Boiling Point

You know a show called boiling point on TV where they make random people tolerate extremely annoying situations and give them a time limit to tolerate it? Should they pass they get $100 and the revelation they were on the show?

I've been tolerating my new neighbour's 'pets' for over 3 weeks now, so can I get my $100 please? 


Why? Let me tell you why.


*Walks past neighbours house without even looking* "BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK...."

*Sits in front garden reading newspaper* "BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK...."

*About to fall asleep for afternoon nap* "BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK...."


*At 12 midnight* "BARK BARK BARK BARK + CLING CLANG CLING CLANG (hitting its metal dish)


*At 7.00am, sound asleep after late night ventures* "BARK BARK BARK + Cock-A-Do-Da-Doo (Neighbour also has chickens <---wtf.)


*Walks in backgarden to stretch* "BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK...."


And you know what the fucked up part is? My neighbour doesn't seem to give a shit the dog likes to give it at random places though. After patiently requesting they control their dogs, they responded politely and said they were... yet all this while I don't see them doing ANY FUCKING THING.


Oh, did I mention one of the family members smokes?


Argh... yet, I seem to be the only one in the whole dang neighbourhood who is affected. Sensitive hearing? Or just have this ability to hear only noise and annoying sounds? Guess it doesn't help my room is right next to the dogs at the back.


Now there's also construction works at the back of my house. I need a rageguy comic for this.

Helvetica?

Listening to this old song. Not catchy (since I don't speak Cantonese) but just nice? I'm not talking sense. Sleep Deprived

Slacker

I'm a really lazy person when it comes to revising. I hardly do any at all, especially if I know most of it.

I never actually bother to fill in the gaps and so far that hasn't come back to bite me in the butt yet.

I don't even know if when I finally cannot breeze through exams without intensive studying I am concerned at all.

I never seem to give a damn if something goes wrong, as if I can justify my every action... I keep telling people to not make excuses... I'm a real hypocrite. When am I ever going to fall and get back up? Will I be able to get back up? This post isn't going to help

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.