In between days

Beware you office caffeine thieves

2009-03-29T21:59:00.001-07:00

Last resort that Father rapist Josef Fritzl has to be part of our word of caution. Stay away!

Save the sea kittens?!?!

2009-01-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

Okay i totally don't get this PETA campaign (above). save the sea kittens???? Fair enough, we save cats but fishes, debatable but rebranding fishes as sea kittens??? fish is fish, cats are cats, catfish is catfish.

i cannot tell what they are campaigning for when i saw the website can. it trivialises the cause if anything.

yesterday i felt so old, i (didn't) felt i could die

2008-12-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's not drinking anymore, maybe it's just age catching up. Christmas has been duller, but i'm not complaining, just contemplating.

Christmas eve 2003: Min came over, we wrapped presents and watched Pirates of the Carribean. Meanwhile, someone was at Zouk partying. haha

Christmas eve 2004: I met a v.good friend (used to be) and we went to check out the mass at Novena Catholic Church. twas fun and it was my first time stepping into SPH newsroom, was buzzed in by him.

Christmas eve 2005: Homeclub, that's when it started. haha. the obsession with the place then. not drunk, just high on the music and a rainbow coloured skirt.haha

Christmas eve 2006: Flat out high after "Loser Party" at v.good friend's place. Fried Chicken, loads of wine and some beyonce later, Homeclub. Flat out high and can't remember after after.

Christmas eve 2007: Just went out for a movie. (plateau approaching)

Christmas eve 2008: At home, reading nytimes online and watching ANTM.

Certified boring.

Earworms December 2008

2008-12-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

"You fucked the suburbs out of me"

The Party's Crashing Us Now, Of Montreal.

brilliant line, hahaha. if you contextualise to Singapore it will be:

"You sex me so good. Like upgrade from HDB to condo like that."

"Beware ! I bear more grudges than lonely high court judges."

The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get, Morrissey

Well, if you are in Singapore, most definitely, the AG and high court judges will be watching u especially if you are an opposition politician or WSJ. yes, they bear a lot of grudges, don't believe me, ask the legal team representing Wall St Journal

Storm Thorgerson is rachel's 21st century magritte

2008-11-23T20:45:00.001-08:00

From the album, Wish you were here (1975), Pink Floyd

From the album, Is it a sin by Deepest Blue

From the album, The Raven by Alan Parsons

From the album, Skunkworks by Bruce Dickinson

From Album, Home is where the head is by Ethnix

From Pink Floyd's songbook, Wish You were here

From album sleeve of Sound of Thunder, Pink Floyd

album cover of single, Wish you were here by Pink Floyd

Namesake

2008-10-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press reported:

< CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands- Hurricane Omar weakened Thursday as it quickly moved away from the Caribbean through the northern Leeward Islands without causing major damage.

The powerful core of the storm, with the most intense winds, passed overnight between St. Martin and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, said Lixion Avila, a hurricane specialist with the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

"It could have been worse," Avila said. "They were very, very lucky."

....Omar knocked down trees, caused some flooding and minor mudslides but there were no immediate reports of deaths or major damage in the U.S. Virgin Islands, said Mark Walters, director of the disaster management agency for the U.S. Caribbean territory.

The nearby British Virgin Islands also emerged largely unscathed, said Deputy Gov. Inez Archibald, noting there was little damage beyond some mudslides and scattered debris.

"We did reasonably well actually," Inez told The Associated Press. "We did not get what we expected." >

"It could have been worse," Rachxf says. "I was very, very lucky."

"I did not get what I expected."

haha.

2008-09-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

I had some dreams,
They were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and clouds in my coffee.

Homer, Brett and George ( not in order)

2008-08-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

What did I do today?

I added Singapore's Foreign Minister Mr George Yeo on facebook! He's adept at the facebook applications from what i see on his profile with really cool sepia photos from his university days in UK to boot.

Also in photos: Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and Trade and Industry Minister Mr Lim Hng Kiang decked in retro garb of the 70s/80s and shaggy, almost shoulder-length hairdos. And they wanted to ban The Rollling Stones gig in the 70s because the band had long hair?

But I must say, minister sir, good work on facebook. The social media is the future.

I thought about Brett Anderson again and... dug up from the depths of my room, a photo I took with the Suede in 2002, in an interview opportunity I had or rather I won on Power 98 by sending in a question for the band. I sent in a really dumb question to him in retrospect.

Q: What records would you rescue if your house was set on fire?

A: _______________ ( i couldn't remember anything. i didnt record, i wasn't even a journalist, just a radio listener and i didnt take notes. just stared at his flawless, chiselled face)

And for those of you who know, this fangirl bought a box of chocolates intended for Mr Anderson, but I was too shy and it was really damn uncool to give chocolates to a rockstar, ain't it.

Fate of the chocolates? Left it on the bus, on my way to watch Suede at MediaCorp studios.

A vintage Penguin! I bought this vintage 1960s print of Homer's Odyssey at some second-hand book fair at Tanjong Pagar HDB estate. Haven't started reading it though, I am much afraid , it will fall apart in my greasy hands. Maybe I should start collecting vintage penguins. I should :) And this was a steal, nonetheless along with a 1950s Charles Dickens I bought.

sheela-ni-gig, ms polly jean harvey

2008-07-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

She is THE standard of hot-female-rocker-in-heels. check out her heels in the video. Whoa!

"Gonna wash that man right out of my hair
Just like the first time he said he didn't care
Gonna wash that man right out of my hair
Heard it before, no more
Gonna wash that man right out of my hair
Turn the corner another one thereeeee"

Just shoot me, mothership of censorship (i.e: Straits times)

2008-07-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

Self-censorship is well and alive in our local press. To find out more, ask me.

Turning your orbit around

2008-07-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

Jesus, etc. Wilco

2008-07-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

And oops, i forgot. The Smashing Pumpkins.

Ava Adore.

Gone Gone Gigs

2008-07-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

T'was a fun MRT ride alone, thinking about all the bands/acts that I would have loved to catch in my lifetime. But most of them have disbanded, making it a nevermore.

Reunions, maybe?

The List:

1) Blur
2) Garbage
3) The Smiths
4) Suede (sorta caught them in a TV studio showcase, but I want the real thang. with bernard Butler)
5) Pulp
6) The Beautiful South
7) Pink Floyd
8) Colin's Appendix (hahah, for old times sake and the day I braved wearing a tape plastered on my shirt, reading "Groupie")
9) The Pixies ( i think they regrouped already)

And I "very scared" Yeah Yeah Yeahs will dissolve soon, so must hurry hurry watch while they are still happy together.

2008-06-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

i am slackerbitch, hear me roar.

report card

2008-06-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

One six-pointer said to another six-pointer when they collected their A-Level result slips:

"Eh, I didn't get 4 As. You too right?"

"Yah, so?"

"Instead of value-add, we are the value defects!" he said then breaking into a guffaw.

He was streamed into the exclusive Gifted Education Programme back in Secondary School. She wondered if these alphabetical grades mattered in the greater scheme of things.

