Bad move

Shit! Someone did it again!

And this time it's not just the interlude. They used "Canon" for the whole bloody riff for the song. Performed by? Farenheit.

Killer combo. Totally wrecked my day.

Mu-zilla

The issue about "Audio Violence" is now generating more talk than ever.

People start speaking up (albeit in the comfort of anonimity, mostly on newspaper forums) about the growing number of individuals who choose to blast their music loudly on the public transport instead of using their earphones.

Much of the credit's given to the youths' mentality of wanting to stand out, to have an identity. I myself firmly believe that "you are what you listen to", and a great number don't want to just listen, but also to be heard.

Problem is, the stranger in the cabin doesn't give a hoot about this aspect of your identity. I used to want to let the whole world know what kind of music I'm listening to as well, but I sort of came to terms with that hard fact.

Sadly, I got the point from being very puzzled myself by some of my own friends' taste in music.

Anyway, too little blame, I believe, has been put on some of the messages the media is getting across. It didn't really hit me until I saw this ad on the train itself (of all places -_-")!

Samsung Music Speaker Phones. "Live Loud!"

Wow. Very good education, I must say.

Speaker phones are good, especially when people go out in their small groups for any boring event you can think of, and need some entertainment. Even so, the way certain brands are marketed sort of gives the consumers the wrong impression.

I remotely recalled having seen the abovementioned video commercial at the cinema, and, well...

"DIY DJ! You can be one too! Yeah yeah check it check it!"

"Wow look, the whole city loves my music! Wow! Wow!"

Talk about misleading ads.

Hey, a 5-string bass!

But I digress.

Anyway, to avoid being biased I try to look up the commercials of other brands as well, including my favourite Sony Ericsson. Let's see...

Oh man...

.

.

.

.

Ah, he's got earphones on.

~

Oops.

.

.

.

I see, a picnic for 2 at the park.

I'm glad Sony Ericsson is careful not to cross the line. They're still reminding you to keep your music to yourself. Good.

Mmmmmmm

Our Music Ministry is sure a fun bunch!

I attended their weekly practices for the very first time ('cause I'm joining in as a bassist), and the sharing time alone was already funny enough!

And there're really a whole bunch of teachers in All Saints! May the Lord continue to anoint more of us to take up the mantle of moulding our future generations!

Really look forward to playing with them soon, when I get rostered.

Open

Did I mention it before? I have a thing for big open landscapes too.

Weeks ago while I was doing some random cycling around my neighbourhood, the oversized field sort of struck me in an odd way. You see, I rarely go for random cycling in the daytime...

Big space. Makes me feel small again.

~

In a desperate bid to shave off transport costs (travelling to NUS everyday is taking its toll), I've began to use my bike when I go to places sufficiently near, like when I go shoppng at Pasir Ris. The latter half of the route I take goes along the MRT Track Between Pasir Ris and Tampines, and I kind of like the feeling of loneliness it exudes.

~

On another note, while taking a peek at the juicy bits of the AHS Student Exchange Programme, I spotted this little catchphrase on the notice board, LOL.

New

"Wow, neeewwww bass ah?"

Yeah, I was at the Yamaha Clearance Sale with Kelvin, who intended to buy the DT Express electric drum set (only one in stock, offered at a damn good price!). Kelvin was saying that there'll be people queueing there damn early, so we'd better be there about-

3 a.m.

"Siao ah?"

Not really. The moment we reached there we're surprised to actually find-

people.

The guy in the first place had been there since 4 p.m. the previous day. All right the drum set's yours. You deserved it.

It wasn't that bad actually... Kelvin and I got 5th and 6th place respectively, behind a few guys from NUS Kent Ridge Hall and an ex-TJCian.

The original plan was that he'll get the drum set and I'll get something I can resell and make a profit.

Plan B? We've already been pushed to Plan Z!

Which more or less translated as random grab. And I was so all over that emo song I was listening to, I almost decided on a set of bongo drums.

In the end Kelvin got the Yamaha S08, a synthesizer with semi-weighted keys. I got a bass guitar, a Fernandes FRB-40 at $400. Considering its usual price of over $900, it's indeed quite a good deal!

Cool, huh?

~

I finally got my new specs!

This time I decided to go for a thick-rimmed frame. Kai Guan's first reaction was that it might look obiang, but I think that's the result of the media's over-stereotyping.

Usually in movies or dramas people on the geekish side will be seen wearing thick rims but, well I'd say that's actually a lousy way of character development. Much like Shana's "Urusai Urusai Urusai!!!".

But I digress.

I reckoned that thick rims can actually make my face look less plain. I don't exactly have very sharp facial features, so frames on the verge of invisibility probably won't help much.

Categories

It's been quite a while since Blogger introduced its Categories feature. I've started using it only now, so I've got quite a backlog to clear.

And the problem with categorising stuff like my blog (the posts during my JC time was really filled with mundane shit) is that there's bound to be double standards. I'll try my best, of course.

I've added links to the sidebar for the categorised posts. So far I have 38 emo posts already. Quite a low amount lah, for a 3-year old blog.

Right?

~

OK I know "Objects" is a weird title for a category, but such a wide category covering my posts about stuff I have, from gadgets to figurines... I really don't know what else to call it hmm...

Said enough?

讲够了没？

Recent events have caused a lot of finger-pointing and calling of names. Some are simply looking on from the sidewalk, some try to verbally exert whatever moral superiority they have.

Call them hypocrites, call them whatever. We see their future being ruined (possibly), relationships on the rocks, and we just won't leave them alone.

I'm surprised at the unison of the reaction of the populace, I mean-

Last I heard, the modern world approves of pre-marital sex? Especially the media? Why the double-crossing now?

Quit while you're ahead. 见好就收。You alone know what you've been doing in the privacy of your bedroom.

I can still remember what my good friend said at the sinner's execution site,

"He who has no sin, cast the first stone."

No one told you

No one told you to wear yellow Crocs with black business pants.

Do~ko nimo nai~

Emo.

Another Matsu Takako song again LOL... OK I bet you won't want me to embed another Jay song here since everyone else is doing it already...

Ultimate emo song. Lyrics emo. For those who don't understand the lyrics, the tune's emo as well. And she penned both.

3-beat song, nice accordion solo (OK you don't hear it in many songs) and the super emo chorus.

Emo.

FYI

For your info,

子时（23:00至00:59) 丑时（01:00至02:59） 寅时（03:00至04:59）　　卯时（05:00至06:59） 辰时（07:00至08:59） 巳时（09:00至10:59）　　午时（11:00至12:59） 未时（13:00至14:59） 申时（15:00至16:59）　　酉时（17:00至18:59） 戌时（19:00至20:59） 亥时（21:00至22:59）

Yeah.

The way you look. At the camera.

Chiang Wee was telling me this joke about a Christmas song.

"Noel, Noel. Santa's name has no 'L'. And he'll be pleased if you know how to spell."

Edmund's name has no 'L' too, but the way 'L' looks at people kind of reminds me of Ed. Especially on this shot.

I guess it's not only the eyes. It's the mouth as well.

Goatee

Now that my Fulltime NS is over, it's time to be a bit experimental with my look. For me that would mean that I'll refrain from cutting my hair and see how long it can go.

That's besides getting a new pair of specs with my Hongbao money and trying to keep a goatee.

During dinner with my cell group today I got some pretty wild suggestions. Diane, for instance, brought up the possibility of me shaving a skinhead to go with the goatee.

I needed to visualise somebody I know with such an image, and goodness, the only person I can think of is

.

.

.

.

.

Jordan Rudess. The Keyboard Wizard himself, no less.

在下不敢恭维。

My Work at NUS

It seems that I haven't blogged about my work at NUS yet, so here goes.

I'm working in the IRB (Institutional Review Board) which reviews research plans and see if they fall within ethical boundaries. It's located at one of the Medicine Faculty blocks.

They're in this transition phase for now, so I'm there as a temp to help in establishing the new way of storing archived research proposals.

In short, I scan paper.

I'll be learning more things as time goes by, and whether I'm daunted or excited I still can't tell. 'Cause ultimately if you ask me, I'm cool with scanning paper all day.

My partner in crime. Giving the -___- face.

But outside my job....

I get to have an early immersion into the NUS culture, without the baggage of schoolwork!

Plus, this is the only period of time I get to sit at staff seats during lunch time, at Science canteen where the length of queues can actually reduce your appetite.

The Central Forum was just a few stops from Science, and I've already made a few trips there before, as far as the Arts Canteen (Called "The Deck"). There's kind of like a doodle board at the Central Forum where people complain about boring school life, about seeing "Little Miss" everywhere, and a few examples of the proverb of old, "Pot calling the kettle black".

You get the point.

One thing that struck me about the Arts canteen is the view. Not exactly spectacular, just that you can see the Pasir Panjang port from there.

It's a regret I can't translate the beauty of it through the camera lens. No wonder they have photography classes.

For the pious, there's no lack of spirituality in the Uni culture too. For Christian fellowship groups alone, there're 3 of them. That's not counting the Catholic student's group yet. I've been in Campus Crusade before (during JC), and they've recently scored one more point for me with this ad.

The brutal truth. Will set you free.

Want more leaven in the dough? They had a bazaar recently at Central Forum and I walked past this booth that sells scripture T-Shirts (Haven't seen one in ages!). Turned out they're from Trinity Christian Centre (Chiang Wee's church)... and out of many designs (usually parodies), I fished out this one, for very obvious reasons.

And I saw this ad for a weekly event on "Discovering Buddhism". I might just go for exposure (that's if they're not as pushy as some of my fellow Christians can get), 'cause Buddhism as a philosophy is good in itself, even though the version of Buddhism I've been hearing has always been something along the lines of money, Toto and 4D (that kind of disappointed me).

Moving on to lodging, I've haven't seen any hall except for King Edward 7, and because it's right next to Prince George's Park (PGP for short) Residence, it gets dulled in comparison. Here're some shots I took at PGP.

Imba.

Food for the body, Manna for the spirit, and a place to rest your head. The Exodus Israelites were far from satisfied, and so are we.

Tsk, humans.

Of course, NUS is full of the element of fun. In fact they've just made merry (and of course money) with the recent, erm, this, the... day before Total Defence Day. Yeah.

The Basilisk's eyes burned Colin Creevey's camera. This one burned mine.

You basically see so many posters publicising for CCAs and events, I wonder why anyone actually said NUS is boring. But I'll never know until I matriculate, sigh. Perhaps they'll make another disillusioned student? Perhaps I'll be having the time of my life in there?

Perhaps I get to hear the legendary "noises of the night", which means I don't need the help of the Internet anymore.

Perhaps I can join Science Club and sell ice-cream with the 23/04 girls.

Friendly Neighbourhood Trend Setter

"Hebe is such a trend-setter"

-- Tan Wen Jun

Well, during the recent HIM annual dinner, in which the artistes dress up as various vocationalists, our dear 田喜碧 decided to be a fashion heroine.

Hebe: "My Yoga teacher Ella. Ella-ella-eh-eh"

Well if she succeeds in setting this trend, I'll feel safe on the streets in my Gore-tex Camo jacket again. No wonder we all love her.

Confucius says...

自High 也要有个限度 吧。。。

Images and Words

On a random visit to Yahoo China, I stumbled upon

Blessed are the poor.

Tomorrow Too Mellow

And so, in my haste I made a vow that I'll go to sleep at 7 p.m. this coming (looming/impending/approaching-like-a-thief-in-the-night) V Day. That was when I was still in NS.

Now that I'm working at NUS, I can't even reach home at 7!

Nvm. Make it 8 then.

No... no no no no not in that pose please!

Ah that's better. Cute, angelic and innocent. Just like m*.

By~ the~ way~

Starts, now.

Clover by Matsu Takako

One of Matsu's own favourites, this upbeat song accompanied by light guitar that gradually develops into a full arrangement with a mid-level difficulty bass line, never fails to get me swaying along. Enjoy.

Hit the Deck!

I had a HARD time locating the Arts Canteen!

Upon finding it, however, it sort of gave me a very good first impression. It's newly renovated after all, and they have Vegetarian food!

I had Sichuan food for lunch (I was told that it's the best stall there) but I had no idea that 土豆 actually means Potato... not that the Braised Meat POTATO Rice wasn't nice, but I'd rather have eaten their Tofu Rice.

It's all right, I'll definitely make a second visit!

Everything also Chinese

今天傍晚我和 Fatima 到机场为 陆袆 饯行。途中谈到了华文华语在本地的趋势 （人家毕竟也是读中文系的），也自然谈到本地的双语教育制度。

最近有一桩台湾人评新加坡人英语程度之类的事件。结果国人纷纷反射性的炮轰台湾人在同一方面的不足。

据我了解，台湾那里的英语程度是相当悬殊的。会英语的讲起来还洋腔洋调，否则就是连 “Square” 是四方形都不知道。

反之，在我国，平均来说我们的英语程度都还算过得去。要找到双语流利的年轻人也不难。问题就出在，许多人在使用双语对照的方法来学习其中一个语言的时候，难免会把两种语文的文法和结构混淆起来。所以在新加坡才能听到一些令外国人听了似懂非懂的错误英语文法，例如

"Everything also must eat" （什么也要吃）

"Here got sell Laksa" （这里有卖 Laksa）

"This pen is my one" （这支笔是我的）

“不懂英语” 和 “半桶水”的英语之间，哪一个比较可笑 （或是可悲），就由你来判断。

It does matter

Today I learnt a lesson. I know I keep saying that.

