Cerita Hantuuuuu nan romantis!

Thanks to Yang Safia who raved about the author, Stephenie Meyers and her body of works, I decided that this young adult romance between a human girl and a handsome vampire should be okay for my daughters.

So I bought the first book in the series - Twilight. And true to form, Asma stayed up all night to finish the thick book in one sitting. Alia picked it up the next morning and by evening she too finished reading it up. Wow!! And they have not stopped "yakking" about the book eversince(the last time they did that was last year when the last Harry Potter book came out).

Lucky for them, I've got a dinner appointment at Mid-Valley the next day and naturally, being a good Bapak that I am (eh cheh cheh!), I made a detour to MPH there and bought the other two books in the series - New Moon and Eclipse.

Now, Bapak and Mak are fighting over to read the same book. Yeah, it's a wonderful read!

To learn more Stephenie Meyer go to her website here or if you are lazy, read a piece on her here

Elephant is my favourite animal!

Since the beginning of March 2008, my life has taken a new turn - what with a demanding new job that literally leave me gasping for air, and the 12th General Election, in which its outcome still makes my adrenaline pumping. Not good for health!
So to unwind, after work today, the ladies and I went to see a movie – Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who. Now, I must confess that I always like animated movies, especially The Incredibles, but the recent ones, most notably Shrek 3, were rather disappointing. Kan?
Anyway, I sure am glad that I went to see the movie. I was laughing practically throughout the entire movie.
Believe me, kids movies don't get much more high-concept or entertaining than Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who.
The movie is about a happy-go-lucky Horton (voiced by Jim Carrey) which is an elephant living among a world of animals in the Jungle of Nool who, to his astonishment, hears a voice coming from a tiny speck of dust. It turns out that on this speck resides an entire land called Whoville, complete with a community of Whos who live in houses, have jobs, and go to school just as regular humans do.
The Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell), who must be diplomatic in the time he spends with each of his ninety-six daughters and solitary brooding son, JoJo (Jesse McCartney), is the one who makes contact with Horton, and he's equally surprised and confounded by the realization that there is a larger world beyond Whoville.
Horton is adamant to the other animals that there is life on this speck, but, because they do not have ears big enough to hear the voices Horton does, the outspoken, narrow-minded Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) labels him a liar and wants the speck destroyed. Now it's up to Horton and the Mayor to join forces and find a way to prove to the doubting Kangaroo that Whoville does exist before it's too late.
Thus begins Horton’s hilarious adventure to save the , err, speck of dust.

Go see it! Brilliantly funny!

Salam Maulidul Rasul!

As we mark the birthday of Nabi Muhammad (SAW), it is a good time to reflect on the exemplary life of this remarkable human being.

Understandably, in this age it is very difficult to follow the example of our beloved Rasulullah. We live in a world of more-is-better -- more food, more wealth, more money, etc. Our egos stand in the way of our reaching out to God and to His creation. We allow ourselves to judge others too easily, but cannot accept anyone else's judgment of us. We have become self-centered, not God-centered.

In the life and teachings of the Prophet, there are many examples for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, concerning how to love God Almighty, and about the benefits to be gained by filling our hearts and lives with that love.

These are seven of the Prophet's teachings to which we as Muslims must personally aspire and pledge to follow:

1. "Whoever believes in God and in the Last Day should say what is good or keep silent; and one should also be generous to his/her neighbours and guests." (adapted from Imam Muslim's narration)

2. "Always look to those who are less fortunate than you; do not look up to those who are more fortunate... in order that you not take lightly God's bounties upon you." (adapted from the narrations of Imam Al-Boukhary and Imam Muslim)

3. "Give gifts to one another, as this will enhance your love for one another." (adapted from the narration of Imam Al-Boukhary)

4. "God has no mercy on people who show no mercy to others." (adapted from the narrations of Imam Al-Boukhary and Imam Muslim)

5. God's Messenger used to pray: "O God, I seek your protection from anxiety, sorrow, weakness, laziness, cowardice, stinginess, the burden of debts, and being oppressed by others." (as narrated by Imam Al-Boukhary and Imam Muslim)

6. "The worst thing for a person to fill is the stomach. A few mouthfuls are sufficient for anyone to survive. If a person insists on filling the stomach, then one should fill a third of it with food, another third with water, and leave one third empty for easy breathing." (adapted from the narration by Imam Tirmizi)

7. "Live in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller." (as narrated by Imam Al-Boukhary)

Finally! Tahniah to the new MB!

Finally, it's official. The new MB Perak has been sworn in. Bernama has this announcement...

Mohammad Nizar Sworn In As Perak MB
KUALA KANGSAR, March 17 (Bernama) -- State Pas secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was sworn in as the new Menteri Besar of Perak at Istana Iskandariah in this royal town here today.
He took the oath of office, pledge of loyalty and secrecy before the Regent of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah.
Earlier, Mohammad Nizar, 51, an English-trained mechanical engineer, received his instrument of appointment from the Regent.
After the swearing in, Mohammad Nizar signed his letter of appointment witnessed by Ipoh High Court Judge Datuk V. T. Singham.
Present were the Raja di-Hilir Perak, Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa; the Raja Puan Muda of Perak, Raja Nor Mahani Raja Shahar Shah; State Secretary Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim and Perak Mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria.
Former Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali and state assemblymen from the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition state government also attended the ceremony which began at 11.40am.

Selamat Maju Jaya, Abang Tan! Semoga Perak bertambah sejahtera! Amin!
(er, next to YB Nurul Izzah, the new MB Perak is also another of Asma's role model. And YB Nizar is also Asma's mom favourite politician - her Abang Tan!)

Now Asma wants to be a politician...

Yes, Asma wants to be a politician.. thanks to all the 12th General Election excitement. Hmm.
Both Alia and Asma stayed up with us monitoring the results (both TVs were on and we took turn surfing the Net throughout! Yeah, our very own Election Command Centre). Arissa was in her "tak faham" mode, as usual!
Meanwhile, YB Nurul Izzah Anwar is Asma's new idol. Bapak is okay with that, Asma. But we are not moving to Lembah Pantai!