To her, golden girls and golden boys are just social constructs. Social constructs meant to stress out the rest of the population into elitism. And she bought into this social construct most of her life, she thought, staring at her classmates who would become doctors, lawyers...

"Doctor, lawyer, Indian Chief. Poor man, rich man, Begger man, thief" went a childhood rhyme for a game where the length of your forearm would magically determine what you will be when you grow up, as your playmate measures your arm so so carefully, criss-crossing her thumbs.

She stared at her result slip. Mediocrity is relative too. What would her 3 As be in the seas of 4 As?

Average.

Value defect. Yes. But so what.

She was never the golden girl and they are just too perfect too be human. To be flawed.

And most importantly, Real.

My dream gig (that i cannnot attend)

2008-06-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ash plays 1977 the album.
Take me take me there.

This is going to be a helluva fun. ARGH, and i am missing it.

This gig is a dream come true. ohwell.

One sad short film of the drug genre

2008-06-09T03:08:00.000-07:00

Monday brings me to this Jonas Akerlund 15-minute short film "Try" about two homeless junkies-in-love. Thanks to The Smashing Pumpkins video Try, try, try which is a terse version of the short.

Akerlund was the director of the controversial video for Prodigy's Smack my bitch up (just youtube it. It's really trippy)

It's sad, but at the end I couldn't help but shrug and say: "C'est la vie".
A cautionary tale about drug usage as usual.

Thank you

2008-06-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you Lord for your Grace and everything in my life.

Scraps

2008-06-02T22:05:00.000-07:00

Been doing some big time spring cleaning: got about 20 cds to sell to cash converters, threw out a whole lotta rubbish (school notes, photos, useless christmas and birthday gifts)

But I found scraps of paper on which i scribbled down my random thoughts, circa early 2004 ( post A-levels). pretty entertaining. Let me share two:

(i think i was scribbling this while doing mundane and mindless data entry at a well-known bank. Lesson for banks: don't hire post-A level kids. We are kind of careless when computing important client information. haha)

10 a.m. : Listened to Tori (Amos) on player

10.30 a.m: Thinking of buying SP's (smashing pumpkins) Siamese Dreams

11 a.m: Salivating at the thought of Siglap Food Centre's rojak. Reads two news articles

11.20 a.m.: Yawn

11.40 a.m.: Evesdrops on others talking about their children

12.00 p.m.: Loo time!

12.01 p.m. : Weekend creeps into my head

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(my draft for a collage made from magazine scraps. For my valentine at that time, using bits of lyrics from various songs by Ash. I cringe upon reading it now. haha, so childish for a love poem, not original somemore.)

Move closer, set my mind on fire,
something in your glances puts a spell on me.

As the world fades all around,
feel it taking over,
the warmth of skies at sunset.
I want to linger in this glow.

You're all that I can see. (I've got a good feeling)

You're a constant source,
you're a shining light.
Incandescent in the darkest night,
An epiphany you burn so bright.

You light up my life, dude.

One is a gun with a dart for my sweethart

2008-05-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

i want to be one of those girls singing and playing tambourines at the end :)

A rash obsession

2008-05-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

so i have been holed up at home becos of an untimely outbreak of rashes but discovered another sitcom to obsess over.

The big bang theory.

It's Beauty and the geek as an American sit-com. And the scary thing is as these nerds spew their scientific jargon, i understand what they are saying. omg. my years of study of physics, chemistry and biology has not gone to waste. hahha

And i must say, these MIT nerds are pretty adorable.

Do sample some of their inane but witty dialogue. haha

Leonard: We need to widen our circle.
Sheldon: I have a very wide circle. I have 212 friends on myspace.
Leonard: Yes, and you’ve never met one of them.
Sheldon: That’s the beauty of it.

–

Penny (clueless but socially adept blonde neighhbour of the nerds): I’m a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know.
Sheldon: Yes, it tells us that you participate in the mass cultural delusion that the sun’s apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality.
Penny: (puzzled) Participate in the what?

Knowledge is power!

2008-05-12T09:00:00.001-07:00

It occurred to me that the greatest insult is "She doesn't read".

(read: You are a Philistine, stupid.)

haha.

So read more books.

Also in the Psychiatry fiction bookshelf, the below sequence of reading will be nice:

The Bell Jar: Young girl gets into bad depression, recovers? ( we never know)

segue to:

Tender is the Night: Young Schizo girl marries a psychiatrist, he tries to take care and love her but eventually he's the one who
falls apart and needs therapy after several years.

Fitzgerald kinda will get the bloody sad Plath-ness out of your system.

Endangered/extinct posh nosh in Singapore

2008-05-07T00:26:00.000-07:00

I am mad.

The not-so-healthy foodstuff that I love have all disappeared with great stealth or reduced to one retailer in the past four years.

First up, the crunchy love-to-bits of Teddy Bear cookies, Teddy Grahams. It mysteriously gone off the shelves of Cold Storage, NTUC and even Jason's (an expat supermarket). I did my field research and all gone.

In lovely flavours from honey, choc chip to oatmeal, these cute and yummy bears all gone. They were my essentials during the endless days and nights of cramming for A Levels. such comfort from the childish snack, but why were they taken off the shelves?

I suspect it's some trans-fat ingredient that the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore found in the cute biscuits. And I reckon the same fate followed another All-American goodness in a cup, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Oh my, these little cups of delight. Peanut-buttery goodness layered with some unknown chunk of crumble and layered with chocolate. Feels like putting on a kilogram with each buttercup but worth it, I say.

All gone from the retailers in SIngapore too, it's a conspiracy i believe. A subtle boycott of American products that are unhealthy.

But saving grace comes in the form of a tin box full of curiously strong mints. My Altoids! How can I live without these Panadol-looking examples of greatness in a mint. A breath of fresh air in Singapore where it's hard to get a decent mint. What? Only Fisherman's Friend or fast-moving ( really fast) consumer mints like Eclipse, Frozz or Clorets (sounds like a bleach can.)

Rough, strong and stronger. And in a retro-looking tin box. How cool is that. The boxes serve as great storage for knick knacks and other random things like namecards and earrings.

Credibility goes to the company from retailing even portable battery chargers in the shape of the Altoid box! charging your ipods with a box of mints. Beat that!

Alas, all good mints come to a terrible end in Singapore too. Only Candy Empire imports them now and the price has spiked from $3.50 in 2006 to $4.90. Why!?!

Just keeping my fingers crossed that rising food prices don't snatch away my last indulgence that is my clinking box of Altoids in my handbag. Shoo!

Spinal Tappin'

2008-05-01T00:32:00.001-07:00

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

Grow up!

2008-04-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

My music tastes are changing. I think it's with age. It seems juvenile to be listening to all these teenage/adolescent bands breaking into the NME scene today.

You can't be listening to The-next-big-band all your life. As you settle into the hum-drum of adulthood, I guess aural choices become more mature and stable too.

