What makes them tick on and on (like a Duracell bunny)?

We are all used to hear of employees in Malaysia who have no qualms of calling in sick for the flimsiest of a reason that one can think of - great-grandmother sick, grandfather died at the age of 100 or the dog in ICU! Sometimes the same relative dies repeatedly and conveniently so as to ease their absence from work. Sometimes 3 days of national holiday in the middle of the week means a whole week of holiday! For example, recently Aidilfitri and Merdeka holidays were from Tuesday to Thursday. Most employees took it for granted that holidays start from the Saturday before all the way to the Sunday following Merdeka (a good 9 days of rest if Monday and Friday are sick leave!)

On the other end of the spectrum, believe you me, we have people who persevere through thick and thin with only one thing on their mind - to achieve their One Vision against all the odds, what come may! Life goes on...

It comes to mind how two recent British Prime Ministers came to the height of their respective careers in spite of happenings at their domestic (meant their own homes) front. Gordon Brown (2007-2010) had his first (2001) born prematurely and succumb to cerebral haemorrhage. In 2006, his son (third born) was diagnosed to have cystic fibrosis(CF), which in the UK, has a life expectancy of 31 years. James Cameron (PM from 2011) recently lost his beautiful 'special child' Ivan (b. 2002 with cerebral palsy and seizures) in 2009 aged 6. In spite of having a child who needs constant round-the-clock supervision, he managed to climb his ambitious ladder to reach his present stature. Do you call that apathy, being self-centred or being practical - life has to go on? Do their wives nag them for not being a helping hand around the house, that do they (the wives) have to do all the job around the house, that charity begins at home or to take care their own flesh and blood before jumping to help others to garner votes? I was just wondering... Perhaps politicians have thick skins, thicker than the toughest crocodile hide!

Whatever said and done, hats off to these gentlemen for persevering in their ambition in spite of the adversities in life and ticking on and on like a Duracell bunny!

The quiet Beatle he was not!

Just enjoying the compilation CD of George Harrison as selected by his wife, Olivia and friends. Guess they just come up with a scheme to get more money from Harrison's legacy! George, the unashamed practicing Vaishnavite Hindu (yeah, the vegetarian who willed a princely sum of his estate to an ashram in India) and the rather quiet one behind the scene, overshadowed by John and Paul, is my favourite Beatle. Ringo, I think, was quite comfortable sitting at the back banging the drums crazy.
I just picked up this CD when I was picking up some books for my small guy at Popular's. I wanted to educate myself on listening to rock and roll music by a legend whose musical potential only came forth after the break up of the Fab Four. Listening to a CD is truly rewarding experience, unlike listening to the radio - not just the lack of commercials but you can listen to it again and again and music quality and crisp is beyond definition.
No regrets on getting the CD. It kind of grows on you more and more as you go on listening to it. This one exhibits 19 songs which eventually get you hooked. In fact, the past one week I have been listening the songs again and again.... abandoning all other sorts of music!
The following is by no means meant to be taken as a literary analysis of the album. It is just a piece of gibberish sounding repertoire of a person who only knows how to enjoy his music but not play a single musical instrument, perhaps only Indian prayers percussion (jalra) and recorder in school days! I try to promote what I did not master through my kids, albeit at partially success only!
Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Original Album Length
1. "Got My Mind Set on You" Rudy Clark; Cloud Nine 3:52 - I never knew all this while that it was a cover version. Originally written by Rudy Clark and sang by James Ray (nothing to with Ray Charles) in 1962, listen here!

2. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" Harrison; Living in the Material World 3:35
Starts like an Eagles' like country rock then it progresses to a bhajan like song asking to be relieved of sufferings on earth, free from birth etecetera! I thought living on earth is a punishment for our sins.

3. "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" Harrison; All Things Must Pass 3:48

4. "My Sweet Lord" Harrison; All Things Must Pass 4:40
It is interesting how Halelujah later becomes Hare Krishna then Guru Sakshat Parabrahma and Hare Rama..

5. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Live) Harrison; The Concert for Bangladesh 4:46
Needs no introduction.

6. "All Things Must Pass" Harrison; All Things Must Pass 3:46

7. "Any Road" Harrison; Brainwashed 3:52
This is a profound song with message about life and its purpose, also with a tongue-in-cheek comment (quoting Wizard of Oz) about if you do not know where you are heading, any road leads you there!

8. "This Is Love" Harrison, Jeff Lynne; Cloud Nine 3:47
Another sad melodious song which keeps on humming in your brain.

9. "All Those Years Ago" Harrison; Somewhere in England 3:46
This is a tribute song to John Lennon after his assassination in 1981..

