Puteri’s World

We are still thinking about what to get our baby sitter for Christmas. We know she loves to watch the cooking shows on TV, and also that she is quite the accomplished baker herself. At our recent Church Christmas gathering she entered one of the fudge and cookies contests and actually won a prize.

Maybe we will get her a nice cookbook and something else a teenager like her might enjoy. How about one of those Personalized Flash Drives? With one of those flash drives she can carry with her not only her favorite recipes to share with other like minded friends, but also save and share her favorite music or photos.

We’ll have a word of appreciation and thanks engraved on one side of the flash drive. She is indeed our most trusted baby sitter.

SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State University administrators decided Thursday morning to put a Christmas tree back in the lobby of Strong Hall, along with other religious holiday symbols. A department head removed the 20-foot tree on Monday after a faculty member who is Jewish complained that it was insensitive to other religions.Full story here.

I am glad the university put the Christmas tree back. I cannot understand why and how a Christmas tree would offend any one! And the first reaction of the University was also silly. One person complained and they took it down?

The attempt to get rid of all Christmas symbols by certain quarters is simply ridiculous. Secularists under the guise of “separation of church and state” are the worse grinches of them all.

This is America! What do you expect? No Christmas decorations at Christmas? No Merry Christmas signs any where? This is not Saudi Arabia! Sheessshhh!

Last year I was in Kuala Lumpur just before Christmas. I was indeed pleasantly surprised by all the Christmas decorations at the malls and at the hotels. It did not feel like I was in Malaysia at all! I thought that was simply great!

We got our tree last night. It is already standing in the living room, but we have not started decorating it. Maybe tonight and the kids can “help” a little.

I wrote about how much I am enjoying the massaging cushion that I bought recently. It has heated rolling balls that can go up and down your back in circular motions. The only thing I wished it could do was focus more on my upper shoulders because that is where I feel most of my kinks are!

If I could afford it I would, of course, have preferred a massage chair where the rolling balls do more than just go in circular motions. I have actually used a massage chair where you experience percussion, rolling, compression, and kneading. You can’t believe how relaxed you feel after sitting on one of these Massage Chairs! These chairs actually feel like someone is giving you the massage. Best of all the you can choose a particular area to be massaged again just by pressing a button on the controls, or choose a particular massage style to go over your back again.

Maybe, next Christmas, I’ll think about getting a real massage chair like the HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair.

Would you vote for a candidate because some celebrity has endorsed him or her?

I guess some candidates think people would. Otherwise why would Barack Obama have Oprah Winfrey stump for him? And why would Hillary Clinton want Barbra Striesand stump for her?

I mean why would anyone believe these celebrities know about politics and issues more than than the average person? If Oprah were to endorse some other talk show or TV personality, I would be inclined to believe her. But a politician?

I like what Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune, has to say about this: If any group of citizens is uniquely unqualified to tell someone else how to vote, it’s those of us who live in the sheltered, privileged arena of celebrityhood.

I totally agree with Pat Sajak. Oh sure, some of these celebrities may indeed have a rags to riches story to share but I would not vote for any politician just because a celebrity tells me to.

Photo Credits: Reuters

My favorite Johnny Depp films are Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

In Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl, Johnny Depp plays a pirate named Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp plays this character convincingly complete with drunken swagger, exaggerated hand gestures, and slurred speech typical of one who loves his drink.

There are several witty lines in the film and among my favorites are when Jack Sparrow asked Will Tuner, “You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before?” to which Will Turner said, “I make a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates.”

The scene where the dead skeletal pirates came “alive” and started fighting is simply awesome. Actually there are so many amazing special effects in the movie, and that is why I really enjoyed the first of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy more than the others.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico did not do as well as Pirates of the Caribbean, but I enjoyed the movie and Johnny Depp’s character in that movie. Even though Johnny Depp did not play the lead role in the movie, he played a convincing CIA Agent Sands. Initially I was left wondering, as to whether Agent Sands was going to turn out to be a double agent. But he wasn’t a double agent, and the scene where he was tortured and blinded by his captors was gut wrenching. Despite being blind he managed to get his revenge on his captors.

I found Pirates of the Caribbean very entertaining and full of wonderful special effects but in terms of the most memorable scene between Pirates of the Caribbean and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, I will have to choose Once Upon a Time in Mexico. That scene when Agent Sands (Johnny Depp) despite blind was able to shoot his captors relying on his keen hearing with the help of a little Mexican boy was indeed memorable. Maybe it’s because I love that kind of action scene where the bad guys deserved their end!

