whiteblackboard

wbb presents

2011-05-24T22:43:00.003+08:00

After looking at Cindy's comment in response to my previous post, I realized that I've unknowingly blogged quite a bit on some of the HDD members. For the convenience of the ones who'd been patronizing my blog, I've labelled the posts with the fellow's name.

I present to you the series to HDD's favourite sons:

Mr. Yip Waikit (aka Yip Man)

and

Mr. Andy Chor (aka the Spanish Salvo Dog)

this is wai kit part 12

2011-05-21T19:16:00.007+08:00

(Mahjong session over at Weijian's place.)

Jeng Wee: So are we planning something for Heng's bachelor holiday?

Andy: I thought you're planning one for him?

Thomas: Walau, I just came back from Australia man.

Jeng Wee: Have we decided on the country?

Thomas: Hmmm, it really have to depend on how many days of leave we all can actually take - the last time I heard he was quite interested to go back Taiwan again.

Andy: You dog, there's not much time left.

Thomas: The wedding is not gonna be anytime soon lah, but yeah I agree it's quite 急.

Waikit: Accounting.

Andy, Jeng Wee, Thomas: Huh?

Waikit: Quite 急... 会计...

Reactions from the rest

"it's not a want. it's a need for revenge."

2011-04-08T04:20:00.005+08:00

I was watching the video of Ricky Rodriguez, the one he recorded the day before he murdered his mother's associate and committed suicide. For those who are not aware, here's the wikipedia entry on him.

(Just a side note, the video contains elements and feelings of hope, humor, anger and resignation, enough compelling material over most of the Hollywood movies right now.)

By the end of the video, I was pretty much braindrained. The reason being that after getting a glimpse into the man's mind, I can completely understand and sympathize with his thoughts and motivations behind his actions. You realized that Ricky seems like a regular guy (someone who you can have a decent chat with over drinks) who seemingly has a normal thinking process like anyone of us. He shifts in your perception, from someone which you regard as one of those that are off the tangent a la Travis Bickle to someone that is closer to you than you think. The only difference between us and him is that he got a life so fucked up that he couldn't move on.

It makes me think that it is absurd to see people walloping in self-pity in less trival matters compared to the fellow - relationship problems (I'm guilty of that last time), office politics, financial issues, etc. Most of these problems can be overcome with a bit of self-reflection and a lot of time.

For that I am grateful that I have had a good life so far to avoid his path.

i'm back, probably

2011-01-17T22:49:00.005+08:00

As you've realized, my output here has dwindled to a trickle of posts over the past year. There's lots of interesting material that I could've blogged, but alas most of them are work-related (the perils of having an open blog...) Also for those who knew, I've finally embraced Twitter - it's true, Twitter could be the start of the death of blogging.

I'll still blog here occasionally, but you can find me on a more active front on Twitter (@thomaslid).

Happy upcoming Chinese New Year to everyone!

anything goes?

2010-10-14T02:41:00.004+08:00

I was casually surfing the net when I came across Interior Semiotics.

Basically the low down:

Girl opens a can of expired spaghetti-ish food (took a really long time - definitely not housewife material)
Smears the food all over her shirt
Sprouts some nihilistic message
Cuts open her leggings and proceeds to expel vaginal discharge/urinate into the can.

It's not really that shocking - I've heard of similar 'art' performances before, plus there's some really nasty gory/scatological stuff online these days. But I'm looking at the hipster audience cheering at the end and thinking: Are they really seeing it as art?

To start off, art is hard to define in this modern times as people are looking for more and more creative ways to express themselves. No more confining to just the classic medium such as paintings, music, film or photography, Post-modernism ushered in the theory of 'anything goes'. A few months back Roger Ebert was discussing on the topic of whether video games is considered art. Then there's the video that you've just seen.

From a personal viewpoint of a average guy like myself, art to me is about (1) creating a form of asethetics that stimulate the senses and (2) bearing a signifance to its culture and time period.

Putting Interior Semiotics into my definition, it... probably is. For (1) it definitely stimulated my senses, while for (2) it could be a nihilistic response by the youth in view of all the stuff thats happening right now e.g. terrorism, financial crisis, etc.

But unlike the reaching the end credits of a great film which provokes deep thoughts and feelings of catharsis, it instead brought forth feelings of disdain and disgust.

Thus to me its rubbish art, but then again the hipsters in the video loved it. Am I missing out on something?

an inertial disposition

2010-09-19T16:40:00.002+08:00

(On the bus after the usual Sunday soccer session.)

Weijian: I think its time to change our weekend activities... getting abit sick of it already.

Thomas: Yeah, all these late night Mahjong sessions are really physically draining, especially when we have soccer the next day.

Thomas: Maybe we should meet up earlier in the day or something, there's more options available in the day for group activities.

Thomas: Like cycling at East Coast Park, or kite flying at Marina Barrage.

Weijian: We could go back to our bowling sessions.

Thomas: Or how about a picnic session with some kite flying?

Weijian: Hmmm...

Weijian: If we're gonna have a picnic why not have a pot-luck instead?

Thomas: Hmmm... if we're having pot-luck we probably should hold it at someone's place. It's more relaxing that way.

Weijian: Then we will end up having...

Both: Nevermind.

AWOL @ work part 2

2010-08-04T21:58:00.005+08:00

(In office.)

Thomas: Hey Aaron, I still owe you a hundred.

Thomas: What's your bank account number I'll wired it over.

Aaron: Oh, I can't remember - why don't you just pass me cash?

Thomas: I don't have enough on me now man.

Sunil: Hey wait a minute, he owes me thirty-four bucks.

Aaron: Did I? I don't think so.

Sunil: Why don't you pass me thirty-four and then pass Aaron sixty-six.

Thomas: Aaron, do you owe Sunil money?

Aaron: Nope.

Thomas: Erm, I think I'll pass him the hundred and then he will settle that thirty-four with you.

Sunil: You don't trust me?

Thomas: No lah, it's just that I wanna keep things simple - Aaron I'll pass you the money later.

Aaron: Ok.

Thomas: ...

Thomas: Sunil, you have money to lend?

Sunil: Yea-

Thomas: I'll borrow from you to pay Aaron now.

Sunil: You bastard.

qotw

2010-07-19T00:34:00.007+08:00

(Having a barbecue session with the HDD with new friends from Vietnam.)

Weiheng: So what are your thoughts on long distance relationships?

Weiheng: I mean, since you're here in Singapore you can consider the local guys here.

Friend: Well, but then it's gonna be really difficult where you can't meet up...

Thomas: Ah.

Friend: Hold hands...

M***: (muttering) Who cares about about holding hands...

Thomas: AHEM.

to jump the shark

2010-07-10T00:20:00.006+08:00

When I was young and still glued to the 7pm and 9pm MediaCorp Chinese drama serials (which are getting worse with the years), I used to be baffled by the multitude of events can enfold during the course of a 20 to 30-parter serial - stuff like how friends become bitter foes, the tons of tragedies that befell the protagonist early on, and other crazy deux ex machinas to resolve the plot. It was apparent to me back then that people probably watch them because they provide the sensationalism that will never happen in our normal mundane lives.

Until I realised with the passing of time that it is probably due to how close they relate to some of our own experiences - the preposterous things I see on TV e.g. breakdown in relationships, the downward spiral of friends and families and even sudden deaths are starkly close to reality.

Personally, it's been a bad 2010 so far - the passing of my dad probably the most tumultuous. It's these kind of life-changing events that forces you to reflect on your pass, present and future - people always mention about learning from other people's mistakes but sometimes you only learn when you are given a real jolt. During those bad days the thoughts of "what ifs" and "if onlys" can sometimes be really paralyzing.

But in the end you realised that things can go wrong even if you had done all the things right. So while physicists are coming up with tales of eleven dimensions time right now, time is probably the only thing we should be focusing on. Let us all try to live it right, and hopefully not end up like a bad plot device.

I can only hope for a better second half to 2010.

a great football site

2010-03-20T05:13:00.002+08:00

I recently stumbled upon Zonal Marking, a great football site which features articles and post-match analysis with a focus on the technicalities of the sport as a team game. It couldn't happened at a greater time, when I'm starting to get annoyed by all the lazy journalism that is plaguing Soccernet (barring the Phil Ball articles) at the moment.

As a Tottenham Hotspur fan for 13 years I used to get a lot of stick especially during the times where they had managers like Christian Gross and players like José Dominguez and Steffen Freund. But being a supporter of one which does not have any genuine chance of winning the big trophies it's always interesting to see the local fans (read: Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd) getting into heated discussions on whose team is better, which is like peace talks over the Gaza Strip.

Thus I'm chuffed to bits that this site has allowed me to grow as a football fan as I slowly get to understand the game in a more objective manner instead of getting into those pointless debates. Now with every match I pay closer attention to the formations, substitutions and the tactical changes over the course of 90 minutes. COYS!

i'll wait up for that noise

2010-02-24T21:47:00.014+08:00

Music videos are often a kind of a mixed bag for me - while most of the time a song becomes a hit solely on it's own merit, there are occasions where a mediocre song gets a touch-up with a good music video. Then there's the occasional good song that gets tagged with a horrible one.

When I watched the music video for Land of Talk's "It's Okay", it was a rare moment in which the song and the video manages to blend together seamlessly as one complete experience for me.

I got to discover this Canadian indie-rock band via the weekly free iTunes downloads (the cycle is usually five weeks of bad songs, one week of good song) and now it's fast becoming one of my favorites.

Plus I've always got a thing for guitar slinging chicks, adding Elizabeth Powell to my list of Nancy Wilson, PJ Harvey, Jewel and 張懸.

RPGs = really pointless games

2010-01-17T22:54:00.014+08:00

When it comes to games my interest for epic role-playing games has dwindled significantly from the pubescent days where I would be eagerly awaiting the next installment of Final Fantasy. However EA's Dragon Age: Origins (which has gathered critical acclaim so far) has been occupying my weekends as I started the familiar routine of leveling up characters and killing ugly looking minions all over again.

I love epic RPGs that has a tight plot, an absorbing atmosphere, fully-realized characters, quality voiceovers and (most importantly) a non-linear game play. But strip away all of that, you will realise that for every single RPG that you spent 80+ hours on, 3/4 was spent on doing those minor or side quests that have absolutely nothing to do with the main plot.

No wonder parents always say playing games are a waste of time.

this is wai kit part 11

2009-11-23T01:10:00.009+08:00

Thomas: I remembered he told me once that he blanked out on an exam for about half an hour.

Weijian: You know why? Because he has a habit of not sleeping the day before exams.

