NatMuse: Still the most beautiful building I ever worked in

Went museum-hopping with Angie today. One day I'll work in such an inspiring environment again.

Of money

I am amazed at how versatile a tool Facebook can be. People don't simply poke and make friends, the philosophically-inclined can even post 'notes' and share their deepest inner conundrums. One such note belongs to my friend. It struck a chord with me, so much so it roused me from my blogging hibernation to say something about it.

The gist of her note is that a life spent on a shitty job with a shitty pay sucks. And life will be good if she can have all the fun she wants but reality dictates that she must work to be able to afford playtime. Yet the proverbial dream job-one that you both love and pays well enough-is elusive or at best in the reach of a select few.

I can empathise with her because I like the activities she likes: travelling, hiking, or enjoying the great outdoors in general. However, where I differ from her is that I think it is possible to make a good living doing the things one loves and enjoys. I don't have the answers but I believe it is possible and it only requires hard work and some ingenuity to get there.

To paraphrase my dear mentor: just ** it and enjoy life while it lasts!

Cape No. 7

好久没看到一部让我笑又让我感到温馨的电影了。理想。自由。请别将手放开。

Joke of the Day

Thanks to Nai's invite to attendthe Cold WAr seminar held by History Channel, I got the impetus to read through some of the emails I saved from university. It's barely five months since I've graduated and they're already coming in handy. Nostalgia can be therapeutic at times. Here's an excerpt from a BPF email:

"You are not asking about argumentative methods, you are asking about analytical methods. If you want to practice argumentative methods, there are two ways:

"Get married;

"Choose a career your parents disapprove of."

Gosh, I miss school.

Oops, thanks to SN for advice on the correct use of inverted commas.

海阔天空

I was disappointed the Beyond concert wasn't what I expected. It felt more like a commercial ripoff than a commitment to their music. It was painfully sad. But even aging rock stars need to move on.

An Orgy of Paper Planes

I love this picture I took on the job. A paper plane expert was giving a workshop on paper plane making and at the end of it he got everyone to throw their planes together, letting loose a paper blitzkrieg and, unsurprisingly, a hall of screaming, running and frightening-hyper kids. That anarchy was a picture-perfect opportunity but I wasn't prepared for it at all. The batteries in the flash were almost flat, my focus failed to keep up with the supersonic kids, launching their imaginary B-52s and F-15s before darting off to pick up another that crashed nearby. Camera at waist-level to avoid shy faces taking flight, I fired away, anxious I might not get any good shots. That will inevitably lead to me getting a good ear lashing from the Boss. No, I'm kidding. But I'm happy with this one. I can explain away, i mean, photoshop away the blur.

Goo goo dolls - iris

Chorus: And I don't want the world to see me, 'cuz I don't think that they'd understand.

If I could be.. where you wanted...

A couple of unfamiliar songs into concert, the crowd went wild as Ash played onen nof their early hits, Kung Fu. Lulu and Kenny started hopping like bunnies on amphetamines to the music.
It's not just the beer they downed earlier that caused such ecstacy. Lulu seemed really happy Ash came back--ten years ago he was still too young to see them perform in Zouk.

The turnout for that humid night was pathetic for a band like Ash. Maybe it's the expensive tickets. Maybe people forgot about them. Or maybe it's just Thursday night, and I felt silly in my leather shoes, which got stamped on by slam-dancing teens, and worried if I could get up for work the next morning.

To be sure, Ash still rocked--in a way most has-been bands can only dream of. (What happened to the the opening act Fishtank--which used to be one of THE local ska bands--is a case in point.) Ash played their brand of pop-punk (whatever you call it) with such dynamite that is unmistakably emblematic of youth. Who can forget the anthemic "Girl from Mars"?

And if Youth were simply reckless adventure, it certainly had left us slowly and surely. Gatecrashing no longer seem to excite us, even though we got into the venue through the wrong entrance with no security in sight. I couldn't believe we even dutifully made our way to the door and gave our tickets.Some things never change though, we'd rather walk a good distance than pay for the rip-off beer at the beerfest.

