You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Alert to all who leave by the coast lines in the country or nearby. Nature has a way of telling us things - their own warning alarms which thru modernisation have left us forgotten of this this tremendous values of the seas. Something is definitely happening but nobody knows what, when and where, only time will tell. But is there really any natural warnings — there must be!
The NST story says it:
Sea cucumbers on Penang beach raise fear
11 Dec 2006
BALIK PULAU: Memories of the tsunami disaster returned to haunt residents of Pantai Pasir Panjang following the appearance of thousands of the jelly-like sea cucumbers on the beach here.
The bronog, the size of a thumb, found their way onto the kilometre-long shore after midnight yesterday.
While holiday-makers took no notice of the rare phenomenon, residents here believe that the appearance of the sea cucumbers could be a sign of an impending disaster.
Several days before the Dec 26 tsunami in 2004, thousands of fish were washed ashore on the same beach.
Most of the more than 50 deaths during the tsunami were reported at Pantai Pasir Panjang.
Abu Bakri Abu Bakar, 33, a security personnel at the Kem Bina Negara here, said this was the first such incident on the beach.
He said the beach looked white but there was a change in colour that made him go there to check.
“I found thousands of sea cucumbers washed ashore. I have a funny feeling that this is a bad omen.
“I just hope my instincts are wrong this time,” he added.
About a month ago, thousands of sea cucumbers, known locally as gamat, also appeared on the Batu Buruk tourist beach in Kuala Terengganu.
Officials there claimed that it was a new phenomenon for sea cucumbers to surface near the shore.
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
Busking is the practice of doing live performances in public places to entertain people, usually to solicit donations and tips. Those engaging in this practice are called buskers. Busking is a British term.WIKIPEDIA
Alas i manage to catch a show — probably not the greatest of their line-up but entertaining. It will be going on until the 10th of December and all monetary collections will be for charity. They started on the 2nd of December and their shows usually begin at 6pm all the way till 10pm. The opening ceremony was at the Dataran Merdeka and later the shows were done over five venues every evening.
http://www.malaysiabuskers.com
After the PTK course, I decided to head to Bandar One Utama shopping centre which was one of the venues for the buskers show. There was a bad traffic jam all the way there and upon reaching I asked a guard at the information centre about this international event! This is something I seldom because as time was a constrain I asked and confidently she said all was over. Refuse to believe, I searched and found and saw all the three buskers performing there.
KROMATIK (QUEBEC)
With her fancy touch and creative hues of colour, Nathalie is set to become a living canvas. Nathalie is poised to colour your face, body, and soul, transforming the endless beauty of human nature into a happy creation of art. She has been performing make-up and body painting for over 18 years throughout North America, Europe and Asia. With Kromatik, imagination and creativity have no limits.
ACROMANUEL (MEXICO)
Manuel’s act is a combination of acrobatics, balance, control and strength. He uses his body as a starting point which is the main focus of his show. Accompanied by atmospheric music as well as simple geometrical props, he moves through a series of graceful yet physically challenging handstands, turns and rotations. The audience will be amazed by the contrast between a human and a geometrical shape moving together in a harmonious way.
OZSTAR AIRLINES (AUSTRALIA)
Eloise Green and Katie Wright have been friends since they met as youngsters with Adelaide’s Cirkidz Circus. They joined forces and created OZSTAR AIRLINES, a small budget airline which quickly took off touring 9 countries in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and now North America. Please fasten your seatbelts, place your tray tables in an upright position and prepare for take-off with this high-flying comedic duo. Your flight attendants Stacey and Tracey will provide you with an exciting array of live in-flight entertainment. Get your boarding passes ready and prepare for hula hoop madness, kooky safety demos and some serious juggling. Stace and Trace are 2 Chicks with Circus Tricks and Great Shoes!
So with this lets get into the Christmas mood
My sister is in Christmas mood and I must say I am too after the Singapore trip and a visit too my all time favourite One Utama.
Well, she has started preparing her Christmas cakes and cookies and this the first of them.
Raspberry Cheese Cake
Wow she even decorated it with some Christmas deco.
Looks delicious and I am sure by the looks of the slice — Secret Recipes could be green by now! I know I am salivating right now - probably end up with some gastric ulcers if i were too look any longer.
Devour with pleasure!
The Swan Lady
Dick Ashford, consultant clinical oncologist, Mount Vernon Hospital
It is 1946. A young woman is dying of breast cancer in a side street in Streatham. This is before the days of chemotherapy, and her radiotherapy has badly burnt and scarred her. The family doctor tells her distraught husband that there is no more he can do for her. “If they had not cut into the cancer, she might have survived.” A small girl overhears these words and never forgets them. The doctor leaves, and shortly the young woman dies, with little dignity as, in those days, morphine is used sparingly for fear of addiction.
Sixty years later, an elderly woman consults her oncologist. For seven years she has lived with breast cancer but has refused treatment. Her disease is now very advanced. She is beginning to lose her concentration, and, realising that her memory is becoming faulty, she decides she had better seek orthodox medical advice for the last time. I examine her and find a huge, fixed, offensive cancer of her left breast. Her liver is grossly enlarged. She is cachectic, and there are skin deposits on her back and abdomen. She dresses.
Back in the consulting room, I am surprised to find her a sophisticated and attractive lady, quite invisible as a patient behind her clothes. She has a gentle, cultured voice. I ask her what she used to do for a living. After being widowed early and childless, she had given educational lectures all around the country.
“What were they on?” I ask her.
“Many things, but mainly on swans.”
“What sort of swan?” I go on, fancying myself as a bit of an ornithologist.
“Mute swans,” she answers.
“And why swans?”
“Because swans are such elegant and beautiful creatures. They are greatly harmed by fisherman, and much maligned. They mate for life, take care of their young, and will fight and die for each other.”
There is nothing I can say. This perceptive, cultured, and sensitive woman has allowed her breast cancer to progress untreated for the past seven years, refusing all conventional treatment, because of what she overheard as a small child 60 years ago. Those words, spoken in ignorance but never doubted by her, were her death sentence, as lethal as any bullet.
What can we learn from the Swan Lady? To take care what we tell our patients and to remember the power our words can have. Sometimes our greatest strength, like the swan, is in silence.
BMJ 2006;333:1210 (9 December),
Odysseys of George, Selayang, Selangor