I've stopped reading NME,switching to Mojo. The last few albums that I bought/downloaded are older than me (Sonic Youth, The Chameleons). Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde which initially repulsed me when I bought it four years ago is sweet melody to my ears today.

Patti Smith, Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Thurston Moore all seem to have more personality than the sludge of young "The-Somethings" bands. But, I still have a soft spot for The Strokes and some other The-X bands.

Maybe Rock and Roll did die. Pop corrupts and musicians just live in an pseudo-world manufactured by record labels and media conglomerates.

All the more to turn back the dial to the 60s, 70s, 80s. But minus the glam metal please.

My favourite Bob Dylan song, 4th Time around. He's a poet indeed:

When she said,
"Don't waste your words, they're just lies,"
I cried she was deaf.
And she worked on my face until breaking my eyes,
Then said, "What else you got left?"
It was then that I got up to leave
But she said, "Don't forget,
Everybody must give something back
For something they get."

( you can cry, laugh or grimace at this stanza)

No Selamat to sorrys

2008-04-22T06:45:00.001-07:00

"This song goes out to a certain Mr K.S Wong of Singapore. Stay cool and funky."

"Madonna's Sorry."

(heavy dance beats-a-dropping)

Maddie sings:

"I don't wanna hear, I don't wanna know
Please don't say you're sorry
I've heard it all before
And I can take care of myself
I don't wanna hear, I don't wanna know
Please don't say 'Forgive me'
I've seen it all before
And I can't take it anymore

You're not half the man you think you are
Save your words because you've gone too far
I've listened to your lies and all your stories (Listened to your stories)
You're not half the man you'd like to be

...

Don't explain yourself 'cause talk is cheap
There's more important things than hearing you speak
You stayed because I made it so convenient (made it so convenient)
Don't explain yourself, you'll never see

...

CHORUS ( all Singaporeans Sing!) :

(Sorry, sorry, sorry)
I've heard it all before
I've heard it all before
I've heard it all before
[repeat]

Let's go to NYC and find boyfriends

2008-04-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

The man below is a character from the sitcom, How I Met Your Mother and I am in love with him. Well, it helps that the actor is not bad-looking.

Ted Mosby played by Josh Radnor

He's an architect who works from home, listens to Wilco (plus a few points), wears scruffy but well-matched shirts and blazers ( plus points), not gay like Will from Will & Grace (plus 10000 points) but shares an apartment with his engaged friends from university ( Yale okay, plus 1000000 points, haha). And his group of close friends are hilarious. I can so bitch and talk cock with them. Has had this weird girlfriend who listens to Belle and Sebastian and collects Sock monkeys.

Where to find in Singapore, tell me tell me.

So I say, go to New York, find boyfriend, get apartment ( use your own money too), stalk NY bands, boyfriend leaves (you can never be sure), buy gun and dog (cats cannot protect you), never talk to your neighbours, find new boyfriend. hahah

Or worse come to worse I will stalk David Bowie outside his building for fun if single and alone. but most importantly, have friends to come over to check on me, in case i choke on some food durin dinner while alone in my apartment. haha

Running up that hill

2008-04-08T12:31:00.001-07:00

School's almost done for me. But still many loose ends to tie up.

I am afraid of being eaten alive next monday at my defense for my year-long baby i call my fyp.

It's like the baby shower when you show your baby to your relatives, friends et ceteras with a buffet spread, many plates of red-dyed eggs and horrible tasting butter cakes.

Your nasty friends might say your baby is ugly or missing something. Then you have to stand up for your kid as his or her mother who is breastfeeding him or her.

I will be confident. I love my baby and if you tell me otherwise, i will convince you that my baby is cute and loveable despite his or her jaundice (or the lack of hair).

And no, don't tell me my baby looks like an alien. I will kill you. haha.

Nothing in particular

2008-03-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

If you love me, leave me your T-shirts.

The most underrated band from Manchester

2008-03-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

Think Manchester 1980s, you get the baggy scene, the seemingly difficult delivery of UK indie rock amid all the nonsense pop and MTV cashcows.

No, i'm not talking about Morrissey et al or The Stone Roses. A band fell between the cracks. Or perhaps, like their namesake, The Chameleons unfortunately faded into the background before UK embraced indie bands late 80s to 90s.

Ditch Interpol because The Chameleons were the ones who mastered that dark post-punk romantics sound, 25 years ago.

omg, it's a quarter of a century.

They were the dark princes of Manchester rock in 1983. I guess the scene swallowed and extinguished the band like their lyrics from the band's 1983 debut, Script at the bridge suggests:
" Where are we?
First and last
Bound together in our past
Much too cruel
Much too fast'

With titles like A person isn't safe anywhere these days and As high you can go, the atmospheric riffs and lead Mark Burgess vocals, give the interpol a run for moodiness and incomprehensible lyrics.

This album is older than me and it's a keeper y'all.

P.S: Thanks a lot Mr Duffy for referring me to this band. you were right in your dismissive rwords in red ink for the magazine assignment: "They (Interpol) are a rip-off of The Chameleons. Check Script at the bridge"/

Feast

2008-03-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

Last night i had sort of a nightmare. I dreamt that i was eating a part of a human being. It was weird, maybe i have cannibalistic tendancies.

And mind you, the person who i took a large bite of, haha, was still alive and talking to me, after the meal.

One day, i guess with food shortages, cannibalism doesn't seem that faraway. Just like what Neil Gaiman's short story, Babycakes.

Yes, food from babies.

All apologies: Six Feet Under

2008-03-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

By far, the most beautiful scene in Six Feet Under.

Claire remembers the day Kurt Cobain died, as a reading takes place at her brother's burial.

Nate, her brother, then a high-schooler weeps by the stereo playing Nirvana's "All Apologies", smoking a joint.

"Nate," says Claire.

"Hey," Nate replied.

"Kurt Cobain died today. He killed himself," said Nate as he took a long drag off the joint.

"He was just too pure for this world," he choked.

The 13 year-old claire deadpanned: "His music will live on,"

Nate smiled. "Yeah, it will,"

He sighed, holding out the joint to her: "You wanna try some?"

"Yeah." Claire said as the door shuts.

She keeps looking for patterns, but the world just happens

2008-02-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

" As Harold took a bite of the Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt that everything was going to be okay.

Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy...there are Bavarian sugar cookies.

And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin.

Or a kind and loving gesture.

Or a subtle encouragement.

Or a loving embrace.

Or an offer of comfort.

Not to mention hospital gurneys, and nose plugs, and uneaten Danish, and soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters

And maybe the occasional piece of fiction."

From the 2006 film, Stranger than Fiction.

This made my day.

Walk Away Renee (Version)

2008-02-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

The funniest spoken-word song I have come across in all my life.

