Board Games

When was the last time you play boardgames?

I went to Settlers Cafe on Saturday to re-live the days when playing boardgames were a regular pasttime. The cafe has been around for 3 years, nice concept where people can gather to play cards, boardgames, eat, drink and make hella of noise without worrying disturbing the neighbours or dirtying the house if one were to invite friends over. There are SO many games to choose from, you have the classics like Boggle, Scrabble, Monopoly, Cluedo, Risk, even old Maid card games! The staff are always there to help recommend the popular games and explain the rules on how to play etc.

There were 6 of us and we played from 7pm-11pm, each person coughing out only about $12, quite reasonable.

These are the games we played, you might want to check it out:

Sequence: 3 teams of 2 players. Aim is to form a row (diagonally, horizontal, vertical) of five using the chips and place the chip according to the card you draw.



















Blokus Trigon: New version of the ever-addictive Blokus. Now it comes in a hexagonal shape, 6 sided but still 4 players. The shapes are more complicated and it's more difficult to plan your next moves unlike the previous square shaped Blokus.






















I'm the Boss: Abit complicated. Each player tries to make business deal and get as much money as possible. You have to negiotiate with other players and see if they want to join you in the partnership.














Dragon Delta: Fun! Aim of the game is to construct a plank across stones to get across to the other side of the island. Made a blooper by making a illogical step at the beginning of the game, malu but provide entertainment for my friends, haha :)














Jurassic Jumble: Ideal for ice-breaking or warm-up to get everyone in the mood. Something like Heart Attack where you pass the cards and exchange with others to form a set of matching cards, in this case, a category of dinosaurs. Whoever wins will retrieve a bone from the middle of the table and the last one without the bone is the loser.

Is this art ?

This is Frank Gehry's design for our Integrated resort at Sentosa.
What do you think of it?
I think it looks damn ugly! I saw a fish head amidst some junk metal plates in there somewhere! Yucks!



Frank Gehry is best known for his sculptural approach to building design and for constructing curvaceous structures, often covered with reflective metal.
These are some of his famed works:

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - a modern and contemporary art museum, located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

The Dancing House in Prague.

I like most of his unique designs he has done so far, but certainly not the one he just did.

I certainly hope this design will not be approved else it will be such an eye sore!

爱琴海上的珍珠 - 希腊萨托利尼 (Santorini)

早在1997, 我跟朋友结伴到希腊背包旅行. 去希腊总不能不去它的群岛.
读了这篇文章, 让我回乙当时在 Mykonos 和 Santorini 的迷人景色.
==============

学枫 (2006-10-16)

　　在爱琴海上，我们探索那遗落的珍珠。

　　那是希腊群岛中，距离雅典较远的萨托利尼岛(Satorini)。

　　从雅典出发，凌晨六点多钟我们摸黑来到了码头，乘搭蓝星渡轮（Blue Stars Ferries），全程8小时，只为一睹萨托利尼的风采。

火山爆发后的地理景观

　　公元前约1450年期间，一场灭绝性的火山爆发，引起了海啸和地震，岛中央的土地开始下沉，原本圆形的岛屿变成弓箭状，造就了萨托利尼漂亮独特的地理景观，号称希腊最美丽岛屿，并誉有“遗落在爱琴海上的珍珠”之衔。

浪漫的萨托利尼岛上，蓝色圆顶的白色教堂是最明显的坐标。

　　在轮船开始驶近小岛时，游客都惊艳于眼前的景致：一栋栋雪白的建筑物屹立悬崖陡壁上，浮现在蓝澄澄的海和晴空白云间，浪漫之极。那一刻，我联想起拜伦，想起了这位在希腊独立战争中离世的浪漫泰斗……

在倾斜中攀上了峭壁

　　大约下午3点多钟渡轮抵岸。

　　哪里知道，半个小时前还晴空一片，抵达岛屿时，老天爷却偏不作美，天空开始下起雨滴。细雨纷飞，我们在码头附近的店铺寻找住宿。

　　适逢淡季，来岛的渡轮也只有这么一趟，所以我们容易找到落脚之处。我们决定入住一家位于岛市中心菲拉城 ( Fira ) 的别墅。商议好价格后，别墅的负责人用专车迎接我们。

　　离开码头，车子驶上了一弯狭窄陡峭的山坡路，我们在倾斜中攀上了峭壁。在车上，热情的负责人滔滔不绝地向我们介绍岛上风光，还说那朦胧细雨在五分钟后即会停止，说得十分有把握。

　　大约15分钟的路程，我们来到菲拉城。菲拉城是萨托利尼的首府，在市镇里有公车总站、银行、旅行社、餐馆等。

在伊亚，喜见这临崖阁楼，有股留在斯地做隐士的冲动。

　　镇里高高低低错落有致的典雅屋宇，沿着弯弯的海岸线层层矗立着，蓝白纯色映入眼帘，雨中恍似梦纪行。

　　我们下榻的别墅就在市中心步行不到15分钟之处。或许当地人酷爱大自然，这里的房屋大多以纯白和湛蓝色彩为主，为萨托利尼营造另番风味，我们居住的别墅也不例外，感觉很幽雅。

　　海岛上的晨早，阳光和煦，轻洒在屋檐上，教堂清脆的钟声划破了沉静的大自然，唤醒一天的复始。

享受岛上一景一物

　　迈步岛上街路，没有车辚辚，马萧萧，放眼尽是碧蓝一片的爱琴海，清新爽朗。日子忙忙碌碌，难得弗届尘嚣，偷上几许闲暇，我们贪婪的去享受岛上的一景一物，逸趣盎然。

　　难怪，这里被公认为希腊蜜月假期的理想胜地，市场上还推出许多游萨托利尼的蜜月配套。

　　我们走过色调缤纷的门墙，花光叶影错杂篱边，也路过沿海房屋，在峭壁上矗立，颇有个性。我忙碌摄景的当儿，有几番冲动，很想很想，向前去串串门子，看看屋内又是怎样的一个春天。

