Dawn on the horizon !

Goodbye

2006-11-03T00:03:00.000-08:00

As I say goodbye to my 20s, so it's time to quit this blog, thanks to all who dropped by. See some of you real soon, others, well, there's always email?!Watch for the invite to a new blog

A-musing

2006-09-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

By communist, I don't mean the bad old style of communism as seen in eastern europe , but rather a form that's more akin to socialism in extremis. Isn't it ironic that we celebrated the end of communism barely a decade ago, yet the
very conditions for the flourishing of communism is more prevalent than ever: poverty trap, the "disappearance" of the middle class, disaffected youth, wealth gap etc

The shift to the right has been seen right across europe and right wing politics has gained popularity on the American continent ; we're not talking just red necks, but ordinary people who think that others are really "scary". Unless you've always lived in very homogeneous societies or never been a minority; bigotry, racism and xenophobia aren't foreign entities. Whether it's immigrant issues or asylum referendums, what's unspoken is most disturbing.

And not a supporter of chimeras -if you even wondered , we're obviously strangers

Musings

2006-09-25T01:46:00.000-07:00

Chimera, what launch played and convent stereotypes

If the wealth gap worsens and the climate of terror continues, we might well see governments who are xenophobic and right wing politically and communist economically - a chimera no one remotely sane wants to see

Launch played some pretty decent fare - Joey Scarbury (theme from GAH ), Johnny hates jazz (turn back the clock ) and Alanis Morisette (Ironic) vs Paris Hilton the other day.

Heard about the convent girl stereotype ruckus - old prejudices die hard ; if it's so funny, let's hear some about the RI, RGS , SCGS people.

erm

2006-09-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

Civil Liberty, Trajectory and 3 things I've always wanted to say

Being the last person you'd expect to defend S'pore's anal retentive policies, this blogger is surprised to say that the security measures surrounding the IMF / World Bank meeting is sensible if unpopular. Every peaceful demonstration has all the ingredients of a potential riot and do civilised execs really want a replay of taiwanese style political gatherings? Then again they don't want the bad pr of "excluding" civil liberty groups . So here's a suggestion : at the next meeting, plonk these execs with demonstrators , no barricades, no bodyguards, betcha there'll be bets galore regarding the survival rates - after all if the small bizs and common folk survived previous encounters , these powerful smart people should have no problem, right?

Trajectory

If a guy's a ball (no pun) and he's on the rebound, how's he ever gonna know he's on the right trajectory and not endlessly rebounding? Does this exclude free will or is god fond of squash ?

3 things I've always wanted to say

- Don't undress me with your eyes , don't want you puking

- Honey, it's not amnesia, it's beingmale syndrome

- Only women think love can survive without sex men spell love as "lovesex"

chuckles

2006-09-08T01:19:00.000-07:00

Ideology, Raven , Aubrey's Russian spy adventure and Univ trek

Bush has called the war against terrorism an ideological war which is partly true ; but the pre-emptive strike option is a stumbling block . Ideology has always been associated with some notion of moral right. Attacking or waging war on basis of suspicion of another's intentions causes a big loss of that moral ground; the emotive consequence is to increase empathy for the enemy, let's not aid the enemy!

Raven

Was informed recently that yours truly has become an aunt- arrived at univ without siblings and left with a gramps and 2 siblings- not counting the fraternity relations ! Bro has a little girl who goes by the cool name Raven- hope it's nordic or native american- even Just isn't morbid enough to cite Poe, hopefully. Be warned, anyone calling yours truly "auntie" will be decked, yours truly ain't kidding!

Aubrey's Russian spy adventure

Aubrey, you really have to stop climbing strange mountains and have an american flag on you at all times- probably save you lotsa grief. The Russian women "concept" is unfortunately prevalent throughout Asia . Sounds like postponing the Korean trip until there's some basic korean proficiency is a good idea!

Univ trek

Ok, going to visit univ, but won't be alone ; dragging hapless friend along ;p

chuckle

2006-08-25T02:06:00.000-07:00

Practical Politics

For a world so enamoured with equality , might is still most respected in politics . Any bets that Japanese politicians won't be visiting shrines on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor

Grubby

Wanted to laugh when someone said he was gonna grab some grub - insect is grub , dirt is grub, to some , food is grub... no comment.

Samsoon

Yep, watched the drama - korean version of Bridget Jones but funnier. The emphasis on fat women reminded one of Aub's post and the pastry of Jo. The younger men thingy - well, unless you really enjoy babysitting an overgrown brat... Watch for the end

Temptation

2006-08-07T00:29:00.000-07:00

Breaking the thought - action relation

When you have one of those days , you know, when you're zoning from the severe lack of sleep or when you've drunk enough of that foul bitter bean to be more concentrated than what they have in that percolator or when you've drunk too much tea of the long island variety and your head's spinning so wildly you're convinced you're doing an imitation of Linda Blair, complete with screaming colleagues; watch those funny thoughts that flit through your mind . Like how the fact that 2 of the most iconic tv series of the '90s had actors previously noted for their adult film roles makes the clinton era all the more complete?! How you'll like to turn to your chirpy colleague and ask her how much prozac she's on , get back at your crappy boss by calling his wife to the office when he's with his thursday lunch special challenging the soundproofing , tell your nemesis you would not wish her on your worst enemy, never mind anyone human. Or tell that bitchy male acquaintance he's suffering from pms and offer to recommend him to a gynae , tell the prof verbally reducing your work of the last 7 years to rubble in 7 minutes he's an old fart that won't last seconds in the real world away from the life support of academia, deck that dreamy male from the next office 'cos he's such an ass. Check the impulse (ok, except demolishing your nemesis, it's cathartic), if not for practical reasons, then for the fact that it's not worth it. When it comes to demolishing some people, you don't have to be the first and you're certainly not going to be the last!

What comes first, the headache or the thoughts?

2006-08-04T01:29:00.000-07:00

Viciousness of every shade

The Middle East conflict

Dilemmas galore. If the terrorists aren't brought to justice, they might inspire other freedom fighters to join the extremists, as such, every attack on the civilian populace and terrorist camps already builds the feel of victimisation and lends credence to the extremists' propaganda. Freedom fighter or terrorist - all depends on which side of the divide you're on. What's worrying is , if terrorists are allowed to get away scotfree, those who are against their cause may not join the regular national forces but form guerrilla groups of their own, and that's apart from black ops and mercenaries, that's when war never ends.

The Islamic nations aren't exactly in an easy position , not supporting Hizbollah will reduce their credibility with the sympathetic populace , supporting Hizbollah will tar them with the terrorist label. Ironically, 20 years ago, the headlines screamed Middle East crisis, 10 years ago, the headlines screamed Middle East crisis , today, the headlines scream Middle East Crisis , the day anyone would be surprised is when the headlines no longer feature the Middle East.

Men vs women

Kinda agree with Ang about the differences between men and women in terms of violence but frankly, having been slapped, punched, kicked etc by people of both genders, violence has no gender. Though I've rarely retaliated (4 times over all the years), the next person who confronts me with violence is gonna be nastily surprised. But Ang is right about women targetting the emotional and psychological aspects. My nemesis is a prime example.

That nemesis , ironically, according to information sources, is a barrister one of whose specialities is personal injury including stress at work, Wonder if she gleaned that from torturing me at university?

Thoughts of a headache

2006-07-31T00:33:00.000-07:00

Alumni meeting

hmm, apparently, some people are flying to the asian region and hence the alumni meeting. The most amusing element of that is "the potential reunion" of a senior with his nemesis, enjoy people!

Calamity Jane

Hmm, caught the doris day vehicle and was amused by how little gender roles and powerplay have changed through the years - the dichotomy of masculine ambitions and feminine character complements the whore/virgin goddess complex that many men have.