Walk Away Renee
by Billy Bragg

(spoken to the picking of guitar strings)
She said it was just a figment of speech
And I said "You mean figureAnd she said "No, figment
Because she could never imagine it happening. But it did

When we first met I played the Shy boy
When she spoke to me for the first time my nose began to bleed
She guessed the rest

The next day we went on a bus ride to the ferry
And when nobody came to collect our fares
Well I knew then this was something special
I couldn't stop thinking about her
And every time I switched on the radio
There was somebody else singing a song about the two of us

It was just like being on a fast ride at the fun fair
The sort you want to get off because its scary
And then as soon as you're off you want get straight back on again
But all love is strange
And you have to learn to take the crunchy with the smooth I suppose

She began going out with Mr. Potato Head
It was when I saw her in he car park
With his coat around her shoulders that I realized
I went home and thought about the two of them together
Until the bathwater went cold around me
I thought about her eyes and the curve of her breasts
And about the point where their bodies met

I confronted her about it
I said, "I'm the most illegible bachelor in townAnd she said "Yeah that's why I
could never understand any of those silly letters you sent me
And then one day it happened
She cut her hair and I stopped loving her

When coffee is more important

2008-02-21T02:01:00.000-08:00

I have a dirty and messy bedroom. But when it came to the coffee machine in the kitchen, i realised i was such a clean freak.

My mom made coffee without a paper filter today and it really got on my nerves.

It's important to keep the filter clean, else where does good coffee come from?

love artifacts

2008-02-14T08:54:00.000-08:00

1. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
2. Holding your handphone out while The Strokes play "Someday" live at Big Day out.
3. Lyrics from Ash's 1977 and Ash's Nuclear Sounds
4. malboro Reds
5. Live forever by Oasis
6. A red Triple J t-shirt
7. A Rolling Stones T-shirt
8. Whiskey and Hello Pandas
9. Smells

My bloody Valentine

2008-02-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

"I ripped your heart out from your chest
Replaced it with a grenade blast"

Sonic Youth, Incinerate

7 ages of rock.

2008-02-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

Watch BBC 2's production, 7 ages of rock. you will not regret it.

And I want to watch Pink Floyd's The Wall on DVD!!!

In fact, I am so impressed by Pink Floyd's creativity. They showed that rock music is really a substantial art form.

The Wall was completely Artoudian meets Brechian theatre. Giant puppets of nasty bespectacled teachers, the gradual ascent of the paper box wall between the band and the audience. Oh man, completely alienating but that was the point the band was making about the loss of intimacy with their peaking popularity.

When the wall completely obscured the band, Roger Waters sang: "Goodbye, Cruel World". Brilliant.

Boys who like girls to be boys, who do girls like they're boys

2008-02-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

Brett anderson and Justine Frischmann of Elastica used to be a pairing.

And they look the same. How freaky, it's like dating you-in-drag. Then again, quite sexy la.

hehheh.

Suede's Brett Anderson "Gorgeous, I say."

Elastica's Justine

And a R.E.M song was playing in my mind

2008-01-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

THE SONG: It's the end of the world as we know it (I feel fine)

always loved Stipe et al's humour in everything- Apocalypse, frienemies (friends turned enemies)and putting men on moons.haha

oh, and how strange that listening to Sonic Youth/or any American Alt-rock band for that matter, does make you feel like a teenager all over again.

Thank god for them, for the vicarious throwback to awkward adolescence. We need it sometimes (baggy jeans all)

Product of the system

2008-01-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

I am a product of the system.

will B.B get me?

I live in a cuboid. I dream dreams of unfinished examinations, usually Math or Chemistry.

Are you reading this?

I am doubting the social contract terms that I signed up for, B.B.

You think I'm a mere statistic, duncha?

Will you drive me, or should i drive myself out of your reach?

Tell me who the conservative majority is and I will show you mine.

The seams are bursting, I'm growing fat on your ideals and clean roads. That's unhealthy right?

6,500,000 is the magic number. How about 6,500,000 - 1 now

I promise I'll be good.

(Just get rid of the young-couple-with-irritating-yakking-terrier-we-own-a-plasma-screen-and-work mindlessly-for-you-B.B living next to my pigeonhole)

Never Ever

2008-01-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

Took the cab back with Sari last night. And at 2:56 a.m, the radio played All Saints' "Never Ever". Rewind one week earlier at about the same time, same song plays and we were idiots singing along.

Deja vu vu vu vu.

Dog

2008-01-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

It was getting a bit too long a wait, she thought to herself. Standing outside a suburban McDonald's outlet with a dog on a leash. And the dog was one she hardly knew.

The dog was salivating, a bit too much, as if there was a silent Pavlovian experiment bell ringing near them. But she was a cute dog, big, nice fur and more importantly, not barking incessantly like the other small noisy brats of a canine.

Staring at the string of drool making its way to the ground from the heaving dog's mouth, she remembered what M texted her.

"What time are we meeting? Dogs??
Keep the dog away please. seeya."

At that instant, she could almost taste the noodles and the bits of mince pork she had for dinner. She had to rinse her mouth.

Meanwhile, the dog has gotten herself an admirer in just minutes. A good-looker, clean-shaven and dressed in a sharp-shirt. He (She thought he was the banker type) was patting the large dog and speaking to it in babyspeak.

"Is that your dog?" he asked.

"No. Just a friend. We're waiting for him out here," she said while spying at his shoes.

"Oh. Is it a she or a he?" he said.

"A she." she answered.

"She must be a collie? She's really pretty.Is she a pure collie? Or maybe a shetland sheepdog" he eagerly asked.

She looked at him and he was sure a handsome man, but she was clueless about the parentage of the bitch.

"er, I'm too sure? Do you have a dog?" she said.

"Yes. I have a beagle. Not very old. Just about five months old,"

"oh. A beagle," she continued, trying hard to mentally picture what a beagle looked like.hmm. Does it look like a Jack Russell?

"He's in heat now. My beagle." he said.

IN HEAT? Did she hear wrongly? His dog was in heat. The dog can't possibly breed with the dog here, they are different breeds and it was a case of BIG dog with SMALL dog. copulation sounded like a difficult task to her.

"Oh. I got to go now. Nice dog you got there. Bye." he said.

"Bye." she answered.

The dog continued panting and drooling all over the tiled floor. Bizzare inter-special experiments crossed her mind.

Both the dog and herself were getting tired. She could smell the pork in her mouth again.

Don't talk of dust and roses or should we powder our noses?

2007-12-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking of mosh pits and being in them. The biological urge to get sweaty, confused, excited, shouting and jumping for one reason- the music.

"Don't live for last year's capers
Give me steel, give me steel, give me pulses unreal"

Big Brother, David Bowie

Where did the good ol people in the mosh pit go to? Have we all grown up?

There's no mistake, I smell that smell. It's that time of year again.

2007-11-27T00:43:00.000-08:00

The lyrics of Stereophonics welcomes us to that most perplexing part of the year.

Christmas, holidays, doing a self-check of how the year has been spent, parties, shopping. It is unnerving isn't it. And yes, I think it makes all of us, a bit more vulnerable than usual.

Myself for one is more vulnerable around this time. I've never been really good with Novembers and Decembers and they have been good to me sometimes, but with consequences. haha.

