Look what got Screwed Up Girl 44 mails and 345 page views in one day!
I can't believe she actually went to do this. Must be the stress of Common Tests.
The fanmail is damn funny:
"you looks sexy and gergeous..nice photo there"
"n u look lovely too...maybe someday i will see ur lovely face in some magz"
"You are the one look so cute & pretty !!!"
"Hi..How\'s ur life over there?Do you enjoy ur life now?If no..let\'s enjoy wif me together.Life is so short.We need to know how to enjoy our life when we still young.Let\'s start know me from today k.Hope to hear from u soon..See you !!"
"you sound great to be with can i date you out and spend some quality time with you ? maybe have a drink and have some fun? give me your number i will call you"
"Hi, u like singing ??? mmm... U look so cute."
"One thing I have to say is that you look great."
"Phewittt..! Hello Ariella ....U r most beautiful & sweetest when u smile... Hello my gracious beautiful friend... Ariella Please do take a few minuets of your time to read on okay... Please I beg you my friend.. TQ... I would really like to be your friend... To be honest with you... I am seriously & sincerely attracted to you... you are a very very Beautiful & Gourgeous young lady...your lovely sweet smiles & your eyes look cool ... I mean you are very beautiful ...Very beautiful indeed... You really caught my eyes & triggered my instinct to make a move to try to approach you... May be I am not \"Attractive\" enough to become a friend to such a beautiful girl like you...? Or may be I am not up to your standards I guess... Mum always says if you don\'t try... you will never know if you will make it right...? I know that it is sometimes a waste of time or useless to \"layan\" us guys... most girls will assume or think that guys are trying to take advantage of girls... vulnerable as we are, human being like us are trying to protect our own interest in life... who doesn\'t right...? But please do have faith in me... Really hope that I can have your PHONE NUMBER coz I personally will prefer to chat on the phone sometimes... I do know that I am very much still a stranger to you; that giving me your phone number ill be a risk that you might not want to gamble upon... But do have faith in me cause I am not those crazy guys giving missed called & prank calls... Do wish you have faith in me & trust me that I do not have any bad intention on you ... It is really hard to convince you but I hope you will trust me as I am sincere & honest.."
"So, how about u? how r u? May i know more about u? and one question, frankly, are u attached at the moment?:p"
"Would you like to meet SOMEONE ? Someone who care Someone who listen.. Someone who is kind Someone who is gentle Someone who jokes a lot Someone who is romantic Someone who make you smile Someone who make you laugh
Someone who lend you a shoulder to cry on.. Someone who know how to make you feel good Someone who is there when you needed him most If you want to befriend SOMEONE do reply this email…. "
"I started an appreciation for fine art especially those from the early Impressionist period ie Monet, Renoir, Degas and Seurat. I wish one day I could be rich enough to own a genuine masterpiece. " - I think this one is promising :)
"Very nice introduction you have there. As much as I was dazed by your beauty, I was more intrigued by your command of the language and how you project yourself to others. I think you should be a highly intellectual person bubbling with lots of energy to surge forward in life."
"yup...u sound like the typical singaporean bitch. hope you grow up soon to realize that." - Wah. So much for dating via that site.
I wonder where they get these people from. She must be very flattered. Wonder what will happen if her "better" juniors go post their profiles and photos there.
And I wonder what will happen if I set up a profile and put Asian Prince's face there :)
The Illustrated Catalog Of ACME Products
"ACME is a worldwide leader of many manufactured goods. From its humble beginnings providing corks and flypaper to bug collectors ("Buddy's Bug Hunt/1935") to its heyday in the American Southwest supplying a certain coyote, from Ultimatum Dispatchers to Batman outfits, ACME has set the standard for excellence.
For the first time ever, information and pictures of all ACME products, specialty divisions, and services (from 1935 to 1964) are gathered here, in one convenient catalog. For more information about any ACME product, simply click on the thumbnail picture. Thanks to Warner Bros. studios and their fine animation department for advertising ACME products in their cartoons!!"
I haven't even seen half of these in action! Tis hard to say what catches my eye, but some of the more outstanding products are the ACME DEHYDRATED BOULDERS, , ACME ATOM RE-ARRANGER, ACME FEMALE ROAD RUNNER COSTUME, ACME ROCKET POWERED ROLLER SKATES, ACME STRAIT-JACKET EJECTING BAZOOKA, ACME SUPER OUTFIT and best of all - the ACME INSTANT GIRL!
I've heard so much about Xenogears, but never found out what the hell it was about. Now, I've found a novelization - though how much of the story it's retold so far I don't know
Lightning Strikes Preacher Who Asked For Sign
Ink more expensive than champagne
"ACME is a worldwide leader of many manufactured goods. From its humble beginnings providing corks and flypaper to bug collectors ("Buddy's Bug Hunt/1935") to its heyday in the American Southwest supplying a certain coyote, from Ultimatum Dispatchers to Batman outfits, ACME has set the standard for excellence.
For the first time ever, information and pictures of all ACME products, specialty divisions, and services (from 1935 to 1964) are gathered here, in one convenient catalog. For more information about any ACME product, simply click on the thumbnail picture. Thanks to Warner Bros. studios and their fine animation department for advertising ACME products in their cartoons!!"
I haven't even seen half of these in action! Tis hard to say what catches my eye, but some of the more outstanding products are the ACME DEHYDRATED BOULDERS, , ACME ATOM RE-ARRANGER, ACME FEMALE ROAD RUNNER COSTUME, ACME ROCKET POWERED ROLLER SKATES, ACME STRAIT-JACKET EJECTING BAZOOKA, ACME SUPER OUTFIT and best of all - the ACME INSTANT GIRL!
I've heard so much about Xenogears, but never found out what the hell it was about. Now, I've found a novelization - though how much of the story it's retold so far I don't know
Lightning Strikes Preacher Who Asked For Sign
Ink more expensive than champagne
Monday, June 30, 2003
DR MAHATHIR MOHAMMED BLAMES MARTIANS FOR WORLD PROBLEMS
By J. Blair
SOME SOURCES THAT HAVE PROVIDED DR MAHATHIR WITH HIS INCONTROVERTIBLE EVIDENCE ON THE EVIL AND SEXUALLY WANTON NATURE OF MARTIANS
In his latest tirade one week after his scathing attack on Europeans, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed has now targeted a "greater menace to mankind's future, more than the Europeans".
