watashi no me wo toushi te mite. . .

PPSMI? Scrapped?? WHAT???!!!

2011-11-12T14:51:00.001+08:00

Just thought I would make some time to give my penny's worth regarding a current issue in Malaysia - The abolishment of PPSMI. Before I continue any further, for those international readers of my blog who are asking, "What is this PPSMI?" PPSMI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PPSMI) was a program to learn science and mathematics in English, initiated by our past prime minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, in 2003. I was a strong supporter of the PPSMI because of its objectives. the PPSMI policy was implemented based on the government’s concern on the nation’s human capital development towards achieving the standard of a developed country, as well as an early preparation to compete in the era of globalization. With the realization that the field of science and mathematics is mostly in English and also that the command of English that Malaysians have cannot be compared to a majority of people in this era of globalization, Tun Dr. Mahathir realized that we were on the losing end. In order to move forward, PPSMI was proposed, tabled, and accepted.

Worrying news happened recently. On Nov 3, 2011, the Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the abolishment of the PPSMI policy was final (http://malaysiakini.com/news/180393). This brought a whole range of different responses to the issue and I would like to add mine. I will base my response on my rebuttals on the Government's response towards the responses in this article they released: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/5/focus/9631026&sec=focus

One of the leading factors contributing towards the abolishment of PPSMI was the results of the different surveys and researches made by a number of universities and from the results, deemed PPSMI as flawed. Firstly, they found that only 4% of Mathematics and Science teachers used 90% or more of English in the teaching and learning of the two subjects. According to this results, "a majority of them used a mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and English. More often than not, the teachers had to switch to Bahasa Malaysia in their teaching because students could not understand their lessons in English." Other studies include one conducted by a group of educationists from the Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) that revealed that 70% of Form Two students found it difficult to learn Mathematics and Science in English as well as the study done by a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) professor that concluded that PPSMI hampered students’ ability to understand Mathematics and Science concepts, hence resulting in their poor performance in the two subjects. I think for the reason stated above, my question would be how intensive and extensive was that survey? Does it really portray the student population in Malaysia as a whole? Let's use the statistics of the Form 5 students in 2010. The number of students each year can be approximated to around that number of students. In 2010, 467,970 students sat for the SPM (The article regarding the analysis of the 2010 SPM results can be found here). If we approximate the number to about 450,000 students each year, the 70% of Form Two students as set forth by UPSI would amount to approximately 280,000 students. Does this mean that the study by UPSI was done surveying a student number from different states, schools, race, etc. amounting 280,000, if not more? If not, how can they accurately say that 70% of the students find it difficult? If they only did the survey on about 2000-4000 students (which amounts to only 0.5-1% of the approximated student number) from schools in the same state, then they should not conclusively say that the 70% of Form 2 students represents the 70% of the students nationwide. If the survey is based on what the teachers think of parents think without directly asking students, then the results of this study is even more unreliable. The same applies for the UKM professor. On what basis does he conclude that the reason students cannot understand science and mathematical concepts is the language? Again, how extensive was his survey? How was that study done to begin with? Did students do much better when science and maths was taught in Bahasa Malaysia as compared to learning in English? Besides, this is only a temporal solution because when students graduate from high school and decide to pursue a career in the science or maths field, they will not be able to compete with the rest of the world of students from other nations as they will be learning things built on the same concepts but in English. They will struggle not only to understand what they are studying but to also learn again the English terms of the concepts they learned in High School (for example, sodium as compared to natium or potassium as compared to kalium, or even concepts like sublimation as compared to pemejalwapan). Imagine this scenario: students are supposed to have their basics before going into university as the university is not going to teach students basic science again but rather build on them. Imagine the student enters class and the lecturer uses terms like "sublimation". The student then has to put in extra effort to understand what the lecturer is saying and relearn all the new terms. If you say that they are able to put extra effort when they are in university and still be able to excel, and if the study is accurate that students are unable to understand the lessons taught in English according to the PPSMI policy, wouldn't you say that this is a contradiction? Why can't the students use the same effort when they are, say, in Form 1 or Standard 1 to master these concepts in English rather than wait until the work and assignment load gets heavier in university and then only start trying to learn the concepts in English. Imagine how competitive our students will be when it comes to presentation time. In fact, one statement made was that the current generation of scientist, technocrats, lawyers (why was lawyers brought into the picture? They need science and maths??), accountants and other professionals are products of our National Education System where Bahasa Malaysia is the medium of instruction in schools. Hey, take a moment to look. How competitive are our scientist and technocrats and mathematicians as compared to the rest of the world. Even if there were some who are competitive, what is the percentage of these competitive ones as compared to those who just cannot because of the language barrier?

Another thing I found quite hilarious was this: "In relation to this, the Education Ministry has taken comprehensive measures to improve our students’ command of English through the Strengthening

English Language (MBI) policy. We are improving the methods of teaching and learning of English in schools, increasing English hours and hiring quality English teachers, including from abroad, to help our students be proficient in English. We believe that there are many ways to improve English ability among our students and we are working very hard to realise this objective." First they say that it is difficult to teach Science and Maths in English because students are just unable to cope and follow, no matter what methods it may be and therefore resulting in teachers who have to mix Bahasa Malaysia in their teaching. Then, my question is, will increasing learning hours, hiring quality English teachers and implementing other methods guarantee a better proficiency of the English language when it failed for PPSMI?

I am no educationalist neither am I an authority in the field of education, but based on logical and rationale thinking, I can safely conclude that English is the international language today. It is the language that business talks are done in, contracts are written in, new inventions and research papers are written and presented in. In today's world, for Malaysia and Malaysians to be competitive, for the world to even begin to take Malaysia seriously, mastery of the English language is a definite must, more so for the area of Science and Maths. I personally have met a head of Mathematics department from a local university that will not be named here. He has a PhD in Mathematics yet is unable to converse in basic English. What more write papers in English? Though it may be hard at first but I believe that one day, once the learning of science and maths in english has become the social norm, students will be able to cope with studying in English. Even as I write, there are students who in primary school came from a vernacular school but did their high school in a national school (I personally know a number of them) yet they are able to switch from studying in their vernacular language to not only being able to pass but excel in high school even though it is in a language that they are not proficient in. For my batch of classmates, I had classmates from Chinese school who were not really proficient in Bahasa Malaysia yet scored in Bahasa Malaysia as well as all the other subjects even though they were taught in Bahasa Malaysia. A lot of them are today scholarship students sent overseas to further their studies. Is PPSMI that impossible? I guess the answer is a definite no. Are we putting down Bahasa Malaysia? Definitely NO! PPSMI is just preparing Malaysian students to be on the cutting-edge of their field, preparing them to be able to compete with the rest of the world. If students are able to switch and excel from Mandarin medium of instruction to Bahasa Malaysia, I see no problem with Bahasa Malaysia into English. And if we start them young, at the beginning of their formal education, it will not be that much of a problem. I think what it takes is a paradigm shift and a willingness to learn. Then only can Malaysia stand up proud and be able to compete with the rest of the world. Then only will Malaysia truly be progressing, not stagnant or even regressing. For this reason, I hope and pray that PPSMI will be retained and the MOE will look into ways of making the implementation of PPSMI smoother and more effective rather than to just abolish it. This, is my cry, alongside others, crying for PPSMI not to be abolished.

Song Expedition

2011-10-13T11:58:00.001+08:00

I think I will write a post about my songwriting journey. I started songwriting at the age of 14 or 15. As I mentioned in my music blog (visit it at www.azure-music.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/azuremusicpage), I was inspired by a close friend to venture into songwriting. Before that, I was just playing instruments to different songs of different genres (at that time, I was playing songs by Maroon5, Ungu, Hujan, etc). Seeing this close friend write her first song pushed me to write more and more. So I decided to start writing and within that year, came up with enough songs for an album. I named that album "Acoustic: Waiting" because one of the first songs I wrote was entitled "Waiting" (I probably should get this recorded one day). Reason for the "Acoustic" series was that I only had my dad's Dell PDA to record on so instrument-wise, it was extremely limited. All I had was an acoustic guitar and bad sound quality recording. In any case, that was the start of my songwriting journey.

My main genre then was more pop and ballad with a slight touch of rock. My main influences at that time were Maroon5, Nickelback, Josh Groban, Alicia Keys etc. I wrote songs for girls I had crushes on, wrote songs for weddings, and was requested to write few other songs for some events or personal interests. I was going on a songwriting expedition!

Over the years, music became an integral part of my life. Not so much as in listening to music but making music. I worked to improve my musical skills. I also pushed myself to break the boundaries. Push myself to do something different - something new.

As I see my songs now like "Cry", "I Love You So", "On This Day", and the likes, as compared to my songs of the earlier years like "Waiting", "Miss You So", "Michelle's Dilemma" and so on, I noticed how my music and songwriting has evolved. Though both are unique in their own unique ways, there is still that one inexplicable thing that still remains consistent throughout. Something that words cannot describe. I don't even know how to explain it. If you listen to "Miss You So" as compared to "I Love You So", they are both different yet in a certain way the same. Probably the only phrase I can use to describe this is that my songs, even after its minute evolutions, still contain that "Bryan-ness". LOL~

Anyway, I strive to continue writing songs. My recordings would probably be better with a professional recording setup but till then, I would have to make do with GarageBand. Until then, here is my song for you to enjoy [details of the song can be obtained here]. I wrote it for a class final project (and scored an A for it!). Like what you hear, go to www.facebook.com/azuremusicpage and click "Like". Spread the music, spread the love, until then, stay tuned. Peace everyone!

Cry by Bryan Boo

To love what is beyond what you can see...

2011-04-26T18:51:00.000+08:00

I know, the title sounds confusing, quirky, you name it... But I feel this title really fits some of my thoughts recently. This is a VERY overdue post. I started having thoughts and reflections about this matter last week yet I took so long before I finally made myself sit in front of my laptop and blog about this. As you read this, I hope that you too will reflect upon yourself, how you would react towards certain things, reflect upon your expectations, and hopefully, you will be able to love what is beyond what you can see...

Subject matter of the day: children. Being young (some even when we were kids), we already envisioned how we want our future to be - marry an eligible bachelor (or bachelorette), work as a doctor or lawyer or business and be successful in whatever career path we choose, earn as much money as we can, buy a car, live in a considerably comfortable abode, and have children. Some of us even give names to our kids already! We want a boy and a girl, triplets, or even a whole football team! Whatever it is, we already have this in our minds. Question is, what if it doesn't turn out as how we envisioned it to be?

I was walking around in Kluang mall one night and I saw this little boy in front of a gift shop. His height was probably up to my knees and he was a thin, bald, Chinese boy. At first, I just passed him by until something caught my attention - he was wearing a hearing aid. Now, this boy should be no older than 7 years old. He was looking at a teddy bear that was almost his size. Pointing at it, he looked at the mother who was quite far off and all he could manage to say were not words but sounds. "Ahh... Ahhh...." was all he could manage. For someone who is deaf, I guess articulation of words is not something that comes easy. But his posture, his actions and his tone of voice were all "words" - I could understand what he was trying to tell his mother - "Mom, I want that bear" or "Mom, look at that bear". Seeing him brought many flashbacks of the encounters I had with kids that we tend to give them a second look - either one of compassion, of pity, or of disgust. I remember a child when I was helping in a pediatric clinic. This child came into the clinic with frantic parents. They were worried as they did not know what was wrong with their child. He would not respond to any calls and mentions of his name but reacts to the sound of the lorry passing by outside the house. The doctor's recommendation - to go to the hospital for some scan that plays music through the boy's ears and then see if there is a brain response. In other words, there can only be 2 possible outcomes - he is either deaf or autistic. Seeing that kid makes my heart break.

On another occasion, I once knew of a family who used to be my neighbors. They had a son who had down-syndrome. He could not function like how his peers could at the same age. He needed alot of care from the family in terms of feeding, changing, bathing etc. But I saw the patience in the mother and how she loved the child the same as how she loved the other child who was normal. She took time to feed him, care for him, even discipline him. Yet, underlying it all, I saw something beautiful - a love of a mother for her child.

All these caused me to take a moment and think. We all have dreams and how we want our kids to be and grow. But if I get a child who belongs to this category, will I still love the child the same was as I would love a normal child, if not more? Would I be able to ignore the social stigma and prejudice that society has for such children and see the beauty beneath the child's disability?

All of us have one chance or another at meeting such children. Questions for you to ponder: 1. Will you be able to accept your child as he or she is, even if the child is disabled? 2. Will you take a step out of your comfort zone and accept these children as who they are? Will we choose to see beauty instead of disabilities? 3. Will we be able to love beyond what we can see? If we can all love beyond what we can see, the world can be a better place, even if its just a little.

Mr. Jones' Graveyard Shift

2011-03-22T14:44:00.001+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button

at the end of the post to download.

Enjoy!

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Mr Jones, after retreating to the country with his trusty canine companion, realizes he's lonely. A call from his old friend Mimi cheers him up, and she invites him to join her in the Caribbean. Provided he can spruce up his own wardrobe, bring her some jewelry, buy a house, and raise a massive amount of spending cash. A "helpful" flyer suggests he run his own graveyard to make money, so Mr. Jones grabs a shovel and starts digging.

Mr. Jones' Graveyard Shift is a curious combination of a free-form simulation, tycoon management, and time management game. Customers drive in on the right side of the property. Meet them at the gate and see what kind of memorial they are interested in. At first, most customers want something cheap with just a few niceties on the side. Later, however, you'll get big spenders who demand perfection for their loved one's final resting place. Each day ends with Mr. Jones going to bed and, if you like, depositing cash in the Mimi fund. When morning comes, customers come in and Mr. Jones is back to work. A shopkeeper stops by at the crack of dawn and offers more headstones, flowers, and miscellaneous structures for you to buy. It's a good idea to stock up on everything you can afford, as you never know what the next customer will request.

Personally, I feel that this is an upbeat and a humorous game. Death has always been a depressing subject but this game really makes it light-hearted and takes the depression all away. If you don't mind playing a game about digging graves, Mr. Jones' Graveyard Shift is a superb blend of time management and simulation genres. Because it's so open-ended, it actually scales itself to meet your gaming needs, providing more challenge if you want it, or resting on its laurels while you soak in some casual gameplay. The visuals are well above average and there are plenty of unique items to buy. You'll unearth lots of satisfaction from this lengthy, quirky game! Trust me. I rate an 8/10.

Malaysia, oh, Malaysia

2011-03-15T00:00:00.001+08:00

First of all, I have want to say that I make no apologies for what I am about to blog. Initially, I wanted to just keep silent on my blog about the matter but as more and more news come, I cannot help but blog about some Malaysian's response toward the cataclysmic disaster that hit Japan.

As some of you would already know, there are some really insensitive comments posted on facebook about the disaster and how it is a retribution for the Japanese people with regards to their past etc. Man, how insensitive can people be? With a natural disaster at a scale so great hitting Japan, with so many deaths, with despair looming among the people, some people are able to stand back and laugh and taunt those who are suffering. Goodness! Do they not have a slight bit of compassion?

