The light, reflected

The space between you and her seems like a swath, left behind by the scything cacophony of light and sound that pulsates the dancefloor.

You can't help but notice her. In a simple dress that might have been in a shade of blue. Maybe green. Grey, perhaps. Everything dark appears grey here.

It was that look. That expectant slow blink of the eyes accompanying the slightest of smile that hooks up at the corner of her mouth. A sway of the head as she starts to move to a familiar tune. She had recognised it from the bassline that was bubbling underneath beat, filtered and tweaked into the fore expertly by the DJ.

She was clearly a regular.

She brought her drink to her mouth, the glass synchronous to her swaying movement. Her lips wrapped a thin crescent of the rim as she drank from the glass. Gin tonic always glows under ultraviolet. The quinine in the tonic was a giveaway. That must be it. Gin and Tonic.

She seemed to be alone. But not lonely. Enjoying the solitude provided by the sea of strangers, their bodies a-gyrating. She was not beautiful. That was not what had captured your attention. She did not smile directly at anyone. She was aloof and seemed more interested in the music.

There was a certain darkness in her that had created an aura to attract you.

Photos that shouldn't see the light of day

Memories are great stuff....

that's me leaving for UK. yf, fullscreamriot and vulnerable toes sending me off.
yf is still an arsenal fan and just got married (see comments - yf was, is and probably will continue to be a Man U *argh* supporter). fullscreamriot does visuals on sirens nights - this is him in his thinnest. vulnerable toes still wears polo t-shirts and gave me a couple. i still have that BUM Equipment top.

the "horse-racing" calendar was sent over by request. i needed to know where the races were held, penang, perak, selangor, ipoh or singapore. i was the only wanna-beng in York.

please ignore the bottles of wine, orange juice, soda, bombat sapphire, archers, absolut, coke...

my 21st! wowee zowee. i wasn't a fan of aaron kwok if you must know.

this was gatecrasher 2002. in my memory by dj tiesto. gave such trance hits like flight 643...this was the morning after....no....zoukout is nowhere near this. not even the one held at marina. but zoukout has got its own appeal. there aren't any empty plots of land in singapore.

this is me, with the main tent behind me. dressed up like para-military. camou pants, fleece pullover and inside was a vietnam t-shirt. you know, the red t-shirt with the bright yellow star in the middle. inside the Be Yourself tent was the first time I heard Danny Tenaglia. Whoop!

with another month to go in UK, I decided to go travelling around my favourite parts of England. This is me at the Grosmont train station just before going on the North York Moors railway.

Where have they gone?

P.S. following comments from mp147 and jados....perhaps pics of them, back in the days, should be posted online....*evil laughter trails off...(fade to black)

Muahahaha...my nudies

Mum came home last night....
bearing jeans.

You've got mail!

I found a magazine addressed to me yesterday before I left for the wedding. It was lying on the doorstep. Hand-delivered with a computer generated self-adhesive label bearing my name and home address on the plastic wrapping the magazine.

COLLECTOR'S EDITION
LEXEAN

FOR THE MAN WHO BELIEVES IN
THE POWER OF WORDS
THE MERIT OF MORALITY
THE MIGHT OF VIRTUE
ONE WHO IS WORLDLY IN OUTLOOK
ASIAN AT HEART & PROUD TO BE LEXEAN

The letters were in gold and set against the shiny black background.

I raised an eyebrow, placed it back on the table and left for the wedding.

Supposedly this is a brand new magazine that was hyped since September last year and boasted a 100,000 subscription base. Even before the first magazine was printed. Touted as a hybrid of The Economist and GQ, the Lexean editorial board and committee comprise a host of familiar names; Ken Jalleh Jr, Lisa Marie Tan, Dick Lee...(many other names) and the contributors include Ravi Veloo, Cherian George and Tan Tarn How.

Check out who reads this magazine. Or at least who they target:

Our reader is a man who is confident of who he is and pays attention to the way he lives and looks.

He belongs to a class of sharp, successful men aged between 35 and 59 years old,
earns more than $60,000 per annum. He is a leader, a CEO, a mentor.

He is discerning. He is demanding. He is who others aspire to be.

In essence, a man who is fluent in the ways of the world, affluent in the way that he lives,
and influential in ways other men can only imagine.

A thinking man.

Haha.....I don't know why they address this to me. But the magazine is a very good read. So keep on sending them to me. I don't mind. But I don't think I will pay $15.80 a pop. 100,00 subscriptions, 1000 on sale at selected locations and a few thousands delivered gratis.

I love free stuff.

Weekends are overhyped

weekends are starting to disappoint me.

there was a time when weekends just make up for all the bad stuff that happened over the week. but these days, weekends just add a bitter after taste after the week that had gone sour.

doctor gave me some Tylenol and an oral aid (wowee zowee!). Tylenol is for my fever and the oral aid is just some Chlorhexidine gel for my ulcer. the ulcer looks disgusting. i don't think i can take a photo of it. i'll just describe it like this: a slit right at the back of my mouth, somewhere very near the molars, and inside the slit is a bright white patch. i don't think i have ever had an ulcer like this before; housed within a slit. ugly.

saturday was spent preparing for some upcoming test (dreads) and the night was spent at Sirens. and when i woke on sunday, i had a massive headache and felt dryness in my throat. had to do some sword-bearing duties for a friend who was getting married so i just popped a panadol and hoped for the best.

not this morning...the best didn't happened. felt aches all over the shop, ulcer seemed to be getting worse, feeling feverish...so off to the clinic.

v is away. won't be back till CNY. anybody dateless on valentine's?

