IT'S O.R.A.I.T. TO BE COOL!

For the last couple of days, me with some friends were in the ICG '09 at Plentong, Johor which gathered up almost 600 youths (i.e. Catholics & non-Catholics and a Buddhist friend) throughout the country.

Not only that the participants were nourished physically (thanks for the sumptuous delicacies especially the fish fillets) we were also blessed spiritually with the hospitality and events i.e. praise & worship & talk sessions held during the camp. Then, not to mention those stories when old friends walked down-memory-lane brooding the past.

I maybe biased but needless to say, ICG '09 is a success. Thumbs up to all my friends in the organizing committees for a job well done!

Of course, as someone who upholds the spirit of humanity, others' rights are top priority but being a Christian I am, ICG '09 has thought me quite a simple lesson: it's O.R.A.I.T. to be cool! O.R.A.I.T. as in the acronym of "Our Religion As the In-Thing"

Some of the points stressed out by the speakers during the session was quite intrigued and mind-opening. I remember Augustine Anthuvan mentioned about how mass media affecting the minds of the people by means of their news reporting. Challenges come not when the media are at complete tremor but it's when injustice pertaining to the people and how the journalists react that matters. He was also quoted saying that not all news @ events are to be reported in response to public sentiments, of which he argued those reports maybe offensive, so, the question is, how and in what ways do the media practice freedom of expression when certain things (truths) are still being swept under the carpet?

Again, there were quite a number of speakers such as Tricia Yeoh, Slyvester Wong, Fr. Jojo and Jerald Joseph who believed that one should be able to stand up to affirm his/her faith in order to face the real robust world.

Juwita Suwito rapped up everything well when she said that faith should be made personal in our living: to be portrayed in every single thing we do, becoming the salt and light of the world starting from oneself.

If ever I were to learn something from the event, it must be the fact that everyone is different and unique in their own ways of contemplating the word "cool". To me, differences and uniqueness are perfectly imperfect! Otherwise, life must be very dull when things are all the same, don't you agree?

Cool in the way that, it reminds us to lead this precious-one-and-only life to the fullest accordingly to christian values and applying them to daily life. As I always believe, one may know all of the chapters including pages of events in the Bible, able to speak in tongues and evangelize, purportedly claimed Lord Jesus as saviour etc. but in the end it's the mere truth that actions speak louder than words that counts.

Here are some pictures for you peps, of us been there doing these... enjoy!

"Red Sea" of Majodi, Plentong, Johor.

Yellow group doing the long-loss air-walk!
Pleasure to meet you guys.

When old friends meet again...
L to R (me, Didi - the event director & Harris J.)

Friends from USM Health Campus
Sudi - 3rd right, ICG'09 T-Shirt designer

My must-have going places trademark!

You think u can do it again?
Tried several times but turns out to no avail
L to R (me, Yokun & Amie)

Back in campus in front of USM main gate
God blesses CUS SA!!

May the ICG '09 left footprints of hope, courage, and faith to all as we walk our journeys and as we go on, let us be reminded of those who are marginalized, asylum seekers and prevalence of injustice around us that through you, they will also experience the love of God.

MOMENTS THAT DEFINE A MAN

America's 16th President Abraham Lincoln @ Abe used to say that "Anyone can be leaders but it takes great responsibility to be a man"

One cannot simply becomes a man without first experiencing certain moments that defines it.

As we grow up, things change - rule of thumb. No one ever born yesterday, miraculously still the same of who he/she was years after that. Even Benjamin Button grows up younger though born old. That's life. Everyday's situations and actions we took become more difficult. Back in childhood, you just have to do it to get it – you know, you cried in the hope that somebody will get you what you want, isn’t it? Now, it involves some nervous system reacting to the brain through the medulla oblongata before electric current is being translated into a process called thinking! Worse still, some even refused to think even though capable of doing so. Weird life it is. So, buckle up peps because we'll go through those moments now. See, whether we are fit to be one @ vice versa.

