when you're flat on your back, the only direction you can look is up - garfield

Monday, May 29, 2006

Our Past

Met a friend that I had not met for at least 20 years. It really brought back fond memories. As we were talking, my friend brought up a phrase "BHS." It sounded very familiar but I could not put a finger to it. What is this BHS that I was involved in? My friend explained that I was in the "Bad Habit Society". Nothing bad actually except that we were formed because there was a SANA in class and we wanted to have an alternative voice. Can't remember what SANA stood for but it was supposed to be for Saintly people.

All of us have a past. Who doesn't? What matters however, is what we do with our "present" (an email sent to me long ago reminded me that the present is exactly what it is - God's gift - do we want to accept it or do we reject it and waste it away).

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Quite a SIGHT!

I was walking home from work yesterday when I saw an old lady with a white cane. Her steps were hesitant and small. I thought that her cane was moving a little bit too wildly left and right. Then all of the sudden, she started screaming and started rotating her body around. Obviously, all those around, got startled. People were initially puzzled and afraid to go near this lady. After a while when her screaming got a little softer, a kind soul approached her and asked her what was the problem. Her answer? That she was blind and she was lost!

How we take for granted the things that we have! We are grumpy over the smallest inconveniences. We sulk and we complain. How wrong we can be! We have much to be thankful for! Not the least, we have our sight. Imagine life without sight! How lost we would be, without it!

Now, that is something to be thankful for, today :-)

Monday, May 22, 2006

Da Vinci Code

It seems everyone is talking about the Da Vinci Code so I think I will put my two-cents worth in too.

For me, I won't even bother to see it. Why?

Everyone knows that it is just a fiction. Even Dan Brown the author admitted it on air. But why is everyone rushing to see it - Christians and non-Christians alike? Ah, herein lies the problem with mankind since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve were deceived because they were given suggestive statements by the devil that made them waiver in their trust in God. It is that forbidden fruit that always looks so much better when we cannot reach it.

For me, since it is undeniably a work of fiction that is aimed at least to result in controversy and at most to intentionally destroy your faith, why should I see it? I have better things to do. I have better things to fill my mind with.

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

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Just Let Me Say

This is one of my favourite Christian songs that I want to share with you guys. The music you are hearing is just a sample of the song which is unfortunate. But the lyrics are here and it is really meaningful. Take time to appreciate the beauty of the words of this song. The words of the song you are hearing is highlighted.

Just Let Me Say

Words and Music by Geoff Bullock
Performed by: Hillsongs Australia

Just let me say how much I love You
Let me speak of Your mercy and grace
Just let me live in the shadow of Your beauty
Let me see You face to face

And the earth will shake as Your Word goes forth
And the heavens can tremble and fall
But let me say how much I love You
O my Savior, my Lord and friend


Just let me hear Your finest whispers
As You gently call my name
And let me see Your power and Your glory
Let me feel Your Spirit's flame

Let me find You in the desert
'Til this sand is holy ground
And I am found completely surrendered
To You, my Lord and friend

So let me say how much I love You
With all my heart I long for You
For I am caught in this passion of knowing
This endless love I've found in You
And the depth of grace, the forgiveness found
To be called a child of God
Just makes me say how much I love YouO my Savior, my Lord and friend
Just makes me say how much I love YouO my Savior, my Lord and friend

Friday, May 19, 2006

Bombs


Recently, I read of 2 interesting news. The first involved a drunk passenger who refused to get off a plane and claimed that a bag on board the plane had a bomb in it. This, of course, caused quite a commotion and they had to evacuate everyone on the plane. However, no bomb was found.

The other news involved a routine check on a tourbus. Officials found that 4 passengers were carrying a total of 30kg of dynamite on them! Everyone on the bus were shocked when they learned that they were blissfully travelling on board a timebomb!

Which brings to mind a certain truth. That if something is false, nothing can make it true. And vice versa, if some thing is true, no amount of ignorance can make it false.

