May 2007 Archives
May 31st is Vesak Day (Gautama Buddha's Birthday). Happy Ka-sone-la-pyae (meaning Full Moon Day of Kasone in Burmese) everyone.
I didn't get to do anything special for today but I did pray and take percepts and do the seitbadee and send metta to all beings (and I do mean all).
Sabbe satta sukhi hontuFor your reading pleasure:
May all beings be well and happy
New banner up (see top of page - the big yellow orange thingy)! Feel free to comment if you love it, hate it, want to marry it, etc...
I know the pinks below don't really match the new banner. However, I'm useless at HTML and CSS and I tried yellows and reds but hated how they showed up. If anyone has any ideas - I'd love to listen and try.
Update: Changed all the blog colors. No more pinks - hurrah for yellows and sunshine.
I didn't make the graphics - I just worked with them on Photoshop. The background is from Autumn Dreams and you can check her Deviant Art profile here. And the outline of the girl is from SImone. Check her profile here.
I really want to get back into designing. I studied it in 1999 and it's been way too long. I don't remember any of my Illustrator anymore and I used to get A's in those classes! Must teach self all over again.
AP reports:
Pro-junta thugs in Burma clashed with hundreds of supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, hurling abuse and preventing them from marching to a prayer vigil for the detained Nobel laureate, witnesses said.
I wonder what they said to the people wanting to pray for Daw Suu's release. They must be really scared of the power of prayer - Maybe we should all rally - get all the bloggers worldwide- make an appointment to pray for the end of the military regime every week and then inform them, just to make them upset.
Photo taken at "Scott Market"/ "Bo Gyoke Aung San Market" in Yangon - October 2005.
It's mid - day and he's sold enough fruit to get himself a Cig. How much more does he need to sell to bring enough money home?
Side by side, they shall stand together
in bad weather or bright sunshine.
everything is better when someone
else will share your jokes with you.
Associated Press reports that an opposition leader in Malaysia urges ASEAN (a group of South east Asian countries who form a geo-political and economical organization - let Burma in as a member in 1997) to expel Burma from the bloc.
I wonder what the consequences would be if ASEAN did do that. Would that mean that Burmese kids would have a harder time studying in Singapore, Malaysia, etc? Would that mean less chances for Burmese workers who want to work in Singapore as manual labourers? I am not sure, so I don't know if I want to support that decision.
"Myanmar's membership in ASEAN must be seriously reviewed as the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi marks the abysmal failure of the 10-year ASEAN experiment to influence the Myanmar military junta to be a responsible member of the international community," he (Lim Kit Siang) said in a statement.
But honestly, did ASEAN countries let Burma into ASEAN, just to solely influence them politically? I have a suspicion that that's not the only reason why. What about the economic access that the ASEAN countries have enjoyed in Burma?
Anyway, you can read the whole article from International Herald Tribune, and decide if ASEAN threatening to expel Burma would be a good move to free Daw Suu and the rest of political prisoners. And even if they were no longer confined (remember Daw Suu was free for a few years before being confined to imprisonment at home?), would they be politically practice what they believe in? Would there ever be another election in Burma? 21 questions...
Magnolias bloomed early this year.....
Proud and beautiful in the face of cold harsh wind
blooming amongst the bare trees.
Who needs leaves to adorn them when
they can stand on their own feet.
She stands there, waiting - for the day when he will come to break the spell that traps her in stone.
They put her in the water, perhaps in an attempt to soften her. But she knows better. She knows no one else will be privy to her heart but the one who deserves her.
It doesn't seem like eternity when she knows he is just around the corner.
Did they live happily ever after?
This Road leads to ________.
Taken in March, 2007. It started out as hail... Tiny balls of ice furiously pelting down on earth... slowly changed to light flurry snow... gone in a few days... such is the weather's temperament.
This is so weird. I been hearing about the hydro power dams that will be built in Burma with the help of China and Thailand - and all the reports previously have all claimed that the power will go to the neighboring countries and not to Burma - but this article here from Forbes seems to indicate that the dams are being built because there is a shortage of electricity in Burma. Does somebody know if Burma will actually get the power? I need clarification. Maybe there is an anonymous source in the Ministry of Electric Power who can tell me?
