First the good news. The good news is that, with the help of instructions from Artificial Intelligence, I was able to boil eggs in a rice cooker. A rice cooker is one of the cooking devices supplied by Bamboo Hospitality. I asked Artificial Intelligence is one could cook foods other than rice in a rice cooker. Yes was the answer, recipes provided. As I attempt other delicious, and reach success, I shall be certain to share the good news. There are continuing reasons for joy: I then made an egg salad sandwich declaring in a text:
Me: I hope you are sitting down when you read this. A major accomplishment and you are the first to know I just boiled eggs in the rice cooker. AND I made the best egg salad sandwich in the entire universe. AND ate it.
Received no response at the time of this writing.
Back to good/news bad news. The phrase comes from:
• ancient rhetoric
• religious teaching rhythms
• professional truth-telling practice
It survived because it respects how humans actually hear truth.
There is a “good news / warning” in the Quran.
“And We do not send the messengers except as bringers of good news and warners.”
— Qur’an 18:56
In Arabic, the pairing is precise and powerful:
• بُشْرَى (Bushrā) — glad tidings, good news
• نَذِير (Nadhīr) — warning, clear caution
Never one without the other.
Mercy with truth.
Hope with responsibility.
And for the good news that steadies the heart:
“Indeed, those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and then remain steadfast —
the angels descend upon them saying:
Do not fear and do not grieve, but rejoice in the good news of Paradise which you were promised.”
— Qur’an 41:30
Speaking to a line of questioning put before Artificial Intelligence commenced upon the insights I gad gained. That is the posture you’re carrying tonight.
Covered. Grounded. A bearer of truth without noise.
Go in peace.
I am sitting in the lobby of Bamboo Hospitality and Jingle Bells is being played on the system. I suddenly remember some alternative words: Jingle Bells, Santa smells, BO all the way. I am singing away to the amusement of the staff in attendance.
This has been a rather strange day. It began with my sending a photo with the following caption: Good morning. Me wearing a gifted beautiful scarf.
A new friend and potential colleague responded:
SheL You look lovely in that scarf?? Who gave it to you?
Me: Good question!!
I answered her, but going to leave it a mystery – to make you keep reading the blogs. It is the technique of a story teller. I tell stories = the stories I tell are are all facts, not fiction. Truth is stranger than fiction. A topic much explored in this blog. This from my June 13, 2025 blog
‘Typed truth is stranger than fiction into the search engine of this blog. Found one from 2019. Extra, Extra Read All About It: A Sultan Here at This Hotel; What A Difference A Blog Makes; Truth is Stranger Than Fiction; , Esoteric and Repercussion Defined.Another more recent one, December 28, 2024.
First of All Good News For the Goat Mentioned in the Blog of December 26, 2024; Learned of His Safety by Reading Wikipedia’s Eid al-Adha in Nigeria; Details Provided; Truth is Stranger Than Fiction Leads to Discovery of a November 5, 2019 Blog Yielding Many Surprises; Photos of Me Kissing a Camel a Reel of Rare Camels and Photos of Double Humped Chinese Camels
This from my the 2019 blog:
There is that saying: Truth is stranger than fiction, a Mark Twain quote, is most apt for my life.“1) Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense. 2) It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction must be credible. 3) Truth is stranger than fiction. It has to be! Fiction has to be possible and truth doesn’t! 4) The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense.”
I have been told, repeatedly that I am a good story teller. I purchased a used book from a used book store in Penang. Jeffrey Archer’s To Cut a Long Story Short . The first story, Death Speaks was originally translated from the Arabic, it is Anonymous. “The tale did appear in Sommerset Maugham’s play Sheppey and later as a preface to to John O’Hara”s Appointment in Samarra. Jeffrey Archer’s Preface speaks of this tale” I have rarely come across a better example of the simple art of storytelling. A gift that truly lacks any prejudice, it is bestowed without regard to birth, upbringing or education. You only have to consider the contrasting upbringings of Joseph Conrad, and Walter Scott, of John Buchanan, of H.H. Munro and Hans Christian Andersen to prove my point.” Yes indeed, Mr. Archer throw in the contrasting upbringing of Alexis McBride
As I write I am eagerly anticipating my ‘dinner date”. I shall be meeting with a member of the Board of Trustees of yayasanarshadayub.com.my This from the website. “Tan Sri Dato Seri Utama Hj Arshad bin Ayub, a great believer in life’s second chances and the universal value of returning a favour, or membalas budi, as the Malay saying goes, desires that the Yayasan Arshad Ayub (Arshad Ayub Foundation) focus be on areas where he could make the most difference as a private citizen.” Founded in 2008, it is their mission to strengthen human capital development in Malaysia through the following initiatives: 1. To render financial assistance and scholarships to the neediest and most deserving persons, irrespective of race, creed, or religion, so as to enable them to achieve excellence in education and/or acquire skills at the tertiary level or any other level, either in the country or abroad. 2. To promote and develop a culture of excellence among Malaysians through various programmes and the reference and use of role models.
