Sashimi, you said?

From the King, to a commodity...

Sushi buffet, anyone?

Signing off............. Fishy business............
RC

Its dangerous out there, everywhere...

BBC reports on a renewed threat from malaria.

Malaria parasites 'resist drugs'

International scientists say they have found the first evidence of resistance to the world's most effective drug for treating malaria.

They say the trend in western Cambodia has to be urgently contained because full-blown resistance would be a global health catastrophe.

Drugs are taking longer to clear blood of malaria parasites than before.

This is an early warning sign of emerging resistance to a disease which kills a million people every year.

Until now the most effective drug cleared all malaria parasites from the blood within two or three days but in recent trials this took up to four or five days.

The BBC's Jill McGivering, reporting from Cambodia, says it is unclear why the region has become a nursery for the resistance - but the local public health system is weak, and the use of anti-malaria drugs is not properly controlled.

Drug defence

The artemesinin family of drugs is the world's front-line defence against the most prevalent and deadly form of malaria.

Two teams of scientists, working on separate clinical trials, have reported seeing the disturbing evidence that the drugs are becoming much less effective.

There is particular concern because previous generations of malaria drugs have been undermined by resistance which started in this way, in this part of the world, our correspondent reports.

Professor Nick Day is the director of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, one of the teams involved in the research.

"Twice in the past, South East Asia has made a gift, unwittingly, of drug resistant parasites to the rest of the world, in particular to Africa," he said.

"That's the problem. We've had chloroquine and SP resistance, both of which have caused major loss of life in Africa," in said in reference to earlier generation anti-malarial drugs.

"If the same thing happens again, the spread of a resistant parasite from Asia to Africa, that will have devastating consequences for malaria control," he said.

Health systems

Cambodia has long been a laboratory for malaria investigators and a nursery of anti-malaria drug resistance.

Alongside a weak public health system and poorly-controlled drug use, there are many fake drugs, produced by international criminals.

These fakes often contain a small amount of the real drug to fool tests, which can also help to fuel resistance.

Those working to control malaria are calling for urgent action to contain this emerging resistance.

If it strengthens and spreads, they warn, many millions of lives will be at risk. About half the world's population faces exposure to the disease.

About half the world's population faces exposure to the disease.

Now that's a real terrifying thought.

Signing off............. Combating risks, every other day....................
RC

We is Tolerant towards Despotisms, Dictatorships and Dogs

North Korean President Kim on 3-day working visit to Singapore
Posted: 06 May 2009 1947 hrs

SINGAPORE: North Korean President Kim Yong Nam is on a working visit to Singapore from May 6 to 8.

According to a statement from Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry, this is his second visit to Singapore in his capacity as the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Mr Kim last visited Singapore in August 2007.

While in Singapore, Mr Kim will call on President S R Nathan, who will host him to dinner. -CNA/vm

Well, what can I say?

After Mugabe and Thein Sein, let us welcomes Ah Nam with open arms!

Ah Nam will probably get to feast on Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nasi Lemak, Roti Prata (and the various versions), and of course, Mee Siam Mai Hum.

Mai Hum, Mai Hum, Mai Hum Mai Hum Mai Hum.

Bill's on us then!

Signing off................. As long as we is earning their $ - wait, are we.............
RC

"Your Two Good Friends"

The week spelt the (premature) end of Pool's run in the CL; granted, it wasn't a classic, it wasn't the rock-solid Pool defence on show (we need some backup for Carra, and Hyypia is not) that typified the past few CL seasons, but the only thing that could be said was that Pool kinda showed it could hold its own - even for a half - without Stevie and quiet Torres. Everyone knew that Aurelio was gonna bang the free-kick straight in after spotting Cech off-position. Pity about the freak cross that Drogs barely got a touch to and Reina spilled in. And nothing but lots of shrugs for the Drogs-show on the pitch.

This "Good Friends" issue has personally bothered me for quite abit. Of course, the real culprit(s) cannot be condoned (Curse the Cold Storage bag and its contents!), but I seriously wonder how much deductive logic this person had utilized in order to pass that patronizing judgment. If there's circumstantial evidence to back her claim, of course it will be undeniable. Thing is, she's probably here for that one and only time throughout the week, and she wanna air her judgment on something that had happened the day before, when she's possibly not even a sniff away from the room? Even if its only a comment to suggest that we had known who left it there previously, I guarantee that either of us would have ensured that the 'stuff' wouldn't have been left around to stink up the room. It just proves once and again how impressions can (erroneously) lead to a decidedly poor judgment. And how some members of our community have effectively mastered the art of FP. Thanks to the cleaning lady who jumped to our defense, if she's indeed on our side. As for you, I wish all the best for your good friends.