"Yes, it is the Martians." says Dr. Mahathir Mohammed.
"And they have a long history offering incontrovertible proof of their violent, evil and sexually wanton nature." He noted that the Martians have an "advanced civilization, that contained huge canals and cities to upstage earth's and craters that are actually huge missile silos." And he also complimented the Martians by saying that they're "very clever and brave, but also very greedy and have a history of attempting to conquer other planets, as their history will show."
According to Dr Mahathir, the martians have already been attempting to conquer earth by creating a string of natural disasters, including global warming, earthquakes, twisters and floods. "All these have been caused by Martians, who are now far more advanced in their weaponry than we can imagine. Their latest example has been the biological weapon known as SARS."
Dr Mahathir also says that the Martians are a "people of wanton and overt sexuality who have the exhibitionistic tendency of seeming to enjoy showing off their unusually well-proportioned bodies".
The documents that Dr Mahathir produced to reinforce his argument include a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs called "A Princess of Mars" ,a book by HG Wells called "The War of the Worlds", and some short films directed by a man who Dr Mahathir called a "superb Martian authority", Chuck Jones. He has recommended these sources for public patronizing.
"The Martians will not stop until they have taken away everything from us Malays." he concluded as he broke down in tears.
He also added that he is not a "speciesist" or a "planetist", adding that he has many "friends and acquaintances who are Martians."
But, he added, "he would tell the truth about the Martians as he sees fit."
Paradox is disrupting in 2 weeks!
By J. Blair
SOME SOURCES THAT HAVE PROVIDED DR MAHATHIR WITH HIS INCONTROVERTIBLE EVIDENCE ON THE EVIL AND SEXUALLY WANTON NATURE OF MARTIANS
In his latest tirade one week after his scathing attack on Europeans, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed has now targeted a "greater menace to mankind's future, more than the Europeans".
"Yes, it is the Martians." says Dr. Mahathir Mohammed.
"And they have a long history offering incontrovertible proof of their violent, evil and sexually wanton nature." He noted that the Martians have an "advanced civilization, that contained huge canals and cities to upstage earth's and craters that are actually huge missile silos." And he also complimented the Martians by saying that they're "very clever and brave, but also very greedy and have a history of attempting to conquer other planets, as their history will show."
According to Dr Mahathir, the martians have already been attempting to conquer earth by creating a string of natural disasters, including global warming, earthquakes, twisters and floods. "All these have been caused by Martians, who are now far more advanced in their weaponry than we can imagine. Their latest example has been the biological weapon known as SARS."
Dr Mahathir also says that the Martians are a "people of wanton and overt sexuality who have the exhibitionistic tendency of seeming to enjoy showing off their unusually well-proportioned bodies".
The documents that Dr Mahathir produced to reinforce his argument include a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs called "A Princess of Mars" ,a book by HG Wells called "The War of the Worlds", and some short films directed by a man who Dr Mahathir called a "superb Martian authority", Chuck Jones. He has recommended these sources for public patronizing.
"The Martians will not stop until they have taken away everything from us Malays." he concluded as he broke down in tears.
He also added that he is not a "speciesist" or a "planetist", adding that he has many "friends and acquaintances who are Martians."
But, he added, "he would tell the truth about the Martians as he sees fit."
Paradox is disrupting in 2 weeks!
On idealism and liberalism:
Rationally Speaking: A monthly e-column by Massimo Pigliucci
N. 28, September 2002: Why bother? Why being liberal is not a lost cause
Quote of the month:
"What used to be called liberal is now called radical, what used to be called radical is now called insane, what used to be called reactionary is now called moderate, and what used to be called insane is now called solid conservative thinking." - Tony Kushner
I am what most people in the United States would describe as an idealist, a progressive, a liberal, a social democrat, or worse. Consequently, the question that a few of my friends and I often ask ourselves is: why bother? Let me explain. The world some of us would like to see, and are fighting to help bring about with our actions and writings, is one in which more people will use reason to make their decisions; fundamentalist religion will be seen as silly at best, and profoundly misguided and dangerous at worst; the environment will be thought of a real priority; war will not be possible because of a truly civilized international system of police and tribunals (you know, just like modern societies are an improvement over the law of the jungle?); and human beings will engage not in the search for profit or shallow consumerism but in the pursuit of true happiness and fulfillment. Scary, eh?
Now, the world in which we actually live is apparently characterized by rampant superstition and nonsense; fundamentalist religion is seen as a respectable, even enviable, way of life; the environment keeps taking a beating notwithstanding international conferences and political pledges; wars are been fought all over the planet and more are in the planning; and many of our society’s role models are among the shallowest (movie and sports stars) and meanest (corporate executives) people one can think of.
I repeat: why bother? I mean: in order to be a liberal freethinker one has either to be a masochist or a hopeless optimist, completely out of touch with reality. We are bombarded with bad news every day and from every corner. Yes, we had eight years of Clinton, blessed be the memory of his presidency, but he wasn’t really a liberal or a progressive. Rather, he was a fairly moderate Republican (yes, you read correctly), and hardly slowed down the onslaught of corporate interests and environmental catastrophe that has been the hallmark of this country’s policy since Reagan. To make it even worse, now we have a president who was not elected democratically (hey, I thought that happened only in Third World countries!), who keeps showing a callous disrespect for the environment and an equally abominable close tie to big business, and of whom (for some reason) most people keep approving because he has “character” (by which they must mean that he is able to lie about his past better than Clinton did).
All of this sounds hopeless, and no matter what my friends and I write or do, it will likely not change perceptibly during our lifetime. Then again, before yielding to depression and committing suicide or, worse, going on annual pilgrimages to DisneyWorld, we should consider the idea of different temporal horizons of activism. You see, all that I have described so far happens at what I think of as the mid-time horizon, i.e., stretches of time that can be measured on the order of a human life. But there are at least two additional horizons to consider if you are as stubborn an optimist as I am.
