THE GREATEST REALIST PAINTER…

Iman was born on 1976 in Tehran.
He has been fascinated by the art of Painting since he was a child. At the age of 15, he started to learn painting under the mastery of his first and only teacher - Morteza Katouzian - who is the greatest realist painter of Iran.
Meanwhile, he began to paint professionally.
In 1999 he graduated in Graphic Design from the Art University of Tehran.
Since 1998, he has participated in several exhibitions.
In the year 2000, he got married and in the following year he established ARA Painting Studio and started to teach painting, considering classical and traditional values.

The most important exhibitions he has participated in, are: The Exhibition of Realist painters of Iran at Tehran Contemporary Museum of Art(1999) and The Group Exhibition of KARA Studio Painters at SABZ Gallery(1998) and at SA'AD ABAD Palace(2003). In 2005, Iman received the William Bouguereau award and the Chairman's Choice award in the second international ARC salon competition. You want to see more of his paintings? Visit his website: http://www.imanmaleki.com/

HOSPITAL NAMES IN SINGAPORE...

NO OFFENCE...IT'S JUST A JOKE!

Do you know why New Changi Hospital (NCH) changed its name to Changi General Hospital (CGH)?
Because NCH stands for "Never Come Home". That's why business was very bad before it changed its name.
Now CGH stands for "Can Go Home". So business is picking up.
Business in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is still going strong because SGH stands for "Sure Go Home"!
Now National University Hospital (NUH) is also considering a name change. It stands for "No Use Hospital"!
What about Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) ?
Not too good a name, no wonder so much problem.
It stands for "Tiam Tiam Si Hospital" and now 'Tan Teo SARs Hospital".
So, be careful of choosing which hospital to go if anyone is unwell.

SO INHUMANE!

“The Greatness Of A Nation And Its Moral Progress Can Be Judged By The Way Its Animals Are Treated” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I’m running out of words to describe this act coz I’m so pissed off...All I can say is this is so inhumane!

ABOUT GROWING OLD...

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life and my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.
As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avant garde on my patio.
I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to,
despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free.
I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

(Author unknown)

SOUVENIRS FROM OUR KAMPUNG!

We just came back from northern Malaysia where our kampung is.
Look what we brought back...“Ikan Puyu”!!!
Ikan Puyu is also known as Ikan Betuk in Malay. The scientific name for it is Anabas Testudinues. It possess an air-breathing organ that enables them to survive out of water for quite sometime and it is said that this fish could bury itself in mud during the dry season until the rain comes…how interesting is that? In English, it is called the Climbing Perch because it is said that the fish is able to climb trees.
My son was the one that wanted the fish for so long as they were hard to find here. They are a hardy species that can tolerate most water conditions... eat almost everything like any other fish, as they are not fussy eaters. The best part is...they could survive even if you didn’t change the water for almost a month. Great isn’t it?
Sadly, they are aggressive and unsuitable for community tanks...
they will fight with other fishes and eat the smaller ones...
but they are surely very easy to look after!
For some people the best part is that...they can eat the fish later when it’s big enough...but do you really have the heart to do that kind of thing to your pet? I can't and I won't!!!
Anyway, some people also believe that this fish has mystical power that could ward off evil spirits and fighting black magic, but I don’t...how about you?



Brought Them Back From Almost 800km













Its New Habitat For Now...













Source:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Anabas&species=testudineus&id=57

THOSE BORN 1930 – 1970!

This story takes me for the trips down memory lane...it fits some of my experience even though my mom don’t smoke or drink. We use to catch fish at the longkang and playing in the rain but we don’t get sick so easily. Kids nowadays are missing so much fun…Aaah, those good old days!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70’s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking...

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster
seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we were not overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers! no Internet or chat rooms...

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or
rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them...CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how
brave (and lucky) their parents were.

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"