Empty Vessel

The Final Blogspot Post

2005-12-12T09:08:00.000+08:00

Ah heck it, I'm just gonna move to my new blog today.

http://iantan.org

For the snazzy photo gallery (it'll fill up with many pix soon)

http://iantan.org/imagery/

Bye Blogspot, it's been fun, but not fun enough.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2005-12-09T01:34:00.000+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen,

http://iantan.org

It's not ready yet, but you can take a peek. I'm a little short of ideas on what I want for it right now, but all I know is that I can finally put up my photographs in all their frigging 12.8 megapixel quality if I desired.

Meanwhile, I've gotta get back to my crash course on customising my 10GB website.

Why Frozone's wife rawks

2005-12-07T00:22:00.000+08:00

(I was watching The Incredibles again to review this widescreen monitor, and the following scene is an absolute classic. Cut and pasted the below transcript from www.moviemistakes.com)

-----------

(ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE IN THE CITY. FROZONE LOOKS FOR HIS SUPER SUIT IN VAIN)

Frozone: Honey?

Honey: What?

Frozone: Where's my super suit?

Honey: What?

Frozone: Where is my super suit?

Honey: I uh - put it away.

Frozone: Where?

Honey: Why do you need to know?

Frozone: I need it!

Honey: Nuh uh! Don't you think about leaving to do some derrin' do! We've been planning this dinner for two months!

Frozone: The public is in danger!

Honey: My evening's in danger!

Frozone: You tell me where my suit is woman! This is for the greater good!

Honey: I am your wife! I am the greatest good you are ever gonna get!

The limits of this blog are being tested

2005-12-05T01:19:00.000+08:00

This blog is a tough one.

Unlike most other blogs, my sense of self-preservation (and sometimes my concern for my worried editors) prevents me from writing anything that is really reflective of what I'm really thinking at any moment.

Oh yeah, you've been reading lies all this while!!! (Ok, it's true stuff, but just watered down, sub-edited, copy-edited and filtered once more with a strainer by yours truly). You end up reading nothing but obvious axioms, pretty photos with one really expensive camera and some useless links.

BUT, I can still write the following:

Imagine if you have a blog/website that is widely read, and you somehow link being widely read to being wildly popular and liked. Your sense of popularity is inflamed by the large number of supporters you have, most who leave behind comments as inane as your online mutterings.

Then you start to publicise yourself as someone who has good credentials, who's worked for reputable organisations, when all you did was a mere part time job where your grubby work didn't get you an long-term job offer. When people send you legal warnings for shooting off your mouth, you proudly proclaim to the world that it's no big deal. Perhaps you are waiting for the warning to become a court order?

You think you're cool, you think you're hip, you think you're the next icon. But all you're doing is showing the rest of the world (including your brain-dead fans) how little you know about anything.

When do you know when you know something? When you keep your trap shut where it matters most - online.

Dear unnamed recipient of this post - Do something worthwhile with your life. Get good grades, get a good salary, save some lives, do some housework...whatever. I've seen quite a bit of the world, yet it's always alarming to see the vast amount of foolishness concentrated on and exuded by one individual.

I once met this man who was headed to jail for a very public assault on a woman, and he defended himself by saying, "See how many of my friends say I am such a good teacher and friend!" He kept on this crazy thing and was put through a really public disgrace later. (Ah, if only I could tell you more!)

I haven't been reading the Bible much of late, but Proverbs is always my favourite (when reminding myself not to reveal how much of a fool I am online).

Proverbs 18:1-3 (New International Version)

¹ An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
he defies all sound judgment.

² A fool finds no pleasure in understanding
but delights in airing his own opinions.

³ When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
and with shame comes disgrace.

---------------------

So is this blog going to become more preachy and boring? Honestly I have no idea, it wasn't created to please any particular individual but myself, and there aren't that many people reading anyway. It's really a collection of my observations that are safe enough to put up for public view

And I don't care if anyone thinks I'm snobbish.

I'm from ACS from goodness sake, we know when someone is not colour-coordinated or has no class. That's why parents want to put their kids in ACS rather than RI ok. Pedigree has its privileges, and I'm not just talking about a much cooler school badge.

The Brood - Dec 2005

2005-12-04T20:26:00.000+08:00

Goy with the current crop of kids - Joshua Hwang, Caleb Hwang, Isabel Tan, Isaac Tan and Jonah Hwang. Will more kids enter the photo soon? Stay tuned (Definitely none from the Tan side, factory is closed)

Some obvious observations

2005-12-02T04:21:00.000+08:00

General stuff I've noticed about human nature recently, just penning them down because I can't sleep.

a. People don't seem to realise it when they are disliked by the majority. Even if they do realise it, they take it that it's a side effect of their current hold on power (or perceived hold - as a guy interested in the flow of power, I've realised very few people actually have any). One person I know is described as having constant PMS by her peers, but she obviously doesn't look into the mirror to see how pinched her face is at default setting.

b. Everyone's just trying to get by. Sometimes I get really angry when people do stupid things to each other, but if you step into their shoes, it appears that they are just trying to preserve their way of life and their livelihood. I remember once when I felt this colossal wave of empathy when I realised "All Men Are Brothers Under God". The feeling passed pretty quickly, (I'm no Mother Teresa, obviously) but the lasting impact was that I realised everyone's just trying to work within their natural limits of abilities and emotions.

c. Everyone's scared of being lonely. ('nuff said)

d. Most people pretend to know more than they actually do. However, that is a fundamental requirement when making "small talk", which prevents "awkward silences" or "appearing unfriendly". So there is an inherent risk in making too much small talk, as holes start appearing in your impression management. Best solution is to get the other party to make more small talk than you, which is probably why the smartest people often ask more questions than they answer them.

P/S In this case it would appear that journalists are the smartest people around, since they ask heaps of questions for a living. On the flipside, they have to make the most small talk too, since they are "social butterflies" and need to get people talking hard. So they are pretty normal actually.

e. "Experts" often know jackshit. I'm not referring to real gurus like babysitter Miriam Stoppard or trusted food tasters like KF Seetoh. I'm referring to lots of self-styled experts in various very niche fields (I'm tempted to name one) who sound so competent, but actually have no idea how their complex theories can possibly apply in the real world of politics, racism and religion. Then some publications will go and quote them and the experts suddenly have greater earning power for knowing nothing.

f. And such experts will tend to disagree for the sake of doing so. Why? Because you can't possibly be more right than them.

Critical bloggers

2005-11-30T14:05:00.000+08:00

An interesting phenomenon is starting to happen.

There seem to be self-styled experts appearing online and taking on traditional institutions as if they knew any better. It's not just the usual gripes about "Oh the baby bonus is such a farce", but "You guys don't know anything. I went through university and learnt all the things that the media/govt/bank sector should be. Here's how you should have done it."

