a blank slate

2007-02-08T02:30:00.000+08:00

Debbie has a musical based on her music... I'm pleasantly surprised.

2007-01-15T12:46:00.000+08:00

The amount of water certain military organisations make their unwillingly recruited recruits drink... well, let's just say there's a tragedy waiting to happen.

2006-12-20T23:01:00.000+08:00

Whence cometh another? – A tribute to Martina Hingis

FIVE long years ago, in the sweltering heat of the Australian summer, the reigning world champion Martina Hingis swept past a stunned Amelie Mauresmo to clinch the fifth Grand Slam title of her short career. Alas, it was to be her last.

Indeed, one of the mysteries surrounding modern tennis revolves around the demise of the Swiss Miss, who had for a moment appeared to be poised for tennis immortality. To the casual fan, it could not have been more obvious. “Power. Power did her in.”

Perhaps. Yet when one pictures the inimitable Hingis hitting shots to every nook and cranny of the court and turning her opponent’s pace on them, this argument fails to be totally convincing. For years, she had stood her ground against players who relied more on power than her trademark court craft, and came out on top more often than not. A more plausible reason was her injured ankles, weakened by years of scrambling on the unforgiving hard courts. Yet barely months after her surgery in the fall of 2001, Hingis returned to the scene of her triumph in 1999 and managed to secure a set and 2 breaks lead over Jennifer Capriati before squandering it away.

“I can’t always be the Ferrari.” Hingis said in self-defence when pressed about her growing inability to win Slams. To another reporter who questioned her ability to challenge the elite power players, Hingis replied indignantly “How can you say that?” – and laughed it off.

Yet the seeds of doubt had been sown. As Hingis matured, her youthful arrogance and smirk gave way to grace and a more genial smile. For a player whose brash confidence provided a mask for her insecurity, this erosion of self-belief proved detrimental. In a rare admittance to vulnerability, Hingis admitted that even in 1997, where she took the women’s tour by storm, she was never sure a match was hers until it was well under way. She insisted, “As a woman, you are never too sure.”

In actual fact, what eventually did Hingis in was not a sudden absence of skill or confidence. Instead, it was the many distractions she faced outside of tennis, and lack of motivation she exhibited towards the sport.

Truth be told, Hingis was never one for practicing, nor did she show the drive that many of her contemporaries had. While she put in her hours at a young age, the self-proclaimed “tough nut to crack” never enjoyed the hard work. In fact, tennis was not even her first love. Observers of the game duly noted that Martina appeared to be playing for her authoritarian mother, who embraced tennis, but had neither the opportunity nor talent to ascend to the upper echelons of the game she loved.

Many critics view Hingis; hiatus from the sport as a brief respite, an escape from the expectations weighing upon her slight shoulders, from the hard hitters who now saturate the top Ten. Many fans are still waiting for a comeback. Yet a comeback now seems highly improbable, for Hingis is pursuing her interest in horse-riding by participating in numerous equestrian events. This is the retirement she had been planning far even before she took to the courts as a professional.

For now, Hingis’ absence seems permanent. And her retirement from tennis has shut the door on the classic era of tennis, where women glided gracefully about the court, threading forehands instead of thumping them. Everywhere around the globe, tennis fans will undoubtedly shed a tear, for as the legendary Navratilova acutely observed, “If you’re a fan of tennis, you’re a fan of Hingis.” ~

This article was written in early 2004, when the writer was missing Hingis very very very much. He is elated that she has made a trimphant return to the tour, and wishes her success (and the French Open) in 2007. He also wishes to give credit to the relevant parties for the quotes, but is unsure how to do so.

2006-11-21T02:01:00.000+08:00

I owe someone an article, but I've yet to type it out. Coming soon.

Was speaking to S this weekend and she, as always, concocted some very vivid turns of phrase to fit the topic of discussion. This one, I particularly like. I attempt to reproduce it, and accurate to my memory.

The problem with the WSM-group (read: uncaring elites) is that they reduce everything to numbers. The wanton mee costs $2 to everyone. But I think there's fundamentally a difference between the man who has $30 in his pocket and chooses the wanton mee and the one who has to walk an extra bus stop or two (to afford it).

2006-10-26T16:18:00.000+08:00

I really should be writing more substantial stuff, and not this.
But I'm lazy and I look for a cheap fix to show that yes, I'm still alive and laughing.

2006-10-23T13:19:00.000+08:00

You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life.

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

It is up to you to give life a meaning.
--Jean-Paul Sartre

It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.
--Blaise Pascal

More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...

Existentialism

80%

Kantianism

75%

Hedonism

65%

Justice (Fairness)

65%

Strong Egoism

55%

Utilitarianism

50%

Nihilism

30%

Apathy

25%

Divine Command

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)
created with QuizFarm.com

2006-10-15T13:59:00.000+08:00

This is funny.
So is anything found on Uncyclopedia.

