I'm my nephew's favourite aunt

Haha...of course I'm his favourite aunt coz I'm his only aunt!

But seriously, my nephew is super cute and chubby and most of the time when he sees me (especially when he sees me for the 1st time for the day) he always smiles and laughs so happily and looks like he wants to say something to me, like just now when I got home while my brother was visiting. I think he really likes me...or at least my hair which he enjoys trying to pull (hee...most of the time I manage to give him the slip). Haha...

Kick Ass

I had intended to catch Bounty Hunter but then I recalled it only opens tomorrow, so I decided to catch Kick Ass instead, which I was partially interested in after watching the trailer.

Initially expecting an action comedy that would make some parody of the superhero movies, I was greeted with something "darker". Yea, it had the many references to Spiderman like how the protagonist tried to do some stunts (climb walls and leap across roofs) and taking a dig with "with no power comes no responsibility", it was generally a show that was more serious and violent to a certain extent.

*Spoiler*
The story is about a geek, Dave, who, inspired by the comic superheros, decided to be a superhero on his own, without any skills, not to mention any superhero powers, called Kick Ass. He becomes an overnight hit online as one fight he fought against some gangsters was recorded and posted on youtube. However, things go out of control as a father & daughter really-kick-ass team appears, dressed in superhero garb during 1 of his crime-fighting encounters which they had to save him. I was a little "shocked" by the amount of knifing, killing and blood as usually, the regular superhero movies we watch don't actually 'showcase' violent killings.
It turns out that the father-daughter team, Big Daddy and Hit Girl (who's only 11), were only killing the bad guys for revenge as the father was once framed by the big bad guy, Frank when he was still a cop, landing him in jail. His wife died in childbirth as a result. Big Daddy has been training Hit Girl for the big showdown.
Big Daddy & Hit Girl continues killing Frank's henchmen. But then appears Red Mist, who's actually Frank's son in disguise to help his father by tricking Kick Ass into leading Frank to Big Daddy. So the battle ensues and Big Daddy dies. Hit Girl and Kick Ass continues the fight and eventually kills Frank.

I wouldn't say I loved the show, but I wouldn't say I didn't like it. It's rather different in a way...maybe because usually the superheros we know of are less selfish? And it was not as expected (I was looking forward to more laughs)

I think I would give it a 3 to 3.5 out of 5.

Well, looking forward to Shutter Island which I've been waiting for half a year already for it to be released.

A matter of choice

Often, we hear people say, "why does God let these (bad) things happen?"

I never really knew how to answer this because I really don't know the answer to that. What if I answer wrongly? What if I can't support my answer? I have never experienced what they experienced, so who am I to answer? And really, only God can answer this fully.

However, today, while reading a devotional, this was something that seem to shed some light to this question. I'm not sure, but well...

One reason could be that God gave us (man) freedom of choice. Even from the beginning, like Adam & Eve. And because of these choices, to each a path is wrought. And things happen because of the choices we make. Unfortunately though, some choices were made that led to situations that seem painful, but they mould us. Also, unfortunately, some were made by others which unwittingly/intentionally hurt us because we are all linked in 1 way or another.
However, if we seek the Lord, we will find our way out eventually. God tries to prompt us to get out of the situation which we or others have wrought for ourselves/us, but if we push Him away (by our own choice), He can't do anything until we are willing to let Him solve it.

Any thoughts?

A Year of Uncertainty?

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine was commenting that he felt that it would be a good year for him this year, after a somewhat "turbulent" time last year. Good for him to be so positive.

Anyway, I couldn't help but began thinking of what kind of year it would be for me. As far as things are going, I foresee that it's a year of uncertainty.

1 major change that's affecting me is in the area of my career. Everything is so uncertain now. There has been an re-org and my job scope has drastically changed. My initial reaction was of confusion, frustration, shock, etc. But after some time, I'm learning to accept this change. I believe that this is by the grace of God. Firstly, even during the "turmoil" of what to do, God never explicitly said "get out" (of this assignment). I admit I didn't specifically pray for anything coz I really didn't know what to pray for. To pray for Him to open a door elsewhere? Or to battle/adapt to the change? (Honestly, I still don't know what to do) But somehow, I believe He gave me a peace. Right now, I'm still quite amazed coz I feel safe. He seems to be saying "leave it in His hands". As much as I feel that I want to "fight", but I find it impossible to do it now.

