this neighborhood is going down in flames
first, a venerable slew of updates so that you won't think i've been slacking in this department.

for the most part, i do know that leeson will be playing at the sembawang music festival'06 on january 20. it's organised by malcom of the new-legendary Prince of Wales (Wails) as a glastunbury/fuji rock sorta festival. before you go on lamenting of how it's gonna pale in comparison such spectacles, lets all just remember it has to start somewhere. i don't know wot its gonna be like, but i shure am excited to be a part of something in its birthing stages. couple of bands that i know i'll be checkin out are shoegaze/dance shuffle outfit: shamejoannshame, vetran indie rockers: satalite (remember the Green Room Sessions?), ronin, and wot i think will be the highlight for me: the hampdens. i first got to know this band last year when huii popped this wonderful band into the cd player during last year's mission trip and i've been finding ways and means to get my hands on the slightly exciting ethereal tunes!

so yes, i'm not even asking you to give local sporean music a chance. i'm encouraging you to be proud of what it means to have a culture of your own and be a part of this! wot makes sembawang not sound as cool as glastunbury? it's just the daymed hype, that's all. a name's just a name, and these events start somewhere. if you wanna see better music coming to spore, show your support, show that you're interested in music as a whole, that you believe singapore is capable of hosting a top quality music festival where artistes from everywhere would love to be a part of wot our tiny little nation has to offer, and just celebrate music for wot it is.




also, check out justin king. this guy is gonna be the next big thing whether you like it or not. and remember, you heard it here first. (actually empirejess, but hey.. who's counting?)

what's past is present and now we're taking steps into the future
did i forget to post yesterday? yess.. i'm afraid i did. but the world still spins on its axis. you only wish that your actions were that important, but the truth of the matter is that it don't mean a thing. you won't even miss me till i'm gone. and then some.

soaring, above clouds and all the going-arounds on earth seem so small. they say its a matter of perspective, but wot i want is a glorious hope. and hope itself is empty without faith. hope is an empty vessel if for the sake of hoping alone. i wished for this and that, i shall be content with us.

please tell me things i don't know yet, only the things that i won't hang out to dry. we could be safe together, safe in each other's arms. but still that's not enough. wot are you afraid of? what am i afraid of? can i protect you from myself? i suppose that is one of the hardest things.

when you tell me of how strong i'm supposed to be.

done right
check out this power rangers parody. it truely is freakin' funny!

Hold Me Close

Hold Me Close


a fine snap by folkstar.

whee, now you get to see my holga snaps. i might just start a little series for such snaps. still figuring my way around this plastic-fantastic camera.. so join in the fun!

omgbbq!
and i wonder why the rest of the world seems irritated by us christians sometimes:

transformers.blogspot.com

please take this in jest, i have nothing against this blog, just that.. y'know, that title might have been used by someone who really wanted it for that robot stuff.

captive state: i have met the divine
jump onboard internet radio and niche yourself amidst today's fragmenting world!

www.last.fm

this has been my new toy for the past twenty minutes, and already i see nary a lonely night listening to a streaming broadcast that has a seventy five point seven chance of playing a song i might actually enjoy. why? you ask. because for starters, by downloading the audioscribbler plugin for whichever media player you choose to be your default, it will record and spy on your music choices, sending that information to the last.fm server and find similar artistes whenever you open the radio player. alternatively, when you start the player, the ask for similar artistes as well, and immediately generate a playlist from there. we are talking a vast library of non-mainstream music here, and if that rocks your socks, go sign up now! (and populate my 'friends' list.)

the second greatest story ever told
"... as the dust of battle settled, the Autobots gathered about their fallen leader. His metal work was scorched and dented. Only a faint glow from his eyes showed that he was still functioning. Optimus Prime was dying.

In a faint voice he said, "Do not grieve, Ultra Magnus, it is to you old friend, I shall pass the matrix of leadership as it was passed to me."

"I am no worthy of it," said Ultra Magnus. "I am just a soldier."

"You will keep it," continued Optimus Prime, "Until a day that an Autobot steps up from your ranks and uses the power of the matrix to light our darkest hour." He opened the compartment in his chest and lifted out the crystal of pure energy. Then his strength failed and it dropped from his hand. Hot Rod caught it and passed it to Ultra Magnus. The new leader placed the matrix in his own body cavity. As he looked down at Optimus Prime, his own eyes began to shine with power. Optimus Prime's eyes grew bright for a moment, then faded and went blank. He was dead..."

(Transformers, The Movie, 1986, Ladybird, pp. 12-13)

Read the entire book here.

hismethod blogs so i don't have to

shamelessly procured of hismethod, who probably shamelessly stole off someone else as well. -P *heh*



this is just so cool. i'm not one for apple products per se, but it shure breeds a creativity to accessorise individuals. and there i was thinking that the ishuffle was a useless impractical piece of plastic. who knew that the minimalist foundation would allow it to be modified easier?

My blog is worth $16,936.20.
How much is your blog worth?

yay, that's a 5-digit value. easy money, now who wants a piece of this pie?

everything turns to dust, don't imagine just believe
and so i watched donnie darko this afternoon at class, and i wonder wot it would be like to be schizophrenic. man, i'm at the official website now, and it's as trippy as the film itself. at first i hated this film, but watching it the second time, it's incredibly surreal and so much more pertinent, so much more relevant. do you believe in time travel?

lately i've been interested in the voice of our generation, the disenchanted, the apathetic, the nonchalent. things aren't that simple. if only things could be easily blamed and pinned down on something. the film reminded me of all the years of my teenaged past, how the words to a song could mean the world to me, how i'd hold on to every word, live out each day as if it were a page in a book.

sadly, real life is not interested in that. it reminded me of all the things i used to think about, about all the things i decided weren't going to light my way, things i would have had to get out of my way.

and it worries me now, worries me that all that's left is a montage of fragments with the illusion of a whole. but i know this isn't real, as real as it is passing time. you see, the faith currently as it stands right now, is too real.. i want to remember an innocent time when the faith was magical, miraculous, full of signs and wonders. when the undercurrents were strong and the stability was not something that stoodstill, but could be moved around and the joy of movement could be experienced by all.

Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine

- "killing moon" echo and the bunnymen

there is art on this site that is just amazing to appreciate. his medium of choice is lovely, and i only wished i thought of that sonner.

genius
i've always found blur to be one of the genius bands of our generation. pity i can't name drop them with all coolness because they are song2 bigger than that.

and we all say
don't want to be alone
we wear the same clothes
because we feel the same
and kiss with dry lips
when we say goodnight
end of the century...
it's nothing special

- "end of century" blur

i wonder wot the voice of this generation is. i wonder wot the voice of any society or any individual is. i wonder because we're all part of the status quo, don't rock the boat. the voices of discension that's in the air, the air of discontentment and jaded well-beings. the lacklustre hip hoorays because the past has mucked us so and now the future is all that's left to behold.

all the emotion in our world today, poured out like a river overflowing it's banks. it'll drown us all and consume us. i could have said "you", but i'm no better, and i'm no worse. there is no longer time left to prove who's right and who's wrong in this world anymore. sometimes it feels as if we're just passing through, and right and wrong seem negligible next to transient or eternity.

there are always more pressing issues at hand, and if i had it my way.. don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. two more weeks of the semester, i can't seem to get finished on my assignments long overdue. egad egad egad, i hope that once i type this out, magically my heart will long to finish my work. stay in touch, it's no surprise.

self-depreciation: the new black
believe me when i say this is so. deny everything and you'll be the next cool scenster on your block. it's no longer in to be in.

in other news, help styra with her survey here. it's only six pages long, easy peasy!

pardon the stains on the window
busy yourself
tear yourself away from attachments
seeking solace within the whirlwinds of grace
and i won't let you down
so lay me down softly
don't let me crash
don't let me hit the floor
pashin' and left out
simple lives and tragic endings

ow, i think i've got a toothache. funny, you'd think you'd outgrow toothaches by this time. i suppose its my wisdom tooth, the upper right side of my mouth just hurts tragic. i just want someone to pull that stupid tooth out now. y'see, when we're in pain, we want silly things. the consequences can bother us later.

