Hallelujah... So much magnificence

The darkness of night
is coming along fast,
and the shadows of love
close in the body and the mind.
Open the window to the west,
and disappear into the air inside you.
Near your breastbone, there is an open flower.
Drink the honey that is all around that flower.


Waves are coming in:
There is so much magnificence near the ocean.
Listen: sound of immense seashells!
Sound of bells!
Kabir says: 'Friend, listen,
This is what I have to say:
The Guest I love is inside me!'

-Kabir-

from Miten with Deva Premal 'Songs for the Inner Lover'

Side note: Join Avaaz Petition to bring justice to Tibet, to restore the Tibetan culture and sovereignty to her own people!

Megan Gale as Wonder Woman!

Okay, my friends think that I'm a freak for freaking happy about the latest developments on Wonder Woman, but hey, that's what fandom is! First, Gail Simone is writing Wonder Woman, and it's been a great read! Okay, okay, I don't like the WW/Nemesis pairing, to me Diana is always with Bruce 'Batman' Wayne, but what the heck. Compared with WW's fate in 2006 and the first semester of 2007 (please, don't even mention Amazon Attack?), we have many things to celebrate now!

And comes Megan Gale as the new Wonder Woman for the upcoming Justice League movie by George Miller (the man behind Happy Feet). First, I was skeptical: I don't know her except that she's a very famous Oz supermodel. But then I saw interviews of hers, read comments made by her, and I'm convinced that Miller was right: Megan Gale is the 21st Century Wonder Woman. Heh... her pictures practically screams 'Diana of Themyscira'!

The Benefits and Blessings of Periods

Periods can be a pain, so why have them at all?

That’s the first line of an article I read today at lunch, titled ‘The Great Escape’, published in the NewScientist edition 29 September 2007, Issue 2623. And I did not need to read the entire article to know that I will be pissed off. Well, for the sake of science, I did read it all, and still pissed off. Hence, this post, for I need to blow the steam. So here, we go, and I hope I can be as systematic as possible.

I could not find the PDF or online version of the article, so I will just scan the four pages later at my more leisure time and post them here as well. The writer of this article is surprisingly a woman. Ms. Hannah Hoag, whom based on my internet searching, is a truly credible writer in her own right. This is her private blog, or at least I hope it is. This post is definitely not to attack Ms. Hoag’s position or article; but rather to criticize from a woman’s point of view how the misinterpretation and misunderstanding of a natural phenomenon as menstruation leads to the findings of any means to avoid or even eliminate menstrual cycle from women’s calendar, an action that may be based on sympathy, but definitely against the rhythm of the Nature herself.

Moko the dolphin rescued whales!

It seems that I am not mistaken to pick the taxa of my research. Cetaceans ARE amazing! Read this, from Stuff.co.nz, courtesy of Michelle (thanks a heap, M!).

-xxx-

Moko the Friendly Dolphin Saves Whales

'It was like she grabbed them by the flipper and led them to safety'



Wednesday, 12 March 2008

It could have been a scene from a movie when Mahia's Moko the dolphin came out of nowhere to save two pygmy sperm whales from what looked like certain death.

The playful dolphin, who has set up home around Mahia on the East Coast, was the perfect helper on Monday as Department of Conservation worker Malcolm Smith toiled to refloat the mother whale and her one-year-old male calf.

"It was amazing. It was like she grabbed them by the flipper and led them to safety," Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith received a call early Monday morning to say two whales had stranded on the south end of Mahia Beach.

"Generally speaking when pygmy sperm whales strand they end up dying, or they are refloated only to strand again later in the day and die.

"We worked for over an hour to try to get them back out to sea. . . but they kept getting disorientated and stranding again.

"There is a large sandbar just off the shore so that could have been very confusing for them - they obviously couldn't find their way back past it to the sea."

After about four unsuccessful refloating attempts it was becoming highly likely the pair would have to be euthanised.

"The whales were getting tired and I was getting cold when Moko turned up.

"She just came straight for us and escorted the two whales along the beach and out through the channel.

"The whales were sitting on the surface of the water quite distressed, they had arched their backs and were calling to one another, but as soon as the dolphin turned up they submerged into the water and followed her."

Moko led the whales about 200m along the beach towards the headland then led the pair all the way out to sea.

"The things that happen in nature never cease to amaze me.

"It was looking like it was going to be a bad outcome for the whales which was very disappointing and then Moko just came along and fixed it."

Mr Smith said it was quite possible Moko had heard the whales calling.

" She obviously gave them enough guidance to leave the area because we haven't seen them since."

