I am...

I am in my pretentious mode again.

And so I decided to share with you this poem by Edgar Allan Poe which I greatly enjoy.

I think it sings (because the poem is so lyrical) of a person, a grown man who describes his own growth from a boy, because he was never quite able to fit in, finds himself unable to quite have the same compassion and emotional range as others normally do, throughout his life...

Alone

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view

Edgar Allan Poe

High

it seems odd, but i think this is a drug song.

and when i see you
take the same sweet steps
you used to take
i know i'll keep on holding you
in arms so tight
they'll never let you go

like some addiction.

Ops LaSuppe Executed - songlist in a mess...

Final playlist - Pre-dinner

1. No More Tears
2. My Special Angel
3. Orchid
4. Neri Per Caso
5. Fallen
6. I Do Cherish You
7. American Beauty Opening Theme
8. In Space
9. Breathe
10. I Want To Be With You
11. Moonlight Sonata
12. Christina
13. Air on Strings in G
14. When You Say Nothing At All
15. Northern Lights
16. More Than Words
17. I Believe
18. Close To Heaven
19. To Stay

Angelica

Final playlist - Dinner

1. Come Away With Me.mp3
2. Begin the Beguine.mp3
3. Be Here To Love Me.mp3
4. As Time Goes By.mp3
5. All I Want.mp3
6. Across The Universe.mp3
7. If.mp3
8. I Didn't Know I Was Looking For Love.mp3
9. Humble Me.mp3
10. Heartbeats.mp3
11. Gwyneth Paltrow & Huey Lewis - Cruisin.mp3
12. Garth Brooks -Lost to you.mp3
13. Fly Me To The Moon.mp3
14. Extreme - More Than Words.mp3
15. What Am I To You?.mp3
16. Time After Time (acoustic).mp3
17. Those Sweet Words.mp3
18. Thirteen.mp3
19. The Girl From Ipanema.mp3
20. Sunrise.mp3
21. Your Body Is a Wonderland.mp3
22. You Belong To Me.mp3
23. When We Dance.mp3
24. Sleeps with Butterflies.mp3
25. Shoot the Moon.mp3
26. She.mp3
27. Ribbons Undone.mp3
28. Northern Sky.mp3
29. Nightingale.mp3
30. More Than This.mp3
31. Moon River.mp3
32. La Vie En Rose.mp3
33. Just One of Those Things.mp3
34. It Might Be You .mp3
35. Dreams.mp3
36. Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars).mp3
37. Comfort Of Strangers.mp3

Damn it, some miscommunication between us leading to the "missing" first dish song - La Vie En Rose.

Congrats CEO! and Mrs CEO!

First we assume

This entry, I believe can go either ways.
It could end up sounding like a racist blog post or it could be the concerned voice of a worried citizen.

Let's first do a couple of assumptions. It's a habit thing. Just as LKY, who is trained as a lawyer, always scrutinizes his opponents' words and takes them to task. I am exposed to economics theory. So stereotypically, I assume alot when trying to skirt potentially seditious sensitive issues.

First assumption: Osama bin Laden is a bad person.

Ok, so I don't entirely believe that the Al-Qaeda flew the planes and crash them into the twin towers. I think Osama might have been made the scapegoat. I think his (Osama's) anger is warranted. He was made used of by what is understood as the most influential and powerful country in the world.

Second assumption: Females who wear tudung are muslims.

I might be entirely wrong here. Some females wear tudung-look-a-likes but they are muslims. Some are actually just simple headscarves made to look like tudung. I would like to state categorically that a female muslim is not identifiable by her tudung. Devout muslim ladies may not wear tudung. Just like tudung-wearing female muslims may not be devout muslims.

Third assumptions: Images you wear on your t-shirt are the people you support.

You know when you read economics, sometimes by the time the third or fourth assumption is presented to you, you begin to have the theory forming in your head. Either that or you look at the assumptions and just know this is some crap theory that is too idealistic/microscopic/useless in general. But this third assumption should be rather agreeable. But unless the image is bounded by a red circle and a diagonal stripe, like this:



it should be quite obvious you wear what you like. For example, there was a time when girls wore t-shirts with pictures of andy lau and aaron kwok. Surely these girls like and support andy lau and aaron kwok enough to have them on their bosom. Close to their heart, as it were. So, yeah, you probably support the guy you have printed on your shirt.

Now that we have our assumptions, let's begin the story (facts only, further assumptions will be stated, if made).

I was on a train coming home.
I saw a girl wearing a blue t-shirt.
She was about 2-3 years old.
Let's call her BLUE
Her guardian (could be mum, I don't know) was next to her.
This guardian was wearing a tudung.
This is where assumption two is used. This guardian is a female muslim.
I might be wrong.
Let's go back to the girl, BLUE.
On her blue t-shirt was an image of Osama bin Laden.

*you have to imagine that the t-shirt is xxs and BLUE

Ok, exercise assumption three first. Let's just decide that because there is an absence of the red circle and diagonal stripe across the image of Osama on the t-shirt, BLUE, the 2-3 year old is supporting Osama. Immediately we exercise assumption one. Osama bin Laden is a bad person.

So what we have here is a 2-3 year old female supporter of Osama bin Laden whose guardian (possibly mother) is a female tudung wearer whom we assume is a muslim lady.

There, in the statement above, I have combined at least three assumptions.

But any savvy economists (armchair or Havard-trained) will note that a 2-3 year old girl should not be capable of choosing what clothes to buy/wear. Ah ha! There are flaws in this model. So maybe the guardian (possibly the mother) chose the t-shirt for her while she is oblivious to what she is wearing. Do you remember who was on your chest when you were 2-3 years old?

No?

I didn't think so.

So I sms a friend.

There's this malay girl abt 2 or 3 years old wearing a t shirt with osama bin laden's face. Wat the Fuck?

