Hot Chocolate - So You Win Again

THE ROLLING STONES-HONKY TONK WOMEN

Procol Harum - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
The waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

She said, 'There is no reason
And the truth is plain to see.'
But I wandered through my playing cards
And would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open
They might have just as well've been closed

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

And so it was that later... 

I will never trade it for another country

steadyaku47 comment: A good read - with thanks to Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi

I will never trade it for another country

Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi
The Malaysian Insider
May 27, 2011

MAY 27 — If the principles of jus soli were strictly enforced in the country, I wouldn’t even be registered as a citizen of Malaysia. Thirty-one years ago, my father was working for an multi-national corporation based in the Sillicon Valley and he brought his young bride along. I suppose I was conceived during this time. I was born in San Jose, California in the United States of America.

I even have a US birth certificate and a US passport (expired in 1988) to boot. The US recognises dual citizenship so I have no doubt that I am already recognised as a citizen of the US. But because my parents had the foresight to register me at the US Embassy in Washington, DC using Borang W, I became a Malaysian citizen at birth. My father could have made the decision to stay. But he didn’t. He came home to Malaysia with his family in tow.

I grew up in a middle-class family and was for most of my life based in Penang, having been enrolled into a private school (Sekolah Sri Inai). The majority of students were non-Muslim Chinese, I was only one of the very few Muslim students around in the whole school.

Regardless, I had a lot of inter-racial contact and I count a lot of non-Muslims and Muslims alike as among my closest friends during this time period. Back when we were children, the issue of race and religion did not count for much, not even during the 1990s.

However, my father decided to enrol me into a government school, where the racial balance was rather skewed and I saw some form of racism first-hand. There was even discrimination against me, even though I am Constitutionally-defined as a Malay (although today, I do not see myself as such). Moving on to secondary school, I began to make more friends as I grew accustomed to the culture surrounding me and my family.

I was overwhelmingly pro-Umno throughout my earlier student years and saw everything through their lenses. Then 1998 came, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was unjustly sacked and publicly humiliated, under dubious circumstances.

This incident forced me to start seeing things through a wider lens. I learned over the years of the pervasive corruption within Umno, the excesses of their leaders and their unjust treatment of Malaysians — and even the Malays, those whom they claim to be protecting.

I started to read up and learn about Islam, eventually embracing my religious roots and realised that the only way to achieve universal peace is through the justice of political Islam.

Fast forward to today, the political climate is far different from what it was during the 1990s. Barisan Nasional/Umno is now widely seen as corrupt and unjust, manipulating race issues for their political gain.

The wealth of their leaders is unaccounted for, their continuous disregard for the livelihoods of the rakyat even more evident in the past decade. The economy is being managed badly and social problems such as baby dumping, promiscuous sex among teenagers and crime are on the rise and unlikely to be reduced significantly for as long as the current government remains in power.

With all these known excesses and problems in Malaysia, why am I still here? Why have I remained in Malaysia? I could have just as easily moved to the United States , where I would be welcomed as a citizen and, unlike others who choose to leave, have the right to vote and participate in the political process.

I remained in Malaysia because I believe that to achieve change, the only way to do it is with political change and that must begin with oneself. I translated this into action when I registered as a life member of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) in 2007.

This belief would not have changed, even if the political tsunami of 2008 did not happen and the tripartite opposition did not make significant gains. Whining and groaning and voting with your feet will not bring about change, it will only bring further apathy to those who stayed behind. The lack of patriotism from those who discarded their vote should not be a reason for anyone to leave the country and never come back.

On a personal note, I am doing reasonably well with my own SEO / Internet business and consistently obtaining clients from the US and the UK / Europe. Although there may be a higher income if I were to leave the country and start living elsewhere, the cost of living in other countries is relatively higher than what it currently is in Malaysia.

Also, I believe that my wife would be able to wear the hijab freely in public, and I will be free to practise Islam openly, without anyone on the street harassing us or calling us “terrorists.” Despite what one may be led to believe, xenophobia and religious bias is not absent in the US, the UK, Europe or anywhere else.