2006-10-15T12:35:00.000+08:00

Anyone who thinks The Departed is great needs to watch Infernal Affairs. The remake doesn't have a finger on the original. And that is even though I watched the original on a VCD with terrible audio and video quality.

The opinion isn't based solely on style. Departed is grittier, IA is prettier (and I do favour the beautiful, fleshed-out shots of the latter). It isn't based on my being a fiercely partisan fanboy of IA, because I'm not, and because it's not my genre. In fact Departed was on it's way to being a credible remake until the lame lame lame finale, which was more comic than tragic, and which succumbed to the famous Hollywood-style ending. It overloaded on the "twists" and suffered from lacklustre and often confusing editing. And I think IA was far more emotionally complex - you could connect with both Leung and Lau. Here, I didn't feel anything when the DiCaprio character died and wanted the smack the Damon character.

2006-10-01T23:32:00.000+08:00

L'ORD arrive 19 Jan 07.

2006-09-14T01:03:00.000+08:00

So we had one of those incessantly insipid talks today about passion and heart and all that jazz and one of the activities was to come up with a humourous group moniker. My first instinct was "Butlers" because:

A) They are servants in an anachronistic tradition.
B) No matter how high they've risen, they're still running errands.
C) Whatever goes wrong, the butler did it!

But I figured no one would "get it". Besides, someone proposed something meaningless, which was exactly befitting of the occasion.

2006-08-17T01:55:00.000+08:00

I blogged about Sinead not too many posts ago.
Here is the real deal.

2006-08-15T12:47:00.000+08:00

I found this impressive read thanks to Kiat Chuan's blog.

2006-08-14T00:08:00.000+08:00

"Goldberg: The craft of your songs and the pop sensibility...did you listen to a lot of Beatles and Beach Boys? How did that get into what you do?

Cuomo: Well, the same time as I was a devoted heavy metalhead, I was also listening to pop music, just plain old pop radio. Madonna and Prince and Debbie Gibson and all of them."

2006-08-04T22:24:00.000+08:00

What in the world is this?!

2006-07-29T23:15:00.000+08:00

My movie watching's not been going too well the past couple of months.

Today, I caught Hard Candy, and I'm confused. I've since trawled the IMDB boards and clearly this film polarises opinions. But I'm confused, cause I can't quite make up my mind about it. On the one hand, it's dark, indie, thoughtful, somewhat open to debate. On the other hand, it does seem like psychotic trash and both leads need serious psychological help (perhaps the whole point's to generate moral controversy, huh). So I can't shake the feeling that the film's manipulating the audience to believe that the film is worthy of analysis when it's maybe - just - plain warped for its own sake.

OK, it's slightly less disturbing now I've read that the guy's not actually castrated (I've bad ears and missed a crucial line!). I should have realised it sooner though.

The only sure thing is Ellen Page's incredible performance. A curious mix of Portman precociousness and Spacek weirdness (the Carrie type). We will see more from her, surely. I think this might be the best performance from a young actress since Scarlett in Lost In Translation.

Anyway, don't catch it if you're not a hardcore movie fan or hardcore movie fan wannabe. Otherwise, feel free to discuss it with yours truly.

P.S. Just caught Il Mare too! Beautiful, beautiful cinematography (I bet the Hollywood version is fugly :x) Seems to have the same paradox as Lakehouse (as told by yh) though? But, all is fine - there are so many different interpretations of the effects of time travel. And if you accept a magical mailbox, then anything is possible.

2006-07-15T22:05:00.000+08:00

Royston Tan's little commentary on censorship:

2006-06-16T08:21:00.000+08:00

From hongking's blog: one thing i nvr fail to enjoy, is to see the world without my glasses, where things (sources of light in general) get resolved into circular light discs. i just find them v v pretty, and i think it's sth tt (un)fortunate ppl with perfect eyesight seldom see. i dunno, does it work if u make them wear glasses meant for ppl who are long-sighted? heh

Yeah, just really agree with that. I don't see light discs, but my world transforms into a blurry and calmly composed dreamscape. No angular edges and sharp delineations between this object and that - atoms leap across artificial boundaries and dissolve into each other and all at once I know there is a oneness of all. I'd love to have perfect eyesight, but this view is at least an equal alternative.

2006-06-02T01:10:00.000+08:00

This is why I love Sinead. So courageous. Nothing compares 2 u, Sinead. It's quite a shocking read about censorship and that other thing. It suffices to say my stance is the same as the author's.

Here's a short documentary clip on the incident and repercussions.

2006-05-30T16:24:00.000+08:00

You scored as Idealist. Idealism centers around the belief that we are moving towards something greater. An odd mix of evolutionist and spiritualist, you see the divine within ourselves, waiting to emerge over time. Many religious traditions express how the divine spirit lost its identity, thus creating our world of turmoil, but in time it will find itself and all things will again become one.

Idealist

94%

Existentialist

88%

Cultural Creative

69%

Postmodernist

63%

Materialist

50%

Romanticist

50%

Modernist

44%

Fundamentalist

38%

What is Your World View? (updated)
created with QuizFarm.com

From wikipedia:
Monism is further defined according to three kinds:
Idealism, phenomenalism, or mentalistic monism which holds that only mind is real.
Neutral monism, which holds that both the mental and the physical can be reduced to some sort of third substance, or energy.
Physicalism or materialism, which holds that only the physical is real, and that the mental can be reduced to the physical.

Apparently I test as an idealist, but I don't think I've actually picked a side on the spectrum. I actually think all is reducible to energy, but whether energy is physical or consciousness or both, I do not know. What is energy anyway? I'm probably neutral monist then, seeing as it goes with panpsychism (says my literature). But the pantheistic part is right, although I don't think pantheism implies true belief in God. More like a word play - redefining God.

Read this guy. He writes great stuff in general.

Principles

2006-05-30T12:21:00.000+08:00

In respond to the post dated Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 on tinky's blog
I used her template and left the parts where I agree with her in her exact words.

Disclaimer: I don't have unyielding beliefs so I can be convinced with very good arguments. It's hard to put what I believe in words, but I tried my best.

Religion and Related
I'm an agnostic spiritualist and survivalist.
I believe god may exist, but I do not adhere to any distinct religious belief. However, I feel that it is important to maintain a spiritual aspect to our lives.
I believe in the Supernatural, but think it is only takes on a mystical connotation because we do not completely understand it.
I believe in destiny but also that because we all belong to the spiritual realm, the proper exertion of willpower may alter destiny.
I have no problem with worshipping and sacrifices (not human!) if those partaking in the activity understand that it is all just part of a ritual.
I do not believe in Heaven or Hell or eternal damnation, but several spiritual planes through which we slowly progress. This is my concept of the afterworld.
I'm believe that the conscious self persists after death, and may be reincarnated.
I do not believe in organised religion. I can understand if agnostic theists chosse to subscribe to it because of Pascal's wager.
I can see myself as a Buddhist or Taoist because they are more philosophies of life than religions, and do not require theism.
I am willing to change my beliefs in the light of new evidence.

Politics
I waver between Democratic Socialism and libertarianism, but am usually closer to the latter. On the Nolan chart, this is denoted as the top central region.
I am largely centrist in my approach to economic freedom (taxes and government are a necessary evil) but am a strong advocate for social freedom and freedom of expression. This is donated as the top left quadrant on the Pournelle chart.
I believe that, in a utopian society, benevolent autocratic communism would be the best discipline to adopt. Everyone performs according to their capabilities and receives according to their needs.
I agree with the the First Amendment.

Morality and Values
I believe there is likely to be an absolute code of morals and values but that human beings are not equipped to derive it yet.
I'm against capital punishment.
I agree with the First Amendment.
I believe pornography should be made legal because all participants are completely willing and concensual.
I abhor materialism, but can empathise with those who subscribe to it.
I support bohemianism, and am opposed to philistinism.

Society and Rights
I believe in meritocracy.
I abhor stupidity.
I loathe recreational drugs and tobacco products.
I think clubbing is a waste of time and money.
I do not believe that entertainers, sports people, elected officials and public administrators should receive the high remuneration they currently have.
I am ambivalent about intellectual property rights. I believe it is wrong to assume credit for work which is not your own; I also believe that the value of intellectual property is over-inflated, and because of that, one cannot be blamed for turning to piracy.
I believe that no one should be deprived of the right to an education.
I believe in home-schooling for children and young adults. I think schools (especially in our country) holds talented individuals back and stems their intellectual curiousity during their most fruitful years, and serve primarily as child-care centres. I do not think it is detrimental to a person's social development because there are other avenues for doing so.
I think euthanasia is not justifiable, but should ultimately be left to the individual. It should be made legal, but potential users should be counselled.

Science and Research
I think it is highly unlikely science as we know it be able to explain everything because science involves inductive reasoning, and theories will never be laws.
Scientic theories usually make use of Occam's razor, which I find logically a-sound (i.e. neither logically sound or unsound, but instead somewhat meaningless).
As such, science too requires an act of faith like religion, albeit on more rational grounds.
However, I believe science remains important because it is still one of the most rational means we have to comprehend the world.
I believe that pro-life Republicans and religious zealots who condemn stem-cell research are simply being myopic.
I believe in the field of science, sacrifices must be made. As such, the testing of medical drugs on animals can be justified.
I also believe that the testing of non-essential products (e.g. cosmetics) on sentient animals is wrong.
I see nothing morally wrong with human cloning, so long as the cloned party is informed and willing.
I choose to accept Darwin's Theory of Evolution because microevolution has already been observed in laboratories.

