Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition @ City Hall

Went for the Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition in another venue (City Hall) today. Here are some of the photos -

 

 

Did you see a gourd with human face that holds a camera?

 

 

 

I love the caption - "...Tractatus Logico-Philoscophicus... floats about in the middle of the tank kept buoyant by the undercurrents of philosophical obscurity"

 

 

 

This place is damn spooky...

 

 

 

Seems ordinary household items at first sight. But, look carefully at the words.

 

 

This installation is named Teratoma II: War of the Worlds. Notice the "flying saucer" behind?

 

There are others exhibits that are also very interesting, many in the form of short films, hence no pictures. Really worth the trip down. Next will be the one at South Beach Development. =)

 

 

Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition @ Raffles Place

Had been wanting to go to see these exhibitions around Singapore but was too lazy to find out where they are, until today, when I saw one the exhibition in a very wulu part of Raffles Place by chance. Quite nice. Art cleanses the soul. That is why I loved them. Anwz here are the photos 

 

"...there was an exact identical city that was clearly discernable during certain days of the year, only this one hovered in the sky. Hence the "earthly" Manas was an exact copy of the "heavenly" Manas." 

 

close ups of one of the towers and the caption

 

 

 

An igloo like structure and the long walkway to....

 

... a different world.

 

 

Ex-prisoners' slippers on sticks - Singapore Prisoners 

 

 

Battle between the Bulls and the Bears

Last night I just laid on the bed for while at 9pm, and I fell asleep. I fell asleep, and dreamt...

 

It was a chaotic battlefield. Two medival armies were fighting fiercely. One was raising a flag with a symbol of Bull, the other was raising a flag with a symbol of a Bear - The Enemy. I joined the Bulls as a newly recruit, and had been fighting fiercely since morning. At my front of the battlefield, the fighting was very intense, one inch gained in this minute was lost in the next minute. I don't know why. I picked my 'front' properly, it shouldn't be such a difficult battle...

 

In the afternoon, more and more warriors from my side fell tragically, and we were steadily losing more and more territory. Seeing that the situation was very wrong, I turned tail and exit the battlefield, hurting my finger severely as a result. From outside the battlefield, I surveyed the battle. To my surprise, ALL other fronts had already suffered a crashing defeat and had retreated hastily... and that is why my front faltered! I lost track of the entire battle, that was why this happened. Lesson learnt.

 

I woke up today. The dream was fiction. But did it really happen?

 

(The battle was fun. Hahahaha!)

 

 

The Moon

Swing Trader.

 

This is what I am learning to be currently. Every morning and evening, during my trip on the MRT to and from my work place for the past 2 weeks, I have sacrificed my time for reading comics or playing NDS, to read books on stocks trading. To date, I have devoured 2.25 stocks trading books, and still going strong. I planned to read at least another 2.75 books more. It really takes effort to study trading during 2 of the sleepier periods of the day. How many times I wished I had bring my NDS instead.

 

It will worth it. I hope.

 

 

Swing trading, in which the position is held on the average of two to five days... Swing traders strive to ride up or down price "swings" made by stocks... Many hold full-time jobs and complete their research before or after work, or on the weekends.

 

-Short Term Trading in the New Stock Market by Toni Turner

 

 

A friend, Jiahong, told me to stop keeping on thinking about getting rich. I am NOT thinking about getting rich. I just want to 'work' my money myself, instead of leaving them in the hands of financial planners, or even worse, leaving them to rot in the bank. (Ermm. Given the financial situation now, actually I dunno which is worse, paiseh.) And of course, I want to supplement my income!

 

I chatted with a friend about marriage. I told my friend that next time, I will be staying at home looking after baby while my wife will go out to work. She gave me the 'down' look, as in, looked down. Upon seeing her reaction, I quickly added, "I stay at home to trade stocks la. Haha!" Come to think of it, it really might work! In fact, maybe 3 or 4 years later, I might quit my job and become a full time trader. I really might!

 

Future. Wonder what will it bring... =)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The same friend above told me that by reading my blog, one can know that I am a "thinking" person. Yup, I am a thinking person.

 

Think...

 

My job requries me to think a lot everyday. 'Where can I find out how this program should work?'  I can feel my brain flashing through the tens and hundreds and thousands of possibilities. Swish! 'How to implement this feature into my program?' Swishh!

 

'Why THE HELL is this program NOT working as it should?!?'  SWISHHHHHHHH!

 

Besides job related stuff, I also think about other things. 'If S&P Futures is the leading indicator of the US stock market, what is the leading indicator of the Singapore Stock Market?' 'The US stock market has crashed last night, will Singapore stock market crash today?' 'STI crashed through the support line at 1900 points today. Will in bounce back on Monday or crash further? *' Swish! Swish! Swish!

 

Think...  

