Under A Pipala Tree

Seijun

2008-07-03T23:03:00.004+08:00

It's hard to follow Wong's works ardently and not know about Japanese filmmaker Seijun Suzuki. I got the goosebumps when I realise that the esteemed old man apparently appears in a film I have been dying to get my hands on!

Please, can you tell me, give me, Cold Fever ?

Seize the Day

2008-07-01T19:18:00.004+08:00

It is very important for lay Buddhists to know the differences between themselves and the Sangha, the community of monks and nuns. Lay Buddhists have to be aware that they have lay responsibilities to fulfill, hence that should take priority by doing so through the Noble 8 Foldpaths. It will not be good when lay Buddhists ignore their worldly duties, especially when their responsibility and presence within his/her family is urgently needed.

Still, a lay Buddhists can practice and cultivate through mindfulness in their daily actions and in keeping the precepts. To also put one's life into the perspective of the Noble 8 Foldpath ensures a follower of a happy and peaceful life.

The Buddha said,

"In youth, be determined, diligent, and thrifty and strive to acquire knowledge.

Maintain a mind that is distant and unchained from desire and be focused on building a career during the prime of life.

In middle age, realise a stable career that is based on diligence, zeal, progress and Right Action.

Always use the wealth meaningfully to benefit self and others.

Do not wait till old age and rely on the people's benevolence like the aged swan."

Similarly it is the duty as lay Buddhists to carp diem, seize the day. To be industrious whether in fulfilling worldly duties or in spiritual practice and to benefit oneself and others through one's actions.

SSC - latest boyband in town

2008-07-01T01:38:00.003+08:00

The following boys are from the Sad Story Club.

Featuring the single, I Don't Wanna Be Emo No More .

Goodluck and cheer up soon. Life is beautiful in many aspect, waiting for you to only discover its finer

Really machiam boyband. But they are a real band, rock band that is.

2008-07-01T01:24:00.002+08:00

Just as the radiance of all stars in not worth one sixteenth part of the moon's radiance; just as in the last month of the rainy season, in autumn, when the sky is clear and free from clouds, the sun rises into the sky and drives away all darkness and shines, flashes and radiates; just as in the pre-dawn light, the healing star shines, flashes and radiates; so too, whatever good deeds one might do for the purpose of a good rebirth, none of them are worth one sixteenth part of that love which frees the mind. It is the love that frees the mind which shines, flashes and radiates forth out-surpassing all those good deeds.

Whoever makes love grow boundless,
And sets his mind for seeing the end of birth,
His fetters are worn thin.
If with a pure mind one feels love

Towards even a single being,
That alone makes him a good man.
Having a mind filled with compassion,
The Noble One does great good.

Anwar

2008-06-30T01:10:00.003+08:00

It's the same old story again. I personally feel Anwar is innocent, framed yet again with his growing power. Read here and here. The previous charge was blatantly a conspiracy against Anwar and I wonder what 'impartial investigation' there would be by the cops, when even the police chief is involved.

Sodomy Allegation is Just 'Backdoor Attack'

Malaysia’s de facto opposition leader Anal Ibuggerhim has hit back at those alleging he has once again indulged in sodomy.

Former Malaysian deputy premier and finance minister Datuk Anal was sentenced in 1999 to six years in prison on corruption charges, and in 2000, to another nine years for alleged sodomy. In 2004, however, the Federal Court reversed the sodomy conviction, and he was released. Datuk Anal has always characterized his convictions as an attempted political assassination. Just yesterday, it was reported that one of Datuk Anal’s aides had lodged a police report claiming that his boss sodomised him.

Datuk Anal is attacking the entire affair as an attempt to frustrate his political comeback, after he led the opposition to win a third of Malaysia’ parliamentary seats and five states, and as public anger is growing against the government.

“BUMNO can’t take Datuk Anal on with a full frontal attack, so they’re trying to screw him by the backdoor,” said Mr. Mohd Belakang bin Mari, a spokesman for opposition party, Parti Kedi Rabak-rabak (PKR), referring to the ruling party. “We demand a full probe!”

Meanwhile, the Malaysian police have pledged their cooperation.

“You want us to probe your anal case? No problem!” said Chief Inspector Mohd Shaiful bin Malu, “Maybe all this is just a big prank, you know, jiggery-pokery done by people with itchy backside.”

When asked who might such people with itchy backsides be, Chief Inspector Shaiful replied, “Donno. Go and ask a doctor, lah!”

When asked which doctor one should see about people with itchy backsides, he rolled his eyes. “A doctor in this country who knows a lot about being an asshole, lah!”

There were no further questions.

Such a doctor was quickly found and he rendered his medical opinion on the matter, saying, "It's terrible that Datuk Anwar is still engaged in sodomy. I mean, the man has aides!"

Meanwhile, across the Causeway, Singaporeans believe that the turmoil in Malaysia could be beneficial in the long run. Said a civil servant who did not wish to be named, "Maybe they'll be so focused on this controversy, that we can take a few more of their islands without them knowing."

© http://www.TalkingCock.com 2001-2003. All rights reserved.

Lovers in Japan

2008-06-28T01:58:00.002+08:00

Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love is definitely my favourite track from Coldplay's latest album, and I am having it looped on my iTunes. And I love it so much that I got inspired to do a painting in the middle of the night and titled it, The Osaka Sun. But I've given it away to Sim Zhen Zhu already so no chance to show it here.

In the meantime, enjoy a live performance of Coldplay and Lovers in Japan. Of course, be patient and wait after 30 seconds, as they get prepared. It's worth the wait.

free speech free press

2008-06-27T12:31:00.004+08:00

The irony is that while three of us are Communication students, we firmly believe that Singaporeans are not mature enough for free speech, free press. Mature not in the sense of mental maturity, but social and national. We are too young a nation and after all, an incident one too! Our social fabric, made up of various religious and ethnic groups is still fragile. Our country is still young and it needs more time to grow, we cannot afford to have instability in our politics and society. Screw Western standards, we have Asian values. Sometimes, there has to be a sacrifice for little things to achieve more important things first, for the majority of the people in this country. Slow as it is, I believe the government is slowly loosening things up. Look at the amount of online criticism of PAP that Singaporeans are free to click and read about! Sometimes, not everything that is passionate and fervent and critical, is right.

The Soldier (Working title)

2008-06-25T05:22:00.003+08:00

We actually need some help with the title of the short.

1. The Soldier (favourite at the moment)
2. Sons of Singapura (second favourite)
3. Singapore at War (erm...)
4. Any other better ones

And we may be in deep trouble when Ming showed the first cut to Zeyan, she reckoned Singapore went to war with only 1 survivor left - the soldier. Wah lao T.T

I showed one cut of the final scenes to my sister, she thought it's some NS boy visiting his due-to-be-demolished-former-barrack.

Official Synopsis
What happens when Singapore goes to war? The Soldier takes place in such an imaginary scenario, when a soldier fights on with grit and determination against the enemy, despite being straddled alone in the wilderness. This short film seeks to invoke emotions from an exploration on the possibility of Singapore at war, where a deserted and war-torn HDB town replaces the clean and bustling one we are familiar with. The message behind the film places emphasis on the importance of National Service, and is a tribute to the heroic sons of Singapura, familiar faces of everyday life who have been defending this country since 1967.

Radiohead.

2008-06-25T03:53:00.000+08:00

For Nesty, Vicky and Zeming, ;)

This is the Birthday Girl on 24th of June

2008-06-25T02:43:00.005+08:00

Spent the evening with the birthday girl and we went to the Zen Shindo Art at East Coast for dinner. It is a small but nice and place and the food is damn good lah! Every plate is arranged like a piece of Zen art. But the companionship was the best though. Happy Birthday to you, and may all your dreams come true!

The Soldier

2008-06-24T02:31:00.009+08:00

Unedited stills:

2 locations, 1 cast, 3 crew and 3 hours and lots of mosquitoes bites later... sums up the most efficient, fastest and satisfying experience thus far. Heeded Robert Rodriguez and took the camera off the tripod for 99.99% of the time, resulting in a very intimate and flexible movement.

What happens when our Singapura goes to war? The Soldier seeks to invoke a nostalgia for a home that may be gone, yet retains traces of the past. At the same time it pays tribute to all the sons of Singapura, who have served and will serve our nation since 1967. Cherish what you have because nothing last forever, our home can never replicate elsewhere but here in this soil.

STARS War

2008-06-20T22:50:00.002+08:00

Today, some NTU students from across disciplines experience what is popularly known as 'Fastest Fingers First' or the 'STARS War'. It is a traditional multi-player lan game prior to every new semester, which excites even the most atas womenfolk. Students playing the game will camp in front of their computers as early as an hour before the stipulated timing. And when it is game time, finger-clicking action and fast-thinking is used at its very best. Very often, colourful language is exchanged through the air and the telephone lines of the admin office will explode. This year, no one responsible for maintaining the game can be found, perhaps no one wants to be responsible , despite players having to foot a bill of at least SGD$6,000 per annum.

'STARS War' went the smoothest ever for this player though. Never in my 2 years here have I been able to get all I want in just a single click. I must thank my trusty Macbook for not failing on me when I needed it the most, thank you. Anyway, I am looking forward to this semester with the following subjects:

COM401 - Media Management
COM427 - Narrative Film & TV: Concepts and Applications
COM453 - Popular Cinema
COM457 - Strategic Planning & Policy for Film & TV
MB106 - Fundamentals of Management

Any of my menfolk brothers same? Do project together hor... We must unite and siam all the girls, heh!

2008-06-20T03:09:00.003+08:00

Jack: Which direction did your's go?
Francis: What do you mean?
Jack: Your feathers... mine blew toward the mountains
Francis: That's not right. It's not suppose to get blown away. You're suppose to blow on it then bury it.
Peter: I didn't get that. I still have mine.
Francis: You guys didn't do it right. I asked if you read the instructions. You did it wrong... I tried my hardest. I don't know what to do.

Engaged Buddhism

2008-06-19T21:41:00.002+08:00

"The aristocratic caste distinction which was organised by the Brahmins, He (the Buddha) repudiated as unjust. It was the ethic of spiritualised democracy that He enunciated. Happiness could be realised here not by sacrificing to the gods, and praying to get possessions, but in ceaseless activity in doing good and in helping the sick, both animals and men, in giving pure water to drink, in distributing clothes, food, flowers, scents, perfumes, vehicles, to the poor and in building houses for their dwelling, and in teaching the law of righteousness. "
- Angarika Dharmapala, 1928.

Blu-ray High!

2008-06-19T13:10:00.002+08:00

The 3 of us got super high all thanks to Vincent's recommendation and Sony International. We got to shoot and edit on Blu Ray-HD cameras for the whole 3 days and it was an absolutely awesome experience! Getting so close to these new technology, most of which are not even used in the industry yet, was a real eye-opener to the 3 curiously wide-eyed students. The Hong Kongers, which make up the majority, have been very pleasant and have absolutely no airs.

And all the hype that digital is going to replace celluloid film may be coming true, despite the 'purists'. We saw a new Sony camera with a 35mm censor which allows it to able to shoot and produce images similar to those from 35mm celluloid film.

That day will surely come but for now, we will have to be contend with DV tapes, and hopefully HD soon?

Buddhist youth rap

2008-06-19T02:30:00.001+08:00

A very impromptu rap by Vicky and beatboxing by Fuzhong and Jianyong during the post Vesak party made everyone roll onto the floor with laughter. Enjoy the moment again.

SBM Exclusive Video Seminar '08

2008-06-18T01:30:00.000+08:00

2008-06-18T01:04:00.002+08:00

The irony is that while I am developing a script for the Traffic Police and filling my head with textbook and politically correct messages, I totally ignored all the safety basics in real time. Now, I feel a big hole in my pocket and at the back of my car and in the deepest part of my heart.. It seems like money comes in and out too easily this year. Sigh... It's my mistake and obligation after all and one has to be answerable for it. This is my angsty post.

BBC News: If you're gay, that's 'cos you are born with it!

2008-06-17T17:27:00.002+08:00

As simple as that!

Scans see 'gay brain differences'

The study suggests sexual preference is set in the womb

The brains of gay men and women look like those found in straight people of the opposite sex, research suggests.

The Swedish study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, compared the size of the brain's halves in 90 adults.

Gay men and straight women had halves of a similar size, while the right side was bigger in lesbian women and straight men.

A UK scientist said this was evidence sexual preference was set in the womb.

As far as I'm concerned there is no argument any more - if you are gay, you are born gay

Dr Qazi Rahman
Queen Mary, University of London

Scientists have noticed for some time that homosexual people of both sexes have differences in certain cognitive abilities, suggesting there may be subtle differences in their brain structure.

This is the first time, however, that scientists have used brain scanners to try to look for the source of those differences.

A group of 90 healthy gay and straight adults, men and women, were scanned by the Karolinska Institute scientists to measure the volume of both sides, or hemispheres, of their brain.

When these results were collected, it was found that lesbian women and straight men shared a particular "asymmetry" in their hemisphere size, while straight women and gay men had no difference between the size of the different halves of their brain.

In other words, structurally, at least, gay men were more like straight women, and gay women more like straight men.

A further experiment found that in one particular area of the brain, the amygdala, there were other significant differences.

In heterosexual men and lesbian women, there were more nerve "connections" in the right side of the amygdala, compared with the left.

The reverse, with more neural connections in the left amygdala, was the case in homosexual men and straight women.

The Karolinska team said that these differences could not be mainly explained by "learned" effects, but needed another mechanism to set them, either before or after birth.

'Fight, flight or mate'

Dr Qazi Rahman, a lecturer in cognitive biology at Queen Mary, University of London, said that he believed that these brain differences were laid down early in foetal development.

"As far as I'm concerned there is no argument any more - if you are gay, you are born gay," he said.

The amygdala, he said, was important because of its role in "orientating", or directing, the rest of the brain in response to an emotional stimulus - be it during the "fight or flight" response, or the presence of a potential mate.

"In other words, the brain network which determines what sexual orientation actually 'orients' towards is similar between gay men and straight women, and between lesbian women and straight men.

"This makes sense given that gay men have a sexual preference which is like that of women in general, that is, preferring men, and vice versa for lesbian women."

Pang Da Yong

2008-06-17T01:37:00.004+08:00

I didn't know how Pang Sern Yong (not Shengyong) will fit into the picture but I am glad I've jiok-jiok Pang to come help out in the youth camp. Eventually, it turns out that he has blended in so well, he is now more popular with the youths than myself =(

Evidence of Pang basking in the glory of his youth while reminiscing those years:

1. Pang showing off his muscles in the presence of young gushing girls and young gushing boys.

2. Pang showing off his big head (and big wig, he's balding actually).

3. Pang wants me to tell all the CS girls that he can attract the fairer sex outside of school too.

4. Pang also wants to shows that he still is tops, despite being in the presence of other men.

I heard in the campfire, everyone were shouting Nana Ba-Te. Oi, i think 1 leh, must credit me too ok? Thanks! And kids, the reason why I called him Pang Da Yong is because...

Lastly to Ivan, Felicia and Madeline, the archive file is too big to sent via msn. So instead I burn a CD for you guys ok? Ok.

