Jumaat, 16 November 2012

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Wine battle shifts to US as French turn label conscious

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:33 PM PST

BORDEAUX, Nov 17 — With names like Prickly French and Villa Chambre d'Amour, French wine producers are casting aside traditional regional appellations in pursuit of a new generation of label-conscious consumers.

Behind the trend lies a ferocious fight for market share with New World wines in which the United States is about to become the next battleground.

So far, only a few of the wines that use Vin de France (wine of France) as a country appellation, have trickled into the US because of a dispute about what producers can put on the label.

Battle royale, by the diktats of law.©Shutterstock.com

That is all set to change however with the American authorities having finally agreed to allow wines using a country as their appellation of origin — rather than a region like Beaujolais — to also carry the date of the vintage.

"The major French brand wines want to come to the US when they can put the vintage and the varietal on the label. They've been waiting for two years," said Valerie Pajotin, director of ANIVIN, the communications arm for Vin de France.

A varietal wine is labelled with the grape variety like Merlot, and increasingly around the world it is this that guides consumers' selection rather than the precise origin of the wine.

Global demand continues to outpace supply for France's top wines, but the trend towards varietals has made life harder in the middle market with non-French consumers often finding themselves baffled by labels that are the result of a combination of complex rules and centuries of tradition.

"Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet are the hot varietals right now," said Pierre-Yves Robin, senior wine buyer for American retailer Total Wine.

Consumers however also see a vintage as a badge of quality in wine, which made American retailers reluctant to import French varietals without the year on the label.

The new regime will come into force on November 13.

French producers are hoping this will open the floodgates for the 148 Vin de France wines already approved for sale in the US$30-billion (RM91.8-billion) US market.

Flexibility is the raison d'etre for the Vin de France category.

"There are two advantages — one technical, one commercial," explains Emmanuel Montes, export director for Les Domaines Auriol in the Languedoc region of southern France.

"Technically, it allows me to blend wine from different regions in France and create a unique product, with homogenous quality, labelled with the vintage and the grape variety.

"Commercially, it puts us in competition with the big wine companies in the New World."

'Vintage connotes quality'

Primarily targeting export markets, the Vin de France category came into existence in 2009 with the simultaneous demise of vin de table, or table wine, a category which few were sad to see go.

The challenge has been to convince consumers that it is more than plonk with a snazzy label and both exporters and importers believe vintage dating will help achieve that goal.

"Vintage connotes quality," said Total Wine's Robin.

Eric Roure, oenologist at wine merchant LGI in southern France's Carcassonne, agreed.

"If there is no vintage on the label, the consumer says, 'hmmm, this is just a table wine, it's not a quality wine'," he said. "Our Prickly French varietals with the vintage are selling really well in the UK and the Netherlands."

Despite barriers to the American market, Vin de France production has grown from 300,000 hectolitres in 2009 to 1.23 million hectolitres in 2011.

Castel, the giant French drinks company, produced 110 million bottles of Vin de France in 2011. While only 328,593 bottles were sent to America, China took 14 million.

Smaller operators see an opportunity to attack specific export markets with tailored products.

"The Chinese always want exclusivity," said Philippe Carrant of Wines Overland. "We're selling our Vin de France private brands Lafleur Gloria in China for exclusive distribution."

In Sweden, Les Domaines Auriol won a contract with the state monopoly for one million hectolitres of organic wine.

"That was not easy. We had to go to 80 growers," said Montes. "We couldn't have done it without the Vin de France label."

Quality also comes into play.

"Vin de France was created for the big operators, but for us, a small operator, it's given us the opportunity to create a high-quality brand wine," said Roure. "Our idea is not to take the basic wine from each region, but some of the best — the best of what France can do. This is what we've done with Prickly French." — AFP/Relaxnews

Oriental Cravings: A menu update

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:28 PM PST

The Fried Yam Cake has been updated with a few new ingredients like choy poh and peanuts. – Pictures by Eu Hooi Khaw

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Oriental Cravings is one of my favourite food stops in 1 Utama, whether it's for the Chicken Rice Wine Mee Sua, Roast Pork Curry Laksa or Hand-rolled Chee Cheong Fun, or just for lunch with rice and a few delectable dishes.

There's always a home-cooked quality about the food, with some unexpected twists which work, such as in the Lotus Root Petai.

The entrance of Oriental Cravings.

Recently Oriental Cravings added new dishes to their menu. There is the Fried Yam Cake which by itself is pretty good already. But they added choy poh or preserved radish and long beans, then brought it all together with egg and topped with fried peanuts.

It was a mouthful of different textures — the soft, creamy yam cake and the crunchy choy poh and peanuts. You get the hints of spices in the yam, the salty burst of the choy poh and the lovely egg that wrapped round it.

When was the last time you ate Chilli Crabs and thought the sauce lacked something? Well, Oriental Cravings has done a Chilli Fish and the hot, sweet and sour sauce hit all the right notes. A fried red snapper was doused with this sauce that had a hot, fragrant lift from lots of minced ginger. For those who don't like fiddling with crabs, a fish is perfect. Some toasted bread was served with this... perfect for mopping up every bit of the sauce.

The Curry of Yam, Chicken Feet, Pork Trotter and Pork Rump has not been properly named yet for the menu, but it's a Nyonya curry with the fragrant and spiced nuances well expressed in the soft, desirable yam, the fried and braised chicken feet, the tender pork rump and trotter. You slurp the thick curry off the chicken feet as you eat them. The chunks of pork had also soaked up the flavours of the delicious curry.

I love the quirky name of this chicken dish: BB Chicken.

