Saturday, August 5, 2006

Hey! What's going on..

On the way home yesterday I took out my 'point-&-shooter' while passing by the 'rice bowl' of north Seberang Perai.  They were harvesting padi and creating some smoke signals.  I'd always loved the golden yellow colour of the rice-fields at this time of the year.  Never really got the chance to stop and take a really good shot.  Well, I've always considered stopping on the highway just to take a picture can be very dangerous.  I'd rather try taking 'running shots' like this one...


Then when I got home I smelt something coming from the kitchen which took all the stress of work from my mind.  It was yummy Mee Jawa for dinner.  I made myself a huge one with plenty of juices from 2 limes added in...


Much later, we retired to bed. While wifey and I were having some light conversation before heading for zzzz-land, I heard some scratching noises in the roof.  I thought nothing of it after listening for some more noises and hearing none.  Suddenly there was a loud crash from above.  We both jumped.  I went out to investigate.  Switched on the lights, got my ladder, torchlight and looked into the ceiling.  Came down again and got my camera.  Didn't want to miss this... But too bad, can't get much from the half dozen shots I took.  It was really dark in there.  I just realised there's another meaning to the expression "shooting in the dark."  All I got was these 2 headlamps glaring back at me.  After adjusting the lighting and contrast a little I got this....


It was a baby Musang.  It had sprung my mouse trap because there was a biscuit in it.  Fangyee, who was sleeping by herself in the next room said she nearly jumped out of her skin.  She kept her eyes closed, covered herself under the blanket until she heard us coming out and switching on the lights.


And I was wondering why there were no noises of mice scampering around in the roof the last few weeks.


And then this morning at the market, we came across this strange looking pineapple with 6 crowns!!!:


14 comments:

  1. auntie cooked mee jawa?? come come.. share recipe... kekeke... it looks really good... i miss mee jawa... sp mee jawa... penang mee jawa cannot go la...ordered my first many years ago and that was the last too! but somehow, pg ppl, some cannot accept our mee jawa like i cannot accept their's... haha..

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  2. red sweet potatoes,
    tomatoes,
    pumpkin.
    Peel all items and cut into small pieces. Boil all items until soft. Squash them (with burger tool). Put in some rock sugar, asam jawa (juice) let it boil and then put in corn-flower. Add salt to taste. That's for the kuah.

    Other ingredients, up to your imagination. Fry the Taukuah. Boil the potatoes, eggs. Use lime to give it sour taste, add lettuce, spring onion, and also fry some keropok. Sprinkle some kachang tumbuh, and fried chili bow (how hot can you go?) on top before you eat.

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  3. wow... terima kasih.... one day will experiment.. haha

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  4. i can't recall when was the last time i eat jawa mee ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

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  5. You don't know me... but found you while doing a search on Khoo Sui Ho. Can't figure out your email addy so hope you see this. I am mstar2@msn.com. I own a painting (for 10 years now) of the artist's that he did in 1969. Just wondering what you know about him. Thank you, Marty in Tucson Arizona, USA

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  6. what happened to the mee java pic? I've been drooling over it for a few days now...dang! u took that off? WHY????

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  7. I didn't take it off. It's still there...just give it some time to load. Go on, drool over it. I finished eating 'd. Hahahaha...

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  8. Hi, Marty,

    I don't really know much of the man. I exhibited some of my works in group shows with him and other artists in the early 1970s. I only know that he grew up in the state of Kedah where I'm now residing. I remember one of his brochures from his early exhibitions where it was stated that he used to spend his younger days swimming in rivers and enjoying the cool shades of the mangrove trees. He used to paint faces and kids dipping in pools in cool colors. I find his paintings very relaxing to look at. Sorry, I've lost the brochure since then. I'll post more info on him if I come across any new ones.

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  9. looking at the 8 to 9 ingredients to buy for mee jawa, at last i decided to eat at morning market last sunday for RM3.50 before i make one for myself. hahahhaa..

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  10. http://www.artist-khoo.com/
    http://www.alpha-utara.com/

    Lianchye... or is it Teh?

    Thank you for responding so quickly. I have listed above two sites that I found, and I have written to them as well, tho' no response yet. One shows his gallery that you went to and the other shows a gallery he had in Arkansas USA, that may be closed, I do not know. You are an artist also? - How wonderful. I must say the internet is amazing, to be able to reach so far away and find kind people willing to answer a stranger's question. I wrote to those sites to ask if I should be worried about the age of my painting, as I have not taken any special care except to keep it out of sunlight. Never professionally cleaned or anything, just dusted occasionally, so I worry that as it gets older, I should be doing more to preserve it. It is a good size canvas - 36 inches by 36 inches - and is done in oils; it has a few small scratches in the paint and a few small spots but no bad damage. It is called "Girl and a Bird" and is stamped "Trio Gallery" on the frame and back of canvas. I have always wondered the "story" of the girl in the picture. She is leaning over a large rock, arms folded and chin resting on them, looking at a bird in the foreground. What is a bit different is that her body seems transparent as you can see the trunks of the trees thru' her body... like a fog. Maybe I will be lucky and the artist will get one of my messages. Do artists remember all works that they do, do you think? But you are right, I have always found it very relaxing to look at. Anyway, again, thank you so much for your kindness. It looks like you have a very nice family and friends... and the food DOES look delicious - makes me want some, all these thousands of miles away! Good night, Marty

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  11. Either one is ok... Teh is surname (family name)
    Me an artist? I dreamed of being one but I didn't make it. Besides the usual excuses that stopped me from pursuing that dream, there was my perpetual struggle between dreams and reality. Reality won. I often go back to this question: Things I'll Never Understand - Art for Art's Sake?
    I'm at work right now. I'll answer the rest of your questions later...

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  12. About caring for your painting, these 2 websites may be of some help to you.
    http://www.pjonline.com/pdf/comment/pj_20040424_onlooker.pdf
    http://aic.stanford.edu/library/online/brochures/paint.html

    I imagine the painting as you describe. It's blue-green & yellow tints and the forlorn-looking girl in a rural backdrop, perhaps longing to be free like the bird?...I remember seeing it, perhaps in a brochure. Interestingly, I think artists can probably remember some of the more significant works that they do. But then again it depends who's point of view. Some works may be significant to others but not to him....

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