Christmas play ball

preseason plus the tiny matter of lockout are done, and in two days' time the 2011-12 season of NBA finally begins.

truth be told, i haven't followed NBA for a few years now. my last clear memory of a champion was Celtics in 2008. and maybe my following dropped as my dreaded Lakers dominated the next two finals.

well oh well. ive NBA TV on cable, and im at ESPN now, and suddenly NBA's returned to my life. the upcoming season, probably as exciting as any, now seems more exciting to me.

a quick preview of the season by teams:

the contenders:

Dallas Mavericks

you can never write off the champs, but in this case, you almost can. they were old last season, and they're older now. the departure of Tyson Chandler will hurt them, since superstar Dirk Nowitzki will have to take on big-man duties. still, with a roster of Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, the evergreen Jason Kidd and new boys Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, the Mavs are star-studded.

Miami Heat

everyone knows the Big Three. and this could be their year. LeBron James and Chris Bosh have settled in, and together with former champ Dwyane Wade, Miami are their own enemies.

LA Lakers

some writers list teams by their rankings, but for me the biggest franchise must come next -- for the wrong reasons. all is not well in Hollywood. Odom is gone, so Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol will be a weaker force. what does that leave you? a one-man show expected of Kobe Bryant (again). they still have Metta World Peace, but the player formerly known as Ron Artest or Mr Troublemaker is nowhere near his best.

LA Clippers
no wait, all is well in Hollywood. the other half, that is. All-Star point guard Chris Paul couldn't sign for Lakers, and in a twisted outcome did for Clippers. fading clutch cager Chauncey Billups was released by his former employers, and suddenly the Clippers are a force to be reckoned with. that's due to the small reason they also have DeAndre Jordan, former All-Star Caron Butler and monster slam-dunk rookie Blake Griffin.

Chicago Bulls

will it be Chicago's year, or OKC's? i like the Bulls more, so let's talk about them first. boasting the MVP is no small deal, and Derrick Rose is only 23, who knows what he's capable of becoming. and Chicago were so good last season because they had an exceptional supporting cast. Team USA's Carlos Boozer remains the second big name, but Frenchman Joakim Noah is fast becoming his equal. Luol Deng seems to be peaking, and new acquisition Richard Hamilton should be a significant albeit old component.

Oklahoma City Thunder

the name's not illustrious nor synonymous with NBA success, but OKC are one of the biggest teams around today and you better believe it. at just 23, franchise superstar Kevin Durant is already twice the league's scoring champ. he is ably supported by Russell Westbrook, one of NBA's best point guards. they of course also possess the colossal Serge Ibaka and no-longer-overweight Kendrick Perkins.

New York Knicks

Manhattan's got a new skyscraper. Chandler is strangely traded here, freeing up Amare Stoudamire's burden, and suddenly the Knickerbockers have a real shot at the last-four. with Carmelo Anthony settled, and former All-Star Baron Davis, star rookie Iman Shumpert in the squad, NBA's glam underachiever may be in for good times.

Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs

the two aging teams remain in the running, especially with a shortened calendar... but only just.

the Big Four of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo haven't looked the same since they took the title in 2008. KG is on an irreversible decline, and with 'The Truth' and Allen, are at least 34 years young. in my opinion, this is their last shot.

to be honest, Spurs look worse. multi-hyphenate Tim Duncan is long past his prime, Tony Parker will be praying his post-Eva Longoria form returns to the pre- kind, while Manu Ginobili probably has just that bit of gas left. still, their 61 wins last term aren't a fluke. if they work out how to use the squad optimally, they're in with a shout.

the pretenders:

Atlanta Hawks

this unassuming team can only improve, but they're still a visible distance from touching the contenders. with five-time All-Star Joe Johnson calling the shots, a lot will be expected of the talented duo of Al Horford and Josh Smith. then there is Tracy McGrady. the former superstar is the bit-part guy now, but game-winning ability/mentality is permanent. 

Memphis Grizzlies

from perennial no-hopers to dangerous banana skins within a year, can the Grizzlies keep this up? Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol again will star as one of the most effective frontcourt in the league, and for better or worse, franchise headliner Rudy Gay is back.

Indiana Pacers

with the coaching position sorted out, Indiana will believe things are on the up. most importantly, Danny Granger's scoring burden is eased by David West's arrival, a player even bigger than the current franchise star. but interim coaches sometimes enjoy much luck; a first full season for Frank Vogel can expose a lot more flaws.

Minnesota Timberwolves

this will be an exciting year for the T-Wolves. rebounding king Kevin Love is joined by an impressive new lineup of Ricky Rubio, Derrick Williams and JJ Barea, therefore i reckon Minnesota are the ones who will dislodge one of last year's playoff teams. but the biggest difference lies in not a player, but Rick Adelman, the successful former Kings coach who just took over.

Golden State Warriors
the dark horse among the rest, if GS can toughen up their defence, their game should be more all-rounded. former no.1 pick Kwame Brown is the notable reinforcement to rebound leader David Lee and a talented backcourt of Stephen Curry-Monta Ellis.

Orlando Magic

the very reason i held off writing this piece is this team... or rather, Dwight Howard. he is a distraction simply because he is such a massive player. i am assuming 'Superman' will be here on Christmas tipoff, and the Magic have an outside chance. lose him, and they're finished. the other notable players will be Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson and the new Glen Davis, while JJ Redick as always is the sniper on the bench.

the no-hopers:

Milwaukee Bucks

Andrew Bogut hasnt become the superstar many thought he would, but he's still good and the Bucks rely heavily on the league's no.1 blocker. the team can defend, but they cant score, so hopefully the addition of the volatile former champ Stephen Jackson helps.

Denver Nuggets
im gonna plunge for Denver to fail this season, even though they performed admirably after Melo left them. Danilo Gallinari and Nene have done well, and a very old Andre Miller can still contribute, but players like Kenyon Martin are only returning in March. the Nuggets simply have too little star power. 

Detroit Pistons

this is a messed-up franchise in transition. since their glory years of 2004, 2005, Detroit have declined badly. alumnus of that vintage Tayshaun Prince is their key small forward now. the rest of the starters are all extremely talented, but need to perform night in night out to fire the Pistons forward. the great new hope is Brandon Knight, who was a college phenom. there's Ben Wallace on the bench too, but he's quite a joke these days.

New Jersey Nets

with only Deron Williams, albeit an All-Star go-to man, the Nets will find the going tough.

Washington Wizards

as the franchise lost its headliners, its fortunes have tumbled. today, only John Wall remains. tipped as a future All-Star, the sophomore will carry a lot on his shoulders. the Wizards now look like the Clippers last year, a team depending on one young dude.

Sacramento Kings

they dont look like getting out of their regal slumber anytime soon. in DeMarcus Cousins they have a leading center, while Marcus Thornton can rack up a scary amount of baskets, but that's about it.

Toronto Raptors

with Jose Calderon expected to pull the strings, the man to watch is former no.1 pick Andrea Bargnani. the Italian will be stronger this time round in the power forward position and some have already called him the new Dirk. on the bench Toronto have one of the best sixth-man around, Leandro Barbosa.

Philadelphia 76ers

a pathetic opening last season offset by a credible showing as the year wore on, the roster has largely stayed the same. Elton Brand continues to lead the names, while the coach must decide between two good shooting guards in Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner.

Phoenix Suns

if you're a romantic, two-time MVP Steve Nash and NBA great Grant Hill are your men. but they're 37 and 39 respectively and Phoenix dont have younger guys better than them... 'nuff said.

Utah Jazz

this is a team in transition, and it's nowhere more obvious than having a coach who isnt called Jerry Sloan. there is also no D-Will and Andrei Kirilenko in town anymore. the leadership in this fractured team now lies in Al Jefferson and Devin Harris, who has to fill Williams' big shoes.

Houston Rockets

the small problem at Houston is they tried to trade their top two players Kevin Martin and Luis Scola away but failed. so two unwanted/unhappy stars reported for training and are now gonna start for the franchise. the larger-than-life Yao Ming has also retired, without a visible replacement.

Portland Trail Blazers

it's never easy to lose your franchise star, to say the least. Brandon Roy has retired at just 27, and now all the weight of the city is on LeMarcus Aldridge's shoulders. Portland do have good players, and they'll all need to stand up and be counted this transitional season. look out for NBA's top sixth-man Jamal Crawford off the bench.