纯白和蔚蓝构成了这里的房屋特色。

蓝白风情

　　萨托利尼的南部，是闻名的阿克罗蒂里（Akrotiri）遗迹。

　　曾经，在这里发掘出了不少历史文物，有精美的壁画以及陶瓷器，出土的一幅幅《春天》 、《羚羊》、《拳击少年》等色彩鲜明的壁画，现今已展现在雅典国立考古学博物馆里。

近距离接触“红海滩”

　　我们到达的阿克罗蒂里，如今是一片以棚架搭起被包围起来的广场，供考古学家钻研遗迹。

　　其实，岛上有不少明媚的海边，是夏日里东欧人避暑的好去处。阿克罗蒂里的附近，即是声称的红海滩。红海滩之所以“红”，是火山爆发喷出的熔岩积累。然而，当我们在近距离接触后， 发现“红海滩”其实是“红岩石”，有点儿被哄的感觉。

　　沿着萨托利尼海边的红岩峻岭，从海面上望去，有如一脉峭崖衔连到辽阔无边的云天，气势磅礴。据悉，在炎夏时节，这里是沸沸扬扬的一片。

“红海滩”，名副其实的红岩峻岭。

　　没有旅游旺季的喧嚷，我们则乐在静谧中悠游。

　　除了萨托利尼红海滩外，岛上还有好些海滩，如弗利哈达海滩（Vlihada），佩里沃罗海滩（Perivolos）和卡马里海滩（Kamari）等，其中以位于岛中央东边的卡马里海滩最为热闹，并以黑沙滩闻名遐迩。

　　毕竟，萨托利尼历经一连串的火山爆发，给岛上增添了不少的特色。在岛屿弓箭型的顶端，是一个叫做伊亚( Oia )的小镇。午后，我们从菲拉城乘公车前往。

明信片上的招牌风景

　　车子驰骋在转折迂回的石路上，窗外不断更替着一幅幅旖旎的景致。峥嵘起伏的山峦，巍峨中呈现着众多色彩淡雅的房屋。放学后的学生成群在嬉戏，一副天真写意。

　　在伊亚，我们尝试去觅寻那明信片上的招牌风景。

　　在许多介绍萨托利尼的照片中，都以蓝色圆顶的白色教堂为重要坐标。

色调缤纷的门墙，花光叶影错杂篱边。

　　走近当地民宅，有临崖阁楼，有弯曲石阶，纯净祥和的一栋栋建筑物，令人心胸舒坦。这里没有摩天高楼，也没有那叫“电梯”的东西，我们足足浏览了一个下午。

　　那一刻，我忽然觉得，自己是抛开世俗的隐士。只可惜这里四处窜跑着三三两两的狗群，一不小心，脚底踩得正着的是一堆粪便，实在有几许的煞人风景。

　　伊亚的景色独特宜人，据说，这里有最美丽的夕阳西沉。可惜的是，那一夜，我们却没有见到日落美景，没有见到那冠为世界上最为迷人的日落。

　　生活中的得与失，很多时候就凭那一份契机。

《联合早报》
（编辑：冯玉君）

Mother of mine

I saw this remarkable Finnish film "Mother of Film" yesterday. It was shown as part of the annual European film festival, organised by the European society of Singapore.

The story is about Eero, a war child, who was sent to Sweden to seek refuge when Finland was in war during World War II. Eero was separated from his mother and was assigned to a foster Swedish family. The foster mum did not like him initially but their relationship grows and Eero slowly accepts her as his mother.














The film has great cinematography, with each frame looking like a picturesque postcard. The film was Finland's entry to the Oscar foreign film category in 2005 but did not make it to the final five.

I have not seen a movie for a while that touches me as much as this one did. Perhaps the loss I've been through before allow me to immerse myself to the character's anguish and pain, I can't help letting my tears flow ...

Weather with you

Finally can see blue sky!
Yes our weather has been hit by haze for the last week and every morning when I get to work, the sky is always so grey and misty.

Heard this tune played on the radio while I was travelling to work today, Weather with you by Crowded House, nice cheery song that helps jumpstart my day, I like.

The chorus goes:

"
Everywhere you go,
you always take the weather with you
"

but certainly in our context here, don't take the haze with you ok? :)
Take the sun with you wherever you go!

Enjoy the MTV:

网上卡通片《黑屁股》

从小就很喜欢看卡通片.那天在报章上读到有这部可在网上下载的flash卡通片《黑屁股》,听起来挺有趣也挺有创意的,毕竟花3年4个月花的制作时间.















狗狗雨夜流浪，三千万电影赚人热泪--黑屁股

原创：www.a-hha.com

《黑屁股》讲述的是都市里，一只长着可爱黑屁股的小狗的故事，它在雨夜的街头流离失所，看尽人间冷暖。据张毅自己说，这部仅16分钟长，分4段可供网民独立下载的flash足足花掉了制作团队3年4个月的时间来创作。他又算了笔账，若按每月砸下去20万人民币计算的话，《黑屁股》简直是flash领域里的“超级大片”了。而一组黑屁股小狗被6名小孩围攻的镜头，更是苦煞了技术人员，张毅坦言，在网络的世界里，这组看似简单的镜头，简直相当于在传统电影里指挥千军万马。

现在这部耗资三千万港币的影片，终于出炉。感动上映……

第一集
第二集
第三集
第四集

人群里，
车流中，
一只显然没有家的小狗，
它要到哪里去？
生活里，
错身而过的问号，
是夜深人静之后的不安，
更不安的是；
你虽然想到，
也片刻辗转，
但是，仍然沉沉地入睡。
突然明白，
一只不知去从的小狗，
是不可追忆的痛伤，
甚至，是希望入梦而不可得的一个影像。
突然明白，
那是生命里最大的成分，
爱别离，
怨憎会，
求不得，
突然地明白，
恍如闪电。

哈姆雷特

那天才blog了电影《夜宴》与Hamlet, 早报在星期六的副刊也写了同样的文章.

