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2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Gospodi Vozzvakh Tebe' 'Lord I have cried unto Thee', Vespers verses in Tone 8, Galician Chant, sung by the choir of St Elias Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Brampton, Ontario. A priest said that the invention of the refrigerator may have had an negative impact on Christian charity - in the days when food could not keep, we would more likely have thougth to give leftovers away to those who had no food. These days we just plonk it back into the fridge for the next day. An interesting thought. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Air pour Les Sauvages' from Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera Les Indes Galantes, played by the Orchestra of the 18th Century,dir. Frans Brüggen. Meant as a bit of music for a dance of the 'savages' in Rameau's early 1700s opera, this tune became quite popular in French Louisiana, and apparently was the only bit of white music that caught on with the natives, and they played it in their own gatherings and danced to it. Rameau apparently was immensely pleased when he heard of it. Ok, so the singers for the concert aren't quite up to scratch, so we've decided to drop the chorus from the concert. That's a weight off my mind really, I've been stressing myself out these past few weeks trying to locate singers at short notice, not to mention teaching people their parts. I've not been doing anything other than music these past few days, not good. Dom's girlfriend Linda taught me some yoga relaxation exercises, may help my back and arm problems. I think I'll spend Sunday away from all work on music - I won't even answer music-related telephone calls. I need some rest and relaxation. I think I'll go have my feet massaged. Ah, the very thought of it fills my mind with joy. Spent the evening at Prof's place, rehearsing more music for the concert - just with him, the harpsichord girl and the Japanese chap who plays Viola da Gamba. Lovely music making, and normally I'd have been very happy to do it, but having to call and lead a rehearsal at this particular point in time was the last thing I needed to do. Thank goodness Glen called me at about ten and asked me out for a film. He picked me up and we watched Le Papillon, a charming French film. A perfect end to a really crummy day. Amazingly enough, as the film began, the three teenaged boys next to us (2 malays and a beng) saw the opening titles and went 'ha, this film not Ingrish one ah?' Glen and I tried very hard not to laugh. Think I'll soak my feet now. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Bless the Lord O my soul', Russian Greek-chant harmonised by Katalsky, performed by the Ural Choir. Hurrah, today's tenor was a joy to work with. Very rewarding, and of course, it helps he's cute. Arm still smarts a little, but it doesn't hurt as bad as yesterday or this morning, so I think I may be able to rest in the arms of Morpheus without the usual alcoholic stupor. Currently, one of my pet amusements is collecting examples of Singaporean stupidity and cultural illiteracy. In recent memory, two anecdotes stand out as shining examples. Just the other day I walked past a motorcycle shop, and I heard a man saying 'wah, Yamaha got make music instrument one ah?'. Then there was the twit who upon overhearing that we Orthodox put icons in our churches, light candles, kiss them, prostrate ourselves and pray before them... actually asked 'so you all like kiss the Internet Explorer icon or what ah?' Ye Gods, give me strength. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Love U More' by Sunscream. Interesting... it doesn't sound like it came out in 1992. A fascinating track, it's of a genre I don't usually like but I can see why it makes good clubbing music. Last night's attempt to teach one of the altos her part didn't go too well, she's a dear dear friend and I love her to bits, but she has so many problems pitching that I felt we had to let her go. I'm getting really stressed over this coming concert, perfectionist that I am. I know we'll be fine if we're one alto short, 7 is still workable, but I'd still really really like an octet. I get so worked up about these things, and I know I shouldn't. Dominic, my music mentor of sorts, made me feel better when he thanked me for all the work I'm doing for the concert. He also introduced me to that song 'Love U More', good stuff. I'm really quite grateful to Dom, who pushes me musically - otherwise I'd never improve. Got home last night really late, went straight to bed. Couldn't sleep, my right arm was in pain. Felt like the ligaments and tendons from the fingertips of the last three fingers stretching down to the elbow were on fire. Had a double Pernod to help me sleep. Best of all, this morning I woke up with a ridiculous pain in my back and hip. The back pain, I suspect, is due to a bed that's too soft, even though the bed is harder than most. The hip pain, I know is due to that hunting injury I sustained 2 years ago in England when I fell off a horse at full gallop. My big brother Anthony today at lunch tells me the arm pain may be carpal tunnel syndrome. Not a pleasant thought, that. Watched Talkingcock the Movie today. Quite quite funny. Going out to teach a tenor his part this evening. Gods help us, I'll scream if this one's as tone-deaf as the alto last night. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Chunari Chunari', a great bit of hindi pop from the film Monsoon Wedding. One learns something new everyday, often several new things everyday. 'Influenza' is actually derived from a Venetian term 'La Influenza di Stelle', or 'the influence of the stars'. Next, 'Malaria' is derived from the Italian 'Mal'aria' or 'bad air', from the old belief that it was caused by the bad air of the marshes. Was at rehearsal last night. Stuff for the December concerts is coming along nicely. Again I have to recommend The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason, a brilliant piece of writing. Currently, I'm working on the Basso Continuo part of a movement from a Vivaldi violin concerto (from L'estro Armonico)... and reading Kings of Albion by Julian Rathbone. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Great Doxology' - Greek Byzantine Chant by the Monks of Simonopetra Monastery, Mt Athos, Greece. Δόξα σοι ο Θεός ημών, δόξα σοι. - let's see if the Greek turns out fine. Hurrah! In case you're wondering how to view the Greek, use Unicode encoding for the page. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Now let's try some Cyrillic: + Слава Отцу и Сыну и Святому Духу, и ныне и присно и во веки веком. Аминь. Господи Исусе Христе, помилуй нас. Под твою милость прибегаем, Богородице Дево. Моления наша не презри в скорбех, но от бед избави нас, едина чистая и благословенная. + Пресвятая Богородице, спаси нас. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Vespertine' by Björk Υπεραγια Θεοτοκε σωισον ημας! Sic credo, sic spero. So I believe. So I hope. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Tattoo It On Me' by Paul Lekakis. I can't help it. I'm a pedant. Here I am, listening to one of the few 1980s pop stars whose work I actually know - Paul Lekakis, and getting annoyed by his lyrics. Not by the inaneness that marks pop lyrics, but by a line in his 'Tattoo it on me' which goes '... while the temperature rises up'. Surely 'rises up' is an oxymoron? I know I ought not be bothered by it, but every single time I hear the line, I cringe. Just as when I hear someone go 'horse-riding'. 'Riding' is, by default, on a horse. Only when riding other things/animals does one specify what is being ridden. Even worse is when someone says 'horseback-riding'. What other part of the horse is there to ride? I have yet to hear of anyone riding the head of a horse. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | In the beginning was the Word. So here's a word: OI! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | did you know in Massachusets, in the 1700s, it was against the law to feed prisoners lobster more than 3 times a week? In other news, did you know the lobster's closest living relative is the cockroach? Think about that the next time you eat a lobster. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | now this one's a urlLink GEM . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Show's opening tonight - Rashomon. Based on Kurosawa's urlLink film , it tells various conflicting accounts of what happened in a rape and murder set in late 11th or 12th Century Japan, in the Late Heian period. Want some analyses of it? urlLink Here and urlLink here . The play's being staged by ACSian Theatre - the drama club of Anglo-Chinese Junior College, my old sixth-form college. What do I do there? I used to coach them for drama but this time I'm a musician, providing about ten minutes of flute music before the show, in order to set the mood. It's just a flute and drum, and I'm improvising in the style of Japanese Court Music. If anyone who attends the production thinks what I'm playing sounds absolutely horrid, tuneless, dissonant and out of tune, you're absolutely right. That's how Japanese court music sounds. In fact, what I'm playing is already a more tonal and tuneful version - I can perceive neither tonality nor melody in the original urlLink stuff . When I first read accounts of the western missionaries having to sit through endless hours of Japanese court music and complaining that they'd not heard anything so horrible in their lives, I thought they were just ignorant westerners who couldn't appreciate the beauty of Asian things, even though they said they wished they were back in Cathay (China) where the music was tuneful and entertaining. Then I heard Gagaku, and I realised they were right. Coming from an environment with Vivaldi and Handel, being forced to endure hours of this must have been truly torture. Pity that so much skill (these musicians were trained for years) should be spent to produce such a hideous result. There is, however, one undoubted advantage in Japanese Court Music. There are people who can hear no melody in Chinese Classical Music. Such a person should attend a concert of Gagaku, with all the traditional instruments and dances , and then attend one of Chinese music the next night. If, after their horrid wailing, he can still find no melody in our Chinese dances and songs, he must give up looking for a tune in anything. If you're still game, have a look at these sites, which explain Gagaku - urlLink here and urlLink here . Just so you know, a traditional Noh orchestra consists of a flute (noh-kan) and 3 drums. We're working with one clay drum (a small doumbek from egypt), and I'm playing two flutes - one is a renaissance flute in D, made of maple wood, and a smaller chinese bamboo flute. Apparently, Japanese Court Music is supposed to be a descendant of T'ang Chinese Court Music, and an immediate descent of ancient Hokkien Music from the Fukien province of China. I find it hard to believe the Chinese could have ever had such hair-raisingly awful music, and that when the Japanese in the 9th Century were aping Chinese culture, they tried to imitate the Chinese stuff and didn't quite get it right. There's no other explanation for it. urlLink Let Taxi Drivers Run The World! In other news, since I suspect none of you read my online buddy Serge's urlLink blog , I'm reproducing his entry of 28 Jan, which is quite worth reading. ----------- Wednesday, January 28, 2004 From urlLink bubdaddy urlLink This is war Video clip - in negative black and white but very disturbing. Commentary: This is a graphic depiction of the killing produced by warfare. The people who are shown being shot appear to be unaware that an Apache attack helicopter armed with a high-speed 30mm cannon is firing explosive rounds at them. When they are hit, they disappear.........presumably blown to bits. The clip first aired on ABC news in a show which questioned the 'morality' of shooting the wounded man trying to crawl to the 'safety' of the road side. It takes about a minute (with cable modem) to download the clip. It is EXTREMELY GRAPHIC. ...I don't celebrate killing anyone, but think that it's important to see. If those being shot had the Apache helicopter, I'm certain that we would be seeing Americans being turned into chunks. I AM disturbed that they shot the wounded man, but it it is conceivable that he was crawling toward an anti-aircraft missile or RPG. urlLink Mission to Mars Spot on. I'd thought of sending him there myself but that'd only mask/treat a symptom, not face the problem (after all, he's only a sock puppet). Still, very funny. ----- Serge also runs urlLink A Conservative Site for Peace , under which his urlLink religion page is also well worth visiting. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Oh, if you're looking for a really wicked online comic, have a look at urlLink Something Positive . It's gloriously black and very very sharp. Warning - not for those who don't have an evil sense of humour. For a sample, look urlLink here . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Too busy to write something on my own today, but here's a little something from my Spiritual Father, Fr Serge Keleher of Dublin: My mother swore that a friend of hers who liked to knit once copied some Chinese ideographs from a menu - she didn't know what they said, but they looked pretty - and incorporated them into the design of a sweater which she proceeded to knit for herself. The first literate Chinese she ran into while wearing the sweater nearly dropped dead from laughter - the sweater announced that 'this dish is cheap but delicious'! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Not Quite the Wisdom of the Fathers 'If you can't remember where you left your keys, what page numbers you needed to read for tomorrow's class, or whether you left the stove on....just go do your prayer rule. I guarantee you'll remember it all and much more besides. Worrying about tomorrow's schedule while trying to pray yields even more spectacular memory recovery results.' -- quoted from 'Hidden Benefits of an Orthodox Neophyte Prayer Life' by urlLink Karl Thienes (who isn't likely to achieve unceasing prayer let alone 20 consecutive minutes of focused prayer without the grace of God and bloody miracle!) |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink More woes for Orthodox Christians in Kosovo . Fie upon Nato and Clinton, who wrested that bit of Serbian Holy Ground from Serbia and gave it to the Albanian terrorists. Link from my friend's blog - Serge, otherwise known as the Young Fogey at urlLink A Conservative Blog for Peace |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Have a look at this: urlLink Children Upset By Pheasant Shooting 'There's nothing wrong with hunting as long as you eat and/or otherwise use what you kill. The hypocrisy of modernity also strikes me - time was in America when many 12-year-old boys had small hunting rifles and wouldn't think of hurting another person with them. Now they and their parents play violent video games simulating multiple cold-blooded murders (scary sight I've seen: a 9-year-old playing a computer game realistic and graphic enough to train soldiers and cops), and chances are the same people react as described to children seeing the reality behind eating meat.' - Link and comment from my friend's blog - Serge, otherwise known as the Young Fogey at urlLink A Conservative Blog for Peace |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Where do I stand politically? Variously. Have a look at urlLink Lewrockwell.com and the urlLink Spectator and you'll get an idea. I'm in favour of tolerance. In that sense I'm a liberal - I believe in letting a gazillion flowers bloom, and only plucking out weeds such as communists, anarchists... I support foxhunting and hunting in general. Cityfolk ought not attempt to interfere in the lives of countryfolk, lives that they neither understand nor care to. I'm anti-war in all cases. Bush is a monkey with very little brain, and Blair is just as bad. I'm a monarchist. I don't believe in legislation treats people of different sexual orientation unfairly. On the other hand, I believe that legislation must not deprive us of our rights of free association - we have the right not to have beliefs we don't accept forced down our throats. I.E. I'm all in favour of some sort of civil legislation allowing homosexual unions, so that certain legal rights of inheritance and suchlike may be extended to the partner. On the other hand, if anyone tries to force my Church to have priestesses or give gay unions a blessing, I'll be among the first to be martyred in her defence. I'm elitist - I believe in maintaining standards of decorum, language, intellectual rigour and dress. I'm a young fogey. What's that? Look urlLink here . I believe men and women are equal but different, and it's silly to pretend the two genders are good at the same things. I have the mind of a Mediaeval man - I believe God intervenes actively in creation, hence I believe in miracles, relics, visions and suchlike. And yet I live firmly in the current century. Give or take 500 years. Ok, more like take 500 years... but who's counting? I don't believe in the equality of cultures. Ebonics does not have equal footing with Shakespeare. The 'cultures' of sub-saharan Africa have produced no important literature, music or contributions to the world - I refuse to place these various Bongo-bongoland savages on par with India, Greece, Rome and China. Ok, off my soapbox for now. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: Ana Caram singing 'The Girl from Ipanema'. People wonder why I'm such a fan of urlLink The Spectator - urlLink here's an article that I agree entirely with. Read the Spectator, read it often. A journal whose sole criterion for article inclusion is elegance of expression cannot be anything other than a pleasure to read. The Spectator is unashamedly elitist, and so am I. Someone's got to keep the standards up. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Spent today lazing at home, watched live Divine Liturgy (that's what we Orthodox call the usual church service) broadcast from Moscow. Cheryl Ho called me out, so we hung out at Liat Towers Starbucks, watching the world go by. Jared Kok was there. He's a prime example of 'i'm trying so hard to be cool that it's painful to watch me' syndrome. With his bit of black cord twisted around fingers and hand, with a silver cross dangling from little finger... then i asked him 'Officer yet or not' he went 'not yet... wed!' and did a little 'heels-together and fingers touch shoulder then salute' sort of thing. I swear, I so wanted to say 'beam me up, scotty!' I won't even mention how his voice has dropped two octaves into the attempted sub-bass region, and how he claims it's due to his smoking. I want to watch Bollywood Queen. Meanwhile, here are some Indian-inspired links! Ever heard of urlLink Indian Superman ? Have a look at that page, it sounds hilarious. TEN CHINS NO MORE! Don't be deceived by the pretty pink cover of the Bollywood Workout - this is high impact! If you've ever tried to imitate Shah Rukh Khan sexy moves, this is the ultimate exercise video for you. Utilising a combination of Bollywood and Bhangra style dance moves and aerobics, the instructor Honey Kalaria (an expert Indian Dance choreographer) guides the viewer through a range of typical dance movements, with plenty of arm waving, hip and bum thrusting. The music is strongly East-West, in Hindi and English, and the sight of women in the video dancing slightly out of step and sweating is strangely comforting. One even had a roll of flesh around her waist - yippee! Now you have an excuse the next time you're caught dancing along to Aishwarya Rai's routine . Available in PAL VHS (£12.99) or DVD (£14.99) from urlLink Amazon.com - coconut trees and saree changes not included. I've been asked why I don't put my favourite recipes up. It's simple - they're my secrets, and a magician never reveals his secrets! But seriously, it's best to just watch me do them in person, because I'm one of those people who never follow recipes exactly, and I don't use exact measures. I work with quantities such as 'meat for 6', 'a dash of this', 'a pinch of that', 'a handful of googbley-gook', and thus there's not much point. If you guys want me to list recipes that have just a list of ingredients in vague amounts and directions, okay... just let me know! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Was at a wedding earlier this evening. A lesbian 'commitment ceremony' to be precise, in a home. It was sweet, I've known one of the brides since I was 17, in Junior College. At the end, they threw both bouquets... and I swear, one of them was aimed straight for my face. So I got it. That means I'm next in line for a lesbian wedding yes? :D Zhi came back on monday, will see how he's settling in and when we can meet up. No, he's not on the 'possible marriage partners' list. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Alrighty, it's time for a book and film update. I've just finished reading Alexander Solzhenitsyn's urlLink Gulag Archipelago , all three volumes of it. Needless to say, I didn't read it in Russian - my resolve not to read works in translation weakened in this case. Arkhipelag Gulag, as it's called in the original Russian, is a compilation of experiences and anecdotes about the Soviet prison camps and the injustice and inhumanity of the Communist system. No one can read it and continue to think that Communism is not a creation of pure evil. It's very very depressing, but worthwhile reading. One of the most monumental accounts of one of the cruellest ideologies of history,this book should be read by all. Layer by layer Solzhenitsyn exposes the hideous system of imprisonment ,death and torture that he refers to as the 'Gulag Archipelago'. He strips away that the misconception of the good Tsar Lenin betrayed by his evil heirs and exposes how it was Lenin and his henchmen who put into place the brutal totalitarianism , which would be inherited and continued by Stalin. In fact the only thing that Stalin really did differently was to introduce a more personalised ,Imperial style of rule but otherwise carried on the evil work of Lenin. It was Lenin who imprisoned the Cadets (Constitutional Democrats) , Mensheviks,Social Democrats,Social Revolutionaries Anarchists and independent intelligentsia and had many killed. In this way he completely destroyed all opposition to Bolshevik hegemony. Under Lenin the persecution started of anybody convicted of religious activity and the complete destruction of the church in Russia. And it was Lenin who began the genocide of whole ethnic groups that would later gain momentum under Stalin. Under the Communist system all that is spiritual or not purely material in nature is destroyed.And we discover what a horror Marx's idea of 'dialectic materialism ' really is. But I cannot describe the horrors which Solzhenitsyn outlines in this book :the hideous tortures,the slave markets selling of young women into sexual slavery. Solzhenitsyn describes how the prison system of the Tsarist system was compassionate by comparison but the mild abuses of Tsarist imprisonment where reacted to with a shrill outcry that never greeted the horrors of Bolshevism and Communism. As he says in his ever present biting sarcasm 'Its just not fashionable,just not fashionable.' And even today,even after the fall of Communism in Europe (though its iron grip remains strong in parts of Asia,Africa and in Cuba) its still not regarded as fashionable to highlight the horrors of Communism as it is to do so for other human rights abuses of this and other centuries A really silly film that's probably never going to make it to Singapore is urlLink Bubba Ho-Tep . The premise is quite simple - Elvis didn't really die, he swapped places with an Elvis impersonator, and is now rotting away in a home for the elderly. Pair him up with a black guy who believes he's JFK and that aliens replaced his brain with a bag of sand. Add an Egyptian mummy who hides out in the home and terrorises the residents, turn our JFK and Elvis into heroes... and you've got Bubba Ho-Tep. It looks hilarious, I'd love to see it on the big screen, but I'm not hopeful. Another one that's looking good is urlLink The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra , which seems to be a parody of all those B-grade horror films. Watch the urlLink trailer , it's a scream. Finally, there's Mel Gibson's urlLink The Passion of the Christ - about the last 24 hours of Christ's life. Filmed entirely in the original languages (or so Gibson thinks- more about this later) of Latin and Greek and completely faithful to the Gospel accounts, it should be quite interesting. My only gripe with the film is the languages used - Pilate speaks Latin, instead of Greek, which was the language of administration and common intercourse in the Eastern parts of the Roman Empire. Worse still, he pronounces his Latin in the horrible 18th Century Italian pronunciation, instead of any of the historical pronunciations. I can't comment on the Syriac which the Jewish characters speaks, because I don't know much Syriac. The film's going to be very very bloody - have a look at the urlLink trailer (from an unofficial site). Nevertheless, it's a good effort, and I'm glad he's decided to be faithful to the Gospels, including the crowd of Jews shouting 'His Blood be upon us and our children'. I think the Jews who protest the film should just get over it - it happened. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | The formal uniform Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officers wear to dinner... 'Mess Kit', I think it's called... uses a pre-tied bowtie! Good gods, now that's shocking. Anybody with a smidgin of taste would know pre-tied bows are beyond the pale. But then the SAF has never been a particularly classy place. But then I've always been a elitist snob. ;) |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | The prize for cheesiest Chinese New Year song must go to the new one which uses the melody from Jingle Bells, and replaces them with mandarin words. I'm not kidding. Try singing it: 'Gongxi ni, gongxi ni, gongxi gongxi niiiiiiii' I was in shock for about 10 seconds when I first heard it. Half my brain was telling 'oh it's a Christmas song' and the other half 'it's Mandarin, it's clearly going Gongxi ni'. Took me a while before both sides compared notes and I realised what was going on. Now, the Chinese have created so many beautiful and exquisitely tasteful things in history... why is it that when it comes to Chinese New Year, all that good taste goes straight down the drain in favour of complete in-your-face crassness? The communist period didn't help either, I suspect. Jan Wong's book ' urlLink Red China Blues ' mentions how the Finnish Embassy in Peking would keep all the hideous official gifts in a special room, dubbed 'the chamber of horrors'. In case you're wondering, it's a great read. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Here's an interesting bit of information. Seems Shanghainese in Hongkong used to dip their prawn crackers in oyster sauce. I tried it for the first time in my life today, and it's not bad, though slightly salty. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Interesting news posts: urlLink Here about those Zhids and urlLink Here - I'll bet they recover only 1 out of 9 tons... the rest being written off as 'lost during recovery'. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | I swear, if I hear any more 'Tong Tong Tong Chiang', I'm going to scream. No wonder suicide rates go up around this time of the year, it's the annoying Chinese New Year music. I'm convinced the constant barrage of questions - 'do you have a girlfriend yet? When are you getting married?' - also contribute to it. Was in the MRT (the Singapore equivalent of the Tube) the other day, and there was that horrible piped music 'tong tong tong chiang'. As if that weren't bad enough, some Ah-Lian (the Singapore equivalent of an Essex Girl) took out her mobile phone and played her ringtone (also 'tong tong tong chiang') in time to the music. Obviously she felt it was the height of coolness. I was practically clawing at the doors and screaming 'LET ME OUT!!!' Woke up at quarter to 11 today, and nearly screamed the house down, realising I'd be late for my 11 coffee-breakfast appointment. Got there at half-past 11 and then Yen called and said he'd be late, finally arriving about 12. Oh, gay boys. It turned out a wonderful day to be sitting at Liat Towers, watching the crowds go by. The crowds, of course, included many extremely fine examples of the 'cute jock' type to which Yen and I are both so fond. These included several ruggers, swimmers and waterpolo players, who all came by to say hi upon noticing me. Ah, yes, it's good to be a venerable old Buddha into whose temple all and sundry feel obliged to enter and burn incense to upon passing. Kerr-Chinh came by at 1 and joined us for lunch (el cheapo from Burger King). Kerr-Chinh I've not seen in some 5 years, since we were both in the same camp back in NS. He's quite a character too, having known me since ACS and ACJC, but we never really hung out. I hadn't realised it was his gang who started the Sailing Club in ACJC, having graduated from ACS and finding no such activity in ACJC. KC quite kindly bought me lunch as an apology for being dreadfully late, even though I protested (not too vigourously, it must be admitted). Since people have been asking me to, I'll try to update this blog more often. Here's another drink recipe for those who also keep asking me for them. Today's drink is Bellini, also known as a Peach Bellini. Invented in Harry's Bar in Venice during the early years of the 20th Century, it's named after the Venetian Settecento (that's 17th Century for you illiterati) painter Bellini. The recipe itself is very simple. Start with White Peaches. White peaches are Chinese in origin, the sort one sees in Chinese paintings, a pale yellow-white with a very pronounced pink blush. They were introduced to the West only with Marco Polo's travels. Puree your white peaches, then strain. 1/3 strained peach puree with 2/3 prosecco (or champagne or any sparkling wine) in a shaker with ice, shake, then serve in tall champagne flutes. The key to this drink is the peaches - they have to be absolutely fresh, and packaged peach juice or peach puree is not to be used. I got quite addicted to this drink last summer when I was working in Florence - it's light, fruity, sparkly and very very classy. Do not try to make it stronger by adding vodka, grappa, peach schnapps or suchlike - it's a fallacy to think double the alcohol, double the fun. Adding too much alcohol merely spoils the taste of the the drink and the balance. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Learned two lessons today. 1) Never trust people simply because you went to school with them. A former schoolmate is now a dentist in a Government polyclinic, and I asked him if he could do some minor work on my teeth. Now, I asked him that since the Government polyclinics have waiting lists of months, and I can't really afford to pay more than public health service prices (Dad's not paying for it, I am), if he could fit me in somewhere. He said he's moonlighting in various private clinics, so I should go look for him there. Which seemed fair enough, and he knew I was asking because I'm not exactly the richest person around. So alright, I go look for him in Toa Payoh this evening, he does two small fillings, we small talk, and then the nurse writes out a bill for $120. Ouch. Talk about being fleeced. There's a saying we have in Cantonese, which works out in Mandarin pinyin (because I have no idea how to enter Chinese into a blog) as Yi2 Ren2 Xin1 Bu4 Ke2 You3, Fang2 Ren2 Xin3 Bu4 Ke2 Wu2 - which works out to literally to 'Suspect People Heart Cannot Have, Defend People Heart Cannot Lack'. It's difficult to translate but it works out to something like 'A heart full of suspicion is bad, but a heart on guard is a necessity'. Expensive lesson, one I shan't be forgetting. 2) As soon as I came out of the Dentist's room, I showed my touched-up front teeth to mum and dad, and we talked about it in Shanghainese, as is our wont when speaking in public and not wishing others to understand or overhear. There's this lady standing at the counter waiting to be served, her head whips over and starts staring at us. It seems she'd just been fleeced before me, and she walks over and asks us how much we're being charged. In FLUENT Wu Language (of which Shanghainese is a version). We nearly fall over and die, as the reason we speak in Shanghainese in public is so no one can follow... anyway, we have some trouble understanding her as she has a thick accent of some sort. She claims she's from Soochow (that's Suzhou for you pinyin nazis), but her accent wasn't a Soochow accent, it was far too country peasant. Lesson? Don't assume no one around understands you when you speak in another language. Follow up to that last bit. Mum (who was born and spent her childhood in Shanghai) recounted the time when she was in Hongkong (this is in the 50s) and in a bus with another Shanghai girl, and this young Indian chap, black as night, sat next to them. The two of them spoke to each other in Shanghainese about how bad he smelled. After all, who would expect an Indian fellow in Hongkong to understand? Later that evening, there was a gathering of airline staff (mum worked for a short while in HK for BOAC, the precursor of British Airways) and guess who was there? Indeed, that very Indian chap, who turned out to be the fiance of the Air India manager, born and bred in Shanghai, the scion of an Indian family that had lived and worked in Shanghai for several generations and had only just come out of Communist-occupied China. Needless to say, he spoke flawless upper-class Shanghainese. Mum was so embarrassed. More later! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Alright, updates coming soon. I can't find the recipe anywhere on the web, so as a service to humanity, here's a recipe for a drink I learned the last time I was in Venice. The name is 'sgropino' - the 's-' prefix meaning 'dis-' and 'grop' meaning 'lump' in Italian. So it works out to something like 'dislumping', and it's meant to be drunk after a heavy rich meal to get rid of that lump in your chest. Place a scoop of lemon sorbeto/sorbet/sherbert in a tall glass, add one measure of grappa or vodka, top up with prosecco (or any sparkling wine). Voila, you have Sgropino. 2 oz Vodka or Grappa 2 cups of Prosecco, Italian sparkling wine or 2 oz Champagne- doesn't matter which, as long as it's not dry stuff. 2 cups lemon gelato/sorbet/sherbert Mix all in a blender for 30 seconds This gives you about 4 servings - or 2 large glasses. I've done variations including substituting various sorts of sherberts - orange, pink grapefruit, mango... then in place of the prosecco, simply using lambrusco or when feeling indulgent, champagne. Honestly, I find lambrusco works better because it's sweeter. One favourite variation so far is Mango sherbert, grappa, pink lambrusco. Oh and Happy New Year. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | But perhaps my favorite example of character creation involves the artificial westernizing of the third-person pronoun. Like other kinds of Chinese, spoken Mandarin has only one third-person personal pronoun (tā). It was traditionally written 他, a character with a person 人 as the radical on the left side. Apparently under the pressure of Western languages, which distinguish 'he,' 'she,' and 'it' Chinese in recent decades have created a new character for tā in the sense of 'she' which replaces the sexually indeterminate person 人 with a 女 woman: 她, gradually restricting 他 to mean specifically 'he.' Another character, originally an alterantive writing for 他, has been pressed into service for tā in the sense of 'it': 它. On the model of 他 and 她, other characters have occasionally been proposed for tā when it refers to an animal 牠 or a god 祂. To the best of my knowledge all of these (except 他 itself) are XXth century creations. The fact that they are in computer fonts suggests how common they have become. Similarly, some sectarians who worship a mother goddess have created an underground glyph made by turning one of the conventional symbols for 'mother' 母 on its side to produce . This is used in sectarian tracts and as a decorative motif to refer to the mother goddess. In recent decades it has been possible to get arrested for writing the character 母 this way. (Don't show this page to a late Imperial or modern Communist official! And don't ask how it got into my computer.) Then there are the obscene characters invented to be scribbled by rude schoolboys on the walls of public johns. An oldish one of these is made by placing the radical 'enter' 入 atop element 'meat' 肉 to produce an obscene graph referring to sexual intercourse 肏. It is somewhat shocking to discover this in the Unicode Consortium's code list; it was certainly not in the original Chinese national standards. The word is pronounced cào, in case you feel like being a rude schoolboy. from a page urlLink on the Chinese Language . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Wanna see some really ugly dresses? Look here at urlLink www.uglydress.com - and urlLink this pair of shoes . Frightening! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Will be writing more musing on Peking and China in a bit, but here're some interesting links, taken from urlLink Lew Rockwell's site mostly: urlLink A Subtle Sound - a peek into Chinese music from a pair of two Chinese Night Market musicians in America. Fascinating - I'm almost tempted to take up Cantonese Music seriously. urlLink Italy's Medici murder plot solved - in 1478, there was an attempt on the lives of heirs of the Medici family in Florence, seems the Pope in Rome was in on it too. Last year when I worked in Florence over summer, giving tours to tourists in the Cathedral, I would recount this story to the horrified tourists as we walked over the appropriate spots. urlLink Roman Water Still On Tap - Archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old water main built by the Romans - which is still working. Now THAT is workmanship. Two more links on Passion: urlLink Passion & Prejudice and urlLink Did Jesus Get Lost In Translation? urlLink The Little Japanese Girl Who is Far Smarter Than George W. Bush and urlLink When In Rome – Who Cares What the Romans Do? - two articles by Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers, who's an American who lives in Tokyo (obviously) and sees the world as the rest of the world sees it, not as Bush and the vast majority of Americans seem to see it. Excellent reading. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Your wings are DRAGON wings. Massive and covered in scales, they shimmer with strength and magic. They are the most obvious display of your power - though it runs equally throughout your heart and mind. You are uncompromising and grave, with a profound sense of justice. You have firm ideas about what is right and what is wrong and set out to fix what problems you can. You realize that you are more capable of dealing with life and evil than most, and as such you see it as your responsibility to protect those who cannot defend themselves. You have existed since antiquity and as such you are wise far beyond your years in this lifetime. While you strive for fairness and peace, if someone should steal from your cave of treasure (though not all that glitters is gold) or compromise the happiness of you or one who is close to you - they have signed their death warrant. You have a mighty vengeance and will unleash it upon such people immediately and mercilessly. Arguing with you is useless...you rarely back down and are known for holding firm in your beliefs. Sometimes you feel intensely burdened with the troubles of others...acting as a Guardian can get so wearisome. But you never give up...you see it as your life's mission. Often very introverted, you can be so smart...it's scary. Such a combination of intelligence, creativity, power, beauty, and magic is often intimidating to those around you - who are also unlikely to understand you. Arrogant, proud, overserious, and sometimes a bit greedy or obsessed with whatever treasure you choose to pursue...you have enchanted people for centuries, and will continue to do so. urlLink *~*~*Claim Your Wings - Pics and Long Answers*~*~* brought to you by urlLink Quizilla |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Haven't blogged in a bit. Arrived in Peking early Monday morning, on business with Dad (who got here 2 days ago). Dad very sagely told me to look out, upon arrival, for him - 'how can you miss me - I'm chinese!'. Yeah. Right. In PEKING airport? First, I've realised urlLink China blocks blogspot.com - I can thus post and edit all I want, but can't read my own posts or or friends' blogs. Slightly annoying. More about it here. On the plane, I was asked 'Noodles or Porridge?' in contrast to western carriers which ask which protein one wishes to have. Curious, because it shows the difference between East and West - in the East, one's starch is considered the primary component of one's meal - the protein bits （when available）being merely accompaniments to it. At the end of the flight, a tinny voice announced, among other things, 'we hope you have enjoyed our in-flight entertainment'. I was certainly entertained by the antics of the mainlanders - a whole flight full of country bumpkins returning to the motherland after a holiday. Bird flu in China? They're not taking any risks. Chicken is entirely unavailable in Peking, and hasn't been for a whole month. One won't find it for sale ANYWHERE. Peking says NO CHICKEN and no chicken is found anywhere. It's one of those things about the Chinese - thousands of years of absolute obedience to the Emperor means when the central government takes reasonable measures, the people obey. It's not some mess like Thailand where sick and dead birds get sold on the cheap secretly. Amusingly enough, Kentucky Fried Chicken gets sold fine here - they've got strict controls and the Mayor of Peking actually checked their farms and ate at their restaurant to show it was fine. Money talks, I imagine. How's business? I'm bored to tears, naturally. Sitting and having to listen to long discussions about satellite capability in Mandarin, spending time with old Communist Party cadres.... is not my idea of an enjoyable time at all. Food's hearty - very oily and very rich, but then that's typical Northern Chinese food. Weather's cold - it's about -7 today. Alright, I've got a free day today. Time to go shopping for fake and pirated goods, and the company driver's taking our Norwegian guests to the Great Wall, so I have to go along to play host. Pictures will be posted when I get back and figure out how to post pictures on a blog. urlLink Lent began on Monday for us Byzantine Christians - Orthodox and Catholic, so I ask the forgiveness of all I have offended or sinned against in this past year. Please forgive me, in order that our Lord may forgive us all, as we sail on the sea of the Great Fast. I can't fast while travelling on business, I'll start when I return this weekend. Here's the Lenten Prayer of St Ephraem, which we say several times a day: O Lord and Master of my life take from me the spirit of sloth faint-heartedness, lust of power and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; for Thou art blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen. A sermon is available urlLink here . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | In case readers from Singapore didn't notice, urlLink yesterday's Straits Times indicated that Passion will open here about 1st April or so, shortly before Holy Week and Easter. WHOOPEE!!!! in other news, urlLink Tina Turner to sing in Sanskrit and Latin for a new film she's acting in. She's playing a Hindu goddess, so I can understand the Sanskrit bit, but Latin??? urlLink This sounds so familiar. Btw, if you don't know that comic, start reading from the beginning! I'm not a fan of the Harry Potter series. Not that I dislike it, I merely don't see what the fuss is all about. However, urlLink this sounds interesting, an Englishman's translating Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone into Ancient Greek. It may just be the thing I need to persuade me to start reading Rowling's stuff. It'll look great next to my Winne the Pooh in Latin and Asterix comics in Ancient Greek and Latin. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Today's pick from urlLink Lew Rockwell urlLink Voltaire: the Adjective Is the Enemy of the Noun Twain: If you catch one, kill it. Article by Ben Yagoda. urlLink Another Propaganda Tale Saddam Hussein didn't use industrial shredders on his enemies. Article by Brendan O'Neill. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | From Serge's site Links on Passion, Mel Gibson's film about Christ: urlLink A News Anchor's Perspective on 'The Passion of the Christ'. Why's the film in Latin and Aramaic? Find out urlLink here . urlLink The Passion and the Talmud - Jewish perspectives on the death of Christ, from their own writings. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink Teacher plans to milk rabbits - and it's not a joke. urlLink Zoo gorillas to be given TVs - to make them think, apparently. If it hasn't worked for Americans, why should it work for gorillas? |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink Viking Kittens - I can't quite explain why I find it funny, but it's bizzare... urlLink Russian family sees aliens! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | 天下有二难登天难求人更难， 人间有二苦黄连苦贫穷更苦， 天下有二险江湖险人心更险， 人间有二薄春冰薄人情更薄; 知其难守其苦测其险忍其薄， 可以处世矣。 Translation: Under heaven are two difficult things: to ascend the sky is difficult, to beg people even more so. In the human realm are two bitter things: Huanglian(1) is bitter, poverty even more so. Under heaven are two dangerous things: Jianghu(2) is dangerous, human hearts even more so. In the human realm are two thin/fragile/false things: spring ice thin/fragile/false, humanity/humankindness even more so. Know these difficulties, bear these bitternesses, foresee these dangers and bearing these falsenesses, Only then can you do great things. (1) Huanglian is a sort of medicine, particularly bitter. (2) Jianghu is the world of itinerant martial artists who go about brawling. it's a bit like the underworld. This came from a piece of calligraphy which hangs at home - it's cynical, but true. The sooner these lessons are learned, the better. I know it's in the crappy simplified characters which i hate, but I'm still learning how to input Chinese into the computer... |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'If' by Bread. I'm a little busy, but here are a few interesting links. urlLink Sex and Violence begins at 12 . A very disturbing article about the state of youth in modern Britain. === urlLink So, like, where exactly is London? - I hope this article is a spoof, but I wouldn't be surprised if it weren't. urlLink Actress: Gibson's Movie Not Anti-Semitic - more on Mel Gibson's film urlLink Passion . I hope it make it to screens in Singapore. ==== urlLink This is an interesting thread: Ebor says: 'Many years ago, a friend of mine observed that protests by animal rights persons like PETA against the use of furs and hides (throwing red paint and such) were aimed at smaller women in fur coats, who probably wouldn't fight back much, rather then a 6'2' biker in leathers. Bullying, I calls it.' I agree, of course. Schultz ' reply was: 'It's funny you bring that up, Ebor, because I was witness to how the PETA folk can cower when faced with their own medicine. While walking in downtown Pittsburgh (near Kaufmann's, Bro Max!) a group of PETA folk were picketing a nearby store that sold furs and actually did do the red paint thing on a passing woman who was probably in her 50s or 60s. She started cussing up a storm at the perpetrator, who told her to go ahead and call the police, he wasn't afraid to go to jail for what he did. That prompted a rather large biker-type, who was easily as tall as I am and 50 pounds heavier (so we're talking 6'5' 300#), dressed in full leathers, to come over and say, 'If you're so against people wearing fur, then throw that &*%$ on me, you little *&##%$! You may not be afraid to go to jail, but are you afraid I'm going to pound your little #@*( into the ground?' The demonstration broke up very soon afterwards and the biker made sure the guy who threw the paint went nowhere until the local constabulary arrived to haul him away.' |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | You're Straight! You're 'the norm.' You aren't special!! Deal with it!! ... well... I guess you're important in the whole 'procreation' thing... which is KINDA important... I guess... Here's a tip, go with bi-curious... even if you aren't... people will actually be interested in your non-specialness. urlLink What is my sexual orientation? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla Yeah, RIGHT. Goes right in line with me getting the bouquet at a lesbian wedding last month... |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | ENFP - 'Journalist'. Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results Warmth |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 90% Intellect |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Emotional Stability |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Aggressiveness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Liveliness ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Dutifulness ||||||||||||||| 50% Social Assertiveness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 90% Artistic Interests |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 90% Paranoia ||||||||||||||| 46% Abstractness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Introversion ||||||||| 30% Anxiety |||||||||||| 38% Openmindedness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 82% Independence ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Perfectionism ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Tension |||||||||||||||||| 54% |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | For years many health professionals have been encouraging us to eat margarine and stay away from that unhealthy, fat-containing, cancer-causing, complexion-ruining, home-wrecking, what more can I say? Butter. BUT, DID YOU KNOW... o Both have the same amount of calories. o Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams. o Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter according to a recent Harvard Medical Study. o Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added. o Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods. o Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less then 100 years. Now for Margarine... o Very high in Trans Fatty Acids. Triple risk of Coronary Heart Disease o Increases total and LDL ( this is the bad cholesterol). Lowers HDL cholesterol and this is the good one. o Increases the risk of cancers by up to five fold. o Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response. And here is the most disturbing fact.... Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE from being PLASTIC...!!!! (This fact alone should have us all avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated. This means Hydrogen is added changing the molecular structure of the food.) Youcan try this yourself. Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or a shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things. No flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it, (that should tell you something) It does not rot, or smell differently...Because it has no nutritional value, nothing will grow on it, even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow...Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast? Have a look at these articles urlLink here and urlLink here and then decide. I've convinced my family to use butter again after years of margarine, and what's the result? We've actually lost 3 kg each (but then we're also following the Hay system of eating which makes us feel better). Butter tastes SO much better than margarine. Hurrah for butter! Use it often and liberally... and rejoice =) |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Try the Myers-Brigg type tests. I got urlLink ENFP for the most part, slightly INFP. More info urlLink here and urlLink here . Also urlLink here and urlLink here . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | You're Soroity Slut Barbie! You're easy and you're really cheesy! Have fun with the entire football team. urlLink If You Were A Barbie, Which Messed Up Version Would You Be? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla Me, Sorority Slut Barbie? Who'd have thought it? You are Form 9, Vampire : The Undying. 'And The Vampire was all that remained on the blood drowned creation. She attempted to regrow life from the dead. But as she was about to give the breath of life, she was consumed in the flame of The Phoenix and the cycle began again.' Some examples of the Vampire Form are Hades (Greek) and Isis (Egyptian). The Vampire is associated with the concept of death, the number 9, and the element of fire. Her sign is the eclipsed moon. As a member of Form 9, you are a very realistic individual. You may be a little idealistic, but you are very grounded and down to earth. You realize that not everything lasts, but you savor every minute of the good times. While you may sometimes find yourself lonely, you have strong ties with people that will never be broken. Vampires are the best friends to have because they are sensible. urlLink Which Mythological Form Are You? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla Uhm, thanks.... Vampire? True, I'm nocturnal and I've excellent sense of style.... You are naturally born with a gift, whether it be poetry, writing or song. You love beauty and creativity, and usually are highly intelligent. Others view you as mysterious and dreamy, yet also bold since you hold firm in your beliefs. urlLink What Type of Soul Do You Have ? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla I swear, that girl looks awful wht that nose ring. It screams 'MOO'. My inner child is sixteen years old! Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while adults might just accept that, I know something's gotta change. And it's gonna change, just as soon as I become an adult and get some power of my own. urlLink How Old is Your Inner Child? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla Ok now this makes more sense. My inner child is 16. Hmm. They say you're only as old as you feel. Some would say Ed's only as old as the boys he feels... |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Kayama' by ATB After acupuncturist session, had a lovely tea buffet of Pekinese dim sum at urlLink Lao Beijing . 'tis one of my regular haunts, as they do a buffet of Northern and Shanghai style stuff such as the Siew Long Pau, meat buns and suchlike... every weekend and public holiday. It's great value , and the food's authentic too. Mum proclaims their Sang Tseen Pau the best she's had since leaving Shanghai in '49. If you think I'm doing a plug for them, you're right - they're good. And it's only $12. Mum's convinced I've inherited her Shanghainese roots... the passion for Shanghainese language and the penchant for Shanghainese food. Shanghainese food has a combination of sour aromatic vinegar and molasses sugar that's addictive. If you're looking for good Shanghainese food in Singapore, I'd recommend two places. One is Old Shanghai at Smith Street in Chinatown. Here's a urlLink review of the place done by someone who obviously doesn't know Shanghainese food and ended up ordering all the wrong dishes. Dishes that are typically Shanghainese there include: Marinated Chekiang Ham Hock, Sugar and Vinegar Pork Ribs, Lion's Head Meatballs, Fried New Year Cake, Wontons in Chilli Oil, anything with Green Beans. The Lion's Head Meatballs are a must-have. If anybody wants to try the place... gimme a call and we'll arrange an outing. It's useful to speak Shanghainese as the boss is Shanghainese and once gave me a table ahead of all the Singaporeans waiting in line... because I spoke to her in Shanghainese (none of the Singaporeans understood) and thus qualified as an 'Tse Ga Nying' or 'own people'. The other is along Liang Seah Street, and is called Xian De Lai. This place does useful 2-6 person lunch sets in the afternoon. At night they do a roaring business in Northern Chinese steamboat, which differs from the Southern version in that they use an excellent spicy soup. Popped down to Bras Basah yesterday after Lao Beijing and picked up a calligraphy brush for small characters (the less flexible a brush is and the more finely-pointed the hairs are, the better for small characters). Also picked up a few practice sheets of absorbent paper. These things are blue, and only a wet brush (no ink) is required on them - the wet bits turn dark blue-black. the sheets dry quickly, so they're very useful for when one cannot be bothered to grind ink. True, ink-grinding's meditative and soothing.. but I'm lazy often. My calligraphy's still crap, but it's getting better! One's calligraphy reflects one's character. Mine's pretty accurate a reflection of my character - messy and erratic and all over the place. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Drewie's Accordes' by an anonymous Elizabethan composer, a duet for two lutes, played by Paul O'Dette and Jakob Lindberg. I've had this chronic pain in my arms every evening for about two weeks, pure fire from the fingertips of the last three fingers of both hands to the elbow. I've an appointment with NUH Neurology this wed, but till then I'm on painkillers that don't seem to work. Sometimes I wake up from the pain and can't sleep. What's really weird is when the arms hurt and the left leg twitches too. One night my parents were worried cos I woke up screaming. Let's not forget those strange raised bumps on my hands and feet that appear in the evenings and disappear by noon... they're like mosquito bites, but sore in addition to itching in a most vexatious fashion. For weeks I thought I had a mosquito problem in my room, but there's no reason they'd concentrate on palms of my hands and soles of my feet and not bother with other softer fleshier bits where the skin's thinner. Mum and I think they're allergic reactions of some sort - the sore bumps are almost symmetrical on right and left limbs. My lower back pain from the hunting injury years ago is also back to bother me. At this point I'm beginning to feel like Molière's La Malade Imaginaire (The Hypochondriac)... I can just hear Charpentier's overture playing in the background... So alright, things were getting a tad out of hand (ha ha). Parents and I figured while waiting for NUH neurology, it couldn't hurt getting a Chinese physician's opinion on the matter. So we found one in Chinatown, and he agreed it seemed a matter for the neurologist. Meanwhile, he'd do some Chi-clearing to help smoothen the flow of the Chi and give me some herbs to help soothe the system. Oh, and he'd also do a bit of acupuncture. So there I lay on a table, with 4 needles in my neck and upper back, one in the left forearm and another in my left thigh. No, insertion of the needles didn't hurt at all. The doc twiddles with them and twaddles the ends a bit, then attaches an electric current to the needles. A curious throbbing tickling ensues, and a warm sensation around the needles. I fall asleeep for half an hour and wake up with the pain in my arms and back gone. The doc gives me some herbal concoction in a bottle, with directions to drink 10ml thrice daily, and to take some herbal pills (with sugar coating). The concoction tastes appallingly bad, and Dad assures me that old Chinese believe good medicine never tastes good, so they intentionally make it smell and taste horrid. I'm a believer in acupuncture now. It is important to understand that Acupuncture (and Traditional Chinese Medicine in general), is not 'folk medicine'. It is a highly developed, systematic, recorded, researched, and peer reviewed form of medicine with several disciplines that continues to evolve. It has a massive amount of real-world data to justify the application of techniques based on several thousand years of human trials. Throughout the world, lay-persons have adopted the techniques far more readily that scientists because they do not have to understand how it works to take advantage of it. From janitors to high-profile quarterbacks, the word is out... it's cheap, it's painless, and most importantly... it works. What happened after? The raised welts came back at night, but far fewer and far less irritating. There wasn't much pain. When pain goes, I'm not really bothered where it's gone. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | A friend tells me he got 3595 on one of them. What do you know, I'm not the only one who needs a life! =) |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Ok this is getting silly. I got up to 508 on this danish urlLink site . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | 2702 on urlLink this site . Ok, I think i'm officially addicted. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Try this urlLink link too - seems the highest score there is 593.5 ... |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'Tell Me Why' by Paul van Dyk. My Caledonian online acquaintance Angela's passed me urlLink this url . It's very very addictive. The highest I've scored is 321. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'About Us' by Christophe Goze, from his 'Show Me The Way' album. Interesting, from that amorphous genre known as 'lounge'. Housework is immensely fulfilling - the feeling that I'm actually doing something is therapeutic. What I don't understand is where the dust that accumulates on our floors comes from. We don't open the windows that much, so I can't figure out whence this dirt comes. I'm convinced there's a colony of gnomes living in the house that sets to work every night after we go to bed, gleefully sprinkling dust and dirt out of their little magic bags onto our floors while humming a merry tune. I can just picture them all having a little chuckle and rushing back into their hideouts before we awaken. Soundtrack: 'Two Princes' by Spin Doctors. I've been trying to figure out why I have a distinct aversion to the genre of music known as 'Rhythm and Blues', or 'RnB' for short. For a long time I hadn't a clue what it was, thinking it was vaguely similar to Blues, of which I'm quite fond. Then I actually heard some and an instant dislike developed. For a while I thought I didn't like the 'blackness' of the sound, then upon further analysis, this didn't work, as I love Jazz and African ethnic music. Was it simply the noise level? Impossible, as I'm fine with Trance. Then it struck me - I hate rap for the same reason. It's the level of black american gangster 'feel' in the music. There's a certain barbaric quality about it that I don't like. The glorification of violence, anti-intellectualism and cheapening of the sexual act in that 'culture (even to call it 'culture' is to be generous)... not to mention the bad manners... go against all that I hold dear and stand for. Perhaps I think too much. I'm certain that in Heaven there will be much Jazz, Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Palestrina, Josquin and Dufay... but absolutely no 'gangsta rap' or RnB. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | I came across this newspaper article from a respectable paper which I felt had to be shared with everyone here... ENJOY! --- 'Rings' characters discuss Oscar snub by Molly J. Ringwraith Jan. 27, 2004 MINAS TIRITH (AP) – The city of Minas Tirith has been abuzz today over the news that 'The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King,' while receiving 11 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, did not receive any nominations for acting. 