Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Life of a football fan during the off-season

With the BPL already ended and other leagues have found their champion of the season, here comes the time where there's no football-- the off-season. It's the time when football fans won't get their constant dose of football news and thrill of watching the matches. So this leaves those extremely hardcore fans of football to be like a drug addict without it's constant supply of drugs. Well, that may be a little extreme but it's something like that.

So what does a football fan do during this period of time? Well it's not like football is all of their life, it's just MOST OF IT. Perhaps for a young fan, they'll just go on and play more football so that they can have more of the action as a substitute to that of the league matches. The more mature ones will probably have a game in more of games like Football Fantasy and Fifa '08. Well of course there's still many other things that they can do without football but they will still need some form of football. Of course, the next big event is coming soon, the EURO 2008. And before that actual event there are some friendlies so maybe you can call that the dose of football but come on, we all know that friendlies are not enough to thrill any football fan, it's like a warm-up or some sort of lower dose of medicine.

The football season may be quiet this period, but i'm sure football fans will have the creativity to know what to do. Till the next season comes, let's hope for a thrilling EURO ahead. And by the way, GO GREECE!!!!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Opinion on Parliment Live Telecast

The Parliment Live Telecast was shown for the first time last week and there are sparks among the MPs as they start to call each other names. After that incident, there were some suggestions to stop to live telecast of Parliment meetings as they felt ashamed to see the acts of the MPs. But this is a better way for the public to understanding the people that they have voted in to represent them.
The second live telecast was shown today. The MPs have shown significantly better behaviour and this shows that by showing the meetings through live telecast, the meetings can be done in a better manner as the MPs know that they are being watched and they will do their best.

The only thing that is dissapointing about the live telecast is that during the 30 minutes allocated for Parliment meeting, only less than 15 minutes were shown. Nevertheless, this is a great move by the Malaysian Government to be more transparent. So it should go on..

Monday, May 5, 2008

Oil Lamps for SJBA Wesak Day

As Wesak Day is approaching soon, Subang Jaya Buddhist Association (SJBA) is selling Oil Lamps at RM 20 each. This is for well wishing purposes as well as to fund SJBA's expenses such as temple activities and maintainence. Those interested can buy from SJBA which is near Summit USJ and beside BH Petrol station or can contact me- 016-9181680 to buy the oil lamps.

Wesak Day celebration will be on 18th May to 19 May at SJBA.

3 offerings

In Buddhism, the believe is that God is another being in heavenly planes and the Buddhist version of heaven is known as NIbbana. Now just to clarify this to everyone, the Buddha is not a god and there is a statue of the Buddha because it serves as a reminder that the Buddha is the teacher and the Enlightened One, meaning he or she has discovered the truth and the truth that the Buddha found out will enable us to lead a better life when we follow it. If you noticed, I used the words "he or she" when I was referring to the Buddha. This is because the Buddha is like the name of a new level, sort of like a title for a person who has reached the level of Enlightenment so the Buddha could be a male or a female.

Now you may be wondering, how could the Buddha unable to be confirmed as a male or a female? The answer is simple, in Buddhism, the believe is that there are rebirths in the cycle called Samsara cycle. So everytime rebirth occurs, it is believe that suffering occurs. So to end suffering is the aim in Buddhism and to do that is to gain Enlightenment and go to Nibbana out of the Samsara cycle. There are 3 offerings that is offered to the Buddha and they are namely, Light, Water and Flowers. All this serve as a reminder and a significant symbol. The Light is that to show the way in darkness and this means to avoid evil. Water brings that meaning of purity and thus reminds people to purify their minds to be as pure as water. Flowers simply remind people of impermenance as nothing is permanent.

This is just a small part of Buddhism, hope you have a better understanding after reading this.

Significance of WESAK..

