September 2011
I swear you just can't get good Soy milk outside...
August 2011
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“The determination and bravery of Syrian demonstrators has confounded outside...”
– What makes unarmed protesters defy snipers and tanks for months? Courageous Syrian demonstrators have a wide range of motivations. (via theeconomist)
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Stories from my friends #5
One of my good friends is Muslim. He’s a bit mixed about following it, but for the most part he does. He’s a funny guy, who’s surprisingly shy about certain areas, such as sex. He has a fairly conventional idea of relationships. All of it makes him very easy to tease.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the day, and are prohibited from swearing or lying.
The girls at our...
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Debunking History Myths #7
The English and French fought their first of several wars in the Hundred Years War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453.
It’s remembered today as the first source of animosity between the English and the French. It’s also remembered as a nationalistic war, as between those two countries.
The reality was a bit more complicated. It was between Kings, not countries, at least to start.
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“Immigration is, on the whole, good for economies; and right now, rich countries...”
– Immigration is a sensitive subject at the best of times, and this is not one of them. At least our position is clear. (via theeconomist)
Mexican and Latin American immigrants sadly have no where else to go. U.S. politics take advantage of this and abuse immigrant workers, seeing them disposable.
...
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Selamat Hari Merdeka!
Happy Malaysian Independence Day. :)
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WatchProduced by: Kent Truog and Alison Fahey Directed and Edited by: Kent Truog Music by: Robbie Reider Special Thanks the Transitions Global staff, and especially Chang Liya for her courage and her voice. This video was shot in late 2010 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to tell the updated story of Chang Liya. Liya had done an early video in 2008, which was too emotionally heavy for public viewing. Since she...
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The Black Hole of 9/11, by David Rothkopf from... →
“As we assess the legacy of the 10th anniversary of America’s seminal terrorist attack, it’s worth looking at 10 events from the past decade that have actually been more important.”
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ooooh my gosh, Xochitl...: Things I've learned so... →
markcoatney:
spiegelman:
“enlace” means “link”
“etiquetas” are “tags”
“añadir” means “to add,” but on the Internet it can mean “to follow,” basically “add people to my dashboard”
“texto” means “text” in the broader sense of “text,” as in “this book is a wonderful text,” but now…
I bought a computer in Switzerland, and it came with the Windows Vista OS in German.
I learned a lot...
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On the way from Melaka to Kuala Lumpur, I met a couple of Australians.
As we left, one of them was talking to the bus driver in Indonesian, who happened to be of the same country.
I’ve been going around Malaysia pretty much speaking Indonesian. It’s not the same as Malay, but related and often close enough. It’s still not the same though, so when I heard them speaking I could...
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Politicalprof: The GOP's God Primary vs. the... →
politicalprof:
Since the presidential race is well underway, it is perhaps timely to ask a question that almost no one ever seems to actually address in campaign coverage:
What, exactly, do presidents do?
You’d think the president’s job description would be front and center in any campaign coverage, as well as…
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BBC: In pictures: The future of Malaysia's tiger... →
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Eid Mubarak to my Muslim Tumblr-ers!
Selamat Idul Fitri, in Indonesian. :)
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A perfect storm, by Mark Mardell, BBC →
“We have, with no regrets, waved goodbye to Irene. Very sadly, lives were lost. Little matters more than that. But the feared devastation did not happen. Neither buildings nor reputations were toppled.”
tzekomah replied to your post: Backpacking
Shit… Ur in penang? I am fr penang n im going back home tomorrow.
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Haha funny. I’ve spent the last few weeks here with just friends of the friend I’m staying with. I come back from Melaka and suddenly I have friends everywhere.
Send me a PM with your number and I’ll text you and we can meet up sometime.
Every time I see a Domo Kun, I want to get it for you. And then I remember we’re not together.
Is that weird?
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“You look good in that hat. It totally hides that hair situation you have there.”
– My friend Ian, talking me into buying a hat.
Thanks for the backhanded compliment.
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Travel Advice #2 - Public transportation
Public transportation in a lot of countries is worthwhile. It’s cheaper, and sometimes gets you there faster than taking a cab. In cities like Bangkok, Zurich, or Hong Kong, it’s really easy.
In Bangkok in particular, taxis get stuck in bad traffic, and often try to cheat you if they think they can get away with it.
In Hong Kong, beware. No cab driver speaks English. None. In the...
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Have I ever been in serious trouble? There was the time I was rushing in London. I had just arrived on a train down from Durham, discovered that to take another train to Reading (where I was going to stay with a friend I barely knew) I had to go all the way across town from Paddington to King’s Cross (or the other way round, don’t remember) to catch the very last train to Reading.
