what a name

I like the name Darling - after watching Dirty Sexy Money.

Jeremy Darling, Karen Darling, Tish Darling, Patrick Darling, Patrick Darilng Jr, Julia Darling & Brian Darling.

Can't wait to be darling-enised...

Earth Hour

Link here.

So at 8pm March 29 2008 (Friday), the world turns off light for one hour.

Arrange your candle-light party, appreciate and more importantly, reflect how can you go green.

Make the switch - realise how often you do not switch off the power at the wall; realise how often you do not switch off unused light; realise how you can change your grocery purchase to be greener; realise how you can influence the people around you.

Think about the way we operate these days - everything is about wealth, which is the purpose of life for many many people, including myself. The way we create wealth is by torturing the earth and hence endangering the survival of innocent lives.

Life is meaningless if we don't have a future to look forward to; worse if we have a worsening future to look forward to. So start doing your part today.

Temasek Polytechnic

Umbrella - Rihanna (lip dub in High Definition) from TP CMM on Vimeo.

A bunch of (dancing & prancing) queen belt it out, lip-synching to the ella song. Initially I thought this clip was filmed by Malaysian, judging from the name of Temasek and the looks of those Chinese & Malay. Somehow I doubted that any Polytechnic in MY would have such high-tech studio and OUT students. It's actually in Singapore.

My fav part of the clip is the new caster and something that wants to come out from the TV (a bit of The Ring and The Grudge).

oh god - oops i did it again

The Vatican has added 7 new modern social sins - what pressures people must be living under these days... with 7 more sins - I'm sure that'll turn into higher ratings for Sunday masses and client T/O for confession staff.

Environmental pollution - this is, strangely, one thing the Church and I agree on. I have become more environmentally aware these days, after living in harsh harsh Australia. Back home in Malaysia, there's usually no worries on water supply. However, here in Aus, dry is the only word you can use to describe. The small things like turning off switches that aren't in use and recycling water are what I do most these days. If there's one thing I can add in the bible it would be "you have no rights to drill the earth, to chop a tree, to suck out crude oil etc". These are all god's creation according to them - but why are we destroying all of them? I would think this is more deserving for a place in hell than homosexuality. Men having sex with men or women having sex with women doesn't destroy anything except it might tempt some fathers into joining them.

 

Genetic manipulation - I'm not sure how the Vatican looks at GM food. Honestly, producing the next generations, be it animals (I'd like to think of human as mutated animals) or plants or micro-organisms, is a kind of manipulation of genetic don't you think? Genes combine and split and form new genes. If I'm not mistaken the Church takes a disapproving approach on cloning. I'm, in fact, not against IVF babies or genetic manipulation. I just think that if the Church thinks babies are god's gifts, they should by all means advocate the banning of IVF babies. Childless couples around the world spending big bucks (go doctors!) on creating a child. So they try and try and try with petri dishes and needles and swimmers and eggs - you're creating a life and are not given a life! Albeit they will argue that because you try hard enough, god finally gifts you with a god-send. You say po-ta-to I say po-tay-to. The greatest sin should be bigotory and the 8th sin should have been deceptiveness or undisclosing the means for truths and truths themselves.

 

Accumulating excessive wealth - human greed, can I say anymore? I must be one step closer to the Pope because we just found another common ground! Yes it's free will and human rights (Is it just because we are human, we have the rights to drill the earth a million miles into the core for petroleum?) - but lately I'd like to attribute much of the environmental pollution to those in high-tax brackets. How could I not? I love Madonna and Oprah. But the way they live their lives - flying charter/private planes all over the world and living luxurious lives that demands for imported purified water from Israel for Madonna or having stainless steel rims on china for Oprah. And they preach about saving Africa. When Africa is brought up to catching up with the world, what have they got left? More than 500 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere (contributed by the lighting in M&O's mansions), no ice poles left, prolonged drought and erratic weather. By teaching the orphans in Africa the way of so-called modern life and the means of accumulating wealth for themselves - can't anyone see that we're going in a no-return direction? Another comrades of theirs, Bono from U2 - How much pollution do you think all his sunglasses have caused?

 

Everything we have is taken from the earth without having to pay 1 cheapest-currency-on-the-earth-cent. We all pay each other to see how much we're worth. You think you pay $1.50 for a litre of petroleum? No, you pay $1.50 for the oil diggers, office staff of the drilling company, delivery drivers - all of those are human. We're ripping off the earth for ourselves. There's no opportunity cost whatsoever but how far one is willing to accumulate excessive wealth. The wealthiest person on earth is the greediest person of all and the one indebted to god the most. Virgin Airlines has this green ticket going on where you can offset greenhouse gas emission. But what does that translate to? More zeros in Richard Branson's Swiss bank account.

