Turkish delight

Journey into fear (1943)
Whilst the whole world was busy fighting a war, Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton and his friends in Mercury Theatre were working with what they did best - i. e. film making.

In contrast to the merciless villainous role that Joseph Cotton acted as in Hitchcock's 'Shadow of Doubt', here he portrays as straight forward American engineer (Graham) in Istanbul who is running for his life after a failed attempt on his life. Orson Welles appears as a Turkish police chief (Haki) who comes to his rescue by sending him back home by boat rather than his planned train trip. As predicted, his assassin is on board. They are Nazi agents out to delay the upgrading of Turkish Navy of which Graham is involved.

Apparently, Welles was too busy with other commitments that he delegated directorial and other duties to others. Probably, if he were more involved in its production, then there would be imbroglio of massive reels of edited film yearning to be screened! In spite of appearing for a short while on screen, Welles did leave an everlasting impression via his unique brand of line delivery and showmanship.

The climax of the movie is the suspense-filled off the window ledge chase scene in the pouring rain.

So so movie...

Memorable line: Men are all the same, untrustworthy!

The tongue has no bones!

This is a blatant bastardization of a Malay proverb which goes like this, 'Lidah tidak bertulang'. Essentially it means that talk is easy and words can be malleable to suit a particular scenario. In other words, it shows the insincerity of man who would sway to the tide. Well, this colossal trait of the glossus (tongue) is a particularly useful tool of the trade of some professionals in the upholding the law (whichever side) business as well as politicians who have to make statements and modify them periodically.
Why this talk about tongue, bones and insincerity?

Imposing Bukit Takun, like a sleeping giant,

forms a formidable backdrop at Templer Park. (The Star)

On 9th May, Wednesday, at 6pm, a 51 year old seasoned trekker went into the jungle to trek out a path for his fellow climbing junkies and never came back. By the following day, a search party had been organised by police, family and friends to track him down. Just as soon the newspapers announced the news by Friday, that is when the stories began to roll on...
Everybody started giving their worthless opinion on the possibilities of what could have happened even without their shoes soiled but with the comfort of an ice-chilled beer.
' "He could have had a fall in the stream and could have been swept to the sea with our present unpredictable weather!' ' said one. 
' "You know, there was a similar case a few years ago. Another trekker went missing and was never found. After a span of 10 years, a distant relative found him in America assuming a totally different look and identity. He had to run away from his overwhelming problems. You can never say..." '.
' "Maybe it was robbery and murder, with our appalling crime rate now..." ' 
And the spin doctors kept on yarning their yards of stories whilst the family continued their search and prayers.Came Sunday, the trekker was finally found weak, dehydrated after injuring himself after a fall. Kudos to diligence of the search party. Waheguru!
The grateful wife said, "Every single one of them is a hero and they have made today a happy Mothers Day for me. I thank them all,” .

The rat appeared but somebody did not smell it!

The dust still has not settled on the surprise party that I organised for my dear. Since she is turning half a century old, though she looks easily looks a decade younger, she likes to be in the limelight, is a party animal (buts rises early the next morning for temple type) and she likes pleasant surprises, I thought, "Why not have a surprise party for her?"

Now, how do you organise a party for a person who unashamedly says, "If you plan to have a surprise party for me, wait till my sister from Canada returns home for a holiday at the end of June, okay?"  It's going to be such a surprise that she'll go, "Oh.......you shouldn't have!!!!! Oh" with a fake "Oh..."
This fake surprise is no surprise at all!

First, to create a decoy, I agreed that that would be the ideal time for the surprise. I would be the one surprised when everybody screams surprise to the birthday girl, and she is thrilled! When pressed to be more aggressive in getting things organised for a function 3 months away, I just reassured the birthday girl, it is all under control. Thank you very much; I will get things going, no worries.

Behind the scenes, under the cloak of secrecy, I had already planned a bash on the weekend following the big day. The guest list comprised three categories: family members and relatives, close family friends, and, to add a nostalgic feel, her old school friends.

The venue was decided upon, at a private room in a new restaurant. The next difficult thing was to get her old friend's contact number and getting everybody mum about it. Still, I had to inform and pre-warn everyone about it - if not, nobody would turn up at the party! And the surprise would fall flat!

I decided to leave my youngest boy out of the equation, as it would be too much stress for him to handle. My other children managed to sneak out the phone numbers. Thanks to modern media, I was able to do a lot of hanky panky without breaking cover.

Throughout the whole time, nobody showed any emotion, and life went on as usual. Her real birthday came, and after the usual cursory and cutting the cake, that was it.

