Love Exemplified -- My Niece's Wedding.

For a long while, the notion of wedding banquets had been punctured with curtailing traditions and humdrum cogwheels in motion, ie. nothing out of the mill.

On Saturday, for the first time, I witnessed Love unfolding.

He spoke much, in a smattering of choked emotions.
She said little, but cupped his face.

It was then that I shed tears.

She was her playmate, friend and attended the same junior college, albeit a year younger than Mich.
The child who used to play with Mich when we were young, is a kid no more.
My little girl has grown up.

This is what Love is all about.

Happy Wedding, Niece.
You were, are and will always be the most beautiful Princess in my eyes. =)

= 25 Oct 2008 (Day) =
1. Pretty Niece & Mich
2. Pretty Niece and Mich. Again.
3. FeiFei Steals The Limelight!
4. Niece & FeiFei




= 25 Oct 2008 (Night) =
1. Mich in the car.
2. The Man & Mich
3. Gorgeously tanned Niece & Mich
4. Gorgeously tanned Niece and Mich. Again.
5. Nephew & The Man (They were college mates in VJC, attended the same private tuition group, landed up in the same company eons later and are now family, thanks to Mich.)
6. Wedding Cake
7. Ballroom
8. The Man & Mich. =)
9. Pretty tealight
10. Mich Beams
11 - 13. Photoshoot in London.
14. 1st Bridal March
15. Cutting the cake.
16 - 18. Champagne Toast.
19. Groom's speech that tugged at heartstrings.












The entire process of the secret proposal was filmed.

"Will you marry me?" danced the lights merrily along the evening beach.

In that sweetest moment, in her diving gear, wet hair and all, her eyes gleamed and twinkled.

Now, who wouldn't say yes to that?

Political Grindings on YouTube.

2008.10.27 • 17:00 EDT
What YouTube tells us about our political conversation
Cyrus Farivar



If you've been following the election at all (and I'm guessing if you've been reading this column you have been), chances are you've encountered various YouTube videos promoting one of the two candidates. If you're liberal, maybe you've seen the Sarah Silverman Great Schlep video, or perhaps Colin Powell endorsing Obama, or the recent (and brilliant) Wassup 2008 video. If you're conservative, maybe you've seen McCain Brings Down the House at the Al Smith dinner, or a McCain march in Manhattan, or something about the Democrats covering up Fannie and Freddie.

But while it's been relatively easy to find these videos over the last few weeks and months, it's been tough to figure out exactly who is linking to those videos and how much those videos are then worth to the respective campaigns.

Last week, Morningside Analytics quietly announced its new Political Video Barometer to determine exactly how ideas are spreading via video through the political conversation. Morningside is a relatively new analysis firm founded by John Kelly, who will soon have his Ph.D. from Columbia University (Morningside Heights is the New York neighborhood where Columbia sits). The firm gained some notoriety earlier this year for its study of the Iranian blogosphere, doing what likely is the most comprehensive and rigorous study of Farsi-language blogs inside Iran.

What did they find?

The three videos getting the most blog links are, in fact, on the liberal side.

In addition, only one of the top 10 videos was posted officially by the campaign, and these days, most of the top videos are about "the company one keeps (personally or their campaign).

Over the last fourteen days, the top four of the five most linked and/or embedded YouTube videos by liberal bloggers were all focused on comments made by McCain supporters."

Not surprisingly, this jives pretty much with what TechPresident's Micah Sifry recently determined -- that the more than 1,650 videos the Obama campaign officially has on YouTube vastly exceeds the number of videos the McCain campaign officially has on YouTube.

He determined that if you take the total number of views of a video times the video length to determine the total number of hours, it comes to:
Obama 14,548,809.05 hours; McCain 488,093.01 hours.

Sifry also noted some back-of-the-envelope math calculated by Joe Trippi -- who famously ran Howard Dean's online campaign in 2004 -- to determine the current market value on TV for that much airtime.