Anyways, watching a soppy episode (i can't believe it can get soppy, but Mr Big leaves NY for California. Yah that one) of Sex and the City and listening to Tegan and Sara ( Lesbian song writers-sisters) made me want to write this down.

Please don't judge me! :) it's for fun too.

Songs that have/can made me cry

Dakota- The most-overplayed song in Singapore indie disco (if they still count as indie) history made it to my list. And I have never realised its nasty and ugly single album art. A bit lesbian hor. But a good song from these Welsh rockers and a good song to have in indie Karaoke bars.

Why it breaks your heart: C'mon. It's one of those post-adolescent/youth recollection-type songs that old men like Stereophonics write about, erm not too different from Green Day too. The song candidly speaks about a relationship gone awry methinks and no one knows exactly why too. Sad ain't it. Wonderful thing about this ditty, you can try to fit in to any romance/one-night stands gone wrong. haha.

Boo Boo: I was so strung out on bad red that I was intermittently sobbing, dancing, smiling to the song. such a bad night. man ( i got witnesses, so sorry guys manic drunk here)

Heart stabbing line(s) and stanzas: Drinking back, drinking for two/ Drinking with you/ When drinking was new
I wonder if we'll meet again/ And talk about life since then/Talk about why did it end/
You made me feel like the one

Ten Days, by Australian songwriter Missy Higgins. Love her, and she's got great short hair.

Why it breaks your heart: It's not a sappy ballad but I guess it's how when the most poignant part of the song, she transposes and emotes her heart out and yes, you feel it.

Boo Boo: SomeBODY sent the song to me. boo boo.

Heart stabbing line(s) and stanzas:So we've put an end to it this time/I'm no longer yours and you're no longer mine/
You said this hill looks far too steep/if I'm not even sure it's me you wanna keep.

You won't talk me into it next time, if I'm going away your hearts coming too.

Did you really think I had gone when you couldn't see me anymore?

"Behold! The Nightmare" by The Smashing Pumpkins

This one will stun most hearts, A Smashing Pumpkins song from its most ill-received albums to date? And people like Amelia Tan Pei Qi ( yes, I am so acknowledging your readership hon) will say what's that scary vamp doing on the cover. I recall how this was the first, the FIRST album a 13 year-old rachxf bought with the money she saved up. and she was so freaked out after listening to it. So dark. Dark still, but the album has grown on me and grew up with me.

Why it breaks your heart: Its haunting electronic/guitars/acoustic melodies meets Billy Corgan's squeaky voice. With lyrics that read like Gothic poetry. It crawls up and surprises you at your most vulnerable. Listeners' advisory: Do not listen late at night.

Boo Boo: I would call this a soundtrack of my life. It was ringing in my head when a lot of formative experiences happened to me.

Heart stabbing line(s) and stanzas: (sounds stalkerish in fact, on hindsight)
I faced the fathoms in your deep. Withstood the suitors' quiet siege.
Pulled down the heavens just to please you. Appease you

I can't go on/ Digging roses from your grave
To linger on
Beyond the beyond
Where the willows weep
And the whirlpools sleep

All you have to do is run away
And steal yourself from me
Become a mystery to gaze into

Alrighty, enough is enough. Sad songs maketh bad songs. Now, I'm gonna listen to some christmas carols.

2007-11-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

THE bands of year 2004

2007-11-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

haha, dug this horrid piece of unpublished work I did for a lifestyle website. it's funny how I regarded these bands who were really new to me at that time.

My tastes have changed and so have most of them musically. hee.

Here goes friends, bad copy and grammar to boot!

THE revolution
By Rachel Lim

Once upon a time, the fair grounds of music were built upon pioneering bands with “The” in their names. From the iconic and highly influential The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to the early punk rock bands like The Clash, The Ramones and The Who, all carried the quintessential “The” in their names.

Like fashion fads, bands pick up and discard trends both musically and namewise. The 80s and 90s saw only a handful of bands that fashioned names with “The” in them. Significant ones included The Smiths and The Cure. The silence was soon broken in 2000 and after with the burgeoning of bands with “The” in their names.

The 21st century witnessed the slew of “the” bands from all over the world.
The musical landscape revived with the new revolutionary sounds from New York’s The Strokes, Sweden’s The Hives to Australia’s The Vines. This marked the beginning of THE revolution- The sudden surge of indie bands with ‘the’ in their names,

Many like myself were either confused or lost with these similar sounding band name and the “the”s in all of them. Since, the revolution only went stronger. Bands with “the” in their names are still surfacing.

A cliché or revolution in the alternative and indie music frontier? It is all up to you to judge.

The following is a lineup of five noteworthy bands that fashion the ‘the’ in their names and have revolutionized the current music scene with their brand of music. This lists some of the hottest and upcoming “the” bands- to guide the lost, inform the musically ignorant and satisfy the curious.

THE KILLERS, new wave rock meets eyeliner

The sound: For a band with frontman Brandon Flower who wears eyeliner, these new wave rockers did a remarkable job breaking into the radio frontier with their infectious androgyny-tinged single “Somebody Told Me”. Hailing from Las Vegas, The Killers are one of America’s finest recent indie-rock produce, along with Interpol, Modest Mouse and The Bravery. With influences ranging from U2, Oasis to The Smiths, their blend of Duran Duran meets The Cure, rekindles sweet 80s nostalgia.

The verdict: With their debut, Hot Fuss, acclaimed as one of the best releases of 2004, this band will definitely go in for the kill with more killer anthems.

THE BRAVERY, rock-tronica that electrify

The sound: The bravery embraces electro-rock with their synthesized beats and drum up confessional lyrics at the same time. The Lo-Fi recordings in their debut, The Bravery, along with lead singer Sam Endicott’s resemblance to the signature The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas’ static-sounding vocals, The Bravery pays homage to their successful New York predecessors- The Strokes. Locking in catchy electro-rock rhythms and tight guitar riffs, The Bravery succeeds at incorporating the finest in 80’s electronica and rock, with the likes of The Cure to Duran Duran, creating their own flavour of electro-rock. Recent clashes and supposed rivalry with The Killers, only adds an edge to The Bravery. Giving The Killers a run for their money? The band shows their bravery through their synth-pop melodies.

The verdict: Looking at the successes of fellow New York bands like The Strokes and Interpol, more or less have guaranteed The Bravery a place in the indie ranks for some time.

THE LIBERTINES, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and Kate Moss

The sound: The Libertines are unpredictable, spontaneous and revolutionaries to British music since their debut, Up The bracket in 2002. Under the talent of producer Mick Jones from the legendary The Clash, The Libertines released their second album, The Libertines in 2004. Their raw, intoxicating and sing-a-long rock ‘n’ roll anthems off the latest release, makes these British lads the only recent band that truly reproduce the classic Anglo rock ‘n’ roll of yore. The Libertines’ infectious ditties with references to love, booze and issues within the band, gives the band a force that gets you to sing along with them like an old friend, sharing the joy and the woes. One can’t help but hum to the lalalas off tracks like The Man who would be king and the shoop de-langs in What Katie Did”.

