This is from the ZENIT – “I Have Heard the Devil’s Confession”,
the winning story of the “Priestly Anecdotes” run by the Spanish website of Catholic Net where some 800 priests from more than 70 countries shared their experiences.
Read the winning entry by Fr. Manuel Zapata of Colombia.
His prize? A pilgrimage to the Holy land.
Read it here: ZENIT – “I Have Heard the Devil’s Confession”,
Until a few minutes ago, I’d never heard of Johann Pachelbel. Sad, but true…. and that’s why I’ve got to share this gem of a song that Pachelbel wrote some 300 years ago! But first, a few words on how I stumbled onto him in the first place…
Earlier today I was searching for the chords of a Christian spiritual that’d been playing on in my head all day long. Now, as usual, one click led to another and I found myself at the Your Chords website – which boasts of itself “as one of the largest guitar chords archives on the Internet”, and – it offers more than 200,000 songs with chords and tablatures from 15,000 artistes from all over the world.
Now, if you sign up as a user (free), you can also upload songs, videos, etc. etc to Your Chords. They even offer a free Guitar Course (!) – which would come in very handy for a frustrated, guitar hero wannabe like me! So I signed up for it and took up the first lesson – how to tune your guitar properly. Pretty useful stuff, especially for a clueless guitar player! Then as part of the lesson, they provided a link to this YouTube video, which triggered all my excitement about Johann Pachelbel. Watch this performance of JP’s Canon in D major by one guitar hero!
That got me intrigued as to who this Johan Pachelbel fellow was all about. A few more clicks of the mouse and I found another Youtube video where the London Symphony Orchestra play JP’s original version of the Canon in D major.
Watch the Canon go off here! It’s good for the soul!
Man…. I can say One Cannon, Two Masterpieces! Now, this German dude has got me all hooked up. A little late maybe, but who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks! Wiki has more on him here. Check it out. It’s worth knowing.
Now, where is my old Kapok?!
Anyone who was old enough at the time would undoubtedly have their own recollections of what May 13 1969 meant to them. Every year around this time, there’s a dull sadness that surrounds the day. When we come to May 13, we seem to have stood still in time, even 41 years later.
A couple of days ago, there was this giant rally that was to have taken place in Terengganu today. Luckily, good sense seems to have prevailed and the whole thing called off. At least a couple of columnists have called for more understanding and less hatred. There is a Truth & Reconciliation blog , which could set the tone for a full disclosure later on, like what has happened in other countries racked by similar social turmoils.
For me though and I suspect those in their 40′s and above, it was a different era. I was 8 years old, and in Standard 2 Blue (yup, we had colours back then for classes too!). My class teacher that year, Syed Bakri would tease (nicely, I must add) me by going “Hey Jude…. don’t make it bad…” once in a while. Alas! I hadn’t a clue to what he was saying… being oblivious to the cultural revolution the Fab Four had created at the time. It wouldn’t be until a few years later that I would discover The Beatles and their awesome music.
My father being a “semi-government” servant, had his quarters in Jalan Kilat, Butterworth, where we lived till 1970. That year in 1969, during the May 13 riots in K.L., I remember seeing armoured trucks patrolling the streets where we lived every evening. I recall playing outside in the yard (yup, we had lawns and yards back in those days!), and every now and then would hear sirens and watch these trucks go by. I never knew why they were there nor do I remember asking anyone. I don’t know whether any answer would have been forthcoming either even if I had! I remember the streets being very quiet, deserted in the evenings. We still had to go to church though (!), and I remember having to get home before the 7 p.m. curfew (if I’m not wrong).
And that’s just about what I can recall. A few memories imprinted in a young boy. How many more of us young ones then would have kept those images of that day, that period in time in the back of our minds?
Fast forward 41 years after one of the darkest episodes in the history of this nation, I am still unsure of what transpired actually, and whether we believe in conspiracy theories or not, who were the real masterminds.
There are the official versions. Then, there are the independent opinions, which dramatically oppose those official interpretations. But, I think we have failed miserably in coming to terms with the reality of the underlying issues that led to the riots then. And, unless there is a hunger – not only from the government of the day – but also ordinary folks, both those who were present there, and those of us in attendance now to seek out the truth, we will never know what really happened.
In the meantime, enjoy The Beatles and The Fool On The Hill. Make what you will of it! Better still, share here!
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” With these confusing words of T.S. Elliot, so begins this blog. Welcome everyone! The transfer from the old Blogspot account to this new one at WordPress is almost complete (I hope). In any case, the job should be completed by the end of the week. And I’ve added some new categories and links – my jar of things important to me. Secondly, I picked this template because it looked “minimalistic” – without the bells and whistles. Also, someone in the online forums mentioned that this Inuit Types by BizzArtic layout helps people with vision problems. Maybe you could comment on this. Whatever your inclinations, welcome, and I leave you with these wise words from Herbert Bayard Swope: “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure–which is: Try to please everybody”.
Believe it or not, according to a blog I subscribe to, there’s a movement now to ban Mothers’ Day in the U.S. When asked why, the following comments were gathered from the protestors:
1. One man said he never knew his mother and has no knowledge of her and he questioned why the federal government is effectively forcing him to honor his mother who he’s not even sure exists.
2. Children in schools that have activities or spend time making gifts in art class for mothers are left feeling awkward if they don’t have a mother.
3. “What about all the women who decide not to be mothers?” asked yet another.
Read the full report here.
