weili - RIP Michael
ah boon - RIP King of Pop
louis - In God's Hands
keith - you were and are a legend, thanks for the memories
mingxiu - just beat it
pedro - God Bless the King of Pop
jiewei - Bless him
melvin - because 'm bad
sean ho - I want to remember all the good you did for music-lovers throughout the world, shaping so much of what that came to be for so many years and so many years from now. Rest in peace, Michael! You are already immortalized in the world of music!
andrew tien - Rest In Peace
sivamani - remembers Michael Jackson & Farah Fawcett and wishes them peace
jamuna - MJ the best!
sook zhen - stop existing and start living
tasneem - wanna be startin' somethin'
keith - Today, my idol died. FML
melvin - long live the King of Pop. You will be missed.
jeanette - reeling in shock over his passing. Michael Jackson has always rocked our world, and always will.
jiahao - RIP MJ and Farrah
rachel - RIP, MJ. the helicopters are still buzzing above the hospital where you are and i can hear them from my room. shh, it's almost 1am.
amos - oh dear. mj is dead.
desmond - Despite Michael's troubling rationale, the King of Pop's life has expired, but he will always be remembered for his dazzling entertainment and musical ingenuity which enriched the world's ear.
calvin - has always wanted to attend a MJ concert
ros - RIP MJ.
juliet - More than the King of Pop...
deryck - Michael Jackson forever.
praba - R.I.P MJ!
wanyu - How could he have died...
cheeyuen - Let us spare a moment of silence to remember the King of Pop, who has left us recently to spread his culture to another world.
selly - in memory of Michael Jackson
yiyong - R.I.P MJ... we gonna miss u
jose - RIP MJ
dj - RIP Michael Jackson. You were everyone's King.
serene - RIP MJ. You'll be missed.
priya - R.I.P Michael Jackson. You were the man!
shi jian - farewell, legendary moonwalker
lyon - RIP, MJ. No matter how much of a quack they make you out to be just know your music has touched millions.
me - if we run all the lights: 1958-2009
i remember one of the headlines running along CNN's banner was something like "News of Death Fanned via Social Media".
jacko's death had a groundbreaking effect on the internet, slowing down traffic, causing google, wikipedia, twitter, AOL and the first two news sites carrying the news to crash.
at 1.14am of 27 june local time, almost 20 hours after jacko's death, while a bunch of us were at acid bar, the live band's instrumentalist spontaneously broke out into 'Beat It', a tribute, in his words, to our generation's King of Pop.
sweet.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
life's a flash
i find it quite cool that someone/some organisation actually bothered to do a documentary on the new circle line. i caught a bit of it and there was this student interviewed.
he said he now only requires 10 minutes to reach school. from my estimation (as i know where he stays and what school he has to go to), previously he probably needed 20 to 30. most of us are nodding in agreement, that this is a plus. but take a step back and ponder. what difference is that?! can that little time saved be used to achieve much more?
this brings up once again a fundamental and overcooked issue of the fast-paced life in singapore. to rush and to rush, many not even sure for what purpose. it'd be too shallow of me and too weak an argument to criticise this problem and way of life with such a simple perspective, but i hope to just make u think about it, that's all.
i was recently in china for the sino-sing undergrad exchange. nanjing (6,600 sq-km, 7.5m people) and xi'an (10,000 sq-km, 8.2m people) have one mrt line each. yangzhou has none (6,600 sq-km, 4.6m people).
singapore, area of 710 sq-km and population of 4.8m, has four.
when the mass rapid transit was first conceptualised, it was to complement the bus service, the former to provide a transport spine to the country, the latter covering the grassroots. today, soon when the circle line is completed, every corner u turn towards, u'd be met with a station.
accessibility, convenience and connectedness are the hallmarks of the so-called world class public transport system in singapore. im not complaining about an improved system set to benefit most, if not all. but at what costs?
the environment? the increased urbanising of this island, an unbelievable amount of materials injected into project after project, trash, and of course electricity to run all of these.
taxes? do we need all these and are the taxes we pay justified?
fare hike? they enforce 'improvements' and then charge us for it.
and etc, things im ashamedly not knowledgeable enough to discuss.
