by the way, I forgot to add... I've decided to go to Thailand around either last week of Nov, or 1st week of Dec, and I need travel buddies! The itinerary is roughly Chiangmai, then Bangkok, maybe Phuket/Krabi/Hua Hin/Some beach during the last 2 days, and back to Singapore. I'm also hoping to keep the cost to $600.
Anyone wanna go? Anyone?
Oh, and as a testament to how small this world is? It turns out that Billy Soh knows Benjamin T and his GF from Bizad. Can you believe it??
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Last night went with Necroz to watch an adaptation of 2 of Edgar Allan Poe's stories at the Substation, namely The Tell-Tale Heart and The Masque of the Red Death.
And believe it, the adaptation was carried out by 1 man. With no sound.
Well, they call it a 'visual narrative', and it's something like mime. The man basically acts out the movements and the different characters, without any dialogue. Each character has his own quirks, so for example, if he's standing upright, it's A. If he hunches suddenly, and squeezes one eye shut, it's B. All the actions of the story were mimed by him, with lighting adding to the atmosphere.
And this guy is bloody good. Even with no sound to tell you what's happening, no backdrop to indicate location, you can still follow the story pretty well. Necroz wasn't too familiar with the stories, [I gave her a quick summary about 5 mins before the show started] but she was still able to catch what was going on. Well, most of the time. Some actions just left us wondering..."Huh?"
Amazing the things some people can do for a living.
Also watched the fantastic Facing Windows on VCD just this morning. Hearing that violin strain again... in a passionate crescendo... Sigh... To live for the moment, to catch the opportunity, else lose it forever.
To not be content to merely live, but to demand for a better life.
And believe it, the adaptation was carried out by 1 man. With no sound.
Well, they call it a 'visual narrative', and it's something like mime. The man basically acts out the movements and the different characters, without any dialogue. Each character has his own quirks, so for example, if he's standing upright, it's A. If he hunches suddenly, and squeezes one eye shut, it's B. All the actions of the story were mimed by him, with lighting adding to the atmosphere.
And this guy is bloody good. Even with no sound to tell you what's happening, no backdrop to indicate location, you can still follow the story pretty well. Necroz wasn't too familiar with the stories, [I gave her a quick summary about 5 mins before the show started] but she was still able to catch what was going on. Well, most of the time. Some actions just left us wondering..."Huh?"
Amazing the things some people can do for a living.
Also watched the fantastic Facing Windows on VCD just this morning. Hearing that violin strain again... in a passionate crescendo... Sigh... To live for the moment, to catch the opportunity, else lose it forever.
To not be content to merely live, but to demand for a better life.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Replies to my tags:
Krystal: Er, I donno when I'm flying off again somewhere, ( though I always hope it's the next day ) but it'll prob be around late Nov/Early Dec? Won't be as long as the Europe trip though. This something I might enjoy... Does it have an alcoholic content? Hahaha... Which leads onto...
Slayer: No, I didn't drink anything stronger than a Tiramisu latte on ND itself. The rant was pretty much what I felt about Singapore and Singaporeans all along. Just that this time the occassion was ripe for it.
Candle: I was gonna remind about that course this Sunday. :D Cya then! You wanna meet for lunch before that or just go for the class?
But I did go for one heck of a spending spree on ND though. Bought VCDs for Jeux D'Enfants, [love that show!] and Falling Windows. Then went to a pirated CD shop 2 doors down and bought a CD with Photoshop, Illustrator CS and Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks MX!!! Yee-hah! I feel the geek in me rejoice!
Though the Photoshop program required a password of some kind, and I apparently installed a 30 trial version... bloody hell... then again, getting Dreamweaver and Flash for $10 is more than worth it. Long live the pirates.
Last night I also finished reading the DaVinci Code. Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. If you haven't read the book already, go and read it ALREADY! It's bloody GOOD! Especially if you're a Christian, 'cos the claims in that book concerning the Church... well, the underlying idea seems to be that they're a bunch of "lyin' bastards".
[And I don't use that term lightly. There's a reason why I used it. Go read the book and find out.]
But the disturbing thing is that there are tons of historical research surfacing to defend the ideas that Dan Brown has presented in this book. While some are well-known already, [the tendency of the Church at that time to incorporate pagan images and rituals into Christianity, the supposed birthday of Christ being one] others.... if true, will blow the minds of Christians everywhere. It's that explosive, or so I think.
It's not exactly a stunning work of literature, but the action carries well from page to page, and the ciphers and riddles will be enuff to keep you hooked. Please. Read it already.
Today: Movie marathon of sorts. Discovered father had bought pirated DVD for Spiderman2 while in Johor, and so finally caught this movie. [thank goodness I didn't catch it in the cinemas yet] The show's ok lah, kinda predictable [from watching the trailer] so nothing much new, or engaging.
Then Jeux D'Enfants, for the 2nd time. Loving it all over again, like the French version of RnJ.
Then Goodbye Lenin, which Jubilee finally managed to lend me. This one is certainly intriguing. Alexander's mother falls into a coma just months before East Berlin unites with West Berlin. The doctor warns him that if she suffers another shock, she will certainly die, so Alexander does all he can to reconstruct a Communist Berlin in his little flat, while outside, modernity and capitalism marches on the streets. The methods which he employs are outrageous, including getting a fren to dress up as a TV newscaster to fake news programs to show to his mother.
Eventually, though, his mother does wander out, and he has to 'broadcast' even more sensational news to explain the sweeping social changes outside. The interesting part is that the Socialist Berlin that he uses in his news increasingly become the Socialist Berlin he might have wished for. He begins to broadcast his former hopes and dreams for the former Socialist government, against the bleak backdrop of the modern capitalist state they are in. It is like the voice of the grumpy old man, who is unable to catch up with the present, and can only ramble about, grumbling about the good old days.
Watching it now... I wonder, why didn't I catch it before? Sigh...
Krystal: Er, I donno when I'm flying off again somewhere, ( though I always hope it's the next day ) but it'll prob be around late Nov/Early Dec? Won't be as long as the Europe trip though. This something I might enjoy... Does it have an alcoholic content? Hahaha... Which leads onto...
Slayer: No, I didn't drink anything stronger than a Tiramisu latte on ND itself. The rant was pretty much what I felt about Singapore and Singaporeans all along. Just that this time the occassion was ripe for it.
Candle: I was gonna remind about that course this Sunday. :D Cya then! You wanna meet for lunch before that or just go for the class?
But I did go for one heck of a spending spree on ND though. Bought VCDs for Jeux D'Enfants, [love that show!] and Falling Windows. Then went to a pirated CD shop 2 doors down and bought a CD with Photoshop, Illustrator CS and Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks MX!!! Yee-hah! I feel the geek in me rejoice!
Though the Photoshop program required a password of some kind, and I apparently installed a 30 trial version... bloody hell... then again, getting Dreamweaver and Flash for $10 is more than worth it. Long live the pirates.
Last night I also finished reading the DaVinci Code. Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. If you haven't read the book already, go and read it ALREADY! It's bloody GOOD! Especially if you're a Christian, 'cos the claims in that book concerning the Church... well, the underlying idea seems to be that they're a bunch of "lyin' bastards".
[And I don't use that term lightly. There's a reason why I used it. Go read the book and find out.]
But the disturbing thing is that there are tons of historical research surfacing to defend the ideas that Dan Brown has presented in this book. While some are well-known already, [the tendency of the Church at that time to incorporate pagan images and rituals into Christianity, the supposed birthday of Christ being one] others.... if true, will blow the minds of Christians everywhere. It's that explosive, or so I think.
It's not exactly a stunning work of literature, but the action carries well from page to page, and the ciphers and riddles will be enuff to keep you hooked. Please. Read it already.
Today: Movie marathon of sorts. Discovered father had bought pirated DVD for Spiderman2 while in Johor, and so finally caught this movie. [thank goodness I didn't catch it in the cinemas yet] The show's ok lah, kinda predictable [from watching the trailer] so nothing much new, or engaging.
Then Jeux D'Enfants, for the 2nd time. Loving it all over again, like the French version of RnJ.
