Probably my final or at least penultimate post about WoW. So I not-so-recently sold my rogue for a decent amount. I guess it's somewhat of a pity considering the 2+years of adventuring (RP lol) I spent with shadow; and that she's being played by a noob now. Well, enough is enough. I do regret not taking more screenshots..maybe I should get all those LtCH boss kill shots from Kirk soon before some virus wipes them out. I suppose a short tribute is in order - it was quite an enjoyable experience (well it's a video game after all, isnt that the point) and there were plenty of fond memories -

The high point of TBC raiding. Cant believe when we killed Vashj and Kael I was still in T4 head and Wastewalker shoulders! Which also means I hardly got an upgrade in between gaah. Well, 3rd (or was it 4th? heck) on server to down pre-nerf Kael is pretty damn gd for a guild that was very casual by raiding standards. Also, almost 1million damage done on Kael is pretty pro =p Well, this was pretty much midway through my inaugural uni sem, and I found it pretty hard to commit to BT/MH raids. Crappy hostel connection didnt help. Attendance problems and guild leader gquitting led to ****blocks; nights of meaningless wipes led to me quitting...or so I thought.

I foolishly re-subscribed during the year-end holidays, and levelled my priest up (actually it was a little more complicated, including being strongarmed into arena tournament and a failed installment deal). Dps-ing was really boring now - RNG mattered way more than any form of "skill". Really, you could teach anyone how to play a dps class to at least 95% of its optimum performance within 5secs (for warlocks) to 1min (for rogues). Nonetheless, I continued to raid on my rogue...eventually jumping guild for the sake of seeing some end game content. A blessing in disguise, raiding on my rogue with Daimyo was so boring I finally made up my mind and took another break from the game.

Logged out one fine evening after Sunwell and never went back (well I did, but that was just to settle mail and accounts). Put up ads awhile ago, Shadow was xferred off and renamed shortly after. So, farewell Lt Gen Shadowmeree, Hand of Adal, Champion of the Naaru, troll rogue of Frostmourne, blah blah blah. It was fun while it lasted. Maybe things would have turned out differently, but considering the departure of old companions - Dimer, Vodoshock, Zafra, Kagin, Cai, Soli, Schzar, Yuufa, Mayo, Mamushka, Turg, Brx, Gosuivan, Rave (I missed plenty of names, apologies in advance) its best that we too go our separate ways.
Nope I'm not all that keen on Willow either. Priests might as well be deleted from the game, since all 3 other healing classes are better at what they do. We're the most versatile cross-healers in the game, but that hardly matters outside of 5mans. It gets worse in WotLK - Flourish makes CoH a joke, Riptide pwns all our nifty stuff like Renew and PoM, and retadins and survival hunters replace shadow priests. Seeing as how they're dumbing down the game by removing downranking and crushings, condensing stats and homogenizing gear, streamlining aoe tanking and single-target dps to be almost equal across all classes; and generally eliminating any unique-ness or "skill" in any class...I'm quite inclined to truly give up for good. Anyone wtb toon/account with 11k gold?






Recently tried the Empress Super Delay at Ebenex...it may well be the most musical and appealing analogue delay pedal I've tried; and the one with the biggest bag of tricks. It has a reverse mode that is actually usable through most of its range, a very generous 12second looper (no SoS unfortunately), autoset mode where delay time syncs with your playing tempo, and an interesting misc mode with 1 primary delay setting and 2 sub modes. Like their much-feted Tremolo, the Superdelay features ratio-based selection for tap tempo; and retains the nifty, pedalboard-friendly size. Nvm that the tape mode sounds as good as my one-trick pony Space Echo...What really set this pedal apart imho, are the filter and modulation switches, features more commonly found in digital delays. The low pass filter sounded reminiscent to the Moog effect, though less pronounced, while the high pass came across as a less tacky version of those "sweep echo" envelopes in every up-market digital delay and modeler. Fast modulation is pretty much what you'd expect, but once again more shimmery and transparent rather than a thick swirly chorus. The true magic lies in the slow modulation mode, which pretty much makes music by itself. It's so subtle - even with everything maxed, you never want to call the singal wet. I played with it for close to 20mins (sorry david!) and can't get enough of it. Anw I tried replicating it at home, and found that with some help from my trustworthy Magicstomp, I could get a similar effect. It's not quite the same level of mojo - notes dont quite breathe the same, and there's some sparkle lost in general - but you should be able to hear the essence of it on this quick recording, inspired by Pathein aka 44oJuly.