Not wanting to waste my time at a good gig, I didn't rue the passage of youth for very long. As Tim Wheeler ripped through the riffs of Goldfinger, I flung my heavy bag to Kenny, looked Lulu in the eye, threw myself over his shoulders and into the moshpit.

Emo's out but who cares.

Chasing Tail-lights

Met up with wax to get my birthday present-Radiohead's best-of collection. As we drove down the familiar bends behind NUS for our favourite duck rice, I fiddled with the camera in my hands. Tried to get a shot of the raindrops on the windscreen with light bouncing off from the tail-lights. This was as interesting a shot as I could get.

22

sgcityscape
Originally uploaded by Kobacabana.

Saturday afternoon.
A few hours before work.
No spa weekend.
Twenty-two floors above
at a travel photo talk.
It made me yearn
for my blueberry moment,
y'know that movie
where Norah Jones left New York for Memphis
on a whim.
We left before it ended,
Faye and I.
While she's at the ladies
I soaked in this
magnificent cityscape
twenty-two floors below.
No this ain't New York,
but where's Memphis?


Addendum-sigh, Jake said my blueberry moment may never come. Foucaldian anopticons, systems, complacency... whatever. How strange to find an interesting colleague only to see him leave so soon.

Quips from the Crypt

one would.
Originally uploaded by antimethod.

Today I attended my first ever editorial meeting. She looked sheepish as the chief editor fired off trenchant criticisms as she presented the articles in the upcoming issue. I've yet to write my first article, but I imagine how it would feel to have the chief read the first sentence of my first paragraph and remark sardonically:
"Hello? Run out of vocab ah?"

8th asian film symposium... what a great opening night

As we sat on the posh leather lean-back seats in the picturehouse theatre, ah tan, jo, j-ho and i started gushing about the fabulous deal j-ho got for us tonight. for a mere twelve bucks, we were able to stand first in the buffet line for a delightful spread of local dishes that included very delicious curry chicken in the vip lobby, with second helpings to boot!

kiasu hounds we may be, we were not there solely for the pre-reception food. the main attraction of the event - opening night of the 8th asian film symposium organised by the substation - is the back-to-back lineup of two asian films, 'kawaii' and 'lovers on the road'.

both films fall somewhere in the seldom trodden reaches of the love genre. in 'kawaii', a japanese man and a taiwanese woman come togther for a transient relationship on a roadtrip to another town in taiwan. 'lovers on the road' continues the underlying theme of travel; a hongkong couple relocates in beijing in this long-drawn break-up movie in which separation is painfully inevitable. boy doesn't meet girl and live happily ever after. i'd prefer happy endings, but the whimsical travel scenes worked for me anyway.

it is a pity the theatre was not fully booked. it was an enjoyable sunday night of films. at least there wasn't a crowd jostling for the buffet.

check out the rest of the programmes at the substation website.

Soundtrack my life - under age's song

I've been listening to this song on repeat on my way to work at my new job over the past few days. I have no idea what Kenji's singing in this uplifting song, an apt rhapsody that expresses how I feel about this new part of my life journey.

Peranakan culture is unique

I wrote this for a test; rather than leave it in the abyss that is my junk, I'll let y'all read this brief intro to Peranakan culture.

Peranakan is a Malay term meaning locally born, and it was first used to distinguish the local-born Chinese from those born in China. When southern Chinese merchants first arrived in Southeast Asia from as early as the 14th century, little did they know that they would settle and develop a unique Peranakan culture in the region.

Over the course of their presence in Malacca, and later to the other British Straits Settlements in Penang and Singapore, the Peranakan Chinese adapted to the local environment in a way that did not result in a loss of identity, but enriched their Chinese heritage. This is keenly reflected in their language. Instead of the Chinese language, the Peranakans speak a Malay dialect peppered with Chinese Hokkien words.

Peranakan customs are also patently Chinese in both structure and spirit. For example, the Peranakan wedding is initiated by a matchmaker, who is reimbursed usually with the front leg of a pig, an angpow (red packet containing money) and a huge pair of red candles. The Peranakans even continued observing some aspects of the wedding and funeral that were so traditional the Chinese had forgone.

