heaven & hell

I was going on my born-again streak and saw this daily guide book of chapters & verses. You know, the guide book that offers daily chapters and verses of the Bible to be read by Christians.

I read that day's contemplation and threw the book away.

It said that no matter how good you are, if you don't believe in Jesus, you won't be saved and get to heaven.

What... The... Fuck?

Ookkkayy, so I AM a Christian, for fucksake. I have so many nice muslim friends, and they won't be saved?

If Christians, who follow Jesus's teachings to love other humans, can go to Heaven, why can't a Buddhist or a Hindu who practices love towards mankind AND animals (by not eating meat) go to heaven?

That's so insane and absurd.

Don't get me wrong. I love God. Jesus is one of the many names of God. Whoever teaches (and practices) kindness towards nature IS God.

I believe that Heaven (or Hell) is manifested in our times here on Earth. By teaching (and believing, and forcing others to believe) that there is no salvation in other religions, we are condemning ourselves to Hell (terrorism and war starts by the lack of tolerance).

And thus making Earth a living Hell.

So, be kind. Don't convert others. Live and let live. Or as the old Wicca saying goes, "An it harm none, do as ye will".

True, so true.

On the lighter news, I just got another facial extraction done on my face.

Apparently, lots of acnes and blackheads were extracted from my forehead, making me look as if I were recovering from stigmata (remember Jesus's forehead wounds from the thorn crown he was forced to wear?)

I went to the facialist on Saturday afternoon, and went out to watch a movie with Pandu on the evening.

It was, of course, Memoirs of A Geisha!!!

And it is fucking supercool. You know, I hyperventilated when I bought the (pirated) DVD on Thursday. I watched it, and three fucking minutes before the movie ended, the DVD stopped.

SHIT!!!

So I couldn't do anything but watch the movie at the theatre, right? And it was supercool.

Okay, so I retracted my opinion about King Kong. The movie's got some moments (the fight with the tyranosaurs, Kong falling from Empire State Building... well, just those two), but it's not *all* that.

Apparently, La Fleur thinks it's crappy (I came to agreeing with her finally). But still, it had its moments.

I just can't believe that King Kong's making more BO than Geisha. And from the buzz, I heard that King Kong's getting an Academy Award nomination.

Academy Award? For what? Best Long-And-Unedited-To-Make-It-Look-Colossal-And-Long-With-Many-Unimportant-Scenes-That-Even-Failed-To-Build-The-Characters'-Characteristic-Despite-The-Length-of-The-Movie Movie?

Now Geisha... My God. Each actor poured her/his heart in it.

That's a movie that should get at least one Oscar for either Ziyi's, Michelle's, Gong's, or Ken's performances.

Even Youki Kudoh (Pumpkin), Tsai Chin (Auntie) Kaori Momoi (Mother) and Suzuka Ohgo (Little Chiyo) are extraordinary. And Koji Yakusho (Nobu) is simply amazing.

I got so accustomed to their accents that when the Americans came I got really annoyed.

And then it turned out that Americans also played a big role in making Geisha means a common streetwalker.

I am definitely making a Memoirs of A Geisha t-shirt.

Mom read the book and she said that it was superb.

Maybe I should start reading it too!

Oh, and tomorrow is Idul Adha, the day when thousands of lambs, goats, cows, bulls, will be slaughtered.

I was in charge for taking photos today when our hotel donated some lambsand one cow to the local community.

One lamb kept screaming and thrashing and looking at his friends in the back when he was being carried away.

Oh yes, so what will be served on your platter of delicious roasted lamb chop were the remains of a creature with feelings. A creature who was sold as not more than US$ 30 to be slaughtered and eaten.

Oh, and there's this one story.

It was during my days of depression that I tried my luck in one department store company called Nichols Edwards. They were going to open a chain at Sudirman Place, the so-called-hottest new high-end mall in Jakarta.

Yesterday, I thanked God that I failed the test.

I was driving to meet La Fleur at Plaza Senayan, when I noticed a big billboard of Nichols Edwards, showing a woman, in some kind of a mink (or fox?) fur scarf. Complete with the mink/fox head.

I SO WANT TO PAINT OBNOXIOUS CURSES ON THE BILLBOARD WITH RED PAINT!!!

Those people, if they're good enough to other people, and they believe in Jesus, will they go to Heaven?

If they will, then I'm sure going to make their lives on Earth a living hell.