Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

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During the recent holiday-themed World Blog Surf Day, Zuzanna who writes at Success Abroad and Emm who writes at Emm in London, chose to feature an important event in Great Britain’s history that occurred today back in 1605.

I don’t know how I learned about Guy Fawkes, the bonfires, the burning of the effigy, etc — most probably from the many British children’s stories I used to read. If the Five Find-Outers and Dog didn’t have a mystery involving this day, I’m sure the Secret Seven, the Famous Five or the girls at Mallory Towers did!

But ever since I watched V for Vendetta, I will always associate this day with that movie and its powerful message.

Why I love the internet (reason #614): Simon Pegg is organising a Twitter firework display in honour of 5/11.  He starts if off with a Ffffffssssssssssssttttt (beat) BANG cracklecrackle.  Funny guy.  Go join in!  

Another World Blog Surf Day is here! The first was about life as an expat in general, and the second about food.  This time around it’s about holidays & celebrations: What is your favorite ~new~ holiday and how is it celebrated?

image source

When I first heard of Halloween being referred to as a holiday, I thought “That’s not right! Holidays are official days off, and you don’t get a day off for Halloween…”  Of course, that was back in the early 90s, I was still a teenager then, had been just slightly over a year in the US, and was still unused to having my mind expanded.

image source

Just like everything else here in the USA, Halloween is a ‘holy day’ that hasn’t escaped the crass commercialism that haunts the land.  I don’t remember when Halloween decorations started going up in stores this year, but I do remember thinking “It’s too early!!! Halloween is months away!”.

Halloween has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints.  On All Saint’s Eve, also known as All Hallow’s Eve, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is very thin indeed; disguising yourself as a creature from the other side would help you not fall prey to harmful creatures that might have crossed over during this time.

image source

Since it occurs during the time of autumn harvest, Halloween shares with October (and November) icons such as pumpkins, corn and apples.

To many people, Halloween is just a day to play dress-up, where license is granted to be someone you’re not (or someone you long to be) if for just one night.

To most children, Halloween is a day for dressing up in order to get loads of candy.

To others, Halloween is the devil’s holiday, and they refuse to participate in any way except to hold prayer sessions.

image source

But what is Halloween to me? (more…)

… Mole as in the blind burrowing animal?

… or as in the Golden or Marsupial not-really-moles?

Or perhaps it’s celebrating the SI unit used in chemistry for the amount of a substance?

Perhaps it’s a celebration for all who have raised areas of skin usually with a darker pigmentation?

Or do architects have a day to celebrate a pier, jetty, breakwater, or junction between places separated by water?

Perhaps various governments celebrate the success of their spies in infiltrating enemy governments or organizations?

Or could it be a celebration of the variety of Mexican sauces, where the well-known guacamole is just one of many types of moles?

What do you think? (Answer after the break!) (more…)

Swiss mailbox by Toni_V

Nowadays, this is what greets Kosh and me:

• Netflix DVD about once a week
• some statements/bills (many but not all have been switched to electronic statements viewed online)
• one or two birthday cards per person
• lots of spam (weekly adverts, local business announcements)

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Back in Malaysia while growing up, I recall receiving:

• regular letters from grandparents in Switzerland
• semi-regular letters from pen-pals
• occasional wedding invitations
• bills / statements

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From my observation, most of my “meaningful” mail no longer comes via snail-mail. Just as I am old school and prefer physical books to reading books onscreen, I have too many fond memories of the joys pen-palship — of finding my Swedish or US pen-pal’s letter waiting for me, the anticipation building up as I carefully opened the envelope, studying the stamp, the writing even, before devouring the letter proper — to let the electronic medium take over all communication.

A Letter from Malaysia by methTICALman

Remember the Postcard / Link Exchange earlier this year?  I had also done something similar back in 2007, and plan to continue with this effort for as long as there are blog readers who are game, whenever I have the opportunity to travel to Malaysia or other (cheap) destinations (I’m taking Switzerland off the list, though - too expensive!).

R2D2 mailbox by peyri

When is the next trip, you ask?  I don’t know yet — once I do, I’ll be sure to drum up some publicity, no worries!

All this wouldn’t be possible, however, if the Universal Postal Union hadn’t been founded — 135 years ago on October 9th, 1874 — in Bern, Switzerland.  With 191 member countries, they form the largest physical distribution network in the world!