Everyone loves a messed-up rock ‘n’ roll band, the misdemeanors of singer Pete Doherty have led The Libertines to be likened to The Sex Pistols in terms of misbehaviour. The melodrama of Doherty includes drug usage, supermodel girlfriend Kate Moss to breaking into and robbing co-frontman, Carl Barat’s apartment. These only further the appeal of The Libertines as a cult legend in the present rock culture.

The verdict: The Libertines is currently minus one, without Doherty, but their legacy will survive with their following and cult icon status.

THE ZUTONS, Catch the Zuton Fever

The sound: Amidst the replicated sounds of retro and electro-rock, The Zutons stand out with their unique take on soul and funk. The Liverpool five piece’s use of saxophones, horns and the clean basslines, fuse several genres from country to soul into what frontman and guitarist David McCabe calls 'soul-funk-voodoo vibe'.

The Zutons are set apart from the many British bands by their infectious and upbeat funk and soul infused rock ‘n’ roll. Their 2004 debut, Who killed the Zutons? is a bag of surprises with a wide ageless appeal and witty lyrics that poke fun at the loss of a bestfriend in Remember Me (Well we used to be the best of friends/And we used to hang around/Now I always see you and your new girlfriend). Odds are that your grandma, mom and sister will all dig the Zutons.

The verdict: A wacky album title like Who Killed the Zutons?, coupled with infectious saxophone stabs and fun, the Zutons will get you tapping and grooving to their Sax and rock ‘n’ soul in no time at all.

THE KILLS, the art-punk duo with a love for the dark

The sound: Forget the White Stripes, The Kills is the next best female and male duo to rock the scene. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince conveys the dark moods of love through sobering yet infectious guitars and Mosshart’s PJ Harvey-esque powerful vocals. The seamless goth-rock will numb and take you on a trip into despair, love and angst. Tracks like “Love Is a Deserter” and “I hate the way you love” off The Kills’ second release, No Wow, sums up their bleak perspective on most things.

The verdict: The Art-type Archetypes with a heavy dark twist to their music. Indeed, the lethal concoction for an impressive indie band.

Gush.

2007-10-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Gush the crush (away)

He was the charming geoge clooney meets Dr House kind of man.
yes, he's a 60s kid.
yes, i should stop gushing.
yes, he has a great voice and his wit and manner of speaking reminds of someone once dear to me.
yes, end of gush.

hungry the hearts of people who can never find love

2007-10-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

"all their lives spent looking

for the hearts of people who can never find love

feed the hungriest hearts with love"

This Sad Song, The Observatory

Being an online citizen

2007-10-23T02:02:00.000-07:00

For 377a: i did my part.

check it out:

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/10/23/repeal-377a-press-conference-public-health-and-families-at-stake-too/

The ugly side of 377A

2007-10-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

I am disturbed. Why and by what you ask?

By the barrage of rather caustic comments and replies on the Singapore Press mothership website. These were in response to the story about NMP Siew Kum Hong's submission of a petition to the parliament to repeal 377A of the penal code (that outlaws sexual intercourse between males).

Honestly, I feel the remarks below only show how intolerant, infantile and shallow Singaporeans are. Essentially it boils down to IRRATIONAL fear. you think by the repealing the law, gay people will overrun our society and turn your kids gay? C'mon, how naive and childish can a "democracy" like Singapore get. Don't you see that you are the one who is criminalising them?

And all the talk about "decadence" bringing about the ultimate "DOWNWARD SPIRAL" of our country: wake up, there's more dirt in the system that you can't see.

The effects of this paternalistic governance is showing, my fellow citizens. And it is grossing me out.

Take a look at the comments below:

ST (straits times): NMP files petition to House on gay sex law

Forum user #1:

Parliament. MPs. don't let the gays have a free hand to get the youth into bed or for them to freely promote their lifestyles or demand equal rights for this and that.

It will lead to decadence and SINK ka pore.

If gays want no guilt for their act, then remove s377a but replace it with a new law to prevent gay having hidden agenda to have freedom beyond guilt.

MPs, go , go for it too. But please don't bring gay lifestyle into Parliament.
Don't eye each other lovingly while in national debates in Parliament and then after the serious debating go roam each other in bed. OMG.

Parliamentary decadence!

Forum user #2:

The weakness of the NMP scheme has always been that the NMP becomes the representative of particular political groups. Siew Kum Hong has finally violated the original intent of the NMP scheme.

Perhaps it is time to throw out the NMP scheme. Who knows, the Al Queda group may decide to target one of our NMPs next to be their voice in Parliament.

Or who knows, perhaps it is time to get the NMPs involved in Meet-the-People sessions, and they will have a better sense of what's happening in the ground. "Idleness is the bane of body and mind, the nurse of naughtiness, the chief mother of all mischief."

Forum user #3:

I can see that NCMP Siew Kum Hong feels that gay lifestyle is acceptable and proper.

OMG. Can't we see that it will lead to darkness and decadence?

Many glorious and flourishing ancient civlisations went into grief and demise when they became decadent. Gay lifestyle and greed, etc. lead to that end.

SINK ga pore will be no different when we invite gay lifestyle into our society openly and letting them promote the corruption of our youth.

There will be no hope for the future once decadence enters us and the light is taken out of us. Read, Matthews chap 6 vs 22 and 23.

Forum user #4:

Simple, day in Parliament.

Mr Speaker Sir,

I propose that NMP Siew Kum Hong declares his interest in submitting this petition to repeal S377A.

Does he have a direct or indirect vested personal interest in the gay lifestyle?

Does he have any hidden agenda?

Forum user #5:

aiyo... I don't want my nephew to go to school and then come back an "ah-gua".

yah, the current breed of homosexuals are not satisfied with a private deviant lifestyle. they want to parade their values to schools, to youths, to do homosexual parades. yuks!

Spare our budding minds from the onslaught of such values!

Fridae is a media company? It's a website lah.. homosexual website.. promote homosexual lifestyle.. Parent

Introducing the Boeing 777-2000

2007-10-14T03:42:00.000-07:00

I invented a new plane yesterday, the Boeing 777-2000. And at godspeed it appeared on newswebsites.

Wishbs, wishbs, go away!!!

Strange encounters of the male kind

2007-10-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

I look back on my humble life, triggered by the current stalemate or what Min calls "Male deficiency". There have been several memorable snippets with the male of the species.

Sorry hor, nothing sordid.

Specimen A: Boy from the rock show

17 year-old rachxf wins tickets to Asian Dub Foundation gig on local radio station and brings Min along, alongside her many friends. Great gig, red wine compliments of elder sister of one of the bunch and I meet Boy after the gig at the foot of Fort Canning Hill while waiting for taxi.

Two minutes into friendly chit chat, just to while time away before cab arrives. Boy (lets call him G) asks if I would like to go get roti prata from Thomson Road. A reserved rachxf politely declined but naively exchanged numbers with G. G asked if he could call after he reaches home.