林仁余－哈姆雷特　无法不忧郁

● 林仁余

　 　看电影《夜宴》之前，刚好看了DVD中劳伦斯·奥利维尔(Laurence Olivier)扮演的“哈姆雷特”。算是巧合。看着银幕上的葛优章子怡，以及讲究到做作的美术设计，脑子里重叠的是黑白画面。奥利维尔的电影《王子复仇 记》是1948年的作品，只有黑白灰色，只有搭设的内景，可是丹麦王子深邃眼神却比华丽服饰更叫人难忘。

　　据说奥利维尔曾经好长一段时间连演《哈姆雷特》的舞台版，把忧郁举棋不定的王子诠释得丝丝入扣，却因为每晚的几个小时都得陷入王子无法复仇的悲伤中，虽然只是演戏，结果造成内分泌失调。

　 　上一代的艺术精品往往是创作者投入生命的结晶。和朋友说起演精神病演得最出神入化的演员大概就是费雯丽(Vivien Leigh)，看过她在《欲望号街车》中饰演神经质的布兰奇的人大概都不会反对。那也是黑白电影，1951年的。后来才知道，《欲望号街车》舞台版在伦敦 首演时，女主角就是费雯丽，导演正是奥利维尔，当时他们是夫妻。她曾说，塑造银幕上的布兰奇，奥利维尔对她的影响比电影导演卡赞(Elia Kazan)更大。有机会把电影《哈姆雷特》中奥利维尔的忧郁狂躁，和《欲望号街车》中的费雯丽那种精神状况在毫无预警中如行云流水般流动的状态作比较研 究的话，该有不少收获。听说后来费雯丽婚姻遭遇许多挫折，还得了抑郁症。

　　或许因为付出生命力量，作品中的形象才如此慑人。可是那是前 一代人的作风，现在作戏多了，就如《夜宴》那样的就一个“玩”字了得。“玩”成为口头禅时，尽失去当初应有的无拘束的潇洒。现代人大概只能这样，经典在我 们手中大概只剩下小品。就如偶尔在路上见到园艺公司的货车载着满车小树在奔驰时会想起莎翁另一出名剧《麦克白》中女巫对野心家的预言，当整座树林移动时就 是你的末日。树林怎么可能移动？那是砍一棵树都得花费不少力气的时代，野心家当然可以安心去谋反。高速公路上超速飞奔的小树林很快失去踪影，我又和麦克白 说再见了。

　　我们的生活方式已经很不合适读《哈姆雷特》原著。每天有一小段时间读书的人，已是珍奇动物，可是那样的间断时间只合适读电 视剧式的书本，每10出分钟被广告打断，上厕所听电话开冰箱带些什么吃的喝的再回来继续。过去时代的书不是为如此生活方式而写的，它们要求的是一对一的义 无反顾的绝对忠诚及毅力；当时或许不需要太大毅力，因为那是很容易静静集中精神阅读的时代。

　　看DVD原来是再读《哈姆雷特》的前奏，希望借助奥利维尔的魅力增补一点毅力，现在被《夜宴》插了进来，哈姆雷特全被搞得灰头灰脸，奥利维尔的风采也打了折扣。看样子只好再请梅尔杰森(Mei Gibson)的现代版《哈姆雷特》来拔刀相助才行。

Hamlet

Watched The Banquet 夜宴 starring Zhang ZhiYi and Ge You last weekend. If you have read the review or watched the movie, you will know that the story is based on Hamlet.

Over the years, there have been quite a few movies with this Hamlet theme as well, you might have watched them. One of the memorable one is from Disney's The Lion King: Simba as Hamlet, the young prince, King Mufasa as Hamlet's father who becomes a ghost and Scar as Claudius, the uncle who tries to take over the king's throne.

漫游欲

你有漫游欲吗 ?
这篇文章是在星期六早报副刊刊登的:

虎威

　　很喜欢Wanderlust 这个字。它原本是德文，但也用在英文词汇中。翻看英汉字典，或把它翻译成“浪游癖”、“旅行癖”的，都不合我意。这个词，用英文解释，是“a strong desire to travel”——我认为“癖”一字用得不好，总让我想起“酒癖”、“赌癖”、“怪癖”。所以把Wanderlust称为“漫游欲”——到处漫游的强烈欲 望。

　　漫游欲我肯定有。从小就有。七八岁时便梦想飞往有春夏秋冬的国度，现实中，只偶有机会到邻国的哥打丁宜瀑布，却也雀跃万分。到了 念中四那年，学校的军乐队赴港台巡回演出，作为乐队一员的我，第一次坐飞机到遥远的地方去，心中有说不出的快活。往后的海外军训、国外留学，因公的异地出 差、考察，私人的异域旅行、度假，渐渐地扩大实质上漫游的版图，却填不平心中漫游的欲望。

　　我肯定有漫游欲。不然无法解释为什么会那么 喜欢舒伯特的音乐、弗里德里希（Caspar David Friedrich）的创作。尤其是舒伯特那些关于旅者的歌曲、弗里德里希描绘旅途的油画。渺小的旅人，面对着雄伟的大自然——或许是千山万壑，或许是汪 洋大海，不知道前面的风景会是什么样的，却还是渴望着要出发，要启航。

