Running

At which point do you stop running and you face up to your fears barking and coming after you?

Just when you thought it was about to end and they are kept at bay, they turn and (actually expectedly) bound after you.

SSHHH is all you manage in the dead of the night.

Running away and filling your days with busy-ness. To the point the void you've been feeling all along can no longer stay void.

It's simplistic but is love and friendship really the goodie powerful all-be-it that separates the ultimate winner and hero?

Don't answer.

Two are better than one. I've said that. Faced back to back, the fears don't disappear but at least you've got backup.

Snapping

Words elude photography. Documenting scenes and people as-is. Drawing out the inner person to the fore, sometimes to do the unusual and comical.

Clothes or san clothes, it exposes and captures that quality of being in each. Technical challenges abound until you learn to master and control the medium you work with.

What separates art from...Alright, let's not go there.

What would it look like if I could snap a picture of Zaccheus perched on a tree? What would it look like if I snapped a picture of Joshua, his priests and men and the Ark circling the city?

Light Up The Sky

The Afters

Feedback

From Scott Brignac

Exhaustion

Why do we burn out when we burn out?

Placing our hope in the wrong thing, despairing that our situation is hopeless, flitting towards what should be bane...

What gives??

Walking through life, what is the one thing we can place our trust and hope in? Is faith always blind? Must I see it to have it?

Maybe you should keep your answers to yourself because each cross is for each to bear.

Drop it or face it. Endure it or deal with it.

Don't just keep at it but brandish what you're good at, savour what you enjoy, tweak how you've been doing things.

Discomfort is not dysfunction. So go burn yourself to a crisp. You'll discover more of yourself. Sorta.

Thinkering

Can a bird experience vertigo? All that swooping should cause some serious swooning right? Or so my two-legged groundedness wanders.

The door to promotion opens when you're perfectly unaware that you've done perfectly fine. While ambition, from young, is uncovered in serendipitous moments. Try seeing the world differently with childish wide-eyed wonder...

What are you doing for your soul today? The human soul is made for living. For longing and fulfilment which the lack thereof would surely lead to...death. That is, the absence of life, devoid of living. In trying so hard to live maximised lives, are we leaving void the core of our being?

If we don't conform, are we isolating and distancing the self? Are we subconsciously walling the self in and others without?

Imagine

Solipsism: The belief that all reality is just one's own imagining of reality, and that one's self is the only thing that exists.

In you

In a world where everything is transient, what gives you anchor?

In circles where others are living hand to mouth, how does that affect how you spend?

In life where things get thrown at you, do you take it as it comes or do you stay true to your course?

In asking, are you waiting for answers or are the answers waiting for you?

Intentionality

Take-away's and rake-a-way's:

What's the outcome that really matters at the end?

Ephemeral as each moment seems, it is intentionality that surfaces clarity.

Ideas are plenty, talk is cheap but it is focused, organised efforts that shape outputs.

One man's banality, another man's object of beauty. One man's necessity, another's wisp of being.

So who died and made you arbiter?

Design is the signature of intelligence; function is the expression of vision.

Be intentional. Be faithful to your sense and DNA.

20 minutes of light

German-born Katrin Koenning, a Melbourne-based photographer creates her mise-en-scène in the series "Thirteen: Twenty Lacuna". Attracted to the sunlight as it appears for just 20 minutes on a street in downtown Melbourne Katrin observes the passers-by as they appear out of the shadows. Listening to their ipods or rushing to a meeting, each protagonist enters the spotlight on the stage unaware of their role in Koenning's drama of light and dark.

Read about 20 minutes of light here at BBC.

View her work here.

Snippet of an interview with Koenning:

Where do you get your inspiration from?

From anything and everything - sights, smells, moments, sentences (or even single words), my partner, silence, rainy days, the ocean, light...and certainly from music.

How you would you like to be remembered?

As someone with a burning passion.

Just The Way You Are

Smiling the world away

You send an sms asking How's everything. No reply ensues till now.

You receive an sms asking How've you been. No reply ensuing, for now.

Smile and the world smiles with you. So what's beneath that smile of yours?

Legitimate, lascivious, longing, languishing, lampooning... Languorously long night it's been.

Living to be someone. Living to be someone else. That's two different things, ain't it?

Through the hazy looking glass

What does it mean to lead? Can a man live without dreaming? How can we make a difference? When is the right time anyway?

Passion, conviction and the ability to dream. Ingredients of a life well-lived?

Who is qualified enough? What talents are requisite? Is faithfulness enough? Are we the result and product of all our wants and desires?

Predictability amidst uncertainty. Grey and hazy, set against dark and cold.

What do you want? What would you give up? What would keep you going? What would make you smile?

Smile *eeeeee*

Just smile. Think good, positive and beautiful.

Proactively engage. Purposefully build. Ponderously presume.

Precious, peculiar and powerful. You know what it is?

*eeeeeeeeee*

What is grace?

"Cheap grace is the enemy of the church. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth... an intellectual assent to that idea is held to be itself sufficient to secure remission of sins. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without a cross... Costly grace is the gospel (of the church)... It is costly because it costs a man his life, and grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his son... it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God... When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. That is why the rich young man was so loath to follow Jesus, for the cost of his following was the death of his will. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer (from Logan's worship blog)

Ode to nowhere

Have you wanted to let loose, let go and let fly?

When was the last time you went free-spirited, pursuing your heart's desire, unbound by rules, regulations, practicalities and what nots?

Life didn't start in a box and its not gonna end in a box.

Splashes of color, gripful of nylon strings and flashes of light, dare to try and dare to get callused while finding your style.

Quit griping, quit mincing...Get going already!

You're chosen to succeed, dare you believe it.

Stroll among the giants

Thoughts as I walk through botanic gardens in mid-morning:

I saw a tree whose limb growing long sideways needed 2 posts to prop it up. So nice of its tenders not to amputate. After all, trees naturally grow sideways and not upwards. Gives it more character and figure.

Can a tree grow too big for its own good? How big can a tree grow anyway? As tall as its roots are deep, one would say. Some of these seem like a good 7 storeys high! Some buttress roots alone are big enough to fill a small room! Though we can't see them but surely those roots dig deep down.

One big tree on the green (gee, they are all on the green aren't they) had some branches culled. If this wasn't so, I wonder if the tree might collapse. On the whole, it was big and magnificent, the centre of attention. Another had knobbly roots that crawled towards the pavement. Another's crown was nearer the top like a giant cabbage.

Where do trees find nourishment from? For sure, they don't worry about the weather or nutrients in the soil or whether their branch looks lopsided. They just leaf, flower, bear fruits, shade and give restless butts temporary relief--and simply keep growing. It takes years and decades and centuries but God willing, that tree, this tree, these trees will no doubt spring up into majestic works of nature.

Surely no one sees all this happening. Not even the cicadas whose steady chorus never seems to end.

Who knows what trees we'll see in heaven?

Morning

Fresh new morning cool.
Rhythmic seasoned hawkering.
Smells that warm and linger.
The old hold fort, the young where to?
To home I go, back to
solace, peace and kin.

Pressing In

When do we press in?

God's pressed into your life, isn't He? In fact, He's IN your life.

Or is He?

Who takes the initiative?

Like a lovers' dance, an intimate embrace, an attempt to soar, a kite that wants to fly, there is first a stepping out, a catching of the breeze, a desire.

There is no music without depressing of keys. There is no melody sung without intake of breath.

So what's the purpose, the task and the work set out?

Waste not, wait not and want not.

Be mature and not a babe from today.

What makes you happy?

Have your best year yet, Enjoy your day, Keep rocking, Lotsa breakthroughs... Birthday wishes were sure gushing in many-ly on Facebook (gone are the days of birthday cards...)

Been a fulfilling day of not so much good food but simply great company. Was at work today instead of taking the day off. Lunched with colleagues and we laughed plenty over jokes and jabs. Dined with friends and we laughed over lame jokes and jabs. Am glad for friends (must remember to remember my friends).

Got home to family who prayed for me and walloped the cakes in minutes! We're a simple family with simple ways and simple faith (most of us, at least).

Found out yesterday that a colleague who's young, single and spunky finally returned from a 2-month break which she spent backpacking through South America. Beyond the guts, it's certainly a real luxury (not cheap!) but what's more, how can anyone drop and go? How can I bear that others are bearing the burden for me? Or am I wrong to think this way?

A leader has to take criticism, said someone to me recently. Who's a leader? What makes a leader? Does it matter whether he's labelled a leader? What does it mean to lead? For sure, it's not only about vision and directing skills, but also having the capacity for a heart that cares...that focuses on the persons of the people. What is it that makes people run for a leader, love him, rally after him, defend him, give their best for him?

Oh btw, happy birthday to self.

Energy

New colleague came on board team today. Kept me busy with introducing him to rest of department staff and then a long briefing on work portfolio--only part one done, part deux continues tomorrow. Note to self: Gotta aim to be organised and clear on intent and take-aways.

