Better late than never?

So, there I was rushing through traffic trying not to embarrass myself by being late. Looking at my watch periodically, I just wanted to ensure that I do not walk into the hall with the bridal entourage instead of before them. Not that it had not happened before!
I remember, many years ago, in my hometown, where everything was a lazy affair, my family and I were invited to a friend's parents' wedding anniversary which was celebrated in a glitzy and pompous manner. In keeping with the high brow nature of the function with distinguished guests and all, the host decided to start  right on the dot.

Deer in headlights!

Talk about right timing, we just made our entry just when the spotlights went on and Cliff Richard's 'Congratulations and Celebrations' started playing. It very much took us by surprise. We were dumbfounded in a 'deer in headlights' moment.
So were the guests who were expecting to see the special stars for the evening!
Anyway, coming back to the present times, I finally made it to the wedding reception hall. This time, the surprise was on me again as the hall was practically empty! The invitation quoted that dinner was to start at 7pm and there I was at 7.30pm.
After a good half and an hour of looking around from top to bottom and from side to side of the hall and the decorations, guests started strolling in. My friend who was supposed to join me coolly sauntered in at about 8.30pm just when the function was starting. As a matter-of-factly, he sneered at me for coming so early for a Malay wedding. He said that it is an unwritten rule that things are to start at least one and a half hour late.
So far, I have only heard the Chinese complained about their wedding dinners not starting on time. Even the Indian wedding receptions are better, half to an hour late.
Anyway, when the function actually started, everything was forgotten. Everyone was merry-making and having fun rather than brooding about wasted time.
So, the next time, it would be still a one and half hour delay. I would be wiser. I would also go late. And the trend would continue. Nobody is going to start a function when nobody is in attendance. There would be the royal couple but without lowly peasants, the royal couple would just a couple without the lowly subjects to fete them up to high heavens!

What Man wants?

En Passion (The Passion, Swedish; 1969)
Director: Ingmar Bergman

As the camera rolls in, the loneliness of the protagonist is made apparent. He is only greeted with the sounds of birds, winds and nature. There are no company of people for miles around, and the weather is not so refreshing. This is the backdrop of the start of this film which, one questions the very things that all individuals ask after they have achieved a certain level in life. They lay down specific guidelines for people around them to follow, and the boundary is breached; they cannot accept it, and pandemonium is the order of the day. People around them, affected by them, who long for their companion, who look at them for guidance and love, are the direct victims of their actions. If this explanation sounds confusing, watch it yourself and draw your conclusions. Answers in life are neither black nor white; they come in shades of grey.

Andreas Winkelman (Max von Sydow, a regular in Bergman's films) is a lonely divorcee leading his own lonely life himself where his only company is solitude and sounds of nature. He does his personal things at his own snail's pace. His occasional acquaintance is bronchitic cart pulling man, Sigge, with a prior stint at the mental asylum.
On one fateful day, a visitor from his friend's (Eva and Elis) home (Anna, Liv Ullman, another regular feature in Bergman's films) comes in using his phone as the friend's line was out of order. Andreas eavesdrops on the emotional conversation where she spills her emotion to her ex-husband about money issues.

Anna leaves the house in a hurry, leaving her handbag behind. Anna had allegedly been involved in a nasty accident 3 months previously where her husband and son had perished, and she needed multiple surgeries and was walking with crutches.

The curious Andreas took the liberty to look into the handbag to discover a letter from her husband about her dogmatic attitudes, their incompatibility and separation.
Andreas' friends Eva and Elis have problems of their own. Eva is a chronic insomniac who never got over her previous miscarriage, and her marital bed has been unkindled for a mighty long time. Elis is a keen photographer who is inspired by snapping emotions. Andreas becomes his model.

On the side, the village has a spate of cruel killings and snaring of animals. Bewildered on the perpetrator's identity, the accusing hands of the villagers pointed at Sigge because of his past mental condition. Constant threat and harassment pushed him to suicide, only for the mindless killing to continue even after his demise!

How do human emotions push us to do the unthinkable?

