Black Rhapsody of White Light

Note from the Administrator

2007-04-27T16:30:00.000+08:00

Note from the Administrator

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For Mr. Black's alternative blog, check this out: http://mortasins.wordpress.com/

Thank you for your attention.

Regards,
Administrator

It Ends

2007-04-12T18:55:00.000+08:00

It Ends

It's my 95th post and it also signifies the post in which I am (unofficially) unrestrained by education in my life. Not to say that I totally abhor school, but there are indeed days in my 15 or so years of education that I feel sick, sick of studying in a pre-determined system in which only the strongest survive, and the weak fade away. It's the same with all levels, be it from the primary, secondary, college all the way up to tertiary education.

Admit it. In Singapore's education system, failure is not an option. Hopefully, it doesn't even cross your mind before. We were taught from young to only consider 100 marks (upon 100 marks) to be the acceptable, even normal benchmark that we have to hit. When we get 90 instead, we (and our parents of course) question ourselves (and themselves) what happen to the rest of the 10 marks. We never, seldom or hardly ever consider ourselves successful until we hit the benchmark of perfection.

Thus, the idea of perfection gets ingrained in the brains of bespectacled kids nowadays.

When the same kids grow up, they face stronger competition as they streamed into their respective groups. "Only those worthy of that group gets into it," they were reminded by their parents, most of whom would pride at having their kids sent into renowned instead of notorious neighborhood schools. Within their schools, the students compete among themselves, constantly reminding themselves that failure is not an option. A wrong move, a miscalculation, an error here and there, a misread could lead to severe consequences; they knew and they were all scared. If you slip and fall, don't expect people to help you out. Expect them to trample on your head in their position to overtake you instead.

Yeah, it is sad. But well, life is not exactly a bed of roses for kids who have their educational blueprints ready for them even before they are born. They have their expectations, and expectations are almost always double-edged, judging from where you see them from. I was just chatting with a friend who was on his way to a friend's wake yesterday and he nonchalantly (and irritably as well) said that it was his 4th or 5th wake for these past months. The people who passed away were all people of our age, even younger, and most of them had just popped pills or superman-ed their way off buildings for reasons we would never know. But I suspect pressure might be the final shove on their way down thirteen stories; pressure from academic work.

I watched "Meet the Robinsons" yesterday (yeah it was a kid's show afterall), but I thought it was really educational. In the movie, the protagonist failed to repair some device and the people around him actually cheered and applauded in light of his failure. Then, they explained that "they were happier with failures because you learn from them, unlike success, from which nothing is truly learned or appreciated". Secretly, I marveled at the "parents" in the cartoon and wondered how many parents in Singapore would really laugh and pat their kid on the back for screwing up their radio instead of fixing it. If you stub them there and then, there goes a little of their creativity and innovativeness. And they would be wary, even afraid, of making mistakes in this kind of harsh environment. They would grow up with the idea that mistakes are unacceptable, and only stupid people make mistakes. Hardly anyone would admit that they are stupid then.

The inability of the education system to create a stimulated, all-rounded and responsive child of the future is not the problem of the government only. The root of the situation lies with our idea of perfection, and the idea of unacceptable failures in the society. Such thoughts were so deeply etched in our minds and hearts that they were thought to be positive for one's success. Wrong! We must learn to accept failures and defeats in our face, before rising from the dust to clear the mess again. If we never fail, we will never learn how to win.

Teach that to the children now, before it's too late.

Students with too much time

2007-03-29T02:19:00.000+08:00

Like Pokemon?

While you are struggling with your lab reports and essays and assignments and projects, just wanna let you guys know that in the other part of the world, there are people who are very free and creative. And they put them to gooooood use.

Presenting "College Sage" done by students from Babson's College. Figure you guys needed a laugh anyway.

It's wonderful that they pay details to even the small details like walking in straight lines, turning at right angles, moving up and down when the characters are in battle mode. Hey, I use to play RPG games like this before. FYI, Episode 2 is quite nice too.

All Good Things

2007-03-23T11:06:00.000+08:00

All Good Things

If you think your life is mundane, then something pops out from out of the blue to say otherwise. It may be a confrontation with a life-threatening situation, a face-off with Man's oldest enemy: Death, or simply a brush past something dangerous, something that can potentially cause immense damage to your life or others. Or you may be cubed inside an odd situation, hanging perilously by the edge, while the rest of the people could only sit and watch.

May Peace be to those that need it most.

P.S.: Dear, remember what I'd said? I will take care of you.

Nelly Furtado's "All Good Things (come to an end)". My fav song of the moment.

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end?

Runaway Love

2007-03-09T15:12:00.000+08:00

Runaway Love

Got this song called Runaway Love by Ludacris feat. Mary J. Blige and I thought that this is one of the few black RnB songs that actually are meaningful. Plus fantastic singing and rapping by the duo, nobody has any reason not to like it.

Check out the lyrics; they are crude but true. So sad.

Rapping and singing about the stories of young girls running away from what appears to be their place of hope - their homes.

Lyrics:

Yeah, and it go a little something *scratch* like this

[Mary J Blige]
Runaway Love(love, love, love, love) Runaway Love(love, love, love, love)
Runaway Love(loooove) Runaway Love(love
Runaway Love(ooooo) Runaway Love(ooooo)
Runaway Love(mmmmm) Runaway Love(runaway love)

[Ludacris]
Now little Lisa's only 9 years old
She's tryna figure out why the world is so cold
Why she's all alone and she never met her family
Mama's always gone and she never met her daddy
Part of her is missing and nobody will listen
Mama's on drugs gettin' high (or fucked) up in the kitchen
Bringin' home men any different hours of the night
Startin' with some laughs... usually ending in a fight
Sneakin' in her room when her mama's knocked out
Tryna have his way and little Lisa says 'ouch'
She tries to resist but then all he does is beat her
Tries to tell her mom but her mama don't believe her
Lisa's stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothin' else to do but get some clothes and pack
She says she's bout to run away and never come back

[Mary J Blige]
Runaway Love(runaway, runaway) Runaway Love(runaway love)
Runaway Love(loooove) Runaway Love(runaway love)
Runaway Love(aahahah) Runaway Love(runaway, runaway, runaway)
Runaway Love(loooove) Runaway Love(runaway love)

[Ludacris]
Little Nicole is only 10 years old
She's steady tryna figure out why the world is so cold
Why she's not pretty and nobody seems to like her
Alcoholic step-dad always wanna strike her
Yells and abuses leaves her with some bruises
Teachers ask questions she's makin' up excuses
Bleeding on the inside crying on the out
There's only one girl who really knows what she's about
Her name is little Stacey and they become friends
Promise that they'll always be tight till the end
Until one day little Stacey gets shot
A drive-by bullet went stray up on her block
Now Nicole's stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothin' else to do but get her clothes and pack
She says she's bout to run away and never come back

[Mary J Blige]
Runaway Love(runaway) Runaway Love(runaway love)
Runaway Love(runaway don't keep runnin) Runaway Love(oooooooh)
Runaway Love(ooooooooh) Runaway Love(runaway love)
[ Lyrics found on http://www.metrolyrics.com ]

Runaway Love(aahaahah) Runaway Love(runaway love)

[Ludacris]
Little Erica is 11 years old
She's steady tryna figure out why the world is so cold
So she pops X to get rid of all the pain
Plus she's having sex with a boy who's sixteen
Emotions run deep and she thinks she's in love
So there's no protection he's using no glove
Never thinkin' bout the consequences of her actions
Livin' for today and not tomorrow's satisfaction
The days go by and her belly gets big
The father bails out he ain't ready for a kid
Knowin' her mama would blow it all out of proportion
plus she lives poor so no money for abortion
Erica's stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothin' else to do but get her clothes and pack
She says she's bout to run away and never come back

[Mary J Blige]
Runaway Love(runaway) Runaway Love(runaway love babe)
Runaway Love(don't keep runin girl) Runaway Love(aaaaahaah)
Runaway Love(runaway, runaway) Runaway Love(runaway, runaway)
Runaway Love(runnin, runin, runin,runin) Runaway Love(aaaaaaahhh runin)
Running(x3)
Runaway Love, Runaway love
Runaway Love, Runaway Love
Runaway Love, Runaway Love
Runaway Love, Runaway Love

Don't you keep on runnin away
Don't you keep on runnin away
i know how you feel
ive been there
i was runnin away too
I will run away with you
I will run away with you
Runnin runnin runnin away love

run away run away love
dont keep runin away
i'll run away with you
if you want me too
La Ahhahhhaha

[Ludacris]
Yeah, I can only imagine what you're going through, ladies
Sometimes I feel like running away myself
So do me a favor right now and close your eyes
And picture us running away together and
When we come back everything is gonna be OK

(whisper) Open your eyes.

Driving in the Fast Lane

2007-03-06T00:56:00.000+08:00

Career Woes

Yeah, if you are reading this and you are over 21, welcome to the adult world. Or more correctly, the world of Adults, and I don't just mean the world infested by adult movies, videos or magazines. This is the time when you stop growing physically (so get used to seeing yourself like that), and all hopes and expectations fall upon you like balloons released from the ceiling (and falling on your head) just like how they would do on your impending Graduation Ceremony or Commencement. It is amazing how they can name something that symbolizes the end of something as the start of something else. But that's the whole point: A graduation only means that you are not under the protection of the school anymore. You gotta find your own keep in the society out there, and that, initially, is a pretty sucky idea.

Maybe I am just scared to take the wrong path. For the first time in your life (and mine), the blueprints have just been handed over to you. Education has been pretty much taken for granted for all your 20 odd years (you expect to progress and, surprise surprise you did progress) - this applies to an average Singaporean kid - and it is not until after tertiary education that you get a chance to really consider and think about your career. For the first time in your life, you are the captain of the ship and you have to navigate your future, without any help icons from your parents or the ministry or anybody else. I guessed this is just the problem of such an education system: it sets you up from primary to tertiary education. Then, when you think that you are all that mighty and young and clever, it drops you off a cliff and tells you to fly; if not, you'll just fall and die.

It is like riding in your Dad's car for 20 years and then all of a sudden, although you see it coming, he asked YOU to take over the wheel and ferry him around instead. You don't ask him where to go; he assumes that after 20 years of watching him and others drive, you should know where to go. And he is probably right. Everybody does know where to go. It's just that some people take the long way, perhaps circling familiar streets a couple of times, while some people just zoom down the expressway to success. Success is the end-goal, the final destination, but I doubt that everybody reaches it anyway. Along the way, you pick up extra people, those who would spend their entire lives in your cars with you; you may hit dust and bumps along the way and give up; you may run out of fuel in the middle of a desert and scream for help; you may be cool and calm and travel a miserable 20 meters in 20 years. It's all up to how you drive, actually. (Sidetrack: At this moment, I am amazed at my own ability to illustrate and explain an analogy so well.)

Now, where is that idiot's guide to "Driving in the Fast Lane"?

Think about it, now that you finally have the wheel to yourself, where would you really want to drive to?

JT and Scarlet

2007-02-27T15:42:00.000+08:00

What comes around... goes around

One of Justin Timberlake's new MVs (I am really into watching MVs lately), of the song What comes around... goes around. It starred the very voluptuous Scarlett Johansson as well, and it is really supposed to be a mini movie rather than a MV. Looks like he's onto new prey after Diaz.

Who did he wrote this song for? Kinda reminds me of Karma by Alicia Keys as well.

Cupid's Chokehold

2007-02-26T01:06:00.000+08:00

Cupid's Chokehold

I don't know why but this song keeps replaying on and on in my head. After a while, I thought "Hey this song is actually great!" so I thought I should share it with you guys.

Cupid's Chokehold by the Gym Class Heroes.

I know I'm young but if I had to choose her or the sun, I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun. Classic. Great lyrics and infectious tune, in my view.

Break Out

2007-02-16T20:31:00.000+08:00

Not Locked up

I must admit that I am slow, but that did not stop me from reeling in from amazement as I watched episodes of Prison Break season 1 in succession. The plot's thickening, and as I watched with my eyes affixed to the screen of my computer screen, I wondered what is it that made a good drama.

Is it the ever-so-complex and thick-as-corn-starch soupy plot that wins audience over? Or is it the actors, so charismatic in nature (note: I didn't say handsome and beautiful; that era of beach bums and booby lifeguards is over) that you dream about meeting them on an airplane bound for a lost island? Or is it the billion dollar cinematography effects that the producers had pumped in to re-create scenes that you never get a chance to see in life, like the intestines of Fox River State Penitentiary (for a start, we can try Singapore's Changi Prison first), and the repeating aerial helicopter views that made you feel like you are watching a 20-hr movie instead of a 20 1-hr episode drama?

Michael Scofield, as played by Wentworth Miller. His icy cool eyes and his calm disposition make him one of the most unusual hunks in TV now.

I guessed its the overall effect then. Audience are now wowed by different elements in drama; sure, there are still the low-budget-feeling sitcoms and laugh-out-louds, but one thing is for sure: dramas now show what the audience fails to expect, in places that they fail to think exist, with creatures and monsters and villains that they fail to imagine. In this cut-throat industry, only dramas with such value will earn a niche in the hearts of audience all over the world (and also a medal or award in some Golden Whatever Awards).

I am an avid drama-lover, especially American dramas ranging from the era of Mulder and Scully in X-Files (still my fav after these years) to the anorexic Calista Flockhart in Ally McBeal, then to evergreens like Friends and Seinfeld, and finally to new acclaimed dramas such as Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Prison Break and tonnes of others. I guessed I learned a lot from them, as anyone with a history of staying up at 11pm to watch a bloody episode of drama which ended prematurely, again, would say. You learn how to dream, how to create plots that twist your guts left and right, how to get amazed and how not to. You learn English (this is true, seriously), although it's more of American lingo than British GCE 'O' or 'A' level English. You cry (so, I do cry watching drama, so what?), you laugh, you shiver in fear and you sympathize. All in all, you live your life as if in the shoes of the special agents, or ER doctors, or lawyers or prisoners, and life, to me, is such a more colourful place even though people around you may prescribe you with a cure for drama-addiction.

Far Away

2007-02-13T18:21:00.000+08:00

Far Away - Nickleback

This time, This place
Misused, Mistakes
Too long, Too late
Who was I to make you wait
Just one chance
Just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

[CHORUS]
I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
and you'd never go
Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore

On my knees, I'll ask
Last chance for one last dance
'Cause with you, I'd withstand
All of Hell to hold your hand
I'd give it all
I'd give for us
Give anything,but I won't give up
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

[CHORUS]
That I love you
I have loved you all along
I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreamin you'll be with me
and you'd never go
Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore

So far away
So far away
far away for far too long
So far away
So far away
far away for far too long

But you know, you know, you know
I wanted
I wanted you to stay
'Cause I needed
I need to hear you say
I love you
I have loved you all along
And I forgive you
For being away for far too long
So keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe it
Hold on to me,and never let me go
Keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe it
Hold on to me and, never let me go
Keep breathing
Hold on to me, never let me go
Keep breathing
Hold on to me, never let me go.

Living the High Life

2007-01-25T00:28:00.000+08:00

Living the High life - out soon

It may be due to my laboratory report on spiders (Nephila pilipes, if you are interested), but I am slowly getting cobwebs on my blog as well. It's being a while since I blog, and I just thought I should at least contribute a post on my latest developments in case someone thought I went AWOL (absent without official leave - army term lah).

I haven't been writing on my blog, but I have been writing. Intensely, almost fervently, since about 3 days ago, when a plot hit me on my head with so much force that I felt compelled in the middle of the night to consider typing the story out there and then. I didn't, but I wrote it 6.15 in the morning, before rushing for lectures (and ending up 20 minutes late).

I am sorry I couldn't post in here in my blog as I had true intention of publishing the story in the future, if possible.

The title's "Living the High Life" and it revolves around a guy in his mid-twenties, with a girlfriend and a decent job, trapped in the society with all its strengths and shortcomings. Don't worry, I will most probably pass it to some of you guys for an easy read in time to come, but for now, writing on my blog is probably secondary.

I was laughing my guts out over this video during class. Make yourself laugh. Click play below.

Of Hu, Kofi and Rice. I'm not surprised if it actually happened.

Perhaps Love

2007-01-12T21:28:00.000+08:00

Perhaps. Love.

Perhaps just a little reminiscence of the good 'ole days on wet rainy days like this. I watched this Mandarin movie "Perhaps. Love." some time ago and the theme song keeps sticking in my head, like a worn CD track that has been put on repeat for too many times. So I thought I will share it with everyone.

Perhaps love is all we need on such days.

Jacky Cheung at his best again. Soft but meaningful, that's the whole essence.

Lyrics

每个人都想明白
谁是自己生命不该错过的真爱
特别在午夜醒来更是会感慨
心动埋怨还有不能释怀
都是因为你触碰了爱

# 如果这就是爱
再转身就该勇敢留下来
就算受伤就算流泪
都是生命里温柔灌溉
哦爱在回忆里总是那么明白
困惑的心流过的泪
还有数不清黑夜等待
如果这就是爱 #

如果你当时明白
后来的生命里是快乐还是悲哀
特别在夜深人静时想起未来
是否能平静不会想现在
只是因为你拥有了爱

Repeat #

如果这就是爱

Of Kids and Dicks

2007-01-09T15:37:00.000+08:00

Of Kids and Dicks

It seems that I have been discussing about kids and parenting with a couple of my friends recently. Ya granted, being parents is a tough job, probably the toughest in the world, but the sense of satisfaction is also the greatest when you see your child growing up fine and proper, earning their ground in their subsequent society.

It's tough to be a kid nowadays as well. As such, I would gladly like to thank whatever divine forces that coaxed my mum into giving birth to me in the era of Care Bears, Little Ponies and Poly Pockets. No portable consoles, no branded fanciful Esprit baby wear, no maids acting as slaves serving the Royal Little Emperor/Empress. All-in-all, I kinda like the no-nonsense kind of bringing-up that I had.

Mr Black when he was god-knows-how-old. Back in the days of baby tees with flowery embroideries. Say cheese.

Today, children face things that are entirely new. But it can't be helped, isn't it? As the society grows (something which I remained skeptical about), the people in the society progresses with the advent of technology. Children of this era had a lot to boot, but they had to live with expectations way over their 1.2m frame. For this, they are pretty pitiful to begin with. I was just chatting with a couple recently and they told me something about their son which sounded rather funny. They had said that the young boy had walked to his mother, tall and dignified, and had asked her a question, "Mom, I bet you don't know what a dick is." His mom had reacted as if she had just heard macabre tales of torture in Iraqi prisons. I bet I would know what a dick is, but my face would have been caught in a state between a laugh and a expression of disbelief.

Children are smart nowadays. Give them a dictionary and they will give you the meaning of THE word you always say, but didn't know the exact meaning.

On a different note, kids learn off their parents when they are young. If you waved your fist at a person driving at 60km/h on the fast lane, your child sitting behind would most probably interpret it as a sign of strength. His own fist would most probably appear in front of his classmate's face when he refuses to let your son copy his work. Watch the clip below and you'll understand the impact of parents on their children. Children see. Children do.

Children see. Children do. Applies for both the good and the bad.

Whatever, it is, set a good example for the children. This not only applies pertinently to parents, but also to people in constant contact with young children, like teachers, mentors, friends. Just take note of that.

Viva city

2007-01-05T23:03:00.000+08:00

Retail Therapy

The doctor's prescription was easy - Retail Therapy.

"It would really help to loosen you up before school starts, plus you get some nice stuff in return," the doctor said, except that in this case, I am the Doctor.