Let me tell you I didn't learn very much about the real world, business concerns, ethical dilemmas and so on in school. Academia lives in its own vacuum, which is fine as long as they don't mess up shareholder value.

My challenge to all you people who think you're so smart - find a job in the company/institution that you are unhappy with. Why be an armchair critic when you can actually effect real change? Or are you too scared to do so? Maybe you can't even pass the entrance test.

Blogging problem #145 - Everybody has become a consultant. But who's paying them to talk? When talk is cheap, is it worth talking?

The Pursuit Of Knowledge

2005-11-27T01:31:00.000+08:00

As I grow older, I start to wonder about certain things that we assume to be the right thing to do.

For eg., is there a need to know as much as possible about anything? Otherwise known as "The Pursuit Of Knowledge", a virtue eagerly promoted by everyone from your teachers to the prime minister, I find that it has some unpleasant side effects.

I mean, why is there then, a phrase called "When you know too much"? When do you know when you know too much? Is it when you realise that there wasn't really any point in knowing all that you have discovered thus far? Or when you realise that knowing so much only makes you realise how little other people want to know about anything? If that is so, why be so different from other people, risking the label of being "difficult" or even "show-off"?

Knowledge is power, I agree. But knowledge, especially of mortal issues, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Non-wiggly Wiggles

2005-11-20T17:00:00.000+08:00

Beaudy-mate! Anthony, Jeff, Greg and Murray - Oz's top earning entertainers (yeah, even more than Kylie ok).

The original non-originals. The first edition of the Taiwanese Wiggles. Fat Annie is now replaced by Skinny ViVi.

We were all excited today, because we saw an ad that the Taiwanese version of The Wiggles were coming to Forum Galleria.

The real thing was supposed to perform here in 2003, but SARS hit and they decided to keep their wiggly toes out of hot water. Nevertheless, snobbish kids all over Singapore have been enjoying their looping TV series "Lights, Camera, Action!" on cable TV. Sick of the same episodes, I've bought about 6 DVDs so far for the Little Prince.

But why...why did the Taiwanese guys decide to speak and sing in English (Back home, they sing translated Wiggle tunes)? The grammar was correct, but oh man... the Taipei accent! (Ironically, I met David there, who is a Chinese with a thick Welsh/Scottish/Whatever accent).

Poor Isaac, he was so confused. Why did Murray turn into a skinny girl called ViVi? Why was "Wake Up Jeff!" rechristened as "Wake Up Danny!". And why was Greg this small Chinese guy instead of a tall strapping Aussie?
If the real joes were to come here, the tickets would cost a bomb. But we got to enjoy...no, watch the Chinese franchised version for free. They were poor things, having to prance and sing non-stop for 30min.

ViVi (She-Murray) was not too bad though. She replaced the fat Annie, and I joked to an angry Goy, "ViVi, she can Murray me!"

Mixed media

2005-11-17T02:53:00.000+08:00

See the new disclaimer at the right side of the page? Yeah, it's to affirm that journalists and blogs do not mix, at least not in the way you'd like them to.

To cut the long story short, I've always believed you've got to be one stupid journalist if you are going to bring your working life online.

Meaning that you tell the whole world what went on in your work today, which other journalist you bitched about or why this newsmaker has a cute ass. Any journalist that lacks an internal monologue (see Austin Powers, scene when he is unfrozen from cryogenic sleep and mutters that Vanessa Kensington probably "shags like a minx" to her face) should not even be writing for the press.

You mean you can't keep a poker face when your interviewee starts to give you hell or slams the door in your face? Or that you can't keep an embargo?

In fact, I don't even think journos should be posting stuff like when they're stuck in some wartorn country and giving a blow-by-blow account online. Common (and market) sense tells you that you're better off making your editor a happy lark with press exclusives than giving it away free to people who won't remember your name next week. Yes, most rookie reporters are so enamoured with their new national byline, they have little idea that few people bother to scan every story for the famous author.

Ask me for a famous journo's name off the top of my head and I can only name Roger Ebert (www.rogerebert.com). And he covers stuff like Harry Potter. But don't mess, he won a Pulitzer ok? And he writes better than 99% of people out there. I wonder who's his copy editor....

Of course, the problem with a blog is that it IS internal monologue. I suspect this is what confuses many bloggers. They are equating internal monologues with free speech, which somehow equates to the "new age of journalism".

Free speech is what I say to myself when I'm on the potty, anything else incurs a cost.

For eg. Never tell your wife you think Lin Chi-Ling is hot. Cost: "I'll box you!"

Oh well, back to my photography and usual grouses on the general vague stuff.

Zoo Family Day...again

2005-11-13T16:35:00.000+08:00

I always dread company Family Days, especially when it's held at the Zoo. Thousands of screaming kids and adults sitting around eating their free food. Today's lunch was awful beyond description, probably a ploy by the zoo caterer to get people to fork out $7 for their real (and just slightly better) food at the food court.

Still, the trip wasn't that wasted. Took two nice pix below...

"Isaac Funny...Isabel More Funny"

2005-11-12T16:57:00.000+08:00

The Dowager

The Jester

"Oh My!"

At death's door

2005-11-10T14:02:00.000+08:00

I was once asked to join this multi-level marketing program (aka We Sell To Idiots Who Then Do Our Jobs For Us) and this lady was trying to pitch some stupid device that could measure your anti-oxidants to the nth degree.

I asked her, "Why do I want to know my antioxidant level?"

She said in her glazed-eyed, oft-rehearsed chirp, "BECAUSE WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW HEALTHY YOU ARE, YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" (It's CAPS because that's how excited she was about landing another sucker)

"But I already know how healthy I am, I don't need a machine to tell me that I need to eat more fruits or exercise."

"DON'T YOU WANT TO KNOW?" (Getting louder as my cynicism starts to damage her pitch)

"Look, I could die tomorrow and not know what hit me. Touch wood, but we could be all dead tomorrow."

"I GUESS OUR COMPANY IS Not looking for people like you. You need to believe in our product in order to sell it."

Yeah, her problem was I only believe in God. If He wants you dead, no anti-oxidant is going to help. If He blesses you, no back stabber is going to succeed in the long run.

Recently, another young person I know came down with a serious and crippling malady. The person doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs, but she's now trying to get back to normalcy. She won't be the last young person I know who has had her life turned upside down in one second.

It seems that people often only recognise the need to understand what happens at and after death when they are hit with a life-threatening situation. Often we are too caught up with maintaining life when each day actually brings us closer to death.

I myself turned to Christ in 1997 when I suddenly saw that it was Him at work in our lives, and that we had absolutely no say apart from the concession of free will. We are all fallen but is it so hard to acknowledge that fact?

