HOO HAA! FROGGIE SPENDS A DAY IN THE SKIES

This weekend is turning into a very holy weekend.The hindus, christians and islams all have significant religious event over this few days.

Yesterday was a public holiday, me and my trail trekkers group decided to go up to bukit tabur or bukit melawati. As usual, we plan to start very early in the morning at 6am(meaning with some group members obeserving malaysian time, we started at 7am). It began with a drive up to wangsa maju to meet a bunch of new friends gathered by aries(a self declared kampung girl who just joined us on our last trip) The drive up to wangsa maju was a beautiful one with a simply gorgeous sunrise ahead of us.


Upon reaching wangsa maju...aries informed us that on her side she has about 16 people coming...so plus the five of us,that's a whopping 23 people...well...okie.So as everyone gathered...it did become a big group...and it was a good opportuinity to go crazy...so I told them...the word for the day is hoo haa...once someone shout hoo haa...everyone would too...here's our practice...



And so with that...we set off on our adventure...


At first it looked like any other jungle walk albiet being uphill. However as we reached closer to the top...typical forest folliage started to thin until there was only a few plants left which dominated the landscape above...the plants had really thin string like leaves.The earth also gave way to rock face and here's where the fun began. It's a climbing trip and we were climbing allright and having alot of fun at it...The trail trekkers were really singing outloud, either that or it's just me...being hyper as I was climbing without a single wink the night before...but I am sure...I heard echoes from the rest....



Up above...there was gorgeous scenery to be had...also on hikes like this you expect to see birds...well as I thought that the yield of animals on this track was low suddenly we saw a whole flock of birds! It must be paper crane season!!!




Three of us also found God

The only flaw of the day was the stronger members of the group had to travel a little slower to accomodate the weaker new members of the group...and some parts...a few of us were too excited and ran ahead...frog is also guilty....much to the dismay of a loyal spider who has the principle of staying as a group...spider btw...will have his own blog posting on the day on his blog here...but eventually, we all did reach the end...which offers this scenery


To some it was a little bit of an anticlimax after a three hour trek across 'dangerous' cliffs but I day say of the journey, everyone had fun negotiating the rock face mountain ridge...enjoying the scenery, the nice warmth of the morning sun, friends, singing out loud like crazy and just being outdoors...here are some additional pictures...





HOO - HAA !!! :P

You Can Come Home Again

This is a painting by rembrant of the biblical story 'the prodigal son'.The story(here simplified) is a simple albiet beautiful one, of a son who ran away from his father after taking his share of the family fortune coming home broke and world weary. He just wanted food and never expected anything from his father but despite his failings...his father ran out to him and just loved him and rejoiced for his son has come home...

Early this lenten season,I've attended a christian retreat...called the Prodigal Son I believe in God however...I don't feel God or my faith is somewhat a matter of sheer will to believe and not one that is a conviction of my heart...I decided to take time off to allow myself to find God again.



As I've said many times before...God has been good to me.For one, I am born healthy with great parents.I am blessed with good friends or have this job where I enjoy myself and make good money...I am essentially partaking in my hobby and getting paid for it.Will I be able to come from a simple Sarawakian family to Kuala Lumpur and without a degree enter the film industry and become someone who has directed a movie for the cinema?Don't get me wrong...I am not trying to be prideful...but thankful...thankful for all he's given me.

But despite him always giving to me, I have been the sinner.I have got lust and pride and though I stupidly say well,I've never killed anyone...someone blew me out of the water saying well...killing someone's spirit is killing...that I've done...screaming at people when I am angry.Yes I am the sinner.

So I went in search of absolution...but would a God whom I have been nothing but a shitty sinner take me home? Is this why my faith is paper thin or at least feels paper thin? Well...as I walked into the Loyala hall at St. Francis Xavier and I was greeted by my own home parish's Archibishop John Ha..."Nice to see you here Linus, where is your brother..." I already felt home...

Minutes later...we sang together softly and gently jesus is calling...calling for you and for me....come home, ye who are weary come home...I wept...like a baby. It was a crazy outpour of emotion from me...and I wasn't even trying to be affected by it...I was just swept by the fact that I can always go home...Later...as I was kneeling in prayer...seeing nothing but the cement floor between my feet...I cried again...and like a flush of toxins coming out...I felt great again...I am allowed to come home...no wait, I am very much welcomed home...

only the sight of my feet and cold concrete floor...and yet as i knelt...I felt an alarming presence of peace...and I cried...of sadness and of joy....



... the poor boy who is in the father's midst is bald in the painting...while this can be observed that he was a slave for a while after losing everything...do notice that it is also the head of a fetus...one of pure and innocence...you can have grace and salvation again no matter how bad you've been... =)

So for any of you weary and in need of rest...know that you are always welcome to home...don't reason...don't think...don't try to be holy...just come home....

