Blood Ties’s Chinese Music video is released ….

Featuring a new and very talented singer Shirlene Tia. Hopefully everyone will like it and go watch the film when it comes out in September! Tell your friends about it if you like it! The English Music Video will be released very soon! Look out for it!

音樂盒（十指相扣）－ 《還魂》中文主題曲 Music box剛剛放在YOUTUBE讓大家觀賞！希望大家聽了會更想去看這部電影！！如果你喜歡的話，別忘了介紹給您的朋友聽喲！謝謝支持本地新人鄭詩潁和本地創作！《還魂》的英語主題曲將會在不久後推出！




Blood Ties The movie will be released 10 September 2009!
《還魂》電影中文主題曲。〈還魂〉2009年9月10日全島上映！
http://www.bloodtiesthemovie.com

歌手：鄭詩潁
詞曲：肆巷叁弄
十指相扣

词／曲：肆巷叁弄

岁月还没来得及把墙上的照片
从彩色染成钻石的光泽
说好要到老
但水仙躲不了
被雨水泛滥的河

我们还来不及欣賞海外的月色
就泥足深陷黑色的沼泽
任命运冲洗
染白了回忆
但我知道你会记得

音乐盒清唱的歌
你向我承诺时轻轻哼着
再也没有什么
我只想铭心记住
你点头那一刻
若我深陷
我知道你会实践诺言
跟随着我
就算全世界都分隔

音乐盒清唱的歌
轻唱的早已不再是快乐
我们剩下什么
冰冷的双眼望着
彼此的瞳色
愿黑夜能
轻轻地包圍我们
再次紧握你的手
十指相扣
不放手

《還魂》預告片 - Blood Ties The Movie Trailer!

Hello guys,

It's been months since I've written anything on my blog. And what really amazes me is that there are still hundreds of hits every month, which really boggles my mind.

And what have I been up to? A project that has been brewing over the past few years is about to be unleashed upon mankind! :D My feature film has finally wrapped production around end March, and my team and I have been working very hard to make sure that you all will have something to see on the big screen very soon. ... In fact, the date is finally set. 10 SEPTEMBER 2009!!! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

For now, check out the official website! http://www.bloodtiesthemovie.com
The phase one launch of the site has the exclusive trailer not seen at the theaters! See if you can spot the difference between the theatrical version and this one here!

And along with the trailer launch we will be launching a blog containing ghost stories and spooky tales submitted by users. Send your tales to stories@bloodtiesthemovie.com and the top 10 stories will be given a pair of tickets to the gala premiere! At the same time, if you send in quick, we have about 100 copies of the posters around for the early birds submissions! :D Email us now!!! (See the cool poster above)

Well, a picture tells a thousand words. Here's the youtube version!



Official Website
http://www.bloodtiesthemovie.com

Join us @ our Facebook Group (With photos!!)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=75808661233&ref=ts

Youtube Link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb6knAxAViM

Ebay is not for Singaporeans

I am a longtime ebayer .. both seller and buyer. In fact since the inception of Ebay and Paypal itself.

I haven't been selling my items to Singaporeans, because of many reasons. And low prices not being one of them. It is more the hassle. Yes .. it is more hassle to deal with Singaporean buyers than overseas ones trust me.

And the most annoying reason that makes me reluctant to sell to Singaporeas? ... drumroll please .... "Buay steady", "Not gentlemanly", "Does not keep their word"


Here are 2 cases where it is self explanatory.

Case 1:
I placed my ipod on ebay listing. The price was put there as $200. And I mentioned that I will not go below $150. Yet people are still SMSing me about prices that is below that. I choose to ignore them after a while.

And Singaporeans have the tendency to ask questions that is already clarified on the posting. Most primarily, "is there warranty" when I would have stated very clearly, "YES" or "NO".

Then this guy emailed/messaged me and enquired at length about the product. We agreed on the price, and then agreed to meet up at Orchard Road (town) to deal. He was saying he needed it urgently cos he needed to get it for his brother's birthday. So I drove to Orchard to meet him almost immediately.

Then when we met, he still said "No warranty leh. I buying present for my brother la .. can gimme $20 less somemore from the agreed price?" At that point I said "No ... sorry .. i am not selling anymore."

I walked off. And this is not the only time something like that happened.

Case 2:
I posted a LCD TV on ebay. $900 and specified please "no offers below $700". The usual offers below that ensued.

Then this SMS came: "Gd morning, is your LCD still on sale?"

I replied: "Hello. Yes it is still available"

He then text back: "Hello, can I get @400 anyway if 4 my young children"

I responded: "No."

I DON'T F #$#ING CARE IF U WANNA GET IT FOR YOUR DOGS TO WATCH. Or for your brother's birthday or funeral. Why even bring it up?!?!? Can you not read English? The reason there are hardly "30 days back guarantee" in Singapore is precisely because Singaporeans do not have integrity.

In Singapore, we describe these behaviors as "Not gentleman" or "Buay steady". And it all stems from a selffsh standpoint and an unwillingness to be considerate.

And sometimes, this is why Singaporeans complain about the bad level of service (or the lack of good service) in Singapore - they have to learn to start being reasonable customers too .... Stop using bad merchants as an excuse to not behave like a gentleman. You should behave like one regardless. No one's pointing a gun at your head to part with your cash if you do not want to.

When everyone starts being reasonable and understanding ... everything thing will work out great! We'll start seeing good customer service because merchants are more willing to give, and customers will start enjoying better service too. Vicious cycle works both ways - for good behaviors as well as bad ones.

unlocked iPhone on M1 or other networks

Well just wanted to share some tips and "settings" information for M1 users who are using the iPhone (or are thinking of using the M1 SIM card in the Singtel iPhone - like me ;) )

- Make sure u have signed up a "mobile internet" sunsurf plan .. or be prepared to have your bill shoot into the stratosphere (a SunSurf 22 with 1GB data at 3.6Mbps is only $22 with $10.70 per GB. Quite reasonable. Can activate online or over phone. Almost immediate activation)
- Make sure u got a 3G SIM card. If you are already using a 3G phone, more than likely you have a 3G SIM card. Your SIM card should also have the word "3G" on it. If not sure, call M1 at 1627 to check.
- In the "Settings>General>Network>Cellular Data Network>" Enter the following:
APN: sunsurf
Username: 65
Password: user123
And voila! ... you are done.
- to check your 3G is working properly, you may turn off "Wifi" ("Settings>Wi-Fi>Off"), and see if you can access the internet via Safari or App Store. You should see a 3G logo at the top right hand corner too when 3G is in use.

So here you go. If you are a lucky chap able to get an unlocked (all Singtel and some countries like Australia) iphone, here's how you get it to run on M1. 

*As for Starhub, I'm sure the tips above apply, except the data network APN, username and password would obviously be different. You can call Starhub for it. Other networks? Just make sure you get those cellular data APN,username and password right.

Singtel iPhone Pricing

Got this latest price leak from the Singapore mac users forums ...
Link

Here's the new Singtel plans for the iphone coming in a few days

Three new data plans (all prices with GST)


iFlexi Value - $56 - 300 MB Data - 200 Mins Outgoing Voice - 500 SMS


iFlexi Plus - $95 - 500 MB Data - 500 Mins Outgoing Voice - 500 SMS


iFlexi Premium - $205 - 1500 MB Data - 1500 Mins Outgoing Voice - 1500 SMS


Additional data usage charged at 1cent for each 2KB extra. These plans also come with 3 value added services free (Voicemail, roaming and Caller ID)


Handset price (varies depending on the price plan)



Plan 8GB 16GB
--------------------------------------------------

iFlexi Value $348 (8GB) $508(16GB)

iFlexi Plus $49(8GB) $208(16GB)

iFlexi Premium Free(8GB) Free(16GB)

if you do not want to sign up for the above plans, and want to use your existing voice only plan and add the mobile on broadband plans, then the handset price will be more expensive and you will have to sign either a 24 month or 30 month contract


8GB - $568

16GB - $728

You cannot get the handset without any contract from singtel.

Oh and for those who are planning on taking the route of getting one and then terminating the contract, the penalty is $800!!!

---------------------------

So what are my thoughts?


If the above plans are true and they are not offering unlimited data, these are my conclusions:

- The person who set the pricing in Singtel is obviously a tech turd accountant. He/She probably doesn't even know why iphone is the big deal that it is ...

- they are insulting the intelligence of the customers here

- and those who will buy it are only justifying their cockiness and their actions

- we shld boycott Singtel's packages and make them suffer

- Thank God we have competition (M1 and Starhub should be able to offer their iPhones by Nov)

Update!! 20th-aug-2008
------------
So the Real Prices and Plans have emerged!

Here's the real deal.

SingTel iPhone Price Plans

Free Incoming Voice Calls All Day   iFlexi Value iFlexi Plus iFlexi Premium Promotion Subscription $56/mth $95/mth $205/mth FREE Local Data 1GB* 2GB* 3GB* FREE Local Calls 200 mins anytime (outgoing) 500 mins anytime (outgoing) 1,500 mins anytime (outgoing) FREE Local SMS 500 500 1,500 iPhone 3G 8GB $348 $49 $0 iPhone 3G 16GB $508 $208 $0 FREE Value-Added Services Caller ID1 AutoRoam1 VoiceMail2 SMS Plus1 Overseas Missed Call Alert FREE Wireless Free Wireless@SG 512 kbps Exclusive Benefits Top up $5.35 per month for TalkMore3, SMSMore4 or Free Unlimited V019 calls5 *Only for customers who connect/recontract to an iFlexi plan before 5th Sep 2008.