So yeah, I wanted to shop. Compelling reasons like "It's the Post-Christmas sale now!" or "Clearance Sale!" basically fuel the desire for anyone to walk around shopping malls fondling clothes or stuff that you always wanted to own but didn't have enough money for them. With such slash-down sales, you get a feeling that you for once might really be able to own that pair of Jeans or dress without too much of a damage to your bank account.

What better place to start than our beloved Vivocity? The sprawling complex at the south of Singapore boasts of several accomplishments, like being the biggest and the meanest of all the shopping malls in town, having the largest cineplexes around etc. Basically, Vivocity is the newest, and one of the more extensive complexes to hit the shores. The stores within are pretty much the same, except for some which have rose from being merely flagship stores in their own area to franchised stores, like Candy Empire or Crocs.

However, there are some stores which caught my attention though.

I don't like walking around aimlessly with nothing that impresses me; I shop with pretty much the intention of "hit and run". If something impresses me or captures my attention for a full five minutes, chances are that I would buy it if it is within my budget.

Still, I am quite a prick in the ass when it comes to shopping.

That explains why only a few shops appeal to me in Vivocity (not it's not the Cineplex). One of them is Pull and Bear, located on level 1. Check out their website; it is kick-ass. I am not surprised to see that it is actually under the same corporation as Zara.

Simply putting it, shopping is an experience. And your sense of fashion and beauty can only get more acute with the more experience you gain. And when you become a guru in your own right, you will realize the satisfaction that comes from shopping and not the weight of the shopping bags.

I'll leave you with a nice song for now - Keyshia Cole's Love. Just play it and lie down. Enjoy.

Forget about Beyonce or Janet Jackson for a while. This girl can sing pretty well too.

Last Post of the Year

2006-12-31T13:51:00.000+08:00

Last Post of the Year

December 31st, 2006.

A turning time. A pivotal moment in life.

The last post of the year 2006 should be retrospective right?

Let's see how much you can remember what you did since 1st January 2006.

Did you have fun? Did you slog your life away? Did you smile? Did you cry?

Did you...?

Nostalgia wells up inside.

Somehow, Year 2007 promises to be very different from all the 23 years I have lived so far. For the first time in my life, I really have to work. And I don't mean temporary or part-time jobs. A semester separates me from graduating.

I wonder how differently you will be judged outside of school, outside of your protected zone?

Very different, I supposed.

The society that awaits you is no doubt unfamiliar. Brace yourself for glares, stares and plastic smiles. Amidst that, find your niche. And the people who really care.

Welcome 2007.

Post Christmas

2006-12-26T13:42:00.000+08:00

Boxing Day

Yup, one day post Christmas and Heavens send rain again. A feeble attempt to replace the real snow but well, it does make one tingle with chill due to the drop in temperature.

It also escalates the desire to cuddle and snuggle, wrapped up in another person's arms no less. Play some love songs (or like me, just tune in to Class 95 Love Songs with Yasminne), indulge in a little wine and titbits for a moment. No fireplace to bask yourself, but no worries, the tv box will do.

If you have no lover to cuddle around, well, no worries too. Call up your buddies, make it a point to meet for supper, for KTV, for steamboat, for the age-old traditional game of mahjong or make it a drinking session. Surround yourself with people you are comfortable with, and that basically makes up the essence of this time of the year, when Christmas and the incoming New Year promises nothing but fun.

If no one organizes such things, be the one to organize. Taking the initiative under such circumstances never fails.

Trust me. This beats the hell out of staying at home alone, feeling like Macaulay Culkin dealing with idiotic burglars. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Remember the times when there wasn't a single channel NOT showing this bloody show on TV in December? Well, this boy grew up, got married, got divorced, messed with drugs and testified on behalf of MJ's defense during the pop singer's child molestation trial. Talk about being a simple kid.

Rain is Coming

2006-12-21T13:19:00.000+08:00

Rain's Comin'

Yeah, Rain's coming. No, I am not talking about the bare-his-tits Korean singer-actor who can't seem to keep his hands to himself. No offences to Rain's fans (or 비 or 정지훈 Jeong Ji-Hoon), but I am straight; I find no interest and no desire to scream when another man 1 year older than me clad in a tight leather suit (think Yahoo! Hard Gay) tries to smoother his way through with his slick moves. But well, full credits to him for dancing so well. Still, I think the tickets to his concert are way too expensive, but I am not buying so they don't concern me.

To fans who wasted a whole month's pay in order to watch him in concert, Mr Black sympathizes with you. Chasing stars is expensive; it gets even more expensive when their concert tickets don't convert to the correct currency in the correct country.

Rain in concert. I heard he has the power to make the water sprinklers malfunction while he's dancing and crooning.

But no, I am not talking 'bout this Korean Rain.

Rain, caused by the condensation of vapor in the sky, keeps falling instead of snow.

I guess you don't really understand the impact of non-stop rain unless you are a housewife, or when you are stuck in a car which is stuck bonnet-deep in water in a thunderstorm. If you are staying at home, with no work for the holidays and no wish to venture out for fear of over-spending, or even spending for that matter, the rain is a welcome relief. It gives you that extra edge in order to convince yourself of the negative implications of going out: wet clothes, the need to bring a fugly umbrella out, denims that get wet and leave a weird smell on your body, your waxed hair turning unwaxed, your mom nagging you about the clothes not drying and urging you to wear partially dried underwear instead. Besides, the rain also conjures a pseudo-surrealistic feeling of comfort; your mind creates a ephemeral zone of protection against the harsh patter of rain outside when you snuggle and wage wars under your blanket. Air-con ceases to exist.

Mr Black like rainy days, yet 24 straight hours of it might be pushing the limit just a bit. Thank God for hearing that, for we saw a day of sunshine yesterday. But even as I blog now, I can see the dark clouds gathering in the distance. The draft of cold wind blowing into my room makes my fan redundant. It's not rainy today, nor is it sunny.

Gloom's comin'.

Brace yourself. And when rain comes again, you will know what to do.

Feelin' Black

2006-12-15T01:54:00.000+08:00

Sticky Situation

I don't know why, but I feel black. Nothing, nothing dramatic happened.

I should be happy given the circumstances, but I am not.

Something's not alright; you know it and I know it right.

Somehow, I feel unappreciated. For all the things I've done.

Your nonchalance left me...

Black.

It's simple. All human beings need a little bit of pampering and such, even for guys. Remember that.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2006-12-09T02:02:00.000+08:00

Fly high, Fly wide

No, I am not going to lament on my lack of chance to fly this holidays. Since the papers ended, I have been indulging in gourmet trips around Singapore (and Malaysia J.B.), suppers and a birthday party, and sleeps that last as long as I care to replenish the amount of mana lost during that period.

So, yeah, no flying this December but I am still glad.

At least a lot of my friends will be flying, to a variety of destinations (like U.S., Australia, Sweden). Good luck to you guys and may all of you find exciting experiences to share over suppers when you all return in due time. Just remember, school's not exactly over yet, so do return.

My resolution to stay fit and healthy this December hasn't seen light yet. I figure that it's time that something has to be done to purge my body from all the toxins gathered over the past months and start building up some pecs for sale. No, just kidding, I just wanted to lose some flabs and gain some solid pecs in return. And a tan would be nice.

Alright, time to hit the bed. I shall start on the fitness regime tomorrow, with a visit to the used-to-be-babe-infested Siloso Beach. I hope the authorities don't cordon off most of the beach for Zouk-out tomorrow night. May the sun shine on me.

Finally, I have a chance of reading this controversial book. Borrowed it from my sis anyway. Talk about being passe.

Taste the air of freedom

2006-12-05T14:19:00.000+08:00

Of Humans and Pit Vipers

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the holidays are here! (Disclaimer: This doesn't apply to students who started their holidays way back in November though). Take the exams aside, breathe hard and easy for the first time in a month or so and smile.

Yes, you deserve it (even if you have been lagging for the whole semester and only seriously mug for 1/4 of the semester), for all the time you spent eating your notes and following lectures at 1.5 times the speed of their normal pace; for all the time you forsake sleep and rest for 2 more chapters you spotted; for all the brain matter that was wasted as you figure out facts and figures; for all the essence you consumed and subsequently regurgitated, paragraph for paragraph, as invaluable answers to the questions.

The month long period of captivity in your own world of books and notes is over. Taste the air of freedom with your mouth (don't need Jacobson's Organ to do that, sorry Life Sciences Joke) and smell the sweetness of the air.

Don't ask me, but I think I am getting too poetical and melodramatic.

Anyway, just bask in the sun for some time to get that healthy tan back and do some retail therapy during this Christmas to cure that itch of yours. Meet up with friends whom you haven't seen in a while as well; don't contact them only if you are doing MLM or selling insurance policies. All in all, everybody enjoy!

Special thanks to the Wallflowers and this song, "One Headlight". Putting it on repeat mode saved my ass during the exams when all I want to do is sleep.

Heros

2006-11-28T18:58:00.000+08:00

We could be Heros

Another nice MV featuring "Heros" by the Wallflowers for the soundtrack of Godzilla (yah, that was some time back).

Anyway, I just liked the fact that you, me, we could be heros, in our own right of course. We can't walk through walls, can't climb buildings at the speed of heros who could, can't stop time and dodge bullets, hell we can't even fly. But we can try.

I don't mean trying to do things that superheros can. We can try to help ourselves out of any plight we are in, and then try to help others who are in the same situation or even worse off. We can persevere, we can do well, we can climb up when we fail and those are the things that make you and I a hero. A hero may not necessarily be of much help to anyone; you could be a hero to yourself.

So help yourself. Help others too. Be a hero.

We could be heros, just one day.

Prehistoric Monster Syndrome

2006-11-26T13:34:00.000+08:00

To Soothe the Monster Within

This is a funny clip off YouTube. Kinda reminds me of the Dharma Initiative tapes they produce in LOST, the drama series. Sounds absurd at first, but wait... the contents are quite true actually.

PMS survival tips: A parody of old educational film

Study

2006-11-25T21:13:00.000+08:00

Study (is very) hard

Hey, how come they don't put posters like this up in school?

Just bored. And a friendly reminder not to be like me.
Don't be distracted, although I am finding that humanly impossible. Study well and hard for the next week or so and everything will be fine.

At least I hope so.

Dance baby, dance!

2006-11-21T23:58:00.000+08:00

Men who dance are sexy, huh?

Just watched "Step Up", the new dance movie with my girlfriend and I must say this, "Men who dance well are plain sexy." No bullshit here, but if you can dance like Channing Tatum (who plays Tyler in the show), you will probably get more asses than your hands can fill, that is if you decided to get your hands filled in the first place. It was a no-brainer type of movie, but just like in Tokyo Drift in which you watch for the cars and babes, in Step Up, you watch for the dance moves.

But not to worry, Mr Black is nice and kind enough to facilitate that if you don't wan to fork out that $6.50 (weekday prices apply) to watch it at Cathay Cineleisure ('cause GV charges $7.00 I think). Just click on the play button below and you will get to see all, and I mean ALL of the best dance scenes in the movie, minus the kisses and romance drama part.

I love the last dance in this clip. Fusion of hip hop and ballet or whatever you call that is taken to new heights.

Enjoy. And I must say that Jenna Dewan (who plays Nora in the show) looks really cute too. The name "Nora" sounds familiar though. Now where have I heard it before?

If Tomorrow Never Comes

2006-11-16T23:54:00.000+08:00

With Love and Purpose, You'll Live

I don't mean to sound morbid, but if today is the last day of your life, what would you do?

Would you
- spend the day as per normal, doing routine things and engaging in mundane conversations?
- spend the day with the love of your life, indulging in things that you had only fantasized?
- pack your bags and leave the country, far far away from everyone you ever know to live the remaining hours of your life in solitude?
- go bungee jumping, diving, racing and other crazy stuff you always wanted to do but never get the opportunity to?
- draw out all your money and give them to your family or donate them to charity?
- commit a crime, rob a bank just because you are going to die soon anyway?
- go on a shopping spree and spend all your money on material things that you always wanted to own?
- tell the whole world that you are going to die the next day and celebrate?
- travel to places you always wanted to go to and talk to strangers you never met?
- find all the people who have made significant contributions to your life and thank them personally?
- waste your life away drinking and eating?
- find the best doctors in the world and tell them about your condition (not that they can cure you anyway)?
- cry and sob, and complain about the unfairness of your own life?
- invite all your friends to a feast, without telling them why, and just hug every single one of them at the end?

As you can see, there are probably a lot of things you would want to do (and a lot you would not), but it all depends on your state of mind when you know the truth. Some people would want to try things that they never did before in their lives; some people would want to die peacefully in the presence of all their friends and family. Death is a touchy issue; it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist if you do not speak of it as vividly as love.

What is the morale of this post?

Mr Black wants to let you know that most people, including you and me, in the world is living each day without knowing when they would die. And if someone, a doctor maybe, suddenly breaks the news to them that they are dying in perhaps a week's time, they would panic and find all reasons for themselves to stay alive (e.g. I still have my children, I haven't loved anybody before in my life, I still have a lot to do before I die). In reverse, if you start thinking of things like, "What if today is my last day alive?" way before you die, chances are you will not panic so much and give yourself lame excuses to stay alive.

Live each day as if it is your last day. By this, I do not mean to say that you should be pessimistic. Just live as per normal, but show more care and concern for the people around you. Let the word "LOVE" hang by your lips; smile and be happy. After all, you might not see them again if it really is your last day alive.

So tell that someone that you love, just what you're thinking of, if tomorrow never comes.

The Art of Communication

2006-11-13T01:15:00.000+08:00

Networking

I thought I should blog, even though this is a perfectly wrong timing (at 1 am in the morning, when my throat starts to itch - its that kind of itch that you know a sore throat is coming up -, waiting for my hair to dry before tucking in).

Ya, and its being 10 days since I left you guys with that Shakira song "Illegal". Yes, I still love that song; it is illegally good man.

I thought I should share a little of what I had done over the past week. Besides academic work (which I hate to mention), I have been involved in an event that just ended tonight, well, I mean a few hours ago. I was the DJ for that event, for rather the soundman or the music man, whatever you wanna call it. It wasn't a very successful roadshow due to some circumstances, but I was glad to meet some interesting characters over there. There was this duo from the events company that kept taking five (means taking 5 minutes off) to puff and this metrosexual guy (whose company is one of the sponsors) who needs to keep his hands to himself. Well he's not exactly very touchy towards me but I shalln't elaborate. ('cause I might still be working for him in the future. Maybe.). The important take home message for me is to be friendly to everyone out there, even if you meet some sort of 3-legged freak or bald-headed sumo wrestler while working. There is always a likely chance of that person being friendly to you if you start by being amicable towards them. And there brings to the point of networking.

Networking is always important. Have your namecards ready all the time. Who knows, but a casual exchange of contacts may lead to something you might never expect in your life, or even a career that somehow appear to you after 25 years of your life. The chemistry of reactions that occur between humans when they meet and communicate is intricate and delicate, and impossibly complex. But you don't have to understand that in order to communicate effectively with a person. Just be friendly. If possible, speak the language, their language. You will realize that the person that appear so vastly different to you may not be so when you communicate based on sincerity. Why is this important (so important that I am typing this at 1.30 am in the morning)? Simply because communication is the key to networking, which is the key to surviving in the cold, wide world.

It doesn't take a genius or a communications expert to teach you how to communicate effectively with others. Just be honest, be sincere and be friendly. If the person reciprocates, good for you. If he/she doesn't, just let it be. You will come to realize that some people are "late-warmers" - those that prefer not to get too casual with strangers initially - and that some people live in their own world, oblivious to the communications of the outside world. But do your part; don't wait for others to make the first move, action or smile. And when you learn to do that, you will find that mingling with people from all walks of life is actually not as tough as you imagined.

All friends start as strangers somewhere some time ago, isn't it?

Illegal

2006-11-03T18:36:00.000+08:00

"Illegal" - Shakira and Carlos Santana

My favourite song of the moment. Geez, Shakira's voice is so soulful and powerful that it makes a simple song like this sound so real. Not to mention the fact that she is a Columbian sex siren as well. Top it up with Santana (not in this video), one of the "gods" of guitar, and boy what a song you have.

Enjoy!

You Jump, I Jump

2006-10-31T23:26:00.000+08:00

No Jumping, Fine $5000

Boo!

I hope I didn't scare you on this Halloween's Night (ok half an hour left of it anyway). If you are at home and wondering why you never don that leather nurse outfit or Tarzan leopard-skin print draps to go clubbing tonight, I can probably tell you why. The reason is simple: You are tired. This is probably the same reason you would give yourself. Or perhaps you are lazy to go around loaning costumes and masks for a night of fun when lectures at 8am await you tomorrow morning. That is why I am writing. And after this, I shall rest, like a true-blue Dracula too caught up in his administrative work, in my coffin of bliss and comfort. That sounds like a good way to spend Halloween.

The point is, this is not the crux of this post. I am here to talk about the recent phenomenon, the lastest craze, to hit this country.

Jumping on MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) tracks.

To jump, or not to jump?

This comes after another man, aged 51, was killed by an oncoming train, again, at Clementi MRT station at 7 plus in the evening on the 30th October 2006 (yes, yesterday). Witnesses (including a university undergraduate, no guess from which one) reported that the man flung his arms up like a bird when the train is approaching and hurled himself down to the tracks. What happens next fits exactly into the Halloween theme. He was ran over by the train and died, nonetheless in a less "messy" manner compared to the man who committed suicide in the same manner 2 weeks ago at Chinese Garden MRT Station. Well, in short, the body of the man who died at Clementi yesterday remained more or less intact. For details about the previous case, read the papers.

This also comes after reports regarding the family of the man who was killed 2 weeks ago came pouring into the media limelight, and how this lead to the collective donation of 50 grand from kind-hearted Singaporeans to the poor family.

I don't know if the man who jumped track at Clementi yesterday was thinking of the same kind of "insurance" for his family after his "glorified" death, but I had a gut feeling that they might be linked. This national phenomenon of track jumping had increased in severity over the last few years, with more and more people deciding to cross the yellow line over the platform and step into the line of death. The fact is, they probably hurl themselves onto the path of the trains as they are oncoming, so train drivers have absolutely no chance and reaction to brake. The other fact that a person can jump into a track and wait for a train to hit him straight in the face is scary; that is why they probably don't do it this way. Think of it as closing your eyes before you apply pressure on the trigger of the gun that is pointing at your own head. Yeah, you get the picture.

The reasons behind such jumps differ on a case-to-case basis, but they reflect a important social defect. A defect in which people tend to "take the easy way out" by simply committing suicide with the aid of public transport. The impact of their deaths will then no doubt be amplified by the media and will attract the attention of fellow Singaporeans, who may be cursing and swearing due to the train holdup, to their plights. It is a way of saying, "Come everybody, look at me. I am going to die in front of all of you."

Someone should add a new fine. "No jumping onto track" - Fine $5000. P.S. If you want to die, please die in peace.

To some people, this may evoke a sense of empathy towards the "jumpers" and their families; to others, they may be deemed as "selfish" and "inconsiderate" because the burden of their deaths lie in the hands of others then. I belong to the second group of people. For me, a person can always commit suicide in the comfort of his own home using a penknife or some poison pills, and not in the full view of the public. By dying in the full view of the public, they are actually demonstrating something. Something so intrinsic and wrong that I can't even point out what it is. It may be a "retaliative" behaviour on the part of Singaporeans, and it may be a symptom, though not serious now, that something is wrong with our social fabric. I'll leave that to the sociologists to figure out.

In the meantime, SMRT might consider building barriers or glass panels at blacklisted stations to prevent similar incidents from happening. Or they could station more guards or officers at the platforms. All these, however, are only cosmetic in nature, because you will never know when someone standing next to you will hurl himself into the path of another train.

Tell me how you feel then.

Switchfoot

2006-10-29T19:43:00.000+08:00

"24"

This is a really nice song that goes out to all my friends who are facing problems of their own. Remember, each day is a new 24 hours that you have in your hands. Use them wisely.

P.S.: I once wrote a story because of this song because I feel like the second man. Hell, I lost that story somehow.

Twenty-four by Switchfoot

Twenty-four oceans
Twenty-four skies
Twenty-four failures
And twenty-four tries
Twenty-four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
With twenty-four drop outs
At the end of the day

Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing 'Spirit,
take me up in arms with You'
And I'm not who I thought I was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing 'Spirit,
take me up in arms with You'

There's twenty-four reasons
To admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses
Still twenty-four strong

See, I'm not copping out
Not copping out
Not copping out
When you're raising the dead in me

Oh, oh
I am the second man
Oh, oh
I am the second man now
Oh, I am the second man now
And you're raising these...

Twenty-four voices
With twenty-four hearts
All of my symphonies
In twenty-four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true
I'm singing 'Spirit take me up in arms with You'
You're raising the dead in me

Oh, oh
I am the second man
Oh, oh
I am the second man now
Oh
I am the second man now
And you're raising the dead in me
Yeah

I wanna see miracles
To see the world change
Wrestled the angel for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing 'Spirit, take me up in arms with You'
And you're raising the dead in me

Twenty-four oceans
With twenty-four hearts
All of my symphonies
With twenty-four parts
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing 'Spirit,
take me up in arms with You'
I'm not copping out
Not copping out

4 'F's

2006-10-24T12:57:00.000+08:00

The Best things in Life are Free

You've probably heard of this before, and it may seem pretty cliche to you by now, but it is true: The Best Things in Life are Free.

No, I am not affected by "The Art of Happiness at Work" by His Holiness The Dalai Lama which I am reading now, but come to think of it, if you ignore happiness derived from material needs, most of your happiness actually comes from things or people that are "free" (i.e. comes with no strings attached, no cost or charges).

I have an easiler way of remembering them.

Remember the 4 'F's (sorry dudes, the F which you are thinking about is not inside, although you can always add it in if it brings you happiness in another sense).

1. Family

You can't buy family with money. Money can't buy you a better family as well. That being said, however, there is a certain percentage of families whose members' lives revolve around money. If you give money, they smile. If you don't, you are out of the family. That probably sounds wrong to you, but hey, this kind of situation exists in the real world that we live in (not the matrix, sorry). I was just listening to a case of one of my friends. She is a diligent worker despite her failing health, but yet her family expects more and more from her every time (in terms of money). It got to an extent so bad that she recently attempted suicide. Her family didn't even know of it. I was rather disgusted with the behaviour of her family but well, I had no say in anything. Only thing I can do is to advise her to leave the house, leave the family before it kills her. As quoted from the book The Art of Happiness at Work, "If there is injustice, then I think inaction is the wrong response." Here she is evidently subjected to injustice from her siblings ad parents. What she should do is to leave the family which is becoming a burden to her life, but that is often easiler said than done. To leave a family and to sever all ties and links with it is an extremely difficult and emotional chore. I wish her the best.

2. Friends

I don't have to say much about this, cause this is where most happiness is derived from. A simple chit chat session with your good friends gives you satisfaction on a level that is phenomenal. Sometimes, in our rush, we ignore such seemingly mundane chores, and we find ourselves stuck among the sharp exposed edges of harsh reality. Talk to a friend, any friend, and you will find that you are not so stuck after all. It's amazing to see what friends can do for you sometimes, but remember it's equally amazing what you can do for your friends on other times as well.

3. Fitness

You can't do no shit if you have no shitty health , if you know what I mean. Personal fitness is the basic foundation for a happy, fulfilling life. So work on it. I think I should.

4. Fulfilling Relationship

Yes, I am talking about BGR down here. If it doesn't apply to you now, don't worry, it probably will in the future. Girls often hush over a simple line of "I Love You"; Guys light up with smiles when their girls prepare breakfasts for them on idle Sunday mornings. It is as simple as that. Your bf/gf/husband/wife is probably the person that knows more about you than you yourself. And because of that, it is important to maintain a healthy, fulfilling relationship. I have seen people going from hero to zero when they broke off with their partners; I have seen the reverse as well. I ain't no love guru so I shall not try to be one. Remember to just cherish your loved ones and pamper them, not with materialistic things, but rather with hugs and kisses. They always work, trust me.

Okay, so these are the 4 'F's that I have came up with on this idle Tuesday afternoon (when I should doing me webcasting) and I hope readers out there can stop in their tracks as well, and contemplate a little about the source of their real happiness. Remembering the four 'F's is non-essential, however, they should occur to you as often as possible every corner you turn. If you are practising the 4 'F's but is still not happy, truth is that you're probably not contented. Be contented. That's when your happiness will manifest from the sources as mentioned above.

Anyway, sidetracking, I did a few flyers for my club regarding some PSI announcements on air. This is my favourite. Not bad huh?

Student Survey

2006-10-21T14:22:00.000+08:00

Happy Deepavali!

Since its Deepavali today, I shall make everyone laugh on this festive occasion.

Actually, it's quite simple. Just watch the video (no offences to sexy Indian guys with moustaches).

Absolut Madness

2006-10-19T17:43:00.000+08:00

A Wedding and A Whole lot of Work

Amidst munching M&Ms and working on my assignment, I found the desire to blog. Yah, anyway it has been some time since I last wrote as well (the last blog was just cut and copy from the papers). For the past 2 weeks, I feel as if I am working OT everyday. No life, no TV, no games, no movies, just plain ole' assignments ranging from essays to laboratory reports. Jeez. Not to forget the mid terms that just passed. I hoped I had done enough to scrap through. Well, there's nothing much you can do to a paper after you put down your pen so please dun whine too much if you lose 1 percent of your marks due to carelessness or what not. If you really want to, whine to a wall. Maybe it will whine back.

I went to a wedding at Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa last Saturday, on the 14th October 2006. Lo and behold, my ex-PC (platoon commander), Eric, is finally getting married! And to top it off, he met his wife during NDP 2 years back. She was one of the many Polytechnic ushers attached to our company (we were in charge of ushering and security at that time). We had quite a bit of fun then, busy mingling and exchanging contacts with the girls (Imagine deprived soldiers and Poly-students working together) as if they were endangered species worthy of preservation. But a lot of good friends were made as well and I am glad for that. For Eric, he earned his bride. Mr. Black congratulates the both of them and may the pitter-patter of small feet ring soon.

Oh and I haven't really been helping with the Radio Pulze "On Air 2007" team in planning and preparing for the concert next year. Guess I have been AWOL (Away without official leave) from the studio for a couple of weeks now due to my hectic schedule and academic assignments, but I'll be back soon after I settled my stuff. This I promise, alright?

Happy holidays to everyone, thanks to Deepavali and Hari Raya Puasa. Do enjoy your feasts but drink more water as well. Don't let the haze fog you up.

The Life Sciences Conundrum

2006-10-09T23:33:00.000+08:00

To Pipette or not to Pipette

This was an interesting piece of article found in the Monday's (October 9) copy of Today papers. Read it and you will no doubt be amused, I promise.

After the hype, grads now realise that there's no place for them in the industry

by Loh Chee Kong
cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg

IN 2002, when Singapore universities had barely begun producing their own life sciences graduates, Mr Philip Yeo, chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), famously rattled those undergraduates when he said that they would only be qualified to wash test tubes.

But four years on, armed with their Bachelor's degree, some of these graduates are learning the truth of his words the hard way. Many from the first cohort have ended up in junior research positions or manufacturing and sales jobs in the industry — positions that do not require a life sciences degree. Others find themselves completely out of the field.

Said Edmund Lim, 27, who graduated two years ago, and now works as a property agent: "One of my classmates is working illegally in Australia, peddling psychotropic drugs to clubbers. Many of my classmates have gone into teaching. Others are in pharmaceutical or equipment sales."

Another life sciences graduate, who declined to be named, found a job recently at a tuition centre, after failing to land research-related positions for over a year despite numerous job applications.

Already an established base for pharmaceutical manufacturing, Singapore has been trying, in the past five years, to move beyond manufacturing to more high-end research that is "value-added".

According to the industry's annual reviews compiled by A*Star and the Economic Development Board's Biomedical Sciences Group (EDB BMSG), an average of a thousand new jobs were created annually for the past five years. Last year, there were 10,200 manufacturing jobs in the industry, almost doubling the 5,700 jobs created in the then-fledgling sector in 2001. By 2015, EDB targets the number of such jobs to hit 15,000.

But the booming figures mask a Catch-22 situation: The current shortage of PhD holders in the biomedical sciences cluster is hampering Singapore's bid to attract multinational companies to move their high-end research projects here. Without a PhD, most of Singapore's life sciences graduates are only qualified to work as research assistants.

And both graduates and diploma holders vie for these positions that could pay less than $2,000 a month. In the industry's manufacturing sector, life sciences graduates compete against their peers from other general sciences and engineering disciplines. They face even stiffer competition in the sales sector, where paper qualifications take on less significance.

A*Star's Biomedical Research Council oversees and coordinates public sector biomedical research and development activities. On the surplus of life sciences graduates, its executive director Dr Beh Swan Gin told Today: "It is not a situation that can be easily communicated, as there are many factors involved. Simply put, a PhD is essential for progress as a researcher. And there are still not enough Singaporeans pursuing PhD studies."

Adding that the local universities should not pander to the students' demand for the subject, Dr Beh said: "The job market of today and tomorrow, is the market the universities should focus on. The manufacturing and commercial jobs have always been there, albeit there are more of these now. NUS (National University of Singapore) and NTU (Nanyang Technological University) should get better data on the demand for life science graduates at the Bachelor's degree level."

In 2001, NUS' Science Faculty rolled out an integrated life sciences curriculum and NTU started its School of Biological Sciences (SBS) a year later. Meanwhile, the polytechnics also introduced more life sciences courses. Thousands of students jumped on the bandwagon, with demand outstripping the supply of places in these courses.

Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS' Dean of Science — who believes that it could take another five years for the industry to establish itself — acknowledged that his school's intake of life sciences undergraduates was "a bit too high".

"When we started offering a major in life sciences in 2001, 550 students took up the programme. For the subsequent intakes, the number stabilised at about 450. But we would be more comfortable with about a hundred less," said Prof Tan, who added that many students were "unrealistic" about their job prospects.

Said Prof Tan: "A lot of students were probably all hyped up to look for R&D jobs. And when they can't get such jobs, they could be disappointed. If they want to do research, they should further their studies."

Nonetheless, some headhunters, like Kelly Services' Lita Nithiyanandan, predict that it is "only a matter of time" before these "highly valued" graduates find willing employers. Said Ms Nithiyanandan: "As most of these multinational life sciences companies have recently set up or moved their R&D centres to Singapore, they require senior and experienced research professionals at this stage to streamline operations and get compounds approved fast for clinical trials. Once these centres are more established they will definitely need fresh graduates for researching new compounds."

She added: "Overall, Singapore's biomedical scene is evolving as a mature hub for Asia Pacific. This would create opportunities across the board for skill sets through the value chain from fresh graduates to mid-level research and analysts to high-end PhD professionals.

Okay, here goes. Face the music kids, a degree (with or without honors) is of no use if you wish to pursue your career in this field. My advice to all life sciences students will be to go out, get more exposure, know more people and open up your mind. If you are not going for a PhD, I would suggest you let go of your pipette and find something else to hold on to.

Or yah, in any case, I am a reigning life sciences student as well. Cheers!

Smoke City

2006-10-07T01:51:00.000+08:00

Haze-Busters
Picture courtesy of Channelnewsasia.com. Guess what station is this? I guess it's Bedok.

It is official. Haze is back, bigger and better than before. Get ready to hit the masks in the coming days as Singapore's Pollutants Standards Index (PSI) level continues to climb (anyway it climaxes at 80 on Friday, the highest for this year). And while you are sinking your teeth into that sinful double-egg-yolked lotus mooncake these few days, breath deep and hard and think of our lovely Sumatran neighbours burning their plots of land to make way for their new crops. It's a wonderful cycle actually: slash and burn, slash and burn. For one, it can create the illusion of being in Genting (minus the casinos, err I mean Integrated Resorts).

Drivers take note, speed matters now. You wouldn't want to be contributing to this wonderful haze which is keeping all of us nice and warm and humid. So step up, but make sure you can see the bumper of the car in front of you. Oops, bad advice.

Do you realize that there are less people smoking nowadays? All thanks to Haze, fellow smokers are finding it hard to resist the smoke and ash that is available (and free) in the air. So go on, enjoy to your fill, keep your packs for another rainy day.

Ok, that's all the good news we have today. Go on, spit your phelgm and dust your hair. Because you are worth it.

(**The author of this post was hiding in an air-conditioned room while typing this post, refusing to open the windows. He was singing the chorus of a song and it goes, "... burn motherfxxxker, burn, yo yo...")

Buffet Galore

2006-10-02T14:24:00.000+08:00

Buffet Buffet "Bu Fei Cai Kuai" ("Not fat then strange" in direct Mandarin translation)

So I had another buffet dinner just now, this time Asian cuisine at the Orchard Cafe at level 1 of Orchard Hotel. Why did I say "another"? 'Cause its like the second buffet spread I've been to in the last 2 weeks, the last one been international (feat. Mexican "Ariba Ariba") cuisine at Cafe Brio at Grand Copthorne Waterfront. (I shall not pass comments on how good the food is since I am not paid to do so, but well, the food's pretty good for both.)

Orchard Cafe at Orchard Hotel. Picture didn't show the chocolate fondue and durian dessert huh?

If it sounds vaguely familiarly to you, let me make it clearer. It is the hotel that doesn't allow Zoukkers to pee in their toilets even though they are situated next to the grandma of all clubbing outlets in Singapore. Got it? When we boarded the taxi and I told him, "Uncle, Copthorne Hotel Waterfront," the uncle replied me with a look that could only reverbervate "Huh?". Then Dear told him, "Next to the Zouk one, uncle." Then he brightened up, maybe with fond memories of die-hard Zouk fans puking in his cab after a night of mambo-ing, and repeated, "Zouk there ah? Zouk ah?" Evidently, Dear's sense of direction works.

Dining beside the river. Pretty cool minus the construction site on the other bank.

I have been eating buffets since Dear got her hands on the much fabled "Women's Weekly" once-in-a-year, one-for-one dining booklet of vouchers from various restaurants in Singapore. Not to say that I am complaining. Buffets are great; they make you look stupid holding a warmed plate in your hand, not knowing what to eat and where to start 'cause you are in the middle of a jungle of food.

I recommend salads and soups as starters, but I usually start with sashimi and oysters. (Thanks to Dear who taught me how to eat oysters as aphrodisiac.) The art of buffet dining is an experience one gathers down the years. Unwritten rules like "You don't eat rice, for god's sake, in a buffet", "What's rare is good, What's raw is even better", "Fill your plate to only 1/6 of its area, food in bite-size portions seems more appealing" get stuck to your brain with every buffet spread you eat. Just remember, try not to eat like a true-blue Singaporean local armed with "kiasuism". You don't look good holding a plate filled with heaps of chicken, beef, rice, vegetables, topped with salmon sashimi graced with wasabi.

You will look like an idiot, trust me.

I like buffets because I can eat.

Try not to be so calculating while you eat, if not it will be a tedious meal. For example, don't think of things like:

"If each oyster costs $5, and the buffet costs $40+++, how many oysters MUST I eat to get my money's worth of food?"

Answer: As much as you want. Just as long as you clean your toilet after you pass your brains out.

Alright, enjoy your buffet. Burp. What's next?

Fantasy

2006-09-25T22:53:00.000+08:00

White Windmill

I was listening to Jay Chou's new album, Still Fantasy, and this song caught my ear. Listen to the lyrics carefully; I thought they are pretty meaningful.

For those who don't get Mandarin, here's the translation of the chorus:

I carried you to the end
Can we don't go back?
You hugged me silently
And said that you don't need a promise
You said that I would have freedom if I am alone
I don't know what you're saying
Anyway I would not let go of your hand

I carried you to the end
Can you don't think too much?
Will we walk hand-in-hand
And reach the end later
You said we shouldn't meet because of the moment
Thank you for letting me hear
Because I am waiting forever

P.S. Don't be confused Dear, I am always by your side.

Fat Man Scoop

2006-09-24T00:52:00.000+08:00

Fat Scoop

Now, I am listening to continuous bossa nova from Lush 99.5, and suddenly I felt like writing. Blogging is an impulse, I guess, at least for me. Supper is becoming more and more regular as well, and it ain't really doing very well for me. Hence my title.

I guess I am getting fatter. It's not a guess actually, it is a fact. Damn, a guess is just a way of making yourself feel a bit more comfortable rather than succumbing to the fact that what you said is a pack of lies. Woah. Somehow, I felt good saying that. What happened to my pacs? (I used to have 4, I think, but that was a long time ago). Lookin' at my tummy, I have to admit that I had succumbed to the savoury oily favor of pratas and milo-dinosaurs-with-lychees-on-top. On top of that, we drove to suppers. How metabolically unhealthy is that?

A good old meal of Indian goodness gets friends together and secrets out. How cool is that?

I am not a health-conscious freak. Nor do I care about gaining a few more kilos. I just don't like the line of fats that protrude defiantly from the waist everytime I sit down. Guess I will have to do something about that before things get out of hand.

But yes, I do like suppers. But not just for the food.

Suppers, in my opinion, are one of the best avenues of exchanges. Over a cup of teh, teh halia or any of their close cousins and prata or bak chor mee (minced meat noodles), friends exchange views and opinions on their recent happenings. They discuss, laugh, joke but all in all, they communicated on a level that is both casual and comfortable. Forget about the high collar, cufflings and pin-striped poshy dinners; they are costly and half of the time, they don't get the job done. A cheap $2.20 meal of 2 plain pratas and 1 teh will probably get your friends talking more than they should. Throw in a couple of Sapporo beers and you have a party, berms-and-flip flops style. And while you shake that leg of yours and your friend smoke that Malboro Lights of his, a conversation about politics, army and sports ensue.

So go on, have your fill. Just make sure you work out after that. (A good round of intercourse burns a good deal of calories, for those who are relevant. Check them out here).

International MalFunction?

2006-09-20T00:58:00.000+08:00

English Essay

It started out pretty harmless, just two questions posed by my sister who barged into my room (thankfully my hands are on my laptop), one of which I will not mention cause it is on the long moldy topic of "kiasuism" in the society. So passe. Cheah.

Her teacher had given her these two topics to think about and write down the various arguements that the issues evoked. I thought ok, I had done this umpteen times myself and so I agreed to take a look at what she had came up. Then she handed me a piece of paper with an interesting topic in the middle. It was a typical mindmap kind of thing with arrows and bubbles and squares.

In the middle typed, "IMF Annual Meeting in the Island of '4 Million Smiles'. Why the red carpet treatment?"

Believe it or not, the image of Suntec Convention Centre, reinforced with its metal girdles and fences, came into mind. Impenetrable fortress, guarded by police and soldiers round the clock to protect the interests of the foreign delegates. See, I have to be politically correct in my selection of words (Nowadays, words can get you behind bars. No, not Mars bars.). Then I looked at the question again, "Why the red carpet treatment?"

I came up with a few reasons off hand, which I then spend 10 minutes explaining to her (even bringing in China who is hosting the Olympics 2008). Another word crept into mind, a Malay word commonly used during National Service which starts with "W". I would not elaborate.

