Sunday, September 26, 2004

Hohenheim of Light

I was putting down touches on my anime blog and I remembered something. In Full Metal Alchemist Hohenheim is the original genius alchemist who somehow managed to make the Philosopher's stone, and live for hundreds of years in borrowed bodies, and somehow manages to transmit his alchemy genius to his sons, even though they're sons of his borrowed body... (no genes to transmit!). Maybe it's self-fulfilling prophecy..

But that's beside the point. I was reading Terry Pratchett's Science of Discworld II: The globe, and something came up. Now we all know Pratchett writes satirical fantasy.. as in, it makes fun of everything, it's kind of like douglas adams, hitchhiker's guide but with fantasy, swords and magic rather than spaceships... This book was part philosophy and part story though, and in one of the philosophy-and-real-science areas mentioned an alchemist called Hohenheim!

Just googled Hohenheim alchemy... and I was expecting a whole flood of FMA reviews. But there's only the last in the first ten that's anime, the rest seem serious.. Googling Hohenheim Alchemist gives better, but the first two are still the RL person, and the third references him as a starting point for Hohenheim of light...
Links:
Actual guy
Anime Commentary

Saturday, September 25, 2004

flunked out

Well, i flunked out of the commission interview. Seems kind of like when I got the LOMS instead of the OMS scholarship. On one level, I know I'm not anywhere close to the traditionally god-like talents, the Lukawas and Sasukes of this world. Yet at the same time, the story I've written in my own mind is that I can be like the Sakuragis and Narutos, who can work up to a level where I can compete head on with them. can't help but feel disappointed. Mom and Key are both very supportive... and in any case the job of an Admin Officer is very tough and probably features long hours and a life that doesn't support my diverse interests. But still .. .I want the choice. I would rather be the Maes Hughes of a story, playing the supporting character, pushing someone else up, but I'd like to have the choice! Not someone who's consigned to t. :<

well.. back to the real world then... Wednesday, still have the interview for National Youth Forum... but damn. this has taken quite a bit of wind out of my sail, quite sianz now.

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Wikipedia

I was doing some research for my Anime zim post on Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, and came across wikipedia. can't believe I haven't run across it before, but it seems to be a free, freely-edited encyclopedia, kind of like an Open Source Linux version of an encyclopedia.. It's cool. From Ghost in the shell I managed to sidetrack until I found articles on that fave sci-fi story of mine Flowers for Algernon and enough material to make me want to read Catcher in the Rye, and information about Avalon High the webcomic and Avalon as a British Arthurian concept.. :>

Saturday, September 18, 2004

Won my first photo competition! Kind of...


Chun Keat told me he sent this photo I took for a competition in NUS.. look here!
Internation Exchange Day 2004 - Photography Competition Winners

Yes, it won first prize! Haha, don't begrudge him the prize at all, I would never have set it myself, even if I had known of the competition.
Incidentally, this was taken in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada! Cool, no? I'll post up some other time the whole wall, it's a wonderfully 3-D looking painting!

Nice meetings yesterday

I met Shawn from DUAL on Friday night.. he's coordinating the Charity Ball for THC and I was meeting him to tie down details. He's kind of quietly social, outgoing without being loud, and.. kind of ordinary-looking, in the sense, no real distinguishing features... hahaha.. but still, he exuded a sense of confidence. We talked on about the coordination, and also about how DUAL could work with THC in the long term, and, how Brainstormz could fit into his vision for DUAL.. exciting stuff for me!

Then, leaving, bumped into Siu Foong and Xueming.. very very surprising to bump into them, and renew the contacts... hahaha.. Both were my Mech E schoolmates in NUS, worked with Xueming in Airbus in Bristol previously for our internships, and Siu Foong was in the same class and final year project lab, so relatively close.. I like them both, Xueming's a guy who tries to be cool, but a nice guy at heart, and Siu Foong's very sincere, if kind of blur.. :>

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

More run arounds

Another run around discovered today.. .My quest to change my address is near to an end. A clerk in orderly room asked me to change my address with the Police, who said I didn't have my IC so please call Immigration, who asked me to call the IC department, who directed me to call CMPB. Couldn't find the number, so I endured on the phone the Mindef e-services waiting to finally be told:

ask the chief clerk in your unit.

well done!

Journalists are we!

from an archive in the one hand clapping website.

"Philip Meyer, who holds the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, wrote of the Leggett case,
How, for example, could we define membership in the special group without starting down a slippery slope leading first to the licensing of journalists and ultimately to censorship? . . . One of Leggett's contributions could be a definition of a journalist as anyone who declares his or her intent to be one."

Hey.. if you want to be a journalist.. start a blog! :>

also from the website
"The myth of journalistic accountabilityBut back to "accountability" for the nonce. There is a Code of Ethics promulgated by the Society of Professional Journalists that offers some admirable ideals. Here is 100 percent of what it says the accountability of journalists is (check for your self):
Be Accountable
Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.

Journalists should:
Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.
Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.
Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
Expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media.
Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others. "

Yanggang

Google that and see the explosion news... thing is, I haven't seen it in our own papers.. or did I miss it?
a possible nuclear testing explosion in North Korea and it got swallowed up by the Indonesian bombing in the news...

