Sunday, November 13, 2011
Letter to Julia 20111113
But of course you can put cheese, or croutons, or whatever you want on your salad. Whoops! I'm done talking about salads. I just dropped by to say "I love you", and because I had to run a quick errand. I love you! Please keep your faith firm and sincere, maintain your prayers, and take good care of your beautiful body!
Qur'an 20111113
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
101. When We substitute one revelation for another, and Allah knows best what God reveals, they say, "You are a forger," but most of them understand not.
102. Say, "The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from your Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and Glad Tidings to Muslims."
103. We know indeed that they say, "It is a man who teaches him." The tongue of him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this is Arabic, pure and clear.
104. Those who believe not in the Signs of Allah, Allah will not guide them, and theirs will be a grievous penalty.
105. It is those who believe not in the Signs of Allah that forge falsehood, it is they who lie!
The Bees 16:101-105
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The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from your Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and Glad Tidings to Muslims.
101. When We substitute one revelation for another, and Allah knows best what God reveals, they say, "You are a forger," but most of them understand not.
102. Say, "The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from your Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and Glad Tidings to Muslims."
103. We know indeed that they say, "It is a man who teaches him." The tongue of him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this is Arabic, pure and clear.
104. Those who believe not in the Signs of Allah, Allah will not guide them, and theirs will be a grievous penalty.
105. It is those who believe not in the Signs of Allah that forge falsehood, it is they who lie!
The Bees 16:101-105
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The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from your Lord in Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and Glad Tidings to Muslims.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Letter to Julia 20111112
Hello again, my beloved Julia. Today, I will give you a technique or recipe for making salads. Yecchh! I hate salads, but I suppose for you models it becomes a sort of staple food. I've made a million salads in my life, because I worked at the pizza joint. Gag! I hate salads. I hate making them, I hate eating them, and I hate people who eat salads, but in your case I will make an exception, and love you instead. Oh, I'm just joking about hating people who eat salads! No, but I really hate salads.
Anyway, lets start with a chunk of boneless chicken breast. First, you heat up a frying pan with medium heat. Rub the breast with honey, the chicken breast that is. Sprinkle some course black pepper onto the meat according to preference. No need for salt! Do not use any oil! When the pan is hot, fry up the meat until it's almost black, but don't burn it! Turn it over, then place a pat of butter on top, so it melts over the meat. Then cook the other side until it's almost black, but not burned. Immediately remove the meat to a cutting board. Note that center of the chicken breast should still be raw, especially if you have a big chunk of meat. Slice the meat lengthwise, exposing the raw area. Then put the chicken breast back on the pan with the raw side down, and cook it until the raw part turns white. Turn off the heat, and remove the meat from the pan onto a plate, and let it cool at room temperature.
Let's use a head of Iceberg lettuce, and a head of Romaine lettuce. Wash the lettuce. Make sure the lettuce is fresh, with snap, and no brown gooey areas! Remove the brown parts if any, and cut of the stem of the lettuce, about 2 inches for the Romaine and 1 inch for the Iceberg. Tear the lettuce with your fingers into strips of about 1 by 1 1/2 inch each, using only the leafy areas, and discarding the spine of each leaf. You may prefer to use only the heart of the Romaine, but I find that the outer leaves have good flavor too, if they are healthy. Yuck! I hate salads! Of course you can use any type of lettuce/greens, provided it is fresh and healthy, and you can use the same guidelines as the Iceberg and the Romaine. Spinach bruises easily, so be gentle! Mix up the strips of lettuce with your hands into an even mix.
OK! Place the lettuce mix into a serving bowl, then you can add fresh peppers, onions, olives, or whatever. Don't mix it into the salad mix, just arrange enough of it on top. I prefer a crescent cut for the peppers (no, don't eat the seeds and stems) and onions, where you cut the vegetable in half lengthwise, or quarters, then you slice the half from one end to the other into crescent shapes, following the arc of the half-circle. Slice up the chicken breast into strips, and arrange it onto the salad. If you had followed my instructions correctly, juices should have seeped out of the meat once it cooled down. Pour the juices onto the meat on the salad. Salad dressing? Just use your favorite salad dressing. I prefer blue cheese dressing, because it goes well with chicken wings, which taste way better than any salad. Amplify the flavor of blue cheese dressing with chunks of real blue cheese from a wedge. You know, the stuff you would nibble as a snack. Ranch? Italian? Honey mustard? 1000 island? I suppose I have some recipes, but that's another love letter. Basically, every salad dressing is just a form of flavored, liquified grease which you pour on your salad. Bleah! I hate salads! But I love YOU!