1. Realizing you don't know everything! In laymen word, we should be humble in the face of knowledge because not all did you know is all there is to know. One may have thousands of degrees in science, arts and economy but at the end do he/she knows how to operate and maintain a chainsaw? Where's the best site to plant a mule? You see, not all we know. Not because me & you are stupid. No, no, we aren’t and we ain't good either. It's just there's limitation to everything. That's why life is unique for we cannot live alone. We need others to fill in our know-everything pothole slots so that it'll complete as Pierre Simon De Laplace (1827), great mathematician once said “What we know is little, what we don’t know is immense” Have you realized it before?

2. Receiving your first real defeat. When this is mentioned, we are not talking about your losing to juniors back in school days. Here, we’re referring to adult defeats – heartbroken, being dumped, family estrangements and losses – the ones that cut deep straight into ego leaving scar in you because as can be seen they spotlight failure of temper (make you look un-cool), character and maturity. When this kind of moments appeared to be on your way, what will you do? Are you able to limb to your feet, stand tall and smile with your teeth missing? In simple words, are we going to let go off our ego? You’d better be if you wanna be a man!

3. Becoming an orphan. This is certainly the most defining one, when both of our mom and dad are officially 7 feet beneath the ground. Suddenly, we’re all alone by our own to head the family. In a blink of eyes, it feels like the clock stops ticking. No more advice and cuddling around – even though those are the things we hate most when they still alive – To my friends who have loss their precious ones especially parents lately, I offer deep condolence. I admit that I’ll never understand those feeling until the very day I lose them too but till then, I just wanna be the very best I can, at least, to make my parents proud of saying: “That’s my son!”

4. Choosing to marry. This is one of men’s nightmares because it is a matter of life and death. I am not talking about some partners who took bow minutes ago, then go for a break up after hours of marriage – that’s not even fit to be called a marriage, it’s more likely a relationship miscarriage! What kind of person do we want to spend the rest of our life with? Can you imagine, you’ll be on the same bed for say more than 40 years! I believe this is serious matter and only a dumber refused to acknowledge it. Recently, there’s a friend of mine who are in a relationship dilemma of reasons only he knows – Having quite a heavy fruitful talk with him - If ever I were to learn something, it’s must be his remark saying “There’s concrete reasons why man keeps secrets.”

5. Becoming a father. I know I’m not entitled to talk about it simply because I’m not married yet but from my observation as I’ve always said to my dad “Anyone can become a father, but not all can be called Dad because to me a dad is someone whom I’ll always look up to no matter how tall I’ve grown up” Upon hearing that, all he did was smile, that’s my dad – the very person who never once lay a finger on me – yet, I’ve become what I’m now.

So, for those who have been through all these, YOU ARE THE MAN!

INTELLIGENCE IS NO MORE A LEGEND

Everyone everywhere wants to be intelligent. Who doesn't want to right? Not only that our intelligence may help to discern our standing in the society but it's also valuable for our future undertakings. So, where did this intelligence thing comes from at the first place? Heredity? Fate? God? By the way, what's the true meaning of intelligence anyway? Can both you and me become somehow extra-ordinarily intelligent? Did someone who scored high during an IQ test implying an intelligent persona?




What is the sole thing that provides us with sensation, governs our thoughts and drives us to explore our desires? Lust? Determination? You bet, it is the brain. This organ is so simple and yet so complex and at the same time embodies an unsurpassed fragility. In a way, our brains govern all the activities of the mind. So, for a start, did good brain implies better intelligence? Meaning to say, those who are mentally-retarded are way to be intellectually smart?

Although in western culture we perceive intelligence to involve skill in academic subjects and science, intelligence can take on different meanings depending on the circumstances. In an urban environment, having "street smarts," the ability to get around in a city, is of utmost importance, and different cultures place emphasis on different faculties of the mind in their definition and value of intelligence.