'Eleven nominations?' said Pippin Took, of the Shire. 'Well, that's good news.' His friend Meriadoc Brandybuck responded by swatting him over the head with the newspaper and protesting, 'But the cast is a part of this movie! Aren't they?' Their kinsman Frodo Baggins shared Brandybuck's dismay. Upon reading the list of nominations, Baggins commented with an ironic chuckle, 'They've left out one of the chief characters: the cast. I want to hear more about them.' Waxing solemn and soulful, he added, 'The movie wouldn't have got far without the cast.' 'You almost don't want to watch the awards ceremony,' contributed Baggins' gardener and loyal valet, Samwise Gamgee, 'because how can it be happy? How can the awards go right when so much bad has been nominated? Folks in that Academy had lots of chances of voting for these actors, only they didn't.' Legolas Greenleaf, of the Mirkwood realm, commented somewhat cryptically on the Academy's choices, 'A red sun rises. Lame decisions have been made this night.' When asked to clarify his opinion, he told reporters that he had not the heart, for the grief was still too near, and retired for a walk in the forest. His companion, Gimli son of Gloin, had sharper remarks to make upon the chosen nominees. 'Mystic River? What madness drew them there? You'll find more cheer in a graveyard!' But wizard Gandalf the White urged a more optimistic approach. 'Do not be too eager to deal out Oscars in judgement,' he advised. 'That is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the Oscars we are given.' Meanwhile, his colleague Saruman the formerly-White was in favor of retaliation against the Academy: 'Too long have those peasants stood against us,' Saruman said, referring to the Academy's failure to give any fantasy film the Best Picture Oscar yet. 'Leave none alive! To war! There will be no dawn for film critics!' Treebeard, of the Ents, told reporters after much deliberation and exchanging of long names, that he was in agreement with this proposed course of action. 'There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men for this treachery,' he declared. 'My business is with Beverly Hills tonight. With heads made of cotton candy and rock.' 'I do not doubt their hearts,' Eomer of Rohan conceded. 'Only the size of their brains.' He then returned to the task of loading up forty of his men and horses with toilet paper and Maps to the Stars' Homes, for a 'secret midnight mission' that he regretted he could not give details about. At least one individual, calling himself Smeagol, claimed to be making plans to steal the Oscar statuettes. 'Oscar is sooo pretty, sooo golden,' said Smeagol. 'We will take the statuesss once the Hollywood snobses are dead! Ye-esss, precious!' He then quickly added, groveling at the feet of reporters, 'No! No! We were only joking! Smeagol wouldn't hurt a fly! Nice movie industry.' He crawled away before he could be questioned further. Still others appeared not to care about the snub. Lady Eowyn of Rohan said with a shrug, 'The women of this country learned long ago that those without Oscar nominations may still get dates to awards ceremonies. I fear neither critics nor fans.' Lord Boromir, a native of Minas Tirith, dismissed the concerns, claiming, 'Gondor has no actors. Gondor needs no actors.' But overall the mood was one of mild disgust. As Lord Aragorn put it to reporters, 'The day may come when the Academy is able to find their ass with a flashlight. But this is not that day.' |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: 'For an Angel' by Paul van Dyk Warning, skip the next paragraph if you're not in the mood to wade through a mishmash of Mediaeval Latin, Greek and some Italian. Οιμοι κακοδαιμον... Ω Ζευ, εισακουσον μου! Quare dabes me multas curas? Est puer (un bellissimo raggazo... natator, naturalmente, μετα καλλιστος πυγος but i digress). Ονομα αυτου Αλβινος... et magna cura est hic puer, quia εταιροι cogitat σε ερωταω, και ενος των εταιρων αυτων σημαινει μοι... λεγων οτι melior me stare verberatis super eum. non totalmente innocens sum, naturalmente, sed non nunc super eum verbero! Fatuus est... cogitare possibile est me conquassare et timere. Est alter puer, sed nunc non dicabo περι αυτου... ACJC's Rashomon went well-ish, but whoever designed the sets and costumes needs to look a lot closer at Japanese aesthetics before attempting to set something in Japan again. Someone has to tell the set designer that lots of Red is not Japanese, but extremely Chinese. Red and Black. Tres Chinoiserie. The entire thing looked like something out of urlLink Hero . Next, not everybody wears identical kimonos in Japan - Samurai and most men in mediaeval Japan wore urlLink Hakame , a sort of trousers. urlLink This is how they're worn. There were three huge tacky red banners and the central one had the characters for Ra-sho-mon on them. Trust an AC production to also get the Chinese characters (the Japanese call them Kanji or Chinese Characters) wrong - they missed out a stroke, and the whole calligraphy was appallingly bad. This coming from a lover of Chinese calligraphy who tries very hard to get the strokes right but still can't quite wield a brush properly... but at least I can tell when it looks good, and I suspect my own calligraphy would've been better. Can't say I'm a huge fan of modern styles of theatre, but then I'm classically trained, so what else can one expect? Watched urlLink Last Samurai on Sunday afternoon. Excellent, first time I've cried at a film since...Joy Luck Club, if I recall correctly. It's one of the most beautifully crafted films I've seen in a long time. Most urlLink reviewers seem to like it. Monday was a public holiday, a Mahometan festival. I went over to where Ten Yeen (my harpsichordist and accompanist) lives, far in the East of the island, to go thru some songs by Noël Coward. Ten Yeen lived and worked in Thailand for some years, and she brought back some lovely Burmese and Thai sarongs and fishermen's trousers. she gave me one of those urlLink fishermen's trousers - extremely comfortable, in grey cotton. How're they worn? urlLink Like so . I took a fancy to a sarong that was of blue-grey material and had black borders top and bottom. She said she'd let me have it if I'd wear it out. So I did. I spent the rest of the afternoon in Holland Village and in town, in a dark blue teeshirt and what was effectively a skirt. Friends I hung out with couldn't get used to it. a few stares, a few raised eyebrows... a surprising number of approving smiles. I suspect if one wears it with confidence... Oh, and it's extremely comfortable. Curiously, it felt liberating and a very new experience. It didn't feel feminine at all, oddly. Well, maybe because it is so not a question of sexual preference or identity. I don't have any straight friends with balls enough to wear a sarong (yet an ex boyfriend of mine's gone out in one before, and he's more masculine than most straight guys). Besides, it’s unisex, stupid — if all it takes to make you question your sexual identity is a garment, you've got more questions than I can answer, RuPaul. See, the thing about wearing a sarong is that, as a man, you have to have a certain confidence, a certain arrogance. You must be absolutely secure in your manhood — flat out — or it won't come off well. You'll look like a man in a skirt: clumsy, misplaced and utterly ridiculous. In a wrap, whatever where-with-all you have as a man is up for scrutiny: you've created an artificial vulnerability that requires strength to secure. Plainly speaking, a man in a sarong projects an audacity and demands a respect that khakis don't. Fact is, you might not be man enough to pull it off. Curious? Have a look at this urlLink website that sells skirts for men. Not half bad looking. For more information, visit this urlLink site . Had a haircut yesterday, so I now have short blue hair. Quite an interesting look. Spent the afternoon and early evening with Yen. Marcus Goh came along and joined me for dinner after Yen left... Kenn Chia also had dinner with us and all three of us had a drink at the Hilton's bar afterwards. Caveat - don't order Caipiriñas at Hilton - the bartender doesn't know how to make it properly. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Shark eyes! Ahh! You are quite an aggressive person, and if you want something you'd be sure to get it! You're persistent that way! When you 'smell the blood,' you make sure you find where it's coming from. That's what makes your senses sharp. You can take things a little too far though. Your aggression can cause you do to other things. Don't let it do that. You're cool enough as it is! urlLink What Animal Eyes Do You Have? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory! Here is how you matched up against all the levels: Level Score urlLink Purgatory (Repenting Believers) Very High urlLink Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers) Very Low urlLink Level 2 (Lustful) High urlLink Level 3 (Gluttonous) High urlLink Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious) Very Low urlLink Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy) Moderate urlLink Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics) Very Low urlLink Level 7 (Violent) High urlLink Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers) High urlLink Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous) Low Take the urlLink Dante's Inferno Hell Test |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Whoa, whoa, whoa! You are a psycho! Why would you kill someone? Because you're a psycho, that's why. You find fun in torturing others, although you wouldn't call it torturing. You probably have your own special name for it. You have a strange sense of humor, and people might consider you 'different.' If you're not an assassin already, you most likely hurt animals or lizards. This is a bad sign. I hope you get mental help before we see your face onAmerica's DEFINITELY Most Wanted. urlLink WHY Would You KILL Someone? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla FINALLY SOME QUIZ THAT SOUNDS LIKE ME |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Justice and Morality: You believe in doing what is right for others and maybe even for yourself. People would consider you one with good morals, and someone who would not let them down. urlLink Which Characteristic From the Samurai Code Matches You Best? (You may find out your best trait) brought to you by urlLink Quizilla That's a funny one. Me, good morals? |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | To find out how stressed you are, try the urlLink Dolphin Stress Test . It's quite revealing. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink Monks hope to retrieve sacred bells - Stalin stole a set of bells from the Danilov Monastery at the height of the persecution of religion in Russia and sold them to an American businessman who donated them to Harvard. The monks have repopulated the monastery and would like their bells back now... let's hope Harvard gives them back! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink create your own visited countries map or urlLink check out these Google Hacks. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | 1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve? Probably pan-medeterranean - Levantine, Turkish, Italian, Greek... though Cantonese-Shanghainese is a possibility. 2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell? Antiquarian and Rare books! Also interesting baked items for snacking while browsing the grimoires. 3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be? P.G. Wodehouse in Byzantium 4. ...ran a school, what would you teach? Music, literature, Greek, Latin, rhetoric, manners, dance, swordsmanship, archery, hunting, theology. I'd also hire an instructor for Classical Chinese (history, language and literature), Chinese music, Chinese calligraphy and Asian culture. 5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it? An assortment of Renaissance, Mediaeval, Folk and 'world' music. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | You have a mysterious kiss. Your partner never knows what you're going to come up with next; this creates great excitement and arousal never knowing what to expect. And it's sure to end in a kiss as great as your mystery. urlLink What kind of kiss are you? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla Mysterious eh? Hm. urlLink What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!) brought to you by urlLink Quizilla Aladdin??? Yeah, gimme a rub and a magic genie pops right out... |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | In my not so humble opinion, you, of course, belong in the Picture of Dorian Gray, and do not try to deny it. You belong in the fashionable circles of Victorian London where exotic tastes, a double life, decadence, wit and a hypocritical belief in moral betterment make you a home. You belong where the witty apothegms of Lords, the silly moralities of matrons, the blinding high of opium, and the beauty of visual arts mingle to form one convoluted world. urlLink Which Classic Novel do You Belong In? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla now THAT is interesting. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Once upon a time there were two Irishmen walking through a forest looking for work. Suddenly one of them saw a sign nailed to an old oak: 'Tree fellers wanted'. 'Pity there's only two of us', said Paddy, as they wandered off. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink A Topic of Dispute in Islam: Music - this is quite fascinating. It's only one view, of course, but still disturbing. In contrast, Christianity (with the exception of heretical movements) has always encouraged the arts and been a patron of music - look at all those composers who worked for the Church. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink Dihydrogen Monoxide - read this, VERY IMPORTANT. Then, read urlLink this . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Curriculum Vitae. What does one do when one's vita is so full of stuff it looks unbelievable? Professional ones advise not going over 2 pages, unless one is middle-aged and has held more than one major post. Academic ones on the other hand, are as full of detail as possible. Arts and Music ones are likewise stuffed with detail. I've got a good 6 pages, and it's not like I'm including my Presidency of the Gardening Club in primary school. Doing a C.V.'s great fun, if a lot of work. I've gotten a much better picture of what I've been doing this last decade, thanks to this systematic (vaguely) listing down of achievements and movements. I've also had mum remind me to include several things I've been doing, things I'd completely forgotten about. Want a look? urlLink Email me and I'll send it over! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | A silly friend today described me as a 'Beacon of Love'. I suspect 'Bacon of Love' would be far closer to the truth right now. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | So we've got KMT supporters of Lien Chan 連戦 camping all over Taipei, demanding a recount of the votes (KMT lost by a razor-thin margin and there were an unusual number of votes declared spoiled). TV coverage is extensive, and I was amused by a young lady who said that Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁 and Lee Teng-hui 李登輝 must be up to something, calling them both 老贼 or 'old crooks'. What's particularly amusing is how nurses at the hospital where Chen was taken after the 'shooting' were told earlier in the morning that someone important was going to arrive in the afternoon and that they were to make sure the place was extra clean and presentable. Anybody smell something fishy? |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | My, my, I just found that an Armenian friend of mine, who now lives in Persia (Tehran to be exact), has changed his surname because his Armenian surname of Kirakosian is an unspeakable crudity in Persian. I won't elaborate, but imagine an Armenian with the name Pusidikian in America and you've got a vague idea of what it's about. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Not too long ago a scientist tried to clone himself. However, his clone was very obnoxious and lewd, while the scientist was well received and respected. Finally fed up with his experiment gone wrong, he threw his clone off the roof of the laboratory; killing the clone. He was arrested by the local police for... making an obscene clone fall. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | 英雄所見略同 - a Chinese proverb, literally 'heroes who meet agree', something along the lines of 'great minds think alike. 三人寄れば文珠の知恵。 - A Japanese proverb this time! the transliterated Japanese is San nin yoreba monju no chie , which means “three people together have the wisdom of a Buddha”; or as we would say in English, “two heads are better than one”. A related proverb plays on the fact that the Chinese character for kashimashii (“noisy, clamourous”) is made up of three small versions of the character for “woman”: 女三人寄れば姦しい。 Or Onna san nin yoreba kashimashii (“where three women gather, there is a noisy clamor”). As Kittredge Cherry points out in her book Womansword: What Japanese Words Say About Women : Of all the characters imported from China, [kashimashii] is almost always the first example that springs to mind when linguistic sex discrimination is discussed. Three women add up to a sin worse than noise when the same character is pronounced kan. This spells wickedness or mischief, and it can be stretched into the verb form kansuru, meaning to seduce, assault, or rape. The hidden corollary to the kashimashii character is that a trio of men getting together is nothing remarkable. There is no character composed of three male ideograms. In fact, the male symbol almost never appears as a component of other characters. Other words reinforce the concept that women can cause a hubbub. In old Japan, the most likely spot for women to gather was beside the well (idobata) where they drew water and washed clothes, so the term “well-side conference” (idobata kaigi) is still used to describe a group of gossiping women. The word for chatterbox (oshaberi), which literally means “honorable talker,” is almost always used to describe—or put down—a woman. Gossip is considered something women do, while there are few similarly derogatory terms for men who babble about trivial topics. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | You are the San Damiano Cross: Rich in symbolism, this cross was first painted in the twelfth century gathering images from the Gospel of John. Christ is the central figure and is surrounded by the angles, the apostles and the Virgin Mary. The cross became well known because it was the cross in front of which St. Francis was praying when he received the call to rebuild the Church. urlLink What Kind of Cross are You? brought to you by urlLink Quizilla |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Soundtrack: Kyrie from Missa Pange Lingua by Josquin Desprez. This has to be the most exquisitely beautiful Renaissance polyphonic mass ever written, and based on the haunting Pange Lingua Hymn for Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi. Close runners up are Antoine Brumel's Missa Et Ecce Terrae Motus and Cristóbal De Morales' Missa Mille Regretz . Ripping my old CDs, which haven't been listened to in years, I find so much music I'd not listened to for so long. The sound of music that filled my life in happier and more carefree years washes over me and I find myself feeling much better than I have in a long time. I'm currently listening to the Tallis Scholars sing Missa Pange Lingua by Josquin Desprez, and an assortment of memories fill my mind: The way I was enthralled by this mass at the age of 13 when I first discovered it and how I memorised the Soprano part by ear, hoping to sing it one day. Finding and buying the score in Sydney while ACS Choir was on tour in Australia, and trying to convince Grace Lo, the then conductor, to let us sing it. How I finally realised my voice had broken - I could no longer do the melismatic passages in the Credo of the mass smoothly and without my voice cracking. How I heard this mass performed twice in a day, on Corpus Christi no less- in the Chapel of King's College Cambridge during an Anglican morning Eucharist and then in Westminster Cathedral, London, in the evening during a Sung High Mass (I travelled from Cambridge to London in between). How I made a friend in a London pub one quiet afternoon by absentmindedly humming an extract from the mass while making my way from the bar counter to my seat and one chap yelled out 'MISSA PANGE LINGUA!'. Turns out he'd conducted that mass with a choir in San Diego. How I was thrilled to discover intabulated versions of movements from the mass for lute - by Fuenllana, Valderrabano, Dalza, Narvaez... and how some of them are fiendishly difficult to play on lute, but how I still try. I STILL want to perform this mass one day. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | I've come to the conclusion that keeping a blog's easier than keeping a homepage. This it is, that my website (not updated since 1999) will be redesigned (when I get round to it) to serve as subsidiary links for my blog. I'm playing around with the html for the blog, and it feels just like when I started working on the html for my website back in 1996. I've just added a tagboard for friends who drop in and want to leave a note =) |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Dammit, urlLink Chen Shui-bian won the election . By a razor margin. This is not good, Chen's victory is a worst-case scenario for China. He's the man who wishes to seperate the rebel province from China. Lien Chan, the KMT candidate, is calling for a recount urlLink here . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | over dinner one evening sometime this week: (conversation progresses in a slightly ribald fashion) Friend: Self-knowledge is a good thing. Ed: Really, I'm glad you realise. So how often do you know yourself? Friend: Not as often as one would like. (and the conversation pauses) |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Oh. I forgot to mention. A few weeks ago, when Bruce and I went to Chinablack for a drink, the chaps at the door insisted on checking my photo identification. I happened not to have anything with my age and picture on it (I've not looked 18 for over a decade), and the doormen wouldn't let me in. Uh. I don't look below 18, no amount of wishful thinking will make it so. Oddly, Bruce didn't get checked, and he's just 19! Very very bizzare. I got in eventually anyway. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | You are Homer! An epic poet circa 800 B.C., Homer is the expression of the ancient Greek ideal. His characters embark upon long and wordy quests and engage in battles of heroic length. Monsters are slain and cities are razed. Fun and glory all around! urlLink Which famous poet are you? (pictures and many outcomes) brought to you by urlLink Quizilla HURRAH!!!!!!!! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Hsiu-lien Lu Injured While Campaigning.: President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Hsiu-lien Lu were shot today at approximately 1:45 p.m. while campaigning in Tainan City. At a Presidential Office press conference, Secretary-General to the President Chiou I-jen said that the president was wounded in the belly and that the vice president was hit in the right knee. The injuries are not life-threatening, and both candidates are fully conscious. They were taken to Tainan's Cimei Hospital for treatment. In case readers weren't aware, Taiwan's elections are tomorrow. Those of us who know Taiwanese politics will know that Ah-Bian (Chen Shui-bian's nickname) and his Vice President Annette Lu (死臭婊子- pardon the crudity but it's true) is fully capable of staging a stunt like this. Christian charity forbids me to say where exactly I think both of them should received the bullets, and how many more they ought to have received, for their disgraceful efforts to split Taiwan from China. More on Ah-Bian's stunt urlLink here and urlLink here . |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Fnord is evaporated herbal tea without the herbs. Fnord is that funny feeling you get when you reach for the Snickers bar and come back holding a slurpee. Fnord is the 43 1/3rd state, next to Wyoming. Fnord is this really, really tall mountain. Fnord is the reason boxes of condoms carry twelve instead of ten. Fnord is the blue stripes in the road that never get painted. Fnord is place where those socks vanish off to in the laundry. Fnord is an arcade game like Pacman without the little dots. Fnord is a little pufflike cloud you see at 5pm. Fnord is the tool the dentist uses on unruly patients. Fnord is the blank paper that cassette labels are printed on. Fnord is where the buses hide at night. Fnord is the empty pages at the end of the book. Fnord is the screw that falls from the car for no reason. Fnord is why Burger King uses paper instead of foam. Fnord is the little green pebble in your shoe. Fnord is the orange print in the yellow pages. Fnord is a pickle without the bumps. Fnord is why ducks eat trees. Fnord is toast without bread. Fnord is a venetian blind without the slats. Fnord is the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in Fnord's navel. Fnord is an apostrophe on drugs. Fnord