The annual cycle of the Spiritual Festivals offers opportunity for people of all faiths to cooperate. Together, the three full moon festivals of Aries, Taurus and Gemini form a united spiritual approach by humanity to divinity.
The Wesak Festival has been traditionally associated in eastern civilization with the Buddha, divine intermediary between the highest spirtual center on the planet, Shamballa, and the Hierarchy. The Buddha is the expression of the Wisdom of God, the embodiment of Light and the indicator of divine purpose, cooperating at this festival with his brother the Christ, who represents the Hierarchy. The Buddha embodies the Principle of Light, and because of this illumination humanity was able to recognize the Christ, embodiment of the still greater Principle of Love.
Each year at the time of Wesak, two great streams of energy — one focussed through the Buddha and the other through the Christ — are fused and blended, and it is the task of world servers to precipitate this combined energy into the waiting world.
The Wesak Festival is indeed a great spiritual event, with a powerful effect upon humanity. Groups of aspirants can at this time become channels for the higher energies released through the medium of the two focal points — the Buddha, who represents the overlighting essence of subjective realities, and the Christ, representative of aspiring humanity.
This is symbolized in religious rituals where the priest acts as the focal point; here, however, the priesthood in this great ceremony of contact is not a separate entity. All can be priests, the single qualification being the capacity to align oneself and be en rapport with the Soul, and thus be able to cooperate with other souls.
Wesak is a time of unusual inflow of life and of spiritual stimulation, serving to vitalize the aspiration of all humanity. At the time of the festival, through the united effort of the Christ and the Buddha working in closest cooperation, there is opened a channel of communication between humanity and deity through which an approach can be made to Those Who guide our planet, so that aspirants and disciples are able to contact energies not otherwise easily available.
In mutual service to humanity, at Wesak the Buddha and the Christ bring about a linking that blends East and West, uniting the world's major religions in a shared holy day in which religious distinctions disappear. In the beautiful water ceremony of communion is portrayed the symbol of the new age which is upon us, the Aquarian Age, the age of the Water Carrier.
During the Wesak Festival the Buddha becomes the "absorbing Agent" of Will. He uses the magnetic power of Love-Wisdom to attract this force to Himself and hold it steady, prior to redirecting it. The Christ then — on behalf of the Hierarchy — becomes the "receiving Agent" of this potent energy and the groups of Masters Who work with the human and sub-human kingdoms (in response to His demand) become the "directing Agents" for the sevenfold expression of this force.
So around the Wesak Festival, expansions of consciousness are made possible that are not possible at other times. Those of goodwill are stimulated spirtually to take initiation, in order to penetrate more deeply and consciously into the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. These reveal more about the wonder of our divinity, and about the Plan to which humanity is conforming. Each year, the Wesak marks the beginning of a cycle for the New Group of World Servers, that comprise three-year cycles of crisis, tension, and emergence.
At the Wesak Festival we may honor the Buddha, as well as ourselves, as dedicated transmitters of the energy that can be contacted at the full moon in Taurus. Each year as we experience the Wesak more consciously, it's important to hold the space for the inflow and distribution of energies, through safeguarding.
The focussed interplay of many minds working together in meditation produces a unity of thought powerful enough to reach the Great Lives watching over and guiding our planet. And the combined aspiration, consecration, devotion and intelligence of the group carries everyone to greater heights than could be attained alone.
The greater the number of people who meditate at this time, the stronger the magnetic field of the group heart and its invocative, indrawing power. It's up to each of us to attune with ever greater clarity to the note being sounded — to quiet the mind and transmute individual desires that only cause confusion and chaos, into desire for the greatest good of all.
We know where we are aligned ... with the Source of all that is. That Source provides uniquely and cooperates with All who are tuned to Its note of Life.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Funnel Cloud

On time my college friend and me were bored, so we rehearsed this trick we had heard about. My friend became pretty good at putting a penny on his head and then dropping it inside a funnel he had placed in the front of his pants.
For April Fool's Day, we decided to take this show on the road. First we stopped off at the convenience store and got ourselves a couple of super big slushy drinks. Then we went to a nearby mini-mall.
Right in the middle of the outdoor mall my friend started performing his penny in the funnel trick. Small groups of curious people would come and go. Then finally some dude who looked like he was trying way too hard to impress his girlfriend asked to try the trick.
He placed the funnel in the front of his pants and we handed him the penny we had been using. We even let him try it once, and after he failed, we encouraged him to try again. It was this time that we poured our slushies into the funnel and ran like hell.
He was shocked and didn't even chase us. He probably didn't even know what he would do if he had caught the two of us (it was good to stick together on this).
Anyway, that was our prank. I'm still curious to know if he had gotten another date out of her.

*source: www.april-fools.us

April Fools Day

Yesterday was April Fools Day, so what did you do to fool your friends? This is the time where many of us will be squeezing their brains to think of slick ways of tricking our friends and go "April Fool" ! Well, that's all in the name of fun.
But has anyone ever think of how April Fool becomes... well April Fools Day? This is something that i am curious about and I would like to share it with you all, the history behind April Fool's Day.

The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1.
Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1. These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke.
This harassment evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continue on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French. Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool's Day has taken on an international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own way.
In Scotland, for instance, April Fool's Day is devoted to spoofs involving the buttocks and as such is called Taily Day. The butts of these jokes are known as April 'Gowk', another name for cuckoo bird. The origins of the "Kick Me" sign can be traced back to the Scottish observance.
In England, jokes are played only in the morning. Fools are called 'gobs' or 'gobby' and the victim of a joke is called a 'noodle.' It was considered back luck to play a practical joke on someone after noon.
In Rome, the holiday is known as Festival of Hilaria, celebrating the resurrection of the god Attis, is on March 25 and is also referred to as "Roman Laughing Day."
In Portugal, April Fool's Day falls on the Sunday and Monday before lent. In this celebration, many people throw flour at their friends.
The Huli Festival is celebrated on March 31 in India. People play jokes on one another and smear colors on one another celebrating the arrival of Spring.


Interesting huh? So, no matter where you happen to be in the world on April 1, don't be surprised if April fools fall playfully upon you.