It is time...

So, now that i'm officially an english major (a.k.a. creative writer), here's my pilot poem:)

It is time

It was the first time that they met,

They didn't have a clue,

The future that would await them,

The feelings they never knew.

It was the guy's eyes that she had seen,

They were brown and dark as night,

It was the girl's friendly smile,

And their love at first sight.

It was the first time that they spoke,

And no, it was no myth,

That while she stared into his eyes,

He was the one she wanted to be with.

Even though he felt the same,

But this girl, she did not know,

That he regrets with all his heart,

But his feelings he did not show.

So after many hopeless days,

The girl no more believed in fate,

That was when the guy realized,

That he had made a huge mistake.

He came back just in time,

To steal that poor girl's heart away,

She forgave and she forgot,

All the nights she layed awake.

He told her that he was sorry,

And if he could have a second chance,

If only he could fix the past,

In time to have their first dance,

He always tells her that he is sorry,

And how much he really cares,

He hopes she believes him and forgives,

In hopes of future feelings to share.

So every night he tells her,

Before she turns out her light,

Those three little famous words,

I love you and goodnight.

ahh....the year begins:)

Spring has began at TCU!

Strange isn't it:) how time eludes us:P

1. Orientation - 160 new internationals comin!@ aka. lots of work for me;)

2. A malaysian is coming! Finally, not the only one here;)

3. Wow, i could graduate after this sem;)

4. Football!!!! Gofrogs;)lol

EF: missin u...good luck with PMR!lol

JA: where are all the songs you composed hah??:P

mum: miss you and your cookin!

dad: how's research going with the airplane thingy?

JW: lol dude, answer my email...we need to settle our NYC plans, bro;)...***

James: glad that your dreams of creating a shetler for youth has come to plan...hope youR top secret BIG plan (the one that you told me) is going well and will soon come to fruition?

Es: esther! you didn't answer my emails!

Naz: yeah...i know i still owe you my side of the script:P....see you in dec?

wow, does this sound like a rant?

The Official Start of the Summer - Happy Mother's Day, Mum!

Today, I want to bless my mum:)

Mum you are the apple of my heart:)
And you have taught me many valuable lessons throughout my life*
I wish you a wonderful day at home,
And wish I could cook you breakfast in bed:)

Lots of love,
Your dearest son,
hsien

Back to the Norm:)

I apologize for using the past few entries for class...it happened because my lit&civ professor mistook it for a class blog;)

anyhow's my current favourite verse:) ::

Romans 5

Peace and Joy

 ¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^brejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but wealso rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Only in HIM we trust:)

Articulation - Dr. Williams, my class blog is actually at http://jiahsienlit.blogspot.com but I've uploaded it here in since it's already linked

Pronounciation can also be a major problem. Sometimes her accent is her downfall but I believe this can be fixed. I've encouraged her to speak more Spanish to other people around her but it is difficult when almost everyone she spends time with is a native spanish speaker.

It is amazing how much improvement I have seen in her all semester. Now that her speech is nearly gramatically correct, I hope that her ability to converse better will help her throughout her life and career. It is sad to see the semester come to an end but I know that better things are in store.

Saying goodbye is difficult but the fact that we've helped each other so much will definitely help. A semester in class and a semester as a teacher: what could be better? I believe I've even learnt a little more about myself for more patience and understanding will always make you a better teacher:) Congratulations, fellow classmates for a great semester of learning and teaching!

The signfiicance of Symbols

A word in one language can be so different in another. We've been working on proper punctuation use and I hope she is getting it. Things such as commas, apostrophes and parenthesis are everyday things to a college student but it is hard for someone who has difficulty reading.

Sometimes we get stuck and I try to stir the conversation to another topic to get the ball rolling. I still believe conversing is the best way to pick up a language but reading would go well hand in hand. I have tried to get her to start watching English TV shows but she insists on watching her spanish telenovelas.