It's around $46,893,000 dollars. Math works like this. The City of Denver has 1.3million TV households -- to buy those households costs $350 per point ($350 to reach one percent of those households) to reach 100% of those 1.3 million for 30 seconds would cost $35,000. So to reach them all for an hour would be 120 X $35,000 = $4,200,000. To get to 14.5 viewing hours you multiply $4,200,000 X 14.5 = $60,900,000.

Now to take out the 300,000 of the 1.3 million to get this really down to 14.5 million hours. 300,000 is 23% of 1.3 million -- so we reduce $60,900,000 by 23% = $46,893,000. We could have gotten rid of the 300,000 using the same method at the beginning to make this easier to understand -- but it is going to be around $46 million.

Furthermore, Trippi notes to Sifry: "The finer point would be that people were not forced to watch these -- they wanted to watch them -- they chose to watch them."

But I think that the most surprising thing that I've learned so far here is what Ethan Zuckerman pointed out yesterday:

Just a note for all the smug, self-satisfied liberals out there - a group that often includes me: There are a lot of videos listed here linked only by conservative blogs and not by liberal blogs. I couldn't find a single video that's solely linked to by liberal blogs. Who's running the more insulated echo chamber here?

Source : Machinist

Today.

I've been really, really Happy. =)

Mich has been (strangely) all smiles throughout the day.

It doesn't make sense.

Perhaps this isn't the First Time, so Mich is not surprised about THAT.

Mich knows You too well. There's only one reason Why and she was right.

Hurt? Definitely.

Suicidal and depressed for a prolonged period of time like the First? Perhaps not this time.

Maybe, just maybe, in the heart of hearts, Mich had given up on You a long time ago.

A Lesson With Mich.

Personal Pronouns

Him
You
Him
You
Him
You

Him.

Instincts Proven Right.

I wondered Why.
I thought I knew Why.
I guessed the reason Why.
Now I know Why -
THAT'S Why.

It shouldn't matter.
It shouldn't hurt.
It shouldn't bother.
But it does.
Again.

And I don't know Why.

The Rainbow Disconnection.

"Rainbows are visions
But only illusions."

There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow after all.
What was Magic was a bag of old tricks.
And guess who fell for it?

Keeping Faith.

Faces amongst the congregation encroached in a series of stagnating vignettes, each mien working a smile.

Laughter. Voices. Chatter - The pentameter never plodded. For all of its prowess, Silence resonated most during passive shuffling.

Upon the towering structure, barely recognizable in its element, memories of yonder began to fade.

The child's shadow playfully bound up to earmarked adolescence, vivaciously encysting a lady at her dispense. It was then this cavalier appropriation of her Life with mingled feelings evinced.

As bubbles that swim, on a beaker's brim, broke forth the thought to leave in a flitting gleam.

The child's pleas fell into circumstance.

The Church, her beloved place, had become a wafting presence.

Of lifting ideals - a pressing desire for God, for service, for works to God and not Man - their familiarity lay among knolls adhering to an indurated colour of resolution.

~ Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. ~

Let's Make A Date!

This week, I'm really pleased to have met up with friends after being buried in work for numerous months.

Ange, Del, Diana, Vern, Ting, Esther...

Who's next?

Let's make a date! =)

Mmm...Mmm...Mmmm....

Happiness awaited Mich last night.

Mich loves the Armani halter that she'd worn.

Do You like it too? =)

Amazing! 2nd Shark Virgin Birth Confirmed. (Unfortunately, The Mother Died.)

10 October 2008

A female blacktip shark in Virginia fertilized her own egg without mating with a male shark, new DNA evidence shows.

This is the second time scientists have used DNA testing to verify shark parthenogenesis—the process that allows females of some species to produce offspring without sperm.

The female shark, dubbed Tidbit, died during a routine physical exam before the pregnancy was identified.

