Happy 1432 Hijrah!

Happy new year to all my fellow Muslim friends!

... this beat it fills my head up ...

Anyone driving along Jalan Dato Abu Bakar this morning and saw a female in a blue cap headbanging dementedly in her car while stuck in the traffic jam?

That was me.

And it was because of this song.



God, it has been ages since a song completely ate my brain like a zombie.

Flamboyance is another name for ...?

It now makes perfect sense. The sartorial choices of the Mad Hatter hid a deeper meaning.

It is okay, Mad Hatter. You can come out of the closet now. It has been shown that mercury poisoning may be responsible for homosexuality (at least in the white ibises); the mad hatter's disease having a heretofore unknown and an unexpected facet.

Hmm ... wonder if Jeremy Piven will make an announcement soon.

My inner fangirl, let me show you

The first time I saw Inception, I was blown away. The plot, the characters, the banter and dialogue, the special effects, everything. It has been ages since I'd seen a movie that completely swept me off my feet. My brain actually shut down to let me simply enjoy the movie without contemplation of logic or rational thinking of any sort.

My cousin, who went to see it with me, agreed it was a mindfuck of the highest degree. To this day, the soundtrack of the movie could still refresh my enjoyment of the film. Ah, to be in the concert and wallow in this live ... what an experience it would be!

Cos we need some sh*ts and giggles even on Monday

Particularly so on Monday, me thinks.

 

 

 

Why you should not emulate pornography

When I teach the reproductive health segment of my class in Healthcare Management, I urge my students to remember that porn is fantasy; imitating them could be hazardous to your health. After all, when you get down to do the nasty with your partner, you are unlikely to have an attending physician to deal with potential injury or to give prophylactic painkiller the way they do in professional porn shoots.

The kids are dumbfounded when I tell them that watching porn can be akin to watching a Superman movie. Hello? Scripted movie with directors telling them where to put what and how long a thrusting time to perpetrate etc. *rolls eyes*

For those who does not wish to contract chlamydial conjunctivitis (an eye infection) from sex, avoid getting facials, will ya?

*sigh*

Hmm ... this would have been ....

... my teenage anthem were it released a donkey's age ago. *grin*

Belated Thanksgiving wish to those celebrating

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grading on a transient loop

A number of my friends are now neck-deep in marking examination scripts. It is hoped that they are not grading the kids a la Dick Solomon.



However, judging from the grumblings that I've heard, it is quite likely that they wish they could.

Shake that bon bons!

Gentlemen, if you want to score with the ladies, you better consider some dancing lessons. If you take your lady (lad) love out for a night of dancing, flopping around on the dance floor as though you were Taser-ed is insufficient to show to them that you are evolutionarily desirable.

Facebook is hazardous to asthmatics?

Apparently, a young Italian gentlemen has had his asthma exacerbated by Facebook.

 

Or is it because he should stop stalking his ex-girlfriend?

Ah, l'amore.

Deja vu?

 

'nuff said.

I'm with evol

A new take on the Dark Side.

Busting up the wild wild west

I have not anticipated any films since Return of the King. Most of the time, something would make me go "Oooh ... shiny ..." and then I'd promptly forget about it. It sucks to have the attention span of a gnat.

But this one does look interesting. Cowboy + aliens? CANNOT COMPUTE.

On the other hand, Daniel Craig makes a lot of things go down a lot easier.

Book rec!

I bought this book on an impulse last Sunday (also driven by the 20% off sticker, hehehe); I usually rent my books. Funds and storage restriction can be such a bitch.

Lisa Kleypas is one of my favourite authors; particularly her historical novels. She has an amazing gift for painting such evocative pictures with words, with well-crafted plots and wonderful characters you would cheer for. However, as much as I enjoy her contemporary novels, they lack a certain something that is redolent in her historicals.


I am happy to note that the je ne sais quois that I adore in her historical novels is in full force in this one. This is the first time she wrote a contemporary novel about real, ordinary people (her Travis series are peopled with millionaires). The banter is deliciously agile; a Kleypas trademark. The only thing I feel sorry for is that it is too short. I finished all 211 pages in a little over an hour (I took a break to shower).

Go on, give this book a shot.