Thought of the day:
You get what you say. You say what you want. You want what you pray. You pray what you believe. You believe what you say.

So...what do I want?

Where do we go from here?

Closing paragraph from "The Reason For God" by Timothy Keller:

"During a dark time in her life, a woman in my congregation complained that she prayed over and over, 'God, help me find you,' but had got nowhere. A Christian friend suggested to her that she might change her prayer to, 'God, come and find me. After all, you are the Good Shepherd who goes looking for the lost sheep.' She concluded when she was recounting this to me, 'The only reason I can tell you this story is--he did.'"

One's faith--one that saves--is born not of the good deeds or gracious behaviour or respectable position all earned and developed through self and labour. But really and simply a trust and giving of self to the Divine that is built upon a deep realisation of how weak and...human we are.

It's not what you can do or have done, but what He's done, why He did it, and will still do in your life and mine.

Receive it and pass it on. That's how the moment started.

Still, Small and Hidden

Winter Snow
by Audrey Assad

Could've come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could've come like a forest fire
With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

You could've swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we've scarred

But You came like a winter snow
(Yes, You did)
You were quiet
You were soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Oh, no, Your voice wasn't in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind
It was still
It was small
It was hidden

You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Falling
To the earth below
You came falling
From the sky in the night
To the earth below

Into The Wind

Steve Nash's documentary on Terry Fox



From Fast Company: As a boy growing in Western Canada, Nash followed the remarkable story of Fox, a fellow British Columbian, who, after losing his leg to cancer as a 20-year-old college basketball player, set out in 1980 to run the length of Canada to raise money for cancer research. Fox’s Marathon of Hope required him to run a marathon or more a day on his prosthesis, and became daily front-page news throughout the country.

When I spent time with Nash in Vancouver late last year, he and Ezra Holland, his cousin, co-director and co-founder of production company Meathawk, were hard at work editing. In between playing a Phoenix Suns pre-season game and making various appearances, Nash talked excitedly about the film shoot that summer and showed me footage on his iPhone.

“I got to drive the van!” he gushed at one point. He meant Fox’s van, a sacred vehicle in Canada.

Read rest of article here.

Fade With Our Voices

Incandescent

See the passing beauty in the everyday. Flash of color, the sun going away. Look without, draw within. The Well within.

Going

Fleeting

Passing

Through

Moving

Turning

Look

Grasping

Gasping

Look

Stripped

Hankering

Devoid

Up

Goes

Filling

Giving

Worship

Your

Sigh

Exchange

On

On

On

...

Still on?

Only

Not

One

You Have Me

By Gungor

Out on the farthest edge
There in the silence
You were there
My faith was torn to shreds
Heart in the balance
But You were there
Always faithful
Always good
You still have me
You still have my heart
I thought I had seen the end
Everything broken
But You were there
I've wandered in Heaven's gates
I've made my bed in Hell
You were there still
You have me
You have me
You have my heart completely

Of Leaders And Men

It's easy to criticise leadership. In fact, it's tempting and kind of self-gratifying to notice and highlight observations of what seems like flaws and anything less becoming and inspiring. Question is, would I do better if in their shoes?

That said--like my colleague said--hang on to your ideals! There are times and there's a season for change, I believe.

Why are things the way they are? What can leaders do to inspire followership (new word!). What does it mean to renew from within? If we--I--a la Washingon, feel more like a farmer than the first general and president, what should drive us and motivate us? Do we see the big picture? Can we handle the big picture? Like real biiiiiiig??

Remembered this from a few nights ago: nobody likes to work with a driver, that is, a slave driver! Men--me--need our leaders to know us, empathise with us, appreciate us... It's so easy to rattle on. So...are you--I--living it?

If you're a leader, lead with your heart (heard during this afternoon's farewell speech). If you're a follower? Well, do as your heart guides, I guess.

Be a leader.

Stirring

Morning mist veils the land. She stirs, she smiles as the sky lights upon her. Her sun peeking through, causing the clouds to glow. This widening glory, this brightening chorus, nature's introduction...all for His--ours too--pleasure and enjoyment.

Love to See

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Of tides, memories and sandcastles

I remember playing on the beach when I was young. I remember taking the plastic baking spatula from the kitchen and it being scratched from digging in the sand. I don't remember my aunts or my mom chiding me for it, though they still remember it. What memories do you have and hold?

What is home, truly? What does it mean to work, to slave, to give your hard-earned money to loved ones, needy ones or...?