Anyway, lets start with a chunk of boneless chicken breast. First, you heat up a frying pan with medium heat. Rub the breast with honey, the chicken breast that is. Sprinkle some course black pepper onto the meat according to preference. No need for salt! Do not use any oil! When the pan is hot, fry up the meat until it's almost black, but don't burn it! Turn it over, then place a pat of butter on top, so it melts over the meat. Then cook the other side until it's almost black, but not burned. Immediately remove the meat to a cutting board. Note that center of the chicken breast should still be raw, especially if you have a big chunk of meat. Slice the meat lengthwise, exposing the raw area. Then put the chicken breast back on the pan with the raw side down, and cook it until the raw part turns white. Turn off the heat, and remove the meat from the pan onto a plate, and let it cool at room temperature.
Let's use a head of Iceberg lettuce, and a head of Romaine lettuce. Wash the lettuce. Make sure the lettuce is fresh, with snap, and no brown gooey areas! Remove the brown parts if any, and cut of the stem of the lettuce, about 2 inches for the Romaine and 1 inch for the Iceberg. Tear the lettuce with your fingers into strips of about 1 by 1 1/2 inch each, using only the leafy areas, and discarding the spine of each leaf. You may prefer to use only the heart of the Romaine, but I find that the outer leaves have good flavor too, if they are healthy. Yuck! I hate salads! Of course you can use any type of lettuce/greens, provided it is fresh and healthy, and you can use the same guidelines as the Iceberg and the Romaine. Spinach bruises easily, so be gentle! Mix up the strips of lettuce with your hands into an even mix.
OK! Place the lettuce mix into a serving bowl, then you can add fresh peppers, onions, olives, or whatever. Don't mix it into the salad mix, just arrange enough of it on top. I prefer a crescent cut for the peppers (no, don't eat the seeds and stems) and onions, where you cut the vegetable in half lengthwise, or quarters, then you slice the half from one end to the other into crescent shapes, following the arc of the half-circle. Slice up the chicken breast into strips, and arrange it onto the salad. If you had followed my instructions correctly, juices should have seeped out of the meat once it cooled down. Pour the juices onto the meat on the salad. Salad dressing? Just use your favorite salad dressing. I prefer blue cheese dressing, because it goes well with chicken wings, which taste way better than any salad. Amplify the flavor of blue cheese dressing with chunks of real blue cheese from a wedge. You know, the stuff you would nibble as a snack. Ranch? Italian? Honey mustard? 1000 island? I suppose I have some recipes, but that's another love letter. Basically, every salad dressing is just a form of flavored, liquified grease which you pour on your salad. Bleah! I hate salads! But I love YOU!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Letter to Julia 20111110
Hello again. my beautiful Julia. How are you feeling today, my precious beauty? You must be working hard as usual. So please make sure you eat properly, take good care of yourself, and maintain your prayers.
It is a quiet day at the office for me here today. It's now almost 11 pm on Wednesday, and I just got done filleting a kilo of baby indian mackerel. How tedious! Filleting mackerel is so tedious Julia, but I'm sure you wouldn't eat your herring with the bones and the head intact. It has stopped raining, in fact today was very hot that it dried up the trash, that I was able to burn all of it. And though it was a quiet day today, I did so much running around and work that I haven't had much chance to watch TV and play GTA. But I plan to remedy that deficiency immediately.
Thus, I watched "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" on Shadowplay TV. Well, that was what the computer chose for me to watch at the moment. Do you remember Marilyn Monroe? She was certainly very pretty, she could move very well, and she was blonde, and we both know how much I like blondes. But she's not my type: I prefer tall, thin, androgynous German blondes. Don't get too thin! Please eat properly! Anyway, in the movie she said, "A man being rich is like a girl being pretty." Do you believe that, Julia? I'm certainly am grateful to Allah that you are so beautiful. But I am not rich, and I certainly do not want to give you my poverty: I would rather die alone. That is why it is most important to me that you be straight with God. Please conduct your religion with sincerity to Allah, that is most important to me, and do not attribute to others what only God can do and give.
The greatest mystery is only with Allah, from the routine of the plants and animals to the cycle of the universe. We tell the humans to be grateful to God, still they believe they have the option of turning away, or they just turn away. And it is their turning away that is what ruins them in the next life, after this temporary life is over.
By the way Julia, thank you for your love.
It is a quiet day at the office for me here today. It's now almost 11 pm on Wednesday, and I just got done filleting a kilo of baby indian mackerel. How tedious! Filleting mackerel is so tedious Julia, but I'm sure you wouldn't eat your herring with the bones and the head intact. It has stopped raining, in fact today was very hot that it dried up the trash, that I was able to burn all of it. And though it was a quiet day today, I did so much running around and work that I haven't had much chance to watch TV and play GTA. But I plan to remedy that deficiency immediately.
Thus, I watched "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" on Shadowplay TV. Well, that was what the computer chose for me to watch at the moment. Do you remember Marilyn Monroe? She was certainly very pretty, she could move very well, and she was blonde, and we both know how much I like blondes. But she's not my type: I prefer tall, thin, androgynous German blondes. Don't get too thin! Please eat properly! Anyway, in the movie she said, "A man being rich is like a girl being pretty." Do you believe that, Julia? I'm certainly am grateful to Allah that you are so beautiful. But I am not rich, and I certainly do not want to give you my poverty: I would rather die alone. That is why it is most important to me that you be straight with God. Please conduct your religion with sincerity to Allah, that is most important to me, and do not attribute to others what only God can do and give.
The greatest mystery is only with Allah, from the routine of the plants and animals to the cycle of the universe. We tell the humans to be grateful to God, still they believe they have the option of turning away, or they just turn away. And it is their turning away that is what ruins them in the next life, after this temporary life is over.
By the way Julia, thank you for your love.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Letter to Julia 20111108
Assalamu'alaikum, beautiful Julia! You are MY girl, yes you are! Yes, I love you, and I look forward for us to spend our lives together. InsyaAllah.
All eyes on the kampung lately, huh? I guess it's partially my fault for being here. Being There. What a great movie, you should watch it. But really, I can only be where Allah puts me. As you know, it is the Hajj Eid, which is a public holiday here in Malaysia, so I hope this letter isn't too late for you, since the internet cafe was closed for the holiday. On the Hajj Eid, it is mandatory for the wealthy to make a sacrifice of a livestock animal, namely a goat, sheep, cattle, or camel. I haven't seen any chickens during this ritual. No, not a sacrifice on an altar. Please! A meat is considered halal if a Muslim kills the animal by cutting the throat, and saying, "BismillahirRahmanirRahim (In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful)". This year, I was present at the local mosque for this ritual. I didn't get to see them actually slaughter the beast, it was done elsewhere, where they also skinned and gutted it, as well as separated the legs, head, rib cage, and rump. 2 steers were donated this year to the mosque, one small and one medium. At the mosque, volunteers cut up the meat and bones further for division, and I watched the entire process with great interest. The division of the meat was a very noisy process, with grown men gossiping like nesting hens. It seemed almost primal, like the opening scene of "Apocalypto". As far as I could understand, the sacrifice is supposed to be divided into 7, where the donor got either 2/7 or 1/3. Comprende? Needless to say, none of the villagers were professional butcher-accountants, so there was an element of chaos in the division. But they did their best I'm sure, may Allah be the judge. Cattle here in Malaysia is leaner than US cattle, so the tenderloin and ribeye was nothing spectacular as far as I could see. Beef intestine is what is considered a delicacy here in Perlis, so that was the first to disappear. Me? All I received was a kilo of sirloin/chuck/rump, and some ribs. When you get here insyaAllah, I'll take you to the ritual. Maybe we'll get to see the actual slaughter!
