Arabesque

USA Trip - 5th August

2009-08-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

3rd day in Oak Glen Centre!

In case I have not elaborated enough about this place, let me try to put the beauty of this place in words.. A isolated "resort" in the mountains, away from the hectic city life where everyone is too concerned about getting their work done and not take out some time to reflect about life. That's what Oak Glen Centre is meant to be. A place for anyone to sit down in the midst of tall magnificent pine trees and thick trunk trees. A place for a person to enjoy the simplicity of life with the serenity of nature. A rehabilation centre for the city people who have lost their appreciation of Simplicity and Serenity..

Well, Oak Glen Centre is in the woods that is built for anyone who would like a rejuvenating holiday and for those who enjoy scenic views and the cool clear air of the American mountains. There are trees with maple-shaped leaves here and large pines with bear tracks everywhere. The land is crisp with tree branches and dried leaves and a few tree stumps dotting the surface of earth. Imagine staying in an enlarged version of Fraser's hills without the dampness and with taller trees.

Breakfast was different again today. We had . During lunch, we had the most Original American meal one can imagine - Chicken Burger! One thing is for sure though, their chicken is Fantastic! Way better than McDonald's McChicken or whatsoever. Salad? You don't need me to elaborate on this.. It's just wonderful and I took a plateful of it again! (That's why I have no reason Not to be Fairskinned.. Haha..) Dinner was a totally different style - Lasagne with Tomato-gravy Beef Balls. It's better than anything you can imagine and impossible to be found in Malaysia.. This is not only the American cooking, but a higher-state-of-the-mountains' delicious recipes.

Wonderful food, beautiful scenery, refreshing air, serene atmosphere.. Who could ask for more?

Great music with great people, that's what it is.

Today's practices were as usual, but everyone was feeling slightly under the weather because of the stuffy and stagnant air in the practice lodge. Although everything here is wonderful, the place was not built for people to be indoors that often. None of the lodges or cabins have fans or any air-conditioning, a good way to encourage those Pampered City Folks to start enjoying life with Nature and appreciate what she has to offer.

There was a Solo Music Evening today. 6 person where in the list, starting from George (LA violinist - Bach Fugue), a Taiwanese girl (violin - Lalo), Ray Aun (cellist), Sze Chiann (Mas Violinist - Paganini), Andrea Chang (LA violinist - Beethoven's Sonata) and a Taiwanese man (violin - something Really Cool! that I forgot..)

The performers all did a great job. The first, George 15 played Bach's Fugue. It was a great piece with lots of harmony and nice intonation. He had a slight stage fright but managed to do a wonderful performance nevertheless. The Taiwanese girl 11 (youngest of the performers) played Lalo, a nice peice with nice harmony and music too. Sze Chiann did great with Paganini's Cantabile while Andrea Chang executed a near-perfect Beethoven in terms of musicality and intepretation of music. The Taiwanese man? He's just too good to be explained. Wonderful technique, impressive showmanship, an awesome performance throughout!

Then came the critic session. We started off with the Taiwanese man's performance. He told us that he suffers from a slight paranoia that makes him wake up sweating everyday because he was afraid one day he would lose his touch in playing the violin.. Or maybe lose the ability to use his fingers to play. Teacher Wen stated that everyone will surely start off with this time of thinking, most will eventually grow out of it as they know it won't do them any good although they may still be making mistakes. After all, no one is perfect. But some (like him) feels very stressed up and afraid at times because of these scary scenarios. The Taiwanese man was a man with great technique, but he did not explore and use his physical part to its full potential. According to the teachers, many musicians make the same mistake - playing without understanding and be into it.

When a person does something without understanding how we can fully utilise everything available, we tend to spoil ourselves instead of getting better. A violinist who plays well but is not able to flex and use his whole arm or body's muscle to bring out the music will end up tiring himself and injure himself after acheiving a certain standard. Using only your fingers to tremolo is indeed more tiring than a circular arc of the whole arm that helps to push and provide more energy to the bow. (That's my own theory! haha.. )

The same thing applies to all instruments, even woodwind and brass. Playing music is not just about playing the right notes and right dynamics. There is always a deeper understanding and greater beauty to it. The teachers also noted that playing music is like understanding your instrument and playing together with it so that It can create music, not you. You are like a teacher, a guide that is sheeperding the right notes and dynamics on your instrument so that it'll sound just right. In order to do so, we must also know how to fully utilise all our body's muscles so that the music produced is not merely a hand gesture but more to a movement that's made by the whole body. The best example was Dr Lin He and Prof Wei (double bassist)'s Bottesini Duo Concerto. Although Prof Wei was smaller in stature and size, she managed to play the bass as if it was as easy as a cello! The sound created had wonderful texture and depth to it.. It's like hearing a combination of both a tenor and an alto-soprano in unison! For a lady like her, it takes a lot of effort to be able to play and master the double bass. Brute strength will not have brought her to such perfection, she said it was because she understand and tries to use all parts of her body to play the instrument. The difference was really significant as she showed to us during the Chamber Music Evening.