Back-of-my-mind worries. Of growing old, growing old just like that, with nothing to show for it? For that matter, my grams have nary the valuable assets under their name--scratch that, they had twelve wonderful children of whom one spawned yours truly.

The day ends, another begins. Duties, obligations, responsibilities...the naught.

Here's to the new day. No really, a new day, bringing new energies and a very needed new perspective. Amen.

I want to soar

Wonder when I go swiftly through the skies, touch the clouds, survey the land and holler where nobody can hear?

Wonder when I can find someone(s) to play catch with?

Wonder what would I write within my three circles of expertness, passion & rewards?

Jump. Leap. Soar. Fly. Drift. Glide. Circle. Circle some more. Fly off-screen...

Vision Like Oxygen

Day wanes
Clouds tinged orange
Weekend draws to close
Heart is full of peace

Go where?
Left foot aches
Mind can't but ask
How far more to run?

Breeze cools
Tummy wakes
Seven thirty
Mommy cooked at home

New day
Vision same
Goals narrowed down
Look up to Heaven

Failures...
Victories...
Full of stories...
These thoughts and purpose

Whom have I in Heaven but You?

Chicago

By Sufjan Stevens

View out behind

Please Be My Strength

By Michael Gungor Band

I've tried to stand my ground
I've tried to understand
But I can't seem to find
My faith again

Like water on the sand
Or grasping at the wind
I keep on falling short

So please be my strength
Please be my strength
'Cause I don't have any more
I don't have any more

I'm looking for a place
Where I can plant my faith
One thing I know for sure

I cannot create it
And I cannot sustain it
It's Your love
That's keeping me

Please be my strength
Please be my strength
I don't have any more
I don't have any more

And at my final breath
I hope that I can say
I fought the good fight
Of faith

I pray your glory shines
This doubting heart of mine
And all would know that You

You are my strength
You are my strength
You and You alone
You keep bringing me back home

Oh, You are my strength
You are my strength
You and You alone
Keep bringing me back home

It's You and You alone
Bringing me back home

Smile...

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile
With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile if you'll just...
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just...
Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just Smile...
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just Smile

(by Charlie Chaplin)

Hurt

By Johnny Cash (1932 - 2003)

Rend Collective Experiment - Worship on iPhone

Photography Cheat Sheet by Willy Foo

Courtesy of Willy Foo.

Gungor - You Have Me (2010)

Miles David - Kind of Blue (1959)

Trumpeter Chris Botti says he was drawn to "Kind of Blue" as a high school student in Oregon in the '70s, and features "Flamenco Sketches" in his repertoire, including it on his latest CD/DVD, "In Boston."

"It's a jazz song but the chords are just so open ... and it's incredibly satisfying to play," said Botti.

"Jazz musicians are never known for their restraint and this record is perfect in its restraint. I believe this record is more of a pop album than a jazz album. ... Miles didn't have a hit song, he had a hit mood."

Read MSNBC article on "Kind of Blue" turning 50.

Explain Inception visually...

See winning infographic from Inception contest.



Here's the runner-up:

A hungry man is a hungry man

Me? Work my word magic??

Haven't been blogging. Possibly because Twitter & Facebook have provided quick reprieve. But mostly because spare time and coherent ideas are few.

Heroes of Faith (the campaign) has kept me busy and sleepless and hungry and restless from lack of exercise. The urge to complete tasks properly is over-riding--from retail copywriting to charting marketing ideas to pondering about project hurdles.

My latest thought, revelation if you like: Meaningful life does not equal perpetual busy-ness with work, leaving little time for other pursuits. Surely some disagree. Passion is in the pursuit, they say! Yeah, tell that to your neglected friends and God you'll meet in heaven.

So what keeps me going? I dunno...a high degree of responsibility? A conviction to do my utmost? Lack of social life?

Communication is life, so I've tweeted. My BlackBerry (which I'm posting through at this very moment) has changed how I communicate and stay plugged in. Surely novelty loses its sheen, yet emails/sms/BBMs/tweets/FB updates all continue to chirp incessantly throughout the day. It calls, it pulls...beckons & beguiles... Regrets I've not, but rather awareness of the potential giddying pace of life without.

Life, love, live, learn, linger, longing...

Been plugging in to Dr Bernard's recent messages on growth, renewal and core values. What does growth & development mean to you? Should we be contented where we are? Is it possible to balance that fine line between being achievement-driven and accepting of self?

Asking questions--the right ones. Posing questions that are sometimes rhetoric, sometimes not immediately answerable. What is your/my intent?