Naturally, one tidies up the house when you are playing host to a lot of people at your house, I told my sis. When it's all over, the host can then heave a sigh of relief and start the whole process of cleaning up the mess.

For Singapore, we have secured, cleaned, mopped, painted, scrubbed, arranged, lined up, prepared, fussed, secured again, fussed again to welcome the arrival of the foreign delegates. I think we are pretty good hosts already. Agreed? (P.S. You could protest if you disagree.)

Monday Yellows

2006-09-11T11:57:00.000+08:00

Monday

I woke up this morning, switched on my laptop, ran through my emails and thought, "Maybe I should blog." And so I did, desperately trying to type something in that empty white space provided by blogger when you click on "New Post".

It's being a while since I last suffered from Monday Blues, since every alternate week I have no lessons on Mondays and have no intention of going to school as well. Fridays are the worst of the lot as I usually have lessons from 12 noon to 10pm at night. Talk about irony man. Mondays are supposed to be the shittiest days of the weeks and Fridays are days frosted with hope and freedom. No one parties on monday nights; Friday nights are crazy.

Ok, I shouldn't complain. There are people who are having a 5-day week holding daggers and bayonets at my throat.

I just done a forum on radio. The topic is cute yet supple, "Are parents spoiling their children in today's society?" I thought I lost control of my panelists (4 of them), yet I could probably blame it on my lack of experience since it was my virgin try. Problem is when you pose a question to the panelists, a few of them might answer and supplement each other along the way, so in the end, you might really have no clue what they are talking about, or if they are answering the question for that matter. Nonetheless, I did have good panelists who contributed when I directed the questions at them and that's all that matter.

I watched NUS Dance Blast's "Shut Up and Dance" and was awed. Literally. Half of the time, I was on the edge of my seat, leaning forward, tapping my feet to the beat of Timberlake, Ne-Yo, Teriyaki Boyz and their hip hop friends, while fixing my eyes in the dim lights on the slides, locks and pops of the various dancers in their various states of undress. Hmmm, they were well-dressed, what more could I say. I always have a weakness for short skirts, colourful tubes and "bling bling" corsets. Well done to all the dancers, you did well and we had a blast of a night.

Okay, its almost one in the afternoon. Time for me to wash up and have some brunch. Think I shall catch a movie later since there are quite a lot of good shows up on screen lately.

Don't you just love Mondays?

Together

2006-09-03T00:30:00.000+08:00

Dick and Rick Hoyt

I read about them through a stranger's blog. The story of this pair of father and son is way too inspirational so I had to dedicate a post to it as well. Here is an article adapted from the Sports Illustrated by Rick Reilly about them and their amazing story. Watch the video, you will know what I mean. Here goes.

*I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to Pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars - all in the same day (doing the Ironman Triathlon). Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much - except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old, "Put him in an institution." But the Hoyts weren't buying it.

They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "there's nothing going on in his brain." "Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!"

And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that." Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles?

Still, he tried. "then it was me who was handicapped,"Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks." that day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!" And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?" How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzz kill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 -- only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century." And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago." So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."*

Well, I hope this story gives you the pulse and inspiration that all of us are so missing nowadays. Just remember, when you don't give up on other people, you don't give up on yourself as well.

Run Forest, Run!

2006-09-01T23:18:00.000+08:00

Essential Brew

Jennie yells out, "Run Forest, Run!" so what did Forest do? He ran, and ran and ran. He ran so much and so hard that his braces broke from his legs and he never had to wear them again.

It's the first day of September. Normally things are quite normal in September, but that was before; now, people are preparing to honor and remember those who were sacrificed on the 11th day, I have a 2nd year anniversary date with Dear on the 22th day. Before I start, I just wanted to explain why I put that scene from Forest Gump in the first paragraph.

The reason being, I just felt like it. Simple as that.

Okay, I did quite a bit of stuff since I last posted, but nothing is so much called academic. I went to the beach, spoke to a psychic, had a fancy Japanese dinner with my hairdresser friend and his wife, played half a day of music on an idle monday afternoon to passing faces, gathered with friends at a place known as Essential Brew, which serves nice tea and desserts while you slack against the wall, well propped up by red fluffy cushions and talking about life and relationships. That was quite a mouthful, sorry, but that was in short the highlights of the previous weeks.

Let's talk more in depth.

As I was saying, I spoke to a psychic previously. The experience was, well, surprising considering the fact that I wasn't prepared for it. She told me stuff that were accurate to a certain extent, and foretold my future in a harmless kind of way. I must love myself to a larger extent, she said, and derive energy that I kept giving others from a higher source. When I asked her what, she smiled and answered, just pray. If I ever worked in the oil industry in the future, this blog post shall bear testimonial to what she had said as well.

Believe me, it feels cool to talk to someone who is at peace with the soul. At least that's what I perceived.

Since a lot of people are suffering from insomnia, I shall disperse some advice on how you can possibly go to sleep without counting metaphysically jumping sheep.

Close your eyes. Imagine yourself to be a piece of paper. Not an ordinary piece though; you are white and pure and clean, and as spotless as the first piece of paper ever conjured out by humans without the ability to write. You are floating, the edges folding gently as if it were carried on invisible waves. Relax.

I hope this helps.

**It's amazing to know how friends can come about from a head of hair.

Patrol in Thy Snow

2006-08-24T22:57:00.000+08:00

Snow Patrol

Yes I'm feeling mellow, yes I'm feeling emo and you are getting two thumbs up. Being feeling a bit down recently 'cause I haven't been able to complete all the things I set out to do. It's a situation of "I am going to do this..." but eventually, "I ain't got time for this now...". Problem is, I do have the time. I just don't know what to do with it. If I have a choice, I just want to lie down and look at stars. I know the whole world is revolving; I know the people at RP studio are working their ass off (I haven't being there for a while, sorry 'cause it doesn't make sense to go to Arts faculty from Science if you have a 1 hour break); I know I should start revising; I know I shouldn't spend so much time on mundane stuff like staring out my window and listening to Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars on repeat; I know but I can't stop myself.

It's a cycle. It's an emo cycle.

I am not stressed but something seems to be building in my head.

Anyway just enjoy the songs.

"If I lay here, If I just lay here, Would you lie with me and just forget the World?"

My favourite songs from the Brit band. Sorry but there's no original MVs posted of these songs so I can only find those made with drama series (Grey's Anatomy and House). In my opinion, they are very well done so just drop your pen, lay down and enjoy.

The Man who Sold the World

2006-08-21T20:55:00.000+08:00

Turmoil

The world is in turmoil. Can you feel it?

It's hot when it's not supposed to.

Bombs and mortars are flying in the Middle East.

Political leaders face-off against their competitors and their countries.

Close your eyes so you feel them.

Families are in quarrel.

Children are suffering.

Mr Black saw Death. Though in a contorted form, it still scares.

What is it that makes you sad?

What it is that makes you happy?

For now, I will give as much love as I can share to those who need it.

Life beckons on the other end.

Don't feel like the man who sold the world.

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

2006-08-12T02:31:00.000+08:00

Tokyo Drift: The Review

Okay, Mr. Black succumbed to the temptation of fast cars and Tokyo chicks and watched the 3rd installment of The Fast and The Furious series, Tokyo Drift. Here's my short take on it.

These are the songs that made me remember the movie. They are really good, so take a listen. And if any of you want them, PM me. I have the entire soundtrack muhahah.

The first video is the MV for the theme song for this movie, Tokyo Drift by the Teriyaki Boyz. I really enjoyed Japanese hip hop and rap, I realized though I can't understand what they are saying half of the time. Watch out for the part where the guy drifts his car around another one just to get the attention of the pretty driver. Talk about being innovative huh? Don't ever do that in Singapore; you may end up being clubbed by god-knows-what.

The second video is another song from the movie, Six Days (Remix) by DJ Shadow ft. Mos Def. I put the video there 'cause by the time you finished watching that video, you can forget about watching the movie. The car chase that is the climax of this movie is actually featured in the middle segment of this video, so ignore the rubbish in the front and scroll to the middle. A Mitsubishi Evo and a Nissan Fairlady 350Z awaits you.

Well, that's my take on this movie. Don't call me a spoiler if you are going to watch it. I am seriously helpful. Fast "mod" cars and hot chicks in PVC are my weaknesses. Groan.

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

2006-08-12T02:26:00.000+08:00

Teriyaki Boyz - Tokyo Drift Music Video
Six Days (Remix) - DJ Shadow ft. Mos Def

Tribute to Her, My Love

2006-08-06T23:56:00.000+08:00

Tribute to Her, My Love

This post is dedicated to Mr Black's love of almost 2 years, a girl who had just crossed the magical boundary into full adulthood today. No, she is a lady now. A woman, if I may such call.

You are both an angel and a devil, but I am no saint myself as well. Remember what I told you right from the very start? I will always pamper you and treat you like a princess, but that's a limit to which we had set. You know my character, my style, my strengths and my flaws and you have accepted them as well as I had. Thank you so much for your support and love girl, for without you, my life will be a lot different from what I am experiencing now. Mr Black is not so black with you after all.

Whatever that makes you happy makes me happy as well. I hope you remember this.

You're Fired!

2006-08-04T00:29:00.000+08:00

Donald Grump meets Donald Trump

Looks like kids and preschoolers will learn how to say "You're fired!" a little too early for their sake.

I was watching Sesame Street the other morning (don't ask me why) and I was fascinated by a scene in which Oscar the Grouch, his female counterpart Grundgetta and the other grouches are waiting for a special arrival for a special grouch, supposedly the grouch with the most trash in the world.

His name is Donald Grump. The "richest" grouch in terms of trash.

I laughed as I watched Grump appeared, shaking and ranting, through a typical trash bin with trademark parted gold hair and suit. So interested was I that I did a little research. This is what I found.

The program description:
Donald Grump, the grouch with the most trash in the world, is looking for a new apprentice. Oscar, Grundgetta, and the other grouches can't wait to meet him because if they get chosen, they will get to keep some of Grump's trash. Elmo decides that he wants to be Grump's helper too, but just because he likes to help others. Grump puts them through counting and sorting tasks that Elmo does great at. Oscar and Grundgetta are too busy arguing and the other grouches have already been fired. Grump decides that even though Elmo succeeded at all the tasks, he is too good at being a helper to help a grouch. Elmo doesn'tmind. He gets to leave with the one thing he wanted anyway- Grump's hairpiece. Grundgetta and Oscar are both hired, but they decide that Grump's trash isn't worth it if they have to help him to get it. He leaves Oscar and Grundgetta no choice but to tell him, "You're fired!"

Besides this, I also read from another website that the upcoming season will feature a segment titled Desperate Houseplants, a parody of arguably the hottest show on the small screen right now, along with Grouch Eye for the Nice Guy. In addition, for older viewers there will be a takeoff of Dragnet called Cookie Monster: Food Investigator.

Parody is taken to another level with Sesame Sreet again. Smile, for the world is a bit funnier.

Mr Black's HK Escapade (Episode 3)

2006-07-30T10:20:00.000+08:00

Mr Black's HK Escapade (Episode 3: Drops, Dolphins, Dance... & China)

If you are seeing this for the first time, Mr Black recommends that you start from episode 1 (scroll down) instead because this is the last installment of pictures and videos of his HK escapade. I hope you guys enjoy the photos (most of them taken by Mr Black himself, thank you) and find them interesting.
Here we go again:
Yah, we stopped at The Abyss last episode. It is one of the major attractions of the park (and also the one that I took first), in which thrill-seekers are actually lifted to a height of 20 stories (magnificient view from up there), then dropped without warning down to around the 5th floor. Experience zero gravity for a while as one free-falls.

Sorry but the video is not upright (kinda reminds me of hmmm some other video). I thought a video needs no explanation. Yah, I was right.
The much anticipated Ocean Park Highlight: Ocean Theatre. As you can see, the theatre is located in a prime position in the park, with the vast Pacific Ocean as its backdrop. Visitors can watch the show and be enchanted by the beauty of the ocean at the same time.
Eeeee....ha. Free Willy.......'s friends.
What is Ocean Park without a big, fat Tiger Shark in the Shark Aquarium? It is pretty big, I'll tell you.
There's a special program at the Ocean Park, in which dancers and singers from the Caribbeans swirled and turned and sang with all their gusto and might to impress the average crowd. I admire their fervor for their job and they were really passionate. Now where can you get those puny bikinis again?
Foam party at Sentosa? Nope, we are still at the Ocean Park, but this is the Lowlands Region of the park. Tired visitors can indulge in a huge foam party situated next to a Pirate Ship (Think Pirates of the Caribbean). I'll just be contented watching.
The supposed Highlight of the Lowland Region of Ocean Park. This happens to be one of the two pandas that are around in that air-conditioned enclosure of theirs. It keeps prancing left and right like it was really troubled. Maybe it was just trying to get itself to sleep.
Alright away from Ocean Park, away from Hong Kong, now onto Shenzhen, in Mainland China. Quite surprised to see a Le Coq Sportif boutique right smacked in the middle of Dong Man Old Street, the only happening place in that city of smoke and spit. I was just being honest.
Another view of Dong Man area at night after our shopping. Looks modernised isn't it? Well, the Dong Man region in Shenzhen reminds one of Singapore's Far East area, with cheap fashion goods and accessories selling at almost all the stores. New shoppin' haven for you people.

Well, that's all for Mr Black's HK escapade for this July. Do tag and look out for other posts upcoming.

Mr Black's HK Escapade (Episode 2)

2006-07-30T01:37:00.001+08:00

Mr Black's HK Escapade (Episode 2: Of Buddha and The Abyss)

This is the 2nd out of 3 episodes that Mr Black had painstakingly arranged for his friends and visitors out there. Do enjoy but remember, please tag if you have something to say. Here goes:
Reached Tung Chung Station early second day morning just to receive a bit of drizzle. The condominiums (at least I think they are) are a stark contrast to the mountains that lie peacefully behind them (see carefully). And the wind there is strong enough to blow an infant off. Brrr. We have a date with Buddha nonetheless.
The Giant Buddha atop the mountain in Lantau Island. At 34m in height and 250 tons in weight, it is the world's tallest seated bronze Buddha. Triple R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
No kidding, but Mr Black climbed 268 steps to reach Buddha. Phew. But it's worth it, as you can see later.
The view from midway of the climb. More to come.
This is definitely in contention for the best picture we took in HK. Bless me and my blog, Buddha.
Finally, the first group shot I posted. No prizes for guessing which is Mr Black. Focus on the ocean behind, the view is simply sweet at the foot of the Buddha.
Ocean Park Hong Kong is one of those places that is built on a mountain slope. See those roller-coaster tracks in the background? No, I am not going to take them.
You gotta take 4 of these 5 minute escalators in excruciating heat in order to reach the Highlands of Ocean Park. Gives a whole new meaning to escalators.
This is Mr Black's pick for the most exhilarating ride in the park: The Mine Train. Watch as the train climbs a slope gently and then zooms down at break-neck speed, then circles and spins. Don't worry, if you are flung off, you will just drop hundreds of yards down to the ocean behind.
This is the Pacific Ocean, as seen from the Pacific Ocean Pier, one of the places that made my bloody long escalator journey worth it.
Errr... we will get to that later. Those are all the rides designed to scare the balls and guts out of anybody.
The double-looped roller coaster which I took eventually, under the consistent nagging of somebody else. But hey, it wasn't that scary after all.
I guess kids and adults (couples) take the Ferris Wheel for different reasons, if you know what I mean.
What are we strapped up for, baby? Oh, the Abyss of course! I felt my blood drain away from my face as I watch others dropped first.

Well, we have come to the end of Episode 2: Of Buddha and The Abyss. Do look out for the last Episode 3: Drops, Dolphins, Dance... & China only right here on www.blackrhapsody.blogspot.com.

Mr Black's HK Escapade (Episode I)

2006-07-30T00:38:00.000+08:00

Mr Black's HK Escapade (Episode I: Neon lights, blink on me)

Firstly, I would like to apologise for taking a week to post the long awaited pictures and videos of Mr Black's 4-day HK Escapade. I was recovering from illness and after that, had busied myself with stuff you wouldn't understand. Yeah right, you may say, but whatever, this is a post dedicated to picture lovers out there. No small collages. Just picture after picture.
Here we go. Swish.
This was taken at Changi International Airport, the pride of the land. I don't understand why people always have to take a shot of this departure board when they are at the airport. Maybe they don't want to forget their check in row. And yah, if you can spot my Hong Kong bound JSA plane, you have powerful eyes.
The view from my puny beyond redemption hostel room. Mark my words, living in a hostel in HK is bad, especially if it happens to be called Li's Hostel (Goes by the name "Taiwan Hotel" as well). Spend a bit more to stay in a hotel. Who knows, maybe you will gain something extra?

If your eyes are sharp enough, this picture is exactly the same as the previous one except that it was taken at night. The streets of Hong Kong are lit by neon signboards literally, not road lamps or lamp posts.
Squalid, almost sordid living quarters of HK buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). Land is more than scarce in that place.
The much fabled Ladies Street in Mongkok. Doesn't impress me at all as the goods they sell are rather, hmmm let's just say, old fashioned.
The streets of HK at night, lit up by the signboards that have a life of their own. Did I mention that Watsons is extremely successful over there?
A bronze statue of Bruce Lee along the Avenue of Stars in TST. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
The HK nightline from the Avenue of Stars, a place like our own Esplanade. Beeeeautiful lights. Evidently, the companies think that displaying their brand names on big neon signboards help their business. Anyway, thanks to them as well.
Another shot. A closer-up. Flash did not do much when the buildings are like 1 km away.
The goodness of Italian pizza and Japanese innovation. Folded pizza as a result. Ate it at SOGO basement at TST. Is it nice? Well, what do you think? I think I can smell them from here... ahh.
Q & A time. What is this device used for? (Hint: related to previous picture)
Is it for...
1) Ringing the cashier's attention
2) The cashier to ring the consumer's attention
3) Secret walkie talkie that vibrates, much to the pleasure of the cashier
Last but not least, for this episode, I shall end with a map depicting the MTR subway lines and the various tourist attractions that they lead to. You can enlarge the map yourself if you find it to be useful. Maybe Singapore can have one of this map as well.

Alright, that's all for "Episode I: Neon lights, blink on me". Look out for "Episode 2: Of Buddha and The Abyss". Only on www.blackrhapsody.blogspot.com. Duh.

It's A "Tu" Day

2006-07-26T01:18:00.000+08:00

It's a "Tu" (Two) Day

It's almost two in the morning.

First of all, I have to explain the title. It all arises from the fact that I waited 2 hours last afternoon at a particular hospital for a 2 minute follow-up consultation, followed tightly by a 20 dollar bill which I conveniently swiped with my POSB "Nets It!" card.

Yes, trouble doesn't come alone. They come in pairs, in groups to harass the living hell out of you. For me, the rashes I wrote about in the last entry were not the end of my misery when I hit home on Thursday. I developed cornea abrasion 2 days later and had to go around consulting doctors who in the end referred me to the hospital. Thankfully, I am on the way to recovery now but that was a painful (and expensive, 'cause hospital bills add up to almost $200 now) lesson learnt.

Never re-use your daily contact lens.

Ok? Get that 2-cents worth advice into your head if you are intending to be as "cheapo" (Singapore slang for cheap-skate) as me.

It's 2.07 am now. Time for bed, people. Remember, don't sleep with your contact lens (unless of course they are designed to). I will post up the pictures and videos of my HK shop-walk-shit-shop-walk-shop-walk-shit (realize there's no "eat") journey in the next post.

For the moment, dream.

