Nicely Put

Smile

Sometimes its the littlest things that make one happy.

I live on those little things.

~Salam~

Afghan Rose

This portrait happened just right after I saw a highly touching and soul-stirring photo of an Afghan man smelling a red rose. The act is as if in remembrance of family and friends lost in a war that has ravaged Afghanistan for so long that no one remembers the true cause of the war.

I'm just saddened that many of those who have died because of the war are civilians, innocent children with their mothers while their sons and husbands go out to fight a war they don't understand.

~Salam~

Cultural dose

Here's another post from me:


Personally, I believe that in a highly integrated world today, we should be exposed to different values, attitudes, belief systems and cultures no matter how foreign they are. The fact that they are in existence proves something, isn't it? That there's a reason. And everyday, I try to keep myself up-to-date of music from a variety of cultures.
To be frank, ever since I was a kid, I grew up watching Hollywood movies (some of which I was too young to watch), Bollywood movies(my dad LOVES watching them) which I have grown accustomed too. Actually, its more of a habit to watch Indian movies because they are AWESOME:)  At the same time, noise from the radio no longer became noise as I began to truly appreciate Malay singers and their efforts to sing beautifully crafted songs in their mother tongue. And today, I have learnt to appreciate the copious amounts of musical elements that mix and mingle with each other in this crucible of Earth we have here. Its truly amazing actually. I know there is the whole Korean Pop music wave which I haven't jumped on the wagon just yet. I have explored other (better) alternatives such as orchestral music, soundtracks and Arabic music. If you think orchestral music is dry and boring, think AGAIN! Do you remember watching movies such as Lord of The Rings, Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean among millions of other movies ever created? Yup, all of them use orchestral music in their movies to build up emotions, scenes and themes. Without them the movie and storyline would be paralyzed. As for Arabic music, well, I have always wanted to learn the language. And so, below is an example of how this centuries old musical elements combine and intertwine to form something beautiful to represent a land so magical.

Beautiful is it not? ;)


~Salam~ 

Quote

"Some people are friends and some people are friendly."




~Salam~

Inspiring

The Lord of The Rings Trilogy is one of best movies ever made.
It is my humble opinion that in decades to come, generations will look back and view upon the movie as a masterpiece. The one thing that made this movie memorable to me is this orchestral music.
After watching the movies, whenever I hear upon this beautiful music, it reincarnates the idea of nobility, peace, love and the pursuit of justice. In the world that we're in today, it hasn't been all that pleasant but maybe, just maybe, this song inspires in us all of what we can achieve today just by doing our part.


For the freedom born as our right
For the peace we wished with all our might


For all the grief and suffering
For the harmony of our sisters, brothers and being


For all the hatred that taints our heart

For the love we know we can impart


For all the anguish and heartache to abate

For the cheers and joy we patiently await

For all the grit and hardship we have nerved
For the happiness we work hard to deserve


For all the times we were oppressed
For the courage steadily growing in our chest


For all the clash and conflict by those power blind
For the true enlightenment of all mankind


For all the struggles of battle and strife
For the inspiration it invokes in life


For all that we would, we could and should
For all that is true, pure and good

~Rusydiah 
We all have that dream don't we? This particular music...ah.. a moving piece by Howard Shore for a movie that will, without a doubt, withstand the the test of time. 

~Salam~

Quote

The life of the bird is as important as the life of the king.

 Just different.

~Salam~

Beneath

Beneath all that anger there's hurt.

 And beneath all that hurt, there's love.

 And love is all that matters.






~Salam~

Photo postcard

This is a postcard from a very good penpal in Indonesia:)
I love our loonnnggg messages to each other. 

Exchanging our ideas on issues, sharing similar values, differences in cultures and way of life. 

She went to stores looking for postcards but couldn't find one. 

Instead she printed a photo and made it into a postcard.
Syukran jazeelan

The photo on the postcard is that of the Bromo Mountain. 

According to her, she was going to go there with her class but apparently the mountain is in one of its dangerous moods. So it would have to be postponed. 