Another thing that I learnt tonight during the Solo Music Evening was the phrase :" When you practise, don't play; when you play, don't practise"

When you practise, don't play - It is very true indeed. In everything we do, besides music, we should always prioritise and be able to focus on our short term goal and achievements. When we try to practise a song, or prepare for anything, do not play and not take it seriously. When we play, we try to get the feel and touch and all the emotions in, but during practise we should be focusing on the details and perfect our technique. It is either we suffer during practises or we end up creating a fiasco when we are supposed to play.

When you play, don't practise - When it's time for the real event, and you have made all the necessary arrangements and practises, don't get too worried over it. Enjoy it to the fullest and try to create something that will bring joy to the audience and not focus too much on the details you were practising during practises. You have did you best for everything and there's no use trying to improve at the last minute. Therefore, just sit back (or sit straight) and show the world what you have in store for them after so many practises.

I find it really true because many of us tend to have this type of attitude for everything we do. Just look at the way we study in High School. Procrastinating everyday until the very last moment before trying to perfect it at the 11th hour. At the end of the day, we'll still be in a practising mode and won't be able to enjoy or go through it properly. Taking exams are the same, if we have done our practises and not play around during each practise sessions, there is nothing to worry about during the actual play. You have done your best and you know it so just stand there and show them the best that you have had yet.

This then brings us to the next thing they point out - stage fright. Some people get stage frights whereas some don't, and how do they overcome their stage fright? From my opinion (after listening to all the advices and examples from the teachers), stage fright is something that happens during and even before the actual performance itself. Just take the Taiwanese violinist, he was afraid long before the performance! When we think about it, it is merely our fears of not being able to perform well when the time comes. But no matter how much we ponder upon it, it will never improve things. Why not think on the other side - I've practised all i can, I've tried my best, if I do screw things up when the time comes, people know (I myself will know too) that it was just a wasted oppurtunity but with such determination, I'm bound to be able to do well at the end. With positive thinking and consistent practices, nothing is impossible.

Positive thinking indeed. But sometimes it falls back to the environment and living conditions of the performer himself. If a person is living in a country (like China/Japan) where quanlity is highly regarded, he/she will feel the pressure and at the end get a really bad stage fright because he/she is afraid of the consequences of a failed performance. Such thinking is also one of the reasons why European performers are better in terms of musicality and intepretation of music because they are Unafraid. They have high esteem and are proud with what they are able to achieve. Being more open to critisism and able to accept failure with a more open heart brings better improvement. Being confident and not self-critise is always better than pessimism. And saying ;"I suck.. I'm lousier.. I'm not as good.." isn't going to help anyone.

Unless you choose to be the same till the end and not improve, try changing the sentences into --

"I'm not as good.. Yet. I'm lousier.. than what I can achieve and I'll be better soon enough. I suck.. and that means I have room for improvement."

A perfect man is pitiful, because he can never change for the better. After all.. Stupidity has no limits, but a Genuis has one.

Do you have a limit, my friend?

Signing out @ 1am
~Ray Aun~

USA Trip - Oak Glen Christian Centre, August 4th

2009-08-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

It's my second day at Oak Glen Conference Centre! The air was quite chilly last night and the bed was quite thin.. I was having cramps when I woke up. I was supposed to wake up at 7 and be ready for a morning walk around but I ended up waking at 7.30am.. (my cabin mates were all awake and Mr Chan was preparing for a shower already.) Luckily the place was very cooling and after a warm face wash I was wide awake and ready for today! Oh by the way, I tried out their Infrared lights located in the bathroom after my shower. It was meant to provide additional heat during the winter and since I was quite cold after the shower, I decided to try it.. It was quite interesting!

I then made a big mistake - I decided not to wear socks to save my supply for emergencies.

Seems like I have sweaty palms and feet, causing my shoe to be soaked in sweat just 30 minutes after I wore it. Man.. Those excessive urea is really making my shoe stink right now!

We had breakfast at 8am today. It was a normal tv-show American breakfast, with packets of various cereals and milk. I found out something interesting too -- their milk actually show lots of information on their labels. Li Yen (A cellist) loves to drink the 2percent milk that's fat free! There are also 1% milk and half-half.. Very wide range for different tastes. Besides, their milk does not have artificial taste, unlike the Malaysian's sweet milk.

Practice was from 9am to 12.30pm, with a few breaks in between. Although the air was cooling, the practice hall was not. The developer of this camp ground did not install wall fans or ceiling fans since they thought it was unnecessary to do so. All they have was a radiator for the winter, and it does not work as an cold-air-conditioner. I was wearing shorts and a normal round neck T-shirt but I still made my bottom damp with sweat.. Being cooling but stuffy with stagnant air does make us feel uneasy!

Lunch was quite delicious for today, it was a Mexican styled rice with beef wrap. Finally, a meal with rice! (it's been 2 days without rice as the staple food during meals and some of the members, especially Sze Chiann the Malaysian 1st violinist couldn't survive anymuch longer.) The beef was slightly tought and dry until I realized I was supposed to bathe it in gravy (there is a variety too - Tomato, some sort of white gravy and green ones). Dinner was a slab of lamb/beef and salad (yay!). Once again, my plate had the highest food mountain on it (although it's 70% vegetables and only 30% of the main dish.) and Michael has the smaller portion, but his is 80% meat and potatoes (greens are hard to be found on his plate).

