Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is the Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr. Hari Raya is also known as Lebaran. Muslims in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore celebrate Eid like other Muslims throughout the world. The term "Hari Raya" literally means "Day of Celebration". The main greeting used by Muslims in Malaysia and Singapore is "Selamat Hari Raya" which means "Happy Eid" in Malay. Another greeting is "maaf zahir dan batin" which translates loosely to "I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually", for Hari Raya is a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others.

Ramadan is the name of the one-month fasting period when Muslims fast for a period of almost 12 hours. They fast from dawn till sunset. During the period of fasting, apart from eating and drinking, Muslims are also forbidden from smoking and having sexual relations. Only the young, old and infirm are excused from fasting during this month. Muslims are expected to avoid lying, breaking promise or cheating during the month of Ramadan. The primary purpose of fasting during Ramadan is to remind all Muslims of self-control and submitting to Allah, the holy one. Even young kids are taught to fast when they are young.

Hari Raya is a very important occasion that is celebrated by Muslims all over the world. It is also known as the festival that marks the end of one month of fasting. Many mistake Hari Raya Adilfitri for the Muslim New Year but it is not.

In a country like Singapore where there are a number of Muslims, Hari Raya preparations can be seen at least one month before the festival. Geylang Serai, the place that is known for the Muslims to gather, is always filled with large crowds during Ramadan. Bazaars would be set up and they would be selling numerous festive items for Muslims. Carpets, clothes, bags, food, music CDs, household items and VCDs would also be sold at Geylang. At night the place is lit up with glittering lights. There would also be a wide variety of food which would be sold at the fairs and they include kuehs, otah-otah, cakes, buns, breads, curry, noodles and even curry puffs. Most of the Muslims shop here to get the food to bring home to eat when they are breaking the fast. The time when the Muslims break the fast is usually around 7:15 pm.

Celebration for Hari Raya starts at least a month ahead, during the fasting period of Ramadan. Women start to sew beautiful curtains and buy new clothes for the family. Some families also do renovation for the house so that the house would look better when the guests visit it during the festival. After fulfilling their one-month of fasting, the Muslims would be joyful to celebrate Hari Raya. On the morning of the festival, the Muslims would wear their new clothes and go to the mosque to pray. They offer their thanks to God and after that they would ask for forgiveness from their elders. This is an important custom followed by the Muslims.

They feel that the young ones asking forgiveness from their elders is very essential. On the day, they also visit their relatives and friends to celebrate the happy occasion. If you visit Muslims' homes on Hari Raya you can expect to taste a wide variety of delicious spicy dishes. Some favorite dishes that can be found in Muslims homes on this special occasion are ketupat, lontong, nasi padang and beef rendang. The Muslims also have the habit of giving packets of money to kids when they go visiting. The packets are usually be in green color and children often look forward to getting these money tokens on Hari Raya Puasa. Overall, Hari Raya is a delightful festival for the Muslims.

On the eve of Hari Raya, Muslims will recite the takbir, which is held in mosques and surau (smaller place of worship). In some communities, there will be congregations reciting the takbir from house to house.

In big cities and towns, shopping malls will hold big promotions and price discounts for festive shoppers as people purchase clothes and supplies. Decorations are hung in public areas and Hari Raya songs will be played in shopping complexes. The media, such as the television will host various programs in conjunction with the celebrations.

Many people also traditionally return to their hometown generally from big metropolitan cities to rural areas. This is known as balik kumpung — literally going back to one's home town to celebrate Hari Raya with family and friends. At many times, the flux of vehicles on the roads nationwide increased the number of car accidents, including deadly ones, occurring during the festive season. Road safety campaigns are often launched by the authorities ahead of the festivities in the effort of lowering the discomforting number of accidents.

On the 1st day of Hari Raya, the Muslims would wear their new clothes. The ladies, in particular, would wear lovely new baju kurong.

As the 1st day of Hari Raya is a public holiday, Da and I arranged to meet my mother and my brother for lunch. As we drove out, I gasped. A street sign had crashed into a neighbouring home, destroying the fence.

I asked Da to stop the car by the side of the road so that I go nearer to the "crash site" to take photographs. I guess someone had a drop too many last night and drove up the kerb.

In honour of Hari Raya, my family decided to eat Muslim / Indian-Muslim food today. Da ate the mee goreng - sedap!

I ordered the mee hongkong - equally delicious!

As we were relaxing and chatting after brunch, we decided to have a cookout for dinner. So off we went to Giant Hypermarket to look for groceries. As we were walking down the aisles, I caught my mother's hand in excitement. I had spied Lewis Hamilton! (heehee....)

After the grocery shopping (we forgot that it was "Bring Your Own Bag Day" and we were expected to make a donation if we wanted plastic bags to be supplied to pack our groceries), Da and I went to the gym while my mother and brother went home to rest before dinner.

After the gym session (I must admit that I was a little lazy and we exercised for only about 35 minutes), we proceeded to my mother's home. The cooking preparation had started. My youngest brother was the Head Chef for the night.

We decided to cook Indian-Muslim food. As the kitchen is rather small, we had to make do and kept getting in each other's way! It was all in good fun.

First up, curry chicken. My family only uses Baba's curry powder. Did you know that the recipe for the curry powder came from Da's friend's aunt in Malaysia? The company apparently bought the recipe from her and is paying her royalties (or something along those lines).

My mother had marinated some chicken wings and we decided to fry the chicken wings instead of baking them. mmm... very appetising!

We had bought a whole batang fish from Giant Hypermarket, so we cooked a fish curry. I suggested adding some fresh lemon juice to make the gravy zesty.

The next dish is a recipe that I learned from Da's friend (may he rest in peace). I could not find any mustard seeds (sorry, pal, for modifying your recipe!) so we settled for cumin seeds. The cabbage looks yellow because it is fried with tumeric. Add salt, pepper, sugar, garam masala and paprika to taste.

Burp! No dinner would be complete without after-dinner drinks and makan kechil. So, we shared a mocha cake that I had bought from NTUC Supermarket the other day.

We also ate the gula melaka agar-agar that I made.

(For the recipe for gula melaka agar-agar, please refer to http://jesuslovespebbles.blogspot.com/2008/09/gula-melaka-agar-agar.html.)

My mother was given some Chinese tea leaves from China, so my brother brewed a pot of tea. The tea is very smooth!

To all my Malay / Muslim friends, SELAMAT HARI RAYA ADILFITRI!

Sources
(1) Wikipedia
(2) http://www.essortment.com/

First ever night race for Formula One - Singapore

Formula One (commonly known as "F1") is the highest class of open wheeled auto racing defined by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. The F1 world championship season consists of a series of races, known as "Grands Prix", held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets, the most famous of which is the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. The results of each race are combined to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.

The cars race at high speeds, up to 360 km/h (225 mph), and are capable of pulling up to 5 g-force in some corners. The performance of the cars is highly dependent on electronics, aerodynamics, suspension and tyres. The formula has seen many evolutions and changes through the history of the sport.

The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, the first Formula One event under floodlights, was a huge success and produced one of the most fascinating races of the season. It was held on Sunday, 28 September 2008.

Before the race started, there was a running joke that last night, Lewis Hamilton did the "rain dance" in order to ensure downpour during the race. It is believed that Hamilton's strongest competitor, Felipe Massa (who finished first during the qualifying race on 27 September 2008) does not perform well in wet weather.

The visibility concerns proved unfounded, the predicted thunderstorms never came, and the drivers quickly discovered they could overtake.

What I enjoyed about watching the F1 race on television is the aerial view of the city skyline of Singapore at night. Such a beautiful view! It is similar to standing at the top of King's Park in Perth and overlook the city skyline of Perth at night. It just takes your breath away.

There was a safety car on standby during the race. I did not expect the safety car to be in use during the race. However, alas! There were several mishaps during the race. According to Da, it is not uncommon that little mishaps occur during a F1 race.

Initially, Massa was leading the race with Hamilton in a close second. However, when Massa made a pit-stop, due to technical error (or perhaps human error?), he drove off with the petrol nozzle still stuck to his car. We were stunned when the car sped off and one of the technicians was thrown aside. Fortunately, the experienced driver quickly brought the car to a stop and the technicians rushed forward to take out the nozzle. Unfortunately, this cost the team valuable points and Massa lost quite a bit of time.

