Oscar Winners

Oscar Winners

From Wikipedia and Malaysiana1.

Best Actor
1928 Emil Jannings.
1929 Warner Baxter.
1930 George Arliss [first Asian, Finnish-British].
1931 Lionel Barrymore.
1932 Fredric March.
1933 Charles Laughton.
1934 Clark Gable.
1935 Victor McLaglen.
1936 Paul Muni.
1937 Spencer Tracy.
1938 Spencer Tracy.
1939 Robert Donat.
1940 James Stewart.
1941 Gary Cooper.
1942 James Cagney.
1943 Paul Lukas.
1944 Bing Crosby.
1945 Ray Milland.
1946 Fredric March.
1947 Ronald Colman.
1948 Laurence Olivier.
1949 Broderick Crawford.
1950 Jose Ferrer [first Native American].
1951 Humphrey Bogart.
1952 Gary Cooper.
1953 William Holden.
1954 Marlon Brando.
1955 Ernest Borgnine.
1956 Yul Brynner.
1957 Alec Guinness.
1958 David Niven.
1959 Charlton Heston.
1960 Burt Lancaster.
1961 Maximilian Schell.
1962 Gregory Peck.
1963 Sidney Poitier [first African American].
1964 Rex Harrison.
1965 Lee Marvin.
1966 Paul Scofield.
1967 Rod Steiger.
1968 Cliff Robertson.
1969 John Wayne.
1970 George C. Scott.
1971 Gene Hackman.
1972 Marlon Brando.
1973 Jack Lemmon.
1974 Art Carney.
1975 Jack Nicholson.
1976 Peter Finch.
1977 Richard Dreyfuss.
1978 Jon Voight.
1979 Dustin Hoffman.
1980 Robert De Niro.
1981 Henry Fonda.
1982 Ben Kingsley.
1983 Robert Duvall.
1984 F. Murray Abraham.
1985 William Hurt.
1986 Paul Newman.
1987 Michael Douglas.
1988 Dustin Hoffman.
1989 Daniel Day-Lewis.
1990 Jeremy Irons.
1991 Anthony Hopkins.
1992 Al Pacino.
1993 Tom Hanks.
1994 Tom Hanks.
1995 Nicolas Cage.
1996 Geoffrey Rush.
1997 Jack Nicholson.
1998 Roberto Benigni.
1999 Kevin Spacey.
2000 Russell Crowe.
2001 Denzel Washington.
2002 Adrien Brody.
2003 Sean Penn.
2004 Jamie Foxx.
2005 Philip Seymour Hoffman.
2006 Forest Whitaker.

Best Actress.
1928 Janet Gaynor.
1929 Mary Pickford.
1930 Norma Shearer.
1931 Marie Dressler.
1932 Helen Hayes [first Asian, Finnish].
1933 Katharine Hepburn.
1934 Claudette Colbert.
1935 Bette Davis.
1936 Luise Rainer.
1937 Luise Rainer.
1938 Bette Davis.
1939 Vivien Leigh.
1940 Ginger Rogers.
1941 Joan Fontaine.
1942 Greer Garson.
1943 Jennifer Jones [first Native American].
1944 Ingrid Bergman.
1945 Joan Crawford.
1946 Olivia De Havilland.
1947 Loretta Young.
1948 Jane Wyman.
1949 Olivia De Havilland.
1950 Judy Holliday.
1951 Vivien Leigh.
1952 Shirley Booth.
1953 Audrey Hepburn.
1954 Grace Kelly.
1955 Anna Magnani.
1956 Ingrid Bergman.
1957 Joanne Woodward.
1958 Susan Hayward.
1959 Simone Signoret.
1960 Elizabeth Taylor.
1961 Sophia Loren.
1962 Anne Bancroft.
1963 Patricia Neal.
1964 Julie Andrews.
1965 Julie Christie.
1966 Elizabeth Taylor.
1967 Katharine Hepburn.
1968 Katharine Hepburn.
1969 Maggie Smith.
1970 Glenda Jackson.
1971 Jane Fonda.
1972 Liza Minnelli.
1973 Glenda Jackson.
1974 Ellen Burstyn.
1975 Louise Fletcher.
1976 Faye Dunaway.
1977 Diane Keaton.
1978 Jane Fonda.
1979 Sally Field.
1980 Sissy Spacek.
1981 Katharine Hepburn.
1982 Meryl Streep.
1983 Shirley MacLaine.
1984 Sally Field.
1985 Geraldine Page.
1986 Marlee Matlin.
1987 Cherilyn Sarkissian.
1988 Jodie Foster.
1989 Jessica Tandy.
1990 Kathy Bates.
1991 Jodie Foster.
1992 Emma Thompson.
1993 Holly Hunter.
1994 Jessica Lange.
1995 Susan Sarandon.
1996 Frances McDormand.
1997 Helen Hunt.
1998 Gwyneth Paltrow.
1999 Hilary Swank.
2000 Julia Roberts.
2001 Halle Berry [first African American].
2002 Nicole Kidman.
2003 Charlize Theron.
2004 Hilary Swank.
2005 Reese Witherspoon.
2006 Helen Mirren.

