Random Playlist Song: Paganini - Concerto For Violin And Orchestra No. 2 In B Minor, Op. 7 - 'La Campanella' - 1. Allegro maestoso
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Bollywood Hollywood
Some may recall that I toyed with the idea of going to Friday's USP D&D - Bollywood Hollywood - as a coconut tree. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, that idea did not take wing. For one, some people pointed out to me that coconut trees are slim, whereupon someone suggested that I go as the coconut (?!), though one person claimed that the coconut trees in Indian Movies are big. Devilzpagan, a "very big fan of Bollywood", said that nowadays they don't run around coconut trees, but instead dance on snow-capped mountains. But then everyone associates mountains with the Sound of Music, so no one would have gotten it. Another person suggested that since "costume parties are a waste of time", I should "just wear singlet and shorts and go there as a garang guni". Instead, I opted for a boring outfit (and incidentally, was not for once the least formally dressed). Aww.
I visited Quanxing's dorm room in the hope of sharing a cab down with his other friends. We set off a touch late, but we could still have made it on time. However, Quanxing had the bright idea of walking to South Buona Vista Road to hail a cab, instead of waiting at the PGP porch. As I observed, no taxis would go to South Buona Vista Road unless they were on call or fetching someone to PGP or the Science Park; in the first case we obviously would not get a cab and in the latter, smart people waiting at PGP would get onto the now-vacated cabs, so we wouldn't be able to flag them down. In the end, he got a cab by waiting at the NUH Taxi Stand, and we arrived there only an hour late, though fortunately before the dinner had started. Oh well. What's new when you have Quanxing around? Lalala.
Though it was billed as a "Dinner and Dance", there was no dance component. Just as well, since I can't dance. I was surprised by how so many people took the theme of the Dinner and Dance to heart - quite a lot of people dressed up in Indian Garb. It was more understandable for the girls, since girls always like to dress up (a gender defect, as I always say), but quite a lot of guys also came in all the fancy indian outfits of which I do not know the names for. It was quite weird to see people in Indian Clothing playing electric guitars, though. Maybe they should have changed to the sitar just for that night. One guy came as Santa Claus, sans beard and paunch, so good for him. But then Santa Claus outfits are a dime a dozen; no one makes coconut tree costumes.
The food, provided by Concorde Hotel, was good, with such interesting things as Bombay Lamb with Puri, and a Prata station with banana, durian, chocolate, peanut butter and cheese prata. A pity that there was no non-Halal section, though, since Melting Pot Cafe makes heavenly pork satay and pork chops. The tables were decorated with little shiny stars, which some of the girls in my group went to collect (...). Pretty, no doubt, but a few somehow landed on my prata, giving me no small amount of consternation and others no small modicum of amusement. As for the entertainment, well, it was entertaining in another sense. The skit had a Chinese Prata Boy and an Indian Fishball Noodles Uncle. Go figure. The one homage it did pay to Bollywood though, besides a cheesy love story tortured to fit a multi-racial, politically-correct Singaporean context, was at the end when a million people appeared out of nowhere and started dancing, so that was its sole saving grace.
Unsurprisingly, it seemed that most of the people at the D&D were freshman sitting with their Camp Orientation Groups. Not only did we get a $10 discount on the already admittedly cheap price of $35, but we got a ready-formed group to sit with, something very important if you're not a social butterfly who flits easily from social group to social group. And it helped when people were running around taking pictures with each other in all possible factorial combinations.
At the end of the day, I was quite pleased, since I got to fulfill one of my long-standing and perverted fantasies: pressing not one, but *two* girls' self-destruct buttons, though one was initially reluctant to let me touch hers. Yay.
Miscellaneous notes worthy of the ejaculation: "Gah!":
- Quanxing went around taking pictures with others - with a glass of white wine in his hand.
- I had a piece of watermelon snatched from under my nose
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Perceptive readers will notice that at the end of each blog post, there is now an icon:
, which lets you email said post to others.
Have fun abusing this feature.
It seems that I've come in eigth in a Blogspot Vocabulary Challenge for using 19 of a total of 133 words on Peter Schmies's Vocabulary Test (the winner used 38).
I'm so honoured :0
No doubt this site would have won flat out if an even larger and more obscure list of words had been chosen. So we can all blame He Who Must Not Be Named for using words so useless, bombastic and specific that no one knows what the hell they are.
Pfffffffth.
People tell me the funniest things:
I heard sthg interesting at spex gal some day. maybe u can add on to your lists of what girls do.
I was walking past these 2 girls. one was sitting on the floor, and one was sitting on the railing. then the one sitting on the floor looked up towards the one on the railing and said eeee I can see your underwear
funniest part was a girl and a girl.
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An Argument
I've oft been told by learned friars,
That wishing and the crime are one,
And Heaven punishes desires
As much as if the deed were done.