somehow, i'm wondering who will remember all this. all the words that we've spoken and share between us. the breath between us could be miles. but yes, who will remember all this? who will share your special moments? and yes, tell you things you never knew?

romanticism seems to be welling up in my soul. summer love for summer cowboys. but you don't need a special two to feel loved, remember that. it's all around..

it's lighting the sky for some strange reason
hello. this is another entry that has somehow found its way into your daily digest. if you stare at these words any longer, i'm afraid whatever residue of your soul is left will be consumed by a tiny wormhole-like vortex. why are there so many voices around? i can't break it down when you keep telling me of how strong i'm supposed to be.

i've been listening to a particular song on repeat just to try to learn a bassline. alas it is to no avail. i just can't seem to figure it out. and its not a difficult piece at all, just simple octave shapes, but for some reason i can't make out wot's in between.

i think i've got that problem alot, i can't make out wots in between the lines. y'see, the words are so small, you really wanna shure that you've read them correctly. after many years of subjectivity, i yearn for something to be truely as it is, i don't want things to be open to interpretation anymore. after a long while, my soul is just tired of trying to figure things out. i'm only twenty three but i feel fifty. or it could just be that i didn't get a good night's sleep. or rather not enough sleep.

i wonder and wander about the creativity that is all around me. the little bursts of inspiration that the greatest artist in all time and beyond has laid to bare. and within each finite morsel of substance, there would lie something where our mortal minds and souls will never comprehend, not unless eternity sets itself in our hearts? but is that being too pompous? as much as all of us are unique, all of us are paradoxically more alike than we can imagine. and so.. if someone will take the time to explain certain things to me. i'll take some time to explain certain things to you.

someday in eternity, i'll tell you things you never knew.

Check-Out Express

Check-Out Express


a fine snap by folkstar.

i've spent a good portion of the day cleaning up my computer making room for well, i don't know, i don't like the clutter that slows my processor down. its an urban myth isn't it? hahaha.. i wouldn't know.

yeah well, its funny how life's shifting back into gear with the online, man.. it shure is a tempting place to say hello to friends, share music here and there, discuss all these grand plans that we have.

the problem is that just talking and planning online isn't gonna help in the offline world. jeepers, don't you just wish you had genie powers soemtimes? i dunno, maybe there's something in me that's just so lazy that doesn't wanna work for certain things. and yet, there are certain things in life that do give you satisfaction just because you put an effort into things.

there's no such thing as a free ride is there? i think there are some, but most things just aren't. hmmmm.. well, dunno why i was so obsessed about spring cleaning my hard drive, its actually pretty cleaned out man. all that anime that's been downloaded and collecting dust, can now make room to more music perhaps. yeah.. perhaps.

life thru a lens of tragic fractures
well, by now i'm shure you would have noticed that i haven't really been 'here'. the truth is, i have been around the computer, its just that i decided not to jump aboard instant messengers or open my browser because work needed to be done. after a week, work still needs to be done, and i missed my friends. so thus, i have returned to blogging.

it feels as if a lot can change in a week.

it's been a rather helpful process. a bit of cold turkey for me because i was so dependent on the internet to be connected with people, to have this faux sense of being up to date and informed about wot was going on in the different spheres that we engage in, to almost believe that i belonged to a certain circle of the world.

but if there's anything i learnt, is that the virtual community is no substitute for the real community. while it helps bridge friends who are seperated by large bodies of water, you can't be online the whole day waiting for someone to come online and validate your existence. alas, forgive me if this has been taken too seriously. hahahaha

anyhow, to be at peace with oneself is truly a remarkable feeling. i wonder wot will be reported upon tomorrow?

it's in my head now and i can't get it out
you either love it or hate it, or share a bittersweet moment with it. for me, i've got this new electrico tune stuck in my head. it's called don't know where i'm going and if you go here and look for electrico's first video of baybeats 2005, you'll be able to watch and listen to it. don't say i didn't warn you. and if your pop sensibilities are anything like mine, you'll be singing, humming and dancing along.