There was practice after lunch till before dinner (2.30pm - 5.30pm) and then a chamber music evening at the sequoia lodge. Practice was as usual but this time we managed to play Botesini with two soloist (Taiwanese Violinist and Double Bassist). The violinist was good, but the double bassist was - Awesome! It's once in a lifetime to see someone play a double bass as if it's a cello.. She was reaching all the way down to the fingerboard and the speed was very very fast!

During the chamber music evening, the first on the agenda was a piano trio by Shirley (germany-based Taiwanese/Chinese, Andrea Chang (unsure.. ) and a pianist. They made wonderful music! The 2nd group to perform was the Malaysian group consisting of Ms Woon Sze Chiann (1st violinist), Mr Chye Guan (2nd violin), Christine Chen (viola) and Li Yen (cellist). They were playing Hadyn's string quartet. The last item was the LA piano trio consisting of Matthew (concert master for this concert) and Cynthia Tan (cellist) accompanied by the same pianist. They all did a great job performing.

But the best part of the chamber music evening was when all the better players, namely the teachers and soloists (Dr Lin He, Prof David L.Wen & Esther Wen, and the Pro Double Bassist!) share their thoughts on how the performers can improve the quality of the music they made. Mr Lin He gave deep insights on how music should be played and how one can produce a better music performance. The Bassist was a very talented musicians that is very peculiar about the how the sound of music should be brought out and she elaborated on Prof. Wen's advice on using the stomach when we play our instruments. She showed us how she created a deeper or lighter texture on the cello (there wasn't a double bass around) and also how we should use all our body muscles when we play our instruments.

Dr Lin He was telling us about how we should understand the composer before performing any peice of his/hers. For example, he said that Hadyn was one of the person who focuses a lot on the intonation of a peice. Most of his peices has great musicality that can only be performed if intonation correct and proper. Besides, we should also expose ourselves to more of the composer's peices by listening to different recordings. Be it a string quartet, piano trio or even a piano sonata, we should listen to all different categories of the same composer to be able to learn and understand their character and style of writing. Dr Lin He gave an example for pointing out that the Hadyn's string quartet performed by the Malaysian group has a more comical character to it and should not be brought out in too serious a tone. He gave a lot of good advices and examples that are so useful and wonderful.. It was like a masterclass!

The bassist on the other hand was showing the performers (mostly the lower sounding instruments) how to bring out a better sound and quality in the notes that they play. She showed and did bring a lot of improvement to the quality of sound and musicality after each team's performances. Her example of using the whole body's muscles when playing a string instrument really made a great improvement to the playing of Li Yen and other musicians. Although she stated that different people have their own different character and unique style when playing a music, we should still try to bring out the music the way composer wanted it. Therefore, it is always advisable to try to understand and intepret the peice properly before trying or performing it.

Prof. David L.Wen allowed the other two teachers to do the talking. But he did made some changes to the sound and acoustics because of the way the room is designed. It was very interesting to see him instruct the performers to change their sitting positions to accomodate to the acoustics of the room we were in (it was a rectangular hall with wooden walls and carpeted floor, it seems like the acounstics were quite undesirable in that room). As a Proffesor of Acoustics, he told us some of the things that can affect how we bring out music, besides those stated by the other 2 teachers. He talked about body posture and also the Background of the performer himself. Body posture is very important because we need to use the whole of our body when we play music to bring out the best in our instruments and ourselves. We showed us how and why violinist should sit with both legs firmly on the ground and with the bottom properly placed on the chair. He was elegant and moved with a natural fluidity when playing.. A man who was at one with his music instrument!

As for background, Prof. David Wen told us that our own background and living environment brings great difference in the way we play. The most drastic thing he told us was the living environment we Malaysians were living in. Thanks to our ability to converse in many different dialects and learning 3 main languages, we have degraded ourselves in more ways than one. The term Manglish is indeed a deragotary term after listening to his explanations.Just imagine.. When we mix all our languages together and use it as it is one language, don't you think we're actually messing up and not focusing on a particular language? We have heard of the think British Accent and quick Afro-American accent. What makes the Malaysian accent so hard to be understood by the rest of the world? It's actually very simple - Our accent is not an accent at all, it's more to a jumble of different words from different languages with different slangs and slightly different slangs as compared to the original languages. Therefore, we tend to accentuate the wrong words and pronounce a word wrongly when saying a sentence.

This greatly affects our music too, because some (especially those with a weaker will and mind power) will be mixed up in terms of rhythm and musicality. It's very hard to get a good tempo when you have been speaking with some weird rhythm and tempo throughout your whole life! (thanks to the different words and -lahs we put at the end of our sentences.) Unlike westerners, they learn English and maybe one or two other languages only. Although they too learn different languages, because they converse mostly in one particular language and with people who speaks similarly, they achieve a more steady rhythm thanks to their constant verbal communication. Malaysians on the other hand, have different rhythms and tempo if they learn different dialects (eg. cantonese, Hokkien). Some even learnt many of it and end up assimilating everything into english!

That's just some of what I have learnt from day 4 in USA, my 2nd day in Oak Glen Centre where music experience really starts. Looking forward to meeting all of you in Malaysia soon! I hope what I learnt here benefits you too.. haha.. Thank you very much!

Absence do make the heart grow fonder.. Once again, Goodnight from LA and Good Afternoon in KL!

*There's lots more to talk about but I'm going to have a solo tomorrow night so I better get some rest!*

Signing out at 10.51pm (LA time) & 1.51pm (KL time)
-Ray Aun-

USA Trip - 3rd August 2009 (Monday)

2009-08-20T07:23:00.001-07:00

It's the 3rd day I'm in California, USA. After waking up half-frozen at 6.30 in the morning, I took a nice hot shower before dressing up for the day - the same pair of clothes from yesterday (a striped t-shirt and a 4-day-old unwashed long pants).

Today's quite an interesting day, there was no practices since we have to move to Oak Glen Christian Conference Centre and stay there for 3 days. This is because the Clap and Tap Chamber Orchestra's main office is located in a business building and it'll be bothersome to the workers there if we created our Heavenly Melodies just below them on the lowest floor.

We helped pack things up and sat a extra-large bus (Everything here is ExtraLarge, even their Burgers!) to Yucaipa. It was a 1&1/2 hour journey.. the bus was so smooth and comfortable that I fell asleep throughout the whole journey without getting a headache! That's what we call.. the American Technology.

And we arrived.

The bus was too large it couldn't send us all the way up the mountain to the camping ground. Luckily the bus driver decided to try it out and managed to squeeze the bus through the narrow road, with a Steep fall on a side.. So much for being ExtraLarge.

Imagine living in the woods, staying in a little cabin with 3 bunker beds surrounded by tall pine trees and a clear blue sky.. That was where we were staying. Just like the Lake Isle of Innisfree, without the setting, just the serenity and tranquil atmosphere.

We practiced music as usual in one of their larger cabins. Somehow I was involved in every piece for both the performances. Mr Chan is an observer and he is only playing for a few peices (Suk, Tchaikovsky and Sait-Saens) whereas Michael is also not involved in a few of the pieces. Li Yen on the other hand, is involved in everything except for one (I forgot what is it). Just for your information, Mr Chan is a Cello teacher as well as performer here; Michael is a 14year old boy who is from Penang and learns underthe PSO conductor. Li Yen is a former MPYO cellist who is currently teaching music.

By the way, we had our lunch at 1.30 in Oak Glen Centre. It consist of a Corndog(hotdog in cornbread on a stick) and fresh uncook vegetables with various addons. The food here is wonderful, especially the salad. There are 3 different sauces, fresh eggs, maceronies for the salad, mashed potatoes and delicious fries too!Dinner was equally amazing. A peice of chicken and salad once again. I'm sure I will always love the salad here! Maybe we can try it out at home too.. it's really healthy. Besides, I found out they aren't really carnivores, they have more vegetables and salads (none are cooked) than meat. Maybe it's because it's high up in the mountains and the people here practice a much healthier diet. The local LA peopel still eat Burgers and Steaks (mostly double our servings for the same size!)

Well.. It's about time I stop for today. It's now 10.55pm and I'm on my bunker bed. The light's off and my other room mate, Tony Chen(from LA) is sound asleep with a slight snore. Mr Chan who so happens to be in my room too is looking at his previous pictures taken throughout the stay in LA.

Tommorow's schedule will be more hectic than today. We had only two sessions of practices in the afternoon till 5.20 in the evening. Dinner is served at 5.30pm! Back to room at 10 and lights out at 11! Haha.. I have only 5 minutes left.

Staying here is indeed an interesting and wonderful experience. Americans are not that rude or bad as we thought afterall. Apart from their larger size in everything (including body mass), they are the same as us. I'm proud to say that at least our country has Culture and it's own Traditions. Americans are a group of people who are more to hedonism and fun.

Althought music is not really appreciate by the majority of the public (as in classical music and learning a musical instrument), the musicians here are very talented and show great passion in their playing. They have a very different learning and living environment which allows you to have full freedom of everything and not much constrictions even in school. Academics is not the main priority for everyone. Although passion brings one to great heights, in America, you need to be Good as well as Passionate to be able to survive. THat's what I learnt from the youth Musicians here. They're good, and they like making music, that's why they're here together for this concert.

Will tell you all more on what i know about them soon.. Goodnight from Los Angeles and Good Afternoon in Malaysia!

Signing out @ 11.03pm - Ray Aun

2009-08-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.
~Aristotle

He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.
~Solon

So.. it's time to Relearn and be Self-aware..

Who'se the one whose Never learning?

2009-08-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

A leader needs no recognition,
A champion needs no acknowledgement.
But to achieve either?
We need only to learn to have passion.

Being passionate is having selflessness,
It's putting your goal and aims first.
But to achieve either?
We have to maintain something important - Commitment.

Being Passionate,
Being Responsible,
Having Enthusiasm,
Maintaining Friendship
creating an Entity with a Unique Identity,
Commited to a Common goal
accept and Tolerate other's critism. Because that will finally
allow you to Shine and be successful.

So you see.. Being a Passionate prefect starts from oneself.
Being commited to anything depends on yourself.
Did Edison complain about not being able to Light a bulb?

