That Awesome God

Why do most people perceive that God is out of touch? Is it that His advice always seem conservative? Is it that He's BORING? Or is it because He has poor representation here on earth (Christians)?

For me, its always a wonder why people think God is out of touch with the world today. I mean, He is God eternal... a being that transcends time, space and power.... the perfect being. And yet, we label Him as a has been. How? If He is the perfect being and Creator of all, with the knowledge of all things that happen in the present and future, and the source of all wisdom in this universe, how could he be out of touch? That taken into consideration, wouldn't He be always in touch with the times, and we simply just catching up with Him? He would know current trends AND future trends, whether it'd fashion or finance. So whats up?

Maybe because people think that God is an ol' fuddy duddy and party pooper. Why? Cause there's lots of things that He says are good and bad? And that we perceive His advice to be irrelevant? Consider this... if God is omniscient and omnipresent, how could He be wrong? If he is the all loving being that we all recognize him to be, how could He wish us anything but the best? Anything that you think is fun and important now, like sex and drugs, might not be as important as you think, and He knows this. Remember, HE is the embodiment of all wisdom, and hence would make the best counselor, and being all knowing, He would know what He's talking about, don't you think? There's lots of fun to be had within the 'God limitations' more than many realize.

Being the humans that we are, we have the tendency to rebel against higher authorities. We've never really grown out of the angsty teenage mold we grew into. We treat God as nothing more than a dated fashion accessory to be dumped, like we do our parents, rather than an all powerful being that He is. Or maybe He's just 'BORING'?

Why is He boring? What did he ever do to suggest that? Perhaps the culprits behind God's label are Christians ourselves. We've gotten so stuck to traditions and doctrines, that most of us have forgotten that we still live in the world, and that we're still subject to the whims of time, and to LIVE to the values that God teaches us. There's nothing in the God's Word (the Bible) that prohibits Christians from being hip and having fun, but within certain limitations [no sex and drugs].

Jesus was not the 'all work and no play' kind of guy. He had his share of parties that he attended to and entertained people. He drank wine, but never got drunk and never was rude. He was also honest and frank to the people He met, rather than putting on masks just so people would like him. He was who He is, and acted accordingly.

And on top of all this, we know that God has a sense of humour. We've only got to look at the world most ridiculous animal, the platypus, as evidence of this.



I'll leave you with this 6 panels of Sinfest comics to ponder upon.

P.S. If you're wondering who the people on the clouds are, they're hand puppets of God.

Retard Or Special?

While reading a friend's blog, I was introduced to the term, "tards"... a short for retards. I was actually quite shocked really. Not so much at the term itself, but because of the actual suggestion of the word 'retard'. But then, thinking on a little more, there's actually very little to be shocked and offended about. Here's why:

We give names to people groups just so we can at least address them. But every once in a while, some dork will go out and use it as a derogatory term [though there are some thats meant to be derogatory]

Take retards for example. The word as a definitive only indicates that that particular person has retarded learning capabilities. But being the fun natured beings we are, we're gonna poke fun at our friends by calling them retards. Soon enough, you'll be screaming 'Retard!' at the next person who happens to step on your shoe. Soon, it becomes widespread, people find it offensive, and then try to come up with a politically correct name. Like, 'mentally challenged'. I remember when that was THE word to use way back. Now its 'special needs'.

So, all we're really doing is perpetuating a ridiculous cycle of coming up with new and novel ways to rename some people groups. So think before you start calling people names.

If you're already tired of reading my rants, then at least read this cartoon:
Call Me Blind

Trivia: The word 'fuck' was originally a courtroom term to describe people having sexual intercourse.

The lazy mind

I admit. I've been lazy for the past month or so now. I haven't spent a lot of time thinking and spent a lot more of it 'living'. Hence the lack of blogging.

Then again, if by living I meant that I was doing my homework, and working hard at the office, I would be lying too. That can only mean one thing. I was just plain lazy and have hit a slump that has lasted for a month plus.

That sucks.

Will post again tomorrow after I've made some effort at digging myself out of this hole.

Like an Energizer

Crikey! I'm so wound up today that I can't sit in my chair without going into some mental conniption. My muscle's feel fatigued, and yet, I still want to go around and trash something. Maybe I shouldn't have played Evil Genius late into the night yesterday. Not that I'm feeling compelled to take over the world, no siree. Just confused as to whether to drop into a coma or to throw a chair out a window.

Alright, that's all for now. I have to be productive if I'm to get anything done around here, so I can't be entertaining bags of bacteria like yerselves. That's not an insult to you guys and girls... really. You gotta believe me. It's scientifically backed up.

Bet you think that's way cooler than my other post on why it smells after rain, eh?

Standing still in time and space

I know I'm cheating by placing two posts on the same day, but heck, I thought of other things to write of since the past ten minutes.

Ever had the feeling that you were so afraid of the future that you wished time would stand still? While having dinner with Mum, Dad, and my brother I suddenly felt so afraid of time that I wish it could just stop. Forget about the space-time continuum. I want to live today forever, like Groundhog Day... then again, maybe not like Groundhog Day.

But there is probably a time where I wish I could live forever. But I think I'll keep that to myself.

What? You want to know what it is?

Too bad. Not tellin'... evil, aren't I?

Spazzing out

Yeah yeah, I know. I haven't been updating myself lately. I haven't had much time because I'm swamped with work. I've been transcribing interviews for days on end, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel... maybe because I'm not going in the right direction. Or maybe because the exit of the tunnel is filled with Sims 2. And I'm addicted to Sims 2. That's right. Sims 2. You should try it too. Now excuse me while I pine over playing it again. That's right. I'm a spaz.

I'm scared...

I've just stolen some time off the office just to watch the movie clip for Aliens vs. Predator (yeah, I've been pretty slow at updating myself on pop culture recently), and good Lord, that clip sucked. It was like watching a Monday matinee TV-only movie. Seriously. And to think I doubted my friends when they said the show sucked. These are the same guys who said Mar Attacks! sucked. Hey that was a great show!! A real return of the classics, paying homage to all the 70's flicks about aliens. Too bad the same can't be said of AvP. AvP has gone so far back beyond the words "classic" and "homage" that they now just spells "suck". Not lollipop suck. More like, sucking an egg type of suck. An ostrich egg.

I've always been the guy to say that trailers always look a whole hell lot better than the actual show itself, and that maybe life on the silverscreen should just be limited to trailers. I mean, look at the Grayson trailer and you'll know what I mean. But like the Star Wars Episode I and II, they can be used as of a part of a greater conspiracy to make today's people watch some really crappy stuff. This AvP trailer... its part of the biggest conspiracy in the world. To make us watch the crappiest movie ever made.

The movie clips proved to me that the show
Just so you know, I was actually planning to buy the DVD for that show. Now I'm scared. And I feel the need to wash myself clean. With a steel brush.

Or sandpaper.

Smoking Ringgits Away

Well, the government has done it again. They've pulled another trick out of their hat and frankly, I'm not impressed.

What they've done this time is to increase the price of cigarettes (henchforth known as 'ciggies'). Perhaps they think its a pretty clever thing to do to promote better health and life without ciggies. But when you think about it, its not what its all cracked up to be.

Ask anyone who knows anything about drugs, or who has taken drugs, and they'll tell you that it takes alot to quit the habit. In fact, finance is never truly the issue, whether you're rich or poor. The rich can simply shrug off the cost, and the poor will resort to stealing more. Its a willingness to break the habit, and consciously say to yourself, I have a problem, and it needs to change. I've seen friends jump hoops (not literally) to get their fix.

I'd like to think that the government is just really stupid, and hasn't realized that short of a ban, we can't begin to hope to reduce ciggy purchases. I'm beginning to believe that this price hike is nothing more than the government's evil ploy to get more cash to line their pockets. That's right guys. Its a conspiracy that has reaches through all levels of government..

Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions here.

Its more likely that the govenrment is not invovled in a conspiracy, but rather, blatantly announcing that they're robbing smokers in broad daylight. It'll just be too much work to do conspiracy. More than the folks at Parliament are really willing to go through anyways.

I'm getting way ahead of myself here today... Hope something interesting happens before I write-up more bad fiction.

Santa Not Coming to Town?

Salt Lake city is soon to curb Santa Clause's habit of flying dangerously low. Yup, so they'll have santa-free skies and lots of really upset kids once they figure out what City Hall did.

I suppose Santa doesn't get to visit the White House either, cause of the anti-aircraft artillery mounted on its roof. What with the 9/11 attack, I'm sure official are not going to take any risks from flying gift baskets. Who knows when Al-Qaeda will hijack Santa's ride and put a plastic knife against Rudolf's neck?

Santa : Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!!

(Sleigh arc's towards the White House upon which two Secret Service agents are manning the AA guns.)

AA Gunner 1: Fuzz*, its coming right for us!
AA Gunner 2: Its Santa. George's daughters must have been good this year.
AA Gunner 1: Ya fuzzin' kidding me? These are the Twins we're talking about!
AA Gunner 2: Good God, you're right! Frag that sleigh!!

Santa : Ho ho ho, peace and joy to...

(And little Timmy, who lived a street behind the White House, never received his presents that Christmas Day)

*edited for the kiddies

I've got WORK!!

Can you believe that? I've finally been given a project to help out with. Thankfully it doesn't really be engaged into full gear until the following week, so my trip to Frasier's Hill this weekend won't been jeopardized. Yay!

Don't get me wrong, its not that I find the work an inconvenience. Its just that I've been doing nothing for so long, I've gotten quite used to it. So I'm actually glad that the MD finally gave me something to do.

Yahoo!

Found out that Yahoo just updated itself and is now allowing Yahoo users 100MB in their mailboxes. Woohoo!!

Now if I can only figure out what to do with the extra space...

Staying awake....

Anyone out there know how to get rid of muscle lethargy while I'm at my desk? I get this feeling that everthing but my brain wants to go to sleep half the time in the office, particularly when I haven't been doing anything strenuous.

Comics?

I feel that my last post wasn't nearly as cynical as I had intendid to be, simply because I was tired then. Oh well.

I know I haven't been posting much up lately. I've still yet to discipline myself to sit down and type my thoughts out, as well as train myself to remember the thoughts I had before I sat in front of a computer.

You may have also noted that I've added two new faves; the Norm and Count Your Sheep. Any Calvin and Hobbes fan should quickly appreciate Michael Jantze's take on ordinary life, while Count Your Sheep is a really cutesy wootsy type of comic and make for very light reading. If I had my own credit card, I would have already bought copies of their collections.

Thanks to many other comic artists, I've decided to try my hand at comics. I've been followed the exploits of some of them and have become very very inspired to make the world laugh. Now all I have to do it come up with a theme...

Crime Fever

Crime around here appears to be at an all time high. Or is it simply because the media has decided its the flavour of the month? Or that people are more readily reporting crime incidents? Or is it simply the ignorance of the government.

I was just discussing it my Dad that whenever something horrible shows up on the news, it'll eventually be followed by the PM making a speech on how they're going to combat a problem. Usually by forming committees to discuss the problem and 'look into it'. That wouldn't be so bad if what these guys were doing actually reduces crime. The problem with the government is that its full of paper tigers.

Let me illustrate it here:
Back when the current PM came into power, he was really into cracking down into piracy, particularly CD and DVD piracy. And for a time, I noticed that all the shops that sold these 'products' had all but disappeared. 2 months down the road, what do I see? DVD peddlers roaming the restaurants. I wasn't long before the pirate shops were once again open.

Also, the government mentioned that to combat piracy, they would try to curb the lavish prices that plague original DVD's, prices that no average citizen could afford cause or greedy middlemen and also that Hollywood did not take into account the cost of living around here. Up till now, DVD's are still at 200 buck a pop. That's the same price as it always has been.

I'd like to mention that recently the news headlined the death of two illegal racing motorcyclists. The road where they were killed was one that every illegal racer motorcyclists congregate. It wasn't too long ago that the authorities decided to close this road to traffic, every day, at 7pm, to combat this issue. Do you see the problem here? Let me spell it out:
If you close the road to all traffic, what you are doing is that you're actually creating the perfect venue for illegal racers. I wouldn't be too difficult to bring around the bikes to this area.

Nyark!!

Recently found webcomic the norm by Michael Jantze. I think its great stuff, and well worth the investment to read it. Amazing how the grim reality called life can be made so lively.

I remember that when I was still in varsity, I used to have the panic attacks about getting into the workforce when I leave Uni. The thought of getting up every weekday to do a job that you probably will hate in a little cubicle trying to meet deadlines, and the fact that you can't say that your dog ate your work bothered me and kept me up for nights.

Now I don't have to cope with that now... I've managed to find a cure for those anxiety attacks. It's called internship. No fuss, no muss. You will always have some time to muck around, and any job given to you will never have a chance to carry over to the next day...

I seriously need to get a real job.

Life with a capital 'B'

Yeah I know. Life hasn't got a 'b' in it. So what. That's what I'm doing now. Being bored. Thank God for homework. Too bad I don't know what the half of it is, though. I could be really productive today.

At least I did the other half. I just wrote about how I might be a drunkard, what a cigarette looks like to a blind man, and early last week, a complete advertising campaign on how to sell a paperclip on half of an A4 sheet. Remind me to post a picture up of it sometime.

Excuse me while I go scream...

Get up and smell the rain

Hey wow! Blogspot.com just added this beautiful little composition doodad to the post creation. Great job guys! Now things will be alot easier to prettify. Okay, now I'm just abusing it, but its still pretty neat.

Okay, back to the topic at hand. Ever wonder what that wonderful after rain smell really is? Is it just the extra moisture in the air you're smelling? Or is it because grass has a natural aroma that we don't normally smell because of the layer of dirt coating it, and the dirt is washed away when it rains?

Well, its neither of these things, but easily plausable still, I suppose.

The real truth behind this is really because trees excrete oils from it bark over time. So when the sky starts to fall on our heads, the oil mixes itself with the water. The water serves as an aerosol for the oil, very much like gas in a bug spray can, so that when the rain stops, and the water starts to evaporate, it carries with it some of the oil, which proceeds to float into our nasal passages, to make contact with the smell receptors. That's what causes the after rain aroma.

But that's not the only reason. That's right. There's more than one cause for this smell.

You may have already said to yourself, "I don't have any trees anywhere near my home for miles. How could this be?" Don't worry, Comrade Kenny will tell you and make you all smart and comfy about this. The other cause of the freshly cut grass smell are spores. Thats right. Spores. Before you all panic and rush yourselves to the nearest ER, think about this. We've really been breathing in these into our lungs for ages. Now, there's nothing growing in you, nor are you suffering some debilitating lung disease, are you? Are you?

I'm sure you'd want to know what kind of spores are these? Simple. They belong to bacteria called Actinomycetes. So that means you're not going to grow mushrooms in your lungs anytime soon if you're still not convinced that the spores aren't detrimental to your health. You're going to get a debilitating disease that eats away at your brain. Anyways, these Actinomycetes things live in moist soil, and produce spores when its dry, very much like most other bacteria when faced with hostile environments. So when raindrops land on the soil, it kicks up all the little buggers into the air as well as transport then when the water evaporates into the air.

Not all after rain smells smell so great though, as most may have noticed, especially if you're a sity slicker. This is thanks pretty much to humans in general, and not because dogs, cats, and rats have been peeing and pooing around the alleys and streets, or even in your prize winning bed of flowers. I'm sure they'd (the dogs, cats, and rats) like us to thank them anyway, for making the world a much more fertile place, but humans don't have kind of appreciation, so there's no gratitude for them here. Probably the reason why they poo at your doorstep every once in a while. Just so you'd notice their contribution and remember to thank them for enriching the front door with nutrients.

As I was saying, the cause of the unpleasent smells is acid rain. Yup. It falls, mixes with organics and breaks them down, or mixes with all the chemical crap that we throw around that causes it to react and produce strong smells, stronger than that of tree oil and bacteria spores. And these smells are generally unpleasant. I would know. I walk by some drains on the way to work and get englufed by these "aroma's".

Its a general rule that the longer it doesn't rain, the stronger the smells will be. This dry period allows all the goop I mentioned to accumulate; the trees become oilier, bacteria become spore-rier, and streets become crappier.

Hope you're all happier knowing what after rain smell consists of, and that you're all able to go to sleep smiling, knowing more than the person who hasn't read this about after rain smells, allowing you to become more of a smart ass. Enjoy.

Lovely Morn!

Well,
I'm guilty of not going to work yesterday. Yep. That's right. But you didn't catch me red handed.

I didn't go for work simply because I was still suffering from some after effects from a bug I caught in Sydney.

Anyways, because of that, I didn't bother to update my blog. But you didn't miss much. Nothing really happened much to me. Just saved the world twice in one day via Hellboy and Paycheck, and still had time to save a couple of thousand ringgit from the government's grubby paws.

Both Hellboy and Paycheck are excellent films, and neither is short on action. But I loved Hellboy a whole lot more because of the humor and the noir feel of the movie. Granted, it isn't something everyone would appreciate a whole lot. If you're not into films where the protagonist makes witty comments in every moment, and I'm not making light of the mention of 'every moment', then this isn't the one for you. The only qualm about the film I have is the inclusion of the female character. Not much went into her development in the film, and her presence there seemed more of a side note to the whole experience.

Also found out my script writing tutor is being sued by a former acquaintance because he called him a 'drama queen' in an article. Why he's so peeved off is because he thought my tutor had called him a 'queen'. I suppose he wanted to be called a drama king.

Back from Down Under

Hoo Wow. The whole trip was a blast. The travelling, the walking, the sightseeing, the shopping, the conference.

For those not in the know, I've returned from my trip to Melbourne and Sydney day before yesterday, and I spent the whole day yesterday veg-ing out.

I feel happier, more joyful, closer to Lai Yee, and set more on fire for God.

So much about the bad feeling I got about the trip before the trip. Bad things did happen, but only in the first 3-4 days. I won't expound on that, but rest assured, this has been the best holiday ever.

Did I tell you guys I brought a virus back?

Life's a Stress

Gosh. I don't even know where to start.

I've decided not to work for the company anymore, cause I'm starting to feel that I'm draining their resources without much returns to the company. I'll be leaving next month.

I've got a million things to look for and QC for Punctuation's August Production.

And I'm bloody stressed out cuz I've just lost my accomodation in Melbourne for this Saturday and 9 days after and need to look out for a new place. And this time we'll have to pay for it.

God help me!!

Staring Death in the Eye

Boots left us sometime last night.

Mum discovered this while Dad and myself were on the way work. Of course, we turned around the get back to the house.

Strange that despite my love for Boots, I hadn't felt a pang of loss then. Reaching home and finding Boots dead... I wanted to reach out and give him the usual prod that I always do to see if he's still alive, hoping that he'll wake up. But I didn't. I knew that this was the end of his days just by looking at him... his blank stare, the hanging tongue. I returned that stare.

I wanted to close his eyes. But his whole body was stiff.

Touching Death. Its funny, but there's a difference when there life in a body. The last time I touched Boots, he felt more like a stuffed animal.

No longer will he prod me for attention with his wet nose, no longer will he rub himself against my leg and foot, no longer will he make that howl "Hello", no longer will he force his way into the house, no longer will he wait for me to pat him before he eats. Thinking now, about the finality of it... brings tears to my eye, a sense of pain from grief and despair threatening to break the dam of self control and flow through and out my mouth.

All there is now is a husk. A cold cold husk, buried six feet under in the ground by now, wrapped in a warm blanket...

God, I miss him.

I'm a communist

That's right. It's not a typo, it's not an editorial mistake, it's not a mental breakdown. I'm a full fledged communist. I was born to it. In fact, I love it. I support communism wherever it's practiced, and soon after you finish the second paragraph, you will realise that YOU ARE A COMMUNIST TOO.

Why do I openly express my social orientation? Because its true. I love to be with people, alot of people, even if I don't contribute much to the conversations. I love to hang out with friends and family, and I love to listen to them and talk with them and find out about their lives. In other words, I love to COMMUNE with people.

That's right. I was born a communist. And so are you. Tom Hanks has shown us that we're communist down to the very core. His conversations with Wilson during his 4 year sabbatical on a unchartered island is evidence of this. Men and women are so naturally predisposed to commune with one another, that even in the absence of human presence, we may still commune, albiet with ourselves.

Let me cite an article to illustrate the importance of being a communist:

In 1962 a professor of psychology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Edgar Schein, suggested that physical, psychological, and chemical techniques could be used on prisoners to deliberately alter behavior and attitude. Schein was a world renowned expert on psychological coercion, having done extensive studies of torture and brainwashing techniques used on American prisoners of war, during the Korean War, by North Koreans and the Chinese. Schein also proposed isolation, sensory deprivation, to destroy socialization among prisoners as well as to sever the links prisoners had to the outside world. Because humans validate their existence, their personality, through contact with others, isolation has a significant impact on the human psyche. This form of psychological disorientation, the removal of others for validation of self, came to be known as the “Muttnik Principle” (so named by psychologist Nathaniel Braden) and was also called the “Psychology of Invisibility.”
-Atwood, F.J. (n.d.), Control Unit Prisons (SHU) (Online),

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/2398/shucontrolunits.html

While this is in reference to prison practice, and I recommend you read the rest of the article in the above provided website, it shows that being a communist is essential to our survival.

In case you're still thinking, "Holy crap, he's a communist and he's preaching it!! Lynch him!!" I'll clarify you by saying that I'm not a supporter of the version Communism endorsed by Karl Marx, defined below:

• A scheme of equalizing the social conditions of life; specifically, a scheme which contemplates the abolition of inequalities in the possession of property, as by distributing all wealth equally to all, or by holding all wealth in common for the equal use and advantage of all.
  
• A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.
  
• The Marxist-Leninist version of Communist doctrine that advocates the overthrow of capitalism by the revolution of the proletariat.

So, are you a communist?

Singapore Sale

Made a trip down to Singapore with Dad and Lai Yee last weekend, and I must say, though I was bored stiff on the first day, I got pretty excited on the second day. So excited that my wardrobe has expanded by 4 t-shirts, 2 shirts and a pair of leather shoes. And all for a quarter of their original price. Maybe not the shoes though...

I must say that Lai Yee thoroughly enjoyed her trip down to Singapore too. I think that because she didn't get to buy stuff on the first day (the source of my boredom on the first day because I had to lead AND follow her around) that her excitement on the second day was a little uncontained, hence the 3 pairs of shoes, and 2 handbags she bought, both (the handbags) which I very much approve of. I really can't stand those hand-tankers that she has. If her bag were named after an astro-phenomenon, it would be called the black hole. With capital letters...

Time Trickling Through My Fingers

Lordy, have a day planned out and watch it explode in your face and blow all your other contingency plans away.

Went out today during lunch hour to get some Australian visa's done in One Utama to prepare for my trip to Australia, but with no cash on hand for the processing fee. So, naturally I would head down to the ATM machines to get extra cash, and wouldn't you know it, I didn't have enough cash to manke the minimum RM50 witdrawal! I've never heard of such nonsense.

So there I was slowly starving away, cause I couldn't afford to waste the RM 1.80 I had to buy food... I still had to get out of 1U, and 80 cents doesn't buy anything appetising. Thats okay, I'll eat roti kosong when I get back to the office and have already emptied the car's coin box.

So I thought, maybe I'd better open that Maybank account that I've always wanted, since I had my paycheck with me. So I head down to DU's Maybank, and get this... They wouldn't let me open an account simply because I didn't reside geographically close to the branch. And I paid that 60 cent parking for no reason at all.

So to finish my sojourn out of the office, when I got back to eat the roti kosong, the shop tells me that they've stopped making roti kosong for the day!! Can today get any better than that? What a bloody waste of time.

Anyhow, other than that, I am felling anxious once again about going to Script writing class.

GAH!!

YARGH!! I can't stand it!! I'm so tired but I don't want to because I'm supposed to be awake at work and even if I'm not doing work I want to be doing my script-writing stuff but I can't do it while I'm so freaking lethargic and sleepy!!! I can't keep my head up straight and my arms feel ticklish and tired and heavy! Good Lord HELP ME!!!

BLAST BLAST BLAST BLAST!! Man, I need a new computer game. What I would give to be working for a gaming magazine now. It'll be a blast, cuz I'll be playing games and writing about them and even if I have to be playing to worst games of this century I'd probably still have fun.

There goes my fingers now...

Imagine, I've all grown into the age where most boys would have grown out of gaming, or at least the cravings to play every single thing out there and here I am pining about gaming. Since I've stopped getting allowance from my parents, or more like taking... I haven't bought a single game for more than a year. I've been more careful on what games I want buy, and have compiled a list of games that I want to buy, but have never gotten round to it simply because I don't earn enough to buy them.

Some people may ask, why can't you afford them? Surely even with your RM600 salary you'd surely not be stingy about spending RM5 for a game. Thats the problem. I'm so commited to not supporting piracy that I have to sacrifice gaming and buying DVD's on a whim. But then again, some people around me STILL buy pirated games and God its always to nice to ask to borrow the games just to play it and claim that I have no part in supporting piracy. I even watch pirated DVD's even if I don't buy them!! God I'm such a hypocrite!! Maybe I should just stop watching DVD's and asking to play games. NYURGH!! So hard to go cold turkey!!

I'll stop ranting just about... now... I mean, NOW... now... right now. I'll stop right here. Okay, that does it... I'll stop typing.......... NOW!

Hoo boy

Turns out that some people think the Jedi Religion link goes down to the registration to sign up as a Jedi. Time to rectify that. It is not a registration!! It's a movie conerning the Jedi religion. If you haven't already downloaded it by stealing your company's bandwidth, then I recommend you do it NOW!!

Sex sex sex

Some of the company's clients that came over today, and are still here, were talking about sex, and how whether someone was cranky because she hadn't had sex lately.

That reminded me of a website that I came across by a longshot, called Maggot Punks. The site engages on abortion issues, and the guys and girls that run it are pretty much anti-God and anti-anti-abortionists. Before I go on, I'm going to predict your question and say the answer is no, the double 'anti' is not a typo. The stuff that they type there is very engaging and often disturbing, and will force you to think more about abortion issues. Also they will often slam and profile Christian fundamentalists, particularly the ones that appear before abortion clinics prostesting. For this reason, the Maggot Punks also provide escort service for anyone wanting to visit the clinics.

Now that I've introduced them, I'll get to the main point for which I started this thread. Thinking about abortion, you'd have to wonder about all the argument that surrounds the issue. Is it or is it not moral to abort a baby? If I were to argue on this, this blog will go on and on and on. Personally, I think its wrong, but for another reason on top of the fact that I think its murder.

The introduction of the contraceptives back in the days of Flower Power heralded the day that we can finally grab the reigns of control of another part of our bodily functions. Now, coupled with its ally, the condom, people could have free reign of who and when they can copulate with, without undesireble consequences. We now have the power of CHOICE.

Now, the key words are 'CHOICE' and 'WITHOUT UNDESIRABLE CONSEQUENCES'. When you hear about teenage pregnancies, and fathers of those pregnancies in the news, the most common excuses that I've heard are, "I'm not ready to have a child." "I didn't want to get pregnant." And then they cry and whine that they want to get an abortion. I'm sorry if I'm being offensive here, but what did they think sex was for? Its like using sticks of dynamite to play the drums. You're inevitably going to get pregnant if you keep at it, as much as the sticks of dynamite going bang. The excuses are nothing more than an attempt to shirk of any claim to responsibility to their actions and CHOICES that led up to those very actions.

The availability to have an abortion is providing a way for people to deny their responsibility for their decision to engage in pre-marital sex, and shrug off the responsibility for having to care for a dependent, also known as an child. Humans are notorious for looking for ways to avoid responsibility for their actions because they cannot face the reality of CONSEQUENCE.

Feel free to leave offensive posts now...

Jedi Religion?

Just came across some rather interesting stuff today while I was surfing over the net. I've found out that you can be officially recognized as a Jedi in Auckland, New Zealand. In NZ, all it takes for a religion to be recognized by the government administration is 8000 declarations. What a weird world we live in, eh? Check it out.

The Trouble with this Brain...

Well, yeah. I think my brain is wired and optimized for being lazy. Here I am in front of my computer, with nothing else in the office to do other than websurf. The only thing I had to do this week was to make a photocopy of some documents, which I made a little mess of unfortunately.

Well, while websurfing, I was just re-conceptualizing a script for today's script writing class because I forgot to bring my finished script from home that I had planned to touch up. Admittedly, the script is an amalgam of various arguments I've had with Lai Yee before. When I actually wrote it down, I had to dig deep down into my treasure chest of memories and sort of mix all the memories up and dramatize it a little.

Doing this exercise, I began reflect on my past attitudes. I begin to find parts of myself that I don't like. That perhaps I'm not as easy-going, patient, and nice as I thought myself to be. Maybe I'm passively a pompous ass. Maybe I've had too much Milo lately and am a little sleepy. Good thing I don't snore that badly.

Starving a Sunday Afternoon Fever

Whoof! Yesterday was a really packed day. After church celebration, I went out for lunch with Jeanine and Alena. And hot diggity, was it filling. Y'know that Segambut Seafood restaurant at Chow Yang? Never ever order the large portions there unless you were planning to commit suicide in the first place. I had ordered a small bowl of curry beehoon to go with the seafood, and I swear, if you just ate to seafood alone without the noodles, you'd be full enough. Man, I was SO up to my eyeballs in seafood. I couldn't eat much later that evening, even when presented with Auntie Eng Lee's Cheesy Potato Pie!! Makes a grown man wanna cry.