Moko however was seen straight after – the playful dolphin swam straight back close to shore to play with local residents.

- NZPA

Pic: Stuff.co.nz

What kind of superhero(ine) am I?

I took this quiz to determine whether I'm more a Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Zatanna or Black Canary kind-of-girl, and it turn out that I should join the Green Lantern Corp!

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 95% Wonder Woman 87% Superman 85% Spider-Man 80% Supergirl 72% Robin 67% The Flash 65% Hulk 50% Iron Man 50% Batman 35% Catwoman 25%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

In Pursuit of Truth: Insights beyond whales and dolphins

She had never high aspirations for herself as a scientist. Although she liked cetaceans and felt an affinity for them, she knew it was not just for the animals that she did what she did. As with many of her peers, she had been drawn to field biology as much for the life it offered as for its intellectual content – because it allowed her to be on her own, to have no fixed address, to be far from the familiar, while still being a part of a loyal but loose-knit community. This would not change any of that; for the most part it would be the usual grind of writing applications, trying to find funding and so on. Whatever came of it in the end, it was a certainty that it was not going to create an upheaval in science. But at the same time, who would have thought that it would be so intensely satisfying to have your future resolved, to know what you were going to be doing next year and the year after that and so on and son on, until who knew when? And yes, it was true that whatever came of it would not revolutionize the science, or even a minor branch of them, but it was also true that if she were able to go through with it – even a part of it – it would be as fine a piece of descriptive sciences as any. It would be enough; as an alibi for a life, it would do; she would not need to apologize for how she had spent her time on this earth.

The passage was taken from Amitav Gosh’ The Hungry Tide (2004), page 126-127, as Piya the heroine contemplated her way of life onboard a simple and rustic fishing boat. Piya was an Indian-descendant American, a cetologist, who did research on riverine dolphins in the Sundarban, the great mangrove forest regions in the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh.

Interestingly, the book is not only about the life of a cetologist who is out of place in her own ancestral country. In line with Gosh’ previous book (The Glass Palace), the book also talked about India’s socio-politics, notably during the problems of India and Bangladesh way back in the 70s. But Hungry Tide is not merely about social conflicts. It’s also about respect, showing how Hindus and Moslems of the Sundarban worships similar deities while retaining their traditional believes. It’s also about love that bloomed between Piya, a woman of science and Fokir, a man of the sea, an ordinary crab fisher, with the modern and dashing Kanai – typical smart Indian guy he was – in the middle. 

Save Planet Earth!

After traveling to ancient China, I'm returning back to the present time in my home island Bali, where the CoP (Conference of the Parties) 13 of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) has been taking place since last December 3. Lots of news about it, I will not reiterate it now. I just want to post a link to a very amazing speech by Al Gore, my environmental guru, made in Nusa Dua Bali, last night.



Read also some news from Time.com and Canada.com (among many others), to have a complimentary idea of what Al Gore said, for the YouTube video lasts for only 4 minutes (sob-sob-sob!). I will try to get a longer recording later and post the transcribe of his Bali speech here. This is the excerpt of Time's report on what Al Gore said about US's unwise moves to block the climate change talk:

"My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here," he told a packed audience at the U.N. climate change summit in Bali. "We all know that."

The Nobel laureate, in fact, urged delegates to push ahead despite U.S. opposition, even to the point of drafting a negotiating document with blank spaces where American participation should be. But while Gore's public criticism of his own country's delegation — and implicitly, of the President who controls it — electrified his audience, what he said next was even more important. "Over the next two years, the United States is going to be somewhere it is not right now," said Gore. "We are going to change in the U.S."

That the U.S. leadership is deeply divided on climate change has been patently obvious to even the most casual observer here. Washington's official delegation has emerged as the chief spoiler in moves to take meaningful action on climate change. But among the most vocal critics of the official delegation has been an array of American environmentalists, legislators and state and local government officials. Carl Pope, president of the Sierra Club, called the U.S. performance "the most explicitly irresponsible action that any American Administration has taken in any of our lifetimes."

But the purpose of the shadow U.S. delegation here — spiritually led by Gore and including the likes of Sen. John Kerry, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and dozens of officials from California (Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had planned to attend, but budget negotiations kept him at home) — is to signal the world that the Bush Administration no longer represents the views of most Americans on climate change. They point to the fact that U.S. cities, states and, now, the Congress have taken steps to combat global warming, and that next year's election will likely accelerate that momentum. "The message here is that help is on the way," says Mike Chrisman, California's Secretary of Resources.

Amen for that. And I said that for Dear Mother Earth.

