The best sequels are the ones where you go in with no expectations whatsoever. Spidey 3 and Pirates: World's End were so hyped, they fizzled in their actual delivery. But Rise of the Silver Surfer was such a fun thrill ride in comparison. Considering I don't much like the Surfer to begin with -- too powerful, too naive, too um... retro -- RotSS may just be the summer sequel I enjoyed the most.

What I didn't like were the CGI effects, particularly of Mr Fantastic, that were just too cartoony. Him using his stretchy powers at his bachelor party was unbelievable and ridiculous but, ok, he does have a ridiculous power to begin with. And Julian McMahon's Doom was once again more comparable to the sophomoric Human Torch than the much-feared iron-fisted ruler of a small Eastern European country that he is supposed to be. Doom has the potential to be a memorable screen villain, but this incarnation will never make it.

But RotSS never does take itself seriously. It doesn't get dark, it doesn't get draggy and long-drawn, and it doesn't try to outdo itself in effects or twisted sub-plots. It's a straightforward save-the-world story while arranging an impossibly difficult wedding in the meantime. So while the calamity is of a cosmic nature, the more difficult crisis is the human one: will the Invisible Woman ever become Mrs Fantastic? And that's what keeps the movie's legs firmly planted on the ground.

Also, the relationship between the Thing and the Torch is well-balanced. While Johnny has the looks and the enviable power of flame, flight, freedom and floozy attraction, Ben is horribly disfigured, solidly earth-bound, but has the love of a single good woman who is good enough for him. While Ben is secure in his relationship with the blind Alicia Masters, it's ironic that Johnny is the lonely one underneath it all.

Like the Fantasticar action sequence, the movie's pace just keeps pushing forward. Never a slow, dull moment, the movie accelerates until the final, climactic confrontation between the Surfer and the Devourer of Worlds. I'm glad we never get to see what Galactus looks like beyond the vague shadow he(?) casts on Saturn. There's more credibility to Galactus as a malevolent cosmic thundercloud than the Jack Kirby designed personification in the comic books.

And that's what the movies are good for. Focus on believable characters, focus on a tight plot, and especially important for blockbuster sequels: keep it fun, keep it fast, and don't try to make the audience think too much. Of the movies released so far this summer, RotSS made me happy.

Just when I was thinking how uninteresting my life has become, I just had to go lose my wallet. It's amazing how important that small strip of cowhide is. In it is my identity, my affiliations, my privileges, and access to my finances. Losing it is almost like becoming persona non grata in my own society. For a brief moment, I learned whet it felt like to have no money, and no way to get my hands on any since I couldn't prove who I was to my bank. THAT was scary.

I suspect my wallet had slipped out of my pocket somewhere between J8 (breakfast) and MacRitchie Reservoir (newly discovered marking and aborted lunch place). It must still have been with me at J8 'cos I was able to pay for breakfast, but by the time I wanted to pay for lunch, it had vanished. I doubt I got pickpocketed 'cos I don't remember anyone coming within arm's reach of me, but if it had fallen someplace someone must have found it, and if they were honest they would have somehow contacted me about it by now. But so far, no word.

Spent the rest of the afternoon retracing my steps, but nothing. So I lodged a lost report with J8, and with the Bishan NPP. The friendly police sergeant patiently explained that the report was just a record of loss, and if anyone turned in my wallet as a found item at any NPP it would simply be easier to trace. This means I still have to go to ICA and Traffic Police in Ubi to get my ID and driving license replaced.

Had to cancel all my credit cards -- the respective issuers informed me that no purchases were made on them today, phew -- and got my ATM card replaced. And slowly, I'm piecing my life back together, though it'll still be a few days before I'm whole again. How exciting.

When will I learn that movies based on hit video games almost always invariably turn out to be a total waste of time? Among the most recent were the disappointing Silent Hill, the egregious Doom, and to add to the list of stinkers is Alone in the Dark. Yes, I saw this one on the DVD rack at Gramophone and jumped at it without hesitation. The fact that the movie never made the big screen here should have told me something.

AITD was a brilliantly atmospheric chiller of a game -- quite possibly the grandaddy of today's survival-horror genre. Although rendered mostly on wireframe, it blended sound and music effects with disturbing, claustrophobic environments, and limited the effectiveness of weapons and the availability of ammo, so every shot, every whack had to count.

Somebody forgot to tell the movie version that running around with a squad of marines, guns ablaze, doesn't actually qualify as being Alone in the Dark. So, squad of paranormal investigating marines go chasing after some evil creatures released from millenia of slumber by a bunch of greedy, careless deep sea salvagers. The creatures are from another dimension, and the scientist studying them inexplicably wants to open the portal to their dimension. It's not clear if he just wants to live with them, or let them all loose on earth. Do mad scientists need a reason?

On the other side are the do-gooder marines, a.k.a. Bureau 713. They shoot everything that moves, but one-by-one the squad gets decimated anyway. It sucks being on the losing side. What do we expect? After all, their enemy can become as insubstantial as smoke when they're being shot at, but can solidify at will to slice and dice their victims with enormous claws and teeth.

Despite lots of rockin' and rollin' with either fists or semi-automatic weapons there were places at which I fell asleep watching. So possibly some of the plot gaps I'm missing is a result of that. But, really, if this was supposed to be an action thriller, it didn't work for me.

Et tu, AITD? Bleh.

The last couple of days have been seriously unproductive, yet costly. Been spending most of the time at home waiting for various tradesmen to service my poor flat that's falling apart at the seams. After 7 years of hard living, the wear and tear really shows.

We've got leaks in our plumbing, our bed is loosening at the joints -- I'm nervous about sleeping in it in case it collapses under my weight -- and our air-conditioning got flushed out with a chemical wash and had a part or 2 replaced.

Meantime, Q-tip was looking scruffy again. Pix on the right is the 'after' shot from her haircut by Dom.

At left is a test shot using my just-delivered Samsung Ultra Series 13.8 in camera mode. In fact, both shots were test shots. Need more practice and a steadier hand -- these pix still show some motion blur.

I finally took advantage of my handset upgrade offer and got this model for (relatively) cheap. This one came with an additional 512Mb micro-SD card for free, so there's lots of room for all kinds of multimedia junk if I ever wanted it. Yay!

Went biking with HP and NBS along ECP. A nice, easy pedal along the beach front, breathing the fresh sea air and being grateful for it. We moved mostly at a slow, even pace though we picked it up closer to the end of our 2 hours in order to 1) beat the thundercloud menacing us overhead, and 2) to grab some lunch before the afternoon movie screening at Eng Wah Suntec.

Introduced NBS to Carl's Jr at Marina Square. Though the burgers are impressive in size, I was even more impressed with the 2 girls who demolished their burgers and left no remains. It's great to be in company that doesn't pick at their food.

HP and I joined Amy who was swamped with organizing the movie screening at Eng Wah. The college kids arrived in droves to watch Shrek 3 that Amy had arranged a corporate screening for. In between trying to get some marking done, we lent a hand in distributing the tix, collecting cash from stragglers, and whatever else it took to keep Amy sane through it all.

Apart from the movie, the EW staff took us to view the projection room and showed us how the analog and digital projectors worked, plus the inner workings of the industrial-strength popcorn machine they keep behind the snack counter. They use a lot of sugar. A. Lot.

And how was Shrek 3? Still clever, this time involving characters from legend, apart from the usual fairy tale crowd. As with the rest of this year's 3-quels, it's slightly dark, but at least it doesn't go overboard trying to outdo itself. The least disappointing 3-quel I've seen this year so far.

Still having respiratory trouble. Friday night was the worst yet. Had to sit up to make the breathing easier, and sleep was almost impossible. Reading about that 20-year-old kid who died after a bout of breathlessness in Friday's ST didn't help much. Still, I did make it through the night and the symptoms mostly go away in the morning.

Went shopping yesterday with June. She used her remaining $50 Taka voucher to pay for a bottle of frankincense essential oil and a box of organic tea candles for me. Frankincense apparently helps ease breathing difficulties, and it certainly did make for an easier night last night. Also took no chances and rubbed myself down with Vicks before sleeping. So either one or the other, or the combination of both worked just fine.

Went back to the clinic this morning anyway. Doc Doreen heard me wheezing away and prescribed a turn on the nebulizer. Also prescribed asthma medication, though she said I wasn't so far gone yet that I needed an inhaler. She's still holding out that I'm only going through a passing phase. I hope so too.