To commemorate its anniversary, the Posts of many member countries offer specials such as free postage, special cancellation marks, commemorative stamps, free entry into postal museums, and many more.

Do you know if your local post office is doing anything special today?  Please share!

To Write So Fine A Piece

Date: Saturday, October 10th 2009
Time: 2pm - 3pm
Location: Lincoln’s Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery
Cost:  free, open to the public

Lincoln’s Tomb Oak Ridge Cemetery Springfield, IL (source)

What it’s all about:

Abraham Lincoln loved poetry, and had many favourites that were committed to memory and often quoted. Of one of them, he once declared “I would give all I am worth, and go into debt, to be able to write so fine a piece* as I think that is,” thus providing the title for this event:  a presentation of Mr Lincoln’s favourite poems, performed and interpreted by Lincoln Tomb volunteers and speech students and the theater director of Glenwood High School.

Among the poets that will be featured:

• Robert Burns
• Thomas Campbell
• Oliver Wendall Holmes
• Thomas Hood
• William Knox
• Henry W. Longfellow
• Herman Melville
• Edgar Allen Poe
• William Shakespeare

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* and just which poem had such a profound effect on Mr Lincoln?  Mortality (or, Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?), by William Knox.  Researching this post was the first I’d ever heard of let alone read it.  My oh my.  I am swept away by this melancholy commentary on how fleeting life is, and, as the first line implies, and by how futile is human arrogance in light of such transience.  How could such a poem not resonate with a man like Lincoln?

Additional reading & links:

• Poems by Abraham Lincoln: Poems of Abraham Lincoln.
• Poems about Abraham Lincoln: The Poets’ Lincoln: Tributes in Verse to the Martyred President.
• Abraham Lincoln on wikipedia

Yes, I’ve decided to take it upon myself to explore what Springfield has to offer visitors and residents alike, and share said explorations here at a malaysian abroad.  For one thing, it’s something I’m going to be doing anyway as I explore my new home, so I might as well turn it into blog fodder.  Also, there seems to be a dearth of recent reviews and feedback on places like Yelp, so I figure I might as well cross-post my 2 cents over there too.

Hopefully they’ll come across as humourous reviews with a touch of snark!

What are my first few impressions of Springfield?

• it’s small!  after 3 years of Chicagoland and suburbs, it’s a little weird to have everything be not more than 15 minutes away.  I was driving around exploring the southbound I-55 Business Route (6th St, essentially) and the next thing I knew, I had run out of Springfield! Yikes!

• lots of trains!  Where I’m at, I can hear the trains that parallel both 3rd and 9th Streets.  They all seem to toot their horns throughout their passage through Springfield.  It was really noticeable in the warmer weather, but now with temperatures starting to drop, I guess the sounds will be much muted by the closed windows.

• the Thai restaurants have sequels! Seriously: there’s a Magic Kitchen, a Thai Kitchen and a Thai Kitchen 2.  I’m amazed at how many Thai restaurants there are in such a small place, actually — I’ll share the story behind this proliferation in another post.

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Some upcoming blog posts:

• I ate at every Thai restaurant in Springfield (IL) so you don’t have to.
• I went to the Holistic New Age Bazaar in Springfield (IL) so you don’t have to.
• I got my kicks on Springfield’s Route 66 so you don’t have to.
• I shopped at the Springfield (IL) Farmers Market so you don’t have to.

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Any requests / suggestions?  I’d love to hear from you!
[If the comments don’t work, feel free to email me; you can find the addy here]

In case you were wondering what I’m blabbing on about: the third iteration of World Blog Surf Day is coming up!!

Registration is now open, so if you’re interested, please don’t hesitate! Walk, don’t run, to the WBSD site and register now!

WBSD is a fun way to discover a whole bunch of expat bloggers and their blogs… I’m also planning to add all participants to the “Fellow Expats” blogroll in my sidebar, so if you’re hungry for some linky love, participants can look forward to getting some from me on 1st November or thereabouts ; )

and if you’re not technically an ‘expat’, you can still join the fun on the day itself; just start from any participating blog and follow the links: they should take you on a virtual Round The World trip through every participating blog.

Registration is open until October 24th.

Hope to see you in the participants’ list!

Image Credit:  Art by Beka

This time, we are heading for Springfield!