I made a connection. Which was that the guardian (possibly mother) was a malay muslim taking care of a 2-3 year old malay girl. I might be wrong here.

Friend replied something about punishing the parents of those who make their kids wear such t-shirts.

I don't think I will post my reply. Because the story is complete at this stage.

The following economic terms came to mind.

Public Goods
Definition: Items which can be jointly consumed by many consumers simultaneously without any loss in quantity or quality of provision e.g. a lighthouse. Public goods are therefore goods that would not be provided in a pure free-market system. This is because they display two particular characteristics:

1. Non-rivalry - consumption by one person does not reduce the amount available for others.

2. Non-excludability - once the good is provided it is impossible to stop people consuming it even if they haven't paid. An example of this is defence. It is impossible to charge people for defence as they consume it as the whole country is being defended at once. Also one person being defended does not stop others being defended.

Merit Goods
Definition: A product, such as education, which consumers may undervalue but which the government believes is 'good' for consumers. Merit goods would be under-provided in a pure free-market economy. This is because they have external benefits that people would not take into account when they made their decisions about how much to consume. An example is vaccinations. As a result of people being vaccinated we keep disease out of the country, but if it was left just to the market many people might choose to take the risk and not pay for vaccinations. This could have negative effects for society.

Positive Externalities
Definition: Impacts on 'outsiders' that are advantageous to them and for which they do not have to pay. Externalities occur where the actions of firms and individuals have an effect on people other than themselves. In the case of positive externalities the external effects are benefits on other people. These are also known as external benefits. There may be external benefits from both production and consumption. If these are added to the private benefits we get the total social benefits. An example of positive externalities would be the side effects of production processes e.g. the benefits to some local people that stem from the growth of a major industry causing trade to increase for other local firms who benefit from the extra demand caused by the increased growth.

Free Riders
Definition: Sometimes a good is provided and others cannot be stopped from consuming it, e.g. street lighting. A consumer who avoids payment becomes a free rider.

The Public Good which is at the same time a Merit Good, exhibiting Positive Externalities and subjected to Free Riders that I am talking about is Defence. Psychological, Social, Military, Economic and Civil.

definitions of economics terms from http://www.bized.ac.uk

I think my sorry ass will soon be hauled into a court of law.
Or someone from ISD will call me up. MSD perhaps.

I want to state that I am blogging this as a concerned citizen of this country. This is not a disclaimer.

Chasing Cars

Snow Patrol will be in Sydney, Seoul and Tokyo in July.

But nobody is bringing them to Singapore. Why.....

Chasing Cars

(Began in Parkgate in October 2005 and finished in Grouse Lodge in December 2005)

I wrote this song in Garret's garage in 2004. The minute the rest of the guys heard it they loved it. As did anyone I played it to. Do I hear a trumpet blowing? Excuse me. I'll just put it down. Better. Where were we?......
It was, however, the most difficult to get right, structurally more than anything. (For proof, note the protracted recording span). When we did nail it in Grouse Lodge, it was big smiles all round.
It's a song of joy, love and wasting time with someone you love (the finest pursuit). There is no knife twisting, as is my usual, nothing but a happy ending. Doesn't happen very often.

~ extracted from booklet

We'll do it all
Everything
On our own
We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And
Just forget the world.

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel
Those three words
Are said too much
There're not enough.

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And
Just forget the world.
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden
That's
Bursting into life

Let's waste time
Chasing cars,
Around our heads

I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And
Just forget the world

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden
That's
Bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes
They're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never
Change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And
Just forget the world

Snow Patrol

i think.....

i am retrograding.

degenerating.

move and or tend towards pasts.

inconvenienced.

reverting to an earlier, inferior state.

it is no longer necessary to understand.

or be understood.

not important to achieve.

but just do.

i ruminate.

on things i have no control over.

and gloss over those i have.

my monosyllabic answers are a cause for concern.

apathy.

that which is opposite of love.

is not hate.

Jolie is a bundle of fun!

Had a great time at Jimmy and Jasmin's wedding. Though more than a tad bit warm at the Mandai Orchid Garden, but everything felt really joyous and convivial.

The sky held up pretty well. And although I am complaining about the warm weather, I was glad that the clouds did a great job shielding the sun.

Jimmy was a JC/Track and field friend so I knew many of the people there. Plus the fact that we were in the same midshipman batch and the navy being a small entity, it felt better than the usual weddings in a sense. Met friends from secondary school, JC, navy, track and field. Pieter Beetsma was there too. Superboy leh, cause his dad, Mr Beetsma (naturally, duh), who was and still is a physics lecturer at VJC looks like Clark Kent. Yes, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve Superman era), and we suspect if he wore tight blue spandex suit, don on a red cape with the eye-catching red underwear out, sans his glasses, lo, and behold, it's a bird, it's a plane, no its....
So Pieter's nickname was Superboy.

I noticed that the banquet, which was a delicious buffet, was a cosy 20 table affair. The tables were very well laid out with, get this, proper wine goblets. Not the boh liao small wine glass. Cabernet Sauvignon was served. The thoughtful door gift was a plant. So you can carry it home and continue to let it grow. And a granny smith. Ya, green apple.

Tonight's another wedding. I did a total re-hash of the songlist. Update with the reasons later.

I have some pictures which I might put up later... see how.

She doesn't smile for people. Only when she feels like it. Which is such a treasured feline trait in girls, I think.

Anyone can identify this beauty?

Photographed along corridor on 24 Jun 06 around 1pm

Germany vs Sweden

The score is still standing at 2:0. (88th minute) After Podolski scored twice, first in the 4th minute and the second in the 12th.

It's the first match of the World Cup I watched at length. Unlike Idol contests, World Cup is more interesting only from Round 2 onwards, the quarter-finals, semis and the final. 3rd and 4th placing is...well, less than side dish.

