人散庙门灯火尽,却寻残梦独多时

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Extra and Co.

Today, during lunch, my department was talking about extra-curricular / co-curricular activities, i.e. the kinda stuff we used to do after school while we were still school boys.

I guess I have done all sorts.

In primary school, I was a librarian and the track and field captain.

In secondary school, I was in Math. Club, the Philatelic Club, the House Committee, Track and Field, various science research programmes, etc. I was also a Peer Support Leader and a history subject rep. :p

In junior college, I was in the recreational badminton club, the science magazine board, the social services club and science research programme.

In uni, I was a learning assistant in schools for three years, and then in the local HIV charity for one.

Jack of all trades huh? Though never anything vaguely musical or uniformed.

Now, I'm a full time NSboy, and not doing anything else. I think the latter needs to, should and could be remedied.

Any suggestions?

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Le Weekend

So what do I do on a weekend?

Well, every one of them is different and the same I guess.

Different, in that the activities themselves may not be the same.

Same, in that I try to make sure that every weekend is a mix of meeting up with friends, spending time with family, going through the internet, resting and sleeping, running errands, think about things, etc.

This weekend:

I went to Tantric and finished a Gin and Tonic too quickly for my own good, and consequently nearly strode into a speeding car on my way from Tantric to Mox.

I had pork chops at 2 am in the morning with the father, despite not being hungry.

I browsed through the Economics Ten Year Series at Big Bookshop, and have no idea how I got my grade for the S paper, let alone finish the paper in 2 hours 15 minutes.

I watched Mrs Henderson Presents with lyraine.

I got my hair cut yet again.

I went out with NYPS schoolmates for lunch and a stroll along Orchard Road.

I was bo liao and started googling for my uni tutors. And found out that my EC325 tutor is now an Asst. Prof. in Belgium.

And then, upon reading this thingey that my former lecturer's involved in, this being the following research programme, I so crave the access to academic journals that I used to enjoy :

It is often assumed that a fact is a fact is a fact, yet those who work across disciplinary boundaries are well aware that the life of a fact is not so simple. Even everyday experience suggests that, like gossip, facts that travel rarely remain stable. Our research programme proposes to explore the nature of evidence by adopting a consistent research design to analyse how well evidence travels between and within disciplines and to examine why evidence considered acceptable in one context retains or loses its status as evidence in another. We aim to establish a body of case work on this question of how well facts travel and to develop, for more general use, the conceptual frameworks appropriate to answering this question.

I also chatted with friends online.

I think I wanna go through the A Level syllabus again. I had better refresh my memory on the MPCs and VCs and what-not, before 02/10/2007.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Mrs Henderson Presents


So farny!

I think it will definitely be in my top 5 movies list of 2006.

Dame Dench certainly deserves a Best Actress thing.

She's ... goddess-y!

I think I want the soundtrack.

8 / 10 stars.

Go see "Asian Boys vol. 2" III

And finally, here's the blurb for Asian Boys vol. 2:

Asian Boys Vol. 2

Gain a rare insight into the joys and pains of homosexuals living in Singapore.

Asian Boys is a collection of eight short plays depicting the different aspects of Singaporean gay life. In SPL's boldest and most controversial production yet, this collage of plays exposes the raw emotions of the gays living in a traditional society, the daily struggles they face, and the ultimate sacrifices they have to make for love.

A summary of the eight plays:

Katong Fugue. A poetic play examining the love and struggle between a confused mother trying to reach out and a stoic gay son desperate to keep his mother out of the trials and tribulations of his life.

Supper at Maxwell. A tongue-in-cheek piece about two gay friends, Danny and Gordon. Here, Danny confides in Gordon about his most recent crush, a mute gay, not realising Gordon is secretly in love with him too.

Raffles City Rendezvous. Mike is 10-years older than his boyfriend, Kiat. Recently, they made a mistake of having a threesome. Things turn sour when the existence of a third party reveals the difficulties and anxieties of their relationship. Eventually, they find resolution in the love they have for each other.

California Dreaming. Three friends agree to go for a big gay bash. One backs out in the end, sensing the inanity of the entire matter while the other two hedonistically talk about their choice of outfit and which cute guy they'll be meeting. A clever discussion ensues on the subject of what it really means to be gay.

The Kings of Ann Siang Hill. A play re-examining the perception of the purity of youth and the perversion of paedophilia. Here, the story of the supposed cheeko-peh (dirty old man) seeking sex from a cute young guy is recounted in a way quite unexpected to us.

Downstream, Delta. Felix and Jack almost had a sexual encounter but it never happened. Jack has his hang-ups about being openly homosexual. Choosing to be in a state of denial, he becomes the round peg forcing his way into the square hole of society. Jack is getting married but Felix is still in love with him. Jack offers Felix one kiss - their first and probably last. Does Felix take it?

My Own Private Toa Payoh. Aloysius and Meng are social escorts. But they are lovers too. What does love mean and what are its definitive manifestations when sex is no longer kept purely between two lovers? Can it still be sacred? This play uses a gay landscape to explore the essential yet unpredictable nature of love.

The Widow of Fort Road. The only play set in a dream landscape. In the most poignant play of the series, we are confronted with the conflict between homosexuality and society. Is death (of both identity and physical self) the only plausible outcome of this struggle?

Well, I guess it's quite clear (and unfortunate :() that I will not be able to catch this production, given that I am here in Singapore and am kinda tied up here for quite some time.

So, my dear pals in London, please go see it and tell me all about it! :)

P.S. Ticket booking details and more information (about more plays).

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Go see "Asian Boys vol. 2" II

Excerpt from Asian Boys....

Supper at Maxwell

DANNY, 21 years old, university student
GORDON, 21 years old, university student

(A table at Maxwell Food Centre. DANNY is sitting alone. GORDON, just returning from the toilet, walks up to him)

DANNY: OK. Don’t look. Guy in blue.

GORDON: Where?

DANNY: Behind me.

GORDON: You actually have eyes at the back of your head.

DANNY: Don’t look!

GORDON: What’s the point of you describing him if I don’t look?

DANNY: OK, look, but don’t look.

GORDON: How?

DANNY: Demonstration.

(DANNY pretends to stretch his back, and swivels around to catch a nonchalant glimpse at the guy behind him)

GORDON: What was that?

DANNY: Being subtle.

GORDON: That was subtle? You were swapping your right kidney with your left one.

DANNY: So how? Cute right? Wouldn’t you do him?

GORDON: He was in the pub just now.

DANNY: So you weren’t just staring at the TV screen.

GORDON: Don’t you get tired of looking at people?

DANNY: Not if they look like Mr Blue over there.

GORDON: I get tired. It’s not like a straight bar, where you have a mix of men and women. I turn everywhere and there’s someone. A podium dancer sweeping a pointing finger above the heads of the crowd. Two guys making out beside a sign saying No Kissing No Hugging. I see bare shouders and shaved armpits and high cheekbones and contact lenses glowing green under UV lights. Don’t you get tired?

Cut Sleeve Boys

OH MY GOODNESS!


Cut Sleeve Boys!

I so wanna watch this!

I'm breaking out in exclamation marks!


Look at the pix... now guess the reasons why I wanna watch it. :p

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Friends and boys

As usual, I have been doing even more thinking. As urbspedestre has said, it might be a sign of immaturity, this thinking too much of mine. Ok lar, I know there're rapidly diminishing marginal benefits to thinking. But, aiya, thinking is me lar.

Brokeback Mountain spoke loads about the loneliness of gay men and their thwarted love.

But I'm not lonely. Heck, I'm not even alone.

I have so many friends already, and I have such wonderful times with them.

Yummy CNY dinner at Christine's on Sat. Lovely and chirpy time at Harry's with wonderful pals on Fri. Relaxed, unstressful experiences at Tantric with the gurls on Saturdays.

I've got tonnes of friends to catch up and hang out with, from school and uni and the army.

And a loving and caring family.

All of which I am thankful for. :)

*Muaks* to all my pals and family.

I'm enjoying life.

With or without a boy.

Why fret over boys then? When I should already be happy with what I have.

P.S.