Before going to Bali, Al Gore was also interviewed by BBC Hardtalk, available at YouTube. And on 10 December 2007 in Oslo, just before going to Bali, he received a Nobel Prize for his works on climate change. The speech text is available at the Nobel Prize website, and the excerpt video is available at YouTube with part 1 :

and part 2:

And what can we, individuals, do to save Mother Earth? Simple life style. Cut short your electricity use, plant more trees, save the water... Many ways we can do to save the Planet. As my spiritual guru Mr. Anand Krishna said, ‘Check your needs, check your greed.’ Similar to what Venerable Mahatma Gandhi said half a century ago, ‘The Earth is enough for human’s need, but not for human’s greed’. We all can save Mother Earth, the only planet that supports us human species, if we have the will to do so.

And I believe, we do.

Li Hou Zhu yu Zhao Kuang Yin: the life of Li Yu the Poet

If you also like Michael Miu and Barbara Yung classic wuxia series, click here for my new Jianghu blog...

What happens when your heart desires to do one thing, but your role gives you absolute responsibility to do another thing altogether? Could you accommodate your heart’s desire while at the same time fulfil your celestial duties? This is, I find, a hard question to answer. Naturally in many circumstances, we have to choose our duties, while at the same time stealing some precious moments for our heart’s passion, if we’re wise and lucky enough. But living the duties that are not your true nature is hard. Such was the situation with Li Yu, a born poet who was dragged to become the last king of the Southern Tang Dynasty, whose kingdom was annexed by the Song Dynasty in 976 AD.

I found out about Li Yu, a.k.a. Li Hou Zhu (literally ‘The Latter Lord Li’) when I watched a wuxia (traditional Chinese martial arts series/movie) last week. The title itself was in Mandarin, and almost put me off merely because of its length. The original title is ‘Li Hou Zhu yu Zhao Kuang Yin’. I did not know what it meant; let alone thinking of the nature of the series. To tell you the truth, I originally watched it because I wanted to see another performance of Nicky Wu Qi Long, a talented Taiwanese actor & singer (plus black belt holder of Taekwondo), and because some reviews said that ‘Li Hou Zhu’ was a good TV series, I took the DVD set home. I did not regret it, despite my reduced sleeping hours.

Sweet HRH Sir Richard Armitage...

I am very aware that some particular friends of mine will giggle and display silly grins as she reads this, for we are SO fond of deconstructing the cravat of HRH (His Royal Hotness) Sir Richard Armitage. And with the upcoming Robin Hood Season 2 - sometimes I feel that the show should be renamed 'Guy of Gisborne' instead :-D - I feel the need to upload links to some of my favourite Armitage YouTube videos. Sigh... I AM an Armitage Army...

North & South: Love and Hate under the Snowy Cotton Rain

That’s it. I’m doomed. DOOMED. It seems that tall, dark, handsome brooding men are my type. First, Bruce Wayne a.k.a. the Batman that has left a many young heroines broken hearted (though in my universe, I pair him with Diana of Themyscira, the Wonder Woman, to many fans’ approval!). Then, before I even finish with a sensitive Irish rake/pious young lad (depends on which version of Tom Lefroy you prefer: James McAvoy’s in Becoming Jane or the real one), I bumped into another tall, dark, handsome brooding gentleman. This time, he’s John Thornton, a Milton mill owner, up in the north industrialised side of England. And boy oh boy, was he not delicious?!

Perhaps, I should start from the beginning. Ehm. Neglecting the fact that I should be doing some works for the weekend (and that I should save my account from bankruptcy), I walked into Angus & Robertson (yes, the very place I bought my Shakespeare Retold: Macbeth, in which my dear tall-dark-handsome-brooding Thornton played as Peter MacDuff) and, after starring at a Wolverine-like gentleman in Victorian clothing on a DVD cover, I snatched that said DVD and brought it home, feeling rather sorry for myself for spending an extra $30.

Still thinking of my unplanned purchase, I placed the North & South (2004) DVD. After a few scenes of green English countryside, the film moved towards grey areas of Milton, one of the centres for cotton industry in England. There, I saw the tall dark handsome brooding John Thornton (Richard Armitage) chasing his worker and pummelled him into half stew. I began to have a mixed feeling of distaste and sensations towards the ‘nasty’ mill owner, the way Miss Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) saw him for the first time.