You never know, you never will.
Unless you choose to try it.

Try Complaining,
Try Whining,
Without personal commitment,
Not even God can support you.

Did Eistein blame his parents for that hairstyle?

You never know, you never will.
Unless you choose to try it.

Try blaming,
Try pleading someone to make you better.
Without your own heart's passion,
Not even your Parents can help you.

Did Mother Teresa curse for helping the poor?
Did she complain for not being acknowledged?

You might say she was acknowledged,
Oh yes indeed, she's so famous now.
But Did she do it for fame?

Because if you aim for Recognition,
You work to attain Attention,
But failed to love it with Passion..

What is passion again?
(We'll go to that later..)

Stop pin pointing the negative side,
Look at the Rainbow instead.
Einstein didn't complain about his hair,
That's how he got his ingenuity.

Had Prefects not complain about the lack of acknowledgement,
Then maybe.. Just maybe they will soon get recognised.
But it starts from the very bottom, the very worst.

Unless you choose to go for it,you will never know..

Because..

Leaders need not have recognition,
For true success needs no acknowledgement.

A poem by POOJA NATARAJAN

2009-08-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Passion Of Life

To achieve something great in the world you need Passion
To fulfill vision, a great leader’s courage comes from Passion
Whatever it may be, you must find your Passion
If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins
Follow your passion and success will follow you!

Never underestimate the power of passion
Without passion religion is spiritless
Without Passion history is meaningless
Without Passion art is useless
Follow your passion and success will follow you!

When you take up a mission with passion
There are no dreams too large
No innovation unimaginable
No frontiers beyond reach
Follow your passion and success will follow you!

Our passions are the winds that propel our vessel
Our reason is the pilot that steers her
Without winds the vessel would not move
Without a pilot she would be lost
Follow your passion and success will follow you!

There is no end and there is no beginning
There is only the passion of life
Passion is universal humanity
Passion is the genesis of genius
Follow your passion and success will follow you!

The Life Bomber's lesson

2009-05-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

Life for me was never great,
I had always thought that it’s my fate.
A normal life of a normal boy,
Life to me was but a cheap toy.

When my age was still small,
The years I lived were still few,
They, my parents, brought me to a hall
To learn and try out something new.

Thus music it was, when I was four,
Those notes really do make my fingers sore!
Had to learn the piano, forcefully,
And Not able to love its melody!

For I was sad, too sad to love,
Too depressed to saviour,
Too heartbroken for its grandeur.

I’m just not gifted,
Too stupid to learn its ways.
I’m just not talented,
Too slow to master in days.

Then came the day,
Another normal day,
I befriended a boy,
Another normal boy.

He too learns the piano,
And is interested in the Cello,
But his grades are slightly lower,
Compared to me? He is much slower.

The funny thing though,
Is that he seems very happy,
For he treats his piano,
Like eating a luxurious candy!

His secret to contentment?
Well... The lack of any resentment!

And so he said to me:
“My friend, you ought to learn
To be happy in what you have,
And be contented with all you see!”

In case you're curious,
And is thinking who is he..

He's a Life Bomber,
Wai Leem, the WhyLamer!?

Intervention

2009-04-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

People are wonderful,
People are Great,
Some are powerful,
And some just have that fate.

But many has Ambitions,
Which causes loads of additions.
In terms of
Work,
Responsibilities,
and Trust,
Due to Abilities,
or because you're just too fast.

Too fast? Yes indeed.
Agile in Hand,
Fast in mind,
Quick in ordering.
Yet.. a tad bit too
Quick to anger,
Quick to yell,
Quick to blame.

Blaming of slander,
Accusing of being a slacker,
Complaining due to a late-comer.

Angry at job-pushers,
Upset over sensitive complainers,
Pissed at being called over,
For intervening in others.

Intervention! What an accusation!
It was merely a Suggestion!

Or so you say?

But the sensitive complainers?
Intervening in others?
Being another's planner?

Patience getting lesser?
Accusations being greater?
Using too much of the finger called "Pointer"?

Perhaps its time to look upon ourself
And ask..

Wouldn't it be nicer,
To just sit back and be a listener?
Blame not on others,
But instead solve it together?

Indeed,
The wonders of being Ambitious,
Till there was Accused Intervention.

"People too great for themselves."

Authority?

2009-04-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

With great freedom comes great responsibility,
With great wisdom comes great burden.

But with authority,
There's nothing but destruction.

Destruction? You're confused.
How could authority destroy?
Or even..
Smear, smudge and crumple one's reputation?

Well.. It's Simple,
For Authority brings Lust.
Lust for Power,
Lust for control,
Lust for More.

Is greed not the Root of all evil?
Money may be,
but Lust destroys more.

Especially when people are
in Control,
Having Authority
Creates Oppurtunity,
Surfaces Catastrophy,
It leaves no Dignity.

The consequences of Power,
When people are indefinitely

"Placed in Charge."

Volunteering

2009-04-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

As a hand shoots up,
Clawing at the sky,
A sigh of relief can be heard
From the people standing nearby.

A volunteer,
That's what he is,
One that heeded the call,
To serve a dire need.