Cleveland Cavaliers

the Cavs went from being a top Eastern Conference team to 63 losses last term. and whether they wanna admit it, it's because of LeBron. Antawn Jamison's the big name now, but he cant go it alone. the rebuilding no doubt starts with star rookie Kyrie Irving, yet he's no LeBron.

New Orleans Hornets

expect 'The Big Easy' to no longer be a playoff team. they've lost not just CP3, but fellow All-Star West. to be frank, this season the only player i would watch them for is college star Eric Gordon.

Charlotte Bobcats

they have one highly rated rookie in Kemba Walker. and that's it. end of story. the exciting part is, if owner Michael Jordan wanted Walker so badly, we are in for something special.

Things to know at 25(ish)

source: Relevant magazine 

When you’re 25-ish, you’re old enough to know what kind of music you love, regardless of what your last boyfriend or roommate always used to play. You know how to walk in heels, how to tie a necktie, how to give a good toast at a wedding and how to make something for dinner. You don’t have to think much about skin care, home ownership or your retirement plan. Your life can look a lot of different ways when you’re 25: single, dating, engaged, married. You are working in dream jobs, pay-the-bills jobs and downright horrible jobs. You are young enough to believe that anything is possible, and you are old enough to make that belief a reality.

You Have Time to Find a Job You Love

Now is the time to figure out what kind of work you love to do. What are you good at? What makes you feel alive? What do you dream about? You can go back to school now, switch directions entirely. You can work for almost nothing, or live in another country or volunteer long hours for something that moves you. There will be a time when finances and schedules make this a little trickier, so do it now. Try it, apply for it, get up and do it.

When I was 25, I was in my third job in as many years. I was frustrated at the end of the third year because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do next. I didn’t feel like I’d found my place yet. I met with my boss, who was in his 50s. I told him how anxious I was about finding the one perfect job for me, and quick. He asked me how old I was, and when I told him I was 25, he told me I couldn’t complain to him about finding the right job until I was 32. In his opinion, it takes about 10 years after college to find the right fit, and anyone who finds it earlier than that is just plain lucky. So use every bit of your 10 years: try things, take classes, start over.

Get Out of Debt and Stay Out of Debt

Part of being a healthy, mature adult is learning to live within your means all the time, even if that means going without things you think you need, or doing work you don’t love for a while to be responsible financially. The ability to adjust your spending according to your income is a skill that will serve you your whole life.

There will be times when you have more money than you need. In those seasons, save like crazy, and then let yourself buy fancy shampoo or an iPad or whatever it is you really get a kick out of. When the money’s not rolling in, buy your shampoo from the grocery store and eat eggs instead of steak—a much cheaper way to get protein. If you can get the hang of living within your means all the time, never going into debt, you’ll be ahead of the game when life surprises you with bad financial news.

I know a lot of people who have bright, passionate dreams but who can’t give their lives to those dreams because of the debt they carry. Don’t miss out on a great adventure because you’ve been careless about debt.

Don’t Rush Dating and Marriage

Now is also the time to get serious about relationships. And “serious” might mean walking away from a dating relationship that’s good but not great. Some of the most life-shaping decisions you’ll make during this time will be about walking away from good-enough, in search of can’t-live-without. One of the only truly devastating mistakes you can make in this season is staying with the wrong person even though you know he or she is the wrong person. It’s not fair to that person, and it’s not fair to you.

“Who are you dating?” “Do you think he’s the one?” “Have you looked at rings?” We confer a lot of status and respect on people who are getting married—we consider them as more adult and more responsible. But there’s nothing inherently more responsible or more admirable about being married.

I’m thankful to be celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary this summer, but at the same time, I have a fair amount of friends whose marriages are ending—friends whose weddings we danced at, whose wedding cake we ate, whose rings we oohed-and-aahed over but that have been taken off fingers a long time ago.

Some people view marriage as the next step to happiness or grown-up life or some kind of legitimacy, and in their mad desire to be married, they overlook significant issues in the relationship.

Ask your friends, family members and mentors what they think of the person you’re dating and your relationship. Go through premarital counseling before you are engaged, because, really, engagement is largely about wedding planning, and it’s tough to see the flaws in a relationship clearly when you’re wearing a diamond and you have a deposit on an event space.