I can't shout loud enough

My sister celebrated her 21st Birthday yesterday. Only my mum was with her. But I'm sure there were many new friends and a couple of older ones who celebrated with her in cold cold Edinburgh.

Both of us had our 21st away from home. Most guys in Singapore spend theirs donning green (blue, if you are in the airforce or navy).

Mum spent the better part of January with my sister in her hostel so she has gotten a good idea as to how my sister will spent the first half of this year.

I don't think the stuff she witnessed while staying with my sister settled her nerves about leaving her daughter there. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. To not know what mischiefs and shenanigans your children can get up to is one of those "some" times. Not to mention the drunks, druggies, sex-crazed and all those in between who stays around my sister. I swear it's exciting. I always love seeing my neighbour passing through the kitchen to get back from the shower when I am preparing my dinner.

She wears only a smile and a terry-cloth towel.

So here's to my most-favouritest little sister - a big shout out to you over 10,000km...

Happy 21st Birthday!

P.S. no point blogging about it on the actual day cause you shouldn't have been spending time on the internet. But then again, the Saturday morning (or afternoon) after you wake, you may be nursing a hangover.....so....thanks in advance for my Nudies. And please take super care after mum return home.

P.P.S we can negotiate discuss about presents when you are back or in desperate need of money.

Mindless travels

They're gonna make a movie about him.

The reason I heard of him is because of this.

Miss Potter and the Lake District

Throughout my three years in UK, I only visited the Lake District once.

But the one visit was enough to convince myself that I must go there again one day.

If the new movie Miss Potter is going to feature the beautiful Lake District heavily, I will pay the ticket's price worth just to see the Lake District on the big screen. The movie is about Beatrix Potter who weaved tales of Peter Rabbit and other forest animals. She enjoyed many holidays as a child in Lake District and eventually lived there throughout her life. I think movies like Miss Potter can really promote UK as a tourist destination. Have they made a movie about the Bronte sisters yet? Then I can see the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors again. According to the www, there was a french movie shot in 1979 as well as a documentry in 2005 that featured Haworth...Sigh...I'll find time to scan in more photos from my Sunday walks. Interesting trivia: Wood sign posts in Haworth have Japanese characters to direct Japanese tourists. I don't see this much elsewhere in the dales and moors...

I find staying in bed and breakfast (B&B) such a refreshing change to chain hotels. Usually you'll be welcomed by the owner of the B&B. They are very kind with words and will just go all out to ensure that ou have a pleasant stay. I'm speaking of B&B outside London of course. And B&B that are accredited by the UK Tourism Board.
I've stayed in B&B in Knaresborough, York, Grosmont, Windermere and probably a couple more which I have forgotten.
Tradition B&B will feature wonderful pluses like a carpeted toilet, full English breakfast, four-poster beds, lots of down pillows and an experience you would want to repeat.

I don't know who can I convince to bring them to such places.

Some people's blogs

Somehow....I found some people's blogs while looking for certain somethings.
Click There >>>>>> Here

|AKAD3M|KS

Yesterday's Urban - Straits Times weekly fashion supplement - featured local Asian pop star JJ Lin on the backpage.

He was probably wearing Eve Stich which is going for about USD55 right now online. Just wondering if the photo in Urban was touched because the original colour should be a lighter blue.

The brand of JJ Lin's jeans, Akademiks, is a brand with lots of hip-hop cred. It's created by Donwan Harrell and his brother Emmett and a group of partners. Donwan Harrell was a former top Nike designer when he was 25 years old by the way....hence when he set up shop with this New York based clothing company, the streetwear crowds were listening.

But the really premium jeans that came out as an offshoot from Akademiks is PRPS - "purpose" without the vowels and also PuRple ProductS as the denim has purple selvage and purple tabs. Guess where the denim for this range is from? If you guessed US and A (Borat!), give yourself a knock. If you guess glorious nation of Kazakhstan, well....no.

PRPS gets the cotton from Zimbabwe and the cotton is spun into denim on shuttle looms in....Japan! This brand was featured on NY Times sometime ago.


Would I want to wear a pair of denims from Akademiks? Eh....donwan....PRPS? Maybe. But still it's personal preference. I prefer dry or "unprocessed" selvage denim to "processed" ones. And too much detailing can actually spoil the overall look.

Cultural Jams

Cultural jamming when done subtlely and with a whole lotta wit will always coax a smile and a respectful nod of my head.

Stuff like this and this.

From here.

Singapore, with its numerous signboards telling you to do this and that (Flush After Use and Use Me) as well well to not do this and that (anything that the gahmen say cannot) seems prime for cultural jams.

Woke up wanting to hear this song

The second song I post from Damien Rice's second full length studio album, 9.

Grey Room
Well I've been here before,
I've sat on the floor,
In a grey grey room.
Where I stay in all day,
I don't eat but I play,
With this grey grey food.

Désolé, If someone is prayin'
Then I might break out.
Désolé, Even if I scream,
I can't scream that loud.

I'm all alone again,
Crawling back home again,
Just stuck by the phone again.

Yeah, well I've been here before,
Sat on a floor,
In a grey grey mood.
Where I stay up all night,
And all that I write,
Is a grey grey tune.

So pray for me child, Just for a while
And I might break out.
Pray for me child, Even a smile
Would do for now.