Shaving Accident

Shaving Accident


a fine snap by folkstar.

why it sucks so. happens once in a blue moon. except that its in the morning now. flesh is soft, don't cut it with blades.

zelda: links awakening
i've been putting this off for some time. but here are some amazing time wasters.

basketball

carl lewis has his own music video

*quips* did he really say that?
gt seems to have updated the leeson page with a post saying that we will defintely be playing one gig in spore at least. it's probably true, because currently we're getting in touch with organisers here and there to get dates. a chance to do some new material perhaps?

although i think i did much today, i still feel very unfulfiled because i'm too slow with my assignments. i just wish it were easier to type my academic thoughts out. and the more i do this, the more i wonder if i'm really cut out for this uni buisness. don't squander your chance, a moment of weakness. hopefully a lifetime of strength.

please don't laugh

stole this of bruce

Look Toward The Heavens

Look Toward The Heavens


a fine snap by folkstar.

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed."
- Proverbs 16:3

Country Homeboyness

Country Homeboyness


a fine snap by folkstar.

so the launch came and went. it was alright, plenty of friends came down for a show of support and all the bands that played were great as well. apart from being tired, i had a lot of fun. it was a great stage and because of the lack of industry or scensters, we were spared some uneccessary schmoozing around. thanks to all who made it happen! (and that shirt shure looks sharp!)

demons and angels
y'know, as i was in church this morning, i was thinking to myself, why don't demons actually convert to christianity? i mean, are they that thick in their brains that after such a long time, they still don't knwo how God moves in the spiritual realm? i mean, the bible says that demons know who Jesus is and they shudder. they know the glory of God, they know who's gonna win in the end, why don't they just change sides? or are they even allowed to?

and i don't know if this is representative of anything, but if demons can't cross over to the other side, i'm guessing that's wot its gonna be like once we've had our chance as well. once we pass away, its either heaven or hell, and when that time comes we can't cross over anymore.

i remember a pastor back in spore said once that one thing we know about hell, is that it is the absence of God. some of us might think, well.. that's a good thing ain't it? no more party pooping, no busy body trying to make my life a holy schmucky thing.

but remember wot i said about demons not being able to cross over? wot if they have that longing to cross over to the other side, but they just can't. they fear God for cryin' out loud, its the one thing that puts fear in the hearts. but because of the way it works, the time for repentence is over and now is the time for judgement and justice, and even though a God of love extends mercy, a God of justice administers justice as well.

and that longing to be with God, and you just aren't allowed in, that's the scary bit. that's wot being away from God entails, we may not know it now.. but there are is a void which only God can fill. the void of regret, and unfulfiledness, of knowing you could be somewhere else and never ever being able to get it again and be at peace witgh it because the time of repentence is over, and the time of consequence is the present eternity.

gone out but we'll be back soon
may not have time today for a post because of all the gig preperations. so from here to there to who knows when, you might hear from me tomorrow. -)

All Bright But Tearing

All Bright But Tearing


a fine snap by folkstar.

the snap above is leeson by the way, and not m a y f l e d.

tomorrow is gig night and i'm a bit apprehensive of wot to expect. will there be a lot of people there, or will it be a washout? if there are so many people there, then there are so many expectations about us. people liking our music will be subjective, people liking us will be subjective. being popular with the local media (if any) or with the scene, will it always be at the back of our heads?

i've confided in thomas countless times, that if we wanna make it big, we have to sell out. wot entails selling out then? it loosely means making yourself marketable. because if you're marketable, you'll be able to have more media coverage as well as events coverage. so long as you fit into the agenda of the "big picture", you'll probably find yourself on a bigger stage. because the bigger your band is, the bigger venues you play. makes sense right?

so how're you different from the band you started out as anyway? you're not superhuman, you are still you.

and i guess that's wot i wanna take out and put into m a y f l e d for now. i don't wanna put in too much so that i can concentrate on a lot of other things that require more of me. wot i give to this band are my time, friendship, fun and professional services. but somehow, with me awkward time management skills.. i can't help out with more creative endeavours or marketing ploys.

which suits me fine for a bit. i just intend to rock up tomorrow, play the music i love to play and not be pressurised by the rest.

somethings you just gotta do with reckless abandon, like no one's looking or no one cares. for starters, you've gotta be honest with yourself.