Come to me,all of you who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28

Have a great holy thursday, a good good friday and a wonderful easter...

Emmanuel...

Look Mum...Toxic Drums

"Looks mum...i've got toxic drums...." is what I'll say had I been about 7 years of age and made these...today...I'd say the same but I rather say..."Look mum...your son is still playing with paint and he's 28 and earning from it!"

Who says art don't pay...but it's good mothers everywhere believe so...less men more share. But honestly...I tell you...art pays...it makes me have a pretty good life and so satisfied with what I do...

I am currently at work at a new stop motion animation...it's not a job...it's not anything for money...that's what people assume all working people should do everyday...make money, make money, make money....I am happy that I have a job where I can be always actively creating and get paid for it but I decided early on that in this life I will not do everything for money...I am not a slave to it...

It's a new animated (cartoon if you will)short film of a story that I want to tell. It's about our environment and what matters most in life....friends,love and life itself. You all have to see the finished film to enjoy it but for now let me share with you the little steps in making this film and how fun it all is.

Stop motion is an old animation technique where you create all the props and film them on a camera frame by frame to make an animated film...it's labor intensive and heavily utilised prior to the computer taking over everything but now it's largely a loss craft...so why do I do it and don't i just make it on a computer....

Well...it's hard work but it's alot of fun this way...

In the story...i need a toxic drum...as I illustrate in my storyboard



and so I set out to make them...recycling old soft drink cans....



i also need a drain...and so...



out come some old cardbox(from product packaging...I am enviromentally friendly)...snip snip...glue glue....paint paint and you get



drains....the reason why it's made in two so that it can be pulled apart to accomodate the camera...

well...as you can see...i am having alot of fun...wish to have the same fun? start doing stop motion animation yourself!!!! :P For those interested...I'll update on my stop motion project here from time to time! I am currently being assisted by Dennis Teh on the creations of this film. :)

Sorry...here's what happened and I am back.

Sorry readers...been away from blogging for awhile. Quite alot happened in my life since Chinese New Year.

I've broken up with my girlfriend and it sadly seems like it's for good.

I decided to up my ante and hiring two permanent fulltime staff, my company has always been operating on managing a strong base of freelancers. This two full time staff are great and despite not being demanding in terms of pay to help me adjust, they are still a financial responsibility. I am also trying to be a good boss understanding to their needs and also to always motivate them.

My movie was on ASTRO channel 333 and is the top 5 film for the chinese new year period.

I went back to church in a bigger way. I confessed all my faults and sins and cried that I was free and accepted home.I now want to be more committed to my faith.

Now...I am getting myself ready to do my first big commercial feature film while trying to win a contract to have the financing for it.Also I am trying hard to expand by doing bigger and better jobs.

Now I am also trying to commit to update this blog regularly.

Love

I think this film ' One Rat Short' speaks so so so much on love...it's a very special and beautiful film. I bet you'll love it...i applaud the makers and wished i can make films this good....

it goes to show....eloquently
how love can be so simple n sincere....
and can exist such coincidentally in such chaos....
and be so beautiful and yet tragic all at the same time...

sometimes we who are in love don't realise what a gem we have...
sometimes we know we have a gem yet we have to let go...
I pray I can love sincere...I pray I'll be loved sincere...
I pray for you guys too...

may we all...

experience it...

wonderful...beautiful

love.

:)

Froggie's Bittersweet Valentine

The slideshow above is dedicated to my beautiful, very sporting and really cute though slightly cina-beng girlfriend (then again, i am quite cina pek)...Zhiling Chia. She's currently an aupair in America. We have had a long distance relationship for the last year or so....

I would be so happy to be hers but this valentine's day is a little sad for me as my girlfriend whom i love very much has left me. And though we had small breakups before...this time it may just be the real end...and so froggie is sad...It's not her fault...nor mine but our fault. As we are people from different walk of life...we have different ideals,wants and needs.And sometimes...arguements comes from the differing ideals....I can be quiet an ass sometimes...and I guess I was in this arguement wanting to of course win it...and well...she left me.It's funny how the arguement didn't matter anymore...I let her win it now.... I really tried to win her back...she's very much everything to me and despite having some flaws, she is a wonderful wonderful girlfriend....

dear...I am truly sorry...

I m imperfect dear but I feel it's not about perfection but loving inspite of the imperfection and possibly being romantic by finding perfection in togetherness.

also, dear...please don't say you want to be strong and don't want to be emotionally dependent on me...I want to be emotionally dependent on someone...I think that's why God made us in two...I am dependent emotionally on you because I love you...

dear...I am lonely because you are so far away but so long as you are my girlfriend at least I am not lonely at heart...now i am lonely at heart and it's not nice.