On Aggie's recommendation, I went to try Sticky Rice in Gardens along with Amy, HP and Wayne. Ordered the green curry set that came in a pretty generous serving of rice and chicken green curry, a mango salad and Thai fish cake with a hot dipping sauce. For $10.50+++ the set was quite substantial. And tasty... well, I haven't actually met a green curry I didn't like yet. I'm not so much into Thai food, but green curry's one of their better creations. Yes.

In fact, Aggie's recommendation was so strong that I completely forgot that today was Friday, and though we could afford a little longer lunch, the opportunity to get a cheap salmon sashimi set on Friday special at Tomoko completely slipped my mind. So I made up for that little oversight by taking June and my folks there for dinner.

What? Apart from today's KI mock exam (we promised to mock everybody's answers thoroughly), I can't think of any other highlights of my day.

Just as well no one picked up on my invite to go car rallying today. I was supposed to go in Jen's car, but I'm still feeling too much under the weather to go traipsing around the island solving puzzles and getting all physical at this or that checkpoint of national and/or historical significance.

No problem for Jen, who got her cousin to replace me. I stayed home doing their research on the 'net in case they needed to find some obscure location or retrieve some esoteric information or whatever.

Turned out most of the checkpoints were in places I already knew of even without a Yahoo! search. Ann Siang Hill (which gave me the most trouble 'cos Adrian didn't spell the clue right for me), Kranji War Memorial, the Jap War Cemetery Garden, Beaulieu House.

Unfortunately, though Jen's car arrived 3rd at the last checkpoint, our team got pipped by the 4th car who scored a bonus point off a side-quest. So close to sharing the 3rd prize of $100 cash among the 5 of us. Oh well.

BTW, Ben's blog entry about our flawed political system got picked up and published in littlespeck. Look under the heading of "Leadership". The NST reporter who lives in Gardens sure loves all this subversive stuff! Link's in my sidebar.

Our good host, 'tilda, raises a glass and declares the evening's festivities open!

Co-host, Nige, raises many an eyebrow with this makeover

It's always happiest at the buffet table.

Our 3 drama beauties, and drama queens all.

The serious business of face stuffing.

Outgoing Pres, Van, addresses her minions one last time.

Over a glass o' red, Gerald and Tina find themselves good company.

Yes 'tilda, you've been a great host so far. You can let your hair down now.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is the official Othello Post-production Party. We're at the Gardens' Country Club and carrying on like tomorrow's a public holiday or something. Gotta hand it to the Drama Club, it certainly was an entertaining evening, what with our hosts in drag, a slideshow of candid production shots, silly improv games, thank-you speeches, oh, and I finally got to see the end of Othello -- on video anyway.

Also got to bowl as well, with the drama kids! No competition, no pressure. Just throw ball, laugh, cheer, whatever. And duck every time Johnny chucks his ball down the lane.

Thanks for a great time, Mel and NYeDC!

Ok, who left this pawprint on my nice carpet?

Was it you, Kaiser? You may look imperious, but I'm wise to your tricks.

Or you, Momo? Is that a guilty look on your face?

Dunno what's wrong with me. My bug hasn't left me yet though it's been about 3 weeks already. Today I was just feeling feverish with a throbbing headache, though for a short time, having lunch with Amy and HP helped me forget the pain. I feel a bit better now, after taking 2 cold-relief tablets. The headache's gone, though I suspect the beef I had at lunch is causing me some indigestion. Great. I've become quite the hypochondriac.

Still, I'm quite pleased that the chatbox in NYconneXions has been buzzing with activity lately. It's inevitable that people are going to put some nasty comments about our articles, but it's heartening that some of our readers are commenting back in support of our reporters. If only the debate was more constructive, though. Chatboxes don't provide enough space for well-developed arguments. Hope our readers will start using our "comment" function soon, or better yet, email us. But at least, people are starting to care.

The interior of Dragonfly, St James' Power Station. The college organized a tea party for the various CCAs that brought us honours in sports and cultural events this year, so we're all here enjoying an alcohol-free, smoke-free, dance-your-brains-out afternoon.

Well, for about half the time we were there, anyway. Apparently, the hosts of this shindig was a grassroots-type organization, so for the first hour we had something of a less-than-stimulating chat session over whatever socio-political issues the kids sort of made up on the spot. Perhaps we should have emphasized the sagely advice session a little more earlier, rather than bill the whole thing as a Party, then perhaps the kids might have been a bit more prepared for it.

Beyond the rather uncomfortable dialogue, we also had to endure about 45 minutes of MC time during which the MC attempted to liven up the proceedings by getting the kids to "sabo" each other and their tutors, pulling them up onto the stage to make them sing or dance or otherwise embarrass themselves. It was painful to sit through 'cos the sabo'ed were neither cooperative nor entertaining, and kept refusing all offers. A good MC needs to know when to quit and just get the music started. Honestly, we know how to entertain ourselves.

When they finally put the music on, most of the staff felt they had had enough. So a bunch of us took off for some proper tea at Vivo. We found the White Dog Cafe which has a decent set tea: choice of cake slice with tea or coffee at $6.

June joined us later for dinner, as did a delegation of other staff led by JY. White Dog does an ok prawn aglo olio and thin-crust pizza. A bit small, the portions, though satisfying enough without feeling bloaty.

And, inevitably, shopping to follow...

Pirates: At World's End is a convoluted mess of shifting allegiances in the form of private hidden agenda and quick-fix marriages of convenience. With an international consortium of "Brethren", the crew of the Black Pearl face off against the assembled might of the East India Company, a.k.a., the British Navy, and The Flying Dutchman that has been pressed into the service of the Brits.

Of course, the Black Pearl must rescue its Captain, Jack Sparrow, from eternal punishment first, then convince the other 7 pirate lords of the Brethren Court that a naval battle against the odds will bring a more favourable outcome than lasting out a siege at Shipwreck Cove. Considering that every pirate is his or her own master, it takes some deft politicking to get a consensus.

So apart from the number of thrilling fight sequences in which the action takes place so quickly and furiously it's hard to keep track of who's where and who's fighting whom at the moment, the negotiations and shared plots, schemes and secrets are equally disorientating. As always, double-cross and betrayal is the name of the game -- though nothing personal, it's just "good business." While such intrigue makes great fun to watch, perhaps a pen and notepad beside me would help me keep the score.

For all the interwoven treachery and skulduggery that goes on in the pirates' machinations, about the question of whether our heroes get what they want at the end, let's just say that what they want comes with a heavy price tag, with the chance for further quests ahead.

Oh, and the mention of Singapore occurs only in passing, nothing to be made a big deal of. It's set in a time of steam-and-bamboo powered technology, security-conscious to the point of paranoia, operated on the backs of slave-labour, and generally exploited by foreigners. Oh, wait, nothing new then.

Pirates is a long movie, well over 2 hours, and in places it does feel a bit draggy. But if you can be bothered, there's a tiny reward for those who sit through the end credits. The worth of the reward is inversely proportional to the fullness of your bladder, but it's your call.

And this little scruffbag is Girlfriend, who lives among the bushes in the square behind our block. She's about kitten size, but she's a grandmother already. Her family life has been quite tragic. For one thing, Flirt was her daughter from her last litter. There were 3 kittens in her first litter whom we named Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane, and today only Nabiki remains as her only known descendant, although they aren't quite on speaking terms with one another.

June decided to bring Girlfriend home today for a scrub 'cos Girlfriend is filthy with mud and other debris which she's picked up from roughing it outside. Notice that even after her bath, Girlfriend still looks brown around the edges. Think only bleach is gonna get her whites whiter than white again.

When she's dry again, we'll release her back to her natural habitat. She is a wildcat, after all.

Meet the people who are in D. NY EL. That's what our department T-shirts say today as we facilitate our Big Event of the year: our multi-disciplinary college seminar on the theme of "Crime & Punishment".

Apart from inviting external speakers from the legal, enforcement and rehab agencies around town, our other departments volunteered staff speakers to make presentations on crime & punishment from the point-of-view of their own subjects.

For example, biology discussed genetics and criminal behaviour; physics went behind-the-scenes on forensics; art showed us the value of graffiti; history exposed war crimes, and so on.

Now, that's a fun, short way to end our 2nd term. Good luck on your GP & K&I papers tomorrow, kids! Sleep early!

June arrived home from Japan at about 0200 this morning and found me asleep on the living room carpet. I'm not in trouble, though. She'll be claiming her cab fare from her company.

