FOP!FOP!FOP!FOP!FOP!FOP!FOP!FOP!FOP!

~~~FESTIVAL OF PRAISE 2008~~~

ARGH!!!!!! ITS THE BEST ONE SO FAR!!!!! WHY? first of all! I GOT GOOD Seating. ( this could be because we were there an hour and half earlier). Seatings was at the north entrance, in front of the stage. Honestly, it sounds much better and could see more.

2 bands were playing on every night ( FOP was from 1st to 3rd august ), reuben morgan and his Hillsongs team, and the new parachute band. Hillsongs played only one song which i know at the beginning and then a few others that i am not very sure about. But the next band blew me away.

ENTERING ----> PARACHUTE BAND!



At first the first sight of the lead singer took me aback ( i learned today that the singer name is Omega, cool eh ). He had a overall figure of a mascular hunchback, and has an impression of a koala bear. But his voice was beautiful. I loved it the moment i heard it. I went back home to research further on the band and fell in love with 2 of the songs that they made popular.

FIRST SONG : I BELONG TO YOU



I especially like this song cos not only its catchy and very raw rock feel, but the lyrics simply says that i belong to God. How beautiful is that? We belong to GOD! I really like how they play their bridge, its pretty different from the typical Hillsongs kind of bridge. Makes me wanna have a darn cool keyboardist now!

S3COND SONG : MERCY

This is a slow number, but i really can associate to it. I am a sinner and yet God showed me mercy, and its His mercy that saved me. AMEN!



This video is pretty unique, has a short summary of the life of joseph and how God was in charge of everything.

Then i cam across this vid of a church covering the song. I really liked what they did. Enjoy!



I am definitely going to get their new album, Roadmaps and Revelations. Hopefully i can include their songs into the Youth Worship and increase our vocabulary of praise to God.



And of course i will try to get the new hillsongs album too. though i prefer parachute, but I will always be a hillsongs fan.



Ok, and from FOP, I was rejuvenated by pastor Mark Conner, Man is he hilarious. The whole stadium was practically laughing their socks off. I know i did. He taught on the topic of investing in the things that really matter. First he indicated the things that do not have eternal value.

1st thing : Pleasures of the World

Its not just sexual, but anything that makes you "feel" good. What he learned is that pleasure is quick but temporary fulfillment, But if you serve someone else, Its a pleasure that slowly builds up.

2nd thing : Possessions

Thats right ladies, its your shopping and materialistic madness! ( okok, guys too...)Think about it, We are brought into this world with nothing, And we will leave this world with nothing as well. We cant bring what we have into the other world. Instead think of things that could give you treasures stored in heaven.

3rd Thing : Power

Pride, ego and Authority. Basically we crave for power. Maybe not so far fetched. Maybe we want to be popular. And to do that we do things that are popular to others, and not watch what we say, and not caring about the consequences of our actions.

And After this 3 points he went on to touch on the things that could help us make life more meaningful, and they are great reminders!

1st IMPORTANCE ---------> Know God

Knowing God is the greatest thing we can do. And that means becoming a friend of God, not just a blind arrogant follower. Cos God is not looking at the amount of bible study or head knowledge you have, not the amount of service you have given, but he is gonna look at your heart. How you do things in your life means more than the things you think are important to God.

2nd IMPORTANCE ---------> Love others

Jesus' 2nd greatest commandment. If we love others, we would want to stand as a follower of christ and reach out to them. As he mentions, we are the First Gospels, meaning people see how Christianity sets us apart from others. Next we share the gospel. And there is greater joy in serving others than always serving yourself.

3rd IMPORTANCE ---------> Invest your time, talent and resource

Invest Whatever you can or wanna give to increase the kingdom of God on earth. God blesses us with individual talents which we can use to build the church. Think of ways you can contribute and give your best!

Wow mark conners woke me up. overall in all i am very very very happy to have made it for FOP. I really recommend that everyone goes the next year! ( though i think i will have army... )

SEEYA!

Hi Hi, today just gonna do something different from my usual stuff. Today I will be Ivan, The medium rare gamer. I feel like giving a review on some of the games i have been playing this few months...

First game gonna talk about is...

NARUTO: ULTIMATE NINJA HERO 2



Rating: 3.5/5

Gameplay: Its basically a fighting game, with the cast of most of the naruto characters ( 1st season ). The game play is actually quite simple, there's only one attack button, so expect alot of single button smashing. The combos are pretty easy to catch and connect on your opponents, so eliminating learning time and allowing gamers to get to the core of the game, the art of fighting like a ninja. Yup. its different from other fighting games. You have to time your attacks and they added bit of naruto elements with the "smoke bomb" evasion, shuriken throwing, jutsu, secret jutsu, the substitution attack ( the "poof", he became a tree log attack ).

But wat i feel impressed about is the varying in characters style and strength level. Like we think that naruto's the best. but honestly in the game, he's just average, cept' for the insane amount of chakra he stores and the undisputed "rasengan". Then there's Kiba and his trusty dog akamaru, whos speed is unmatched and the ruthlessness of the dog and master combo is very evident. There's sakura as well, whos known for her strength, and ironically her secret attack is her alter-ego...

Overall, the game will keep you satisfied if you are a naruto fan, but dont expect it to be a game to stay in your console for long. I think its one of those games where you play a while, and only play it again once in a blue moon.

Next Game i wanna cover is...

DJ MAX PORTABLE 2

Rating: 4.5/5

OK, I am not being bias here. I love music games and always will. But DJ max has briefly summarized the whole elements of music and rhythm games by itself. The songs are pretty catchy and pleasant, the level of challenge is almost infinite. This is definitely not a game for people with bad eye and hand coordination. But its not impossible to play.

I have been playing the game for close to a year already. and i still never got bored of it. There will always be challenges and sometimes the game becomes a srt by itself, so much so that if you are a hard core DJ max, you will always be a hardcore DJ max.


K Next I am gonna cover is....

CASTLEVANIA: DRACULA X CHRONICLES

k, i have to confess, i did not play the game for the original title, but because in this game... you can unlock "SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT". Its like the best game ever on ps! ARGH! but here's my review on the original title first.

DXC (lazy to type the whole thing) takes place before SOTN, the story revolves around richter belmont (the male protagonist) and maria (the bird welding babe, also the female protagonist) and their fight to defeat the count dracula and his servant, shaft.

The gameplay is like any other castlevania games (cept' SOTN). you are side scrolling and welding your whip or birds (yea i know sounds weird) and attacking the ghoulies while dodging attacks and solving simple puzzles along the way. Its pretty much like mario, cept with a more medieval feel.

OKOK SOTN! you are Alucard, son of dracula. But you are here to stop your father's mad reign of chaos when you discovered that Richter Belmont went missing mysteriously. Whats different is that there is a leveling up system, lots of items, lots of area to explore, a incredible story line, and monsters that are sure to challenge your wits sometimes. I played it when i had my ps, and now i am playing it on my psp once again!

Alright gonna do more game reviews soon... think some of ya never thought i am like this. hahaha. oh wells. see ya!