I am stressed out thinking...if we will still be...I can't close my eye because i'll see you and it's painful because you're not mine

dear...we had wonderful memories together...I don't want just those memories....I want you...more of you...

dear...I already love you alot and you know that. say you love me...and you'll have me.I am sorry...Happy Valentine's Day...



That aside...I was at the cinema for valentine eve...while there were many people there with flowers and their girlfriend/boyfriend that made my mind sort of wonder to my own sad situation above I was happy with people I love on the eve of valentine's day. I was with my grandfather, brother, father and granduncle...

I brought my grand-dad to the movie Rambo as he was the one who made me want to be a filmmaker and the rambo series of movies were one that we shared long ago...Rambo: First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part 2 and Rambo 3...classics! Well...traffic in town was horrendous so I m glad we got there with enough time to settle my granddad into his seat before going out to buy him a drink....i want a cold mix hot milo...because hot may be too hot for the old man....I told the girl...she gave me the ??? look. First pour in the cold milo...then add some hot onelah...aiyor...but she obliged after i explained....



A quick review of the film...
It felt very short...it was straight to the action brutal shit....there's no middle bit where the film gets it's intellectual meat...it's hey...lets just just start, establish a story as quick and straight to the action. But it's not a bad thing...somehow Stallone after all these years knows how to tap into the male pyche of liking to see a hero brutally kicking butt and that's exactly what he delivers to the dot. It's not your typical Rambo movie where he works alone....this one her has a bunch of mecenaries...these add on characters were cutboard cut-out with the usual 'baddie'good guy who gets his fair share of pain and gets stared down by stallone and the good soldier plus the extras for killing off...the usual.

One thing that stand out were the lines....awesome and somewhat philosphical like "how ironic it is to send the devil to do God's work"or "Live for Nothing or Die for Something" or the one where he asked "Are you bringing weapons? If you're not you're changing nothing" There were some point in the film which i feel could have been further polished to make great moments but somehow were wasted.One was the one where he had to run from an exploding british bomb...that could have ended with a signature action movie signature jump but it didn't. Still I enjoyed it...but i wish my girlfriend was there with me....wait...i wish i had a girlfriend....



So yeah...a bittersweet valentine for me.....

A belated Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

wasabi,monkeys,a dirty car and being happy!

So what makes me happy or what is a happy moment for me? When i was wanting to write a blog entry about being happy...I immediately started to think...what makes me happy? at which point...i stopped myself as i wondered...must i make an effort to be happy? must I think what is a happy moment? am i such a sad contrived person that being happy takes effort? and suddenly...it just popped out...being happy can just mean being happy...and so i just begin to write...

about three weeks ago....i was with a friend and her little 10 year old nephew calvin...he was obviously unhappy as he was getting very little attention.We then went for sushi for lunch...at lunch...my friend dipped her sushi in wasabi to which her nephew asked..."auntie, what is that?" The aunt,my friend subsequently replied...it's wasabi...it's for man only. This was an obvious tease to the little boy as he was always fond of tapping his chest with his fist and declaring "I'm the man!!!" And so...when her auntie prompted further by pushing it to him and saying you're the man aren't you? He quickly took one sushi...plomped it into the wasabi and quickly into his mouth...he then...raised his hand...placed it at the back of his head...shake his head...shake his head violently...and then he reached out for something to drink...he grabs the green tea...but that's smoking hot...so too bad...he just sad there...his hand clasped his face....and then tears streaked out.

Me and his auntie had a great laugh....yes, it was kinda cruel but if you think this is my posting for being happy...no it is not....well maybe...for us...but i am not that evil...

Calvin was really pissed after that and refused to talk to his aunt anymore.Not even if he died and gets reborn...he will not forgive her....she is the devil (pronounced d-vil)But as I was still in calvin's good book...though I somewhat played a part...hehehehehe... I offered to pacify him....I told her 'auntie' to leave him at my house...I'll fetch him home later.

At my house...I first brought calvin to the park....to feed monkeys....i told him to show a scary face so the monkeys will be intimidated and wouldn't come near him.this is how to be a man!!!! he started to smile...I was his brother....then I brought him back to my house....I was thinking of other ways to make him smile...hey, my car is kinda dirty.So I told calvin....hey calvin...wanna wash my car? we race okie...you was one side...I wash the other....

So we went back...settled on the middle line...and began washing....he tore his sponge to two to speed things up...we went next to neck....I finished first,I won! then he pointed out that i missed a spot...so as I washed that spot...he declared himself the winner...but then...I inspected his side and he missed a tire...