She bought me a bento box (left) for a past-midnight snack. Not bad, authentic Japanese cuisine, air-flown and hand-delivered straight to my dining table. Though cold, the mackerel and prawn were still good, as were the sections of tamago and tofu. But I discovered that I perhaps I'm not really a big fan of Japanese pickles after all.

The cats were very curious about the fishy smell and had to investigate. Kaiser proudly displays the 2 bite marks on the top of his head, a loving present from Momo.

Spent another day on sick leave. Woke up to a schnozz clogged up with liquid snot, causing lots of heavy breathing, not of the good sort. Meds ran out over the weekend and the nasal passages were letting me know that fact, no mistake.

Doc seems to think if I've had no history of asthma, I shouldn't be getting it now. I didn't know it was a strictly childhood condition. He sent me for an x-ray, just to be safe. Thankfully, the results only confirmed that I have bigger lungs than than the radiologist had set the machine for. Needed a second shoot to get all my lungs in the frame. Heh. People tend to underestimate my size, me too sometimes. I'm not a big guy, but I'm bigger than I look. Larger-than-life.

Had time to look at the papers today. Looks like Dubai's moving in a big way towards a knowledge-based economy with a humongous $15b private donation to education, while China's drawing in Ivy-league eggheads to develop its creative innovation sector. I must be taking on the right subject, then. KI seems to be where the future is headed -- if only people would stop treating it like it was still an old-school study-memorize-regurgitate type deal. The old, traditional ways still command too much respect. New wine, old wineskin. What to do?

The trees are having a field day assasinating our fellow countrymen and women. They've finally had enough of us cutting them down to make way for new infrastructure and they're hitting back with suicide attacks. The victims suffer through no fault of their own, though. Wrong place, wrong time. Beware, folks, the trees are on the rampage!

Funny that Malaysian politicians are debating our involvement in the IDR. I would think their position on the situation would be quite clear to them: our adik will put their money into our project, we say "terimah kasih," they balik kampong to their little red dot, everybody happy. What's so difficult about that?

Outward Bound Singapore is 40 years old. I remember being drafted by my venerable old institution to go on a 5-day 'adventure' course with them. Was it fun? Yes, I learned to sail a dinghy, fly on the flying fox, and abseil down a rocky cliff. All the time I wanted to go, "again! again!" But there were so many other of my fellow adventurers with me there was only time for 1 ride each. The hardest part of the camp: waiting in line to go once on a ride. Pretty much like staying in a coaster theme park for 5 days in summer. Every queue starts at the "45 minutes from this point" marker.

Man, I sound old and cranky. Must be the meds talkin'.

Our GOH for today's college day event was amazingly down-to-earth and clear of thought. She not only noticed how creative and expressive our art students are from the paintings we display all over campus, but also how angry, repressed and suppressed their subject matter was.

While she was sympathetic, her advice was practical and sound. Sure, students understandably feel constrained by the rules they live under, by the expectations people have of them, by having to do whatever they're told or face some arbitrary consequence, particularly if they are still in a school system. In contrast, the world promises freedom, everyone being able to do, dress, say what they like; and the difference just makes it harder to live in the suffocating environment of teenage student life.

But the school is pretty much the only place in which our young can learn that there have to be rules, lines drawn that set their standards and values for life. Without having to live under rules, being thrown into a world with no rules is more frightening than it sounds. As she put it, rules provide "points of reference" from which we can deal with the strange and the unknown.

Students feel they can't be creative or learn creativity under the pressure of their restraints. But it's in having to manouvre within our constraints that's where creativity can bloom. There's nothing creative about running off to live a hermit's life -- there's no audience for what a hermit does -- but it's in learning to live with others and to relate to them that's when we need to be creative, and that's also when other people can appreciate our creativity as well.

Our GOH is wheelchair-bound. She may be disabled, but she's so genuinely positive. I give her credit because she doesn't speak in platitudes, just from good sense. Hence, unlike other happy disabled people (or even happy abled people), she doesn't give me the creeps. Perhaps her disability gives her an added dimension of being able to enjoy life to the fullest, while the rest of us simply take life for granted. It's a timely wake-up call.

2 days' of sick leave and I feel so behind on my schedules. I wonder if codine really works for coughs or if it's real purpose is to knock people out so they won't have to endure cold symptoms until the cold decides to go away by itself?

Anyway, been back at work for 2 days already since my MC ran out, and these have been days of many long hours, trying to catch up on the 2 days I lost. Maybe that's why people don't go on MC when they need to. Just because we're sick doesn't mean the work will go away.

Currently in a semi-happy, drug-induced torpor. Got tired of having asthma-like symptoms at night for the past few nights, so I sought medical attention this morning. Got 2 days' medical leave and some pretty powerful medicine that makes my knees all wobbly, jelly-like. Seems to be working as I've been breathing quite normally this evening. Doc says it's probably some viral infection and that the antibiotics should take care of it.

June's just gone off to Japan, blissfully unaware of my state. Didn't tell her 'cos I don't want her to worry unnecessarily. She's a bit miffed 'cos her team came in second in the big staff race her company organizes annually. This year the company's racing dragonboats, and since I've had some experience in the area, June got me to give her team some 'secret' instruction with a paddle I borrowed from college last night.

With her strategizing and me instructing, she felt she was doing everything she could to get the advantage in the race. But today, her Boss's boat outpowered her boat to win the race. I dunno, I say if the Boss is happy, that isn't bad news.

I always have a good time working with Drama. The kids work with so much purpose and when they take on roles of responsibility, they carry them out so competently and with such confidence that these learning experiences are what they really remember from their college experience.

There's so much learning and growing that's taken place in the last few weeks as the Drama Club has been putting Othello together. So much innovation, so much creativity in the publicity machine (lovely posters and T-shirts!), in the props and set design, in the interpretation of characters; and so much hard work and dedication, just for 3 shows that are over almost before we know it. It was a wonderful journey getting there!

But I am quite upset when I hear that their subject tutors won't give them a break, but instead show displeasure or even punish the kids for the odd missed assignment or a tutorial. A person's energy is a finite resource, and when that person is giving his or her all for a cause, it's difficult to be 100% everytime.

We tutors tend to overstate the importance of our subjects without looking at the holistic development of the student. Just because they aren't scratching out answers on worksheets or scribbling essays doesn't mean they aren't learning anything. For example, there's so much historical knowledge to gain from immersing the students in Venice at the time of the Ottoman empire. And such background info will also help prepare them to play out their roles with better understanding as well.

It's the context that learning takes place in, and if we can make the kids feel that it's learning they can use, they learn faster and more willingly. Because it makes sense to them.

I'm sorry that our system makes learning so compartmentalized, so rigidly inflexible. I'm sorry our personalities and egos interpret students' lapses as signs of disrespect or negligience or laziness. I'm sorry we feel compelled to "regain control" of the situation by compelling attention from our students one way or another.

Sometimes, I wonder if we could arrange the subjects that the students take by CCA instead of an arbitrary subject combination by 'tikam' method. Classes will support the CCA by teaching background theory that the kids need to have, the CCA will put their learning into application and practice. That way curriculum and co-curriculum would be more symbiotic, as will the subject combination, and the kids won't have to feel so torn and divided dealing with everything.

Ok, enough rant. Wanna see a couple of pix from Othello?

Chief bigwigs of Venice, the Duke and 2 Senators.

The cast and crew of Othello 2007

We're in the middle of the matinee show of Othello. My scene's over so I'm just hangin' around waiting for the interval so I can buy drinks and ice-cream.

Shakespeare's stuff is a challenge for a school to perform. The language is different from what we're used to, and it's worse for the audience if the actors don't pronounce their words properly. There's no doubt that our actors know their lines and their motivations, but the delivery of those lines requires a speech therapist to perfect. Or, perhaps more time to practice, which we don't have. I hear the audience would like subtitles, but perhaps it's also an opportunity to practice their listening skills too, eh?

It was fun performing to friends in the audience last night, but this afternoon and evening it'll be a more scrutinized show. Our audience will be mainly students who are taking Othello as exam text, and I hear a couple of actors who are involved in their own Shakespearean productions will be in the crowd tonight as well.

1 more show to go!

Last night we ran Othello straight through in full-dress rehearsal mode. The set designers did a great job with our tiny LT2 space, draping militant-looking banners strategically around the venue. With the atmosphere realized and everyone in costume, all cast and crew could see the whole thing in a complete package, and Madames Directeur, Tina et Mel, liked what they saw, despite their anxiety from a week ago.