 

Inflicting poverty - I haven't got much to say about this one. The greatest inevitable consequence our thinking ability has brought us - capitalism. Poor means less capital and rich means more capital. I don't agree with the Pope in saying that inflicting poverty is a sin. If anything, poverty should be the most natural way, and hence shouldn't be eradicated, of wiping out a part of population on earth. Helping Africa? If I believed in god, if god loved the people in Africa, would s/he have put so much sand and harsh weather in that area? But human is wired in the way that we'd feel sorry for people who are worse off than we are. Do you think it could be because of guilt and sorry that you want to help people? I mean, it is quite predictable when one's sinned much by abusing the properties of the earth and now tries to de-sin through "charity".

 

Drug trafficking and consumption - oh well - human free will and human rights. What can you say? If people want to use drugs and be ignorant about their effects, can you really stop them?

 

Morally debatable experiments - if we say that cloning is morally debatable, why is organ transplant not? Church should at least ban plastic surgery. If god loves you so much, you shouldn't up your bust, tuck the tummy or do a gastro by-pass. How dare we deny what is natural to us? How dare we change what is given to us by god? If god wants us to die by giving us some diseases, who are we to defy that by spending so much for a cure?

 

Violation of fundamental rights of human nature - if anything, god teaches us to discriminate and use differences as a weapon to attack others. I don't really understand what I am saying here and more certainly I don't get "violation of fundamental rights of human nature". If human nature is the natural behaviour of homo sapiens, why is there fundamental or non-fundamental? If a part of our gene is wired in such a way that we would kill other living beings, should we or should we not go to jail/hell? That's why I said, the greatest sin is bigotry. And hell, I think that's part of our natural selves too!

50 most powerful blogs in the world

Link here.

I only read PerezHilton, who's at number 6. You go bitch!

Tel Aviv - checked!

Tel Aviv is a place that I had never been to. Until last night or this morning.

So I was on, apparently, The Fantasy-Amazing Race with my good friends Sherly, PKH & LSS. We were using a map to get around Tel Aviv in a SUV. Once we found where we were supposed to get to, we just got out of the car and ran! When we finished our task, there were 2 policemen standing next to our SUV as it was illegally parked. But then we all tried to be nice and innocent and they let us go!

We got back into the car and followed the map to get out of Tel Aviv. When we were on a very large highway, I realised that we were actually flying on a carpet! I was the pilot! We then moved on flying above a gigantic bridge-like structure and the view was just breathtaking. If this isn't strange enough, there's actually a portrait of some bearded man on the mountain. Next we stopped on top of the bridge and checked into a hotel...

Bizarre.... I know.... So I now have been to Tel Aviv, or so I think in my dreams.

Nice?

hey Gorgeous....

Whaling

Lately this video has been released to the public. It's made quite a stir. The Japanese was polled and it was revealed that 2/3 of the country supported whaling and more than half of them wouldn't mind seeing whale meat on the menu.

I'm not sure if this video shows the one that I have seen on TV, where, very clearly, it was a large and a smaller whale. It was said that they were mother and calf. This brings tears to my eyes. I feel very sad for the whales. Looking at the gushing blood and weakening flapping, I hope that releases toxin into the meat and poison the eaters!

It seems that while we say that we are to be open-minded, when others criticise national practice or religious activities, they are faced with walls as thick as the Great Wall. Like my Mom always says, when people are telling you something that you might wanna review, it means that you're probably doing something that needs changed.

I remember in either 2004 or 2005, I vowed not to have shark fin ever. So far, I have kept my words. It was because of an advertisement I saw on TV that called for protecting these animals. Since then, at every Chinese wedding dinner or social function, I say no to shark fin, whether the fins are genuine or fake.

There's so much other food that we can eat. Monkey brain, foetus (yes, some fanatical Chinese believe that they are good for skin), shark fin, whales, snakes, pangolin, tortoises, dolphins etc... Mom said that people in the past might not have access to food as we do now. And as we do have access to other food now, I hope people can leave those poor animals alone.

So did you have shark fin this Chinese New Year?

CNY 2oo8

First time ever that I'm not celebrating Chinese New Year at home with my family. It's started to get to me.

TT said that he missed me. Mom said that too. I'm missing them too. The reunion dinna is gonna be so different this year. I'm sure Mom will get emotional tomorrow night. Even if we could do a video conference it wouldn't feel the same. The big house is gonna be so lonely and quiet without my yelling and ordering people around.

I was trying to sound cold and controlled when I was on the phone with her just now. Instead she was the one that encouraged me to keep my hopes up and continue looking for a job. And we could all be together again soon, she said. I sensed that she was aching too at the other end of the phone.

And to all my hometown friends - for all those years that I said I wouldn't be the organiser for all our gatherings - it will finally come true this year. However I'm sure someone will carry on the tradition. BHC, CPM, CSS, LHW, LGN, LSS, PKH & WEP and others - you're on your own this year suckers!

that's what I'm talking 'bout! Must watch these!

 

They should get her down under for the Comedy Festival!!