the day you're not the same man anymore

23 Dec, 2:45pm

Patient: Hi, doctor. Good afternoon.

Doctor: Ah, I see you're better, from the medication.

Patient: Yes, it helped. So..?

Doctor: The test results show you have it.

Patient: Oh.. ok.

Doctor: Which is why you could not find explanations to what have been happening to you. And it's been recurring for quite some time right?

Patient: Yea.

Doctor: Your levels in your blood are significantly higher than a healthy person. You need to take care.

Patient: Can it be cured?

Doctor: I'm sorry, but it cannot be. It's partly a genetic disorder. You can only keep it in control.

Patient: But why have I been ok my whole life, then now this? Was there any trigger?

Doctor: You never know. Much is still not known about the disease. Some people have been found to have very high levels but never developed the disease.

Patient: Thanks, doc.

the unpredictability of life

an amusing scene i witnessed on the highway while driving.

a zhng-ed Mazda 3 comes up beside me, all try-too-hard cool and shit. then an RX-8 comes up behind it, cuts in, overtakes and zooms off.

a while later, a Mazda 3 GT hatchback comes up. WTS. awkward abounds. the three Mazdas line up side-by-side.

finally, a Fairlady revs past on the fastest Lane 1.

the three latter cars fly off, while e zhng-ed Mazda 3 lags behind.

Murphy's Law (of combat)

the adaptation to our beloved Singapore Armed Forces.

1. You are not a superman.
2. If it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.
3. Don't look conspicuous. It draws fire.
4. When in doubt, empty your magazine.
5. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.
6. Remember: Your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
7. If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
8. No plan survives the first contact intact.
9. All 5-second grenade fuses will burn out in 3.
10. Try to look unimportant. The enemy may be low on ammo.
11. If you are forward of your position the artillery will always fall short.
12. The important things are always hard.
13. The simple things are always simple.
14. The easy way is always hard.
15. If you are short of everything except enemy, you're in combat.
16. When you have secured an objective, don't forget to let the enemy know about it.
17. Incoming fire has the right of way.
18. If the enemy is in range, SO ARE YOU.
19. No combat-ready unit ever passed inspection.
20. Things that must be together to work usually can't be shipped together.
21. Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support desperately.
22. Anything you do can get you shot, including doing nothing.
23. Tracers work both ways.
24. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
25. Make it tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get out.
26. When both sides are convinced that they are about to lose, they are both right.
27. Professional soldiers are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs.
28. Murphy was in the army.

Praised by the Wise

"I think I am more a Buddhist than I would have believed... Christianity means signing up to a mass of protocols which don't make sense. Whereas with Buddhism, if you do your breathing exercises and yoga correctly, the states of mind you can achieve are all they promise. It is as honest as ice-cream."

Lawrence Durrell, India-born Anglo-Irish novelist, poet and dramatist

我是一只小肥猪
我每天吃不停
有一天我肚子爆炸
血肠撒满地

我手里拿着吸尘机把肠子吸回去
吸到一半肚子饿了
所以就放弃

i like motion pictures

ive long quoted great, lasting lines from films. recently i caught the TV-movie adaptation of Five People You Meet In Heaven, the bestseller by Mitch Albom. it would be a great disservice and dishonour to Albom if i quote from the film, since he wrote the novel. moreover, many of the film's lines probably come from the book. therefore i shall look at something else that has always captured me when i watch films - cinematography and direction.

dont get me wrong, im not featuring this film's cinematography because its lines are out-of-bounds to me. i wanted to feature this film purely for its cinematography. it is that good.

kudos to director llyod kramer and director of photography kramer morgenthau.

Praised by the Wise

"Buddhist or non-Buddhist, I have examined every one of the great religious systems, of the world, in none of them I have found anything to surpass, in beauty and comprehensiveness, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Truths of the Buddha."

Professor Thomas William Rhys Davids, British Oriental lexicographer and the first person to chair comparative religion in a British university.

Singapura

food for thought:

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index - 4th of 180, 1st in Asia

Reporters Without Borders' Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 133rd of 175, sandwiched between the African nations of Chad and Madagascar, and below countries like Gabon, Bangladesh, Colombia, Angola and Cambodia.

5th wealthiest country in the world by GDP (PPP) per capita, according to IMF.

The Economist's Democracy Index - 82nd of 167, under categories of Full Democracy, Flawed Democracy etc, guided by electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture; Singapore considered Hybrid Regime (democracy in name, but flouting significant standards); 51 countries are listed as Authoritarian Regime

Foreign Policy's Globalization Index - 1st of 62 in 2006

Economist Intelligence Unit ranked us the 10th most expensive city to live in, and 3rd in Asia after Tokyo and Osaka.

WSJ's Index of Economic Freedom 2008 - 2nd of 155

by the way do you know Singapore is ranked 222nd of 224 in fertility rate? an interesting trivia. further eye-catching stats are that the other countries of the last four are Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Yong Vui Kong: remember this name

"According to Yong’s petition for clemency that was submitted to the President, the trial judge, Justice Choo Han Teck, had called both the defence and prosecution into chambers before the commencement of the trial and noted Yong’s relatively young age at the time of the offence.

Justice Choo then asked the Prosecution to consider reducing the capital charge to a non-capital one. The prosecution declined."

Source: TOC

it's times like this that pain me in the heart to call Singapore home. just like when i read about Iwuchukwu Tochi, i cried over this.

i'm not a Christian, everyone knows it. but in moments like this, which side you belong to no longer matters. we are one family of humans. a right to repent, a right to forgive, a right to live. and i'll end off with a prayer i found on someone's blog (i apologise for the non-credit):

Dear God,

I come to you with a heavy heart, burdened at the death sentence that was meted out to Yong, your son. Such a young man with so much potential, only to be dealt a short hand by his circumstances and the state. It pains me to hear that while he is sentenced to hang, the high-hitters and the drug lords are left to continue their evil activities.

My heart goes out to Yong and his family. I pray that they will find solace in this time of need, and Yong will find the courage to face his fate. May there be salvation in his heart, and peace in his soul. I ask that the governing authorities - the MPs and the Cabinet Ministers - open their eyes to the injustice happening right before them, and have the burden to act on this issue.

May there be lasting change in Singapore, and may love and compassion find its way into the hearts of its citizens.

Amen.

Praised by the Wise

"...the beginnings of cosmic religious feeling already appear in early stages of development eg. in many of the Psalms of David and in some of the Prophets. Buddhism contains much stronger elements of it. The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that copes with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism."

Albert Einstein, Nobel laureate for Physics and Time magazine's Person of the Century

Professional Internship, II

after i told him about my PI situation and that im getting desperate in Phase 2, this was what Thusitha de Silva, our Business Journalism teacher, replied me.

Thiam Peng,

Stay cool, young man. You are good at what you do, so don't let such technical issues get you down. I have no doubt that you will secure something. The world works in mysterious ways and your first choices may not always be the best choice for you. Things have a way of working out. It's sometimes difficult and/or annoying to live through the uncertainty, but when you look back in your life, you may find that it all makes sense.

Cheers,

thus

=) this is why we love the man.

thank you, thus. although i knew nuts about finance reporting and still dislike it, you made this one of my favourite classes of my uni life.

a robbery, but reminds us all why sports is magic

i still cant get over this, what was undoubtedly the biggest test and major checkpoint of Michael Phelps' record breaking gold haul at the Beijing Olympics. probably the toughest challenge to his assault on Mark Spitz' seven golds at a single Games, with many believing the US were the underdogs, the win provided the ultimate push for Phelps to go on and eclipse the mark. it was the point of no return.

i cant get over it coz it was not their win. it was not his gold. it was France's. even the Australians were contenders. but hats off to Team USA. in a race that saw five countries go below the previous world record, with many individual swimmers clocking unbelievable and never-before-seen laps, it was arguably one of all sport's greatest single event.

congrats (and Phelps although many people have said it u really need to buy him a Ferrari or something) Jason Lezak on an incredible 46.06 split, destroying Alain Bernard and the logic of what human beings can do.





let's look at numbers.

"before the prelims at these Games, the world record stood at 3:12.46, set in 2006. during the prelims, the US team broke that record, swimming 3:12.23.

one day later, in the Olympic final, to go and then chop 4 seconds off that mark is insane. it took 20 years (1988) for the record to drop 4 seconds to the 3:12 range.

the times in the prelims were so fast that it took 3:13.8 to get into the final. Russia, at 3:14.07, a second and a half off the world record, not good enough to make an event.

the Americans, French, Australians, Italians and Swedes smashed the world record together, in one swim. world record-breaking times for the Italians and Swedes, yet no medal.

Phelps swam the lead-off leg for the Americans in 47.51. the world record going into the race was 47.50.

to his left, in lane 3, Eamon Sullivan of Australia touched home first, in 47.24, a world record in the 100m (lead-off legs are eligible for national and world records).

the fastest Olympic lead-off split before this race was South Africa's Roland Schoeman, with a 48.17 in 2004, slow by now."

bound to be remembered as one of the miraculous moments of the Olympics.

Praised by the Wise

"...a man of strong will, authoritative and proud, but of gentle manner and speech, and of infinite benevolence. He claimed enlightenment but not inspiration; he never pretended that a god was speaking through him. In controversy he was more patient and considerate than any other of the great teachers of mankind.

Like Lao-tze and Christ, he wished to return good for evil, love for hate; and he remained silent under misunderstanding and abuse."

Will Durant, American historian, philosopher and Pulitzer Prize winner

Professional Internship

my mac crashed and i lost my resume and portfolio. just before SPH's window closed. so i didnt apply.

it slipped my mind The New Paper is under SPH. shit.

Today turned out to be a self-source. and i forgot until the window closed too.

ESPN was removed from this year's list because they no longer needed interns as certain operations moved elsewhere.

rejected by Pakistan's Dawn Media, which im dumbfounded about.

Phase I opens.

Reuters didnt even shortlist me for an interview. im surprised.

got a shot at AFP. competing against people like Terence (The Online Citizen's deputy editor), Fabian (Nanyang Chronicle's editor-in-chief) and Kerrie. for a sole position. and we all lost to a certain Idayu no one knows.

now, Phase II.

then will two at once woo one

another end of a semester, another emo time.

i always spoke of the power of drama, how this subject has such a different mental process compared to others. at the end of it, because of the effort put into performances and friendships built, we always feel so strong for it.

Playwriting was forgettable. in contrast to CDP101 and Acting Workshop, this CDP434 didnt end on a sad farewell. it was celebratory (which can also be a cause for emo-ness). i guess this is a good feeling.

like my Playwriting class, i came up against some sterling individuals (demoralising if you think of grades), and i must say it was overall a good experience, learning quite a bit from them.

although i was apprehensive at first, i think my final group worked out well. note that my emphasis isn't on "performance", but "group". the performance was great, no doubt, but the team had much fun, i must say. such a weird combi but such sparks.

Ling, you're creative but inwardly stubborn and demanding. it's not a bad thing. it's bad if it's outwardly. what's great about you is that you're understanding and always listens. seldom do we get creative people who are understanding. and you're loads of fun.

Clara, you're good and you know you're good, and at times you will make people feel lousy. but your EQ is high and you always know how to clean it up. it's just your strong character i must say. it was nice working with a creative combi of you and Ling. there wasn't dictatorship, yet there was direction.

Sharlene, you're just fun and funny lah. this is nothing more than what it seems and i hope you go out there and fall in love someday but i wanna say i adore you to bits. haha.

Sufyan, to put it into perspective, it's always important to have another male. ha. and you never failed to be that. you're relaxed, efficient, and pragmatic. if Ling and Clara are the highway, you're the speedbump. it's not slowing things down, but ensuring safety. thanks for being that other male.

and oh, my virgin Shakespeare experience. yes i was a Lit student. but i never touched the Bard for that 6 years (except for a brief period in AJC). i hated him and his language. was freaking terrified when we chose to do Midsummer Night's Dream. ok it was just one scene. but still!

O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eye?
When thou hold'st up thy hand: O let me kiss
This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!

Lysander, keep thy Hermia; I will none:
If e'er I loved her, all that love is gone.

Now follow, if thou darest, to try whose right,
Of thine or mine, is most in Helena.

only when you get his language, then you know how talented (an understatement) he was.

as some juniors remarked, we are very pro already (lol!). and they expressed their awe at our course requirements, our scripts, and our sets. they said our sets owned theirs. i never thought so and couldn't really make out why. until i took a step back and reflected, then i realised. CDP434 is no joke. although it isn't tough, we've come far enough. i can say certain standards of theatre are now intrinsic in us already.

Acting Workshop and Playwriting sort of shook my confidence. but Alternative Media restored it a bit (although i totally screwed up my presentation).

a shout-out to the rest of the class!

the old friends Eugene, Chunyan, DJ, Rez, Pamy, Weelie and Sylvia. last time round was Annie, who was graduating and was the last time we're seeing her. this time it's Eugene and Rohana. the former the irritating market-spoiler whom i respect and love so much, and the latter the only person i took all my drama modules with.

love you guys and we'll always be friends.

Praised by the Wise

"It was a turning point in the religious history of man when a reformer, full of the most earnest moral purpose and trained in all the intellectual culture of his time, put forth deliberately, and with a knowledge of the opposing views the doctrine of salvation to be found here, in this life, in an inward change of heart, to be brough about by perseverance in a mere system of self-culture and self-control."

Professor Thomas William Rhys Davids, British Oriental lexicographer and the first person to chair comparative religion in a British university.

we are sheep.

"Singapore is one of the few countries in Asia that does not allow its citizens to freely and openly assemble even though our constitution guarantees us that right. Even the governments of China, even Cambodia and Malaysia allows public gatherings.

The only countries in Asia that continues to outlaw public rallies and protests are North Korea, Vietnam, Burma and Singapore. We are in bad company.

Without public gatherings, apartheid would still rule South Africa today, blacks in America would still have to go to a separate toilet from the whites, Taiwan would still be labouring under a dictatorship and Hong Kong would not be able to beat back China’s intentions to impose Article 23. If we did not have public gatherings Singapore would still be a British colony.

Mahatma Gandhi once said: "Democracy is not a state in which people act like sheep." I was in Australia and observed how sheep behaved. For anyone to control the flock in such a manner three factors are crucial: There must be fear, you must deprive the individual animal of information, and you must make sure that those that step out of line are quickly chased back in. Of course it helps to have a bunch of dogs running around.

Can it be that Singaporeans are really so incapable of expressing ourselves in peaceful protests and demonstrations? Are the Brits somehow more responsible than us, are the Japanese somehow superior in their political thought, are Hong Kongers somehow more trustworthy, are our Malaysian counterparts better citizens? Or is it that our government is simply more repressive than others?

The question is not whether one country holds elections or not but whether the elections are one, genuinely free and fair, two, whether voters have access to information through a free media, and three, whether there is freedom of association, speech and assembly. None of these conditions exist in Singapore.

If elections are the only measure of whether a country is democratic or not, then Cuba, former Soviet Union, the Philippines, Iraq and Indonesia are all democracies because Fidel Castro, Marcos, Suharto, and Saddam Hussein, all conducted elections."

Dr Chee Soon Juan
International Youth Conference for Democracy
July 26, 2003

This is it.

i just caught Michael Jackson's This Is It with mabel.

im blown away. im just so touched. enough said.

having grown up with Michael and his music, now that he's gone, and this is his final footage just before he left, it meant a lot as a sort of sending-off or tribute to him. his magic is phenomenal. to be in his presence was electrifying.

for a good first 30 minutes of the film i was on non-stop goosebumps. it was nice seeing Michael again, in all of his glory and element. and it is indescribable to witness that he's at the top of his form and nowhere near what the media tried to paint him as struggling to cope with a concert series that finally got too big for him. he hasnt changed one bit. still full of love, and proving that talent sticks. his vocals are as before, his dancing crazy for a half-centenarian, and his heart... still enough space to fit the whole world.

feels like Michael hasnt left us at all. feels like we can still look forward to his concert.

before you start on "oh another melodramatic outpouring of adoration", i want to disclaim first, you all are missing the point.

what business is it of reviewers of the film? there isnt even a need for one. this film was made for Michael's fans. we don't need to know if it deserves how many stars in your high-brow world.

it being "nothing we don't know"? This Is It was never a documentary. there's no investigation, no opinion, just Michael's rehearsals footage. it is simply a chance for us to catch a final glimpse of him and how the concert would have looked.

it being one-sided? hello?! the film is a celebration of Michael Jackson. you may find the interviews with dancers and musicians who were inspired by him forced and cheesy, but to us they cant be more real. so many of them were at a loss to be able to perform with Michael.

the people around him were in awe. Michael isnt just another singer or celebrity. this man is Pop. he had creative control over the music, the choreography and everything about a concert.

probably. considering he's a songwriter who made some of the greatest pop music in history, a dancer who inspired thousands, and probably done more concerts than director Kenny Ortega has.

he also looked a little unreasonable at times. but the man's a perfectionist, we know it. Ortega even made the effort to insert footage of the keyboardist arguing with him, so the film won't look so authoritarian and delusional.

i don't even care if Ortega is trying to make up for some monetary loss over the proposed London's This Is It. can you imagine how much pain and disappointment these people have gone through? so much effort have gone in to make it happen. the worldwide dancer auditions, the special effects, the million-dollar videos. if i were them, even if the film is shown free-of-charge to the world i wouldn't mind.

all-new Smooth Criminal, Earth Song and Thriller. moving renditions of Human Nature, I Just Can't Stop Loving You and Man In The Mirror. his final work, This Is It. and when Michael did I'll Be There again, i wanted to cry. This Is It the concert would have been a smash hit.

im definitely gonna get the dvd as soon as i can and run it over and over again.

Praised by the Wise

"Never in the history of the world had such a scheme been put forth, so free from any superhuman agency, so independent of so even antagonistic to the belief in a soul, the belief in God, and the hope of a future life."

Professor Thomas William Rhys Davids, British Oriental lexicographer and the first person to chair comparative religion in a British university.

Democracy

after 54 years in power, Japan's LDP finally lost control of the Diet this year.

in neighbouring Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional coalition is crumbling after leading the nation since 1955.

on a sidenote, this is how a Westminster parliament should be like.



Singapore holds the (dis)honour of having the longest-ruling elected party in the world. when is it our turn? when will we finally see some democracy like that?

i like motion pictures

Rules of Engagement (2000)

the lure of this military/legal/political film is the central question of right vs wrong, blurring that thin line under extreme conditions, a frequent issue in the military. very much in the same vein as A Few Good Men. i must admit i didnt come in expecting too much, due to its lack of fame, but i must say i came away satisfied and enthralled. Tommy Lee Jones was the standout, blowing us away with his performance as the average soldier, average lawyer, but with values hard as hell. Rules Of Engagement also pits the hardcore battle-worn soldier against the high-flying scholar, and explores to what length is the rulebook a bible, when hard but morally ambiguous decisions have to be made.

---

Guy Pearce plays Maj Biggs, the prosecutor.

Maj Biggs: Sir, if I may say something? I accepted this assignment... 'cause I believe in the merits of the government's case. I am not gonna stack the deck against this guy. I will try this case on good evidence only.

---

Maj Biggs: This guy is the warrior's warrior. A Navy Cross, two Silver Stars for composure in battle. He has no wife, no kids, just the Corps. He was our best. That's why he was sent. He's not on trial for the good service he gave the country, but for what he did in Yemen, period.

anonymous Marine officer: Major, nobody wants to say it, but it occurs to me we're trying to set an example here. So let's set it and show the world we mean business. The first charge supports the death penalty, and I say we go for it.

Maj Biggs: No more death. I'll see that he never gets another command and I'll put him in jail, but I will not seek death for a man who served his country honorably.

---

Maj Biggs: What do you think would happen if a Yemeni killed 83 Americans? He'd have a trial that would last for one day, and they'd take off his head.

Lt-Col Hodges: Major, do you know what the life expectancy was for a second lieutenant... dropped into a combat zone in Vietnam in '68?

Maj Biggs: I don't have time for 20 questions, sir.

(later, to himself, solemnly) Two weeks. Life expectancy of a second lieutenant... in combat in Vietnam was two weeks.

---

Lt-Col Hodges: Were your men annihilating that platoon of marines?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: Did Colonel Childers force you to call your men off?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: Do you believe his actions were calculated to save the lives of American marines?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: Would you have done the same thing Colonel Childers did if the situation had been reversed? Colonel Cao, would you have shot a captive American radio operator in the head if you thought it would persuade Colonel Childers to spare the lives of your own men?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: No more questions.

---

Lt-Col Hodges: I'll make you a deal. If you can tell me right now what the life expectancy was for a second lieutenant dropped into a hot LZ in Vietnam in '68 I'll tell you everything I remember about Ca Lu.

Maj Biggs: One week.

Lt-Col Hodges: Negative. Sixteen minutes, Major. Sixteen fucking minutes. And that's all I remember.

---

and the final scene. i saw it coming and waited for it to happen in the courtroom. but the best was saved for last. Col Cao and Col Childers saluting each other, eyes filled with respect, though once war enemies, yet understanding that what had to happen, happened, and they did what they had to. war is never about right or wrong. it's about each fighting for his own right.

but. drawing from this film's wiki entry, i hate its guts for what i vaguely felt while watching it. it is seriously an immensely racist film.

Praised by the Wise

"True Buddhism is not the worship of Buddha as God; it is rather a following of the Buddha into a sphere of simplification where there is no need of God."

G K Chesterton, English novelist and journalist

the adhocs of the 16th

foc: a song for viola
outside ntu.
maintained the precedent of high attendance.
groundbreaking films made for the camp.

dnd: old tales of hollywood
out at sea.
for one night, the school, a family.
a committee, a commitment, and an enterprise like no other. respect.

paparazzi: the concrete skies
weathered storms.

an original script.
a senior-junior collaboration.

i must say, im really very proud of you guys. you're like my kids, just like your projects are your babies.

long live, 16th ci club. let's wish the future can outdo us.

from what i see, it'd be a hell of a job for them to do so.

SBS buses to stop at wherever you want!

win.

another milestone for ntu.

students hijacked e shuttle bus bus stop at SBS (School of Biological Sciences) and turned it into an SBS (Singapore Bus Services) bus stop for just one minute.

I wonder if somebody will come up with a Fake Bus Stop pack were we can create a bus stop on the fly, getting the bus to stop where we want!

Source: themediaslut.com

Praised by the Wise

"Whether the Westerner who first approaches the Buddha's teachings be accustomed to modern scientific or to Christian terminology, he should always bear in mind that the Buddha was not interested in the existence or non-existence of a Supreme Being or any other abstract philosophical proposition. He was interested only in the Way, the practical way, by which suffering may be ended, both here and hereafter."

Marie Byles, the first practicing female solicitor in New South Wales, and a mountaineer, explorer, conservationist, feminist and writer

10 things after he departs

there has been much talk in recent months. SPH just published its epic Men In White. Thusitha talks about it in class every week.

what happens to Singapore post-Lee Kuan Yew?

i badly want the answer. and i seem to be looking forward to this day. it wont be nice, but i guess that's the only way to get the answer.

10 things we can see with our founding father's departure

1. Hsien Loong will cry before he smile for the next International Event. Perhaps there will be a movement to gather 4 million cries.

2. Cabinet has one less mouth to feed, and that means more money for the people. Quite a hefty sum we all know.

3. Yusof Ishak's photo on the currency notes will be replaced by Kuan Yew's face.

4. Lee Kuan Yew Mausoleum will be erected near the Civilisation III IR, and that means another avenue and revenue for the Singapore Tourism Board.

5. When SIA has another internal strife, no one more capable than Kuan Yew can handle.

6. Ho Ching will have no worries in how she manages Temasek Holdings.

7. Pity JBJ is gone. Chee Soon Juan might appear again for some sort of protest.

8. The giant statue of Father Lee Kuan Yew will replace Sir Stamford Raffles.

9. People start to address Lee Kuan Yew as "Papa Lee" like the way Ho Chi Minh was addressed as Uncle Ho by the people of Vietnam, Mao as Chairman Mao by the people of China etc.

10. Singapore will be renamed Lee Kuan Yew City. That also means that when we fly, the luggage tags will be labelled not SIN but LKY.

sooner or later, the Cabinet should prepare for this moment of truth. can Singapore shine without the true commander-in-chief? only time will tell.

and perhaps at the funeral, her majesty Queen of England might appear for the last time to say goodbye to Harry.

life has to go on for the people, even though we have lost a great man.

Source: Internet

of names, stage-names, and something called teh peng.

i happened to get a copy of an old NTU publication and it featured the annual alumni awards, including its recipients.

funny lah. these are some of the winners whom we know much better than their names suggest.

1. lu rui en
2. ser siew yien, diana
3. peh wei siew, joanne
4. dr ng king kang
5. sng ee tze, stefanie

i dont especially love my common name in school, "teh peng", but it does fine. i was given that name (i think it was zak) during my foc, coz chinese names are sick and hard to remember. then a year ago i decided to assume that name fully while running for school president. i reckoned "teh peng" has a much stronger identity. and it worked. so although i probably prefer people calling me thiam peng or tianping, that was a shrewd move. lol.

back to the alumni awards.

funny thing even a certain michelle alicia saram could be mentioned. someone who screwed up her studies during her time here (in WKWSCI some more!). take this, she's recognised in e same category as teo ser luck. meritocracy or postmodern meritocracy, you decide. lol.

a scintillating tribute

i cried today.

the culprit was MTV VMA's Michael Jackson tribute before the show began proper. they decided to piece together a medley for him. what's different is. nothing showy, nothing commercial, nothing fake, and no celebrities to front someone they can never live up to.

it was just Madonna opening it with a simple anecdote of her relationship with the King. a plain Madonna, on an empty stage. the story told of how human Jackson was, and more so, a child. she then openly ripped apart the world, who tried all they could to ruin him.

ordinary dancers took over, in front of the giant screen, showing Jackson's greatest dance hits. Thriller, Bad, Smooth Criminal. it was a pure celebration of his exhilarating, ecstatic hits. the dancers onstage mimicked his moves.

then Janet took over.

i cried. the kind that you didnt have to force. it just came naturally. from tearing it became hard crying.

harder when you looked into her eyes and saw how hard she was going, to put in a perfect performance of Scream.

i think the world felt her, empathised with her. i cried because it must have been hard for her to do it. to perform a song meant for two, one that reminds her for the whole time onstage that her beloved brother is gone.

once again, thank you, Michael.

Praised by the Wise

"The recent evolution of man certainly begins with the advancing development of the hand, and the selection of a brain, which is particularly adept at manipulating the hand. We feel the pleasure of that in our actions, so that for the artist the hand remains a major symbol; the hand of the Buddha, for instance, giving man the gift of humanity in a gesture of calm, the gift of fearlessness."

Jacob Bronowski, British mathematician and biologist

"My name is Tan Thiam Peng and there's something wrong with your government."

23 years of life as a Singaporean. from the day i was born i was taught Singapore is PAP. founding father is Lee Kuan Yew. economic success is proof of the ruling party's capabilities. political opposition is bad. vote PAP, vote the good people.

PAP has controlled the government since 23 years back. in fact, it has been the only ruling party in independent Singapore's history.

i went to PAP kindergarten. i remember i was proud to call it school, proud of that blue uniform.

but today i ask why are all neighbourhood kindergartens affixed with the party's logo? why cant Singaporeans make peaceful public demonstrations? why are there so many taboos? why is there no significant opposition voice in parliament? why did Barisan Socialis quit? why did Operation Cold Store happen?

many people yearn to come face to face with the supreme leaders of the state and question them.

i care.

im politically conscious. i know it.

shixiong, the former president of wkwsci, is a PAP diehard supporter. LKY is his idol. at the Ministerial Forum 2 years ago, he almost had his chance to talk to the great man during QnA.

LKY is probably the holy grail. with that said, his son should suffice as the next in the firing line.

tomorrow is Ministerial Forum 2009. no LKY, but we've got the PM. and ive been shortlisted among the Student Council, together with Yuhong, Layling, Yongxi, Samuel, Ruiyang, to fire at him during the QnA, and also meet the man in person at a closed door reception.

and for all the political and social fervour bubbling in me for the last few years, i could not think up a credible and effective question. and im not sure what to say when i meet him.

this is an extraordinary and uncanny emotion.

as portrayed in the film Frost/Nixon, David Frost, for all his preparations and the maverick in him, froze and capitulated in awe when he finally met the US President. James Reston Jr, a strong critic of Nixon, swore never to shake the man's hand, but when the shamed president appeared, he gave in humbly as well.

who knows.

legacies

as my time come to an end, i would like to reflect in a post long overdue on this blog.

deep, heartfelt thanks to shixiong, zak, phoebe, zixin. even to marcus, jen law, say heng, dunstan. and all other seniors who made a difference to life and leadership in wkwsci.

many people have come to me to congratulate the 16th on a job well done. they said i pushed the school to greater heights. they said i made a difference. they said i nurtured CI Club into a force to be reckoned with, or at least a credible school committee.

some shining milestones are the three adhocs of foc, dnd and papa, which i strongly feel outdid their immediate predecessors.

i cant be any prouder.

to my detractors, i challenge you to prove your own worth. i suggest you see the circumstances i started in. i dare you to look at your own legacy and shout that you were better.

anyway, on that, as much as i have already said it, the 15th made a difference too.

your circumstances were worse than mine. but you worked doubly hard, never shying away from a fight. if you - shixiong, zak, phoebe, zixin - went into a different era, you probably would have made a bigger mark than me.

im standing on the shoulders of giants.

thanks, again.

now that has become past tense.

i am done. two years of my life, my time in ntu and wkwsci. i know i sacrificed a lot for all these, and many of my friends know it. i hope people know i did it coz i love the school. two years of my most important time in university, the formative years.

Praised by the Wise

"Christ's message, which is love, is the more exhilarating, but the Buddha's lesson, which is compassion, is more realistic."

Andre Comte-Sponville, French philosopher

The Merchant of Venice and Nazism had something in common.

make the link yourself. haha.

i like motion pictures

this multiple-award-winning film chronicles private events involving the heavyweights of the Queen and Prime Minister Tony Blair that took place alongside the week when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. not known to the public eye, a tussle was happening behind the scenes with regards to how Diana's death should be managed, made complicated by her estrangement from the monarchy and the infancy of Blair's reign. by not being part of national mourning, the monarch's reputation was falling by the day, and Elizabeth II was forced to act.

A LIFE OF TRADITION DEFINES HER
THE EYES OF A NATION ARE UPON HER
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE WILL SAVE HER

The Queen is a perfect example of a commercial and critical success, earning an unbelievable 96% on RottenTomatoes, and a full score from reviewer Roger Ebert.

critics may say Helen Mirren turned in an Oscar-worthy performance as Elizabeth II, but for me, the show-stealer was Michael Sheen as the then-PM. im not exactly sure if Blair the man is really so honourable as portrayed, especially standing out like a beacon amidst a harsh British world, but fictional or not, the performance was excellent and the character's insight was admirable.

my two favourite scenes~

Janvrin secretly relating the Queen's perspective to Blair, in the process painting her as more human, and setting the grounds for Blair to believe she is not to be blamed.

Janvrin: I understand how difficult her behaviour must seem to you... how unhelpful. But try and see it from her perspective. She's been brought up to believe it's God's will she is who she is.
Blair: I think we should leave God out of it. It's just not helpful.
Janvrin: She just won't have seen anything like this since the abdication. And I cannot emphasise enough what effect that had on her. Unexpectedly becoming King as good as killed her father. I'm afraid she's in a state of shock. This public reaction has completely thrown her.

when the following scene took place during the film, i choked back tears, moved by Blair's wisdom and honour, all of which happened in extreme solitude for him.

Alastair: They sent a copy of the Queen's speech. I phoned them with a couple of suggestions, to make it sound like it came from a human being.
Blair (irritated): Yeah, all right, Alastair.
Alastair (cynically): Well, at least the old bat's finally agreed to visit Diana's coffin.
Blair (lets rip): You know, when you get it wrong, you really get it wrong! That woman has given her whole life in service to her people. Fifty years doing a job she never wanted! A job she watched kill her father. She's executed it with honor, dignity, and, as far as I can tell, without a single blemish, and now we're all baying for her blood! All because she's struggling to lead the world in mourning for someone who... who threw everything she offered back in her face. And who, for the last few years, seemed committed 24/7 to destroying everything she holds most dear!

Praised by the Wise

"...it is necessary to remember and propagate the message of compassion of Lord Buddha so that hatred can be replaced by love, strife by peace and confrontation by cooperation."

Dr Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, Director-General of UNESCO

c'mon bocelli! c'mon nyjc!

WKWSCIDND2009: Old Tales of Hollywood

nyjcians in cs pageant. unheard of.

Lynn Ng Zhixin, 19
Cancer
Pre-Uni: Nanyang Junior College

"A cynic is one who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. "

Her old Hollywood Idol
Audrey Hepburn. She's the epitome of perfection in both inner and outer beauty. Her physical beauty is an all-time classic while her charitable heart distinguishes her from other Hollywood beauties.

Her style
I enjoy experimenting with different styles. I like to mix and match items from my wardrobe to create different looks. However, I tend to favour demure styles more than others.

What she dislikes most/ most want to change about her body
None of my features can be called perfect by any standards, but that's what makes me. I wouldn't want to change any part of myself.

WARNING LABEL
I'm highly unpredictable. I tend to amuse friends with my random antics.

Her most romantic encounter
This is quite a tricky question because I've never been attached. I get my regular doses of romance from novels and television shows.

Best pick-up line
Someone asked me to think of a number between 1-10 and he managed to guess it correctly. When I asked how it worked, he said that he can read my mind. It's quite intriguing, I guess.

Most UN-GLAM moment
I was walking down the steps of an overhead bridge when I suddenly slipped and was somehow propelled forward a considerable distance. A random uncle in front of me had to grab me to stop me from falling further. I stood up and thanked the uncle graciously and continued to walk as glamorously as I could. 5 minutes later when I reached a deserted void deck, I started to bawl uncontrollably. But that was when I was 11 though.

Why we LOVE her anyway.
She embraces her flaws and we love her for that, we all know no one's perfect! And we're sure that the guys will be dying to be there to give her a hand the next time she slips.

Tan Sihan, 20

Virgo

Sports correspondent for Lianhe Zaobao

Helped out in local film sets

Part time model

Pre-Uni: Nanyang Junior College

"why do I always take a walk in the woods and not say anything until you turn to me and I take your face in both hands and kiss you."

His old Hollywood Idol
Monica Vitti. Not really a true Hollywood icon but she did cross over for a couple of films so that qualifies I hope. She starred in two of my favourite films of all time - L'ECLISSE and LA NOTTE. A timeless and haunting face with the deepest eyes and signature hair- they just do not make actrices in her mould anymore.

His style
I actually do enjoy shopping so that explains the number of jackets I have. I normally wear a plain shirt with a jacket over, be it leather, nylon, tweed etc. I try to purchase one off pieces and like to think that I have a unique and intriguing sense of fashion. It explains why a lot of people always ask where I get my clothes from and to me; it validates my point and awesome taste.

What he dislikes most/ most want to change about his body
The baby fats on my face. I'd like to look sleeker and more lithe.

WARNING LABEL
I am always hungering for cinematic instances and references in life and I tend to neglect the rest.

He scores
I believe that romance should never be classified into a singular thing. It should a gradual, persuasive constant. A more memorable highlight would be a date at Kranji War Memorial park.

Best pick-up line
Can I have the time? Can I have a minute of your time? On this (insert time, date etc) is the first time we've ever met. This minute belongs to us and it's a minute I'll never forget. May I have another minute?

Most UN-GLAM moment
I guess it's when I'm drunk.

Why we LOVE him anyway
He has all the traits of a sensitive new age guy, and honestly, what's not to like about a guy who has awesome taste in clothes and enjoys shopping to boot?

WKWSCIDND2009: Old Tales of Hollywood

Bedazzled by the crème de croup of the 1920s and 1930s. Parade in your finest and rub shoulders with the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin. Lay back, kick off your heels and enjoy this true glitterati event under the stars.

To be held on the 21st of August, join us onboard the MV Falcon Princess as we re-embrace the razzle-dazzle of old Hollywood, bringing you back to the times of Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and the like. Forget the big screens, and witness the excitement and glamour of old Hollywood come to life with some of the classiest stars in the cohort. Held for the first time away from land, this special event promises an unforgettable night of class and elegance.

