Yay

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C.S. Lewis

Today I was listening to Judah Smith - The Perfect Fit and I tell you, that guy is amazing. Solid word woohooo.

Anyway, the most interesting people read my blog. Mr William Lim of Old Chang Kee (so cool), and the randomest of people like Tedrid. Whoever reads my blog, do tag alright? I've got visitors from all over the world, and it would be nice to get to know you! :)

How Long To Sing This Song

Hello sunshine :)Thank you the exchange of sweet messages today. I really miss you, haven't met up with you this year yet. But know I always love you okay, even though we've drifted ♥ Letter-writing, going crazy together in school,and our little notebook. I believe you can do make it through for your exams, so believe in yourself! (Outing after exams! MUST!)


Exams in less than two weeks. Mug, mug, mug :(

-
Dear Josh get well soon and don't worry too much!
-
老人 I miss talking to you properly!
-
Dustbin :) I love you! (sorry can't go out with you tomorrow)

There's a fire that burns in me
That the world will never change
There's a fire that burns in me
His name is Jesus

We still believe

We have not lost sight of the vision.

500 youths, 500 lives.

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you
In this city

God Of This City - Chris Tomlin

Vision 500. Do you still believe?

Ha, Google, Ha!

The Google calculator can't count for nuts. Try it yourself.

Okie, I'm amusing myself here.

I love Cell

We found a breakthrough in cell yesterday :) And in service we were liberated. God is so good! It's really cool to see the authenticity and love appear. Because in cell, we're supposed to build bridges, not walls. The walls are coming down and it's so cool!

Jesus said, “By this will all people know you are my disciples … by your love for one another” (John 13:35).God loves connection, not isolation.

I love my cell. This is family. This is home.

I'm really falling in love with worship. I love worship :)

Anyway, while I was cleaning up my computer, I chanced upon this. Something I wrote last year, but didn't publish.

I think that something really needs to be done about the state of society - it is time for our generation to make a stand. To show the world who we are, who God is. To let everyone know the love of God. It's a time when everyone is starting to be materialistic.

We've got to make everyone know that this life is more than the lights and sounds which will eventually fade. Let's make our mark on history the right way, by being a generation the revolutionizes the world with the power of love.
Guys, do expand this movement for the world needs to know of God's love. I can see this revolution sweeping across the globe with churches having revival & people just falling at the feet of Jesus in worship.

Let us all persevere in prayer and be the lights in the world that is shrouded by darkness. God has called us to be the messengers of the gospel, and it starts today. God is moving!

-
Check out that faith. It sounds so crazily religious, but I still believe in every word :)

The Healer Scandal

So the Christian community has been shaken by news that Michael Guglielmucci is a hoax. I'd like to pretend this never happened, but the fact is that it did, and ignorance is never bliss. Here are my thoughts on the situation.

For the uninformed, Mike was the one who wrote the song Healer, which appeared on the Planetshakers album, and also came out on Hillsong's This Is Our God. The story behind it was that Mike was suffering from cancer and was believing God to heal him. But now the news is that he wasn't sick at all.

It is a pity, that it is such an anthem of faith for our generation. What will the youth who go to Planetshakers where Mike served as a pastor think of him? I would imagine them to be crestfallen. He was someone they looked up to, and now's he 's been exposed as a hoax. Imagine how hard they'll find it to trust in Church leadership.

I was reading Fred McKinnon's article at The Worship Community.
Fred shared:
"
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.

18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, …

Philippians 1:15-18 (NIV)

We do not know the heart or motives of Mike Guglielmucci, Todd Bentley, or other ministers who have had their sins exposed on a worldwide level. We certainly must confess that we’re all capable of such sin. We must ask ourselves how the Church would respond if all of our secret sins, thoughts, motives, and selfish ambitions were exposed for the world to see.

