Monday 28 February 2011
Well I'm done with Business Finance for now! Whatever may be may be, no point crying over spilled milk now...Unless you are the milk. ;)
I won't say I was depressed the whole time when I was having BF, the teacher was funny, though he teaches terribly, but throughout the whole school term, it is like a little parasite gnawing away at you, draining you of your energies until the day it gets passed out of your systems. Maybe now I don't give too short sentences over MSN, and generally try to be more... alive. Hmm.
You know, coming into poly, it reminds me of my early Sec 3 days, where I'm facing new people again. And suddenly, part of the person that I was am just... disappeared from me, as if it got left behind in the past. I had to remember what makes me tick, what makes me a once funny person, and just be myself all over again. Not that the half new self then wasn't me. Still me, but just missing bits and pieces I guess. Eventually I got them back, though not entirely (I suppose the new and old had to make compromises, or I just wasn't doing the merging properly) and my days weren't so bad.
It's been a year and here I am still mainly an observer to all things past, present and future in Ngee Ann. Trying to remember my past selves is harder, maybe the long breaks, maybe I'm losing touch. Well. Damage's still done, and I know them, if only that little. Just got to see how I try remembering me...
Dead Space 2 scary? Nonsense. Poor execution of scariness, it's like Resident Evil...4 perhaps (I never played them I don't know). Necromorphs get thrown at you left right centre, you practically know which corridors will most probably have things in them and which doesn't. Of course, big open places probably means nothing good is going to happen...
And is everyone in Dead Space 2 setting armed? I was joking with Adrian the other day when we were playing the game over skype (He's done with it now that boyy Junboon Leon faster!) about how ridiculous it is that personnels/citizens have to shoot the sign above some broken airlocks in order to close the bulkhead. It's like:" OH GOD I BROKE THE GLASS SOMEONE GIVE ME A WEAPON AHHHHHH-"
Mum sure asked an unexpected question one recent Sunday, asking me if I want to switch course and go for... maybe Film and Media Studies. As much as I love film, the main thing that makes me don't want to go is well, me. can you imagine me with the free spirited kids over there? It'd be like... the block of cold ice cooling the intensive heat around.
Once this exam's over I only have... 5 days before I depart for China. First time travelling way beyond Penang and by myself. Sort of. For a month. Let's just hope this goes well. Getting the boring and shitty vibe whenever I think about how I'm going there soon.
Just me I guess.
Tuesday 22 February 2011
Sine Contacts
Each of us emits our own signature. A heat signature, a sine curve, a specialty creature, call it whatever you will. Whether you notice it or not, it silently emits its presence to those around it, everything and anything, not just living creatures. For you see, it doesn't take a living to emit these signatures. All that is required is its presence. The oscillations of our signatures interact with the steps we take, as the ground signatures attempts to blend and balance with ours. The air signatures parting way while ours lead on, striding forward leaving behind a trail of ours, slowly absorbed and disappearing behind the signatures of others. Other signatures we flatline or weaken, whether by sheer intention or accidental outbursts.More interesting is the effect on waves on something less tangible, most commonly seen occurring between living beings (sentience not required). Within families, the various energies reach to almost a kind of zen-like state, calm and peaceful, flowing throughout them like still water, as if everything is in place. Occasionally, it would quiver and quake with great intensity, whenever "heavy-range" feelings commonly described as happiness, sadness or anger descends to said family.
Out in the crowds, should you let yourself see the energies as lines from a bird's eye view, you will see the most amazing lightworks one can ever get. It is erratic form of line patterns, linking from one person to another, from each brush of a shoulder, a brief eye contact between strangers, a momentary topple to the ground. The lines flare with great intensity in areas of continuous activity, and quickly dim where hardly any contact is made. Between strangers, lights flash on and off, not instantaneous, but not staying for long either, appearing as a brief moment of direct contact. Deejays emanate light from them to the crowds, like the sun flinging its energies out to anyone who would see. Acquaintances maintain concentrated zones of light exchanges between one another, keeping an exchange of energies at their own pace.