Then Goodbye Lenin, which Jubilee finally managed to lend me. This one is certainly intriguing. Alexander's mother falls into a coma just months before East Berlin unites with West Berlin. The doctor warns him that if she suffers another shock, she will certainly die, so Alexander does all he can to reconstruct a Communist Berlin in his little flat, while outside, modernity and capitalism marches on the streets. The methods which he employs are outrageous, including getting a fren to dress up as a TV newscaster to fake news programs to show to his mother.
Eventually, though, his mother does wander out, and he has to 'broadcast' even more sensational news to explain the sweeping social changes outside. The interesting part is that the Socialist Berlin that he uses in his news increasingly become the Socialist Berlin he might have wished for. He begins to broadcast his former hopes and dreams for the former Socialist government, against the bleak backdrop of the modern capitalist state they are in. It is like the voice of the grumpy old man, who is unable to catch up with the present, and can only ramble about, grumbling about the good old days.
Watching it now... I wonder, why didn't I catch it before? Sigh...
Monday, August 09, 2004
*for those wondering, I joined this website, www.wholivesnearyou.com and Billy Soh found me on that website.
In line with the patriotic spirit of the weekend, Happy National Day and Fireworks Viewing to all, with the exception of Yenn and Candle who are waaay too far away to catch them fireworks.
Is that the point of the entire parade? To get a goodie bag and catch the fireworks at the end? Hee...
So what did I do on ND? Nothing too patriotic, other than
1) Wearing a red top
2) Contributing to the economy by shopping with Necroz
3) Listening to Singapore Idol on my handphone on the way home
In fact, if you get the gist of the reports going around on the newspapers, people like me count at the foremost of Lee Hsien Loong's Things To Fix About Singapore List. I'm politically apathetic, cynical and pretty much don' give a damn, as long as I get my prata breakfast in the morning. [k that might be stretching it even for me...] Plus the fact that I'm practically non-existent on the IRAS' and CPF records. [cue to scene of Taxman tearing his hair out, wondering how to get at my money]
But I think the more worrisome part [for the gahmen at least] is the lack of concern of today's Singaporeans in Singapore politics. For most of my generation, we plain don' give a damn, and why should we?
We're conditioned from birth to Respect Your Elders Because They Know Better and Don't Argue With Me Young Man. So fine, you think you're so great, don't bother asking us for help. Hey, what do we know?
We look around and all we see are restrictions on our every movement. Don''t Smoke. Don't Litter. Don't Chew Gum or We'll Spank You. Don't Watch Sex At The City, it's Dirty. Remember all those 'Singapore is a Fine city' T-shirts?
Lastly, why do we wanna take over this country? We'd have to wear something akin to the RI and SJI uniforms all day, sit in boring old Parliament listening to boring old men talk. We'd have to listen to other bratty folks like us complain about how little we're doing for them, whine about how little opportunity they have to make it big, and how much we should be doing in order to make their lives happier.
Position available: Prime Minister of small island state. Tropical climate, good weather, may have to deal extensively with locals.
Hai......... As much as I love Singapore, there are stuff that I would like to see changed. It's like how you hate your room, you wish you could paint it a different colour, you wish it was better, but when your family decides to move.......
I want people to be more open-minded and tolerant of differences. I don't wanna hear about any more stories where Singaporeans complain about cleanliness, hygiene standards, food and overall attitude of people in other countries. I don't wanna see fellow Singaporeans judge other cultures by their own country's standards. Good god, people, the reason why you're in another country is to see something different. If you think Singapore has better toilets, then stay in Singapore and use her toilets, instead of going all the way around the globe.
I want more acceptance of diversity. People in Singapore are so hung up on the herd instinct, it's scary. We're on our way to devoluting to the level of cows. I see this sometimes when adults ask me what I do for a living. "Tuition teacher? What about CPF?" Hallo?? What's the deal with CPF?? Let's get it clear, CPF is not a big cash angpow to you from the gahmen when you retire. CPF is a form of mandatory saving. It's Your Freakin' Money. And if I wanted to have some akin to a CPF account, all I have to do is to open an account with POSB and automatically transfer 20% of my savings to it every month.
Don't talk about interest rates btw. You'd probably get better returns investing in almost anything but CPF.
