Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wanted (2008)

Rating:★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Action & Adventure
Hmm, a bit disappointing. At first I thought the film was horribly mangled by the local censorship again. Then it turns out the run time is 110 mins, from the info on the IMDB site.

The action sequences are outta this world, superbly pieced. And the twist is kinda unexpected. Still, feel the film should have been a bit longer. Guess my expectation were raised too high by the incredible trailer. I mean, curving a bullet's projectile, how cool is that??!!

Still, can watch it la.

Official Site:
http://www.wantedmovie.com/

IMDB ENtry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493464/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanted_(2008_film)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

on course now...

WooT! But they still have Internet access. so I can sill come online. Baahahahhahaha!~

Woke up later than usual, came out of the house slowly. Only thang was that still have rush-hour am at 8.15am at Woodlands MRT. But thank God still manage to reach the class on time. Am learning about Microsoft Project now, not the most exciting application in the world, but still needed in the corporate world.

OK, break over, back to learning!

on food the disciples know not....



Taken from http://www.reverendfun.com/index.php?date=20080623

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Get Smart (2008)

Rating:★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Comedy
Hilarious film, not over-the-top slapstick, and the lines are good. Have the catchy tune stuck to my brains now. Steve Carrell is a riot, Anne Hathaway is a Va-Va-Voom, and Dwayne Johnson (the guy who used to be known as "the Rock") is doing his "eyebrow thang" again. And you have the Great Khali* and Hiro* from Heros... and teh list gopes on. What's not to like? :D

[from trailer]
Siegfried: How do I know you're not from CONTROL?
Maxwell Smart: If I were from CONTROL, you'd already be dead.
Siegfried: If you were from CONTROL, YOU'D already be dead.
Maxwell Smart: Neither of us is dead, so I'm obviously not from CONTROL.
[long pause]
Shtarker: That actually makes sense.


Official Entry:
http://getsmartmovie.warnerbros.com/

IMDB ENtry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425061/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Smart_(film)

Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Rating:★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Comedy
Nice heartwarming film. Had a real good laughs over the "sweded" films. Not your conventional story-telling, but the ending will just melt your heart. :P

Official site
http://www.bekindmovie.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799934/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Kind_Rewind

Monday, June 23, 2008

on a wonderful prayer, and a wonderful answer from God

Was reading from "Confessions of a Sinner" this morning on my bus-ride, can came across this lovely prayer.

------------------------------------------------------------
Book XIII, 1

I call upon you, O God, my Mercy, who made me and did not forget me when I forgot you. I call you to come into my soul, for by inspiring it to long for you you prepare it to receive you. Now, as I call upon you, do not desert me, for you came to my aid even before I called upon you. In all sort of ways, over and over again, when I was far from you, you coaxed me to listen to your voice, to turn my back on you no more, and to call upon you for aid when, all the time, you were calling to me yourself. You blotted out all my evil deeds, in order not to repay me with the punishment I deserved for the work of my hands, which had led me away from you; and even before I did them, you took into account all the good deeds by which I should deserve well of you, in order to recompense yourself for the work of your hands which made me. For before I was, you were: I was nothing, that you should give me being. Yet now I am; and this is because out of your goodness you provided for all that you have made me and all from which you have made me. You have no need of me, nor am I a creature good i such a way as to be helpful to you, my Lord and my God. It is not as though you could grow tired by working and I could serve you by preventing your fatigue, nor could your power be any the less if my service were lacking. I cannot serve you as a peasant tills the land, for your works bear fruit even if I fail to serve you with my husbandry. I can only serve you and worship you so that good may come to me from you, and but for you no good could come to me, for I should not even exist to receive it.
------------------------------------------------------------

I was just thinking what a wonderful prayer that was penned down. Then I imagined how God would have answer this, and it was even more stupendous~

------------------------------------------------------------
You call upon Me, My Child, whom I am Your Mercy, who was made by Me and was not forgotten when you forgot Me. You call Me to come into your soul, for by inspiring it to long for Me I prepare it to receive Me. Now, as you call upon Me, I will not desert you, for I came to your aid even before you called upon Me. In all sort of ways, over and over again, when you were far from Me, I coaxed you to listen to My voice, to turn your back on Me no more, and to call upon Me for aid when, all the time, I am calling to you Myself. I blotted out all you evil deeds, in order not to repay you with the punishment you deserved for the work of your hands, which had led you away from Me; and even before you did them, I took into account all the good deeds by which you should deserve well of Me, in order to recompense Myself for the work of My hands which made you. For before you were, I AM: You were nothing, that I should give you being. Yet now you are; and this is because out of My goodness I provide for all that I have made you and all from which I have made you. I have no need of you, nor are you a creature good in such a way as to be helpful to Me, your Lord and your God, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. It is not as though I could grow tired by working and you could serve Me by preventing My fatigue, nor could My power be any the less if your service is lacking. You cannot serve me as a peasant tills the land, for My works bear fruit even if you fail to serve Me with your husbandry. You can only serve Me and worship Me so that good may come to you from Me, and but for Me no good could come to you, for you should not even exist to receive it.
------------------------------------------------------------

Hallelujah, blessed be the Name of the LORD, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob

Sunday, June 22, 2008

on cleaning stains inside water kettles...

hmmm, last time I didn't know why the insides inside water kettles get dirty. I always thought they cannot be cleaned, till my friend convinced me otherwise.

Today, our big 2-litre water boiler/kettle in office broke down. So we had to use a replacement water kettle instead. When I looked inside the kettle, i was aghast at the blackness of the surface*. So took the kettle to the sink area and spend a good 15 minutes scrubbing the insides...

Before
















After
















Hmm, I went to my *great answer to everything* and Wiki for a reason for this build-up. Apparently it's due to mineral deposits. Surprisingly, I found it under the entry of vinegar

"White vinegar is often used as a natural household cleaning agent. With most such purposes dilution with water is recommended for safety, reduced risk of damaging certain surfaces, and budgetary reasons. It is especially useful for cleaning mineral deposits on glass, inside a coffee maker, or other smooth surfaces. Vinegar is an excellent solvent for cleaning epoxy resin and epoxy hardener. It will even clean epoxy that is starting to harden. Care should be taken not to allow contact with the eyes (if such contact occurs, the eyes should be flushed immediately and persistently with warm water) or skin (the affected skin area should be washed thoroughly after use)."
- Under cleaning uses of Vinegar

Hmm, need to get my hands on some white vinegar soon...

-----------------------------------------------------------
* Surprisingly, before I knew it can be cleaned off, i was not affected by it. After I found out it can be washed off, I'm pretty put off by the presence of the blackened surface.

Two Morals from this:

1. An analogy to knowledge sin and salvation? :p
2. Knowledge is dangerous to lazy people - what you don't know, won't make you work... Ergo, if you don't want to do, don't learn... bwahahahah!

CEFC Woodlands shots (22 Jun '08)




"Woo hoo!" Yesterday when the pictures were shared in church, that's what I exclaimed in service. :p After 3 years, finally the building is nearing its completion. Got so excited that I cycled down and got some shots of it on my "lao-pok" handphone camera.

Can't wait to see the inside!~ :D

Saturday, June 21, 2008

People shots in Church Camp (10-13 June)




Haha, thank God that other friends brought along their cameras, so that there are some better photos to remember the people by :p

Kudos to Jared and Sherman for these shots

on a drizzly Sunday morning...

Woke up this morning to a cool cool weather. Watched the 8am telecast of Japan hour - the food and the sights are so marvellous!  :D

my mom left early for her church service, while sister followed suit by going for her examinations. Now surfing the net whole preparing to go for the 12pm service... *Yawn*

Friday, June 20, 2008

Klingon Language Version of the World English Bible


http://klv.mrklingon.org/
For all the Trekkies out there...

Heaven: The Final Frontier... :D

Kudos to my colleague Jonathan for passing me this link

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

on gratification of the eye...



Book X, 35

I must now speak of a different kind of temptation, more dangerous than these because it is more complicated. For in addition to our bodily appetites, which makes us along to gratify all our senses and our pleasures and lead to our ruin if we stay away from you by becoming their slaves, the mind is also subject to a certain propensity to use the sense of the body, not for self-indulgence of a physical kind, but for the satisfaction of its own inquisitiveness. This futile curiosity masquerades under the name of science and learning, and since it derives from our thirst for knowledge and sight is the principal sense by which knowledge is acquired, in the Scriptures it is called gratification of the eye. For although, correctly speaking, to see is the proper function of the eyes, we use the word of the other senses too, when we employ them to acquire knowledge. We do not say 'Hear how it glows', 'Smell how bright it is', 'Taste how it it shines', or "'Feel how it glitters', because these are all things which we say that we see. Yet we not only say 'See how it shines' when we are speaking of something which only the eye can perceive, but we also say 'See how loud it is', 'See how it smells', 'See how it taste', and 'See how hard it is'. So, as I said, sense-experience in general is called the lust of the eyes because, although the function of sight belongs primarily to the eyes, we apply it to the other organs of sense as well, by analogy, when they are used to discover any item of knowledge.

