What did I miss

I had to lock myself in the house literally speaking today as the internal lock in my main wooden door (enter-exit) broken somehow. I can still leave the house through other exit like from the back of the kitchen or through the sliding door grilles. But it felt odd. I have called a repairman to come over my place on monday afternoon to fix it, and if it needed a new lock, then so be it, better to replace it soon then i reckon.

I was hooked on the Astro sport channel today most of the time apart from watching " Casablanca" in between on TV2 earlier. It was indeed a good movie considering that it was made during WW2 and it was actually my 1st time really got to watch most part of the movie. Bogey (Humphrey Bogart) really put that "here's looking at u kid" quote in my mind and it just kept replaying on and on. I guess i was just amazed at how good actually that movie and how funny in a wry way Bogey was. I only managed to watch him in his other movie "Sabrina" (the original make) and how deep the impact he left me. He wasnt really a looker or anything like that, not that he's all plain either. He just had this charisma of a great actor of his time. No wonder Lauren Bacall his wife never stopped swooning over him , how she can never let go of her moments with him despite his demise for nearly 5 decades.

Roger Federer won his 16th Grand Slam today too at Australian Open 2010. I had the opportunity to "wander" outside the Rod Laver stadium, Melbourne where the venue was back in sept 2007. He defeated Andy Murray in a straight set. This time he wasnt doing his all famous watershed but Andy did shed some tears. That was the 2nd time they met on a grand slam final, the 1st one was at the US Open 2008. Andy did have some advantage over Fed as in he has 6-4 winning record throughout their meeting but Fed prevailed yet again in the Grand Slam final. Not only that, he also managed to win back the AO having lost to his another famous rival, Rafael Nadal. The latter called for match retirement during his QF match against Murray. That match saw Murray already leading by 2 sets.

Serena Williams also won her 5th AO beating a former champion Justine Henin on 2-1 sets. Williams bagged another winning trophy from women's double playing side by side with her big sister Venus. That would be like a commiseration for Venus who lost during QF to Na Li, who then lost to Serena in SF. One thing for sure, once she and Fed reached the semis, i have already hoped and predicted that it would be Fed and Serena to win. And i was spot on. Double spot on!


Egypt won their African Cup Nation again too defeating Ghana by 1-0 in Angola. I was beaming with pride for my other half Nation. They deserved this win, truly, after what all that bloody commotion happened during their 1st round match with Algeria last december 2009. Good thing they trashed them algerian by 4-0 in the semi en route to final.

I just had my sahur, thats basically day 01 for the replacement fasting of Ramadhan last year. This is already into the 2nd month of the Hijriyah and the next ramadhan is like another 7 months away or so. Its ummm quite unfortunate that I had to replace a LOT of days really and so its gonna be another "big" feat to do all the missing days but I will have to no matter what. Its an obligation and its compulsory.


Blogging also has slowed down quite substantially since the last quarter of 2009. It gets so much simpler writing a few things on Facebook. I'd usually leave a few updates and my whereabouts there too. Though of course i could write more in the blog but i just cant be arsed spending time writing that much when most of my thoughts are frequently aired on FB.


I also miss London. I dunno why. When i saw movies like Bridget Jones Diary and Love Actually, everything there looked very very very familiar. Somehow there's almost not much of a "friendly" flirt here in malaysia, though I do get occassional passes and so on. I know them guys prolly think it wasnt appropriate to be that direct or so but they can be so damn stupid not taking such oppportunity to do so. Yea sure some chinese (msian and he's cute too) fella just like to stand soooo close to me while explaining about things on car at the workshop and some few other malaysian fellas dared enough to be little bit more friendly but that was it. I had a LOT more passes when i was in India, Egypt, Syria and England (to name a few countries i have visited last year) than I had in msia for the past 3 years. Are Malaysian guys so bloody slow and dimwit or what? Or that I gave them a wrong indication and wrong aura or what? I think thats prolly one of the reasons why I miss london (and other places, travelling) so much. Malaysian men and Manal Ismail prolly dont gel that well in the attraction department. Or perhaps they think i am married hence no point getting into trouble approaching me? As in there was one time when i was in sabah last year and i was almost getting interrogated on my marital status when they read in the form i wrote as single. They asked me how come a woman this beautiful like me can be single. Surely at least it was due to divorce or something or that I DO have a boyfriend, or the least would be that I am engaged.

