braingoboom

<body><script type="text/javascript"> function setAttributeOnload(object, attribute, val) { if(window.addEventListener) { window.addEventListener('load', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }, false); } else { window.attachEvent('onload', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }); } } </script> <div id="navbar-iframe-container"></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> gapi.load("gapi.iframes:gapi.iframes.style.bubble", function() { if (gapi.iframes && gapi.iframes.getContext) { gapi.iframes.getContext().openChild({ url: 'https://www.blogger.com/navbar/13559888?origin\x3dhttp://naohneo.blogspot.com', where: document.getElementById("navbar-iframe-container"), id: "navbar-iframe" }); } }); </script> <body bgcolor="d8d8d8">

Thanks
I give thanks
Not only for
What I have
But also for
What I will
Soon come
To find.

I give thanks
For trials
And tribulations
That have to
Be overcome.

I give thanks
For the test
That must
Be passed.

I give thanks
For happiness
And pain.
No matter the
Emotion - I
Give thanks
Just the same.

Copyright © weav 2001 (www.abundantfun.com)

-------------------------------------------

facebook profile livewire blog harborlight church ahscds blog

blog layout by: joe-siff..

Sunday, August 26, 2007

it's that time of the year again, when the loud singers in their garish outfits prance about on rickety makeshift stages in blinding lights belt out off-key hokkien tunes that manage to travel anywhere within a 5km radius.

yes, it's getai season.

now, i've NEVER been to one, honestly. having grown up in a Christian family, we don't participate in seven month activities, but it's seriously difficult to live in Singapore and not come across a getai, unless you stay permanently on Pulau Tekong, or Orchard Road, where there aren't many getai buffs.

in the New Paper today, Singapore's No1 trashy newspaper, it was reported that the number of getai videos posted on youtube has hit the 100 mark. quite impressive for an old tradition that serves to entertain beings of the afterlife. many attribute it to the movie 881, which i believe is a great movie and all, and also, in part to the hyping up of getai as a 'local art form' by the media.

i do believe that there are hordes of older-generation fellow Singaporeans who appreciate these spectacles and flock to them. Apparently there are getai A-listers as well, who have loyal fans that stalk them to different venues all over the island on getai nights. and, it's just as well that Singaporeans have something unique to us. granted, it isnt anywhere like the iconic New York City buskers or Paris' cabaret shows. still, it's uniquely Singaporean. so, i am happy that the getai scence, whose demise many naysayers were predicting not too long ago, is making a revival of sorts in Singapore.

however, i am not one of those who appreciate it. firstly, it's loud. it's noisy, and it's affecting my mugging for promos. it's almost like election season, when the politicians holler slogans over loudspeakers on the back of lorries to garner support, except, this time they are hollering in hokkien and there's a vague tune. also, while it may seem like fun and all, it is, after all, still a religious event. but that is not as important as the noise that it creates.

still, im not complaining. it is tradition, after all. and i definitely think tradition is important. so, let the getai carry on, and let me have the patience to bear with the noise until the Hungry Ghost Festival (of course they're hungry, they havent eaten in a year) is over, and life returns to normal. after all, it's only once a year.

(they'll be back)

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the
everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not
grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives
strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths
grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their
strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow
weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31

8:27 pm