Life and death lie in words and their power to make and unmake. What power we have at the tip of our tongues and pens and keypads, yet how abused or under-utilised it really is.

What future do you see for yourself? Be brave, be bold, be brilliantly you.

信者得愛

By 鄭秀文 Sammi Cheng feat. MC仁

I Shouldn't Be Awake

^^ Sky above Kampung Ubi at 0550h

With 1hr to go before I "wake up", I really ought to be in bed. Have not been blogging so perhaps this is my mid-year burst of fire.

That's right, 187days left in this year. If this is my best year yet, what has yet to be accomplished??? That goes for you too!!

On a separate note, receiving unexpected notes of concern & well-wishes via sms was certainly encouraging & heartwarming... Send someone a note of concern today, who knows what comfort and open doors it might bring :)

So, with my "new-born" camera and new prime lens to boot, I wonder what new sights I'll get to capture. Ah, Ed, that's where you should wonder no more and just go and shoot some.

And here I go. Yes Sir-ree!!

Sandcastle (2010)

What's sad?

So Long Self

By Mercy Me



Well if I come across a little bit distant
It's just because I am
Things just seem to feel a little bit different
You understand
Believe it or not but life is not apparently
About me anyways
But I have met the One who really is worthy
So let me say

So long, self
Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
So long, self

Stop right there because I know what you're thinking
But no we can't be friends
And even though I know your heart is breaking
This has to end
And come to think of it the blame for all of this
Simply falls on me
For wanting something more in life than all of this
Can't you see

Don't feel so bad (don't feel so bad)
There'll be better days (there'll be better days)
Don't go away mad (but by all means)
Just go away, go away

Amazing Pics

Courtesy of National Geographic


Cave of Crystals, Mexico


Cuban Tree Frog, Florida


Atom Bomb Test, Bikini Atoll

Craving for love?

We're designed to love and be loved--be it good love or bad love. A simple principle oft neglect. Each seeks out love to meet needs...what if those remain unmet since little?

That's the stuff of relationships that might go awry, of pain--unnecessary if we had just known, untold because it's unconscious-- and of life patterns that persist.

WHO or WHAT can meet that deep craving for love? WHO or WHAT can mend the wounds that go unhealed? WHO or WHAT would care enough to...care?

Love is, love has, and love always will love.

Be loved.

What do you see?

Seated on the bedroom floor in the dark, staring at scenes of chinese food on TV, I can't help but wonder about the day's passing-by, the business of tomorrow and goals yet to be achieved.

If you can see it, you can have it-- goes the maxim, oft mouthed...but acted upon??

Whatever your meat--chunky or minced for bites--it's gotta effect change, else why waste your time on earth?

Rambling, rumbling, stumbling, fumbling. Enough of limericks now.

I spy. I pry. I try. I cry.

Nigh high, mmhmmm.

Uh-huh.

Coco and Igor (2009)

Coming to town...

Photocubism

Canvas-size photo works by Thai film-maker, M.L. Mingmongkol Sonakul who says this when asked about her portrayal of nature:

"I love the outdoors, the sun, the moon, the sky, rain, river, water of any shape and form, etc. They are things that we can find in our daily life but often take for granted. It also works well with my concept of presenting it with the cubism method.

"That is to take things that the audience can easily associate with and make them see these things with other points of view, not as much as the abstract, but something that is easy for both eyes and brain to digest."


Drop 1


Drop 3

View more of her works here.

Check out the exhibition on 23 Apr at Objectifs.

Still Running

Ran 57min along East Coast this morning. Almost 9km perhaps? Aviva Tri was on. Nope, no desire to pick up a bike, although I am reading Mark Beaumont's autobiographical journey he made of 18,297 miles around the world in 81 days.

After u-turning at my halfway point in front of Macs, a fellow runner tapped me on the arm--I briefly wondered which friend I had bumped into--and told me to turn back before I overshot. Turns out this guy thought I was part of his running troupe. I muttered "On my own" and waved him off. And continue plodding I did.

I wonder if he had paced me till then. But I think it's really time to shed the solitude runs and join a serious running group into serious training. (Note to self: be careful what commitments you put in writing)

Over breakfast, was reading Erwin McManus on enjoying life the way God intended us to. Not in a careless pursuit of pleasures that consume us more than we consume them, but just to savour the journey and the company around. Admittedly work recently is draining more than driving me. Drucker told of how the worker in the modern corporation needs to see the big picture to find meaning in work.

Seriously need fresh inspiration, fresh methods and most of all, fresh pursuit of this year's goals. New music, new books, new movies, new sermons, new ideas... You know, the Hebrew word for new means new. Duh.