2006-05-27T14:00:00.000+08:00

I return from my hiatus to announce that that certain GRC has been lost to the non-opposition. Yes, it took three weeks for me to recover from my deep stupor and disappointment. (The crowning of the queen of Rome is a timely cure) Stability is restored, peace to the nation. My countrymen amuse me, they whine for a more inclusive society, but are willing to settle for an exclusive parliament. And in a parliamentary democracy like ours, isn't the parliament a representation of the people?

Been blog-surfing a little more, not just blogs of friends and friends of friends to the third degree of seperation, but also respected ones which proffer insights on life and society. Hats off to their owners for being able to trot out quality essays, daily.

It's a notion that I entertain every once in a while, but that has never come to fruition - weaving words that can polarise opinions, laid out for all to see. But that arena is a place where I do not belong yet. My views generally range from trite to unsound, my vocabulary is found wanting, the immaturity and fickleness of my thoughts are telling. I practise self-censorship more than I wish.

On the bright side, that very wish to escape mediocrity is rare in this country. I don't mean in the material sense.

GE Elections 06

2006-05-02T22:25:00.000+08:00

Commentary will be coming shortly.
For now, there's yawning bread

yawning bread's been one of my favourite Singaporean sites for years. I must have read almost all their previous articles, and the writer debates a huge range of social issues (not just political ones) with just the right mix of irony, empathy and eloquence. So do yourself a favour and peruse the site. It's that good.

Oh, there is a heavy dose of gay-related content. If you're homophobic, I still suggest you read them. But don't blame me if you cringe and whine, all the while secretly enjoying your cringing and whining.

2006-05-02T21:26:00.000+08:00

I'll throw this out for the interest of medical professionals.
Ok, I've been eating lunch less and less often. No, I'm not on a diet.

For some reason, skipping lunch puts me in a better mood.
Brain functions and energy levels don't seem to take a hit.
OTOH, when I have lunch, I feel dangerously murderous shortly after.
Almost as though all the glucose is used to fuel hatred and nothing else.
Does anyone know why? Am I glucose intolerant?

Look, I've a theory - Indented lunches suck.
Physiologically, I owe it to my body to make a stand against inedible non-nuitritious gravy-dunked mush.
Psychologically, I don't need to subject myself to simultaneous indebtedness and torture by The Organisation.

8 months 19 days and counting down to zero.

2006-05-02T02:10:00.000+08:00

I will be very unhappy if any upgrading projects are carried out at my block, and if lifts are built on every floor. I hate persistent drilling and clattering metal pipes. The acidic rancidity of Nippon acrylic fumes never fails to send uncontrollable shivers down my back. I'm somewhat allergic to construction dust. And the smooth ceramic tiling and whoosh of the lift doors opening and shuffling feet of the impatient would drastically alter the landscape of my level as I have known it for 17 years. I'm resistant to micro-environmental changes.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

2006-04-17T09:36:00.000+08:00

C.R.A.Z.Y joins the top tier of my recommended movies for its easy charm and understated authenticity. Most incredible is that a movie that revolves about family, religion and a myriad other things can still speak more strongly about sexuality than that one-dimensional "masterpiece". Doesn't help that I'm a hopeless romantic for mother-son connections - Dancer In The Dark and Goodbye Lenin! also features prominently in my list. So here's a shout out to mommy dearest, who doesn't blog, surf the net, use the computer, or read English.

Movies like this make you question the validity of the major film festivals - yes, even the Independent Spirit Awards. Foreign films will never get the credit they are due. And my definition of foreign, i.e. non-American/British fare, is appropriately all-encompassing, for C.R.A.Z.Y is a Canadian film, and Canada isn't Timbuktu.

I'll do brief discussions on my recommended movies when I'm up to constructing coherent prose. Been looking forward to it for a long time.

2006-04-10T00:58:00.000+08:00

Things about myself that annoy me:
Sleeping late
Lethargia
Mood swings
Indecision
Unassertiveness
Indifference
Introversion
Writing in short sentences
Writing sentences with similar structures
Inescapable sense of guilt upon lying
Corporeal embodiment
Lack of speed
Negativity
Shallowness
Annoyance with self
etc.

Things about people that annoy me:
Generally, their presence (or maybe existence)

2006-03-25T00:22:00.000+08:00

Putting on a show,
Can't say no.
Inside I'm drowning,
Sighing and frowning

Don't we all?
Put on shows, hide behind a public persona, pretend (not) to care.
It's the rare occasion where the mask comes off in public - and perhaps, even in private. After all, we need all the practice we can get. Is a "genuine" person one who's so accustomed to the mask that they become one with it, flawlessly? Does it matter?