 

I think... I think too much.

 

How do I know that? Cos I suffered from minor headaches in office almost everyday for the past week. I leave at 6pm almost everyday, not because I don't want to work OT, but because I CAN'T work even if I continued to stay.

 

I know I like to think. And my job provides me with lots of thinking 'opportunities'. It suits me very well. But today, while I am walking back home after a dinner with Jiahong and Chintau, I asked myself, 'Am I happy?' The only answer is

 

'I am tired.'

 

I guessed I must have lost my soul somewhere along the way through the 4+ months I am working, leaving only an empty souless body. Just like a computer. Where had my soul disappeared to??? I walked and walked, until I was about to reach my home, then, I saw the moon in the sky. Its brilliance shining through, even though it was behind the clouds. 

 

It was beautiful.

 

I went home and took out my camera and attempted to capture its beauty. At that moment, 

 

I think... I am happy??  

   

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

   

 

My best 2 attempts out of 10+ photos. =P One with flash and one without.

 

 

* My prediction of coming Monday's Singapore Market (just for fun, hehe) - It all depends on tonight's US stock market. If US stock market continue to go down, Singapore market will go down too. Vice versa. And the movement will be big, in terms of 100 points and above. - 18 Oct 12.24 a.m.

 

Damned... I am thinking again.

 

 

Some life tips for my studying and working friends

 

 

Cheat and Never get caught

How to cheat on any test

How to do nothing at work and still get paid

Videos

Two amazing videos I found on the net. Too bad MSN Spaces cant embed Google Videos.

 

Mr Mario Frustration - This video shows how one person clear (or din clear) the hardest Mr Mario game in history. Damn funny! (WARNING: Full of coarse language... But can't blame him. Hahaha! )

 

Incredible Machine - This shows the creativity and ingenuity of Japanese. It is mesmerising!

 

 

FAT!!!

My troubles started 4 months ago. T_T

 

These days, I have been snacking away happily while sitting in front my computer screen, working. Bug cannot solve. EAT. Bug solved. EAT. Hungry. EAT. Twisties, biskets, tapioca chips etc. 

 

Next are the tea breaks. Mac ice-creams, Old-Chang-Kee curry puff etc.

 

The first signs that I had put on weight started when my mum commented that my tummy is SOOO big. After which friends start commenting one after another. Here are my testimonials:

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

"You looked fatter! (Opps) Errmmm... you had been very thin all along la, fatter looked better. Haha!" -Peifang

 

(Just moments after we met) "Hmmm... I think you had grown fatter..." -Shiying

 

"Your company must be not bad... cause you have grown fatter! Haha!" -Sufang, Hall 11 ex-JCRC chairperson, know each other but seldom talk one. EVEN SHE OSO SAY I FAT!!!

 

"Fat meh? No la... just face become rounder only. Last time is sharper." -Yuting, yesterday

 

"HIYO! You see your tummy so fat! Breasts also so big! Exercise more!" -Mum, just now.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Hahaha! Thanks friends for straight forward comments! You all will spur me towards greater THINNESS! I am going to exercise 2 times a week! One day to the gym. One day to jog.

 

I GOTTA TO BE THIN!

 

......

 

Who the hell is fat anwz?? I am NOT fat, and I know it! I just became "fatter". Haha! I exercise cos I want to pass my IPPT... and my window is closing! T_T Who will want to exercise if there is no IPPT???? Siao!

 

I think by Nov I gotta step up to 3 exercise sessions a week. Who else wanna go gym? =)

 

 

Survey

Doing a short survey - Assuming you are working now and earning a monthly income that let you live comfortably, your official knock off timing is 6pm, and there is no deadline to meet the next day.

 

Rank the following afterwork activities that you will most PROBABLY do (note: NOT you like to do most) on an EVERY NIGHT basis, from most probable to least:

 

A. Stay in the office and do work until 7-8+.

B. Go jogging or gym or other exercise.

C. Trade stocks the whole night for a profit of at least $50-$200 per night.

D. Pursue own hobby, eg. practice drawing, singing, taichi, calligraphy, musical instruments etc etc. 

E. Play PC/Xbox/PS3/PS2/PSP/NDS games until sleep.

F. Watch TV until sleep.

G. Study more about profession/work related topics OR doing additional masters/diplomas.

H. Chit chat with family.

I. Surf net/ blog.

J. Others. Eg?

 

There can be activities of equal ranking - That means you are doing these 2/few activities every night... or you will NEVER do these activities at all.

 

Just wondering what do people do every night. Will most people stay in office to work voluntarily until 7-8pm? Or will people willing to sacrifice time learning and playing with stocks to earn a few hundreds dollar every night? Will you do it? Or you will spend the time doing more meaningful things?

 

What should I do?

 

Wondering...

 

 

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!!!