Alright, signing out. Here, check out this cool MV by Phoenix - Run Run Run.

Progress

Change is not an event, it's a process

~ A.R. Bernard

Rejoice and be glad

Courtesy of Pst Phil Pringle

Rend Collective Experiment

Just discovered this UK band, courtesy of Willy Joe. Cool sounds, great videos!

Wonder if I can ever write great songs of my own, to share with the world...

You Bled



Movements

Beautiful, just beautiful

He makes everything beautiful in its time...

visualise

Hooked - Be Glorified by ALM

Three Cups of Tea (2008)

Hear Bloomberg speak to Greg Mortenson about how he was led by life experiences to build schools in Afghanistan.

John C Maxwell on 21 laws of leadership

Source: http://maxwellavl.com

Thoughts Ahead, Behind

What do you do when a sense of ennui & lethargy creeps up on you?

Do you write? Do you pull out your vision card & 2010 goals? Do you Facebook mindlessly? Do you distract yourself with a lame & barely funny comedy on TV? Do you play that song you wrote 2 years ago & suddenly recall your goal to write a new one? Do you gather ideas for a new writing piece?

What do you do when you see your mom sporting rashes & she insists it's nothing even though it's been some time?

What do you do when you just want a friend to talk with?

What do you do when goosebumps goes a-tingling amidst a conversation?

What do you do when you think you already know what to do?

Seeing & Believing

When I saw the man holding the Wimbledon trophy, I told myself that would be me one year from now. And I saw a picture of myself winning it. ~ Margaret Court, former World number one-ranked tennis player from Australia.

What does it take for a skinny, underprivileged girl to make it big to win 62 Grand Slam tennis titles? What more to take on a calling for ministry to help others find God and overcome challenges in life?

A life of winning, that's what we want.

All Jazzed!!

Branford Marsalis Quarter performs "Jabberwocky"

Oeuvre: A work of art, literature, music, etc. The total output of a writer, painter, etc.

Passion: Boundless enthusiasm. An irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action.

Jazz: Animation; Enthusiasm. Nonsense. Miscellaneous, unspecified things. To give great pleasure to. Excite.

Moral of the story: Be the best you can be.

Who or what occupies your sights...ears...heart?

Attended cousin's funeral wake last night. A cousin I've not seen since little, i.e. when a house seemed imposing enough to play hide&seek. An odd feeling indeed, yet family all the same.

Awoke today to ask myself where do I want to be in 10 years time? Shared this with a colleague during lunch and he told me about his poly friend who long decided to be a pastor and is now en route towards his dream. How admirable.

I thought about this and replied: There are some, like this friend, who knows and are focused what they want. Then there are others who change their minds midway. And then are others who may have an inkling but they certainly know what their strengths are. Of course, there are those who don't know and inevitably drift along.

So...where are your/my/our sights set towards?

Another thought occurred to me mid-morning: Leadership is Active. Received comment that got me wondering, is hyper-active leadership that delivers but causes high stress still good leadership?

So...what really matters at the end of the day?

I say, it's who's got your heart. Are you thinking Who I'm thinking of?

Been listening to this Starfield song - repeatedly. Love the lyrics and it touches me in a special way.

But you know, today I felt touched by Coldplay's Viva la Vida and Dion-Bocelli's The Prayer.

Ah, the power of music.

Who wants to save the earth?

Caught Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth (2006) on DVD last night. Must say, it's stirred me up in an uncomfortable yet familiar way. He's got a book of the same title and a newer title, Our Choice (2009) which supposedly spells out a blueprint for tackling the climate crisis.

I went to bed with this thought, I don't want to go to bed every night with the perpetual smell of haze in the air. I also thought away switching from hardcopy books to e-books.

This morning, I chose not to buy my usual take-away tea a la styrofoam, health concerns on the back of my mind even as I type this.

Then I logged onto NYTimes which reported about car-makers's rising demand for lithium and the accompanying plants and mines to meet this demand - surely the word "mines" raises environmental alarm bells.

As I shared my newfound knowledge in barely hidden We-Must-Save-Mother-Gaia undertones with colleagues over lunch, one wondered aloud, "Going paperless but building more computers and servers, or building solar panels which in turn require energy to produce... Are these things really helping the situation?"

Another manager nodded and echoed, "Are we throwing the problem around?" My mind conjured up images of slash-and-burn deforestation but I didn't reply.

Alright, enough lunchtime blogging for now. Back to my paperful desk.