Malaysia is my home, and for better or for worse I will never trade it for another country.

Quote - Sakmongkol AK47

"... I find myself in strange territory listening to people like Reezal Merican, or Rahim Azeez speak for the Malays.






I would have thought, Malays are better off if THESE people speak on behalf of KIMMA (Kongres India Muslim Malaysia, OR Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress) 

How can we force ourselves to suffer fools by allowing ourselves to consume the hate spewing writings ofsome bloggers whose Malay-ness are questionable? 

Why isn't the peddler of rancid-curry speaking on behalf and FOR KIMMA members?
Jadi jadi lah kita orang Melayu kena tipu.

I think Malays have got enough talented people to speak for ourselves.

Then we have those who pretend they speak for UMNO but are themselves NOT UMNO members.

The REAL UMNO man WOULDN'T speak of an imagined clash of Christians and Muslims or spun the story about Christians taking over this country.
Does a Malay cease to be a Malay if he is not UMNO member?

Being UMNO is NOT an absolute requirement to fight for a Malay cause.

(And) those Malays in power have not helped other Malays.

So if UMNO insists that UMNO is Malay and Malay is UMNO, then by extension, Malays in power do not help the rest of Malays will also mean, UMNO in power does not help the rest of the Malays.

UMNO people must be realistic on this. One doesn't stop becoming Malay if one dismisses UMNO. People are already doing that if you still don't realize it.

Yet the leadership is hyping themselves, aided by a pliant audio visual and print media into believing all is well. Ignorance is really bliss.
-"Sakmongkol AK47"

RFK Assassination As It Happened

Robert Kennedy announces death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

ELVIS Separate Ways

"All thats left between us are the memories we shared

of times we thought we cared for each other"

Elvis Presley - Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello

The Platters-Twilight Time

From Russia With Love

Sangam - Dost Dost Na Raha Pyar Pyar

Indian Nipple Song

On my Scouts Honor, my daughter Terrina 
first started me on this cultural route!

cakap cakap...wither am I going?

What am I trying to do with steadyaku47? I have said that my blog is a work in progress and sometimes it meanders along merrily without a sense of direction. Sometimes I get carried away with the flavour of the day, week or month and starts focussing on issues. Sometimes I get writer’s block and even can do a u-turn or gostan. And as some of you know there are times when I get into my F1 mode…write articles after articles after articles…..crazy me!

But I think the time has come for us to try and move hearts and minds of the people. We have all had our fill of financial and sexual scandals. Murders and beatings by PDRM and MACC. How adroit (cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious) our Barisan Nasional politicians are at taking what does not belong to them. P&C documents are being put into the public domain for us to peruse at our leisure. All these are being thrown at us at the speed of light. So many to read and so little time.

What I think we should try and do now is to try and engage people in conversation, discussions and constructive arguments on issues that will have a bearing on the 13^th general election that is barely a stone throw away. What is Pakatan Rakyat doing wrong? What is it doing right? Will PAS leave PR to join UMNO? Will the DAP be more racially balanced? If yes, why? If no, why? Has PKR got its act together now? What is Selangor contributing to the coffers of PR? So many questions I want ask and yet I am discussing it with Saya, Me and Myself! So please send me your questions and I will post them here and hope we will start our discussions please....

Here is my first question and my answer. 

How can three political organization with significant fundamental differences in ideology, without much money, resources and logistics capability come together into a cohesive unit capable of making possibilities into realities?

The possibilities that nobody will be allowed to revoke the civil liberties of any citizens of our country at the whims and fancies of religious zealots to serve the political interest of ANY party!

The possibilities of making sure that our country will no longer be a refuge for corrupt politicians to steal plunder and pillage what rightly belongs to the people of this country while holding high public office.

The possibilities to make sure that the people of this country will no longer have to fear what the future will bring. No more racial profiling, and the use of race or religion to divide and rule!

How do we make these possibilities into realities with PR?

The same way we did for them in the 12 general elections.

GIVE THEM OUR VOTES!

You are one. With me we are two, who else will join us?

Oh My God!

with thanks to Lita...again!

"Tell me the weight of a snowflake," a hawk asked a wild dove.

"Nothing more than nothing," was the answer.

"In that case, I must tell you a marvelous story," said the hawk.

"I sat on the branch of a fir. Close to its trunk it began to snow...not heavily, not a raging blizzard, no, just like in a dream, without any violence. Since I had nothing better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952 when the next snowflake dropped onto the branch. 'Nothing more than nothing', as you say, and the branch broke off." 

Having said that, the hawk flew away.

The dove, since Noah's time, an authority on peace, thought about the story for a while and finally said with resolve, "Perhaps only one person's voice is lacking for peace to come about in the world."

with thanks to Lita

Think PAKATAN RAKYAT 

Think change

Your thoughts create your reality!

You are one. 

With me we are two!

Who else will join us?

Don Rickles roast Sinatra

Saying it differently

Saw this on SAKMONGKOL AK47 and thought it is good enough to share it with you all: 

13-year-old incredible bicycle-kick

It didn't take long for 13-year-old Kenner Galeas to become an instant star on his Arlington Soccer Association club team. Playing in a game recently for the U-14 Civitans Bengals, Galeas scored on an incredible bicycle-kick that now has the entire Internet going crazy over the youngster's finish.

As the Washington Post reported, Galeas recently joined the team after moving from Honduras to the United States. In just a few games, Galeas has gone from relative unknown to having his goal compared to the jaw-dropping bicycle-kick that Manchester United's Wayne Rooney scored earlier this year in a derby match against Manchester City.

But before teams start courting the youngster as the next great striker, there's something you should known about Galeas: He's actually a defender. Yep, it was sheer luck that he was playing up front in the first place.

"[Kenner] is a very solid, quick and aggressive player, but the ironic element to this story is that Kenner is a defenseman and this is the first time he has played forward," his coach Luis Alonso told the Washington Post. "To further add to the irony, it is his brother Keysmer who is one of our star forwards and goal scorers. Due to a shortage in forwards for this game on Sunday, I put Kenner in as a forward, and clearly, it paid off big time."

I think everyone would agree with that assessment.

PAS BERUPAYA DAN BERSEDIA MENTADBIR NEGARA

PAS BERUPAYA DAN BERSEDIA MENTADBIR NEGARA

PAS adalah sebuah parti politik yang berasaskan sokongan dan keahlian Melayu Islam. Setelah 60 tahun berada di arena politik Malaysia, parti itu kini sudah mencapai kematangan dan penerimaan di kalangan masyarakat majmuk Malaysia untuk menjadi parti pemerintah.

Persekitaran politik, ekonomi dan teknologi di luar dan dalam negara telah banyak berubah dan arus perubahan itu akan terus berlaku. Berkemungkinan besar akan jadi lagi cepat dan hebat. Banyak ketidakpastian menunggu di masa hadapan tetapi hanya satu perkara yang pasti, yakni dunia akan terus berubah dan negara kita akan tidak dapat lari dari dibawa arus perubahan.

Lawan PAS jelas tidak berupaya untuk mengubah dirinya dari dalam untuk menangani cabaran-cabaran baru kepada kekuasaannya. Saluran maklumat dan media baru jelas tidak dapat dikongkongi atau dikawal, melainkan parti pemerintah meluluskan peraturan dan undang-undang internet yang akan mengakibatkan negara ini dicap sebagai ‘pariah’ atau kera sumbang dalam arena bisnes, pelaburan dan hak asasi manusia. Segala tindak tanduk dan keputusan kerajaan perlu dipertahankan sentiasa dengan hujah-hujah yang munasabah dan masuk akal. Ini tidak terdaya dilakukan oleh lawan PAS.

PAS pula berupaya untuk berubah demi menangani dan menghadapi cabaran-cabaran baru, bersikap responsif kepada perubahan persekitaran tanpa mengorbankan prinsip perjuangan yang berteraskan Islam. Ini terbukti semasa kemelut penolakan kepimpinan Dato Asri Hj Muda tiga dekad lepas. PAS telah berjaya mengakhiri bab itu dengan membuat dirinya lebih mantap dan setia kepada prinsip perjuangan Islam.

