whaddya know

Sunday, February 26, 2006

posted by zyn :: 12:10 PM :: 1 Comments :: permalink

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Things I Learned Today

Friday, February 24, 2006

1. People lie
1a. Trust no one

2. Nice people have bad moods too
2a. Nice people feel bad about having bad moods

3. I am bad at hiding dislike of people
3a. I dislike surprisingly few people, contrary to what appears to be popular belief

4. There are no secrets

5. Don't read blogs at work
5a. Don't read blogs at work written by people at work

6. Never recommend hairdressers
6a. Okay to recommend other people's hairdressers

7. Don't take Japanese class with people who hide your homework
7a. Don't take Japanese class with people who already know Japanese

8. Rajaratnam wrote the pledge
8a. Rajaratnam is not Jeyaratnam
8b. Rajaratnam had ang moh wife
8c. Rajaratnam was journalist before he joined PAP and had column "I write as I please"

9. Lawrence Summers is resigning

10. Lego is gay

posted by zyn :: 2:23 AM :: 3 Comments :: permalink

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I HAVE A MOUNT

Monday, February 20, 2006

I AM ULTIMATE SUPREME RULER OF THE UNIVERSE!!!

I WILL CRUSH YOU LIKE A GNOME ON A MECHANIZED CHICKEN!!!

posted by zyn :: 3:36 AM :: 10 Comments :: permalink

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v-day

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Some people are all talk and no action; others say very little and then suddenly spring the most unexpected surprises.

I may hang out with jaded cynics who don't believe in celebrating V-Day (some of whom are probably reading this, hahaha), but deep down inside I'm a sentimental sucker and when I get things like flowers and chocolates it really makes my day.

:) Hope everyone had a happy Valentine's.

posted by zyn :: 11:00 AM :: 0 Comments :: permalink

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taking pot shots

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

LOS ANGELES (AP) … Television talk shows took aim Monday at Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental weekend shooting in Texas of a hunting companion. Here's a few of the jokes.

"Late Show with David Letterman", CBS:

- 'Good news, ladies and gentlemen, we have finally located weapons of mass destruction: It's Dick Cheney.'

- 'But here is the sad part … before the trip Donald Rumsfeld had denied the guy's request for body armor.'

- 'We can't get Bin Laden, but we nailed a 78-year-old attorney.'

- 'The guy who got gunned down, he is a Republican lawyer and a big Republican donor and fortunately the buck shot was deflected by wads of laundered cash. So he's fine. He took a little in the wallet.'


"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," NBC:

- 'Although it is beautiful here in California, the weather back East has been atrocious. There was so much snow in Washington, D.C., Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fat guy thinking it was a polar bear.'

- 'That's the big story over the weekend. ... Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter, a 78-year-old lawyer. In fact, when people found out he shot a lawyer, his popularity is now at 92 percent.'


The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Comedy Central:

- 'Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a man during a quail hunt ... making 78-year-old Harry Whittington the first person shot by a sitting veep since Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, of course, (was) shot in a duel with Aaron Burr over issues of honor, integrity and political maneuvering. Whittington? Mistaken for a bird.'

* * * * * *

Added later: Filched from dio - How to survive a robot uprising. Hilarious.

posted by zyn :: 11:24 AM :: 0 Comments :: permalink

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priests are the bane of my life

Monday, February 13, 2006

I hate hate hate hate HATE it when people don't know how to play their characters. I'm a warrior, so I don't mind dying; if the situation is critical I consider it a point of honour for me to be the first to fight to the death. But if everyone is fine and we're kicking the boss' ass then WHY IS THE PRIEST DEALING DAMAGE AND NOT HEALING THE TANK??? Fucking hell. Damn pissed off. Now I have to do the instance all over again. I wish people would just learn how to stick to their roles. I mean, a priest dealing damage in a dungeon is like me wielding a two-handed weapon. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH

posted by zyn :: 2:17 AM :: 5 Comments :: permalink

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Rotten humor in the state of Denmark

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Disclaimer: All my own opinions only. Don't suicide-bomb me.

I've been putting off writing about the Muhammed cartoons because I don't really know which side I'm on. On the one hand, freedom of speech blah blah blah. On the other, press responsibility and freedom of religion yada yada. By now I assume everyone knows what the issues are so I won't bother going into them again.

The Economist, predictably, has unequivocally taken up arms in the name of free speech and all its concomitant cliches ("hard-won human right", "free society" etc). And Janadas Devan's commentary on free speech in the ST today, while intellectual and well-written, was (again predictably) very balanced, kind of circular, and not really enlightening at all.

So for those of us who need other people to dictate what our opinions should be, here are some of the more interesting questions:

1. Why did Jyllands-Posten call for the cartoon competition in the first place?

According to the Copenhagen Post, "Jyllands-Posten called for and printed the cartoons by various Danish illustrators, after reports that artists were refusing to illustrate works about Islam, out of fear of fundamendalist retribution. The newspaper said it printed the cartoons as a test of whether Muslim fundamentalists had begun affecting the freedom of expression in Denmark."

Out of the 40 illustrators who were asked for contributions, only 12 responded. That, I suppose, answers Jyllands-Posten's question. But why did a paper that had only a few years before refused to publish cartoons of Jesus on the grounds of respect for religious readers suddenly make such a drastic turnabout? (Granted, different editor at the time.) It's all well and good if, as Salon.com argues, the paper had a long-standing tradition of fighting for free speech. But it seems like a wiseass attempt at sensationalism, a attention-seeking move not so much asking for trouble as challenging it to a fight. We shall harbor no illusions, then, about the noble idealism of Jyllands-Posten's agenda.

2. Whatever Jyllands-Posten's original intention, doesn't this episode show that there should be more religious sensitivity/freedom of speech?

Complete freedom of speech doesn't exist, and I'm not sure I even believe it should. As I realised with a shock over beer and nachos yesterday, as much as I champion the cause of human rights instrumentally, I'm not convinced of their intrinsic value; I cannot identify a single right that I think is categorically inalienable. (This is a big thing for me because I've always been a die-hard human rights fanatic.) So I can't declare that "everyone should be able to say whatever they want and if people are unhappy then too bad for them". Some people have argued that it's okay to say anything as long as you're willing to take responsibility for your words but that makes no sense, firstly because of the inherent difficulties in measuring commensurate responsibility and secondly because making up for something you've done doesn't justify your doing it in the first place. The desire to reduce institutional censorship is one thing; the deliberate and uncalled-for provocation of certain social groups in the name of free speech seems to me like exploitation.

Having said that, everyone knows my views on religion (if you don't, figure it out from the second half of this entry) and by extension my views on religious sensitivity, so no sympathy from me in that quarter either. No matter how strongly you believe in something, you shouldn't impose your views on other people. But that goes for the pro-free-speechers too.

3. So what should I say when people ask me what I think about the cartoons?

I would say two things: one, people should have more consideration for others and be less overreactive; and two, fundamentalists are scary, so don't poke them in the ribs to see if they're ticklish. As my brother says, I don't step on your toes, you don't step on me. Free speech is important, but this wasn't a fight for that; it was a tasteless manoeuvre to provoke a religious group that's not only raw from recent hurts (hence the reluctance of Bush and Blair to stand up now for the supposed cause of free speech) but has also proved to be armed and suicidally dangerous.

Unfortunately for Denmark, its historical connection with Shakespeare lends the situation to all kinds of awful puns, so I would also seize the opportunity to make a witty comment about rottenness and perhaps Danish pastries as well. :)

* * * * * *

I always, always forget that I should never start an argucussion with my mother on life, religion, politics, philosophy, or anything that can possibly be argucussed (haha maybe that's where the word came from).

Me, announcing at dinner:
I don't believe in human rights.

My mother:
How can you say that? Everyone has a right to the resources that God has put upon this earth. Everyone has a right to God's love. People should share their wealth with others. They might be rich, but the poor people are rich in spirituality. If the rich people give money to the poor people, they will be rewarded. I tell you ah, human beings are so selfish these days. They don't even help their fellow men. Do you know that Africans are really poor? How would you feel if you were born in Africa?

Me:
Look! Moses is standing outside! (flees upstairs)

Sigh I always make fun of my mother, I sure go to hell one.

posted by zyn :: 5:25 PM :: 8 Comments :: permalink

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all alone in the moonlight

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

People who are always happy for themselves are seldom sad for others.

This sounds profound at 2.30am but I wonder if it will make sense in the morning.

Watching Desperate Housewives (new season! but not so good as the first one) with mint chip ice cream - it brought back memories. What does one do with memories? Thankfully I have sieves for brains so I have pretty few of them, and even fewer that I know I'll run through in my mind on my deathbed. (Aiyoh this is taking a morbid turn.) Anyway - memories. I have a highly selective one, aided by meticulous destruction of physical evidence and phenomenal talents in self-delusion. But at the most unexpected moments a long-forgotten memory (deleted, but neglected to empty recycle bin) suddenly pops up and then what does one do? How does one classify it? How does one destroy it? The harder you try to forget about something the more you think about it. So the key, then, is to just stop trying - and one day you will genuinely forget.

At least I hope so. I can't remember if it's ever happened.

posted by zyn :: 2:23 AM :: 1 Comments :: permalink

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wow-less madness

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Server is down.

Played with my alt pally for a while but it got boring so I stopped. Pallys are really overpowered at the lower levels, especially with the recent patch. I think I'll start an alt horde instead so I can find out their secrets. Haha.

Are there any selfless people left in the world? I used to think I knew a lot of them, but either they've become more self-interested with age or I was just blind. I realised today that my judgements of situations and characters tend to be based on objectively measurable aspects such as fault and responsibility, whereas other people inevitably factor in their own personal assumptions, which tend to lead to very subjective condemnations. Maybe as people get older and things become greyer, the black and white stands out more clearly and selfishness becomes a choice because dithering vagueness is in itself a choice not unaligned with self-interest.

Or maybe I'm just rambling because I had to drag myself out of bed at 9.30 this morning.

Everything is a choice nowadays. The more empowered you are to make a decision, the more options you have and the harder it gets. Or maybe it's because I'm still not empowered enough. Either I move out, which would be awesome but I would feel guilty about my parents, or I get a car, which would be equally awesome but I'd be in debt for years, or I just continue my frivolous and highly enjoyable but somewhat less awesome lifestyle of Citizens jeans and Furla bags and whichever gadget I have my eye on at the moment. If only I could do all three.

What is my meaning in life? Does it matter? I used to know my direction in life so I could distract people with that when they asked me about meaning. But now there are so many paths from which to choose. Can I make a choice if I don't know what my meaning is? Or does the meaning come only after I've decided what to do? Does the fact that I'm questioning my meaning in life mean that I'm not happy? Does "meaning" look weird to you now? Why does "meaning" not mean the same thing as "being mean"? Like, that Zinne ah, always meaning to Kelwynn. Hahaha.

I told J the other day that I wanted to get married early so I could move out and start a family of my own. J looked at me and said: "You don't need to get married to be independent, you know."

I think I'm just feeling unusually weak and in need of a pillar. Preferably one with nice warm arms.

If they use my old byline pic tomorrow I'm going on a lunch interview strike. (Edit: That's it. No more lunch interviews for me.)

Server is up!

* * * * * *

"That's how I am," I'll say, leaving this
pretext in writing: "This is really my life."
But everyone knows that's not how it happens at all.
Not only the cords in the net, but the air
that escapes the interstices matters:
the rest remains as it was: inapprehensible.
Time races by like a hare
in the February dew.
As to love -- love that unlimbers its haunches
leaving only a teaspoon of ashes
to say where the burning began --
the less said the better;
and the same for all mutable things: the man
who bided his time never doubting the outcome,
the woman who has lived out her time and will not come again--
all those who assume that, given the teeth in our head,
hands, feet and an alphabet,
life is only a matter of seeing things through with decorum.

-- those lives, pablo neruda

posted by zyn :: 12:35 AM :: 1 Comments :: permalink

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my new classmate

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Sorry for the drama in the last entry. I have since bounced back from the edge of depression, partly because I hate depression and partly because I like bouncing. So in celebration of the general delights of bouncing, I bring you - yet another inane conversation!


He:
need to buy nice stationery for school
think i'll go muji tonight

Me:
just because you're taking a jap class doesn't mean your stationery must have jap theme you know

He:
must!
otherwise not matching

Me:
haha ok then i buy hello kitty stationery

He:
so cute!
i am a bit dreading the homework and the spelling test

Me:
aiyoh can you not depress me? school haven't even start yet leh

He:
ok focus on the chio stationery first. thats a must
must go and buy nice pens
so my japanese characters look nice

Me:
har you mean cannot use normal pens ah

He:
you mean like... ball point??!

Me:
eh what's wrong with ball point

He:
i buy those pilot techpoint type pens lor
i have pen fetish. i'm one of those ppl who hang out at popular and endlessly test pens by signing my name on the free paper

Me:
oh my god you are a Nerd

He:
i dont believe that u also didnt use to do that. everyone did that!

Me:
yeah when i was like 9!

He:
i also buy like different colours, so my notes are colourful haha
oh, and different colour highlighter for different colour pen ink. like blue on blue, or orange on red

Me:
aiyoh you are so nerdy they need to have a different word for it

He:
its not nerdy to love stationery

Me:
how much you want to bet?

He:
ok lor. dun complain when you get judged as a person based on your grey plastic bantex file and your Red Leaf blue ball points

posted by zyn :: 10:03 AM :: 1 Comments :: permalink

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speaks

without thinking

stores

without purpose

stalks

without malice

steals

without offense