The Iliad

2009-11-03T20:46:00.002+08:00

"I never had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was."

Well then time to dust off this old blog and finally post an update of some kind. So surprise everyone! I'm blogging again, though I'm really more inclined towards Twitter nowadays. Mm today I'm going to blog about dreams, inspired by my own weird ones recently, as well as funny ones that my sister had and prophetic ones that I used to have in the past. When I talk about dreams here, I guess you could say that I'm talking about those that we have in our sleep, not the 'vision' dreams like our hopes for the future,etc.

Now, I've been having series of weird dreams lately, but as you can expect, I can't really remember all of them. Most of them, however involve absolutely impossible scenarios like my 49 year old ex form teacher marrying my classmate in a chapel. That one certainly had me breaking out in sweat. My dreams nowadays certainly are more haphazard and don't seem to follow the rules and structure of reality.

Ah, at this point most of you will probably say,"Aren't dreams suppose to NOT follow the structures of reality anyway?" Well, I would answer that with the fact that my dreams had actually more or less made sense in the past and were near prophetic in nature. Some of my dreams that were more or less prophetic was the one in Primary 6 about the changing of places as well as the 2005 SYF award, as most of my juniors will probably know.

So, even as I end this post, I really wonder..what makes up a dream?Can you actually control what you dream about?

Ah well. Sweet dreams everybody.

2009-06-15T14:47:00.001+08:00

"Cunno."

Ryry, paehk dra punat bancuh dryd E ys dutyo, E taletat du ibtyda so pmuk. Desa yd rusa ec naymmo xieda punehk, ajah druikr E's ahzuoehk dra nacd E's kaddehk. Fahd vun YLLU luhland oacdantyo fedr Zitedr, Qehoi, Zylamoh, Gahhynt, Gyrmauhk yht Faenah. Ss dra luhland fyc ug, pid yc E'ja sahdeuhat ajan cehla dra ryhtujan uv bufan mycd oayn, drao lyh uhmo ku tufhremm vnus drana. E aqbaldat hu esbnujasahd, pid caaehk dras bmyo oacdantyo, E kiacc E lyh uhmo cyo E's..nameajat dryd drao ryja hud kuha tufhremm aedran. Du bid ed cesbmo, drao'na naymmo cdilg eh mespu. Yht ev yhouha hudelat, dra LU Bnacetahd yldiymmo syta dra pycel annun uv bmyoehk dra ehlnunnald pufehk.

Cyf cusa baubma E megat, cyf cusa E teth'd. Druca fru cdemm nasaspan so cduno vnus mycd oayn femm ghuf fryd E's dymgehk ypuid. Cra teth'd muug rybbo du caa sa aedran. Kiacc fa femm ymfyoc pa uh ubbuceda cetac uv dra cbaldnis frah ed lusac du YLLU, ufehk du ran puovneaht paehk eh ed, pid ur famm.

Ug y crund bucd, pid vun druca fru fyhd du nayt ed yht taluta so bucd, E mayja oui y crund lmia pamuf:

"Decem"

2009-04-26T10:32:00.003+08:00

I don't think I'm going to start this blog post with a quote, cause really no sound-bite quote can really sum up what I felt or what I've been thinking about after learning the results on Monday, and looking at our various members reactions thereafter. Yes, for my first update in almost a million years, I'm going to blog about RVCO SYF 2009. I know that considering its been over a week, I'm quite lag in my posting, but when one is stuck in camp 5-6 days a week, I can't really help it. And with that, I present the update many have been waiting for, a notion I base on well..the clamours for an update on my tagboard. Yes, thank you, to you, my loyal fans Cailing and Youwei.

So, on to SYF. I regret that I couldn't go for the performance, but from the various comments I've read and the reactions of different people I could safely say it was a good performance, and we didn't let ourselves down. That, for one, is really heartwarming and encouraging. Now, I've been on the SGForums, I've read Lijia's Post on the CAB Blog, and I've read various comments from all sorts of different places about our music. Most were good, some bad, and even some bad ones could be interpreted as good ones. Most said how our sad choice piece really moved them, and it was just bad luck that the judges preferred happy pieces, resulting in our underachievement. Others said we suffered the 'Curse of the Choice Piece', mentioning how in 2005(my batch) we failed to sercure a GWH as well using this piece. Some were just plain ridiculous, and I might sound a bit harsh, but I hope that you juniors will not listen to all of this comments. Deep in your heart, I want you to ask yourselves...Did you play your best? Did you enjoy the process leading up to SYF? Have you gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for CO music? The answers to these 3 questions, as I look back on my 6 years as a CO member, really matter more than the SYF award to me.

That being said, I'm really proud of my juniors and the effort they put into this SYF Performance. We might not have gotten Gold With Honors, but cliche as it sounds, the effort put in, the blood, toil, tears and sweat, all of this, as far as I can see, are GWH standard. All the Saturdays spent practicing, all the tears shed over hard parts, all the emo-ness of coordination..as far as I'm concerned, the RVCO SYF'09 experience was a GWH one and one to remember, a part of our legacy. And to end off this post, I would like to share something about honor my commander told me..and that is..no one can give you honor as a title. Fame, yes. Rank, yes. Power, even more so. But honor..honor is never a part of any title. The only honor that matters..is the one that you earn from the effort you put in. The one that everyone sees, everyone recognizes as a result of your efforts but is unable to physically materialize into an award or form of recognition. That is the sort of honor we want. So..RVCO..whether your Gold is an honorable one is never defined by a scribble of the judge's pen. The honor of your Gold..lies in the valiant and preservarance ALL of you displayed in earning it.

2009-01-27T10:16:00.002+08:00

"Some men..just want to watch the world burn."

Yes, I'm back, after a one month hiatus, or maybe even longer than that. Owing to my presence on Pulau Tekong, serving our nation, I have not been able to update this blog as much as I should like. Pray do not misunderstand, this is not so much due to a lack of time rather than it is due to a lack of inspiration. Perhaps it might interest my adoring public, that as part of its "Thinking Soldiers" scheme, all recruits on Tekong are forced to, well, write a journal entry everyday reflecting on the day's events, etc, which basically explains the lack of inspiration I have for filling in this blog with entries. The journal meanwhile, has served as a pseudo-blog of sorts for yours truly.

And yet, I'm back. After so long, I felt that abandoning this blog after keeping it for so long would seriously be a pity. So, it is an auspicious time as any to start a new entry again, on Chinese New Year, after so long. Yeah, so I guess army life isn't as tough as I thought it would be. The key would be to push your limits, and the toughness would not be as bad as it seems. I suppose this is a rite of passage that all men in Singapore have to go through. So much as changed and changed and changed again these 2 months, but I guess I will try to update this blog as much as possible.

2008-12-01T01:27:00.000+08:00

"Winter is coming."

For some, it comes to soon. A long summer has passed. Now, harshness must be met with toughened steel and grit. The winter holds no qualms about being cold to both man and beast alike. It is a testing time for us all, both in its tendency to hurt and its unpredictability. May we all survive. Winter is coming.

2008-11-29T00:34:00.002+08:00

RVCO 2006

Ah doesn't this bring back memories..I was just shifting through some old photos and what do you know..I found this beautiful RVCO 2006 picture, as good as new. Well I looked at it and I found it most amusing..mm yes indeed. So juniors, do look and try to find your seniors, I guarantee its funny, especially since people like Kennard have changed quite a bit since 2006. Yes..so yep just a filler post. XD

2008-11-24T10:26:00.001+08:00

"I commend your courage, but I shall show you no mercy."

Of course, there is true courage and false courage, the latter of which I'm going to talk about today. False courage, I believe, is fostered by a lack of knowledge about the unknown. Of course, when people are unaware of the circumstances they face, they react in different ways. Some will cower in fear, while others boast and say, let us face it head on with power and courage, which is pathetic by the way, and will only get yourself killed, just like that poor little pawn in the picture above.

Fact is, some people just don't see it. Even when the facts are right in front of their eyes, they refuse to see the situation for what it is and thus assume a sense of false courage and arrogance. Well, these people can only learn when they finally face the obstacle and are totally crushed by it as a result of their lack of preparation and their holier-than-thou attitude. Just like the famous general that gave us that quote, people might commend your courage, but in a competition or battle, no mercy shall be shown.

2008-11-20T23:17:00.002+08:00

(From left to right: Jacelyn, Xinyu, JunHan, Youwei, Kennard)

First of all, happy birthday to both Kennard and Jin Xian on this fine 20th of November. And now, on to the personal recount of today's outing. Once again, KH and Jiawei abandoned us and so we proceeded to East Coast Park with er, the five people above and Melvin. Since Melvin had to go Thompson road for his class outing, we decided to go bowling first, and so we did. Played one game, and I missed my average (100) by 1 point. Damn I got 99. That still put me at the top of the bracket though. After that, we procceeded to Subway, and ended up not eating at Subway but at MacDonald instead. Tsk. So after eating Mac, we sent Melvin off and went to rent our bikes. Cycled to Bedok Jetty and I was the fastest of the group. Yes, Xinyu, I don't care, I'm the fastest. So we got there, talked, and Youwei decided to learn how to cycle with miserable results.

We then cycled back, returned the bikes and went to the outcropping/breakwater to talk, again. We ended up talking very crap topics like what would it be like if we met again in the future. We more or less agreed that I would either be a minister or in jail, Kennard would be married and a WCG pro, Jacelyn Tay dunno wad, Xinyu a wife, and Youwei, well, he didn't join this topic. Oh well it was fun to talk about this sort of crap. We went off late after that, so Xinyu didn't get to eat dinner cause she had to rush home. Sorry Xinyu. D: Yeah and sorry Jacelyn for tricking you all the way to Clementi only not to eat HAHA. Yeah so me Youwei Kennard played arcade at JP, and they had Drummania! Nocturne No.9 ROCKS! AHAHAHA A A A!!

So yeah, today's outing was fun, there's a CAB one next week, can't wait either.

2008-11-19T22:25:00.004+08:00

Posting again, after what seems like ages ago. Have been busy the past few days of course, what with the playing and outings and what not, but the family outing had to be the most funnest(yes I'm using a non-existent word) and unique? of them all..so I shall blog about that. Had family outing with daddy, mummy, dingding just a while back. Was fun, yeah cause I was the gandie. LOL yep.

We went Sentosa, at approximately 130 cause mummy was late. But daddy didn't mind. It was unique I guess. We played frisbee, then we went to the water, and because we didn't go into the water, we ended up playing pictionary on the sand. First time I did that on a beach. LOL. Wanted to go Luge but Dingding was scared of heights. :( We wanted to play mini-golf, but the course closed down. ARGH IS THERE SERIOUSLY NOTHING LEFT IN SENTOSA? Tsk. Anyway so we ended up talking at Subway and erm, yeah talking cock. But it was fun. That's what family?LOL is for anyway, to talk and bond. After that we had to hurry off cause Dingding had her class outing, so yeah. Mummy went for dinner with her friends at commonwealth, so me and Daddy went to play arcade, and yeah it was fun, so now..PHOTOS:

RACIAL HARMONY PICTURE!
(From left to right: Daddy, Gandie, Dingding, Mummy)

NICE CHRISTMAS TREE!

RVCO outing tmr. Can't wait.

2008-11-14T00:53:00.002+08:00

Twilight: A Impartial Book Review
by Toh JunHan

All right, on to the meat of this post then. For those of you who read my blog on a regular basis, most of you would have realized that I did a post on Twilight long ago when I finished it. Why this extra post you ask? Well this is the impartial review, which takes my perspective out of a 18-year old boy's perspective and instead switches it to that of a social observer as well as literary critic, to the best of my abilities. Twilight fangirls, and yes I'm talking to you, Cailing, you all should stop reading here since this review is not for you Edward Cullen-obsessed people. After looking through Twilight again, I realized that there were a lot, and I do mean a lot, of incoherent plot holes and poor choices of language, and overall horrifying characterization, which seriously makes Twilight, nowhere near 'Book of the Year' or what other awards that its passionate fans claim it should be awarded. I shall highlight my criticism in 2 areas: literary failing and disturbing social ideas.

1) Flawed Characterization
Now, I'm not a Professor of Literature, but even I know good characterization when I see it. It requires a good flow, transition, reasons for the characters acting the way they do and why they change in character. This would be good characterization. Pip from Great Expectations comes to mind, as well as possibly Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice. Focusing on Bella Swann, her character is almost unbelievable and really hints at flawed characterization. She is introduced in the opening chapters as a girl that is supposedly self-reliant, and clever, etc etc. I don't really see these qualities coming through at the end of the novel. She makes stupid decisions, and gets almost everyone in trouble, as well as herself in danger. Yes, I'm looking at falling for James's plan.

Twlight fangirl: OMG BUT THAT SHOWS HOW CARING SHE WAS FOR HER MUMMY! YEAH BELLA LOVES HER!! OMG!

Nope, can't really agree with that. Even if she really did love her, this doesn't explain her so called intelligence floating out of the window. And the way she treats her friends, tsk, horrible. She thinks lightly of them for thinking of 'teen affairs' Oh yeah Bella, cuddling with your vampire boyfriend and finding ways to make yourself immortal so you can be with him even more and kiss him and describe his perfect body is VERY IMPORTANT indeed, more than teen affairs. Tsk.

Alright, on to Edward Cullen as well. Now a lot of fangirls said that Edward Cullen is a fully developed character that was well written out by Meyer. Ok, maybe they didn't say that, more of something like "EDWARD IS HOT OMFG ! XD" but that's not the point. Edward is nowhere near a well developed character. First of all, in terms of physical description. Damnit, I swear if I had a buck everytime Bella/Meyer used 'marble', 'God', 'cold' to describe Edward's body I would be a millionaire by now. Maybe that's a bit exaggerated, but you get the point. Honestly, repition serves to enforce characteristics but repition beyond a certain limit just gets tedious and hints at a lack of vocabulary. As to his inward development, it screams cliche. The worrying thing is how many girls think Edward is such a perfect boyfriend. Oh yeah, I can see why they're attracted to the abs, and the superpowers, but beyond that, hmm what does Edward have? Oh yes, really cheesy lines and a schizoprenic personality, I rest my case. Anyone don't know what schizoprenic is, ring me up and I will tell you what it is and give you examples of why Edward is schizoprenic.

As such, Twilght falls flat on pure literary characterization alone. The frightening thing is that Meyer actually has a degree in English. God, the horror. Of course, character is only one of the literary failings of Twilight. Besides that, one must look at Meyer's overuse of purple prose, such that it gets annoying and tedious sometimes. Tsk.

2) Disturbing social ideas

This is going to be a short paragraph, cause hell I think its pretty clear what disturbing social ideas Twilight is spreading. The scary thing is that fangirls are actually pandering to these ideas! The horror. Lets see, Twilight tells girls that beauty is everything and it doesn't matter if your boyfriend has muderous tendencies as long as he has marble-like abs and and make your heart stop with his kisses. Twilight further tells girls that as long as your boyfriend is pretty it is ok to reduce yourself to a sludge-like state when he isn't around and become disinterested in everything. Twilight also tells girls that when you meet such a hot guy that loves you, it is ok to want to be changed into a vampire and leave behind the mother and father that love you as well as all your friends just so that you can be with your loved one forever and let his kisses make your heart stop and so that you can glance at his abs all day. SERIOUSLY NEED I GO ON? CASE IN POINT: question to Edward fangirls: beyond Edward's abs, does Meyer actually describe any aspect of Edward's character that makes him such an attractive boyfriend? He argues with Bella, is domineering and says he cannot be with Bella but continues to hang around and arouse her. I rest my case. The scary thing is that fangirls all over the globe are lapping this up and dreaming of how they would 'meet their Edward' one day.

All in all, Twilight may very well be accepted by teen/tween girls whom have vent up sexual frustrations and dream of meeting their own beautiful Edward one day. However, for anyone wanting a good read, this book is oh god nowhere near a gem. And if one more fangirl comes up to me and say how the love between Edward and Bella is TRUE LOVE, well I'll bash their heads in for being so empty.

Twilight final review: 3/5 Stars

2008-11-11T22:35:00.002+08:00

"My Heart bleeds from the very whisper of it!"

Economics today, was ok, but I would like to divert thine attention to something else today. The above picture was taken from a webcomic : Grim Tales from Down Below. It really is quite a good webcomic with a charming storyline so here's the link: http://grim.snafu-comics.com/?comic_id=0 . Yeah it really is a nice webcomic so READ IT! If you have the free time of course. It is touching in some areas, and funny in others, especially if you get the pop culture references in the comic. Very nice indeed.

Until next time. 3 more days to freedom.

2008-11-10T19:06:00.002+08:00

"Even devils shed tears when they lose a loved one."

Well people it was literature today. By god, the paper was challenging in some sense and do-able in other senses, but oh well it was ok I guess. Duchess question was easy, Great Expectations was hard, poem was just..poem. Ah well, guess I have to do well for paper 4 if I'm aiming for an A. Economics tomorrow. Another subject that I must ace. Sigh. A levels, 4 papers left. How nice. And it will be all over. I won't even need to think about studies for another 2 years! Mwahahaha!

Yes, that's it for this post people. Yeah normally I have some political or philosophical or random musing per post, but surprisingly I don't have any today. Just too exhausted after literature I guess. Meh.

2008-11-07T00:30:00.002+08:00

"Allow me to shatter your delusions of grandeur."

Sigh. A Levels are on, so I know I shouldn't be posting at such late times or so frequently, but hey, posting is like writing a journal yep? So I guess I need to write when I'm happy or when I need to vent my frustrations. You know people..have any of you ever met hypocritical people before?i.e hypocrites. The kind I'm talking about, are really those without shame, get my drift? These are the sort of people who are so hypocritical that I shudder to think of the degree of their hypocrisy. They are the kind of people who can proclaim adherence to one idea for now, then switch sides when it benefits them the most. Scary, isn't it? They are the kind of people who can be your friend, and then backstab you, driving it into your heart where it hurts the most. And the most important part is, because of their great acting skills, its hard to even tell who they are or when they'll plunge the dagger into your heart. Worse still, after the dust settles, they will actually have the gall to put all the blame on you, and leave you broken and battered, while they remain content in the adoration of the fools around them who take their word for it and never stop to think and question their motives.