The BB Chicken came in a claypot, and it has been so named because after eating it you would be whistling (the Cantonese word for whistle sounds like BB!) happily. The chicken is dark and caramelized after being braised in a special sauce, with garlic, shallots, dried chillies and curry leaves. It's a sticky sweet, lightly hot chicken dish, with the aromas of the chillies and curry leaves clinging to it. We liked it.

I would order anything with bittergourd if I see it on the menu. I have had the Bittergourd with Salted Egg here, and the Bittergourd and Seaweed Soup, that had bittergourd stuffed with minced pork and prawns simmered in a soup with kei chee or wolfberries. Both turned out to be right choices.

Bittergourd Noodles... absolutely delicious.

Bittergourd Noodles are not on the menu but you can ask for them. These are rice noodles fried with lots of sliced bittergourd, homemade fishcake, pork and prawns. A scattering of fried lard bits made them more flavourful. The noodles were moist, with a slight bitter edge.

We had to have the Chicken in Rice Wine. It's not easy to get a good rice wine to cook this, as much depends on the wine-maker and even the pantang she may or may not have observed in brewing it. It may turn out sweet or sour. The restaurant owners tried to take this dish off the menu, but regular customers clamoured for it, and so it's back.

Cendol... a lovely way to end any meal here.

Lovely aromas of ginger, wine and sesame oil floated up as the claypot of Chicken in Rice Wine was served. There was the obligatory omelette on top, wood fungus and chicken pieces in it. The wine was sweet, with the warming heat of ginger. I have had this wine chicken with mee sua, and it is simply unforgettable.

Dessert was cendol, drizzled with a dark, distinctive coconuty Gula Melaka. The cendol was silky and redolent with pandan.

The Chilli Fish is RM38.90, BB Chicken RM23.90, Fried Yam Cake RM13.90, the Curry of Yam, Chicken Feet and Pork RM26.90, Chicken in Rice Wine RM19.90.

Oriental Cravings is located at 359 Ground Floor Rainforest, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7727 2581.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Paris St Germain decimated before Rennes clash

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 07:54 AM PST

PARIS, Nov 16 — Paris St Germain will be severely handicapped by suspensions and injuries when they take on Stade Rennes in Ligue 1 tomorrow.

Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be suspended, as well as France centre back Mamadou Sakho and Dutch fullback Gregory van der Wiel.

France fullback Chrisophe Jallet will also miss the game through injury while Italy midfielder Thiago Motta and holding midfielder Mathieu Bodmer have also been ruled out injured, PSG said in a statement.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti called up Uruguay defender Diego Lugano who had not featured in the squad for several weeks. — Reuters

Terry out for three weeks, says Di Matteo

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 07:14 AM PST

Chelsea's coach Roberto Di Matteo attends a news conference at Stamford Bridge in London November 6, 2012. — Reuters pic

LONDON, Nov 16 — Chelsea skipper John Terry will be sidelined for around three weeks after injuring his knee in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool last weekend, manager Roberto Di Matteo said today.

Initial fears that the injury, sustained in a collision with Luis Suarez, could be long-term have proved unfounded and Terry should be back well before the busy Christmas schedule.

"With Terry, we're looking at approximately three weeks out; fortunately it's not as bad as we first thought," Di Matteo said at his news conference ahead of their trip tomorrow to West Bromwich Albion (1500 GMT).

Scans earlier in the week revealed a ligament strain.

Chelsea are also without fellow centre back David Luiz who has tonsillitis. Midfielder Frank Lampard will also miss the game as he continues his recovery from a calf strain. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Big rise in Americans with diabetes, especially in South

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:07 AM PST

A US study finds there is a dramatic increase in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes especially in the South and Appalachian states. — Reuters pic

CHICAGO, Nov 15 — A breakdown of US diabetes cases shows dramatic increases in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes overall between 1995 and 2010, with especially sharp increases among people in the South and in Appalachian states.

According to a study released yesterday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of diagnosed cases of diabetes grew by 50 per cent or more in 42 US states, and by 100 per cent or more in 18 states.

In 2010, 18.8 million Americans had been diagnosed with diabetes and another 7 million had undetected diabetes, according to the CDC.

States with the largest increases over the 16-year period were Oklahoma, up 226 per cent; Kentucky, up 158 per cent; Georgia, up 145 per cent; Alabama, up 140 per cent, Washington, up 135 per cent, and West Virginia, up 131 per cent, according to the study published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"Regionally, we saw the largest increase in diagnosed diabetes prevalence in the South, followed by the West, Midwest, and Northeast," Linda Geiss, a statistician with CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation and lead author of the report, said in a statement.

The findings reinforce data from other studies showing that southern and Appalachian states were experiencing the biggest regional gains in diabetes diagnoses, Geiss said.

Although much of the increase in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes is likely due to more people developing the condition, the study also notes that diabetes treatments have improved, which may mean that more people are living longer with their disease.

Type 2 diabetes, which can be prevented through lifestyle changes, accounts for 90 per cent to 95 per cent of all diabetes cases in the United States, according to the CDC.

"These rates will continue to increase until effective interventions and policies are implemented to prevent both diabetes and obesity," Ann Albright, director of CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation, said in a statement.

Globally, there are now 371 million people living with diabetes, up from 366 million a year ago, according to the latest report by the International Diabetes Federation, up from 366 million a year ago.

Without significant lifestyle changes, the group projects as many as 552 million will have diabetes by 2030. — Reuters

Walking, cycling may ease cancer-related fatigue, says study

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:01 AM PST

A woman undergoes a free mammogram inside Peru's first mobile unit for breast cancer detection, in Lima March 8, 2012. — Reuters

BRISTOL, Nov 16 — People who have been treated for cancer often have lingering fatigue, but regular walking or cycling might help boost their energy, according to a UK study that looked at more than two thousand people.

The long-lasting tiredness of cancer patients has been blamed both on the cancer itself, including cancer-related pain, and on the effects of treatments such as chemotherapy. Prior studies point to talk therapy, nutrition counselling and acupuncture as possible remedies.

But light-to-moderate exercise has the advantage of being something people can do on their own time, for little or no cost, said the researchers, whose findings appeared in The Cochrane Library.

"We're not expecting people to go out and be running a mile the next day," said Fiona Cramp, who worked on the analysis at the University of the West of England in Bristol.

"Some people will be well enough that they're able to go for a jog or go for a bike ride, and if they can, that's great. But we would encourage people to start with a low level."

Cramp and her colleague James Byron-Daniel pooled findings from 38 studies that directly compared more than 2,600 people with cancer-related fatigue who did or didn't go through an exercise program.

The majority of that research looked at women with breast cancer and the type of exercise program varied, from walking or biking to weight training or yoga. More than half of the studies included multiple exercises or allowed participants to choose their own type of physical activity.

The amount of prescribed exercise ranged from two times per week to daily workouts, lasting anywhere from ten minutes to two hours, depending on the study.

When they combined the results, the researchers found physical activity both during and after cancer treatment was tied to improved energy. In particular, aerobic exercise such as walking and cycling tended to reduce fatigue more than resistance training.

"What we do know is there will be an appreciable difference; the average patient will get a benefit from physical activity," Cramp said, though the actual benefit will vary.

For example, there were exercise-related benefits for people with breast cancer and prostate cancer, although not for those with leukaemia and lymphoma.

"Some of the hematologic patients may not have the reserves to always tolerate the aerobic exercise," said Carol Enderlin, who has studied fatigue and cancer at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

"They do not always have the oxygen carrying capacity, for instance," because the disease and treatment affect blood cell counts. For those people, non-aerobic exercise or exercise at a lower does may be a better option, added Enderlin, who was not part of the research team. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views

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The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views

Film defrocks church hierarchy over handling of sex abuse

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:06 AM PST

NEW YORK, Nov 16 — Four deaf Wisconsin men were some of the first to seek justice after suffering childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, and a new documentary about the Catholic Church's poor handling of such cases stemming from the Vatican seeks to make their voices heard.

"Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God" explores the impact of the Roman Catholic Church's protocol as dictated from the Vatican for dealing with paedophile priests. It opens in US cinemas today, and will air on cable channel HBO in February.

Though American media coverage about child sex abuse by clergy has been extensive since a slew of cases came to light in Boston in 2002, Oscar-winning documentary director Alex Gibney wanted to connect individual stories with what he sees as systemic failures stemming from the top of the church.

"A lot of individual stories had been done about clerical sex abuse, but I hadn't seen one that really connected the individual stories with the larger cover-up by the Vatican, so that was important," Gibney told Reuters in an interview.

Undated HBO handout picture shows "Rev. LC Murphy & Pat" in the documentary "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God". — Reuters handout pic

The film centres on the group of deaf men and their experiences as young boys attending St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin.

In a letter to the Vatican in 1998, the late Rev. Father Lawrence Murphy admitted abusing some 200 deaf boys over two decades beginning in the 1950s.

Murphy claimed he had repented, and asked to live out his last years as a priest, and was never defrocked or punished by civil authorities. He died in 1998.

In the film, the men communicate their frustrating attempts to bring their experiences to the attention of religious and civil authorities with effusive sign language and facial expressions, paired with voiceovers by actors such as Ethan Hawke.

The film also traces a convoluted bureaucracy — right up to the cardinal who is now Pope Benedict — to reveal a set of policies that the film portrays as often seeming more interested in preserving the Church's image.

Struggling to be heard

"These were deaf men whose voices literally couldn't be heard, so there was a silence from them, and there was also this silence coming from the church, a refusal to confront this obvious crime, in part because they were covering it up," said Gibney.

The Vatican has denied any cover-up in the Murphy case and in 2010 issued a statement condemning his abuse. It has criticised media reports about the Church's handling of the cases as anti-Catholic.

Contrasting that, the film shows interviews with former church officials who talk openly of church policies to handle cases by "rehabilitating" abusive clergymen and snuffing out scandal.

Gibney said that all of the Vatican officials he contacted declined his requests for interview.

Gibney, raised Catholic himself, no longer practises organised religion, but empathises with Catholics who feel a sense of loyalty to the religion's institutions and acknowledges that criticism of the church can feel like a personal attack.

"Mea Maxima Culpa", a Latin phrase meaning "my most grievous fault", focuses on the failures of the Catholic Church's hierarchy. But Gibney — who won an Oscar for "Taxi to the Dark Side" — said the film's theme transcends religion and is also relevant for secular institutions.

"This is obviously about the church, but it's also a crime film," he said. "It's about abuse of power and it's about how institutions instead of reckoning with problems try to cover them up. It's always the cover-up that creates the problem."

He cited the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal that rocked Penn State University recently, and the BBC's poor handling of abuse allegations against the late British TV personality Jimmy Savile as examples of secular institutions brought low by similar issues.

"The thing about predators is that they tend to hide in plain sight," Gibney said. "You're seeing it now with Sandusky, you're seeing it now with Jimmy Savile in Great Britain, and you saw it with Father Murphy in the film."

Gibney thinks that the public's stubbornly rosy perceptions of charismatic authority figures, including priests, is a major factor in such scandals.