So I'm all alone again,
Crawling back home again,
Just stuck by the phone again.

Have I still got you to be my open door?
Have I still got you to be my sandy shore?
Have I still got you to cross my bridge in this storm?
Have I still got you to keep me warm?

Cause if I squeeze my grape,
And I drink my wine.
Cause if I squeeze my grape,
And I drink my wine.
Cause nothing is lost,
This is frozen in frost.
And it's opening time,
And there's no one in line.

But I've still got me to be your open door.
I've still got me to be your sandy shore.
I've still got me to cross your bridge in this storm.
And I've still got me to keep you warm.

Warmer than warm yeah
Warmer than warm yeah
Warmer than warm yeah
Warmer than warm yeah

One of those songs with a wicked twist that leaves me in awe of his song writing skills. Starts with him asking questions. Then realises that in a relationship, he is as much to the other party as the other party is to him.

Sometimes we have got to learn to be a little less selfish.

But then we will live in a better world.

This is nice!

Check out this person's flickr!
Some of the patterns looks strangely familiar.

There can't be a similar collection here in Singapore though.

LA is my angel

Adam Duritz has a way of describing pain and desolation.

I first heard of the Counting Crows when their first radio hit was playing on Perfect Ten. Think it was "Mr Jones" and the line "Believe in me because I don't believe in anything and I want to be someone to believe" was so "me" when I was a pimply Sec. 2 kid with the rest of my peers listening to Use Your Illusion 1 and 2, air-guitaring and playing imaginary piano through "November Rain".

I own pretty much every studio album that they released and I won't go so far to say that they get better with each album. With Counting Crows, what you get is this level of quality that is consistent with each album. Maybe it's the voice, the arrangement, the lyrics or I don't know what (sounds better in french).

I heard Goodnight LA today. And I heard the lyrics differently. The pause between Adam Duritz singing "what brings me down now" and "is love" had stretched itself out infinitely for me. I caught myself thinking what are the things bringing me down. And by the time I realise that I was stoning, he was already singing "cause I can never get enough of love". It was probably a brief moment that I had complete to myself.

I said goodnight LA
Cause I’m awake in my room
I’ve been up for 38 hours
And it don’t look like sleep’s coming soon
Cause I could break like a bird
Or I could swallow the sea
It seems like the daylight is coming
No one is watching but me
Cause I don’t mind the dark
Discovering the day
Cause the night is a beautiful bright blue and gray
But what brings me down now is love
Cause I can never get enough
And what brings me down now is love
Cause I can never get enough of love
And it’s a dangerous time
For a heart on a wire
Shuttle from station to station
Noisily not knowing why
So I put my head on the ground and the sky is a wheel
Spinning these days into things that I’ve lost
But you can keep all the years
But I don’t mind the days gone rolling away
Cause all this sunlight feels warm on my face today
But what brings me down now is love
Cause I can never get enough
What brings me down now is love
I can never get enough never get enough
Never get enough no no
Never get enough oh oh oh
I can never get enough of love
What brings me, brings me down now is love
Cause I can never get enough of love
I can never get enough of love
I can never ever get enough
I can never get enough of love

Private Entry - for my mum and sis

Ok, how to tell if the jeans are selvage....

Look at this pair from dutti...notice the seams? The denim is kept from fraying by the looping stitches that run down the length of the seam.
Now this pair from APC. My New Standards. The denim is finished with it's own threading without the looping stitches.
These are selvage denim. Levis, along with many American jeans makers used to have them but they replaced their shuttle looms (for spinning the denim) with projectile looms in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Levis Vintage Clothing still carry selvage jeans I think. So does GAP, UNIQLO (Jados lives in UNIQLO-land) and probably many others.


From my mum after I hinted she should go Harvey Nichols and look for Nudies:

Hi, went to Harvey Nichols on Monday. This shop opp LV n doorman open dr* [sic] for ME :-D. Damn class shop. Only 2 model less than £90. Slim Jim Stone £85, Slim Jim Dry £80. If u want let me know.

* dr = door, I reckon.

Few days back when it snowed in Edinburgh:

Hi all, wow! It's amazing! It's snowing! What a beautiful sight in the bright light of the street lamps?! Pity it's now night time otherwise I'll go out catch the snow...:-0 :-> :- )

I'd like to see how your mum can beat that!

What if....

My medical condition didn't get better significantly enough for Professor Vernon Oh to reduce my 10mg dosage of Norvasc. That's the trade name. It's actually Amlodipine Besylate.

In fact he has given me another tablet - Invoril 5 which is Enalapril Maleate, all 5mg of it.

I haven't been to the medical centre since last November when I was made to report on a daily basis for a week so that they can measure my blood pressure. The last I've seen Prof Oh was in mid Dec last year and won't be seeing him til April.

The military doctor says that my physical employment status cannot be sustained because it's either I am made unfit for sailing and physical activity or fit for both. And was told that unless I can bring it down to a consistent 120/80, he won't consider my blood pressure as "managed".


Using my trusty iBPM that was given to me lovingly by V, I am currently 116/81 and pulse is a healthy 64.

Only thing is, I feel a dull pain on my chest these days. I first noticed it on Christmas Eve and whenever I am thinking about it, the pain becomes noticeable.

Must be psychological.

Rue de Fleurus

I hope I don't catch the denim bug.

Here and there.

Everywhere.

Just the other night I was smsing my mum who will be coming home from Edinburgh this weekend to get me a pair of Nudies Straight Svens or Slim Jims from Harvey Nichols.