First, there is the near-time horizon. This is the here and now, in which we can make a huge difference at the local level. Our doings and writings can touch people in countless ways. It’s true: I get testimonials via email every week. Our actions can make a difference between a school board adopting a textbook that teaches the nonsense of creationism and another based on the best science available. This will affect thousands of kids, immediately! True, a protest at the local nuclear plant may go completely unnoticed; but other causes, like the No-Global movement, have made themselves heard the world over (despite the obvious irony intrinsic in such success…). Furthermore, things do change in major ways, from time to time. Let’s not forget that the Soviet Union and the Berlin wall crumbled in front of our eyes after having been apparently unfaltering symbols of oppression for decades. Equally surprisingly, Nelson Mandela went from political prisoner to head of state in South Africa, and the Milosovic government in the former Yugoslavia disappeared. These things don’t happen if we leave the field entirely to conservative and regressive forces.
Then there is the long-time horizon. I know most people think history is boring, but that’s a pity, because they would find that things do change during the course of human history and, often enough, for the better. A few decades ago it would have been perfectly acceptable to enforce racist laws in the United States; today this is unthinkable. Not long before that, women were not allowed to vote, while now all political parties consistently court them. Slavery was sanctioned in Western countries until the 19th century, but it is now actively fought everywhere in the world. Religious fundamentalists may have a large influence on the cultural and political life of the United States and the Middle East, but that is a far cry from the absolute dominance of religious bigotry that characterized several centuries of Western history deservedly referred to as “the dark ages.” And the environment wasn’t even an issue until the second half of the 20th century. These long-term changes, like the short-term ones listed above, were made possible by the continuous action of people who kept protesting, marching and writing to further human flourishing in the broadest possible sense. Most of them saw no perceptible change for the better during their life times, but they believed it would eventually come if they kept up the struggle. They were right.
I am under no illusion that this column or anything I do will change the world, but I do know that people are positively affected by what is written and done in the here and now. And I know that it is because of my friends and colleagues who keep protesting against nonsense, greed and repression that we can conceive of a better future for humanity. Indeed, to some extent, that future has already happened.
Rationally Speaking: A monthly e-column by Massimo Pigliucci
N. 28, September 2002: Why bother? Why being liberal is not a lost cause
Quote of the month:
"What used to be called liberal is now called radical, what used to be called radical is now called insane, what used to be called reactionary is now called moderate, and what used to be called insane is now called solid conservative thinking." - Tony Kushner
I am what most people in the United States would describe as an idealist, a progressive, a liberal, a social democrat, or worse. Consequently, the question that a few of my friends and I often ask ourselves is: why bother? Let me explain. The world some of us would like to see, and are fighting to help bring about with our actions and writings, is one in which more people will use reason to make their decisions; fundamentalist religion will be seen as silly at best, and profoundly misguided and dangerous at worst; the environment will be thought of a real priority; war will not be possible because of a truly civilized international system of police and tribunals (you know, just like modern societies are an improvement over the law of the jungle?); and human beings will engage not in the search for profit or shallow consumerism but in the pursuit of true happiness and fulfillment. Scary, eh?
Now, the world in which we actually live is apparently characterized by rampant superstition and nonsense; fundamentalist religion is seen as a respectable, even enviable, way of life; the environment keeps taking a beating notwithstanding international conferences and political pledges; wars are been fought all over the planet and more are in the planning; and many of our society’s role models are among the shallowest (movie and sports stars) and meanest (corporate executives) people one can think of.
I repeat: why bother? I mean: in order to be a liberal freethinker one has either to be a masochist or a hopeless optimist, completely out of touch with reality. We are bombarded with bad news every day and from every corner. Yes, we had eight years of Clinton, blessed be the memory of his presidency, but he wasn’t really a liberal or a progressive. Rather, he was a fairly moderate Republican (yes, you read correctly), and hardly slowed down the onslaught of corporate interests and environmental catastrophe that has been the hallmark of this country’s policy since Reagan. To make it even worse, now we have a president who was not elected democratically (hey, I thought that happened only in Third World countries!), who keeps showing a callous disrespect for the environment and an equally abominable close tie to big business, and of whom (for some reason) most people keep approving because he has “character” (by which they must mean that he is able to lie about his past better than Clinton did).
All of this sounds hopeless, and no matter what my friends and I write or do, it will likely not change perceptibly during our lifetime. Then again, before yielding to depression and committing suicide or, worse, going on annual pilgrimages to DisneyWorld, we should consider the idea of different temporal horizons of activism. You see, all that I have described so far happens at what I think of as the mid-time horizon, i.e., stretches of time that can be measured on the order of a human life. But there are at least two additional horizons to consider if you are as stubborn an optimist as I am.
First, there is the near-time horizon. This is the here and now, in which we can make a huge difference at the local level. Our doings and writings can touch people in countless ways. It’s true: I get testimonials via email every week. Our actions can make a difference between a school board adopting a textbook that teaches the nonsense of creationism and another based on the best science available. This will affect thousands of kids, immediately! True, a protest at the local nuclear plant may go completely unnoticed; but other causes, like the No-Global movement, have made themselves heard the world over (despite the obvious irony intrinsic in such success…). Furthermore, things do change in major ways, from time to time. Let’s not forget that the Soviet Union and the Berlin wall crumbled in front of our eyes after having been apparently unfaltering symbols of oppression for decades. Equally surprisingly, Nelson Mandela went from political prisoner to head of state in South Africa, and the Milosovic government in the former Yugoslavia disappeared. These things don’t happen if we leave the field entirely to conservative and regressive forces.
