Thursday, August 28, 2008

Unity

God loves each of us, as if there were only one of us.

- St. Augustine, as seen on my friend Darrell Harris' Facebook.

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

rewards



from nakedpastor.com

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Monday, August 25, 2008

It's all about me - the un-worship song



It’s All About Me
The Bob Webber Narcissistic Un-Worship Song (by Rob Still; 2:04)

Verse 1:
It’s all about me
its not about you
I sing of me, myself and I
the world revolves around me too
it's plain to see
it's all about me, me, me

Verse 2:
It’s all about me
I know you feel it too
I only think about myself
Cause I know that you are too
I sure we can agree
it's all about me, me, me

Bridge:
I have my own Trinity
I, myself and me
I am my own deity

Alternative Bridge:
I am a tri-unity
Navel gazing on me
I am my own community

Copyright 2005 by Rob Still Music
leadsheet

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懷才不遇

先不理誰是Louis Yuen。拋開偏見,仔細聽聽這首幾乎20年前的舊歌唱得如何:

in your eyes - louis yuen

如果說,這是一位樂壇新人第一次plug上台的歌,會不會令你驚訝?留意那些和音,和每句尾音的detail。再相比現在那些所謂唱得吓的新人,這位歌手的歌唱技巧實在高幾班。

到底這是Louis Yuen是誰?他後來紅了嗎?紅了。不過不是因為唱歌,而是因為飾演舅父波。

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Saturday, August 23, 2008

中學生應否談戀愛


(click picture to enlarge)

不是遲或早的問題,是有多認真的問題。


原文出自明報副刊

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

謝安琪 – Binary

香港最佳人文系女歌手謝安琪的新碟Binary,在一片喝采聲中隆重登場。如果你有追開不同的樂評網誌的話,你大抵也已經讀過許多讚美這隻CD的文字。所以我也不打算重覆別人已經重覆的讚美。開宗明義,讓我來誠實批評一下這隻碟。

首先,有關唱功。謝安琪唱得好,唱得用心,不用說。但有否留意到她唱低音時的吃力?在「十字架」正歌的最後兩句的最後一粒音,謝安琪表然出她不太能掌握低音的唱法,甚至還有少少走音。是監製懶得再錄?還是根本唱不到,卻又不屑用電腦執音?講真,那兩句真的有點礙耳。

周博賢填詞的水準也有點參差。「十字架」寫得令人動容,「17度」的意象新鮮,但「如花」雖然題才可嘉,但寫法似乎太過平鋪直敘,甚至有點小cliche出現:例如「小小的經典可傳萬家」的「傳萬家」三隻字;又或者「被客呼喝感到丟架,你應多參考如花」這兩句,說教式的寫法,水準有點停留在許冠傑年代。

「囍帖街」講保育,概念有創意,但其實對保育概念的深度有限,甚至淺化成為了一種騷人墨客的傷春悲秋:好景不常,只能睇開啲。面對保育問題,就只是認命與否嗎?作為一首情歌,「囍帖街」無疑是精緻的;但若果這首歌如謝安琪在訪問中提到是專登要求黃偉文寫保育主題的話,又要應大碟主題「Binary」有「指桑罵槐」的曲線含義的話,就有點顯出填詞人對問題的認識不夠深了。

當然,我是在吹毛求疵。但要評論謝安琪的唱碟,除了勁讚和吹毛求疵之外,還有其他options嗎?


一稿兩投:凍奶茶 www.coldmilktea.com

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

以其人之道還治其人之身。



故事教訓我們,未到家,不要亂出招;要出招,都要睇睇邊個在場。
是謂之,自招其辱。

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Who are you?

I was walking in a shopping mall the other day and coming my way was a girl with a very-low-cut outfit. The following sentence just lighted up in my mind:
If you do not want to be perceived as just a pair of breast, do not present them as the most prominent feature of your being.

How sad is our Pastor.