Thomas: Last minute studying...

Thomas: It was in my junior year that I finally appreciate the benefits of revising consistently and having a good sleep the night before the exams.

Weijian, nodding his head: Revise consistently, a good sleep before.

Wai Kit: Well, I always made sure I had a good sleep before.

Wai Kit: But not necessary the revising.

Thomas, Weijian: ...

carbon made only wants to be unmade

2009-11-04T01:36:00.009+08:00

As I was looking at Stephen Wiltshire's landscape drawings I can't help but felt slightly down by the art's current fortunes when compared against it's distant cousin, photography.

Back in the days between the two, drawing was the more accessible hobby simply for the fact that all you need is a pencil and a drawing block. Apart from the analog point-and-shoot cameras, the professional ones back then were expensive and requires film (which can hit you like your car petrol bill). It used to be quite common to see parents taking their kids to drawing classes, where you would see them rushing out to their parents at the end of the lesson, proudly displaying their magnum opus to their bewildered parents (I was one of them). This was prior to the age of tuition classes and golf lessons for kids.

Now with the digital revolution of limitless shots (read: camwhor-ing with QC) and online photo albums, the art of photography has really overtaken the art of drawing, entering into the mainstream. Throw a brick from a window and you'll most likely hit someone with a SLR slinged over his/her neck.

But I think deep down it has probably got something to do with our lifestyle now, in which all things have to be swee swee and chop chop. Why take the time and effort to do a portrait or a mural when you can get instant beauty with a click?

the show must go on

2009-10-27T20:39:00.006+08:00

Whenever I'm engaged in conversations about death, I've always stood by the "life itself is the most precious gift" side of the fence - particular when the suicide cases reported on the tabloids are usually due to a spur of the moment brought forth by an emotional combustion. While I admire their courage to end their life, I've always thought that for every tragic excuse to die there ~~will~~ must be a compensating reason to live.

But after researching into the whole concept of voluntary euthanasia, you discover that these are intelligent, (more or less) clear-headed individuals who have taken time to consider their decision. Most of them are elderly people who wanted to die because they are failing in health and are thus unable to enjoy what they love to do anymore i.e. the zest of life.

The zest of life. It all boils down to your passions in the end - sometimes I wonder how would I react if I would wake up one morning to be another Jean-Dominique Bauby. Would I take the plunge?

AWOL @ work

2009-10-19T23:48:00.009+08:00

Kelvan: Eh, how come I can't auto-fill your email address when I type in your name?

Thomas: Should be able to - try "Thomas Li" or "Diwei Thomas"?

Sunil: You just type in "Thomas Li", then press DELETE and then F9.

(Kelvan fiddles with Lotus Notes for a while, before successfully finding the email.)

Kelvan: Oh, just type in the name and then press SPACE and then F9.

Sunil: Isn't that what I just say? It's the same thing when you press SPACE or DELETE.

Kelvan: But DELETE is more awkward - SPACE is more natural for the finger.

Kelvan: And its nearer to the F9 button.

Sunil: Oh is it? (Proceeds to take out a ruler and starts to compare the Euclidean distance between the F9 and the two oppositional buttons.)

Sunil: 6cm... 8cm...

Sunil: F9 and DELETE is nearer.

Kelvan: ...

16-bits tibits

2009-09-15T13:34:00.003+08:00

As a kid during the 90s, entertainment was limited to traditional games like playing chapteh, marbles and erasers (a turn-based game where you try to flick your eraser onto your opponent's eraser using your thumb). But for those who can afford, it was the 16-bit video game systems from Sega and Nintendo with their exorbitant game cartridges.

In the current video game age where graphics and online play rule, it's always cool when someone makes the effort to recreate the times where we would fight king turtles and insult friends by fatalities. Way to go Ferry!

SpotThisGame

hip-pee

2009-08-25T23:26:00.004+08:00

I had just finished a training session at The Arcade today when my attention turned to the toilet signs on the toilet entrances in the building.

I know The Arcade is one of the older buildings around Raffles Place, but when the stickman in the sign wears bell-bottoms I'm pretty sure it was constructed sometime between the 70's and the 80's.

Update: The building was completed in 1981. Woo hoo!

sun's art of war

2009-08-20T01:52:00.004+08:00

This was supposed to be a post about some of the amusing observations that occurred while running last Sunday's Army Half Marathon (please put more belly dancers next time), but I have to say the (wo)man of the moment belongs to a friend's girlfriend - both of them were holidaying in Taiwan when they visited Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

(Looking at one of the historical photographs found in the halls the mounument.)

Weiheng: Hey, that's Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen.

Cindy: Oh...

Cindy: Isn't he the one who wrote The Art of War (孫子兵法)?

a synonymous discussion

2009-08-01T15:51:00.003+08:00

Me and the guys were gossiping about a particular individual over coffee.

Weijian: Actually she doesn't really have a good impression of him.

Thomas: Like?

Weijian: Like he's quite a good-for-nothing.

Thomas: That's too venomous a phrase man - after all he is a friend.

Weijian: Hmmm... how about 'good-at-nothing'?

Thomas: Well... the wording is slightly better but still its quite strong.

Weijian: ...

Weijian: He is bad-at-everything.

david letterman has gone senile

2009-07-10T04:02:00.012+08:00

Check out the two videos below - the first one was an interview of Emma Watson in 2007 when she was promoting Order of the Phoenix. The second one was her recent interview for The Half-Blood Prince. Notice how Letterman asked the same questions like a senile old man.

I've never found Letterman to be a good talkshow host but this discovery has lowered him in my eyes - it's one thing to be a bad interviewer but to be lazy is probably one of the most damning sins in the field of journalism and the like.

what to rent?

2009-06-30T11:52:00.007+08:00

Kudos to Lixian who introduced me to whattorent.com, a site where after a personality test (for new users) it recommends you the type of films that would appeal to you based on the test results.

In addition to that there are also mood-based questions that pops up everytime you seek a recommendation in which it will alter its algorithim to pick one that will suit your current mood. I like this feature as mood greatly affects a person's viewing pleasure - there will be times where critically-acclaimed powerful depressing films would have to make way for some mindless popcorn flick.

So far it has been pretty accurate in getting a sense of my tastes - no recommendations like Behind the Green Door or Boys in the Sand yet. Do try it!

film thoughts

2009-06-23T05:44:00.008+08:00

After some intense film watching at home the last couple of days, here's some thoughts.

Why so serious, Christian Bale?

When Batman Begins came out, everyone was lauding about Christian Bale being the best Bruce Wayne compared to the previous three actors (no, I'm not including Adam West) by bringing a more sombre dimension to the Caped Crusader.

But as I came into contact with more Christian Bale films I realized he is essentially channelling the same character into every film - the super-serious-with-absolutely-no-sense-of-humor guy. This supposed strength of his is actually a weakness at times where it is so frustrating to see him going so outta sync with the mood of the film (the recent Terminator Salvation is one great example). You could say the same thing for Clint Eastwood but at least his characters have the bad ass one-liners for entertainment.

And guess what, a look at IMDB shows that his upcoming films are all of the super serious type.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li is the worst film of 2009

I blogged about the film last year by saying if it could match the standard of DOA then it would be a success in my books. Although the very creative title was already an ominous sign, nothing would've prepared me for the atrocity of the product.

The biggest disappointment though would be the miscasting of Chun Li. You would have though they would get someone Asian looking (with the required thunder thighs) - I would have taken the opportunity to discover the next Zhang Ziyi and cast her but we are talking about Hollywood here.

I can talk more but I think the horribly CGI-ed kikoken at the end summed up the whole stink bomb.

Bison was caught off guard by a gust of dandelions

The actress-with-most-number-of-vowels award goes to...

Moon Bloodgood.

We all know how one's name can affect his or her success in the film industry - on one hand it certainly stands out (with images of Amazons and medieval tribes springing into mind) but on the other hand the name is just too over the top for her to be considered for serious roles.

From what I've seen so far I think she might be pigeonholed into tough chick roles or period films, something like how Kelly Hu's career ended up. She reminds me of a young Tia Carrere though.

post review: southwest china

2009-06-20T23:26:00.003+08:00

Knowing China's internet censorship I should've realized that Blogger is banned over there - instead I'd kept a day-by-day travel log (still needs some editing) which I'll probably post over the next few days.

Being in China for the first time I was quite surprised by how much the urban cities reminded me of Taiwan, with their infrastructure, conjested traffic and the amount of air pollution. So it was (literally) a breath of fresh air as we went to the suburbs, towns and their surrounding naturescapes. Coming from tiny Singapore it was certainly an experience to be among the huge plains, sprawling mountains, winding gorges and nature reserves.

Funnily some of the local tourist did not share the same feelings as me, being from other provinces that offer more or less the same set of sceneries.

Conveying the amazing sceneries that I had seen would take more than just a few paragraphs of words, so I'll just let the pictures do the narrating (check out all of them on my Facebook account here.)

Food over in Southwest China is quite heavy on the tastebuds which an emphasis on capsicums. Noodles seems to be their staple food although rice can be found relatively easy to find. Also with the region (Yunnan to be exact) being rich in flora you do get to see alot of mushrooms in dishes. Except for the infamous Sichuan hotpot, which had me waking up in the middle of the night to take a dump, I thoroughly enjoyed the food there.

Although you do get the shady people lurking around at times, China is quite a safe place to travel. Having a common language in Mandarin also made things easier especially in times of navigation, although it did took me quite a while to get the hang of Sichuanese, which is Mandarin given a radical makeover in character tones.

Thus if you are a nature lover restrained by a limited budget, China is definitely a viable option for a backpacking affair.

singapore slut for sale

2009-05-30T02:38:00.003+08:00

Before I leave for China tomorrow here's something I came across on failblog.org:

I'm will be back sometime mid June - will blog whenever I have internet access. Seeya!

AWOL part 42

2009-05-21T16:34:00.002+08:00

The Straits Times today showed this print ad from my university - I was feeling very juxtaposed until I read into the text at the bottom.

I remembered when I first stepped into SMU, their print ads is about the concept of "being different" by emphasizing on a close interactive learning relationship between students and lecturers (the Affirmation series is my favourite so far)- ads would show both groups of people being struck in casual informal poses suggesting a close bond to the boundaries of friendship, like a United Colors of Benetton ad.

In this case I think it's a case of nice idea, jumbled execution?

red monster comics

2009-05-17T06:18:00.001+08:00

My friend Hwang has created RedMonsterComics, a portal for budding writers and artists to share their ideas and works. Comics are downloadable as well so do support and take a look!

review: harper's island

2009-04-30T03:03:00.007+08:00

The bad thing about being a learner of writing and filmmaking is that you'll find your "critic" persona taking over more often than usual whenever you are watching a film or reading a book. It's like Brecht's distancing theory of the audience where instead of investing emotions into the characters and feeling for them, you take a distanced viewpoint to deconstruct analyze the plot scene by scene; By being critical, you don't quite get the emotional catharsis found at the climatic moment of the plot.

But when it comes to shows like Harper's Island (a la I Know What You Did Last Summer in episodic form) where part of the fun is guessing who is going to die in each episode, it practically encourages you to do so - there isn't much motivation to bind with the characters when you know most of them will be cannon fodder at the end of the show.

Despite suffering from the usual stuff associated with slasher films (characters doing stupid things alone, tons of red herrings to mask the weakness of plot) it's still enjoyable in a brainless kinda way. That is if you have extra time to spare.

Three guesses about the eventual killer:

(1) Killer is none other than the main character (Abby) - We all know about the unreliable narrator from films like The Usual Suspects and Memento.

(2) There is more than one killer - I remember feeling absolutely shocked when I saw the twist of Scream when I was 12. Nowadays it's a pretty often used plot device.

(3) The killer is one of the seemingly killed characters - I dislike using this device as it purposely misguides the audience and doesn't give any allowance for them to guess at all. Can be worked together with (2).

SIFF 2009

2009-04-19T23:54:00.004+08:00

If you guys have yet to know, the 22nd SIFF is already on its sixth day - despite the ease of getting films on the internet these days, there are still the independent works, non-English foreign films and documentaries that are outta the reach of netizens. For someone like me who likes to watch films in the comfort of my home film festivals are a time for me to get my ass to the cinema to catch such films.

In this year's bunch, Boy, Men's Group and Wendy & Lucy looks pretty interesting. A perfect time for me to indulge in one of my passions coming off the back of my (last!) exam week.

ehrfurcht vor dem leben

2009-04-17T03:31:00.003+08:00

With the closure of my university life, conversations between my peers in SMU usually revolves around whether have I found a job, or me listening to them on how excited they are leaving school. For the latter, being financially independent and having no more exams are the usual reasons for the joy.

Contrary to them, I'm not on the same plane of elation - in fact I'm feeling pretty apprehensive.

You know the times where you were thinking of picking up something new? Be it a new hobby or a sport, basically something that gets you outta your comfort zone? And most of the time you ended up not doing anything, using the busy life of a student as an excuse. It's a pretty good excuse though, because the primary reason of having a study life is for you to achieve your desired working career. Anything else is peripheral.

But once you reach the working stage, you are in the moment. That anything else becomes possible additional enrichments to your life. From now till the end of your life its either you make full use of your free time or you don't.

I feel apprehensive because I worry that I will not live my life to the fullest.

But as the Chinese proverb say, 千里之行始於足下 - I'll start first with the next 3-4 months, before I start my job around August.

bpl: matchday 32

2009-04-13T09:13:00.009+08:00

If you have been follwing the BPL recently you would have heard about Manchester United's 17 year old sensation Federico Macheda, who seems to be taking fashion tips from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Whether it's ability or luck, 2 goals in 44 minutes is a fantastic return - you just have to look at that poor chap Bobby Zamora (2 goals in 29 matches this season) to appreciate that amazing statistic.

Anyway here's a picture from Soccernet which I found it absolutely hilarious, looking at Vidic's expression (with Wayne Rooney looking like a total pervert.)

"Yeah yeah, bask in the glory for all you want - lets hope you don't become the next Danny Cadamarteri..."

from house to white house

2009-04-09T23:41:00.007+08:00

Everytime a major character is abruptly "removed" from a television series it is usually the case of (1) the actor/actress being sacked from the show or (2) he/she has moved onto bigger things (read: going into films). So when Kal Penn's Dr. Lawrence Kutner committed suicide in the previous episode of House I had presumed he was in the latter category, especially when he already had a film career prior to the show.

Turns out the reason is that he had accepted the offer of the position of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison (which is kinda like the listening ear of the government to the various interest groups). I wasn't totally surprised as I knew he played an active role during the Obama campaign and saw some of his rallys on YouTube.

Taking time off from acting (and switching a comfortable actor's paycheck for a mid-level public service job's salary), we probably won't be seeing a third instalment of the Harold and Kumar franchise anytime soon.

For someone we know first as a stoner looking for White Castle; he now has found the White House. All the best!

and the quiz result is...

2009-04-02T04:24:00.008+08:00

When it comes to music, the tastes of each HDD member are as different as an assorted Van Houten tin of chocolates. Or even better, it would be like one of those quizes that are piling up onto my Facebook home page where it will say...

You just took the "What music taste do you like?" quiz and the result is:

(1) Thomas Li
You love rock, be it alternative, grunge, Britpop, psychedelic or funk. Queen, Beatles, Oasis and Red Hot Chili Peppers are some of your favourite bands.

(2) Alex Koh
As long it feels relax and 'trippy', its your cuppa tea. Chillout music are your best bet when you just want to spend a lazy evening, if you get what i meannnnnn...

(3) Tan Weiheng
Music from the 70s gets you in the groove! Carpenters, Barry Manilow and Bee Gees draws you onto the dance floor. Groovy baby!

(4) Yip Wai Kit
Most people don't understand death and heavy metal, but to you all the screaming and growling vocals brings you peace of mind. To hell with the Jonas brothers - Slipknot is the real deal!

(5) Gunawan The Kim Boon
Chances are you will be at home listening to the latest Chinese pop music, where you will be memorizing the lyrics and practicing the songs so you can finally put the training to good use at the next karaoke session.

(6) Andy Chor
Basically you don't really care about the genre of music. As long it attracts the babes, you like it.

AWOL part 41

2009-03-30T05:49:00.005+08:00

You know the feeling when you come across something so gargantuanly ridiculous that your usual criteria for judgement ceases to be applicable? You feel confused yet contented at the same time, counting yourself blessed for experiencing it firsthand cause no amount of audio-depiction to your friends is gonna capture that moment fully?

After watching the trailer of Big Man Japan (Dai-Nipponjin), this has the potential to be ranked alongside The Story of Ricky, Weng Weng and Kung Pow in my list of films which gives me that same exact feeling.

Check out the trailer here.

smoking: an eulogy

2009-03-23T04:25:00.006+08:00

As I was preparing for my Gene Cell presentation on tobacco smoking I thought about the last time I that lighted up a cigarette - come this April it will be a year of tobacco abstinence for me.

When I was smoking my mom dangled all sorts of monetary carrots for me to quit smoking, from cash to a camcorder (as I've always been interested in film making) - but apart my personal disdain of taking stuff from my parents there was never a motivation to quit.

Because for the fact I enjoyed smoking.

After several half-hearted attempts of trying to cut down smoking, I woke up one day and just decided not to take my regular morning dose of nicotine. I came to the realization that I don't enjoyed it anymore - I've increased my daily intake till the point that each smoking experience did not provide the sort of pleasantness that it used to be.

But I've always reminded my friends that I did not 'quit' - merely just stopping the habit. There was no contracted agreement with my own conscience that I would never touch a tobacco stick again due to the social stigma smokers faced - I've always done things or made decisions solely of my own choice and will (well, at least to the best of the situation per se) rather than peer pressure.

Anyway using 'stop' instead of 'quit' also prevents me from being seen as weak-willed if I do pick it up again (which I see it as nothing wrong if I actually do it.)

I'll end off here with a 'sit-down' routine on smoking by the brilliant Dave Allen.

bpl matchday 30: a quick thought

2009-03-22T23:38:00.002+08:00

Thanks to Zoltan Gera for blowing the Premier League title race wide open again with his rendition of gangly Peter Crouch's crazy effort against Galatasaray a couple of seasons back. Also full credits to Roy Hodgson, whom in trying his best to contain his delight when the second goal was scored ended up making funny facial contortions.

Looking at the remaining fixtures Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea will have to battle Arsenal as well as Tottenham (for the former two - Spurs already party poop-ed at Stamford Bridge during the weekend.) I'm loving the fact that the title will be hugely dependent on this two London loggerheads. COYS!

ew29

2009-02-27T02:58:00.005+08:00

I was taking the train today and realized they've replaced and updated the signs on the East-West line - now Joo Koon is the new Boon Lay.

It suddenly struck me that there will be a day in time where most people wouldn't know the metaphoric symbolism of Boon Lay and I will be one of the old guys sharing to youngsters stuff like "a long long time ago, the mention of Boon Lay will strike feelings of fear and apprehension to people living in the East" and other nostalgic ramblings.

This is the reason why I often take photographs of my surroundings - there will be a time where everything will be gone. And given the frailities of the ability of the human memory you can't really trust your brain to remember every single mental snapshot.

breaking cold turkey

2009-02-24T17:05:00.003+08:00

Like everyone else when my laptop died on me I experienced the classic symptoms of Laptop Withdrawal Affective Disorder (LWAD) - which was mostly being grumpy. But as I got over this transitional period I realized that I'll been using the internet less for the same amount of productivity when it comes to school and work, leaving me with more time for stuff which I've neglected for quite some time like writing and drawing.

It's interesting to know that I've been spending a more-than-necessary amount of time in front of a computer screen for such a long period of time. It brought me back to what Ethan Hawke's character said in Before Sunrise:

You know what drives me crazy? It's all these people talking about how great technology is, and how it saves all this time. But, what good is saved time, if nobody uses it? If it just turns into more busy work. You never hear somebody say, "With the time I've saved by using my word processor, I'm gonna go to a Zen monastery and hang out". I mean, you never hear that.

A new laptop is definitely still a must, but only in time to come.

two heads are better than one

2009-01-29T06:58:00.004+08:00

My brother was telling me this amazing story when he was participating in his camp's parade to welcome a particular high-ranking officer from somewhere else.

(The Brigadier General is standing on the podium and addressing a speech to the parade.)

Brigadier General: As the Chinese saying goes, 三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮.

BG: In English it means that three average Joes is equivalent to...

BG: One Zhuge Liang.

Desmond: ...

Desmond, whispering to a Malay mate: You have any idea who's Zhuge Liang?

Malay mate: Who the hell is he?

BG: Or put it in another way...

BG: Three Changkat Changi equals to one Raffles Institution.

Desmond: What. The. Fuck.

this is wai kit part 10

2009-01-02T01:38:00.010+08:00

Watching the news at Weijian's place.

Wai Kit: Hey isn't that car modelled after that Jim Carrey show?

Thomas: Huh, I wasn't paying attention at the news. What car?

Wai Kit: That one that looks like a huge dog. The dogmobile.

Thomas: Oh the one with Jeff Daniels...

Wai Kit: Fun and Funnier.

Thomas: IT'S DUMB AND DUMBER LAH!

Wai Kit: Oh shit.

Wai Kit: But it's only one word wrong what.

this is andy chor part 5

2008-12-20T00:53:00.012+08:00

I was shopping at Tampiness Mall after a badminton session with Weijian, Wai Kit and Teo.

Teo: You know, you should never go shopping with Andy.

Wai Kit: Huh, why?

Teo: Cause he will go around the whole of Singapore and yet he might not even buy it.

Teo: There was this one time where I followed him to Queensway to get a pair of shoes - he went to every single shop but didn't buy any.

Teo: He ended up buying at some departmental store.

Weijian: Maybe he doesn't plan before he shops.

Teo: There was also another time where I followed him around the whole of Singapore to get a suit.

Teo: He was trying this suit...

(Andy is flexing his arm and chest muscles with the suit on while the store assistant looks on.)

Andy: This size is good.

Shop Assistant: The sleeve is might be a little short though.

Andy: The length looks perfect to me.

Shop Assistant: Yes, but it will be too short if you bend your arms or raise your hands.

Andy: It's alright, I don't bend my arms much.

Thomas: So did he buy that suit?

Teo: No he ended up tailor-made one in JB.

uninspiring movie posters

2008-12-13T09:28:00.002+08:00

I was checking out the latest movie trailers on Apple' site when I can't help but notice the poster designs of some of these million dollar productions.

How About You: Looks like a combination of Love Actually and The Upside of Anger.

Yonkers Joe: This looks like it was done by using the 'poster edge' effect on Illustrator.

New In Town: This pose has been done to death already - can't really remember other examples right now except Bewitched.

Knowing: Okay this one isn't really bad, just that it just reminds me of...

why fix it if it ain't broken

2008-12-08T04:24:00.008+08:00

I was karaok-ing with the HDD when I finally got a title of a song by S.H.E which I've chanced upon a few weeks back - 安靜了, which uses the melody and some lyrics of an old Jay Chou song.

To my limited knowledge in commercial Chinese music, 99 percent of the songs I've heard revolves around love - it's mostly either the it's-ok-you-broke-up-with-me-I-just-want-you-to-be-happy kind or the I-love-you-too-much-I-have-to-break-up-with-you theme. Well that's not to say that Western music doesn't do it - it's just that Chinese love songs have come to the point of following a sappily formulatic structure, constructed from an efficient well-oiled assembly line.

Probably we love it because we need them as a outlet for our fantasies while soaked up in the frantic lifestyle in busy Asia? Aye, thats a topic for another time.

But I must say this song is one of the reasons why the Chinese music industry is able to sustain itself solely by churning out sappy love songs - perfectly constructed to appeal to the masses (even to rock-centric people like me). Kinda like the iPod.

Video Watch: Towards the last thirty seconds Selena acts like she's gonna have a heart attack or something, making me think that I've missed out a scene where she has a terminal illness. Phew, the 'lover with a terminal illness' music video should run its course already.

keep teasing

2008-12-03T12:17:00.007+08:00

So finally it took five seasons to make House and Cuddy kiss.

One of the sure-win formulas of a successful television show is to evoke so much sexual tension between characters that it makes viewers tune in to every episode, hoping for a day where both characters finally cast whatever plot-ladened obstacle or excuse that is preventing their consumation. Some of my favourite on-screen pairs were Fran Fine and Maxwell Sheffield (Nanny), Chris and Rita (Silk Stalkings) and of course, Mulder and Scully (which took years to even get them to kiss.)

But it is also one of the most tricky devices in the writer's arsenal to use - resolved it too early or dragging it for too long results in (for lack of a better word) a less-than-optimal orgasm, pissing viewers off.

Part of the House's appeal apart from the medical mystery theme and the camaraderie of Hilson is the sexual tension between House and Cuddy. While actualizing Huddy will definitely satisfy alot of fans, we all know from history it usually leads to declining ratings afterwards.

So dear David Shore, please refrain them from having sex (well, at least for this season anyway) or even worse, committing the 'cardinal TV sin' of having a baby together - House is still way too early to jump the shark now.

speaking good english part 3

2008-12-01T12:55:00.006+08:00

To check out the prequel please look here.

(I was chatting with Lixian on MSN.)

Lixian: But i mean... if what she said was serious and not just drunk talk then I think it's a very good thing - at least she really does think about me in a good way.

Thomas: Drunk talk is honest talk man - at least you're in her good books now.

Lixian: Haha... I was certain that I was in her good books all the time...

Lixian: But I didn't know its THAT good of a book.

Lixian: You're serious? Drunk talk is the most honest talk?

Thomas: Yeah, alcohol triggers what you really feel inside man.

Lixian: Yeah qu.

Lixian: So what you doing now?

Thomas: Doing FYP stuff - after tonight I can finally relax... when you talking to her?

Lixian: What you mean when I talk to her?

Thomas: WHEN YOU TALK TO HER!

Thomas: When are you talking to her?

Lixian: Hahahahaha, shit.

Thomas: Fuck.

"good grief!"

2008-10-27T02:04:00.009+08:00

My Physical Science professor spoke to the class during the previous lesson about the current financial crisis, telling us to feel happy instead of being worried as we are in the midst of a major global event that will happen only sporadically in the history of humankind. While most of the people in class gave looks of disbelief, I totally agreed with what she said.

I'm not sure whether I've talked about this topic before (well, it's been a long while since I've written anything personally) but basically my stand every single experience and the feelings and emotions that come along with it are absolutely valuable - be it pleasure or pain, happiness or sorrow, it is important to experience every possible facet of the human life during our time here.

Perhaps the most amazing one of all is the feeling of regret. Prepackaged with the sense of hindsight, it is deeply stored inside each and everyone of us, waiting to be evoked whenever we thought of our past. Always followed by a deep sigh, it serves forever as a reminder for one to improve oneself as a human being, never to thread on a similiar path of mistake again. On the other hand, it has the danger of one spiraling into embarrassment, sorrow and guilt.

Just like how it feels like when I saw some recent photographs of her. Oh damn.

edmund chen in street fighter

2008-10-02T03:26:00.006+08:00

I was pretty excited when I heard that there's gonna be a Street Fighter movie about Chun Li (starring Kristin Kreuk) next year, (very originally) titled Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. So I went to the official production blog and went over the list of cast, which I saw...

Damnnnnn.

I know Edmund Chen's has been getting roles in films outside of Singapore before (The Eye, Turn Left, Turn Right) but this is just wayyy too cool. Imagine your children playing Street Fighter IV and you tell them: "Son, I was in a Street Fighter movie..."

As for the film itself, I think as long it is better than the DOA movie it will be good enough in my books.

this is wai kit part 9

2008-09-30T02:26:00.006+08:00

Me and some of the HDD guys were having dinner after our soccer session last Sunday.

(The coffeeshop's television shows a commercial with Daniel Wu endorsing a Loreal product.)

Thomas: Actually I didn't really like Daniel Wu initally, but after I watched some of his recent films I must say he is quite a good actor.

Wai Kit: He is not bad, along the likes of Takeshi Kaneshiro who have both looks and acting ability.

Thomas: Not really - Daniel Wu is more of a 'macho' good-looking kind.

Wai Kit: In either sense he is better than that jackass, Edison Chen.

Thomas: Haha yeah - did you see his 2 second scene in The Dark Knight?

Weijian: Speaking of that show did you know that the main chinese villian in it used to act in the first local English show?

Thomas: Huh? You mean the accountant? I didn't know that.

Wai Kit: I know - he acted in...

Wai Kit: Masters of the Universe.

(Moment of silence as Thomas and Weijian struggles to find out what's wrong this time.)

Thomas: IT'S MASTERS OF THE SEAS LAH!!!

this is wai kit part 8

2008-09-18T19:50:00.006+08:00

Wai Kit attempting to play foosball.

blantant redefined

2008-09-16T01:07:00.006+08:00

My Knowledge Governance class had an invited speaker from the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to come down to give us an brief presentation on the topic of (surprise!) intellectual property rights yesterday.

Professor: Anymore questions? If not let us give a round of applause to our invited guests.

(Class applauses. The professor signals a break, then proceeds to have a small discussion with the speakers in front of the seminar room.)

Classmate sitting 3 seats away from Thomas (the same person from here) : HEY THOMAS! I'VE DOWNLOADED IRON MAN LAST NIGHT!

Thomas: .

this is wai kit part 7

2008-09-06T03:07:00.004+08:00

(The HDD were resting at some concrete seats outside a KFC outlet after strolling around the pasar malam at Geylang Serai last night.)

Wai Kit: So what is the difference between someone with a double degree compared to another with a double major?

Thomas: Someone with double degree belongs to two schools, for example he/she can be from both the School of Economics and the School of Law.

Thomas: A double major student belongs to one school only and has only one paper.

Wai Kit: I don't get it - doesn't a double major student gets to study another field? Isn't that the same as taking a second degree?

Thomas: Hmm...

Thomas: It's like when you order two burgers at two separate counters. So you get two separate receipts right? Now that is a double degree.

Thomas: Someone who take double major is like you order a burger and a packet of french fries in a single receipt.

Wai Kit: I still don't get it.

Weijian: Ok Wai Kit, for example you buy a piece of pancake.

Weijian: Double degree is you buy TWO pancakes, each with a different ingredient for example red bean and peanut.

Weijian: Double major is you put two ingredients into ONE pancake.

Waikit: Ohhhh, I get it now. So you just don't get as much depth in the second field as compared with one with a double degree.

Thomas: WTF? My analogy was good enough to be understandable.

Weijian: Thomas, you suck.

Weiheng: Wai Kit, you actually need so many people's efforts for you to understand one simple concept.

tropic thunder easter egg #1

2008-09-01T00:32:00.002+08:00

The ingredient in Kirk Lazarus' (Robert Downey Jr's character) pigmentation alteration surgery is...

WTFFFFFFFFFF?!?!?

Absolutely brilliant in a WTF kinda way (although I have no idea how the Western audience is going to catch this joke.)

Go watch Tropic Thunder when it comes to town - seeing Downey Jr. in blackface and Tom Cruise's cameo alone is worth the price of admission.

speaking good english part 2

2008-08-18T22:23:00.007+08:00

Today was the first day of work for me and my FYP teammates over at our client's office. We were introduced to the head honcho (who is a lady) of the department where we are developing our project for.

Head Honcho: Hmm, so how come you guys didn't have female members in your team?

HH: Are there lack of girls in your course?

Vice Head Honcho: Yeah, I was telling them it was a bad move on hindsight - when you have a girl some things get done faster.

FYP Team: ...

Teammate #1: Oh, we do have girls in our course but they usually form all-girl teams.

HH: Oh, I thought this only happens back in secondary school.

Teammate #1: Yeah, they tend to stick together closely, so its a bit hard to...

Teammate #1: Penetrate them.

( Akward silence envelopes the room for five long seconds.)

"she didn't let me know beforehand."

2008-08-14T10:37:00.004+08:00

News media reported on Wednesday that former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian secretly wired 300 million Taiwan dollars (9.63 million US dollars) to Singapore and then the US, through his unemployed daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching. Suspecting that it could be money laundering, the Swiss judicial authorities sent a letter to Taiwan's representative office in Switzerland, seeking assistant in a probe into the alleged deal (which is like when your teacher calls your mum to let her know that you've been skipping school to play Counterstrike at some shady LAN shop in Katong Shopping Centre for the past few days).

"I feel bad about this, and I can't continue to cheat myself and others and I thus decide to be frank with everyone that I have done something not permissible by law," he said, referring to the undeclared amount.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Chen admitted that he had erred by not fully disclosing donations he received in four political campaigns beginning in 1994, including his two successful bids for the presidency in 2000 and 2004. "I did something not allowed by the law," he said.

Chen also said his wife sent an undisclosed amount of money to an unspecified foreign location, but insisted that the funds would be used to underwrite "Taiwanese diplomatic work" he would conduct in his post-presidential career (haha, a brilliant one).

"At the beginning of this year, my wife told me she wired money overseas left from previous campaigns," he said. "She didn't let me know beforehand."

Source: guardian.co.uk, dpa

What can I say? When you tell the world that your wife was able to take USD 9 million from right under your nose, it says a lot about who wears the pants. But I guess it's better than incurring the wrath of the suffering Taiwanese people by admitting corruption.

Oh well, at least the only consistent thing about him is that he continues to lie in the face of granite-hard facts.

I wonder how our local media will react to this news after Singapore is now mentioned?

home sweet home

2008-08-10T22:15:00.006+08:00

I was having dinner with Wai Kit, Weijian and Siqi at Bedok's Botak Jones and catching the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Apart from the delightful dance and theatre segment it was more like a educational session during the Parade of Nations segment, with 10-20 countries which I've never ever heard before.

While the lens were especially sharp in zooming in on the pretty female athletics (I'm talking about Jordan, some of the African countries and all of the Scandinavian countries), Team Singapore received only around ten seconds for airtime. Still it was enough for people to point out she had dragged our national flag on the track.

Caption contributed by Wai Kit

Most memorable nation: Argentina. Most of them were prancing around happily soaking in the atmosphere. Either they are happy to be there or (which I'm highly suspecting) they had a few drinks prior.

Star watch: Me and the guys managed to catch some of the superstars such as Federer, Nadal, Yao Ming and Kobe Bryant. Couldn't find Lionel Messi, whom was hidden somewhere among the tall Argentine basketball players.

This is Wai Kit: Pronouncing the Republic of Niger as "Nigger".

evolution of the olympic torches

2008-08-04T20:09:00.002+08:00

The New York Times covered an article on the evolution of the Olympic torches a few days ago, from 1936 Berlin to the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

At a quick glance across all the torches I must say that China's design easily stands out among the rest. The vibrant red and the swirling graphics inscribed on the curved torch gives exudes the perfect oriental feel. Well done.

Check out the full article here.

review: joker vs joker

2008-07-24T05:03:00.008+08:00

For Batman fans, it was the inevitable that comparisons will be made between Jack Nicholson's Joker in 1989's Batman and Heath Ledger's interpretation in the current latest installment, The Dark Knight.

While the superhero movie received almost unanamious praise from everyone, the best compliment was reserved for Ledger's performance, with many saying that it was much superior than Jack Nicholson's version.

After catching the movie, here's my take - there really is no basis for comparison as both actors fulfilled what was required of their version of the Joker within the context of each film.

Tim Burton's Batman was the first onscreen adaptation of the Caped Crusader, following the "good guy versus bad guy" format and retaining a comic feel. In that sense Nicholson delivered brilliantly, giving an over-the-top performance contrasting against the Michael Keaton's brooding Batman.

In The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan reconned the franchise by giving it a gritty, realistic reconstruction which feels more like a crime drama reminiscence of The Departed. It's similar to WWE's transition from the Hulk Hogan "Golden Age" to the "Attitude Era". As such the Joker had to be adjusted to this new setting. Ledger's sinister performance, in my opinion, was great but he was greatly aided by the script's theme which tackles the issue of moral dilema involving Batman, Joker and Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent (which I think IS the soul of the film - take away Harvey Dent and the film would have revert back to the "good guy versus bad guy" format).

In short, both are tailored according to the film and would have been outta place if they had swapped films.

Final verdict: Draw

i'm so going to swensen's

2008-07-15T23:31:00.000+08:00

I was watching TV when I came across the latest series of Swensen's commercials.

!?!?

It's been a while (Kushin Bowl's commerical song a few years back comes to mind) since a local commercial left me in a huge "WTF?" moment. But that's what commercials are heading right now - using absurd (and sometimes controversial) humor with bits of Dadaism to capture the attention of viewers admist the sea of generic advertisments.

Check out the others here below - some are boring, other are kinda controversial:

Creative Dad
Hardworking Boy
Steady Mum
Smart Kid
DIY Expert

middle road

2008-07-07T01:21:00.002+08:00

Some of my university seniors started their first day of job at my department.

(Lunchtime outside the gents.)

Kelvan: Want to join us for lunch?

Karen, one of the seniors: Where you guys eating?

Kelvan: Middle Road.

Karen: Erm, where is it?

Karen: Lord of the Rings?

Thomas: ...

legend of tioman

2008-06-08T13:51:00.006+08:00

Thomas: Anyway the HDD is going to Tioman in July.

Thomas: There's definitely gonna be a trip but the destination tentatively is Tioman.

Lixian: Waaaahhhh...

Lixian: I also want man.

Lixian: I think the island is named after a super hero - last time, that island got this uncle....dunno why so lucky.

Lixian: Whatever he gamble he wins. 4D and Toto always tio*...

Lixian: Thats why he is called Tioman.

Thomas: Thats too max man...

Thomas: Fuck, you sure you're not kidding me?

Lixian: Of course it's wrong lah.

Lixian: You suck man.

Lixian: Hahahahahahahaha.

Thomas: Fuck you.

*Hokkien for strike

why pay more?

2008-06-08T00:58:00.006+08:00

When you can watch Euro 2008 for free on your desktop with TVU Player - apart from a two minute lag time the video and audio quality is good and the frame rate is smooth if you have decent bandwidth.

So fuck Starhub and download the installer here. (Thanks to Wai Kit for the link.)

creative business cards

2008-05-30T01:58:00.002+08:00

I was looking for inspiration on designing business cards when I chanced upon a thread on creativebits.org about creative business cards.

The ones listed in the thread were visually great, but the most importantly thing was making the design relevant to what the person's business is about. Here's a few of my favourites:

Some teeth impressions adds a touch of class to this dental business card.

A great idea (plus it's cheap to make too.)

This personal trainer is taking it a little to the extreme, but a brilliant concept.

Ouch.

Check out the full thread here.

you can have the remote control

2008-05-25T04:26:00.010+08:00

The month of June is one of the boring periods of the year for me, where it is the off-season for America television.

The third Writers Guild of America strike disrupted America television from November last year to Feburary this year, leading to the cancellation of some shows and the disruption of many others. The two series that I followed, Heroes and House ended up having only 11 and 16 episodes each. American Idol, although not affected by the strike, ended up being the most boring season ever.

American Idol

In what was touted to be the most exciting season with the most amount of talent, AI ended up boring and predictable where the only delight was listening to Paula Abdul's incoherent compliements. Also where winning AI was once considered to be a fast track to success in the music industry, one only need to look at the album sales of the last few winners to see it isn't the case anymore. I wonder how David Cook is feeling now after the euphoria of winning when he realized that his ass is now totally owned by Simon Fuller.

Heroes

The debut season of Heroes won me over as a fan but it suffered the sophomore slump. After the buildup to the characters' discovery and acceptance of their powers, many people (myself included) were hoping for an action filled second season. But the writers chose to stick to the same theme which resulted in quite an anti-climax experience. I probably won't be following series anymore.

House

The fourth season of House was uneven in parts but it had some great moments. The idea of an Survivor theme to select the new ducklings at the start was an interesting idea but it kinda made the show lost focus a bit. The decision to replace the team was a brave one - my jury's still out on the new ducklings but it will hard to recreate the same sort of chemistry that the old team had offered.

The spectacular two-part season finale has created a lot of potential for a mouth-watering season five, especially in the relationship between House and his best friend Wilson. I hope the writers will take advantage of it.

And so between now and September, I will be downloading old shows to fill the gaps.

Top 3 shows to download this summer: Jeeves and Wooster, Blackadder Goes Forth, Band Of Brothers

this is wai kit part 6

2008-05-20T00:04:00.004+08:00

Wai Kit and I were at Weijian's place watching To End All Wars, a war film about a group of POWs held in a Japanese POW labour camp, building the Burma Railway during the last three and a half years of World War II.

Thomas: This show is not bad man - haha there's even Begby* in it.

Wai Kit: Hey, have you watched Band of Brothers before?

Thomas: Sadly, no.

Wai Kit: Damn! I'm telling you that's one of the best war shows I've seen.

Weijian: Yeah it was superb.

Wai Kit: There's another war film about POWs thats also quite good... it starred Bruce Willis... it's...

Thomas: Is it the one that also starred Colin Farrell?

Thomas, pondering: Hart's War?

Wai Kit: Joe Hart.

(After finish watching the show we started to browse YouTube for old school WWE wrestling clips.)

Thomas: Nowadays WWE has gone stale.

Weijian: Even TNA is more entertaining.

Thomas: The problem lies with the current crop of wrestlers - although they have better movesets and are in better shape they lacked the charisma and most importantly, mike skills.

Thomas: Like Rock... Randy Savage...

Wai Kit: I like Chris Jericho and Steve McMahon.

Thomas: Erm, you mean Vince McMahon.

(The next day, after having dinner at Tampines, the B Squad were discussing about soccer transfer rumors.)

Weijian: Hey, David Villa is one of the rumored transfer targets of Arsenal.

Thomas: Heh, maybe he will end up at Liverpool since there is Rafa Benitez and his "Spanish Revolution". A striking partnership of Torres and Villa would be devastating.

Wai Kit: Arsenal also have Spanish players what. Like Manuel Almunia.

Wai Kit: There was also the Spaniard that left for Atletico Madrid... Reyes.

Thomas, Weijian and Kuah, pondering: Yup, Jose Antonio Reyes.

Wai Kit: Efren Reyes.

With HDD favourite Francisco Bustamante

*Robert Carlyle's character in Trainspotting.

this is wai kit part 5

2008-05-14T21:24:00.017+08:00

Just as I thought this segment has been put to dust Wai Kit has finally returned to much awaited form.

(At Bedok 85 hawker centre with Weijian, Kuah and Wai Kit.)

Weijian: Just now Wai Kit flopped again.

Thomas: Haha really? It's been a while. So what did he said?

Weijian: We were at a VCD store at Suntec and we came across the recent Jim Carrey show, Number 23.

(Previously, at the VCD store at Suntec.)

Wai Kit: Hey isn't that the latest show by that... that...

Wai Kit: Mariah Carey?

Weijian: After that we were at Tampines where we came across this shop called Rou.

(Previously, at Rou.)

Wai Kit: Hey that store reminded me of 黃小柔 - isn't she used to be in a girl group with that... that...

Weijian, pondering: 4 in Love with 楊丞琳.

Wai Kit: 楊采妮.

Weijian: But the most jialat would have to be during the Desaru trip.

(Last week at Desaru.)

Weijian: Hey the MVP for this NBA season turned out to be Kobe Byrant.

Wai Kit: Yeah, but he is more of a solo player, unlike the winners from the past few seasons who were more of the playmaker type.

Wai Kit: Like that... that...

Weijian, pondering: Steve Nash?

Wai Kit: Kevin Nash.

breaking the habit

2008-04-27T12:06:00.005+08:00

In preparation for my internship at Ernst & Young this summer, I had my first haircut in two years (which leaves Wai Kit and Lixian to be the only surviving members of the HDD Long Hair Gang). I was fortunate to be able to keep it during my last internship at the Singapore Scouts Association but working in a big firm is a different story altogether.

They say to understand someone you have to put yourself into their shoes - now I fully understand the troubles ladies come across after a shower with all the combing and blow drying.

After taking on a lot of interesting part-time jobs before this will be the first decent one where I'll have to make the effort to dress up for work (argh, the ironing!) when I don't even dress up to school. But with my friends working along with me I'm sure it will be an enriching yet enjoyable ten weeks.

wooooooooooo

2008-04-02T20:51:00.006+08:00

It was an emotional moment watching the WWE breaking kayfabe as wrestlers both face and heel came out on last Monday's episode of RAW to pay tribute to the Ric Flair as he officially retires from wrestling at the grand age of 59.

In the eyes of current wrestling fans he might be seen as an old man well past his time but to old school wrestling fans like me Ric Flair represent the last link to the era where wrestling was about colourful distinct characters in various memorable story plots unlike today.

Ric Flair's final goodbye on RAW part 1
Ric Flair's final goodbye on RAW part 2
Ric Flair's final goodbye on RAW part 3

九万 part 2

2008-03-24T00:09:00.007+08:00

Now that Ma Ying-jeou has won the presidential election, major restructuring would have to be done in three main areas - economy, education and foreign ties. How effective the restructuring would be hugely determined by the people he appoints to run those ministries. Mr. Ma should not be a boxer and taking instructions from five hundred coaches. If he is to be successful in his tenure he has to take the lead and appoint the right people for the right job unlike the incumbent president.

Will be looking forward to the 20th of May as he takes over the mantle from Ah-bian. Go 馬英九!

九万

2008-03-22T16:37:00.007+08:00

In a few hours, the results of the 12th term presidential elections of Taiwan would be out.

Being half Taiwanese I've always been keeping up with the politics of Taiwan, which is always filled with controversies and sometime borders on the incredulous. But this time it is serious business, as a nation awaits for a new leader that can guide them out of the downward spiral that started eight years ago with the appointment of Mr. Chen Shui-bian.

After the aggressive swashbuckling style of Ah-bian during his reign of corruption, Taiwan needs a mediating moderator like Mr. Ma Ying-jeou to restore its economy and improve the lives of its citizens. Mr. Frank Hsieh's (from Mr. Chen Shui-bian's party, DPP) chameleon-like political stance and his flippant character would be detrimental to Taiwan. Go 馬英九!

selamat datang

2008-03-16T02:18:00.004+08:00

In the three weeks since Mas Selamat escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre, we have been treated to a host of Mas Selamat jokes, Mas Selamat spoofs, Mas Selamat conspiracy theories and even his very own Wikipedia entry - basically anything but news about the man himself. Some interesting conspiracy theories speculated include using black magic to escape and that he is already dead in the centre.

Thomas: Personally I think he has already escaped to the neighbouring countries within hours of his escape.

Thomas: If he is out of Singapore he should just upload a YouTube clip of himself and say "Hi!". Heh, I would do that if I were him so that those NSF on duty can finally get to book out.

Wai Kit: It had to be an inside job - or else how could he even go past the sentry guards at the gates? Who knows he could be staying in a comfortable house, watching TV and laughing at our efforts to catch him right now.

Weijian: Everyone is looking at the forested areas around the centre. Common sense would tell you that he will try to get as far away as possible.

Weiheng: I think...

Weiheng: Maybe he is still in the toilet cubicle bidding for his time to escape.

Thomas, Wai Kit, Weijian: ...

plot cliches part 1

2008-03-14T03:50:00.008+08:00

Speaking about cliche plot devices in the last post, most films and TV shows today are greatly lacking in originality. As a film buff myself, there are a couple of times where the only motivation in sitting through a really bad movie/TV show is to predict what will happen next.

There some famous cliche stuff that people have already covered, such as Roger Ebert's Principle of Evil Marksmanship and the One-at-a-time Attack Rule. So I'll give my own observations:

The In Sync Bad Weather Rule
This rule comes into play whenever there is a scene where the character in question undergoes a great emotional trauma after (1) finding out his/her lover has been cheating on him/her, (2) having a massive argument with his/her family which he/she vowed never to return home again (3) receiving news that his/her lover/best friend/family member has died having met a horrific accident (4) any bad news stemming from love, friendship or family issues that happened at night. After this rule is triggered the weather will changed into a heavy downpour (complete with lighting and thunder). The character at this point will not be seeking shelter but instead run aimlessly in the open and getting drenched.

Examples: Almost every film, TV show and Channel 8 dramas (where the uncompromising dad is always played by Chen Shu Chen)

Principle of the Formidable Last Bullet
In an action flick towards the climax where the main boss is either (1) getting away or (2) in a final duel with the hero, the hero's final bullet will be exceptionally accurate and deadly. In the case of the former scenario where the villain is nearly disappearing out of view the hero will still be able to pick him off with his final bullet in spite using his non-shooting hand (due to an injury to his shooting arm) and the sheer amount of distance between them. In the case of the latter where the villain (usually equipped with a seemingly indestructible body) is winning, this bullet fired by the hero will locate the one milli-centimeter chink in the villain's armour, killing him.

Point to note: However this principle can be overruled by the I'll Be Back Rule, in which the villain is planned for the sequel.

Examples: LXG, Die Hard 3, John Woo Hong Kong action flicks

More to come.

review: slam

2008-03-12T02:44:00.004+08:00

Went to catch the local sneak premiere of a China-made film with a friend on Tuesday.

Titled "Slam", the story focuses on a die-hard basketball kid who enters a Adidas 3-on-3 basketball competition with his friends in the hopes of winning the grand prize money in order to pay off damages due to an accident involving the school bully, the star captain of the school basketball team (the typical eqivalent of the arrogant star college quarterback in Hollywood teen movies).

I enjoyed the film - this was partly due to good casting and also the acting of Lin Xiao Fan, Zhang Yi Shan and Wang Zhi Gang who plays the lead character Mouth, his best friend Monkey and Mouth's father Lao Lin respectively. As there're all unknown actors to me it made the film more believable. And even though it was packed with one-dimensional characters, cliche plot devices and some unrealistic scenarios it partially redeems itself by avoiding a typical Hollywood feel-good ending.

Also, doesn't everyone just love a underdog story?

The film opens in cinemas this month on the 20th. It'll be a refreshing change from all the Hollywood blockbusters.

review: ai season 7 top 12

2008-03-07T15:34:00.003+08:00

Touted to be the season with the most talent in recent seasons the top 12 contestants are finally out, which turns out most of them had been signed by labels and had released records before. I thought American Idol was about discovering unearthed diamonds? Anyway after 3 weeks of catching the semis here's a quick sum up:

The Guys
The most impressive of the guys would have to be the three Davids - Cook, Hernandez and Archuleta. Cook is the "Daughtry" his season while David "The Stripper" Hernandez has versatility across genres. I'm just slightly worried about Archuleta though - he might have peaked too early. On the other hand Chikezie has the friendly-but-boring personality while Jason Castro lacks stage presence once without his guitar. Can't fault their vocals but AI is about the complete package.

The greatest disappointment in my opinion is Michael Johns. After being so impressive with this rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody during Hollywood Week he has been giving consistent but lukewarm performances when he was expected to 'wow' everyone.

The Girls
Syesha Mercado and Amanda Overmyer just screams alot during their performance although at least the latter packs a strong distinct personality. Carly Smithson and Ramiele Malubay are the power belters this season and being power belters they will go far into the competition. Kristy Lee Cook pales in comparison to the others in terms of vocals but she is the prettiest among them. Plus she is going the country way so that might work to her advantage. Brooke White has that genuine folksy voice (which reminded me of the likes of Sheryl Crow and Jewel) and proves you don't have to belt songs all the time to have a good performance.

Favourites: David Cook, Brooke White

hdd @ batam

2008-03-05T19:24:00.001+08:00

The HDD Batam trip two week ago photos are here. Thanks to Cindy who uploaded them.

and by god, i of course mean you.

2008-02-12T23:31:00.006+08:00

Reading an issue of Today that was filled with articles about an SIA stewardess suing a CEO's wife for slapping her and a doctor from KK who had sex with a patient strengthens my belief that you have to pay for your newspapers to get hold of quality news (sans New Paper).

Back to the main point. I was reading a magazine issued by the Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) in school today which I succumbed to the promise of freebies and went to their site to do a magazine feedback. Where I chanced upon a video on their home page.

Ignoring the pseudo orchestra-ish music, I was pretty disturbed at the video's theme - It started off showing pictures and stating the low percentages of the Christian population in those countries (a picture of a scantily-clad Betel nut girl to represent Taiwan? WTF?) before giving statistics of the amount of people that is dying everyday and ended off by expressing a need to 'unveil God's glory to the nations'.

We all know there are low numbers of Christians in Thailand, Tibet and Malaysia but there's no need to imprint such facts with pictures of monks and girls in tudungs. Not a very subtle move there.

About the stats of people dying - I understand that 2.6 people die every second but it's a fallacy to attribute such stuff to the lack of belief in the Christian God. People do die.

I have nothing against Christianity but this is an example of the kind of stuff that puts alot of non-Christians off. As an agnostic, 'when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know'. And if God does exist then I would postulate a scenario that one true religion was divided into the various religions and denominations today by human conflict. So which is the true religion in this world where every religion is reaching out to convert more believers? Mark Twain couldn't have said it better in Christian Science:

When I, a thoughtful and unblessed Presbyterian, examine the Koran, I know that beyond any question every Mohammedan is insane; not in all things, but in religious matters. When a thoughtful and unblessed Mohammedan examines the Westminster Catechism, he knows that beyond any question I am spiritually insane. I cannot prove to him that he is insane, because you never can prove anything to a lunatic--for that is a part of his insanity and the evidence of it. He cannot prove to me that I am insane, for my mind has the same defect that afflicts his. All Democrats are insane, but not one of them knows it; none but the Republicans and Mugwumps know it. All the Republicans are insane, but only the Democrats and Mugwumps can perceive it. The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane. When I look around me, I am often troubled to see how many people are mad.

no more tv? part 2

2008-02-10T05:28:00.000+08:00

Writer's strike might be finally over with reported rumors of significant progress in the talks.

More House-isms please.

the addictive bubble wrap

2008-01-18T20:53:00.000+08:00

The greatness of IT. (Manic mode highly reccommended.)

there's a blond out there somewhere

2008-01-15T05:02:00.002+08:00

(Inside the printing room of the school library. Two schoolmates bump into each other. They known each other due to some common classes last term - they're not close friends... more like acquaintances.)

Guy: Hey!

Girl: Oh hello!

Guy: So whatcha doing right now?

Girl, inside her head: I'm fucking in the printing room - what do you think I'm gonna do here? Baking cupcakes? What an idiot.

Girl: Oh, I'm photocopying some textbooks... so what are you doing here?

Guy: I'm printing some stuff too.

Girl, inside her head: Oh shit.

The above scenario could take place anywhere in school - in the lift (not so bad), at the canteen (quite bad) or in the toilet (worst case). I'm sure most of us (myself included) have been in both shoes before and this usually happens instinctively when you're trying to engage in some polite small talk.

Lets do each other a favour and cut down on such 'blond' moments. A simple 'How is your day?' would be perfectly fine.

a gamers' manifesto

2008-01-09T19:42:00.000+08:00

Came across this amusing article about the current generation of gaming consoles. Gamers would find it hard to think of better points than the twenty points listed.

A Gamers' Manifesto

an MC for good

2008-01-07T20:18:00.000+08:00

Since I was a small kid local comedian Jimmy Nah aka MC King has always had a portly physique on screen. But it was reported that this healthy-looking 40-year-old actor/part-time radio deejay/events host does not smoke; does not drink alcohol; no high blood pressure or high cholesterol; did not have other medical history and was given a clean bill of health in a recently medical checkup.

MC King, just like the late Linda McCartney, just shows us that regardless of how health-conscious one is life is ultimately an iffy situation.

(Msn conversation.)

Mark: Yesterday at MC King's funeral (I) saw alot of stars...

Mark: Thomas Ong...

Mark: Ah Nan...

Thomas: You went?

Mark: I just went there to have a look.

Thomas: Ok... (you're) so free ah?

Mark: My house here only what.

Mark: Yeah.

Mark: Have stars to see why not?

Mark: Mini Star Awards in the face of death.

Thomas: ...

lookback 2007

2008-01-01T01:55:00.002+08:00

December was pretty much flew past like a quick affair, shuffling between working as a handyman and hanging out with the HDD. The only blip in this merry month was that a HDD trip came to naught.

Looking back at 2007, I can't say that I've achieved all the things I've set out to do at the start of the year but I'd like to believe that I've matured as a person - I've come to realize that having a fly on the wall mentality mixed with a slight doze of apathy helps to keep my perspectives in check. And whenever I have that gaping feeling I know I can rely on my friends or my pet cat (which has grown into somewhat of a feline representation of me) for company.

My health has taken quite a decline recently, so I hope I'll be physically healthier in 2008. Apart from that it'll be the usual stuff every year - to improve on my guitar skills and to locate more time for songwriting and my neglected novels.

To a better 2008.

epl lookalikes: chinese pop edition

2007-12-17T15:29:00.000+08:00

Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes and Emil Chow

Blackburn defender Stephane Henchoz and ge shen Jacky Cheung

Newcastle explosive striker Obafemi Martins and Grasshopper Remus Choy

AWOL part 40

2007-12-05T15:33:00.000+08:00

Thomas: Hey let's go out for a bite.

Desmond: Yeah, but it's raining man.

Desmond: Let's bring one umbrella each - two big guys sharing one is just too gay.

Thomas, getting his umbrella: Hey mine is a Yellow Ribbon umbrella.

Thomas: Personally I think the Yellow Ribbon Project is not really working - would you hire an ex-convict?

Desmond: Hmmm... it depends on what kind of crimes he committed.

Thomas: Let's say, thieves and pickpockets?

Desmond: I wouldn't hire thieves or those with corruption charges because they could repeat their crimes against my company.

Desmond: Killers and murderers are ok.

Thomas: ???

Thomas: Why?

Desmond: Cause it's outside of the job scope.

one man's meat is another man's poison

2007-11-21T06:06:00.000+08:00

Lixian was telling me about this China girl that apparently approached him in school.

(I received the picture of the chick from Lixian.)

Lixian: How you find it - you like it?

Thomas: I love it man.

Thomas: If I were you I'll go for it.

Lixian: Hahaha... gee, first time I show you a chick that you gave sucha positive answer.

Thomas: You know my template lah.

Thomas: The eye factor.

Lixian: Yeah qu.

Thomas: I support you all the way.

Not long after that I had another MSN converstion with another friend. For reputation issues we shall call him... Salvo the Spaniard.

Thomas: By the way, you know a China girl approached Lixian - looks quite hot to me judging from her pics.

Salvo the Spaniard: When China girls approach you, they just wanna fuck.

(I sent the picture over to Salvo.)

Salvo: The left one or the right one?

Thomas: Left.

Salvo: Where got hot? She's normal...

Salvo: but she looks like a good cock sucker.

Thomas: Wtf?

Thomas: Which part of her looks like that? Long hair, nice eyes... nice what.

Salvo: The sunken eyes and teeth.

Salvo: I got a feeling she will use her teeth, which gives an edgy feeling.

Thomas: Wft?!?!?!

no more tv?

2007-11-17T05:30:00.000+08:00

If you guys are not into American TV shows and motion pictures, the Writers Guild of American (WGA) is currently on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The reason for the strike is that they are asking for a percentage of DVD sales and residuals for reruns on television and new media. It remains to see if AMPTP would accept such demands.

Until the situation is resolved, production of new episodes of almost all American TV shows are currently put on hold.

As an aspiring writer myself, I feel that WGA is certainly justified by asking for better contracts - currently writers only get paid once for writing an episode. For them writing is a pretty unstable job and they are subjected to season breaks where they are not employed at all.

With the last WGA strike (in 1988) lasting 22 weeks, I shudder at the thought of no more House, Heroes and Simpsons. Oh well, time to start watching their reruns.

nole

2007-11-13T04:06:00.000+08:00

Novak Djokovic is currently one of my favourite tennis players, but I never knew that he was such a joker until I chanced upon this clip - the current world number 3 loves to fool around imitating other players. (There's a whole list of his other funny antics on YouTube right now.)

I think it's refreshing to see such a funny easy-going character on the sports scene where players are always so intense and serious. Novak shows that you can be world class and still be a funnyman. He's an versatile all-court player and has beaten Federer, Nadal and Roddick before, so a Grand Slam win might be possible next year if he can maintain his excellent form.

Watch out for this rising Serbian superstar.

mr tactful

2007-11-10T22:24:00.002+08:00

Went for a field trip to SCS for one of my modules yesterday - we were treated to a presentation of the company's business continuity service and a site tour. The presentation conducted by an interesting Mr Wong who pronounces "security" as "securidy."

(Incident 1)

Mr Wong, holding a miniature toy truck: Okay guys, you see this... it's our Mobile Business Continuity Facility... it's actually a name card and pen holder, and my contact number is printed on the side of it.

Mr Wong: I'll be asking some questions later and you guys will have the chance to win one of these.

Mr Wong: So what are the threats pertaining to Singapore? Anyone?

Thomas, raising hand: Geographical location.

Mr Wong: But Singapore doesn't have any earthquake.

Thomas: The surrounding countries.

Mr Wong: Oh! You mean Muslim countries ah!

Thomas, muttering: Wtf... anyhow put words in my mouth.

(Incident 2)

Mr Wong: When I was in the States, I would not take taxis driven by blacks.

(Unwittingly to him, there was an African student among our group.)

Group: Ohhhhhhhhh...

Mr Wong, chuckling: Aye, I should have scan the group longer before saying that.

(Incident 3)

Mr Wong: For example, Beijing have earthquakes.

Ming Fei (one of the the students): No!

Mr Wong: Haha, I presume you're from Beijing.

Mr Wong: But Beijing have sandstorms, heavy snow and other weather hazards which might lead to power trips of buildings.

Mr Wong: I lived in Beijing for three years - I know.

Ming Fei, muttering: I been living there for nearly all my life.

Heh, this guy definitely cannot be a government official.

gurmit singh nominated for best actor in the 44th golden horse awards

2007-10-28T22:40:00.001+08:00

Just another example proving nothing is impossible in this crazy world.

street fighter IV teaser trailer

2007-10-20T05:20:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Phil for the tip-off, here's the debut teaser of the latest installment of Capcom's flagship title Street Fighter. It looks fantastic (especially the mashup effect of fighting and calligraphy) but there's still no news about whether it's gonna be in 2D(!) or 3D.

