Thursday, September 30, 2004
Some Good Patents

The Japanese have always been known to be perverts...erm,wait,that's not what I am interested in saying...they've always been known to be nutty inventors,who come up with the craziest inventions that one will never imagine people would come up with.I am sure most of us have seen circulated emails about some of the stuff that the Japanese came up.The head-support stand which enables people to sleep standing up in an MRT,for instance.This is just one example.The papers recently featured a picture of another new Japanese creation called the Boyfriend's Arm Pillow.This pillow basically resembles a dismembered torso with a twisted arm(wow,in my words,it sounds very comforting)that a woman can pretend to be her non-existent boyfriend and cuddle up to.With her head strategically nestled in the muscular arm,she'd feel ample protection and is secure in the knowledge that the mangled torso is there to comfort her.I have no doubt it will comfort lots of women everywhere.And a cotton arm is much better than a real man's arm anyway.Guys can have BO and sweaty armpits,pillows won't.

But I say why let the Japanese have all the fun,grab all the money and laugh all the way to the bank.No sir.That will not do.Singapore has to be number one in everything so why not in the field of weird contraptions as well?We'd beat those Japanese buggers at their own game,patent our stuff and watch the money flow in like the Yang Tze river.Yes sir.That's the way to go.And anyway,isn't it the call by the government to promote entrepreneurship?This will be a good starting point,wouldn't it?

The Boyfriend's Arm Pillow has stirred my imagination a lot and I have come up with a couple of good patents that'd no doubt set the cash registers ringing.Sit back and admire the genius please.Oh,and if any venture capitalist happen to be reading this blog,please take a serious consideration to my ideas.Singapore has been crying out for another Sim Wong Hoo and I am IT,you know.I'm so sure of that,I'd bet you $1.

Anyway,here are a few ideas I have come up with.

Girlfriend's Bosom Pillow:Why let the girls have all the fun?Guys deserve something too and I propose the GBP as an alterntaive to it's sister counterpart BAP.This little comforter will no doubt soothe all the lonely men out there who yearn for the embrace of a wonderful and beautiful woman but can't ever seem to catch anybody's eye.or just get plain lucky.The pillow will be shaped like the dismembered torso of a woman,just like the BAP,except without the arm...so I save even more materials making the piece of crap.So basically,yopu just get two mounds there,if you know what I mean.And unlike the BAP again,I'd offer 3 different sizes for different preferences.There's the Sammi Cheng pillow,which is essentially a normal pillow because well,you know...it's Sammi Cheng.There is the Aishwarya Rai pillow,which is well,the medium size,not too flat and not too,erm,pronounced and finally,the Anna Nicole Smith pillow where you get two huge mounds.Even the choices of celebrities are good,I've covered all regional markets with the various choices of stars.Sammi brings us closer to the huge China market while Rai will bring the products to the Indian sub-continent.Nicole Smith will help us conquer the Western civilisation.

Male users of the pillow are encouraged to use the product correctly.And that is,when they use the product to sleep,they are to sleep FACE DOWN.Otherwise,the desired effects are lost.I know there are bound to be a few fatalities here and there but we'd sell the pillows with a disclaimer and purchasers are required to sign an indemnity form.The disclaimers will also protect us if they say our product does not give them a rush.We say they only get the desired effects if they do as we say.And if they did and still did not get the desired effects,again no worries,they'd probably be dead from suffocation anyway.The indemnity form protects us from lawsuits by the customer's family.So either way,we are safe from lawsuits.

The Boss' Electric Chair:It looks like the OSIM symphony chair but doesn't work like it.The chair is also covered in expensive plush leather but has a mish of fine silver wires running over the seat that is not visible to the eye unless you use a magnifying glass to look.The boss wouldn't know of course,so he or she would just think you are a really great employee to give him such a gift and your performance appraisal will no doubt,rank an AAA+.Now smile your evil grin because you know have him/her under your control.This contraption serves a lot of functions really and is programmeable so you can decide when electric shocks will be administered and at what intensity.But the boss wouldn't know he/she's being elctrocuted.No sir.Then he/she will escape your clutches.The electric shocks will induce a range of effects from waking up the boss(for the lazy bosses),an intense stomachache or headcahe(which will force the boss to take MC)to shock convulsions(not recommended).So as I said,it serves different functions.

There could be lazy bosses who need a kick up the @rse and the wakey wakey shocks will do a good job so they do not rest on their big,fat laurels.There are the stoamch/headache effects when a boss gets pesky and irritating and needs to be dispatched from the office.As for the shock convulsion effects,it's only when you really hate that person.

The Lobster Spray:Sick of lousy canteen food?Well,here's your saviour.This spray,when sprayed upon any meat,makes the thing taste like top grade lobster even if it is some mashy and horribly cooked piece of chicken that a dog wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.Immeidately,you find that you can tolerate any food and can eat anything and nobody will dare to say you are wasteful anymore.In fact,you'd probably wolf down everything that's placed and sprayed in front of you.Made with all natural ingredients with no preservatives,MSG,salt or suagr,you can be sure that it's a healthy yet delicious product.So healthy yet delicious that you'd spray it straight into your mouth and chew your own tongue.No no no,I do not recommend that of course.And it comes in many different fLavours:Lobster,abalone,mushroom,teriyaki chicken and leftover food flavour.

The Instant Allure Perfume/Cologne:Spray this on and feel and look like Keanu Reeves or Gwyneth Paltrow.In the eyes of others anyway.They will not be able able to tell the difference as well,this spray contains some real strong drugs that take over their sensory perceptions when they inhale the fumes or rather scent(depending on how much you apply really)and you decide what they see.How long the illusions last depends on the dosage you apply on your body and of course,you will also be affected by the drugs into thinking that you are the superstar of your choice.The scents come with different looks.Keanu Reeves,Jude Law and Hui Ge for the guys.For the girls:Gwyneth Paltrow,Fann Wong(not a good seller) and Cai Ping Kai.If you use the Keanu scent,you might just be drugged into thinking you are The One and start leaping off buildings and doing impromptu kungfu demos.God save you then.

I have to warn about the morning-after effects of this spray.One would have to constantly apply it otherwise the effects will just wear off.Always be prepared for a confrontation when your new girlfriend suddenly realises that the stud she is with is no Jude Law but some dude named Jude Lor.The fights and arguments might just get ugly.

I was about to type another contraption in but then,I discovered that it's almost six and my bilogical clock is calling out to me to pack my bags,shut down the computer and leave this God-forsaken place called the Office.Natural instinct is alive and well indeed.I cannot deny this call of nature and must go to satisfy my primal instincts.So long,folks.Remember,you are reading the words of the next Singapore multi-millionaire here.HAHAHAH.*Demented laugh*

Beauty = Eurasian/FBC

Read the online version of Monday's TNP this morning and they were featuring another newcomer to the TV scene in Singapore,Alex Polstra,who's featured on the new Mediacorp 5 reality series(not another "reality" show again???!!!Goodness me,when will they ever get sick of doing reality and the horrible "Eye For A Guy" enough torture for the average viewer already?),Extreme Gourmet.First off,let me say this...enough of unscripted reality crap shows and give me some quality scripted shows instead,sitcoms or dramas or whatever.I can't stand all these reality shows anymore.Do we have to wait until Survivior:Antarctic to realise that we have run out of ideas and locations for such crap?Oh,Antarctic...they just might do it.Anyway,back to talking about Polstra.

Polstra,as the name suggests,is an Eurasian.Now look all around you,besides the Mandarin channels(because these angmohs cannot speak Mandarin to save their lives),where can you NOT find them?Like TVMedia,they are everywhere.It's horrible.It's like they are the only good looking people left in Singapore and all the other pure Chinese are crap lookers.Is that true?Take a walk down Orchard Road for 15 minutes and tell me your conclusion.And if those people on TV are not Eurasians,they are,tah dah,Foreign Born Chinese(FBCs,I coined the term myself because they are not all Americans...right???)actors or actresses.Actually this occurs not only in Singapore but in HK as well.

The Asian entertainment world seems obssessed in assuming some kind of pseudo-Caucasian beauty and Pan-Pacific look.It's either that or they got to be some hot-shot Asian American dude who comes back to the East to seek his "heritage" and explore opportunities here.And they get plenty.My Taiwanese friend,Jen,absolutely hates these ABCs who come back from the States to make a living here as superstars.She thinks they don't really care about Asia in particular and are here just to earn a buck.After all,they are still Americans actually.The list of such celebrities in the HK and S'pore entertainment scene is,of course,also long.Let's list down some of the names.

Th list of singers who are Americans and went back to Taiwan and HK to develope their careers include Coco Lee(the Chinese-American singer or slut who tried to break into US,failed and is now neither here nor there),Elva Hsiao,Evonne Hsu,David Tsao and Marchi.The list of actors in the HK entertainment includes Maggie Q(who still hasn't done anything and had to bare her boobs in the indie flop,Manhattan Midnight,to try to break back into the US market and still failed.Haha!) and Daniel Wu(getting better but still a piece of wood).Singapore?There is such a lrage number that it'd be difficult NOT being able to name one.Allan Wu,Steph Song(she's Aussie),Keagan Kang and the entire cast of Masters Of The Sea.Wait,that is so long ago eh...I think I must have left out a lot of names because I can't remember anybody right now.

Of the lot I mentioned,Maggie Q also happens to be Eurasian.Is top local model Rebecca Tan Eurasian too?How about Corrianne Adrienne(is that her name?)?Or the one-movie babe in the Nicholas Tse movie,Danielle(the one where Nicholas Tse and Stephen Fong are detectives in some paranormal police unit combating ghouls and they fight against some water and fire ghosts and all that rubbish.Thought the movie was titled "2002" or something like that.)?

I should really advocate equal opportunities for all I suppose but hey,I am no labour rights activist so I don't really care.I just think that,too often,our vision of beauty is shaped too much by what we see and read on the telly,magazines and all other kinds of media that we believe in what they wnat us to believe in.This includes the concept of beauty as well.Well,of course,I can't deny that those people I mentioned are good-looking buggers but surely,we can't blindly follow everything the media feeds us.It's not reality and it builds up some kind of standard that we expect of partners and potentials that is not usually realistic.

I can already feel my points deviating much from how I started the blog but pardon me because this damn thing was done over the period of four days so what I made set out to write from the start has now become slightly different from how I am developing it.While I was ranting about the avanlanche of Eurasian and FBC faces on our screens and our media in general,I am suddenly talking about the shaping of the public perception of beauty by the media.It's not totally disconnected.Now,we perceive the Pan-Pacific look to be the in-look.The type we are looking for so to speak.But hang on a second,you see that many Eurasians on the streets?We do see a lot of dyed blond hair on the streets of course but those people may be trying to affect an Eurasian look but seriously,they'd need the entire population to be blind not to see beyond the dyed streaks.Wah liao eh,this is some quite serious criticism man.

Ok ok,I better end my blog here because I am losing track of my direction.I think I got my points across?Right right right?Patronise me.

Wednesday, September 29, 2004
The Shameless Singaporean

Sometimes,reading the papers and seeing how fellow Singaporeans behave,I am quite ashamed to even be a Singaporean.It's fair enough to talk about PRCs and their bad habits but are Singaporeans any much better or refined or cultured than them?Beats me.Yesterday's edition of TNP featured an article on how some well-off people took advantage of the charitable spirit of others and after reading the article,I could do nothing but shake my head.What a horrible bunch of losers we see around us.Read the article to know exactly what I am talking about.

Now now now,let me echo what the writer of the article said.Only I will be much more evil than the writer on wishing shame on the the Merc driver in question.No,I don't just wish shame on you.I hope that you lose all your possessions and will rely on the bar fridge that you got from the kind lady.That you will become exactly like how you desribed your brother:Sick,jobless and living in a one-room flat.Then you will realise what a fridge will mean to the needy.How they actually need it to lead a slightly better life than the one they are leading.How one small item improves their lifes tremendously because they need it,not because they desire it.Necessity and desire are two different things altogether.Realise that.And for those extreme cheapos who similarly asked for items(even luxury items like PCs),especially those who live in condominiums and have the audacity to say that the size of a home(even private property???Morons!) should not be used to judge the economic status of a person,I wish exactly the same fate as I wished the Merc driver.That you'd suffer such a horrible twist of fate,you'd actually need the items just to survive or improve your standard of living.Shame on you?No,hell on you.

Of course the article also revealed the good side of Singaporeans,kudos to the cancer-stricken old lady who wanted to donate an item even though she was living in poverty and difficulty herself.I guess the reason why she would do that is exactly because she herself have lived through hardship and therefore,she realises and understands how little gestures and aid will greatly help other people in need.I have to salute that.Someone,who despite her own difficulties,reaches to help others.Who realises that no matter how bad a state she is in,there may likely be someone else who's in an even worse state than her somewhere.

Reading through the story,it's funny how the rich,well-off or financially stable people are the shameless ones while it's the people in need,those who are suffering themselves,who will rise up to help others.Of course,it would be wrong to coin such a broad statement and apply across everyone in Singapore.I cannot deny that.There are good well-off people (like the Madam Phua in question)and bad poor folks.I do think though that people who have suffered in their own lives and lived through poverty,tend to have more empathy with the needy and understand why and how they need help.Those people,born to a comfortable life,will usually have greater difficulty in understanding the needs of such folks.There might even be some who are apathetic to the needs of the REAL needy...like the Merc driver.

In Singapore,I think it will be fair to say that the percentage of the middle-class and well-off far outnumbers those of the needy.Those living close to the poverty line.If that is the case,will it be reasonable to say that the number of people who are oblivious or apathetic to the needs of the needy also far outnumbers those who understand?Again,this is a very sweeping statement to make and it's not necessarily true but I'd have to make an assumption to further the argument so patronise me.Why are there so many of these well-off people who are absolute cheapos.Besides the incidents mentioned here,we also see them queueing up for freebies.Forming up overnight queues for discounts.It's everywhere.Of course,people are always up for a bargain or a freebie but sometimes,we are just "over enthusiastic" to the point of being shameless.

It's easy to want to blame something or someone for this kind of behaviour.I was tempted to mention the education system and how its failure to provide a well-rounded education,including social and moral behaviour,is leading to such ugly behaviour.Until I realise that whatever happens,we can't always blame the schools for it.I'd like to think we get most of our values from our homes.It's our parents who teach and inculcate in us values that they see fit and necessary.A lot of what we do may also be observed from the environment but hey,it's the home where we spend the majority of our time.It's sad wehn you think about it.Some parents don't teach their children enough not to take advantage of charities for the needy.It's a disgrace.

Sincerely,I hope the Merc driver guy not only reads the TNP report but also sees this blog and the "curse" I put on him to show my disgust.People like him need to learn.Maybe they're too set in their ways to learn the softer way,so perhaps the only way they're learn is to teach them a lesson the hard way.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Horrors of NS

The death of 2nd Sergeant Hu Enhuai during NS combat survival training has raised an eyebrow or two as NS training is,perhaps for the umpteenth time or so,placed under the microscope of the general public for scrutiny.Actually,any of us guys who have gone through NS know the rigours of NS training is no kids' stuff,it's only the girls who seemed fascinated or horrified by it(maybe a stinct in NS would open your eyes???).And I'm sure the guys know their fair share of friends in NS who got sriously injured or something like that,enough for them to get downgraded.Of course,there are also those Oscar winners who chow keng well enough to get themselves exempted from physical duties or to get downgraded but hey,who can blame them?An army recruitment poster trumpeted that joining the army is not for fame nor fortune.Well,Jean Grey sent some of the X-Men a spoof of those posters and the modified poster rightly asked:"Not for fortune nor for fame.Then for f#$%?".And a couple of others I remember well are "Comrpomise is not an option.Chow keng is." and "Eye Power.Chow Keng.All Talk,No Action.Some thing you can't learn in a classroom."These are so true,I can't even begin to agree with them.

I am interested in a comment in today's paper about how "dunking,if done correctly,is safe"as said by an NS instructor.Well,I am sure,it is.Suicide bombing,if done correctly,is safe too.For others that is,Just go to St John's Island and blow yourself up discreetly.No harm done besides a mangled limb or two.Seriously though,I don't believe that training can be totally eliminated because one still needs to know how a particular situation can pan out through simulation and training.But sometimes I am quite amazed how these NS instructors can be so deluded.Of course,all such training activities are safe,as long as they are adhered to in the strictest detail by instructors.But how can we possibly guarantee that?There is a human factor invloved and as long as that comes in,there is always that margin for error that cannot be discounted.

I think the real horrible thing about the whole training regime is that the instructors present at training activities are not necessarily qualified to conduct those training activities.Those four instructors there,how many of them are really qualified?Have they gone through the necessary training and instructions and were true-blue instructors or were they just told to turn up and torture because they had been previous trainees in that course?If it's the latter,how would they know how long to dunk or to check for signs of stress?I guess it's easy to say that once someone is gasping,you stop.But dunk your head in water and hold it for ten seconds or so and one would be gasping too.It's not necessarily the actual physical exertion but the stress of the situation that can affect reactions.Maybe those guys are not experienced enough to discern.Why am I defending the instructors?I don't know.I know they are definitely not free from fault and has to take a great deal of the blame.No doubt about that.I don't know them personally but they might even be sadists for all I know.I am sure most of us,NSmen,know our fair share of sadist trainers or commanders in the army.But SAF also has to take the blame and they like to push it down to individuals(I am guessing that's what the article is doing,the organisation has its conscience clear.What the hell?Someone dies attending your training and you hold no fault AT ALL???).It has always or usually been the case and this is it again.It's time they stopped trying to paint themselves as white as snow.

I have a friend who also went through a POW training and got his shoulder dislocated bad enough to get downgraded to become a storeman.I am sure he was the envy of the battalion then.I guess in a way,the physical rigours of NS training can take its toll sometimes and claim its victims here and there.While thousands survive because they can,one or two unlucky chaps can meet some unexperienced or perhaps demented instructors and suffer needlessly because they are not up to it.The instructors then have to know who can and who can't.I can forgive instructors who are inexperienced but as regards to those sadistic ones,they only become so because they are in a position of power.And who gives them the power?The organisation.So can the organisation exempt itself from blame?

Personally,I am sure most people would want to chow keng through NS unless well,I can't think of any reason not to.Because at the end of the day,what's important to us?It's our lifes outside that is most important to us.Ok ok ok,save me this protecting the nation crap.In times of war,we will fight,even if it means taking up kitchen knives so all patriots out there,save your vitriol for some more worthy cause...like animal rights.Save the chickens,for instance.As long as we know how to load our weapons correctly,shoot reasonably well and perform our individual roles and tasks well enough,leave us well alone.Why do people have to take their training soooo "seriously"?Am I contradicting from what I said earlier?Of course I am.Training may not be diluted but they can be moderated.At the end of the day,you can get a knowledge of the feelings of being dunked and then you go home.Full stop.In a war situation,no amount of simulation prepares you for it sufficiently.The situation will be different no matter what one says.

I,myself,muddled through NS keeping a low profile which is a very wise choice.I didn't get picked on by instructors nor commanders very much.Which was a good life then.I learnt to shoot,read topography and handle signal equipment like any others and I'd think I can handle myself in a war situation.And I didn't had it too hard because my instructors were also the chow keng type and didn't bother with the " siao on" stuff,just as long as we learn the skills and do it well enough.So instructors,see...why be so hard on your men?And remember too,these guys could be supreriors to you in the outside world one day...the horror,the horror(movie buffs,know which movie that came from???)

The topic of NS always bring up mixed reactions from guys.There are good times and bad times.Funny moments and disgusting acts.We take it,grin and bear with it.Nothing special.But at the end of it all,we want to go home in one piece. So for sadistic NS instructors,I tell you,the guy you are dunking is someone's child too.What's the fun in doing these kind of stuff?Well,I don't understand the psychology of a sadist anyway so maybe that's fun to be had somewhere I don't and can't find.Tsk tsk tsk...

Friday, September 24, 2004
Get Off Your Bum!

Yesterday's cover story of TNP caught my attention...it scrreamed the headline "Young man, why are you begging?" and it certainly caught my attention.There are two primary reasons for this.First,the guy n question is all of 25 years old,able bodied and does not exactly come from a needy family.Yet the bugger is sitting on his fat bum in an underpass in Orchard Road,begging not for a living but for money to enhance his life...buy a pair of Reebok sneakers or a pair of spectacles.Even in an age of absurdity,this takes the cake.Second reason why I am fascinated by this story is because I see this guy around near Hougang Mall begging as well.I mentioned about him once to Jean Grey a long time ago when this shameless bum would sit near a staircase close to the shopping mall and beg openly.I couldn't beleiev it then that such a young man would need to resort to begging,I mean,surely he can find a job,right?He didn't look like he was intellectually or physically disabled or something.What's wrong with him?

