52 weekends

This year the price of the bread I usually buy went up by 30 cents. Just like when bok choi occasionally goes up by 20 cents. Circumstances like these cause one to pause and consider.

This year the value of time went up. It used to be “there are only 52 weekends in a year”. Now it’s “there are only 52 weekends in a year”. But to ground myself, there are a couple of sayings that I mangle: “everyone is given the same 24 hours” and “one makes time for one’s priorities”. That foreign word that seems less foreign as the months pass by: Adulthood. And the non-optional accompaniments. Groceries. Sweeping. Laundry. Responsibility.

Leisure time. What’s left over after you take out work, meals, chores, and sleep. It’s with this leftover time that we display our priorities. The other commitments are fixed, but leisure time, that’s up to us to spend as we choose.

The staircase. 從小到大 people one step ahead would say to the ones below, “wait until you get up here.” In many forms regarding many things. One of them: When you start working, you’ll come back and just want to unwind/relax. Weekends and public holidays turn from bronze to diamonds.

The price of things have gone up.

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways.

Price of freedom

I recently watched a movie called The First Grader. It was good from the first minute, the opening credits were lovely. Something about the lens or the way the names faded in unobtrusively. A good opening always sets up the rest of the show. It was about an old man who wants to go to school, but the backstory and historical context are unseen forces driving the story.

There is a powerful scene in the movie where the main character speaks of the reason why he wants to go to school. Why he needs to learn to read and write. I won’t give away too much, just to mention that it’s one of those movies that comes back and causes one to pause and reflect.

Only after looking up the Mau Mau rebellion did I discover that the methods of suppression that the British used were learned from their Malayan experience. Fitting, considering that I read a book about Sabah politics last weekend, when the movie was still fresh in my mind. In another colony on nearly the other side of the earth, a similar situation. With Africa, a heavier yoke. Another culture, a similar experience. To think that one empire could shape so many nations.

It’s interesting how reading history/politics without the structure of compulsory learning changes the experience. Names and empires that I’d read about when I was a child now looks so different. Indeed, until our critical faculties have developed, history is unconnected facts used to fill out our examination scripts.

Fresh eyes

Joshua 9, an very interesting passage. On the first read, it sounds like a story of how a chosen nation was duped into taking in people they were not supposed to. But after last night’s bible study, a more rich and deep story comes out.

Deception is not a new thing. The nation’s forefathers knew how deep it ran in them. Abraham, Jacob (Israel), Joseph’s brothers. And yet they experience blessings and mercy. The Gibeonites seem to come to the same place. Humbled and fearful, they sought mercy but didn’t trust the conquerors to be merciful, but depended on their own cunning plan. They heard of the fame of this nation’s god, and instead of joining forces with the established nations, they recognised the supernatural power that was in favour of this invading people.

I see characteristics of fatherhood in how the Gibeonites were bold in asking to be spared. I think of shows like “Kids say the darnedest things”, or kid logic. The things they say take one aback with their honesty and simple logic. I think God has a soft spot for bold ones (I speak as a man), for example, Jacob wrestled with God and became Israel. The woman who touched Jesus’ cloak was healed. People who come with faith will not get turned away.

The people of Israel were bound to their oath. Later on during the time of the judges, Jephthah would make a similar covenant which is carried out but ends in tragedy. It seems that God does not take swearing in his name lightly. Even God swears by himself (Heb 6:13) and if we see how seriously he takes swearing by his name, we are comforted by his steadfastness in being faithful to his covenant to Abraham.

Joseph said at the end of the book of Genesis, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” While the nation of Israel once again failed to depend fully on God, this event was used to bring in an outside nation, including them into the people like Rahab before. They gain the rights of servants, which is to say, inclusion in the people’s affairs and not just foreign servants.

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Playing Super Mario Bros for the nostalgia of listening to the soundtrack. Realised how much things have changed. It takes a lot of patience, no save points. I usually keep the B button down. Not really a good gamer, I can only get to world 2 for now.

show me the money

When I was in primary school, one of my classmates approached me and told me about this game called StarCraft. For a very reasonable price I would be able to play this game. It came in a CD case with the word “Verbatim” on a blue cover and the Brood War expansion came on a Kodak disc. This would be one of my early gaming memories, commanding armies of space marines/aliens of the bestial type/aliens of the intelligent type. The most interesting part was the campaign mode, going through a story with characters. However, the missions got progressively harder and I found myself stuck on the same level, failing to keep a main character alive or getting run over by the enemy. It got frustrating but my classmate told me how to beat it. Just bring up the chat box and type in words. Words like: power overwhelming, black sheep wall, operation cwal. That made the rest of the game a breeze and I got through the game and its expansion rather quickly.

WarCraft3 came out a while after and the same story repeated itself. Frustration, followed by “greedisgood”, “iseedeadpeople”, etc. This time the game ended too fast, and I felt a lack of achievement watching the end credits. Also, I got trashed frequently on battlenet. I realised that I had shortchanged myself.

When I played through StarCraft2 a couple of years ago, I didn’t have to look up any codes.

It’s funny how I recalled these thoughts when I woke up on the sixth of May.

Morning view: Weekend edition

Morning view

Embracing Accusation: lesson in mashups

Quick post on a video. I first saw it a few years back and really couldn’t trace where the sermon excerpt came from. Recently another video pointed it out. Tip: John Piper sermons aren’t recorded verbatim, sometimes when he goes off track it’s not searchable. Anyway, really glad to find the source material and also a video of the song story. Add the two together with a bit of typography treatment and you get this brilliant video at the end. I love how the excerpt fits in the gap right before the music picks up. And also the piano bit (which I tried to transcribe here), and how the Bible passages finally form into a cross.

Just wanted to share it with you, hoping it will be as much of a help as it’s been to me.