Monday, June 21, 2010
Achievement
I have officially spent more hours today studying (8) than hours slept the night before (7). Anyone who knows me well enough would know that my study hours are full study hours.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Poker Facebook
I had... one of those dreams last night that start to get you thinking about things you wouldn't otherwise have considered.
I still remember alot of it, but anyway the important part has something to do with this guy I used to know in army. He was... a nice enough person, a good enough friend of mine, smart and able to reason and consider other points of view. His only flaw (if it could be called that) was probably not being ambitious enough, and not willing to push himself to strive for something better. It wasn't laziness, it was more of a contentment with what he had in life and where he was going. I... only spoke to him once more after I left the service, when he called me some time in January to ask how I was doing. He's also one of the few people outside my usual circles that know where I am now and what I'm doing. We agreed to go get a drink with him some day after he leaves, although I think we both knew that wasn't going to happen.
Anyway the point of the dream was that I ran into him one day 20 years down the road and he asked me somewhat sadly why I never bothered to keep in touch. I gave some pretty bad excuse about not having the time to, but in reality it was that one particular aspect of his character that I disagreed with that makes me unwilling to put in the effort to maintain a relationship. Which is one of my personal flaws - this... belief that because some people are the way they are, it makes them... 'not worth the effort' of me trying to maintain a relationship. Not in the sense that I believe I'm better than them, or that they're useless, but in a simple pragmatic way that I don't see my relationship with them going anywhere, and hence why invest the time and effort into sustaining something with no foreseeable future? Sure I may be wrong, but that's how I see it.
Which brings me to my final point. Lately I've been getting more and more requests from people asking me to join Facebook. I have friends here in Sydney who claim that I am the only person they know that doesn't have it. (isn't on it, whatever.) I think part of the reason why I've staunchly refused to jump on this trend -heh, other than the fact that it is a trend- is that I fear the many pseudo-relationships I have to open myself up to online. There are many people from service who's names I've forgotten and have no wish to remember. I've met alot of people in my life that would throw a punch at me in real life and add me as a friend on Facebook. The whole... superficiality of it annoys me. If you and I arn't friends in real life why maintain this virtual facade?
And yet... there is a small tinge of regret. What you do to others you usually find done to yourself, and there are people I do wish that I could've gotten to know better. People whom I havn't seen in almost 10 years, but who sometimes flit into my thoughts briefly, causing me to wonder where they are now. The knowledge that these questions could easily be answered by the click of a button is almost too... tempting. And as I write this now I seriously am considering opening an account. Online social networking is still social networking, and every relationship built starts with small, superficial steps that grow into something far more meaninful.
But no. For the simple reason that it's too easy. Too easy to extend myself online, where the emotional hurt of a failed attempt at a relationship is minimised to a sad emoticon. Too easy to be fooled into thinking that a relationship could be more than it actually is. Relationships have to be worked for. I know that better than most people.
Making a friend isn't as simple as a click of a mouse online, and never will be. It's a long, beautiful process that starts with a phone call, and a day out.
I still remember alot of it, but anyway the important part has something to do with this guy I used to know in army. He was... a nice enough person, a good enough friend of mine, smart and able to reason and consider other points of view. His only flaw (if it could be called that) was probably not being ambitious enough, and not willing to push himself to strive for something better. It wasn't laziness, it was more of a contentment with what he had in life and where he was going. I... only spoke to him once more after I left the service, when he called me some time in January to ask how I was doing. He's also one of the few people outside my usual circles that know where I am now and what I'm doing. We agreed to go get a drink with him some day after he leaves, although I think we both knew that wasn't going to happen.