to further my point. results of a survey of 12 countries released recently showed that singapore youths can complete 42 hours of work in a day of 24 hours. wow.
he said he now only requires 10 minutes to reach school. from my estimation (as i know where he stays and what school he has to go to), previously he probably needed 20 to 30. most of us are nodding in agreement, that this is a plus. but take a step back and ponder. what difference is that?! can that little time saved be used to achieve much more?
this brings up once again a fundamental and overcooked issue of the fast-paced life in singapore. to rush and to rush, many not even sure for what purpose. it'd be too shallow of me and too weak an argument to criticise this problem and way of life with such a simple perspective, but i hope to just make u think about it, that's all.
i was recently in china for the sino-sing undergrad exchange. nanjing (6,600 sq-km, 7.5m people) and xi'an (10,000 sq-km, 8.2m people) have one mrt line each. yangzhou has none (6,600 sq-km, 4.6m people).
singapore, area of 710 sq-km and population of 4.8m, has four.
when the mass rapid transit was first conceptualised, it was to complement the bus service, the former to provide a transport spine to the country, the latter covering the grassroots. today, soon when the circle line is completed, every corner u turn towards, u'd be met with a station.
accessibility, convenience and connectedness are the hallmarks of the so-called world class public transport system in singapore. im not complaining about an improved system set to benefit most, if not all. but at what costs?
the environment? the increased urbanising of this island, an unbelievable amount of materials injected into project after project, trash, and of course electricity to run all of these.
taxes? do we need all these and are the taxes we pay justified?
fare hike? they enforce 'improvements' and then charge us for it.
and etc, things im ashamedly not knowledgeable enough to discuss.
to further my point. results of a survey of 12 countries released recently showed that singapore youths can complete 42 hours of work in a day of 24 hours. wow.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
a choke
last night.
was the first time i choked up with tears over our relationship.
no one was at fault. it couldn't be helped. only time has the ability to change things. and of course, a willingness in u to change.
it was a sensational feeling. being frustrated, and sad, yet not spiteful, or hurtful.
there was a calm. which i realised i haven felt in years. a sense of selfless quiet that only love can bring.
u need time to understand what a commitment means. what is it to hold together a life where now not just the self is important, but another, is equally, if not more important.
it's hard. it's already been so hard. but we'll try harder.
i thought this line last night summed it all up:
"i want u to know i love u no matter what."
even in adversity. even when there's animosity. even when things are unclear and we're in a mess, because that is the only thing we can depend on and hold faith to.
optimistically, i guess there are tears only when u care from the deepest of ur heart.
=)
was the first time i choked up with tears over our relationship.
no one was at fault. it couldn't be helped. only time has the ability to change things. and of course, a willingness in u to change.
it was a sensational feeling. being frustrated, and sad, yet not spiteful, or hurtful.
there was a calm. which i realised i haven felt in years. a sense of selfless quiet that only love can bring.
u need time to understand what a commitment means. what is it to hold together a life where now not just the self is important, but another, is equally, if not more important.
it's hard. it's already been so hard. but we'll try harder.
i thought this line last night summed it all up:
"i want u to know i love u no matter what."
even in adversity. even when there's animosity. even when things are unclear and we're in a mess, because that is the only thing we can depend on and hold faith to.
optimistically, i guess there are tears only when u care from the deepest of ur heart.
=)
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
"and the highest was..."
in another school-emo post after that...
varsity has proven to be a different proposition altogether. u don't really have much of a chance when ur with people formerly from top JCs, people with straight As, in the top communications school in Asia.
the feeling is exhilarating when u actually do well in something. but im so lousy u cant guess what were the two times (ever, only) ive topped my class for.
1. Newsmakers in Hedwig's newswriting. a pop quiz to recognise their faces and label why are they newsy. my only error was spelling CONDOLEEZA out of 24 marks, while the next in line was like a good 7 marks away.
2. Oscars predictions in Arts Journalism. since film is in the syllabus, bree made us do this. he especially earmarked me since im like the film guy in the class. and i was confident haha. although i had quite a few no-hits (too many, for my own liking) it was still good enough for the cohort.
that's all. boo.
varsity has proven to be a different proposition altogether. u don't really have much of a chance when ur with people formerly from top JCs, people with straight As, in the top communications school in Asia.
the feeling is exhilarating when u actually do well in something. but im so lousy u cant guess what were the two times (ever, only) ive topped my class for.
1. Newsmakers in Hedwig's newswriting. a pop quiz to recognise their faces and label why are they newsy. my only error was spelling CONDOLEEZA out of 24 marks, while the next in line was like a good 7 marks away.
2. Oscars predictions in Arts Journalism. since film is in the syllabus, bree made us do this. he especially earmarked me since im like the film guy in the class. and i was confident haha. although i had quite a few no-hits (too many, for my own liking) it was still good enough for the cohort.
that's all. boo.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Conducting a Study
Research Question: Who are the Weirdest and Normal-est Males from CS Class of 2011?
Abstract: people have been quoted as sayin CS guys are mostly weird. tt it's hard to find a normal guy.
Methodology: Vote with me.
Level: Nominal
Current Standings (votes in bracket):
Weird - Me (3), jiahao aka xander (1), gerald (2), thaddaeus (1), titus (1), zhongming (1), jin (4), clement quek (2), aloysius (1), DJ (1), alfian (1), kenneth (1)
Normal - everyone else (4), cameron (1), Me (5), no one (5), edmund (1), james (1), rikesh (1), wenxu (1), jeanette (1)
Disclaimer: no offence to individuals named. it's an open study. if u dont like then dont visit here. both categories were not defined for participants. it's all up to em. so plz dont think too much if u fall under whichever. weird for some may be normal, normal for some may be weird. haha.
Abstract: people have been quoted as sayin CS guys are mostly weird. tt it's hard to find a normal guy.
Methodology: Vote with me.
Level: Nominal
Current Standings (votes in bracket):
Weird - Me (3), jiahao aka xander (1), gerald (2), thaddaeus (1), titus (1), zhongming (1), jin (4), clement quek (2), aloysius (1), DJ (1), alfian (1), kenneth (1)
Normal - everyone else (4), cameron (1), Me (5), no one (5), edmund (1), james (1), rikesh (1), wenxu (1), jeanette (1)
Disclaimer: no offence to individuals named. it's an open study. if u dont like then dont visit here. both categories were not defined for participants. it's all up to em. so plz dont think too much if u fall under whichever. weird for some may be normal, normal for some may be weird. haha.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
among angels there are demons
when we exited the cinema it became obvious there were two camps. one liked Angels & Demons, but thought The Da Vinci Code was better. the other favoured this latest film adapted from a Dan Brown bestseller.
to further mess up the delineations, there are then those who've read the books, bringing to the table the debate of book-versus-film. so there are those who liked both books over both films, those who liked the first book over the first film but not so for the second book, those who read the first book but didnt catch that film and caught the second film but didnt read the book, and blah blah blah blah blah.
anyway my point is... let's get back to both the stories, as films. because ive never read the books.
i find The Da Vinci Code better. but jaime said she liked Angels & Demons more. this can go on forever. but it set me thinking on why people differ on such taste, with this scenario in mind. i tried to understand with her, and im thinking i have the answers.
the latest film works better as a thriller, offers more in terms of cinematic experience, is smoother in its development and structure. and of course, it's not that controversial! i guess i prefer The Da Vinci Code due to its content, history, and nature. i must admit its narrative structure was very evidently adapted from a book. there is probably more talking but i like it that way. therefore, Angels & Demons didnt set me off thinking as much. but i must still give it to Dan Brown for putting together something so elaborate, with clear in-depth prior research. and maybe give it to Robert Langdon for being oh-so-super-smart all the time.
the premise here is the Vatican, papacy and once again another secret society, called the Illuminati. unlike the Priory of Sion in The Da Vinci Code, the fictional presentation of the Illuminati is largely different from the real organisation. here the 400-year-old movement was allegedly founded by Galileo, as an enlightened reaction to persecution by the Catholic Church, another conflict between science and religion. the four cardinals most likely to succeed the dead Pope are kidnapped and to be executed one by one at the four altars, a secret of the underground society, around Vatican City that form the Path to Illumination. it is believed to be a revenge plot for the Catholic Church's purge of the Illuminati many years ago and to end the Church.