Iron Chef ... not quite

We don't eat much turkey in this part of the world. I don't think I have heard of a traditional Malaysian dish (be it Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Orang Asli, Kadazan-Dusun, Bidayuh, Melanau, Bajau, Siam or Sikh) that is made with turkey, even if we do have those flightless birds in the rural area. What happens to them if they don't end up on our plates? I don't know. I only see non-sandwich turkey on the menu during Christmas season; many restaurants offer them for both dine-in and delivery.

For those who actually cook the turkey themselves and decided that roasting their turkey is old fashioned (or having discovered that your oven couldn't accommodate the bird), please watch this video before contemplating deep-frying your turkey.



It wouldn't do to join the inglorious ranks of Darwin Award winners just for a bird.

However, if you would prefer another version of turkey ... like this one:

go here for the cooking instruction. And don't forget to invite me to come over for a taste.

In face of stress

Stress-busting is big business, y'all. Just google it if you don't believe me. But for the cheapskates out there, never fear! Home made stress reduction kit is available for all.

I am, however, not responsible for any A&E or Trauma Centre visits, okay? Caveat emptor.

Word of the Day

Nombrilisme (Fr.): the disposition to look insecurely inward, to be preoccupied with self-interrogation,             navel gazing.

Adam has no idea that his penchant for nombrilisme was the reason why his girlfriend left him for an XBox.

Sometimes love just ain't enough

Really. Especially when you have diverging ideologies.

Giant step, whoa

Today, 4 members of my family are making their way to Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage. For those who are unfamiliar, the hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage that every Muslim who can afford it is obligated to undertake between the 8th to the 12th of Zulhijjah (the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar).

Not very many young Muslims think about going for hajj; to them, it is only something to contemplate when they are past forty. Heck, I myself am only thinking of the pilgrimage in abstract, academic terms. I only know that I want to go any season but summer (cos it's hot as heck in Saudi in summer, yo).

From what I've heard from those who had gone for it, it is a physically and mentally challenging journey but most rewarding spiritually. But I really love what this guy have to say about going for the hajj.



Good journey, my dears. May your hajj be mabrukh!

Now *this* is the kind of politician I want ... back when I was an angsty, anarchic teenager.

His manifesto is awesome.



I bet this is his theme song.



Unabashedly stolen from Obefiend here.

Sh*t & giggles, midweek edition

I'm sure you've met a couple of these and want to set them on fire.

This is the life, no? Ah, to be Kermit ...




This guy is so clueless. Guess what they say about advertising execs is true. *snerk*

 Ah, casualties of war comes in many colours. Some of them homophobic.

Hey! Bears have feelings too! And some of them are endangered! Say NO to bear tasering!

Totally my life philosophy. Like totally. *nods vigorously*

Those dastardly bankers!!!! *shakes fist*

Wow. What strength in the thigh muscles that would require. *shudder*

  Been there. Sometimes you just cannot win. *shakes head sadly*

TOP 10 REASONS WHY TRICK OR TREATING IS BETTER THAN SEX

#10
 YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO GET AT LEAST A LITTLE SOMETHING IN THE SACK!

#9
IF YOU GET TIRED YOU CAN WAIT TEN MINUTES AND GO AT IT AGAIN!

#8
THE UGLIER YOU LOOK THE EASIER IT IS TO GET SOME!

#7
YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMPLIMENT THE PERSON WHO GIVES YOU SOME!

#6
FORTY YEARS FROM NOW YOU'LL STILL ENJOY CANDY!

#5
ITS O.K. WHEN THE PERSON YOU'RE WITH FANTASIZES YOU'RE SOMEONE ELSE, BECAUSE YOU ARE!

#4
IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU GET YOU CAN ALWAYS GO NEXT DOOR!

#3
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE KIDS HEAR YOU MOANING & GROANING!

#2
LESS GUILT THE MORNING AFTER!

#1
YOU CAN DO THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD!

In other words, candy trumps sex any day.

Trolls are everywhere ...

Trolling is commonly decried as a negative social activity redolent with malicious intent and provocation. However, an accomplished troll does not necessarily require a 4chan account; those who enjoy doing it in real-life do not get the benefit of a sockpuppet.

Reading the list below made me realise that I have been an inadvertent real-life troll in said situation. Oops.


Top 5 annoying questions at scientific meetings.

5. Question: “You know, our group has been working on this for a long time, and we found that…”
Really means: “How come you got invited to talk about this and not I?”

4. Question:  “Have you tried using Y instead of X?”
Really means: “We are doing the same thing using Y, since we can’t afford to use X on our budget. But we haven’t had results in the past two years, and you totally scooped us. Is there any way we can actually get results using Y?”

3. Question: “So where do you think this work is going?”
Really means: “I was just scratching my head, and the microphone runner thought I was raising my hand and handed me the mike.  Now that I actually have the mike, I might as well ask something”.

2. Question:  “You know, I was just talking about this recently with Bigshot1 and Bigshot2, and they said that…”
Really means:  “Hey, look at me!  I’m important enough to have engaged both Bigshot1 and Bigshot2 together in a conference. (They couldn’t get away because it was the conference dinner with free booze).”

1. Question:  “It seems that this whole field of…. is filled with very exciting prospects. We have been looking into…. and Bigshot3 has recently published in Science….(3-4 minutes more in the same vein)  so my question is: what are your thoughts?”
Really means: “Muahahaha. By hijacking Q&A time, I got to present at this conference even though I was not invited to. Sucks to the Program Committee.”

From here.

Sheer poetry

These princesses ain't waiting for some lame prince to come and rescue the day. They can kick ass and take names ... even in tulle.

Because even villains need to get paid and cannot run away from taxes.

Sometimes the price you pay for piracy is too high.

Darn it. Why didn't I have maps like this when I had to take Georgraphy in school?


Creep (Radiohead) - Scala & Kolacny Brothers from Alex Heller on Vimeo.

The Scala & Kolacny Brothers choir gives a new dimension to pop and rock standards. Stop motion animation = FTW!

Fanboys

Fanning a real-life hero, Comedy Central-style.

Life is like Lego (TM) ...

... you learn something new every day. One of my youngest uncles bought me a Lego set when I was a wee sprog; it ever got completed to the specs on the box when he opened it and showed me how to do it. I am ever fail at following instruction, much less constructing three dimensional structures. No wonder I never even contemplated architecture school. :p

But this guy? I would award him eleventy billion internet for this. Soooo cool.

Arthropod abuse with trebuchet

Not many of us like the leggy creepy crawlies. If you want to see them get what's coming to them, mediaevel geek-style, take a look at this video.



Ganked from Improbable Research.

Cookies for egg heads

Cute and edible!

All from Ms Humble.Some are her artwork while others are done by other contributors who share their scientific artwork.

Gel electrophoresis cookies. Looks very close to the real thing what with the drum-stick appearance of the bands and the colour! Just like it was being viewed under ultraviolet light! ♥

Petri dish cookies inspired by Escherichia coli streaked on a nutrient agar. No complaining of the streaking technique; icing is a lot harder to work with than broth-and-inoculating loop.

Exploding brain + popped out eyes FTW!

Gingerbread men in aqua containment / clean room suits are so adorable. They look paranoid, though.

Zebrafish makes for an awesome haematopoiesis model because they are practically transparent during the juvenile stage (or so I'm told). Edible glitter simulates the translucence beautifully.

Atomic cookie + nucleus (proton + neutron+ electron represented yo!). Gorgeous and delicious.

Gingerbread scientists are so adorable and edible!

What's a laboratory without beakers, test tubes & Erlenmeyer flasks?

Drosophila melanogaster, the humble household fruit fly, has been the workhorse of genetics for decades.

Who says that scientific people are boring and not creative?

We salute women who kick ass & take names

Step aside Dr Brady Barr. Your chiseled features may make you a darling on the National Geographic Channel, but there's another herpetologist who kicks ass harder than you.

Why do I say that Dr Kate Jackson is more hardcore than Brady Barr?

That's because she's doing near the same thing he does, without the benefit of a television show funding, while half crippled by transverse myelitis.

Hats off to you, Dr Jackson.


Kate Jackson SNAKES from Rose on Vimeo.

Destroying childhood memories ... fanboy nightmare

Stolen from here.