Then there is the long-time horizon. I know most people think history is boring, but that’s a pity, because they would find that things do change during the course of human history and, often enough, for the better. A few decades ago it would have been perfectly acceptable to enforce racist laws in the United States; today this is unthinkable. Not long before that, women were not allowed to vote, while now all political parties consistently court them. Slavery was sanctioned in Western countries until the 19th century, but it is now actively fought everywhere in the world. Religious fundamentalists may have a large influence on the cultural and political life of the United States and the Middle East, but that is a far cry from the absolute dominance of religious bigotry that characterized several centuries of Western history deservedly referred to as “the dark ages.” And the environment wasn’t even an issue until the second half of the 20th century. These long-term changes, like the short-term ones listed above, were made possible by the continuous action of people who kept protesting, marching and writing to further human flourishing in the broadest possible sense. Most of them saw no perceptible change for the better during their life times, but they believed it would eventually come if they kept up the struggle. They were right.
I am under no illusion that this column or anything I do will change the world, but I do know that people are positively affected by what is written and done in the here and now. And I know that it is because of my friends and colleagues who keep protesting against nonsense, greed and repression that we can conceive of a better future for humanity. Indeed, to some extent, that future has already happened.
Sunday, June 29, 2003
The 6th Mono-Intake has come to the Cutting Edge (my unit)! It's time for all of us to practise uttering the sentence: "Never mind, whole lot knock it down!", or variants of the above. Some time before they came in, 2 posters went up on 2 facing walls. One says: "BMT. It's not what you leave behind. It's what you gain in the days ahead". Below, you see this forlorn guy and his sad-looking girl friend. So I suppose the message is you lose your girlfriend, and you get a bad haircut, courtesy of the 42SAR barber and friends. The other poster says "Welcome to 42SAR". I think a good subtext for that poster would be: "You die. All die." People say that BMT at a unit is more slack than at the Isle of Doom, and this seems to be borne out by the fact that the recruits aren't confined at the start of BMT!
We've gotten 10 new medics. This unexpected generosity has us overwhelmed. For once we will be at (sorta) full strength. Unfortunately, none of them are my juniors. All of them are privates, so the 2 1/2 year soldiers (most of them) will get to go through everything with the just-enlisted recruits, and ORD together with them. Joy! Meanwhile, people like me will get to skip ATEC :)
Now that the recruits have come, life has gotten worse for us. Perhaps it's to set the standards for the recruits, or so that they don't complain. For one, we can't sleep in bunk during lunch time anymore. So one of the few advantages of having a bunk is now gone, and we have even less reason to leave our work places.
I returned from NCC cover to discover that my Secret Garden had been desecrated! Argh. It took me all of a few minutes to re-sanctify it and re-consecrate it, so now it's back to normal.
The promising initiative whereby we could choose what meals to eat in order to save taxpayers' money has been killed in its prime. People will continue not to eat, regardless. More's the pity.
We've been made to purchase these "Free Singapore From SARS" combination lucky draw/scratch and win tickets issued by Singapore Pools at $3 each. The top prize is $1 million - maybe it's what they decided to do with the surfeit money is the Courage Fund. Now, how buying lucky draw tickets is supposed to kill SARS is a mystery. I don't think throwing yet more money at this particular problem is going to make it go away any faster. Anyhow, the tickets proclaim that all proceeds will go to "SARS-related community causes". This is a marvelously vague term. I suppose it could mean that the money is used to subsidise the purchase of floor disinfectant bought by Community Centres. Or maybe it goes to helping MOE and MINDEF pay for the thermometers that all pupils and soldiers got :) Now, all of this wouldn't bother me all that much, but for the fact that we've been -forced- to buy these tickets. Now, I remember that, a few weeks ago, some guy wrote in to the Straits Times forum asking why his son was forced to collect money for the Army Half Marathon. Colonel Bernard Toh, Director of Public Affairs at Mindef, naturally wrote in to assure everyone that no, servicemen are not forced to collect money for AHM. They're just given "targets". So now, with this dirty business made public, I assume that all servicemen are no longer forced to reach a target for AHM collections - hell, it came out on my unit's Routine Orders. The trouble is that, while AHM donations are no longer compulsory (unlike last year), the "Free Singapore From SARS" tickets are still being forced down our throats. Now, I could be a jolly chap and write in, like the father of that serviceman, and complain to Colonel Bernard Toh, and shame the SAF again. However, seeing my history of having letters rejected by the ST, and how, if they're feeling nasty, they'll invoke the Official Secrets Act and throw me into DB, I suppose that might not be such a wise course of action. Maybe I should just call the SAF Hotline :) 1800-6278-0022.
I felt a sudden urge to opine on Singapore's own Day of Infamy (a la Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941), while my feet were collapsing during the SAF Day parade rehearsal, but I find that it isn't really suitable.
The SAR-vivor rap is so bad that it will forever be seared into my mind, causing my untold horrific nightmares for all eternity.
I really should be careful when deleting CLSIDs from my Registry. I've had to re-install Windows twice already because I cocked something up.
Travelling on the new North East line gives me a feeling of deja vu. The stations are massive, multi-levelled and cavernous and you have to walk a lot to get to and from it from the old MRT lines. In the trains, you have signs reading "Mind The Gap". The air in the trains and stations isn't very cold, and smells slightly stale, with a little of the tunnel about it. And to complete it all, you have the Circle Line coming up in a few years.
One of the stated aims of the Circle Line is to let commuters bypass the crowded city. Somehow, I don't think building a new line will have much effect. For one, the stations bypassed by the new line aren't very many. Also, looking at the North East line and how much you have to walk to transfer to it, it is likely that any time saved by bypassing the City stations will be lost both to walking and waiting for the connecting trains.
I saw this device to give you a flashing belly button. It was advertised as being "for girls of all ages". Wth.
I finally saw a Scarlet Ibis (after which a short story I did in Sec 1 for Lit was named after) at the Zoo/Bird Park exhibit in Orchard.
In Korea, getting a tattoo gets you out of their conscription. People also try other ways of getting downgraded. Looks like Singaporeans aren't the only ones who detest being slaves.
Patriotism is, among other things, an urge to do what is best for one's country. However, in Singapore, the country is inextricably bound up with the government. To criticise or distrust the government is almost to be unpatriotic. In fact, the paper that people are forced to sign upon enlistment, and the oath that they swear (invalid, of course, under duress), contain copious references to the Government. So the question is: what happens when the Government is not acting in the interests of the country, and true patriots will be obliged to defy it?