   We can easily distinguish between the motives of pleasure and curiosity. When the senses demand pleasure, they look for objects of visual beauty, harmonious sounds, fragrant perfumes, and things that are pleasant to the taste or soft to the touch. But when their motive is curiosity, they may look for just the reverse of these things, simply to put it to the proof, not for the sake of an unpleasant experience, but from a relish for investigation and discovery. What pleasure can there be in the sight of a mangled corpse, which can only horrify? Yet people will flock to see one lying on the ground, simply for the sensation of sorrow and horror that it gives them. They are even afraid that it may bring them nightmares, as though it were something that they had been forced to look at while they were awake or something to which they had been attracted by rumours of its beauty. The same is true of other senses, although it would be tedious to give further examples. It is to satisfy this unhealthy curiosity that freaks and prodigies are put on show in the theatre, and for the same reason men are led to investigate the secrets of nature, which are irrelevant to our lives, although such knowledge is of no value to them and they wish to gain it merely for the sake of knowing. It is curiosity, too, which causes men to turn to sorcery in the effort to obtain knowledge for the same perverted purpose. And it even invades our religion, for we put God to the test when we demand signs and wonders from him, not in the hope of salvation, but simply for the love of the experience.

[...]

My life is full of such faults, and my only hope is in your boundless mercy. For when our hearts become repositories piled high with such worthless stock as this, it is the cause of interruption and distraction from our prayers. And although, in your presence, the voices of our hearts are raised to your ear, all kinds of trivial thoughts break in and cut us off from the great act of prayer.

taken from St Augustine: Confessions of a Sinner, Translated by R.S. Pine-Coffin,
Penguin Books - Great Ideas Series, 2004)


Quiz: Which city are you? - CNN.com


http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/13/cities.quiz/index.html?iref=intlOnlyonCNN
Fun quiz. I got Mumbai~

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

on wet pants...

Got this touching story in my work e-mail~


WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom.....

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good...

Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

Prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards Let's continue to pray for one another.


Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Rating:★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Action & Adventure
Hulk Smash! WWOOOQAAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!

in a nutshell, that's what the movie is about. More enjoyable than the first film. Oh, no connection with the first one. Totally loved the humor in the make-out scene :D

Official website:
http://incrediblehulk.marvel.com/index_flash.html

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800080/

Wiki Site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Hulk_(film)

on great puppetry and good song editing

somehow, erased my earlier post. so here is it again! :D

 

 

 

on God providing even before I asked~

During the church camp, there was a call to give for the remaining payments towards the completion of our second church building. This month I really went overboard in my expenses, and didn't really have much left in my savings account. But in faith I accepted the amount the Lord gave to me and said to myself, "He'll bring the money to me somehow".

Then just the other day on Saturday, as I was resting at home, I suddenly thought of the cup of loose change I keep in my room for buying newspaper and snacks. Decided to empty it out and count how much moolah I have. Lo and Behold, it was a bit more than the amount that God has placed upon my heart~


 


























































All i can say ah, ish "Thank You, God! Gum xia, Zhu & Oh lor Zhu! “感谢主!称赞主!“

Monday, June 16, 2008

on Butt Prints in the Sand

Got this in my work e-mail.

Butt Print in the Sand:

One night, I had a wondrous dream;
One set of footprints there was seen.
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
"Those prints are large and round and neat,
But, Lord, they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones.
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.
You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk-of-faith you would not know.

So I got tired and fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt,
Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."

Church camp extension in KL (13-14 Jun)


the maestro beginning his masterpiece

After church camp, went to extend 1 day in KL, to go get my Ramli burger fix, as well as catch up with a couple of friends~

Church camp pics (10 - 13 Jun)


the viwe of teh grandstaircase

Had a good time at Puterajaya Mariott. Here are some pictures to remember it by~

P.S. no shots of people, cos my fone camera not dat fantastic~

on back from grocery shopping...

yesh, just spent $50 pruss worth of stuff from Cold Storage. The larder at home ish looking a bit sparse right now. Plus my two precious siblings are hanging loose at home; thought I'll be a good big brudder and bring home the ham,

the cheese,

the yogurt,

the Chunky Monkey,

the "sor da pia",

the "oleng joo",

 

and the "goo nee"...

