Wednesday, January 31, 2007
It's getting really cold these nights. But is it just me, or is Singapore beginning to feel like some mildy temperate country?For one thing I know, I have been sleeping for six nights in a row without aircon, which is quite a feat considering how I cannot sleep with warmish air around. But hey, with the freak weather the world's been experiencing lately, it would be more than a welcome change if Singapore is indeed entering some kind of extreme freakish environmental mayhem.I am halfway through 1 out of 2 incredibly long readings which are due in less than 8 hours but I really rather be sleeping now, since I should be able to blabber some nonsense in class and pick up some participation points along the way. But I am just staying up so that my conscience actually feels slightly better that I did try to do the readings. Which brings to mind how much I feel Foucault is such an incredible person, for he is the only fella whom I have read about in almost every subject I have attempted in school. From geography to sociology to linguistics, he's like the cockroach which refuses to die, squirming into every crevice each subject possesses, and a very smart cockroach for that matter.Brr. Even my fan's blowing cold wind at me. Perhaps I should read some Winterson now. She's brilliant.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 1:09 AM
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The memory of forgetting. Ironical is it? To remember an exact antithesis contrary to its worth. One might think this completely ludicrous and impossible, for how can you forget something if you can remember it? Well, perhaps, just perhaps, this brings this issue to another level altogether. How many times do we actually genuinely forget something? Many things, in life, are forgetten by choice. Forgotten because we do not want to be reminded, forgotten because it was too painful, forgotten because only then, a new life can begin.Battling the ghosts of our past is probably the last thing we want looking ahead. As alluded to an entry sometime back, just as one foot is always behind another as we forge ahead, it is the thrusting of that foot forward that keeps us in motion, it cannot stay behind the other forever.But we all leave footprints, don't we?
nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:55 AM
Thursday, January 25, 2007
That was 3 hours ago. nimgnoy let the night fall at 4:43 AM
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
"The abject is an impossible object, still part of the subject; an object the subject strives to expel but which is inelimanable. In ingesting objects into itself or expelling objects from itself, the 'subject' can never be distinct from these 'objects'. These ingested/expelled 'objects' are neither part of the body nor separate from it." (Grosz, 1992:198)
nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:00 PM
With a name like Rachael Yamagata, cultural stereotypes quickly fall into place. Some Japanese singer? But with an English name? She's good. Surprizingly, it wasn't Worn Me Down that got me grooving to her raspy voice, but some random song I downloaded off one of the OC Mixes. Her surname is as Japanese as she gets, she's totally American - speaks like one, looks like one. And I'm glad I managed to get tickets, which I last heard was selling out fast.With a name like Tristan Prettyman, you can't be taken too seriously cos people tend to shelf that name together with the likes of Linsey Lohan and Jamie Spears. But she certainly lives up to her name, that she is pretty, not so much for being a man. Tristan sings like a female version of Jason Mraz, totally talented and you simply love to turn her up on a lazy summery sunday. And yes, I caught her first on a duet with Mr A-Z downloaded off limewire. Now the problem is this, I am contemplating getting tickets cos her gig happens 45 minutes after the Yamagata one, all within the Esplanade thankfully.With a title like The Phantom of the Opera, you cannot go wrong. Bought my tickets 3 months ago in fact, for a show that will only happen 3 months from today. But I owe this musical much. When I first caught The Phantom back in the eeky Kallang Theatre in '95, it sparked off what I would call the arts streak in me, which if broadly speaking, brought me (even the most remotely) to where I am today, appreciating life the way I do. So it's sort of a sweet reunion now, coming full circle 12 years later - only in a plushier, less eeky theatre.Now what would I do without the Esplanade, seriously.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:48 PM
Thursday, January 18, 2007