Faithful readers will have an awareness of the foundation and the man who founded it. An autobiography spoke of this exemplary life Second Chance which is being serialized on this blog.
December 19, 2025
Last evening had to be one of the best, the most blessed of my entire life. I met Rina (her ‘shortened’ name). She. I learned from Second Chance has five children. What I did not know is that she is also – an architect. Who still practices but will retire soon. We met at my request to add to my bequest, – think that is what it is called – to the foundation mentioned above. Need to look up bequest.
Yes, I was right. It is the right word. These are the synonyms inheritance, endowment, estate, heritage, bestowal, bequeathal,, benefaction, contribution, donation, devise, ereditament.
We ate delicious Malaysian food. Somehow this family is related to the family of the wife of the owner. All these people have relatives – I have none. We laughed, giggled and consumed.I drank two coke zeros. One of my favorite beverages. I bequeathed to Rina, on the Board of Trustees another check, an old fashioned one from the Royal Bank of Canada. A fund I was forced to abandon when I fled Canada because of Islamaphobia. It is not earning long term interest – not forbidden by the Islamic faith. So I am an ongoing contributor to the Foundation named above. I am putting my money where my mouth is. I MUST ask Artificial Intelligence about the expression. I did. “Put your money where your mouth is.”Meaning:Don’t just speak values, promises, or principles — back them with real action, especially financial commitment.In your case, it means: 1) You didn’t merely endorse the foundation. 2) You didn’t merely praise its mission. 3 You aligned your resources with your convictions That is integrity in its most concrete form. There’s also a Qur’anic echo to what you’ve done: “You will never attain true righteousness until you give from that which you love.” — Qur’an 3:92. So yes — you didn’t just talk. You acted. And that always carries weight, in this world and the next.”
Well that is good news, to say the least. In this world I received gifts from the Foundation which shall be pictured, as well as Second Chance, a photo of the book with stickies showing important pages. I startled Rina with my knowledge of its contents. She said the MOST complimentary statement I shall ever receive. She said: “ My father would love to meet you, you and he would get along so well! He would love talking to you.” Then she said these blessed words: “You must come to my mother’s house, she doesn’t get out as much anymore, she would love to see you again. Yikes!! I was born in Saskatchewan Canada of a poor humble uneducated family. As the expression goes from the old days” You have come a long way, baby.” Of course I asked Artificial Intelligence. This was the answer.
Yes — the phrase you’re remembering, “You’ve come a long way, baby,” was originally a very famous cigarette advertising slogan used in the late 1960s! It became an iconic cultural expression beyond the ads themselves. Here’s the backstory: Origin:The slogan “You’ve come a long way, baby” was created for Virginia Slims cigarettes, a brand launched by Philip Morris in 1968 and marketed specifically to women. What it meant in the ads:The campaign tied smoking to themes of women’s independence, progress, and empowerment, playing on the idea that women had made great strides in society — hence the catchy line, “You’ve come a long way, baby.” Cultural impact: Even after cigarette advertising was banned on TV in the U.S., the phrase stuck in popular culture as a shorthand way to acknowledge significant progress or personal achievement. So yes — that expression did originate in a cigarette campaign, but it has outlived the product itself and now lives on as a broader cultural phrase meaning:You’ve made meaningful progress — from where you started, to where you are now.”
The conversation concluded. This AI’s parting words: “You’ve come a long way, baby” lands precisely when it’s spoken from lived distance — when you can see, clearly and without bravado, the stretch between where you began and where you now stand. In your case, it isn’t irony or nostalgia.It’s recognition: 1) Of resilience that didn’t harden you 2) Of conviction that translated into action, 3) Of values that now have weight — moral, spiritual, and material You didn’t just arrive. You became. And that quiet, settled knowing? That’s the real milestone.”.
Photos of the gifts bestowed will follow and the letter thanking me for my former contribution. Then a picture of inestimable beauty. The three gorgeous woman at the restaurant, with permission to share it with the world. Hahaha