We were at galilee and friends watching the first half of the first Round 2 match.

The full time score (93rd minute) remained at 2:0.

I don't think the Germans played particularly well. The organisation was there (Germans leh, vorsprung durch technik) but lack some x-factor of a World Cup champion.

But the Swedes were horrendous, made the Germans look damn good.

Sweden had no midfield in existence. Not that it was bad. It was non-existent. When that happens, the defenders get alot of pressure. Which was obvious in the first half. German attacks rained on the Swedes. Poor goalkeeper from Sweden. You will notice that forwards will start move towards the midfield to try and bring the ball through for themselves cause they are not being fed any balls. A lousy midfield will also cause players to strike long balls deep into the opponent's third. Not effective when your forwards are tired from moving around too much.

And that is why the Brazilians, Spainiards and the Argentinians are going to go a long way. Their midfield department is formidable.

I'll see how my analysis compares to regular newspaper reports tomorrow.

Phew!

Thank god for bandages.

Available through Archie McPhee

I don't have much to say these days

Something about the way the picture looks. Took this randomly at East Coast Park around last year. I like to take pictures of people who are not aware that they are being photographed. It's not like voyeuristic or anything like that.
It's doing them a favour. If I did not capture the moment for them, they wouldn't have realised it. Perhaps mundanity and ordinariness are not so bad. It's how you make of it.

A somewhat difficult day lies ahead, dear Pisces. You may have believed that you'd solved the worst of your problems in your love life, but today you may find that you were quite mistaken. There's no avoiding the situation, dear Pisces. If you attempt to escape by diving under the water's surface, you're likely to be scooped up in a net and thrown into the frying pan! The best solution is to be straightforward, without worrying about whose feelings you hurt.

quite way off i think.

sigh.....

Emotionally, you may feel a bit unsure and perhaps a bit indecisive as to how to proceed, dear Pisces. You have a tremendously warm and caring nature, but at the same time, it does not do you or anyone else any good unless you can learn to be assertive about it and brave in expressing it. Now is your chance to stand up and take a definitive stand. Do not let other people take advantage of you or call the shots for you. You know perfectly well what you want and how to get it.

I think I don't have many friends.......

......but the few that I have, I tend to treasure them. I don't mind going through some length to help them.

I think I believe enough of how star signs can influence a person's behaviour. Not mainly because of the innate characteristics that a person is born with. But rather, during their lifetime, they might have read, heard, be exposed to how people of certain star signs behave.

I think I have read somewhere about an extensive American research paper that proved palmistry is not true by documenting a large number of palm prints of young dead people. Their life lines weren't particularly short.

I think I can be rather patient with people in general. But once you cross some line that is imaginary and exists only in my head. I reach down to something basic and primal in me. I react. After that, I reflect. And realise that it's just my piscean character showing. Rearing the other head. The ugly head.

I think I am not over reacting. Sometimes when people criticise my friends, if they are constructive, I never defend them blindly. But when the critic hits below the belt, I do find myself unable to react in a manner which I think is adequate.

I think I might have deliberately started each paragraph with "I think".

GAH! I had to self-censor again. I hate this.....

Grow Up People!

I am not the social beast that many make me out to be.

Jinks was there to remind me of that last Friday. He was telling Jenny about some BMT peer appraisal thing over our completes. So I asked him in return. If I was put in room for 15 minutes. Or even an hour or two. Will I talk to anyone or make new friends?

Jinks knows the answer because he knows me well.
Well enough to know anyway.

But give me three months and pull me and the people around through shit, yeah, maybe that will provide enough opportunities for me to hoodwink them. Make them all believe what a nice guy jackson is.

You see, I am not a natural spark plug. I won't have swarms of people crowding around me to hear my anecdotes at a party. Girls don't hang themselves on my shoulders.

But I am a fantastic con artist.

Given enough time, I can form a bridge between two warring sides. I can slide in between enemy sides, having full immunity on either sides, like some form of universal diplomatic clearance. And even if I cannot form a bridge, I definitely can shuttle in between the two camps.

I sent out an email to a long list of York alumni. Because considering that York is a top ranking uni in UK, there isn't a proper alumni association going on. The last White Rose dinner, the representatives from Leeds and Sheffield Universities were all asking when York is going to set up an alumni. Well, I don't know.

The reason why I sent out the email was because everyone sharing the table with me at Siawyann's wedding was saying I am the best person to send it. In fact, in order to get people to turn up for a planned gathering, I should just announce that it's my wedding banquet.

Maybe it's because I'm easy going, maybe it's because I couldn't careless.
Maybe it's because I know when to keep my big mouth shut, maybe it's because I always have my wits about.
Maybe it's because I adapt easily to accommodate everyone, maybe it's because I am two-faced. Maybe it's because everyone thinks that I can be trusted, maybe it's because I trust no one with my thoughts.

Well, I have to say it's very very tiring to be the in-betweener of two sides. And sometimes more. Often you get torn apart. Often you find yourself at a loss. Even if you don't take sides, you take offence when one side decides to hurt the other. And in the cross fire, you get hurt too.

Collateral.

I could have sworn

People living around my area, I am wondering if they happen to hear this loud drone that sounds like an aeroplane.

I have a feeling it's an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

I don't know if I should be writing this.

Wedding #2

With two down, it's another 2 more to go.

I've been told that my blog crashes some of your browsers. A friend using Firefox/Safari on a Mac, well, it happened to her. Anothe friend using IE on a PC can't access as well. In both cases, the browser says some error has occured.

Can you tell me if this happens to you as well?

Duh! How can you read this post if you cannot access.

Double duh! You could have been able to access this post from office or something right?

Duh duh!

