..and though time goes by, I will always be…

James Blunt wasn’t even born yet in 1973, so it definitely can’t be about him.

Some say he spent a number of years in Ibiza, and fell in love with the clubbing scene. This song is supposedly a tribute to Pacha, his favourite club there.

Still doesn’t explain the ’1973′ part, though.

So I suppose, the truth is sometimes simpler than it first seemed.

Is there really a difference between Simona no longer around and Simona never existed in the first place?

This is just like life. Sometimes the solution is simple. Why do we complicate things?

It’s still a swell song nevertheless.

Lykke Li: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (Cover)

I can’t seem to get this song out of my head. So I went out to find the best cover version available. And I found out about Lykke Li.

This version is incredibly haunting and soulful.

The only thing I can think about after listening to this is, how did we get here and where are we heading? Sigh…

Second Day Of Raya: Morning AM

Hello billions of invisible readers,

A mostly uneventful morning. Cycled for 45 mins and finished watching the 2nd half of Die Hard 1.

It’s understandable that the definition of beauty changes across time and geography. But its funny how this change happens so subtlely that we dont realize it.

I am referring to the heroine (lead actress’s) hair in the movie, fritzy, big and kinda fritzy. That was the in thing in the 80′s. Reminds me of Rosmah’s minus the fritz.

Well, whatever tickles your fancy.

Me, I like em straight not too curly, preferably short..:p

…Time to shower up and head out. The customary visit everyone’s- house-and-subsequently-put-on-weight starts.

Later , guys (and especially gals). Dont’ miss me.

First Day Raya

After seeing periuks of nasi minyak, lemang, chicken n beef rendang being wolfed down, a few billion kids running amok around the house dropping pieces of food all over the place, 3 and a half cakes, and the cleaning, lets not even go there (I think I washed and dried up more plates n glasses today then I did the whole year), ….I finally get to sit down and rest…

Pheww…It’s been rough out there, but watching those happy faces, its worth every bit. I should have given more duit raya, regretting abit but I have to save $$$ this year, every little bit counts.

I also learnt quite a few things today:-

1. The only raya cookie that actually laku is chocolate chip cookies. Screw the rest.

2. Kids love cakes. Any kind of cake sells. This one is pretty obvious, but sometimes we tend to forget.

3. When planning on fixing a door bell and door lock, make sure its beyond reach of anyone shorter than 4 feet. Or else, you get kids running in and out of the house ringing the door bell just for fun. Kids will be kids I suppose, but it can be annoying.

4. Expect the unexpected. Like this kid, suddenly became so clingy to me. Its weird, its like I’m responsible for him. Just weird.

5. This is related to 4. Divorce is toughest on the kids. I never want to go through that.

6. Being an ‘anti established religious person’, it just dawned upon me how/why organised religion can be good. See, there are serious motherf#ckers out there who just would not give a sh#t about other ppl. They need the threat of Hell and the promise of Heaven in order for them to behave and keep society peaceful. And this promise has to be easy, no thinking is required, they just have to be docile sheeps and follow the shepard wherever he leads them.

Of cos, this doesnt work right? Or else, society will be at peace today, and clearly we are not. And that is because, the shepard will be corrupt. Maybe not today, or next week, but at some point he will be. That is the nature of the beast ie humans (us). So scrape out number 6. I already knew that.

Well, its really not my intention to end this post on a sombre note. But as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. With that, I’m signing off to rub some deep heat on my poor feet..

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin to all…

Unsur-Unsur Kafir/Syaitan Laknatullah Dalam Sambutan Hari Raya!

Wahahaha

This is absolutely hilarious!! Check it out at this dude’s blog:-

Jadi bagaimanakah adat memakan ketupat wujud dikalangan Melayu? Ternyata adat memakan lemang dan ketupat semasa raya bukan mengikut syariat Islam dan tanpa disedari kita telah mengikut amalan Freemason semasa menyembah Syaitan.

Exactly what I was saying here, about the controversial TV3 raya ad!

I’m willing to bet RM100 that this will cause an outcry too..

Oh ye of little faith…oppps shouldnt say that…could be blasphemous if they knew the origins of that phrase…..

Malaysian Property Market: About To Burst?

Read an interesting Malaysian Insider report:-

Is the property market bubbling over?
While Napic does not have a housing affordability index, a rough calculation shows that the average price of RM212,815 is about 4.4 times that of an average annual household income of RM48,000. The average price of a KL home is now a steep 9 times that of the average urban household income of RM54,000 and a possible sign that the market is headed for a bubble.