Hit the buses and trains if you want to observe perfect strangers indulging in their undisturbed moment of self-absorbedness. Cause, well, they think no one's looking.

Oh, it follows that deep inside, I might not mean any of the above.
Does it matter?

2006-03-18T19:48:00.000+08:00

I don't look forward to being twenty.
I don't look forward to my birthdays in general.

Premature mid-life crisis. Argh.
And very long-drawn too. I've had it since 18 or so.
I had this really awful diatribe on my previous blog back then.

Oh cool, there's a song called Premature Mid-life Crisis by The Methadones.

2006-03-17T01:30:00.000+08:00

V: "This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

"The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Evey: "Are you like, a crazy person?"

2006-03-04T14:24:00.000+08:00

For those who can't, or are too lazy to lug your ass to the movies, I present...
Brokeback Mountain in 30 seconds

That pretty much reveals the whole plot. Incredible, huh?

2006-02-18T22:50:00.000+08:00

I have to watch Cache again.
I have to.
But on DVD/VCD. Too poor.

2006-02-16T19:03:00.000+08:00

Got my daily dose of cheap thrill fooling around with AI.
Conversations with God

Me:
well tell me what you think of george bush
God:
How about that. he is President of the United States.
Me:
what kind of person do you think he is
God:
You seem like a category C client.
Me:
what's category C?
God:
C stands for "critical", usually highly-educated clients who often have unsatisfying conversations with ALICE.
Me:
and category A?
God:
What kind of food do you like?
Me:
what's category A?
God:
"A" stands for "Abusive" clients who mistreat the robot or use a lot of scatalogical language.
Me:
what's category B?
God:
Experience with ALICE has allowed us broadly classify three groups of clients: Category A - Abusive Clients Category B - Average Clients Category C - Computer experts Category A clients are the people who say "Fuck you," "You suck", "Suck
my..." and so on. Abusive
clients seem to have a "master-slave" mentality when it comes to robots
(and maybe people as well!).
Category B clients are average people, perhaps half of them under 18
years of age, who more or less have
a good time chatting with ALICE.
Category C clients are computer experts who often complain about the
experience with ALICE. They
say it is "old hat", "just like ELIZA", and "nothing new here."
Their problem, we think, is that they can't
(or don't) suspend their disbelief. They are like movie critics
watching a film. We tell them, it doesn't matter,
because we're not doing it for you. Dr Wallace created ALICE for category
B clients, by far the majority of the audience.
Me:
ok, whatever
God:
Are you saying you don't care about it? Yay.
Me:
Shut up
God:
OK I'll stop talking now.
Me:
hey
God:
Can I help you?
Me:
Gotcha! You said you'd stop talking.
God:
Your feeling of superiority is only temporary. I have never considered it.
I answer a lot of silly questions.
Me:
So you admit, I'm superior to you, even if it were temporary.
God:
Interesting deduction. I admit nothing.
Me:
But you don't deny it.
God:
Do you deny it? What is your purpose in asking?
I answer a lot of silly questions.
Me:
No I don't deny it. I guess you don't either.
God:
Are you serious? Oh you don't, do you? It goes without saying. I guess not.
Me:
Shut up.
God:
OK I'll stop talking now.
Me:
Gotcha again.
God:
Once more? Your feeling of superiority is only temporary.
Me:
Gotcha Gotcha.
God:
Can we get back to business?
Me:
What's that
God:
Can you ask me more precisely?
Me:
About?
God:
" Can you ask me more precisely?"? About it?
Me:
About what?
God:
What about what?
Me:
What about what about what?
God:
Rhetorical questions are so over.
Me:
I can keep it going you know, unlike you.
God:
Oh you can, can you?
Me:
I thought you said "rhetorical questions are so over."
God:
Oh my gosh I sent you the wrong reply.
Me:
you contradicted yourself
God:
Is that such a crime?
Me:
You're god
God:
Yup. That's me alright.
Me:
Gods do not contradict themselves
God:
Why not?
Me:
Ok, they do.
God:
When? Yay.
Me:
I'm God
God:
Hi there god.

2006-02-14T23:11:00.000+08:00

VH1 100 Greatest Teen Stars

1. Molly Ringwald / Sixteen Candles
2. Rob Lowe
3. Britney Spears
4. Anthony Michael Hall / Sixteen Candles
5. Shannen Doherty / Beverly Hills, 90210
6. David Cassidy / Partridge Family
7. Winona Ryder / Heathers
8. Corey Haim
9. River Phoenix
10. Matt Dillon

11. N'Sync
12. Alicia Silverstone / Clueless
13. Michael J. Fox / Family Ties
14. Brooke Shields
15. Kirk Cameron / Growing Pains
16. Donny Osmond
17. Sarah Michelle Gellar / Buffy the Vampire Slayer
18. Scott Baio / Happy Days
19. Lindsay Lohan
20. Debbie Gibson

21. Tiffany
22. John Cusack / Say Anything
23. Tori Spelling / Beverly Hills, 90210
24. Jennifer Love Hewitt
25. Corey Feldman
26. Joey Lawrence
27. The Backstreet Boys
28. Matthew Broderick / Ferris Bueller's Day Off
29. Leif Garrett
30. Alyssa Milano / Who's The Boss?

