For those going through exams:



ok David, enough youtubing already.

This video post was inspired after I met this charming tourist couple from Wales visiting Singapore.

Met them at the 147 bus-stop after walking from SOSS.

I recommended them Sim Lim Square to buy an ipod. And I was tickled pink by the fact that they were tickled pink by the fact that foodcourts in Singapore sell fruit in big glass chillers.

I sometimes wonder if I am a alien.

Address:

Service:

Food:

Price:

Rating:

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature5/

ANTHEM₁ FOR DOOMED YOUTH 

 

What passing-bells² for these who die as cattle? 

Only the monstrous anger of the guns. 

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle 

Can patter out³ their hasty orisons.⁴ 

No mockeries⁵ now for them; no prayers nor bells; 

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, – 

The shrill, demented⁶ choirs of wailing shells; 

And bugles⁷ calling for them from sad shires.⁸ 

What candles⁹ may be held to speed them all? 

Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes 

Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. 

The pallor¹⁰ of girls' brows shall be their pall; 

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, 

And each slow dusk¹¹ a drawing-down of blinds.¹² 

Wilfred Owen

September - October, 1917 

---

Notes:

1 Anthem  -  perhaps best known in the expression "The National Anthem;" also, an important religious song (often expressing joy); here, perhaps, a solemn song of celebration 

2 passing-bells - a bell tolled after someone's death to announce the death to the world 

3 patter out - rapidly speak 

4 orisons  -   prayers, here funeral prayers 

5 mockeries  -  ceremonies which are insults. Here Owen seems to be suggesting that the Christian religion, with its loving God, can have nothing to do with the deaths of so many thousands of men 

6 demented -   raving mad 

7 bugles  -  a bugle is played at military funerals (sounding the last post) 

8 shires  -   English counties and countryside from which so many of the soldiers came 

9 candles  -   church candles, or the candles lit in the room where a body lies in a coffin 

10 pallor -   paleness 

11 dusk has a symbolic significance here 

12 drawing-down of blinds - normally a preparation for night, but also, here, the tradition of drawing the blinds in a room where a dead person lies, as a sign to the world and as a mark of respect. The coming of night is like the drawing down of blinds.

I have returned! Here's what I've gotten out of today's reading [1 Samuel chapters 3 and 4] from the lives of two characters - Samuel and Eli.

Samuel


Here are some attitudes that I've picked up from Samuel's character that God was developing in him:

- Responsiveness ['Here I am...']

- Obedience ['let none of his words fall to the ground.']
Eli


"Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for or purged with sacrifice or offering forever." - 1 Samuel 3:14

On "Powerful Prayer":

"The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]." - James 5:16b (Amplified Bible)

Righteous Man: Righteousness is not through our doing, but what Christ has already done on the cross. (i.e. As Christians, we are already righteous in God's eyes) 

Tremendous power is available to us when we pray

---

On the 'Prayer of Commitment': 

Once you "commit something' to God in prayer, let it stay that way!

This is the guy that could do all those funky sound effects in the Police Academy movie series:

http://www.ugo.com/channels/dvd/features/michaelwinslow/

Give me a break. Seriously.

Sigh.

How God builds you while you are building your ministry
by Rick Warren

Did you know that God uses a very predictable process to build your character? I call this process the "Six Phases of Faith." If you don’t understand this process, you’ll get discouraged when problems arise. You’ll wonder, "Why is this happening to me?" But if you understand and cooperate with what God is doing in your ministry, your faith - like a muscle that is stretched - will develop great strength.

Phase 1: A dream
God gives you a dream – an idea, goal, or ambition. Every great accomplishment first begins as a God-given dream in someone’s mind. "God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of - infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.” (Eph. 3:20 LB)

Phase 2: A decision
A dream is worthless until you decide to do something about it. For every 10 dreamers, there’s only one decision-maker. This is the moment of truth where you decide to invest your time, money, energy, and reputation and to let go of security. If you want to walk on water - you must get out of the boat! "You must believe and not doubt … a double-minded man is unstable in all he does.” (James 1:6, 8 GN)

Phase 3: A delay
There is always a time lapse before your dream becomes reality. God uses this waiting period to teach us to trust him. Remember, a delay is not a denial. Maturity is understanding the difference between "no” and "not yet.” God says, “These things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” (Hab. 2:3 LB)

Phase 4: A difficulty
Now the problems start popping up. The two most common types: critics and circumstances. Don’t worry. It’s all a part of God’s plan. “At the present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. This is no accident – it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold.” (1 Peter 1:6-7 Ph)

Phase 5: A dead end!
Your situation will deteriorate from difficult to impossible. You are backed into a corner, you reach the end of your rope; it looks hopeless. Congratulations! You are on the edge of a miracle. Trust God. “At that time we were completely overwhelmed … in fact we told ourselves that this was the end. Yet we now believe we had this sense of impending disaster so that we might learn to trust, not in ourselves but in God who can raise the dead.” (2 Cor. 1:8-9 Ph)

Phase 6: A deliverance
God provides a supernatural answer. Miraculously, things fall into place! God loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections so you can see his greatness. “I expect the Lord to deliver me once again so I will see his goodness to me ….” (Ps. 27:13)

            If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Here's something I came across while at the MPH Book Warehouse Sale recently:

When you come to the end of your rope,
Undo the knot in your heart.

When you're afraid of the dark,
Paint one more star at night.

Psalm 37:3-5
New King James Version (NKJV)

 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
         Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
         And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
         
 5 Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him,
         And He shall bring it to pass.

View commentary related to this passage

This is a promise I really want to claim in my life right now.

First delight in the Lord, not whatever I want. And then, He promises to gives us the desires of our heart. And God knows our heart better than ourselves. How beautiful is that?

Episode 1:
What colour does Barium Chloride burn?
How do celebs sound on helium?
What shouldn't you do with a lawn mower?
Are people with bigger heads smarter than people with smaller heads?
What happens when you put a bottle of champange in a microwave oven?
Is it possible to get drunk without drinking a drop of alcohol?

If you ever wondered about these questions and more, than you should check out Brainiac (in the name of science, ofcourse!), now showing on Arts Central, 10pm - 11pm every Tuesday night.

Science has never been so entertaining. Or Explosive:

And here's something cool I've learnt on the show:

1. Stretch out both hands in front of you. Notice that they are of equal length.
2. Keeping your left arms stationary, flex your right arm repeatedly for 30 seconds
3. Notice that your right arm is now longer than your left arm. Ta-da!
4. Don't do this in office or when there's other people watching - they'll think you're mad!

Missed Episode 1? Here's an excerpt: