Whitney Houston gave a sincere, stirring performance at the American Music Awards (pic: Getty Images)
We all love a comeback story.
At the American Music Awards last night, when Samuel L. Jackson announced that Whitney Houston would be performing her first live television performance in five years, I’m sure some of the her fans watching were a little anxious, hoping that she could pull it off.
Well, she did, with a stirring performance of “I Didn’tKnow My Own Strength“. There were also moments of that soaring voice that has distinguished her career. The camera showed Reba McEntire teary-eyed and Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina quietly beaming at her mother’s success. Whitney was presented with the International Artist of the Year award, and in her speech, she thanked her fans for standing by her through the years.
Sometimes, we need a feel-good story, to give some inspiration, some hope. Or just to feel goodwill towards another person. God bless everyone who is going through any pain or any challenges, whether emotional or financial. The phoenix can rise again.
A magnificent fall display featuring apples. The photo was taken at the Bellagio Gardens in Las Vegas.
Fall is the season for apples. With all the varieties available for cooking as well as for decorating, I’m jotting some random thoughts on the fruit:
When I was a kid, eating green apples with salt was a favorite treat. In the tropics, where I grew up, the apple had the cachet of being a somewhat exotic fruit for us. My friends and I enjoyed the salt-dipped apples while we sat in our shady backyard, yakking about games and the other neighborhood kids.
Today, one of my favorite apple treats is homemade apple crumble, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The texture of raw apples helps to “scrub” or clean the teeth.
The microwave oven has changed the way we spend our time in the kitchen.
Can you imagine it? The microwave oven has become such a fixture in our lives and in our kitchens that we use it, without much thought, almost everyday.
We heat our food in it, we boil water for our tea or coffee in it, and some people cook dishes from scratch in the microwave. In the United States, the “convenience food” capital of the world,
you can have all your meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, even `freshly made’ desserts – with microwavable meals that you buy in the freezer section in the supermarket. Just take it out of the box and nuke it.
Popcorn and sandwiches are popular microwave snacks.
Not that it’s healthy, but there’s a huge variety of food that you can eat without putting a saucepan on the stove.
I got thinking about this when I happened to read about the history of this ubiquitous appliance. The first microwave oven for home use was introduced in October 1955 by the Tappan Stove Company of Ohio. Its size was 24”x24”, almost the size of a small conventional oven or a television set. And it cost a whopping $1,300!
As they say in the famous line, you’ve come a long way, baby, So, happy belated birthday to the microwave oven, one of the modern inventions that have revolutionized our lifestyle, like the automobile and the computer. Wonder if we will see another such innovative invention in the near future.
As the year begins to wind down, it is fair to say that it has been a tough year for many Americans.
Wall Street is set to award record pay.
Unemployment is close to 10%, foreclosures have not abated, and there doesn’t seem to be any real recovery.
And then, this week there was this report “Wall Street On Track To Award Record Pay” in the Wall Street Journal. It states that: “Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their employees about $140 billion this year – a record high that shows compensation is rebounding despite regulatory scrutiny of Wall Street’s pay culture.
“Workers at 23 top investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers and stock and commodities exchanges can expect to earn even more than they did the peak year of 2007, according to an analysis of securities filings for the first half of 2009 and revenue estimates through year-end by The Wall Street Journal.”
This come months after many banks and financial firms took taxpayer-funded bailout money to survive.
It’s no wonder that the average person reacts to this report with puzzlement, anger and disgust. MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan and filmmaker Michael Moore appeared on the Today Show on October 15 to talk about this huge disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. Their explanations are excellent in helping one understand the situation. Watch the clip below.
Moore echoes the feelings of most people on these compensations: “They burned down our economy. They completely crashed it. And now they’re getting rewarded for it… It’s absolutely insane that we allow this to happen, but not surprising because that’s our capitalist system.”
And we often see the bankers and the financiers explain on TV that they have to pay top salaries and bonuses in order to retain the best employees. Once again, Moore brilliantly articulates the average citizen’s response to this bizarre explanation: “Let’s pay the best people, who helped to wreck and ruin our economy… This is absolutely crazy logic.”