(The Curse Of) The Pearl of Asia

2006-07-20T22:46:00.000+08:00

(The Curse of) The Pearl of Asia

Well, it may not be so comfortable, but Jetstar Asia planes kept their promise and flew me safely back and forth from The Pearl of Asia ("Dong Fang Zhi Zhu" in Mandarin) - Hong Kong.

It was an exciting but physically draining trip for me and my significant other but it was a good trip nonetheless. In these 4 days, we rushed from place to place like true blue Hong Kongers, only stopping for the occasional brunch and dinner breaks. There was a lot to see in both Hong Kong and Mainland China Shenzhen, but since we were there for the first time, we had some difficulties finding good locations to shop and eat. In the end, we managed to bump into several factory oulets of certain established brands (Espirit, Adidas, Nike) in HK and also a pretty famous street in Shenzhen (Dong Men Street) selling all sorts of funky wear and cool accessories (think Far East Plaza).

Attractions wise, we did indeed went sightseeing in HK. Pictures will be posted up on upcoming posts on the various attractions that we went to, including the enormous sitting Buddha atop a mountain, Ocean Park, Avenue of Stars and of course, the HK nightline. Hong Kong is a place perched up on highlands, so it is amazing to see how the engineers over there managed to construct buildings and even attractions on mountain ranges and slopes.

Did Mr Black mentioned that transport is a bit steep over there? Anyway it is, but the subway lines (KCR and MTR) are pretty idiot-proof enough for anyone who has lived in Singapore long enough to know how to travel from Choa Chu Kang to Seng Kang. If you don't know, then maybe there's a problem. No, I am not saying you are an idiot.

Mr Black stayed in a hostel for the previous few days while in HK. It sucked. Really. This trip to Hong Kong will be perfect if I am not suffering from rashes (heat rash or bites probably) right now, illuminated by the white snake powder (think powder bath, guys) that I had applied generously over half of my body minutes ago. The room was puny (as in really puny, you can't take 5 steps without bumping into furniture), had a equally puny private toilet (as in you can pretty much just rotate about your fixed position like an atom in a solid while bathing) and the pillows, well let's just say, they smelled different. They smelled China. Thus I suspect it might be bed bugs who had adored me with their hugs and kisses. God knows.

Overall, it was still a pretty good trip. We managed to rake in bags of clothes and dried food back to Singapore after all the hustle and bustle in HK. Mr Black had achieved what he set out to achieve, and is now ready for more.

The cloud of "School" brews imminently in the near distance. I hear a thunderstorm but who cares?

I have an umbrella.

Perception

2006-07-12T19:26:00.000+08:00

Perception

Well... I am back... with a new skin that's not black at last. Kind of renaissance in feeling cause of all the drawings and such. Disclaimer: This skin works best using Internet Explorer because some links may not be accessible through other browsers (I tried Mozilla Firefox and the links to "Other Colours" disappear, hmmm).

For a start, let's drop our defences, if only so infrequently and temporarily, and change our perception. Let's not view things at face value any more. Sometimes, things are not as bad as you think they are.

Watch this korean video for a demonstration. It was actually banned back there!

Sweet Dreams are Made Of This

2006-07-10T14:24:00.000+08:00

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

"All graduands, you may now proceed to the robing room to get your robes," This message repeated at least 5 times everyday, accompanying the No-I-am-not-irritated-by-it Commencement Official Song as it boomed loud and soft in the closed confines of the University Cultural Centre.

Yes, Mr Black is helping out at the UCC this and last week during Commencement 2006. This once-in-an-academic-year event marks the end of an undergraduate's path in the university. Be it a degree, an honors in whatever class, a masters, or a doctor in philosophy (PHD) conferred to any student, this event means, rather crudely, that he or she is about to leave school and start working (most likely) in the society. You can tell, by the look in their eyes, if they are ready to do precisely that. Of course, some lucky dudes and gals will no doubt have their jobs secured even before they mounted the stage to collect their long-awaited qualifications, but for most others, it's time for another round of competition.

Except that this time, it's not all about academic qualifications.

Mr Black has always stood by a stand. His stand: The papers are merely stepping stones for you to greater heights. To put it crudely again (I got this bad habit huh?), a degree or masters or p.h.d. is like a ticket that entitles you to an interview with your prospective boss. What happens in the interview has nothing to do with the papers; just like what happens in "Pirates of the Carribeans" has nothing to do with the ticket to the movie once you get pass the booth.

It's you. You. Yourself. Alone.

It's you that ultimately has to bear the brunt of the glare and the questions, and perform under such circumstances. Convince, not confuse. You can't based everything on your qualifications; right there they are just like ticket stubs.

To all graduates that have made it thus far, good luck and may you find the right movie to star in. The ticket to stardom, freedom and wealth doesn't come cheap nor easy, but now you have it in your hands. Well done.

Comfort Blues

2006-07-03T18:42:00.000+08:00

Comfort Blues

In case you haven't heard, here's the dish.

"Comfort DelGro Makes Taxi Fare Adjustment"

3 July 2006 - The flag down fare of ComfortDelGro's fleet of taxis - Comfort, CityCab and Yellow-Top - will be raised by 10 cents to $2.50 with effect from 6am, 10 July 2006. This is the first such increase in 12 years.

The move comes amid a difficult operating environment including rising fuel prices. In the last two years, the price of fuel has more than doubled and is now hovering near its all-time high. The market price of diesel is now $1.07 per litre, up 30% from a year ago. To help our drivers, ComfortDelGro has extended significant fuel subsidies of $0.29 per litre to those of our taxi drivers who choose to pump with us. As a result, they pay just 78 cents a litre. Still, the higher cost of diesel has reduced the incomes of our drivers.

The decision to revise the current fare structure was made after ComfortDelGro had consulted its Taxi Associations. In line with the increase in flag down fares for normal taxis, Comfort DelGro will also be increasing the flag down rate of our Mercedes fleet by 20 cents to $2.80 to differentiate its premium service.

There will also be a distance-related fare adjustment to better reflect the relationship between fuel costs and distance travelled. Under the new fare structure, trips that are less thna 10kms will be charged at 10 cents for every 210m travelled compared to 225m currently. For trips above 10kms, the charge will be 10 cents per 175m compared to 200m now.

To ameliorate the current disequilibrium between demand and supply during peak periods, ComfortDelGro will raise the peak hour surcharge from $1 to $2. This is expected to reduce the waiting time during periods of high customer demand.

Below is a summary of the charges which will take effect on 10 July 2006.

Current

New Fares

Flag Down

Normal taxi: $2.40 for 1^stkm

Mercedes taxi: $2.60 for 1^stkm

Flag Down

Normal taxi: $2.50 for 1^stkm

Mercedes taxi: $2.80 for 1^stkm

Distance Fare

1km to 10km

10cts for every 225m

Above 10km

10cts for every 200m

Distance Fare

1km to 10km

10cts for every 210m

Above 10km

10cts for every 175m

Peak Period Surcharge

$1.00

Monday - Saturday

7.30am - 9.30am

5.00pm - 8.00pm

Peak Period Surcharge

$2.00

Monday - Friday

7.00am - 9.30am

Monday - Saturday

5.00pm - 8.00pm

Booking Prime Time

Monday - Friday

7.30am - 9.30am

5.00pm - 11.00pm

Now you know. Real nice, Mr Black thinks.

Black

2006-07-03T11:33:00.000+08:00

How do I go about explaining something I can't even explain in the first place.

Colours swirled in my head; black, blue, red, yellow.

Incidentally, "Crazy" by Aerosmith played in the background.

"Don't touch me, it's digusting," she said, unaware of the pain she caused.

But I am not, the boy thought, and thought that no explaining will do justice to him. He was fixed.

I am not what you think I am, he thought; she left.

I tried to fight it with white light, but eventually Black enveloped me.

Joga Bonito

2006-06-28T12:51:00.000+08:00

Joga Bonito

It doesn't take a football pundit to tell the difference. Just ask anyone who has been following the past few World Cups and he can tell the difference. With the exception of certain footballing greats still alive in the big scene, football stars now seemed more withdrawn, more detached, more fake. The last point is shown more evidently in this World Cup in Germany, with more cards than ever being brandished for diving. Yes, when the hell did players get booked for such an offence? And when is diving included in football anyway (it should be underwater duh)? But we have indeed seen players diving inside the penalty areas, heartless tackles being employed on the top legs, referees being conned and soccer politics right on the pitch itself this month in Germany. Football is evolving, just like the rest of the world, into something downright commercialised and fictitious.

It should be beautiful, a game focused not only on winning but also on the quality of play. No doubt winning is important as well but it is a bonus if you play well and win. The last of the eight finalists were decided just now and Mr. Black is not surprised to see the big names inside despite playing badly in the earlier rounds. The World Cup is not just a game; it is a stage on which players get developed and show their abilities. Seasoned actors on this stage naturally find it easier to face the spotlight, bear down on the opponent's goal and score, but credit must also be given to some of the newbies for putting up a good show.

I have to say the only blackhorses in the quarter finals are Portugal and Ukraine. But both of them have come a long way (esp. Portugal who ate up le Oranje) and so have, in a sense or another, deserved their slots. Ukraine? It's Shevchenko vs The Blue Azzuris. Go figure.

Mr. Black's bet for the blog: As much as I liked Argentina, Germany is going to go through to the semi-finals and face off with the handsome dudes from Italia. On the other side, I would pick the new boys from Portugal to dance to the beat of the samba-dancers from Brazil. The finale?

Germany vs Brazil.

And by then, I hope Joga Bonito gets through to them (means "Play Beautiful" in Portuguese).

Inept Combat Training

2006-06-20T22:54:00.000+08:00

Inept Combat Training

Mr Black returned, in one piece, three days ago from In Camp Training (ICT) over at a "ulu" (slang for distant and isolated) camp. Or rather he returned from ICT: Inept Combat Training instead.

However, the reason shall not be disclosed over the confines of blogger or any other blog portal for fear of being persistently political. Consequences may be dire so bloggers beware of what you write.

What he can say is that he feels disappointed. The overall moral of the company was low all the way right from in-process and even hit rock bottom just after field exercise before being condemned to a level slightly better than significant till out-process.

Hence the term Inept Combat Training.

Yes, the training was tough and it made me feel all the way back like a NSF (not like a virgin sorry) years ago. But no, it wasn't that that made Mr Black black. It was a lack of camaraderie amongst the men, the officers and the specialists. Something along the way didn't click, and the equation turned out to be lopsided. However, names shall not be mentioned on this blog because that would make the whole thing even worse. Mr Black doesn't like finger-pointing one bit.

Ok thats all the random rave Mr Black has. He is sure better things are to come. Oh come Shakira, wash my dirty laundry (this is a joke, hint: her album name).

Geek In Da Train

2006-06-06T12:40:00.000+08:00

Geek in Da Train

The subway train is an amazing place, if you know what I mean. Come to think of it, a good part of your life is spent on it (provided you are not burning petrol behind the wheel of a car) and Mr. Black thinks it is far too wasteful for the time spent in the cramped environment of the train to slip away. Open your eyes, stay awake and you will see a lot of stuff that can either make you laugh or cry (but you can't do either of that cause you are being scrutinised as well).

The thing you absolutely have to learn while taking a train is how to look from the corner of your eye. You can be reading, napping, pretending to nap, listening to your little white machine or doing whatever you like on the train but staring is a big no-no in the trains. You can't stare at a MILTF (if you don't know what this means, either google or watch American Pie) strolling in with her 2-year-old kid or a couple engaging in lengthy French conversation (Frenching in short) directly unless you want to be sued; you have to sly your eyes in a way that leaves people wondering if they are too insignificant to be even looked by you. Make use of science as well, and by that, I mean the power of reflection (thanks to the cleaners who keep all the windows sparkling in the train). In the dark surroundings of an underground tunnel, you could be spying on an unsuspecting person residing in the other corner of the carriage without even looking at him/her directly. But still, that doesn't beat the kick of looking at the person while he/she is not noticing, and then averting your eyes skillfully when he/she does.

Mr. Black is not trying to teach people how to peep or to spy. You guys already know that; I am just reiterating.

Now let's talk about the fun part: the types of people you will meet in the train if you are not napping or drooling on somebody's shoulder. The train has the power to put totally unknown strangers together within close proximity - sometimes so close you can smell them - yet provide a strangely natural and comforting environment. And best of all, the people you will meet are all random as well. Mr. Black, wallowing in his nothing-to-do-ness, has come up with a short list of the special characters you will meet or have already meet. Oh, how I like the idea of randomness.

1) MILTF: No comments. Go figure. Just don't grin to her kids.

2) Dream Girl/Boy version 1.1: It's hard to imagine but fate strikes you at the most unlikely of times. Just when you turn your head to swipe that unsightly strand of hair from your forehead, there he is. Shining, shimmering almost to a T, wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. You gape, struggle for air and then miss your stop. Reality strikes you equally hard then: he left, you never leave him any number or name, and yes, the two of you are never going to meet again.

3) Mothers with demonic kids: Yes, you pity the mother. Her kids become the attention-grabbers in the whole carriage once they board. They slide, swing, climb, played hide-and-seek despite the mother's feeble attempt to stop them. Fellow commuters do the "I'm irritated" clicking sound with their tongue. Others shake their heads slightly. The boy yells and slides down the pole like a fireman (maybe that's his ambition). The girl follows suit like a pole-dancer. You feel like leaving the circus. Or maybe all you need to do is to stretch out a leg at the correct time.

4) Crazy dude/dudeness: I don't know about you, but I always see them. Half-mumbling to themselves, they would huddle in their seats amongst their red-plastic-bagged-belongings, chit-chatting to an invisible being, oblivious to the stares of the other commuters. (Yes, I mentioned that staring was not allowed, but this is an exception). Sometimes, they stared straight back at you, their gaze penetrating you as if something, or someone, was hovering behind you. You wonder if the dude has a knife in his pocket and secretly prayed that the train would express itself to your destination.

5) Hooker-wannabes: Yeah, I guess you know what I mean. Girls dressed in loud, overwhelmingly short skirts with gold rebonded hair (Mr Black is not stereotyping, please) battling their eyelids endorsed with fake eyelashes at you. That's when you sly your eyes, my friends, and hopefully you may chance upon something good enough to make you raise an eyebrow.

Of course, there are lots of special characters you will meet when taking public transport but I am not going to characterize all of them here. There are the Ipodders, the Nappers, the Pseudo-nappers, the "I-want-to-get-a-seat-even-if-the-train-is-bound-for-hell" Aunties, the Office-Ladies and more. Don't be surprised if you fall into one or more of the categories.

So before you board a subway train the next time, remember that exciting people await you. Just don't stare.

A Run to Remember

2006-06-04T17:00:00.000+08:00

A Run to Remember

No, its not a sequel to "A Walk to Remember" with prettyface Mandy Moore. It's Mr's Black's annual Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT known to all guys) on Saturday and boy, was I nervous when I walked along the camp, looking with mixed feelings at the dreaded track encircling the field. So it had come, it had to come someday but yeah like last year, I was not well-prepared. I thought that I was the only crazy dude to book a test starting at 0730 hrs so I was pretty surprised when I see quite a lot of guys there already when I reached by 0745 hrs. (I will not book a test starting at 0730 hrs again unless the camp is situated right next to my camp. I am not the kind who would wake up at 6am to run and exercise, sadly.)

Anyway, I took the static stations first comprising of sit-ups, standing broad jump, chin-ups and shuttle run. All seems to be well (except for the chin-up station. I have to admit I am heavier, damn) until I proceeded to the track.

Running the 2.4 km.

(Flashback to the past when I was still lanky and lean. I didn't dread the run as I did now. Fast-forward to the present, I stared at the track, red and warm in the morning sun, inviting me to scratch its back. I looked around. It's funny when you can tell if a person is going to run well later by the look in his eyes. There were looks of hope, self-induced hope, despair and self-induced despair. I hope I was not looking too despondent that day.)

What happened then happened quickly. We lined up in 3 rows, answered a few questions on our health and readiness, and before I knew it, I was running. No, I was more like jogging. And as I jogged, I thought of a lot of things. (It's a waste to put your mind to rest when your legs are working so hard.) I thought of giving up, falling out of the test, when to fall out, should I fall out and a whole array of questions while my legs were pounding the track. I thought of the consequences and the rewards; the monetary incentive as carrot, the retest that I will have to take as stick. After the 3rd round (we have to run 6 rounds), I had decided that I had invested too much of my energy in this run that I could not fall out now. And so I ran.

As you can see, after all the aches and pain, I managed to pass the test. Not to say I achieved gold or silver awards which would have gotten me 400 or 200 bucks extra cash respectively. But Mr. Black is satisfied. I had managed to achieve what I set out to achieve, and so if you think that my result sucks, I would have said, "Yes, it does. But I am satisfied."

After all, its a run to remember.

The Mona Lisa Smile

2006-05-26T13:36:00.000+08:00

The Mona Lisa Mock
Mr. Black apologises if the above portrait of Mona Lisa is disturbing. It is, in a weird kind of way, I have to agreed, disturbing for the eyes seem to follow you regardless of where you are looking from (try it). Well, I am not a paint-enthusiast and I am not here to tell you how well this painting was done but this painting did indeed have something to do with the movie I watched lately.

Being not religiously implicated by the contents of the movie, Mr Black went to watch The DVC (Da Vinci Code) -- abbreviation for a code, how apt!-- and was left whirling in a pool of twists and conspiracies wound up so tight it hurts. What's worse is that one has the feeling of mixing fact and fiction after the movie (like imaging dinosaurs are walking alive in your backyard after watching Jurassic Park for 5 times in a row). The plot is intelligently crafted by the now-billionaire Dan Brown (I have yet to read the book, shucks), wonderfully embodied by Tom Hanks as The Professor in question and aptly wrapped up in two and a half hours of thrill in another sense. Thrill as in not pulsating car-chase type; Thrill as in you can feel your adrenaline flowing through your veins when the cryptex (coined by Mr Brown himself by combining the words cryptology and codex) is uncovered. Da Vinci himself will be disappointed to know that a customised cryptex can be bought at http://www.cryptex.org/.

Overall, it was a pretty good movie (if you are not offended of course) which brings the viewer through the streets and churches of Paris and England while on a Holy Grail quest. In Mr Black's opinion, the highlight of the movie must be the point when another professor tried to justify the existence of Mary Magdalene as the companion of Jesus Christ and that a Holy Blood Line does exist, thus giving rise to the postulation of the theory of their descendents. This, and the finding of Mary's tomb, essentially made up the pivotal points on which the whole plot leans on. I like the way the arguement was presented, though I have no qualm about it being true or false. It's all up to your belief, Mr Black concludes, of what is fact and fiction. Like the other portrait painted by Master Da Vinci below, "The Last Supper".

Can you spot Mary Magdalene as depicted in the movie?

"The mind sees what it wants to see" quoted from the movie itself and Mr Black agreed.

Don't lose sleep over this.

Mr Black's ratings: 3.5 stars out of 5 (means that if you are looking for plot and drama, watch it. If you are looking for action, try others.)

In Retrospect

2006-05-17T00:51:00.000+08:00

You know it as well as I do.

This post has to come.

In retrospect.

What have I done over the last semester?

Something good? Something bad? Something even?

I recommend some nice soothing music, a fluffy pillow, a cup of water if you can afford it. Lay your head back and close your eyes.

And think.

Take a minute or two to think of the things you have done (or have not for that matter) over the past few months. In retrospect, are you glad?

Mr Black did some thinking. And these are his thoughts retrospectively.

