To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:A time to be born, and a time to die...A time to weep, and a time to dance...~King Solomon/Ecclesiastes 3It's hard to fill in the blanks this year. I was at the Esplanade last night and the contrast was evident. Party goers with party hats, horns, and confetti-expelling cans turned up by the...
Friday, December 31, 2004
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Christmas in a barn
I suddenly thought of a reason why the roof of the church is painted red! So that it looks like a barn?! (think: barn, manger, farm animals...) The choir singing was great! We were still rehearsing until the last minute, literally, with the congregation already seated, it was actually quite funny... (they apparently knew the practice of coming early on Christmas; the...
Friday, December 24, 2004
Silent night
Silent night, holy night,All is calm, all is brightRound yon virgin mother and child.Holy infant, so tender and mild,Sleep in heavenly peace,Sleep in heavenly peace.~Mohr & GruberI'm not at Orchard Road wearing a Santa hat this year, figured it'll be more appropriate to stay at home and listen to Christmas songs and revising for tomorrow's morning choir singing.Silent...
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Writing slowly
I was just cleaning up my room and came across this homework for art class in secondary school. The teacher gave me 77%, then corrected it to 70%. It's 'calligraphy' on a folded A4 paper, and as I turn the next page, I think I know why she did that LOL. Very inspirational, hor, the first page. The second page says this...
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Product endorsements
I enjoy reading product endorsements in print ads because most often than not, they're quite funny. The layout guy usually puts at least four things onto the page: the product (space-shuttle-technology swimming trunks), the picture of the person endorsing it (Ian Torpedo), the person's autograph (Ian's signature that can actually be used at the bank to withdraw money),...
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Party hats
I don't think I'll be going to those huge new year countdowns that folks usually go to party the night away. I've just found out that Corrinne May is coming back to Singapore and performing for free at the Esplanade on new year's eve and day. So I'll be going to listen to her instead of joining the mass parties. Quite bizarre really, first she puts out her entire album...
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Kangaroo on the tail
I was walking along Orchard Road with the others and the big screen on the wall at Heeren was showing Qantas' I Still Call Australia Home ad. But it's not the same as the first one, it's version two! And it's still as brilliant as ever. The first time I decided I liked Qantas was because of the ad, and they used the same song but didn't let the choir sing it. The marketing...
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Fundamental attribution catastrophic blunder
It's interesting when you return home from an overseas trip, once you disembark from your ship (or plane), the 'home country feeling' will come flooding your brain in less than 30s. At least it works for me. I've since learnt that there's research into a related issue, and I thought that if one is able to 'reframe' or reverse the process, the quality of life of that person...
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Van diesel
Actually, it runs on unleaded petrol. I decided to be my own removalist and hired a 1 ton van for a day. If cars are too expensive, vans are a viable alternative! And if there's even a remote possibility that I get to own a car in my lifetime, it'll be a road bicycle, and a van will come in a close second, followed by a conventional car.Too bad this particular Mazda on...
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Meet the neighbours
I was just coming out of my bath and seconds later, someone was banging on the door. So I opened it, half expecting an Optus guy introducing their latest deals. Turned out there's a woman outside and she said through the grill, "Can I borrow a towel and use your phone? I'm locked out of my apartment." So I thought...hmm... that's a line I haven't heard before. If I opened...
Pasta bottles
In my attempt to bring a little art to an otherwise empty dining table, here's my attempt at replicating Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup can paintings.The idea, I think, is to make the point that at first glance, it looks just like a collection of similar objects. But there are little things that differentiate each, and it can only be discerned when viewed carefully. Warhol...
Friday, November 26, 2004
Emu!
The emu is the second largest bird in the world. It's also flightless. Emu Draft is from Swan Brewery, so everything's ornithological today. The beer's good... just right and not too strong for a Friday night...
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Optional reading: Political blog dailykos has an interesting subject for Science Friday on how all of us are potential abusers and torturers. There's stuff from Milgram and Fiske. Click he...
Funny Aussie traffic lights
Some road traffic lights on Perth streets turn from red to flashing yellow then to green; and cars are supposed to start moving when it starts flashing yellow. I never understood why there was a need for this. What's the problem with just going straight to green? What's the inside joke?I was reading today the road rules because I'm driving next week, and found out that...
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Movie making
It's all coming together. I had originally wanted to make my flight simulator short film using Mary Chapin Carpenter's Why Walk When You Can Fly. Ms. May's Fly Away seems to be more apt, and the best thing is that there's already a screenplay embedded in the lyrics. The locations have been secured and it's gonna be in Canada; Calgary (Alberta) to Castlegar (British Columbia)...
Monday, November 22, 2004
This Singaporean singer might just break your heart...
I'm just now listening to this singer called Corrinne May, never heard of her before. Never heard of this voice before. With shades of Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell and Beverly Craven; absolutely beautiful.For some strange reason, her website provides CD-quality, full length clips of the songs. But I'll get the CD soon enough...
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Seriously, it doesn't really matter who wins Australian Idol. Both of them will have no. 1 albums, so it's all good. What I especially liked was the totally interesting rendition of Waltzing Matilda. I hope it comes out as a single or something...Optional reading: I just happened to stumble across the weblog of this person called Elizabeth, and feel as if I've been punched...
All aboard!
Crowd dynamics seen in public transportation like trains fascinate me. Like I was mentioning to Sharon the other day, in Singapore, one can see a very strange phenomenon when the train stops and people want to get out, and some want to get in. I'm sure this is not exclusive to the MRT, the trains in busy cities elsewhere probably are similar.The situation is like this....
Friday, November 19, 2004
Rexed
Now this is an interesting dilemma. At 8.30, three interesting movies and a dog show will be showing at the same time on different channels. I don't think I've ever encounted this before. Strictly Ballroom should be superb because it's done by Mr. Luhrmann. And then there's Top Gun, nice plane (F-14 Tomcat) with nice actor Mr. Cruise in a b-grade movie. And then there's...
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Somewhere down the road...
I was clearing my backlog of aviation entries yesterday; I'm currently in the Middle East, going to Europe next. As I was reseaching for the Jerusalem entry, it strikes me as deeply ironic and saddening that a region of rich religious traditions can be the site for some much death and hatred. The bizarre thing is that everyone has roots in the same place, often at the...
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Press release from the Information Minister!
Only in Singapore (and a few other countries) can one find such funny statements such as these from the Information Minister. Reminds me of Iraq's MSS, hope he's doing OK:Singapore slams media watchdong for low ranking in press freedomSingapore on Wednesday slammed a media watchdog for ranking the island in the same league as authoritarian North Korea and Myanmar in press...
Another day, another destiny...
The exams are over. An anticlimax is quite an understatement...May the good Lord bless you and keep you;May the good Lord make His face shine upon you,And be gracious to you;May the good Lord lift up His countenance upon you,And give you peace. (Numbers 6:...
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Someone wants to say sorry to you...
...actually, thousands of Americans want to apologise...http://www.sorryeverybody....
Monday, November 15, 2004
Bad research topics
I was reading my Avantgo and there's this short review of the new movie on the author of The Kinsey Report. Coincidentally, the author's name is also Kinsey. He's a scientist who studies sexual behaviour. 50 years ago, he and his team wrote Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, and later, this, that make up the Report. When you do this sort of thing in the 1940s, really...
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Tipping the scales...
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I saw this. I'm simply stunned silent. One guy asks...How can Iraqi deaths be made to matter? As bad as losing our own soldiers is, I believe the deaths of Iraqi civilians is truthfully our biggest problem. As you suggest, the impact of each Iraqi death is to create further generations of hatred towards us. Only a society that...
Hua Mulan
Let's get down to business - to defeat the HunsDid they send me daughters when I asked for sons?You're the saddest bunch I ever metBut you can bet before we're throughMister, I'll make a man out of you~Officer Donny Osmondhaha, Hua Mulan is on channel 7 now... so many punny lines. The Emperor just said, 'A single grain of rice can tip the scale; one man may be the difference...
Thursday, November 11, 2004
A little fall of rain
Don't you fret, M'sieur MariusI don't feel any painA little fall of rainCan hardly hurt me nowYou're here, that's all I need to knowAnd you will keep me safeAnd you will keep me closeAnd rain will make the flowers grow.~Les MiserablesI passed by the cinema and decided to watch a movie just now called Wimbledon. Not too bad; I seldom watch movies that has Ms Dunst, but...
Monday, November 8, 2004
Altruism exists
I've been reseaching for the 'altruism doesn't exist, discuss' exam question, and I think the answer I'd give is 'it exists, but the extent of it is mediated by certain factors', and then use the theories to elaborate on the conditions when altruism's more/less likely to be displayed. Interestingly, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is mentioned in the textbook.A lawyer...
Sunday, November 7, 2004
Exploding egg
Just finished some note-taking; 4 more days to the next exam, go go Gomez!On a lighter note, I was microwaving an egg this evening, started the stopwatch, but was distracted with cutting meat and forgot the time. And then suddenly, BOOM!!! The egg exploded, the hot air forced the egg holding apparatus to open up, and everything was a mess. It's actually quite a cool sound,...
Friday, November 5, 2004
A soldier's eloquent opinion on election results
4 more years AmericaIf you voted for Bush, didn't vote, or voted no on gay marriage, I hope you get drafted.I hope they stick you in my unit, and you go with me to Iraq when my unit goes back in September. I will laugh when you see what soldiers in that country face on a daily basis.I hope you work with gay soldiers too. I did. One of them saved my life. Think he shouldn't...