Anyway the point of the dream was that I ran into him one day 20 years down the road and he asked me somewhat sadly why I never bothered to keep in touch. I gave some pretty bad excuse about not having the time to, but in reality it was that one particular aspect of his character that I disagreed with that makes me unwilling to put in the effort to maintain a relationship. Which is one of my personal flaws - this... belief that because some people are the way they are, it makes them... 'not worth the effort' of me trying to maintain a relationship. Not in the sense that I believe I'm better than them, or that they're useless, but in a simple pragmatic way that I don't see my relationship with them going anywhere, and hence why invest the time and effort into sustaining something with no foreseeable future? Sure I may be wrong, but that's how I see it.
Which brings me to my final point. Lately I've been getting more and more requests from people asking me to join Facebook. I have friends here in Sydney who claim that I am the only person they know that doesn't have it. (isn't on it, whatever.) I think part of the reason why I've staunchly refused to jump on this trend -heh, other than the fact that it is a trend- is that I fear the many pseudo-relationships I have to open myself up to online. There are many people from service who's names I've forgotten and have no wish to remember. I've met alot of people in my life that would throw a punch at me in real life and add me as a friend on Facebook. The whole... superficiality of it annoys me. If you and I arn't friends in real life why maintain this virtual facade?
And yet... there is a small tinge of regret. What you do to others you usually find done to yourself, and there are people I do wish that I could've gotten to know better. People whom I havn't seen in almost 10 years, but who sometimes flit into my thoughts briefly, causing me to wonder where they are now. The knowledge that these questions could easily be answered by the click of a button is almost too... tempting. And as I write this now I seriously am considering opening an account. Online social networking is still social networking, and every relationship built starts with small, superficial steps that grow into something far more meaninful.
But no. For the simple reason that it's too easy. Too easy to extend myself online, where the emotional hurt of a failed attempt at a relationship is minimised to a sad emoticon. Too easy to be fooled into thinking that a relationship could be more than it actually is. Relationships have to be worked for. I know that better than most people.
Making a friend isn't as simple as a click of a mouse online, and never will be. It's a long, beautiful process that starts with a phone call, and a day out.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Top Gun
It's one of those nights again. 5 in the morning here and I don't feel like sleeping at all, though I havn't taken a nap all day. Every now and then it hits me pretty hard how far away from home and everything I know and love that I am, and even though I'm about 2 weeks away from seeing it again, there are 4 papers in between me and that. Even now it's bothering me that by sleeping late I'll end up sleeping most of tomorrow and not having enough sleep, which will affect my study plan tmr ... ... Fuck that.
I watched Top Gun earlier tonight. It was one of my favourite films as a kid, though I never actually understood the story and all. That along with Flight Of The Intruder, which went even higher above my head as a child. Kinda sad though, that nobody makes movies about fighter planes and pilots anymore, nor are there any good flight simulator games going around. Doesn't every kid dream of being a pilot at some point in his life?
I also won $30 by coming in 3rd in my weekly poker game on Sunday, which in all honesty didn't mean that much to me. It proved to me once and for all that money isn't the reason I play these games, but it's the thrill of the game that I'm paying for. Oddly enough I walked away with the money feeling slightly annoyed at myself for having gotten so far while playing like a scrub. But yea, it's nice to know that I'm not lying to myself for once. Seem to have been doing alot of that over the past few years.
I watched Top Gun earlier tonight. It was one of my favourite films as a kid, though I never actually understood the story and all. That along with Flight Of The Intruder, which went even higher above my head as a child. Kinda sad though, that nobody makes movies about fighter planes and pilots anymore, nor are there any good flight simulator games going around. Doesn't every kid dream of being a pilot at some point in his life?
I also won $30 by coming in 3rd in my weekly poker game on Sunday, which in all honesty didn't mean that much to me. It proved to me once and for all that money isn't the reason I play these games, but it's the thrill of the game that I'm paying for. Oddly enough I walked away with the money feeling slightly annoyed at myself for having gotten so far while playing like a scrub. But yea, it's nice to know that I'm not lying to myself for once. Seem to have been doing alot of that over the past few years.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Originality
I watched 'The Book of Eli' today (apparently Australia's kinda slow about certain movies) and I quite enjoyed the movie, which was why I was immensely surprised at the end where the words 'Based on the novel by so-and-so' were NOT shown during the credits.