Dr J

Just guessing but someone must have flagged your site , so the very zealous watchdogs have blocked your posts, bloggers in Canada and N America see your posts but not the asian bloggers, but have fun anyway, see ya!

hmm...

2006-07-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Quizzes , phones and disillusionment

From the days of girl mags, there have been quizzes which claim to reveal personality or compatibility, on the internet, there's not much difference, a whole range of quizzes are available. Apparently, I'm self-destructive, prone to false optimism (eg lying that it's agreat time when it's completely crap - thought that was called social eq?! ) , self hating & bad target for blackmail (just 'cos I'm averse to long term pain) No more quizzes

Numbers

any idea whose phone numbers these are? 6 2830422 and 6 2411353, must be people previously known?? for that matter 6 7776636 sounds familiar too. not gonna call any of the numbers 'cos don't wanna have anyone think that harrasssment is involved , used to think one of the numbers was Deb's- duh! dump all the past!

Age and disillusionment

At age 29, what I'm most disillusioned with :

- pax american

Of recent years, the US's idea of diplomacy seems to be more like an updated version of gunboat diplomacy

- pro choice

The pro choice banner has been sadly over exploited

-feminist movement

A polarised movement doesn't help matters

Facile facades

2006-07-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Vicious Little Girls, Pirates and Dumas

There's been some hooha over the trend of violent teenage girls , worrying trend but if you've ever been in a single sex school you'd know that bullying was never absent, maybe not violent but vicious on different levels. My earliest memories of school bullies was that of a 6/7 year old classmate who pinched me under the table and me being dumb slapped her arm to get her to stop. Unfortunately, all that the teacher and her mom saw was (she knew her mom was watching from outside the classroom but not me ) me the bully and not her the devious , the worst was being forced to apologise to her in front of the other students by her aggressive mom. The best part was she tried to bully another classmate and was exposed when the girl displayed all the bruises that resulted from her pinches.The other typical bully was the tale teller, guess she was a prefect wannabe. It sounds weird but when the education ministry started its oral hygiene drive, they made students brush their teeth near drains. Woe to the student who dropped her toothbrush, 'cos the teacher just insisted on her picking the toothbrush up and continuing brushing. I pretended to obey merely 'cos the tale teller practically yelled my name (to those who I've kissed, don't worry, I threw up 3 times, brushed my teeth with a new toothbrush 10 times literally and listerined , probably would have swallowed the listerine if I thought it would help, threw a huge tantrum till mom replaced the cup and brush . ) The upshot? When taleteller dropped her brush, half the class yelled to the teacher. 2 points to note, ; there have been more girls than boys when it came to bullies, even up to university, and it has always someone else who's avenged me , wonder if that's still true

Pirates

Watched Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest 'cos it's banned in the country I 'm leaving for and it was hilarious ; don't remember any cannabalism unless it's the scene where Sparrow is trussed up like a chicken on a spit or shish kebab . Hmm, it's been 7 years since the last time I went to the cinema alonein S'pore, don't quite like the main cinematic organisation in town

Dumas

There's late night anime version of Dumas's Monte Cristo - updated but think Dumas would approve . Always preferred Dumas to Hugo whose overwrought angst came through even in translation. As for Proust, ever get the impression that most people read proust to say they've read him

North Korea and the players

2006-07-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

North Korea may not have achieved its goals with those controversial missile tests but it has helped clarify various faultlines in the region.

Though South Korea is most at risk from North Korea, it is also safest since no army blows up its supplies, no one fights a war they cannot win. After all, Nkr may be a lot of things but it isn't a suicidal fanatic.

That explains Skr's ambiguous stance towards the North- they want the North to be reined in but not driven to desperation which will result from sanctions proposed by the US-Japan coalition . A desperate dog jumps walls, besides, Skr rightly suspects that it will probably end up being co-payer of the bill after all the dust settles.

