Siena Cathedral

The Cathedral of Siena (Italian: Duomo di Siena), dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church and now to Santa Maria Assunta (Most Holy Mary of Assumption), is a medieval church in Siena, central Italy.

The cathedral itself was originally designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius.

Lat at Bangsar Shopping Centre

Visiting Bangsar Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur today I noticed an exhibition displaying cartoons by the famous cartoonist Mohammad Nor Khalid or Datuk Mohd Nor Khalid - more commonly know as Lat. Lat is a very well known cartoonist in Malaysia with many of his cartoons appearing in the editorial pages of the Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times.

Lat was born 5th March 1951 in Kota Baru, Perak, not to be confused with Kota Bharu the capital of Kelantan. He had a wonderful talent for drawing as a child and drew excellent comics. At the age of 9, his gifted talent began to yield his family income. His first real book was Tiga Sekawan, a story about three friends who banded together to catch robbers. The book was published in his sixth year at Jalan Pasir Puteh Primary School in Ipoh. His publisher paid him 25 Ringgit for his service. By 1968, Lat was earning 100 Ringgit a month from his work.

He later moved to Kuala Lumpur to become a cartoonist. Lat was offered a position to join the New Straits Times as a crime reporter but later on became a cartoonist. He started with an editorial comic strip called 'Scenes of Malaysia', then was known for the comic strip published weekly called 'Keluarga SiMamat".His first book Kampung Boy, an autobiography of his life was published in 1979 and sold thousands of copies within three months. Kampung Boy was published in France by a French publisher. An American edition of Kampung Boy was published by First Second Books in August 2006. This was the first of his books to be published in the United States. His second American release, Town Boy, is scheduled for release in October 2007. His cartoons reflect his view about Malaysian life and the world. Another famous Lat comic book is 'Mat Som', a story of a young teenager's discovery of the new world of capitalism. It shows illustrations of insight view in Kuala Lumpur city.

His cartoons have been published in several cartoon books in Malaysia and he is famous throughout the country. Lat's latest book is Dr Who?!, dedicated to Mahathir bin Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah.

Flamenco

A recent visit to Spain culminated in a visit to Barcelona where I had the opportunity to see the famous flamenco dance show held at the traditional Tablao Flamenco Cordobes on La Rambla.

The venue was small and very dark with limited stage lights so posed a difficult photo shoot under such low light conditions. This required shooting at various ISO values, from 200 up to 1250, depending on the available light.

In conjunction with my photos I recorded live audio using a Roland Edirol R-09 digital recorder and used this audio to prepare a slideshow of the event.

The final slideshow can be seen below:

Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with origins in Andalusia and a term that refers both to a musical genre, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance genre characterized by its audible footwork. The origins of the term are unclear. The word Flamenco, which applies to the song, the dance and the guitar, did not come into use until the 19th century.

Flamenco embodies a complex musical and cultural tradition. Although considered part of the culture of Spain, flamenco actually originates from one of Spain's regions: Andalusia. However, other areas, mainly Extremadura and Murcia, have contributed to the development of several flamenco musical forms, and a great number of renowned flamenco artists have been born in other territories of the country.

It is generally acknowledged that flamenco grew out of the unique interplay of native Arabic, Andalusian, Sephardic, and Gypsy cultures that existed in Andalusia prior to and after the Reconquest. Latin American and especially Cuban influences have also been important in shaping the rumba flamenco form. Flamenco is the music of the gypsies and played in their social community.