Help?

Source of humour

I know, perhaps I was a little harsh on an earlier entry about young Indians. Nope, not that I have started receiving hate mail.

But do you notice that humour that has race, religious and rights as its source usually is discriminatory in nature.

Like if it's a joke about slant-eyed Chinese, it's ok if its told by a Chinese but you'd be called a racist if you are not.

Or some jokes about Christians and Jews and Muslims. Just look at what happened to Christians (or Danish) who make light of the Muslims? Christians themselves can parody their own religious symbols for all they want.

And what about gay jokes? We must be careful never to mistake a pro-gay stance as pro-choice or progressive.

If you don't agree with me

Who else, other than Damien Rice, can write about a failure in relationships because of issues with gamete? (an excellent breed of gamete disease indeed)

Le Professeur | La Fille Danse

La fille danse
Quand elle joue avec moi
Et je pense que je l'aime des fois
Le silence, n'ose pas dis-donc
Quand on est ensemble
Mettre les mots
Sur la petite dodo

Loving is fine if you have plenty of time
For walking on stilts at the edge of your mind

Loving is good if your dick's made of wood
And the dick left inside only half understood her

Loving is fine if it's not in your mind
But I've fucked it up now, too many times

Loving is good if it's not understood
Yeah, but I'm the professor
And feel that I should know

For my next Christmas

This should be made readily available to me next Christmas.

Silent Night, Broken Night

Silent night, broken night
All is fallen when you take your flight
I found some hate for you
Just for show
You found some love for me
Thinking I'd go
Don't keep me from crying to sleep
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, moonlit night
Nothing's changed
Nothing is right
I should be stronger than weeping alone
You should be weaker than sending me home
I can't stop you fighting to sleep
Sleep in heavenly peace

sung to the tune of Silent Night, Holy Night

PSP with camera

I saw an ad for PSP camera attachments in a train. Probably on the way to Shibuya or Shinjuku.

So it's true! And it's old news!

Think about it

The only reason why you have such high morales on sex is because you are too ugly to be a slut.





And the reason why you are not sleeping around is because you haven't got the balls.

Thaksin had to come

Grabbed the piece of news below from CNA.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo has confirmed that his Thai counterpart Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram spoke to him two or three times in Cebu about former premier Dr Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to Singapore.

Minister Yeo, who is now in Calcutta, was responding to media queries about the Thai Foreign Minister's latest remarks.

Mr Yeo said he had the highest respect for the Thai Foreign Minister.

He explained that while he understood the Thai Government's concern, he also sought Minister Nitya's understanding of the Singapore Government's position.

Minister Yeo had assured the Thai Minister that Dr Thaksin would have no official meeting in Singapore and that his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar would be completely social and private.

The Singapore Foreign Ministry also responded to media queries on the Thai Foreign Minister's reference to President S R Nathan's remark to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Singapore's foreign policy is to be friends with all, including Thailand, and not to jeopardise bilateral relations.

He added that at the same time, Singapore's policy is to accord the normal courtesies to former leaders.

Many former leaders have come by Singapore, and there was never a problem. - CNA

Basically Singapore cannot stop Thaksin from coming. For a variety of reasons.

Moreover, Thaksin has vested interest in Singapore. We all know that he is a businessman first and secondly a politician. He has every reason to be here.

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Like checking on the quality of the beef noodles stall he has in Eunos and the branch in Clementi Seah Im Food Centre (I've been told that this stall is at Seah Im. Verified.



(picture sent to me by my mum who is still in Edinburgh....)

If this news wasn't on Reuters

If this news wasn't featured in the Reuters website, I wouldn't have believed it.

I hope nobody gets offended. All for a laugh. Right? When I mention "Indian" here, I refer to the people from that country, not what is reflected in your IC. Hell, like as if I'm Chinese anyway. I'm Singaporean, first and foremost.

But I am sure everyone remembers the 2006 Reutergate scandal where a Reuter photographer doctored his photos of the Lebanon-Israel conflict.

Find the news here.

Only Virgins Need Apply
It says in the article that about 2 of every 3 young (16-25 years old) Indian men wants to marry a virgin. Well...that's understandable but hardly reasonable given this day and age.

Of the 3 young Indian men, 1.5 of them would have had sex with prostitutes. So Durex, Trojan, Carex, etc take note. Actually, I'm sure they have taken note. Otherwise India should have overtaken China's population in March 1997 (unverifiable claims from general source). So Indian girls take note, if your boyfriend has sex with you before marrying, he probably thinks that you are a prostitute or has no intention of marrying you. If you haven't had sex, it's either you are a) not a prostitute, b) not married. If you've had sex, it's either you are a) a prostitute, b) married, c) reduced your chance of marriage by 60%.

Holding Hands Homosexuality

Very slightly over 1 of every 3 young Indian men, had had a homosexual experience. Ok, things get a little hot in here. I have always assumed that the dark-skinned and moustachioed men walking down Little India hand in hand were Bangladeshis and it was supposedly a common thing for good friends to do. Now I have my doubts. I used to kid people by saying that Bangladesh didn't have good public lighting and alot of uncovered potholes. So by holding hands with friends will reduce the chances of falling into the potholes at night. By being enlightened on this, I now understand why so many Indians have mustache. Do they work out much?