It has been quite a while since I update. Not that I am very busy. Still knocking off on average 6.10pm. I am VERY grateful for this. From what I heard, not many of my friends, be it engineers or auditors, are allowed to knock off on time. Oh well, seems like I made the right career choice. Haha!

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Anwz, for the updates: These days I had been devoting quite some time writing macros on MS Excel to help simplify my dad's accounting process. Now at a click of a button, the things my father keyed in the Invoice meant for the customer will magically appeared on the Invoice and Delivery Order records. Cool huh? Haha!

 

I just finished this project a few days ago. Next one I am going to write a script to pluck stocks infomation automatically from the net into my excel sheet and do some number crunching. The result will be which stocks are the BEST buy. My colleague once mentioned that it can be done, plucking infomation from the net automatically, but... I don't know how... Well, there are 2 things we do most often in my profession -

 

Solving bugs (Arrrghhhh! *pulling hair*) and FIGURE OUT!

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Besides the project, another percent of my time, perhaps 1%, is devoted to monitoring the market... and financial planning (Arrrrghhh! Those financial agents!!! Stop coming after my blood!!!). *Calm down* No offence to financial planner / insurance agent friends. Just my hyperactive imagination acting wild. Hee. Actually talking to them is quite enriching. They possess knowledge that EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW. But, just keep in mind that...

 

While they are sharing knowledge, they are also trying to earn a living. 

 

Enough about financial agents. Anwz I had just bought my insurance. Unless you have ways to earn money, DO NOT approach me anymore. Anwz now is an exciting time, and it will get more exciting in the future. Latest news: US Senate to vote on revised bailout package on Wednesday. I just submitted a form that allows my to trade US stocks last sat. Better faster finish processing!!! (And maybe you will see me blogged about me becoming bankrupt in my next entry. =P)

 

Craps aside. If you take a few steps back from the turmoil and look at the overall global economy, you can see that everything is corelated and interlinked. Different forces are at work. The Bailout Package failed, but the market didn't crash as much as expected. Why? If you can see through the smoke, you will come out ahead. Too bad I didn't study Business and Economy, but I thought they are quite interesting. Anwz this will be where my professional habit kicks in...

 

I will Figure Out.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Pardon me for talking me abt such boring stuff above. Today is CHILDREN'S DAY! Let's talk about comics and games! Yeah! (This is where I spent 90% of my free time on. =P)

 

But on the down side, comics are so adult orientated these days. =(

 

Marvel Universe - The US Government approved a legislation which forces all super powered people, including all heroes, to register. This divides the Super Hero community right in the center - Ironman, Mr Fantastic, Spiderman etc on one side (pro-registration),  and Captain America, Daredevil, Punisher etc on the other (anti-registration). The Civil War ended with Captain America's surrender and assasination. Yes, the beloved Captain died.

 

DC Universe - Gotham was totally abandoned by the US Government (I am not sure for what reason) and the city descends into a dark age resembling warring states. Batman, the Police, Penguin, Poison Ivy etc all control a part of the city, fighting each other. After this story arc, when the city was rebuilt, Bruce Wayne was thrown in jail for killing his girlfriend. Even Oracle and Nightwing had doubts about his innocence...

 

Naruto - The long awaited truth of why Itachi killed his entire clan except his brother Sasuke is revealed. Sasuke vows to destroy the Fire Village.

 

D Gray Man - The Exorcists' Headquarters were invaded by one of the Noah's clan members. Akuma Level 4 was borned and kill everything in its way in the headquarters. 

 

One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh R Series - Still reading. Haha! 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

One of the first major items I bought after I start working is Nintendo DS. In my opinion its games are more interesting than PSP, which made use of touch screen and mic. Played Pokemon Pearl, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, FF III, Super Mario Kart (who wants to challenge? Haha!) etc. Now playing FF IV. One major reason why I seldom blog anymore. Games.

 

 

Ahhh! Life is Great!

 

(Oops, I advertised for the company I bought insurance from. Haha!)

 

Happy Children's Day! =)

 

 

Mamma Mia

 

 

Crappy and absurb story. Haphazard and loosely connected plotline. Mostly old actors and actresses. BUT... for all the wonderful classics you will hear in this musical, and the joyous energy you will experience from the songs and the cast, Mamma Mia is highly recommended! (Especially so for ABBA fans.)

 

Nice movie!

 

 

MAF

 

 

People say Mid Autumn Festival is a night of Reunion. How true it felt on HwaChong's MAF!

 

"...the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."

 

A quote from Baz Luhrmann's Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen). I strongly believe it. These are the people I knew when I were young. The girls for 8 years. The guys for 10 years or more. How good it feels to see them! =)

 

As for the place... Our class bench had disappeared to God knows where over the years, but the one we were sitting in the picture holds alot of memories too! We had all sat here outside the Chinese Society Club Room at one point or another during our 2 years in HC. 8 years ago Chinese Society is our Class CCA, almost everyone joined. You are looking at ex-Huang Cheng director, actor, actress, script writer, props head, publicity head (<- me me, haha!) and subcoms here.  