I look into a crystal ball, and I see nothing. That's bad.
Quotes:
[On my observation that his hair had gained in volume during his ORD leave] You know why you're so fat? It's because you're so full of shit.
Only Ah Bengs like to go to Pasar Malams. Then they can buy their "No Fear" shirts.
We've gotten 10 new medics. This unexpected generosity has us overwhelmed. For once we will be at (sorta) full strength. Unfortunately, none of them are my juniors. All of them are privates, so the 2 1/2 year soldiers (most of them) will get to go through everything with the just-enlisted recruits, and ORD together with them. Joy! Meanwhile, people like me will get to skip ATEC :)
Now that the recruits have come, life has gotten worse for us. Perhaps it's to set the standards for the recruits, or so that they don't complain. For one, we can't sleep in bunk during lunch time anymore. So one of the few advantages of having a bunk is now gone, and we have even less reason to leave our work places.
I returned from NCC cover to discover that my Secret Garden had been desecrated! Argh. It took me all of a few minutes to re-sanctify it and re-consecrate it, so now it's back to normal.
The promising initiative whereby we could choose what meals to eat in order to save taxpayers' money has been killed in its prime. People will continue not to eat, regardless. More's the pity.
We've been made to purchase these "Free Singapore From SARS" combination lucky draw/scratch and win tickets issued by Singapore Pools at $3 each. The top prize is $1 million - maybe it's what they decided to do with the surfeit money is the Courage Fund. Now, how buying lucky draw tickets is supposed to kill SARS is a mystery. I don't think throwing yet more money at this particular problem is going to make it go away any faster. Anyhow, the tickets proclaim that all proceeds will go to "SARS-related community causes". This is a marvelously vague term. I suppose it could mean that the money is used to subsidise the purchase of floor disinfectant bought by Community Centres. Or maybe it goes to helping MOE and MINDEF pay for the thermometers that all pupils and soldiers got :) Now, all of this wouldn't bother me all that much, but for the fact that we've been -forced- to buy these tickets. Now, I remember that, a few weeks ago, some guy wrote in to the Straits Times forum asking why his son was forced to collect money for the Army Half Marathon. Colonel Bernard Toh, Director of Public Affairs at Mindef, naturally wrote in to assure everyone that no, servicemen are not forced to collect money for AHM. They're just given "targets". So now, with this dirty business made public, I assume that all servicemen are no longer forced to reach a target for AHM collections - hell, it came out on my unit's Routine Orders. The trouble is that, while AHM donations are no longer compulsory (unlike last year), the "Free Singapore From SARS" tickets are still being forced down our throats. Now, I could be a jolly chap and write in, like the father of that serviceman, and complain to Colonel Bernard Toh, and shame the SAF again. However, seeing my history of having letters rejected by the ST, and how, if they're feeling nasty, they'll invoke the Official Secrets Act and throw me into DB, I suppose that might not be such a wise course of action. Maybe I should just call the SAF Hotline :) 1800-6278-0022.
I felt a sudden urge to opine on Singapore's own Day of Infamy (a la Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941), while my feet were collapsing during the SAF Day parade rehearsal, but I find that it isn't really suitable.
The SAR-vivor rap is so bad that it will forever be seared into my mind, causing my untold horrific nightmares for all eternity.
I really should be careful when deleting CLSIDs from my Registry. I've had to re-install Windows twice already because I cocked something up.
Travelling on the new North East line gives me a feeling of deja vu. The stations are massive, multi-levelled and cavernous and you have to walk a lot to get to and from it from the old MRT lines. In the trains, you have signs reading "Mind The Gap". The air in the trains and stations isn't very cold, and smells slightly stale, with a little of the tunnel about it. And to complete it all, you have the Circle Line coming up in a few years.
One of the stated aims of the Circle Line is to let commuters bypass the crowded city. Somehow, I don't think building a new line will have much effect. For one, the stations bypassed by the new line aren't very many. Also, looking at the North East line and how much you have to walk to transfer to it, it is likely that any time saved by bypassing the City stations will be lost both to walking and waiting for the connecting trains.
I saw this device to give you a flashing belly button. It was advertised as being "for girls of all ages". Wth.
I finally saw a Scarlet Ibis (after which a short story I did in Sec 1 for Lit was named after) at the Zoo/Bird Park exhibit in Orchard.
In Korea, getting a tattoo gets you out of their conscription. People also try other ways of getting downgraded. Looks like Singaporeans aren't the only ones who detest being slaves.
Patriotism is, among other things, an urge to do what is best for one's country. However, in Singapore, the country is inextricably bound up with the government. To criticise or distrust the government is almost to be unpatriotic. In fact, the paper that people are forced to sign upon enlistment, and the oath that they swear (invalid, of course, under duress), contain copious references to the Government. So the question is: what happens when the Government is not acting in the interests of the country, and true patriots will be obliged to defy it?
I look into a crystal ball, and I see nothing. That's bad.
Quotes:
[On my observation that his hair had gained in volume during his ORD leave] You know why you're so fat? It's because you're so full of shit.
Only Ah Bengs like to go to Pasar Malams. Then they can buy their "No Fear" shirts.
4 days at NCC:
I finally prevailed upon Ban Xiong to send me to Amoy Quee to cover NCC courses over 4 days the past week, so I got to stay out for 4 days and have fun slacking over there. I and Bob were assigned to cover the Specialists' Course for Boys for the Central district, so we didn't get to shake our heads much at how girls' NCC is much slacker (for one, on the occasions you are in No 3, you can't get knocked down!), though what little I saw from the other contingents already confirmed my suspicions. Meanwhile, I was entertained and enlightened by Bob's many profound observations on life, the universe and everything.
After observing NCC training, I am more perplexed than ever about why young schoolchildren would want to spend a day or two each week, and more during the holidays, being tortured. Especially the boys. Aren't 2 to 2 1/2 years of full time bondage more than enough? Maybe it's all the masochists who join NCC, so they can perversely rejoice in their suffering. Or maybe they're just channeling their innate and hormonal urges to play at being soldiers, the same way children play with toy soldiers, tanks, planes and what not.
