Happy New Year 2008

Here, I would like to wish everyone Happy New Year 2008. Hope this year will bring joy, accomplishments, love, peace, good health and all the best of things. Yes, creative living, it is very important to be creative. Think about what to do when you are stuck in the traffic jam or get frustrated with work. What to wear to spice up your day at the office or to be a head turner when you walk down the street to catch the bus to work…. (in my case). I have a collection of funky ties that shout out loud. Fashion is good for the soul and is very empowering.

This year I am going to come up with New Year Resolutions cos there are so many things to do to get on my feet and live a desireble life again. So, I need to get things sorted out as soon as possible. Hopefully everyone of us has an exciting 2008.

First love

World Human Rights Day

This morning, I woke up feeling dysfunctional. Anyway, I dragged myself to work. Then, I realized everyone was out and about attending events except me and two other colleagues. I did my media monitoring session as usual. The main news that graces the front pages of many newspapers is about lawyers and activists arrested during a peaceful assembly yesterday morning in conjunction with the World Human Rights Day today. As usual, I am in favour of the lawyers and activists who tried to practice their right to peaceful assembly because Article 10 of the Federal Constitution gives us the right to peaceful assembly.

Under forgotten circumstances, S, my colleague started to attack me when I told her that I have never voted in my life cos I simply don’t believe in voting and politic. Then, she kept insisting that I don’t have the right to talk about human rights if I don’t want to practice my right to vote. I repeatedly told her that I am not concerned about my right to vote cos I am more concerned about other rights. According to her, her father used to fight against British imperialism during the old days for our right to vote. Of course, I understand how that had affected her. I told her that one of my friends used to be imprisoned without trial which really affected me a lot too. That’s why I am very concerned about human rights violation and state violence.

Then, we started to raise our voices to outdo each other’s voice. It was quite a comical scenario. I actually had to approach her to calm her down and she stood up starting to grab my arms as it we were about to engage in a wrestling session. Then, we started laughing and later we went out to have lunch. I promised her(did I?) that next time I am gonna vote in memory of her father who had fight for our right to vote even though I am very much an anarchist. (I can always void the vote…opps…)

Wishing all of you a peaceful and un-confrontational World Human Rights Day. Hmm…..very unlikely.

So precious...

Last Sunday, I went to KLCC park, lying on the grass, watching the blue sky and trees around me. At that moment, I felt really happy, properly happy....Mother nature becomes so precious these days....

That Saturday Evening

I have been super busy juggling my job and my social life lately. I don't have much time for creative writing anymore. It has been a month since I last updated my blog. I am tired most of the time, not to mention pretty numbed by the workload. The other day, while I was walking on the overhead bridge, I saw a woman sitting on the railing of the bridge. She stared at me and I stared at her. Then, I just moved on. Can you believe this?

Then, suddenly, a visual past through my mind like an indie short film, depicting the woman jumping off the bridge and hit by a car. It was like a hit on my head, I immediately turned back and asked a guy to pull her down from the railing. Phew..... Yes, She was trying to commit suicide and I happened to walk past. If you believe in God, you know this is not a coincidence. There was a Christian guy; stopping by to tell her that Jesus loves her because she was/ is/ was is a Christian, a lost sheep? This is not a coincidence.

Then, there was this Muslim woman trying to console her. I didn't know what to say to her. She was heart broken in a relationship. I told her that we care about her and God loves her. That was a Saturday evening, I just came back from a local pilot project that took place in Muar, Johor......bitten by sand flies all over my arms and feet..... I was tired and numbed ..... And a woman was trying to commit suicide...

Transformation

So so sorry for the long long silence. I started working for a humanitarian agency since 2 weeks ago. I have been wonderfully busy and at times awfully busy, which is good for the time being. I have been appointed as the Publications Officer. I had a good laugh when I was told cos I expected myself to be called a writer. Well, it is a good training ground for me to grow in many ways.

Yeah, this is a job that I like. I actually looking forward to going to work every morning, which I think is pretty weird cos in the beginning I couldn't visualise myself going to work in a office, not to mention wearing high heels and office attire again. This is something holistic cos I am doing something which is completely new. My life has been transformed yet I feel quite positive about this transformation.

I have to confess that I used to be quite judgmental towards the working class. Actually, it requires a lot of strength to wake up early in the morning to brave the traffic jam and crowd to work. I guess as long as you are doing something you love doing, everything seems to be quite alright even you have to stuck in the traffic jam...Well, I am wearing my pleated skirt and tie printed with Korean characters, not bad at all.

Actually, I fell really ill after my first week of work. I was suffering from allergic reaction, which had never happened before. Maybe my body wasn't ready to adjust to this new way of life and environment.

The coming weekend, I will be joining the mobile clinic co-organized by my agency and UNHCR. Then followed by a conference and SPHERE Training (it is some sort of emergency response training) next month. For you well wishers out there, please pray for me cos I really need extra strength to do all these.

Radiohead-Fake Plastic Trees

Student activist expelled in Singapore

A second-year fine art student was expelled by LASALLE College of Arts in Singapore recently after he was suspected of tagging the brand new premises of LASALLE with 'It has to start somewhere' graffiti.


I talked to that student recently in Singapore. According to him, he is just a suspect, the college has yet to come up with any solid evidence. So, personally I think the punishment is a bit too harsh considering he is just a suspect and yet to be put on trial. The inside story is this: the student is actively involved in human rights activism, so this harsh punishment is like a form of intimidation.


Of course, I am totally against the vandalism. I think it is okay to practise freedom of speech and expression as long as it doesn't violate the basic human rights of other peoples.
Anyway, I think the student deserve a second chance. So, I really hope that Singaporeans or anyone out there can appeal for this student. What you can do is to write an appeal letter and send, fax or email it to:
LASALLE College of the Arts
1 McNally Street
Singapore 187940
Tel : (+65) 6496 5000
Fax : (+65) 6496 5353
Email: enquiries@lasalle.edu.sg

Amazing grace.

So sorry for the long silence. I have been busy since I arrived in Johor on 31 Aug. I joined the Healing Rally conducted by pastor John Tharu from India. It had been so long since I last felt the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. Peoples spoke, sang in tongues and moved to tears by the Holy Spirit. During the healing rally, I was chosen and prophecised on. Within a week, the prophesy came to past. Since I arrived here, God have unlocked many doors for me which I thought were impossible. For men, these seemed to be impossible but for God, everything is possible.

Actually, few days before I came here, my friend told me about the Asian Film Symposium which was going to take place in Singapore. Of course, I would like to attend it but hack, I thought it was impossible cos I can't affort Singapore. Then, Hani, my friend in Johor called me up and invited me to come over to Johor.

So I managed to spend a few days in Singapore to attend Asian Film Symposium which took place on 6 Sept til 10 Sept at the Substation and felt really inspired creatively. Then, another friend took me to New Creation Church at Suntec City in Singapore to attend Sunday Worship Service. It was amazing to see young peoples queue up to attend the worship service.

The worship service started at 2 pm but we had to queue up at 1pm in order to secure a seat. After attending the worship service, I figured out why peoples were queuing up. The sermon was so powerful and uplifting. I also joined the sea gypsies ministry in Johor. It was such an amazing experience to join the sea gypsies to worship the lord and moved to tears by God's presence. I am so glad that I made the decision to come to Johor. I guess it is very important to walk by faith and trust God.

When things go so wrong, we think God doesn't love us anymore. It is our own bitterness that separates us from God. God is a forgiving God, it is ourselves that are so unforgiving towards ourselves. Sometimes, we are our own worse enemy.

Don't ever...

Don't ever doubt the things from God,
You should never say that He has forgotten or abandoned you.
Don't ever think that He does not take of you.
Remember that He is always holding you with His right hand. (Is:42:13)

Shortbus

I am having a Shortbus fever,and hope you will catch it too!

Film review: Shortbus

A naked man trying to give himself...ahem, a blow job by bending his body in a very yogic way, which generates so much laughter from us, the audience. Another scene intersects, depicting an Asian woman engaged in various Karma-Sutra like sexual positions with her husband to achieve what we call 'canal bliss' (in the tone of polite and upper-class kind of way). Then, there is another scene followed, a punk-looking woman whipping up the 'cream', I mean whipping up a man's butt SM style with her punk outfit full on. Yes, this is hardcore compares to the usual cinematic standard. This is what I call cinematic liberty.

There I was, taking all these in at Bangkok International Film Festival (19-29 Jul 2007). Yet, there is something so engaging about this movie, surprisingly not so much about the over-the-top sex scenes. James (Paul Dawson), the naked man starts weeping soon after he has an ejaculation.

Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee), a sex therapist but she prefers to call herself a couple therapist, can't have orgasm and have been faking it. The punk prostitute has a thing for photography that she takes Polaroid photos of people she meets. She is an artsy social outcast to be exact.

Oddly enough, in life, the very people we often find easy to bare our naked heart completely are the strangers we meet in strange places under strange circumstances. This is exactly what happens next in the movie. James and Jamie (PJ DeBoy, they are partners in real life), the gay couple goes for counseling session conducted by Sofia. The counseling session turns out to be a disaster that Sofia reveals her I-can't-have-orgasm secret to the couple.

So, all of them end up at Shortbus, a New York underground salon in a Parisian tradition hosted by Robin Bond (Robin Bond), the oh so flamboyant transsexual. When Sofia arrives at Shortbus, Justin takes her on a tour, showing her a room where orgies are taking centre stage. There are musicians, singers, performers entertaining the crowd who are there to talk about politic, arts and sex in the most theatrical kind of way, of course. There, Sofia finds comfort in peoples who try to help her on her quest for orgasm; among them are Severin (Lindsay Beamish), the punk prostitute. At one scene, Sofia requests Justin to kiss her, so both of them starts kissing sensually in the most unexpected way.

There is a scene where Ceth, an ex model (played by singer-songwriter Jay Brannan) listens attentively to an old man who happens to be the former Mayor of New York. "People are so unforgiving." he puts it. He is blamed for not doing enough to curb HIV and Aids problems when he was a Mayor. He explains that there was only so little that people knew what to do back then but he had done his best. Then, the pretty young man with eyes filled with tears, leaning over to kiss the old man while everyone is watching them. By then, tears have streamed down from my eyes.

Ceth eventually hooks up with James and Jamie. At the couple's place, the pretty young man starts strumming the guitar and singing a very melodic song for the couple. That is almost child-like and innocent. Then, the mood takes a turn when they go on to engage in a hilarious threesome sexcapade.

Sofia's canal problem has been affecting her well being. Obviously, Sofia and her husband are sexually incompatible but they still put up with each other sexually in order to save the marriage. On the other hand, James is pushed into being gay by forced circumstances because he was a male prostitute. Yet, he knows that Jamie loves him so much that he has to continue being a faking gay.

This is a heart-wrenching movie with a lot of dark humor thrown in to slightly minimize the intensity. Every sex scene seems to convey a painful reality that many of us try to dismiss. This is a movie that is going to make you weep and sob silly and you don't even know why. Perhaps, it is like a blow on our heads that it makes us realize that many of us have been struggling really hard to come to terms with our own sexuality simply because we live in a very judgmental and unforgiving society. We have to really cross the religious and social barriers to truly understand the humanity portrayed in this movie. Sad but true, not many of us do. It is a miracle itself that a porn-chic movie as such can be so thought-provoking. Thanks to the director John Cameron Mitchell for being the savior of American indie film industry.