　　但我的漫游欲比起一些四海为家，不断地从一个地方移居到另一个 地方的人来说，却必定是“轻淡”得多。我只是每隔一段时期，就会“不安于室”，想去新地方走走看看。走走看看之后，又会回返，并不一定要变更作为“据点” 的 “室”。这似乎与Wanderlust的另一个解释“a strong desire not to stay in one place”——不在同一地点留驻的强烈欲望——有点出入。用这样的解释，我的漫游欲似乎便不能算是漫游欲。

　　无论如何，漫游确是我生 命中重要的一部分。身边的亲人早就接受了这个事实。想想从前漫游对他们的影响，以及现在漫游对他们的“无影响”，颇为有趣。早期，每次的出国仿佛都是件大 事。必定有人到机场送行，事前总会有一番讨论，到底该买些什么免税商品，回国之日也肯定会有人接机。早期，电讯业不发达，长途电话难得一打，但抵达异国后 报平安的电话总是要打的。靠书信与家人联络有时很靠不住。有一回单枪匹马到意大利旅行，写给家人的明信片迟了好多天才到家，害得老妈寝食难安。

　 　最近频频到国外出差，印度、越南、中国……四处走。和家人说“明天我要到Bombay 开会”，效果就好像说“明天早上我要到Boon Lay开会”一样，没有人会当成是件特别的事。行李箱常常准备好，随时可以拿起上机。还备有出差专用皮包。里面只有一张信用卡，看看是去哪个国家，再把哪 个国家的现钞添上，就带着上路。而每段旅程除了坐机的时间外，都是有可能随时以手机与家人联络的。但因为“去孟买”好似“去文礼”，相互的联络只在于夜间 一通电话的寒暄，也就够了。

　　这样的生活方式，必定能满足我的漫游欲——你真的这么认为么？未必。都说了：具Wanderlust的 人，是不甘心于留驻在某一个定点的。当任何一种生活方式变成一种不变的方式时，他们便会去找寻另一种方式。他们爬了一座山，又想爬另一座山，抵达一个岸， 又想航行到另一个岸。

　　他们不断地在漫游。

Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you

If you have been following the local news for the past few days, you might have read about the spute being our leader and Malaysia.

It all started when our MM told a forum in Singapore that it was vital for Singapore, a predominantly ethnic Chinese state, to stand up to its bigger, mainly Muslim neighbours, Indonesia and Malaysia.

He made the following statement:

"Our neighbours both have problems with their Chinese. They are successful. They are hard-working and therefore they are systemically marginalised,"

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060915/3/43gi5.html

Don't you think it is uncalled for? Whether the statement holds any truth is one matter, in the first place, what rights do you have to talk or criticise on other countries matters? Heard of 家有家规, 国有国法?

I liken this to Neighbour A telling others how her Neighbour B is mistreating one of her 3 kids, not giving that kid enough food to eat, pocket money to spend, freedom to play etc whereas the other 2 kids were allow all the incentives. Each family has its own rules and how do you feel, if your neighbours were to do the same, go around making comments on how you should run your family ?

Mahathir hits back with the following reply:

"You are not that clever. In a small group, perhaps you seem clever," Mahathir said, referring to Lee.

"But when (Lee) goes to China, the Chinese there don't want to listen to him. The Chinese in China don't think much of him and it is a fact that he is marginalized by Chinese in the world," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.

"We should have an independent investigation on why the Malays are left behind in Singapore," Mahathir said. "They are pressured, marginalized and oppressed. That is the kind of government founded on the views of Lee Kuan Yew."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/23/asia/AS_GEN_Malaysia_Singapore_Lee.php

You may want to debate if the statement holds any truth or not but that is not the essence of the argument. My personal motto: "Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you".

You may say this is freedom of speech, why can't people make comments freely, well fine, then be willing to accept criticsm as well from others. Just mid this month, FEER was sued again for libel:

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18882

Call Center

Just finished reading the book by NY times columnist Thomas L. Friedman. It talks about how technology has evolved over the years and people are connected wirelessly between countries and business are done remotely.

The book also touches on how China and India is competing and getting alot of business in the US. Lenovo buying over IBM laptop business and many companies outsourcing to India in areas like technical support.

I work in a technical support field and in my daily job, I deal with support centers. I've seen big corporations including my company, outsourcing their support center to India, Philippines and Malaysia among others.

Here are some funny videos on call centers, enjoy:



Call center movie

Happy Feet

You might have catch this trailer for the coming animated movie Happy Feet while at the cinema. So cute! The penguins were so adorable and Robin Williams did a darn good job in his Spanish renedition of the song "My Way". The film will be in theatres Nov and stars Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, among others


Check it out!



Another one:

有趣的语言易位

在网上读到这段有趣的语言易位

满祥广

江西、湖南、四川三省的人爱吃辣椒，一个地方比一个地方厉害，所以人们就说：
江西人不怕辣，湖南人辣不怕，四川人怕不辣。
在以上的话中，三个字的位置互换后，意思就发生了微妙的变化，多么巧妙。这种形式叫“易位”。

一名著名学者有一段名言，表白了自己与众不同的思想。他说：人家说了再做，我是做了再说；人家说了不一定做，我是做了不一定说。
“说”与“做”，这两个字易位马上反映了两种截然不同的态度，让人回味无穷。

Just for Laugh, it's Friday!

Have been quite busy this week, didnt get to rest after I came back from my business trip, went straight to work on Monday. Glad it's Friday!

Share with you this funny clip :

Read first before you watch the video clip (simple content translation) :

Motorist : May I know what is the time now?
Cow Owner touch the cow's balls, and say : it is 10am.
Motorist doubted : Are you sure?
Cow Owner touch the cow's balls again and answer : Yes.
Motorist then tune his watch with doubt, and drove off for his appointment.