A classmate once got angry with me and said, "Why do you Christians think you have the monopoly on truth?" Indeed we think we do, but nothing we say will convince others of our faith. I'm not going to go into the idea of predestination, but it is a mindbending concept that says God chose his people even before they were born and had a say in anything.

Unfair as it sounds, it boils down to humans rejecting God and Him recognising that from the beginning. (I always have problems explaining this to angry folk, so it's better I put it down on the screen)

The awful truth according to the Bible, dear reader, is that there is an afterlife and it's not reincarnation into a more beautiful body. It's either eternal pain or happiness, take your pick.

Too much of modern evangelism is on the good bits - "Jesus loves you and wants to bless you!". Yes, but nobody wants to preach about Old Testament where God's wrath was on half-display...full wrath comes during Armageddon, folks. I fear God more than I love Him, and not many Christians subscribe to that kind of faith. We all want to hear the good news, but there is not good without bad.

Teenagers love the new evangelism because they have not experienced enough death and suffering. But when they grow older, the "wealth and health" doctrine can break down because they discover "good" people can suffer horribly too, even devout Christians.

Is God then good or evil?

Kanye West sez "Jesus Walks (with me)". He didn't say that often, it's "Jesus weeps (for me)"

Signs of The End #45029

2005-11-09T11:52:00.000+08:00

Evolution in the bible, says Vatican

I would like to ask the Vatican this - Are you saying Adam was a monkey? If so, was he an orangutan or chimpanzee? And why are Chinese generally hairless?

Yet another Saturday With the Holy Grail

2005-11-05T22:38:00.000+08:00

Holy Grail = Canon EOS 5D = Why you should use a dSLR camera

Click on images for better quality versions!

Mei Mei and I

Mei Mei and the Bath Tub

The Leia Look

The Failed Passport Photo-shoot

or

"Isaac the Crocodile Hunter"

Analyse This

2005-11-04T12:18:00.000+08:00

There is this over-reliance on analysts to provide choice quotes in many news stories. I was miffed when I read today's BBC online story that Coke was pulling Vanilla Coke out of the UK market. Coke didn't say exactly why in the story, but here's what the reporter wrote:

Analysts say the firm is trying to lure those turned off sugary soft drinks and looking for diet or health beverages.

"This means that Vanilla Coke has been doing badly and it is not working and not having the visibility that there is a decent chance that it will work longer term," said Manny Goldman, a San Francisco-based beverage industry consultant.

The quote is obviously put there to represent what Coke wouldn't say outright, but seriously, can the analyst have something more interesting to spout than the blatantly obvious?

What if I were an "industry analyst"?

Said Mr YH Tan, Singapore-based beverage taster with 29 years of saccharine experience : "Vanilla Coke is the bomb. It's sweet, it's sugary and it will kill your exercise regime with two sips. I love it, but I can understand why Coke wants to pull it out of a European market where people want more healthy drinks than your Pink Bandung-guzzling Asians. Over here, we don't worry about getting fat because we work too hard to be drinking Coke all day long and then complaining about it.

"They'd better not pull Vanilla Coke out of Singapore or I'll quit drinking Coke altogether. Or worse, I'll drink Pepsi Twist which sometimes comes in a slightly larger value-added can."

Shaddup, strange woman

2005-11-04T02:09:00.000+08:00

If there's one universal constant, it's the never ending supply of women who would not hesitate to tell strangers the Right Way To Raise Your Kids.

For the umpteenth time today, a woman (age doesn't matter here) started lecturing me in NTUC that I should pick up crying Isabel, oh she can't breathe properly with the cloth near her face, oh she should be carried more often, oh you shouldn't let her cry.

I muttered that it's because we keep picking her up she hates sitting in the stroller... then I didn't bother anymore and just walked away.

Many other women I do not know have lectured me and Goy in public on how we should carry our babies, how we should not let them be so exposed to the cold air-con and so on and so bloody forth.

Hello, since when did I die and make you the Nanny? So what if you mean well? It doesn't mean just because you brought up your own smelly kids your own way, the whole world has to abide by your rulebook. Why don't you take my kids home, feed them and send them to school? I'm no amateur at this baby thing you know!?! I probably look after my kids a gazillion hours more than your lazy husband, busybody! (Do note I have yet to unleash these angry lines on the culprits)

And of course, it goes without mention that you don't ever have guys doing this sort of irritating thing.

Hooked

2005-11-03T08:14:00.000+08:00

(Hey Ray, hey Sugar, tell them who we are)
Well, we're big rock singers, we got golden fingers
and we're loved everywhere we go
we sing about beauty and we sing about truth
at ten thousand dollars a show
we take all kind of pills,
that give us all kind of thrills
but the thrill we've never known,
is the thrill that'll getcha
when you get your picture on the cover of the Rollin' Stone!

CHORUS:

Rollin' Stone! (Stone.....)
wanna see my picture on the cover
wanna buy five copies for my mother (Yeah!)
wanna see my smilin' face,
on the cover
the cover of the Rollin Stone!

If you haven't heard Dr Hook, you don't know the 70s dude.

Generation Gap

2005-11-02T19:46:00.000+08:00

"I worry that further withdrawal of the body will increasingly depersonalize creativity in our computerized age. It is already a given that many young architects can't draw, relying on circuitry to do their imaging for them. Nor can many of them model, never having built things with their hands as children, and felt the pliancy and fragility of structures, the interrelationship of empty space and solid mass." - Edmund Morris, Beethoven's Paper Trail

Read article here (Word format)

A well written article that I came across in the Straits Times today. Unfortunately, ST cut down the article a bit due to space constraints and the story looked a little skewed as a result.

Much as I like the article, I disagree with Morris on the depersonalisation of creativity. One may come across more kids with little experience of the tactile (or anything traditional), but this just makes it easier for those who had done so to shine ever more in the mass of mediocrity.

History has consistently shown the majority of men are "average" - nothing more, nothing less. Most people will not bother to do more than the minimum in anything that they do, unless they seek a greater pleasure or power.

There is this tendency by the old fogeys to look upon the digitalisation of human beings as a dumbing down or making us plain lazy. This is nothing more than the generation gap, where parents are always aghast at the crap their children are consuming. One day Isaac will laugh at my MP3 collection too.

The Amazing Sitting Mei Mei

2005-10-27T00:29:00.000+08:00

All hail me please.

The little girl is growing up fast. Unlike Isaac who took forever to balance himself (no thanks to his large cranium and small ass), she's been raring to get on her feet. At six months, she suddenly decided she could sit up and is now vertically unchallenged.

Hopefully, I can marry her off soon to some nice guy and have more time with my computer games muhahaha.

In the meantime, I'm dying to gripe about some stupid things that people do, but you know lah, me being a journo and this being a blog, I've got to keep my bloody mouth shut about the really interesting stuff.

A Day At The Beach

2005-10-26T02:06:00.000+08:00

Holy Grail arrives

2005-10-23T01:53:00.000+08:00

Isaac weeps when listening to "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird". Don't ask me why.

Mama and Meimei

I don't believe there's any other camera out there capable of such colour rendition (out of the box) right now, save the Canon EOS 5D's older pro siblings.

My only problem right now is finding opportunities to use the camera. The kids are getting more havoc by the day. Hair's going faster. Mind slowing down.

My favourite Gibb

2005-10-18T07:07:00.000+08:00

As my posts continue in the nostalgic vein, I might as well tell you about my favourite Gibb brother. While I do love the BeeGees, it is their baby brother Andy Gibb who really strikes the chords in my soppy heart.

"I Want To Be Your Everything" is one of the songs I heard when sitting in my mum's car in the late 70s, and so were "Shadow Dancing" and "Our Love, Don't Throw It All Away." They are classic BeeGees tunes, only because they were mostly co-written with the help of the older Gibbs. Barry and the twins also helped with backing vocals (look, nobody else could hit those falsettos). So it's not wrong to think of Andy as the fourth BeeGee, he was just too young to join his older brothers when he was starting out.

Until today, when I was reading the Wikipedia entry on Andy, I never realised he died in 1988. I thought he passed away a lot earlier. The sad truth is that he spent most of the 80s trying to regain the glory of the previous decade, but drugs and drinks overtook him. I guess that is why I have no memory of him in the decadent decade.

One of the most moving tributes to him was by his older brothers in concert. Before they sung "How Deep Is Your Love", Barry said: "This is for our kid brother, Andy."

Liu Kang

2005-10-18T02:38:00.000+08:00

I never knew the famous artist well, but I met him during his last year of his life when I did a TNP story. It was a difficult interview, my Mandarin was rusty and he was preoccupied with other things on his mind.

I asked him how did he endure his temporary blindness that stopped him from painting.

He said, "Nian qing ren yao kan de kai." (Young man, you have to take things easy.)

I know it was difficult for him during those dark days, but his words remain with me. "Taking it easy" is one of the most difficult things to achieve in life, but the old painter was telling me an unassailable truth. I guess that's why I don't get so fed up with the kids' wailing these days.

Like Seilin told us over 10 years ago, "Endure, because the day will pass."

Snobbish ACS kids!

2005-10-16T21:58:00.000+08:00

When I was applying to get into ACS (this was before there was a second ACS) in 1988, my mum was with me when we met Mr Ying. He is more popularly known as Lao Ying (old eagle) and is considered one of the institutional pillars of the school.

My mum, full of barbed words as usual (so it's not my fault I speak like this okay), said: "Why is it ACS boys must always wear such expensive and branded clothes? What kind of things are you teaching the kids?"

Lao Ying hardly blinked behind his thick glasses and said loudly: "ACS is a branded school what!"

Spot on, old man.

How to design a great bus poster

2005-10-11T23:03:00.000+08:00

click for bigger view (duh)

Caught this poster on a painfully long ride on Bus 93 today. Petrol is expensive, but does it mean I have to suffer an hour long ride from Queenstown to Toa Payoh?

Anyway, I was wondering, what on earth was the project brief for the team that came up with this poster on how to use your EzyLink card properly (the actual title is twice as long). This is the most diplomatic one I can think of....

EZYLINK POSTER DESIGN
Project objectives

Educate the public. Appease public over faulty use of EzyLink transport cards. Stop the flak over why HK MTR has cards called Octopus and ours is called Ezy.

Things to do

1. Needs to be in four languages or else some old folks may complain.
2. Needs to be highly detailed, just in case some people miss the point.
3. Needs some graphics of the Ezylink card reader - never mind if they all look the same.
4. Needs to be somewhere prominent - how about the exit door? People always look at it for a few seconds before they alight the bus right?
5. Needs to be on one single poster, small fonts are okay these days.
6. Needs links to our website, just in case old tech savvy folks complain.

Thank goodness I've never bothered to check if my card has been wrongly deducted.

On non-fiction

2005-10-08T23:55:00.000+08:00

What on earth makes a good non-fiction story?

A dozen theories will come up. Some people love good stylistic prose, others love the hard facts. Singaporeans and people around the world never seem to get sick of scandal, crime and gossip (for newspaper stories). I guess everyone has a certain thing they like about any popular story.

What I do know is "what doesn't appeal to the ordinary reader" - and unfortunately I get to read plenty of those in my daily life....

People who write for themselves, using words that belong to a dictionary, not daily lingo. We all know how awful a film review reads when only the author can understand it.

People who write for a super small audience (the authorities, think tanks or even the specific advertiser) and think that makes them popular. Look, nobody gives a crap about your intellectual pretenses. We had a few journalism lecturers in school who didn't even have an interest in talking to people, and these are the so-called "academics".

People who assume they are an expert on a topic even though they know crap. (I once read a Chinese snob doing an analysis on Malay culture, and giving advice some more!). The list goes on, and I don't blame kids for not reading anything these days. What's the point?

But a few years ago, I had a conversation with someone and something struck me. A good non-fiction story does not need any fixed formula (facts, style, presentation etc) to work. What it really needs is to make the reader feel good. The thing about the average Joe is that he knows pretty little apart from his core interests, but who doesn't want to appear smart and well-read? From young, we've been asked to read incessantly because we ought to know more about the world around us. But these days with the flood of crappy blogs and poor writing in general, we know less about a certain topic than we should.

A good story thus, in my current mindset, needs only to make the reader feel smart. Not so much in the way that the Dummies' Guides do it, but rather it takes either a snobbish stance or humble position, assuming that the reader already knows the topic as well as the author. The reasoning goes as such :

I don't want to feel like I know nothing when I read a newspaper/magazine/online story.
But I really don't, so please litter around a few clues to clue me in.
Now that I've started reading seriously, speak to me as if I know what's going on, and I'll try to figure out the bigger picture before I reach the story's end.
Tell me a few facts I can't possibly know, and which I can go brag to other people as if I've done some serious research in a library.
Leave it a little open-ended so I can make up my mind about my stand on this subject.
Or even better if the author takes an extreme stand so I can argue against it and feel better about myself.
Best if the story encourages me to take a totally opposite stand, so that the next time someone brings up the topic, I've already prepared my debate outline.
So now I feel smart, and no thanks to anyone.

I find that newsmagazines like Time and BusinessWeek excel at this particular method, which probably explains why they've managed to remain popular to this day.

The Dream Remote Control

2005-10-03T01:14:00.000+08:00

Everyone wishes they had a remote control to control the kids.

These are my top ten requests to put on the remote as buttons if anyone decides to make one. Save a few litres of saliva this way.

1. Keep quiet
2. Be good
3. Eat your food
4. Score straight As
5. Support me when you start working
6. Kiss me
7. Sleep
8. Stop making me angry

More Holy Grail test shots

2005-10-02T23:52:00.000+08:00

Today I conducted my second field test for the EOS 5D. The great thing about it is that the smaller size allows me to focus more on the subject and less on my painful wrists. Colour-wise, this camera beats the crap out of film.

At the park

At the playground

Testing BnW tone

Field Test - Holy Grail of Photography

2005-10-02T00:28:00.000+08:00

I received the review unit of the EOS 5D today, a few weeks before I'm supposed to collect my actual purchased unit. So far it rocks, but I'm really quite annoyed at how much it's been dumbed down for the masses. C'mon man, this camera costs over $6k, for the price we expect something a little more snobbish.

Shots from a visit to Aunt Helen's place. (Click on them for better resolution versions)

Isabel and her lovely rosebud lips

Joanne with Isaac, Jonah and Caleb. It's like a biblical gathering.

YO YO YO

I'm too sexy for this floor.

Excuse me, are you a virgin?

2005-09-29T23:33:00.000+08:00

My colleague has been tasked to find several 40-year-old virgins for a story. I can't think of anything more cruel to ask a reporter to do.

I told him I didn't know of any virgins because nobody ever tells me about their sex life.

Even if I did, they wouldn't talk because who wants to admit they haven't ever been laid for 4 decades?

And even if they did talk, what would they say?

"Oh, I'm a virgin by choice. I don't get sexually excited because my gonads were lopped off in an accident."

"Virginity is cool man, especially if you're 60."

"What's sex?"

Goodbye Marky

2005-09-29T18:36:00.000+08:00

Marky: My 1D Mark II, June 2004-Sep 2005.

I finally sold off the EOS 1D Mark II today. And thankfully, not to some anal amateur who will never know the true value of such a wonderful camera, but to another professional photog whom I know will put the beast to good use immediately.

I'm not really sad, but a little sentimental. Few people know how attached photogs can get to their cameras, especially when the MkII is considered the Maserati of the camera world.

But unlike a car, a camera knows you intimately. It sees what you see, it knows what you want to capture and it translates your thoughts into images. Even when not in use, it hangs next to your hips, knowing your movements and your moods. When the sensor collects dust, you gingerly open up the innards and blow oh so gently.

Blow too much and u get saliva spots on your images lah.

It's another two weeks before I own another Canon EOS again. The 5D is now out of stock, but I can wait. Holy Grails of photography need a dose of patience and loads of cash if you want to be their master, friend and servant.

Dengue Disaster

2005-09-27T18:59:00.000+08:00

As usual, we've got another crisis on our hands that's spiking up up and away.

"How come like dat? How come?"

On Sunday, this guy from my RC/Town Council/whatever came by my door and asked if I had covered my 6 bamboo pole holders. I said nope, is the Gahmen going to provide any? The answer was no. I said "Ok, I'll go buy some."

"How about some insecticide?" I asked. Also negative answer.

As a civic-minded citizen, I went to NTUC and looked around. No granular insecticide (probably all snapped up) nor plastic covers available. So how, should I go cover my bamboo poles with Ziploc?

Maybe I should, but what on earth are the authorities doing with all the extra millions used in combating dengue? Employing more foggers? Printing more dengue posters? Setting up more panels?

Perhaps someone thought: "How about giving free insecticide? Err, I think better not lah. Over 1 million households, could cost us heavily."

Action lah, deh. I don't want my kids to get dengue too, and there are people who won't be bothered to go NTUC to go look for solutions. Our people here are bred to the point where they won't lift a finger until dear Gahmen does it for them.

Who's fault is that now?

My violin

2005-09-26T17:03:00.000+08:00

"Whispering Jack" (born in Germany 2001) who now resides in Isaac's cupboard.

One of the greatest sacrifices I had to make for my kids was my violin lessons. I remember the first day I bowed my first note - the reverberations have yet to leave my memory. I write this down because I keep forgetting to.

At that point of time in 2001, I wasn't married yet, I was just starting a career with TNP, and had plenty of time on my hands. I was also caught up in yet another guy hobby - audiophilia - which was threatening to swallow my bank account. Today I am a happy owner of a nice Klipsch/Onkyo home theatre and a NAD/Mission music setup in my flat, but I was seeking for higher ground. What is the best audio reproduction one can possibly get?

The answer was not in more expensive speakers, but reproducing the actual music itself.

One day, I listened to Yehudi Menuhin on a CD and decided - "I'm going to learn an instrument once and for all." Piano was out because it was too damned big. Guitar is too common and what the heck, everyone respects violinists.

Don't you love the idea of a violinist clad in a trenchcoat, holding his case and walking down a wintry path? Of course, it's hot like crap here, but people were always impressed by this unique case slung on my shoulder...shallow, but true. Someone once asked: "Is that a sword?"

I was so committed, because I could finally embark on something my mother didn't have the time or money to let me learn, and it completed my visual arts education by fulfilling the auditory space.

I studied at Kawai Music School for three years before I got fed up with my teacher (who was more concerned with the younger kids), and found a great teacher in Mandeville (United Square). The latter retaught me proper technique and I was grateful to the max.

But in March, before Isabel arrived, I told him I could not spare the time anymore. He asked, "Don't you want to play for your children?"

Who doesn't? To this day, his words make my heart ache, and I've yet to pull another note on my violin. No more Bach, no more Largo, no more "Do The Hustle" on strings. The minute Isabel gets to 3 years old, I'm calling my teacher again.

Return of the IIIs, by Goy

2005-09-25T02:49:00.000+08:00

(Actually this photo was overexposed because I didn't screw on the flash properly.)

The Three "I"s, by Goy

2005-09-25T02:44:00.000+08:00

Smells and Memories

2005-09-25T01:51:00.000+08:00

There's a photo shoot for SPH Presslines on Mon, featuring 4 of our company's "bloggers".

Frankly, what's the big fuss? I've had a home page since 1998 and this is just the latest edition. The only thing different is the lack of HTML knowledge needed and the nice ability to post comments (still no comments though I get verbal feedback all the time).

And the older I get, the less I'd like to be in that type of limelight. Later people wag their tongues and say : "Oi, that Ian obviously doesn't work hard enough, got so much time to blog ah."

Anyway, the past few days have been a little eventful. I put up my Canon EOS 1D Mk II for sale, pissing off one potential buyer in the process when I went back on my word to settle it for $5k (original RPP is $8,500, obviously I didn't pay that price)...but to cut the long story short, I decided not to sell the camera at all.

You see, there's this lovely new EOS 5D out that is half the weight and has 50% more megapixels (a whopping 12MP) and does not crop your lens coverage. Even at the price I'm getting from Canon (RPP is $7k), it's still a real hit on the wallet.

Do I really need the new camera? Yes, because I'm tired of lugging a big hulk around. And image quality is always on the top of my list. Full-frame sensor is a holy grail of digital photography, and has finally come under $10k.

But should I buy it? I realised that my Mk II is a great camera that does not deserve the depreciation I've imposed on it. It was the camera of my dreams and still is, except for the image cropping bit. And really, when my PC died last week and I changed the motherboard and graphic card for one grand, I realised I had to put a brake on the spending.

Oh yeah, fatherhood and its responsibilities. And I'm no rich boy ok. I remember the time when I bought the $2k EOS 3 and I was broke for so long after that. It took me four years to save up for the Mk 2.

I guess at the most just suffer a cramped wrist and not bring the MkII for overseas junkets lor.

But I know there are lots of amateurs out there dying to have my camera. Dear shooters, learn to shoot properly first, such high-end cameras are often wasted on non-pros. I don't even use my own camera to the max, but I do use it better than most ;)

And onto the smells topic, I recently bought a new pack of Kao Biore. The usual Cool Mint flavour was out of stock, so I bought the original Mild flavour. You know, the minute I washed my face with Mild Biore, the fragrance brought me back to 1990.

More specifically, Barker Road ACS, Middle Block toilet. If I'm not wrong, it was Dom who took out a small pack of facial wash there. When you're a teenager, the bloody oil glands just go into overdrive and they don't stop till you're dead. I remember we chatted about washing our faces more than twice a day bla bla, and I'm now glad our acne days are way behind us.

Teenage years are often awkward when you aren't a naturally good looking guy. When memories rush back, the nice nostalgia is often awash with the remembrance of those awkward times (unfulfilled crushes, shyness, not being able to keep up with the Joneses etc). I'm not sure if remembering is good or not, especially when Biore reminds you how scarred your childhood was.

Actually, these days, it's more music than odours that do the flashback ignitions. I can't stop listening to Faye Wong, because it reminds me of last year when I roamed the streets of Hong Kong. I was there to collect my SOPA award, and I never felt more at home in HK. Faye's voice embodies much of what HK is - high, low, sultry, sexy, sad, full of energy and grit.

Singapore songs and singers? I'm still smarting over that Taufik/Ruien NDP song. She looked funny in that hat and silly dance move. He looked forgettable.

I'm a happy bunny

2005-09-17T01:40:00.000+08:00

I just did what I've been waiting to do for the past four months since I started driving again.

iPod my Toyota Corolla.

I was using a cassette adaptor with my Zen Touch which wasn't too bad, but I knew I was missing half the sound quality.

When my Zen Touch bit the dust after only one year of use, I decided it was time to bring the coveted iPod U2 into the car. But I was thinking - should I go for an integrated iPod car audio solution or the simple aux-in?

I did quite a bit of surfing and found that Alpine and Pioneer are the two locally available brands which provide car iPod solutions. But both had major flaws like slow scrolling or lousy interface. So I went down to Pin Liang yesterday, listened to a few models and chose an Alpine 9847 with AUX-in for about $400+

I tell you, the sound of a properly hooked up iPod can blow you away whilst on the road. Don't bother with all the bullshit about FM transmitters, cassette adaptors or made for iPod solutions. Just get any modern car stereo head unit with AUX-in and plug into the iPod's headphone jack. Worth every penny I paid!!!

Racist blog here

2005-09-13T00:48:00.000+08:00

Racially explosive post here. Authorities pls read.

When the odds are stacked against your racist tendencies, a wise move is to deride your own race. Take out the plank in your eye, brothers.

If you Chinese punks really think you are superior than the rest of the races, why not realise some of our glaring flaws?

We think about money too much. Most Chinese families get torn apart by quarrels over finances.
We work too hard, so everyone else looks lazy. But barbers still shaving hair at 12am in Shanghai? Nobody talks about quality of life in HK or Singapore, cos there isn't.
We have too many silly superstitions and redundant practices - I can suggest ang pows (cos married couples suffer here) and clanging midnight funeral processes that wake up the entire neighbourhood. Hello, let the dead remain dead can?
We don't trust anyone - of course, this has led us to be wildly successful businessmen, but poor friends.
We don't forget grudges...ever - see China vs Japan.
We're too short, especially next to Nordic Amazonians. And with short limbs come short...

Cow sense will also tell you that you don't have to write racist stuff to incite racism. It's what people do in their everyday lives that makes other races loathe them. And no law or government's going to stop that. Call it a failure of our our Civics education program when racism gets visible.

Sounding Intelligent

2005-09-11T00:12:00.000+08:00

Nobody wants to be seen as a fool. But how do you ensure that you do not sound stupid but actually come off as some decent, intelligent, well-read and humorous bloke when speaking to a total stranger?

Face the facts - first impressions always count. If you start off on the wrong foot, it's hard to get back on track when you need to get people to agree with your job/ideology/requests.

Here's a quick and dirty list I've compiled via observations on how to appear intelligent to the majority of the world. BTW, these won't work on really smart joes who read people like a book. Body language often gives away the entire story before you know it.

Keep quiet - you won't believe how effective this is. Of course, if you can't afford to keep quiet then you...
Keep asking questions, never give answers - Just in case you say the wrong thing. But getting others to yak about their favourite topics is always a good cover for your lack of knowledge. "So...tell me more about how you ended up in this job..." Great solution for silent awkward moments too.
Have some axioms, or all-purpose wise-sounding statements ready on hand - Eg. "Americans are largely ignorant of world geography" or "Chinese can't help working so hard, it's genetically coded" or "Chinese just love to look down on all other races". Adjust the level of controversy to the intellectual level of the audience present but avoid battles you cannot win.
Never, ever overtly praise yourself, your country or your countrymen. Being self-reflexive and overly critical of one's roots is often misconstrued as humility. For many people, humility equates intelligence which of course isn't always true.
Never assert a position as absolute (ie. never claim you are totally right and others are mistaken). This is the pitfall of most idiots. The rule of thumb is that there is no absolute right or wrong for most situations, and claiming there is requires you to either be the Almighty who actually knows, or someone asking for trouble.
Never try to sound intelligent. We had this joe in school who used to keep spouting deep stuff (which was just textbook content shrouded with complex words). We all hated him soundly, because he was obviously trying to suck up to the lecturers. One lecturer wasn't fooled like the rest, trashed him soundly in tutorial by testing his knowledge on his supposed expertise and we all rejoiced. He's still like that today and actually, I hear he's a school teacher now.