Seteru PAS kerap mengungkit-ngungkitkan kewujudan kumpulan ‘erdogan’ dan kumpulan ‘ulama’ di dalam parti itu. Idea mereka adalah itu menunjukkan PAS tidak bersatu. Mereka mengukuri PAS dengan mengguna kacamata sama yang mereka gunakan untuk menilai Umno. Mereka tersilap. Sebagai sebuah parti yang demokratik dan yang yakin atas asas ideologi perjuangannya, PAS tidak segan silu untuk mengaku terdapatnya perbezaan pendapat dan pandangan di kalangan ahli dan pemimpinnya berhubung isu-isu semasa. Apa yang mustahak perbezaan itu adalah berkaitan pendekatan dan penekanan, bukannya pergeseran disebabkan jawatan dan pembahagian habuan sebagaimana yang kerap disaksikan di dalam parti pemerintah.

Sebenarnya, tidak terdapat kumpulan ‘erdogan’ atau kumpulan ‘ulama’ di dalam PAS. Dewan Syura’ Ulama adalah badan parti yang dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menentukan bahawa segala dasar dan polisi PAS adalah bertepatan dengan lunas dan prinsip agama Islam. Ini sejajar dengan definisi ulama berdasarkan firman “Sesungguhnya yang menaruh bimbang dan takut (melanggar perintah) Allah dari kalangan hamba-hambaNya hanyalah orang-orang yang berilmu (ULAMA). Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Kuasa, lagi Maha Pengampun.” [Al-Faathir 35:28]. Tuan Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat menyatakan ulama ialah orang berilmu. Tidak hanya mengkhususkan kepada agamawan sahaja. Ianya mencakupi ilmu yang lebih luas. [Harakah 19-21/9/2008]. Berpegang kepada definisi tersebut, jelas kepada kita bahawa tiada golongan erdogan atau kumpulan ulama di dalam jemaah PAS sebagaimana yang digambarkan oleh propaganda musuh.

PAS sebagaimana agama Islam adalah satu parti yang inklusif. Sesiapa sahaja boleh memeluk agama Islam dan sesiapa sahaja boleh menjadi ahli PAS. Dasar ini kian menarik ramai tenaga profesional, teknokrat dan akademik untuk menyertai PAS, terutamanya dari golongan muda dan berpelajaran. Golongan inilah yang akan membekalkan tenaga pentadbir dan pelaksanaan polisi. Mereka tertarik untuk menjadi ahli PAS kerana integriti dan ketaatan kepimpinan dan keahlian PAS terhadap prinsip perjuangan. Mereka sudah muak dan jelak dengan budaya bergiat dalam parti politik untuk mendapat kontrak, lesen dan permit. Ini adalah golongan anak muda yang ikhlas mahu berjuang untuk masyarakat dan Alhamdullillah, PAS adalah pilihan mereka.

Segala pengalaman yang diraih dalam memerintah Kelantan dan Kedah pastinya akan digunakan oleh PAS untuk melengkapkan dirinya untuk memerintah negara. Sememangnya parti pembangkang yang memerintah sebuah negeri sentiasa mendapat berbagai cabaran dan rintangan dari kerajaan persekutuan yang diperintah oleh parti lawan. Segala yang dipelajari akan menjadi asas untuk membentuk sebuah kerajaan pusat yang adil dan saksama.

Berdasarkan penerimaan dan sokongan kepadanya dari segenap masyarakat Malaysia, di desa dan di kota, sesungguhnya PAS sekarang berada di kedudukan di mana ia berupaya dan bersedia untuk mengganti pemerintahan yang ada sekarang untuk mentadbir negara tercinta.