Occasionally you might just spot the exchanges between couples and lovers, as sine curves, they continually try to form a single wavelength, each fighting or controlling one's signals, or explode in fierce vibrations, pushing others away from them while the two battle within their cosmos. As creatures they circle each other, watching, learning, thinking, on how to best approach one another without agitating the other, settle down and move at their paces as equals, or battle it out, preadator and prey.
The lightworks around us. If only you see.
Here's a nice Harry Potter fanfic people recommended to me recently (Not related to that post above, that was for junboon's suggestion of 'writing a story'). A great write up on how Harry would be should he a heavily rational, scientific-minded boy before he entered Hogwarts, and what happens next:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality
Monday 21 February 2011
Wasn't in exactly much of a mood to blog, but thought I'd force myself to sit down and "pen" some things down.
So... having watched the play "Red Rose And White Rose" during the recent Huayi Festival, I was actually a little depressed that my chinese standards are bochup, since this play based on Eileen Chang's (novel?) was really interesting and offers... an asian view on marriage and courtship quite well I suppose. Not sure if it applies to the current times, men chasing over the "hotties" while preferring to marry the averages or "notties". Still from how the play goes, reading her works could have been an eye-opener. But to read the english translation rather than the original chinese text? Seems a little... degrading. Reading another language's translation is much better because you hardly have any choice, but with the second mother tongue we have, it's just pathetic when you have access to the original source and yet you have to pick the 2nd hand, transcribed version. You never know what text and meanings that are being conveyed get lost.
Guess I digressed too much, was a great play, and thank god for the ah tiongs attracted to the play, some of them asked good questions that helped me better understand the show during the post-show dialogue session.
Here's someone's analysis of the story, if anyone's interested:
I wonder what kind of impression would people like Kexin get from watching it? Wild thought that strayed through my mind while watching.
With study break at the moment, all my undone work seems pointless now. Which is great, it's like time dropped off the weights in my heart and now I feel lighter, freeer. Still got to revise though, and no confidence with business finance. I wish I could say "fuck itttttt" but damn I can't.
Education is important but we don't like what we are learning. How?
It's A Great Great World was nice to watch. A glimpse into what could and had been back then, whilst churning out feel good stories to keep viewers entertained. Not sure if the cameraworks while Xiang Yun was doing her Cabaret-risque song and dance needed work though. It's either view from the back of her shoulder, panning through audience with camera aimed at her, a mid-shot on a her face, or pan in front of her, without audience this time. After some time it gets repetitive, yet staying too still wouldn't help either. I wonder what other shots could be done, especially since she isn't doing much except singing and sashaying at one spot.
But the use of the various dialects was good, perhaps partially because it was the de-facto language most of them would use back then. I could imagine my parents or grandparents speaking lke that back then! You could tell that some of the newer actors are poor at their dialects... ;)
Openly kissing each other was a little improbable back in those days hough, my grandma and mum says. Back then when my mum was young, when her aunt I think wanted to go on a date, they would bring her along and go have fun, then you have noticed, Chinatown has alot of these back alleys, so they'd go to say, the cinema, and when they are done, they told my mum to wait outside the alley while they went in. My mum then thought maybe "korkor" needed to pee so when the father asked where they go, she simply said the cinema because to her peeing is a minor thing, no need to report back haha!
The Japanese air-raid (cgi?) scene was good, I was actually happy for Raintree Pictures when I saw the planes flying and bombing Singapore, no childish looking, over the top blocky animation like in Jack Neo's films (which didn't even look appropriate!) but one as close to realism as possible, and well executed for the scene. Maybe darkness seems easier to do, I don't know. But the way they decided to go with a realistic look, together with the mood and story of the movie, makes it such that it's well executed, which is more important here.Gives me hope that Singapore's animation are not shitty as they were.
The lady that helps drive the story along fixed the fan? I'm amazed she even knows how to fix one. Makes me wanna open up mine and fix it with screwdrivers spanners and no manuals man
Say I've considered sharing my steam account with you guys, let you all enjoy the benefits of buying some games. Still wanna think through it though hmm.