It's not that I think sequels and print-to-screen adaptations are crap, (I'm still waiting for my Drizzt movie) it's just that every one in a while it's nice to have a breath of cinematic storytelling fresh air in a movie. I think the last original movie I watched was Avatar, which wasn't all that great either. And I refuse to believe that watching it in 3D would have enhanced my appreciation for it. And while some adaptations of literary works have been pretty awesome and extremely faithful to the original (Watchmen springs to mind), many have simply fallen short of the print version. And you can't say I shouldn't compare them because they are the SAME STORY. It has been ASKED to be compared to it's predecessor.
Worthy of some note are movies that take a basic storyline and characters, but decide to develop a semi-original plot. (The latest Batman series and the Marvel movies). Whether or not the plot is GOOD is an entirely different matter, as a fan of the latter example I found myself quite conflicted when I watched the Spider-Man and X-Men movies. One part of me was objectively thinking that these movies were pretty good and the other irrational fanboy part was screaming (OMG WHY IS TOBEY SO GAY WHY IS CYCLOPS SO EMO WHYDOESSHADOWCATHAVESOLITTLESCREENTIME) etc.
But really, original movies deserve the appreciation. In a day and time where any random collection of words can be turned into a movie (Julie and Julia, Da Vinci Code wtf) a plotline that can keep us on our toes is always worth following to the end. Sure there may be some inconsistencies and hiccups, but at least they have the excuse somewhat of having nothing much to fall back on. Adaptations have no such excuse.
I think the problem with movies adapted from print are the two primary kinds of people adapting them. (This rule can also be applied to sequels)Firstly, the corporate souless individual who couldn't believe how well the book sold and decided to make a movie out of it just to make more money. These guys have no real appreciation for how and what made the original so good (or in the Dan Brown's books cases, bad) and hence just produce a generic Hollywood film that fails to capture the essence and soul that was contained in that piece of literary work.
The second, and possibly worse, kind, are fanboys. Fanboys who believe that making a movie out of their favourite piece of work is the greatest justice they could ever do to the author and make a movie that is figuratively intended to suck the balls of every single other fan of the same author. In their movies you can almost see the drool oozing out of every scene. Shamayalan's The Last Airbender looks dangerously close to this kind of movie, but I'm praying to be proven wrong.
A good example of a successful print to screen adaptation would be everyone's favourite The Lord of the Rings. The success of Peter Jackson's trilogy didn't lie ENTIRELY in the EXPERT casting of Legolas, but more because the movie did not follow the book to the letter, but cut out only what was absolutely unnecessary and added dimensions and angles that Tolkien's writing simply couldn't bring out. Action scenes were far more dramatised, obviously, which was fine because the book was kinda dreary at times. Character development was consistent with the book, but brought out in a far more realistic fashion. (Hobbit homosexuality) But most importantly it kept true the THEMES of the book, which allowed the movie to be compared to the book and stand up because it stayed true to what the story was trying to tell. I could go on, and I'm not even a big fan of LOTR, which I suppose goes to show the level of appreciation I have for the adaptation.
I'm looking at the Coming Soon list and I can't say I'm looking forward to anything this year. Even Iron Man 2 just looks entertaining at best. I'm struggling to think now of the best original movie I've ever watched and I can't really say at the moment. It occurs to me that 95% of everything I've watched isn't original, which is sad, really.
It's not that I think sequels and print-to-screen adaptations are crap, (I'm still waiting for my Drizzt movie) it's just that every one in a while it's nice to have a breath of cinematic storytelling fresh air in a movie. I think the last original movie I watched was Avatar, which wasn't all that great either. And I refuse to believe that watching it in 3D would have enhanced my appreciation for it. And while some adaptations of literary works have been pretty awesome and extremely faithful to the original (Watchmen springs to mind), many have simply fallen short of the print version. And you can't say I shouldn't compare them because they are the SAME STORY. It has been ASKED to be compared to it's predecessor.