The Need For Better Pay

Well, I hope the bosses in the construction industry pay the foreign talent better so that they can have "make relief" and "sexy time" with females rather than fornicate in their rented bunks with fellow foreign talent, of the same sex. This is as viewed from a public health and safety issue. Either pay them more or the government should relax on the use of domestic helpers from The Philippines an archipelagic state north east of us.

Indian men are getting their "afternoon delights" earlier as well. Instead of the usual tea and cakes, they are having sex younger at 18 instead of 23 from a similar survey 2 years ago.

We Are Family!
The last piece of news, which is probably the most disturbing...Indian girls (and boys, for that matter), beware of your young uncles, fathers, brothers and whatever else in between....there is a 14% chance of you having a sexual experience with them. 14% of thos survey said they had had sex with a member of their own family. Wowee Zowee! Maybe in the 14% are those who ahve paid the pimp the required amount in rupees only to find that their sister (who is the No. 4 prostitute in Calcutta - just like Borat!) is serving them. They do it anyway. Or maybe their mums? MILF? Should be OMILF instead. O = Own. or MMILF. M = My. The poll stated "a member of their own family" without stating the sex (could be male) or age (I don't want to guess).

Have I offended anyone?

Teeth - falling out of; as in a dream

Jados was saying she dreamt about having teeth fall out from her mouth. I was saying that it was an important symbol in dreams. Just that having studied boring Economics in uni, I don't remember what it symbolises.

The other day at the bookshop I chanced upon this book The Dream Bible by Brenda Mallon.

It says of dreams of teeth falling out: Symbolise loss, breaking attachment, moving out or away, take a new direction, separate from partner.

More on teeth falling out.

I want to post something funny

but I can't seem to be able.

Impotent. To say the least.

The singer in tha band made me want to cry

Sometimes songs get forgotten even before they get a chance to be remembered.

There this probably a wealth of such great songs by such great bands but they will never be featured on a popular radio station. Or be found in any jukebox selection.

Camera Obscura's Country Mile.

Traceyanne, vocalist of the band sings,

|Silver Birch against a Swedish sky | The singer in the band made me want to cry | We’re all inside our own heads now | We are leaving new friends | Leaving this town

then she continues with her imagination, oblivious to the fact that the singer in the band is herself.

|I wish you could be here with me | I would show you off like a trophy | The road it winds, it twists, it turns | Oh my stomach burns

Her desperation then begins to show.

|Once again, I’ll be the foolish one | Thinking a blink of these lashes would make you come | Don’t you worry, don’t get in a state | I don’t believe in true love anyway | Who’s being pessimistic now?

She sings about her caring ways (which reminds me of this other song).

|I could document this as our first, as our last row | The more you look forlorn, the more to you I warm

And finally confess to her weakness....

|I won’t be seeing you for a long while | I hope it’s not as long as this country mile | I feel lost...

Time to leave for Sentosa....

Timbre - Timmy

Last night's dinner was at Timbre and I think I've got to start eating less. Way less. After two beers and about 1/3 of a pizza, I ordered a crayfish marinara pasta.

That was followed with another 3 beers.

And a very sleepy me.

There was so much beer we gave away a jug to the "new" people who moved next to our table as well as a friend of yve.

The band was tight (even with a drumming sessionist) and played alot of familiar and radio-friendly tunes. Stereophonics - Dakota, Damien Rice - Volcano, Radiohead - High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Muse - Time Is Running Out, Coldplay - Yellow, Fix You, Mack Rice - Mustang Sally....

The best thing though, has got to be the bill. Mong signed for it with my card.

Yes.

Mong signed. My card.

Hahaha....when will people start noticing? Actually, it's probably not safe to use an un-signed card. Because if I were to lose my wallet now, that's asking for trouble. But then again, seeing how retailers generally do not scrutinise or even check the signatures, who cares really?

Do you think they really give a flying fuck rats ass!?

26/12/06	698.10
LUXOTTICA RETAIL HK LTD - BS 3,453.00 HONG KONG DOLLAR
05/01/07	1204.81
APPLE STORE GINZA -CHUOH-KU TOKYO JAPAN 90,668 JAPANESE YEN
05/01/07	339.43
MAGASIN GENERAL A P C 25,500 JAPANESE YEN
06/01/07	50.49
NARITA AIRPORT TERMINAL JAPAN 3,800 JAPANESE YEN
10/01/07	910.00
BAIZE I CHINA ONE SINGAPORE
13/01/07	53.08
N.Y.D.C (WL) PTE LTD SINGAPORE

The above is my latest credit e-bill. About 3 hours ago V and I had dinner at Sun With Moon in Wheelock. It was a long time since we had dinner there and probably the first Japanese meal since we came back from Tokyo. The total bill came to $49.

The $700 Hong Kong bill was shared with V for three different pairs of sunglasses and spectacle frames. It was having a sale hence the splurge.

Apple Ginza took $1.2K from me. That's for 4 iPod nanos. It's cheaper (by about $50) in Tokyo compared to the RecommendedRetailPrice in Singapore. Not mine.

Magasin General APC was from APC of course. The total price for my New Standards and a pair of Nike + APC tennis shoes was $340. Not too bad considering that frontrow takes in direct from france and it's more expensive in euros. I'm so pleased with my first pair of selvage jeans. I think I will get my sister (who is presently in Edinburgh with my mum) to buy a pair of Nudie jeans for me. I hated wearing jeans in my teenage years right until I was in uni. I guess I am making up for lost time.

At Narita Airport Terminal, I bought myself a T-shirt. Something that I can remember Japan by. Do want to visit the country again. That must be one of my most expensive t-shirt at $50.

