Merry Christmas, 2009

Merry Christmas, wherever you are in the world!

This year, we find ourselves in a new country, for Christmas. We didn't really expect this, last Christmas...but events led us overseas, in the course of the past year. For those who haven't been reading recently, we are now in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is a big city, compared to Singapore (in area and feel) and one that, we feel, has more to offer us, just now. As yet, I am new here, so I am forebearing to comment on many things, until I understand, better, what this country is all about. However, I have seen much, so far, that is promising. I think our time, here, shall prove interesting.

The biggest surprise is that Christmas is actually celebrated in Malaysia, when it is a widely known Muslim country. In every supermarket, there are Christmas trees and crackers, Christmas pudding and mince pies - and every traditional accompaniment of Christmas is available on sale. I think this is a hopeful sign for the nature of the society in which we find ourselves. It is an effort at inclusiveness that the festivals of other religions should be openly celebrated and supported. Indeed, in the newspapers, a Malaysian politician was quoted as encouraging Malaysians to spread the Christmas spirit! It is quite refreshing to see such inclusiveness. I hope it is more than skin deep, for, if it is, then Malaysia will prove to be a society that welcomes others from all over the world. I shall wait to see if this is so, in the months ahead.

The only thing that is missing from Christmas, in Malaysia, is snow. But then, I very much doubt whether Malaysia has snowed for many thousands of years, if at all. So, we shall have to do without snow, this December. However, I should note that, though White Christmases were common in my childhood, they have become rarer in the land of my birth, in recent years, since global warming took hold. Indeed, I don't think any of my children have ever seen snow. In a way, that is sad, because snow provides memories of wonder, in most childhoods of my generation. I hope, one day, then, that my children have a White Christmas and get to build their own snowman. Here's hoping.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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