Miss Hale was in fact the Victorian Elizabeth Bennet with less sharp tongue (but not less opinionated mind) with much smaller family (with a cute brave brother, but thank God: no senseless, idiotic sisters) who moved from Helstone in Hampshire (!) to a fictional town called Milton, somewhere in northern England, closer to Scotland. I cannot blame her for her negative opinions towards Thornton, for she did saw him beating his employee and also did not show empathy towards the workers’ life. Moreover, when a strike truly happened (in demand of a payroll rise), Thornton imported Irish workers to replace his workers. He even criticised Margaret for giving food to the children of the strikers on the argument that it would prolong the strike, and hence did the workers no good. What a rude, heartless rake! And his unsustainable factory that polluted the Milton river! Environmental crime!

But we, Margaret and I, were wrong. It turned out that Thornton punched his worker for smoking inside the cotton mill; whereas smoking was strictly prohibited due to incidental fire in the mill several years ago that killed many workers (this scene was not in the original novel, but I think it was a bloody brilliant idea!). Plus, Thornton’s Marlborough Mills was not in a good shape; hence salary raise was not an effective choice at that time. In the mid of Episode One, Margaret learned that Thornton was not a rich man by birth; he had to climb his way up the ladder not without bruises and cuts. Margaret (and I) began to respect him and saw him in a different light. By the half of the first BBC episode (there are 4 of them), as my hero visited my dosing heroine at her new home in Milton… and saw how he brushed her slender fingers (accidentally, of course) as he received the tea she offered, my heart melted. And all the way, all along the episodes… I cannot help falling in love with Richard Armitage’s John Thornton. As for the pollutions caused by cotton mills... well, John Thornton was not the only guilty Victorian men in this case...

But of course, as in all love stories, things did not go smoothly between Thornton and me... I mean, Margaret. Almost the Victorian Pride & Prejudice in the rocky love story between a lady and a gentleman, North & SouthThornton could not easily snug Margaret. Granted, he was interested in her the first time he saw her (Heh… how could he not? I think Daniela was the perfect Miss Hale). But she saw him for the first time not in his best light, and that image ruined her initial interest in him. Thornton’s attitudes during the strike also did not please Margaret (despite him being so worried after she took a blow during the riot to save him). The climax of Episode Two was Thornton’s proposal to Margaret, driven by his love for him (and believing that she protected him due to her love for him). Like PP’s Lizzy Bennet, Margaret refused Thornton’s proposal. And like PP’s Darcy, the stupid Thornton just got angry and ‘chased’ Margaret around the table, demanding explanation. You would have though Thornton read Pride & Prejudice… but oh well…Episode Two ended with sorrow to our lover birds.

Episode Three came with Mrs. Hale’s worse condition. To lessen her mother’s anxiety, Margaret had invited Brother Frederick secretly from Spain. He came one night in secret and stayed in Milton for several days. Mrs. Hale eventually passed away, but before her funeral, Fred ought to leave the country again, lest someone would recognise him. Margaret took Fred to the station before midnight, and as a farewell, of course they embraced. Alas, handsome and jealous Mr. Thornton was in sight. He was very surprised to see the utter show of impropriety, but chose not to say anything and left. A worse thing happened as a man (Leonard) recognised Frederick. Fred and Leonard fought; the drunken Leonard fell and Fred got away. Bye bye. Not.

For Leonard died, and an investigation was done to examine the cause of death. Someone else saw Margaret during the Leonard fight, hence , Police Inspector Mason, had to interrogate Margaret who of course denied her presence at the station. Consequently, Mason consulted the local magistrate, who was none other than John Thornton. Though surprised that Margaret concealed the fact that she had been at the station with ‘a stranger’, Thornton helped her by closing down the investigation, under the argument of insufficient medical evidence. He did not reduce his bitterness towards Margaret though, and that made her suffer, for she had changed her opinions on Thornton and did not wish him to think bad of her.

Many interesting things happened in Episode Four, the last episode of the excellent BBC miniseries. First, about Nicholas Higgins (Brendan Coyle), a good friend of Margaret, also the father of Bessy Higgins, Margaret’s close friend in Milton (Bessy died in Episode Three; Anna Maxwell Martin played her well, just as she played Cassandra Austen in Becoming Jane). Nicholas had been adamant not to work again at any mills, but upon the death of Boucher (one of the workers), he felt responsible and took Boucher’s six children. Thus, Nicholas needed fresh cash. And, after being persuaded by Margaret, he swallowed his pride and asked for Thornton to give him job. Of course, Thornton refused him. But upon several inquiries, the mill owner realised that Nicholas was telling the truth. After a touchy visit to Nicholas’ shabby house, Thornton agreed to give him a job. The tall, dark, handsome brooding Thornton also finally realised that Margaret was the one who persuaded Nicholas to ask for job.

