This is photography.
I had everything ready to shoot shots of the sunset at Marina Bay today, unfortunately, the lighting conditions proved to be terribly unfavourable and so I ended up re-shooting the Esplanade indeed. I guess that's really a consolation, because we've been experiencing some really nice looking skies lately, despite the hot water. Add a tinge and sparkle of red and orange during the sunset and I am sure the view will simply be stunning.
Strangely, on my way home, I ended up seeing J.B Jeyaretname selling off a copy of his latest book, "The Hatchet Man", at City Hall. People were avoiding him like the plague but I had the opportunity to just have a short chat with him as well as to get a signed copy of his book. Its good stuff.
Quite a number of posts ago I wrote about "Passion" and what it really means. Of course I've come across so many usages of the word and so many definitions of it. There's "Passion to Serve" and "Passion for Missions" and "Passion for God" from church. There's "Passion to uphold the law" and "Passion for excellence in service" from the SGT course. And there are several other definitions and all kinds of theories behind them.
And then one of the more stark questions that I am confounded by is if passion is a flame. Then does it automatically extinguish when its surroundings are all of the same temperature? By laws of physics if two bodies are at the same temperature, then there is no longer any net transfer of energy between them. I know my zeroth law! Mindless physics lectures with Daniel Khor certainly helped me. ("Better know your ZEWO law hor!")
Then does passion automatically extinguish or does it die off a slow and lingering death? I notice that in my previous hobbies, after I reached the "peak", everything just started to go down the drain. And my energies were directed to another direction. A few months back, I was still thinking of setting up a band with Shingles and AC Company to play silly rock/alternative songs like "RADIOHEAD'S HIGH & DRY". Yes if you want a free concert, go to the Esplanade. Then again, there really isn't a market for local bands since our mindsets seemingly seems to "Foreign Music Talent is Good".
Actually, I got tired of playing musical instruments more than a year ago, but I just carried on with it as I didn't see any alternative hobby to channel my energies into until impulse swept over me to rekindle one of my other sidelined hobbies - photography! Even right now, I'm digging up whatever photos I can find on my computer, that has been shot by me. If everything goes right, I'll be launching my photo galleries soon. My so-called "portfolio" for fun.
I find that probably the best definition of passion was given to me by a Christian philospher and teacher. Plainly, it was "Something that you will do for free, even if you are not paid for it". That's true I guess. Maybe it explains why I often mindlessly grab my camera and head out to shoot the same scenery that I've shot before. All perhaps just to satiate a personal "itch" to have taken some photographs.
Then again, sustaining passion isn't easy. I've gone from hobby to hobby, to like and dislike over so many things in my short life thus far. To think that J.B Jeyaretnam, who is more than 80 years old, still fights for the very political ideals that he personally believes in. Think about it. Here we have a very successful lawyer who was worth more than 10 million dollars at some point in his life. Only to lose everything he has to end up selling copies of his book for 20 dollars at an MRT station.
I mean. Most people by the age of 80 are either suffering from all kinds of disease or other, or stuck in a nursing home awaiting death, or simply just not living the life that they used too. I find it amazing that Mr. Jeyaretnam is willing to be present in spite of all the probable physical problems surmounting him at every turn. I would say that he is one person that has been "whacked left right and center but never backs down".
Most people in Singapore just accept things as it is and never actually bother to question. Never bother to ask. Apathy? Perhaps. Fear? Maybe. Then again, maybe we have all been brought up to selectively filter out "unimportant issues and to live with them" and not to bother about having things in a more favourable light. Well I guess Mr Jeyaretnam really breaks all stereotypes when it comes to "old people".
Then again. Maybe people are just too busy and interesting in "surviving" or "making it" that they have neglected to bother about political ideals. Funny that as much as most people would prefer an ideal sense of "democracy". Not many are willing to go through all the mess and instability that comes along with such. "Political Stability" is after all, one of Singapore's strongest selling points when it hawks its land to MNCs overseas in order to bring jobs into the country.
