Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Singles

Let me,in my usual annoying habit,talk about something that is totally unrelated to the title of this post first.Of course,the reason why this discourse is not written in another post is because it's too short to warrant one but anyway,I just installed Microsoft's SP 2 for Windows.Yes,all 100MB of it.The download rate for the package is so slow,it took me over 2 hours just to download and install the bloody monster.I am using broadband.Well,I am sure there are a lot of changes that SP 2 brings with it but I rather suspect one of those will be that Big Brother is watching my every step now...but maybe I'm just being paranoid.But one of the irritating features,as those who keeps track of this update will know very well,is the fact that pop-up windows are now automatically blocked.Which is supposed to be a good thing...but it blocks just about everything.Including the pop-up comments windows on blogs and that is very irritating.It also prevents IE from opening another site on a new window.You have to manually disable the feature for each window.Of course,you can disable the whole thing permanently but one is rather weary of the stuff which we don't want to see pop-up...hmmm,weird,that almost sounds naughty.

It's becoming more and more unbearable to be a single on this tiny island state.There is the incessant amount of brainwashing on the telly,papers and other media.Have you seen the articles on the papers exhorting the virtues of SDU and how it is hip and cool and so very happening?It is so effective that I just rejoined the damn thing.Me and my weak mind.I hope they have some good cheap overseas travel programme.Oh,some time back,I think there was some TV advertisement talking about the wonderful feelings of being with a loved one...of starting a family...full of lovey dovey images.Phew.I guess the reason they stopped could be because the number of people suffering from diabetes suddenly shot up from all the saccharine shown on TV.And did any of you catch the special Singles section in the Today newspaper.The main point of the whole section is....YES,it's alright,no make that good,to use dating services.Even if the registration fee is $650(I am talking about the lowest commercial rate in town).I do earn a good living but hey,I've got better ways to throw money away.SDU only charges $20 you know(Sorry,Luna Esa,it is $20.You were right,I was wrong.Blame the website.)

Now now now.Before any of you accuse me of being cynical.I digress.I truly appreciate the feeling of being with a loved one.Of being able to share your happiest and worst times with that special someone who is there to share your joy and is there to support you when you need it.Likewise,you'd also be there for her/him when she/he needs you.Give and take.Love and be loved.This is a feeling nothing else in the world can give you and it is a feeling everybody should be able to enjoy and bask in.My only contention is,we don't need an advertising blitz to tell us that.Let us take our time and stop reminding us about it.There is a time for love and a time to be alone.When we are alone,maybe we just haven't met that someone or we just haven't earned it yet.But when the time comes for love,you'd know.Could take months...years...or worse,days but you'd know.I am not quite sure now why it's "important"(so government) to be proactive to meet people but at least,it's important(without the " ")to take the initiative when you find someone you like.That I know.What's my point?We already know what you want to say so stop forcefeeding us anymore of these messages!!!I've had it about up to my neck about this crap.Irritating.

It's not as if singles have it easy on this island state.How many of you have had the misfortune of having relatives or parents ask you about when you are going to find a girl/boyfriend and settle down?I've had a barrage of that and in my hour of need,I've always found that my Optic Blast is not working so I can only offer a weak smile.Cyclops is useless without his eyes,you know.And there is this particualrly irritating relative of mine who always likes to showcase her son,about how capable he is(officer in the navyduring his NS.So what?Killed some Indon pirates on his tour of duty,is it?!You guys are just like us army guys.Only you chow keng on a boat and we chow keng in our bunks),how he is so good in his studies(HELLO!Are you from Harvard or Cambridge huh?),how he worked internship and then worked full-time in a big MNC(he quitted later because he could not "handle the pressure"...hmmmm)and worst of all,how he's got a girlfriend and he's planning to marry(he's younger than me).Argh,I hate when they go,"Hey,XXX has a girlfriend and is looking to get married,where's your girlfriend?"Well,I am waiting for Jennifer Lopez to divorce so shut up already.Who and who are getting married have absolutely nothing to do with me so don't draw the links.You don't see me lamenting about how come I have relatives like you and not Bill Gates or LKY,do you?

Stranger still are the questions from friends.Some of them are just being concerned,of course, and have our best interests at heart.To those,I say,help us out by introducing some people to us.And if you can't,just let us be.Being single is not necessarily being unhappy.The unhappy days only come sporadically a year...note February 14th especially.Some of them are just kaypoh and just want to barge their noses into our private matters.To those,I say,go watch Singapore Idol.Those fellows crave your attention more than us.Could there be a third category who just want to somehow tease us for their own twisted perverse enjoyment?If there are,I say...things that are unprintable.To those still single,I say a word of encouargement,take your time and don't worry too much.That special someone will come and it's not always up to you.Even if you never had/have a relationship before and you're 30 or whatever,what does it really matter?I know there are a lot of people who feel that the fact that they never had a relationship throughout their lifes makes them a failure or at least feel like one.It doesn't,mates,it doesn't.

I think singles have had it hard enough here already.Look,we can't even buy flats until we are 35.They relaxed the rules a little yesterday I know (but they raised the bar in terms of getting loans)but did any of you watch the news last night when they asked some people on the streets about their thoughts on the rule relaxation?One moron actually said that it was unfair.They should not relax the rules.If singles want to buy property,they should buy private property.Leave the public housing for the needy.Huh?Brother,what are you talking about?Needy?What does that got to do with singles?The IMH didn't have a bed for you so they let you roam around town?Go drown yourself in a bathtub,brother.I didn't even know we faced discrimination from the public now.

Look,at the end of the day,I understand that declining birthrate is a concern.But it IS a concern in all developed countries(except the US.And you know how they avert that?Immigration policies...continuous renewal)so we are not the unique ones.We are certainly unique in our proposed solution though.Brainwash,brainwash,brainwash.Well,what if that doesn't work,what are you going to do next?Fine us?Cane us?Or capital punishment?You know what I propose then.Jail us in unisex prisons.We'd have babies behind bars.Howzat?The real solution should still be immigration policies even if there seems a general Sinagpore reaction to "stigmatise" these PRs.We don't want them here.They take our jobs.They attract(particularly the ang mohs) our girls awayThey have no loyalty when a war breaks out.My counterpoints will be then...of course they'd take your jobs,you silly bugger.What do you expect?They don't have to work,is it?They attract our girls?You can always got back out there and try to bag yourself an ang moh babe and a Chinese babe,right?They have no loyalty?In the case of a war,who's to say YOU won't be the one who runs?Bah...

Final word:Give the singles a break.

The Day That Never Was

If any of you have read some of the connecting blogs to this blog,you'd know by now that for the new civil service five-day work week scheme,the off-in-lieu for the civilian officers is only 1/2 day instead of the full day as stipulated by the "official" directive.Where did the other half-day go?Or was it the half-day that never was?I have no idea.After shifting from cubicle to cubicle talking about it,I am actually kind of convinced that the manpower sid ehave got their sums right although there is still something sinister,twisted and immoral about the whole affair.Immoral?Yes,of course it is.Especially if the rest of the civil service gets their one day off.Oh well,the world was never moral to begin with.

I am still kond of amused by the whole thing actually.Don't ask me why.My twsited little mind has been functioning on autopilot for almost two weeks now and no on eseems to have discovered that.Everything I say and every reaction I make seems more like a reflex action than something my mind actually processed.This is quite amazing actually.Oh,and it feels strangely good.It's not because things are actually good but I just feel good for no obvious.I seem to be on natural opiates.I can smile at anything.Yeah,I think I'm losing my mind.

Before I lose my mind further and degenerate in to a slobbering version of my former self(which would resemble the looks of my management staff),I will continue with two more characters from the Office X-Men universe.A slightly revised one.One member of our branch whom I named Mystique has turned over a new life...so she rejoins the X-Men now as a full-time member.Ok,I let her rejoin because I am Cyclops and what Cyclops says,counts.The mantle of Mystique will be taken on by a more worthy opponent.

Nightcrawler:Formerly Mystique,this member is now Nightcrawler.Nightcrawler is a mutant with the ability to teleport herself (the original Noghtcrawler is a male but we got to move with the times.Equality for sexes.Girls have to take on the ugly roles too sometimes.Seriously if a Sesame Street character can get AIDS(naughty,naughty muppet),Nightcrawler can go for a sex change too.There seems to be an awful lot of that going around since Magneto)anywhere she wnats and at any time.So she can suddenly just appear next to you.And our Nghtcrawler,you hardly ever see her around during normal working hours.She just pops up here and there and everywhere the least you expect it.Truly a teleporter.

Mystique:Mystique is the designate head of the C-branch a.k.a The Linguist.Mystique is a mutant metamorph.She can cause herself to look and sound like an exact duplicate of anyone she wants.Which makes her dangeous as it makes her an unknown quantity.She can be good or bad or anybody she wants to be with us but we never know her true self...maybe until it is too late?Scary thought.Indeed,she lives up to the name Mystique because she is truly mysterious.In the comics,Mystique is actually the second-in-command to Magneto.Here,she's top dog.Obviously a high-flyer who gets promoted rather quickly...more quickly than Rogue anyway.

Here,here,it's almost 5:30 now and it's almost time to pack up and go.I've had a fun day.Now time to go home and do some work.

Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants Part 1

I think I'd have to cut straight to the chase here.These fellows are likely to be peripheral characters anyway so the justifications of their characterisations may not be sound.But hey,I don't know them well anyway so I have to make do with what I can find out through our monthly broadcast of newbies...and my own biases.Here goes...

Toad:Toad is the former character I called Chewbacca in some other place.I can't really say I have great reason for naming him as such besides his dark,brooding looks.To some,he might be a poor man's version of a Benicio Del Toro with his deep-set.To me,he just looks like Toad.But no,he doesn't crouch.Toad is known for his leaping abilities,well,he just leaped into our department and sure don't know what he is in for,joining the Brotherhood.Or did he?I have no idea.Anyway,in the comics,Toad actually has a surprisingly great knowledge of advanced technology, thanks to his studies of machinery(remember he was repairing something in the first scene he appeared in the X-Men movie when Sabretooth failed in his mission to abduct Rogue?).In his introduction,Toad mentioned he likes to tune cars...