A day before the function, out-of-town relatives arrived and were housed in my cousin's place. By that time, my youngest son had to be informed. He almost spilt the beans when we visited the out-of-towners. Whilst discussing our unrelated subject, he mentioned to his mother that we had visited Kepong (the place they were placed), but luckily, she did not pick up the hint! Phew! The rat almost came out, but luckily she did not smell it - a sanitised vermin indeed!

On D-Day, my daughter managed to brainwash my wife for a girls' night out. She liked the idea. So off they went. By that time, everybody was nicely stationed in their posts, including my other son, who was supposedly to be at home studying very hard for his examinations. My daughters took a long detour and finally brought her to the rendezvous.

When the doors swung open at the Olive Tree Restaurant, everybody screamed at the top of their lungs, "Surprise!!!" and off went the music to the most frequently sung song in the world, Happy Birthday!

After an initial full 3 minutes of petrifaction and tongue-tiedness, my wife came down to Earth. After the series of welling of tears, "Oh my gawd!"s and huggings, the party began like it was 1999 to one that most people in our circle have not enjoyed for a mighty long time. I knew it was worth it when my wife whispered in my ear, "My best birthday, thanks!"

P/S: Just like at the end of some movies where they highlight the blunders and boo-boos during production, it is worth mentioning my moments of dumbness. After much difficulty securing all the ever-important telephone numbers of people very dear to my wife, I had it all set up on my iPhone. On the pretext of charging the phone while working on the computer, instead of charging the phone the usual way via a wall socket and 3-pin plug, smarty pants (me) decided to charge it from the computer via a USB port. And poof went all the contacts as the phone decided to synchronise the settings without my knowledge or ignorance! #2 On the actual day, there was much confusion on whether the entourage had actually arrived. The plan was for my wife to cut her cake as she arrived. After many false alarms, when one signal, which appeared as genuine, arrived, all 50 candles were lit. Even after all the candles had melted and burned off, the guest of honour never arrived!

What happened in Iraq, stays in Iraq!

Joseph Goebbels
Hitler's propaganda minister

This is a quotation frequently mentioned in American TV series today, especially the ones dealing with terrorism and post war life of combatants in USA. There generally try to forget their bitter experiences, hoping not to repeat the atrocities, cope with their post-traumatic stress disorder and start life anew! Perhaps, deep inside, what they may be thinking is that what they did in war zone was justified to deal with a less 'cultured' society and to uphold the sovereignty of their own motherland in carrying out the crusade to fox out the wrongdoers and enemies!
Growing up in the strict family, without much of exposure to the outside world, perhaps limited to gossips that the housewives who used to come and chat with Amma and TV! What a naive young adult I had been!
When I started working, my liaison with LKH opened my eyes to the many evils that people do at different times of  their lives in a totally unguarded environment.
LKH and I started working on the same day and were posted to the same department. We stayed just a few doors from each other and we clicked quite well. He was the chatty one whilst I, the good listener! And he loved food - boy, could he eat! He found splendour in the spiciest of the Andhra cooking, the hottest of the nasi lemak and the most authentic of the Chinese cooking. So, every free non working day was a new stall to try out!
During these liaisons did he spill the beans about the unspoken 'bro code' that existed between him and his fellow colleagues in his previous school of study in a foreign land. Every body had a secret to hide, a thing or two in their closet, something up their sleeves that they regret and forget of what they had done at an impressionable age and lack of inhibition or inner wisdom. Maybe it is better to leave sleeping dogs lie. Waking the snoozing canine would only disturb the tranquility and stir unnecessary irritations. The sight of the unsightly proverbial worms of out the can will do no one any good.
Whatever happened in Iraq, stays in Iraq. Of course, we do not know how much of the stories are actually true. As Vladmir Lenin once said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth".

One quotation from Joseph Goebbels that makes lots of sense: (often misquoted for the above quotation)

A child laughs when it feels joy and cries when it feels pain. Both things, laughing and crying it does with its whole heart. We all became so tall and so clever. We know so much and we have read so much. But one thing we forgot: to laugh and cry like the children do.