And maybe perhaps i dont go out that much?


Just when i stop hoping but praying nonetheless for my future endeavours, one of my aunts in cairo introduced me to her office mate. He was smitten by me the 1st time he saw me. And few days before that, i went to Irbid , Jordan, visiting my 5th sister there with my mum and my old flame came over to see me there. He clearly has feelings for me still yet he needed to sort out his issues and himself too.

I think of my other old flame in london too. Saw him in my dream a couple of nights ago but he didnt really even look at me at all. He looked well, and i was happy for him. Although i think he wasnt prepared to face me. Its just too painful , too awkward to talk to someone whom u had had a very deep meaningful relationship only to end up due to some silly issues. But i think its for the best. I dont think I wanna be part of his family and he prolly deserved his own kind. Maybe he;'s married now, i dunno. Where ever he is now, I hope he's doing fine and if destiny had it, we may cross each other's path once again. I dont mind having him as friend. He is still in my FB friends list to say the least.


May this year 2010 be a much better one to me,and I wanna keep on persevere and be a better person too. And i wanna achieve more in life.

Chemically or comically atrocious?

Perhaps we should switch to something more organic and pricey body care. Or perhaps, we should do some body detox/cleansing every now and then to help remove any harmful toxic that may remain longer in our body?

From Daily Mail:

Revealed... the 515 chemicals women put on their bodies every day

Women and beauty products - it's a love affair that's been going on for centuries. And no wonder. There's nothing like a new lipstick or favourite perfume to make us look and feel good. Or so we thought...

In fact, according to a new report, most of our favourite cosmetics are cocktails of industrially produced and potentially dangerous chemicals that could damage our health and, in some cases, rather than delivering on their potent 'anti-ageing' promise, are causing us to age faster.

Research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found that the average woman's daily grooming and make-up routine means she 'hosts' a staggering 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body every single day.

Many of those are also used in products such as household cleaners, and have been linked to a number of health problems from allergies and skin sensitivity to more serious hormonal disturbances, fertility problems and even cancer.

Parabens, for example, which are designed to preserve the shelf-life of your cosmetics, are one of the most widely used preservatives in the world, and are found in shampoos, hair gels, shaving gels and body lotions. But their use is becoming increasingly controversial - a range of different studies has linked them to serious health problems including breast cancer, as well as fertility issues in men.

Research from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine suggests that some parabens we had previously presumed to be safe, such as Methylparaben, may mutate and become toxic when exposed to sunlight, causing premature skin ageing and an increased risk of skin cancer.

Methylparabens are found in more than 16,000 products, including moisturisers and toothpastes. Cosmetic producers have always defended their use of parabens on the grounds that they can't be absorbed into the body.

But many leading researchers disagree, including Dr Barbara Olioso, an independent professional chemist, who says: 'Research shows that between 20 and 60 per cent of parabens may be absorbed into the body.'

More...

• Beauty confidential: My hair is brittle and lifeless, what can I do to get back the shine?
• I'm a celebrity: From Katie Price to Kerry Katona, battle of the make-up free D-list stars
• As Boots celebrates its 160th anniversary, we look back at the rise of the High Street chemist

There are a number of laws designed to protect us from dangerous chemicals in cosmetics, but researchers worry that they don't go far enough. For example, cosmetic manufacturers are required to list their ingredients, but they don't have to tell us about any impurities found in the raw materials or used in the manufacturing process, so long as they don't end up in the finished product.

