novel!) jotting down the potential answers. TRUE GRIT.
Give PrimRose SEVEN ENCORES as the Challengee who kept the Challenger on his toes for an interesting ding-dong CONVERSE, taking Desi till about 15 miutes past MidNight!
THE RAT-IONALE (c)YLCHONG
A Mousey One also can, Desi has avowed!
BACKGROUND
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
A COUPLET POEM IS GIVEN BELOW
to the First Poem,
Giving DIRECT CLUES to Glue the Jigsaw puzzle TOGETHER!
********Me and SS are two of a kind
We help each other to raise RM20million
For that OUR I-ISLAND
She in OZ, me in Msia
No MalAustralysia, no AustraMalia
The COMBO has to reach a final place
A bit dissect-ed, still rising,
Up.Up & Away!********
Dear EsteemedReaders esp ThePlayers:
I'm piecing the clues together line by line from the initial POEM -- here we go!
(1)A combo -- COMBINATION>> combing from ...
(2)Mark Twain -- duo, twin, >>two ...
(3)dissected nick -- broken up,or separated, but notice "ed" is in italics,>> may or may not have some "significance" ...
(4)nick -- short for >>nickname
(5)Commonnest yet chick -- >>Desiderata & SweetSpirit; could be Sabrina and kyels
(6)To attain that Utopia -- Utopia suggests Heavenly Place, Paradise, >>Final Place of Rest of Human Longing
(7) Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA? -- This was explored as a possible NAME when Desi proposed the merger of two countries to form a >>new Country/Nation
(8)Perhaps not, just a trick -- first Red-Herring ...
(9)Mayhaps -- a word coined by Desi (using Poetic Licence) which is a combo of "maybe" and "pethaps" ... >>may or may not be useful as a clue, I dunno...
(10)Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek -- Notice each word starts with a CAPITAL letter (Upper Case?), hence >>S-O-A-R-I-N-G ...always associated with Spirit/s, as in Soaring spirit/s
(11)To Our Final 'hore -- The Capitals in the first 3 words are to MIS-LEAD (Second Red Herring); the (')Apostrophe can mean the 4th word is Whore or >>Shore...>> destiNATION
(12)Can't give more ... means exactly what it says. Desiderata believs that the IQ of his EsteemedReaders is soaringly high that within this Poem, there are ENOUGH CLUES for you to reach that NAME for OUR I-LAND!
REVIEW:
Taking all the above inferences, now aided by the COUPLET POEM, and the further HINTS sprinkled among the ROSE Garden, any Dr Watson should be able to conclude: those word in BOLD with the 12 points analysed, dissected, indeed point to the ANSWER, the OFFICIAL NAME FOR OUR I-LAND!
spiritedestination!
SpiriteDestination!
DESIDERATA must apologise to Primrose when I also got "blur" last night -- I did NOT notice she had sent in HER RIGHT ANSWER among the many machine-gun ammo she was firing away, TIMED 8.37 am (translating to 11.37pm Malaysian time, i.e. a safe 23 minutes before deadline! SEVEN Congrats to a gritty gal after Desi's heArt! My Converse with her said she beat the deadline by seconds, which is now proven NOT CORRECT! (On trace back in my more sober moment, I verified she had beaten the deadline by a comfortable 23 minutes!)For the record, Primrose spent some 75 minutes, yes, one plus 1/4 hours!from 10.45pm last night doing the challenge. Dsi helped by sprinkling some roses of hints, and new clues, or glue, along the garden path.
WELL DONE, PRIMrose!
Add another SEVEN teh tariks, yes, from Haridas' wherelse, which we'll adjourn to at 11.59pm?!:);) for our PRIZE PRESENTATION! Hari Hari does it will do the honours!
By the way, primROSE enjoys R-o-M-a-N-c-E, which makes her a Bloody, Damn GOoD Winner of A CHALLENGE TO LOVE, a romance novel by Catherine De Costa, from Seremban.
SPECIAL REQUEST FROM DESI:
Now re-visit OUR MARATHON CONVERSE -- between Desi and Primrose, whoelse? -- don't get jealous! For the details, VOYEURS can turn back TIME and p-e-e-p at the COMMENTS of post CHALLENGE 4 - MORE C(G)LUES, of September 2, 2005.
ENJOY! (18 times, for a GOoD REASON………………)
NEXT, please visit PrimRose at her Garden where Roses and Other Flowers Bloom to give her Hugs&Kisses (Ladies only...:) and Hugs&Misses (Lads only ...;)
NEXT2, EsteemedReaders please give a Frank Critique on the way Desi has DESIGNED THE CHALLENGE.
RATE the design, not Desi! from this coring scale, so that Desi has an indea of where his I.Coww's IQ stands, or sits.
(A) Excellent
(B) Very Good
(C) GOoD
(D) Fair
(E) Teruk!
mGf -- myGOodfRiend in the plural -- would be entertained with a constant flow of TehTarik (MistyEiz, spiritedestination's official TehTarikGal! art thou ready?), and Desi has promised he will continue with his sunday's column, desiderata.english, because You Asked For It!
Desiderata now adjourns at 7.33am for that bourgeosie meal on spiritedestination -- now in the wilds of the minds, Yours and Mine -- with mGf in the plural for a singularly outstanding supper-cum-BF-cum-lunch -- nice COMBO of Continental, Oriental and OZ!!!!!!!
Lies, damned lies and statistics
TheSun in an editorial a few days ago reprised that quotation we are all too familiar with under:
Lies, damned lies and statistics
""**BENJAMIN Disraeli, Prime Minister of England from 1874 to 1880, was reported by Mark Twain to have in frustration uttered this wonderful line about statistical analysis: "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics".
"This famous aphorism was later adapted as the title of a book Damned Lies and Statistics by Joel Best, published in 2001 by the University of California. In it, Best wrote on how to spot bad statistics and think critically about those numbers that are dished out by those in the business of churning out numbers."
He also wrote in an article in The Chronicle Review, a US-based academic publication: "Some statistics are born bad - they aren't much good from the start, because they are based on nothing more than guesses or dubious data. Other statistics mutate; they become bad after being mangled.
"Statistics, then, have a bad reputation. We suspect that statistics may be wrong, that people who use statistics may be 'lying' - trying to manipulate us by using numbers to somehow distort the truth. Yet at the same time we need statistics, we depend upon them to summarise and clarify the nature of our complex society."
"We decided to quote Best, whose book was a seminal work in the field of interpreting statistics, to discuss an issue that has been bugging us and some other newspaper publishers - readership numbers.
"Readers of this newspaper would remember the series of articles we published several months ago questioning the credibility of newspaper readership numbers provided by a research company.
"How can it be that newspapers which have circulation figures (number of copies sold or distributed) only twice ours, have readership that is four to six times bigger? The research firm has extrapolated (Best will probably call it nothing more than guesses), that while each copy of theSun and the NST has between 1.5 to two readers, each copy of other newspapers have close to four readers per copy.
DESIDERATA's beef today is NOT in siding these two nwspapers -- who may be adopting the common stance politicians always use -- Let's gang up today to face OUR common enemy. Our own battles with each other can wait.
In the early days, Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) statitistics were the numbers used to guide advertising.
But in the last decade, there is new competition, which by the way, has given rise to CONTENTION. But contention is good. It gives rise to more than one side of the story. It leads to what Desiderata has always promoted: the CLASH OF THE MINDS, and no one would be a loser.
I don't kNOw why newspapers only look at the TWO SIDES on the story now on this readership versus circulation figures. They failed to achieve balance in political and social issues coverage -- like Government versus Opposition views --, and they now want understanding from the public about their woes when things don't go their way.