 

Anwz after eight years it is quite surprising to see quite a lot of my batch people still going back for MAF. First time I exchange namecards! Most of us have finally step out into the society now. This is our Age. It is finally our turn to make a difference in this World. Let the World tremble!

 

I FEEL THE POWER (of youth, compared to those working for years) !!!

 

(This is a crappy entry, I know. Haha!)

 

 

Science, Art, Engineering

Science is like Fire. Constantly expanding the technology frontier, cutting edges, making breakthroughs. Reseach and the burning urge for new knowledge. Scientists advance the World. 

 

Art is like Air. Ever up there. Elusive. You can't see it, but you need it. Art cleanses your soul, quenches your thirst for beauty. Artists make the World more interesting.

 

Engineering is like Earth. Down below your feet, providing the foundation, the infrastructure, the basic needs. Engineers are down to earth, but they keep the World running.

 

~ Some thoughts from a colleague

 

P.S. I guess he left out Business.

 

Business is like water. Water = wealth. Wealth = money. Money is business. Without money is like without water. Can die! Businessmen and accountants are the lubricant of the World.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I quite admire some of the engineers in my office. They possess God-like mastery over machines. I guess to them, writing codes is like creating art master pieces.    

 

I wonder when can I be like them?

 

Or is it better to be a Jack-of-All-Trades?

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

My colleagues and I agreed that ADM girls generally look more chio than girls from other faculties, partly due to the fact that they have good dress sense.

 

One of my colleagues raised a question:

 

Will ADM gals prefer ADM guys who are just as hip, or down to earth engineers, like us?

 

Disclaimer: This question doesn't apply to me. I am an engineer in training, an artist in spirit, a scientist at heart. But out of curiosity, I would like to know the answer. Hahahaha! 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

There are three major genres that are defined by how they affect the audience emotionally, namely: Comedy, Tragedy and Horror. Think about the different combinations for those three. Tragi-Comedies, Horror-Comedies and Horror-Tragedies.  

 

Why only Tragi-Comedies are successful? What about Horror-Comedies and Horror-Tragedies?

 

I never seen any Horror related plays in plays. Why? Is it possible to scare people in plays? Actually horror is a very powerful emotion. Combined with a good story you will get a very powerful film/play.

 

Just some ponderings when some colleagues and friends recommended that the movie 4-bia is very nice.

 

 

Interesting Videos

Found this circulating in Facebook. It is soooooo cool!

 

Music using ONLY sounds from Windows XP and 98!

 

  

 

 

This video demostrate how the spirit of Web 2.0 can be applied to real life.  

 

Haircut2.0 - Get a Free New Hairstyle

 

  

 

 (Facebook is the most impressive site that applied the idea of Web 2.0, that is why I am so impressed with it.)

 

Btw the recent 2 podcasts from mrbrownshow.com are damn funny! Go take a look! =)

 

 

 

 

 

Olympic Thoughts

Olympics.

 

Superhuman speed. Unbelievable reaction. Tremendous Strength.

 

Strategies. Tactics. Psychology battle. Mental contest.

 

Struggle. Stress. Tension. Concentration. Relax.

 

Unpredictability. Unexpectedness. Surprises.

 

Hope. Anticipation. Luck.

 

Skill. Form. Movement. Rhythm. Beauty.

 

Cheering. Support. Love for Nation.

 

Excitment. Exultant. Jubilant. Release. Emotions.

 

 

Ain't those the essential characteristics of a good story?

 

 

Anwz, my new idol, Table Tennis World's Women No.1, Zhang Yi Ning :

 

 

Too Fast. Too Furious. Too Unpredictable.  =)

 

 

Interesthings from the Web (Cut and Paste)

An Unfortunate Accident

Status: Undetermined
This news clipping has been doing the rounds:

 

 

Is it true? It does have urban-legend qualities to it, but a search of LexisNexis reveals that it was widely reported in April 2002. English-language papers credited the story to the Danish newspaper BT. The surgeon was identified as Jorn Kristensen. The Sun had this line:

Surgeon Jorn Kristensen said of the chain reaction: "No-one considered the possibility."

 

So, given the specific details, I'm going to say that it appears to be true my hunch is that it's true, but I'll list it as undetermined.

 

~Museum of Hoaxes

 

P.S. "No one considered the possibility." ?!? Hahahahaha! ~iw

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Killer Whale vs. Penguin

 

Killer whales do eat penguins, but I'd say this has been photoshopped. For a start, if you look closely it appears that the killer whale already has something in its mouth.