But when the situation is different,
Volunteers? Those are non-existent!
People are handpicked instead.

Whether it's Carefully Written,
Or Randomly Chosen;
The results are similar..
Freedom? Those are non-existent!

"Placed in charge"
They were named,
Once again..
Placed to Lead?
Or to Heed?

To heed the call,
To serve a dire need?
Or To achieve a helpful deed?

The choice was up to them,
To heed, lead or or do a deed.

They chose to lead.

But to lead without heeding,

To feed without seeing,

To see without feeling.

To judge without caring.

To delegate without thinking..

That's when people are chosen to lead..
Not voluntarily,
But Authoritatively.

The great wonders of Authority,
In a board where people are..

"Placed in Charge"

"Placed in charge"

2009-04-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

When one doesn't admit
That the fault was more of his own,
When one does not try
To understand the error of his alone;
Then one will pick upon others,
However good their intentions can be.

Some say that Greed is the cause,
Though Money plays a great deal.
But when one is not filled with experience,
Power is all one can feel.

"Placed in charge"
They are, indeed.
But then,
Do they lead?
Gather, or feed?

Lead the others, Gather ideas, or Feed others with ideas?
The choice was theirs, a wonderful choice,
But then they chose..
To threathen and clarify,
A totally dogmatic reply.

Dogmatic,
Hypocritical,
Pure paradoxical..

For those who starts voicing,
Ends up being accused of rioting.

"That's unfair!" You may say,
"I'm SORRY!" They reply,
Sincerity? Hah.. more to a Lie.

But then again,
Perhaps we're wrong?
For they claimed not to know
All along.

For they thought that actually..
The decision?
- Theirs
The delegation?
- Theirs
The work?
- Delegated by their decision to the others.

How beautiful,
How Perfect,
For People who are..

"Placed in Charge".

When Pigs Fly - extreme evolution

2009-02-26T07:06:00.000-08:00

Imagine the sky buzzing with little bees, colourful butterflies, glorious birds.. and a flying pig.

Perhaps it is not a scene to be imagined. Not with a flying pig with pink feathery wings and cute yellow feathery tails.

But with a world that is constantly bombarded by numerous teachnologically advanced machineries and various environmental consequences, it is time for the animals to start learning a new style. Evolution shall pioneer the newer and more toxic-resistant animals to survive in adverse climates.

No longer will there be a desolate land filled with plutonium by-products and styrofoam food containers. The time is nearing for creatures to develop a sudden liking to plastic as an entremet to a sumptuous diet comprising of:

- chlorine-digesting crabs
- carbon monoxide lobsters
- nicotine-fly
- shoe-lice (loves eating thongs)
- omnivorous rabbits (Shit is it's favourite food)

Praise whoever who wants to be praised, Man has finally found the cure to all the pollution problems that has beleaguered Mankind for the recent 20-odd years! There shall be no need for Greenpeace to launch a worldwide campaign against Plastic thrown into the ocean, it is now globally encouraged instead! Wasting of food has never been more welcomed by the government.. just rear some O-rabbits and they'll eat up everything for you, even your faeces!

Life has never been more fulfilling and rewarding for Mankind.. Evolution do bring a benefit to the current crisis! Greedy, wasteful, selfish Men has brought a greater good by forcing animals to evolve to suit the environment we Humans have moulded.

A world filled with Plastic, Hatred, Dirty Politics and loads of Revealing Pictures. Evolution-perfect indeed.

Stop hallucinating. Even if extreme evolution were to occur. animals would rather grow wings and rocket propellers to leave this polluted *Utopia* than to serve as lower class beings under us Humans.

Wake up my friends, no one is going to clean up the world for us. Not the animals, not an earthquake. It's going to be us and us alone.

Make a change, start eating plastic instead of using them.

Life Ain't Fair.. to what extent?

2009-02-20T04:43:00.000-08:00

Many a man has complained and fumed upon a globally acknowledged common opinion that life is not fair at all. Though some may be insouciant or too busy to think about this, perhaps it is time for most of us whiner to start looking at it through a different perspective - how unfair could it be afterall? Man and his greed, his materialistic views has often make him more blind to the much peaceful and sweet feeling or gratitude and contentment.

But for now, let us list the many problems us people are facing and most lament about :
- unproportional body shape
- unsightly acne (it's the end of the world!)- excessive body tissue
- annoying idiosyncrasy
- weird facial expression (I can't smile the right way)
- awkward body posture (Wrong place protruding out at the wrong place on my body..)

These are perhaps just a minute faction of the common "problems" most of us teens are lamenting about. Don't you all agree that they do make us feel like we're the most miserable lot in the whole wide world?

Sadly, the adults think otherwise. For them, nothing is the end of the world except for:
- the global economic crisis
- a dented Honda (Dammit, it's only 1 years old.. my baby!)
- exposed extramarital affair
- sudden increase in publicity by publication of eye-boggling selfpotraits
- White/gray hair

Although we can claim that many of us are stuck with incoherent situations or struck with unfortunate happenings, have we once again look at the big picture? What about taking a look at our African comrades?