It helped that we were performing to a 'live' audience as well, comprising fellow students from the JC1 lit bunch. There's something about performing to a crowd that raises the energy of our output. I think we're peaking at just about the right time.

While I say we had a great run, please don't come in with expectation that we are the RSC or something. It's that we've reached our level of expectation for our standard, with the potential of exceeding it somewhat in the next couple of days. That's quite something already, seeing how much work and commitment the kids have put in to get us this far.

Looking forward to opening night...

Inter-house lunchtime debates took place at the library. We decided on some copyright issue to let the Drags and Griffs argue over. There was a lot of passion on the Griff side as they argued their case, while the Drags were quicker with raising and responding to POIs.

We had the library transformed into a small arena. I thought at first that setting up so many seats would mean lots of empty seats, but we did manage to get most of the seats filled in after all.

Thanks to Linc and Wayne for being co-adjucators.

Debaters still have a long way to go in terms of clashing on the issues, they're right now just at the stage of coming up with enough material to cover 8 minutes' worth of speech. Still, I must applaud their courage to continue their training. They will get good, given time and exposure.

It must be great to be as sociable as Amy is. She knows of excellent eating spots where she has friends working at, and because they're friends we know our service is in good hands. Amy introduced us to Ragazzi: Italian food, kopitiam prices. The ingredients come in fresh daily from Tekka Market, hand-picked by the chef himself.

My penne pascatore (mussels and prawns in tomato sauce) went down easily with teh peng (iced-tea), in just the right quantity -- not enough to bloat but enough to satisfy. The tomato soup was thick and creamy, almost the consistency of paste, and freshened up with chopped basil leaf. The mushroom soup looked really tempting too, but I resisted 'cos I wanted to keep something to look forward to next time I'm in the neighbourhood.

NBS shared a rather large tiramisu with HP and me. It was rich, though unusually watery where the cake pastry should be. Dunno if it was meant to be like that but it tasted just fine.

10 of us in 3 cars went for lunch, and then on to our seminar at which we heard from a couple of local bigwigs from ASEAN, yes our regional political, security and trading bloc. I notice that S'poreans tend to be, the bigger the title, the stronger the self-deprecating humour. Our 2 speakers were very candid as they expounded on the 40 years of the bloc's history, the necessity of the organization, and the realities of it's members' associations with each other.

In the evening, I rejoined the Drama Club to rehearse a full run before showtime this Friday/Saturday. Busy, busy...

So much controversy in today's ST forum pages, both print and online, about kids and education. There are concerns that kids don't speak good enough Mandarin, kids don't speak good enough English, and kids don't get to speak enough, period. The examinations are biased towards those who write well, so smart kids who can't write suffer because they are penalized for the one ability they haven't mastered. Kids are unhealthy because they spend too much time cooped up indoors doing an assembly line of homework, thus sacrificing the playtime in the sunshine that they need for a balanced, wholesome upbringing.

Who'd wanna be a kid in these times when everything has gone so wrong for everyone at schooling age? It's crazy! Sure, it seems like everyone blames the 'system' but kids are only hearing that in the end, it's them that's not good enough. They have nothing to say and no language ability to express themselves fully anyway. They are pale and pudgy, and though they are running non-stop like little cogs in a relentless machine they're still gonna lose out to the Chinese eventually. And conversely, in the words of good Brabantio, "Who'd be a father?"

Adults, I tell you what, if there's anything that's killing our kids, it's your endless worry and your inability to let go and let your kids grow up. All this hand-holding that you're doing, you may think it's for your kids' good, but you can't hand-hold them forever. The biggest liability your kids will have as they walk into the future is having to drag your corpse along with them by the hand. :(

Maybe if we can all stop our incessant teaching and preaching for a while, our kids might just find the space to poke their heads from under their shells and start learning for a change. So parents, teachers, adults, find the value in taking the advice you so love to repeat to your kids: shut up, please. And stop masterminding the future for them -- it's theirs to shape, not yours.

What's a well-dressed Duke wearing these days? Mel said my working black trousers were too casual, and that I would have to get a pair of "dress blacks" instead. Since my wedding suit was cut for a much smaller man, I had to go shopping. Picked up a pair from Centrepoint. Dress pants are much lighter and made of a thinner material than I am accustomed to. They flow a little better, and they do look more formal. Wonder what other occasion I can wear them on?

Then I had to get a pair of Doc Marten's to replace the formal shoes I keep under my office desk for special occasions. Like for example, last Friday's formal ceremony, immediately after which the right sole ripped off, hence requiring replacement.

So with pants and shoes, I can't wait to see what Mel picked up from the costume shop for the Duke's top. Actually, since my scene is supposed to be taking place late at night, perhaps the Duke should be wearing a nightgown and bedroom slippers, clutching a teddy-bear while discussing state affairs with his senators. That would make sense to me 'cos the Duke would need his beauty sleep ASAP. After all, the war begins tomorrow!

First time in a long while that I'm wearing my CLs again. Hope my infection has finally cleared up. What happened earlier was that before I had realized that I had an eye infection, I thought that the discomfort I was feeling would be solved by replacing my old lenses with a new pair. When I started wearing my new pair, my left eye was still infected , and it damaged my new left lens so badly it went blurry on me. No choice in the matter, I had to buy yet another lens to replace the new damaged lens. Fortunately, Leow charged me only half-price for the replacement.

It's great to be rid of my clunky old glasses again, but I'm gonna have to be more careful with my lenses. Clean and disinfect them as directed, and not wear them any longer than is healthy. Guess that's the moral of the day.

The day of our planned for long, leisurely lunch began with a little anxiety about where to eat. The weekday high tea is almost non-existent already, and because we could only leave at 1400, many set lunch type places would be closing their kitchens within the next half-hour.

It was Josh that brilliantly suggested the little tea shop within Eclectic Attic in PS. Eclectic Attic stocks an array of antique furniture and knick knacks in such variety that made Josh's head spin. As it was, at our table, Amy, HP and Belinda shared an ornate bench carved with an ivy motif that cost nearly $4k; while Josh and I shared another $1k bench cushioned and covered over with black & white Holstein cow hide. Bizarre.

The set up is like an English tea house -- dainty yet not stuffy. The service is attentive and good humoured, they have to be to put up with us. They respond to the little porcelain hand bell placed at our table, and they come round often with hot water to top up our tea.

The a la carte lunch menu looks appetizing, though they feature foi gras which I try to avoid, but Josh gamely tried it as a side to his hamburger steak. My own steak, though juicy and tasty, was unfortunately quite stringy, held together by muscle fibre that took quite some work chewing. But then I think the place is better known for their tea menu.

I was quite impressed with the scones Amy ordered. They came hot and very fragrant served with butter and Devonshire cream and a choice of honey or jam. There are other cake pastries for the sweeter of tooth, as well as gelati. Their earl grey tea is quite remarkable in that it maintained it's pleasant flavour over a couple of top-ups and because the tea never grew too strong with prolonged soaking, there was no need to remove the tea bag at all. Dunno what brand of tea that was, but I'd like to find out.

In the evening, I had another steak. Met up with June and introduced NBS and Vince to Pepper Lunch. June chalked up enough stamps on her incentive card to get a free soft ice-cream. Macha flavoured, sprinkled over with a layer of green tea powder which I though was quite ok for $1.70, though June thought it was quite ordinary.

Another memorable Thursday spent in good company.

Never seen Sun Plaza so crowded before. Must be because today is the opening day for Spider-Man 3, and it's the Labour Day holiday to boot! A blockbuster tends to bring in good business for the mall too.

How was Spidey 3? Well, it was slick with a bunch of amazing CGI effects. Venom came off quite believably, though he didn't have as much screen time as I'd hoped. The Sandman, well, we've seen before, not all that much different visually from the sandstorm in The Mummy Returns, and I think they tested some of that sand-cloud effect in Ghost Rider from a couple of months earlier.

Compared to the previous 2 movies, #3 had a rather patchy storyline. Too many story threads being woven into too short a time frame to tell it all in. There was also a lack of a strong villain character holding the plot together, the way the Goblin in #1 and Doc Ock in #2 brought focus to the earlier 2. The Sandman, I suppose, came closest, but while he had pathos, his psychosis was not really from within himself, but rather as a result of being in wrong place at the wrong time. With Venom and the New Goblin, there are too many villain types sharing the spotlight. That may be a great opportunity for lots of action sequences, but dilutes the characterizations of each.

Speaking of character dilution, poor Gwen Stacey got the short end of the stick. She got an exciting sequence in the movie, but what Peter did to her was unforgivable, black costume notwithstanding. I know allowances have to be made for the film genre, but Gwen was Peter's first love and her character should never have been treated so shabbily. I'll always consider Loeb and Sale's 'Blue' as THE definitive Gwen Stacey story. So there.

Nevertheless, Spidey 3 still manages to play with our emotions (though not up to the intensity of 2). Not often a blockbuster movie ends with grown men shedding tears for each other, and perhaps some of the audience along with them. And JJJ and the Maitre 'd played by Bruce Campbell prove that the funniest scenes belong to those characters that take themselves the most seriously.

The Spidey franchise still thrills visually and charms emotionally, but it is getting a little tired and needs a nice long rest after this episode. In showbiz you always have to leave the audience begging for more.

Campus got transformed into something of a mini-carny today. Apart from these air puppets which never fail to make me feel inexplicably euphoric, there were other inflatable devices to bounce on too. The occasion, of course, was to celebrate the College's 30th birthday.

'deep took me on at the jousting station -- Othello vs the Duke. Whoever stays on his pedestal is the winner, though in our game I think the results were rather inconclusive. One thing I discovered was that our pedestals were intentionally unstable, so while we're trying to push each other off with our padded quarter-staffs, our legs and knees were wobbling all over the place at the same time. It didn't take long for a grown man to fall.

The celebrations were both formal and informal. The task of making loud music to keep the carny side awake fell to me and my trusty little crew of DJs. Actually, "DJ" doesn't accurately describe them, they were running their playlists off my laptop, so I guess that makes them mp3Js.

These are them who've been keeping me busy for most of the past couple of weeks working out a balance of scripted and unscripted on-air chatter to go with the noisy music they selected to play. On the one hand, they were supposed to keep the carny lively and happenin' while making various announcements as required every quarter hour or so, but on the other, they also had to announce for the formal part of the programme too: basically informing the people stuck on the carny side what the movements of the GOH were, and where various sets of people should be at what time. AND deal with a wildly successful (free) song dedication service as well. Most of them are either debaters or journos, which is how they volunteered (no quotation marks) to take on this duty. Great kids, these, and I'm so grateful to them for the job they did today.

And a couple of old friends dropped by to say "hi!" B'lina and Cara met us for a caffeine fix in Gardens after the celebrations were finally over. That was, after NBS (on my behalf) confiscated the laptop powering our little makeshift radio station, and that was all there was to the evening's entertainment. Everybody just had to go home then.

Nice to catch up with Cara before she leaves for post-grad and possibly work in Holland. Yeah. Who knows when she'll swing by around here again? Anyway, happy birthday to the college, and happy trails, Cara!

Today marks another step for me up the hierarchy of the industry. The letter and the handshake confirm it. That must mean I'm getting more and more settled into this job. Odd because I never really meant to make a career out of it.

It's assuring to know that while I'm happy doing what I'm doing, Management is also happy to let me continue doing it. It's also ironic to be thus rewarded, because in the length of time I've been in the service, the one who's benefited most from what I've been doing is myself. While my job is to teach, I feel that I've learned much more than I've taught.

That, I think, is only possible with a great working environment; good friends among colleagues; and a sharing, open culture in which everyone is glad to lend a hand to shoulder each other's loads. When we can share our different strengths, talents and expertise within the staffroom it shows that the learning culture doesn't just stop in the classroom.

If I've stayed in the service longer than I originally intended, it's because of y'all who've made campus life so bearable. Thanks!

Suffice to say I've been unusually busy. Don't wanna say too much about that 'cos I don't wish to sound like I'm complaining, and indeed, I'm not. But it has been tiring and most nights I'm just too brain dead to do much more than zzzz...

Anyway, 1 task complete is the 5th print ish of NYconnex, college 30th anniversary edition. Must thank Jane and the publicity people for helping me finance the printing of this and subsequent issues. Download here.

Bought S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Boy, do I ever hate it. A major waste of money for me. But not because it's a lousy game or anything. It's more a reflection of my age and of my being unable to keep up with the sensory overload that the game prides itself in providing.

The graphics attempt to get as realistic as possible and I keep getting distracted with every dancing leaf, every swaying blade of grass. It gets so that I can't tell what's scenery and what's an enemy until it's 'Game Over'. I haven't even properly begun the game yet, but I'm lying face-down in a puddle of mud already. Killed by an enemy I didn't or couldn't see. Blech.

As so often is the case now, the movement makes me sick. No more FPS for this tired old man. I'll waste my time on C&C3 from now on. I blew a wad of cash on the limited edition DVD edition of STALKER but I willing to part with it already. Bidding opens at $30 (<50% of purchase price). Just drop me a comment, best bid by Friday 27 April wins.

Meantime, I'm gonna enjoy the free 29" Samsung HDTV Starhub delivered this evening. Yes.

Unbelievably busy this week, and zonked as a consequence. Some of it is my own fault, for accepting jobs I could have said 'no' to, but it seemed like fun at the time. They still are, though I wish they didn't all have to worked on and completed simultaneously.

Take yesterday... fresh out of having pulled off a near all-nighter on laying out the latest print NYconneX, it was debate training in the morning, 'Othello' in the mid-afternoon, college 30th anniversary rehearsal in the late afternoon ('nuff said), and June & I joined JY for part of the night-cycling activity with the Outdoors club. It was close to midnight when our group set off.

Each item on the list is a pleasure in itself, but all jam-packed in a 24-hour block, it gets quite draining.

Still, I did have time for a good dinner with June. We went to Pepper Lunch at Novena Square. It's like a do-it-yourself teppan-yaki . A thin slice of meat cut into bite-size pieces, served sizzling on a hot plate. One side is already being seared while the other is still raw. The diner must quickly turn the bits of meat over to get an evenly cooked meal. Each dish comes with a heap of bean-sprouts, and a couple of French beans and carrot slices. And a bowl of rice.

It's a dining concept so simple, there's no need for a chef. Just someone who can heat up hot plates all day long. And, of course, order-taking staff -- it is a fast food joint after all.

This year's night-cycling began with us already fatigued from the morning's exertions. No surprise that we didn't travel as far as we did the last time. What wiped June out was the uphill slope up Henderson, even before we got to ascend the long steep incline leading up to Telok Blangah Park, the 1st rest-stop. Nevertheless, that was a considerable distance from our starting point at Fort Road (ECP) while cycling almost continuously for about 2 hours straight. So no guilt giving up at that point.

The coming week isn't going to be any less packed. I say, bring it on!

Some days, I feel like I'm a hundred monkeys banging away at the keys of a hundred typewriters. The odds are that at random occasions, something coherent might actually come out of it.

Why do we love video games so much? Maybe it's because they provide a form of activity in which we can drop all our inhibitions, and simply revel in immersing ourselves in our raw emotions without the self-censorship of our social filters.

Living in society means living with people, and we all know that isn't easy. Getting along with others means having to compromise, giving up many of personal desires for some perceived "greater good". Often, we judge our desires as "selfish", or "perverted", or even "deviant", and so we justify to ourselves why we can't have them. It's all in the name of maintaining good relations with the people around us.

But with video games, There's no need for politeness or social grace, no need for masks or suppression of desire. There are only obstacles to overcome and rewards to reap. These desires are legitimized in the video game as goals, but they are so much more simple than in real life. Find. Kill. Heal. Upgrade. Win.

And since we aren't dealing with real people in a real context, we can truly be ourselves. But, you know what, human beings must really be social animals because when we do indulge in being ourselves, it isn't a pretty picture. Observe:

This mug is one in a series of photos of people at play on an Xbox. You can view the rest of the series here.

Time for another 'model answer'. Worked this one out while the GP kids were working on their own essay assignment on Friday. My question was from the previous Block Test:

We are constantly 'wired'. Consider the impact of this phenomenon in today's world.

I actually intended to write an outline but, as usual, went overboard 'cos the question is quite a complex one. Not satisfied with this answer 'cos there're so many more facets to examine in more detail, but as it is, I've already exceeded my 800 word limit. 'Wired' essay here.

Hmm... now maybe I can use this 'outline' to write a research essay for KI. Taily and Co can help me. Heh, heh.

I've let Mel and Tina persuade me into taking up a walk-on role in NYeDC's production of Othello. This, among everything else I'm working on. Tina's cut some of my lines, but that's a relief 'cos I don't have all that much time to rehearse long scenes with long orations. I get to play the Duke of Venice, quite a straight-laced, uptight kinda' guy, which isn't surprising since he's busy planning a war campaign.

