Inception Movie: A Leap of Faith

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

"You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't be sure. But it doesn't matter. How can it not matter to you where this train will take you?"

What a marvelous quote!!!

First off - this review will reveal plot developments and ... well practically the entire story. So if you have not watched the film and still want to be surprised by the story, don't read this...

I liked it. I liked it because it was well directed, had great pacing, excellent action sequences, it had great lines, and esp. great acting. (Did anyone else feel the sheer venom coming from Mal (Cobb's wife)?)

It flowed logically - meaning the audience could follow the absurd story. And there were plenty of good action sequences in it to keep us from getting bored. I think this is the hallmark of a good film - you keep the audience entertained and enthralled... even over a spinning top, the totem.

So the story is about this dream thief, Dom (Dominic) Cobb, who lost his wife, Mal, and blames himself for her tragic fate. He is able, through special technology, to enter into people's dreams and steal their ideas or plant new ideas into their brain.

He gets an offer from Saito, a rich Industrialist, to sabotage his rival's plans to dominate the energy industry.

In this whole process he and his friends undergo a series of harrowing chase and fight sequences which sometimes involves his "dead" wife whose "presence" or his perception of her, he has hidden in his sub-conscious.

OK! Here comes the big spoiler: Its all just ONE BIG DREAM. From the very start to the finishing end. The whole movie story is a dream.

Just a dream. Just a dream. (Cue R.E.M's song Losing my religion)

The totem, and all, including the plot of hatch inception, may be just a red herring.

So Cobbs never in reality enters the dream world of Saito who later saves him from his ex-client's hitmen, and then goes to his rival's son to plant an idea into his mind so that he can be reunited with his children who are separated from because the US authorities blame him for murdering his wife.

The only thing that is probably real is
1. Mal is dead/divorce.
2. Cobb feels extremely guilty about her death/divorce
3. Cobb can't be with his kids.

Think about it:
1. Why would Saito, the Japanese Industrialist who ranks No. 2 in the Energy Industry have been sitting alone on a bullet train? He's so rich he can buy an airline yet he's driving around in the back alleys of a 3rd world nation to personally rescue Cobb from a gang of mercenaries. I'm sure this is something Warren Buffett and Steve Jobs do in their spare time.

2. Why did Saito repeat the same line as Cobb's wife:
"I want you take a leap of faith with me."
I don't think its a coincidence. But it would make sense if the entire plot occurred in a dream world.

3. Cobb's children - they don't age. Not in the dream, not in real life. In the end sequence, we see Cobb's children again - in the same pose in the garden, and wearing similar clothing. Yes, another coincidence? I don't think so.

4. One probable hint: Mal, his wife, tells him that he is in a dream. Or rather Cobb's subconscious is trying to warn him that he is still dreaming.

The specific line is: "No creeping doubts? Not feeling persecuted Dom? Chased around the globe by *anonymous corporations* and police forces. The way the projections persecute the dreamer. Admit it. You don’t believe in one reality any more....”

Don't you find it strange that Cobol corporation is spending so much effort in trying to track Cobb down - including sending an entire hit squad after him? Why not simply get hold of Cobb's children? Hold them as ransom, and say, "Come."

5. So Saito buys the airline company, gets into the plane together with Robert Fisher. Do you think that Fisher would have recognized his father's arch rival? Moreover, Fisher is suppose to be one of the most richest men in the world. Where is his entourage? His PA? Can't his staff hire another plane?

So its a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream... And Alice wandered into the Hall of Mirrors and saw a million, million reflections of herself. "Which one is me?" She asked. "All of them and yet none of them." said the White Rabbit.

The idea that the whole plot is a dream within a dream within a dream within a (well you get the picture), can not be stated outright. It would spoil the whole story. Yes, right the whole thing was a huge dream, a fabrication. Stating that now would spoil the whole thing. Its like Neo waking up in his squalid downtown apartment as the credits roll in MATRIX and realizes that he had just had the most incredible dream and dang, and he's late for work!

On a sidenote: this may provide an opportunity to write a sequel to the movie. So Cobbs is with his kids, but then sees Mal walk by, his children call after her. Wait a second, she's dead. But if she's here then... (focuses on Cobb's frantic expression) : its all just A DREAM!!!! Music rooollls... DEENN!!! DEEENNN!!!!!


Then he wakes up in his bed, sweating profusely. He runs into his children's room, they are asleep, its 3am. Then he runs to a safe opens it up, pulls out the totem top and spins it.


It spins and spins... wobbles, and falls. Cobbs, leans back, breathes a huge sigh of relief. And walks out the room.


But then he hears something horrible. A low dull spinning sound.


The top is spinning again.


He slowly turns back. Its his dead deranged wife, Mal, looking at him with those big scary eyes.


He starts running.