Before I go any further, let me give you an update on the situation in Japan so that you know how bad the calamity was. The Star reported today (read the full news here) that the officials fear that more than half of Otsuchi's population of about 19,000 is buried under the rubble. As many as 10,000 people are thought to have been killed. Kyodo news agency said 2,000 bodies had been found on the shores of Miyagi prefecture, which suffered the brunt of the damage. Do read the full news to get the severity of the situation there. Here are some videos and pictures for you:

Video of the tsunami hitting Japan:

Video of the devastation in Japan after the tsunami:

Pictures of the devastation in Japan:

And even amidst these hopelessness and devastation, we Malaysians can still make insensitive statements like these. To take the embarrassment a step higher, Malaysia was highlighted in the international news (CNN) with regards to Japan's disaster, not for the good, but for the bad (Read the news here). Our own Malaysian artist would draw such a drawing to mock the Japanese (whether intentional or not intentional, a little sensitivity would be nice) and the shock of it all, how could the editors of the newspaper allow this to be printed?! Do they not care of how the Japanese would feel? Instead of rallying people to help Japan, or inviting them to keep Japan in prayer irregardless of whatever religion you ascribe to, or instilling compassion to our Malaysians (especially the children), they end up mocking and showing insensitivity. What would the children learn? Possibly this: "When other people are in need or are facing tough times, we laugh at them." Quite feasible huh?

Let's take it a notch higher. I just saw a press statement by our First Lady, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor with regards to this issue. She did TRY to show some sensitivity but I believe it was just a facade. Why would I think so? I justify my position with the following reasons:

1. She seems to be putting the blame on the Japanese people, as if they were the one who caused the earthquake and tsunami.

2. She does not know her facts when she makes her statements.

The following is the video of her press statement:

The following is my response toward her statements:

There was a statement made: "tragedi tsunami dan gempa bumi di Jepun adalah akibat kelalaian negara itu melaksanakan pembangunan mesra alam" (roughly translated: the tragedy of tsunami and earthquake hitting Japan is because of their oversight in using ecofriendly development). She made a statement saying "apa-apa (negara lain) pun mereka nak buat ataupun sebarang pembangunan yang mereka ingin lakukan seharusnya mengkaji dulu keadaan sekeliling dan mengaitkan dengan 'climate change' dan 'green technology'" (roughly translated: whatever (other nations) would want to do (in the future) including any development they would like to do, they must first research their surroundings and consider climate change and green technology). Firstly, who says that Japan is not ecofriendly in their policies, including those with regards to development. In fact, when compared to Malaysia (of whom Datin Seri Rosmah is from), Japan is way more advance in their implementation of ecofriendly policies. According to Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Yale University, Japan was ranked 20 in their 2010 rankings of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with a score of 72.5 whereas Malaysia is ranked 54 with a score of only 65.0 (see the rankings at epi.yale.edu). In terms of implementation of ecofriendly laws and policies, Japan has done it and is the top 20 among all nations when it comes to their implementation. Another point to note is that Japan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. This means that earthquakes and volcano eruptions are common and bound to happen in Japan. There is a reason we call these occurrences as "natural disasters" - simply because it is nature taking its own course. I would think that Japan knows that they are in the Pacific Ring of Fire and would have considered the fact that earthquakes are bound to happen in their nation and would develop accordingly. In fact, I must salute them in terms of their construction of buildings for being designed to be able to withstand earthquakes. With such a construction and development in their science and tech, I would feel that it is rather unfair to say that they did not consider their odds as well as the implementation of "green tech" in their development. Also, how do you prevent something that happens naturally? Let me pose another question. How can we prevent death? We cannot. Isn't it the same when asking people to prevent natural disasters from happening? Yes, I do agree that development and progress does affect the occurrences of these natural disasters but to (seemingly) place the entire blame on the Japanese is simply unfair.

I believe that such statements made from all levels of society is rooted in a supremistic ideology. It is the simple thinking that Malaysia is way better than Japan that allows people to make such statements instead of words of compassion. Really, open up your eyes and you will see that the Japan is far more supreme when compared to Malaysia in terms of development, progress, and people's intelligence as well as living conditions. They are also very ecofriendly despite their constant progress. But the responses of Malaysians such as these show me that Malaysians need a whole lot more of compassion, not only for those we can relate or of those we consider our brethren but to mankind as a whole, no matter what skin color, no matter where they come from, or what language they speak. Because at the end of it all, we are all the same. I once read a quotation from a friend's blog (quoted from Farish A. Noor's book) that goes something like this: "'racism' does not exist, because as far as the strictest technical definitions goes; there is only one race. The human race." Yes, let us not have compassion for only certain people but for the whole human race. Simply because we are the same race - the human race.

Kuroshitsuji II

2011-03-14T16:22:00.000+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
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This is the first time I uploaded a TV series (in this case, an anime) for you all to download. I will categorize such posts under TV Show/Movie/Anime Review and you all can download there (though uploading in this category may not be as often as there is alot of bandwidth required to upload these). For now, I have uploaded one anime which I personally enjoy. Kuroshitsuji was really nice. It is the story of a nobleman named Ciel Phantomhive and his butler, Sebastian Michaelis. As the title of this anime suggests, Sebastian is a black butler (as I do not want to be a spoiler, you will have to watch it yourself to understand it better). Those of you who watched the 1st season would know the contract between Sebastian and Ciel. The ending of season 1 was sad (for those of you who watched, you will know what I am talking about).

Season 2 builds on the story line of season 1. In fact, it is a continuation of season 1. The plot is surprising and unpredictable. In this season, enters two new main characters, Alois Trancy (who is known as the Queen's Spider, as opposed to Ciel, who is the Queen's Watchdog) and his butler, Claude Faustus. The setting of season 2 is one year and three months after the ending of season 1. I shall not elaborate further so as to not become a spoiler. You will have to watch the anime to discover how Alois and Ciel's path intertwine, discover the story behind Claude, Sebastian and how it relates to Alois and Ciel's pasts, and finally, discover the ending of season 2.

I have uploaded the 12 episodes of Season 2. Whether or not there will be a season 3 is still a big question, but till then, enjoy Season 2! (Sorry for the folks that have not watch Season 1. I am unable to upload season 1 as something happened and I lost the files.) I would rate this anime a 8/10. (Oh, I would recommend you all watch D.Grey-Man as well. I will not be able to upload it as there is a total of 103 episodes to date. But trust me, I rate it a 9.5/10. Great anime! I am awaiting the continuation of it.)

Fireflight - For Those Who Wait

2011-03-13T22:01:00.000+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

I have always been more of a rock music kind of person and one genre of music that I particularly enjoy are those of Linkin Park and Evanescence. I love the tone of the voice (like that of Amy Lee of Evanescence) with the music, whoa... blows my mind. I still hold on to that the Japanese are still better in a musical sense (those of you who are musical will probably enjoy the musical composition of High & Mighty Color, of which I will upload soon. Oh, take a moment here to pray for Japan. The earthquake and the tsunami that hit them, major disaster...) but the English music are not too far off. I was once introduced to Fireflight's music but I did not pay much attention to it until end of 2010 when I got a hold of the album. Man, I was blown away! Fireflight is a Christian band and their music belongs to the genre (or even in the same league) as Evanescence or Linkin Park. In this album, I particularly loved the song "For Those Who Wait". The music blending together with the vocals is just musically amazing. If I were to rate this album, I would give it a 9/10. Try it. For those who likes the music of Linkin Park and Evanescence, trust me on this one - Fireflight will not disappoint you.

Track List:

1. For Those Who Wait
2. Desperate
3. Fire In My Eyes
4. Core of My Addiction
5. What I’ve Overcome
6. Name
7. New Perspective
8. You Give Me That Feeling
9. All I Need To Be
10. “Recovery Begins”

1Malaysia - "Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan"

2011-03-11T11:13:00.000+08:00

First and foremost, do forgive me for my recent apparent disappearance from my blog. There have been many things that I wanted to blog about but every time I sit before the computer, it all seeps away from my mind. This time, I am making myself sit in front of the computer until I am able to write something. Also, do forgive me as this will be a post addressing a mixture of issues.

I have been reading the news lately and there are certain things that I would like to voice my opinion. Again, this is not to put down Malaysia (I still think it is a beautiful country in a certain sense) nor is it to criticize certain policies or people groups, but rather it is just purely my opinion regarding certain issues based on facts and recent events that happened in Malaysia.

A couple of days ago, I was reading the papers when I stumbled upon the news regarding the Teoh Beng Hock Inquisition. One horrifying piece of news that really highlighted some government agency's apathy and bad management was published on March 9 (read the news on The Star here). Allow me here to quote certain portions of the news:

Assistant enforcement officer Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus told the commission that he had not bothered about the political aide after helping his colleague Arman Alies to question Teoh.
He said that after handing over the relevant documents to his superior Hairul Ilham Hamzah at 12.30am on June 16, 2009, he told Teoh to wait at the sofa while he went into his office to sleep.
“Is this fair to treat a witness this way? You told him to wait but had no courtesy to see him?” asked Justice Foong.
When Commissioner Prof Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom asked Mohd Ashraf if he knew what had happened to Teoh then and that Teoh “was no more his concern”, he said he had no instruction about Teoh.
This prompted Justice Foong to ask if that was the attitude of all MACC officers.
“Yes, it’s been like that. We follow instructions, which are like that,” Mohd Ashraf said.

This is really shocking as it paints a picture on what is happening within our government agencies. We have government officers who are really apathetic and would even go to the extent to ask some one to wait while he sleeps whereas the waiting person is thinking that the officer concerned is still working on his case and therefore patiently waits. What is even more horrifying with regards to this apathy is that they (in this case the officer) feel no remorse.

Asked if he did not feel anything wrong with the way Teoh had been treated, Mohd Ashraf said: “No, because that is the way.”

1Malaysia has a slogan that reads "Rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan" (which a rough translation would mean "People first, achievements placed top priority" or something to that note. The English slogan is "People first, performance now", even though I feel that it is an inaccurate translation of the original slogan in Bahasa Malaysia, but it gives a similar notion). Is this what is exemplified by some government officers? In my opinion, this does not only apply to the politicians and ministers but it extends to the government as a whole. It reads to me to be more than just a slogan. To me, it reads as if it is the promise of the government to the people. If it is so, should not the people in the government agencies also exemplify this? In order for 1Malaysia to be truly a concept that is tangible and not just remain unrealistic, much social paradigm shift is needed. This is one area that needs to be looked at. People queue at clinics or government hospitals awaiting for their turn while the nurses and M.O. are busy chatting and drinking coffee (not every place but a significant number of such places have the same issues). I was at a specialist hospital in Johor once to visit a patient with cancer there. After some while, a nurse came up to us to check on the patient's condition (while the other nurses were at the nurses station for almost 20minutes chatting). We asked her, how was he and all she could answer was "I tak tau la" (I don't know). She knew not his condition, what he was in for, then my question is, what are you checking then if you have no prior knowledge of how the patient is? How are you to determine if he is better or worse if you do not even know how he was before? Is this "Rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan"? In what way was the patient (who happens to be a Malaysian citizen) was placed first and achievements placed top priority? With regards to the feasibility of 1Malaysia, is it possible to even have a change in paradigm and attitude in such areas of the government officers?

The Teoh Beng Hock Inquisition is one news that I will continue to follow as things are starting to get interesting. I would like to see how they handle such a case - with the issue of the apathy and government system that has been highlighted (if any actions will be taken to improve such a situation), with Mohd Ashraf's "selective amnesia", especially with his contradictory statements, as seen in the news report dated March 9 (read it here).

Till then, we can only pray that the seemingly impossible concept of 1Malaysia will miraculously be a reality in the life of Malaysians in the near future. That truly Malaysia will be a nation of peace and harmony of all nations, and that the government (not only those elected but those employed as well) will truly serve the people, holding true to the 1Malaysia slogan, "Rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan".

From my protégé

2011-02-03T00:49:00.001+08:00

I have been working in the church for 3 years now with this year as the 4th and the journey has its ups and downs. One of my ministry methods is to personally mentor young people and young adults and there are some whom I have identified and mentored them not only in ministry and ministerial skills but rather to walk with them through life - sort of like being a spiritual father to them. One of them is who I am proud of because I have seen her growth - from someone who was timid and was not a strong leader to someone who is of influence and taking the lead today not only as a leader but also as a spiritual big sister to the youths.

I mentored her for 2-3 years now and it is my privilege and honor that she allowed me to speak into her life. Watching her grow is like a father seeing his precious little daughter - it just melts your heart. As I am leaving for Ipoh for a year of training, she made this video for me that truly touched my heart. It does seem to be like an eulogy (she probably can use it at my eulogy in future ~ LOL~) but I know she put ALOT of effort into it coming from someone who is not computer savvy. So here is the video that touched my heart and made me smile. After watching this, my heart leapt with joy and I felt like a father at his 5-year old daughter's musical concert and she plays the violin to perfection and before she bows, takes the mic and says, "I love you, daddy" and takes a bow. The feeling the father felt at that moment is the feeling I felt after watching the video. Enjoy!

Thanks, maomao...

Yuna Ito - Endless Road

2011-01-25T17:13:00.003+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

As I have stated before, I am a JRock fan. I heard this song in my iTunes one day and it was categorized under "unsorted" either because I did not have time to categorize it or I overlooked it. But whatever the reason, I paid little attention to it. Until today, I was looking for something to upload and this song was playing. Man, I enjoyed the music. It gave me sort of the same 'feel' as Utada Hikaru's "First Love". Sentimental, full of emotions and very nice music. A beautiful song that can move one to tears (the sentimental ones at least. LOL). If I were to rate this song, I would give it a 7/10. Check it out and see. Because it is in Japanese, I've included a rough understanding of the meaning of the song below. Enjoy!

Lyric:

If you haven't changed your mind
そばにいてほしいよ Tonight
(I want you to be by my side Tonight)
強がることに疲れたの
幼すぎたの
Every time I think about you baby
今なら言える I miss you
It's so hard to say I'm sorry
(I was tired of acting strong
I was too young Everytime I think about you baby
Now I can tell you that I miss you
It is hard to say I'm sorry)

たとえば誰かのためじゃなく
あなたのために歌いたいこの歌を
終わらないstory 続くこの輝きに
Always 伝えたいずっと永遠に
(For instance, I want to sing this song
not for someone else, but for you
The endless story continues into this radiance
I always want to tell you always, forever)

Memories of our time together
消さないでこのまま don't go away
(don't disappear, they stay like this, they don't go away)
あたたかく溶けだして確かめるの
優しさのしずくこの胸にひろがってく
切ないほどに I'm missin' you
重ねた手離さないで
(Beginning to melt warmly & make certain,
the drops of kindness spread on my chest
I'm missin' you so much that I'm sad
Don't let go of my hand upon yours)

たとえば叶うならもう一度
あなたのために歌いたいこの歌を
終わらないstory 絶え間ない愛しさで
tell me why 教えてよずっと永遠に
(For instance, if the wish comes true,
I want to sing this song for you again
The endless story with an endless love
tell me why tell me always & forever)

たとえば誰かのためじゃなく
あなたのために歌いたいこの歌を
終わらないstory 続くこの輝きに
Always 伝えたいずっと永遠に

[Sorry for the awkward translation. LOL! But the meaning is pretty much there.]