In...
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Travelling Solo
I usually travel alone.
When I was a child, of course I always traveled with my family. My parents were the kind of people who like to organize everything, with plastic covers and all. Our trips were organized, with sightseeing, nice hotels, and relative comfort. I didn’t have to do anything, just follow them.
When I got to be old enough to start out on my own or with my friends, I found...
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Backpacking
Sometime last year I decided I’d had enough of youth hostels. There just comes a time when you don’t want to sleep on a bunk bed in a dorm room on old mattresses with a shared bathroom and no hot water. You like having a bit of comfort around you, and a little privacy.
I’ll retract the original statement. There definitely still is something to hostels and backpacking. What is...
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On Jaime Lannister
Spoilers past the Read More. … Which isn’t working. Okay.
SPOILERS BELOW! DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW.
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I just finished “A Feast For Crows.” And… I really like Jaime Lannister. I can’t not.
Not because he’s a good man. He’s not. But it’s been said that the whole story is about men who try to do good. They don’t...
tien-nguyen replied to your post: tien-nguyen replied to your post: It rained all…
haha.. don’t you just love how our brains handle those situations? and i like the way you make the transition between two posts ;)
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We get trained to trust and to obey, and are often too sheltered to really learn to distrust, even though our parents tell us to be careful.
We’re inclined to...
tien-nguyen replied to your post: It rained all day. I got out during what looked to…
at least your lesson was at no cost, mine cost me AU$40. i think there’s a word for that, i believe it’s called “naive” :))
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I took my cousins to Geneva. Near the docks, a few men were playing a game which involved guessing which cup hid a small ball, or whatever it was.
As we just hung around...
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It wouldn’t be the first time I made this mistake. Today I figured “I can speak Indonesian and sort-of-Malay” and it was what he was speaking… but he was so muffled, or he spoke some weird dialect, that I could barely understand him. When he dropped me off, I had to wander around for an hour before I found my lodgings here in Melaka.
Granted though, it got me exploring,...
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Travel Advice #1
Never take a cab driver who you don’t understand and who doesn’t understand you. It can be hard sometimes, and choices can be few, but my advice?
Wait for more choices.
“Happy birthday Dan. I hope you are having a wonderful day, doing the things you...”
– One of my oldest best friends hits it right on the head with this Facebook wall post.
Why lie and do what people expect for a birthday? Whenever I intend to have a good party for a birthday, I get disappointed. Expectations are inevitably high, and nothing ever reaches it. People always say you...
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So the Itinerary
I’m back in Kuala Lumpur for one night, then tomorrow I’ll take the bus to Melaka for a couple of days.
My friend, who works in the business, got me an affordable suite here in KL. And now that I’m here, I’m bothered that it’s only for one night… It’s a SUITE.
Tomorrow I take the bus to Melaka, where I booked a guesthouse for myself. Which means a...
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Back To School: The Dos And Don'ts Of Studying... →
All true.
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You know how 13 is unlucky in Western cultures?
Here, at least for the Chinese, 4 seems to be the case.
The hotel I’m staying at will not label any floor with the number 4. When you’re on those floors they’ll name the room numbers appropriately, but otherwise it becomes 3A, 13A, and 23A.
I don’t think this is a mainland Chinese phenomenon. More likely it’s...
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My friend and I are very different.
I’m happy to chill out. I can spend half the day with a good book. I like to go out, meet people, socialize, but just as much if not a little more, I enjoy my little worlds.
When he comes home and asks me what I did today, and if I say that most of it involved reading or something similar, he’d say it sounds sad.
I don’t take offense. I think it’s sad that he spends a...
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No matter how much I try to speak Malay here, inevitably I’m speaking Indonesian. Instinctively, those are the words I’m using.
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Call it sad, but...
Birthday wishes on your Facebook wall = win.
I don’t care what anyone else thinks. My friends are all far away. I appreciate the thoughts.
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Aaaand it's my birthday.
In GMT+8.
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“The last thing [Sansa Stark] needs is more songs.”
– Tyrion Lannister, A Storm of Swords.
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I find it difficult to like Sansa. She’s proven that she’s strong, but I can’t wait for her to shake off how damn silly she is.
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It rained all day. I got out during what looked to be its end. On my way back, I waited for a bus.
While I was waiting, a guy in a car pulled up, rolled down the window and beckoned me over. I went.
He opened his wallet. I saw a $20 there, and a 10 Ringgit note. He waved the 10 ringgit at me, told me he was from Italy, and said he wanted to find a money changer. He asked me how much the 10...
