Why ban gang fights?
Why not turn *Scape (or whatever its name) into a gang fighting ground from between 2 am and 5 am every morning?
Make it simple and accessible, like the Speakers' Corner. Register and fight, as long as religion and race are not involved.
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Say a Little Prayer for You
BHD's got a little run in with green salad veggies.
Here's something to wish him a speedy recovery.
Here's something to wish him a speedy recovery.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Aging and Revealing the Inner Ah Beng
The full lyrics are reproduced here. Maybe I should provide an English equivalent for readers who do not understand my Chinese dialect.
Don't accuse me of being mushy - I'd say that only Taiwanese song writers are capable of such mush. And - without sounding like a male chauvinistic pig - I think such devoted women are extinct already. They can probably be found only in Taiwanese serials. :)
家后
作词：郑进一/陈维祥 作曲：郑进一 编曲：张乃仁
有一日咱若老 (When we become old one day)
找无人甲咱有孝 (And there isn't anyone to accompany us)
我会陪你坐惦椅寮 (I will sit with you at the settees)
听你讲少年的时袸你有外贤 (And listen to your stories of your valiant youth)
食好食歹 无计较 (Whether I get good food or not does not matter)
怨天怨地 嘛袜晓 (I also won't blame the gods for anything)
你的手 我会甲你牵条条 (Your hands, I will hold them tightly in mine)
因为我是你的家后 (Because I am the one at the back of your house [aka wife])
阮将青春嫁乎恁兜 (I gave my youth to your family when I married you)
阮对少年随你随甲老 (I shall stay devoted to you till we both turn old)
人情世事己经看透透 (I've learnt let go and not sweat the small stuff)
有啥人比你卡重要 (Because nothing is more important than you)
阮的一生献乎恁兜 (I have devoted my entire life to your family)
才知幸福是吵吵闹闹 (I've realised bliss lies in the nagging and the noise)
等待返去的时袸若到 (When it is time for us to go back)
我会让你先走 (I will let you go first)
因为我会不甘 (Because I am reluctant)
放你 为我目屎流 (To let you shed tears for me)
有一日咱若老 (When we become old one day)
有媳妇子儿有孝 (And we have dutiful sons and daughters in law)
你若无聊 拿咱的相片 (If you are bored, we can take out our pictures)
看卡早结婚的时袸 你有外缘投 (And see how smart you looked when we got married)
穿好穿歹 无计较 (Whether I get good clothes to wear or not, I'm not particular)
怪东怪西 嘛袜晓 (I will also not blame others for anything)
你的心 我会永远记条条 (I will forever remember your love for me)
因为我是你的家后 (Because I am the one at the back of your house [aka wife])
阮将青春嫁乎恁兜 (I gave my youth to your family when I married you)
阮对少年随你随甲老 (I shall stay devoted to you till we both turn old)
人情世事己经看透透 (I've learnt let go and not sweat the small stuff)
有啥人比你卡重要 (Because nothing is more important than you)
阮的一生献乎恁兜 (I have devoted my entire life to your family)
才知幸福是吵吵闹闹 (I've realised bliss lies in the nagging and the noise)
等待返去的时袸若到 (When it is time for us to go back)
你着让我先走 (You have to let me go first)
因为我吗不甘 (Because I'm also reluctant)
看你 为我目屎流 (To see you shed tears for me)
The beauty of the language and the skills of the song writer is rather amazing. If one were able to appreciate the language, the intention was for both husband and wife to die at the same time, so each is spared the heartbreak.
Nice song, I'd say.
Friday, April 23, 2010
2012 with The Probligo
This is an IMAGINARY dialogue that The Probligo (P) and Teflonman (T) might have on Armeggedon if we ever met up.
This blogpost also arose out of P's offering Taupo in place of Rapehu and his waiting for the Cook Strait tremblor.
Innocent bloggers have not been harmed in the course of writing this blogpost.
In some cold, windy coastal area in New Zealand (assuming not everywhere is like that)
T: That outcrop seems like a nice place to picnic today.
P: Hm...
Both men walk towards the rock jutting out to the Pacific Ocean. The sky is clear but a fine mist of the Pacific's spray lingers in the air. The briny smell reminds both men how close to the ocean they are. The sun is partially hidden behind some clouds, the winds threatening to blow away any word uttered.
P: You know, it is a stupid idea to sit here. What if the rock fractured off the rest and fell into the sea?
T: Then where would you prefer to sit?
P: Let's sit here.
T rolled his eyes for P's unnecessary outburst. P mutters under his breath, T overhears P saying we should have gotten the sick trio of Ol' Whig, Starsplash and TF to join us there.
T: Tell me more about your vision of the Cook Strait earthquake.
T takes a big bite of his sandwich, hoping that he wouldn't have to respond for as long as he could chew and keep the food in his mouth.
P: It comes. Booms...
T thought he heard "Boomz" and nearly spat out his food.
P: (contined) "cross fault." Runs between the tail of the Main Alpine Fault (the Southern Alps in effect) and the Wairarapa Fault.
T: Mm hm...
P: Last big one in 1851 or thereabouts. Probably 8+ Richter.
T thought he heard "loved the 3 guys to be here" but he wasn't too sure.
P: (continued) virtually the whole of Wellington would go.
T swallowed his food. He knew he'd better say something or P is going to turn his fire from the 3 missing men to him and he didn't think that a face-first pilgrimage to the jagged rocks below this outcrop would be a welcome traditional Maori welcome.
T: Tsunami?
T wasn't sure if P was listening but felt that utterance was courtesy enough. For now. Before long, T was certain P was in his own fantasy world.
P: Early afternoon on a Tuesday would be fine - Parliament in full cry - would solve a lot of political problems...
P takes a big bite into his sandwich the same time T turned to look at him and asked cheekily.
T: The 3 men...?
P feigned ignorance.
P: Oh, nice and crispy lettuce and cucumbers! You were saying?
T: (Damn it, wily old fox!) I mean, there'd be volcanic eruptions?
P looked far into the horizon as if someone is going to walk out from where the skies meet the waters. He chomped on his food pensively and thought. T wasn't sure if P wasn't deeply thinking. P finally swallowed his mouthful.
P: Probably if the plates were coordinated... Booms. They go off one by one.
T: And tsunamis too?
P: Perhaps.
T: But won't they cancel each other out?
P: Maybe volcanoes first. Then tsunami.
T: Volcanic ash columns and ash plumes followed by vapourisation of giant tidal waves.
P: We'll be steamed alive...
T: In a sulphurous pit no less.
P: Why'd think it's called Armeggedon?
T and P took another bite from their sandwich. Both men chewed in silence.
T: Where is a good place to begin all these carnage?
P: Anywhere is fine. Maybe America.
T: Why not Australia? Starts with A too, you know.
P: Great idea. And then what role is Singapore going to play?
T: We'll provide water sterilization tablets. You've got more cows than we have people, damn it.
P: You're really good at cussing, yah?
T: Yah. So, you want them tablets? Can help you purify the water and avoid diarrhoea.
P: I'm not sure... Ok. Save a pellet for me. Better store enough to last a long time.
T: I'll see what I can do.
Each takes another bite into the sandwich. T is out of sandwich, while P has a small piece of crust left.
T: You guys make small sandwiches.
P: Really?
T: I'm out. You've got another? I'm still hungry.
P: Maybe. Let's check the basket...
P rummages through the picnic basket and finds no more sandwiches.
P: Sorry. I think we ran out of cheese this morning. So there isn't more sandwiches.
T: What? Then what about bread?
P: There's a loaf at home.
T: (Muttering) If that isn't impetus enough to push you off...
P: Want an apple?
T: Ok.
P: Here.
T: Windfall?
P: How'd you guess?
T: It's all brown.
P: Oops. Wine?
T: I don't drink.
P: It's coming the end of the world anyway. Get drunk.
T: Maybe.
T takes out his water bottle and took a swig.
T: Water tastes better than wine.
P: So what are your plans after our imagined 2012?
T: You know, the plans never changed.
P: What are you going to do tonight?
T: The same thing we do every night, Pinky — try to take over the world!
P: Ah, but then you'd have your term cut short.
T: True. Never stopped Obama.
P: Don't get me started on America.
T: Why not? Say, what's that.... Is that the bottom of your end of the Pacific Ocean? The water's retreated!
P: Look! I parted the sea with my brain power.
A column of water 250 meters high is approaching the rock outcrop really fast.
T: Good try, P. Time to get out of the tsunami simulator.
Both men walked out of the Science Centre.
T: I'm hungry.
P: Me too. Let's fly to Houston for lunch.
T: What? Fly to Houston? TF will be there but will there be lunch?
P: There better be. Or we'll eat him... Perhaps not. Not without the epilator.
T: You have an ax to grind with TF?
P: No. Yes. No. Yes....
T: I get it. Let's just eat something here. It says "Houston Dog."
P: Do you eat dog?
T: Yeah.
P: Real dogs?
T: Yes.
P: Real dogs really?
T: Yes yeah yessy.
P: Ew...
T: There.
T passed a Houston Dog to P, who took a bite. T watched as P as he ate his hotdog bun.
T: Are you familiar with the Chinese saying, "Hanging a goat's head but selling dog meat?"
P: Maybe. Why?
T: How does canine taste?
This blogpost also arose out of P's offering Taupo in place of Rapehu and his waiting for the Cook Strait tremblor.
Innocent bloggers have not been harmed in the course of writing this blogpost.
In some cold, windy coastal area in New Zealand (assuming not everywhere is like that)
T: That outcrop seems like a nice place to picnic today.
P: Hm...
Both men walk towards the rock jutting out to the Pacific Ocean. The sky is clear but a fine mist of the Pacific's spray lingers in the air. The briny smell reminds both men how close to the ocean they are. The sun is partially hidden behind some clouds, the winds threatening to blow away any word uttered.
P: You know, it is a stupid idea to sit here. What if the rock fractured off the rest and fell into the sea?
T: Then where would you prefer to sit?
P: Let's sit here.
T rolled his eyes for P's unnecessary outburst. P mutters under his breath, T overhears P saying we should have gotten the sick trio of Ol' Whig, Starsplash and TF to join us there.
T: Tell me more about your vision of the Cook Strait earthquake.
T takes a big bite of his sandwich, hoping that he wouldn't have to respond for as long as he could chew and keep the food in his mouth.
P: It comes. Booms...
T thought he heard "Boomz" and nearly spat out his food.
P: (contined) "cross fault." Runs between the tail of the Main Alpine Fault (the Southern Alps in effect) and the Wairarapa Fault.
T: Mm hm...
P: Last big one in 1851 or thereabouts. Probably 8+ Richter.
T thought he heard "loved the 3 guys to be here" but he wasn't too sure.
P: (continued) virtually the whole of Wellington would go.
T swallowed his food. He knew he'd better say something or P is going to turn his fire from the 3 missing men to him and he didn't think that a face-first pilgrimage to the jagged rocks below this outcrop would be a welcome traditional Maori welcome.
T: Tsunami?
T wasn't sure if P was listening but felt that utterance was courtesy enough. For now. Before long, T was certain P was in his own fantasy world.
P: Early afternoon on a Tuesday would be fine - Parliament in full cry - would solve a lot of political problems...
P takes a big bite into his sandwich the same time T turned to look at him and asked cheekily.
T: The 3 men...?
P feigned ignorance.
P: Oh, nice and crispy lettuce and cucumbers! You were saying?
T: (Damn it, wily old fox!) I mean, there'd be volcanic eruptions?
P looked far into the horizon as if someone is going to walk out from where the skies meet the waters. He chomped on his food pensively and thought. T wasn't sure if P wasn't deeply thinking. P finally swallowed his mouthful.
P: Probably if the plates were coordinated... Booms. They go off one by one.
T: And tsunamis too?
P: Perhaps.
T: But won't they cancel each other out?
P: Maybe volcanoes first. Then tsunami.
T: Volcanic ash columns and ash plumes followed by vapourisation of giant tidal waves.
P: We'll be steamed alive...
T: In a sulphurous pit no less.
P: Why'd think it's called Armeggedon?
T and P took another bite from their sandwich. Both men chewed in silence.
T: Where is a good place to begin all these carnage?
P: Anywhere is fine. Maybe America.
T: Why not Australia? Starts with A too, you know.
P: Great idea. And then what role is Singapore going to play?
T: We'll provide water sterilization tablets. You've got more cows than we have people, damn it.
P: You're really good at cussing, yah?
T: Yah. So, you want them tablets? Can help you purify the water and avoid diarrhoea.
P: I'm not sure... Ok. Save a pellet for me. Better store enough to last a long time.
T: I'll see what I can do.
Each takes another bite into the sandwich. T is out of sandwich, while P has a small piece of crust left.
T: You guys make small sandwiches.
P: Really?
T: I'm out. You've got another? I'm still hungry.
P: Maybe. Let's check the basket...
P rummages through the picnic basket and finds no more sandwiches.
P: Sorry. I think we ran out of cheese this morning. So there isn't more sandwiches.
T: What? Then what about bread?
P: There's a loaf at home.
T: (Muttering) If that isn't impetus enough to push you off...
P: Want an apple?
T: Ok.
P: Here.
T: Windfall?
P: How'd you guess?
T: It's all brown.
P: Oops. Wine?
T: I don't drink.
P: It's coming the end of the world anyway. Get drunk.
T: Maybe.
T takes out his water bottle and took a swig.
T: Water tastes better than wine.
P: So what are your plans after our imagined 2012?
T: You know, the plans never changed.
P: What are you going to do tonight?
T: The same thing we do every night, Pinky — try to take over the world!
P: Ah, but then you'd have your term cut short.
T: True. Never stopped Obama.
P: Don't get me started on America.
T: Why not? Say, what's that.... Is that the bottom of your end of the Pacific Ocean? The water's retreated!
P: Look! I parted the sea with my brain power.
A column of water 250 meters high is approaching the rock outcrop really fast.
T: Good try, P. Time to get out of the tsunami simulator.
Both men walked out of the Science Centre.
T: I'm hungry.
P: Me too. Let's fly to Houston for lunch.
T: What? Fly to Houston? TF will be there but will there be lunch?
P: There better be. Or we'll eat him... Perhaps not. Not without the epilator.
T: You have an ax to grind with TF?
P: No. Yes. No. Yes....
T: I get it. Let's just eat something here. It says "Houston Dog."
P: Do you eat dog?
T: Yeah.
P: Real dogs?
T: Yes.
P: Real dogs really?
T: Yes yeah yessy.
P: Ew...
T: There.
T passed a Houston Dog to P, who took a bite. T watched as P as he ate his hotdog bun.
T: Are you familiar with the Chinese saying, "Hanging a goat's head but selling dog meat?"
P: Maybe. Why?
T: How does canine taste?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Badly written songs or poor singers
Some times, I don't blame her.