Categories Added

2011-01-25T15:09:00.000+08:00

Some people have been commenting that it is so hard to find things that I used to put up for people to download in the past. All I have is the archive and you would have to go through each month and see each post to find a particular download. Well, not any more. I have added a "Categories" column in my sidebar, divided into 'Games', 'Music' and 'Softwares'. So for those of you who want to scroll through the available downloads for that particular category, just click on it and it will show you all the downloads in that category with my reviews. Enjoy!

Christianity Answers

2011-01-05T20:21:00.000+08:00

Many a times people have questions about Christianity, the docrtines, teachings, or even simple questions like can a Christian do this or a Christian do that but find it hard to articulate. Well, some of you who have read my earlier post would know that I have 2 sites set up for answering such questions:

For Youths = http://www.elpisanctuary.blogspot.com/
For Adults = http://www.elpisanctuaryadults.blogspot.com/

But then again, these are all blogs where I post a question that someone asks me and I answer it so everyone can benefit from it. It derives readers from interacting (aside from the comments part, but readers cannot post their own questions). Now, there is another alternative for those of you who would want more interaction. There is a forum set up to answer your questions. It seeks to help you to understand Christianity better (from a Pentecostal perspective) and also guide you through tough issues like "Is masturbation a sin?" There will even be professionals to answer your questions that require professional advice (for instance parenting from a parent, medical advice from a doctor etc. All from a Christian, if not Pentecostal, perspective). Even for those of you who are more intellectual and would like to discuss a certain question or issue or thought, you can also do it there also. The link is http://www.christianityanswers.freeforums.org/. Hope you all will benefit from it.

Olivia Inspi' Reira - A Little Pain

2010-12-09T10:21:00.005+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

I admit it. I am a JRock fan. I love their style of music. It is very different from the West. I heard of this song watching the anime "Nana" and fell in love with the song the first time I heard it. Listening to it, I could feel the emotions portrayed through the music and the vocals. It is a beautifully written piece of music. But it only remained a beautiful song and nothing more, until today in the wee hours of the morning, the meaning of the song really stood out and captured my emotions. I suddenly could really relate to the lyrics. I picked up my guitar at 4am in the morning and started playing this song. That someone meant so much to me but the emotions and feelings that are being felt is almost exactly as what is being portrayed. With my eyes closed and guitar in hand, I hummed the song. If you know I'm writing to you and are reading this, this song is for you. If I were to rate this song, I would give it a 9/10. Check it out and see. There are 2 versions uploaded for you, one is the original and the other is the studio live. Because it is in Japanese, I've included a rough understanding of the meaning of the song below. Enjoy!

Lyric:

Travel to the moon
君は眠り　夢を解く
(You're asleep, as you work out your dreams)
誰もいない星の光　
(There's no one here)
操りながら
(While the light of the stars toy with me)

強くなるため
(In order to become strong)
忘れた笑顔
(I have to remember how to smile)
きっと二人なら　取り戻す
(If we're together, I can do it)

気づいて
(Realize that)
I'm here waiting for you
今とは違う未來があっても
(Even if the future is different from now)
I'm here waiting for you
叫び続けて
(I continue crying)
きっと心は　
(I'm sure all I have to do)
つなぐ糸をたぐってる
(Is pull the thread that connects our hearts)
あの頃の私　
(So that the person I was back then)
目を覚ますように
(Would open her eyes)
no need to cry

Travel in silence 　
手をのばせば　觸れるのに
(I can reach you if I stretch out my hands)
君は遠い　それは　
(The only memory I have of you)
思い出の中のこと
(Is so far away)

聲が聞こえる　
(I can hear your voice)
目を閉じれば
(If I close my eyes)
小さな痛みさえ　
(Even a little pain)
いとしくて
(Would be nice)

見つめて
(Look at me)
I'm here waiting for you
風に吹かれ　一人迷っても
(Even if you get lost, blown away by the wind)
I'm here waiting for you
空を見上げて
(I look up at the sky)
ずっと心は
(I was protecting my heart)
手を広げて守ってる
(With outstretched hands)
あの頃の君が　
(Until the person you were back then)
振り返るまで
(Looked back)
no need to cry

(Feel something 　Feel nothing
Listen closely 　Listen closely)
Wide open ears
Disarm the dream tickler
In the constant moment
(You will find me 　Where it's quiet
Listen closely 　Listen closely)
Let the blood flow
Through all the spaces
Of the universe

[Sorry for the awkward translation. LOL! But the meaning is pretty much there.]

Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

2010-12-07T15:24:00.002+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

I'm not an avid pursuer of Bruno Mars music. In fact, I didn't really know Bruno Mars until now. But this song particularly strikes a chord in my head, ringing over and over again. This intensifies even more when the past few weeks, my sister fits the exact same description as the song lyrics. I love the lyrics of the song, though musically it may be a little repetitious but overall, this song is really nice, mostly cuz the wordings appeal to me. I would rate it a 7/10. What is your take on this?

Lyric:

Oh her eyes, her eyes;
Make the stars look like they're not shining.
Her hair, her hair;
Falls perfectly without her trying.

She's so beautiful;
And I tell her every day.

Yeah; I know, I know,
When I compliment her
She won't believe me.
And it's so, it's so
Sad to think that she don't see what I see.

But every time she asks me "do I look okay?",
I say:

When I see your face,
There's not a thing that I would change.
Cause you're amazing,
Just the way you are.
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for a while.
'Cause girl you're amazing,
Just the way you are.

Yeah, Her lips, her lips;
I could kiss them all day if she'd let me.
Her laugh, her laugh;
She hates but I think it's so sexy.
She's so beautiful,
And I tell her every day.

Oh you know, you know, you know
I never ask you to change.
If perfect's what you're searching for
Then just stay the same.

So, don't even bother asking
If you look okay;
You know I say:

When I see your face,
There's not a thing that I would change.
'Cause you're amazing,
Just the way you are.
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for a while.
Cause girl you're amazing,
Just the way you are.

The way you are.
The way you are.
Girl you're amazing,
Just the way you are.

When I see your face,
There's not a thing that I would change.
'Cause you're amazing,
Just the way you are.
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for a while.
'Cause girl you're amazing,
Just the way you are.

Blog Makeover?

2010-12-02T17:04:00.001+08:00

A Humorous God

2010-12-02T16:52:00.000+08:00

God is really very very humorous. Even as I reflect about this past couple of days and even weeks that has passed, I realized that God works in unconventional ways. The changes God brought out of me was really through means that I did not see, yet I did change. Was the molding painful? Yes, and it still carries on till today and will still continue. Every pinch, every punch, every burn that the potter places on the clay must really hurt. But the outcome is a beautiful product to behold. People that He has brought into my life, situations that He made me go through, all these sharpens me not in terms of skill but in character.

I entered bible school thinking how can I improve my ministerial skills. Yes, theology is definitely something of incomprehensible value to me but it just remained as such. I always asked, "God, what am I learning?? Just theory? That's all?" But after 2 years in school, as I look back, I realized that my focus was not what God was focusing on. As my eyes were fixed on how I could be skillful, hone my talents and spiritual gifts etc, all of these were not on God's agenda... But God's agenda was to mold my character - and that hurts.

I learned one thing from some of my schoolmates: I may have the best talents in the whole entire world, or earn the highest reputation imaginable, but without character, it all counts for nothing. Another thing that inspired me which God was also working on me ever since the beginning was my spiritual journey with him. I'm so inspired by some of the bible school students of whom I would classify as "spiritual giants". They truly earn my respect.

As the year draws to a close, as I ponder about my time in school, my conclusion is that God has never been interested on my academic side or my skill but rather on my character and spiritual walk with Him.

"God as I venture into the next phase, help me, mold me, shape me, as I surrender all into Your hands, take over........"

Silent Cries

2010-11-30T23:56:00.001+08:00

Love really hurts. Like it or not, loving someone is really hurting. Maybe this week has not been a great week for me or maybe I'm just so tired with life. Love is built on trust but when trust itself is shaken, love crumbles. Love hurts so so much. Tears that roll are tears that are unnoticed. Cries that are made are silent cries. I shall not write any further but continue it in a personal journal for a special someone.

Life..... Why does living hurts so much....... Why is life filled with sorrow and frustration and despair.......... Life.......

Voice of Silence

2010-11-17T19:51:00.002+08:00

Loneliness.

Pain. Fear. Hurts. Tears. Loneliness.

Like a ship in the middle of the ocean with thick mist all around. Footsteps all around but yet the pain remains. Why? Like a scalpel slicing the heart bit by bit while you are conscious. Like taking a bunsen burner and starting from your toes, centimeter by centimeter burning. Pain. Some say it pushes people forward to strive for the better. Is is really so? The torment, the feeling of wanting to burst inside. The tears that roll are only but silent tears unknown to the world. Like a child in a war-zone that is reaching out for aid but no one hears her cry.The suffocation of he who feels is the suffocation of breathing in carbon monoxide.

He cries but no one listens. He tries but fails. He can only retreat to his own tent, sit in the little corner while shadows pass him by. With his thumb in his mouth, tears roll down his cheek. Thoughts dart in and out of his mind like arrows piercing his brain. Questions arises in his mind. "Am I a freak? Am I that detestable? Am I that much of an eye-sore or irritant?" He questions over and over again but to no avail of an answer. He seeks to make his voice be heard but is shunned away like chaff. As the world continues its spin, life continues its painful torment on him. Loneliness creeps in and manifests itself in the deadliest form ever: fear. Body trembling, sounds of sobs and tears rolling, all he can do is just sit silently in his corner and hear the deafening voices of silence screaming at him... Like the story of the little match girl, this young boy dies silently in the heap of snow in the war-zone, body not found by anyone nor is he missed by anyone, alone, in the dead of the winter.

I wrote a song about the voice of silence which I was very disappointed with because I was not happy at all with the music. But I will put down the lyrics anyway. As you read the lyrics, imagine yourself in the position of the boy in the war-zone, in the dead dark winter's night. (It was only written halfway)

Voice of Silence

Cold hard eyes looking up to the skies

A gentle whisper calling out

The crowds are walking

People passing by

Tell me why

Tell me why it feels like winter when the summer is the season?

Tell me why does it snow when the sun is high?

Is there anyone who hears my cries?

To wipe away my tears?

Can anyone just save me from this fear?

Only voices of silence calls out to me

FRUSTRATED!!!

2010-10-27T17:07:00.000+08:00

今夜は最終的な試験です。私は準備ができていない感じています。私はストレスを感じる。さらに悪いことに、私は集中することができません。私の心は、自分のビジネスています... Sigh...

Fine Dining for Kluang

2010-10-19T19:40:00.002+08:00

Hey people of Kluang. Want to try fine dining cuisine for a reasonable price? Or do you want to have an experience of how fine dining feels like? Chiffonade Fine Catering provides this for you. From take-aways to dine-in to even cooking for you at your home for a price and setting up your home dining table to one that is of fine dining. Best thing is that it is all reasonably priced! (when others are paying RM100 for a steak, you can pay RM20 for a steak) Check it out at www.chiffonade.co.nr for more info!

(click image to enlarge)

Commenting on the blog

2010-09-07T01:31:00.001+08:00

Someone asked me how to comment on my blog. Here is a simple explanation for everyone. At the bottom of the post, you see in teal color a number followed by the word “thots”. That shows you the number of comments made for that particular post. Click on it and a small window will appear. Then you can type your comment and post it. Thank you.

The Pros and Cons of Convenience

2010-09-07T01:27:00.001+08:00

Just had this crazy idea. But before I go on any further, I must make a disclaimer. This is NOT a teaching so please do not go round saying that “Bryan said this and that” ya… Just had this crazy thought of showing you the benefits of doing things the ‘not-so-convenient’ way (here on referred to as NSC) rather than the convenient way. So, here goes!

Take for instance, going to the shop to buy some stuff. Convenience would mean you drive to that shop, buy whatever you want and drive back. This makes you fat and lazy. The NSC however would mean that you will have to walk to that shop, buy whatever you want, carry them in plastic bags and walk all the way home. Benefits? You have better health, better stamina, and stronger muscles (please, no smoking while walking ya~ defeats the whole “good-for-health” thingy).

Convenience would mean that you cheat in your exam or copy someone else’s assignment or homework (some even bully others to do their homework for them). If caught, you are so so dead. Besides, because you didn’t do the work yourself, you don’t learn and thus, it makes you a little more stupid than your other classmates who did the work by themselves. Oh, and if you are not caught, guilt haunts you so you can’t sleep at night. And by the way, it really is a sorry thing if you cheat in your exams and still fail… Sigh… The NSC would mean you have to write till your hand is sore, work through the night just to get the work done (or score in an exam) but the benefits: you strengthen your hand muscles and stamina, you get to feel and enjoy the cool and chilly night air, you get a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction when you score (even if you don’t, you feel satisfied that you have tried your very best) and most importantly, you are a little more intelligent than your other friends who are in the former category.

Of course, there are times where convenience might work. For instance, you conveniently drive to a nearby convenience store to get some things. Compare this with driving 10km to the supermarket to buy what you need. The former saves petrol and the latter, waste of money.

Or when you conveniently accidentally put chili sauce into the spaghetti instead of tomato sauce and see your friend jump up and down like a monkey screaming, you video it down and put it up on YouTube. Well, at least there is entertainment value in that convenience.

Not to forget out favorite convenience that is very beneficial: when we conveniently forget to bring our homework because we didn’t finish it. If we forget to bring, teacher scolds a bit and asks you to hand up tomorrow (if you are one of those who have a ‘good’ teacher like I did, the teacher would say no need to pass up homework anymore! Wow~ double benefit!) and life goes on and people forget about the incident. Isn’t this better than bringing the unfinished homework and get a more ‘spicy’ scolding and get labeled as a lazy bum and everyone then gives you the nickname ‘LazyBumBum’? See~ It has it’s benefits too! LOL~

Note: Again, this is just a crazy thought. Just for entertainment.

Towards An Asian “Christianity”

2010-09-03T00:48:00.001+08:00

One thing I realized through my course of study here in BCM is that the more I study, the more I realize that I don’t know, and this brings an insatiable hunger to want to know more and more about God and His Word for us and everything else that is related. This is what motivates me to further into Th.M. In fact, this gave me a love for books. After reading “Apocalyptic” by Leon Morris and started on “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” by John F. Walvoord, it gives me a sense of satisfaction and a hunger to read more books. This is SOOOO different from the Bryan Boo of the past who hated reading and dreaded going into the library. Yes, it is a little heavy on the finances but, well, it’s all worth it.

But one thing I realized is that being in the church, more often than not, we receive a very “Western Theology” or even a “Westernized Perspective” in interpreting passages of Scripture. At times, even the application is Westernized. Many a times, church members speak as if they are scholars on a particular Christian teaching but in actual fact, know nothing about what it is about besides vomiting out what was taught to them. As I study these Western scholars and their writings, I realized that the full impact of Christian Theology is watered down due to the “Western ideology” in an Asian culture. The Asian culture is so much different than the West. I strongly believe that in order for the Asian church to receive the full impact and implication of the Word of God and Christian Theology, it has to be catered to the Asian culture (as they say, the Word of God knows no boundary. If so, why are we limiting it to just the West?)