Mastermind:Mastermind is the newest scholar in the office.Mastermind did not appear in the X-Men movies but he is one of the original Brotherhood members.He is a mutant with the power of illusion casting.He can psionically cause other people to see, hear, touch, smell, and/or taste things which to not actually exist.He can make himself seem invisible.Now,ask yourself,have you actually noticed him around?he's being here for a while,you know.How does he make himself disappear around the office just like that?My guess?He must have the ability to create illusions.Maybe he's the one who's trapping Rogue inside her tiny cubicle since we have not heard from her for a long time.He has deceived her into believing there are no doors in or out of her office and that there are no doctors in Singapore.So despite being ill,she has not taken MCs for a long time.

The Blob:The Blob is the current head of the C-branch.Again,he is not a character that appears in the movies.In the comics,Blob is an extremely obese mutant villain in the comics,whose mutant powers relate to the mass, strength, resilience and indestructibility of his obese body.His primary ability is to become virtually immovable at will.I guess that is why he is immovable from his office.The Blob's body has several unusual properties.The first is its superhuman resistance to injury. The fat tissues that comprise the Blob's epidermis are able to absorb the impact of all kinds of projectiles,including arrows.The larger of these projectiles recoil from his body at one half the force of impact.The smaller one imbed themselves in his layers of fat tissue, enabling him to eject them by merely flexing his muscles.That is how he survives all the arrows from the upper management.

Monday, August 30, 2004
New Office X-Men Characters

Life for the Office X-Men is becoming increasingly grim as more and more of the Original Office X-Men leave the fold.Now,surrounded by the darkness of the hostile Office environment,the swelling ranks of the evil Brotherhood of Evil Mutants have taken over control of the world.Wait,that should theoretically be the Sisterhood of Evil Mutants.Although still led by the evil mutant Magneto,there is a unusual twist to the tale.Magneto has ungone a SEX CHANGE.He is a SHE now.GASP.And knowing that wearing a cape in office would maker her look ridiculous,she has elected to grow her hair long...so that she can sway it just like a cape.The evil genius.But the Office X-men know better and saw through her disguise.We even know her preferred brand of shampoo.Pantene.Make no mistake about it.No other shampoo can keep the strands of your hair in place like that to sway like a cape.Here are three new characters introduced into the Office X-Men universe,take a long,hard look at them.They will feature very often.

Magneto:As I just mentioned,Magneto has,for some reason,undergone,a sex change and become a female.Unfortunately a not very alluring one.But I'm sure the plastic surgeons have done their best.Anyway,magneto retains much of her powers as before.She has the ability to shape and manipulate magnetic fields,this magnetic attraction seems to attract a lot of naive Brotherhood of Evil Mutants lackeys into doing her bidding.Maybe she's controlling the iron in their bodies.Amazing.This ability to control magnetci fields also seems to give her some sort of ability to generate electronic impulses.And she uses this to devastating effect...by generating ELECTRONIC MAILS.She frequently bombards her enemies with these mails to pound them into surrender.Oh,did you know that Magneto actually has some minor psychic skills?She can actually read minds on a basic level.But it is useless against the X-Men.She can only read the minds of less intelligent beings...like ADs and Ds.

Professor X:Professor X is Uncle Mac.He is the oldest living specimen in the office and has much work experience in the outside world.Just the way Prof X should be.Unfortunately he is also as useless as Prof X.Despite possessing immense psionic abilities,he chooses to use much of these abilities generating dreams...while he is sound asleep on his wheelchair during lunch.He is also a highly immobile worker.Despite repeatedly stating his desire to give up the crime-fighting life in the office,he's still stuck in his wheelchair in the office talking about it.He's so immobile,he can't quit and move out of the office.Well actually,he rarely even goes out for lunch anyway.

Sabretooth:Sabretooth is the biggest guy in the office.He's even bigger than Colossus.That is scary.One of the lackeys of Magneto,Sabretooth is unfortunately,not much of a threat to the X-Men.This is because of his repeated desire to turn over a new life and join the X-Men.But the evil Magneto will not let go...and the X-Men are still pondering about him.He might form a good partnership with Wolverine.Being the same kind of mutants.According to the psychic readings and actual witnessing of Prof X about Sabretooth,sabretooth has limited linguistic skills and writes bad grammar.He also has limited thinking skills and analytical abilities.Just the way he is in the movies then.I should know too.I've seen Sabretooth's dismal work first hand.

The rest of Magneto's lackeys has not been named yet.But they are plenty and they will unveiled in time to come as the Office X-Men attempt to find out about their abilities.Pray hard for the X-Men.The forces of evil have grown strong in the office as more and more X-Men depart.Storm will be leaving the fold by the end of the year,no doubt,to return to her African village to do counselling.Cyclops is having a weak mind as he continues to entertain thoughts of abandoning the fray.The numbers of the Brotherhood continues to swell as each day goes by.In time,the Office X-Men will find themselves besieged...if not already.The end is nigh...

This sounds like The Lord Of The Rings.

Saturday, August 28, 2004
Bourne Suprerior But Not Supreme

I went into the screening of The Bourne Supremacy hassled and disoriented.Today had been a workday for me(potentially the last Saturday I'd work here...yippee)and I had already arrived in office late after waking up late.And then our God elected to conduct a surprise manpower audit check on the department after finding the mere mortals on his floor not around during his rounds(they were downstairs for breakfast).Despite that,I took a risk and decided to knock off early at 12:30(it's supposed to be 1)to catch the Supremacy at Jubilee...but that was,of course,after the audit was conducted.Unless they did a second one.Well,needless to say I arrived into the cinema hall late and missed the opening five minutes or so.

Having come late,I elected to sit in any seat I could find.Bad mistake.I walked up a flight of stairs and sat down quickly because I couldn't see a thing.Six rows from the front.The screen was horrendously huge.Cursing,I made a move quickly to a further row back when the screen was showing a brighter scene(the opening scene was a night ops so it was very dark).Still the screen was huge.Heck.I'm not moving anymore.

Argh,what was to follow was one of the most uncomfortable sequences I have watched in a cienma in a long time.No,there weren't any grisly scenes.It's worse.Director Paul Greengrass elected to do a Blair Witch on the audience and was using so many hand-held shots,I was having a massive headache 15 minutes into watching the movie.It didn't help of course i missed the opening scenes and didn't catch what was going on.No problems.I didn't miss much.I think Jason Bourne hasn't even appeared in his first scene yet.But the hand-held camera shooting,it was to become a familiar technique that the director employed throughout the film.The fight scenes go in a blur...as do some of the chase scenes.If you want to watch this movie,do NOT sit near the screen.If you can't get a seat near the rear,DON'T watch it.I am warning you now.Ok,back to the movie.

A CIA operation headed by Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) to purchase classified Russian documents is blown by a rival agent(Karl Urban),who kills two agents in the process and frames Jason Bourne(Matt Damon)for the job.He then shows up in the sleepy seaside village in Goa where Bourne and Marie(Franka Potente)have been living under assumed names--the pair collapse their lives and head out.Bourne,who promised retaliation should anyone from his former life attempt contact,is forced to once again take up his life as a trained assassin to survive and find out about the truth and his past.Simple storyline really.No real twists unless you count a hidden secret of Bourne's past,which he sees in short flashbacks but can't remember in its entirety.

Matt Damon is very believable as Bourne.He's gives the role an everyman appeal and he elects to not play Bourne in a flashy manner,which is correct.Bourne is trying to lie low,that's no chance he's going to do flashy stuff.And the way he goes about achieving his objectives with methodical coolness(Damon is mostly stony faced or pissed,which is fairly accurately done as well)makes him out to be a believable government sanctioned killer as well.Damon is suited for this.Ordinary yet smart and lethal.And later,upon finding out about his past,with a tinge of regret.Well-played.Potente is wasted here.Her character is bummed off very early in the film.A little more of her certainly wouldn't have hurt the film.Joan Allen is good as well.She's a two-time Oscar nominee so she didn't get nominated for no reason.Here,she's a strong character,with smarts to go.Suits her actually.

The film itself glosses over so many international locations,I didn't really keep track.Naples,Amsterdam,Berlin,Moscow and New York.It goes all over the place(but if you find out about the truth,it seems Berlin was masquerading as every place else) often.What he does is pile on the action in a fast and furious pace.Of course,there is room for talk to further the plot but the action takes centrestage.I like the action scenes,I'd concede.They are done...in a kind of,matter-of-factly manner.Not extremely flashy.Just good old-styled wham-bam car chases and fist-fights and this is good standard old-fashioned action fare that is believable,up to a certain point.I'd rather they do something like this than pile on the CGI and commit overkill.I just couldn't stand the Blair Witch shooting the director elects to use though.You'd need a bottle of aspirin and slow-mo just to get through the fury of images and to figure out what is happening.

I've to say one thing.Jason Bourne is an awesome spy.And if spies should aspire to be anyone,it should be Bourne.Forget about Jmes Bond.This Bourne is ordinary looking(so he doesn't attract attention),lethal(he dispatches people like they are blown-up dolls),technologically savvy(look at the way he cloned a contact list from a phone...God,he is GOOD),observant(he spots someone wearing the "wrong" attire and knows somethign is wrong immediately)and clever(look at the way he improvises on a toaster for his own purpose).He is also a good stunt driver to boot.Although he doesn't have luck with his ladies,which is what James Bond has.What does Bond know anyway?He can't fight,doesn't know how to operate gadgets(it's Q,not him)and the only skills he has is how to make mighty love.Of course that might actually make him more believable...after all,just being good in bed is a lot easier than all the stuff Bourne does.But one thing though,both are superd athletes.Bourne illustrates this by the amount of running and jumping he does.Bond demonstrates this by the amount of time he spends between the sheets.Marathon runners.Both.

The Bourne Supremacy is a competent action thriller and affords a good time to its audience.Watch it for a reasonable good time.Or you might watch it for a headache.3 out of 5.

Friday, August 27, 2004
Abe Lincoln The Easy Rider

Mercy Mercy ESPN

So it's hit the forntpage news now,the dispute between ESPN Star Sports (ESS for short...sounds like @rse,doesn't it?) and Starhub and the payment of broadcast rights in Singapore. So for the past three months,the two good corporations could not agree on a price for the braodcast rights in Singapore.The good hosts of ESS (or ESS-hosts for short) decide they want SIX times the what they used to charge for showing us potboilers like Norwich vs. Crystal Palace(no disrespect to fans of these two teams here...if any).Starhub,of course,believes that they should not be held to ransom and must consider what prices consumers would be prepared to pay for their sports programme.So you undercharged for your sports group channels huh?Hahah,heng ah...we must be damn lucky to be underpaying for all those endless reruns of the same matches.(How mnay times can you show Man Utd vs. Norwich in a week...even allowing for the number of infantile Man Utd fans around).Sheesh...this is the first time I am revealing my anti-Man Utd setiments yeah?Revelations come the least you expect it.Trust me on this.