Through our messages, I realize that even though we live thousands of miles away from each other, our lives, values and beliefs are rather similar. Its comforting to know that in an increasingly polarized and fragmented world, there are people out there who are unexpectedly similar to us. 

Looking forward to your next message ;)

~Salam~

Postcard from USA

When I received this postcard, it actually brightened my day. And not so many things brighten my days of late.

I shall quote some of the things written on the postcard
"Happy New Year!
I hope this year is full of happiness, laughter and wonderful postcards for you!"
"My favourite quote is actually lyrics to a song written by Eden Ahbez;

 'The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return'."

Thank you to the person for her thoughts and time and effort taken to write and send the postcard.
:)

~Salam~ 

Update on Postcards

 Postcard from Germany

 Postcard from Finland

Postcard from Netherlands

I LOVE receiving these postcards.
Scenic, painted and isolated areas of the Earth
Beautiful
Postcards somehow allow the receiver to see different parts of the world
From the comfort of your own home
I have a special box just for my postcards
Slowly but surely it's filling up
I've received other postcards recently but have yet to scan and upload them
Very unique ones too
Hmm, I would have to upload the postcards that I've sent out to people.
There's some pretty interesting ones.
Now just to find the time to do that...




A BIG Thanks to the postcrossing community
Checking the mail everyday is one thing I look forward to
Receiving postcards and letters makes my day :)



~Salam~

Germany Postcard

Postcard from the land of beer/wine/alcohol

The stamps below look so cheerful. It certainly brightened up my day :)

The postcard shows various views of seascapes, monuments and large sailboats.

Okay, the first thing about Germany that came to my mind was alcohol.

Having watched Travel Living Channel, the hosts and travellers often enter pubs, clubs, even chocolatier shops where they do use and consume quite a bit of alcohol. And also not forgetting,

the Berlin Wall. A symbol of backwardness.

Of a mentality that oppresses people.

I'm glad the wall has fallen.

And also, I'm reminded about Nazism and the man who started it all.

So its time to view Germany with optimism and on the happening things on-going in Germany.

A little googling magic led me to www.germany-tourism.de

What I found out had my mouth hanging in the air.

There's much to be seen.

Art and culture

Land of music (Beethoven was form there)

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Of Course, the Berlin Wall

Sports and Hiking

Castles

The list is endless.
I quote 
" Experience new things, have fun and relax.Vibrant cities with amazing architecture, fabulous shopping and pulsating nightlife. Enchanting medieval villages and traditional wine villages with friendly festivals and regional specialities. Picturesque countryside which is perfect for walking or simply relaxing in. Castles, palaces and abbeys that are the epitome of German romanticism. Fun & sport, wellness & relaxation. A land of a thousand possibilities."

To Clara, Thank you for the postcard:)

~Salam~

Holland Wind Mills

Holland Wind Mills

Hallo!groeten uit Holland of Nederland
Greetings from Holland or The Netherlands (?)
When I first received this postcard, I was sure Holland was a country separate from The Netherlands. And then I thought twice.
A little googling and here is what I discovered.
Holland is the western region of The Netherlands.
According to the Wikipedia, Holland is a name in common usage given to a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is frequently used to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but nevertheless unofficial.
Undoubtedly a not-so reliable source, it proved to be true for according to holland.com and I quote
" The Netherlands is often called Holland, because of the role the two western provinces North and South Holland played in its history. This region encompasses Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and other well-known Dutch cities such as Delft, Leiden and Haarlem. However, officially, it is the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of three parts: the Netherlands itself in Western Europe, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean."

There you go a whole chunk of information.
Let's get to the intriguing facts.
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. A fact that I just discovered.
We're so engrossed with Kate and William tying the knot that we forget that there are other monarchies in the world worth knowing.
The Dutch Head of State is Queen Beatrix. And the next in line would be her eldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander. And yes, he is married. 