BBBC - BarBaaBlackChic

Rule #1: Drink with friends

Rule #2: Indian Poker is a hedious game

Rule #3: Beware of people with cameras

Rule #4: Digital evidence can be used in a court of law




P.S. If any of you don't wish for me to put you up in this blog, tell me k? C'mon, I look like a right sot and I'm not embarrassed.

Twenty Four Hours

Weekends without V around can get quite lonely.
Good thing that this weekend wasn't like that.
Friday I had Jinks, Jenny and Jolie for company.
I wonder if they have a son, will they call him Jacques?
If Jolie should have a sister instead of a brother, would they name her Julie?
Jolie means "cute" or "pretty" in French.
Saturday I had wedding dinner #1.
There will be 3 more weddings this month.
I have already attended a funeral earlier this month.
4 weddings and a funeral.
Sunday was Father's Day.
I haven't bought anything .
Although I walked around Plaza Singapura in the afternoon.
This time tomorrow night I would have gone for wedding #2.
Maybe I should bring my camera along.
For tomorrow's wedding dinner.
I seldom bring my camera along with me.
Because the Olympus 5060wz is not a compact camera.
Take some pictures of the Sword Bearers.
V introduced a song to me on Thursday.
She heard it while shopping at Topshop.
Topshop constantly plays excellent music.
I am listening to Psapp and Jason Collet.
Because I heard them at Topshop.
The song is titled Twenty Four Hours.
It is by Athlete.

Twenty Four Hours

People rushing left to right
There's pretty faces left to right
And I'm just frozen staring into space

Faster than the speed of light
I'm holding on, I'm holding tight
Cause stars are gonna crash into this place

And it's caught wide screen so we don't miss a thing
Now I'm standing clear
Cause all I waited for is

Closing in,
We've still got twenty four hours
We're closing in,
We've still got twenty four hours

This is more than daily bread,
It's three degrees,
It's something else,
And you just take it all into your stride

Couldn't be an accident
Cause I can't see no ambulance,
I know that we will work it out this time

And it's caught wide screen so we don't miss a thing
Now I'm standing clear
Cause all I waited for is

Closing in,
We've still got twenty four hours
We're closing in,
We've still got twenty four hours

Closing in,
We've still got twenty four hours
Now we're closing in,
We've still got twenty four hours

It's not over, It's not over
We've still got twenty four hours
It's not over, It's not over yet
We've still got twenty four hours

~ Athlete

My Spidey Senses Are Tingling!!!

Spidey Sense #1

Like I was saying, I was out for dinner with Jinks and Jenny. They won't be reading this of course. So I suppose I can share this with you!

We were at the Le P'tit place and they serve this delicious cider which we decided to share a bottle of. Jenny was saying she won't take much. Jinks turn to look at her. Jenny glared back.

Me: So Jenny's pregnant?

Me: (to Jolie) Jolie! You're going to have a brother or a sister!

Jinks: How come you can guess?

Me: Why else would she say that. She normally drinks.

Jinks: She does.

Me: As far as I remember, Jenny's up for drinks mostly.

Jinks: Ok, you're one of the first to know. Don't tell others yet.

Me: Ok, Jolie, ignore what I just told you. (Jolie's turning 1 in October)

Jinks: She knows.

Me: Jolie! You're going to have a brother or a sister! Yay!

Spidey Sense #2

I was at Siawyann's wedding dinner last night. So met a few Uni friends. Choon Ping and Sulin (both at RJC teaching), Delwyn (completing his NS liability in a month thereafter starting his bond with SPF), Eric and Jammie (married last year).

Me: Eh, Eric, any red wine for you?

Eric: Of course!

Me: Jammie leh?

Jammie: Don't think I'll be drinking

Me: (eyeing her tummy and noticeable weight gain on cheeks) So when can you start drinking again?

Jammie: ???

Me: Heh heh, you're pregnant right?

Eric: Wow! How can you tell?

Me: Cannot drink alcohol, loose clothing....

Jammie: We haven't told many people yet. You're the first few to know.

Me: *deja vu*

Collide - I feel 18 again

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you

There are some songs that make you feel young again. And this evening, after a rather reflective period where I meet people who've at various stages of my life stepped in and out and intermittently ever since, I chance upon this song by Howie Day that somehow took me back to a forgotten time. Like how a Goo Goo Dolls song can sometimes do to me.

I'm open You're closed
Where I'll follow You'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Can you remember when there was a period of time when you wake up each day, ready to face it because the worries of yesterday had already melted? Why is it that you find it so hard to hide the worries these days? Somehow your face, to a lesser extent aged by time, seemed to have aged by the questions and worries that surround your everyday.

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find You and I collide

You might have felt invincible then. But you realise how fallible you really are. You never thought you could lose. You didn't. But you never won anything either. Nevertheless there is this "someone out there" whom you've chosen to believe in, who can sweep you off your feet and hopefully you can swept her off hers. However much you try to control your desires, some things, fate for example, just aren't meant to be controlled. Love, like a wicked game, is another.

I'm quiet You know,
You make a first impression.
I've found I'm scared to know
I'm always on your mind

Wound heals faster when you're young. Leaving behind only scars that don't hurt anymore. It's strange, and a little funny, that while we tend to the wounds, we sometimes don't want them to heal. And finally when only scars remain, we sometimes still gently tease them, tracing the patterns that the scars have formed, knowing that they will never disappear yet you won't miss them if they do.

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
Somehow find You and I collide

So you pick yourself up again and again. Telling yourself, "The next one will matter."

Don't stop here
I lost my place
I'm close behind

You lose yourself in the pace. You lose yourself in someone else's race. You've gone too far in and you have no option but to keep up. You can't stop.

Even the best fall down sometimes.
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme.
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find You and I collide.

And you tell yourself again and again, "The next one will matter."

I am thinking of......

blogging away a little stress this weekend with an entry replete with pictures! Lots of pictures!


But I might be too tied down with work this weekend.