Cut to G calling rachxf in the middle of the night. Rachxf finds out G is of half Arab descent and the other bloodline she is clueless. They had a good talk about what they like, they spoke about a Radiohead music video and she finds out fairylights were used in the scene where Thom Yorke submerges in a big tank of water. G was making supper while talking to her.

Morning after- G never called back.

Moral of the story: Don't give your number to any Ol' boy/guy/fella/fuddy duddy. I wasn't pissed or anything, just a bad ending to the phonecall between strangers, nothing similar to that in Elizabeth Town.

Specimen B: itunes msn

So fast forward to 2006 November, Rachxf studies hard for her photojournalism exam one night in school. Laptop's switched on, so was her itunes.

Rachxf believes in sharing her music with the good users of itunes so with the sharing function switched on, people on campus is able to detect her itunes (if they are near enough to her network).

She notices a weird user on the shared itunes sidebar.

One of the user's name reads: Rachel, can I get a copy of A Perfect Circle album from you?

Shocked, she alarms her friends and everyone inspects the itunes programme. Consensus= reply the person using your itunes user name too.

She asked through her user name: Are you talking to me? Where are you?

Person answers about 5 minutes later (via itunes user name): I am at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Then again: Where are you?

Rachxf is freaked out. This is not funny. And all of her friends is not having her on.

Rachxf asks: Can you add me on msn and we can talk?

Dubious Person was added on msn and rachxf finds out he, yes a guy is from some engineering school and mugging at the library. He recently crashed his computer and wanted the A Perfect Circle album.

Upon obtaining his e-mail address, rachxf's trusty friend did a search on a social network programme and found the dude's profile. haha.

Nay, consensus was.

Until today, rachxf has not sent dubious person a copy of the album but he still exists in her msn contacts.

Moral of the story: strange but true, you can actually pick people up using itunes!!! technology has surpassed many traditional methods of getting to know girls.

Specimen C: Emo grown-up man

Everything was hazy as rachxf had a bit too much to drink. Wine mostly. She and Trina was at a cosy bar. Rachxf meets someone she met on the job, says hi (PR effort) and he started talking to her.

10 minutes worth of small talk later, Man ( he is definitely over 32) lapses into an unprecedented emotional conversation on his plight and state of a romantic relationship. rachxf is taken aback by the EMO-ing. She is at a loss of words, only saying: "You should just wait and see how it goes,"

Rachxf's favourite The Cure song, "Inbetween Days" plays in the background and she segues to the dancefloor, telling him: "I like this song,"

Dancing begins and death of conversation. Yay!

Moral of the story: Emo can happen to anyone at any age.

Amelia, me and the emo caught inbetween.

Diamond Sea

2007-10-04T17:15:00.001-07:00

Lovely cover of Sonic Youth's by an equally lovely Ms Karen O. Bent on buying Architecture in Helsinki and PJ's White Chalk as both failed me on the Peer-to-Peer front. haha.

Another note: Still haunts me to see a friend who I owe a CD to for FOUR years. Yes, I will return The Bends to the person. haha.

Just realised that most of the hard workers who studied for A Levels at Starbucks Jalan Jamal (I was one of them too) went to Law School. haha. I am detractor lor.

- Rachxf turns her Camera On-

Talk is cheap

2007-10-03T02:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's better to say nothing at all.

If I was trading on the social stock exchange, i would say I have made several severe losses on some of the bluechips I traded in.

Sometimes it's better not to invest too much. Problem is you won't get richer, will you?

24 cans.

2007-10-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

Back from the "land of a thousand elephants" and back to my snooty island-state i call home Singapore.

24 cans of beerlao bought. half of which will be given to beer-hungry journos. haha

I appreciate Singapore's one-party politics a little bit more now. Red tape with efficiency at least. I say this with a wry smile of course.

Alrighty. for more about my Laos trip visit: www.gofar2007.wordpress.com

To Be Young Subterranean Homesick Blues

2007-09-18T05:36:00.000-07:00

Earwormss of the week.

Ryan Adams' To Be Young and Grandaddy Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues.

Uncannily, both the songs sound alike, their hooks and song structure. And the themes, about (wasted) youth.

Hands down, my favourite line from Mister Adams:

"When your young you get sad, then you get high. You get high. Oh man,"

Laos (3 more days!)

Confessions on a gancheong spider

2007-09-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

I created quite a ruckus yesterday with my incessant worrying over a book which I supposedly and believed that I misplaced in school.

Book in point belongs to Mr Duffy, my final-year project supervisor and it's one of those student-published books that are irreplacable. It was loaned to me, along with five other student projects in a bid to impress a government official who Clarence and I were meeting to brief them on our project.

Yes, I couldn't find that particular book on Thursday morning before meeting the official. Panic struck me and gan cheong queen took over. In a blurry fit of anxiety, I took out my phone and started punching SOS text mesages to 12 different people who might have seen the book, been near the book ( which was on a table in school) or would be in school and able to help me look for the book.

So 12 good people and friends did their job, looked around the school, went to enquire at the lost and found counter. And they are realised they were going through the same motions, in a bid to help me. Also, that's when they realised I mobilised like a search team for that blasted book.

Alas, the book was not found. BUT, to my horror, digust and shame. Upon reaching home, I saw that book-once-thought-lost happily lying on the tabletop.

It's the same old plot to these "lost" things indeed.

"Oh, I found the book under that table while vacuuming," said my dad.

And in daniel's famous last words: "Don't search, just vacuum."

All apologies for the fuss I kicked up. Nonetheless, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Grateful to the entire search team.

( Final-year Project idiots Rachxf and clar bear. We battle the green biatch!!!)

Dream Diaries.

2007-09-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

I remember a friend describing a dream to me.

He said we were at a beach (methinks). In this subconscious realm, I abandoned him for a group of school friends and never turned around. Just walked away.

I wondered what I said to him before I walked away.

And leaving people behind is unusual for me.

I want to remember the places that we left, lost to the mists of time

2007-08-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

Play me a sad song
'Cause that’s what I want to hear

Death of a party: Loof, Politik Chic, August 2007

2007-08-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

It began one lovely evening.

Rachxf and Sophie

Wide-shot, by Clar Bear of Phie and rach

Best buds. They are sworn by the same pizza slice. Clar and Alf.

Bulelwa "Free Palestine" meets Alf the communist
After much rum, vodka and beerlao as the social lubricant...And Spice Girls on the sound system

Yanwen and Dylan

Amelia, rachxf, yanwen, Sari and Dylan

Us and Us.

- Inebriated perspectives-

Shaun

A "Fall-Lawn" Min

Me and ma "ho-MIN"

Rabid Rongjun hits the floor

Sari at the bar

Mad hatters Margie and rach

Move aside, George Clooney

2007-08-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

He is the reason why I am so turned on watching medical drama. Give me a biopsy, Dr House.

Hello opera.

2007-08-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

methinks he is gorgeous. avec makeup, that is.

Sing, sing, sing.