Sometimes I feel like I'm a negative ball of energy, spiraling through the lives of people who love me and whom I love.
Perhaps, a chameleon like rubber ball bouncing itself against the cold hard walls, hoping each time that the rock solid walls will bend themselves just a little for me, so I might be able to feel what it is like to be held by them.
But walls don't bend to rubber balls and I sit in the sun, letting its searing rays wear my elasticity down. I could roll away - down a path that had fought to be laid for me. And yet I look up to a a knobbly hill that grew itself into a mountain everyday, just to spite me or so I would believe.
The trouble with being so absorbent and pliable is that you take on the values of everything that touches you, catches your attention and seduces your inner critics. Soon, you are a conflicting enigma of diversions, each one calling the other one a square peg in the circle of life.
Hurt by Johnny Cash
According to DPA - Members of The 88 Generation Group paid a visit to U Cho Aung Than and Daw Nge Ma Ma Than, cousins to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (who has been under house arrest since May 27, 2003) at their apartment in Yankin Township in Yangon. According to the report, the visit was led by Ko Min Ko Naing, who was released from prison himself in 2004 and according to Amnesty International, who once famously said "If we want to enjoy the same rights as people in other countries, we have to be disciplined, united and brave enough to stand up to the dictators."
The article reports that the 88 Generation's Group's decision to visit Daw Suu's relatives caught Myanmar's security personnel by surprise, and did not stop the visit from happening. I wonder how many Military Intelligence personnel were in hot water for it.
I am also wondering when U Cho Aung Than and Daw Nge Ma Ma Than were released form prison, as according to an archived article from BurmaLibrary.org, they were each sentenced to 10 years in prison for "breaching the Unlawful Association Act" for allegedly giving Daw Suu some money from two foreign activists Phillip Robertson and John Osolnick. Daw Suu has denied ever receiving the money but her cousins were said to have been jailed, never the less. Read the article here.
A round of applause for Mizzima, everyone!
AFP reports that the International Press Institute (IPI) on Tuesday handed its annual Free Media Pioneer award to Myanmar's exiled news agency Mizzima News.
Despite a "clampdown on anybody who provides information to foreign news outlets" by Myanmar's military government, "Mizzima News has continued to provide accurate and timely news and information on Burma for both Burmese and English readers and viewers," the IPI said.
I have been reading Mizzima since 2004, I believe and I admire what they do. They are linked under News on Burma and the Region on the right hand side of this blog.
Congrats again for the good work.
I just saw the movie Blood Diamond today. It was a really great movie and many times during it, I teared up, saddened by the conflict in Sierra Leone in 1999 and with knowledge that such things go on in all parts of the world today. The main protagonist in the movie Leonardo DiCaprio said to the Jennifer Connelly character that the world has always been in chaos and that there is nothing anyone can do to really stop it. The Jennifer Connelly character gets jaded for a while, as she is a reporter and even though she constantly reports the victimization that goes on in different parts of the world, there is very little people in the first world who are moved beyond their apathy. So she fishes for the Big Story - one with evidence to show who is guilty- to bring down the companies and governments that go on encouraging the bloody wars. And of course, the BIG STORY is not without it's price.
I mainly blog about what is going on in Burma, for the same reasons that there are journalists out there who go into war torn countries to investigate: the need to tell the rest of the world what is going on behind the scenes. I don't think that I will ever get my BIG STORY even though I imagine it rather frequently. But I hope that someone else does.
It is with a mixture of sadness etched to growing detachment that tries to cling onto hope and faith that I relay to you the story from The Guardian about the mass killings that are going on in Eastern Burma today in the name of 4 big hydro dams that are to be built in Burma. Little or no electricity from the dams will even go into Burma. These are to be sold to Thailand or China for profit - for the government. And of course, east Burma has been known for its rich resources - mainly jade, etc. (And poppy plantations)
Excerpts from the article:
the newest offensive, out of sight in the jungle, is driven by the junta's aim to control resource-rich eastern Myanmar by enslaving some villages and destroying others -- killing, forcibly relocating or driving out the inhabitants.
"The regime uses development as an excuse for clearance," said Mark Farmaner of the UK-based advocacy group the Burma Campaign. "The generals say these are `development projects,' but they're cash projects. They invest massively in things like the dams and the revenues go straight to the dictatorship."
"The soldiers torture them," said Naw Ler Htoo of the Karen Teachers' Working Group that trains in the camps. "They cut off the ears and cut out their eyes. Then they leave their bodies, to terrorize the other villagers."
An estimated 95,000 people teeter on the brink of starvation in Myanmar, hiding in the jungle. The ranks of refugees in camps in Thailand have swelled to 153,000.
The flooding of vast areas will drive another 73,000 people from their land in Myanmar and 10,000 in Thailand. Environmentalists say the Salween's ecosystem will be devastated, jeopardizing 235 animal species. But the biggest fear is for the populace.
"These dam projects will just mean more and more forced labor, either on roads or the construction itself,"
Ever wished that you could change the channel on the TV without letting the ones who's got the remote control know about it? Never fear, Ninja Remote is here!! Check it.
I had known for quite a long time that Russia trains Burmese soldiers educate them, etc. But I didn't know that Burma was even thinking of having their very own nuclear centre. Perhaps I should have guessed when the Burmese government started taking the side of Iran in their nuclear debate with UN.
Now AFP reports that the Burmese government is to build a nuclear research centre and that the Russian government would provide technical assistance for the centre, is keen to rekindle the influence it had in Asia during the 1960s and 1970s, diplomatic sources said. Myanmar meanwhile wants to forge ties with governments that will turn a blind eye to the human rights abuses and suppression of opposition which has so enraged the US and Europe, which have economic sanctions against the regime. “Russia’s relationship with the US is not going well,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Myanmar analyst based in Thailand.
Apparently this is a very opportunistic deal for Russia as it aims to piss off the United States even more. The deal with Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom comes as ties sour between the Kremlin and the White House, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently accusing Russia of rolling back democracy.
I have never known what to say about the foreign sanctions against Burma. I mean I think I support them and then I see how businesses of other countries that don't really care that much about Burma's freedom thriving in Burma and then I think maybe the sanctions are not a good idea. Especially on the oil, gas, water and seafood deal that the Burmese government has drawn up with neighbouring countries. I mean Burmese people are always cheated out of their own natural resources; you can't buy king prawns from Burma in Burma but I can buy them in Singapore and the UK. Burmese people don't get electricity but they are outsourcing all the energy to Thailand? How does that make sense to you?
The article also reports that the Nuclear Program in Burma is to be a peaceful one, and would be controlled by the Atomic Energy Agency. But this is before the nuclear centre has been built. What will happen after it's up and running?
Will the world really believe the Burmese Military government? The same government that ordered 24 local NGOs (non profit and non political organisations) to close. The local NGOs include the free funeral society, run by famous Burmese actor Kyaw Thu and the Red Cross - which closed down in March in the face of these imposed restrictions.
SIGH.
Arthur et les Minimoys / Arthur and the invisibles
I already knew I was going to like this movie before I saw it. Why? The reason is simple. The movie is about a boy who goes looking for some much-fabled hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature. (Source IMDB)
And much like him, when I was a little girl, I used to imagine that within our worlds, there used to live another species of creatures who were so tiny that they were only a little bigger than ants. I used to imagine them having dinner with their family right below the dining table in our house when we used to have dinner as well. So finding out Luc Besson made a movie about these tiny people and called then "Les Minimoys" or "the Invisibles", I felt as thought I was in a special "I imagined the same things as you did when I was little" club.
Anyway, back to the movie review - I expected it to be a little dumbed down as it was a kid movie - but it was rather clever and with good CGI. The story flows well with many lessons for kids to learn about good, evil, strength, etc. Besides, the movie has great voiceovers by celebrities such as Madonna, David Bowie, Robert De Niro, Jimmy Fallon and more. It was entertaining at all times and worth a shot if you have a rich imagination and wanted to see how Madonna would look like as an avatar. hahaha.
Spiderman 3 is: The highly anticipated third chapter of the popular Spider-Man series sees Peter and Mary Jane finally together, but three new enemies, the Sandman, Venom and Spidey's old enemy, the New Goblin, his best friend, Harry Osborn, threatens the lives of people close to Peter. (Source IMDB)
Spiderman 3 was a Box Office hit. I think it was number 1 movie for about 3 weeks or something. Maybe it still is number 1. But can I tell you something? I hated it! When I was watching it, I felt like I was eating a giant cheese ball which is being deep fried in cheese oil and then sprinkled with more cheese. It was such a cheesy movie!!! How did it get such good reviews? Is it because people realised that Tobey Maguire can dance to the tune of some 70's Disco anthem? And Tobey only has 3 faces - "hurt" - "confused" and "is this happening to me?" face. Even when he was being a "bad", "evil" version of Spiderman, they made him look like some Emo teenager who had too much time and decided to buy an eyeliner and use it severely to outline his eyes. And because he swept his hair down over his eyes, I'm supposed to believe he is bad ass? Oh! My! God! lol.
I just couldn't wait for the movie to be over. I loved the last fight scene because I knew the story was coming to an end and also the Harry Osborn became a good guy. Most of all, I was just so happy it would end. And how much did Kirsten Dunst get paid to scream and pout throught he whole movie? Too much, if you ask me. People are starving in (insert poor country here), people!
I'm sorry but when it comes to comic book heroes, I'll stick with X-Men and Batman, thank you. Unless of course they decide to make the TV series Heroes into a movie than you know I'm there. Big thumbs down on Spiderman 3.
Shooter
I was hoping Shooter might be a great action movie. What with Mark Walhberg playing a really ripped Marine and all. And I bet that the first script of the movie was really well written too. I mean it had a great premise: Government trains man to shoot well, fight well, detect well. Government tries to leave man and his best friend in Africa after making them kill innocent civilians (all for the sake of an oil pipeline - sound familiar?) and then government retires him. Government then asks the man back to help stop the assassination of the President. Government agents double cross the man and set him up, shoots him chase him across the United States (and I do mean all across).
But the finished product is misguided even though the political message tries to hold the movie together. However, the script is slipshod as it suffers many cuts. Viewers are transported into different scenes and happenings with no thread to weave them together. The movie is overambitious at time, transporting the hero from Philadelphia to Kentucky one day and to Virginia and Montana in a span of hours. Perhaps if they had explained that the hero is able to go around invisible or is able to teleport, the movie might have made sense, but alas, no. Then they throw in a pretty girl in the picture. I mean, the macho, misguided guy needs a pretty girl to save him right? What gets me is that the man destroys the evidence he has of bringing the government down. So in the end, everyone goes scot-free, so he chases them once more. What is the point of the movie? That if you are a former Marine sniper, you will always have a large supply of guns, rifles and be able to walk through walls and travel really quickly all across the US? Whatever! C for overall and B for effort.
Music and Lyrics
Have you ever noticed that some actors are only able to play 1 role? Perhaps it comes with the studio execs type casting them, so they are only stuck in the same kind of roles in different movies, or perhaps, it's because the actors and actresses themselves go back to acting the way they do best because that's how/where they feel most comfortable in front of a camera. Or it could simply be because they can't act. LOL. but I digress. Examples of those who tend to play similar characters are: Jude Law, Matthew Perry, Hugh Grant, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Aniston, etc. Some of these actors I can't stand because I am sick of seeing just one facet of them but the one I love amongst those is Hugh Grant. He always play the charming, not the best looking guy but I make up for it by being your good looking bloke with self-decrepiting humour, who falls for a girl, breaks up with a girl, does something endearing to win her back, etc.
Hugh Grant plays that guy in Music and Lyrics with Drew Barrymore. He plays Alex Fletcher, an aging pop star from an 80's band called "POP!" (pun intended, I'm sure) After his band mate goes off on his own and becomes famous, Alex is resorted to doing gigs at reunion parties and amusement parks. He gets his one big break when the biggest pop sensation Cora (17, young, Britney spears like) asks him to write a song to record with her. He can't write the lyrics, only the melody, so he enlists Drew Barrymore for help. Hilarity ensues.