That night he has forgiven his auntie....it's amazing how monkeys and a carwash can make him forgive her auntie when even dying and being reborn won't.....It's funny how effortless it takes to be happy sometimes....maybe we should all try to be happy....wait, maybe we shouldn't try at all....just be happy!!!!

this blog is part of a happy competition...to write a happy blogpost.... I kinda like the idea of the contest....and so here is my entry. There is a 5k prize at stake for the best post....so do join if you wanna chance to win the cash or need the cash. Or if you wanna help me win it...log on to the site...and vote for me.For entry details or to vote for me click on the happy smiley below. If I win it...I have already decided that since it's extra cash for me, I will use the money to make some homeless kids happy... because i get so happy making a kid happy.... regards to you all my new friends who's popping by for the first time from the happy contest... do pop a message if you are a newcomer here...

SICK FROGGIE

Sorry that froggie been away awhile...i have been like working like mad before chinese new year break...what's working like mad? well sleeping bout two three hours....work the entire day ...sleep two three hours...work work work...the perks? i can finish enough work that i can have an 18 day chinese new year break after...but the bad part? I was torturing myself more or less....finding myself yawning and tearing while pearing into a computer screen...but my body stayed strong and loyal...

i was packing like mad before I come home...and guess what...it's as if my body knows...it's home...it's time to fall sick so this crazy fellow will finally rest...if not i be overly excited and running about like crazy yumcha-ing with friends...and so my body crashed...

I have a fever...

a fever is a funny funny thing....when you get it...you just ache all over, good home cook food taste like crap and you feel both hot and cold at the same time....you feel like dying...but you are not actually dying...you're just miserable...as you sweat you are hot...and sticky but you cannot shower...paracetamol sort of hides the pain awhile and then you feel so alive....but then if you take it for granted you get sicker right after it wears off...sigh....

but it's good to have a fever...when you feel so bad...it means you can only feel great after or it lets you appreciate more the time you feel great...and it's good to test out your body's immune system...to perk it up...because a fever afterall is your body trying to fight off an infection and regulate itself once again...

so yeah...feeling half asleep all day and drowsy....going from the bed to the sofa...sleep more...shift to another chair...sleep somemore....recuprating...in kuching.

no worries...froggie won't die...at least he thinks he won't...or if he does..well at least it's at home :P

3 friends and Crazy kung Fu... :)

from top: Aaron, Marcus, Me -circa 1995-1996

"Linus..." the voice that greeted me on the phone one afternoon sounds distinctively familiar...."Marcus here"it added and with that I greeted in return with an enthusiastic hello.



12 years ago...Marcus,my brother Aaron and I met every afternoon for a single purpose. To practise our stunts with one another(in other words...to play).All three of us idolised Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jean Claude Van Damme, Jet Li in equal measure and had the same crazy idea...to become stuntmen or better still... action stars. We would learn how to tumble and flip and would try just about anything...an unexpected fall from a crazy stunt being a measure of coolness and a badge of honour of sort...

It can be said as fearless crazy times...we played, we bickered, we fell, we hurt one another, but in the process had great fun and became friends. Marcus had a little formal taekwondo training but we all just learnt our tricks by Bruce Lee's principle that all men having the same set of two arms and two legs were capable of the same physical abilities...and with that we copied our moves from a Jackie Chan film or any other action movie we could get hold of.

Here is a small video I prepared a long time ago on what our life was like...



Yup...and this is less than half of it...we also played in construction sites...climbing up half built building, lamp post and even piling machines....



Occasionally, me or my brother will get a sprain arising from these crazy stunts...and our dear mother will first repeat her usual nag...ah..play somemore...come on...play somemore....then we would require nerve massage treatment from a traditional chinese master..."He was hit by a racket playing Batminton" my mum will say as she was rather ashamed of our kicking and jumping..."He slipped playing Batminton"yet another white lie..."He got hit by a shuttlecock" my mum expertly creates more excuses. If the master didn't know better...he probably think Batminton is a really horrific aggressive game.

About three years later...we parted ways...Marcus went to Canada as his family was migrating there...while I went to study in Kuala Lumpur and Aaron was finishing highschool in good old Sarawak.

All of us when on to working in the film industry...though not as what we initially wanted to be...stuntmen...however...our few years as amateur stuntmen has played a role in getting us where we are...as we do not fear falling and always dared to take the leap...and truly...I savoured every fall as much as every joy.

I am not asking other kids to do what we do (don't kids...it's dangerous...your mum may see it and get a heartattack)...but I feel sad that most kids nowadays don't play outside anymore or don't even venture out of their comfort zones, go exploring with other friends...sometimes nowadays parents are too careful with their kids...sure, we had cuts, bruises, dislocated bones and were even running for our lives from dogs but we are still walking and most importantly smiling :p

It's been so many years...but as I fetched marcus from his hotel out for a chit chat...he looked pretty much the same..."buddy" he greeted me with a handshake....i didn't shout aloud but I was very subtly overjoyed, smilling and happy seeing a friend again after so many years. "...nice to see you again" he adds taking the words right out of my mouth....