The Japanese and Americans are capitalising on the matter . However, it may be bad timing . The vetoing of UN resolution regarding Israeli action against Lebanon and the non existent furore over India's missile tests hardly make for a noble or impartial US stance. The unfortunate combination of events such as territorial disputes, tensions from WW2 grievances and suspicions of Japanese ambitions make the Japanese reaction seem like fishing in troubled waters and a grab for power. That's a situation that's likely to last for quite some time since Japan seems intent on reminding its neighbours of WW2 grievances, what with all the shrine visits, territorial disputes and revisionist history . Consider the following Macgyver like analogy ; x is your best mate , he's also a bomb disposal expert with a thorny problem; he's colour blind. There's a bomb threat and you're a potential victim , fortunately, it's a simple bomb that can be rendered harmless by cutting the correct color wire. Would you trust X or would you prefer someone else from the bomb squad? Dumb tv drama scenario, but seriously, would you entrust your life to someone with this particular handicap at such a juncture? A good guess is "no" The difficulty of trusting a country with such a "skewed" view of its past is akin to trusting X, whatever the good intentions may be.

China probably has the most to gain. Heightened tensions provide distraction and justification for increased military expenditure, especially when the Japanese float the idea of pre-emptive strike. Naturally, the potential bills are highbut at least it guarantees stalemate?!

hmm

2006-07-11T02:06:00.000-07:00

East west city life

It's probably the developments over the last few decades that allow people to live certain aspects of their lives in a haphardly global way; eg, watch asian tv, have a mediterrenean meal, listen to european classical music all just a matter of half a day - I hate fusion cuisine especially those without any logic of taste, but fusion life- great!

Deja vu tv

Someone must really share a fondness for quirky 90s drama or the tv station's cheap, they're re-broadcasting chicago hope and picket fences- the pilots were funny though the twist on sylvia plaith's suicide mode was gruesome - after twin peaks, nothing is quite as weird. Frankly, it's probably the latter- cheap, cheap

Mixed bag of peas

Watched some old war movies and Lost Memories 2009 (a Korean movie that kinda reflects east asian tensions ) - what was gleaned? Life and war both depend on a great deal of dumb luck

The Waldbuhne special was great- the french night was as dreamy as the 2003/2004 Gershwin and Mozart? concerts, ok, so I only like easy music . What's too complicated means bad dreams or insurmountable maths problems -Rachmaninov was particularly bad

BTW, the link didn't work, if you want to listen to my yahoo station , go to yahoo music, the radio guide and type jjyeo3 at the members section

Offensive humour

2006-07-09T01:23:00.000-07:00

Offensive humour?

This will probably offend those eds, subeds, journalists over at ST , but hell pc was never my forte . The video's at www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQxU3K-w0bU

for the whole mr brown controversy, see jean's posts (6/7 and 7/7)

hmm, they'll probably condemn these bloggers on account of intellectual property protection huh?! Guess any means as long as these partisan elements are silenced - after all, average S'poreans still need the authorities to teach the difference between what's serious politics and creative humour, cough cough, or was that partisan too?!

Thought notes

2006-07-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Dr J 's missing posts

Visibility problems - your site 's ok but the posts aren't visible

Soccer deja vu

The quarter finals were like a replay of 1990 and 1998 finals ; hope there weren't any broken noses . The eye candy has a distinct latino flavor ;p

Too much food tv?

That's when you watch some uk food programme and could have sworn that that was Jamie Oliver's kitchen yonkers ago, but with a new cook ; cost measures?

Men and markets

2006-06-23T00:57:00.000-07:00

Roman Holiday , Gelato and men

Caught Roman Holiday for about the 3rd time and was about the only time I was awake through most of the movie . Love Hepburn and Peck but the no brainer plot was ... No wonder I used to confuse it with the gigi movies

The men like to blame women for unrealistic expectations; but when perfection is embodied (vs an abstract list) very few can match up - just think Sidney (Mr Renaissance) on celluloid - then again a good example of eye of the beholder?!

It's like gelato - once you've had gelato , most other ice-cream is like milk popsicle

What next?