Other interesting reviews on the film:

http://www.film.com/features/story/20-ideas-make-inception-worth/39325079

http://io9.com/5625031/want-to-understand-inception-read-the-screenplay

Cousins, a wedding and that which should not be mentioned

Recently a few of my cousins stayed over at my place for a wedding. I've not seen them for 18 or 20 years and when I saw them last they were in Primary school. I got to know them as we stayed together for a period of time. Now they've all grown up, ans have become a doctor, a corporate executive, traveled around the world, and gone and done so many marvelous and wonderful things. I am so proud of them. If you are reading this now - know this to be true: I am filled with *joy* that you have done so very well.

 At the same time, personally, its also been a very overwhelming experience (for me). First off, its that visual disconcert. My only memories of them were as children - and now they stand before me as adults. Somewhere in my brain, like an accountant shifting through old records to prepare for this year's financial reporting, I'm trying to reconcile my old recollections of them.

Certain aspects of them have remarkably stayed the same. I remember how HL talked faster and faster like a choo-choo train. Her disposition - exuberant, a fiery locomotive. I remember how HF was prim, proper; her sentences concise, her manner quiet and reflective, and the way she spoke, balancing certain words, a ballerina in her dance.

...

But its been too long. So very long. I wished I had seen them as they were growing up. I wished I could have heard them talk (and complain), to hear their stories.

 

Hmmm...

 

And that which should not be mentioned... which is "time", "age". I don't feel old. I somehow feel stronger, better, even healthier as the years roll by. (I should mention that my short term memory has always been horribly patchy even as a kid. I would forget a lot of things and get horribly punished. ...

 

Sometimes, I think I forgot to grow old.) And a lot of people have commented/think that I am much younger than my actual age.

 I'm not sure why, perhaps its the shock of seeing my child cousins again, now as adults, a visual disconcert. Whatever. But its like the last 20 years have hit me like a flood water. And, oh no, I look in the mirror and suddenly I see strains of white hair, like the creeping cracks on ice. @#$!!! Suddenly I feel every bit of my 42 years.

 I gaze at my cousins again, and hurriedly shuffle away the old records of them as children, replacing them with the new ones. An argument brews in my brain between two angry librarians. Right side: "They are NOT 10 years old", Left side: "But they seem the "same" (sound similar, look similar etc...)".

 

Side note: I like looking at stars. They don't change (well not in a human's time scale). They exude that sense of majestic permanence. But yes, I know things change. Even the stars that I see will eventually (after millions of years) burn out (or have already burnt out).

 

I hear a clock that is ticking. Ticking very loudly now, like a drum beat.

Sandy Point, Dec 4th 2010

Sandy Point is located on the South East Coast of Victoria near the Wilson Prom National Park. It has many beautiful beaches - this is one of them, Waratah Bay, also known as Sandy Point Beach. It is very large, stretching over 20km. Its also relatively flat and the foreshore is immense at low tide - stretching for over 500m or more.

The area is sparsely populated - you'll find no high rise skyscrapers here. Small little cottages dot the neighborhood. We stayed at Iluka Cottage which cost us A$310 to hire the place for the long weekend. Its a self-contained unit, including kitchen and a washing machine, that can sleep 6 people. It also has a backyard veranda where you can feed the colorful Rosella parrots.

At night you can see thousands of stars. I hoped to go down to the beach and watch as the stars pivoted from heaven to horizon - unfortunately, there was a drunken lout party at the main entrance to the beach, and we dared not pass.

Komodo - The Flores Sea

East of Bali, Komodo is one of those rare places in the world largely untouched by modern civilization.

The fish and coral life was tremendous - Vincent ("MV White Manta") said that it was like Richelieu Rock, Similans a decade ago.

Komodo's pristine waters are bordered by a series of uninhabited islands that look more like New Zealand than Bali. Its a series of small islands- grassy lawns, one or two solitary trees, but strangely, no coconut trees.

The fish in Castle and Crystal Rock were very friendly and did not flee at our presence - which seemed to indicate that the area was not fished much.

However, there were other areas where there was evidence of dynamite fishing - and of course, the corresponding damage to marine and coral life.

The trip was marred because the boat Anjemiwa II is was infested with rats and cockroaches. On the 1st day, I saw rats running from my bed after helping themselves to my travel food. The rats had a nest under my bed.

I also got a bad case of food poisoning which caused me to miss the last couple of dives. Yeah, don't eat bloody chicken innards.

The locks on the toilets also didn't work... the handle on one of them was broken from the inside. And one of the sleeping rooms was next to the engine, the noise and vibrations would have waken Helen Keller.

And to top it off - the crew's crappy cigarette smoke kept blowing into the living/dining/dive deck. If they were going to smoke - they should have done it on the bridge so that the fumes would have carried off.

Otherwise, the crew were great and friendly- but the DM was inexperienced. We totally lost him on one particular dive much to the annoyance of the dive group. And once he got us to swim against a very strong current.

The Anjemiwa LOB was actually a great dive boat if the number of divers was 6. The dive deck /dining area was nice and big. But I'd say max would be 8 divers not 12 as advertised.