2007-08-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Scrolling through my ipod last night made me recall some good memories of spontaneous singing:

- Suxin, Ailing and I were trying to rap/sing to Outkast's Ms Jackson after school in Nanyang one day. The best we could do was, "Sorry Ms Jackson, I am for real. Never meant to make your daughter cry, I apologise a trillion times...woo woo woo,"

We couldn't rap.

- M. and I was trying hard to remember the lyrics to Everclear's boot-tapping-licious Santa Monica, while he got all the chords right on his guitar.

"We can live beside the ocean. Leave the fire behind. Swim out past the breakers. Watch the world die"

- Enroute to Physics Laboratory period in JC, singing my then-favourite Garbage song to J who was extremely tickled by my less-than perfect vocals.

"Go Baby go go. We're right behind you. Go baby go baby, OOHHHH, we're right behind you............"

- An inebrieted pair of Min and myself, outside Zouk. Attempting to sing Ash's Burn Out.

See. I can't even remember the lyrics.

- Post-Prom night party at China Black. Party closes at 3 am with the hip hop dj opting to spin Radiohead's Creep.

I think ( i think) Ailing and I were singing like two siao char bohs to the song, scaring the shits out of people.

"I'm a CREEEEppp. I'm a Weirddooooo....."

- Driving to Marina South with O, blasting Oasis on stereo. +

"Some might say That we will find a brighter day. Some might say We will find a brighter day.Yeah-ah!"

Good times. good times.

Insomnia besets

2007-07-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about all the juvenile and infantile things that a 19 year-old me have once said to someone.

I cringed, I laughed and I wished I had said something better (to save whatever we could)

Funny how words can change the way things swing.

Meanwhile ( a word i have been using a tad too much, cos i use it in my AFP oil market stories), I learnt a new word!

rap·proche·ment (rä'prôsh-mäɴ')
n.
A reestablishing of cordial relations, as between two countries.
The state of reconciliation or of cordial relations.

Hmm, a sign perhaps.

Coolest nepali kid in Kathmandu

2007-07-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Good Fashion. Boy on left, in vintage singlet, jeans, scarf and a 800 rupee army jacket with studs. Loves it. He is a fashion icon, without knowing he is one.

Bad Fashion. Rachxf in a sarong, because she tore her pants.

Blue skies blue. Pokhara, Nepal

2007-07-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

Some good music, packet please auntie.

2007-07-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.blogotheque.net/takeawayshows/

Hurrah. There's music for you to dabao (takeaway) now. Literally, cos these musicians/bands including Spinto band, The Kooks, The Shins, Au Revoir Simone and Voxtrot are caught on camera while stroliing down the streets of New York, Paris wherever.
Music on the go, with great edits that don't make you giddy.

Best thing thus far: you can download some of the rare live tracks for FREE.

yay! I love collaborative websites. and for all, who read French, go to www.blogotheque.net ( i believe it just means "The Blog")

Harland Miller's International Lonely Guy, 2004

2007-07-09T01:07:00.000-07:00

Book meets painter meets Pop Art = books + paintings

Meet Harland Miller, British artist-writer who has these witty, colourful and uncannily realistic paintings of Penguin Book covers (fictitious ones of cos, pun not intended ;D )

And who better to write an interview piece with Miller, but indie demigod himself, Jarvis Cocker. Read the Guardian interview here: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/visualart/story/0,,2072723,00.html

I love Penguin Books, which reminds me...I should get some more of their minimalist classics with green and white covers. Lovely reads with equally lovely covers, me friends. Go grab a shelf full of them.

Click on London Loves ...ART to find out more.

Rachel is currently reading: Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Penguin Books

Stuck in a rut, with no f*** in the hut.

2007-07-07T04:41:00.000-07:00

You know that you are stuck in a rut, when you woke up in the evening from half a day's worth of sleep, after a night out with a bunch of gay men, dancing with one who looks 10 years younger than he is and a roomful of vodka and vodka only.

my back aches somehow.

Girls in red skirts, Kathmandu

2007-07-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

I said goodbye to someone that I love.
It’s not just me, I tell you it’s the both of us.
And it was hard,
Like coming off the pills that you take to stay happy.

(Belle and Sebastian, If she wants me)

When drunk, stay off handphones

2007-06-01T23:44:00.000-07:00

A little "primary-school-science-textbook-life-cycle-of-a-caterpillar" diagram by yours truly, based on personal drunken episodes (read: explanation/apology for all my victims)

It is also found on www.cheeminology.blogspot.com Possibly the funniest blog on earth, by a bunch with very "structured" sense of humour. Go take a look and have a hearty laugh.

A bi-coastal Interpol Song.

2007-05-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

We are all waiting for Interpol' s new album, aren't we... 10.07.2007

The new single, The Heinrich Maneuver alludes to a bi-coastal/transcontinental/long distance relationship.

If you have been in one, I think you will identify with Paul Bank's rather straightforward and candid lyrics, compared to his beyond-metaphorical lyrics in Antics (Touch your thighs, I'm the lonely one (Narc) )

Now try the brakes
I tried but you know it's a lonely ride
How're the things on the west coast?

Today my heart swings
Yeah today my heart swings

But i don't want take your heart
And i don't want a taste of victory
No i don't want to read your thoughts anymore
My god

I think Banks captured the fluxes, the gradual decline and death and post-death issues of a relationship so succinctly.

And, yes. Don't all our hearts swing sometimes :)

2007-05-02T23:57:00.000-07:00

Photos by Rachxf: Part of a feature I'm writing on the death of Street Opera

- really proud cos I'm dabbling in both editorial and photos now. Yipee! :) heh

Double Exposures

2007-04-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

Helmi Ali meets Philip the FLYING Kat.

Helmi (arm only) + Rachxf + Min Heng + Trina T

pix- rongjun

Poptart pictures of yore (too lazy for captions)

2007-03-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

Strangers: Rockers' Love

2007-03-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

A couple I met at Far East Plaza last year

She sings in a hard rock band, he plays metal

Screaming female vocals and a metalhead.

Industrial rock baby.

The drunken chronicles of Home Club Part 1

2007-03-19T05:35:00.000-07:00

in·e·bri·ate
[v. in-ee-bree-eyt, i-nee-; n., adj. in-ee-bree-it, i-nee-]

–verb (used with object)
1. to make drunk; intoxicate.
2. to exhilarate, confuse, or stupefy mentally or emotionally. –noun
- noun

3. an intoxicated person.
4. a habitual drunkard.

Stranger + his Koala pouch + Trin

Ex- roomates Christmas 2006

Bruce and a monster

It was so painful she took off her dancing shoes

Christmas 2006: Min + XF

Charmaine and Trina

Shiny Happy People

Kitty with the whiskey kitty

!!!! Jan 2007

Teeth pout Glee

Gwen . February 2007

I have no idea what we were doing here.

Trina Three Hands.

A.A showing some teeth

January 2007

The drunk with the bedroom eyes.

August 2006 : min the vamp + pout rach

Clench my teeth and shoot helmi (using a camera)

August 2006