G.E.E.K.

The End of an Era

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:59:57 GMT

It's always a funny, surreal feeling everytime I prepare to leave a job. Perhaps even more so now. This has been my longest job, and I have forged some strong friendships in my department. It is very rare where I can work somewhere where I actually like and get along well with almost everyone.

The secretaries have been wonderful, my colleagues have been helpful, and my boss is really quite awesome. The office location has been superb as well, nothing like a 5 minute jaunt to Centrepoint or the board game shop when I just need to de-stress a bit (or to grab a drink).

I don't deal with goodbyes well, and I will probably miss this bunch of madcap colleagues. I suppose it was always inevitable that I would move on (money, prospects, all that jazz), it never really hit me till this week, knowing that after next week, I wouldn't get to banter with the secretaries in Mandarin anymore, or have a boardgame session with some of my colleagues during lunch, etc etc.

So long... and thanks for the memories.

Waking from a dream

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:50:50 GMT

So it feels a bit strange to be back in the office after being away for 3 weeks, some of that time being spent in Korat, Thailand.

In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect going to Korat as part of my reservist training. All I really knew beforehand was that I was there as part of Exercise Cope Tiger. This is a joint military exercise between the USAF, RTAF and RSAF, which includes some humanitarian missions. As a medic in my NS days, I was there as part of the medical team providing some basic healthcare services to some of the villagers, and we were stationed in 2 schools over the course of 3 days.

Korat, for the most part, far exceeded my expectations. It is much cleaner than Bangkok, and the streets don't have that lingering sewer smell that seems to permeate major cities like KL and Bangkok. Things are relatively cheap, and people are generally friendly. There is a pretty big mall (unimaginatively called "The Mall") and I was put up at a really nice hotel called V One, which made the stay there that much bearable too.

It was really nice going to the schools to do my bit, even if it was a very small part; though I could see that it meant a lot to the kids and villagers who came to see us for medical care. It was quite an eye opener to see how we take so many things for granted, like basic toilet facilities, and simple medicine like paracetamol and cough syrup. That said, I wouldn't say that they are "worse off" from city folks in developed countries. In fact, they seem much happier and the children seemed much more carefree and innocent, without being tied down by modern fetters like tuition and computers. Nevertheless, I was more than happy to come out of my own pocket to buy some bags of sweets to hand out to the kids, who snatched them all too happily!

It wasn't all work though, we had our fair share of play, thanks to a very nice regular warrant officer who was our unofficial chaperon. There was some nice food to be had, and I managed to do a wee bit of shopping at The Mall and some night markets, so all in all it was a nice break from work.

Ugh back to reality!

The need for speed

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:54:25 GMT

Why are people so slow at ATM machines? Am I'm not talking about the idiots who use it for fund transfers (Hello, it's the internet age people).

I'm talking about the sloths who are just drawing money. Why does it take people anywhere from 1-10 minutes just to withdraw cash? I'm usually in and out in 45 seconds or less, so what's the hold up?

***

You know they say it takes one to know one? I think that to be able to describe anal sex and its "associated maladies" in such depth and degree requires longtime experience with it. Well I guess that's why everytime SHE opens her mouth to speak it always sounds like it has something jammed up her chocolate starfish.

Apocalypse Part Deux

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:36:47 GMT

http://www.intego.com/news/ism0705.asp

A virus??? On a Mac??? You mean those stupid ads featuring Mac and PC were WRONG???

Repent now, the end of the world is truly near! A virus on a Mac!!!

The end of the world is nigh

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:32:07 GMT

It's the apocalypse as we know it. Judgment day. Ragnarok. Doomsday. Armageddon. I'm actually posting something to LJ.

You know me, never one to pass up the opportunity to put one over the blindfuck idiots who jump onto the macfad bandwagon.

http://www.dashes.com/anil/2007/10/smug-ugly.html

It's funny to see that the only way the macnuts are ever going to get the feeling that they're "superior" to Windows users is to commit such childish acts.

Go Steve! I'm cheering you and your 2% worldwide personal computing share on!

