Reflection Cafe... 静思咖啡馆...

Back from China and Taiwan

2009-11-20T00:03:00.002+08:00

Yes, finally i blogged again.

Just back from Beijing and Taipei and i have took plenty of photos. Those interested can refer to my facebook for the pictures.

Dead Sea Scroll

2009-09-14T23:50:00.000+08:00

I visited the Dead Sea Scroll at the Art House on saturday. Well, im not a Christian, but i am interested in the historical development of religions.

Ah, its the first time i went to an exhibition alone. The feeling is good, peaceful and undisturbed. I can slowly study the exhibites, read up the explanation without any distraction or concern.

For those who think the Dead Sea Scroll is displayed or comes in a 'scroll', then i am afraid one will be disappointed. No, its not a scroll but tiny fragments like potato chips. They are darken and through infra red, the wordings can be seen and its amazing how people piece all these tens of thousands of fragments together.

To know more, we can just google it. I will be posting some pics taken shortly..thru my hp camera..
http://livinglegacy2009.com/

Invest in history to secure the future

2009-09-10T19:25:00.000+08:00

I love history. Below is an article in which i fully support!

Invest in history to secure the future
Overhaul teaching of history to get students interested and involved

STRAITS TIMES
Sep 7, 2009 Monday

Home > Singapore > Story

By Eisen Teo

HISTORY is boring. Dead boring.

That's the refrain of about half a dozen secondary school students I've talked to in the course of my work.

History is just about a bunch of facts and dates we have to cram for exams, they say. And what's the significance of these facts and dates? They shrug; they aren't sure.

Never mind that part of their O-level history examination is 'source-based', that is, testing their ability to assess the purpose, arguments and credibility of a historical source, such as a text excerpt, speech or interview.

Everything still boils down to facts, facts and more facts. If you don't hit the books and know what happened at this date, you're done for.

With just two or three school periods a week - that's no more than 11/2 hours - given over to history, the beleaguered teacher has little time or incentive to make the lesson more interesting. The priority still remains making sure the students know what's going to be tested inside out.

No wonder history just becomes another boring subject to get over and be done with.

So what, you may ask.

The long-term repercussions may be severe: a generation of Singaporeans with little knowledge or interest in how Singapore came to be, and little understanding of the world around them.

In 2005, eight 15-year-old students at a school band leadership camp named their team 'Hitler' because they admired the dictator's leadership qualities.

In hindsight, teachers said, their support for the man responsible for the death of millions during World War II was a combination of ignorance and a lack of understanding of history.

When founding father S. Rajaratnam died the following year, many young Singaporeans were left scratching their heads as to who he was, even though they recited every morning, hand on heart, the Pledge that he had penned.

Do we really want such ignorance and apathy?

The Government wants young people to remain rooted to the land in which they were born, long after they fly the coop. This was one of the 10 challenges Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong threw to policymakers last month.

A strong grounding in history may be the fertile soil for those roots. A keen interest in Singapore's history and world history in general helps one understand this country's place in the world.

Learning from past mistakes and taking a critical approach towards all'truths' are other useful side benefits of a fruitful time spent on history.

What's the solution, then?

To me, nothing short of an overhaul of how history is taught in schools.

Make history exams open-book. A radical move but it'll test what's most crucial: the analytical skills that not just a student of history, but any student, needs - not his ability to memorise facts and dates.

With this change, the history textbook will morph from an enemy into a friend, to be consulted at all times - and students will find it less onerous to read.

The curriculum must also move away from the raw presentation of events to the discussion of historical issues and methods of history, known as historiography.

Many historical facts can never be disputed - for example, the fact that Raffles set up a port in Singapore in 1819, or that two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945.

But the same facts can be employed to paint different narratives.

Depending on which sources one looks at, it could be argued that 1819 heralded the beginning of modern Singapore - or was simply the start of the latest in a series of trading emporiums on the island.

The latter thesis will be put forth in Singapore, A 700-Year History: From Early Emporium To World City, a new book by historians Tan Tai Yong, Derek Heng and Kwa Chong Guan.

Only then will students realise that historical texts are written long after the fact as a means to an end which varies with the author and the society he comes from. It will foster the beginnings of a healthy scepticism and sense of reality.

Is it too early for secondary school students to grasp such concepts? It's worth a try to grab their fleeting attention.

The alternative is a lifelong rejection of anything to do with history.

And oh, please do devote at least an hour more a week to history. Take it as an investment for our future.

没头没尾

2009-08-13T18:48:00.000+08:00

昨晚到怡丰城GV Mx看电影 - GI JOE。
感觉不错，人也不多，不至於太拥挤。影片也大至上符合一般商业片子，俊男美女，
打斗，特效等，样样都有。

其实在电影院也发生了小插曲。看了十多年电影，第一次GV电影课发生技术故障。
好不容易等到广告播放完毕，电影播出之际，突然中断，之后恢复影像，可是‘没
头没尾’，影片不是从头开始播放，而是中间部分。

还好，GV工作人员还算负责任，播了不久，便再度中断，然后工作人员通过扩音器，
通知我们技术问题，需要大约15分钟时间补救，维修。

幸好最后有惊无险，影片顺利播放，不然的话，电影院中一些幼稚，粗鲁的新加坡
人就要继续在里面大声嚷嚷了。GV之后也赠送给我们一人一张免费戏票礼券，以
‘安抚人心’。

故事完毕 - 是不是有点‘没头没尾’？

其实人生有时也是这样，一天过一天，‘没头没尾’。

Help Others Where You Can

2009-07-29T22:58:00.001+08:00

Help Others Where You Can

A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win.

All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. They all turned around and went back. Every one of them.

One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better."

All nine linked arms and walked across the finish line together.

Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story. Why? Because deep down we know this one thing:

What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves.

What truly matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

----

Origins: The story is more true than not, although its primary point has been grossly exaggerated. According to folks at the Special Olympics Washington office, the incident happened at a 1976 track and field event held in Spokane , Washington . A contestant did take a tumble, and one or two of the other athletes turned back to help the fallen one, culminating in their crossing the finish line together, but it was only one or two, not everyone in the event. The others continued to run their race.

The story is thus not about an entire class of "special people" who spontaneously tossed aside their own dreams of going for gold in favor of helping a fallen competitor, but rather one about a couple of individuals who chose to go to the aid of another contestant. Unfortunately, this tale as it is now being told helps further a stereotype that deficiencies in intelligence are compensated for by unfailingly sweet natures and a way of looking at the world in childlike wonder. Special Olympians train long and hard for their events and are every bit as committed as athletes who compete in any other athletic endeavors. The Special Olympics are not a casual get-together organized to give less fortunate members of the community a day to socialize and perhaps run in a foot race or two. They're highly organized sporting events taken very seriously by all involved, with each competitor striving to do his best. It's about trying. And succeeding.

The Special Olympics oath is "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

无奈

2009-07-29T22:54:00.000+08:00

是给你面子。不是我怕，或则畏惧麻烦。
我坚信自己说的没错。可是为了不不让你难堪，我暂且收敛一点。

可是，我还是继续观察，而且憎恨一切不可理喻的事情。

2009 Sabah Trip

2009-07-19T21:42:00.002+08:00

2009 年6月27-28日吉隆坡之旅

2009-07-01T02:49:00.002+08:00

2009 年6月27-28日吉隆坡之旅

半夜三更，我还没睡；肯定是刚才那杯浓浓的茶在作怪。

已经从吉隆坡之旅回来近两天，原本要上载一些照片，无奈BLOGSPOT 应该是出现了一些故障，无法上载。只好等到明天再尝试。

这次的国外旅行，十分短暂，去的国家也只是我们的邻国马来西亚。
山不在高，有仙则灵。

旅行不在乎长短，重要是和谁去。这次我可是和几位认识将近10年的老友出国，而且是头一回出国，因此意义非凡。

他们几位都没有到过吉隆坡，唯独我有到访过。所以我就只好安排行程，带他们逛街以及品尝当地美食。我们的‘大哥’进财，在之前负责安排巴士以及酒店住宿。进财为人细心，所以安排的还很妥当。

2天1夜的行程，包括我，大家都买了些东西。遗憾的是无法登上吉隆坡双峰塔，因为票已经分发完了。

这次的旅行，也让我体会到，新加坡人真的太幸福了。习惯了舒适的生活，对于比较‘差’的生活习惯，生活水平；新加坡人已经到了‘无法接受’的地步。似乎只有‘新加坡水平’才是‘对的’，才能接受。对于不同的环境，很多新加坡人都无法适应。

天啊，世界那么大，所谓适者生存嘛，有时候必须懂得包容，容忍，以及接受不同环境，甚至比较恶劣的事物也应该懂得处之泰然啊。不然得话如何在国际舞台生存？无法生存就只有做‘井底之蛙’了。

随遇而安，既来之，则安之。

古人的智慧，现代都市人，都做不到了。

说实在的，吉隆坡为马国首都，环境已经不错了。当然还是比不上‘小红点’，但是也不至于差到如同‘第三世界国家’啊。看到一些不如‘小红点’的事物，其实也不必大惊小怪的啦。
增广见闻，如果能到处走走，多体会不同文化，不同习俗，就能知道，世界无奇不有，比新加坡好的，差的；也是司空见惯，毋需惊慌失措。
事忙我不忙，事非我不非，才能临危不乱嘛！

The Night at the Museum : ACM and its Kang Xi Exhibition..

2009-06-26T00:05:00.000+08:00

What a dog teaches us

2009-06-25T13:40:00.000+08:00

A dog teaches us a lot of things, but we never seem to take notice. These are some of the lessons you might learn…

· When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
· Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
· Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
· When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.
· Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
· Take naps and stretch before rising.
· Run romp and play daily.
· Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
· Avoid biting, when a simple growl will do.
· On warm days stop to lie on your back on the grass. On hot days drink lots of water and
lay under a shady tree.
· When you’re happy dance around and wag your entire body.
· No matter how often you’re scolded don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back
and make friends.
· Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
· Eat with gusto and enthusiasm, stop when you have had enough.
· Be loyal.
· Never pretend to be something you’re not.
· If what you want lies buried dig until you find it.
· When someone is having a bad day be silent, sit close by… and nuzzle them gently.

Don't try to change the world to suit only you..

2009-06-15T12:09:00.001+08:00

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony.

He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows' skin, and would cost a huge amount of money.

Then one of his wise servant dared himself to tell the king, "Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money ? Why don't you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?"

The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a "shoe" for himself.

There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story : to make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world.

Don't let traditions and festivals vanish

2009-06-03T19:41:00.001+08:00

Finally exams over, im back to post...something to share:

STRAITS TIMES
June 3, 2009 Wednesday Home > ST Forum >
Online Story
Don't let traditions and festivals vanish

I AM in my late teens and am upset that many youth these days take various customs and festivals lightly.

Festivals under the lunar calendar, such as the Hungry Ghost Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, go unnoticed by youth. Some do not even know their history.
In the past, people would pray to the deceased throughout the month during the Hungry Ghost Festival. There would also be getai performances.
But times have changed and youth do not bother to carry on the tradition. They also do not support getai performances.

During the Mid-Autumn and Dragon Boat Festivals, they know only that it is time to eat mooncakes and dumplings. A few days before the Dragon Boat Festival, I overheard a group of secondary school students saying: "There's no need to celebrate such things. We are not in China. Just eat dumplings."

With such a mindset, I fear that Singapore's youth will not only lose their traditional beliefs, but also forget the history and significance of such festivals.
My suggestion is to have exhibitions at various locations in Singapore where youth hang out.
The Education Ministry should promote such traditions in schools. If not, in a decade's time, such activities and traditions will be wiped out from the lives of Singaporeans.
Tan Shao Ken

im still around..

2009-05-16T12:12:00.002+08:00

just want to say....im still alive!

Didnt post much recently...cos of exam period and internet access down... but i start to post more soon...

pretty stressed up with something... argg..i really hate calculative subjects..

As usual

2009-04-19T02:02:00.003+08:00

As usual, evidence and result show that i am still inclined in more theory based matters instead of doing maths and accounts....

Haha... Well, i just feel that writing arguments, doing articles debating and discussing are much interesting in punching numbers onto calculators or memorizing alien formulae...

Shout

2009-04-13T00:17:00.000+08:00

Shout

'Why do we shout in anger?' A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?' His disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.''But, why do you shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice?

Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?'Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.'

Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small...'The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.

'MORAL' said the saint: 'When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return!'

乱七八糟

2009-04-05T21:27:00.001+08:00

乱七八糟

有些人就是这样。性格变化极大，以前这个样，现在另一个样。
在社团组织，在公司集团等，就要以大众利益，组织利益为重点，为首要因素。

可是，现今社会，altruism已经‘消声匿迹’，无私的付出，贡献等似乎是天方夜谭。
为了自己的利益，利用，甚至伤害组织的人也越来越多。人的弱点就是贪婪以及自私。而且人与人之间很容易起磨擦，尤其是当有误会未解决。

讽刺的是，现代科技日新月异，极为发达；可是人与人之间的沟通好像不比从前来的真诚，坦诚，果断。我觉得这是值得反省的一件事情 -我们现代人之间的距离，是拉近了，还是更加疏远？

MANDARIN VS DIALECTS

2009-03-23T12:50:00.002+08:00

Read more readers' responses here: http://www.straitst imes.com/ ST%2BForum/ Story/STIStory_ 351862.html

STRAITS TIMES Home > ST Forum > Story March 19, 2009

MANDARIN VS DIALECTS The debate continues

Forget about dialects, stick to Mandarin

I AGREE thoroughly with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's view in his speech on Tuesday at the launch of the Speak Mandarin Campaign, which was reproduced in The Straits Times yesterday, 'Nurturing a key advantage'. We do not lose much if we discard dialects. Learning dialects will affect the learning of English and Mandarin Chinese Singaporeans should forget about dialects and stick to Mandarin. Language is a tool and we should use the best tool available. Cultural and other values can be dissociated from languages. Mexicans use Spanish, but culturally, they are not exactly Spaniards. Many Malays do not know Arabic, but they are Muslims. Most Christians do not read Hebrew or Latin. One may not realise that most Chinese Singaporeans speak Chinese dialects at a very superficial conversational level.

They have difficulty in expressing abstract terms or ideas with some depth in dialects. Few Cantonese here can speak Cantonese as eloquently as people educated in Hong Kong, who have used Cantonese in school and at home - and paid the price of not being fluent in Mandarin, Similarly, few Hokkiens in Singapore are able to make a formal speech or read a literary piece in the southern Hokkien dialect. Literary Hokkien and conversational Hokkien vary quite a great deal in the pronunciation of many words.

We do not lose much if we discard dialects. Learning dialects will affect the learning of English and Mandarin, as MM Lee has pointed out. People from Chinese Peranakan families generally speak better English than others because they do not have to divert much of their energy and time to learning Chinese. Most of us are not born with great linguistic talent and can do well in only one or two languages.

In spite of our claim of being bilingual, some of us are actually non-lingual, hovering between Singlish and substandard Mandarin. We should concentrate on English and Mandarin and leave the talented ones to go beyond. The Chinese have a saying that wide knowledge does not come with depth.

Ong Siew Chey

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandarin useful but it may not be our mother tongue

I REFER to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's speech at Tuesday's launch of this year's Speak Mandarin Campaign. There is a need to differentiate between Mandarin as a mother tongue and as a useful language for communicating better with others. As an example, MM Lee compares Mandarin to Cantonese, noting that Mandarin allows one to reach 1.3 billion people in China whereas Cantonese connects a speaker to only 100 million people in Guangdong and Hong Kong, thereby making Mandarin more 'useful' than a dialect like Cantonese. He encourages the use of Mandarin over dialects, noting that there are 'strong emotional ties to one's mother tongue' and how in two generations, 'Mandarin will become our mother tongue'.

Clearly, there is a distinction between today's mother tongue and Mandarin. But the study of Mandarin here is categorised by the Education Ministry as the study of one's mother tongue, and not as a useful language to communicate with other cultures or communities. In addition, this categorisation of mother tongue versus usefulness is ignored completely by the Speak Mandarin Campaign, whose aim, according to its website, is to encourage people to 'embrace speaking Mandarin and enjoy an appreciation for Chinese culture and language'.

This clearly emphasises Mandarin as a mother tongue rather than as a useful language. The problem with categorising Mandarin as a mother tongue is that no recognition is given to the fact that most Chinese Singaporean families today were born and bred in the Straits Settlements for more than 100 years and have developed their own culture, heritage, identity and language. For example, the terms Peranakan, Baba and Nonya refer to people of Chinese descent who emigrated here in the 15th century and who have since been recognised as having their own culture.

It is well documented that this group retained much of their ethnic and religious origins, which is Chinese, but also assimilated much of the Malay language and culture. Since they are in fact of Chinese descent, should we now make Mandarin their mother tongue?

The classification of Mandarin, or any other language, as one's mother tongue touches the very heart of a person's culture, identity and history. When I was growing up, I spoke Hokkien, watched Cantonese dramas and listened to my father converse in Hakka with the neighbours. Am I and my children supposed to ignore our roots and claim Mandarin as our mother tongue?

Patrick Khoo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I agree more to Mr Patrick Khoo the Reader Ong in earlier reply. Does Ong truely know what is culture? Can Culture REALLY be disasociated with language? This sound very absurb to me! For what i understand, Culture consist of language and values, which cannot be seperated.

'many' people here cannot speak fluent dialect? 'few' people can speak good dialect? Did this reader do any statistical research? I disagree that many people here cant speak good dialect. I seen many who can speak fluent dialect.

Our forefathers came from souther part of China. Mandrian is NOT the mother tongue. Mandrian, aka pu tong hua is from Northern China. It might be good to know Chinese, useful to learn and even important to understand Chinese. All Chinese, regardless of any dialects should learn Chinese, to standardize and Chinese is still part of our Chinese culture. However, when it comes to the roots of our language, mother tongue, it is NOT Chinese, but dialect. I think no one can erase this historical FACT.

I, for one, would continue to improve my own dialect(cantonese), speak whenever i got the chance and will let my children learn dialect, beside English and Chinese.

都市人

2009-03-20T01:06:00.000+08:00

都市人

"伤你最深的人，往往是你最亲的人"

"不是切在你肉上，你不知道痛"

电视上看到这两句话。多么简单，多么真实。

都市人，压力大。都市人，处处看人不顺眼。都市人，就不能好好让身边的人快乐一点吗？

现代人，就不能‘慷慨’一点，多让身边的人开心，不行吗?

现在的人每次都说人缘差，小人多。依我看，很多时候可能是自己的问题。人生就象镜子一样。

卧龙吟

2009-03-18T23:38:00.002+08:00

很多年前看过中国CCTV拍摄的<三国演义>。至今还是非常喜欢，至少总比现在许多作品有诚意，尊重原著。在网上偶然听到这<卧龙吟>。这是<三国演义>的插曲；附有历史感，从诸葛亮的<出师表>取灵感而编的歌曲。
描述了诸葛亮一生，理想，理念和精神。
有时候我们现代人，真的要象古人学习。
不知道有人也看得懂吗？看来，真正的知己是可遇不可求啊。

这<卧龙吟>最能表达我最近几年的心情....

《卧龙吟》

束发读诗书，修德兼修身；
仰观与俯察，韬略胸中存；
躬耕从未忘忧国，谁知热血在山林；
凤兮，凤兮，思高举，时乱势危久沉吟；
茅庐承三顾，促膝纵横论；
半生遇知己，蛰人感幸甚；
明朝携剑随君去，羽扇纶巾赴征程；

龙兮龙兮风云会，长啸一声抒怀襟；
归去，归去，来兮，我宿愿，余年还做垅亩民；
清风明月入怀抱，猿鹤听我再抚琴。

天道常变异，运数杳难寻；成败在人谋，一诺竭终悃；
丈夫在世当有为，为民播下太平春；

归去，归去，来兮，我宿愿，余年还做垅亩民；
清风明月入怀抱，猿鹤听我再抚琴。

乱

2009-03-14T02:04:00.001+08:00

乱

我家外头大路的修路工程终于完成一半，新的地下隧道最近开始通车。还有汽车天桥还没建好，虽然隧道通车，但是四周围基本上还是‘满目疮痍’，到处都是告示牌，道路的分界和划分也欠理想。如果要用一个字来形容的话，那只有以下这个字了:

乱

.................

之前我正在筹备一项活动，也真够累了。过去好几天都是忙到2-3点才睡。而且身兼多职，简直象个‘八爪鱼’。

要我在大庭广众说话，基本上没问题。如果事先有准备，也能高谈阔论。
做事，要按部就班，团体精神和合作很重要。一些人，不按牌理的行动，只会搞乱事情。Indian Chief，是我一直以来很不喜欢的‘角色’之一。

同一时间要我照顾几项事情，要担心这个，担心那个；如何能够表现的理想呢？
节目一开始就有身边的工作夥伴出错，要我担心，之后有人‘临场发挥’，又把我思维弄乱。要顾前顾后...真是要命。

严格上，以我各人性格，要我和外人‘讨钱’，‘求人施舍’我是很难办到的。为了某些原因，我愿意放下一切尝试，但是，请别希望会有要结果。

同样的，当时情形，我的感受只有一个字能形容....

乱。

Busy month

2009-03-03T23:57:00.002+08:00

三月，是忙碌的月份。
忙着学校的模拟考试，忙着其它事物等。
一直忙到五月，大考之后才能喘气。转眼之间，半年已过。
光阴似箭，一点都不假。

不知道是否年龄增长，想的东西多，自然而然要顾虑的东西也多。

relief

2009-02-23T20:26:00.002+08:00

Last week, had gone through 72 hours of anxiety and worries. Glad that everything is over...

Well, going to have my mock exams, aka 'prelim' now. Personally i think its a good thing to try it out, have a feel of it. And also a 'wake up' call, a strong call to us if our knowledge is still not there yet. So that we could have 2-3 months more to 'pull up our socks'.

May the force be with You, may the force be with us!!!!

八通未接电话

2009-02-18T19:27:00.000+08:00

八通未接电话

对，就是发现八通未接电话missed call。我回电话，发现是我的学生打给我，告诉我今天他没空，不能补习；是否能把今天的课改成明天。4.30pm的补习课，他3.50pm 才联络我。我之所以没接电话，是因为我去了游泳。总不能叫我把手机带下泳池吧。
好啊，既然没有补习课，我就回家，路上顺便到附近银行进钱。

就是这个决定，这通电话。让我遭遇一些不必要的麻烦。
倘若补习课照旧，我就不会提前回家，提前使用那条道路而遇到一些麻烦了。
又或则我提前离开游泳池，或待在游泳池多一会而，事情就会有很大不同了。
只要我的行动慢1分钟，只要慢那1分钟，或只要1分钟的时差，我就能趁吉避凶了。
事情就是那么微妙。

人定胜天？有时候真的不能不佩服命运。
吃的苦中苦，方为人上人。以前就是这句话，我开始吃苦瓜。

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2009-02-14T11:11:00.002+08:00

To all my friends, passer by A, B, C etc..

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Remember, its not the price of the gift that counts, its the heart that counts.

ps: of course, cannot be too stingy miser la...

oh no...oh well..

2009-02-11T01:29:00.000+08:00

Singapore state investment company Temasek lost about $39 billion, or 31 percent of its holdings, in eight months last year as big bets in the financial sector went sour.

The revelation comes just days after Temasek said Chief Executive Ho Ching — the wife of Singapore's premier Lee Hsien Loong — would step down and be replaced by former BHP Billiton CEO Charles Goodyear. Temasek Holdings' portfolio of investments fell to 127 billion Singapore dollars ($85 billion) as of November 30 from SG$185 billion on March 31, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hwa said Tuesday in Parliament. A Temasek spokesman confirmed the figures.

The fund made a number of missteps under Ho, including a $5 billion investment in brokerage Merrill Lynch in late 2007. Merrill's shares fell 78 percent in 2008 amid the global financial turmoil and the storied Wall Street firm was ultimately bought by Bank of America Corp. on Jan. 1 in a lifesaving deal.

Temasek also has large stakes in other financial companies such as Standard Chartered Plc, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and Barclays Plc. Singapore's Ministry of Finance is Temasek's only shareholder. The company, which is smaller than the city-state's other sovereign wealth fund, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., owns large stakes in many of the country's biggest companies, including Singapore Telecommunications, bank DBS Group Holdings and Singapore Airlines.

忙

2009-02-09T21:11:00.000+08:00

转眼之间，元宵节到了。元宵节，真正称谓‘上元节’。
上元 - 正月十五，中元- 七月十五，下元- 十月十五。华人相信次日，上天的天官能赐福给大家，俗称天官赐福。这天也是农历新年(春节)的最后一天。

欢庆的日子过了，是时候努力奋斗的时刻。有朋友为我占卜，说今年我会很‘忙’。
对我而言，忙，是好事。

孟子说，"天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身行，行拂乱其所为，所以动心忍性，曾益其所不能。"

人，忙，是好事。游手好闲等于虚度光阴，忙，代表有机会，机会一到，就不能犹豫不决。唯一希望的是，我能有足够的力气，力量应付一切。我相信度过难关，必能苦尽甘来。

CNY 2009

2009-02-04T20:44:00.001+08:00

初九拜天公

2009-02-03T21:03:00.001+08:00

不懂不要乱讲。

华人初九拜天公，只有福建人能拜？
天公信仰，源自古代华人敬天，礼拜天帝的信仰开始。后来形成了道教的玉皇上帝名称。玉皇上帝，并不叫玉皇大帝。上帝的称谓，比大帝尊贵。玉皇上帝才是玉帝的正确名称。玉皇上帝的故事，在唐宋出现的‘玉皇经’就解释清除了。他的诞辰是正月初九。
‘九’在华人是极数，正月，第一的月最尊贵极大的数目‘初九’，就是玉皇上帝的诞辰了。明朝时候，人们就认为神明的生日是有特别意义的。
道教是华人文化的根底，华人，指的是许多籍贯在一起的华人，也叫汉人，唐人。
玉皇上帝是道教仅次于三清道祖的至高无上天神。那里是只有福建人能拜的狭窄含义的神？

而且初九拜天公，也不是因为福建人避难逃避到甘蔗园，之后离开甘蔗园刚好是正月初九，所以就在次日祭天。用甘蔗拜神，是因为甘蔗有许多‘节’，而且越吃越甜。甘蔗与‘感谢’在福建话有谐音，所以用甘蔗拜玉皇上帝，并不是甘蔗园的缘故。
可能，可能真的有这逃难的事情发生，但是它绝对不是拜天公习俗的典故来源。
谁说华人道教徒没有‘上帝’？我们的上帝就是‘玉皇上帝’。他也是无形无相。民间的帝王神像，只是个代表，表示他的至尊地位。
愿玉皇慈悲，祝福大家。

新春趁吉避凶

2009-01-28T20:04:00.001+08:00

新春趁吉避凶
今年2009己丑年，根据流年飞星学，我们八个方向加上中央，都有九个星分布。
2009年是下元八运己丑年，太岁名傅佑大将军，流年飞星九紫星入中。
本年最有利是八白东南方「财星」掌一切财运，富贵；次是西北方的一白星，主人缘桃花；以及南方的四禄星，属文昌星，财运，文运，学业等。
最凶的位置是西南方岁破、东方三煞及北方五黄大煞，东北太岁，以上方位室内均不宜动土修造，若室外有工程及地盘，切宜化解。
中宫：九紫火「右弼吉庆星」
中宫属土，九紫火生旺中宫使吉庆气场的汇聚，九紫火「右弼吉庆星」主喜庆婚嫁之事，因此如得生旺，则有喜庆满堂之兆，为催旺财运、升迁、婚喜、生子、创业等储备了必要条件。可在大厅摆放动态家电，用来催旺姻缘喜事。并可摆放天珠盘、绿晶七星盘，加强事业财运，六合鸡盘，和人缘合桃花，化解凶灾。做生意的朋友，可摆放一座开心招财佛，可招纳更大财富。中宫今年是「喜庆位」，如果结婚想要孩子，可以催旺中宫位。若已有孩子，也可以为升职加薪而努力，将植物放在喜庆位上。九紫生助当运八白运星，星生宫，八逢九紫，喜曜齐来，大吉利之象。九紫是下元八运的生气星，主情缘及喜庆之事。若房门、窗口、睡床在此方，又与家人宅命相配，则有利于嫁娶、添丁、升职、置业等吉庆喜事。九紫属火，宜放置大叶植物、红色物件和动态家用电器来催旺吉庆喜事。
东南方：八白土「左辅财运星」
八白土「左辅财运星」，是当旺财星，除主管财运外亦主吉庆、置业、创业及婚嫁等。若大门、窗台、厨房在东南方，主家宅兴旺，财运亨通，可添丁、置业，有情人终可成眷属。但八白土在东南方被巽木所克制，其力减弱，若宅运不配合木土相克，则要注意皮肤、筋骨、脾胃易有毛病，其次易有手足之伤及耳水不平衡。
在东南方可以摆一个紫水晶球，化解木土相克，欲置业、创业或计画新发展的朋友，不可错失此方，在此方位宜放电风扇、除湿机等动态家电，或可摆放招财貔貅、天珠、水晶七星盘，或则一封红包装入八的金钱币和一张黄纸可以加强运势，能令事业得贵人助力。今年东南为八白财星，八运东南为七赤破军星，而「破军」为刚过气的财星，故与当时得令的八白财星相会，则东南方地区经济会发展迅速。东南方地区为广东、香港及东南亚一带，此外远至澳洲、纽西兰，亦为东南方地区。若想在此方催财，可以摆放一杯水，任何水种植物或鱼缸在此位，以利财运。
正东方：七赤金「破军星」
七赤金「破军星」，为破坏劫财星，又是失运退运财星，飞临东方，会成六七交剑煞，并且金木交战，为祸甚重，埋下被盗、被骗的警示。但在八运中亦主管偏财运，是一颗不可多得的偏财星。不过此星凶吉无常，宜生不宜克。对艺术、娱乐及偏门行业有利。若室内布局不当，或错误运用，则主有小人破坏、贼劫、意外、损耗、斗争等，会妨碍事业、被朋友连累而破财伤身或有手术血光之应。
如大门、视窗、主人房、厨房在东方，更要趋避得宜，才可获益，如配置不当，特别容易招惹财务是非等问题；亦容易碰上阴损小人。此方不可放大叶植物及铜器，否则易有手脚之伤及肠胃疾病。可摆放八个白玉扣、□字天珠阵、招财化煞龙龟等。
正东--今年为七赤破军星，「破军」为争门星，与八运正东的六白武曲星相会而成「交剑煞」，故今年正东地区，争斗、意外、车祸恐特别频繁，而正东地区为中国东面，台湾、日本东南面、美加西岸及太平洋一带。
西南位：六白金「武曲权贵星」
六白金「武曲权贵星」在西南方，此方也是岁破位，也是一个吉凶参半的方位，若能善用，吉者主武贵、荣升、谋事有成，得贵人相助，财运亨通。六白金星并主驿马，主管远游、搬迁、移民之动象。如大门、视窗、主人房、厨房等在西南方，对于任武职的人有利，如纪律部队，或从事体力劳动的人。
若祈求升职、工作顺利及旅游者，可在西南位置放黑曜石鼠和合太岁，有助家宅兴旺，老少平安。有赌博习惯、买股票的朋友，可在此处摆放粉晶球、粉晶七星盘或一夥36眼天珠化解加强事业财运，可得上司赏识而加薪升职有望。这20年为五黄灾星驾临之地，唯今年西南方为六白武曲金，金能泄土减弱灾星，故发生严重灾难机会不大。唯金泄土而病星转化为金，而金属主喉咙、气管及肺部，故今年恐会出现呼吸系统流行病毒，而西南地区为印尼及印度洋一带。西南今年是「武曲位」，利文职以外人士，如装设电脑、修理火车路轨、三行工人、纪律部队或其他技术性人士。若渴望升职，可在西南放八粒白色石头。如要财源广进，则放一杯水。
正北方：五黄土「廉贞灾瘟星」
五黄土「灾瘟星」，是一个最不吉利之星，破耗损害可谓到了极点，若误犯之会有凶祸发生，这方位宜静不宜动，如果需要装修，选其他方位先动土。如家中的大门、窗户、主人房、厨灶在此方位者，今年家人健康会较多疾病、灾害、易招小人、官讼，对财运亦大有影响，请勿掉以轻心。此外，在这个方位亦不宜摆放动的饰物。
今年最好不要修动此方位，切忌放风扇，抽湿机等，可在该位摆放六字天柱镇，或铜葫芦内加清朝五帝古钱，或挂上一串已开光的「清朝六帝古钱」（注：仿做的铜钱无效），并在灶底下放八粒白玉扣。今年正北为「五黄大病位」，会引起身体不适，主要影响呼吸系统及腹部，例如喉咙、气管、肠胃疾病等。如果家居大门位于正北，厨房在正北，或者睡觉方位在正北，病得会更严重。要化解病位，可在正北位摆放音乐盒风铃、或其他可发声的金属物件，如多过一条的钥匙亦可。
正南方：四绿木「文昌星」
四绿木「文昌星」，主文昌、科名、品学兼优，有助求学或晋升，并招来人缘及桃花之应。家中有读书的小孩子或自己正在求学者，宜把书桌朝向正南方，对学业成绩必有大跃进。在此方处理文件，亦能头脑灵活，福至心灵且工作顺利。上班一族，会有更好的机缘一展所长，有出色的表现，最低限度亦可保不失，使工作稳步上升。昌位在正南，如要催旺，最宜放四枝富贵竹，但单单放一杯水，都有催旺文昌位的作用。文昌除了对进修和在学学生有影响外，在订立契约和处理文件时，催旺文昌位能起正面作用。欲想求学业成绩优异、温习时精神集中，可在文昌位上摆放绿玉文昌塔。未有心仪的朋友若希望获得异性追求或垂青，可在正南方摆放粉晶球、粉晶七星盘，桃花仙子，更能得天赐良缘，奇逢艳遇。
东北方：三碧木「禄存蚩尤星」
三碧木「禄存蚩尤星」又名是非星，飞临东北方，会成二三斗牛煞，此方亦是今年太岁的所在方位，煞气特别重。三碧木一般被视为不吉之星数，容易招惹是非口舌，也是盗贼星。若家中大门、窗台向东北者，主易有戾气积聚，令家人情绪容易激动，脾气暴躁，容易吵闹，难以达到家和万事兴的基本家居条件；而且易引起官讼及口舌之争，盗贼、小偷、失财、人缘欠佳、交通意外、官非诉讼等。家有冲犯太岁之肖羊及肖牛者更要当心，切宜化解。若窗台向东北方，更形煞加镰刀煞的马路，可在窗台摆放龙龟、和合二仙像、贵人天珠盘、麒麟、六字天柱镇、粉晶六合鸡盘，化解小人，和合人缘。若大门在东北位上，土木相克，可在门外放上红地毡，木生火，火生土，化解「官符」及意外之不利。东北位属「三碧嗌交争吵位」，可在家居东北位放粉红色地毡化解，但若是靠口才为生，则可不化解。
正西方：二黑土「巨门病符星」
二黑土「巨门病符星」，主有损伤、疾厄、皮肉痛症及肠胃疾病，特别女主人。病符星所到之正西方不可胡乱动土，亦不宜摆放生动的东西，否则随时都会动起病符及人口不安。若大门、房门或厨房设在正西，容易感染疾病或有突发性健康变化，甚至有手术，血光之应，慎防有孝服。家居大门、厨房或睡房位于正西，居住者容易生病，主要病变集中在呼吸系统，即喉咙、气管等；其次为腹部疾病，可将风铃、音乐盒及一些可发出声音的金属物品放在正西位化解。若要化解病符飞临之伤害，可在西北方摆放一夥三十六眼天珠或六字天柱镇、白玉葫芦或铜葫芦内加清朝五帝古钱，化解病符星。若大门或房门设在正西方位置，可挂上六帝钱，有除病化煞功效。此方不宜摆放红地毡及大叶植物。
西北位：一白水「贪狼桃花星」
一白水「贪狼星」又为桃花星，三吉星之一，主文贵、幸运、人和、财富、感情、桃花及人际关系；对升职、旅游及进修等也有极大帮助。值生旺当运者主吉，便可借助贪狼星来实现自己的理想，求谋、求财、求姻缘等更易得心应手。若遇克泄及退气者，有负面性质存在，如处理失误或摆放失当则会妨碍学业，带来感情烦恼；而且更会影响耳、肾、膀胱及泌尿系统的健康，不可轻视。如果未婚的男女又想趋旺桃花，可摆在大厅位置放粉晶球、粉晶七星盘，加强桃花运。欲求儿女读书专心，成绩进步，则可摆放文昌塔或三元及第助旺文昌。若求事业晋升，可摆放一夥九眼老天珠、绿晶七星盘。西北方位今年是「桃花位」，要催旺桃花，可放一杯水，再在旁边一个上链发声音乐盒，宜久不久拉动，让其金属声震动旁边的水，以催旺桃花。由于桃花除了代表男女关系，还包括一般的人际关系，所以已婚人士也可催旺桃花。
香港风水命相学家麦玲玲根据牛年九大吉凶方位所在，按照不同坐向的家居图来指出布阵方法，使用方法是先找出家中大门坐向，然后再放风水物品。以下是她的建议：
正东：蓝色物品；
东南：水种植物／红黄物品；
正南：四枝富贵竹／蓝绿物品；
西南：八条金鱼／有水摆设；
正西：铜制或金色重物／钱兜／蓝色物品；
西北：鲜花／水种植物；
正北：铜制或金色重物／钱兜／发声圆形铜锣；六层金色风铃；
东北：九枝去叶玫瑰／红色物品；
中宫：泥种植物／红灯。

新春开运习俗

2009-01-24T17:14:00.004+08:00

新春开运习俗

很快的，明天就是除夕了。您大扫除完毕了吗？
之前分享了一些民间扫除习俗，能扫除晦气，霉运。
现在分享一些民间开运文化。

1. 上头香 - 切记，勿推挤，凌乱的上香。香香乃中华文化，道教庄严习俗；目的是通过香烟与神灵沟通，祈祷。所以上香要严肃，不能急躁，不能乱插香。一些庙宇争先恐后的上香，绝对不能祈福，反而培养恶习，制造不愉快气氛。上头香，是指各人自己的新年第一烛香，不是，我重复，不是庙宇的第一烛香。因此整个春节都能为自己上香，不必一定执着，要午夜上香。午夜子时，是晚上11点到凌晨1点为子时时辰。不是12点。华人时辰计算，11点就算明天了。
上头香，源自华人初一‘贺正’祈福礼拜的习俗；大年初一第一时间向尊贵的神灵，祖先拜年，祭天，‘贺正’，或‘开正’。
这里值得注意，今年午夜11点到凌晨1点和凌晨3点至5点宜上香，出行，1点至3点为‘凶’时，能避则避。
上头香，心诚则灵，心想事成！

2. 接财神，正统道教在初四后，初五才接五路财神，但是一般民间在初一午夜就接财神。其实那一天接都有‘效果’。按逻辑当然是初五接财神才对，因为初四众神才下凡。但，民间初一开年祈福，‘顺便’迎接财富- 财神也是人类心理因素啦。
如果在家接财神，香炉可以向天，或则干脆用自己家中神台香炉也行。摆上祭品，首先把家里所有的灯全部开亮，身体必须冲洗干净，然后穿上整洁并且颜色亮丽的新衣服，尽可能避免身穿黑色或灰色衣服。
时间一到，就向正东方迎接财神。如果要接贵神，就向东北方，接喜神，就到西南方。心中并报自己名字，地址然后观想(visualize) 神明样子就可以了。当然还要说吉祥话。

拜神祭祀贡品一般为三牲、清茶、香花、五果、花生糖、发糕、香烛、寿金、福金、刈金、香、烛等。数量随意，重要是庄严，诚心。
如果家中不接财神，可以选择到庙宇接。新加坡道教协会也于初四晚上接财神。

此外，由于年初一的贵人和财富好气场都是落在正东方，所以，当天出门时，应选择于吉时离家，然后先朝正东方步行或驾车至少15分钟，之后再转向往原定目的地。
当天若整天留于室内而未外出，那么，可朝正东方向做些弯腰的大动作，如拜神、祈祷之类的动作。

吉时

年初一
子时--除夕晚上11时至年初一凌晨1时
寅时--凌晨3时至5时
卯时--清晨5时至7时
辰时--早上7时至9时
巳时--早上9时至11时
年初二吉时
子时--年初一晚上11时至年初二凌晨1时
寅时--凌晨3时至5时
卯时--早上5时至7时
辰时--早上7时至9时

开工吉时
正月初四时辰一般，时间宜选在早上9 时3 0 分至11时、下午3时30分至10时。
正月初五时辰最好，吉时于上午7时3 0 分至11时、下午3时30分至10时。
正月十二属吉日，可选在上午9时30分至1 1 时开工。若迁就不及，可先行或延迟上班，待吉日吉时才用湿水黄巾抹桌椅、派红包等，进行开工仪式。

3 犯太岁生肖
肖牛者：需提防受伤及注意健康。探丧问病，可免则免。
肖羊者：需为年内奔波劳碌作好心理准备。签合约时要特别小心，勿赊借予人，有机会换屋转工。需留意消化系统和肌肉毛病。
肖龙者：易生诉讼，被人针对，注意长辈健康，或有丧服。
肖狗者：易被牵连暗算，被人在背后“打小报告”。
建议犯太岁者贴身佩戴鼠图银牌，切勿随意动土。此外，华人有安太岁习俗，犯太岁才安太岁，其余生肖只需拜太岁。太岁星君掌管一年岁运，有犯没犯，都应该礼拜。初四之后才能拜太岁。

4. 大家也可以用七彩花瓣，石榴叶或/和柚子叶，混入水中等待5-10分钟后，用该水清洗身体，可去除晦气，提升运气。

5. 除了在家拜神，也可以到庙宇，大年初一到庙宇转转，能扭转乾坤，沾染喜气，正气。

6.切记除夕，初一动怒。新年都一天应该广积功德，行善，不要于人结怨。笑口常开，能修身养性，激励人生。

..... 下篇还有‘趁吉避凶’...是我收集的一些民间资料。

新年大扫除

2009-01-23T12:16:00.000+08:00

新年大扫除

农历新年快到了。民间很多大扫除的方式，通过一些仪式能扫除霉运，污秽的东西。
我一直相信，人的祸福，是人的行为造成。但是，周围的磁场，能量也起一定的影响力。扫除不好的能量，污秽的气，吉祥的瑞气自然回来。
大扫除，就如同reset 一样。万象更新，从新出发。好的开始就是成功一半。
这里就分享一些民间的‘tips':

1. 用半烧水(阴阳水-半冷半热)，加入柚子叶或(和)石榴叶清洗家里，或则四周洒洒。
不用叶子，可以加入各种颜色花瓣。叶子也好，花瓣也好，必须加入水中大约5-10分钟之后才开始使用。

2. 清洗家中，最好是从里到外一路清洗。白天大扫除最好，清洗之后打开窗户，让阳光射入。一年的晦气能换新气。

3. 家里大扫除，我们身体也要。剪个头发，整理自己的外表也能提升运气，所为焕然一新嘛。穿新衣不是小孩子的娱乐。其实这也是开年的开运步骤。没有新衣，可以用阴阳水，加入柚子叶清洗衣服，这样就能算‘新’了。

4. 除旧迎新，家中不要堆积破烂，不要四周凌乱。在好的风水家，如果家中一大堆破烂，也没用。晦气堆积，会影响健康以及运气。

5. 有宗教背景的人，记得忏悔自己往年的罪过，并且要有感恩心。心灵上的‘大扫除’也很重要。不要斤斤计较。心胸豁达，好运自然来。

You Can See The Future

2009-01-22T00:26:00.000+08:00

You Can See The Future

You can see the future with a vision.

Study your present situation thoroughly. Go over in your imagination the various courses of action possible to you. Visualize the consequences which can follow from each course. Pick out the course which gives you the most promise and go ahead.

Many successful people use this skill of mental visualization. They mentally run through important events before they happen. Picture yourself in your minds eye as already having achieved your goal.

See yourself doing the things you'll be doing when you've reached your goal.You can put your subconscious to work toward making your mental pictures come true. Go over your day in your imagination before you begin it.

You can begin acting successfully at any moment.See the things you want as already yours. Think of them as yours, as already in your possession. What you can see in your mind, you can get.

Terrible

2009-01-21T12:59:00.002+08:00

825am. alr late for class.

Class starting at 830 at SIM, i am still at Lornie road at 825am. The jam today was especially terrible!

Normally its only heavy traffic, starting from the part of the road outside mediacorp. But today, it started at Braddell.

i thought its because of the flyover at adam, towards orchard that was causing it. But i was wrong. Bukit Timah road was jammed too. Its a surprise because at 800am, the road was not crowded normally. My god, its a heavy jam from Beauty World to Lornie Road!!!

I seriously do not know why. No accident, no road work. Just plain jam with all the cars stucked on the road.

from 825, to 915 i was stuck in the jam.

Singaporean drivers, please be alert, check your car often so that it does not break down so easily. Be alert, move swiftly. Moving fast doesnt mean more accident. You drive swift, decisive but responsibily. Road hogging and blur driving cause accident too. Sometime some drivers are 'lost' in their own world while driving. Even they are travelling at 40km/h, its a danger hazard to the road too.

My day was nearly spoilt because of this jam. Simply hate it.

团圆饭

2009-01-18T23:37:00.001+08:00

团圆饭

刚才提前吃了一顿团圆饭。

三十人齐聚在一起，好不热闹。美中不足的是，‘团圆饭’是Buffet自助餐式。地点是我的家，原因是我们的老太太现在住在我家，我的家便顺理成章变成了HQ。

注重家庭，家族凝聚力是华人非常重视的一件事情。其实不包括‘家庭’，乃至任何组织，任何团体，它们的凝聚力是非常重要的。所谓‘一团和气，和气生财’嘛。
华人就是喜欢这个‘合’，和‘和’字。

所以，再麻烦，团圆饭不怕吃多。听说有些人竟然会吃团圆饭吃到‘怕’。我感到可悲。要不就是家庭出现问题，要不就是本身的价值观改变了。

家人，亲戚是很重要的。朋友再亲，到头来他们还是有自己的家庭要照顾，自己家要回。可惜现在的人家庭亲戚都出现严重沟通问题。加上某些亲戚在性格上，态度上也是真的受不了。

凡是还是以和为贵吧。新春佳节，还是期盼能家庭和睦，一团和气。这，比什么‘发财发发发’还重要。

最后，我们今年有免费鲍鱼吃了。哈哈，刚才某个亲戚送了我们一罐。哈哈。

TM has a blog

2009-01-14T23:20:00.002+08:00

Well..doing a bit of 'advertisments' here. Lol.

Some of you might know i belong to an religious association in Singapore. Its website URL can be found at the side of my blog. And guess what, it also has a blog. Hmm. Will like to intro it here:

http://taoisminfoglobalconnection.blogspot.com/

Latest info presented in lighthearted style, a step closer to be 'In' for a traditional organisation.

捐血救人

2009-01-14T22:10:00.000+08:00

捐血救人

今天下课时候，看见有捐血活动正在进行。
已经有好几年没捐血了。于是二话不说，马上报名捐血。

我自己的身体好不错，捐血不是问题。检查结果也显示我的血液里面铁质多。
我的血型是A+，不是一般的O型血。抱着行善的态度去捐血，时候感觉还不错。

救人一命，胜造七级浮屠。一包血，对我们健康人来说，不算什么，但是对垂死的人，却是救命灵丹。

做人，不要那么自私，无私一点，对社会多点奉献，这世界会更美丽。

烂片

2009-01-13T01:01:00.001+08:00

烂片

1，剧情不合逻辑。
2，剧情偏离史书，演义太离谱了。
3，人物塑造差。

放火烧船，那里是这样烧的？火攻就是靠火来杀灭敌人，我方就不必死那么多人。可是赤壁二的黄盖放火那场戏，感觉上就算用火攻，死伤还是惨重。黄盖是诈降，骗曹操说要运粮草来才能接进曹营。并不是电影般，‘硬硬的烧船，一点谋略也没有’。

孙尚香如此轻易在曹营作间谍，鸽子也好像已经准备好的。真实天真。小乔何时在三国变成大配角？曹操打仗还一人躲在帐篷看地图？曹操好色，爱美女，仰慕小乔可能是真，但是攻打赤壁是为了打刘备和孙权。

打败曹操后，面对面还放曹操？曹操身边竟然死到连一兵一卒，保镖和将军都没有了？可笑啊，曹操撤军是还有数十将士相随啊。曹操可是丞相啊，不是什么庙街黑帮啊。
刘备‘假装’解除联盟？刘备哪有这能耐？刘备只能靠孙权的庇护了，这‘假装’戏筹码太大了。史书也没记载。

张震的语气，伤脑筋，听了就恶心。演的是孙权啊，不是古惑仔啊。
导演把整部三国打仗片变成古惑仔庙街血拼戏。
三国是经典，拍摄手法可以有创艺，但是还是要忠于历史或则演义。

岁末感恩

2009-01-13T00:57:00.000+08:00

岁末感恩

其实也不是真的要纯粹谈感恩，而是要分享我最近的一些经历。可能这些事情牵涉到感恩心以及岁末华族文化活动，所以标题才放上‘岁末感恩’。

岁末时候，华人最为忙碌，忙过年嘛。
岁末活动当中，‘答谢神恩’是重要项目之一。谁说华人不‘感恩’？
感谢神明一年的保佑，华人一般都会到庙宇祭祀。
道教的太岁是答谢对象中的‘大红人’。小弟对祭祀方面略懂一二，所以有负责帮助别人谢太岁。从中我也发觉一些趣事。

钱，真的能解决一切吗？

"帮我搞定，以后还你钱！’- 这是我一位朋友对我的‘吩咐’。天啊，感谢神明(太岁)一年的保佑，太岁老爷劳苦功高，岁末时候却遭遇如此般对待。答谢感恩变成了‘交易’。这些人一点心意，责任都没有。当然，我也没和他争论。争，也没用。帮他就是了。

再来，许多人无知，或许也带有‘怕输’心态；有犯太岁才拜太岁，谢太岁。没有犯的话，可以把太岁抛到九霄云外，管他(太岁)的，何必拜他，增加‘麻烦’？
对尊贵神明也如此现实，对待人也是如此吧。心寒啊。

太岁乃一岁之神，奉玉帝之命掌管一年的所有祸福。无论有犯没犯，都应该拜太岁祈求平安。年尾也应该感谢太岁的保佑。这才合情合理。

针对这种态度，老一辈的人也要负起责任。好的没教好，错的就乱教，乱讲。
家中的香灰，香炉等要还新的，只要诚心祭祀，焚烧金纸，用火把一切东西化掉，那些没有焚化的，便用袋子装好，绑好，就可以清除掉。放在树下？真是无稽之谈！这是乱丢东西，破坏环境。老一辈乱教，年轻的乱学。

有感许多人在困难时候求神保佑，或则平时许愿等，年尾都忽略了感恩。所以我便带一些朋友到一间香火旺盛的庙宇祭祀，感谢神明。

谁知道，一些朋友‘理由’特别多。
理由一 : 这间庙宇拜的是大伯公，我家里也有，所以我不拜
理由二: 我拜观音，拜大圣爷，这是大伯公，所以我不拜
理由三: 我只去四马路观音庙拜，其它庙，我不拜

天啊，没听过礼多人不怪吗？人类就是这样无知，一天到晚起分别心，自我心。
我的比较好，我的比较灵，我信观音，你信关帝，我们‘互不相干’。我家里拜了，所以如果再拜就‘不好’。

奇怪，向人打招呼有‘好不好’吗？对神明行礼焚香，也有‘好不好’的道理？再来所有道教神明都是一家，同一个信仰。为何我拜大圣爷，所以‘不能’拜大伯公？大家要了解，焚香是一种仪式，礼貌仪式，就象我们人类大招呼一样。不是什么‘神秘的动作’。

大家都是道教徒，拜的是道教神明，还分你我？如果是来历不明的庙宇或神明，那么小心是应该的，但是现在的情形却不是。怪不得别人看不起华人信仰啦，怪不得许多人要改信宗教啦。看看这些毫无道理的‘理由’，如此幼稚，如何不让人看了纳闷？

四马路观音庙是纯佛教庙宇？才不是。它是道，佛两教的庙啊。佛教哪有什么求签问事，求保身符，观音开财库的仪式啊。二千多年前印度有这些吗？佛教庙宇哪有拜华佗神医，太岁神啊，这四马路的观音庙就有！依我看，观音庙的仪式，是60%道教，40%佛教。

其实佛，道一切祭祀的行为，是道教信徒的一贯作风，也是道教包容的表现。所以严格来讲，信仰佛道的人其实都是道教信徒。

不烧香也罢，在庙宇，自己是拜神(道教徒)的人，看见神像，无动于衷，连行个礼都不行；深怕会‘吃亏’，‘少一块肉’似的。听见一位朋友的‘解释’，说，‘有心就好，不必买香’。真实可笑！

神明，作为宗教的信仰目标，自然处于比较尊贵的地位。试问如果到访一位尊贵，高贵人士的家，我们会空手去吗？

神明，如果你信他，他就如同我们的长辈，父母，试问我们看到父母会不会一点感情也没有，还理由多多的，为自己对他们‘不理不采’的态度做辩护吗？

心是很重要，真心胜过一切仪式。但是，仪式不能忽略。仪式是为我们表达我们内心要表达的感情，愿望和一种沟通。如果一个人穷到香烛都没钱买，那上天一定了解，不会计较。但是如果付得起，区区二元的香烛都懒得买，这算什么‘心意’？

追根究底，我看可能是现代人怕‘责任’怕‘做多错多’，懒散和自我中心太强。
一直认为自己是对得，如果错了也懒得找出答案。现代人也要‘责任’少少，回报多多。
华人也忽略的信仰的重要。以为只是一种‘死板，迷信等’活动。其实这是极为错误的。信仰包含了文化以及我们的‘根’。新传媒的‘小娘惹’也谈到，我们不能忘记自己的根。但是很遗憾，对于我们的根，我们根的信仰，许多人都没兴趣。

现代华人也无事不登三宝殿，有事情，又或则只有年头懂得拜神。其它日子呢？"敬神而远之"。当神是一种‘拖累’，‘麻烦’。这种人，我是神我也懒得理他们。

大家不要误会，天下还有值得嘉奖的现代人。我就有一些朋友，懂得珍惜自己文化以及信仰，懂得感恩，懂得不迷信，不是老一辈的人教的就是全对的，自己要去研究。

大家也别误会，我对事不对人，只是对这些奇怪，幼稚，无知的行为感到一点纳闷，一点愤愤不平。所以才‘大作文章’。小弟学识浅薄，可是也有11年的研究以及宣教经验，望看了此文章的有缘人，真的能检讨检讨。

岁末，记得感恩，通过信仰充实自己，鼓励自己，看开点。
讲人，其实我也讲自己，大家共勉之吧！

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 4

2009-01-07T01:56:00.002+08:00

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 3

2009-01-07T01:50:00.000+08:00

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 2

2009-01-05T01:19:00.004+08:00

A little experience of Nyonya culture in the ancient city Melaka..

the journey continues..
stay tuned for part 3...

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 1

2009-01-05T01:14:00.003+08:00

From KL to Melaka..its food, shopping and Jalan jalan!!!

NPNT - Xmas season and Xmas dinner

2008-12-27T15:54:00.002+08:00

BTW, its more than 10 of us attended the dinner. Picture only shows the 5 VIP. lolz

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T13:05:00.002+08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Everyone!!!

圣诞(耶诞)节快乐！！！

on a more 'serious' note...

Latest Christmas carol for 2008....

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town.

It's hitting you once,
It's hitting you twice
It doesn't care if you've been careful and wise
Recession is coming to town

It's worthless if you've got shares
It's worthless if you've got bonds
It's safe when you've got cash in hand
So keep cash for goodness sake, HEY
You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town!

Finance products are confusing,
Finance products are so vague
The banks make you bear the cost of risk
So keep out for goodness sake, OH

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town... (already in town!)

緣份

2008-12-20T13:15:00.001+08:00

以前有個書生, 和未婚妻約好在某年某月某日結婚. 到那一天,未婚妻卻嫁給了別人. 書生受此打擊, 一病不起.家人用盡各種辦法都無能為力, 眼看奄奄一息.這時, 路過一道人, 得知情況, 決定點化一下他.道人到他床前, 從懷裡摸出一面鏡子叫書生看.

書生看到茫茫大海, 一名遇害的女子一絲不掛地躺在海灘上.

路過一人, 看一眼, 搖搖頭, 走了....
又路過一人, 將衣服脫下, 給女屍蓋上, 走了....
再路過一人, 過去, 挖個坑, 小心翼翼把屍體掩埋了............

疑惑間, 畫面切換. 書生看到自己的未婚妻. 洞房花燭,被她丈夫掀起蓋頭的瞬間... 書生不明所以.
道人解釋道, 那具海灘上的女屍, 就是你未婚妻的前世.你是第2個路過的人, 曾給過他一件衣服. 她今生和你相戀, 只為還你一個情.但是她最終要報答一生一世的人, 是最後那個把她掩埋的人,那人就是他現在的丈夫.

書生大悟, 唰地從床上做起, 病癒 !
緣這個東西, 是最不可思議的.

這世界說大就大, 說小就小.就算是我們今生的約定, 也要用一生去尋找....
我們都在參加一場宏大的化裝舞會, 熙熙攘攘的人群裡, 我們尋覓著,渴望著....那指間, 相觸時被電擊的感覺. 那一刻, 面具摘下了,顯現出真是的面目.這之前, 我們都惶惑著, 惶惑得甚至不知道自己需要的究竟是什麼.直到你遇到一個人, 才恍然間了解了自己. 真正想要的, 並非當初以為的.你驚訝于自己在對方面前表現出來的, 竟然是和過去栽然不同的你!皆因你過去戴著面具.緣分這東西不可強求. 該你的, 早晚是你的: 不該你的, 怎麼努力也得不到. 但無論任何時候, 我們都不要絕望. 不要放棄自己對真,善, 美的愛情追求.愛情最好的結果當然是有緣有份但，

有緣無份，也是一種美啊…看到自己所愛的人幸福，自己也會快樂吧…

Scary sia

2008-12-16T22:41:00.003+08:00

Its getting a little bit scary and abit annoying.

Your 'unglam' photos putting up, and everyone 'commenting' on it. Image an unglam photo on net and half the world discussing. Unless i am a celebrity and earning tons of money, i don't mind, but i am not.

Personally, i don't mind having my photos on the net. Provided with my approval and it is decent and appropriate.

Everyone got a role to play and got an image. One can 'heck care' about image whatever and say they are 'true to themselve', i do not care. I think image is responsiblity and what you want to present yourself. Its not about 'true' or 'untrue'. What is 'true' or 'untrue' anyway? We are what we behave and present ourselve.

Of course, i got my 'tahan-ness' level. Its rising but still within the limit. Well, maybe when it reaches the limit, i will do what i got to do le. To save me from agony and worries.

I have to painstakingly 'untag' the photos and scanning the albums. After every outing or events i have to do that. Even to the extend i have to 'protect' myself by buying a new camera so that i also 'do the same to others' .

Many of you will know what i am talking about -

Facebook

当机立断

2008-12-15T02:05:00.000+08:00

当机立断 -

这四个字至关重要。懂了明白了还要行动，不是懂了不动。

Something that made me proud of

2008-12-15T02:00:00.002+08:00

Well..just to share..

my youngest sis reacted well when one of her friends suddenly fainted one day in her house. My sis actually applied some medicated oil and some massage on her head. After awhile she regained conscious.

I am impressed. At 14 yrs old, my youngest sis did not garbra and panicked. Keep it up!

Bolt

2008-12-11T01:53:00.004+08:00

Went to catch this movie today at Vivocity...Wonderful movie... with a message of telling ppl to be a responsible pet owner., we got funny pigeons around to crack funny jokes, fat hamster, cool street cat and the hero - Bolt.

ah...and its the Christmas season...some xmas tree and deco..

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA

2008-12-11T01:47:00.002+08:00

Watched the movie with a group of friends... well, an interesting movie..quite funny to see animals that can talk and behave like humans..

海角七号

2008-11-30T13:03:00.003+08:00

海角七号赞！！！

不常看台湾电影。昨天做了个例外。

与朋友们观赏了由范逸臣等主演的海角七号。此片也算是范老弟的‘咸鱼翻身’的作品。

《海角七号》（Cape No. 7）是一部2008年台湾电影，为台湾导演魏德圣的首部剧情长片，由歌手范逸臣和日本模特儿/演员田中千绘，与众多音乐人共同演出，新生代歌手梁文音和中孝介也在本片特别演出。《海角七号》获选为2008年台北电影节的开幕片，这同时也是《海角七号》的世界首映；2008年8月22日，本片正式在台湾公开上映。

《海角七号》耗资新台币5,000万元，是长期低迷、筹资困难的台湾电影近年来为数不多的较大成本制作之一，但无太多宣传预算，票房相当比例初期是透过BBS与部落格，以口碑拉抬出了超高人气，被视为台湾电影奇迹；而后票房突破新台币5,000万才开始吸引新闻媒体的目光，起了推波助澜的效果，《海角七号》全台票房目前已突破4.6亿元新台币，成为台湾电影史上票房第2名，也是最卖座的台湾片。

故事题材动人，牵动人心，充满鼓励的讯息。一群人不畏困难追寻梦想。电影制作看得出诚意，演出的人投入了十足感情，真实，纯朴。影片的‘船’使用了CG效果，也很逼真。
2个多小时的电影，加上动听歌曲如 "无乐不作"， "国境之南"， "野玫瑰"等简直让我陶醉。

ps: 看了电影后去 Vivocity GV电影院旁边的TERRA 餐厅用餐，意外地观赏了一场烟花表演...

Fullerton Chocolate buffet

2008-11-30T12:56:00.002+08:00

Wow...went to the Courtyard at Fullerton Hotel for a chocolate buffet.

Variety wise, its good and the chefs are really creative to come out with so many different types!

Never ate so much chocolate at one go in my life..lolz. Although the price is bit steep, but considering the ambience, service and food, it is still worth it.

有钱也不是这样的嘛

2008-11-26T00:27:00.002+08:00

... 有钱，真的就是这样的吗？

我今天出席了一个宴会。(很意外的被邀请的)
同桌的几位中年男女的对话，让我感到很纳闷。

"....你不够钱啊，2-3万我借给你啦，不是问题！”
“.... 11-17号下个月，走！我们上云顶！做飞机还是直升机？”
“直升机我坐过，很刺激！”
“看我的手表和链子，都是云顶等的'long service award!"
“......下个月上那里旅游？我不能啊，要到Dubai迪拜开会”
“哇，小妹，你读double science 啊...还学钢琴，跳舞"
"我真忙，要开董事会AGM...."

除了以上对话，应该还有一些我忘了。加上暴发户的典型动作等。高谈阔论，吞云吐雾(吸烟)，说话大声怕别人听不到等，足以让我感到很不悦。

富裕，是努力和上天的恩赐。人应该懂得惜福，谦虚。如此挥霍，如此骄傲，难怪俗话说‘富不过三代’。在儿女面前树立坏榜样，以后有样学样。

人，在顶峰时，要懂得谦卑。骄兵必败啊。

Disclaimer 2

2008-11-25T00:46:00.001+08:00

Haha...here goes..

哈哈，看官们少安毋躁，之前谈到的 Indian Chief 只是我个人感言啦。

心中只有好奇和一点纳闷，绝无怨言。所以才陶出来讲而已。

都说了这次Indian Chief 效应也有正面效果。促进关系融洽，之间更和谐，多沟通。

所以，最后大家是‘皆大欢喜’的，明白了吗？哈哈。

喜气洋洋

2008-11-25T00:30:00.002+08:00

喜气洋洋
感谢一群拍照技术了得的朋友，拍出这些美丽的回忆...

Indian Chiefs

2008-11-23T18:13:00.004+08:00

Oh please..for goodness sake. Avoid being an Indian Chief. Its only making people confused and puzzled.

Whats an Indian Chief?

Well, has anyone seen a Red Indian? Normally they have a 'chief' among the group. And if the Chief starts to react, they all follow.

Its the same thing here. Initially everyone is quiet. Then suddenly one of them began to act, and you soon have all of the others following. From a state of non interference, now you got all of them very pro-active. Why the sudden change i wondered..

之前一位好朋友正在筹备婚礼。

一路走来，从买新房子，婚前准备等，我们周围的朋友都给予鼓励和协助。
这就是友情嘛，朋友需要帮忙，就要义不容辞。

我帮了小小的忙，协助这对新人准备之前安床仪式的进行，结婚当天的吉时推算以及婚礼当天陪当‘兄弟团’的成员。

接下来一两年内，我继续将有身边的朋友缔结
有些朋友也向我询问了些传统习俗以及吉日，时的推算。只要在我能力范围之内的，我都不会拒绝相助。毕竟我认为这是我应该做的。

我的一位朋友，经过多月筹备，昨天在新加坡大上海酒楼举行宴会。
通过参与，我也发现了Indian Chief 效应。当然，我也需要补充，Indian Chief 效应也有正面影响。毕竟这效应会间接的提升人与人之间的感情。从之前的‘莫不关心’，到最后阶段的‘积极投入’，这是极大的变化。Indian Chief的魅力还真不小。

由始之终，我都不知道到底谁是真正Indian Chief, 目前还只是‘怀疑’而已。而且我也不打算那么无聊，去调查一番。

我只是感到好奇，和一点纳闷。为何行为上突然有那么大的转变呢？
之前爱理不理，似乎都不关心，也不管。现在变得那么‘on the ball’。嗯，真是奇怪。

人啊,
真是奇怪的动物。

Disclaimer

2008-11-19T22:18:00.002+08:00

Oh no!!!

my poor hello kitty is kidnapped....so i have to do this...sob..

the kidnapper required me to explain this in my blog..so i no choice...sob...

1. the cute dog(husky) belongs to my friend by the name of Sunkiss. As already stated in my blog, its my friend's pet.

2. Forgetful guy like me many times never bring camera, and i do not really like to take pictures with handphones. Therefore, most of the photos here are taken by my good friends...one of them is Miss Panthera, aka Bing aka Bing Lao Shi, aka Cher.

.....i hope my hello kitty is still alive.....gasp...

无题的感言

2008-11-19T01:06:00.000+08:00

Citibank花旗银行宣布裁员。之前DBS星展银行也裁员。

美国汽车业面临严峻危机。年关将至，人们如何过节呢？

无论如何，活着就有希望。珍惜生命，珍惜身边的人和事物。

金钱之外，其实还有其它同样能给我们安慰的事情。

每个人都有梦想，每个人也会犯错。做错了，失误了，后悔了，不要气馁。

时间不会倒流，现实没有‘早知道’。看似完美，其实并不完美，看似简单，其实未必简单。看似表面，其实很深入。看似近在咫尺，其实遥不可及。

多年苦心经营，可能毁于一旦。多年付出，未必得到十足回报和成功。人与人也有很多‘不了解’。到底是不了解自己，还是不了解对方？还是不了解情况？

看似很清醒，其实未必清醒。看似很了解，其实可能根本搞不懂状况的糊涂虫。
面对人生，面对挑战，日子还是要过。
希望每个人能熬过危机，梦想成真。

不吃虾的人去钓虾....

2008-11-19T00:55:00.001+08:00

不吃虾的人去钓虾....DOTZ...lol

伤脑筋

2008-11-19T00:54:00.001+08:00

伤脑筋

好不容易等到我的课本(从英国空运过来)。收到后才发现少了两本。
于是又写电邮给英国大学负责人。唠唠叨叨的询问以及提醒他们不要再犯错啦，我等我的课本已经等不及了。

过了几天，毫无讯息。于是昨天和今天又发电邮。刚才开电邮信箱，看到他们终于回复了。而且看到我的被遗漏的两本课本，18/11/2008才刚刚寄出。。。。

Date : 18 November 2008
Shipment reference : 3560813XXXXX

Dear : Shiu Kah Jun Jeremy
Student reference number 0502XXXXX
Delivery Address
21 XXX XXXX XXXXX
SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE
XXXXXX
Telephone No : XXXX2748
Please note a consignment of study materials has been sent to you on behalf of the External Programme today at the above address by courier.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nash Equilibrium

2008-11-18T01:09:00.002+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d_dtTZQyUM

Hmm.. i cant embed it as the user disabled it. But its a short clip, only 4 min on Nash Equilibrium.

This clip is from the movie 'The beautiful mind', Russell Crowe as John Forbes Nash, Jr. (born June 13, 1928).

A very interesting way of presenting his theory, which influence economics, mathematics, management and even our day to day live...

激励人生

2008-11-18T01:06:00.000+08:00

人生充满了未知。

下一秒会发生什么事情，我们无法知道。街上看到的人，尤其是老人，悲观的问自己，下次，下次还会见到这位老人吗？这首次的见面，会不会也是最后一次见面？

充满未知，我们人类还是要做许许多多的选择。选了，就不要后悔。要无怨无悔。

你可以很理性的运用什么game theory, decision tree theory 等等。但是这些都只是企图更了解情况的工具。对于解开未知，它们是没办法做到的。

如何使自己继续前进？我认为唯有一颗坚定的心，真诚的心能度过一切暴风雨。
失望时候，保持乐观豁达。
失败时候，要化悲愤为力量。

信仰，起着重要的作用。

信仰能为我们提供希望，从而主导我们的行为。人，因梦想伟大，人的生活也是因为希望而精彩。

我们祖先来到南洋，读书少又没钱，面对人生地不熟，危机四伏的环境，唯有自己的信仰，一把香灰一个香炉，推动自己，使自己更加有勇气，毅力面对。
人定胜天吗？

很讽刺啊，SARS，四川地震，缅甸风灾等，显示我们人类过于自大。

最近的金融风暴，也是人类‘自作自受’。资本主义者，Adam Smith 一定在坟墓翻滚着。karl marx, 可能在坟墓沾沾自喜。

信仰能创造奇迹，是心灵的鸡精，补品。奉劝无信仰者，选个信仰吧。
已经有信仰的人，虔诚一点。切勿‘平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚’。

信仰，没有谁高谁底。家中如果已经有自己家族的信仰，好好的，老实的跟随。

我们先辈虽然带来了表面上很‘俗气’的信仰，其实蕴含了大智慧。不要带有色眼光歧视它们。
读书能成才，普通的‘拜拜’也有大学问。就要看你会不会体会。不会体会就沦为‘迷信’。拜托，是自己文化水平低，不懂老祖宗的智慧就不要责怪自己文化信仰低俗迷信啦。

懂得体会，就会获益匪浅。很多人家中出事，家庭成员生病，家庭不和谐，经济出现问题等，就四处寻求‘寄托’，却不知道家中已经有寄托了。舍近求远，家里的慈祥的神明，当透明，反而有点‘自作聪明’自己重新找‘寄托’。真是耐人寻味。

说的玄一点，家中的神台暗漆漆的，香火弱，是反映家中出现问题的主要迹象之一。
家中缺乏信仰，(严格说，禅非信仰，有信奉神灵才算)，人类大脑有时自己无法控制，会胡思乱想，会控制不了情绪，会丧失人生目标和期望。间接的家中问题就出现了。

面对现今种种未知，问题，挑战，除了尽力而为，提升自己，努力奋斗，自己的心灵修养，很是重要。能不能面对挑战应付自如而且保持持久就看个人的‘道行’了。

当今社会，人物质上富裕多了，心灵就穷的可怜。世风日下，道德沦落，六亲不认，诡计多端，为达到目的不择手段，整天埋怨整天胡闹等，比比皆是。
没有信仰，人很容易胡思乱想，怨天尤人，自暴自弃等。
信仰虽然不能100分让我们荣华富贵，恭喜发财等，但是它给我们的，比金钱更重要的心灵粮食很人生启迪。

相信自己，相信自己的信仰。面对你一直忽视的‘大圣爷’，‘大伯公’，‘观音妈’，‘关帝公’，‘天公’等，行个礼，点炷香，或许就会灵机一动，人生的问题迎刃而解了。当然，我们可以选择其它‘上帝’，‘真主’等。但是我是以我们的先辈原有的信仰为出发点。祖先辛苦生活，最终都算平安，国家也繁荣。靠的就是对这些‘公啊，爷啊’的神明的信仰。这些‘公啊’，‘爷啊’，没有功劳也有苦劳啊。哈哈。

话说回来，人嘛，做事一定要灵感和运气。现实是残酷的，一分耕耘不一定一分收获。读书，工作的人，都会面对这些‘不公平’的事情。

但是，我始终相信上天是公正。给你一点，必定会少给你一些。拿掉你的，必定还你一些。有因必有果。我也相信，上天的这位老天爷，也会以不同方式鼓励我们人类。当然，我说过了，我是以华人角度为出发点。华人对什么‘公啊’，‘伯啊’‘爷啊’(道教)的神明最亲切，如同亲戚。
你可能叫他‘上帝’，‘真主’，‘天公’等。重要是不要放弃，人不放弃，老天也不会放弃你。
年关将至，写一点勉励的文章，激励大家，共大家分享。

刺激经济

2008-11-14T19:24:00.001+08:00

去了一趟新达城博览中心。那里正在举行这 Food Safari Home Electronics Fair。是一个汇集美食和电器用品的展销会。我到那里，就是要‘破财’啊。

我的不到一年‘寿命’的相机，发生了意外，‘寿终正寝’了。只好掏腰包买新相机。
独自一人逛啊逛，最后选择了Casio Exilim Z80 相机，售价$299，‘附送’(哪是免费的？其实全都算在内的啦) 4GB以及5GB储存卡，迷你tripod等‘赠品’。

就当我要离开时候，发现大众书局的书展就在楼上。我的天啊，我情不自禁的往电动扶梯走去，来到的书展。

同样的，我独自逛啊逛....结果被几本书吸引了，买了下来。唉....这一花，又花了几十块。

自我安慰以下，我这样花费，当做是‘爱国’，为了‘刺激经济’吧！
哈哈...

ps: The Food Safari Home Electronics Fair will be held at Suntec Singapore, Halls 402 - 404, from 14 to 16 November, 11am - 10pm. Admission is free.