A housing bubble, fuelled by easy credit can typically last for years before bursting. Experts were early by 2 – 3 years in predicting the recent subprime crisis in the US. Could we be on the onset of one?

Definitely not the same sort of scale.

Property prices are not high, at least by regional comparison. But looking at income levels and rental levels, they are.

Banks exposure to real estate loans are not that big; 20%- 30%. Home prices didnt appreciate that much, hence it is unlikely that there would be defaults significant enough to hurt banks. The unknown here is loan standards, were they compromised? Only time will tell.

Unlike the US, there weren’t any leveraged funds or ‘money market’ funds that funded these purchases via short term debt, so risks of any sort of funding run is almost nil. I dont think interbank market will be too affected.

Low-ish odds of happening but with devastating outcomes is not something we should be betting on. Which suggests that BNM’s move to raise interest rates so far, and increase LTV (if jadi) is good policy. Nip the overheating at the bud.

Still, I have seen how ppl get around the maximum LTV limit. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out…

Sleepless-ness II

3rd post for the night (or morning). This has to be some sort of record. No prizes for content though, but who cares..

All I wanna say is that, I am still awake. And, I was right, there is a frothy housing market somewhat here. Not a bubble, but certainly frothy.

And wtf is this?

SHAH ALAM, Sept 1 – Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said today that he supports the federal government’s decision to give out “duit raya” for civil servants but pointed out that the payment would cost more than RM900 million, which is more than the RM750 million the Najib administration had saved by cutting subsidies this year.

Typical. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Undilah kerajaan Barisan Nasional.

Sleepless-ness…

Shit, I can’t sleep, shouldnt have drank that vietnemese coffee…:(

It’s Friday night. Or rather Saturday morning. It’s already the weekend.

I should be savoring this moment after a week’s work. Instead, the only thing I can think off is whether yields will continue rallying on Monday. I swear to God, if the 10 year hits 3.65, I’ll sell…

Maybe I need a new job.

2:183 – 2:185: Puasa di bulan Ramadhan

Puasa in ramadhan related verses that I can find:-

2:183. Wahai orang-orang yang percaya, dituliskan bagi kamu berpuasa sebagaimana dituliskan bagi orang-orang yang sebelum kamu, supaya kamu bertakwa.

2:184. Pada hari-hari yang terhitung; dan jika sesiapa antara kamu sakit, atau jika dia dalam perjalanan, maka sebilangan daripada hari-hari yang lain; dan bagi orang-orang yang tidak boleh, ditebus dengan memberi makan seorang miskin, tetapi lebih baik baginya, yang membuat kebaikan dengan sukarela, bahawa kamu berpuasa adalah lebih baik bagi kamu, jika kamu mengetahui.

2:185. Bulan Ramadan yang padanya Al-Qur’an diturunkan untuk menjadi satu petunjuk bagi manusia, dan sebagai bukti-bukti yang jelas daripada Petunjuk itu, dan Pembeza. Maka hendaklah orang-orang antara kamu yang menyaksikan (hadir) pada bulan itu, berpuasa; dan sesiapa yang sakit, atau dalam perjalanan, maka sebilangan daripada hari-hari yang lain. Allah menghendaki kemudahan bagi kamu, dan tidak menghendaki kesukaran bagi kamu; dan agar kamu mencukupkan bilangan, dan mengagungkan Allah, bahawa Dia telah memberi petunjuk kepada kamu supaya kamu berterima kasih

(Asad translation)

2:183. O YOU who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God:

2:184. During a certain number of days. But whoever of you is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days; and [in such cases] it is incumbent upon those who can afford it to make sacrifice by feeding a needy person. And whoever does more good than he is bound to do does good unto himself thereby; for to fast is to do good unto yourselves – if you but knew it.

2:185. It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was [first] bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the true from the false. Hence, whoever of you lives to see this month shall fast throughout it; but he that is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days. God wills that you shall have ease, and does not will you to suffer hardship; but [He desires] that you complete the number [of days required], and that you extol God for His having guided you aright, and that you render your thanks [unto Him].

A couple of points to draw from the above simple verses:

1. Only two exception to puasa: sakit (ill) & dalam perjalanan (on a journey).

2. What to do in such a case? When such we are told to ganti with other days, ‘maka sebilangan daripada hari2 yang lain’. But if you can’t, give food to the poor. Of cos, we can define period as sakit. But would any medical practitioner define that as sickness today?

3. Another interesting fact, we are often told we must ganti within a year. No such thing here.