Baize| China One was for the part of the ship's dinner bill. Not mine. But it's almost a thousand!

NYDC at Wheelock. Dinner. It's so expensive because I over ordered. Shouldn't have gotten the chicken wings.

That's alot of money spent on my AMEX card. But only about 1/3 or less is actually my own expenses.

Still nobody has noticed that the credit card doesn't have any signatures. So whenever they turn it around to verify the signature, it's all for show.

What I use

I read the RSS feeds I subscribe to on my Bloglines account while browsing with Firefox on my OS X iBook G4.

I would like to upgrade to a Macbook soon. But I am deferring it to when the Leopard (Max OS X 10.5) is out.

Please come out soon. *here pussy pussy*

Interesting thing is this. In North America, Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) means Puma (Max OS X 10.1) and in South America, a Panther is a Jaguar (Max OS X 10.2). Elsewhere in the world a Panther is a Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5)

Moero Attack

Is it some fetish serial?

A gymnasium with more than a dozen Japanese lasses, dressed in skimpy skin tight shorts that will make Paris Hilton blush, knee high socks, all while doing leaps, bounds, taking tumbles, bouncing up and down sweating it out.



What about the Singapore copycat version with Chen Xiuhuan and Chen Liping in the 1980s. The Winning Team!



Who can forget these serials. Young ladies who can leap up into the air, do a front tumble, appear to separate, brew a cup of coffee while re-applying their make up before spiking the volleyball down the opponents' court with a fire-trail. Did I mention that while coming down they finished making a sushi platter?

Confession of Pain during my One Last Dance

My weak, feeble attempt at marrying the two movies I caught with V yesterday. Which was all good, given the terrible weather of late. More of the same today. When was the last time anybody saw blue skies in Singapore?

This is not a movie review. There might be spoilers but they will not change your decision on whether or not you should see the two movies. Long entry but read on if you are interested to find out the link between the two movies.

I should actually begin with Rene Liu's recent quote on what she wants in a man:

I hope there is someone who has that strength to come along, catch me and go, who won't want to second-guess me

The quote above is relevant because I read this quote before leaving V's place for the cinema. There is a new show coming up starring Rene and Louis Koo.

What holds two people together? For Tony Leung's character in Confession of Pain, (I really hate this English movie title. The Chinese title, 伤城, is alot more accurate. There is the imagery of a walled-city built to surround the occupant as a result of hurt that caused wounds that are still waiting to be healed. There are nuances that cannot be translated. It is not that the English langauge is inferior or unable to carry such nuances. They are just different.) it is the hate, that had been formed when he witnessed his family being murdered and his home torched by his wife's father and his accomplices, that drives him to be together with his wife. While what drew Francis Ng's character in One Last Dance (no objection to the English title here) to Vivian Hsu was the ability of the latter to allow him to grasp onto the remaining innocence that is slowly but surely being depleted as the story unraveled.

Relationships form for a myriad of reasons.

I found myself thinking about why Takeshi would have bothered to clean the man who was in a coma on a daily basis since this was the same man whom his girlfriend was waiting for on Christmas Eve in a bar? And also why had Tony Leung likened a relationship to a homicide case? That both takes time and patience.

Takeshi had realised, after five years, that he was not suitable for his girlfriend and their relationship was bound for a downward spiral. She committed suicide when the man she was waiting for that night never turned up. She had two days earlier aborted an unborn child she had with that man. Takeshi thought the unborn child was his. The man failed to turn up because he was in a car crash hence his comatose state. So three years on, when Takeshi finally managed to put all these pieces together, why did he first attempt to smother the man who had impregnated his girlfriend then to take care of him?

Maybe he had come to realise, through his whisky intoxicated awareness, that his guilt had been reduced by this man. He had earlier thought he had neglected his girlfriend who committed suicide by slashing her wrists with a penknife. He was further guilt-strickened when he learnt that she had had an abortion before slicing herself. Hence when he found out that this man, lying in a vegetative state, was the father of the unborn child and possibly the main reason why his girlfriend killed herself, he felt relieved. The man in coma had relieved all his guilt and he was thus grateful. Takeshi could finally lay to rest his ghosts.

Is that plausible?

Confession is largely a story about motivation. It is not a crime thriller because the main crime had already been solved. It was meant to be a spoiler per se to let the audience know that Tony Leung killed his wife's father. What the directors had intended for us was to understand deeper not into the actions but the motivations instead. What drove Tony to plot and kill the murderers of his family? What drove Takeshi to lay slump over whisky each night at the same bar his girlfriend had waited on the night she commited suicide. Which is weird because this action/motivation thing marries the two movies very well.

In One Last Dance, Francis Ng mentioned Kant. Immanuel Kant, philosopher, was notable for his role in Categorical Imperative. Immanuel Kant says that moral acts are the consequences of the unconditional application of general principles. There is no regard for the outcome. Only the motivation.

I think I fuck up my brains too much sometimes.

Have you been reading the BESTSELLERS list?

Some working definitions.....

fic·tion

1.

a. An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented.

b. The act of inventing such a creation or pretense.

2. A lie.

3.

a. A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.

b. The category of literature comprising works of this kind, including novels and short stories.

Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition.

Let's begin.... it's a tad long but I hope it's interesting. I found it interesting to write.

The LifeStyle's compilation of the week's bestseller lists from Borders, Kinokuniya, MPH, Page One, Popular and Times bookstores gives them the weekly BESTSELLERS list in the Sunday Edition of Life! section of The Sunday Times - our national paper's Sunday Edition.