 

I have no information about who created the photo or where the original images came from.

 

~Museum of Hoaxes

 

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$1000 iPhone App Does Nothing

 

Customers at Apple's online iPhone store recently had the opportunity to buy a program called "I Am Rich." True to its name, it cost $999.99.

 

The program, created by Armin Heinrich, a German software developer, displayed a large red ruby on the iPhone's screen. And that's it. Nothing else. The product description read:

 

"The red icon on your iPhone always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were able to afford this. It's a work of art with no hidden function at all."

Eight people actually purchased the program before Apple removed it from the site. One of them complained that he bought it thinking it was a joke, only to discover a charge for $999.99 on his credit card.

 

This program walks the fine line between a prank and a scam. The concept is kind of funny, but Heinrich is apparently keeping the money that people paid. I wouldn't find that funny if it was my money.

 

~Museum of Hoaxes

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

mini rickshaw in beijing

~ Design Boom

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 nike (burguer) air max 90 by olle hemmendorff

 

 

~ Design Boom

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

'all of this is melting away' at royal/t

 

 

 

~ Design Boom

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

shelter & cart for junk collectors

 

 

 

 

~ Design Boom

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

masks by kepa rasmussen

 

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Magic Trick With Google

 

 http://triplebirch.com/google/

 

This should be quite fun! Haha!

 

 

 

The Mystery of the Missing OG - Part 2

I went to see a hypnotherapist today.

 

Why do I remember something that all other don't? My sixth sense tells me that the answer to that is locked within the depth of my subconscious. Hypnosis is the key . I have no choice. I have to try.

 

The room was bright and sunny. Breeze blew in through the windows, lifting the white curtains. It was quiet and peaceful. The therapist was a beautiful lady in her late twenties, Miss Lee. 

 

"Are we ready?"  I nodded.

 

"Imagine you are sitting on a comfortable chair on a beautiful beach. You can see the golden that surrounds you... and the waves as they crash on the shore. You can hear the gentle and rhythmic sounds they make. You can feel a moist sea breeze waft over you body. You can feel the soft morning sun on your skin. All your thoughts seem to quiet down as you concentrate the sun's warmth on your face... your body...and your legs..."

 

I don't know what happened next. I guess I fell into a trance .....

 

. . . . . . .

 

Suddenly, I was shocked into awareness by a ear piercing scream! I looked around, and to my surprise, Miss Lee was trembling on the floor, face completely white, eyes wide in fear, mumbling nonstop to herself. 

 

"... impossible... no... no... dark... too dark... please... no..." 

 

She soon calmed down and fell asleep. The originally peaceful room now seemed abit too quiet.

 

Eerily quiet. 

 

After I carried her to her bed, I walked around the room and found a tape recorder. I rewinded and played the tape.

 

 

Her voice: "... Now, tell me what happened that night?"

 

My voice: *Sleepily* "...I was sick in the day and went back home... but I felt much better at night... so I went back hall for the finale of FOC... I rejoined my OG... for the Fright Night... The Fright Night was scary... very scary... I remember... we walked along this corridor outside the physics lab... then we saw........."

 

*A long while of static followed by Miss Lee's scream*

 

 

I quickly stopped the tape recorder.

 

So I went for the Fright Night! Why can't I remember?! What happened at the fright night?? What frightened Miss Lee until she lay trembling on the floor? Fright night... Imaginary ghost turns real? Fake cult ritual summoned true demons? I got possessed by the devil, Lucifer, himself?!?

 

NO! There must be some logical explanations. Let me reorganise my thoughts. Before I can know what happened at the Fright Night, I need to know what was supposed to happen FIRST. To know that, I need to find the...

 

...script.    

 

(printed from a blog entry, dated 13 Aug 2004)

 

 

<< Previous entry

 

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Today I was quite bored on the MRT on my way to work, so I did some daydreaming and attempted to solve the mystery of the missing og. It was quite fruitful. I got a partial solution which I quickly keyed into my handphone as message draft before I can forget. Anw the offer still stands. Anyone who can guess what happen next will get a treat from me. (I have put a subtle clue in the story... =)

 

Btw I got the hypnosis script from a website.

 

 

7 Deadly Sins

From Singying...

 

Your Sins are Revealed, Your Fate is Sealed

Your sin has been measured. You have committed many sins, but Greed is the mortal sin that has done you in. Just below, discover your full sinful breakdown and learn what it is about you that codemns you to hell.

 

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Medium
Envy:	Medium
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	Medium

Discover Your Sins - Click Here

 

Now all of you know my true colours... Hahahahaha!

 

But wait! Sloth is the shortest?? There are only 2 interpretation:

 

1) Either I am under the illusion that I am damn slack, when I am NOT.  Or

2) I am even worse in other aspects!