"This has to be the most busy semester so far. Luckily I took only 5 modules. But projects are killing. All these makes sense though, if what they say is true (that with increasing number of years in university comes increasing amount of workload. I don't want to sound scientific). I remember nights and days camping at student study areas, lounges and my own hostel bunk churning out reports and projects. I was slacking 50 percent of the time, but I forgave myself. Alright, so school's out. Living in a place other than "home" taught me a lot. It taught me the importance of friends. of maintaining relationships. Relationships (I thought of a wacky idea to call them relationboats since they are as precarious as paper boats instead of wooden ships), the basis of life, of any kind, are important. I cannot stress this further. Break a chord and you will sever the song. Hey friends, we almost broke one. Luckily, we can tolerate each other's pitch and the song goes on. I hope it goes like this, " This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because..."

Mr Black loves himself, his family, his girlfriend, his friends and his acquintances. All had and shall come to pass.

In retrospect, are you glad?

"Yes, I am," declares Mr Black. "And thank you."

It's your turn.

Metallica, save me.

2006-05-12T01:24:00.000+08:00

Mr Black is feeling black tonight, now.

It sucks to be scolded for doing what you think is correct.

It sucks big time when that person is your mother.

Fuck it.

Metallica, save me.

Going against the norm

2006-05-08T09:31:00.000+08:00

Going against the norm

That's what they say. The government, the professionals, the experts.

"Challenge the challenge, go against the flow", they proclaimed, "that's when you become special and not one of the ordinary."

But how do you go against the norm? How do you even start when everything you ever wanted to do in life is predestined for you since the day you are born, slapped with a birth certificate and knee-deep in shxt? Then everything falls into place subsequently: you attend primary, secondary, and then if you are "special" enough, college or polytechnic education. You are then channeled, like most others, to either of the 3 universities in Singapore, (or if your dad's rich enough, you might get a chance to play with snow abroad) where you realized that everything is not a bed of roses. Roses do have thorns, and oh yes, they do prick.

Competition is so strong in local universities that one can practically smell it. (Do I have to be more explicit in explaining this? Try walking around halls and residences) Undergraduates, too busy in their research and paper-writing, fail to develop their social life skills, fail to interact, fail to build up networks, but pass with excellent A's when crunch time comes. (Of course, Mr. Black is referring to the minority, watcha thinkin' about?) Do we really want graduates who can't give a proper presentation, or express his ideas in a fluent, undisjointed manner, but instead able to memorize and regurgitate 98% of his notes and books? (Hence scoring 98%, correct?)

No, we don't. At least I don't.

But that's what we are producing. Academics marching out en masse with no life (and lie) skills, but full of bluff that's easily available online. I wondered, "What's up with University education? Isn't it the SAME as JC and secondary school?" Secretly, I feel like a droid, or android for that matter since I possess biological materials, being mass-produced, inspected and dispatched for work in the various fields. The system is lopsided, and it kinda reminds me of a soccer striker (forward) being only trained in shooting and scoring while not being trained on how to dribble. His only job, then, will be to kick the ball in at the right time and will be redundant by the time another younger striker replaces him.

That's when the title comes in again. Go against the Norm.

Can we really do it; can we differentiate ourselves from foreign droids that cost less and (supposedly) work more diligently?

The answer is a yes, though not very resounding. But it starts with oneself. You have to have the willpower and stamina to develop yourself in other ways other than pure academics, and even if nobody seems to appreciate it, be proud that you possess such abilities, for these are the stuff that will segregate you from others. Then you can go against the norm.

Do something special. And that almost seems to be a taboo in local context since something special means something that will draw the unwanted attention of people around you and the glaring eyes of your parents most probably. But if something special is what you always wanted to do, Mr Black says go for it. Hell if people stood in your way or try to advise you otherwise (unless they are constructive advices by good friends). Play any song that has the lyrics "It's my life". Enjoy the wind.

And in the end, even if you fail, you will be remembered. But remember, not everyone is able to fight the storm and go against the norm. If it is so easy to go against the norm, then who forms the norm?

Disclaimer: This post is based on Mr Black's personal experiences and does not represent the views and opinions of students. It is also not meant as a nationalist (whatever you call it) post conjugated to distort the minds of people.

Of somersaulting cars and chopper pursuits.

2006-05-06T16:07:00.000+08:00

Of somersaulting cars and chopper pursuits.

That's what Mission Impossible III offers to the average cinema-goer. I watched this movie yesterday and found myself thrilled at the end of the show. Well, maybe I like typical kickass police-and-thief chases with glorious-looking-blondes-firing-revolvers-like-they-were-born-with-them type of movies, but this movie co-produced by Cruise himself offers a little more. What more, you may ask, so I have compiled a checklist of what action movies should include in order to make them sell in the world.

Checklist of atypical action movies which have made their mark internationally

1. Big time action star paid like US$20 million per film (Checked, No doubt the 5'7'' (which is about 1.7018m) Cruise is crusing through the movie with a fat hefty cheque stuck in his tights)

2. Expensive cars that blew up for no rhyme or reason (Checked, and boy that's an orange Lambo Gallardo we are taking about (say yahoo!). In the words of Maggie Q, the slim and sleek female lifeform that adorned the car before it was blown apart, "Uhh... it's such a nice car." Totally. And check Cruise crusing (I know I have been using this often, but it sounds nice) through the streets in a Mercedes SLK. Or is it SLR. Whatever. (say yahoo!)

3. Spiderman or Tarzan tactics (Checked, with barely half an hour to save his wife, Cruise leaps off a building (spidey) and swings (Tarzan) from Bank of China to the villain's den, before sliding himself before the building's edge. (say Wow!) Did I hear you ask who the stuntman was?

4. Wall Climbing (Checked, hmmm actually it is a partial check, cause Cruise did not climb up a wall like Jackie or Jet. He walked up the Holy Vatican wall, aided by one of his toys, slept at the top, took a picture and used it to smoke the security camera. Talk about multi-tasking man. I wonder how many NGs that took.

5. Toys (Checked. Any super action star needs his toys. And Agent Hunt (Cruise) has his own assemblage as well. Detonators, Watches, Smoke machines, Drugs... you name them, he has them. Kinda reminds me of Agent Solid Snake in MGS where he could carry all sorts of equipment on his body. How do you store a detonator if you have ran out of space in your tightsuit? They should make toys like that anal-friendly. And yes, Toys R'Us should start selling them soon.

6. Asian kick/kiss ass NPCs (Checked, step aside Michelle Yeong n Lucy Liu, here comes sweet yet perfectly composed Maggie Q. Her emotionless eyes make her one of the hottest killer you can find. Feeling warm at your groin? That's probably because she has a laser crosshair on the jewels.

7. Fly for free (Checked. Cruise and his sidekicks flew for free from US to Germany, then to Italy, then to Shanghai. No wonder everyone wants to be an agent nowadays.

8. Rooftop dancing (Checked, Agent Hunt later found that he had to pay the Chinese 1 RMB for every piece of rooftile he smashed. Ouch.)

9. Running through the streets n across roads (Checked, every hero has to dash through the streets and across the roads in order to save the damsel. Cruise had to do something extra when he ran through a crowded corridor in rural Shanghai. He had to sputter "Zou1 Kai2" and "Xiao3 xing1" every 3 steps. Must be hard on him. No I mean them, the Chinese who have to bear with his accent.

10. Big, fat villain (Checked, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is literally that. I like the way he teased Cruise. "Who are you? Do you have a wife? A girlfriend? Whoever she is, I'm gonna find her. I'm gonna hurt her. And then I'm going to kill you right in front of her." Ohhh tat's wicked. But at least its pretty original. Sidetrack: He does look a bit like Donald Trump huh? Hmmm...

And as you can see, these are the reasons that make MI 3 a tag more special than other action movies. It is a sequel, yes I know that sequels usually suck, but this movie is above average at least.

Mr Black's ratings: 4 stars out of 5 (meaning "save that 8 bucks of yours on McDonalds and watch this film".)

**This post is based entirely on Mr Black's personal opinions only. No viable lifeforms were killed during the typing of this post.

Coolest sport in the world

2006-04-12T02:00:00.000+08:00

Hey I realize I can blog in school afterall...

Maybe they had banned me before this.

Anyway, this is a short clip on one of the coolest sports in the world. Check it out.

http://www.break.com/index/slamball1.html

It's Being A While

2006-03-31T22:35:00.000+08:00

It's being a while.

I can see the spider webs forming on the black surface of my blog, if you still consider something that fails to be updated for months a blog.

Nonetheless, I must clarify.

It's not that I don't wanna blog.

Somehow, when I'm in school, the system shuts out my blog access. I can watch my Mozilla Loading Circle spinning for eons and then leading me to a blank page after 15 minutes. I can't write in school. For this, I fail to update my blog and Mr. Black is sorry.

Anyway, life has been busy. I never thought school can be so hectic in my life. The last time I ever felt so tired was during ATEC in my army old days when we were fighting a simulated war. Now, I felt drained. Physically fatigued, the brain throbs and aches to keep all limbs alive and moving. Sometimes, I felt like a zombie (or Xin Shi Zou Rou -- Chinese proverb for "walking piece of meat"). I can feel my soul being sucked out of my body, which was then left hanging like an empty coccon.

Where is my life?

Ironically, I am a life scientist.

That's the kind of joke scientists can offer you.

P.S. : Mr Black would like to express his thanks for all dear readers out there (if there are any) and he promises that his blog will be alive and kicking again very soon. So do watch out.

CNY Reds and Blues

2006-01-31T15:15:00.000+08:00

CNY is here... was here... had been here and before I realised it, was gone again. But I guessed that's the way with festivals here in Singapore. It doesn't matter what occasion it is; it doesn't matter if it falls on a Sunday or Monday; it doesn't really even matter at all. For most Singaporeans, including myself I think, such occasions are only for one thing: BMI.

BMI. Basic Maintenance of Individual. Aka rest. Aka sleep.

Before you frowned and declare that as a sweeping statement, I would like to clarify that what I just said does NOT apply to everybody here of course. Not everyone sleeps festivals away. Some just nap. Some fly to countries where CNY does not exist. There is no mood in Singapore anymore.

It doesn't just apply for CNY. If you want mood in the form of crowds, loud noises, "lay-longing" (bargaining in dialect) action, lights and smoke, CNY only exists in Chinatown. Admit it, people don't like to visit each other so often. It can be quite tedious, even for someone you meet once a year. And then there are the same old probing questions that are probably on repeat mode.

"Got gf?" "When get married ah?" "Wow, so clever ah. University ah." "Army already?"

I am not saying that people don't care about each other. Most of the time, they are already too caught up in their own business that what others do don't really matter that much. Some ask for the sake of asking because it is impolite not to ask and show care and concern for people during occasions. Asking stupid questions don't really help. Serious.

But of course, CNY exists to unite friends and families, some of which have not seen each other for years. That true spirit is not totally lost in Singapore. In fact, one should do more than that. Take the effort to keep in contact with more people and relatives and to meet them more often, not just during CNY. That would effectively increase the intelligence level of the questions posed (e.g. from "Got gf?" to "Still the same gf ah?" okay bad example, sorry).

It is pretty obvious that individualism comes along with any developed society. A metropolitan city is most probably advanced and rich, but suffers from a lack of culture. We are spiralling towards a state of advancement, but along the way, we lose a lot of things we used to hold dearly. Take a look at the streets during festive occasions. I bet you will find the difference between now and then. We don't have the mood to celebrate anymore, I am sorry, and it doesn't matter if its Christmas or New Year's eve.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel that way. Enlighten Mr. Black.

It has been a while...

2006-01-21T02:23:00.000+08:00

Yes, it has been a while. It has been a while since my last entry. In fact, it has been a while so long such that I do not actually what I wrote on my last entry. I actually wanted to blog, but the network at my hostel didn't allow me to view my blog. So here I am, 2.30 am in the morning, with Josh Groban in the background bellowing some ballad I didn't know the name of, writing.

I had been busy, but "busy" is a word commonly been misunderstood. Yes, most people would and could probably use this word as excuses to put off what they had intended to do initially. But, I was pretty caught up in shifting my property to my second home and is now only settling down. Not to mention that school work is slowly creeping up on me, preparing to give me a terrible scare around the next turn.

I like staying in school. Yet I felt good when I came back home a few hours ago as well. I mean, home IS the place where you always wanted to be. At least for me. But in school, convenience rules. No to mention that I could afford to sleep a few more hours later than in the past. And it's no point staying alone when you have no friends around you. Fortunately, I have a lot of friends who are staying within minutes of me in hall so it is always possible to arrange for a late night supper cum movie or just another WORMS battle. Hahaha.

I realised something about myself lately: I had changed a lot since secondary and college days. And it's not just physical. (I actually said "Hi" to a friend who asked me back "Who are you?" When I told her, she gave me the same response as friends I had not seen for a while: a gasp, raised eyebrows, stunned look for 2 seconds and then "Really? You've changed a lot." My answer, or rather question, is standard: "For better or worse?") I changed in my way of thinking as well. Well, you could say that everyone grows up, but not everyone feels that he/her is growing up. For me, I felt the difference. And it is comforting. For some strange, warped reason, I like being older. Maybe it's my male hormones kicking in. There's a lot of things you discover when you get older. It's like finally unlocking the more advanced stages of a game. You have to use what you had learned in your previous early stages to fight against the tougher enemies now. There's a lot more challenges, and responsibilities. Your experience points don't grow so easily. You tend to fail. You aim to win big.

"Welcome to the adult world", Mr. Black says, as the curtains finally close down on a long, winding, tedious, fun, happy and sad journey called childhood. From this moment on, you will have to walk alone. But alone is not always bad. Trust your senses.

Year 2006

2006-01-10T11:50:00.000+08:00

Year 2006 started with rain, and it never looked back.

Rain-saturated days ensued; rain starts and ends your cold days. Sometimes you get a feeling that this is the winter Singapore gets, no snow but full of rain. No bitter coldness but a sense of numbness to the surroundings. No fireplace but no need of the air-conditioner. No outdoor activities but school continues. It gets so terribly cold, especially at nights when it has been raining for whole days, that I just dive into the comfort of my sheets and surrender myself to whatever dreams that followed.

But this is not winter. This is just the monsoon season.

The rain makes everything surreal. It fogs up the physical and mental abilites of a person. It makes you sit at home and comtemplate of all the things you could have done. (Trust me, I am actually watching the raindrops trickle down the window panes as I am typing this.) But I believe that it also brings hope. The rain washes away all the bad memories that have gathered over the last year and cleanses the thoughts of people.

So to everybody reading this, start the new year on a new slate. Enjoy the warmth of your friends, your families and your loved ones. Most importantly, don't hate the rain. Enjoy the rain.

Where is my Life?

2006-01-01T15:58:00.000+08:00

Popular to contrary belief that one should blog about happy stuff on the first day of the year, I ain't gonna do that.

The holidays have been tiring instead of rejuvenating.

I can safely say that I had practically no fun in the whole month.

I didn't do what I had said I would do.

I didn't go to the beach.

I didn't run.

I didn't club.

I didn't buy anything nice for myself.

I didn't work until the last week of December.

I didn't meet up with most of my friends.

Most importantly, I didn't get my life back.

Where are you, my life? Come back to me.

Have a Merry, White Christmas

2005-12-23T15:28:00.000+08:00

Rain, instead of snow, kept falling these days.

To a certain extent, it created the cosy, tis-the-season-for-cuddle-and-snuggle feeling in people, and it feels good to be able to sneak up on your loved ones from behind to give them a hug that they truly deserved after slogging across treacherous year 2005.

On the streets, you can see people working overtime, desparately trying to get the things on their shopping lists. For once, town never seemed so alive, even dead into the night. Don't drive to town unless you want to be stuck on the streets overhanging with wires of lights and decorations; but if you consider that romantic, by all means, go ahead. The lights are beautiful and costly, another attempt, a pretty good one I would say, by the authorities to inject some festive mood into the air after a string of bad events locally and globally.

I like Christmas even though I do not celebrate it directly.

"Tis the season to be jolly, lalalalala, lalalala..."

Its a meaningful occasion; through the exchange of gifts, gatherings and parties, people meet and interact. People fall in love. People are surprised to recieve gifts that are just what they are wishing for from people that they wished they have given them those (Caution: Read slowly). It would be especially endearing to receive gifts from your significant other, be them costly or not.

To me, they are all priceless anyway.

So when you read this, why not go make yourself a cup of tea and warm your mouth with a sip? Why not go through the events that had happened over the past year and reflect on their meanings? Why not party the night away in a way you never knew you could? Why not dedicate a song to your loved ones on air via radio? Why not pick up the phone and say the words you have always wanted to say but have no courage to say to the One? If he or she is beside you right now, why not give him or her a kiss or a naughty wink?

I know I am getting a bit melodramatic here. But never mind, it must be the weather.

To all friends of Black, have a Merry and White (pardon the irony) Christmas. May all your wishes come true. Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserved it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Click here for a video about Santa Claus. (Warning: A bit gross and disturbing, especially if you write to him haha)

Colours and Sex

2005-12-16T00:31:00.000+08:00

Colours and Sex.

I got an interesting idea that colours and sex may be linked and so I typed "people who like black colour" into Google, and my first search result proved interesting.

This is for my friends, whom I have assigned colours at the right hand side of the column. I stumbled upon a website belonging to MIT and it kinda relates your favourite colour to your sexual life. Don't be alarmed, it may be very true.

Hey goes, for people who like... (in order of the colours on my right)

Purple
Lovers of purple frequently consider themselves to be too sophisticated for a fun romp in the sack. Women sometimes are the type who hate to mess their hair. Men are business-like in their approach to lovemaking. In both sexes purple partners are more concerned with their fulfillment than anyone else's gratification.

Comments: No comments. Shhh.

Green
Those who prefer green are fresh and innocent in their approach to sex. Women who love green will always make love like virgins all their life. And a man may always be a trifle clumsy and awkward but in a charming and endearing sort of way. Green lovers are gentle, but not passionate. If chosen as a mate, one will never need worry about infidelity.

Comments: Hmmm... well, I don't know.

Brown
If you love brown, you're a real treasure for the right mate. Brown lovers tend to be warm and deep, sensitive to the needs and desires of their partners. Sex is a 24 hour a day thing. Where you can't say "I love you" often enough. Snuggling by the fire, walking in the rain or catching snowflakes on their tongue is a turn-on to a lover of brown. They need lots of time and privacy to make love. But their emotions are such that one harsh word could end the affair.

Comments: I think this is true.

Blue
Lovers of blue are wonderful sex partners. They are sinners, affectionate and sensitive to their partner's needs. They consider love making a fine art and their approach is elegant. Men who love blue are like concert pianists, delicately ravaging their partner like they would play a baby grand. Women in the blue category enjoy sex to the fullest. They are exciting partners but their passion may be compared to a tidal wave rather than fiery aggression. Both women and men enjoy foreplay and the aftermath of lovemaking, as much as the sex act itself. In marriage a blue person is a wonderful mate -- never seeking outside interests.

Comments: Wow... I never knew... Oops.

Grey
The color grey a preferred by people who are indecisive. They can't get excited about anything -- including color -- so they choose a noncommittal shade. Men who prefer grey look at sex as a way of relieving tension -- but nothing more, nothing less. It's wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Women don't make love, they have intercourse. And for one of two reasons only: to accommodate their mate, or to become pregnant. They count the cracks in the bedroom plaster until the sex act is over and done with. But when teamed with another color, the grey spouse considers the other's infidelity a blessing. When a grey marries another grey, the marriage is made in heaven.

Comments: I hope so.

