Jun
11
OMG
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Someone’s out to kill me!
Jun
08
From wise ol’ Van…
“If you’re trying too hard, it probably isn’t working out.”
There are many other people and opportunities out there. If you’re not valued, or it’s not shown until it’s too late, then move to another (bigger) pond.
My question, when do you decide that you’ve been ‘trying too hard’?
Jun
05
Blatantly ripped off from AUGUST, April 07
BRAVE NEW WORLD Aldous Huxley
“Negative Utopia” - No more pain, no suffering, no poverty… but without the bitter, can there be the sweet?
100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Ghosts, incest and the history of Colombia
MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN Salman Rushdie
Babies switched at birth, one with supernatural powers. A Booker Prize winner.
SWANN’S WAY Marcel Proust
No plot, just a recollection of memories in four parts.
A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TEN AND A HALF CHAPTERS Julian Barnes
Series of intelligent and humorous short stories.
THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES Tom Wolfe
Class, race, politics, religion, money and media.
NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR George Orwell
How to exert control with disinformation, propaganda, censorship, surveillance and semantic manipulation.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS Ernest Hemingway
American fighting in Spanish Civil War falls in love, is wounded, dies.
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE Anthony Burgess
Sociopath gets temporarily brainwashed
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE JD Salinger
Angsty release from a maladjusted, intelligent teen outsider.
THE GREAT GATSBY Scott Fitzgerald
Poor guy makes good, goes over the edge, tragic ending.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST Ken Kesey
Conman in cuckoo house challenges the authorities, while changing the destinies of his fellow patients.
THE DHARMA BUMS Jack Kerouac
Central character goes on search for ’something greater’ amidst confused post-war environment.
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL James Ellroy
Good cops gone bad as American dream dissolves.
DE PROFUNDIS Oscar Wilde
‘Melancholic, soulful and profound pearl of writing’. Wilde’s magnum opus.
THE PRINCE Niccolo Machiavelli
Idiots guide to building, wielding, and maintaining power.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Fyodor Dostoyevsky
‘Timeless tale about moral conflict, guilt and the human conscience’
THE FOUNTAINHEAD Ayn Rand
‘Don’t compromise your values to fit in with the status quo; don’t let the mob dictate what you can and can’t create; don’t regurgitate, be original; selfishness is a virtue you should embrace; material success means nothing when it results from another’s efforts.’
HELL’S ANGELS Hunter S. Thompson
Author hangs out with infamous motorcycle gang
IN COLD BLOOD Truman Capote
Excellent writing that traces the brutal slaying of a small-town family and the process of brining the killers to justice.
Go dig up a copy of AUGUST April for the full beef.
May
04
I don’t like it when emotion clouds better judgement.
I don’t like being the poorer option.
I don’t like being left in the dark.
I don’t like it when I think I’ve gone past the point of being affected by things like this, but haven’t.
I could have been involved in several accidents tonight if not for divine providence stepping in. Saw two fender benders on the way home, and thankfully I arrived home intact.
Please let tomorrow be a better day.
Mar
12
Have never been a fan of personality tests, and thought this would be no different. Well, the results were eye-poppingly accurate. I recommend anyone who’s reading this to try it out. (If the link doesn’t work, try searching for “MyType” on Facebook)
Just an excerpt of my results:
For the ENTP, falling in love occurs when they feel that there is a good fit with the other person. Often within the first meeting, ENTPs will know whether the relationship has any real potential. ENTPs may find it difficult to commit to anyone until the right person comes along. During this period, ENTPs explore the closeness until they can be certain that they have looked at all of the possibilities. Because of this, they are not likely to settle down early. When they do become involved in a relationship, they generally want to maintain as much independence and freedom as their loved one can tolerate. Their mates may need to have high self-esteem and to be independent themselves in order to accept the ENTP need for freedom and novelty.
Jan
29
Been away from here for the longest time. And I’ll refrain from using the same old excuses.
Once again, I plonk myself in this anonymous Subway outlet that never fails to offer overpriced ‘fresh’ food, plus an abundance in parking and seating. I just discovered it offers wi-fi too - thus this entry.
The perfect venue for dining. For one.
It’s also just happens to be a wonderful spot for pondering your existence, and what you’re meant to do with your life.
(This is continued from the previous post, so no, it’s not deja vu)
Is it A?
Is it B?
Could it even be C?
It can’t possibly be D!
Is it B?
Could it even be C?
It can’t possibly be D!
Unlike most multiple choice questions I’ve answered - correctly or wrongly - the consequences for this one are significantly larger.
Some say I shouldn’t even have to choose, because all the options are wrong anyway. But how ‘wrong’ is wrong? Could ‘wrong’ only be wrong simply because it isn’t perfectly right? How much ‘wrong’ can you take? After saying ‘wrong ‘ enough times, wrong even starts to sound right.