At present, I am in the kitchen having chee cheong fun on a thinly plastic-coated brown paper for breakfast. Borat really shouldn't have won for Best Actor, Sacha Baron Cohen I mean, Borat being the film. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Aaron Eckhart really deserved it (probably only because Borat was bad), and not to mention the all loving Johnny Depp (who might be a little overrated but still good). What's up with the hollywood foreign press? Borat is outrightly rubbish.* *At present, I am in my room. 12:41am on the 19th of January. I saved this post in my draft and thought I should complete it before I head to bed.It's the second week of school and I am already micro-managing my time to the minute. Events and obligations continuously stream into my organizer and thank God for it (my organizer I mean), my life is now in some sort of order amongst these events that shroud my way in life.I get slightly concerned when life is going at this pace for me, which usually only happens after the mid-sem break when your time has to be juggled between friends, project meetings, not so important but necessary to meet up friends, family, wala-ing and other obligations that come my way.I get slightly concerned cos it is so easy to allow these event and activities and meetings to get a grip on my life, and I just go with with the ebb and flow of the proceedings like a helpless seaweed moving along with the current and tide. Keeping afloat to see what my priorities are is paramount. Micro-managing time - very baaad.I get slightly concerned cos I can't slot friends who really matter into my schedule. I cannot recall the number of times I have had to turn Joseph or Wai Siong or Weifa or Jun Han or any other of my buddies for that matter down cos my next available free slot is only a week later. That, really sucks.* *Ok that's that. But I manage to find time somehow. I do not know where those pockets of time come from, or maybe I am living secretly in a 26 hour day, but I appreciate extra time that magically surfaces now and then.Tomorrow I head down to SPH where they are holding a appreciation luncheon for all who helped for the ChildAid concerts. That should be cool and perhaps I could meet Ying Zhen there too, haven't met her since she started work there.Omg, I cannot believe I have evolved into a low-life, rubbish-producing, typically-undergraduate, life-complaining (a bit lar), event-narrating blogger.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 10:24 AM
As promised.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:57 AM
Tis the season for award shows. Fa la la la la la la la la. It's 8 'la's, you can't get me on this one.With the Golden Globe happening next Monday (Tuesday SG time), it kicks off awards season with the Screen Actors Guild (28 Jan), Grammys (11 Feb) and Oscars (25 Feb) all lined up to make your new semester less dreary.But seriously, I am enjoying school. I am enjoying school although I have a 5-day week (means I can come to school everyday!). Haha, sicko. And for once, I am back in the big LTs, which totally goes against the life cycle of a Arts student, which states that the LTs get smaller as you get older. What this means for me is competition with more people, which I am glad cos they're mostly silly drifting freshies, i.e. stepping stones to getting my A+s.I love this time of the year. Emerging fresh (or maybe a little drunk) from the holiday season, I get to bum around in school, do menial but gratifying stuff like print readings, read my novel (which is really getting to the climax now) and start wala-ing again. And not to mention watching all the live telecasts of the awards shows at 9am in the morning.I will probably post up more photos of the night at Phuture on mooncake's birthday (with Peijun and Vic), mooncake being shujun. More incriminating photos I tell you, and as I looked through the set, I could not even remember some of the photos being taken. Oh well, they are very discerningly censored and will be up the next entry I promise.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:00 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
When I try to compare the countdown fireworks in London and the one in Singapore, I find myself trying to look for a place to hide my embarrassed face instead. For those who were there like me by the bay, not any bay, but the Marina Bay - a bay the government spent half a million dollars to brand and name, and thought that the fireworks were impressive, you thought wrong. Go on youtube and search for the fireworks show at the London Eye, I hope you already have a hole prepared to fit your head in.While the Marina Bay fireworks had an average of 1 roman candle bursting overhead every 3 seconds (that's about 0.3 firework/sec), London had at least 10 roman candles in explosive splendour going off every second (for idiots: 10 fireworks/sec). Really, you must see it to be taken back in awe.I really must admit that I felt more exhilirated watching that 4"x3" pixellated screen on my laptop than watching the fireworks before me on the omni theatre-like experience by the bay.Not to discredit the Singapore team though, there were a few moments where they managed to make the people go wow in unison - those moments being only thrice. But the finale was neatly done, which is probably what matters the most is it?The crux of the matter is, if the Marina Bay Countdown is touted to be the representative countdown for Singapore, we gotta seriously do better than launching fireworks for the sake of it. That is a problem Singapore faces in many events I've noted - we're there but not really there yet. A mark of a vibrant city lies in its execution of world-class events with exceptional finesse and style. Artistic direction is crucial and paramount and I am not sure I managed to see that displayed by the Bay.We have reached an age where the people are discerning, increasingly cultured and hopefully beginning to appreciate the aesthetics more. With that, more focus on creative and artistic foundation has to underlie to form the bedrock of such events. The people are excited and want to be excited.We are no more the infants of the nation building years.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:30 PM