It is indeed scary that we live in such a world, isn't it? Lucky then..that there are still bulwarks of hope against such hypocrisy. In the end, fate and destiny will see that Justice is done, and such lying bastards/bitches are sufficiently dealt with. One can only hope, since the hypocrisy and lying ways of these people means they can deceive anyone but the high heavens, destiny, or fate.

2008-11-06T11:18:00.000+08:00

"Mendosuke--how troublesome.."

Be careful what you wish for. The other day, Cailing didn't tag me to do her quiz so I tagged her and said "Yay I didn't get tagged by you." Guess what? It has come back to haunt me since KeeHeng tagged me, so yeah, time to do the quiz:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 Tag 5 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse.These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. Do you have secrets?
Of course.

2. Would you fall in love with a girl younger than you?
I guess so.

3. Do you enjoy going to school(ACJC)?
Not really.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Economic investment and sound redistribution of wealth comes to mind.

5. Are you a stupid, idiotc, moronic fool?
Obviously not. Intellect of mine is rarely surpassed.

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Loving someone.

7. List out your 15 favourite songs:
花海
Time's Scar
爱诗曲
Maybe I'm A Lion
Numb
Papercut
屋顶
枫
Rhythm Of the Rain
Stand By Me
路
Accidentally In Love
我们的爱
Dancing Mad
One-Winged Angel

8. If you're single and your crush is already attached, what would you do?
Move on. If she's happy, then I'm happy.

9. Is there anything that has made you extremely happy?
Of course.

10. What makes you angry?
Rarely anything. Hypocrites and Betrayal by best/good/close friends comes to mind.

11. How would you see yourself in 10 years time?
With a mirror.

12. Who is currently the most important people to you?
This is seriously a pathetic grammar error. Who IS the most important PEOPLE? I shall assume its person, then in that case..Someone XD.

13. What is the most important thing in life?
Love, trust and a flask of spirits.

14. Single or attached?
Single. WHAT? I AM..SERIOUS! XD

15. What are your favorite colors?
White, Blue, Gold

16. Would you give all in a relationship?
Yes.

17.(I changed the question.) Do you have someone you're willing to die for?
Yes.

18. What are you doing now?
Watching the Stars.

19. Do you prefer chocolate drink or coffee?
Chocolate Drink.

20. 5 people I have tagged:
No one. Tsk I never pass such troublesome things onto others.

Done.

2008-11-05T12:28:00.003+08:00

"Our time for change has come."

Now that the electoral college has posted a 333-145 victory for Obama over McCain, I think its safe to say that this election, one of the most hotly-followed in the history of the United States, has reached its end with victory for Obama, 44th President of the United States of America. I myself started as an Obama supporter but got increasingly jaded throughout the campaign after listening to certain of his policies and measures. John McCain however, did not feel me with confidence either. Now that the election is over, I shall use my limited international relations and politics knowledge to somewhat predict in simple terms what this means for America.

1) Greater Acceptance amongst the world. Let's be fair. The world loves Obama. He has won them over with his charisma, confidence, riding on his campaign of change. Polls, surveys, etc taken by newscasters and serious newspapers worldwide have mentioned that if all 6 billion of the world could vote for the job of the most powerful man on Earth, Obama would have won by a landslide. So, I predict greater acceptance of America in the first few years of the Presidency. Now this is important for America, as Bush basically screwed America's image in just about every country/every NGO's eyes with his dominant and take-it-or-I'll-crush-you foreign policy. Countries now see the USA in a different light again. Factors include Obama's mixed heritage. Indonesians clamour for the time he studied in Indonesia, Kenyans refer to him as a 'son of the soil' while Middle-Eastern Arabs take notice of his middle name, Hussein. It's hard not to like him and the USA he leads, so greater acceptance of America seems to be the norm, at least for the first few months.

2) Israel's problems will still remain and will seemingly tarnish Obama's image of change. The USA's unilateral support for Israel and their destructive campaign against the Palestinians has been a hallmark of USA foreign policy for decades and has caused much unhappiness amongst the world at large, especially the Middle East. Obama, despite his clamour for change, has stuck to the same policy, promising neverending support for Israel, and emphasizing the close ties between Israel and the USA. Israel's increasingly aggressive foreign policy against the Palestinians and their wanton destruction of Palestinian homes and farms is unlikely to add any points for President Obama's image if he is to continue support for Israel rather than act as a neutral mediator for Israeli-Palestinian peace in the Roadmap to Peace programme started by his predecessors.

3) The Economy. I'm not an economist, so I can't really predict what would happen to the economy as per Obama's programme as compared to McCain's programme. And after reading both websites, I realized that their economic programmes used a lot of American economic jargon that is unfortunately, somewhat over my head. But from what I know, Obama is for greater intervention in economic markets, tax cuts for the middle-class and increased taxes for big companies, as well as greater regulation of free trade, plus investment into alternative sources of energy. Well, as an economics student whom has seen the collaspe of free markets worldwide recently and one who always had doubts about the free market system, I believe that Obama's programme would bring some stability to the American economy, and his plan to cut the trade deficit, etc seems sound and reasonable. However, he would have to win reelection, as many of his programmes are far too ambitious to be successful in just one term.

4) Foreign Policy. This, has in recent years, been on the war on terror and rogue states. Obama's stance is greater forces in Afganistan to help the ailing Northen Alliance against the Taliban, withdrawal from Iraq, and greater means of diplomacy with rogue states like Iran and North Korea. For Obama, this means more diplomacy and pressure in the form of international isolation and sanctions rather than military presence, combined with diplomacy. I can see some benefits here, as Obama has chosen not to take the Bush-Cheney stance in foreign policy, which was a "America-is-holier-than-thou" approach which basically screwed America's image in most of the world. A greater willingness to talk is definitely positive, though whether it will yield results remains to be seen.

5) Social Issues. This refers to anything like stem cell research, conservatism, abortion, gun control laws, etc. I'm not from America, so I am unfamiliar with what it feels like to own a gun, but from reading stories in America and rules and regulations on gun control, I do believe that stricter gun-control laws are needed, etc. As for abortion, I'm definitely pro-choice. The pro-lifers that I have discussed this issue with have often argued that hey, its unethical, immoral to kill a baby without giving it a chance to live. I say, it is even more immoral if you force a mother to give birth, adding to her economic woes, and forcing the baby to live a hard life. This is especially so if the mother is poor, or the baby deformed. Are you saying that forcing people to bring a deformed baby into this world, let it get laughed at, mocked, ridiculed and even abused and made to suffer is moral and ethcial? I cannot agree with that position. I'm pro choice. So, of course Obama's victory will change the social debate on these issues once again.

All in all, I have said Obama would win from the time he sought Party Nomination, and now he has really won. Congrats, and do let us see that you can carry out Change that we can Believe In.

P.S McCain, a good fight but and I applaud your concessionary speech after the results were in. Most impressive and respectful.

2008-11-04T08:38:00.003+08:00

"Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis."

This is the story of how the righteous member of the Triumvirate, mentioned in the previous story of Mu. Like the many others, he thought he was doomed forever, when the President carried out the experiment that would sink the continent of Mu. Somehow, he managed to survive, and climb ashore on another continent. He thought he would never be happy again. He was wrong.

Out on the continent, he discovered that humanity has prospered far into the 23rd century, as he had entered based on a time-warp. He found several tribes like Mu's civilization in their glory days, before the foolish choices of the Corrupt One. Now one of these tribes welcomed him into their midst, proclaiming him as an old member, destined to return. While the tribe was raw in their methods and their technology was perhaps not world-class, he quickly found that it out-stripped Mu's and had further potential to succeed. He thus stayed on, and continued working with the tribe to accelerate their potential, in their bid to challenge for supremacy and a return to their glory days.

Most importantly, he found love and acceptance. Where he was once found cold and angry due to the betrayal of the Corrupt One, he forged strong friendships amongst the tribe, which shared his ideals and was free of such corrupt practices and self-destructive tendencies. Success at last, but the mark of his failure will forever stay on his heart, which will perhaps never be erased, for such is the price of emotional attachment..

2008-11-03T08:00:00.000+08:00

"All it takes for evil to flourish is for good to do nothing."

Long ago, on the continent of Mu, there existed a glorious civilization, far advanced beyond what humanity had to offer now. Fearing the rest of the world's barbarians and feeling that the continent had nothing that the world could offer them, Mu's leaders decided to isolate themselves from the rest of the world, creating a shield barrier that isolated them from the rest of the world.

Mu was ruled by a triumvirate which shared the same vision for Mu, let its culture prosper while keeping the continent from the rest of the world. However, in the 16th century, the leaders were getting old and in place of the triumvirate the 3 leaders decided to erect a Parliament to lead the civilization with a Prime Minister at its head. The leaders then carried out a series of scouting measures, selecting talents from the civilization, basing their judgments on criteria such as background, previous services, talents, etc.

Now, however, one of the triumvirate became corrupt in his/her old age. Note that Mu's people were not divided by sex or gender. So, instead of choosing what was best for the civilization, he/she chose its lover, someone who had the talent and skills somewhat, making this decision even before the scouting procedure was completed. One person on the triumvirate saw this for what it was and disappointed, thus gave up, keeping silent during the scouting process and just giving up trying to recommend his/her candidates.

In the end the new committee was formed, and Mu took a total change. It embarked on a different vision from the triumvirate era, and enslaved its citizens, ruling with total power, eventually embarking on a series of risky experiments. The continent sank as a result of the destabilizing forces created by the experiments soon after. A glorious civilization thus was erased from Earth due to a foolish vision that was not ascertained before transferring over leadership.

The fault of the corrupt member for not thinking of the civilization, or the fault of the member who stuck to her/his principles but failed to act on them? An open-ended question indeed..

2008-11-02T01:49:00.003+08:00

"The autumn leaf can never know the feeling of the winter branch."

Long ago, in ancient times, there lived a wise and kind emperor who wished nothing but the best for his subjects. As a result, he abolished the controversial law which stated that the throne must be passed down to his heir, his son, or his blood relative. Rather, he chose to use talent, in that he would pass down the mantle of ruling to the most talented person in his point of view, after discussion with prime ministers and advisors so that a mistake would not be made.

So after all the interviews, they selected a young man whom seemed to have every talent that they could ever dream of. He was charismatic, handsome, wise, had leadership capabilities and what not. So happily, the emperor transferred ruling powers to him, and went off into seclusion to pursue his love of chess and music and the classics. However, when he returned, to his horror, he discovered the country was in ruins and shambles.

Can anyone guess why?

It was cause they had conducted the interviews in ENGLISH!! For all his capabilities, the young man ruled over a Chinese country, and a leader was as good as useless if he could not communicate his ideas!

Moral of the story people? I leave it up to you.

2008-10-31T20:27:00.000+08:00

"I'd rather die than be with anyone but you."

First Blood! Today with History Paper 2. After today, no more need to write about Ho Chi Minh, Aung San, Sukarno or LKY ever again! XD On a side note, the paper was relatively average compared to the super challenging prelim questions.

"I'd rather die than be with anyone but you." I know I have someone that makes me feel that way. Do you?

2008-10-30T20:13:00.001+08:00

"It's now or never. Destiny awaits."

Levels are here people, for me at least, and there are now 11 hours 45 minutes to my destiny. Never felt so afraid before, but never felt so eager to get it over and done with either. It's now or never I guess, so I think I shall be absent from this blog for a very long time. Good luck to my friends who take As and read this blog.

2008-10-29T18:43:00.002+08:00

"And so the Lion fell in love with the Lamb."

Twilight. The first of a series of vampire/dark romance series aimed at obviously the teenage female, it shall be the focus of my post today. Amid shrieks of "Edward Cullen is HOTTT OMGZ!" and "I want to go watch Twilight!!! : DDD" amongst my compatriots and peers recently, I must say my curiosity regarding this evidently popular series was significantly aroused and I so decided to check out the first novel of the series to see whether it lived up to the hype. As usual, I was not disappointed in the general sense. Twilight, while obviously aimed at the teenage female with its themes of forbidden love and dark fantasy, can be said to be attractive enough to warrant more than one read-through.

The plot of Twilight is easy enough to follow. Awkward girl meets shuai but loner kid in school. Its love at first sight, they want to get together but are prevented by the the shuai guy being of a supernatural race. They face another supernatural enemy, girl wants to sacrifice herself so that no one gets hurt, is almost killed and the guy comes to save her, promising never to leave her side again till kingdom come. Along the way of course there are rivalries, love triangles, complications and other things, but the main plot follows this structure.

While the plot is simple, I find myself significantly touched by the themes presented in the novel regarding true love and forbbiden love. Those who know me might find it surprising that I'm commenting on such things on my blog, but hey I did a post on love once. The character of Edward is paticularly refreshing as far as dark fantasy male leads go. Edward is the supernatural handsome vampire love interest of the female lead, Bella. In typical Byrronic fashion, he lacks the self-confidence to restrain himself and shies away from Bella at first, sacrificing his happiness so as not to harm her, and this remains a mainstay for much of the book, where conversations between the lovers often rotating around the same topic of Edward wanting to leave Bella so that no harm comes to her because he loves her so much, but Bella doesn't want him to leave, because she loves him too much, and Edward then blames himself for all of Bella's harms, while Bella says its not his fault. While I believe Edward's love for Bella to be touching enough, such a self sacrifical love it is, the conversations between them revolving the same topic do get a little tedious towards the end of the novel.

Overall, I was significantly moved and gripped by this novel, and I think that yeah its a good read. It certainly changed my perspective regarding certain issues, and mm I think I will catch the movie. Oh and the quote below the picture is my 2nd favourite quote from the book of course, next to the all famous two words: Be Safe. I end off with typical teen-speak: TWILIGHT ROCKS ! OMFGZ!! : DD

2008-10-28T22:52:00.002+08:00

"Water. Earth. Fire. Air."

Yes once again my picture has nothing to do with the content of today's post. Oh anyway I found out something today. CAILING IS NAGGY. hahahah...but its in a nice way lar..I know you want me to do well for my As rite?LOL XD..yeah. Today had consultation again, and muggging, and more mugging, and studying, and more studying..and had a chat with old friend Shanly LOL..since its her birthday tomorrow..yeah.. Oh the picture above is Avatar, which is a nice show showing on TV now, so yeah go watch it people. Hope you all had fun in CO today. Ok short post once again.

2008-10-27T23:51:00.002+08:00

"The only thing certain about the future is uncertainty."

Yay love this picture a lot, but yea can't use it for my HP wallpaper, and after digging it out from my wallpaper archives decided to use it for today's post. Was going to do a nonsense post, or a filler post, but hell since Cailing so nicely asked me to update I shall update properly. XD What is a public blog without fans after all..mm? Yep A levels is drawing nearer, as can be seen from the constant reminders on my tagboard. Sigh. Unfortunately, unlike most people who start with a moderately difficult paper, GP, I, being a history student, start with history. Most unfortunate. Hell wad am I saying. It's downright unlucky. OMG I can't believe that 2 years of education is about to be decided starting on Friday. Well I can honestly say this is the most unprepapred I have ever felt for a major exam, so oh well. The whimsy of fate shall decide my future. Of course, I don't intend to leave it entirely to fate, but it will play a part.

Sigh ok that was a most boring post but I don't know what to update le. I could always flame people, but hmm yeah now's not the time. Oh the High School Musical 3 reviews and outings will be up soon, I'm just too bored to put it now. RVCO Chalet anyone? : D

2008-10-23T00:01:00.000+08:00

"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."

Bleh don't know why but all my posts recently have almost nothing to do at all with the starting quotes, or why I'm posting at such weird times either. Sigh. Oh yeah well one more week to my first A level paper. The pressure is mounting. Nothing much today, just more consultation and muggging. Wanted to go visit them in RVCO, but was just too tired and hungry ahaha. Yeah ok I'm having writers' blog le.

Dingding, cheer up and don't think too much about the problem k? Jiawei, er don't be too frustrated over what subjects to take..let it come naturally. Pearlyn, er, don't think too much about your so-called sucky results yea? Its really quite good le. Er, the rest of my juniors...hmm yeah work hard for SYF next year..

2008-10-22T01:09:00.002+08:00

"ENCHANTIX!"

Hey there people..yeah been really busy recently mugging and what not...and watching this show..Winx Club yeah. HAHA its a nice show k! Before you say I'm gay, an idiot or whatnot, I would like to say that this is a nice show and yeah..although I must admit..most people who found out that I watch this show reacted like that :

Yeah but hey its not a childish, gay, stupid, girly, etc etc show k! It's really quite interesting..with er interesting themes. Oh and many people of teenage age watch it too k. E.g Jiawei, JX, Meng Guan..yeah so there. Hmph. Winx Club is nice!

2008-10-21T01:31:00.003+08:00

F*** YOU.

There. You made me say it bitch. Finally. Someone's stupidity and hypocrisy and just about every negative quality has made me rant out with an expletive. For regular readers of my blog, apologies. This must have shocked you. Nothing much, just super fucking pissed after reading something off the net and needed to push my anger out, which is after all what a blog is for. I finally realized what you're like, you know that. I regret not knowing earlier, and that just makes me even more pissed. You're an asshole, a bitch and a fucker to boot, you get that. FUCK YOU. YOU GET THAT. FUCK YOU YOU PIECE OF NO GOOD LOW DOWN FRIGGIN' LITTLE CRAP SHIT ASS. I regret even knowing you in the first place. Your chapter in my life shall be a blemish I will never be able to erase. The pain and sorrow that you will cause in future will forever be etched. DAMN YOU.

The Origin of Islamic Fundementalism

2008-10-20T23:17:00.002+08:00

"Every Muslim, from the moment they realize the distinction in their hearts, hates Americans, hates Jews and hates Christians. "-Osama Bin Laden

Hello kids! Yep today's post will be yet another intelligent post as we go into an in-depth analysis of why Islamic Fundamentalism, a weak force that was once consigned to the Middle Eastern and Gulf Regions, has in recent years been a force to reckoned with, one which demonstrated its power with the 9/11 attacks, the Bali Bombings, the Madrid Bombings, etc. Differing from my usual intelligent posts, I shall be using a much simplified form of language in response to requests to make this as easy to understand as possible. So the above paragraph could be summarized as : Why do terrorists exist and how did they become so mad in the first place?

