Category: Life
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First Games of the Season
Yes, I do get away from writing and performing arts for one sport. Baseball. And since Malaysia doesn’t play baseball, softball will do. My team, after only 1 week of practice, had our first two games today – friendlies against two local schools in Taiping. Won the first and lost the second, but most importantly,…
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The Burger Man of Tanjung Bungah
It’s been a while since I ate from the “Burger Man,” so I did it last night. I ordered a chicken burger with everything. Now the burger man in Tanjung Bungah has been around for more than a generation. He’s been setting up shop in our beachfront town for more than 30 years. I don’t…
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Like Politics? Try RealClearPolitics!
I am, for better or worse – mostly worse, a political junkie. For whatever reason, I like to bang myself in the head with various political points of view which typically evaporate and mean nothing by the end of the week anyways. Oh well, I’m ephemeral that way. So if you’re like me and like…
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Being Nominated for an Award is Better Than Winning an Award
Much fuss has been made of Leonardo DiCaprio and his “almost” Oscar awards. He’s come close so often that his name is being considered as a replacement for the word “horseshoe” in a certain popular phrase. The reality of awards is this: being nominated for an award, or being in the running for a possible…
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Students who get upset about yoga should learn a thing or two about cultural change.
For students trying to seem so culturally aware and intellectual, they are completely clueless. Check out this article: Ottawa College Bans Yoga I completely agree with the following article. Article on Cultural Appropriation Okay, so where are we at on this topic? These are lessons I teach my ninth-graders. Culture changes. You can’t stop it,…
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Happy Chinese New Year!
It’s that time again. Penang’s Chinese community is geared up for the long night, then days, then weeks of celebration! The lanterns are up. Here are some at a local mall: What are some of the other characteristics? Lion Dances. Random appearances by Confucian looking characters, handing out the ubiquitous red “ang pao” – envelopes…
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Our Fall
I live in Malaysia. We don’t have autumn. But we have entered our “fall.” There are several characteristics of our fall which occur each year. First, the weather turns dry. The almost daily rain of October, November, & December comes to a screeching halt as the skies turn a permanent beautiful azure blue. The days…
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Snow in the Province of Ho Chi Minh’s Birth!
I saw this article yesterday and I was shocked: snow in Nghe An province in northern Vietnam. Nghe An is about 300 km south of Hanoi – and it has never even snowed in Hanoi! I lived in and around Hanoi for many years, and we certainly had our cold periods each year – especially…
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A Tale of Two Mornings
Here’s what I see each day. This is twenty feet away from my classroom. Yes, I’m lucky. Here is two days ago. Here’s Today. That’s not dirt on the camera. Those are birds having fun in the morning light.
Author Mark W Sasse 