Sunday Afternoon Fever
It's the 70's, where disco's are hot, afro's are cool, and if you haven't got down and jiggy with it... then at least you've got your butt clinging polyester pants. And the 2001 disco club, things get hot on Saturday nights, so hot you'd swear that you're having a fever, a SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER!!!

Well, that's my lame attempt at spicing things up a little. I you haven't guessed it, me and some friends went out to Istana Budaya, which I think means Cultural Palace, yesterday afternoon to watch Saturday Night Fever. I must say that while I'm not a big fan of the 70's period and mostly anything that is associated with it, except the BeeGee's, I still got pretty involved in it. The dance steps were fantastical, the New York Brooklyn accent entertaining, the songs beautiful and the characters endearing. The only complaint about it is that I couldn't hear the lyrics of the songs on occasion, and the seat. I swear that my back had cracked in several areas in multiple occasions during the show. Other than that, you've got to watch it if you haven't already.

Everyday Posts?

So far I've been posting my thoughts pretty much everyday. But today, I won't be doing so. My brain's occupied with some trite thoughts right now, so I'll leave you all with this to consider... The Meatrix.

Memory Firsts

There's been some very minor improvements implemented into my blogsite, and you may not have noticed, so I'm telling you that there is some improvements.

Well, since I've been tasked with writing about my first memory, a memory all the way back into the past that I can barely remember it, and even if I do, it's probably contaminated memory... I might as well start writing all about it right here.

First of First Memories
First thing that comes to mind was a time when I was watching my brother and sister play with some steel ball bearings, during my pre-kindergarden days. Who knows how they came upon them, but nonetheless they were playing with them quite ecstatically, as if they were marbles. And there I was watching off the side, watching their game of marbles with steel ball bearings. Being a child, anything that was round was immediately fascinating, and if it was shiny, it was absolutely captivating. So I watched my siblings playing with the ball bearings, all the while enraptured by its beauty. Then I thought to myself, "These things would look great in one of my toys."

The toy to which I was refering to was nothing more than a board with a rectangle cavity in it with two turrets on opposite ends. The turrets would launch balls in the bid to destroy the targets belonging to the opposing turret. Incidentally, these ball bearings that I was observing had about the same size of the balls that this game requires.

So, without regard and consent from my siblings, I grabbed a handful of these ball bearings without consent, ran away and stuffed them into this board of my and started to play it. Now, you're probably asking, "Wouldn't your siblings have had come down right after you after that and have a few words with you?" My answer to that is: Oh yes, they did. And boy DID they have some 'words' for me. Packaged with extra volume and smacking.

All the commotion served to alert my Mom that something had happened, and she reacted in the usual manner with us, dictatorially and ruthlessly. Any dispute that occured in the house, particularly among the siblings, in which nobody's innocence could be ascertained, immediately earned every child a caning, even the ones that had nothing to do with the dispute, every so often would my sister remind me of, cause often I was the reason for the commotion.

Mind you, we were all very young, I was about 3-4 years young, and my sister and brother was 3 and 5 years older than me respectively, so I reckon it was normal for us to do weird stuff and fight. And all that indescriminate caning from Mom? Well, we turned out all right... It's the rest of the world that's weird.

Second of First Memories
When I had my first asthma attack, I wasn't conscious. Imagine, falling asleep, curled up in your bed, dreaming sweet dreams, in the fotress that was my blanket, under the pillars that made my brother's bed suspend above me, and all the cares of the world left behind the walls of the eyelids, and not knowing how to whistle.

Then, an awakening. The world had become white. The walls, the ceiling, the lights, the bed, the blanket... it had all become white. And I could whistle. Isn't that odd, to awaken from your deep slumber, and find that you can whistle. But there was more than that... I wasn't actually trying to whistle. And the sound was coming from my throat, not my lips. It seemed nice to be able to whistle, but whistling was difficult, and I was having a hard time breathing. I didn't want to whistle anymore. I had desired to be able to whistle before, but now I didn't want to. I had tried to stop, tried so hard I did. But I couldn't. Then before I could start to panic, Mom loomed over me. Relief set in me, cause Mom always had the all answers... Mom could do anything. I relaxed as much as I could and mustering up all the courage within me, compelled within not to show any fear, asked, "Why am I not in my room? Where am I?"

She then told me I had an asthma attack.

Mom and Dad from the room heard a wheezing,
from their youngest of three gone asleeping,
Picked me up they did while I slumber,
Moved me and drove me did they wonder,
What have you picked up while conscious asunder?
That sends us both chills down our spines all over.

At the hospital stop they did with a skid,
Observe and diagnose me the doctors did,
Find out they did, the disease I had,
'Asthma,' they said, 'and it's kind of bad'

For days I stayed in the hospital, and I remember moment of time where I threw up after mashed potatoes. From then on I was on porridge, much to my dissappointment. But since then, I had found the play room, which was much fun and had toys aplenty. So my stay in the hospital had not been so bad.

