Xanadu: Songs and Memories

A friend posted a link on her facebook about a song she remembers from the past and the memories it holds for her. That got me thinking about songs that hold similar memories for me. Most of the songs from the late 70s and early 80s hold a lot of memories for me. They were the songs I heard while having breakfast in the morning at 6.50 or thereabouts before the 7 am news on the then Blue Network (which has since been renamed to Radio Four and now, 90.3 Traxx.Fm.)

Tinkerbell, talent and calling.

I was having this ‘conversation’ with a friend on face book about creativity and children and how formal education may hinder their creative streak, when I remembered one of the movies that my daughter and I love watching – Tinkerbell. The opening scene in the movie shows how Tinkerbell ‘comes to life’ and is given a choice of talents to choose from. She goes for things that fascinate her or that has members who are friendly towards her. But she ends with a talent that chooses her instead. Watch this clip and see what I mean.

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

This is a wonderful talk by Ken Robinson about the value of creativity and education which i wish the policy makers will make time to seriously view and consider. (wishful thinking i know!)
There's pleanty of lovely one liners that gets you thinking about the true value of education where creativity is never given its rightful place under the sun.

A blog space of one's own

We now live in an era in which anyone can be a writer, thanks largely to cyberspace. Long gone are the days in which a woman needs a Room of one's own to freely pen her thoughts down. As Virginia Woolf aptly sums it for the women of her era: "Women, then, have not had a dog's chance of writing poetry. That is why I have laid so much stress on money and a room of one's own."

Muslim Girls and Family Honour

I feel blessed to be a woman and a Muslim, albeit it has not been an easy ride all these years especially in a patriarchal community that neither appreciates nor values the female except as bearers of sons. I have a daughter who I hope feels blessed to be a Muslim and a girl in a household that continues to harness her personality and sense of self within the parameters of the faith. But this article on ‘An American Honor Killing’ reminds me of how fragile that feeling is for so many Muslim girls around the world who continue to live in an environment that considers them little more than a burden to bear till they are married off.

In the spirit of Ramadan

Tomorrow is 1st of Sha'ban, which means ramadam is a month away.
Here's a reminder to all muslims. I apologise that the article is in Malay.

In a nutshell the article narrates an event during the times of Rasullah (peace and blessings be upon him) where the Angel Jibrail came to visit the prophet on the eve of Eid and made a doa to which the prophet said amin 3 times. The first doa says no muslim will gain barakah from Ramadan if he has wronged his parents and they have not forgiven him. Second doa says no muslim shall gain barakah of fasting in Ramadan if there is misunderstanding between husband and wife and they've not forgiven one another. And the third doa says no muslim will gain barakah of ramadan if there are misunderstandings between him and his relative or neighbours and they each have not forgiven one another.

Fiction and life: points of convergence and divergence

I want to respond to a blog post I read today by the literary agent Nathan Bransford entitled ‘undercooking a novel’ who comments about how a writer’s task is not to represent life “as its actually happen” for as he assert “we have, well, real life for that”. Instead Bransford’s stand is that a writer’s task is to “elevate life and add spices and all the rest. Writers interpret real life, elevate it, reorder events, and serve up something perfectly balanced and ready for public consumption."

The rapper and the muslim: contradiction?

I caught this short video clip on youtube showing a muslimah, Miss Undastood rapping thoughts about her life. She has just released her latest album 'Hijabi Hip Hop 2010'.

First thing i did was to read the comments left by viewers. You can tell a lot from these thoughts about the state of public sentiments of any given issue posted. And this one is no different. Suffice to say most people who logged in to watch the video are Muslim fans, with comments like

Appreciating the “Hard Headed Woman” by Cat Stevens.

The first time I heard that song many many moons ago, I just took a pause and breathed out a sigh. How wonderful it is to hear a song about male persona pining for a “hard headed woman”. Most songs describe women in a nutshell – beautiful but difficult, seductive and dangerous, or desirable but taken. But this one by Cats Stevens (Yusuf Islam) describes how I would like to be appreciated.

What I like about FB?

I’ve been a FB user for nearly 9 months now and I have 97 friends to date (which actually pales in comparison to my friends’ lists which mounts to the hundreds; beside the point.)

But as I go on FB this morning (before office starts of course, and while having my packed breakfast), it occurs to me what I find fascinating about this social networking site. At one sitting I end up having a mini-conversation with all of my friends who have posted something interesting recently. The lists of running thoughts are endless: