Time really flies when you're having fun. It's a cliche, but I'm not afraid of using it because that's really the case!
The past few days have been a blast. We walked at least two hours a day (to Melb City and back), participated in the remembrance of war veterans, walked in the rain, cooked, shrieked as the wind screamed, went trigger happy, got traumatized everyday by a certain spidey and kangaroo, was issued a hailstone advisory, won a Wicked ticket lottery (eat your hearts out!), ate chips and churritos for dinner, had our IDs checked so many times, ate a roll of salmon-avocado sushi everyday, screamed "PESKYYYYYYYYYYY" at night, gave each other cute names...
Loving it.
And I've NEVER had my ID checked so many times in a trip before. Never.
Not sure how I'm going to let all of you know about the trip... but I don't think there'll be too much prose around. Prob some reviews here and there... and perhaps some scrap pages too! When I get round to doing it!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
There has recently been an uproar on this tiny island. Ok, ok. More than one.
AWARE had a new exco that came in and (to borrow a term from Ms. Claire Nazar) storm-troopered their way into power. I don't know the full details of what happened, nor do I know those involved, so this is from a by-stander's pov. After the "new guard" storm-troopered the exco, the "old guard's" ire has been raised. They claim that the surge in new membership just before the AGM was the reason why the new guard won. And now, the old guard has gone and gotten their own fair share of new sign-ups.
The situation is strangely reminiscent of another standoff some thousand kilometres up north, where colours tell which political character you want to be associated with. As the "old guard" beef up their full-on retort (they're in the process of getting enough support to call for an EOGM and submit a vote of no-confidence), I'm just curious how this whole saga will turn out. Will we see our very own red-shirt yellow-shirt situation, albeit of smaller local proportions? Or is this (very extremely cynically and maybe unfairly speaking) a way to thrust the name of this advocacy group back into the limelight? Only time will tell.
But that's not the only saga happening. A new ad has been screened, where a wife talks about the foilibles and imperfections of her husband at his funeral. My gosh, she really went all out imitating the snores (snaaark... SNORK) and telling anecdotes of his sleep-farting. She then 'sermonizes' that it is these very imperfections that have endeared her husband to her, and it is these little foilibles that made their relationship special.
And then. A big debate has been droned up in the forums, criticizing the ad for 1. seemingly coming out of Good Will Hunting, and 2. promoting the idea of just settling for anyone, imperfections and all.
It's laughable. Really.
Fiction takes much of its inspiration from real life. The creative director of the ad knows about the Good Will Hunting scene, where the Robin Williams' character talks about his deceased wife's sleep-farting habits. Is it too much to borrow the concept? Is it plagiarism? Well, my Dad's snores are probably loud enough to wake the dead, and turn the living into the walking dead the next day. I think snoring and sleep-farting is something we all can relate to.
And as for the idea of just throwing away your ideals and settling for second best, for someone less perfect. Hello, are you perfect yourself? If you are, then sure, seek someone perfect. But no one's perfect. I pity your other half if you think you're perfect, or if you admit you're not perfect "... but...". Anyway, this idea of settling for second-best is not even the message here! I think you've got to read quite a bit into it to even see it. The ad is really about cherishing everything about life, whether you're married or not. Our families can be nutcases sometimes (for some, almost always), but it's all about imperfect people living together, trying their darnest hardest to live a good life and make some contributions to society.
Oh well. Why did we ever need a campaign to know how to have fun? Or suggestions of it? (For the record, I can't remember if we ever had one. Too many campaigns, can't keep track.) I think these happenings have been entertaining enough!
AWARE had a new exco that came in and (to borrow a term from Ms. Claire Nazar) storm-troopered their way into power. I don't know the full details of what happened, nor do I know those involved, so this is from a by-stander's pov. After the "new guard" storm-troopered the exco, the "old guard's" ire has been raised. They claim that the surge in new membership just before the AGM was the reason why the new guard won. And now, the old guard has gone and gotten their own fair share of new sign-ups.
The situation is strangely reminiscent of another standoff some thousand kilometres up north, where colours tell which political character you want to be associated with. As the "old guard" beef up their full-on retort (they're in the process of getting enough support to call for an EOGM and submit a vote of no-confidence), I'm just curious how this whole saga will turn out. Will we see our very own red-shirt yellow-shirt situation, albeit of smaller local proportions? Or is this (very extremely cynically and maybe unfairly speaking) a way to thrust the name of this advocacy group back into the limelight? Only time will tell.
But that's not the only saga happening. A new ad has been screened, where a wife talks about the foilibles and imperfections of her husband at his funeral. My gosh, she really went all out imitating the snores (snaaark... SNORK) and telling anecdotes of his sleep-farting. She then 'sermonizes' that it is these very imperfections that have endeared her husband to her, and it is these little foilibles that made their relationship special.
And then. A big debate has been droned up in the forums, criticizing the ad for 1. seemingly coming out of Good Will Hunting, and 2. promoting the idea of just settling for anyone, imperfections and all.
It's laughable. Really.
Fiction takes much of its inspiration from real life. The creative director of the ad knows about the Good Will Hunting scene, where the Robin Williams' character talks about his deceased wife's sleep-farting habits. Is it too much to borrow the concept? Is it plagiarism? Well, my Dad's snores are probably loud enough to wake the dead, and turn the living into the walking dead the next day. I think snoring and sleep-farting is something we all can relate to.
And as for the idea of just throwing away your ideals and settling for second best, for someone less perfect. Hello, are you perfect yourself? If you are, then sure, seek someone perfect. But no one's perfect. I pity your other half if you think you're perfect, or if you admit you're not perfect "... but...". Anyway, this idea of settling for second-best is not even the message here! I think you've got to read quite a bit into it to even see it. The ad is really about cherishing everything about life, whether you're married or not. Our families can be nutcases sometimes (for some, almost always), but it's all about imperfect people living together, trying their darnest hardest to live a good life and make some contributions to society.
Oh well. Why did we ever need a campaign to know how to have fun? Or suggestions of it? (For the record, I can't remember if we ever had one. Too many campaigns, can't keep track.) I think these happenings have been entertaining enough!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Much as I love my cf brothers, there are so many times i just feel like throttling them...
Disclaimer: not every scenario that followed happened to me. i'd have such a charmed life otherwise. but they're all real instances.
Case in point. After you've broken up with your girlfriend... don't do something like sms (even if it's months after) "i've moved on, and i hope you have too." even if you meant it for good and had good intentions (and i know the motives were good), it just doesn't cut it.
And especially just after you've parted ways... going off with another girl on a solo day-trip during a group holiday is just... plain insensitive.
Oh, and if you've dropped out of her life, you probably have. It may not be the most sensitive thing to let her know that "after much prayer, [you] and [her] have decided to walk together in the Lord". especially after promising to stay close friends and not being able to keep that promise.
Or not finding out all the facts and knowing the whole situation before coming to a premature judgement that she's "taking the easy way out".
Or scolding her for reprimanding the said friend who sent that sms i mentioned just 4 paragraphs up.
Belittling her or her opinions is not a good thing either.
And if she's showing u some care and concern but it just happens to be a bad day for u and ur tired, nevermind is probably one of the worst words to say. there are better ways to let her know you don't wish to talk about it now.
Disclaimer: not every scenario that followed happened to me. i'd have such a charmed life otherwise. but they're all real instances.
Case in point. After you've broken up with your girlfriend... don't do something like sms (even if it's months after) "i've moved on, and i hope you have too." even if you meant it for good and had good intentions (and i know the motives were good), it just doesn't cut it.
And especially just after you've parted ways... going off with another girl on a solo day-trip during a group holiday is just... plain insensitive.
Oh, and if you've dropped out of her life, you probably have. It may not be the most sensitive thing to let her know that "after much prayer, [you] and [her] have decided to walk together in the Lord". especially after promising to stay close friends and not being able to keep that promise.
Or not finding out all the facts and knowing the whole situation before coming to a premature judgement that she's "taking the easy way out".
Or scolding her for reprimanding the said friend who sent that sms i mentioned just 4 paragraphs up.
Belittling her or her opinions is not a good thing either.
And if she's showing u some care and concern but it just happens to be a bad day for u and ur tired, nevermind is probably one of the worst words to say. there are better ways to let her know you don't wish to talk about it now.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
I'm preparing to take my music diploma over the next couple of years or so... and boy am I amazed / appalled! Amazed because what's broadly termed "classical" music can be so beautiful. The tempos, the rhythms, the melodies... But also appalled because I never knew a lot of things. I blame it on the standard of music education in Singapore. Parents just send their children for music lessons so that they can take the exams and earn that certificate. Why? So that they can put it on their resumes in this meritocratic society that emphasizes one-upsmanship.
As a result, music teachers' hands are tied. They only have time in that one hour to teach both theory and practical. To correct their students' flaws. To shape their playing. To help them understand how to read all the 'dao gei' and notations. There is no time to give students a flavour of what the different music periods are... to allow them to appreciate the finer points of each period's music... to engage them in the various styles that are embodied in the music.
For example, I never knew that Mozart wrote the music to the nursery rhyme that we know as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Not until yesterday when Mel told me! He's got 12 variations to the main tune, and wow my goodness it sounds FANTASTIC. Truth be told, I heard it years ago in Woodlands Lib, and was so inspired by it I went home and tried to play it. But ummm... I'd forgotten how it really went by then, so it was a great failure. And I had no idea it was by Mozart, so searches came to a dead end. But it's come to me finally! And this is one piece I'm going to play now, just for the fun of it. Don't think this is a fantastic video, because Mozart pieces are best played with a very crystal clear tone and touch, and Teresa has a heavier touch here.
THIS is what I mean by Mozart needing crystal clear tone. Clara Haskil does this with finesse. The sound that she produces is so sweet and pure and well, crystal. And this probably explains why most music teachers don't teach Mozart.. because it's really darn hard to teach a fidgety child who's there only to please the parents... Mozart requires a strict sense of tempo. It's tempo, tempo, tempo. Simpler notes yes, but to keep strictly to the tempo is tough.
And Glenn Gould is good for playing the Romantic period pieces like Brahms.
More music education tidbits to come as I go dip my toes in the classical music world!
As a result, music teachers' hands are tied. They only have time in that one hour to teach both theory and practical. To correct their students' flaws. To shape their playing. To help them understand how to read all the 'dao gei' and notations. There is no time to give students a flavour of what the different music periods are... to allow them to appreciate the finer points of each period's music... to engage them in the various styles that are embodied in the music.
For example, I never knew that Mozart wrote the music to the nursery rhyme that we know as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Not until yesterday when Mel told me! He's got 12 variations to the main tune, and wow my goodness it sounds FANTASTIC. Truth be told, I heard it years ago in Woodlands Lib, and was so inspired by it I went home and tried to play it. But ummm... I'd forgotten how it really went by then, so it was a great failure. And I had no idea it was by Mozart, so searches came to a dead end. But it's come to me finally! And this is one piece I'm going to play now, just for the fun of it. Don't think this is a fantastic video, because Mozart pieces are best played with a very crystal clear tone and touch, and Teresa has a heavier touch here.
THIS is what I mean by Mozart needing crystal clear tone. Clara Haskil does this with finesse. The sound that she produces is so sweet and pure and well, crystal. And this probably explains why most music teachers don't teach Mozart.. because it's really darn hard to teach a fidgety child who's there only to please the parents... Mozart requires a strict sense of tempo. It's tempo, tempo, tempo. Simpler notes yes, but to keep strictly to the tempo is tough.
And Glenn Gould is good for playing the Romantic period pieces like Brahms.
More music education tidbits to come as I go dip my toes in the classical music world!
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
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