Penang

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:39:37 GMT

Went to Penang recently, first trip out with a DSLR. Took about 300+ shots, culled about 13 that I figured were "acceptable". Thank god for digital!

Rest of the images I tagged "Penang" at my Flickr

Blik!

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:47:39 GMT

Finally got off my lazy butt and put up the wall decals in the study. The aliens have landed!!!

From Random

A Lonely Place of Dying

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:56:59 GMT

My first serious attempt :)

From Portfolio

:D

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:53:30 GMT

From D80

Have decided to get a REAL hobby for once in my life (now that I can afford it). So after much (read:zero) number crunching, I headed off to Funan and picked up a Nikon D80 from John 3:16. To be honest, I'll still pretty confused by all the terminology involved. It's like this mega barrier of entry that I have to overcome, so I'll just have to keep plugging away at it :D

The obligatory box shot:

Stupidity really knows no bounds

Fri, 04 May 2007 05:10:30 GMT

When you're not in a very good mood, the last thing you want to see is yet another stupid article in the Shits Times spewing nonsense about homosexuality AGAIN.

What's with the recent spate of people suddenly so up in arms after a remark by the Divine Emperor about the possibility of repealing s377A of the Penal Code?

But today's article by a Yvonne Lee really, REALLY takes the cake.

Let's get this straight (pun intended), I'm as hetero as someone could possibly be. I still cringe when I see gay intimacy on Six Feet Under. But I do not think it is wrong, or against nature, or whatever. It is a lifestyle choice, and it harms no one, no matter what the bible thumping masses might say. To even debate on whether it should be criminalised or not should have been a no-brainer in a civilized country. But I forget. I live in Singapore.

Let's have a look a at few choice quotes from this stupid idiot who's apparently a law professor. Well thank god I didn't get my law degree from NUS then.

It is a known medical fact that homosexual intercourse or sodomy is an inherently unhealthy act that carries higher risks of a number of sexually transmitted infections.

OMG like hetero sex is any cleaner? When's the last time this woman ever saw dick or touched her own pussy? Here's a clue lady, THEY'RE ALL DIRTY. You get aids, gonorrhea, herpes, crabs, syphilis and all sorts of other shit (again, pun intended) through hetero sex too you know? Just because you don't like dick up your ass doesn't mean it's any dirtier than hetero sex.

People who oppose the homosexual agenda are branded as intolerant, bigoted, homophobes, or hateful towards homosexuals who are merely 'different'.

Do you know why? It's BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING FUCKING WRONG WITH BEING A HOMOSEXUAL YOU STUPID COW! SO ANYBODY WHO IS OPPOSING A HOMOSEXUAL LIFESTYLE IS AUTOMATICALLY A FUCKING IDIOT WHO IS OPEN TO RIDICULE BY ALL AND SUNDRY!

The final step involves attempts to redefine 'marriage', the fundamental institution and bedrock of many civilisations. The redefinition is a radical reconstruction of 'marriage' - no longer a union between man and woman but includes 'same-sex marriage'. Homosexuals must then be allowed to marry someone of the same sex and be given the benefits of marriage such as tax benefits, adoption of children and/or state-funded access to alternative 'reproduction' methods.

Who wrote the fucking book on marriage saying that it should be between a man and a woman? The fucking Bible innit? Well fuck that shit ok? It's 2007, it's really about time people stopped referring to a fucking 2000 year old book.

It has been suggested that even after adultery was decriminalised, it remained morally reprehensible. So too, decriminalising homosexual sex will not cause a shift in moral attitudes.

How is adultery even like homosexuality? That's like comparing grapes to shoes. Seriously woman, it's probably a GOOD THING you're not a practicing litigation lawyer, otherwise everytime someone got you as an opponent they'd be jumping for joy shouting "I'M SO GONNA PWN HER!". You lose at being a lawyer really.

Homosexuality is offensive to the majority of citizens. Allowing an aggressive homosexual rights agenda to dictate law reform ignores the nature of Singapore's multireligious, multiracial community. Such an agenda would be divisive.

What? This really is the opus magnmum of her imbecility. What you really mean, I think, is that homosexuality is OFFENSIVE TO INTOLERANT, STUPID, IDIOTIC, MYSOGINISTIC, MYOPIC, RETARDED, BIBLE-THUMPING CRACKPOTS LIKE YOU. Stop using words like "majority" if you don't have numbers to back it up with. Why don't you go out on the streets and take a fucking straw poll?

Seriously. This stupid woman's article is so offensive on so many levels it actually lowers my IQ to have to read it and struggle to respond to it because it actually meant that I had to lower myself to her level.

Like shooting fish in a barrel

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:15:06 GMT

I've always wondered what it felt like to be a Manchester United football player, walking out onto the pitch for an FA 3rd round match against a non-league minnow. That feeling of just KNOWING that no matter how much you cock up, it's virtually impossible to lose the match. It must be damn shiok.

Because it MUST be great playing for the winning team always. No matter what you say or do, you are ALWAYS right.

Too many people in a particular area don't like you? Change electoral boundaries lor!

Not enough money to pay for your childrens' education in an international school in Singapore? (Even though Singaporeans, by right, cannot study in an international school) Give yourself a pay rise lor!

Not feeling particularly hardworking, but want to make a quick buck nonetheless? Be a backbencher in a GRC lor!

It's so easy man. Playing for the winning team must be good.

66.6%

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 02:36:40 GMT

Yes you fuckers who are in the 66.6%. You can jolly well pay for my share of the 2% extra GST.

Fuckers.

WoW, WoW, WoW

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:13:08 GMT

After a 6 month (or longer) hiatus from World of Warcraft, I finally mustered up the will (plus there was the promise of phat loots) to reactivate my account recently, and what an incredible comeback it has been. In the span of about a month, I have joined a proper raiding guild, downed Onyxia (shorthanded too might I add), got my first Tier 2 piece, went to Molten Core for the first time...and the list goes on. So I just thought I'd share some screenshots with everyone :)

The final boss of Zul'Gurub, a 20-man instance

The final boss of Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, the other 20-man instance. That's me in the centre of the screenshot

Poor Onyxia seems to have no idea that we're all ready to down her

Take my word, she is HUGE

We got her down with 27 men! (She's designed to be killed by 40)

The Singaporeans in my guild; that's me with my new helm

My first foray into Molten Core, a 40-man instance. We only had 30, but managed to kill the first 4 bosses

My new Tier 2 helm. I really love the look of it!

PS Click on the pics if you want to see a bigger size!

I've been wtfpwned

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 01:21:02 GMT

By "wtfpwned" I really mean "tagged by ambarvalia

1. One book you have read more than once
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, mainly because something that started out fun and interesting turned out to be full of concepts that were beyond my mortal brain. I still don't really understand parts of it after 2 readings :/

2. One book you would want on a desert island
The Annotated Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Yes I know it's actually 3 books in one but hey you can't blame a lawyer for exploiting semantic loopholes. Anyway Chronicles probably stands as the best fantasy series ever written (yes even better than Lord of the Rings, please don't burn me as a heretic) and I never get sick of reading about the Heroes of the Lance.

3. One book that made you laugh
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. If I even have to elaborate on this...

4. One book that made you cry
Vampire of the Mists by Christie Golden. It's a pretty obsucre novel set in D&D's Ravenloft universe, and it tells the tale of a reluctant elven vampire seeking redemption and revenge for the death of his true love. I swear the last chapter still gives me the goosebumps till this day.

5. One book you wish you had written
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is the "high priest" of evolutionary theory and I was incredibly awed by his theories laid out in the book.

6. One book you wish had never been written
(Insert name of religious text here). You know my stance on religion. Too much blood shed for too little reason.

7. One book you are currently reading
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. The guy's hilarious! Food and comedy in a single package, what more can I ask for?

8. One book you have been meaning to read
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. I love conspiracy mysteries that are loosely based on historical facts, and this book came very highly recommended, but I have tried 4 times and each time I gave up a fifth into the book. Maybe I just can't get used to his writing style.

9. One book that changed your life
Sadly, a book has never wielded so omuch power over me.

So mates, feel free to steal this meme off me if so inclined :D

Sorry for the long post

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 01:26:05 GMT

It's been so long since I last wrote.

You know this whole IMF thing we have in Singapore now? All I can say is that it's totally fucked up. I *attempted* to go to Suntec City via Citilink over the weekend, but gave up trying because they said I had to walk through BEACH ROAD. Beach-fucking-road. The whole Suntec City area was walled up like a fucking US DMZ. If I was an alien and I suddenly materialized at Suntec City, I'd think I was in a city under siege. From what? I dunno. CSJ and his *army* maybe.

Speaking of CSJ, you guys should take a look at these photos. They're a real riot. We have ADULT POLICEMEN (and policewomen) holding hands and forming human circles around CSJ And his sister. You'd think they were playing Ring around the Posie or something. It's so fucking ridiculous that I'm hoping that more international news agencies pick up on this so that the rest of the world can get more evidence on just how embarrassing our country is.

You know Eric Cantona? Michael Schumacher? Pete Sampras? Know what they have in common? They retired from their field at their peak. They will always be remembered as legends. So the lesson is: RETIRE AT YOUR PEAK. *YOUR* peak was more than 15 years ago. People who try to hold on to past glories for too long end up sad losers like Jacques Villeneuve.

By the way in the event of a "freak election result", I'd REALLY like to see if our army will "step in". I'm still trying to figure out if its a joke, insinuating that our army, made up almost entirely of guys FORCED to waste 2 years of their life, would actually help the people who put them in that situation.

***

Yes I'm slow, I've only *just* jumped onto the Sopranos bandwagon, but WOW what an excellent show it is. Which makes me wonder how Singapore actually managed to show some of it last time. What was each episode 15 minutes long or something?

I think Marvel has really struck gold with their latest mega crossover event "Civil War". The premise is that a superhero stunt goes wrong killing over 600 civilians, including many children. The US government then passes a Superhero Registration Act that requires all superheroes to register with the government and be official federal agents. This, of course, splits all the heroes in the middle, with Iron Man leading the pro-government forces and *SURPRISE SURPRISE* Captain America leading the anti-registration heroes. The writing and art has been absolutely top notch. To me at least, this storyline is way better than DCs heroes vs villains (*yawn*) crossovers.

I recently got a good deal on a 26" Samsung R7 LCD tv and finally replaced the 4 year old 21" CRT clunker in my room. After hooking up my Xbox360 to it and playing games in 720p, I can safely say that I might not be touching my PS2 for quite sometime. Now where are my HDTV programmes?

I can't stress this enough: if you're a pedestrian, on a bicycle or on a motorcycle, please remember that I am in a car, and if we collide, you WILL almost certainly die. And I will have no remorse. Because you're truly a dumb fucker for weaving/dashing across the road/crossing when the little man is red. And while my penalty is probably a fine and a suspension, I have to remind you that death is pretty much irreversible.

Monkey balls

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:46:04 GMT

Stolen from solsetur:

Go ahead. Beat me :D

http://totebo.com/mko.php?c=pUorrBotqotUporFBoUBopBuostBFodSZ6SNouBEu

Reappearances

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 07:52:39 GMT

In between my current mega project and my reinvigorated interest in World of Warcraft, I have had absolutely zero time to update this journal.

I find it somewhat disconcertig how I tend to have so many things I tell myself that I should blog about, but in the end ennui (and tons of work) just wash them all away.

So here are just some random thoughts:

1. It's amazing how fast all that construction at Suntec city suddenly disappeared. And how all the roads leading to Suntec have been beautifully repaved. I almost thought the Wayang Party was in charge of Singapore. Oh wait...

2. The Jalan Sultan prawn mee currently situated at Jalan Ayer is miles ahead of any other prawn mee you can get in Singapore. It's so fucking fantabulous it's not funny. I constantly wonder why people bother to eat prawn mee from other stalls.

3.If Singapore is such a good and wonderful place to be, why do our country's bigwigs send their children overseas to study? Why not send them to our "world class" NUS/NTU/that 3rd shitty university?