Yesterday's TNP story provided me with background to this guy's story.Basically,this is a bum who stopped school since he was secondary four and then after that decided that he never wanted to work and would live off the allowances his parents give him and the money he cheats through begging on the streets.I said cheating because that is what it is.Cheating.Why should working folks on the streets give money to bums like him out of the perception that they need it for their next meal?Only to be rudely awakened to the fact that they use it to buy luxuries the average folk wouldn't dream of.Read the article and look at his answers when asked why he didn't find work.He doesn't work because he would only work near his home and there are no jobs near his home.What an excuse!What a bum!And asked if he thinks he should be the one supporting his parents...take a look at his answer.If I had a gun,I know where one bullet is going.Into his thick an infilial head.Even has the gall to say that he hoped the day that his parents stopped supporting him would never come.What kind of a person is this???And his lifestyle?Sleep until late noon then go beg.What is this?If you rear a pig,at least you can slaughter it for meat.This guy?What do you do with a gigantic waste of space who does nothing but eat,sleep,beg and produce faeces?

It makes my blood boil when I see folks like this on the streets.Abled bodied people who are too lazy to earn their own keeps and make their own living.Relying on the charity of others and the affection of their parents to stay alive.What's the value of such a person on earth?I have to admit that secretly there might be people who may want to have a life like his but these people are responsible enough to know that life should not be like this.It's not just about a meaningless existence,it's also about self-worth.This guy obviously has none.I guess secondary school syllabus does not teach about self-worth huh?It's funny that they might teach about sex education in secondary school but not about the psyche of the self.

Reading similar related articles,you get the picture that there are a lot of beggar out there full of skulduggery.They look pitiful on the outside and stuff like that but enter their homes and you're amazed to find yourself in a palace.How these people have the cheek to do beg and lead such extravagant lifestyles boggles me.I am astonished that people can be so amoral.But then again it proves that there are all sorts of people living in this world...and Singapore.I've seen my fair share of beggars,of course.Especially on my trips to China,it has been a major eye-opener.The streets in China are practically lined with them.They are everywhere.In the underpasses,on the overhead bridges,along the roads,everywhere.And some of them are extremely pitiful looking.Distorted and maimed limbs.Countryside women with their infants begging in teh cold at night.Children running all over the place,asking you for a pittance.It's almost unreal.Where did they come from?Are they for real?Is it syndicated?Or is it genuine?I never knew so I never gave.But coming back to home,the fact that it can be so close to home still surprises me.And some of these guys are a thousand times worse than their counterparts in China.Because they are able-bodied and not needy.Folks,keep your money in your pockets.Acts of kindness can be performed in other ways.Do not waste your cash.

Death Is But A Part Of Life

I used to think about death an awful lot.No,not about commiting suicide.By about dying itself.About what it means and how it'd affect the people around the person who passed away.I happened to think about it again last night,for no obvious reason.Technically,you could call me a morbid person but I'd seen my fair share of deaths around me to realise it's never far away.And it strikes the least when you expect it.I don't fear death in any way,to me,it's just the final phase of a life.And it leads to the afterlife.It's only the effects it has on the people around me that I fear.I fear the crying and mourning that goes on after that.

My mum,who is the eldest,had seen two of her seven siblings pass away before her.IAnd I've remembered both times strikingly because they came suddenly.many years ago,my second uncle contracted throat cancer around his 50s.It was a most painful disease.One had to go through sessions of chemical therapy,slabs of medication amongst other painful medical processes for a cure.Despite all this,if one fails to recede the disease,the last option usually involves an operation to remove the cancerous growth.As it's at the throat,basically you lose the ability to talk.You can still make sounds but it's real painful just to communicate and even then you'd probably not be able to get your points across.I can't remember the day now but my second uncle paid us a visit one evening to see my mum and maybe catch up.I don't know.It was clear he was in great pain and had much difficulty speaking.Seeing him in such great discomfort,my mum didn't really wwant him for too long although she really wanted to see how he was doing and if he was getting better.I think he admitted as much that he was in great pain.The meeting lasted about an hour or so before he left for home.The same time the following evening,when I came home,my mum was sitting distraught on the sofa.She told me my second uncle had commited suicide by hanging himself.Like a bolt out of the blue.

This March,I went to the US with my mum,my eldest uncle and my third aunt to visit my cancer-striken youngest aunt in Greenwood,Mississippi.As one can see now,the disease cancer runs in the family because my grandfather died of cancer as well.I've always worried about my mum getting the disease but so far,she's healthy and free from it.Anyway,I spent ten days there and most of the days were really spent helping to take care of her and lifting her spirits so that she'd have more willpower and determination to fight the disease.And she'd know that we are firmly behind her.My youngest aunt had not met most of her siblings(except third aunt who doesn't work and so goes travelling all over the place...including to my youngets aunt home)for over 20 years and one can imagine her joy when she first saw us and even ove rthe period of time when we were there with her.Much of the days were spent cooking for her and talking and catching up with her as well,she's not well enough to cook and the stuff that my young cosuins can serve up are not exactly nutricious fare.She needed better food and we cooked her meals and tonic soups to make sure she got fed well.But I felt what was most important was our presence and our company.The night when we were about to depart for home.My youngest aunt broke down.It was all due to what my insensitive third aunt(I don't like her per se)who wondered aloud if the siblings must wait another 20 years before they could meet again.To a cancer-strikened patient,you do NOT talk about 20 years because they may not have that.You spend each day as it comes.My mum had to console my youngest aunt,telling her to be strong and get well so that she can then visit Singapore again after a period of decades.It was one of the most heartbreaking things I have seen in my life.Three months to the day we left.My youngest aunt passed away.My mum and I spent the night talking about her at the time.We were glad we visited her before she passed away.it meant everything to my youngest aunt.For the others who didn't go(excuses ranged from work to not having the time to simply not responding),I hope they slept well at night.My youngest aunt lamnted to me how my youngest auncle never sent her cards for any occasions.Now he could save on those cards.And it made me realised how much a greeting card can mean to people.

I've had strange dreams in the past about my dad passing away and how I cried during those dreams.But that was when I was younger.I don't know if I would cry now.I didn't cry when my youngest aunt passed away even though I felt great sorrow,but I've accepted now how death is very much a part of life and we have to move on no matter what happens.It's easier than done,of course but I'm just facing it as a matter of fact.Without getting emotional about it.Hence I now no longer know if I'd cry if my mum or dad passes away,even though I'd certainly mourn.Is this cold?I don't know.I hope not.It's only me trying to be more rational than emotional.

More to the point,I've wondered about myself dying.Like I mentioned earlier,I have no fear of death so if I were to pass away this evening or now,I'd have no issues with it.If I die,I die.End of story.For me,that is for I know what I believe in and I know where I'd go after that so there's no issue for me.Life is but a passage,which is why I don't hold a lot of things dear to me here.The things I have and some of the people around me.I don't need to be friends with the entire planet.I do fear and care about the people I leave behind though.For my parents,I hope what I had given them was good while I was around and what I have left them will be good to them for the rest of their lifes.For my brother,I wish him well and that he'd sort himself and his family out to lead a wonderful life with a child.For my cousins,I wish them all the best in the world and that some of them might actually be better people...with love.For my friends,I hope I've made your lifes slightly better in any way I can.And you might remember me with a wink and a drink.For the ones I love or have loved,may your lifes be blessed and filled with the love and care I can't give.

It's all becoming a little morbid after writing about death so much that this must seem like a suicide note or something like that.Well,it is nothing of that sort.I never speak in advocacy of suicide even if I might be able to understand the rationale behind it...under exceptional circumstances.That does not include suicide bombings.I am talking about the disease ravaged here.I think I should syop talking death here so on a lighter note,I just stopped about the loveliest girl I have seen in this building for a long time while I was in the canteen buying food.I have never seen her previously so I wonder which department she is from.She reminds me of a female buddy I used to have in university who looks a bit like her.This girl is prettier.

Reverting back to my subject,to end,I would like to quote football great Brian Clough quotation:"I want no epitaphs of profound history and all that type of thing. I contributed. I would hope they would say that, and I would hope somebody liked me."Ditto.

Thursday, September 23, 2004
Always Outnumbered,Never Outgunned

Seven years is a long time in a career to come up with a product.But this is exactly how long Liam Howlett has taken to write a follow-up to Prodigy's monster seller "The Fat Of The Land" and in the long absence of the band,its comtemporaries have either disintegrated,disappeared or have lost their lustre.The band of 90s dance groups have mostly gone the way of the dinosaur.Underworld has gone now.They will be remembered for "Born Slippy",the piece of Karl Hyde mumblespeak which gained prominence because of the cultural phenomenon "Trainspotting".Orbital too has disappeared although I have not heard of them disbanding as yet.And the Chemical Brothers have also gone quiet since their last LP "Come With Us".It's the usual practice for bands to come up with an album every two years.It has been three since the Chemicals last released one.

"Always Outnumbered..."was always considered a child in labour if one took note of the difficulties that came in the birth of this noisy beast.And in that time,Liam Howlett has shed the other three original members of the group:Keith Flint,Leeroy Thornhill and Maxim.Of the three,I am still rather surprised at the exit of Flint,the green goblin behind the visuals of Firestarter and Breathe.He was,after all,the public face of the group.The most prominent figure that fans recognise them by,as opposed to the rather plain geek-like figure of Howlett.But then again,Howlett has always maintained full control of a band that has,very much,remained his showpiece and his vision.Flint and Maxim were no more than dancers in the band who provided the visuals while although Leeroy could play a bit,he was often relegated to the role of band sideshow as well.

I'm have to make a qualification her that writing about a dance album is about one of the hardest things to do.There are no lyrics to read and obvious leads to follow.Everything has to be based on texture and beats which can be extremely difficult to comment on.I wonder how professional critics write about dance albums and sound like they really know what they are talking about.