I believe that watching other people speak grammatically correct English would help immensely but now that I think of it, not many TV shows have grammatically correct English. Many shows use extensive catch phrases and slangs that a non-english speaker would have a hard time just understanding it. Anyhow, keep going, keep teaching as the saying goes: No pain, No gain!:)

Knowledge and Potency

I have known for a long time now that there are cultural barriers besides the language ones. I just didn't realise these barriers were so signficant. Sometimes I could be talking about objects and it will be fine but when I start conversing over abstract ideas such as faith or emotions, it gets difficult.

I think she is beginning to understand that this will be a long process and not a short one. We worked on simple and compound sentences today and I believe we are indeed making progress. It is still illuminating when we discuss our daily lives and I am surprised that basic things such as TV we watch and the food we cook could be so different.

Learning is a blessing and I hope I can do this after graduating. I know that teachers have long been looked down as in terms of status but I believe teaching is an innate ability that all humans possess and that we should all use it to the best of our ability. Language is subjective to culture and good luck with overcoming the cultural barriers, guys!

Learning: Art or Science?

Initially coming from a science background, I have to constantly remind myself that teaching is an art. I cannot expect results like ones from a machine. We have constantly worked on little things like identifying verbs, nouns and adverbs but I want to move on to gerunds and advanced grammar.

I shall not give up. Teaching might be hard but it is so worthwhile. The improvement brings a smile to my face and makes my day. Moving on to literature will be difficult but I believe that it is possible with patience and persevereance. No pain, no gain right?

I've found that using the Peter and Jane series might be helpful but they are all the way at home. Hopefully, my parents can ship them over for they are so helpful in teaching basic language skills. Keep teaching classmates! Never give up for the end is near*

Language Barriers

Knowing how important this was for her, I have been keeping up with the meetings. Time is very limited as we are both very busy people so i try to keep class concise and to the point.

Initially, it was hard just to keep a conversation going, but it has got much easier. I have discovered that the art of teaching is basically the art of listening. The more I listen to her problems the better I am at helping her. I believe what we do, as college students helping matters so much and I hope she improves a lot more.

I've discovered that using the translating tool Google uses: http://translate.google.com has enabled lessons to go so much more smoothly.  Now that I can assign homework, lessons have gotten better and faster. Hopefully we'll get to active and passive voice soon.

Appreciative Effort

Service Learning is not easy. We have to deal with non-native speakers who effectively have never spoken a full sentence in perfect English before. Granted, they've watched movies and TV in English but most of them pay attention only to the Spanish subtitles and not the actual words spoken.

Learning how to perform in a non-classroom environment was a new experience. Being a WA, I have had previous experience with teaching writing and reading but only to college-level students, most of them upperclassmen and women. 

I was surprised at how little English they knew. Even basic words such as fly or swim or should or should not were not in their vocabulary. We had to start with basic sentences such as "Pat has a dog." or "Shelly went to school today." 

I believe what we do does indeed create a TCU Community that is more inclusive and with this service learning I hope to teach many more TCU Staff to at least speak basic English or even use their computer to check their email and perform online transactions.

I hope the Honors Program continues to host this service learning project in its classes for many years to come. It is one of the more fulfilling courses and service learning I have had at TCU.

Fresh off the boat:)..I am NOT a fob:P

Narrative  Universals,

Heroic Tragi-Comedy,  and

Shakespeare's  Political Ambivalence

Review by Me for Patrick Colm Hogan

 Two of these  structures—romantic

and  heroic  tragi-comedy—dominate

Shakespeare's  work as  well.l  

The  romantic

plot  involves two people  falling in love, some

conflict  between  the  lovers and  their  society

(often  parents),  the  separation of  the  lovers,

and—in  the full, comic version^—their even-

tual  reunion.  

The  heroic  plot  involves a

usurpation of  social  power  inside a  society

(e.g., the overthrow of a king) and an invasion

of  the  home  society by a  foreign  power. In

the  full,  comic  version,  the  usurpation is

overturned  and  the  invasion is repulsed.

Most of Shakespeare's plots are identical. There is a difference  between Romeo and Juliet on  the one hand znd gakuntala (or, for that matter. Titanic) on the other. 