The first Asian Best Director was Lewis Milestone of Moldova (1929).

I Wish I Had Superpowers

To destroy all evil on earth.

We Must Be Retaught Our Histories And Cultures

We are an industrialised nation, but we have lost our values.

We have become a nation of pirates.

Even the sharks will not eat us because we are bigger sharks than them.

We should be retaught our histories and cultures, the great values which our great ancestors upheld, so that our children will rejuvenate our once great nation.

We must work closely with the peoples and nations who share our histories and cultures, to make this happen.

Malaysians Must Not Spurn Crucial Foreign Help

We should not spurn crucial foreign help if the expertise is good for nation-building.

For example, do we have people like the CSI team on TV?

If we do, good.

But if we don’t we should not be too vain to seek foreign help to train up one.

Longest River In West Malaysia

Perak River, not Pahang River. Too many books got it wrong.

You Are Too Special

This award-winning song by the blogger’s fellow Ipoh native Adibah Noor (one of the kindest women I’ve ever met) is dedicated to the bereaved families of all innocent children who were cannibalised by satans in Malaysia.

And the world.

A minute of silence to our fallen children. May they be placed in Paradise with the greatest martyrs and saints.

And may God’s wrath rain down on the satans. May they die slow and painful deaths and be dog and pig food.

Terlalu Istimewa

Ku tak tergambar wajahmu
Sinar mata itu
Lirik senyumanmu
Pesona yang membelai
Wajahmu bercahaya
Memberi bahagia
Tiap yang memandang
Hati jadi salju

Kau terlalu istimewa
Kasih dan sayangmu terpancar
Seikhlas tiada batasan
Terus membara
Terkilan rasa jiwa
Ingin ku lihat mu dewasa
Apa daya
Tuhan lebih menyayangimu

Ku pasti kau berbahagia
Duduk di sampingNya
Mendengar cerita
Sekadar rahsia

Tak tertanggung rindu
Mendengar suaramu
Tawa mengusik jiwa
Oh

Kau terlalu istimewa
Kasih dan sayangmu terpancar
Seikhlas tiada batasan
Terus membara
Terkilan rasa jiwa
Ingin ku lihat mu dewasa
Apa daya
Tuhan lebih menyayangimu

English Translation

You Are Too Special

I could hardly see your face
The light from your eyes
Your lyrical smile
Adorable personality
Your radiant face
Gave joy
To all who saw you
Our hearts were warmed

You are too special
Your love so true
So boundless and pure
Burning so bright
It touched many hearts
I could have seen you grow
But alas
The Good Lord loves you more

I’m sure you’ll have eternal joy
Sitting by His side
Listening to stories
Secrets of secrets

The loneliness is unbearable
When I hear your voice
Your adorable laughter
Oh

You are too special
Your love so true
So boundless and pure
Burning so bright
It touched many hearts
I could have seen you grow
But alas
The Good Lord loves you more

Wan Hassan Yunus @ Tok Janggut - Kelantanese Patriot

Thanks to the New Straits Times for the information.

