The Ziplines Of Dahilayan Adventure Park
Source: disneyusa.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tudo isto é fado
Tudo isto é fado
Friends know that one of my biggest dreams is to ride a bike through the sunflower fields of Tuscany, Italy. Everyone shall be dressed in white, waving at me, while the song Santa Lucia is playing in the background...
...well, this was until this morning when I rediscovered the fado, the music most representative perhaps of Portugal, a moving proof of the Portuguese's intimate connection with melancholy and things forlorn, the proverbial saudades.
Here's the Queen of Fado herself, the great Amália Rodrigues, singing the anthemic Tudo isto é fado (All this is fado), a song I want to be played if and when I go back to Lisbon to eat sardines along Rua Augusta on one of my melancholy nights.
UPDATE (1 August 2009): We now dedicate this song to the memory of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, who has just died after months of battling colon cancer. Rest in peace and thank you!
Friends know that one of my biggest dreams is to ride a bike through the sunflower fields of Tuscany, Italy. Everyone shall be dressed in white, waving at me, while the song Santa Lucia is playing in the background...
...well, this was until this morning when I rediscovered the fado, the music most representative perhaps of Portugal, a moving proof of the Portuguese's intimate connection with melancholy and things forlorn, the proverbial saudades.
Here's the Queen of Fado herself, the great Amália Rodrigues, singing the anthemic Tudo isto é fado (All this is fado), a song I want to be played if and when I go back to Lisbon to eat sardines along Rua Augusta on one of my melancholy nights.
UPDATE (1 August 2009): We now dedicate this song to the memory of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, who has just died after months of battling colon cancer. Rest in peace and thank you!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Did you all have a Merry Christmas? We sure did around here! I swear all the grandparents went absolutely crazy this year buying for their new grandbaby. She's only 2 months old, but her toy box is already overflowing. She won't be able to use over half the stuff until next Christmas lol, but they bought it anyway! And oh the baby dolls...she's gotten 6 of them so far...all bigger than she is. I know she's getting 2 more from my Mom, but we're not doing Christmas with her until tomorrow night. I'm afraid to see what else she may get.
Hubby and I both got some pretty awesome presents as well, and we ended up with $125 in Walmart giftcards between the two of us. I also got a couple gift cards to other places that I'm going to love using. I do feel bad because I didn't have presents for half of my family. I mean I ordered them presents, but they haven't arrived yet. Actually quite a few things I ordered ended up delayed, and not all of them were from the same retailer. It's funny how all the bills and junk mail made it through, but the presents got delayed. I even got mail for my sis-in-law wanting her to buy Medicare supplement insurance that said "to be delivered on", and it showed up on time. She has never lived at this address, and she hasn't lived with us in 7 years, but that junk still makes it through on time!
Anywho I know my family and friends understand that their presents were delayed, and most of them keep telling me it just extends Christmas a little if they have to wait, but I still feel bad that I got all these awesome presents and had nothing to give out in return. Hopefully their presents will show up soon. Now I think I'm going to go enjoy the last 45 minutes we have of Christmas day, and I'm going to spend it snuggling with Hubby. He did a great job of putting the baby to sleep tonight, so maybe she'll give us a little couple time tonight.
VOTE: Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman try South African accents
VOTE: Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman try South African accents
Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, how do they fare? We’ve seen some really bad attempts at South African accents over the last few years. My worst memory was Val Kilmer, pretending to be a South African artist in The Saint. Turning to his lady love in a flouncy shirt, he looks at her with great intensity [...]
Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, how do they fare? We’ve seen some really bad attempts at South African accents over the last few years. My worst memory was Val Kilmer, pretending to be a South African artist in The Saint. Turning to his lady love in a flouncy shirt, he looks at her with great intensity [...]
Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, how do they fare?
We’ve seen some really bad attempts at South African accents over the last few years. My worst memory was Val Kilmer, pretending to be a South African artist in The Saint. Turning to his lady love in a flouncy shirt, he looks at her with great intensity and says, quite quietly: “Jussus.” That’s like Daniel Craig as James Bond turning to a hot actress and going: “O.M.G.” – it’s out of context in the worst way possible. (I might get killed for comparing Craig to Kilmer, but it’s late at night, okay?!