Signing off............... Unload, Check Clear - CLEAR.........
RC

永别 - 那最后的接纳

有时还真被自己与人类给搞糊涂了。

明明最快速，最直接，最痛快的解决方法摆在眼前，人就是喜欢兜个圈子，绕了大半天，几个星期，数十年，甚至是一辈子，等到离别之前那一刻，彼此才愿意放下心中的包袱，重新接纳。

又或者，对最自己最挚爱的人产生疑问，怀疑，开始质疑另一方的人生方向，又无法也没法去体会，领悟到对方所选择的路对于另一方的意义有何重大。感情一定就要经过磨炼，才能修成果吗？

要（濒临）永别，才能接纳 - 还真矛盾咯！

------------

其实，华人的殡仪习俗也少不了入验师这个角色。当我在星期五下午走出戏院时，回想着婆婆过世的那天，两名像似入验师的一进门来就往婆婆去，在里头弄了感觉上像是好久的时间。偏偏就是因为华人非常的迷信，他人可以倒霉，自己不可以“衰”，大家结果无法目睹入验师如何帮婆婆上最后一次的装。看完了电影后，感觉上就觉得少了作最后一次的道别似的。而现在，法律也规定入验师需要在固定的场所来办理这些礼仪，而入验师上门“拜访”也因此似乎在大众人眼里消失遗迹了。

我们为了寻求增长，还真的放弃了不少曾经是用来标志着我们华人身分的物品，习俗，象征。。。

在此停笔。。。。。哪一个送行者又会为我伴奏着怎样的乐章呢。。。。。。
RC

'Good is the dogs bollocks'

"It's A Strange World
As a goner, everytime I see the name Eboue , Song or Bendtner on the
team sheet I cringe.

So wait Alex Song plays like a champ and Eboue scores 2 in 10 mins it made me feel like I was living life through eyes of a LSD addict living in some weird reverse world where bad is good and good is the dogs bollocks.

Lovely
TJ"

I swear I was feeling close to the same on Sat, after having seen LL and SH (dude, no disrespeck to you - you'd been one of the heroes of Istanbul. Just that the thought of you facing a nimble and speedy frontline kinda frightens.) and no signs of XA in the team sheet made it seem like a foregone plot.

At the end of the day though, the war still seems like a lost cause...

Signing off..................... Never Alone, will be....................
RC

三条“壹”

这周末，走了一回“自由大道”，又陪“公爵夫人”坐了几小时。

两个故事都紧紧扣住自由这个主题。哈维米尔克不向反同性恋法令屈服，下了恒心要为自己与其他同性恋者争取到平等的待遇，以同性恋者的身份竞选市政管理委員，最后成功的成为美国政坛有史以来第一个从政的同性恋者。为了替同性恋者争取平等待遇，为了破解广大民众对同性恋者的误解，米尔克失去了一段爱情，一个情人，最终自己的成功与欢迎度甚至成为了自己送命的导火线。大家说美国是个开放的国家，开放的社会，但是，持有宗教基本主意与观念的人还是很多的。要不然，小布什怎么能当了两个任期的总统呢？

“公爵夫人”片名又名为“叛逆激情 - 她与戴安娜[王妃]的命运”。乔治亚娜·斯宾塞，十七岁以前就嫁给了德文郡公爵，盼望着得到丈夫的疼爱，却换来了冷漠，利用与背叛。一段纯粹像是生意上的交易的婚姻，必定只会带给双方痛苦。背负着为英国贵族中的贵族家庭传宗接代的重任，威廉德文郡公爵本身也是无奈的把年少的乔治亚娜娶了进门。但十八世纪的英国，女人的地位还是仅次于男人。公爵自己找到了他的幸福，但乔治亚娜的青春，真爱，幸福，自由，都被当下大时代所掠夺。她拿了自己终身的一切，换取了周边人的幸福 - 好让亲身子女还有丈夫与佣人产下的私生女有母爱，有个完整的家；好成全丈夫能与他所真正相爱的人兼自己的好友结为夫妻；好让自己的私生女儿离开自己的身边，永远无法听到女儿叫她一声“妈”。不知戴安娜王妃在世的时候，也是不是在感叹为什么自己会成为悲剧重演的女主角呢？

------------------

在电影院外的走廊看到了一些宣传一些即将在今年内要上映的影片。

影后会是她吗？

这可说得上是玫瑰与杰克戏缘上的重逢。。。

奥斯卡得奖导演几年才导一部戏；刚上挂就在美国夺得票房冠军嘞。。。

她也入围影后喔。。。

今年度最值得期待，改编之畅销漫画的电影。。。
老婆入围影后，老公也不能“退色”。。。


去年就看过了预映短片，难道真的年中才放映？

当电影颁奖典礼季节来临时，好片就突然好多。。。

当然，有时也会有让人感觉到困惑，不解，奇怪等等的电影，例如。。。

--------------

回返之前，绕道去了拉伯多公园。心血来潮，决定去找找看龙牙门当年的所在地。

在夜晚，站在曾经繁忙的吉宝港口的入口处，脑海里在想着-这么小的一个巷道，当年是如何应付天天无数船只的进进出出？那边的情景是如何？阿公是不是当年在这下岸？驻署在这边的英军又如何过日子？