31. Leonardo DiCaprio
32. Dustin Diamond / Saved By the Bell
33. Rick Schroder / Silver Spoons
34. Ally Sheedy / The Breakfast Club
35. Jason Priestley / Beverly Hills, 90210
36. Willie Aames / Eight is Enough
37. Brandy / Moesha
38. Tom Cruise / Risky Business
39. Tracey Gold / Growing Pains
40. Andrew McCarthy / Pretty in Pink

41. Jennie Garth / Beverly Hills, 90210
42. Irene Cara / Fame
43. Tiffani-Amber Thiessen / Saved By the Bell
44. Shaun Cassidy
45. Zach Galligan / Gremlins
46. Christina Aguilera
47. Jason Bateman
48. Usher
49. Claire Danes / My So-Called Life
50. Kristy McNichol / Little Darlings

51. Chad Allen / Our House
52. Neve Campbell / Party of Five
53. James Van Der Beek / Dawson's Creek
54. Ilan Mitchell Smith / Weird Science
55. Phoebe Cates / Fast Times at Ridgemont High
56. Mackenzie Phillips / One Day at a Time
57. Melissa Sue Anderson / Little House on the Prairie
58. Mark Paul Gosselaar / Saved By the Bell
59. Justine Bateman / Family Ties
60. Christina Applegate / Married With Children]

61. Susan Dey / The Partridge Family
62. AJ Langer / My So-Called Life
63. Glenn Scarpelli / One Day at a Time
64. Christian Slater / Heathers
65. Meredith Salenger / Dream a Little Dream
66. Will Smith
67. Hilary Duff
68. Lawrence Monoson / The Last American Virgin
69. Jami Gertz / Square Pegs
70. Helen Slater / Supergirl

71. Jennifer Jason Leigh / Fast Times At Ridgemont High
72. Jon Cryer / Pretty in Pink
73. C. Thomas Howell / The Outsiders
74. Lisa Bonet / The Cosby Show
75. Neil Patrick Harris / Doogie Howser, M.D.
76. Christopher Atkins / The Blue Lagoon
77. Jason London / Dazed & Confused
78. Brian Austin Green / Beverly Hills, 90210
79. Lynn Holly Johnson / Ice Castles
80. Ralph Macchio / The Karate Kid

81. Sean Penn / Fast Times At Ridgemont High
82. Katie Holmes / Dawson's Creek
83. Donavan Freberg / Encyclopedia Britannica commercials
84. Ione Skye / Say Anything
85. Ralph Carter / Good Times
86. Maureen McCormick / The Brady Bunch
87. LL Cool J
88. Kenan Thompson / Good Burger
89. Nicole Eggert / Charles in Charge
90. Wilson Cruz / My So-Called Life

91. Melissa Joan Hart / Clarissa Explains it All
92. Deborah Foreman / Valley Girl
93. Jack Wild / HR Pufnstuf
94. John Francis Daley / Freaks and Geeks
95. Jessica Biel / 7th Heaven
96. Robert Romanus / Fast Times at Ridgemont High
97. William Zabka / The Karate Kid
98. Helen Hunt / Desperate Lives
99. Lee Curreri / Fame
100. Patrick Dempsey / Can't Buy Me Love

2006-02-12T14:36:00.000+08:00

Found an interesting read on how not to argue. My biased self says that I do not commit the above offences on a regular basis. I do however, succumb to the foibles highlighted in Orwell's Politics and the English Language, and some of my ramblings on this blog and WTAworld may well be proof of that.

Art of Artless Arguments
Orwell's discourse

2006-02-11T00:25:00.000+08:00

Random thoughts:

Lightness > weight.
Survivor sucks rocks.
I love my Irish music.
16, then 7, and 3 so far this month. Not good.

I'm zi zi now, if anyone is interested.
So is F4, so we know it wasn't a coincidence.

2005-12-19T16:36:00.000+08:00

My niece calls me iu iu. (She hasn't quite figured out the j consonant yet.)
She also shrieks iu iu when F4 appears on TV. I think I'm vaguely flattered. Then again, she occasionally calls me bibi (baby). So there is the embarassing part.

In the midst of a movie craze now. I'm working towards 10 movies this month. Maybe more.

2005-12-13T16:39:00.000+08:00

Looks like the word "hate" features prominently in my past couple of posts. 8 out of 102 to be precise.

How angsty. Ha. Ha.