In some ways, NCC is even more regimental than the SAF. When the cadets sit on the floor, they adopt a posture reminiscent of the lotus position, sitting cross-legged with straight backs and stretching both arms out to rest on their knees. They then have to ask their ICs permission to relax and adjust themselves or to drink water. Why the ICs don't give this permission every now and then as a matter of course, or just ask the superiors for carte blanche permission for the cadets to rest, is beyond me. Hell, even their eating is regimental! The ICs are also very fierce, even though they are the same rank as their men. Maybe it's all the vying for recognition so they can get promoted faster, or get the title of Best Trainee. Anyhow, everything can probably be summed up in one word: "discipline" (read: stupidity). Of course, they have their home, their parents, their siblings, a soft, fluffy bed and lots of soft toys waiting for them at the end of the day (or the week, at most), and if worse comes to worst, they can always quit.
In some ways, too, it seems the NCC cadets learn more than we did during BMT. For example they learn how to search people at rifle point. But then they have even less practice than us, so.
I've always wondered why the SAF needs medics to cover all sorts of trivial things. In fact, in the past, I have even had to cover a *reception*. I don't know, maybe they feared some General would choke on a fishball, or something. In the first two days of my NCC cover, people managed to cut themselves while loading magazines into and stripping rifles, so I suppose we were there to stop parental complaints. Anyway, the Police and just about everyone else (schools, organisations holding outdoor activities and more) manage to get by without medical cover, so I suspect maybe they're just finding work for SAF medics to do so we don't become too slack.
I saw what should be all of the Army Recruitment Posters in the "who has the ~" series! I tried to think of spoofs of each, but I didn't succeed. Results of my brainstorming below:
- "Who has the spirit?" -> "Who has flagging spirits?". Picture will show soldiers after a 40km route march - shagged, demoralised and close to exhuastion.
- "Who has the firepower?" -> "Who has insufficient firepower?". Picture will show a M1A2 Abrams beside an SM-1.
- "Who will keep us safe?" -> The lack of tenacity, will, patriotism and determination of many SAFs (and not a few regulars) is well known. Nonetheless, I could not come up with a counterpart to this poster.
- "Who has the motivation?" -> "Who has no motivation?". Picture will show the miserly pay that NSFs get every month. "You pay me peanuts, you get a monkey". What else can be added to show why NSFs lack motivation?
- "Who has the vigilance?" -> "Who has no vigilance?". Picture will show people slacking and sleeping during guard duty, or sleeping at various other places, like in a tonner.
- "Who has the courage?" -> "Who has no courage?". Picture will show someone (me?) hesitating at the high ramp.
Quickies:
Shit rolls downhill. Officers get specialists or officer cadets to do their dirty work, specialists get enlistees or recruits, and enlistees get NCC cadets (if available) :)
There was this short SCGS girl who put her bag near ours, flashed a shy smile and walked away. Gah. I actually felt tempted to throw her bag at her. There should be a law to regulate people's acting cute.
As some NCC specialists were marching past Bob, who was eating Ikan Perdas, I was looking for the guy who was chanting the traditional "loop, loop, loop right loop". To my great shock, it was the person mentioned in the above paragraph! Looks like Raffles Guys is not the only institution which provides this sort of training.
Somehow, this quote from BMT came to mind while watching the NCC ICs count strength: "[Recruit to sergeant while counting strength: X and X blank files, IC!] Fuck. I go to SISPEC for 5 months, come out and become IC. Knock it down!"
In the NCC office, there was this Army recruitment poster claiming that girls got turned on by guys in uniform. Hmmph. Even if there are people whose heads are so easily turned, you won't get to meet many of them in uniform!
It was relatively easy to tell the NCC Cadets from KC apart from the other female cadets (ahem). Oddly, though, some wore a T-shirt which said, at the back, "KC NCC Land Girls". I didn't know there was a boys' contingent in that school.
You always hear people talking about when the weather status "Cat 1" (lightning), but you never get to hear of the other categories - kind of like Hongkong movies, in fact. You always hear about Cat III movies, but never about Cat I, Cat II, Cat IV and Cat V movies. Anyway I found that Cat 2 means that it is raining, and Cat 3 indicates sunny weather.
Some of the older NCC females were wearing green boots with a splash of black. They don't use these anymore nowadays. Interesting. I wonder what the rationale for green boots last time was anyway. Guess SAF wanted to save money.
Amoy Quee seems like a nice, empty, relaxed, slack camp to be in. And it's near civilisation too.
Amoy Quee provides lockers for you to put prohibited items in, but you are "advised" not to put valuables in there. Right. So what could be prohibited without being valuable? Diskettes? CDs? Pirated/pornographic VCDs?
Bob likes to walk so fast. He walked so fast, in fact, that I got abrasions on my left toes, and became all sweaty. Bah.
Sign seen at 20th Singapore Artillery: "Safety habits need to be grilled". Wth?!
I think 20SA's cookhouse can clinch the coveted prize of "Worst Cookhouse In The SAF".
Since it's their lull period, people from 2SIR get to book out daily after their Company Runs. Looks like we in 42SAR really got shortchanged. Hell even 46SAR company line people are stayout during lull.
Strangely (or otherwise) enough, it was rather nice to be addressed as "Sir". I never knew I took even a smidgen of delight in such shallow and trivial things.
It's nice to be able to change your uniform daily.
The NCC song in its full horror! You can (naturally) listen to the mp3 too.
There's actually a further incident that I would put here, but someone accused me of being sick, so I won't talk about it :)
[continued below]
I finally prevailed upon Ban Xiong to send me to Amoy Quee to cover NCC courses over 4 days the past week, so I got to stay out for 4 days and have fun slacking over there. I and Bob were assigned to cover the Specialists' Course for Boys for the Central district, so we didn't get to shake our heads much at how girls' NCC is much slacker (for one, on the occasions you are in No 3, you can't get knocked down!), though what little I saw from the other contingents already confirmed my suspicions. Meanwhile, I was entertained and enlightened by Bob's many profound observations on life, the universe and everything.