Anyway, I realised that inferiority can go hand in hand with self-centredness, and how pride can come under the guise of humility.

Basically all you have to do is a bit of rephrasing. One can easily think that "putting others above self" is the same as "putting self below others", but the latter centres on putting the self down.

Self.

Sing of the Immutable

Modern songs used in services (I prefer not to use the very overused phrase "Praise & Worship" -- which is basically reduced to mean "Fast & Slow"), I realised, don't really get me into the worshiping mood.

I'm probably talking about songs that paint a perfect picture of your spiritual life. Or rather songs that depict a lot about the worshipper's own emotions. Especially those that make you repeat the same phrase for 5 minutes.

In times when I attend a service with a broken spirit, it's hard, even insane, for me to merely follow the crowd and sing stuff like "You're the only one I live for", "I love you with all my heart" and so on, when clearly I haven't done so during the week.

I'm much more comfortable with singing the hymns of old during worship as they generally focus on "who God is" rather than "how I feel". Even hymns that come to the level of personal emotions usually go along the lines of a desire to live that ideal, instead of already living that ideal.

Yes, songs about the worshipper's emotions can enable worshippers express themselves, but only those who can sing out the words truthfully.

Songs about God's character not only speak for worshippers. They counsel, comfort and remind them of the universal truth. And most of all, they apply to everyone, for God's character does not change one bit.

Happiness

I rarely get touched by songs on a very personal level. I can get blown away by very good arrangement ("Wow that's a nice chord! Got me surprised there!") or very good vocabulary use (personally I'm all praises for stuff like "缺氧过后的爱情" from "退后").

Or the instruments used. Like that high attack acoustic guitar.

Songs that touch me on a personal level are few. Songs that can sit by my side, put an arm round my shoulder (alright that sounds a bit creepy), even fewer.

In short, lyrics with warmth. Good vocab can sometimes still feel like a slab of metal; what's important is, I guess, the message it brings across.

Here's something I would like to share today.

~

《快乐》 -- 张智成

快乐 是可以分享的
快乐 需要一些过程
快乐 总是会被记得
因为记忆只留下美好的

你是你自己的作者
何必写那么难演的剧本
别怪话说得太多了
我只是 不要你不快乐

被爱 应该是幸福的
去爱 没有想象的愚蠢
想爱 可以非常的单纯
因为爱全是与生俱来的

你问 我怎么那么深
这些智慧该如何才获得
爱你 我认识了快乐
他带我上了难得的一课

~

But I have to say, the addition of that Cantonese oldie chorus (not included in above lyrics duh!) sort of spoiled it for me. But I can never forget the first verse in the first instance of the chorus (in bold and italics). Never.

9 x 3

"27 Dresses" is the "Peace at Any Price" person's WAR CRY!!!

\m/

I might just go get the VCD when it's out in stores :)

~

On another note, I realised that the last time our Cell blog was updated was Oct 2006! I was under the impression that it's merely months ago! Time flies rockets, man!

~

On yet another note, these few working days in NUS made me realise one thing. It's entirely possible to lead a totally boring Uni life. If you don't make your friends quickly, that is.

Face it

Face it.

No one's really gonna have the time to pick and choose 25 friends to share whatever Facebook application (which was most probably spam-forwarded to you anyway) he or she's going to add.

Worse still, in some of the application you apparently cannot skip the "spam your friends" step.

This might just puff out any marginal interest some users might actually have in certain new applications.

Goodness! Thank God someone came up with the petition (in the form of a group) to stop this madness.

~

What ticks me off more? Chain messages about glorious friendship all over your super wall.

Don't get me wrong. The messages are very good by themselves, and I love them. What ticked me off was the very typical ending:

"Send this to your true friends! If you don't send this back to me you're probably not my true friend I guess"

Which totally removes any kind of depth the message might have carried in the first place.

It makes no sense to define friendship in such luminous terms and then dismiss it as something that can be undermined by a simple act of Not Forwarding a Spam. I mean, seriously!