 

No wonder I have no girlfriend... T_T

 

 

Answers, magic, tarot card, future, signs, meaning of life... Random

There are only 3 things I pursue in life.

 

Happiness. Fulfillment. Answers.

 

Happiness I have I talk about before. Fulfillment I will talk about in the future. Today I will talk about Answers. How I like pursue Answers to all kinds of Questions.

 

What happened 100,000 years ago? How is the universe created? Does God exists? What is the meaning of life? What will happen in the future? How does the economy works? How to buy stocks? What make a good story? Who will be my girl friend next time? How to write computer codes? How to catch the legendary pokemons? How does this magic works? How all things and people are connected together?

 

There are some Answers I want to know more than others - Answers that little or no people know, Answers you can't find on the net. Secrets. 

 

Magic is one of them.

 

I read somewhere that "Magic is the cheat code of the world." I once thought that if I can learn the secrets to do the impossible things that magicians do, I can do anything! So, I spent maybe even over a thousand over the years to learn the secrets of many different magic tricks. But when I stripped the mysterious veil, that is all it is, just tricks. Trickery and showmanship.

 

(I know the tricks, but I don't have the showmanship, that is why I very seldom do magic tricks these days. But I DO have a few tricks up my sleeves.

 

Actually I am disgusted by salesmen who sell tricks just for money or people who do magic without showmanship. Where is wonder and amazement that should come with magic??)

 

But at least I satisfied my curiosity. This is not the real magic that can give me the Answers.

 

Then I gave up and went to find methods and ways to peer into the Future. I went into Tarot Cards. It gave me answers to some questions, but I will never be sure whether they were correct or not. Again, I found that arcane arts isn't the Answer I am seeking. But in the process, I learnt something new. That is the important thing.

 

(One thing I learnt in the process is that if you can look out for certain signs, it can give you some glimpse into the immediate future. For example, if you want to predict, to the second, when the pedestrians traffic light will turn green, you look out for when vehicle traffic light turn red. It gives you a few seconds of advantage over other people when crossing the road. Same thing can apply to economy, stocks prices and most other thing.

 

Look out for Signs.)

 

 

Maybe I will find the Answers one day. Maybe not. But I have already found the Meaning to my Life. (Part of it.)

 

The Mystery of the Missing OG

Do you think there were always four Orientation Groups in the history of Hall XI's FOC?

 

You are WRONG.  

 

Before the incident that happened 4 years ago, there were always FIVE. 

 

Four years ago, I participated in the FOC as a freshie. At that time, for the first four days, me and my OG had lots of fun, together with the other four OGs. Strong bonds were built between each member within our OG. Even now, I still miss the time we had together during FOC.

 

However, on the fifth day, I fell sick and went back home. In the end, I missed the highlight of FOC - The Fright Night.

 

Then, something strange happened.

 

When I went back hall on the following Sunday night, I tried to find my OG mates, but I can't. Puzzled, I asked some seniors I knew who happened to be around. They said they never heard of my OG or knew any of my OG mates. In fact, they had never seen me before. 

 

It was as if my OG had disappeared overnight and everyone had forgotten about us!!! 

 

Despite what happened, I still stayed in hall, pretended nothing happened, and reforged friendships with fellow hallmates. However, since then, Hall XI FOC has only 4 OGs.

 

And their Fright Night had been renamed Mystery Walk ever since.  

 

This incident had left a question mark in my mind that won't disappear no matter how hard I tried to brush it away. I suspect I am mentally ill, but I seriously doubt so. I couldn't have hallucinated the 4 days I spent together with my OG.

 

Could I?

 

The truth is out there. I am going to find out what happened during that friday night, by hook or by crook.

 

(printed from a blog entry, dated 06 Aug 2004)

 

 

Next entry >>

 

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The above is a Mystery Walk idea which was inspired from a dream. (In the dream, there are 2 additional OGs, Black/Demons? and White/Angels?, but invisible to everyone in the FOC.) The dream itself was inspired by a conversation with Singying, who commented that every year's Mystery Walk revolves around boyfriend killing girlfriend or vice versa. The tagline 'The truth is out there', is inspired by X Files of course. =P

 

What do you think is / should be the ending to the above 'mystery'? Who can guess how will the story continue and what ending I had in mind will get a dinner treat from me. =)

 

 

Freshmen Orientation Camp

This year's Hall FOC I only went back for 3 nights - Sunday's precamp, Tuesday and Friday night. On the precamp day itself, at marina, is where my hall and uni life finish a complete cycle -taking convo photoshoot on the day when exactly 4 years ago I was a freshman about to step into the hall and uni stage of my life. Thinking back, I was just as cock as how some of the most cock freshies I saw in this camp last time. Actually, I am still as cock now, just that most in hall don't dare to say cos I am older than most of them. Ha!

