nothing could aptly describe. no one can rightly challenge. no soul could seemly defy. welcome to my world. where i make the rules and you stick by them.

About Me

Standing by, All the way. Here to help you through your day. Holding you up, When you are weak, Helping you find what it is you seek. Catching your tears, When you cry. Pulling you through when the tide is high. Absorbing your voice When you talk. Standing by when you learn to walk. Just being there, Through thick and thin, All just to say, you are my friend.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Husband and wife are sitting quietly in bed

reading when the wife

looks over at him and asks the question.



WIFE: "What would you do if I died? Would you get

married again?



HUSBAND: "Definitely not!"



WIFE: "Why not? Don't you like being married?"



HUSBAND: "Of course I do."



WIFE: "Then why wouldn't you remarry?"



HUSBAND: "Okay, okay, I'd get married again."



WIFE: "You would?" (with a hurt look)



HUSBAND: (makes audible groan)



WIFE: "Would you live in our house?"



HUSBAND: "Sure, it's a great house."



WIFE: "Would you sleep with her in our bed?"



HUSBAND: "Where else would we sleep?"



WIFE: "Would you let her drive my car?"



HUSBAND: "Probably, it is almost new."



WIFE: "Would you replace my pictures with hers?"



HUSBAND: "That would seem like the proper thing to

do"



WIFE: "Would you give her my jewelry?"



HUSBAND: "No, I'm sure she'd want her own."



WIFE: "Would you take her golfing with you?



HUSBAND: "Yes, those are always good times."



WIFE: "Would she use my clubs?



HUSBAND: "No, she's left-handed."



WIFE: -- silence --



HUSBAND: "shit."

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Martial arts sub-clubs give Sports Club second chance


By Lee Yuen Mei
Student Contributor
13 December 2006

The martial arts sub-clubs in NUS have shelved plans to break away from the NUS Students’ Sports Club.

According to Chan Jia Min, chairperson of the NUS Capoeira Sub-Club, the decision came about due to a new, “more receptive,” Sports Club management committee.

Capoeria is one of the martial arts disciplines that have formed sub-clubs in NUS. Other disciplines include judo, fencing, kendo, wushu, taekwondo, karate, aikido, nam wah pai, silat and taiji.

“The new committee members are very nice people,” Chan said. ““They really want to help out - a great improvement from the previous committee.”

Help from the new Sports Club committee include the organization of fund-raising activities for the sub-clubs and the canceling of Race Adventura, an outdoor adventure race, to free up about $2,000 to $3,000 worth of funds for the sub-clubs, Chan added.

Yang Ting Ting, chairperson of the NUS Kendo Sub-Club, agreed with Chan.

“They are enthusiastic and friendly,” Yang said. “They also said that they are working on improving relations with sub-clubs and serving sub-clubs better. I can see that.”

According to Ong Guan Hong, chairperson of the NUS Judo Sub-Club, the initial idea for the martial arts sub-clubs to break away from the NUS Sports Club stemmed from “certain issues.”

These “issues” included a lack of funding, unequal support for different clubs, lack of representation of martial arts sub-clubs within Sports Club and the large number of meetings that sub-club committee members are required to attend.

Chan added that existing rules used to assess sub-clubs were “not fair” to clubs that had a lesser number of members.

Chan explained that sub-clubs are graded on how active they are, as based on the sub-club review system, and a portion of such points are given out based on the number of members a club has.

“Capoeira had only 10 members in the past, of whom six were active and committed to the club,” she said. “The members had to work very hard to keep the club alive.”

The idea to form a separate breakaway martial arts committee from the Sports Club had been kept confidential from Sports Club committee members.

Jasper Goh, current president of the Sports Club, said he is glad his club’s efforts are well-received.

“There were a few changes and I'm glad that they are positive to sub-clubs,” he said. “We'll continue to foster the relationships with the sub-clubs in the coming year.”

Nonetheless, both Ong and Chan admit that the possibility of a breakaway of the NUS martial arts sub-groups has not been completely ruled out.

While both said the idea is currently far from their minds, judging from the recent improvements, a separation could still happen “if things do not improve this year.”

“I feel that there is a need to review a system for better management,” Ong said.

The chairperson of the NUS Judo Sub-Club added that he hopes the Sports Club will take the issues raised a “constructive criticism” and continue improving the current system for the welfare of the sports sub-clubs.

The writer is a member of NUS Kendo Club.

Sunday, January 21, 2007






观音圣像舍利现身连云。

能宽长老。


1月20日,江苏连云港市著名风景区花果山三元宫,游客们正在观看酷似一尊观世音菩萨的舍利子。

该舍利子是在该市佛教前辈、94岁高龄的能宽长老尼去世焚烧后,惊现舍利18颗,其中一颗酷似一尊观音头像。无论是五官还是装束,均形象逼真、惟妙惟肖,特别是观音菩萨头像旁还有佛
珠环绕,令人叹为观止,其余还有数颗半透明舍利,实为难得至宝。
舍利,梵语中意为“尸骨”,指死者火化后的残余骨烬。通常指佛祖释迦牟尼火化后留下的固体物,如佛发、佛牙、佛指舍利等。佛教认为,只有虔诚奉佛,悟道得法的人才会自然结晶舍利,非常人可得。

Sunday, January 14, 2007

YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS MAN

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA confirms:
“.... A mass of detail in the early sources show that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who were like-wise honest and upright men." (Vol. 12)
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW said about him:
"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."
“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion, which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence, which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion for from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity."
"I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”
(Sir George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.)
He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numerous social and political reforms, established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent his teachings and completely revolutionized the worlds of human thought and behavior for all times to come.
"HIS NAME IS MUHAMMAD" May Peace of God Be Upon Him (pbuh)
He was born in Arabia in the year 570 C.E. (common era), started his mission of preaching the religion of Truth, Islam (submission to One God) at the age of forty and departed from this world at the age of sixty-three.
During this short period of 23 years of his Prophethood, he changed the complete Arabian peninsula from paganism and idolatry to worship of One God, from tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion, from drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety, from lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined living, from utter bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete transformation of a people or a place before or since - and IMAGINE all these unbelievable wonders in JUST OVER TWO DECADES.
MICHAEL H. HART in his recently published book on ratings of men who contributed towards the benefit and upliftment of mankind writes:
"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels." (M.H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)
Lamar tine the renowned historian speaking on the essentials of human greatness wonders:
"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislation, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls.... his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was two-fold, the unity of God and the immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with the words.
"Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is MUHAMMAD. As regards all the standards by which Human Greatness may be measured, we may well ask, IS THERE ANY MAN GREATER THAN HE?"
(Lamar tine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp 276-277)
The world has had its share of great personalities. But these were one-sided figures who distinguished themselves in but one or two fields, such as religious thought or military leadership. The lives and teachings of these great personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much speculation about the time and place of their birth, the mode and style of their life, the nature and detail of their teachings and the degree and measure of their success or failure that it is impossible for humanity to reconstruct accurately the lives and teachings of these men.
Not so this man. Muhammad (pbuh) accomplished so much in such diverse fields of human thought and behavior in the fullest blaze of human history. Every detail of his private life and public utterances has been accurately documented and faithfully preserved to our day. The authenticities of the record so preserved are vouched for not only by the faithful followers but also even by his prejudiced critics.
Muhammad (pbuh) was a religious teacher, a social reformer, a moral guide, an administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a wonderful companion, a devoted husband, a loving father - all in one. No other man in history ever excelled or equaled him in any of these different aspects of life - but it was only for the selfless personality of Muhammad (pbuh) to achieve such incredible perfections.