This latest LP is an extremely noisy affair.Not unlike previous Prodigy offerings then.But one that seem to spread it tentacles in all directions.Which was unlike "The Fat" which held up better as a whole.Even as I'm listening to it the very moment as I'm typing this,I'm still trying to get a sense of the album's tone and mood."Spitfire" marks the beginning of the LP,which I felt had old Prodigy marked all over it.Furious beats and a vocal performance by Juliette Lewis that reminded me more of Keith Flint than anything else.This wouldn't sound out of place in the 1997 album.The problem is:This is 2004.And Prodigy has not progressed in all that time."Get Up Get Off"essentially follows the tried-and-tested Prodigy formula as well.Funny that it faetures another vocal performance by J.Lewis again.

Elsewhere,there are discernible signs that the group is trying to diversify its influences(it's a strange word to use diversify on influences but I can't think of a better word)."Girls" employs an old school hip-hop beat to its advantage,not unlike something the Beastie Boys would do.It is a good choice as a single,although I was much more impressed by "Medusa's Path"."Medusa's" is a middle-eastern influenced sounding dance tune that is head and shoulders above the other routine dance tracks that Howlett has constructed this time around.It's lukcy that he did not get carried away like the Chemicals did in their last LP's dalliance with world music.Richly textured with controlled beats,I wish Howlett has taken a more refined approached with most of the other tracks as well,rather than pound listeners senseless.But of course this has always been the Prodigy approach...we can't expect them to morph into Orbital overnight.

Other tracks that listeners might want to keep track of are the single "You'll Be Under My Wheels","Memphis Bells" and "Shoot Down" for the involvement of Oasis' Liam Gallagher.The last track is not much different from Gallagher's other collaborations with the Chemicals but it is a big name effort even though it's nothing special."Phoenix" is an interesting single although how much it differs from Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz",which the song samples heavily from,is very debatable.Personally,I liked "Memphis Bells" because it was slightly different from most of the other tracks on offer."You'll Be..."is a very standard issue single that I'd expect more from the likes of Prodigy.

I'd end this review with a repetition of the opening line in this blog.Seven years is a long time in a career to come up with a product.The Prodigy has seemingly stood still through all this time.Taking in mind how much the outside world has changed since 1997,it is amazing that dance music,according Liam Howlett,has stood still."Always Outnumbered..."is not a bad album,but for somethign that took seven years to make.It should have been better.Now we await the eleven year old Guns & Roses LP "Chinese Democracy"...

6 1/2 /10

Magneto Slain

So much have gone one over the past few days that I've forgotten to write about some of the going ons in the Office X-Men environment.Well,a couple of things happened.First off,as mentioned in the twoeggs blog,Colossus and Jubilee completed their big presentation yesterday and while the presentation itself went smoothly,the aftermath saw a spectacular piece of politicking at work.I wasn't there to witness the event firsthand but from what I heard,what conspired was that the Gods of the upper realm was gunning for our God who was missing in action due to some overseas trip.Some lesser demi-god who used to belong to this realm also tried to add fire by shooting poison darts at the three X-Men present(Rogue was there as well).All these have opened our eyes to the level of pettiness which top management in the civil service can stoop to.If they are the top talent that Singapore can muster to serve our homeland,then seriously,ladies and gentlemen,migrate before it's too late.Forget about all the rallying cries and propaganda that exists on TV,get your house in order first.And if there is to be 8100 jobs to be cut from the civil service,I can easily see where the attrition should come from.I guess when you are up there,the air must really be thin and one cannot possibly think well lacking oxygen...and brain cells.

Onto the main subject,as one can tell,the leader of the Brotherhood has finally died in the battle of the Office.Magneto is in her death beds,struggling for life but her life is ebbing away and she'd expire on Friday.How did it finally come to this?I have an inkling of an idea but let's just say she finally discovered her powers of levitation,which allowed her to levitate above and avoid basic work duties finally failed her and she realised that she does not have enough powers to compete in this hostile environment.An episode involving the Blob finally convinced her that she is not up to it and she basically self-destructed after that.I am sure Prof X added no small amount of pressure on his part but that's another story.Anyway,that's it.A Brotherhood member gone that was totally unexpected.Who'd expect someone so new here to leave before the veteran X-Men did?Nobody.Dazzler was so affected,she wanted to talk to Magneto and dissuade her from leaving.I thought that was crazy.Not because I thought I hated Magneto but that why should the departure be seen in a negative light?If Magneto can't make it here,she just don't have the means to survive here.To encourage her to stay longer is to prolong her agony.And to degrade the level of work quality here.And leaving means that at least she must be able to find greener pastures outside...which will not in too difficult to find,in all fairness.

I think maybe the leader of the group leaving have affected some of the Brotherhood members here.Just this morning,when I went to the pantry to get water,Sabretooth and Destiny greeted me,out of the blue.I wasn't expecting it of course and as I was drinking water out of my cup,I couldn't really greet them back.I just said hi back without even looking at them.I know that was rude or would appear to be but I didn't mean it and can't help it.I was drinking,for god's sake,you want me to spill the water out?!I'd greet them at some other time appropriate when I fancy.And anyway what was going through Destiny's mind when she refused to go into a lift with Jubilee,Colossus,Dazzler and Psylocke?Wasn't that rude too?And that was more deliberate than my reaction ever was just now.

Rogue is not leave for two days,today and tomorrow,which is FABULOUS.Two absolute days of lying around and bumming.Nah.I guess when she returns next week,she'd really push the panic buttons on out annual mission and start getting us to perform our tasks for that piece of work.I will not want to be totally unprepared for that.But her not being around makes it as good as a long weekend starting today.Wow,the marvels of an Office without Rogue.The only thing is I'm sure Banshee would then be making a lot more rounds sprouting his pearls of crappy wisedom.I have my earphones ready.

A final small matter.It's Oldham 0 Tottenham 6.Finally Spurs prove that they can score if they wanted to,even though it's against lowly opposition in the Carling Cup.I am still satisfied as it proves that the team isn't just all defense and no attack.Bring on ManUre.We'd s#$% on them.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Potong Pasir

First off,let me say that I'm hoping that I'd get to watch the anime movie,Ghost In The Shell 2:Innocence,in local cinemas soon or at least see it open here.Fact is,we don't see too many anime shows or movies in our cinemas even though these can be of high quality,better than some of the live-action dross that's shown here anyway.But still they never get shown here.I would guess they don't have a big enough market here but from what I observe,it seems there is a healthy number of anime fans in Singapore.If the movie never hits these shores,I guess I'd have to get it on DVD or download it from the net,but that'd be such a shame.GITS2 got a good review in the NYT although it wasn't reviewed by Ebert.The Japanese have a good history of churning out good anime films with great storylines.Spirited Away and Tokyo Godfathers being two recent examples.I am quite sure this sequel to the original GITS is a fine addition to this great tradition.But besides this,there are of course,other interesting movies to look forward to:Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow,Oliver Stone's Alexander and Pixar's The Incredibles.

I wanted to talk about Potong Pasir because it is an estate close to my heart.I spent ten years of my life studying in the estate.That's St Andrew's Primary and Secondary for you.It's not a top school but that wasn't important at all.I enjoyed some of my best times of my life studying there.What's there to like?Well,there were so many things.Primary school,I guess,wasn't much to be remembered because I was so young then.Days were spent playing police and thief,catching and step-leg during my early primary school years,from 1 to 3 namely.I guess then we were too young to want to play football or basketball.There were always instances when we were find ourselves running too fast and then falling down on the rough gravel roads that twist all over the school compound or on tiled concrete pavements.And then we'd have to wash our wounds using the open taps located in the compounds.Besides these,there were also less strenuous activities such as playing bottlecaps,erasers,marbles and of course,betting collection book stickers.We used to buy huge stacks of them,both to complete the books and to use as a wager.Gambling starts early.

Talking about the school itself,St Andrew's Primary is kick-ass HUGE.Well,actually,that was after the secondary school segment moved to their new compound nearby in Potong Pasir as well.Before that,both primary and secondary schools shared the same building.So we had to have staggered recesses to give the tuckshop stallholders a break.The food at the school was quite top notch as well.The noodles and cha kway tiao were very very good.In fact,the cha kway tiao is still one of th best I ever tasted.That's coming from a primary school.We also has two drinks stalls which would sell these cups of different flavoured syrup water for 10¢ each.Actually,there was also this stall which sold fried chicken wings and fries and it was my daily staple for 6 years.The chicken was extremely good,well fried.And it came at only about 30¢ or 40¢ each.That stall sold chee cheong fun too but pardon me if I didn't eat that too often.I couldn't remember what the other stalls sold.There was of course a Muslim stall that sold Malay food like mee rebus,mee siam and sother stuff and I do remember that my liking for mee rebus came from that stall because it was good.There were 2 snack stalls selling snacks and titbits like chips,kacang puteh and other stuff.Besides all the food stalls,there was a bookstore whcih catered to all our stationery needs.Actually,the school itself was huge.Our field was the biggest in Singapore,comparable to that of Bartley Secondary,if not bigger.The compound also had a separate science block,a courtyard,a basketball court that is part of a carpark(very dangerous),a chapel and living detached houses(not just quarters)for various staff.In fact,someone actually lives inside the compound but is not a school staff.How come that family got a property in the compound,we have no idea.I only hated the toilets...none of the flushes worked and the things just stinks...despite the toilet cleaning duties all classes have.

I spent the majority of my time in upper primary and secondary school playing football.During the upper primary years,we used to have these annual unofficial inter-class football games.There were only two classes at my year and session(there were morning and afternoon asessions,I belonged to the afternoon session),A and B.I was in A and the A class always won.I always played as a defender and I was pretty good then.Hahah.But the morning session classes always kicked our butts.They were damn good.By the way,Indra Sahdan Daur was a year or two below me.He was crap then.

Secondary school came much the same way as primary school.Football and studies.Girls wasn't in the equation because we were a boys' school.Which was good and bad in a way.We didn't really have contact with girls until we hit JC.The nearest girls school near to our school was Cedar Girls but it always seemed that it was a school of tomboys rather than "genuine" girls.Anyway,as school was in the morning now,much of our afternoons were spent staying back after school to play football at the Potong Pasir block void decks.We only plastic balls.The interclass football matches stopped now as there were now no longer just two classes and a lot of the people in our primary school class has gone to other secondary schools.Oh,the secondary school was a separate compound,across a canal and connected to the main road by a bridge,which when it rained,would flood from the waters which completely filled the canal everytime...even though it was a huge canal.I loved the western fried chicken and the cooked food stalls at the secondary school,they were world-class killers.Sports in St Andrew's was played according to different houses.Each student was assigned a house when he enters primary or secondary school and he wil play sports and represent only that house.In primary,the houses were separated into colours: Red,yellow,blue and green for the morning session and purple,brown,orange and grey for the afternoon.I was in orange house,which was arguably the strongest house although when it came to football,purple was better.But the afternoon houses were no match for the power-houses of the morning session,yellow and red.In secondary school,the houses were named according to former principals.The ones I could remember were Romanis,Loy Fatt and Venn.There were others.I used to represent my house for long jump...if you ask me,I don't know why.I couldn't jump if you put a gun to my head.And of course,what's a Christian school without chapel lessons?Only Muslims were exempted,the rest of us...we would file into the chapel and listen to sermons,watch plays and sing hymns.Not unenjoyable,you know.And there were singing lessons too.Don't know if that was exclusive to us.I was a pretty average student there.We had class and level rankings in school.In a good year,I would be among among the top ten students in class among the top twenty in school(out of about a hundred?),otherwise it's about 12 to 15 in class and top thirty at level.Not too bad.It was always nervy to know your ranking in class...our parents would always ask if I dropped too much.But I appreciated it not as bragging rights but as a motivator.

I don't know why I went on that great discourse about my primary and secondary school life.I was more intent on talking on Potong Pasir.What sparked off my thoughts about the area was reading an article about Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong having his request to carry out lift upgrading denied AGAIN.I hate to ask this but if it was a PAP ward,would the Parliament have done such a thing?NOPE.No chance.So the residents have the freedom to vote in Chiam and also be denied their rights and privileges as citizenry of Singapore as well because they live in an opposition ward.How nice.Unless and until they get a PAP MP,they will never get anything.

The Potong Pasir I knew was not a very well-serviced ward.There was originally two buses which served the estate internally,142 and 147 before the latter was abruptly withdrawn and changed to service the Upper Serangoon Road route all the way to Hougang.Which served me fine because I live in Hougang anyway but it was a great disservice to the residents of Potong Pasir.One bus service for the entire estate internally?Name me one other estate likewise.Potong pasir has also come into constant conflict with the governemnt over upgrading and renovation issues.Which is horrible for the people living there.It seemed they are always the ones getting penalised because they happen to be living in the "wrong" part of Singapore.I wa sthere so I know.The buidlings in the estate can look a bit worn here and there,you know.The average age of the blcoks must be over 20 years or more now and without upgrading,how can you serve the aged people living in these estates well?And we all know about the troubles they got just to get SBS to activate their MRT station despite the company already building a stop there and yet saying that they may not open it for lack of traffic flow.Amazing then why they would even put in the capital to build a station in the first place.If you don't want to stop there,don't build a stop.Simple.Don't build one and then say traffic isn't good enough to support the station.You must have done your sums before you put your money in.

I always thought it was emotional blackmail on the Potong Pasir residents by unseen mastermind behind all these problems and issues they faced.I don't know who or for what.I wouldn't know,would I?And I wish it would stop.I would imagine with the number of rebuffs they get on their upgrading proposals,Potong Pasir must be among the most rundown estates in the nation,close to Hougang probably(I am in part of the Pasir Ris GRC although I live in Hougang.Another part of Hougang is also part of Marine Parade GRC.Go figure.).Give the residents in Potong Pasir a break.They don't deserve this.Potong Pasir is a good town.It has a sleepy and laidback ambience that is extremely different to some of the bigger estates with their shopping centres and stuff around.I am tempted to use the word rustic but in a city setting,it's inappropriate but I sometimes think it is.To the policymakers: Please spare a thought for the people there before going about your rejection exercises.The aged,the young and the disabled.They live in Potong Pasir too,you know.At the rate you are rejecting their upgrading proposals,soon historical dramas will all be filmed there for an authentic look.I am sure some fresh lift lobbies and a facelift to the neighbourhood will be much welcomed there as well...much like the other estates in Singapore.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Cult Of William Hung

This blog is supposed to be a discourse on the disturbing phenomenon and cult of personality that is the Hung Man but I'd go on a slight detour first before going into that.It seems that our boss Rogue is slightly going mental and doesn't exactly seem to know what she is doing and what the repercussions of her actions will be like on her staff.I am,of course,talking about the imminent BIG presentation that Colossus and Jubilee will be handling tomorrow.Read the twoeggs blog for a better idea of what went on as I don't really want to repeat the things that went on.Anyway,it seems weird to me that her actions have little or no consistency at all.She's afraid to take charge of the really important issues and yet want to niggle over things that should be non-issues.Her way of approaching things is also really baffling to most of us.There might be a method behind the madness although the madness is the part which is much more apparent to us.I am sure she will throw in more spanners in the works for the two of them today,not to mention screwdrivers and hammers.Whatever she sees fit.It might actually be a greater feat to get past her rather than the presentation itself.Mark these words.

I happened to just buy the F.I.R. debut album yesterday as well as the Prodigy album "Always Outnumbered,Never Outgunned" and really wanted to do a review of either album but I haven't had a long enough listen to both albums to form an opinion so I'd have to leave that for later.The F.I.R. album is quite a pleasant surprise though.I pondered really long and hard before deciding to purchase it to see why it stayed on top of the RIAS charts for so long.There is a good reason for it because it is a good album.And coming from a band,that is a rare thing.We have all heard about the dearth of bands in the Mandarin pop/rock music scene(forget about all those China bands,we haven't heard of 99% of them)and F.I.R. comes as a welcome break from all that R&B girl idol/male crooner bulls#$% that is polluting the market.Ninety percent of those "singers" seem to think that dragging a note or two and pulling off a few falsettos qualifies them as a genuine black-influneced authentic singer.Crap.You're all pretenders.Some more coming from some small village in Taiwan or Malaysia or a HDB flat in Singapore or Hong Kong for that matter.Stop pretending to understand and master R&B just because you heard it off a radio.You have no idea of the roots and origins of such music.You are but a sacrilege.The least I feel these singers should know is understand why R&B is sung this way and don't reduce it to a mindless technique,like Mariah Carey.Oh,that was a huge detour.F.I.R. is pretty good.In a market where there isn't much band (not boyband)music to choose from...go on,name them:Mayday,Wu Bai and China Blue...???Ok,as mentioned by some critics,F.I.R. sounds like a Chinese version of D.A.I. or Every Little Thing.I am not sure if that is necessarily a bad thing.If there isn't such a thing in the Chinese pop market,why is that a bad thing?If we had a Chinese version of Keane or Radiohead here,would people call it bad too?As for the Prodigy album,I,sort of,liked it as well.But more on these two albums some other day.

William Hung's stopever here has been some kind of a whirlwind affair but Channel U and Channel I doing specials on him and newspapers devoting column space to him.All this for what?For an "American Idol" reject who can't carry a tune who happens to be Chinese?Does he even deserve all this attention?What has he got that we haven't got?Courage?Ask those who appeared in the "Singapore Idol" auditions.Why don't we make them into superstars then?Because he has a good and sincere heart.Why don't we feature all those volunteer who spend all their time helping the unfortunate then?Make them into popstars.These people would at least deserve it because they would BE the ones with the good,sincere hearts.Working not for recognition but for passions.Who the hell is Hung when compared to these people?Or we feature him because he is cute?Cute?Our taste has just plummeted to unprecedented lows.I used to think only some like Tom Cruise could be considered cute.Hung is cute?Like a pig,you mean?If you think nerdy is cute,please head down to Science Faculty,NUS for your dose of the hottest hunks in the world.You will not be disappointed.

Having raised various points on why Hung might deserve to be an idol and failed to see the vaildity in all the points,I can only think it's the East's sad obsession with thinking all things that "made it" in the West.The Chinese have had this obsession to be seen and accepted or respcted in Western eyes for ages now.We seek their approval like an eager puppy looking to appease its owner.Mybe it's the way they import thier businesses and culture wholesale here that us this way.And maybe I should not just put it down as a Chinese trait but as an Asian trait.The Japanese certainly always seem keen NOT to look Asian with their cleached blond hair looks.I am sure they really want their stars to break into the Western market too.But usually they only want that to be done when the stars are good at something.Hikaru Utada with her upbeat music(oh dear...it's R&B as well).Beat Takeshi with his violent films.They don't do a William Hung.

Is there such a lack of talent here that when someone like Hung gets some media attention in the US,he comes here and we make him a king?For f#$%?I don't think Hung would gte hero worshipped elsewhere in Asia.Here,in the Chinese markets,we make films with him in the starring role(a movie co-starring Nancy Sit)and we makes two-part TV specials about the "legend".What damn legend is he anyway?I seriously think we are making a huge fool of ourselves in the eyes of countless others.Like Brad Pitt said in Se7en,Hung is but"a flavour of the month,a T-shirt".He's a caricature.By all means,feature him in whatever things you want but moderate it.Don't make him out to be something he is not.Because he is nothing special.I wonder whether the movie deal is a ploy to get Western audiences.If that is,the movie makers are doomed to fail.Who would pay $5 to watch a buck-toothed man who can't sing or act?Blind people?Even then,they'd get their hearing damaged if he was to start singing.

Yesterday,in a discussion over lunchtime,Jubilee had mentioned that she saw Hung in one of his specials filmed here and how weird the guy can get...or is.How he'd laughed and giggle and erm,I think that's spooky.He also seemed to come across as a most sincere person.Real.Just being himself in the interviews.A guileless person I suppose.Either that,or like Colossus mentioned,the most sophisticated person on the planet who is playing all of us on his small finger(a chubby one no less).Does he know the world is laughing AT him?Is he playing along?Or does he simply choose to ignore?If so,is money more important than dignity for him?Why else would one choose to ignore the ridicule then?

Having said so many bad things about Hung,most must think I hate the man,right?I don't.I have no reason to.I can understand that all these weren't even up to him.If the media plays it up,what can he do about it right?Well,he CHOSE to play along.He could have slipped back into the background and let all the hype slip away but he didn't do that.He milked it and got himself a record deal so that in the guise of "Inspiration",he can lead people to believe...in what?That if he could do it,so could others?Who's kidding who?Once bitten,twice shy...would we seriously embrace another Hung-like figure?Maybe he's supposed to inspire us to follow our hearts and then we'd realise our dreams too?Well,at whatever costs, including your own dignity and integrity?You must be joking right?What "Inspiration" is this?