(The one in Illinois)

Springfield is closely associated with one of the greatest Americans of all time — Abraham Lincoln spent 24 years here as a lawyer and politician until he left in 1861 to become the 16th President of the United States.

Moving Woman by jynmeyer

a malaysian abroad will be on another temporary hiatus while the naranek household packs, moves and settles down in this historic city.  I’ll then look around for Shelbyville, didn’t see it on the map…. LoL!

Afraid of missing out when things start back up again?  Please consider subscribing to this blog via email or in a reader — then you won’t have to miss a thing!

Cheers!

See you on the other side!

One of the most important things to do when planning to live long-term in a foreign country is to find out and adhere to the immigration laws of the land.  The last thing you want is to be struggling to communicate with police/judges as they take you into custody / throw you in jail on charges you may or may not be guilty of, if only you could understand what was going on….

Thankfully, I’ve not faced such a situation… although paying taxi fare in Beijing and messing around in a casino in Manila already brought unpleasant brushes with communication breakdown… Strictly in terms of immigration rules, though, I made it a point never to overstay back when I was visiting and staying with Kosh while on my US tourist visa;  I also didn’t attempt any illegal work, etc, anything that would jeopardize future visits and changes of status.

Then there was this unfortunate gentleman, Lim Soon Heng, a Malaysian who traveled to Varanasi (formerly known as Benares), India, in order to pursue spiritual fulfillment and Vedic knowledge back in 2001.

Varanasi (Benares) [source]

For years, he donned orange robes and lived with fellow seekers while dutifully renewing his visa every year.

Then for reasons not revealed, he didn’t renew his passport when it expired in 2005.

Somehow or other the law caught up with him: in December 2007 he was thrown in jail for violating local immigration laws.

… but wait, here’s where it gets really bad …

No one was informed of his incarceration.
Not the Malaysian High Commission.
Not his family.

No one.

For almost two years, Lim languished in the Varanasi jail while his family believed he was meditating in the Himalayas.  It was only because a German Embassy official visiting an imprisoned German national came across Lim and brought word to the Malaysian High Commission did anyone find out about his predicament.

With intervention by Malaysian officials, Lim has since been released, and is now in Delhi awaiting the necessary paperwork that will allow him to return to Malaysia.  “Emotionally shattered, financially crippled and jobless, Lim will be returning home with unpleasant memories of Varanasi and also to an uncertain future.”

Yikes.

Reading about Lim’s experience underscores the importance of keeping someone abreast of how things are going, even as one pursues a life free of attachments such as what Lim was doing… if ever I were to try something like this, I can see myself still holding on to my cell phone: wouldn’t it be wise to arrange for a regular (weekly? daily?) phone call, text message or email to touch base with someone at home, someone who can raise the alarm if you don’t make contact as planned?

How about you… any adventures relating to breaking or bending immigration laws in countries you’ve visited/stayed in?  Do share, I’m all ears 

For your reading pleasure:
Indian spiritual journey lands Malaysian in jail, NST online, 31st August 2009

My favourite joke of this type:

A rabbi, a priest and a minister walk into a bar.
The bartender looks up and says, “What is this, some kind of joke?”

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Of course there’s this one:

A priest, a rabbi and a leprechaun walk into a bar.
The leprechaun looks around and says, “Woah bejaysus! I’m in the wrong joke!”

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And yes, there’s actually a LOLcats(dogz?)-related image too!

moar funny pictures

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Why am I bringing all these jokes up? Well, I wanted to prep you for this hilarious post about “‘Cheers’ in different languages“, presented in a format very similar to the jokes above:

A Mongolian, a Chinese, a Thai, a Singaporean and a Malaysian walked into a bar in Copenhagen…

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Drop by Kenny Sia for the full post and punchline. You’ll thank me for it.  I think. 

Cheers!

City of Chicago seal from wikipedia

Turns out it’s a City of Chicago “reduced service day”: all non-essential city services will NOT be functioning today.  City Hall is closed, as are all public libraries, and public health clinics.  Services such as garbage pick-up and street sweeping are also off today.

This furlough day is the first of three reduced service days planned this year by the City of Chicago in an attempt to save money and close a hole in the city budget: $8.3 million is expected to be saved in this manner this year.

Of course, there is no way for the entire city to shut down.  Fire, Police and other direct public-safety providers are functioning as usual.

image by kodakgold

… as is Parking Enforcement …

Yes, you read that right.

It is an income generator, after all!

Please take note of the two other reduced service days this year:

• the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday!), and
• Christmas Eve

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What do you think about steps like this one to close a budget?
Were any of you inconvenienced by this “reduced service day”?

image by whitebeard

Without eavesdropping on them, how do you know what they are talking about?

Without any other body language as input, how would you know if the discussion is about something surprising, fearful, funny, serious?

What is it about the facial expressions that would clue you in?

What do you look at: The eyes?  The mouth?  The entire face?

image by Ulrik

It turns out that your answer might depend on whether you’re a Western Caucasian or an East Asian (I take this to mean Chinese/Japanese/Oriental):

• If you tend to take in the entire face, chances are you’re a (Caucasian) Westerner.
• If you focus on the eyes, chances are you’re an (East) Asian.

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So what? you might ask.  Well, it seems that as a result of this difference in “input” choice, some emotions are not as easily discerned by East Asians.  This group tended to read the expression for “fear” as “surprise”, and “disgust” as “anger”, as discovered in a recent study.  So in an ambiguous cross-cultural setting with language barriers, it’s foreseeable that misinterpretation of attitude and meaning would happen if one were to have just facial expressions to work with.  (Let’s not start with the hand gestures!  That’s another blog post right there!)

Interestingly enough, this face/mouth-vs-eyes difference has long been reflected in the differences between Western and Asian emoticons!  Take a look:

Emotion	Western	Asian
Happy	:)  or  : - )	(^_^)
Surprise	:0  or : - o	(o.o)  or (*_*)

Do you see it?  The main variable of Western emoticons is the mouth, while for the Asian ones, the eyes are the main focus.

Cool!

Me, I use the Western versions, maybe because that’s the style I first learnt.  I do like how the Asian emoticons do not require a tilt of the head, tho.

What about you?

(H/T to Adam, whose tweet led me to the article that spawned this post)

Click these links to see all the winners in the Expat category (or see all the categories in contention).

image source

I was happy to immediately recognise two other blogs already on my blogroll: A Singaporean in London and The Barbados Blog; while they didn’t place a number, my hat’s off to them for having made it to the finals / Top Twenty!  Congrats CK and Garry!

The other seventeen blogs have been added to the expat blogroll in a malaysian abroad’s sidebar, and their feeds have been subscribed to via Google Reader.  … gotta study them!  yeah, you read that right… I have this competitive urge awakening in me, wanting to see if I myself can make it as a finalist next year.

Maybe this’ll be the motivation to get back to more regular expat-related blogging?

Yasmin Ahmad
(1958 - 2009)

… a loss not just to Malaysia, but to the entire world.

I would like to celebrate her life and works, but since I don’t have any of her movies I’ll be looking at YouTube: I noticed that Sepet and Gubra seem to be available in about 11 or so 10-minute clips.  Interested?  Check them out for yourself!

An idea specifically for Netflix members - there’s only the one movie by Yasmin Ahmad that’s available in their catalog (Mukhsin the prequel of sorts of the entire Orked universe), and even then it’s just in the “save” category… howsabout y’all adding it to your saved list?  Hopefully that will prompt Netflix to actually get the movie, and then we all can see at least ~one~ of her works easily.

Image credit: http://beingz.wordpress.com/

I first knew of her when those feel-good ads by Petronas started playing during the major public holidays: click to see some of Yasmin Ahmad’s advertisements on my other blog.  I’m not sure when I started to follow her blog (Part 1 & Part 2), but it’s been years, that’s for sure.  From there, even though I’ve not seen any of her films yet, I know of them and how they were (not) recieved in Malaysia yet went on to win so many awards overseas.

Her first movie was in 2003: Rabun (My Failing Eyesight), made for TV.  An elderly couple move out of the city to a village, but this exuberant and affectionate pair find that life in the countryside isn’t all that pleasant after all.

Next was Sepet (2004) (Slanted Eyes), her cinematic debut:  One Chinese VCD peddler, one relatively well-to-do Malay girl, one unforgettable love story.  A look at how two young lovers from totally different backgrounds cope with family and social pressure.

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Followed in 2006 by Gubra (Anxiety): Why do we hurt the most, the ones we love the most?  A sequel of sorts to Sepet, dealing with betrayal and the downtrodden in two separate interwoven storylines.In 2007, Mukhsin was released: Everyone has a first love story to tell; this one is of Orked’s first love, the girl whose future is seen in Sepet and Gubra (and Rabun).  Read the New York Times’ review.

What her father did by yasmin the storyteller

In 2008 came Muallaf (The Convert): breaking free of the Orked universe, this film nevertheless explores similar themes of family, religion, forgiveness “It is in forgiving that we are forgiven”.  The shaving of the lead actress’ head caused a controversy, if I remember correctly.

Earlier this year, Talentime was released, which, from the trailer, seems to be all about crossing the interracial barriers yet again, this time with a school’s talent show providing the backdrop.

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Yasmin Ahmad is currently working on a Japanese-based movie entitled Wasurenagusa, and after that should be a movie based on the cut-too-short life of Singapore’s triathlete, Thaddeus Cheong.

Thing is… I woke up this morning to the news that Yasmin Ahmad had collapsed: rumours swirled that she had passed away.  Thankfully, this was not so.  However, the news is rather grim — it turns out she had had a stroke, was rushed to hospital for surgery, and is now in stable but critical condition.

This special lady has shown through her work that she doesn’t buy in to the barriers put up between the races and religions of Malaysia, of the world; and instead speaks of love, cooperation, understanding.  I therefore humbly ask all readers, if so moved, to please send positive and healing thoughts, vibes and prayers her way.

Thank you.

why would a man, on the morning of his wedding, curl up and go to sleep on the sofa of the office where he was interrogated for ten hours, and then wake up to throw himself out the window, without even a suicide note? and why was his trousers torn in such a suspicious way? was someone holding him by the seat of his trousers, dangling him out the window as rpk says? does any of macc’s explanations make any sense?

rpk = Raja Petra Kamarudin
macc = Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission

Actually, my heart sunk to the pit of my stomach is more like it: more “funny business” going on in Malaysia!  And let me tell you, my heart has been aching ever since, as I proceeded to visit some of the Malaysian political commentary blogs out there to find out what happened.

In short, the MACC were supposedly carrying out an investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds by state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah.  His political aide, 30 year old Teoh Beng Hock, was ‘invited to assist in the investigation’ by reporting to the MACC headquarters in the late afternoon, where he was then interviewed (interrogated?) until — get this — 3:45am.  Since when did the MACC act like the police, or worse?  It gets “better” — supposedly, the young man was too tired to leave (but he had his car there, and I don’t know about you, but me? I’d get the heck out of there!), so he decided to take a nap on a sofa within the room? floor? building?  Supposedly he was sighted asleep on said couch at 6am.  Then next thing we know, his body was found on the top of a neighbouring building around 1:30pm.  And from the photos of the body, the seat of his pants seem ripped.  Very very strange.

Among other things, the MACC is supposed to police the policemen.  But with such a death while in their custody (never mind that Teoh was “free to go” at 3:45 am), one can’t help but wonder, who polices those who police the policemen? Indeed, who watches the Watchmen?

To read more, you could check out Justice for Beng Hock, a freshly created blog; or invoke Big Brother Google and see what search results you get.  Here is RPK’s take on the whole thing.

… and then … and then comes the news of the Jakarta bombings.  I’m not even going to type about it, I’m sure this event is all over the news everywhere.

It’s a sad sad state of affairs in Malaysia and Indonesia today.

Candle by m_a_essam

My condolences to the families and loved ones of Beng Hock and of the bombings.

Have a …safe… weekend, everyone.

Newfangled Sear Tower Lookout Boxes by JOE M500

The Sears Tower recently opened to the public two glass “ledges” that jut out 1.2 meters / 4.3 feet from the Sky Deck at the 103rd floor of the building — that’s 412 meters / 1353 feet up!

Sears Tower unveils their glass balcony “The Ledge” on the Skydeck by ROLMman

I don’t know about you, but I find just photos of the view already rather dizzying.

I’m a little bummed that I’ve missed out of experiencing this view for reals at the Sears Tower, however.  No, they’re not retracting the Ledges… remember a few months ago I talked about the threat of renaming the Sears Tower?  Well, it’s official — tomorrow, this landmark Chicago black glass and steel building will be called the Willis Tower.