I’m kind of a broken record on this: “He seems great—what’s the rush?” and, “Yes, I like her—give it a year.” And, “Time is on your side.”

Really, it is.

Give Your Best to Friends and Family

While twentysomethings can sometimes spend a little too much energy on dating and marriage, they probably spend too little energy on friendships and family. That girl you just met and now text 76 times a day may not be a part of your life in 10 years, but the guys you lived with in college, if you keep investing in them, will be friends for a lifetime. Loyalty is no small thing, especially in a season during which so many other things are shifting.

Family is a tricky thing in your 20s—to learn how to be an adult out on your own but to also maintain a healthy relationship with your parents—but those relationships are really, really worth investing in. I have a new vantage point on this now that I’m a parent, and I give my own parents a break.

Find a Rhythm for Spiritual Disciplines

Going out into “the real world” after high school or college affects more than just your professional life. Where once you had free time, a flexible schedule and built-in community, now you have one hour for lunch, 10 days max to “skip” work and co-workers who are all over the place in age, stage of life and religion.

One of the best routines I adopted in my 20s was a monthly solitude day. I found I lived better if once a month I took the time to read, rest and write, to ask myself about the choices I’d made in the past month and to look ahead. Some of the most important decisions I made in that season of life became clear as a result of that monthly commitment.

Volunteer

Give of your time and energy to make the world better in a way that doesn’t benefit you directly.

It’s easy to get caught up in your own big life and big plan in your 20s—you’re building a career, building an identity, building for a future. Find some place in your life where you’re building for a purpose that’s bigger than your own life or plan.

Feed Yourself and the People You Love

If you can master these things, you’re off to a really great start: eggs, soup, a fantastic sandwich or burger, and some killer cookies. A few hints: The secret to great eggs is really low heat, and almost every soup starts the same way: onion, garlic, carrot, celery, stock.

People used to know how to make this list and more, but for all sorts of reasons, sometime in the last 60 or so years, convenience became more important than cooking and people began resorting to fake food, fast food and frozen food. I literally had to call my mom from my first apartment because I didn’t know if you baked a potato for five minutes or two hours.

The act of feeding oneself is a skill every person can benefit from, and some of the most sacred moments in life happen when we gather around the table. The time we spend around the table, sharing meals and sharing stories, is significant, transforming time.

Learn to cook. Invite new and old friends to dinner. Practice hospitality and generosity. No one cares if they have to sit on lawn furniture, bring their own forks or drink out of a mug from 1982. What people want is to be heard and fed and nourished, physically and otherwise—to stop for just a little bit and have someone look them in the eye and listen to their stories and dreams. Make time for the table, and you’ll find it to be more than worth it every time.

Don’t Get Stuck

This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people.

On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults.

Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. They mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.

Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season to be wild and a season for settledness, and this is neither.

This season is about becoming.

Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal.

Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? What parts of my childhood am I leaving behind, and what parts am I choosing to keep? Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?"

Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love, and with people who believe life is a grand adventure. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned.

Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path.

疯神无双 疯秘笈

瓶中信

把信放到玻璃瓶里丟到海中

这就叫瓶中信

那如果把鸟放在笼子里面

就叫笼中鸟

如果把食物放在盘子里面

就叫盘中餐

把钉子放在眼睛里面

就叫眼中钉

那如果把人放在舞台中间

那就叫台中人

final whistle

okay again another much-delayed post.

it's not something to be proud of and probably not something i should be blogging about, but 2010-11 was my most awry Inter School-Inter Hall season in four years. it wasn't just form, but a combination of factors like FYP and my ailing body.