Do you remember the days when everyone couldn't have hair beyond the collar and how ridiculous every girl looked with short hair? And what about those days when sitting around and lazing at JEC simply pure bliss, and evacuating school for that 143 bus to Heeren was simply heaven? Or those nights when we would all bunk over your place for all night movie marathons, even studying for the exams while you and michelle tried singing some M2M songs?Do you remember sitting by the grandstand with our hair dyed and yours beyond the collar (was it)? Those days when we would meet up after school cos Orchard wasn't too far away?How about these days when you're now at work, vic almost graduating and me outta NS and just getting used to studying again? How we moved on from drinking coke to Hoegaarden or Remy Shooters or Margaritas? From studying/mac kakis to clubbing/wala kakis? From Orchard destress to Phiphi destress? We've come a long way.Happy Birthday to my dearest and bestest friend of all time. It's amazing how this marks the 8th, going onto the 9th year of our fantabulous friendship. Seeing us through almost everything, i'm so sure we have many more wonderful years to come cos we've simply got a friendship few even think possible.Cheers to our mooncake! nimgnoy let the night fall at 1:23 AM
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Nimgnoy is very happy cos he found a good novel at a warehouse sale in expo yesterday for only 4 bucks. He is thrilled to be able to devour the book on the train or bus to and from town. He feels shioks to immerse himself (finally) in a readable read deep into the nights by the warm bedside lamp, while the aircon goes chugging by the window, as the novel holds him captive - that only broken by sleep. He loves it when the more he gets into the book, the more the real world around him starts to disintegrate bit by bit and a new one takes over, one reigned by the mind to construct a make-belief domain brought forth by processes of pure intellectual imagination.Nimgnoy is thankful for Lisa Michaels' Grand Ambition.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 1:20 PM
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
I just took an overdose of my cough syrup. Its side effects yet to have surfaced.Intoxication. Grr. I've had too much of that the past week.But I still yearn for champagne. I think I'm a champagnaholic. Champagne reminds me of Le Petit Salut restaurant on that little street opposite Holland V, what's it called again? Some chinese sounding name. Erm. I'm thinking as I type this. Oh. Chip Bee Gardens. What a weird name for such a posh street.Issues. Hate em.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:23 PM
How do you measure a year? How do you measure 2006 that has just joined the collection of ever growing number of years left in antiquity?I could say that I managed to catch Kenny G in concert, been to Phi phi/Krabi twice, attended the FCUK summer fashion show, was invited to the gala premiere of MI:3, came more than face to face with PM, SM and MM and most ministers, was within an arm's length away from President Bush, landed and skied in the USA for the first time in my life.Or I could say that 2006 has been a year I broke my annual tradition and didn't run the Singapore Marathon, didn't catch Mariah Carey in concert though her world tour was on, caught only handful of SSO performances though I could have attended more and didn't go on my SEA trip I've planned for months.But no, all of the above, events and milestones which happened (or not) would never come very much to mind when looking back on 2006. And by now, you (those who know me well) would already know how I am going to and will define 2006.2006 was the year I gave all of my love to grandma.It has been a year which I am glad to say that I've stayed by her side almost every single day - sharing in her pain, sorrow, joy, tears, hopes and fears - till the day she returned home to the Lord. It was a trying year which took so much out of me, but on hindsight, was something I would have never regretted. So how do you measure your year?In Daylights - In Sunsets In Midnights - In Cups Of Coffee In Inches - In Miles In Laughter - In Strife In Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred MinutesHow Do You Measure A Year In The Life?
How About Love? Measure In Love - Seasons of Love.
nimgnoy let the night fall at 3:14 PM