Did you know...
Holland still has around a thousand old-fashioned working windmills?
(I admire this about Holland. They are progressive and forward-thinking yet they are headstrong in preserving their culture, heritage and nature.)
The Dutch are the tallest people in Europe? (Seriously? Let me be the judge of that. SO bring me a Dutch will ya?!)
The highest point in Holland is 323 metres above sea level, and is referred to as a ‘mountain’?
(I found this amusing because in Singapore we have Bukit Timah Hill which stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres, the highest point and its half the height of a 'mountain' in Holland. If we had known the Dutch would refer to its highest point as a mountain, we should have done that eons ago. We would be the only country in the world with a shortest mountain) 

To Lars, thank you for the postcard! :)
~Salam~

Mail from Korea

Mail from South Korea

 The front view. I think it looks really pretty.
The Hanbok

 And this is the back view. Which opens up to what you see below

And lo and behold the message written inside!
This is one of the most unique mail I've gotten.
A Hanbok in a green envelope.
Hah, who would have imagined ;)

The Hanbok is the Korean traditional clothing. In traditional hanbok design, curved features are important. As they are not meant to be tight fitting, the inherent beauty of hanbok is apparent in its elegance and style created by the abundance of material.

 Personally, I'm a noob with anything Korean.
Well, not entirely a noob since I do enjoy watching Korean dramas
When you get this kind of mail reaches your hand, I just wish Singapore has cards this cool
I suppose we don't have a well-developed Singaporean culture.
It's all a mix and blend of everything or simply rojak.


To my penpal in Korea, I have enjoyed exchanging snail mail with you. I hope it goes on and on:)
The latest mail she sent to me was a letter whose paper is called Hanji paper.
It's made from the mulberry tree. The paper feel firm yet soft and the texture was neither rough nor smooth . I suppose it feels like how our palms feel like with all the tiny lines and indentations that make up our handprint with a leafy kinda feel.
Beautiful paper


*love my penpals*

~Salam~

Chocolate For Real

After the previous post, I feel that it is fitting for me to actually post real chocolates albeit they're just photos:)
Still, these photos can be tantalizing for the eyes

This one isn't actually chocolate but it sure looks DELICIOUS!
Looks like heart-shaped pancakes layered over each other smeared with chocolate, strawberry and whipped cream.
Wow, I can only dream of something like this.
First, it looks too good to eat
Second, if I ever made this, I probably want to show off to people. (hehe)
Lastly, I won't have the heart to eat it because I actually want to have a good functioning heart. Sure seems like it has way too many calories but then again, it won't hurt to indulge once in a while....

~Salam~

First postcard

The Philippines

This is my first postcard from a penpal in the Philippines.
I love it! Come on, it shows the famous tourist attraction:
Chocolate Hills
They're so named not because they have cocoa trees
(though that was what crossed my mine upon first sight of the name)
Honestly, they look like giant mole hills or from a perverted point of view,
they look like women's breasts.
Believe it or not, these Chocolate Hills are natural, not man-made.
They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season,
turns chocolate brown.
 From this color, the hills derive their name.
 At other times, the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make.

An excerpt:
"Legend has it that the hills came into existence when two giants threw stones and sand at each other in a fight that lasted for days. When they were finally exhausted, they made friends and left the island, but left behind the mess they made. For the more romantically inclined is the tale of Arogo, a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl called Aloya. After she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. His tears then turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief.

However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable layer of clay. If you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill near the complex, you can read this explanation on a bronze plaque.
-http://www.bohol.ph

I want to thank my sweet penpal in the beautiful Philippines for this postcard :) And yes, good friends forever :D

~Salam~

Maiden Voyage

Yet again another blog is published for my sake. And this sake of mine has a purpose.


I have decided to document my artistic ventures and rather interesting hobbies I indulge in. They're unique (or so I think). But interesting enough to be shared for your viewing pleasure. Hope the sights and sounds(maybe) that I share on this blog are entertaining and somehow provide insights and sneak peeks into my oh-so busy life(as if). Hahahah...


Some of the things I will share hopefully...
Amateur sketches, drawing, paintings
Collection of postcards and stamps
Little adorable stuff that I made from scratch
Collection of photographs that's hard to resist ;)


Mainly, this blog is for dear friends I have known for so long, for friends far away, for friends I hope to get to know better, for friends I would like to get back in touch.Basically for people who have made a difference in my life no matter how small they are because I'm a person who always remember:)

~Salam~