The Folly of Man....

We, are perhaps, the most egnimatic of God's ceatures and a paradox unto ourselves. As beings that are said to have been created in God's image and a reflection of His attributes, then we fall far short from godliness.

What a paradox we are...beings that are capable of the most sublime beauty and emotions of love yet at the same time capable of the most horrendous nightmare and irrational destruction. We persist to cling to the notion that we superior beings endowed with the ability to reason, beings who are immortals and equal to divinity.

Of all of God's creatures, we are, perhaps the only ones that kill and copulate for the simple pleasure of it. The 20th Century alone is testament to our grotesque insanity. How do we explain the millions of lives lost in two World wars? How do we justify the Holocoust, Nanking, Cambodia, Rwanda, Kosovo and more recently Afghanistan?

Not contend with the act of murder against our own kind, we have also plundered, violated and raped the very place we call home, a home that is shared by countless millions of God's other creation.

We may have explored the ocean's dephts and conquered the heavens above yet we have failed to conquer our very selves. Such a paradox....a being whose lives are just a fleeting moment in eternity. If we could just see God in everything and within, then just maybe we can truly call ourselves one of His special creatures.

To none I wish ill but to all I wish peace and love.....

Failing to Learn From History

The adage ‘those who fail to learn from history are doomed to make the same mistake’ is one that rings true if one looks closely at the folly of men down the ages. As a person whose passion is history, in particular of Malacca, I am totally dumbfounded at the persistent misconception as to how the ancient port city fell to my forefathers on the fateful day of August 24, 1511.

Most, if not all, assume that the Portuguese succeeded in conquering Malacca due to their use of superior and advanced armaments, namely cannons and muskets. If that is the case, then I must say that my forefathers really had some big gonads. Imagine a group of about 250 white Portuguese and roughly 1,500 mixtures of African and Indian salves conquering a city of 50,000 to 80,000.

That’s not all. Malacca was defended by several thousand Javanese soldiers not to mention Palace warriors and guards who were said to have been armed with nine war elephants, small bore canons and poison darts. In fact, it was recorded that the Portuguese recovered between 3,000 to 6,000 small bore cannons after the fall of Malacca.

It begs logic to say that the Malacca Empire, which had fought countless wars and expanded its sway over the Malay Archipelago, fell to superior arms. Imagine that, only 1,800 men in eighteen sails defeating a far larger and experienced opponent.

In my opinion, I would rather put it that the Portuguese arrived at a crucial time when the 115 year old empire was undergoing its final stage of decline and decay. There was internal strife and power struggle amongst the ruling classes, corruption and racial discord.

The Sultan was said to have been an aged and out of touched ruler who left his empire in the hands of his son. Then, there was also the division between the Muslim Malays, who considered themselves the royal court’s rightful pure blood heir, and the Indian Muslims, who controlled much of the city’s administrative and economic affairs.

This led to intrigues and conspiracies within the royal court, corruption and lack of allegiance to Malacca and its Sultanate. It was recorded that it was the first time in the empire’s history that Malacca’s defense was entrusted to paid Javanese mercenaries whose loyalty was easily bought off by the Portuguese.

There is much to be learned from the fall of Malacca by our present generation, in particular the powers that be. Almost 600 years have passed since the rise of the Malacca Empire, yet based on the present situation, we have failed to learn from our past as history seems to be repeating itself all over again.

To none I wish ill but to all I wish peace and love.....

Ligther Than Air

That's what music makes me feel like, evenmore so when I am banging on my guitar or piano. Had the strangest conversation with a 54-year-old neighbor whom I rarely spoke with. Had just completed my usual hour solo session with the guitar (something I have been doing regulary since 14 all alone at night by the seawall near to where I live...just me, my guitar and the stars) when he popped by to listen and have a chat.

Our conversation centered around faith and the use of God's gift of music for His glory. It was a rather frank conversation with me admitting to being a 'backslider'.(What I did not mentioned was that there was no more room left for to to slide back any further). Did two hymns for him(Amy Grant's This is the Day That The Lord Has Made and I Will Delight) and he mentioned the possibility of recording at his private studio. Hmm...interesting thought, I must say. If its to be done, than it must be done not because of ego but rather the sincere desire to praise Him through the gift He has blessed me with.

Afterall, He is my shepard and there is nothing else I shall want.....

I Think I Caught Me Some Time....

Yup, think I caught me some time...just about enough to pen some thoughts. As usual, work is work and got some done although a quiet Monday here with little action in the news.

Gave some thought as to how I would like my blog to be....like me...a high strung blog swirlling with a hosts of topics ranging from my chaotic life, my passion for Malacca and its rich past, anything that is of art and music, politics and faith.

Besides introducing interesting snippets on the state's history, culture and heritage, the blog will also expose the unexplainable and oddities of Malacca which continue to remain a mystery and a puzzle for me.

This includes the state's enigmatic rows of standing stones alignments in Alor Gajah (our very own megaliths like as Stonehenge), unexplained ancient markings such as the 'calatrava cross' and Freemasons symbols, a well documented UFO sighting dating back almost 500 years ago, undiscovered treasures such as the sunken Flor De Mar or Flower of the Sea and the lost gold mines of King Solomon and many others.

Through this, it is hoped that the like minded out there would help enrich my understanding and knowledge by contributing their thoughts and opinions here.

Reality Check

It does seem that the world of blogging does have its boundaries...that is linked to the real physical world. Still trying to cramp in as much of the G9 and blogging but realize that its limited to the very one thing we are bounded to...time.