But my point about herd instinct... We tend to follow each other so much, that we don't know how to break away from the group, and think, "Gee, I don't think it's a great idea to swim through that quicksand pit." Some people don't know how to accept other ways of life. Once you tell them you're doing something different, they frown and tell you to get a job like everyone else. Argh!!! Hallo??? There are about a MILLION people out there who live in cities, don't have CPF, don't have cushy jobs in MNCs, and THEY DO JUST FINE. Gimme a chance before you start condemning me to poverty already!
And stop complaining already! Everything that you don't like being done in Singapore, you complain to the Forum and the style of it is always the same. "I don't like XXXXX and think that the government should ban XXXXX. This would make Singapore a better society." You could insert anything into XXXXX and customise it to your own style. Example:
"I don't like kids playing in the void deck in the afternoon. I think the government should ban kids from playing in the void deck in the afternoon. This would make Singapore a better society."
"I don't like pokemon. The government should ban pokemon. This would make Singapore a better society."
Read through the Forum pages and you're bound to see at least a letter, where someone says that the Government should take steps to blah blah blah and ban blah blah and stop blah from blah blah.
People, please hor. People like you want restrictions on everything under the sun, and then when the restrictions are put in place, you complain that we're not a vibrant city, that we have no freedom.
OF COURSE WE HAVE NO FREEDOM. YOU BLOODY WELL TOOK IT AWAY FROM US WITH ALL YOUR STUPID COMPLAINING. Next time you don't like something, settle it yourself instead of running to the gahmen-papa, sniffing your noses, rubbing your eyes, and wailing. If gahmen-papa can't ( or won't ) do anything, deal with it yourselves! You have a brain, that's supposed to separate you from the rest of the jungle-traipsing apes you know. USE IT FOR A CHANGE.
Stupid, narrow-minded complainers.
But as a balance, there are some things I'm eternally grateful about in Singapore:
Safety. To be able to walk home from the MRT past midnight and not be robbed/mugged/raped/kidnapped/murdered. [the police center nearby might serve as a good deterrent]
An easily understandable subway system. Have you seen the map of the Tube??
The house I live in, the education I've been given, and all other state-subsidised products and services.
A stable government, and a stable environment, with a lack of strikes, bombings, terrorist attacks [we're too small for them to bother] and racist attacks.
And the little things. Prata and teh ping breakfasts. Night Riders that go right into my estate. Trains that work. Short travelling times. Junction 8.
And all my friends and family of course, who will always be there to support me, in good times and bad, in times of sanity, and in times of neuroses. =)
Count on me, Singapore.
We are Singapore, We are Singapore...
In line with the patriotic spirit of the weekend, Happy National Day and Fireworks Viewing to all, with the exception of Yenn and Candle who are waaay too far away to catch them fireworks.
Is that the point of the entire parade? To get a goodie bag and catch the fireworks at the end? Hee...
So what did I do on ND? Nothing too patriotic, other than
1) Wearing a red top
2) Contributing to the economy by shopping with Necroz
3) Listening to Singapore Idol on my handphone on the way home
In fact, if you get the gist of the reports going around on the newspapers, people like me count at the foremost of Lee Hsien Loong's Things To Fix About Singapore List. I'm politically apathetic, cynical and pretty much don' give a damn, as long as I get my prata breakfast in the morning. [k that might be stretching it even for me...] Plus the fact that I'm practically non-existent on the IRAS' and CPF records. [cue to scene of Taxman tearing his hair out, wondering how to get at my money]
But I think the more worrisome part [for the gahmen at least] is the lack of concern of today's Singaporeans in Singapore politics. For most of my generation, we plain don' give a damn, and why should we?
We're conditioned from birth to Respect Your Elders Because They Know Better and Don't Argue With Me Young Man. So fine, you think you're so great, don't bother asking us for help. Hey, what do we know?
We look around and all we see are restrictions on our every movement. Don''t Smoke. Don't Litter. Don't Chew Gum or We'll Spank You. Don't Watch Sex At The City, it's Dirty. Remember all those 'Singapore is a Fine city' T-shirts?