Later on, the Motorist return from his appointment and asked this Cow Owner again. He has tune his watch at the exact time while he was at the town for his appointment.
Motorist : May I know what is the time now?
Cow Owner touches the cow's balls again and reply : its 3pm.
The Motorist feel unbelievable and ask the Cow Owner how he know the time by touching the cow's balls?
Cow Owner : ...

The Miracle Rain Tree

Ever see a tree that actually "rains" ? No, it's not the common rain tree that I'm talking about :)
Well, read from papers yesterday, a 'miracle' tree, an angsana to be exact, was spotted "raining" at Empress Place near the Asian Civilisation Museum.

This was actually an art performance put up as part of the Singapore Biennale 2006.
The cool concept was created by Dutch artist, IEPE, quite interesting huh. Rain occurs at random times throughout the day.

According to the news report, "IEPE does not want to reveal the secret behind the rain making.

Instead, he says the question that should be asked is: what's the meaning of it all?

"What's the meaning of a miracle? What does a miracle teach us? Is there more beyond rationalism or is it that we have to believe in fantasy? I think it gives people a good feeling and gives them a chance to not to think but to experience," said the artist. "

I thought it will be even appropriate if the artist create this concept on the real raintree, isn't it? I like raintree, in particularly the shape of its crown or dome, dunno the exact term for it. Mediacorp movie sideline Raintree Pictures used the raintree design as its logo.

Come to think of it, it is easy to visualise and not difficult to implement this rain tree concept, wonder what will the artist's reaction be if i have a suggestion to use the flame of the forest tree :)

Thank you for drinking soda

On the first day of my training at my company's vendor's site, our instructor told us that the soda (soft drinks) available from the vending machines are free.














It was just 8.30am and quite many of my course mates were already drinking their favourite soda to their hearts content. I went to check out the vending machine, wow there are so many sodas to choose from, I counted, there are 16 different drinks! Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Dr Peppers, Diet Dr Peppers, Fanta Grape, Fanta Orange, Fruit Punch, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, Cherry Coke, Lemon Tea, Mountain Dew.

I wondered if this is the cause of obesity in the States. Incidentally, on the same day, I read this report
Waistlines Continue to Grow in U.S from Associated Press:

There is no mention in the report that soda is the cause of obesity but those working in the soda industry will be similing if they were to know that during the duration of my training, some of my course mates can drink up to 2 or 3 sodas per day. I am no saint, I too was 'lured' into drinking but I choose Ginger Ale and Lemon Tea :) If you were to look at this scenario on a bigger scale, those lobbyist will probably be saying "Thank you for drinking soda".

This brings me to the satire comedy movie 'Thank you for smoking' which I watched recently on krisworld. The story is about how the character Nick Naylor, deals with the public/his family and friends, being the person to hate, as he is a lobbyist in the smoking and tobacco industry.

Nick has a 12 year old son and he teaches his son to argue rather than to negiotiate to 'win'. In Nick's words, "That's the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you're never wrong".

I can remember two particular scenes:

Kid: My Mommy says smoking is bad for you
Nick Naylor: Oh, is your Mommy a doctor?
Kid: No.
Nick Naylor: A scientific researcher of some kind?
Kid: No.
Nick Naylor: Well then she's hardly a credible expert, is she?

In the other scene, Nick creates an analogy for his son about how arguing over whether smoking causes cancer is similar to an argument over whether vanilla ice cream is better than chocolate. They stage the fake argument and Nick begins twisting the discussion until he's talking about freedom of choice in ice cream flavors, something to the extend like there is truth as to chocolate is better than vanilla (vice versa) but people is free to choose which flavour they like. Flustered, his son says, "But that's not what we're talking about!"
"But that's what _I'm_ talking about," emphasizes Nick :)

Well, all I have to say is we are what we eat so we have to be responsible with what we consume. Yes life is short but don't blame the unhealthy food, blame ourselves instead and exercise if you feel the guilt :)

Scenes from the movie

Greetings from Washington!

As I take in the sights, I'm brought back to some of the movie scenes that I've enjoyed in the past.

In the film "In the line of Fire", there is this scene where Clint Eastwood watches Rene Russo leave from the Lincoln Memorial. Clint mumbled to himself: If she looks back, it means she's interested. Come on, give me a look back now. Just give me that smug expression and be on your way. Rene Russo finally looks back, so cliche right, haha, thats Hollywood :)













Another scene filmed not far from the Lincolm Memorial is one from Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks was preparing to make a speech in front of the reflecting pool when long lost Robin Wright saw him on the stage. Then in Hollywood style, they run to each other's embrace while wading in the pool. The pool appears to be sheet clean from afar but on closer look, alot of duck droppings ah :)

A good rest

I am reminded by how many hours of proper sleep I had when the washington heat get a little over me this afternoon. Lets do some maths here, in spore timezone:
sun 27, woke up 6.30am for run
sun 27, 4pm left for LA
mon 28, 8.30pm reached hotel
mon 28, trip to washington at 10pm
tues 29, back in hotel 6am
finallY hit the bed! That comes up to 48hrs! Wow, now as a make up, I will try and get 9hrs of sleep :)

Waiting

I have about 4 hours to catch my transit flight to Baltimore-Washington airport to my destination, Columbia. i survived the 16hrs flight, manage to watch 5 films to kill time and catch some sleep in between. Watched singapore gaga, a 55mins documentary on things singapore by tan pin pin, two brits production, kinky boots and keeping mum, the latter starring kristen scott thomas, mr bean and maggie smith. The other two were she's the man and thank you for smoking.

