masterwordsmith-unplugged

In mid-July, I was in KL for my boy's graduation and it was then when my husband bought me a ukelele, a four-stringed instrument that I learnt to play when I was in Form 2. I gave my ukelele to my adopted brother who thought it was a toy guitar. It was my way of ensuring that he did not lay his hands on my precious guitars.

My interest rekindled one day when I came across a YouTube video of my son playing his Ukelele in his car and singing Jason Mrantz's "I'm Yours' with his own improvised lyrics to serenade his girlfriend. That video clip brought back beautiful memories of the fun times I used to share with my older boy.

I used to sing improvised/impromptu lyrics of songs in opera style when asking him to do something for me. To illustrate, please sing the following lines to the tune of 'Hey Jude'..

Yea...my sons and are are quite hilarious at home. It is only my husband who is the sedate and sane fella at home. :-)

Anyway, take a look at my new baby:




Frankly, the ukelele is one of the easiest musical instruments to play. According to Wikipedia:

The ukulele, sometimes abbreviated to uke; is a member of the guitar family of instruments generally employs four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.
The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of the machete, a small guitar-like instrument related to the cavaquinho, braguinha and the rajao, taken to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants. 

It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century, and from there spread internationally. 

The tone and volume of the instrument varies with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. 

Ukuleles are commonly associated with music from Hawaii where the name roughly translates as "jumping flea", perhaps due to the resemblance of the player's finger movements to a "jumping flea". Legend attributes it to the nickname of Englishman Edward William Purvis, one of King Kalākaua's officers, due to his small size, fidgety manner, and playing expertise. According to Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, the name means “the gift that came here”, from the Hawaiian words uku (gift or reward) and lele (to come). 

Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on two small guitar-like instruments of Portuguese origin, the cavaquinho and the rajao, introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and Cape Verde.[6] Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers. Two weeks after they disembarked from the Ravenscrag in late August 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts." 

One of the most important factors in establishing the ukulele in Hawaiian music and culture was the ardent support and promotion of the instrument by King Kalākaua. A patron of the arts, he incorporated it into performances at royal gatherings.

And then I had loads of fun playing When the Saints Go Marching In, Somewhere Out There, Country Roads, Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley...and finally Jason Mrantz's 'I'm Yours' which is certainly the toughest so far cos of the chords positions and changes....You can access the chords and lyrics HERE. 


And if you think you are too old to learn how to play the ukelele, look at Ukelele Mike's video. You can see that he is really having the time of his life making sweet music on his ukelele without a care in the world.



If any of you play the ukelele, do share your video clips or responses. And if you have yet to learn a musical instrument, why not consider the ukelele? It is portable, easy to learn and has the potential to give you loads of fun. Believe me, it is easier to learn the ukelele than the guitar! Tuning is no problem cos there are online ukelele tuners such as OVER HERE.

Take care and have a restful evening! Excuse me while I go back to my ukelele...:-)

By R. Nadeswaran, Editor of The Sun

STRUTTING around the playing fields all over the country in the eighties as a schoolgirl, she caught the eye of Malaysians with her aptitude, prowess and achievements. But she had one major shortfall – academic excellence.

It is rumoured that she failed in all subjects in what used to be the Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (SRP), equivalent to the present day Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examinations.

Perhaps it was paying too much attention to extra-curricular activities that she had disappointing results. Perhaps too, the glamour of being in the limelight took precedence over the books. She knows best.

About 15 years later, she had a prefix to her name – Dr – and three letters – PhD – after it. There's no record of her even getting an upper secondary education, let alone a first degree to pursue a doctorate.

Her insistence on being addressed as "Dr So and So" drew unnecessary remarks. But no one dared or cared to ask for credentials or qualifications because she had moved into the big league. She could pick up the phone, drop names and get anything and everything done.

Accepting appointments on various public bodies, she swaggered around with immense pride, knowing well her credentials would never be challenged.

In the eighties, the then lord president, Tun Suffian Hashim had written a stinger to newspaper editors lamenting that they should not accept or publish advertisements from "degree mills".

At least one newspaper started an investigation and reported on the "degree for sale" scam and only an injunction prevented further disclosure. Now with the Selangor police telling us that 525 people including "Tan Sri's" had bought their qualifications, it does not come as a surprise.