A necropsy—an animal autopsy—after her death revealed she was carrying a near-term pup fetus that was about 12 inches (30 centimeters) in length.

Tidbit was caught in the wild when she was very young and reached sexual maturity in a tank at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, where she lived for eight years.

"The interesting thing about that was there were no male blacktip sharks in the tank for the entire time of her captivity," said Demian Chapman, a researcher with the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University in New York.

"So the question is, where does this baby come from?" he asked.

Chapman is the lead author of a study on the female blacktip in the latest issue of the Journal of Fish Biology.

DNA fingerprinting

Chapman and his colleagues generated a DNA fingerprint for the mother shark and her pup fetus with a procedure identical to a human paternity test.

Ordinarily, a shark's DNA contains some genetic material from its mother and some from its father. Tidbit's pup, however, was not ordinary.

"Every part of the fingerprint of the embryo comes from the mother," Chapman said. "In other words, there is no genetic material from a father."

All non-mammal vertebrate species are theoretically capable of parthenogenesis, scientists say. Examples have been documented in komodo dragons, pythons, rattlesnakes, chickens, and turkeys.

Parthenogenesis is not possible in humans because if all the genetic material comes from the mother, certain genes will be switched off, and the embryo won't develop.

"For sharks in captivity, [parthenogenesis] has probably occurred more times than has been documented," says Robert Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida.

The question then becomes, is parthenogenesis a type of developmental anomaly or a response to the female shark not having a mate in captivity?

"The fact that only one shark embryo was formed may suggest that this is more a case of an egg developmental aberration rather than a physiological response to the lack of a mate," said Hueter, who was not involved with the study.

No Variation

Normally, an embryo is formed when an egg containing half its chromosomes is fertilized by a sperm containing the other half.

When an egg cell is formed, a plant or female animal also produces three other cells called polar bodies. In the type of parthenogenesis observed in sharks, one of those cells behaves like a sperm and fertilizes the egg.

"But that cell is genetically identical to the egg," Chapman said. "So that's where you lose a lot of genetic variation."

Offspring produced by parthenogenesis are not exact clones of their mothers, however, because the genetic material is mixed differently.

Still, researchers believe the risk of congenital defects increases in animals whose DNA lack genetic variation.

"There's an increased risk of having a weakened immune system and there's a risk of reproductive abnormalities," Chapman said. "But in some cases, they'll be able to survive."

The scientists have not ruled out the possibility that increased stress from the abnormal pregnancy contributed to Tidbit's death.

Read about the first shark virgin birth on 24 May 2007.

Source : National Geographic

Are You Happy?

Mich is Happy. =)

Happy,

Blessed,

Loved.

The Musical Genius That Is Jay Chou.

A frivolous post dedicated to the local launch of Jay Chou's new album Capricorn on 15 October 2008. =)

13 Oct (Pre-Order)

• Actual cost of the limited-edition album (CD + DVD) : $27
  
• Harried fluster amongst the staff pertaining to pre-order details.
• Forms to fill.
  
• Failure of staff (and oversight on Mich's part) to return the change of $23.
• Final hole in pocket : $50

15 Oct (Collection)

• Collection of the Limited Edition Album packaged in a tin box.
• Free gifts galore - customised Rubik's Cube plastered with Jay Chou mugshots & a deck of Jay Chou poker cards.

Why Mich Fancies Jay Chou

• The Man plays a multitude of instruments (cello, piano, drums, guitar, flute, harmonica, etc) at a blink-and-you'll-miss-it pace, particularly showcased at concerts.
• Single-handedly influenced the change in Mandopop with his unique fusion of Oriental elements and the likes of Western styles.
• Frequently weaves nondescript sounds from daily living into his music, such as bouncing ping pong balls, touch-tone phone dialing, helicopter blades, dripping rain, and radio static noise (concrete music).
• Songwriter (writes all his songs), Singer, Director, Actor.
  