But of course, answers do not come. Not with the small meal option anyway.
Jan
20
The few that I’ve spoken to know the crossroads i face. The moment one path seems more likely, it’s not long before the other seems just as plausible.
Some even say it’s a happy problem.
Am I happy?
Hmmm.
Well, there’s always work…
Jan
04
Think I did this last year too.
To all the folks who were nice enough to send (real) cards and spent money on smses, (facebook don’t count cos it’s too damn easy to spam!) i lub you all. Was a bit late this year and my new year greeting got caught in the jam. So if you didn’t receive one from me, chances are it got lost in the traffic.
The following people rawk in my book (or were polite enough to reply/send their own greetings):
Agnes, Alanna, Andy, Angie, Anthony, Az, Ben, Cheryl, Chris, Cindy, Clement, Cyril, Elizabeth, Fiona, Francis, Genecia, Gerry, Irene, Jackson, Jag, Jessie, Joven, Karen Foo, Karen Lin, Kheng, Laichow, Lily, Marcel, Mathew, MayAnn, Melvin, Nian Tjoe, Nicole, Nini, Olive, Sam, Shin Lin, Shing, Wee Teck, Wilma, Yenny,
And to round things off, this particular greeting wasn’t mine, but it kicks some new year ass:
“May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the ass of the person who fcuk up your year and may his arms grow too short to scratch his ass! Happy new year!”
Dec
31
Friend of mine, Mr Ivan Chew a.k.a. the Rambling Librarian, is a real renaissance man. When he’s not at his day job convincing the world to read books, or painting, or blogging, he’s making music.
I was honoured enough when he asked me to review his collaborative effort - Librarian + Biologist = SeaStars 2007
In their own words:
SeaStars 2007 is what you get when a Biologist/ Teacher gets together with a Librarian to create music inspired by “dreamy thoughts of seashores and stars” while mucking around with their Macs.
Some 32 minutes later, here are my plebian thoughts of the 9 tracks:
1. SeashoreDays: Audio quality sounds a little muffled, even dirty despite being encoded at 192kbps, so suspect the source might be a bit dodgy. Either that or my earwax has built to colossal proportions. As the first track, it never really gets up to speed and thus doesn’t get me excited about the rest of the album. .
2. SeaAnemone: A drum machine intro… which i really don’t have a liking for. The drums just sound too clear when blended with the rather echoey, dreamy sounding guitars. Maybe you guys should get a real drummer? 
i seemed to like the song more when about 2:00 in, the drums got canned. but then again, at 2:20 they started it up again. 
Like good kueh lapis, this song is nicely-layered. Might have gone on for 1 minute too long though.
3. Starfish: moves faster, melody follows more naturally, and doesn’t sound over-produced. It’s certainly more ‘ear-friendly’ than seashore days. There’s still something about drum machines that just doesn’t segue with the rest of the instruments.
4. IntoTheDeep: This starts off sounding like some underwater sci-fi flick, or the soundtrack to an RPG (role-playing game) that requires the hero to venture into a deep abyss to fight some badass octopuss or something. Interesting treatment, but maybe a tad indulgent.
5. FlowingWithTheWaves: is probably my favourite track. The strumming comes across with nice clarity. The electric guitar comes in later, threatening to overpower the track, but fortunately it never does overstep the line. Ever present ’sea sound fx’ are present as well, melding with the rest of the instruments in a way that none of the other tracks seem to have achieved.
6. Stargazer: is the cleanest track, with just 3 guitars (i think). No percussion, no sound effects! Electric guitar makes a cameo, which i think could have been left out. i like!
7. OnceUponAstar: Carrying on with the whole star ‘thang’, once upon a star is also devoid of sound fx. maybe because stars don’t make sounds? duh. no guitars on this one, just the keyboards, plus synthetic percussion makes a comeback. The song kinda gets lost after the 2 minute mark, where the various instruments seem to go off on mini-tangents of their own.
8. DolphinsGalaxia: Starts off nicely and some nice, dolphin-ish effects are sprinkled in to good effect. Tell me if i’m wrong, but after the first minute, i seem to hear strains of ’silent night’ - and it’s not because it’s the christmas season! Some very nice harmonies in this track, but once again, it almost threatens to outstay its welcome as the song kinda wanders off and doesn’t know how to end.
9. Seabreeze: is the last of the 9 songs on the album. For some reason, it feels very ‘beyond’. No, not as in ‘out there’, but remember that Chinese rock group from the 80s? Then just as i entertained that though, the er-hu starts wailing, and then the Chinese cymbals (is that what they’re called?) too. A hint of what’s the come in the next album? Well, well… you guys have certainly got me curious for more!
Final word: An intriguing blend of sea sounds and strings. Not so hot for me - the electronic percussion and lack of compelling song endings. Still, an applaudable amateur effort that shows promise!
Check out SeaStars2007 on facebook. They’ve got a blog too.