MAHATMA GANDHI Speaking on the character of Muhammad, (pbuh) says in YOUNG INDIA:
"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to this friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life."
THOMAS CALYLE in his HEROES AND HEROWORSHIP, was simply amazed as to:
"How one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades."
"The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only."
"A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world, the world’s Maker had ordered so."
DIWAN CHAND SHARMA wrote:
" Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him." (D.C. Sharma, THE PROPHETS OF THE EAST, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12)
EDWARD GIBBON and SIMON OCKLEY speaking on the profession of ISLAM write:
"'I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MAHOMET, AN APOSTLE OF GOD' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honor of the Prophet has never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion." (HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRES, London, 1870, p. 54)
Muhammad (pbuh) was nothing more or less than a human being. But he was a man with a noble mission, which was to unite humanity on the worship of ONE and ONLY ONE GOD and to teach them the way to honest and upright living based on the commands of God. He always described himself as, 'A Servant and Messenger of God,' and so indeed every action of his proclaimed to be.
The famous poetess of India, SAROJINI NAIDU says:
"It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: 'God Alone is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother." (S. Naidu, IDEALS OF ISLAM, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169)
In the words of PROF. HURGRONJE:
"The league of nations founded by the prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations as to show candle to other nations." He continues: "The fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations."
The world has not hesitated to raise to divinity, individuals whose lives and missions have been lost in legend. Historically speaking, none of these legends achieved even a fraction of what Muhammad (pbuh) accomplished. And all his striving was for the sole purpose of uniting mankind for the worship of One God on the codes of moral excellence. Muhammad (pbuh) or his followers never at any time claimed that he was a Son of God or the God-incarnate or a man with divinity - but he always was and is even today considered as only a Messenger chosen by God.
K. S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO, an Indian Professor of Philosophy in his booklet,
"Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam," calls him the "PERFECT MODEL FOR HUMAN LIFE." Prof. Ramakrishna Rao explains his point by saying: "The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes! There is Muhammad, the Prophet. There is Muhammad, the Warrior; Muhammad, the Businessman; Muhammad, the Statesman; Muhammad, the Orator; Muhammad, the Reformer; Muhammad, the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad, the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad, the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad, the Judge; Muhammad, the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero."
Today after a lapse of fourteen centuries, the life and teachings of MUHAMMAD (pbuh) have survived without the slightest loss, alteration or interpolation. They offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills, which they did when he was alive. This is not a claim of Muhammad's (pbuh) followers but also the inescapable conclusion forced upon by a critical and unbiased history.
The least YOU could do as thinking and concerned human being is to stop for a moment and ask yourself: Could these statements sounding so extraordinary and revolutionary be really true? And supposing they really are true and you did not know this man MUHAMMAD (pbuh) or hear about him, isn't it time you responded to this tremendous challenge and put in some effort to know him?
It will cost you nothing but it may prove to be the beginning of a completely new era in your life.

Monday, January 08, 2007

there are a few cynical girls out there

It was in a lobby corridor when a friend mentioned to me a faux pas of his. He has been good friends with this girl for a while. It is generally widely known that she carries a torch for him. Either he is deliberately trying to avoid that fact or, well, he is a normal guy. He treats her well, as a good friend, without any intentions otherwise. There is a certain advantage having an opposite sex as good friends, sometimes even best friends. They can offer you a certain perspective you would never have taken in a million years, and might not heed even after you know about it. Nevertheless you know. They have good taste in fashion or if they dont, then just learn from their mistakes. It is often easier to talk to someone if there is no ego clashes.But the question is how do you maintain a platonic friendship? So it is the usual story of girl liking the guy and he likes another girl. So far the plot is typical, you can find that in most taiwanese drama. Then comes the harsh reality. Well in order to confuse everyone and so I may absolve myself of all blame, the girl's name is Mandy and my friend is John. Mandy naturally got a huge disappointment that John is not reciprocating her admirations. Worse is the fact that John likes another girl while all the time he is still going out with Mandy. As friends of course, but that never really occured to her. Some girls will argue that it is wrong for John to falsely lead mandy along but he did not point a gun at her at any time right? Love is blind. Not only so, it is dumb and deaf as well. Not to mention that it turns your brain into jelly. Anyway back to Mandy's responses. She turned ashen and never really did a good job in hiding her sadness. It was on her birthday she received the news, told to her by an expectant John who just wanted to share his happiness. I guess it was an indirect rejection. I really hope Mandy does not read my blog. So from sadness she turned bitter and finally a cynical and sarcastic girl emerged from that experience. She tries to pretend that everything was alright, especially in front of all their friends. Yet her remarks and statements to John became caustic and always with a sting attached. John found that talking to her became a chore, something that he dreads. It is no longer the docile and agrreeable and approval seeking Mandy. It would really take a sharp person to pick that up, and to all their friends nothing seems out of order. I hope you can imagine how tiring it is sometimes for John to have to endure these meaningless acidic undercurrent. Not that he cares. But sometimes he wonders how much more spiteful and childish can Mandy get. I couldn't sympathize with him more or rather I empathize more with him. If I am not in such a lumbering mood, I might turn philosophical and analyse the nature of humans with the above example. How we get defensive and our protective mechanism sets in. Regardless if the injury is physical or emotional. ANd how sometimes going offensive just means there is something to hide and to distract attention from. But too bad I am falling asleep right in front of the computer. I certainly hope someone out there who reads my blog reads this entry. Someone in specific and be reminded that apart from a rare rambling such issues do not come to my mind and when I told my friend about my seemingly similar experience, we had a really good laugh. I am tempted to continue writing but certain things are better said when left unsaid.