It seems that the elevator that takes visitors to and from the Sky Deck already thanks you for visiting the “Willis Tower”, eliciting at least one recorded instance of a “Watchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” reaction: Quick!  Name that TV show!

If you’d like to read more, or weigh in on the name change, see Sears Tower Name Change Becomes Official Tomorrow (thanks, kapgar!)

Thanks to the folks at Free Things to do in Chicago, I just found out that I’ve been missing out on getting a free Slurpee on this day since 2002!   … not that I’m broken hearted about it: I have no idea when was the last time I’ve had a Slurpee — probably not since the 90’s, LoL!

I remember back when the 7-Eleven at the corner of Jalan Pekelilling / Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan U-Thant was open: it was a standalone building within the Shell petrol station — both of which have since disappeared since 9-11, since they posed security risks to the US Embassy right next door!

Screenshot of Google Maps of the Jalan Tun Razak / Jalan U-Thant junction,
with where the Shell station and “my” 7-Eleven used to be marked in red

But back to the 80s: even back then I wasn’t a big fan of the Slurpee, and the Big Gulp seemed like an obscenely too-large quantity for anyone to even contemplate drinking.  I do remember that my family and I fell in love with the hot dogs they sold, though: never-seen-before American-sized hot dogs, which you put between the bread and already into a styrofoam container; then you proceed to drown in a meat sauce (I think it was supposed to be “chili”) from a nearby keep-warm crock pot; I think we could also then cover it in cheese.  Yum!

Fast forward a few decades later, and you have Kosh and I in Chicago visiting the then-nearby White-Hen-turned-7-Eleven almost daily for my fix of french vanilla cappuccino.  You know, the majorly sweet almost-without-any-coffee but overflowing with fat and sugar concoction they sell?  That was always a favourite of mine to have while driving: I’d almost always get it during long-distance drives — it was an occasional treat.  Then I made the mistake of discovering it was easily available almost next door… next thing you know we’re there almost daily, and the shared container somehow becomes two individual coffees for Kosh and I to consume while at our individual ‘puters. For that reason alone it’s good that we moved!

How about you: any free Slurpees where you are?  Any fond 7-Eleven memories?

Related Post: How about an unambiguous date?

Update:

All moved out of the old place 30th June 2009

We’re now settling in to the new place:

tons of boxes to unpack,

and allergy-inducing dust mites to fight,

… but at least we’ve got internet connectivity again!

I hope to be properly back online next week.

In the meantime, here’s wishing y’all a great weekend, and for those who celebrate it, have a great 4th of July!

Moving Woman by jynmeyer

Afraid of missing out when things start back up again?  Please consider subscribing to this blog via email or in a reader — then you won’t have to miss a thing!

Cheers!

Johnny Depp (source)

It seems that Johnny Depp and a few other people involved in ‘Public Enemies‘ were here in Chicago last week for the opening of the movie.  They then headed to Gibson’s Steakhouse — a Chicago institution on Rush Street in the Near North side — to party down, arriving a little before midnight, and staying on till past 2:30am.

To reward “Mo” for his excellent service and patience into the wee hours of the morning, it seems that Johnny Depp gave him a $4000 tip — only $200 less than the bill itself!

My hat’s off to you, Mr Depp! That’s waaaaay more than the 15-20% suggested amount!  (I wonder — are other celebrities going to be cussing you out for setting too high expectations among other waitstaff who wait upon celebrities now?)

Related posts:

• Do you need to tip for service in Malaysia, Switzerland and the USA?
• … a little bit more about tipping in the USA

As promised in my recent World Blog Surf Day entry, today I made my way to another Farmers Market in the heart of downtown Chicago:

Federal Plaza @ Adams & Dearborn

Located at the corner of Adams and Dearborn, Federal Plaza hosts a farmers market every Tuesday.

The weather today was so much better than last Saturday’s!  Sure, it had rained a little in the early morning, and more rain is forecast for the afternoon and the next few days; but at 10:30 am today, it was dry, cool and cloudy, just right for a little gallivanting.

“Flamingo” stabile by Alexander Calder

It was quite a relief to see Alexander Calder’s Flamingo having so many booths at her feet!  While I wouldn’t have called it bustling, the Federal Plaza Farmers Market was certainly doing better than last Saturday’s Printers Row!