With this in mind, we have to ask ourselves this question - does the breaking of the vessel disqualify what the vessel produced? Is the song tainted? Honestly, the true motive behind the creation of these lyrics and this beautiful, anthemic melody is still unknown. We cannot (and should not) accurately judge that at this time with our limited information. Still, aren’t these lyrics still true? Do they not express God’s redemption and healing grace? Do they not uplift and edify the sick, the weak and the weary? "

I'm sure many of you have been touched by his story, maybe even shared it with others. And now the hoax has been exposed, it is frightfully embarassing. But even so, I need to blog to talk about this issue. No one is perfect, so before you turn around and start pointing the finger, examine yourself. Because we are fallen men. But there is hope.

God is still in control. If He had to, he would have prevented the song from going out and becoming big. Healer is still an anthem of faith. Healer still holds true. God heals. I will still sing the song, not because Mike wrote it, but because the very message proclaimed in the song is true.

Right now the pressing thing to do is pray. Pray for Mike and his family. Pray for all those affected. During times like these, it's most important for the Church to rally together and put on a united front.

It's a challenge to show Mike mercy and yet let the world know what he did was terribly wrong. Despite all that's been said,

I still believe. You hold my every moment, you calm my raging seas

The State Of The Life Now

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

Martin Luther King

Reporting on the state of my life now. I'm really busy and will be until the afternoon of September 18th, but I'll still be blogging - it's a useful outlet to try to organise my thoughts.

Integrated Humanities Project due on Friday, Student Initiated Project on Identity due next Friday. End of Years start when school reopens, and teachers haven't even completed the syllabus and I haven't gotten down to proper studying.

So this is where it's crunchtime, when I ought to take things more seriously. Not like I haven't already been, but you get my point.

Shall end off here, while my mind wanders away to think about pressing issues in cultural preservation, local heritage, liberal and illiberal democracies, postmodernism, identity as defined by "the other", Peranakans, Goths, the arts, censorship, feminism and the likes..

George Mead, Thomas Hobbes, Rosseau, Wolfgang Iser, Michael Banton, George Dickie, Immanuel Kant, Descartes.
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Now playing: Starfield - Glorious One

Taking A Quiz

Since I'm so stressed, I should take a break. Here's a quiz I found on Tim's blog. Apparently I was tagged.

1. The person who last tagged you is...
Tim!

2. Your relationship with him/her is...
We go a long way back. Used to be the best of friends in Kindergarten (at least, when I was back in Singapore and K2), then arrived the awkward pre-teen years where he would just smile at me sheepishly and then go to his room and do his own stuff when I was at his house, then a tag from him on my blog made us friends who talked again :)

3. Your 5 impressions of him/her.
1. Caring 2. Funny 3. Interesting 4. Silly 5. Blackkkk.

4. The most memorable thing he/she had done for you
I have no idea!

5. The most memorable words he/she had said to you
I don't know. Ahhh Tim why don't I remember anything.

6. If he/she becomes your lover, you will..
Laugh. It's not possible, really, because I don't go for younger guys. (P.S. Someone used to go home and tell his mother that he wanted to marry me :P)

7. If he/she becomes your lover, things he/she should improve on will
Stop wearing Black.

8. If he/she becomes your enemy, you will..
Be really sad.

9. If he/she becomes you enemy, the reason will be...
Either of us are totally out of our minds

10. The most desired thing you want to do for him/her now is...
Be as good a friend as I can be :)

11. Your overall impression of him/her is...
Great. He's a really nice guy who's concerned about people. And he makes a nice brother to his younger sister.

