A Passing Star - Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

January 23, 2008. We mourned the passing of a talented Australia-born actor - Heath Ledger, aged 28.

The Australia-born actor was found dead Tuesday by his housekeeper and masseuse — lying naked and face-down at the foot of his bed, with prescription sleeping pills nearby. An early autopsy was inconclusive, and more tests are needed to ascertain the cause of death. At the point of this posting, accidental drug overdose can not be ruled out.

If this is a case of accidental overdose; just like my friend said, it is another solid indictment against doctors / pharmacists for being too easily prescribing drugs for just about any ailment without finding out the underlying cause.
[5.2.08 NEW YORK -- The medical examiner has concluded that actor Heath Ledger's death was an accident, and the result of the abuse of prescription medications. The medical examiner of DAE released results of the toxicology report Wednesday, saying Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of six drugs, including pain killers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs. The six drugs found in his system were oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine, the medical examiner's office said]

(Brokeback Mountain,2005)

Anyway, Heath Ledger’s most remembered performance, to me, was his brave role as Ennis Del Mar - a tormented gay cowboy in Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain”; which scored him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 2006.

Set in the scene of 1960s Wyoming, Brokeback Mountain is a story revolves around Ennis. Mumbling, grunting, with his eyes permanently downcast, Ennis was the very picture of a tortured gay soul, unable to come to terms with his all-too-natural attraction for men.
Even after marrying a woman, Ennis continues to have intimate affairs with his secret lover Jack. It is only near the end of his life that Ennis makes peace with himself and realises that Jack is the only one he ever really loved. He then leaves his family and moves into a trailer that’s positioned to look out at Brokeback Mountain, the place where he and Jack fell in love.

Heath Ledger also played a role of a drug addict in “Candy” (2006, picture on the right) as well as an incarnation of Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There” (2007, picture on the left)












To me, the most anticipated role of him is his final finished performance of playing Batman's nemesis, the Joker, in the upcoming "The Dark Knight"- the darkest character he ever played. The Joker was last played in the big screen by Jack Nicholson.

(The Dark Knight, 2008)

Born in Perth, Australia in 1979, his good looks and obvious talent has propelled him to stardom at the age of 20, with initial roles in commercial flicks like “10 Things I Hate About You” and “A Knight’s Tale”. It was only later that he moved towards darker and brooding roles in heavy dramas like Monster’s Ball, Lords of Dogtown and Brokeback Mountain.

(A Knight's Tale,2001)

He was engaged to his Michelle Williams in 2005 and they have a daughter together. But the couple split up last year.

Below shown the chronicle of the big screen movies that Heath Ledger played during his lifetime.

(10 Things I Hate About You, 1999)

(The Patriot, 2000)

(A Knight's Tale, 2001)

(Monster Ball, 2001)

(The Four Feathers, 2002)

(Lord of Dogtown, 2005)

(The Brothers Grimm, 2005)

(Brokeback Mountain, 2005)

(Casanova, 2005)

(Candy, 2006)

(I'm Not There, 2007)

(The Dark Knight, 2008)

********************************************************

Heath Ledger (1979 - 2008)

Lagenda

Sejuta bintang di angkasa,
Sinarnya mempesona,
Sebutir bintang di taman seni,
Cahayanya berseri,
Biar bertahun masa beredar,
Satu wajah satu nama takkan pudar

**********************

Tetap jelas di ruang mata,
Setiap gerak gaya,
Bergetaran merdu sinar,
Di persada budaya,
Hingga kini menjadi sebutan,
Tetap terpahat namamu di ingatan

***********************

Oh...
Kaulah satu satunya,

Di antara berjuta,

Insan teristimewa,

Patah tak tumbuh lagi,

Hilang belum berganti,

Kerana kau tersendiri,

Kau kebanggaan kita,

Kau budayawan bangsa,

Engkau lagenda

****************

P. Ramlee (1929-1973)
*****************
Oh ..
Kaulah satu satunya,
Di antara berjuta,
Insan teristimewa

******************
Oooh ..
Patah tak tumbuh lagi,
Hilang belum berganti,
Kerana kau tersendiri,
Kau kebanggaan kita,
Kau budayawan bangsa,
Ahh.. kau lagenda,
Lagenda ..Oooh ..