It is then my passion and burden to work on applying Christian doctrines and theology as well as applying Scriptural truths into our Asian culture, not just scholastically, but with a hope that a more “Asian Christianity” would be more significant in the development and maturity of the Asian church, particularly the churches in Malaysia. But until then, I’m just a little seminary student trying to complete his B.Th.

Exegesis on colossians

2010-09-01T13:47:00.001+08:00

I was taking Colossians as one of my classes last term. It was taught by Dr. Derek Newton from a university in Glasgow, of which he is the Professor of New Testament Studies (if I am not wrong). One thing that made me choose to take this class was that he has just recently completed his commentary on the book of Colossians, which is set to be published. In other words, I would actually be sitting under a scholar of New Testament studies, specifically, Colossians. There was a thrill anticipating what I would learn.

Classes were not as fun as I thought it would be. His accent was tough to comprehend and his tone of voice was not making things any better. But it was noticeable that he was trying to make things as interesting as possible. But learning under him was great scholastically speaking. He had detailed notes and articles accompanied by detailed explanation, his class was not one that was the lecturer vomiting everything out and expect us to digest what he is rambling about (more often than not, students can’t catch a thing such lecturers say) but Dr. Newton aids students to find the answers themselves by asking probing and provocative questions with regards to the book of Colossians. More than that, his emphasis is always about application for the local church. This is clearly seen in his assignment requirements (50% on exegesis and 50% on reflection paper on an issue in the church and how this Colossian letter can help the church).

Personally, I was happy with my exegetical paper but was stuck with the reflection. I did not know what else to write! I only managed to write 6 pages instead of the required 8. In the end, I decided to send it as it is and await the results. I did not know what I would get.

Results were out today. I opened my letterbox and took the result slip out. It read “Colossians – A-“! A minus!!WOOHOO!!!! Man, am I overjoyed!! Choir now.. Till the next entry, chaoz!

One Reading finally done!

2010-08-31T16:20:00.001+08:00

That’s right! It is the book as seen on the left. “Apocalyptic” by Leon Morris. This is a required reading for my Apocalyptic Literature class and tonight will be the first night of a string of classes. Surprise, surprise, tonight, we will also be tested on this book.

If you flip through the book, at first glace, it APPEARS to be an easy reading, with only 103 pages. Really, it only APPEARS to be simple, but nothing more. In reality, this book is CRAZY reading!! Sentence structure, choice of words, all show that I belong to a different era as I don’t understand what Morris was writing! Looking at the date, this was first published in 1972. That explains the hard-to-understand sentences. Many a times, I had to read the particular sentence about 3 times to understand what he is trying to say. More often than not, I would have to reread the entire paragraph or even the paragraphs before to understand what he is trying to convey.

Overall, it still is an enjoyable and informative book. Even though it was tough, I did enjoy the reading. It wasn’t very academic in terms of writing style but pleasant sentences. In a nutshell, I am still happy that I have finished reading. Only one question remains: how much of it is actually stored in my brain for tonight? Cuz no way am I going to read the whole book again in the near future. Probably in the far future…..

Plants vs Zombies (Reuploaded)

2010-08-23T12:06:00.001+08:00

Plants vs Zombies. Another fun game from PopCap. It is interesting and fun with cute plants and zombies running across the screen. Basically, zombies want to invade and you have to plant plants that will shoot em' down!! Someone once asked me if its addictive. My answer was simple. You wouldn't play for long in one sitting but you would like to have a few more sittings. And the game is very very very long.
Of course, as with any other game, the higher the level, the more difficult it becomes.

It is a test of strategy and it is fun! Try it. I rate is a 9/10!

She's worth the wait

Finally Done

2010-08-23T02:13:00.001+08:00

I followed my pastor up to KL, back to BCM. Arrived around 1130pm. When I opened the door to my new room, my jaws dropped wide open! The room was a total disaster!! As if a typhoon had come swirling into the room. Thanks to my good friend, Theo, the room was pretty much put into order in the end. It’s not yet fully cleaned as tomorrow, my roommate will be moving in but at least I will be able to sleep through tonight. My first extensive cleanup in BCM dorm. LOL! As I await my hair to be dry, I decided to blog. A new term, with new hopes and new challenges ahead, tomorrow night will be my first class. Looking forward to it!

Oh, as requested, I will be uploading “Plants vs Zombies” again soon. Keep on a lookout for it yea! Signing off, people!

Life Quest

2010-08-03T13:58:00.003+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

When I first saw this game with the description "maneuver through life's challenges and see if you survive", it caught my interest. A game about life? Wouldn't that be fun? So I decided to download it and try it out. Life Quest turns out to be a game of simulation of life plus time management. Though it isn't that challenging, this game by Big Fish is fun! I completed the game within 2 and a half hours.

Life Quest presents you with a city populated by a number of buildings, some of which are unlocked to start. This includes universities (to choose a career path), a city center (to look for employment), rental and buying properties, as well as restaurants, clothing stores, electronics and furniture shops, pet stores, and a lot more. As with time management games, Life Quest is divided into days wherein you would have to take care of yourself and happiness, earn money, while trying to achieve certain goals before your competitors do. The best part of the game is that, like in real life, you are presented with a whole line of options: whether you're looking for a job from dozens of employment opportunities (and you need to be qualified to accept it, of course), trying to figure out what to eat (depending on your budget), deciding on clothing items for sale at the local boutique (watch for sales!) or what groceries to buy for your home (and yes, you need to the right appliances for specific foods). In fact, you can upgrade yourself by taking courses and picking up new skills, just like in real life.

Personally, I feel that this is a unique game that is light, not really challenging but fun to play. If you are looking for challenges then this is not the game for you. But if you want something that is simple yet fun, then try Life Quest. It is not that difficult a game to play. Grow up, work, study, buy or rent houses, get married, have children.... How difficult can that get??! . I rate an 8/10. NOTE: I have the mac version as well, in case anyone wants it.

私の失敗

2010-08-03T13:08:00.001+08:00

Show encrypted text

Microsoft Office 2010

2010-07-27T16:07:00.002+08:00

Microsoft Office 2010 is out! Too bad i'm using a mac and I'm unable to try it out. But reading the reviews, it seem to have quite some major changes as compared to its predecessors. This is what PCWorld had to say:

Microsoft has also tweaked the overall Office Ribbon experience, bringing its layout and structure in line with the newly standardized Ribbon objects from the Windows 7 SDK. By far the biggest change is the removal of the funky round Office "orb" buttons. They've been replaced by the more staid-looking Application button first introduced with the "Ribbonized" Paint and WordPad applications from the Windows 7 betas.

The layout of the underlying button menu has also changed. Each Office application now sports a customized, window-spanning alternative view that combines information about the currently selected object (document, spreadsheet, e-mail message) with various actions and application-level configuration options. It's a clever way to eliminate one of the few remaining vestiges of Office's nested menu-driven past while serving to focus the user on the available actions or options. And since the view is context sensitive, it can adapt itself to match your current work status -- for example, switching its default display from a "recently opened files" view when working with a new and unsaved project to a comprehensive file info "dossier" view once you've saved the data to disk.

I currently have the full version for Office 2010. I'm wondering if I should make it available for download. Why don't you all comment and let me know if I should or not and why should I. Maybe that will determine if I put it up for download or not. It is about 650mb.

As for me, I patiently await the arrival of the Mac Office 2011, set to be released end of the year. (I'm happy with the Beta version. Can't wait to get the full one!)

検査

2010-07-27T11:24:00.006+08:00

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Spain is into the Finals!

2010-07-08T05:20:00.000+08:00

Watched the game between Spain and Germany just now. I am a supporter of Spain and a fan of Barcelona FC. Before the game began, a smile was on my face just knowing that 7 players were Barca players! Then the game began. It was a good match to watch seeing how the Spaniards were really in control of the ball. Their skills were really a notch above Germany. The way they stopped the ball, dribbled, passed and all really shows their superiority in the match as well as the unity of the players. My only disappointment was that their finishing was nothing to shout about, and in fact, was quite disappointing. But it was really enjoyable to see how skilled they were with the ball. Everything got better when Xavi took a corner kick and Puyol headed it into the back of the net, scoring the winning goal!

Now, Germany also displayed an excellent game. Though I expected more from them, especially from the likes of people like Klose, overall, they also delivered a solid performance. Their defense was solid and that killed many attempts by the Spanish forwards to shoot on target. I believe that the defense was one factor in disrupting the Spanish finishing. Although they tried to pick themselves up after the goal from Puyol, they could not beat the defense line of the Spaniards. Some nice shots were attempted but nothing that Casillas could not handle. In fact, in my opinion, Casillas gave a solid performance, proving why he is called the 'safe-hands'.

Anyway, I'm excited to see the match between Germany and Uruguay and even more excited to watch the match between Spain and Netherlands this weekend. Of course, I support and hope that the World Cup 2010 will go to Spain! Till then, toodleloo!

Theological, Scriptural & Philosophical Provocations

2010-06-17T20:22:00.001+08:00

You know, I've been in the church for many many years and often times, we just follow what the pastor says, without really owning the belief. Often times, this is due to the fact that we do not know and understand the reason for our belief in certain aspects. In some cases, we are too shy to inquire (for instance, it happened for my case). This is sad because this shows that we only blindly follow and accept what is given. To me, faith is not something that is just merely passed on but it has to be acquired and owned by that person himself or herself. They need to be convicted of their own belief; a conviction so strong that they will not be shaken. Of course, to be able to understand fully what we believe in is impossible. Things of the supernatural, things pertaining to God, there are still many uncertainties as God is infinite in his wisdom and knowledge but being humans, we are limited in our understanding of God and the supernatural. But at the very least, our convictions must be strong and for it to be so, we must understand and comprehend why we believe. Therefore, I want to provide a platform for people to read and even to inquire. I may not have all the answers, but at least I will do my very best to help understand it, theologically, Scripturally and rationally. So, if you have any questions or uncertainties, feel free to drop me an email here. Please indicate whether you are an adult or a youth as each has different approaches to understanding concepts. Thank you and hope you will benefit from it. The addresses are as follows:

For Youths = www.elpisanctuary.blogspot.com
For Adults = www.elpisanctuaryadults.blogspot.com

Note: please read the disclaimers at the blogs so as to understand where I am coming from. Thank you.

Nicole Nordeman - Gratitude

2010-05-22T11:25:00.000+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

Someone let me listen to this song and I fell in love with her voice. There is nothing "jeng" about the song but a voice, accompanied by the softness of the music, man, what a combination. I shan't write any more but let you download and listen to this song. Talks about giving gratitude to the Lord. For this song, I rate 8/10.

Kris Allen - Kris Allen (2009)

2010-05-06T09:45:00.000+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

I'm very proud of this American Idol winner. A strong Christian and worship leader, he's not ashamed to admit and tell the world that he is a Christian, one that many of us cannot measure up to. Even when he was in Malaysia, he was the first that I've heard to use the word "BLESSING to be in Malaysia". Woooow~ Though his voice is nothing to shout about as compared to the other singers, Kris Allen certainly has a way with his concerts. One thing I do respect is his musical talents. He is a songwriter and the assistant music director of New Life Church, but more than that, check out the instruments that he plays: guitar, piano, keyboard, viola, electric guitar... Double wooooow~ Anyway, that aside and just looking at the music, on a personal note, there isn't really much to shout about. This is probably just another typical pop album that is in the market. In fact, I'm a little disappointed with this album. But, maybe pop just isn't my thing. Overall, its ok to listen to the album but I wouldn't say I STRONGLY recommend it. Just my personal opinion. Overall, I give a 5/10.

Track Listing:

1.Live Like We're Dying
2. Before We Come Undone
3. Can't Stay Away
4. The Truth
5. Written All Over My Face
6. Bring It Back
7. Red Guitar
8. Is It Over
9. Let It Rain
10. Alright With Me
11. Lifetime
12. I Need To Know
13. Heartless

Dead Theology?

2010-03-19T18:16:00.002+08:00

Theology is really an interesting subject. For those who do not understand the meaning of Theology, it basically means the study of God. Theologians are people who study and investigate theology.

I love theology. I love Bible exegesis. Being a logical person I am yet someone who lives to ideologies, it is hard for me to be able to live under ideologies that I either cannot find a logical explanation for it, or I find redundancy or problems with it, or if I disagree with the ideologies.

Church life is like a circle. We hear how the early church deteriorated throughout the centuries. Church history shows us the mistakes made and we learn to avoid such mistakes. Yet, the sad thing is, though there were improvements, the church (or rather some churches) are slowly slipping back to the traditional churches of old. Ideologies like man being made supreme and that his or her words carry the authority as if of God, man being the ultimate dictator of what we call "God's Army" and moves it in whatever way the person deems fit, ignoring insignificant human rights and dignity, etc. Even the idea of "God's Army" should not be taken literally. We aren't really conscripted into a literal army but rather a spiritual army. Yes, though there are people to shepherd or lead the people (like the Pope) but c'mon, for someone to take the ultimate command and lead like the army of the olden days.

During the days of old, times of the traditional churches, these ideologies were challenged and brought about the reformation. Today, the church (~~some~~) is going back to the ideologies of old that started the fallacies of the church like the crusades etc.

These ideologies and denial of humanity and compassion is really something I cannot sit back and quietly ignore. If theology is going to be subject to human interpretation just to have their way, I AM IN NO WAY GOING TO SIT AND NOD! No, I'm not inciting the beginning of a new branch of Christianity but rather I am trying to point to ~~some~~ churches the mistakes of the church lest it becomes egocentric rather than Christocentric. If theology has to hit hard, it has to. If it has to tear the church to its bare basic to challenge the church back to its origins, it has to. No, I'm not denying or recanting Christianity, nor am I being anti-Christ, but I am trying to bring the church back to realize its roots; its beginnings. If we are the representative of Christ, if we are supposed to emulate Christ, then, please, I plead you, think again and think thrice. Is the church really emulating Christ, His presence, His compassion, His love, Him? Is the core of the church Christ or are we becoming more and more egocentric? If it is the latter and we are apathetic about it, then, truly, I'm saddened with the health of the church. Please, find your roots!

The Thin Differentiating Line

2010-02-24T08:54:00.001+08:00

I watched a movie entitled "Wolfman" last week. It was about this guy named Lawrence Talbot who, in the movie, was at a gypsy camp, investigating the murder of his brother. It was that night that he was bitten by the werewolf. The gypsies tried to treat his wound. One of the onlooking gypsy told the gypsy treating him named Maleva that he is cursed and bears the mark of the beast and urges Maleva to kill Lawrence. Maleva questions "shall I kill a man and sin?" (Not exact words). The gypsy replied that he is no longer a man but a beast. Maleva then asks "when does one end and the other begin?" In another sense, when does his humanity end and his beast begins? I sort of understand where she is coming from. If Maleva had killed Lawrence, it cannot be denied that Lawrence was still a human being. Only during the full moon does he transform to a werewolf but after that, goes back to being human. By killing him, is she killing a human or killing a beast?