Apparently,the ESS-hosts say that "enough is enough" and we will not broadcast in the name of goodwill again until we get paid our dues.So the blackout starts this weekend and we don't care.Of course not,dudes.You are bleeding through your noses in this one.You paid £100 million for it,so how can you be shortchanged?No no no.That is just not right.So you would prefer either Starhub pay your price or you don't get paid AT ALL?After three months,I am sure you know what's Starhub's stand is,right?No chance.Now of course,Strahub could bring the costs down to the consumers and make them pay for it but 6 times?Hahah,I'd rather watch the S-League,you silly buggers.On a brighter,we now know how Steven Gerrard gets paid.We pay you,Mr Gerrard and all you Premiership "superstars",so nexct time if you ever come down to Singapore,at least afford us a smile and an autograph.That's especially talking to you lads,Man Utd ingrates.

Starhub,now,I don't whether to fault you guys or praise you guys.The negotiations went on for three long months and you guys didn't have the common sense to actually tell the subscribers who is happening?Great PR!Whoever is doing your corporate communications should get their severance pay immediately.Whoever taught you guys to treat customers this way?I have to backtrack though and applaud you guys refusing to be held to ransom by the ESS-hosts over their price increase.The reason why other countries are able to solve their issues so quickly must be because they have huge markets and hence is able to pass down small price increases to the customers who won't notice the increase(I think this is the theory but I might be wrong).or maybe they just have suprerior negotiating skills?Anyway,in Singapore,you can't.The market here is just not big enough.

So while the two corporate big-guns go hammers and tongs at each other,we,the fans who are the small fry in the pool,have to suffer in silence.We have to watch by the sidelines while they talk about price and we stare at blank screens...and watch reruns of past seasons.There is nothing much we can do about it,can we?Except by cancelling our subscriptions to the sports group channels (or maybe even the whole Starhub package)and jsut watch Spanish football on TV 5.Or like I mentioned earlier,the S-League.And we can of course always pen poison letters to the press,exhorting the commendable values of big business sports programming and their considerations to the ordinary consumer.Well-done,ESS and Starhub,hell of a job alienating fans all over Singapore.You'd be the top-most favourite brands of 2004,I assure you.

Just Stop Eating Eggs

I have read about the issue of egg prices and consumption in the major newspapers for the past few days and almost felt bemused about the siruation right now about the "panic".Rightly,the egg (if not the chicken) merchants/wholesalers have felt that their livelihood is threatened as they are unable to get their hands on alternative sources of supplies.Many are bemoaning the fact that they now have to rely on selling slated duck eggs instead and cannot do this for much longer.I sympathise them really.Hope that they find some way of overcoming this as soon as possible.Maybe we could get supplies from Indonesia?Well,it is just a thought.ProbablyAVA might have already looked at this anyway.

Anyway,I was bemused not by this but by the bout of frantic buying that Singaporeans have gone into.Clearing the supermarket shelves of eggs so that WOW,we have an egg famine.Can you believe that?I told my American cousin J and she was laughing her head off.So now we got to pay 40 cents for an Australian egg and no less than 25 cents or more for a local one.Mind you,we are probably talking about the smaller ones.So those who didn't rush out to buy are paying the price literally.I just ahve one question,why do you need so many eggs at home?I am sure those who went into a frantic buying mode bought at least two trays each,which makes it 24 eggs.Do you really need so many eggs in a week?Don't people know that eggs can turn bad fairly quickly,even if you keep it in the fridge?So they're gonna eat eggs everyday because of the ban and well,they can't keep them for too long anyway?Wow,what logic!Well,at least they don't have to buy those expensive NZ,Aussie eggs for the moment...yes,for the moment.

Actually I have a live case-study here.My mum (or dad,don't know which one) also panicked and went out to NTUC and bought...gasp THREE trays of eggs right after the ban was announced.36 EGGS!MY GOD.The egg tray in the fridge wasn't enough to hold all the eggs so there is still one tray in its original packaging in the fridge.And you know what my mum did?She elected to cook three whole days of egg dishes and I was like...ARRRRRRGH.The first day,it was two sunny-side-ups for each person.The second day,it was fried eggs with onions.The third was sunny-side-ups again and si gua (I don't know what they call it in English) with eggs. Wow...*#$%.On the third day,I rebelled and refused to eat the sunny-side-up she cooked.She wasn't pleased and called me weird.I told her will not pay the price for the ridiculous things she does.Well,she stopped yesterday and fried chicken wings instead.Hahahah...one of my favourites.See if you say what you really mean to your parents,you will get compensated.

Another entertaining story I read from TNP from how Singaporeans said that they couldn't live without eggs...how their fried carrot cakes must come with extra eggs and blah blah blah.Some were complaining and some said boh bian,can't help it.Can't live without eggs?Oh my god.Am I really the weird one or are these guys the weirdoes?Can't one stop eating eggs for a while?!Come on!As some other level-headed guy/gal interviewed in the newspaper said,there's always vegetables,luncheon meat,fish...whatever else to eat.Why must you eat eggs?Of course I can understand if one says one can't AVOID eating dishes with eggs as an ingredient...but what these fellows are saying that they must have eggs.

I hope this continuing saga about the ban ends soon.I can understand the AVA's stand but hope they do a review soon.The Malaysians themselves are still eating their onw chickens and eggs and we are pushing the panic button more urgently than them.I thought they should trigger some kind of filtering system to ensure that sources of supplies are not from infected areas and also do stringent checks on the supplies but maybe it's too much work involved.I don't know.Whatever it is,come up with a solution.People's livelihoods are at stake here.

Well,what this exposes really is how dependent we are on Malaysia.Don't kid ourselves.They refuse to seel eggs to us and we'd die.They refuse to sell vegetables to us and we'd die(Don't talk about Batam...how many of you have eaten those?And how many varieties of vegetables do they have?).Ditto fresh chickens.God,we are at their mercy.Spare us,our dear Malaysian brothers.You sell us food and we,erm,shop at JB,gamble and lose at Gentings(until we have our own casino and lose our own money at our backyard)and visit Malaysia for the fabulous food you have.You do one thing for us,we do three in return for you.That is the sign of a good neighbour.

Thursday, August 26, 2004
Little Acts Of Kindness/Make It Easy On Yourself

Little acts of kindness
Make us all feel better
Unexpected flowers
Unrequested letter

So when somebody calls you
Give a friendly answer
And when somebody fails to call
Remember that we've all been there before

Little acts of kindness
Ill-conceived and reckless
Stay in bed this morning
Let me make you breakfast

So when somebody needs you
Do your best to help them
Cos when somebody needs your help
Remember - well, we've all been there before

Little acts of kindness
Little things you can do
Helping those with blindness
Saying "please" and "thank-you"

Making cups of coffee
Giving friends your Rolo
Going to the offy
Feeding horses Polos

Keeping your bedroom neat
Giving children Dairylea
Putting down the loo seat
Doing work for charity

_________________________________________________________


If you really love him and there's nothing that I can do
Don't try to spare my feelings, just tell me that we're through

And make it easy on yourself, 'cos breaking up is so very hard to do

If the way I hold you can't compare to his caress
No words of consolation will make me miss you less

My darling.. if this is goodbye
I just know I'm gonna cry

So run to him before you start crying too...

Wednesday, August 25, 2004
King Of Procrastination

The title refers to me,of course.I'd try not to say that of anyone else unless that person absolutely deserved it...but it would a lot to beat me,I tell you.I should be at work,of course,but I promised myself I'd hammer out something on the blog before going back to reading stuff I am supposed to read but have put off doing for the past few days.These taskings will catch up with me in time,but the time has not yet come.

I did clear a couple of things I have on my desk which I was supposed to clear weeks ago.At least I got around to that.But now there are other stuff waiting for me.Two reports I have to read and glean learning points from.It wouldn't be that bad if I knew anything about those subjects...but I don't...not my subjects of interest.But I still got to do them because of they are taskings...later.I have also yet to look in depth into Saturday's recruit classifieds.There is an interesting place at Gallups for some research analyst or something...muahahah.Falls right into my lap...if I get round to reading the ad again.I've probably got to do it by tonight or something.

Oh,a couple of other stuff I put off doing as well.I had thought about catching AVP these past few days at either Toa Payoh or AMK,right after I knock off from work since they have shows at 5+ but I put that off too.I figured if I wanted to watch an action show,I might as well wait for The Bourne Supremacy and then write a review about it.I doubt I can write much about AVP or talk about the actors' performance (what could I possibly say..."the guy was impaled well..."?)but I suppose there will be action galore.Well,I'd wait till Saturday for the Supremacy.

Hmmm,I also can't go for the show tonight because I told my Taiwanese friend,Jen,that I'd be online to chat with her on the net tonight.They've got a typhoon coming and work is suspended for one day.Yippee!She asked me if typhoons will ever hit Singapore and I could only say I wish.Mind you,if it was such a impending disaster,she wouldn't have a guy trying to ask her out today for a movie because of the one day work cancellation.Apparently she doesn't want to go so she asked me to pray for the typhoon to hit...the crazy nutter.It'd be interesting if she went anyway,she'd get it from me non-stop...coming from someone who sounded reluctant,who couldn't let go of her on-off relationship with her Indian bf.Why would anyone want to hold onto a relationship that is making them suffer?I do understand the complex feelings involved because I was in one but now that I'm out of it,it's hard to sympathise.Just let go.Easier said than done?Or didn't even try?She did mention how come I've become so much more rational now when I was so emotionally-drivened then.I don't know.One have got to learn sooner or later,I suppose?

Oh shucks,it's beyond 4 now and it's raining cats and dogs outside.I should definitely end this now.Like the Seinfeld sitcom,this post was absolutely about nothing.So if you took or learned nothing out of it,well,that was the intention.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Late Night Political Jokes

We used to have David Letterman on our telly.And then for some inconceiveable reason,they took the show off and replaced it with...well,just about anything from CSI:Miami to B-Grade movies.While I was in the States during March this year,I always made it a point not to miss the late-night shows where possible.And I think I miss them.Anyway,here's a collection of recent jokes from the lat-night show comedians.If you like political humour,enjoy:

"Attendance at this year's Olympics is so bad that al Qaeda operatives were caught scalping tickets half-price so they'd have enough fans to attack." --Craig Kilborn

"The president finally explained why he sat in that classroom on 9/11 for seven minutes after he was told the country was under attack. He said he was 'collecting his thoughts.' What a time to start a new hobby.'" --Bill Maher

"For the first time, John Kerry has criticized President Bush's reaction on 9/11. John Kerry said if he were reading to children at that moment, he would have told them he had something important to attend to. Let me tell you something — if John Kerry was reading to children, first he would have to wake them up. 'Kids, I gotta go now. Kids?! Kids?!'" --Jay Leno

"In a stunning announcement, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey announced that he had an extramarital affair with another man. Finally, a Democrat who can honestly say, 'I did not have sex with that woman!" --Jay Leno

"Here's the amazing part -- he's been married twice before and now he's gay. And you thought John Kerry couldn't make up his mind." --Jay Leno, on James McGreevey.

"President Bush appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger at a huge campaign event. Only in California can a governor who speaks German and a president who can barely speak English try to make themselves clear to an audience that's primarily Spanish. What a country we live in!" --Jay Leno

"First Lady Laura Bush said that people shouldn't be saying that the benefits from stem cell research are 'right around the corner' because it gives people false hope. Then later her husband said that the economic recovery is 'right around the corner.'" --Jay Leno

"While meeting with minority journalists Kerry was asked last week if he would have gone to war if Saddam Hussein would have refused to disarm. He said 'You bet we might have.' Can you imagine when he and Bush debate? One guy can't speak his mind and the other can't make up this mind." --Jay Leno

"The federal government reported that despite much higher expectations U.S. employers only added 32,000 jobs to the payroll this month. Even worse folks, the jobs were all in India." —Conan O'Brien

"This morning, prompted by increasing concerns about terrorism, oil prices reached a record high as the cost of a barrel of crude is a whooping $44.34. Wow, it seems shocking that a product of finite supply gets more expensive the more we use it. ... Now the terror alert means higher oil prices, which oddly enough means higher profits for oil companies giving them more money to give to politicians whose policies may favor the oil companies such as raising the terror alert level. As Simba once told us — it's the circle of life." —Jon Stewart

"Bush said he is working hard to cut off al Qaeda's finances and believe me, he is the man to do it. He drove three companies into bankruptcy — what's one more?" —Jay Leno

"Kerry explained he was in a rock band because he did it to meet girls. And today President Clinton called and said, 'If you think that's a great way to meet girls, wait'll you become president.'" —Jay Leno

"The Democrats are very proud of John Kerry's service record. And they choose those words carefully. They always say 'decorated war hero.' And let me tell you why they do that. They always say 'hero' because that appeals to women. Women like that — hero. 'War' — that appeals to men. They relate to that — war. And 'decorated,' that gets in the gay vote." —Jay Leno

"Vice presidential nominee John Edwards really got the crowd going by saying 'Hope is on the way.' That's his new theme, 'Hope is on the way.' But see that means different things to different people. For example, when you tell President Bush hope is on the way, well that means Dick Cheney is coming. When you tell Dick Cheney hope is on the way, well that means the ambulance is coming." —Jay Leno (Background:Cheney has suffered a few mild heart attacks before)

"The Democrats kept mentioning that John Kerry is a decorated war hero, but did you know that Dick Cheney has a purple heart. Did you know that? It's from eating steaks, not from the military, but hey!" —Jay Leno

"The Republicans keep telling us the Democrats are trying to divide the country. Then the Democrats keep telling us the Republicans are trying to divide the country. And the result, the country is divided. Nice work, fellas! Hell of a job!" —Jay Leno

"Teresa Heinz (john Kerry's wife) told a reporter to go 'shove it' the other day. When Hillary heard about it she said 'You go girl.' John Kerry said 'she acted appropriately.' Bill Clinton said 'he likes it when girls talk dirty.'" —Jay Leno

"The Bush twins are going online to do an online chat on the Bush re-election website. It's the first chat line in history where two people claiming to be attractive 22-year-old twins are actually attractive 22-year-old twins." —Jay Leno

"Bill Clinton's former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger is under investigation for sneaking highly classified documents out of the National Archives by stuffing them down his pants. What is it about the Clinton people that always are investigated for something down their pants?" —Jay Leno

"In a speech the other day to the Amish, President Bush said that God speaks through him. That's what he said. I don't know, do you think God would mispronounce that many words?" —Jay Leno

"John Edwards said that Dick Cheney is out of touch with the lives of most Americans. Cheney immediately denied the charge, from his underground bunker in an undisclosed location." —Jay Leno (This alludes to the fact that the US has a shadow cabinet working in an underground bunker in a undisclosed location)

"Dick Cheney says that terrorists attacks are caused by the perception of weakness and then he ran back to his under ground bunker in an undisclosed location." —David Letterman

"They say John Kerry is the first Democratic presidential candidate in history to raise $50 million in a three-month period. Actually, that's nothing. He once raised $500 million with two words: 'I do.'" —Jay Leno (Kerry's current wife(his second marriage) is Theresa Heinz,a multi-millionaire)

"Here's the latest forecast for Iraq: Sunni today but tomorrow it will turn to Shi'ite." —Jay Leno

"As soon as Condoleezza Rice finished her testimony yesterday, Bill Clinton testified in private, but he did not testify under oath. Well, of course, being a holy week he felt it was too big of a risk putting his hand on the Bible." —Jay Leno

"Al Gore also appeared before the commission. He appeared for three hours. The members of the committee were praised and commended, not for their questioning, but for being able to listen to Gore for three hours." —Jay Leno

"Our (California) governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, saved a guy's life who was drowning in Hawaii. And just to be safe, he performed mouth to mouth on the guy's wife." —Craig Kilborn

"All these books are coming out about President Bush. Richard Clarke's book, John Dean's book, Paul O'Neill's book, now Bob Woodward's book is coming out. It's amazing. Who would have thought that George Bush would be responsible for Americans reading more than any other president before?" —Jay Leno

"John Kerry reportedly flew in his private hairdresser before his "Meet the Press" interview for a total cost of $1,000. That's $1,000 for a haircut, which sounds like a lot, but have you seen the size of Kerry's head." —Jay Leno

"John Kerry's wife Teresa Heinz is on the cover of Newsweek magazine this week and they said that if he is elected president, she will be the oldest first lady in American history. But that doesn't bother John Kerry, he said, 'To me, she looks like a million bucks'" —Jay Leno

Monday, August 23, 2004
Hopes And Fears

I am not a particularly active consumer of pop music,especially of the variety churned out by truckloads,such as Britney Spears,Justine Timberlake or any of the American Idol prdoucts.This means that basically I do not have a keen ear for the average radio single(I never appreciated Black-Eye Peas,Sum 41 whatever because I found them too derivative),even though I like a good pop hook like any other person.Which is why I approached Keane with a certain amount of caution.Keane is a British three-piece pop-rock band that's based on pianos/keyboards,instead of the usual guitar band stereotype.This,in a way,is refreshing.But I've heard piano-based bands before and didn't like them much(the likes of Ben-Folds Five)so I still wasn't sure how much I'd like them although the TV adverts certianly sounded good.

Brit bands have a way of replicating themselves.After the success of Travis and Coldplay,there have been countless other bands following their template and attempting to replicate their success.How of those bands have you taken notice of?Me?None.Keane does not differ much from this group of copycats,besides the fact that they employ the use of pianos rather than guitars.There is that certain amount of angst and the catchy pop melodies that almost always goes with being a Brit band of this "genre".But what they do,they do quite well.And as many critics have mentioned,they may be a guilty pleasure.

Honestly,I did find quite a bit of pleasure from their debut LP,Hopes and Dreams.And I certainly did not count that.But they did deliver in a sense and that is more than welcome.Of the entire LP,I was particularly bowled over by two very strong singles,the opener "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Everybody's Changing"(both showcased on TV)although the majority of the rest of the album is quite pleasant as well.A slick and posh production certainly did their sound no harm and I can see why they are selling not too badly.

Opener "Somewhere Only We Know" is a storming single.It's got a very good hook that just wouldn't quit but sets up such a grand stage that I felt that the rest of the LP has a very hard act to follow."This Is The Last Time" is a pretty (almsot equally) melodic follow-up to the opener and keeps the momentum up well.While the third song"Bend And Break" is also a very good pop song,I didn't find it as engaging. For me,while it starts promisingly,the chorus did not pack as much punch as its two predecessors.But I'd think this is highly debateable because I am quite sure I can find a lot of people who'd like this song alot more than I did.

Skip forward to the aforementioned "Everybody's Changing"and the trio again showed their knack for a brilliant melody.It's catchy and very singalong.I'd skip past the next few songs and their descriptions although that doesn't mean they are not good.Most of them are.A couple of songs are a bit iffy for me though but one or two fillers in an album are probably justifiable."Sunshine" and "Bedshaped" closes the album on a good note although by the end,I began to have the feeling the whole album sounded exactly the same to me without much variation in sound and tone.

Many critics have sniffed at Keane for being inconsequential.That their music will not stand the test of time and is something you'd soon forget after listening.This I do not dispute.But not every band is capable of producing transcendental music and not everyone needs to make music that makes a difference.Not everyone is a Bob Marley or Bob Dylan and I don't think Keane sets out their store to emulate bands/singers of this kind of scale or influence.They are a radio band and will stay one.There is a place for such music.

7/10

Another One Bites The Dust

So another old timer colleague has resigned...as I just found out this morning.Geez,the "renewal of blood" in the office is sure picking momentum from last year when practically nobody resigned and now,in the space of a few months,we have seen more comings and goings then well,the English football pre-season(sorry,being a football fan,I couldn't resist or think of other things,in fact).This colleague of mine is going for further studies too,much like anotehr who is leaving for NY in the States for his Masters.Another one who is going for further studies...I am improbably insanely jealous.How I defnitely wish I could do the same thing and go to a foreign country for further studies.Of course,theoretically,I could do the same thing,how could I not,right?Yeah right.