12. How you think people around you will feel about you?
No idea. They'll think I'm really random

13. The characteristics you love about yourself are..
I love that I love life.

14. On the contrary, the characteristics you hate about yourself are..
I need to be a better runner.

15. The most ideal person you want to be is...
God.

16. For people that care are like you, say something to them
I take it this meant "and" not are? Urrr, thank you people, that's really nice :)

17. (pass this quiz to 10 persons that you wish to know how they feel about you)
(Eh, I really put random people here)

1. Audrey
2. Jolynn
3. Joshua
4. Renee
5. Shawn
6. Van
7. Shaun
8. Eunice
9. Abel
10. Wadee


18. Who is no. 6 having a relationship with?
No one

19. Is no.9 a male or female?
Male

20. If no.7 and 10 are together, will it be a good thing?
They don't match.

21. How about no.8 and 5?
Maybe?

22. What is no.2 studying?
Food.

23. When was the last time you had a chat with no.3?
Last Saturday night. Had a really nice talk.

24. What kind of music band does no.8 like?
No idea

25. Does no.1 has any siblings?
Yeah, a younger sister.

26. Will you woo no.3?
Since when did girls woo guys! And are you kidding, some people even think we are siblings.

27. How about no.7?
Since when did girls woo guys!

28. Is no.4 single?
Yeah

30. What is the hobby of no.4?
Blogshopping.

31. Do no.5 and 9 get along well?
I don't know if they do, but I think they would.

32. Where is no.2 studying at?
Shatec

33. Say something casually about no.1
My favouritest dustbin

34. Have you tried developing feelings for no.8?
Talking about feelings in the romantic sense - that's ridiculous!! I'm straight :)

35. Where does no.9 live at?
Tampines

36. What colour does no.4 like?
She's never mentioned anything about favourite colours to me...

37. Are no.5 and 1 best friends?
Nope

38. Does no.7 likes no.2?
Nope! This is really funny!

39. How do you get to know no.2?
Through Cheryl Tan and co, and through being in the same group at Fortified/

40. Does no.1 have any pets?
No? Do fish count?

41. Is no.7 the sexiest girl in the world?
He's a guy!

42. Do you think its possible if no.4 and no.5 date each other?
That'd be so, so weird.

43. Say something more about no.6
She's really sweet.

44. what is your relationship with no.9
He's a really nice friend whom I message quite a bit.

45. List all the schools that no.1 to no.10 are in and originally from.

Lazy.

46. What would you do if no.10 hates you?
Be really sad. Find out why, and apologize, because she means a lot to me :)

47. Which of the following are in a relationship?
None, surprisingly.

48. How did you first met no.3?
Programming team, One Camp Commitee :)

49. How would you react if no.3 and no.10 are together?
I have no idea.

50. Last question! What would you do if no.4 tells you she is pregnant.
If it's when she's married, I'll congratulate her. But if it's now, I'll faint.

-
/edit, 10:41pm

I have no idea what gave me the impetus to post such a frivolous post. I am very shocked at myself. Seriously. But fine. I'm still doing work now. Work is good, work is fun, I'm sure.

Train Of Thoughts

Random train of thoughts.

What defines you as a person? How would you like to be remembered? Live for the now, for the past has long gone and the future will catch up soon. Because Grace will find you, hold you, take you home. Because you've gotta trust in a Higher Power. Because we've got to see beyond situations.

Anyway, I love love songs. They just make me love more.

It's so easy to grumble and complain. But I'm not copping out.

It's been a crazy day. From 6.30am on the 18th, to 1:09am on the 19th, I estimate I've only gotten two hours worth of rest, minus time taken to eat, inclusive of time taken to travel. Two hours, and one hour of it was on travel. It's about time to sleep. I've done enough work for the day, though I planned to do more.

Goodbat, nightman.

(I told you this was a random post). This is what happens when I work non-stop the whole day.

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Now playing: Jars of Clay - Love Song For A Saviour
via FoxyTunes

Love Life

Today my Grandpa came for the second time in the month.

As usual, he brought along a whole load of food - pork chop, prawns, rambutans to name a few. And he told my mother, "I'm 80 already. I want to come because I know I don't have much time left. Next time, I won't get the chance to come anymore."