It is in the material culture and lifestyle of the Peranakans that show more of Hindu-Malay influence. The nonyas (women) wore kebaya, a type of blouse, over a batik sarong and adopted the Southeast Asian custom of chewing betal nut. Peranakan cuisine is hot and spicy, and takes many hours to prepare.

The beadwork and embroidery (see photo) practised by the nonyas is a particular aspect that distinguishes Peranakan culture. Traditionally, young nonyas spent most of their time at home learning domestic arts from their elders. Not surprisingly, this intricate craft became the measure by which the young nonya was judged to be suitable as a bridal candidate. Pieces made for the bridal trousseau provided an opportunity for showcasing the bride’s artistic talent through her work on display for the groom’s friends and relatives on the eve of the wedding.

Indeed, Peranakan culture speaks for many generations of Peranakan Chinese who adopted a hybrid of cultural elements and made it their own.


Image source: http://oceanskies79.blogspot.com/2008/05/nonya-beadwork-embroidery.html

References:

Peranakan Museum : A-Z guide (Singapore : Asian Civilisations Museum for the Peranakan Museum, 2008).

Peranakan heritage : National Museum of Singapore (Singapore : Friends of the National Museum, 1988).

And you coming back to me is against all odds...

Dan said to me the other day, "What's so special about your blog? Posting youtube videos anyone can do!"

Yet she visits my blog. I'm flattered. :p

Lately there hasn't been anything that inspired me enough to write about. Not the Death Cab for Cutie concert. Not my enjoyable part-time work at the museum. Not my dreadful job hunt either. Not even the string of runs over the next few months - I imagine will be torturous - that I let Colin persuade me into joining.

If I haven't raved on about it already, the Chicago Public Radio show This American Life is da bomb! It has some of the best stories I've ever heard and not to mention, the soundtrack for the show is beautifully done, drawing ever so carefully from the world of music from classic to pop to punk in order to create the right moods for the stories. Phil Collin's Against All Odds is in the 'Breaking Up' episode, how apt!

Now there's something that got me a teeny wee bit inspired. It is a wet and grey Saturday morning, so I gave myself half an hour to try my hand at a little story myself. I only managed a paragraph and I doubt I'll finish it any time soon.

A few days back, a small package arrived from New York and sat on my desk. My father collects the mail everyday and leaves them in my room when I’m not around. Mostly bills and credit card promos and junk in general. Amid all the clutter the big black envelope immediately caught my attention. Then it struck me immediately why she asked for my address that day.

-----

It was at the unforgettable summer camp I met Cris. It did not take very long for us to get together…

Chinese retro pop night

Over three thousand Chinese pop - Singapore xinyao pop to be exact - enthusiasts turned up for this huge outdoor singalong at the Creative Tech atrium last Saturday. My attendance was a serendipity. Faye gave me the ticket that belonged to her unlucky friend who was down with a bad stomach. I was the last candidate she considered handing over the ticket to.
"You're too young to like these songs. They're from a different era," she said.
She was wrong about the constitution of the audience; it cut across generations. The 40-plus uncle sitting beside me was, for that matter, singing hoarse his throat to the fare of xinyao songs, SBC serial drama theme songs and notably Liang Wenfu's songs.
So this is what a singalong is, I thought. A sea of karaoke aficionados singing along to a live band basically playing the minus-one track. Lyrics to the songs were even flashed on a giant screen for the clueless. Truly an eye-opener. I might have been swept over by nostalgia by some of the songs if not for some of the grating moments though. I wished the guest stars, who included Mavis Hee and that dude from DreamzFM, did more singing!
I guess the other History Boys (and JianHua) would have enjoyed the event way more than I do. They have already been singing some of those oldies during our K sessions.

thou shalt not kill sharks

my sweet yap holidays #7
Originally uploaded by pats0n.

I must admit, sharks never strike me as beautiful or anything the conservationists claim; i don't want to be anywhere near them nor do they stir anything in me the way pandas do when they appear on tv. however, i see the necessity of conserving them for their important function as a potential keystone species, regulating the food web in the marine ecosystem. i doubt the government would risk the ire of the citizens and cripple a multi-million industry for the sake of a disappearing species, important as they may be for the good of the environment. what we can do is contribute to the growing awareness that we all risk dangerous environmental repercussions if we consume sharks to their extinction.
no, i'm not an ardent crusader for shark conservation; this is just a response to my friend's blog post.

?_? Ronald?

This cacophonous video gives me the creeps. Ronald McDonald like you've never seen him before.

the velvet bridge

the velvet bridge i was building to reach
you
came crumbling
down

but it's alright
there's more where it came from

About a girl

Was at Partyworld KTV with the history boys a few weeks ago. It amused me to find Nirvana's About A Girl in the song list. It was even more amusing the backing track was some cheesy MIDI music and I couldn't listen to it, let alone shout along with it. Shout, because I can't sing for nuts.
Anyway, I haven't been drawing for some time. No points for figuring out who that girl is.

B&W-riverraft pt. 1

B&W-riverraft pt. 1
Originally uploaded by Kobacabana.

Clearing my room of junk, I found a stack of old photos I developed in the darkroom years ago. Scanned and uploaded them on flickr. I haven't got anything to blog about lately, so I shall write about them over the next couple of days.

This one is taken during the singapore polytechnic river raft race 2000, which held a joint photo contest to jazz up the event. Back then, I was taking the SAFRA monochrome course and the photo was used for the contest and to fulfill my course requirements.

And the delicate little raft sets sail...

i've got a feeling

For those who know me, Beck is easily one of my most favourite anime series. It's been a long while since I attended any gigs and seeing this anime music video (AMV) brings back nostalgic memories. This is a Beatles song and it's a great way to while away the time strumming on the guitar along with it.
Speaking of gigs, my friend Rocky will be going to the San Francisco Outside Lands music festival. (www.sfoutsidelands.com) That lucky guy! He even got to watch Iron Maiden's concert recently, and was raving about the pyrotechnics and giant devils. For now I'll just make do with youtube.

Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay

A beautiful sad song. Elliott Smith is an extremely talented singer-songwriter. I first heard his song on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack and ever since I've associated him with tragic folk ballads.

Anyway I got to know this song through Sad Kermit, who did a rather good cover of it:

wat i missed..

The history boys came back from their Southeast Asian tour and I was shocked to hear that they did not catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Apparently there's a new pricing for viewing the sunrise that I didn't encounter when I was there. The Angkor Wat is replete with cosmological meaning and its builders intended for the sun to rise directly behind it. It was a pity I missed it too. I had everything arranged; the tutuk driver came to pick me up at 5am but alas, it was an overcast morning and I my stomach was troubling me, probably from overeating the night before, and I stayed in the hotel puking and passing diarrhoea that morning. :(

erm.. ayat ayat cinta..

On what would otherwise be a dreary day of job interview, i went out for dinner and a movie with angela. she wasn't as quiet as she was the last time we went out and she still giggles like a schoolgirl which i found rather cute and she brightened my day. The sashimi at Akashi Paragon was delicious! It was soft and had a tinge of sweetness. Delicious. The restaurant is a little pricey though, but i didn't mind as i haven't been out in a long time. i didn't even know the link between citylink and suntec was complete until yesterday.

After dinner we went to catch the Indonesian movie, Ayat Ayat Cinta. Of course, it was the smart lass's choice; i had suggested Indy Jones. Her other choice was a movie called Angel, a polar opposite of Cinta. Angel is a movie set in Edwardian England, and is rated M18 with many sensuous scenes from what i see in the trailer. Cinta is about an Fahri, an Indonesian graduate student at the esteemed Al Azhar university in Cario, who's never had physical contact with a woman except his mother and relatives.

After the movie, angela remarked how 'powerful' and 'touching' the movie was, while i had question marks swarming in my head. At least we agreed on the parts where the corny music and the dramatic scenes felt so painfully artificial and cheesy. Probably I don't understand Islam culture at all, especially regarding its views on the issues of women and polygamy, which were dealt with in the movie. What baffles me is that the women in the movie actually wanted to marry that guy when he is already married to a woman he loves. I think the movie questions the existence of love in polygamy as well, but it conveniently kills off the second wife and leaves its audience with a 'happy' couple. It was a strange movie for me, albeit rather well-acclaimed and being a positive portrayal of Islam that has no terrorists in it.