It All Began In Egypt

So, we're gonna go country by country analysis, so I thought we should get to the father of modern terrorist thought first. He's an Egyptian, by the name of Sayyid Qutb. This Qutb dude, under the government, went to America to study their policies so they could benefit Egypt, but got pissed by the sexual freedom, liberties, etc,etc of America and instead turned to Islamic roots, believing (quite wrongly in my opinion) that countries should return to pure Islamic rule. He wrote 3 books and was later killed for trying to bump off the Egyptian President. But his brother, Mohammed Qutb, continued to spread his word and inspired people like Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the teacher of the famous Osama. So whoopee, Qutb's role is done.

Wahhabism and the House of Saud
This section will deal with the foundational role played by the Wahhabi Sect in propogating extremist Islam. In the 18th century, the Wahhabi Sect was formed in the deserts of the Middle East, and advocated a very traditional and fundemental view of Islam. Now, this Islamic sect would then form a political-religious alliance with the House of Saud in the 18th century. Saudi Arabia as we know it today was united by the House of Saud, but they were despotic and over-indulgent rulers that were highly unpopular with the people. So, Saud funded the Wahhabis and allowed them to spread their brand of Islam in exchange for keeping the people subjugated and obedient followers to their rule. This alliance worked, and even today the Wahhabi Sect employs several Madrasahs in Saudi Arabia, religious schools where extreme Islam is thought to people like Osama. In fact, the Wahhabi Sect has been accused of funding Al-Qaeda several times over and is accused to be hiding several of its terror cells while indoctrinating Saudi children with the vision of Al-Qaeda.

America's Blunders (long section)

Well, its kind of impossible to talk about terrorism nowadays without talking about the USA. Now, being fed the propaganda that you all have been fed, no doubt many would think oh yeah, its the USA who's the victim, we must help the USA destroy these terrorists, etc they pose a danger to us all. While I do not argue the danger of the terrorists, the creation of these terrorists have to be accounted for by the USA as well, and their badly misguided foreign policy in the Middle East. Allow me to go country by country:

Iran
Iran, recently proclaimed an Axis of Evil by USA and one of the countries in the Middle East. Now what you all must know is that Iran, before the USA screwed it up, was a country ruled by a DEMOCRATICALLY elected president, Mossadegh. Basically it meant he was voted in, just like US presidents. Now, Iran depends on oil for its wealth, and Mossadegh was pissed that the British oil companies were getting more than the international standard of profits by sucking oil from Iran. Normally this was 50-50 or 60-40, but British companies were getting 70-30. When they refused to negotiate with Mossadegh, he nationalized the oil companies, i.e making them all IRAN's oil. The British, pissed about this contacted their friend USA, who then sent in the CIA to topple a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED leader and install a pro-US ruler, the Shah(king) of Iran. This Shah, then with help of the US-CIA brutally suprresed his people using his SAVAK, the secret police. Well Iranians can only stand so much, and in 1978 a local leader Ayatollah Khomeini led a successful revolt against the Shah and exiled him, forming a republic again and declaring the USA "THE GREAT SATAN(EVIL)". Can you blame him? I mean the USA did support a ruler that bumped off so many Iranians and left them poor for so many years. The Ayatollah's rule in Iran was a form of extreme Islam that preached enemity against the USA, which yeah inspired terrorists like Osama in the region also, who saw the USA's actions as bullcrap.

Afganistan

Afganistan was a complicated situation back in the 1970s-1980s. At that time, a communist government had just taken power in Afganistan, and the Muslims were damned pissed, seeing how communism didn't acknowledge gods, which would include their Allah. So, in light of all this, Afgans started to fight against the government, and Arabs from all over the Middle East started to join them. These people were considered Afganis, and labelled themselves Mujahedeen, i.e Holy Warriors. The Soviet Union, communism's leader, thus invaded Afganistan to prevent trouble. The USA, who hated communism's guts, thus armed the Mujahedeen with weapons, etc to fight the USSR, hoping to indirectly wear it down. It succeeded, and the USSR withdrew eventually. But what the USA did was create a group of battle hardened Mujahedeen skilled in tactical fighting and weapon operations. Osama was part of this group, and later his Al-Qaeda got their soldiers from the Mujahedeen as well. That's not all. When the USSR withdrew, the USA did nothing to stabalize Afganistan, and civil war broke out. Eventually, the Taleban, a small group of fanatics not even known intially, seized power. WHY? Well the USA channelled funds to Pakistan, Afganistan's neighbour as they were pals. Pakistan was looking at oil reserves next to Afganistan and hoped to kope these oil by building a line through Afganistan. They needed therefore a friendly Afganistan and armed the Taleban using US money with weapons etc such that they were able to seize power. Why is this so important you ask? Well the Taleban is sort of a fanatical group who's beliefs are extreme and they support terrorists like Osama, which is why he can hide there and remain uncaptured for so long. The USA blew it big time in Afganistan.

The Gulf War

US involvement in the Gulf War was heavy, but I shall just limit it to how it caused Osama to be pissed with it. Bascially, Saudi Arabia, pals with the USA and a major exporter of precious oil, was in danger of being invaded by Iraq, the antagonist in the war. Osama offered his Al Qaeda to the King to protect him, as Osama hated Iraq's guts as well. The king, Faud, refused and instead chose US troops as protection, which saw US troops entering Saudi Arabia and stationing at Meeca and Medina, the two most sacred sites in Islam. You may not think this a big deal, but to Islamists like Osama it's as if someone had entered your house and shitted on your dining table. That's how angry he was, and what led to him calling for the destruction of the USA and subsequent terror attacks against it.

Pro-Israeli Policy

Israel, a country created by Jews for the Jews in the Middle East, was supported by an increasingly pro-Israeli policy of the USA following its tremendous victory in the Six Day War of 1967. Israel, a country created out of the fears of a repeated Holocaust, grew increasingly aggressive and hostile to the resident Palestines on its land, launching attack after attack by its army against harmless Palestinian civillians. Its actions have been repeatedly condemned by human rights organizations as well as the UN. It is impossible to grasp the desparation and fear felt by the Palestinians without mentioning how brutal the Israelis are in dealing with them. Their policies towards the Palestinians is nothing short of robbery, exploitation, brutality, massacre and destruction. Hypocritical indeed, considering that Israelis have repeatedly mentioned that their actions were in "self-defense". But more on that in other posts. So how does the Israeli Army carry out their acts of brutality? Easy. With American choppers, planes, weapons and missiles of course. The USA's unashamed support of Israel means that Israel is the highest recipeint of US aid yearly, allowing it to turn its IDF into one of the most advanced fighting forces today. How does this encourage Islamic terrorism you ask? The answer is HAMAS. HAMAS is a Islamic group driven to terrorism after the brutality of the IDF in massacring Palestinians. It rejects the PA's solution of negotiating with Israel, believing that Israel has no right to exist and striving for its destruction through the use of Islamic indoctrination and suicide bombers. The IDF's brutal attacks just drive more and more of the desparate into its arms. Once again, the USA has screwed up and brought more trouble for itself by adopting a Pro-Israeli Policy and shielding their brutal suppression and techniques as "self-defense"

In conclusion, we can see that Islamic terror today is very much a creation of the USA's stupidity as it is of foundational factors placed for the USA to act as a catalyst for. One can only hope that the USA does not see fit to continue its increasingly high-handed approach and utterly stupid foreign policy it conducts in the Middle East, which seeks to enrich itself while enslaving the Middle Eastern countries, ironically in the name of democracy and helping nations achieve soverignity.

Outing

2008-10-18T21:14:00.003+08:00

"There's the people you've known forever."

Yep people a change in posts recently for a more narrative and personal recount type post. RVCO Outing today! with the people in the picture above. Went for dimsum at Miramar Hotel. Pearlyn booked the table for us, so thank you Pearlyn! Yep had 2 rounds of dimsum and we were finished. Too full. There was a lot of stuff I couldn't eat, but I had fun as the food was relatively good. Jaywalked across the road after that while the rest of them preferred to be good citizens and take the overhead bridge. Went to Central Mall after that to slack off and talk, so we ended up in a Kopitiam after me buying a Snoopy toy for Jiawei. -.-. Yeah she was jumping for joy..how typical of Jiawei the Sun. LOL XD. Yeah then talking at Kopitiam was fun, since I guess RVCO outings have more often than not ended up in talking sprees. : D.

Went to watch some Japanese Festival drum performance after that and ended the outing with a delicious Hokaiddo Ice Cream, which was expensive. Yeah then took MRT home with Jiawei Kennard Youwei while the rest took their respective paths home.

Yeah and so we're slacking at home now. RVCO XD

Tarot(Part I)

2008-10-13T04:04:00.015+08:00

Bleh, its 4 AM in the morning and I can't sleep so what the hell, I decided to do a post after reading something about impressions of people. LOL yeah this will be a fun post. Being a subscriber to methods of the arcane such as fortune telling, I could not help but suddenly assign certain tarot cards to each of my RVCO people, based on impressions of course. So this will probably be a two-part post. Yeah, cause otherwise it would be too long. Tarot of course, is the ancient western form of fortune telling using well tarot cards.

I-The Magician:
Judith

Well, the beginning is a good place to start, and the moment I thought of this card, only one person came to mind: Judith! Yep XD. Note that cards are not determined by sex, so yeah for all you want the magician can be renamed the enchantress or whatever a female magician is called. The Magician is the first card of the Tarot deck and represents creativity, energy, personal will and action. Well, the creative and free spirited stuff surrounding this card just sort of led me to think of Judith, yeah. Art student yo! LOL and as I can testify to, a lot of free will and energy in talking and being hyperactive as well. Or so my impressions of her are. LOL so yes, Judith the Magician.

II-The High Priestess:
Pearlyn

Let's see, this card represents knowledge, serenity, wisdom, inward looking, patience. Hmm yep definitely Pearlyn. Like even what JX said, she has the si wen look. Oh and she's a bloody mugger, so the wisdom part definitely fits, LOL. Serenity, hmm I dunno. I've never seen her get angry before, but I could be wrong, but until then, yeah I think this card suits her.

III-The Empress:
??

Yeah, the Empress represents beauty, health, physical attraction, sensuality, etc. In modern lian and teen speak it means the CO chio bu, the class belle, the xiao hua etc. Yep. I dunno, we all have very different interpretations of beauty, so I have problems putting down someone here., since you all might not agree. LOL Dingding! You should get what I mean..Yeah, of course our flower girls come to mind, like Kristie and Jiawei, but there are others as well..

IV-The Emperor:
Myself! XD

Contrary to popular belief, the Emperor and Empress do not have to be a pair or related to each other. Looking at the emperor, he represents Power, authority, leadership, charisma, decisiveness but old fashioned stuborness and conservatism. Yep, definitely myself. Arrogant but stuborn but nice as well ! : D

V-The Hierophant/Pope:
Youwei

Yeah before any of you get any negative connotations regarding this card, the Pope represents tradition, discipline, maturity, experience and conservativeness. As far as CO goes, I sort of think that fits Youwei. He's disciplined, as I can hear from his claims of scolding chit-chatting sec1s. He shows a high regard for the orthodox school of CO thought, explaining the traditional part bit. He's experienced, being a sec4 and going through a SYF and concerts. The maturity part is debatable, but considering most of CO is childish anyway, meh.

VI-The Lovers:
SCANDALS

LOL I don't think this card represents any particular person is CO per say, it sort of represents union, love, romance, passion, desire. So, yeah this card represents scandals in CO. We should probably award this to the person with the most scandals, so anyone want to tell me who this is?

VI-The Chariot:
Kennard!

Yep, this card definitely represents our junior Kennard! The Chariot represents energy, egocentrism, self confidence. Yea and as anyone who knows Kennard will be willing to tell you, he has all 3 in abundance. Energy is seen in his tai-feng and stage flair on well, stage. The latter bit is in his infamous rants about how he's a shuai-ge and all that LOL. Yeah I'm sure everyone knows what I mean. EGO is the word. Yep Kennard.

IX-The Hermit:
Kee Heng

This card represents a philosophical attitude, knowledge, inner fulfilment, seeking answers. looking inward, quiet. Yep. Although most CO people don't have these qualities, I think Kee Heng fits these requirements quite well..although his philosophy seems to centre somewhat on cynicism, which might not be all that good. And I guess his general knowledge is only second to mine..so yep my impressions of Kee Heng.

XI-Justice:
Siyuan

Yep, the card represents logic, impartiality, intellect, decision-making, clear vision which immediately draws our mind to Siyuan, the president of our beloved CO! Yea I guess as a leader she has all these qualities, from the speeches she made to the CO to the conversations that I sometimes have with her. Yea Justice, definitely Siyuan. No one can really forget all the speeches she made during Zhiyin after all.

XVII-The Star:
Jacelyn

LOL. Yea the star represents good will, harmony, optimism, trust, faith, etc. Wow that's a lot of good things. Dunno, this sort of reminded me of the friendship between Jiawei and Jacelyn, but hey, since Jiawei is already something else, lol Jacelyn is the Star then.

XIX-The Sun:
Jiawei

Yea LOL you'd probably complain why you're so far below, but hey I go by the numbering of the cards, Piawei, so bleh XD haha you're the 19th. So, the Sun represents innocence, happiness, non-criticism, positive feelings, energy, enthusiasm, etc. LOL I think that's kind of self-explanatory, considering Jiawei's vibrancy and random wheebooms in RVCO conversations. Innocence, LOL well at least she's more innocent than Jacelyn HAHAHA. Yep, that's it for Jiawei the Sun.

Well, as you can see I've tried to include a wide range of people across the board, all whom I know pretty well compared to others in CO, yea, oh and just in case Xinyu starts flaming me for not featuring cellobass more in this post and showing a certain bias, relax...that's what the second part of two-part post is going to be about..XD

The 2007-2008 Economic Crisis

2008-10-11T20:50:00.004+08:00

"Economics is, at root, the study of incentives."

Indeed, with that opening quote I shall now do an intelligent post on an analysis of the current economic crisis which I'm sure many of you have heard about. Readers of this blog, if you haven't, you probably live in Burma or North Korea, or are mugging for what you see as the more important end-of-year examinations. But since many of my friends have actually asked me about what are the origins of this economic crisis and what's the big deal anyway, I shall endeavor, in this post, to use my scant 2 years of JC economics knowledge to explain it simply to all of you why your dads and mums are quivering now and are complaining about the conditions.

To examine the crisis now, we must of course start at its foundational factors. The foundation for such a crisis indeed was the surge in oil prices of 2007-08. Now, most of you have probably heard about the complaints about high oil prices. Quite simply, this is because of the rapid industrialization of developing countries like China and India. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that with new factories you need more oil to make machines work, and therefore demand for oil has increased. However, oil supply has largely remained the same, which drives prices up, as people are willing to pay more as they desperately need it. Oil doesn't have many substitutes after all. I doubt if any major factory can operate solely on HEP or wind turbines. This surge in price is made worse by speculators. And of course, the oil crisis aggravates the food crisis, which is our second factor.

Food prices rose dramatically in tandem with oil prices, which is also a cause of several reasons. The primary reason being oil is needed to operate tractors, etc, so with increased oil prices it costs more to produce food. Also, owing to countries developing rapidly, people who grow richer also demand more food like meat and beef etc. Furthermore, droughts and certain foods being burnt for biofuel instead of well food leads to decreased supply. Once again, increased demand plus decreased supply=increased costs of food.

Of course, that was just a crisis in the commodity sector. Now, we go on to the subprime crisis. Many have asked me just what the hell does this mean. Well basically, it refers to the property crisis in the USA. In 2005-8, banks in the USA got hell lot of foreign funds and money, as a result of investors being confident in the country's economy, thus investing to make a quick buck. The increase in funds meant banks could lend out money more easily, as they had more funds. Banks make money by lending money with interest rates, so of course they were motivated to lend more easily. As a result, they practiced subprime lending, which is basically lending to people who fall below security level. For example, previously I may not have been able to qualify for a loan of let say 10k cause i have no income, etc. But now, due to the increase in funds, banks are willing to lend it to me, and are not afraid of me not paying back in time, cause hell they have alot of cash. The result: People start borrowing like crazy to buy houses and property, desparate to own a home. This led to increased building etc in the property sector. More and more and more houses were built, until there was over-supply, leading to fall in property prices and decrease in value of homes. Eg, there could possibly only be 1 bungalow worth 450k but due to more bungalows being built its now worth only 200k. This significant decline in worth of housing led to increasing rates of foreclousre, which basically means banks can't get their money back. The fear of foreclousre and inability to get cash back led to almost a liquidity crisis in banks which leads into the next section. But first, decline in housing prices meant consumers (that's us) have less wealth as well, since we're not sure our houses are worth so much anymore. Therefore, we consume less, and consumption is part of AD, which i will explain later.

On to liquidity first, which is what many of you probably heard about. Basically, liquidity is the ease of buying and selling an asset. In banks, which we will be focusing on here, it means how easily the bank can well, provide currency to borrowers or to pay for its operations. Now, we heard about how people bought their houses, prices decreased and were unable to pay back loans as a result of foreclosure. Well, as a a result, this er.."bankrupted" banks, they were unable to get their money back and this led to liquidity crisis. They were unable to pay for stuff, etc, which led to er Lehmann Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, etc all going under. The USA Federal Reserve and Warren Buffet though, were able to save some other big banks like Goldman Sachs by giving them cash.

Now why is this important? Well banks reflect a country's economic health, and if major banks are having liquidity problems, it means businessmen probably can't borrow cash to invest, to build up their businesses and create jobs. They can't even borrow to cover cost etc. Remember, the banks have no money owing to the property bubble bursting. As a result, businessmen will probably start to cut operating costs by shutting down stuff and laying off people, leading to increased unemployement. In the USA, that's a problem. The USA's people love to buy and import. Bags from Gucci, LV, Cars from Honda, Mitsubishi, etc. The USA's demand for these imports form a huge part of the national income of countries like Italy(Gucci) and Japan(Honda). Not to mention the manufacturing plants of these firms in countries like Singapore and China. So, if USA's people, as a result of unemployment and lack of cash, demand less of this, it means loss in income for like 2/3 of the world's countries as well. This is a more practical loss. Meanwhile, seeing banks like Freddie Mae, with such stability intially collasping, has probably sparked fears in investors in other countries as well. They think: If even FreddieMae can collaspe, my shares and stuff are in trouble. Speculating the prices will slide, all of them sell, causing a even bigger crisis in the stock market.

So, besides the financial crisis, I shall use a more simple economic model to explain why other countries economies slide as well. All economies are basically made up of C, I, G, (X-M). C refers to consumption by consumers, which are us, the common people. For example, when I buy a bike, I'm consuming. I stands for investment. This occurs when businessmen build like factories and offices, etc. This is an investment. G is government spending. For example, when the goverment builds new schools and MRT lines etc. X-M is net exports, which is basically how much we earn from exporting our goods. For example, milk bottles made in Singapore sold to India. Using Singapore as an example, we can already see why the economic crisis affects us. Clearly, we are a small market and we depend highly on exporting to other countries. E.g if we sell milk bottles to everyone in China we would clearly make more than if we sell it to only our own people. Our net exports thus form a huge part of our economy. The USA is the biggest swallower of our exports. Now that they demand less, our exports decrease and boom! we get less money, affecting our economy severly. Furthermore, we look at the worldwide crisis and being a kiasee lot, we say: better not spend too much, must save for a rainy day. BOOM! our consumption, C decreases and our economy gets worse. Thus, by using these two examples we can see how our economy is already suffering from the crisis.

Of course, this crisis is only quite temporary but will only abate if a few things occur. Speculators stop causing crisises to fall. Greater regulation on banks and lending. More government spending and consumption. Prices of oil start to fall. Only such drastic actions will help reboot the global economy. Yea. Any questions, feel free to ask on the tagboard. I know that was a long post, and I probably didn't cover all aspects, but hey I had to make it simple.

Quiz

2008-10-05T01:27:00.002+08:00

Bleh..Cailing tagged me to do this quiz..so sigh here we go..

1. The person who tagged you is.
Cailing. XD

2. Your relationship with her is.
GOOD FRIENDS. LOL XD

3. Your five impressions of her.
Er..hmm..eh...lol...er Hysterical, crazy, funny, cute, pretty! (LOL must say this otherwise say i criticize her all the way.)

4. The most memorable thing she had done for you.
Wow..erm..memorable thing..oh fine haha she dedicated a blog post on her blog to me! Yep XD

5. The most memorable thing she said to you.
"*hands covering face with tears splashing from face*"
" I'M SO TOUCHED! " lololololol !"

6. If she is your lover, you will.
LOLOL *SHOOTS MYSELF* *BANG*..lol my sanity will not be able to take it.

7. If she is your lover. The thing he/she has to improve on will be.
LOL er..eh..no lar she's perfect *bleh*

8. If she becomes your enemy, you will.
Run away. I don't fight girls. XD

9. If she becomes your enemy, the reason will be.
Cause she revealed my film script to the world. See lar hmph. XD

10. The most desired thing to do for her now is.
LOL WTH? er...eh...

11. Your overall impression of her.
HAHA er cute junior who is quite crazy and fun to be with.

12. How do you think people around you will feel about you.
I couldn't really care less. I'm the loner type...I guess.

13. The characters you love about yourself.
Hmm..lol too many to list. I'm a Leo, arrogant mm? Yeah we love ourselves. Intelligence comes to mind.

14. On the contrary, the characters you hate yourself are.
Nothing much to hate. XD

15. The most ideal person you want to be is.
Karl Marx.

16. For people that care and like you, say something to them.
Thank you.Thank you.

17. Pass this quiz to 10 persons that you wished to know how they feel about you. Pass to people that have blogs only. It's typed randomly, no preference whatsoever.

Don't need to do, I hate passing on these boliao quizes..unlike Cailing XD.

1. Cailing
2. Pearlyn
3. Kennard
4. Xin Yu
5. Jiawei
6. Bena
7. Jacelyn
8. Wei Ren
9. Judith
10. Youwei

18. Who is no. 6 having relationship with?
Bena..hmm no one that I no of.

19. Is no. 9 a male or female?
Judith..Girl..Female..

20. If no. 7 and 10 are together, will it be a good thing?
Jacelyn and Youwei..I don't really think so..and I'm sure we all know why! XD

22. What is no. 2 studying?
Pearlyn..Hmm physics?Bio?everything?

23. When was the last time you had a chat with no. 3?
Kennard. Hmm..yesterday. RVCO convo.

24. What kind of music band does no. 8 like?
Weiren. No idea, couldn't care less.XD

25. Does no. 1 have any siblings?
Cailing..hmm I dunno?Do you?

26. Will you woo no. 3?
Kennard.LOL NO NO NO. I'm 100% STRAIGHT.

27. How about no. 7?
Jacelyn. LOL NOPE. She got *ahem* and *ahem* and *ahem* le.

28. Is no. 4 single?
Xin Yu. LOL LOL ok I shall be a good senior and put yes.

29. What is the surname of no. 5?
Jiawei..Chen.

30. What is the hobby of no. 10?
Youwei..Sheng?

31. Does no.5 and 9 get along well?
Judith and Jiawei..mm..no talk much.

32. Where is no. 2 studying at?
Pearlyn.RV.

33. Talk something casually about no. 1?
Cailing. Er...eh..HAHAHA..

34. Have you tried developing feelings for no. 8?
Wei Ren. LOL NO NO NO. I'm 100% straight.

35. Where does no. 9 live at?
Judith. Clementi.

36. What colour does no. 4 like?
Xin Yu. Wow regrettably I don't know..D:

37. Are no.5 and 1 best friends?
Cailing and Jiawei..I doubt it.

38. Does no. 1 have any pets?
Cailing. Yep.Hamsters..

39. Is no. 7 the sexiest person in the world?
Jacelyn. Er nope.

40. What is no. 10 doing now?
Youwei?Sleeping I guess..

Meh wad a stupid post. Thank me for this Cailing!!

Love

2008-10-04T22:45:00.002+08:00

"Nothing but knowing you loved me, too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine."

Yes ladies and gentleman, today my post shall be on the abstract yet unifying topic of love. Well I don't really profress or claim to be an expert on the subject, but this is after all my blog so I shall air my views. Love..is a most beautiful emotion. And yet, under circumstances, it can turn most appalling, painful, ugly, mutated. Such an emotion can indeed be only felt by we humans, a most complex species as we are.

They often say: True love is unconditional. If you loved someone, you wouldn't demand anything in return. You would not want her affection back, you would not want your love to be rewarded, because for you the feeling of being loved is already enough. However, I have some friends who say,"I have an unconditional love for [Insert girl's name here]. For me, loving her is its own reward." Well while I often try not to chortle at this statement, I cannot help but notice the sheer irony in it. They claim their love is unconditional, and yet they only love "her" because they get a kick out of "loving". That's not unconditional. The condition, the reward was the feeling of loving someone. Of course, it is less conditional than say affections being returned or material rewards, but this does not make the statement any less ironic. The fact is, unconditional love is far and far between. In a world where capitalist values are,well, valued above other things, it would seem that most love has been "conditionalized".

Sounds pessimistic, doesn't it? Christian conservatives quickly point to Jesus Christ and God, saying how their God's love must be unconditional, that he loves us even though he didn't need to, and how he gave his only son to die for us, etc. Nothing against the Christian religion, but bollocks say I. But for the love of God, I shall not try to turn this into a philosophical post, so please turn to my other blog if you want to view this argument.

Back on topic, on teenage love and relationships. Heh, nothing much to say here. Many say that this sort of love is "puppy love", that it won't last, that its just having a fling, etc. And yet, I have seen successful cases, friends and cousins and relatives who got married with their crush from high school/secondary school, lovers faithful to the end. Such cases only renew my faith that love is possible, even amongst raging hormones which shift attitudes as quickly as China food scares. Sure, 90% of teen BGRs end in failure, but oh well, there is that 10% which succeeds. Conditional?I don't know. Unconditional? I can't say for sure either.

And so, love. An idealized version of human spirit, inspiring us over the decades with its capacity to bring out the best in humanity. Without love, I doubt we would be here, but oh well. Love is blind, after all.

HAHAHA

2008-09-24T21:05:00.003+08:00

"The more blatant a lie, the more people will believe it."

Yeah apparently some people think my quotes are funny and random, so there you have it! Today's totally random picture and quote of the day! If you don't recognize the fellow up there, you can jump off a building! XD . So yeah, my random filler post for today, until I get inspiration and material to do a diary-like entry, here is today's random philosophical/analytical musing. Yep, the power of lies. *cue dramatic music*

Lies. Humanity's great sin, and the one sin that I guess that everyone has committed before. Any one who said they have never lied before is either 1) A liar or 2)Doesn't exist. Not that I doubt human nature, but come on! Even saints lie. Look at Peter, disciple of Jesus. He rennounced Jesus thrice! And yeah, the more blatant a lie, I really do guess the more people believe it. Cause its really hard to verify. If you for example, say you have killed 10000 people, I doubt if people really have the enregy to count and verify it, even though you may end up in jail eventually. In contrast, saying you were responsible for an individual's death would earn you a one-way ticket to the jailhouse almost immediately, unless you're experienced at decieving the police.

Yeah, so people, The Art of Lying. Might come in handy when telling "Truths" at Truth or Dare games in future people. Yep. Take care until my next post. :D

Flames

2008-09-18T18:44:00.002+08:00

"Flames represent hope for those who have none."

Yeah RVCO! LOL yep as you can probably guess, the above picture was a candle-ed RVCO, made after burning several of our fingers with wax. We did this during the RVCO er Convo Mid-Autumn Festival outing..which was at my house, for some reason. Played some candles, some lanterns, some truth or dare and took pictures! Yeah it was fun I guess.

Prelim results are back and boy, they suck. Besides my 20/25 Duchess of Malfi essay, there wasn't much to write home about, but oh well I'm still relieved I guess that I could get my standard scores. Well people as you can see this is very much a filler post! Yay! So sorry but yeah for better posts, please standby until my inspiration starts working again, which is not happening now since I'm bored. D :

Random

2008-09-08T21:33:00.002+08:00

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate..leads to suffering. The pathway to the dark side that is."

As a grand old Jedi master once said in Star Wars, fear opens up a lot of things for many of us. Why this post on fear? Well haha cause I'm FEARING the results of my Prelims, about to be released this Friday! And, unlike the Jedi, I do not have visions into the future. Clouded by the dark side, that is for me. Yeah, so, I'm not exactly looking forward to prelims being released to us, and it sort of made me scared, and stressed, yeah. So here I am, blanking out on cyberspace, trying to put of my fears and shit. Yeap.

Sheesh what a lousy post. Totally not up to my standards. Time to focus.

RVCO Outing

2008-09-04T22:58:00.003+08:00

(Clockwise from top right corner: Weiren,Jacelyn,Jiawei,me,Pearlyn,Cailing, Keeheng,Youwei,Kennard)

"When it comes to friends, it's not how much time you spend with them, just how you spend it!"

Alright people I shall blog about the RVCO Outing yesterday! Yay it was fun and I hope we have many more to come like it in future yep. Went to meet Jiawei and Kennard in the wee hours of the morning to hand in Jiawei's "Art Assignment" and to pass the Zhiyin discs to Mr.Lim, so we went to school. Took 97 to meet the rest at JE and met dingding at the bustop!As we reached the interchange, we see what could be RVCO's hottest new scandal but I shall not comment, since I am alumni. Ask Jiawei for details. Then met Weiren, Jacelyn, Youwei, Cailing, Keeheng at the Ice Skating Rink and we began Plan WWP!, due to the heavy rain.

Ice skating was fun, didn't do it for very long so I guess I'm glad I could finally rediscover my lost skills. Talked a lot on the ice and we took pictures as well, which are currently conviently located at Jiawei's blog. Yeah I think we actually talked more than we skated. Met Pearlyn for lunch after that, and we went to take neos, of which an example is my picture for today. Then we went to play arcade. Me and Keeheng, like Jiawei said, actually managed to own Jiawei and Jacelyn at the drum game. Yep it was cool. After arcade was Wall.E, and for what it's worth, I liked the movie. It was philosphical, satirical and heartwarming at the same time, something very rare for a movie. I give it two thumbs up, but Kennard will obviously disagree.

Dinner at IMM-Subway soon followed and after that Jiawei and Jacelyn went off, leaving only the guys, this time with Jeremy since he joined us. Had a man's talk and we went to play LAN after that. Got my first try of DOTA. Went home at 10++. Yep. So RVCO outing was fun, and I'm really looking forward to another outing with this crazy bunch of juniors and friends again! Yay!

RVCO 万岁!! (PART I)

2008-08-31T09:02:00.004+08:00

"RVCO 万岁!"-Miss Wan Chiew Inn

Yeah ok I know that's a pretty cheesy quote, but hell after sleeping at 3 last night and waking up at 9 to post this post today, courtesy of someone's msg, its the best I could think of, and it really sort of summed up the spirit of RVCO now..yeah..and it was really what Huang laoshi msged us alumni yesterday..so yeah. Ok so on to zhiyin yesterday. While I would like to give you a bit by bit review of each song and each part of the performance, the sheer technicalities of that would proabably bore all of you out, so I'll just focus on some of the important parts in RVCO's important day yesterday.

Went to S.C.H at 730 early in the morning, met up with Bena to re-discuss the stage plans and brief the helpers. Bought Allswell for both of us. It was going to be a long long day ahead. The helpers soon arrived and we managed to brief them and lag around for a little while before the buses and lorries came. Then it was unloading time and off to rehearsal. Rehearsal was good, considering all of us were nervous and cold and excited and high strung. The backstage was too slow, which was why we had training after the rehearsal, but overall rehearsal was a bit clunky..which is after all why they call it a rehearsal. Then after lunch at the balcony (as usual) it was showtime. The matinee show. While the performers put on their makeup (yeah even guys) the backstage got the stage ready.

Matinee was ok..for matinee standards. Of course everyone was nervous and a bit high strung, which is why I guess we didn't play to our best..but hey, its a 10 dollar ticket. Yeah so we just did the best we could and I thought it was pretty ok of course..but nothing compared to what we could do at our full of course. After that the excited squealing juniors went out to meet their equally excited friends for..er more excitement and squealing? Yeah while me and Bena and Enqi tried to control the situation. Ended up talking with dingding, our control room i/c, in the concert hall. Then it was dinner time, and night show time. Oh yeah!

Night Show was really good, I could see the orchestra improved alot alot, probably cause it was full house and alot of alumni had come to watch them. Can't believe my beloved CAB sat in the first row. The moment I ran out to clear chairs I got cheered.LOL. CAB will be CAB FOERVER! Yep ok I thought the backstage was faster this time, and we had a greater sense of urgency. And ok the night show was good. Dian Chi sounded fine, Huang He was good and Long Shang and Wuti were very sufficiently expressed. The seniors and I were cheering at the back while the orchestra played wuti. It is sort of deja vu after all. After 7 years, RVCO has returned to S.C.H. For our 1st zhiyin, we played wuti, and here we are, playing wuti again. I personally noticed something..that each batch's wuti performance is different in style and flavour...I guess its a RVCO thing, but yeah this batch's wuti certainly had their own style, which was good I guess.

Then came our encore, and we quickly loaded our stuff back, and made our way to the bus. While everyone was tired, we did our best to sing some songs..until I saw what I thought were some leftover "good buddies" outside RV..which I shall not elaborate on. Ok so bottomline we packed the CO instrus back to the CO room, and then me, jiawei, jacelyn, kennard, weiren, jeremy, melvin, davy, cheahjing, youwei, and a suona guy went for supper at JE macs. Was damn tired but we managed to talk cock for a while before cabbing home.

Ok so all in all, Zhiyin IV was good, it really lived up to the reputation of Zhiyin. RVCO played as one, bonded together and really showed the world our stuff. For me, well I got to play with the Walkie-Talkie along with some other stuff that made me happy I guess. LOL only a few will know what I'm talking about here, but yeah. HAHA so Zhiyin IV. A performance to remember and glorify. Before the performance I said, "RVCO! PREPARE FOR GLORY!" Now I say, "Congrats RVCO. GLORY has been earned."

RVCO! PREPARE FOR GLORY!

2008-08-29T21:48:00.001+08:00

"RVCO! THE STAGE IS YOURS!"

One senior said that years ago, so on the eve of Zhiyin, today,I'm using that quote. So. All our practices and tears and hard work has led us to this day. RVCOians..I see in all of you fear and excitement about tomorrow. Has your practice been enough? Will you all shine tomorrow? All those questions surface in your mind, clouding your self confidence. AT THIS POINT, IT DOESN'T MATTER. THE STAGE IS YOURS. As long as you have tried your best, the concert will have been a success. IT IS YOUR CONCERT. WHETHER ITS IS A SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU. THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT NOW, AND THE PERFORMANCE IS IN YOUR HANDS.

RVCOIANS! PREPARE FOR GLORY! TOMORROW NIGHT, WE PLAY IN S.C.H!

台风,知音,华乐

2008-08-28T20:51:00.003+08:00

"Music is love in search of a word."

Yeah I love this quote, even if it doesn't really have anything with what I'm about to post today or the title of my post.Heh. Ok so today's topic: Taifeng, Zhiyin, CO. Yeah with 2 days left, the clock is ticking down on what is RVCO's sporadic concert, sometimes held once every 2 years, sometimes 3, but each time, an invaluable experience for its members, batch after batch. As an alumni, I am no longer performing with the CO, but have come back to do backstage duties along side fellow alumni. On a reflective note, I have seen how the orchestra has matured as we draw closer and closer to this breathtaking event. I've seen their pain, their excitement, their happiness and their worries as Zhiyin looms over the horizon.