Adieu, Finland

2005-09-10T23:14:00.000+08:00

The final instalment of Finland photos. Of course, there's more but I never show the mediocre stuff!!

Sun peeking over the Porvoo river

How can you possibly resist this salmon soup?

Roses always work

Another view of Nokia's house

Tsar-ish building and statue. The Finns apparently fought to have this Tsar untoppled when the whole region was being replaced with Lenin statues.

Poor travelling partners

2005-09-09T06:18:00.000+08:00

Let's face it, there are certain people that I'd never want to go travelling with. And it's country specific.

I won't name any countries, lest I be branded a racist (but yes, I think we Chinese rock the house down. Yellow skin is the best, neither white or black). And I can't call myself a nationalist right?

But I've been on several trips where there are certain nationalities who really annoy me.

Here are their usual traits

They prefer to hang around each other all the time.
But that's not as bad as incessantly talking about themselves and their country all the time.
To make things worse, their country can do no wrong, and they insist you listen to them tell you why.
They keep on talking about their country even when the table topic has changed.
They lack social graces, smoking at dinner tables without asking the host's permission or whether the rest of us actually mind. They burp loudly too, which isn't too bad at home but unacceptable on a press lunch.
When the others get irritated with their behaviour, these guys then huddle together to smoke and mutter together in their own language.

Just annoying man.

Finland Pt 5 - Nordic Architecture

2005-09-07T23:32:00.000+08:00

We all love to go IKEA. The stuff is affordable, colourful and easy to put together. Of course, you get what you pay for. I've had IKEA cupboard planks warp due to the weight of books, something that will never happen with old-school furniture with solid materials. Basically I do not recommend filling your entire house with IKEA stuff, unless you like to change your house's look every few years.

But this visit to Finland is opening my eyes to the reality of Nordic furniture. Today we entered Nokia House (left) and I was stunned by the ambitious architecture using glass, metal and lightly coloured wood as its main elements. Yes, most IKEA (Swedish but still Nordic) stuff uses the same elements, and there is nothing like seeing Nordic style in full blast.

By right, these earthy design elements should be universally loved and they are. Only problem is that you need Space - both in abundance and spatial arrangement, Fair Nordic complexions, and the willingness to let each design stand alone to let the designs shine.

To put it simply, the architecture and furniture here enjoy plenty of space to breathe (check out the width of the roads), with the cool weather accentuating the warm and metallic tones of the designs. There is much emphasis on modernistic straight lines with careful use of curves, and a rather moody and deadpan atmosphere throughout.

Contrast this to Asia, where there is a herd mentality to squash everything together in tight spaces, a desire to splash colours violently and a lack of attention to spatial arrangements in tight quarters.

So ever wondered why your Ikea furniture looks nice but still doesn't look like the annual product catalogue?

Yet another side effect of globalization. So be more careful when you renovate your house. There is a reason why there's Europe and there's Asia.

Some architects will say this is rubbish, but then again, they've never been to this part of the world either.

Finland Part 4 - Some city shots

2005-09-06T22:37:00.000+08:00

Yes, can I help you?
These fruits are so colourful, I'm almost tempted to grab one

Finland Part 3 - Walk along the lake

2005-09-06T22:32:00.000+08:00

The uber efficient Helsinki electric tram and its tracks
God making his presence known once again
I don't know why I always notice such glowing leaves

Finland Part 2 - the lake

2005-09-06T22:28:00.000+08:00

I took this photo because I thought it looked like a sound wave. That's my hotel in the middle.

Yet another view from the lake shore

It's a long road home

This duck was practising qi-gong

Finland!

2005-09-06T22:00:00.000+08:00

I'm spending the week in the land of Nokia ...Finland with all the great fish and neat architecture. Thanks to Nokia who have put me into the most beautiful hotel location I've ever been in (save that tent in Nepal).

This photo was taken just outside the Hilton Kalastajatorppa (don't even try to pronounce it), a beautiful lake lined with even more beautiful private homes and walking lanes.

More pix will be coming. I started firing away the minute I reached the hotel at 7am this morning. There's nothing like Nordic weather to wake up the dormant photographer in me.

Silly Name Cards

2005-09-05T00:18:00.000+08:00

Recently, I met a struggling IT entrepreneur who had a really tiny square for a name card. I told him that it was way too small, and he said: "No, I think like this it's more unique. People will remember me."

Even though I had barely known him for 5 minutes, I said tartly: "People are going to forget you, because they will lose your card!" This guy's story is pretty interesting by the way, but I haven't gotten round to writing it for the paper.

Other pet peeves with name cards

When PR professionals (usually women) refuse to put their mobile numbers on their cards. Harlow, how to contact you when all hell breaks loose with your client? And frankly, you ain't pretty enough for guys to want to hit on you.

When people have ridiculously long titles - eg. David Tan, manager, Asia-Pacific and other countries apart from Japan,marketing and strategy, mobile devices and peripherals, bla bla bla.

Cards with invisible words - embossed or awful colour co-ordination like grey words on dark grey backgrounds.

Cards with no job occupation. Excuse me, are you the cleaner or the CEO?

Cards printed from a photo printer. Usually these guys belong to a printer company, but you don't have to save money that way you know. And actually, printing name cards from a photo inkjet or laser is probably more expensive.

Isaac and Isabel

2005-09-05T00:07:00.000+08:00

Frankly, I don't know how havoc these kids will be when they become teenagers. Already they are driving us nuts. But at least they had some fun this weekend.

I think the only problem I have with the new improved Blogspot/Blogger is the poor image compression. The photo on the left is originally very sharp and beautiful, but by the time Blogger uploaded it, it becomes really pixelated. C'mon Google, do better than this.

Standby for more changes

2005-09-04T02:03:00.000+08:00

It's time to get down and dirty with HTML again. The blog you see now is a pre-prepared template, but I'm going to revamp the entire site when I can find the time. The new look should be up and running in a month ;)

(Isaac Tan jigging to the funky beat. Unfortunately, he only knows a few limited moves and cannot shake his bon bons very hard yet.)

Burning Your Money Away

2005-09-04T01:28:00.000+08:00

Honestly, I don't care if this topic infringes on your religious sensitivities. The Gahmen can't do nuts about my post because this isn't hosted in a Singapore website. But let's talk common sense about burning incense paper as the Hungry Ghost Month comes to a close.

When I was a kid and staying at Balestier Road, I must have spent countless hours helping my relatives fold paper ingots...it's for the ancestors they say. It's cool at first to try and fold the paper as neatly as possible, and even more cool to see whole boxes of ingots poured into this really big bonfire. But after a while, it becomes a real chore when your fingers start attracting goldy flakes and you have homework to do.

Fast forward 20 years, where I have little time to do housework or wash my car. Nothing makes me more angry than little black flakes of burnt paper flying around my Bishan flat, or suntanning themselves on top of my family car. Even worse is the little Indonesian forest fire at the void deck making its presence known throughout the HDB block.