10. "Marwa Blues" Harrison ;Brainwashed 3:41
This instrumental got a Grammy for best instrumental music. Reminds me of a sad Tamil movie music score - the higher the notes of the sitar goes the more the tears well up in the tear glands! The sitar (and its predecessor, the veena) are truly magical instruments.  Very touching...

11. "What Is Life" Harrison ;All Things Must Pass 4:25
What is life, you tell me, people say it is curse yet they like to stay on the curse as long as they can. The bonds that you have in your life helps you stay sane, yet sometimes may go insane, paradoxically!

12. "Rising Sun" Harrison ;Brainwashed 5:27
A song with very powerful lyrics. It sounds like Rising Sun is the name of a half-way house of a rehab for alcoholics or drug addicts! read the lyric.. I guess it is the only song with the word DNA in it. And the guitar work sounds like Eric Clapton like 'slow-hand' type of lead guitar! Nice 'un!
On the street of villains taken for a ride you can have the devil as a guide crippled by the boundaries, programmed into guilt till your nervous system starts to tilt. And in the room of mirrors you can see for miles but everything that's there is in disguise every word you've uttered and every thought you've hadis all inside your file, the good and the bad. But in the rising sun you can feel your life begin universe at play inside your DNA you're a billion years old today. Oh the rising sun and the place it's coming from is inside of you and now your payment's overdue oh the rising sun, oh the rising sun.

13. "When We Was Fab" Harrison, Lynne Cloud Nine 3:51
Guess everyone has a time in their life they truly dear, for Harrison it must be with the Beatles! Forgive the bad English - artistic immunity.

14. "Something" (Live) Harrison The Concert for Bangladesh 3:10

15. "Blow Away" Harrison George Harrison 3:59

16. "Cheer Down" Harrison, Tom Petty Lethal Weapon 2 soundtrack 4:06
Great guitar handiwork there, George! Lethal weapon was good too.

17. "Here Comes the Sun" (Live) Harrison The Concert for Bangladesh 2:54
Again, no introduction needed!

18. "I Don't Want to Do It" Bob Dylan Porky's Revenge soundtrack 2:54
That is why there was Bob Dylan's feel to it at the beginning of the song!

19. "Isn't It a Pity" (Version one) Harrison All Things Must Pass 7:07
This song was actually written during the Beatles' time but was rejected and vetoed for other songs. Later it  was released as a solo artiste and was voted as Harrison's best song!

Isn't it a pity that he has passed away? Well, in the immortal words of the mortal George Harrison - All things must pass!

Nature vs. Nurture

You can only motivate someone so much. After that, it is left to nature or genes as one may call it. The more you push him to the brim, the higher the chances are that he may just flip. Everyone has his own capability to achieve his place in space and time at his own pace or bar of achievement. We cannot set our target and expect everybody else to follow. And just because the other person does not reach our expectation, it does not mean that he is a failure. At his own leisurely pace and his perhaps longer duration, he may actually attain enviable dizzying heights. The ability to explore and try out one's varied, sometimes eccentric ideas, not following blindly to preset norm is the cornerstone of innovation that started the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century which categorically ended the greatness of the feudalistic empires of the world to be replaced by republics and people's rule of law by consensus. Let it be....

The products of a romantic star of the yesteryear!

Now you see all the children of Gemini Ganesan (of four wives, at least) posing gleefully for the camera after coming from different corners of the world to see the ailing father on his deathbed. They seem to found peace with the contributor of their half of their 46 chromosomes. Sure, growing up must have been hell seeing their respective mothers shedding tears, indulgence in unhealthy activities with one of them falling prey to the curse of the black dog, hating the sight of each step sibling, their respective heartaches all because of the evil done by one man who could not put his raging testesterones under check! Perhaps,the flashing lights and his dizzying heights that his career took clouded his judgement. After all, he was only human...

Gems of Gemini Ganesan
L-R: Dr Revathi Swaminathan, Narayani Ganesan,
Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Rekha, Vijaya Chamundeswari and
Dr Jaya Shreedhar. 
(Abs: Radha Usman Syed, Sathish Kumaar Ganesan)

