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.