Me, Marcus, Aaron - 4th January 2008

Today

Marcus Sim - 27 currently a wala-wala(background vocal sound effect)artist and coordinator. Though straying away from making his own films, he has been acting small roles in series like Dark Angel, yes the Jessica Alba show and is going into real estate.

Linus Chung - 28 does corporate videowork and small commercials for a living, while slowly sharpening and improving his filmmaking skills.Has just completed a feature film 'A Note of Love' under his own company.Acted in small roles for malaysian films SEPET and 1957.

Aaron Chung - 25 A director of photography who shoots various films, commercials, telemovies and music videos.Also acted in realiti and kopitiam.

Fast and Furious Taman Tun :P

In 2007,both me and my brother bought our first cars...true, they were not Benz or Ferraris but it was a start to better things...we need to invest more of our money to films anyway...and proton is not a bad car...you get what you pay for and it's not bad value if you consider 1 mercedes is prob 12-13 proton iswaras...

So when you are filmmakers and you have powerful lights at home and both just bought a car each with our own money and your parents are around....you happily close the road and take a silly fast n furious photo...

My mum was going nuts...she was saying to me...can we do this? can we just close a public road? Our neighbours didn't mind...it was well into the night anyway...and the police that roamed taman tun did drove by...making my mum say hurry...hurry boy....we told our mum...don't worry...we do this all the time...

Click...oh no...dad was posing like a playboy centre fold...elbow on car...hand on forehead...leaning at an angle other hand lying on his side...i dare not post it here for you might go blind...click again...not nice...mum,dad...this is fast and furious not a family photo,look pissed off...click again...our own little fast and furious photo! :P

2008!!! Hey I am not ready!!!!

As I write this, it's already the fourth day of 2008. It has already been more than a year since I've directed my last film 'a note of love' How time flies huh? I guess it won't be long before I look back at this posting and wonder whimsically...wow...that was so long ago....

I am not ready for 2008 and yet it came...what ever happened to December?? I was just telling myself that I should be reviewing my year as to understand myself better for the coming year...I said I should be making my resolutions as to better spend my coming year, to achieve more in what little time 365 days really is.But very often, that's how time is...it just disappear...ready or not here it comes and there it goes...as the old saying goes...time waits for no man.It's very very true.

Can I halt time and tell it to stop...hold for a moment for me to prepare myself. Was I ready when nature decided to plop me out of my mum into this world. Was I ready when I had to go to school at the age of five? All this is dictated by time...
are we ready?? It doesn't matter...time says we have to be...

All our lives is about making what we can out of it in the 80-100 years that most of us have...

So...while my resolutions are not ready...time dictates that I have them now...as it is already 2008...and so here they are...

I want to love more and hate less...
I want to create more and waste less...
I want to smile and be happy more...
I want to make the most of what little time I have.

Happy New Year My Friends...sorry time passed too fast and this is just 4 days late... :)

SHOCKINGLY 'HANDSOME' STEVEN LIM

Steven Lim representing Singapore was very honored to be voted most handsome guy by Malaysian top forum, lowyat.net in Nov 2005. Special thanks to them. He beated Taiwanese Jay Chou, Korean Bae Yong Jun, Hong Kong Edison Chen & Malaysian Idol Daniel Lee Chee Hun!!

Was blog hopping...
then came upon this revelation..this actually merit me posting two times in a day...
before reading this and visiting his site...please note I almost vomitted out my ramli burger...so please exercise caution...



I won't say anything...but is this guy for real????
Did he missed a screw in the human manufacturing line???
Was he dropped as a baby???


Is singapore having birth defects from drinking malaysian urine filled waste water???

Can someone really post himself as the most handsome man on earth??? Is he aware and marketing himself this way as a self depreciating way to earn money???

or is he really for real???

if he is...

OM!!! (G is ommitted because we should never use the name of the Lord in such a manner)

you can find steven lim here (click me)..

What do you guys think???

A Birthday for Mum

*my mum is the one in the pink and white striped shirt standing in front of my dad who stands just beneath me...please click on photo to enlarge*

I had a small Christmas and New Year gathering on the 28th of December 2007. It was also a surprise birthday party for my mum.It was populated by a few friends,most of the note of love cast and of course mum and dad who were visiting me from sarawak.