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靈活變陣說故事


欄王劉翔退賽,無緣衛冕奧運金牌後,眾多支付了巨額贊助費的廣告商即時面臨公關危機,究竟該如何處理劉翔令國民大失所望的不幸現實?是拋棄還是繼續支持?

面對劉翔退賽,Nike翌日即在多份北京主要報章大賣全版廣告,其中在《北京青年報》首疊底版(A8版),整版大部分面積被劉翔的大頭照佔據,照片中的劉翔不再是陽光氣息加自信笑容,而是陰陽面配沉鬱眼神,氣氛深沉肅穆,總共6行的廣告標語也可圈可點﹕「愛比賽」、「愛拚上所有的尊嚴」、「愛把它再贏回來」、「愛付出一切」、「愛榮耀,愛挫折」、「愛運動,即使它傷了你的心」。

有分析指出,若國民最終原諒和支持劉翔,此刻放棄劉翔的廣告商可能會被唾罵,但若劉翔不獲國民諒解,或因狀態無法恢復而神話告終,廣告商繼續花錢在他身上又會白費,因此劉翔退賽對廣告商是一個難以取捨的考驗。正因如此,Nike能第一時間推出一個既似支持劉翔他日再戰江湖,又似為國民宣泄傷心不滿的劉翔廣告,在行內變得十分矚目,而廣告能夠如此迅速推出,顯示廣告商老早做了劉翔令國民傷心失望的預案,可謂神通廣大。

奧康皮鞋亦有類似方案,若劉翔奪冠,奧康會繼續使用目前的版本,一旦劉翔沒法衛冕,廣告口號就會改成﹕「只要心中還有夢想,只要腳步沒有停下,你就是冠軍。」


相比立時消失撤換的「聯想」筆記本電腦,這無疑是高招得多。所以說,誰只要能夠掌握故事的說法,誰就贏。不是要隨著民意走,是要快人一步創造民意。雖然,說真的,廣告上的劉翔照片,質素有些差。

原文出自明報2008.08.20要聞
圖片來自it168.com

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Saturday, August 16, 2008

blind spot

People worry about kids playing with guns and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands — literally thousands — of songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss.

-Nick Hornby / High Fidelity

原文出自Thirst by 阿中

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

快樂迷信

兩年來,和不同教會的弟兄姊妹接觸多了,漸漸發現一個頗為普遍的現象,就是很多人喜歡在教會事奉的原因是因為在事奉中他們得到快樂,反過來說,他們不喜歡職場的原因是因為在辦公室中他們得不到快樂。當我們告訴他們說,職場中的工作也是事奉時,他們就問:為何我在職場中找不到教會事奉的感覺?沒有喜樂,只有捱世界,我在工作間的召命在哪?原來,聖俗二分的根源是「快唔快樂」。
「快樂」是一些職場信徒參與(和定義)事奉的基礎,市井到令人莫名奇妙。

當事奉變為一種消遣,一種找尋快樂的途徑時,「職場見證」可能只是「發達福音」的另一個名稱而已。

我常常說,這個世界有太多人,包括基督徒,迷信快樂。
當快樂成為了人生的最高目標時,人必然會變得自私。保障自己的快樂,必然會犧牲群體的利益。而這種心態,正如基督信仰背道而馳。
於是,教會成為了滿足我的屬靈需要(和快樂)的供應商,再不是一個放下小我背上十架的新以色列。這一種spirituality,是教會要對付的一大潛藏敵人。


原文出自畢基Xanga | 黃讚雄

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張敬軒 – Urban Emotions

其實我不太明白一張唱片的名字是怎樣來的。不過對於Urban Emotions這個名字,我是有過期待的。

上一次有歌者用城市觀念做賣點而成功的,當然是接近20年前林憶蓮的City Rhythm,而且不是一集,是一連三隻大碟,還有當中的多隻remix和singles。林憶蓮由City Rhythm開始,奠定了都市女性的角色:入時,獨立自主,走自己的路,有性格,有事業,有成就,不受男人支配,卻又勇於投入感情,敢愛敢恨,永不言悔。在90年代,林憶蓮為一代轉型中的女性定位,自此成為新一代都市女性代言人。

但是,我想,這個年代的都市男性的面貌是甚麼?跟十年前的男生的面貌有何分別?是比以前kidult嗎?那麼陳奕迅或古巨基已經穩坐代言位置。是生活的壓力?前途的困境?對愛情的無把握?還是不斷被女性超越的無奈?我們真的有這年代都市男性的定位嗎?張敬軒會如何詮釋這年代的都市男性感覺呢?

不過後來發現,其實我的思慮是多餘的。因為張敬軒的都市形象,只是在相片中在中環街頭奔跑。原來製作人並無計劃在歌詞中和故事編排中,表現題目中的Urban概念。Emotions是有的,卻與urban沒甚麼關係。這隻碟的歌,其實跟上一隻「酷愛」的歌交換一些,也不會覺得太突兀。

至於張敬軒,歌還是一樣的唱得不錯,也就是說,跟往常也沒甚麼分別。所以,唱片其實改甚麼題目,原來也是沒有甚麼分別的,只要改得跟上次不同,就可以將差不多的歌變成不同的唱片了。


一稿兩投:凍奶茶 www.coldmilktea.com

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混水摸魚

預錄片段和幕後代唱無甚麼大不了,混水摸魚才叫人髮指。

請比較以下兩張宣傳照片:





第一張,是關淑怡今年4月演唱會的海報;第二張,是關淑怡的舊公司最近推出的「關淑怡演唱會」加精選CD封面。但第二張的這個「演唱會」,雖然design抄到足,卻不是今年4月的演唱會,而是1995年(13年前!)的《難得有一個關淑怡演唱會》!用1997年的照片,Photoshop成為似足新演唱會的poster,個名改到差不多(由"unexpected"變成"unlimited"),等人以為是新演唱會的現場CD... 這才是真的「造假」罷!

多謝Chi在網誌come back to love的揭發。

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

小事化大


當晚穿上紅裙、梳了孖辮的9歲女孩林妙可,於升國旗儀式前,以甜美笑容領唱歌詞略作改動的《歌唱祖國》。清澈童音響徹「鳥巢」上空,感動了無數觀眾的心。[...]央視新聞卻突然爆出,當晚的天籟之音,原來是來自另一名7歲女孩楊沛宜。

京奧開幕禮視頻效果工作小組成員高曉龍解釋,這是考慮到轉播公司拍攝用飛機受當天的空中管制及拍攝時間和角度等問題,故導演組最終決定用3D影像代替。[...] 北京奧組委人員辯解說,總不能讓直升機追著29個腳印飛,讓駕駛員冒生命危險;而且重要的是,腳印煙花真的有發放,並無欺騙電視觀眾。

講真,我真的覺得有點小題大做。

在舞台演出上,一人出樣,一人出聲,並不是罕見的做法,還有專有名詞,稱為「幕後代唱」。遠有當年香港小姐總決賽由鄺美雲為張曼玉幕後代唱,近有王祖藍為郭晉安在「東方之珠」代唱,從未有人質疑。幕後代唱,有何問題?

至於在現場直播節目加插預錄效果,也是常見做法,在TVB甚至美國電視的大show都會用這種手法來跳過某些技術性障礙。
重點是,當事人又無隱瞞,對記者提問直認不諱。

用到「造假」一詞,有點誇張。舞台和電視演出,當然會運用技術甚至幻覺,怎能說是造假?若果這算造假,美國迪士尼樂園的set-up又可算造假?


原文出自明報2008/08/13要聞版

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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

a few confessions of a pastor

I’m sorry that I expect people to think the same way I do and agree with everything I say.

I’m sorry that I want everybody to be the kind of people I like and would enjoy hanging out with.