I slam him not because of who he is but what he signifies.I don't really care what he has or will become.I hope his parents are genuinely happy guiding his career along.People will get tired of him.Then they'd toss him out like old furniture.If he becomes a superstar,the likes of Andy Lau(despite not liking him,I have to adknowledge the guy works his ass off trying to improve)and Tony Leung(that's a genuine talent)know they're in the wrong business and should retire and let all the William Hungs in the world take over.It's not about talent.It's about fab.

Monday, September 20, 2004
One Day Off

This week started with the news that civilians in the force would get one day off-in-lieu instead of the half day stated earlier in an e-mail brief circulated by manpower.Good news,of course.The only thing was that it was leaked earlier in an e-mail earlier anyway that it was supposed to be one day.But somehow,our manpower department decided that the force should get a half-day rather than one day.For whatever reasons best known to themselves.Colossus had drafted an email to our own manpower officer asking why that should be the case and although the reply was logical,it wasn't satisfying because the rest of the civil service was getting their one day pie and eating while we have to be content with half.Obviously,there were a lot of dissenting voices who expressed their disbelief enough for the manpower side to rescind their statement.I just wonder how the ministry could see fit to alter a policy that was government sanctioned to their own interpretations and needs.Colossus and Shadowcat mentioned that it was a bias against civilians officers in a uniformed organisation.Discrimination.That is probably not far from the truth,if it wasn't the truth in the first place.

Besides this piece of good news,nothing have been good so far.I had been having this splitting headache since last week that wouldn't go away and whenever I even bend slightly,the pain is excruciating.I still haven't taken any aspirins for it because I am still in the process of recovering from the flu I was/am suffering from last week.Taking too many types of medicines together might be like the equivalent of stuffing a Molotov Cocktail down your own throat.And unless I have a death wish.I wouldn't do that.But the thing is,the headache is affecting me.I am in a very bad mood because my head is always aching and my eyesight gets a bit blurry at times.Is that because of the contact lenses?Am I getting a stroke or something?Or is this what you call a migraine?My immediate thoughts then are naturally...can I get downgraded for this?Chow Keng is in my blood.Add to that,a toothache around my left molars,although the pain is alleviating even as I type.It was certainly rather pronounced over the weekend.

Spurs have,again,gotten lucky with a poor performance away to Chelsea.Let's face it, a point is a good result against the Londoners with the roubles.But while their defensive solidarity is admirable,Spurs' attack is abysmal.If Jermain Defoe does not score,there are no goals.Jacques Santini fielded what I felt was the best possible lineup in this match and they didn't get too many chances out of it.Against top opposition,stout defending will certainly do the job and we'd nick a point from many top fixtures.But against the mid-table and bottom rung strugglers,the lack of invention will tell.And it was glaringly exposed against Norwich a week back.Spurs will draw more games than they'd lose.But they'd also draw games that they should win.How good is that?Well,a win gets you three points.A draw gives you one.Do the maths.

A while back in the newspapers,there was a report that Singapore is witnessing increasing numbers of divorce cases in Singapore.How interesting that even as we are embracing Western values,we are also adopting their societal phenomena.I stopped short of writing "ills" because I can't necessarily say it is a bad thing.Two people staying in a marriage without love is like living in hell.So to split is a much better option.But doesn't it also expose how frivolous the institute of marriage have gotten now?It's not a life-binding commitment to each other anymore.Can't work it out,split.It's that simple.Couples used to really work out their problems and see how they can understand each other and compromise to each other.Now,I guess we are too individualistic and egocentric to do such a thing.It's all about me,me and me.And why is it people never seriously consider if they should ever even get together in the first place rather than rush into a lifetime commitment that they are not sure that they can adhere to?Is it a rush of blood to the head or what?It's such a sad state that nowadays holy matrimony isn't really that holy anymore.If our parents were like us,what would we have become?

I finally watched Kill Bill V2 yesterday in the comforts of my home and one thing that surprised me was that I thought it was better than V1.Surprised because Jubilee had written in a review in her blog earlier that she thought V2 wasn't as good as V1.My feelings are on the contrary,V2 was better than v1.But that is because I didn't like V1 much.It was,in my opinion, a good but not great film,quite unlike what Ebert said(who gave 4 stars to both volumes,if it was up to me,V1 would get 3 while V2 gets 3 1/2).I don't always agree with the guy anyway.But one thing we agreed on was the fact that we both liked V2 better than V1,even though we liked V1 to much varying degree.I am sure that the two parts were meant to be viewed as one single film now as opposed to two parts,because otherwise,it makes V1 a rudderless film in my opinion.My main sticking point with V1 was it's lack of a plot or direction.Sure,it was a lovely film to look at with very clever tributes to various film sources and genres.But for what?Anybody could do that.He didn't seem to have much of a story to work with.The characters seemed like cardboard cut-outs existing only to further the action,not a story.V2 fills in the gaps here but what I liked most about it was the slower pace.And the dialogue written.It's geekspeak on various subjects.Super heroes and their alter egos,Black mambas,etc.These dialogues also set out the characters and their psyches nicely.Bill,Pai Mei(it's such an obvious tribute to all those 70s martial arts movies,some of them starring Jackie Chan),Bubb and to a much lesser degree,Elle Driver.I don't necessarily enjoy more talk than chop-sock but in this case,it was better that way.In an unrelated matter,Prodigy has finally released an album after eons(Was their last album in 1997?That would make it almost 7 years for a followup!).Why they have taken so long,I have no idea but I certainly would like to hear what they are up to.I have heard some rather poor reviews on it but I guess I really want to listen for myself.At least they didn't do a Guns & Roses "Chinese Democracy".

Mediacorp and Mediaworks have finally decided to cut their losses and merged to form a single unit.How nice that MM Lee was finally proven right after a few years and how great that we no longer have to read those advertisements by Mediacorp proclaiming that they have the top ten TV programmes.How bad it is for consumers now that they'd have one less channel to view(when they say they're reviewing the profitability of Channel I,I think they are just delaying the obvious).The TV moguls may claim that variety,in fact,has not decreased because there are still over 50 channels on cable but that argument holds no weight at all.We are talking about free to air channels here,not subscription TV.When you talk about choice in such a manner,you are assuming that everyone has or can have cable TV.That is NOT the case.So do your arguments right.I guess commercial entities cannot always keep bleeding because they have a bottonline to meet.So it's logical to simply do the right thing and merge.But when it happens,it's still a regrettable action.Consumers still suffer.And now that it is a monpoly again,advertising rates will only rise.Think about any potential downstream effects.Will TV licensing rise as well?I know there's MDA to regulate this but the new entity does have more bargaining chips.There will also be no more Streats and SPH owns a part of Today.There was talk that there is still space for a morning daily besides ST but I think those guys must be hallucinating.No chance.If we aren't big enough for two TV stations,there ain't no space for another morning daily.But in the grand scheme of things,what does it matter?Everyone repeat after me:Temasek Holdings.We read what they want us to read,watch what they can afford us to watch,choose what they allow us to choose.Simple.On a related matter,I pity those guys who crossed over to Mediaworks from Mediacorp.Heard there were bucketloads of tears shed.Actually for what?They must have crossed a lot of people in the old company before they crossed over,right?Said bad things about them and cursed them I suppose?Otherwise,what's there to be afraid of?Channel U will still in existence,what.I wonder what did all those Channel u artistes said before they left.They must have thought they are the big fish now.What about Man Suk Sum?Well,I guess they should still retain their day jobs.But in the case that they should lose their day jobs,at least the job market is improving nowadays and they should find clerical work fairly easily.Or at least that's what Big Brother told us.Because if it was better,how come everyone I know can't seem to find a new job?Weird,isn't it?On an unrelated issue,there could be a price war looming in the budget airline battle for the Perth market.How nice.At the very least,it's not Bangkok for a change and the destination is much more exotic.It's a great time to plan for a cheap holiday to the Auzland,isn't it?Say YEH!

Over 1 hour typing this blog.If only I devoted the same degree of commitment to my work...for f#$%?!

Friday, September 17, 2004
TGIF

Was on MC yesterday rather than urgent leave.After SMSing with Jubilee,I figured that if I am to be sick and wants to stay at home,I might as well just pay $15(after claiming for medical)to be at home and earn regular pay rather than waste one day of leave which I can potentially cash in.$15 versus $100+.Do your sums and see which makes economic sense.I'm sure the doctor appreciated my business as well because the practice downstairs is really empty and I must be one of the few people who visits.The doctor is quite a young upstart but he is a very pleasant guy and as long as he is willing to offer MCs readily,he's my man.I'm still not feeling better than yesterday actually.In fact,I thought I feel slightly worse.But maybe that's because I'm in the office and no amount of drugs can make you feel good in this place.But in a way,being here is better than being home.I finally saw what my parents are up to during day time.My dad just sits on the souch doing nothing and staring at space until that bores him enough and he goes out to visit his friends until about 5 when he comes home for dinner.My mum just buzzes around the house for a while and then watcvhes TV and sleeps.A simple life.I said it was better because I seem to be able to eat more regularly here than at home.I curiously had my lunch at about 11+ and then had my lunch cum dinner at 6+ and my supper at 11+.Between 11 to 6,there is about 7 hours.OMG.What a long time to wait.

TGIF.It's good that it's Friday.Otherwise,I'd killed myself.Jumped off the MRT platform perhaps?How gruesome is that?You could get sliced into half,you know.I was shocked at the beginning at the number of deaths that had been occurring at MRT stations.The number of people falling onto the tracks.So much that I had been conscious to stay as far away from the track as possible until a train arrives and stops.What if I had a fainting speel and suddenly just feel over?What if some malicious prick didn't like my face and decided to shove me onto the track just as a train arrives?What if,what if.I'm spooked now.Think about it,how many more people got to lose their lifes at MRT stations before the authorities do something about it.Until it becomes the number one national killer and becomes more dangerous than the roads?I also have an inkling of an idea that there,soon,will be a volume of Singapore Ghost Stories based entirely in MRT stations.Bishan MRT will become the new Amityville.I used to hear stories about Novena being the haunted station when people say they'd see ghosts walking around the paltform when people pass by on the last train for the day.After working here,I doubt it.It's more likley to be some disgruntled policeman grunting to himself after working the night shift or some nurses from TTS with extremely long hair and fair skin.Talking about nurses,I find that they are getting prettier and prettier.I see a lot of them going to work and returning home around the area so I know.I want a nurse too.

