Normal blog post (since when?! =O)

If you have done considerably consistent work throughout your life in VS, you might find the 'O' level as normal as can be, possibly even fun, given the free time.

Everyday I wake up I read the newspaper if its an afternoon paper. Right now, much like a regular blog, I'd like to share some of my thoughts on some interesting news I find nowadays.

SGX-ASX merger

Ok I'm not one to go straight for economic news (I find it positively boring!) cause I know nuts about 'liquidation', 'assets', 'default' or whatever. However, I find this one interesting because there's a lot of politics involved, especially on the Australian side (Of course, this is reported by our own news, so I can't be sure if there isn't some level of bias).

So if you don't follow the news, here's the breakdown. Singapore has made an $11 Billion dollar bid for the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Now, I don't know much about economics as I've said, but from what I know a stock exchange buys and trades shares, and helps companies list their own shares, so by buying over the Aussies, we technically merge all the companies listed under both, which gives us tremendous potential, much like how the South East Asian nations pooled together to form a large single production base called ASEAN.

With this merger, both countries' stock exchange will become very attractive in the Asia-Pacific region, given the tremendous size the stock exchange becomes. It may even be a threat to Hong Kong's stock exchange which is the largest in the region. (Helped largely by the gargantuan number of companies that list themselves in, for the fact that the Chinese Government laws that all comapnies that set up in China list in Hong Kong)

Here's the problem. Shareholders for either exchanges have their shares 'diluted' because the merger makes their stake in the exchange smaller in comparism (I think). So they will naturally protest. At the same time, some form of Xenophobia (I don't know if this is true, I think its rather tragic Singapore is also attacking Australia, though its just an opnion).

Here's where my views come in:

Perhaps, maybe Australia has these negative feelings towards Asians all along. I mean, if I think about it, Australia is a very different, very western country, in what I would consider the middle of nowhere, where just a large pool of salt water (called the Indian Ocean) stands in between 800 million South East Asians. At the same time, it has been attacked by Asians before! Remember World War II when Japan did strike at Australia?

And here and there we are hearing reports of Indian students being attacked by nationalistic Australians. Of course, to be fair, Australia is a generally friendly country, and these cases are exceptions. But are there underlying xenophobics? I don't know, maybe, and here's why.

Australian politicians are targetting our alleged 'appalling human rights track record'. Even so, well I don't give a dam what they think, cause I'm having a good life here really, and by the way, our economy PWNS them. I'm just saying.

I'm reading a lot of comments such as 'Repressive Authoritarian State' and 'Insult to freedom of speech' about us, and actually, there's no denying it, we aren't as 'free' as America or whatever. But guess what, we have racial harmony and are one of the least corrupt countries ever.

Maybe they just feel its not right that a small little red dot is in control of one of their prized assets. Heck, I was really surprised we even had the capacity to buy over them. I mean, I get that you know? But are we really taking away what they own? Like I said, I don't know much about economics so I can't tell.

HEH looks like I used up most of my self-imposed posting limit without talking about other news. I guess this piece of news is just so darn interesting? Or am I just a weirdo? OK time to crawl back into my cave <--- Jaren taught me that.

Why no more of my photography or music? OK I'll try and seive an old piece of photography out.
Have I posted this before? Can't remember. Malaysia. Yeah its pretty louzy I know haha, I got no more good pics liao.

Century Post

Haha some kind of reblogging. I saw this and thought it deserved some recognition haha. 'Reblogged' from fomfomfom.tumblr.com

This is my 100th post since restarting, and nothing special to say.

To what extent should one re-invent?

OK Not going to do an argumentative here but since Jaren mentioned discrepancies in the 'Myths' issue of the Present Perfect magazine, so it sort of sparked off something in my head.

An age old debate that has seen many different forms; Industrialize or not? Modernize at what cost? Will this erode our roots? Demolish the cultural heritage site and make way for brand new office buildings?

This has always been a grey area hasn't it?

I realized after pondering for a moment, that I have been contradicting myself all this while. While I brush off Indonesian artists' attempts at painting grim pictures of Indonesia's rapid industrialization as idiotic and stupid, I resent movies like 'Clash of the titans' for utterly destroying (OK I know its not utterly) the original myths they were based on.

So for industrialization, to change a farmer's way of life in light of better economic prospects, is it worth it? Considering his whole life, his spiritual needs and his well being have been based off routine and simple tasks?

Maybe its a matter of choice? Maybe its just that people don't like it they are being forced to industrialized sometimes, much like the Soviet Union pre-world war II, which by the way, progressed greatly as a result!

In the end, is the whole idea a subset of whether you should let others 'do whats best for you' or 'let you be'?

Then in a different topic but not entirely, how much should tradition and culture change to fit changing times? For instance, should Chinese be taught the same 'tried and tested' way that has been done for centuries by scholars of the middle kingdom? Or should it re invent itself, and suit the new learning methods of modern children?

Is it the same as cultures, which attempt to modernize themselves in order to reap more tourists dollars, in the process, possibly eroding its value and becoming a pseudo-culture?

I'M GOING INSANE WRITING SO MANY QUESTIONS


Progress or Roots?! Is there a compromise? Should they build a mosque near ground zero that is meant to promote peace, or honour the civilians who died? (By the way I totally support the mosque in case you don't know, I think its really stupid that people associate terrorism with Islam) WHY AM I EVEN GOING BACK TO THIS TOPIC?

OK DANG IT I'M GOING BACK TO MYTHS.

Sorry but this has to get out, and possibly has nothing to do with the above post.
OK BEFORE I START: I HAVE NOT ACTUALLY WATCHED CLASH OF THE TITANS.
Clash of the Titans is completely horrendous in adapting the original myth. Then again, the film is a revival of the original movie Clash of the Titans some time in the '80s which already skewed the myth enough.

From what I know, and I don't claim to know much haha, this is what the film got right.
Perseus is after Medusa's head (This is obvious)
Perseus wants to save someone (Yes yes keep going!)
Perseus is a guy. (REALLY? O SHY...)
Err... I can't think of much more actually... The film was quite a while ago

What the film got wrong (I'm saying the correct version which I know off, ONCE AGAIN I'M NOT TOTALLY RIGHT (Though I sound like one but hey, its more fun lol)
The gods are on Perseus side!!! Hades IS NOT A FUCKING BAD GUY SERIOUSLY. Why do people always associate him with evil? HUH? WHY? Does everyone think all underworlds are bad? Don't assume what you don't know. Yes its true in most stories, underworld = hell and hell is bad. BUT NOT GREEK OK? In fact, part of the underworld is a garden which is actually, omgosh you wouldn't believe the irony: HEAVEN. Yes the underworld also has heaven. The rest of it is pretty gloomy, but not evil or torturous.

Ok heres the deal, Hades actually lent Perseus his helmet of invisibility to fight the medusa.
Other gods who helped: Athena lent Perseus a shield, later known to be the Aegis shield that Athena binded the head of Medusa to, it was used to see the Medusa's reflection via the polished face. Hermes lent Perseus his winged shoes.

OK here's the part which is really horribly, terribly, SPASTIC.
THE KRAKEN IS FROM NORSE MYTHOLOGY
Anyone who actually thought the Kraken, a deep sea dwelling, definitely non-Mediterranean, giant squid-like monster was from Greek Mythology should slap themselves. DAM HARD.

I think if I actually watched the movie I could have discovered more nonsense but for now I think all this from watching the advertisements are satisfying enough =X By the way Jaren if you made it this far I think I did found some problems in the Present Perfect version of the myths, talk to you in school if you want.

Thanks Bro!

My brother bought these posters from the UK and they are epic!

I think this should be addressed to Kim Jong Un xD

*Update* They should add Singaporean corporation: you have two cows, one is in your retirement fund, one is exchanged for cow milking upgrading courses
Erm, Do you guys understand the Italian and New Zealand one? The Enron one also super cheem.

Essay frenzy 2

Topic taken from English Resource Book: Stars

Floating in murky milk, they glistened serenely. Their five tips gave the stars both aesthetic and physical balance at the same time. I prodded them with my crockery gently, generating ripples like a leaf falling onto a calm stream, disturbing the tranquility inside the bowl.

Slowly but surely the waves dissipated and serenity was once again restored on the surface of the cloudy concoction. I glanced back at the stars again. Some of them were bobbing up and down subtly, probably an aftermath of my 'spoon intervention'. Others merely laid back and let the milk guide them, as if sun tanning in a swimming pool. My mind drifted towards physics and the random movement of gas particles as I stared endlessly at the pool of yellow stars diffusing throughout the bowl of milk.

I gazed more intently at the stars and noticed a puzzling phenomenon --- they seemed to magically disappear into the milk, leaving a froth of bubbles behind that made the bowl look like it had been sprinkled with fairy dust, or should I say, star dust.

As I zoomed in for a closer inspection, the sweet, sugary smell of the mixture wafted into my nose and caressed my taste buds. I started to salivate lazily and hungrily.

Tiny drops of my saliva compounded in my mouth and fell onto one of the stars, causing it to react even more vigorously with the milk. I pondered for a moment at the strange sight. Yes, my biology teacher, Mr Munir told us our saliva contains amylase that digests carbohydrates, I understand now.

'What are you doing staring at your cereal? Hurry up and finish it or you'll be late for school,' my mother snapped.

I quickly came back to my senses and was suddenly acutely aware of what I was doing. Mr Munir sure did a good job teaching us to observe and question everyday objects and processes. Just look at me, scrutinizing a bowl of Honey Stars.

Essay frenzy

An essay I just wrote to practice writing and writing, preparing for tomorrow. It is influenced by Runescape lore, but the theme is recurring. It is inspired from the theme of the story writing competition by Jagex, which is to write about the Third Age wars of Glielinor (Runescape).

Holy War

Bright flames sparkled in my hazel eyes as I stood there, rooted to the black soil. Frantic families and panicking pets ran amok amongst the burning homes, their homes. The stench of death mixed with suffocating smoke was unbearable. My first reaction to this horrifying scene was an upwelling of hatred towards the accursed god Zamarok, but the nagging feeling at the back of my head took hold for the first time.

Zamarok is not pillaging this village, Saradomin is.

Since I was a little boy, I witnessed countless times, soldiers of Saradomin, marching through the streets and I told myself that one day I too will be in that gleaming, almost luminescent steel armour. That I will fight for righteousness and justice, and rid this wretched world of all the evil that Zamarok has wrought.

Why? For my village was attacked before. My village, the only village for miles loyal not to Saradomin, not to Zamarok, but to Guthix. We did not partake in the war and was left unharmed because of our neutrality, but one day, one of Zamarok's generals decided to ransack this defenceless settlement in the name of his master. My parents, the village elders, remained true to Guthix's ideals to the end, stood down without a fight. Slaughtered cruelly in front of my eyes, I cursed Guthix in his long slumber, for forsaking my village and parents.

After that terrible ordeal, I sought refuge in a nearby church loyal to Saradomin. They instilled into me all the 'wisdom' of Saradomin, and that was when I saw the armies of Saradomin valiantly defending our homes. So at just eighteen, I joined their ranks.

Which brings me back to the village I was 'cleansing'. After two years, I was weary. Apparently it was our duty to burn any lands that Zamarok's armies have trespassed, to vanquish the evil.

However, as my eyes darted from charred structures to mangled bodies, I solemnly wished I had not joined Saradomin at all.

'Ah!' shrieked a woman.

