Temperature.

i was sitting on the bus this morning on my way to work - holding my cup of hot (and bad tasting) herbal tea, trying to keep warm under the merciless air-con and tahan-ing my bad headache.

the warmth helped me feel better - although only my hands were actually warmed.

how, then, could i feel better if only my hands were warmed?
i started to think.


the difference between hot and cold - in actual fact, there can't be any difference, simply because there's no such thing as 'cold' per se; its just a term describing an absence of heat.

and cold is somehow more tolerable than heat in a way. it creeps up on you and slowly pulls you toward eternal slumber, and is far more bearable than holding something hot. heat is much more obvious - the air is warped when it is present, it scalds your hand.

one notices heat more than one notices the absence of heat.
our bodies even react to heat more - one perspires when the heat is cranked slightly up, but when it gets just a bit colder, nobody notices it (excluding the ultra-sensitive people who claim to feel every little change in temperature.)



one sees fire - heat incarnate. but one cannot see cold. some may argue that frost is cold incarnate - not so. it is simply another state of water.
thus, the eternal rivalry between hot and cold is dismissed. heat is clearly more prominent.


although i carried only the cup in my hands, my whole body felt better. and yet, cold has to overwhelm your entire body in order to take effect. heat is yet again proven to be more prominent.









simply speaking, one's fire; one's passion - if burning the slightest bit brightly enough, will be exceedingly obvious. one does not have to seek attention for one's passion if one wants to make it known. one simply has to turn up the heat.

cold all around seeks to overwhelm the passion in its entirety - it attacks every nook and cranny the flame has - seeks to consume it. however, if the core of one's passion is unwavering, the passion will never go out -

instead it will spread heat to places where it was previously not present. the passion will snag many other hearts, while the absence of the passion; the fire in the world, will not be able to touch it. if the passion touches someone even in the slightest bit; that person will be warmed as a whole.



does one's fire resist and change the surrounding cold?
or does one's fire slowly succumb and die out?





christians, think about this.

IRONY.

its highly ironic that when some people blog only once a month/year/decade, their tagbox is full of people tagging and saying hi..







on the other hand, people who update more regularly have their tagboxes left in the corner to collect cyber-dust.

oh well.

work at ntuc income's rather good - because working with a friend is much better than working alone. being able to talk about the supervisors (Pikachu and Nintendo) to somebody who knows what one is talking about is relieving.


there's going to be a live-action dragonball movie produces by stephen chow.. with rather weird actor choices...

Justin Chatwin (left) as Goku (right)

James Marsters (left) as Piccolo (right)

and for the bombshell..

Chow Yun Fat..

as Master Roshi.

i hear the dragonball fans' jaws dropping.
bleargh. it's a cruel world.





speaking about cruel -
its kinda amusing that where a place/community is least expected to be political, politics are rife; whereas in the secular world where politics are supposed to be at its most dangerous, true friends there are often the most accomodating?


for starters, its very very disappointing when you know you can only trust a few people out of the entire bunch who are supposed to be much safer to trust.




go figure...


'nuff said.

Clearing the Cobwebs.

After almost a 10 day long hiatus from blogging, i've finally posted again.

webbleworld is alive. HUZZAH.

the following will be covered in today's essay:

Random nugget of info.
Movie Review 1 - Ah Long Pte Ltd.
Movie Review 2 - Jumper.
Pictures from Chinese New Year @ Auntie Evelyn's.
Pictures of Praba's Birthday Steamboat.
Emo Post about 1C01.

and here it goes:





has one ever encountered the word 'Atishoo' or 'Achoo' before?
these are the wordly incarnates of the sound made when sneezing, no?
has one, then, ever wondered why nobody actually goes 'atishoo' or 'achoo' when they sneeze? alright, maybe some do go 'achoo'.


but here's the bombshell - most people actually go "ESCHEWWWWW" when they sneeze! its true - try it someday. and none of those effiminate i-press-my-nose-to-hold-my-sneeze-in-and-risk-blowing-my-eardrums-out-and-popping-my-eyes sneezes.

i'm talking about a full blown ESCHEWWWWWWWWWWW.


and surprisingly, eschew is a REAL WORD.
yes, gasp in wonder. please do.

"es·chew /ɛsˈtʃu/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[es-choo] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –verb (used with object) to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid: to eschew evil."

the definition of eschew from dictionary.com.
the word eschew should definitely be part of the sneezing world. it makes sense!

to eschew evil. germs are evil, aren't they? little sniveling backstabbers ready to kill your nervous system (who incidentally lacks self-confidence).
sneezing would then be a command to get the germs out. "ESCHEW!" - like "GO AWAY!".

HAR HAR.



on to the more substantial parts of the post.




