IN THE LAP OF THE GODS REVISITED ... only Queen fans...

 Only Queen fans would know this date.

In the lap of the gods revisited

RIP Mr Mercury

DI PERTENGAHAN NOVEMBER ...

 

di pertengahan November

aku merenung

kelopak bunga yang bakal tewas

kepada angin dan hujan musim tengkujuh

THE BOOK OF LIFE ... chapter 54

Salam and good day. 

54 today. Thank you Allah.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/418905202842597773/

Hell Yeah.

UNDER PRESSURE ... update 4 minit

I am ...

 

BOUDICA ... the warrior queen

 Salam and good day,

I came across Queen Boudica while watching Expedition Unknown, S6 ep16. This programme is hosted by Joshua Gates, an archeologist, explorer and adventurer, like a 21st century Indiana Jones, minus the , err... arse kicking.He travels around the world, trying to solve ancient mysteries, digging tombs, looking for buried treasure etc. Like I said... Indiana Jones.

In this episode, he was trying to locate the last battleground of Queen Boudica which was also believed to be her burial site. As was the custom then, this would be where her people would have given offerings of silver and gold to honour their leader. 

In London, he visited the monument of Boudica which is situated next to the House of Parliament, on the embankment of the Thames. The monument is a bronze statue of Queen Boudica in her chariot, with her two daughters, designed byThomas Thorneycroft in 1902.

Josh Gates mentioned that, he has been to London countless times and have stood on that very spot more than a few times, but he has never noticed the monument until that day. Yes, now that he mentioned it, I have also stood on that very spot more than 30 years ago, and I also did not notice the monument. Apparently, not many people know who the monument is for because not many know about Queen Boudica. So, who is she, and why have I not heard of her before while studying about the British history?

the monument of Queen Boudica

First, lets find out who she is. We go back to the time of the Roman conquest in AD43.  Queen Boudica was married to King Prasutagus who ruled the Iceni tribe of East Anglia, which was the wealthiest and most powerful of the Celtic tribes. They had two daughters.

When Rome arrived in Britain, the Iceni made a treaty with the Romans, allowing individual kings or rulers to stay in power, keeping their tribal lands and their way of lives. They, however, would be ruling on behalf of Rome.

When King Prasutagus died in AD 60/61, he left half of his estate to emperor Nero for Rome and the other half for his daughters. This did not go well with the Romans as they expect everything to be handed back to them once the king is dead. 

So, the Romans raided and destroyed the place. Boudica was publicly flogged and her daughters were taken out and raped by the Romans. Big mistake Romans!!!!!!

Pissed off and hungry for revenge, Boudica rose and led the Icenic army against the Romans. She torched Roman cities and was described by Roman historians as a merciless foe, responsible for barbaric acts of torture.. Seen as one of the most fearsome warrior and history's fiercest woman, the warrior Queen fought the might of Rome and got her revenge. 

Most of the stories about Boudica came from Roman historians because at that time, ancient Britain did not have a written language, hence, the lack of record. So, what we get is Boudica from the Romans point of view. Of course, they saw her as merciless and barbaric. I don't think the Romans can handle women with power... LOL

Even though she was not English, (she was Celt, the Anglo Saxons did not arrive in Britain until much later in history. That, plus living in a land without writing, was probably why I did not come across her when learning about British history.) she is today, considered as a British folk hero and a righteous freedom fighter. 

Boudica - mother, wife, killer or Boudica - mother, leader, freedom fighter. Depending on which side of the Roman empire you stood. 

I choose both - Boudica - mother, wife, killer, leader, freedom fighter. I'm a sucker for badass warrior queens, and Queen Boudica is definitely one. Lady, you rock!

It might not be very relevant, but, reading about Boudica reminds me of this song. 

March of the Black Queen - Queen

REFERENCES:

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Boudica/

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhel4QnA46xPBavfoa8EVS41CrnCj6Yqde71yWzOdRmdfFXgl8BydAjhw5T5lPkTPXAeQa9DwyZZmokPEilVCkUx5-xTTPiUdRqAAnyHiuJDxdzJtNownvJZgU3mJyx74Czy1OF_ftyOo8v/s1600/boudica.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8usNj4x9NA

Discovery Channel ; Expedition Unknown, S6 ep16

Ch 08 On Rules For Conduct In Life -Maxim 30 - SAADI SHIRAZ

Ch 08 On Rules For Conduct In Life - Maxim 30

Whoever does not listen to advice will have occasion to hear reproof.

If admonition enters not thy ears,

Be silent when I blame thee

Saadi Shiraz is another Persian poet that I came across in Discovery Asia channel. (refer to encouraged by the light ). Born, Abu-Muhammad Muslih al-Din ibn Abdullah Shiraz, Saadi is well-known for his deep thoughts especially in social and moral values and these are reflected clearly in his poems. 

