It's a Marathon!

Yup it was to be accurate. Hardly have I had the time to watch movies (my favorite past time) and this time I was indeed lucky to have gotten the time to do so.

The list:

• The Expendables 2
• Cold Light of Day
• Resident Evil: Retribution

This was the order in which I watched. The order of which was more exciting would be 1, 3 and 2.

So let's begin with The Expendables 2.  To kick-if-off, it definitely started with a bang with tankers having taglines such as "Knock, Knock" and so fort on, makes one wonder comical can a group of hired professionals get! The sad part was having Jet Li only appear for the first part and not returning for the huge kill-party height of the show. Chris Hemsworth too was a let-down as being the new and young kid of the team but first to be killed-off, there could or should have been more to shine him out but coming to think of it... if he didn't die, there would have been lesser vengence about the silver screen. Storyline-wise, entertaining, the build-up was there and the introduction of the villain, named Jean Vilain (note that it is a combination of his real name and him being a villain) played by Jean-Claude Van Damme. The guy is nearly have a decade yet he looks, kicks and walks like he is still in his 30s. Attention all men, you need to make an appointement with him for some tips to keeping healthy. Back, the team wasn't all enough to take down Vilain so in comes in the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzennegger) with his "I'll be back" liners. It made me wonder if that was all he was going to say throughout the show and it sure did. Thank God Church (Bruce Willis) did put a stop to it! Nothing beats the untimely, unimaginable, impossible yet true adventures of Chuck Norris! It sort of created a huge change to logic vs reality~

If you had been a classic fan of the 90s action movies, then you would definitely appreciate the cast line-up!  So if you haven't watched this, you have gotta be kiddin' with me.

The Lenten Experience 2012

Yes, as most who would know me, would definitely characterize me as a back-stage person, one who wouldn't take lead and a watcher, who too has a tinge of reckless in both words and actions and can be a loose-tongue though I prefer to say that is being straight-forward. So what do you do when you are thrown into a situation where you need to step up and be a role-model? Well, two choices - one, you can back-out and run as fast as you can or two, you take the challenge. Me? Well... truth be told, I would have run but something told me to take the challenge and I did.

Compassion Walk... heard of it? No..? Well, neither did I, till the adviser of the Klang District Youth Council (KDYC) was approached. It was first started last year and was the baby idea of the Archdiocesen Single Adults and Youths (ASAYO) guided by Fr. Michael Raymond. The main objective - to Be Different from the rest. It was held at Church of St. Anthony, KL and the mission - located at Bintang Walk and it was dubbed the Hug Me campaign. All those who participated wore shirts bearing words such as "If I had Aids, would you Hug Me?" and similar to most that the normal homosapien with logical thinking skills would ostracize and shut out like lepers. At that time the participants' rate was at a controlled number of 200++.

2012, Compassion Walk - joint effort of both KDYC and ASAYO with the guiding hands of Frs. Lawrence Andrew and Michael Raymond - was held on 10th March at the Church of St. Anne, Port Klang, and the number of participants.. 741! The theme was in line with the lenten theme which was Listen to that voice and it was printed on t-shirts with our role-model, Mother Mary as she was the first person to humbly bow down and listen and thanks to her listening, we had Jesus. Prior to the day itself, ASAYO made an effort to conduct a formation for all facilitators from the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese. It was done in order to prepare them and allow them to experience what was to happen in the following week. They were nurtured on how to conduct group sharings using the 7-steps and later on were led onto the streets of Port Klang. Most of those who attended this formation were touched by a testimony related by Fr. Lawrence. It talked of how a couple, who on an errand, and the wife noticed an elderly woman walking naked on the streets. When she meant naked, she meant that the elderly was walking without a single thread on her. People who saw this elderly, began to ridicule her and this wife feeling for this elderly and with one glance realized that the elderly was not in the right state of mind. Quickly she called in for help from the police and kept in touch with them to keep to date on the elderly's situation but alas, she found out that the hospital had discharged as they couldn't keep her in for long. The woman was overwhelmed with emotions that she eventually related this to Father himself. Father then questioned all who present with a single sentence that made us ponder our actions - Jesus asked, "Where were you when I was naked on the streets? What did you do for me?"

Similarly, on the day itself, the facilitators conducted the similar methods but were broken of into three different areas - the main town which was not far from the Church itself; the housing area around the Church; and, the flats opposite the nearby railway station. Many had a variety of experience, particularly myself. Who was I? I was a facilitator too, and my group was sent to the flats. Initially, I wasn't confident with myself leading a group but there was this constant nagging at the back of my mind saying, "If not now, when will you ever?" My experience? I have met a variety of characters but personally, have not come across an elderly, who was not only a non-Christian but an old lonely Muslim woman, who could not stop praising God for landing at her door-step a few simple youths who wanted nothing to do but to drop a 'hello' and talk to her. You see, she had been living alone for quite some time but nobody had ever bother to come visit her on a whim. So when a couple of youths from the Church, especially from THE Church comes knocking at her doorstep, it is a blessing or in her words, "Rezeki dari Allah" and continually thanking God, she stepped forward and hugged us all and gave us her well-wishes and blessings. This reminded me of once an old reminder from my parents wherein, when you and I receive a gratitude blessing from an elder, it is the most sincere of sincerer. And I will constantly remind myself to be good to all those around me, no matter good or bad, young or old, stupid or wise, pretty or ugly cause in God's eyes we are equal.