"They're often involved in charity or good works," he said of high-profile abusers. "That seems to give you licence to do unbelievable things because people cut you all sorts of slack that they wouldn't normally do for other people." — Reuters

After Garbo, Leigh, no defining ‘Anna Karenina’, says Knightley

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 08:52 AM PST

LOS ANGELES, Nov 16 — Film adaptations of "Anna Karenina" have featured the likes of Greta Garbo and Vivien Leigh, but Keira Knightley isn't fazed about measuring up to such silver screen luminaries with a new cinematic take on Leo Tolstoy's classic novel.

The British actress's turn in the title role in the timeless story about a beautiful married socialite in 1870s Russia who embarks on a passionate affair with a cavalry officer, follows the 1935 version starring Garbo and the 1948 film with Leigh.

It is released in the United States today.

"Although there have been many famous actresses play her, there's never been a definitive version of 'Anna Karenina'," Knightley said in an interview.

"I think it's partly because of the relationship you have with the character. She poses more questions than she answers, so it's always open to different interpretation."

Keira Knightley and director Joe Wright attend the after party for the premiere of "Anna Karenina" at the Greystone Manor Supper Club in Los Angeles, November 14, 2012. — Reuters pic

Knightley stars opposite Jude Law as her husband, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the dashing Count Vronsky, and teams up again with filmmaker Joe Wright in their third film together after previous book-to-film collaborations with 2007's "Atonement" and 2005's "Pride & Prejudice".

The film debuted at the Toronto film festival to warm reviews for Knightley's performance. Critics have said the film is overall technically and visually accomplished but lacks a cohesive emotional punch.

Wright's "Anna Karenina", adapted by playwright Tom Stoppard, takes place mostly in a theatre setting and sees the title character more high-strung and less sympathetic than in previous incarnations.

The director said he cast Knightley, 27, because he felt she could tap into all the internal elements of Anna.

"She was 18 when we made 'Pride & Prejudice', just a kid," said Wright. "I've seen her develop from stunning ingénue to great actress. I felt that she was stronger, braver, even less conforming than she had been before."

Knightley, newly engaged to musician James Righton, said she stood in moral condemnation over Anna — "but am I any better than her? No."

"I think we're all her," she added. "That is why she's so terrifying. We all have bits of her personality within us. We can be wonderful, we can be loving, we can be full of laughter and full of life, and we can also be deceitful, malicious, needy and full of rage."

Worlds away

While "Karenina" cements the perception of Knightley as a go-to actress for period pieces that also includes films such as 2008's "The Duchess" and 2004's "King Arthur", her career wasn't always associated with roles grounded in the past.

Knightley spent the 1990s working in the British film and television industry before gaining international attention in the 2002 teenage football movie "Bend it Like Beckham".

After that, the actress said she was offered "an awful lot" of films in the teenage genre.

"The one thing that I knew right from the beginning was that I didn't want to get into those high-school movies," she said. "I was never that interested in being a teenager. I was always interested in worlds away from my own."

She credits the "massive" success of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise — which saw her play Elizabeth Swan in the first three instalments — as an integral part of her career and "a lot of the reason I was able to do other kinds of smaller films, because my name would help in financing them".

Coming up, Knightley takes a turn away from costume dramas, in "Can A Song Save Your Life?" — a musical drama that has her starring as an aspiring singer who meets a down-on-his-luck record producer, played by Mark Ruffalo.

She's currently shooting a reboot of the Tom Clancy thriller "Jack Ryan".

"I got to the end of 'Anna Karenina' and I realised that I'd done about five years of work where I pretty much died in every movie and it was all very dark," she said.

"So I thought, okay, I want this year to be the year of positivity and pure entertainment." — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Film defrocks church hierarchy over handling of sex abuse

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:06 AM PST

Undated HBO handout picture shows "Rev. LC Murphy & Pat" in the documentary "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God". — Reuters handout pic

The film centres on the group of deaf men and their experiences as young boys attending St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin.

In a letter to the Vatican in 1998, the late Rev. Father Lawrence Murphy admitted abusing some 200 deaf boys over two decades beginning in the 1950s.

Murphy claimed he had repented, and asked to live out his last years as a priest, and was never defrocked or punished by civil authorities. He died in 1998.

Struggling to be heard

The Vatican has denied any cover-up in the Murphy case and in 2010 issued a statement condemning his abuse. It has criticised media reports about the Church's handling of the cases as anti-Catholic.

Contrasting that, the film shows interviews with former church officials who talk openly of church policies to handle cases by "rehabilitating" abusive clergymen and snuffing out scandal.

Gibney said that all of the Vatican officials he contacted declined his requests for interview.

Gibney thinks that the public's stubbornly rosy perceptions of charismatic authority figures, including priests, is a major factor in such scandals.

After Garbo, Leigh, no defining ‘Anna Karenina’, says Knightley

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 08:52 AM PST

It is released in the United States today.

"Although there have been many famous actresses play her, there's never been a definitive version of 'Anna Karenina'," Knightley said in an interview.

"I think it's partly because of the relationship you have with the character. She poses more questions than she answers, so it's always open to different interpretation."

Keira Knightley and director Joe Wright attend the after party for the premiere of "Anna Karenina" at the Greystone Manor Supper Club in Los Angeles, November 14, 2012. — Reuters pic

Wright's "Anna Karenina", adapted by playwright Tom Stoppard, takes place mostly in a theatre setting and sees the title character more high-strung and less sympathetic than in previous incarnations.

The director said he cast Knightley, 27, because he felt she could tap into all the internal elements of Anna.