I enjoyed inhaling the various smells of fresh produce: spring onions and garlic bulbs were definitely present!  Plenty of flowers and fruits too.  Fresh herbs were plentiful, available cut or in planters.  Very tempting.  I’ll do a price check first, tho!

There were also a few bakery-related booths selling bread, cakes, and — another barely-resisted temptation — foccacia bread pizza, with scrumptious toppings such as three cheese (boasting 1½ cups cheese); garlic mushroom; goat cheese and artichoke; tomato basil.  At $10 for a large slab, it seemed a little pricey, but I’m sure I’ll be back…

I looked around all the stalls, scanning the homemade soaps, and bottle after bottle of salsa, jam and preserves without committing myself to anything… but in the end, it was the cheese that drew me in… it’s my Swiss blood, what can I say?!

How could I resist all those tiny sample cubes of 10-year old cheddar, garlic cheddar, horseradish cheddar, and a fantastic firehouse cheddar that packed a hundred times the punch of even the hottest pepperjack cheese I’ve ever tasted?  Again, price held me back from buying much of anything, but I did settle for a $5 container of horseradish flavoured cheese spread made with raw milk (the left-most container in the photo below).

Behind the cheese spread samples you can see slabs of baked cheese - I’ve never had them but they looked so yummy I had to tear myself away, clutching the cheese spread as consolation.  Maybe next time…

Would you like to hear more about the Farmers Markets of Chicago?  Drop me a comment expressing your interest, and I’ll definitely find my way to some other ones over the summer, just for you!

When I woke up this morning, I wondered if I was going to be able to make any report at all - it was raining, it was cold, and if I didn’t have my Saturday meditative yoga session, I might have just curled back up in bed and refused to face the weather! … but crawl out of bed I did, had Kosh drive me downtown, and after a fantastic round of meditation I headed for the intersection of Dearborn & Polk:

It was still raining. It was still cold. It was a pretty dreary day. And no thanks to Mother Nature, the turnout for the first Printers Row Farmers Market was pretty dismal:

Despite not having been to this particular Farmers Market before, I’m pretty sure it usually features more than just ~five~ stalls!

In the photo above, the blue stand on the right was selling bread and muffins: they were in the process of packing up when I arrived.

On the left was a row of four stalls: one was selling brownies, I think; there was homemade soap — both liquid and solid;  another booth selling muffins; and finally strawberries.

Here you see the vibrant strawberries, going for $3 per pack; they looked really good, but I just didn’t feel like dawdling more than necessary in the inclement weather so I didn’t buy anything.

I fully intend to return during a ~real~ summer’s day for a follow-up comparative report: perhaps then I’ll be capable of engaging the strawberry seller (and folks from the other booths) in dialogues deeper than “Hi! Would you mind if I took a few photos?” and “Ugh, what weather, huh?”.

And finally - what serendipity! I only found out an hour ago about Lola’s Farmers Market / Farmstand Weekly Challenge - I think this posts counts, yes?  I’ll keep a look out for more Farmers Markets to visit, too: the next most convenient for me will be this Tuesday at Federal Plaza.  Stay tuned!!

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And if you haven’t already, please visit the next blogger in the World Blog Surf Day chain: Ivanhoe, a Czech currently living in Ohio USA, who writes about some of the Czech food she craves and misses.  [A tip of the hat to Hospitalera who started it all, to Sher who is organising it this time around, and to Anastasia Ashman (Thandelike) who is our Twitter reporter for this edition of World Blog Surf Day.]

From NASA, Public Domain

[A tip of the hat to Hospitalera who started it all, to Sher who is organising it this time around, and to Anastasia Ashman (Thandelike) who is our Twitter reporter for this edition of World Blog Surf Day. Anastasia is an American cultural producer based in Istanbul, and is a creator of Expat Harem, the anthology of foreign women about modern Turkey. Her Tweetstream focuses on women, travel and history, and she shares resources for writers/travelers, expats, Turkophiles & culturati of all stripes.]

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Here in Chicago, you wouldn’t know we’re almost halfway through the year, and that official summertime is only slightly over a week away - the weather has been unseasonably cold!  But summer it is, and for World Blog Surf Day I’d like to highlight one of the many events Chicagoans look forward in tandem with the warm weather: the Farmers Markets!

Although some start in May, most Farmers Markets start in June, and run weekly until the end of October.  There are no Farmers Markets on Mondays or Fridays.  The exception is the Farmers Market at the Museum of Science and Industry, held fortnightly on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month in the Museum’s East parking lot.

