Saturday, February 12, 2005

Oh! What a life.

I sent a package to a dear friend of mine in Canada for Christmas. Obviously I sent it 3 weeks or so before Santa did. However it never arrived! This friend of mine checked with the post office in late January. Today it is her birthday and I was not aware of it. I felt so bad and wished that I had sent her something.

To my utter surprise, the package I sent to her last December arrived today, on her BIRTHDAY! The delay was on purpose and it is more meaningful that she received the present on this special day.

Sometimes we have to be patient and wait for things to happen. Fret not when what we hope to occur didn't come true because it is not always a bad sign. Good omens are fostering elsewhere if we are not just too quick to react and too fast to judge.

The way is to understand the movement and the rest. Know when to act with firmness and to wait with detachment. Know when to ride on steadfastly and to apply our skills gently. Then we will have peace within. The trick is knowing the right timing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUAN! MAY ALL THAT YOU WANT COME TRUE! MAY YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS BE FREE FROM OBSTACLES.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

The Cosmic Dancer

This is an Indian hymm in the Tamil language which is dedicated to Lord Shiva, in his form as Lord Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer.

Pechinal kittumo perimbam thaneda,
Peyarakku sonnal koopam varumeda,
Nasikku nere nadu nettikulleda,
Nathan thiru natanam aduraan pareda
.

The English translation:

Pechinal kittumo perimbam thaneda,
-If you add (suffix) names like Ananda, Baba, Hamsa etc to the name will it get the perfection of its real meaning and its effects,

Peyarakku sonnal koopam varumeda,
- The mad guys (people who only know the literal meaning of practice of Pranayama) will get more upset if we say the same

Nasikku nere nadu nettikulleda,
-Exactly above the nose inside the forehead,

Nathan thiru natanam aduraan pareda
-Is where you find your Guru (Nathan), the one who is doing his cosmic dance!

Sometimes we travel far in search of a Guru - a spiritual teacher. Some don't believe or are aware that we need one. But in the end, a Guru will teach us that we should not follow his footsteps and memorise what he preaches. Because even Lord Buddha, the Enlightened One tells us to analyse and investigate before following and not to tail the path set by our forebears.

It is a transformation of mind and we shall see our Lord dancing in eternity; the substance of change.

Lord Buddha said, "Noble monks and sages, you should practise this teachings which can be likened to pure gold not because of your devotion to me but because you have examined it thoroughly."


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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

If you have the time, please take a listen to the Tsunami Song, which is created by some of the employees of Hot 97 FM - a New York radio station. It is not a decent act to make fun of the Tsunami victims and if you feel like it , after listening write a complain to
fccinfo@fcc.gov to voice your opinions.

Hot 97 Program before airing Tsunami Song

http://www.koreanx.net/mailer/misc/hot97_tsunami.mp3


Thank you.

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I Have A Dream - Martin Luther King Jr.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Peace


Calligraphy by Master Nan Huai-Chin

Something I penned for the Lunar New Year.

The heart beats
To the drum of the Universe
The mind sings
To the song of the Spirits
The body dances
To the rhythm of Changes.
Peace flows in you
Peace is you.

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Fast for Lent
Fast for God
Fast for your neigbours
Fast for realising
Fast for goodness
Fast for the Gospel
But know why you fast
Not a deprivation
But an appreciation
What you have
You give up freely
So that you See
The reality
Aware of the gift
Bestowed by our Father
Heaven is within you
Don't look any further.
A new life from resurrection
40 days of Sans
On Easter we celebrate
For Christ we live
For Christ we bring
thy Kingdom close to our hearts.

Amen.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Walk With Me


Lucy Ching played by Alice Lau and her nanny Sister Woh played by the late Hui Fun.

《誰可伴我》

從前是你輕把我拖 
這刻高飛只得個我
提攜共引導關心加臂助 
我欠你多 今分手嘆奈何 
長陪伴我一起走過
教我奮起更生的一課 
全憑是你伴我 令我一生沒怯懦 
誰人為我做更多

多得你愛護 熱情在心窩開花結果
全賴你幫助 今生你伴我 
你為我青春磋跎 誰全力照料我認清楚 
艱苦你勉勵熱情伴我衝破萬難 
挨盡了饑餓 今生你為我 你受了酸苦幾何 
完全沒有後悔地將心獻給我

長陪伴我一起走過 
教我奮起更生的一課 全憑是你伴我 
令我一生沒怯懦 誰人為我做更多

多得你愛護 熱情在心窩開花結果 
全賴你幫助 今生你伴我 
你為我青春磋跎 誰全力照料我認清楚
艱苦你勉勵 熱情伴我衝破萬難 挨盡了饑餓
今生你為我 你受了酸苦幾何 完全沒有淡化
在心中記清楚

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
It's the year of the Golden Rooster and I wish you all the best of everything.

I will end the year of the Monkey with a post about the best movie that returned into my life after nearly 8 years; One of the Lucky Ones. A true story about Lucy Ching, the first blind Chinese woman who willed her way into university in the 1950s. Her nanny, Sister Woh was the support that gave her courage to follow her heart. Sister Woh's sacrifice and unconditional love were Lucy's pair of eyes. She changed the fate of many sightless Chinese folks by obtaining a university degree and through her and this movie I motivate myself to work even harder. Not to earn more money or to achieve a fancy status in society but to be sincere and make my life worth living.

With this I attached along the lyrics of the theme song sung by the leading actress Alice Lau. The meaning is straightforward and melts one conscience. It is something that I would dedicate to my own mother or to someone who has given his or her entire life to loving, caring and nurturing you.

Best wishes for the New Year.

Wendy

Monday, February 07, 2005

Software vs Hardware - Technical Error

Like in my previous post, my editing software, Adobe Premier 6.5 died on me. I am not sure if it is the fault of my dv camera (Sony TRV900 which is now an obsolete prosumer model) or XP has some broken files, missing drivers or something else. I have been editing for nearly 8 months on this machine and it worked absolutely fine. But now I realised that the fake / squeeze 16:9 function creates much instabilities during the editing process. Adobe Premier 6.5 performs wonders and the final edit of my shots are rather professional. However now it stretches the images which were shot in fake 16:9 into 4:3 display. All this while I switched my camera to 16:9 that gives it a tiny film look because of the black bars at the top and bottom; letterbox. Nonetheless all of a sudden Adobe recognizes the underlying format of 4:3 and does not read the images in 16:9. Therefore everything is elongated, much to the elation of chubby folks like me. We look extra tall and slim.

I have been told to uninstall Adobe and XP. I need to add-on 16:9 converters software or to download relevant plug-ins. But it worked well and I never encountered such problems and hindrances. Still software are highly unpredictable creatures. They wear-out, rebel and make enemies along the way. As a result of which they get into conflicts with other software, programs and peripherals.

Nothing remains the same and everything dissipates within the illusion of time. After all even computers and machines are not exempted from old age, sickness and finally death.