White
If a person is infatuated with white, sex often seems filthy. These people are puritanical in nature. French kissing is obscene and to make love in the daylight in unheard of. Women who love white will undress beneath the covers. Men will shower before and after the sex act. These people still use pet names for their genitals.

Comments: Cute.

Pink
Persons who like pink show a reluctance to mature in sexual matters: women tend to tease, to promise more than they intend to deliver. In some cases they flaunt their femininity -- but because they secretly hate men. A great percentage of prostitutes boast entire wardrobes in pink. Men who like pink are the philanderers and flirts. They are the type who will make three dates for the same evening and not keep one, preferring to pick up a dish in some bar instead. Women whose husbands like pink should keep a secret nest egg.

Comments: Hmmm, no comments. Sigh.

Red
People who like red tend to be tigers in the sack. They are easily aroused and enjoy sex in every way imaginable. Once the sexual spark is ignited, it may take hours to extinguish. When two reds get together, the ensuing erotica could make Lady Chatterly blush. Lovers of red tend to be aggressors and weaker colors should be aware.

Comments: This one is funny. And not to mention it is so TRUE! Hahaha!

And then, what about black?

Black
Black color preferences point to black sex (not necessarily meaning black partners). These people are the misfits of the sex world and seek out each other in kinship. They tend to prefer perverted sex and are usually masochistic or sadistic in nature. They are moody people and often perform at their peak when under stress or during unhappy times. Police psychiatrists claim that sex offenders prefer the color black. And it is no coincidence that the uniform of mobsters and teenage gangs is black attire.

Comments: I leave this to you guys. What the --?

The search for Carl's Jr

2005-12-13T16:17:00.000+08:00

When I read that another major burger chainstore had set foot on local soil and had plans of making Singaporeans obese (quoted from my girlfriend who stared in disguise when I devoured the burger, the smallest one, like a Tyrannosaurus Rex), I felt like Harold who dreams of finding that elusive White Castle, with its big, bouncing, juicy, almost errotic-looking burgers.

And so I did embark on a journey in search of Carl's Jr, one of the latest American fast-food chains in Singapore. I am sure most of you would have seen their advertisements before, be them bumper stickers featuring a "Superstar" (which is the name of one of the burgers) with a line saturated with sexual connotations (eg. She tells you that size doesn't matter. She's lying.) or their latest TV ad which hmmm... leaves you drooling, in desire for buns. It features a perpetually naked I-am-so-rich-I-can-crash-a-Bentley Paris Hilton washing a ,well, Bentley and chomping on a Carl's Jr junior. Sex and burgers are sinful together, and you can check out the video at this if you don't believe me.

Back to my adevnture then, and lo-and-behold, did I stumble upon the restaurant. It is not the destination that matters, but the journey itself. Okay I may sound so stupid typing this but I have finally discoverd the main entrance to the newly renovated Marina Square. And woah, that place packs a punch heavy enough to dent the retail shops in the building next to it (which is Suntec City Mall). Lines of stores specialising in whatever brands you like fill that huge place from top to bottom, with defining themes for each floor. At the first level, you can indulge in restuarants such as Swensen's, Cafe Cartel, Carl's Jr and other cafes. Second floor's pretty much adult wear and the third floor, which used to house the "very interesting" archery centre and cinema was revamped into a floor catering to the youth of the nation, very much like Parco's the Edge and Far East shopping centre.

Wait a minute. The above paragraph sounds like Marina Square paid me to write that. Damn.

Anyway, I found the "monster burger" store residing in a corner in the first level. What happened next was totally planned. We sat, contemplated on which burger to buy while I looked and stared at the burger the dude at the next table was chomping, and then decided on the smallest, most harmless looking "Famous Star" with its single beef patty. It came after a while and my girlfriend lost her appetite. I then mounted on a challenge to kill the monster burger while she irked at the sight of overflowing cheese and beef and salsa chilli. Seriously, the smallest burger there could have been bigger than your face. No wonder they say their burgers are for adults. No kidding man, its the burger for men. Boys can't do this shit.

We left the place then, me feeling satisfied, gratified, mollified while she was petrified. I guess it was kinda a double experience for us. She said she would never step foot into that "monster place with its monster burgers and monsters devouring them" while I promised that I'll be back to conquer the Portobello Mushroom Burger (so named once the baby mushroom burger had grown to more than 10cm in diameter, so says the advert). Spent the rest of the time trying to digest that beef in me, while she lumbered around in partial starvation (only ate the fries). Sorry babe!

Well, I leave you guys wondering with a picture of a Portobello Mushroom burger. Any guys willing to take the plunge with me? Okay I promise I'll go running sometime.

Extractions from Maxim Dec 05

2005-12-12T02:02:00.000+08:00

Alrite... I knew I kinda run out of ideas of things to write. The following is an interesting article entitled "100 things you need to know about women" extracted from Maxim Dec 2005. Was reading thru' and yep some of the things are really quite true and interesting. Here are the best of the 100... Guys listen up...

- The sight of you in your socks and underwear is the biggest turn-off in the world. Ouch.

- Girls who say, "I love sports!" are lying. Girls who ask you what time the game is on, whithout specifying which game they're talking about, are not.

- A girl would prefer to get a $100 gift from Tiffany and Co than a $500 gift from a no-name store. Why? Cos her friends will ask where she got it.

- A study revealed that natural blondes could be extinct in 200 years.

- "If I give you my my number on Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday are your best bets to score a date. Monday is to desperate, Thursday is too late." -- coming from a woman

- The average women kisses 79 men before getting married.

- Kiss her before two dates have gone by or you'll be a friend forever.

- Over the course of her life, a woman will use 10 men for every one she loves. If you lent her your car or helped her move and didn't get laid, you're one of the ten.

- The most painless way to end an arguement: Let her win.

- More than half of surveyed females between 18 and 25 would prefer to be run over by a truck than be fat.

- When a woman tells you her problems, she does not want you to offer solutions.

- If they're going to do it, most wives cheat between the ages of 18 and 29.

- Women ingest about half the lipstick they apply, which means they eat approximately 1 to 3 sticks per year. Eeee.

- Women dream of one day peeing in a urinal.

- It never hurts to say you're sorry, even if you don't mean it.

- If she suddenly cuts her hair short, it might mean she no longer cares what you think of her. But that doesn't mean she doesn't care about someone else's opinion.

- Girls will not sit on any toilet outside their own home or a 5-star hotel. Everywhere else they're hovering above the toilet in a squat. (Wow, I didn't know that)

- The minute she decides she's even mildy interested in you, she starts making mental pictures of what your kids will look like and imagining her first name with your last. (That's scary)

- Buying a present for your girl? She'll hate it if she finds out you took along another girl to help pick it out.

- On a first date, women never order what they really want to eat.

- Breast augmentation has grown by 257% since 1997. The most popular cup size is C.

- The average woman owns 8 bras and wears each one 5 times before washing. (Hmmm...)

- Every woman is self-conscious about her arse. Tell her you love her arse and you'll see it more often.

- At least one of her friends want to sleep with you. (Care to say who?)

- She likes one of your friends. (Ok, I take the last comment back)

- All women think they are smarter than their partners in some significant way.

- Any good woman will tell you, honesty is NOT always the best policy.

- Ugly girls like to hang out with hot girls cos it makes them feel like they're more attractive. Pretty girls hang out with ugly girls for the same reason.

- It's not only you who fantasises. She might be thinking of someone else when she's in bed with you too.

- You'll probably never know how many guys she's slept with. The standard lie is 5. Which really means about 12. Ouch.

Hey I started with an ouch and ended with an ouch again. These are probably some of the things a guy should know (of course not all are true) in order to better understand the workings of a female brain.

Piece of advise to the readers (whom I believe are predominatly males): Women are smart creatures; they can as easily bend and break you as you thought you can as easily manipulate them. Learn to respect women.

Random Muse II

2005-12-08T23:57:00.000+08:00

This is just another random muse.

I am sure you have heard this before.

Relationships, of all kinds, are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold some of it, but most of it will be spilled. A relationship is like that as well. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away.

How true can the above paragraph be? Well, I suppose it makes perfect sense that being too possessive is detrimental to one's relationship. But sometimes, just sometimes, the thin red line between the extra bit of tender loving care and the possessive edge is blurred. Being accused of being possessive is the worst punishment for the other party (I stressed that it is not me; This is just a random muse). You know why? Being accused of what you are not guilty of is one thing, but being accused of what you are not by the one you love is hurtful. It is like being slammed in the face by the dishes you have whipped out specially for the other person. Ouch.

I kinda disagree with what the above paragraph said initially about the sand remaining intact if you leave your palms open. No, it will still spill. We will have to cup the palm and force all the fingers together in order to prevent any gaps for the sand to escape (Dun believe? Go and try).

The question is, "When do we hold too tight and when do we hold too loose?"

How do we maintain our palms in that position all the time so that no sand will spill? Well, in my opinion, that is virtually impossible. Humans are not immaculate creatures; we do make mistakes and commit sins every now and then (normally). For example, we do sometimes force things that others might not like onto them. When we are lonely, we scream for attention in different ways. The purpose is always the same: We want the love of the person we love. In fact, we demand.

In such cases, we might have altered the positions of our palms and some sand would have spilled out. If we do nothing about it and carry on demanding, there will come a day when there will be no more sand to spill. That's when love die. And like humans, when love dies, it normally cannot be resuscitated.

Then we hold on tight then.

Can it be done? Yes of course, but clenching your hands leads to a slow but steady stream of sand slipping out. When your partner mentions the word "possessive" to you, you have to watch out. It is a taboo word in relationships. No one on earth is entitled with the life of another. When in a relationship, you do not "possess" or "own" the person; you merely bonded with him/her. Treating the other party as a material which you own is disrespectful. If there's anybody in the world that rightfully "owns" you, it's your parents, but even that is debatable now.

Freedom is like a double-edged sword. Too little and you cry injustice. Too much and you slip away unknowingly. How to regulate the amount of freedom that exists between 2 people is entirely up to you. Sometimes, it is better to hold on a little tighter than to lose everything away.

This is just a random muse.

Early Christmas gifts

2005-12-05T23:43:00.000+08:00

I know Christmas isn't exactly here yet.

But it's the time to buy and wrap presents.

Now, you dun have to exactly wrap the present in such a nice manner.

I guess it's okay if you leave some strings untied, some ribbons unmade.

It's the thought that counts, isn't it?

Anyway at the end of the day, we'll unwrap the presents and reveal what's inside.

What toys will you be receiving?

Here, Mr. Black poses a few excellent gifts for your male counterparts.

They are simple, elegant and apt.

Here goes.

First up, we have Cologne. Well, it doesn't have to be expensive to be nice-smelling. If you are still not convinced, click the link above to check out the different types of established brands and their recommendations. Not everybody smells like a boss with Hugo Boss, and a bad cologne as a present undoubtedly ends up as a, hmmm well, paperweight on the table if the smell and flavor is not to the liking of the person. (Cologne is not like wine; it smells sour with age.) Make sure you know what the person receiving the gift likes beforehand, and be ready to come up with an explanation if you are taking a huge detour off his usual style. Whatever you do, dun make him smell like a moose with musk.

Recommendation Stars: 3 (out of 5) ONLY if you know what he likes.

If you are feeling particularly rich, and if your friend/soulmate is a technogadgetic freakamaniac, then maybe you can try buying the latest technical hardware for him. By this, I do not imply things like the harddisk and RAM. By this, I do imply gadgets such as the new Xbox 360 (currently not in SG, only launching in 2th March 2006), the O2 Xda Exec (for sale I think at an exhorbitant price of round 2K in SG) or even the pretty outdated Ipod Nano.

Xbox 360. Hmmm looks pretty impressive, but I shall be contented with my only pathetic game console, the authentic must-stand-like-PS2-on-its-side Playstation 1. Somehow when I raise it to stand on its side, the disc spins. Dun ask me why.

Wow big picture. No la, its the phone that is big. Wun work for me either coz I still prefer to use pen and paper for an organizer. A 2K PDA is essentially out of bounds for me. Oh yah, and it doesn't help when one of your friend owns it (Just kidding).

Recommendation Stars: 1.5 - 2 (IF you had just won the lottery with 4,8,15,16,23,42. Sorry it's an insider LOST joke.)

What do Mr. Black want for Christmas?

Make a guess.

Okay, the clue is you dun have to wrap it nicely. Serious.

Still dun get it? Ok, here's the picture.

Hey hey, before you think that I am some kinda pervertic schizophrenic freak with a fetish for red ribbons, here's where I got them from.

Perfectly decent stuff alright. FHM Norway rocks. (Click the word for the video link. Relax, it is NOT porn). Hell, if someone drops such presents in my socks, or pants if my socks are not big enough, I might even consider accepting.

Now I know why Santa lives near there. Kinky.

Interesting stuff

2005-12-01T22:21:00.000+08:00

Geez... There's a lot of interesting things in the world that one can observe, if only you are more careful and observant. I don't have a sharp mind, but I thought whoever created me kinda compensated me with sharp eyes. And sharp hearing.

These are some of the more interesting things I saw recently. It is of pure concidence that both involved automobiles in some form.

I bet you guys have saw this ad somewhere before.

Well, I got this off a particular subway station (whose name I shall not disclose to protect the innocent station). If you have not found anything wrong with the above pictures, look again. I give you 3 seconds...

3, 2, 1, okay time's up.

Found the mistake? Haha... when I saw the ad while loitering around the station waiting for friends, I was quite shocked. How could such a stylish looking black advert with a black lamborghini gallardo in the background have such a gross mistake? Man, that kinda spoils the whole picture (for me at least).

Lesson learnt: Always check before posting up anything in public. Mistakes like this are too ugly.

Yup, and Mr. Black also saw another nice car (no, not in an ad) but parked in a country club somewhere.

Wow, what car is that? "It is bloody vintage!" (spoken in the voice of Charlie from LOST).

Cool huh?
For a moment, I thought it was a Mustang (is it? Car experts enlighten me, thanks). Whatever it is, Mr. Black liked it!

Anyway the pictures above were taken by my BLACK samsung D500 with 1.3 megapixels camera. If they appear grainy or blur, Mr. Black apologizes and hopes that his readers dun mind. Well, you could mind if you want to, I supposed, but it wouldn't change anything.

Alien Documentary

2005-11-30T01:54:00.000+08:00

Dear readers of Mr. Black's blog, check this out.

http://ia300227.us.archive.org/3/items/ALIVE_IN_JOBURG/Alive_in_Joburg_compr480.mov

**Warning: Download size is pretty big, BUT the show is pretty amazingly real. Haha.

Undone, The Kinks in Mind

2005-11-28T19:51:00.000+08:00

Undone, the Kinks in mind.

Yeah, an ending is an ending, even a bad one. My papers had finally ended and my blog is fully throttled and running once again.

Wow, it's December already.

And if you are wondering about my title, "Undone, the Kinks in Mind", dun worry 'cause I just mean that I need to undo some of the kinks (kinks? Sounds familiar?) in my head that had built up over the last month due to an overdosage of knowledge that could very well be unnecessary in my future and could potentially be fatal to my brain. (The inspiration came from a song "Undone, the sweater song" which I am listening to now, IF you really want to know.)

Before everybody goes on to babble on how busy his/her December vacations will be, Mr. Black here would like to congratulate all of you guys (and girls, I am not MCP) on finishing the horrible papers. You have survived, yes, and had given hope once again to people around to you who are dying to spend time with you. For those who haven, well, dun visit this blog until you have. (Well too late if you have read already)

Mr. Black is gonna work, gonna play and gonna do some serious DJing in the hols. Besides, he is also gonna have some fun under the sun (hopefully), club a little (hopefully) and slack. No intimate details of the above will be mentioned coz I know you guys will go to sleep reading. Anyway, my tag board is looking a little bruised with all the blue black brown and purple. Mr Black sincerely hopes that more colour can be injected into that pathetic squarish-looking (hey it IS square. Hmmm or rectangular?) black tag-board on the right. If not, Mr. Black will be forced to change the reigning colours to something brighter and prettier.

Like yellow.

Now who's gonna start?

P.S.: Happy hols in advance. What do you get when you combine Barry White, a Moose, a pesty fly and a Christmas tree adorned with lights and stars? Click to find out. http://www.sulkybunny.com/saul_LetsMooseAround.html

Take a minute off

2005-11-21T22:22:00.000+08:00

Haven been posting on my blog lately because of examinations... Mr Black promises more good stuff to come once he gets his stuff cleared out of his head and his hands out of the mud. For the time being, here's a joke I read off the web. Thought it turned out to be quite true.

Take a minute to chill. Enjoy.

HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A WOMAN

Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry hamper according to lights and darks.

Walk into bathroom wearing long dressing gown. If you see your husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

Look at your womanly physique in the mirror. Make mental note...Must do more sit-ups.

Get in the shower. Use face cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth, long loofah, wide loofah, and pumice stone.

Wash your hair with Cucumber Sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.

Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean. Condition your hair with Grapefruit Mint conditioner, enhanced with natural avocado oil. Leave on hair for fifteen minutes. Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for ten minutes, until red.

Wash entire rest of body with Ginger Nut and Jaffa Cake body wash.

Rinse conditioner off hair. You must make sure that it has all come off. Shave armpits and legs. Consider shaving bikini area, but decide to get it waxed instead.

Scream loudly when your husband flushes the toilet and you lose the water pressure.

Turn off shower.

Squeeze off all wet surfaces in shower. Spray mold spots with Tilex. Get out of shower. Dry with towel the size of a small country. Wrap hair in super absorbent second towel. Check entire body for the remotest sign of a zit.

Tweeze hairs.

Return to bedroom wearing long dressing gown and towel on head. If you see your husband along the way, cover any exposed areas, then sashay to bedroom to spend an hour and a half getting dressed.

---------------------------------------------------------------

HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A MAN

Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed.

Leave them in a pile.

Walk naked to the bathroom. If you see your wife along the way, shake xxx at her, making the "woo-woo" sound.

Look at your manly physique in the mirror and suck in your gut to see if you have pecs. (No)

Admire the size of your xxx in the mirror and scratch your ass.

Get in shower.

Don't bother to look for a washcloth...You don't use one.

Wash your face.

Wash your armpits.

Blow your nose in your hands, then let the water just rinse it off.

Crack up at how loud your farts sound in the shower.

Majority of time is spent washing your privates and surrounding area.

Wash your butt, leaving those coarse butt hairs on the soap bar.

Shampoo your hair. Do not use conditioner. Make a shampoo Mohawk.

Peek out of shower curtain to look at yourself in the mirror again.

Pee (in the shower).

Rinse off and get out of the shower. Fail to notice water on the floor because you left the curtain hanging out of the tub the whole time. Partially dry off.

Look at yourself in the mirror. Flex muscles. Admire the xxx size again.

Leave shower curtain open and wet bath mat on the floor. Leave bathroom fan and light on.

Return to the bedroom with towel around your waist. If you pass your wife, pull off the towel, shake xxx at her, and make the "woo-woo" sound again.

Throw wet towel on the bed. Take 2 minutes to get dressed.

Memory

2005-11-14T18:33:00.000+08:00

I discovered something amazing about human memory while I was taking a well-deserved break (I hope) just now.

Lying on my bed, I tried to recap some points which I had just learnt a few minutes ago, but it turned out to be pretty hard.

But my CD-player's on, and I could sing perfectly to the words of the singer even though I don't have a clue to what he's singing about.

Then it dawned on me that human beings have selective memory. I did not memorize the lyrics of the song on purpose but it just occured to me that I did know the lyrics after repeated listening. And the suprising thing is that you could even remember an old song back in the 80s. The mind chooses to remember that piece of information selectively. You remember because you are conditioned to remember, not forced within a short period of time.