Read this from theSun and the NST's common rival, I summarised from THE STAR August 24, 2005:
NEWSPAPER READERSHIP FIGURES SHOW THE STAR IN THE LEAD
"THE STAR has strengthened its position as Malaysia’s leading English daily by gaining another 21,000 readers for 2Q 2005 compared with the 1Q 2005, The latest statistics released by international media research agency, AC Nilesen, on August 23, 2005 was reported by THE STAR August 24, 2005, which showed THE STAR’s daily readership rising Q1 to Q2 by 2 per cent to 1,161,000 from 1,140,100. The figures showed the NEW STRAITS TIMES’ readership falling by 25,000 or 7 per cent to 331,000 from 356,000 while MALAY MAIL’s fell by 5,000 or 4 per cent to 131,000 from 136,000. Readership of THE SUN, which is distributed free, was flat at 224,000."
I'm letting my EsteemedReaders judge which parties should be given the benefit of the doubt. As far as I'm concerned, my quetsion goes back to UMNO YOUTH and PETRONAS in issues which are bigger than what the bloody media are fighting about!
I'm sorry if I sound like a record player re-playing the same song, but THIS SONG is the Rakyat's bread-and-butter issues. Desi explains why.
(1) PETRONAS
The national oil corporation is a netbeneficiary whenever the world market oil price rises, but the Governmnet keep quoting statitstics that its oil subsidies cannot be sustained and hence the pump prices for petrol and diesel must rise in tandem.
Desi's contention since the country exports more oil -- of better grades and hence commanding higher prices -- the net effect of any oil price will see MALAYSIA GETTING MORE REVENUE. WE SHOULD CELEBRATE EVERY TIME THERE IS A PRICE INCREASE IN WORLD OIL PRICES.
The only trouble is that the Government is telling us only half-truths. The trouble is that in the cenarionn when world prices fell, our pump prices did NOT fall in tandem. SO WHAT GIVES?
That's Desiderata's first cut of beef for today.
(2) UMNO YOUTH
At the recent UMNO general assembly, the now infamous holder of that bloody keris Hishamuddin Hussein bleated out the figure of 18-19percent that the Bumiputera share equity amounts to today, still way before the target of 30percent set in 1970, the start of the New Economic Policy.
Based on this "smart" statistic, this UMNO Youth chief went on to call for the revival of the NEP, which many quarters have lamented had contributed largely to the birth, enhancement of the subsidy mentality, the rent-seeking and commission-collection abuses as prominently shown by the Approved Permits issue (thanks to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, we must give credit where credit's due.)
But raising DESIDERATA's HOPE was this genteleman UMNO lesser chief Shaberry Cheek who revealed that the Bumiputera equity stake was already attained at 18-19percent way back in 1985. So Desi's question that follows logically is: Has the Bumi stake stood still in percentage terms for bloody 20 short years fom 1985 to 2005.
I might as well bury my head with the OZ ostriches if any reader belives in this myth that the keris-wielding chieftain has raised. I believe Hishamuddin (also our Education Minister, BTW) has conveniently excluded those Bumi stakes held by Government-linked Companies, which are HIGHLY CAPITALISED. Allso others, federal and tsate=owned agencies, statory bodies and investment agencies, all holding equities on trust for Bumiputera interests (and individuals?). Desi would venture to guess that if all these other equities were inlcuded in the proper manner, open and transparent, the Bumiputera stake of 30percent had already been reached, maybe even surpassed. I really don't kNOw, becuase nobody in the authorised position, wants to tell.
My second cut of beef today is that these politicians have just been doing what Disraeli had been saying all along, and thanks to Mark Twain's good reporting, (like Desi?, we EsteemedReaders have much Food for Thought. I apologise for wracking, not wrecking!, on this lazy, hazy Saturday morn. September morn, time to Try to Remember.
And to pehaps Capture for Many the Nostalgia, and Highs (and Lows, were there any?) of those heydays of Youthful, maybe Wanton even (hey, not wantan, dont think Makan-Makan only, brudder dan sidar!) and Drifting Idealism, I dedicate this following song to those who sacrificed their resources and time, nay, even some wounded and battered, hungry, bodies, for The Truth. Lies, damned lies, and statistics, indeed:
From the musical "the
Fantasticks"
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain so yellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a young and a callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh
Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh
Deep in December it's nice to remember
Although you know the snow will follow
Deep in december it's nice to remember
Without a hurt, the heart is hollow
Deep in december it's nice to remember
The fire of september that made you mellow
Deep in december our hearts should remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh
Follow, oh-oh
IN closingDesiderata does not kNOw whether to cry or laugh today. I guess September mornings are too precious for me in shedding tears for these politicians and their Damned Lies and Statitics, so I'll remember mGf in the plural. Greetings to ALL myGOoDfRiends out here numbering more than ten -- hence after counting on my fingers (including two Golden Index!), I'm now counting the toes on my two feet. Wonder if I'll reach Twenty. Yes, I'm just SweetSeventen. No, I'm not fe-mail. I'm just Me-and I-and-Another, SweetSeptember. OR maybe that SS is You?
To help thee Laugh a Li'l, go back to that CHALLENGE 4 -- I've added some more CLUES&Hints in COMMENTS. SeYa after my non-CON BF!
Lies, damned lies and statistics
""**BENJAMIN Disraeli, Prime Minister of England from 1874 to 1880, was reported by Mark Twain to have in frustration uttered this wonderful line about statistical analysis: "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics".
"This famous aphorism was later adapted as the title of a book Damned Lies and Statistics by Joel Best, published in 2001 by the University of California. In it, Best wrote on how to spot bad statistics and think critically about those numbers that are dished out by those in the business of churning out numbers."
He also wrote in an article in The Chronicle Review, a US-based academic publication: "Some statistics are born bad - they aren't much good from the start, because they are based on nothing more than guesses or dubious data. Other statistics mutate; they become bad after being mangled.
"Statistics, then, have a bad reputation. We suspect that statistics may be wrong, that people who use statistics may be 'lying' - trying to manipulate us by using numbers to somehow distort the truth. Yet at the same time we need statistics, we depend upon them to summarise and clarify the nature of our complex society."
"We decided to quote Best, whose book was a seminal work in the field of interpreting statistics, to discuss an issue that has been bugging us and some other newspaper publishers - readership numbers.
"Readers of this newspaper would remember the series of articles we published several months ago questioning the credibility of newspaper readership numbers provided by a research company.
"How can it be that newspapers which have circulation figures (number of copies sold or distributed) only twice ours, have readership that is four to six times bigger? The research firm has extrapolated (Best will probably call it nothing more than guesses), that while each copy of theSun and the NST has between 1.5 to two readers, each copy of other newspapers have close to four readers per copy.
DESIDERATA's beef today is NOT in siding these two nwspapers -- who may be adopting the common stance politicians always use -- Let's gang up today to face OUR common enemy. Our own battles with each other can wait.
In the early days, Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) statitistics were the numbers used to guide advertising.
But in the last decade, there is new competition, which by the way, has given rise to CONTENTION. But contention is good. It gives rise to more than one side of the story. It leads to what Desiderata has always promoted: the CLASH OF THE MINDS, and no one would be a loser.
I don't kNOw why newspapers only look at the TWO SIDES on the story now on this readership versus circulation figures. They failed to achieve balance in political and social issues coverage -- like Government versus Opposition views --, and they now want understanding from the public about their woes when things don't go their way.
Read this from theSun and the NST's common rival, I summarised from THE STAR August 24, 2005:
NEWSPAPER READERSHIP FIGURES SHOW THE STAR IN THE LEAD
"THE STAR has strengthened its position as Malaysia’s leading English daily by gaining another 21,000 readers for 2Q 2005 compared with the 1Q 2005, The latest statistics released by international media research agency, AC Nilesen, on August 23, 2005 was reported by THE STAR August 24, 2005, which showed THE STAR’s daily readership rising Q1 to Q2 by 2 per cent to 1,161,000 from 1,140,100. The figures showed the NEW STRAITS TIMES’ readership falling by 25,000 or 7 per cent to 331,000 from 356,000 while MALAY MAIL’s fell by 5,000 or 4 per cent to 131,000 from 136,000. Readership of THE SUN, which is distributed free, was flat at 224,000."