Now I am at Los Angeles airport, the UA terminal to be exact. There are no shops at the departure area just counters for u to check in so I decided to check in early to get to the departure lounge, at least there will be some shops and cafes. So here I am, at starbucks, ordered a pomengrenate frappachino, seated near the window overlooking the runway.















The radio is playing Lisa Stansfield 'All around the world', and it is turning dark outside. No wifi here but didnt know what else to do so login to blog abit.

Jog & Fly

Today I participated in my first even run/jog at the Safra Sheares Bridge Run. The turnout was about 60,000! and its not easy to jog when you have so many people around you. Anyway I managed to complete the 6km run, feel so good after that, despite the rain that came pouring down at the 4km mark.

Right now, I'm at Changi Airport, departing to USA to attend a training. Hope I will get some rest on the plane to recharge. Adios!

All set

This is my running tag and Tshirt for tomorrow's Safra 6km run.

0320, nice number? I will buy 4D for this weekend, see got luck or not :)

The future will be fun with Office 2006!

Office 2006 is here!
These are the latest features for the new 2006 business computers!

Some Features you may need on your Computer

KOLYA

在早报副刊读到这篇文章, 读后也有同样的感触,但本身没有那么好的文笔,所以把它放在这,与大家分享.

很喜好这部电影, 小男孩的童真是非笔墨所能形容的.回故一下也有9年了,1997年KOLYA在奥斯卡赢得最佳外语影片的荣誉.
没记错的活第一次是在97或98年新加坡电影节看的.第二次观赏应该是在04年的捷克电影节吧. 与作者一样我也被布拉格的美景迷着, 很侥幸的,在03年有机会到布拉格度假,总于目睹了这个有东方巴黎之称(Paris of the East)的城市.



快乐的泪光 (刊登于8月23日早报副刊)

● 尤今

“KOLYA”是一部精彩绝伦的电影，以捷克语和俄罗斯语为对白，附中英文字幕。

　　当初买这影碟，只为了一个非常简单的理由：它拍摄于捷克首都布拉格，而我，对这城市念念不忘──忘不了它集绰约风姿与万千气派于一身的超俗美丽。那回的旅游，让我至感遗憾的是：好几卷照片因为人为的疏忽而走光了，因此，我希望在电影中重新拾掇那一份逐渐模糊的记忆。

　　然而，影片震撼我的，竟不是让我眷恋不已的绮丽风光，而是一份催人泪下的人间温情。

　 　故事发生于1988年的布拉格，当时，捷克还在苏联的掌控中。主角路卡是布拉格一名怀才不遇的大提琴手，风流倜傥，把婚姻视为桎梏，年过五旬，仍然是逍 遥自在的单身汉。许多女性倾倒于他的音乐才华而主动投怀送抱，可是，他却因为经济拮据而决定与一名素不相识的俄罗斯女子假结婚，帮助她取得捷克的居留权而 为自己换取丰厚的酬劳。双方议定半年之后离婚。俄罗斯女子有名五岁的儿子哥耶，与祖母同住。万万料不到，女子婚后竟逃到西德去私会情人，把儿子哥耶留下。 更料不到的是：哥耶的祖母不久病逝，照顾哥耶的担子于是落到路卡身上。

　　束手无策的路卡把哥耶带返母亲处，要求母亲代为照顾，可是，一向痛恨俄罗斯人的母亲，一口拒绝了。

　　故事于是在一老一小之间展开了。

　 　路卡只谙捷克语，哥耶呢，只懂俄语。两个连沟通都有问题的人，只好靠肢体语言努力适应。路卡把哥耶当作是摔不掉的累赘，哥耶将路卡看成是有怪癖的老人， 两相嫌弃。然而，后来，哥耶的童真，终于攻陷了路卡心房里那坚固的堡垒，两个年纪相差了半个世纪的人，建立了相濡以沫的“父子情”。

　　电影拍得平实而又真实，显得特别的温馨，也特别的感人。

　 　为了给哥耶解闷，路卡大汗滴小汗地砍伐木柴给哥耶雕小玩偶、买蜡笔和画布教他绘画、送小提琴让他学音乐、带他外出骑脚车寻乐子。早熟的哥耶，亦步亦趋地 跟着路卡，玩得很开心，散落一串串清脆的笑声。终于，有一晚，上床后，主动给了路卡一个响亮的吻，说：“晚安，老爹。”。

　　一回，倦游 归来后，路卡在浴缸里放满了水让哥耶享受泡浴，哥耶泡着、泡着，竟把花洒当成电话筒，“拨电”给他的祖母，说：“奶奶，您什么时候可以回家呀？上回，我去 医院看您，可是，老爹说您睡着了，不要叫醒您，您几时才会醒过来呢？您如果醒了，就快点回家来吧！”说着，说着，竟哭了起来；站在浴室外无意间偷看到这一 幕的路卡，赶紧给他的情人打电话，要求以教俄文为生的情人为小哥耶讲个故事。于是，小哥耶在泡浴之后，便躺在床上，握着电话筒，如饥如渴地让那久违了的俄 语带着他飞往那个美丽的童话王国，听着时，他晶晶发亮的大眼睛薄薄地镀着一层快乐的泪光.……听完后，他满足地叹息着说：“呵，真好听啊！”

　　就在这时，我眼眶全湿。

　　啊，再多的玩具、再精采的出游、再新鲜的游戏，通通通通都比不上一个用自己母语畅述的故事。

　　世界上，有什么语言，比自己的母语更动听、更好听、更叫人动心、更令人动情呢？

　　《KOLYA》这影片，除了荣获奥斯卡最佳外语片之外，还获颁“金球奖”最佳外语片奖、欧洲最佳电影奖、东京国际电影节最佳影片奖。

　　它是实至名归的。

　　影片中的许多情节，看似平凡，但却寓藏了深刻的思想内涵。

　　看懂了，处处都是触动人心的启示；看不懂呢，它就仅仅只是一部好看的电影而已。

Sophie Scholl

I watched the movie last night. There were not much actions or drama so to speak unlike other war movies but you could feel that it was impactful. The story traces the last 4 days of Sophie Scholl, in Munich in Feb 1943. The movie centers around the interrogation process of Sophie, who got into trouble while helping her brother in carrying out anti-Nazi activities. Julia Jentsch who plays Sophie did a very good job in portraying the relentless and never-see-die, side of the character. She fought strongly with the authorities, and did not succumb to any of the threats.