Alas, all went back to the Church for Way of the Cross and for testimonies. But I ain't gonna talk bout testimonies instead I will just say... Compassion Walk is not your usual Life in the Spirit Seminar or Youth Rally where it is a one-off event, Compassion Walk is an experience and as ASAYO themes it - Be Different, Listen to that Voice.

The Tale of Two Tails

I found this image on Facebook posted by a fellow bunny lover. It reminded me of my two loves - Nibbles and Dudley, and how much they have grown since I brought them home.

Well first things first, Nibbles is a Dwarf Hotot (pronounced as HOH-toe); and Dudley is a Dwarf Holland Lop. Personality-wise, they are poles apart, Nibbles is your daily dose of Dennis the Menace with a tinge of Scooby-Doo when it comes to abrupt noises from the surrounding or even biting or jumping sounds from Dudley. Dwarf Hotots are known for their mischievity and it is said that to gauge such cheekiness, check the thickness of their eyebands. Hmm... and Nibbles to date definitely has the thickest pair of eyebands I've ever seen. Perhaps this is the only house in the whole Garden that would echo his name. For a small-sized fellow, he surely knows how to get around things and places in the house, from running under your feet to ninja-ing up the stairs, there is probably nothing he hasn't done in this house. With a personality of a dog-cat, he never fails to amuse me. His signature movement would probably be his love for his water bottle, of which he can make the loudest noise as a protest to us (mom and I) leaving the house or as a signal that it is 'playtime' (no he doesn't do things ordinarily but extraordinari-lee).

Dudley, the Holland Lop, on the other hand, is a complete gentleman. True to the description of Lops, he is a gentle character but please, oh please, be deceived not by this creature, he is far more mischievous than his best friend! He would probably be the mind behind Nibbles' doing! Unlike Nibbles, Dudley is more of the thinker than a doer, but he too has done almost every trick in the Book of Naughties~

Having lived all my life with dogs, I never in my wildest dreams, ever saw myself living days with two darling rascals. First day, I was super cautious cause bunnies are WAY SMALLER than dogs and caring for them is completely different. You could say it was a whole new chapter and experience and all.

Best of thanks to Jay from JJay Pet Station for all the care and advice, you gave me along my journey with this two~

Social Persecution + Social Discrimination = Man-made Execution

As complex as it may seem, the world doesn't seem to different as from 20 to 30 over years ago. Perhaps one could say that the mentality has changed but from what I see, it may just be called an 'Illusion'. To begin with it all, let's go through the meaning of each word and how it relates to the formulated equation.

Persecution, as inferred by various authors in Wikipediais the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation, imprisonment, fear, or pain are all factors that may establish persecution. Even so, not all suffering will necessarily establish persecution. The suffering experienced by the victim must be sufficiently severe. The threshold level of severity has been a source of much debate." In simpler words to the current era, I would classify it as Gossip! In the world today, yes, it still exist, the infliction of suffering, harassment, ostracising, etc., not physically but emotionally using verbal actions. As elaborated in the quote above, the common forms of persecution are religious, ethnic and political. All of which have and are interrelated to the current norm of society - for example, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as children, we are taught to love one another for it was clearly stated in Bible, "... you must love one another, just as I have loved you."- John 13: 34 (New Jerusalem Bible). Yet, having been taught so, in majority Churches, social persecution is taking place, religiously, etchnicly and politically. Having said so, how different are we from years or should I say centuries ago!!?

Moving on, we encounter a word no different from our friend above, Discrimination, in Wikipedia described as, "is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group." Hmm, not too far aren't we. I would rename the word to or probably classify groups with such behavioural symptoms as 'clique'. Not only is it a familiar word at schools but it most places too, such as workplaces. The usual scenario, in a class or some other place, various groups consisting of various personas would already have been form. A good example would be from the movie, High School Musical or even the TV serial, Glee, wherein there are the popular kids such as the cheerleaders, the basketball team and so on; and on the other hand you have the 'doormat' groups consisting kids or rather teens called geeks and nerds or even the ugly and gloomy ones. So what happens when a new kid from outta town comes into the picture, he/she has the problem of fitting in cause you either have to be popular to sit with the upper class or a complete nerd to sit with the middle-class. If you can't do neither, you are a lower-class citizen, who belongs in limbo! But then again, my friends, this is only a fictional situation, looking at reality, how many of us feel the deja-vu~?

To sum it all up in a conclusion, I bring in my final "witness to the stand", Execution, or rather in my own summary, Man-made Execution. Unlike, what is described in dictionaries or Wikipedia, the perfect example to what a "man-made execution" is like, I give the current TV serial Gossip Girl, it tells of how social persecution and discrimination plays a big part in the upper society of Manhattan, and how those with completely no power suffer the worst off. But then again, you can also see how even those from the middle or lower-class can achieve with just a little help from the executioner, Gossip Girl herself. You think the writer of the series just wrote it out of a whim, I think not, the author would have either experienced it or had observed it from a third-person view. So how exactly are we different from the past? Doesn't my equation sum up to how uncivil-minded and immature the society we live in is and how it victimises the people around them. Don't always judge a book by its cover, for the truth is always written in the pages between.