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...

Suprematist Art

i like suprematist art...very abstract n transcendin..a bit tortured n violent...unstable is the word...Kazimir Malevich was a revolutionary Soviet artist la...so its quite leftist ah...but if u noe mi, i'm a bit left-inclined....SD inspired n labour all that stuff...

the ultimate paintin (in terms of meaningless, abstract, no-objective) is white on white at the very top..but i like it...when i feel troubled or disturbed, i look at such abstract paintins and it kinda soothes mi...mayb i'm a bit psycho...but den again...aren't we all a little bit weird in our own ways?

dis is art...i like it...nex time shd try doin some of my own...really v sian of the super-representational style taught here in archi man...tree must hav leaves n branches n trunk n be brown n green...damn bloody borin can...cannot stand oredi....

pls gimme some abstract art man...anyway, most buildins pple build also look like 3-d abstract squares wat...dun believe just look at ur HDB flat la...but dat one is super un-original...copy cat also can ah? Design HDB flat here will fail one lei...

Are you a pilgrim, brother?

Brethren of the House of St Andrews, if u are within the diaspora down under Oz,n if u are returnin this year, n assuming u know mi, we should meet...

hav not seen many of u since, forever...wat r u up to now? does all go well with u? how hav the span of these years affected u? good or bad? do let mi noe...

What God wants of the Women

i'm in the mood for some 4 b 2s tonight so lets have some fun...boy am i gonna take great pleasure in this..

they keep sayin What Women Want in that famous Mel Gibson show.. well...i think that like all secular movies...they skew the picture n present relationships and gender differences in a really pathetic way...Phil Jensen would just call it stupid attempts at portraying life as the sum of what you eat and what you drink and what you wear, when all you're doin is invent little games to entertain as we stand in a crematorium queue..

but really, have you ever thought wat God really wants of women? esp if you dare call yourself a christian, do you ever think of wat God wants for you rather than what you want for urself? or are you just bein self-centred?

if you ask mi wat God wants of women, i think i'll need to research it more..but at dis point of time i'll say that Titus instructs the younger women to be self-controlled and pure, kind and loving to husbands and children ( Titus 2:4-5)..

Prov. 31 :30 sums up the key virtue to be "the fear of the Lord"...actually many things seem to apply for guys also...except commands exclusive to wives, mothers and widows..

but i find that some gals expect to be treated in a way that is as if we shd be more kind and carin towards women when they do wrong or dun really live as Christians shd..we're expected to gloss over faults and even wat we really shd call sinfulness just because they're ladies..

so, if a lady acts in a selfish or self-centred manner we should somehow be more acceptin and kind and dun point dat out? i really dun think dats wat Jesus would do..He tells His mother,"who are my father and mother and brothers? Those who do the will of my Father in heaven" Mtt. 12:48-50 and again"Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come" Jn2:4...not very polite or respectful (from an Asian point-of-view)...

in reality, dun mince words..watever gender, nationality, skin colour or culture, Christian truth needs to be told and needs to be brought home with the greatest impact possible..i'd rather it be hard and harsh and painful in order to save from hell den soft or coddlin or wimp-ish and hell-sendin...just too bad if u happen to be more sensitive den others in dis respect..

O Great God

O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven's joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life
That's dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that i face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me

Bob Kauflin 2006
Sovereign Grace Music: Valley of Vision

Standin By Each Other

Mr Y was tellin mi the other day dat i really shd think bout chasin one of my Japanese frens who's really pretty...i told him that religion came between mi n doin dat n besides, she has a Korean bf alreadi...

den he told mi very matter-of-factly, Korean and Aussie guys are always tryin to chase Japanese gals...F***them! U go on man...i was tempted...realli i was..but without goin in2 that Christian datin non-Christian stuff (which i do believe even though i dun put it so aggressively)..i'll say that since comin to unichurch, i've come to see the cross as above all considerations and priorities...n i think even if i'm screwed (in relationships) because of that inescapable fact, i feel compelled to follow my saviour...its hard i tell ya...so hard...