Knightley, newly engaged to musician James Righton, said she stood in moral condemnation over Anna — "but am I any better than her? No."

Worlds away

Knightley spent the 1990s working in the British film and television industry before gaining international attention in the 2002 teenage football movie "Bend it Like Beckham".

After that, the actress said she was offered "an awful lot" of films in the teenage genre.

She's currently shooting a reboot of the Tom Clancy thriller "Jack Ryan".

"I got to the end of 'Anna Karenina' and I realised that I'd done about five years of work where I pretty much died in every movie and it was all very dark," she said.

"So I thought, okay, I want this year to be the year of positivity and pure entertainment." — Reuters

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

Love in the time of diarrhoea

Posted: 15 Nov 2012 04:20 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 ― "A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father." ― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

Preparation for a trip, especially a long one, can be such a thankless task. There are the flight tickets to figure out: which routes work best, which airlines have the most affordable fares (but not so cheap that service may be unreliable), how to match connecting flights from different airlines, and so on.

I get a headache just thinking about it. The worst part, of course, is thinking about it isn't enough. I have to actually get all of this done. I wonder if my father had to endure the same ordeal when co-ordinating family vacations for us when I was a kid.

These days, this job falls onto me whenever my partner and I travel. Usually I enjoy the planning thanks in no small part to my natural OCD tendencies. Filling our travel itinerary with flight numbers and durations, various airport acronyms (e.g. AMS to GRU, LIM to IPX, and other three-letter mysteries), hotel addresses, bus/train transfers and more fill me with giddy anticipation for the upcoming trip.

This round, however, it's been a little bit of a nightmare. Our itinerary, which usually fits neatly on a single sheet, threatens to spill over to more than thrice its normal length. The half-joking title of "Our South American Expedition" is now a painful reminder of how enormous an undertaking this is. Who knew São Paulo was so far from Easter Island? They had looked so near to each other on the map.

As I start grumbling under my breath in half-panic as the days disappear and I'm no closer to completing my task, you wander over and pat me on my shoulder, adding sagely, "You can do this, dear."

I retort, "How do you know for sure?"

"Well, I don't," you admit, "but better you than me."

You wisely walk away before I can aim a stack of visa and vaccination requirements at your head.

II.

The first thing they warn you about when you visit the famous sights of Peru, such as the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu or Lake Titicaca (the world's highest navigable lake), is soroche or altitude sickness. Symptoms range from mild nausea to full-on vertigo.

The second thing they warn you about is not to eat raw fruits and vegetables due to dangerous bacteria in the soil and water supply. In some South American countries, if you don't see the food being prepared in front of you, there is always a chance that the more sensitive stomachs will suffer from food poisoning.

No worries, I thought, nothing an obsessive, over-prepared seasoned traveller like me can't handle.

For the former, I hit the local pharmacy and loaded up on their entire stock of Diamox tablets (acetazolamide) or more commonly known as altitude sickness pills. For the latter, I simply made a vow to avoid the salad bar. (Not difficult since I'm not a fan of uncooked greens anyway; my Chinese ancestors have made sure I prefer my vegetables stir-fried.)

Easy.

Twenty-four hours in the air and two continents later, we are surrounded by llamas, salt mines and more varieties of potatoes and corn than we can sample in this lifetime. A different world: so strange and unfamiliar yet so beautiful.

You are the first to fall for its charms. In this case, almost literally fall, as you stumble on the hotel steps. You're dizzy, you say, and slightly uncomfortable from the thin air. The altitude sickness pills seem to have worked for me but not you. The concierge kindly offers us some coca tea, made from native coca leaves which are known to help with soroche.

As you lie in bed, you tell me to head out for dinner. Not a bite for you; there's no way you could stomach another wedge of potato or kernel of corn. Where's a hot bowl of ramen when you need one?

A couple of hours later you wake up feeling better. I've got a surprise for you: cup noodles from the corner grocery. It's not your favourite spicy Korean flavour but at least it's not fritas or tamales.

You beam. Who needs coca tea when there's MSG?

III.

You've always told me I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I never really believed you until, almost inevitably and in spite of all the precautions I took, I get food poisoning.

We have just conquered the mountain Huayna Picchu (which overlooks the ruins of Machu Picchu), and I am ravenous. The waitress at the rail-station restaurant tells me they are out of my favourite chicha morada, a Peruvian beverage made by boiling purple corn with pineapple, cinnamon, clove, and sugar.

"Would you like to try some fruit juice? We have pineapple, papaya and mandarin," she says.

"Mandarin sounds great. Vitamin C is good for you," I say as you roll your eyes at my favourite habit of belabouring the obvious.

By sunset I am spending most of my evening in the toilet as one loud explosion followed another: Diarrhoea.

I had forgotten that the mandarin juice was probably freshly squeezed and not boiled like my usual chichi morada. Yes, definitely not the sharpest tool.

Rather than telling me "I told you so", you don't say a word about the failure of my raw-fruit-avoidance campaign. Instead you make sure I drink enough water and rest enough in bed or on the bus.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed, yes, but sharp enough: I found you, didn't I?

IV.

I remember being 23 years old and backpacking in Europe alone. I trekked from city to city – Munich to Milan, Naples to Nice, Barcelona to Paris – and making many happy mistakes along the way. There was no planning. I slept on benches at train stations; I got rides from strangers I met along the way; I danced in the streets during a thunderstorm: it was an adventure.

Ten years later I no longer travel alone; I have you. As a couple, danger is a big no-no on our To-Do list. Everything is checked and double-checked before we get into our taxi to head to the airport. (The taxi's booked a couple of days earlier, of course.)

Holidays are safe, predictable events.

"Come and look at this, it's so pretty! Which one do you want or shall we buy every colour?"

We are on one of the floating islands of Uros in Lake Titicaca, our feet not so firmly on the ground. Separated from the water by only a few layers of interwoven reeds, I can't help but wonder if this is the best location for souvenir shopping, much less bargain hunting.

Your soroche's all gone and my tummy is fine. There is laughter in the air as the Uros children run around in their colourful garb, playing their own innocent games. They aren't frightened of the water.

I look at you as you hold up another tablecloth resplendent with tribal pre-Inca designs for me to consider, and I realise I'm not frightened either. Travel, much like love, can be scary but not when we've got someone to take every tentative step with us and to chase down every good deal.

"Every colour sounds good," I say, smiling, "Let's buy a rainbow."

"It was time when they both loved each other best, without hurry or excess, when both were most conscious of and grateful for their incredible victories over adversity. Life would still present them with other moral trials, of course, but that no longer mattered: they were on the other shore."

― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez (Alfred A. Knopf, 1988)

* Kenny believes if your partner would see you through a nasty bout of food poisoning in a foreign country and your incessant bargain hunting at 12,507 feet above sea level, your partner would see you through anything. (Make sure you reciprocate.) More love and life at Life for Beginners.

‘The Racketeer’ keeps top spot on US bestseller list

Posted: 15 Nov 2012 03:33 PM PST

NEW YORK, Nov 16 — John Grisham's "The Racketeer" retained the top spot on Publishers Weekly's bestseller list for the third consecutive week yesterday.

The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

Hardcover Fiction Last Week

1. "The Racketeer" by John Grisham (Doubleday, US$28.95) 1

2. "Poseidon's Arrow" by Clive Cussler (Putnam, US$28.95) -

3. "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper, US$28.99) -

4. "The Sins of the Mother" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte, US$28.00) 2

5. "The Casual Vacancy" by J. K. Rowling (Little, Brown, US$35.00) 3

6. "The Panther" by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central, US$27.99) 4

7. "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn (Crown, US$25.00) 8

8. "The Bone Bed" by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam, US$28.95) 6

9. "Winter of the World" by Ken Follett (Dutton, US$36.00) 9

10. "NYPD Red" by James Patterson and Marshall Karp (Little, Brown, US$27.99) 7

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. "Barefoot Contessa Foolproof" by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter, US$35.00) 1

2. "Killing Kennedy" by Bill O'Reilly (Henry Holt, US$28.00) 2

3. "No Easy Day" by Mark Owen (Dutton, US$26.95) 4

4. "I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak" by Joel Osteen (FaithWords, US$21.99) 8

5. "Guinness World Records 2013" (Guinness World Records) 5

6. "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" by Deb Perelman (Knopf, US$35.00) 3

7. "The Signal and the Noise" by Nate Silver ( Penguin, US$27.95) 23

8. "The Last Lion" by William Manchester (Little, Brown, US$40,) 27

9. "The Digest Diet" by Liz Vaccariello (Reader's Digest Association, US$24.99) -

10. "Cooking Italian with the Cake Boss" by Buddy Valastro (Free Press, US$30.00) -

Week ended November 11, 2012, powered by Nielsen BookScan. — Reuters

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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Paradoks perkauman di mamak

Posted: 15 Nov 2012 04:04 PM PST

16 NOV — Hidup di kota besar seperti Kuala Lumpur dan bandar-bandar sekeliling yang membentuk wilayah Lembah Klang pasti tidak akan terlepas dari pemandangan restoran India Muslim (lebih dikenali sebagai mamak) yang bertebaran. Di mana pusat perniagaan dibina, di situ jua mamak akan wujud untuk menyediakan ruang makan, minum dan melepak hingga puas.

Makanan mamak yang sinonim dengan Pulau Pinang kini berevolusi menjadi institusi di luar daerah kelahiran yang memasyhurkannya. Mamak yang keluar dari kepompong beradaptasi dengan lingkungan barunya dengan menambahkan menu-menu yang bukan tradisi seperti hidangan tom yam dan sebagainya. Saya masih ingat sewaktu masih bersekolah (sekitar 90an) mamak sangat jarang dijumpai dan jika ada imejnya dikaitkan dengan kekotoran.

Entah bagaimana perlahan-lahan mamak berubah menjadi bersih walau masih banyak yang kotor dan sentiasa memenuhi permintaan pelanggan dengan kemudahan-kemudahan seperti internet percuma, televisyen yang banyak dan bermacam lagi. Layanan pantas dan kerusi meja yang tersedia banyak semakin mendorong masyarakat berbilang bangsa melepakkan diri meski kadangkala rasa makanannya di bawah standar.

Satu hal pasti budaya mamak yang telah menjadi budaya nasional ini menjadi alternatif paling sesuai dengan kebudayaan majoriti warga Malaysia yang beragama Islam. Melepak hingga larut pagi yang sering diidentifikasikan dengan minum arak, berpesta dan sebagainya di negara lain diberi makna yang berbeza di sini.

Beralih dari sisi positifnya, restoran mamak menyerlahkan sisi negatif masyarakat kita yang terpecah belah mengikut bangsa dan juga bahasa percakapan. Meskipun kemajmukan Malaysia dapat dilihat di mamak, namun sangat menyedihkan tiada interaksi bermakna di kalangan bangsa yang berbeza. Jika di satu meja terdiri dari pelbagai bangsa, seringkali pandangan-pandangan yang terlihat hairan akan kelihatan.