He knows death is going to come to meet him soon. He’s full aware. That’s why he chooses to come more often, to show us he loves us by traveling by bus all the way from his small little flat in Lavender, carrying the heavy bags of food to our doorstep. We don’t ask for it, but he still comes. Because he Loves.

Because he knows that time is running out, that he won’t live forever. He knows that there’s an unwanted visitor called Death that’s going to take him away someday. Because instead of waiting just to pass away, he wants to do something with his life. He wants live life to the max of his terms.

But one thing he doesn’t yet fully know is the Love of God. So many times we’ve tried to get him to come to church, but he still doesn’t want to. And time is slipping through his hands like fine grains of sand, there’s only this much left. So, I’m going to pray. That one day he will know the goodness of God’s grace and the salvation plan for his life. Pray for my maternal grandmother and him.

Life is but a fleeting moment. Death is real. Death exists. But who are we to hide in the face of death? Embrace death. Love life.

Sometimes, I introduce myself by saying this. I’m Janel and I love life. That’s how much I love life.

Do you love life?

Canada

I want to find out more about the history of where I used to live for awhile. I just discovered that my favourite garden has been closed down since 2006. Goodbye Cullen Gardens.

I'm still trying to locate the Embassy Suites hotel where I used to stay in for a few months, the one with the charming bellboys who used to show me magic tricks, had a childcare centre where I used to dress up as a pirate, where I built a snowman outside, and had free popcorn every weekend.

I want to track down the mall where I used to be fascinated with the teddy bear displays, go to the sweet shop to buy the best gummy bears in the world and look upon the dangling vividly-coloured pinatas.

I want to go back to Unionville Montessori, where they were teaching me double digit multiplication at the age of five. And where I had tons of fun and French classes.

I want to go back to Markham Avenue.

I want to go back to Ontario, Canada.

Anyway, Phelps won his 8th gold. There's a medal ceremony on now. And Wadee is hyperventilating over him at my house while waiting for Xianhui who's lost somewhere. Hooray for Phelps.

I wanted to post this yesterday, but didn't get a chance to use the computer. Happy Birthday Josh, armageddon boy :) It's been almost a year already since Camp Comm, and working with you in prayer and programming has been cool. You're a great friend, who sometimes knows what I'm thinking. Yeah & I really liked our talk last night!

Yo.

Today was hip & happening.

I was eating in the canteen with the girls, when suddenly everyone started cheering. I was thinking "I bet it's Phelps!" and so right I was. I abandoned my wanton mee to go sit down near the plasma television. (Yep, VJC screens the Olympic games in school. We are so lucky!) I crashed V14's table and sat down. Basically, it was quite an amusing sight because everyone started swarming towards the middle of the canteen in a way I've never seen before. It was a massive swarm of people, with random cheers and shouts. I should haven taken a photo, but I was too fascinated watching Phelps and the world record line going. So as he smashed his 200m individual medley world record and took the gold. Everyone clapped. It's amazing. I love my school. I absolutely love the sporting culture in VJ.

We went to interview Raymond at KimChoo later for IHP. At KimChoo, I met a Canadian who lives at the tip of Lake Huron. I miss Canada. Andrew and I have a regular banter on Facebook nowadays. Ah, Andrew Andrew Andrew. Who is no longer in Canada anymore anyway, because he moved to florida.