The same with God. Either God is true or He is not. Search this out diligently, because our decision has consequences and no amount of feigned ignorance will be permitted.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Condoms and Viagra

Here is an interesting article. Many mainland Chinese have been observing a age-old tradition of burning gifts for their dead ancestors. However, recently, some of them have gotten creative and starting thinking that on top of the paper car and house that they burn, would not their dead relatives also need a little "fun" up there? So they start burning paper condoms, viagra and karoke hostesses!

China bans tomb-sweepers' "vulgar" burned offerings(Reuters)BEIJING - China has banned its citizens from burning paper models of condoms, luxury villas and karaoke hostesses when paying respect at the graves of their ancestors.Many Chinese burn paper money as a sacrificial rite to honor deceased relatives, but economic development has brought more unusual tokens of gifts for the after-life.Now, anxious to curtail a modern version of what they see as feudal superstition, the authorities have issued new funeral and internment regulations that include fining citizens who burn "vulgar" offerings, a Chinese newspaper reported Tuesday."The burning of luxury villas, sedan cars, mistresses and other messy sacrificial items ... will be investigated and punished," the Beijing News quoted Dou Yupei, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as saying.Over the last two years officials have discovered people burning paper offerings of the potency drug Viagra, extra-marital mistresses and even "Supergirls" -- dolls modeled on winning contestants of Chinese television's hugely popular American Idol spin-off, Mongolian Cow Sour Milk Supergirl."The tomb-sweepers' feelings are understandable," said Dou. "But burning these messy things -- not only is it mired in feudal superstition, but it just appears low and vulgar."The new regulations follow reports earlier this month of authorities calling for people to honor relatives online through special Web sites' virtual memorial halls.
Having been reading some comments regarding this move by the Chinese government, and one particular comment cracked me up. This guy suggested that the Chinese government should instead allow the following to be burned:
Copies of the People's Daily, so your ancestors can be up on the party line on current events.
Effigies of Chinese communist leaders and great Marxist thinkers, so that your ancestors can have civilized (if dull) company in the afterlife, rather than those loose, paper hussies you've been sending them.
Copies of Mao's Little Red Book, so they can brush up on Mao Zidong thought and poetry in the afterlife.
Chinese propaganda posters, to encourage proper behavior and appropriate worship of model workers, towns and industries.
All the proceedings and proclamations from the recent National People's Congress, so that your ancestors are fully up to date on the latest workings of the government.
Copies of the 11th five-year plan, so that your ancestors understand the priorities of the government moving forward.
Copies of the political theorems and philosophies of the third and fourth generation leaders, so that your ancestors are fully acquainted with the Three Represents, the New Socialist Countryside, the Scientific Concept of Development and the increasingly omnipresent Socialist Honors and Disgraces.
Of course, all done in tongue in cheek. But it lets me to wonder indeed why do not these people who believe in burning paper offerings, not burn things that are more "edifying" instead of things that only greedy (cars and houses and food) and lustful (viagra and condoms) people want. Is that as high an opinion they have of their ancestors?

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Changing gods





Was away for 1 week because I went for a much needed holiday break. Noticed some interesting gods on my trips. There is a common thought that there is one god but that this god take on different forms to various people. Sounds reasonable enough except that when you really think about it, it does not quite make sense. You see, the god who says that you should not eat meat cannot be the same god that says you can eat anything. The god who says that you cannot eat pork only cannot be the same god that says you can eat pork but not beef or mutton.

On my trip, I found a god that would except garlic as an offering. This sort of offering is considered repungnant to some religious groups because it is pungent. Another god had his hand made into the posture of the Japanese Wealth Cat or Makani Neko. The god who says not to worship money could not be the same as the people who worship a 500,000 Baht note "sanctified" by a row of monks above it.

My take is - either worship one or none at all. Otherwise, you may be incurring his wrath by worshipping a god figure that is not him! Just as you imagine you would incur the wrath of your father if you called all men around your father :-)

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Factories and Farms on the Mekong





Went around various locations along the river to see various factories and farms. The people worked under very backwards conditions. An interesting sight was that because of the abundance of longans, they do not use much firewood to make fire. Instead, they dry these longan shells and use them to create fire for their cooking and factory. These pictures are just a sample of the places I went. From the top, it is a woman carrying poprice/popcorn on her head, then it is our tour guide explaining the process of making vermicelli, then it is a rice factory and finally a small pig farm. Oink!