I am pleasantly surprised by the attempts at South African accents in the new film ‘Invictus’, which tells the story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted by South Africa as it simultaneously struggled to emerge from the deep and very dark shadows of apartheid. Many South Africans considered it to be a uniting event – helped by our win of course. Mat Damon plays blond-haired affable rugby captain Francois Pienaar. Morgan Freedman plays – you guessed it – Mandela. Damon’s accent sounds spot on to my ears, and I want to hug him for it. It makes me so happy! AND it’s directed by Clint Eastwood. I have high hopes for this flick.
Vote and feel free to comment and share your worst experience of a South African accent on the big screen!
Eight Years Have Passed
Eight Years Have Passed
They may not always agree with American foreign policy, but they don't think that America was deserving of what happened on 9/11 either. The typical Saudi loves Americans and American culture. They love to travel to the US and enjoy doing things there that are not available here. Saudis love products that come from America, fashions, ideas, cars, television shows and movies, technology. Saudi women love Oprah! However, this love for American ways and products was one of the reasons why the small faction of radical fundamentalists feared these changes they saw in their own people and culture. They don't want change to come to Saudi Arabia. They want to keep women sheltered, barefoot and pregnant at home. And they always disguise their reasoning as religious somehow, and we all know how strong the religion is here.
I have always been treated very well here in Saudi Arabia. When we first arrived, my husband wasn't sure of the climate towards Americans - he had been gone for thirty years. He even went so far as to tell me that if I were asked where I was from, to say that I was Canadian, just to be safe. I did that a few times, and I just didn't feel right about it, and I told him so. So I started telling the truth. "I am American. Ana Amreeki," I would say in Arabic. And the Saudis would smile warmly and tell me how they've been to New York or California or Florida and what a wonderful time they had, and how beautiful they think America is, and that they want to go back again someday. Hubby saw the positive reactions from his fellow countrymen upon learning I am American and he was relieved.
This is my second year to spend 9/11 here in Saudi Arabia. The memories of what my family went through in Florida during the aftermath of 9/11 still haunt me and I'm sure always will. I must admit it feels a little wierd for me to be here amongst the very people who were accused and blamed for 9/11, but am I afraid? No. And as Ramadan rounds its final stretch here in the Magic Kingdom, the serene peace in the hearts of the countrymen here is palpable. I feel safe here. I feel welcome here. And I feel loved here.
To read a little more about what my family experienced after 9/11, please see my prior post that I wrote about it.
Source: susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com
I can't pretend to speak for all the Saudis here in this country, but I can tell you what I have been told by the few Saudis I have spoken to about what happened on September 11th eight years ago. It is a sad day for them here too. They were horrified when it happened and even more so when it became known that most of the perpetrators were from Saudi Arabia. It frightens them to think that their own children could grow up and be capable of carrying out such hateful missions against innocent people. There are even moderate camps now for families to learn how to recognize and discourage radical ideas and behavior in their children. However, I have spoken to some Saudis who are convinced that the whole truth isn't out there - that the 9/11 findings were a conspiracy, that some of the alleged hijackers are still alive and were used as scapegoats. Yes, there are Saudis who are in denial about the 9/11 theories and believe that others were responsible and that the finger was pointed at Saudis as a US government cover-up or some such logic.
They may not always agree with American foreign policy, but they don't think that America was deserving of what happened on 9/11 either. The typical Saudi loves Americans and American culture. They love to travel to the US and enjoy doing things there that are not available here. Saudis love products that come from America, fashions, ideas, cars, television shows and movies, technology. Saudi women love Oprah! However, this love for American ways and products was one of the reasons why the small faction of radical fundamentalists feared these changes they saw in their own people and culture. They don't want change to come to Saudi Arabia. They want to keep women sheltered, barefoot and pregnant at home. And they always disguise their reasoning as religious somehow, and we all know how strong the religion is here.
I have always been treated very well here in Saudi Arabia. When we first arrived, my husband wasn't sure of the climate towards Americans - he had been gone for thirty years. He even went so far as to tell me that if I were asked where I was from, to say that I was Canadian, just to be safe. I did that a few times, and I just didn't feel right about it, and I told him so. So I started telling the truth. "I am American. Ana Amreeki," I would say in Arabic. And the Saudis would smile warmly and tell me how they've been to New York or California or Florida and what a wonderful time they had, and how beautiful they think America is, and that they want to go back again someday. Hubby saw the positive reactions from his fellow countrymen upon learning I am American and he was relieved.