Let's take a look at a past week's list...

Ok, so it's divided into the Fiction and Non-fiction lists (see above for definitions).

Ficition: The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, The Last Templar, The Templar Legacy....wow...so much stuff that is either by Dan Brown or related. Like, who would read about the Templar Knights if not for the Da Vinci Code right? Amazing power of fiction. And Dan Brown himself, except for Digital Fortress and Deception Point, is on the list for 50% of work. Barring from debutants (that'll be 100%), that's pretty good for an author, right?

Alright, let's turn our attention to the Non-fiction list. Hmm....interesting...The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers.....is it just me or does it seem weird? It's like when JK Rowling wrote The Philosopher's Stone and somebody wrote another book related to the truth behind the Philosophers's Stone - surely the latter will be talking about the merits of the Nimbus 2000?

Why should a novel classified as "fiction" warrant a book of answers classified as "non-fiction"? Leave me to my imagination and I will be thinking that since The Da Vinci Code is written about the existence of Jesus and Mary's royal bloodline (hence fiction), thus the "answer" which of course is to say that the bloodline is absolute rubbish would be non-fiction? I'm not questioning anybody's religion. Just the limitations of classifying books under "ficiton" and "non-ficition". Moreover, Dan Brown really believes in what he wrote in The Da Vinci Code. So shouldn't that make his novel a work on non-fiction?

The limitations are even more glaring when you see another example. Two books by Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet In Heaven and Tuesdays With Morrie, simultaneously in the list. That was before he wrote For One More Day. Hence his output is 100% and he is not a debutant. Truly powerful. What's more? He is on both list. But seriously, exactly how many Tuesdays did Mitch spend with Morrie Schwartz? How much of the book was based on real Tuesdays and how much of it was based on figments of imagination? That's still ok actually. Tuesdays With Morrie was marketed as a non-ficiton book. No problem. Nonfiction novel. It's happened before. In Cold Blood by Capote for example.

The most controversial on the list must the the non-fiction chart-topper - Secrets of Self Made Millionaire by Adam Khoo. I mean, seriously? Fiction for some surely?

And if we flip to this morning's Sunday Times, wowee zowee, Mitch Albom's For One More Day is top of the fiction list while his other two books are still on the list. Three books and still 100%. Not only that, he occupies the top two spots on the fiction list. Dan Brown is no where to be found. You've got to give it to him, this former sportswriter named Mitch.

Is he unbelievable or what? (haha...I know, not a very good joke)

The Adam Khoo book is still there. Ok, well, debatable, fiction or not.

But the two chart-toppers of the non-fiction list take the cake - Lillian Too's Get Rich With Water and Feng Shui for 2007: The Year of The Fire Boar by Joey Yap. Well, I suppose since a book written about a personal quest to debunk a work classified as fiction can be on the non-fiction, why not books on Feng Shui?

These retailers had no idea....at all!

Look closely at the retailers below:

As my AMEX card had split, I thought I'd better get myself a new card. So it was delivered to me just before I left for Hong Kong. That'll be about 21 Dec 2006 or so.

Luxottica Retail (some place I bought sunglasses from), Apple Store in Ginza, Tokyo, Magasin General A.P.C in Daikanyama, souvenir shop at Narita Airport Terminal 1, Baize|China One at Clark Quay, The Cannery Singapore and not reflected here, N.Y.D.C at Wheelock all had cashiers who had do not question enough.

Very worrying. Cause the bill at Apple was above 1 thousand SGD. Total bill should be well over 2 thousand.

What's so worrying?

Well, I have not signed on the back of my credit card. So how could they have verified that I did not pick my card up from some place else and made payments through this card. Can't forge the signature cause there isn't any to forge.

Hong Kong: Revisited

The pissing rain that started since I return from Tokyo reminded me of the first days of December in 2006.


I miss the food in Hong Kong. The weather was great. No problem of monsoon surges. I generally miss being away from home, work and familiarity.


I didn't manage to get a picture of Choi Hung MTR station along the Kwun Tong Line. The mosaic is of the colours of the rainbow because Choi Hung (彩红）is Cantonese for rainbow.


Also forgot to take a photo of Tsim Sha Tsui. I always found the name romantic. In a "triad/noir-ish, Hong Kong movie" kind of way. I remember a Hong Kong flick starring Jacky Cheung named To Live And Die In Tsim Sha Tsui (新边缘人 or New Outsider or maybe not). Must have borrowed from the other 1980s movie, To Live And Die In LA.

p.s. lousy photos, I know.

You accompanied me

Today, well, it's passed midnight. So perhaps to say "the past 24 hours" instead would be much more apt.

Well, it's been a fast one. And the next would be no different. But I managed to let these songs fill the much appreciated gaps when I was alone.

And I know | I may end up failing too | But I know | You were just like me | With someone disappointed in you

I'll promise love without end | I'll believe myself | If I can | And like a baby soft and helpless | I won't ask questions | The illusion is lasting | Such beautiful masking | We see it all the time | It's all just varying degrees of con-artistry | But no one seems to mind | No one seems to mind

And for the third song....I can't seem to pick out the one stanza or line that really do the song justice. So here's The Space Between by The Dave Matthews Band in completeness.....