短短的几十分钟，带来了内心的平静，也引来了满脑子的疑问。

最后，在海浪打在礁石的声中，找回平衡。

--------------

把罗里帕在多层停车场，看一看驾驶盘 - 咦！有那么巧吗？！

在此停笔。。。。。限制性的自由。。。。。
RC

(Non-)Christmas News outside 1 22 N, 103 48 E

From The Straits Times (Online - available here.) [Ed: Yes, it looks like me 'selling out' by reading stuff from the ST. But this headline grabbed my attention. Like GRABBED.]

(Headline) Californian lesbian gang-raped (Dec 23 2008)

SAN FRANCISCO - A WOMAN was taunted for being a lesbian, repeatedly raped by four men and left naked outside an abandoned apartment building, authorities said.

Detectives say the 28-year-old victim was attacked Dec 13 after she got out of her car in Richmond, in the San Francisco Bay area.

'It just pushes it beyond fathomable,' said Richmond police Lt Mark Gagan on Monday. 'The level of trauma - physical and emotional - this victim has suffered is extreme.' Authorities are characterizing the attack as a hate crime.

Mr Gagan said the victim lived openly with a female partner and had a rainbow flag sticker on her car.

The 45-minute attack began when one of the men approached the woman as she crossed the street, struck her with a blunt object, ordered her to undress and sexually assaulted her with the help of the other men.

When the group saw another person approaching, they forced the victim back into her car and took her to a burned-out apartment building, where she was raped again inside and outside the vehicle.

The assailants took her wallet and drove off in her car. Officers found the car abandoned two days later.

Gay rights advocates note that hate crimes based on sexual orientation have increased nationwide. There were 1,415 such crimes in 2006 and 1,460 in 2007, both times making up about 16 per cent of the total, according to the FBI.

Avy Skolnik, a coordinator with the New York-based National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, noted that gay, lesbian and transgender crime victims may be more reluctant than heterosexual victims to contact police.

He also said the group plans to analyse hate crime data to see whether fluctuations may be related to the gay marriage bans that appeared on ballots this year in California, Arizona and Florida.

'Any time there is an anti-LGBT initiative, we tend to see spikes both in the numbers and the severity of attacks,' he said.

'People feel this extra entitlement to act out their prejudice.' -- AP

Is there even a need to enact your homophobic prejudices for all to see, to experience?

The scariest things about homosexuality are homophobes themselves.

I cannot fathom.

Signing off........... Its Christmas - Can you forgive?..............
RC

Leave me at that cape, south of the border...

抢先在周末追看了《海角七号》。

一部华人片，但不一定能吸引每个华人捧场。那种注入了浓浓东洋味的华人文化，也只有台湾独有。毕竟，二战的三年零八个月所换来的大多只是战争时的残酷，恐惧与憎恨。长期的逗留，则能带来另一种的感觉，另一种文化上，生活上，感情上的交流与经验，也在生活在那时期的人留下了永不退色的回忆。像我们局外人/“外省人”，最多也只能亲身感觉到那种动荡时代所遗留下来的遗产，要体验，也只能通过像看电影这种被动的方式来试着感觉。

话虽如此，但，我还是很享受在电影院里的那两个小时。单单在配乐与歌曲方面，就已经令我想冲去唱片行买下原声带。大大的《爱你爱到死》有着天真的恋情观念，也有成熟，实际的爱情执著（爱你爱到不怕死，但你若辟腿，就去死一死）。伴着那七封信的配乐动人，伤感 - 我也必须承认，我需要再把电影看多一次，才能真实地感受到那些信，那几段配乐，与阿嘉和友子恋情在戏里的发展。《无乐不作》，《国境之南》，《野玫瑰》单听之下已经不错了，但在电影里的演唱会上，这些歌的原有味道都被带出来，当时在大荧幕前聆听下，体验到了另一种味道，一种在听音乐播放器所无法感受到的感觉。这，也就是我当初没把原声带买下来的原因 - 有些感觉，想必只是在某种环境，某种状态下才能领悟到，感觉到。

