Favourite Person Of The Week: Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry was here in Malaysia and I missed him! I picked up a copy of KL Lifestyle's February issue to disappointingly learn that the infamous American photojournalist was here in KL recently to promote his exhibition, "A Common Faith". 


His illustrious 30-year career is synonymous with the picture called "Afghan Girl" . While on assignment in a Pakistani refugee camp during the height of the Soviet Union War On Afghanistan, he captured a portrait of a 12-year old Afghanistan refugee. It became the cover of National Geographic Magazine in June 1985 and garnered phenomenal worldwide attention.

The world instantly questioned the identity of the "Afghan girl". Steve made several attempts to track her down but failed and it was only 17 years later, McCurry and a National Geographic Team found her in a remote region of Afghanistan. Her name is Sharbat Gula, she was 30 years old when she was found, has three daughters and vividly remembers the day she was photographed. She claimed that it was the only time she was ever photographed. She has never seen the picture of herself and all this time, was oblivious to the hype it had generated through the years.


The "Afghan Girl" photographed has been named the most recognized photograph in the history of National Geographic magazine. 


Steve McCurry's career has taken him to the most war ravaged regions of the world. His photographs has recorded significant moments that would had been lost if he had not braved bullets and risked his life along the way. 


"A Common Faith" is now running from January 8 to April 8 at The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia from 10am - 6pm, open daily. It showcases over 80 never been seen before photographs documented by him in Islamic countries. It is also his largest solo exhibition to date.

Favourite Person Of The Week: Taylor Swift

America's Country Music Sweetheart, Taylor Swift swept four awards at the Grammy Awards last night! Winning four awards - Best Country Song, Best Country Female Vocal, Best Country Album and the most notable award one, The Album Of The Year proved to be quite a handful that she actually broke one when it slipped while posing for photographs at backstage.

Who haven't heard of Taylor Swift, the 21 year old country singer from Nashville, Tennessee? Taylor has been making waves ever since she debuted on the American Billboard Charts with her first single, "Tim McGraw" in 2006. In fact, her name and her songs received so much airwaves time and again, it prompted me to wikipedia her to retrace her steps to the phenomenal fame she is basking in today.

Her musical career started only in 2006 and it only took her less than four years to be where she is today. Taylor has been writing songs and performing since she was 10 years old and cites the Dixie Chicks, Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain as her musical heroes. Perhaps her career pad launched so well due to the winning combination of musical talent and looks. But behind it all, she is a very determined young woman with a lot of focus in her career and a hard worker. The latter aspect had gained all my respect for her.

Today, she is the most searched artist, surpassing the 200 million mark on MySpace and the most downloaded artist in digital music with over 24.3 million digital downloads.

The reason I am featuring her in this post is that, each time when she walks up to receive any award, she exuberates this sincerity that she is really thankful for the award. And the passion she has for what she does shines through for everyone to see.

Aliyaa Island Restaurant, Damansara Heights with Jojo Struys

Aliyaa Island Restaurant is a gem of KL City not to be missed! Wonderful place for a night out with friends if you want to have a place of your own. Quality food in a wonderful ambiance. I've always loved dining there!

Makan2 With Stars_JoJo Struys

I.M. Magazine (January 2010)

Time seems to be more unforgiving as we get older. In terms of taking away our youth and also, it seems to slip even faster. It's the end of Jan 2010 and it seems like my Christmas party was just a few weeks ago.

Anyway, this was the column that was published in Jan 2010 I.M. Magazine.

It's about sitting back and appreciating our own efforts no matter how small they are. Humans are naturally competitive, we constantly strive for the better. Which is a good thing, because with this, our race evolves. But, there are too many times where we beat ourselves up too much.

So, why not, give yourself a pat. We're all doing okay. :)

I am in I.M. again! (Jan 2010 Issue)

Richard Bach - "A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit"

I couldn't find a scanner to scan the following page. Thought of taking my camera to capture it but the copy is way too small. Perhaps I will scan the entire page here tomorrow. Anyway, I.M. Magazine is kind enough to allow me to contribute for their January issue. I simply love the magazine for its authenticity and for lending a lot of local bloggers/real people a platform to write and be published.

I foresee that this magazine will bloom bigger in the near future. What I like about each issue is that, each contributor is allowed to fill in the lines for I.M ... It gave each contributor a voice and further reveals their personality.

So for this month, I.M ... thinking the simpler life is, the better it will be. It is an uncontested fact that life is actually simple. We wake up everyday to fulfill the simple purpose of living. But it is humans who complicate matters. Especially the head we have on our shoulders.

If you are visiting my blog because you read my article in I.M. magazine, thank you so much!

I would really love to hear your comments. :)

I am all over NZ

My friend, Ryan has been on the road for more than six months now in NZ. He is one of those brave souls who decide to just quit their job, pack their bags and leave nothing behind to hit the road. His decision was quick. He applied for the work/holiday visa and got it within a week. Then, he was on his way to six months of adventure.

I secretly envied him because he was brave enough to do it. I also discovered a uni friend of mine, Wendy who did the same thing. I connect both of them and they ended up traveling together as well.

Ryan and I kept in touch all the time while he was away. One day over Gmail chat, I told him, to mark my initials on rocks at places that he think I should see if ever I travel to NZ one day. He was already on his last leg of adventure and was coming back by then.

But he still took many beautiful pictures and he shares with me today. I think it is nice to post it up here for everyone to see and revel in the beautiful landscapes of NZ!

He is coming back in two weeks time and I look forward to see him during the Chinese New Year break.

Thank you Ryan. You're the best!

Bar Italia, Jalan Berangan with Deborah Priya Henry

Bar Italia, located in Jalan Berangan, earns beauty queen Deborah Priya Henry's approval.
Makan2 With the Stars_DeborahPriya