Nelson Piquet Jr's car crashed against the barrier. Unfortunately, his car ended up on the side of the route where there was no exit, so he had to run across the road to the other side. We watched with bated breath as he made a quick dash across the road.

There were other mishaps as well. Some cars had engine trouble and the driver had to drop out of the race. Kimi Raikkonen's car also crashed into the barrier towards the end of the race. Such a pity for the defending champion!

Finally, the grand moment. It was down to the last lap. Fernando Alonso won! The Spaniard had an aggressive first stint, pitted as early as the 12th lap, and was thus perfectly placed when the safety car came out. He built up a huge lead, lost it when the second safety car deployment came on the 51st lap, then calmly opened it up again.

The happy driver drove one more round along the route (I was told by Da that it was the Champion's drive, similar to the winner's walk in a beauty pageant?). During the drive, he kept raising his fist in victory. When the car came to a final stop, he got up and received the standing ovation that he deserved. He was very consistent in his driving during the race and his experienced showed.

Alonso praised his car’s performance but the success owed as much to the man behind the wheel.

Nico Rosberg came in 2nd while Lewis Hamilton came in 3rd. Hamilton was unfortunate in this race in that the safety car and first pit stops worked the way they did and that he got trapped behind David Coulthard for so long. But on a day when neither Ferrari finished, six points for third place were very welcome, especially as he extended his title points lead to seven over Massa.

For the Ferrari team, they looked good in the early going with Massa leading and Raikkonen closing on Hamilton in second place. Then came Massa’s disastrous pit stop in which the onboard monitoring system told him it was safe to leave when the fuel hose was still attached, and another unsafe release in the path of Sutil earned him a drive-through penalty. Later he spun, finishing 13th as Hamilton opened his points lead over him from one to seven. Raikkonen was delayed in that first pit stop, but was fighting back strongly for fourth with Glock until he crashed on the 58th lap. Worse still, the red cars set the two fastest laps, but the team lost their lead in the Constructors’ world championship to McLaren.

I was not much of a F1 fan prior to this. However, I am so proud that Singapore has managed to successfully host the 1st ever night race in the history of F1 and look forward to next year's night race in Singapore again.

Sources
(1) Wikipedia
(2) FormulaOne website

Goodbye Beijing, Hello London!

Da and I were on the way to church yesterday when my mother called me. She said that my brother was going to display his culinary skills and cook dinner that night.

My brother specialises in pasta. His Aglio Olio is superb! It is rare that my brother decides to cook a Chinese meal. This I had try!

After church, Da and I went to the gym. Instead of our usual walking on the treadmill, I decided to be more adventurous and jog. So, after about 20 minutes of brisk walking on the treadmill, I increased the speed on the treadmill and started to jog. I am so grateful for the invention of the ipod! Without the ipod plugged to my ears, I doubt I would have been able to jog for 20 minutes. In fact, at the end of the 20 minutes of jogging, I was still raring to go. However, it was time to stop as we had a dinner feast awaiting us!

So off we went to my mother's place. Goodness me! My brother was serious about cooking dinner! The food that he was preparing looked sufficient to feed an army. My mother, my brother and my brother's girlfriend looked very busy in the kitchen, so after half-heartedly offering my help (heehee!), I sauntered to my mother's room and started to blog my usual Sunday worship blog (please see my post on 24 August 2008). I have more to add to the topic of the anointing oil and I shall be posting some testimonies soon.

While waiting for dinner, I switched on the television and started watching the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony. After the pomp and splendour of the opening ceremony, I have to say that the closing ceremony was a bit of a let-down. Furthermore, as the singers were performing, I could not help wondering whether they were really singing or were merely lip-synching. Tsk.... such cynicism! Did you notice the little kids at the closing ceremony? They all looked alike! Goodness!

We could have done better at the 2008 Olympics but we should not downplay the achievements of our table-tennis players who came back with a Silver medal (which we waited more than 40 years for). Special mention should also be made to our swimmer, Tao Li, who apparently broke the Asian record twice. Well done, girls! Keep the faith and I am sure that we will perform better in the 2012 Olympics to be held in London.

London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down... London bridge is falling down, my fair lady!