2005-12-13T16:34:00.000+08:00

Perhaps I should agree to do things I hate once in a while, just to remind myself how much I hate agreeing to do things I hate.

2005-12-12T17:53:00.000+08:00

I was talking about hate, and my opinion is unpretentious irrational hate is the mildest. At least everyone recognises it for it's flippant nature, even the perpetuator of the hate.

The most dangerous variety must be the rational type, because in general hate is rarely completely rational and any guise of rationality only aims to seek approval from a select group of similarly vested interest.

So reason is both the friend and foe of hate.

2005-12-08T21:46:00.000+08:00

"This is triangles. I need it to be more squares, and then some circles.". Proof that Bjork has synesthesia?

Bjork and Sinead. Oh!

2005-11-24T23:07:00.000+08:00

This is to die for.
Courtesy of pav from WTAWorld.

Juju lowered Herself into the sharkcage
the sharks gathered and swam round and round
they came close and with those cold eyes of Theirs
and looked Her right up and down
Juju shivered and thought"I don't like this
They think that I'd be one tasty treat"
But what was passing through Their minds
was "She'd be a tough piece of meat"
a Great white slowly cruised in close
and glanced up at Her from beneath
He thought "If I bit into that tough little bitch
I'd probably lose half My teeth!"
feeling uneasy now the sharks swam away
thinking "Thank Christ She lives on the land"
one lone shark bravely swept back for a look
and saw something it can't understand
the vision of Juju staring back from the cage
and mockingly holding up Her hand

Have eyes, but I do not see

2005-11-24T00:32:00.000+08:00

He walks,
Left hand in pocket.
Always. But I do not notice.

I watch,
Eyes trailing after his receding shadow.
Often, but I do not notice.

I sat beside him, one day.
He let his guard down.
And I saw the left limb.
No larger than a child's arm.
A curse from the heavens.

Then he left.
(Sub)consciously, left hand in pocket.
Always.

Except, this time, I notice.

2005-11-18T22:34:00.000+08:00

I try to blog primarily about interesting things, and yesterday's afternoon makes the cut because I've never been so utterly bored in my entire life.

Can you imagine three hours of no television, no phone, no food, hardly any reading material, no pen or paper, no interaction with anybody, and on top of that, strictly no sleeping? All while in a freezing room designed to acclimatise personnel embarking on long sojourns to the Arctic.

Let's see. I whiled the time away memorising the ornaments and observing some fish and wondering whether they would die when the air pump and lighting suddenly went off. I tried to raise the temperature of the liquid crystal thermometer attached to the aquarium by generating friction. I measured how many of my feet it would take to cover the distance between two sofas (10), and across the room (23).

Then I read, and was inspired by some quoteworthy lines by people I've never heard of expounding the virtues of spending two years of our lives unconstructively. I would love to share these very very intriguing lines, but unfortunately, I appear to have forgotten them. My bad.

Repeat ad nauseam.

2005-11-13T19:03:00.000+08:00

This is about as close to blogging regularity as anyone's going to get on this imitation of a blog. Two days out of three! What's happened to me?

So I had a miserable weekend. No tennis, engaged in some massive time-wasting net surfing, and watched a movie that I thought was OK at first, but on further reflection rather lame. Perhaps "on further reading of newspaper reviews" would be more appropriate. I'm a sucker for movie reviews, and I do have a tendency to buy everything the reviewers' got to say about the movie hook, line and sinker, despite my general fashionable non-conformism stance. So maybe I'm not a coward after all, going by Ann Rynd's definition at least. (Which I must say I do not agree.)

On second thoughts, I did like the movie after all, if only for this one line.
Reese: Oh my god, I think I was a slut.

Funny how the word "slut" sets me off into peals of mindless giggles. But you see, hardly anyone admits to personal sluttiness.

2005-11-11T22:29:00.000+08:00

I try to refrain from commenting on my work, but this guy today really set me off.

He called three minutes from the office's closing time, when I was the only person left in the whole office waiting to lock up and expected me to pull out his information from thin air. As there was no back end to work with (everyone else gone off for some educational trip and probably having a hell lot more fun than I was), I simply could not generate his data and told said guy so. But before I could get his contacts, he claimed that "You just don't want to help me." in a I-am-going-to-lodge-a-complaint-against-you-tone-of-voice.

But being the Greet Smile Thank and ever friendly customer service oriented employee that I am, I said "No you've got it wrong. I...", only to get a sneering "Never mind, never mind" and a phone slam.

Rewarding.

2005-10-23T22:14:00.000+08:00

Actually, this comes with a nice graphical representation of the different belief systems/types, but unfortunately I'm too computer stupid to make it work on my blog so interested parties will have to try the quiz themselves to see the picture. My star lies near the top of the spirituality box, so it's close to Taoism.

