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Another Classic Philip Tan showed my class...dat stupid idiot!

Final Rant before Canberra

am essentially finished at Newcastle for the year...except for that Eastern Tiger dinner James, Lake, Tim and myself swore to go for on the 10th when i get back...but done...essentially

10 days in Canberra? why? 5 days at a conference where we learn interestin stuff n meet new frens...den 5 days at a church called Naremburn-Cammeray in North Sydney, doin some Children's ministry and helping out with Christmas decorations and evangelising at the local train station(i'm beginnin to fear that one oredi as i write this; just imagine the mud thats gonna fly in our direction)...i could do this for a long time with frens n pple i care about n hav come to treasure..yes, even Harvey..dis is not the kind of Christian ministry i was raised with...dats realli brutal

talk to Shian if u dun believe mi..anyways, this magical 10 days no. kinda reminds mi(there i go again) of Wallaby 04...i remember...not bathing or changing for 10 days..i remember...the REAL Australian bush....i remember...Shoalwater Bay Training Area n Sabina Point where Damien hollan-ded to (not mi...him)...i remember the blood sucking ticks(complete B*st*rds those)...i remember...sleeping under the dusty sky, looking at the stars like Orion the Hunter..i remember..the guys i worked with, the men i'm honoured to have serve under and the boys who i'm privileged to have led (simply the best)...i remember..the loneliness but also the intense peace...(n i'll let u in on my little secret, after those nites, i realised that i could be alone n unloved in life...n whenever i return to that place in my heart n mind...God gives mi the strength to carry on again)

i've been having disturbing dreams for some time...there are times i find myself again surrounded by strange n unfriendly ,even evil creatures that would harm mi...but den...the moon shines thru or somethin...n i find myself changin into somethin else...a wolf or some beast from my deepest, darkest subconsious...a drum beats in my breast..even now i can almost hear it...steady and distant, den louder n louder..closer...more violent..can u hear it as well?..thump thump thump...n i noe one thing...the hunt is afoot...little demons? the creature enjoys crushin the skulls of such animals between its strong , powerful jaws and with those hard, slightly blunt fangs...even demons are prey for certain creatures who in their wakin hours disguise themselves as innocent victims..camouflage!...dis is disturbin indeed..wat dreams are these that full of strive and violence so grip me??

see u guys in Canberra or Singapore...n friends who are not dat small ;) it'll b good to see u back home...very soon

See everyone soon

to my frens whom i will b missin and who r leavin Australia for the last time this year, thanks for all the memories and the wonderful times we've shared..thanks for ur friendship and the care and concern u've shown me..i'll be rememberin u guys..n i will see some of u soon...

n to those of my frens goin home soon...i'll catch ya back home..juz dun play until forget ur aussie frens..farewells are such dreary events sometimes...still..its always good to take n say ur goodbyes whenever u can cos u never noe when u'll hav e opp to meet again..

But i'd much rather say my hullos to frens whom i'll b meetin again after a long time....den say bye-byes to friends i'm not going to see..so, to u guys back home, those who mean somethin to mi, the NWO, Kian n Richard n the armour bros..the SFMS gang, Yve, Leonard, YQ, Zishuang, Serene...the SAS bros, Shian, Dan, the Alvinses...the Scouties, Shamir, VR, Gab, Tsang n the ladies...we're gonna b meetin soon..i'm thankful n expectant..realli

N Labour hav won the elections in Australia...Excellent! New Leadership n change...always a good sign...i wonder wat it says for my own country?

Anti Business?

here's that famous (or infamous) Labour anti-businees unions dominated political video authorized by the Liberal Party in Canberra for the Australian government (as background information, the Liberals and Nationals form the current Coalition government in Australia and the Australian Labour Party or ALP is the opposition)

on the even of the Australian Federal elections it appears that Kevin Rudd, leader of the ALP seems to have lost some ground to John Howard and the Coalition..this of course, is expected before any major election where previousli unsure voters n voters who've previousli decided for Labour suddenli get cold feet and decide to stick with the incumbent government rather than change...thats human nature...inertia and better the devil you know than the devil you don't..

n there is room for concern when one hears the stuff goin aroun about Labour being Union dominated or even controlled and Kevin Rudd being the mere puppet head and poster boy of an anti-business party..dat would mean a reversal of 11 years of growth and progress for the Australians..

do you believe that? i'm not Australian n an outsider, but frankly i think this whole thing reeks of last minute desperation to halt Labour's lead in the polls...as well as trying to use the communist/union/strike bogeyman to scare pple..its looks to mi like bullying tactics..

well, good luck n hav fun tomorrow at the polls my Australian friends and both parties...but u noe which team i prefer..