There really isn't anything to gripe about in the news recently.The only thing that interested me was the fact that ERS and NSS may yield 12% returns for those people still holding onto it.Which is not many and of course,that's why the government is handing out such generous returns.And I bet the majority of people holding onto those shares are MPs and relatives and friends.Us common people,we immediately drew out the shares to boost the economy.Why would we wait?And anyway 12% returns on $500 barely afford you one dinner at Rice Table.Ok,maybe it does and more in fact but my point is that it's not that much.Save your money,my beloved government.I already siphon much off you already.

Ever since Mystique moved next door to me,I've found myself having less and less privacy.One would find that several times a day,her little minions would amble past my little habitat in various processions.That is mighty irritating actually.I hope she will move soon and that would involve the Blob moving too but that does not look like happening anytime soon.Which means for the forseeable future,I will still be the PIE of the floor.The path everyone uses one time or another everyday.

I am losing my voice.Right now,I am sure I sound like 王杰, of the thin,wistful voice.My voice is so thin right now,I can't really talk.I should have gotten another day MC but then again,if I did,I would have starved to death by today,mindful of the irregular meals I take at home.Damn the worst thing is actually that I forgot to take my lozenges here to office with me so I can't soothe my irritated pipes.To compensate,I'm drinking enough water to dry the Bedok Reservoir.Just another thing,how did Nightcrawler get two days MC and I get one?What did she do to deserve such privileges?

Take a load of all that airline price slashing that's occurring around here,ever since Tiger(the airline,not the beer)set their promotional tickets at 49¢,AirAsia came out with something even more ludicrous at 29¢.I know this is for one-way tickets but still...Anyway,I really do think all this price slashing will only lead to one thing so come on,budget airlines,just plain come out with it.You know you'd do it soon enough.Fly us for FREE or PAY us to board your flights.But seriously,it all adds to nothing,they just got to price the return tickets at a higher price to recoup their losses and anyway,all these flights are only to Thailand.How come?Thai airport ground handling free,is it?That's why you don't see airlines offering 29¢ into Singapore...probably.Can't compete,can we?No,we can't.

Did I mention that my mum and dad are on an official Cold War® right now so they are not talking to each other?I guess that what's married couples do.Quarrel and make up then redo the cycle x-infinity.Of course,along the way,the children get caught in the middle.For no obvious reason than the fact that they are the offspring.My mum tried to use me as a weapon yesterday.It seems that my brother and sis-in-law are going back to Malaysia and they want to go to Gentings and KL.My dad expressed his interest.I was not too keen because I went there not too long ago while my mum,battling my dad,of course did not want to go.So in front of my dad,she asked me pointedly if my brother asked me about the trip?As I was eating,was ill and couldn't move,I was effectively trapped to answer the question.But my thoughts were,why did you have to bring up THAT question at THAT time?Isn't it to let my dad hear that I didn't want to go?Mind games.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Death Of The Big Match

It's ironic that the below article I'm about to highlight comes from ESPN itself but that's life.This article talks about the over-saturation of football on our TV screens as Premiership TV rights choose to maximise their product's leverage by simply showing every Tom,Dick and Harry match on our TV screens.And expecting us to pay more for it simply because they think that more matches imply a better product.IT IS NOT.The quality of matches being shown is sometimes only slightly better than watching dried paint (not even paint drying)so I think the big television corporations simply have to wake up their idea and see that their idea of milking their product dry is a very bad move.

Spread the word.Tell them why the product we are receiving on ESPN simply isn't what the corporation makes it out to be...or wants us to believe it to be.It is no better than last season or the season before that.They're just showing more Crystal Palace matches.If they want to rise prices,how justified is that?I don't want to pay for such product "improvements".Do you?

Live football used to have something special about it. But now the procession of dull fixtures is ever increasing.

Looking at this weekend's games it's a struggle to get excited about Birmingham v Charlton, West Brom v Fulham or Everton v Middlesbrough.

It seems as though the glamour has gone out of the Premiership, with only games involving the 'big five' clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United - really generating interest.

But it's not that the quality of entertainment has dropped, see Portsmouth seven goal thriller with Fulham last Monday, merely that the fare on offer is less enticing. For instance, how many people would realistically go down to the local boozer to watch Portsmouth v Everton on TV next weekend?

There has been a change in the structure of English top teir, brought on by the demands of finance.

And the Premiership now suffers from massive over-exposure which has devalued the product as a whole.

Money has made the championship a closed shop and forced all but the rich few to concentrate on 17th place as an initial target every season.

Far too many medium-sized teams 'lived the dream' in an attempt to compete with the Manchester Uniteds of English football. And when the expensive foreign signings came for their big pay days without a thought for the individual clubs the writing was on the wall.

The revenue from the Sky deal was something most boardrooms could previously only have dreamed about. And most saw it as an opportunity to challenge for honours. What many forgot to factor in was that the traditional big clubs would be receiving even more cash. It was a pipe dream.

Not only were the top sides getting a bigger slice of the pie, due to their regular exposure to the 'live match' fees, those below them were spending an obscene percentage of their turnover on wages, while forking out large fees in an inflated transfer market. The gap was getting wider and it was only a matter of time before the fall-out began.

Within a few years many clubs were simply papering over the cracks, and with the domestic market hugely inflated the only option was to bring in cheaper talent from the continent - which proved to be the downfall of many.

Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace were among the first clubs to suffer from 'heart ruling the head' management of chairmen dealing with huge sums. And when those chairmen were forced to step aside, there would often be a host of characters waiting in the wings with promises of stability and a return to better times.

Manchester United came close to being involved with one such investor back in 1989. Michael Knighton appeared on the scene, and in one comedic moment even showed his ball skills on the Old Trafford pitch, before disappearing just as quickly.

Knighton eventually surfaced at Carlisle United. The cash reserves clearly were not as promised and they found themselves in administration and, eventually, the Conference.

The mismanagement of those clubs now plying their trade in the Championship, or in Wednesday's case League Two, has created a niche in the Premiership for other clubs and the role played by these clubs cannot not be underestimated. They are the model for a modern football club existing outside of the riches of Champions League football.

When the Premiership began Charlton didn't even have a ground to call their own, having played away from The Valley for seven years, and had been on the brink of financial ruin. They earned their place in the top flight today through sensible financial planning and a long-term view on progress rather than a policy of spending cash they didn't have.

And that's the case for most of the smaller clubs that now grace the Premiership, save for, of course, Fulham who were bankrolled by Mohammed Fayed. West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers, as well as Delia's Norwich, have not bought their way into the top flight.

The financial meltdown is still felt today and has been to the benefit of the prudent. Most of those relegated from the Premiership with huge debts still face an uphill struggle put their finances in order and challenge for a return to the top flight; Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Queens Park Rangers, Leeds.

Those sides that helped to make the Premiership into the marketable tool it is today may have fallen by the wayside, but their absence from the top flight is perhaps not the reason for the perceived dearth of top fixtures.

Coverage of football on TV is now saturation point on a domestic level. And that's before you factor in the wall-to-wall screening of the Champions League which enables a viewer to watch any match in the whole competition from the group stage onwards.

The new television deal which came into force at the beginning of the 2004/05 season now allows for four live games every weekend. On top of that, Sky then screen one of the 3pm games 'as live' on a Saturday evening followed by an interactive option to watch extended highlights of every match.

And then there's Match of the Day on BBC1 and also MOTD2. Plus, Sky Sports News is basically a rolling news channel for Premiership football with a few other sports thrown in.

The desperation to keep the revenue streams from broadcasters at a constant level despite the worldwide downturn in that sector has seen the Premier League offer far more of its product to the TV companies. And while the initial plan may have been to spread the games across a number of channels Sky predictably remain in possession of the Premier League franchise.

The product has become diluted. There is now too much football on television, and with every team due to be shown a minimum number of times we now see fixtures that in the past would not be considered for live transmission.

That is not to take away the right of the smaller clubs to their slice of the pie, they should all have their day.

But here's the litmus test - how many of the games on television today would you actually go out of your way to watch? Not many.

This situation is not going to change in the foreseeable future because clubs rely on the revenue far too much. We don't want to be watching Arsenal and Manchester United every single weekend, but there has to be a better way of running football on our screens than simply increasing output without thought for the effect.

Monday, September 13, 2004
Things That Show Your Age

I am,right now,watching the most irritating show I have ever watched in my entire life.It's a Korean serial on cable TV called 天堂的阶梯(I gather the translation is Heaven's Ladder?Or is it Staircase?)and it stars the female lead from Winter Sonata,崔智友.The girl,you know,who always looks like she's about to die or on the verge on tears.Take your pick.She maintains these 2 looks for the entire duration of each episode.It's amazing how she keeps it up.It's also very draggy but strangely absorbing.I think it's simply because I have not seen two less thick people falling in love.If you thought Taiwanese weepies are idiotic,this still takes some beating.The two leads are forever going back and forth,deciding one moment that they love each other,the next they don't.MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MINDS!!! How many episodes do you take to do that?

Back to the topic of the blog.Are you getting or feeling old?Do you suddenly feel out of synch with the current generation like the things they do,the goals they pursue,the values they hold?Have you felt old when you are working with fresh new colleagues who have just come in,full of fire and brimstone,who thinks they can change the world?Well,those are naive people anyway but that's not the point.I have felt old for a long time now and there are so many tell-tale signs that warn me that my generation(or just me)is now entering into our middle-age period and that is so scary.That the new generation is as different from us as we are from our parents.That the change has occurred so quickly over a matter of a couple of decades is surprising.Is that a different generation already?Wow,amazing.It's just passed us by.Anyway,the following are things I've observed,which say that HEY,YOU ARE OLD.