I’m sorry that I desire others to keep the same principles that I do.

I’m sorry that I want everyone to like what I like and hate what I hate.

I’m sorry that I think I am wiser than your people.

I’m sorry that I assume I’m really serving you while others are really not.

I’m sorry that I see your people as a resource to serve me rather than seeing myself as a resource to serve them.

I’m sorry that I use the scriptures as a way to get what I want rather than what you are passionate about.

I’m sorry that I talk about your people like they’re trash.

I’m sorry that, because of my own ugliness, I’m blind to the beauty you see in others.

I’m sorry that my love is wrapped in a multitude of conditions.


原文出自nakedpastor.com

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Monday, August 11, 2008

購物狂

個案一:新衫夠著兩個月 卡數過百萬

月入近5萬元的A女士是專業人士,一直以為自己什麼也買得起,銀包更有10多張信用卡。她的衣櫃內有大量名牌衣服、首飾、手袋,「兩個月內都未試過撞衫」。負責其個案的社工黎少嫻指出,A最初估計自己欠債約50萬萬(港幣,下同),但當拿出所有信用卡月結單一算,才驚覺卡數已逾百萬元,「她開了太多張卡,每張的還款期都不同,所以根本很難計算自己每月用了多少錢」。
黎又指,A當時的情况屬嚴重,不能控制購買慾,「她接受輔導前都要先到商場逛一圈,花3000元買一條絲巾才過來」。

個案二:戰利品要租倉放 卡數13.5萬

沒有工作、靠丈夫每月6000元家用生活的B太太是一名家庭主婦,3年前開始成為「購物狂」,經常「碌卡」,有時更會以「幫人買」為藉口,買下一大堆東西,久而久之,多得家中亦容不下,其丈夫因為忍受不了,二人經常爭吵。
B決定每月再多花2000元租「迷你倉」,將所有「戰利品」入倉,但之後購物情况變本加厲,最終3年內欠下13.5萬卡數,需要申請破產解決欠債。

個案三:萬元收入買跑車 欠債逾20萬

女士愛衣裝,男士的心頭好更多樣。20多歲、收入只有萬多元的C,以供車會方式購買一架數十萬元的跑車,後來由於轉工薪酬大減,令他無法承擔供款,最終跑車要交回車行,而他賣車後仍然欠下20多萬債款。

個案四:月入6000 花11萬買相機

主修音樂的大學生D,熱愛古典音樂,不停購買古典音樂唱片,最終欠下數萬元卡數,而家中囤積的CD多達2000隻,根本難以聽完;40多歲的D,一次過購下一批拍攝器材,4部相機連鏡頭便花了11萬元,但他的月薪其實只有6000元,無力還債。

不想變成欠債纍纍的「購物狂」,可考慮「引剪成一快」,索性將太多的信用卡剪掉。東華三院健康理財家庭輔導中心註冊社工黎少嫻表示,由於不少負債都是由信用卡消費造成,不少人因不懂計算而陷入「複息」陷阱,最後以「卡冚卡」,令卡數愈滾愈大,她建議自制能力較差的人,購物盡量以現金付款,減少信用卡數目,避免「先使未來錢」。

除了性之外,消費亦是教會另一大隱藏致命傷。有人說過,教會沒有財政問題,只有靈性問題。購物狂當然雖要理財策略,但靠購物來填補的心靈空隙,只有在屬靈層面才能找到滿足。


原文出自明報2008/08/12港聞版

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Sunday, August 10, 2008

704 reading digest 9

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever

-the Leonine sacramentary

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Saturday, August 09, 2008

704 reading digest 8

In [thanksgiving], the past is renewed, the present is transformed, and the future is made already present. Thanksgiving is the generation of hope by the recollection of past mercies.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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同事三分親?

居然被MoMo發現了我去秘撈!既然連相都影到,我真是無話可說...

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左手邊那個,無錯!是我Alan Yu!電視台啲化妝技術係咪好出神入化呢!