After observing NCC training, I am more perplexed than ever about why young schoolchildren would want to spend a day or two each week, and more during the holidays, being tortured. Especially the boys. Aren't 2 to 2 1/2 years of full time bondage more than enough? Maybe it's all the masochists who join NCC, so they can perversely rejoice in their suffering. Or maybe they're just channeling their innate and hormonal urges to play at being soldiers, the same way children play with toy soldiers, tanks, planes and what not.
In some ways, NCC is even more regimental than the SAF. When the cadets sit on the floor, they adopt a posture reminiscent of the lotus position, sitting cross-legged with straight backs and stretching both arms out to rest on their knees. They then have to ask their ICs permission to relax and adjust themselves or to drink water. Why the ICs don't give this permission every now and then as a matter of course, or just ask the superiors for carte blanche permission for the cadets to rest, is beyond me. Hell, even their eating is regimental! The ICs are also very fierce, even though they are the same rank as their men. Maybe it's all the vying for recognition so they can get promoted faster, or get the title of Best Trainee. Anyhow, everything can probably be summed up in one word: "discipline" (read: stupidity). Of course, they have their home, their parents, their siblings, a soft, fluffy bed and lots of soft toys waiting for them at the end of the day (or the week, at most), and if worse comes to worst, they can always quit.
In some ways, too, it seems the NCC cadets learn more than we did during BMT. For example they learn how to search people at rifle point. But then they have even less practice than us, so.
I've always wondered why the SAF needs medics to cover all sorts of trivial things. In fact, in the past, I have even had to cover a *reception*. I don't know, maybe they feared some General would choke on a fishball, or something. In the first two days of my NCC cover, people managed to cut themselves while loading magazines into and stripping rifles, so I suppose we were there to stop parental complaints. Anyway, the Police and just about everyone else (schools, organisations holding outdoor activities and more) manage to get by without medical cover, so I suspect maybe they're just finding work for SAF medics to do so we don't become too slack.
I saw what should be all of the Army Recruitment Posters in the "who has the ~" series! I tried to think of spoofs of each, but I didn't succeed. Results of my brainstorming below:
- "Who has the spirit?" -> "Who has flagging spirits?". Picture will show soldiers after a 40km route march - shagged, demoralised and close to exhuastion.
- "Who has the firepower?" -> "Who has insufficient firepower?". Picture will show a M1A2 Abrams beside an SM-1.
- "Who will keep us safe?" -> The lack of tenacity, will, patriotism and determination of many SAFs (and not a few regulars) is well known. Nonetheless, I could not come up with a counterpart to this poster.
- "Who has the motivation?" -> "Who has no motivation?". Picture will show the miserly pay that NSFs get every month. "You pay me peanuts, you get a monkey". What else can be added to show why NSFs lack motivation?
- "Who has the vigilance?" -> "Who has no vigilance?". Picture will show people slacking and sleeping during guard duty, or sleeping at various other places, like in a tonner.
- "Who has the courage?" -> "Who has no courage?". Picture will show someone (me?) hesitating at the high ramp.
Quickies:
Shit rolls downhill. Officers get specialists or officer cadets to do their dirty work, specialists get enlistees or recruits, and enlistees get NCC cadets (if available) :)
There was this short SCGS girl who put her bag near ours, flashed a shy smile and walked away. Gah. I actually felt tempted to throw her bag at her. There should be a law to regulate people's acting cute.
As some NCC specialists were marching past Bob, who was eating Ikan Perdas, I was looking for the guy who was chanting the traditional "loop, loop, loop right loop". To my great shock, it was the person mentioned in the above paragraph! Looks like Raffles Guys is not the only institution which provides this sort of training.
Somehow, this quote from BMT came to mind while watching the NCC ICs count strength: "[Recruit to sergeant while counting strength: X and X blank files, IC!] Fuck. I go to SISPEC for 5 months, come out and become IC. Knock it down!"
In the NCC office, there was this Army recruitment poster claiming that girls got turned on by guys in uniform. Hmmph. Even if there are people whose heads are so easily turned, you won't get to meet many of them in uniform!
It was relatively easy to tell the NCC Cadets from KC apart from the other female cadets (ahem). Oddly, though, some wore a T-shirt which said, at the back, "KC NCC Land Girls". I didn't know there was a boys' contingent in that school.
You always hear people talking about when the weather status "Cat 1" (lightning), but you never get to hear of the other categories - kind of like Hongkong movies, in fact. You always hear about Cat III movies, but never about Cat I, Cat II, Cat IV and Cat V movies. Anyway I found that Cat 2 means that it is raining, and Cat 3 indicates sunny weather.
Some of the older NCC females were wearing green boots with a splash of black. They don't use these anymore nowadays. Interesting. I wonder what the rationale for green boots last time was anyway. Guess SAF wanted to save money.
Amoy Quee seems like a nice, empty, relaxed, slack camp to be in. And it's near civilisation too.
Amoy Quee provides lockers for you to put prohibited items in, but you are "advised" not to put valuables in there. Right. So what could be prohibited without being valuable? Diskettes? CDs? Pirated/pornographic VCDs?
Bob likes to walk so fast. He walked so fast, in fact, that I got abrasions on my left toes, and became all sweaty. Bah.
Sign seen at 20th Singapore Artillery: "Safety habits need to be grilled". Wth?!
I think 20SA's cookhouse can clinch the coveted prize of "Worst Cookhouse In The SAF".
Since it's their lull period, people from 2SIR get to book out daily after their Company Runs. Looks like we in 42SAR really got shortchanged. Hell even 46SAR company line people are stayout during lull.
Strangely (or otherwise) enough, it was rather nice to be addressed as "Sir". I never knew I took even a smidgen of delight in such shallow and trivial things.
It's nice to be able to change your uniform daily.
The NCC song in its full horror! You can (naturally) listen to the mp3 too.