SuperBUG

On 15.1.08, BBC reported a new deadly strain of Methicillin Resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) -Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus USA300 has emerged.
The first MRSA strain was discovered in 1961 and the USA300 strain was first isolated from a patient on 1st March 2001. Staphylococcus aureus USA300 strain is now the dominant form of Staphylococcus infection in the US.

MRSA infections used to be confined to hospitalized patients. But in the late 1990s, people began contracting them in community settings - in gyms, jails, schools and even at home; transmitting through skin to skin contacts.

With every turn, this aggressive and persistent bug keeps getting worse and the latest variant of Staphylococcus aureus USA300 - FPR3757 is already found to be resilient to treatment of six major front line antibiotics. The infection is currently treatable with some antibiotics, most importantly vancomycin but researchers fear it is close to acquiring resistance to that drug too.

In the US, MRSA USA300 has moved beyond the borders of US hospitals, and is already spreading into the wider community in San Francisco, Boston, New York and Los Angeles.

Initially, the main reservoir for this MRSA USA300 infection is the injection-drug users, jail inmates and the homeless. Today it is also infecting suburban moms, executives, doctors, athletes of contact sports like wrestling and children. It has turned up in tattoo parlors and newborn nurseries. People with HIV infection seem especially prone to it, but it also strikes patients, gay and straight, who have no previous health problems. Currently, MRSA USA300 is reported to be spreading prevalently amongst homosexuals through sex.

According to the report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, sexually active gay men in San Francisco are 13 times more likely to be infected than their heterosexual neighbours.

Conventionally, most carriers of Staphylococcus carry the bug in their noses but this new community-based MRSA of USA300 also can live in and around the anus and is passed between sexual partners.

Hence, making skin contact with a large number of different people and having lots of sexual partners helps the infection to spread. The best way to reduce the risk of transmission; according to Dr Binh Diep- a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco is probably to wash thoroughly with soap and water, especially after sexual activities.

Staph infections are usually treatable but can be lethal.

The evolved MRSA USA300 strain is dangerous because if the bugs enter the body through a wound in the skin, the toxic proteins that it carries will cause the rare but frighteningly fast skin- and muscle-tissue destruction ("flesh-eating") - a condition known as necrotizing fasciitis; forcing doctors to amputate fingers, toes and limbs.

In other severe cases, it can lead to fatal blood poisoning (septicemia) or necrotising pneumonia (flesh eating form of pneumonia).


****Background of Staphylococcus *****

Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom:Bacteria
Phylum:Firmicutes
Class:Bacilli
Order:Bacillales
Family:Staphylococcaceae
Genus:Staphylococcus

Straphylococci

- In Greek staphyle means bunch of grapes and coccos means granule. The genus Staphylococcus are pathogens of humans and other mammals. Traditionally they were divided into two groups based on the coagulase reaction. Staphylcocci are generally found inhabiting the skin and mucous membranes of mammals and birds. Some members of this genus can be found as human commensals and these are generally believed to have the greatest pathogenic potential in opportunistic infections.

Staphylococcus aureus - This organism is a major cause of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) and community-acquired infections. Since its discovery as an opportunistic pathogen, S. aureus continues to be a major cause of mortality and is responsible for a variety of infections including, boils, furuncles, styes, impetigo and other superficial skin infections in humans. Also known to cause more serious infections particularly in the chronically ill or immunocompromised. These include pneumonia, deep abscesses, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, phlebitis, mastitis and meningitis. The ability to cause invasive disease is associated with persistence in the nasal cavity of a host.

(Key Source: BBC, Wikipedia, San Francisco Chronicle)

Mona Lisa Smile

The centuries-old riddle behind the identity of the "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait is finally solved, as MSNBC reported on 14.1.08.

According to the notes written by Agostino Vespucci - a friend of Leonardo, found in the University library of Heidelberg University; the lady of the potrait is confirmed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo.

Mona Lisa (In Italian, "Mona" is a polite form of address, similar to "Madam" or "My lady" in English) or La Gioconda (La Joconde)(meaning "joyful woman" in Italian); is a 16th-century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. The painting, depicts a woman whose gaze meets the viewer's with an expression often described as enigmatic. The ambiguity of the sitter's expression, the monumentality of the half-figure composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the painting's continuing fascination.