530 hits

	Num	Perc.	Country Name
	140	33.65%	United States
	46	11.06%	United Kingdom
	23	5.53%	France
	22	5.29%	Unknown	-
	20	4.81%	Germany
	20	4.81%	Canada
	17	4.09%	Sweden
	14	3.37%	Singapore
	9	2.16%	Hungary
	9	2.16%	Australia
	8	1.92%	India
	7	1.68%	Japan
	5	1.20%	Israel
	5	1.20%	Poland
	5	1.20%	Netherlands
	5	1.20%	Malaysia
	5	1.20%	Indonesia
	5	1.20%	Belgium
	5	1.20%	Philippines
	5	1.20%	Norway
	4	0.96%	Italy
	3	0.72%	Austria
	3	0.72%	Spain
	3	0.72%	Ireland
	3	0.72%	Mauritius
	2	0.48%	Switzerland
	2	0.48%	Serbia
	2	0.48%	Croatia
	2	0.48%	Serbia And Montenegro
	2	0.48%	Kuwait
	2	0.48%	Hong Kong
	2	0.48%	Mongolia
	1	0.24%	Sri Lanka
	1	0.24%	United Arab Emirates
	1	0.24%	Czech Republic
	1	0.24%	Estonia
	1	0.24%	Saudi Arabia
	1	0.24%	Mexico
	1	0.24%	Romania
	1	0.24%	Bahrain
	1	0.24%	Qatar
	1	0.24%	Finland
	1	0.24%	Egypt

Visitors from all these countries

I almost fainted when I saw this. Must be StumbleUpon from my writing about The Dark Knight. Okay wait, I just checked it out. My blog appears in the first page of Google Image Search if you use the engine at image.google.com. Pretty interesting.

So Take Me As You Find Me

So take me as you find me.

I've been plugged into my iPod listening to a lot of Hillsong's newest album "This Is Our God", as well as Mia Fieldes' "There's A Reason" and a few tracks by Starfield.

There's A Reason
Mia Fieldes

There's a reason that the sick can say that You're the Healer
Why the ones who've known great failing find the arms of a Redeemer
There's a reason we can say
That no weapon formed against us can prevail
For our God is good and He will make a way

Here in the name of the Almighty God
Is our strength and peace; our comfort is
In the face of the eye of the storm
We declare You rule and reign forever

There's a reason that the needy can say You're their Provider
And a reason we believe through every battle we are fighting
There's a reason we will rise
As a city on a hill that cannot hide
We are ruined for all else but Jesus Christ

Here in the name of the Almighty God
Is our strength and peace; our comfort is
In the face of the eye of the storm
We declare You rule and reign

Free from all shame and the weight of the world
Every curse of sin is beneath our feet
Through the grace of our Saviour and Lord
We are heirs to rule and reign

Our hope will be the singer, Your Word the song within us
As we believe we know that chains will surely break
Our faith will be the dancer to trample fear and cancer
We'll dance on every lie, injustice, doubt and shame

For in Christ, we are more than conquerors. Because he gives a reason to live, a reason to believe that no circumstance can go against us if He is for us. For the hope we have, is far greater.


This Is Our God
Reuben Morgan

Freely You gave it all for us
Surrendered Your life upon that cross
Great is the love
Poured out for all
This is our God
Lifted on high from death to life
Forever our God is glorified
Servant and King
Rescued the world
This is our God

This is our God, plain and simple. There's nothing to doubt, nothing to question. God, who in order to describe how wide His love is, stretched out his right hand to one side, and the left hand to the other, and allowed them to be nailed to that cross.

There was an exchange that took place when Jesus died. And the shadow proves the sunshine. He did it for you. Just for you.

Can I stay here forever, here with you?

Olympic Fever

Shawn! Happy 23rd :) You've been a really awesome and cool friend in the past months since Camp Comm & I really appreciate you. Thank you for always listening and always being, a friend. It's great to see God working through you, and your cell. Dream big!

Olympic fever has hit me. I'm finally back to watching the goggle box after a few months not even turning it on.

I went around Katong today, to do more research for IHP and I met this interesting guy, MrPeterWee at the KatongAntiqueHouse. He's really passionate about his culture. I'm looking forward to get more gems of information from him.

By the way, Helmsman pictures are up on Facebook. I only chose 60 though.

Cause all You are is all I want

I received a really cool message in my inbox on Facebook today :)It was a reply from someone whom I think is anointed! Yes its Mia.

One of the things which she shared was that songs have to be doctrinally correct, there is no power in songs that are "almost truth". Which I think was apt. I think it's amazing how gifted songwriters are, when each lyric means something, when each lyric has power. You know "Saviour King"? It's written by her.