Anyway, if you love Johnny Depp movies you might want to visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site, for more information and the trailer to the latest Johnny Depp movie coming out in theaters on December 21st. Also you might want to visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace.

What a grand finale it was!! Helio and Julianne were crowned champions of the Dancing of the Stars tonight.

Before the last two couples got to dance their final dance, the third place winner was announced. I expected Marie and Jonathan to finish third and indeed they did.

Melanie and Maks got a perfect score for their final dance as did Helio and Julianne. Unfortunately for Melanie her total score from the judges tonight combined with viewers’ scores from last night was not enough to win the championship.

I love all the performances from all the contestants of this season. Floyd Mayweather and Wayne Newton were the only contestants who did not dance tonight. It was good to see Cameron Mathison dance again! He thrilled all the ladies there when he took off his shirt to give it to Samantha Harris!

Celine Dion sang My heart will go on, and a song from her latest album. She was superb!

What a finale night it was! Thoroughly entertaining!

Photo: AP Photo

Mentoring is such a buzz word these days. We hear of the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program, and other similar mentoring programs. But a business mentor?

What exactly does a business mentor do? A business mentor is a coach who guides business owners to improve their business through guidance, support and encouragement. A business mentor will hold the business owner accountable, push for results, be a sounding board as well as congratulate the business owner on a job well done.

ActionCOACH is the world’s #1 business coaching firm. Their 14 Points of Culture has brought successes in terms of profits and productivity to many businesses who have had a coach through them. If you are a business person and think your business could benefit from having a business mentor, check them out at ActionCoach.com.

I bought a Homedics Shiatsu massaging cushion on Black Friday. It cost $99.99, pricey, but I thought I had to have it!

I tell you this thing is as good as the massage chair itself! It is one of the best items I have bought recently! I really love the rolling balls. They knead all the right spots and because I am not a tall person the top part of the cushion knead my upper back really well. I wished, though, the balls could go around the shoulders and do a better job!

The first time I used the massaging cushion, oh boy, did my back feel sore! My back still feels a little sore but it gets better every day. But that soreness is not stopping me from using it daily. The soreness is exactly how I feel after a visit to a masseuse. I like those deep tissue massage where my back feels sore afterwards! That is good soreness! Haha.

I highly recommend this massaging cushion. No wonder Rush Limbaugh is endorsing this product!

I have a pair of boots that I got a few years ago. My feet have “grown” since I got those boots and I can only wear them with thin socks and not for very long because they are a tight fit.

I won’t mind getting myself another pair of nice and comfortable hiking boots since we’re thinking about going to the mountains to play in the snow and maybe hike on one of the trails there some time this winter. Before the heavy snow fall hits preferably.

I have been browsing the different kinds of boots at MetBoots.com and there are a couple that I particularly like. One of them is the Danner 6 Inch Radical Expedition GTX Brown/Red Waterproof Hiking Boots. The other that I really like is the Danner Light II Womens 6 Inch Waterproof Waterproof Hiking Work Boots. They’re definitely not cheap, but hey, I only need a pair that can last me a long time!

I’ve been reading and catching up on the political news in Malaysia. I have not spent much time studying in depth the reasons behind the last two peaceful rallies in held in the capital. I knew the gist of the rallies but have not spent enough time reading material other than those found in the mainstream media in Malaysia.

The first rally called Bersih was a call for electoral reforms. The second was organized by the ethnic Indians raising awareness about their rights, or lack of it, and they wanted to hand over a petition to the Queen at the British High Commission.

I was disturbed that both rallies, illegal because they never did get the permit for the rallies, were dispersed in such an excessive manner. Police had used chemical laced water canons, and tear gas on the protestors.

Permits to gather for a political rally especially against the government will never ever be given out. That is a fact. Why should the government give it out? They don’t want to be criticized, do they?

It has been reported that peaceful rallies, like the incident in Batu Buruk, in the past have been infiltrated by agent provocateurs, to give the impression that rallies are a danger to the peace and racial harmony of the country. That being so, it is imperative for the government to maintain the public peace and order, and the only way to do that is to refuse to give permits for such rallies.

Just how ignorant and stupid do these politicians think the people are?

I am pessimistic. As long as the status quo in Malaysian politics in maintained it will be a long, long time before the people are free to voice their discontent and gather in a peaceful manner withot being manhandled and fired on with tear gas and chemical laced water.

Democracy in Malaysia is a sham. Peaceful political protests in Malaysia are as good as banned. Shame on the government!