Male JAMBAN Etiquette

If you're a male and you're reading this blog entry, you HAVE TO VIEW the following video clip. It don't matter if you're Swedish, Pakistani, Lebanese, Japanese or Sin-gah-poh-lean, all men of the world will find common ground in these simple rules of restroom etiquette. It's hilarious btw, and as the clip unfolds, so does the storyline to ridiculous proportions.

Morale of the story? In Hokkien we say, "Ai ke jiang bang, diam diam ke."

Enjoy. It's a Friday and we all need some good humour.




Fishmonger

Contiuum - A Review

I just finished listening to John Mayer's latest album, Continuum. This, my friends, is a must hear. While not his most entertaining album, it’s by far his most complete, mature, and masterful album to date. To be honest, this isn’t an album that you automatically love (as with 'Room For Squares'). Rather, it’s an album that you really have to listen closely to appreciate. If you listen to this album without really hearing it, you may find it to be a rather dull experience. This man/musician/creative genius is a brilliant musical craftsman at work, bringing together soul, funk, jazz and R&B to form his unique blend of music. Into his 4th album, he seems to have matured a lot, evident from his rich lyrics and personal, soulful sentiments his music evokes.

I had the chance to catch him LIVE when I was in Melbourne and he totally blew me off with his level of musicianship. He was at his finest I reckon (maybe drop-outs at Berkely make the greatest musicians after all). The band was so tight you almost felt like you were rocking to a CD being played. Especially when each song varied so much in tempo from the other (drummers, you know, not easy keeping time!). What's amazing is that he doesn't do a song in the same way for every concert. There's always an improvisation each time. Cool eh? It shows just how much talent this young lad has. Each time I turn on his music, I am somehow transported back to Melbourne where I was first introduced to John Mayer. I would always reminisce driving down the long coastal roads of Melbourne, with the car on cruise control and me seated far behind the wheel humming 'Back to You' and grinning from ear to ear. Boy, that was LIFE.

Heh. For those of you who haven't heard his very first album debut, 'Inside Wants Out' (before he got famous), I do have it! It's so rare now that you can hardly find it in CD shops or even on his online store. It's a raw, acoustic feel. I simply love it.

Oh John, would you come by this small, tiny little island someday?

Fishmonger

[ iPod - Now Playing ]

JOHN MAYER [CONTINUUM]

. : Heart of the Matter : .

Over the pulpit we hear this phrase all too often, "At the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart". True? Recently i came across a blog that nicely put things into perspective for me:

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. . . The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is Hell."
- C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

This resonates so well within me as God leads me into a season of loving the people around me. Family, friends, colleagues, cell members, the special ones, the unloved ones... all the same. As much as it would hurt sometimes, I'ld rather that my heart be wrung and be broken than it become unbreakable, impenetrable and irredeemable.

We can love b'cos He first loved us. He knew the cost of love, that's why He chose unconditional love.

God, teach me to love just the way you do.

How is your heart today?

Fishmonger

C'mon Steve...

I gotta admit, I love all things Apple. From iPods to iMacs to yes, even the telescopic looking, CCTV-like video camera, iSight. Engadget reported that Apple Computer has slapped Podcast Ready, a company that allows podcasts to be easily accessible and portable, with a "cease and desist" letter, claiming that the terms "Podcast Ready" and "myPodder" infringe Apple's trademarks, and that they cause confusion among consumers. Apple has been cracking down on the use of the word "pod" by all sorts of parties, even though its trademark is for the word "iPod." Podcast Ready CEO Russel Holliman said he'd consider dropping the name myPodder if he had to, but "Podcast Ready"? If that's infringement, Apple is claiming that it owns the word "podcast." Sure, the word originated with the word iPod, but most people now see it as a general term for downloadable audio shows that isn't affiliated with one brand more than another.

Will Apple succeed in defending the word "podcast" as its own trademark?

Steve, give these blokes a break.


Fishmonger

A New Home

Here's a little peek into the new apartment we are shifting out to. A "downgrade" as they put it. However, do not be fooled. Here's the message de-coded: GET MARRIED AND MOVE OUT!

*kidding* (still love you dad, mum!)

Pictures courtesy of J.Teo-Pei-Pio

Retro Trip (2)

I can't seem to get enough of them...

Bravestarr


Centurions


Silverhawks


Thundercats



Fishmonger

Wayang, Wayang, Wayang...