• Best-Selling Chinese Artiste & dubbed "Asia King" by the media. (yes, his movies are surefire hits at the box-office too)
  
• Perfectionist streak - controls all aspects of his career.
• Dude with a 'tude but possesses a penchant & devotion to his mother. (constantly writes songs about filial piety and even titled his album with his mother's name!)
• Born in 1979 (hey, Mich's age!)
  

Happiness.

On the Majestic Tree, she is but a nondescript fig.

That, she can only be.

She falls in a gentle swirl and meets the ground.

Warmth wrapped, His hands cups the fragility that is her.

He smiles.

And in Him, she finds the existence of being.

The Rainbow Connection

I would like to share this beautiful song with You.
It tugged at my heartstrings and I hope it will touch You in its own special way. =)

Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
And what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.

So we’ve been told and some choose to believe it,
I know they’re wrong, wait and see.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it,
And look what it’s done so far.

What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do you think we might see?
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
We know that it’s probably magic.

Have you been half asleep?
And have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.

I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it.
It’s something that I’m supposed to be,
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Fact Is Stranger Than Fiction

By golly, this was actual news around the world. Sheesh!

Man Charges Bigfoot With Molestation

How they didn’t start off this newscast with an untoward intro like “Is Big Foot getting handsy?” or “Talk about a sexual predator!” is beyond me. Although when you think about it, blaming everything on an imaginary creature no one can locate is a pretty smart defense. Your wife can’t argue with that lipstick on your collar when you tell her it came from the Easter Bunny, can she.

Priceless Quote: “I have a few that claimed abuse, but never by a mythical creature.”

Woman Stuck on Toilet for a Month

And you thought you had it bad after hitting that roadside taco stand. Two years in the bathroom. Eating meals, sleeping, celebrating Christmas -- all in your trailer’s commode. At some point (like day 468 maybe) aren’t you just like, “Maybe I should see what’s going on in a different room today. Soap, shower curtain, bath mat -- yup, I think I’ve got this room figured out.” Bonus Unbelievable Grossness: I’m going out on a limb and guessing that that isn’t a two-bathroom trailer -- begging the question, where did her boyfriend do is business?

Priceless Quote: “I told her whether she walks or rolls out of the hospital, she’s gonna be home with me and I’m gonna take care of her.”

Penguin Knighted

I cried just as hard as the next guy at March of the Penguins, but when I think of knights I think of men dressed in armor gallantly protecting innocent maidens with swords and lances on the backs of their trusty steeds. And surprisingly, the key word there is “men.”

Priceless Quote: “...we being well satisfied with loyalty, courage, and good endowment of our trusty and well-beloved Neils Olaf and proposing entire trust and confidence in you, as a penguin, in every way qualified to receive the honor and dignity of knighthood.” (Cue Neils pooping on street.)

Man Caught Having Sex With Table

I guess the Republicans were right: It starts with same-sex marriage, and before you know it people are screwing their patio furniture. In his defense, it seems like a really nice table; but what happens when the table gets tired of giving it up so easy and it wants to be taken out on a proper date? Can you show up at a restaurant with your own table? This is clearly a more complex issue than the liberals make it out to be.

Priceless Quote: “Once you think you’ve seen it all, something else comes round.” (See: Reach around. Zing!)

Police Arrest Man for Passing Gas

Get a leg up? Law and odor? Fueling debate? They certainly didn’t drop the ball on this story’s pun potential. Plus all that stock video of people’s butts as they’re walking down the street went to good use. But it was a bit disappointing that they couldn’t land some pundits to debate the issue. Who wouldn’t want to hear Keith Olberman say, “If fanning your flatulence on someone is a crime, then Sean Hannity should be arrested every time he opens his mouth.”

Priceless Quote: “Would you not consider that to be chemical warfare?” (Well played.)

Source : Esquire

Under Lock And Key.

The key to Happiness is in the Lock.