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奧運。中國理念

昨日,DK在他的Xanga寫道:
點解全世界都咁高舉人權,甚至用「神聖不可侵犯」來形容亦不為過。 講人權既同時,我地又有無意識到東西方文明之中原來尚有其他可以用來安身立命甚至領導國家既價值觀呢?人權講緊每個人既利益為大前題,但係睇無線都聽過一句說話:犧牲小我完成大我。講緊既係捨己去成就一個更大既目標。難道咁又唔得咩?有無聽過君君臣臣父父子子? 假如人人都安份守己,緊守自己既崗位,互補不足,難道咁又唔好咩?點解一定要講人權?!點解一句「言論自由」你就可以任意踐踏別人既信念?民主?!就係因為民主所以啲政客只著眼於選票。人權&自由無錯係一套可行既價值觀,但係我唔認為佢係唯一既出路囉。

最後有一點值得我地去思考:有人講過globalization實際上只係westernization或者americanization。國際間既討論平台只有西方既價值觀:人權&自由。世上重有無其他可以用來安身立命既價值觀呢?


剛剛看完電視重播奧運開幕禮。當然,畫面漂亮特技厲害不在話下,但更吸引我注意的,是這個開幕式所展現出來的中國理念。張藝謀向世界表達的中國價值觀,是科學(四大發明)、藝術(巨形畫幅)、禮儀(孔夫子)、剛柔並濟(太極)、溝通(鄭和下西洋和絲綢之路)、面向世界(巨形地球),但最最最重要的,是那出現了三次的「和」字。



這個「和」字,譯成harmony,也嫌不足。這是徹頭徹尾的中式世界觀,西方人不會明白。

美國和一眾西方國家高舉人權自由為最高標準,而這些在奧運開幕禮上全無蹤影。在全球化的口號下,西方世界容得下一個「和」字嗎?


圖片來自National Geographics。

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Friday, August 08, 2008

704 reading digest 7

Prayer... is more than a private transaction between the individual and God. Prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit, who joins with our spirit to give voice to the inarticulate groanings of the whole creation, binding us to the suffering and the needy, impelling us to service, pointing us beyond the present pain toward the fulfillment of the hope that has been planted in us. Those who pray have their vision expanded beyond themselves, beyond their own concerns and welfare, toward an ever-larger view of the church and the world, embracing others who pray on earth and in heaven, the needs and concerns of all the world, and the promised future of God.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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Thursday, August 07, 2008

704 reading digest 6

In the Eucharist, past, present, and future are transcended, and while still in this world we stand already in the kingdom of God. We are in possession of what we wait for. The church is the community that keeps and is formed by the celebration of the Lord's Supper on the Lord's Day.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

704 reading digest 5

The church exists to worship God. That basic fact needs to be asserted clearly and unambiguously again and again, for it is not at all obvious to many members of the church who assert that the church exists to evangelize the world ("the church is mission") or to serve people's needs (the clergy are thought of as members of the "helping profession.") The church, in its grandest view of itself and its most basic view of its purpose, exists to give God what is due, to acknowledge God as God. The one who is the creator and preserver of the whole universe is, as the Te Deum sings, "worthy of all worship." The purpose of the church is to focus and render that worship.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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"the 'Alan-Yu-is-so-busy' myth" follow-up

Edmund asks,
I think it would be beneficial to many of us by sharing, for example, your daily routine so that we can learn from your excellent time-managing skill.


Is it really that amazing??

well, I think the secret is:
1. the good habit of scheduling;
2. spend time thinking before you actually start working on something;
3. build spaces into your schedule, don't be too ambitious.


I work from Tuesday to Saturday. Usually, Wednesday is the staff meeting and prayer meeting day, and I do not schedule any work for Wednesdays. And usually I don't schedule anything for Saturday either, that's for catching up and for the misc. work. And I expect a lot of interruptions on Saturday too as students are dropping by our office frequently on Saturday.