Bah.

Plug Plug Plug

I was at Le P'tit Breton Creperie this evening for dinner with Jinks and Jenny. Mustn't forget about Jolie! She's such a darling now. *gush*

Anyway, must remember to bring V there sometime when she's back. The Complete Forestiere I had was really delicious. The Apple and Caramel Crepe for dessert was....hmm...it's suppose to be the "special" but both Jenny and I agreed that the caramel might have been a little overdone because there was a bitter after taste. It's really difficult to make caramel. I successfully made it once. And failed miserably thrice. Mapie says to quickly douse the heat by placing the pot in water just as the sugar caramelise and turns golden. I know I won't try.

Must reserve. There are about 20 seats with a maximum of 25 if more seats are squeezed in. For those who are really interested, it's along Upper Thomson Road, opposite the Long House, beside the Shop and Save supermarket. Tiny little corner shop. Blink and you will miss it.

Need some imagination and you'll start to think you really are in Britanny.

Weird Conversation #2 - Taxi Diver

AIS PO: Sir, later I will get off at the petrol station in front.

Me: Sure.

Me (to the taxi driver): Uncle, later please stop at the petrol station in front.

Taxi Driver: Wah, he call you Sir?

Me: Ya.

Taxi Driver: Why he call you Sir?

Me: Because when we go to war, I will protect him.

Taxi Driver: But you have to call me Sir. I'm bigger.

Me: Sure, I call you Mister. You've Pink IC. I lose.

Taxi Driver: *smug*

Weird Conversation #1 - Doctor

Doctor:Ya, you're right. That's definitely a wart. You can be a doctor. Skin doctor.

Me: The doctor at SAFTI said it might be fungal in nature. So he gave me some topical cream. Mycoban Topical Anti-fungal Cream.

Doctor: Won't work.

Me: Ya, that was about 3 months ago.

Doctor: It's been so long?

Me: I have had it for more than a year, probably.

Doctor: No wonder. It's quite big. Typically it shouldn't be more than 5mm. Yours is almost a cm.

Me: So is it contagious?

Doctor: Ya, very. If you touch it, don't touch anywhere else that might be traumatised. It'll spread. Your children might get it too.

Me: *nods* (with raised eyebrows, not sceptical but to tell him I'm not a father)

Doctor: It needs to be removed by laser or liquid nitrogen.

Me: Sure.

Doctor: Try not to touch it. It might spread to your fingers. And worse if it spread to your penis. You'll have a hard time explaining.

Me: !!!!!

Some of the best street posters I have ever seen

More from here.

From Amnesty International (Swiss Section)

V's leaving again

V's heading to Houston this Friday morning.
She'll be attending this conference that bills itself as a conference of infinite possibilities.
Of late she's been flying all over the place. Just this half of the year, she's been to two other continents besides Asia. I just keep myself busy and try and clear as much work as quickly as possible. But feels like I'm bailing water out of a sinking boat, not doing it faster that water that's gushing in.

I was at KBox with her over the weekend haha. And I enjoyed my magnum of champagne Rainie's videos. Sweet relief haha. I was listening to this song which I initially thought was rather lame because the chorus goes something like how a guy likes to hold a girl with his right hand but his heart beats on the left (so lame!). I think the rest of the song is so much better. It reminds me of Hyperballad by Bjork. I just checked. I have never bought a single mandarin CD....gonna double and maybe triple check...

左边

总是忍不住寂寞掉下眼泪
你才会给安慰
担心短暂的晴天
随时都可能被阴狸收回
等待有机会最坏也最甜美
我乐观却疲惫
因为太怕失去你
所以连快乐里都装满伤悲
你不曾发觉
你总是用右手牵着我
但是心却跳动在左边
你和我之间的遥远
永远隔着亲切
爱少的可怜
伸出右手想陪着你向前走
感受你爱我的心跳在左边
那么深深爱你的我
想信你会了解
总在埋怨过你的冷漠之后
又急着说抱歉
仿佛向疏远的你
乞求一点体贴
都是我不对
结果有可能最美也最可悲
我做好了准备
也许太自由的你
心里面那个家
谁也不能回
我一直相信总有一天
你会用左手牵着我走向明天
未来很遥远却会实现
心在同一边就能够听见
你说的那句
我爱你
你一定看的见

杨承琳

Alphabet Zoo

Threadless Sale! Again!

The nice thing about telling your friends about Threadless is that when there is a sale going on, everybody knows!

No more LARGE for me. It's MEDIUM, to avoid looking too thin/skinny.

Say hello to Death, Alphabet Zoo and MP(3)!

I found it funny when.....

People use the word "irregardless". Especially Singaporeans. Especially when it's in the pledge ".....regardless or race, language or religion.."

It's equally bad when it's "wreck havoc" when it should be "wreak havoc".

And today, during a meeting amongst colonels, people mispronounce words like "circumstances" which became "circumcises". "Permanent" somehow became "pernament". "Stick out like a sore thumb" became "stick out like a sore dick". And although it's "prescriptive" but you "prescribe" rather than "prescript" you asshat.

grr...

