Monday, July 30, 2007

Pensiveness

Potterness!
Well nope I'm not a Harry fan, while I did buy the 7th book on the day of its release, and finished reading it a week later (TURTLE PACE). I needn't queue up for it though, and it's a pity that the store that had a salesman that dressed up as Dumbledore didn't attract that many customers.
I did an online personality test. And it's the most accurate one I did in my whole life (not really long), for both offline and online. It's more specific than that MBTI test that the school has made us paid $2 for. So much for trying to get something done right ^^

Stability results were very high which suggests you are extremely relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic. Orderliness results were moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment. Extraversion results were low which suggests you are very reclusive, quiet, unassertive, and secretive.

I can summarise that in 2 words tho : DECEPTIVELY EMO. gg. I hate being confirmed heh =D

PS: Date's mixed because I drafted this, but it wasn't completed then.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Lion

I read the blog of one of my idols. No, not singing related of course.
It was about his reflections on the latest tournament he played in. He managed to reach the semi's, with a really amazing record so far and I was betting (not literally) that he's going to win 3-0 in the best of five series. He lost 0-3.
According to him, the one big reason why he lost in such a spectacular fashion is because the conditions sucked. Being an European, he's way more likely to sweat than an Asian. Despite pleading the officials at hand to do something such as turning off the stage lights and turning the air conditioner on, they didn't bother to do anything about it.
To quote him, "They nearly dont sweat at all. So a heat for them is nothing, but for me it means everything, it means my head will get slow and sleepy."
He had originally forfeited the third match, but after some consideration he had decided to play on. While his opponent agreed, his manager rejected the offer due to a possible loss in money should he lose, and my idol kept to fourth place then.
Thankfully, my idol bothered to reflect and apologise on his behaviour. This wasn't the first time it happened already, as people worldwide had criticised him for ages on his whiny behaviour and deliberate losses in hilarious ways to show his dissatisfaction. He had also complained about all the matchups he had to face, saying how lousy the race he's using is. It's funny looking at how he described all other races being imba and totally unfair, or how he's losing because the other player didn't need to do half of what he needs to.
Still, I admire him for his bravery. It's totally untrue that Koreans and Chinese don't whine as much, simply because they only do it backstage and even if they've done it online, it wasn't in english. The only thing that makes my idol so much more different is his frankess with what is really happening. He doesn't mind complaining about the 101 things other people don't, because if nobody bothers, the situation can't mend itself. It seems childish to forfeit just because he wasn't not happy with what he had to play with, but it's only so because others might not want to be thrown into the same spotlight. Also, he tries so hard to make it up for all the "imba" he is facing by figuring out how to win every other top player except for one in style, and the respect of a thousands of Chinese fans (challenging). He hasn't stopped complaining though =D
Undoubtedly, everyone wants to attribute their losses to something else. I'm not different.
I can't hit the ball not because it just bounces off in a different direction as compared to everyone else getting easier shots. I can't hit the ball not because I'm not atheletical (no such word) in nature. I can't hit the ball not because the only thing I'm half decent at is computer games. I can't hit the ball not because the meds I'm eating are hindering me. And I can't hit the ball, only because I'm too scared to try - and fail.
I wish I'm half as brave as he is. It's not that impossible.

-王者之战,没有失败者

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Glimpse

I downloaded "Over The Hedge" recently and watched it. Yes, I know it's some ancient movie, but I prefer animations to most other movies because there's a "guaranteed" minimum for entertainment value ( the reason why you would wanna watch any movie in the first place).
It's a film on this raccoon who tried to steal junk food from a bear and lost all of it in the process. The bear got pissed ( can't imagine my Pringles being stolen =( ) and wanted the raccoon to recover them all within a given time, otherwise hes dead by the next full moon. Anyways the raccoon stumbled upon a bunch of small animals which has awoken from hibernation, now in the midst of gathering food.
This raccoon knows how to obtain potato chips, soft drinks, chocolate bars etc etc from homes, and after plundering alot, a lady called in the pest exterminator. And then of course like how almost animations end, the exterminator gets chased away by the animals somehow and they lived happily ever after.
There's one scene that I can particularly remember though. It's about the exterminator demonstrating how to use the traps that would kill/maim/imprison the animals in gruesome ways. As exaggerating the fictional methods depicted can be, it's worth muling over.
Now honestly, I do not have a problem with killing pests. If it's cockroaches or rats, they should all be done away with.
Globally, it's not a surprise as to how cruel animals are being treated on the whole. You have cases of cats being abused in Singapore along void decks not too long ago ( actually it was last year ). You have fishing trawlers killing off more than just fish in their nets. Sharks are thrown back into the sea after their fins are removed for soup making. Pigs are fed tons of sewage water just so that they fetch a higher price in the market. Smaller bears are chained up to entertain.
No, I'm not innocent either. I constitute a demand for all of them (except the cats and bears)
"Survival of the fittest" is something I can't disapprove of. In the wild, anything goes. but at least everything there dies so quick that they're spared the fleeting moments of torture.
We're no less savage then them, and this fact smites us harder when.. it's obvious that we're empowered to clean this all up.
On a side note, movie directors don't produce animations for the sake of reliving their childhood experiences, or to liven up the mood at Hollywood (not that there's a need to).
The tales often spin in more than just money.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Behold

I managed to watch a few movies recently, such as Die Hard and Transformers. Harry Potter by far was the worst =/
It's a really bad summary of what happened in the book, with only a tenth of the content. I'm no movie critic, but it's obvious that the director was counting on the momentous hype to rake in the money.
Here's how much they actually cut. Kreacher's name wasn't mentioned in the movie. You wouldn't have known that the headquaters is Grimmauld's Place. The black horses (forgot the name) were introduced not by Hagrid, but by Luna. Coincidentally, the kids managed to obtain them although only Harry and Luna were supposedly a ble to see them. Also, you wouldn't have known that Harry and Cho broke up. Hagrid was bruised all over although he didn't mention himself getting trounced. You wouldn't have known that Ron did try for Quidditch. Worse of all, Harry knew about the contents of the prophecy because upon retrieving it, it became a sound recorder. And the list goes on.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell that the movie wasn't nice at all because every review gave it 4 to 5 stars. The film's plot became so simplified that it became like a story a little more complex than Cinderella. Even Luna is way prettier than Cho =/
*yawns*
Okay big deal, I've wasted $9.50 on a Saturday because not being the really, really avid fan of Harry Potter, I was unable to enjoy the film.
Uh, what did I just say?...
"not being the really, really avid fan of Harry Potter..."
AH HAH! That explains the way I see things, doesn't it?
Perception is unique to everyone. Fans would find the film extremely enchanting, and would most probably stone me to death in a well for posting the above. Simply said, every story has 2 sides to it, sometimes even more. However, our mind is often only able to view issues in a one dimensional manner.
Yes, no one's mind is truly broad enough to encompass all possibilities. That being said, I now know for sure why the Israel-Palestine conflict isn't anywhere near ending, and it's certainly not solely because of selfish Fatah militants or a silly President Abbas doesn't know how to stamp out militancy.
I am responsible for my thoughts which, in turn determines my behaviour. It's easy to throw everything else out of the window at times when the solution is hidden in all that trash.
It's even easier to scream "IMBA" when I'm losing, when it's simply matter of myself not getting the right things done. I always forget to give credit, unless it's a mirror match. Now, I'm pretty sure the the guy on the other end of the screen has worked just as hard, if not more than I did to win, even though things seems easier from his end, not that I can win while I'm on either side.
Ok, so maybe Harry Potter was a disastrous film only when I'm the one watching it.Like the last line in the movie Transformers, there's always more to things than it meets the eye.
WATCH DIE HARD 4 AND TRANSFORMERS INSTEAD K THX.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Fiasco

That sums up my CT results =D
Nope, I didn't get a string of U's, luckily not even one yet. But it's not something worth celebrating over, especially since I can't even form cool code words with it. At least SUSU would sound nicer and more memorable than placing together those consonants I've gotten.
I seriously doubt my econs would get a B, which means no H3 for me now, not that I would even want a H3 for econs because I practically know as much about econs as I do about baking cookies : NOTHING.
It's not depressing though, considering the fact that I only studied for 5 days. With promos just 60+ days left to go, I can see a need to MUG MY ASS OFF!
Not.
I'm not one, and I'm too lazy to even try.I'll simply do a little bit day by day, as compared to stoning for many days for the past 7 months. Yup. I'm going to at least score all B's the next time round.
*Foresees a failure in my resolution* That's probably why I've never made any ^^

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Antiphon

The post CT holidays vanished abit too quickly. School today however, needed no books. It's the first day of enrichment week.
In the morning it was the OCS visit. Not all too interesting in the least, since I'll probably be as familiar if not more with those toys in <2 years or so. Had a taste of the MREs (meals-ready-to-eat), and I got this feeling that I'll end up eating more biscuits than any of the the other food available. The last thing I need is weird food messin' with my stomache while I'm trying not to appear a boboshooter. Heck, the only thing that's reassuring about firing on target is a cross hair in the scope of the SAR21.
The dumb dumb backpack signal set is something out of the movie Windtalkers. Unless I'm suffering from amnesia (could be, after CTs), that stuff is used back in WW2 -.-' . While Nokia tosses out new phone models 10x quicker than Coke types, it's amazing how the SAF still has to rely on careful trekking through jungles in case they break the metre long antenna in pieces. There goes radio-ing for help, food, ammo, even a chance to listen to 98.7FM! Ok that's not remotely possible. Batteries take up half the weight of the signal set, and yet it can only transmit signals of up to 3 km more than a handheld one. Maybe Mindef ran out of $$ on communication equipment, they rather feed the troops nicer stuff. OK JOKING. It's obvious we're hidden in the dark as to what the army actually possess for safety precautions.
Camouflage station was funny. We're told to actually look for a cadet hiding, but apparently some mega big bush just blocked everything that I could even "camo" in there with my nj uniform. Not too surprisingly, the cadet was actually sitting on a chair while trying to hide. It's a rare "day off" for them anyway, so you can't really blame them for wanting to slack. I was chosen to have my face painted in a "creative" manner, and ended up having turtles drawn on my cheeks with a "王八" on my forehead =/ Luckily I asked for the "蛋" to be left out.At least I won't get to do that 2 years later, or I'll find myself washing toilets forever ^^
While OCS wasn't too interesting, Pulau Semakou was better.
We took a long ferry ride to "rubbish" island, and had a tour guide telling us about each of the Southern Islands.
The offshore landfill is actually 2 smaller islands, Pulau Saking and Pulau Semakou joined together by 7km perimeter rock bund, to form 350 hectares of "land" space. The sea in between is then divided using sand bunds into cells, 11 currently, and they are sealed by black impermeable membranes. Ashes and non-incinerable stuff are then stuffed into these membranes until nearly full, and are covered by a layer of soil and vegetation. The result? It just looks like any of the surrounding islands. Really neat.
The guide said it's not just politically correct to say it is environmentally friendly, it is factually correct to say so. There isn't a single patch of stale sea water around since cells that aren't used for dumping are connected by pipes to the open sea, and lots of "residents" made this island their home. Unlike the landfill anyone would simply imagine to be piles of rubbish resembling the Rocky Mountains, or being able to sniff it from miles away, there is nothing around indicating that it is even a landfill. It looks like another section out of East Coast Park.
Ok so wow, I just blabbered alot of stats on this island. Oh wait, I've forgotten to mention that.. this is the last landfill Singapore will have and it would run out in 40 years....
ZOMG WHERE'S ALL MY RUBBISH GOING TO GO? I GOTTA SLEEP NEXT TO THEM WHEN I GROW UP? WILL THERE BE "NEWFOOD" FROM WASTE LIKE NEWATER?
No, seriously, I'm not contemplating eating "NEWFOOD" if it ever existed. The manager of the island told us to go and think about solutions to this horrifying waste problem. And so I've thought of some....
1) TAX THOSE PLASTIC BAGS! Maybe this time people will actually consider bringing their own ones around. I don't get how people can get new bags from NTUC each time they shop for a few years and still worry about running out of them. Would also save some $$ for incinerators whenever they burn plastic stuff since they needn't treat any harmful gases.
2) Clothing must be passed down to siblings! This would save money for me - I mean everyone! Kinda sucks when your older siblings are hogging onto a cupboard full of clothes and they're not willing to share >:( . Would benefit me best since I have no fashion sense and I haven't bought clothes in years - literally. I don't know where to get them XD
3) Items are to be given away unless they are spoiled. Would be convenient to pass my ancient DVDs or storybooks off as Christmas presents to my relatives (never did celebrate it). How about that handphone which my cousin is intending to throw away, but when placed next to mine, would be like comparing Nike sneakers to slippers. Apparently my cousin has never seen so ancient a model as mine that he suggested that I keep it so as to sell it in the not too distant future as an antique :(
Ok I shall end here since the rest of the ideas revolve around umm... well you guessed it, "NEWFOOD". Yucks. I'm satisfied enough with all the goodies the cheapskate me is going to get if the above are enacted as laws.
On a serious note, Singapore has really walked pretty far in terms of handling environmental issues. There's only so much landfills, the campaigning on the 3 R's, or having SembCorp place green plastic bags at your doorstep etc etc, can do. We all have to do our part by consuming less and reusing more.
Or you'll end up looking at "NEWFOOD" invading our menus XD