Iqbal and Haslina arrived in traditional Malay costume for the bersanding ceremony, the day's main event.
A wedding is like a microcosm of life. Family, friends, hope, past, present and future all meet on that special day.
On my recent trip home, I was fortunate to attend the wedding of my cousin’s daughter, Haslina. It was wonderful to meet again so many people who have been a part of my life, including former neighbors whom I have not met in years.
Though the Malay community in Singapore lives in a thoroughly modern city, much of our heritage still permeates our lives. For instance, weddings still remain big, community affairs. This dates back from the kampung (which means village) days when all the neighbors and relatives pitched in to help with the preparations and celebrations. And relatives from Malaysia, and sometimes Indonesia, made the trip over to spend a few days with their relatives on the island.
The number of guests can easily be between 500 to 1,000 people. We have a large extended family, and my cousin Rashid is active in the community, so his guest list was quite extensive. There was a constant stream of guests from lunch time till dinner time.
Malays have been pretty adaptable people and have found ways to merge or synthesize the new and the old. In the old days, tents were set up in the front yard for the wedding celebrations. Today, most Singaporeans live in high-rise flats and apartments. To accommodate the number of guests, the spacious lobby of the apartment building, or what is known locally as the void deck, is utilized as the wedding venue. I think this is a uniquely Singaporean feature.
The newlyweds taking a little rest.
Weddings used to be the launching pad for budding musicians who entertained the guests. Today, live music is not such a common feature of weddings. Haslina’s wedding had a band which played Hindi songs, and it was really fun listening to the popular hits.
On Haslina’s side, we celebrate our Malay and Indian Muslim roots, while the groom, Iqbal, celebrates his Pakistani traditions. And this was seen in the costumes and the two groups of musicians and dancers, the kompang and the bhangra, that heralded the arrival of the couple.
Haslina and Iqbal make a wonderful couple, adding another branch to our kinship tree. And thanks to my cousin Rashid and his wife Masita for giving me an opportunity to get close to my heritage and all the folks that I cherish.
The sounds of the kompang (Malay hand drum) musicians bring excitement at a wedding as they signal the arrival of the bride and groom.
The bhangra musicians arriving. Bhangra, a dance and music which originated in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, is popular at weddings which celebrate a connected heritage.
Family and guests gathered to watch the bhangra dancers. (Watch the video clip below.)
The band entertained the guests with classic and new Hindi songs.
The “kitchen” area is the unseen HQ of a Malay wedding, serving briani rice and side dishes to a constant stream of guests.
Last week, I had orange on my mind. I was thinking of ways to update or change the look of my living room with the coming of fall.
I was not quite ready to give up the bright, sunny colors of summer, and I still wanted bright, uplifting hues in my surroundings. Then it occurred to me to add some orange decorative accents or accessories. After all, orange is a color that bridges the hot and cold seasons. It brings to mind the citrus of summer and the leaves of autumn.
Later, over the weekend, I read an article “Haute orange” in the Orange County Register where Cindy McNatt wrote that orange is the “it” color this season. Well, that’s nice to know. She quoted designer Amanda Malson as saying: “Orange is a vibrant color that has less intensity than red or yellow and actually a calming effect. We love using orange with a neutral base and pairing with hues of blue.”
Color psychology, which studies the effect of color on human feelings, moods and behavior, points out that orange can have a positive impact on one’s emotional state. Orange represents warmth, energy, exuberance and excitement. It is said to open up your emotions, and will stimulate activity and socialization.
It is also said that sometimes we are drawn to a color because we want to have the attribute that it represents. The exuberance of orange will be a good attribute to have as the days get shorter and nippier.
An orange item adds zest to a room. (Pic from photos8.com)
I bought this fabric to make cushion covers. I was drawn to its orange accents and the somewhat retro feel.