But of course, as sbd just called a minute or so ago, to see how I am and to have a short chat on the phone, I'm absolutely delighted now. :p

Go see "Asian Boys vol. 2"

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Budget 2006

I realise that I am not so much interested in Budgets ex ante, but much more so ex post. Declarations of how money is going to be spent or distributed is somehow less interesting than how money has actually been spent.

So, while I am feeling quite ok lar about the big GE dole-out this year, because I'll (not-so) suddenly get a nicely sized ang bao from the government, I'm not hugely excited lor.

I prefer to look at the accounts at the end of the year, to see the possible manifestation of Okun's leaky bucket.

With cash giveaways and no newfangled Singapore shares nonsense, and indicator testing instead of means-testing, I would expect less public money spilling out of the bucket this GE year.

Well, that's what this inept and rusty economist thinks anyway.

Of course some people are complaining over the choice of indicators to determine who should get what amount of $$$$.

This is entirely expected, just look up the Relative Income Hypothesis. People don't only get utility from having more income to spend on consumption. People also get utility from getting more than others to spend on consumption. So if others get more, sure not happy one what. Then blame the indicator, scream unfairness.

But hey, we can complain until the cows come home, belch and produce enough smelly stuff to douse the whole world in greenhouse gases.

Me, I rather have simple (though simplistic) indicators instead of complicated, possibly stigmatising and costly means-testing, at least where the sum involved per person is not really that much lar.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Stress?


Today, unlike many many people, I'm not stressed. :)

Anyhowz ...

Here's wishing all couples and non-couples a wonderful V day.

& may today be a day of

Care Bears and My Little Ponies;
hugs and kisses;
cookies and cream;
roses and daffodils;
waltz-es and can cans;
candlelights and tea lights;
sunrises and sunsets;
robins and larks;
rosy apples and sweet peas
and more and more

or

a wonderful day with friends and family and hugs and kisses and chats and sharing and cookies and creams and cheesecakes and yummy desserts and big huggy polar bears

or

a

nice

day

in / out

appreciating

yourself,

maybe

with

a

cuppa

earl

grey

or

lemongrass

tea

and

a

book

on

the

sofa




whatever rocks your boat! :p

Sunday, February 12, 2006

V-Day Memories

The thing is ... I can't remember what I did last year.

And my overly detailed journals yield no clues.

Which means that they are really not detailed enough.

And so I should ask Jonny?

But Jan 22's 2046 and Sept 15th's Mary Poppins, I will prolly always remember.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Maturity

Whatever it is, he definitely has the mark of a successful person. Enthusiastic, eager to talk to people, inquisitive and thoughtful, ambitious, smart and all that sorta thing. Also got the temperament.

It's quite amazing how people have developed over the years. :)

But I think I'm still the erratic eccentric.

Or as someone put it, the loudthink softspeak person.

Still very immature.

Woof! :)

But I've changed in aspects, perhaps major ones.

Once (1997) I was ISTJ, now I'm probably INTP.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

ba ba bo bo bar Oscar hopes

Here are the nominations for this year's Oscars.

And these are those I hope will win, based on what I have watched, on what I have heard, and my own biasness:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Matt Dillon in “Crash”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit”

Achievement in art direction
"Memoirs of a Geisha”

Achievement in cinematography
“Brokeback Mountain”

Achievement in costume design
“Walk the Line”

Achievement in directing
“Brokeback Mountain”

Best documentary feature
“March of the Penguins”

Achievement in film editing
“Crash”

Best foreign language film of the year
“Joyeux Noël”

Achievement in makeup
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Brokeback Mountain”

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Travelin’ Thru” from “Transamerica”

Best motion picture of the year
“Brokeback Mountain”

Achievement in sound editing
“Memoirs of a Geisha”

Achievement in sound mixing
“Walk the Line”

Achievement in visual effects
“King Kong”

Adapted screenplay
“Brokeback Mountain”

Original screenplay
“Crash”

抱抱

ba ba bo bo bar is a bar in Chiang Mai.

But ba ba bo bo bar was derived independently.

It came from babsyboopsy and is related to babu.

Which in turn may be traced to na na bu bu.

Which is baby talk

For 妈妈 抱抱.

Spoken at a time when everything was warm and cuddly, happy and safe, comfortable and huggy.

I guess I felt all these with Mister Babu.

 
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