As aromatic smells were waffling from the kitchen, my brother's girlfriend started bringing out the dishes and placing them on the table. Goodness me! My brother had outdone himself this round! Accompanying steamed rice were:-

(a) garden salad with thousand island dressing

(b) stir-fried chicken fillet

(c) chai-por omelette

(d) stir-fried capsicum, carrots and preserved meat (the meat was given by my mother's customer who lives in Canada)

(e) stir-fried cabbage (note: I suggested to my brother that the next time he wants to slice the cabbage thinly and fry them, to consider frying them with tumeric and mustard seeds - I learned this recipe from Da's friend in Perth)

(f) braised chicken

Well done, bro! It was an excellent meal!

English Premier League

The Premier League, commonly known as the “Premiership”, is an English professional league for football clubs. It is at the top of the English football league system and is England’s primary football competition. It is contested by 20 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League.

In Singapore, the Premiership is popularly known as “EPL”, which stands for “English Premier League”.

The EPL started in the 1992-1993 season. Prior to this, the league was known as First Division.

The EPL has since become the world's most watched sporting league and is arguably the world's most lucrative football league. It is currently ranked ahead of the Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A in the Union of European Football Associations (“UEFA”) rankings of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last 5 years.

Over the years, it has even become fashionable for EPL players to not only play good football but also to look good. Have you heard of the ‘Spice Boys’ from Liverpool (ie. Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler (with the perpetual plaster on his nose to aid in his breathing!), Steven MacManaman and David James)? Good-looking and talented EPL players often land themselves with lucrative advertising endorsements, although a call-girl has been reported as saying that there is a particular EPL player (who is highly talented and frankly speaking, not that bad looking, although he does have quite a temper) whom she can recognise even in the dark as “no one is as ugly as him”.

So far, only 4 clubs have won the Premiership title, namely, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal and Chelsea. The current champions are Manchester United, who won their tenth EPL title in the 2007-2008 season, the most of any EPL team. Glory, Glory, Man United!

There are 20 clubs in the EPL. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The 3 lowest placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship and the top 2 teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving the 3rd to 6th placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place.

The top 4 teams in the EPL qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top 2 teams directly entering the group phase. The 3rd and 4th placed teams enter the competition at the 3rd qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. However, this has changed as of the 2008-2009 season, so that the top 3 teams enter the 2009–2010 UEFA Champions League at the group stage, and the 4th placed team enters the 3rd qualifying round for non-champions. The 5th placed team automatically qualifies for the UEFA Cup (which is different from the UEFA Champions League) and the 6th and 7th placed teams can also qualify, depending on what happens in the two domestic cup competitions.

If the Football Association Challenge Cup (commonly known as “FA Cup”) winners qualify for the Champions League, the runner-up is awarded the UEFA Cup place; if the runner-up has also qualified for the Champions League, the spot goes to the next-highest placed league finisher not already qualified for Europe. If the Football League Cup (commonly known as “League Cup”) is won by a team that has already qualified for Europe, the League Cup's UEFA Cup spot also goes to the next highest placed team in the League.

The EPL was recently promoted to the top of the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a 5-year period. This broke the 8-year dominance of the Spanish league, La Liga. The top 3 leagues in Europe are currently allowed to enter 4 teams into the Champions League. The 3rd-placed team in the EPL would receive automatic qualification for the group stages, rather than entry into the 3rd Qualifying Round as at present, while the 4th-placed team would enter a redesigned two tiered qualification round against a team from a higher ranked nation than they had previously been under the old rules.

The EPL is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league worldwide. It is particularly popular in Asia where it is the most widely distributed sports programme. In Singapore alone, there is even a channel known as “Football Channel” for cable television, in addition to other sports channels. This shows how serious we are about football.

Since the 2007-2008 season, the EPL has been sponsored by Barclays. Hence, the EPL is currently known as “Barclays Premier League”.

One of the main criticisms levelled at the EPL is the increasing gulf between the EPL and the Football League. Owing in large part to the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues, many newly promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their 1st season in the EPL. Judging by the standards of the current 3 teams from the Football League who have been promoted to the EPL, it would not be surprising if all 3 teams get relegated to the Football League at the end of this season.