Ah Long Pte. Ltd.



known by many as a ripoff of My Wife Is A Gangster, Ah Long Pte Ltd (Directed by Jack Neo) started off with quite a bad impression - not only was it yet another Jack Neo film, but I was told about the ripoff thing. suffice to say, it didn't go down well.

given a choice at that point of time, i would've chosen CJ7 over Ah Long. in retrospect, after watching Ah Long, i'd have given the film more respect.

the camerawork was impressive - it looked like a hong kong film with a good budget - and it was shot in malaysia, which looked surprisingly impressive from the angles that were shot.
the show was clear enough (a big LOL to AVP:R) and the colours were good.

the storyline - i havent actually watched "My Wife Is A Gangster" so i shall not comment on the similarities. rather, the storyline is quite engaging - but it gets draggy towards the 3/4 mark and only speeds up again to the end.

the effects - not many, some corny Shaolin Soccer type moves and a few bullet time effects. also, to lessen the blow on highly impressionable/gullible young minds, actual violence was substituted with cartoony-like silhouettes when the impact hit.
some may call it stupid, but i call it a stroke of genius - it makes the film all the more impressive.

Actors - mark lee, fann wong, a few random extras and the "lim bei" guy.
i forgot the lim bei fella's name. he like to say "lim bei" a lot - and he sounds good doing it.
they all played their parts pretty well - especially mark lee with his scrawny body playing an effiminate (POLITICALLY CORRECT WORZXZ.) dance teacher. fann wong looks good as usual.. and the lim bei guy was just plain cool. XD







Jumper.



Hayden Christensen and Samuel L Jackson are at it again.

"again?"

yes, again.

remember these fellas from Star Wars Episode 3?



here they are in jumper.



suspiciously familiar, no? note the big big stick in both pics of Samuel L Jackson.


cough.

this movie was hyped up to the max - impressive trailer, sexy special effects and much much much anticipation from fans.
it met expectations (mine, at least) - barely.

the camerawork was impressive - many panoramic shots of famous landmarks - often with David Rice (Hayden Christensen) standing on top of them. the budget must have been quite a biggie to travel around so much.

the effects were cool too - jump scars, the transition from jump site to jump site, and the fighting - oh, the fighting - was absolutely awesome. this brit Jumper fights with Samuel L Jackson, teleports to London, grabs a Big Red Honkin' London Bus hurtling along the busy streets and teleports it back right in front of mister jackson.

boom.

actors - they were convincing, though mister jackson looks awfully like morgan freeman with that white facial hair and 'do.

but the storyline was largely disappointing.
here's the storyline in a few pointers.

boy discovers he can teleport.
boy teleports.
boy gets moolah and lives large.
Samuel L Jackson vows to kick his @$%.
Fight.
Samuel L Jackson kicks his @$%.
boy finds Brit Jumper and forges brief friendship before fighting
boy kicks Brit's @$%.
boy kicks Samuel L Jackson's @$%.
End.


wheeeee. no explanation how the fella teleports, no background on teleportation/teleporters/why the term 'jumper' exists. no nothing. the plot is poorly fleshed out. only the uber special effects saves it - so much so that it becomes an awesome movie.



Chinese New Year lunch @ Auntie Evelyn's house:

pictures are here.


what can i say? the food was good, the short snooze a few people got was better, and of course the SYRENS are the best. hehe.






Praba/Pabra/Braba's Birthday steamboat @ bedok.


the pictures in all their buttery goodness.
and who could forget the grand finale - the amazing ever-burning steamboat of doom.


happy birthday praba/pabra/braba.





















It's the holidays.
the end of year one.


the end of 1C01.


through all the drama and tension and sagas, a few people have proven themselves good friends time and time again.



many many thanks to prabs, djj, sMat and elf.
otherwise known as Prabakaran, Dawn, Hafeez and Yvonne.



you fellas have been a fun bunch to hang out with,
people whom i can talk to, people who talk to me.

the times when we groaned about eating at ITAS again and again,
the times after class when we all went to some corner of ITAS and talked,
the things we laughed about, the things we made noise about - and all the other happy memories.

somehow or other you fellas have touched my life - and i'm greatly thankful to have friends like you people. we may not be in the same class again, and things will probably never be the same again from next sem, i'll declare now that i absolutely appreciate the friendship we shared.

thank you.



Praba - the big big fella who was somehow always there to help out in some way or another. your madman moments, the times when the whole bunch of us stayed awake on msn while doing projects, your random links on msn to various entertaining articles online - and even your eccentricity - all these make you uniquely praba. Singapore is glad to have a son like you. XD


Dawn - DJJ. the big sister of the class. im glad that you trusted me through the times - and helped me through the various fiascos. the ever-classic "huh" will always be etched into my memory - whether or not the "huh" was real. XD and i won't forget the KFC incident either. heh heh. whichever KFC you're at in the future, you know who to call. =P


Hafeez - the smart mat. long and many many were the funny times of laughter. the common interest in all that is robotic and transformy, the humongous amount of topics we talked about - from A to Z and back, the sarcastic remarks exchanged with each other and smart-mouthed remarks to the rest of the bunch, and the Monkeys, Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Baboons even - these are the moments that made you a good friend.

Yvonne - yet another big sister of the class. your moments of madness shared with praba/dawn, your tag-team combo of swear words with dawn unleashed upon humanity, the weird laughter and the moments where several individuals were shot down in the name of justice and law... and "elf". i don't care how long it takes - the name WILL stick like the rest of em did. XD


and of course, all the other peeps from 1C01 - adding to the experience of being a poly student in some way or another. most (if not all) of you are greatly appreciated and loved as well - just that the four people above are appreciated and loved more. HAHA.