Suddenly,for no good reason,no wait,for a lot of good reasons,the familiarity of old faces have been replaced by the coldness of new faces.Save for my branch,of course,which is the sanctuary for old boys and girls.But anyway,the neighbouring branch is now,almost devoid of old faces.There are now 8 newcomers compared to the old folks,which number about 6 or 7.And those 6 or 7 includes people who are confirmed to be leaving.Hahah,that leaves about 5 or less.I don't really talk to the newcomers,as I suspect,neither does most of my fellow X-men,so there will be a lot more "strangers" around.

All these bring into perspective certain people's resolve to leave this place before long.Like Jubilee.Like another colleague of mine.Like me.That we haven't gotten round to it is becoming almost downright embarrassing now.Embarrassed about what?That we are all talk but no concrete action,of course.I did spot a couple of interesting stuff at Saturday's classified including a post at Gallup's which is looking for some kind of analyst.Hahah,the job requirements almost fall into my lap,except one requirement talking about familiarity with statistics or something.I just got to smoke that one out.There were a couple of other jobs here and there but none that I can remember enough to put it here.

Ok,enough about this.Someone leaving isn't a bad things because it means that the person has found greener pastures than here(which might not be that hard but people here are just too inert to look for them) and that is a wonderful things and should be celebrated.To console myself,at least I can say that amongst my friends outside of the office,they are also stuck at where they are.I met up with this group of university friends last Thursday and I was the second there.This good friend who went early asked me immediately if I am still where I was.I can't it couldn't be otherwise and asked about him.He just shrugged his shoulders and jested...YEEEAAH.Hah,so I am not the only one stuck in a rut.As if that is much consolation...but we seem to find these in the strangest places.

Just to change subject adruptly,I found out about my cousin,J's birthday on Sunday.She told me that her birthday was on Tuesday(their Tuesday...which is our Wednesday),24 August.Well,I had to go rush out to get her a present on Sunday and post it to her today via speedpost.I think it still wouldn't make it in time but at least it will not be weeks overdue.Hope that she likes the gift because I wasn't able to get her exactly what she might have wanted and tried to get as close a substitute as possible.said that she felt special that I would rush to get her a gift on such short notice.Well,as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho might say,she's a special one,alright.

Well,back to the office,time to wake up my idea?Hahah...maybe.At least I made the effort to look through the papers.There have been so many instances when I have bought the papers and never even bothered looking at it.And the week passes by so quickly that before we even know it,the next weekend is upon us.But it's going to be a good week,it started brightly enough in any case and it should continue.How times flies though.The world is changing and it's time to move with the times.

Sunday, August 22, 2004
The Great Disconnect

Something funny happened today.Jean Grey and I,who were sitting side-by-side started chatting using our emails instead of talking.It started with an email about Dubai wanting to build a city suspended in mid-air and as she was listening to music using headphones.I just proceeded to reply via email instead of talk to her.It went on for several emails before she commented that how come we were communicating via email instead of talking.Another example came while I was having dinner with my friend.She talked about how she sent a group email to a group of colleagues to attend a meeting and one of them didn't come.Ironically,the one who didn't go was sitting just diagonally next to her.She lamented how come her colleague or she didn't talk to each other to clarify attendance.

Now,how often have we now elected to SMS or email someone instead of meeting up or even calling someone.Other internet messaging services like MSN,Yahoo and ICQ have also replaced the mode of communications in which people interact.It seems that now we talk more through our keyboards than our voices.Our hands are doing our talking instead of our mouths.Not including disabled friends we have,I find this strange,if inevitable.It's not a new subject either.That technology has bridged geographical distance but increased personal distance.And it's extremely sad in a way.

Now I understand the great advantage that the internet and mobile texting brings.It's cost-efficient.It's cheap.No disputes.can you imagine spending hundreds on long-distance phonecalls every month.Terrible strain indeed.Texting and typing is so much easier.And it's convenient.Typing can be fast.A lot of people express themselves better writing.I can't dispute i may be one of those.Inarticulation can be a very embarrassing thing if one cannot speak what one feels in words.And a lot people,when they talk,sometimes find themselves at a loss for words.Typing also affords us the safety net of a non-emotive form of expression.We won't feel embarrassed saying we like/care for someone or flirting.There's courage that can be mustered here that we may be afraid to speak out in voice/person.Anomity is also guaranteed in a way.Who really knows who I am here blogging despite my many words?I may betray my personality and my feelings here but you'd never know who I am anyway.I understand teh security implications of revealing too much information about oneself.It's for protection so stay anonymous.Yet,isn't this last thing also a curse?

While reading the comments here posted on my site,I just suddenly thought about how I know and do not know the people who look and comment on my blogs.I know the connections but don't know the person.Let me confess here:I was trying to think how I was connected to Nirmalya (through whom)...and I still haven't figured it out yet.Hahah.Nirmalya,if you are reading,enlighten me.Actually there isn't a problem with this,not at all.But is this increasingly the state of things of how people will be connected to each other?That even when we are right beside each other,these electronic means still becomes our preferred mode of communications?That when all our friends in this tiny island communicated mostly via MSN,ICQ and SMS.When that day comes,it'd be really sad,wouldn't it?Maybe it's just old sentimental me speaking because the day is probably already here.

What I do realise is that this is something that is irreversible.This trend will only continue.The only contention is how much more ingrained will it become.Or if there is a chance of regressing.I doubt it.So many people have brought this up before.It's not the first time I thought about this.It's jsut that it is the first time I blogged it.It's ironic how I rail against this medium yet is now,using it to air my thoughts.Would I care to reveal my name?I thought about it and then held back.There is the fear that certain unwelcome people might read this(it's only Banshee and Rogue that I am thinking about).Hahah.Reality bites.The rants amount to nothing.

Newcastle 0 Tottenham 1

This might shape up to be a more interesting season than I thought it will be.Spurs coming away with an unexpected victory,defending with a doggedness that is totally un-Spurs like while still attacking,or rather counter-attacking,in a relatively fluid style.It's extremely surprising indeed.Jacques Santini must have done something right although it wasn't that apparent at first after the disastrous pre-season Spurs had.So what's right?I got to hazard a guess here.

The new spurs backline is a lot tigher and better than its previous versions.Indeed,Santini have adopted a defensive style that is almost George Graham-like in nature.I do not dispute its effectiveness but Spurs fans have been known to be fickle,if not downright idiotic.They'd complain if the team is not scoring goals,not attacking all-out,even if the team is winning.I wonder hwo long before some fans will start whining.Let's get back to teh backline.Like I previously said,Naybet and Edman are excellent buys and I do not retract my words.What is even better though is that young Phil Ifil may be finding his feet faster than I thought.At 17,he is a wonderful prospect.he can only improve so much more.And Paul Robinson is a much better keeper than Kasey Keller.He is a great shotstopper and has demonstrated that several times in his 2 appearances so far.And in Tony Gardner and less so,Dean Richards,we have two capable backups who can be called up at any time to replace the centrebacks.It's the centre-halves that have no cover though and I am extremely worried about that.Stephen Kelly,when he is back,might possibly go straight back to first-choice right-back but I'd hate to see Ifil lose his place though after doing so well and feels he should retain his place.Of course,Santini might still decide to go for Steve Finnan although the need to add another right-back to the fold is debateable right now.Mauricio Taricco is the backup for left-back and I'm happy enough with that at the moment.

As for the midfield,I am beginning to believe that Sean Davis and Pedro Mendes could make a very good central pairing although with the purchase of Michael Carrick,it's more likely that Mendes will be deployed to the right.Which is a good thing.Replacing the inept Jamie Redknapp.Of course when Simon Davies returns after his injury,things can get interesting as to whom Santini uses.Thimothee Atouba,believe it or not,is beginning to look a real find.He scored the only goal of this match with a stupendous drive but wasted so many chances before that,he ought to make up for it anyway.If he improves his dribbling and shooting,he could be a real potent threat.In truth,I'd still like Andy Reid to be signed.Reid looks like he's international class and it'd be a real coup to get him.Provided we can cough up the money for him. Upfront,there's no complaints.Defoe is brilliant.Kanoute ought to be replaced by Keane.Period.And that is it.I don't believe the team needs another forward,even if it is James Beattie.

A fianl word,Santini must be doing something right.And it's mainly to do with the defending.It is a philopsophy that mirrors closely to that of Jose Mourinho so will we see the new age of the defendsive team winning close matches?Chelsea just won their away match 1-0 as well against Birmingham and we might be starting to see a trend here.Let's keep watching.Meanwhile I will just enjoy the great start Spurs is having.I hope it lasts.

Saturday, August 21, 2004
Burn This Village Down

M. Night Shymalan is an extremely gifted director,that I have absolutely no doubt about.His use of shadows,camera angles,suggestion and most importantly,soundtrack is absolutely top notch.And that is true of The Village as well.It's a shame that his writing is becoming more shambolic by the minute.I was suitably spooked by The Sixth Sense but his plot for Unbreakable left me more than a little underwhelmed.Subsequently,I decided to skip Signs and I don't really regret that.Catching The Village with a friend after watching Collateral alone,I was rather disappointed by the twist which amde everything taht happened before almost ridiculous.There could be spoilers ahead in this review so if you are planning to watch this movie,do NOT read further.

The Village depicts the tale of an isolated town confronting the astonishing truth that lies just outside its borders. At first glance, this village seems picture perfect, but this close-knit community lives with the frightening knowledge that creatures reside in the surrounding woods. The evil and foreboding force is so unnerving that none dare venture beyond the borders of the village and into the woods. But when curious, headstrong Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) plans to step beyond the boundaries of the town and into the unknown, his bold move threatens to forever change the future of the village. The only thing is the twist makes almost everything irrelevant.I do not understand why certain actions have to be done to such an extreme scale if...well,that will be revealing the plot.That'd mean i can only talk about the characters and the perfromances after praising the cinematography and the soundtracking the film.

Joaquin Phoenix's character is actually one of the most irritating I have seen in years.He is so obtuse to emotions and so haunted and depressed that I thought he must have been abused non-stop for his entire childhood or something.Adrien Brody's village idiot,Noah,is also not a well-developed character.sure,he has a thing for Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) but beyond that,he seems more like a plot device than character.Bryce Dallas Howard is,I feel,the one saving grace in the film and I liked her a lot.Feisty and independent despite her disability,she is extremely likeable and Howard plays her well.I can see a bright future for this young actress.As for the other notable actors in the cast,William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver,well,their performances is limited by the requirements of their roles.Workmanlike but not special.

I'd end this review here by giving it 2 out of 5.Coming after Collateral,I didn't like it much.Could be because of Shymalan's characteristic snail's pace and his,this time,unfortunate twist.I just have a question for people who have seen the movie here.The guard at the end of the show showed that a lot of actions were unnecessary for the purposes they were meant for.In fact,the motives do not hold much weight.Why are they even doing what they did?It might be good to debate this.

In Cruise Control

Max (Jamie Foxx) has lived a mundane life as a cab driver for twelve years. The faces have come and gone from his rear-view mirror: people and places he's long since forgotten--until tonight. Vincent (Tom Cruise) is a contract killer. When an offshore narco-trafficking cartel learns that they're about to be indicted by a federal grand jury, they mount an operation to identify and kill the key witness, and the last stage is tonight. It is on this very night that Vincent has arrived--and five bodies are supposed to fall. Circumstances cause Vincent to hijack Max' taxicab, and Max becomes collateral--an expendable person who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Through the night, Vincent forces Max to drive him to each assigned destination. And as the L.A.P.D. and F.B.I. race to intercept them, Max and Vincent's survival become dependent on each other, in ways neither would have imagined.

Collateral is the second best summer movies of the year that I've seen so far,after Spiderman 2.It does not have many action scenes but when the violence come,they come in short and furious bursts...besides the protracted shootout during the termination of the fourth witness at the disco club.It is talky...with many excahnges between Cruise's callously amoral (yet strangely philopsophical...in a postmodern way) hitman and Foxx's scared-shitless cab driver who seems to have lost his way in life.The interplay is as interesting as the dependency on each other.Take note of the exchanges between Cruise and Foxx while at the same time also take notice of how the two depends on each other.Cruise needs Foxx to survive to drive him around while Foxx,an unwilling participant in the whole scheme,tries repeatedly to foil the scheme yet Cruise comes to his rescue a couple of times when the ineptitude of Foxx threatens his survival and has people trampling all over him.

Cruise,taking on his first villainous role here,is surprising very good.First of course,his decision to alter his looks is commendable.Here,he looks decidedly older,with pepperish-grey hair and day-old stubble...not the usual slick Cruise we know.Detached,clinical and decided amoral(I steer clear of using the word "immoral" because he does believe in certain things but his values,if any,are grey at best),Cruise plays him close to perfection.Foxx is a good counterpoint to Cruise's character.He always seems in two minds,doesn't know what he wants to do and is just terrified of this hitman who seems absolutely sure of himself.There are passages in the film which suggests why each man have become what they are now and that is an interesting point.Max and Vincent are characters who are uncommonly alive.

Director Michael Mann has produced a film that is lovingly filmed.A film that shows as much the vibrancy of LA as it does it's coldness and harshness.Washed in hues of blue and towards the end,red as dawn sets in,the cinematography is quite breathtaking.I kind of like the violent scenes as well.It should be said that Mann is extremely businesslike in his treatment of his characters even though he lovingly creates each character to give them life.Mark Ruffalo's Fanning, a cop on the trail of Vincent,is bummed off violently in sudden burst of gunfire by Cruise's Vincent the least u expect it.And another character,Daniel (Barry Shabaka Henley),a nightclub owner who betrayed the cartel as a federal witness to prevent himself from going to prison is also suddenly killed off by Cruise.And that after brilliant characterisation by entusing about his lost chance with jazz legend,Miles Davis.

A 4 out of 5 for this movie.I always have reservations about highly recommending a movie to anyone because tastes can differ so much.But give this movie a try and you just might enjoy it as much as I did.

七里香

七里香 represents Jay Chou's strongest effort since his second album, 范特西 ,and it is certainly stronger than his last album, 叶惠美 ,which was largely uneven even though it contained pieces of flash that showed he could write and arrange.More consistently listenable as well,七里香 offers the strongest opening gambit of five songs in Chou's career so far.我的地盘 continues the vein of Chinese instrumentation fused with Western beats that Chou is so fond so.And it is a melodious song although I still have no idea what he singing about after four hearings before reading the lyrics sheet.It is a stronger opening song than 以父之名 which had a melody which was patchy at best.The next two songs,the album title track and 借口 are two pretty good ballads,although the latter smacks too much of the last album's 晴天.I am quite enamoured of 七里香's melody though.

外婆is potentially be the album's strongest track though.The lyrics here take on a more personal dimension and the melody remains catchy enough to snare my attention.I've had a fondness for Chou's songs that seem to carp on about various aspecst of Chinese culture but particularly those which seemed so obssessed about martial arts.将军 comes strikingly in this vein and while it comes off with a samey kind of feeling,I can still say that I am still not sick of it...yet...although I couldn't say the same of 乱舞春秋,which does sound samey to me (wasn't those effects something he already used in 双刀?).It's worth a mention that the final song on this LP 止战之殇 is also a pretty good song.

Chou is mostly rid of the kind of computer games soundscape he employed heavily in his last two albums which had put me off slighly and I feel that is a good thing.The fact that the rest of this album,besides the few songs I mentioned,of also of a more consistent quality is another laudable achievement.Let one be forewarned though that if you didn't like Chou before,whether it's the way he writes his songs or the way he sings,this album won't convince you otherwise.Chou is too set in his own personal style to ever change and while I had praised him for this effort,it's because I already like his current style enough.I will be looking forward to seeing how he breaks out of his own self-imposed style...or trap.

8/10

Friday, August 20, 2004
King Kong Debts Meets Middle-Class Life

I read with some interest from an article in the Christian Science Monitor about rising credit cards debts in the US and can't help but think how it mirrors exactly the same thing in Singapore.In the article,it was pointed out that the monthly credit card balance for the average American family has been increasing and how the savings rate has been declining despite the common wisdom that it is prudent to save.Another alarming figure that was brought up in the article is the number of bankruptcies that have been increasing in the States.I trust that if you are interested,you might want to check out the link for yourself.But anyway,like I said earlier,I can't help but feel that the same applies to Singapore as well as the US.

In Singapore,credit card debt is still increasing steadily despite the growth in overall credit growth since 2001.I am not too sure about the status of individual bankruptcies recently but it hit a all-time high of 507 in january this year.Meaning an average of about 16 people declared bankrupt on a daily basis.I am not too sure about savings rate in Singapore but what I gathered from certain overseas news sources was that the average savings rate in Singapore is still rather high...at about 55%!The average savings rate in US is about 13%.Now,I may be cynical but the average young person cannot,no way,save up to 55% of his salary.No chance.Of course,many factors play a part in savings rates.These may include interest rates,family/personal commitments,spending habits amongst others.I am not going to explore this further.

It was said that it was a cultural habit to spend in American culture,since the days of the babyboomers.It is also mentioned that it is now "almost countercultural to live within one's means" today,"especially for young people".How true of that too in Singapore.The young is getting so pampered with their handphones and sub-cards that they hardly know what it means to save up for a rainy day because their parents pay for everything.Saving seems about an alien concept to them,unless somehow,they have been through hard times or have been inculcated since young the importance of being financially prudent.It seems that the past East Asian trait to save up is no longer being passed down.I do not think the average young working adult is immune from this mentality either...not from what I observe around me...except those people getting married soon.Then they'd have a mortgage to pay and will be even more heavily in debt.

I do not excuse myself from this mentality.My savings account has been staying static for the past year or so despite my best attempts to breach a certain mark(I'm far from it).My guy friends around me all have the mentality of saving only so that they can splurge it all out again in overseas holiday trips.I am also guilty of this in some aspects but the thing is that I only choose to go either to places where I already have friends so that I can latch onto them for accommodation(altogether now,cheapo!!!)or to somewhere nearby where costs are cheap(the two are certainly not mutually exclusive).All in all,it mostly becomes a zero-sum game.You spend what you saved.So now when they have to pay for something besides their own(namely family concerns),they have found themselves needing to toil to meet this burden.My female friends?What savings?I have to admit it can be hard to resist the avalanche of adverts that the commercial world launches at female consumers.Be it clothes or shoes or cosmetics or whatever.Everything can be a girl's best friend.It's not as if guys are immune to it anyway.We have our addictions to allkinds of tech gadgets and CDs and stuff.It can also be a wonder why guys feel the constant need to buy replica jerseys of their favourite football teams when they change kits almost every season.

The last word I have to say is simply:Save.For old age,for emergencies,whatever.It'd be bitter at first but eventually the sweetness will follow.I think.And of course,don't hug your money into the grave with you.

Thursday, August 19, 2004
Nothing's Shocking

In an age dominated by shocking images and sounds,our senses have been flooded to their threshold to the point of numbness where images of carnage and gore can no longer shock or surprise to the degree they once could.I was reminded of this during a talk held yesterday by our department when the traffic police came down to educate us about road safety and other matters.The organiser,somehow,saw it fit to begin the presentation by showing various grisly images of crushed bodies,severed limps,spilled internals and crushed skulls.Sure,there were warnings that the contents that were to be shown were of a graphic nature and viewers should watch according to their own discretion.I was alright with the viewing,but I felt a little queasy.I don't know about the others but sitting besides Colossus and Jubilee,I knew at least one of them was uncomfortable with it.I still feel that it was done in bad taste but who am I to say?The government has been employing this tactic for eons now,bad taste or not.The anti-smoking adverts and the pictures they now post on cigarette packs.The anti-drugs adverts.They all try to use shock value to "educate"(I use " " because I don't believe in its educational value,if any.It has about as much educational value as a $500 fine) and deter.What they don't seem to reckon is that today's youths have seen far worse.Nothing's shocking.In an age where we see Muslim extremists behead people on video,what's there that we have not seen?

I think what we see on TV,videos and movies these days are as gruesome as what real life has to offer and that has desensitised us not to feel about such violent images.When I saw the crushed head picture with the brains flowing out and the skull sliced in half so you could no longer see the face(words don't do it justice,it just doesn't sound grisly enough),the first thing I thought was actually how much it resembled the "fire extinguisher crushing the skull" scene in "Irreversible".Only that in the movie,you are watching the entire process of a face caving in and you are aware that it IS special effects.But it prepares one for the horrors real life situations can mirror.I think,likewise,anybody insane enough(I have never watched it and don't intend to) to want to watch the "Faces of Death" series would be prepared for anything gruesome.I would think a number of teens or young people would fall into this category.

