Mastodon

Beyond Words

Uniquely Singapore0.Pars.000100.ImguploadSpain should be the country with the tourist board tagline we wear so proudly. OK, not so proudly, but with a befuddled expression and lips mouthing a “har?” (Only joking, don’t take my link off your page)

As I was saying, Spain. She doesn’t have words to her national anthem. How bizarre. Imagine if we didn’t have words to ours. How would we know the meaning of what we were singing? Thousands of kids across the country would never know that our national language was Bahasa Melayu.

Or imagine if you didn’t have an anthem at all, and had to make one up on the spot when someone asked what your anthem was: As was the case with the state anthem of Perak, the tune of which later became the melody of the national anthem of Malaysia:

The state anthem was created during a state visit of Sultan Idris of Perak to England in 1888. It was noticed that no anthem existed to greet the Sultan. The Aide-de-camp of the Sultan, Raja Mansur ibni Sultan Abdullah, did not dare to tell that no anthem exists and so instead hummed a song he knew from the Seychelles, a melody originally written by Pierre Jean de Beranger. After he told the Sultan about it, the sultan accepted the song as the anthem. The lyrics were written by Raja Ngah Manur bin Raja Abdullah.

In 1957 the national anthem of Malaysia, Negaraku, was selected to use the same melody.

Imagine if we had to make up the words to the tune of our national anthem…

But just only imagine, because it is an offence to sing unofficial lyrics or any translation to the anthem…

Semua Kita Jangan Stress (ini bukan lagu negara)

Woke up this morning and I took a shower
I was very sleepy, but what to do?
I have to go to work and make money.
Such is life, we all must eat.

Oldest son is going to Army
Don’t have to give pocket money (yay!)
Though the prices are going crazy
Government say don’t worry
Government say don’t worry

Casinos save economy
Just don’t go on a gambling spree (whee!)
The climate is getting hazy
Government say don’t worry
Government say don’t worry

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Twinkle, twinkle little star, turn on the lights of your car

Naomi and I are pleased to announce that it works! The signal works. Earlier tonight, an MPV driver was barrelling down the ECP, along with his MPV of course, but without the MPV’s headlights on.

Fortuitously, I was barrelling down the ECP on the outside lane close enough to him to pull alongside safely and allow Naomi to perform Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the driver.

It took only a couple of seconds for the driver to change the question mark on his face to an exclamation mark, and then turn on the lights on his MPV.

We are resolved to take every available opportunity to signal in this manner to every stealth night driver we see, and then we will petition first, the LTA and then the international night driving signal authority to codify the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star signal as the universal signal for “please turn your lights on because it’s night time”.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Well done mates

 Common Imagedata 0,,5840192,00
Picture: New Zealand Herald

Sometime in August 1991, my kayaking partner and I tried to keep a watch out on the horizon for any sign of landfall as we sought to reach Tioman Island in Pahang State by kayak. It was the twelfth day of our trip, and we’d just endured what we felt was the mother of all mothers of all storms.

Our Klepper Aerius Expedition II’s blue canvas skin was stained with vomit on either side of the passenger compartment cockpit, but far more worrying than that were the low clouds that obscured everything else, and made us worry that we might have been heading in the wrong direction for the previous, dunno, 12 hours overnight. It was the age before portable electronic navigational aids, or more accurately, the age before yours truly could afford any aid apart from several magnetic compasses purchased from discount camping stores.

Three compasses, and the stars in the clear night sky before the storm broke at dawn helped keep our bow pointed at where we thought Tioman was.

I’m trying to remember the elation we felt when we finally sighted Tioman’s extinct volcanic peak. But I’m sure these two other blokes know how it feels, albeit multiplied a thousand times.

So, heartiest congratulations to James Castrisson and Justin Jones, for kayaking from Australia to New Zealand. No more eating and shitting in the small boat.

I know of American tourists who belittle that distance with their ignorance, asking Sydneysiders how they can take a day trip out of Sydney to New Zealand. But bugger me, and all that, James and Justin have paddled over 2000km over the last two months. It takes a plane about 3 hours to get from Sydney to anywhere in NZ. That’s a very long distance, notwithstanding the fact that both Kiwis and Aussies understatedly refer to the Tasman Sea between the two countries as “the Ditch“.

Originally estimated as a 42 day paddle, they went over 60, and have had to ration their meals. It is the fourth longest kayak crossing in recorded history, and the first kayak crossing of the Tasman Sea.

The latest in navigational, communications and survival equipment were used in this expedition, as they were in ours. For water, James and Justin had a desalination unit to supply them their estimated requirements of 5l a day. My kayaking buddy and I had this unit we called the 40l jerrycan, which was stowed between my knees, and which caused me to walk bow-legged for weeks after.

What’s even more impressive about James and Justin’s crossing is that they did it solely on paddling, whereas many open ocean kayak crossings are done with the aid of sails. There’s some kayaking saying that goes “paddle if you must, sail when you can”, or something like that. My buddy and I sailed when we could – with a golf umbrella we rigged in front of the cockpit, and which obscured my view of the horizon, and which was the official excuse for my being seasick the whole expedition.

But what the hell am I doing comparing Singapore-Tioman with Sydney-New Plymouth? Sorry. Congratulations James and Justin. You da gods of kayaking!

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Another world first


Now, where did we keep the parking coupons?
Cos we’re gonna be here for awhile…
– Photo by Telstar Logistics

Cnn110108Singapore Airlines now holds the record for the first Airbus A380 to be stuck on a grass verge. None were hurt, except for Singapore Airlines, who also suffered the ignominy of having this piece of news achieving “most popular story” on CNN’s website yesterday, no thanks to the misleading headline.

For punters who buy 4D numbers of accident vehicles, the plane’s registration is “9V-SKA“. Oh wait, that’s not four digits.

Lessee… Scheduled departure time of the flight SQ221 was 2040hrs. It was retimed to 0015hrs. The scheduled arrival in Sydney was 0715hrs, but the retimed arrival, 0850hrs.

OK, now go buy those numbers. You read it here first. Win first prize better thank me!

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

Less useless

C2 Holster Mph12

Now you can paralyze would-be assailants to your own beat!

The Taser C2 now comes with a built-in MP3 player and leopard print design and leather case!

Via smh.com.au:

The 12 Taser guns recently bought for the Public Order and Riot Squad cost $30,000. For an extra $US80 ($90) apiece, officers could have an MP3 player able to carry 500 songs added to the holster, making it easier to juggle their accessories.

Technorati Tags: , , ,