is the bucket where they keep the unused serifs for H*lvetica. Fnord is the gunk that sticks to the inside of your car's fenders. Fnord is the source of all the zero bits in your computer. Fnord is the echo of silence. Fnord is the parsley on the plate of life. Fnord is the sales tax on happiness. Fnord is the preposition at the end of sixpence. Fnord is the feeling in your brain when you hold your breath too long. Fnord is the reason latent homosexuals stay latent. Fnord is the donut hole. Fnord is the whole donut. Fnord is an annoying series of email messages. Fnord is the color only blind people can see. Fnord is the serial number on a box of cereal. Fnord is the Universe with decreasing entropy. Fnord is a naked woman with herpes simplex 428. Fnord is the yin without yang. Fnord is a pyrotumescent retrograde onyx obelisk. Fnord is why lisp has so many parentheses. Fnord is the the four-leaf clover with a missing leaf. Fnord is double-jointed and has a cubic spline. Fnord never sleeps. Fnord is the 'een' in baleen whale. Fnord is neither a particle nor a wave. Fnord is the space in between the pixels on your screen. Fnord is the guy that writes the Infiniti ads. Fnord is the nut in peanut butter and jelly. Fnord is an antebellum flagellum fella. Fnord is a sentient vacuum cleaner. Fnord is the smallest number greater than zero. Fnord lives in the empty space above a decimal point. Fnord is the odd-colored scale on a dragon's back. Fnord is the redundant coin slot on arcade games. Fnord was last seen in Omaha, Nebraska. Fnord is the founding father of the phrase 'founding father'. Fnord is the last bit of sand you can't get out of your shoe. Fnord is Jesus's speech advisor. Fnord keeps a spare eyebrow in his pocket. Fnord invented the green hubcap. Fnord is why doctors ask you to cough. Fnord is the 'ooo' in varooom of race cars. Fnord uses two bathtubs at once. I cannot escape them No matter how I try They wait for me everywhere I cannot pass them by. Driving down the street I see 'Jesus Is Lord' And then immediately after I hear the word 'FNORD!' Innocuous sayings and parables And on the evening news I hear the word 'FNORD!' And suddenly I'm confused I sit alone in my room And I'm feeling rather bored I turn on the tube and guess what I hear the word 'FNORD!' 'Don't see the fnords and they won't eat you' That's what I've heard the wisemen say But I can't get away from those beasties There's just no fucking way. I believe I found these on urlLink alt.discordia |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | ‘It’s amazing. I could never slice bread straight before I had this laser treatment on my eyes.’ ‘Now let me do the talking.’ ‘Oh no, those two always cause a scene.’ |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Current object of sartorial lust - a urlLink cloak . I want a nice black woolen cloak. Wool, for use in winter - it'd replace an overcoat. Full-circle, then I can ride and raise my arms and it'd still cover me. Black, because it'd work with black-tie or tailcoat and be elegant enough for night, yet be wearable during the day too. With a silver clasp, not too elaborate, but elaborate enough to look period. With a hood, because a hood is useful - if I get one without a hood, the time will come when I wish I had one - be it for inclement weather or anonymity. Great for period re-enactment stuff too! There are some other gorgeous cloaks urlLink here - dammit, I want them all! |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Dad says when he was a child in Borneo (now Sabah), during the War and right after, when everyone was starving, no one thought to eat the plentiful lobsters that lived around the coastline - it was simply not an animal that was eaten in those days. Gosh. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | It has been said that there are as many cattle in New Zealand as there are Singaporeans in Singapore. I suspect the cattle are, on the whole, more intelligent than the average Singaporean. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | My friend Royston made an amusing post the other day, and I've cleaned up the grammar for you chaps, my own comments on his thoughts follow: cute boys tend to be stupid. Quite. Look at all the dumb cute jocks in my life. clever cute boys tend to be sluts. Oh boy, don't get me started. But then plenty of the dumb ones are awflly slutty too. decent clever cute boys tend to have issues, e.g. depression. Oh yeah. OH YEAH. Brat Prince comes to mind. Together with all the rest of the screwballs in my life. I don't know why, but Rafflesians have always been trouble for me. decent clever cute boys with no issues don't exist . They live in the land of Prester John, I'm convinced of it. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | from urlLink Rogue Classicism and urlLink Dappled Things , I find there is now a proper page for Vatican Radio's urlLink The Latin Lover . The show features a weekly chat with Fr Reginald Foster, perhaps one of the best Latinists since the Renaissance and chief Latinist to the Pope of Rome. The urlLink most recent offering is a 'virtual whistle-stop tour' of Julius Caesar's old stomps, in honor of the Ides of March. They make a tour of the urlLink Area Sacra of Rome -- an area of four temples of uncertain dedication. What's interesting is they associate the area with Julius Caesar and identify where Caesar was assassinated, among other things. This radio show is a great way to pick up vignettes of Roman history, Catholic culture, and some handy bits of Latin. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | from urlLink Dappled Things : urlLink Metrosexuals on the Rise -- 'Metrosexual' men beat girls at grooming: 'Metrosexual' man is on the increase, with men spending more time on personal grooming than women, according to research. A report by Datamonitor shows that over the past five years, men's grooming time has increased to an average of 3.1 hours a week - compared to the average woman's 2.5 hours. The report, which examines trends affecting the European market in grooming products, reveals changing attitudes in men towards looking after themselves.... Or, as someone told me the other day, 'Well, Father, you know the Lord said to become as little children. Moisturizers and anti-wrinkle serum are my way of doing that.' Hard to argue with that. I don't know about you, but I detest the word Metrosexual - the English language already has enough words for men who spend too much time looking in the mirror. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | urlLink urlLink which edward ii-era historical figure are you? this quiz was made by urlLink Caitlin That's not very comforting. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Gilded putti, ecstatic saints, marble and gold, grandeur and beauty. I'm baroque. urlLink urlLink which art movement are you? this quiz was made by urlLink Caitlin 'Baroque Art emerged in Europe around 1600 as an reaction against the intricate and formulaic Mannerist style which dominated the Late Renaissance.' (artcyclopedia.com.) Baroque Art is fairly realistic but is often willing to smudge the realism in favor of theatricality and the emotional pull that is its trademark. You're most likely a creative, talented emotional person who likes attention. Although it could all just be a show. Famous Baroquers (there are lots): Rembrandt, Rubens, Caravaggio, and You. That's odd, because while I love Baroque art, it's not my favourite period. I much prefer Renaissance, Romanesque and Byzantine. Perhaps those options weren't available in the quiz. Either that or I'm just one hell of a drama queen. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Hilarious. The full deck may be found at urlLink http://www.reseauvoltaire.net/bushregimedeck.html |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | I have a particular love for the urlLink Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo , because they have a glorious urlLink history , urlLink beautiful churches , and they've been suffering under the rule of the Albanian terrorists supported by Nato and America. In case you didn't realise, Kosovo is Serbian holy ground, and the cradle of Serbian civilisation, not Albanian land. The Serbian Christians left there now are being urlLink crucified in their native land. Their stunningly beautiful ancient churches are being urlLink destroyed , cause for concern to all who value the Faith and to those who love history and art. urlLink Here 's an article on the art of the monasteries and why the Albanians focus their destructive attempts on religious sites. This is not a random series of bombings - it's urlLink systematic destruction . If would care to see the destruction wreaked upon their churches, have a look here: urlLink Destruction of Icons , urlLink Destruction of Churches . The images there may disturb sensitive souls, that's why I've not linked them as pictures. The Cross of Christ is under attack - this should be of concern to every Christian, whatever his jurisdiction or tradition. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | From urlLink Serge : Anonymous submission Forwarded from the long-running, well-known urlLink Eastern Orthodox ‘Indiana List’ on the sufferings of the Church of Serbia in Kosovo. urlLink Kristallnacht all over again www.b92.net B92, Belgrade March 17, 2004 UN administrators flee 'Kristallnacht' B92 PRISTINA -- Wednesday - UN administrators have abandoned offices in the Kosovo towns of Gnjilane, Prizren and Pec, fleeing what one UNMIK official described to B92 as 'Kristallnacht'. 'Kristallnacht is under way in Kosovo,' the official told B92 on condition of anonymity. 'What is happening in Kosovo must unfortunately be described as a pogrom against Serbs: churches are on fire and people are being attacked for no other reason than their ethnic background,' he added. Serbs and UN officers have been the target of attacks by Kosovo Albanians during most of the day and night. The most dramatic withdrawal was from Belo Polje on the outskirts of Pec, where UNMIK officials, retreating with Serb residents, where forced to shoot Albanian assailants in self-defence. The Serbian Orthodox seminary in Pec has been razed, and Albanians celebrated its destruction by setting fire to the local church., said the UN official. Anonymous submitter: Please ask your ’blog readers for their intercession. And thus it continues - shame on Nato and America for giving this bit of Christendom santified by the blood of countless martyrs under the crescent of Mahomet over to Albanian Muslim forces. The native Orthodox Church of the region is being persecuted to the ground and the Cross of Christ trodden underfoot - churches and monasteries that survived 600+ years of Turkish Mahometan domination are being destroyed daily by the Albanian terrorists who now rule the region. It is the duty of all Christians to at least say a prayer for the Church of Kosovo, if not go physically to their aid. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Jonathan was reading urlLink this bit of my blog a few minutes ago and asked 'what does cojones mean?'. How does one explain these things... It's Spanish for 'testicles'. I just did a urlLink Cojones Test , and the result: How gutsy are you? Your score = 80 If there's one thing you've got, it's GUTS! According to your responses to the test questions, nothing scares you...or you are simply able to conquer your fears and take the plunge in most risky situations. In fact, you seem to have a bit of a daredevil streak, and get a thrill out of living on the edge. While being gutsy is certainly a valuable characteristic that can get you far in life, it can also get you into some very sticky predicaments. Make sure you use your head and look before you leap! 80%? Yikes. |
2,383,328 | male | 26 | indUnk | Virgo | 02,August,2004 | Spent last evening with Paul and a few of his friends at Muddy Murphy's, which was celebrating St Patrick's day. Lots of Guinness, Kilkenny's and suchlike, good company - lovely. Had lunch today with 'cousin' Howard, who's looking better every time I see him. 'twas nice seeing him again and catching up. I'm glad he's mentally older than his age of 17 going on 18 this year, and doesn't react badly to my rakish escapades. He's a sweetie. He's done with debates (if that's at all possible) and is back to swimming training, hoping to swim in the Nationals later this year in July. All power to you, Howard! Picked up a bottle of colgate's tooth whitening formula, let's see how well it works. I still think I'm turning into an alcoholic, but then if one can't be luscious, one might well attempt to be a lush. Attempting to put a C.V. together, but it's a bit of a task to include everything without sounding like I do too many things (which I do!). |
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