Likewise,the beheading videos we see in news reports,the videos of the mobs multilating corpses during the insurgency in Iraq.All these are things we see too often in our daily lifes.We have seen enough of this to feel nothing can shock us anymore so please,well-meaning people,don't try to shock us with images and sounds.I think when people look away,like I did,it is may not be because we are shocked or unsetlled by it.We are just turning away from somethign we already see too much of.Education can be done in a more meaningful and pleasant manner.And it can be done tastefully.But obviously this point can be lost on certain people,such as the organisers of the seminar yesterday who elected to show THREE separate portions of such graphic images.How thoughful of them to think that it takes three screenings before we realise the horrific consequences of reckless/drunk driving?

Have some sensitivity about the feelings of others.Sure,it is a good way to get your message across but is it the ONLY way or even the most effective way?Shock-mongers are people who have found no other way to capture the attention of their audience...whether it's through a lack of imagination,creativity or substance.Marilyn Manson was shocking three years back with his pseudo-devil worship and shocking sleeve designs.Now,he's yesterday's news.What are you going to come up with tomorrow to capture our attention?Be more and more warped.At this rate,I already can't wait for the next talk that will be held next month...on paedophilia.Although I've said that nothing is shocking,there is still some capacity for me to be shocked by things I haven't seen.Especially bad taste.

Isn't It A Wonder?

Strange things happen the least you expect them.For instance,I have a long-time Japanese friend whom I do not contact on a regular basis.Her name is Naoko(Nao for short).We have known each other since our early university days and have remained good friends ever since.Anyway,maybe I will talk about our friendship some other time.Nao,out of the blue,sent me a postcard which reached me a few days ago.She said that she just wanted to write me because she missed the good old days when we would write each other regularly and send each other stuff.And since we are good friends,she feels it's a pity not to maintain contact.It's weird,I do miss those days too.Nao has always been around the peripherals of my mind,just never in the centre of it.The postcard came as a surprise...but a pleasant one nonetheless. Nao and I knew each other since my year 1 university days.She was a first year student in Kyoto University and studied German then.We used to write each other very regularly and also send each other birthday presents when our birthdays approached.I think he birthday is March 22 if I am not mistaken.Anyway,she was an extremely cheerful girl and made good company.Later upon her graduation,she went to Germany for her attachment and has been there ever since.Of course,this also began her "jetsetting" lifestyle where she would jet around the globe,going to Australia,Japan and other places for her assignments and so on.It was then that I didn't see her too often online or otherwise because I never even knew where she was.So her contact certainly came as a pleasant surprise.

I find it weird that for a couple of nights the past week,I've been looking out the windows from my kitchen out into the housing estate and finding myself marvelling at the sights,as if I am in a foreign land.It is the same sense of wonder I've experienced in times away from home.Whether I am away in KL,Shanghai and Mississippi.That sense of being out there in a different part of the world and looking out at an unfamiliar sight and thinking about home/someone...and somehow knowing that someone else living in another part of the world could be doing the same thing and thinking/remembering about you.The world is a big place.And knowing that you are under the same piece of sky as someone far away,who just happens to think about you is amazing...for some reason.

Anyway,this week,I have been feeling horrible because of my health and some other matters(what's new?!).I've got a bad case of flu...from my dad and have been rather sick these past few days.But besides an MC on Monday,I haven't been able to excuse myself from the workplace.Damn.So anyway,that means I've had to go to the toilet every 1 hour or so,to blow my nose and clear the mucus in my nose and also spit out any loogie(that's phlegm for you)that's stuck in my pipes and causing me to cough.Nice experience.Besides this,my mum and dad have been having some kind of cold war since Sunday.So much so that they refuse to talk to each other.I hate it when they behave like kids.I'd thought that being the youngest in the family,I'd reserve the right to be the most childish but these two outdo me so frequently that I don't really feel like talking to them when that happens.Of course the fact that I'm ill means I don't want to talk - period.Well,my mum just spent the last two days away from home in Ubin(no,she didn't run away,we have an uncle who still lives in Ubin)so when she comes back today,or if,I'm sure they'd start talking...because I sure won't be talking as I'd be having dinner with my friends tonight.

Another thing,I got the same bit of surprise/wonder coming from my little American cousin,J,as well,who seems to be able to second-guess when I am not happy.I have to give her that bit of praise when it's due.I also wonder how she catches things so fast.Anyway,it's good that she back online again because for the past few weeks or so,she's being offline and I kind of miss talking to her.Well,I didn't really have time to tell her what's wrong with me when I was online because I was going to work but I'm sure we'd have time to talk over the weekend.It kind of makes me glad that someone so far away knows and cares that I feel bad although I don't quite know why.

Good things come with the bad so although I'd had a few pleasant surprises,there have also been a number of instances when bad/unlukcy things seems to have occurred.This is especially so this past week when I seem to have caught on a bout of bad luck as well.Things I'd rather not talk about.Just roll with the punches anyhow.Life is like that.Shit happens.

Big Match Mentality

What is it with Singaporean sportsmen anyway?One minute,we have completely no expectations of them and then they come up with a big performance against a brand-name opponent and raise our hopes skyhigh...only to crash these hopes with an inept performance against supposedly easier opponents.What I can only dub as the Big Match Mentality syndrome where they put in great performances against difficult opponents but can't muster the same amount of commitment against lesser known opposition.Ronald Susilo,take a bow.Before you,of course,there is the brilliant national football team,a bunch of overpaid jokers who'd lose 0-7 to the Philippines one of these days.

I can't blame Ronald Susilo for his failure actually.It's the media's fault for hyping him up after his stupendous victory against world number 1,Lin Dan.Suddenly everyone is syaing that Susilo will be our medal hope for the first time in a loooong time,since Tan Howe Liang,indeed,who's has the misfortune of being our only Olympics medal winner so that he can brought out,dusted clean and made to be a shining model of sporting excellence once every four years.For goodness sake,the man is a living legend,literally...so give him a break and stop remembering him only once every four years.How many four years does he have left?Let him have a peaceful life and accord him the respect he deserves.Not some shining Olympic mascot.

Going back to Susilo,I say congratulations that you actually got past Lin Dan and got to the quarters.I think that's good enough.Before and after he beat Lin,I never did fancy him to win a medal,even a bronze.It's good enough he got so far.Too often,local sportsmen have delivered the big kill when the chips are down to raise hopes to skyhigh levels.Only for them to lack the mental toughness and consistency to go beyond that to win anthing.Just like the England football team.Just like the Singapore football team too like I previously mentioned.Remember the score: Singapore 1 Japan 2.A team containing Hidetoshi Nakata,Junichi Inamoto,Shunsuke Nakamura and Naohiro Takahara...and we held them to just 2-1 when everyone expected us to get a roasting.The hopes of a nations wnet skyhigh.WE ARE GETTING THERE.WE WILL BE A SOUTHEAST ASIAN POWERHOUSES AGAIN.Roll forward time and drumrolls...can't get through to the ASEAN Games football semi-finals and the historic score; Oman 7 Singapore 0.It's the weather really.No,lads,it's YOU.How would you like it if you went back to your $500 a month job delivering pizzas instead of your $3000 job playing football in a league funded by the common taxpayers' money?Morons.

Ronald,it's ok,it's ok.We still love you.Alas,it's not that long ago when I posted a blog on why "Woman is the future of man".In Singapore,at least that's very true.Li Jiawei and Zhang Xueling(both China-born lasses by the way)are now our only medal winning hopes.So our best medal hopes again rests on the womanfolk of this island.Take a bow,ladies,I salute all of you...although honestly I have a deep suspicion both won't make it to the semis(the women sporting folk on our tiny island is quite different,they usually thrash the easy opponents and lose only to brand-name opponents.So weird.),best of luck to the two of them anyway.They'd need it.To the male sporting fraternity,I have a suggestion.Stick to bodybuilding or bowling.Why?It seems we have a big bunch of macho posers amongst our sportsmen(especially kudos to all our male model-swimmers(Leslie Kwok,Mark Chay and company)...how come Jos Yeo never gets to model despite getting more gold medals than all our male swimmers COMBINED) and bodybuilding is just for you,you do nothing but pose anyway.As for bowling,well,any dork should be able to do that well...except me.

Saturday, August 14, 2004
Tottenham 1 Liverpool 1

Beginning of the season and first match of the campaign.While still relatively pedestrian in pace and lacking in much genuine excitment,the match was,nevertheless,a likely taster of what's to come for these two sides.And honestly,being a Spurs fan and in the company of numerous Pool fans,whether in the office or otherwise,I worry for both sides.But first off,let me rant at somebody.And that somebody is none other than ESPN Live "special" guest,former Liverpool "great",Steve McMahon.now now now,let me tell you something,Mr McMahon,if you are reading:Why don't you go home and stop spoiling our sights with your biased and silly comments?I am so glad Jermain Defoe shut the guy up.Mr McMahon was trashing Spurs all over the place and saying that they've got no chance at all.Well,eat your words,you lousy and dour hatchetman.Go home soon and bring in John Beresford or Gavin Peacock.Those guys have genuine humour and are a joy to watch...any day over you!And they have balanced viewpoints,unlike McMahon who seems to think Liverpool is still the dominat team of the 80s.

Anyway,back to the match.It was a bit of a damp squid really.A little disappointing highlighted by the opportunism of a brilliant goalpoacher and the skills of another gifted predator.Let's talk about my team,Spurs.Fielding seven debutants in the first team,they carved out 0 shots at goal in the first half before waking up in the second half and giving a better account of themselves.But it still was a worrying sight.There was no creativity in the midfield at all and the two forwards were so starved of service,they had to drop deep to create the chances themselves.It seems surprising that Jacques Santini did not spot this despite 12 friendly matches.Of the debutants,it's the two new defensive additions who look most competent.Nourredine Naybet and Erik Edman look good value for money,bringing class and poise to the back and dangerous overlapping runs to the side respectively.Pedro Mendes showed some nice touches but is not a creative player.He's a bit too similar to Sean Davis,who's a hardworking hardman with some nice touches but little else.Both stay way too deep to support the attack although they add stability.Youngsters Phil Ifil looks shaky but he's only 17 and have a long way to go.Johnnie Jackson shows a few nice touches but ultimately,I feel,is not Premiership class.Thimothee Atouba looks a better prospect than Jackson but still does not have the skills to be a genuine winger.And Jamie Reknapp,oh please,what in the world is he doing on the right?No crosses,no pace,one might as well have put a tortoise on that wing,it might ahve worked better.i don't know how signing Owen Hargreaves will solve the creativity problem but I really hope they sign Irish left winger Andy Reid.It'd add much bite to the Spurs attack.