These  difference result from  the specification of prototypical  structures  (e.g., the development of  the  personality  traits, appearance, and  conditions of  the  lovers); the  rearrangement of prototypical  elements in discourse  (e.g., altering the order in

which  the  story is told or  shifting  the  focus  from  the  lovers to  some  appar-

ently  ancillary  character); the  deletion of prototypical  events  (as in  tragedy,

where  the  comic  resolution is absent); the  addition of further,  comphcating

events, and so on.

Heroic  Tragi-Comedy

Usurpation  sequence;  the  second is  the  invasion or  threat/defense

sequence.

Usurpation sequence. The  two may and  often do  appear  independently. The  usurpation

sequence involves the rightful  leader being removed from his/her position of

The  invasion sequence focuses on a conflict between  societies rather than within one society. In this sequence, a  foreign  power  attacks  the  home  society,  nearly  causing  the near destruction or metaphorical death of the society.

Thus usurpation is often  the act of a  family member. In some cases,

even  invasions  involve  familial  conflict  (as in  the  famous  battle of Rostam

and  his  son  Sohrab in  the  Persian  epic  Shdhndme

3 developmental sequences

Thus, in  the  usurpation  sequence,  the  usurper  violates

social law (e.g., fealty), the higher ethical principles (e.g., those of loyalty) that

underwrite  the  social  law,  and  the  divine  will  that  underlies  both

(e.g.,"divine right" for English kings or the "mandate of heaven" for Chinese

monarchs). Likewise, in  the  invasion  sequence, the home  society is ethically

and  spiritually  superior to  the  foreign, "attacking" society. 

The  usurpation  itself

must be  the  first  act,  the  initiation of  the  series of  events. It  cannot be a

response to prior  usurpations, prior  injustices. Plot order.

At the same time, that triumph  itself is evidence of divine authorization.

Since the godly side must win, whoever wins must be the godly side.

___________________________________________________

Presidential  speeches  and  government  propaganda  are  fairly  brazen in

emplotting national history in these terms. However, canonical literary works

are rarely if ever entirely unequivocal on normative alignment, absolute origins.

___________________________________________________

Shakespeare

Shakespeare takes up the standard motifs and development principles. He

uses some only occasionally  (e.g., the conflict  between  the loyal retainer and monarch - Lear & Kent)

Consider descriptive allignment. Shakespeare might parallel nature, not

only with  society, but with  the  hero's mental  state and personal  relations as

well.

Lear -  Lear's madness mirrors the disruption of  the  state  (due to his disposses-

sion), which in  turn mirrors  the disruption in his family  (due to  the  rule of

the children over the parent), which in turn mirrors the disruption in nature

(due to  the  terrible  storm). 

Another  standard  development  principle, famil-

ialization, is also  one of Shakespeare's most  common  strategies. 

Macbeth - In  keeping with a  cross-ctilturally  common  principle,  this  familiarization is  sometimes literal  (as in King Lear), but at other  times a matter of imagery or a charac-

ter's  associations, as in  Lady Macbeth's  thinking of Duncan  with  her  father

("Had he not  resembled/My  father as he slept, I had done  't" [II.ii.12-13]).

______________________________________________________

In  some  cases, Shakespeare  takes up a common motif, but  changes it in

significant  ways. For  instance,  the  killing of an  innocent  youth is a  fairly

widespread  motif in  heroic  plots  cross-culturally. 

Morally justifiable - Richard  III killing his nephews. 

                                 - Macbeth murdering Macduff's  son

______________________________________________________

A motif—or, rather, the combination of a motif and a development prin-

ciple—still  more  peculiar to  Shakespeare is  the  death of  the  usurper's

beloved, often  through suicide, and usually at a moment of particular  conflict

and suffering. This is presumably a technique of emotional  intensification.

King Lear - Goneril  commits  suicide  more or  less at  the

moment of Albany's  triumph. In  this case, the event is not so much  sorrow-

ful as horrible, a continuation of  the  terrible devastation  that marks this play,

even in "success."