The industry insists that our cosmetics are safe. The Cosmetic Toiletries and Perfumery Association said last night: 'Stringent laws require all cosmetics to be safe, and each product undergoes a rigorous safety assessment. The number of ingredients in a product, or whether it is natural or man-made, has no bearing on how safe it is.'

They also say that any chemicals are present in safe doses that can't harm us. While that may be true, there is some disagreement over what constitutes a 'safe' level - for young people and children, or sensitive adults, these levels may not be so safe at all.

And even if the relatively small amounts in individual products don't hurt us, there is growing concern over the number of products women use daily, and the cumulative effect of so many chemicals being used all over our bodies every day, for many years.

As Charlotte Smith, spokesperson for Bionsen, says: 'Women have never been more image-conscious and their beauty regimes have changed over the years, from a simple "wash & go" attitude, to daily fake-tan applications, regular manicures, false lashes and hair extensions.

'Lots of the high-tech, new generation cosmetics and beauty "wonder" treatments naturally contain more chemicals to achieve even better results, which, of course, means women apply more chemicals than ever before.'

If you want to protect yourself from chemical overload, reduce your overall cosmetics usage; switch to natural or organic products, and read the labels on your beauty and grooming products with care.

• The Women's Environmental network has more detailed information and advice about ingredients contained in beauty products: www.wen.org. uk; The Cosmetics Database, a website which gives a 'hazard rating' for products: cosmeticsdatabase.com. Or read Skin Deep: The Essential Guide To What's In The Toiletries And Cosmetics You Use (Rodale), by Pat Thomas.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/beauty/article-1229275/Revealed--515-chemicals-women-bodies-day.html#ixzz0XPta5oN3

Raya Aidil Fitri 20/09/ 2009

Nice date combo innit? 20 - 09 - 2009 happened to be 1 Shawal 1430H. Its Raya Aidil Fitri again!

Not so much happening, but that 1st day was really the day I really celebrated. And after that dozed off...and visited just one house the day after....and many sleep off....

Oh well....at least on that weekend I went out to KL with a buddy of mine and we went around Pavillion and Berjaya Times Square (for Krispy Kreme that was).

Another internationally famous Malaysian lady

The world just love this kinda news particularly when it could be easily ridiculed and joked around by those anti-Islam people. It is a bit beguiling this case as she JUST so happened to be THE ONLY ONE caught in the act while downing her Beer in Malaysia. While alcohol drinking has become more of an open act at a certain areas in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, this lady may have then chosen the "wrong" spot by condoning her own happy hour act like nobody's business down at an east coast city, Kuantan.

So much of this brouhaha....However, she should also be given the laudable credit for sharing her own guilty conscience - a feisty chick. While drinking is forbidden in Islam, I also personally think that if she was doing it in a proper drinking vicinity then it is her own problems and not the authority. She did not ask the whole Kuantan to be merry with her on the street or in kampung thus making her an innocent in the eye of the civil law. Knowing that she has committed one of the biggest sins, she succumbed to the punishment and allowing herself to be caned as part of her repentence. Now, this is really truly brave of her to face her own peril while she is alive in this world. Lets pray that her acceptance toward such predicament will be rewarded greatly by God in the hereafter. I hope she may get excused for her first error like what Tun Det said.

The news is for your reading:

Caning of Malaysian woman who drank beer postponed

By SEAN YOONG, Associated Press Writer Sean Yoong, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 2 mins ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The first woman in Muslim-majority Malaysia to face caning for drinking beer was reprieved Monday because of the holy month of Ramadan. Her family said she would rather get the thrashing with a rattan cane now and put the ordeal behind her.

Islamic officials had taken Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno (pic), a 32-year-old mother of two, into custody and were driving her to a women's prison for the caning when they abruptly turned around and sent her back to her family home in northern Malaysia.

"She feels like a football being kicked around," Kartika's father, Shukarno Abdul Muttalib, told The Associated Press. "She's so exhausted and unhappy with the delay. She would prefer to just receive the six strokes and have everything finished."