Written by Jonathan Chua for the Elections 07, Canberra

i may be an international student, but if there's one party i could vote for this Saturday in Australia,u noe clearly who i'd vote for...i'd like to see more dog-eat-dog political campaignin of the type seen over here in Australia back home in Singapore...put the leaders under a grill n turn up the pressure n heat to find out if they are truly worthy...politicians shd not get it so easy if they want my vote...nuff said..

everyday from today onwards i'll giv my 2 cents worth bout the upcomin elections over here n post an interestin campaign vid for both sides though u noe who i'd go for n who i'd feed to the dogs..

My Guys

this is gonna b an emo post...sorry if u're cringin oredi..

when i first came to Australia i prayed for a great group of Christian n other frens to mix aroun with n get to know.. end last year i prayed that even more...

n this year i really met the best group of frens a guy could wish for..not that my other frens i met last year arent good..in fact gettin to noe u better this year has been better than last year...i thank God for u korean guys like Josh, Lake and James..

there are actualli pple in newcastle whom i can relate to so well..guys who realli noe how tuff it is to b a guy...N yess, women n ladies, it IS difficult many times..we cry as well...we hurt as well...we have feelings as well..we are fully human as well..so next time you think about gossipin bout us...think again...words do break our hearts n souls even if not our bones..

Lake, u're one heck of a mature n considerate guy who's sincere n kind...even Darius agrees..n u're the onli one in newcastle whom i can hav a beer with n realli talk bout the issues that mean something to us..am gonna miss u when u head back this december..I wish i'd gotten to noe u earlier n better..n seriousli, this is nasty Jonathan sayin...if any b*tch is gonna reject u..she's just dat...a B*tch who isnt worth it..so tell her in a nice, gentle,forgivin n long-sufferin Christian spirit to piss off n go to hell..

James, you're my man...the glue in the group of guys n the one who's the most sociable, outgoin n fun..wat would we do without u? so much less thats for sure.. you're the guy that helps us laugh at ourselves...more than Paul i'm sad to say(orhhhhhhhhhh) n the one who alwaez puts a serious situation into a funny context that realli throws new light on stuff..wif that heart of gold of urs i understand why ur galfren in Japan loves u so much...hear that gals....its the HEART, not the damn looks or the cheesy lines...

Josh, you're doin well man..its hard sometimes to leave the pple u care about n come to Australia n now, leav the pple u've grown to care n LOVE...n go back home..we'll alwaez remain in ur heart(i hope) as you'll alwaez remain in ours...thanks for the games at Focus camp n the great sportsmanship you've shown n the fun-lovin devil-may-care attitude that we need so much n admire so much..where the heart is concerned, take the memories n leav the pain...why am i so cryptic? i dunno...as i learned from the great American dudes like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman..lets not get too caught up in the details of life n forget the eternity that we are part of..

finally, its not the end of our friendship..or rather Ends are just Beginnings.."Ever inventive nature produces one new form from another. Nothing in the universe ever perishes, believe me, but things vary, and adopt a new form"-Ovid, Metamorphoses

As Found

Peter Reyner Banham, quite a notorious architectural writer, historian and critic, was the author of the 1982 book Scenes in American Deserta, an anthology of images of the American desert with his own running commentary..this was probably a culmination of his life-long taste for rough, as-found textures and materials...which could sometimes be brutal..

I'm much influenced by that ethic or aesthetic(depending on ya point of view)...look at that maintenance shed behind the Newcastle University Fine Arts Studios..storm damage (the same as that which beached the Pasha Bolga on Newcastle Beach) caused that...one can say that ruins look awesome and fantastic if captured well (i, of course, have failed terribly)...its a record of the events in life and that reality is often not manicured and perfect...having said that, they look no less beautiful than perfectly manicured French gardens..

Are the pictures brutal? yes they are..is the condition of the building brutal? of course..but is it attractive and eye-catching? why, yes one admits...is it really because they're ugly or because there is something strangely human about seeing a broken building and goin, "siao liao! simi lan ch***?"