A day of writing in my head

Just another day in the office. Well, not really. Dad bought lunch for Mum, himself and I from a shop downstairs from where he and I work, and we brought it home (which is 15 minutes walk from where I stay) to eat, just so we could see the new furniture that Mum and Dad that was delivered today. I must say that the silver screen hall looks much better, and the new seats attaches to the bum quite well, so no more slipping into a slouch while watching films anymore.

Yesterday was pretty interesting. I had attended my first script writing class held by The Actor's Studio, for which I was late for, unfortunately, cause I neglected to read the full address of the classroom that I was suppose to be in, which was in Plaza Damas. Imagine going to a class you know is in Bangsar, but you don't have the street and shop number. Luckily, the organiser was kind enough to call me after i was half an hour late to ask about my whereabouts.

The people that came for this class were few, but of varying backgrounds. One of them, I found out much much later(which was today) to my embarassment, was Faridah Merican, Executive Producer of The Actor's Studio and founder of its Malaysian arm. She hadn't introduced herself as such, so later when we were out doing field work, which involved going out of class to observing people and make a story about it, I was asking her questions that everybody else seemed to know the answers to. GAH!! I'M AN IGNORAMUS!!

Anyways, enough lamenting. The class was mostly about the art and history of theatre; the Greeks whom had started what we call theatre today treated it as a not so much as entertainment than as a religion. From there, fast forward to a time before Shakespeare; it was entertainment. And by Shakespeare's time; provocative.

The art of theatre was simply described as an occurance within empty space defined as a stage. It could involve a man walking right by that space, and it would be called theatre.

Modern Day Composition

Just a thought that came into mind a couple of days back which I had meant to commit it to writing but haven't done up 'till now.

Y'know, I remember when I was in primary school, the class would be stuck with a pen and a piece a of paper trying to compose 150 word essays within the hour. It was all smudges from cheap , and tears, and cross-outs. But I got along with the 'pen system' just fine and made less mistakes over time, and I could produce beautiful works of composition.

Time machine yourself to the future. I'm my word power has seemingly decreased, I'm unable to finish my sentences that issues forth from my mouth, and I blabber nonsense more than ever, and I can't find the right word at the right time. What happened? Have I grown up? Am I getting so old that I'm starting to lose brain cells faster than it can be replenished?

Up until recently, I had thought I was going nuts. I struggled to repair the damage to my communication skills and vocabulary via reading books medieval and mystical in nature; fantasy books if you will. I wrote down every word that I didn't know and looked it up in the dictionary, and logged it down on my iBook. Eventually, I had managed to bring my vocabulary up to scratch. So, no, my brain cells weren't dying at an accelerated pace. But it still doesn't answer the question... What happened? Why did I lose my ability to communicate clearly and concisely?

I came across the answer when I was composing a letter for my girlfriend(not a letter to her, but a letter to someone else for her) with my sister. The going was tough, and there were cross-outs across the whole sheet of paper on which we were working on. We couldn't get one line on the letter right. Sentences were all hopelessly mixed up and incomprehensible when read as a paragraph. Then it dawned on me... was my ability to communicate and write affected by the availability of Microsoft Word?

Lets revisit my past for the answers. Time to step back into that time machine again and take a trip back to Nostalgia Lane. When I was in Melbourne Uni, I pretty much threw away the pen and paper in favor of Microsoft Word when it came to composition. The ability to 'cut and paste' enraptured me, and I could easily make corrections to my mistakes. I had made minimal effort in essay preparation pre-composition, thinking that I could just up and go at it, and cut and paste it later if it didn't fit right. And I also became highly dependent on the thesaurus as a quick solution to my version of writers block. So yes, I think that my ability to communicate was adversely affected by modern technology meant to increase productivity.

Just to cap it off, if I could be so easily adversely affected by Microsoft Word, should I stop using it? Or should I simply be more careful when I use it? Being in the age where using a word processing program is almost essential to my work life, I think that the first solution is simply inapplicable. So, for me, its time to go back to the basics and regrow those old roots that I had for writing. Time to go back to using planned skeletons and foundations for every composition that I write or type.

Another thing that begs an answer: Why do women like talking to men while they're in the toilet?

Velcome, velcome

Ya, velcome to the first posting of my blog. After being inspired to blog by a lass that goes by the name of Jolene, I have, in fact, started my own blog, as you can see, can you not? Of course you can.

Perhaps by doing this I can stir my mind up as well as crystallize my thoughts that have been up until now been rather, how shall I put it... intangible. Of course by nature thoughts are intangible, but these are the intangibles of the intangibles and hence cannot be fully grasped simply because they are intangible. But by writing these thoughts down, I can at least, peruse them and make use of the little insights that go through my little head.

Just yesterday I got a call from my tutor, who told me to prepare for my script-writing class in the form of an essay 3-5 paragraphs long, describing the type of script that I have in mind, and to hand it in by 3pm today. If you have paid any attention to the time stamp, you'd know I've already passed this deadline. Mind you this doesn't mean that I didn't finish my work, I'm just stating that the time of 3pm has already passed. Anyways, before that I had felt a little queasy and wondered what the heck I was doing signing up for this class. Now I'm feeling a little excited about the class which starts at 6:30pm. Hope all goes well.