Getting into the dive dingy boat however was a bit tricky as we had to climb down the railing with our dive gear (+tank) on = choppy seas made the procedure even more difficult. One diver lost his balance on the ladder and fell onto another diver's expensive camera - breaking the housing and the other diver's temper, nearly causing WW3 might I add.

Well, having to put up with rats, toilet doors that can't close properly - this is what you get for paying AUD$550 for a week of scuba diving in Indonesia :D

It could have been better if the owners had paid better attention to the training of the personnel. But otherwise the crew were eager to please and friendly.

HMAS Canberra Dive Wreck, Bass Strait, Australia

The HMAS Canberra is a frigate that was sunk off the coast of Victoria as a artificial marine reef. It sits in less than 29m of water. Google "HMAS Canberra dive wreck" for more information.

There are about two buoys tied to the wreck. You can use them to swim downwards - but due to the wave swells - they move.

Visibility was about 5 - 8m. You can swim inside the ship and I think a swim through is possible. One of my dive team went through the ship, disappeared for 10 minutes, and came out the other side, much to my relief. The ship's bridge is easily accessible as well as the forbidding helicopter hanger. I had no desire to go into the ship's interior.

It was a very cold dive. We did it in the afternoon in late March 2010. Its the start of Autumn and the waters were very cold - compared to the tropics. 17 - 18C. Actually the 1st dive of the day at 3pm was ok. But afterwards, the sea got rougher and colder.

I was positively freezing when I descended on the 2nd dive. The only thing on my mind was "@#$% I want this dive to be over NOW."

But afterawhile I acclimatized and it was ok. I ended up being the last person on the boat.

My air consumption was pretty good considering the coldness of the water. I relaxed, I think the coldness even slowed my heart rate and breathing down. haha.

We didn't experience any sea swells that can suck you into the bowels of the ship. And looking inside - I didn't feel any desire to explore.

Fish life was minimal. There were more divers than fish. Coral life is starting to take hold - but its too early as the ship was sunk here only last year. But there were hundreds of small purple "condom size" jelly fish. I managed to get one clear shot of the things.

I'd go again in three years time from now. But right now, its not worth the bother of long distance travel unless you're in the vicinity.

Shutter Island

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Horror

Relenting. That's the word I would use. From the moment Leonardo DiCaprio's character steps into the asylum - to his descent into darkness, you get a sickening forbidding feeling. Thanks, in part, to that almighty soundtrack which brings back memories of the old horror films - yeah, the one where you're about to be squashed like an ant by a Giant's hammer. I won't say much about the film to avoid spoiling it for you. All I can say is - its worth watching a second time. In the words of Teddy Daniels, "Give it a try."

A holistic approach to National Service in Singapore

Virtually all Singaporean male citizens are required to do 2 years of military service in Singapore once they reach 18. Its a tough ask - as lives are disrupted, gf relationships broken up, and real life plans get put on hold. For many lower income families, the temporary loss of their son, causes tremendous financial hardships - especially for widows who have only that one child who is also helping the family business.

The way I look at it - the whole process needs a serious re-think.

First off - physical fitness. In the past, this wasn't such a big problem. Most kids' leisure time was spent doing sports like football, basketball etc.. Nowadays, kids grow up on a diet of computer games, playstations, and a tremendous amount of junk food. Its no surprise that obesity levels are increasing sharply and fitness levels fall sharply.

The problem facing the military, esp. the infantry, is that the batch of male recruits they get - have a lot of fat kids who are quite simply human sofa chairs who cannot hope to attain the same overall levels of physical proficiency as their predecessors. 

Its really too hard to get a 18 year old couch potato and turn him/her into a fit army soldier in 3 or even 6 months. Thats a bit like getting a student who has spent the past decade slacking off and trying to get him to successfully pass his pre-Uni exams. Yes, a joke.

They need to incorporate the physical fitness of students into the school syllabus in a bigger way and factor it into the national health.

training - truck driving, people management skills

national service = benefits - subsized education health care for family,


 

Similans: The Barren Sea

Just came back from a dive in the Similan Islands, Anderman Sea.

The first day diving was very promising - East of Eden was truly spectacular in terms of beautiful coral life. There were avenues of brilliant yellow colored soft coral - overhanging from the massive boulder rocks that cover the area.

The visibility at times was also pretty good - 20m+

Then we ventured to West of Eden, Deep Six, Elephant Head, North Point, etc.. the currents got a bit more stronger and tougher and the thermocline - waves of current of different temperatures - cold and sometimes hot - got more frequent.

At North Point - a massive brown thermocline wall, filled with coral sea debris, billowed towards us. I initially thought it was the wall face. It was an experience.

Sadly, the fish life is somewhat lacking in the Similans. And I think I know why. At Island 8 - the Ko Similan Island, I witnessed scores of fishing trawlers moored in the sanctuary area, then fishing within a 1 - 2 km radius. Whats the point in having a sanctuary if poachers go unchecked? I can imagine their large nets would have caught sharks, manta rays, whales sharks - minced them up and sold them off as cat meat.