So join us with your friends, and embark on this maiden voyage with us.

wee ride all night ah!

seriously, i personally thought Homecoming-Wee Ride was one of the best things to come out from the 16th CI Club.

i don't know. i just felt everything fell into place. not like they dropped from the sky, but more like everyone is mature and experienced enough to do their jobs, and assist others in the process. people looked like they were having lots of fun. i was happy too. the maincommers all seemed to be on top of their jobs, and it was great to see as their boss. even the little glitches and last-minute planning here and there showed me how steady all these schoolmates of mine are, as they rode through the problems.

i was indeed moved.

finally, worries over trouble during our night-cycling didnt materialise, thankfully. ran into a police roadblock, but they let all 80 of us pass. people didnt get too hungry or exhausted. not a single cyclist fell out; good job grace, xiaoxuan, amelia, sleepyravioligirls!

wkwsci completed a rare night-cycling event successfully. hurray. from just after midnight to just before 6am. that's freaking fast, people!

the best

finally ive done it. in the most unexpected of situations. with the least faith.

a touch of magic helped garner a first-ever win. best og. a first in six orientation camps.

thanks everyone who made it possible. we did it together. a combined effort. the victory would never be complete with any piece missing. thank u, counsellors chengjie, vanessa and carol. thank u, yew chong, the lucky charm (no joke, this guy's won best og four times in his four years in hall 4). thank u, Maori.

i wont say we're the outright best. that's why it's even sweeter. we didnt have alot of faith, before camp, during camp, and at its end.

i was a last-minute addition to Maori, and i was sceptical. most seniors were, of the team of chengjie, vanessa and carol. in terms of known qualities and enthusiasm in hall. the other counsellor triumvirates seemed too good for us. freshies wise, i must say, in my experience, they wernt exceptionally outstanding too.

but that faith definitely grew. u could see it in the counsellors' eyes. u could see it in the body language of the freshies. if u ask me, this was a case of everything falling into place. our counsellors are not the best, the SAs were not the best, and there wasnt a lot of luck with the freshies allocated to us. but none of these were needed. it was as if everyone had a divine right to a place in Maori. as if some higher power had long arranged for this meeting of minds. the combination created the perfect spark. it was unfortunate i could not be with the og all the time, but im sticking with the belief that fate was necessary, and everything was just, enough.

melvyn, best male freshie.
good job, bixia yanying mark michelle lynn julie weisheng shili eddy.
and everyone else, not least the SAs.

Hall 4 FOC 2009. W4rlords - Clash of the Civilisations. Maori.

this is my Day One of Year 3.

9am class.

facing hedwig.

a moody gf.

a 3-hour Council meeting.

Praised by the Wise

"It is a truth which influenced not only the mightiest thinkers of Greece and Rome, but also the beginnings of Christian teachings, which it antedated by five, six hundred years. It may well claim kindred with all the great faiths, persecuting and opposing none which differ with it."

Lily Adams Beck (Elizabeth Louisa Moresby), British novelist and traveller

yasmin

thank you. and farewell.











even though, at least to me, her direction isnt much to be excited about, she proves that storytelling is everything. we have lost a giant. a one-of-a-kind talent. you can have all the resources you can have, but to be able to tell a good story, is a rare skill. they took her away too soon, really.

Praised by the Wise

"...this venerable religion, which has in it the eternity of a universal hope, the immortality of a boundless love, an indestructible element of faith in final good, and the proudest assertion ever made of human freedom."

Sir Edwin Arnold, English poet and journalist

Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.

7.09

the figure to remember.

that's our score, after i fulfilled a dream of 6 years. into my 7th year in liondance, i remember how everything started in 2003. i saw posters around nyjc publicising a cca about chinese arts. they were damn cool and i thought to myself, i want to try something different for once this life, and to find something to like in a school i didnt want to be in. all alone, i tried out for the cca. it was ah mack who welcomed me. then there were qiaoming, yujie, huiyang, sherry, lina, lianghong, christopher, stanley, khairul. there were coach, ms fong and ms lin. then there were jonathan, eileen, ziyun, mingqi, suqi, maehui, benwei, yewhan, wenjuan, junqi, sien.

my journey began there.

i even gave up soccer, my first love, for something i knew nothing about. imagine the sacrifice. i was already in the soccer team and gave up a first-team chance.

i knew back then that the pinnacle of the sport for me is the national championships. not to win it, of course, that's ridiculous. but to at least be capable to compete in it someday.

i have now achieved that.

of course a bigger dream is to qualify for the finals at ngee ann city, but i think that will never be possible. i know my limits.

7.09 is nothing to be happy about. plus the fact that this year the judges give points like free, so many ordinary troupes in West Zone scoring 8+. in the region of 6 to 7 means one must have screwed up a few things. 7-8 generally has to screw up things as well, or just being too ordinary. i guess for us, we were never a 8+. it's our maiden assault, we arnt famous (this makes a difference), our props are simple, and honestly our technique is just average.

but still, we could have been a 7.89, a much more respectable score. 0.8 was deducted for the following~

0.1 for a minor slip while attempting a stunt on the bench
0.5 for an unfortunate major zaogeng after disembarking the bench
0.1 for our wushu performer entering the competition grounds before he should
0.1 for an error during his routine

we're already lucky. the strict judges did not punish us for (warning: stupid incident) my headband dropping out of the lion. later in the routine, i also dropped orange skin while peeling the orange. i picked them up, which is not allowed, but apparently the judges did not see it.

watch 新加坡新洋龙狮运动坊 here.