You cannot quit me so quickly
Is no hope in you for me
No corner you could squeeze me
But I got all the time for you, love
The Space Between
The tears we cry
Is the laughter keeps us coming back for more
The Space Between
The wicked lies we tell
And hope to keep us safe from the pain

But will I hold you again?
These fickle, fuddled words confuse me
Like 'Will it rain today?'
Waste the hours with talking, talking
These twisted game we play

We're strange allies
With warring hearts
What wild-eyed beast you be
The Space Between
The wicked lies we tell
And hope to keep us safe from the pain

Will I hold you again?
Will I hold...

Look at us spinning out in
The madness of a roller coaster
You know you went off like a devil
In a church in the middle of a crowded room
All we can do, my love
Is hope we don't take this ship down

The Space Between
Where you're smiling high
Is where you'll find me if I get tickled
The Space Between
The bullets in our firefight
Is where I'll be hiding, waiting for you
The rain that falls
Splash in your heart
Ran like sadness down the window into your room
The Space Between
Our wicked lies
Is where we hope to keep safe from pain

Take my hand
'Cause we're walking out of here
Oh, right out of here
Love is all we need here
The Space Between
What's wrong and right
Is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you
The Space Between
Your heart and mine
Is the space we'll fill with time
The Space Between

Sometimes I worry about forgetting songs that I really like. And when I do hear them again, I realise that I actually missed them terribly. It's weird to me like that. That I didn't actually missed them, not until I realise that they were missed. Sigh....the silly stuff I worry about. No wonder my blood pressure never really went down.

Apple Inc., I do beg your pardon

Apple has dropped the "Computer" off as their last name and is now known as Apple Inc.

In other news (damn....), it was all over Engadgetmobile (with lotsa comments)...

The Apple iPhone, ladies and gentlemen....

Some initial reaction was, "What? No ^%^& 3G?", "No expandable memory slots?" and "No removable battery (cue past Random Access Memories of iPod battery*)....



*Seriously, can anyone think of a lousier joke? Please try.

ChaCha Search and Dogpile

Found these two interesting search engines.

ChaCha uses a "real person" guide to help refine the search results to those that you are really interested in. It really depends on how well defined your search is. You get to chat with the guide who will lead you through the search.

A real life example:

Status: Looking for a guide ...
Status: Connected to guide: TAMONAV
TAMONAV: Welcome to ChaCha!
You: hello
TAMONAV: Are you there?
You: if you are
TAMONAV: Are you looking for a blog by Jackson Pang
You: yes
TAMONAV: I am sorry this is the only blog I can find in regards to your request.
TAMONAV: Would you like to try another guide?
You: that's not even close
Transfer: You are being transfered to another guide who can help you search even better!
Looking for guide ...
Status: Connected to guide: BobbyD
BobbyD: Welcome to ChaCha!
You: maybe you can help better
BobbyD: searching
BobbyD: one moment please
BobbyD: Are these results sufficient?
You: no.
Transfer: You are being transfered to another guide who can help you search even better!
Looking for guide ...
Status: Connected to guide: JerushaC
JerushaC: Welcome to ChaCha!
You: you're my third guide
JerushaC: It appears that you were transferred to me... How can I help you?
JerushaC: lol
JerushaC: Sorry about that.
JerushaC: What is it exactly that you are looking for?
JerushaC: Would you like me to delete the sites that you already received?
You: that'll be great.
JerushaC: So you're looking for Jackson Pangs blog?
You: a blog belonging to some bloke named jackson pang
JerushaC: Okay, I will see what I can do... One moment please...
You: thanks man
JerushaC: You're very welcome
JerushaC: Are these results helpful?
You: you are god aren't you?
JerushaC: lol
JerushaC: No I am not, but I'm glad that I could assist you :D
JerushaC: Is there anything else I could find for you today?
You: that's all. thanks!
JerushaC: You're welcome... Have a wonderful day :D
JerushaC: Please RATE ME. Thanks for using ChaCha.
Status: Session ended.

Another is Dogpile web search. It combines the power of other search engines and gives you all the results from the popular search engines like Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN..... You get results fetched by Arfie - the resident dog. He's a dalmatian born in 2 Jan 1996. That makes him 77 human years old..

Tokyo montage

I don't know how to remember Tokyo by.

The food? - which was fantastic and cheap compared to the Japanese food in Singapore of the same quality.

The people? - who on the surface are so civic-minded and polite but underneath it all, I think they are still human, very much so.

The sights? - at once, old and new, traditional and modern, spacious and cramped.

Perhaps the moments? - when all senses become saturated with novel stimulants that awaken long forgotten awareness.

View of Tokyo from Mori Museum, Roppongi Hills - Tokyo Tower on the right


Busy Tokyo highway as viewed from Mori Museum, Roppongi Hills

Telephone wires in Kamakura

Lantern at Sensoji's Thunder Gate - 340metres to the temple

Torii at Meiji Shrine, evening of New Year's Eve

Shabu Shabu!

Tsukiji Market seafood fare

Sake barrels

Lanterns at Meiji Shrine


Daruma dollsWater purification

Shibuya Crossing - Big Yellow Taxi caught amongst the human traffic

Shibuya Crossing

Big Buddha at Kamakura

Big Buddha at Kamakura

New Year divinations

I am not entirely sure if I just miss traveling or the places that I visit.

Maybe it is true that the journey is more than the destination. But to lead a wandering life, like a vagabond, doesn't quite qualify as an ambition.

Tokyo experiments

Messing around with shutter speed and aperture while on the way from Narita to ANA hotel.





Somehow the pics appeal to me.....