 

Talking about FOC, I never liked 50% of the games I played during FOC. Who in their right mind will like to play games that are disgusting, muddy, wet and last until 4+ am into the night?? I especially hated Ixnitiation when I was a freshie. Does it remind anyone of the 'Good Cop Bad Cop' routine used to bend the prisoners to police's will? Most of these FOC games are basically designed to satisfy the sickening minds of seniors (who, too, suffered in the hands in their seniors), all in the name of "tradition".

 

I started to love FOC when I was in Year 2.

 

And I had gone for all the FOCs (unlike some of the lao rens), and made alot of good friends since then... starting with Weiling, Veena's batch, followed by Weichen, Alvin, Zhengxi, Singying's batch, followed by Angela, Yanli, Yizhen, Kelvin's batch... watching them all turned into psychotic-freshies-torturing-seniors over a period of 3 years. I can hardly believe my eyes and ears when the AGL this year told a blindfolded freshie to do a hundred squats and starjumps during Ixnitiation night! (She told him to stop when he had done 20 la... I was about to intervene already.) Oh well, the tradition had been passed down good. I remembered I was told to do army drills blindfolded during this night. Haha!

 

It really feels good during the Ixnitiation night, where you see seniors and juniors from different generations all back in the one place where we all once stayed together, while witnessing the freshies going through the same old shit you went through years ago.

 

This year is a bit different from the previous years though. Originally I didn't plan to mingle with the freshies, since I knew I was only coming for a few nights. And I didn't, until I saw the poor blindfolded, bored freshies going to fall asleep waiting for their turn at some stupid station. And this was where my 'kind-and-caring-senior' instinct kicked in. (I am always the 'Good Cop'. Haha!) I went to entertain them by chit chating with a few of them. One simply refused to respond the 'button' on her nose that I 'programmed' (For those who don't know, a 'button' is something you draw on the freshie using marker, where, when pressed, the freshie is supposed to shout or do something.) She want me to shout first, then she shout. This is the first time I tried to be a Bad Cop and I failed so miserably. Down ah! =( 

 

Then there was one is a MAE guy who was a commando. Quite friendly and nice to talk to. The one I chat with the longest is called Trixie, from ADM, Pan OG, Animator. She kept trying to guess who am I when I already told her repeatedly that she never saw me before. I told her that to her, I will always be 'The Mysterious Senior Who Talked To You During Ixnitiation Whose Identity Will Remain A Mystery Forever'.

 

At that point I realised that this batch would made very good friends and juniors, just like the previous 3 batches, and it is a little bit sad that I missed the chance to made friends with them. Then I told myself that it is time to move on to the next stage of life. I guess maybe I will go back for hall FOC for maybe one or two more years, and, when no one I know is left in hall, then I can finally leave Hall 11 behind for good physically.

 

And rest it in my memories... just like my beloved jc.

 

 

Convocation 2008

Memories...

 

 http://widget-8f.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf

 

 

 

Play

Did you play Lego when you were young?

 

I did. Piecing seemingly unrelated blocks together to form a police station, an airport, a castle, a hospital etc etc. When I was older, I played with Jigsaw Puzzle. Piecing pieces together to form a picture of a Water Bearer, an ocean etc. In uni, I played with Gundam, piecing small parts together to form a Gundam model.

 

After I graduated...

 

I played with an Aircraft Simulator (well, sort of...). Modifying and writing pieces of codes and join them together to form a software module, then integrating my modules with other software modules from my colleagues to form the software for the Simulator, and finally link the software and the hardware together to form a complete Aircraft Simulator (for others to play).

 

The best part is, I get paid (a little) for it. Haha!

 

Hmmm... of course I don't only play with the Aircraft Simulator. I am playing with a hell lot of other things, eg. Pokemon Pearl. I LOVE to play! 

 

When is the last time you play? =)

 

  <<< My fav Pokemon - Psyduck =P 

 

Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

I saw this at Shirong's blog. I LOVE it! Maybe you will like it too. =)

 

 

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97. Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...
I will dispense this advice now

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh,
nevermind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself
and recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that
worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by
chewing bubblegum.
The real toubles in life are apt to be things that never
crossed your worried mind;
the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts.
Don't put up with people who are reckless with your's.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're
ahead, sometimes you're behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults.
If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives;
some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll divorce at 40.
Maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it... it's the greatest instrument
you'll ever own.

Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines they will only make you feel UGLY.

CHORUS
Brother and sister together we'll make it through.
Someday your spirit will take you and guide you there.
I know you've been hurting, but I've been waiting to be there for you.
And I'll be there just helping you out whenever I can.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they might be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they're your best link to your
past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should
hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the
older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths. Prices will rise,
Politicians will philander, you too will get old.
And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse;
but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly
parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

CHORUS

Everybody's free. Everybody's free.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

If you love it, and you are a Star War fan, you HAVE to listen to...