WAN NASUHA BINTI WAN HASSAN




FMZam has left a new comment on your post "PAS BERUPAYA DAN BERSEDIA MENTADBIR NEGARA":

Bila kita kata PAS bagus, kita jangan kata PKR tak bagus atau DAP tak baik. Kita semua dah cukup lama untuk belajar dan tau yang sebagus mana pun PAS, hingga kini pun PAS masih tak berjaya untuk berjuang bersendirian mengalahkan satu parti yang bernama UMNO apalagi mengalahkan sekumpulan parti2 yang bernama BN. Untuk mengambilalih pemerintahan negara, PAS sendiri pun tau kalau hanya PAS sahaja, itu memang cukup susah untuk direalisasikan. PAS sendiri tau mereka perlukan PKR dan DAP jadi mengapa mesti kita mahu PAS sahaja jadi lebih bagus dari komponen2 PR yang lain? Mengapa kita tidak mahu kata yang PAS dan setiap satu komponen PR mesti sama bagus dan setanding antara satu sama lain supaya PR jadi satu parti yang 'formidable' untuk menentang BN yang kuat dan berkuasa tu? Apa guna kita banding membanding sesama PR, ingatlah musuh kita ialah BN, bukan PAS, PKR atau DAP. Kalau kita masih bertelagah siapa yang lebih bagus dalam PR, musuh kita akan menang tanpa perlu melepaskan satu tembakan pun.

"None of us is as strong as all of us" 

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

"And, in the end, the love you take

Is equal to the love you make."

I love the Beatles. John, George, Paul and Ringo:  I knew them all though they did not know me. I lived in the same country as they did in the 1960s – the United Kingdom. Breath the same air and I think I once saw Ringo drive by in his Mini Cooper S while waiting for my then girlfriend now wife to finsh work at Selfridges…and who is to tell me that it was not Ringo?

“Ringo wanted a top of the range Mini with a racing engine - the Mini Cooper 'S' modified to hold his drum kit (!) and to include all 'mod cons' such as electric windows, sunroof and a special walnut dashboard.

So to fit his drumkit in, a folding rear seat was incorporated and the back cut out to make a tailgate - one of the very first three door hatchbacks!”

When George embraced Indian Culture, Hinduism and started playing the Sitar, I went out and bought a Ravi Shakar record (just one because that was all I could afford) and spent countless hours trying to make head or tail of the melody instead of studying. It took me a while but eventually I accepted that his music was not music you can hum or whistle to. A darken room lighted with candles and incense wafting around you made the experience more profound: what ever profound meant to me then.

Paul was always the nice one. When “Hey Jude” was released around the late 60s three things was imprinted in my memory. That the song was more then seven minutes long, that Paul looked to good for his own good and that one Sikh singing “na na na na na na na” as the song fades into history.

In 1968, John Lennon and his wife Cynthia Lennon separated due to John's affair with Yoko Ono. Soon afterwards, Paul McCartney drove out to visit Cynthia and Julian, her son with Lennon. "We'd been very good friends for millions of years and I thought it was a bit much for them suddenly to be personae non gratae and out of my life," McCartney said. Cynthia Lennon recalled, "I was truly surprised when, one afternoon, Paul arrived on his own. I was touched by his obvious concern for our welfare.... On the journey down he composed 'Hey Jude' in the car. I will never forget Paul's gesture of care and concern in coming to see us."

John Lennon was to far ahead of his time then for me to understand him.  It is only now that I can see him for what he truly is. An individual unafraid to live his life as he likes it. …no matter what!

Together they were the Beatles!

George and John are no longer with us. Ringo has asked us to leave him alone.

"This is a serious message to everybody watching my update right now. Peace and love, peace and love," Ringo said. 

"I want to tell you please -- after the 20th of October do not send fan mail to any address that you have. Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October. If that has the date on the envelope it's going to be tossed. 

"I'm warning you with peace and love I have too much to do. So no more fan mail, thank you, thank you, and no objects to be signed. Nothing."

And of course Paul is getting married again. He is not to comfortable living in sin

The greatest Beatle song? Everyone will have his or her favorite. Impossible to pick. Imagine my delight when while tripping through the light fantastic on the World Wide Web I came across a radio station devoted to the Beatles!