Supreme Commander 2 looks like a nice RTS that Adrian's gifted to me, but I'm a little sad that units don't have their own vocalisation. Makes me miss hearing the battle cries of the various units in Command and Conquer Generals or the peons saying "More work?" In Warcraft 3 :(
But you can build way more units than Warcraft 3. AWESOME. Too bad not unlimited like CnC, but I suppose too much can be a bad thing in SupCom2, since units are detailed and so is the landscape... much like Starcraft 2 yes?
Wednesday 9 February 2011
Since I don't know how to excite you all...
... this will have to do?
Tuesday 8 February 2011
Marche is a ... trying experience for a 1st timer like me. I get in there, I see the way you get your foods, and suddenly I feel overwhelmed. But I suppose it's good that you can simply choose just a dish to be prepared, and just have it without having to choose what extra ingredients they have available. Some of the stuffs are really helpful too, asking you whether you would like any of the extra stuffs. Great food and decent service!
Titus Andronicus 2.0 is... ok. I was never familiar with the works of Shakespeare, and by now I only remember bits and pieces of "Romeo And Juliet". So listening to this supposedly stripped down version of Titus in Cantonese was... dramatic and entertaining. Not sure if the scenes where the narrators were roaming and screaming about a reflection of the madness surrounding the characters. I wonder to what extent does my parents know about Shakespeare's works? I get it if they are familiar with Chinese drama and literature, but English ones? Now that's a first.
After my mum got the "Your child is late" letter, she is becoming a little... naggy regarding what time I should wake up. Not that I mind, just that the abruptness is a little jarring. The one she got notice about though were Idea Jumpstart and maths. IJ has ended and maths well... can only hope teacher not so "niao" on wednesdays late abit also come get me.
Fallout New Vegas is fun and once again I'm hooked to it just like Fallout 3. Maybe much more fun, since so far New Vegas feels more silly and varied in the choices one can do compared to the serious and somewhat limited choices of Fallout 3. Still, it's not the kind of game I'd recommend to anybody, since with my experience with Fallout 3 and what I heard in New Vegas, one must be prepared for glitches and crashes, especially on an unpatched version of the game. So, do be prepared to open the console frequently, save oftenly (on quicksave and quitsave!) or check out the fansites for workarounds. The Fallout wikia is quite useful in this aspect so far, providing what to do and what to do to avoid them, and workarounds if any.
Yo Junboon Leon Hiangwee Kelvin want buy Battlefield Bad Company 2? Maybe not the expansion pack, and I'm having much fun on it with a few of the others. If cost is a problem, then maybeeee I will check out if copies from China can be used in Singapore (And if they can be brought over). Seems like we could use an alternative to just Left 4 Dead 2 haha
Wednesday 2 February 2011
Nice seeing Aishah again! The very rare occasions we managed to meet each other by coincidence, I always find in a joy to just walk and chat home with her. And gotta give her 10 points for trying to resuscitate an almost dead conversation today, haha! Perhaps short walks like these are a blessing in disguise, too long and we might just quietly walk down the road. Then I'd start wondering "where's the magic" and finally telling myself not to read too much into it. After all, no point assaulting your mind with subliminal messages about how "oh another distanced friend" or "is this good silence or bad silence". Still do ponder though, then I'd work out a string of possibilities and ultimately tell myself it's all fiction in your mind. Keep it for self-reference though.It's now Chinese New Year Eve! And I've got my hair cut once again. I told my barber to trim my hair instead of the schoolboy cuts I get every time. Not much different though, and I didn't want to look at myself at first because after she's done with my hair and the way she combed me, I swore I looked like a skinny Adolf Hitler without a good looking mustache. So I just meekly paid and walked as fast as I could back home to bathe :x Always looks better after bathing then after a barber I wonder why.
Say, has anyone with yellowish pee on dry ice before? If so does it turn yellow? I can't tell you the answer because my pee earlier was whitish, so of course there isn't any heavy difference. Seeing the bubbles of white gas trapped underwater is real pretty!