Wednesday, February 28, 2007

relevance

In my hour of solitude.

I pondered, what became of my 3 years in polytechnic?
I pondered, of the future yet to come, my career progression.
For I'm trapped in this moment now, in which I can look forward or behind.

And it's time to think really hard:
Shall I crawl further in the fields of sciences?
Is it a gold mine, or a minefield I am heading into?

And it's time to reflect deeply:
Will I have the courage to continue, or the determination to succeed?
Could I perceive a future of satisfaction in my career?

I am but, a simple man.
And to address all these perplexing questions,
I thought of immediate solutions to silence them.

In my hour of solitude.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Memento mori

Memento mori (Wikipedia)

Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur,
Life is short and shortly it will end

Mors venit velociter que neminem veretur,
Death comes quicker than you think

Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur.
It takes everything away, but takes pity on no one

Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus.
We hasten towards death, we shall restrain from sinning


Ni conversus fueris et sicut puer factus
If you don’t repent and become pure as a child

Et vitam mutaveris in meliores actus,
And if you don’t change your life by doing better,

Intrare non poteris regnum Dei beatus.
You cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus.
We hasten towards death, we shall restrain from sinning

(The Catalan Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, 1939)

I agree with the first verse (first 4 lines).

Thursday, February 22, 2007

TONY TAKITANI

Today, I've learnt for the umpteenth time that appearances can be deceiving. With references to people conjuring up all sorts of unconventional wild styles.. haiz. I refuse to elaborate on this senseless blabbering..

Now, I've watched a movie in school, TONY TAKITANI. Here's an English translation of the novel on the New Yorker.

The author, none other than the renown Haruki Murakami.

Directed by Jun Ichikawa. I recommend loners to watch it. Nope. I mean, the life prospects of Tony seem to increase, climax in the middle, and taper off towards the end. It's a bit melancholic in that sense. The turn of fortunes. etc

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Mister Brown Show needs no introduction to local netizens.

Airing comedy podcasts on daily news and political satire, it shows the imaginative Singaporean twist to local news stories. Funnily enough. I was recently impressed by the Anonymous Heroes clip. In which Mr Brown does a falsetto impression of Random Grl~~ from the League of Anonymous Media Policing Action Heroes.

It's more delightful than having a talk with the cab driver. Cab drivers vary in their personalities and willingness to talk.


Oh. Concerning the night on 19th February, MOS was ok. A typical disco in Clarke Quay opened just last year. Yes. There's some eyecandy for the flirting eyes. But it was quite disappointing. I had hoped for, I-don't-know, Jazzy themes? I can't stand the thick smoky air and I don't know our society's concept of dancing well enough. Everyone's too into Hip-Hop dancing. Bro dances well with his gf.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Sophie's World

Earned $140 from Red Packets. Unique Chinese custom. Spices up life I daresay.

TOMORROW...

Asian Civilisation Museum, morning visit due to free admission (should I be selective in knowledge hunting?)

Focus on reading, 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder.



Please input desirable knowledge.. .. .. . . Wisest is He/She that knows he/she knows Nothing.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Three Essays.. Paradigm Conspiracy

An heady essay by Breton, D., & Largent, C..

"PSYCHOTHERAPY'S PURPOSE - The agenda for traditional psychoanalytic therapy, for instance, isn't to develop human potential; it's to keep people functional in established social structures, however miserable their lives may be and however abusive or wrong-headed the social structures. "Well-adjusted" becomes a synonym for mental health. But if someone is well-adjusted to being an SS officer in Nazi concentration camps, is that person mentally healthy? In Fire In The Soul, psychoneuroimmunologist Joan Borysenko writes of this narrow aim of therapy: "Sigmund Freud...believed that when a person was cured of neurosis the best outcome that could be expected was return 'to an ordinary state of unhappiness.'" (New York: Warner, 1993, p. 54) Psychotherapy's official job is mopping up the mess that social systems make of our lives by convincing us that the mess is our fault, our failing, our screwiness. If we don't conform, adjust, fit in, and measure up, something must be wrong with us. And psychotherapy has its truth: we may well be frozen in grief or shock and not functioning at our best, but don't the social systems that shape us deserve equal scrutiny, equal critical analysis? Thankfully many therapists reject this paradigm and venture forth with their clients on the forbidden territory of meaning and human potential as well as of critiquing social structures, but it's no easy task persuading insurance companies to come along. Control institutions pay insurance companies to pay health professionals to keep people in their place, serving the established order... " (excerpt from website)

This originated from a New Zealand website on Weather Modification that appears to feature many other references. At first glance, it looks as if it is a hoax. But the reading material provided is very interesting, providing rational opinions no matter how skeptical one can get.

A Scientist's Thoughts about Redefining our Concept of God by Sahtouris, E. (PhD.) in 1999.

Anyway, one could get lost hours surfing this website.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

some other time

Da vinci's notebook was kept for the purpose of his own understanding. Likewise I'd like to express fragments of my thoughts here.



We moogles know all sorts of magicks, Kupo! We can teleport you anywhere around town!