4. Bleach is turning out to be the superior episodic anime series when put up against Naruto.

OMG this is such a bimbotic entry.

UNESCO World Heritage Meme

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 02:05:01 GMT

Stolen from Agagooga:

World Heritage List

The World Heritage List includes 830 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.

These include 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed properties in 138 States Parties."

At first I thought of starting a meme requiring people to list which sites they want to visit, but only the most dedicated meme do-er would browse through the list of 830 sites

Sites you have visited by country

Austria: Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg; Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn; Hallstatt-Dachstein Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape; Historic Centre of Vienna

Czech Republic: Historic Centre of Český Krumlov; Historic Centre of Prague

France: Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims

Japan: Himeji-jo; Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites; City of Bath; Tower of London; Old and New Towns of Edinburgh; Maritime Greenwich;

United States of America: Statue of Liberty

Total: 15/812

Man I suck.

5 sites I would like to visit:
1) Egypt - Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur
2) Jordan - Petra
3) Mexico - Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza
4) Peru - Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana
5) Romania - Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania

Tag:

All my LJ friends :)

WCCF: The Bimbo Experiment

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 05:58:36 GMT

WCCF: Shaky Start

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:20:12 GMT

Team ABC

GK
Gianluigi Buffon (black)

Defenders
Paolo Maldini (foil)
Christian Chivu (black)
Rafael Marquez (black)
Carlos Puyol (black)

Midfielders
Roy Keane (black)
Emerson (black)
Vicente Rodriguez (black)
Pablo Aimar (foil)

Forwards
Ronaldinho (black)
Dennis Bergkamp (black)

Substitutes (all white)
Patrick Paauwe
Kolo Toure
Daniele De Rossi
Xabi Alonso
Obafemi Martins

Game 1: Regular League Div 2
Nothing special here, business as usual, except that Ronaldinho finally opens his scoring account, game finished 2-0 with Bergkamp scoring the other goal and bringing his tally for the season to 8.

Game 2: Preseason Cup 1st Round
Ahh a cup that I had a decent chance of winning, especially as there were no other pesky human players around. Finished the match 2-0 victors without any major incident, Ronaldinho and Bergkamp the scorers once again.

Game 3: Preseason Cup Semi-Finals
This is where I'd have to say that overconfidence probably got the better of me. See, Chivu had been injured since the previous week, and he was still out today, so i switched from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 attacking formation putting in Alonso. Not shoring up the defence turned out to be a mistake as I conceded a goal in the first half to the CPU and never came back from it. Was very disappointed as I was quite keen to win a trophy early on in the season.

Game 4: Friendly
Nothing special again, was still sorta miffed at missing out on the Preseason Cup, but was rewarded with a 2-0 victory, with Ronaldinho notching both goals and continuing on his streak.

Game 5: Regular League Div 2
What a mess. A weakened defence proved to be my downfall again as I went down 3-1 to the CPU. Ronaldinho grabbed a goal before half time to give me a sniffing chance at a draw, but it was not to be, and I was handed my biggest defeat so far.

Game 6: Regular League Div 2
Frustrated, I finally had the good sense to switch Alonso out for Patrick Paauwe to come into the defence in place of the still injured Chivu. It seemed to pay off as I beat a fairly strong CPU side 2-0 to maintain my first placing in Div 2 and stay on course for a quick promotion to Div 1. Oh and a certain Ronaldinho scored both goals!

Scoring Stats
Bergkamp 9
Ronaldinho 6

Pulls for the day: Lazovic (white), Hamann (black), Cufre (white), Romero (white), Lampard (black)

Thoughts for the day:
2 defeats today brings my current win-loss record to 7-3, which is still pretty decent though I wish I had put Paauwe in earlier as it might have meant a trophy today. Good to see Ronaldinho scoring, so 15 goals in 10 games isn't too shabby I suppose. It has been most frustrating to not be able to play Chivu for all 6 games and I hope he recovers soon.

WCCF: New Beginnings

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:08:18 GMT

After having been thoroughly obsessed with the World Club Champion Football arcade game for the last month or so, I finally finished my first data card with a pretty decent record of 58 wins, 20+ losses and a couple of draws.