Finalised

Pre-dinner - 75 minutes

American Beauty Opening Theme - American Beauty
Slip into Something More Comfortable - Kinobe
Christina - Mr Hermano
Orchid - The Amalgamation Of Soundz
Dreams - The Corrs
Breathe - Telepopmusik
Angelica - Lamb
Moonlight - Sonata Beethoven
In Space - Röyksopp
Northern Lights - Lux
I Didn't Know I Was Looking For Love - Everything But The Girl
Air on Strings in G - Johann Sebastian Bach
Sunshines Better - John Martyn
Destiny - Zero 7
Heavens Gonna Burn Your Eyes - Thievery Corporation

Dinner - 120 minutes

Sunrise - Norah Jones
You Belong To Me - Tori Amos
Begin the Beguine - Sheryl Crow
The Girl From Ipanema - Astrud Gilberto
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
All I Want - Natalie Merchant
Your Body Is A Wonderland - John Mayer
Nightingale - Norah Jones
She - Elvis Costello
Be Here To Love Me - Norah Jones
If - Bread
More Than This - Norah Jones & Charlie Hunter
La Vie En Rose - Ella Fitzgerald
Sleeps with Butterflies - Tori Amos
Humble Me - Norah Jones
Just One of Those Things - Diana Krall
Those Sweet Words - Norah Jones
Ribbons Undone - Tori Amos
What Am I To You? - Norah Jones
Heartbeats - José González
As Time Goes By - Louis Armstrong
Fly Me To The Moon - Astrud Gilberto
Shoot the Moon - Norah Jones
Northern Sky - Nick Drake
Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) - Astrud Gilberto
It Might Be You - Stephen Bishop
Across The Universe - Fiona Apple
Time After Time - Everything But The Girl
Comfort Of Strangers - Beth Orton
When We Dance - Sting
Thirteen Kathryn - Williams
Moon River - Frank Sinatra

This comes a little late

CONRGATULATIONS to FullScreamRiot on his graduation!

I'm late of course. But this news has been going around the internet for sometime now. Especially the blogosphere. Well, kinda. Don't believe? Read about it here, here, here and here!

Visit Tony Tay's site and listen to some progressive breaks and old school (skool) breaks by himself. And if anyone is near Brighton (ok, Yugin, this goes to you.), Tony will be at Audio, 10 Marine Parade (not the one ran by lao Goh et. al.) on 19th July.

A Long Way Down

You might want to skip right through to the bottom.

I have started on A Long Way Down, this novel by Nick Hornby. Admittedly, it's a raucous read. I meant it in a good way. Like how Pulp Fiction might have been a little troublesome to watch for some who think and process linearly.

Pessimists, and for that matter, optimists, are great searchers. Because they are able to find sadness in the the tightest of crannies and the tiniest of nooks. Correspondingly, optimists are able to find happiness and hope at the very same spots. I shan't label them delusionists or anything negative at all. Because optimism is seldom frowned upon and so I suppose is more socially accepted. Like, nobody seeks help in being too joyful right? But people seek psychiatric help when they feel depressed by all the pessimism around. But that would be associating pessimism with sadness. I am sure there are happy pessimists around. Or would that be an oxymoron?

I fancy myself abit like a closet pessimist. Waiting to come out. There's social stigma and the embarrassment associated with the inability to grab life by the horns when you're a pessimist.

I'll just lift something from the novel and describe it a little.

This is how Jess, one of the novel's 4 main character, interpretes JJ's reason for committing suicide and shares it with Maureen and Martin. JJ used to be in a rock band but due to circumstances was disbanded and how he can never live the life he enjoys and finds meaning in.

"You thought you were going to be someone, but now it's obvious you're nobody. You haven't got as much talent as you thought you had, and there was no plan B, and you got no skills and no education, and now you're looking at forty or fifty years of nothing. Less than nothing probably. That's pretty heavy. That's worse than having the brain thing, because what you got now will take a lot longer to kill you. You've got the choice of a slow painful death, or a quick merciful one."

You see, that's where alot of people are at. Not that everyone wants to be in a rock band. But to do something that gives you tremendous joy and satisfaction. But the rules of life are not decided by you. So you're dealt with shitty cards. Maybe you're dealt with great cards, for a game of Bridge but everyone else wants to play 大弟 ("die-dee" some card game).

This is where Maureen has what JJ defines as "music rage" - the rage one gets when people don't get the music, and talks about Nick Drake's music after listening to Five Leaves Left:

"This is how I feel, every day, and people don't want to know that. They want to know that I'm feeling what Tom Jones makes you feel. Or that Australian girl who used to be in Neighbours. But I feel like this, and they won't play what I feel on the radio, because people that are sad don't fit in."

I have not finished the book but Johnny Depp, who has bought the movie rights for the book before the initial release, reckons that the book has got some of the most outstanding characters. I'll get down to the quick and dirty, why I'm writing such a boring long post. I'm dreaming up my dream cast (like what else is there?). This will probably be relevant to those who've read the book.

JJ - Johnny Depp: American character, rock "star" in semi-retirement mode, sensitive, willy to participate but not share himself. I'm almost quite sure of this. Well, let's say if Mr Depp did not purchase the movie rights, this role could have gone to Joaquin Phoenix? That'll be right after playing Johnny Cash. I don't know. Think Johnny Depp fits this role.




Martin - Alan Rickman: Failed morning show presenter. Celebrity who was jailed for sleeping with a minor unwittingly (unwillingly too perhaps). Sharp, sarcastic with a more sophisticated taste in most things than the others. Now a presenter on a crappy unknown cable channel.

Maureen - Fiona Shaw: Most probably recognisable as Aunt Petunia in Harry Potter series. But she'd be brilliant as Maureen, the 50something single mom with a mentally challenged son. Catholic and questioning, stereotypical sad British housewife, self-effacing, polite to a fault and closed.




Jess - Emma Watson: Another Harry Potter alumni. This goes to show I have limited knowledge of British actors/actresses. Young, rude (or blatantly honest), intense, slightly mental. This could be a good vehicle for her to break from her Hermione role. No, Kiera Knightley is not suitable.


The soundtrack should feature Nick Drake of course. And hopefully the best of British music these days. NO ARTIC MONKEYS. Craig Armstrong hopefully. Together with Nelle Hooper!

Shadow Rumours

The Outsider is done.

And the rumour is that he'll be coming down for a Heineken Green Room Session.

fullscreamriot had a single word reply when I sms him this morning.

SHIT

Ah Leow's Training Centre

I attended Ah Leow's lessons.