It was to a mum who loves me so much...who gave me birthdays when i was young....who went to school during break time and waited by the school gate gate to pass me a lunch box that i have forgotten...who smiled when I achieved any small success...who teared when she had to fight me when my whims as a child I wanted things that may not be good for me...it was also for a mum who bought me the toys i wanted...

My mum and I have our fair share of disagreements...but which child had never quarreled with a parent? In everything I know she just wanted the best for me, her son...even though sometimes generation gap meant

I didn't know how I could thank her...so I thought I gave her a small party...as the cake came out...and a confetti cannon shot....she nearly teared...in joy. so did I.

My mum was esthatic and said give her time to make a wish..."close to retirement meant even my wishing is slow"...she tried to joke...

I m glad you are happy mum...Happy Birthday.

To you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Thanks to evelyn who helped with the food marination,eleanor with shopping,dennis with the fire and everyone who came and added merriment....

Benazir Bhutto. Let us pray

"Benazir Bhutto assasinated...so What??"
That's what I would have said as an arrogant ignorant teen...

I am often not a political person but of late I have been following CNN on the trials and tribulation of Pakistan and the upcoming election and understand a little bit better about how much we all fight and how much peace is a blessing...



I have never had to fight for peace...and hence I never treasured the peace that I have...I have never prayed for peace on my own accord truthfully with the voice of my little heart...but rather made the prayer as it was asked by my priest in church...Most times, I pray selfishly for only myself, family, close friends...most times I prayed for my troubles which is nothing more than a fickle arguement with a girlfriend or money that i need to buy a new cool gimmick...maybe it's time I treasured peace and should pray for it...maybe it's time for me to stop taking peace for granted...and do that little bit to help...

Benazir Bhutto was fiercely fighting for democracy and peace for her homeland Pakistan.



Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was asked to be with the Lord.

Does the Lord care for peace...does he care for us? Maybe he doesn't care because we don't even care...other than for our selfish self...so am I selfish myself?

To you all, yes...I am selfish and I am sorry...


Have I ever treasure our peace in Malaysia, Have I ever found myself having or willing to die for a better world for? Have I ever prayed when we needed nothing from God but when something for a fellow man. Sometimes...well very seldom...no

It's time to pray for peace.Pray for our fellow sister Benazir Bhutto.Please offer a moment of silence and a prayer for her, her country and all mankind... God is listening and he's waiting for us to ask.Peace to you my brothers...my friends

Emmanuel

credits for all photos REUTERS sourced from yahoo news.

Merry Christmas Everyone....Remember...Emmanuel! :)

do light a candle for yourself...god loves you

I wanted to write this blog mocking how the church swells up everytime christmas comes along.How the roads leading to churches gets jammed up and how once a year christians suddenly show up in amazing number for church.I also want to write about how it's an irony that as I turn on my radio on christmas eve, I don't get a traditional christmas carol but rather a rap song with a few words of christmas and a few words of baby. I wanted to write about how a large number people are aiming to celebrate christmas by getting drunk and showered by champange rather than to be anyway close to the church.but i won't because I feel that writing all that will be very pretentious for someone who is too in many ways a sinner. But I do also feel really happy and I rather share that than negate in this yultite season of goodwill.

Christmas is a christian celebration of God keeping his promise to send us salvation.It's is this day that God is made man. However, to most of us sadly it's now christmas tree and santa, or if you're older...it time to skip from party to party.I am not against celebration, if fact I want to tell you about how we forgot about the celebration...celebrating christmas...celebrating the birth of the son of God.

I was all alone on christmas eve. Originally I wanted to follow my family who's making a trip down Singapore but I ended up deciding to stay back to clear my workload instead. But it's okay, I am strangely very happy. Aside from talking to my long distance girlfriend on skype, I hardly feel alone.I am singing songs more jubilantly than before and at 10pm, I made my way to st.francis xavier church for midnite service.

There is a pre-mass session where everyone was singing together. From Gloria to It came upon a midnite clear. The crowd's joined voices that resounded in a united choral already moved me to tears. Of happiness. Honestly, not to be corny...I was trying to tell myself...to stop myself...why am I crying...am I over dramatising the situation for myself? Feeling holiness by evoking it within with grand ideas of how we're in church? Well, I am not...I don't have to.Merely being in the presence of a big group of people who have come togethr to celebrate the coming of christ alone is a feeling that is undescribable. I felt so happy...and I think I am not the only one.
Turning around, I see other people also happy to the brink of tears.

It's christmas...I have a mum and a dad who's healthy, a beautiful girlfriend zhiling whom I love alot, friends who care, a job that I enjoy so much, enough to eat and be happy...God, thank you for your gifts to me...how good you have been to me...a sinner like me...thank you Lord...

That's all I want to say...

God love you too...Emmanuel. It means 'God with Us'. Merry Christmas Everyone. May God's Blessing be Upon You All.