_______________________________________________________

Richard II

Richard II focuses on  the  usurpation  sequence, though it does so almost

in  slow  motion,  dividing  the  usurpation  into  stages—thereby  revealing

another  one of  Shakespeare's  development  principles.  (We  find  something

similar in King Lear.

•  The  theme of usurpation is asserted at the outset when Mowbray and Bolingbroke  accuse one another
• However, in  the  second  scene, we hear  that Richard is himself a  usurper. Indeed, he is reported to be responsible for  the very murder  debated by Mowbray  and  Bohngbroke. 
• Should Bolingbroke be  killed, that eliminates one of Richard's  enemies. On  the other hand, if Mowbray is killed, then  (we may  infer  from  events  later in  the play)  that  silences  someone who might  have  testified to Richard's  guilt. 


• After  these  preliminaries, Bolingbroke is  exiled. In  keeping  with  the
  
• standard  structure, right  after  the  exile of Bohngbroke, the  story  turns to a
  
• threat, in this case from  Ireland. 
  
• 
  
• In the usual manner of Shakespeare's  (slight-
  
• ly modified)  prototypical  structure, Bolingbroke  does not  return to  fend  off
  
• this  threat. Instead, he makes use of the  opportunity to  stage his own  inva-
  
• sion, supported by the Duke of Brittany. 
• 
  
• In this way, Shakespeare doubles the foreign  attack sequence. (Doubling, or even  tripling, is another  development principle  used by  Shakespeare.) In  part  drawing  our  sympathy  toward Bolingbroke,  Shakespeare  presents a  series of  complaints  against  Richard
• (e.g., II.i.246-55). 
• 
  
• But right after  this we witness the affection  Richard's wife
  
• has  for  him  (II.ii).This  helps to  re-humanize  Richard  and  tends to  foster
  
• compassion  for  his  side in  the  conflict. Sympathy is not  the  only wavering
  
• value  here. 
• 
  
• Law  too is unclear. York  states  that  legal  right is on  the  side of
  
• Richard  (II.iv.167-68),  while  Bolingbroke  claims  illegal  dealings on
• Richard's part  (II.iiil28-35). 
• 
  
• Bolingbroke  then  goes on to  order  executions
• with  very flimsy justifications  (Ill.i), a point  with  both  legal  and  emotive
• ramifications.  
• 
  
• The  ambivalence  cultivated  throughout  the  play  (with  its
• intensification  through  familialization) is  stated  directly by York  when he
• says, regarding Richard  and Bolingbroke, "Both  are my kinsmen./Th'one is
• my  sovereign, whom  both my  oath/And  duty  bids defend;  t'other  again/Is
• my  kinsman, whom  the  King  hath  wronged,/Whom  conscience  and my
• kindred bids to right"  (II.ii.lll-15).i8

Trial  regarding  Gloucester's  murder.

But, first, the  trial is inconclusive  (as both  sides have reason to he)  and, sec-

ond, the purges engaged in by Bolingbroke  seem worse  than anything done

by  Richard.  

Indeed, in a  perversion of  the  idea of  providence, we  find

Bohngbroke himself playing God in making his decisions as to whether oth-

ers  should  live or  die. 

In  one  such  instance he is  exphcitly  called "god on

earth"  (Viii. 135)—a  sort of  ultimate  usurpation, but  one  not  punished by

divine intervention. In short, the only providence  this play appears to accept,

at least in  the short  term, is the providence of powerful  rulers. -POWER DYNAMICS

_______________________________________________________________

The play ends with Bolingbroke's  rejection of the henchman he used to

kill Richard and Bohngbroke's vow to "make a voyage to the Holy Land,/To

wash  this  blood  off fi-om my  guilty  hand"  (Vvi.49-50).

The  rejection  may

function to  indicate  some moral  decency on Bolingbroke's  part, some  lin-

gering  conscience. But it may  equally  operate to  indicate  that Bolingbroke

lacks  even  that  basic "honor  among  thieves" that we  find  in, for  example,

Macbeth.