Fishmonger

The Lotus Position

The Guru was the soundtrack chosen for the closing special item for Daniel & Pauline's wedding. For those of you who have not seen The Guru, the movie will leave you in stitches.

Here's a slightly different take on... THE GURU!

A day in a life of a P.I.

No, I was not paid to model in this punjabi suit. I was secretly undercover to investigate the rumoured wedding of the Rajah of Serangoon and his China-born girlfriend. My client, a Serangoon dweller and a secret admirer of the Rajah, has yet to reimburse me for the $65 I spent on the suit and compensate me for the humiliating acts I suffered on the 9th of September, 2006. A full report of the lavish wedding will be delivered to my client soon, including a detailed description of the inhumane acts I was made to perform. One such act included a conspiracy among the Rajah’s maidservants to plan a dark, sadistic party involving, among others, a forced eating of edible thongs by some of the Rajah’s bodyguards.

These terrible acts were a violation of Section 2.1 – “The PI shall not suffer any form of humiliating acts in his course of work” - of the terms of agreement and upon obtaining photo evidence, I may proceed to press charges against my client.

Overall, it was one of my toughest assignments yet and I’m glad that the job is done. The Rajah and his China-born girlfriend are now happily married and have escaped media attention by flying off to an undisclosed location in Thailand.

My client? She did not receive the news well unfortunatedly and is now under close observation at The Institute of Mental Health. She is being treated for major depressive disorder and mild schizophrenia. I hope she gets better. I want my compensation.

***

Daniel & Pauline, thank you for sharing your joyous occasion with me. Though it was a rather busy and challenging one, it was also most unique and special in its execution.

Enjoy your trip in Bangkok.

(ooops... did I just reveal something?)

***

In a moment of selah, I came to understand that true friendship is tested when the weather elements surrounding the event aren’t perfect. A reality check? I’m glad I chose to stay on and steer the boat to the end. The finishing matters after all.


Fishmonger

Of Science & Beauty

"Rarely do great science and great beauty dwell together."

- Fishmonger

P2C

P3C

Oh my... how could I have left out the A-TEAM.

I remember I used to collect old bicycles parts and scraps of metal with a primary school classmate and attempt to build up a tripod-mounted machine gun.

Talk about being inspired by drama-mama TV flicks.



Fishmonger

Retro Trip

Ok, you are probably about as old as me when you recognise the following cartoons/action films from the 80s.

Btw, these were my favourites.

MASK


Visionaries


Airwolf


Starcom



Fishmonger

Young Preacher's Contest - My Experience

[Group 1]


[Speaker No. 5]


[4.45pm]


:: moment of truth ::


I cooly walked up to draw my lot that will determine the group I was to be in. I opened the piece of folded cardboard and in it was written "Group 1". Ok, nothing to get overly excited about. In fact I was more delighted that Stevie, my spiritual son, was in the same group as me. So too were some other familiar faces from the ministry. The panel of judges for each group were then announced through this white cutesy-looking miniature megaphone. As the names reached my ears, they registered in my brain in the following order (and intensity): 1) Ps Rachel 2) Ps Hee Jhee 3) PS CHUA SENG LEE

Wah… really ‘chua’ (shock!) man. I remember muttering under my breadth (in a sudden inspiration of Hokkien), “Ji bai siao liao… ah ni suay… kena Chua Seng Lee...ho say liao!” Well, I think for that moment it felt like I was gonna be scrutinised and critiqued by terror judge KEN LIM from Singapore Idol. No way was it gonna be an easy time. Well, at least I wasn’t the FIRST person to begin. And that was seriously one good reason to find something to thank God for in unfavourable circumstances. So I decided to calm my nerves by walking around to support my brother and other budding preachers while psyching myself up and trying hard to replace the image of Ps Seng Lee with one of those cross-eyed, funny looks that Ps Roland executes so brilliantly when he tells a chio-ka-peng joke. Seriously, I needed to do that. Especially so when Ken Lim is your…no sorry, Ps Seng Lee is the head judge.

‘The Time Has Come’ started playing in my mind when I realised I was going to preach earlier cos there were only 6 people in my group although there were 7 cards and I drew a No.6. Err... got it? Nevermind if you didn't cos' it took me a while too, especially under those stressful conditions... ha! I got my team (Winfred & Andrew) together and ensured they had the flash cards ready and in the right sequence. Oh yes, a little bit about them. It was my desire to involve my entire cell in this contest b’cos it is my intention to inspire them to live out their dreams. No no, I do not aspire to be a preacher, but if you look at my previous blog on the Young Preacher’s Contest, you’ll understand what I mean. So I spent time the Saturday rehearsing with them and got 2 who volunteered to be my ‘manual powerpoints’ for the day. They gave me much valuable feedback too, which helped fine tune my presentation. In fact, one of them gave me a critical pointer which resulted in me re-structuring my entire message. Thanks guys.