One scene that strikes me is when she asked for permission to go to the lavatoy to relieve herself. If I remembered correctly, it was right after she was told that she will be punished for the "crimes" that she has committed - spreading anti-Nazi newsletters. Punishment equates death and Sophie was worried what will happen to her parents at the same time. When she was lead to the lavatory, she did not wash up or relieve herself as you would think. Instead, she stood in front of the mirror looking in vain and rest her back against the wall and let out a cry. A helpless cry.

Read more about the White Rose

怀旧卡通片

你小时候有看过这些卡通片吗?

What a difference a "u" make

I was told last week by my colleague that I may be going to Columbia to attend a training. As it was still pending, I did not look up to find out more on the destination. I told my family and friends and the reactions were "not safe, exotic, out-of-place". Initially I thought I am going to South America too but till I got my facts right, I realised I was going to Columbia and not Colombia. Both sounds the same right? :)

Columbia is in Maryland state, located between Baltimore and Washington. A search on the web shows there are other Columbia in several US states.

This is a short trip, arrive Monday, depart Friday kind, hope I will still get a chance to go to Washington to catch a glimpse of the White House and to visit the Holocaust Museum.

What I Live By

我的座右铭

Do not do unto others, what you do not want others to do unto you.

你希望别人怎么对待你，你就怎么对待别人

孔子也留下了相仿的话“己所不欲，勿施于人”
这句话是儒家道德信条的基础，它的意思是说，自己所不愿意承受的，不要去加在别人头上。八个字看来很简单，其实包含着很深的道理。

播种一个行动，你会收到一个习惯；
播种一个习惯，你会收到一个个性；
播种一个个性，你会收到一个命运；
播种一个善行，你会收到一个善果；
播种一个恶行，你会收到一个恶果。

座右铭

你知道座右铭的意识吗 ? 经常会读到某某人的座右铭,但不知道它的来源. 在网上找到这篇文稿,挺惭愧的,稿上写着小学语文小常识 :)

“座右铭”的传说

很多少年朋友喜欢抄一些名言警句放在自己的书桌上、铅笔盒里，用来鞭策自己不断进步。我们把这些名言警句叫做“座右铭”。

这种写出来放在座位旁边或其他地方的格言为什么叫座右铭呢？有两种不同的传说。

一 种传说是这样的：宋 朝时有个叫吴介的人很喜欢史书。史书中记载的可以吸取经验教训的事，他都抄下来，放在座位的右边，称之为“座右铭”。铭就是刻在器物上记述生平、事业或警 惕自己的文字。时间长了，他家连墙上、窗上都贴满了警句、格言。以后就慢慢地传开了。“座右铭”的内容也不仅仅是可以借鉴的往事，形式也不仅仅是限于放在 座位的右边了。

另一种说法是有关我国古代大教育家孔子的故事。

据古书记载，春秋五霸之一的齐桓公死了，齐国人为了纪念他，就给他造了一个庙堂。庙堂里摆设了好多祭器，其中有一种很特别的装酒的器皿。它空着的时候是倾斜的，把液体装进一半就直立起来。这种酒具叫欹器。

有 一天，孔子带着学生 到庙里来朝拜，看到了一个倾斜的酒器，觉得很奇怪，于是就向庙里管香火的人打听。管香火的人告诉他，这是欹(qī)器。孔子于是想起了有关齐桓公的故事。 他指着欹器对学生们说：“欹器空着的时候就倾斜，把酒或水倒进去，到一半的时候就直立起来，欹器装满了就又会倾斜。所以过去齐桓公总是把欹器放在他座位的 右侧，用来警戒自己决不可以骄傲自满。自满就会像欹器里装满了水，必然要倾斜倒覆。”说完，他就让学生取来水倒进欹器。果然一切正如孔子所说的一样。孔子 又对学生说：“读书也是一样，谦受益，满招损。你们一定要牢牢记住。”回到家里，孔子也请人做了个欹器放在座位的右侧，用来警戒自己活到老，学到老，永不 满足。以后，欹器被刻在金属上的文字所代替，放在自己座位旁。书房里的铭文也并不都是金属戒训文字，还包括许多格言，警句。但“座右铭”这个词却一直用到 今天。

你是否有座右铭呢？

Stroke

I received this email yesterday and didn't think much of it. Today when I logged in to my mailbox, I received news from our Europe office that one of our counterparts passed away on Saturday due to stroke. This got me to re-read the email again. Hope this information will be useful.

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters...

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.
It only takes a minute to read this...
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Remember the "3" steps, STR . (Remember " STAR ".)