乍看之下，电影的题材或许有点太广了。有着成人明恋上即有夫又有儿的老板娘，有着继父与继子说不出的期望，有着一个痴心等待着公主一天能回心转意，回到自己身边的痴心汉，有着盼望能展现自己在扬琴（？）上的才华的国宝，有着两代之间的矛盾，冲突，到最后的共识等等。或许会显得太多，太复杂。个人感觉导演把这些种种关系拿捏了还好，大多数都有所交代，只是或许阿嘉与友子的恋情有点牵强，来得似乎有点突然。也许，暧昧的关系有时就是这么突然，这么偶然，这么意想不到的吧！

走出戏院，唯有一个遗憾 - 自己大部分的时候都在笑。如果在下周末再观看多一次，就要仔细寻找那些信与恋情之间的那种共鸣了。

对了，恒春的景色好迷人，希望在有生之年能去那儿看看！

噢MY天！没机会去追看田中千绘！！！遗憾！！！！（海角七号部分演员在新加坡的行程）

来杯马拉桑！

无乐不作（电影版） - 马拉桑


国境之南/海角七号（电影版） - 马拉桑


野玫瑰 （电影版） - 范逸臣+中孝介


（我还蛮期待自己会落泪，但或许，对于有些不属于自己的感动，自己没有掠夺他人的泪的资格。）

我会假裝你忘了我
假裝你將你我的过往
像候鳥一般从记忆中遷徙
假裝你已走過寒冬迎接春天
我会。。。
一直到自以为一切都是真的！
然后。。。
祝你一生永远幸福！

在此停笔。。。。。。回首时，终于懂得。。。。。。
RC

Of Gloom and Glass

'All bets off for Las Vegas Sands' in Singapore?

By Neel Chowdhury / Singapore
Friday, Nov. 07, 2008

As afternoon storm clouds gather, an almost daily occurrence in wet and steamy Singapore, work goes on as usual at the Marina Bay site of Las Vegas Sands' $4 billion resort and casino project. The earthmovers scoop and dump the soft soil, and workers fan out across the city-state's most coveted piece of land, which girdles the central business district and offers a sweeping view over the emerald waters of the Malacca Straits.

But for the Las Vegas-based casino operator, a full-blown financial hurricane may be brewing. In a Nov. 5 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Las Vegas Sands revealed its cash was drying up. For the first six months of 2008, according to the filing, the company's earnings were "insufficient to cover fixed charges" by $80.1 million. This gaping shortfall, astonishing for a company that was throwing off more than $600 million in free cash flow annually just three years ago, could trigger defaults on its $8.8 billion in long-term loans. That, in turn, could jeopardize Las Vegas Sands' ability to continue "as a going concern," according to the filing.

Controlled by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands is yet another high-flying company that has been caught out by the global credit crunch and crashing economy. Adelson, who is credited with helping to revitalize Las Vegas with his lavish Venetian and Palazzo resorts, has become a well known figure in Asia, where in recent years he has spent billions building new casinos and hotels in the Chinese enclave of Macau. When Singapore decided several years ago to boost its economy by becoming a tourist destination, the government of the conservative little city-state took the controversial step of legalizing gambling. Las Vegas Sands was tapped to build an anchor casino and resort complex on Marina Bay.

But with the U.S. economy entering recession, gamblers in Las Vegas are growing more reluctant to part with their money. Las Vegas Sands has also been grappling with an unexpected problem: China's government is increasingly alarmed by the profligacy and gambling debt of its citizens. China recently imposed visa restrictions on mainland tourists to Macau, reducing the anticipated cash flow from Las Vegas Sands' Asia operations. According to Daniel Renshaw, a Sydney-based gaming analyst with Merrill Lynch, these twin challenges will be difficult to surmount. "They are relying on an increase in revenue in Las Vegas and Macau over the long term," says Renshaw. "That seems to me a precarious position to be in.

The 75-year-old Adelson, for his part, pledged to personally ensure the "success" of the Singapore casino. "In light of recent turmoil in the global markets," he said in a statement released Nov. 7, "I felt the need to personally reaffirm our commitment to the success of Marina Bay Sands." Apart from announcing that executives from Las Vegas Sands had met with officials from the Singapore government over the last week, however, the statement did not specify what steps are being taken to bolster the finances of his company or its Marina Bay project.

Analysts say the casino is too important for the economic diversification of Singapore, which is overwhelmingly dependent on electronics exports and trans-shipping, for it to collapse. The Singapore Tourism Board may step in either with an infusion of cash or an agreement to assume a sizable chunk of the troubled casino operator's debt. "We are working closely and are in dialogue with Marina Bay Sands [Las Vegas Sands' Singapore subsidiary] to facilitate the completion of the project," says Margaret Teo, Assistant CEO of the Singapore Tourism Board. She declined to provide further financial details.

According to Las Vegas Sands' original proposal, the project, which is scheduled to open late next year, would include 2,500 hotel rooms, 1.2 million square feet of convention and exhibition space, an art and science museum, various theatrical venues, as well as a trio of linked marina-facing botanical gardens. Using the iconic structure as its main attraction, Singapore — which in September hosted the first Formula One Grand Prix race to be held at night — aims to double tourism arrivals to 17 million annually and triple its tourism receipts. "There is no doubt in my mind the Singapore government will come in to ensure the project is completed," says Merrill Lynch's Renshaw. "The government will not let it fail." '

[Emphasis are mine and my own.]

Seems like this particular I.R. will be up and running no matter what.

Its just a matter of how much we are going to fork out from our own coffers for it to happen.

In other news, Southeast Asia's largest bank reports eminent job cuts and shrinking profits.

Time to tighten up.

(And I just bought another CD and a pair of earphones.)

----------------

硝子の少年 / 玻璃少年 / Garasu no shōnen
［现场版 +　乐队］
Kinki Kids / 近畿小子



蛮怀念《J-Pop》的。

Signing off.............. Enjoy just now, Suffer soon..............
RC

O-b-a-m-a objectified?

Maybe this particular someone who did this had desired the unluckiest person to have given the worst job in the States so much that this person just had to let it out, somewhere.

In other much less worthy updates, sometimes its really hard to say nay.

Signing off............... Zombified...........
RC

ehcuaG

The search for that "guitar" is elusive for some, easy for others, and eternal for some more.

That "guitar" that others might despise, abhor, reject - but I know what meanings it hold for me.

She proved it - or else we would have been deprived of her folksy and alternative melodies that the masses' ears have greatly welcomed after the tirade of seemingly trash muzik.

What is that guitar?

Sometimes, I yearn for that kind of structured-ness.

------------------

Watched another episode of ACI on NatGeo in the wee hours.

Watching the reenactment of Aeroperú Flight 603's last moments had initially filled me with some distraught and bewilderment - how could a descent of nearly 10,000 feet, in 20+ mins, go unnoticed by the pilots?

Naturally, there were a whole bunch of factors involved - a night flight over sea with no visible target of reference, the malfunctioning of various equipment on board, the (mis)information from the Lima traffic control tower (through no fault of the air traffic controller).

Ultimately, it boiled down to a piece of adhesive tape no larger than a regular-sized notebook over the static boards that some ground maintenance crew had forgotten to remove before the flight resumed its journey from Peru to Chile. In short, the tape simply caused the various instruments of the plane to behave weirdly and produce various erroneous messages to both the pilots and the control tower back in Lima, when the plane itself had no major problems. The pilots attempted a 'blind' descent to land back at Lima, realised too late that they were above water, and attempted a late climb back up.

The plane went down into the Pacific half an hour after it had taken off from the Lima airport.

It seemed almost retrospectively prophetic to have caught that show.

Signing off............... 喝一口意识换安眠几分.............
RC

会怎么去记得她／他们呢？

有史以来的第二面，独立以后的第一面奖牌已得到了。

（1960年，新还在处于自治时期。）

三位女将在个人项目也占有机会获取奖牌。

在一份参杂着庆幸与讽刺的气氛当中，她们的心里虽然雀跃，但也应该压抑着一些感叹。

我们这边，有人说她们是以金钱引进来的外国人才，这次的胜利也只不过是新队乔装成中国二队去参赛，没有什么值得骄傲的。

在另一边，他们就称这支流失的球员为汉奸，走狗，恨不得把她们骂得血淋淋的。

两边也有持有比较中立立场的网民与人民对于她们的表现给于好评价。

个人观点不是从参赛的角度，而是在这个奥运前几个月所发生的两件事开始。

第一件，中央电视有个讲谈节目，《名将之约》，在刚过的六月播映了一集名为“别样的乒乓之路”的节目，制作单位就邀了李佳薇和冯添薇来做嘉宾。可从这网址观看这一集长达４５分钟的节目。在有时间的话，不妨阅读网民在网站留言板所作出的“旁述”。重点是：如果要对这两位国手给于评价，不妨观赏这段节目再批评或赞赏，毕竟，每个付出都有它的代价。（有兴趣，可参考张洪量的《离乡路》。）

第二件，个人本身还想知道有谁记得张雪玲这个名字？（或者另一个名字－徐琰？）在获得团体银牌的欢呼声中，眼前的光辉容易释怀，之前的战绩，历史，人物，暂时搁着一旁。张雪玲自１９９８年开始代表新队参赛，曾在上届雅典奥运会已非种子选手的身份打入１６强，也在区域赛里夺得几面奖牌。去年被报导因乒总让多两名中国球员入籍新队很有可能导致自己无法在北京奥运会参赛，因而借着丈夫回上海任职的理由辞职的张雪玲，在五月的一起意外中不幸丧夫。在本地，这起新闻似乎没引起任何反应，个人也是在网络搜寻资料时无意中发现这则“旧闻”。