I mean, when song writers write songs, they should think about audience perception. Not everyone has the lyrics to the songs and not all singers can sing clearly.
For the longest time, I thought the chorus for Irreplaceable begins with "You must run over me, you must run over me..." and
All the Single Ladies began with "All the single legs, all the single legs..."
I'm not against singers showing off their vocal prowess or song writers trying to show off, but there is a limit to how many syllables can be shoved into a single hemidemisemiquaver note.
In Chinese songs, however, there are songs where the meanings get distorted. For instance,
has its lyrics been spoofed. It used to mean "Love's Anthem" and the new title is "Brother Piggy's Love". This spoof is not without history. Piggy, in Journey to the West (aka Monkey King), used to be a lascivious general in Heaven. He was banished to earth as a pig headed creature for running afoul with Heavenly Laws.
Of course, Jay Chou, with his garbled singing style, has had many of his songs turned R- or X-rated.
The ordinary (wo)man's perverted mind cannot be underestimated. But with all things, there must exist suitable impetus to spur the thoughts. The various poorly written songs and poorly executed songs have definitely played a large role in this.
We of course shall exclude intentionally perverted songs such as "The Horny Goatherd" from this discussion as that is a different story.
I mean, when song writers write songs, they should think about audience perception. Not everyone has the lyrics to the songs and not all singers can sing clearly.
For the longest time, I thought the chorus for Irreplaceable begins with "You must run over me, you must run over me..." and
All the Single Ladies began with "All the single legs, all the single legs..."
I'm not against singers showing off their vocal prowess or song writers trying to show off, but there is a limit to how many syllables can be shoved into a single hemidemisemiquaver note.
In Chinese songs, however, there are songs where the meanings get distorted. For instance,
has its lyrics been spoofed. It used to mean "Love's Anthem" and the new title is "Brother Piggy's Love". This spoof is not without history. Piggy, in Journey to the West (aka Monkey King), used to be a lascivious general in Heaven. He was banished to earth as a pig headed creature for running afoul with Heavenly Laws.
Of course, Jay Chou, with his garbled singing style, has had many of his songs turned R- or X-rated.
The ordinary (wo)man's perverted mind cannot be underestimated. But with all things, there must exist suitable impetus to spur the thoughts. The various poorly written songs and poorly executed songs have definitely played a large role in this.
We of course shall exclude intentionally perverted songs such as "The Horny Goatherd" from this discussion as that is a different story.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
风筝
因为我知道你是个容易担心的小孩子
所以我将线交你手中 却也不敢飞得太远
不管我随着风飞翔到云间我希望你能看得见
就算我偶尔会贪玩迷了路也知道你在等着我
我是一个贪玩又自由的风筝每天都会让你担忧
如果有一天迷失风中 要如何回到你身边
因为我知道你是个容易担心的小孩子
所以我会在乌云来时轻轻滑落在你怀中
我是一个贪玩又自由的风筝每天都会让你担忧
如果有一天迷失风中 要如何回到你身边
贪玩又自由的风筝 每天都游戏在天空
如果有一天扯断了线 你是否会回来寻找我
如果有一天迷失风中 带我回到你的怀中
因为我知道你是个容易担心的小孩子
所以我在飞翔的时候 却也不敢飞得太远
可能是跟老婆交代的一首歌。可能老牛吃嫩草, 可能在外打架, 可能...
但是如果有一天迷失风中 带我回到你的怀中。绝世聪明坏男人还是懂得怎么做的。
但願人長久
明月幾時有 把酒問青天
不知天上宮闕 今夕是何年
我欲乘風歸去 唯恐瓊樓玉宇
高處不勝寒 起舞弄清影 何似在人間
轉朱閣低綺戶照無眠
不應有恨何事長向別時圓
人有悲歡離合 月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全 但願人長久
千里共嬋娟
我欲乘風歸去 唯恐瓊樓玉宇
高處不勝寒 起舞弄清影
何似在人間
轉朱閣低綺戶照無眠
不應有恨何事長向別時圓
人有悲歡離合 月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全 但願人長久
千里共嬋娟
王菲-紅豆
作詞：林夕 ／ 作曲：柳重言
還沒好好的感受 雪花綻放的氣候
我們一起顫抖 會更明白 甚麼是溫柔
還沒跟你牽著手 走過荒蕪的沙丘
可能從此以後 學會珍惜 天長和地久
有時候 有時候 我會相信一切有盡頭
相聚離開 都有時候 沒有甚麼會永垂不朽
可是我 有時候 寧願選擇留戀不放手
等到風景都看透 也許你會陪我 看細水長流
還沒為你把紅豆 熬成纏綿的傷口
然後一起分享 會更明白 相思的哀愁
還沒好好的感受 醒著親吻的溫柔
可能在我左右 你才追求 孤獨的自由
有時候 有時候 我會相信一切有盡頭
相聚離開 都有時候 沒有甚麼會永垂不朽
可是我 有時候 寧願選擇留戀不放手
等到風景都看透 也許你會陪我 看細水長流
Monday, January 04, 2010
Celebrating the Noughties: A decade of collective stupidity
1. 2000 - the new millennium.
For Pete's (or insert name of your favourite Mathematician) sake, can you count?
I still have not figured out how we could begin the third millennium in the year 2000. Ok, this is involved mathematics and for those who are mathematically challenged, go to point 2. For those who have some basic inkling of basic mathematics, this should not be difficult.
Anno Domini begins in year 1. 1000 years in a millennium, so end of the first millennium is year AD 1000 and the beginning of the second millennium is AD 1001.
Go figure.
2. 2001 - Sept 11.
How is it that before and after 9-11, we are still none the wiser how we can combat the terrorist scourge? Will doing nothing be the same as doing everything?
3. 2002 - Share markets enter "Dot Com-a"
If the dot com bubble didn't burst totally a few years back, those glycerin-held up bubbles bust in 2002, sending sharemarkets round the world into a wild tail spin.
How could people invest blindly?
4. 2003 - SARS hit the world.
Oh why, oh why didn't SARS wipe out enough people to make the world a better place. With a mortality rate of less than 1 percent and with less than 10 000 people infected worldwide, this was the single big bang non-event. SARS eventually went out of fashion in 2006.
Until today, people are still screening for this and that because they are afraid of some pandemic. Lookie here. Pandemics are good because they are nature's way of regulating the population.
5. 2004 - High heels for high life?
Donations for tsunami victims included high heel shoes. The ignominy of that still rankles me.
6. 2005 - Hurricane Katrina
Too big, too clumsy, too little, too late.
7. 2006 - Birds hit by flu
The H5N1 avian flu becomes endemic in birds. The world worries about inter-species transmission. In reality, other than STDs and AIDS spreading via a certain male species of an edible poultry, nothing terribly exciting happened. Still, governments spent a lot of money culling birds to stem the spread of the disease.
8. 2007 - Boom times!
Human greed priced people out of the property market, led them to over invest in the investment instruments market, and allowed some to live overly opulent lives. Some will live to pay for it in time to come.
9. 2008 - Nature makes a second try at population control
The world was introduced to the AH1N1 flu strain. This strain is to become pandemic proportions in 2009. Unfortunately, the world also got saved by the AH1N1 vaccine.
I hate to say this but I'm not sure I want to be there when Mother Nature unleashes her full fury on humankind.
10. 2009 - Greed is good.