When he was killed in a fight with the British, Wan Muhammad Hassan Wan Muhammad Yunus aka Tok Janggut (Longbeard) was labelled a rebel and his body hung upside down in Kota Baru’s town field for public viewing.

Today though, he has been recognised as a freedom fighter and a national hero of his home state, Kelantan.

Tok Janggut was perhaps the first Malaysian to declare his state independent (Merdeka) from British rule.

He did so in May 1915, in his hometown, Pasir Putih, close to the border with Terengganu.

However, the declaration was shortlived.

British soldiers came in three gunboats from Singapore, and attacked Kelantan. He was killed alongside most of his followers.

His body was paraded in a bullock cart around Kota Baru and later, in a final act of indignation, it was covered with only a loincloth and hung upside down near the Kelantan River for four hours for public viewing. He was later buried on the opposite bank.

Tok Janggut’s grave is now under a hut with a tiled roof and surrounded by concrete walls. A Tourism Malaysia signboard tells about his exploits and untimely death on May 24, 1915.

A school in Pasir Putih has been named after him and there is a monument by the Semerak River, complete with kris, spears, tengkolok (head gear) and two pictures of the fallen hero.

Yatim Awang, 96, a descendant of Tok Janggut said his father was imprisoned for life in Singapore after being arrested as a follower of the resistance fighter.

Behind his house are the graves of some of Tok Janggut’s followers. They are unmarked, and for a good reason. The villagers did not want the British to desecrate the heroes’ bodies.

Tok Janggut, he said, was driven to revolt against British rule by heavy taxation imposed by the foreigners, and his replacement as Pasir Putih district head by an arrogant Singaporean named Abdul Latif.

Historian Nik Anuar Nik Mahmud, another direct descendant of Tok Janggut, said he was glad that the Malaysian government had duly recognised Tok Janggut as a national hero.

Kedah-born actor Ismail Din, the late, great Gene Hackman of Malaysia, portrayed Tok Janggut in an acclaimed TV series over Radio Television Malaysia Channel 1 in the late 1970s.

Ismail, the brother-in-law of one of my colleagues, lensman Mokhsin Abidin, mastered the Kelantan Malay dialect in order to play the martyred headman.

I met Ismail in 2005, at a press preview of one of his last movies, Lady Boss, which starred him and singer Ning Baizura of Ipoh.

Sports We Excel In

Shooting our own feet.

Burying our own treasure.

Jack Sparrow a k a Johnny Depp would have been proud of us.

Anita Roddick - Ethical Entrepreneur Of England

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information.

Dame Anita Perella Roddick, who died of Hepatitis C and a brain haemorrhage on September 10, 2007, was globally recognised as the hands-on head of ethical cosmetics company The Body Shop.

A trail-blazing and inspiring entrepreneur, and a champion of women’s empowerment, Roddick was one of the world’s pioneers in ethical capitalism.

The success story she founded always strives to be gender-sensitive and pays workers every cent they are promised. It refrains from investing in countries that seriously violate the rights of women and minorities, the planet and humans in general.

Roddick was born in Sussex, near London, to Italian-Israeli immigrants on October 23, 1942,

Her mother ran a cafe and was in the habit of recycling.

Roddick taught at Bath Spa University in Bath, and subsequently married restaurant owner Gordon Roddick.

She later worked for the United Nations and travelled extensively, meeting people from different cultures.

In 1976, she founded The Body Shop in Brighton. Initially selling a mere 15 products, it grew over the years into a business empire selling more than 300 products, and serving 80 million customers worldwide.

It is one of the most trusted brands in the world.

In 1990, Roddick founded non-governmental organisation Children On The Edge which assisted underprivileged children in Asia and Eastern Europe.