The kids selling flags calls you 'Uncle' or 'Auntie'
Guys seem to get that a lot,I don't know about girls.The moment you hit your mid-twenties,then hey!You are now a certified uncle.Quick,go get yourself a certificate that certifies your new found status.It's especially hard to take when those secondary school kids are the ones saying it."Oi,who did you call uncle?I am not much older than you,ok?!"In all honesty,I've actually seen some people dating upper secondary school girls so I guess that means we are not that old after all,right?Those guys just got to wait a half dozen years or less and they can legally marry their little partners.Ooooh man.So stop calling us uncles.We don't appreciate it.It wasn't that long ago when we were the ones selling flags...you know,the early 1990s.

You can't give away your Enid Blyton books or your old toys
Look around.Do kids still read Enid Blyton?Or the Hardy Boys?Nancy Drew?Those Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks?Those Avenger(the ninja guy)gamebooks where you throw dices to determine whether an attack is successful or not and then throw again to determine the damage done?It's all Harry Potter now.Plus a lot of other stuff I have no idea what.Actually they don't even read nowadays,do they?It's all computer games.Now,you also try giving your playing marbles away to your nephew and teach him to play them but later, find them all lying at the bottom of your nephew's fishtank.And your bottlecaps too.In fact,the most sophisticated stuff you had, yourNintendo handhelds, you try to show it to your nephew.Those primitive Manhole and Popeye games.Remember?Turns out your nephew has a calculator with higher resolution than that.

The idols are TV are younger than you
Nicholas Tse is,gasp,21 or 22.Boa is,gasp,17 or 18.You are,gasp,29.When in the world did they starting getting these kids to become idols?Where is our Chow Yun Fatt?Our,erm,曾慧芬.Who in the world is that?You ask.Well,she was the Zoe Tay of our time,you know.When Fann Wong was just still just that irritating 高中老师.Now everyone who's on TV is younger than you now.And Wayne Rooney earns in a week more than you earn in a year.He's bloody 17.How did that happen?How?

The people you fancy are now younger than you
You first started having a crush on your English teacher,who is about 2 million years older than you.But progressively your crushes become closer and closer to your age until zooom,they pass you by to become younger than you.So you now fancy Vic Zhou or Jerry Yan instead.They're 24 or younger.You are erm...what's your age?Guys ain't no better.We are lusting after Boa,who's 17 or 18 or whatever or some ex-Katong Convent schoolgirl called Fiona Xie who's approximately 19.Jesus,save us.

The frumpy primary school girl neighbour is now a babe
You used to laugh at her silly pigtails and "dress-sense".Now she's got flawless skin,an hourglass figure,looks like Zhang Ziyi and is 1.78m tall.You wish you never laughed at her...then you might have had a chance.She doesn't even look at you now because she remembers...

You go back to your alma mater and cannot recognise the building
Actually your old school shifted to another part of Singapore six years ago.Of which you have no idea where of course.Oh and probably all your teachers are retired by now so you can't even see them even if you made it back.So now you've forever lsot touch with your alma mater.By the way,your old school compound is now an old folks home.Nice.Just the place you can retire to.

You talk about the Malaysia Cup winning side and kids think you are talking about S League
Fandi Ahmad,V Sundramoorthy,Malek Awab,Abbas Saad,Jang Jung,Kadir Yahya,David Lee and all those famous football heros.The great 1994 side which trashed Selangor 4-0 and lifted the M Cup after 10 years in the doldrums.How can we forget?These guys were the stuff of dreams.Ask the kids.They'd really think you're dreaming or hallucinating.What M Cup?As for the heroes of yesteryears,they think you are talking about a bunch of kopitian owers,some S League coaches and David Lee?Si mi lang???

Relatives stop asking you when you are getting married
You know...this is one good thing that comes out of becoming older.We can't have it all bad.

Sleeping is your main pasttime
This may not necessarily be true because my cousin J loves to nap and she's 16.Or maybe she's an old soul.But more because there's nothing to do where she lives.As for the rest of us.we can just sleep the day away or maybe half of it.The things we used to do...we don't do them anymore so that's no football,no late night clubbing,no erm skydiving but instead it's Seahorse we keep company with the most.

You start commenting that kids nowadays have loose morals
They have STDs nowadays(read the papers).You are still celibate.Which is a good thing actually.Better celibate than STD anyday,anytime,anywhere.

Weekday Blues

Have not had the inclination to want to blog over the weekend,I guess why should I?There's a million and one things to do over the weekend rather than blog,it just doesn't necessary to me to spend one hour writing something down when I could be doing something else.Blogging will just be a weekday phenomenon for me then to pass away the time or to relax during work.I guess I will stop blogging over the weekends from now on.And save it for moments like this on a workday when the office atomsphere seeps me of my lifeforce and my job slowly kills me.No doubt about it,it will and is but a matter of time.

I'm right here facing a report that I am supposed to finish by today and I've found that I'm but a parrot reciting the words and wishes of my boss,Rogue.It does seem that it's funny that whenever you read a newspaper job advertisement or go for an interview,everyone always makes it out that creativity is a vital ingredient and component of any job scope.That one is supposed to exercise one's own ideas and have one's own mind.The reality is that half the time,if not all,you only need to be creative when you are a manager.Why would one need to be creative as a subordinate anyway?You are but executing the ideas of someone up there.If you don't want,they'd force you to...through pure insistence or sheer force.Even if it doesn't make sense.Or maybe it's the civil service way of life?I am having trouble writing some stuff now because I don't want to dumb down things.I have to.Or people won't understand me.I don't believe in this one bit.

Today is particularly bad because of two reasons.One:It is a Monday.A damn Monday.I have five days to go before I can get a breather.How sad is life when you live through five days of misery for two days of comfort?When it's,argh,the "circle of life".You work.You are a slave to money until you die.Relief comes in the form of a two-week holiday in the Maldives,Ikea furniture,a 2000GHz computer that lets you play games at the speed of light...so that at the end of it all,you come back to the office,thinking you are refreshed and then feel like killing people again one week later.That's a long explanation for reason one alone.

Two:Spurs just had an extremely crappy match last night.One enough to boil my blood and want to fly over and straggle the entire Spurs team to death.Tottenham 0 Norwich 0?How could that be?I was honestly looking forward to ridiculing some Man Utd fans in the office(namely Prof X and Archangel.Iceman too possibly).Now I am as disgusted as them.I could excuse the result as afarcical one due to the brilliance of Norwich keeper Robert Green but that might be giving too much credit to the Norwich No.1.The fact was that Spurs was mediocre in attack.I now realise the value of Sean Davis.Without him,Pedro Mendes was overworked.Michael Brown is the worst right midfield I've ever seen in my life and Fredi Kanuote...what the heck was he doing?I also honestly do not know why Jamie Redknapp is still on the pitch playing football.Only a twisted Liverpool fan like Banshee could claim he is a good player.If he was,no doubt,I am better than him then.No imagination and worse,no common sense.Dismal.

My mum also just brought up a peculiar topic this morning as I was able to leave the home,my deceased aunt.It is something I try not to think about because I always feel sad and sorry for her and I feel that's not how she wants to be remembered.I still remember how she looks and what we talked about.I remember sharing the same space with her.No more.I've often regarded taking pictures as a horrible activity.I hate taking pictures.What's the point?People say it's for memories.To remember how you looked but seriously,do you look at pictures of yourself and say"Ah I used to be so goodlooking/young"?I don't and I won't.But I understand the reasons for taking pictures now.Yes,it's for memories...of others.Of people who've left your life.Of people who've left this world.Of people you love.besides the pictures in your mind,which will surely fade,these are the things we hold onto.Because when we can no longer recall,these pictures remain to tell a thousand words.

I've spent the past week being angry with certain people.But somehow I've found myself finding peace and calm again.Possibly from God.The little mercies.Someone I used to love was up to her little tricks and irritated me to hell and back.I was so pissed,I refused to talk to her for the first ever time in my life.She always does certain things to me and then asks me for forgiveness.Why is this?Is this fun?I could not allow myself not to get angry this time.This anger has gradually subsided.I guess I will call her up again,just to see how she is doing.There is another person who has been ignoring me for no obvious reason for the past two or three weeks.Always says she's busy.Maybe she is.I think not.Yes,I like her but I don't see the need to be treated like dirt.Unless I am masochistic.I am not.And I don't feel the need to be blindly attached to anyone.Anyway,there are options now to woo a couple of other people if I fancy.At least that's a consolation.

Fat is not something remotely associated with me for my entire life but recently,I've felt my pants getting tighter and I am developing a tummy.God forbid if I become my dad Mk.2.That would be horrible.I've told myself to start going jogging and exercising but my will is weaker than jello.Well,with the body fats,at least I have the mass to build up with if I ever choose to.My arms have not grown though,they're still chopsticks.It's all gone to the belly.Am not used to it.I am sure there will be a few people who feel delighted with this because they feel I should put on more weight.Well,I aim to please.

Have been sleeping like a log these past few weeks.No dreams at all.I'd just lie down and zonk out in a matter of minutes.Absolute bliss.But I knew this would end in a matter of time.I started having dreams again recently.And I also started thinking about my friends.It seems like that I haven't seen them enough or talked to them enough.Well,I've spent the past couple of weeks royally pissed with someone I used to love and someone I like...or maybe used to like but that'd be a few more weeks or months time...?Who knows.I haven't had the mood to talk for a long while now...and I still don't.Anyway,what does it matter?

Locals have a heart and Tan Howe Liang has a heart too to accept a gift,a token of appreciation.Tan was not pai seh or anything to take it,just said thank you,I'd take it.That's a gentleman for you.No going..."No lah,cannot lah...how can?But hey,thanks anyway."He wasn't fake about it.Read Sunday's newspaper and you'd know what I am talking about.And that's a lot more than what the nation would do for him.He was never really rewarded.All we ever do is talk about how good he is and the sacrifices he made...while we gave him a lousy job at the SSC.Carrying stuff at 71.The athletes of today have got more money than him even via school scholarships alone.Whatmore the regular pay and the bonus money for winning medals.He was just born in the wrong era.

Unmarried mothers form a supprt group for themelves.So sad.All those baby bonuses and perks.They get none of it.No sir.Not a penny.Of course if we gave them anything,it might give the wrong message but really,give them a break already.Would you give birth to a life for cold hard cash?If you would,do a favour to your child...kill him or her.You are not a worthy parent.I guess in that case,killing yourself is the better option...because you are the one who's not worthy.Single parents really have it hard on this island and many times,they don't ask to be a single parent.Make life easier for them.Remove the stigma.Give some help.Is it so hard to do these?What's with us?