All eyes on the kampung lately, huh? I guess it's partially my fault for being here. Being There. What a great movie, you should watch it. But really, I can only be where Allah puts me. As you know, it is the Hajj Eid, which is a public holiday here in Malaysia, so I hope this letter isn't too late for you, since the internet cafe was closed for the holiday. On the Hajj Eid, it is mandatory for the wealthy to make a sacrifice of a livestock animal, namely a goat, sheep, cattle, or camel. I haven't seen any chickens during this ritual. No, not a sacrifice on an altar. Please! A meat is considered halal if a Muslim kills the animal by cutting the throat, and saying, "BismillahirRahmanirRahim (In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful)". This year, I was present at the local mosque for this ritual. I didn't get to see them actually slaughter the beast, it was done elsewhere, where they also skinned and gutted it, as well as separated the legs, head, rib cage, and rump. 2 steers were donated this year to the mosque, one small and one medium. At the mosque, volunteers cut up the meat and bones further for division, and I watched the entire process with great interest. The division of the meat was a very noisy process, with grown men gossiping like nesting hens. It seemed almost primal, like the opening scene of "Apocalypto". As far as I could understand, the sacrifice is supposed to be divided into 7, where the donor got either 2/7 or 1/3. Comprende? Needless to say, none of the villagers were professional butcher-accountants, so there was an element of chaos in the division. But they did their best I'm sure, may Allah be the judge. Cattle here in Malaysia is leaner than US cattle, so the tenderloin and ribeye was nothing spectacular as far as I could see. Beef intestine is what is considered a delicacy here in Perlis, so that was the first to disappear. Me? All I received was a kilo of sirloin/chuck/rump, and some ribs. When you get here insyaAllah, I'll take you to the ritual. Maybe we'll get to see the actual slaughter!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Letter to Julia 20111104
Hi there my sweetie Julia! How are you, my precious beauty? Today, I'm fasting. No, it's not mandatory, I'm fasting because it's fun. Fun, fun fun! As you know, or I told you before, we Muslims celebrate 2 Eids: the first Eid is celebrated after the fasting month of Ramadan is completed, and the 2nd is a 2 day Eid after the Hajj ritual is completed. Sunday is when we celebrate the Hajj Eid. I guess it's kind of like having 2 Christmases. I'm not one for routine rituals on public holidays, I just do the bare minimum. If I get into heaven, then I'll really celebrate. Yay! No more tedious and disappointing materialism and worldly affairs!
My, you are a pretty thing, aren't you? What are we to do with that huge wardrobe of yours? We're going to have to dress you up appropriately before we go out. Start collecting hats and scarves! Hey, hop on the back of my motorcycle, and we'll go to the seaside. I drive really slowly, but we can still have a conversation as we ride. You can have your own motorcycle of course, but it would be harder to chat, and you probably wouldn't want to drive at 30 kmh. How about you ride a bicycle instead?
As for the plotters, certainly Allah is watching them. How about they get swallowed up by the earth? Or they get jumped on as they go about their daily routine? Or they perish through a process of slow wastage?
My, you are a pretty thing, aren't you? What are we to do with that huge wardrobe of yours? We're going to have to dress you up appropriately before we go out. Start collecting hats and scarves! Hey, hop on the back of my motorcycle, and we'll go to the seaside. I drive really slowly, but we can still have a conversation as we ride. You can have your own motorcycle of course, but it would be harder to chat, and you probably wouldn't want to drive at 30 kmh. How about you ride a bicycle instead?
As for the plotters, certainly Allah is watching them. How about they get swallowed up by the earth? Or they get jumped on as they go about their daily routine? Or they perish through a process of slow wastage?
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Letter to Julia 201111102
WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! HOORAY!!!!!!
Is it your birthday yet? It's almost time for your birthday! When is your birthday? I'm sure your birthday is coming up soon! Oh, I'm so excited! It's nearly time for my sweetie's birthday! Oh, it is my girly-girl's birthday! Happy birthday, my love!
Ah, love letters in this computer age can be so convenient- I can just cut and paste, and then half the letter is written! But we all know that it's not that easy. Having to stay above a general lack of creativity (especially in the mass media), trying to stay true to the heart, having to teach the Qur'an to my wife... no, it's not easy. Ya Allah, please grant me Julia as my perfect spouse, please grant us love, beauty, good health and happiness in this life as well as the hereafter, please don't divorce us. Please grant us a long, happy life together with beautiful, happy, healthy and pious children, please protect us. Please forgive our sins, please make us great Muslims, please grant us heaven together, and please make our path easy.