Children On The Edge also raised awareness of AIDS and campaigned for increased research into finding a cure for the disease.

She also became actively involved in Greenpeace, the international environmentalist organisation.

When she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C several years ago, she campaigned to increase awareness of the disease and to find a cure for it.

She was knighted by Queen Elizabeth 2 of Britain, during the Prime Ministership of Tony Blair, in 2003.

Roddick is survived by her husband and two daughters.

A Tribute To Pavarotti

Over the weekend, I wrote this little ditty which is a tribute to one of my favourite pop opera stars Luciano "Fat Louie" Pavarotti, who passed away last week.

Viva Fat Louie
Long Live Fat Louie
Cesar De Opera
Emperor Of Opera
Adios Fat Louie
So Long Fat Louie
You May Be Gone
But You'll Always Be
Singing In The Stars

The Chinese Zodiac

In descending order:

1 Rat / Mouse
2 Ox
3 Tiger
4 Rabbit
5 Dragon
6 Snake
7 Horse
8 Goat / Sheep
9 Monkey
10 Chicken
11 Dog
12 Pig

Farewell To Fat Louie

Italian pop opera icon Luciano Pavarotti, who passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer today, was his country’s singing ambassador and a humanitarian who endeared himself to old and young alike.

Luciano was born on October 12, 1935 in Modena, central Italy.

His father was a baker who could sing well, while his mother worked in a cigar factory.

During World War 2, the Pavarottis lived in a farm, and Luciano developed a keen interest in animals.

Luciano, who enjoyed listening to the music of popular tenors Beniamino Gigli, Giovanni Martinelli, Tito Schipa and Enrico Caruso, first sang at 9 in his church’s choir.

He also excelled in football, and became a life-long Juventus fan.

When Luciano completed his studies, he taught in an elementary school for 2 years, before seriously pursuing a career in music.

At 19, Luciano underwent lessons from tenor Arrigo Pola. He also studied under Ettore Campogalliani.

He made his opera debut in 1961 in the play La Boheme. Four years later, he performed in Miami, the United States.

Luciano’s first concert in Rome took place in 1969.

From then onwards, his music career rocketed, and he won many Grammy Awards as well as platinum and gold discs for his performances.

The portly singer, nicknamed Fat Louie, was not just known for his powerful voice and stubby beard, but also his white dinner napkin which he used as a handkerchief.

Luciano visited and sang in Malaysia in 1994, and toured the popular holiday destination, Pangkor Island, in Sitiawan, Perak.

In the 1980s, Luciano set up the Pavarotti International Voice Competition for young singers with an interest in operatic music.

Luciano's major performance which made him an international celebrity was his rendition of Giacomo Puccini’s aria Nessun Dorma, the 1990 FIFA World Cup theme song.

He also teamed up with Placido Domingo and Spain’s Jose Carreras as The Three Tenors, performing around the world.

Luciano also held annual concerts under the banner of Pavarotti And Friends to raise funds for war victims in Bosnia, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Guatemala and Kosovo (in Serbia) among others.

A close friend of the late Princess Diana Spencer, Luciano also raised funds from his concerts to aid the destruction of land mines.

In 1998, he became the only opera singer to perform in Saturday Night Live. In the same year, he was given the Grammy Legend Award.

In 2006, he sang Nessun Dorma at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Luciano also acted in a film Yes, Giorgio, in 1982.

Diagnosed with cancer last year, Luciano had plans for a farewell world tour once he recovered.

Both his parents have passed away. His mother died in 2002 aged 86 while his father died in the same year, aged 89.

Luciano is survived by four daughters, three with first wife Adua Veroni and one with second wife Nicoletta Mantovani. He has one granddaughter.

Through benefit concerts and volunteer work, he has raised more than US$1.5 million (RM3 million), more than any other individual.

The blogger says:
So long, Fat Louie. I’ll be having toffee fudge ice-cream, your favourite, today.

Thanks, Wikipedia, for the information.