Let's put a few possibilities of the problems being faced by them right now:
- No Food
- No Drinks
- No car
- No Pets
- No clothes
- No phones
- No home
- No electronic gagdets
- No Fats
- Barely distinguishable body shape
- Sudden increase in publicity by publication of hungry-stomach potraits

- Exposed lack-of-nutrients and extreme hunger

My fellow friends, what was the Problems we were lamenting about again?

A Tag (by Hui Xin)

2008-12-31T22:34:00.000-08:00

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favourite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
6. Tag five other people to do the same.

Book Title: Pigs Do Fly (now isn't that just interesting? this is not part of the title, mind you) by Terry Denton

[1]At one point, he even tried adding a light steam engine to his craft, and came very close to being the first to achieve controlled and powered flight. [2]He might well have succeeded but for a tragic accident.

[3]One day in 1896, he was flying over a field when a sudden gust of wind couaght his glider, which stalled and crashed to the ground. [4]Otto Lilienthal was badly injured and died the next day.

[5]Because he had been such a dedicated scientist, Otto Lilienthal's notes and sketches ensured that what he had discovered through his experiments would be passed on to future aviation inventors. [6]But it was also his bravery and daring as a test pilot that inspired so many future aviators. [7]They spoke of Otto Lilienthal as the 'world's first true aviator'.

7 sentences. Sounds like a nice story in itself doesn't it?

I shall tag:

1.You
2.you again (if you think you're the second person reading it)
3.the Third You
4. Say.. Yin Suan?
5. Kyle Yi

Be kind to the author, go do the tag if you really don' thave anything to do.

The ephemeral but Utterly Significant

2008-12-28T04:17:00.000-08:00

The planck epoch, a period of time barely felt in the whole creation of the universe, was short-lived. Indeed, it lasted for an infinitesimally small period, a mere 10 to the power of negative 43 seconds.

Now that, is short, so curt and minute, so slight and imperceptible that it is still part of a theory of the big bang, yet to be completely proven present in the history of universe. Were it to be true, it will be the Earliest period of time in the history of universe, the moment when (P.S. this are all from Wikipedia, so read the whole article there if you don't get what I'm trying to say.. I'm don't exactly understand it myself) Gravitational force was as strong and significant as other fundamental forces.

In short, the universe was in a hot and dense state right after the big bang, all ready for it's grand expansion to it's current size - and still expanding. Thus, we can ascertain that this short period of time.. was short indeed, but Very Important and Significant in the whole history of the universe.

Therefore, we can conclude that there is no reason for anything to state that Time makes it rather impossible for it to shake the very history of universe and provide a foundation for an advent to a more important accomplishment or event. We humans must not twiddle and complain about having too short a time to accomplish or complete an objective. We as "superior beings" in terms of intelligence and humanity must not procrastinate and point the finger at others for not helping to create an environment for a better future, an advent to a beautiful accomplishment of Mankind and all living things.

The Earth may be small and miniature as compared to the menacing and ominous dark universe, but it can be as significant and important to the presence of a living universe as the Planck epoch is to the expansion it. We Humans must accomplish the mission, that is to Glorify and Protect our world into a better one, guiding it to be the best place any living creature would want to live in. We should prove to the universe that it isn't just space, dark matter and vaccuum in it, but also breathing, healthy creatures of Mother Nature too.

Perhaps it is time for us to achieve a common goal through collectivism and not individualism laced with greediness and craving for oneself alone while destroying everything else.

Say no more to the destruction of Nature. Let us save it, and give it an honourable position in the Universe - the Living Earth of Milky Way, with us Humans living harmoniously in it with other living beings.

Vulnerable yet Dangerous - The Nudibranch

2008-10-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

All hail Nudibranchia (which means Naked Gills), a member of one suborder of soft-bodied, shell-less (marine opisthobranch gastropod) mollusks. Soft like Tou-Fu, innocent-looking like a boucy jelly - the Nudibranch is perhaps one of the most interesting and vulnerable yet a potential hazard to all that are inclined to give it a little prod.

With such vibrant colour and attractive appearance, these creatures are indeed one of Nature's most ostentatious and creative creations to the current world of Colour and Beauty. How striking it's shade and glow! Not to mention how Delicious it may look to everyone loving to have a nibble on such an interesting and.. juicy being. An unctuos entermet fit for any hungry predator looking for a meal with bright-coloured sidedishes.

Thus, we reach the main idea I was trying to convey, how a Vulnerable creature can be Dangerous and stand it's ground in a vicious Prey-Predator world where only the strongest survive and the quiescent and docile be harrased and Eaten.

How would one soft and little Nudibranch survive in the Dark, Green Salty Ocean? Seems simple, camouflage or to Warn others.

Camouflage, blend into the surrounding and hope you won't get noticed.. but with such bright and Striking colour, You (if you're such a Nudibranch) won't stand a chance being ignored. Down you go into your Predator's throat.

Sending off a warning to predators. With such Colourful texture and Appealing shade, You just made yourself attractive to everyone whilst telling everyone an important thing - Poisonous! Eat at your Risk.