Or, I think hilarity ensues anyway, not many people that it was very funny but I love the sarcastic, self-decrepiting humour that Hugh Grant gets to use all the time in his movies. And who doesn't love bumbling "I know-I'm-a-has-been-and-love-it" characters? lol. The movie has not much plot - it is just cotton candy fluff - full of sugary pleasures that melts in your mouth and just goes off a bit too soon and you are not willing to admit that you want more.
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On the other hand, I miss watching a good Burmese Movie. Will someone tell me where I can watch a good one? I only remember being about 18 and going to the cinema in Burma and the movie I saw was completely crap. Un-baring-ably slow at times and then the humour was too crude for me. I'm sorry but maybe because I was only a kid when I left Burma I can't handle the sexual innuendos that are found in Burmese cinema and comedies these days. I mean, it just sounds wrong in Burmese man. Yeah so any suggestions on what good Burmese movies I could see?
Why is everyone hating on Fergie's new Single Big Girls Don't Cry? I mean, I think it has more depth and feeling than her previous singles "Fergalicious", "Glamorous", "London Bridge". I mean Fergie is not the best lyricist out there but this song is much better than combining her name Fergie with Delicious. And it's got a nice melody. Sure, she is wearing high waisted pants that reminds me on 70's sitcom stars. But I know how it is in Hollywood and all it takes is a couple of stylists to start thinking they've got the next new look and then they convince the stars to be "cutting edge" and "Trend setting" and because stars like to actually get those honours, they do. But you know, the pants don't look so bad on her, so stop hating, y'all
And besides, Milo Ventimiglia is in the video and I think he's super HOT!
But are those tattoos supposed to be real - I think they just added them to give him more "Street cred". I think in a photoshoot, I only saw 1 tattoo on his arm. For some reason I think the tattoos make him look cheesy. But oh well.
I'm so sad that the Season 1 of Heroes will be over next week. What am I going to do without my weekly dose of mutants fighting to save the world?
In Burmese News:
Air Bagan Launch Hits Glitch
Hopefully no more unknown objects will strike U Tay Za's airplanes. I mean, I don't care about him but I assume I have to fly on Air Bagan one day. I intend to go to Bagan and I hear it's the only airline that fly there. Or am I wrong?
I love how articles about Burma always have these anonymous sources who tell the truth even though they are "not authorised to".
And the Burmese government has banned the sale of Remote Control toys.
Is this why my cousin asked me to send him a remote control car for his birthday when I called Burma last week? Strange thing to ban toys, really, to stop terrorists from bombing more things in the country. I mean, everyone knows the government itself has been known to set off bombs just to scare people and seriously, why not ban soap as well while you are banning things.
And Activists Ko Ko Gyi and Su Su Nway are detained while on their way to pray for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at Shwedagon Pagoda and a Buddhist Temple in Insein respectively. If I'm not wrong, didn't Ko Ko Gyi just come out of prison recently? I mean, I think a person should be able to pray for whatever they want. What is Burma now,a communist country? Sad, really. I hope Ko Ko Gyi and Su Su Nway will be fine - they will be in my prayers. I'm glad no one tells me who I can or cannot pray for.
I feel so lost nowadays. Well, I guess I’ve been lost for a while but I’ve been trying to find my way. Why can’t someone foresee my destiny and paint it in a comic and tell me what I should be doing? (i.e.: teleport to NYC, rent a Blue Nissan Versa and travel to Texas to save the Cheerleader, who in turn will save the WORLD)
I know, I know, I’m supposed to be writing my own comic, my own way. I know where I want to be, which is completely opposite from where I know I have to go. I just remember when I was little; my friend wrote to me and asked me if I was happy in Singapore. I wrote to her that “Pyaw yar mhar ma nay ya, taw yar mhar nay y ate.” I just didn’t realize that it would be forever.
