Reflections on 09

09 is the year i graduated with my Bachelors (by God's grace, no room for pride) so it will be memorable for me, always.

Other reasons for remembering this year include getting together with Yueen Mun...i'm still getting used to my not being a single anymore so don't worry, you're not the only shocked one (whoever you are who's reading this, and if its Yueen Mun, hi there, i'm screwed i know)

09 was also memorable for a great NTE mission where i did my first talk before a youth group and discovered Andrew Reid and John Dickson at the 'Living for the King' conference. NTE is one of those rare opportunities to prepare and do a talk and get some preaching practice.

09 was also the year that i did New Testament 1 for the Moore College Provisional Training Certificate (PTC) and learnt just how provocative Jesus is and how much the king demands a decision whether we're for or against Him, without there being a middle ground. And so it was that i also decided to be more provocative for Jesus and less retreating.

09 was the year the Left learned that it couldnt rejoice at the collapse of markets and the Right learned that market liberalization is recipe for corruption. The Greens learned that rhetoric and scare tactics go only so far at Copenhagen and Climate-change Skeptics learned that Evangelical Christianity is not their friend after all. The scene is ripe for the second entrance of the King to restore order amid chaos.

Finally, 09 is the year when my carefully cultivated Christian cynicism took a blow when Charis Full Gospel Church began doing huge amounts of evangelism and not a few church members started living for Jesus Christ solely through the work of God's Spirit in their lives. God does change people and work without the input of men..i have been deeply humbled..ah humility! what an amazing discovery

Finishing the degree

i do sincerely apologise for the long delay in updating this blog and to all my friends with whom relations have been strained through this..the past one and a half months have swamped me as wave after wave of final assignments and design crits hit the shore, so to speak..well, needless to say, its done and dusted..and by God's infinite Grace, i would have graduated..if everything i pass that is.

how does it feel to be done every semester? well, as we in the School of Architecture and the Built Environment here at the University of Newcastle always point out, our semester ends with a whimper, not a bang as for many who have final written, paper media examinations..our process of ending the semester is that much more sublime..

you see, instead of the final, written examination, we have the verbal design examination, or as the name for this goes, the critique (Crit in short)..this is where the entire semester's work is presented and defended within the space of 3 -5 minutes, in front of a panel of design judges. so, it isn't true that Architecture students have no final exam. We do, face-to-fringing-face with our dreaded Design examiners. and whats worse is that we sit through the examinations of our fellow peers , who in turn, sit through ours. and, unlike run-of-the-mill classroom presentations, Crit panelists do go for blood as the norm. I would not expect any outside the Design community to grasp the import of this, really.

i had my design exam for my final developed design phase in October, after which whether one has passed or failed the semester becomes frightfully clear. My final two phases after that were also-rans, to determine whether i got a credit or distinction or barely survived. So, as i said, even though i was swamped until now, the semester really ended with a whimper after the final Crit.

What does it feel to end the semester, especially since, this ends my Bachelor's education? numb actually, because Architecture is a two-tier system that consists of a 3 year Bachelor's degree and 2 year Master's. The first degree really isnt much since one isn't qualified to really design and build and isnt an Architect yet. The second used to be called the B.Arch before it was changed to M.Arch, for no other reason than to inflate the credentials of those who possess it (tipping my hat to Garry Stevens, that insightful Architectural Sociologist). You can't have the second without the first and the first without the second is pretty useless. so, in sum, the final countdown for me is two years more (if by God's Grace they let me out of the doghouse of my Bachelor's this year)

and, needless to say, i am pretty tired of it all. For those who know me, you're aware no doubt that i am no fan of the Establishment and establishment norms. the whole careerism and rat-race thing is about as inspiring to me as pesticide to the cockroach. maybe Philip Jensen and the Sydney Anglicans have brain-washed me, but they are so much more perceptive and discerning about the nature of things and life and God than many of my prosperity gospel believing friends. To them i counsel two things; first, if you chase success and careerism, then by them you will be mastered and finally disillusioned, as the man who chases mirages and phantasms of an oasis in the desert. Second, those who take the road that seems the less in hope and prosperity while the more in suffering and sacrifice are they who truly are wise, for thus do they gain a reward for which there is no measure. Let this be the Doom of Jonathan, if so you will.

Life after Naivete

On the eve of my biggest Design Submission to date, i ponder life and the changes that make us what we are through music..and i'm drawn to The Cranberries' When You're Gone..Irish folk tunes and Irish singers such as Dolores O'Riordan, Sinead O'Connor and U2's Bono move me..hmm, i was going to add Annie Lennox to the mix but wasn't sure she was Irish..why do i like these singers and their music? The sense of Dystopia maybe, the feeling that our society is the lost child of parents who abandoned God and live Outside Eden..maybe the falleness of the human condition..maybe the idea that we're all looking for something that we can't find..maybe the idea that no relationship can fulfill except with a Father who made us and to whom the song below is really addressed to..

In the midst of Lamentations we find the verse, "Because of the Lord's tender mercies we are not consumed, for His love endures forever. His mercies are new every morning. Great is Your Faithfulness." and in the midst of Habakkuk, with all the fierce anger of God being played out, good ol' Haba says, " Though the fig tree does not blossom, nor there be fruit on the vine, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet i will rejoice in the LORD; i will take joy in the God of my salvation."

I do not understand the plans of God because of the thorns in my flesh..but one thing i know, that by the Grace of God "i spring higher with a thorn in the foot than the man with two whole feet."

The Divine Exchange

Tonight at Focus, i felt my pulse quicken during the study. You see, we've been studying the book of 1 Peter together for the past couple of weeks. Reading stuff about submission and being called to holiness, i honestly felt like i'd heard it all before and struggled in being inspired. To be fair, i realise God's Word needs to be respected and heard in its entirety, whether we enjoy it or are interested in it or not, whether we're inspired or bored with the passage or not. But as a sinful human being, i must admit there are topics and passages i like more than others.

So you can well imagine my surprise tonight at a passage that i had read before and thought i knew well, suddenly coming alive and bearing what seemed like newness and freshness for me. We were reading 1 Peter 3:13 to 4:6. That passage has a lot of thorny issues at first read but really if we understand the context of the surrounding verses and the history of Peter's audience (without getting side-tracked with preaching to the dead for instance) its possible to understand where Peter is coming from and what he's saying.

but when we came to 1 Peter 3:18 it seemed like something struck me. At first i couldn't put my finger on it, until we came to discussion about what people from all ages have in common. The reference at that point was, you guessed it, 1 Pet 3:18. " For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,.." There, in no uncertain terms, we have it..The Divine Exchange..Jesus Christ, the Righteous, taking the place of the Unrighteous, namely, you, me and everyone in the entire history of humanity.

My pulse started racing real fast. Oh the wonders of the Cross! In the layman's language of the dirty fish market, we have the exact picture of Redemption: a customer makes his selection of fish and pays for it with gold coins. An exchange occurs, a transaction. Smelly fish for precious gold? The Man-of-men for me, the sinner? Who says the Christian God is miserly and conservative? The words "generous" and "radical" seem much more appropriate.

And just when you thought its too good to be true, Peter, that shrewd fisherman, throws in a buy-one-get-one-free fish sale. For Christ did not just die for the unrighteous, he died once for all. The Divine Exchange took place not just for us who live Anno Domini, but for all mankind, from Adam to John the Baptist. Just like a soccer game where a substitute is called on to play in place of a non-performing player (and lets face it, in this game of life, we're all non-performing players), Jesus was our substitute on the Cross, except that, he didn't sub for just one game or one season, he subbed for all games and all seasons and all players.

Thank God is really all i can say, in humility...

On Fear

Fear paralyses and saps.

Fear diminishes and taints.

Fear disheartens and disturbs.

Fear destroys and kills.

Fear prejudices and colours.

Fear breaks and tears.

Fear threatens.

Fear fails, disappoints.

Fear is trouble, Big Trouble.


"Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little Death that brings obliteration.
I will not Fear.
I will let my fear pass over me and through me,
I will turn the inner eye to observe its path.
Where that fear has gone there shall be nothing.
Only i remain."
-Litany against Fear,
Frank Herbert,
Dune

Nights

while at Merdeka Night with my Malaysian friends i found myself completely enjoying the cultural performances that we in Singapore disdain outright or ignore, such as the DiKay Barat, Bollywood dances, Silat performances and even, God forbid, the Chinese fan dance..i came away with the conviction that Malaysians (overseas at least) love and feel more strongly for their country than us Singaporeans. Inspite of the deep dissatisfaction many Malaysians feel for their government and leaders (and i know this personally), they seem to love their land more than those of us who live across that disputed landmark, the causeway.

one day i pray that my countrymen will love their homes and fellow citizens without and beyond the nationalistic, propagandistic jingoism that rings full of shallow cliches during our own National Day.

In other news, university commitments reared their ugly head this week and i fought a desperate battle keeping my head above the water while threading as hard as i possibly could. All to no avail as i emerged from my Schematic submission Crit bloodied and wounded. Still, dignity i maintained and cool non-chalance..long have i learned that fear is a poison that kills both mind and soul, especially in this profession of Architecture. This much they may take from me, neither my dignity nor my integrity.

I've been reading Yancey's Soul Survivor for a while (not this week though) and must say that Yancey has always been my theological conscience. So whenever i feel like i've got a firm handle on God's Word or God or that i've got everything sorted down pat, i pick up my Yancey and read about Soren Kiekergard, GK Chesterton, CS Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi and Shusaku Endo. And i emerge chastised and humbled. Always. I was especially impacted by the biography of Dr C Everet Koop, the Surgeon General of America during the Reagan administration lately and being a public Christian. Lest you think that Koop was your run of the mill Evangelical lobbyist promoted to the White House for favours done to the incumbent administration, well, you're wrong. By maintaining his integrity and Christian compassion in issues like the AIDS education programme of the 80s, providing proper care for homosexual AIDS sufferers inspite of disagreeing with their lifestyle and in not covering up the scientific facts that were inconclusive about the harmful effects of abortion on women (even though he disagreed with abortion) Koop was vindicated as a genuine Christian, not just a political Christian. He suffered for this by being vilified by the Conservative Christian lobbyists of the time of course as having 'sold out'. I think Jesus was proud of him though.


Finally, i started reading Galatians with Dene this week in our one-to-one Bible study times. I've been wondering about my Christian stand toward Law and Grace since having that conversation with S.F of the NWO. I knew all along that the Christian should not abuse God's Grace, for, as FF Bruce famously put it, "Christian Liberty is not Christian License" and that we are saved by grace, not law-keeping, but is the idea of a middle ground between the two (the commonly held view) even Biblical? Are not we Christians supposed to "love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and soul, with our whole being"? Or else, like the Laodicean church in Revelations 3, "I know your works, you are neither cold nor hot ...So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." The language of the Bible is clear that God does not like wishy-washy, higgledy-piggledy Christianity. What about Law and Grace? Well, my adventure continues but thats enogh for one night. Until next time, see ya's!

November Rain

Please indulge a Guns and Roses Moment..oh for the strength of Slash! May i also surmount it all like Slash on Elton John's Grand Piano, ascendant, transcendant in musical ecstasy.

Updates

Some of my FOCUS bible study group went out recently for a guys' dinner at an Indian takeaway place. During the conversations, one of us talked candidly about his difficulty in relating to ladies and asked for some advice and counsel. Immediately, we all started this soul-baring confession of our own difficulties in this area. Knowing the monkey that i am, i flippantly and defiantly declared,"all i can say about the opposite sex is that it isnt worth it." Of course, a lot of this is from bitter experience which i've sworn not to bring up again, but it touched some raw nerves and (almost) reopened some old wounds.

today, some friends i met began talking to me about the whole singleness and dating thing again, though of course, in not such diplomatic language. i'm beginning to discern a discomforting pattern here. Added to all this is the Newcastle Christian Students' (NCS) Mission Week talk entitled "The Ultimate Sex" next week at the Bar-On-The-Hill, Thursday. What a way to evangelize your lost friends..just bring them to a talk on the ultimate sex and what Jesus has to say about that. My almost-monastic peace and quiet away from such thorny issues has been totally disrupted.

i do not know what to make of all this completely. What is it that God is trying to say? or is He saying anything about this at all? Man, this sure is a tough one.

oh and by the way, i've been having these really strange and pretty disturbing dreams lately. One of those i remember was a good friend i know from back home marrying this psychopath and me being introduced to him for the first time and thinking, "man, this guy's a real psychopath." and turns out (in my dream anyway) i gradually discover that he's a psychopath so i was spot on. Can one even dream irony? Another was me being humiliated by this person i did not like publicly and then without explaination being dumped by my dream girlfirend whom i had not even met before. i woke up with a shock and very very sad, almost wanting to cry..then i realised it was all a dream. How silly of me...haha..this is so weird really..

oh boy, time to go to bed and more dreaming i presume..

An allegorical Story

This is the story of Aurvandil, Sea Lover..it is allegorical and those who know what and who it is about, forgive me..

Aurvandil, son of Aeorgaerd, huntsman of the Arvangeins returned from the Great Hunt at World's End, expecting to find his wife and children waiting for him in their home. However, the only thing that remained in the ashes and flames of his former home was his father's broken hat and memories of a better life, a life that was no more.

"Father!" he cried, "where are you?" Only silence and the scent of emptiness. Nothing. Aurvandil, hunter of creatures, great and small, sat felled by death, the death of those he loved. Many moons passed where he sat amidst the ruins of hearth and home. Finally the hunter came to his senses. "Blood, the blood of those who have broken me." A true hunter's response. With bow and lance, short sword and belly of fire rises he. So began the Hunt of Aurvandil.

He slashes his way through ranks of flesh, cutting, stabbing, thrusting, hacking. Till none is left. Then what? "Answers!" he screams. Still nothing. Finally he arrives at the gates of Beorguldor, what in former days was called Bewagudoriien. "Answers! Who did this?" Then comes the greatest blow of all. When a man loses his loved ones, he knows only to hunt. When a man knows truth, what does he do?

There, in Beorguldor, he sees his wife enslaved in the harem of Rex Maximus, his children under the slave masters' whip. Aurvandil's Hunt has come to its conclusion. His sword blooded on servants, priests and sword thanes of Rex Maximus, he faces the Rex himself in battle.

Thrust, slash, counter-thrust, riposte! Parry, feint, strike..hour after hour the duel proceeds with increasing intensity. Climax flames into existence for swiftest instant and it is over. Aurvandil lies dying in his own blood, defiant and unbowed till the end. His body will be burned on ceremonial pyre, his ashes scattered over the tombs of the Rexes. "This one was worthy of Rex Maximus sword." That will be his legacy, his name and memory invoked by the scribes and priests of Beorguldor. In time they will say his death at the sword of Rex Maximus was his apotheosis. He will be made a god and come to be guardian of all in Beorguldor who hunt or carry the sword.

But still his father is dead, his home destroyed forever, his wife and children enslaved. Sad Aurvandil, mourn we with you.

My first week of the last Sem or Ai Pia Jia Eh Yah

Sa hun ti chu tia, chi hun ko pa pia, ai pia jia eh yah..that should be the theme song for my first week of this final sem of my Bachelor of Design in Architecture..feels so surreal back in the run of things man..

and it just droned by like that with promises of getting more speed wrecked and agitated in the coming weeks..man i really can't stand the way these lecturers try to promote the Ai Pia Jia Eh Yah mentality that you've got to sell your soul to the course in order to become a 'good' architect..and you're not worth your weight in salt unless you become a 'good' architect..for those of ya who don't know, Ai pia Jia Eh Yah is a crude anglicised translation of the Hokkien phrase, you've got to slog ya guts out to win/succeed..

so it was that we started on Monday with a site visit to Newcastle East to inspect a site along Zaara Street for a potential Art Museum, which my brilliant lecturer dubbed the Newseum of Art..witty very witty..and cold..so we're gonna build a Contemporary Cathedral to Culture as Museums are known unofficially in Architecture circles..i should be thankful for the opportunity since in Life, only members of the jet-setting Rockstar-esque architects, or Starchitects get selected to design museums, especially art museums. So yes, you've got Frank Gehry and his Guggenheim Bilbao which launched the whole craze, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaus, Daniel Libeskind and his Holocaust Museum, Peter Eisenman's Centre for Culture in Galicia and a few others..but i'm just not so enthralled..

and Wednesday we came in for a full day of Design Studio sessions to tease out the practicalities of the Design Brief and examine the constraints of site, planning regulations and Newcastle City Council guidelines..a labyrinthe of very pedantic and useless information and to-and-fro discussions about 'eliminating variables'..i guess thats what Life is like as well, having worked in a firm for 2 months last year..and then i went to the library to research precedents for this project and what approach to take..

no fun..and i had an opportunity to talk to a friend today who was feeling homesick since its his first year in Newcastle..i can imagine how much harder this must all be for him..i know i felt terrible during my first winter and spring back in 2006..the first year is always toughest for the international student who comes alone to a foreign land..but if one does survive, it makes one much, much stronger..and also more appreciative of one's friends and loved ones back home..

so that was my week pretty much, and am now looking forward to more work over the weekend..but, to my homesick friend, hang in there bro..second semester flies right by in a flash..and home you'll be again.

Poolside Reflections

Reflections on the 'Con 09: the theme of this year being the Resurrection, i found the night Talks with Martin aka Shaddes not just inspiring but life changing.

The first nite Shaddes talked about why the Resurrection is such a significant topic for Christians: namely, the Resurrection is so good because Death is so bad. We looked at life in the shadow of death because of the Fall of Man and how Death is the final word for all human beings outside the person of Jesus. Death crushes the hopes of all generations of men and ruptures our relationships with those we love.Most importantly, Death assaults everything good in God's creation. It is thus the enemy of God's good purposes. We also contrasted different world views regarding death and how atheists like Dawkins have no real answer to the finality of death. After a break we ended the Talk by talking about God's Plan to reverse the Curse of Death through the birth of A New Hope (ala Star Wars IV) In Jesus. In what i shall call the "Star Wars IV clause", we encounter the Death of Death in the Death of Christ.