In 2009, we reward recklessness, greed and avarice. Governments bailed out banks and stood guarantor for investments products gone bad. Governments stepped in to keep institutions that are "too big to fail" going. In short, we lined the pockets of the wealthy with the blood, sweat and tears of the poor who can hardly afford cotton lint.
What events made your list?
For Pete's (or insert name of your favourite Mathematician) sake, can you count?
I still have not figured out how we could begin the third millennium in the year 2000. Ok, this is involved mathematics and for those who are mathematically challenged, go to point 2. For those who have some basic inkling of basic mathematics, this should not be difficult.
Anno Domini begins in year 1. 1000 years in a millennium, so end of the first millennium is year AD 1000 and the beginning of the second millennium is AD 1001.
Go figure.
2. 2001 - Sept 11.
How is it that before and after 9-11, we are still none the wiser how we can combat the terrorist scourge? Will doing nothing be the same as doing everything?
3. 2002 - Share markets enter "Dot Com-a"
If the dot com bubble didn't burst totally a few years back, those glycerin-held up bubbles bust in 2002, sending sharemarkets round the world into a wild tail spin.
How could people invest blindly?
4. 2003 - SARS hit the world.
Oh why, oh why didn't SARS wipe out enough people to make the world a better place. With a mortality rate of less than 1 percent and with less than 10 000 people infected worldwide, this was the single big bang non-event. SARS eventually went out of fashion in 2006.
Until today, people are still screening for this and that because they are afraid of some pandemic. Lookie here. Pandemics are good because they are nature's way of regulating the population.
5. 2004 - High heels for high life?
Donations for tsunami victims included high heel shoes. The ignominy of that still rankles me.
6. 2005 - Hurricane Katrina
Too big, too clumsy, too little, too late.
7. 2006 - Birds hit by flu
The H5N1 avian flu becomes endemic in birds. The world worries about inter-species transmission. In reality, other than STDs and AIDS spreading via a certain male species of an edible poultry, nothing terribly exciting happened. Still, governments spent a lot of money culling birds to stem the spread of the disease.
8. 2007 - Boom times!
Human greed priced people out of the property market, led them to over invest in the investment instruments market, and allowed some to live overly opulent lives. Some will live to pay for it in time to come.
9. 2008 - Nature makes a second try at population control
The world was introduced to the AH1N1 flu strain. This strain is to become pandemic proportions in 2009. Unfortunately, the world also got saved by the AH1N1 vaccine.
I hate to say this but I'm not sure I want to be there when Mother Nature unleashes her full fury on humankind.
10. 2009 - Greed is good.
In 2009, we reward recklessness, greed and avarice. Governments bailed out banks and stood guarantor for investments products gone bad. Governments stepped in to keep institutions that are "too big to fail" going. In short, we lined the pockets of the wealthy with the blood, sweat and tears of the poor who can hardly afford cotton lint.
What events made your list?
Of Virtues and Vices
Patience 1
One of my readers, M. G. wrote that "Patience is only a virtue when it leads to a desired goal."
I think he was referring to stalkers. :)
Patience 2
Patience is the lead up to being patients.
Trying teaching arithmetic or literacy.
Patience 3
Patience is treating a day like an hour.
Either you are god or you are wasting your life away.
Patience 4
Patience is trying to avoid facing the truth.
There is no truer patience than denial.
Patience 5
Patience is waiting after the event to tell someone s/he's wrong.
There is no better test of patience than watching the doomed event blow up so you can earn the right to say, "I told you so."
Patience 6
Patience is counting till ten before you blow up.
The trick is to choose the correct units for counting to ten: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, fortnights... You get the drift.
Patience 7
Patience is reading this entry in its entirety.
Thank you very much.
One of my readers, M. G. wrote that "Patience is only a virtue when it leads to a desired goal."
I think he was referring to stalkers. :)
Patience 2
Patience is the lead up to being patients.
Trying teaching arithmetic or literacy.
Patience 3
Patience is treating a day like an hour.
Either you are god or you are wasting your life away.
Patience 4
Patience is trying to avoid facing the truth.
There is no truer patience than denial.
Patience 5
Patience is waiting after the event to tell someone s/he's wrong.
There is no better test of patience than watching the doomed event blow up so you can earn the right to say, "I told you so."
Patience 6
Patience is counting till ten before you blow up.
The trick is to choose the correct units for counting to ten: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, fortnights... You get the drift.
Patience 7
Patience is reading this entry in its entirety.
Thank you very much.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Case Study: How to throw a bitch fit
You are to read the following case study very carefully before you attempt the questions that follow. Answer each question in continuous prose. Each answer should not exceed 250 words. You have 48 hours to complete this assignment.
You should type out your answers on A4 or Letter sized paper, 1 inch margins all round, 12 point Times New Roman font. You may submit your answers online in the comments column following this post.
You are reminded not to repeat your points in different answers. You are reminded of the need for clear and concise writing.
Scenario
I was shopping for a new rice cooker when a Chinese PRC woman started kicking up a big fuss at the store.
She accused the service staff of being rude to her; some snarky remark was involved, or so it seemed. Ms PRC shouted at the service staff for not answering her question on how good a pot she was interested in was and also pointed out that the side comment that was made about her type was not appropriate.
Ms PRC then started screaming. In addition, she took to banging and kicking the items at the store.
Questions
1. What did Ms PRC do wrong?
2. What should Ms PRC have done?
Reflections
1. If you were Ms PRC, how would you have reacted in this situation so you can extract maximum benefit from the stall?
2. Do you think it is ethical to extract maximum benefit from the stall? Why?
Role Play
1. Imagine you are a shopper in the store who thinks one of the two women is out of line. Write a retort to show how you could take the side one of the women and start hurling insults back at the "bitch".
2. If you are the manager of the store, explain how will you resolve this issue.
Higher Order Thinking Skills
1. In our social context where we are trying to attract foreign talent to contribute to our workforce and population, how do you think you will help these foreign talent integrate themselves into our society?
2. Do you think soft skills, such as child bearing, child rearing, fighting, quarrelling, screaming, shouting, accusing and insistently talking loudly everywhere, should be part of the criteria for admitting foreign talent? How would one test such skills?
You should type out your answers on A4 or Letter sized paper, 1 inch margins all round, 12 point Times New Roman font. You may submit your answers online in the comments column following this post.
You are reminded not to repeat your points in different answers. You are reminded of the need for clear and concise writing.
Scenario
I was shopping for a new rice cooker when a Chinese PRC woman started kicking up a big fuss at the store.
She accused the service staff of being rude to her; some snarky remark was involved, or so it seemed. Ms PRC shouted at the service staff for not answering her question on how good a pot she was interested in was and also pointed out that the side comment that was made about her type was not appropriate.
Ms PRC then started screaming. In addition, she took to banging and kicking the items at the store.
Questions
1. What did Ms PRC do wrong?
2. What should Ms PRC have done?
Reflections
1. If you were Ms PRC, how would you have reacted in this situation so you can extract maximum benefit from the stall?
2. Do you think it is ethical to extract maximum benefit from the stall? Why?
Role Play
1. Imagine you are a shopper in the store who thinks one of the two women is out of line. Write a retort to show how you could take the side one of the women and start hurling insults back at the "bitch".
2. If you are the manager of the store, explain how will you resolve this issue.
Higher Order Thinking Skills
1. In our social context where we are trying to attract foreign talent to contribute to our workforce and population, how do you think you will help these foreign talent integrate themselves into our society?
2. Do you think soft skills, such as child bearing, child rearing, fighting, quarrelling, screaming, shouting, accusing and insistently talking loudly everywhere, should be part of the criteria for admitting foreign talent? How would one test such skills?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Whatever you can do (tha)i can do better...