The most successful EPL team is undoubtedly Manchester United. Sir Alex Fergueson’s boys are currently going for a record-breaking 18th league title (ie. 7 titles under the old First Division and 10 titles under the current EPL). This is, however, still short of Liverpool’s 18 league titles. Not to worry – it is only a matter of time before the Red Devils overtake Liverpool as the most successful English club ever! Until then, Sir Alex, do not even think about retirement until the boys have won at least 20 league titles!

Another major criticism is the development of the "Big Four" clubs. Since Blackburn Rover lifted the trophy in 1994-1995, only 3 clubs have won the EPL title - Manchester United (10 times), Arsenal (3 times) and Chelsea (2 times). In addition, Manchester United have not finished outside the top 3 since the formation of the EPL, with Arsenal finishing inside the top 5 in all but 2 seasons, while Liverpool, without an EPL title since the pre-EPL era (but regular winners of the UEFA Champions League), have not finished lower than 5th since 1999. In recent years, the success of these clubs has led to these 4 teams being increasingly referred to as the "Big Four". The Big Four clubs have finished in the first 4 positions for the last 3 seasons, therefore they have all qualified for the last 3 seasons of the Champions League and receive the financial benefits of such qualification. The benefits, especially increased revenue, is believed to have widened the gap between the Big Four clubs and the rest of the EPL.

EPL clubs have almost complete freedom to sign whatever number and category of players they wish. There is no team or individual salary cap, no squad size limit, no age restrictions other than those applied by general employment law, no restrictions on the overall number of foreign players, and few restrictions on individual foreign players — all players with European Union (“EU”) nationality, including those able to claim an EU passport through a parent or grandparent, are eligible to play, and top players from outside the EU are able to obtain UK work permits. It is due to this freedom that at one stage, Arsenal did not have a single English player in their first team.

As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the EPL. The record transfer fee for an EPL has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first EPL season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a £3 million-plus transfer fee. The record rose steadily in the EPL’s first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996. This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds United paid West Ham United for Rio Ferdinand. Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and Rio Ferdinand. As of 2007, the current record holder is Andriv Shevchenko, who joined Chelsea from AC Milan in May 2006. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million.

The 2008-2009 season of EPL started on 16 August 2008 (Saturday). The Manchester United vs Newcastle match was closely watched. Alas! The reigning champions could only manage a draw against Newcastle. It was disappointing. However, it was understandable as many of Manchester United’s first team players were not playing due to injuries, suspensions and international duty. In fact, 2 young Man U players made their premiership debuts when they came on as substitutes during the match.

Sir Alex has recently promoted to the first team squad, a pair of 17-year old Brazilian twins, Rafael and Fabio Da Silva, who play right and left-back. Hmm... does this combination remind you of another pair of brothers?

Sources:
(1) Wikipedia
(2) Barclays Premier League website
(3) Ninja

奥林匹克运动会

The Olympics are here again! This event happens only once every 4 years.

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event.

The modern Olympic Games were inaugurated in Athens, Greece in 1896.

This year, the Olympics are held in Beijing, China and will last from 8 August 2008 to 24 August 2008.

During the opening ceremony, athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees marched through the stadium (designed in the shape of a bird's nest) led by the flags of countries from around the world.

The official logo of the 2008 games, titled "Dancing Beijing", features a stylised calligraphic character jīng (京, meaning capital), referencing the host city.

The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five FUWA, each representing both a colour of the Olympic rings and a symbol of Chinese culture. The names of the 5 mascots are very interesting! They are:-

(a) Bei Bei

(b) Jing Jing

(c) Huan Huan

(d) Ying Ying

(i) Ni Ni

No prizes for guess what sentence these words form!

The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit.

If you were to strip away the pomp and splendour, the Olympic Games are really a gathering of young people who share the same goal and the same enthusiasm for sport. As well as inviting the finest athletes in the world to compete against each other, the Games will also provide a stage for China to present itself to the world during 16 days and 17 nights of sporting celebration.

The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics that was telecast on television was truly impressive! The Chinese had indeed chosen an auspicious date and time to commence the ceremony, that is, 8.08 pm on 8 August 2008.

Sources:

(1) Wikipedia

(2) http://en.beijing2008.cn/

(3) http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/index_uk.asp