Bookfest@Singapore 2008, 14 to 23 Nov, Suntec Singapore Hall 6. Admission is Free.

气死人

2008-11-13T00:48:00.001+08:00

真是气煞

迟迟未送到我家的大学科目课本，让我有些担心。于是写了封电邮给SIM。
SIM负责人叫我亲自发电邮给伦敦大学UOL。

好，我今天早上一开电邮箱，就马上发电邮给伦敦大学。
现在再度开我的电邮箱...啊，真有‘效率’，我的一封询问电邮得到了立即的回应。
真的有‘效率’吗？才不是！

我承认我缴交学费是‘迟’了些，但是还不至于过期不还钱啊。我是在指定期限内交学费的。他们不应该有如此态度，甚至把我给遗漏掉！试问如果我不询问他们，他们还真的会忘了我，不给我课本。

真可恶，要钱的时候就十分准时出信件来向我们‘掏钱’。钱到手了还工作不认真，频频犯错。

以下是电邮的部分内容...

Please note a consignment of study materials has been sent to you on behalf of the External Programme today at the above address by courier.
If you wish to track the progress of this consignment please use the link below:
www.gemworldwide.net

Please note there may be a delay of up to 24hrs before initial tracking information is available. Delivery of your consignment will be made within 2-5 days.
The package will contain a consignment note, listing in full the materials enclosed. Please Notify the Despatch office immediately should there be any discrepancy.
Please also remember to advise us if any details of your delivery address or contact numbers alter.

Yours sincerely
Pamela RobertsDespatch Manager
despatch@lon.ac.uk

我和Roy

2008-11-09T23:40:00.001+08:00

我和Roy

谁是Roy?

哈哈，它其实就是一只非常俊，而且还十分温顺的西伯利亚雪橇犬哈士奇Siberian husky 。

这种狗本身很爱与人在一起,所以当你抱著它的时候它会感到十分满足。哈士奇犬的力气也很大，而且它们毕竟是一种猎犬，所以饲养它们还真不简单。

Roy就是我的朋友的哈士奇犬。今年3岁，性格温和，可爱。朋友也这只狗的照顾也非常好。看得出来狗儿很健康，快乐而且十分干净，没有异味。

我本身蛮喜欢狗，狗的忠诚，机灵吸引了我。加上之前当兵时候经常接触德国牧羊犬，所以对Roy一直有‘好感’，很想见见它。

今天总算如愿以偿了！

德从宽处积，福从俭出求

2008-11-06T00:44:00.001+08:00

此联为明末画家王时敏（1592—1680）所撰。上联所谓“宽”，是指宽厚、宽和、宽恕、宽容等。《尚书·君陈》有言：“有容，德乃大。”而且，宽容本身就是一种高贵的品质。所以联语强调德要从宽处积。从养生角度言，心宽才能体健，这是人所共知的道理。

下联讲幸福、福分、福禄则要从俭中求。俭，指俭省、俭朴、节约。《后汉书·郎（岂页）传》：“夫救奢必于俭约，拯薄无若敦厚。”宋·罗大经说：“奢则妄取苟求，志气卑辱；一从俭约，则于人无求，于己无愧，是可以养气也。”这就是说，俭能治奢、治贪、养气。

道德经云" 有容乃大"。

这是何等基本的道理。知道的人多，真正能‘宽’能‘容’的，确实极为少有。
一些人常埋怨，说什么身边‘小人’多，周围的事物都不如意等。其实很多时候，大事可化小，小事可化无。度量大些，宽些，可以减少许多磨擦，小人也会减少。

美，丑，善，恶，好，坏，够与不够等都是对立的。多些宽容，包容，少一点的比较，日子自然好过。

某些信仰团体，一天到晚讲‘大爱’，‘博爱’。表面上很认真，很纯真，但，一退下‘舞台’，面对不同信仰的人，就攻击不断，对于对方固有的文化和信仰持有极度偏见，鄙视甚至含有怨恨，抱怨的态度。

大爱，慈悲，善行，最为基本的就是‘行方便’，多包容，宽容。
不需要满口仁义道德大爱精神，不比捐钱出钱出力献殷情。
行个方便，对人多宽容，自然是一种爱心的表现。最简单，最真。简单就是一种非常美丽真实的东西。

心胸如此狭窄，时刻怀有‘惟我独尊，唯一‘真理’’的态度，任何‘异说’
都必须‘消灭’。天啊！殊不知 "德从宽处积，福从俭出求"。
天大地大，宇宙如此浩大；人类如此渺小，又何必如此强人所难？
自信和自大只是一线之差。真诚和虚伪也是一线之差。

真的为‘爱’而‘爱’？还是为了满足个人欲望而表现‘爱’？很显然的，后者并非真‘爱’。
处处容不下别人，与自己不同的，都必须‘改’必须‘换’，唯独自己的最‘真’别人全都是‘假’。如此狭窄的眼光和心态，如何有‘大爱’？

500年前，西方国家如葡萄牙，西班牙，英国，法国陆续发展自己的航海事业，建立殖民主义，除了追求财富，另一个明显的目的就是渲染他们认为是‘真理’的信仰。
结果如何？自私的殖民地统治，不断的掠夺原住民的资源和财富并占为己有。
这就是‘大爱’和‘真理’信仰？

还是一句：德从宽处积，福从俭出求！
附注：此文章并非针对任何信仰，只是自己的想象而已。如果认为是在指责任何信仰，那我也没办法啊，‘说者无意,听者有心’，而且，‘若要人不知，除非己莫为’！

珍惜

2008-11-04T23:26:00.000+08:00

今天出席了一个私人医院的追悼会。
听到一则故事。

故事中小朋友一而再再而三的要求父亲让他多玩5分钟。
父亲很有耐性，没有拒绝那位小朋友。

路人很佩服父亲的耐性，于是上前和父亲说话。
父亲表示，几年前他的另一儿子就是在这同一个游乐场附近，骑脚踏车，被酗酒开车的司机撞死了。父亲感到人生无常。所以要保握每一天，每分每秒。

珍惜身边的每个人，每件事。
父亲表面上‘浪费’了5分钟，10分钟；但实际上他是‘多了’5分钟，10分钟。
多了这陪孩子玩乐，看着自己孩子玩乐的宝贵的几分钟。
得与失，有时候必须换个角度来看。

Singpapore Flyer

2008-11-02T23:06:00.003+08:00

Marina Barrage

2008-11-02T23:00:00.004+08:00

前赤壁赋

2008-10-31T01:38:00.002+08:00

前赤壁赋
qian chi bi fu
北宋- 苏轼 (苏东坡)作

壬戌之秋，七月既望，苏子与客泛舟，游于赤壁之下。清风徐来，水波不兴。举酒属客，诵明月之诗，歌窈窕之章。少焉，月出于东山之上，徘徊于斗牛之间。白露横江，水光接天。纵一苇之所如，凌万顷之茫然。浩浩乎如冯虚御风，而不知其所止，飘飘乎如遗世独立，羽化而登仙。

　　于是饮酒乐甚，扣舷而歌之。歌曰：“桂棹兮兰桨，击空明兮溯流光。渺渺兮予怀，望美人兮天一方。”客有吹洞箫者，倚歌而和之。其声呜呜然，如怨如慕，如泣如诉，余音袅袅，不绝如缕。舞幽壑之潜蛟，泣孤舟之嫠妇。

　　苏子愀然，正襟危坐而问客曰：“何为其然也？”客曰：“‘月明星稀，乌鹊南飞’，此非曹孟德之诗乎？西望夏口，东望武昌，山川相缪，郁乎苍苍，此非孟德之困于周郎者乎？方其破荆州，下江陵，顺流而东也，舳舻千里，旌旗蔽空，酾酒临江，横槊赋诗，固一世之雄也，而今安在哉？况吾与子渔樵于江渚之上，侣鱼虾而友麋鹿；驾一叶之扁舟，举匏樽以相属。寄蜉蝣于天地，渺沧海之一粟。哀吾生之须臾，羡长江之无穷。挟飞仙以遨游，抱明月而长终。知不可乎骤得，托遗响于悲风。”

　　苏子曰：“客亦知夫水与月乎？逝者如斯，而未尝往也；盈虚者如彼，而卒莫消长也。盖将自其变者而观之，则天地曾不能以一瞬；自其不变者而观之，则物与我皆无尽也。而又何羡乎？且夫天地之间，物各有主；苟非吾之所有，虽一毫而莫取。惟江上之清风，与山间之明月，耳得之而为声，目遇之而成色，取之无禁，用之不竭，是造物者之无尽藏也，而吾与子之所共食。”

　　客喜而笑，洗盏更酌。肴核既尽，杯盘狼籍。相与枕藉乎舟中，不知东方之既白。

读了这篇文赋，对第四段感同身受。故提供白话解说，与大家分享。。。

第4段，是苏轼针对客之人生无常的感慨陈述自己的见解，以宽解对方。客曾“羡长江之无穷”，愿“抱明月而长终”。苏轼即以江水、明月为喻，提出“逝者如斯，而未尝往也；盈虚者如彼，而卒莫消长也”的认识。

如果从事物变化的角度看，天地的存在不过是转瞬之间；如果从不变的角度看，则事物和人类都是无穷尽的，又何必羡慕江水、明月和天地呢！自然也就不必“哀吾生之须臾”了！

这表现了苏轼豁达的宇宙观和人生观，他赞成从多角度看问题而不同意把问题绝对化，因此，他在身处逆境中也能保持豁达、超脱、乐观和随缘自适的精神状态，并能从人生无常的怅惘中解脱出来，理性地对待生活。

而后，作者又从天地间万物各有其主、个人不能强求予以进一步的说明。那么什么为我们所有呢？江上的清风有声，山间的明月有色，江山无穷，风月长存，天地无私，声色娱人，我们恰恰可以徘徊其间而自得其乐。

late updates..

2008-10-30T13:14:00.002+08:00

Well..went to watch the above movie some time ago... the plot is rather interesting..but...the 'technology' in the show, or in another words, in the story is abit 'outdated'. Our world now is much more advanced. lolz.

Some part of the show also bit lame and didnt really relate well.

Overall a nice show, certainly will trigger your childhood memories and perhaps make you have the urge to contact your long lost school friends!

Best of all, it got part 2..and it keeps us waiting to see whats the ending. Personally i didnt read the original comic, so i got no idea how the ending is like.

rating: 3/5

Went for dinner at vivo.. This restaruant is certainly better thant the 'Mussel Guy', which is just further down. Both restaruant are at the same level with GV and Page One book stores...

Haha..couldnt recall the exact name for this outlet, but the food is fine, but service bit slow.

三部曲

2008-10-28T01:30:00.003+08:00

三部曲

第一部曲，到老字号的海港城大酒楼用餐。不是什么昂贵的晚餐，而是价廉物美的自助餐。二十几块就吃到爽，真的很值得。

第二部曲，到我国中部的一间酒吧喝酒聊天。有位朋友，自己不喝酒就算了，不知道是真热情还是故意陷害，接二连三的‘请’我喝酒。我可是有开车的啊，少量的酒还可以。我很赏脸了，他‘请’我一杯混合的Shot，我一口喝下，顿时满脸通红。

我酒量自认很好，懂得如何保持清醒，调气，并不会醉倒。但是体内酒精可不是短时间能调解的啊。他不知好歹，竟然还叫多一杯。XXX
还好有朋友相助。躲过一劫。

虽然他‘请’的酒，最后都是免费的，因为他认识该店的老板。但是我还是觉得做事要适可而止，不要过分啦。他的友善好客，小弟心领了。但是Singapore is a FINE country ah.... lolz

如果我没开车，我绝对可是‘奉陪到底’，谁醉谁付账！哈哈。

第三部曲，看半夜场电影 - The Coffin

不是什么好片子，吓唬人还可以。故事情节简单。泰国人躺棺材转运的仪式，变成如此恐怖，厄运还会‘传’给无辜的人，这未免对泰国文化有点不敬吧。

我的周末就是这样过去了。打起精神，迎接新的星期吧！

七情六欲

2008-10-24T11:51:00.000+08:00

人，七情六欲在所难免。最重要是如何应付，如何面对。如何改善，如何改进。

我设立这‘静思咖啡馆’Blog也有一段时间了。我也不象一般人一样，毫无‘包装’畅所欲言，把心中的事情，周围发生的事物全部写出来。

毕竟，这是网上‘日记’。所以，写什么都要三思。

我希望通过这小小的角落，运用我的简陋文笔，抒发自己的看法，自己的心情。

我比较‘含蓄’，喜欢‘若隐若现’的感觉。知道就好，不知道也好。同时也给人一些想象空间。

我的文章都是中文为主。原因是在日常生活中，能真正运用到中文的时候真的极少。
网上用中文些BLOG文章，能继续学习中文。我中文在O水准是很遗憾的，只拿个B3。很多人拿A1，A2。没关系，我离校后继续学以致用。我可以很欣慰的说，以前拿A的人，现在的中文呢？多半‘还给’老师。我，却没有。

人类是情感动物，需要发泄。发泄就没事了。哈哈，有点大男人，我认为天大的事情，只要用心努力，全心全意，诚心诚意，一心一意；最后一定能把它搞定。

人的心境也要不断去‘修’去学习，才能看开点，快乐点，乐观点。人才能得到清静，平静。

人很奇怪。之前在牛车水一带找停车位，等了半个小时终于有车离开，腾出空位给我停。谁料到突然一辆罗里车冲出来霸占了我的位子。我顿时恼羞成怒，忍无可忍。
驾驶罗里车的是一名印度人，车上有三名印度乘客。要不是他们人多，我很可能会下车找他们理论。

忽然，其中一名印度人下车，向我道歉，说他们只是停一会儿，一个小时后就离开。我顿时又火冒三丈，然后打骂了那位印度人。真XXX，1小时还算‘一会二’?

过后，我观察到这群人身穿兴都教服饰，才发觉到他们可能是要赶到附近的兴都庙参加仪式，才如此无礼。人，看开点，就当做好事。想到这里，我的气焰就消了许多。

人，七情六欲特别多。重要是要懂得控制，心胸也要不断扩大。

what a night...

2008-10-20T01:15:00.003+08:00

Date: 17/10/2008

Time: 7pm - 4am

Met up with my SPI friends for dinner gathering at Rukizen Japanese Restaurant (at Millennium Walk). The cooked food was ok, but the sashimi was really fresh and yummy.

After that went over to Suntec of KTV. From 1030pm all the way to 340am, we sang our hearts out. Until i got a sore throat... It was my first time getting sore throat for singing.

Well actually, my throat wasnt feeling very good for the past 2 weeks already. Maybe thats why i got sore throat so easily.

Parking at Millennium Walk after 6pm, monday to friday is really affordable. Only 2.14 per entry. But i still shift my vehicle to Suntec because i do not want to walk alone to the carpark after that. All the rest had parked at Suntec (they didnt know Millennium Walk carpark was also per entry and so cheap).

340am, we leave the KTV. I reached home at 4am, bath and collasped at 415am. The reason i can reach home so fast, is the wonderful KPE. Now fully operation. Less the stupid ERP, it would be a perfect route for me as it is really near my home.

Anyone know if there are traffic police road block at KPE? Do tell me ok? lol...i want to know.

教不严，师之惰

2008-10-14T23:51:00.001+08:00

养不教，父之过；教不严，师之惰！
我已经尽力而为。是你们放弃了他，不是我。

可惜可惜。在这紧要时刻，竟然打退堂鼓。
任由孩子放纵，任性，胡闹。任由孩子摆布，玩弄父母弱点。
可悲可悲。

我只是路过的教师一名，无奈，无可乃何。
还是一句，养不教，父之过；教不严，师之惰。出自<三字经>，
我已经尽力了，因此问心无愧。

【原文】“養不教，父之過；教不嚴，師之惰。”

【白話譯解】生育子女，只知道養活他們，而不去教育他們，那就是做父親的過錯。
老師教導學生，不只是知識的傳授，也要教學生做人處世的道理。而且對學生的要求要嚴格，如此才能教導出優秀的學生。如果老師教導不嚴格，而沒有把學生教育好，那就是老師偷懶，沒有盡到為人師表的責任。

* * * * * * * * *
父母是孩子人生的第一老師。在家庭中，父母平時的一言一行，孩子們從小就一一看在眼裏，印刻在幼小的心靈中。因此父母平時的言傳身教，以及對待家庭教育的態度，教育孩子時的方法、心態和風格，都對孩子的人生觀、性格發展、為人處世的態度等等，發生著直接而深刻的影響。這種影響，即便孩子上學以後，甚至成年之後，也很難淡忘。所以說，對子女，不僅僅要教育，而且教育的方法也是至關重要的。

走路

2008-10-13T21:28:00.001+08:00

走在路上，发现一件事情。

长脚妹/高挑女生走路真的那么快吗？
同时领悟了一些道理。

看来，要追上她们可是非常吃力...
走太快，会喘啊。

走啊走。想买今期的I周刊。左边是职总平价超市，右边是老人摆摊卖报纸杂志。
我选择了右边。同样价钱，付给超市，付给老人，影响大不同。两块钱对老人来说，可能是雪中送炭。

给人机会，多帮助别人，少点计较，生活会更有意义。
买了杂志，我继续的走，走，走。

自我中心

2008-10-11T03:19:00.001+08:00

自我中心

谁都不亏欠谁。
人生就是如此，大起大落。不要怨天尤人。
也不要自我膨胀。人类，在大千世界，如此渺小。

要快乐点，就要懂得如何协调。和谐共存。不是‘针锋相对’。
多谅解，包容。不是‘容忍’而已。也要懂得如何接受。
许多人‘疯’了，是因为对某些事物难以‘接受’。
争吵也是不能‘接受’。

大肚能容，容天下难容之事。
我们脸上，要阴天还是晴天，选择在于自己。

笑口常开，笑天下可笑之事(人)。
说来容易，做的难。但，不表示要放弃，不提升。

圣人之所以‘圣’，是他们不断的‘升华’，直到‘至真，至圣’的境界。

动不动就说放弃，动不动就认为自己是绝对，与他人起‘对立’状态，并不是和谐。
和气生财，和谐才能万事如意。和谐才能取得平衡，不偏激，不极端，减少磨擦。

放下，处下，如同流水一样。

要和谐，心灵和谐，才能快乐。

保持通话

2008-10-09T01:24:00.001+08:00

保持通话

观赏了<保持通话>一片。以下是收集到的以及我个人感想...

翻拍电影是件吃力不讨好的事。《保持通话》翻拍自好莱坞电影《一线声机》。
冲着陈木胜导演，我到了电影院看了此片。没看过好莱坞原版《一线声机》，不晓得有多棒，但我可以肯定这部翻拍之作没有让人失望。在《保持通话》里，陈木胜却收敛了一贯使用的英雄救世路线，男主角古天乐，只是一个枪都不怎么会使的会计师。他虽然在一个财务公司，但不负责讨债威胁，泼人油漆，只是个记账的会计。

这样一个主角，生活一团糟，情商低下，老婆走了，儿子也要离开他，答应儿子的事却总是做不到，跟着公司的人去讨债却害怕兮兮、心不在焉。公司的同事说要借钱跑路，他也就唯唯诺诺的拿出钱包，被人家夺去自己翻钱，末了对方还“好心”的留给他一点。

就是这样一个平凡人，在去机场送儿子的路上，接到了一个求救电话。

古天乐接到电话之后随即给了路边的警察张家辉，因缘巧合之下，报警不成，古天乐只好孤军上路，一句“尽力而为”，将本片迅速带入最精彩的段落。古天乐在本片中的的10分钟飙车戏，撞烂了八辆，至于其它在周围被撞烂的车更是不胜枚举，最后由百事可乐赞助的那几万罐可乐真是惊心动魄，紧张刺激。

我最欣赏的，还是陈木胜在本片中传递给观众的一种态度。

古天乐面对大S的求救，在本片从头到尾，反复说到的一句话是：我尽力而为。

大S摆脱了台湾偶像剧中的恶习，从头哭到尾，是一个失魂落魄的母亲。刘烨与张家辉，也很不错。张家辉将一个内敛低调的警察刻画的非常好，压抑了全场之后，最后展现的英姿是让人期待和感到痛快的。

陈木胜用这部《保持通话》告诉观众，一个有着正义感的普通人，一样可以做英雄。而我也希望看这部电影的观众，能够和我一样，在影片中找到一种别样的英雄情怀！

整体来讲，这部片子，真的是‘赞’！ 4/5

Zhong Han's Birthday...

2008-10-07T00:34:00.003+08:00

Thanks Zhong Han for giving us a treat at Compasspoint, Sakura! Your birthday treat provided we brothers a good chance to gather together!

不知道

2008-10-01T23:02:00.002+08:00

不知道

知道和不知道.....两者间，人类知道的多，还是不知道的多呢？
当然是不知道。

知道可以带来喜悦，也可以迎来悲伤。
不知道，却也带来恐慌和无奈，无助，
但同时也可能会"不知者无罪，傻人有傻福"。
知道，面对残酷的现实？还是选择不知道，逃避现实？
知道又如何？不知道又是如何？
知知为知知，不知为不知。

知道自己知道什么，不知道什么才是大智慧。试问又有多少人有此大智？
知道了，就会走下一步棋子，但是同时有不确定，不知道结果如何。
不知道，棋子如何走，真的不知道。结局如何，也不知道。
可能自我膨胀，过度欲望；期盼越高，失望率也可能更高。知道更多，不知道也更多。不知道的多，想知道的更多。

等，是办法吗？行动，该如何行动？

静观其变，等待时机吗？这可要考耐力，毅力和恒心。值得吗？
结果无人晓得，顶多只能推算。付出和回报不是一成不变的。
人生太多未知。不知道，不知道。
拥有神童能解决‘不知道’的困扰吗？可能吧。

他心通- 了解其他人的想法，天眼通- 天上天下一目了然。
回到现实吧....人类何来神通，拥有神通又如何？‘不知道’是困扰，知道了谁知道会不会也是一种变相‘困扰’？

又是‘不知道’...
为何写这‘不知道’？
别问我，我也不知道。

"HAMMER!!"

2008-10-01T22:33:00.002+08:00

"Hammer!!!"

Yes, this is the first thing i know about him. The first reaction my parents will recall when we speak about him.

Mr JB Jeyaretnam

My Grandma calls him the 'bearded Indian'.

To me, despite he is in the Opposition Party, he is a man with strong conviction and wisdom. I pity he lived his life in the wrong time, wrong society and perhaps, wrong country. His words and thoughts werent entirely 'trash'. Who say Opposition's views are all garbage? Not true when we mention Mr JB Jeyaretnam.

Politican thingy aside, he is a man with integrity. At least, he did not make a fool out of himself in public and in court. He even managed to send elements of 'fear' to 'you-know-who'. So serious that he 'suffered' for the last twenty years. He was bankrupt and only lately, Mr Jeyaretnam's law practice was just beginning to pick up, after he had been cleared of his bankruptcy status.

He had strong beliefs and he stood up bravely. He fought, he had some victory and he also failed. But he didnt give up at all. Its something we should all learn from.

RIP, Mr JB Jetaretnam...

九皇爷拜拜

2008-09-30T01:00:00.002+08:00

九皇爷拜拜

新加坡就是新加坡。

农历新年，耶诞节(圣诞)，哈之节(hari raya haji) 3 大节日可以在两个月内一同庆祝。
以上全是公定假日。

九月份又如何呢？
屠妖节，开斋节两大公共假日以及华人(道教)九皇庆祝活动(民间民俗节日)。
同样是3种不同节日，不同宗族，不同庆祝方式。

屠妖节象征光明，邪不胜正，是个吉祥的节日。印度同胞非常重视这节日。
开斋节，回教徒的节日。斋戒一个月(白天禁食)，为了磨炼自己，心灵上的升华。
华人九皇爷信仰呢？

让我们简单的了解吧... 人家可以开口闭口‘真主’，‘上帝’，我们偶而了解自己文化也无不可啊。

九皇信仰，源自中国，最迟1900多年历史，最早2000多年之久。九皇- 指的是天上北斗星。北斗星原本是7颗。只是最后2颗比较暗淡，所以也有一些人称北斗为北斗七星。
华人多半是道教信徒(总之，拜天公，拜祖先为道教信徒)。他们相信，人的寿命，祸福，甚至灵魂都与北斗星，南斗星息息相关。华人有南斗注生，北斗注死的说法。
最直接关系我们的命运的天上神明，就是北斗星。

祈求长寿，消灾，祈福，最快速，最直截了当也是向北斗星祈求。天上的玉皇上帝的主要助手，也是北斗，南斗二组星。所以，人们就非常的虔诚斋戒(吃素)，礼拜北斗星(九皇爷)。农历九月初一到初九是北斗九位星君下凡的日子。因此这几天异常神圣。

最好的证据就是九皇爷的庙都叫‘斗姆宫’等。斗姆其实就是道教认为天上所有星星的母亲。地位至高无上。九皇拜拜时也点七星灯祈福，就是指北斗星。史书以及宗教经典也证明以上论点。
天上那么多星辰，最尊贵，最重要的也是北斗星。不同生肖出生的人，都归北斗九星中的七星管辖，称谓-本命星(类似guardian spirit)。例如，肖老鼠的星为北斗第一颗星等等。除了自己出生年份的当年太岁神外，北斗星君就是最‘亲密’的守护神了。宗教认为斋戒礼拜北斗星的感应非常大，一切苦难，心愿都能向北斗祈祷。

可惜的是，人们现在多数遗忘九皇信仰的真正意义(如之前说过的)。这近拜年来，因为一些清朝末年的反清复明的秘密组织，私会党等，利用九皇爷拜拜活动来‘掩饰’他们(cover up)。慢慢的以讹传讹，人们便以为九皇爷是什么海盗的鬼魂啊，反清复明失败的英雄啊等等。造成了现在民间的一些奇怪习俗，如到海边请神，斋戒要全身穿白衣等(如同披麻带孝)等。

现代都市人不会在盲目跟随。因此分享正确的知识，共大家参考。虽然这不是什么宗教，民俗Blog，但是看到本地一些民俗现象，因为按捺不住，因为有趣，所以才偶而与大家畅谈。有留意我这私人blog的人就知道，我是无所不谈... 毕竟这是 "online 咖啡馆" 嘛，不‘唱大话’，难道要讲国家政策吗？ haha..

F1 夜间赛车赛圆满落幕

2008-09-28T23:57:00.001+08:00

F1 夜间赛车赛圆满落幕

我为新加坡以及所有参与F1一级方程式赛车赛工作的朋友们感到骄傲。
本身不是一个赛车迷，但是为了支持，我也观赏了昨天星期六的预赛和今天的决赛。

幸好老天网开一面，没有下雨。赛车赛得以顺利进行。比赛也非常精彩。
整个赛事，大被看好的Ferrari 车手因为犯规，最后丧失得标梦想。

Renault 的Fernando Alonso 乘胜追击，最后得到第一名。Williams-Toyota 的 Nico Rosberg得第二，第三名则是McLaren Mercedes
的 Lewis Hamilton。

真是世事无绝对。有事后就是那么的‘倒霉’，或则那么的‘幸运’。
而且，一个人的倒霉，可能是别人的‘幸运’呢。哈哈。我们每个人都可能成为其他人的‘贵人’。

无论你多么强，也可能百战百胜。

我国总理李显龙也在现场而且还颁发奖杯给Alonso. 10点多了他老人家还没休息，加上赛车的吵杂声，不知道他受的了吗？

无论如何，新加坡做到了。

不知从何说起

2008-09-28T01:22:00.000+08:00

不知从何说起

同一件事情，同一批人。
人类如此渺小，为何还要执着呢？

世界大同，没有人亏欠你，也无须用放大镜把自己‘放大’。
心中的疑惑，必须用心去解开。心结，心魔需要自己的毅力恒心去克服。
不要放弃，不要气馁。自暴自弃只会让身边的人难过。
人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。个人，家庭，国家，社会，世界，自然都有自己的法则和规律。懂得顺其自然，坦然面对；懂得如何放下，珍惜才能得到快乐。
任意的放纵或许带来短暂的快感，但是最终还是要面对后果。

若要人不知，除非己莫为。真心朋友之间，已经没有秘密了。纸也包不住火。
我们都知道了。从头到尾，我们清清楚楚，了如指掌。事前，事后，当事人的面前，背后发生的事情，我们也知晓。

但是，我们不是上帝，不是法官，我们不必要‘审判’任何人。
对也好，不对也好，知错能改，勇于面对才是真君子。

已经不是肤浅的‘信任’问题，而是一些行为已经让人极度反感。明知不可为而为之，行为伤害了人，怎么还好意思跟人说‘信任’？

有事情就当面说清楚。就算是辩论，也是智辩，不是狡辩，吵架。智辩能提供思考因素，讨论课题，从而多了解彼此并且提升自己。

己所不欲，勿施于人。试问如果此行为发生在自己身上，家庭成员身上，后果如何？
人非圣贤，谁能无过？人也不可能完美。但是，身为人，就要懂得礼仪，廉耻，仁义，忠信。光明磊落才是真英雄，正人君子。

最正直的人，也有缺点，脆弱的一面。最邪恶的人，也有善良一面。当指责别人自以为是，认为什么都是‘对’的时候，可曾真心思考过是否真的言之有理而非胡言乱语呢？
信言不美，美言不信。好听动听的话，不一定是真诚的话语。听起来不顺耳的话，很可能却是忠言逆耳，苦口婆心。

要懂得思考别人的话，懂得放下，接受。不要时刻都封闭自己。封闭自己才真的是‘自以为是’，骄傲自满！因为不肯接受意见，只肯接受自己。这样的行为也不是也认为自己是‘绝对’的吗？

世事无绝对。人家的话不要完全当耳边风，要仔细分析。人必须经历磨炼，考研才能成长。不要埋怨，跌倒了再爬起来。自己的失败不要认为自己没用。经验就是这样累积起的。人也无须那么消极。人类如此消极，几百年前早就绝种了。
我命在我，不属天地。命运可以改变，改善。不要怨天尤人，一天到晚认为自己已经‘绝望’了。看看世界上许多的人还在为生命奋斗呢。自己感到疲惫，需要帮忙，要不要感到害羞，因为你身边的家庭，朋友都很愿意在你需要协助时扶你一把。
此文旨在精短，点到为止。是垃圾是忠言，其实只有一线之差。

人性难改

2008-09-24T23:32:00.001+08:00

人性难改

几千年来，人类就是为了‘权力’和‘金钱’而奋斗，甚至发生斗争。
因为这次金融危机，FBI决定调查几间大型金融公司。AIG，Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac等都将被调查是否有舞弊。
说来说去，就是人类贪得无厌。

新闻也同时报导了富裕人们的享受...
一晚酒店住宿2万多元。值得吗？
迪拜新开幕酒店奢华到了极点。
人类人性难改。

越来越讨厌资本主义。感觉人类已经忘了自我。

大白兔奶糖.....