Andreas befriends Anna. After an initial good going, both expressed insecurity and resentment towards each other. Andreas felt freedom in his solitude. Anna's deception about her spouse was uncovered- they divorced! They finally went separate ways, just as the way before.

The take-home message that I draw from here is that one should not be so egoistic in only wanting to attain self-gratification to his own content. Perhaps he should look around at all the good things he has around him and make the best available - less pain, more to gain. Well, it worked well for generations before us! Or maybe being dogmatic, steadfast in our beliefs and set in doing things in a way and insisting on others to do it may just push us off our or others' minds? 

So you think you made it!

Perched high up on skyscraper, placed on a hill overlooking the lowlands of common people and the iconic bridge to mainland, amidst the clutter of cutlery in the continental restaurant, indulging in the high caloried diet with no guilt, sipping the freshly squeezed orange, brain immersed in endorphines, it sure feels good like a million dollars to know that you had conquered the challenges that life had to offer, albeit in our own small ways.

We made small baby steps to face the giant face of life and came out smelling not of stinking sweat but sweet smelling roses. We persevered, we fought the fight, endured the pain, ignored the heartbreaks and followed the path of least resistance. Like James Brown said, "It feels good, it feels nice". Even the unsweetened black coffee tastes sweet! And the bread as we know it has a funny foreign sounding name.

Rifle Range Flats

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2013/11/23/The-first-lowcost-highrise-flats-built-in-the-country-were-in-Penang.aspx

Community

Published: Saturday November 23, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Saturday November 23, 2013 MYT 12:01:14 PM

The first low-cost high-rise flats built in the country were in Penang

BY WONG CHUN WAI

Big complex: There are nine blocks spread over 16.7ha with 3,888 units

THE Rifle Range Flats is one of the most densely populated areas in Penang.
Penangites can tell you if you choose to park your car near the flats in the evening, the chances of your car being blocked by other cars is almost 100%.
The likelihood is that the unsuspecting motorist would never be able to get his stuck vehicle out.
The best way would be to return in the morning when the other cars have left.
That’s how sardine-packed the area is.
The almost non-existent parking bays at the flats is simply because the architects of the country’s first high-rise, low cost flats never imagined that the dwellers would be able to afford a car as low-wage earners.
They probably never believed that the living standards of Penangites living at the mostly single-room flats, would improve.

Close to the shops: There are a large number of hawkers, coffee shops and even a wet market on the ground floor of the flats.

According to blogger Lim Thian Leong, there are nine blocks of 17-storey buildings within an area of 16.7ha, with every floor consisting of 20 units of single bedrooms and four two bedroom units.
With a total of 3,888 units within the flats, the average size of a unit is merely 340 sq ft!
It is not unusual for the rest of the family members to sleep in the living room while the parents take up the only room in the flat.
Because of its high density, the flats remain a politician’s delight, or nightmare, depending on the crowds you can command come election time.
Almost all the big guns (pun intended) show up at Rifle Range during the last leg of the campaign.
Rifle Range Road or Jalan Padang Tembak is one of the main roads connecting Air Itam and George Town.
Popularly known as pak cheng poh, in Hokkein, is so named because the area used to be a shooting range, according to writer-photographer Timothy Lye.
“It was once an open space used as a shooting range by the police and the military.
“The namesake shooting range located next to the Batu Gantong Cemetery made way for the low-cost flats,” he wrote.
The flats were built by the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu when the then opposition Gerakan party swept into power in 1969.
Through the Penang Development Corporation, the Rifle Range flats, designed by a German firm, was built.
Faced with the problems of housing needs for the poor, more flats were then constructed in other areas.
When he took over Penang, unemployment was running at 16% but he created plenty of jobs through the setting up of the Penang Free Trade Zone in Bayan Lepas.

Taking a breather: A motorcyclist resting on his motorcycle on the ground floor of the flats.

