Sing* - The Carpenters

Yesterday was a historic day. Took Shona out for a move - just the two of us.

I was planning to take her to watch Moana but the time of the movie was not too suitable. In the end, i gave her the choice - i showed her the trailer for both movies - Sing and Moana - and she chose Sing without hesitation.

It was a good choice. I have not watched Moana but i was surprised at how much i really enjoyed Sing!!!

Before going in, i was thinking that this was just a cartoon version of the reality singing shows we see on TV - American Idol etc., shows that no longer interest me.

But this was more than that! I love it as it has heart - for want of better way to describe it. I love it because it has great songs - check out the long play list!!! I love singing, i love songs. The performances were really good and enjoyable!

But most of all, i love it because it has so many wonderful characters! And they were all developed very well - for me! No wonder the movie was almost 2 hours!!! But it was worth it as i grew to know the characters and care for them.

I was also impressed with how well the actors sang! Really really good! I went online just now to check and i believe that they all sang themselves.

The movie was funny and the supporting cast were brilliant too.

Best of all, Shona enjoyed it! I was worried she wouldn't be able to sit through the movie - but i had free tickets to redeem anyways so i was prepared to walk out before it ended.

In the end, we stayed on even until the credits finished rolling! Shona loved it and was dancing along with the songs at most parts!

Dare i say it loud? I enjoyed this even more than Rogue One!!!!

p/s - pics obtained from various places online.

*One of their classics which i listened to when i was really young and still love.

Here we go again* - Paramore

And so the English Premier League resumed last weekend! Here we go again!!!!

But what a way to start it for Liverpool.

I was at Colombo and was searching for a place to watch it - but in the end, duty called and i had to give it a miss. What a pity for it appeared to be a cracking game!!!

At least i managed to catch the highlights online.

They looked really good - and although the scoreline suggest a close game, it really wasn't so.

It is really heartening to see the fighting spirit and the sharpness of our attacking force. Mane looks like a really good buy, someone who will fit into Klopp's team and adopt his philosophy.

It was also pointed out that how many players (a newly bought player) would run to his manager to celebrate his debut goal by jumping onto his manager's back???

Pic taken from fourfourtwo.com

Klopp has really brought a feel-good factor back into the team.

This season is really interesting and quite open. Favourites are City but United is threatening. Exciting times ahead!!!

*It was the acoustic version of this song that made me fall in love with this group!

It's the same old song* - Four Tops

England got knocked out of the Euro 2016!!!

Photo taken from SkySports web site

Well, was it a surprise? On hind-side, it really shouldn't be. Sure, we have some pretty good players this time round. The addition of the fresh exciting youngsters increased the hope that this time round, it will be different.

But unfortunately, we have to weigh that in together with the fact that they had Hodgson as the manager. So in a way, i am glad that England had to suffer such a terrible and embarrassing defeat. It finally stops us from dreaming and realise that Hodgson is clearly not the man for the job.

He had so many good players to pick from - but he insisted on flops like Sterling and Wilshere. Rashford was used sparingly. Mr. Dependable Milner just had a cameo.

He had no team - it was like he was still experimenting.

So in the end, it's the same old story. England disappoints again. Perhaps there is a slightly different tune this time round - it is hard to find excuses this time round. No untimely red cards, no unlucky penalty shoot-outs, no wrong calls by the referee.

*Their 1965 hit single

Not ashamed* - Kristian Stanfill

This is what she said below the video of this song in YouTube - "JESUS CHRIST IS MY LORD AND SAVIOR and i'm not at all ashamed of it".

What a voice. What a testimony.

*This song is found in the Passion: White Flag album which was recorded live in 2012

Hold me in your arms* - Rick Astley

Whenever my daughter is sad or scared, she would look up to me, open up her arms and say, "Daddy, carry?". I would then take her into my arms and softly assure her that I am there for her.

I know exactly how she feels - for when I am sad or scared, I would turn to my heavenly Father and pray, "Daddy, carry?" - and He would take me in his arms and assure me that He is there for me.


In the recent couple of weeks, I had to go through a period of uncertainty - in fact, the uncertainty is still going on now. The worst case scenario is actually very scary. And when the fear takes hold of me, it is so good to have my heavenly Father take hold of me.

It fills me with peace because with my Heavenly Father, nothing is too difficult for him.

I can rely on His love for me.

My earthly father loved me so much. And as a father now, i love my girls so so much too. But i know that my heavenly Father loves me even more than my earthly father loved me, even more than how much i love my girls now.

I have been father-less for more than 9 years now. Coming to 10 years next April when my earthly father departed. It's Father's Day today and it's one of those times in the year when I miss my eartly father very much. At times, I feel a little regret that even though I loved him very much, I could have loved him more when he was around. I am ashamed to say that it is only after being a father myself that i begin to really understand how much he loved me.

But I know that even if I had loved him less, his love for me would still be the same. I just feel sad that my daughters never got to know their grandfather who would have loved them to bits!I miss my earthly father a lot but my heavenly Father ensures that I am never in want.

*The 3rd single from his second album of the same name. Used to love this song very much. Still like it!

Love bites* - Def Leppard

Daredevil is becoming my newest favourite TV show! Season 2 has been really brilliant! Especially the first few episodes. The reason is because of the introduction of the Punisher. What a character. And portrayed brilliantly too by Jon Bernthal!

I loved the discourses he had with the Daredevil, as they talked about how different - and how alike they are.

In episode 11, the Punisher - Frank Castle has a chat with Karen in a small NY cafe.

As Frank talk to Karen about her feeling for Matt, he gives another one of his brilliant monologues:-

People that can hurt you, the ones that can really hurt you, are the ones that are close enough to do it. People that get inside you and tear you apart, and make you feel like you're never gonna recover. Shit. I'd chop my arm off right here, in this restaurant, just to feel that one more time for my wife. My old lady, she didn't just break my heart. She'd rip it out, she'd tear it apart, she'd step on that shit, feed it to a dog. She was ruthless. She brought the pain. But she'll never hurt me again. You see, I'll never feel that. You sit here and you're all confused about this thing, but you have it. You have everything. So hold on to it. Use two hands and never let go. You got it?

So good!!!! I actually paused the programme to blog this! Now back to the show!

*I'm surprised to learn that this is their only no. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100!

Against all odds* - Phil Collins

What an amazing achievement!!!!

Well done!!!! Against all odds (i read that it was 5000 - 1 chance of them winning it)!

Most of the neutrals i know are so happy for them. What a lesson for all of us too - to believe in the impossible, to aim for the stars, to achieve the unthinkable.

And I am very happy for Claudio Ranieri!!! As one headlines read - who said nice guys don't finish first?

The way how he was treated by Chelsea was really bad. I guess it is some poetic justice that it was Chelsea who prevented Spurs from winning this morning's game and thus giving the title to Leicester.

Roman - take a look at him now!!!

* This song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie of the same name.

When you believe* - Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston

What a game!!!! And no, i did not watch it. I've stopped watching Liverpool games. Why? That's another story for another day. And if i had watched the game last night, Liverpool would probably have lost.

I did watch the repeat! And it was just as exciting and emotional!!! The manner how they never gave up but still kept on trying and trying and trying. Brilliant!

Let me just recap by showing the "live" updates from BBC Sports - which were pretty entertaining!

In less than 10 minutes, Liverpool were down 2-0. That meant that they had to score 3 goals!!! That was a lot to ask for. Was it all over?

But then there was a glimmer of hope after the half time break!!!

That was short-lived and did not last 10 minutes. It was back to having to score 3 in 33 minutes!!! Even tougher than Istanbul.

But do we have time for another miracle?

Yes!!!!

So we so many goalscorers on the pitch. Who will score???

But we still need one more and we are running out of time!

And then, it happened. And no it was not from a forward player. It was the other center back!!!

Can we hold on???

YES!!!!!

What made it even sweeter was that Dortmund played really well too. And they were such sporting losers.

What a game - from the moments before the game when the entire stadium was singing "You'll never walk alone" right to the end, with the players and manager applauding the fans, it was an emotional ride. I had tears rolling down my cheeks as i tried to imagine how it would have been to be there, at the Kop end, witnessing such a special and magical game.

Credit to our manager. He added so much entertainment by his pitch-side antics!!! Jumping around, screaming and shouting, applauding. There was the moment when Lovren was in Dortmund's box and had a lot of time but he simply skied his shot. Klopp just stood there, not moving at all but the "cha toe" look on his face was priceless and left me laughing uncontrollably!!!

Well, he got us us all to believe - and just like how he said end of last year, "We decide when it's over". They refused to say it was over - until they won it!!! Well done.

There can be miracles - if we only believe. And Klopp is making the players believe. That was evident last night. He is also making us believe!!!

*The theme song for the animated movie, The Prince of Egypt. It won the academy award for the best original song that year.

Sisters* - Bette Midler and Linda Ronstandt

We were warned that there could be some feelings of jealousy and insecurity felt by our first daughter when her little sister is born. I was wondering how she would handle not being the only baby in the family - and yes, i was a little concerned, especially after reading about it and hearing some stories about how the older sibling reacts negatively to the arrival of the younger one.

Well, thank God that my fears were unfounded - at least for now. My older girls absolutely adores her little sister. We are so happy to see that.

 

I wonder how long will it last. I was told by a friend recently that his two oldest girls have always gotten along from small. They never fought and they are very close to each other.

I hope that is the case for our two girls. 

I truly praise God for blessing us with two girls and it also brings me so much joy to see my older girl so happy to have a baby sister in her life.

*This is a cover version of this song which was featured in the movie White Christmas.

Zombie* - The Cranberries

Tuesdays are the worst day for me in the week - i have 3 lectures, starting from 10 am right up to 5 pm, with an hour break in between lectures.

It doesn't help that i usually get back on Monday nights - and then i'll stay up late to prepare for those lectures on Tuesday, sometimes up to 3 something in the morning.

So when you see me on Tuesday, i'll look like a zombie. I think. Well, maybe slightly better than the ones we see on The Walking Dead. But i certainly feel like one! i feel like i walk like a zombie and sometimes, i just don't have the energy to talk properly - so i probably just grunt and snarl!!!

Something magical happens when lectures start, tho. I suddenly transform back to a human!!! I feel alive again. I speak properly and am actually excited about life again!!! That's why i feel so blessed to do this job. I really love teaching and lecturing, especially about the law!

The moment it all ends, my energy just drains out immediately and i start searching for brains... i mean a bed to sleep on.

*One of their most popular songs, so simple but yet so good.

Can't take my eyes off you* - Frankie Valli

I love carrying Gemma! I love how she will look at me so intently, like she is studying my face, every wrinkle, every hue, every spot. I would lose in a staring contest with her!

Maybe its because she seldom sees me and so she is taking the opportunity to look at me as much as she can.

I thank God for her beautiful big eyes. I thank God for her sharp attention. I thank God for her.

*One of his biggest hits spawning many remakes. Such a brilliant song!

What is love* - Haddaway

They are showing Stardust on HBO lately. Loved this show - Claire Danes was brilliant in it. And so different from her character in Homeland now.

I love this monologue of hers too (it's on my fav quote list on my Facebook profile).



In case you couldn't catch it all, here it is:-

You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn't true. I know a lot about love. I've seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate... It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves... You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and... What I'm trying to say, Tristan is... I think I love you. Is this love, Tristan? I never imagined I'd know it for myself. My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no gifts. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine.