Talk 2 was about the significance of the Resurrection for Jesus and for Time.Jesus' rising from the dead proves that Jesus is the Christ, that God keeps His promises to David, that Jesus is Lord, Saviour, Judge and Exalted Servant of His Father. Now one of the phrases Shaddes used was that the Resurrection was the Father's reward for Jesus' sacrifice and suffering, which must lead to all humanity one day worshipping God. After the break we talked about how Jesus marks the great change in time. Before Jesus, humanity was under the Reign of Death but now, in Jesus, the Age of Resurrection has dawned. Satan has been defeated (ref. Jn 12:31) and Israel's Exile has come to an end. This talk was for me, earth shattering. I finally felt completely purged of all traces of dispensationalism that i grew up in church with. Augustine(though i greatly respect him)was wrong. There are no ages of the church, only BC and AD.

Talk 3 on Wednesday night was about our hope in Jesus because of His Resurrection. We have a well founded, essential, ultimate, transforming and transcendant hope that is also triumphant. The greatest statement made that night was this: you know how we always say that the Christians' greatest hope is that when we die we will go to heaven?this is a true hope but not The Greatest hope. The Greatest Hope for the christian is that one day, we will personally experience the bodily resurrection from the dead, given the same glorified bodies as Jesus. After the break we talked about the last judgement and the language of the Bible regarding this: namely, 1) the last battle and the defeat of God's enemies, 2) the market place where the ultimate transaction has been made (heavenly Deal or No Deal) and 3) the law court where the Last Judgement is delivered by the Lamb on the Great White Throne.

Talk 4 was about Living in the Present Time because of Jesus' Resurrection. we have New Purpose, a New Day, New Life, New Power and New Freedom. and we did some Case studies regarding things like Suffering, Marriage. The idea behind all this was that God's saints live in Babylon now, with all its temptations and persecutions. How should we therefore live as Christians in Babylon?at this point i shall add some commentary of my own. i feel that it is at Wintercon that God has allowed the greatest "Conceptual Breakthroughs" in my Christian life. First year it was about ministry and the idea that ministry is much bigger and more mundane than i thought. Second year it was about the mercifulness of God's Sovereignty and the Magnificent Sweep of God's Majesty. Last year it was about the will of God in singleness and coming to terms with it. This year it is about taking unilateral action if need be in living for God and in ministry. We should live for Jesus over and inspite of the examples of others.

Talk 5 on friday morning was about the Biblical teaching about work. What it was in God's creation before the Fall, how work has been corrupted and the good ideals behind work frustrated by the Fall, and how we should work in God's new creation in Jesus. Finally, does Christianity make a difference in Babylon? Yes and no. but ultimately, we must work in anticipation of the New Jerusalem.

it was a great Con for me this year, and i especially loved all the jokes we shared, like Shaddes' accounts of Martin Luther choosing a wife: "there were some nuns who came out of Roman Catholicism and came to Luther for help. Luther promised them their sustenance, which in those days meant a husband so men came from all over Germany to choose wives from these nuns. Unfortunately, there was 1 left over, so Luther married her to keep his promise. By all accounts it was a fantastic marriage and Luther loved his Katie." or Luther's beer quotes: " a man who drinks much sleeps much. A man who sleeps much sins little. A man who sins little goes to heaven. Therefore, let us drink beer." Luther, you old geezer, you got my heart there. Cheers!

A Morally Self-Consious Water Bottle

Since i'm in my Cam-Whore Mode before uni begins again wat-the-heck..Saw this while in Jesmond Shops at Cotton On and decided to buy it..because it says, "A Morally Consious Water Bottle"...Ermmm..you mean, a Morally SELF-Conscious Water Bottle that Reeks of Do-Gooder Bullsh*t...as the Pommies(Brit-ish) might say, "Bah, Humbug!"

Wintercon Photos

Wintercon photos are up and i'll display all of them before going into a description of the conference for 09..

The Serving Team..from left, Ben Broadfoot aka Double B, Fiona, Harvey, Adam Savage, Matthew Watson for first night food service..Fantastic Hospitality

Harvey Noell, with desert. Come on Harves, why so glum? haha


















After Dinner Conversation..first night is always best with all the get-to-know-ya awkwardness and this-guy-must-be-a-real bogan


















Morning Quiet Times..up at 7.45 am, Breakfast till 9, then Quiet Times till 9.30am..Go on, pick a spot in the sun


















Worship Sessions at Night, let down only by the poor quality of my point-and-shoot camera, lousy at-a-snap photo taking skills..nice hat Sam


















Singing my Fav camp Song, Before the Throne of God Above


















Ultimate Frisbee, right after i'd bowed out to get ready for Group Photo Taking and Campus Planning Sessions..1st rule of free time: use free time for fun activities


















Martin Shadwick aka Shaddes during Session 3 of Night Talks..Resurrection: A New and Living Hope, which was, in my humble opinion, the best session

















My Manuscript Dicovery Group on Friday Morning; Romans 5-8 studied with the theme of Law and Grace explored as best we could under the Holy Spirit's guidance, from left, Rhys Tippet Discussion Leader, Matt Tyler fellow FOCUS helper and my driver to the 'Con, Andrew, me taking photo of course

No Woman No Cry

As of today, i officially have a new room mate..Lawrence Kasherman! oh boy, i'm anticipating lotsa male testosterone and boyish fun..muahahaha..i acknowledge, my long months living in isolation from the rest of humanity have left me more than a bit looney..so a little bit of company sure is welcome..

and friends, you know whats the theme song of tonite? you guessed it, No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley..just us 2 boys and no women in our lives..(but who knows..my roomie might turn up attached suddenly and unexpectedly ;) No, Not to me of course, you bumbling foolish dumb bells!

Jokes and teasing aside..i felt Refreshed with a capital R at Unichurch service again..Pete Witt, a Bible translator to Vanuatu spoke from Colossians 3:18-4:1..about christian relationships; wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, masters. There was of course the usual exegesis about what to do when you get married and Guide to Choosing a Right Life Partner According to Australian Christianity..you're talking to a Realist when it comes to relationships so don't be so shocked..but i think Pete made a good argument from scripture which is Honest and i accept it as what God wants for us.. however, you gotta factor in human attraction and desires (sinful and holy)

after the service Joyce, Jamie and Jono(myself) aka the J-Team (ok i made that up) met Catherina Weiss, a Deutshfrau from Deutschland who's on a study abroad scheme in Australia for a year..i guessed that she was from Europe and either France, Germany or the Czech Republic (which is a pretty darn big area actually; and if i'd been firing nuclear missiles i'd absolutely fail to hit the target) before finally being let in on the secret of her origin..so there, if she does join FOCUS regularly, i can practice my little Deutsch with Frau Caterina..and i would be doing Fraulein Maria, who taught me ein bischen Deutsch when i was 16, after my O'Levels proud! at the very least, i can try and failing which, respond, 'Keine Ahnung' or 'ich spracken ein bischen Deutsch' ....at least my German is better than my Japanese that i did for 1 sem in Year 2 and still have no clue how to say hullo, my name is Jono, how are ya? in...

alrightie..enough clowning around..gotta sleep early to go for Wintercon at Galston Gorge, Sydney tomorrow..am looking forward to Martin's Talks and Dene's Foundations Series and relishing the opportunity to ask all my thorny Pre-destination and the Sovereignty of God questions that i've been holding for a year now..feels like first year Wintercon all over again..landing in an unknown area with unknown people hot and suited up, ready for a fight..GPMG loaded and cocked, bayonet de-rusted, oiled and ready for fixing to my trusty M1A1 carbine...2 waterbottles in SBO filled..Board the Chopper!

Piano

After spending time with the SRJC guys from NWO on Sunday night i began thinking about how far we've grown and the times i missed out on their lives either because i was too busy with NS or overseas studying..and strangely, about the regrets we've had..Mr S.F was telling me some of his difficulties and his fears and i wished that the Christians in the group had more time to talk about these issues and read the Bible to find out what it actually does say about these issues. Mr S.F and myself resolved to read the Bible together when i'm next around in Singapore regarding some of these struggles we face as young Christian adults and men. And i've been thinking about my own regrets this night and the really dumb and bad decisions i've made in the past.

we can't take those bad mistakes and decisions away and thats a fact, but we stand under Christ's blood and forgiveness. Still, i wish i'd listened more to what God was saying to me in His Word when i was growing up. And in the vein of my shared Cheena Ah Pek-ness with Fuzz and shared love for 80s music with Dean, here's Fan Yi Cheng's Piano or Gang Qin. Enjoy.. (the tune if you can't get the words)

Not Learning Anything or Why i Distrust Political Liberalism

Let me highlight a recent article in the Business Times of Singapore, on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, entitled, "The Cane Whistles, But Does It Really Hurt?"

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has banned 10 financial institutions (FIs) from selling structured notes for periods ranging between 6 months and 2 years for mis-selling products linked to collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers...On the surface, the MAS ban, following approximately 7 months of investigations, appears to be appropriate punishment. But it really rings hollow, because it isn't going to to hurt the FIs much.The fact is that the whole structured products market has vanished-the financial crisis and the structured notes fiasco have seen to that...This will be cold-comfort to the 10000 or so investors who suffered from the mis-selling..and it isn't satisfactory, given the serious lapses at the FIs. The list of shortcomings makes for shocking reading.."