Passion. Isn't that something everyone needs in life? Isn't it like the sparkplug to the fuel within us? Isn't it like a blazing fire. Or in the words of Rocky, "The Eye of the Tiger". How much are each of us willing to change and forsake and sacrifice on our own, not just to reach our own personal goals. But for the goals of everyone else? Perhaps not many. The few foundations that exist in handing out of scholarships are doing the community a great service indeed.
Whatever it is, and whatever it may be. Each of us only has one short life to live. Our days are seriously numbered. Let's do all that we can with all our energies to do something significant for others. Even if it is as small a scale as just being a volunteer at a Voluntary Welfar Organisation. Or maybe a higher profile form of significance by the donation of large amounts of money to charity. At the end of the day, it probably reads something like "unequal amounts, yet equal sacrifice".
There are plenty of prison inmates who need someone genuine to talk to. If you notice, one of the reasons that prison inmates give, when asked "why are you in here" would run somewhere along the line of "needing a friend, but falling into bad company". From my friends who work in Prisons Department, many of them need true and sincere friends to guide them back along the right course. Yet strangely, there almost always seems to be a vast shortage of helpers in the various prison help organisations.
And then there's other VWOs, notably, The Focus on the Family. Probably the most underrated help group in the country. When other organisations are busy raising hundreds of million of dollars each year for all kinds of "charity projects". This one VWO cuts to the core of all the nonsense and desires to build stronger families in this country.
Now THAT is something I must salute. Until I had a brief read through sociology, I never knew how important strong familes really are to this nation, or any nation for that case. If we had strong families, I would say that plenty of problems that are not seen beyond the four walls of our house will not even exist. The Focus on the Family needs more volunteers. Passionate ones too, who are determined to see the families of this country grow stronger.
Indeed, we all ought to listen to the short radio messages of their founder, Dr. James Dobson on NewsRadio 938. It is excellent stuff. In fact. It is something every family needs to hear on a regular basis.
To me, a strong, happy and loving family is worth far more than all the the reserves we have in this country. Because simply, it is something that is extremely desirable, yet extraordinarily hard to gain in this life. Just look around us. Oh... My... Goodness... And we wonder where our "traditional conservative asian values" have led us to.
Focus on the Family, Singapore
I had everything ready to shoot shots of the sunset at Marina Bay today, unfortunately, the lighting conditions proved to be terribly unfavourable and so I ended up re-shooting the Esplanade indeed. I guess that's really a consolation, because we've been experiencing some really nice looking skies lately, despite the hot water. Add a tinge and sparkle of red and orange during the sunset and I am sure the view will simply be stunning.
Strangely, on my way home, I ended up seeing J.B Jeyaretname selling off a copy of his latest book, "The Hatchet Man", at City Hall. People were avoiding him like the plague but I had the opportunity to just have a short chat with him as well as to get a signed copy of his book. Its good stuff.
Quite a number of posts ago I wrote about "Passion" and what it really means. Of course I've come across so many usages of the word and so many definitions of it. There's "Passion to Serve" and "Passion for Missions" and "Passion for God" from church. There's "Passion to uphold the law" and "Passion for excellence in service" from the SGT course. And there are several other definitions and all kinds of theories behind them.
And then one of the more stark questions that I am confounded by is if passion is a flame. Then does it automatically extinguish when its surroundings are all of the same temperature? By laws of physics if two bodies are at the same temperature, then there is no longer any net transfer of energy between them. I know my zeroth law! Mindless physics lectures with Daniel Khor certainly helped me. ("Better know your ZEWO law hor!")
Then does passion automatically extinguish or does it die off a slow and lingering death? I notice that in my previous hobbies, after I reached the "peak", everything just started to go down the drain. And my energies were directed to another direction. A few months back, I was still thinking of setting up a band with Shingles and AC Company to play silly rock/alternative songs like "RADIOHEAD'S HIGH & DRY". Yes if you want a free concert, go to the Esplanade. Then again, there really isn't a market for local bands since our mindsets seemingly seems to "Foreign Music Talent is Good".
Actually, I got tired of playing musical instruments more than a year ago, but I just carried on with it as I didn't see any alternative hobby to channel my energies into until impulse swept over me to rekindle one of my other sidelined hobbies - photography! Even right now, I'm digging up whatever photos I can find on my computer, that has been shot by me. If everything goes right, I'll be launching my photo galleries soon. My so-called "portfolio" for fun.
I find that probably the best definition of passion was given to me by a Christian philospher and teacher. Plainly, it was "Something that you will do for free, even if you are not paid for it". That's true I guess. Maybe it explains why I often mindlessly grab my camera and head out to shoot the same scenery that I've shot before. All perhaps just to satiate a personal "itch" to have taken some photographs.
Then again, sustaining passion isn't easy. I've gone from hobby to hobby, to like and dislike over so many things in my short life thus far. To think that J.B Jeyaretnam, who is more than 80 years old, still fights for the very political ideals that he personally believes in. Think about it. Here we have a very successful lawyer who was worth more than 10 million dollars at some point in his life. Only to lose everything he has to end up selling copies of his book for 20 dollars at an MRT station.
I mean. Most people by the age of 80 are either suffering from all kinds of disease or other, or stuck in a nursing home awaiting death, or simply just not living the life that they used too. I find it amazing that Mr. Jeyaretnam is willing to be present in spite of all the probable physical problems surmounting him at every turn. I would say that he is one person that has been "whacked left right and center but never backs down".
Most people in Singapore just accept things as it is and never actually bother to question. Never bother to ask. Apathy? Perhaps. Fear? Maybe. Then again, maybe we have all been brought up to selectively filter out "unimportant issues and to live with them" and not to bother about having things in a more favourable light. Well I guess Mr Jeyaretnam really breaks all stereotypes when it comes to "old people".
Then again. Maybe people are just too busy and interesting in "surviving" or "making it" that they have neglected to bother about political ideals. Funny that as much as most people would prefer an ideal sense of "democracy". Not many are willing to go through all the mess and instability that comes along with such. "Political Stability" is after all, one of Singapore's strongest selling points when it hawks its land to MNCs overseas in order to bring jobs into the country.
Passion. Isn't that something everyone needs in life? Isn't it like the sparkplug to the fuel within us? Isn't it like a blazing fire. Or in the words of Rocky, "The Eye of the Tiger". How much are each of us willing to change and forsake and sacrifice on our own, not just to reach our own personal goals. But for the goals of everyone else? Perhaps not many. The few foundations that exist in handing out of scholarships are doing the community a great service indeed.
Whatever it is, and whatever it may be. Each of us only has one short life to live. Our days are seriously numbered. Let's do all that we can with all our energies to do something significant for others. Even if it is as small a scale as just being a volunteer at a Voluntary Welfar Organisation. Or maybe a higher profile form of significance by the donation of large amounts of money to charity. At the end of the day, it probably reads something like "unequal amounts, yet equal sacrifice".
There are plenty of prison inmates who need someone genuine to talk to. If you notice, one of the reasons that prison inmates give, when asked "why are you in here" would run somewhere along the line of "needing a friend, but falling into bad company". From my friends who work in Prisons Department, many of them need true and sincere friends to guide them back along the right course. Yet strangely, there almost always seems to be a vast shortage of helpers in the various prison help organisations.
And then there's other VWOs, notably, The Focus on the Family. Probably the most underrated help group in the country. When other organisations are busy raising hundreds of million of dollars each year for all kinds of "charity projects". This one VWO cuts to the core of all the nonsense and desires to build stronger families in this country.
Now THAT is something I must salute. Until I had a brief read through sociology, I never knew how important strong familes really are to this nation, or any nation for that case. If we had strong families, I would say that plenty of problems that are not seen beyond the four walls of our house will not even exist. The Focus on the Family needs more volunteers. Passionate ones too, who are determined to see the families of this country grow stronger.
Indeed, we all ought to listen to the short radio messages of their founder, Dr. James Dobson on NewsRadio 938. It is excellent stuff. In fact. It is something every family needs to hear on a regular basis.
To me, a strong, happy and loving family is worth far more than all the the reserves we have in this country. Because simply, it is something that is extremely desirable, yet extraordinarily hard to gain in this life. Just look around us. Oh... My... Goodness... And we wonder where our "traditional conservative asian values" have led us to.
Focus on the Family, Singapore
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