The pilgrimage is a projected  epilogue of suffering. It is a Christian

specification of  the  temporary  exile,  the  time of  repentance  and  spiritual

renewal that precedes full  accession to kingship in  the complete prototypical

structure.

 But here too  there is ambiguity. The  epilogue of suffering is usual-

ly  the  act of  the  rightflil  ruler,  the  ruler  who  has  been  overthrown  and

restored, or of  the  loyal  retainer  who  was  unjustly  treated  but  has  been

returned to  his  rightflil  place. 

It is  hardly  clear  that Bohngbroke is  either.

Moreover,  the  vow of  the  pilgrimage  has  the  ambiguity of aU  epilogues of

suffering. On  the  one  hand, it is an  expression of  remorse  and an  act of

penance. On  the  other hand, it is a cheap way of freeing  oneself from  guilt,

purging one's conscience  and currying divine  favor.

It is not entirely clear that, at this point, Shakespeare fully  recognized  the

ambiguity in  Bolingbroke's  remorse, or in  the  epilogue of  suffering  more

generally. By  the  time of Hamlet, however,  the  hypocrisy, and  Shakespeare

recognition of that hypocrisy, are unmistakable. 

Claudius  is, to my mind, far preferable to BoUngbroke in admitting that he cannot beg forgiveness  for his

murder of King Hamlet,"since I am still possess'd/Of those effects  for which

I  did  the  murther:/My  crown,  mine  own  ambition,  and my  queen"

(III.iii.53-55). On  the  other  hand, if Shakespeare—and  his  audience—did

not recognize the ambiguity in Bolingbroke's final speech, that only enhances

the ambivalence of  the  play. It gives the audience some reason to sympathize

with Bohngbroke's feehngs of remorse, and to admire his spiritual dedication,

even if  this  hardly  counterbalances  the  affection  most  audience  members

have developed  for Richard  after  his defeat. - AMBIVALENCE

• 
  
• _____________________________________________
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Hamlet
  
• 
  
• As  the  preceding  reference to  Hamlet  suggests,  the  anti-functional
  
• ambivalence we have been  considering is also not  confined to plays  before
  
• Henry  V. It spans Shakespeare's career. 
• 
  
• Henry V does not mark a turning point
  
• firom  youthful  non-conformity to  mature  traditionalism  any more  than it
  
• marks a shift  from youthful  conformism to mature  emotional  and evaluative
  
• complexity. The  complexity is  there  from  start to finish. Hamlet  provides a
  
• clear instance.

Want to know what is it like to be American? Watch this:)

Don't you just want to go and grab your pads and helmer RIGHT NOW:)?

Now I want to walk-on on the team;)

Won't it just be AMAZING to play in the nfl;)?

I could probably run as fast as LT but would I be able to withstand those shocks;)? its all up to HIM right;)

Written by a Malay for the malays. What does this say about Msia? Can we as a country rise up and solve this very real problem?