Ho-hum, chinese test tomorrow.

:) Sleeping at 12:01 tonight.

Did You Rise The Sun For Me?

Sigh, I'm still sick, which means my mum won't let me go out today ): So I'm left to memorise my 120 Chinese phrases, do SIP research, play more TD, study for Stats test.

Goodness. Carissa just instant messaged me: "goodness that thing sleeps on my bed everynight!" It's probably the 50th time she's saying that already. Yeah I was referring to a stuffed toy that I discovered Jianmin has too.

And Sleepyhead, if you'd like to know, MrM and Dangles sleep on my bed every night.

Being sick means missing out on a lot. I missed MegaLife. I don't like missing MegaLife services! I missed a service where Wayne and Libby led worship. Which was quite sad, since they're quite cool people who really seek God.

Anyway, I've been listening to loads of Mia Fieldes lately. She's part of the Hillsong United band and she sings really nice songs.

Always, Mia Fieldes (ft. Jad Gillies)
Did You rise the sun for me?
Or paint a million stars
That I might know Your majesty?
Is Your voice upon the wind?
Is everything I've known
Marked with my Maker's fingerprints?

Breathe on me
Let me see Your face
Ever I will seek You

Cause all You are is all I want
Always
So draw me close in Your arms
Oh God, I want to be with You

Can I feel You in the rain?
Abandon all I am
To have You capture me again?
Let the Earth resound with praise
Can You hear as all creation
Lives to glorify one name
-
Beautiful song. It really reminds me, go back to the Maker, go back to the first Love.

Mind Tricks and the likes

I've been so serious recently (especially with the 1111 word analysis of TDK) , but I shall blog about sillier, fun things!



Mind Trick (Click to go to link) is one of those things you find in your emails. Surprisingly, I thought of it. No idea what I'm talking about? Go to the link.

Nightmare on Sesame Street Want to know how workers are being exploited? Some young labourers work 14/15 hours a day, sleep in horrendous conditions in a Chinese sweatshop producing Ernie toys for K'Nex.

Only Because

I had a pretty rough day yesterday. Fell sick, URTI again. The whole afternoon, evening till night I drifted in and out of sleep. I'm not in school today, but I will be tomorrow :)

Falling sick sure makes me relook things - like pain, life & death. And they always say, the flesh may be broken, but the spirit remains strong. Not sure when I'm going to fully recover, but I hope it's soon, because a scratchy throat and a never-ending flow of nose-blowing isn't nice.

And oh. Falling sick makes me force myself to relax, and take time off for myself to rest, which is something I haven't been doing lately.

No rival throne, no equal love :)
Jesus, You've stolen my heart.

We run to Your throne

Where we belong
Every heart will sing
That Jesus is Lord
Casting all else aside
For the joy of our Christ
Let Your glory fall
Our hearts are filled with Your fire

The Dark Knight

WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS ABOUT THE DARK KNIGHT

Last week I watched The Dark Knight. One of the best movies ever. Behind all the action, all the explosions and fast-paced chases, there's so much depth in the theme of the story. It's so cleverly and wonderfully profound, that it caused me to stop and think about human morality and ethics. Whether we can be as good as we believe ourselves to be. Is fighting evil a lost cause? Is being good worth it? How do we behave in the face of death? The plot wove two threads of themes into a dark fable - the belief that humans still have morality and hope and the underlying current of anarchy, and evil that destroys.

The Joker was frighteningly scary because the evil within him wasn't motivated by any of the seven deadly sins per se. He wasn't lustful, greedy or anything of the sort. He even burnt up half of the underworld's money - their payment to him, just to prove a point to them. He was bent on chaos and destruction and watching the world burn.