I didn't have time to go to Richelieu Rock - but apparently the fish life is more abundant there.

It didn't help that the toilets - all public - on Siam Divers malfunctioned because people kept on dropping paper etc.. into the septic tank. And to make matters worse, some fucker had dysentery and kept on repainting the toilets with a muddy shade of shit. Unfortunately for me I had a bit of a close encounter whilst brushing my teeth. I got myself all nice and clean, flossed and brushed my teeth. Someone left a "present" in the toilet bowl but the flushing mechanism wasn't working - again. So I couldn't flush it away. Just as I was about to leave - the toilet bowl erupted in an unholy geyser.

I shit you not. A volcano eruption was spewing from the toilet bowl. Shock and disbelief came to horror as I tried to open the rusty twisted toilet door bolt to make my escape. It took me awhile to open the damn door. Enough time for me to be covered with gallons of  waste water. And no, the piece of excrement wasn't there anymore.

It turns out the Thai boat plumber was trying to pump the sewage at the same time from one of the other toilets. They had a good laugh when I told them what happened.

I didn't get sick but the whole thought of that disgusting incident still leaves me slightly nauseated.

I now have a very fond affection to private ensuite toilets.

Siam divers was also rather crowded as they took in day trip divers who arrived by speed boat. No, not a good idea to share the crew space with day trippers - in this case, it was a bunch of Japanese and old Asians.

I had to bunk with one chap who had left his alarm on Tokyo time - which gave an almighty wakeup at 4am.

Yes, its probably cheap. But no, I don't think I'd dive there again and not with SD.

Similans: The Barren Sea

Just came back from a dive in the Similan Islands, Anderman Sea.

The first day diving was very promising - East of Eden was truly spectacular in terms of beautiful coral life. There were avenues of brilliant yellow colored soft coral - overhanging from the massive boulder rocks that cover the area.

The visibility at times was also pretty good - 20m+

Then we ventured to West of Eden, Deep Six, Elephant Head, North Point, etc.. the currents got a bit more stronger and tougher and the thermocline - waves of current of different temperatures - cold and sometimes hot - got more frequent.

At North Point - a massive brown thermocline wall, filled with coral sea debris, billowed towards us. I initially thought it was the wall face. It was an experience.

Sadly, the fish life is somewhat lacking in the Similans. And I think I know why. At Island 8 - the Ko Similan Island, I witnessed scores of fishing boats and trawlers - at least 5 - moored in the marine park, then fishing at sunset within a 1 - 2 km radius of the island. Good grief. Whats the point in having a marine sanctuary if poachers go unchecked? I can imagine their large nets would have caught sharks, manta rays, whales sharks - minced them up and sold them off as cat meat or fish balls.

I didn't have time to go to Richelieu Rock - but apparently the fish life is more abundant there.

It didn't help that the toilets - all public - on Siam Divers malfunctioned because people kept on dropping toilet paper into the sewerage. And to make matters worse, some fucker had dysentery and kept on repainting the toilets with a muddy shade of shit which he didn't bother cleaning up.

Unfortunately I had a bit of a close encounter whilst brushing my teeth. After dinner, I got myself all nice and clean, flossed and brushed my teeth. Someone left a "present" in the toilet bowl but the flushing mechanism wasn't working - again. Just as I was about to leave - the toilet bowl erupted in an unholy geyser. Turns out the boat plumber was trying to pump the sewage at the same time on the other side of the boat. It took me 5 seconds to open the door and exit but it felt like an eternity. I didn't get sick but the whole thought of that disgusting incident made me nauseous for the rest of the trip.

I now have a very fond affection to private ensuite toilets.

The Siam Divers boat was also rather crowded as they took in day trip divers who arrived by speed boat. On Day 2, a fat Japanese roommate was squeezed into my room cos the boatmaster was too lazy to put him in one of the many spare rooms. My roomie had an old school bell alarm clock which he thoughtfully for 5am in the morning.

Yes, Similans is probably cheap. But no, I don't think I'd dive there again and not with SD.

Similans: The Barren Sea

Just came back from a dive in the Similan Islands, Anderman Sea.

The first day diving was very promising - East of Eden was truly spectacular in terms of beautiful coral life. There were avenues of brilliant yellow colored soft coral - overhanging from the massive boulder rocks that cover the area.

The visibility at times was also pretty good - 20m+

Then we ventured to West of Eden, Deep Six, Elephant Head, North Point, etc.. the currents got a bit more stronger and tougher and the thermocline - waves of current of different temperatures - cold and sometimes hot - got more frequent.

At North Point - a massive brown thermocline wall, filled with coral sea debris, billowed towards us. I initially thought it was the wall face. It was an experience.

Sadly, the fish life is somewhat lacking in the Similans. And I think I know why. At Island 8 - the Ko Similan Island, I witnessed scores of fishing trawlers moored in the sanctuary area, then fishing within a 1 - 2 km radius. Whats the point in having a sanctuary if poachers go unchecked? I can imagine their large nets would have caught sharks, manta rays, whales sharks - minced them up and sold them off as cat meat.