*This was a hit back in 1993 - when i was in London so it brings back memories of that time!

Bitter sweet symphony* - The Verve

The sound of my daughter crying on the other side of the phone call because she misses me is truly a bittersweet symphony...

*One of their popular songs - it was also popular for the wrong reasons where there was a lawsuit on plagiarism! This song was also featured on the soundtrack of Cruel Intentions.

All you need is love* - The Beatles

There is this lady - a foreigner. Her husband died a couple of years ago, leaving her and two young children. The elder child suffers from ADHD and she has to watch over him all the time. She is unemployed partly because of that. She has to take care of she younger girl too - and her father-in-law. Being a foreigner, she has no family support. Her late husband has two other brothers but they do not want to take care of their father so it is left to this poor lady to do that. Thankfully, fellow Christians are helping her out.

We gave her some of Shona's old clothes. Initially, to be honest, i was not too keen as we have another girl coming and we expect to pass all of Shona's clothes to her. But i did not know of her situation and when i did, i was thankful that we were able to help out in a small way. My wife contacted the other mothers in our local church and many others were also willing to give clothes to both children.

At least they will have some "new" clothes to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I remember the joy we experienced - especially Shona - when we looked through clothes given to us by other people. I hope this lady and her children will be able to feel that way too.

I feel very sad for her - and her children. But from the little i know, she is a good woman and therefore her children will experience love and have a good role model to look up to.

Everyone talks about hard times coming this year and how we will all be in financial difficulties. But these people are those who are really in need. To them, being in our position will be like paradise.

I am reminded to be thankful, and not to complain. And also be reminded of what is important. Love. Be reminded of God's love - and in turn, we love him back, and we love others.

*One of their classics, going straight to number 1 in the UK and US when released.

Your cheatin' heart* - Hank Williams

It was rather painful to discover some students who cheated in their coursework. It was pretty obvious as one of them tried to conceal it while the other blatantly lied about it to cover up her devious act.

I was chatting with my colleagues about this and for all of us, we cannot sympathise with these students. Sure, we tried our best to help them and will continue to do so - but we cannot understand why they had to resort to such methods. For us, cheating was never an option - it never crossed our mind, or if it did, it would have been fleeting and dismissed immediately. I for one would rather fail than to choose to cheat - but then again, i was never really at risk of failing...

So why did they do it? Different generation? Upbringing? Fear of failure? The attitude that they would do anything to achieve their objectives?

It is really sad that students like these 2 would have to resort to such methods - and with lasting repercussions. From now on, they will be remembered as cheaters, students guilty of academic misconduct. What is worse is that they are trying to be lawyers in the future. I worry for them when they work in the future. Will they also use illegal means to get what they want or to prevent failure?

I hope being caught will serve as a painful lesson for them.

And i guess i have to be thankful that these 2 are the small minority. They are many others who did not cheat. There are also those who had failed, showing that they would not resort to such methods no matter how painful the consequence is. At the end of the day, failure may be painful but it can also be a good thing. After all, as Churchill said, failure is not fatal but what matters is the courage to carry on.

The scary thing is that these 2 are the only ones we caught. Perhaps there could be others? I hope not...

*Ranked as one of the best country songs ever, this song has been remade countless of times by many great singers.

It ain't over 'til it's over* - Lenny Kravitz

What a game last weekend! I wasn't planning to catch but when i checked the score, i found out it was 3-3 and there was still some time left in the game. So i decided to watch the remainder of the match.

It was a roller coaster game! I found out that Liverpool led first.



But Norwich equalised with a wonderful back-heeled effort!

 

They then led by Naismith's debut goal!



Naismith played a part in the next goal when he was brought down by Moreno in the box resulting in a penalty which was duly dispatched by Hoolahan.



Henderson started the Liverpool revival by making the score 3-2.



Firmino then added his second to tie the game at 3-3.