Let's hope the game will be good enough for Ken and Ryu to make a worthy return.

paradise lost

2007-10-15T01:50:00.003+08:00

I was watching a documentary about the 1978 mass murder-suicide of the inhabitants of Jonestown ordered by their spiritual leader Jim Jones (which looked like a bad Elvis impersonator) on the Discovery Channel, and it's more intriging than all of the films that I've watched recently.

If great leadership is where your men would believe and follow in whatever you do, then where's the fine line between awe-inspiring and just plain brainwashing? In the case of the Jonestown tragedy, can we blame Jim Jones or do we question the mental weakness (and the lack of judgement) of the followers? For the former you could argue that he had simply ~~gone mad~~ stepped out of the rational context of normal human beings, believing and justifying his actions within his own 'rational zone' (a la Michael Jackson). For the latter maybe they just had no choice but to carry on believing in him when things started to go awry because they had placed all of their hopes in him - to deny their leader would akin to taking away their hopes as well.

Braindrain.

AWOL part 39

2007-10-12T03:55:00.002+08:00

According to a friend that I've known just recently, my blog has 3 phases throughout the course of its 3 years - the "I'm going to die of a broken heart" stage, the "general amusement with the funny things my friends (the HDD) say" stage and the "ponder all over the place" kind.

"I'm going to die of a broken heart"
I was at hanging out at East Coast Park with a friend from school on Wednesday night - nearly a year since we last went there to chill. I thought and compared the state of mind that we have right now to the ones we had a year ago, and I was kinda surprised about how well I was coping with my emotional baggage now compared to him.

So, to that friend I'll repeat myself - GET A REBOUND!!!

"General amusement with the funny things my friends say"
Once again Andy entertains me with his irrelevance even though he's over in Sydney.

(I received a nudge from Andy on MSN.)

Andy: You doggy dog.

Andy: You know, something has been with me for quite some time now.

Thomas: Yo wassup man.

Thomas: Ask.

Andy: Yeah, that's why I always call you dog.

Andy: But you keep a cat.

Andy: You dog!

Thomas: Wtf?

"Ponder all over the place"
I remember the time when I was a kid I used to buy The New Paper faithfully everyday, trying to read up on current events (but mostly just flipping straight to the back to read the sports segment). I also loved the various special sport pullouts during the World Cups and the European Cups, not to mention the contestant profiles during the annual New Face competitions.

Nowadays I could get my dosage of sporting news from the net (where TNP actually 'cut and paste' into their sports segment) and with junk food news being on its front page headlines (such as an unleashed husky biting a young girl's ear), it's beginning to look more like crap tabloids like The Sun.

I'll save my 70 cents for those flag day donation drives.

epl lookalikes

2007-10-07T22:07:00.000+08:00

First up, the new signings from the team that I've been supporting as a kid this season - Tottenham Hotspur. Really hope they bounce back real soon.

Darren Bent and actor Larenz Tate

Gareth Bale and Nintendo video game character Donkey Kong

Younes Kaboul and Xerxes from 300

Bonus: Under-fire manager Martin Jol and WWE wrestler Kane

free will

2007-10-05T01:51:00.002+08:00

I was chatting with my mum about the authenticity of the Western zodiac, whether people born under certain astrological star signs do possess certain characteristic traits defined by that particular sign. (My mum, like most Taiwanese do believe in this celestial theology.)

It got me thinking - if the Western zodiac is real, then we are 'pre-programmed' to bear certain characteristics at the very moment that we're born. It would mean that childhood experiences and upbringing mean nothing in shaping our personality, which mean that we do not really have a say in what we would become. Then wouldn't it be a real shame that we do not have actual 'free will' in our existence on this plane? Or is it a matter of thinking that we have free will when our future decisions were already pre-determined by a higher omnipotent and omniscient being? I've taken philosophy in religion in school, been reading up on various religions and theologies, and I still have no clue.

do you chacha?

2007-09-20T02:22:00.002+08:00

There's a new search engine call ChaCha.com - the unique thing that stands out from other search engines is that you can get connected to 'search experts' who will provide guided searches just by providing them with some information about a particular search. I was able to get the title of a particular song just by describing to 'Jeremy' details about its music video. Neat.

Just have to register with them (registration is free) and start searching.

tips for the amazing-race-wannabe

2007-09-18T15:06:00.002+08:00

After a taxing Sunday participating in the SMRT Challenge with Weijian and Wai Kit, the consolation prize that I received was a serious case of stomach flu which always made you grateful about being healthy in those sick times. And it was also glad to receive a long-awaited call to find out that people you care about is doing well.

Anyway here's a list of tips that I've compiled which I think would help those who are planning to take part in such simliar competitions in the future:

1. Footwear
Slippers and sandals are to be avoided. Running shoes are highly recommended to save those precious few seconds running between stations.

2. Wear light
Light comfortable clothing e.g. sportswear would be suitable when you would be spending the large extent of your competition pespiring.

3. Weigh light
Carry light and only bring them in a haversack (or have fun trying to run around in a slingbag.)

4. Accessorized
Towels, fans, watches (with a timer mode), basically the most necessary stuff to aid in your competition. But remember point 3.

5. Keeping Fit
Build up your fitness prior to the competition in preparation for all the running. But remember point 1.

Heh, bear all these in mind and maybe I'll see you in next year's challenge.

review: rambo IV teaser trailer

2007-09-03T14:54:00.002+08:00

When Nick told me that the first teaser trailer for Rambo IV was out needless to say I was pretty much excited, especially when Stallone's Rocky Balboa came to end the Italian Stallion's saga on a high.

25 seconds into the teaser we found out that John Rambo has been living (surprise!) the life of a recluse somewhere in Southeast Asia. Maybe all the killing and slaughtering has mellowed him down. Maybe all he wants now is some peace and quiet, living on a boat and catching fish with his trusty bow and arrow.

Bow and arrow??? Maybe it's really difficult to get fishing rods and nets in those parts. Now you wonder if he still keeps his machine guns and limitless rounds of ammunition.

Apparently there's this group of good do-ers that wants John to ferry them up to Burma to do some Christian-y missionary stuff for the people. John refuses, and tells them it's a warzone - it's just too dangerous for them to go.

Woah, some soldier with a flame-thrower. Guess military technologies hasn't really much improve within the last 20 years for those Asian radicals. They could just put in scenes from Rambo II and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

As all plot devices require this bunch of dumbasses persisted to go on their own. Expectedly they are all soon captured by the local militia which gives them a hard lesson on the consequences of trespassing.

Soon after an US army officer comes instead of Colonel Trautman (the actor Richard Crenna died of cancer in 2003) and tells John about the plight of the missionaries. He proceeds to persuade him by quoting some scriptures about 'being an instrument of peace' and 'it is by dying that you will find eternal life.'

It's a whole bunch of bullshit but Rambo buys it anyway, giving him an excuse to go on another killing spree. Now this is where the fun starts.

Ok, Rambo doing his usual sneak-up-and-kill routine again.

He punched the guy's head off?!?! Oh, he decapitated the guy using his bowie knife. That's a new trick right there. But what's next really got me speechless.

He fired a GPMG at someone's face at point-blank range. Now even Don Corleone's embalmer will find it hard to patch that guy up.

Next he tries to stop a minion from raping the female lead. He grabs the guy's head and neck, and I'm awaiting the classic snap-the-neck-like-its-made-of-toothpick maneuver.

HE FUCKING RIPS THE GUY'S NECK OUT?!?!?!?! Looks like John's having his PMS moment.

We are then treated to a general dose of explosions, Rambo taking out dozens of minions, more explosions and Rambo taking out dozens more. Standard fare.

Ah, another nostalgic scene - you would have bet he'd bring his trusty bow and explosive arrows along.

At the end our dear old John shoots up a one liner - “When you're pushed… killing's as easy as breathing." - before ending the trailer with the words "Attacking Soon."

Check out the teaser trailer here. You've been warned.

vietnamese brides are non-refundable

2007-08-30T11:45:00.000+08:00

I was doing my running at the school gym when the TV function of the threadmill showed an episode of Stories of Love, a series of single episode stories. Watching it gave me quite a couple of surprises.

First was the acting from Rebecca Lim and Dick Su. Watching Channel U shows where he usually play goofball roles previously, I was impressed that Dick Su has also the range to play the straight ordinary guy (kinda remind me of John Cusack). On the other hand, Rebecca Lim shows the potential to be one of the most versatile actress in Singapore, playing a Vietnamese girl.

Secondly, I thought the writing was pretty good, allowing me (the viewer) to be drawn into the characters even though it's only a one hour episode. Barring a few unrealistic aspects - Ah Bengs beating up people in public in broad daylight (which is unlikely to happen in reality), having the beautiful Rebecca Lim playing a Vietnamese bride (which will NEVER happen in reality), I thought it was funny, sweet and touching.

All in all in was always nice to see good local english shows on Channel 5 compared to the other shit that we've been given lately - Maggi and Me, After Hours, Lifeline (which always boggles me why it was renewed for a second season). I will be keeping an eye on this series, while I await the new seasons of House and Heroes.

die hard 5: my dream version

2007-08-25T01:11:00.000+08:00

After watching Die Hard 4.0, I've come up with an idea for the people at Hollywood to consider in a event of another sequel.

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Title: DIE HARD 5 - RISE OF THE MACHINES
Tagline: BRUCE WILLIS IS GOD.

Script
The year is 2025. Earth is at stake when supercomputers become self-aware and controls every electronic weaponry in an attempt to take over the world. John McClane is 60 years old but he comes out of retirement to take on the machines. John McClane takes on mammoth tanks. John McClane takes on fighter planes. John McClane even takes on an aircraft carrier. He travel across continents to take out the supercomputers one by one. In the final climatic scene he found out that the Decepticons were behind the whole entire conspiracy. No problem for wisecracking John McClane. He single-handedly take out all of them and saves the world. Why did he succeed while so many has failed? Because he is John McClane.

reunion

2007-08-24T02:43:00.000+08:00

Full credit to Ferryanto who did up a HDD site featuring Reunion, our latest album (plus our first album Metamorphose) of covers of contemporary songs, together with some group photographs and videos.

Catch all of them right here.

this is wai kit part 4

2007-08-07T23:50:00.001+08:00

(Chatting about the new upcoming season of the English Premier League.)

Wai Kit: Woah looks like Newcastle is focusing on attack this season. They now have so many forwards.

Wai Kit: Viduka... Smith... Martins... Owen...

Weijian: Luque.

Wai Kit: There's one more... it's...

Weijian, pondering: (Shola Ameobi.)

Wai Kit: Shinobi.