·      Beatles Tribute SKY.FM

There are still Beatles songs and music I have not heard and looking for them is a labor of love. Even now when the strains of “She loves you yeah yeah yeah” comes across the airwaves I still stop what I am doing to listen and all the memories comes rushing back and tugs at my heartstrings. Good times when life was less complicated. Good and bad were clearly defined and London was then the center of the universe. Twiggy, The Shrimp, Bailey, mini skirts, pirate radio station, Shindig, Carnaby Street, George Best,  the Rolling Stone…it was all about youth. And then there was “Blow UP” and “Modesty Blaise”, “The Avengers”…etc etc.

I was aware of living in London then but not aware enough to really live and drink the nectar of the 60’s so that it would always be a part of me. It is all now gone. The Beatles still alive though. Two Beatles have died, long live the Beatles. I grew up with them and now they are growing old with me. We are still together…as they say “All we need is love”     

    

Cakap cakap : Wither goes DSAI?

I have said that in putting my lot with Pakatan Rakyat I will take the good with the bad but that does not mean that I will be quiet if the bad will do harm to our cause. Steady as she goes shall be our hope for those that lead Pakatan Rakyat but with all the pressure being brought upon DSAI how is he faring? The oratorical confidence he exudes and the calmness of self he exhibits: are these just physical manifestations of an individual standing while everything is falling around him?

Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.'

What strength DSAI must have had to withstand being dismissed from the DPM’s post! The Sodomy 1 Trial. The beating by the IGP. The Corruption conviction and the years spent in solitary imprisonment. And now Sodomy II and the Carcosa tapes. Those are the epic struggles he has faced. We must not forget the other peripheral struggles. The loss of Perak, seeking refuge in the Turkish embassy, Bala SD turn around, the trouble in Selangor, the supposed take over of the Federal Government on September 16th after the 12th General Election, Zaid leaving PKR and the shambles of the PKR party’s election. All these pains, disappointment and humiliation were self-inflicted. With the right advice and counsel from wise advisors all could have all been avoided. Simply put DSAI had only himself to blame. But where were his minders?    

And now he is in the fight of his life. He is no longer 51 – the age he was dismissed as DPM. He is now 63. If his political will to fight BN is not to be questioned then his physical ability to undergo another bruising fight with UMNO for the 13^th general election will have to be questioned.

Is he able to grasp the political realities of what is really happening within his orbit or is a sense of deja vu creeping in….a sense that he has seen it all before and now he is going through it all again and it will be alright in the end! UMNO is counting on it. BN is counting on it but if this continues Pakatan Rakyat will be adversely affected because of it.

And so my question to DSAI and his minders is this: When will DSAI be the solution to the problems that Pakatan Rakyat has rather then be part of the problem? 

Frenchwoman Razzano competes eight days after death of fiance

Chris Chase, The Busted Racquet blog, Yahoo!7May 25, 2011, 9:03 am

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Getty Images ©Enlarge photo

Virginie Razzano lost her first-round match Tuesday at the French Open, which was hardly the point.

The 28-year-old Frenchwoman was playing eight days after the death of her fiance. She competed as a tribute to her partner and coach, Stephane Vidal, who had battled cancer for nine years.

Before he died, Vidal told Razzano to play the French Open.

A grieving Razzano wore a black ribbon for Vidal, a gesture adopted by all the French women in the field at the year's second major. She lost the match to Jarmila Gajdosova, 6-3, 6-1.

"I felt a lot of emotion, a lot of pain on court today," Razzano said. "The pain is permanent within me. But it felt good to be surrounded by so many people and to be here."

Gajdosova, the No. 24 seed, was playing with a different sort of emotions in the match. The 24-year-old split up from her husband of two years, Sam Groth, three weeks ago. Her comments after the match could have applied to her opponent as well.

"I can only try to cope as best I can," Gajdosova said. "I have good people around me and they have helped. Time will heal and I'll move forward."

After the match, the two women embraced at the net as the crowd at Court Phillippe Chatrier warmly applauded. "I told her I was sorry for her loss and that she was incredible to come on court," Gajdosova said. "I told her to hold her head high and wished her the best for the future."

"I tried to pay tribute to Stephane today," Razzano said in her press conference, almost as if summoning the strength to compete in the match wasn't enough tribute in itself.