Monday, September 13, 2004

A bit pissed

Sianz. Totally. Because I have to go back to camp to sign off on some stupid document generated for PSC documents, that Chief Clerk didn't decide to process until today. Called me at 6.30 pm to say he needs my signature on the document to hand up TOMORROW. So how? Meet him at Yio Chu Kang or Tampines tonight? Eh... At6.30pm he wants to make this kind of arrangement.. sure... for a person staying at bukit batok and on MC. So I say, I can get transport to meet him at 11pm. No? He has to sleep?

So what kind of window do I have anyway? Okay, I'll be in camp tomorrow. But that makes me so fucking pissed off. Like, I have to travel 4 hours to sign off some silly document. Worse, just happens mom is not going east tomorrow, so no transport. So how? Borrow transport from sis. Hope I don't get into some stupid accident tomorrow, I have no doubt at all that Chief Clerk will not back me up by saying that he's the one who's making me travel down across Singapore.. after all that will get his ass fried. And what are my options? basically zero lor, it's not like I have a lot of money to take cab rides back and forth. and the time spent on transport will kill me if I take public transport. It's cross Singapore, basically.. and of course, very risky to tua him, because all I need is him to mess up my PSC docu and I'll get in trouble with my comm interview.

She got off the plane!

Yay!!! Just watched th last episode of Friends! That's like the coolest show, and so happyyyyyy, that Ross finally said it, and that him and Rachel are finally together! Jennifer Aniston rocks!

Going back to Army

Well. I'm going back to the army. The doctors have certified that I no longer need to stay at home, even though the splint should stay on and my arm is still not suited to doing even basic physiotherapy.

Bother. Well, back to camp then. It's my duty... even if it does mean that major work is going to be interrupted, plans inconvenienced....

Sunday, September 12, 2004


well, I had a rather successful housewarming yesterday. Thought I ran out of food, but then again, it seems I didn't... Had a real amount of fun!

I also mentioned that it was just an excuse to get everyone together, not thinking about gifts and all! Still, a very nice stereo to play music for the home, just what the doctor ordered! Nice!

Saturday, September 11, 2004


test picture to demonstrate hello! Chevelle and me a t housewarming!

Friday, September 10, 2004

Blogdex, America, and Bush

Blogdex is proving interesting reading.. Thing is, I can't help but fel that it's a bit slanted. Of course, it's based on English blogs. And though yesterday's was based on a French incident, the previous day and todays' were both based on the American election. So.. maybe after the election we'll see a better worldview.

But, anyway, today's about Bush and the National Guard, and how power calls to power. The key to a whole firestorm arguing about the truth of the documents is a 60 minutes article... The top links in blogdex are ALL about this...

anyway, not to bore the majority of my readers who are not interested in politics at all.. Here's a blog which comments on this which I'll be using lots in the future. It seems quite well-written!

National Youth Forum

Well, the National Youth Forum submission deadline was today. Managed to crash out an essay in the middle of all the craziness that's happening around me. Gosh. Well, only 50 people in Singapore are going to get in, so it's not HIGH chances for me, but I've got to hope right? Nevertheless, I've already gained something from the whole exercise. I set out to write an application essay on the challneges in Singapore, and winded up producing a BHAG vision for myself! Heh..

More and more I wonder how I get through. Somedays I feel invincible, there are so many ideas I have and so many things I want to do, and I'm capable enough to do whatever I want to. Other days, I feel like I'm just a pretender, trying to squeeze into these forums, working with THC and the Youth Inc project and trying to be a highflying PSC type, when actually I'm not good enough and everything's going to come crashing down around me. Some day, they're going to find out, and I'm going to find out, that I'm nothing but a BIG FIRECRACKER (da pao), make a lot of noise, and bang, and nothing's accomplished in the end.

Can I really really change the world?

Preparations for Housewarming round 1

Hahaa.. prepr for round 1, tomorrow. Most of the people frequenting this site are slated for next week...

Its such a strange thing. There's a function room in the condo but it's booked till november.. and that was last month when I checked. Of course, I'm referring to the weekends when people are actually free to come for such things. Guess for 245 homes, 1 function room is not enough... future note for home purchase.

Anyway. It's a hassle ordering food and all, haha.. Key helped me with the selection, but I guess I'm kind of crunched between a budget, a desire not to disappoint, and not wanting to heap my mom with any work like cooking sushi rice and stuff...

Hey for the people coming next week, it's okay if I just order pizza and stuff right? Hahaha.. sorry lah.. :< If don't like don't come lah!! =p Just kidding! Do come, okay?

Thursday, September 09, 2004

Singapore Idol

Just caught Singapore Idol, round 1 part 3. Guess they aren't really as bad as I thought, there really are some not bad ones there. But it just made me think of Wala Wala and the Unexpected Band... haha. wonder what the rest of the performers on other days are like? But did a quick google,and it turns out there are quite a few people who mention the place and the band. So i guess it's quite popular.. hahaha.. got to go again...

First Image: Key and Me!

Blogdex usage

I was using http://blogdex.net and the number 1 blogged article was http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1299444,00.html
That's a really strange story! wonder whether you can do something like that in singapore.. a real underground cinema! :>

A new beginning

So.. it seems like I can't easily port over my actual blog over. A fresh start, a new beginning for me then.. Onwards! Upwards! To infinity, and beyond!