Ingenious Japanese Human Tetris

a friend of mine...had this on his blog and i had a great big laugh from it...so i decided to put it here for you readers...click play....you'll enjoy it! :P

Linus

Forggie Tooth Exploded

The above is an x-ray of my teeth. Notice...one healthy teeth and another one that's not quite there? Well, it exploded...

I am so sorry for not having kept my promise yet again to update my blog regularly....I am sorry for my friends who come here for an update on myself as well as random blog readers...it is my new year resolution to write at least ten blogs a month from January onwards....just been so flushed with life....life...not work.

Life has been throwing alot of things my way...some awesome...some bad but nonetheless every bit a simple taste of what is living...what is being...I'll share a good one next but this particular post I'd like to share something more pressing and urgent first....

TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH!!!

so so so do take care of your teeth!!!!!!

I recently had one of my tooth explode on me...what happen was...my teeth has never been my strong point...people have problems with pimples, with back problems...my problem has always been my teeth.why? well...when I was young the school dental nurse was a trainee...an didn't really know what to do...so she just drilled and filled up my teeth for fun...okay maybe not for fun but because she was not experienced...she drilled into every little cavity and damaged my teeth. The reason why i know this is I had a regular dentist...he checked my teeth and indicated it was all okay but then suddenly he was surprised to find many fillings....so yeah, from then on...I always had a problem with my teeth...when a filling dropped out...I will begin to feel pain...and had to visit the dentist...it didn't help that i rather be hit by a car than visit a dentist.I so fear the dental drill...sitting in a dental chair...helpless with this drill like a jackhammer whacking away like there's a construction site in your mouth...

Recently, one of my tooth gave way...the fillings became too deep as every time a filling dropped out and I went to get a new one the dentist will have to drill slightly deeper to clean it out. This teeth, my back molar had a particularly deep filling.So the walls of the tooth gave way and the teeth in short exploded.Imagine a teeth as being a four wall box, well what's left of mine is two of the four walls...yes, in place of a molar, I had two sharp protrusion...if you are cringing don't...funnily i didn't feel any pain despite my tooth internal nerves was being exposed (according to dentist).

So with much trepidation and fear...I went to the dentist.

Dental chair lowers...bright dentist light....dentist looks at my teeth...he takes an x-ray. I have two choices...

one...extract whatever is left of the teeth.
two...do a root canal, save the root and put a crown on top

as a dentist, he will undoubtedly say save the teeth as it is my large molar and extracting it will mean i have a huge gap where food can get stuck.Also a gap there will mean my top pairing molar will have no support.So okay...I decided to save my teeth.Now what's a root canal?

Well...a root canal is the process of drilling deep into the tooth...remove all the nerves and living tissue then filling it up.In this case whatever left of the teeth is there but dead and dental cement is used to rebuilt the walls that broke off.
Now...what's the problem of just concealing the nerves like a regular filling and not killing the teeth you may ask.Well because of the severity of my cavity at the moment...if the internal tissue is not removed, dirt could slip in through my filling causing the internal tissue to get an infection which could lead to greater oral problem, lots of pain and possibly even a swollen jaw.Problems with a root canal? It's pricey and it's a long process...three session over three weeks almost 4 hours in total....




So I made up my mind and today I went for a root canal. Remember...the dentist is essentially using a drill and various sharp object to drill into my teeth and remove my nerve.I asked the dentist....must i be awake? Can I be put asleep? The dentist says...well anesthesia is expensive so what they give is an injection of local anesthesia to numb my gums....and so he pulls out an injection...I tremble in fear...

The following is a second x-ray of my tooth...do see that there is two long drill bits like needles poked deep down into it where my veins are suppose to be...next to it...do observe what a healthy teeth look like...



friends...fellow blog readers...DO TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH if you dun want these grievances....

to the dentist's credit..he did it well and frankly I'd reccomend him as a dentist.ask me personally if you need his number. He was reccomended to me by two friends.

Froggie at Recharge Global Gathering

by day after everything is set up, it still doesn't look like much but a big stage

Videographer
Aside from making films, doing corporate videowork and commercials...I work as an event videographer too at times. It was here I started...and well...I still do it for certain projects and it relieves me of the stresses of a filmshoot as it is a different stress...sometimes it's fun and I do get to meet alot of people(I met pixie,my girlfriend, click on Port Dickson and check out August 28th blog)...one yearly event which I have regularly served for years now as a videographer is RECHARGE REVELATION...I was there in Genting then Port Dickson then A FAMOSA resort.It still amazes me after all this time how an empty space is transformed into a huge rave party...