What I am doing to my notes was another form of memory: Short-termed memory. You could remember the information in a much shorter period of time, but that info is not stored in your brain for so long. And you are more prone to forgetting it. The fact that you don't like to remember them makes the whole situation worse.

Everyday, the brain is fine-tuning its memory function, selectively remembering things that you ought to remember and forgetting things that probably serve no function or generate no interest. If you suddenly remember something nice, happy and that makes your heart warm and fuzzy, please remember to also cherish that memory, for it is by no mere luck or chance that your brain chooses to keep that piece of memory.

Yah and also, try not to remember things last-minute. Your memory may choose to fail you. Am I shooting myself in the foot?

Black complements the white

2005-11-09T00:10:00.000+08:00

Kinda like this picture, not in an erotic way of course.
If you see carefully, there are 2 women of contrasting colour lying on top of one another.

Black complements the white.

Get what I mean?

In retropsect

2005-11-04T10:24:00.000+08:00

It's one of those cold, rainy days when Mr. Black stops and looks at his life in retrospect. It's a bit bleak, yes he admits, but it is nonetheless useful. And he finds out that in the last few weeks, so many things had occured that had made him change his perspectives in many ways, regarding family, his love and people around him in general.

Mr. Black: I feel that I have grown. Well, not physically but rather enriched by the experiences of life.

He realized that it is a painful process of losing things. Especially expensive things that are not yours. The guilty conscience that one has to bear is often overwhelming; that you could probably choke and suffocate from it if you don't let it out. Admit your mistake. There's often no point in proportioning blame. Make the best out of the situation. Work towards a remedy, and before you tell him that some things don't have a remedy, Mr Black would have said, "Bull, everything has a remedy. Some remedies are just more effective than others."

Mr. Black realized that generosity stems from the heart. Would you bear to give 50 dollars to someone whom you don't even know? Someone who greets you but eyes you warily? Well, he met someone who did, and it's comforting to know of people who would go all out to satisfy another person (be it in terms of happiness or other emotions) and sacrifice what he had just to see a smile. Its comforting to know that there are high-context people living amongst low and extremely low-context people. Money is important but Mr. Black stressed again that it is NOT the most important thing in the world now. It might be 20 years ago, but now, in the new world that we lived in, it is not. Something else had taken its place. Something which is even more powerful than money. Something that can make people work for you willingly even if you do not pay them. Mr. Black says, "Go figure."

And the most drastic thing that Mr. Black had come to realize is the love-hate relationship that is so intricately and delicately balanced between one's parents and self. You might have utter disrespect for your mother (and thinks that she is an alien hailing from the depths of Pluto, or whatever solar system), but come another day, you might change your feelings towards her when she makes your favourite food, or gives you a compliment. Sometimes, Mr. Black hated (yes, hated) his parents and asked the Supreme One (or the Heavens or God or Buddha or The Prophet) why he had to live with people like that. "Why can't my parents be a bit more understanding?" Mr Black lamented. Here, TRUST is the key. If they do not give you the key of trust, you will never, never, never be able to do anything that is to their approval. To parents all around the work, I have a piece of advice: Work by conviction. Seek to understand your kids and convince him; don't stop him if he wants to go all out in his aspirations, let him fall and let him understand defeat by tasting it. Success is learnt by failures. If you don't even give him the chance to fail, how can he succeed in life?

I have to go for more mundane things now.

Hey, the rain has stopped.

River of Love

2005-10-27T23:48:00.000+08:00

In the midst of books, I have decided to blog.

Let's talk about love. What is love? (And no, it's not a song by Haddaway...)

Love is a force governed not by ourselves. We may fall easily in and out of love and we may give a host of reasons to explain for that phenomenon but in the end, if you really ask yourself "why", you may not be able to answer it. Physical qualities (such as "I like his hair" or "I like her because she is kind-hearted") explain only part of the phenomenon. I guess the other part is based on feelings.

Feelings. What an ambiguous word.

You feel sad when the person you love leaves you; you feel happy when your lover gives you a call in the middle of the night and says that you are the most important thing in his/her life. Love is never stagnant; it is akin to a flowing river. Both of you start at a source, where the water is still pure and fresh and clear. The love you all started flows; it flows through obstacles; sometimes the river gets narrower, sometimes when there's rain, the river expands. It will get dirtied along the way; muddy shoes trudging through your river will try to contaminate the water. But still you flow. And with time, the river purges itself of all impurities once again. The river may flow through rapids, waterfalls but eventually, like all other rivers in the world, it aims to reach the sea, where there are rumours of unlimited space and freedom. The sea is a vast body of bountiful love; it is supposed to be wild, untamed and passionate. But can your river reach such a stage of nirvana?

Yes it could. But like attaining enlightenment, it is not easy. Love should never be allowed to wane, in the same way a river should never allow it's water to fall below a certain level. Such a situation is dangerous, and the river might just break into two distributaries upon an obstacle and never be reunited again.

Let the river of love flood its bank. Let it bring hope and relief to the fields along the river. Let it fertilise the soils around it. Let it provide not just for the two of you, but also for people around you. Only then will people point you in the right direction. Only then will your river reach the sea.

Happy ending?

2005-10-19T15:23:00.000+08:00

Well, I just finished reading my book and its funny how the ending, just a short ending, affected me so much. In a way I was pretty much sad and "disturbed" by the "happy ending"(shall explain later) and its been a while since I felt like that after reading something.

The plot revolves around a writer who abandoned his normal way of living in search of his wife, who left him with nothing and no warning suddenly. Along the way, he learned and re-learned things about himself that he did not know previously, and saw the reason for his wife's departure. He also met a person, another man, whom it was rumored that his wife had intimate relationships with. He hated that man at first, and the more he knew about him, the more he respected that man for he was on a mission to spread the message of love and had taught him a lot about the writer himself. That man told him where to find his wife, and went along with him (both of them were separated with her for different periods of time) to his native country. After separating for more than 2 years, he finally reunited with her happily. She told him that she was waiting for him all along to come and find her.

She agreed to follow the writer back to France, where they lived.

Then she said that she was pregnant. The baby belonged to the man who had guided the writer there in the first place.

I guessed this is the point I grew disturbed. No doubt this is a happy ending (reunion), but from the way the writer reacted, "I laughed, even though my heart was breaking", I could sense an overwhelming sense of disappointment. It got me thinking of what I would do if I were the writer.

Guess I am still rather conservative after all.

On the other hand, for my friend who had kept asking me what Zahir meant, this is it.

The all-powerful Zahir seemed to be born with every human being and to gain full strength in childhood, imposing rules that would thereafter always be respected:
People who are different are dangerous; they belong to another tribe; they want our lands and our women.
We must marry, have children, reproduce the species.
Love is only a small thing, enough for one person, and any suggestion that the heart might be larger than this is considered perverse.
When we marry, we are authorised to take possession of the other person, body and soul.
We must do jobs we detest because we are part of an organised society, and if everyone did what they wanted to do, the world would come to a standstill.
We must be amusing at all times and sneer at those who express their real feelings; it's dangerous for a tribe to allow its members to show their feelings.
What other people think is more important than what we feel.
Never make a fuss, it might attract the attention of an enemy tribe.
If you behave differently, you will be expelled from the tribe because you could infect others and destroy something that was extremely difficult to organise in the first place.
We must eat three meals a day, even if we're not hungry, and when we fail to fit the current ideal of beauty we must fast, even if we're starving.
We must dress according to the dictates of fashion, make love whether we feel like it or not, kill in the name of our country's frontiers, wish time away so that retirement comes more quickly, elect politicians, complain about the cost of living, change our hairstyle, criticise anyone who is different, go to a religious service on Sunday, Saturday or Friday, depending on our religion, and there beg forgiveness for our sins and puff ourselves up with pride because we know the truth and despise the other tribe, who worship a false god.
We must have a university degree even if we never get a job in the area of knowledge we were forced to study.
We must study things that we will never use, but which someone told us was important to know: algebra, trigonometry, the code of Hammurabi.
We must never make our parents sad, even if this means giving up everything that makes us happy.

Guess its a pretty long list the way the book described it. Look at it carefully and see how many of those things do we adhere in our lives. Life seems mundane when you put it down in black and white. Are we just doing insignificant things every day, without even realizing their insignificance?

Think about it.

An experiment

2005-10-14T22:42:00.000+08:00

Just an experiment that I read about in my book that I thought was pretty true...

Cordon off a small portion of a narrow pavement using tapes (to make it look like a construction site). You do not have to put anything inside the area. Make sure that there is no way to cross the pavement other than to bypass the"construction site" by going down to the road. Now, sit yourself across the road and observe.

How many people will actually go down onto the road without asking or even looking, bypass the site and then continue on the pavement after the obstacle?

Lots. Maybe nobody will dare to tear apart your tapes and go right the area.

Even though there is evidently nothing under construction within that area, people will just avoid that obstacle and rather risk their life momentarily by going down onto the road. In actual fact, I think I would do that as well. But why?

Why do we not question anymore? Why do we just accept things as they are and always try to go for the easier (though more dangerous) route? Are we really so pressed for time that we don't pay attention to details anymore?

If anyone would take a closer look at the "construction site", he would have realized that it is a hoax. There was no construction been carried out in the cordoned area and he could jolly well walk right through the pavement through the tapes without going down to the road.

That would be the person you are waiting for. The one who observes and executes his actions wisely and boldly. The one who doesn't just follow.

Will you be the one?

Guess I've been a bit philosophical

2005-10-12T23:04:00.000+08:00

Guess I've been a little philosophical lately.

Alright, time to snap back.

A moment to revert. A moment to appreciate the dark.

Its amazing how different things look in the day (light) and in the night (dark). Don't believe me? Just open your eyes and look.

Tense times are over for me, temporarily

2005-10-09T23:52:00.000+08:00

Tense times are over for me, at least temporarily.

The past few weeks had been hell and I am not just talking about me only. The WORLD is getting screwed over and over again. There is Mother Nature to deal with, whom in the last few months had been having symptoms as if she was undergoing menopauses; there was terrorists to deal with, whose sole purpose in the world was to help reduce the world population (hey thanks...*sardonically*) and then I heard on the news then there was another earthquake somewhere in India and Pakistan.

Lots of people had died.

Even more had been left homeless, parentless, friendless. Hopeless.

I wondered if the end of days is coming, if what we are experiencing are symptoms of the sick world. She coughed, puked, complained but yet we ignored her totally. A few days ago, I was just thinking: how many people in the world are actually aware of what is going on in the world?

My conclusion: Less than 5 percent of people will actually give a damn about what goes on in the world.

Have you ever stop and ask, "Why are there so many tragedies over the last few years?"

For a start, people must stop fighting themselves. Why do they concentrate so much energy and resources to fight others when all that could be channeled towards the complaints of Mother Earth? Or is it just a random phenomenon, as described when "everything tends towards chaos when a society is developing faster than its people"?

I don't know.

What I do know is that when there are really no fights, wars, natural disasters and epidemics around the world, we should not celebrate.

It could be the silence before the storm.

Don't play Games that Fxxk with your Head

2005-10-05T15:43:00.000+08:00

I recalled...

playing a game, a computer game, before. I was pretty much engrossed in it the whole day at that time. It was about a man looking for revenge after some baddies had killed his wife and baby. Gameplay's pretty simple, and there's one great time your character can do: he could freeze time and move in slow motion, while firing dual berratas at some idiot who just shouted your character's name. This is much like the "Matrix" effect, which happened to be very popular at that time.

Well, there was this stage in which your character gets hit from behind (by a baseball bat I think) and gets injured in the head pretty seriously (There's no way to avoid this anyway, its part of the plot). And then I found myself staring at a black screen in the next stage. There, in the centre, stood my character, all gungho and full of gusto, his hands miraculously free of weapons. There was a thin trail of blood in the black space (and it looks damn real) on which he was standing on and nothing else. A baby was wailing awfully loud in the background. Then I recalled that my character was still unconscious.

Maybe this was his dream.

And so I played on. I followed the red trail of blood, and as I turned left and right, I realized something. That wailing of the baby seemed louder when my character faced some direction and softer at others. Then it hit me that I was supposed to trace the sound of the baby in order for my character to "wake" up. While I was doing that, I encountered crossroads where I had to judge (by turning my character to one side and hearing one speaker, then vice versa. It helps when you have good speakers) the direction I have to take. My character "died in his sleep" a couple of times as well when he fell off the trail of blood that served as his path. I made my character jump from heights, run, pause and think where the sound was coming from. All the while, the crying of the baby haunted me. When I felt like giving up, my sis came in and asked me what the hell I was doing. I told her about the game and she took over the controls after convincing me she could do a better job. She did eventually, and my character managed out of the horrible black space into a.... maze. A labyrinth. She cleared that for me as well eventually. No doubt, I felt quite amazed by her ability of hearing and logic.

What's the morale of this game then? It occured to me that the developer of the game was trying to create the sense of hopelessness and "direction-less" my character was supposed to be feeling. Or so it seemed.

I didn't know why I suddenly recalled this game, especially this scene. My morale of the story for you will be: Don't play games that fxxk with your head.

"Don't play games that fxxk with your head."

I like the sound of that. Apply it to the world you are living in and you will get what I am trying to say.

(Anyway, for those who are interested, that game is called "Max Payne" and I still think it is a hellova good game. Given a chance again, I think I might be able to complete the game myself this time.)

Hiding... from what's on the inside

2005-10-03T10:37:00.000+08:00

Just a random picture I got off www.deviantart.com. Thought it looks pretty meaningful if you can see the words by the side of the picture...

"Hiding... from what's on the inside."

Aren't we all doing that?

Willpower (muse 1)

2005-10-01T01:13:00.000+08:00

This is just a random muse.

One of the most powerful forces that one could have is willpower.

Though it may not physically bend a spoon (except for some people) or lift weights, willpower can make or break any human being in the world.

Positive willpower enhances your resolution and prepares you for success. Even when you fall or fail, it will encourage you to stand up, dust yourself and prepare for the next race. It smiles at you when you are tired and says, "Com'on, you can do better." And so you did, and like a good friend, it will always be there beside you when times are rough.

Negative willpower is the fallen angel equivalent of positive willpower. Instead of propelling you to success, it tempts you with shortcuts and stairways to immediate results. Once you believe him, you will feel lazy, unmotivated and thoroughly wasted. When you feel like escaping, he will grin and say, "Why not just sleep? You will feel better."

Tough times are approaching people, so gather all the positive willpower you can muster in order to cross that barrier of yours. Only in this manner will you attain true ecstasy when you break that finishing line. Only in this manner will you look back at your life and not feel wasted.

"Com'on, you can do better."

This is just a random muse.

Are we just mindless pawns?

2005-09-29T12:14:00.000+08:00

Are we just mindless pawns?

I got the urge to post this after watching countless repetitions of the same brand of commercials on television. These commercials promote the upcoming range of reality-based competitions which include singing, hosting, acting etc. The screen will then show hordes of people queuing up in 'god knows which shopping mall or empty area' for registration, feature on one or two excited faces, interview one or two potential starlets and end off with a similar slogan of "You could be the next blah blah blah!"

I mean, "What's the big fuss about all that?"

You see, right here in Singapore, we have a situation. A situation that looks win-win on the surface but may not actually be so. Admit the fact: we have too many wannabes. Yes, you read me right. Wannabes.

According to the online dictionary provided by http://www.dictionary.com/ (I am far too lazy to refer to a real academic version), a wannabe is someone who aspires to a role or position, which in this case, a "star" or celebrity. A wannabe is someone who dreams big and goes for the kill when chances arise. I am not discouraging anyone from taking part in this kind of competition, but my advice would be to check yourself before actually going for the queue (kill). Basically, you ought to be able to perform adequately well if going for such nationwide competitions. You've got to pass your own standard, and if your standard sucks, you've got to pass the standards of your friends at least. If not, you will just end up been mocked. The problem is that some people do not mind been mocked at. It's probably true that you can make some money by playing stupid in front of the camera and singing awful-till-my-ears-bleed songs in your CDs. (I do not wish to mention examples ok?)

But why? I simply don't get it when people sign up for such decent contests and end up performing non-relevant dumb-looking antics for the judges to laugh at. Do they really want to be remembered by the audience for their stupid actions and retarded expressions? Or are they simply proving the point that only the best and the worst are remembered in any battle? If the latter is true, then they must been thinking, "I can't be the best definitely, so I have to be the worst to be remembered by people." It sounds illogical to me that human beings behave in this way. And then my title kicks in. Look at it again.

Are we just mindless pawns?

Are human beings so caught up in their pursuit of fame (and the fortune that presumably follows) that they are willing to sacrifice their dignity and pride? Well, that certainly proved to be true for the examples mentioned above.

Is fame worth all the sacrifice then? A celebrity most probably enjoys certain benefits (other than the increase in income), but are the benefits really worth the bloody and dangerous climb up? Maybe some celebrity should really clarify what it's like been a "superstar". Let all know that life is not a bed of roses even if you are a well-known celebrity. Even King Mido of Greek mythology regretted having the power of turning everything he touched to gold.

Pawns are people who are being manipulated by some higher being or organization. The winners of such competitions are not "free" to produce their own CDs, but are instead bound immediately to contracts, recording studios and TV stations. This is another sacrifice that comes inevitably with fame: the loss of personal freedom, the feeling of being a pawn. As I watched TV stations promote their upcoming new starlets and "superstars", I got the feeling that they are just using them as "cash cows", trying to "milk" them for as much money as they could while they are still considered "famous". These tailor-made celebrities supplied the society with its dosage of non-ceasing idols, who probably cannot last more than a few weeks or months. Then the cycle repeats itself: a new "star" is born for the worship for all, the organization earns, the "star" gains newfound fame and stardom for a period of time and in the end, everybody is happy. The voracious appetite of this modern society for pop culture is satisfied. But is there something wrong along the line?

I could only gaze at the stars, not with longing.

But alas, what is freedom?

2005-09-27T23:19:00.000+08:00

But what is freedom?

I've spent a large part of my life enslaved to one thing or another, so I should know the meaning of the word. Ever since I was a child, I have fought to make my freedom my most precious commodity. I fought with my parents, who wanted me to be an engineer, not a writer. I fought with the other boys in school, who immediately homed in on me as the butt of their cruel jokes, and only after much blood had flowed from my nose and from theirs, only after many afternoons when I had to hide my scars from my mother did I manage to show them that I could take a thrashing without bursting into tears. I fought to get a job to support myself, and went to work as a delivery man for a hardware store, so as to be free from that old line in family blackmail: 'We'll give you money, but you'll have to do this, this and this.'

While I was fighting, I heard other people speaking in the name of freedom, and the more they defended this unique right, the more enslaved they seemed to be to their parents' wishes, to a marriage in which they had promised to stay with the other person 'for the rest of their lives', to the bathroom scales, to their diet, to half-finished projects, to lovers whom they are incapable of saying 'No' or 'It's over', to weekends when they were obliged to have lunch with people they didn't even like. Slaves to luxury, to the appearance of luxury, to the appearance of the appearance of luxury. Slaves to a life they had not chosen, but which they had decided to live because someone had managed to convince them that it was all for the best. And so their identical days and nights passed, days and nights in which adventure was just a word in a book or an image on the television that was always on, and whenever a door opened, they would say: "I'm not interested. I'm not in the mood."

How could they possibly know if they were in the mood or not if they had never tried? But there was no point in asking; the truth was they were afraid of any change that would upset the world they had grown used to.

(Adapted from "The Zahir" by Paulo Coelho, something which I am on currently.)

Taste the black.

2005-09-27T22:09:00.000+08:00

I tasted the dark. And I liked it.