I'm letting my EsteemedReaders judge which parties should be given the benefit of the doubt. As far as I'm concerned, my quetsion goes back to UMNO YOUTH and PETRONAS in issues which are bigger than what the bloody media are fighting about!
I'm sorry if I sound like a record player re-playing the same song, but THIS SONG is the Rakyat's bread-and-butter issues. Desi explains why.
(1) PETRONAS
The national oil corporation is a netbeneficiary whenever the world market oil price rises, but the Governmnet keep quoting statitstics that its oil subsidies cannot be sustained and hence the pump prices for petrol and diesel must rise in tandem.
Desi's contention since the country exports more oil -- of better grades and hence commanding higher prices -- the net effect of any oil price will see MALAYSIA GETTING MORE REVENUE. WE SHOULD CELEBRATE EVERY TIME THERE IS A PRICE INCREASE IN WORLD OIL PRICES.
The only trouble is that the Government is telling us only half-truths. The trouble is that in the cenarionn when world prices fell, our pump prices did NOT fall in tandem. SO WHAT GIVES?
That's Desiderata's first cut of beef for today.
(2) UMNO YOUTH
At the recent UMNO general assembly, the now infamous holder of that bloody keris Hishamuddin Hussein bleated out the figure of 18-19percent that the Bumiputera share equity amounts to today, still way before the target of 30percent set in 1970, the start of the New Economic Policy.
Based on this "smart" statistic, this UMNO Youth chief went on to call for the revival of the NEP, which many quarters have lamented had contributed largely to the birth, enhancement of the subsidy mentality, the rent-seeking and commission-collection abuses as prominently shown by the Approved Permits issue (thanks to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, we must give credit where credit's due.)
But raising DESIDERATA's HOPE was this genteleman UMNO lesser chief Shaberry Cheek who revealed that the Bumiputera equity stake was already attained at 18-19percent way back in 1985. So Desi's question that follows logically is: Has the Bumi stake stood still in percentage terms for bloody 20 short years fom 1985 to 2005.
I might as well bury my head with the OZ ostriches if any reader belives in this myth that the keris-wielding chieftain has raised. I believe Hishamuddin (also our Education Minister, BTW) has conveniently excluded those Bumi stakes held by Government-linked Companies, which are HIGHLY CAPITALISED. Allso others, federal and tsate=owned agencies, statory bodies and investment agencies, all holding equities on trust for Bumiputera interests (and individuals?). Desi would venture to guess that if all these other equities were inlcuded in the proper manner, open and transparent, the Bumiputera stake of 30percent had already been reached, maybe even surpassed. I really don't kNOw, becuase nobody in the authorised position, wants to tell.
My second cut of beef today is that these politicians have just been doing what Disraeli had been saying all along, and thanks to Mark Twain's good reporting, (like Desi?, we EsteemedReaders have much Food for Thought. I apologise for wracking, not wrecking!, on this lazy, hazy Saturday morn. September morn, time to Try to Remember.
And to pehaps Capture for Many the Nostalgia, and Highs (and Lows, were there any?) of those heydays of Youthful, maybe Wanton even (hey, not wantan, dont think Makan-Makan only, brudder dan sidar!) and Drifting Idealism, I dedicate this following song to those who sacrificed their resources and time, nay, even some wounded and battered, hungry, bodies, for The Truth. Lies, damned lies, and statistics, indeed:
From the musical "the
Fantasticks"
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain so yellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a young and a callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh
Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh
Deep in December it's nice to remember
Although you know the snow will follow
Deep in december it's nice to remember
Without a hurt, the heart is hollow
Deep in december it's nice to remember
The fire of september that made you mellow
Deep in december our hearts should remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh
Follow, oh-oh
IN closingDesiderata does not kNOw whether to cry or laugh today. I guess September mornings are too precious for me in shedding tears for these politicians and their Damned Lies and Statitics, so I'll remember mGf in the plural. Greetings to ALL myGOoDfRiends out here numbering more than ten -- hence after counting on my fingers (including two Golden Index!), I'm now counting the toes on my two feet. Wonder if I'll reach Twenty. Yes, I'm just SweetSeventen. No, I'm not fe-mail. I'm just Me-and I-and-Another, SweetSeptember. OR maybe that SS is You?
To help thee Laugh a Li'l, go back to that CHALLENGE 4 -- I've added some more CLUES&Hints in COMMENTS. SeYa after my non-CON BF!
Saturday, September 03, 2005
September Morn A Year Ago
STARTING yesterday, it's been for this SCRIBE a postal mood of nostalgia,random thoughts, and wanderings. The preceding week has seen Desi through deep involvement with some fellow Bloggers in reflecting on the nation's problems, issues and challenges -- and the picture is NOT one of optimism, Yes, there is HOPE yet. Desi has urged mGf to look for those silver linings behind the clouds. We must have faith. We must persevere, for MALAYSIA IS OUR LAND.
Today DESIDERATA confides wit his EsteemedReaders that there are two months in a year which are of special significance to Desiderata. One is May -- from moment to moment, as poets become especially romantic, prolific, productive?
Then September, and yesterday begins a cycle of another 30 days of remembrance, of days gone by, of nostalgia, of Paris in the Spring Time?
I won't say much more but intimate to dear Readers if there is a month during which My Wish would come true, it's that September will ne'er leave me again. I would like to be warmed up for the Supreme Ecstasy, I wonder myself if My Wish will come true?
Do you remember what was an important event that was of significance this day exactly a year ago?
FORMER DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Saudara ANWAR IBRAHIM was released from prison after serving six years on corruption charges, which he later appealed to ahave the case reviewed for a possible vindication. He was not successful. But he later won a moral victory of sorts when a High Court found the writer (and his wife) guilty of defamation for writing the book "Fifty Reasons Why Anwar Ibrahim Cannot Be Prime Minister".(Which had triggered his quick fall from Grace, but that's another phase in the nation's history we all know very well, but few truly could fathom and understand.) Just for the record, the court also awarded damages totally RM4.5million to the politician now on a comeback trail.
Significannt because for Desiderata, this was a man who had struggled to obtain his freedom against many odds and many hurdles. This is LIFE. Man Proposes, God Disposes, remember? Should you stumble and fall, there is a LESSON here to learn from a fellow Malaysian who rose to almost the hihest peak possible in national office on Malaysian shore, but made to fall flat on his face, not really of his own doing, but for the frailties of other Malaysians.
May be be protected from such vile fellow Homo sapiens and viler circumstances, and the vilest of all, Man's Inhumanity to Man. Save us from such similar tribulations.
I: i
S: say
A: amen.
Greetings to Saudara Anwar Ibrahim and family for a Blessed Future..
Neil Diamond Lyrics
September Morn
Stay for just a while
Stay and let me look at you
It's been so long, I hardly knew you
Standing in the door
Stay with me a while
I only wanna talk to you
We've traveled halfway 'round the world
To find ourselves again
September morn
We danced until the night
Became a brand new day
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
Look at what you've done
Why, you've become a grown-up girl
I still can hear you crying
In a corner of your room
And look how far we've come
So far from where we used to be
But not so far that we've forgotten
How it was before
September morn
Do you remember
How we danced that night away
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
September morn
We danced until the night
Became a brand new day
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
September morn
We danced until the night
Became a brand new day
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
TODAY IN HISTORY IS ALSO A DAY OF HOPE AND LAUGHTER FOR DESIDERATA -- THE WRITER, and mayhaps, the POET-ASPIRANT in him (see, I don't kNOw why, I'm using the THIRD PERSON -- because we (that means all myGOodfRiends) are still much alive and kicking, having just celebrated OUR JOINT 48TH BIRTHDAY!
Now get back to a MORE ENJOYABLE pastime, to THAT CHALLENGE 4, which continues with more C(G)LUES ...
Today DESIDERATA confides wit his EsteemedReaders that there are two months in a year which are of special significance to Desiderata. One is May -- from moment to moment, as poets become especially romantic, prolific, productive?
