Ian Dury on the emirates

" The deserts of Sudan, the gardens of Japan
The wilds of Borneo, the vineyards of Bordeaux
Hit me,hit me with the rhythm stick....

These were the hymns that i sang along as i listened to the UK hits of 1979 during my last week trip to Dubai courtesy of Emirate Airlines entertainment ICE(information, Communication,Entertainment) programme.

Yup, the Ian Dury and the Blockheads No 1 hit in 1979 brought back great memories of my college days in Halifax,UK.

I really enjoyed the songs on this Emirate Airlines flight featuring all UK no1 hits (you just select the year you want ).....Boom town Rats and their hit.."I don't like Mondays"..The evergreen Gloria Gaynor song, "I will survive", Blondie's " The tide is high"

Those were the great songs of my teenage years, like all teenagers we cant live without music, my favourite groups include The Police(Sting), Pink Floyd(Phil Collins) and of course Ian Dury and the Blockheads!!

The present generations may not know all these Pop groups but to us in those days their songs were a welcome solace particularly on dreary cold winter days and nights.

I also still remembered attending a Jackson 5 concert, yup Michael Jackson before he became all famous. With their Afro distinctive hairstyle seeing them performing at this small rundown theatre in Halifax one cannot imagine that Michael can be such a huge star a few years after that!!!

Ya .as i listened to all the hit songs of the 1979,80 and 81 era ,i cant feel the long 7 hour flight and the lyrics that one hymned as an 18 year old boy came back flooding to this middle aged man not realising that 30 years has passed on but then music always live on !!!

To the late Ian Dury...your song "hit me with the rhythm stick" remains one of my very favourite songs. Thank you.

Bitter red pill to swallow

i am in KL this weekend and having a business related dinner last night and as if like a clockwise precision around 10 pm i received a torrent of SMSs..

'Torres & gang just really humble the Devils tonite,especially d big mouth Rooney.Am just over the moon with such a big win!!"

"Beating any team especially the potential champions home and away shows which is the better team.Must be a bitter pill for all MU fans to swallow"

And some more SMSs following that..ya you get it,Man U got "thrashed' by the bitter rivals up the Lancashire Road,Liverpool.

This friend of mine and myself have been on this constant barraging against each other since we were together doing A levels in Halifax UK.
I was the long suffering guy then because Liverpool was sweeping away everyone and all the trophies .
I got my turn with Man U ascendancy in early 90s.

Ya..30 years on we still behaved like 18 year old kids way back in Halifax then, arguing and sending banters to each other..oooh how i hate Liverpool and he knows that!!!

Today? i am not really looking forward to lunch...yes you guess it we are going to have lunch together here in KL and i can imagine now the glee and joy that he will have with his incessant salvo of triumphant words for his beloved team and the mockery that he's going to shower on my team,Man U especially that 'loud mouthed" Rooney !!!

Well, Mr AAA did you say potential champions? ha ha ya i will have the last laugh at the end of season. AAA was his nickname,reason is short abbreviation for his name but also he's just like that battery never stop particular if his team winning!!! sorry AAA for the pun!!!

Live on you Mancunians!!! You run on electricity and will sure win over the long haul, unlike team run on battery(AAA!!! ha ha) , they are only good in short period!!!

Places to savour

Flight to KL delayed..uhhh,well will be away for a week again.

With all this constant travelling makes me reminisce what has been my favourite destination so far.Indeed fortunate enough to say there's a plenty but then some will always bring back lingering memories ....obviously my umrah trip to Mecca takes the pick.
Other favourite places?

The Lake Distict in the Cumbrian district England still remains a very favourite place. Its meandering hills and lakes gave the place a sense of melancholy while still retaining its eerie beauty..

I went for a week camping holiday when was still a young boy of 18 during my A level years in UK.
The long walks, the camping we did near the lakes still remained clear in my memory. One day i will visit this place again i promise myself.

Venice is my favourite city, because of its uniqueness .

Walking mindlessly along its narrow streets,piazzas and boat taxi rides along its vast arrays of canals was a real joy. A pizza dinner as you watched the sunset alone worth a visit to Venice.

Have been there twice,once as a backpacking student and also on a holiday with the family few years back.

My favourite Malaysian destination is Pulau Redang. I was not expecting much though when i took a short holiday with the family while on a working trip to Trengganu.

The Berjaya Hotel was a real haven on earth. Its pristine clear water and white sandy beach is the best there is anywhere in the world i think.Snorkel ling was a treat to savour and definitely i will come back there again.

The real stimulus..A Malaysian pride

Few days back, it was all splashed on the front pages on the National and local dailies..yes the RM60 Billions stimulus package.

A more important news in my view attracted my attention that day albeit the article was just tucked in some insignificant corner of the Papers.

I am talking about Air Asia first direct flight from KL to London. This indeed was a breakthrough news, a culmination of one man's successful dream of living to the theme, "Now everyone can fly".

I attended one luncheon talk by Datuk Tony Fernandes, the Air Asia founder a few years back and indeed i was deeply impressed by this man.
A down to earth, non assuming fella who is most credited to the success of Air Asia.

You can see the hustle and bustle of LCCT terminal the low cost terminal in Sepang... a real hive of activity and hey..where you want to go from KL? You name it... Air Asia will fly you there at reasonable prices.