I guess my feeling lost was only amplified or should I say reflected by my nightmarish dream I had last night/this morning where I dreamt of friends I made in 3 different countries that I grew up in and each of them saying mysterious things to me and morphing into each other and what not. There was also the recurring part where I dream that I am late for my Physics or Math exam for my “O” Levels (even though in my dream, I know I already have my Bachelors) and I’m freaking out because I don’t remember any of the material and feel like a total failure. And on my way to find the school to take the exam in, I get lost because the rickshaw driver doesn’t know the way and I happen to be in Burma – which means I don’t know my way and we are stranded at a department store. I walk into this department store in Burma to be greeted by a white guy who is American or something. Turns out, the whole department store is ran by white people for white people living in Burma. (My dream is so vivid, I can see the colors of the eyes of the people who work there, the products they were selling, how much they earn, etc.) Then I realize I’m eating Burmese food and waiting for my friends to join me as there is a table for 3. My friend then calls to tell me she’s on her way to New York and says sorry she can’t be there but if I was to join them, I can. I am sad because I can’t be in New York and some strangers sit down beside me and I turn around to look at where I am. I am surrounded by strange things in strange places in a land that is strange to me. And all I am aware is how lost and alone I feel before I wake up.
Woo, anyway, feels good to actually write it all down, get off my chest. Anyway, ignore my highly emotional rant. I wanted to tell you a story, about a Kensei and a Dragon, a story from an episode titled Landslide from season 1 of one of my favorite shows Heroes.
Kensei and the Dragon.
Takezo Kensei longed to unite Japan. He went to the dragon of Kizo Mountain and asked the dragon to teach him the secrets of the sword. The dragon taught him to become the Kensei – a sword saint. He fought his enemies and won, saving his people. Then the dragon came to his palace demanding the life of the princess. Kensei drew the sword and plunged it into his own heart. He handed it to the dragon and said “My love is in here, take it.” And then he died.
I understand Father,
To serve what is most important
I must be strong enough
To cut out my heart.
NLD workers working in Burma in front of a portrait of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Source: Reuters
I look at that photograph and I think, oh my, those women are so brave, so much more than I am. Everyday that I spent out of Burma and everytime I return to Burma, I am aware of how different I am from everyone, because of the way I think, the way I operate, they way I live my life. So I know that for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to have returned to Burma to fight for the people's freedom, is a big sacrifice. Well, I'm sure people can see that anyway. I am drifting from the story. The story that Reuters reported is that more than 50 people (all former heads of state and government) have signed the petition to have Daw Aung San Suu Kyi released.
"We call on the government of Myanmar to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi unconditionally and to free all the remaining political prisoners," the letter said. "We believe this would give a significant sign of the government's will to initiate a genuine and effective transition towards democracy," the letter said.
It's kind of encouraging to have all that support but then I wonder who will listen.
Read the whole story here
And if you care too, read the story of U Tay Za's airline Air Bagan, which now operates overseas. Woohoo, more flights for Burmese people to leave the country in.
I don't remember the last time I had Mont Lone Yay Paw (Burmese Glutinous Rice Balls with palm sugar) and when the Uncle at the Burmese Monastery told my sister and I how to make it, we decided to try it out at home.
It's rather easy to make, actually - 1 part rice flour + 3 parts glutinous rice flour and water to mix it into a paste. Break up palm sugar into little pieces. Then take a little bit of the mixed flour paste and put a little piece of palm sugar in the middle. Roll it into a little ball. Then plonk it in a pot of boiling water. In a few moments, the glutinous ball will be cooked and will float in the pot. Ready to be consumed! Sprinkle a little shredded coconut onto it if you like coconut (i don't) and enjoy!!
Click here to see the bigger version.
I've been a publicist for so long, I'm used to putting other people in the presses. But today, for once, Xiaowen and I, the Vogue Chicks are in the Strait Times' Urban section for our fashion blog Voguefactory! (www.voguefactory.blogspot.com)
I'm super excited and the hits on the site has gone up more than quadraple! This incites me to blog more and more. More here on Moeyyo and more on Voguefactory. Thank you Urban and Brenda Goh for featuring us!
Please visit Voguefactory and tell all your fashionista friends about it! :)