Pity the waste - all that make up, plastic surgeries, choreographies and all.
Just see how the Thai school boys do it!
Just see how the Thai school boys do it!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Killing Me Softly...
Spent about two hours in the Changi General Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department's Observation Room when I went over for follow-up treatment last Friday. Immediately on entering the room, I was plonked on an empty bed. There was a patient on my left (Bed 7) and an empty bed on my right (Bed 5). No prizes for correctly guessing for my bed number.
Beds 1, 2 and 3 were empty while on Bed 4 lay this Malay guy who was conscious but hooked to various monitors. He's perhaps in his 30s or 40s and if anything, I'd suspect withdrawal symptoms rather than any real medical emergency. But what would I know.
Bed 7 on my left lay a sleeping guy, possibly a national serviceman, wrapped up in his blanket. I was not sure if he's malingering but I was beyond caring now. I had problems of my own to worry about. Bed 8 seemed to be occupied but the patient was blocked by the mass on 7. Bed 9 was empty. Bed 10 lay this Chinese man who looks like he's from China but I might be wrong. Beds 11 and 12 were empty.
I was waiting for my turn to get my CT Scan done. Right after I was made to lie in the bed, my blood pressure was taken and the nurses manning the OR counter began talking about the age of their new patient and his condition. Yak yak yak...
The nurses woke Patient 7 not long after I was settled in and asked if he could manage to go home by himself. I guessed that was the beginning of the long weekend and the hell he couldn't! So, off he went. I saw the gaunt patient on Bed 8. Bed 10 went up for his scan and I waited my turn, when the machine became available.
Before long, Bed 10 seemed to come back down while I fidgeted, went to the loo, was made to sit on a wheelchair, wait in the wheelchair, wheeled up to Radiology, and got my scan done.
Act 1 was complete when the CT machine fired the last x-rays through my skull and possibly semi-cooking my brains. I was wheeled back to the OR and made to get back on my bed.
* * *
"You must drink water. See, ask you to drink water, you don't want to drink? Today you're back in here again." So goes the son to his father, the patient on Bed 8.
"Yesteday, we came here and you were vomiting. They wanted to put you on the drip and you don't want.
"What can we do now? No point telling me that they use such a big (gauged needle) one on your now, right? Yesterday, if you take, you won't need such a big one.
"You need to drink water. How can you not drink water? Yesterday, when the doctors let you go home, you were told to drink lots of water. But you say the water makes you vomit. Now doctor X cannot do anything for you. God can't do anything for you either.
"Don't worry about anything at home. Everything will be fine. The home will still be there when you go home. You should just stay in here and start drinking water.
"You cannot go home now. See? Even God doesn't want to take you yet. So, how?..."
Apart from some occasional low groans and some raspy, unintelligible sounds, the son persisted on his soliloquy. There was resignation, not anger.
"See? I already take leave today. I got no choice since I have to bring you here. Tomorrow? Tomorrow is Saturday. I don't have to work. And today I take leave to bring you here..."
The battle of making dad drink water was amazing. While I tried to resist turning over to take a look, when sonny left, I sneaked a peek. Old man seemed to be burning. His face is flush reddish purple and his lips were dry and chapped. His eyes were listless as he stared out into the clinically white lighted room, his mouth gaping like a beached goldfish gasping for air.
* * *
"Oh, Mr So-so. I'm your doctor. I've just seen your radiology report. I think you have got a mini-stroke. You know, a TIA..."
Man, I know a TIA. It's short for transient ischaemic attack. I just watched it for the third time on Royal Pains the night before. Oh shit, what if I had a TIA from the car accident...
The patient on Bed 10 must be pretty taken aback. Stroke? How is that possible? He looked perfectly normal. Normal weight range, normal everything.
"Mr So-so, TIA is like a stroke. You see your films? There is this dark region. The blood flow to the area is affected."
I could almost see myself spouting these lines. Man, when I go to the US for studies, I'm going to audition for a role in some medical drama. I could play the role of a plastic surgeon who gets a patient who wants a pair of 38H and midway into the headlights enhancement operation, she had a TIA, wakes up after emergency rescue and decides that, for the sake of her fragile life, she wants a pair of 42L instead. The patient's name? Miss Giant Parts Greenberg. ;)
"We don't know if there is permanent damage. No. You cannot go home. You must stay in the hospital and we need to treat you. We will find out the extent of the blockage and see if you have any permanent damage here.
Such words were not exactly the most comforting to me, since I'm also waiting for the CT scan results.
Doctor turned to Patient 10's wife and asked, "Do you know if he complained of any weaknesses on one side of his body...?"
A poignant Miss Saigon moment descends. I feel walls in my heart closing in, I can't breathe, I can't win...
* * *
I had quite enough by then. Between the time I was sent for the scan and my return, which was less than 15 minutes, the OR room dynamics had changed. There was now a Patient 5 on my right now and he was offered lunch. That junior category senior even asked to see the lunch menu. He really thinks that when the ambulance crew euphemistically call hospitals hotels, they are thus hotels? Crazy.
Patient 1 was an old man/woman - honestly, when you are old and shrivelled up, no one can tell your sex any more - and s/he was sleeping. Or maybe unconscious. S/he is awaiting admission.
Bed 2 was occupied by a huge Indian lady who was to be admitted. When the enrolled nurses asked her to sit up, they asked her, "Can you sit up?" and then asked if the bed, which was supposed to wheel her to her ward, could support her weight. Somehow, after watching Nurse Jackie, I feel strangely comforted.
On Bed 3 was a Malay old man who wanted to be given his painkillers, forget about any treatment and scoot home soonest possible. He looked like he wished to be home, never mind should anything happen to him. I doubt he was of dischargable patient calibre but to subject a senior category senior citizen to more treatment seemed brutal. And what do I know? I'm just an aspiring medical drama quack.
Patient 4 was more sober by then. Maybe they injected a little something into him? I was not sure. By then, I was already pretty much killed inside by the flurry of bad news and the negative vibes.
"Can I leave this place?" I asked the nurses. "I wanna get lunch."
"Do you have relatives with you?"
"No, I came alone. Oh, never mind. How long will this take?"
"About 1 hour."
"1 hour? I can wait. It's just another 15 minutes."
In an environment where it's bad news galore - the sign at the OR entrance
read, "Due to high occupancy, you will only be allocated your bed in the wards when it becomes available," or something to that effect - find an excuse and get out before your heart gives out when your news come.
Still, high occupancy rates in "Cannot Go Home" Hospital? Amazing. Singaporeans must be damned desperate to go there.
As I waited, there was a fresh commotion in the nurses area about how they intend to complain about a staff nurse or doctor who passed disparaging remarks about the hospital. Apparently, the fellow said something like, "No wonder people say Changi is a bad hospital. If I had a family member who was ill and needed to go to the hospital, I wouldn't even send them (sic!)here." And to make matters worse, this utterance was made in front of the public. Apparently, the OR nightingales are going to launch a joint attack on the hawk by claiming that he was out of line, unprofessional and whatever.
Ah, at least some bitching near my comfort levels. I don't know what transpired but the nightingales seemed perturbed enough to say words to the effect that Changi is a great hospital and if any of their loved ones fall sick, they would have no qualms to send them here because of the high levels of care. Oddly, I feel a little more confident, even if Changi is not even on my shortlist for anything.
* * *
1.15 pm. The wait was getting unbearable. The OR was not exactly changing much in terms of patient numbers but there was clearly a need to get rid of bed hoggers. My case came up for review at the counter. A re-triage of sorts.
"This patient looks all right."
"Yah, 29 years old..." - goddammit, there is ABSOLUTELY no one who's 29 in the OR! I'm the youngest and I'm way past 30! - "and the signs are stable. Blood pressure ok."
"Ok, let me call Radiology."
29 years old? Ha! I was 29 once. But how could they work out my age to be 29 when that was half a decade ago?
"Hello, Radiology? A&E OR ah. Can I discharge this patient? We need the beds."
The next thing, I was told I could leave the observation room.
At that moment, I knew there was nothing very serious. But honestly, the lack of privacy in the OR and the deluge of bad news bombarding the patients in the room can rapidly cause anyone to slip into a transient depression. The what-ifs can really be heart stopping and mind blowing.
I quickly bundled out of the OR and went back to the waiting area, where the doctor walked out of his consultation room and asked for another 2 hours to clear my case as the senior enough radiologist wasn't available to countersign on my CT report and a verbal ok from Radiology and from only one radiologist wasn't good enough to get me discharged as an emergency case.
Still, being able to get out of the A&E for a quick lunch and some shopping to remove the negative thoughts and vibes that plague the free mind - despite the giddiness from the mild concussion - can be a little uplifting.
Beds 1, 2 and 3 were empty while on Bed 4 lay this Malay guy who was conscious but hooked to various monitors. He's perhaps in his 30s or 40s and if anything, I'd suspect withdrawal symptoms rather than any real medical emergency. But what would I know.
Bed 7 on my left lay a sleeping guy, possibly a national serviceman, wrapped up in his blanket. I was not sure if he's malingering but I was beyond caring now. I had problems of my own to worry about. Bed 8 seemed to be occupied but the patient was blocked by the mass on 7. Bed 9 was empty. Bed 10 lay this Chinese man who looks like he's from China but I might be wrong. Beds 11 and 12 were empty.
I was waiting for my turn to get my CT Scan done. Right after I was made to lie in the bed, my blood pressure was taken and the nurses manning the OR counter began talking about the age of their new patient and his condition. Yak yak yak...
The nurses woke Patient 7 not long after I was settled in and asked if he could manage to go home by himself. I guessed that was the beginning of the long weekend and the hell he couldn't! So, off he went. I saw the gaunt patient on Bed 8. Bed 10 went up for his scan and I waited my turn, when the machine became available.
Before long, Bed 10 seemed to come back down while I fidgeted, went to the loo, was made to sit on a wheelchair, wait in the wheelchair, wheeled up to Radiology, and got my scan done.
Act 1 was complete when the CT machine fired the last x-rays through my skull and possibly semi-cooking my brains. I was wheeled back to the OR and made to get back on my bed.
* * *
"You must drink water. See, ask you to drink water, you don't want to drink? Today you're back in here again." So goes the son to his father, the patient on Bed 8.
"Yesteday, we came here and you were vomiting. They wanted to put you on the drip and you don't want.
"What can we do now? No point telling me that they use such a big (gauged needle) one on your now, right? Yesterday, if you take, you won't need such a big one.
"You need to drink water. How can you not drink water? Yesterday, when the doctors let you go home, you were told to drink lots of water. But you say the water makes you vomit. Now doctor X cannot do anything for you. God can't do anything for you either.
"Don't worry about anything at home. Everything will be fine. The home will still be there when you go home. You should just stay in here and start drinking water.
"You cannot go home now. See? Even God doesn't want to take you yet. So, how?..."
Apart from some occasional low groans and some raspy, unintelligible sounds, the son persisted on his soliloquy. There was resignation, not anger.
"See? I already take leave today. I got no choice since I have to bring you here. Tomorrow? Tomorrow is Saturday. I don't have to work. And today I take leave to bring you here..."
The battle of making dad drink water was amazing. While I tried to resist turning over to take a look, when sonny left, I sneaked a peek. Old man seemed to be burning. His face is flush reddish purple and his lips were dry and chapped. His eyes were listless as he stared out into the clinically white lighted room, his mouth gaping like a beached goldfish gasping for air.
* * *
"Oh, Mr So-so. I'm your doctor. I've just seen your radiology report. I think you have got a mini-stroke. You know, a TIA..."
Man, I know a TIA. It's short for transient ischaemic attack. I just watched it for the third time on Royal Pains the night before. Oh shit, what if I had a TIA from the car accident...
The patient on Bed 10 must be pretty taken aback. Stroke? How is that possible? He looked perfectly normal. Normal weight range, normal everything.
"Mr So-so, TIA is like a stroke. You see your films? There is this dark region. The blood flow to the area is affected."
I could almost see myself spouting these lines. Man, when I go to the US for studies, I'm going to audition for a role in some medical drama. I could play the role of a plastic surgeon who gets a patient who wants a pair of 38H and midway into the headlights enhancement operation, she had a TIA, wakes up after emergency rescue and decides that, for the sake of her fragile life, she wants a pair of 42L instead. The patient's name? Miss Giant Parts Greenberg. ;)
"We don't know if there is permanent damage. No. You cannot go home. You must stay in the hospital and we need to treat you. We will find out the extent of the blockage and see if you have any permanent damage here.
Such words were not exactly the most comforting to me, since I'm also waiting for the CT scan results.
Doctor turned to Patient 10's wife and asked, "Do you know if he complained of any weaknesses on one side of his body...?"
A poignant Miss Saigon moment descends. I feel walls in my heart closing in, I can't breathe, I can't win...
* * *
I had quite enough by then. Between the time I was sent for the scan and my return, which was less than 15 minutes, the OR room dynamics had changed. There was now a Patient 5 on my right now and he was offered lunch. That junior category senior even asked to see the lunch menu. He really thinks that when the ambulance crew euphemistically call hospitals hotels, they are thus hotels? Crazy.
Patient 1 was an old man/woman - honestly, when you are old and shrivelled up, no one can tell your sex any more - and s/he was sleeping. Or maybe unconscious. S/he is awaiting admission.
Bed 2 was occupied by a huge Indian lady who was to be admitted. When the enrolled nurses asked her to sit up, they asked her, "Can you sit up?" and then asked if the bed, which was supposed to wheel her to her ward, could support her weight. Somehow, after watching Nurse Jackie, I feel strangely comforted.
On Bed 3 was a Malay old man who wanted to be given his painkillers, forget about any treatment and scoot home soonest possible. He looked like he wished to be home, never mind should anything happen to him. I doubt he was of dischargable patient calibre but to subject a senior category senior citizen to more treatment seemed brutal. And what do I know? I'm just an aspiring medical drama quack.
Patient 4 was more sober by then. Maybe they injected a little something into him? I was not sure. By then, I was already pretty much killed inside by the flurry of bad news and the negative vibes.
"Can I leave this place?" I asked the nurses. "I wanna get lunch."
"Do you have relatives with you?"
"No, I came alone. Oh, never mind. How long will this take?"
"About 1 hour."
"1 hour? I can wait. It's just another 15 minutes."
In an environment where it's bad news galore - the sign at the OR entrance
read, "Due to high occupancy, you will only be allocated your bed in the wards when it becomes available," or something to that effect - find an excuse and get out before your heart gives out when your news come.
Still, high occupancy rates in "Cannot Go Home" Hospital? Amazing. Singaporeans must be damned desperate to go there.