The sickening political scenario of Malaysia

Amir Husni | Feb 6, 09 4:57pm

The unfolding political scenario in Perak has exposed how low the moral values of our politicians can get. They are supposed to lead the country by example. How can we, as the rakyat, have faith and trust in these unscrupulous, tainted and corrupted leaders to better our future generations? Anwar Ibrahim wanted to upstage the federal government on Sept 16, 2008 through ‘party hopping’ but failed. This itself is morally wrong for the members of Parliament (MPs) are elected by therakyat and power is not in their hands but in the rakyat’s. They were elected to serve and uphold the elected party’s principles and constitution. Anwar should have fought for a dissolution of parliament and get the rakyat to decide. If he couldn’t then just wait for the 13th general election. DSAI should have learned from history that it took 15 years for Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini to lead the Iranian Muslim Revolution to power while Nelson Mandela needed over 20 years to eventually become the president of South Africa. A strong regime and the continuity of its existence can’t be built on a weak foundation. The coalition of PKR, PAS and DAP is still in its infancy stage, and the Almighty has given them five states for them to put their philosophy right before they can form the next federal government on a firm footing. DSAI must not rush things, for his eagerness and enthusiasm has resulted in himself being exposed to unwarranted tragedies, such as a second sodomy charge and many other unnecessary episodes which may be planned to silence him. The opposition coalition has to sort out their differences and come out with a concrete ‘all for one and one for all’ principle that will entice Malaysian voters into their fold. Malaysians are looking for alternatives and the opposition has proven beyond doubt that they are one based on the Pernatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu by-elections, but this has to be cemented on a firm foundation to weather down the BN onslaught. Currently, the BN government is at its weakest point in their history. Their leaders are involved in infighting for party posts which will pre-decide who should contest and who should not. The selection of candidates for by-elections is determined high-up in the hierarchy and not through a bottom up selection. Money politics, corruption accusations and unwarranted high-profile court cases are the norm. The manipulation of the courts’ judgements can be seen by even the layman as if they are a script for a movie. In addition, cronyism, nepotism and abuses of power are some other faults to be highlighted. Some of these accusations in statutory declarations were never denied nor were these ‘whistle- blowers’ sued. The worst is the fact that some these whistle-blowers went missing and disappeared; in one case, an entire family. Racial polarisation has reached its pinnacle; the Kugan case is a classic example where a particular ethnic group of the population is marginalised, which in turn resulted in the youngsters of this ethnic group roaming the streets being involved in gangsterism and underground elements. The eradication of poverty should be an issue for all Malaysian and the BN government has failed to address this. Felda and other means of land development and deployment should be opened to all Malaysians to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots. As President Obama told the Americans, that there should be food on every American table irrespective of their skin colour. Polls have indicated the unpopularity of Abdullah Ahmad Badaw and Najib Razak whilst giving the thumbs up for Anwar for the choice of premiership. The support for BN from the Chinese and Indians are dwindling and even so amongst the Malays. The above facts are more than enough for PR to sweep into power come the 13th general election. BN has a multi-series of ‘back lanes’ to clean up in order to garner the rakyat’s support. If they continue with their current type of approach and policy, they may find these ‘back lanes’ infested with their own corpses. Abdullah and Najib who helm Umno and lead the BN have demonstrated poor behaviour for their willingness to accept tainted politicians (pending court trials) and defecting politicians back to their fold? Does Umno lack credible politicians? Or are the four in the Perak sage pawns in a high drama political game? Are the Malays, who are also synonymous to the Muslim faith, willing to compromise the principles of their core faith ? Abdullah has even defined leadership quality through his ‘Islam Hadhari’ but is now making a mockery out of it. Even Dr Mahathir Mohamad has spoken wisely and advised the Umno leadership not to take in the two defecting PR politicians because of their impending corruption charges. In addition, these three defectors are of a poor educational background, who have risen to power merely through the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ticket. This is food for thought for both BN and PR. One must remember that ‘only good seeds produce good trees’. The takeover of the Perak government by BN will not result in any drastic change in BN’s management style due to their status quo policy. It is going to be the same cold soup served in a different bowl. They may even borrow PRs’ watch and tell the time. But the 13th general election will be the playground for PR to remind the voters and that election will be a disaster for the BN-led government in Perak. Najib is only anxious to popularise himself in the eyes of the Umno supreme council for Umno’s lacklustre performance in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu. But hold your breath, for it is the rakyat who will decide the future of BN government not the Umno supreme council. It is anticipated that BN will lose badly in Perak in the coming general election; the price they have to pay for this undemocratic coup. An interesting scenario will be to see what will happen if PR manages to get the right numbers to re-form the Perak government in the near future? Will the sultan act in the way he has acted now? This episode will not end unless an anti-hopping law is introduced to declare a seat vacant once an elected representative switches party or declares himself as an ‘independent’ or resigns. Whatever it is, what has happened in Perak is truly undemocratic and it is not the way the rakyat should be treated. A wise approach must be made to uphold Malaysian democratic values for us to march forward as a developed nation. As it is now, the Vision 2020 target is just a dream because our leaders possess low moral values and integrity. Can we unite as Malaysians? Will it ever be possible?

taken from the australian national newspaper

Abramoff was paid $US1.2 million ($A1.6 million) from the Malaysian Government for his services in 2001 and 2002, according to an Abramoff associate. Documents obtained by Senate investigators appear to confirm at least $US900,000 of that amount.