A margin note by Agostino Vespucci from October 1503 in a book in the library of the University of Heidelberg identifies Lisa del Giocondo as the subject of Mona Lisa.

***Aesthetics of Mona Lisa ***

Leonardo used a pyramid design to place the woman simply and calmly in the space of the painting. Her folded hands form the front corner of the pyramid. Her breast, neck and face glow in the same light that softly models her hands. The light gives the variety of living surfaces an underlying geometry of spheres and circles. Leonardo referred to a seemingly simple formula for seated female figure: the images of seated Madonna, which were widely spread at the time. He effectively modified this formula in order to create the visual impression of distance between the sitter and the observer. The armrest of the chair functions as a dividing element between Mona Lisa and us. The woman sits markedly upright with her arms folded, which is also a sign of her reserved posture.

Only her gaze is fixed on the observer and seems to welcome him to this silent communication. Since the brightly lit face is practically framed with various much darker elements (hair, veil, shadows), the observer's attraction to Mona Lisa's face is brought to even greater extent. Thus, the composition of the figure evokes an ambiguous effect: we are attracted to this mysterious woman but have to stay at a distance as if she were a divine creature.

--Detail of the background --

The painting was among the first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape. The enigmatic woman is portrayed seated in what appears to be an open loggia with dark pillar bases on either side. Behind her a vast landscape recedes to icy mountains. Winding paths and a distant bridge give only the slightest indications of human presence. The sensuous curves of the woman's hair and clothing, created through sfumato, are echoed in the undulating imaginary valleys and rivers behind her.

The blurred outlines, graceful figure, dramatic contrasts of light and dark, and overall feeling of calm are characteristic of Leonardo's style. Due to the expressive synthesis that Leonardo achieved between sitter and landscape it is arguable whether Mona Lisa should be considered as a traditional portrait, for it represents an ideal rather than a real woman. The sense of overall harmony achieved in the painting — especially apparent in the sitter's faint smile — reflects Leonardo's idea of the cosmic link connecting humanity and nature, making this painting an enduring record of Leonardo's vision and genius.

(Source: Wikipedia & MSNBC)

Aurorae

Auroras (Polar Lights; or aurorae, sing.: aurora) are natural different colored light displays, which are usually observed in the night sky, particularly in the polar zone. Some scientists therefore call them "polar auroras" (or "aurorae polaris").
In northern latitudes, it is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas. It often appears as a greenish glow (or sometimes a faint red), as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis is also called the northern [polar] lights, as it is only visible in the North sky from the Northern Hemisphere. The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October and from March to April.
Its southern counterpart, aurora australis/southern [polar] lights, has similar properties. Australis is the Latin word for "of the South".

Aurora Australis

Auroras are produced by the collision of charged particles, mostly electrons but also protons and heavier particles, from the magnetosphere, with atoms and molecules of the Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km).

The collisions in the atmosphere electronically excite atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere. The excitation energy can be lost by light emission or collisions. Most aurorae are green and red emission from atomic oxygen. Molecular nitrogen and nitrogen ions produce some low level red and very high blue/violet aurorae.

Wish I can see such magnificent natural phenomenon during my lifetime.

How can good religion make people bad?

I picked this article up from a blog of a man of courage and patriotism. The wisdom portrayed by the writer of this article is admirable.
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You ask, how can a good religion make people bad?

To answer this question we have to understand what religion is. Religion is man-made. If we look at the early generations of Muslims, the first two Caliphs for instance, we see a pretty just system. But from there it goes downhill. We have Muslim fighting Muslim, rules and regulations implemented based on frail human understanding and often with less than pious motives, and we see Muslims seeking power rather than Imaan.

Islam is no different from Judaism and Christianity in this respect – they have all lost their way as 'religions'. Faith is one of the most powerful motivators – it can lead men to murder, to corruption and to all sorts of horrific acts, and it is often used by tyrants to accomplish these things. But at the core of it is one human trait that we must always struggle to suppress and that is our desire to be better than others.