Nicholas and Thornton experienced interesting shifts in their relationship. First: enemies. Second: master-worker. Then, after Thornton took extra attention to one of Nick’s adopted son, Nick started to change his opinions. After Thornton suggested a food scheme that enabled workers to have their food together in a factory canteen, their relationship steered towards friendship. It was Nicholas who told Thornton of Mr. Hale’s death (Mr. Hale was visiting Oxford). It was also Nicholas who told Thornton of Margaret’s brother. In fact, Nicholas-Thornton association was one of the best relationships I enjoy in NS (The other one was Thornton-Mrs. Thornton and, of course, Thornton-Margaret). When Nicholas bade Thornton farewell (after the down of the Mill), they parted as good friends. I like to think that Thornton would later take Nicholas under his wing again, and very likely to offer him a better position.

And what of Margaret? Well, her mother passed away, also later her father. She was left an orphan, but a rich one nonetheless, for Mr. Bell (her godfather) left her a huge amount of money. In the end, she was the one who saved Thornton’s mill from bankruptcy, but not before a painful farewell under the falling snow (for she would need to move to London first), and not before Thornton’s romantic visit to Helstone, just to inhale the breeze of Margaret’s childhood place and accidentally picked her favourite yellow rose. The last scene at the Midland Central Station was the one of the most romantic scenes, where our hero and heroine accidentally met and shared a sweet tender kiss on the platform. Who says that a tender kiss is not sexy?! It’s effectively making you wanting for more, not unlike the scene where Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) and Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) almost shared a kiss under the candle light in London.

Authoress Elizabeth Gaskell (who eerily looked like Mrs. Hale) might have based Margaret on Jane Austen’s Lizzy Bennet (and Thornton on Fitzwilliam Darcy), but North & South (1854) is considerably a different story from Pride & Prejudice (1813) altogether. PP is much more merry and shiny than NS, and I have to admit that, though I love Lizzy Bennet (Jennifer Ehle’s version), I never truly enjoyed Mr. Darcy (not even the combination of Colin Firth’s brooding and Matthew Macfayden’s sensitivity). I guess, Darcy is not my brooding type after all.

But John Thornton! Gosh… if I’m falling head over knee like this over Richard Armitage’s Thornton (what a name… Armitage, Thornton…), what will I do if I watch the 1975 version where Patrick Steward (of all people!) was Thornton? Swoon. Plus, Thornton was shown to care for his workers. I know that Darcy’s friends, family and servants said that he was a very good master (don’t kill me Jane friends!), but watching Thornton caring for Nicholas, the poor little girl at the alley, and little Tom as the kid read a book on a comical an-i-mal just melts my heart…

Did I say that I spent AUD 30 for the four episodes, double DVD? Though I had felt rather sorry for spending money in the first place, in the end I did not regret it. Never, never, never. NS 2004 is one of the best costume dramas I’ve ever seen. I have to say that it’s on par with Becoming Jane. Yes, even the intense chemistry between Margaret & Thornton, though not in the same speed and turbulence with Jane/Tom... the Margaret/Thornton chemistry was certainly very intense, and I could not think of another Margaret other than Daniela's. God knows how many tissues I needed last night (and this morning for the replay) to clean my face from the tears that ran erratically during the four-hours show. Conclusion: watch it if you have not, and if you can, buy the DVD. Never a bad decision. In fact, like Becoming Jane, I might buy the second copy myself for precaution!

See also: Foolish Passion, a cool North & South fansite! And don't forget to read this very hilarious imaginary conversation between Darcy and Thornton. I laughed out loud as I read it. Too funny!

PS2: Thanks to Montevideana for this link of a cheeky virtual conversation between Lizzy Bennet and Margaret Hale. I agree with the writer that Lizzy/Darcy should double date with Margaret/Thornton!

Pic 1: John Thornton (Richard Armitage), from Richard Armitage Online

Pic 2: DVD cover to North & South 2004, Sofa Cinema UK

Pic 3: John Thornton amidst the snowy cotton, from Richard Armitage Online

Pic 4: Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe), from Wikipedia

Pic 5: North & South BBC banner, from BBC UK

Pic 6: Nicholas Higgins (Brendan Coyle) and John Thornton. From Richard Armitage Online

Pic 7: Farewell under the snow fall, from Richard Armitage Online

Pic 8: Prelude to the final kiss, from Richard Armitage Online

Pic 9: The final KISS at the station! From Richard Armitage Online

Pic 10: Going back to Milton together. From Richard Armitage Online