i Feel So Sad

I was browsing the CNN website when I came across this piece of news:

'RapeLay' video game goes viral amid outrage

One part of the horror for me is the simple fact that the game even exists at all. You can only imagine what kind of person would take the effort to develop such a game that encourages people to take part in one of the most awful crimes a man can commit.

That wasn't what hurt me the most though. What really broke my heart was when I was reading the comments posted online below the CNN article. It's just so sad to see how perverted people's minds are and how willing they are in supporting the game.

There's so much justification for it, saying there's a difference between virtual worlds and reality, but you and I should already know that actions we make come out of the things that are already in our mind. Some are even commenting that being raped is better than being murdered, justifying this game since there are plenty of killing based games in the market. Obviously, that person has never been raped before.

I just feel sad, and angry at all of this, the makers of the game, the careless attitude of people that disregard the consequences of the game, the perversion of their minds.

Those who sow evil, will certainly reap from it.

Matthew 18:7 - "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!"

music I Like

I'm currently listening to a number of songs off the two records:

Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life

and

Anberlin - New Surrender

Regardless of the music people are listening to now, I still like the stuff I consider punk rock. Motion City Soundtrack has always been a favourite, although I didn't like their previous album half as much as this new one.

I'm still waiting to see what Blink 182 is going to produce, now that they're back on the scene.

change Of Band

This year's the last time I'll be playing in my university's annual band competition, Euphonious. Unfortunately, I won't be going on with Seven Sweet Surrender, although it'd be my first choice any day. When people ask me why am I not playing with them, I can only answer that I don't have the drive to lead the band. I think the band had good people, but not the greatest team. I did not have the energy to push as hard as I did the last time.

I eventually decided joined a friend's band, Sour Stripes, although I initially intended not to join the competition. To be honest, I like this band, because there's more people actively involved in putting things together and arranging what we need done. Shawn and Marvin have been holding it together, and I've been very happy to chip in where I can. Its a nice fit because I think they were looking for more quality, and I feel I've been able to give something extra compared to what they had previously.

Practices have been going generally well, but a lot of work needs to be done on our second song since we're tweaking it quite a bit. I have confidence in the band though, especially since Shawn and Marvin are quite dedicated to make it happen. Having Witton, a fellow member from Seven Sweet Surrender joining us recently is rather welcome, his skills are something all of us respect.

The event itself is coming up pretty soon, and I think I'll enjoy myself a lot more than I did the last time around. The feel of everything is different. In any case, its always good to work with new people when it comes to music. The core people in the band definitely give me confidence we can do something good, I'm looking forward to our practices this week.

the Replacement

I've always been one to hold on the phone I have for as long as I can. In whichever electronic appliance I own, a phone, laptop, mp3 player, I've always placed functionality above other things.

When I say functionality, it doesn't refer to how many megapixels does a camera phone have or other fancy bonus items. When it comes to a handphone, there are only five things I place priority on, calls, texting, contacts storage, durability and fair price.

The first three are all default fixtures of any phone, but the other two aren't necessarily so.

Very recently, my phone that lasted roughly two years died after enduring quite a bit of abuse I would say. It's fair to note that I'd dropped it a lot within that time, and it took quite a hammering. That's when I needed to get a new phone.

As I said, basic's what's good for me because I only need to do two things with a handphone, text and call people. At the same time, I wanted something durable, and something familiar, which led me to look back at Nokia. Looking for something good under RM 500 isn't as easy as it seems.

Several of the lower end models had a satisfactory interface, but I really dislike the rubber keypad Nokia had on them, which I knew would wear out quite quickly.

I've been using Nokia since 2002. Talk about brand loyalty.

After looking around for a while, I decided there was only one that seemed durable enough at a fair price for me, so purchased at a price of RM 450, presenting:

The box emphasizing the phone comes with a 1GB memory card.

Main features told on the back of the box.

Rewind || Play/Pause || Forward

Decrease volume || Increase volume || Memory card slot

Earphone port || Charger port || USB port

External speakers the size of a muffin cake.

The connector cable for the speaker to the phone lies within the base of the speakers.

Tiny earphones come with the set.

USB connector cable

User Guide

Warranty Card

Special thanks to Farhan for lending me his phone. It's been a real life saver for the last couple of weeks. Appreciate it. =)

sparing The Guilty

This is the last entry of a series of three articles I've written about the subject of obeying authority. If you haven't read the fist two, please do so here:

1.give Unto Caesar

2.submit To Authority

In the previous section entitled 'submit To Authority', I said I would address the issue of submission and rebellion towards unjust authority, an evil ruler perhaps and that's what we'll see here.

In the bible, there's a very famous man that many Christians know by the name of David, or King David, arguably one of the best kings that Israel may have had.

Before he was king, David served the king before him, King Saul. A man with high rank in the army, David was very successful in whatever King Saul sent him to do. The king got jealous and tried to kill him.

Fortunately, David was able to escape the first time, but that didn't stop the king from pursuing him. He was near relentless in his efforts, chasing David all around the country. I want you to imagine this:

The person that you've been loving and loyal to for many years, is now coming with a gun to kill you. There is no good reason for it, and this person, with all of his or her might, is coming for your life.

That's the kind of position that David was in. At one point of his campaign, King Saul rested at the mouth of a cave. David and his men were hiding deep within the cave too. His men urged him to kill Saul, but he only cut off a part of Saul's robe unnoticed and this is what he said to his men,

"The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord."

Shortly after Saul left the cave, David called out to King Saul and told him how he could have killed him. King Saul was pretty much amazed by what happened and promised David he would never come against him again.

He didn't fulfill that promise. After a while, he hunted for David again. During one night, when Saul and his men were camped in, David snuck in with one of his men, Abishai. They arrived right next to Saul's who's spear was stuck in the ground right next to his head.

Just like the previous time, Abishai told David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won't strike him twice."

This is how David replied, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives, he said, the Lord himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on God's anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let's go."

More than once, David had a chance to put an end to his suffering, having to constantly run away from Saul, living a nomadic life just to survive. Both times he chose not to destroy the man who probably deserved it. The key point here is that David chose to obey God, not falling under the influence of society (his own men) or his emotions (David had a hard life because of King Saul). He still respected the fact that King Saul was the rightful ruler of Israel.

In the end, King Saul died by the sword, his own in fact, committing suicide in a losing battle against Israel's enemies later on.

You see, what I'm saying here is this. It's a lesson for both myself and to whoever reads this. Its important for us to be willing to humble ourselves and submit even as hard as it is. Even those who may not deserve to be over us, they will receive their due in perfect timing, not your timing, perfect timing.

Know your place, know your role, be willing to obey and learn patiently. I believe its something that can go a long way. You are the one who will be vindicated in the end.

Note: The story of David I referred to in this entry can be found in 1 Samuel 24 until the end. If you're interested you can start reading about it here.