[image source]

So, what can you expect to find at a Farmers Market?  Well, its objective is essentially to provide residents of the City of Chicago with access to fresh, locally-produced fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers…  While prices of these products might be comparable to what you might find at the neighbourhood generic grocery store, the pull here is the guaranteed freshness, and the fact that you’re helping the local economy.  These Farmers Markets are thus a boon to locavores.

Just how many markets are there?  I count 37 (*wink* at Clerks fans) in this brochure, spread over 20 neighbourhoods. I find it fantastic that four of them are conveniently and thoughtfully located in the heart of downtown, on Tuesdays or Thursdays, thus really making local produce accessible to folk who might otherwise not have the time or opportunity to make their way to their own neighbourhood markets.

I sheepishly admit that I haven’t officially visited a Farmers Market before.  I have walked through Daley Plaza during a Farmers Market day without stopping to really look around and explore its offerings…

This is why I’m doing a Part Two!

The Printers Row Farmers Market starts today… and that is just a stone’s throw away from where I’ll be in the morning!  So just for you, dear World Blog Surf Day, I’ll be making my way to that parking lot at Dearborn & Polk, in order to provide you with an up close and personal look at one of Chicago’s many Farmers Markets.  I should have that post up by 3pm Chicago time today, so please come on back for Part Two, k?

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In the meantime, I now pass the food torch over to Ivanhoe, a Czech currently living in Ohio USA, who writes about some of the Czech food she craves and misses.  Please click on through and say hi, k?

… and remember to come back for Part Two!!

A while ago, I blogged about my niece and I (please click! you’ll die from the cuteness!!): an astute commenter observed that the difference in hair quantity between my niece and I could be attributed to “the Asian gene”.  Well, I do sardonically refer to myself as a Malaysian/Swiss mutt, as can my niece, but I’ll concede that since technically I’m “only” 50% Asian while my niece pegs in at 75%, I suppose that ‘hairy’ observation might be true.

Recently, I read about a problem that I, my niece, and my 25% Asian offspring (if any) might well face in the future, along with all other people of mixed race and ethnicity (Pinay Jade’s potential Halo-Halo come to mind):

Mixed-race patients struggle to find marrow donors

If Nick Glasgow were white, he would have a nearly 90 percent chance of finding a matching bone marrow donor who could cure his leukemia.

But because the 28-year-old bodybuilder is one-quarter Japanese, his doctor warned him the outlook was grim. Glasgow’s background would make it almost impossible to find a match, which usually comes from a patient’s own ethnic group.

…

The reason that mixed-heritage patients are so hard to match can be found in the immune system.

Populations in different parts of the world developed certain proteins, or markers, that are part of the body’s natural defenses. These markers help the immune system determine which cells are foreign and should be rejected.

A match between two people who share many markers will reduce the risk of the donor and recipient cells attacking each other. Because certain markers tend to cluster in particular ethnic groups, matches are most often found among people of shared backgrounds. Multiracial patients often have uncommon profiles and a much harder time finding a donor.

… [read more]

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Diversity 4 by spekulator

And on a related note: Multiracial people become fastest-growing US group.

I find this scary: that the fastest-growing demographic group in the USA faces poor outlook in bone marrow matches, because despite 3% of the marrow registry comprising multiracial donors, there is so much diversity in “multiraciality” that chances of finding a donor of your own specific mutt-ness are pretty slim.

And that’s in the USA, where I think awareness of things like donor registries are pretty well-known, what about in other countries, other continents?  Malaysia, with a population of 25 million people, has a measly 12,201 registered donors — that’s barely 0.05% of the population.  And there is no indication about how many of said registered donors are of the multiracial variety.  In Switzerland, the Swiss Bone Marrow Donor Registry is integrated into an international network of registries and cooperates with many other countries in the search for compatible donors.  The larger the reach of a registry, the higher the chances of getting a match… but once again, within this system how many donors are of the multiracial variety?

So here’s my public service announcement for today: if you’re a mutt like me, please consider signing up to be a marrow donor.  They’ll only swab your cheek, no big deal. Yet.  It’s only if there is a match that you would then be asked to undergo a painful procedure where liquid marrow is taken from the back of your pelvic bone.  Sounds like a barrel of fun, eh?