A Visitor!

During the time of the big hu-ha (laptop dying + snowfall + sad miserable cold Sila), we had a welcome visitor here in Southwestern Ohio! Unfortunately, the weather being what it was, we were unable to take our visitor out to sight-see very much. We decided instead to relax indoors. Allie got along well with Flat Cavebaby: [[image:cavebaby1.jpg:Allie posing with Kakak Flat Cavebaby:center:0]] Allie enjoys “tummy-time” with Flat Cavebaby: [[image:cavebaby2.jpg:Allie demonstrates being on her tummy for Kakak Flat Cavebaby:center:0]]  [[image:cavebaby5.jpg:Kakak Flat Cavebaby, Allie and Lulu hold hands and sing Kumbaya:center:0]]  Cavebaby is very excited that snow is falling: [[image:cavebaby4.jpg:Snow falling on the back deck:center:0]]  Too bad Auntie Sila is grumpy and hates the cold. By the way, it was way below freezing and the snow just keeps falling and falling. Grumpity grump! This is not really normal weather for Southwestern Ohio. We get some snow, yes, but the weather does […]

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Makan Time!

On Monday, February 2 2009, Allie was introduced to solids. Her doctor had cleared her for her first taste of non-milk at her 6-month checkup the week before, but we were snowed in for a week so did not get out to the grocery store for the recommended first food: rice cereal. Per the literature, every new food is to be introduced by itself for 4 consecutive days to check for allergies so Allie would eat rice cereal every day for the next 4 days. Here she is, happily (and unsuspectingly?) hanging out while I prepared her lunch. [[image:makan01.jpg:Before Makan:center:0]]  Note: Makan means “to eat”. And of course, please mouse over the pictures for added captions. First, preparing the food. [[image:makan02.jpg:Rice Cereal:center:0]]  [[image:makan03.jpg:Dry cereal in a bowl:center:0]] For the purposes of the very first makan, I used Vin’s yellow bowl, that his mother gave to him to take to college. […]

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Undoubtedly The Best Malay Movie Ever Made

In January I promised I’d take Irfan this month to watch Geng: Pergembaraan Bermula (The Gang: The Adventure Begins), a new computer animated, feature-length movie which also features the hyperactive preschooling twins Upin and Ipin from their eponymous computer generated TV series on TV9. Little did I know that I was about to behold THE best Malay movie I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in my years of being sort-of alive in this particular corner of the multiverse. The overall story was great. The little character moments were great. I laughed dozens of times throughout. And every technical aspect of the filmmaking is leaps and bounds better than 99 percent of any other Malay movie ever made. [[image:gengthemovie1.jpg:The dramatis personae on Sapy’s bullock cart. Sapy! GO!!!!!!:center:0]] The story begins with teenaged friends from the city, Badrol and Lim, who returns to Badrol’s kampung to visit his grandfather during durian season. […]

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The Lunatic Fringe

Both Sila’s and my household have been following J.J. Abram’s brand new TV series Fringe. As per Alias and Lost, I had a feeling it’s not what it advertised itself to be, which would have been about international spies and counterspies, and surviving a plane crash on a deserted island. Warning: SPOILERS, and I’m serious. SPOILERS! [[image:fringe01-feb2009.jpg:Is the tank an application of the alt universe tech?:center:0]]  What Fringe advertised itself was about a department within the Department of Homeland Security, with agents on secondment from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which deal with fringe science to solve their cases. Naturally this caused a lot of people to draw similarities between it and The X-Files. (And having Darin “Flukeman” Morgan as a producer helped accentuate this fact.) The story starts with a pair of FBI Agents Olivia Dunham and John Scott, who gets involved in a case concerning bio-terrorism aboard an […]

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Sequence of Events

I have a few backlogged blog entries to make, and here is the sequence of events detailing why they were delayed: 1. Thursday January 22, 2009 – Allie’s 6-month birthday. Lots of picture taking occurred. 2. Friday January 23, 2009 – my laptop screen dies in the mid-afternoon. Connecting it to an external monitor shows that the laptop itself is fine. I drive to Best Buy, stand in line forever, only to have the Geek Squad (f*ckers!!!) tell me that a) my laptop warranty ended November of 2008, and finally they come around to say that they don’t fix laptop screens. Please call someone else. They suggest a company. (Don’t even get me started on how angry I was that I drove all the way to Best Buy to have them give me this bullshit. What kind of Geek Squad doesn’t fix laptop screens?) So I get back in the […]

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25 Random Songs

Gary writes on Facebook: This is another one of those Facebook memes. You turn your music player to random and write down the first 25 songs it spits out. I’m not a big tagger, but if you want to do it, go for it. [[popup:amarok-feb2009.jpg:(thumbnail):AmaroK!:right:1]]Okay, Gary. I will go for it. There’s The Girl – Heart Central America – Bear McCreary Can’t Fight This Feeling – REO Speedwagon The Weaver’s Answer – Family Kissing You – Des’ree Atomic Al’s Merry Melody – Bear McCreary Lovefool – Cardigans Two Boomers – Bear McCreary Softly Whispering I Love You – The Congregation Streets of London – Ralph McTell Cold As Ice – Foreigner Me and You and a Dog Named Boo – Lobo Us and Them – Pink Floyd Small World (Part One) – Huey Lewis and the News Got to Get You Into My Life – The Beatles Private Army – […]

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PUNCH Gunalan?

The Year the Hasbro Toys Invaded In Tandem

Preview of the upcoming giant robot mayhem movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has been released. In fact, it was shown on TV during the superbowl, and not long afterward the trailers can be viewed in their high definition Quicktime glory at the Apple Trailers site. Let’s have a look at some of the highlights, shall we. Above: Autobot leader Optimus Prime receives a blow to the face, shattering his mouth guard in slow motion. One hopes that he turns around and stabs his assailant in the face with a big ass extendable energon sword as he is wont to do. I have no idea who punches Prime. Above:You wouldn’t want Ravage to bite you, cause after he’s bitten you he’ll probably also fire that big ass cannon in his mouth. Which usually hurts. I wonder if this Ravage can speak, and if he does will he speak in a […]

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Hishgraphics H

25 Random Facts

So, Gary tagged me on Facebook, therefore: Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose up to 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you. (To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag up to 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.) 1. One of my old hobbies is fishing for antlion larvae out of their sand pit traps using live ants. 2. At 9, I was shushed by a guy behind me when watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. 3. I last GMed a Star Wars The […]

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