They have other iOne, ITwo, iThree and student plans which u can also subscribe to, but the above iFlexi plans are specially designed for the iphone. What you can notice is the largest difference are the amount of Data allowable are more generous. Not unlimited, but i am not sure 1GB, 2GB or even 3GB is enough for regular email and surfing use ... dun really track ... anyways ... i think i don't see why M1 or starhub can offer unlimited mobile 1Mbps internet at less than 20 bucks and Singtel can't offer something similar. Even if slightly more expensive, the unlimited data is what I would prefer over a faster Mbps for regular internet and email services. Heck i'll take 512kpbs unlimited over a data cap plan.

What is fair regulation?

Last week, I attended an UMAS (University of Michigan Alumni Singapore) annual dinner and this year's Guest of Honor was Mr Tan Kin Lian, Former CEO NTUC Income.

He is a very passionate man, who believes strongly that NTUC income has crossed the ethical line in dealing with their insurance customer and has written harshly against them before. He also runs a website called THE ONLINE CITIZEN (http://theonlinecitizen.com/)

In the speech he gave, he emphasized that all businesses, not just NTUC, has a responsibility to make profits, but not obscene profits. And if there are obscene profits, they should be responsible to share it with their shareholders/customers. The talk also veered into the concepts of free market competition, and he emphasized that the government should step in to provide certain level of regulations in the market to prevent private firms from "cheating" the customers. Here is a link to an article on his the same issue which was basically the same speech he gave that night (http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/08/business-ethics-–-honesty-while-making-profits/)

While i appreciate what Mr Tan was driving at, I also want to draw attention to what appears to be a contradiction to what our business education typically preaches. In school, we are taught that all businesses eventually has one goal - to maximize profits. Of course it does not state anything about how and what u should or should not do to attain that goal. Many companies make a lot of profits, and some state that they should not, and many of these arguments are usually pointed towards organizations that have a somewhat "noble" or "socially conscious" purpose. And thus insurance companies are usually ones facing such criticism.

Given the fact that private or government owned companies that make money off of providing a service that is somewhat "socially responsible" in nature, proposition for organizations such as NKF and health insurance being somewhat regulated is justified. And to a certain extent, it is also somewhat the government's responsibility to ensure some form of regulation, should exist to ensure fairplay and encourage healthy competition and innovation within any markets. But they should only exist like a referee within a football match to ensure the game is played fairly. However here lies the biggest problem. What if the referee is not just an independent party but a member who could potentially benefit from either game players' outcome?

We are facing this question in Singapore. And the question here is: given the fact that our Singapore government (the referee) is also a major player in every major industry in Singapore (whether directly via NTUC or somewhat indirectly via some close minister's family ties), who is there to ensure that these companies are working for the people's interests or not? If the referee cannot conduct a game fairly, how can we be sure that the regulations that they put forth, won't be one to pursue their own interests?

While I applaud Mr Tan for his righteousness in wanting to push for ethical business runnings in NTUC, what is to ensure that eveyone in NTUC is equally ethical like him? If (and please note that this is an assumption) a minister in the ruling party has family connections involved in running companies of the likes of say ... NTUC, GIC or Temasek Holdings, would it be unreasonable to say that any government policies that is proposed by this minister could have been for personal gains?

If our country's watchdog (the ruling party) is both the referee and the soccer team, who would want to play?

From a speech by Mdm Halimah Yacob, NTUC ASG & MP for Jurong GRC at the PAP 50 Rally Held on Sunday 5 December 2004 at S’pore Indoor Stadium. With respect to why should NTUC and PAP form such a close bond and if it is good for Singapore, she said "The NTUC wants to secure a better life for workers. The PAP government wants a better life for Singaporeans. So, the NTUC maintains a symbiotic relationship with the PAP to work together for the common good of Singapore." Given the recent accusations that NTUC insurance is "cheating" the customers (Singaporean citizen) and the fact that it is supposed to serve the nation, can we say that the actions and policies of NTUC (or any government linked organizations), as well as the government themselves need to be carefully policed to ensure fairness.

Problem is as a country, we do not have a system where we allow our leaders to be scrutinized properly. Even when it comes to voting, I can only vote within my GRC (if I even get the chance to) for the MPs of the decisions they make, the arguments they put forth etc, but not for the leaders who exact the kind of policies that affect us all like say ... ERP, road tax, GST?

Update:
Correction: Mr Tan is not "running" The Online Citizen. But he is one of the senior editors. :) See the comment below

The World Is Awesome - Boom De Ya Da

My absolute favorite song right now :) ... and it seems even more timely given my travel to Redang tomorrow :)

It kinda makes me wanna .. break into a song :) ... Boom De Ya Da Boom De Ya Da!




I love the mountains
I love the clear blue skies
I love big bridges
I love when great whites fly
I love the whole world
And all its sights and sounds
Boom de yada, boom de yada
Boom de yada, boom de yada

I love the oceans
I love real dirty things
I love to go fast
I love Egyptian kings
I love the whole world
And all its craziness
Boom de yada, boom de yada
Boom de yada, boom de yada

I love tornadoes
I love arachnids
I love hot magma
I love the giant squids
I love the whole world
It’s such a brilliant place…
Boom de yada, boom de yada
Boom de yada, boom de yada

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/world-is-just-awesome/promo.html

The Dark Knight - 95%

I have stopped writing reviews for a while now, but a recent article on Straits Times really prompted this. Ong Sor Fern, a movie critic on Straits Times gave the dark knight a 3.5/5 score while Hellboy 2 gets a 4.5/5. She also complains that the Dark Knight is too long a movie. Having just watched it, I have got no idea how she came to her ratings and how she actually found this film to be too long. Now, I am not saying Hellboy sucks - I actually thought it was an excellent film. But I felt the review for Dark Knight from this reviewer was doing a huge injustice to a brilliant masterpiece that is not just groundbreaking in transcending genres, but also setting a new standard by which all future superhero, action thriller and cops/baddies movies will be judged upon.

This is the one of the best movie this year, and while everyone says Heath Ledger might get nominated for an Oscar, let me make another bold prediction. This film will also be nominated for "Best Picture". Gasp may I dare say it might even win. This is not just one of the best movie this year, this is definitely one of the best mafia/detective action thriller I have ever watched. Yes you read it right, "mafia/detective action thriller" I wrote. Halfway through the film, I lost sense of this movie as a superhero comic book franchise. The Dark Knight has been elevated by Christopher Nolan to more than just a comicbook superhero. Batman is now a man who struggles to question if he's own existence is a blessing or a curse to city that he tries to save. The other 2 "partners" District Attorney Harvey Dent and Commissioner Gordon are thrown into this cat and mouse game with the Joker where the stakes are very difficult moral choices to make. These moral choices that has to be made by these 3 characters are what makes it more than just a regular action film.

This film is also a character study. Of 3 righteous men trying to deal with a maniac killer, and the difficult choices they all have to make throughout the film. It is also intellectually superior to most superhero movies out there and it creates characters that we all can actually believe to be real.

For a movie like that, I would expect people to come out talking about how cool the gadgets was, how great the special effects was, how nice the suit was etc. But the fact that we do not get distracted by these "exterior" things goes to show how well crafted the environment, and the whole world was, that they blend so nicely with the characters that we do not question for a fact that we're watching a make believe movie. The world in the Dark Knight is so real you get immersed in it, and you get engaged by the characters that actually makes you care for them.

The performances by all the actors in the film are excellent. Batman played by Christian Bale was intense and introspective; Gordon played by Gary Oldman was desperate; Harvey Dent by Aaron Eckhart was multilayered; Maggie Gyllenhaal was tender yet strong; and of course the Joker played by the late Heath Ledger was terrifying. All the actors handled they part responsibly and gave very memorable performances. This is definitely an ensemble piece where everyone shone - very brightly.

As for length of the film which was a complain of the ST reviewer, I hope anyone who comes across my review would trust me on my assurance that it does not feel at all like a long film. In fact just check the numerous reviews online at rottentomatoes.com and you'd find everyone praising the film to be extremely fast paced and intense. Ong Sor Fern must have been watching another film altogether.

The Dark Knight, is highly recommended. Please watch this film. Period.

Singaporean males are Wussies

Hmmm ... it's been a while since I've updated my blog .... 3 months. I was actually contemplating on shutting it down. When I started this blog about 4 years ago it was really an avenue for me to rant about my unhappiness and a place for me to put my daily thoughts down. Kind of like a journal, a diary of sorts. The thing is more and more people got interested reading about the articles, and it is really interesting to see how people reacted (both positively and negatively) to some of my thoughts. I have to admit that the attention garnered does sometimes boost my ego somewhat, but overtime, it kinda intruded upon my own personal space. But hey, this is a public blog, not a private diary, so in a way, I should level my expectations somewhat.

So what am I gonna write about today? Hmmm .. just some random thoughts. I am currently at a Burger King spending some private moments before my next meeting. I see this chinese manager acting like a sergeant in the army ordering the rest of the crew around. Incidentally he was the only male. And this is just funny, cos I was just talking to an old friend over lunch how I felt army have had a bad influence on Singaporean males, on how they behave and exert their authority in the "real" civilian world.

Generally I feel that some males have a certain kind of pride and ego (that may be the result of the social pressure) that they feel like they have to defend and project. Also added to the ingredients in these insecure Singaporean males is the lack of self confidence, and we can start to understand how all these influence the the way they behave in the working/civilian world. "Enhanced" by the training in army about how you can push your weight (or "rank") around to get things done "earn" respect, males in Singapore sometimes behave in annoyingly insecure manner that may rub people the wrong way.

So when some females in Singapore complain why "Singaporeans males are wussies", I think I can understand ...

Well to be fair .. I'll talk about women the next round :D ... or do you readers have some thoughts? :D

It's 3am in the morning ...

It's 3 am in the morning ... and I am 1/2 awake and unable to sleep. What's keeping me up at night? Is it the pale moon? It is the chilly air-conditioning? Is it some hot babe I'm chatting to on the net? Or is it written in the stars?? What the hell am I talking about? Yes .. I am not in the sanest mood right now. Scratching my arms, neck and forehead ... and there's nothing I can do about it. What's keeping me awake is a mosquito that buzzes by ear every other minute, and has been feeding off me the entire freaking night.

Wow ... man conquers all. We build machines that land on the moon. We build sky scrapers that reach the heavens. But we can't eradicate the most detested of all insects. Yes I hate mosquitoes .... almost as much as cockroaches. Ok cockroaches were scary to me, but these days they are more disgusting than annoying. Mosquitoes are annoying as hell ... and shit, it even got me dedicating an entire post to these blood suckers. Yes it will possibly cause an imbalance to the eco-system should we destroy the mosquito species, and if we are able to do so, we might one day regret it. And you know what, we mankind might actually be able to create some sort of mutant gene that can cause mosquitoes to go extinct. You know, stuff Sci-fi movies are made of.

Ok ... I am not making sense and my thoughts are all over the place. It is 3 am eternal, and KLF's gonna rock ya. I'm heading back to destroy the blood sucker .... And Where's my Zambuk and Tiger Balm? ...

I love Pore Packs

The Kao Biore Pore packs ... is what I consider one of the best invention of the past 10 years .... Man there is something so bloody satisfying looking at the amount of crap that is pulled out with these pore strips. Instructions say "Do not use more than once every 3 days", but man I wish I could do this every other day. :D Seeing all those white/black heads being pulled out just makes my day ... and when there's not much, it kinda makes me disappointed somewhat :D ....

Come .. share your pore tales! :)

新謠經典 －2 Xinyao greatest hits vol 2 ....

So the 2nd volume is out ... and it appears that they've been listening to pple's feedback. Now they've printed the songs list on the back of the box. But obviously the ppl in the packaging design group hasn't been talking to one another very much, as u can see in the photo, the titles are still covered by this thing that goes around the box. How smart. I bet the 3rd volume they will find some way around it. In the meantime, you can still see the listing of tracks here. :D

The new box set is white in color. Wow! Nice! Lemme guess, it will be red the next round. Or maybe gray, brown, blue ... Who wants to take a bet?? :D Ok sorry, I am a packaging nut :D I dig pretty packaging.

Now back to the beef. The collection this time seems to have addressed some requests from the customers. As the text in the enclosed booklet says "我們收到了許多“老新謠”的關心：為甚麼沒有姜鄠，黎沸揮，雅韻小組，黃宏墨，鄭展倫，玖建，蔡榮祖？ 。。。巫啟賢，黃譓禎，梁文褔，洪劭軒, 水草三重唱的歌還不夠！”. It is good to see that they've been listening. Some puzzling inclusion does bring a chuckle like 田勁. But I truly wondered if his inclusion was just to satisfy the quota that is required by the different licensees who are involved in this collection. These songs seems to be arguably non-xinyao in my opinion. Some 巫啟賢 tracks like 太傻, 紅塵來去一場夢, 愛那麼重, 傷心的人更傷心, also seems to be of the much "commercialization era" of xinyao already and didn't really feel like they belong here. "流行歌曲，我唱你來聽，。。。唱過就忘記，唱些甚麼沒人理，流行難道就是好歌曲？” The lyrics of "流行歌曲" (also in this collection) suddenly appears remarkably poignant and ironic. But they were after all written by Singaporeans, so I guess they do deserve they little place in history. (For those who are not familiar, 田勁 was a Singaporean who sang and released Thai albums and was quite a star in Thailand. In fact his 成名曲 was actually the chinese version of "Lambada" called "Send true love away". How the hell I still recall all these shit is beyond me.)

Some other notable tracks are those by 鄭展倫，黎沸揮，黃宏墨 etc. Many of these tracks were only released on cassettes and never on CD, so it is very good to see (hear) them here again. One track which is rather rarely known but is one of my all time favourite is 也許是寂寞 by 巫啟賢 - I am pleasantly surprised by the selection of this track. This was a 2nd 插曲 from the Kopi-O TV series, but the main theme song as well as 遺忘過去 became the more popular tracks instead.

Quality wise, they seemed to have taken a more stringent control and testing, and this time I didn't notice any clipping of audio tracks like I noticed in the last box set. Sound quality is on par with the previous boxset, and really, the "HDCD" remastering might really be just marketing jargon. The truth is, many of the original recordings were not very good to begin with, so not all the tracks will truly benefit from the technology. So don't expect the moon when it comes to High Fidelity.

This collection holds up pretty well, and has lots more previously unpublished songs and "rare tracks" than box set 1 - thus I think it is actually a better value than the last one. So whip out your cash, and till the next box set arrives. Can we have more 鄧妙華 and more SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) tracks? :D .... Please :D

Disc 1
不是不願意 - 姜鄠
感情好累 - 姜鄠
戀之憩 - 姜鄠
我會用真心填滿你的孤單 - 鄭展倫
如果你不小心想起我 - 鄭展倫
多情男子 - 鄭展倫
夢湖 - 巫啟賢＋黃譓禎
唇邊的笑意 - 巫啟賢
感情的水手 - 巫啟賢
讓我可以 - 地下鐵
日子 - 許南盛
夜的眩暈 - 許南盛
親親你念著誰 - 玖建
羞答答的玫瑰靜悄悄地開 - 玖建
你有珠簾一襲 - 梁文褔

Disc 2
古人的酒觴 - 地下鐵
和平的呼喚 - 雅韻小組
倦鳥不再 - 雅韻小組
風城 - 劉瑞政
悟 - 黃譓禎
鷹 - 地下鐵
時川 - 地下鐵
無言的祝福 - 水草三重唱
我們的歌在哪裡？ - 水草三重唱
17:00的心情 - 水草三重唱
門 - 許南盛
臨別衣袖 - 洪劭軒
友情故事 - 洪劭軒
莫提永遠 - 洪劭軒
彈一支涼涼的歌 - 洪劭軒

Disc 3
寫一首歌給你 - 梁文褔＋黃譓赬
追雲 - 水草三重唱
搖搖民謠 - 水草三重唱
排排坐 - 梁文褔＋黃譓赬
野人的夢 - 黃宏墨＋跳動律
笨鳥的表白 - 黃宏墨
童言故鄉 - 黃宏墨
情誼藏心底 - 巫啟賢
也許是寂寞 - 巫啟賢
千千萬萬個愛你 - 巫啟賢
讓夜輕輕落下 - 潘盈
在你眼裡看不見自己 - 潘盈
背著行囊去流浪 - 蔡榮祖
愛情電影畫面 - 蔡榮祖
久久才見到你的好 - 蔡榮祖

Disc 4
流行歌曲 - 合唱
太傻 - 巫啟賢
紅塵來去一場夢 - 巫啟賢
愛那麼重 - 巫啟賢
傷心的人更傷心 - 巫啟賢
為了你 - 巫啟賢
讓全世界起舞 - 黎沸揮
請在我心經過 - 黎沸揮
只有你能完成我的歌 - 黎沸揮
在世界放光芒 - 黎沸揮
邊緣少年 - 姜鄠
日子是一條藍色的牛仔褲 - 姜鄠
只是要愛你 - 田勁
碎花如雨隨風飛 - 田勁
最後的一首歌 - 梁素珊

My Blue Heaven 蓝蓝的天 - Reported

Wow ... seems like someone else have written about my production even before I had a chance to write about it!

This was a very rushed but extremely enjoyable shoot. And I loved my crew and cast. Might be my last short film in a while before I move on to bigger things ....

Anyways, here's the blog by Jeremy Sing who writes about on-going productions in Singapore right now. Thanks for popping by Jeremy! More updates on the production later while i catch some rest 1st ...

http://www.actuallybasicallyhonestly.blogspot.com

New year ... New Soul

Hello pple,

Me been out of action and out of blogging for a while cos so busy with so many things lah ... travelling mainly ... After a bout of crazy globetrotting, I think i can finally take a breather and do some work back home liao. And that means, back to bloggin'. So my blog updates will come fast and furious soon. So, thanks for waiting around ... lotsa interesting news, especially for those looking forward to my next short film. AKAN DATANG :)

Meanwhile, have a great 2008, and may your troubles last as long as your new year resolutions ... :D

And what a great song to welcome the new year :) If you got itunes, please buy it.

"New Soul" byYael Naïm

I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take. 
But since I came here felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake 

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la... 

I'm a young soul in this very strange world hoping I could learn a bit about what is true and fake. 
But why don't please trying to communicate finding just that love is not always easy to make. 

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la... 

This is a happy end cause' you don't understand everything you have done why's everything so wrong 

this is a happy end come and give me your hand I'll take you far away. 

[Refrain]: 
I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take but since I came here felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake 

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la... 

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.... 

MDA Rap - Just getting a Bad Rep I say ....

This video is disturbing .... We last had MP doing hip Hop during chingay parade.

Now this .... Lim Peh Peng San *Slap hand on forehead*

What brings to mind ... is a bunch of book smart hi-scoring kids back in secondary school who are trying way too hard to fit in with the rest of the crowds and attempting stunts like these to make themselves look cool. I personally like Mr Man Shu Sum very much, but this is just too hard to watch :D ....

Are they doing these cos they feel they are too out of touch with the rest of the people out there? Upper management insecurities? Are they trying to bridge a gap they feel is too wide? Why is there such a desperation in trying to make themselves look cool? Or wait .. maybe they just have too much money and time, dunno what to do, and decided to wayang ...

Ok enough talk ... time to get it on with the heads of MDA ... shudders ...