Update: A full transcript of Razzano's statement was recently released. It's both heartbreaking and triumphant and certainly worth reading in full. Razzano was responding to a question about how she summoned the strength to play on Tuesday:

It's painful. It's hard. If I did it, it's for Stéphane. But also for me, because what he wanted, he wanted me to play. He wanted me to continue to go on with my life, even if in these very painful circumstances, very difficult circumstances.

But he has faith in me.

He knows I have this strength that he also had, and this is also why we worked so well together. We had courage. We fought together day after day. And if I played today, it's because I had to do it, and this well, there is no word. It was as if it was something written. I grabbed all my courage.

I don't have much. I'm very fragile. I feel lonely, and even though there are many people around me supporting me, but I still have the strength in me that keeps me standing up and moving on step by step.

I'm mourning right now, and it's difficult, especially when you lose someone, someone who was, I'm sorry, who was, who will forever be the man of my life whom I love and will always love. I have beautiful memories in good times and not so good times.

And that's a history that's alive; that we built together for 11 years.

And I'll continue to build through my sport, through my passion, tennis. That gives me strength. That gives me courage and mental strength.

Louis Armstrong - When You're Smiling

Don Rickles on the Tonight Show w/Carson/Frank Sinatra

cakap cakap...A Malay at 63. My thoughts...

At 63 I am no longer the Malay I once was. No longer the Malay that once held firm to the belief: “Tak kan Melayu Hilang Didunia”. No longer the Malay that was moved when “Bangsa dan Ugama” was used by UMNO to rationalize what they do. The profit and largesse promised by Ketuanan Melayu no longer interest me. The Sultans I can do with or without. Preferably without. And I need UMNO as I would need a hole in my head. We Malays are now standing on the edge of a cliff. The best way to make progress is to back up.

Do not blame anyone else but ourselves for what we are. If your father is a poor man it is your fate. But we Malays chose UMNO for the past 12 general elections. And if we chose UMNO again in the 13^th general elections then it is sheer lunacy. We must not fight amongst themselves for the privilege of claiming bragging rights that we were instrumental in ousting UMNO or in making UMNO relevant to the Malays again. Whatever! Just vote UMNO out!

Yes we Malays had great hope of standing shoulder to shoulder with the non-Malays in education, in commerce and industry and generally in life. But we should have been more specific. We should have told UMNO that we want all that but without the corruption, without the abuses of Ketuanan Melayu done in the name of the Malays and certainly without an UMNO that takes for itself what is rightly for the Malays. We cannot change UMNO but we can change ourselves and sometimes that will make all the difference.

Do not talk to me anymore about life not being fair to you in the Malaysia that we now live in. 

For you Chinese that finds it impossible to accept the realities of having UMNO dictate how you should live and conduct yourself I say this. Wake up and do something about it if not get out.

For the Indians who feel the misery of being treated as an anak angkat when you are family, I tell you to stop complaining and get yourself ready to face not the Malays or the Chinese – but first your own leaders that have allowed the vestiges of the caste system to still prevail amongst your people to its own detriment and suffering.

But for all of you that are against BN, do you not know that we are bleeding now? Arterial bleeding! This type of bleeding that pulsates and squirts blood as the pulse beat.  It must be stopped urgently. We must stop this bleeding that comes from within us.

  

I am saddened to see old friends now come to do battle with us because they see Pakatan Rakyat as playing politics to serve the self interest of its own leaders. Do they hope for PR leaders to transcend politics and be great statesmen who are “above” politics even before they are given the opportunity to be statesmen?

I do not think that Karpal. Lim Kit Siang, Hadi, Tok Guru and DSAI are self seeking. They are committed to something larger then themselves. Committed to us, to our country and to good, open government. We are committed to wanting them to do good in politics. We the people will shape and make the choices that determine our life and we choose to do this with Pakatan Rakyat. We pray that our thoughts, hopes and beliefs will be that of PR. Our common good would take precedence over the good of individuals and the vested interests of politicians within PR. That is the promise we must each make to ourselves. You are one. With me we are two. Who else will join us?