Criss Crossing A Crisis

Criss Crossing A Crisis


a fine snap by folkstar.

and so another day came and went. were you paying attention? or did you just sit back and watch it all slip thru your fingers?

not that either of it would make much of a difference. sometimes you wonder whether eternity is all its made out to be. and if the thought of eternity actually scares you.. how would you actually get that in your head? forever is never enough. i'll talk about eternity some other time because i'm sleepy.

Clamouring For Attention

Clamouring For Attention


a fine snap by folkstar.

well, with these post of late, its been a bit of a departure from my usual banter about life and outlooks and all. in some sense, everything i've written here of late seems very very trivial. i don't know why, but i've just been feeling that way.

a trivial blog, something i've never wanted, in fact trivialness is something i usually don't want to entertain. but i guess with my current situation, it dawns on me that we can't all be perfect. hahaha, in fact, how can anything be perfect?

but back to the story, it just felt trivial of late, and not sharing about it explicitly kind of made these postings not so honest, like there was something i was afraid you'd find out.

not that all that bothered me of course, well, not as i'm typing all this out. right now, i'm kind of typing things as they appear in my brain. but still concious enough to draw the line on certain self-imposed rules. which aren't always followed.

so a bit of the point i'm making is that this post marks a slight return into getting back into the groove of the blogging i enjoyed and started out with. i didn't make a concious effort to trivialise things, but now i'm also not making a concious effort to return to anything. its just the way it is, the way it works. as jeannie would say, straight from brain to screen. and i guess that means letting everybody know wot a loser you are. not that you fish for compliments, but really, just telling it like it is, how you feel and y'know.. facing up to your fears. that once its out there, you can breathe again. because it's more rewarding living in the light.

i decided not to 'anoymously view' anyone in friendster somewhat because of this reason. i feel that, hey! we should be confident about ourselves and people not taking things the wrong way and actually stalk people outrightly! because you have absolutely nothing to hide. food for thought kitty kats, wot're we all hiding today?

Fill Us With Desire

Fill Us With Desire


a fine snap by folkstar.

my band here's gonna be launching our EP this saturday at the swan basement. sharing the bill will be a band from New South Wales, Tragic Delicate and Insidium.

we've played with Insidium before and they can be loosely descibed as sounding abit like the Mars Volta. but they shure as hell have alotta stage precence and they're always good fun. i've never played with Tragic Delicate much less seen them live, but they kind of remind me of Days Of The New or an acoustic styled A Perfect Circle.

so this saturday will be a nice varied mix of music. May Fled is going to play almost every song it has in its arsenal, which should be about an hours worth of music. marrying a mix of intricate songwriting with a dash of intense grunge, well, lets just say its fun to play as well as perform.

however, i haven't been very involved of late, so it'll be a very interesting experience for me. hahaha, like i havent had time to make contacts within the scene here, i kind of feel like an outcast in the local music scene. still, lets see wot new friends we make, and i just hope we put on a helluva show. in a sense, im really excited because we're gonna debut our new guitarist and he really adds a whole new angle to our scene, kind of grounding it and giving it a more distinct flavour.

this may have been a plug, but it was cathartic as well. whoohoo -)

Why Can't We All Just Watch?

Why Can't We All Just Watch?


a fine snap by folkstar.