There has been talk comparing recent volatility to 1987 crash; frankly, everyone probably expects the equity markets to slide badly , it's merely the severity and length of time where analyst opinions differ. Sure , bond yields are low, interest rates are low but expectations are low too. Citigroup's analyst seems to think M&A will stave off the crash but for how long - at some point deflationary expectations may mean a preference for cash . Whether you're big (pensions, funds, bankers) or small, to sell you've gotta have someone with the $ and enough faith to buy on the other end, someone to hold the baby - one that's pooped or is about. The recent emerging market flap proves that. Ironically, there's only that number of markets to invest however globalised the world

The funny bone

2006-06-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

The missing German, Dr J's missing site and missing doner kebab

The funny bone?

Knew I forgot one very famous ex german national team star - Lothar Mattheus - hmm, guess that completes the famous 3 of the '90s

Dr J - not sure if you'll ever read this - but your site seems to have a visibility problem, hackers, mayhap?

Saw an interview on the England vs TT match and started giggling ; it wasn't merely the arrogance of the england supporter who openly dismissed brazil but the foodstand/van that appeared behind the guy - doner kebab. You've never had the brit student experience unless you' ve let the doner kebab man see you in various stages of inebriation or anxiety over your next tute ; c'mon, some of you have had more kebab than hall food!

Long OverDue

2006-06-11T01:59:00.000-07:00

Long OverDue

Birthdays, the World Cup and Kdrama resources

Happy Belated to the most patient man amongst my friends, Stef Early greetings to Edwin and other friends whose bdays are in July - at least 2 are around 20-28 July :p

There's no question as to which team I'm supporting this world cup ; Germany (and ok, ok, England ) The eye candy , as always, is mostly provided by Italy ; models who happen to play soccer, anyone?!

Some kdrama resources : koreanfilm.org/tvdramas/index.htm

krystalheart.com

swa-swa.com/rice/

korean.blogsome.com

Have fun people !

An Essay On Me

2006-06-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

At the risk of sounding like an egomaniac , I decided to write this after reading some old emails and comments. Rather shocking to realize what some friends thought of/about me

So here's a clarification and mission statement of sorts

I :

-have been so badly misinterpreted that I ought to write the book on the subject. Either I'm not a good communicator or God has a weird sense of humour. When I say nothing, there are claims that I've insulted others/gossiped. When I say anything , it's wilfully misinterpreted . With the world cup coming up, the oft-cited example shall serve nicely. The 1994 world cup season saw Germany exit early and I lamented that they had lost and I missed the match. Somehow, people misinterpreted that to mean Germany lost 'cos I didn't watch that match . Come on! I'm not a megalomaniac (largely 'cos I'm neither American nor a prez)

Missing Rudi Voeller and Jurgen Klinsmann in their last international/ World Cup match was upsetting enough (those too young to remember or those faking amnesia, think Ballack x2 ) , being misunderstood was worse. However, this became progressively funnier with each world cup . This proves 2 truths; time and distance heals all & what we know of a friend is based on our last conversation with them, but they have been themselves all the time

More recently, there were reactions to my saying I'll never marry or that I'll rather attempt the sky jump before considering marriage . Any friend should know I suffer from archophobia and have never quite believed in the institution of marriage except as a convenient means of legitimising patrilineal succession and property rights (all those years of femmie theory condensed)

-don't think I'm better than anyone else

Intellectually, if university was an ego blow , the last 11 years have been a ko and feeling dumber by the day . Looks? Don't even go there. Characterwise, let's see : temperamental, untactful, paranoid ; need more be said? Ooh and loud . I've lived with self -hate for most of my life, particularly the last 11 years; hell, even met the male version of me and boy did I dislike that guy.