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S *Ask the individual to SMILE .
T *Ask the person to TALK . to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) ( i.e. . . It is sunny out today)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
{NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke}
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

境由心生

在网上读到这篇文章,在这里跟大家分享:

境由心生

梅冬冬

光阴在闪念间就已流逝，想想自己这些年来一事无成依旧两手空空，心中常涌过一种焦虑感。而当自己为了生活琐事奔波，为了工作或者感情的困扰而烦恼不堪时; 当看到昔日好友天各一方或荣华富贵或居无定所时;当自己不被理解时，思想常陷于一种混沌中，百思不得其解，仿如迷雾里看不清前路，倍感彷徨困惑。
某日，一位多年不见的老友来电问候，话间自己不免感叹起来，觉得生活中有太多的不满与无奈。电话那头依旧话不多说，只淡淡送出句：“境由心生，知足常乐”。

好一个境由心生！犹如醍醐灌顶，让我茅塞顿开。
是啊，细想自己的周遭际遇，尽管有好多事不尽人意，与其苦思不得要领不得解脱，令自己背上沉重的思想包袱，不如退一步，留白天地宽;对于那些功名利禄荣辱 得失，以一份淡泊的心情来看待，才发觉，很多烦恼和失意纯属庸人自扰。若拥有了过人的肚量 、豁达的胸襟，知足而常乐，人会活得轻松得多。

凡事追求完美，反而过犹不及;凡事斤斤计较,反令自己不得安宁。有些人不快乐，也许正因为他不知足。一切感觉皆由心生，坚持自己的原则做力所能及的事，莫 过于强求，这并非是消极的人生态度，只是处世的方法有所不同，依然是可以活得积极入世。

给自己一个时空，为自己营造一份平和的心境，活得轻松写意些。让自己走进生活而不让生活走过自己。领悟了境由心生、知足常乐这些道理，鼓励自己，怀一份善心，去笑对明天。

有了“静看庭前花开花落，漫随天外云卷云舒”的无憾和超然,夫复何求？

知足常乐

1. 一个人的快乐，不是因为他拥有的多，而是因为他计较的少.

2. 拥有是负担，不计较就自在，能放下烦恼才能快乐，

3. 多是负担，是另一种失去；少非不足，是另一种有余；

4. 舍去也不是一种失去，而是另一种更宽阔的拥有。

5. 人如不知足，就永远都在烦恼中. 愿你永远幸福哦

生命的空隙

很多时候,我们需要给自己的生命留下一点空隙,就像两车之间的安全距离———一点缓冲的余地，可随时调整自己，进退有据。
生 活的空间，须借清理挪减而留出；心灵的空间，则经思考开悟而扩展。打扑克牌时，我们手中握有的这副牌不论好坏，都要把它打的淋漓尽致；人生亦然，重要的不 是发生的事，而是我们处理它的方法和态度。假如我们转身面向阳光，就不可能陷身在阴影里。当我们拿花送给别人时，首先闻到花香的是我们自己；当我们抓起泥 巴想抛向别人时，首先弄脏的也是自己的手；一句温暖的话，就像往别人身上洒香水，自己也会沾到两三滴。因此，要时时心存好意，脚走好路，身行好事。
光明使我们看到许多东西，也使我们看不见许多东西。假如没有黑夜，我们便看不到闪亮的星辰。因此，即使是是曾经一度使我们难以承受的痛苦磨难，也不会是完全没有价值的。它可使我们的意志更坚强，思想、人格更成熟。因此，当困难与挫折到来，应平静的面对乐观的处理。
不要在人我是非中彼此磨擦。有些话语称起来不重，但稍一不慎，便会重重压到别人心上；同时，也要训练自己，不要轻易被别人的话扎伤。
你不能决定生命的长度，但你可以扩展它的宽度；你不能改变天生的容貌，但你可以时时展现你的笑容；你不能企望控制别人，但你可以好好撑握自己；你不能全然预知明天，但你可以充分利用今天；你不能要求事事顺利，但你可以做到事事尽心。
在生活中，一定要让自己豁达些，因为豁达的自己才不至于钻入牛角尖，才可能乐观进取。还要开朗些，因为开朗的自己才能把快乐带给别人，让生活中的气氛显得更加愉悦。
心里如要常常保持快乐，就必须不把人与人之间的琐事当成是非；有些人常常在烦恼，就是因为别人的一句无心的话，他却有意的接受，并堆积在心中。
一个人的快乐，不是因为他拥有的多，而是因为他计较的少。多是负担，是另一种失去；少非不足，是另一种有余；舍去也不是一种失去，而是另一种更宽阔的拥有。
美好的生活应该是时时拥有一颗轻松自在的心，不管外在世界如何变化，自己能有一片清静的天地，清静不在热闹繁杂中，更不在一颗所求太多的心中，放下挂碍、开阔心胸，心里自然清静无忧。
喜悦能让心灵保持明亮，并且充塞着一种确实而永恒的宁静。我们的心念意境，如能时常保持清明开朗，展现于周遭的环境，都是美好而良善的。

摘自《读者》2004第一期

梁文福 - 左手的快乐

I chanced upon this book from the library recently. It was sitting on the "What's New" section and it beckoned me to take him home.

A good read it was. It is a collection of short articles that the author has contributed over the years to newspapers columns (ZaoBao and some Taiwanese papers).

I grew up listening to XinYao and you certainly can't miss Liang Wen Foo's works. I am not one that really listen / scrutinise the lyrics when a nice song is played. I'm attracted more by the melody of the music piece and if I really enjoyed it, I will then check what the lyrics is about. Anyway my knowledge of chinese songs is limited, the XinYao period was probably my "prime" :)

Ok, back to the book. Liang Wen Foo has a certain writing style that make the reading a breeze. I think I finish reading within a few hours. He is witty with his words and with the ideas he conjures. One of my favourite piece from the book is "Di" (Droplets, literally translated). I won't reveal much here, go and buy / borrow and share your thoughts with me.

Maths Equation

Perhaps this is what our MOE is seeking in our new generation of students, applying their mathematical skills in a creative way :)