..life is good.
I'll miss you guys.
very very much.








really, i will.






goodbye, 1C01.

dearly, dearly missed.
April 2007 - February 2008.

In Conclusion..

Its good being a kid.





no need to worry about people.
no need to worry about politics.
no need to worry about friendships.
no need to worry about relationships.
no need to worry about cash.
no need to worry about credit card.
no need to worry about condo.
no need to worry about...


i forgot the other 2 of the 5 Cs of singapore.












being a kid is good - which is why i try to stay that way..
out of the ways and worries of life.

as long as a kid has one or two good friends, and his toys and gadgets, he's content.


contentment is a big issue - one that's hard to resolve.




optimus prime is my good friend. XD




on a side note, Ah Long Pte Ltd is good.
reviews next post.

Signs and Wonders..

Happy Chinese New Year To All.

Peace.











... which is what this sign means. many recognise it as a popular sign for photos.

the definition of this sign (according to wikipedia):

The V sign is a hand gesture in which the first and second fingers are raised and parted, whilst the remaining fingers are clenched, palm facing outwards. Originally considered a "Victory" sign (for V as in victory), it also is used to mean "Peace", a meaning that became popular in the United States during the peace movement of the 1960s.

harmless yeah?

however, the innovation and intelligence of modern society has seen a variation of this sign, especially in photos with cutesy girls (mostly singaporean) showing this:


the inverted v sign.




people may think its harmless, but its meaning is anything but.

for starters, here's its definition (again from wikipedia):

The V sign, when the palm is facing toward the person giving the sign, has long been an insulting gesture in England and later in the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland and parts of France. It is frequently used to signify defiance (especially to authority), contempt or derision and is often accompanied by the phrase *Censored for the kiddies reading this*.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign
read your fill here.


huzzah. such is the degradation of the society around us.


time and time again people have been showing this without knowing its true meaning.
some may say that one is innocent and that the gesture means nothing if the person isn't using it in its real context, think:

if someone shows you the birdie a.k.a the finger (click here if you don't know what it is) and if the person doesn't know what it is, would you be offended anyhow?
for starters, the person would probably get beaten up before he can explain.

imagine a Brit going into someone's blog and seeing legions of s'porean girls showing the inverted V sign. our little island nation would probably be flagged as the most vulgar country in the world: even the most vulgar of signs (the inverted V being doubly as vulgar as the finger) are cutesy. what more the really REALLY vulgar ones?



honestly, one has to wonder which joker first incorporated this sign into photos and such. probably an air-headed bimbo who thought this was cool.

anyhow, no condemnation to those doing this pose and such in photos.
however, after reading this post, one cannot feign ignorance.




hrmph. griping.
what a healthy way to start the lunar new year...

Alice in Wonderland (1865)

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

Alice didn't think that proved it at all: however she went on. "And how do you

know that you're mad?"

"To begin with," said the Cat, "a dog's not mad. You grant that?"

"I suppose so," said Alice

"Well, then, " the Cat went on, "you see a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."

Seats on the Bus..

has one ever experienced this - when the bus seats are occupied with people and you have your own seat, people come and sit next to you even though there are many other people they can sit with, and one thinks: "Why can't this fella just sit with someone else?"


well, fret not - studies done by the world renowned Dr. Cheng show that there may be more to people sitting next to you than previously thought.



it is only human nature that one avoids what may potentially be a threat - from the smallest to the biggest things, like running away from a bee or avoiding a knife-wielding madman. this can be attributed to one's natural instinct for survival.


this then leads to the thought again: what connection does this theory have with people sitting next to you?


subconsciously, people would sit with a person on the bus based on how much they deem the person to be not a threat. for example, an auntie would rather sit with a student or younger person as compared to sitting with a middle-aged man.


simply put, people will sit next to the one on the bus who appears harmless.


in the future, when a person sits next to you, think:





















"do i really look like a pushover?"



















WAHHAHAA.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIVANESAN.

siva's birthday today - plus the gathering of BoB3..


except mister pei 'i am tired' ren.
him and his lousy reasons.


pictures here:

NOTE: please ignore sivanesan's finger salutes in some of the pictures. if you can't take this kinda offense, please skip the pictures quickly and view some pictures of cute fluffy pink bunnies to sooth your weary and injured soul.

thank you.


pictures were taken with my digicam, which explains the lack of quality and sometimes washed-out pics.
without further ado:





we ate at marina square: Hotpot Culture.
it's just outside where genki sushi is. you can't miss it.

good stuff. great service and great food. free flow of food (no drinks, sadly).. for only 23 bucks per pax. apparently BoB3's such an entertaining bunch that we were asked for a copy of our group photo in the restaurant.

go give it a looksee and maybe try it out. it's well worth the 23 bucks.







happy birthday sivanesan.
my grandchildren will tell their grandchildren about the legendary mister G and his 'lol'.


heh heh.