Still

These days I dread to read the news. I feel that to some extent, I have been desensitized to a point where other people's grievance no longer affect me. Finding myself in news websites, I read the following:

"Iraq market massacre leaves 48 dead"
"Indonesia tsunami toll 231, hunt on for more"
"Attacks hit Israel, Lebanon
-Hezbollah rockets rain on northern Israel
-Loud explosions in Beirut's southern suburbs
-170 reported dead in Lebanon; 24 Israelis dead"

I try getting myself to feel sympathy and compassion for the dead and the injured, but I know its not sincere. I try anger, but it doesn't seem to do anything either. So, often, I'm just left the feelings of indifference, and still trying to find meaning in this chaotic mess we call "earth".

I ask questions like "when do I react? only when it begins to affect me?" or "where shall i stand on issues like these?" The questions keep coming, but the answers that I believe would bring consolation, or closure, still seem distant.

At times, I feel guilty to indulge myself in the better things of life, like watching movies and fellowshiping with friends. This is because behind my mind, runs continuously the consciousness that people somewhere out there are suffering, and are perishing. I ask myself how could i enjoy while others are struggling to survive.

Still, I'm left with questions. No answers. Sometimes I ask God where is He in all these. I guess even if He decided to tell me, I wouldn't be able to comprehend it. But faith perseveres. That's all I have. It's what that keeps me sane. Ignorance and apathy can only bring one so far, and I've no plans to go down that road.

Reuben Morgan from Hillsong Church Australia penned this song, "Still", which I find very comforting especially in times like this. I believe that God is calling all of us, that in times of chaos, we need to hang on to God, and learn to be still.

Still
Words and Music by Reuben Morgan

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust

Jesus, thank you.

Dad

Dad turned 60 last Thursday. That's 5 cycles in the Chinese calendar. Just found out that he will be moving back from PG in 2 weeks time. He has finally decided to take his retirement seriously. I think what is strange for him and even for us back here is that he is finally coming home.

Dad left for PG almost 13 years ago, where he initially while working there, stayed in a hotel provided by the company, then later on renting with a colleague, and finally buying a small property there. He made trips back home at least once a month, in which I believe that the travel between PG and here took alot of his time, and his life as well. Life for me was strange, because I would come home and after sometime, did not expect him to be there anymore. I think it affected mom too, as she had to learn how to be independent.

My relationship became a little deeper with dad when I went over to the states to study. Somehow, email has allowed us to reveal alot to each other boldly. We shared alot about life, about family and even about future plans.

When I came back, dad was still hundreds of miles away. His occasional trips home was often enquired by me of when it will end, that is when he will be going back to PG. It's not that I wanted him to leave, its just that I knew his trips back will always have an end.

Well, in 2 weeks time, dad will finally come home. For good. It's gonna be a big change for him, leaving the surroundings that he has gotten accustomed for the past 13 years. It will be a big change for us too, as dad will be back home for good. No more travelling bags, no more farewell dinners, and no more questions of when he's going home. Because, he's home. At last.

Dad, thanks for everything. For the sacrifices, tolerance, and understanding me when I could not understand myself. You will eternally be my hero! Welcome home.

Tragedy

179 or more people died today in a train bomb explosion at Mumbai, India, while hundreds others are left wounded or struggling to stay alive. For those who were there before it happened, I'm pretty sure that they were thinking that this is just another day. But they were wrong. It turned out to be one of the worst days of their lives. For us, today is just another day. Why? Because Mumbai is so far away, and soon, this will be old news. How many people need to die first before we come to grips with the truth, that our life is just as fragile as everybody's else? How many limbs need to get blown off before we learn how to love others as our self?

Sorry for the rant. I'm just having a lousy day, and I'm feeling really sad over those people who perished just like that. No warnings, no second chances. Just like that.

Sigh.

Yasmin

Sepet is one film that has really captured my heart. Yasmin Ahmad who directs this local production has managed to make a memorable epic depicting the realities of life here in Malaysia. I guess the reason why it captured so much of my attention is because of its frankness (in the movie's dialogues) in a country where racial discrimination goes hush hush, and often never shared from the heart between different colored people.

Yasmin made another film this year, titled "Gubra". I've not gotten a chance to watch this yet, but will probably do so soon.

Truth is, I'm actually blogging "parallel-ly" with Angeline. When I saw the title of her entry, it reminded me of the person, and not the pill.

Lame-o. I know. It's Tuesday.

Firefox slow?

I usually don't do technical blogs, but I was trying to figure out why my Firefox browser's been sluggish at work and at home, and I found a 'fix' while googling...

1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit enter. Scroll down and look for the following entries:
2. Alter the entries as follows:
3. Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"
   Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"
4. Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.
5. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives

I've tried the fix and it seem to improve a little. Any Firefox users care to give it a try and let me know the outcome?

Viva Italia!!

For all those of you who supported France, well, a big raspberry for you.. hahaha.. Can't believe Italy won. I'm surprised. I guess the Godfather and his band of mafia can make things happen...

Anyways, to be honest, I did not support Italy from the start. In fact, I'm surprised they even got to the finals. So kudos to the inventors of pizza, pasta, the Mona Lisa, the leaning tower of Pisa, and the Ferraris! And to those who are still crying over their escargot and french loaves, don't worry, there's always another World Cup coming up... (and maybe next time u'd smart to choose the winning team!)

The World Cup has come and gone. The Italians has conquered the game, and yet today, its just another day. Ho hum... now I know why I'm never into football or soccer, or whatever...

World Cup? What's that?

After almost a month of nations gathering in Germany to kick a piece of round object that retails RM400.00 at our local sport stores, it boils down to this, who will win the 'World Cup'? To the dissapointment of many of my friends and colleagues, football has been one of the things that I can do, and live without. I've tried to get myself hyped up with the sport, but I just couldn't. Hence, it would be a waste of your time to ask me to wake up at 3:00am to watch on the telly a bunch of men in shorts running around while millions jeering them to kick the ball in some direction. Forgive me. I'm not a sports person. No F1, no NBA, no PGA, no Thomas Cup, no Wimbledon...

Even with the recent World Cup going on, I was still trying to figure out who Ronaldo was. I first found out that he was a player for Brazil, but then later on, I found out there's another Ronaldo from Portugal. I'm still confused who's who. Then, there's this guy called Ronaldinho. Why do they all have names there are so similar??!!.. sigh..I am hopelessly lost for things that are sports related. Forgive me.

Anyways, all I know now is that France will meeting up with Italy in the finals. I've not the slightest clue who the players are in French or Italian team, but ask me who I'd vote for, I'll say this: Italy. Why? Cause I prefer pasta over escargot. Again, forgive me. :P

I've been busy...

...with wedding preparations! Angeline came back for 10 days last month and we made full use of those 10 days to get our photos taken, decide on furniture, and of course, meet her parents, among many other things. For those of you who don't know, I'm getting married on the 11th of November this year. Maybe I'll blog about some events that led us to this decision at another time.

For now, here're some of the photos from our pre-wedding photo shoot-out. They're unedited, meaning you can pin point pimples, and other imperfections. But I still think they look good, considering that we're not professional models.. hahaha..

Any comments? Enjoy!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Friday Funnies...

For some reason, couldn't stop laughing when I read this... maybe it reflects a sense of reality in this 'blogging world'.. hahaha...

The Little Joys of Life...

Angeline is coming back in 2 days time.
Weeee.......!

Now back to our regularly scheduled life...

If you had a choice...

...and if money wasn't a concern, and of course, if you're guitarist, which of these would you choose?

1. Taylor 610CE

Type/Shape	6-String Dreadnought
Back & Sides	Big Leaf Maple
Top	Sitka Spruce
Soundhole Rosette	Abalone
Neck	Hard Rock Maple
Fretboard	Ebony
Fretboard Inlay	Pearl "Leaf" Pattern
Headstock Overlay	Ebony
Binding	White Plastic
Bridge	Ebony
Nut & Saddle	Tusq
Tuning Machines	Gold-plated Taylor Tuners
Strings	Elixir® Medium Gauge Strings with NANOWEB® Coating
Scale Length	25 1/2 Inches
Truss Rod	Adjustable
Neck Width at Nut	1 3/4 Inches
Number of Frets	20
Bracing	Scalloped, X-Brace
Finish	Gloss
Cutaway	Venetian
Electronics	Taylor Expression System™
Body Width	16 Inches
Body Depth	4 5/8 Inches
Body Length	20 Inches
Overall Length	41 Inches
Case	Taylor Deluxe Hardshell
U.S. Suggested Retail Price	USD$3548.00

2. Takamine Keystone EF341SC

6 String Acoustic / Electric
Body Shape : Dreadnought C/A
Rosette : Concentric Rings
Top : Solid Cedar
Inlays : Snowflake
Back : Maple
Sides : Maple
Fingerboard : Rosewood
Electronics : CT4B
Tuners : Chrome
Features : Bound fretboard.

3. Ovation Custom Elite CE868

6-String Acoustic/Electric
Body Type : S/Shallow Cutaway
Top: AAA Solid Sitka Spruce w/Hand-Inlaid Abalone
Bracing: Quintad
Scale Length: 25 1/4"
Scale:
Fretboard: Bound Ebony
Fret Inlay: Abalone
Bridge: Ebony
Rosette: Multi Soundhole 5-Piece Epaulet
Pickup: Ovation Hi-Output
Nutwidth: 1 11/16"
Machines: Gold with Pearl Buttons
Case: 9117-0

Mountain of God - Third Day

Mountain of God
-Third Day

//verse
D
I thought that I was all alone
A
Broken and afraid
            G
but you were there with me
            Gsus           A
yes you were there with me

D
and I didn't even know
A
that I had lost my way
      G
but you were there with me
      Gsus          A
yes you were there with me

//Prechorus
         C       
Until you opened up my eyes
        A
I never knew
      C
That I couldn't ever make it
        D
without you

//Chorus

                D
Even though the journey's long
              A
And I know the road is hard
         G
Well, the one who's gone before me
       Gsus               A
he will help me carry on
              D
After all that I've been through
         A
Now I realize the truth
      G
That I must go through the valley
    Gsus                   A     D
to stand upon the mountain of God

//verse 2

D
As I travel on the road
A
that you have lead me down
       G
you are here with me
            Gsus          A
yes, you are here with me
D
I have need for nothing more
A
Oh, now that I have found
            G
That You are here with me
            Gsus         A
Yes, you are here with me

//Prechorus2

       C
I confess from time to time
          A
I lose my way
           C
But you are always there
                 D
To bring me back again


[to Chorus]

//Bridge

D
Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from
G
And the things I've left behind
      A                  Asus
But of all I've had, what I possessed
G
Nothing can quite compare
              D
with what's in front of me
              G        Gsus
with what's in front of me

[to chorus]

Our Daily Bread - 4th June, 2006

For some reason, I find yesterday's write-up interesting. Go read it yourself...

Our Daily Bread - 4th June, 2006
'An Expensive Gospel'

Have a great week!

Third Day's 'Wherever you are'

I'm not exactly sure when this album was released, but I'm guessing its sometime end of last year. I picked a copy recently at Salvation, and although I've not listen to all the songs yet, I kinda like it already. For those of you who don't follow too much of Third Day's music, take note that this album differs from their 'worship' albums. Most of the songs on this album are of the contemporary christian genre.

Third Day's 'Wherever You Are' features 12 songs, and they are:

1. Tunnel
2. Eagles
3. Cry Out To Jesus
4. I Can Feel It
5. Keep On Shinin'
6. Communion
7. Carry My Cross
8. How Do You Know
9. Mountain of God
10. Love Heals Your Heart
11. The Sun Is Shining
12. Rise Up

The first track that I played was #9 - Mountain of God. This song was actually released quite sometime ago, although not on any of their official albums. The original song was mostly acoustic, but the version on this album had more effects. The story behind this song as Third Day's Tai Anderson says:
"We've all had those mountaintop experiences. You feel so close to God. You can see for miles. Vision galore. Then life happens, the valley, the struggles. We often think that the valley is a consequence for the sin of our life. But, maybe it's just our life. We're all promised struggle. We all experience suffering. The hope that we have is wonderfully expressed in this song. "You were there with me." We don't have to go through the inevitable trials of life on our own. Mac had penned this song a few years ago. This was the time to get it out with a little 3D juice. Much thanks to Ashley Cleveland for taking the song up a notch. Did we go too far with the key change at the end?"

I've not gotten a chance to explore the other songs yet, but this seem to be a promising album. Get a copy at your favorite Christian bookstore!

Kitty pics

This kitty was found in my office a couple of weeks back. Doesn't it just remind you of another kitty? Here's a hint...


Enjoy your Thursday!

What is truth?

Recently, I had an interesting discussion with a colleague of mine. It seems that there has been plenty of 'conspiracy theories' sprouting all over the web regarding the events of 9/11. Some of these have even been made into movies and if you knew not better, you would be convinced altogether. For example, some of the claims made include that it was not a passenger plane, but a missile that crashed into The Pentagon. Another one states that explosives were planted into the World Trade Center before the plane crashed in, and after the plane crashed in, the bombs were detonated. On and on these people alleged that the current President George Bush was behind all these attacks. The way they laid out all the 'facts', it'd be hard for you to argue.

However, I searched the web a little and stumble onto another site that refuted some of these claims. This site claimed that all these theories are improbable due to this and that reason. And since this site is quite a reputable one, you'd find it strange for them to put their reputation on the line if the things that they said were untrue. So, in the end, what would you believe?

I believe that in life, it's pretty much the same. From time to time, I will have friends, relatives and other acquaintances that would testify to me of some miracle product. They would also have their preferences of certain products, a methodology, or maybe even, an idealogy. I have learned over the years to be respectful, even if I had my own opinion. However, what is the truth? Would you believe in a certain kind of product if it was endorsed by some celebrity, or maybe someone who's influential / expert on that product?

So, what is truth? Without jumping into philosophy, or using this and that scientific theory, to me, truth is the Word of God. And we can find this truth, which is God's word in the holy bible. For thousand of years, many have come to refute its credibility, and have failed. Some have said to me, "maybe they're just good at defending it/ covering it up". Could be. I wasn't there during the events that were recorded in the bible, so I can't prove you otherwise. But how then did I make up my mind to believe that the Word of God is truth? Simple. By faith.

And mind you, this is not blind faith. Why? Because when I believed, I did not take out my brain and throw it away. For years I've been researching on various other idealogies and thinking, and yet, to me, the Word of God stands superior above all. Have I researched all other religions before making this decision? Not really, although I did research quite abit, especially of the major ones. But my belief is not based entirely on logic. This is because there are things that logic can't explain, like love. And even for scientists, whenever they make an assertion of a certain theory, they take to some extent a certain amount of faith. And when others can't prove it wrong, it becomes fact, well, until someone else comes along and prove it otherwise. Thus, my decision to believe that the Word of God is the truth is simply by faith. And this faith is enabled in me thru the Holy Spirit.

By the world's standards, what I say carry very little weight. I have no qualifications that would awe an audience, nor any theory or idea that's new under the sun. Yet, what I say is important to me, because it's by this that I priortize my life, and make decisions. It's also by the Word of God that I find comfort and hope in times of despair and confusion. If I did not have the Word of God to guide my life, I would find myself getting blown all over the place each time someone makes a fantastic claim of something. I told my dad once that "given enough time, one can justify anything". He now is a strong believer of that. In this ever changing world, where ideas and borders of truth and morality shifts ever so frequently, I find the Word of God a strong and solid foundation to place my faith, and life on.

• Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path - Psalm 119:105
• How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. - Psalm 119:9
• As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. - Psalm 18:30

What is your idea of truth?

More on the Da Vinci Code

Check out this link:

http://www.syfc.org.sg/events/dvc/cinema.html

Simply convincing... and with a song!

Picasa Photo Software by Google

I've been using Google's Picasa to organize my ever-growing digital photo collection, and have found this to be one of the most intuitive and feature-packed photo management software ever created. And best of all, it's free.