So, I have Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for serious work. Usually, I handle only one big project per day, and I schedule the prep work for big projects on these days. But to do this well requires a very accurate estimation of how much time do I need to spend on preparing a project (About 1 working day for writting out a sermon - not including thinking about it and bible study; about 2 days for writing a liturgy; about 1 day for typesetting a Jubilization program book... etc.). And this takes experience. I can say I'm pretty good at this, if I'm better than others. And I try to stay on the generous side when scheduling - this makes me less stressful.

And in order to finish on-time, I need to mentally prepare myself. I'll start thinking about upcoming projects a few days/weeks in advance while I'm showering/watching tv. Ideas will brew. So by the time I sit down to work on a project I already have a lot of things laid out in my mind. This makes me efficient. I would have wasted a lot of time if I didn't think enough before I sit down.

Oh, another tips on finishing on-time: quit being the perfectionist. Do your best with your limited resources (including time), and move on. Don't spend forever hoping to build a perfect project and ended up with nothing finished. For every extra minute you spend on a project to make it perfect, you're sacrificing the resource for another project. I'd rather have 3 B projects than 1 A+ and 2 failing projects.

And in the case for this "16-event" line-up, below is my GoogleCal for August. The orange boxes are my to-do project for each day. It is really not bad.



Sunday is church day. Sometimes I need to preach in the morning, and sometimes I need to attend meetings and rehearsals in the afternoon, but most of the time it will be family day. (Sometimes I also take Saturday off for family day if I have too much overtime.) And once every 3 weeks I host PP959 and will be at the radio station from 10pm-midnight.

Monday is mostly my personal day. I do banking, shopping, housework etc. Or just laying on my bed watching TV if I'm too stressful. Or I'll use it to catch up on my readings and assignments. And Monday night is for my church fellowship group.

On Friday night or Saturday night I run programs for various churches most of the time. And on an average I'll have different kinds of meeting on weekday nights about once every week.

As for my daily schedule, usually I go to the office at 10am (ok, I admit, I'm late most of the time...), and I work on the trivial tasks first. After lunch is the serious working hours, until 6pm. Most of the time I can get off work on time, and have dinner at home at 6:30pm. After dinner is family time, until the kids go to bed at 9. Then I start doing some trivial work again for maybe another hour (usually online research), then it's time for blogging, e-mailing, reading other's blogs, watching YouTube, playing Sudoku online, Facebooking, reading... until around 2am... This is my wind down time, which is very important. I cannot do the other serious stuff as efficiently without this down time. Believe me. See also this post for my daily time-saving tips.

And I listen to stuff while I sleep. Sometimes it's music, sometimes podcast or online radio, sometimes lectures or sermons (man, they make me fall asleep really quickly...). I believe things get inside my brain even when I've fallen asleep...

So, I'm really not that busy. I admit that I'm a fast worker, but I think it just takes some good habit building to improve your efficiency. Everyone can do this. Hope these tips help.

The original post: "the 'Alan-Yu-is-so-busy' myth"

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Tuesday, August 05, 2008

704 reading digest 4

The Christian church understands itself to be the continuation of Israel, a people called to be separate from those around them. God's people form a community with a different story, vision, and way of life, an outpost of the new creation in the midst of the old... If that is in fact so, then the church ought not expect growth and popularity. Indeed, the church ought to be suspicious of what is popular and attractive... The church's contrary message upsets the way of the world and counters its natural course. But because it is not what is expected, the gospel has the potential of answering the deepest human need.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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Monday, August 04, 2008

704 reading digest 3

Worship is also the summit of faith... The staircase that descends to us from God's dwelling place also ascends from this world to the One who comes down to us through the gate of heaven and who leads us back through it to our true and abiding home. Worshio, therefore, is divine service in a double sense. It is God's service of us, and it is our service of God in response to the divine initiative... It begins with God's service to us and it continues with our response.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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雙重標準

今日,明報娛樂版報導香港金牌收構台灣EMI和內地Typhoon唱片的新聞。內文談到台灣EMI的旗下藝人,包括蔡依林,羅志祥等,還有棒棒堂。這是他們下的插圖(全版):


插圖右邊caption棒棒堂的,其實是棒棒堂二軍(公主幫和宅男塾)。棒棒堂是EMI旗下沒錯,但圖中的棒棒堂二軍,是華納WEA的藝人。

你可能會說,鬼識分咩?Afterall,娛樂新聞啫,駛乜咁緊張?