Paradoks "kemajmukan" di mamak yang sangat menghiris adalah kebiasaan untuk mengutuk bangsa lain walaupun jarak meja di antara satu sama lain tidak terlalu jauh. Perkauman di meja makan yang sering dipraktikkan di rumah keluarga dipindahkan ke meja makan mamak. Restoran mamak berubah menjadi wahana penyebaran kebencian dan prejudis ala Malaysia iaitu secara aman tanpa pergaduhan dan pertumpahan darah.

Namun begitu, kita tidak boleh memaksakan bangsa-bangsa yang berbeza untuk duduk semeja semata-mata ingin dilihat 1 Malaysia. Mungkin mereka yang memilih untuk berada di dalam kepompong ada alasan tersendiri seperti keselesaan berada dengan rakan sebangsa atau berbicara dalam bahasa yang dimengerti. Mungkin juga keadaan ini diakibatkan oleh dasar perkauman yang diterapkan kerajaan yang pro-Melayu Bumiputera dan kemudian diikuti oleh sektor swasta yang umumnya pro-Cina.

Kembali ke positifnya, restoran mamak turut menjadi medan melawan apa yang negatif tadi. Sejak reformasi tercetus pada bulan September 1998, boleh dikatakan perlawanan terhadap penindasan dan ketidakadilan seperti praktik perkauman dimulai di mamak. Mamak adalah medan bertempur idea sebelum bertempur dengan sang penguasa dan sang perkauman.

Perlahan-lahan pasca-2008 dan pasca-Bersih 2.0 mamak berubah menjadi medan penyatu masyarakat berbilang bangsa untuk bangkit melawan meski masih jauh dari kemenangan dalam erti kata menumbangkan rejim perkauman Umno dan Barisan Nasional.

Tetapi harus diperingat, andai rejim Umno BN berjaya ditumpaskan perlawanan melawan perkauman tidak akan perlahan melainkan harus lebih intensif. Perkauman bukan saja mendarah daging di dalam Umno BN tetapi juga Pakatan Rakyat dan rakyat seluruhnya. Bahkan boleh dikatakan prejudis dan kebencian adalah prasyarat menjadi warga Malaysia.

Tumbangnya Umno BN adalah langkah awal pembersihan elemen perkauman di sektor awam dan tugas seterusnya adalah pembersihan elemen perkauman di bidang ekonomi dan sektor swasta yang turut mendarah daging tetapi didiamkan dari dibicarakan tanpa diketahui alasannya.

Membasmi perkauman akan mengambil masa, cepat atau lama bergantung kepada sejauh mana kita mengakui dan berusaha melawannya. Pada masa sama jangan pula menindas dan memandang hina pelayan-pelayan di restoran mamak kerana tanpa mereka yang sehari-hari dieksploitasi tenaganya, mamak seperti konsep yang ada sekarang tidak akan wujud.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Back in my day …

Posted: 15 Nov 2012 03:45 PM PST

NOV 16 — Just a few weeks ago, I was listening to a couple of my friends have a conversation about their children and the younger generation in general.

Apparently, it is now a disgrace that kids are so familiar with touchscreen tablets and that the world is going to head into oblivion.

"Just the other day my daughter went up to the television and started swiping the screen," friend A said.

"I know what you mean. I have never seen my niece hold a book to read. All she does is carry an iPad around," friend B said.

"What is wrong with the kids these days?"

"Yeah! What is this world coming to?"

I just sat down next to them not wanting to interfere in their intense conversation about the state of our youth and the world's future.

This for me is as irritating as listening to elderly people say that in their time, they had to walk for miles to get to school and they studied at night by kerosene lamp.

So does that mean now that we have improved our lives that our kids still need to walk for miles to get to school?

And is it so wrong now that our kids study under an energy-saving, heat-reduction LED lamp that uses electricity?

Does it somehow affect the lessons and education that is received by our kids these days just because they don't have to walk to school or suffocate on fossil fuel fumes?

So if a kid today reads an e-book on an iPad, does it make the content he or she receives any different than if it was a paperback book?

My daughter Athena is not yet two years old and she already knows how to touch a thumbnail on the YouTube app on my iPad to launch her favourite Sesame Street videos.

But she sings and dances to the same tunes that I used to sing and dance to when I was around her age way before the existence of iPads and iPhones.

Cookie Monster singing "C is for cookie and it's good enough for me!" sounds exactly the same on an iPad as it did on my parents' old cathode ray tube television set in 1980.

The only thing that is different between Athena and me are who our favourite Sesame Street characters are. Her two favourites are Elmo and Cookie Monster.

I have to strongly object as I think the two best Sesame Street characters are Grover and Oscar the Grouch.

As far as I am concerned, technology should be embraced. It would be ridiculous to not allow our children to experience something just because we didn't when we were younger.

Just because your generation carried a slate chalkboard to school to do exercises in class doesn't mean that it should still be the way today.

And knowing how to swipe a tablet does not indicate a decay in our society. It just means that those who are complaining about it are old!

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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DAP hanya terima kedudukan agama Islam, bukan hukum hudud, kata Seng Giaw

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 02:08 AM PST

KOTA BAHARU, 16 Nov — Timbalan Pengerusi Kebangsaan DAP Dr Tan Seng Giaw berkata tidak tahu bagaimana boleh timbul isu hukum hudud dipersetujui pakatan pembangkang.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw

Tan menegaskan DAP hanya menerima kedudukan agama Islam sepertimana termaktub dalam perlembagaan negara.

Beliau berkata persetujuan yang dicapai antara DAP dan PAS berkenaan pelaksanaan hukum hudud sekiranya pakatan pembangkang berjaya membentuk kerajaan nanti, adalah berdasarkan apa yang terkandung dalam Perlembagaan Malaysia.