On Final Fantasy XII (www.finalfantasyxii.com/). The first FF I played (and am still playing). Probably the only RPG I'll take seriously - I want to complete it. The graphics are good. the music's good. the moogles are extremely cute (small bunny-folk). the characters are interesting. the gameplay is fresh. the story is fantasisable.. (the female characters wear revealing garments.. etc)

On Hatha Yoga. This subject refers to a form of relaxed yoga that emphasises on breathing, stretching your muscles for good tone, and calming your inner organs. I think it's quite a useful leisure activity. You get to lie down and relax during the lesson, once a week.

Postures I've learnt in the beginner course:

Arm and Leg (mountain) Posture
Sideway bending

Cat posture

Table position
Warrior I
Warrior II

Chair position
Meadow posture
Camel posture


On what I want to do in the future
tell you about it some other time..

pt I: Blog Declaration ; pt II: MY PeRSoNaLiTy TesT

A declaration to the blog-reader:



I feel that I should move this to the latest post, since my blog is primarily egocentric. Sorry if I may offend you, fail to keep you entertained, or - god forbid! - waste your time. In life, it's probably better and less complicating, if people like me adopt an honest policy towards charting our perspectives of the world.

I may have this childish idea that my universe should be at the centre of all things I should care about, especially since this is my domain (WAHAHAHA..). Feel free to get lost here.

But traverse my universe if you may. I care about all my friends. The reason my blog does not feature my friends frequently - I don't have an extensive friendship base. At best a shallow one. Two good buddies whom I can always count on over the years. Nothing else as deep.

A knight in shining armour riding on a black steed. Although, I have climbed many mountains and slayed (tiptoed past) many dragons in their sleep. But amore I have not! So far, I've not captured the hearts of any fair damsels. Wrought by scars of acne and melanin pigments of coal, no I have not! No I am no Prince Charming! But Romeo I am. A Romeo trapped within the vessel of a man. His spirit for romance and adventure, undeterred.

Ok.. My literary pretensions got ahead of me. Go ahead. Feed me some poison.

**


This personality test made me feel so good for myself, I almost cried.


KEIRSEY, D. said I was ...
http://keirsey.com/personality/nfip.html


BUTT, J. said I was ...
http://typelogic.com/infp.html


I say whatever. These personality determinants are bad if you let them sink into your head, and influence your psychological development. Always shy away from being predictable!

Monday, February 12, 2007

Pt 1: I'm not immune; Pt 2: Dialogue below.

I'm not attached. I'm not attached.

The world is a sickening place!

Good night. Good night.

. _ .

D I ALoguE (a full-length msn excerpt)

:
.

Dick says:
u have a girlfriend?

Dick says:
not bad leh!

Dick says:
woots

zhaong says:
nah. troubled bcos I can't go out (on V day) and see all the pretty girls being taken

zhaong says:
no gf yet la

Dick says:
hahhaa

Dick says:
why so

zhaong says:
why so?

zhaong says:
troubled you mean?

Dick says:
ya

zhaong says:
actually. I don't know. it seems the in-thing to be attached these days

zhaong says:
I'm seeing too many pretty girls getting attached too often

zhaong says:
so I'm wondering if I can do without a pretty gf in future (of course, 'pretty' is a subjective criteria)

zhaong says:
in my context also includes a kind and amiable personality.

zhaong says:
girls like that are somewhat in high demand, and I would expect to be almost extinct

zhaong says:
u see.. that's how i think

Dick says:
dun worry too much

Dick says:
u know why

zhaong says:
why?

Dick says:
there're gals who are not attached out there

Dick says:
:)

Dick says:
also think this way

Dick says:
not all attached 'pretty' girls get married.

zhaong says:
somehow, capturing the moment of envy is simply enough to aggravate my depression.

zhaong says:
lol

zhaong says:
*heads desk*

zhaong says:
i need to get a life

Dick says:
hahaha

Dick says:
your life now is studies.

Dick says:
my life now is entering army. period.

Dick says:
when u go out to work, u can easily find one!! trust me.

:
.

To end off this transcript from my private space with a fitting song for the mood:

"I felt that no one ever told the truth to me..
about growing up and what a struggle it can be..

blahblah.. tangled state of mind... blabla..."

Too much love will kill you - QUEEN

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

A Scanner Brightly

This movie looks great to watch!


You thought it was animation... It looks amazing in the colours and technology they used to make the films' called rotoscoping.


It looks as if you took drugs by the way thei made it.


The colours in the above picture made me think of playing worms 2 in those secondary school days.


Was this movie shown in Singapore? How come I didn't know about it? i must get the dvd!






Linkout: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405296/

Monday, February 05, 2007

Maybe this guy is right about the self-imposed restrictions.

http://verkhovensky.wordpress.com/2007/01/21/quality-control/

A Canadian English school teacher in Korea.

Good blog. =)

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Random = Experimental nonsense

Dreams of getting a guitar and performing to the girl of my dreams constantly fill my head.

I'm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_music

rendang this page.

to be honest, it sprouted form htis page :
http://verkhovensky.wordpress.com/2007/02/04/john-cage-%e2%80%93-wallpaper-is-not-music-and-is

the loins won