Now, you've been in the modeling biz for quite a while already, haven't you? Nearly 8 years, right? Eventually, you got used to all that jetting around, the early morning fittings, and the chaos of the runway, right? I've been in the music business as a musician for about 26 years now. Certainly, I'm not at the point of canceling concerts at 50,000+ venues at the last minute. I chose to abandon all the corruption to follow the path of Allah. All the lack of privacy, the acts of spite and jealousy, the Satanism, paganism and atheism, the loss of beloved few friends, the perpetual plots of others to enslave me, the callousness of the listener, etc etc etc, I got used to all that, and it doesn't matter if skeptics believe it or not because they're not even a sub-plot of the story! However, I didn't want to bring all that shit back here to Malaysia with me. I knew it would happen, but I couldn't explain that to anybody back then: they wouldn't listen. If people are listening today, then the credit goes to Allah: Allah made them listen. I could have chosen to become a martyr for Allah in the USA as a street musician, but instead I ran back home to my Mommy. Now don't get me wrong, I love my Mommy with all my heart, and I'm grateful that Allah brought me and my parents together again. But in retrospect, it doesn't really matter where I am. People can never run away from their destiny, no matter how unimportant their problems are to others. Certainly, the entertainment business is the most difficult business in the world, and the audience has a lust for pain and suffering. Wouldn't it be entertaining to achieve happiness together while they seek our destruction? InsyaAllah! I am a servant of Allah, and if I am able to spread the message of Islam with this music that Allah gave me, then perhaps Allah will grant me my reward in this life as well as the hereafter, and trounce those who plot to harm us.
Happy birthday, Julia. I love you, and I want to marry you.
Is it your birthday yet? It's almost time for your birthday! When is your birthday? I'm sure your birthday is coming up soon! Oh, I'm so excited! It's nearly time for my sweetie's birthday! Oh, it is my girly-girl's birthday! Happy birthday, my love!
Ah, love letters in this computer age can be so convenient- I can just cut and paste, and then half the letter is written! But we all know that it's not that easy. Having to stay above a general lack of creativity (especially in the mass media), trying to stay true to the heart, having to teach the Qur'an to my wife... no, it's not easy. Ya Allah, please grant me Julia as my perfect spouse, please grant us love, beauty, good health and happiness in this life as well as the hereafter, please don't divorce us. Please grant us a long, happy life together with beautiful, happy, healthy and pious children, please protect us. Please forgive our sins, please make us great Muslims, please grant us heaven together, and please make our path easy.
Now, you've been in the modeling biz for quite a while already, haven't you? Nearly 8 years, right? Eventually, you got used to all that jetting around, the early morning fittings, and the chaos of the runway, right? I've been in the music business as a musician for about 26 years now. Certainly, I'm not at the point of canceling concerts at 50,000+ venues at the last minute. I chose to abandon all the corruption to follow the path of Allah. All the lack of privacy, the acts of spite and jealousy, the Satanism, paganism and atheism, the loss of beloved few friends, the perpetual plots of others to enslave me, the callousness of the listener, etc etc etc, I got used to all that, and it doesn't matter if skeptics believe it or not because they're not even a sub-plot of the story! However, I didn't want to bring all that shit back here to Malaysia with me. I knew it would happen, but I couldn't explain that to anybody back then: they wouldn't listen. If people are listening today, then the credit goes to Allah: Allah made them listen. I could have chosen to become a martyr for Allah in the USA as a street musician, but instead I ran back home to my Mommy. Now don't get me wrong, I love my Mommy with all my heart, and I'm grateful that Allah brought me and my parents together again. But in retrospect, it doesn't really matter where I am. People can never run away from their destiny, no matter how unimportant their problems are to others. Certainly, the entertainment business is the most difficult business in the world, and the audience has a lust for pain and suffering. Wouldn't it be entertaining to achieve happiness together while they seek our destruction? InsyaAllah! I am a servant of Allah, and if I am able to spread the message of Islam with this music that Allah gave me, then perhaps Allah will grant me my reward in this life as well as the hereafter, and trounce those who plot to harm us.
Happy birthday, Julia. I love you, and I want to marry you.
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