That is when i come in - and i witnessed the appalling mistake by the Norwich captain gifting Milner with a one on one situation with Rudd. And it was 3-4 then!!! From trailing 3-1, we are now winning 3-4!!!



At the 90th minute, to our dismay, there were 5 minutes of added time!!! But surely we can hold on, can we? Well, we can't. 2 minutes into stoppage time, we conceded with a well taken Bassong's goal. It was painful to lose 2 points like that so close to the end.



But wait!!! It ain't over til it's over!!! And just before the final whistle went, Lallana scored our 5th goal which sparked wild celebrations!!!



Crazy! Madness! And just when i decided not to watch any more games, that vow did not last one game!!!

Just a foot note - Paul Parker, former Manchester United player who was one of the commentators for the match criticised the Liverpool players for celebrating at the end of the match, saying they should all be hanging their heads in shame. I thought that comment was very unfair. Sure, defensively, they were awful at times - but they are not celebrating the fact that they were bad. They did not give up and pushed on literally to the last minute, scoring FIVE goals in total away from home. They were down 3-1 and came back to win it 4-5 with almost the last kick of the match. Surely you can't deny them the right to enjoy the moment! If he was in that game, wouldn't he be celebrating too? Of course he would. But he chose to be negative about it. Ah well... he is a former Man Utd player anyways...

It's also about time we had a bit of luck on our side. Just one week ago, we had so many good chances but failed to finish the game off and in the end, Rooney's scored with their first shot on goal (when he was out of the game until that point). But that's how football is - sometimes you have the luck on your side. And when you do, why can't you celebrate?

(note: pics obtained from all over the net)

*Written and produced by Lenny himself, this is one of my all time favourite songs.

When I see you smile* - Bad English

Truth be told, in the past i used to think of other people when i listen to this song. But i stopped listening to it for a while - until the night run i went for last year. It was the final run of my Brooks shoes...

I uploaded songs into my phone to keep me company while i ran. It was a wonderful run! It was cooling and nice and the songs really kept me company, bringing up old memories as i listen to them.

But when it came to this song, i immediately thought of my little girl. And the words just became so true and so real. It was a difficult time of my life - just a month after discovering that i have a recurrence of my brain tumour. But no matter how bad things were, no matter how bad a day i have at work, no matter how sad or disappointed i am, or frustrated with anything or anyone, it all doesn't matter when i see her smile. And when i do, i feel that i really do anything.

It also happened that when the song came on, i was starting to run up a steep hill - and the thought of her and her smile just pushed me up the hill, passing everyone who were struggling up.

Even today, just the sight of her smile fills me with so much joy. It wasn't a good day at work - i had a minor fender-bender on the way to work and have to pay for the repairs for both my car and the other's, there was a student of mine who was caught cheating, a lot of work (but that's normal). I was feeling physically tired but when i got home - in fact, i just stepped out of my car when i heard a loud "DADDY!!!". And there she was, at the window, smiling at me. I can't think of another sight more beautiful. Everything else just didn't matter and i sat down with her and chat with her before dinner.

I thank God for her, and for using her to bring so much joy, meaning and purpose in my life.

*Their first and only no. 1 hit in the US, one of my all time favourite songs.

Hello* - Adele

It has been a while, hasn't it? Not the usual long break, though. Just a bit more than a month. But it has been a crazy month. So much has happened.

The highlights? Well, the youth camp was definitely one!

And then it was the Christmas celebrations!

And lots of eating!!!!

A short simple holiday to Ipoh.

There was also Star Wars, the biggest movie event of the year!

And the year ended with a most painful time of marking exam papers. Yes, marking exam papers are definitely the worst experience one can have as a lecturer - unless you have good students. And with all due respect, it has been quite a while since we have had good students.

New Year was simple, as usual. And then, we are in 2016!

Hope to be able to blog in greater detail... for this year!

*Her latest big hit - I only first heard the tune when i listened to the Star Wars parody of this song!!!