Thursday, November 4, 2004
Nation States
I just came across this free online 'game' called Nation States. You can create your own country in 5 minutes during which you answer a few questions about your prefered political leanings, and then everyday, you'll receieve a couple of 'issues' so that you can vote on what position your governement prefers to take.Gradually, your country's profile will reflect your leadership....
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills...
John Kerry is in trouble as Mr Bush has got 51% of the popular vote! If the exit polls are to be believed, 2 things influenced the results: the war on terror, and moral values.If moral values are indeed something that over half of Americans think are important, and these moral values are a derivative of Bush's faith as he interprets it, then on this day, I'm ashamed to...
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
John Kerry: One heck of a class act
The day of reckoning is upon us (or at least for the Americans). Governments, for better or for worse, are elected by the people. The reverse is also true. How the citizens of a nation think, feel and treat others is also very much influenced by how their leaders act. That's why I'm concerned about my own government. The position taken by the leaders of the US dictates...
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Something from Canada
Not long after Eminem's effort comes another powerful new video; this time from Ms. McLachlan.World on Firehttp://www.sarahmclachlan.c...
Friday, October 29, 2004
Located prominently in the middle of the UWA website's frontpage is a 'news and events' box that describes what's on in school. I've never known that actually serves much of a purpose...Until today, that is. The frontpage screamed out a note that there's going to be a 1pm talk on clouds at the art gallery located a hundred metres from the last 'abnormal' lecture theatre...
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
You will do what I say
In the classic Asch conformity experiment, a volunteer sits together with a few other confederates to do a very simple task. Look at three lines of different lengths and decide which one most matches the length of a fourth line. It's straightforward.However, there's a catch. The conferederates will intentionally say the wrong answer, i.e., "oh, I think this line (2cm)...
Last essay yesterday, last presentation today. It's 7 days to the U.S. election, and 11 days to the exam. May the good Lord help us all...
I just went to the office to get some staples for the new BIG stapler chained to the table at G25, and I asked Collette how much it cost. "More than a hundred dollars?!" Oh my goodness! This is the most technologically advanced manual stapler I've seen, and probably the most expensive. Please, drop by the room to staple your stuff. It's quite wonderf...
Monday, October 25, 2004
There's no greater feeling of effortless flying when you've got the wind behind your back. Today, the conditions just fit together like a glove, 10+ knots easterly winds, glaring sunshine, sub-20 degrees, waves pointing in the direction you want.Hitting 30-37km/h for a considerable distance, with that 'no-chains' feeling, when the body is streamlined with the metal to...
Friday, October 22, 2004
The computer I'm using now at G25 is working. It didn't use to. Or at least it didn't work for weeks and perhaps even months.It's weird because every computer in the room worked, except this one. It won't power up when you press the ON button. As usual, I've tried to see what could be done but I came away with the diagnosis that the power switch was spoilt. It's a reasonable...
Thursday, October 21, 2004
6000 words down, 2500 words to go! Deadline is Monday morning. Thank y...
Monday, October 18, 2004
This past weekend I'd the opportunity to read one of the scariest pieces of journalism on the Bush administration in recent months from the New York Times (username: jefftest, password: jefftest). And why should I care? Because this guy has personally affected, and still is affecting, my and our collective lives. If terrorist wants to do something bad in Australia, the...
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Although I've created my blogger account for quite a while now with the initial purpose of getting a Gmail account, I've never really used it to actually blog stuff. So maybe I'll use it to talk about fluffy stuff.For example, I would like to report that I'm doing my essay now and there're only 1300 words to go. Assuming a speed of 100 words per hour, I'll be able to...
Sunday, October 10, 2004
I was just reading this comment from someone at the dailykos, the person said something like, 'if Kerry is still unable to capitalise on the utter incompetance of Bush at this stage of the game, he doesn't deserve the presidency', or something to the effect.And I thought to myself, hmm... reminds me a little of Optimus Prime.Optimus is a man (robot) with a huge dilemma....
Friday, October 1, 2004
Thanks to the live webcast from the BBC, I was able to watch the presidential debates between Bush and Kerry.The bottom line: Kerry totally demolished Bush. The latter was simply out of his league, he was tired, angry, repeated himself repeatedly, and just plain...helpless.Granted, Bush had an inherently much weaker argument for going to war, and that was already bad...
Monday, June 14, 2004
Thursday, June 10, 2004
I heard that there's been a recent influx of gmail invitations. I would like one, please. Thank y...
Friday, May 21, 2004
The second post today. I would still like a gmail account. Thank you very mu...
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
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