Taifeng has been the main conversational topic of note recently, with many in the orchestra fearing that they are too "stone" and are not doing enough for the performance part of this musical performance. Well, that can be partly attributed to the seniors, whom constantly remind our juniors to do taifeng, even though well haha I guess its a pretty hard skill to learn. But regardless of that, taifeng is no doubt important but cannot be taught in the traditional sense of the word. As I have always said, feel the music, and taifeng will come naturally and in its most beautiful form. Of course, abstractness is hardly going to help now, but I guess that's really the only way I can express Taifeng.

On to Zhiyin. Seeing as the fourth installment of this concert is almost upon us, it made me think a lot, about what zhiyin really means to us, to RVCO. Like i said in my last post about Zhiyin, I doubt if anyone really remembered the origin of Zhiyin. Haha. But Zhiyin is after all, zhiyin and I guess that it is so much more than just a concert to RVCO. It is a rite of passage, a ceremony that inducts you formally into RVCO proper, even more than the orientation camps or welcome ceremonies or what not. The blood,toil, tears and sweat of our members as they practice and practice hard for Zhiyin is indeed no small feat. It is what bonds the orchestra together, even as it may divide some. But Zhiyin, zhiyin transcends all boundaries. It links the orchestra together, and is probably the most important event in an RVCO member's life in RVCO next to the bi-annual SYF.

On to CO. CO. RVCO. Chinese Orchestra. River Valley Chinese Orchestra. Well ok as you can see from the repititions I'm running out of inspiration for this post. Well, I shall end with RVCO. Countless seniors have once said..."RVCO一代不如一代". Pardon any cuo bie zi. Yes, I must admit, I was once part of this cynical bunch. When I came back to watch last year's SYF hopefuls in action, I was doubtful of their potential to get Gold With Honors, to surpass us in the SYF. Against all odds, they proved me wrong. If there's one thing I've learnt from this, its what really characterizes the RVCO spirit, in my opinion. RVCO, really, what characterizes us is a never-say-die attitude that sees our potential rise exponentially and dramatically in the last few time periods prior to our performances, breaking through the invisible barrier that we have set for ourselves and proving all our doubters wrong.

So, to end this post. My juniors, Zhiyin is once again upon us. Will it surpass the previous one? Only YOU can affect that. Only you can decide the fate of this concert. So no pressure, enjoy the music, the performance, and trust in yourselves!

I HATE YOU. GET THAT?

2008-08-26T00:47:00.003+08:00

"I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE YOU!"

"Hee, hee! Nothing can beat the music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!"

Sorry people, a break from all the happy quotes and fun events that have been posted on my blog recently. Just heard something from my friend that just made me angry and my blood boil. When it does, I think of him.*Up Arrow*. Kefka Palazzo. And I'm as angry and as mad as him now. But, I shall not flame. Because apparently there are still people who still visit and read this blog. I wonder why some people still bother defending themselves, when its obvious they have taken a change for the worst and dragged others down with them. I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE this kind of people.

And you call me HYPOCRITICAL? FUCK.

知音 IV(Part II)

2008-08-24T12:13:00.003+08:00

"There is only one better thing than music - live music."

Well, my dear juniors, it is just 6 days left towards this all important event in RVCO's activities. The rehearsal yesterday was fine..and I could see that many of you were pumped up, excited, and yet fearful of the possibility of performing on stage and the even greater possibility(so percieved) of screwing up your notes, dynamics or whatsoever. No doubt, this has led to frustration, disappointment and saddness in teachers, students and instructors alike. A more common teenage term for such a phase in time would be the appropriate use of the teenage slang word emo, which I shall duely use here. Indeed, as the pressure mounts, it will be both a fun and emo time for us all at RVCO. The alumni are equally worried, and we hope to see all of you juniors put on a spectacular performance, worthy of acclaim and worthy of what we always think is most important..that all of you have tried your best. I personally believe that..as long as RVCO members try their best, the music will sound good.

So..reflections on yesterday's rehearsal. It may not be an accurate gauge of the music we make on the day itself, but there are definitely areas where we can improve on, where standards can be raised. As I confess myself not to be a guanyue or percussion player or having musical/technical experience in all areas of a chinese orchestra, I shall focus my reflections on what we performers like to call stage flair..or in this case for CO...台风. Mr Wong's lame joke nonwithstanding, it does not mean a typhoon. Tai feng in this case mean stage flair. In other words, its where the PERFORMANCE part of an orchestra comes into play. We call this concert a musical performance. Well, we have certainly got the musical part, but our performance needs much improvement. While RVCO have had tai feng training in the past, I do not believe it will really work effectively, until you all know the feelings and emotions behind each song; what each part, each dynamic, each melody is supposed to represent. Then you can sway your body, move and emote accordingly the feelings required. This will help in technical skills as well, as it would lead to an improved understanding of dynamics. You certainly can't play loud and harsh in a part you know is supposed to evoke feelings of saddness and guilt. This is why, RVCO, needs to improve on tai feng. It is after all a musical performance.

I end with a reference to my starting quote. "There is only one thing better than music-live music". A musical performance must include performance. Otherwise, we can just play, cut it into a CD and sell it. But that's not what people want! They come because they want to see how we react to the music, how we touch the audience! That's why..our live music is better than music! So my juniors, do your Tai Feng well and practice hard for Zhi Yin IV.

Posting...for the sake of posting?

2008-08-19T09:16:00.002+08:00

Well my friends, I've finally succumbed to what many of my peers call the disease of posting for the sake of posting.Heh....yeah well time is short and I have to go mug soon..so like many others who are inflicted with this disease, here's a video that's one of my personal favorites to keep you people occupied...until my next post. I was going to post on my analysis and reflections over the PM's NDP Rally Speech, but there's no time now..so that shall be by next post.

Presenting: Numb by Linkin Park

Prelims

2008-08-14T11:47:00.003+08:00

"This is my sin. And this is my Punishment."

Yeah well don't worry people Prelims is certainly not becoming so hard that it becomes a punishment for me, but it certainly has been taxing, so I guess I'll be coming on less often these few days to blog and what not. GP was good, but econs and history were both challenging and painful. Oh well, at least the most challenging day is over. It's all downhill from here..or so I hope.

ACJC prelims are certainly living up to their reputation, with the H2 papers in particular being really challenging, but I just hope I can survive with at least B-Cs in every subject. Yeah that would be a great confidence boost. Oh well..maths today, a subject that was originally easy for me, but has been made complicated by the arrival and entry of that horrible topic known as statistics. Heck. LOL. Yeah ok anyway GOOD LUCK my RV juniors for your CTs! Don't worry, CTS are slacky exams heh. And continue practicing hard for Zhiyin IV. I'll see you all next week!

PES BP.

2008-08-11T19:55:00.002+08:00

"The Army. Serving our Nation."

Argh that's not the point! The point is...I got PES BP! WTH!! According to results, PES BP=Fit for all military duties, with additional 1 month BMT for obese recruits. NOOOOOOO....I'm dead. Haiz. PES BP! I was supposed to get PES C! LOL guess all my keng-ing didn't work out. Heh. Oh well. Might as well make the best of an opportunity. Use the army to workout and get fit I guess. What the. PES BP...oh man...I love the SAF grading system man. Don't even understand how I got this.

PES BP!! ARGH!!!!

National Day 2008

2008-08-09T11:54:00.002+08:00

"Celebrating the Singapore Spirit."

Celebrating the Singapore Spirit. Slogan for the 43rd NDP celebrations. Well, once again we have reached August 9, Singapore's birthday and its 43rd one at that. Like any other patriotic Singaporean, I here wish Singapore a happy birthday. Yeah. But after reading this year's slogan, I could not help but do some reflection over the slogan.

Celebrating the Singapore Spirit. So what exactly is the Singapore Spirit? From all the posters and advertisements, one can see our diverse culture and what-not as part of our Spirit, but that's the usual NE stuff we learn in school. Oh what our unique diversity, our melting-pot culture, our harmony between races...blah blah blah...all which while quite valid and indeed something to be proud of, do not really represent what I perceive to be the true Singapore Spirit.

According to dictionary.com, which has over 11 definitions for spirit, spirit, in this context, most probably means: an attitude or principle that inspires, animates, or pervades thought, feeling, or action. So the Singapore Spirit would be a spirit that inspires, animates, pervades thought, feeling or action throughout the whole of Singapore.

Now for those of you who know me, I'm a heartland kid. I may live in a condo, but just like any other heartland kid, my dad took me to kopitiams since I was young and I grew up visiting the shops, smells and sounds of the heartlands, which occupy 3/4 of Singapore? I'm not sure, but you can go check out the statistics. So what has this got to do with the Singapore Spirit? Well I think, that the Singapore Spirit cannot be found in advertisements, posters or what not. In fact, what the government demeans as a ugly part of Singapore in our strive to be a global city is actually part of our Singapore Spirit.

Racial Harmony? Fitting but not everyone embraces it, as can be seen from dozens of racist jokes in the educational institutions and therefore cannot be considered our Spirit. Global Citizen? Try explaining that to the older generations of Singaporeans. Striving to speaking proper English? Go to any heartland neighbourhood and listen to any of the conversations going on. Embracing the many diverse races and unique cultures that form part of Singapore? Idealistic but ultimately not representative.

So basically, what I feel truly represents the Singapore Spirit, is a desire for competition(You can call it kiasu-ism) and a good dose of realism and endurance for hard work to realize that competition and carry it out. You can see it in the mad rush for buses, the primary school registrations, etc. You can see it almost everywhere in Singapore. Even when your grandparents haggle over 3kg worth of fish's price you can see the desire to triumph over the other. Is that any surprise though? We were born into a chaotic time with little resources and of course, such demanding times would have molded us into a people less concerned with idealism and more concerned with realistic, economic issues and a strong desire for competition over such issues just in case we aren't accorded our fair share.

So, Happy Birthday Singapore! Celebrating the Singapore Spirit. 43 years of competition, realism and counting!

Beijing Summer Olympics 2008

2008-08-09T11:44:00.003+08:00

"Citius, Altius, Fortius"

Citius, Altius, Fortius. Motto of the Olympic games, it basically means faster, higher, stronger in Latin. With a bang, Beijing'08, the 2008 Olympic games kickstarted yesterday, with the opening ceremony and the lighting of the torch broadcasted in most countries. Records will be broken, sweat will be sown, dreams will be both fulifiled and dashed. The dreams of millions around the globe hang on the thousands of athletes now in Beijing. Will they exceed expecatations or will they disappoint? Will Singapore get its first olympic medal since Tan Howe Liang's? We watch with bated breath and anticipation.

Well yesterday went out to celebrate Yuxuan and my birthday with the 4k dudes. Went to Suntec Kbox before going for F.I.R concert at Indoor Stadium. OMG the concert totally rocked. Worth my 98 bucks. It was an experience I'll never forget. The songs they sang, the on-stage flirting and the sing-along. Yeah good stuff. Took a shuttle service to JE after that and cabbed home. HAHA yea, well it was fun.

Hmm...18

2008-08-07T16:06:00.002+08:00

"Oh a thousand words, have never been spoken..."

Yeah as you can probably tell from the post title, today's my birthday and the day I officially turn 18, and can watch M18 movies, smoke, drink and consume alcohol according to Singaporean law..yeah..HAHA

Well since people are expected to post some reflective post or what not reflecting on their years behind and the years ahead or what not and about their birthday celebrations..I've decided to do the same..Just that I ain't got much to reflect about..and I basically spent my birthday at home mugging and slaving away for the bloody prelims coming along. So yeah..haha nothing much to reflect on.

On a second note, thanks to those who wished me happy birthday, especially Jiawei, Judith, Shermaine, and a bunch of other people..really appreciated it yea.HAHA yup guess that's all for this post...

RVCO Zhiyin IV Rehearsal

2008-08-03T18:07:00.003+08:00

"Even if you end up as the world's enemy, I'll...I'll be your knight."

Well obviously people I was searching for a good picture and quote to use for today's post and ta-dah! There it is. Final Fantasy VIII and a good quote from it. The first Final Fantasy to feature love and romance as one of its main themes, it was really the game that introduced me to video gaming.

On to today's post. Prelims are a week away, and intensive studying has begun, for me at least. Looking at how time flies, its hard to believe that just two years ago I had taken my first step into ACJC and JC education. Two years is by no accounts short, but neither is it long. Guess the numerous activities and events and stuff that I had to handle really made it fly by. Well just had the Zhiyin IV first half-rehearsal yesterday, and LOL well it was fun I guess, to come back in the capacity of an alumni and enjoy the Zhiyin experience without having to memorize scores heh. But boy was backstaging tough. From movements to timed coordination, it was the first time I had done backstage so I guess its the first time I realized it was so tough. Oh well. AHAHAHA oh and we, we being me, Judith, Lydia and Co., dug up new stuff about Kennard! LOL or old stuff in the eyes of them anyways. Oh well. Can't wait for the next rehearsal.

The orcehstra did fine, but could do with more smiling and stage flair and movement. Come on you can do it guys! The people watching want to see humans performing, not robots! So do your stage flair well! Oh and Jiawei was funny during the practice also. Say what I keep suan-ing her during the practice. LOL. Ok. I shall eat some bittergourd before talking to her next time so I'm not so suan when I talk to her. Whatever. LOL

Yeah so that basically covered my Saturday, and today was spent mugging hard and trying to study hard for the crucially important prelims. Pray that I do well. Oh and the Hungry Ghost Festival has begun, so I guess I'll be busy commemorating it as well.

Events and things upcoming. Hope I have the luck to savour and enjoy them thoroughly. Yeah.

The First of August

2008-08-01T22:58:00.003+08:00

"Nothing common can seem worthy of you."-Augustus

Ah yes, the month of August has once again come round in the year. It seemed like only a few months ago when it came around, but how time files. It has actually been one year! So August. Named after Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, emperor of the Roman Empire, August was orginally a month with 30 days. But, the emperor wanted to make it an odd-numbered day month, to make it lucky, and so we had a August with 31 days. August. One of my favourite months in the year. Well basically cause we have quite a lot of holidays in the month, and because its my birth month! LOL.

So, what did I do on this first day of August? Well basically I went back to RVCO, discussed Zhiyin reherasal plans with Miss Tay and so basically, I have to arrive at RV tomorrow at the all glorious hour of 7am, which even for me is quite early. Oh well. At least it promises to be fun. So, to all who read this blog, a happy August to you.

6 days to my birthday.

倔强

2008-07-30T16:36:00.004+08:00

Artist:五月天

倔强

当我和世界不一样
那就让我不一样
坚持对我来说就是以刚克刚
我如果对自己不行
如果对自己说谎
即使你不原谅我也不能原谅

最美的愿望一定最疯狂
我就是我自己的神在我活的地方
我和我最后的倔强
握紧双手绝对不放
下一站是不是天堂
就算失望不能绝望
我和我骄傲的倔强
我在风中大声的唱
这一次为自己疯狂
就这一次我和我的倔强

对爱我的人别紧张
我的固执很善良
我的手越肮脏眼神越是发光
你不在乎我的过往
看到了我的翅膀
你说被火烧过才能出现凤凰
逆风的方向更适合飞翔
我不怕千万人阻挡只怕自己投降

我和我最后的倔强
握紧双手绝对不放
下一站是不是天堂
就算失望不能绝望
我和我骄傲的倔强
我在风中大声的唱
这一次为自己疯狂
就这一次我和我的倔强

我和我最后的倔强
握紧双手绝对不放
下一站是不是天堂
就算失望不能绝望
我和我骄傲的倔强
我在风中大声的唱
这一次为自己疯狂
就这一次我和我的倔强
就这一次让我大声唱
lalalala...
就算失望不能绝望...
lalalalala
就这一次我和我的倔强

Today

2008-07-29T20:20:00.002+08:00

"We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it."

Yeah people sorry for the random pic, but it just seemed to be that nowadays, all my posts begin with a unique picture, so I decided that today's post would be no exception. Perhaps most of you would have seen this famous picture. Or some of you may have seen it but have no idea who the guy is. Well, the guy, like the picture says, is called Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and he's basically a famous revolutionary in Latin America, better known as South America, for the better part of the 20th century until well he was caught in Bolivia and shot. Haha I guess I decided to begin today's post with this picture, cause well personally I have always been inspired by Che and his charisma, leadership and ideals. For more details, search wikipedia. Today's post is after all, not going to be about him.

Realized these few days that all of a sudden, prelims are upon me. Stunned by the way time flies. It seemed like only yesterday when I promised myself to start mugging a month before the prelims. Oh well. Heheh. But I have entered mugging mode, while monitoring the progress of RVCO in their movement torwards Zhiyin IV and as they peak, I hope, towards its inception.Oh and I bought the F.I.R tickets too, which seems fast, considering that it seemed like only a month ago when we decided to go for the concert. Oh and today's my last PE lesson in ACJC too. Tempus Fugit, as Mr Ngoei would say.

Oh well, I hope for good luck in the prelims, and good luck to RVCO too as they move towards Zhiyin IV, though hopefully by that time, they won't even need luck. Yeah.

ZHI YIN

2008-07-27T13:12:00.003+08:00

"Musicians are the architects of heaven."-Bobby Mcferrin

Seeing as how the season for RVCO's sometimes annual, sometimes sporadic concert is drawing near, or already in full progress, I decided to do a post on what these two words really mean to generations upon generations of RVCOians, as a break from all the flaming and philosophical posts I've been doing recently. So, Zhiyin. For those of you who can't actually read chinese, those two words at the top of my post are pronounced Zhi Yin, as according to the Hanyu Pinyin System. According to Wade-Giles Translation, that would be Chih Ying. Yeah.

So what do these two words actually mean? What are their origins? Well I won't profess to knowing the origins of why we decided to call our concert Zhiyin, so maybe the juniors can ask Miss Tay or some older alumni about that. But, according to a direct translation to english, Zhiyin would mean Knowing Sounds/Music. Or to be even more specific, A knowledge of sounds and music. I guess in typical RV cheem-chinese tradition, it is a pretty good name, showing that our CO has a good sense of the music that we play and trying to portray ourselves as like hehehe a uber good musical orchestral and what not. But I'm not here to discuss the significance of the name of our concert. Rather, I'm talking about the significance of the concerts themselves.

For me, I certainly remember my first and only Zhiyin Concert. It was Zhiyin III, in 2005, at the Victoria Concert Hall. The funny thing is, I don't really remember the songs we played, or how well we played them. Rather, I remember the friendships forged, the unity built in the CO over this hectic period, owing to 2005 being the SYF year as well. I remember as the Sec3 guys bonded with the Sec4 guys over LAN sessions and football matches after the practices. I remember how Cello/Bass bonded, as we slaved over Polka and Nan ni Wan, trying to do the "bouncing" action that Mr. Lee demanded. I remember the mosquito filled campus, and how Mr. Lee had to bring a mosquito coil to ward of those vicious insects. I remember the CO room and its wonderful smell, and its makeshift sound-proof wall, gaps filled up with egg cartons painstakingly cut and placed by Mr. Tan Chuan Leong. I remember Liu Lao shi's metaphors for music, and Mr. Lum's ever repeating words of advice.

So, as we come to today, its only one month and 3 days to Zhiyin IV, the fourth in a sucession of a series of very successful concerts which have really come to represent what RVCO stands for, besides of course the SYF. To my juniors, the songs are of course important. Never neglect practice, for a concert is one of two ways to showcase our strength, our beauty of music, our greatness to the audience. And I know all of you can do it. Everyone of you has tremendous potential. Never forget that, and practice to your best and memorize the scores. Listen to your instructors well, for they are all experienced people whom have decades worth of music experience. But, just as you practice hard, forge bonds unbreakable across time and unite as one orchestra. Have fun while you practice, talk cock with the orchestra, bond, and carry on the RVCO legacy. Always remember, the bonds that you forge in RVCO, if strong enough, will affect you for a lifetime. Well an example would sort of be the RVCAB chalet last year.HAHA. It was indeed testament to the strong bonds between generations of RVCAB that 7 generations of CAB people gathered in that chalet that day and shared jokes and what not. This sort of bond, brought about by Zhiyin, is exactly what I'm talking about.

So, my dear juniors. Practice hard, forge bonds, and present a concert that will be unforgotten across time. Show the world what it means to be RVCO!! YEAH!

Change-and the need for it (Part 1)

2008-07-26T16:43:00.004+08:00

"Our time for change has come."-Barack Obama

Yep, I thought I would begin this entry with a meaningful quote, taken from the mouth of Obama, America's first ever black presidential candidate and the nominee of the democrats. Now, Obama was like a fresh breath of air that American politics very much needed after years of mudslinging and what not. His promises of clean and fair elections, banking on the need for change, as well as his youth, attracted voters and listeners from all over America. While I do agree that he seems to lack a concrete policy and has somewhat failed to live up to the promises he made early on recently, I am still very much inspired by his abovementioned quote, which is what led me to this entry in the first place I guess.

Like Obama, I'm an idealist. I believe in changing the world, to the best of my efforts, whenver I can. Unlike certain of my friends, who are only interested in jobs "where the money is", I believe more in working and hoping to change the world, even if its a small part of it, helping it to develop, to grow, and making it a better world to live in. Of course, I'm not saying that the realistic views of my friends are wrong. Indeed, being realistic is important as well and there is no crime in wanting to make big bucks and live in luxury. It's just that my dream is different, that is all.

I guess this idealism translate to what I do when I lead as well, which of course, explains the flame war which I have recently tried to end. However, I could not help but think about this when my friend said that the deep rooted perception of my CCA in my school is too hard to change and therefore, I should not insist on my ideals and something to that extent and make it instead, into a home and shelter for people. I respect her view, but I still maintain my idealism, and that we should always try and strive for change. I mean, if every generation thought the same way, that this perception is too hard to change, wouldn't progress never occur?As Obama said, "Our time for change has come." The problem is, are we ready to execute this change? Will we be ready when the time comes? Do we maintain the status quo, or strive for change according to our ideals? Questions which I really have no answer to now, but I hope to find out on my journey of life.

Note that this is not a post to re-ignite the flame war, just some philosophical musings of mine. Yeah.

ACCO-The end of an Era (Final Part)

2008-07-25T15:42:00.002+08:00

Well, I have made this post with the intention of ending the stuff that's been going on recently, with us reading each others' blogs and all, so with this post, I just hope to end this issue once and for all.

Now 1st of all, yes I admit I may have portrayed myself as a lone hero fighting against all odds, but you did portray me as pompous and egoistic, which I may disagree with, but since these are both just PORTRAYALS I guess we should just call it quits at the characterization of my character and what not. I am basically, posting this not to argue about that.

Well, I would just like to say each of us is entitled to our own view. You certainly have your own opinions on the success rate of the committee, and I don't blame you for that. As of now, I'm quite certain, I haven't personally insulted you, making remarks like "Oh you're so stupid!" that sort of thing. Nor have I insulted your views, like "Oh what a stupid view! It sux! Dumb!" making that sort of remarks. All that I have done is post my views on my blog in a argumentitive and analytical way as far as possible. I certainly didn't shoot down your views. In fact, I think I have tried my best to include the merits of your views. But, I do think that I am entitled to my own view as well.

Now what I'm trying to say is that each of us is entitled to our own view. You can post "Gays rule!" on your blog for all I care and I have to respect your opinion. Likewise, if I post something like" The problems of gays" on my blog I think that you have to respect my right to post such things. I hope that if you want to attack my opinions, please just attack my opinions and not my character, because basically, that's not a very civil thing to do. I know you have made valid attacks on my OPINIONS, but calling me an "armchair critic" and "pompous and egoistic" certainly sounds like attacks on my personal character to me. Well, on my part, I have always tried to refrain from personal attacks, but if you can find any on my entries, I do apologize.

In short, I just hope you can respect my opinion just as I respect yours. You think the committee can make it, I don't think so. That's just fine. I'm entitled to my opinion, just as you are to yours. This may sound like a freedom of speech thing, but its just basic courtesy. Oh and it was never my intention to start this war. I was just posting my opinion on my blog, and would not have responded to your opinion on the committee, if not for the attacks on my character, which of course I feel I have to defend myself and explain why I didn't attend the handover and what not, which led to the post which caused so much trouble in the first place. To conclude, I still think that the committee can't make it, not until they've proven themselves. That's just my opinion, just like how you believe they can make it. That's your opinion, and that's fine. It's your opinion, and I can't stop you from thinking that way. And I hope you won't attack my personal character just for having my own opinion.

ACCO-The end of an Era (Part 2)

2008-07-23T16:12:00.001+08:00

Well, after much thought and debate I've decided to post this post to make clear my stand on why I decided not to come for my handover and all the trouble recently. What's done is done, but I just hope for my post to clarify certain matters and resolve the issues at hand, which are actually just already set in stone.

Personally, this post is going to be about the ACCO politics which plagued much of June and July, which mainly, really just divided me and the rest of the committee. Indeed, I was fighting a one man battle, and despite there being no explicit comments, many whisperings was heard of me being the leader of the Chinese gang, and causing trouble, and being an irresponsible SL and committee member and what not. All these, Meiqi and Alyssa have generously tried to hide by still being friendly towards me and such. While I was appreciative of such efforts, there comes a time when a person must indeed re-look on his vision and aims when he took up a leadership position and question himself: Did I achieve these aims? Are things going the way I envisioned them? Now of course when your aims and the aims of the community at large coincide, there is no problem, and we can work as a committee as one towards these aims, striving towards greater heights. The problem of course, comes when a divergence of aims occurs, when what you want is not what the majority wants, when you fight a lone battle. At this time, one must decide. Do I stand my ground and maintain my beliefs? Or do I give in and just follow the crowd?

Now first, I must make my stance clear. For me, my aim in CO was always to preserve CO, not just ACCO. One may ask,” What’s the difference?" Well I shall say that my aim is the preservation of CO, Chinese Orchestral music, its intricacies, the love of it, its nuances and quaint traits as a whole. My aims are not aimed at improving the situation of any particular CO, but at the whole idea of CO itself. Now last year, this wasn't a problem. The survival of ACCO meant the survival of CO to me, and I worked hard with the committee, etching out new policies, trying to recruit more members, improving our conditions, our standards of music, etc. The problem just came this year, when an influx of Barker boys came along. Now, don't get me wrong. I have no personal vendetta against Barker people. At their best, they are a kind, fun-loving, generous and loyal lot who inspire loyalty and esprit de corps in they who join them. The problem comes in the fact that their aims of CO diverge from mine. Maybe its their background, or their upbringing, but as a general observation (note I said general) many of them do not really understand the meaning behind Chinese Orchestral music, its wonder, the stories behind it, the feelings that it is supposed to emote. From my point of view, they simply join CO because, well, their friends are inside CO. Now before majority of any Barker kids who read this post protest, I would like to ask all of you a question. How many of you would still join CO if ALL your friends quit CO? How many of you would stay on, just for the love of CO music?

And therein lies my differences with the committee. The committee certainly believes it is making the right decision in its choice of successors. I don't blame them for that, for their aim is to preserve ACCO, not CO, or so I believe. They have indeed chosen people with capable leadership qualities, able to lead an organization. But CO is not just an organization. I believe that with the current leadership, the soul of CO cannot be preserved. To prove my point, I would like to ask my committee, how many of you know that the people you chose are actually PASSIONATE about CO music? That they are genuinely interested? For me, that is one of the most important criteria for leading a CO. The teachers and committee apparently think otherwise, with their election of Irvin as president. I won't deny that he has an impressive resume, and I would be the first to defend his leadership qualities, which he does possess. He has a certain musical talent as well. However, does he actually possess a passion of CO music? Does he love the songs? Does he know what music we're making? From my point of view, not really. The observations that I have made of him, as an SL of him leads me to believe he lacks what I deem an important part of a leader of a CO. But, apparently the higher-ups disagree.

Now, why is passion in CO music important you ask? Well I can explain it simply. It provides the necessary drive to recruit members into CO and just make the CO stronger. Can you imagine, for example, if the Prime Minister of Singapore was someone who is totally disinterested in political affairs? Or the principal of a secondary school is someone who hates education? It is only if you have passion for something, that you can truly push it to greater heights and convince others of its worth. Our CO can only improve, not under capable leadership, but under a passionate and visionary one as well. Passion and vision go together like bread and butter. With one lacking, the other will not materialize. And any organization without a strong passion and vision will just die out. And as I've mentioned above, I, for one, cannot believe that the Barker Boys, most of them at least, have a true passion for CO music. You may choose to rebutt, but for now this is just my point of view.

And so, my friends, this is why I've distanced myself from ACCO at large, cause I simply cannot accept the path they have chosen to do things. I always believed in my vision of preserving CO music and encouraging it at large, but ACCO apparently believes otherwise. Since our paths diverge, I cannot agree with their choices and thus, I chose to skip the handover and what not, simply because I cannot bring myself to legitimize the new committee. I hope this post has made clear my stand, and hope that people will stop referring to me as pompous and egoistic.

ACCO-The end of an Era

2008-07-19T23:22:00.002+08:00

Was going to flame during this post, but after reading everyone's tearful goodbyes and what not, I've decided to moderate it somewhat so that the truth is glaring and less hurtful. They say the truth hurts, and its no exception in this case, but who am I to decide?

ACCO handover,was today, totally skipped it like I said I would. Instead went to ECP to clear my mind and heart and to accept the inevitable fate of ACCO. Things were worse enough, I thought, but they just got worse. I don't know what the teachers were thinking when they selected the president of the next committee, but hey, who am I to criticize? I'm only a small SL, a nobody to debate the mighty and calculated decisions of the teachers. They may think he can do it, but oh well what can I say? I just think it will get worse that's all. Of all the stupid decisions to make, they just had to choose that one. Whatever. I can be sure that I'm not coming to watch the SYF next year that's for sure.

Congragulations to Fu En,Xuan Han and Janet on getting their posts, and I wish them all the best in working under these teachers and their president next year. Good luck, especially with getting new members, with which the current situation, I think is presumably quite impossible. Which is why I think the important choices the teachers' make are quite contradictory in the first place. But oh well, who am I to decide? I'm just a SL. So good luck my friends, and good luck ACCO in surviving SYF next year,if we even can go for SYF. Shen Guo Qin may be good, but even the best blacksmith can't forge a good sword out of rusted and twisted steel.

Mind Made Up

2008-07-18T21:59:00.002+08:00

Made up my mind.

There's no more turning back.

No more hesitation.

I've got to do what's best for me, what's best for everyone.

That's it then, I guess.

I've tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter..

The Dark Knight: A Review

2008-07-17T22:12:00.003+08:00

"Welcome to a world without rules."

And with that immortal tagline, I am now proud to present to you, JunHan's professional movie review on the most recent and anticipated blockbuster: Batman: The Dark Knight. Sequel to the critically acclaimed Batman Begins(2005), The Dark Knight covers the story of Bruce Wayne's never ending fight against corruption in the grimy city of Gotham. With new allies Harvey Dent and Lieutanant James Gordon, Batman goes against new foes, like the new mobsters as well as psychopathic clown and famous comic-book nemesis, the one and only Joker in this mind blowing sequel.

The Dark Knight(TDK) indeed delievers on all fronts and is a movie worthy of acclaim. To begin with, I would like to talk about Ledger's performance as the psychopathic clown and Batman No.1 foe the Joker. Now, after Ledger's controversial death in 2007, critics and fans alike whom have watch TDK have called for a posthomous oscar for the actor due to his well-received performance. After watching his performance myself, I would however, have to disagree. Ledger did indeed potray a Joker that I immensely enjoyed. Not since Mark Hamil's eeire adaption of the character on the cartoon scene have I seen such a well-portrayed Joker. Ledger indeeds typifies what fans of Batman expect from the Joker: a sadistic humor and twisted sense of the world. However, I personally felt that while the Joker's evil side was sufficiently demonstrated, his comic side, the side which made people laugh along side him and his sadistic jokes in the Animated Series, was to me, sorely lacking. Others may choose to disagree, but for me the ability to bring out the sadistic humor in people was really what appealed to me in the Joker character.

Focusing on the characterization of Batman next, it is indeed reassuring to see that Nolan has continued with his rebuilding of the much discredited Batman franchise with his increasing portrayal of Batman's emotions, his doubts, his worries and beneath it all, the central question of whether Batman can ever give up becoming Batman. Complementing Christian Bale's postively emotional acting in this case are the ever-wise cracking Alfred Pennyworth, portrayed by Michael Caine, as well as the witty Luicius Fox, portrayed by Morgan Freeman. Batman's doubts and questions over his confrontations with the Joker form a key development in the plot and I was glad to see it well-executed.

The love triangle of Harvey Dent, Rachel Dawes and Bruce Wayne, while not sufficiently explored, did not really hamper the film much, though I was quite dissapointed with the lack of development for Harvey Dent, whom as comic-book fans know, turn into the intriguing and villainous Two-Face. His fall from grace, while sufficiently portrayed in the movie, was not fully developed in my opinion and could have been worked on further. Rachel Dawes, like in the previous film, remained a weak link in my opinion and all but represented the stereotypical damsel-in-distress, necessary in all superhero films.

The use of special effects, while nothing home to write about, were relatively spectacular in this film, with the introduction of the Bat-pod, Batman's personal motorcycle. The desgins and costumes were relatively spectacular as well, with the Joker's grungy design standing out in paticular.

All in all, this film is definitely one of two films which I declare a must-watch this summer, with the other being John Woo's Red Cliff. TDK woos audience with its gripping storyline, complex characterization, bringing to the big screen accurately once again, one of our favourite comic book icons of all time.

2008-07-11T21:00:00.003+08:00

立化华乐团荣誉呈献:

RVCO 知音IV!

票价:$12,$15,$25
地点:新加坡大会堂
时间:7:30pm
日期:8月30日

Yes for those of you who do know what it is, ITS HERE! The long awaited sequel to Zhiyin III, Zhiyin IV promises to be more exciting, more spectacular and a much more hotly celebrated CO music extravaganza. Now for those who visit my blog, those who are RVCO Alumni or interested in CO music, do come and enjoy this evening of chinese orchestral music, presented by our very own RVCO! It promises to be a night you'll never forget. So to all seniors and friends, do come one and all! Please feel free to approach any ex-RVCO member or me for tickets!

RVCO Meeting/CAB outing

2008-07-08T18:44:00.002+08:00

Well this post will be a combination of the way I spent my Sunday and Monday Youth Day holiday which was fun and packed with thrills and spills.

Sunday

Had CAB outing with the CAB people in the evening, since I was after all the organizer. Went for kbox with Judith and JX before that though at AMK. Elyena bang seh us. Haha. Yeah so the three of us went kbox like 1 hour after the meeting time thanks to someone and after kbox, I realized I caught Judith's extraordinarily strong flu virus cause I had a sore throat and running nose. Whee. However, we still went for CAB outing at Causeway. We had dinner at pastamania, and it was fun to see 8 generations of RVCAB people at the same table, cracking jokes, talking cock and just being lame in all ways possible. The rest of them went for a movie after that, which I gather from most of their blogs was interesting but I had to leave early. Sian.

Monday

Fought a hard-won battle to recover from my flu sufficiently to go for the Zhiyin Meeting at Mr Lim's house. Was spamming lozenges like crazy in the morning. Eventually, I sufficiently recovered my voice and went down to Mr Lim's big big house with his state-of-the-art surround sound system and extremely big HDTV in his room. Discussed stage plans and movements with Bena and Zheng Laoshi while also helping them think of English summaries for the songs for the programme booklet. After most of the work was done, we basically talked cock and calculated each other's bazi and fortune and what not. Haha. Had pizza for lunch also, courtesy of Mr. Lim. However, the room must have been a hotspot/cauldron for illnesses, cause there were no less than 3 different strains of flu viruses floating around the room. My virus must have mutated in there cause when I returned home, I was feeling worse than ever. Almost couldn't make it to school today.

So overall, the 2 days were fun, but I still have a stage plan to type out. Ahaha. Shall post the pics next time.