Seeing six of Gemini Ganesan's seven daughters together is rare.
In December 2004, when he was very ill, they decided to come down to Chennai and nurse their father.
They met again in February 2005 at Chennai's Apollo Hospital. Rekha was to inaugurate the Apollo Wellness Clinic, and all the sisters except Rekha's sister, Radha, made it a point to attend the function.
The eldest among the six sisters is Dr Revathi Swaminathan, a radiation oncologist practising in Illinois, USA. Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Gemini Ganesan's second daughter, runs the G G Hospital in Chennai. Narayani Ganesan is a journalist with The Times Of India in Delhi. The youngest is Dr Jaya Shreedhar, a health advisor with Inter News Network.
Rekha and Radha are Gemini Ganesan's daughters of actress Pushpavalli, and Vijaya Chamundeswari, daughter of actress Savithri, is a fitness expert working at the G G Hospital.
"The only one missing is Rekha's sister Radha, who is in the US," says Dr Jaya Shreedhar. "She is elder to both Viji [Vijaya] and me.
"Though Appa was unwell, we had some good moments when we met in December. People may assume that there are strained relationships because we don't share the same mother, but there is nothing like that," she adds.
"We are professional women, and over the years, have learnt to appreciate each sister for what she is. We did not have the pleasure of growing up together. In fact, between my own elder sister Revathi and me, there is a 20-year age difference. Appa was thrilled to have all of us together. This was a pleasure he never had when we were young."
Jaya was the only daughter who saw her father at home when she was young. "By the time I was born, he was a senior star, had moved out of those relationships, and was with my mother. It is extraordinary, but the upbringing was in a way that there was never any ill-will. You are born into it," she says.
"Suppose we were raised in a middle-class, rigid culture; I might have found it unusual and emotionally challenging. When we sisters met this time, it was more like six 'wild' cousins meeting and talking non-stop. It was lots of fun!"

"..Though there is no correct account of the number of wives he had, it is widely believed that he was married to Alamelu, Savitri and Pushpavalli. He is survived by seven daughters and a son. His children are Revathi Swaminathan, Kamala Selvaraj, Narayani Ganesh, Jaya Shreedhar, actress Rekha, Radha Usman Syed, Vijaya Chamundeswari and Sathish Kumaar Ganesan...." Wikipedia

The mighty Thor strikes again

After almost 40 years, I finally get the chance to find out what the comic strip character Thor is all about. Some of the guys in PFS were devilishly attracted to this character in their brightly hot coloured Marvel comics. I always was told that comics are a waste of time and would only waste your time and bring you down as life is all about studies and getting good results and comics were thrash. Oh, man! What a wasted childhood, missing on all the nice things that boys love. In fact, the only time I could indulge on this sin is during the monthly visit to the B block barber - sometimes feeling like Mr. Bean during his visit to the dentist (when he reluctantly had leave his magazine when his name was called for treatment by the dentist's helper).
Thanks to Hollywood, lazy people do not need read. They can conserve their God given retinal cells of rods and cones to savor the joy of colour, light and sense surround sounds of the psychedelic hues of the silver screen.
This Norseman mythological fable is an addictive one which wild imagination and computer graphics to match. The story is intricate with infusion of the idea of alien visitation to Earth  and purportedly secrets of space bridges in the universe to ease teleport transportation. 

Still on daughters and fathers...

Is it not funny that we only appreciate people and wet our eyes when they are long gone? We should all be thankful to have what we have and to learn to live with it. On the other hand, what is perceived as good now came with the social change that can only happen with that first step which requires us to come out of our comfort zones. Quantanamera....

Eat to live or live to eat?

Malaysian's favourite pastime, beside sitting down at the Mamak's over a cuppa complaining about injustices in the country and doing nothing about it, is eating. This is evident from the ever mushrooming of stalls here
and there as well as the existence of 24hr shops serving death-calling unhealthy food at each corner of the city. Hence, it is only logical that the 24hr cable TV be filled with cook shows. Besides the usual variety of food show depicting cuisine from the four corners of the world, of late they are cooking reality shows. The famous show run by the Scottish chef with a razor sharp tongue, infamous temper and fussy temperament (otherwise referred to perfectionist) seem to be a current favourite amongst my kids. I do not think they particularly plan to take a career in culinary field or plan a cuisine for their parents to appreciate their efforts in feeding them! I think they are more fascinated with the dialogue (or rather lack of!). It is filled with so many beeped out sentences that there is hardly decent conversation as it is filled with profanity but one does not need much imagination to figure it out!

Gordon Ramsey behaves as if the errors made by the contestants are life threatening if they are driving a 100-tonne lorry or performing life and death precision required brain surgery! For God's sake it is just food. From I learnt in Form 1 commerce studies, food is one of the basic item to live, period. We need food to live. We eat to live, not live to eat and life is not all about eating tasty food. There are other things in life than eating. The meat is slightly rare to your liking. So what, you should be grateful that you are are able to eat at all! Even Manoj Kumar said the same message in 'Roti Kepaada aur Makaan' (Bread, clothing and abode).