"If a ban really means nothing, the MAS should have imposed fines, big fines, that would really have hurt the FIs...it should have pushed the FIs to compensate...The nature of the lapses identified by the MAs suggests a failure in oversight and processes, which really points the finger at senior executives, and they shouldn't escape responsibility."

"And what about the MAS' own role? Dare we suggest that if the sub-prime fiasco hadn't happened and Lehman hadn't collapsed,the mis-selling would have continued merrily and no one would be the wiser? How closely did the central bank supervise the banks when it came to the sale of structured products before the crisis?"

"The industry will respond as it usually does. Indeed, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) immediately announced that its member banks are putting in place a series of measures covering a range of governance and assurance processes, training and compensation of sales personnel, consumer education and enhancements to the sales process. Investors will take all this with a pinch of salt. Weren't there such protestations before?"

Thats the cost of liberalism and market de-regulation..after 4 years in Australia, i'm skeptical..political liberalism is a chimaera at best and a false messiah at worst, offering much but delivering little. Even now our incumbent government is unwilling to learn and listen, preferencing corporate interests over the small-time individual investor. Thats why I distrust political liberalism, period.

You're Beautiful.. James Blunt

Day 2 of me Great Musical Experiment..must see previous post to understand..

and documenting of Day 2 of Jono's Great Tioman Adventure..well, we got up at 7.30am the next morning and had breakfast at Hamdan's Cafe near the beach and packed lunch for the day on the boat at sea..i remember wat i had, Nasi Pattaya..

Day 2 was great for fishin really..all bright sunny skies and calm waters..and the first stop was garupa or Garupo as Awang, our elderly Malay boatman called it..near the west side of the resort, near some rocky reefs we let down our fishin reels and fishin rods..and promptly caught a few mid sized Garupo..promptly applies to Dad and Pastor Kitham, not me...i waited for almost an hour before getting any bite..and reeled up only to lose the little bugger...took my bait with 'im too..cunning fella..

we went to 4 or 5 spots before i caught anything..a small Garupo..sigh..den of course we broke for lunch..the other Malay boatman (whom we later learnt was from Indonesia) was darn good at fishin man..he kept catching so many small to mid-sized Garupo and snappers and Greasies and yellow tails..Dad and Pastor Kitham din do so bad as well..at least 10 teach between them before lunch..

after lunch we headed out to the open sea as the weather was good enough and it was there that i caught my largest fish in the last 5 years..i dunno what it was but it sure looked like a cross between a barramundi and shark..at least 55 cm long..that truly rekindled my interest in fishin which has been simmerin on the back burner the last 2 years..we stayed out at sea till around 6.30pm before heading back to shore..it was a very very rewarding day..i like the feel of working hard for a good catch under the sun with good honest sweat down one's back..never tried it before? you should some time..

and we had our washing up, first of the rods, reels and equipment then ourselves before bringing 8 of the fish to the nearby Chinese restaurant to cook sweet and sour, with other dishes of course..even now, the thought makes me mouth water..yum..i was pretty dead beat after that so it was back to the room and a good sleep around 10.30 pm...but not before taking my back, shoulders and neck pain relief medication..dislike that problem man..keeps coming back to plague me on and off..

tell everyone more about Day 3 soon..

Again, Not my image but thats the kinda boat we took out to sea..not identical but very similar..actually the one we took was a bit more run down..this image is from the Net and shows Tioman in the background

You Remind Me, Usher

Lets do a little bit of experimentation, or X-perimentation as i call it..you all know how i love Class 95 back home in Singapore rite? so, i've decided to name my posts in Singapore by the name of watever song is playing on Class 95 at the time i begin each blog post (it'll probably wear off in a couple of weeks but you never know if you never try, eh?)



Ok. this post is about my recent trip to Tioman, Malaysia with family and Pastor Kitham, the Myanmar pastor from Charis Full Gospel Centre who pastors our Burmese/Myanmar congregation..before i begin, i really envy you Malaysian friends of mine when it comes to possible holiday destinations. You guys have such cool places as Tioman, Redang, Johore Bahru (even though security is sometimes an issue), Rawa, Aur, Pangkor, Penang, Langkawi, Maldives(eh, salah, that one not counted) and you can go there anytime without needing to bring passport or fill in forms about how much money you're bringing into Malaysia(must be under RM 2000, don't play play, ok?)