But according to Farouk Gulsara, in his blog posting, in 1964, the national Ministry of Housing and Local Government had already identified two pilot projects in order to try out the industrialised building or prefabrication system (known as IBS).
The first of these projects was in Kuala Lumpur along Jalan Tun Razak (Jalan Pekeliling).
The second pilot project was set in Penang, consisting the construction of six blocks of 17-storey flats and three blocks of 18-storey flats comprising 3,699 units and 66 shop lots along Rifle Range Road.
“The project in Penang was awarded to Hochtief/Chee Seng using the French Estiot System and took 27 months to complete, inclusive of the time taken in setting up the precast factories.
“When Rifle Range Flats were completed in the early 1970s, they were the tallest buildings in Penang.
“None of the units were big ‑ on average they were approximately 36 sq m for intermediate one bedroom units and 38.7 sq m. for two bedroom end units.
“Nonetheless, they provided housing for many hardcore poor. “
The Rifle Range Flats area where Dr Lim chose as a site for the construction of the buildings was not the more preferred choice for residence.
Located next to the Batu Gantong cemetery, it is said that the ground where the flats now stands used to be the burial plot for the mass burying of those massacred by the Japanese during the Occupation.
As a child growing up in nearby Jalan Kampung Melayu, I used to cycle to the flats to meet up with friends.

Spot of colour: A resident walking by a unit where the owner decided to add some colour to the home.

Even in the late 1970s, there were still cow herds along Boundary Road, which I had to cycle past to reach Rifle Range.
News reports of residents jumping to their death, or more precisely, committing suicide, were regular and when I finally joined The Star as a reporter in the 1980s, the suicides still did not stop, with residents often bringing up stories of those who were buried underneath!
The suicides there were the subject of a book by anthropologist Jean Elizabeth De Bernardi The Way That Lives in the Hearts: Chinese Popular Spirits and Mediumswhere a medium purportedly claimed that the spirits had to take away 16 lives although at the time of research, there were already 20 victims.
Her cynical research assistant concluded that it was more likely that the victims had taken their lives because they had no work or money.
But less talked about is actually the large number of hawkers and coffeeshops, located at the ground floors of the flats.
There is also a wet market nearby.
As a child, my brother Wong Chun Fong, and I would to go the market every Saturday morning to buy the economy fried bee hoon and the Penang style pan cake, ban chang kuih, made from flour and sprinkled with sugar and groundnuts.
Nothing much has really changed in Rifle Range Flats today.
There would likely be new occupants, as those who have fared better in their lives moved out.
It has remained crowded with a host of social problems from drugs, thefts to gangsterism but the majority of the people are law-abiding, helpful and friendly people.
Despite the density of the area, Rifle Range has remained home to thousands and thousands of Penangites.

American Cities A Century Ago

Thanks RS, SK, TM for contribution.

Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, in 1917.

Atlantic City, 1910.

The main street of Memphis, north of Avenue Gayoso, 1910.

Station “Louisville-Nashville,” Florida, in 1910.

Forsyth Street, Jacksonville, Florida, in 1910.

The beach in Atlantic City, 1915.

Grant Avenue after an earthquake in San Francisco in 1906.

Carts for transporting dairy Thompson, Washington, 1927.

Washington, DC, 1914.

Cadillac Square, Detroit, Michigan, 1916.

Ninth Street, Washington DC, 1915.

Corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, 1910.

Broad Street north of Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 1905.

View of Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn in 1909.

Fire at 55th Street, New York, 1915.

Fifth Avenue, New York, 1913.

Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 1907.

The New York Public Library, New York, 1915.

Wall Street, New York, 1911.

Fifth Avenue, New York, 1913.

Manhattan, 1907.

The northern part of Fifth Avenue, New York, 1913.

New York City Hall

Dexter Avenue and the Capitol, Montgomery, Alabama, in 1906.

Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1910

Washington, DC, 1913.

Broadway and the building of “The Times,” New York, 1915.

What war does to man?