I didn't have time to go to Richelieu Rock - but apparently the fish life is more abundant there.

It didn't help that the toilets - all public - on Siam Divers malfunctioned because people kept on dropping paper etc.. into the septic tank. And to make matters worse, some fucker had dysentery and kept on repainting the toilets with a muddy shade of shit. Unfortunately for me I had a bit of a close encounter whilst brushing my teeth. I got myself all nice and clean, flossed and brushed my teeth. Someone left a "present" in the toilet bowl but the flushing mechanism wasn't working - again. So I couldn't flush it away. Just as I was about to leave - the toilet bowl erupted in an unholy geyser.

I shit you not. A volcano eruption was spewing from the toilet bowl. Shock and disbelief came to horror as I tried to open the rusty twisted toilet door bolt to make my escape. It took me awhile to open the damn door. Enough time for me to be covered with gallons of  waste water. And no, the piece of excrement wasn't there anymore.

It turns out the Thai boat plumber was trying to pump the sewage at the same time from one of the other toilets. They had a good laugh when I told them what happened.

I didn't get sick but the whole thought of that disgusting incident still leaves me slightly nauseated.

I now have a very fond affection to private ensuite toilets.

Siam divers was also rather crowded as they took in day trip divers who arrived by speed boat. No, not a good idea to share the crew space with day trippers - in this case, it was a bunch of Japanese and old Asians.

I had to bunk with one chap who had left his alarm on Tokyo time - which gave an almighty wakeup at 4am.

Yes, its probably cheap. But no, I don't think I'd dive there again and not with SD.

Maldives February 2010

I'm waiting in the Hulhule hotel whilst my dive buddies are getting
drunk at the bar. Flight back to Singapore is in 5 hours time - so I'd
thot I'd kill some time and write a quick note. The internet
connection here is patchy so I gotta make it fast.

I just spent 6 dives of diving on a live on board scuba diving boat in
the Maldives, 18 dives (3 a day). Its a bit of a deja vu as I did
Maldives 2 years ago at the start of the monsoon season - and the
diving was rough.

I was expecting calm seas, great visibility and plenty of marine life.

But you can't have marine life without current. We did a lot of channel dives - some exceeding 30m - a few of us hit 40m. You would expect to see more doing the deeper dives - but this time most of the good stuff - the sharks and the manta rays (giant graceful bat like ocean creatures) were found at 15 - 20m.

We were very fortunate to encounter the larger marine life at the start of the trip. On the 2nd day, we got into a "shark alley" where there were over a dozen or more sharks prowling around.

I forgot my camera for that dive. Pity, the visibility was excellent - 20 - 30m.

On the 3rd and 4th days we ran into a group of mantas. They are extremely graceful and beautiful creatures. To see them soaring and flying in the ocean current is a spiritual experience. They are also not shy and seem to enjoy the company of humans. They soared and played over our heads - there were moments when I stopped filming them and just gazed at the creatures - there is this special moment of affinity as they glide pass you, your eyes lock for a brief moment - and then they soar away.

To my Christian friends, if you see one you cannot help but be awestruck at God's handiwork. Deep in the ocean depth, or trillions of light years in the heavens, "He hath made all things beautiful in its time".

This time I remembered to bring my dive camera (and my dive com) so I got a number of good video shots.

Not all the dives were easy, the deep dives were particularly hard -the current was super strong. I like to be on the edge of the group soI can get good photo shots but on one of the dives I was separated and swept into a coral reef - the current was so strong that at times I
was pinned against the coral, unable to move. Fortunately, I had my orange safety marker, (which looks like a giant long sausage balloon) deployed it, did my safety stop, and ascended.

The Ocean is a very big place - if it wasn't for that cheap $18 safety marker I don't think the boat would have seen me. I think I'll buy another one. :)

I will post up videos of the diving scenes on youtube when I get back. The internet connection here is not good.

This time round I dived with a group of people I totally didn't know. But hey, I didn't want to spend my Chinese New Year eve visiting relatives and getting the old crappy snide jokes about being single. Scrw that man.

The group was half Singaporean - half Cosmopolitan - French, Spanish, US/Chinese, Kiwi, and an Indian cancer surgeon working in Shanghai as a consultant. Fascinating bunch of people. What amazing lives they lived. My life is dead boring in comparison. I couldn't think of any of my usual witty comments. I think I said a few dumb things too. ah well. I get a bit tense when I'm with new people. So I don't usually say much if anything at all.

The boat that we were on - the Princess Lara seems to be a copy of the MV Eagle Ray - same sort of arrangement but just a bit more bigger and spacious. Nice boat, some of the crew were younger and maybe less experienced than the Eagle Ray tho.