How strange we seem to be rushing, chasing 'time' most of our lives but never ever catching up with it. This is what happened, me trying to catch some 'time' for the G9, this and of course ....where my story of whatever should have begun as how ended my previous post.

Factor in family, work and the other little distractions of life and you get limited time to blog.....conclusion....my new found freedom of expresion via the borderless world of blogging is thus also bounded, like all things, to 'time'.

That brings me to the question of what aspect of me do I wish to blog about? The very question ask by pro-blogger Ken, Kititto.com and Beautifukk.com while in Machap, Alor Gajah. Darn..he knew Jason Mumble and Pintokopak, in particular Jason who has gained the reputation as a blogger who has a passion for food. Couldn't agree more. (sorry Pelf the little impish Elf....he drew a blank when I mentioned you..not famous yet lah.lol...you need more by lines).

So I guess I'll have to figure out how to catch some time and find out exactly where my story begins.....

And So The Story Begins....

Must have taken over 300 shots of home with the G9 and selected what was considered decent enough for my first try. Editing was even harder. Still lots to learn and discover.Will sort photos out and blog about them....And so, this is where the story begins,

................welcome to my world............

Falling Into to Place & Everything Happens For A Reason

'Faith' is such a relative question and one that is very personal to most. Me? If church attendance is a mark of a good practicing Christian, then I guess I would be considered a lost cause and a lost soul.

Besides passing on his legacy of music to me, Andrew, I would affectionately call him, showed me that faith is something that is lived. This brings me to my present happenstance. Me getting my Canon G9 and discovering blogging as another form of expression. Both gradually coming together to open a new world of discovery. So its back to faith.....faith that everything happens for a reason and the G9 and blogging coinciding in my life is, in my believe, an nonrandom event.

Well, getting a dose of my two new discoveries has given me such a high. I am exhausted from....tidying up me casa for the arrival of the G9 and haven't slept a wink. Thought I was rather blase when the camera finally arrived at the office at 2pm but soon found out otherwise when I reached home later in the day.

The need for sleep immediately vanished the second I took my first experimental shot of a oil canvas scenery hanging in one of the rooms. Since then till.....now...I've yet to fully satisfy my need to take more shots......hence no posts of photos as of yet as I completely drained the cam's battery dry of its juice.......ha,ha....

By the way, haven't yet chosen a name for the G9 but will think of something,,,and yes...I love it especially one of the very first few shots taken by Pintukopak of me in sepia tone...darn I look good.

Of Sight and Sound

It'll finally come to pass...me and my long awaited G9 Canon. Thank God as I had been salivating and eagerly waiting for almost two months to get my hands on a decent but compact digital camera.

I suppose the need for the camera stems from my desire to express my 'view' of life through the lens. It'll be another form of extension of who I am and my love for life together with the varied beauty it has to offer.

Music has and will always be an integral part of my life. My dad, Andrew, who is 79 this year, is a gifted and talented musician who somehow managed to pass on his legacy to me. Though unable to read music scores (taugey or bean sprouts as I would call those black and white scribblings found on music sheets), we get on fine making music by ear.

Between us, the guitar is our favorite instrument with the piano being next although Andrew is quite decent with the violin and me on the trumpet. (a horny little me who likes to blow my own horns)

It does seem odd that I now feel the need to express myself through photography. In my previous stint as a journalist for almost seven years, I never really gave a thought about it as there were the professional photographers to get the job done.

However, it was only recently when I got back on the job as a journalist early this year that I began to feel the needed to capture and record scenes of life and Malacca other than through the pen.

Maybe its because I am now surrounded by those with a passion for photography, one of whom actually calls her camera Sony Alpha 200 'Princess'. Or maybe its just an ego thingy...a need to prove that 'a carpenter never blames his tools' i.e. me jibbing others with their much more sophisticated DSLR that shots taken with a G9 would be equally good under the right hands...my hands of course. Couldn't agree more with my senior photographer who put it this way...'ada kereta Ferrari tapi kalau tak tahu bawa, kalah juga' (... doesn't mean you own a Ferrari means you are a good driver. Its how you drive it.)

I now find myself 'viewing' things differently each time I step out of my home. The sky, clouds, buildings, people, lighting, shadows and sunset are looked at from a different perspective.
Being an impatient person by nature and one who acts of impulse, the wait for the G9 is a torture.

To compensate for the wait, I resorted to stealing a few shots with Princess and using my bro-in laws Nokia N series phone camera (5 mega pixels) while on a night cruise of the Malacca River. (ahem..pretty good I suppose for a handphone cam).

Well till the G9 is in my hands...I'll keep on dreaming still.....

Life Is Really Too Short?

The adage that life is short is something which I have tried to live by although with dire consequences at times. Still, despite the ups and downs, there are no regrets (a word that seldoms crops up in my life's dictionary) as I am contented knowing that I have lived my life as how I have wanted it to be.

Its ironic how most of us go about our daily lives without a care with regard to the fragility our mortality. With death being the only certainty in our lives, it is a shame that we get too caught up with the moment. More often than not, we fail to stop and smell the roses or to appreciate the simple joys and beauty that life has to offer

So there you go...this is one of the reasons why my thoughts are now part of the borderless but wonderful realm of cyberspace, a place where I am able to share my inner workings, passion, beliefs and pure non-logical sense with like minded others out here.

To none do I wish ill but to all I wish peace and love.