Then September, and yesterday begins a cycle of another 30 days of remembrance, of days gone by, of nostalgia, of Paris in the Spring Time?
I won't say much more but intimate to dear Readers if there is a month during which My Wish would come true, it's that September will ne'er leave me again. I would like to be warmed up for the Supreme Ecstasy, I wonder myself if My Wish will come true?
Do you remember what was an important event that was of significance this day exactly a year ago?
FORMER DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Saudara ANWAR IBRAHIM was released from prison after serving six years on corruption charges, which he later appealed to ahave the case reviewed for a possible vindication. He was not successful. But he later won a moral victory of sorts when a High Court found the writer (and his wife) guilty of defamation for writing the book "Fifty Reasons Why Anwar Ibrahim Cannot Be Prime Minister".(Which had triggered his quick fall from Grace, but that's another phase in the nation's history we all know very well, but few truly could fathom and understand.) Just for the record, the court also awarded damages totally RM4.5million to the politician now on a comeback trail.
Significannt because for Desiderata, this was a man who had struggled to obtain his freedom against many odds and many hurdles. This is LIFE. Man Proposes, God Disposes, remember? Should you stumble and fall, there is a LESSON here to learn from a fellow Malaysian who rose to almost the hihest peak possible in national office on Malaysian shore, but made to fall flat on his face, not really of his own doing, but for the frailties of other Malaysians.
May be be protected from such vile fellow Homo sapiens and viler circumstances, and the vilest of all, Man's Inhumanity to Man. Save us from such similar tribulations.
I: i
S: say
A: amen.
Greetings to Saudara Anwar Ibrahim and family for a Blessed Future..
Neil Diamond Lyrics
September Morn
Stay for just a while
Stay and let me look at you
It's been so long, I hardly knew you
Standing in the door
Stay with me a while
I only wanna talk to you
We've traveled halfway 'round the world
To find ourselves again
September morn
We danced until the night
Became a brand new day
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
Look at what you've done
Why, you've become a grown-up girl
I still can hear you crying
In a corner of your room
And look how far we've come
So far from where we used to be
But not so far that we've forgotten
How it was before
September morn
Do you remember
How we danced that night away
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
September morn
We danced until the night
Became a brand new day
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
September morn
We danced until the night
Became a brand new day
Two lovers playing scenes
From some romantic play
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
September morning
Still can make me feel that way
TODAY IN HISTORY IS ALSO A DAY OF HOPE AND LAUGHTER FOR DESIDERATA -- THE WRITER, and mayhaps, the POET-ASPIRANT in him (see, I don't kNOw why, I'm using the THIRD PERSON -- because we (that means all myGOodfRiends) are still much alive and kicking, having just celebrated OUR JOINT 48TH BIRTHDAY!
Now get back to a MORE ENJOYABLE pastime, to THAT CHALLENGE 4, which continues with more C(G)LUES ...
Friday, September 02, 2005
CHALLENGE 4 -- MORE C(G)LUES!
As Desiderata closed shop about 1/2hour before midnight Malayssian time September 1, 2005, my LAST COMMENT reads:
desiderata said...
SweetSpirit:
ALL PLAYERS, READ THIS WITH CARE:
A COUPLET POEM IS GIVEN BELOW
to the First Poem,
Giving DIRECT CLUES to Glue the Jigsaw puzzle TOGETHER!
********Me and SS are two of a kind
We help each other to raise RM20million
For that OUR I-ISLAND
She in OZ, me in Msia
No MalAustralysia, no AustraMalia
The COMBO has to reach a final place
A bit dissect-ed, still rising,
Up.Up & Away!********
To Sabrina's attempt,and Kyels, too,
Desi also answered thus, jestfully:
desiderata said...
"""Sab& Kyels -- a fine Combo yes, as my Slaves
Not for the Name, you aren't there Nyet,Desi's knaves.
Good try -- the Prinsip is Right, but the Combo is wrong.
You seem a wee bit confused.But Kyels is even more CONfused, making Desi more Amused!
Maybe a GoodNite's Sleep will do BOTH thee well
Sab-don't allow Kyels thy mind to swell
Other CONversationists from 2 countries
But their NICKS are Twain dissect-ED!
See thee Tomorrow then
A Name staring thee in the face
SS and Desi also can! """
DESIDERATA'S GUIDE: ALL PLAYERS, Start from Scratch, on a Clean Slate:
Read the Couplet Poem together with the following:
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
ADVICE: Clear your mind, Start Afresh
So far, many readers like Howsy, Boringest, Fashionasia, Primrose, even late-comers like Sabrina, have at least grasped the clue
of
(1)Mark Twain -- suggesting duo, two
(2) Sab has tried combining Sab (her own nick) with kyels,another regular CONversationist at Desi's, but I've answered SweetSpirit, to REDIRECT ALL PLAYERS with NEW CLUES TO GLUE THE ANSWER TOGETHER.
You should approach step, by patient step, using the Scientific Method, now.
Deadline is midnight, Saturday 3 September, and the answer will be given on Sunday 4 September 2005, via desiderata.english, Insya-Allah! God Willing, TienGongYiYan?
ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!
enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy!
PS (added on at 11.42am):)to BORING-EST:)
""**Utopia = paradise?
Song of a Roaring Itching Nitching Geek = no such song - none
So combining the words "paradise none" which is actually quite true since there's no such thing as a paradise or utopia in that sense, I get:
"PANORADINE" **""
I said I like PANORADINE -- sounds sexy and feminine, reminds me of My Darlin' CLEMENTINE!
You reproduced WRONGLY. being a li'l careless there, but I lead thee on, because you are NOT BORING AT ALL!
Song Of A Roaring Itching Nitching Geek, yes, I agree no such song, but there is a BIG DIFFERENCE, between what you reproduced, and MY ORIGINAL! There lies another crucial Clue!
I enjoy leading my EsteemedReaders up the Garden Path, especially Primrose, where art thou?
desiderata said...
SweetSpirit:
ALL PLAYERS, READ THIS WITH CARE:
A COUPLET POEM IS GIVEN BELOW
to the First Poem,
Giving DIRECT CLUES to Glue the Jigsaw puzzle TOGETHER!
********Me and SS are two of a kind
We help each other to raise RM20million
For that OUR I-ISLAND
She in OZ, me in Msia
No MalAustralysia, no AustraMalia
The COMBO has to reach a final place
A bit dissect-ed, still rising,
Up.Up & Away!********
To Sabrina's attempt,and Kyels, too,
Desi also answered thus, jestfully:
desiderata said...
"""Sab& Kyels -- a fine Combo yes, as my Slaves
Not for the Name, you aren't there Nyet,Desi's knaves.
Good try -- the Prinsip is Right, but the Combo is wrong.
You seem a wee bit confused.But Kyels is even more CONfused, making Desi more Amused!
Maybe a GoodNite's Sleep will do BOTH thee well
Sab-don't allow Kyels thy mind to swell
Other CONversationists from 2 countries
But their NICKS are Twain dissect-ED!
See thee Tomorrow then
A Name staring thee in the face
SS and Desi also can! """
DESIDERATA'S GUIDE: ALL PLAYERS, Start from Scratch, on a Clean Slate:
Read the Couplet Poem together with the following:
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
ADVICE: Clear your mind, Start Afresh
So far, many readers like Howsy, Boringest, Fashionasia, Primrose, even late-comers like Sabrina, have at least grasped the clue
of
(1)Mark Twain -- suggesting duo, two
(2) Sab has tried combining Sab (her own nick) with kyels,another regular CONversationist at Desi's, but I've answered SweetSpirit, to REDIRECT ALL PLAYERS with NEW CLUES TO GLUE THE ANSWER TOGETHER.
You should approach step, by patient step, using the Scientific Method, now.
Deadline is midnight, Saturday 3 September, and the answer will be given on Sunday 4 September 2005, via desiderata.english, Insya-Allah! God Willing, TienGongYiYan?
ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!
enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy! enjoy!
PS (added on at 11.42am):)to BORING-EST:)
""**Utopia = paradise?
Song of a Roaring Itching Nitching Geek = no such song - none
So combining the words "paradise none" which is actually quite true since there's no such thing as a paradise or utopia in that sense, I get:
"PANORADINE" **""
I said I like PANORADINE -- sounds sexy and feminine, reminds me of My Darlin' CLEMENTINE!
You reproduced WRONGLY. being a li'l careless there, but I lead thee on, because you are NOT BORING AT ALL!
Song Of A Roaring Itching Nitching Geek, yes, I agree no such song, but there is a BIG DIFFERENCE, between what you reproduced, and MY ORIGINAL! There lies another crucial Clue!
I enjoy leading my EsteemedReaders up the Garden Path, especially Primrose, where art thou?
BORING-EST PROVES HE'S NOT bor-ing at all!
CHALLENGE 4 CONTINUES, cos You Asked for It!
Today ('is morn, updated, to be precise!) I was delighted by JUST ONE READER!
All myGOodfRiends LET ME DOWN -- no INTEL among 'em. They want to remain I.Cows, and Desi Can't Wait till the Cows Come Home, can I?
I'm referring to CHALLENGE FOUR
I need answers answers, yes, some MORE
Otherwise, I'd keep my promise of ALMOST PERSUADED
I'd stop Sundaes, Desiderata.English, I'm VERY TIRED.
NOTE: I'm leaving for a CON, and I'll be back properly motivated (depressed by you I.Cowws!) ... and tell you more why I said BORING-EST is not BORING AT ALL! Now it's 9.50am, my BF partners are waiting. They don't have Desi's PAtience!
11.59am to continue
DESIDERATA came back from BF, not CON today as I'm leaving it till Sunday (Poka-i lah, a new word I leanrt from kyels, it means "Goodbye" in Russia plus i which means Me in Engrand! HaHaHa, or isit HeHeHe (laughing the Bloggersway...), I digress again, could be a black herring!:)and after responding to the Challenge 5 COMMENTS, I'm heartened to continue, now it's 11.53am at THIS POINT. See, in using the Scientific Method, one's precise and concise...;)
Now I'm heArtened because another INTEL reader, Primroses, is trying to do catch-up with BORINGEST -- whom I have introduced as "not boring at all!" ...SYABAS!
I'm reproducing the RELEVANT COMMENTS and INTERESTING ANSWERS -- still not right yet, slowly getting there, NUDGING Prim...and Boring....,
BUT DESIDERATA has EDITED his responses leaving only MORE CLUES and BLACK HERRINGS. ENJOY, but please exercise your brains,you o'lady enjoyed one HolyDay for Merdeka, get back to Work! -- God gave each a Beautifuk Mind wat, you can let Desi down, but don't let the One Up There down-lah!
*****
"DEADLINE CHALLENGE 4 DILANJUTKAN SEBAB 'YOU ASKED FOR IT!'"
17 Comments (IRrelevat ones delted! and Desi's responses amended to read gramtically correct as humanly as possible...)
Imran said.....(paraphrased here to cut to the chase: You punya Bahasa sangat kuat lol! Aksinya tunjuk lingo negara kita ini. Carryon brudder!
Desi said: Terima kasih, dan Dua TTarik kepada brudder ini! Tetapi, mana Jawapan murtabak anda?
Boringest :| said...
Are we supposed to guess the name of your I-land?
I don't really get this since I'm pretty new to your blog...but here's my answer:
1. Is it Fathom?
Reasoning: Mark Twain is actually a nick by the famous author Samuel Langhorne Clemens and its origins came from his years on the riverboat, where 2 fathoms (a measurement unit) was marked by calling "mark twain".
Fathom can also mean 'come to understand'.
Is this how you play it?
Desi said:
hi borigest:
Let me say you light up my day being the First Serious Acceptor attempting to guess, yes, the NAME (nama, ya!) of OUR I-LAND.
(Added on now in this Thursday Update scheduled for 11.59am......YES, that's how you play it!)
You are starting right ...two more attempts are still available ...You really need to go line, by patient line, through the Po-emm, hmmm, to frame the pieces together ...If you read from the beginning of an Exam test question that started all these quizes, (read one sunday desiderata.english column ...2 or 1 week ago?) and you'd know I mentioned Sherlock Holmes.
You're jsut at first two lines ...Mark Twain ..what does twain suggest, for example, See, I'm leading you on ...and this is NO DIGRESSION, I hope other readers are reading this, otherwise the advantage is yours, and yours alone, Boringest; put on your thinking cap, maybe think like Hercule Poirot ..Ten Little Indians came for supper ... think most of you know the rest!
ENJOY! The Booker Prize A CHALLENGE TO LOVE is itching to land in one smartreader's hands. I'm lazy to concoct Challenge 5, or as I said, I'm ALMOST PERSUADED to discontinue my Sunday's .......!
CHEERS, and One Teh Tarik kurang manis for thee, as is the tradition for first time visitors at Desi's Place ... MistyEiz, satu TehTarik lagi!
Boringest :| said...
Man, I'm still puzzled. Is it a real word or is it a made-up word? And how do you decide to piece together the different words?
Anyway, here's my 2nd attempt:
|A combo from Mark Twain
|dissected-nick
twain can mean a couple, duo, 2 things of the same kind.
|Commonest yet chick
|To attain that Utopia
|Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
|Perhaps not, just a trick
|Mayhaps
unity? to achieve Utopia...
|Song Of A Roaring
|Itching Nitching Geek
|To Our Final ‘hore
|Can’t give more .
don't really understand this, closest i can link to is a comment about rock-and-roll by Eric Hobsbawm?
"... the habitual rock-and-roll fan, unless mentally rather retarded, tends to be between ten and 15 years of age..." - Eric Hobsbawm, one of the most influential historian alive today who wrote Age of Revolution,
Capital, Empire and Exremes.
So my answers with the bunch of words above combined together is:
2. dunirock?
sweetspirit said...
I thought this was going to be easy haha now im confused again tsk tsk,,
cheerz
desiderata said...
bruder Boringest:
Hey, you're my sort of sparring partner, if you're femail --? I DIGRESS, which is a luxury of a Blogge, but now I shall not stray!
You are applying the right approach --
I'm gladdened FINALLY one reader's listening! You're FATHOMING my clues, which is what Sherlock would do.
Now, let's see:
(1) You got the "twain" RIGHT!
FANTASTIC!
BUTT that's only the First Step!!
You then gave an answer DUNIrock, which is,YES, a COMBO, meaning a COMBINATION,....so, now Gostan and study, mGf, line by line, and apply the (similar method of...)reasoning. DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP of seeking complicated answers, it's all within the posts since Day 1 of my Challenge. I don't know if you have the TIME, but I think if you do, go back and see how HOWSY answered the first challenge and compared it with Desi's and see how they match.
I awarded Howsy 1/2 a point, but what GOoD is 1/2 a CHALLENGE to LOVE?
I like thee, Boringest -- you dont live up to thy nama, which is fine by me! I enjoy INTERESTING MINDS, you have a Beaut1, make it more Beaut so we can all ENJOY the company on OUR I-LAND the NAME or NAMA which we unanimously follow leader DESIDERATA's choice, which is ...................ah, Maybe the sacred will be announced on Sunday, maybe not, because I think I await my Regular IgnorantCowwws to come home to give me some intelLIGENT ATTEMPTS, or I may quit! That's not a threat, just an Almost Persuasion, OK?
Ne'er mind, GORINGEST-est, can I add that's another rhetorical Q; OK, I'll leave you will the puzzle.
Remember, Agatha Chrisite in her story leaves many spoiler red-herrings, Me, I imitate her by leaving black ones, like trick and MALAUSTRAYSIA.
Seya again, soon, but NOT2SOON, cos you really need to THINK. THINK. THINK.
desiderata said...