This year, Eid celebrations fall in the month of September. Eid, or Hari Raya Aidilfitri as it is known in the Malay language, is the festival that celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan is the holy month in Islam where believers fast from dawn to sunset, and also abstain from negative thoughts and behavior, with the goal of strengthening one’s faith and character.
Hari Raya celebrates the victory of fulfilling the month of fasting, and it is also a time of renewal: both spiritual renewal and the renewal of ties among family, friends and the community.
The word “renewal” is a beautiful word. It connotes the linkage between a foundation that is already there and a rejuvenation, often with something new or improved. Embedded in the word is also the essence of hope, a quality that we all need through good and tough times.
Hari Raya celebrations organized by the Malaysian Islamic Foundation of North America (MIFNA), a voluntary, non-profit organization which strives to create a sense of community in California.
The ketupat,or rice dumplings in pouches made from palm leaf, is a much loved Hari Raya food. In our family, we gathered the night before to weave the pouches (shown above), fill them with rice, and boil them in a huge pot. (Photo from The Star)
Whitney Houston is about to jumpstart her career, after a long absence from the music scene.
Whitney has a superb voice, and her songs have remained perennial favorites with me, and with millions of other fans.
At the height of her success, she seemed to have it all. Extraordinary talent, looks, hit after hit, and a supportive musical family with mother, Cissy Houston, a gospel and soul singer and her cousin, the famous Dionne Warwick.
Then when she got married, to Bobby Brown, her fans were puzzled and upset by her choice. Frankly, they felt that she made the wrong choice.
In her interview with Oprah on September 14, Whitney said that she was attracted to Bobby because “he allowed me to be me. He was fun. Passionate. Loving.”
In the reality TV show “Being Bobby Brown” which showed what went on in the couple’s lives, one could see that Bobby can be very charming and entertaining. I suppose, like many women, Whitney wanted a man who could make her laugh. Or perhaps, like some women, she was drawn to bad boys.
People blamed her marriage for the downward spiral from a classy young woman to one who lived a hard, fast and almost destructive life.
Whitney and Bobby... in happier times.
Ideally, a person brings his or her true character to a marriage, and retains personal responsibility to himself, while at the same time cultivating the relationship as a couple. But I have seen quite a few relationships where the marriage caused a huge negative impact on one of the spouses’ personal development. Such is the power and mystery of marriage, and Whitney’s marriage seems to be a good example of this.
Whitney told Oprah that she took her marriage vow very seriously and stayed with Bobby to make it work. I thought it was very wise of her to acknowledge to Oprah that it was difficult for Bobby to be in her shadow, and that contributed to problems in the marriage.
The drug abuse, lack of communication, pain and unhappiness became unbearable, and their divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007.
Now Whitney is at a new juncture of her life, determined to leave all that behind. Her new single ILook to You sounds great. Making a comeback is never easy, and it takes courage. Welcome back, Miss Houston.
There is a saying: “Laugh, and the world laughs with you”. Now, there might be a new saying:
laugh and your heart will thank you for it.
A study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore suggests that laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack.
The study compared the humor responses of 300 people. Half of the participants had cardiac problems, and the other half did not. Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University states that: ‘the most significant study finding was that “people with heart disease responded less humorously to everyday life situations.” They generally laughed less, even in positive situations, and they displayed more anger and hostility.’
He adds that perhaps we should add regular laughter to the list of things we do to keep healthy such as exercising and watching our fat intake.
There are many ways to find humor – funny movies, jokes , looking at the antics of animals and children.
I particularly like print cartoons. I appreciate not only the drawing skills, but also the special skill that goes towards creating humor in one succinct frame. I clip them and save them for a continuous supply of smiles and laughs.
Last week, I had orange on my mind. I was thinking of ways to update or change the look of my living room with the coming of fall.
This year, Eid celebrations fall in the month of September. Eid, or Hari Raya Aidilfitri as it is known in the Malay language, is the festival that celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan.
There is a saying: “Laugh, and the world laughs with you”. Now, there might be a new saying:
