Singing at the Island Country Club

I just came back from singing at the Island Country Club. It was organized by my neighbor (or rather one of her students). Nothing fancy- just choir work. Unfortunately, we had to go there several hours before the event started. I also had to wearing a business pants and tie for the event- ain't fun in this tropical climate. Thankfully, there was an aircon room to take refuge in otherwise I'd be sticky and sweaty by the time the event started.

I really don't know why people wear coats and ties in this tropical country. Course, it looks cool but it makes as much sense as someone wearing speedos in the Arctic.

Its a status thing- wearing a European or Italian cut suit - here in Singapore. You can only wear if you are constantly in an air-conditioned environment. Either that or you're in a very unfortunate job - in which case you have my sincerest pity.

Rain

Had to do some banking and shopping today - it was all in the same area, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. Since I got back to Singapore... I found my home here in a little disarray, some of my stuff is missing. But no biggie, its nothing I can't replace easily. I was missing some pillow cases so I stopped off at Takashimaya, a dept store in Orchard Road.

Hee hee ended up getting a whole set! Doesn't the design look cool? That white on red design looks divine. There's nothing better than sleeping on good cotton sheets. Considering we spend a large part of our day sleeping- why not sleep on something decent yeah?

I also got a Billabong surf pants- something comfortable to wear around the house.



Hrmmph, God has a funny sense of humor. After I purchased the pillow cases and bed sheets, my mom calls me on my mobile from Melbourne, Australia. Apparently she can't find "the missing blue pillow cases". This draws a total blank from me; I've never seen them before. But small things seem to matter to her. And I had to endure her expensive long distance rantings. One of her friends has gone to Melbourne and mum was putting in a great deal of effort to make the place look perfect. So obviously having mismatched pillow cases has absolutely ruined her day. She got pretty furious. But ah, well, what could I do? Flying over to Melbourne to help search for several $10 pillow cases was a tad extreme.

It took me a little while to get over the conversation though. Standing in the rain somehow helped :)

Someone saw me getting wet - I must have looked damn pathetic (LoL) and kindly told me to go inside the Gym which was next door. Coincidentally, it was "California" - which I'm a member of. I thought of going inside to get a towel but I didn't bring my membership card. Drat.

California @ Orchard is a decent city gym. It usually got a healthy number of people inside. Of course during the peak hours 5 - 8, its usually packed out. But I like it. Its a good exercising environment. The people who work out there are fairly motivated and look the part. I've been in other gyms where its filled with middle executives and old folks- panting away at the trend mills- almost ready to walk into a nursing home. I'm sure there are people in their 50s - 60s who are super fit and all. But they are few and far between.

Musings of Morpheus, the Dream Lord

One more year
One more season
Time passes
Yet nothing changes

Wars come, kingdoms rise, kingdoms fall
Eternity beckons her siren call

I pursue her
And when I succeed
Time will stop
And all will cease

Gakkkk

Its midnight and my mum calls me up to find out how to use the new FOXTEL TV control. I carefully explain to her that the old service got phased out a month ago. Now its digital. Then I carefully tell her how to use the controller- you press the button which says TV GUIDE.... aiyoh... left side... then you select ... ya... ya...

As I was doing this- I saw this huge house lizard- it over 10 inches walk across the living room ceiling. Frack, its large! No wonder I've been seeing the sizable lizard dung all over the place. I think its also responsible for the latest brood of lizards scurrying in the kitchen. Yes, gross.

Now I've got to find a way to catch it- or drive it out of the house.

UN - United Nations or United Nutcases

Hmmm... what do you get when you band together the world's leaders together? Considering that 90% of the world is ruled by crackpot dictators, dominated by ethnic divisions and hatreds- you get a roomful of nutcases.

And so whilst Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, shows off his oratoric skils with lines like:

it was important that the council address specific human rights situations and "avoid any innovation that would erode or undermine the independence" of the so-called special rapporteurs or the UN high commissioner for human rights.

200,000 people get killed by the Sudanese Govt's militia. In another age, the US, Britain, would be supplying weapons to the victims to arm themselves against tyranny.

Today, we rely on diplomatic talk and discussions- and place our hope in princes who cannot save.

Meanwhile the enemy of the free laugh and rejoice. Evil triumphs when the good do nothing (or just talk).

You can read Kofi's talk here- but its awfully boring. You can see that nothing will get done until the Sudanese govt massacres its opposition. Then the UN will go in, prevent the opposition from getting weapons, then after awhile it will pull out- declaring PEACE IN OUR TIME- and then the Sudanese militia groups will kill the rest of their opponents who are unarmed.

Its been going on for awhile already. Collin Powell took a visit there in 2004. 30,000 people were killed by the Sudan govt then. The figure has gone to 200,000 now.

But frankly, with the Arab states sponsering the Sudan Govt with liberal supplies of cash and funding and weapons, wtf can the rest do?

Idiots like Bono will probably insist we increase aid to the region- and send the money straight to the Sudanese Govt and its corrupt murderous officials. They'll be laughing all their way to the bank but not before purchasing more weapons and ammo from China to kill their opponents.

I'll close with this quote from a freedom fighter:

"Give us ammunition and weapons so that we can die like men and not animals."

Spare a thought for Zahra Kamalfar

Please spare a thought for Zahra Kamalfar and her two children. Zahra is her political dissident from Iran. She tried to escape but is currently being held at Moscow airport. If she goes back, she will probably be killed together with her two children.

Click on this link to hear their story. Warning its fairly graphic and not suitable for children (or people suffering from depression).

I hope that Amnesty International, the UN, and other political bodies will agitate against Iran and Russia. Its terrible what happens in those two nations.

Crime in Australia

Recently I read in an Australian Newspaper that a man who bashed to death a 5 month old baby boy got 5 years in jail.

This sort of thing happens with sickening regular occurrence.

A while ago, Victoria took in a criminal and placed him in a neighbourhood where no one knew his past. He raped and murdered two young women who were living next door. The initial response by the Labor Premier was to defend the justice system and like Officer Barbrady tell us all to look away, nothing to see here. Shit Happens.

Yeah, Shit happens. But that doesn't mean you just poop in your kitchen, in your neighbor's garden - there's the toilet bowl for Gad's sake.

If you are like me- and feel that such criminals ought to be punished, write a letter - and mail it to Steve Bracks, The Labor Premier of Victoria. Better yet, get your friends to also write letters and swamp his office.

Steve Bracks
Office of the Premier
1 Treasury Place
Melbourne
Australia 3000

Or to his home office at
Steve Bracks, Member for Williamstown
101 Douglas Parade, Williamstown 3016

Or send an email to premier@dpc.vic.gov.au or email him directly at
steve.bracks@parliament.vic.gov.au