So now with this connection to London, an European market is now open and with their aggressive marketing I can imagine Europeans in their droves coming to KL and use KL as its hub to go everywhere else in Asia.
Beat that ..this is the real stimulus, an influx of tourists spending their Euro dollars and making Malaysia a preferred and cheap destination for them.

Datuk Tony,thank you very much and indeed you have given the right stimulus at the right time.

A Lost Corner

Earlier i rambled about my favourite corners at home. As usual there are rooms as well either for dining, living room or prayer room.

I have though "lost " one favourite corner to that little guy, Amirul the youngest. Ya...the Computer corner.

That corner has now being turned into a games arcade, goodness knows the variety of games they played in between classes, homework and brief rest for lunch, dinner or taking a bath.

The games that appear to be always on the screen are the counterstrike game and DOTA(what does it mean anyway?)

So like every battles, some you win some you lost .As long as this young boy is not yet into listening to Beyonce music,have a liking for Nescafe, love to continuously watch Little Britain series and above all savouring the delights of Enid Blyton books ...my other CORNERS are safe and sound!!!

Hold the fort!!!

Favourite corners

Hmmm... we all have our favourite corners at home. A place where we can do our own things and felt "hey,this is my territory".

For a boisterous household like ours ,never easy but then here are my favourite corners:

-My Hi Fi corner,great place for me to relax while sipping a cup of coffee or reading a book. Have quite a collection ,not the latest hip hop of course but a collection that is deemed ancient by Sabrina,the twin girl.
Well, if you have Cd's of Endang S Taurina, Henri Rotinsulu and love songs collections,it may be ancient in sound but wow such soothing music to the ears.

-My Coffee corner, a place where i brewed my own coffee from a relatively cheap espresso machine. Have its own "bar" as well more for the coffee and tea making though. I have my own favourite supply of espresso coffee(from a shop in Pending area) ...well i know Coffex was also coffee being brewed and served at the Hilton Kuching. Diyana my elder girl shared my passion for coffee and i do enjoy making her a cuppa whenever she's back from her A level college in KL.

_My Books corner. It has been almost 12 years that i started a habit of buying and budget ting a book a month. So you can imagine the arrays of books i have,almost a mini library. Mostly "boring" books according to Faizul the twin boy. Well i don't keep collection of Pokeman books !!!

- My TV/Movie corner..wow that 's a real great place for me to relax. i am a movie buff(as in books,football,coffee and music) . I normally spent my weekend at this corner if not travelling .
It has served me well and the enjoyment of watching a good movie with the kids(if they re not playing computer games) is a great treat indeed. Azri the eldest love this corner too and when he was back from university holidays a while back fully engrossed with his 24 tv series.

Well those were indeed my favourite corners at my abode and how i wished i have the time to spend at all these little nooks as i sipped my favourite brew of coffee.

Chimerica..a Ferguson's postulation

No, this Ferguson is not Alex but Niall. Niall Ferguson is an imminent Historian who has written some best seller books particularly on history based on a particular theme. His first book that i read was "Empire', a grand Tour De Force narration of the British Empire.

Presently i am heavy on his latest one, "The ascent of money', a bit too heavy and intellectual but wow such a great read.
I love the way he simplify complex issues and try to enlighten readers on the fundamental underlying themes or reasons for major historic financial phenomena eg the recent sub prime loans crisis that triggers a world wide recession.

This man, Niall no doubt is a very clever man, Scottish to the core and reminiscent of that great Scotsman that wrote the ground breaking book, "The wealth of Nations, " Adam Smith.

The most insightful postulation that Ferguson offered in his book is the postulation of Chimerica.
He opined with facts that the symbiotic relations between China and America(thus the term Chimerica)
To quote the book,
" Welcome to the wonderful dual country of 'Chimerica'-China plus America-which accounts for more than half of global economic growth in the past eight years.For a time it seemed like a marriage in heaven. The East Chimericans(the Chinese) did the saving.The West Chimericans(Americans) did the spending. Chinese cheap imports kept down US inflation.Chinese savings kept down US interest rates.Chinese Labour kept down US wage costs. As a result it is remarkably cheap to borrow money and remarkably profitable to run a corporation. ...."

I love this part(scary thought though.),
"Maybe as its name was always intended to hint,Chimerica is nothing more than a Chimera-the mythical beast of ancient legend that was part lion,part goat,part dragon. Perhaps on reflection, we have been here before.A hundred years ago, in the first age of gloablisation,many thought there was a similarly symbiotic relationship between the world's financial centre,Britain,and continental Europe's most dynamic industrial economy,Germany. Then as today there was a fine line between symbiosis and rivalry.."

We all knew what happened then between Britain and Germany and we certainly hope(but must not ignore) the fine line relationship between China and America let us all pray that the symbiotic relationship that has spurred such abundant economic growth last 10 years will not turn into a bitter rivalry that can lead to a military fare.

As i finally finish reading the final chapter in his book, Niall Ferguson again give us a subtle warning that all economists and financial policy makers must read and understand financial history for we have been to this road before and present and future leaders must not take the same road that can finally lead us to Armageddon.

Scary but can be true!!!