I don't think everyone knows him. Well, but amongst some schools, he's rather famous. I must admit that he does have a rather wicked sense of humour, terrible English and weird looks. He's got a knack for explaining tought concepts, be it for Chemistry, Physics, Elementary Maths or Advanced Maths, all the above subjects I received tuition from him.

I attened Ah Leow's lessons. Twice.

I was introduced to him by ys (who's in "where the bloody hell are you? Sydney) when I was in Sec 3 or 4. I cannot remember. I am rather shocked. Was it really that long ago? In any case, I remember paying upfront for the lessons on my first visit.

I'm not an easy student. I have to admit. Not that I am stupid but because I'm jiao gay (cantankerous) or rather, when it comes to rudeness, I can be really insolent at times. But really, how I remembered my two visits to Ah Leow's wasn't about me being rude.

Partly forming the reason why I went to Ah Leow was because ys said there were a couple of chio babes in the centre. Now for a non-church going adolescent (ok, church is a place of worship, but it's alright to check girls out too right?), this was heaven sent. Hur hur.

There were these two girls from a nearby secondary school (Bendemeer actually) that ys said was worth checking out. That was over and on top of the excellent help he was getting from Ah Leow in maths and science. Being given a chance to improve on my grades, I grabbed it with both hands. Right. So the girls played a part too.

But I couldn't stand how Ah Leow's adamantly disturbed the girls there. And guys too. I vaguely remembered that he insisted on calling me Johnson although I repeatedly said it wasn't my name. And being the "young hot blooded" teen, I kind of got expelled from his class after a rather colourful exchange of words. That happened midway through the 2nd visit.

Ah Leow will be spending the next two years of his life imprisoned.

He was charged with the molestation of two of his students who were 14 and 15 years old then.

I understand from the report that many of his former students, some of whom are Ph.D holders, teachers, dentists appealed on his behalf. Well, I am not the best judge of character. Especially when I've only been in contact with him for just over 6 hours or so.

Wisdom of Mum

This is an actual SMS conversation between my mum and I:

Mum: Did the stan chart woman call you today? I am sending cheque later.

Me: Ya, no need to pay subscription

Mum: OK

Mum: What about UOB. You want to pay the 180?

Me: I have to.

Mum: How come this one must pay. Cancel the card.

Me: I have to pay because they gave a free gift. (paradox)

Mum: What free gift?

Me: The free gift is worth more than the subscription.

Mum: What is it?

Me: 3 more years of extra life. (I was getting irritated with her incessant questioning)

Mum: Why lugi? U actually suffers (sic) three more days. U call that free gift??

Hot day

Random

Just want to remind myself that not all white rabbits are albinos.
I must have gotten confused with white tigers which are also not albinos.

Something just ain't quite right.....can't put my finger on it.

This is a real treat

A sizeable group of people in Singapore must be whispering about this:



Who wanna go?

Definition of "Motherhood Statement"

I do not know how many of you get yourself in a situation where you are presenting a project or some idea that you have conceptualised. You start with the scope before going on to detail on the aims and objectives. Normally the audience will be made up of your superiors. Having eaten more salt than you have eaten rice (I hope they die from hypertension or something), they dissect your presentation and ideas. They tell you that you're making motherhood statements they don't amount to anything at all.

Here is an example:

"If we can give our teachers the room, the space, the environment in which they can spend time inspiring the students, leaving a little bit of themselves behind, then I think we would have gone so way further in wanting to develop this first-class education system."

I showed it to a teacher friend. And she said she don't understand the statement as it was too cheem. And she's the supposed target audience.

I told her she'd given a very profound insight. Profound in that she had penetrated beyond the superficial or obvious.

What It Is Looking Like Now

Home Zero 7
Destiny Zero 7
Goodbye Pisces Tori Amos
Ribbons Undone Tori Amos
Sleeps with Butterflies Tori Amos
You Belong To Me Tori Amos
Oh Yeah (On The Radio) Tom McRae
When We Dance Sting
It Might Be You Stephen Bishop
Cafe De Flore (Charles Webster's Latin Lover Mix) Dr Rockit
Begin the Beguine Sheryl Crow
Never Felt Like This Before Shaznay Lewis
In Space Röyksopp
More Than This Norah Jones & Charlie Hunter
Humble Me Norah Jones
Be Here To Love Me Norah Jones
Those Sweet Words Norah Jones
What Am I To You? Norah Jones
Sunrise Norah Jones
Nightingale Norah Jones
Lonestar Norah Jones
Shoot the Moon Norah Jones
Come Away With Me Norah Jones
Northern Sky Nick Drake
All I Want Natalie Merchant
Christina Mr Hermano
Northern Lights Lux
As Time Goes By Louis Armstrong
I Saw The Light Lori Carson
Angelica Lamb
Slip into Something More Comfortable Kinobe
Thirteen Kathryn Williams
Swimming Places (Original Mix) Julien Jabre
Lock & Key Julia Fordham
Heartbeats José González
Your Body Is a Wonderland John Mayer
No Such Thing John Mayer
Ordinary People John Legend
Air on the G string Johann Sebastian Bach
Such Great Heights Iron And Wine
No More Sweet Music Hooverphonic
Moon River Frank Sinatra
Across The Universe Fiona Apple
I Didn't Know I Was Looking For Love Everything But The Girl
Drowning In Your Eyes Ephraim Lewis
Just One of Those Things Diana Krall
I Will Follow You Into The Dark Death Cab For Cutie
This Love Craig Armstrong Feat. Elisabeth Fraser
Dreams The Corrs
If Bread
Someone's Daughter Beth Orton
Safe In Your Arms Beth Orton
A Place Aside Beth Orton
Absinthe Beth Orton
Conceived Beth Orton
Comfort Of Strangers Beth Orton
Swollen Bent
Moonlight Sonata Beethoven
Air on the G string (shorter version) Bach
Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) Astrud Gilberto
Fly Me To The Moon Astrud Gilberto
The Girl From Ipanema Astrud Gilberto
Can't Take My Eyes Off You Andy Williams
You And Me (Tonight) Alistair Griffin


The colour codes are for personal use. I thought it's quite a challenging playlist. Might do a great re-shuffle. Too much Beth Orton and Tori Amos. Norah Jones, well, she's forgiveable. I reckon there are only two distinct portions. One is the pre-dinner and the other, obviously, is the dinner itself. There are other bits like "the entrance" and "the entrance (of food)" but, I'll leave them out first.