As-found...thats wats lacking in most modern design today...as-found materials, qualities and textures add a human dimension to spaces and places..you touch the rough, coarse texture of a coconut husk and you know that is something intensely human and immensely satisfying..enough of that minimalist Zen sterile laboratory rat living...give us sensuous, warm, rough and hairy spaces! If decoration can help acheive that or amplify that as-found aesthetic, so much the better..

a word about the pictures..i dun think our university is going to get that damage repaired anytime soon..it is, afterall...a case of having to fork out money rather than receive money so understandably...the delay...but i think they stand as good reminders of storms and not always needing to be perfect...and that buildings are immensely strong, such that they'll still being used and i dun think anyone seriousli entertains the thought that the roof is goin to collapse anytime soon..it looks worse than it actualli is..never judge a book by its cover...or rather judge a book by its cover onli if u can understand the idea that went into the design..

ThAt BlackListEd Mastercard Ad

I was recommended to see this when i was a wee 17 years old by a fren of mine...its a bit crude n ReaLLy banned in Singapore but its so funny...both then as much as now..

Guys, do u remember those cool or crappy (depends on yer viewpoint) Citibank or Mastercard ads that used to get played on tv promoting the good life if u used their cards/banks/products? Some things are priceless.. for everything else there's Mastercard..

Car Design

Architects are designers. We love good design and it always thrills us to see design thats good or interesting. Some of my influences include car design. That image above is the Toyota Prius 08 model.

whats so great u ask? its not fast, not visually stunning or sexy, no image of power or even purpose besides looking like an oversized family car...

this raises a few questions..why do car designers design so conservatively nowadays when the technology inside is new and has so much potential? why do we view certain designs like a Mitsubishi Evo VIII or IX like they are so great when all they do is waste petrol and u can't really race them in Singapore? If its because of the 'babe attractin power' den yes i agree..but is that wat the car was designed for? to help upper middle class ah bengs get a chio ah lian galfren to screw with after prata at jalan kayu?

u noe why i like the Prius? because its something Original..its in the Spirit of motoring which is risk and adventure...look beyond the styling...its wats inside..n i sincerely hope that soon, the technology will be so advanced that it can be placed in the kind of GTR bodywork that makes everyone, from a wannabe ah beng to the pretty office lady to the uncle in the street envy it and respect it...

a word about the technology...hybrid cars are inefficient in startin up from rest, cos they use a cold-start electric motor and battery rather than an idling engine..and the system to control the balance of battery power /electric motor versus internal combustion engine is quite complicated and not that reliable yet..but if they used more stuff like flywheels to store energy and improved computer control...hmmm..i wonder where it might go..

finally, the spirit of experimentation is just not found that much in the car market these days...its very stagnant...we need to experiment or else we die...from a design point of view, we need to try new stuff that pushes the technology out further and looks for new corridors to explore..dat is the spirit of motoring and wat the Prius has....now we can do something about the styling...

Cut the Crap n give us Jesus La

As u can see above, i'm puttin on something by The Chasers War on Everything-a fabulous Australian Prime time show that criticises and has a laugh at everything...n in the spirit of taking ourselves lightly, i say we Christians should have a look(if u havent oredi)

My God! look at that self-pious hypocrisy and self-righteous holier-than-thou nonsense man...why can't ministers stick to preaching the gospel and God's Word or else say it as it is: I love money and the world and fame..and you're gonna give it to me...dun mix the two..its disgusting..

and yes, Shaun i'm inspired by your Batman Superhero Hillsongs music video on your blog really..lets just say what we all think but dun dare say for fear of offending our brothers: Stop using Christian faith and the church as a source of personal wealth and gain...and ask ourselves the question: Did Jesus die for this? Really? What kind of a Saviour do you really believe in?Do we have a form of godliness but deny its power? Is our God our belly?

Come on...lets call a spade a spade..