Abramoff has pleaded guilty to improperly influencing members of Congress and their aides. He often routed lobbying fees through non-profit organisations to evade taxes or hide the sources of funds.

It's not clear how central Abramoff was in arranging the Oval Office session for Kuala Lumpur. The White House says the meeting was arranged through normal channels.

But it was clear, the former associate said, that Abramoff took credit for it. His reputation for close relationships with the White House enabled him to charge stratospheric fees.

The Malaysian payments were made to the American International Centre, a bogus "international think tank" that an Abramoff partner, Michael Scanlon, set up at a Delaware beach house.

By routing the money in that way, Abramoff avoided having to register with the Justice Department as an agent of a foreign government.

After Dr Mahathir's White House meeting, a former associate said, Abramoff was invited to a dinner honouring the Prime Minister at the Malaysian embassy.

At least one other Washington lobbying firm — Alexander Strategies, run by an Abramoff friend — was also compensated during this period for helping boost Malaysia's reputation in Washington.

The witness was the only person to observe Abramoff's direct contacts with Mr Rove and even then he only heard Abramoff's end of the conversation. He recalled Abramoff picking up his ringing mobile phone, flashing the caller ID and saying: "It's Karl."

wow. where did the money come from?

link: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/did-mahathir-pay-16m-to-meet-bush/2006/02/15/1139890806086.html

What is happening to Msia? What is going on back home? WOW

Mohammad Nizar diarah keluar dari Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan

06/02/2009 11:55am

IPOH 6 Feb. - Datuk Seri Ir. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin yang masih menganggap dirinya Menteri Besar Perak yang sah diarah keluar dari pejabat Menteri Besar di Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan di sini pagi ini.

Beliau diarah keluar oleh Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Perak, Datuk Dr. Abdul Rahman Hashim.

Kejadian itu berlaku kira-kira pukul 10.06 pagi ketika Mohammad Nizar sedang mengadakan sidang akhbar di pejabat Menteri Besar sebelum Abdul Rahman masuk dan meminta semua yang berada dalam bilik termasuk termasuk wartawan keluar.

Tindakan Abdul Rahman itu menaikkan kemarahan sekumpulan lelaki dipercayai penyokong pakatan pembangkang yang bertindak menyerbunya tetapi berjaya dihalang oleh anggota polis.

Malah, Mohammad Nizar sempat menjerit `What the hell' bagi menunjukkan rasa tidak puas hatinya terhadap tindakan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri itu.

Mohammad Nizar bersama beberapa `Exco kerajaan negeri' kemudiannya keluar meninggalkan Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan pada pukul 10.40 pagi. - Utusan

Wow...what is wrong with Malaysia?

Memories....new and old mixed;)....do you think Football Will Eva come to Msia;P!...probably never;)"

No comment:)...last year was awesome!!:P

A Peak into My Academic Life as an English Major;)

As requested by Mum, Dad, JA, EF and James....here's some of my school work...

this is a post for my Senior-Level 4000 level Shakespere class:)

its an online post for my online discussing we have to post EVERY single week:P....

so...here it goes......spare the criticism..please:P...unless it's constructive!