Now,for Liverpool,i cannot understand,for the life of me,why anyone would think selling Michael Owen is a good piece of business.It's probably just to spite the former Anfield favourite but let's be honest,Owen is Owen.You can't replace him.His goal record speaks for itself even though he has been on a downer in recent seasons.Djibril Cisse was brought in to COMPLEMENT him,not REPLACE him.Milan Baros,while a better player than Owen,is not a natural goalpoacher like Owen is.He operates from deep and makes runs where defenders cannot man-mark him.Makes him different from Owen who stays in front and works around there.But Cisse is a great player and he'd have great success at Anfield.As for the other new signing,Josemi,he looks tough but is nothing special.An efficient player,no different from Jamie Carragher.Let's face it.Liverpool looks deprived of ideas up front as well.harry Kewell looked good at time sbut that's because he was up against Ifil,a rookie.Up against better opposition,I can see him having a hard time.Steven Finnan did not provide too much threat from the right although it was his cross which led to the goal.

Anyway,from the look of things,Spurs is going to have a torrid season,lacking the link-up play between midfield and attack.My take is that Robbie Keane is the best player to plug this gap but that'd have to wait until he's fit.An attack with Fredi Kanoute and Defoe up front with Keane just behind is an appetising prospect.As for Liverpool,they desperately need someone to fit in right midfield as well as a partner to play along Stevie Gerrard in the middle.Didi Hamann just does not look it anymore.Good luck to both sides then.Peace!

Thursday, August 12, 2004
Things I Didn't Know About My Friends

This post could find itself going off in quite diverse directions because I figure I'm probably not just going to talk about my friends in this post but some other stuff as well we encountered on our trip to Malaysia.When I am talking about stuff,I am really talking about cute girls.Oh,that must sound kind of sexist,doesn't it?Like girls are some kind of commodity,Chauvinistic Pig.No no no,I didn't mean that.No way....I mean...wah liao...越描越黑.

Anyway,as previously talked about in my Road Trip post,I amde the trip to malaysia with my friends,Angel and Beast.Now,these fellows,I have known them since I was in primary 1.You know how long that is?Since 7.I am 27 now so that makes it 20 years.And I still find that I have new things to discover about them everyday...or more probably rediscover.

Angel,like I mention,is a fairly handsome lad.I said fairly handsome because I have seen him for 20 years and I am bored of his face.Girls who have seen him for the first time though are likely to find him attractive.Especially when you throw in the fact that he has a strapping 1.8+ m frame that is well-built and tanned.Geez,you got an Adonis here,haven't you?Anyway,he is also fairly soft-spoken and relatively mild-mannered,which makes him a good candidate for girls to bring home to see their parents.Quick,girls,altogether now...SWOOOOOON.And he's unattached and never had a relationship either.What?How can that be,you say?Someone so good and have had no relationships yet?Well,in defence,he's just a little shy I suppose...and he also doesn't seem to know what he looks out for in a girl.Whether physically or character.I keep questioning him but all he could ever tell me is that the heart is the most important.I am not disputing that of course because that is true.But that is also very abstract.And he gave me the same answer even when I am asking about physical attributes that attract him.Heart?!I guess he must mean the chest then.

Beast,well,he's kind of like the opposite of Angel.He's about my height...taller by a cm or 2 perhaps(ok ok,I am 1.67m...short lah ok?Keep sniggering),plump,not a looker,tanned and talks A LOT.I think girls must really love guys who talk a lot because according to him,he has two girls waiting for him and have had a few near misses in his relationships.Wow,I mean...geez.Or maybe he was being delusional.Well,I have to give him the benefit of the doubt of course.Ok ok,he is attractive in his own way.With him,I don't think one won't ever get bored because he can find something to talk about all the time.The only things is,he talks so fast,you'd have to catch him first.

Now going on a trip together is good,you get to learn about your friends' bad habits and other stuff you never knew,including gossips.We also had a couple of extremely long bedtime conversations on relationships and stuff which threw up revelations about these folks.What I've learnt is that even as Angel is an easy-going person,he can be harassed out of his stride and lose his patience...no matter how slightly.He is also not quick in reading situations as they change...which might explain why he haven't had much luck with girls.Can't seem to catch hints and read faces/body language to secondguess emotions.Beast,on the other hand,is tactless...or has a severe lack of tact.Maybe that's because he talks really fast and the words come out before he has even thought about them,I don't know.But it's not good.And he does has an ok temperament.

I don't want to divulge about their love-lifes here because 1)One of them don't have one,2)The other has so many I don't know which to talk about,3)ok,I do want to talk about Beast.Seems like that he had something on a mutual friend of ours in university that neitehr Angel and me knew.Thing is,we didn't even know that they knew each other,let alone are good friends and that he liked her.These are the things that make me think I must have been sleepwalking in university.He also seems to have so many relationships with people from other faculties that wow...I didn't know Casanova was my pal.

More interesting,I found that they did tend to look at girls and from that,I got an inkling of their taste in girls.Let's talk about Angel.While we were in Gurney,Penang,we spotted a statuesque beauty(I shall refer to her as the Gurney Babe)girl in black spaghettis walking around with her,I assume,boyfriend...or friend...who knows.She's about 1.7+m and has quite striking features.What I would term as air-stewardess look.Actually she's not to my tastes,I find her striking but not pretty but she really caught Angel's eyes and after that kept talking about her.Ok,more like we wouldn't let it rest.But at least now,I kind of know what attracts him.Beast also points out girls to me(I am not the Chi Koh Pek after all!Because I didn't point out anybody.I'd just look and forget it.Hee...) And he seems to be particularly attracted to gilrs with large eyes.Like Jolin Tsai.I feel my mind screaming "porn actress".But the girls he pointed out to me are fairly pretty as well.

Anyway,I have been waiting to say this.While we were in Penang,a really sweet girl with her parents asked me to help her take pictures of her and her parents at Kek Lok Si.Of course,I didn't tlak to her beyond that because her parents were around but when we passed by each other later,we smiled at each other again and I thought she was really sweet.How many times did I menetion really sweet?Too bad I won't see her again.And then on our way back to Singapore,in Johor at the Malaysian Customs,we stood by the side of this Japanese family with two really KAWAII twin daughters.I put CAPS because all three of us said the same thing and that is extremely rare.I tend to disagree with their tastes somewhat...maybe because I am weird but the sisters...WOW.They are REALLY REALLY REALLY PRETTY.And they're in Singapore now because they came over from Johor!Hee hee hee.Anyway,it amounts to nothing but it certainly reinforced my perception that Jap Girls are The Best.Besides their electrical appliances.

Disturbing Behaviour Part II

Sometime earlier,I had written a post about disturbing behaviours we see on MRTs.It hasn't escaped my notice that these types of ugly behvaiour does not seem to just extend to trains but to buses as well.Actually I was inspired to write this second part of the "series"due to something I saw on a bus...but that was before I even went to Bintan.How I ever got back to writing about it is beyond me because I really did forget about it until now.But better late than never.And again,I have to give names to these people I see on the bus...

Back Masseurs: A bunch of very well-meaning people indeed.These are the people who insist on sitting slouched and pinning their looong legs against the backs of the chairs in front of them.Which means that people fortunate enough to be sitting in the seats before them get the benefit of a knee massage.Normally a massage would be therapeutic.In this case,one just two knees going up against their spine.Like someone taking two piece of rock and jutting in into your back.But like I said,they mean well.They are just trying to massage your back while you embark on your long journey.The knees in your back keep you perfectly awake so that you won't miss your stop through napping.They also help to massage your back and keep a constant rush of blood...into your head.Now you know why you might feel irritated,it's just a little too much blood.Ask them to use less force while massaging.And be grateful they didn't ask you to pay for their services.

Loving Couples: I am not too sure how many of you do this but I'm going to list this out.You know the situation in crowded buses,where everyone if trying to move to the rare to accomodate other passangers just boarding the bus,well,there are always situations where a loving couple would board the bus and the lady would then find a seat and the gallant knight would insist on standing right by the side of his seated damsel.Even though the bus is crowded and to create more space to accomodate new passngers,everyone else is moving towards the rear..whenever they get the space to move a toenail.But the men in question here,they'd stand still.What do I know right?I'm sure their wonderful girlfriends need them by their sides ALL the time.A moment of separation might sever the umbilical cord binding the two of them together,resulting in a severe loss of blood that would not only two loving persons but also dirty the bus.Now now,as a hygienic person,that's the last thing I want.

Calvin and Hobbes: For this group of people,I am specifically referring to people,especially students who have the tendency to put their bags on the empty seat beside them so that nobody can sit on it.If the bus was empty,I can accept that but I've seen this countless times in crowded buses where empty seats are a rare commodity and people are looking for places to sit down.Seats are meant for people to sit on,NOT for bags to be put on,dudes.Please realise that non-living things do not need to rest their legs.UNLESS...the bags are really alive...which makes them kind of like Hobbes(and their owners,Calvin-s)...the living toy tiger.Then I can accept they should occupy a seat.Bags need to rest too,right,Calvin?

Royalty On The Buses: Again I am only referring to when the buses are filled...you know,the people who sit on the aisle seats of the bus and refuses to allow people to squeeze past them into to take the window seats even though the bus may already be packed like sardines and everyone is just trying to find a seat to sit down and free up some standing space along the aisle.I find it strange that these people who refuse to budge usually turn out to be older people but after some thoughts,I finally realised they refuse to let people pass and take the empty window seats beside them.They MUST be ROYALTY,right?I mean,you see Prince Charles on a bus,you can't expect them to shift his long legs so that you can move pass him and sit with him right?First off,royalty never sit with commoners like us.Secondly,HOW DARE YOU ask his royal majesty to shift his golden legs to let you pass?!Thirdly,your dirty legs or bum brushing up against his legs might just dirty his $3 million Gucci pants.HOW DARE YOU.

Ok,that's about it.My ranting is over and I have to do something constructive today instead of mouthing off on my blog.Have a great day,folks and enjoy your bus journeys!