There's actually a further incident that I would put here, but someone accused me of being sick, so I won't talk about it :)
[continued below]
[continued from above post]
Quotes from and about NCC:
Just hang yourself around here (around)
[On adolescence] It's natural for a girl to act cute, c'mon, especially at that age.
Ask her to take a seat and have an interview with us. [Me: What interview?] Medical checkup. [Me: ...]
[On items in the Medical Orderly Pouch being useless during peace time] The girl comes to you. "Sir, can you spare me one FAD?" [Me: For what? Padding ah?] Yah.
[Me on NS breakups: A lot, especially during BMT. That's if the girls are fickle.] Girls are all fickle, come on.
Platoon 3, on your berets - up! (put on)
[On screwing NCC cadets] Look at it this way. They enjoy being tortured, otherwise they won't be here... Those who don't like to be tortured would have quit after the first week.
All so ugly... How come I don't have luck this time?... No nice bodies, no nice faces, no nice features.
[Me on why the gender ratio is not demoralising: Because Singaporean men are shit] Yes, just like you and me... Those who are not shit are bastards.
I conclude that girls who join NCC aren't very feminine.
Wah kao, I saw a girl with muscular legs. *walks off* I like girls with well-toned legs. I don't like girls with masculine legs.
Quotes from and about NCC:
Just hang yourself around here (around)
[On adolescence] It's natural for a girl to act cute, c'mon, especially at that age.
Ask her to take a seat and have an interview with us. [Me: What interview?] Medical checkup. [Me: ...]
[On items in the Medical Orderly Pouch being useless during peace time] The girl comes to you. "Sir, can you spare me one FAD?" [Me: For what? Padding ah?] Yah.
[Me on NS breakups: A lot, especially during BMT. That's if the girls are fickle.] Girls are all fickle, come on.
Platoon 3, on your berets - up! (put on)
[On screwing NCC cadets] Look at it this way. They enjoy being tortured, otherwise they won't be here... Those who don't like to be tortured would have quit after the first week.
All so ugly... How come I don't have luck this time?... No nice bodies, no nice faces, no nice features.
[Me on why the gender ratio is not demoralising: Because Singaporean men are shit] Yes, just like you and me... Those who are not shit are bastards.
I conclude that girls who join NCC aren't very feminine.
Wah kao, I saw a girl with muscular legs. *walks off* I like girls with well-toned legs. I don't like girls with masculine legs.
The Secret Garden - I Heard Someone Crying
[LILY]
Oooooooooooh
[MARY]
I heard someone crying
Who tho' could it be
Maybe it was Mother
Calling out, come see.
Maybe it was father
All alone and lost and cold
I heard someone crying
Maybe it was me
[LILY]
Ooooooooh
[ARCHIBALD]
I heard someone singing
Who tho' could it be
Maybe it was Lily,
Calling out to me
Maybe she's not gone
So far away as I've been told
I heard someone singing
Maybe it was she
[MARY]
Maybe it was someone I could
Find and have a cup of tea
Maybe it was someone who
Could bring the tea and come find me
[LILY]
Ooh
I heard someone crying
Tho' I can't say who
Someone in this house
With nothing left to do
Sounded like a father
left alone his love grown cold
I heard someone crying
Maybe it was you
[MARY AND ARCHIBALD]
Maybe I was dreaming of a garden growing far below
Maybe I was dreaming of a life
That I will never know
[MARY (LILY)]
I heard someone crying
Who tho' could it be
Someone in this house (Ooo...)
Whom no one seems to see (Ooo...)
Someone no one seemed to (Ooo...)
Hear except for me(Ooo...)
I heard someone calling
Maybe it was he
(Ooo...)
(Ooo...)
[ARCHIBALD]
Lily, where are you, I'm lost without you
I can't walk these halls without you
Lily, where are you, I'm lost wihtout you
I have searched the world but you're not there
Come and tell me why you
Brought me home if you're not here
My Lily, where are you, I'm lost without you
Lily, I am lost
Without you
[MAJOR HOLMES]
I heard someone crying
Who else could it be
Surley it was Mary
Why can no one see
[ROSE, CLAIRE, ALICE]
Crying for her mother
For the life she's never known
[ALBERT]
So lost
See her lying
In her room alone
[LILY]
Ooo...
[LILY]
Oooooooooooh
[MARY]
I heard someone crying
Who tho' could it be
Maybe it was Mother
Calling out, come see.
Maybe it was father
All alone and lost and cold
I heard someone crying
Maybe it was me
[LILY]
Ooooooooh
[ARCHIBALD]
I heard someone singing
Who tho' could it be
Maybe it was Lily,
Calling out to me
Maybe she's not gone
So far away as I've been told
I heard someone singing
Maybe it was she
[MARY]
Maybe it was someone I could
Find and have a cup of tea
Maybe it was someone who
Could bring the tea and come find me
[LILY]
Ooh
I heard someone crying
Tho' I can't say who
Someone in this house
With nothing left to do
Sounded like a father
left alone his love grown cold
I heard someone crying
Maybe it was you
[MARY AND ARCHIBALD]
Maybe I was dreaming of a garden growing far below
Maybe I was dreaming of a life
That I will never know
[MARY (LILY)]
I heard someone crying
Who tho' could it be
Someone in this house (Ooo...)
Whom no one seems to see (Ooo...)
Someone no one seemed to (Ooo...)
Hear except for me(Ooo...)
I heard someone calling
Maybe it was he
(Ooo...)
(Ooo...)
[ARCHIBALD]
Lily, where are you, I'm lost without you
I can't walk these halls without you
Lily, where are you, I'm lost wihtout you
I have searched the world but you're not there
Come and tell me why you
Brought me home if you're not here
My Lily, where are you, I'm lost without you
Lily, I am lost
Without you
[MAJOR HOLMES]
I heard someone crying
Who else could it be
Surley it was Mary
Why can no one see
[ROSE, CLAIRE, ALICE]
Crying for her mother
For the life she's never known
[ALBERT]
So lost
See her lying
In her room alone
[LILY]
Ooo...