Let me ask ....

Who on earth told the Chinese that their ancestors are going to get wealthy in hell if you burn incense paper?
Second, can you prove that the ghosts are benefitting from your fiery acts of piety?
Next, what is the exchange rate of Sing dollar to Hell dollar? How does it fluctuate and what basket of currencies/good deeds is it weighted against?
So, how do you know how much you should burn before your hell-shackled relatives can afford a decent living quarters that wouldn't perpertually keep burning down?
Is there a way to burn incense paper without mucking up the lung airways and clean floors of your neighbours?
Why don't people burn incense behind their own doors but in public? Who's watching the burning but the burners anyway?

It's not about me being a Christian and being intolerant of other faiths. We Protestants aren't even supposed to like our brethren known as the Catholics very much.

It's about me trying to have fresh air to breathe and not having to mop the fricking floor too often. And it's not as if I haven't done this sort of cash-burning activity before.

Muppets are back!

2005-09-04T00:36:00.000+08:00

The Muppet Show Season One is out on DVD!

If you haven't watched it before, you must be from another planet. I'm not sure if it's available in Singapore, cos I ordered from Amazon. My wife and I have been watching 2 episodes every night. The initial pilots are a bit of a bore, but they start to get hilarious from then on.

I sometimes wonder if I desire to live in the past, rather than look to the future. The Muppet Show represents a big part of my childhood, and I often wish things weren't as complicated as they are now. Nothing like a frog and a pig in love to cheer up your day.

Return to Blogspot

2005-09-04T00:14:00.000+08:00

It's been fun using MSN Spaces as a blog site, but it's time to return to Blogspot. The reason why I switched earlier was because it was difficult to post images on blogspot. You needed to link to an external photo-hosting site, which I thought was ridiculous. Also, Blogspot is now offering 300 megabytes of image space, 10 bloody times more than MSN!!!

All pretty nerdy stuff to talk about, but oh well, I'm glad to be using a non-Microsoft product again. If you've missed my old stuff and pix, click here

Buggering beggars

2005-09-02T00:39:00.000+08:00

I was walking to Sim Lim from Suntec where I just did the annual Comex pilgrimage.

Nothing worth buying at Comex as usual, since the prices are often jacked up then discounted. AND still more ex than Sim Lim Square.

Silly right. It's more for people who are scared of buying stuff at SLS.

But I met this fat lady on the road, and she gave me the familiar opening line - "Excuse me can you speak Mandarin? Can you speak English?"

And she went on to tell me that she needed help to find a job, cos her mum is ill, she's got kids to feed, she can't pay her bills. And finally, she needed some money to buy food for her family.

Funny, I've had at least three other people give me the same pitch before. Usually I'd give them $5 and be done with it, but today my wallet was empty.

No luck, lady. But what is starting to rile me is the lack of sincerity in such begging methods.

You know, my dad committed suicide on us, my mum died of cancer and I've got big bills to pay too.

Add a growing TNP tech section, two screaming kids, a tired wife and no sign from God about The Rapture. (Dear God, tomorrow rapture us can?)

But I'm too proud to beg for help, I'd find work till my legs drop off from gangrene. Even if I'm going to hit the streets, I'd sing a nice song as a busker rather than give a lame excuse I heard from the beggar clan.

Yes I am blessed and privileged, but I feel even the deprived ought to have some measure of dignity and not be so lazy. I know what it means to wear dirty clothes and have a long-suffering parent, so don't act as if you can't climb out of your ditch.

What really cheesed me off is when the lady saw my empty wallet, she just said, "Oh." and walked off to find the next fool. Come on, why should I take pity on people like you? I meet more deserving folks every day.

My late mum used to say: "Charity? I need charity too? Who's going to donate to me?" Boy, I really miss those killer lines.

Why Sentosa still stinks

2005-08-23T00:54:00.000+08:00

Our family had quite a fun day at Sentosa yesterday.

But seriously man, tourists must think Singapore has not gotten its act together if they take Sentosa as a benchmark.

Dear tourism board people, it's the little details that count.

1. Why keep using old pamphlets, signboards and posters which keep telling people how to get to an attraction using the dismantled monorail? This poor auntie/retailer was explaining to a visitor for the umpteenth time that the new monorail was not ready yet.

2. The Burger King at the ferry terminal is a disgrace. Since it is the only place with sane food prices, lots of locals will head there first. But there's no fans, no aircon, not enough staff (just two actually), you have a big exhaust pipe spewing out cooking fumes into the seating area, and there's this unique wafting smell coming from the rubbish bins when you're eating. Ah, I love the sea breeze.

3. $19+ for an adult pass to Underwater World? Okay, I didn't know fish were that expensive to upkeep, especially in a small 3-storey building. Or maybe we need more tourists....

4. Where's our Disneyland?

CasiNo

2005-03-31T17:50:00.000+08:00

Still no funny jokes to talk about today, so will talk about something pertinent in the national consciousness.

Oh yeah, everyone likes to talk about casino in Singapore and take their sides.

Well, I'm quite dead against it, not so much because it will cause social ills of all sorts.

I don't want it because it represents our government's ridiculous ability to veto anything over our heads. They tell us they want feedback, but ah, what a black hole it falls into.

We will never be as mature as the civil servant really knows what's best for us - like destroying the use of dialect (I used to be a real Hokkien speaker as a toddler), making me hate the Chinese language, jumping through the educational hoops like a prairie dog and telling me to be an entrepreneur when I just want to be a follower.

Of course, my country is safe and secure, but damn it, I'd rather live with a high crime rate than take the MRT with people who won't give a tired and standing pregnant woman a second glance.

Here, dear pappys, have my feetback instead.

Short Intro

2005-03-29T10:48:00.000+08:00

I don't believe in diaries, and damned if this "blog" ever becomes one. People who like to tell others about their personal lives on the Internet are often self-absorbed, egoistic and plainly don't have that many friends to share "juicy" nuggets with.

I'm all of the above too, but damned if I ever tell you what I ate for breakfast today.

This online thingy is basically a canvas for me to put down some offbeat stuff that comes up in my conversations with my wife Goy, my son Isaac and my ever-diminishing circle of friends.

It is also a continuation of what I've been doing online for some years now. Here are my old websites, which amazingly are still up and running today even though I haven't updated them in years. Beware of the horrid ads though.

Miniflask - My son's website, which I stopped maintaining after 2 months
Flask2000 - This featured some of my photography from my early days as a photojournalist
IanTan99 - This was a time when I was a young Christian and much less cynical than I am now

First post

2005-03-29T08:38:00.000+08:00

I'm trying to get things started here...splutter splutter