The moment of truth came as I stood with my guys, agonisingly waiting in front of the panel for the sound of the siren to signal the start of the session. The crowd which was understandably small due to our location in the hall, began to swell in size. It was getting freaky and I started inviting members of the crowd to go support the other speakers. OK, I admit I didn’t quite know what I was doing then.

Then it came. The siren blasted and I began a verbal downloading of my message in tandem with the manual slides. It started off slightly shaky but things got better as I went along. I was always reminding myself of the critical pauses, deliberate emphasis, pace & timing, humour punchlines, speech intensity, diction & articulation and body movements. Then... the second moment of truth came when “God Bless You” came flying out of my mouth with great velocity and with much relief and joy. I was glad it was over. Then I wobbled my way to Stevie to say a comforting prayer before he came on next.

The verdict? Well, I got into the second round by His grace. The terror judge gave me nice compliments which did brighten my otherwise exhausting day. It was a fun experience overall and I’m glad to see a new generation of preachers rising up to deliver His Word with conviction and passion. As for now, it's another agonising wait for Round Two.

Thank you dear cell members, for your wonderful support.

To Stevie, my dear bro, Josh, Mirabel, U-Jin, Michael and to the rest who bravely took part in this contest, the world out there can use another great preacher like yourselves. Keep on preaching.

Preach God's Word, somebody?

Fishmonger

Wired for Adventure

:: Subaru Action Asia Challenge ::

The results are out! Team Banana Boat II comprising of adventure junkies Sebastian Teo and Joshua Kwa crossed the finishing line in a time of 6:39:23.

Ok, so how did we over-optimistic-look-good-with-nice-gears-only-but-train-only-once adventure racer wannabes compare with the other very-fit-and-aggressive-with-nice-gears-too-but-train-very-hard competitors?

Well, considering the fact that we suffered major cramps, went to Holland (where was the MIA official??) and strolled up the slopes of the Benjamin Shears Bridge (to admire the view la, you think what.. fatigue meh??), we came in a respectable 9th position in our category. Had we come in 15 mins earlier we would have gotten third. Yes, it was THAT close. In comparison to our 2004 race, though we came in 24th overall (as compared to 40th overall this year) and in a not-too-far off timing of 6:22:25, this year’s race was much longer (60km) and more challenging. I guess our strong triathlon background helped quite a bit.

Although we both lamented about how additional training could have allowed us to keep in pace with the race leaders, nothing was more fun than to jump off bridges, abseil down and zip line off the Shears Bridge, kayak down the S’pore river while amused tourists look on, mountain bike and trail run in darkness, crawl into drains, cycle down the new Pasir Panjang highway and do a base jump off the light tower of the National Stadium (ok, I’m kidding about this).

It did reinvigorate a sense of adventure in me again. Stirred up a passion for all things wild and crazy. The boyhood dreams of doing things Action!-packed, things that give you the adrenalin rush… be it running around with arms stretched out like Superman, jumping off tables & chairs while wielding a water pistol like a SWAT team member, putting on my Zoro costume complete with paper mask and sword, standing at the edge of the balcony ledge daring myself to look straight down…

Haha… adventure runs in my blood, doesn’t it? The race was great in that it taught us many lessons on race strategy and proper race conditioning. It gave us a greater hunger for competition and an appetite for new challenges. However, in adventure racing, nothing is certain until you cross the finishing line. No amount of preparation can prepare you for the finish. There’s always an element of surprise that's ready to spring up on you. For us, the surf board paddling turned up as a surprise and proved to be our weakest discipline. 4 teams (including 2 womens team!) surpassed us towards the end b’cos we couldn’t quite figure out how to get the white board moving on water.

What an irony how life is sometimes like that. We work hard, prepare well and yet stumble at something totally unexpected. You can never fully anticipate how life will turn out for you. BUT in the midst of running the race, I know I can still smile and enjoy the journey b’cos I know for sure that my life is anchored in a GOD who knows my every surprise, every obstacle and every ending. He is the constant in a world of uncertainty. My reliable partner in life’s adventure race.


So I guess I'll continue racing.


Embark on an adventure with me, somebody?


Fishmonger