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Tourism Malaysia

Here Comes The Dragon


   Here Comes The Dragon!

Dragon Year
Enter the Dragon!

Legend has it that the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the heavens, had called for a meeting of the animals. He had ordained that the Zodiac be named after each animal according to the order of their arrival at the meeting.

It seems the dragon came in fifth. Being a fair and wise ruler, the Jade Emperor questioned the dragon as to why it did not come in first, having wings on its back and all. The latecomer explained that it was held back to help bring some rainfall to some farmers. He later saw a rabbit stranded on a log in a river and had aided the poor creature to the shore.

The Jade Emperor was so impressed with the Dragon’s helpfulness that His Majesty included it into the Zodiac, despite it being the only mythical animal among the lot.

What’s in Store for the Much-Anticipated Dragon Year?

Starting a new business? Embarking on a new career path? Planning to tie the knot or have a baby? If you’re a Chinese, you couldn’t be happier that the Year of the Dragon is just around the corner .

The Dragon Year has always been considered the most auspicious in the Chinese Zodiac and indeed, the 2012 Chinese New Year looks set to provide us a fair share of excitement, prosperity and meaningful events!

Joey Yap, founder of the Joey Yap Consulting Group, author of over 80 books on Feng Shui and face reading, calls 2012 as `a year of changes’. As 2012 is the Year of Water Dragon, it will bring much cleansing and clarification, as water refreshes and nourishes all negative elements.

He added that the Dragon Year also brings growth and renewal. Bickering people will tired of arguing and quarrelling – they would resort to finding solutions and answers to their problems.

Feng Shui expert, Lillian Too, along with her daughter, Jennifer Too, call 2012 a `transformative year’, a harbinger of good luck and prosperity.

 

 
Though the Chinese dragon looks intimidating it’s a symbol of generosity and compassion
(public domain image from Wikimedia Commons)
 

The Stuff Dragon People are Made Of

Westerners perceive the dragon as a fire-breathing, man-eating, evil beast and malicious ‘lizard’, with depictions of its viciousness in folklores and movies like “Dragonheart” and “Reign of Fire”. Even the Disney cartoon, “Sleeping Beauty”, portrays the creature as malevolent, with the nasty Queen turning herself into a dragon to kill the Prince!

So, do people born in the Dragon Year exhibit the so-called villainous character of the dragon? They don’t seem to.

The Chinese regard the dragon as a symbol of generosity, auspiciousness, prosperity, not to mention regal and imperial authority. So much so only Emperors were allowed to sport the dragon symbol in their regalia.

A wise guardian, protector of the weak and a symbol of happiness and joy, the mystical dragon is held in high esteem by the Chinese, and like the creature, the people born under this Chinese Zodiac Sign display a great amount of generosity, compassion and other exemplary qualities.

These extroverts enjoy outdoor activities and are essentially thrill-seekers. Being highly imaginative and rather dominant, they make good engineers, architects, philosophers and lawyers.

Pearl S Buck Dragon Child

Dragon child :1938 Nobel Prize Winner, Author Pearl S. Buck
(public domain image from Wikimedia Commons)

Dragon People, however, possess a short temper and are prone to emotional eruptions.

Famous Dragon People include Courtney Cox, Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, Isabella Rossellini, Shirley Temple, Ringo Starr, Pearl Buck, George Bernard Shaw and John Lennon, among others.

 

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Tourism Malaysia

Paul Loosley’s George & Oscar on Film (2nd edition)

October 7, 2011 at 2:00 pm

Join Paul Loosley, Director of Axis Films and an adjunct professor at Limkokwing University as he
examines two great works by two very different Irish playwrights, George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Both were Dublin-born, a little more than a year apart, and while both had much to say about society, were used their remarkable writing skills to say quite dramatically different things in quite contrastingly different ways.

The second edition will see a screening of four different movies, two movies each by George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. This series of movie screenings will take place at 3.00 pm, on 2nd , 9th, 16th and 23rd October 2011 at Indicine, klpac. Admission is free and so is the seating arrangement.

Paul Loosely's Oscar and George on Film

Paul Loosely’s George and Oscar on Film

The movies that will be screened are as follows:

2nd October at 3.00 pm George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara
The play presents a brilliant question to the public about morals – if an arms manufacturer can give a good life to its employees and create many job opportunities to people, is it morally wrong for them to be making and selling weapons that causes destruction and mayhem? This is the question that Barbara, the daughter of Andrew Undershaft, is facing. Barbara is a Major in the Salvation Army and the daughter of an arms dealer. When she finds that her father is one of the Salvation Army’s biggest financial benefactors, her difficulty in dealing with her father’s ethics are made worse.

9th October at 3.00 pm Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan
This comedy revolves around Lady Windermere, who discovers that her husband may be having an affair with another woman. When she confronts her husband about this matter, not only does he not resolve it, instead he invites the other woman, Mrs Erlynne, to her birthday ball. Angered by her husband’s move, Lady Windermere leaves her husband for another lover. After discovering what had happened, Mrs Erlynne follows Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband.

16th October at 3.00 pm George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan
This play is about the life and trial of Joan of Arc. It was published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church. The play dramatises what is known of her life based on records of her trial.

23rd October at 3.00 pm Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
This play is reputedly filled with gay code words and references and sadly was Wilde’s last play. It is a satire on how, in Wilde’s world, marriage, responsibility, wealth and birthright matters more than honesty, love, affection and honour. And the fact that everyone is pretending to be someone they are not.

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