'Not my wife!' bellowed a man.

After hearing a final swish of a steel sword, I could only hear the blaze of 'holy fire' behind me.

Then, I spotted a frail looking child walk up to the dead couple. His face was twisted in despair and covered in tears. He had hazel eyes. I prayed silently.

To Guthix.

~End~

As aforementioned, this theme is recurring. You might say that it resembles the theme of the Christian Crusades.

Blog

I visit 5 blogger blogs and a couple of tumblr blogs regularly.

But I want to post about the latter. Though not as conventional as the first, I believe the latter has a lot of depth and meaning. True, one might say most of it is reblogging, hence its originality is loss. But does originality truely matter when the content is just good?

'Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.'

I take this from Hendrik's blog, and I think its one of the most meaningful quotes I've ever seen. A blog, I think, is somewhere you share. You share experience, opinion, etc. In tumblr, its mostly pictures and quotes. While some say it is rather thoughtless and distant, I truely beg to differ.

'You are what you eat.' applies here. While this may not be food, it has similar meaning you know? Someone doesn't have to write original things all the time to be a unique person, perhaps its just the different combinations of music we listen, pictures we see, books we read, that influence us, that imbues in us, the originalality of ourselves.

We are all made of the same bases after all aren't we? Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine. Yet we are so different people. Its just different combinations.

The couple of tumblr blogs I read can have the same affect, bring me the same joy when I visit them as any blogger blog that has an essay-long post, by just having one word, which aptly put, paints a thousand words.

Why am I double posting? Maybe its cause I just did a TK paper and realized there is no answer, has rendering my work, well... pointless. <----

Wow. Most amount of flaming I've ever seen

Woah! Have any of you seen the amount of flaming and argument in here?
Click the link I put below, and read through some of the 'this comment has been flagged as spammed'
Notable flamers here:

Alkbjaopeir
somuchsolittleful
ContemplateYourLife
elearis1
berriwine

I'd just like to warn you its not for the faint hearted, for I too felt a tinge of hatred after reading certain comments. Then again, I laughed out loud at others. Howvever, I'll try to remain as neutral as possible because people are entitled to their own opinion for all I care.

The video I'm talking about

I just want to put in perspective here, that I don't think almost any arguement here can be credible concerning individuals because this is cyberspace. People don't know each other. They don't see each other in real life. The only evidence they have are the comments they have put up. Which is why it is very difficult to make sound arguments.

They don't have the context.

That's why we study history is it not? Like Mr Khoo said, we don't go into an exam blind.
No one knows what the others been through in reality. Thats why we need to be understanding and respectful. Its not as cut and dry as some SBQs like Harry Truman speaking about communism.

This is a bit of an add-on to that previous post on the 911 conspiracy. I mean, I see people who act 'enlightened' when they have just closed their mind. I believe that not all sources are reliable just because they go against convention, in fact, that's totally wrong. They are only reliable when they go against their OWN convention, for instance, if a person blames himself.

I think I'm starting to beat around the bush, maybe you should just read some of the comments and tell me what you think? If anyone actually reads my blog haha.

Logical Fallacy

I know its a logical fallacy to simply place blame on just the medicine I took, but really I'm just saying its the critical factor.

Cumulative factor: hot and dry weather

Contributory factor: Kopi Tarik yesterday which was full of condensed milk

Once again everything's my fault. How could I let this happen. People keep telling me mental strain or whatever, you know, I'm not that hard a mugger seriously. Half the time I'm playing. The other half is doing 10 year series. Most of my knowledge and prowess of a subject comes from listening and understanding, not so much revising.

SCARED

Sorry 4D but I'm really angry right now.

I don't know why I keep listening to my mother, and when I prove her wrong, she doesn't give a damn. Yet everything the same situation happens she always tries the same approach.

Drying medicine

How did I get sick again? Dry and hot weather.

Right, so why am I taking drying medicine?