其实，这次奥运见证了许多辉煌成绩，许多所谓的世界纪录，奥运纪录一一地别改写。大家也一睹了参赛选手的一段光辉岁月。下一次的伦敦奥运或许会迎接另一批选手的另一次的光辉岁月，北京奥运的回忆，有可能已淡化了许多。曾经品尝过成功的滋味的健儿们或许还不会被遗忘，但，假设这些人不再参赛，还会有谁记得李宏耀，江利荣或是柯婷文也曾付出血汗代表我们参加过奥运会呢？

有可能到了明年，我已忘记谁是张雪玲了。

离乡背井者与平庸者都难有立足之地。

在此停笔。。。。。。。今天有路，今天走。。。。。。
RC

星光三 第六名 - 黄靖伦 / 希特勒与公路电子收费制度

不错，表演时不是很稳定，但够迷人。人气王一个。



在此停笔。。。。。。。可惜不能和E-神对唱。。。。。。。
RC

迟 / 慢

恭喜健雅。

我想，没几个人能再继续欺骗自己说本土音乐没出息了吧。

当然，希望Tanya能继续创作，也希望她能继续唱下去，继续研发她的进化论。

Tanya， 我错了； 十年前就应该认同你的才华，真是有眼不识"Orh-Yee-Orh。"

谢谢你证明我错了。

我也庆幸我错了。

------------

有时，人心，是那么难捉摸。

当初的鲁莽，任性，无情，最怕换来的是当下的遗憾，错乱，痴情。

有些机会，错失了，它们就再也不回头了。

毕竟，机会往往不像Tanya这样有毅力，有回弹的意识。

机会也会很残酷，但或许是因为它们先遭受到无情的拒绝，因此也学习了冷酷，寒酸。

幸好，Tanya之前的作品还存在着，上网随时都能听得到。

错失的商业良机，友情爱情亲情，求学机会，能随便按一按滑鼠上的按钮就再找回吗？

找回了，它们又能让你将它们拥入怀中吗？

------------

或许，人类因不能成为生理上的两栖动物，因而演变成心理上的双栖动物。

花心，风流，举棋不定，“要不要不” - 都是典型双栖的特色。

双栖的特征，压抑得了吗?



爱情如果真的是束缚
为何你能爱得轻松自如
你说你天生爱孤独
两人生活有点太辛苦

我不像你是双栖动物
我只能活在充满爱的幸福
（我只能活在有你的幸福）
我所能适应的温度
都是以两人世界为主

很想哭 哭完无助
我无法和我一个人相处
你不愿搬回从前居住
就算哭 也一样没帮助
我被困在一个人的峡谷
多想要追又不等你安抚
眼前是什么路
已看不清楚

你的脚步 在不远处
我仿佛将自己说服
就算最终 这一场爱的催眠术

能解除 依然无助
我无法和我一个人相处
你不愿搬回从前居住
就算哭 也一样没帮助
我被困在一个人的峡谷
多想要却要不到你安抚
眼前是什么路
已看不清楚

在此停笔。。。。。。大难不死，才能在这里胡扯。。。。。。
RC

Rude Shock

As it is, I still can't get over the shock.

Aspersed or culpable misconduct?

The margin for error, in this drama called Life, is exceedingly small.

Signing off................. Belief, Believe...............
RC

这里，发现。。。

近日吹的风相似转了方向。无论在父母家或是公公家里，都感觉不到凉风。

世事风水轮流转吧？

-----------

失望。

虽然已不是第一次。

校方最终还是婉拒了提供经济津贴。

能怪旧校友以冷硬的态度对待校方的捐款要求吗？

-----------

灾难降临，两个非常主动的政府。

一个主动急救，有史以来第一次接受外来团队的支援；，一个主动举行能巩固自己权利的政治选举，主动得把救济品保藏起来，主动得防止外来支援迅速地抵达灾难区。

真荒谬。

真无耻。

有时，还真的觉得亚西安这组织还真像是只“纸老虎。”

有时，还真无法想象，击毙反军人政府市民和无辜的和尚的那些子弹，来源竟然很有可能是离我家不远的那几个工厂。

如果这弹丸小红点被天灾袭击，我们的政治领袖会怎么反应呢？

呼吁！呼吁！

捐款方式之一 - 通过新加坡红十字会。

（1）中国四川地震 - 可通过提款机或AXS。

（2）缅甸 - 一样。Internet Banking 也行。

-----------

写到这里，writer's block 又来了。

不是没东西写，只是觉得那些私事在当下都太微不足道了。

好吧，意味着我该去洗个澡，然后上床。

明天，应该会蛮enjoy 的吧。

在此停笔。。。。。。。为灾民而祈祷。。。。。。
RC

Through the Looking Glass...