In a sense, this applies to many areas of life. I observed that there are many matters of life that either cannot be clearly differentiated between right and wrong, or only a thin line separates the two. For instance, for someone who is a vegetable, is pulling the plug something right, relieving the person of suffering, or is it wrong? This is an example of something that is so hard to place the differentiating line. Another example that shows only a fine line is the line between 'like' and 'lust'. Often, it is only a very fine line. Sometimes, unknowingly, liking may turn into lust. It is not like a great explosion will happen but it is very subtle.

I guess that is why Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8 to be "Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour."

I, too, struggle from keeping in the line and not crossing lines. There are many, many things that only have a thin differentiating line. I think everyone suffers the struggle of trying not to cross the line. Even Paul himself was struggling as what we know through one of his letters. Truly, as Peter said, God has to strengthen us. Not by might and my own ability but I recognize that I need God to save and aid me, strengthening me.

High and Mighty Color - Beeeeeest

2010-02-22T11:24:00.002+08:00

As usual, click the little penguin button
at the end of the post to download.
Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________

I've always been an admirer of Japanese music. In my opinion, I personally feel that they are VERY musically talented. Recently, I stumbled upon this band and decided to download it and give it a try. Little did I know that I ended up downloading every album they released that I can find. Man, they are really musically talented! (Just to note, there's this dude who keeps rapping or something like that and he's so Limp Bizkit.) As of 2008, the band was made up by Makii, Yusuke (both vocals), Kazuto (lead guitar), Meg (rhythm guitar), Mackaz (bass guitar), and Sassy on the drums. Just a note, Makii left the band in 2008 after her marriage. They now have a new vocalist. Now, for those of you who are Bleach fans, the famous song "Ichirin no Hana" was by them. High and Mighty Color is really good musically (but their music is a little on the heavy rock side). This album "Beeeeeest" is their final compilation before Makii left the band, released in 2008. I totally enjoy H&MC. The drummer and the guitarists really WOW me. Even Makii, the female vocalist has a very sweet tone to her voice, unlike many Japanese female singers who sing with a kiddish-babyish voice which, in my opinion, makes all hairs on my body stand. If I am to rate this album, i would give it an 8/10. Definitely worth listening to. Enjoy!

Track Listing:

1.OVER ~LIVE@OKINAWA MUSIC TOWN~
2. Ichirin no Hana
3. Dive into Yourself
4. PRIDE
5. Energy
6. Here I Am
7. Oxalis
8. Remember
9. Enrai ~Tooku ni Aru Akari~
10. NOTICE
11. Humming bird
12. Amazing
13. Mirror
14. For Dear...
15. TOXIC

Rain Water in the Drain

2010-02-09T21:10:00.001+08:00

After dinner today, it started to rain. No, it should be that it started to pour like no other! I stood at the end of the cafeteria looking out, wondering how was I to run back to the dorm. Then, I looked down and saw the drain. It was just a small and shallow drain and because the whole place (cafeteria and the buildings beside it) were connected yet at different levels, the drain had steps, like a staircase in the drain. The rain kept pouring down and the drain stated to fill up. Because of the gravitational pull, the water flowed downwards in one direction. There was a metal thingy across the drain for people to step on and it stopped the water on one end, and at the other, it was like a waterfall because it was slightly raised (urm, metal is quite thick, in case you didn't know). But even so, the water still continued to flow in one direction. It caused me then to think. What if the water wanted to flow the opposite way? Was it possible? Or is it dependent on the gravitational pull?

It caused me to think. Is life like that also? Are we really in charge of the decisions in our lives or is the path already set and a higher being just clicked the "Play" button and we react according to plan. Can we decide to do something else? If we really decide to react differently, how would I know that it is not part of the path set by the higher being? Is life and its choices really choices that we have the prerogative to decide or does that prerogative belong to a higher being who has charted how our life would be and how we would react and we just follow through? Is life really just like the flow of water that just follows the path that is set before it, not being able to move the other direction because of a greater force (gravity)?

なぜ？

2010-02-04T20:32:00.001+08:00

なぜ？なぜその寿命は非常に残酷ですが、何ですか？なぜそれはすべて私のおごりですな？Renee, Rita, Winnie, Rebecca, Jinnie. すべて私の愛する姉妹たちと私のように愛しています。

Renee. あなたがたくさんの私と近いの妹大切なあの人と私は本当に大切にされた。私が私の愛情を表現していないではありません。私はしなかったがまだ不十分だった。私は、あなたはいつも私は十分に行わなかった何を感じるだろうかに関係なく。その理由を安全とは、わずかなヒントは、別の妹のニュースを私に近いと感じるのは、これを感じ始めると私は、それを得ることはできませんが嫌いでは、一人大切なあの人とされに近い私にお似合いです！ときに、私と泣いていた、私を中心にそれほどしかし、私は何もしていないが痛い。どれだけ私を傷つけるか分からない。私は他に何をするか分からない。たぶん私は十分な場合に適していなかった。多分あなた方の兄弟が必要です。 1つは、とあなただけを愛している。クリックすると問題がないが腹を立てることはありません。

Rita. 何か間違ってはいなかった。ただ、私は他に何かできることをご存知ないことです。私は本当にあなたの愛とケアあなたのようにあなたに近いことを知ろうと努力する場合と同様私の本当の血を分けた姉妹があったが、どういうわけか私は、それがすべて無駄に感じています。多分、他の兄弟あなたの方が良い。誰がシェルとしてあなたは彼の多くの愛があなたから抜け出すことができます。私はそのような男を見つけてほしい。

Winnie. 何とか、私理由は分からないが、私は当たり前のように見える。まるで本当に私を必要はありません感じている。それはあなたのようには本当に宝物を私にどう感じている。にもかかわらず、そこには、まだ好きな私をしていますあなたのことを、私はやっているとされています。のように我々見知らぬ人です。ので、遠くに感じ、それが痛い。と自分自身のことをやっていますが私のようですので、あなたです。それぞれ独自のこと。これほど痛い。多分場合、Renee ようにし、あなたを愛して弟の必要があるだけ。次に、それはたぶんもっと幸せになる。

Rebecca. 本当にありがとうございましたしました。あなたは私は非常に大切にされた。にもかかわらず、そんなに、それでも私たちkmrに開催さで私を傷つける。悲しいことに私は決してDSまたはもQYよりも良いことでした。あなたには、彼らは特別だった。それらを尊重し、とても彼らが好きではなく、あなたの兄弟。それは私、疑問を実際に本物の血を分けた兄弟のように私の治療または単にリップサービスではありませんした。何度も、あなたは私の欠点を見ると、いくつかの事実ではないが、そのことについては。かれらはすべて自分自身の兄は罪人である神のですが。どのように傷つけ知っているか？場合は、その両方との良い日を過すことがあります。

Jinnie. あなたの貴重された。あなたは無実だったと1つの方法でもあなたは私の兄好きな尊敬を聞いて、私にはまだ、もう一度、ってだけでなく、時には。私は取るに足りないと取るに足りない感じている。好きな私には必要ありません。同様に私はそこだ。私はあなたのこと教えてうれしく思いますが、また、選択されます。それも非常に近くにするのは難しいです。

Haih... 一つのことどんな場合でも、これらすべてのポイントに：私の兄が失敗したとしている。私はどのようにすべてのための良い兄弟がいいのか分からない。私は、まだすべてが失敗したハードしてください。多分私はあなたの兄のことには適しています。多分誰かがあなたの方法来るかもしれないあなたに、兄も良くなる。一人本当には誰かがいつも望んでいた。しかし、私のかわいい貴重な姉妹が一つのこと知っている：あなたの兄は本当にしました。場合でも、そして私を忘れている場合でも私たちが一瞬一瞬を忘れると、全てのi質問を一つ覚えておいて：

Bryan Boo を一度、非常に多くの場合に追加しました。

Theology Dilemma

2010-02-03T13:45:00.001+08:00

I am a thinker. I am an observer. I think alot and try to tie reasons and explanations for things. I try to formulate logical and rational reasons and philosophies to understand and comprehend life, things that happens and whatever I observe.

There are so many things that I observe that amaze me like why is it that humans relate well to people of like character or personality yet fall in love (generally) with people of opposite character or personality? Another thing is theology. The more I try to think and try to understand or comprehend theology, the more questions formulate in my mind and I cannot formulate, nor can I find any answer that satisfies me, that quenches my thirst, and it frustrates me so much sometimes.

Yet at the same time, it is these things that I cannot comprehend that intrigues me and makes me want to understand even more. A split? A dilemma? Maybe. But I will continue to observe things in life, to think and attempt to understand and comprehend as much as I can, yet at the same time, admit of the divineness and sovereignty of God and that I can never fully comprehend Him. More than that, I acknowledge that He is sovereign and mighty and great that we cannot comprehend Him, as with what the Scripture say, yet still a personal and loving God. What a journey of the mind! Sounds fun!

Life... Life... Life....

2010-01-19T00:16:00.001+08:00

Finally, I am fit and well to be able to blog again. There is so many things I wanted to blog about but it all already slipped my mind. Was so hard to sleep the times I was sick. Now only I know how active my mind is that in order to sleep, I had to think and think and think and exhaust my mind until I slept. Probably would have answered some theological mysteries if I could remember what I thought about. lol~

But just one thought: there is one general rule in life (though some genius people makes an exception, but that's only a minority): the rich get richer, and the poor either get poorer or remain as they are (what is the lowest point of poverty? Can anything be lower than poor?). See, businesses and investments need a main ingredient, money - which is something the rich have lots and the poor have little. Now, if the business or investment is a successful one, the rich get more money as returns from the business or investment but the poor get nothing as they couldn't afford to start investing in the first place! If the business fails, the rich don't lose much either. They still remain rich.

The law of money that I observe is such: the rich use it to get richer, the poor use it to get by the days. No wonder they say that life is never fair. Let me see if I can come up with some cool, super-impressive philosophical statement that might get me into the ranks of Aristotle and Plato as my closing:

Money is like water. Those who have lots of it waste it and yet still have lots of it. Those who have scarce, can only use it for daily use. That, also is hard to get by the days.

Dawn of the Sickness

2010-01-13T00:10:00.001+08:00

I wanted to blog today but ended up feeling so unwell. Had a nap and woke up feeling groggy, weak, aching all over, feeling cold, occasional nausea, and the most surprising thing, I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE APPETITE TO TAKE SUPPER!! Woooow~ I guess blogging has to wait till tomorrow then. Stay tuned for that one... Take care everyone.... Before the virus causing my sickness hops to the net, travels through whatever signal or electric current (whatever) to you computer and hops to you. Then, "Tag, you're sick!"

I'm Back

2010-01-11T23:56:00.000+08:00

Let's see... It has been like, what, a month since I disappeared from blogging. Let's see, this would be one of those rare posts where I blog about the things I have been doing.

I think I can sum up my holiday in one word: FOOD!! (though there are times of fellowship and fun, but majority of the time was eating, eating, and more eating) Let me give you a brief highlight on my food trip.

Ate like crazy in PD. Love the curry bun there. RoCkZ!
First meal in Singapore: 17-dishes meal. Crazy right?
Had a Taiwanese Porridge buffet- the four of us (my cuz Nick, Eleen, Daniel and me) took a table. We had 2 tubs of porridge and many plates of the ingredients.
Ate an International Buffet, I personally took 3 servings. (too bad it was lunch, or else I would have taken more)
Went to Shogun for Key Magazine Appreciation Lunch. Again, it was lunch, and only managed to take 2 servings of 2 plates each time.
Ate at Ritch for Imoto's birthday. Wow, I kept eating and eating. Sat at a table with Imoto and Er Mei. They both are small eaters (that's why I sat with them) and I just ate. LOL~
Just came back from a high-class dim sum restaurant with 11 other friends. One of the BCM mates gave the treat. Guess how much we ate? RM 820!! Woooow~

Just an extra note: I watched Sherlock Holmes. ROCKZ!! Make me respect him SOOO much more.. I watched with my mouth open in awe. The movie portrayed the Sherlock story well, holding fast to the tradition of its author. The plot and storyline is really like how Doyle would have written it. Hats off to you! Even more hats off to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for being able to write such masterpiece.

With that, sums up my blog entry. Be on a lookout for more as Bryan Boo is back in the game!

Here in my home - Malaysian Artistes for Unity

2009-12-15T17:51:00.002+08:00

I happened to come across this beautiful song that truly depicts the love of the Malaysians for this country, sounding the call to be of one people, undivided by color, race and religion but truly 1 Malaysia. One love, undivided. Enjoy!

Survivor Lockdown

2009-11-05T14:14:00.001+08:00

How many of you would turn on the TV, watch survivor and say, “Man, if only I had a chance to be part of it, I would have won!” Well, wait no more, my friend. For the first time in Generation:R’s history, we will be having our first ever Survivor Lockdown! Yes, it is not as big scale as the survivor on TV but the elements of outwit, outplay, outlast holds faithful in our smaller-scale Survivor. There will only be one prize for the ultimate survivor. You all will be locked-down in the church for 12 hours (8am to 8pm), forcing you to bond together, work together while being smart enough of trying to get the cooperation of everyone in your tribe to win the challenges or kick your threat out of the game at the Tribal Council. During the free time, you can chat, strategize, play or just hang out with one another. But during the challenges, you fight for Immunity. You may bring your laptops, Play Station, PSP, book to read or whatever else you might want to do during your free time. But do not forget to also prepare yourself with the champion mentality to win! Here are the details:

Date: 28 November 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 8am SHARP to 8pm
Venue: Gereja Peace AOG Kluang
Price: RM15 (inclusive of lunch and dinner)
Closing Date for Registration: 21 November 2009
Extra Note: for those bringing valuable items (like your laptop or playstation), please list them at the back of the form so we know who belongs to what item. Thank you.

Think you are tough enough? Think you are strong enough? Think you are wise enough? There can only be ONE SURVIVOR…

WILL YOU SURVIVE??

[ Click here to download the form. ]

For enquiries, do not hesitate to ask us. Age cut of limit for this event is 25.

People who impacted my life: my buddy, pan yuan

2009-10-28T04:09:00.001+08:00

Hey y'all. I told her that I would be writing about people who impacted my life and wanted her to be on the list, so here it is. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and you intelligent cats and dogs and whatever other intelligent animals who actually read my blog together when your human masters are reading as well (plus point for you in persuading your human masters to visit my blog. A treat for you!). Introducing to you today someone dear to me. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing to you, my dear buddy, Pan Yuan! Yearpz, as I have said earlier, she is one that has significantly impacted my life.

Seeing her online sometimes, seeing her Facebook and whatever else, it makes me reminisce the good ole days. Though my school days were not the best schooling days but is people like Pan Yuan who makes it so much better. I remember the days when she was my deputy president for the squash club. I was someone who wouldn't open up, until this very day, it is so much easier to force a horse to drink or even make a donkey cluck than to have me open up. But she was one of those who established a close friendship with me. I remember the days when she would drive her 4WD or a big car that I thought was too big for someone her stature to drive (looks cute yet comical) and would come and pick me and we would go out for supper and tea and just talk. Or the times I would go over to your place and pick you out and go for supper or even lunch. It was those talks that made me open up somewhat. Through this, a friendship as precious to me as diamonds was forged.

To me, Pan Yuan was always a true girl. To me, she was whom you saw no matter where. Be it in school or even outside, Pan Yuan was Pan Yuan. Yes, there were struggles she faced but she was true. For someone who feels that the world is heavily infested with hypocrites, that was a significant and important find. I can still remember the days when she was still with her red-framed specs (correct me if I'm wrong ya, bud) in her prefect uniform. I remember also the times we used to see who was the first to pay for our food and drinks.

How has she impacted my life? Who I am today is pretty much her impact. She was one the few that really made me open up (though all these few are no longer in touch with me, which is my regret). She made me realize that in this world, not all people are hypocrites. There exist too real and true, sincere people. People who are not prejudiced. People who accept you as who you really are. People who are wonderful friends. People who makes you feel that you're remembered. People who are always there for you. People who really treasure friendship. She fulfilled all that capacity. I remember the days when we used to say "buddy for life". She was one to prove that she keeps her word.A strong lady and a great inspiration. A friend and a buddy that I would not ever want to lose. Just to note, I don't have many buddies. Those I consider to be buddies are only 3 thus far (even that, the feeling may not be mutual. May be only me considering them to be my buddies but not vice verse) and she was 1 of the 3.

Pan Yuan, you have been a great buddy to me. A source of encouragement and support and a faithful and loyal friend who knows no prejudice but acceptance. Truly, you may not know this but you truly impacted my life in measures unthinkable. The Bryan today is significantly shaped by your friendship with me. Those memories of our times we spent together will always remain as a part of me. I don't know about you and how things are now and from now on but one thing's for sure, on my part, you are truly my buddy for life. Be it even one sided or whatever, to me, you will always be my bud and treasured as one. I hope to be one who will stand with you as a buddy and walk with you through life's journey. My only regret is that our relationship was just left at HSBP. Nothing was kept, nothing was nurtured, everything was just left there. I was stupid to not treasure my bud but now I know. But it remains only a regret. I cannot go back into time and rebuild a lost friendship. It was all my fault for not keeping in touch. I can't undo the past but have to live with the future. That is a regret. But those memories we have carved together in our short 2 years of friendship will never be forgotten. May you always have joy in whatever you do. May you always be surrounded by good friends as you continue touching and impacting many other lives. To me, you will always be "buddy for life".

Now, to draw a conclusion as I try to draw myself out from emo-ness (*chuckles*), I would conclude with this story. There was once a man who worked as a treasure hunter. He would travel and search the entire world, brave through the seasons to search for that exquisite and priceless treasure. He would brave the cold winds or the desert storms, stand through the heat or cold, go down the swamps, face dangers and hardships, staring and taunting death in the face yet surviving, all because he had the ultimate goal in mind: the treasure. One fine day, his efforts paid off. Truly, he found the treasure that he was looking for. It was his prized possession. He kept it so nicely, polishing the priceless treasure every now and then. But as the days went by, he started to forget about that treasure as he was caught up with the world of fame and fortune due to his discoveries. People say, as we age, we truly know what our treasures really are. He one day realized that his prized possession was not fame nor glory but rather was the treasure. But to his horror, he had lost that treasure. All that remains is the memories of his glorious days. But that's not all. He realized that the treasure gave him his health and body. In efforts to search for the treasure, his body was undergoing the immense training. Now, all that remains is thankfulness and gratitude as he once again, hopes that someday, when his house is cleared, he would find once again his priceless treasure.

(Note: the hunter is me and the treasure is the friendship between my buddy, Pan Yuan and I)

My final words is to impact more lives, bud. You have unknowingly impacted my life and forged someone who will in turn impact many other lives. You can impact other lives too. One impacted life will in turn impact lives. Is a domino effect that keeps going. But it has to start with one. So, keep on going and moving on strong. You will always be remembered and kept in my prayers. Take care.

Your bud.

(Whoa! didn't expect to type so long. Some more so emo at parts. Haha! but is all worth it as she means alot to me. Everyone, a hand for my buddy, Pan Yuan! Cheers!)

Daughtry - leave this town + bonus

2009-10-21T21:51:00.001+08:00

Note: Please click the little penguin or the album art down at the bottom of this post to download
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Chris Daughtry's latest album. Released on 14 July 2009, this is Daughtry's second album so far after his debut self-titled album was released on 21 November 2006. Chris Daughtry was (and is) one of my music influences and thus, I was waiting, asking myself, "When will Daughtry come out with his second album?" Well, the wait is over.

For all you Daughtry fans out there, 'Leave This Town' is out in stores now. Daughtry wrote in his Twitter that the title of this album was taken from a lyric in their song "September". Not only that, many songs on the album have the lyrics about leaving a particular place, for instance "You Don't Belong", "No Surprise", "Life After You" and "Everytime You Turn Around".

Before I give my views, let us just peak at the 2009 Chart listing to see where this album stands (correct as of time of reference):

Billboard 200 : #1

Canadian Album Chart: #2

Australian ARIA Album Chart : #21

New Zealand Album Chart : #8

Swedish Album Chart : #31

Some nice numbers on the Charts eh? Now, for my personal review, I prefer the album "Daughtry" to this album. No, I'm not saying that this album does not make the mark. It is just that, the style of music takes some getting used to. In other words, it takes some time and listening to the songs a few times before you actually can enjoy the songs in it. Once you have suited your ears to the style, you'll slowly love the music. I would rate a 7/10.

Track Listing:

1. You Don’t Belong
2. No Surprise
3. Every Time You Turn Around
4. Life After You
5. What I Meant To Say
6. Open Up Your Eyes
7. September
8. Ghost Of Me
9. Learn My Lesson
10. Supernatural
11. Tennessee Line
12. Call Your Name

Precious Stones IN Life

2009-10-21T18:01:00.015+08:00

A woman walks into a jewelry store. Sparkling lights are seen flickering through the glass tables as the jewels reflect the lights.

"I want to see this diamond," the woman told the salesperson. The salesperson, carefully took out the diamond as if it was an atomic bomb, laid it on a velvet cushion and presented it to the woman. The woman picked it up with a pair of tweezers. She looked at the diamond intently, in every possible angle, as if trying to spot a chip or dust on the diamond. The woman smiled. The diamond was a beauty. Every cut made on the diamond was perfect and really polished it and drew forth its beauty in every imaginable way. This was a masterpiece.

"I'll take it," says the woman. With a broad smile on her face, she leaves the shop overjoyed. With the high value of the diamond, she wraps it and stores it in a safe place, safeguarding it and treasuring it. They say diamonds are women's best friend. Maybe its true.

No, I am not promoting jewels. But I liken these precious stones to our friendship. To me, friendship is like the diamond. In the beginning, it may look just like an ordinary rock, plain and seems of no value on the initial look. Time and effort is needed into cutting the stone. If the stone had feelings, it would probably cry out in pain. But enduring it, the outcome is a beautiful and valuable diamond. Like friendship, it often starts insignificant. Friendship needs time and effort to build. Sometimes, friendship may go through trials and rough patches but the outcome: A strong bond of friendship. Beautiful.

How then do we treat friends like these? To me, if friendship is likened to a precious stone, then how we handle and treat it should be how we handle and treat precious stones. Safeguard and treasure it. I would put it in one sentence: "Friends are like precious stones: to me loved, cared and treasured". So treasure every friendship you have. Put in time and effort into nurturing friendship. The value of friendship is incomparable to anything in the world. Wealth of a person is not how much money or assets he has but rather how many lives he's touched. Don't be someone who destroy relationships with doubts and careless words or even teasing for that matter, because every relationship is precious.

I am blessed to have a group of friends and loved ones who are really close to me. I really treasure you guys! What about you?

Send a shout to your loved ones and friends to show you care. Build your relationships today. Don't wait till its too late. In business terms, friendship is an investment worth investing time, effort, money and love in. The returns: immeasurable.

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THIS IS DEDICATED TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN A GREAT BLESSING TO ME: MEI MEI, ER MEI, XIAO MEI, MUI MUI (THOUGH THIS IS A POST ABOUT FRIENDSHIP BUT I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW PRECIOUS YOU ALL ARE TO ME), AND TO MY FRIENDS, EVANIA, YU LI AND MANY MORE. LOVE YOU GUYS!

Poll Results

2009-10-21T03:39:00.001+08:00

I just checked out the results for the polling on the left sidebar with the question, "What would you like to see more on this blog?" I thank the 12 people who gave their votes on this matter. Results are as follows:

Music Download : 50 %
Game Download : 17 %
A more personal touch as in updates about the blogger (thought and life) : 17 %
General and Current Issues : 17 %

With this in mind, I will then try my very best to blog according to your wants. The polling is still open so if you still have not polled yet, do give your poll so I can blog to your satisfaction. You can also interact with my in my C-box or comment on the posts. Your input is truly appreciated. Enjoy!

Thank You For Voting

2009-10-21T03:20:00.001+08:00

Thank you all for voting for me in the "Pimp My Broadband" competition. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude goes to you. Do continue to frequent my blog and don't hesitate to suggest improvements or stuff that you want me to blog about, or even just to interact with me, whatever it is, may my blog be in your list of "Sites I Must Visit Often". See you around! Enjoy!

*picture courtesy of Er Mei, Rita*

Pimp My Broadband

2009-09-30T17:38:00.010+08:00

Note: Click image(s) to enlarge

* To vote for me, please click here and click the "Thumbs Up" button once a day, everyday. Thank you!

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I study in PJ and have been using the school’s wireless internet. Initially, the connection was still being able to be tolerated. But as time went by, the connection started to be very unstable. Sometimes, there is no internet connection for a whole day or two, sometimes more. And the times that I was able to access the internet, it would be at sluggish speed .

Sometimes it would take ages just to load the Yahoo! Mail page. With this situation where I could not even access my email, I could pretty much forget about Facebook and Youtube and the likes. What more use it to do my research papers!

This often makes me so frustrated! So, I often have been looking for alternatives, namely, broadband. But there was just too many choices. I needed one that suited my requirements at a reasonable price.

After surveying, I spotted a number of companies. A review of one is that it is very slow and for a faster connection, it would cost WAAAY more. Another company requires buying the modem, and the monthly charges were not cheap – not practical for a college student with not much allowance.

But one day, I found out about Digi Broadband. The price was affordable for me and gives a very good fair usage terms and speed for that price. Best thing is, I get speed and mobility (think the yellow man) as I can take this broadband to many places as compared to the wifi that is only limited to a certain range from the router.

Being a loyal Digi customer (I use a Digi postpaid), I know the reliability of Digi. Why do I deserve to pimp my broadband? I really need a fast internet connection with affordable price being a college student with low allowance. This will also help my health (in terms of reducing frustration.. Haha!) and also, because, I am a loyal Digi customer (will this help? *shows an innocent face*.. Hehe)! So, if you are looking for a good broadband, I would recommend Digi Broadband. Try it! They have good customer care and service too. I personally am very impressed.

Oh, and another reason for joining this “Pimp My Broadband” competition is because of the Mac or the HP laptop. My laptop is going ‘kapoot’ very, very soon. So do vote for my post to help me win the new Mac or HP laptop! Thanks loads!

To vote for me, please click here and click the "Thumbs Up" button once a day, everyday. Thank you!

Tsunami at Haeundae

2009-09-25T06:50:00.005+08:00

I do not usually watch Korean movies but I went with my sisters the other day and there was nothing to watch. Rita suggested to watch this movie as her friend recommended it to her strongly. Since there were no other movies, I dragged myself into the theaters hoping that it will not be so bad. As expected, the whole beginning was slow for me (as compared to action movies that pick up really fast) but to my surprise, when the movie started to pick up in the middle onwards, I realized I left the place satisfied with the movie and I find myself recommending the movie to others.

I do not want to write a spoiler (for the sake of those of you who might want to go catch the movie yourself) but I want to focus on a couple of things. The movie focuses on the effects of the tsunami. Due to the government's delay, the tsunami hit Haeundae and only a meager number of people could be saved. The whole lot of them died in the tsunami. It caused me to think how fragile life is. Haeundae was a place where the beach attracted many people. Imagine if you were one of them, coming to the beach to enjoy a holiday and then, the next thing you know, you are running for your life. Most likely end up dead. It then makes me question, with people surrounding us everyday, what exactly are we doing to impact their life with the gospel? How long are we going to wait before we witness to them? Are we going to wait until a disaster happens? How precious are these lives? Watch the movie and you will understand what I am saying. You will definitely feel for these people who died in the tsunami (somehow the director managed to ensure that you WILL feel for them). For all you youths, believers or not, another question would be this: what are you doing with your life? Wasting it away or living meaningful lives? Life is brief. As my dad always says: "Only one lifetime to impact"

Another thing I would want to point out is this: the movie focuses on a number of people.
Man-shik (Sol Kyung-gu) is in love with Yeon-hee (Ha Ji-won), but is wracked with guilt over his involvement in her father's death in a fishing boat accident.

His brother Hyong-shik (Lee Min-ki) is a junior lifeguard who clumsily rescues Hi-mi (Kang Ye-won), a spoiled rich (and somewhat psycho) girl, and she starts stalking him for it.

Dong-choon (Kim In-kwon) is a good-for-nothing friend of Man-shik's who lives with his long-suffering mother.

Kim Hwi (Park Joong-hoon) is a geologist who learns of disturbing seismic activity in the nearby ocean floor - but must also deal with his estranged wife Yoo-jin (Uhm Jung-hwa) and their daughter.

The sad thing here is this. The people mentioned above, in the movie, did not treasure their loved ones. Take for example Kim Hwi. His job was so important to him that he neglected the family. It was at the last moments that Kim Hwi and Yoo-jin reconciled. But sadly, their daughter had to be taken from them in order to save the daughter. That was the moment when the daughter only knew that Kim Hwi was her father. The parents died in the tsunami.

Or another example: Dong-choon. He was too caught up with great ambitions. Coming from a poor family, his old mother runs a shop and only earns very little. After going through so much trouble, she manages to secure an interview for Dong-choon at a company. But Dong-choon, being overambitious, did not want to take the offer for the interview. His excuse: he didn't have shoes. One day, his mother was supposed to leave Haeundae for a picnic but she decided not to go just to get shoes for her son. The bad news: tsunami hit. Dong-choon, having saved alot of people, was given the honorary citizen award and became a hero but lost his mother in the tsunami.

Tear-jerking? this movie is tear-jerking and thought-provoking. It forces you to rethink about your life. How often do you show your appreciation to your loved ones? Today they are here, tomorrow they might not. Don't wait to show your love and appreciation to your loved ones. Don't live to regret. The movie also shows the hearts of parents. They are ever so willing to sacrifice for their children. So treasure and appreciate your parents.

There is so much more that can be learned from this movie. If I write it all, this will be a very very long post. I strongly recommend you to watch the movie and see what you can learn. Oh, be prepared with loads of tissue just in case. If you don't need the tissues, your neighbor will. LOL! I rate this movie an 8/10.

New Online Store

2009-09-17T21:56:00.002+08:00

There is this new online store that is recently set up. Though just a modest small-scale online store, it delivers great service! It is like you just do the purchasing and set your mind at ease. A good plus point about this online store is their follow-up service. They will occasionally check with you to ask how is your phone thus far until it is finished the warranty period or you sell your phone. Great follow-up service offered. But one thing, you would have to read the purchase guide and warranty write up before purchase, just in case. Better to know your stuff than to purchase blindly. Check it out and see. They don't have many selections now (more selections of models and brands, even reputed ones are to come) but it is growing so do check often to see the updates. it is http://wsonline.blinkweb.com (Note: there is NO www)

Life's like a painting

2009-09-10T19:39:00.003+08:00

This is to build on my "philosophical thought" on my MSN private message (being a thinker, I occasionally have such thoughts. Anyone want to make me the next Socrates?? Haha!):

Life's like a painting. Stroke by stroke it was painted, not knowing how the results will be. With every stroke, color is added to a plain canvas. But it is not until the end, when we zoom out and takes a step back and look at the painting as a whole, do we only know that everything was in perfect plan. The plan in the mind of the artist. And that the painting is............ priceless...

(Note: The picture above is the Cobblestone Bridge Painting by Thomas Kinkade.)

Virtual Villagers 1

2009-08-14T17:16:00.002+08:00

Note: To download the free and full version of the game, click the penguin with the arrow found at the bottom of the post. Click the pictures to redirect you to the official site for more info.
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An old game by Last Day at Work, published by Big Fish, in this game, you take the role of leading a group of villagers to began their new life in a new island.

But the game is not that easy. You have to look into all aspects of their life, from food right up to spirituality. Births and deaths will happen in this island too. Be sure to keep track of your food and birth and death rates.

In my opinion, the game is fun but not continuously. It runs in the background even if the PC is off so that makes it all the more fun. It follows real-time also. Occasionally, I run this game once in awhile to ensure everything is going smoothly but continuous fun, I don't think this would be the game. I rate this a 6/10.

Farm Frenzy 3

2009-07-27T20:49:00.005+08:00

Note: To download the free and full version of the game, click the penguin with the arrow found at the bottom of the post. Click the pictures to redirect you to the official site for more info.
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Farm Frenzy 3. A new release from Alawar. Farm Frenzy 3 is a merger of business, farming and dash game. You join Scarlet as she travels to help people with running farms with the intention of
becoming the president of the farmers union by gaining the votes of the people you help.

You will try your hand in breeding wacky animals from ostriches and penguins to walruses and llamas. You will have to find a way to complete your objectives in the shortest time possible. Trust me on this: it IS CHALLENGING. Oh, I forgot to mention, you have to protect your farm from predators as well.

Farm Frenzy 3 is a game worth trying with hours of fun and challenge. A game where people of any age would enjoy. Worth trying. The only problem is that it is really really challenging and being someone who is competitive and perfectionist in nature, I want to get the gold medal every round. Not easy and when I don't get it, I replay the round again and again until I achieve it. The trying again and again can get a little boring. But overall, it is a fun game to try! I rate this a 8/10.

Change Your World Tour : Kluang

2009-07-21T04:47:00.000+08:00

1 a.m. and a community of young people are traveling to different cities challenging their generation about choosing, creating and cultivating their world. Participate and communicate with us as we journey together how we can change our “world”. Change Your World is not just an event or a tour, it’s a journey we want to embark on with you. Together we want to discover new friendships, new creative ideas, new adventures, purpose, passion and so much more endless discoveries when young people unite for a greater cause. Good news for Kluang! Change Your World Tour will be coming to Kluang on Sunday, 23 Aug 2009 at 2pm-6pm. Tickets are now available. Here is a little teaser for you to enjoy! See you there!

Youda Sushi Chef

2009-07-16T18:42:00.005+08:00

Note: To download the offline version of the game, please click the penguin with the arrow button found at the bottom of this post. If you decide to play the online version, just click the pictures. Please take note.
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This game is a very entertaining game from miniclip.com. In fact, you can play this for free online at their website. But on this blog, I'm putting up the offline version so you would not need to go online to enjoy this game. The offline version also allows you to enjoy this game in full screen.

In this game, you play the owner of a sushi restaurant. Your dream is to open a chain of sushi restaurants. Of course, every successful sushi tycoon has a humble beginning. So begins your humble beginning. As you progress and open more restaurants, challenges become tougher and tougher.

In this game, customers come and tell you what they want. Your job is to make the sushi they want. There is a recipe book for you to refer to in case you forget how to make the sushi. So now, my young apprentice. Go ahead and climb the business ladder to establish yourself as the sushi tycoon chef! I rate this a 7/10.

Tabloid Tycoon

2009-07-14T18:40:00.005+08:00

Note: To download the game, click the penguin with the arrow found at the bottom of the post. Click the pictures for more info.
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For those of you who have dreamed of being the owner of a newspaper company, you don't have to look far. Tabloid Tycoon, a 2005 game developed by Black Lantern Studios, Inc. and published by ValuSoft, Inc. is a game that makes you the owner of such a company.

In this game, you gain control of most of the admin of the company in the sense that you must manage staff and budget to create a successful newspaper empire. The game simulates different weekly aspects of running a newspaper company including finding leads, putting photographers and reporters on a job, planning sabotage on rivals, settling lawsuits and making stories. Along the way you can encounter special shortcuts, win awards, buy things from vehicles to gadgets to improve your paper. With more money, prestige and public praise you can make your newspaper bigger and upgrade your facilities.

Of course, with that means you are pretty much just stuck in your office. You play the game in the office setting. If you are looking for more action like in DinerDash or DinerTown Tycoon, this is not a game you are looking for. You don't even get to see your workers at work. But the good thing is that the game is filled with hilarious stories that you can publish in your newspaper and the game objectives aren't that easy to meet. To me, it is nice to play but it may get a little boring after a while. You be the judge. I rate this a 5/10.

Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift

2009-07-06T23:43:00.005+08:00

Note: Please click the button "Click here to get your sample" at the bottom of the post to download. For artist information, click the picture to bring you to the artist's web page.
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Taylor Swift is the self-titled debut studio album by American country pop artist Taylor Swift.It was released on October 24, 2006 on Big Machine Records, and has produced five hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album received positive reviews, with about.com giving it five out of five stars.

The album peaked at #1 on the country albums charts (ultimately spending 23 non-consecutive weeks there), and #5 on the Billboard 200.On March 18, 2009, the album was certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and Platinum in Canada. The album has spawned 5 consecutive top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, making Swift the first solo female artist to score 5 top 10 hits from a debut album since the album chart was first published in 1964.

Though with all the achievements listed above, this album doesn't really strike me as REALLY good. Again, country music isn't my thing so again, I'll try to be fair. After listening to the first few songs, I realized that she had quite a number of really good numbers (like "Teardrops on my guitar") and I was thinking, "This isn't your typical country songs." But as I listened more, I realized that it IS the typical country songs after all. And most of her song sounds the same. There is even one song that is very similar to the song "Girl Next Door".

Overall, I feel that this album is nothing to shout about. It is nice to listen but only when it is on shuffle with many songs in the playlist. For me personally, listening to her album only can get pretty boring. Again, this is just my view. Download it and check it out yourself. I rate this album 5/10.

Track List

# 1 Tim McGraw (3:54)
# 2 Picture to Burn (2:55)
# 3 Teardrops on My Guitar (3:35)
# 4 A Place in This World (3:22)
# 5 Cold as You (4:01)
# 6 The Outside (3:28)
# 7 Tied Together with a Smile (4:11)
# 8 Stay Beautiful (3:58)
# 9 Should've Said No (4:04)
# 10 Mary's Song (Oh My My My) (3:35)
# 11 Our Song (5:54)

DinerTown Tycoon

2009-07-02T00:06:00.005+08:00

Note: To download the full version, please click the "CLICK HERE TO GET SAMPLE" button at the bottom of this post and NOT the pictures. Thank you.
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A latest game for the DinerDash series which is different from its predecessor. This 2009 game by PlayFirst is another excellent game to try. If you like games like Fairy Godmother Tycoon, well, DinerTown Tycoon is the same concept where you buy ingredients, make receipies and let the day go and see how many customers go to your shop.DinerTown is being changed into a frenzy town that only eats Grub Burger using ingredient X. Only Flo can save the town. Help Flo save the town by selling her food to the citizens.

A game of strategy and quick-wits, this game makes the player think how to earn more money and attract more customers while making sure that objectives are met. A challenge, but fun nonetheless. Try it. I rate it an 8/10.

Airport Mania: First Flight

2009-06-29T01:12:00.004+08:00

NOTE: To download, PLEASE click the "CLICK HERE FOR SAMPLE" button at the bottom of the post and NOT the pictures. The pictures will only redirect you to the website of the item. Thank you.
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Airport Mania: First Flight. A 2007 (if I am not wrong) game from Reflexive Entertainment. It is actually sort of like an ATC (Air Traffic Control) game. You play the role of the ATC.

There are different airports in the map (like DinerDash). Complete a level to move on to the next level. Of course, there will be scores taken as well, like DinerDash.

Your job is to make sure that these planes actually land at your airport. Be wary of their happiness as an angry plane will fly off to another airport instead of yours. As you can see in the pictures above, the planes are cute (and some even hum songs). A good game to try. I would rate is a 7/10.

Tune Up Utilities 2009

2009-06-28T00:51:00.006+08:00

Problems with your PC? Don't feel it's optimized? Well, Tune Up Utilities 2009 is a good and user-friendly software that is powerful yet personal. You can easily solve PC problems and at the same prevent others while effectively increasing the system's performance with TuneUp Utilities. Your PC intelligently adapts to your individual needs. The new TuneUp Start page, the new TuneUp Speed Optimizer, and the improved 1-Click Maintenance make the optimization of your Windows system even easier, faster, and more comprehensive. Try it and you will know. I would rate this software a 9/10.

Chocolatier 3: Decadence by Design

2009-06-25T14:41:00.008+08:00

Chocolatier 3: Decadence by Design is a new game from PlayFirst Inc. It is sort of like Diner Dash and games like that but multiply the fun by 10 times (or even 100!).

It is a game where you travel the globe to buy different ingredients, setting up factories and shops and selling chocolates (as well as coffee, truffles, exotics and infusions) and also discover new recepies. The cool thing with Chocolatier 3 is that you are able to make your own secret recepies, customize and name them!

Chocolatier 3 is fun because it combines adventure, tycoon and a bit of time management together neatly, and it also requires you to think and be innovative. If you love tycoon games, this would be a neat game for you to try. (Oh, i forgot to mention, you can also haggle with shopkeepers to either buy at a cheaper rate or sell at a higher price). I rate this game a 8/10.

My dear 妹妹, 二妹 and 小妹

2009-06-25T14:40:00.000+08:00

Had a sudden urging to write a post on my 3 dears. Presenting to you:

Adorable right? (don't be jealous ya.. Nyeh nyeh!) They are just so so lovable. 3 of my dear 妹妹s. Just love them so so much. Though their characters are similar in many ways, yet, there are those differences that make each of them unique. Makes me treasure them so so much. Note for you 3 (if you're reading):

Mei, everytime you call me crying, it breaks my heart to see (or hear) you like that. Every frustration you have, hurt and sadness all breaks my heart. I want to do so much for you but just can't. Circumstances and situations forbid me to. Thank you for always being there with me in my frustrations, hurt, anger and sadness. Even in the good times. Thanks for being there! Thanks for your constant assurance and encouragement. Thanks for loving this kor of yours.
Thanks for being you.

二妹, you truly are a gem. I know you are similar to me in the sense that you don't open up much and prefer to keep things inside. Outside, we may put on a front but deep inside, we harbor and keep all our feelings, thoughts and emotions. We seldom express it out. i guess we just have a problem trusting people. But mei, to me, you truly are a gem. I wish I could be the person you pour your heart out to instead of keeping it inside. But i know that it's not easy. I try my best all the time to shower you with love a kor would shower and to let you feel that no matter what, always remember that you have a kor here for you. That's for sure. Thanks for those rare words and phrases you occasionally say that bring joy to me. You truly are a gem! Thank you.

小妹, you are a wonderful mei. Though you sometimes feel that no one loves you, always remember your kor here. I know I have disappointed you many many times but I try my best to be there for you. I try my best to be a good kor to you. I love your outspoken and warm and friendly character. Keep it up! I know, after QY, it isn't easy to accept anyone but I hope I will be able to be a good kor to you. Not only now but always. I know you don't feel it but kor really do love you. Mei, don't always look at people not loving you. Many people does actually. It takes us to step back, look and understand them, then we can see, they actually love us alot. Thank you for always trying to bond with kor when kor don have time. Thanks for your messages that make me feel that i'm remembered. Thank you.

To the three of you, I feel very blessed to have you 3 as my siblings. Thanks for not giving up on me and being there for me all the time. Really love and treasure you three. My prayer is that you 3 will grow to be great women, mightily used by God to impact many lives around you. Shine, my 3 dears, for Christ!

With love,
Kor.

Plants vs Zombies

2009-06-23T09:04:00.006+08:00

She's worth the wait

Dried Noodles at New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice

2009-06-17T23:31:00.006+08:00

Food critique now. Hiak hiak. Had supper at this place in Jalan Gasing, near BCM. It is at the shop called Kedai Makanan Nasi Ayam Ipoh or New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice. I didn't feel like eating chicken rice so I ordered the kan lao mian (dried noodles). Here it is:

Looks good?? Well, it tastes as good as it looks as well. Though it is simple, it is cheap and taste good. You can eat 2 bowls of it and probably cost less than a plate of chicken rice. Reminds me of my mom's noodles back at home. The only problem is the inconsistency. Probably it is cuz there are a few chefs. So the taste is inconsistent and even the amount of noodles is inconsistent. It sometimes is alot, sometimes little, sometimes taste good, sometimes just mediocre. Try it. If you are looking for something cheap, taste quite good and also filling, the dried noodles here is worth trying. (BTW, if you like it spicy, you can add the belacan sambal to it. It will be spicy and fragrant. Without also is equally as good.)

Score

Food quality: 6/10
Cleaniness: 7/10
Service: 8/10

New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice

The Plan 09

2009-06-15T23:20:00.002+08:00

click here for more details

Yui - Can't Buy My Love

2009-06-15T18:42:00.005+08:00

Yui's sophomore album, this album was released on 4 April 2007 and reached the number 1 for 2 consequtive weeks on the Oricon charts and managed to sell 680,000 copies, more than her debut album! The release of her sophomore album also pushed sales of her debut album up by 9,000 copies! Of course, being the sophomore album out of, to-date, 4 albums, as compared to the later albums, it is considerably good. Of course, there is more to expect from the more recent albums.

This album does not have as much slow numbers as in her debut album and there is a significant domination of the Rock genre in her music. A few of her songs were actually used in movies and even the famous Japanese anime, Bleach. But there are some songs which I do not quite like. Music is all over the place, queer and reminds me of the Chinese Music Industry a couple of years ago with a Techno, R&B, Hip-Hop touch. Though still in the rock genre, not many will be able to appreciate some of her songs. But overall, it is an album worth buying. Try it and judge for yourself. It is not a bad album to have in your collection. I would still rate a 7/10.