Be Thou my all

Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart
High king of heaven my treasure Thou art

Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

High king of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joy, bright heaven sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, oh ruler of all

(Ancient Irish hymn, possibly from the 8th Century, tr. by Mary E. Byrne)

不能沒有你

Fall on your knees...

• O Holy Night by David Archuleta

More David Archuleta music on iLike

This is my story!

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)

Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.

Remembrance

Air on G string

Air on G string

Something beckons and it ain't mooncakes...

Serban Savu, "65-0944-2" (2009)

One wonders what difference it really makes, crossing the imaginary crevice that separates one decade from another.

Numerical? Chronological? Well, ICA duly notified me to replace my NRIC...

Biological? Physiological? I ain't got ticking ovaries... Just recovered from a really awful throat inflammation thought.

Philosophical? Hmmmm... Yeah wisdom piles on together with love handles.

Can't say I've much to boast about. Can't say I've little to complain about. But one thing I am determined is to be thankful and grateful for what I have. In fact, a guilty sense that I've been laid back points to the gaps and inadequacies and boo-boos I've accumulated.

So many years on and some idiosyncrasies still dog me. But at least a certain still quiet voice grows stronger and clearer. Might I never lose touch with that which keeps me grounded and going day after day.

You know, if "I think, therefore I am", then I'm afraid there's so much of me that I'm awfully undecided. But again, at least I've realised that my gut has been my best friend. Not for binging but for decision making. And this afternoon, I told this to a colleague.

Finally, sleep. Like oxygen, it's necessary. But like a boy, curious and untried, we try to test how long we can go without it because we shoot off to breathe in slumberland.

Seasons of Love

From Rent
By Jonathan Larson

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?

How about love? How about love?
How about love? Measure in love

Seasons of love
Seasons of love

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?

In truths that she learned
Or in times that he cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died

It's time now to sing out
Tho' the story never ends
Let's celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends

Remember the love
(Oh you got to, got to)
Remember the love
(Remember the love)
Seasons of love
(Measure measure you life in love)
Seasons of love
Seasons of love

Be filled

David and Goliath

³⁷ Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!” ³⁸ So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹ David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.

⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. ⁴¹ So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. ⁴² And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. ⁴³ So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. ⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹ Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

1 Samuel 17:37-51 (NKJV)

WIMW

Words Images Music Words.

Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
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Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
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Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.
Words Images Music Words.

Words Images Music Words.

Words.

Images.

Music.

Words.

And more words.

Musician Dreams

I used to dream...

Salad Porn

Willing To Survive

Making do, making friends, making life possible!

Empire of the Sun portrays patriotic kamikaze pilots who willingly die for their country. On a sombre note, I'm reminded of Jakarta bombings...

One By One

One by One from nau.com/collective/

Reach!

Love yourself, for who and what you are; protect your dream and develop your talent to the fullest extent.

~ Joan Benoit Samuelson (Retired American marathon runner)

Thoughts, Thinks and Wells

As some might have noticed, haven't been blogging much. Been consumed by work, holidaying and inner thoughts. Let's see, where to begin...

H1N1 - the bugger-oops, bug that's here to stay. Giving hell and hot water at work too! Guess on the whole, it's good to be stretched... Though the adrenaline is starting to wear off.

France - Beautiful country with awesome/soothing/inspiring/beholding sights! Charming wedding, cathedrals (how many crucifixes can one see), cafes on the sidewalk, chilly-yet-sunny weather, crepes au nutella, cruise along the Seine, countryside car-cruising, crumbly pastries, cheese-geese-feast, chokeful with museums that overwhelm... And what really struck were the homeless and beggars on the streets....

Walking the walk with Him - Victorious living certainly isn't a constant high and even seems a far cry away sometimes. Fears and discouragement do creep in, yet overcome they eventually are too! Of late, Rev 22:12 has become a stark reminder that really should guide actions and goals. And inner struggles continue...

Tonight's message summarised: HOPE.

Hope in Him, hope in future, hope in present times for brighter days, hope that stirs, hope that sings, hope that cries, hope that cheers, hope that is unseen...

Simply hope.

Seeing is believing

Homeless Irishman in Spitalfields


Mother and Child in Biafra


Bangladesh


Shell Shocked Soldier

Don McCullin (1953 to present), one of the greatest war photographers, and throughout the 1960's and 1970's he covered events of global importance for the Sunday Times Magazine including the Vietnam war.

From BBC interview in 2005: "I think it made me search myself. It's nothing to do with photography. We are, as human beings, obliged to search ourselves. Are we having the lives we want? Are we doing the right things we should be doing? Are we addressing certain questions that we must address in our lives?