An earlier draft had been about something I read online, regarding some issue about how Singaporeans' livelihoods had grown dependent on foreigners. Perhaps what we had been pushing for is coming back to haunt us. I is no economics guru, nor philosophy shifu, not even a political nutcracker (Whatever that means), but it seems that an economy and environment overly reliant on manpower and heavily indulging in pragmatism requires constant adjustments and shifts in perspectives, such that any state of equilibrium is never prolonged. How many times have we been caught a step or two behind - A means you missed out on A+, 99 is 1 short of excellence, not par excellence, a degree no longer enough when you finally attain one, a discipline that has lost its relevance and cutting edge/advantage the moment you'd mastered it, savings (CPF and all) dried up when you reach "retirement age", realising that "retirement age" is a misnomer, a term that only a fortunate (and possibly rich) fraction of the population can claim for themselves - the list is ever productive. Just as the previous generation had rushed in to displace and transform the British colony into Malaya/Malaysia then independence, now the new wave is in the midst of displacing the older generation of thoughts and perspectives. Of course, no one owes us a living, our lives, our livelihoods. The blame game, when played, is certain to be never-ending. But then, not every factor or condition can be isolated on its own and given a diagnosis and prognosis - The cleaning auntie has seen wages dropping because tenders are awarded to the contractors who submitted the lowest bid, she has no choice but to continue working because its a job with a low-entry barrier. Send her to skills-upgrading courses, yes. But she has to give up after the first class because she needs to go around the neighbourhood collecting drink cans and cardboard boxes after her daytime cleaning job, as well as cook for the family. The course requires her to sit for written tests and evaluations - when she is illiterate. She finally managed to pass one of the courses, and finds that her new employer had won the tender again, using an even lower bid, which means a new reduction in wages. And she has to pay for the course she had gone through. And she faced stiff competition from the overseas contingent who are younger, faster and don't mind the low(er) wages. Cycles of slight variations are taking place; the bullets that have to be bitten keep getting larger in calibre...

I better go practise washing latrines, wash basins and toilet bowls, or perfect the arts of sweeping and moping the floor, or come up with a method to wash crockeries fast and efficient - or maybe I'm too late already???

------------------

A second birthday celebration in as many weeks.

Perhaps an over-dosage of not-slow food is killing my taste buds - even Sarpino's and KFC no longer have the slightest lure.

Post-celebration, I'm reminded of Honours year.

Wasn't close to everyone, but at least gotten to know everyone (I is one of the initiators for the contact list).

We hanged around together often in Hons Rm - lunch takeaways, Scrabble, Magic, group discussions, gossip, essays/ISMs/HTs deadlines (LAPD reminded me of singing the night away while churning out the our HT/ISM - when will that EVER happen again?!)...

In fact, we didn't really study together alot. Or rather, few are as crazy as me to be drawing the room key every evening and holding on to it over the weekends. But the few moments that we do get together for serious work and studying, I think we had been productive. At least for those who cared enough to drop by often. We might not have been the brightest, but we had been THAT TIGHT.

We met up before heading to our examination venues, we headed back to the room after the exams, grumbling/bitching/discussing (whichever way you look at it) about the exam questions and our answers, the support we provided for one another, the joys of it all. Heck, we even had a mass karaoke session after the very last ELang paper (Multilingualism) - even those who had finished a day or two earlier came down.

And I'm reminded of all these tonight. And I'm glad I'd gone through that part of my life with these people; probably nothing else that I would exchange for those memories.

It's not purely nostalgia, it's probably regret - that one hadn't done more.

Signing off.................. The Illusion and Delusion of a Constant, the Constant...............
RC

No Joke

Yeah, even though Kenny got into the act, this ain't no act.

Just gotten Harold &Kumar Go to White Castle - made me hungry for those White Castle burgers. As usual, there's hardly anything that one cannot take away from. Hell, even a bad song or a bad rendition, you can get something out of it.






And I think discrimination's sort of rearing its head right here. Yeah, I 'fess that I'm not without bias. But at the same time, we are taking things abit too far, with too much hoo-haa over who deserves to be subsidised more in university, over the way non-Singaporeans are crowding out our neighbourhoods, and all else.