F.I.R-I don't care

2008-07-05T18:09:00.001+08:00

I Don't Care.
F.I.R

风轻吹吹干泪
泪流了一夜才觉得浪费
是错对无所谓我让你去飞
别再作无谓的美梦想去挽回
就别再作困兽之斗去挣扎一切

那些美丽容颜如今都已破碎
飞越谎言冲破无力改变的世界

I don't care,it's not fair.
就让你犯你的罪
I don't care,no more care.
带着下一个梦去追
我不后悔不后退就是那么的绝对
我要的完美不是不是不是你能给
将一切毁灭 I don't care.

RVCO Camp

2008-07-02T17:57:00.002+08:00

Yes since I have time today it is indeed time to do a long overdue post on the RVCO Music Camp, which ahaha happened during the June Holidays during the 13th-14th of June, I think. Yes so due to someone's invitation(until now I still don't know who) for the seniors to come back and coach the juniors during sectionals on the first day due to the absence of our dearest coach Mr.Lee, JX, Enqi,Shenghui and I departed for the school early on a Thursday morning. From 10-12, we spent 2 hours coaching the juniors in Wuti 1 and hmm there's room for improvement..that's what I will say..Then, JX had to depart for his class outing and me, my class chalet so our adventure ended there for our 1st day.

The second day owing to our busy schedules, we made it just in time for the steamboat dinner and we were joined by Shenghui and old seniors Tianlu and Shihua. Ahaha it was good to see them I guess..after so long..lol and we had a fun time playing I Hate Jack after that, in which owing to their reaction speed, Tianlu and Judith were constantly losing. Soon it was late and I and JX decided to stay overnight due to our love for our juniors. LOL. Haha learnt some stuff about RVCO juniors in general that night, like people who haunt the school corridors, running up and down, as well as 3 powerpuff girls always seen together, yet totally scared of the dark. It was fun overall.

The third day was the team-building day, and out of the kindness of our hearts me and JX helped Judith untangle the yarn in her game after every group instead of joining in the games. Went for lunch with the CAB people after that and went home to sleep for the entire Saturday.

Well basically that post could have been summarized by: RVCO Camp was fun!

Quiz

2008-06-30T18:19:00.002+08:00

Yes apparently since my junior Yvonne selected me to do her quiz and since according to her I'm a senior who cares deeply about my juniors(HAHA) I shall do the quiz..even though I couldn't copy and paste it from her blog and have to type out these stupid questions one by one. So here goes:

1. Do you have a wide group of friends?
What do you mean by wide?

2. If you are in trouble will your friends fly to help u?
Walk or run yes, fly no.

3. Will you sacrifice your most precious thing for your friends?
Hmm..thing yes..thing meaning a stationary non-living object incapable of conscious thought and emotion.

4. Do you believe in BFF
What the hell does this seemingly bimbotic contraction mean?

5. Do you think a straight and a woman can be platonic friends?
Yes, definitely yes.

6. Do you have a male friend whom you can trust with almost everything?
Yes.

7. Do you think friends should tell each other everything?
No.

8. If your friends are in trouble what will you do?
Try to help them.

9. In future, if your friends get married and ask you to be their best man will you agree?
Depends on who you're talking about.

10. What if your enemy calls you one day to make peace?
I'll suspect its a trap and take measures accordingly.

11. what will you do to a friend whom you trust deeply, betrayed you?
This situation can never happen. I don't trust anyone deeply enough to be betrayed by anyone

12. If your friend snatches your gf away, will you hate him or her completely?
No.Not really..

13. what if there is a girl that has liked your friend for quite some time, tells you that she needs your help to win the heart of your friend, will you help her?
It depends on whether I think a relationship between that gal and my friend will work out. If so, Yes.

14. do your parents think your friends are a bad influence ?
Nah.

15. what will you tell your parents if they asked you to transfer school, which means losing all your closest friends?
Hahahaha.

16. if your friend organizes a once in a life time party, but your family doesn’t allow you to go , will you sulk/throw a temper/sneak out/don’t go?
Nope, not really. Parties are rarely worth the trouble. And I hate crowds.

17. how will you describe your friendship relationship with your friends?
LOL normal.

18. define friendship .
Friendship is defined in the context of this question to be a mutually beneficial relationship between two people as a result of common interests and personalities.

19. name 20 people whom you can think right now . don’t read the questions until you named the 20 people . at the end , choose 5 people to do this .
1) JinXian
2) Shermaine
3) YuXuan
4) Mr. Lee
5) Judith
6) Yvonne
7) WeiJian
8) Chin Keat
9) Lydia
10) Kennard
11) Bena
12) Sophia
13) Jiajun
14) Xinyuan
15) Tianlu
16) Shihua
17) Jireh
18) Louis
19) Tim
20) Hui Kiow

How did you meet no.4?
Mr Lee: My CAB instructor in RVCO

What will you do if u nvr meet no1?
JinXian: hmm..now there's food for thought..haha probably wouldn't have become so lame.

What if 9 and 20 dated?
LOL. Both are girls and they don't know each other. Impossible.

will 6 and 17 date?
Nah. They don't know each other

describe3:
YuXuan: Classmate in Sec3 and 4, great football winger and singer, currently my schoolmate

Describe 7:
WeiJian: Intelligent, smart, zhuangyuan in NJ, passionate about CO

Do you know of any no 12 family?
Sophia: Her mum and her bro I guess.

what will you do if no. 18 confess to you that she likes you?
Louis: HAHA impossible we're both straight males

What language does no.15 speak?
Tianlu: Chinese?

How old is no. 16?
Shihua: 19

what is the last time you spoke to no. 13?
Jiajun: Hmm CAB outing before June Hols

Who is no.2 fave band or singer?
Shermaine: English Green Day Chinese LJJ? I think..

would you date no.4 ?
Mr Lee: LOL NO

would you ever date no.1?
Jin Xian: LOL NO

is no.19 single?
Tim: Apparently

would you ever be in a relationship with no. 11?
Bena: Hahaha not really...if by relationship you mean BGR. Friendship then yes lor..

school of no 3
YuXuan: ACJC, past RVHS

where does no.6 live?
Yvonne: Singapore. AHAH I'm sorry lar I dunno.

What is your fave thing about no 5?
Judith: Fave thing..hmm...hmmm...hmm...hmm...haha no lar just kidding hmm I guess she's very entertaining?LOL and she can keep secrets..

Hve you seen no. 2 naked?
Shermaine: LOL NO

what is no.8 nickname?
Chin Keat: Ah Nia

Next 5 person to do the quiz:
This is so stupid that I'm not passing the torture on.

Dunman High ASEAN PLUS Model Summit

2008-06-26T16:50:00.004+08:00

MYSELF AT ASEAN! AHAHA

Haha yes sorry people..but this post is still not going to be about the RVCO camp. I thought I would begin it with a picture of me at the ASEAN conference. After receiving an email today on the availability of ASEAN Summit photos, it just sort of reminded me that I haven't posted on the ASEAN Plus Summit yet..which in my opinion was quite a fun conference through which I made a lot of new friends and learnt quite a lot of new things..so without further ado here we are!

The ASEAN Plus conference was a conference organized by Dunman High, where students of various schools would represent various countries and debate regional issues and problems and hopefully resolve them, thus learning the importance of regional cooperation. For my school, we got selected to represent Japan, which intially was quite hard for me cause well, besides for the fact that it produced good anime, I knew nothing about the country.

The 1st and 2nd day were fun, as commitee sessions took place. I was in the ATCSC, where we debated about the topic of terrorism and how to put forward a working resolution to address the issue. On the 1st day I was rather hesitant to speak, this being my 1st conference, but by the second day I was out in full force, debating and protecting "Japan's" interests in the resolution. Crisis session on the 2nd day was fun too, as Japan managed to put together and sponsor a resolution to help alleviate the "sudden crisis of floods that have hit South Asia". We managed to get it passed too.

Plenary session on the 3rd day was a bit too long, but we managed to get our ATCSC resolution passed, which makes me happy I guess. Well from these 3 days I learnt how to compromise and cooperate but the most important thing I guess was that I felt the power of Dunman CO, which performed on the 1st day and left me speechless. Later, my chairperson(who was from CO) told me that they regarded RVCO as serious competitors. So pressurizing for us. Hahaha.

And now, pictures!:

My Delegation, Japan, a.k.a ACJC

My Committee, ATCSC

LOVELESS

2008-06-22T16:32:00.002+08:00

Loveless - Prologue

When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end
The goddess descends from the sky

Wings of light and dark spread afar
She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting

Loveless - Act I

Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess
We seek it thus, and take it to the sky
Ripples form on the water's surface
The wandering soul knows no rest

Loveless - Act II

There is no hate, only joy
For you are beloved by the goddess
Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds

Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul
Pride is lost
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh

Loveless - Act III

My friend, do you fly away now?
To a world that abhors you and I?
All that awaits you is a somber morrow
No matter where the winds may blow

My friend, your desire
Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess

Even if the morrow is barren of promises
Nothing shall forestall my return

Loveless - Act IV

My friend, the fates are cruel
There are no dreams, no honor remains
The arrow has left the bow of the goddess

My soul, corrupted by vengeance
Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey
In my own salvation
And your eternal slumber

Legend shall speak
Of sacrifice at world's end
The wind sails over the water's surface
Quietly, but surely

Loveless - Act V

Even if the morrow is barren of promises
Nothing shall forestall my return
To become the dew that quenches the land
To spare the sands, the seas, the skies
I offer thee this silent sacrifice

Oh well decided to post the inspiration for my blog design as a filler post for now so well haha here it is. LOVELESS, author and poet unknown. Anyone interested after reading it can contact me so we can discuss it further.

I SWEAR I WILL UPDATE ON THE RVCO CAMP SOON.

Reflecting

2008-06-19T16:31:00.003+08:00

Haha..in a reflecting mood after reading some of my friends' blogs past entries and current entries..so I decided to do an entry..

It's indeed interesting to read past entries on a blog cause it really shows how different people have matured and changed from the way their writing styles, etc have differed from their entries now and in the past..guess it really shows how the only constant thing in people is change and difference I guess..

Haha and I guess I am no different too..just to quote one of my past entries:

Well,sch has started again.Can't sae im exactly happy..lol.My class is nt bad..considering my combi...-March 2007

Well I can't believe that I talked and blogged in such a funny way last time...considering now that my entries are made normally using full words and a lack of short forms. I guess that shows my change in character..just like how many of my friends' blogs changed from happy to emo and to happy again. Haha

Shall post on the RVCO CAMP next time. Sorry people.

4K Chalet

2008-06-16T21:21:00.002+08:00

Shall update on the 4K Chalet 1st. Had 4K Chalet on Thurs. In the morning, went for RVCO Camp with Enqi, Shenghui and JX as they requested the seniors' aid in coaching the juniors since Mr. Lee wasn't there. So off we went. Did some productive training, IMO, on Wuti 1 and I personally thought that RVCO still has hope. LOL. Even though it might not be as strong as say the 2001 or 2003 batch. Then at 12, it was off to 4K Chalet for me.

Reached the chalet with the rest of the 10 4k guys in attendance by 3 something. Went off to Pasir Ris park for a fun filled afternoon of soccer in which i made some stunning saves but conceded several funny goals as well. Ahh well. It was a match in the name of fun after all. Went back to the chalet for Mahjong after that. Night cycling was fun as well, cycled about 8-10 km I think as we tried to find the path to East Coast Road.

Overall, the chalet was fun and it was great to meet up with old pals. This is what the holidays are for after all. Even though it was a tad short at 2d1n, I still think that the quality of the time spent together was superb. Here's to friendship, and may we have more such chalets in future. Regretfully I have no photos, as none of us guys were camwhores. RVCO Camp post coming up soon!

4K Chalet and RVCO Camp

2008-06-15T10:28:00.001+08:00

4k Chalet on thurs and steamboat/RVCO Camp on Fri was fun. Will update in future..just too long an update for me now. Haha.

RVCO Penang Trip '08

2008-06-10T09:57:00.005+08:00

Just got back from the Penang trip yesterday, and it was damn fun.Haha.So, here's an update in chronological order from the 6th-9th of June, when RVCO and us, the 6 alumni, along with Mdm So and Mr Ong were in Penang.

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD

6th June

Arrived at school at 0600 on the dot with JX courtesy of my father. Met up with the CAB section and the various sections got separated into their various buses. Nothing much to report on today as most of the time was spent traveling on the road. We did play cards on the bus though, and later truth or dare, which was relatively funny but after we exhausted the truth questions we soon got tired of it. The fun began again at the hotel, where 4 of us alumni along with Mr Wong holed up in one hotel room and started playing Mahjong. Talked cock as well, and it was damn funny. Slept at 12-1, which meant only 5 hours of sleep.

7th June

Woke up late because of the late hours and almost ended up being late for breakfast. We still managed to finish our breakfast though, which for a 4-star hotel was surprisingly refreshing and delicious. The hashbrowns though, as many people would agree, left much to be decided. After breakfast we left to visit Penang's traditional trades and food trail and it was a unique experience to say the least. We got to see how incense was created as well, and the incense sticks in Penang were indeed very interesting. Lunch followed and we visited a fruit farm in the afternoon, learning about the properties of the Dragon Fruit and catching Mr Lum in some funny incidents.HAHA. The day ended with a visit to Cheong Fatt Tze's mansion, where we learned about its unique fengshui and Qi energy. Mahjong in the night with Elyena, Bena and JX was fast paced and funny, as the performance was the very next day.

8th June

Interaction with Chong Ling High School in the morning was a novel experience as music exchange was after all the main highlight of our trip. However, it was a tad short and soon, we were off to the Dewan Sri Pinang for rehearsal. Our performance officially started at 2-3, and well while it isn't the best performance from RVCO, I think it was relatively OK and it sounded quite nice actually. Wuti 1 once again evoked memories from me, as I remembered the 2005 batch and our pain and sorrow when we didn't get our Gold With Honors. The night soon beckoned, and we were off to the Night Market for a night of bargaining, cheap prices and fun. Sang crappy and lame songs on our way back with Mr Wong at our helm. Memories are made of such moments indeed. Mahjong went on into 3-4 something in the night, which would explain our predicament the following morning.

9th June

Woke up super late in the morning and ended up making the whole bus wait for us.Sigh. The trip back was relatively uneventful in the morning as most of us were still groggy and sleepy. Things began to pick up in the afternoon and after our relatively early dinner, we were at full steam, churning out song after song from Johor all the way across both customs and back to River Valley High School. Took JX's dad car home after that and fell asleep, surprisingly.

Overall, the trip was fun and I guess I'll never forget this trip which was filled with thrills, spills and embarassing moments. All the meal Yam-Sengs, the singing on the bus, crapping with Mr Wong, learning more about my juniors, cracking super cold jokes, these are the stuff that memories are made of. Just wish it could have been longer. Haha. CO camp coming soon. Probably will be in attendance LOL.

And now, Photos!(this is just a select few, the rest are at my webshots acc..):

Our Cello Sleeping Beauties

First Day at Lunch.Note the seafood(sigh)

The RVCAB Seniors+Miss Tay Star!!

RVCAB Seniors+Miss Tay at the temple

Once a RVCOian, always an RVCOian!

RVCO Alumni

Penang

2008-06-06T00:23:00.002+08:00

6 Hours to the Penang trip.

RVCO! FULL SPEED AHEAD!

RVCO Practice

2008-06-03T22:26:00.002+08:00

RVCO practice today was relatively fruitful and productive..at least for me. Went through both songs and corrected a lot of dynamics and errors, just in time for the Penang trip coming up. Got to witness first-hand the power of Lum's skills once again, which never fail to amaze me and make me stare in awe despite seeing it the 2nd or 3rd time.

Going down tomorrow again to work on some errors and mistakes, as well as to collect my costume. Haha. Should be fun.

Just saw something on someone's blog. Can't believe that person said that. Disappointed and depressed. Oh well.

Holidays

2008-05-30T22:52:00.002+08:00

Well its the school holidays and everyone is relaxed and joyous..same goes for me..who basically spent the 1st week of the school holidays doing nothing but relaxing activities of totally unproductive (academic wise) nature. But for those who are interested, here are the highlights from an otherwise boring week.

Tuesday

RVCO practice commenced and alumni present were me, Bena and JX. Alumni that I know anyways. Played Dian Chi and I could sense that we were definitely getting better. Had a fun time even though practice was not very productive lol. Oh well. At least practice was fun and enjoyable and me and JX brought the house down once again with our repertoire of cold jokes and lame stuff. Haha.

Thursday

Soccer with the 4k dudes was fun overall, despite interference from other people. Made a few spectacular saves but conceded a few easy shots. Overall my game that day was average, even though we did win a few games with me in goal. Went to eat after that and I bid farewell to my friends as I went to the library to mug and study. Went home satisfied and happy.

Friday

RVCO practice again, this time with WJ, Shaoying and Bena present. Practiced Wuti 1 today. After practice, went to City Hall with WJ and Bena, Bena had to go for her band concert at VCH, while I had to check out some stuff at City Hall. Ate with WJ and dicussed the state of COs nowadays and RVCO's future. Just reached home.

ACCO practice tmr morn. Oh well.

Update

2008-05-25T00:11:00.001+08:00

Well, a quick update of what's going on in my life..

Interviews are over, interesting to say the least and that's the most I can say, for fear of divulging anything. Suffice to say that the actions of candidates will matter a lot, and the next few days should be interesting I guess.

Saturday

Went for RVCO practice in the morning, was joined by old friends Bena, Jin Xian and Elyena. Played Dian Chi today. A wonderful song I personally felt, though we were horrible at the start I guess you could say we quickly caught on? Haha. Really enjoyed practice today even though I had to miss out on soccer with the 4K dudes. 1st time in quite awhile I felt such warmth and belonging and fun during a CO practice, especially since those who know me know what I mean. Lol.

Went for lunch after CO with JX and some of the CO guys, crapped alot of lame jokes and talked about the fun stuff we were planning in Penang. Lunch soon ended and I was off to join the 4k dudes for movie Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. For fans of my long movie reviews, apologies as that will have to wait. For now, suffice to say it was a funny movie, reminiscent in the Indiana Jones style but might possibly be unaccessible or alien to those new to the Indiana Jones franchise. Crapped alot with the 4k dudes too..reminded me of old times and fun times. Really enjoyed my outing with them and looking forward to the kickabout on Thursday.

Today was indeed a day for old friendships and memories, and such wonderful times are really a testament to the friendships forged over 4 years. Here's to friendship..before I get too philosophical and ramble on.

2008-05-22T22:55:00.002+08:00

MAN UTD ARE RED,
CHELSEA ARE BLUE.
JOHN TERRY MISSED,
AND ANELKA DID TOO!

MAN UTD KINGS OF EUROPE, CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND!

Guess the pictures above say it all. Glory Man Utd forever!

2008-05-19T19:30:00.002+08:00

And with that, enCOre IV is over with a bang.

Whee.Haha, I really enjoyed the concert, I enjoyed the songs, the playing, being immersed in the mood and feeling of the music.

Even though there were some errors, and I probably didn't play to my best, I felt it was good nevertheless.

Thanks to those who came and thanks for your flowers. I really appreciated it.

Haha more details in future. Just too tired now.

2008-05-16T22:29:00.002+08:00

If there's one thing I hate in this world, its hypocrisy and hypocrites.

Lying, fucking, backstabbing bastards.

Can't believe someone actually said that today.Oh the irony of it all.

Can't wait for that day to come.

2008-05-07T22:09:00.002+08:00

Last night, when I was thinking of you, a tear dropped out of my eye.

I asked, "why did u drop out?"

Tear said,"There is someone so beautiful in your eyes, that there is now no place for me."

HAHAHAHA.

2008-05-05T22:00:00.002+08:00

A brief summary of what happened over the weekend:

Saturday

Went for CO practice, relatively good today but nothing to write home about, I still maintain that we need to improve..hopefully that will come in the form of sectionals tommorow which the J2s have taken the initiative to organize. Haiz..CO prac is so sian nowadays..sometimes I feel like just rotting at home. Met up with old friends Louis, Yuxuan, Boon Siang and Joseph after CO for an evening/night of football and Mahjong! Hu-ed a 13 Yao for the 1st time in my life and Man Utd trashed West Ham to further dominate their title credentials. Went home late but content, satisfied and happy.

Sunday

Slept into the late morning due to Saturday's activities, did some homework, played with the cat and basically just lagged at home, waiting for the inevitable doomsday of Monday.

Monday

A day of boring lessons which lasted till late afternoon, but thank god its over. Felt I needed coffee therapy after such a long day, so I went to Starbucks to rejuvenate myself. Just a basic Monday in the mundane life of a student.

P.S Real secured the La Liga today! Congrats Jireh!

2008-05-01T21:15:00.002+08:00

Yes, my dear friends, after a long period of absence, I have returned to raise this blog from death.

On to more serious matters, well life has been going well recently, but CCA has me tired out..which is to be expected of course, with our concert coming up. Of course, unlike other schools, AC has long finished our terms/mid-years/most important exams so well, that's one thing off my mind.

Yes, very well, this update was in light of the fact that even my good friend, Yuxuan, who hasn't updated like for eternity has updated, so of course I have to update and keep pace.

Till next time.

2008-03-26T22:41:00.001+08:00

Just found out that many of my friends had blogs I didn't knew existed. Oh well.

Oh and S'pore beat Lebanon 2-0. Cheers!

2008-03-02T18:58:00.000+08:00

ONE POINT CLEAR!

MAN U MAN U MAN UNITED!!THE CHAMPIONS AGAIN!

2008-02-19T19:54:00.002+08:00

Yes after much debate in general I have returned...to make an appeal actually..

You see I have found a most adorable kitten which happens to be recapurating. Unfortunately due to my computer's limited capabilities (this is the other com) I am not able to post any pictures on this blog, as I have just found out. So for any of you pet-freaks out there whom are capable of adopting a kitten, please give me a ring. I will gladly mail you a copy of the picture of what the kitten looks like.

On a side note, its damn cute.

2007-11-23T22:34:00.000+08:00

Enchanted: A Review

Greetings fellow viewers and readers of this blog. Welcome once again to yet another broadcast of JunHan's professional movie review show. Today, we will be looking at the recently released Disney production, Enchanted. Here with me at the studio are,making their special guest appearances, Hinata and Pinaceiis.

Hinata: Hello viewers.

Pinaceiis: Hi.

JH: Yes, and now we go on to the various aspects of the film. First, a background guide to the film. Enchanted is a Disney Production, spoofing/paying homage to the various Disney fairy tale films such as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. It speaks the story of Princess Giselle as she gets banished from the fairy tale land of Andalasia to our harsh city of NW. As she learns to adapt to our world, with the help of cynical but friendly lawyer Robert, she must also contend with the schemes of the wicked stepmother(LOL) and the goofy attempts made by her Prince Edward to rescue her. Interesting. Now, Hinata, what did you like about the film and what was it that first caught your eye?

Hinata: To put a finger on it, I would have to say the plot. Growing up with the typical Disney animated films( who didn't), I found the plot refreshing and interesting. The various homage paid to those films brought back many memories and was nostalgic for me.

Pinaceiis: Indeed, I would have to agree with Hinata there. However, what caught my eye about the plot was not its homage-paying,so to speak. I personally found the plot to be relatively simple and cliche of the fairy tale genere. However, this is precisely one of its strong points. In a time where movies are getting known more and more for their relatively complicated plots, Enchanted catches the eye with its simple, yet refreshing plot.

JH: Agreeing with Hinata there, the homage-paying really did it for me. I found it to be both funny and nostalgic. Now, moving on to visuals/acting. Enchanted used the standard 2D animation style for the fairy tale world. I personally found it to be standard Disney fare and well, there was nothing to complain about. Moving on to acting. What caught my eye, was basically Amy Adams(Giselle). Being a relatively newcomer to the blockbuster industry, it was amazing the way she took on the pressure and gave a performance worthy of an Oscar. I see this young lady's star on the rise!

Hinata & Pinaceiis: Agreed.

JH: Mardsen as the goofy but lovable Prince Edward though, was a bit exaggerated though still swallow-able.

Hinata: A point though, would be the animation used on the rats and various animals in the real world. I thought it was relatively well done, though nothing special when compared to the stuff ILM or WETA does.

JH:Indeed. Moving on to the music/score. What can I say?The master Alan Menken is back again with his compostions which, besides sounding original and pleasant, also pay homage to the various songs he used to compose for Disney, such as Under the Sea, Someday my Prince will come and Whistle while you Work.Genius.

Pinaceiis: Agreed. I paticularly enjoyed the duet piece, "True Love's Kiss" sung from the beginning of the movie and used in various segements.

JH: Look at the time. While I would love to continue, it appears that our time has run out. So folks, a final verdict, with stunning acting, nostalgia and a wonderful soundtrack, Enchanted is sure to please all Disney fairy tale veterans. Newbies to the fairy tale genere though, might find this film less appealing.Thank you, once again for tuning in, and thank you, Hinata and Pinaceiis for joining me on today's review.

Enchanted final verdict: 4/5

2007-11-21T23:53:00.000+08:00

Enthusiasm for writing in this blog is fast running out. After an initial burst of speed I have slowed down on my entries. Sorry people, I will update as soon as I have the time...in the meantime people..watch this space!

2007-11-17T21:49:00.000+08:00

CO today..came for self sectionals in the morning..yup the usual drill..practice was ok I guess..since we actually managed to cover all the instruments needed unlike last time where we were missing this or that or whatever..

Then it was off to sectionals..slacked off since my Bass part was quite easy.Ok scratch that. It was super easy...ya then listened to the instructors talk about life,competition and the highly competitive results of globalisation and the beginning of a global village.

Yes more or less that what happened today..not much to say I guess..

2007-11-15T22:43:00.000+08:00

Yes..the daily post on my public blog for my ever adoring public.

Went out with the 4k people to watch Beowulf today..for those waiting for my professional apprasial of the movie..I'm sorry but you'll have to wait. I'm too tired today. After which went to play soccer, unfortunately at that time all the soccer courts we knew of were occupied my Ah-Mats and well..we had to play a few games with them. We won more than we lost, and I felt my game improved a notch. Well..that happens whenever adreanaline surges. But hoo-boy..they reeked of odour..and I smelt of them after the match. Had to bathe at Shi Jie's house after the match.

Then we played Mahjong, and I lost quite a fair bit. Damn, at this rate I'll never be able to win, even at ACCO chalet.

Yeah..that's more or less what happened today.

2007-11-14T20:37:00.000+08:00

1st time in quite awhile I could sleep for 10 hours..today..

Woke up at 10, washed up and went to Holland V to meet who else but Kok and SQ for lunch at BK before going to CO practice..after reaching school we went to buy food for Conductor and met 2 of Kok's very "humorous " friends.

CO practice was quite nervous intially..cause well we were scolded like shit the last time we played. Today was ok though, cause everyone practiced and well, yeah we played pretty well I guess. Oh and the sec4 cum-next year J1s came, and LOL so did Fu En..so I mainly gossiped with him, about what happened in RV recently, etc.

Yeah the Sec4-J1s were good..and the music did improve a lot with them..oh and I realized today that I was quite adept at copying out scores..and it was quite fun as well..

Oh and people, if you all want contact me for the next 3 days, please don't call my house phone as I'm at my other house. My handphone or MSN will do fine..

2007-11-13T16:10:00.001+08:00

Being too tired to post yesterday and cause i had gastric ulcer, I shall separate this post into 2 sections to allow all beloved fans who read this blog not to miss any part of my oh-so-interesting life.

Monday

Had com meeting in the morning with well the rest of the com of course. Haha quite productive I would say. We went through our roles and upcoming events, like the one-day CO camp and CO chalet. Yup nothing much its only in the afternoon when stuff got interesting. Oh and we went Dover Market eat. Oh for those of you all who are really bo liaoz and want to know what we ate/drank I drank Kopi-O-Gosong, Shern^2 had Teh, SQ and Kok had Horlicks-Peng, Meiqi Mama had Tak Kiu Peng and Alyssa had I forgot what. Bunny didn't drink. Nothing interesting about what we ate..but Shern^2 had 2 bowls of mee.

After which we returned to our beloved CO room and started condemning instruments and throwing them away. Unlike my friend SQ who didn't elaborate because she was too tired yesterday, I shall elaborate more on the process and the interesting stuff. Well, it was sweaty, tiring and disgusting but interesting as well. I found out we had a Diying Ge-hu and its so nice that I've fallen in love with it. I also found out about broken Basses I didn't know we had in the 1st place. Oh and in the process of getting rid of all the instruments, I realized that if we condemned instruments every CCA-practice, we would be stronger than the sports CCAs.Haha.

Oh photos are below..if any one is even interested..haha..photos of our sweaty selves..

The people who helped stay behind condemn.
The girls.
Me and Shern Shern acting gay.

Yup that's mainly it for Monday...

Tuesday

Went for self sectionals in the morning..self sectionals being really self sectionals as my section couldn't make it..so I just went to practice by myself. Copied out page 1 and 2 of the scores and ended up teaching the percussion people. To break the monotony, I can finally blog that I went out with Shern^2 and Daniel today to eat..meanwhile SQ went to book chalet, which has been confirmed on 25-27 nov, next sunday. Haha yup that's about it for today,for now..

2007-11-11T22:24:00.000+08:00

New post once again...as per normal..

Today was boring I guess..nothing much to blog about..so this post will act as a filler until more interesting things come along..I woke up, watched power rangers, played my PSP, went back to sleep, woke up, ate dinner, went to my grandparents' house and just came back.

Haha sorry people for this uninteresting blog post..something will happen sooner or later..

lol com meeting tomorrow..off to sleep for me then..

2007-11-10T22:36:00.000+08:00

CO practice today..new song..骏马奔驰..but to be accurate the full name of this song is [祖国处处是春天]-第二乐章-骏马奔驰...yes sounds cheena doesn't it? Well people wake up! In case you haven't noticed its a CO song..its meant to be cheena.

Combined was bad. When I said bad, I mean like really bad. Everyone was quite unprepared and yup..we didn't sound good.Okay scratch that. We sounded horrible. Conductor scolded all of us and it was off to sectionals for all of us. Surprisingly, or not(depends on your point of view), Qu Feng came today. That was good news at least..he could work on the cellos, whom even though have been recieving praise seriously need to practice. But good job all the same people! We're the only section to be not scolded by conductor! Haha keep it up.

Went for Sakae at town after CO prac, and barring the 8 bucks Kok and SQ owe me I'm currently broke. Not counting my Khong Guan stuff of course..haha..listening to [祖国处处是春天]-第二乐章-骏马奔驰 now..realized we seriously have a lot a lot of work to do..oh well..haha I shall let my section mates hear this version of Jun Ma..haha its a gd way to learn..

Ok nothing much else to blog about..oh ok just remembered..Kok was edgy today in town. Cheer up Kok!

2007-11-09T22:16:00.001+08:00

Damn this blog can't use titles...don't know why also..haha

Yes went for cycling with Kok and SQ today at East Coast park, cycled to the jetty at both ends and talked..haha yup oh and I was late and had to take the cab as I had to charge my camera last minute. Hmm cycling was fun I guess, since all of us were at least going at the same speed now, and the wind blowing in my face was soothing I guess.

Went to West Mall to watch movie after that..to be specific its Bee Movie, and for all you fans out there, here comes JunHan's professional movie review, this being the 2nd after Stardust. Bee Movie is about a bee who doesn't fit in, goes out, sees injustice, sues us humans, discovers the side effects of his form of justice, makes a plan to turn things back to normal and ends up discovering that he must conform to the social order if not chaos would occur.

Now, to be serious, the movie sucked. It was really a Bee-list plot and storyline( B-list-get it?haha). Nothing here that has never been done before. The hero who doesn't fit in, the justice seeking-cum-attention seeking, the mistake, and the revert back to social order. A tried-and-tested storyline which I unfortunately found boring. However, what actually made it work somewhat for Bee Movie was the stupidity in which it was presented. Like what my good friend SQ said on her blog, it was so stupid that she had to laugh. That, I had to agree was the one saving grace of Bee Movie--its ability to actually get me to laugh at its sheer idiocy. That, of cause and its apparently stunning animation, but we do expect nothing less from Dreamworks.

And so i conclude this review with a summary..Bee Movie, a movie which you can take the kids to for entertainment, but unfortunately not a winning one by Dreamworks and easily its worst movie possibly. A movie made by a A-star studio which only made the B(ee) List.

Oh but it was fun for me lar..haha since Kok SQ and I were making all those stupid comments in the cinema. Oh and there were kids crying at inopportune times. Sheer hilarity.

2007-11-09T09:40:00.000+08:00

This post is going to be a social criticism. First of all, to get a clear picture of what I'm talking about,please watch this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KB_GoQ-h9Zg

Yes now basically the story is this: 3 British tourists in Singapore got on to this trishaw, agreed on the price of 10 bucks with the old driver, and while traveling complained about it being the "slowest taxi in Southeast Asia"(when the driver is carrying 3 of them for god's sake) They then get off, refuse to pay, and make the old guy look like a beggar.

Now a lot of complaints have been made through the channel of blogs and Youtube, spawning even a New Paper front page story over this incident. After looking through some of the comments people have made, I realized while some of them made sense and were actually quite insightful, the majority were just plain racist( f*** you stupid Brits) or just bad. The criticism I'm going to make is not actually about the slowest taxi thing or the pay-did not pay issue. After all, Bo( the Brit in the video) did actually say he paid, so we'll give him the benefit of doubt. What I'm launching an attack on is the very fact that they made the old guy beg like a,well, beggar for his cash. 3 young Brits bullying an old guy--seems rather lacking in moral conscience,don't you think?

And for those who know me, this following section will seem familiar to you, but seriously, its not a communist-capitalist rant. I'm not trying to promote communism here, but think about it.This issue may just be a single issue, but underlying it could well be a mulititude of social problems that lie with our inherently greedy capitalist society. Face it people, capitalism is greed and selfishness in action. And while it generates wealth and improves the economy, it leads to problems like this as well. Society influences all of us. The behaviour of the Brits, their lack of morals, stem from a society which is concerned about mainly getting rich. I think there is probably a need to step up in moral development, not just in Britain, but perhaps in all countries as well, and for those who know who I am, you know which country in paticular I'm referring to.

Well that's one of my longer posts. Sorry if it bored you people. I'll try to post something more interesting next time.

2007-11-07T22:02:00.000+08:00

Following in the tradition of happy public blogs, I shall be posting one new entry per day.So for those of you who know me,yup don't be shocked.Well today was an interesting day to say the least.First of all being a landmark as its the start of CO practice again.Like all landmark days, it was marked by bad luck for me. First of all,I was late for CO as my toilet door lock was being repaired and no one told me.As a result, I was stuck in the toilet for quite a while and thus, I was late.

The second being my ji gou pa record of losing in the first turn to both shunqi and kok. The odds were probably 1 in 3000, but it happened twice..so what can I say?Pure bad luck..

Well but today was fun lar..was a bit rusty during CO practice but soon warmed up enough..we went to look at jackets at queensway after that, we being me sq kok daniel alyssa ms too..yup it was fun..hahax..but my legs are aching now..haha..

Well..I'm off to RO..until next time..

Stardust

2007-11-06T23:05:00.001+08:00

Yes..after much consultation and thinking I have decided to write in a new blog and start afresh..due to the repeated clamours of my adoring public..naturally.This blog as a rule will indeed be truly how I feel so people..please don't be offended.

The blogskin is based on Bleach the anime, one of my favourite series due to its intense storyline.I like this layout for its simplicity and purity of color.

Well, now that introductions are over I shall post about what happened today. Went to West Mall with Kok and SQ to watch stardust, the first of many times this hols..lol..Well as a serious movie critic I must say that it was such an intense movie and loads of fun to watch. The characters are adequately fleshed out and no character is just there for screen time. Though it has a good plot, the lack of epic-ness on its part still prevents it from ranking up there with the big boys.

Well that was the serious opinion, as a 16-17 year old kid I must say..THE MOVIE ROCKED!Especially since Kok was laughing so hard I was finding hard not to laugh along..sigh..we must have more such outings..

Well my first post ends as such.