Ibrahim Hussein (1936-2009)

Detail of "Dance of Life"

I was very saddened to hear of the passing my artist friend, Ib.

Its not commonly known that Ib was blind in his right eye, due to a childhood accident with a dart. This makes his prowess as an artist even more of an achievement. Without the benefit of binocular stereo-vision, perspective become a very challenging issue. He obviated this potential handicap by working with techniques that didn't rely on perspective ~ particularly freeform contour lines. For this reason, he tended to avoid painting portraits, and so, on the rare occasions that he did accept portrait commissions, the results, lacking perspective, were not particularly flattering for the subject.

I think his magnus opus is Dance of Life (see detail, above) which displays his "contour lines" technique.

Ib is never without his trademark "cheeky smile."

Ib had an irreverent and cheeky sense of humour. For the catalogue of an exhibition at the US Embassy curated by Yeoh Jin Leng, of works by leading Malaysian artists who had studied in the US, he had submitted just two words: "Big Deal!" for his entry in the catalogue. Not wanting to embarrass the American hosts, his entry was reduced to: "Big!" He was greatly amused by this censorship.

One of his paintings using the "contour lines" technique depicts a male and a female form entwined in orgasmic ecstasy. When I asked Ib why he had called the painting "Arrival," he asked me for another word that means "arrival." We burst out laughing when I realised it was a play on "coming"!

Copyright 2003-2009 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

Fully Furnished Larger Room to Let

Fully furnished larger bedroom in third-storey Villa Impian apartment in Kota Warisan (2 minutes' drive to Salak Tinggi ERL station), available for immediate occupancy.

Larger bedroom with lovely lace curtains, pangkin (traditional Malay sleeping platform), KDK fan, stainless steel clothes hook behind door - come see for yourself lah. Rent going for RM250 ~ single occupancy. RM300 ~ double occupancy (non-negotiable) inclusive of maintenance fee, water and electricity bills.

Share the bathroom with a AirAsia pilot house-mate in the room next to yours. Other common facilities include 29-inch LG TV, Bose radio/CD player, DVD player, parking space, stove, fridge, kettle, rice-cooker, blender.

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Unique Features of Property:
Breath-taking views of green rolling hills and spectacular sunsets, three minutes' drive from Salak Tinggi KLIA Transit ERL station, two minutes' drive from primary school (SK Kota Warisan), Pasar Malam Kota Warisan every Saturday from 5 pm to 11 pm. 24 hrs security guard.

Preferably open-minded, working professionals please. Suitable for airline crew as next to KLIA.

Terms & Conditions
Security Deposit = Two months' rent. One month's rent in advance. Tenancy Agreement = RM150. Stamp Duty = RM20. No Utility Deposit. Monthly Rent = RM250 for Single Occupancy; RM 300 for Double Occupancy. STRICTLY FOR NON-SMOKERS ONLY. Professionals and executives preferred.

Copyright 2003-2009 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

Our Future: 2009 & After

Economic and political analysts alike have noted that the current global (it's not just American) economic crisis is a direct consequence of unsustainable consumerism. Factories in China are closing down every day due to canceled orders from the US and Europe; China being the cheap "sweatshop factory" to the world.

The solution to all this is the simple central message in THE ART OF HAPPINESS by The Dalai Lama ~ fulfill your needs, not your wants.

AN EXAMPLE
All humans need hydration, best fulfilled by plain water ~ yet the doctrine of consumerism insists we purchase from a whole host of unwanted products from Coca-Cola to Lipton to Starbucks to Carlsberg to Dom Perignon.

Unless you're a baby, in which case milk is a sensible drink (even then, breast milk is free), there is no nutritional need for you to drink anything but plain water. Everything else is a want, all unwarranted by your body's needs but insisted upon by consumerism.

It then comes as no surprise that post-modern man suffers a host of diseases unknown to our forefathers ~ we have been feeding our bodies with preservatives, food enhancers, colouring, conditioners and other gunk and junk (all processed meat, including sausages, contain sodium nitrate, for example).

One in four people will contract some form of cancer within their lifetime. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth largest killer among cancers yet no progress had been made towards finding a cure since the 1930s. It would not take too much funding to get this cancer licked, not too much compared to the huge amounts we spend on things we want, rather than need.

Please do a big favour to yourself and to the rest of humanity: spend a few minutes listing down the things you purchase as a result of thinking it is something you want, rather than fulfilling an actual physiological, nutritional or emotional need. Then promise yourself never to purchase them again. It may be the most profound new year's resolution you'll ever make.

REMEMBER
Fulfill your needs, not your wants. The rest will follow.

Copyright 2003-2009 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice