a question.. if everyone noes who they're going to vote already on Dec 3rd.. why's there a need for a Singapore Idols Finals show?

sleazey (and punny) titles from Mainichi Waiwai!

sleazey (and punny) titles from Mainichi Waiwai!

"Panty-headed bandit pounces in brief raid"

"Women in porn get head jobs without acting"

"Reek rises as gals stick with stinky panties"

"Top gay scene zine bottoms out in fag-end of its life"

"Females wail gaily over e-mails from scaly males"

"People's Republic gets to peek-in at Nipponese nudity"
~"When the show finally got under way, you could feel the swell of excitement from the audience."

*ROFL*

Hero Machine! nice!
Here's the female equivalent of the Human Torch! ;) guess wat her fave pasttime is?


Update: 27 Nov
courtesy of Sherm n meself.. hehe.. I created her heroine, and she did mine! obviously she has a convulated impression of me.. those eyebrows.. and tht gay look.. =P

Mild mannered, mildly-rabid student by day, but by night, wrap her magically woven blankie around her face, and watch her turn into a whirling slicing dicing flaming mist of blood! Red Branket GO GO GO!

Samurai Fiction

Samurai Fiction

A visual summary of a visually beautiful movie - Samurai Fiction, by Hiroyuki Nakano (incidentally, a graduate of Waseda uni). Despite it supposedly being a movie for the MTV generation ("Cool, funky and peaceful!"), it did evoke a sense of calm within me although i was often laughing at its humour. The actors may not have wielded their katanas convincingly, but in comparison with Kill Bill, the ineptness can be overlooked. No one can hold a candle to the late Mr Toshiro Mifune.
This movie made me realise 2 things: I want to start a personal samurai movie (chambara) collection. And I'd like to live in a farm somewhere with mountains and nature as the backdrop, with perhaps a personal dojo in the backyard.

Images taken from here. A very nice visual vignette of japanese movies can be viewed here.

Links:
- a review of SF.
- a website on chambara

Investment Biker

Investment Biker

While browsing through my office library this morning, I found a rather interesting book. Wonder why my cousin din show it to me previously. Its by investment guru Jim Rogers, the guy who appears to make market comments in a BOWTIE. The book's called "Investment Biker", and it basically chronicles his 22-month journey across the globe on a BMW motorcycle. Sounds familiar? Brings to mind Motorcycle Diaries. However, the revolutionary ideas within the book do not relate to political revolution, but more on perspectives of the world, and some investing gems perhaps.

Within the first few pages, I came across this quote which I thoroughly agree with:

"... the best way to go is by motorcycle. You see sights and smell the countryside in a way you can't from inside the box of a car. You're right out there in it, a part of it. You feel it, see it, taste it, hear it, and smell it all. It's total freedom. For most travelers, the journey is a means to an end. When you go by bike, the travel is an end in itself. You ride through places you've never been, experience it all, meet new people, have an adventure. Things don't get much better than this."

I have some motorcycle trips I intend to make in the next couple of years, more realistically, a short Chiba-Tokyo-Saitama trip, then perhaps Italia later on. But first, I need to finance it. Jim Rogers did his trip after he made his millions. I heard from CC that he did the trip a second time but this time in a 4WD Convertible, specially modified by Mercedes on his request. Big dream to live up to? Nothing's impossible..

I’m having a really bad seething see-red day. 2 reasons:

“I think your friend should give my mom a new computer”
“Are you sure the thing you installed didn’t give me a virus?”

The request was out of the question, and coming from a guy who make so much money it shames the rest of us, demanding a new PC from a mere student, I really dunno what to say.

The question was one that showed little faith in what I could do. Why would you ask me to do something if you don't trust me at all?

Sometimes, ppl really lose touch of reality and compassion when they get too caught up in other things. Yes, even religious things.

At the start of the week, there was a song in my head, for some unknown and indistinct reason. Certain lines kept repeating within the confines of my mind, and I found myself singing it out often. I have no idea why. Never was a big fan of it. The mind works in strange ways la.

Strawberry Fields Forever
~the Beatles

Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to strawberry fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry fields forever.

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
It’s getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn’t matter much to me.
Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to strawberry fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry fields forever.

No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low.
That is you can’t you know tune in but it’s all right, that is I think it’s not too bad.
Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to strawberry fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry fields forever.

Always, no sometimes, think it’s me, but you know I know when it’s a dream.
I think I know I mean a ’yes’ but it’s all wrong, that is I think I disagree.
Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to strawberry fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry fields forever.
Strawberry fields forever.

Ultimate ganja music la.. and the video for "lucy in the sky with diamonds"! I happened to download it for a project I did on the beatles in my final year in uni. if u've never seen if before, I think it goes well with some weed. haha!

the japanese eating binge

the japanese eating binge

ooh.. been eating chocs at office to stave off my constant gnawing hunger. Milk chocs! my fave.. Which brings to mind something I wanted to relate. For the preceding weeks before I left for Japan, I've been taking a minor dietary supplement, and my mother's fat-enhancing solution of Cod Liver Oil and milk (separate!) twice a day. The point of which was to put back the weight lost from my operation and especially the dengue debacle. On weighing myself, I realised that there was no change whatsoever in my weight. Perhaps dengue still had an effect? I just couldn't seem to get back to my old weight.

So off I went to Japan. I love japanese food! And I especially adore Shermaine's cooking! it is especially appetising when it's served by her wearing tht cute red n black checked apron! =) mmm.. *tasty*

My first meal on the flight there was japanese-style beef n rice dish, oh so juicy - the prelude to good things to come. So because we stayed in Waseda, a student town, my expected allowance of ?800 a meal (frm previous experience) was way over-budgeted for! An average meal costs just over ?400 (tht's abt S$6)! And cos we had Arubin with us, we went even cheaper by buying pre-cooked dishes and rice and having that spread back in the hostel kitchenette. And oh the ice-cream! Sticky chocolate, just over ?100! and flour-covered ice-cream mochi!

ooh.. let the litany begin: salmon sashimi, teriyaki chicken, yakisoba, Tendon's tempura prawns n eggplant, miso soup, udon & ramen, bento, currei rice, succulent hotstove bbq beef, chocolate bananas, strange but damn tasty miscellaneous festival/bazaar food (from the sprawling Waseda uni Matsuri!), cheap Waseda uni canteen food (its good!), quaint coin-op eating joints tht u eat at standing up, take-away ice-cream crepes, melon buns, curry buns, cubed potatoes with mayo & misc garnishings, instant satchet mash.. mmmm

I came back to Singapore and weighed myself. Surprise surprise, I had put on 3 kgs! Oh what joy! Up till now, I'm still trying to identify where it went.. Anyway, back in SG, weighed myself again this morning, and I think I've lost 1 kg already.. sigh.. food here, especially when my maid prepares it, just can't seem to keep me heavy. Dun get me wrong, I love eating in SG too, let's just say I miss Japan? hehe..

just me and my friskypoo..

just me and my friskypoo..

This was what I blacked-out and spent my long weekend doing:
World of Warcraft (or WoW)!
Man, it was gooood.. but as all RPGs go, it's so time-consuming. Hell, if I didn't have other (better?) things to do, I'd be on it all day, but who's gonna support my lifestyle? ;)
Anyway, thanks to Prit, he got us free Open Beta trials for 2 weeks (thus the intensive 3 day session!)! Its back to work again now, but I'm kinda looking forward to the next span of a few hours uninterrupted, to jump back into a new area for me, the Darkshore region.
RPG means Role-Playing Game, and with the miracle of games going online, birthed a new form of gaming acronymed MMORPG (Massive-Multiplayer-Online-RPG). People online can basically join a server and play an online RPG, interacting not with virtual characters, but with real live people on the other side! WoW, in my opinion is something more than just run of the mill. It got me on MMORPG, something I din really wanna get involved in previously.

Well, I'm a Night Elven Hunter in this game. I've got a loyal faithful Nightsaber cat as my pet named Friskypoo. We're so together, ne'er ever part relationship types (until the next better pet comes along la, but dun tell her tht..). Exploring the town we spawned in, increasing our stats, helping other ppl with their quests, after getting help myself.

From a review of the closed beta that I read: "All in all, though, the level of complaint and general yelling is relatively quiet on the message boards. It seems like too many people are just playing and having fun to join in the rancor so common to other MMOs."

Told ya it was distinctive. Oh when can I get back to Azeroth..?


Update: 18 Nov
Damn, today's the last day of the WoW OB trial.. and I've got kendo later tonite. Sigh. I guess this is goodbye. Bye Keisho (my character - lvl 15 NE Hunter!), byeFriskypoo, bye Gummy (my second pet - a thistle bear!), bye Thousand Dreams guild, bye Darnassus/ Dolanar/ Auberdine, bye Avatre/ Gwec/ Shuruga/ Putmacha/ Novanh/ Moonbeam/ Ayana/ Aozmess.

Apparently the WoW people ended the OB period with "armageddon" - Warcraft style! Infernals came raining down, Doomguards and Fel Beasts were in every town, cutting down the innocents (from the bakers to the trainers) and any hero who felt it was their obligation to protect their town and lives, however short-lived and fleeting it may have been. It must have been so cool! Prit sent me screenshots.. There were bodies and bones strewn all over, even the NPCs were dead! Some valiant heroes were still putting up a fight, people like Prit's gnome was walking arnd like a tourist, taking screenshots and not engaging any of the armageddon-ites. Enjoying the last few minutes of the game till the OB servers shut down for good. Azeroth hath burneth down..

hehe.. obsessed!

I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete

So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?

Who says I dun blog anymore!?

Who says I dun blog anymore!?

Ah.. a day at work where I tot I would have all the tools in front of me to play as I would like, to configure my charts properly, experiment with them, and mebbe get in a few paper trades to test them out. Cos CC's gone on holiday, and I had tot the boss n wife were in m'sia too. How glorious!
Alas and alack.. I came in to realise our Reuters 300Xtra program was in use elsewhere, meaning the boss was looking at prices frm home. SIGH. Trading with just price action alone is something that comes from much experience. Without the charts, I feel very handicapped. How can you confidently take a position without supporting information backing u up and reassuring you that there's a higher likelihood of possible trends?
Today will thus be spent reading, reading and reading. I'm getting interested in the World of Warcraft (WOW), and I suppose this would be a good time to read on it when I get oversaturated with work stuff.

Pritpal managed to sign me up for a beta version of WOW 1 day before entries closed! Thanks again to the man, tho I doubt I'll be able to run it with my T-bird 700 @ home. Already Dota last nite was super laggy, and I just realised that I was the cause of all the loading lag when we play online!! This cos Sherm and I were on Dota while using SKYPE at the same time! How cool is that! No more hassle of typing out remarks and invasion strats when we can simply use free technology! hehe

US says NO to trimming the Bush

US says NO to trimming the Bush

I dunno much about American politics. I still can't tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats. but I just wonder whether Bush's win was an assertion that his shoot-em-up wild-west ways was the right way to go. Soon after the elections, the Fallujah assault began.. does this mean the American public had unknowingly /knowingly voted for violence? Are they responsible?

Revolution

Revolution

As like every overseas kendo trip I make, I return with a head full of ideas and improvements. This time round, I do not return with knowledge of how to improve my kendo, but how to improve kendo in Singapore.. or at least in my sphere of influence - NUS Kendo Kai.

Thinking about it this afternoon, after pondering with Alvin and Shermaine, and with regards to our discussion from what we've seen at Waseda Uni Kendo Club's training, and what we've seen in the past week, something has to be corrected in Singapore. And its no longer that we wait for someone to correct it. I realise that if change has to come about, I am probably in the better position to start the ball rolling.

Being sempai requires a lot more responsibility than I ever tot.. but I'll gladly shoulder it.

Japan: Waseda Training

Japan: Waseda Training

I had the privilege to join one of the best Kendo teams this side of Japan today. Their spirit was overwhelming, and so uplifting! Loud, combined voices of more than 40+ members shouting out the count during warm-ups, the kouhai (juniors) carrying on cheering whilst queuing for their next go at a sempai or sensei, the resounding fumikomi-ashi from players in battle.. wow.. I'll be going for one more with them in a couple of days. I wish I could bring this back with me.

At the end of training, one of the sempai I happened to be changing near turned to me and said "Otsukare-samadeshita" (which is said after training to each other and which loosely means "that was a good session"). A normal reply would be to say the same thing back to him.. I din hear it properly, but I realised what he had just said. So I instantly recalled what I was supposed to reply with (or so I tot), and told him "gochisosamadesu"... which means "thanks for the food"! heh.. Sherm was just teaching me what to say at the end of a meal the nite before la! sigh