if i wasn't a Christian, wat might i have done? nothin great actualli...might hav done even worse things then those i've done and am ashamed of....but the thought always lurks at the fringes of my subconsious..and i realli appreciate my non-christian frens who affirm mi n tell mi that i'm not such a loser after all..n i realli want them to come to know Jesus....i reckon many of them would b better Christians than many of the Christian guys i know...i just need to find the courage and words to share the gospel with them...

why dun christians stand by each other the way non-christians often do? i really dun noe...wat i do noe is...many times when i've been at a fix in my christian walk, God has used unbelievers to show mi the way out...frens like Matthew in NS, Yoshia here, a sprinklin of John Paul II no less...

i wish i could have someone to say "i love you to"...n i wish i could say that i've got the best galfren in the whole world...i wish i could say to the guys..."leave mi out of the soccer watchin guys, i'm takin my galfren out for a beautiful romantic dinner"...but really...dat option has not been left open to mi for a long time...every other guy is somehow alwaez better than sad ol' mi...aren't i pathetic?

Watch This

I've embedded the Video i mentioned in the last post on this blog...because i believe it is that important for my Christian friends to see..so scroll down to the bottom of this blog and hav a look...really recommended..

Challenge Conference

I was away last weekend for Challenge Conference 2007...every year, Christians are asked if they would like to go for a conference that challenges them to full-time ministry...and i would say that i was really challenged and humbled by the experience....

Phil Jensen, dean of St Andrews Cathedral, Sydney, challenged Christians as to how we wanted to spend the rest of our lives..and n exposed greatly the lie behind materialism that runs this world..and the reality of the Christian gospel..

our conversations with fellow Christians who likewise were considerin the possiblity of full time Christian ministry sometime in their lives were realli helpful n encouragin...i saw how urgent was the need for ministers for the gospel...anywhere in the world and that the greatest duty of ministers was to train a new generation of ministers to carry on the preachin of the gospel..the scripture thus speaks of Paul trainin Timothy and raisin him like a son who in his turn trained others...the baton needs to be passed on...and i finally began to see the good that Dad had done in raisin mi as a Christian..

even though today i will say there are things i disagree with him from the pentecostal tradition in which i was raised....because i believe (and quote me on this) that the pentecostals are wrong and unbiblical about some things..especially predestination...but that is for another time..

i had a good talk with Greg about ministry on Sunday night also...in which i told him about all the brutal realities of ministry that only minister's children see and which no one tells you...and the pain and sacrifice involved...and he understood fully..finally i saw that neither Dad nor myself were alone..in 1 Corinthians Paul sheds tears over the people he pastored and the pain they caused him..and no one in ministry can be any different..

and now i begin to understand the costs and the suffering inherent...but also the great honour and privilege..and i thank God that there are Christians whom i can relate to in this area..men like Mark Driscoll whose video on You-tube, "A Good Soldier" i recommend highly..he famously said that modern men hav so many issues becomin Christian because they "dun want to worship a wimp they can beat up"..

i like Christians who dun mince words..because people are goin to hell due to the nice words that Christian ministers say..we need to read the Bible carefully...Jesus seldom says nice things...He says hard things that cause many to turn away..."For we did not preach the gospel with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power"...and again, "to what can I compare this generation?..they are like children in the streets who say, we played the flute for you and you did not dance, we sang a dirge and you did not cry"...no, friends, i now realise that Jesus said what was contrary to accepted wisdom and deeply unpopular..and this is integral to Christianity...only the Holy Spirit makes it palettable..

