Marsha Maung:: Freelance graphic designer and writer

I’ve always wondered why the world map was often referred to Atlas. I asked my Form Two form teacher once about why the Atlas was the Atlas. She told me it was just a name. I wasn’t satisfied because I thought otherwise.

 

 

After some research, I found out that the name ‘Atlas’ was derived from the name of a deity. A Greek god. Atlas was the son Iapetus but Atlas fought and firged ahead with a war with other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus. By the way, Zeus is the King of the Olympians, a might kingdom. They failed.

 

 

So, Atlas was punished. His punishment was to hold up the world on his back. In those times, it’s thought that the world (earth) was made out of mostly clouds. But Atlas was surprised with the weight that he had to hold.

 

 

Although Persues DID come along to give him some help. Perseus turned Atlas into stone. The only problem was, Atlas now had the head of Medusa, the snake headed goddess. Today, he’s known as a world map and also as Mount Atlas. The one who holds the world up.

 

 

Interesting, isn’t it?

 

I made it!!! Can you believe it???

Nanowrimo winner icon

Nanowrimo Winner Certificate

I, myself, can't believe I went this far. Only a few days ago, I thought about giving up. 50,000 words...when I have only written 35,056 words? I had about 14,944 words more to go!!! Where in the world do I find the time?

How I progressed from 0 to 50,000

I don't get anything from NanoWriMo except for a web certificate that I can look at from time to time. And also tell the world that I made it. I can boast about it to my friends and family members...but I don't get anything monetary in return.

But the feeling of having come so far, trudged through the month of non-sleep, coffee, ciggarrettes and grouchiness is....worth it!

I can't tell you how I feel. The jubilance. The 'Yes!!!" It's a personal challenge. And I've reached it. And now I can start going back to work and tell all my clients how sorry I am for having neglected them...blah blah blah.

But whenever I set out to do something, I don't often give up. I came very damn close to just GIVING UP. But then I remembered....damn, GIVE UP is not even in my dictionary.

So, thank you to the staff of Nanowrimo for giving me the courage. For helping me see that anything can be done with a deadline. Although the deadline is crazy, but if one sets one's mind to it, ANYTHING can happen.

You've just added one extra notch to my bedpost...and I have one more thing, one more credential to boast about now.

Thank you!

Marsha
www.marshamaung.com

This is going to be a short blog entry today but I am tired (and broke) of paying $26.00 for one small ULtraman figurine after another. Todate, we have about 20 or so Ultramans in their various heroid poses. That's $520 down the drain in case you don't have a calculator with you! Although he is hilarious, Jared is an Ultraman fanatic who tells me that he wants to ‘dream’ about Ultraman before he goes to sleep.


These Ultraman people are smart too….as if one Ultraman is not enough…they have Ultraman Cosmos, Ultraman King, Ultraman Leo, Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Gaia, Ultraman Agul, Ultraman Chaos, Ultraman Nice (what a sissy Ultraman name!!), Ultraman Powered (I am quite proud of myself for remembering all those names. I didn't make them up...these Ultramans are for real...as real asn Ultraman can be)….and now….I feel compelled to create my own one….


Ultraman Jared. Oh, he’s going to hate me for putting his picture on Ultraman AND publishing it on the web…but he’s only 3, so, let him hate me when he’s 30 and suffering from the same problem I am now.

I hate Ultraman but I kiss the ground Jared walks on.

Marsha
www.marshamaung.com

Go in with no hope and you’ll come out happy. That’s how I would review Chicken Little. From the first acorn on, you know it’s going to be acorn after acorn of dumb excuses. Oh sure, this is Disney’s first (and hopefully last) fully computer-animated full feature film…but frankly, who gives a CLUCK?


Viewers, first, buy movie tickets to watch the movie and second, to be amazed at how many feathers there are on that little hero-chick. He’s cute, by the way, but his voice ain’t. It’s my personal opinion that his voice does not go with his face…or is it the other way around? Forgive my ignorance. I am still living in the Nemo-and-Dad era…not that it was anything to get all ruffled up about, either. But there was more meat to that bone than Chicken Little.


Chicken Little, from the fall of the first acorn, was mistaken for lying. He thought the sky was falling (which was a half truth, it wasn’t the sky that was falling, it was a piece of the door from an alien space craft). Or did I give too much away? Oh, never mind, you can read this movie, Chicken Little, like an open book with a magnifying glass, anyway. His dad, (come to think of it, I don’t even know Chicken Little’s dad’s name) is a single Chicken after this wifey died and has problems relating to and understanding his son. Sounds familiar? Yeah, it might take a few ‘blurp’ ‘blurp’ to jolt your memory. But yeah, you’ve got it.


Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News said that while Chicken Little was not PAINFUL to watch, it was totally UNNECESSARY! How true, how true. Couldn’t have said it better myself.


The last I heard, there were a lot of high tech programs and softwares developed and used to emulate muscle movement. And fine, to be fair, the movement was rather flawless…as flawless as chicken movements can be.


If you think adults won’t enjoy the Chicken Little because our minds are tainted with reality, you’re wrong again! I took the whole troop of sons, nephews and nieces along for the show and one of them even yawned at me….”Is it OVER yet?” and my son, Joshua, said halfway through the show…”Mom, I think this is kind of boring!”


And ever since watching the show, unlike after watching Madagascar, there was not a whisper about ‘Chicken Little’ heard in the house. After Nemo and Madagascar, we had to drag our kids away from the vast choices of merchandizes from the movie…from cornflakes to pencils. With Chicken Little, they don’t even remember watching the show.


THAT’s how forgettable the show is.


Recommendation: For people aged between 1 month to 99 years old, DON’T waste your time and money! Watch Madagascar reruns, instead.

What? Full star ratings?
I would never have bought this book without knowing its contents. As a graphic designer, I tell you the cover sucks. But the content rocks! If not for the fact that my well-read sister-in-law passed the book to me as part of our ‘book exchange’ program, I would have never had the chance to flip through the pages and be so entertained in such an unrestrained manner! And I am stingy about giving full stars for a book because I believe there’s always room for improvement but…for Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, he has given me every reason and more to say a ‘hundred thumbs up’.


Background on Anthony Bourdain
For those who don’t yet know, Anthony Bourdain is a chef and his show called ‘No Reservations’ is currently (as of 2005, I think) being aired on Travel Channel. For Malaysians, I think you can catch it on Discovery, Astro. Based on this best-selling book, he’s even got a comedy series out produced by Fox. THAT’s how hilarious and side-splitting this book can be.


However, for those who don’t have the stomach for fart jokes, sex jokes and lurid  suggestions of acts so dirty and unrestrained it makes Michael Jackson sound original, don’t read it. Yes, it’s a culinary adventure to be remembered and yes, every single page is absolutely hilarious. But it’s also filled with bad language, drugs and alcohol, sex and other unimaginable things we, normal people don’t but kitchen chefs do. Like slicing their own fingers off when they’re rushing a dish out. Ew!


By the way, you can read about the author’s visit to Malaysia here, http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/bourdain/take/malays....


The unbelievable characters
By virtue of the fact that he got his book published and movie published, we can be quite sure that every single character written about in the book is as real as the steak in front of you in a restaurant. But they are absolutely unbelievable and in fact, they are so real that you can imagine what they are like in real life. His teachers and mentors, namely Chef Bernard (the military trainer and teacher in chef school), BigFoot his mentor (whose advice and teachings he remembers till today), Steven (the guy who called a fellow kitchen staff in the middle of sex), Adam-real-last-name-unknown (the guy who was continuously late and showed tardiness in everything that he did, came and went as he liked and have a love-hate relationship with Bourdain throughout the book….they were all a bunch of lunatics. And common people love reading about lunatics like them.


The dream, the fall, the dumps and the rise to fame
He started off with a dream…or more like a piece of oyster he thought he was going to choke on! But from that first oyster on, he found his dream and it was FOOD. Through school and through training, he fought to find a purpose and once he did, he went through hell just to be good at what he is good at today. He went from peeling prawns, washing dishes, waiting on tables, cutting up vegetables and meat, ordering food, surpervising others, went back to waiting at tables, cutting vegetables and meat, supervising others to owning his own joint. He went up only to come down hard.
He laced his adventure with accounts of how the kitchen crew hung around the back of the kitchen drinking like they had no tomorrow to putting things into their noses. And the men’s room, the locker room….I wouldn’t want to be there. He talks about language problems (because most kitchen crews are foreigners) and how he learnt to adapt to those languages (really funny!). He learnt about different characters and how to find people who are loyal….and then how even loyal people can bail out on you. he talks about how to identify a rotting restaurant…and one that was already rotting by the time they hit the drawing board.


Wildly entertaining
That’s how I would describe this book because it’s a page turner without talking about aliens, abduction, murder, autopsies, car bombs, hijacking of plans, rape, etc. If you’re at all serious about reading, you just HAVE TO add this to your bookshelves.

I am crawling towards my destination. My destination is 50,000 words....only about 1/2 the number of words in a normal novel...and here I am, fingers cramped and mind totally blank.

I've come so close to giving up. And yet, I am only 8000 words away from where I end this pain. This was a challenge that I was confident in when I first started. Like everything else in life, when I want to do something, I will give it everything I've got. But November and December are busy months for me because everyone's got new financial budgets and there's lot of promo to do and all that and I leave the novel in the nest for sometime...one day...two days...three days...and blast it. I am 4,800 words behind.