And if, in the debacle, the Lock should come into being, derided by corrosion, then the Lock would cease to be.

An absence of the Lock would nullify the Key.

There liesin the gateway to Happiness.

Pursued with flagrant abandonment.

To Be.

Of Charm.

All the while, she strained to catch her Reflection.
It made her laugh and her eyes twinkle.

Be it no surprise that she failed to see her Shadow.
On which light was cast in a sprinkle.

As One Doeth.

It seemed intolerable that I should endure existence subject to the arbitrary visitations of a Magician who could thus play tricks with one.

Flatland - Edwin Abbott

Good Morning, Dear Sir.

And pray, what would your order be?
Coffee, tea or Me?

Frailty

"...If I asked, would You say yes?..."

There are some things that money can't buy.

Such is the moment that brought a lump to my throat in the cab today.

A song, a note, a word.

You.
I never thought that dreams came true
But You showed me that they do
You know that I learn something new
Every day I love You

It's a touch when I feel bad
It's a smile when I get mad
All the little things I am
Every day I love You

[ Every Day I Love You - Boyzone ]

Forgive the Glazed Eyes...

.... as Mich will be swamped and thumped with work over the weekend. This frenetic schedule (read: no day, no night) will persist till Wednesday. For now, it's blitzkrieg against the PSLE!

Meanwhile, Mich is pleased to note that the $100 spent at the doctor's was well worth it as the infection is clearing up pronto. =)

Incidentally, in the wake of the aforementioned 5am accident , I'd completely forgotten that friend L owns a workshop and could have dished out less moolah. This certainly innervates the pocket left orphaned by a whopping $5k. ( and that's just a rough estimate!)

Curiosity Or Compassion?

Why is it that when we hear about someone who is suffering, we are more interested in the details of what, why, when, and where than we are about how we can help?

When the disciples passed the blind beggar (John 9:1), their curiosity about why he was suffering outweighed the prospect of reaching out to help him.

[Jesus’] disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” — John 9:2.
Their pop-quiz for Jesus revealed that they were dreadfully out of step with their Master’s heart. In fact, lurking beneath their question was a judgmental spirit — a desire to know whom to blame — as if that would make anyone feel better!

Thankfully, Jesus modeled a compassionate response. Rather than speculation and condemnation, He marshaled His resources to help, which in this case meant complete healing. He made it clear that the man’s blindness was intended to provide a moment for God to be magnified through Jesus’ compassionate touch.

Feeling curious about somebody’s problem? Shift into Jesus’ mode. Move past the point of curiosity to his or her point of need. Reach out and touch someone’s pain. Show the compassionate love of Jesus in action. — Joe StowellAmid the snares misfortune lays
Unseen, beneath the steps of all,
Blest is the Love that seeks to raise
And stay and strengthen those who fall. —Bryant

At 5AM....

Can life be more wonderful than this?

By that, of course, you would have noticed the sardonism rhetoric welting.

At 5am, Mich has a new present.

Peek-a-boo!

It's an Accident with a pretty smashed car. (pun unintended initially, but well, the writer changed her mind.)

>> 40deg fever
>> A swollen jaw
>> Last evening's $100 trip to the doctor's
>> 5am Accident

What lovely presents Life has bequeathed to Mich! =(

James 4 :13-17

= Boasting About Tomorrow =

13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Do You Know That Mich Is...

• very, very upset right now?
• terribly unhappy with her life?
• wants to push the button that reads "Eject from misery"?
• trying very, very hard?
• wondering if this is her retribution/come-uppance?
• can't see the screen clearly as her vision is fogged with tears?
  

What's the point of living?
What's the point of crying?
What's the point of blogging?
What's the point of even asking?

For all the good that I try to do,
For all the causes that I commit myself to,
For all the responsibilities that I pride myself in,

At the end of the day, behind closed doors...

A crumpled figure lays still.