Maldives February 2010

I'm waiting in the Hulhule hotel whilst my dive buddies are getting
drunk at the bar. Flight back to Singapore is in 5 hours time - so I'd
thot I'd kill some time and write a quick note. The internet
connection here is patchy so I gotta make it fast.

I just spent 6 dives of diving on a live on board scuba diving boat in
the Maldives, 18 dives (3 a day). Its a bit of a deja vu as I did
Maldives 2 years ago at the start of the monsoon season - and the
diving was rough.

I was expecting calm seas, great visibility and plenty of marine life.

But you can't have marine life without current. We did a lot of channel dives - some exceeding 30m - a few of us hit 40m. You would expect to see more doing the deeper dives - but this time most of the good stuff - the sharks and the manta rays (giant graceful bat like ocean creatures) were found at 15 - 20m.

We were very fortunate to encounter the larger marine life at the start of the trip. On the 2nd day, we got into a "shark alley" where there were over a dozen or more sharks prowling around.

I forgot my camera for that dive. Pity, the visibility was excellent - 20 - 30m.

On the 3rd and 4th days we ran into a group of mantas. They are extremely graceful and beautiful creatures. To see them soaring and flying in the ocean current is a spiritual experience. They are also not shy and seem to enjoy the company of humans. They soared and played over our heads - there were moments when I stopped filming them and just gazed at the creatures - there is this special moment of affinity as they glide pass you, your eyes lock for a brief moment - and then they soar away.

To my Christian friends, if you see one you cannot help but be awestruck at God's handiwork. Deep in the ocean depth, or trillions of light years in the heavens, "He hath made all things beautiful in its time".

This time I remembered to bring my dive camera (and my dive com) so I got a number of good video shots.

Not all the dives were easy, the deep dives were particularly hard -the current was super strong. I like to be on the edge of the group soI can get good photo shots but on one of the dives I was separated and swept into a coral reef - the current was so strong that at times I
was pinned against the coral, unable to move. Fortunately, I had my orange safety marker, (which looks like a giant long sausage balloon) deployed it, did my safety stop, and ascended.

The Ocean is a very big place - if it wasn't for that cheap $18 safety marker I don't think the boat would have seen me. I think I'll buy another one. :)

I will post up videos of the diving scenes on youtube when I get back. The internet connection here is not good.

This time round I dived with a group of people I totally didn't know. But hey, I didn't want to spend my Chinese New Year eve visiting relatives and getting the old crappy snide jokes about being single. Scrw that man.

The group was half Singaporean - half Cosmopolitan - French, Spanish, US/Chinese, Kiwi, and an Indian cancer surgeon working in Shanghai as a consultant. Fascinating bunch of people. What amazing lives they lived. My life is dead boring in comparison. I couldn't think of any of my usual witty comments. I think I said a few dumb things too. ah well. I get a bit tense when I'm with new people. So I don't usually say much if anything at all.

The boat that we were on - the Princess Lara seems to be a copy of the MV Eagle Ray - same sort of arrangement but just a bit more bigger and spacious. Nice boat, some of the crew were younger and maybe less experienced than the Eagle Ray tho.

This time tomorrow by the Kinks

This time tomorrow where will we be?
On a spaceship somewhere sailing across an empty sea
This time tomorrow what will we know
Well we still be here watching an in-flight movie show

I'll leave the sun behind me and watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by
Seven miles below me I can see the world and it ain't so big at all

This time tomorrow what will we see?
Fields full of houses, endless rows of crowded streets
I don't where I'm going, I don't want to see
I feel the world below me looking up at me!

Leave the sun behind me, and watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by
And I'm in perpetual motion and the world below doesn't matter much to me

This time tomorrow where will we be
On a spaceship somewhere sailing across any empty sea
This time tomorrow, this time tomorrow...

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh - Singapore food

I had dinner at the food court at Raffles Hospital - near Golden Landmark. The food there is pretty good, cheap, and hygienic (important if you're just recovering from a flu).

With about a pound of Nasi Briyani and Roti Prata in me, I confess to being a little hesistant when my friend asked me out for Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Soup).

But ah well, what the heck, I'm only in Singapore for a month so I said yes.

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh, 321 Beach Road, is located near the junction of Sultan Gate road.

The service was great and the food was really good. The pork ribs were well cooked, ok lah quality. Best part - the soup. It wasn't filled with pepper. And it had a nice Chinese herbal taste about it. I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't so full.

I give it a B+ grade.

The place is also near Kampong Glam which had a few popular Malay restaurants that looked quite happening. Pretty nice crowd there.

My friend mentioned we should make a visit there. I agreed.

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh - Singapore food

I had dinner at the food court at Raffles Hospital - near Golden Landmark. The food there is pretty good, cheap, and hygienic (important if you're just recovering from a flu).

With about a pound of Nasi Briyani and Roti Prata in me, I confess to being a little hesistant when my friend asked me out for Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Soup).

But ah well, what the heck, I'm only in Singapore for a month so I said yes.

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh, 321 Beach Road, is located near the junction of Sultan Gate road.