In the course of work, there are instances when you come across people with prefixes to their names. A minute into the conversation and you wonder which university conferred his or her degree. You tell yourself that he or she may have got his or her doctorate in traditional cures and choose not to embarrass the interviewee.

With the advent of the internet, Suffian's complaint may have become obsolete. In cyberspace, there are hundreds of organisations that offer such services. One of them boasts: DiplomaXpress.com is the #1 site on the internet for TRUE authentic quality fake diplomas, fake degrees and fake transcripts.

Unlike other websites that offer so-called replica diplomas that are "matched to your school", but in reality only offer diplomas with generic looking seals on generic diploma designs, we pride ourselves on producing truly authentic quality fake diplomas and fake college degrees. In addition to producing the highest quality fake diplomas and fake degrees, we also produce realistic quality fake transcripts that can be fully customised to your exact specifications.

There's nothing wrong with that because on the outset, it is declared that they are "fake degrees". If the buyer uses it to enhance himself or herself, the promoter should not be penalised.

But The Times (UK) had in the nineties reported a clear case of misrepresentation reporting thus: An Internet service is selling fake degree certificates for £70 each. From his website Peter Quinn offers those "who have never had a chance at a university or college education" a choice of A-level certificates and degree certificates from any institution in any subject which, he promises, will be "accepted on face value as the genuine article".

It will be interesting to follow what charges would be preferred against the perpetrators in Malaysia. Did they misrepresent? After all, those who paid for their degrees went in with the eyes wide open and on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.

What will be more interesting is to know how many of the 525 buyers, especially the titled ones, will be willing to come forward and co-operate with the police, let alone testify in open court. Will they, on oath, make confessions that the "Dr" in front of their names cost just a fistful of ringgit? Will they be agreeable to become objects of ridicule, odium and contempt by the public?

Watch this space. By the way, the next time you are introduced to a "Dr So and So", would you have the gall and gumption to ask him or her which university conferred him a doctorate and in what field?
___________________________

R. Nadeswaran is editor (special and investigative reporting) at the Sun

Something we msy want to keep in mind when the world seems against us. Thanks to Angela who sent me this post.

Me: God, can I ask you a question?
God: Sure.
Me: Promise you won't get mad.
God: I promise.

Me: Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?

Me: Well, I woke up late.
God: Yes.

Me: My car took forever to start.
God: Okay.

Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait.
God: Huummm.

Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call.
God: All right.

Me: And on top of it all, when I got home I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?

God: Let me see, the Death Angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me: (humbled): OH...

GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)

God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me: (embarrassed): Ok...

God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me: (softly) I see God.

God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God.

God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.....in all things, the good and the bad.
Me: I will trust you.

God: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.

God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God, and I love looking after my children.

This is an amazing video. Reminds us that the only obstacle to fulfilling our dreams is in our mind. No matter how busy you are, I sincerely hope you can spare some time to watch this. Have a meaningful day.

In a Chinese modern dance competition on TV, one very unique couple won one of the top prizes. The lady, in her 30's, was a dancer who had trained since she was a little girl. Later in life, she lost her entire left arm in an accident and fell into a state of depression for a few years. Someone then asked her to coach a Children's dancing group. From that point on, she realized that she could not forget dancing. She still loved to dance and wanted to dance again. So, she started to do some of her old routines, but having lost her arm, she had also lost her balance. It took a while before she could even make simple turns and spins without falling.

Then she heard of a man in his 20s who had lost a leg in an accident. He had also fallen into the usual denial, depression, and anger type of emotional roller coaster. But she determined to find him and persuade him to dance with her. He had never danced, and to "dance with one leg .... are you joking with me? No way!" But, she didn't give up, and he reluctantly agreed thinking, "I have nothing else to do anyway."

She started to teach him dancing 101. The two broke up a few times because he had no concept of using muscle, how to control his body, and knew none of the basic things about dancing. When she became frustrated and lost patience with him, he would walk out. Eventually, they came back together and started training seriously.

They hired a choreographer to design routines for them. She would fly high (held by him) with both arms (a sleeve for an arm) flying in the air. He could bend horizontally supported by one leg with her leaning on him, etc. In the competition, as you will see, they dance beautifully and they legitimately won the competition. "

Courtesy of CCTV 9

Here's a beautifully written post by Tania Kazi:

Click here for more.