Eh, guess the moolah towards 2nd church buidling will have to wait for this month's pay cheque at next Friday's pay-out~

Sunday, June 15, 2008

on back from a wonderful time...

just came back from church camp and my extension in KL last night. Shioks!~ Giving thanks to God for the wonderful break. Will write more later, as I just finished checking work and personal e-mail. Now must let the laptop have a good rest~

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Friday, June 6, 2008

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Rating:★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Animation
Great show! Good plot, albeit a bit formulaic. The jokes are fantastic. Watch all the way through, right up till the end of the credit roll.

"There are no accident".

Official Website:
http://www.kungfupanda.com/


IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441773/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Panda

Thursday, June 5, 2008

on a re-run of the best-est Youtube vids in our office chat...






















Yesterday, in order to get the irritating tunes outta our heads, we went to post a series of our favorute videos from Youtube. Enjoy~

片腕マシンガール/ Kataude mashin gâru / The Machine Girl (2008)

Rating:★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Foreign
So awful, that it's hilarious. I was trying to find some deeper meaning, maybe the director's trying to address the issue of bullying in Japanese academic system. But after a while, the zany plot and the gore-a-minute scenes just left me in stitches and nauseous at the same time. Not for the faint-hearted...


Official Site (Japanese)
http://www.spopro.net/machinegirl/

Youtube trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSpCWJnnWVI

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1050160/

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

arrrggghhh! Ban! Ban!

Argh! My stupid friend go and infect the whole office with this tune!




Now we can't get it out of our head!!

Ban <青春123> from Youtube!!

This ish Madness!

P.S. Finally, it's nearly end of the day. Hopefully, I will purge this tune outta my head~

Oh, I change my Skype display pic in office, to show my discontent. Then my friend, lagi best, he changed his Skype picture too...


Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Rating:★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
My sis wanted to spend some time with us, so we went to catch a show together last night. She and my brother didn't watch the first film; but I told them it didn't really make a big difference.

Good story - a bit darker than the first film. The children from the first film has matured and have different issues to explore.

Like what Aslan says in the film," Nothing is the same the second time round."

Official Website:
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499448/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia:_Prince_Caspian

Office Party (28 May '08)


Group shot 1

yeaps, had a birthday celebration for the June birthday babys (Ben and Faith), as well as appreciation for Huifang, who's moving on to greener pastures. A good time of fellowship and sharing around the office

Sunday, June 1, 2008

on celebrating the Danny Devitos...

Heh heh, my friend has finally put something on his blog after a hiatus of 2 years.

Read it here


Let's give it up for all the Dannys~

the mrbrown show: win-win


http://www.mrbrownshow.com/2008/06/02/the-mrbrown-show-win-win/
By the way ah... is this within the 50 km mark ah?


ROFL

on my sunday in pictures...

Had to serve as communion-server at the 10am 2nd service in church, but wanted to go to the 3rd service, so as to make space for all the guests. So bail out of the main sanctuary, and took a slow stroll to Bukit Panjang Plaza for brunch. Walked around the basement level for a while, it was still pretty early (around 10.50s) so there wasn't much people. And the freshly baked pastry at the confectionery stores smells so nice!

Pleasantly surprised to find a Subway joint right at the end of the level. Bought a Tuna Sandwich, as I got a bit tired of Cold cut Trio and Subway Club. Was worried for a second that I can't bring my sandwich into Starbucks (since it was 'outside' food) , but my worries were unfounded. Enjoyed my grande cafe americano while they played smooth jazz in the background...



Oh, took a close up of the logo. Heard they are planning to change the Starbucks logo. Wonder if I should go get a mug before it does happen...



Saw this mother-and-child monkey duo as I was leaving from church later in the afternoon. Don't even know how they managed to 'migrate' from the Bukit Timah nature reserve...

on the whole, a short but restful Sabbath. Thank you, Abba!~

on John Cleese is da best...

Totally hilarious!~ Click here



on a good life observation from Mutts...


Sometimes life's a bummer...