It seems like we humans are often beleaguered by problems with solutions akin to the ones faced by a Nudibranch. Keep a low profile and end up not being noticed, or do your part and Show it to the world. One slight difference is that you Might end up being ignored by others if you were to keepa low profile. But of course, others might then say you are being pretentious or showy in your work. On the other hand, if you do not present yourself to the public, you will not be valued or appreciated by the public.

Had Christopher Columbus decide to treat the Discovery of new lands without much of an importance and do not leave a mark on those lands, America might end up being discovered by.. a Russian? That will not bring any serious complications whatsoever, but if Chris tries to claim the title of being the Founder, he will not succeed easily.

If Microsoft did not patent or present Windows to the public, maybe we'll get a Microhard patenting Bill Gates' Windows and caling it... Gates? That'll be One less billionaire philanthropist in this world, One great loss to needy folks.

Leave your mark in this World, show them what you can do.
Tell the Universe you're not just another Joe trying to go low and then claim the next greatest Nanoclock was invented by you.

Homosexuality - a trait forbidden by nature?

2008-09-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

We all know that Gays and Lesbians are not universally acknowledged as one that is true in nature. It is indeed not something everyone from all layers of the society would accept. But we cease to take in the fact that all animals, except for hermaphrodites, displays personalities that proves the existence of homosexuality in themselves. The most commonly known species to indulge in homosexuality is birds (flamingos and penguins are most evident).

This could be too devastating a fact to be registered into our minds, and I do not in anyway stress on the point where humans should express this trait too, since we call ourselves the higher being, no?

Back to the point, I’m talking about animals here, yes, beings that do not have as sophisticated mind as we humans do, or so we call it. So.. would we cull animals that display such traits as this? Or should we just let them be, as they are in no ways better than us and we shan’t bother about it?

From male killer whales riding on each other’s fin to female bonobos doing “That” together, the animal kingdom is indeed one really unique kingdom. But there has been cases where Homosexuality helped the species, like what happened with a pair of Gay penguins. They helped hatched an egg and even managed to take care of it!

At the end of the day, we can see that the world is indeed unique.. And not everybody’s perspective are the same, isn’t it so?

Learn from Chess, Learn it for Life.

2008-09-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

“The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the Universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature and the player on the other side is hidden from us”

When Thomas Huxley, a late English biologist, uttered these words, it must have occured to him that many a lesson and teaching could be attained from a game of Chess due to the reference of it to something as great as the Universe. How would this indulgence affect the player in reality? Is it not afterall, just a game for leisure and fun? One would laugh at it’s insignificance in one’s life, but if we were to reflect upon the Games we play, the moves we apply, the implemented tactics, do we see a resemblance of ourselves in them? A resemblance.. of the way we act and decide in our Life?

A game of Chess as a Game of Life. Our personal Life.

We shall decrease the magnitude of the quote by Thomas Huxley and refer it only to a part our own personal lives. The chessboard as a scenario - the pieces, our decision; the rules of our game, the limits of our Goal; and the other Player, the consequence of our moves. Take note that the pieces, however great or insignificant it may portray itself to you, are nevertheless vital for the grand result, the end product. A pawn, one small unimportant decision, can adversely affect the play of the game, in this case, a scenario in our daily lives. And the bigger pieces - take, for example, the Queen - are no doubt even more menacing a threat to the results when moved wrongly.

For Chess players or any other gamers alike, the need for accurate calculations and proper decision is practiced to ensure a win, or sometimes, a satisfying result. To play it well, one must be calm, calculative, analytical, and not overly-impulsive. For a seasoned Chess player, nothing would be gleaned from his emotion to further aid the opponent in winning him. No, he would be calm, exerting an almost eeire expression of coolness and apathy to delude his opponent, even if he himself had done a grave mistake. Most impulsive players lose not because of the opponent, but more to his own attitude towards a mistake, a sudden panic that would only further bring the mind into a state of sordid mess. A messed up mind would be of no help to the game at hand.

A piece too, has to be sacrificed to achieve a greater goal, to fulfill a higher motive. Such sacrifices may be heart-breaking but nevertheless, we have to let if go to further ensure a win. A risky sacrifice, must be done with calculated risk, or the risk will prove to be far costlier than the profit.

To risk all 8 pawns to destroy a queen may seem rather a sacrifice worth risking, but it means also losing 8 possible hopes of promoting into Queens. Thus, when making even the smallest decision, we must not fail to remember that it can one day turn out to be the play-maker and the final decisive move of the day.

Change the whole perspective to that representing our Lives, and it poses as an even greater importance. A slight ignorance of a friend deemed too insignificant to you, and you may get a blasted future for some unknown but related factors. An accidental mistake, and you lose the job of your life. A wrong hand gesture, and you’ve despised for life. Seriously, don’t you think this happens in Chess too? One wrong move and Garry Kasparov loses to Vladimir Kramnik, a wrong implementation of tactics and Tigran Petrosian trashes Mikhail Botvinnik. One mistake, and you’re off from a Champion, to History.

One wrong action, and you’re screwed.
One less dollar, and the victim dies under the kidnapper.
One accidental word, and you lose the Love of your Life.

One move, one consequence. It’s up to Us, to make the difference, and change the consequence. How? Think straight, do the right thing. Even when the right thing seems wrong, Do it. It’s up to Us to make a difference.