那,我要問:要著緊accurate和不用著緊的界線在那裡?新聞就是新聞,報紙就是報紙,在A1不能犯的錯誤,在C1甚至D16都不應犯。

對生活,你也有雙重標準嗎?

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Sunday, August 03, 2008

704 reading digest 2


The liturgy of the church provides a framework within which the deepest mysteries of Christianity await discovery.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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Saturday, August 02, 2008

704 reading digest 1

By worshiping God, the church expects no reward, no special blessings or graces, no benefits. The church worships God simply because the church cannot do otherwise.

-Philip H. Pfatteicher, Liturgical Spirituality

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使者《Dare to Voice》Survey 2008


沒有人喜歡被人誤解,被人誤會。
年青一代的你也是應該被人明白。
現在就是你發表聲音的時候。

年齡 13 至 27 的你,
請填寫【使者 Dare to Voice Survey】
讓你所想、所要的被明白。

請在 August 31st 前填寫。
我們在月底前要收集500份問卷,
所以請將這消息forward給你的所有朋友
(包括Christians and non-Christians),
鼓勵他們填寫!

請到以下網址,或click右邊圖案開始填寫: www.afcvancouver.org/dare2voice

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Friday, August 01, 2008

the "Alan-Yu-is-so-busy" myth

I wrote on my Facebook status that:
Alan is planning 14 events at the same time... well, actually 15... no, 16.

Some of you are curious what events I'm planning. Here it is:
  • 5 sermons for a camp at Calgary over the Labour Day long weekend
  • The regular meeting for the Jubilant next sunday
  • complete liturgies and sermons for 3 healing services in September (this is part of my school work)
  • I.D.Zone seminar on sex next week
  • I.D.Zone seminar on financial management later in August
  • liturgies for a section of the program for AFC's Annual Dinner in September
  • a seminar on biblical manhood for a church next weekend
  • a seminar on biblical marriage for a church the week after next
  • staff training session during AFC Staff Retreat in September
  • Liturgies for Jubilization in October


I have not counted singspiration leading this week at church, writing articles for Gen Next (2 down, 2 left), leading small group at church, the discussion session with CCF leaders every other week, and hosting PP959. And on top of that I have just finished a book report for school today (due today!), and I need 5 reflections for next week's deadline, and a box of books to read for my research paper. Oh, and of course I have not included the events in Sept and Oct that I haven't started to think about.

I didn't expect that this will "wow" so many people. For one thing, this is normal workload for me, and I'm not particularly busy. I guess most people will have 14 to 16 small/mid-size projects on hand at work and not be surprised; but what interest me is that, 16 "events" seems to be A LOT for many people.

Well, if I've a day-job and work on 16 church projects after work, I'll be crazy. But don't forget this is my job!

Again, the "Alan-Yu-is-so-busy" stereotype is a myth. At least, I am still keeping up with the latest 家好月圓 episode. So if you need to have a chat with me, catch me!

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  • 正如林一峰話齋,閱讀,也是一種 state of mind。
  • 所以不限文字,還有聲音影像一切雜崩能東西,都在涉獵反思消化乾坤大挪移之列。
  • 看重的只有一個字:Insight

Disclaimer

I work at Westside Baptist Church. Of course, that doesn't mean they agree with everything I post or link here. Everything here is my personal opinion and is not read or approved in advance. Consider yourself warned.