“新”新谣精选 －NEW Xinyao collection

Finally ... Ocean Butterfly has released yet another Xinyao (新謠-Singapore Folk Songs) CD collection, "remastered in 24bit and in HDCD format with 88.2Khz sampling" to provide the best quality so far (at least on paper) of these songs from the past. Being an avid Xinyao fan myself, this is pretty exciting, as I had missed the boat on a previous excellent collection (6 Ocean butterflies CD set xinyao collection with 64 songs) that they released a few years back that is totally out of print. The new one promises 300 songs to be in total, with 5 collections of 4CDs each. Now read this carefully, 5 box sets, with 60 songs on 4 CDs in each box totalling 300 songs. Clear?

Ok ... Now the 1st box set is released and this is its review. Mind you the price is not cheap. $69.90 at Sembawang. Gramophone is selling it for $79.90, so becareful :). From what I can see, this set is going to eventually include the 64 songs from the previous 6 CD set, and include more from the later works of Eric Moo from Fame (since Fame is now involved in this compilation) and the 思菘偉菘 (Song brothers). Since I have been collecting Eric Moo's re-released CDs from a while back, and also some xinyao collection CDs here and there, I am able to compare the quality of this latest release to see if they are really "improved and enhanced". And guess what I found out? There are some hits and misses. Now please note I am comparing many of these tracks from different sources. For instance, Eric Moo's songs from Fame will be compared with the last released CDs collection and as for some tracks like 邂逅, I actually have 4 sources to compare to.
So let's begin with the good points.

The hits:
- The songs from the old 6 CD collection from Ocean butterfly are generally enhanced at least in the noise suppression area. I could tell very slight expansiveness in those tracks, but you wouldn't be able to tell unless you play them side by side. But they all had went through some sort of noise reduction process that's for sure. In the result, some tracks might sound like the high frequencies were clipped, but it is not too damaging in my opinion.
- The most impressive tracks are the ones by 顏黎明, I could definitely tell the tracks were remarkably improved. For instance 水的話 from this new HDCD collection is the best compared to the one from "新謠精典之冠珍藏版 - Disc One" and "Obcd-9602 - 海蝶逐日". (Obcd - Ocean Butterflies CD collection) Improved clarity, less noise, and much better mastered.
- Even 地下鐵's tracks were improved. So generally, if you want better quality versions of the 64 songs from the OBCD collection, you will find them here. Though not all the 64 songs from collection are here in this Box set 1, I expect the rest of the 4 sets will contain the rest of them all.
- Eric Moo's 姐姐走的那一個下午 is contained here, finally. This track has been kept out of even Fame's own original collection of Eric Moo's works and this is the original studio recording (not the unplugged versions from the 太傻 CD). This is probably the 1st time this version has ever been published on CD. Just for this track alone I think, is worth the ticket of admission.
- There are some tracks that are very important in the history of xinyao, and I think this time, ocean butterfly is able to join forces with a few other companies to release a definitive collection and I think this is really commendable. For instance Eric Moo's later works with Fame, Song brother's works, and some 吴佳明's works etc. are all included here.

The misses:
- Now this is a big one. The 邂逅 contained in this CD set is "faulty". What I mean by that? A 1/2 a millisecond of the track at the very beginning is "chopped" off. I was soooo bloody disappointed. This is like the song that started it all!!! This song is the 1st xinyao ever to make to the "Dragon Tiger Charts" (龍虎榜）and here, it is flawed!!! Very simtiah .. very simtiah .... And not just that, somehow, this version seems to be boosted in its volume to the extent that there are some distortion in the track. Very very odd.
- Why are there no track listing on the cover?? Given the freaking high price of the set, (and it is obvious that they know hard core people like us will snap it u) what's the deal with withholding that info? We only know there are 60 songs in the set, but how many CDs? No indication. What songs? Not indicated too. Damn it is not even on their website. I almost feel like I am being taken advantaged here (dok! 菜頭). But anyways, here I am kena doked already. And here's the list of the tracks courtesy of yours truly :)
- The version of 我的朋友我的同學我最愛的一切 here is some bastardized remixed choral+R&B Hip Hop version. What the hell isit doing here?
- Eric Moo's tracks from Fame are not improved in any manner from the previous CD collection. Not to say that they are not good. But I was expecting some HDCD treatment, but well ... better than not having any at all.
- 遺忘過去 here is the version which was from his 作品集 which is a 2nd studio version ever recorded. The 1st version was a studio version made for the TV series "咖啡烏" and it had a slightly different ending. The new one ended "泡杯咖啡請聽我告訴你" while the later version went "漫漫長夜請聽我告訴你". Personally, I preferred the later version, the arrangement was better, he sang much better (under the guidance of 劉文正), sounded much more mature and had better lyrics for the ending. Now what's odd, is that on this CD collection, the lyrics booklet printed the lyrics for the older version while the CD included the later recorded version. Very odd indeed. .... In this case, I'd say having the newer version her versus the older one is a tossup. Maybe because I managed to find a "咖啡烏" CD soundtrack and already owned the older version so I am not making a fuss. But some purist might be annoyed.
- 梁文褔 is sorely missed. What a pity ... Will he appear in the other 4 boxsets? Pleeease!!! and 姜鄠? 黄宏墨?