Lastly, why do we wanna take over this country? We'd have to wear something akin to the RI and SJI uniforms all day, sit in boring old Parliament listening to boring old men talk. We'd have to listen to other bratty folks like us complain about how little we're doing for them, whine about how little opportunity they have to make it big, and how much we should be doing in order to make their lives happier.
Position available: Prime Minister of small island state. Tropical climate, good weather, may have to deal extensively with locals.
Hai......... As much as I love Singapore, there are stuff that I would like to see changed. It's like how you hate your room, you wish you could paint it a different colour, you wish it was better, but when your family decides to move.......
I want people to be more open-minded and tolerant of differences. I don't wanna hear about any more stories where Singaporeans complain about cleanliness, hygiene standards, food and overall attitude of people in other countries. I don't wanna see fellow Singaporeans judge other cultures by their own country's standards. Good god, people, the reason why you're in another country is to see something different. If you think Singapore has better toilets, then stay in Singapore and use her toilets, instead of going all the way around the globe.
I want more acceptance of diversity. People in Singapore are so hung up on the herd instinct, it's scary. We're on our way to devoluting to the level of cows. I see this sometimes when adults ask me what I do for a living. "Tuition teacher? What about CPF?" Hallo?? What's the deal with CPF?? Let's get it clear, CPF is not a big cash angpow to you from the gahmen when you retire. CPF is a form of mandatory saving. It's Your Freakin' Money. And if I wanted to have some akin to a CPF account, all I have to do is to open an account with POSB and automatically transfer 20% of my savings to it every month.
Don't talk about interest rates btw. You'd probably get better returns investing in almost anything but CPF.
But my point about herd instinct... We tend to follow each other so much, that we don't know how to break away from the group, and think, "Gee, I don't think it's a great idea to swim through that quicksand pit." Some people don't know how to accept other ways of life. Once you tell them you're doing something different, they frown and tell you to get a job like everyone else. Argh!!! Hallo??? There are about a MILLION people out there who live in cities, don't have CPF, don't have cushy jobs in MNCs, and THEY DO JUST FINE. Gimme a chance before you start condemning me to poverty already!
And stop complaining already! Everything that you don't like being done in Singapore, you complain to the Forum and the style of it is always the same. "I don't like XXXXX and think that the government should ban XXXXX. This would make Singapore a better society." You could insert anything into XXXXX and customise it to your own style. Example:
"I don't like kids playing in the void deck in the afternoon. I think the government should ban kids from playing in the void deck in the afternoon. This would make Singapore a better society."
"I don't like pokemon. The government should ban pokemon. This would make Singapore a better society."
Read through the Forum pages and you're bound to see at least a letter, where someone says that the Government should take steps to blah blah blah and ban blah blah and stop blah from blah blah.
People, please hor. People like you want restrictions on everything under the sun, and then when the restrictions are put in place, you complain that we're not a vibrant city, that we have no freedom.
OF COURSE WE HAVE NO FREEDOM. YOU BLOODY WELL TOOK IT AWAY FROM US WITH ALL YOUR STUPID COMPLAINING. Next time you don't like something, settle it yourself instead of running to the gahmen-papa, sniffing your noses, rubbing your eyes, and wailing. If gahmen-papa can't ( or won't ) do anything, deal with it yourselves! You have a brain, that's supposed to separate you from the rest of the jungle-traipsing apes you know. USE IT FOR A CHANGE.
Stupid, narrow-minded complainers.
But as a balance, there are some things I'm eternally grateful about in Singapore:
Safety. To be able to walk home from the MRT past midnight and not be robbed/mugged/raped/kidnapped/murdered. [the police center nearby might serve as a good deterrent]
An easily understandable subway system. Have you seen the map of the Tube??
The house I live in, the education I've been given, and all other state-subsidised products and services.
A stable government, and a stable environment, with a lack of strikes, bombings, terrorist attacks [we're too small for them to bother] and racist attacks.
And the little things. Prata and teh ping breakfasts. Night Riders that go right into my estate. Trains that work. Short travelling times. Junction 8.
And all my friends and family of course, who will always be there to support me, in good times and bad, in times of sanity, and in times of neuroses. =)
Count on me, Singapore.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)