As I waited, there was a fresh commotion in the nurses area about how they intend to complain about a staff nurse or doctor who passed disparaging remarks about the hospital. Apparently, the fellow said something like, "No wonder people say Changi is a bad hospital. If I had a family member who was ill and needed to go to the hospital, I wouldn't even send them (sic!)here." And to make matters worse, this utterance was made in front of the public. Apparently, the OR nightingales are going to launch a joint attack on the hawk by claiming that he was out of line, unprofessional and whatever.
Ah, at least some bitching near my comfort levels. I don't know what transpired but the nightingales seemed perturbed enough to say words to the effect that Changi is a great hospital and if any of their loved ones fall sick, they would have no qualms to send them here because of the high levels of care. Oddly, I feel a little more confident, even if Changi is not even on my shortlist for anything.
* * *
1.15 pm. The wait was getting unbearable. The OR was not exactly changing much in terms of patient numbers but there was clearly a need to get rid of bed hoggers. My case came up for review at the counter. A re-triage of sorts.
"This patient looks all right."
"Yah, 29 years old..." - goddammit, there is ABSOLUTELY no one who's 29 in the OR! I'm the youngest and I'm way past 30! - "and the signs are stable. Blood pressure ok."
"Ok, let me call Radiology."
29 years old? Ha! I was 29 once. But how could they work out my age to be 29 when that was half a decade ago?
"Hello, Radiology? A&E OR ah. Can I discharge this patient? We need the beds."
The next thing, I was told I could leave the observation room.
At that moment, I knew there was nothing very serious. But honestly, the lack of privacy in the OR and the deluge of bad news bombarding the patients in the room can rapidly cause anyone to slip into a transient depression. The what-ifs can really be heart stopping and mind blowing.
I quickly bundled out of the OR and went back to the waiting area, where the doctor walked out of his consultation room and asked for another 2 hours to clear my case as the senior enough radiologist wasn't available to countersign on my CT report and a verbal ok from Radiology and from only one radiologist wasn't good enough to get me discharged as an emergency case.
Still, being able to get out of the A&E for a quick lunch and some shopping to remove the negative thoughts and vibes that plague the free mind - despite the giddiness from the mild concussion - can be a little uplifting.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Important Dates for a TV Addict
21 September, 25 September and 27 September!
These mark the return of House, Ghost Whisperer and Desperate Housewives respectively.
List of shows this TV addict is religiously following currently:
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Ghost Whisperer
3. House
4. Leverage
5. Royal Pains
6. Nurse Jackie
7. The Mentalist
8. Surviving Suburbia
9. The Legend of the Seeker (Not started watching yet)
10. The Cleaner (Not started watching yet)
11. Fringe (Not started watching yet)
12. Testees (Still trying to get the episodes)
13. Flashing Forward (or is it Flash Forward... the episodes are not out yet)
14. Doc Martin (when I manage to find time)
Other series that I used to follow:
1. The Beast (it got killed in the first season halfway)
2. Dexter (I stopped after it got progressively difficult to clear my own moral standards - I was cheering a serial killer, dammit!)
3. Grey's Anatomy (too much medical drama - something has to go!)
4. ER (I stopped when Channel 5 stopped showing it)
5. Dirt (It got too dirty to watch and the storyline got somewhat stale)
6. Harper's Island (I wonder if there would be Season 2)
7. 11th Hour (This apparently is a one season wonder. Watching halfway)
8. X-files (for a short while)
9. CSI (It got too predictable after an episode, so I stopped watching.)
10. Law and Order (It was too late and I was still a student then)
There must be a whole lot of other stuff out there that I watch but I may not remember the names any more.
What would I do without my idiot box...
These mark the return of House, Ghost Whisperer and Desperate Housewives respectively.
List of shows this TV addict is religiously following currently:
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Ghost Whisperer
3. House
4. Leverage
5. Royal Pains
6. Nurse Jackie
7. The Mentalist
8. Surviving Suburbia
9. The Legend of the Seeker (Not started watching yet)
10. The Cleaner (Not started watching yet)
11. Fringe (Not started watching yet)
12. Testees (Still trying to get the episodes)
13. Flashing Forward (or is it Flash Forward... the episodes are not out yet)
14. Doc Martin (when I manage to find time)
Other series that I used to follow:
1. The Beast (it got killed in the first season halfway)
2. Dexter (I stopped after it got progressively difficult to clear my own moral standards - I was cheering a serial killer, dammit!)
3. Grey's Anatomy (too much medical drama - something has to go!)
4. ER (I stopped when Channel 5 stopped showing it)
5. Dirt (It got too dirty to watch and the storyline got somewhat stale)
6. Harper's Island (I wonder if there would be Season 2)
7. 11th Hour (This apparently is a one season wonder. Watching halfway)
8. X-files (for a short while)
9. CSI (It got too predictable after an episode, so I stopped watching.)
10. Law and Order (It was too late and I was still a student then)
There must be a whole lot of other stuff out there that I watch but I may not remember the names any more.
What would I do without my idiot box...
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
眼泪成诗 Tears To Poems
I'm going to dedicate this to all those who are recently out of love. I particularly love the first stanza. The opening lines of describing the recovered wounds as roses and the reincarnation of teardrops into raindrops were particularly poetic.
<<眼泪成诗>>
我已经 已经把我伤口化作玫瑰
我的泪水 已经变成雨水早已轮回
我已经 已经把对白留成了永远
忘了天色 究竟是黑是灰
[I have already turned my wounds into roses
My teardrops have already reincarnated into raindrops
I have already turned our conversations into eternity
Forgotten if the skies were black or grey]
*分手伤了谁 谁把他变美
我的眼泪写成了诗已无所谓
让你再回味 字不醉人人自醉
因为回忆总是美*
[*Who was hurt when we parted ways Who made him look noble
My tears have turned into poems for I am past caring
If you remininsce it is not our words but your thoughts making yourself drunk
Because memories are the most beautiful*]
我已经 已经把绝情变成了恭维
因为不配 你就忽然自卑说声失陪
我已经 已经把沉默变成了忏悔
无路可退 只能无言以对
[I have already turned my unfeeling into mutual respect
Because of our unequal status you suddenly feel inferior and said goodbye
I have already turned my taciturn into remorse
With no where to back off I can only face everything with silence]
Repeat **
分手伤了谁 谁把他变美
我的眼泪写成了诗已是无所谓
让你再回味 字不醉人人自醉
你的品味总是美
[Who was hurt when we parted ways Who made him look noble
My tears have turned into poems for I am past caring
If you remininsce it is not our words but your thoughts making yourself drunk
Because your choice had been for the most beautiful]
<<眼泪成诗>>
我已经 已经把我伤口化作玫瑰
我的泪水 已经变成雨水早已轮回
我已经 已经把对白留成了永远
忘了天色 究竟是黑是灰
[I have already turned my wounds into roses
My teardrops have already reincarnated into raindrops
I have already turned our conversations into eternity
Forgotten if the skies were black or grey]
*分手伤了谁 谁把他变美
我的眼泪写成了诗已无所谓
让你再回味 字不醉人人自醉
因为回忆总是美*
[*Who was hurt when we parted ways Who made him look noble
My tears have turned into poems for I am past caring
If you remininsce it is not our words but your thoughts making yourself drunk
Because memories are the most beautiful*]
我已经 已经把绝情变成了恭维
因为不配 你就忽然自卑说声失陪
我已经 已经把沉默变成了忏悔
无路可退 只能无言以对
[I have already turned my unfeeling into mutual respect
Because of our unequal status you suddenly feel inferior and said goodbye
I have already turned my taciturn into remorse
With no where to back off I can only face everything with silence]
Repeat **
分手伤了谁 谁把他变美
我的眼泪写成了诗已是无所谓
让你再回味 字不醉人人自醉
你的品味总是美
[Who was hurt when we parted ways Who made him look noble
My tears have turned into poems for I am past caring
If you remininsce it is not our words but your thoughts making yourself drunk
Because your choice had been for the most beautiful]
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Super Mario Galaxy
The Wii machine met a new friend last weekend. The new friend needs to be inserted into the machine's hole. And after inserting the friend, new pleasure results. In fact, it was so pleasurable that hours are spent trying to top each previosu climax as the positions got progressively more challenging and each round more tedious.
Welcome to my Super Mario Galaxy semi-addiction.
The game started slowly enough. The moves were initially clumsy and the movement slow. But trust me, at the grand old age of... heck, you'll figure out my age anyway. The point is, even if you can teach an old dog new tricks, you can't overcome the fact that aged joints and ancient habits are hard to overcome. I therefore concede: my moves are still clumsy and the movement slow. Trust me, you won't want to read how many times I steered Mario into the black hole. Ok, I didn't steer him into the black holes but the imprecision of my moves inevitably meant Mario became BH fodder one time too many. How many, you ask? Well, try from 15 lives to nothing and then from 10 to nothing and then another 1 more before I cleared some particularly difficult stages.
And you know what's even better about SMG? The programming folks allow you to return to the game from the last point you left off instead of requiring you to begin from scratch. So you get new frustrations when the positions and techniques don't work and new highs when they do. The mind keeps telling itself that it can top the stage and one reaches for the start button after each game over. The ass is rooted to the seat and the mind loses all track of time. (Maybe, Wii and a slower version of SMG can be introduced to old folks' home to keep the residents engaged. Maybe not; they might fight over who's turn it is.)
Yet, the amazing graphics aside, the trick is to know... the tricks. The programmers are not very smart. I've got them figured out mostly. In certain worlds or galaxies, I pick up so many lives that I was incredibly elated. At the same time, I knew the extras would never be enough; how does one pick up extra lives quickly enough a whole game when one needs 26 of them to clear some particularly tricky stage? I don't know how I managed to clear some of those inhuman stages, but I did.
One can usually progress after mentally working through the algorithm required to clear that stage; keeping Mario alive long enough to clear the stage is the larger problem for me. Unfortunately, though, mental dexterity did not make up for the lack of finesse in the finer movements. The fingers were not stiff - digital (pun intended) gravity works differently, I'd say. Of course there are many excuses. This is where I spend all my time moaning about my exciting life, regardless how exciting it really is. Did you expect otherwise?
For all the fun and pleasure it brings, SMG is a silent time killer. I take anywhere between 45 minutes and 3 hours to clear a stage and I've sat in front of the Wii for almost 6 hours yesterday. That is bad. Extremely bad, if you ask me. And at 1.30 am this morning, when I tried to sleep after my shower, all I saw when I shut my eyes were the stars and the coins I was supposed to pick up in the games. My mind was all hyperactive; I can't get to sleep. The brain was devising ways to pick up stars and coins in the various configuration set by and for itself.
At that moment, I think I'm getting out of control. I need to do something quick. I got out of bed, removed the Super Mario Galaxy CD, returned it into its cover and asked for it to be returned. I can't be addicted to it. I can play other things like Wii Sports. That's fine, because there is a limiting factor called physical exhaustion. Wii Sports require you to mimick the actual sports action and with such physical activity, you get worn out and at the opportune moment, you'll decide you've got enough of a workout, turn off the Wii and resume life. SMG does not wear you out. It makes you addicted. And I worry about addiction.
So, there'll be come cold turkey today. And I'll be back to Wii Sporting.
Oh, did I tell you I chose Princess Peach as my avatar? I wanted to choose Queen Bitch if it (Note at edit: Oh man, that's a Freudian slip!) existed. But then what would I do with Q**nsy? Sigh. So, Princess Peach... that's right. Sounds like Princess Bitch anyway.
This semi-addiction seems worse than I imagine...
Welcome to my Super Mario Galaxy semi-addiction.
The game started slowly enough. The moves were initially clumsy and the movement slow. But trust me, at the grand old age of... heck, you'll figure out my age anyway. The point is, even if you can teach an old dog new tricks, you can't overcome the fact that aged joints and ancient habits are hard to overcome. I therefore concede: my moves are still clumsy and the movement slow. Trust me, you won't want to read how many times I steered Mario into the black hole. Ok, I didn't steer him into the black holes but the imprecision of my moves inevitably meant Mario became BH fodder one time too many. How many, you ask? Well, try from 15 lives to nothing and then from 10 to nothing and then another 1 more before I cleared some particularly difficult stages.
And you know what's even better about SMG? The programming folks allow you to return to the game from the last point you left off instead of requiring you to begin from scratch. So you get new frustrations when the positions and techniques don't work and new highs when they do. The mind keeps telling itself that it can top the stage and one reaches for the start button after each game over. The ass is rooted to the seat and the mind loses all track of time. (Maybe, Wii and a slower version of SMG can be introduced to old folks' home to keep the residents engaged. Maybe not; they might fight over who's turn it is.)
Yet, the amazing graphics aside, the trick is to know... the tricks. The programmers are not very smart. I've got them figured out mostly. In certain worlds or galaxies, I pick up so many lives that I was incredibly elated. At the same time, I knew the extras would never be enough; how does one pick up extra lives quickly enough a whole game when one needs 26 of them to clear some particularly tricky stage? I don't know how I managed to clear some of those inhuman stages, but I did.
One can usually progress after mentally working through the algorithm required to clear that stage; keeping Mario alive long enough to clear the stage is the larger problem for me. Unfortunately, though, mental dexterity did not make up for the lack of finesse in the finer movements. The fingers were not stiff - digital (pun intended) gravity works differently, I'd say. Of course there are many excuses. This is where I spend all my time moaning about my exciting life, regardless how exciting it really is. Did you expect otherwise?
For all the fun and pleasure it brings, SMG is a silent time killer. I take anywhere between 45 minutes and 3 hours to clear a stage and I've sat in front of the Wii for almost 6 hours yesterday. That is bad. Extremely bad, if you ask me. And at 1.30 am this morning, when I tried to sleep after my shower, all I saw when I shut my eyes were the stars and the coins I was supposed to pick up in the games. My mind was all hyperactive; I can't get to sleep. The brain was devising ways to pick up stars and coins in the various configuration set by and for itself.
At that moment, I think I'm getting out of control. I need to do something quick. I got out of bed, removed the Super Mario Galaxy CD, returned it into its cover and asked for it to be returned. I can't be addicted to it. I can play other things like Wii Sports. That's fine, because there is a limiting factor called physical exhaustion. Wii Sports require you to mimick the actual sports action and with such physical activity, you get worn out and at the opportune moment, you'll decide you've got enough of a workout, turn off the Wii and resume life. SMG does not wear you out. It makes you addicted. And I worry about addiction.
So, there'll be come cold turkey today. And I'll be back to Wii Sporting.
Oh, did I tell you I chose Princess Peach as my avatar? I wanted to choose Queen Bitch if it (Note at edit: Oh man, that's a Freudian slip!) existed. But then what would I do with Q**nsy? Sigh. So, Princess Peach... that's right. Sounds like Princess Bitch anyway.
This semi-addiction seems worse than I imagine...
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