The service was great and the food was really good. The pork ribs were well cooked, ok lah quality. Best part - the soup. It wasn't filled with pepper. And it had a nice Chinese herbal taste about it. I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't so full.

I give it a B+ grade.

The place is also near Kampong Glam which had a few popular Malay restaurants that looked quite happening. Pretty nice crowd there.

My friend mentioned we should make a visit there. I agreed.

How to Bake an Orange Cake

Ingredients

125g Butter
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Orange Juice
2 eggs
3/4 cup Caster Sugar
1.5 cups Self Raising Flour
1+ Tablespoon Orange Rind
Pinch of Salt
Droplet of Vanilla Essence

Preliminary
Put the Waxing/Baking Paper into the tin. Lightly butter the insides of paper/tin by using the wrapping paper of the butter.

Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature - otherwise they don't gel so well. This applies esp to the butter. If the butter is stone cold - it will take forever for it to be mixed in with sugar.

Step 1.
Make sure Butter is at room temp - soft to the touch; if not microwave it for 5 seconds or something. Cream the Butter and the Sugar ONLY. Stir them around til the Sugar is fully mixed in with the butter and you get that lovely yellow texture look. Don't stir for too long (like 30 minutes) to avoid the butter changing back to oil. Throw in a pinch of salt too.

Step 2.
Add Eggs and Stir that in well. Turn on and Preheat the Oven to 180C.

Step 3.
Add the Milk now. Stir well. You can also add in a small teardrop of vanilla essence. Or if you want you can do this when you pour the flour in.

Step 4
Sift the SR Flour and add it in. Once you have added the flour don't stir it around too much. I recommend you do this manually by hand not by machine. As you stir it - add in the *half cup of orange juice (OJ)* and the *orange rind* - you can add in 1 tablespoon or 2. I like to add in a sliced mandarin skin on top of that.

Try and not mix the milk and the orange juice together because the OJ makes the milk curdle.

Note on Orange Rind - do yourself a favor and get a nice hand held Orange Zester that can really scrub away at the orange skin. I bought mine from Kmart - a Swiss made one that cost $10. Fantastic! I'll write the name of it down later. The trick is to remove the orange part of the skin without taking too much of the white stuff which like the seed makes it bitter.

I also like to throw in one Mandarin skin as well but I make sure I remove as much of the white part of the skin as possible. Remove all seeds - they make it bitter.)

(Note on OJ - I don't like adding the milk together with the OJ on account of the juice causing the milk to curdle. So I like to add the OJ and rind last as I'm stiring the flour in.

If you don't have Orange Juice or Rind - I guess you can use Orange Marmalade - the type that has bits of peel inside. About 4??? tablespoons of OM should be ok (I'm really not sure). You should need to be careful adding that sort of stuff as the more liquid/sugar you put inside - the wetter the cake will be etc..)

Pour the mix into the tin lined with paper. Make sure its flattens out a bit by jiggling it. And put it into the centre of the oven - if most of the heat is coming from the bottom - you can put the cake at a higher spot to avoid the bottom getting burnt.

(I clean and wipe up now. Don't leave the flour sieve sitting in the kitchen sink)

Take the cake out when ready - this is about 30 - 40 minutes depending on your oven.

You can tell it is ready by poking a skewer into the cake and seeing if any of the mix sticks onto the stick. But do this only at the 30 minute mark. If it does stick like small chunks of uncooked mix, leave it in for another 5 minutes.

Take it out of the tin now. Carefully. But only after you are really sure the thing is cooked inside - otherwise it will break apart.

Usually I sandwich the tin with two plates and flip it over. Carefully. The tin is pretty hot so I wear gloves.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes and serve with Hot Earl Grey Tea and decorate it with fresh lavender! I love using my vintage Noritake Arlene set for this sort of occasion.

PS. I find it easier to double the amounts and bake two cakes because in my supermarket, the butter is sold in 250g blocks.

Similan Dive Trip in 1st week of March 2008

My friend Spencer is organizing a dive trip to Similan which he considers the next best thing to Eden.

If you're interested - read on.

Similan Islands!

Read more about Similans here and see pictures here. It is consistently rated as one of the top 10 dive spots in the world according to the Guardian newspaper. March is considered primetime for diving in the Similans and that's the time we are going.

Non divers FYI - Spencer is coordinating open water for a friend at Pulau Hantu to go on this trip, let him know if you are keen to join. But it will be a murky sort of dive yeah as its Monsoon season and all.

Date:

Depart SG: 3rd March 2010 @8.35pm

Return SG:7th March 2010 @12:00 midnite

Airline: JetStar - flight details to be confirmed as numbers firm up

Schedule

3rd March. Day 0: Stay overnight at Tony's lodge at Khao Lak upon arriving at Phuket Intl airport

4th March. Day 1: Transfer to Live on Board at 8am and start diving

5th March. Day 2: Diving

6th March. Day 3: Diving. EOD transfer to Little Buddha Inn at Phuket to chill (i.e alcohol)

7th March. Day 4: Chilling at Phuket and transfer to Phuket Intl airport

Estimated Cost

Liveonboard inclu diving and accomodation and food: SGD$722+. Click here for pricing

Tony Lodge stay 1 nite about SGD$30+. Click here for pricing

Little Buddha stay 1 nite about SGD$10+. Click here for pricing

Airfare: Currently airfares are at SGD$100 round trip exclu surcharges and taxes

Total Estimated Cost: SGD$862++

Notes on cost

-Pay your own way, No 3rd party operator fee involved

-Air ticket pricing may change the closer we get to March

-Inclu airfare, diving, food and accomodation on the live on board, 2 nites accomodation at Phuket and Khaolak

-Exclu land transfers, diving equipment rental, food and drinks outside of the live on board

-USD$1 = SGD$1.4

Please let Spencer know about your interest as soon as possible. And be prepared to make payment shortly after. Remember February is the shortest month in the year so make your decision quickly.

Call Spencer on Singapore.

Postscript:

We went for the trip and didn't like it. The dive boat was too packed with day trippers and the toilets kept on breaking down. The diving except for the 1st day wasn't all that wonderful because there were too many Thai fishing boats around fishing out the damn marine park when no one was looking.

Inglourious Basterds

Rating:	★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

I couldn't sleep last night due to the heat. So I watched "Inglourious Basterds", the Tarantino war flick. Its really a homage to the silly war movies of the 1960s and 1970s/80s, ie the "Dirty Dozen", "Inglorious Bastards etc.. If you're into pretty women getting shot, strangled and explicit autopsy type of violence, then this film is for you. If you prefer not to have the mental image of a beautiful blonde woman getting strangled by a homo nazi, then I suggest you look away.

Its a Tarantino movie so there's a lot of dialogue but the man has lost his touch. The dialogue in his films has lost its charm - compared with Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs even Jackie Brown. Now his films seem to be too stylized - its like someone pretending to be too clever or too Tarantino. I found them a bit boring, like a long joke that's taking the Uncle half an hour to tell it and the punch line falls a bit flat.

Nonetheless it did have some magic moments and some good acting. I liked the British actor. And Diane Kruger aka Bridget von Hammersmark had quite a few choice lines.

Lt Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt): "I want to get into that cinema..."
Bridget (Diana Kruger): "In case its escaped your attention, my leg has a bullet in it, your men can't speak German and there's a pile of dead Nazis in the next room."
Lt Aldo Raine: "Well I can speak some Eye-talin (italian)."
Bridget: "Yeah, probably as well as your German; is there any language you stupid Americans can speak apart from English?"
Aldo: "No, we speak Americann, lady."

(Or something to that effect)

Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich (1973)

Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich

First having read the book of myths,
and loaded the camera,
and checked the edge of the knife-blade,
I put on
the body-armor of black rubber
the absurd flippers
the grave and awkward mask.
I am having to do this
not like Cousteau with his
assiduous team
aboard the sun-flooded schooner
but here alone.

There is a ladder.
The ladder is always there
hanging innocently
close to the side of the schooner.
We know what it is for,
we who have used it.
Otherwise
it is a piece of maritime floss
some sundry equipment.

I go down.
Rung after rung and still
the oxygen immerses me
the blue light
the clear atoms
of our human air.
I go down.
My flippers cripple me,
I crawl like an insect down the ladder
and there is no one
to tell me when the ocean
will begin.

First the air is blue and then
it is bluer and then green and then
black I am blacking out and yet
my mask is powerful
it pumps my blood with power
the sea is another story
the sea is not a question of power
I have to learn alone
to turn my body without force
in the deep element.

And now: it is easy to forget
what I came for
among so many who have always
lived here
swaying their crenellated fans
between the reefs
and besides
you breathe differently down here.

I came to explore the wreck.
The words are purposes.
The words are maps.
I came to see the damage that was done
and the treasures that prevail.
I stroke the beam of my lamp
slowly along the flank
of something more permanent
than fish or weed

the thing I came for:
the wreck and not the story of the wreck
the thing itself and not the myth
the drowned face always staring
toward the sun
the evidence of damage
worn by salt and away into this threadbare beauty
the ribs of the disaster
curving their assertion
among the tentative haunters.

This is the place.
And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair
streams black, the merman in his armored body.
We circle silently
about the wreck
we dive into the hold.
I am she: I am he

whose drowned face sleeps with open eyes
whose breasts still bear the stress
whose silver, copper, vermeil cargo lies
obscurely inside barrels
half-wedged and left to rot
we are the half-destroyed instruments
that once held to a course
the water-eaten log
the fouled compass

We are, I am, you are
by cowardice or courage
the one who find our way
back to this scene
carrying a knife, a camera
a book of myths
in which
our names do not appear.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15228

(Commentary: I don't think this is a great poem about diving. But it does contain evocative images and descriptions which are pretty good; they ring true. And I'll try and use them in my scuba poems.