If wishing damns us, you and I
Are damned to all our heart's content;
Come, then, at least we may enjoy
Some pleasure for our punishment
- Thomas Moore
No, I don't understand what this means.
***
Wowbagger on PrimusEmpyrian's pooh-poohing of Physics since its Laws fail before the Big Bang and in a Black Hole:
"Prior to" the big bang is a meaningless notion --- there is no time
before the big bang.
And black holes do not necessarily violate the laws of physics ---
theories abound that negate the need for a singularity at the centre of
a black hole.
PrimusEmpyrian: You did not quote this which I had said previously: "I do not believe that just because Humans are on top of the food chain on Earth, it means that there are none above us."
Indeed. Humans feel lost without guidance, so they invent invisible friends. It happens with 6 year old kids, among others.
Alright. I do agree we can move on and talk about other (less incendiary) stuff.
There's no point trying to convince a member of the Flat Earth Society that the earth is flat. Or a Holocaust denier that millions of Jews really died.
Why would Yahoo block IP connections with too much activity?
To stop bandwith hogs.
I like the Latin Corner.
HOMINES QUOD VOLUNT CREDUNT
Men believe what they want to.
I couldn't agree more :)
In closing, I leave you with a quote (from me, sad to say):
"I saw the light
My eyes were uncovered
The Truth set me Free"
***
In response to my academics rant, some responded that I might not be used to the cessation of spoonfeeding. It's not so much the lack of spoonfeeding that irks me, but rather the seeming lack of structure and direction in teaching. I mean, we *are* paying a lot of money for their services. Unless we're just subsidising their research to pay for the pieces of paper we get after 3-4 years, in which case we might as well save our money and go totally into independent home study.
Visiting PaRaDoX's hostel room, I was reminded of why I don't want to stay in a hostel. Not only do I lack pull factors; I don't live far away from campus, and don't/won't get nocturnal action, but you have people blasting music from their speakers (or worse: Indians blasting Bhangra music), and alleged noise from people who *do* get nocturnal action.
I had my first non-USP tutorial, and before the tutorial we were all standing outside the classroom, since the door appeared locked. Then the tutor came and opened it. Gah. Damn NUS doors.
Apparently Sociology, English Literature and Political Science used to be considered dangerous disciplines and were monitored because they encouraged independent thought. Bah.
Though my leyden jar didn't work at home, it did in school. Ditto for another's failed leyden jars. Bah. Our combs are no match for the power of a PVC pipe.
Quotes:
One of the things that sociology likes to do is screw people's minds (screw with)
That's what the readings are trying to say, in that fancy spanzy language that they like to use when you go into University, when you go into academia.
[On the bad old days in Singapore] If people labelled you as a Marxist, you were definitely gone for (done)
[On changing the world] You can join certain NGOs if you think there are certain grievances [to address]. Or you can spread the gospel to your students at the end of the day.
[On elastic price elasticity of demand] If the marginal tax rate is 58%, the women: they would rather sit at the cafe and have tea
footware (footwear) (written)
[On Peru's poor's low price elasticity of demand for health care] If you increase the price of hospital services, a lot of these people, they would rather die than go to a hospital.
I believe you can measure you'tears (utils)
How are you going to decide how many units of babies to consume? (produce)
If the government just fly a helicopter, and drop money from the helicopter, you can pick some up and spend [it] (flies, drops) (?)
[End of lecture bell sounds at 5:45pm] Are you rushing for another class? [Many people: Yes] Are you sure?
[On Sociology] My elder sister did it and she said it was very interesting... But after [doing] the readings, I regret [taking it]
Plutorch (Plutarch) (written and spoken)
shealings (shillings)
electrify'cation (electrification)
is the strength of electricity argumented (augmented)
He used a silk tread (thread)
[On the Baby Bonus and attendant schemes] Don't you feel pressured into becoming a baby-making machine?... Do you want to have 5 kids? [Someone: Yeah]
[On the entertainment at the USP D&D] Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, he started the 'woo hoo hoo' thing
[On Kimberly Hart] I like her too! She's so cool.
[On my offering to help them take photos] Wah, so chauvinistic (chivalrous/helpful)
Her name is called 'Jet' (is)
[Conducting a lucky draw] First up for grabs: we have Don's CDs. Number 49! [Number 49: Oh my god!]
[Me on a silly song: It's self-congratulatory emotional masturbation] Are you an Arts student? [Me: Yah] You'll excel in what you do.
I always enjoy riding Jet (...)
The PRCs make love damn loud (loudly)
[On some chio girl: What were you going to do with her tonight?] Fuck lah.
[On the entertainment at the USP D&D] Since when fishball uncle is indian one? (is the fishball noodles)
[On NUS's no alcohol rule] You look at it this way. All of the great breakthroughs: a lot of them come over drinks. Or people sitting around and talking. This is why NUS cannot make it... There's no buzz
[On NUS being on a hill] Maybe that's why they have a no alcohol rule: so drunk people don't roll down