2008-09-24T00:03:00.000+08:00

大白兔奶糖.....

陪伴我度过童年，历史悠久。
如今面对这次危机，数十年的基业，声望，毁于一旦。
真的很可惜。

我是个怀旧的人。白兔奶糖代表了我的一部分童年，对于经营者的不珍惜和无道德，我感到很惋惜。

中国牛奶事件，我追看新闻，也发现一件趣事。
一位新加坡女学生受访时表示，不‘担心’中国牛奶有问题。应为因为不是所有雪糕都有牛奶。
我顿时差点喷饭(我在吃宵夜)。不是所有雪糕都有牛奶，乳制品吗？
纳闷...

busy sunday

2008-09-22T20:14:00.000+08:00

busy sunday..

Yesteday was really busy..back to back, giving Talks from 930am to 5pm.. My throat wasnt too good already and after the Talks, now down with sorethroat. Aiyo.

Anyway...

这几个月，我参与红白事的频率增加了。生老病死，喜悦和悲伤都是人生的一部分。
我以为，应该坦然面对。不应该可以回避。既来之，则安之。

亲戚朋友的红白事，应该积极参加。虽然在财力方面会比较‘凶’...但是亲戚朋友的喜事，我们应该一同欢乐和庆祝，沾点喜气。他们的悲伤，我们也应该一同哀悼，哭泣。
我们开心时，总希望有人分享，我们悲伤难过，也希望有人安慰，支持。自己如此，其他人也一样。

我们喜悦或悲伤的事，也无须刻意‘隐瞒’。开心就笑，难过就哭。多些人的鼓励和分担，也无常是坏事。‘受益’的人得到安慰，‘付出’的人，应该是有福的。能够安慰他人，证明自己比其他人幸福。能够和其他人一同庆祝，也证明自己周围的人幸福，自己也会幸福。

公正待遇

2008-09-19T12:41:00.000+08:00

之前和一位网上朋友清谈，聊到一些他‘憎恨’的团体，‘憎恨’的人遭受到不公正，不公平，甚至‘野蛮’的待遇。

我这位网上朋友，还‘理直气壮’的说他们‘活该’。顿时，我感到很纳闷。
讨厌，憎恨某些人，某些团体，这是个人判断上的决定。这是很主观的观点上出发。

讨厌的人或团体遭受不公平，野蛮的厄运和对待，这件事情基本上很我们对他们的不满没有关系。为何要划上等号，而且‘幸灾乐祸’呢？

我觉得就算自己讨厌的人，他们不幸的命运我们不该如此看待。这是很自私的行为。
己所不欲，勿施于人。

就算讨厌的人犯错，他们也应该得到公平的待遇，公正的审判(如需要)。所谓大公无私嘛。Procedural and Distributive Justices has to be ensured, even if a person is in the wrong.

多事之秋

2008-09-17T22:24:00.001+08:00

多事之秋

泰国动乱局势，马来西亚政治危机，加上现在美国Subprime mortgage crisis,之后引发的Lehman Brothers 破产，AIG危机。

天下似乎还不算很‘太平’.... 人类还是在为‘金钱和地位’挣扎。尽管我们很‘先进’，很‘发达’。

AIG危机，AIA也遭殃。说也奇怪，这金融危机之前后，我突然接到2-3位AIA保险人员的电话，推销保单...巧合？

snapshots of Mid Autumn

2008-09-17T21:32:00.003+08:00

中秋节快乐

2008-09-14T15:30:00.002+08:00

中秋节快乐

又到中秋佳节了。昨晚和几位好友‘逛花园’；看到很多小孩，少年在提灯笼，玩蜡烛。顿时感到有点兴奋，觉得传统的延续。但是也觉得社会有些‘大小眼’。
中秋节提灯笼有时变成了‘烧灯笼’，‘烧蜡烛’。结果造成了许多环境破坏。这是值得改善和注意的。媒体上或许有些报导，但是对这些问题的‘埋怨’都比‘投诉’七月中元‘污染’问题来的少。

一些人可以解释说中元是整个月的‘问题’，中秋只是‘一晚’的‘问题’，所以可以‘容忍’。但是只要在公园多加留意，不难发现公园的设施都被这一晚的‘欢乐’破坏了。所以就算一晚而已，也不应该忽视。

传统习俗要保留，但是要保留精华和精神。今晚有个中秋晚餐聚会，月圆人团圆，希望我们的美梦能成真，一切美满，圆满。

中秋也不是纪念明朝开国皇帝-朱元章起义对抗蒙古人而已，而是几千年对月亮的敬仰和祭祀。
端午节也不是纪念屈原而已，也非起源于屈原。而是农历五月天气炎热酷暑难耐，瘟疫疾病多而演变而成的驱邪节日。赛龙舟也是一种祭祀龙神的节目。

以上皆有历史文化为证，非凭空捏造。
中秋不是mooncake festival。我再次强调。haiz..

mooncakes

2008-09-12T01:45:00.002+08:00

Mid- Autumn Festival is just around the corners, and i have been tasting mooncakes here and there for the past one week..

We have the good old mooncakes, snow skin moon cakes, expensive hotel moon cakes and even agar agar moon cakes. Its really nice to taste moon cakes in small pieces, accompany with some hot tea. but not too much please..i seen people munching the whole moon cake at one go!

Feel like going to Chinese Garden to see lanterns..but it seems the entrance fee of 12 bucks is alittle to expensive. Or maybe i should just go Chinatown? FOC?

By the way, its 'mid autumn festival' (zhong qiu jie) for heaven's sake. Not 'lantern festival'. I seen parents teaching kids zhong qiu jie is 'lantern festival'. I wanna FAINT on that...

1000 visitors!!

2008-09-07T23:36:00.001+08:00

Yes! i got 1000 visitors!!! yippy!!!

Anyway...if there is anyone who frequents my blog...please...feel free to leave a comment..a message.... this 'kopi tiam' is open to all to talk k... lolz

Dao De Jing Exhibition at Suntec

2008-09-07T12:50:00.002+08:00

Lunch at Istana..

2008-09-07T12:36:00.003+08:00

well...not a 'palace' but certainly still very 'high class'.,...lolz

Below is a gift to our PM... A statue of Lord Lao Zi, Supreme Patriarch of Taoism and author of the great classic- Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching).

The Multi-Language Editions of the Dao De Jing

2008-09-03T12:30:00.004+08:00

The Dao De Jing is a classical canon which forms the basis of the Taoist faith. The five thousand words of the Dao De Jing concisely expounded the philosophy of its writer – the great Chinese sage Laozi.

Laozi’s philosophy encompassed nature, life, politics and society. He expressed the ideas of “naturalness”, “tranquility”, “non-action”, “gentleness” and harmony. These are values upon which the theory of Dao was founded. The Dao De Jing is about the cultivation of one’s body and mind.

The Dao De Jing is also the main sacred scripture of Taoism, whereby its fundementals and beliefs are the religion's basic tenets and teachings. Lao Zi is also regarded as a Divine incarnation of 'Dao' - Creator and source of the universe. Lao Zi is often known as the 'Supreme Venerable Lord' or 'Supreme Patriarch of Taoism'.

Confucius once met Lao Zi in his quest of seeking wisdom. Confucius described Lao Zi as a dragon. He was an older contemporary of Confucius and worked as an archivist in the Imperial Library of the Zhou's court. Legends said Confucius intentionally or accidentally met him in Zhou (approx. today Luoyang district) where Confucius was going to browse the library scrolls and requested Lao Zi to discuss about rituals and propriety. During the following month of discussion, Confucius actually learns more from Lao Zi than from the books.

The Dao De Jing is one of the world’s second most widely-translated book. The book has been translated into over 40 languages. The first translation was believed to have been commissioned in AD 647, when Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the Dao De Jing to be translated into Sanskrit. The earliest version to have been discovered in Europe is the Latin version which dates back to the time of the Belgian Jesuit, Francis Noel (1651-1729).

The Multi-Language Editions of the Dao De Jing

Taoist Federation (Singapore) and Fung Ying Seen Koon (Hong Kong) are proud to present a unique exhibition of the Dao De Jing. This cultural exhibition brings together more than 300 editions of the Dao De Jing in 36 languages. In addition, a special exhibition of the sacred texts of the other religions in Singapore will also be featured.

Date : 4 – 9 September 2008 Time: 10 am – 8 pm (daily) Venue: Suntec Concourse (Level 3), 1 Raffles BoulevardFree admission

I think we should all visit this exhibition, to learn and be inspired by the wisdom of Lao Zi.
Lao-Zi stresses how important it is to be one with nature because it provides positive character. He regards genuineness, sincerity, and spontaneity to be "natural" characteristics which people are born with and possess. Yet, he claims these qualities are destroyed through education and cultural influences. In addition, he explains how a person is able to dismiss all authority except for the authority of self and a personal God. In this case, God is understood to be everything in nature. Thus, people who know and respect the authority of their inner nature know where they belong.

半喜半忧

2008-09-02T23:24:00.000+08:00

今天接到了一件消息。
半喜半忧。
喜的是许多目标达成了。忧的是预料中的麻烦，失败出现了。
事情已经结束了，就应该move on。
之前我也经历失败，但是我的努力在这次终于得到回报了。而且结果还不错呢。
我深信，只要付出努力，就一定能克服苦难。
哈哈，别误会，我说的‘消息’其实是我的考试成绩。
5 个科目当中4个的成绩都还符合我的要求。唯独一个....伤脑筋。

4bia

2008-09-01T23:56:00.003+08:00

Really not for the faint hearted. The story line is fine, normal horror movie. But the sound effect, shooting style makes it extremely scary and breath taking.

Some people dislike horror movie, thinking its 'boring', 'same old plot', 'fiction' etc. Well, i think its really funny and biased. Why? Because isnt it romance film, war film, fighting film, comedy etc all have their own plot?

Fiction? well, isnt almost ALL movies are unreal? Haha. Especially those 'hero movies' .

what matter most in watching movie is to enjoy.

OH..btw its teachers' day..Happy Teachers' Day to all!!! And i also got a small gift (card holder/pen set) from 1 one my students..my first teachers' day gift as a tutor..hmm..i must really do my best to help my students.

Henderwave walk

2008-09-01T00:07:00.004+08:00

Picture speaks a thousand words..think i no need to type much...its a nice place.. except that its abit hot. lolz.

crowded saturday

2008-08-31T00:00:00.002+08:00

Went Comex just now..to see see look look and help friend look out for printer prices... As usual, full of people and 'rubbish' on the floor.(those leaflets). First time park my vehicle in Suntec carpark, it was also packed, but the rate is good. After 5pm, 2.14 bucks flat fee.

While we were going back, we saw a small cat IN the carpark. How on earth did a cat landed in a carpark? Hmm.. we were afraid the cat would get run over by cars. Out of kindness, we gave the cat a 'lift' out of the carpark.

The best thing then happened. The cat intially was quite frightened behind my van, so my friend went behind to accompany it. And guess what, it poo-ed in my van! omg. luckily it was not alot of poo. Just '2 pieces' (yes, we counted). We got ride of the poo as well as our 'passenger' at Boon keng area, clear up the van and spray some lemon scent car freshner.

Haha..but it was a good deed after all.

Reflection Cafe... 静思咖啡馆...

Back from China and Taiwan

Dead Sea Scroll

Invest in history to secure the future

没头没尾

Help Others Where You Can

无奈

2009 Sabah Trip

2009 年6月27-28日 吉隆坡之旅

The Night at the Museum : ACM and its Kang Xi Exhibition..

What a dog teaches us

Don't try to change the world to suit only you..

Don't let traditions and festivals vanish

im still around..

As usual

Shout

乱七八糟

MANDARIN VS DIALECTS

都市人

卧龙吟

乱

Busy month

relief

八通未接电话

Happy Valentine's Day!!

oh no...oh well..

忙

CNY 2009

初九拜天公

新春趁吉避凶

新春开运习俗

新年大扫除

You Can See The Future

Terrible

团圆饭

TM has a blog

捐血救人

烂片

岁末感恩

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 4

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 3

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 2

5 Days 3 Nights Malaysia Trip part 1

NPNT - Xmas season and Xmas dinner

Merry Christmas

緣份

Scary sia

当机立断

Something that made me proud of

Bolt

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA

海角七号

Fullerton Chocolate buffet

有钱也不是这样的嘛

Disclaimer 2

喜气洋洋

Indian Chiefs

Disclaimer

无题的感言

不吃虾的人去钓虾....

伤脑筋

Nash Equilibrium

激励人生

刺激经济

气死人

我和Roy

德从宽处积，福从俭出求

珍惜

Singpapore Flyer

Marina Barrage

前赤壁赋

late updates..

三部曲

七情六欲

what a night...

教不严，师之惰

走路

自我中心

保持通话

Zhong Han's Birthday...

2009 年6月27-28日吉隆坡之旅