ISG, which has been my priority the last three years, took a backseat this final year. i dont know why, maybe it's precisely due to my prolonged commitment that im now tired. i only played three sports this year, after three trainings in total. pathetic i know, considering last year when i captained soccer we had numerous trainings and friendlies.

soccer, touch, volleyball

soccer, the one im most proud of in WKWSCI and the only sport i played four years, was negligible this time. we played our hearts out in 2007, we went on our fairytale run in 2008, we had a superb squad in 2009, but 2010 the format became 7-a-side and the pitch was halved. i stepped down and there was no leadership. the new captain got into an emergency situation, and none of the seniors wanted to play.

 
at the eventual tournament, it was a team of all freshies plus clement cher and a 50%-fit me. almost everything was a disaster, only redeemed by promising players who have joined the school - gordon, paddy, amin, michael.

after years of drifting in and out of our strong sport, i finally geared up to play touch, since my exposure to contact rugby has helped me appreciate this form more. sadly we didnt have the services of some of our best players, and only me yanyi jocelyn yini know the game. and we met a very strong HSS in the prelims, bleh.

vball was a joke. ive been a key part of the team for years, but after the organisers merged the sport into co-ed, plus the absence/departure of other guys, i became a fringe player due to some talented freshie girls. thoroughly not enjoyable haha.

floorball, badminton

couldn't make it for badminton as i had the much more crucial IH softball to play. floorball, one of the most emotional sports over the years, i dont even remember anything.

when you're a graduating senior in hall, IH just feels a lot different. other than trying to make your mark or get your hands on that long service award, juniors seem to look to you as the guiding light, the calm in the storm. so somehow, suddenly, IH became a big deal for me.

softball, rugby

i had a bad feeling about softball all along. this was the weakest team ive played alongside. barely any heavy batters, and probably only five or so able fielders. and it showed. although we managed a memorable victory over traditional powerhouse Hall 15, we could not beat noisy neighbours Hall 5 -- in two attempts.

the one i cared about the most and put in the most effort ended with a whimper. after hardcore training and arduous planning, our hopes high, the tournament saw IVPs participating and we simply crashed and burnt. we were supposed to qualify 2nd, but ended last. it didnt help that key players kelvin, desmond and melvin were injured, while IVP zen made a pledge to sit out.

volleyball, soccer

soccer is one thing, since there were enough good juniors, but i had trained passionately for vball, and for the first year in hall i stood a reasonable chance of turning out for our vball team.

then tragedy struck, in the form of gout again. not stepping out into the court for my hall vball is one of my big regrets in college life surely.

thus, an awkward nostalgia. it sucks that 2010-11 was such a bad season, plus i was graduating, yet it feels that was normal proceedings since i wasnt fully in it.

slut lock

Woman asks:

If I sleep with 3 men, everyone calls me a slut.

But when a man sleeps with 8 girls, everyone calls him a real man.

How come?

Confucius replies:

It's very simple. When one lock can be opened by 3 different keys, it's a bad lock.

But when one key can open 8 different locks, we call it a master key.

indulge

one year in the planning, and at last it happened.

although for very unfortunate reasons one of the five couldn't come, the day was just non-stop laughter, relaxing, and htht.

a list of how me, yewhan, jonathan and yong seng tried our best to recoup the high cover charge:

hot pool

cold pool

sauna

steam bath

shower

couch bed + tv

*repeat the above

blow-dry hair

clean ears

brush teeth

shave

multiple drinks

cream puffs

bananas

kaya toast

gingko nut barley

multiple bowls of sze chuan veg pork rib soup

2 x tom yum kway teow

2 x penang prawn mee

3 x curry chicken mee

3 x ginseng herbal chicken

5 x fish 'n' chips

it is important to note the epic lengths to organise this. one year, to match five people's schedules, how about that. the birth of the idea, according to records, had taken place on new year's day.

疯神无双 疯秘笈

大头照

顾名思义

大头照就是只拍大头的照片
是一种身份证 护照用的照片

结婚要拍的是婚纱照
艺人常拍宣传照
在金钟奖颁奖典礼拍的

是金钟照

拿鮮奶拍的照片

就是鮮奶照

Praised by the Wise

"The way of Buddhism is Middle Way between all extremes. This is no weak compromise, but a sweet reasonableness which avoids fanaticism and laziness with equal care, and marches onward without that haste which brings its own reaction, but without ceasing.

For 2,500 years it has satisfied the spiritual needs of nearly one third of mankind. It appeals to those in search of truth because it has no dogmas, satisfies the reason and the heart alike, insists on self-reliance coupled with tolerance for other points of view, embraces science, religion, philosophy, psychology, mysticism, ethics and art, and points to man alone as the creator of his present life and sole designer of his destiny."

Christmas Humphreys, eminent British prosecutor and judge