Buddha bless! =)

Buddhists youths at Vesak @ Orchard

2008-06-16T00:46:00.000+08:00

Buddhist Youths… Aspiring Superheroes

Today, the world is confronted with crises originating from human weaknesses: natural calamities, wars and social tensions.

We need superheroes to stand up to the crises. As Buddhist youths, we may be ordinary people. But when situations arise, we will become superheores, just as Clark Kent will transform into Superman.

We will become spiritual warriors, fighting the dark forces of greed, anger and delusion.

But first we must be honest with ourselves – to acknowledge that we do have these dark forces within us creating havoc for ourselves and others.

Our acceptance and curiosity about these ‘dark forces’, and our courage to overcome them will make us calmer and more creative instead of just reacting habitually.

Thus we create peace within ourselves, with peace wisdom will arise; this peace and wisdom will radiate forth to all around us, creating a whole new generation and army of superheroes.

By doing so, we will stand up to each social or emotional crisis. We would have succeeded, like Superman, to save ‘the world’, yet again, from destruction and unrest.

- Venerable Bodhi

Dragon Inn and the One-Armed Swordsman

2008-06-14T15:08:00.003+08:00

The typical wuxia films usually have the beggar sects, fortuneteller types, enigmatic Shaolin monks with hidden skills, Tibetan monks brandishing weird weapons, evil eunuchs, dumb scholars, Manchurians and the Hui Muslim. Of course, the typical kungfu manual which boast the ultimate martial arts in the world, eg. The Wordless Sutra.

"Let me teach you a history lesson. When Zheng He was on his sailing expedition, I was inside." - Lee Gong Gong

Or something like that. Hope this theme suits you guys, though we didn't explore much in the skits.

Camp Ehi-Passiko Exclusive

2008-06-14T14:04:00.022+08:00

For the first time, we decided to an exclusive camp whereby we limit the numbers for the camp and had all the past-year organizers as campers again for the first time in a few years. And the only organizers amounted to less than 10 people. Not an easy feat to do but thankfully we have the blessings of the Triple Gems and all have went well. Thanks to Buddhist Fellowship's youths (Rit's Lobsang Erling & Perry's Mo Ha Muo Te) and Pang Sern Yong (Nana Ba-Te) for coming to help!

Enjoy the pictures from 龙门客站！

Eat chocolate!

Sleeping beautyzzz

Wudang swordsmen.

Signing off - 独臂刀

this post is long overdued: Singapore vs Uzbekistan

2008-06-14T13:44:00.006+08:00

Philip: I dunno why I am here. To be a journalist, I have to be objective. Singapore's football sucks!
Xinyi: But I'm not here to work, I am here to enjoy myself!

Goal!

Alas, the joy is only short-lived. The Uzbeks completely outplay the Lions. Never mind, cheer them on this evening against the arrogant Saudis!

gasping for breath

2008-06-08T00:47:00.003+08:00

It's one of those signposts that tells you to stop and re-evaluate your journey. Sometimes, my mind wanders and I wonder. For all the family dinners, dates, friends, meals and sleep that I have missed, is it all worthwhile? I'm gasping for breath within a contrived corner of my mind. Life is not just about one's own pleasure and happiness. It is a community thing. It is about personal discipline and responsibility in taking care of yourself and the people around you. It is surely painful at times. When your mind is stirred, you start to have questions that may blur your vision. I wonder how much more knocks and bruises to my spirit I can take.

I still believe it's all worthwhile.

On a side note. It was great to see all my Hall 6 buddies at Geri's party, after missing numerous dinners and the much anticipated Genting. All the business kakis are now interning at some of the top banks and it was interesting to hear their story and their usual bullshit and nonsensical cracks. We played asshole taiti the whole night. The party reflects how the world is so small where everyone is interconnected to someone else. You meet people you have known in other social circles and some random people you just find so familiar yet you can't make out who they are. Sincere networking comes into play.

Cheers and goodnight.