Some old documentaries

Humanity still prevails

Killer dog’s owners make appearance at victim’s funeral
By LOSHANA K. SHAGAR
loshana@thestar.com.my

Words of comfort: The dog owner’s parents (right) console Lim while
Hon Mun (left) is seen in the background at the Gui Yuan Crematorium
in Petaling Jaya Wednesday. — Raymond Ooi/The Star  

PETALING JAYA: Barely 24 hours after 74-year-old Yip Sun Wah was mauled to death by a neighbour's miniature bull terrier cross, both families came together in the spirit of forgiveness.
The body of Yip, who celebrated his birthday 11 days ago, lay in a brown coffin at the Gui Yuan Crematorium in Petaling Jaya. As his family members grieved over his tragic death, the family that owned the dog that killed Yip early Tuesday morning came to pay their last respects.
They seemed apprehensive at first as they were unsure of the victim's family's response, but were embraced by Yip's wife Lim Yoke Kim, 73, and their eldest son Hon Mun, 51. Yip also leaves behind three other sons and two grandchildren.
Hon Mun said although they were bitter at first, it dissipated when the family came.
“Nobody wanted this to happen, but we do not want this to linger and cause pain to everyone in the years to come.
“It's good that they (dog owner's family) came, we can see that they were very sincere and that's all I could ask for,” Hon Mun said.
The dog owner shed tears as did her parents and a friend who came with her.
They lit joss sticks and prayed before Yip's photograph, after which both families gathered for a 10-minute talk.
Hon Mun said he last saw his father just 45 minutes before he was killed while jogging in the neighbourhood.
“The last thing he said to me was thank you for the food and money'. One moment I was talking to him and the next moment he had left me.”
Yip, a former signboard maker, was described as a friendly person who would wave to people while jogging.
Right after Yip was attacked, a passer-by used his mobile phone to contact Hon Mun, who rushed to the scene.
“It was a horrifying sight to see your loved one lying motionless on the road in a pool of blood,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Hon Mun sent an e-mail to his neighbours thanking them for their assistance.
In the e-mail, he expressed the wish that dog owners would learn to be more responsible for their pets.
“If my father's death can be a wake-up call to all dog owners, his death would not have been in vain,” he said.
Yip will be cremated at 2pm on Saturday at the Gui Yuan Crematorium here.

N.B. Just when you you thought people are becoming self-centred and egoistic, there is more than  a shimmer of light - there are people who forgive and 'love thy neighbours' as stated in the testaments. I am truly teary eyed by looking at this photo FG.

Old Pictures of Old Penang!

Thanks to Penang Vintage Postcard collection (http://penang-ppc.blogspot.com/) for pix

Current Penang Race Course was last time located in Macalister Road. In 1939, The Turf Club bought 230 acre site at Batu Gantung, therefore it was moved to the new site. The old race course site now is occupied by St. George's Girl School and the road name was changed from Race Course Road to Residency Road. The road name was derived from the official residence of the Governor of Penang.

Imprint: Strait Photo, Co. Penang, No. 17

St Xavier's Institution is a boys' school founded by the De La Salle Brothers in 1852. It was just a medium English school named St. Francis Xavier's Free School during 1825. However in 1857, the school was relocated at Farquhar Street, occupied about 30x50 meters, and about 80 pupils in the school. 

In 1900, the building was enlarged, and the enrolment rate was over 400 pupils and later even over 1000 pupils. During WW2, this building was partially bombed by Japan Army, school was suspended. After the war, the building was reconstructed and completed at 1952.

Larut Road is a road in George Town. It runs from Northam Road (Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah) to Burmah Road. Built at late 19th century, the name was derived from Larut War. Larut war is the conflict was fought among local Chinese secret societies over the control of mining areas in Perak.

Campbell Street name was derived from Sir George William Robert Campbell, he was Penang Inspector General during 1866 to 1891, at the same time, act as Lieutenant-Governor of Penang about 1 years from 1872. Campbell Street in Chinese called 新街，meaning 'new street' created between Pitt Street and Penang Road. It is a red light district, and supported by businesses such as opium shops, barber shops, watch shops, medical halls, textile shops, jewelery shops and the most attractive was a lined of brothels.

In Hokkien, the local called it 'Sin Kay', as a pun to mean 'fresh hooker' brought in from China to fill the courtesans quarters along the street. Before the abolition of licensed prostitution around 1930, Campbell Street was known as high-class Chinese brothels, they advertise themselves by hanging red lanterns at their doors. In Malay, Campbell Street was called 'Jalan Nona Baru' which means 'new maidens' street. The Cantonese used to call it Fa Kai means Flower Street. The 'Fa' represent the prostitutes in refined term.

In the postcard above, at the left hand-side shows the area of Esplanade. The Padang Kota Lama is the parade ground and playing field created by the British colonials. During 1900s, the clubhouse buildings such as Penang Cricket Club, Penang Recreation Club were located at here. However, during the Second World War, they were destroyed and never rebuilt again.

Snake Temple

Hutton Lane

Penang Road

F.Y.I. The car is a Toyota

?Kuantan Rd or Dato Kramat market?

China Street junction

The area in front  of Capitol theatre 

Pitt Street Chinese Temple

Elizabeth Taylor in Raintree County 'Now Showing' in Capital!

Pontianak!

Before and After picture!