Now, there's only 4 more days to go and I have to write at least 1,900 words a day to see the finish line. I don't know. I am not confident. But I will give it everything I've got to see this damn stupid thing I've started to the end.

For those who are wondering what in the blinking hell I am talking about, visit www.nanowrimo.org for more info and you'll understand.

It's 6 in the morning now and I need.....a new cup of coffee.

Marsha
www.marshamaung.com

I was busy uploading some stuff into my client’s website and cursing at the snail-speed upload when my phone rang. Someone from the past…it’s been 7 years since we’ve promised each other that we will keep in touch. Apart from the splattering of 2-minute phone calls here and there, we’ve not kept our promises to each other.


One phone call and I am back revisiting my singing days. The days of being a singer is not as glamorous as some might think it is. I’d even call it ‘strenuous’ and ‘punishing’ too. The industry is unforgiving and demands a lot from you. If you decide to become and entertainer or singer or actress/actor…whatever, you’ll have to give nothing but everything. EVERYTHING. Every other aspect of your life as a ‘person’ has to take a backseat.  Everything else, apart from singing, comes to a deafening, grinding halt.


These Guys, Ji Yu Jin, were the guys that I around almost 24 hours a day. They were the people who became my world during my year-plus stint. Imagine, for that period of time, I saw nothing else, no one else and did nothing else but sing.


One friend’s comment surprised me about how little people know about being a singer. My friend commented, “Wow, it must be so easy earning that money, Marsha. I mean, you only have to work for 2 hours, three times a week. That’s easy money!”


But wait, what about waking up early in the morning for exercise (I don’t but some of the MEATIER group members had to do that) and then breakfast, practice, find new songs to sing, or compose a new ballad. What about spending time memorizing the lyrics, translating Chinese songs into English so that I (the banana in the group) can understand the song better and deliver appropriate expressions on stage. We have to go out for outfits, find matching ones, try out and buy them. We have find musical instruments or accessories that can help make our life on stage an easier one. And if you think there are no meetings as a singer, you’re way off mark!


The only difference between a singer/band’s meeting and the corporate world meeting is that the latter have their meetings when there’s sunshine, in a nice air-conditioned conference room and a large table. The former have their meetings right before sunup, in a dinghy little mamak stall (Indian Muslim stalls popular for selling their unique brand of breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything else in between) with a table so small you’re each fighting for space under the table.
I made some really great friends during those days…all of them as consumed with performing as I was. They all enjoyed performing and some of them just loved to be involved in something creative. And I miss them sorely. All of them.


The guys (Ji Yu Jin) are still going strong and have just released their fourth album about 4 months ago and I congratulate them and am so happy for them. Their journey has been long and hard. They fought for it, remained committed, did everything they could, quit smoking, exercised and lost a lot of weight (couldn’t even recognized them one time I met them at the mall!!) just to be in the game. They deserve everything they can get from the industry. The last I heard, they received a nomination for being the best Malaysian Band/Group. That was in 2003...and I have no idea if they took the award home or not.

The only reason why I am out of the game is because I just don’t think I want to give up the rest of my life chasing this….hobby. I love to sing and BOY, I love to hear applause and get a standing ovation. But I am not sure if I would want to give up everything just to enjoy that. I sing now and my kids STILL give me a standing ovation…but I guess it’s not the same thing. It never will.

Do I miss it? Yes, terribly. Will I do it again? Nope. I don’t want to have to argue with make-up artists AGAIN about putting a question mark above my right eyebrow (a Hong-Kong Sammi-Cheng fad thinghy I cannot understand and will not accept!), I don’t want people telling me that I have to change the way I walk and talk, speak Chinese when I want to speak English, be forced to dress in clothes made of less cloth than a cloth diaper…etc. I guess I WON’T do it again.

But like I told Joe, the band member who called me tonight, I will but only for a short period of time. I am not ready to give up EVERYTHING just for applause. I can still go to an open karaoke, whip up the mic and still get thunderous applause. Maybe that’s all I’m good for.

But I’m happy.

Marsha
www.marshamaung.com

I am no fan of Jessica Simpson…in fact, far far FAR from it. I don’t even like her wailing on the radio. I think her singing stinks and she looks more like man than a woman. Her cleavage, well….a side benefit of good genes, I guess. But what the heck…all this news about her calling her own younger sister, Ashlee Simpson, stupid has gotten out of hand.

Ashlee, 20, has been going out, getting drunk, caught snogging with other strangers and hanging ‘loose’ among Hollywood celebrities and celebrity-wannabes. And what is wrong with a sister chastising her own younger sister in front of her own mother? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

If I knew my own sister (pardon me, Karen) was partying like that, being flung around the bed so many times because stardom couldn’t keep her feet on the ground, I would call her stupid too! In front of many other people than just our mother. But the fact remains is that Jessica’s seen more (in the entertainment circle, at least) than Ashlee has and she deserves the chance to correct her own sister.