Not quite sure what the film is on about, but the Escher (to forever bear the unfortunate association with Crystals & Symmetry), Magritte and Dali impressions are pretty interesting. More importantly, the song is exclusive to this project afaik, and will not be released on any forthcoming albums. Available for download at Prada.

Oh yes im spsd to publicize this...Timbre Music Fest - Indie Rock&Roll (sif not come up with a more interesting name) is happening next thursday - yes cleverly scheduled during recess week - at Timbre@Arts House. Plainsunset, Vertical Rush and The Fire Fight are playing so there's almost no way you'll have a bad time. Get your tickets at Gatecrash.

The new Guitar Hero tracklist was recently announced. Some pretty cool stuff - Interpol, Dinosaur JR, R.E.M., Modest Mouse, Smashing Pumpkins, The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, just to name a few more-than-halfway decent bands. Still too much crap, and Rock Band 2 is better anyhow, but still something for GH fans to cheer about.

Something interesting to consider: One of the big myths about God's will is that it's like a roadmap. For every decision and situation there's option A and option B; and God's will is either A or B. If I choose the right one, all is well. If not, I'm outside of His will. The problem with such a road map is that making a "wrong" turn puts one on the wrong road; and if we make some irreversible mistake, we run the risk of missing out on God's destination for us, whether its an accomplishment, station in life, relationship, or career.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good"

Fortunately, God knows that at some point in time we're gonna screw up, whether through disobedience, ignorance or foolishness. His will is big enough to take into account all our sin and imperfection. His grace overflows - many a times, He grants us the privilege and freedom to make the decision in the knowledge He will bless whichever we choose. There isn't a fixed path from point A to B of our lives. So, while we strive to seek God's will and be obedient, we are able to live not in fear of making mistakes, but in the freedom of His surpassing grace and wisdom.

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

God is more interested in the process of our transformation than where we arrive at. God's will is a journey; and it has more to do with character than choice. As God transforms us to become more Christ-like, we can rest assured that so long as we love Him we can live in His will no matter our past or our sin. May we give all glory to God in our choices and decision-making.
P.S. Thx to Colleen for asking the question yday, Pastor Jen Huat for his enlightening answer, and the numerous writers who have shared on this subject online.

Finally, something funny which you may or may not have seen:

Nothing beats the mainstream Asian ripping-off of western music though.

I had a dream which reminded me...of the dream Hob Gadling recalled in Sunday Mourning. After a sober visit from Death - who explains the conspicuous absence of her brother Dream - he experiences a dream in which he meets the Sandman and Destruction. He asks the Sandman, "You're dead, aren't you? And this is just a dream." Morpheus nods, and Hob and Destruction laugh at the absurdity of the situation. The trio walk off into the sunset together; and 'live happily ever after'. Hob uses those exact words as he recalls the dream to his girlfriend, fobbing her off regarding the ending - no doubt in sharp contrast to Hob's own ambivalent if wistful trudge to continue his weary immortal existence; and highlighting the impression that happy endings are indeed only found in dreams.
Have you dreamt of a loved one passing away, your bf/gf leaving you, your pet dog drowning (or whatever..you get the drift) - the kind of overwhelming sadness possible in post-dream hazes - only to feel enormous relief, as you laid quiescent in the soft places between reverie and reality, succored by the knowledge it was but a dream? Then you wake up all the way and realize the tragedy did indeed come to pass. It's like, the biggest bummer. And another thought: If Hob can dream of the Sandman, could he really be dead? Perhaps, in a similar vein, the notion that people live on in our hearts and dreams is more than quixotic maudlinism.

I dunno why but i've been feeling dizzy since late afternoon..maybe some kinda mild barotrauma haha..my left ear feels weird. Or false movement signals from some inaudible frequency caused by lousy PC sound card->earphone interface. Good excuse to get a proper DAC at last imo.







Clearly, I try too hard.




I wonder if i've been scratching my feet at night...realized there are bloodstains on my bedsheets =x but no mosquito bites or whatever..haha must be emo

talk.

silence from you is like the death of a tune

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so goes the backing track of all the sighs we ever sighed