We all want notoriety and often 'religion' is used as a way of separating us, as making us think we are better than others, that we somehow are the 'chosen' ones. Look at the division within the Muslim Ummah and the fights over who is the 'saved sect'. Is there a man on earth who really knows for sure how to secure a sacred place in the hereafter?

I don’t think we can look at so-called religions for the answer. And with respect to the Muslims, we have to reject most of what we have been told as the rules and regulations have been handed down by dictators and rulers with their own agenda.

Islam has no Pope. As Muslims, our relationship with Allah is direct. Instead, we look to scholars and leaders as if they have some inside track to God. In Pakistan and Egypt, the Muslims kiss the hands of the Sheikhs, throw money at them and elevate their status. While surely we can gain knowledge from learned men, we need to filter out personal motives and validate so-called 'knowledge'.

Travelling the world as I have, I can tell you that Islam in Malaysia and Turkey, for instance, is drastically different. Look at Saudi Arabia as another example. Women there are not allowed to drive. Yet, in Islam, women are equal and are not restricted from working or achieving skills! Many cultural things have found their way into the 'truth'. How can that be when there is only one truth? I conclude that much 'truth' is man-made!

I have great compassion for your current situation having gone through a similar thing myself. The more I understand, the more I reject organised religion. It seems to me that we are focusing on man-made details while totally side-lining the source of faith.

The Quran is a book for all time, as are the other Holy Books. Yet Islam, today, is based more on Hadith and the life of the Prophet (pbuh), Fatwas, Islamic precedence, cultural traditions, etc., than on the Quran. Let’s face it – you can get a Fatwa to justify anything these days. If we find a ruling we don’t like, presto – we find a Sheikh who will endorse it. We really have to make sure that our own arrogance does not cloud our vision, and that is something I am constantly trying to keep in check.

In Malaysia, the situation is more complex as there are religious differences and a hefty amount of racism that magnifies the differences. You have so-called Muslim leaders using their position to condone their own behaviour and condemn those they choose. And they do this in the name of religion. But the obvious question is - where is the justice?

Allah said do not take the Christians and the Jews as (CLOSE) friends. This only makes sense – it’s logical. Ultimately, a different faith will eventually limit those relationships but that does not mean we must abuse Christians and Jews or that all of them are 'evil' – that goes against what Allah tells us in the Quran. Allah tells us to wage war against the OPPRESSORS within His LIMITS and to respect the People of the Book but somehow we let this get twisted by men with personal agendas.

Brother, as a Royal son of Selangor, I think you have your priorities upside down. You have worked tirelessly for your country and I know the country’s problems trouble you a great deal and you put a lot of effort into trying to instigate change. This, no doubt, is also partly expected of you. But you cannot condone bad Muslim behaviour because you are Muslim and you cannot turn a blind eye to Allah’s justice because of your patriotism.

The world map is changing even as we speak and there is no guarantee that Malaysia, as we know it, will even remain. We need to hold onto those things that pass the test of time like divine truth and justice even if it makes us unpopular. Working tirelessly at deciphering truth will reap much greater rewards for mankind and in the hereafter.

I no longer take what other Muslims tell me as truth. I too am at the stage of my life where I see hypocrisy everywhere and, for me, I don’t buy a lot of the interpretations of Islam as they are now presented. I come back to the Quran and the guiding principles and contemplate these at the source. That often puts me at odds with other Muslims but I really think we must each travel our own path to truth. Is this not the purpose of life?

Faith is an individual journey, not a 'religion', and Allah gave us a brain, a conscience and freewill to choose right from wrong. I think we must focus internally before we act externally and we must be cautious that we don’t get caught up in the politics of the day or 'religious' trends that will be long gone tomorrow. Faith is not a coat we put on and instantly we are pious. We must come to know that we know that we know. It's a learning process.

There will never be peace without justice. We need to stand on the side of justice whether that is with the Muslims or non-Muslims, believers or unbelievers. We are so busy sweating the details that we often miss the real truth. We know deep down what is right as long as we let Allah be our guide, and once we are at peace with what is right, we need to act. Knowledge is useless unless we use it. We need to get our eye off men and onto Allah because with Allah we have hope, guidance and mercy and with man, our future is futile.