Started a new data card today with a updated Manager ranking of C, up from the starting E-. Had to finish up 1 credit on the old card, so only mustered 4 matches on the new card.

Team name: Team ABC (Why ABC? Heh...)
Home strip: Red/White
Away strip: Green/Yellow

Staring XI:

GK
Gianluigi Buffon (black)

Defenders
Paolo Maldini (foil)
Christian Chivu (black)
Rafael Marquez (black)
Carlos Puyol (black)

Midfielders
Roy Keane (black)
Emerson (black)
Vicente Rodriguez (black)
Pablo Aimar (foil)

Forwards
Ronaldinho (black)
Dennis Bergkamp (black)

Substitutes (all white)
Patrick Paauwe
Kolo Toure
Emre Belozoglu
Cesc Fabregas
Obafemi Martins

Game 1: Regular League Div 2
Struggled to find some smooth play, but managed to break through in the 2nd half with Bergkamp scoring 2 for a 2-0 victory. Good start for Team ABC!

Game 2: Regular League Div 2
Terrible start this time round, conceding a first half goal to a CPU Alan Smith. Stuck with the first XI and was duly rewarded with an early 2nd half equaliser through Bergkamp, and wrapped up the win with yet another Bergkamp goal. 2-1 and things are looking bright, although Chivu gets injured and I'm forced to switch to a 3-5-2 formation, bringing in Fabregas to add a bit more attacking flair.

Game 3: King's Cup first round
Was kinda miffed that I was paired with another human player, and knew that I had no chance from the start, as his hexagon was much, much bigger than my starting team. All in all I think I still did pretty well to hold him to a goalless first half. It couldn't last forever and I finally conceded midway through the second half, and the game ended with my first defeat for this data card. 0-1 not too bad I suppose.

Game 4: Friendly Match
Nothing special, except that Bergkamp bagged his first hattrick, and still currently is the only player in my team to have scored after 4 games. The match ended 3-0.

Pulls for the day: Cech (black), Mista (black), Grygera (white) Sergio Gonzalez (white), Ashley Cole (black)

Thoughts for the day:
3 wins and a loss, a decent enough start for Team ABC I suppose. Am very surprised at Bergkamp's stellar goalscoring performance, but am equally worried on over reliance. Hope Ronaldinho starts banging in a few too. Considered replacing Maldini with Ashley Cole, but decided against it in the end because there's a good chance that he'll become a Chelscum player (beginning to figure out "ABC" yet?). However, I felt that I needed a bit more versatility in my midfield substitutes and will Fabregas and Emre with De Rossi and Xabi Alonso.

Sequels of the Caribbean

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 01:52:25 GMT

Me dad got 2 free tickets to the Lexus screening of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 last night, so me and the gf made our way down to GV Grand at 6.15. We thoroughly enjoyed the first movie, which was everything you expected from a summer blockbuster and more. Johnny Depp was excellent as Jack Sparrow, and we were certainly looking forward to more of him.

While I had heard the new of Pirates of the Caribbean being turned into a trilogy, I had no idea just how linked they were going to be. I think the main problem for me was that much like the Matrix, PotC simply broke out of the first movie, far surpassing its producers expectations, and when they realised just what a cash cow they had on hand, they just had to make sequels. The problem with not planning your sequels beforehand, is that the links you create between your first and subsequent movies become horribly tenuous, which then leads to the excessive use of "deus ex machina". To be honest, I do not mind plot devices per se, but too much of them makes the movie feel less of a story and more of string of semi-related sequences.

The whole crew is back, Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and yes, even Hector Barbossa. The convoluted plot involves Lord Beckett of the East India Trading Company tasking Will Turner to retrieve Jack Sparrow's compass (which as it turns out, is a magical device that points to your heart's desire) in exchange for his and Elizabeth's freedom. When Will finally finds Jack, he gets embroiled into an attempt by Jack to clear his debt to the mysterious Davy Jones, (yet another) inhuman pirate who controls the mythical Kraken, a giant sea squid, and his band of inhuman mates.

