Symphony of Lights – in Malaysia!

People who have visited Hong Kong must be familiar with the show known as Symphony of Lights. The show is played at Victoria Habour at 8 o’clock every evening.

In conjunction with Lunar New Year 2012, Thien Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur had staged a similar show. Though on a much smaller scale, the show was no less interesting…

The temple…

Playing with zoom…

Here you go, the show of lights…

As in the past years, Thien Hou Temple was decorated with large number of lanterns…

One thing I like about Thien Hou Temple is that devotees are told to burn just 4 joss sticks – one for the Deity of Haven, and one for each of the three in-house deities. Traditionally, Chinese burn 3 joss sticks for every deity. By burning fewer joss sticks, Thien Hou Temple is considerably less smoky. This is good for the health of the people and the environment…

In praise of Introverts

The February 6, 2012 issue of Time Magazine features an article: The upside of being an Introvert. As I am an introvert, this article immediately caught my attention.

Our society has not been very kind to the introverts. People don’t pay so much attention to us; and we are less likely to be successful salespersons – that is, unless we sell online. However, according to the Time article, introversion is not all bad. Throughout history, there have been many great people who are introverts. See the list below:

Introverts

• Mohandas Gandhi
• Joe DiMaggio
• Moses
• Hillary Clinton
• Warren Buffett
• Manmohan Singh
• Bill Gates
• Mother Teresa
• Barack Obama

Extroverts

• Bill Clinton
• Margaret Thatcher
• Steve Jobs
• Boris Yeltsin
• Marie Antoinette
• Muhammad Ali
• Winston Churchill
• George W. Bush

It is worth noting that America’s two richest men – Bill Gates and Warren Buffett – are both introverts. Among athletes, Joe DiMaggio (baseball player) was an introvert, while Muhammad Ali was an extrovert. Former President Bill Clinton is extroverted, but his wife Hillary is introverted.

The author also says that introverts often prefer to express themselves in writing. Maybe that’s why I am blogging here…