Last day of school

Finally got purged out of the education system: now for the exams. Gotta find a job soon. A career... Haven't been sleeping well over the past few weeks because of all the assignments. Mainly essays and presentations. It's a strange bittersweet feeling--having to start afresh outside just when I'm getting so comfortable at what I do.

So goodbye to all ye communists, revolutionaries, freedom fighters and imperialists!

Oh but the semester ended with a blast--kudos to Al's group for coming up with that talkshow idea. Chin Peng, the defeated defeated communist gets invited to JenSoWhat show and even has his own Sony Ericsson Chin Pink C6610i series! haha! That was masterful! Talk about a born-again capitalist!

HelliKobter!

Am I bored or am I bored?

Driving to Zigzigland

This film is hilarious!

caffeine!

Isn't it ironic I'm struggling to finish my essay with an anti-narcotics bias but I just got high from taking in glue vapours from the renovation work going on in the library and I have in front of me a can of Red Bull and Nescafe to keep me awake. I should define drug abuse in my essay now...

Blown away!

Kuching

Kuching still retains many of the buildings we have demolished over the past few decades, if you ask me.

lazy afternoon

We went to another tribal longhouse village before we returned to Singapore. Although it is another tourist trap, the longhouse still retains some authenticity and the villagers’ lives are not obviously disrupted by tourism. The Ibans charge visitors some money which will go into the community fund for maintaining the longhouse and other services for the community. (My friend Claud complains about my laconic blog, but my tiny brain’s can’t remember much about what we did in Sarawak. My poor note-taking discipline doesn’t help either. :)
So anyway, the picture’s dedicated to my animal-loving friends. The little kitten was awakened from its lazy afternoon slumber by us crowding around them and was tried to see what was happening around it. But Mother Cat wouldn't let it go and pressed the kitten down to continue its sleep.

Another rambling post..

The gardener kills the king and ascends the throne. The queen and a faction of officials pretend he is the king. Some concubines and officials disagree. Then a multi-limb statue becomes alive and kills the dissenters with its elbows. Gardener-king thinks he can remain king for a long time. Indra the deity tells a young man to go to palace to become next successor. Gardener finds out and says, ‘no one else will reign while I’m alive.’ The same statue comes alive and says, ‘you got that right!’ and kills the gardener.

This will bring a smile many years down the road. My lecturer, always peppering his lectures with colourful anecdotes, was making the point that good karma was the key for ancient Burmese kings.

Headhouses keep heads, of course!

Well the headhunting practice has stopped since the fifties or sixties, according to the Bidayu villagers. However, the villagers still hold annual rites to pay homage to the spirits in the headhouse that look over the village. I'm not sure if it's true, but they said some of the skulls belonged to the Japanese soldiers who invaded Borneo during WWII. Once considered as status symbols, the heads of enemies and rival tribes have now been replaced by Mercedes and high levels of education. Looks like we're all heading towards modernization now.

Bidayu headhouse

What is the headhouse in the Bidayu village in Sarawak used for?
a) The headman of the village lives there.
b) It houses the heads hunted by the villagers.
c) It is the village hall.
Answer to be revealed soon...

Update

To friends, if you want to know about my recent history field trip to Malacca, my classmate has a photojournal account of it at his blog, posted on Sun 17 Feb. I'm too busy and lazy to blog about it at the moment. :)

J- Don't want me for a sunbeam

Taking a break from schoolwork.

The other day Rocky called from San Francisco to wish me a happy Chinese new year. It's no use envying him but I think it rocks to live in Schwarzenegger's state, even for a short while. On top of that, Rocky stays in an apartment with a skatepark within walking distance. No surprise--considering that's where skateboarding started. (go watch lords of dogtown starring the ill-fated Heath Ledger :( ) I imagine his snowboarding trips were fun too.

Rocky also waxed lyrical about his new Fender, amp, tuner, strings... for a little over a hundred bucks, which is unheard of here in Singapore. Not to mention also he went to the Foo Fighters concert! By a stroke of strange coincidence over one of our innumerable inane beer talk, Lulu and I voted the Foos as the band we most want to watch in Singapore. :(

That conversation with Rocky made me wish I'm in California too. Californiaaa~! I'm reminded also of Stephanie, the beautiful Asian-American girl from UC Berkeley in the aikido class, whom I daren't ask out. :( By association, the poor Issei (first generation Japanese) immigrants discriminated by the whites also come to mind. It's so easy to feel sorry for the marginalized when taking social history classes and feel myself on a higher moral ground, and I found it ironic when Rocky told me that whites are the minority in San Fran.

Hmm.. I feel lousy, and here's the remedy:

Nirvana - Aneurysm

Oh yeah, and the Yeah yeah yeahs rock!

Have you ever loved a woman...?

High on Clapton's riffs

Tips for finding the largest/smallest fraction in a series.

Lately my tutee's father has been playing Eric Clapton's Live in Hyde Park DVD, and I got to admit, the music is intoxicating. Made me a bit high when I should be supervising the boy with a far more hyper imagination than mine.

It's true you learn the most when you teach, as the saying goes. I actually found a faster way to solve a question than I did as a kid.

Find the largest fraction: 4/5, 23/45, 9/10, 8/9.

What I'd do back then is to find a common denominator for all the fractions and then look for the obviously largest fraction. The problem is that it's so tedious I don't even want to attempt it here.

I should have done it the way computer programs do, compare the first two fractions for the larger one, which is then compared with the next fraction. The common denominator is easier to find for two fractions than for four at the same time. The thought process would go: 36/45 > 23/45; 8/10 < 9/10; 81/90 > 80/90; therefore the answer is 9/10.

I hope that was helpful for anyone helping primary five kids with maths. Now for the fun stuff--Eric Clapton!!

Don't miss Radiohead's Scotch Mist!

Taken from Current TV's webpage,

This is Current Television's exclusive airing of Radiohead's "Scotch Mist." In this hour long private taping, Radiohead performs all of the tracks from its newest album, In Rainbows. Other elements include poetry readings and diverse imagery created or selected by the band.

I love the live versions of the album! There's an edge to more-rock-less-electronic performances in the film, with Thom Yorke's soulful singing the icing on the cake. This is definitely a must-watch for Radiohead fans. You can even upload video responses to Current TV's website at http://current.com/items/88803042_radiohead_s_scotch_mist
Get the Radiohead album In Rainbows at http://www.inrainbows.com/

Kobo gone Canto II

I've always found LeeHom's attempts to make China and Chinese-ness fist-pumping, head-bopping cool a tad corny. He reminds me of those Chinese chauvinists who put on a Bruce Lee growl yelling "Yellow Power!" or those who favour the analogy of the egg yolk: Prick it and the yellow will cover the world.

Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against them Chinese chauvinists. Besides, at the rate China's growing, it won't be long before it stands on its own as a measure of greatness. But to borrow my prof's favourite phrase, "East is East, West is West. Never the twine shall meet."

I mean, something like Chinese opera is an acquired taste, and as a kid, I hated it when my mom dragged me along to watch it. (I heard these days aunties chase idols like Korean idol Rain. In a way, I guess I was fortunate.)

Nonetheless, though i doubt nubile dancers, MTV nor R&B will change my taste in Chinese opera, i find myself liking these yo! ho! gungho! hua-ren rocks! LeeHOm songs in spite of myself. :p

盖世英雄

-----
龍的傳人

-----
花田错

Kobo gone Canto

Saw this on my homepage. I agree but I can't find that one thing:

The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.
- Horace Walpole

But this one in a Harvard Design Magazine article recommending tips for architecture students facing the jury just blows me away:

#37: Pull out a Pez dispenser and offer the critic, saying "Pez?" When you pull the head back to eject the Pez, giggle.
Then become enraptured by the device and keep spitting Pez out until they're all gone.
Then cry.

The latest song I'm hooked on is sung by Wang Lee Hom and Selina. I guess i have a tender spot for pop duets, eg. postal service's nothing better and jay+jolin's 手牵手song. Well I know what song to bug Jhua with next time.