He was born in 1208 and died in 1291.His tomb is located in the north eastern outskirts of Shiraz, next to Delgosha garden.

image from google

The tomb of Saadi is one of the main attractions of the city of Shiraz.

references:

https://www.irannegintravel.com/iran-highlight/tomb-of-saadi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saadi_Shirazi

NO ONE BUT YOU...the patung says

WHY DO I STILL CRY WHEN I WATCH THIS VIDEO?

Queen - No One But You

encouraged by the light ... HAFIZ

ENCOURAGED BY THE LIGHT - HAFIZ

How did the rose ever open its heart and give this world all of its beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light against its being;

otherwise we all remain too frightened

Hafiz (real name: Khwaja Samsu d-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Sirazi), one of the most celebrated Persian poet was born around 1310 in Shiraz, Persia (modern-day Iran). 

I first came across his name twice while watching Discovery Asia channel : A Glimpse of Paradise - Garden Culture in the Islamic World and Monty Don's Paradise Gardens. Actually, they mentioned two poets, Hafiz and Saadi. I decided to read up on Hafiz first. 

Shiraz is also known as The City of Gardens and Poets, and it is no surprise that Hafiz talked a lot about the beautiful gardens of Shiraz. He was laid to rest in one of the gardens featured in his poems. The tomb of Hafez, commonly known as Hafizieh, is in Mussalla Garden, in the northern edge of Shiraz, Iran.

the tomb of Hafez

image from google

references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Hafez

tomb of haze iran

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/hafez

https://www.philipchircop.com/post/71646659976/encouraged-by-the-light-hafiz-once-wrote-how-did

WE ADAPT, WE COMPROMISE ... covid19, online teaching

salam and good day,

It's a beautiful day. A day for spending at the beach or a park or taking my grandchildren to the swimming pool, before covid19 that is. 

Right now, its best to follow the government's order and stay at home. To quote Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge: 'we adapt, we compromise'. Right on mr Eastwood. 

Speaking of adapting and compromising, how do you feel about online teaching?

Me? I'm so not into online teaching. Maybe it's because i was born in the 60s and grew up in the 70s and 80s, way before the age of IT, or, may be i'm just old fashion. 

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against technology or online teaching for that matter. Technology is great, just not my cup of tea. It is certainly useful, and some people might be really good at online teaching. It's a matter of personal preference, I guess. 

i remember a scene from the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic where they went to a farm to record their album 'A night at the opera'. At one point, after Brian did his solo part for BoRap, he asked what Freddie thought of it, and Freddie said, 'almost perfect'. 

Brian: Almost perfect?
Freddie: Now play it like you actually wrote it.
Brian: i did. I wrote that part.
Freddie: put your body into it. 

And he went on to say, put your heart into it. 

That is exactly how i feel about online teaching. Making a video of my lecture or lesson is not a big problem, but putting my heart into the video is not easy. Some might say, just post the video. After that, it's all up to the students. Who cares whether the understand it or not. Well, I care.

Anyway, there was a forum (online, of course) with my vice chansellor this morning,  on the new norm for us in UMP. Nèedless to say, online teaching and learning is going to become a normal thing, post MCO.

So, there is no escape for me. Heart or no heart, I'll have to get used to it. All I can do is to give it my best... find ways to put some rock n roll into my online teaching materials...LOL

Just like with the movement control order, we adapt, we compromise, the same goes for online teaching. In the meantime, i will do some gardening, helps me think.

Salam Ramadhan to all muslims. 

IF THINGS GO WRONG ...update 4 minit

 

 https://www.google.com/search?q=if+things+go+wrong

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY ... ini bukan review

Salam and good day.

Been a while, but here I am again. Two weeks ago, I finally got to watch 'Bohemian Rhapsody', two years after it was released. Sad, but it's been ages since I've set foot in a cinema. Thanks to Astro, I finally got to see it. 

I recorded the movie and I watched it over and over, and it breaks my heart every time. All their songs came back to me one by one, songs that I grew up with. Memories of my late brother, who introduced me to Queen when I was 10 or 11, singing along to 'another one bites the dust', 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. My brother was a big fan of 70s and 80s rock, and, needless to say,so am I, and I am still Queen's number 1 fan.

 Memories of my days studying in the UK in the 80s, scrambling to the common room to watch 'Top of the Pops', going into record shops to buy their 'A kind of Magic' album and watching 'The Highlanders' a few times because of Queen, and also because of Christopher Lambert, in that order. The movie brought them all back to me.

I love the movie, mainly because I love Queen and I adore Freddie Mercury. Rami Malek, did a great job of playing Freddie. The movie doesn't have any hi-tech special effects or any great fighting scenes in it. It's just a simple story, with great acting and awesome music. What else do you need? 

I was in England in 1985, so, I know about the live aid concert, and I can relate to the excitement of that time.I breaks my heart, every time I get to the 'live aid concert' scene at the end, seeing them perform the best live rock concert ever, knowing, six years after that, Freddy Mercury would die. 

I guess I'm still mourning for the loss of someone so beautiful and so talented. 

RIP. Love you always, Freddie Mercury..

here is the video of what is still known as the best live rock concert ever, from youtube.