Lasuppe updates

Some observations.

1) Three hours worth of music isn't very long. about 50 titles worth will be more than sufficient.

2) As much as you would like to put Julien Jabre, Dr Rockit, Mr Hermano, Royksopp and Zero 7 (people throwing off the flair factor), Death Cab For Cutie, Jose Gonzalez, Kathryn Williams, Tom McRae (sideshows giving the twist element), Astrud Gilberto, Diana Krall and Frank Sinatra (standards ensuring it all feels familiar) all together in a lounge mix, if it doesn't work, you gotta compromise compromise compromise....

3) Turntablist works of art (DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, DJ Food) will typically not work for a crowd comprising of 1 to 80 year olds.

4) Bossa Nova in a ballroom setting is too over-rated.

5) Foreign language may be a good thing but like accessories, less is more.

6)Too much of the same thing is an overkill - cut down on Astrud Gilberto.

7) Dropping popular baroque pieces can be nice (Bach, Mozart and Beethoven) or like what shyuechou says, Debussy and maybe Chopin as well. But coming from shyuechou, all I can thinkof is "Che Guevera and Debussy to a disco beat". I'm sure he knows what I mean.

8) Avoid sad sounding tracks Jackson! It's a wedding not a god damn funeral! Strictly no trespassing to the following: Ryan Adams, Feist, Aqualung, Unbelieveable Truth.

9)Ultimately, not many will pay attention to it. So don't tear your hair out.

10) There isn't technically a point number ten.

Alright. First draft to be out soon.

Who would have known? - you don't want to read this

Memories can be an indulgence. An inconvenience. A necessity.

I found myself wanting to look at my photos today. Photos from the time I left junior college right through to the time I return to Singapore after studies. Since I didn't take much photos (at least I don't own them) during army days, I wasn't thinking about them so much. There were a couple of albums when I was in midshipman school. Mostly pictures of the overseas ports I visited as part of a training deployment of which I went twice. They were mostly regional ports. I can remember calling at Manila (The Philippines), Kure (Japan), Pusan (South Korea), Chinhae (South Korea), Bangkok (Thailand), Sattahip (Thailand), Qingdao (China), Kaohsiung (Taiwan, ROC), Manado (N. Sulawesi Indonesia) and that's about all. By the time I completed my midshipman school, I have never sailed through the Malacca Straits. Since I started serving my bond, I have revisited Sattahip, stopped by Panjang (Indonesia) while en-route back from Timor Leste, Penang (Malaysia - my one and only port west of Singapore Straits). The geographically savvy ones would have noticed that all the ports are around South China Sea, Celebes Sea, Karimata Straits, Sunda Straits, Sulu Sea, Java Sea, Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, Formosa Straits, Gulf of Thailand, Flores Sea.... By now I have gone through that particular straits about 4 times. There are lapses, parts which I simply cannot remember. While some of the memories could be nothing more than a confabulation of imagined memories I have convinced myself that actually happened. Memories are an indulgence because you cannot have much proper use of it except to reminisce, perhaps crinkling a smile but what else is there?

My first flight was 14 hours long. Thereabouts. Took me from Changi Airport to Heathrow. That was where I started uni life. And while there, definitely took the chance to visit surrounding cities, towns and places. Many of them in the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, Edinburgh, cities around England but never venturing into Wales. Dublin, Paris, Florence, Venice, Rome, Siena, Pisa, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden (I think), Leipzig, island hopping (not in Greece) Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Malta and I think that's that. During the summer holidays I went backpacking in Vietnam (Hue, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Danang, Nha Trang), went down East Coast Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Brisbane). I was looking at the pictures, at the travel companions, the people I took photos with, the tricycle man, fellow Japanese travelers (hahaha!), my uni friends, the places, the sites (some of which I have revisited - mostly Spanish ones), my room in uni, my graduation, the first time I was in London, the people I was close to, the people I have grown closer to (none) and the people that have drifted out of my life, single-serving friends (aplenty), the last picnic I ever had in uni....and I start to realise that memories can be an inconvenience. Especially fond memories, memories you immediately know you will treasure for life, memories that are good. These memories form so sort of a baseline with which all good memories must meet. It is also inconvenient because they become part of you and you can only live with it. They remain with you till you die. Sometimes a person's present standing is based on his past. Impressions are created from the immediate past. Memories are thus inconvenient because you are unwittingly defined by them, and that may not be a good thing all the time.

I cannot imagine myself not having any memories. Neither can I imagine that on anyone else. But what I can do is to be less judgmental about others' past. Including my own. Perhaps reminisce a little less, indulge less frequently, don't be inconvenienced by it. Life, and living live, necessitates memories. Without which, there isn't much of life to talk of.

Silly Cocks

The French national bird is the Cockerel.

I posted a while ago about the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.

Well, they had a rematch last week.

Guess who won?

Again.

30 years to the day. Re-enactment.
Same story, different players.


The previous post, I made an error. I stand corrected, Steven Spurrier, the wineseller who staged the first taste test in 1976 , an Englishman, wanted to pit the US wines with the French wines not to disgrace the former. It was to mark the bicentennial celebration of the American Revolution. He expected the French wines to win.