Cat Show Redux

When I was in my first year of university, I had big plans.
I sat in for advance calculus classes and made it in time for 8am lectures.
I did my research and was adamant that I would make a switch to BSc (Medical Science) in my 2nd year, and at the end of the 3 year stint, make it to Grad Med.

That lasted all of 2 weeks.
You see, there was the Singapore Society, a new relationship, new friends and places to explore, plus the fact that I was an immature, ungrateful, spoilt and petulant child that didn’t know better.

During my 3 year extended holiday, I would however, look longingly at fellow unimates who made it to the Golden Key International Honour Society, something I promised myself I would aim for during those first 2 weeks. Invitations to which were only extended to students who were in the top 15 percentile of their cohort. I knew I was underachieving, but I was having too much fun to care.

So, it was a huge surprise when I received a package containing an invitation letter to and information about Golden Key 2 weeks ago, informing me that I belonged to the top 15 percentile of my cohort for the recent degree. It has been 2 weeks and I have yet to send in my acceptance. I think part of me still cannot believe that I acutally deserve this prestige. It is all too surreal.

I recounted this to Lump and he said:
"When I was a poor student in melbourne, going for film festival after film festival, watching XXX's (local director) films, and longing for the day that I could make films of that calibre, I would have never in my wildest imagination think that one day I would have the opportunity to play advisor to this person".

As wiseman say: "In a land with no snow, the Jamaican bobsled team dreamt of winning the olympics, and they went and got it."

If you want it bad enough, you can do just about anything.
The question is...how badly do you want it?

Anyone been to Taipei before?
Where to go, what to see, what to do.

Any recommendations are very warmly welcomed.

Venereal Facial Delight

Low and behold! The only souvenir I brought back from Seoul is the friendly Herpes virus, more accurately, oral herpes (most probably thanks to HSV-1) aka bastard cold sore. The feel and look of which has a tendency to incite me to equate my facial lips to lips...elsewhere. Comon! It's a variant of the genital one for crying out loud! I feel disgusting.

Lesson: Bring lip balm and start smearing the thick gunk from the time you board plane till after you bid a second goodbye to some of our not-so-friendly ah lians in blue (sometimes green or red) sarong kebayas (Gill, you is not be included in this group!).

It might have been the stress of work, or, what I would like to attribute to: having to share the same breathing space with my soon-to-be ex manager, the arrogant english pervert who frequents $25USD per night Cambodian whores, who if I am not mistaken, was sporting some fashionable herpes pals of his own on his lower chin, no doubt from putting his lips to herpes infected lips...elsewhere.

Geez I hate cold sores!

New Friends

Oyster Boy


The Boy with Nails in his Eyes


Perfect fit in the ever growing hoard of oddities.

Thank you Mom

"Thank you Mom for being such a good role model of what a supportive wife should be'. This brought tears to my eyes when an ex-colleague gave her impromptu speech at her wedding a week ago.

Tonight, everyone stared and watched as a man suffering from hemiplegia, no doubt having suffered from stroke, tried his best to navigate between the hawker centre tables, inching his way forward, cane in hand, body almost at a right angle, able side dragging his body along, looking for a seat wide enough for him to slide onto. I turned to my mother wanting to ask her if we should go over and help, but she was gone, already making her way to him.

"Uncle, you sit. Would you like me to help you order your food?"
"Mmmmuurgh.."

He had lost his ability to speak.
He had to gesticulate

He points to the Chwee Kwey stall.
"Chwee Kwey? Ok. How many you want?"
He holds up 3 fingers
"3 Chwee Kwey? You want chilli?"
He sticks out his thumb. Good.

"Thank you Mom, you have been my role model from whom I have learnt what having compassion truly means."

My Mus(e)ic

What I would give to go here.

If only just to see the premier of Heima.

Then again, anywhere's better than here right now.
How was your weekend?
Mine was too bloody short.

Bedtime Stories

Very often, it's the simple things

WATCH THIS!

Dear Miss South Carolina, for the love of God, its not 'THE' Iraq... among many other things.

Heima...and yet again I ask, when will I go to Iceland?

From EMI Records on You Tube: Sigur Rós break their two-year silence to release their first-ever film and a companion album later this autumn. Filmed over two weeks last summer when the band undertook a free tour of Iceland, 'Heima' stands as a colossal labour of love - not to say grand folly - typical of this most exacting of bands. While most people set up a few cameras at, say, a festival, and call it a DVD, Sigur Rós decided they would push the boat (bus and plane) out for their debut venture into live film, hauling 40-plus people round 15 locations to the furthest flung corners of their homeland to create something, well, inspirational. On their way they went to ghost towns, outsider art shrines, national parks, small community halls and the absolute middle-of-nowhere-ness of the highland wilderness, as well as playing the largest gig of their career (and in Icelandic history) at their triumphant homecoming Reykjavik show. 'Heima' (Icelandic for "at home" or "homeland"), truly, shows Sigur Rós as never before.

'Heima' receives its worldwide premiere on September 27th at the Icelandic Film Festival and a run of national premieres at film festivals all around the world follows including a UK premiere (full details soon to be announced). The film will then receive a nationwide UK release in selected cinemas across the UK.

On November 5th 'Heima' will be released as a Special Edition double DVD package with a 104-page book containing stunning photos from the tour. It will also be released as a standard 2-DVD set. The first disc of both packages features the 'Heima' film, with a choice of a 5.1 surround sound or pcm stereo mix, whilst the second DVD will contain the full performances of each song in the movie amongst many other extras.

Watch the Heima Trailer. I promise, in under 4 minutes, you'd want to go to Iceland too.