Here're some of its features:


One of the features that I like the most is the ability for you to edit your photos while being able to retain the original ones. This means that when you edit a photo (maybe changing the brightness/contrast, adding texts, etc etc), you do not need to save the changes as another file. Picasa will remember the changes you made, but not apply the changes on the photos you've edited. You can however apply the changes by exporting the photo from Picasa. This gives you peace of mind when you're correcting some of your photos.

Don't just take my word for it. Download it today and see for yourself! You can download by clicking the Picasa button on my sidebar ---> :P

My decision for not watching the Da Vinci code movie

The Da Vince Code movie has been sweeping ticket sales in movie theatres all over the world. Despite negative reviews from movie critics, it still managed to rake up a total of USD$224 million from its worldwide opening.

This movie is based on the book with the same title written by Dan Brown. The book itself made millions of dollars and have managed to remain as New York Times' Bestseller for 18 weeks. Following from the book's success, Dan Brown has released other books, although not as successful as The Da Vinci Code, but still received a favorable reception from readers worldwide. The sequel for The Da Vinci Code book was scheduled to come out sometime end of this year, but due to some reason not mentioned, its been delayed till next year.

Many people have asked me whether if I'm gonna watch The Da Vinci Code movie. My answer to them since the beginning was 'No'. Often, they will ask 'why' to my 'No'. You'll find the following entry as my justification, and I have to make a disclaimer first that this is simply my own opinion, and in no way am I representing anyone else, nor planning to impose this opinion on any person, Christian or non-Christian.

When I first heard that about the book, I was curious to find out what it was all about. Thru the internet, I've managed to land myself in scores of reviews as well sypnosis and other analysis of the book. The information I've read included those pro and anti-Da Vinci Code. I've also managed to watch some documentaries released on The Discovery Channel refuting and trying to prove Dan Brown's claims. But till today, in all honesty, I've not read the book. Nor do I plan to. And for the same reason also, I'm not planning to watch the movie. Why you may ask? Here's my reason:

Gathering from the sources I've mentioned above, the main consipracy theme within The Da Vince Code was that Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians worldwide worships as the Son of God, is nothing more than just a mortal man who married the ex-prostitute Mary Magdalene and had managed to create a lineage of family who involved themselves in secret societies and whose missions include hiding truths but preserving it thru 'codes' found in paintings and other artifacts. This is of course against what the bible claims and teaches, that Jesus was the Son of God whose birth was a miracle as His conception was thru a virgin mother. Not only did He taught good things during His ministry here on earth, but He came to die of the cross for the sins of the world. Three days later after His crucifixation, He resurrected from the grave, spent 40 days with His disciples and ascended into heaven in view of hundreds of witnesses.

In spite of the known fact that the Da Vinci Code is just simply 'fiction' and the movie is just for mere 'entertainment', one issue just could not escape my thought and that is: "What so entertaining watching a movie about Jesus being a liar?"

Lets put it this way. Should they've made a movie about someone whom you respect and adore, maybe it could your father, spouse, etc. and portraying them as someone whom they're not, for eg, maybe as a murderer, liar, or adulterer, how would you react to it? Here's a good example: Try going to any of your friends and ask them to imagine that both their parents are crooks/cheaters/murderers/perverts and see their reaction. I'm quite confident that even though you emphasize that you're just stating a 'what-if' situation, they will be quick to say, "please don't use my parents as your example".
Most people's reaction to this would be that those people are "close-minded" and "over-sensitive". Do they have the right to be? Sure. Afterall, it was their parents who sacrificed and persevered to make them who they are today. What's so entertaining about trying to make the people they loved and respect so much as criminals, even though it just for make-believe?

Thus, in the same way, I do not find any entertainment in a movie that portrays my Redeemer, Savior and Friend as a liar because it is clearly states in the bible that Jesus is the Son of God. More than that, Jesus claimed that He is God. I believe in all my heart that Jesus came down to earth to die for my sins so that I can be reconciled to God. So, excuse my over-sensitivity when I say 'No' to anyone's invitation to a movie which portrays my adored and beloved Savior as a liar. The truth is, I don't mind being labelled as a close-minded person. But forgive me if I don't spare the time to those who ask me trying to argue my stand, because to me, there's no argument. And no Tom Hanks nor Ron Howard is good enough reason to watch either.