   Jia Hsien Pan 20 Jan 09    8:50 PM MST

As we discussed in class, Orlando did fall in love with Rosalind at first sight and is deeply in love with her throughout the entire play. Rosalind appears to manipulate Orlando by dressing up as a boy and toying with his emotions, as if, "testing" him. I am reminded by the film The Other Boleyn Girl which is also set in Elizabethian times, in which one of the Boleyn girls constantly pulls away despite King Henry's advances in order to manipulate King Henry and make him obsessed with her. Rosalind, obviously, is at least a little into Orlando because she gave him a necklace. I believe eros love is represented in this play. Perhaps Orlando demonstrates and even professes agape love but Rosalind's feelings towards Orlando is questionable because she does indeed seem to be leading him on and pulling away even when Orlando seems so sincere at professing his love for her. Perhaps she pulls away more and more as he tries to get closer and more intimate with her just to increase his ardor for her. Her disguise enables her to pretend to be the "nasty wife" or even her "real self" without risking angering or putting Orlando off. This is because she can pretend to be something or someone she isn't or doesn't want to show to Orlando directly. In other words, Rosalind gets to show her true colors without "actually" revealing herself (I believe that Orlando actually sees through Rosalind's disguise, at least towards the end of the play). Her disguise does present a problem though. For example, if Orlando is actually attracted to Rosalind in disguise, does Rosalind really want to fall in love and marry a man who actually is attracted to a man (Rosalind in disguise)? Realistically speaking, wouldn't a relationship be questionable when one partner dresses up as the opposite sex and the other partner demonstrates affection/sexual attraction to the partner-in-disguise? Disguise symbolizes distrust and without trust, a relationship, romantic or otherwise, will fail to work. Is this very issue of trust what Shakespere is trying to raise and address in this deep, thoughtful, and thought-provoking play? Date Modified: 20 Jan 09    9:00 PM MST Respond   Edit

My favourite, current verse:)

I know our pastors tell us that we shouldn't take verses out of context, but I absolutely luv this verse! It inspires me, drives me and gives me passion to excel at both english and photojournalism:)......LORD...u really are the Almighty;)

Read all of 1st Corinthians and be amazed;)

btw this is The Message:1st Corinthians 1....i seriously advise you to cross reference this version with the NIV version;)

26-31Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

isn't that truth just staring at our faces;)
GOD really is So wise that it just blows our mind, ain't it;)!

here's the NIV version...still great truth;):

26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."^[d]

GOD just rocks my world!!!

Pls pray for my family again...and kuching collectively...ppl are suffering...

Kuching was struck by massive floods 4 days ago...please pray for this city of 500 000 ppl bcos it holds a dear place in my heart....particularly...it contains my family!

VERy severe floods have swept away houses, suspended schools and businesses and even partially shut down Kuching General HOspital becos the elevators short-circuited due to flooding....

pls pray for my dear, dear family and my home in BDC...

pls pray for the multitudes of ppl homeless, broken and suffering in kuching now...
pls pray that Christians in general will bond together and offer their services free of charge: doctors, nurses especiall for the wounded....besides giving food, shelter and blankets to those who are so desperately in need....at this hour...at this time....

would you kneel with me and pray tog for the salvation anf safety of my beloved city?

the City of Cats: my home, my country, my place of refuge and the only place on Earth i feel truly at home at*







would you kneel with me and pray tog for the salvation anf safety of my beloved city?

the City of Cats: my home, my country, my place of refuge and the only place on Earth i feel truly at home at*

pretty ain't it...

                                   TCU's Frog Fountain...last feb:)

I hope we get snow again!

2 days an counting...

                                                  beaut Dallas skyline at night

uh...2 days till i fly halfway acroos the world back to TCU.....

how i miss msia when i'm in the states......

sniff*...

P.S> Apologies for the huge amount of posts per day....been trying to catch-up on almost a year of NOT bloggin;)

lol....even more true;)...ugh...texting (smsing or messaging in msian eng;)..such fun, yet super annoying at times;)

makes u think twice b4 texting ain't it;)

so true..

LOL...as malaysians, we are terrible pirates;)...both sellers and buyers are responsible...cos without a market...the sellers will be out of business;)

...and show me a single msian teenager who has NOT downloaded an mp3 of the net and i'll show you a cow who has jumped 2.4 trillion times over the moon;)

so, as believers,...is it legal to buy and download;)?

Asian parenting;)....LOL so true;)

Class Considerations

Hmm....should i take a hip-hop class next semester?
vote by comment;)....

31371

DANC 20442

050 REG

PER PEA

Jazz Dance I - Hip Hop Williams, Ashanti

01/12/09

MWF 13:00-13:50

BAL A

Closed

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I heard the class is simply amazing...but...its during my lunch hour! how to makan?:P