Batman on the other hand, being as human as he was, had his weaknesses. But he held on, and even though the citizens of Gotham were mocking him, he still bothered to save them. There is a reason why Batman is one of my favourite superheroes. Because he's a human hero, a man. Yet he's incorruptible. He prefers to bring criminals to justice instead of just annihilating them. Joker was falling of the building and Batman utilised his bat-ropes to rescue him. Even though Batman could have disposed of Joker, he couldn't bring himself to do it, because that would mean an immediate violation of his moral standards and codes. Uncompromising, I like.

Harvey Dent was the "White Knight" in the movie. He was virtually without any flaw in the image he portrayed to the public, who looked up to him as their hero and placed their hopes on him in the face of evil. The Joker used him as a pawn and tragically caused Dent to go from light to darkness, from a smiling, charming district attorney to a snarling and ravaged creature who was bitter towards the world - particularly towards Batman. Dent serves to remind us that we as humans are never perfect. We have this inherent dark side in us and it may surface anytime. "Two-Faced" Harvey Dent was an apt way to describe him - hero and villain. In Dent's case, he was fuelled by the rage which built up as he came to terms with the fact that his loved one was gone, and also the alteration to his appearance. (He really looked like a freak!) All it took was for the Joker to convince him that Batman was the one who orchestrated Rachel's death (when it was the Joker himself actually). Having to grapple with the loss of Rachel drove him over the edge.

Now for morals. The movie already began on a dark note when the bank robbers started turning on each other, violating the code of honour among thieves. Then came the social experiment. The ultimatum of moral decision was issued when the Joker made the city government evacuate two boats - one with citizens and the other with prisoners. He then handed the captains detonators. The whole idea is that if you press the detonator, the other ship will blow up and yours will be safe. If you don't press it before the other ship does, you die. If both ships do not press the detonator within a stipulated period of time, both will blow up. This is the ultimate test of humans and their ability to handle the tremendous power placed in their hands. Would they choose to take others' lives in order to fulfill their need to survive?

So a great debate sparks on both boats. Kill, or don't kill? On the citizens' boat, they were debating whether to kill the prisoners "since they did so many things, they deserved it anyway". On the prisoners' boat, they were debating whether to kill off the citizens, and one of the reasons they didn't was that they felt guilty about their pasts.

On the citizens' boat, they were given a chance to vote. Aha, democracy. Civilised citizens using democracy as a system to make the choice. That's interesting. Which failed anyway since no one wanted to commit the horrible deed of sending the other boat to their deaths. On the prisoner's boat, a prisoner actually took hold of the detonator and.... threw it out of the window. The stipulated time window closed and none of the boats had attempted to dentonate the other. Which was obviously not what the Joker expected, because he carried the assumption that everyone was as evil as him. He thought that they were going to blow each other up but he was proved wrong. But fortunately for the people in the boats, Joker lost hold of the detonator while being knocked off the building by Batman and were saved.

The scene set me thinking. What would I have done? I know it seems so easy for us to say that we're going to do the right thing by not deciding to kill the other boat, but when you are placed in that situation, what would you do? Think of the family members. Think of the close friends you'll miss. Think of the money in your bank. Think of the things you stand to lose. I don't think it'll be such a simple choice to let the other boat live. It'll be a struggle. But anyway, lives are not for us to take. It's not up to us to decide whether people live or die.

The citizens and the prisoners did not yield to the power they held in their hands. And rightfully so. They chose to contribute to the common good. They chose to let each other live. The movie touches on the effects of power and the danger of it all. The Joker was the classic example of someone who was power hungry; he was desperate to usurp any form of power. He didn't just like power; he craved it. In the case of Lucius Fox and the mobile phone gadgetry, it was evident that the message was that power, when it falls into the wrong hands can be dangerous. And we can only trust ourselves this much with it. Because man is weak and easily corrupted.

After all, we're human.

A really brainy movie. Beats movies like Fantastic Four hands down. I mean, wings down. Okay never mind, that was a lame attempt at a joke.