Good Times Never Seem So Good!

I was fucked up royally. Things looked bleak. Around me winds were howling like ravenous wolves. My inappropriate semi-formal shoes were lost underneath the virgin snow. My wet hair was frozen in a matter of seconds after going out into the cold.

This is what I did. I sang this song:

Sweet Caroline

Where it began,

I can't begin to knowin',

But then I know it's growing strong.

Was in the spring,

And spring became a summer,

Who'd have believed you'd come along?

Hand, 

Touchin' hands,

Reaching out,

Touchin' me,

Touchin' you

Sweet Caroline,

Good times never seem so good!

I've been inclined,

To believe they never would,

But now I...

Look at the night,

And it don't seem so lonely,

We fill it up with only two.

And when I hurt,

Hurtin' runs off my shoulders,

How can I hurt when I'm with you?

Warm,

Touching warm,

Reaching out,

Touchin' me,

Touchin' you!

Sweet Caroline,

Good times never seem so good!

I've been inclined,

To believe they never would,

Oh no, no, no...

Sweet Caroline,

Good times never seem so good!

Sweet Caroline,

I believed they never could...

Sweet Caroline... 

And just because I am in a Glee obsession now, I'll add this video:

Wise Man of the Mountain moment #324

Why is it that you are more susceptible to art, whether creating them or appreciating them, when you are emotionally unstable or physically spent?

Don't trust me? Try writing when you're mad. Try watching a musical performance when every fiber in your body wants nothing to do but recuperate. Feel that buzz of awe go through you. Feel your heartbeat as you pour your emotion into your creation.

Yes, I am wise.

An Open Letter to Religious People

Dear religious people,

Stop it. It's annoying and creepy. I mean, love Jesus/Ahura Mazda/Jah Rastafari all you want, man, but you don't need to flaunt it. You look fake. You look like you're trying to convince yourself. It snowed today, thank you Allah? Tell that to the homeless. Nobody realized I farted in the lift just now, Jesus really shone his light on me today? Tell that to the guy they blamed it on. It IS up to you to believe that Jesus favored you, that's why your gaseous assassin wasn't pinned on you but come on, don't tell everyone you meet that! Stop trying to put God in every conversation. He's capable of doing that, thank you very much. This is taking thy Lord's name in vain, believe me.

Sincerely,
Johan Going-to-Hell Ariff.

Letter to the Fucking Racists

We had an Election for the MSA a few days ago.

A non-Malay was chosen as the president, and rightly so for he is the best man for the job.

So, we Malays received an sms roughly saying, "How can a Muslim turn your back on your Muslim brother? How can you vote for a non-Muslim?"

Here's my reply:

Dear Fucking Racists,
We chose solely on the basis of competence. We are of the opinion that our Muslim brother is not as competent as our non-Malay brother.
If we have the choice between Yasser Arafat and Gandhi to fight for our independence, we'd choose Gandhi. If we have to choose between Mahathir Mohammed and the Thai King to speak out against America, we'll choose Mahathir. Not because Mahathir's a Muslim. It's because he's competent in this.
So, Mr. Racists, you can go fuck yourselves upside down and all around.
With much love,
Johan Ariff bin Juhari.

Degrees

A friend is a person who has one or more same interest with you.
A good friend is a person who feigns interest in your interests.
A great friend is a person who tries to have an interest in your interests.

Oh and Volgogradians telah membuat Undian Paling Bijak, indeed. First step of world domination: check!

Johan Ariff bin Juhari: Undian Paling Bijak

Tomorrow's election day for the local Malaysian Students' Association. [MSA]

I'm running for the post Media Director.

I misunderstood that I had to write a manifesto but was corrected by the EC members. Thank god, I don't know what the hell is a manifesto. I thought it was one of those, "membangunkan pelajar-pelajar Malaysia di bumi Volgograd" thing but honestly, if I ever say that, that's a load of bullcrap. Sorry Maher. Haha.

Formally, the job is "to manage MSA blog and spread any info about activites of the organisation". In layman's term, that means the guy voted to be the director has to go around town spreading the latest news and gossips released by the MSA. See, why I'd be perfect for the job?

If you don't know me that well enough, well, let me tell you, then:

Free Will, Predetermination and Foreknowledge

It's 1am.

Theology disturbs me.

If one has Free Will, one sets the future for oneself.

If Predetermination exists, one's future is already set long before one could choose.

The fundamental flaw in religions, some might say, for Free Will and Predetermination cannot exist together. No matter what traditional religious teachers tell you, one concept is always stronger than the other.



I believe I took a third stand on the matter.

I don't believe in Predetermination but rather Divine Foreknowledge. Might sound the same but my interpretation is different.

Predetermination means everything that will happen has been set: when one blinks, when a butterfly flaps its wings, where would the sun be when a speck of dust finally touches down.

Foreknowledge, on the other hand, according to me, means Knowledge of the consequence of every action: what will happen if one kills a man or save his life, the knowledge of the different futures if one starts his day with his right foot and then later chose to give his seat to an old woman, rather than starting with his left foot and giving his seat or starting with his left foot and not giving up his seat or starting with his right foot but not giving up his space.

To me, Foreknowledge is more compatible with Free Will compared to Predetermination. Predetermination and Free Will generate the answers, "I am not wise enough to explain." and/or, "Only God knows/Because God wills it so."

The Foreknowledge and Free Will combo churns out, "Well, why do YOU watch teledramas, then?"