Skammen (Swedish, Shame; 1968)
Director: Ingmar Bergman

Another powerful anti-war movie by master film maker which shows the emotional impact of war on human behaviour and relationship. There are many untold subtle messages in the movie that are left to viewers' discretion. And it does aim to solve any of world problems!
Jan and Eva Rosenberg are a childless couple of 7 years' marriage who probably decided to leave the city life, as the were instrument players in the philharmonic orchestra, to live a quiet life near to nature in a lonely island. War, probably civil war, is looming with the sight of flying fighter planes and sounds of gunshots.
The film starts off depicting Jan as a unstable guy who needs prodding and suggestion. Eve, the wife, seem to be losing her patience with his indecision but loves him still the same.
They carry on life, supplying produce to clients. The talk around village is the worsening of war. Many are drafted into army, reluctantly. Jan is exempted for health reasons, with is not told to us.
The passion between the couple is depicted not so much as physical lust but rather small talks about the plans for future, seeing a doctor for fertility and the like.
The war draws near. Fighter planes are seen over their roof and bombs are dropped. The paratrooper is trapped on a tree. Arguments start between them to save him - Jan fearing of being shot and Eve on saving a dying man.
The Rosenbergs were on the brink of leaving their home when enemy soldier intercept them. The faint-hearted Jan faints at sight of soldier, derailing their plan. As the shower of gunpowder continue their shower around the vicinity, the couple make another dash to safety but in vain as their path is blocked by death and destruction. They return home to be accompanied by a barrage of bomb blasts all through the night.
The following morning, they were apprehended by the army for helping the paratroopers. They were interrogated. An acquaintance, Jacobi, a powerful figure in the army releases them. He keeps on visiting them at home with gifts and favours. Jacobi's relationship is more of manipulative than cordial. The Rosenberg's relationship slowly crumbles; with Eva accusing Jan of not standing up and Eva of fawning all over him!
Jacobi even beds the young wife for a bundle of cash! When the army questions Jacobi for corruption, he tries to pay off but the money had been pocketed by Jan.

Jacobi is placed in the firing squad and Jan is ordered to fire the first shot. The usually meek Jan obliges.
With the whole house burnt down by the army, the Rosenberg decide to hitch a boat ride to the mainland with Jacobi's money. We can see Eva slowly crumble under the turn of events. Paradoxically, Jan takes over the rein and takes charge.
The boat that they travel has engine failure and the occupants of the boat float aimlessly with dehydration as the the captain commits suicide due to hopelessness...

Weekend retreat!

They say they had a record of sorts, 44,000 registered to partake in this nostalgic run. Unfortunately, on the ground level, the number of participants at the half marathon did not seem to mirror that fact. Parking was a breeze relatively unlike last year and start off did not require knocking each other blind to pass the starting line.
The numbers were made up by the 10km'ers and fun runners mainly. Even the marathoners did not stand out.
After deciding to make it as a big boys' weekend out, the 4 members of the running gang drove up in the luxury of a 8-seater SUV to Penang in spirit of clean healthy fun. After reaching the destination and fulfilling filial obligations, we settled in for the night. The excitement for the day was too much for most of us to catch a single glimpse into slumberland!
Being deprived of proper sleep for more than 24 hours, we stepped into our sporting gears at 0130h to conquer the bridge once again. We could not have asked for a more conducive weather- a cool 25 degrees C and a light breeze. The only annoying thing on that morning was stench that emanated  from the stench of the decaying gooey substance sea bed of  the low tide.
The run started with a good head start with a cool zephyr and a slight drizzle to shower good blessing on the morning foot warriors. All 4 runners in the group ran at their own comfortable pace. Even though on the outward everyone appear not to be aiming high in their achievements, deep inside secretly everybody wanted to outdo their own selves. Each in their own way and strategy tried to outdo themselves and fought their inner demons.
Having their own story of agony to tell, each and everyone of the group actually outdid their previous outing. SK, I think, did his personal best of 2h5m with fainting spell and cramps afterwards; Ravin even though hampered by calf muscle cramps equaled his previous PB of 2h8m; yours truly at 2h14m, better than the past few recent HM timings though short of his PB; struggling through his abdominal cramps Raj achieved his PB of 2h16m!
Jubilant at their weekend conquest, the gang returned to their daytime jobs - sore with muscle overuse, tired but eyes wide awake with the euphoria of the achievements and adrenaline rush as well as post  run endorphins chatting boisterously and laughing all the way back to the capital city to meet another challenge - living in the real world....

http://penangmarathon.gov.my/portal/live-results/#b=RECDSTBL,R4NYFA8Z,RK6YGAW5,RHE5TKMY&v=ptrack