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Life on Boats on the Mekong





Went to the floating market at Cai Be and Cai Rang which are small towns along the river. It was a very enjoyable part of the trips. Took the most photos here but once again, can only show a sampling of them.

We had to wake up early to visit these places because the market starts becoming alive way before 5am.

At these floating market, there were hundreds and hundreds of boats large and small selling fruits and vegetables. The larger boats had a pole which they used to hang a sample of their wares high up in the air as a form of advertisement. Hey, these people know a thing or two about marketing too!

What impressed me most was that there were literally thousands and thousands who lived in boats on the river. The front part of their boats are for storage of the goods while the back end is one compartment which they use as their living, dining, kitchen and bedroom all rolled into one.

I particularly like the 4th photo shot which shows an old lady with presumably her grand-daughter or even possibly her great grand-daughter since they often marry and have children very early in life. It reminds me of the many generations that have lived on this river and the many generations that will continue to do so.

Sometimes, we complain that there is nothing much to do. How about spending all your life on a boat...

Watch out for more articles on the Mekong coming up...

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

The Water of the Mekong River

As you can see, the waters on the Mekong River is anything but clean. It is brown and opaque and there are lots of rubbish and debris floating around on it. But this is where 60 milliion people call HOME. This is but a sampling of what is done in these waters. They do everything in the water - swim, bathe, play, wash their clothes and do their nature call in it. And yes, this is where they get the water for cooking and drinking. For their drinking and cooking, they pull water out of the river in small buckets and store them in large jars to allow the sediment to settle to the bottom before using them. Some of the poorer families who cannot afford jars, just use the water straight off the river. None of them have heard of chlorine tablets.





It was really a sight to see children happily playing naked in the river. Also saw a mother bathing her crying few-months-old baby with water from the river. Saw another man washing his chicken in the water. Probably, it would have been better if they had not bathed or used the dirty river water for washing, but this is the way of life on the Mekong and they do not know any better.

I never felt so thankful for clean water before...

In my next post, I will show more aspects of life on the Mekong ...

Mekong River Trip

Just came back from a 2-days, 1-night trip to the Mekong River in Vietnam. It was a tiring trip and as you can probably imagine in your mind's eye, not something that conveys comfort and picturesque sceneries. I survived the trip with sunburns and insect bites on my body (that's my forearms in the picture!). So for those who have not done the trip and would not consider going for such trips, you are in for a treat. For the next few articles, from the comfort of your home, you will be shown pictures from the trip with some comments.

The Mekong is one of the world's major rivers. It is the 12th-longest in the world, and the 10th-largest by volume (discharging 475 km³ of water annually). Its estimated length is 4180 km (but because the exact source is unknown, lengths vary up to 4350-4909 km.)

It drains an area of 795,000 km²: From Tibet it runs through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Approximately half the river's length is in China, where it is called the Dza Chu in Tibetan in its upper course in Tibet (Chinese: 扎曲; Pinyin: Zá Qū), and more generally the Lancang in Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 澜沧江; Traditional Chinese: 瀾滄江; Pinyin: Láncāng Jiāng), meaning the "turbulent river". The entire river is known as the Meigong in Chinese (Chinese: 湄公河; Pinyin: Méigōng Hé).
The river next forms the border between Myanmar and Laos for 200 km, at the end of which it meets the tributary Ruak River at the Golden Triangle. This point also marks the division between the Upper and Lower Mekong.

The river then divides Laos and Thailand, before a stretch passing through Laos alone. It is known as Mènam Khong (Mother of all rivers) in both Lao and Thai (แม่น้ำโขง).

In Cambodia, the river is called the Mékôngk or Tonle Thom (great river). It ends up in Vietnam to discharge into the South China Sea and in Vietnamese it is the Cuu Long Giang or Sông Cuu Long (nine dragons river), but is often just popularly known as the Mê Kông.

About 90 million people rely on the river.

My trip took me through the lower parts of the Mekong River which is but a fraction of the whole Mekong River. This where 60 million people call HOME. Follow me to see Life On the Mekong River...