They key to defeating Davy Jones, as it seems, is in gaining possession of his heart, which he had locked away in a hidden chest. With the re-introduction of former commodore James Norrington (from PotC 1), Will, Jack and Norrington each have personal reasons to retrieve Davy Jones' heart: Jack to bargain for his freedom, Will to free himself and Elizabeth, and Norrington to regain his former glory. Along the way, Elizabeth meets up with them all, and as their paths converge, the story gets even MORE convoluted.

About 3/4 of the way into the movie, I seriously wonder how it was going to end, as it had already been 2 hours in. The answer, of course, is that it DIDN'T end here, but would only end in PotC 3 (much like the Matrix again). The cliffhanger ending was a real blindside and it left me rather unsatisfied, mostly because I thought PotC 2 was going to be a standalone film, like the first one. And to have to wait one whole year for the sequel....urgh

Questions questions:

1. How does Davy Jones' debt work? From what I gather, he rescues sailors on the brink of death and offers them a chance at salvation if they join his mutant crew. But the bond is apparently time-limited, but what I want to know is what happens after the bond period? Do you then die or are you given a second chance at life?

2. Why are the crew so loyal to Davy Jones? At least Barbossa and his crew all needed to stick together to find the missing Aztec gold piece to break their curse, but in this case, could they not simply overpower Davy Jones, kill him and end their servitude?

3. Which then leads me to wonder, what is the power of possessing the heart of Davy Jones? Do you control Davy Jones, the Kraken, or both?

4. Why does Elizabeth's character make such an incredible personality switch? It was never hinted in the first movie (this is what I mean by tenuous links), yet all of a sudden she's a swashbuckling minx.

5. Why is Jack Sparrow so annoying in this movie? If this is his real character, why was his character in PotC 1 so different? In PotC 1, he was more of a crackpot and a weirdo, but in PotC 2, he is actually quite the sneaky, conniving manipulator.

Is it worth the admission price? Overall, I'd have to say yes. Much like the first movie, it is a highly entertaining piece of work, though overall I was personally quite disappointed with some of the plot mechanisms, but the cast put in a pretty good performance again, and would at least make for a good date movie, if nothing else.

Don't make me laugh, please

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 01:28:29 GMT

I had wanted to post this last Friday, but had no time due to work, and almost forgot about it till today.

A local newspaper ran an article about a fresh SMU grad who had generously pledged about 2 months of his pay a year (about $4000) to set up a scholarship fund for needy students. Sounds pretty good no?

Until...I noticed something. His father is the CEO of Centrepoint Properties. That's CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER for you. Of a company which does PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT in Singapore. And then the credibility of the entire article tumbled into a deep, dark crevice. In fact, the article went so far as to highlight the fact that the money was coming out of his own pocket, and not from his "well-to-do" family.

But why is the newspaper doing this article? Rich people giving money away to charity is nothing new, and certainly nothing difficult. After all, if I had tons of money, I wouldn't mind giving some away to the needy too. Oh but the money is from HIM, the "poor, struggling investment banker", not from his family. To anyone who actually believes that, I have an island to sell you. It's easy to be charitable when you can live life knowing that should any financial disaster befall you, you can always run back to daddy for help.

Please do some more worthwhile stories in the future, like paraplegic community workers, or children from broken families who rise above their situation. People swimming in money doing charity is not exactly world-shaking, ok?

Funny pictures

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 06:20:22 GMT

Scarily relevant pictures in the light of recent events.

Disclaimer: These pictures are the intellectual property of Despair, Inc. In no way are they intended to refer to any person, organisation or political party from any country whatsoever. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

I'm SO surprised

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 02:11:05 GMT

The die has been cast, their cards have been played. The powers that be have finally shown their hand.

I guess for certain people in this world, if you guys can sleep soundly at night, with nothing pricking on your conscience, with nothing gnawing away at your (lack of) morals, well, power to you!

Good move doing it now, rather than 5 years later though. Singaporeans, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS 5 years from now.

**11 am update**

I have done my part, and BoingBoing has accepted my entry.

Mr Wang has also written to Reporters Without Borders