"I felt deeply ashamed because I've always prided myself on being the man who cares, the man whose timing was right, the man who sought consent. I didn't do it that day. Everything was happening fast and I responded in the wrong way by taking that picture. I have that picture of that woman to this day."

Eye é City

Came across this: Eye é City is the organizer of the annual flagship event, A Visual Account of the Last 24 Hours. Led by a team of dedicated volunteers, the society also organizes other fringe activities for the public including photography exhibitions, talks, and sharing sessions. The overarching vision of Eye é City is to raise awareness and concern for the society at large by becoming a communal platform to allow participants to share, interact and learn through activities like art, photography, journalism and heritage.

Some photos from the 2002 book:




And from the 2007 exhibition:

old times, good times, merry times

Army frens just never let you forget certain things...like how spouted rubbish, like seeing tornado on TV, after having too much to drink. And countless other memories- now we laugh, then we cussed.

Yet another bites the dust- oops, ties the knot. How many more to go?

p.s. my last post was the 888th one! Woo, I should strike 4D or something...

How different is SG from FR?

Reading The Economist's take on the French economic model, I wonder how different the two states are.

Arise...

Today:

- tried playing Glorious Redeemer on guitar- quite lacking in glory

- took an afternoon nap- v. rare

- finally visited Kangxi Emperor exhibition at ACM- if you were emperor for a day and ruled over 150M people across 9.6M sq km, what would you do?

- had dinner with parents at chinatown- recipe and taste of claypot rice hasn't changed over 20years. reminded by little signs that dad and mom are aging.

- "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" ~ Song of Solomon 2:7

You will

Before sunrise, before sunset.

Over and over, possibility untried.

Wherefore art thou?

Now, no one in sight.

If there's any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone, sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed, but…who cares, really? The answer must be in the attempt.

Brave invisible new world

Caught Visible Stories written by Chay Yew.

What a fantastical portrayal of the global village we live in- complex love, bit of sex, betrayal thrown in, dirty money we can't do without, cruelties of life, invariable self-interest and all.

Use of integrated computer effects made for comical scenes. I wonder if theater conservatives might accept it.

Overall, more than enjoyable.

True

By Ryan Cabrera

I won't talk
I won't breathe
I won't move till you finally see
That you belong with me

You might think I don't look
But deep inside
In the corner of my mind
I'm attached to you
I'm weak
It's true
'Coz I'm afraid to know the answer
Do you want me too?
'Coz my heart keeps falling faster

I've waited all my life
To cross this line
To the only thing thats true
So I will not hide
It's time to try
Anything to be with you
All my life I've waited
This is true

You don't know what you do
Every time you walk into the room
I'm afraid to move
I'm weak
It's true
I'm just scared to know the ending
Do you see me too?
Do you even know you met me?

I've waited all my life to cross this line
To the only thing thats true
So I will not hide
Its time to try anything to be with you
All my life I've waited

This is true

I know when I go ill be on my way to you
The way that's true

I've waited all my life to cross this line
To the only thing thats true
So I will not hide
It's time to try anything to be with you
All my life I've waited

This is true

Remember

Like Logan, like Jimmy, you wait to unleash those claws within. The anger, the frustrations- seething and trembling! And it takes only a thought, a word to tear and burst the inner restraints that barely hold. Then the wounds that never really heal. Memories too painful, too dear to let go. Of happy times, intimate times, sad times, grievings... Sometimes you wish you never knew, never tried and tasted something so pure though doubt persists. You wonder if you ever lived. You wonder if it will ever be. That kindred soul, a song of old, familiar smells, laughs, sensations- perhaps yours yet not to keep. Perchance to slumber, perchance to dream. Let the wake of tomorrow bring a fresh new day.

Love Untold

In my mother's womb,
love unfolding, me untold.

Realisation! Sudden revelation!
A leap for joy, a heart full of glee!

A clutch of the tummy-
the mound that would be.

What joy! Oh joy! My joy!!

I can only imagine.
A vision in my mind's eye.

Me unfolding, love untold.

A life of giving, giving...
and giving some more.

In all the world, only mama's best.
So goes the childhood refrain.

Love unfolding, life untold.
A future awakens, eternity beckons.

Thank you Mommy!!

We Fall Down

We Fall Down, by Chris Tomlin

Your Grace Is Enough

Tech Gifts for Mom

Fyi, my mom barely speaks english and can't even master her handphone. So...nah...