A bit rusty with the stage-presence thing with the script looking rather static for now. But it's best to take Shakespeare slowly and pick up on his nuances first, before getting creative with it. Here's a first, anyway -- I've never done Shakespeare before, so I am a little envious of Johnny (Brabantio) and Ben (Iago): they get to be screwballs on stage while I just maintain order like some stuffy old patriarch, which I am supposed to be, of course. Still, no time to learn their parts, so break a leg, fellas!

By our 2nd debate training session held today, the bleeding seems to have been cauterized and my membership is holding at 6 JC1s. The rest appear to have no stomach for this sort of contest and have fled the field already. Huh. Young people!

Met the Robinsons. They're an oddball family who exist sometime in the future. Each family member has his or her own eccentricities, but they accept each other with mutual love and respect regardless. Such eccentricities include minor dementia, schizophrenia, belief in the anthropomorphism of amphibians, delusions of grandeur, extreme sibling rivalry, and psychomotor disability. Exhibiting any one of there traits could land an individual in an institution, but collectively united by blood and heart they pull together as the Ideal Family.

In fact, the only trait that poses any danger to anyone is typical teenage irresponsibility, and even then, Wilbur Robinson does his best to rectify the grave error he has committed.

The Robinsons are quirky enough to extend an invitation to orphan boy, Lewis, to join the family despite having their house nearly wrecked by a rampaging tyrannasaur as a result of his arrival (take it as it is, it's too complicated to explain). But when they discover that Lewis is from the past, they freak out and withdraw their invitation, insisting that he return to his own time.

The movie deals with the themes of failure and rejection. The Robinsons themselves celebrate failure -- the more spectacular, the greater the rejoicing. Or rather, they celebrate the learning that failure brings, while downplaying success which doesn't teach a whole lot. Hence the Robinson motto: Keep moving forward.

Lewis is himself a bright young man who has many great ideas, but his inventions often fail in their execution. He also has to face rejection several times over as his imagination and his devotion to science fail to endear him to the prospective foster parents who come to the orphanage to interview him. Apart from Mildred who looks after him in the orphanage, the Robinsons actually offer Lewis a home and a family, so it's especially heartwrenching when they eventually reject him too. But they have a good reason to send him back to their past.

The future is both predestined, yet it isn't set in stone. The choices we make in the present set a chain of events in motion that lead to the future. Conversely, the future depends on the choices we make in the present. The critical choice in this movie is Lewis's. One thoughtless incident is all it takes to change the idyllic utopian future into a horrific nightmarish one. He has to learn what that moment is, and make the right choice or end up irrevocably destroying the Robinson family of the future.

The plot sounds quite serious, but the comic relief comes in the form of the Bowler Hat Guy, arguably one of the worst evil villains to ever take up a career as an evil villain. He is the result of living a life of failure, yet never learning anything from his experience. His evil plans fail because he seriously lacks vision, knowledge and follow through. He is pure impulse who has unspecific goals, and no idea how to achieve them. It's hilarious when his plans fail. He deserves to fail because he doesn't think ahead or learn from his past mistakes. Resilient and persistent but neither resourceful or innovative, BHG is just pathetic.

Lewis, on the other hand, is driven by his desire to find his birth-mother. He studies through the night, attends university lectures uninvited -- and still dares to question the lecturer for more information -- and applies his learning to create a device that will help him achieve his goal. All he needs is encouragement and a realization that his many failures are necessary stepping stones towards the success that has so far eluded him. The bigger the goal, the more steps it takes. Lewis we root for, and hope that he will eventually find the belonging he so desires.

Perhaps it's because I don't earn a million bucks a year that's why I'm thinking: if I'm already earning a million bucks a year, how could the prospect of earning another half-million or so possibly motivate me any further to work harder, or be any less corrupt than I already am?

Sure, I'm grateful for my own pay rises and annual increments, but then I have room to upgrade and improve my lifestyle. But once we reach a certain tax bracket, how much further up can we possibly go? By then, we should have been able to afford all the creature comforts we could want, and then where does all the extra cash go? What good could so much money do, once we already have everything?

It's all a matter of perspective, though. We constantly tell ourselves that if we earned $x more, we would be happy, satisfied and have no worries about our future any longer. So when it comes to considering pay rises for our Ministers, we're all agape at how much more they'll be getting. While already comparing with their original pay, our salaries are a pittance. We think that already at their original salary, they should be contented because we are convinced that WE would be if we earned that much.

But perhaps asking the Ministers themselves if they are happy with their good fortune, or if the people are happy for them are the wrong questions to ask. The real question should be: now that we know how much our Ministers are earning, has 'politician' now become a viable job opportunity? Not too long ago, nobody wanted to get into politics. We'd rather abdicate ourselves and let the 'gahmen' make the decisions and solve our problems for us. But then, no one wanted to be the 'gahmen'. "No money in it," they'd say. But now that there's going to be plenty of money in it, I wonder if we're still going to be squeamish about getting into politics? If people still hesitate, then the pay rise would have been for nothing.

Big Boss calls our vocational institutes the 'jewel' of our education system. I wonder if the rest of our population would agree, and finally put to rest the stereotype that vocational study is where the Epsilon semi-morons of our society end up to train to do the necessary but menial jobs that no one else would want to do.

In my 2 years of vocational training, even as far back as '83-'85, the VI was certainly no dumping ground for cannot-make-it kids. Believe it or not, I was there to study Accountancy. The textbooks were thick and detailed, the tutorials no less gruelling than the ones we conduct in JC, and the fact that we all felt like bottom-of-the-barrel kids motivated us to study harder to prove that we weren't.

CCAs were free and easy, but they attracted quite a few talented students. I, unsurprisingly, got myself involved in Drama, and Debate, and was ed-in-chief of the institute's newsletter (omg, I just realized that in over 20 years, nothing's changed!).

These days, the institutes are pretty much equivalent to N American Community Colleges that offer diplomas and degrees in vocational skills. Both are run in Uni-like campuses, though I think only we have an image problem. Giving our institutes more recognition is a good move, and a timely one too.

Some other bits of personal trivia:
In the 2 years I spent in the institute, I was determined not to get involved with anyone so I could concentrate on studying and getting my Accounting qualification. Irony #1: I flunked the course and didn't get my cert after all. In 2 years, I simply couldn't learn to count, a fatal disability for a career in Accounting. Irony #2: a couple of years after I left, June arrived at the institute to study Secretarial duties. Despite my intention not to get involved with my classmates then, I married a fellow alumnus of the institute anyway.

Funny, the curveballs life throws at us.

Nice to see that old things can still be useful, even in a reduced capacity. Watson, my old desktop PC, once dead but now revived, had been lying around dormant for months already. Ever since Mr L33t replaced him, there wasn't much I needed Watson to do besides collect dust in the corner.

Today, Watson has a new lease of life. I donated him to the All or Nothing Cafe, my bro's workplace. So Watson can't play murderous, violent, bloodthirsty games anymore, but he can live out the rest of his retirement as a cash register for a Christian outreach centre.

Each one of us carries with us a gene that, while unique to ourselves, is also the result of several hundred-thousand years' worth of mixing different DNA strings in such a particular combination that it now defines us as the persons we are. Any tiny difference in the way your genes had been put together in all that time, and you wouldn't be you any more, in other words.

So the gene that we carry has survived up to this point in time, and our genetic imperative is to ensure this gene we carry will continue to survive by combining it with someone else's gene, thus passing it on to the next generation. And speaking in evolutionary terms, we hope that the new combination will improve the new genetic host, making it stronger and fitter to survive into the following generation after that, and so on.

Natural selection tells us that often, gene-lines come to an end because the genetic mix was flawed and was thus unfit to be passed on. These genetic hosts are therefore literally dead-ends, and deserve to be removed from the gene-pool because they were defective. These genes will not contribute to develop the species any further as the stronger, fitter genes that do get passed on to the next generation pass them by.

But although the biological drive to have offspring is strong -- after all, the more offspring there are, the more likely it is for the parents' combined genes to continue to survive another generation -- these days, the human species is making evolutionary history by making a conscious decision not to procreate any further.

Considering the falling birthrates that today's ST is pointing out in Taiwan (politics too unstable, therefore we'll not have kids), and throughout the developed nations of Asia, people are declaring themselves as evolutionary dead-ends, thereby voluntarily removing themselves from the gene-pool. Thus, they summarily end several hundred-thousand years' worth of their own gene's evolution, not because the genes are themselves defective, but because the current hosts are "exercising a choice" not to pass them on any further.