PS to BORINGEST:
You backgrounded on Bobs (wrong name, ne'er mind, not relevant or important ... ) so I can accept rock.
But how does DUNI come in?-- I read and re-read your RAT-tionale, it did not point me to any DUNI...or suddenly I'm also stumped, I lost thee there!
But thanks anyway, I'm going to grab his BOOK, or I'd to Xchange with 1ofmiyDogEared1s with thee? I'm a came-out-of-the-closet SOCIALIST, Man, hope you like1! Hey, the social part, not THAT closet, OK! (Where's THE TIGER who nicked me thus? I wish he'd join this Agatha's Party!)And in party, HOWSY, where art thou? Even if you guess'd 1/2 right, I'd present you the BOOKER PRIZE.
I'm in a generous mood today, Boringest, for trying so hard, I'll give you 2 more attempts!That means you give me a well-reasoned RATIONALE for first answer, plus name the other 2. OK?
PPS: Your two attempts so far earn thee 1/4 point, and 2 more TTarik to you, hey MistyEiz, hurry, where art thou? Many of these ppl are away on another I-LAND for merdeka break, They have real freedom!
desiderata said...
Sister SweetSpirit:
You kNOw me Desi so well, and the asnwer is partly fronting thy eyes!
If only you'd 4!
I am not going to MIS(s)lead you more
Go gentle on thy eyes, don't make 'em sore.
BUTt you've gotten up from ty butTs, so TRY1, 2 and 3! So far you've just commented, now I need ANSWERed!
Primrose said...
Difficult. Very difficult. I have a funny non-complicating way of seeing the 'pome'.
I bypassed Mark Twain but guessed on dissected nick. Dissected? Malaysia is dissected alright. There's east and there's west. Since you "hinted" for us to look at twain, twain suggests two/twin/duo. And with east and west combined, we attain "utopia"? *shrug*
Song of a roaring. Hmm well, we have tigers on our lambang and Singapore has a Merlion. Singapore WAS part of Malaysia (though I'm not sure if I should include Singapore cos then it suggests a triplet). So I put east, west and south together.
Masasingasia? Well, not as glamourous-sounding as Malaustraysia though.
*still cracking*
Dangerous Variable said...
I am lost and I am confused. Not used to Mark Twain although I know who he is.... hmmm
puzzled...
Primrose said...
When I made my first guess of Singamerica, I had in mind Singapore and those SPG (Sarong Party girls in answer to commonest chick). Hehe! And probably USA came in mind at the mention of Mark Twain and "geek". So off the path, aye? Can't wait for answers. Don't postpone anymore lerrr...
desiderata said...
Hey, PrimRose (2X), hence righto, Primroses!
I see you've gotten the right track, using the Scientific Methhod, you ran alongside my latest comer BORINGEST, 1/4 point to thee. HOWSY still leads with 1/2.
Primrose, I like all your earlier answers -- they came with the RAT-tinales, you also dis-sected the CLUES, but you're off te path, yes, and off the right direction. Which two countries are in MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Nah, not Singa or Americano lands! Nah, nah!
Back to the Challenge 4, mayhaps you study Boringest's answer, how he disssected Mark Twain, that was the RIGHT FIRST STEP, and I volunteered an accompanying clue about the COMBO; take it line, by patient line, from there.
Maybe you join forces with Boringest and hey, it becomes Sherlock Home-mis! or Sherlock HomeRose, whatever, also a COMBO; See?!
Boringest, PLEASE read this response and study Primrose's answers, your system is correct, hers too, BOTH OF YOU dissect-ed Mark Twain well; CONgrats1!&congrats2!!but don't crack your brains TOO HARD, the answer is simpler than you BOTH THINK. THINK. THINK!
While I started a few minutes before 11.50am, I finished this UPDATE at 12.30pm, so before I say Adieu, but not Goodbye, here's my last counsel:
The NEW CLUES are in BOLD (ie HIGHLIGHTED, like this word!)
And to Dangaerous V: -- change the V from Variable to Victory, NO?
Seya back at about 11.00pm for another UPDATE, provided more of the IgnorantCowws don't ignore Poor Desi any-more!! Only SweeetSpirits is CONSTANT. The first time she tried, she fired me the Wrong Answer THREE TIMES!!! Hey, now I demand 3 DIFFERENT ATTEMPTS of the name (nama in Bahasa Malaysia, I'm teAching my Oz fRiend some of Our Proud National Language, see Desi's patriotic, bruder IM, yes? "Semuanya Ya!"
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!
For current Acceptors to the Challenge, post your Answers (three allowed, with the RAT-tionale to go with (1) only, a mosey-one also can!) via the COMMENTS for this updated post.
PS added at 2.30pm:
Just a LIGHT DIVERSION to loosen up thy brains, sent over by one Brudder who's nothing to do while waiting at the KLIA for one Coww to get home by plane, yes, a Cow travellin' by MAS, and it's NOT making money, I can't faham, i.e for Fathom, Boringest lingo:
***>>>A stranger was seated next to Little Johnny on the plane when the
>>>stranger turned to the Little Johnny and said, "Let's talk. I've
>>>heard that flights will go quicker if you strike up a conversation
>>>with your fellow passenger."
>>>Little Johnny, who had just opened his book, closed it slowly, and
>>>said to the stranger, "What would you like to discuss?"
>>>"Oh, I don't know," said the stranger. "How about nuclear power?"
>>>"OK," said Little Johnny. "That could be an interesting topic. But
>>>let me ask you a question first. "A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat
>>>grass.
>>>The same stuff.
>>>Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat
>>>patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose
>>>that is?"
>>>"Jeez," said the stranger. "I have no idea."
>>>"Well, then," said Little Johnny, "How is it that you feel qualified
>>>to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?"
*** From a source unknown, could be a Less I.Cow.
Today ('is morn, updated, to be precise!) I was delighted by JUST ONE READER!
All myGOodfRiends LET ME DOWN -- no INTEL among 'em. They want to remain I.Cows, and Desi Can't Wait till the Cows Come Home, can I?
I'm referring to CHALLENGE FOUR
I need answers answers, yes, some MORE
Otherwise, I'd keep my promise of ALMOST PERSUADED
I'd stop Sundaes, Desiderata.English, I'm VERY TIRED.
NOTE: I'm leaving for a CON, and I'll be back properly motivated (depressed by you I.Cowws!) ... and tell you more why I said BORING-EST is not BORING AT ALL! Now it's 9.50am, my BF partners are waiting. They don't have Desi's PAtience!
11.59am to continue
DESIDERATA came back from BF, not CON today as I'm leaving it till Sunday (Poka-i lah, a new word I leanrt from kyels, it means "Goodbye" in Russia plus i which means Me in Engrand! HaHaHa, or isit HeHeHe (laughing the Bloggersway...), I digress again, could be a black herring!:)and after responding to the Challenge 5 COMMENTS, I'm heartened to continue, now it's 11.53am at THIS POINT. See, in using the Scientific Method, one's precise and concise...;)
Now I'm heArtened because another INTEL reader, Primroses, is trying to do catch-up with BORINGEST -- whom I have introduced as "not boring at all!" ...SYABAS!
I'm reproducing the RELEVANT COMMENTS and INTERESTING ANSWERS -- still not right yet, slowly getting there, NUDGING Prim...and Boring....,
BUT DESIDERATA has EDITED his responses leaving only MORE CLUES and BLACK HERRINGS. ENJOY, but please exercise your brains,you o'lady enjoyed one HolyDay for Merdeka, get back to Work! -- God gave each a Beautifuk Mind wat, you can let Desi down, but don't let the One Up There down-lah!
*****
"DEADLINE CHALLENGE 4 DILANJUTKAN SEBAB 'YOU ASKED FOR IT!'"
17 Comments (IRrelevat ones delted! and Desi's responses amended to read gramtically correct as humanly as possible...)
Imran said.....(paraphrased here to cut to the chase: You punya Bahasa sangat kuat lol! Aksinya tunjuk lingo negara kita ini. Carryon brudder!
Desi said: Terima kasih, dan Dua TTarik kepada brudder ini! Tetapi, mana Jawapan murtabak anda?
Boringest :| said...
Are we supposed to guess the name of your I-land?
I don't really get this since I'm pretty new to your blog...but here's my answer:
1. Is it Fathom?
Reasoning: Mark Twain is actually a nick by the famous author Samuel Langhorne Clemens and its origins came from his years on the riverboat, where 2 fathoms (a measurement unit) was marked by calling "mark twain".
Fathom can also mean 'come to understand'.
Is this how you play it?
Desi said:
hi borigest:
Let me say you light up my day being the First Serious Acceptor attempting to guess, yes, the NAME (nama, ya!) of OUR I-LAND.
(Added on now in this Thursday Update scheduled for 11.59am......YES, that's how you play it!)
You are starting right ...two more attempts are still available ...You really need to go line, by patient line, through the Po-emm, hmmm, to frame the pieces together ...If you read from the beginning of an Exam test question that started all these quizes, (read one sunday desiderata.english column ...2 or 1 week ago?) and you'd know I mentioned Sherlock Holmes.
You're jsut at first two lines ...Mark Twain ..what does twain suggest, for example, See, I'm leading you on ...and this is NO DIGRESSION, I hope other readers are reading this, otherwise the advantage is yours, and yours alone, Boringest; put on your thinking cap, maybe think like Hercule Poirot ..Ten Little Indians came for supper ... think most of you know the rest!
ENJOY! The Booker Prize A CHALLENGE TO LOVE is itching to land in one smartreader's hands. I'm lazy to concoct Challenge 5, or as I said, I'm ALMOST PERSUADED to discontinue my Sunday's .......!
CHEERS, and One Teh Tarik kurang manis for thee, as is the tradition for first time visitors at Desi's Place ... MistyEiz, satu TehTarik lagi!
Boringest :| said...
Man, I'm still puzzled. Is it a real word or is it a made-up word? And how do you decide to piece together the different words?
Anyway, here's my 2nd attempt:
|A combo from Mark Twain
|dissected-nick
twain can mean a couple, duo, 2 things of the same kind.
|Commonest yet chick
|To attain that Utopia
|Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
|Perhaps not, just a trick
|Mayhaps
unity? to achieve Utopia...
|Song Of A Roaring
|Itching Nitching Geek
|To Our Final ‘hore
|Can’t give more .
don't really understand this, closest i can link to is a comment about rock-and-roll by Eric Hobsbawm?
"... the habitual rock-and-roll fan, unless mentally rather retarded, tends to be between ten and 15 years of age..." - Eric Hobsbawm, one of the most influential historian alive today who wrote Age of Revolution,
Capital, Empire and Exremes.
So my answers with the bunch of words above combined together is:
2. dunirock?
sweetspirit said...
I thought this was going to be easy haha now im confused again tsk tsk,,
cheerz
desiderata said...
bruder Boringest:
Hey, you're my sort of sparring partner, if you're femail --? I DIGRESS, which is a luxury of a Blogge, but now I shall not stray!
You are applying the right approach --
I'm gladdened FINALLY one reader's listening! You're FATHOMING my clues, which is what Sherlock would do.
Now, let's see:
(1) You got the "twain" RIGHT!
FANTASTIC!
BUTT that's only the First Step!!
You then gave an answer DUNIrock, which is,YES, a COMBO, meaning a COMBINATION,....so, now Gostan and study, mGf, line by line, and apply the (similar method of...)reasoning. DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP of seeking complicated answers, it's all within the posts since Day 1 of my Challenge. I don't know if you have the TIME, but I think if you do, go back and see how HOWSY answered the first challenge and compared it with Desi's and see how they match.
I awarded Howsy 1/2 a point, but what GOoD is 1/2 a CHALLENGE to LOVE?
I like thee, Boringest -- you dont live up to thy nama, which is fine by me! I enjoy INTERESTING MINDS, you have a Beaut1, make it more Beaut so we can all ENJOY the company on OUR I-LAND the NAME or NAMA which we unanimously follow leader DESIDERATA's choice, which is ...................ah, Maybe the sacred will be announced on Sunday, maybe not, because I think I await my Regular IgnorantCowwws to come home to give me some intelLIGENT ATTEMPTS, or I may quit! That's not a threat, just an Almost Persuasion, OK?
Ne'er mind, GORINGEST-est, can I add that's another rhetorical Q; OK, I'll leave you will the puzzle.
Remember, Agatha Chrisite in her story leaves many spoiler red-herrings, Me, I imitate her by leaving black ones, like trick and MALAUSTRAYSIA.
Seya again, soon, but NOT2SOON, cos you really need to THINK. THINK. THINK.
desiderata said...
PS to BORINGEST:
You backgrounded on Bobs (wrong name, ne'er mind, not relevant or important ... ) so I can accept rock.
But how does DUNI come in?-- I read and re-read your RAT-tionale, it did not point me to any DUNI...or suddenly I'm also stumped, I lost thee there!
But thanks anyway, I'm going to grab his BOOK, or I'd to Xchange with 1ofmiyDogEared1s with thee? I'm a came-out-of-the-closet SOCIALIST, Man, hope you like1! Hey, the social part, not THAT closet, OK! (Where's THE TIGER who nicked me thus? I wish he'd join this Agatha's Party!)And in party, HOWSY, where art thou? Even if you guess'd 1/2 right, I'd present you the BOOKER PRIZE.
I'm in a generous mood today, Boringest, for trying so hard, I'll give you 2 more attempts!That means you give me a well-reasoned RATIONALE for first answer, plus name the other 2. OK?
PPS: Your two attempts so far earn thee 1/4 point, and 2 more TTarik to you, hey MistyEiz, hurry, where art thou? Many of these ppl are away on another I-LAND for merdeka break, They have real freedom!
desiderata said...
Sister SweetSpirit:
You kNOw me Desi so well, and the asnwer is partly fronting thy eyes!
If only you'd 4!
I am not going to MIS(s)lead you more
Go gentle on thy eyes, don't make 'em sore.
BUTt you've gotten up from ty butTs, so TRY1, 2 and 3! So far you've just commented, now I need ANSWERed!
Primrose said...
Difficult. Very difficult. I have a funny non-complicating way of seeing the 'pome'.
I bypassed Mark Twain but guessed on dissected nick. Dissected? Malaysia is dissected alright. There's east and there's west. Since you "hinted" for us to look at twain, twain suggests two/twin/duo. And with east and west combined, we attain "utopia"? *shrug*
Song of a roaring. Hmm well, we have tigers on our lambang and Singapore has a Merlion. Singapore WAS part of Malaysia (though I'm not sure if I should include Singapore cos then it suggests a triplet). So I put east, west and south together.
Masasingasia? Well, not as glamourous-sounding as Malaustraysia though.
*still cracking*
Dangerous Variable said...
I am lost and I am confused. Not used to Mark Twain although I know who he is.... hmmm
puzzled...
Primrose said...
When I made my first guess of Singamerica, I had in mind Singapore and those SPG (Sarong Party girls in answer to commonest chick). Hehe! And probably USA came in mind at the mention of Mark Twain and "geek". So off the path, aye? Can't wait for answers. Don't postpone anymore lerrr...
desiderata said...
Hey, PrimRose (2X), hence righto, Primroses!
I see you've gotten the right track, using the Scientific Methhod, you ran alongside my latest comer BORINGEST, 1/4 point to thee. HOWSY still leads with 1/2.
Primrose, I like all your earlier answers -- they came with the RAT-tinales, you also dis-sected the CLUES, but you're off te path, yes, and off the right direction. Which two countries are in MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Nah, not Singa or Americano lands! Nah, nah!
Back to the Challenge 4, mayhaps you study Boringest's answer, how he disssected Mark Twain, that was the RIGHT FIRST STEP, and I volunteered an accompanying clue about the COMBO; take it line, by patient line, from there.