Cause the phlegm will form into lumps and get washed down easier than liquid form.

But its an infection, you can't wash that down, it'll get worse.

ARGH WHY DIDN'T I JUST NOT TAKE IT. ITS TOTALLY MY FAULT.

I WOKE UP WITH A FUCKING NOSEBLEED AND WORSE INFECTION.

HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSE TAKE THE O LEVELS WHEN ITS THE SAME BLOODY INFECTION THAT GOT ME SICK FOR 3 MONTHS....

OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT

2D, Thank You

Jian Wen & Jason
For our own little corner of fun, maths and Harry Potter movies.

Ryan Tan
For drinking my coffee and eating my instant noodles being school and game buddies and being lame with me =)

Henry
For teaching me many things including humility, friendship and DOTA.

Isaac and Ryan Loy
For being the decent friend. The friend that I didn't know well but is still that much important to me.

Tze Yang and Clive
For being an outlet for creativity and fun, and working together with laughter editing for endless hours

Marcus
For being the sensible and responsible student and yearbook helper, but also because you let me be more of myself around you then most of the 2D/AEP gang

Rifdi
For all the times we had together, whether in choir, media club or just watching PLANET 51

Zaki
For the friend I could talk to. About history, music and work.

Farhan
For helping me discover my fondness for lame jokes.

Roy & Jeff
For listening and being a familiar face.

Yong Wee
For being helpful in every way I could think off. From Work to Transport to Japanese culture

Ian Leong
For being lame around me, I really needed that. =)

Ian yang
For hitting me many times when I was lame, because it showed that you listened and cared. And for all the fun I had at your house.

Kang Sheng
For stopping me from fighting, for bringing me back to my senses, for being my 'desk rival', for table tennis, for fetching me home.

Shi Xian
For being that person, that person I knew I wanted to be like.

Jerome
For blackshot, for however short-lived that was haha.

Gaofei & Truman
For teaching me how to play badminton properly hehe.

Husain
For being strong and upright, for letting me absorb your atmosphere, your confidence and decency.

Mr Zabid
For teaching me not everyone is perfect, but we must respect them all the same. (Including teachers)

Mr Tan Chiong Kiat
For your encouragement and guidance, for showing me you can be many things, PE or Maths.

Mr Tan Wil Beng
For Maths and good 'ol fashioned teaching

Mr Hamilton
For being compassionate and funny at the same time

Mr Ron Tan
For the Geography lessons and quirks

Mr Koh
For physics, jokes, and pure teaching skills!

Mr Palai
For teaching not just good biology, but neatness and aestethics

Mr Daryl Tan
For perhaps sparking my interest in History

Mdm Farrah
For giving me that strong enough foundation in Chemistry, its kind of my pet subject now

Ms Neo
For persevering, for critisizing us and making us stronger in English, even when the whole class seemed against you

Ms Nooreny
For being compassionate and skilled, taking my math grades to a whole new level

Mdm Ding Ni
谢谢您帮我拿个‘B3’。而帮合唱队达到更好的成绩。

VS

My friends
My teachers
My life and soul

Pardon my horrible singing, I'm not a tenor and I don't have time to edit nor retry.
Isn't it the thought that counts? Thanks to Green Day for their song Wake me up when September Ends. I changed the lyrics but its the same song.

The vid may not have been as sentimental or emo as you hoped but the lameness its me I guess, and nothings going to change that. Thank you VS.

Down but not out? Ok I couldn't think of an appropriate title

Well. Everyone's on a hiatus, and apparently it means a break from something good to do something bad. (Thanks You Duen!) I'm going to be on standby cause who knows one fine day (Perhaps after SOVA) I decide to vent anger or something.

Wow tell me if I'm lagging but I just subscribed to this guy, not just cause he is a pretty good guitarist but because 1. ASIAN PRIDE 2. He plays a lot of songs I like 3. He's two years younger than me