Concentric Circles

For some reason that I cannot now recall, I drew these concentric circles while teaching just now. And I decided to play an impromptu, Whose-Line-is-It-Anyway?-style game with my students. Here's what we saw in the picture:

Chean Hong, 11, Kuen Cheng Primary School

- drill
- umbrella
- whirlpool
- plate
- torchlight
- fingerprints
- tyre
- CDs
- camera zoom lens
- hypnosis rings
- cross-section of the earth
- lollipop (think Stephen Chow and Kung-Fu Hustle)

Jean, 15, Sekolah Sri Garden

- cross-section of small intestine
- layers of cheese in a sausage (cross-section)
- black steel thingy used to scrub woks
- planet
- mouth of a cannon
- curly straws in bottles (found in Parkson Grand, apparently)
- mosquito coil
- dead skin patterns on heel of foot
- game in which kids throw rings at a vertical stick
- waves from a remote control

Ben, 19, Victoria Institution

- dartboard
- topographic contour map
- tornado
- psychedelic eyeglasses
- planetary orbits
- Aztec pyramid
- birthday hat
- ripples in water
- tree rings
- cinnamon roll
- ice-blended frappuccino (or Slurpee, for that matter)
- kids dancing around a maypole
- pencil/pen
- golf course
- egg frying in a pan
- legs of the (cartoon) Roadrunner

* * * * *

Last night, at dinner with the debaters (pictures coming soon), Dinesh asked me a question that still gnaws at me. "If God is God, why must he die to forgive, and not just forgive at will?"

Dan is supposed to burn for me a CD of a debate between the famous Ahmad Deedat and a Swedish (I think) theologian or apologist of some sort. I look forward to engaging Mr Deedat...

We talked about divisions in the history of the Christian Church, prompted by Dan's question as to whether Christians are actually agreed on anything. He says that for Muslims, their two-fold creed is that "Allah is God Almighty, and Muhammad is His Prophet", whereas for Christians, the Trinity raises a whole host of problems.

(Reminds me of the days I discussed the Trinity with my classmates back in Form One, and the many conversations on religion I had during National Service.)

My answer to Dan was this; that the foundation of the Christian faith is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Petra's song, 'He Came, He Saw, He Conquered' flashed across my mind. And now, as I think of it, St Paul himself said;

We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.

--1 Corinthians 1:23 (NIV)


He Came, He Saw, He Conquered
(Written by Bob Hartman and John Elefante)

He came alone into the battle
He knew nobody else could face His foe
He left His throne, He left His glory
He knew nobody else could ever go
He called the bluff, He took the challenge
He came into this world to seek and save
No one could know, no one could fathom
The way to win was only through the grave
They laid Him in His tomb
They thought they'd sealed His doom
But He rose
He rose!

Chorus:
He came, He saw, He conquered death and hell
He came, He saw, He is alive and well
He was, He is, and only He forgives
He died, He rose, He lives
He came, He saw, He conquered!

The doors were locked, they heard Him knocking
They were afraid they would be taken, too
Familiar voice said, "Come and follow"
Come and see the things the Lord can do
They went to where He lay
The stone was rolled away
He rose
He rose!

(Chorus)

Bridge:
He came into this world
He saw humanity
He heard the SOS
He met the enemy
The enemy was conquered
The enemy was conquered!

* * * * *

I loved the song played during the end credits of The Lake House, especially the chorus. Yes, I'm one of those nuts who stay to watch the credits...

This Never Happened Before
By Paul McCartney

I'm very sure
This never happened to me before
I met you and now I'm sure
This never happened before

Now I see
This is the way it's supposed to be
I met you and now I see
This is the way it should be

Chorus:
This is the way it should be for lovers
they shouldn't go it alone
It's not so good when you're on your own

So come to me
Now we can be what we wanna be
I love you and now I see
This is the way it should be

This is the way it should be

(Chorus)

I'm very sure
This never happened to me before
I met you and now I'm sure
This never happened before (this never happened before)
This never happened before (this never happened)
This never happened before (this never happened before)

* * * * *

Love (or rather, its accompanying tongue-tying symptoms) can make a person mispronounce certain words.

For instance, 'weak knees' can become 'kneak wees'.