This is my second year to spend 9/11 here in Saudi Arabia. The memories of what my family went through in Florida during the aftermath of 9/11 still haunt me and I'm sure always will. I must admit it feels a little wierd for me to be here amongst the very people who were accused and blamed for 9/11, but am I afraid? No. And as Ramadan rounds its final stretch here in the Magic Kingdom, the serene peace in the hearts of the countrymen here is palpable. I feel safe here. I feel welcome here. And I feel loved here.
To read a little more about what my family experienced after 9/11, please see my prior post that I wrote about it.
Source: susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Lots To Do Today!
Lots To Do Today!
Sometime between jumping up and down thankful my aunt is finally having the dead tree in her yard chopped down and taking my shots (and donating) to the Boobie-Thon I have to find time to pick more grapes today.
We have so many grapes and scuppernongs that we honestly don't know what we're going to do with them all this year. We've had people stopping by like crazy to help us pick them all, but they're still hanging in bunches. I managed to get outside a couple days ago to take some photos of what's left, and we still have tons that are going to rot if I don't do something about them.
I know exactly what I'm going to do with as many of them as I can pick. I'm going to freeze as many as I can, and I'm going to make as much grape and scuppernong jelly as I can. Not only will this help me offer healthier choices to my daughter, but it'll help Hubby and I on our quest to get and stay healthy. I can search out weight loss pills that work for us, or I can take the few extra steps needed to keep us on a healthy diet with the options that are already free and readily available to us in our backyard.
I absolutely love scuppernong and muscadine jelly, so now is my chance to try my hand at making it. I've got my Grandma's recipe in hand, and I'm ready to spend the day picking and extracting juice. I know I don't have nearly enough jars to make my jelly today, but I can freeze the juice and make the jelly whenever I have time.
I keep saying I want to make sure I feed my daughter the most organic foods I can, but I know once she's here that'll be easier said than done. The prices of organic foods in the grocery store is outrageous, and I'm very thankful to have such an abundance of fruits surrounding me. Between the pears, grapes, scuppernongs, pecans, apples, and figs in our yard alone I have no excuse for my I can't feed my child healthy and preservative free foods.
Sometime between jumping up and down thankful my aunt is finally having the dead tree in her yard chopped down and taking my shots (and donating) to the Boobie-Thon I have to find time to pick more grapes today.
We have so many grapes and scuppernongs that we honestly don't know what we're going to do with them all this year. We've had people stopping by like crazy to help us pick them all, but they're still hanging in bunches. I managed to get outside a couple days ago to take some photos of what's left, and we still have tons that are going to rot if I don't do something about them.
I know exactly what I'm going to do with as many of them as I can pick. I'm going to freeze as many as I can, and I'm going to make as much grape and scuppernong jelly as I can. Not only will this help me offer healthier choices to my daughter, but it'll help Hubby and I on our quest to get and stay healthy. I can search out weight loss pills that work for us, or I can take the few extra steps needed to keep us on a healthy diet with the options that are already free and readily available to us in our backyard.
I absolutely love scuppernong and muscadine jelly, so now is my chance to try my hand at making it. I've got my Grandma's recipe in hand, and I'm ready to spend the day picking and extracting juice. I know I don't have nearly enough jars to make my jelly today, but I can freeze the juice and make the jelly whenever I have time.
I keep saying I want to make sure I feed my daughter the most organic foods I can, but I know once she's here that'll be easier said than done. The prices of organic foods in the grocery store is outrageous, and I'm very thankful to have such an abundance of fruits surrounding me. Between the pears, grapes, scuppernongs, pecans, apples, and figs in our yard alone I have no excuse for my I can't feed my child healthy and preservative free foods.
Bumbu Desa
Bumbu Desa
Source: kotapalembang.blogspot.com
Di sebuah tempat makan yang terletak tidak jauh dari Kambang Iwak, menyajikan masakan khas Sunda.
http://kotapalembang.blogspot.com
Source: kotapalembang.blogspot.com
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