Worthy of some note are movies that take a basic storyline and characters, but decide to develop a semi-original plot. (The latest Batman series and the Marvel movies). Whether or not the plot is GOOD is an entirely different matter, as a fan of the latter example I found myself quite conflicted when I watched the Spider-Man and X-Men movies. One part of me was objectively thinking that these movies were pretty good and the other irrational fanboy part was screaming (OMG WHY IS TOBEY SO GAY WHY IS CYCLOPS SO EMO WHYDOESSHADOWCATHAVESOLITTLESCREENTIME) etc.
But really, original movies deserve the appreciation. In a day and time where any random collection of words can be turned into a movie (Julie and Julia, Da Vinci Code wtf) a plotline that can keep us on our toes is always worth following to the end. Sure there may be some inconsistencies and hiccups, but at least they have the excuse somewhat of having nothing much to fall back on. Adaptations have no such excuse.
I think the problem with movies adapted from print are the two primary kinds of people adapting them. (This rule can also be applied to sequels)Firstly, the corporate souless individual who couldn't believe how well the book sold and decided to make a movie out of it just to make more money. These guys have no real appreciation for how and what made the original so good (or in the Dan Brown's books cases, bad) and hence just produce a generic Hollywood film that fails to capture the essence and soul that was contained in that piece of literary work.
The second, and possibly worse, kind, are fanboys. Fanboys who believe that making a movie out of their favourite piece of work is the greatest justice they could ever do to the author and make a movie that is figuratively intended to suck the balls of every single other fan of the same author. In their movies you can almost see the drool oozing out of every scene. Shamayalan's The Last Airbender looks dangerously close to this kind of movie, but I'm praying to be proven wrong.
A good example of a successful print to screen adaptation would be everyone's favourite The Lord of the Rings. The success of Peter Jackson's trilogy didn't lie ENTIRELY in the EXPERT casting of Legolas, but more because the movie did not follow the book to the letter, but cut out only what was absolutely unnecessary and added dimensions and angles that Tolkien's writing simply couldn't bring out. Action scenes were far more dramatised, obviously, which was fine because the book was kinda dreary at times. Character development was consistent with the book, but brought out in a far more realistic fashion. (Hobbit homosexuality) But most importantly it kept true the THEMES of the book, which allowed the movie to be compared to the book and stand up because it stayed true to what the story was trying to tell. I could go on, and I'm not even a big fan of LOTR, which I suppose goes to show the level of appreciation I have for the adaptation.
I'm looking at the Coming Soon list and I can't say I'm looking forward to anything this year. Even Iron Man 2 just looks entertaining at best. I'm struggling to think now of the best original movie I've ever watched and I can't really say at the moment. It occurs to me that 95% of everything I've watched isn't original, which is sad, really.
Monday, March 22, 2010
National Pride
One thing I still don't get is when I greet somebody walks past me in the hallways with a 'Hey' and they reply 'How's it going?'
Like... am I actually supposed to reply to that? Sometimes I just don't say anything and we both continue on, but I feel kinda bad like I ignored his question. Then when I actually do reply something like 'Oh I'm good. Going for lunch now' or something there are also 2 possible outcomes. One being that the guy turns around and we have a small conversation and block up the passageway for a few minutes, and the other being that he/she just continues walking down without replying, or with a minor affirmation at most, leaving me feeling rather embarrassed for opening myself up for no reason.
I watched the first live soccer match since I came here last night and it was gratifying to know that Man U fans are every bit as obnoxious no matter which country they come from. The reaction of the Koreans when their countryman scored was quite a sight to behold though.
