Author Archives: bingregory

Jean-Luc Nassy-LeMac

Geddit? Geddit? [su_spoiler style=”fancy” title=”I Don’t Get It.”] [_su_spoiler title=”Nassy.LeMac?” style=”simple”]Nasi Lemak is a traditional Malaysian breakfast of rice cooked in coconut milk, served with chili sauce and various toppings. [_/su_spoiler] [_su_spoiler title=”And?” style=”simple”] That’s the whole joke, friend. [_/su_spoiler] [/su_spoiler]   [divider type=”thin”] Photo from Flickr by Avlxyz of Greedy Gourmets.

Review: The Way of Sufi Chivalry

  Translated by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak Not about martial codes, but more of a guidebook on proper etiquette (adab) in Islam. The biggest focus was on the virtue of generosity. True generosity is giving before your brother is forced to ask, because in asking, the needy one is humiliated by his need. A poem is […]

Review: Midnight’s Children

 by Salman Rushdie Could the Booker Prize have gone to a novel that treats three generations of an extended family but remains emotionally dead-flat aside from twin swellings of self-pity and self-love?  Was a career launched by a book that contains 50 years of intricately plotted interconnections, parallels and synchronicities across the breadth of the […]

Review: Ottoman Age of Exploration

By Giancarlo Casale. The Ottomans were very active throughout the Indian Ocean world during the 1500s despite having no access to or knowledge of the area at the beginning of the century.  The author shows their exploration of the Indian Ocean is closely analogous to the activities of the Portuguese in same period. The most […]

Daun Inai

Daun inai banyak getahnya, Ambil segenggam pewarna kuku, Wahai adik abang bertanya, Apa obat penawar rindu. Thick with sap run the henna’s leaves Take some in hand your nails for dying O young maiden, your lover asks you What salve is there to heal longing?   Gadis ditegus lalu dikenyit Baik perangai pandang tak jemu […]