"Itu banyak kali disebut Haji Hadi (Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang) dan kita ikut semangat isi kandungan perlembagaan (Malaysia) itu yang disebutkan... saya tak tahu macamana isu lain (hudud) boleh timbul," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita ketika ditemui selepas perasmian Muktamar Tahunan PAS Kali Ke-58 di Pusat Tarbiyah Islamiah Kelantan di sini, hari ini.

Dr Wan Azizah

Semalam Ketua Dewan Ulama PAS Datuk Harun Taib berkata pakatan pembangkang secara umumnya bersetuju bahawa hukum hudud akan dilaksanakan sekiranya pembangkang berjaya membentuk kerajaan selepas pilihan pilihan raya umum ke-13.

Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail pula berkata isu hukum hudud hanya diperbesarkan oleh pihak-pihak tidak bertanggungjawab.

"Menurut ucapan presiden (Abdul Hadi ketika merasmikan muktamar) ia tidak menyatakan begitu (apa-apa yang berkenaan dengan isu hudud)," katanya. "Ia hanya menyebut mengenai negara berkebajikan dan perpaduan."

Berkata berkata "negara berkebajikan" tidak boleh dialih bahasa kepada "welfare state" kerana menurutnya ianya jauh berbeza daripada segi maksudnya.

"Negara berkebajikan Islam ini merangkumi lebih daripada apa yang dikatakan 'welfare state' yang menjurus kepada negara komunis atau negara sosialis," katanya.

"Ianya (negara berkebajikan) lebih berpandukan perpaduan bersama, untuk bawa generasi muda sekarang dan akan datang ke arah yang memberikan kita lebih kemajuan." — Bernama

Tiga polis hadapi tuduhan merogol, meningkatkan sentimen anti-Malaysia di Indonesia

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:40 AM PST

Tiga polis hadapi tuduhan merogol, meningkatkan sentimen anti-Malaysia di Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 Nov — Tiga anggota polis didakwa merogol pekerja restoran warga Indonesia oleh Mahkamah Pulau Pinang di Butterworth hari ini, meningkatkan kembali sentimen anti-Malaysia bagi rakyat negara tersebut.

Sin Mat Lazim, 33, Syahiran Ramli, 21, dan Remy Anak Pana, 21, mengaku tidak bersalah apabila tuduhan di bawah Seksyen 376 Kanun Keseksaan dibacakan kepada mereka di Mahkamah Sesyen di Butterworth petang ini.

Menteri Luar Anifah Aman: Berikrar kerajaan akan memberikan kerjasama penuh dalam siasatan.

Trio yang kesemuanya berpangkat konstabel boleh dikenakan hukuman penjara sehingga 20 tahun dan disebat jika sabit kesalahan merogol wanita Indonesia berumur 25 tahun untuk melakukan seks oral terhadap mereka — satu jenayah dibawah Seksyen 377C, Kanun Keseksaan — di Bilik 4 dalam balai polis Prai diantara 6.40 pagi sehingga 7.30 pagi pada 9 November.

Jumaat lepas, seorang wanita Indonesia berumur 25 tahun telah meminta bantuan daripada penyelaras Barisan Nasional Bukit Mertajam Lau Chiek Tuan untuk membuat laporan polis mendakwa bahawa dia dirogol beramai-ramai oleh tiga anggota polis di balai polis Prai.

Pekerja restoran tersebut mendakwa dia telah dibawa ke balai polis selepas diberhentikan oleh sebuah kereta peronda polis berhampiran kompleks membeli-belah Megamall Pinang kira-kira pukul 6.30 pagi semasa sedang berada dalam teksi.

Beliau mendakwa dibawa ke balai polis selepas menunjukkan salinan pasport beliau dan polis enggan menerimanya.

Beliau mendakwa dibawa ke sebuah bilik di balai polis dan telah dirogol oleh tiga anggota polis.

Menteri Luar Datuk Seri Anifah Aman telah mengutuk pertuduhan rogol tersebut sebagai tidak berperi kemanusiaan dan berikrar kerajaan akan memberikan kerjasama penuh dalam siasatan membabitkan warga negara gergasi Asia Tenggara itu.

Peningkatkan sentimen anti-Malaysia bertambah hangat apabila seorang pembantu rumah warga Indonesia berumur 15 tahun dilaporkan dirogol oleh majikan lelakinya selepas tiga bulan bekerja.

Sekumpulan rakyat Indonesia dilaporkan memprotes dihadapan rumah Duta Malaysia ke Indonesia di Jakarta tiga hari lalu untuk menyatakan kemarahan mereka terhadap Malaysia.

Kumpulan yang dikatakan mewakili gerakan nasionalis Indonesia, Benteng Demokrasi Rakyat (Bendera), dilaporkan telah membawa sepanduk yang tertulis "usir duta Malaysia, ganyang dan Lawan Malaysia" dan membakar bendera Malaysia.

Bendera telah mengancam untuk menceroboh dan menyerang Malaysia pada tahun 2009, sebahagian daripada agenda "Ganyang Malaysia", tentang pemilikan wilayah budaya, minyak, pulau-pulau dan layanan terhadap pekerja asing dari Indonesia.

Istilah "Ganyang" pertama kali digunakan pada tahun 1963 apabila Presiden Sukarno menentang penggabungan Malaya dengan Sabah, Sarawak dan Singapura, menyebabkan konflik bersenjata yang tidak diisytiharkan dikenali sebagai "Konfrontasi".

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Jumaat, 16 November 2012