Maybe you join forces with Boringest and hey, it becomes Sherlock Home-mis! or Sherlock HomeRose, whatever, also a COMBO; See?!
Boringest, PLEASE read this response and study Primrose's answers, your system is correct, hers too, BOTH OF YOU dissect-ed Mark Twain well; CONgrats1!&congrats2!!but don't crack your brains TOO HARD, the answer is simpler than you BOTH THINK. THINK. THINK!
While I started a few minutes before 11.50am, I finished this UPDATE at 12.30pm, so before I say Adieu, but not Goodbye, here's my last counsel:
The NEW CLUES are in BOLD (ie HIGHLIGHTED, like this word!)
And to Dangaerous V: -- change the V from Variable to Victory, NO?
Seya back at about 11.00pm for another UPDATE, provided more of the IgnorantCowws don't ignore Poor Desi any-more!! Only SweeetSpirits is CONSTANT. The first time she tried, she fired me the Wrong Answer THREE TIMES!!! Hey, now I demand 3 DIFFERENT ATTEMPTS of the name (nama in Bahasa Malaysia, I'm teAching my Oz fRiend some of Our Proud National Language, see Desi's patriotic, bruder IM, yes? "Semuanya Ya!"
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!
For current Acceptors to the Challenge, post your Answers (three allowed, with the RAT-tionale to go with (1) only, a mosey-one also can!) via the COMMENTS for this updated post.
PS added at 2.30pm:
Just a LIGHT DIVERSION to loosen up thy brains, sent over by one Brudder who's nothing to do while waiting at the KLIA for one Coww to get home by plane, yes, a Cow travellin' by MAS, and it's NOT making money, I can't faham, i.e for Fathom, Boringest lingo:
***>>>A stranger was seated next to Little Johnny on the plane when the
>>>stranger turned to the Little Johnny and said, "Let's talk. I've
>>>heard that flights will go quicker if you strike up a conversation
>>>with your fellow passenger."
>>>Little Johnny, who had just opened his book, closed it slowly, and
>>>said to the stranger, "What would you like to discuss?"
>>>"Oh, I don't know," said the stranger. "How about nuclear power?"
>>>"OK," said Little Johnny. "That could be an interesting topic. But
>>>let me ask you a question first. "A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat
>>>grass.
>>>The same stuff.
>>>Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat
>>>patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose
>>>that is?"
>>>"Jeez," said the stranger. "I have no idea."
>>>"Well, then," said Little Johnny, "How is it that you feel qualified
>>>to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?"
*** From a source unknown, could be a Less I.Cow.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
DEADLINE CHALLENGE 4 DILANJUTKAN SEBAB 'YOU ASKED FOR IT!'
Desi hari ini cuna men-belog dalam Bahasa Malaysia sebab bersemanagat dengan rakan-rakan dalam Blogsworld yang telh memutuskan bersama-sama berbuat demikian pada Hari Yang BerAUSPICIOUS ini. HARI KEBANGSAAN ke-48, BERSEMANGAT MALAYSIAN KHAS INI!
Sebab YOU ASKED FOR IT!, CHALLENGE 4 DEADLINE telah dilanjutkan ke Sabtu 2nd September 2005 midnite (Saturday Sept 2 2400 hours, OK!).
Okay=lah, saya akan "Cut&PASTE' quize itu, bolehtak? (Ini adalah Rhetorical Question -- tow sa jawab-lah!) Tabiat buruk Desi ini, selalu pergi wandering, wondering, lagi MEANDERING pula semalam, buang masa je! LOLs, ini BeLOG saya, tau, jika ....bagi can-lah, saya punya Bahasa sangat rusty, so I testing-lah, MERDEKA DAY PARADE pun ada REHEARSAL kan? Saya itu tradisi bagus ni...
Coming back to Challenge 4, I'll reprise:
So, are you ready to take on the challenge?
Because YOU ASKED FOR IT, DESIDERATA obliges with the continued challenge to find a winner for that CHALLENGE TO LOVE, by Catherine De Costa, who needs no further introduction. Desi has decided, after sle-eee-eping on it for endless hours, decided on the NAME of OUR I-LAND.
The Booker Prize goes to the first among Desi’s EsteemedReaders to guess the CORRECT NAME that Desi has decided on (Hey, READ MY MIND is the name of the Game!) first via COMMENTS channel at this post. YOU MAY LIST THREE ANSWERS (1), (2) and (3). If more than one respondents get the answer right, the ranking of these 3 answers may factor in as the decider. I wonder why I am so confident that this 4th challenge will 4 any Winner. Maybe there will be CHALLENGE 5, and this is thinking aloud.
The Deadline is 2400 hours – midnite for IgnorantCowws!--Tuesday August 30, and the WINNER will be announced bright and early to welcome Merdeka Day on 31 AUGUST 2005 at 10.10am.
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!
Dengan ini, dengan ribuan-ribuan TERIMA KASIH, say ucap kepada rakan BELOGER -- Sabrina Tan, kyels & mitochondria --dan ESTEEMED READERS and CONversationists juga, yang teleh menbantu Desi "manyak-manyak" (that's how we say it at Haridas teh-tarik corner...) untuk menjayakan NATIONAL DAY PROJECT 2005!
SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA KEPADA PEMBACADI DESI'S PLACE!
Sebab YOU ASKED FOR IT!, CHALLENGE 4 DEADLINE telah dilanjutkan ke Sabtu 2nd September 2005 midnite (Saturday Sept 2 2400 hours, OK!).
Okay=lah, saya akan "Cut&PASTE' quize itu, bolehtak? (Ini adalah Rhetorical Question -- tow sa jawab-lah!) Tabiat buruk Desi ini, selalu pergi wandering, wondering, lagi MEANDERING pula semalam, buang masa je! LOLs, ini BeLOG saya, tau, jika ....bagi can-lah, saya punya Bahasa sangat rusty, so I testing-lah, MERDEKA DAY PARADE pun ada REHEARSAL kan? Saya itu tradisi bagus ni...
Coming back to Challenge 4, I'll reprise:
So, are you ready to take on the challenge?
Because YOU ASKED FOR IT, DESIDERATA obliges with the continued challenge to find a winner for that CHALLENGE TO LOVE, by Catherine De Costa, who needs no further introduction. Desi has decided, after sle-eee-eping on it for endless hours, decided on the NAME of OUR I-LAND.
The Booker Prize goes to the first among Desi’s EsteemedReaders to guess the CORRECT NAME that Desi has decided on (Hey, READ MY MIND is the name of the Game!) first via COMMENTS channel at this post. YOU MAY LIST THREE ANSWERS (1), (2) and (3). If more than one respondents get the answer right, the ranking of these 3 answers may factor in as the decider. I wonder why I am so confident that this 4th challenge will 4 any Winner. Maybe there will be CHALLENGE 5, and this is thinking aloud.
The Deadline is 2400 hours – midnite for IgnorantCowws!--Tuesday August 30, and the WINNER will be announced bright and early to welcome Merdeka Day on 31 AUGUST 2005 at 10.10am.
The Clues lie within this Poem © YLChong composed on August 24, 2005 at 8.58p.m.
CHALLENGE 4
A combo from Mark Twain
dissected-nick
Commonest yet chick
To attain that Utopia
Maybe MALAUSTRAYSIA?
Perhaps not, just a trick
Mayhaps
Song Of A Roaring
Itching Nitching Geek
To Our Final ‘hore
Can’t give more .
ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!
Dengan ini, dengan ribuan-ribuan TERIMA KASIH, say ucap kepada rakan BELOGER -- Sabrina Tan, kyels & mitochondria --dan ESTEEMED READERS and CONversationists juga, yang teleh menbantu Desi "manyak-manyak" (that's how we say it at Haridas teh-tarik corner...) untuk menjayakan NATIONAL DAY PROJECT 2005!
SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA KEPADA PEMBACADI DESI'S PLACE!
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