All I have to do
is take a look at you
then I’m not so blue

Phil Collis - Groovy Kind Of Love

This is an early Christmas gift from Wuan. The snowman was looking out at us from the window display of MPH in 1-Utama. He was so cute and cuddly. We simply could not resist bringing him home with us. He sits just beside the laptop. Each time I look at him, I would invariably smile. It does not take a lot to make me happy.

The following poem was posted in this blog on October 28, 2005. It is still as relevant now as it was during World War II sixty years ago when this poem was believed to have originated. We have the right to choose who and what causes we support. Nevertheless, we should never forget the rights of our fellow humans who are oppressed, marginalised and discriminated. We should and must stand up for them too as long as we are able in any way we can. This poem tells us why.

First They Came…

A poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)

Original

Translation

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist. Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich nicht protestiert; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter. Als sie die Juden holten, habe ich nicht protestiert; ich war ja kein Jude. Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestierte.

First they came for the communists, I did not speak out because I was not a communist. When they came for the social democrats, I did not speak out because I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews I did not speak out because I was not a Jew; And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.

Links:
Martin Niemöller
First They Came…

This is the first morning in many weeks that I have actually woken up refreshed and raring to go.

The smiley is a quarter century old. We use it in our emails and handwritten notes without a second thought. It smoothens the tone and emotion of sentences. From it, a long list of other emoticons evolved. The ingenuity of Professor Scott E. Fahlman’s simple colon-hyphen-paranthesis has transcended boundaries and languages to become universally acceptable. The smiley has brightened many a days and many a faces. Our lives have never been the same since. Here is a toast to 25 years of fun and a wish for another 25 more. Cheers!

Digital ’smiley face’ turns 25 - Yahoo News

DANIEL LOVERING, Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH - It was a serious contribution to the electronic lexicon. Twenty-five years ago, Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman says, he was the first to use three keystrokes — a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis — as a horizontal “smiley face” in a computer message.

Facebook - another way to waste time when one should be working; another way to spam friends effortlessly with useless information; less irritating than email spams but irritating nonetheless. Fiddling around Facebook made me miss all my deadlines. Facebook is evil but I am addicted to it.