Mud...mud...mud...
Working against the organisers, gallons of rain has been falling and the field as a result was a really really muddy mess. I was having trouble negotiating the field as I was inspecting the grounds early in the day to better do my work.However, the organisers were still set on giving a great party and went on trying to fix things by filling the area with truckloads of sand and boards were used to create bridges across puddles.




By mid afternoon at 3pm...all sorts of revelers began to come in...The event slowly began to fill up manically. While the rest of my event videographers wore freshly acquired boots...I personally prefered my shoes still and jumped right in the mud with it,hey it's washable...and people pay for mud therapy don't they? the initially mud shy path following revellers also didn't quite care after the mud anymore and soon jumped right into it...some even told me...they knew it will be muddy as the one in the UK was too...but who cares...the mud is an extra feature to party!!!! and so...they essentially 'plowed' the field...membajak revelation style...the party was on...

was a little shy to jump in and just play....cause nobody yet was there...and I was working...but really wanted to....later in the night...the foam reached head level :P

Bigger than Ever

...the event this year is bigger than ever...
6 stages or arenas playing a mix of music from local acts to international DJs with three of them being huge main stages including an airconditioned indoor stage, a foam stage where a machine sphew up lots of foam into the dance floor,a retro charged skating ring where event songs like 1,2,3 from sesame street played while roller skates were available...and a freedom stage where bikers and skateboarders played around a live band...and there's also a chill out area where cold gas get spurted on you at a button...this year, there's also an anti gravity touch to the event in the form of the swing bungee and the G-MAX.The G-Max is like a bungee jump in reverse...the shoot you up instead of letting you fall while the swing bungee makes you superman pendulum style...


do note this is just a quickly put together series of video for this blog

I am not a weekly party goer...I am not a party goer period but the size and scope of revelation always surprise me...and it's quite something to see planners, technicians, sound engineers,video people, DJs and the crowd just coming together and maxing out senses loudly... I dare say it's something that you must experience to know...it's really physcedellic environment where everything is maxed out...everyone were screaming and partying to the music, head bangers, literally dirty dancing ...it was one of my videographer's first time at such an event and he said...next year, if he's not working he'll also come...and party...well no amount of writing, photos or videos can describe the atmosphere....next year live it for yourself...

after a screaming time membajak...the cows go home...dirty but throughly happy :P

Damn the Pandas and Stupid Malaysian Environmental Protection

Just the other day when my dad was visiting K.L., I decided to bring him to Gasing Hills for a run. A gazetted nature reserve and an important green lung of Kuala Lumpur, I frequent it quite often for a dose of intense oxygen therapy (otherwise huffing and puffing), good old sweat and just to relax my mind abit seeing greens instead of concrete all the time...much to my horror...the session was not one of immense relaxation or tranquility but of absolute horror! There was concrete in the middle of a nature reserve that plucking a leaf reputedly can land you in trouble with the law??? What's this?

The local park council has never failed to induce a slew of expletives from me ...if they go on a clearing campaign...say on the side of a stream, they clear everything in their path...whether good or bad...sometimes when a stream has a healthy just slightly overgrown of wild plants...trust them to come along and clear everything to a point of sterility...killing what could be a nestbed of little insects that keep the ecology in good balance and also being a good waste treatment plant...cleaning the water that pass by the roots. Yes, it's a wild fantasy of mine that every city council worker be an educated ecologist and love the environment to boot but come on...must they really be that stupid???

Anyway...as I was running in gasing....I found it weird...the normally mere soil path was boarded as if to construct something.Then I saw it...the horrors of horrors...they were building retention walls across the stream that flowed along the walking trail in gasing....how STUPID is that? Once...the banks where we walk would drop gently into the stream and between the path and the stream there'll be a rich mix of foliage and left litter that houses all sort of animals....now what you get is an ugly grey limestone cement retention wall...with no plants and the stream that once was a wonder with little pebbles and tadpoles become like any other longkang...sterile...robbed of life....I am so angry!!!! Why did they do it? Was it because there was uncontrolable soil erosion that could cost a jogger his life? I heard of building retention walls to avoid landslides but this is ridiculous....
See for yourself....in the pictures....

sadly....Gasing has become a rather unappealing place now...

Damn you stupid panda company...WWF....World Wildlife Fund for Nature...damn you...being 'supposed' custodians of the environment and having your badge at the entrance of the trail, shouldn't you be there to ensure that this doesn't happen?
Or are you too busy and understaff cause all your damn staff are opening little booths at shopping malls to collect money for administration expenses....

To cap it off...there was a pathetic sign...save nature...blah blah blah...empty rhetorics....

To any of you who feel as strongly....add to my comments and if I am not alone in this I will foward this blog and the comments to the bloody authorities...and of course...the stupid panda...if any of you support the stupid panda...feel free to counter me...