Kevin07-Chinese Propaganda Video

All Hail the Power of an Independent and Skeptical Media

Elections 07 or Kevin and Howard

The Youtube video of the year for Australia would probably have to go to the Howard Government's response to the Rudd 07 Labour campaign..Stock images of the Chinese communist party's Great Leap Forward were shown with Mao's photo erased (via photoshop) and replaced by Kevin Rudd's portrait...and instead of peasant girls and worker boys you had white, blonde Australian nurses and miners holding up a little red book..whatever that's supposed to contain u can be sure its an effigy of Kevin Rudd's thoughts..and in the background one hears a Chinese commentary which sounds like its been lifted from some war propaganda film from the 70s...

to a liberal social democrat like me(read Labour leaning) i'd say its just hogwash by the Conservatives trying to play up Labour's left leaning stance towards industrial relations and healthcare reform..of course, as a Singaporean, i find it discomforting and confrontational...just imagine castigating any of our leaders as spoilt, upper middle class public school tory bullies on Youtube and see what you'll get from the likes of the ISD..but i like it..

there are so many times i wish that Christians in SIngapore could laugh at ourselves a little bit more and drop that holier-than-thou approach to God, life, the gospel and teaching. I mean...its flippin hypocritical that we can be so god-damned concerned about the honour of our church and our own christian reputation without giving a hoot about the honour of God or our fellow Christians...i mean, i knew people growing up who loved to talk about not doing Bible-study in Macdonalds because it was the wrong place and yet when it came to their own christian lives, they couldnt even marry a christian..what a load of baloney..

or for instance, the Christian friend in school who was always so concerned about what you said that he once remarked, it may be the truth, but if its not helpful, don't say it....well my friend, you're mistaken if you think the truth is pretty...its not... the truth is a man bleeding to death on a cross, naked in front of the world and calling people to believe in what-the-world-would-call-a-loser-like-that..thats truth..its brutal...

i got off the topic of taking ourselves lightly...Angels fly because they take themselves lightly...thats what GK Chesterton said..i don't think it contradicts my belief in saying hard things the hard way yet take myself lightly..i think in fact i could only say hard things when i don't take myself seriousli..or else i'd really end up killing myself or fall into the trap of being self-righteous..

so then if you're a Christian or an atheist, i think that we've got to learn to take some jokes in life..or else we'd all end up shooting ourselves..you must know the difference between good clean fun and something meant to hurt or wound..but i think many christians are in the position of taking ourselves too seriously rather than too lightly..but of course Kevin Rudd doesnt care..he relishes the attention...as a good Labour leader should...only Conservatives like John Howard bristle at jokes..Middle Class Conservatism...bahhhh

Some cool dark music!

Everybody's Fool by Evanesence



was listening into this song while helping the architecture year 5s finish their model for final submission yesterday.

Evanesence is the queen of angst pop bands..well the king is Linkin Park of course(not the SISPEC Bravo company OC who i served under for 4 months)..these guys sing! period...

and a word bout the year 5s...i enjoy helpin these guys with their finial graduation all-or-nothing models...the last model of architecture student life is the one u do before submission at 12 noon on Monday to David Stafford.. n den, school's out!

wats my graduation theme song for this years Year 5s? U guessed it...Everybody's Fool by Evanescence...Never was a super student, Never will be saved by archi, somehow we're just everybody's fool (at school)...

Come to NTE

Done!

i finished dis sem...n i'm happy! thank God for helpin me pass! at least the hardest, meanest *** subject dat i failed last yr!

i'm lookin forward to National Training Event dis comin December before i head home.. its not dat i dun wanna come home earlier...but i think i could be more prodcutive here n also...i'm tired of the way pple keep askin mi hows Australia? how long more till graduation? a bit sian realli..

n i realli enjoy bein able to meet Matt on Tuesdays for one-to-one bible study, Tim Lai on Wednesdays, Dene on Thursdays and now Tim Wong dis Fri.. a little slice of heaven is being able to meet pple who love God and His Word and discuss the Bible..n relate it to our lives...

hmmm..wat shd i do wif my spare time between now n NTE? visit frens in Melbourne? possibly... am spending a lot of time watchin movies on You-tube n Crunchy Roll since handing in my last assignment last Thursday..saw the bizarre creature called the Liger and Zorse or hebra...n been watching (rewatching rather) Strawberry on the Shortcake...saw it a long time ago when i was 17..but now i think its quite dumb n the morals/ethics are so questionable.. like the Teenage Textbook it relates to teenage/early adult relationships but it gets stupid as u look at it when older...

but i'm reminded by the angst and bitter sweet emotions involved in first love.. n the tragedy of that first break up for the most stupid of reasons..but lets see wat can i not forget about you? the first time i held your hand on the train... the first time i placed my arm around you...the first time i told you how much i liked you...the first movie we watched together as a couple...

i do miss you even after all this time..n i wish i could take back all my stupidity and foolishness...i 'll never forget you...