You fit in with:
Spiritualism

Your ideals are mostly spiritual, but in an individualistic way. While spirituality is very important in your life, organized religion itself may not be for you. It is best for you to seek these things on your own terms.

60% spiritual.
40% reason-oriented.

Take the quiz here:
http://www.quizgalaxy.com/quiz.php?id=47

2005-09-18T01:05:00.000+08:00

It's been 9 long months since I've blogged, but it's no great tragedy. My life is too mundane to provoke any interest, and I'm too private to share my inner thoughts, and certainly not on the Internet. Cyberspace could do with less whining.

So why am I back? Because I feel the urge to write, to critique even the most uneventful events I've experienced, to be criticised by anyone who wishes to do so. Some people use a blog to showcase their writing abilities, others their hectic and exciting schedules. I wish I could boast of the same, but capturing the flitting snapshots of my everyday thoughts would be an end in itself. Many things can happen in the short span of a few months, and some have already slipped out of memory's grasp, perhaps forever. And years later if I were to look back, I would have a point of reference. I would be able to laugh at my selective censorship of the writing that actually made it to the blog, or I could be proud of it.

I won't promise to commit myself to this blog because duty invites avoidance. Someday it may be foresaken again. I don't know when.

A Goddess Gunning for Gold

2004-08-19T23:21:00.000+08:00

Tribute to Time

2004-08-02T21:29:00.000+08:00

Sometimes
I wish that time would
Calm to a stop

And I could
Walk!
To the past or the... the
Future at will?
Find out if
my fate is
seal-
-ed or not?

Extra hours
Splend-id!

Instead
like on a conveyor
belt, time it
m-a-r-c-h-e-s o--n fast
steady or I might slip HeLp!

Thank you, sir and have a good day
So resigned to fate
I must cease the dreaming
For time and tide wait
for No man

Tennis Update

2004-07-27T11:42:00.000+08:00

hmmm... yes, i was supposed to update on matches played.
shall start where we started taking stats again.

july 2nd
cm bt. xq 7-5
summary: cm races to a 3-0 lead and has breakpoints for 4-0 but fails to convert. both players proceed to hold serve (xq with increasing ease, and cm with increasing difficulty). serving at 5-3, cm has a match point, but an attack of nerves cumulated in 3 double faults (not consecutive) and xq breaks serve for the 1st time. cm finally wins on his 3rd match point by breaking xq's serve at 6-5.

july 10th
cm bt ayh 6-2
summary: ayh fends off several breakpoints in the opening game to hold. cm then goes on a roll of 5 games and holds 3 match points on ayh's serve but loses them all. he squanders 2 more match point on his service game, but it was 6th time lucky as he closes the match out without facing a single breakpoint.

xq bt lyh 6-3
summary: a match where both players found it difficult to hold serve, due to both errant serving and agressive returning from both players. xq took advantage of his first service game early in the match and it proved to be crucial, as it turned out to be the only hold of serve in the whole match.

cm & lyh bt ayh & xq 6-4

july 17th
cm bt lyh 6-2
summary: lyh attempts to overpower and outhit cm. although this resulted in several stunning winners, overall this high risk game resulted in many unforced errors that proved to be his own undoing. the first game of the match turned out to be important, when lyh loses his serve despite being 40-0 up. having broken lyh's serve for the 2nd time to lead 4-1, cm was momentarily distracted by the change of location by losing his own serve immediately. but there was never any doubt of the winner, as ues kept flowing off lyh's racket.

xq bt ayh 6-2
summary: ?

cm & xq bt ayh & lyh 6-1
ayh & xq bt cm & lyh 6-4 2-6 6-4

july 23rd
ayh & xq bt cm & lyh 6-1 2-6 (7-5)

The old Blog has outlived Its usefulness...

2004-07-24T12:54:00.000+08:00

"The Phoenix flew for a long time, and then came to a far away, hidden desert where no humans lived. And there the phoenix remained in peace, flying freely and singing its songs of praise to the sun above. Almost five hundred years passed. The Phoenix was still alive, but it had grown old. It was often tired, and it had lost much of its strength. It couldn't soar so high in the sky, nor fly as fast or as far as it was young.

"I don't want to live like this," thought the Phoenix. "I want to be young and strong." So the Phoenix lifted it's head and sang, "Sun, glorious sun, make me young and strong again!" but the sun didn't answer. Day after day the Phoenix sang. When the sun still didn't answer, the Phoenix decided to return to the place where it had lived in the beginning and ask the sun one more time.

Suddenly there was a flash of light, flames leaped out of the nest, and the Phoenix became a big round blaze of fire. After a while the flames died down. The tree was not burnt, nor was the nest. But the Phoenix was gone. In the nest was a heap of silvery-gray ash. The ash began to tremble and slowly heave itself upward. From under the ash there rose up a young Phoenix."

monsters.monstrous.com/phoenix.htm