*yawn* feeling a tad tired now. but here i am being faithful to my posts.

had a really good day today, woke up to meet up with yh and just give him a hand with his production by just talking about it. later i accompanied peivn to meet her friend esther in the city who was in for a short stopover. we had a quaint little alfresco lunch at the delizzio pizza outlet in subiaco. and their mushroom risotto was abolutely divine. couldn't help but fall in love.

and then there were auditions held for the agape (uni ministry) worship band, so we tried out a few earnest folk and it encouraged my heart so.

so here i am on a platter, just typing this out as it comes along.

Tokyo-ian Sunset

Tokyo-ian Sunset


a fine snap by folkstar.

as i was driving back from soccer today, i noticed a most awesome sunset. it stirred something in my heart, it reminded me of our sovereign creator and how he loves to do things with style.

i don't know how many of you think of sunsets as just a natural phenomenom. its just the earth rotating on its own axis and so every 12 hours a day or so, we have both sunlight and sunset. the "beauty" of dawn or dusk is only the cultural construct of society over the years. some romantic artisan must have romanticised the whole notion and we just followed suit. now that we're in a world governed by science and rational thought, shouldn't something as arbitary and subjective as beauty not be apprecitated?

but can we truely turn our back on something so inate in us? we as created beings, also have the heart of the creator. everything he made was good, from DNA to the vast nebulae in surrounding galaxies. all have his signature mark of beauty and style.

which is why we can see each new day as a new hope. there might be times when time keeps going on and on, and every new day is the prolongnation of a curse to stay alive. but if you seek the Father's heart, i think you will find his zest for life. or rather, he will reveal it to you.

they bombed bali again
click

i somehow can't believe they did it again. as i was talking to thomas just now, he was saying how in vain the past two years have been for people who have spent time rebuilding their lives.

its just so senseless, all this killing in the name of. and even as we speak, the US forces are advancing operation "Iron Fist".

today, i'm not here to discuss the legitimacy of either attack or retaliation. i suppose everyone's gotta political viewpoint on that matter. sometimes you have to fight, sometimes you shouldn't fight. it's a tough call.

at the end of the day, actions have already been done, and may we just keep the victims in our prayers, and the future leadership to make good decisions.

It Looks Like A Family!

It Looks Like A Family!


a fine snap by folkstar.

for starters, i didn't take this picture, it was by angie, and i think it looks fab.

well, today was Pastor Hock Cheng and Mabel's wedding, and quite a flash grand affair it was. and y'know the thing with classy events, is that sometimes too much schmoozing goes on? well, at this wedding, no matter how high grade the little details were, the main star was the simpleness of the occasion. two people who love each other and decide to glorify God and further his kingdom by getting married and fulfilling out his will in their lives.

well, that's wot i learnt at least.

i've truely been blessed in my stay so far in perth to be able to withness this amount of weddings. for my jaded soul with regards to finding the perfect partner, it is inspiring.

i suppose she'll be perfect in my eyes, because she's who God intended for me, to be my best friend and mother of my children. yes, i am following the tried and tested lifestyle of a family with kids. if this so is the will of God, then we will be happy to live by it.

i suppose this all sounds like holy schmoly.. nothing's really perfect is it? everything requires work to maintain, and there'll be times when we're at each other's throats. its not gonna be all peachy keen.. but then we also ask ourselves, how much are we willing to sacrifice for a shot at true love.

if love is overrated. it takes something like this to be a bit of an inspiration to folk like me. and if you're reading this, folk like you *heh*

'tis is an adventure, where there are damsels to pursue and battles to be won.

A Headlong Rush

A Headlong Rush


a fine snap by folkstar.

today in cell, we learnt about not showing favourtism to those around us. and that also means learning to love your neighbour as yourself.

now i'll have you know how difficult that is, because some people just get on your nerves and try your patience so. in fact, you really wonder sometimes, why you even bother about them.

technically, they shouldn't be worth your time. but when the realisation that Jesus died for every single one of us, whether deserving or not, this act kinds of puts everything into perspective.

we love because he first loved us, and where we cannot love,well i guess we'll learn to.

today i got myself a suit for the highest profile wedding in my church tomorrow. its my first time wearing a whole suit, and it'll be great to snappy people with all our spiffy outfits. whoo hooo!