to further mess up the delineations, there are then those who've read the books, bringing to the table the debate of book-versus-film. so there are those who liked both books over both films, those who liked the first book over the first film but not so for the second book, those who read the first book but didnt catch that film and caught the second film but didnt read the book, and blah blah blah blah blah.
anyway my point is... let's get back to both the stories, as films. because ive never read the books.
i find The Da Vinci Code better. but jaime said she liked Angels & Demons more. this can go on forever. but it set me thinking on why people differ on such taste, with this scenario in mind. i tried to understand with her, and im thinking i have the answers.
the latest film works better as a thriller, offers more in terms of cinematic experience, is smoother in its development and structure. and of course, it's not that controversial! i guess i prefer The Da Vinci Code due to its content, history, and nature. i must admit its narrative structure was very evidently adapted from a book. there is probably more talking but i like it that way. therefore, Angels & Demons didnt set me off thinking as much. but i must still give it to Dan Brown for putting together something so elaborate, with clear in-depth prior research. and maybe give it to Robert Langdon for being oh-so-super-smart all the time.
the premise here is the Vatican, papacy and once again another secret society, called the Illuminati. unlike the Priory of Sion in The Da Vinci Code, the fictional presentation of the Illuminati is largely different from the real organisation. here the 400-year-old movement was allegedly founded by Galileo, as an enlightened reaction to persecution by the Catholic Church, another conflict between science and religion. the four cardinals most likely to succeed the dead Pope are kidnapped and to be executed one by one at the four altars, a secret of the underground society, around Vatican City that form the Path to Illumination. it is believed to be a revenge plot for the Catholic Church's purge of the Illuminati many years ago and to end the Church.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
giving to a stranger
i just caught this ad from the Kindness Movement on tv. and i went, "that's exactly my point!"
ive been preaching this to many people for a while now, although many (u too, gf!) sounded unconvinced. why do we even do an act of kindness? is it fully altruistic? something that stems from the bottom of our conscience or moral duty is hard to use as a persuasive tool. but look at it this way. an act of kindness indeed goes a long way.
we give, not to receive directly from the recipient of our kindness, but so that he or she is moved to give further, to the next person. with that, a web of kindness can begin. a chain effect, in scientific terms. someday, if such an act returns to oneself, one can smile and be comforted that he or she is a proud member of that movement. kindness is not for reciprocation, but to just make society a little more civil.
and the problem in singapore lies in the people themselves. self, selfishness, and selflessness. we give to receive, often expecting a direct, immediate reward. u can even throw kiasuism into the mix. to make matters worse, people are made more cynical by phrases such as 好人有好报 and 助人为快乐之本. this fosters a culture that receiving is the carrot behind giving.
ive so much to say about this because i was like that once too. i understand totally. but something like what's depicted in the ad happened to me one day and this perspective developed.
either they finally caught my point or something divine passed it on to them.
ive been preaching this to many people for a while now, although many (u too, gf!) sounded unconvinced. why do we even do an act of kindness? is it fully altruistic? something that stems from the bottom of our conscience or moral duty is hard to use as a persuasive tool. but look at it this way. an act of kindness indeed goes a long way.
we give, not to receive directly from the recipient of our kindness, but so that he or she is moved to give further, to the next person. with that, a web of kindness can begin. a chain effect, in scientific terms. someday, if such an act returns to oneself, one can smile and be comforted that he or she is a proud member of that movement. kindness is not for reciprocation, but to just make society a little more civil.
and the problem in singapore lies in the people themselves. self, selfishness, and selflessness. we give to receive, often expecting a direct, immediate reward. u can even throw kiasuism into the mix. to make matters worse, people are made more cynical by phrases such as 好人有好报 and 助人为快乐之本. this fosters a culture that receiving is the carrot behind giving.
ive so much to say about this because i was like that once too. i understand totally. but something like what's depicted in the ad happened to me one day and this perspective developed.
either they finally caught my point or something divine passed it on to them.
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