That being said, the currently accepted all-around definition of intelligence is as follows: intelligence is the capacity to understand one's external and internal environments, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges.

IQ tests are rarely competent in perceiving one's degree of intelligence. The only benefits of having a standard and accurate intelligence test are obvious. Placement in schools and jobs would be easily determined and everyone could justify their level of achievement according to their IQ score. However, things are not nearly so simple. Even at its current best, intelligence testing contains inherent flaws that do not allow one to simply determine intelligence from an hour-long test.

The theory behind the IQ, or intelligence quotient, is that there is an average "mental age" for people of different ages. Thus, an IQ test is a test designed to determine a person's relative intelligence using a quotient. By taking a person's Mental Age (MA) and dividing it by their Chronological Age (CA) and multiplying by 100, we get the Intelligence Quotient. Thus, a person who has a Mental Age equal to his or her Chronological Age would have an IQ score of 100. This is supposed to be the average and most common IQ score. So, peps if you are to score around 100-120 in IQ tests, be reminded that you are just mere average. Don't simply brag about something you omitted to know otherwise, the end will justify the means.

It's time for us to widen our perspectives on the matter of intelligence per say. If the society can eventually cuddled to the present IQ test method of determining one's degree of intelligence, then why shouldn't we consider other theories - which is more to life - such as The Multiples Intelligence Theory developed by Howard Gardner & The R. J. Stenberg's Triarchic Theory?

According to Gardner in his book, The Five Minds of Future, an intelligence person of the millennium has to master the 7 separate domains of intelligences in order to be justly talented. His pool of domains encompassed:

1. Musical intelligence
2. Body Kinesthetic intelligence
3. Logical-mathematical intelligence
4. Linguistic intelligence
5. Spatial intelligence
6. Intrapersonal intelligence
7. Interpersonal intelligence

R.J. Sternberg, whose interest in intelligence testing originated with his own test anxiety, is one of the foremost contemporary figures in intelligence theory. His main contribution was the triarchic theory of intelligence, which incorporates practical knowledge as a part of intelligence. According to Sternberg, the three aspects of intelligence are componential, experiential, and contextual.

1. Componential Intelligence - involves the mental components involved in analyzing, processing, and organizing information involved in problem solving.

2. Experiential Intelligence - the part of intelligence that involves the way that past experiences and knowledge affect a person's ability to solve problems.

3. Contextual Intelligence - takes into account the ability of a person to use his or her intelligence to face everyday demands. It is in some ways a measure of a person's "street smarts."

Moreover, history had shown that one did not to be specifically intelligent to become successful, it's more on how one's interact with each single essence of life. Einstein never took an IQ test before being dubbed as the greatest physicist of all time, so on with Mozart, there's no such thing as an IQ during his time yet he's the most celebrated artist ever lived and also neither did Bill Gates ever think of an IQ driven formula to be successful becoming one of the richest on Earth. All of them shared only one thing. They know the key to success and that key is way in our mind waiting for it's time to be heeded as Rene Descartes once said "I think, therefore, I am"

"life is where intelligence operates' and not in the classroom. . . . The true measure of success is not how well one does in school, but how well one does in life" - Anon.

FLASH OF GENIUS

Aside of The Haunting in Connecticut, Flash of Genius is one of my favorite movies this year which is based on true-story account. I always liked to watch a memoir type of story-line which to me is practical and rational. Those stories somehow inspire and remind us on how ordinary people somewhere doing extra ordinary things portraying to all that's the sky is the limit!

I believe for those avid drivers out there, windshield wiper is nothing new to you right? But, do you know who invented it? I mean the present intermittent windshield wiper? Back in the circa 1940, Ford Motor Comp. (FMC) is already a titan in motor industry. In the US especially in the city of Detroit - the very heart of Ford manufacturing plant - thousands of cars are being produced every year.

Amidst all the glory they meant to deserved, the one and only problem FMC ever faced is the fact that their wiper is considered to be a hindrance - due to the continuous motion of the wiper - to the driver whenever there's drizzling or cold days during winter season.

This is where, in 1948, an inventor, Dr. Robert W. Kearns comes into history. Armed with a PhD in Electrical Engineering at hand, he invented his own version of wiper which is electrically powered by seperate entity to the engine allowing it to be operated hence without energy source from the battery. Dr. Kearns also mentioned that his wiper functions more likely as eyelids. Meaning, his version of wiper will intermittently blink for 3 seconds before resuming again, in stead of continuously wiping without halt which may distract driver's view point. With that, voila! That's the history of our present intermittent windshield wiper! Thanks to the Kearns!

I know, it's just a wiper though, so, what's the big deal? Nope. The story doesn't end there. The story started when he filed a legal suit on FMC of patent infringement of which he claimed that FMC had practically stole his idea assuming that it was their own. So, the fight begins.

To make things sad, everyone close to him including his own family (his wife - Phyllis, 2 daughters & 4 sons) abondant him leaving him alone fighting for the right he believed is destined to be his. It involves family conflicts - how a father deals with his chidren amidst chaos in his career, things he loved the most i.e. invention and the real face of the states conglomerate manipulative world, where the rich, in this case, FMC, exploits and manipulates others for their benefits.

The story of Dr. Kearns, who during the court session is represented by none but himself - no lawyers dare to sue the then, top gun of the state - dedicated his 12 years fighting for something worth than life to him with the hope that he'll bring change to America's history, with the support of ones he loved (family) pays off.

As it is written - truth prevails - at last, it is fated in the hands of the court jury that Ford's infringement was not deliberate and award him $10.1 million and the right to claim his invention as his own. He later sues the Chrysler Corporation and wins $18.7 million judgment against them.

Not only that The Kearns had shown great courage in manifesting their believes but also what's more important is their determination in the spirit of never give up despite being offered millions of dollars settlement before court - some sort of under table money to settle things before it drags into court. His story has tremendously shaped America's patent law terminologies forever and in his honor, The Society of Inventors was established.

Click here for film info & here for the life of Dr. Kearns.

To me, it's a worthwhile almost 2 hours must watch inspirational movie to remind us all of the beauties of our inner self, really. There's time in life we might feel that we're down and the world is against us but wait, remember Flash of Genius, remember Dr. Kearns bravery and his soft-deep voice saying "If I don't continue on fighting, who will?"

OF HAPPENINGS

With every single second gone, Merdeka month had left us behind, couple of days ago. During these days, many unexpected events is happening. From a stink strike of a boil to some friend's family loss and an incident claimed to be demonstrated in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia, as a sign of protest for a documentary made by the Discovery Channel which accidentally featuring Indonesian proved Bali Dance. Click here.

All of a sudden, it seems that we're all toast! Variability and uniqueness of life segmented by different racial backgrounds, traits and traditions somehow project these variables.

What tomorrow brings, fate of this nation - what's happening to both you and me - I don't know. Clairvoyancy is none of my expertise plus I don't wanna be some weirdo like Nostradamus predicting the future where own fate is at stake.

But, what I do know and wanted to believe is that through all the problems and hiccups men can choose to be who they wanna be - worse @ better - of which I strongly agree the latter should take precedence.

After all, historically proven, evidence of humankind evolution is strictly driven by nature itself. Meaning to say, only those who survived natural processes (anything confronting us be it death, politics, economy and social matters) shall stand.

I often disgusted with some immature men out there who by right (in terms of age and experience) is indeed a man but pitifully do not contemplate to it. Being a man comes with a responsibility and respect. I'm sorry to say but to me those creature who takes advantages and hardly shouldered accountability is somehow considered yet-to-be a man.

I'll be talking about moments that define a man in the next posting. Till then.