Sure, local students deserve to enjoy greater subsidies, especially if the State aims to get a higher proportion of each cohort into university. With this in mind, perhaps those that are in charge (and they definitely know who they are) ought to serve up the appropriate balance with regards to subsidies/scholarships for local and foreign students. From a personal point-of-view, it seems that it might be a better deal to consider more scholarships and financial aid for locals at the undergraduate level; it should be at the postgraduate level where the field is levelled up, like how the universities in the States have been doing. Consider this: if the focus of the State machinery is towards R&D, especially in the hard sciences, won't it make alittle more sense to consider attracting talent (both local and foreign) at the postgraduate level, where research is the main focus (for both the scholarship/subsidy holder and the State) rather than trying to attain a First Class with a GPA 4.0? Also, some departments in local universities (at least for mine) have a high preference towards employing teaching staff who had gotten their Ph.Ds overseas; in that sense then, local universities have their work cut out in terms of how to retain the future services of these top minds when they attain their Ph.Ds. To sum up ,this not only helps vindicate the presence of non-locals, but it can also divert more useful resources, financial and/or otherwise, to better help and support local undergraduates attain their BA/BSc and meet their (the relevant agencies) projected targets. In a way, this could mean far better returns for local universities than the present situation - for example, they will have a better pool of postgraduates because these people would have a proven track record elsewhere prior at the undergraduate level.

On the other hand, foreign students, or foreigners for that matter, might be getting abit too much stick on their backs. There's this one scene in H&KGTWC which is pretty hilarious, but at the same time, pretty scary as well. When the white cops were arrested and being led away, the main guy had a slew of racial slurs and foul language running off his tongue, but not before trying to distance himself by disclaming that he's not racist (yeah right.). Which kinda reminds me of the similarities and differences of the attitudes I've seen and read regarding foreigners here. The thing is, it seems unavoidable and inevitable, if one places oneself (by choice or not) in a foreign land - heck, I figure if I'm gonna get accepted in some US/N.America university for a Ph.D place with some form of subsidy, OR if I end up as a Chinese bloke working in a Chinese restaurant in Europe, I might have to endure the same type of treatment from the Americans/Europeans. Perhaps its time to cut some slack off that stick; after all, the decision to leave one's homeland is hard, and often forced upon, especially if one's barely making ends meet; alternatively, there exists a much better deal elsewhere; OR both. Can one be faulted for wanting a better life? Should one turn down an opportunity that promises better satisfaction and more benefits? Are we insidiously no more/less equal than a typical racially-myopic WASP?

The balance is never inert; indeed anything and everything can cause an extremely exothermic reaction. Point is, is it of any fruitfulness or usefulness in targetting the people themselves, or are we better off making the world a better place for you, and for us?

---------------

On a more informal note, there's this conversation between Harold and Kumar that's pretty interesting. Just two lines, but it kinda connected.

(On H's reluctance to approach Marie, H's neighbour down the corridor and whom he had developed a serious crush on)

K: You are worthless.

H: I'm not worthwhile.

I'm already kicking myself for not watching this earlier; now Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is elevated from nowhere to a MUST-WATCH.

Signing off................ Off-day Tuesday.............
RC

抉择

By a generous invite, I managed to catch the second run of The Pillowman.

Multiple-layered play with multiple-layered protagonists. At different stages throughout the 3 hours, there's always something for the audience to ponder over. Like the different personalities of the 2 interogators, Tulpolski and Ariel. Was Tulposki really the good cop? Was Ariel a psycho one, or a tortured soul with a troubled childhood? Was Michal really the intellectually disabled brother or the cold-blooded murderer? How about Katurian - should he be found guilty, criminally because he himself committed killings (that can be morally-deemed justified), or by implication because of the grim stories he had written? And what about the old adage, "Blood runs thicker than water," when its being put to the test by the murders of some innocent children?

Though-provoking play indeed. Though several themes ran throughout the play, a most salient one only hit me towards the end, during Katurian's 'breaking of the fourth wall.'

How do we evaluate whether we have made the right choices in our lives? Who has the right to decide whether they have been right? When can evaluation of choices actually take place? Can choices that we had made stand the test of time and remain justified?

Ultimately, The Pillowman symbolises at least 3 things - at least as far as my interpretation goes: one, as a literal description for Katurian the killer and his modus operandi; two, as the literal description of the character in the short story of the same title (I believe there are more symbolisms to be drawn here, but its 4am in the morning...); and three, perhaps the most implicit of these to the audience, as the symbol of self-sacrifice. By refusing The Pillowman's "gift" to shorten what would be a grief-stricken, bleak and painful future of oneself, in order to pave for the way for someone else's brighter future, Michal's unchanging brotherly love is "immoratalised" by his own brother in the footnote of his (Katurian's) only (semi-)autobiographical short story ("The Write and the Writer's Brother"). Michal's fictional death in the story might be a tribute and atonement to the unrealised potential of what Michal would have and could have been, but portraying Michal as having to undergo the selfless sacrifice of foregoing death in exchange for self-torture and Katurian's future potential out of his own free will truly speaks volume of Michal's role as Katurian's brother.

Confusing? Yeah, certainly is. But its worth catching.

--------------

转眼之间，又是清明节了。。。

Signing off.............. Man and their stories..............
RC