Secondly, I seem to see new light. Maybe God is training me to learn new skills in my profession (to increase my knowledge and versatility?) and also, I still have the opportunity to embark on my journey to learn reference work, which we can undertake as an "ECA" outside of our existing scope of work. Hopefully I'm up to it. I am sad at losing some of my "baby" projects, (and maybe glad that I'm finally getting off 1, which if I stayed on in the dept, I will never get to stop doing), but I believe that they are still in good hands now from latest updates, and should be thankful for the opportunities gained and thrown in my path. Hopefully I can embark on some other projects/scope that don't get me too far from the arts.

I am still not aware of my exact scope of work even though my division head has given some tentative areas and she needs to discuss with the dept heads to confirm them if they're on and weightage. I'm also not sure when this change will take effect. But I thank God that I can always rely on Him. It feels good to just "go with the flow" and believing that He'll guide me somewhere. I think I still believe something will happen next year, if I heard Him correctly last time. He has guided me so far, before I joined the profession till where I am now, and I still believe He will do so.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, 

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

~ Jeremiah 29:11 

 

I have had this verse communicated to me twice now, the 2nd time at Sunday service. Gee, I had a conviction lately that I should study the book of Jeremiah.

 

Serving the Lord in church. Well, this is still uncertain. I submitted an application earlier on, but no news, so maybe it's not time yet? Don't know.

Hmm...relationships. Aiyah, this is always uncertain. I'll wait for God's provision.

Uncertain as things are, there is always one certainty; that God will provide and is ever faithful.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

Queer name? Well, the story revolves around a supposed special army unit called the New Earth Movement (a rather hippy movement...like flower power days).

Bob (Ewan McGregor) is a journalist (also the narrator) who having been dumped by his wife for his editor, impulsively signs up to go to Iraq to do reporting, to try to prove to his wife something. He meets Lyn (George Clooney) who was an ex-"Jedi", part of the psychic force, an alternative army unit that tried to fight the war with peace. So Lyn relates his story to Bob. Where did the goats come in? Well, these psychic men were supposedly trained by practising on goats. Lyn was believed at one time to have stopped the heart of a goat. But he felt guilty and believed he was cursed because of that.

It was funny at parts and lots of interesting references. I was reminded of Burn After Reading, but this had more meaning than that. I wondered if they purposely cast Ewan McGregor as it was really funny when he was being inducted into the knowledge of who the "Jedi" were, and as we know it, he was Obiwan Kenobi in Star Wars. May the force be with you. :P

What can we draw from the show? As Lyn puts it to Bob, there is a destiny for everyone and you need to find it or else there is no purpose. Also, the power of believing in something so wholeheartedly that it's like your life and what it can make you do. Slowly, you see the roles of Lyn & Bob reverse as Bob starts to take control of his life and purpose.

I rather liked the show though it got a little drawn out near the end.

Clash of the Titans

Hmm...I don't really know what to make of this as it was not exactly what I had expected.
I was imagining a serious heroic epic movie where Perseus (Sam Worthington) would save the day (which he did, still). But it was not exactly "serious". In fact, it felt a bit like a comedy at some points. I had initially anticipated a more Troy setting. Not exactly as serious, but you know what I mean.

Really. There were some corny parts (especially the ending) and I think somehow, one doesn't really get the "Greek" feel which by right, Clash of the Titans should be. There were a no. of contributing factors. I think some of the costumes were not right, especially that of the gods (why was Zeus in shining silver armour?). And there was a guy who looked like some Indian guru as he went around rounding up people to worship the gods. Also, the language. The words or way they were spoken were somehow too "modern". As much as I love to see Sam Worthington's clean shaven face, he looked more Roman than Greek when most of the other men were sporting long hair and/or beards.

I can only vaguely remember the old Clash of the Titans and in my recollection, it was more serious as Perseus tries to find his identity and battle monsters and save the girl.

Maybe I should revise my Greek mythology.