It's almost like saying that we are the epitome of our gene-line's evolution, and this is as far as it goes... because we said so.

We human beings think too much. We intellectualize our environment by assessing and analyzing risk factors and cost-benefit ratios. We imagine worst-case scenarios and visualize perfection, and are even prepared to hold out for it even though the ideal is only ideal because it is unattainable. We have developed over-complicated mating relationships, and possibly childcare duties as well.

Our big brains that we're so proud of, the one that has led us to evolve into the dominant species on the planet, could perhaps also be our greatest impediment to evolutionary progress. Evolving smarts has helped us immensely, but evolving too smart could in itself be a genetic defect. I can already imagine the gene-pool lifeguards yelling, "OK, everybody, out of the pool!"

Those of us who do have children, we sometimes think of in animalistic terms. We say that they "breed like rabbits," and we are aghast at men who have voracious sexual appetites, calling them "beasts," "wolves" and "buaya," but chances are, in the long-run, their genes have a better chance of advancing our species than those of the more conservative persuasion. If our wholesome couples persist in choosing not to have kids, we can be assured that the future will only belong to the horny bastard.

Now, there's a future to contemplate!

Dusted off my old street performance outfit this morning. 900 SAC recalled I performed an item for them a few years back, and commissioned an encore in honour of Easter Sunday today.

The piece is a short solo set to "Watch the Lamb" by Ray Boltz, a strongly narrative song. The performance was originally choreographed by Todd Farley, but I 'koped' it and modified quite a bit of the movement because the original was too slavishly literal, acting out the song line-by-line. Boring.

I got the music and burned it onto a CD as the only track so there could be no screw-ups in selecting the right song. I arrived early before service to do a sound-check, no problems. We were all set.

Just before the sermon, they introduced my item. I entered to appreciative applause, centered myself at zero-position, cued the sound-booth, and... nothing. No music over the loudspeakers. Now, that is quite an experience -- to have hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at you, expecting you to do something, and there you are frozen like a rock because only you know that technology had somehow managed to mess things up again.

It was a contrast of panic states: me petrified onstage, while in the sound-booth the techs are freaking out, pressing buttons, sliding sliders, double-checking connections, the works. That was it, I broke with performance discipline and went for a mike to buy a little more time for the tech crew to resolve the problem.

As I ran out of patter, they did get the problem fixed, sort of. The guys jury-rigged a laptop to play my CD over the speakers, but the sound quality was crap, barely audible and not quite doing the music much justice. Still, the show had to go on, and that was my show for the day. I won't be expecting rave reviews for this one.

Post-mortem report: during service, someone came into the sound-booth and made off with the cable connecting the CD player to the amplifier. A-mazing. I can be as careful as I ever could be, and yet someone else's human error can ruin the whole show.

Guess that's a clear sign from on-high: Thou shalt not quit thy day job.

Clan celebrated Uncle W's golden wedding anniversary last night at Ah Yat. The whole banquet room was full with our family, his in-laws and friends. Uncle W sure knows how to throw a party!

The food was standard 10-course Chinese fare, not quite spectacular, but then it wasn't the highlight of the evening. Most of the evening we were entertained by the 'live' musicians whose oldies repertoire took us past retro right into nostalgia. Each table had an ample supply of songsheets so we could sing along while we ate. Apart from the MC and the regular musicians, a few other 'guest performers' took turns with the mike, including a cannot-make-it blues singer who seemed to be making up the words as he played. Perhaps that's the nature of the blues?

I think June would have enjoyed the evening if she didn't have to go to Bangkok. They were playing songs from her favourite era.

But to think of a marriage that has lasted 50 years and is still going strong is such an inspiration. Uncle and Aunt have always been a loving couple, inseparable though all these years. In his address to his guests, he hinted at an incident many of us have by now taken for granted, and we got to see it from Aunt's perspective. She had to say 'goodbye' to him once when duty called, and she had no assurance that Uncle would return home alive again, or even if he would return home at all. But her unquestioning trust gave him the courage and assurance that what he was doing was the right thing to do. That operation is now a small, mostly forgotten, chapter in our local history books.

True love breeds true courage. 50 years on and looking ahead... for me and June, we've barely scratched the surface of what it means to be married to each other. As we sang along to those old songs, as we watched Uncle and Aunt dance... I really missed June last night.

I picked up C&C3, and after only 2 moderately successful campaigns on the GDI side I'm already getting my sorry butt severely booted by the Brotherhood, and I'm playing on 'easy' mode. So I like playing games, but obviously that doesn't make me any good at them.

No messing about with the venerable RTS formula for C&C3. Establish (or rescue) a base of operations, fortify base defences while simultaneously building up a massive army comprising a variety of capabilities. When ready, send the troops over the hill to wipe the enemy off the map.

The game is graphically a treat with destructible terrain and firefights that are awesome to behold. When units gain access to beam weapons and railguns they light the map up in a breathtaking firestorm whenever they encounter their opponents. Such eye candy makes even losing a few units bearable while learning not to do "that" again.

Setting the battles in context are live-action cutscenes with a number of characters played by actors on the sci-fi circuit. Michael Ironside and Billy Dee Williams head up the GDI, while Joseph Kucan and BSG's Tricia Helfer lead the Brotherhood. Helfer's BSG compadre, Grace Park (whoohoo!), lends a supporting role -- now, there's a reason to get through a battle and open the next cutscene quickly!

This is a game more suited for multi-taskers. There are resources to balance and allocate, favourite units to keep an eye on, and battles to wage on a number of fronts. People like me who can only focus on one problem at a time frequently have their asses handed back to them on a plate. Never mind. If I can't multi-task, I can still exercise my persistence and resilience, and the payback they get when I finally succeed will be sweet.

Well, he's a different Jim Carrey, anyway. Still playing crazy but in The Number 23, he isn't playing for laughs. His character, Walter, is gradually losing his mind thanks to an anonymously written novel his wife buys for him as a birthday gift.

As Walter reads his gift, he moves from indifference to mild interest, then to obsession and paranoia bordering on suicidal-homicidal tendencies. It's tense wondering what might send him over the edge. Walter's a bit like Carrey's other character, the Cable Guy, but with a deeper exploration into his psychosis and motivations.

The novel he reads seems to parallel his life and he comes to "realize" that the number 23 rules his life like a family curse. Applying numerology on the minutiae of his life -- e.g., name, birthday, address, memorable events -- somehow they all add up to 23, just like it does for the novel's protagonist.

As the gristly details of various characters' deaths in the novel come to light, Walter becomes convinced that they refer to real events, and that he is about to become the anonymous novellist's next victim.

For some people, literacy and mathematics are not a good thing.

Anyway, this whole numerology nonsense is all about finding things just because people start looking for them. We creep ourselves out observing the staggering coincidences between the assasinations of presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, for example. But if you think about it, the probability of the digits 2 and 3 appearing together at any time is as high as any other pair of numbers appearing together: only 1 in 89, if I calculate correctly. And when we accept multiples of the 2 digits, plus the reverse order of the digits, the odds shrink significantly lower still. 23 could rule your life as well! Coincidence? I think not!

I take Strip's Innuendo of the Week Award back. I will re-award it to my very own Department for the outcry we made about our staff welfare fruit entitlement:

Today's fruit was banana, and this batch was slightly underripe, had been left in the sun in transit and was personally delivered to us by HP.

Mel: This banana is hot and hard!!!
Me: HP, how did you handle my banana? Why's it all sticky???
Amy: It came like that.

Oooo...k. 'nuff said.

Xmac's Innuendo of the Week Award goes to the print ad in today's ST, page 3:

"Special clearance for virgin forests
Why beat around the bush any further?
Make STRIP your first time and we will shave half the price off"

The ad is for Brazilian waxing!

Brilliant!

So foreign students are kicking the butts of our local students in contests and in academic grades. Why's everyone so broken up about that? Speaking as a previous "foreign student," I don't find it surprising at all.

It's not the education system. How we educate our kids doesn't differ much from place to place. Sure, the packaging may look more attractive here and there, but the simple formula remains: kids either make the effort to learn, or they muck about and waste their time -- and everyone else's.

It's the fact that they're consciously identified as "foreign" that makes the difference. Like it or not, it takes a lot more for them to be assimilated into their host country, so they tend to work harder at it. Since they're going to stand out anyway, it might as well be for the right reasons than for the wrong ones.

