Happy New Year! January 5, 2009
Posted by elizabethwong in Miscellanous.Tags: Colette, Gertrude Bell, Iraq, New Year, Palestine
2 comments
It’s been a while since I connected to the hive (no internet, no phones = bliss), hence the belated New Year greetings.
My break is coming to a rapid end. Found a great 2nd hand bookshop on the island with some amazing tomes including Colette’s collected works and a biography which I am reading on Gertrude Bell by Janet Wallach. Too apt, considering what is going on in Iraq and the current invasion of Gaza.
May this new year bring us closer to peace of mind and peace on earth. And may common sense prevail in these trying times.
New backend of WordPress April 5, 2008
Posted by elizabethwong in Miscellanous.Tags: Wordpress
3 comments
Three thumbs down.
Categories should remain on the RH sidebar.
Save / Publish should remain below the post box, otherwise we’re going up and down the page.
How not to hijack an event October 1, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Huh?!, Malaysia, Miscellanous, Note2Self, Politics.19 comments
It is ironic that about a week after I wrote about “Mr. Respectability”, he rears his ugly head in public.
On Friday, I’d received several SMSs about a protest for Burma on Monday morning. Except that apparently the NGOs were approached by Mr. R.
“Who’s this chap? Can you jog my memory?”
“He’s the guy who sold out Reformasi for RM 40K and a new Proton. Later he campaigned against his mentor in the 1999 elections”
“Oh HIM. The cheek.”
I didn’t think much of that until Sunday evening, when some of the national youth groups contacted us. Apparently, they’d found out that Mr R, who was either trying to do his Master’s bidding, or trying to curry favour with his Master, planned to ‘hijack’ the Monday protest at the Burmese embassy. So an SOS was sent out to other political parties and civil society organisations to stop the demo from being a BN show.
The Perfect Crime (2) July 9, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Art & Visuals, Current Affairs, Democracy, Human Rights, Malaysia, Miscellanous, Note2Self, Politics.10 comments
Two of my favourite postcards in my growing collection hanging in my study, is one of a certain son-in-law in a ‘little-house-on-the-prairie’ dress and the other being two MP-monkeys (the ‘Leader’ snoozing away in a dunce hat comes a close third). They never fail to crack me up, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone those are made to elicit subjective responses.
But I must say, I was surprised, having gone through all the collated responses today, from Malaysia-Today to a number of prominent celebrity bloggers and a number of newspapers. They are very illuminating and I’ve printed them out for further study and to select choice quotes for a paper I’m working on, tentatively titled, “What Lies Beneath: The Simulacrum‘s Justice” (copyright ya).
“Dinner for 3” even snagged the prized Sunday Star editorial spot and a rather disturbing frontpage headline story in Nanyang’s Sunday evening edition (see below).
But the question which bugged me all evening was this:- Why are Umno and friends (including our dear rakan ‘Kimma’) getting all worked up, even to the point of hysteria, over this?
(more…)
The Perfect Crime (1) July 8, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Art & Visuals, Current Affairs, Democracy, Human Rights, Malaysia, Miscellanous, Note2Self, Politics, Readings.1 comment so far
I’d not been able to write much earlier, due to a minor back injury. But for the first time in ten years or perhaps even longer, I’ve been able to have some decent discussions on Eco, Barthes and Baudrillard in the past few days with a number of people, thanks to Tian Chua’s ‘Dinner for 3’.
And it just keeps getting better.
I now regret putting aside my original presentation for the Youth4Change panel two weeks ago, which uses much of Baudrillard to analyse the media as a simulacrum, in favour of a less exciting albeit simpler format.
Beth – here is one of my favourite pieces, which gets better as it approaches the end:-
Paging Dr McSpecialist June 26, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Malaysia, Miscellanous, Note2Self.8 comments
Something’s very wrong with this picture:-
JOHOR BARU: Actor Izi Yahya, known for his villainous roles, died here after a fall during the shooting of a documentary on Saturday. He was 42.
He was initially rushed to a clinic in Mantin, Negri Sembilan, and then referred to the Seremban Hospital.
However, there was no specialist at the hospital to treat Izi, who required immediate surgery for brain haemorrhage.
He had to be rushed to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital here when it was learnt that there were also no specialists at the Kuala Lumpur, Selayang and Sungai Buloh hospitals nor at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre. (More)
Condolences to the family of the late Izi Yahya.
CSI meets Burmese refugees June 19, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Human Rights, International, Miscellanous, Note2Self.6 comments
(Left) Look into my eyes…. you have to eat, sleep, drink Burma.
(Right) Y-e-ssssss…..
This is Debs, our single-tracked pal, doing what she does best – pitching on democracy in Burma. She took this CSI star for dinner by the river. Even made breakfast for him. And in between, briefing a very willing listener.
(insert soundtrack) Who are you…woo-ooo-woo-ooo…
6 degrees of 50mm June 10, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Malaysia, Miscellanous, Note2Self, Photography.29 comments
50mm to unite us all in just 48 hours.
Cakes, tea and coffee are not optional.
Back to basics.
‘The Bird House’ – Khoo Eng Yow April 4, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Event, Heritage, Malaysia, Miscellanous.add a comment
Future rights March 28, 2007
Posted by elizabethwong in Human Rights, Malaysia, Miscellanous.1 comment so far
(Filed under “Too Cool”)
While our government here can’t even be bothered to debate the Annual Report of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (MPs found their copies on their desks on Monday), South Korea is discussing about rights of robots.
While South Korea is planning to place a robot in every household by 2020, we can’t even aim for a vacuum cleaner in every house since we haven’t sorted out a viable masterplan on rural electrification in east Malaysia.
elizabeth wong 