 

"Everybody Free to Be a Jedi Is" (hahahahaha!)

 

http://www.yodajeff.com/multimedia/sounds/nonvideo/everybodys-free.mp3

 

(Right click and save as if it doesn't play when you click on it.)

 

Movie reviews

RED CLIFF (Warning: Spoilers)

 

 

 

The Good

- Tony Leung and Takeshi (Woo!)

 

- The Ba Gua Zhen fighting scene

 

- Whenever Tony Leung and Takeshi appears

 

- Humourous lines

 

 

The Not So Good

-Zhaoyun's heroic saving Liu Bei's child scene.

 

(Why is it not so good?

1. The Zhaoyun looks too old. 

2. It has little to do with the Battle of Red Cliff - not to the point, making the film unnecessarily long.

3. The scene has been depicted much better in Three Kingdom - Resurrection of Dragon by Andy Lau.)

 

 

- Zhangfei fight enemy soldiers alone and weaponless in Ba Gua Zhen scene.

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. It is one thing to fight through the enemies alone when one is behind the enemy line, eg. Zhaoyun save A-Dou. But it is another thing for one to fight through the enemies alone when the enemies is behind one's line. And it was the pinnacle of stupidity for one to fight empty-handed in this kind of situation, no matter how 'invincible' the person is. What is the director trying to show???

 

I suspect John Woo played too much Dynasty Warrior...

 

2. Zhangfei was famous for wielding the Snake Spear. Why the hell did he want to fight empty handed?)

 

 

- The 10 mins Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang playing gu zhen scene.

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. I personally love most kinds of art form, including Chinese Music.

 

(In fact, the next time if I have a chance to write a script for a play, I planned to have a scene in which the actor will write a very meaningful poem about The Importance of Having Peace in Life in Chinese Calligraphy before live audience for a full 30 minutes.)

 

However, it just happens that I am not prepared to appreciate chinese music for that long in an action war film, after work.

 

2. The Zhou Yu here seems too nice to Zhuge Liang compared to what is depicted in the novel. There is nothing wrong... I am just not too used to it. Haha!)

 

 

- Lord of the Rings' never-ending army scene

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. Erm... it is not bad la... but it is not good either... Ever since Lord of the Rings, every single films and even TV shows with an army in it will use the same computer graphics to achieve the never-ending effect. It shows serious lack of creativity... and makes it looks like Chinese version of Lord of the Rings.

 

I understand that John Woo is trying hard to make it an epic la... But he tried too hard.)

 

 

- After an agonising 2.5 hours, only 2,000 out of Cao Cao's 800,000 men was defeated - that was less than 0.3% of Cao Cao's army! 

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. It is a little unproportional for a 2-episode movie. One may wonder maybe they should just watch the 2nd episode. Afterall it is where 99.7% of the action is.

 

2. I felt cheated. Haha!)

 

 

Conclusion

 

We can obviously seen from the movie that the director originally meant Red Cliff to be a Block Buster Lord-of-the-Ring-like Epic movie with lots of big casts. However, perhaps due to budget constraint, or perhaps due to alot of big stars fly aeroplane, in the end only Tony Leung and Takeshi were left.

 

And the story is scripted in such a way that a lot of the plot were focus on secondary actors - Zhaoyun, Guanyu, Zhangfei, Liu Bei (who are those actors anw???), Xiaoqiao and Sun Shang Xiang (WTH has Sun Shang Xiang gotta do with Red Cliff?????). As a result, Tony Leung and Takeshi cannot really shine in the movie.

 

As a Block Buster Epic film, Red Cliff, having so many Not-So-Good points, has failed completely. Instead it became a 'B' grade movie that is a tad too longwinded. Even though it is still an average 'B' grade movie, I am very disappointed that it isn't the 'A' grade Epic that it should have been. 

 

...Perhaps those big stars quit after reading the script?

 

 

Hancock (no spoilers)

 

 

In stark contrast compared to Red Cliff, Hancock is only 1.5 hours long. I went to watch with ZERO knowledge of it and its plot except that it was acted by Will Smith, one of my favourite actors. What I got was one surprise after another. Halfway through, the plot twisted in such a way that leave me absolutely flabbagasted. Though the ending is a Ten-Years-Series cliche ending, I left the cinema satisfied and happy.

 

Hmmm for those who don't know anything about Hancock's story (like me last time), if you want to know, I shall give a one sentence sypnosis that will reveal the first surprise (at least for me) below. Read on if you want to know:

 

 

Hancock (Will Smith) is a powerful superhero that had saved lifes and done a lot of good deeds. However, THE PUBLIC HATES HIM.  Why? What will he becomes? Where did he come from?

 

 

Very highly recommended. An 'A' grade action movie.