They may not see eye to eye…siblings sometimes do these kind of stupid things to each other….but the fact remains, we care about each other. This is a fact. We fight but we love each other. This is what family is all about. Isn’t it? I think so.

Jessica Simpson said, “"Mum, Ashlee is so stupid. She left the popcorn in the microwave and almost burned the house down."….and the way I see it, there’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with saying that. so what? The popcorn in the oven? They burn? And when they do, the house may too? And sometimes we all call our siblings stupid. Like Karen is so stupid and Damien is so stupid. I won’t go as far as calling my own father or mother stupid but yeah….I think I can safely call my own siblings stupid….older or younger than me.

So what Jessica’s marriage to Nick Lachey is on the rocks. It’s got nothing to do with anything! The paparazzis’ got a way of worming things into things that aren’t there? I hope it doesn’t spoil their sisterly relationship just because Jessica called Ashlee stupid. Ashlee IS stupid for leaving the oven on with the popcorn in it. And she’s STUPID for fucking around with her own life. She’s stupid. If I were her, I would pull my socks up and start with apologizing to her elder sister, mother and the REST OF THE WORLD for being so F****D up!


And even though I think Jessica herself is a bitch and she can’t sing (she can scream, though) for nuts, she’s right in calling her younger sister stupid. Stupid can sometimes be a very kind and loving verb. Like….”I love that stupid woman”.

See?
Marsha
The stupid woman
http://www.marshamaung.com

Trace
The storyline
Kay Scarpetta is no longer the big shot that she used to be anymore. No one actually khow-tow to her anymore, other than those who used to work for her, knows the way she works and understands her principles. But I suppose that’s what makes Scarpetta a little bit more believable in Trace.


Sadly, this is about the only thing that’s believable in the book. The entire plot about Pogue (the villain) going zany over Lucy’s (Scarpetta’s genius niece) careless bang-up on him when Scarpetta was still ruling her office doesn’t make much sense. Perhaps, that’s because there wasn’t much explained about the feelings and the thoughts for Pogue. Much of the time when she described Pogue or was on to Pogue’s part of the story, it felt like she was merely putting it into the book in passing. Like…oh, you know, make him murder another girl or something…yeah, that would make him really hedious. Naw, it doesn’t make Pogue seem hedious or cruel to me. It makes him pitiful. And you don’t punish someone (in this case some THING) just because he’s pitiful and was unfortunate.


Character Development
A lot of characters are underdeveloped. For instance, Henrietta (referred to as Henri in the book). Up till now, I am not totally clear about her character and what she’s really in to. She was on to Benton one moment and then she’s on to Lucy next. And then she’s totally not on to anyone. She’s scared and then she’s stupid. I don’t know. Lots of hasty decisions and the storyline jumped around a bit without effort being put into the characters.


Style & Language
Well, what do you expect from a medical-related suspense novel? Lots of medical jargon, of course. But thankfully, Cornwell spends quite a bit of time explaining the meanings of those terms through dialogue. So, I am cool with that.


The flow
Strictly speaking, the flow is just about anything that’s perfect for me in this book! It’s speedy and trudges on regardless of whether you understand every bit of the book or not. It is almost heady…and I love that! why else would I buy and read a suspense novel anyway if it rattles on about the weather, right?


Recommended for
Trace is recommended for ardent fans and followers of Kay Scarpetta. It’s cool for people who have read the rest of her books like ‘PostMortem’, ‘Body of Evidence’, ‘All that Remains’, ‘Cruel and Unusual’, ‘The Body Farm’…..up till ‘Blow Fly’. But for newbies who just picked up this book by mistake, you’re going to have to backtrack a little in order to FEEL the book and the characters. Otherwise, you’re just going to go through it like you’re reading ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.

You scored as Neo, the "One". Neo is the computer hacker-turned-Messiah of the Matrix. He leads a small group of human rebels against the technology that controls them. Neo doubts his ability to lead but doesn't want to disappoint his friends. His goal is for a world where all men know the Truth and are free from the bonds of the Matrix. Neo, the "One" 83% James Bond, Agent 007 71% El Zorro 71% Captain Jack Sparrow 67% Maximus 67% The Amazing Spider-Man 67% Indiana Jones 67% William Wallace 63% Batman, the Dark Knight 58% The Terminator 50% Lara Croft 50% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

 

Go figure, I scored as a Neo hero. Not that I mind....cause I have always got this weakness when it comes to Keanu. Kee-ah-nu!! The name even rings in my head.