we took 2.5 hours to drive up from Singapore to Mersing and let me tell you, navigating to and from the new customs checkpoint in JB is no joke ok..follow road sign happy happy then eh! "TA BOLEh JALAn! OR*** ****!Machiam Mana PErGi?!" thats quoting some of the inhabitants of the car who jiakup Melayu fluently..then from Mersing we took the ferry to Tioman after a wait of about an hour..ferry took 2.5 hours..and then, of course, father cleverly never book transport from Tekek Village(our stop) to Juara Beach so have to find local transport..thankfully, this guy offered to give us a lift there for RM 140..which was daylight robbery, so we said no, then he said he'll find one more person to share with us and that was how we met Alicia, a back-packer from New Zealand who had come to Singapore as the Physio for the NZ Under-21 National Hockey Team but was staying on for a week to do travelling after the competition ended..she's a christian going to Green Lane Church in Auckland and it was really good for us to get to know her over the next few days..back to my story..the guy said 4 Wheel Drive by which i think he meant a car with 4 wheels because he brought a Perodua Kancil to bring us up and down many hills and valleys to Mutiara Resort at Juara Beach..the suspension was creaking like nobody's business and at several points i really thought that must get out and push the bullock cart, sorry, Kancil already..good thing arrive there in one piece and not in body bags..



Father of course forget to confirm our booking on the day before coming so there was a bit of a fiasco..good thing we were placed in a pretty nice chalet for RM 120 a night and when i saw the BEACH i went crazy man.. went straight to the room and changed into my trunks and literally ran to the beach and ran in for a darn good swim in warm, crystal clear waters with visibility of at least 12 m i swear..forget Australian beaches man..this one is to die for ok!!too bad it was already 530pm when we arrived, so did not have much time with my beloved salty sea....



and then, dad being dad, said that we should go explore..and his ulterior motive was to find Gunung (Mount) Durian behind the resort, full of Durian trees and pick up some free kampung durian..which we did..4 wild, kampung durians, no fertilisers or human intervention..except in their digestion..Alicia met us while we were "exploring" so we invited her to join us for kampung durian at the beach cafe..and she actually tried and did not mind the taste of durian..i told her that she definitely put to shame many of my white Aussie friends man..



and that basically sums up the first day of my Great Tioman Adventure..tell ya more about Day 2, 3 and 4 over the next few posts..stay tuned ;->

Not my picture but this is the exact type of chalet we stayed in (photo of Mutiara Resort chalet, Juara Beach, taken from internet)

Live High

Jason Mraz does Live High in Paris, with the Centre Georges Pompidou by Renzo Piano in the background and nobody recognizes him. Whats it with the French? can't appreciate good architecture and good music? nothing to live for then..well i'd Live High any day..

Book Review Time!

its time to do another book review for a book that most people would probably rather not read..so hang in there those of you readers who are intellectually challenged by some of these posts

Prisoner of the State, The Secret Journal of Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang is a fascinating read for those of us Sino-Soviet history buffs..the rivetting insider story of Zhao Ziyang's appointment as General Secretary of the Peoples' Republic of China and head of the Politburo Standing Committee and eventual fall from grace during the internal power struggles of June 1989 when the Tiananmen Incident broke out, all told from his point of view for once..

I always thought that Zhao Ziyang was a capable man, much maligned by his peers and rivals..but now i seem to have found a new respect for the guy who, during the upheavals of June 1989, proved to be the true "good and honourable man" who refused to be coerced into sending troops into Tiananmen and refused to go down in history as the Premier who ordered Chinese troops to spill Chinese blood..

For this of course, he spent the rest of his life under house arrest and hidden from the world. The story of how this secret journal came about is a gripping tale in itself. Apparently, from about 1992, Zhao began taping over audio cassettes of songs and children's stories with sections of his reflections. These were then distributed separately to different trusted friends and family members, who, on his death, covertly began to compile the tapes and smuggle them out of the country. Thats how the world first came to know of his secret journal and heard his voice for the first time since 1989.

the most interesting part of this book is the close look we get of different leaders of the CCP and the other sides to their charcter than that commonly played before the world's media, from Deng to Jiang Zemin..and of course the behind-the-scenes account of how China reformed her economy from centrally planned, 5 Year Plan style socialist models to free market economy within the space of 10 years under Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang, when the foundations were laid for the explosive and uncontainable growth after 1992 till today. Most intriguing of all is Zhao's final chapter on the way forward for China where a CCP member (he was never expelled even under arrest), experienced in the politics of the Politburo and Central Committee and a veteran of the Cultural Revolution states that only western style parliamentary democracy, with free elections, the rule of law and separation of Legislature, Executive and Judiciary will be able to curb the rampant corruption, excess and inequality in China today.

Agree with him or not, Zhao speaks from the grave and refuses to be put down, suppressed or silenced. He may have said to the students of Tiananmen, "we're old and what we say doesn't matter anymore. But you are young and should not throw your lives away so foolishly." In reality, Zhao is more current and up-to-date on China than we think.

Thats all folks,
Jono Chua
Closet Sino Analyst