They also have more at stake. The costs are higher to be based overseas, and there's the constant reminder that there's a significantly higher investment their parents have put into them than their locally-schooled compatriots. So if they like where they're staying, they'd better give their parents the expected (or better) ROI, or risk getting yanked back home again.

Besides, the personal investment is also pretty steep. Having to move away from friends and loved ones for a few years to study means making the personal commitment to make the separation count for something to make the pain worthwhile.

Having the best of two or more worlds gives them a huge advantage in appreciating and understanding learning points better than mere locals.Foreign students have a much larger worldview than locally bred students, being that they have the experience of another world, another lifestyle that they either wish to improve or live up to. After all, they're already living in a situation in which they have to ask questions and learn things quickly or they won't survive long in their strange new world.

Of course there are colossal failures as well, but we don't notice them much. They arrive with a big superiority complex and when things don't match up to their expectations they get homesick and flunk out. Good riddance.

But the fact is, the foreign kids who are doing well here are thriving because they really do like it here. That's something we should be proud of as their hosts. We must be doing something right to attract so many of them, and having them beat the pants off us means we have a new standard to reach for. The alternative is to forever remain stagnant, boring as ditchwater. And let the world pass us by.

As a foreign student, I surprised myself topping classes that I seemed out of place in: the only Oriental kid in English Lit. back then. Except for the class in feminist theory that was mostly populated by angry single-mothers, that is -- that one I hid under the table most of the time. As far as I knew, no one begrudged me my success. Perhaps that's because Canada recognizes itself as predominantly immigrant populated anyway, and it's a fact that we Singaporeans need to wake ourselves up to. We'll gain so much more if we learn to include rather than perfunctorily exclude.

Began the morning picking up the ladies for brekkie. I arranged to meet Aggie, Belinda and NBS (Dee absent with a bad back) at AMK station, then drove to the Siglap Killiney Kopi Tiam before reporting at today's Sports Carnival.

Smuggling in Q-tip in her pet carrier, we occupied the table right in front of the serving counter, and chowed down on the kaya toast standard breakfast set, Hokkien char kuay teow and mee rebus. Killiney's menu variety simply beats Ya Kun's hands down, and the food is up to expectations as well.

I had to carb binge in preparation for the staff Dragonboat event. Sports Carnival was at Bedok Reservoir Park this year, and it was inevitable that some of us just had to get wet. Peggy boss, JY, got us rowers together before the event to work on our technique and timing, and even attempted some kind of Mental Skills Training on us which we thoroughly dissed her for. But Team Peggy was ready.

No memorable victory would be complete without some controversy. Team FiFi insisted Peggy's boat cut their lane, we were sure they cut ours. Independent witness, NBS, said it was hard to tell who cut whose lane because all 4 boats (including Griff's and Drag-on's) seemed to be weaving all over the place, so I guess we'll just have to chalk it up as a hazard of the course. But we got the advantage and powered through to a strong finish. Yay! One more shiny new trophy $10 Sportslink gift voucher to display on my desk. Hmm... maybe I'll use the $10 to buy my own trophy?

Q-tip had a memorable day too. My willing dogsitters, Belinda and NBS took her around the park to meet people, lots of people, too many people. Had to put on her PR face at 110% while her stupid owner went Dragonboating. How exhausting.

Lunched with Aggie and NBS at New York, New York, AMK Hub. They have a gorgeous, meaty mushroom Swiss, drippingly juicy, and a decently sized portion too. It's great for cramming into the mouth and taking hefty bites out of, knowing there's plenty more where that came from. The ladies were tempted but declined dessert, as did I. That experience will be for another day.

Resting back at home now. Gotta go collect the Wongs from the airport tonight.

Dispensing with black-belted kids in rubber suits, this latest TMNT movie opts for straight animation. Makes sense, as the action is a lot less clumsy and the movie doesn't get hamstrung by bad acting. Still, the plot is horrendously full of gaping loopholes, the kind you usually end up with when you mix a 3000 year-old plot to take over the world with sci-fi mumbo jumbo. Apparently, when a bunch of stars align 3K years back, some megalomaniac gains immortality, but his kin turn to stone and 13 monsters get unleashed to wreak havoc on the world.

Cut to present day where aforementioned megalomaniac has become a corporate magnate and finds a way to reanimate his long-petrified brethren, who unfortunately, still have rocks for brains. Meanwhile, the Turtles have had a major falling out with each other and are struggling to find the groove that once made them the total kick-ass crew we know and love. And the 13 monsters must have taken a 3 millennia vacation 'cos until they show up in NYC a day before the stars realign, no one's ever seen them before. Odd, since judging by their size and violent tendencies, they're kind'a hard to miss.

Anyway, we don't care if the plot doesn't make sense. There's plenty of fighting set to a pulse-pounding heavy rock, occasionally hip-hop beat. The Turtles are edgy and emo, with a thrilling fight sequence between Leo and Raph; Casey and April (who's since learned to fight too) lend a hand; and the Foot make their presence felt with their new female leader. TMNT is a pure adrenaline rush -- just leave your brain at the door first. Oh, did I mention that there's plenty of fighting? :D

I'd say ties between the Arts and the English Depts have never been closer. The breakfast table these days is not as well defined as before. Likewise the dinner table tonight, where we gathered in one of the air-conditioned upper rooms of the Cafe de Caire in honour of Wayne's birthday.

From the Arabic menu, we ordered a selection of dishes: humus, kebabs, 'shrooms, mixed grill, and an assortment of dipping gravies for our flat bread and rice. The portions were on the smallish side, and didn't look like they would satisfy our table for 9. But the dishes kept coming in and after just a couple of rounds we were already full.

For the first time, I actually enjoyed a mint tea. The taste was cleanly tea-and-mint which is much more pleasant than the tea-bag type that tastes like hot diluted toothpaste.

The cake was from 3 Monkeys, chocolate which is always a good choice. This one came in an almost solid chocolate shell with a couple of fresh strawberries on top. Nice touch, though I noticed no-one ate them. Think we were at about max capacity by then.

Attendance list: Mel, Bong, Josh, Audrey, birthday boy, Linc, Amy, HP, me, in that order around the table. Absent with apology: Sha; absent through no fault of her own: Belinda.

My unstable wireless set-up at home finally collapsed and I went offline last night. I was seriously considering taking all my hardware back to Harvey Norman's and kicking up a big fuss about it, but it was already quite late and I was lazy. So for one last time I carted my desktop back out into the living room to reconfigure my router, calling customer support for any advice they could offer. Helpfully, they suggested switching the power off the cable modem and router before reconnecting both back to my desktop. Nothing I hadn't already done several times before. Duh.

Oddly enough, for once the router configured itself perfectly on my last attempt, the whole process finishing without interruption. Now everything's up and running again, as stable as it ought to be. As usual, no idea what I did right.

If anyone thinks I'm a tech whiz, I tell them the truth: it's just serendipity.

Edit 01:
Just realized I didn't have to move my entire desktop outside to configure my router. I have a laptop, don't I? Doh!

I feel like I've just been blogging for the sake of blogging the last week or so. Short, pithy entries, few details, awfully self-indulgent, and I'm not even sure if it's all been all that coherent either. Thing is, I've been getting very tired at night lately, and it's hard even to think straight.

I've been falling asleep earlier -- though not necessarily going to bed earlier. Whether I'm in my study marking or surfing, or whether I'm watching TV in the living room, my brain disengages at some time, and it's off to la-la land for the next couple of hours. When I wake up, it's already past midnight and then I have to drag myself off to bed for another couple of hours of sleep.

My sleep cycle is obviously severely disrupted and seriously needs to be reset. Starting tonight.

Back to wearing glasses again, probably for the rest of the week. I suppose that's better than having my eyelid grab my contact lens and dragging it up into the upper part of my eyeball every so often. Leow confirmed it's because I have a minor eye infection and confiscated my lenses. Said he'll have to keep them for cleaning and I should be able to collect them on the weekend. Meantime, I'm on anti-bacterial eye-drops 3X a day.

June left on her annual family vacation early this morning. They drove here in a cab to collect her at 0445 enroute to HK. Again. Have a good trip!

Today's service incorporated the first Enrollment Service of the 106th Junior Brigade of which SAC has become a sponsor. Their chaplain was our guest speaker, and part of his message was that though adults are frequently tempted by the little monsters to commit infanticide, ultimately children will turn out to be our most important investment in time to come. I think he must have been trying to recruit more volunteer officers to help run the company.

Let me think about that for a moment... nah.