Amnesty International, Malaysian lawyers and some politicians have condemned the sentence, while other critics have warned it would tarnish Malaysia's image as a moderate country. Islamic officials have defended it as necessary to uphold Islamic values — underscoring tensions between religious conservatives and more liberal and secular elements in society.

Beer, wine and liquor is widely available at shops, bars and restaurants in Malaysia, unlike in more austere Islamic nations such as Iran and Pakistan. Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities in Malaysia are free to consume alcohol but its Shariah law forbids Muslims — who make up 60 percent of the 27 million population — from drinking, although a minority of Muslims still indulge despite the religious stricture.

Islamic morality police — enforcement officials of the Islamic Religious Department — arrested Kartika in a raid for drinking beer at a hotel lounge at a beach resort in Cherating in Pahang state in December 2007. Kartika was sentenced to six lashes of a rattan cane by the Shariah court last month in what was considered a warning to other Muslims to abide by religious rules.

Islamic law provides for a three-year prison term and caning for Muslims caught drinking. Most previous offenders were fined and no woman has ever been caned.

The morality police are not a pervasive force in Malaysia, and most citizens were surprised at the verdict against Kartika.

Mohamad Sahfri Abdul Aziz, a state legislator in charge of religious affairs, said Monday the Attorney General's office advised that Kartika's caning should be delayed for compassionate reasons until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began Saturday.

"The sentence is not being canceled," Mohamad Sahfri said, without specifying exactly when it would be carried out.

In an interview with the AP last week, Kartika said she regretted drinking and was even willing to be caned in public in order to send a clear message to other Muslims to avoid alcohol. Authorities said the caning had to be done at a prison.

Government officials have remained silent on the issue even though the local media have reported on it extensively. The only prominent personality to comment has been former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

On Monday, he urged authorities to check Islamic teachings to determine whether it would be appropriate to cane Kartika for drinking.

"Is it possible that a judge may have been unfair or mistaken in his consideration? Is there no room in Islam for mercy toward those who commit an error for the first time?" Mahathir wrote on his widely read blog.

Chandra Muzaffar, president of the Malaysian think tank, International Movement for a Just World, said the international attention on Kartika's case could "provide ammunition" for some people to criticize Malaysia's capacity for religious tolerance.

"She should not be caned in the first place," Chandra said. "What we should do is advise her. This punitive psychology is a bane for Muslim societies, and we should get away from it."

Islamic officials had insisted that the caning's purpose is to educate rather than punish. They say the rattan cane supposed to be used on Kartika would be smaller and lighter than the one used for men, and that she will remain clothed.

Men convicted of crimes such as rape and bribery in Malaysia are caned on their bare buttocks, breaking the skin and leaving permanent scars.

Rattan canes used in the punishment are made from palm plants common in tropical parts of Asia. They have been used for decades for corporal punishments in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Separately Monday, officials in the central state of Selangor near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city, stepped up efforts to deter drinking by empowering mosque officials to arrest Muslims who consume liquor in public places, The Star newspaper's Web site quoted state lawmaker Hassan Ali as saying.

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On a lighter note, caning a model sounds a bit kinky innit? U have been a naughty girl aren't u? Zappp.....Naughty naughty....zaaaappps.......You want some more caning? Zaaaaappps.......You loving it doncha? Zaaapppp.....

NO, wait...this IS Ramadhan. How could I be having such an unpure thought? Naughty me!

Watching the sunset from Marina Bay hotel suite

While killing my time waiting for Maghrib and then dinner at Admiral Cove, Marina Bay, Port Dickson, I took pictures of the scene just outside my hotel window by my Sony cybershot DSC-T77:

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I see. You are expecting the Sun slowly setting like a half shape circle on the horizon eh? Naahh...it didnt happen like that the day I saw it. But I like the sky colours as the day turn to dusk. And whats more, I was facing the Sun. So I reckon my Sony Cybershot is quite nifty at capturing such shots.