Track List
1. How Crazy (3:38)
2. Rolling Star (3:08)
3. It's All Right (3:37)
4. I Remember You (4:05)
5. Ruido (0:51)
6. Che.r.ry (3:29)
7. Thank You My Teens (2:57)
8. Umbrella (4:16)
9. Highway Chance (3:54)
10. Happy Birthday to You You (4:01)
11. Winding Road (3:39)
12. Good-bye Days (4:33)
13. Why? (3:13)

Yui - From Me to You

2009-06-06T12:54:00.006+08:00

Yui's debut album, From Me to You, was released on February 22, 2006. She released this album when she was only about 19 years old! Though it was her debut album, there are many songs that are really good. Though, among her other later albums, this is not the best but it still good, judging by the fact that she was only 19 and this was her debut album. The genre is J-Pop / J-Rock (in my opinion, more of J-Rock). This album sold more than 260,000 copies! Two songs in this album was used as the songs for shows ("Tomorrow's Way" was the theme song for the Japanese movie "Hinokio" and the song "Life" was used as one of the songs for the popular anime, "Bleach"). This is a good album with good stuff. Expect more from her later albums which will be reviewed in due time. As of now, enjoy this album! I rate this a 7/10.

Track Listing
1. Merry . Go . Round
2. Feel My Soul
3. Ready To Love
4. Swing Of Life
5. Life
6. Blue Wind
7. I Can't Stay
8. Simply White
9. Just My Way
10. Tomorrow's Way
11. I Know
12. Tokyo
13. Spiral & Escape

Marie Digby - Breathing Underwater

2009-06-04T19:12:00.005+08:00

What can I say? I love her voice and I love her music. But this latest album is just not my cup to tea. Listening to it reminds my of styles from Beyonce or Rhianna. Just lacking the rawness and originality that she portrayed in her debut album, Unfold. But eventhough this is not my genre, I will still try to review it open-mindedly. This album is more R&B + a pinch of pop as compared to her debut album. Though I don't quite like her songs in this genre (as the songs are kinda similar in a certain sense + the fact that this album, she doesn't portray the "Marie Digby" in her debut album but more of Rhianna and Beyonce stuff) I kinda like the music that was composed. I feel it has a whole different feel to the music, trying to improvise new styles to the music. It's cool. Songs like "Daybreak", "Avalanche", "Know you by heart" (kinda dance though), "Feel" (kinda like Timbaland) and many more have pretty cool music. Put it this way, I don't enjoy ALL the songs in this album and those that I enjoy, is not so much of the vocals or the song in totality but more of the music. Only a small few songs only really allows me to enjoy it in utmost totality. I would rate a 6/10. You listen and you judge. If you like it, please buy the album and support the artist, thank you.

Track List

1. Daybreak (3:58)
2. Avalanche (3:27)
3. Breathing Underwater (4:02)
4. Shoulda Been Simple (4:06)
5. Know You By Heart (3:25)
6. Feel (3:24)
7. Come Find Me (3:52)
8. Symphony (4:19)
9. Machine (2:58)
10. Overboard (feat. Livvi Franc) (3:36)
11. Love With A Stranger (4:11)
12. Come To Life (3:41)
13. Crazier Things (3:28)

Note

2009-06-04T00:48:00.003+08:00

Just a note and a gentle reminder. Please help me by changing all your blog links to my site to www.bryanboo.blogspot.com and not www.bryanboo.co.cc please? Thanks. Oh, and next time, do use www.bryanboo.blogspot.com and not www.bryanboo.co.cc okay? Cuz i'm slowly gonna delete the account cuz renewing it will need money and i don't have. It's unnecessary anyways.. haha! Thanks! Sorry for the inconveniences caused!

-bryan-

Angels & Demons

2009-06-04T00:21:00.004+08:00

Went and watch the movie "Angels & Demons" today with high expectations due to their previous movie, "The DaVinci Code". True enough, I was not disappointed. The movie met my expectations.

The movie begins with a threat to the Vatican City. When Prof. Robert Langdon finds evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati—the most powerful underground organization in history—he is also faced with a deadly threat to the existence of the Illuminati's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church (what exactly is his problem with the Catholic Church?? Hmm...).

Langdon is then brought to Vatican City to crack this case and it is here he teams with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist, and also realizes that there is a ticking time bomb waiting to erradicate all of Vatican City. It is a race against time through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth.

As said earlier, the movie met my expectations. But what intrigued me was not the movie itself but the mind of the author of the book, Dan Brown. It is amazing how he could write stuff like "Angels & Demons" and "The DaVinci Code". It never fails to amaze me. Nevertheless, this is a movie that you will not regret watching as it will keep you at the edge of your seat almost all the time (except certain parts with quite lengthy dialogues to help set the background for the movie so you understand what is going on). A definite must watch!! I rate a 8/10

Marié Digby - Unfold

2009-06-03T10:13:00.005+08:00

You would probably know her (or at least heard of her) thanks to her posting of videos of herself playing cover songs of other artists on YouTube, with her own rendition of the song "Umbrella" by Rihanna released as a high-quality studio recording on iTunes and on the radio stations. Digby is recognized on YouTube for her simple popular music covers, which include Linkin Park, The Game, Rihanna, Maroon 5, and Nelly Furtado, as well as her original compositions. She has over 156,000 subscribers and her channel has been viewed over 4 million times. As of May 2009, she is the 11th most subscribed musician on YouTube, ahead of names like Chris Brown, Taylor Swift and Tay Zonday.

Unfold is her debut solo album released on April 8, 2008 in the US and May 5, 2008 in Asia. She also has a Japanese version of the album released. The thing I love about Digby is the tone of her voice. She has a unique yet enticing voice. Listeners will just fall in love with her singing. Undoubtedly, she plays nice acoustic guitars too. But the thing that will really capture the readers is her voice. Try listening and you'll get what I mean. The songs in this album is also fairly light and nice for just easy listening. Would be good to be played in the car or as background music over dinner, or just while you are relaxing. Not so much a party kinda song. I would rate this album 8/10 (Check the meanings of the ratings at the Info column).

Track Listing
1. "Fool" (Bruner, Digby, Graham)– 4:09
2. "Better Off Alone" (Digby)– 3:54
3. "Say It Again" (Digby, Dyke, Nelkin, Sanicola)– 3:42
4. "Miss Invisible" (Digby)– 3:52
"5. Stupid for You" (Digby)– 3:22
6. "Girlfriend" (Bruner, Digby)– 3:39
7. "Traffic" (Cutler, Digby, Preven)– 4:01
8. "Voice on the Radio" (Digby)– 4:50
9. "Spell" (Bruner, Digby)– 4:37
10. "Beauty In Walking Away" (Bassett, Digby)– 3:40
11. "Unfold" (Digby)– 5:27
12. "Umbrella" (Shawn Carter, Terius Nash, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell) – 3:48

Save Me From Myself - Brian "Head" Welch

2009-06-02T01:20:00.007+08:00

For those of you who have heard the name Brian "Head" Welch, you all should have known the news about him a couple years back that shocked the music world. Welch, the guitarist of the multi-platinum, Grammy Award winning band Korn, left the band after being saved to a new life with Christ. This is his newest CD entitled Save me from myself, released last year. Welch might have left his old lifestyle of darkness but certainly have not left the world of his genre of music.

In this album, the familiar genre of Korn is still very evident. The genre of the whole album is Metal. His album, in my opinion, is very real. It talks about his real struggles before he was saved and how is it now. Unlike other metal bands which leave you depressed, this actually leaves you a little baffled and confused. The genre is associated to depressive hard emo-metal yet the lyrics are kinda positive. Hmm... In this album, he tackles issues like drug addiction and getting free from it, leaving Korn, finding Christ, Religion vs. Relationship with God and child abuse. To understand more about this album, you might want to start by reading a short writeup about him and an interview with him here.

A whole different genre of music in Christiandom. To tag it Christian genre or not, we will just have to wait and see. Though the way he writes the song is pretty confusing (as he keep switching roles between him and God, meaning one part he writes what he says, thinks or feels, in the same some but different part, he writes what God would say, think and feel but there are no obvious distinction so it is a little confusing there and being raised a conservative, kinda uneasy a little. Again, only God and him will know if it is intentional or not) it really is a fresh genre in the world of Christian music. Of course, it will definitely face resistance from the older generations as it IS after all Metal. I would rate this album 7/10. [p/s: the more I listen to it, the more I love the music!]

Track List
01. L.O.V.E. (6:31)
02. Flush (4:25)
03. Loyalty (5:06)
04. Re-Bel (5:40)
05. Home (6:51)
06. Save Me From Myself (5:43)
07. Die Religion Die (5:33)
08. Adonai (5:19)
09. Money (4:42)
10. Shake (4:47)
11. Washed By Blood (9:33)

Note: until expressed permission has been granted by the copyright holder to avail their music for downloading as sample, you would just have to listen to it online by clicking here.

Birth of a new song

2009-05-29T00:19:00.000+08:00

It has been so so long since I last composed a song. Of course, there was the unofficial composition of the song “Why” but it is still on the draft board. But I came up with this: Desperate Dependence (thanks Lionel for the name! You’re the man!). Next is to get it recorded.

Finally

2009-05-27T14:43:00.000+08:00

After two days of trying to upload my drawing, FINALLY it is uploaded… whew!

Resolution

2009-05-25T12:34:00.001+08:00

I resolute to update the different pages, at least one update a month for the different pages (for the parents is only if there is anything so that’s an exception):

- A review on entertainment
- Pictures (if there are any)
- The Library (A book / article review)
- Copyrighted stuffs (my artwork / song composition)

You can do it Bryan!!

Unintentional Sarcasm

2009-05-21T20:58:00.000+08:00

Was out on small group today and on the road, I saw this car with a notice on the rear spoiler: “AWAS! ORANG CACAT PANDU”. How much more sarcastic can you get?! I mean, there is a more appropriate word that is not that offensive for these group of people (Orang Kurang Upaya) but some “smart” people chose to use orang cacat! It is just pure sarcasm!

I noticed that we humans always have a natural prejudice against people who are less fortunate than we are. For instance, they will sometimes have prejudice against poor people, disabled people, sickly, elderly etc. I mean, how sad can humanity be?! Aren’t these group of people humans too?

In fact, I would say in terms of who is more superior, I would say that it is this group of less fortunate people that are superior in many ways when compared to the more inferior “normal” people. Why? Because they know how to value life. They know how to value the things in life. They know how to value people. They know how important one second is. But we “normal” people squander not only our money and time away but also our life. We often take life for granted and even people, to a certain extent. But these people know how to appreciate and value all these. To them, one second more is a gift, one person beside them is a gift, every cent counts, they will try to live their life to the fullest, appreciating their loved ones and friends. They would have a better outlook of life and better appreciation and value of life than compared to “normal” people (of course, I am talking in a general sense).

Sarcasm usually tries to subliminally show that one is superior than the other. Based on what I have said, are “normal” people really “superior” than the less fortunate people? Or is it the other way around? Treasure people regardless of their status and condition. They are human beings too and have the same rights as you and I have. Treat people with respect, not sarcasm, insult and ridicule. How would you like if you were treated like that too? Put yourself in their shoes and think, how heart-wrenching it will be.

For instance, I noticed that patients with terminal illness have a stronger willpower to fight to live if there are people around them to support them compared to one who has none. We can really make a difference for these people. Would you impact their lives? Or would you just shun them away?

It's Hard

2009-05-20T18:44:00.000+08:00

Being an asthmatic is really hard… Trust me, REALLY hard.. There’s just so many things you can’t do and so many things you can’t enjoy. For instance, I LOVE nuts but sadly, I have to abstain from it. I wanna jog, play football or just sports but I can’t do so without getting shortage of breath + wheezing in just 5 – 10 minutes. I love cold drinks but it has to be GREATLY reduced. Sometimes, you can’t even sleep well due to constant waking up to puff due to breathing difficulty + wheezing. Trust me, when you are experiencing breathing difficulty + wheezing, it is TERRIBLE! Breathing difficulty induced by asthma is already bad enough, add wheezing, you got the “PERFECT” combination.

Try doing this exercise. Exhale totally and hold for 30 seconds (if you can last that long), multiply it by 10 times. Let me just try to describe how it feels. You struggle for breath, chest presses in, you feel weird all over as if you can’t feel 80% of your body, sometimes you get dizziness and sometimes you get weak all over that your hands shiver. If you take a strong neb, you feel as if inside of you is just so numb and your hands shiver and become numb… Sorry, I’ve tried my best to express in words but it is just too difficult to do so. What I feel is just inexplicable.

Be thankful you aren’t an asthmatic… It’s so hard being one….

A statement taken for granted?

2009-05-20T14:19:00.000+08:00

Statements like “Thank you” or “sorry” or the typical Christian greeting “God bless you”, how many of us actually mean it when we say these statements? Or has these statements become so clichéd that it has lost its meaning?

For instance, when someone says “God bless you”, does that person sincerely wish that God will bless that person or is it taken just as a passing remark? More often than not, it is the latter. Sadly, all these have become so so routine that it we often take it for granted and we sometimes don actually mean the things we say.

Take it a step further. In giving thanks to God for the food, how often do we really mean the prayer? Often times, our prayers are just repetitive prayers. Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with repetitive prayers but the thing is in our prayers, we do it out of formality and because we are required to do so. We do it out of routine and not a sincere heart to thank God for the food. Prayers are then taken so lightly.

I don’t know about you but this is what I observe. Take a step back and observe. Are these statements taken for granted?

Of raindrops

2009-05-19T01:53:00.002+08:00

I once wrote in my blog about raindrops and made this "so-called-philosophical-statement-that-would-one-day-be-quoted-in-history" about raindrops. It sounded like this.

"Life can sometimes be like a raindrop. Short and sometimes insignificant. When it ends by hitting the ground, it then is wiped out of memory. But as it falls to the ground, it brings down the temperature, even if its a little bit. That, my friend, is truly making a difference regardless of what you get in return."

How did I arrive at this? I was going out for supper and it had just stopped raining. I was at the entrance of the dorm waiting for my dorm-mates to come and they were taking quite awhile. Then I noticed raindrops falling from the roof to the ground. Now, the past few days before this incident had been really hot (and I do really mean SCORCHING HEAT!) but that day, due to the rain, the temperature had gone down. Then, I had this thought. How many of us actually pay attention the raindrops? How many of us actually stop and appreciate this beautiful creation? Answer: not many. In fact, many of us would end up unhappy when it rains as it then foils a lot of our plans. Raindrops are actually insignificant but the same raindrops leaves a great and deep impact: it lowers the temperature. Thanks to the rain, we had a cool day (even if it was only a night, it was enough).

How often do we pursue status and monetary gains rather than doing something meaningful? My take on this is that I would rather do something insignificant but yet meaningful and touch many people's lives than something of great prominence yet void of meaning. Someone once said this"

"Men are like trees. You measure them when they are down"

How true. At the end of the day, status won't last, assets and money and riches won't last but it is those little touches in people's life that will become a legacy. That is something that will last. That, to me, is something worth doing. Look at a raindrop falling from the sky. Nameless, insignificant, but the impact it brings is great. What impact have you brought to people's lives? At your demise, will they remember only your name? Or will they remember the little things that you have done in their lives and they will silently in their heart say "thank you... for being you"?