-don't believe in ideals

Idealise anything and you're setting yourself up. Idealised love means that nothing can measure up , at the extreme, you'll end up like Hardy's The Well-beloved. Besides, everyone who says they love you ends up hurting you. Utopia doesn't exist and experiments aimed at that end , aka marxism actualized, merely reinforces that

- do have goals unrelated to $

Only those who have never worried about $ can be dismissive . Women don't have to be princesses awaiting rescue but you've gotta buy the power tools to escape !

For one so restless, the last 7 years have been hell and a lesson in patience , the ability to travel freely sans worries is a goal

To make the world just that little better, however small the degree- that's a long term goal

So here's reintroducing me

Scat tered Thou ghts

2006-05-06T02:14:00.000-07:00

Level playing field

Wouldn't we all love that, unfortunately, life isn't very fair (just look at those hollywood types gripe about money lost to piracy whilst flashing bling ) As an American once put it : too bad/ suck it up - and we were talking about the salvation of souls -to him only those born christian would be saved, those who weren't ...

Not to sound masochistic, but isn't success all the ------- when you've defied the odds ?!

Trevor's post

The KFC cm would have been funnier if the parents were replaced by a girlfriend don't you think?

Scat tered thou ghts

2006-05-05T02:09:00.000-07:00

The right to reply

There have been complaints about the blog not allowing anonymous comments ;what was funny was the link to free speech . Apart from the spam ads, part of the entire idea of not allowing anon comments was to protect an integral part of free speech ; the right to reply. If you can't say what you want to say behind the relative anonymity of a blogger identity , may be you shouldn't say it . Better yet, get your own blog!

Wanna a Laugh?

Check out some funny asian cms at trevor's post

Scattered thoughts

2006-05-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

Saw the Leon Lai movie "City of Glass" (thanks to a bout of insomnia) and surprisingly it's pretty good ; not least the very young Daniel Wu ; eye candy ...

The HK movie awards were boooooorrrrrrrnnnnnnnggg. And what was all the crap about asking audiences to go back to the cinema; a movie that can't impress on dvd or the small screen is low on the magic; an actor that can't act, can't act even though his pores are huge on the screen

Happy 30th Bday to aaron, (31/30 to kats and puayju ) and taurean people

The best reminder of one's age is when you see an ex-classmate elected mp and all you can remember about him ; hockey!

Looney Reads

2006-04-24T02:24:00.000-07:00

After some requests, here's the list of the less "huh evoking" posts from an old blog

Politics of every shade :
Lessons of History 27/4/2005
Bones of Contention 28/4/2005
Society Through The Movies 11/5/2005
Rebutting the critics 1-3 6/2005
Society through the movies 2 1/7/2005
Modern conservatives, modern Shylock 28/9/2005
Personal Ads 7/11/2005

$ Issues:
Consumption 29/8/2005

Cos there were some giggles about others' poetic efforts ; fairplay's here
Discontinuous Past 3 22/6/2005

Music : see http://music.yahoo.com/lc/?rt=0&rp1=0&rp2=1334510571

Dec posts just see the ascendingvoice site (blogspot) - have fun!

Time Changes Everything

2006-04-23T00:40:00.000-07:00

Heard an old song on my yahoo station , would have been teary but for the fact that there wasn't that feeling -time changes everything - time to lose weight

Saw news reports on the release of special stamps for the Queen's birthday and remembered Ed and his craze for such collectibles . Has been years since we spoke and can't remember much about this senior apart from the rant over the finals Kant quote , he being a Madonna fan and hating to be called Ed (heheheh) - just a joke!

Watched recently

2006-04-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

Son of the bride (the spanish title eludes me ) - hilarious, the religious references were pretty funny too

Babette's Feast - great for foodies but despite this being the 2nd time missed the end again and for the same reason/movie (see next) freaky coincidence?!

Anna Magdalena (Chinese movie) - art house wanna be , far cry from the enthusiastic review at dragonsdenuk , even Takeshi Kaneshiro can't save the movie

American Idol - Queen Night- Massacre!
- Standards - Pale imitation

Masti and Biwi No 1 - men! (pejorative)

The Mummy - 3rd time and it's cornier every time