Towards a New (POMO) Architecture

i like Late Modernist Architecture....its just so clear, lucid, rational...unlike deconstructivism or deconstructionism...wilful, self-absorbed, elitist..

but the terrible thing is dat the Late Modernists or High-Techies are still unable to reach the wider audience...they are still unable to communicate with society and pple...pple go in2 say, HongKong Shanghai Bank and though visually impressed, they just feel that they dun belong and that its not somethin they can relate to...

so, dis brings mi to Post-Modernism...or POMO as its derogatorily called...i appreciate the idea that decoration does allow pple to relate to architecture n even appropriate it...of course the great flaw is dat pple often take this to great extremes n come up wif extremeli ugly n meaningless schemes...

i'll alwaez b a modernist at heart...but no more "Ornament is Crime" and with a better understandin dat Form and Function are inseparable...n dat we plannin does not work on a one-to-one basis ie that u plan the room for this does not mean therefore, it will look a certain way..the real world has too many variables..

but i like the way the Modern architects alwaez hav a sense of social purpose n responsiblity...n i think dats wats lackin in our buildings these days...too elitist n with no concern for society...

there...dats part of my Manifesto...

Kick 'Em in the balls

after a hiatus in bloggin, i'm back...National Day was crazy...had a presentation and submission in the afternoon and after dat rushed to Silver Dolphin for the Dinner and celebration..

as i blog to some nice chinese music courtesy of Johnnie Choong (i like moody chi music too man)...i'll recount a few incidents lately dat have concretised the idea that i shd realli shoot from the hip n be more confrontational from now on..

first gettin sponsorships for INS National Day celebrations...i realised it really was too rushed...n my letter format was juz not dat great or professional..but goin to the shops aroun uni n e-mailin S'pore corporations really taught mi a thing or 2 abt humility and why pple studyin in Australia develop accent/slang...the ang mos realli dun understand when we speak in our Singaporean Engrish...What? Huh? Say Again? SOrry?

den of course, go in2 the shops to ask for discount or free vouchers....they think like we are crazy to ask their bizness for freebies...like How Dare You...and when u want things from pple they can be so rude...Wild SURF CO. employees told me they could not understand what i was talking about and acted like i was a retard from China...and many told me rudely and roughly that they were a BIG COMPANY(emphasis) n they could not do anythin for us...

the nicest were the small family owned companies or small-scale biznesses...and the worst were the SIngaporean companies...never even bother to reply...n its those with Newcastle branch of their bizness sommore..n companies/institutions like PSB and PSB Academy...take our money and DARE to set up S'pore branch still dun even care to support S'pore students in Newcastle for National Day....let mi say wat i think of them....Mother-F***in C*nt s! of course u may say thats wat the corporate world is like.....but i will respond that this is also wat i'm like...KNNBCCB...

the other thing was also dat dis week had Outreach Night at uni...to those frens who were offended in any way when i gave out leaflets invitin pple to come for the Christian talk...i'm sorry...i tried v hard to b as respectful as possible...its just dat dis is somethin i believe is good and would like to share with u as my frens...n dats the reason...not becos i'm tryin to convert u..

den there were the groups of very obnoxious pple who were there just to try n make fun of u as a christian or talk rubbish...i've heard all the lousy arguments rehashed again n again...Jesus was a lunatic, Jesus was a liar, Jesus didn't exist, the Roman Empire re-wrote the Bible, Christianity assimilated some persian religions like Mithras worship(i knew a lot about dat one in detail actually, from readin Dad's books on the foundations of early christianity when i was 18)....i respect u but u just dun respect mi...n contrary to popular belief...i would respect it even if someone were to talk to mi abt their religion...n there hav been muslims on this campus who hav talked to mi abt Islam n i was respectful to them...

n now, let mi say this as a Christian...i look up to pple in the Sydney anglican community like Phillip Jensen and John Chapman who can say v hard things for the gospel...n i will say some of my own here...i would like to steal the thunder from these arrogant jerks by startin the conversation in future, "hi, we're from Newcastle Christian Students and we're here to tell u that Jesus was either a lunatic, liar or somethin else. we want to hear ur opinion" i'm not a nice Christian...the word "Nice" is not found anywhere in the Bible...i kick pple in the balls...

u better get used to it..."You fool, tonight your soul shall be required of you...then whose shall all these (nice little treasures u've collected like ur handphone, Skyline or condominium) be?"