"Life and How to Survive It"

Woah, why didn't we have a speech like that when I graduated?
Just read a speech by Adrian Tan (Teenage Textbook) that he gave at the NTU Convocation 2008 ceremony. And it was inspiring. His message? Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone. You can read it here or here.

There are so many things I want to quote, but I shall just highlight some.

"And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument."

"I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.
After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.
Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.
That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste."

"Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today . . . What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over. Since your life is over, you are free."

"The most important is this: do not work. Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable . . . Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.
Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself."

"Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence."

". . . be hated . . . every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross."

"One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions."

"There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong."

"I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone. Rather, I exhort you to love another human being."

"Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable."

"Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm."

"You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart."

"You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you."

". . . you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. "

~~~~
Ok, I think I overdid it.

Against the "striving" grain

My friend was reflecting on the phrase "lest too light winning make the prize light" from The Tempest; how people tend to treasure things more if they worked hard to get them.

It came upon me how irrational this might sound when it comes to our relationship with God. We cannot "earn" our salvation through the things we do, for He loves us regardless of what we do. In fact, it's the opposite, He worked for us by sending Jesus to save us even though we did not earn it. He gave it freely to us. Although this might support the phrase's rationale to a certain extent as God "worked hard" for it, but to Him, the prize wasn't "light" to begin with. He values and cherish us all the same.

Unless the LORD builds the house, 

its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves. 

(Psalm 127:1-2)

Conclusion? I believe the amount of hard work put in reveals that you do not in the first place think the prize is light, but treasure it, that's why you want to strive for it, i.e. you reveal how much you treasure something by the amount of work you put in. Seems like a chicken and egg issue again.

On a side note, would you call this too "easy" for us? Then in this case do we take God for granted?

Theatreworks' Friends Season

It was the launch of the exhibition commemorating Theatreworks' 25th anniversary and I had the privilege to be invited to attend the opening. The exhibition was held at Theatreworks' premises at Mohd Sultan Rd.

On arriving, my colleague and I were treated to the screenings of Vivien and the Shadows that were being projected on the walls outside the venue as guests hung around awaiting to enter the exhibition hall. On entering, the whole set up was like a multimedia art installation with hanging TVs and projected footage. These were all showing footages from their past staged productions/films, e.g. Beauty World, Lear, Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral, Lao Jiu, Lady of Soul, etc.

It was quite interesting, seeing how Theatreworks has progressed and walked through so many years. Saw a no. of familiar faces from the theatre scene, including Ong Keng Sen (of course), Jacintha, Pam Oei, Tan Kheng Hua, Ivan Heng, Lim Kay Tong, etc. A no. of them were very amused and were having a good time as they saw themselves in the old footage of years ago where all of them looked pretty different.

25 years. Hope to see more years of Theatreworks and of other arts groups.

Quest for Immortality: The World of Ancient Egypt

Egypt has been one of my dream destinations for ever so long and when this exhibition came to town, how could I miss it? I could take photographs (without the flash) so here are some shots. Some are a little blur due to the lighting (wasn't very bright plus no flash allowed).

It wasn't a very big exhibition, highlighting the familiar sphinx and statues, sarcophagus and not to mention mummies of animals and yes, a human being. I wasn't really sure if they would really bring in a real human mummy, but there it was, wrapped up nicely (I was actually at 1 point unsure if that was real, but will give it the benefit of the doubt). Well, at least keeping it "intact" will let it fare better. Oh wait, I think there were 2 more, but the coffins were not opened. Anyway, technology these days allows archaeologists to safely x-ray the mummies inside without needing to open up the coffin. So there were x-rays shown.

They actually had some activities like how to fold a pyramid (origami), of which my friend and I got stuck at the end. Then also with some info on the arithmetic system the Egyptians used. It was pretty tricky, especially their multiplication table, which was a little complicated, but I'm amazed at how they derived such a method. Also the different symbols that translates to some of the alphabets we know. I managed to stamp out my name.

One thing I love about Singapore exhibitions is the amount of information they provide on the exhibitions. Few museums that I've been to give a good write-up on their exhibits (and some not even in English...but understandable for countries where English is not the official language). You might not need so much for paintings, but for artifacts with so much history, I want to know what I'm looking at.

I should visit Egypt soon some day.