I walked into the computer lab the other evening and I saw a multi-national group gathered around a computer screen and they were laughing uncontrollably at some video. The people in the group included Malaysians, Indians, HKs, Koreans, Japs, Chinamen, Aussies, Pinoys and Americans. Curious as to what could attract the attention and tickle the funny bones of so many races I walked over to the computer screen and to my immense surprise I saw them going through a playlist of 'Gao Xiao Xing Dong' episodes with subtitles.
I have never before felt so proud to be a Singaporean. Apparently everyone back home hates him now for some scandal, but go back and watch Gao Xiao Xing Dong and remember what he did for the country's comedy scene.
Like... am I actually supposed to reply to that? Sometimes I just don't say anything and we both continue on, but I feel kinda bad like I ignored his question. Then when I actually do reply something like 'Oh I'm good. Going for lunch now' or something there are also 2 possible outcomes. One being that the guy turns around and we have a small conversation and block up the passageway for a few minutes, and the other being that he/she just continues walking down without replying, or with a minor affirmation at most, leaving me feeling rather embarrassed for opening myself up for no reason.
I watched the first live soccer match since I came here last night and it was gratifying to know that Man U fans are every bit as obnoxious no matter which country they come from. The reaction of the Koreans when their countryman scored was quite a sight to behold though.
I walked into the computer lab the other evening and I saw a multi-national group gathered around a computer screen and they were laughing uncontrollably at some video. The people in the group included Malaysians, Indians, HKs, Koreans, Japs, Chinamen, Aussies, Pinoys and Americans. Curious as to what could attract the attention and tickle the funny bones of so many races I walked over to the computer screen and to my immense surprise I saw them going through a playlist of 'Gao Xiao Xing Dong' episodes with subtitles.
I have never before felt so proud to be a Singaporean. Apparently everyone back home hates him now for some scandal, but go back and watch Gao Xiao Xing Dong and remember what he did for the country's comedy scene.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
When The Cold Wind Blows
Earlier this week when I was walking to school this line suddenly hit me, along with that tune. I stopped in my tracks and wondered 'wait where did that come from' before I remembered it was an army song. The second thing that hit me was 'wait again how does it go?' and to my immense satisfaction I COULD NOT REMEMBER. Til today I've still no idea how that song goes, and I'm really thankful for it. A small part at the back of my mind seems to remember it starts off by waking up in the morning, but the minute I say those 5 words another song starts playing in my head and the train of thought ends there.
So I've been here a month already and... I'm content. Not happy, the friends here can't really compare to the ones I've left behind and I met my dad for dinner because he happened to be here for the weekend and as he drove off there was a small pang and I felt all alone for a short while. Some times at night the bed feels too much like the one in camp, because of this weird Australian lack of faith in bolsters. (I've searched all over and not a single Australian shop sells bolsters. Very odd)
I guess apart from people what I really miss is the food. It's quite a simple common thing but I really do miss the Singaporean food. There are substitutes of all kinds due to the large number of Asians in Sydney, but somehow the same dishes don't really taste the same here as they do back home. Perhaps I'm being overly sentimental, which is (supposedly) not a good thing.
Autumn is coming soon. Seasons actually mean something here apart from game release dates, although I'll never get tired of the weather here.
So I've been here a month already and... I'm content. Not happy, the friends here can't really compare to the ones I've left behind and I met my dad for dinner because he happened to be here for the weekend and as he drove off there was a small pang and I felt all alone for a short while. Some times at night the bed feels too much like the one in camp, because of this weird Australian lack of faith in bolsters. (I've searched all over and not a single Australian shop sells bolsters. Very odd)
I guess apart from people what I really miss is the food. It's quite a simple common thing but I really do miss the Singaporean food. There are substitutes of all kinds due to the large number of Asians in Sydney, but somehow the same dishes don't really taste the same here as they do back home. Perhaps I'm being overly sentimental, which is (supposedly) not a good thing.
Autumn is coming soon. Seasons actually mean something here apart from game release dates, although I'll never get tired of the weather here.
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