Ok ... so this are some things that stood out for me in reviewing this collection. I am looking forward to the rest of the sets to come out and grab them all. Knowing how rare these CDs are, I highly recommend lovers of Xinyao to quickly grab them while they last. We all know they get 絕版 pretty quickly. :D ....Usually their 頭版 is their 唯一版. :)

Funny how I noticed a trend in these old songs, how they keep talking about 忙碌的過去 and how they keep "looking back" on 那一段日子. And these songs were written when Singapore Pop culture was still very much in its infancy. I think now they look back, the songs seems more appropriate now than back then when it was written, cos they didn't have as much to look back to then. In 星空下 and 遺忘過去, they both have a line that are very very similar - 美麗的明天需要自己去努力 and 生命(生命）還要靠自己去努力. Looking at the Stephanie Sun, JJ Lin, Ah Du, Tanya Chua of today, I can't help thinking how we could have arrived here without the Xinyao of the 80s. If not for those pioneers and all that they have gone through, they wouldn't have paved the way, nor be able to groom and write songs for the successful local singers of today. 沒有這些前輩的努力來打造他們的明天，我們根本不會有這美麗的今天。And it is really all about dreams :)

In a way the film industry is what xinyao was in the 80s. And I can't wait to contribute and see where we will be in 20 years. :)

Disc 1
沙漠足跡 - 劉瑞政＋巫啓賢
邂逅 - 巫啟賢＋黃譓禎
如何對你說 - 顏黎明
水的話 - 顏黎明
東東的故事 - 水草三重唱
晨的腳踨 - 地下鐵
信的告白 - 清泉小組
思夜 - 劉瑞政
星空下 - 巫啟賢
船長 - 巫啟賢
日月落昇 - 地下鐵
初涉 - 黃譓禎
走過年少 - 巫啟賢
阿Ben阿Ben - 水草三重唱
新衣哪有舊衣好 - 梁文褔＋顏黎明

Disc 2
我們這一班 - 顏黎明
青春123 - 顏黎明
看一場週末電影 - 顏黎明
我的朋友我的同學我最愛的一切 - 吴慶康
今天我的心情還不錯 - 吴慶康
Then Hor Then Hor - 吴慶康
我們是最好的朋友 - 巫啟賢
手足情 - 巫啟賢＋巫啟雄
遺忘過去 - 巫啟賢
只有你這樣一個朋友 - 李偉菘＋李思菘
我的搖籃 - 李偉菘
家和萬事興 - 李偉菘
鄉愁 - 李偉菘
朋友你好嗎？ - 洪劭軒
歲月的另一張臉 - 洪劭軒

Disc 3
情感聯絡站（咖啡烏） - 巫啟賢
那一段日子 - 巫啟賢
何必孤獨 - 巫啟賢
姐姐走的一個下午 - 巫啟賢
畢業以後 - 顏黎明
黎明的心 - 顏黎明
小人物的心聲 - 吴佳明
我的生活在這裡 - 吴佳明
陋巷童謠 - 吴佳明
心宇寂星 - 洪劭軒
給父親的話 - 洪劭軒
賣花老婦 - 洪劭軒
啤酒周圍的故事 - 巫啟賢
太陽眼鏡 - 巫啟賢
年輕的心 - 巫啟賢＋合唱

Disc 4
你是我的唯一 - 巫啟賢
輕輕的說聲愛你 - 巫啟賢
擁抱你 - 巫啟賢
我的男人你的嘴唇他的吻 - 吴慶康
我＋你≠愛情 - 吴慶康＋馬毓芬
深愛著你 - 李偉菘
一千個傷心的理由 - 李偉菘＋李思菘
情話 - 李思菘
月色同行 - 顏黎明
你的倒影 - 洪劭軒＋顏黎明
我還在世界的背後想你 - 洪劭軒
从你回眸那天開始 - 洪劭軒
我想說的是 - 巫啟賢
可否從頭來過 - 巫啟賢
再一次戀愛 - 巫啟賢

Funny Hokkien Song!

This is really just too funny ... These taiwanese just cracks me up ...
Must watch especially if you understand hokkien.
This is the funniest shit I've seen this year .... ahhahhah

Loss of wisdom

This is me full of wisdom

This is my wisdom in all their "gory" ....

This is how I look 1 day after the surgery

Amazingly, there was hardly any pain. And even after the surgery, I felt totally fine and could even drive myself home if I wanted to. Went off to work right after the surgery and totally fine. I could even eat relatively normally. Even on the 2nd day, there was only slight muscle aching and no headaches or all the horror stories I heard from people. I had no GA and had 4 removed all in less than an hour. 3 of which had to be surgically removed cos they were still "buried". All these points to the fact that I had a great dental surgeon. Dr Myra Elliot, Mount Elizabeth, #04-04 Tel: 67346859. Highly recommended. And I am not paid to say this really. :)

Response to "A fiery NMP gets her baptism of fire"

The below email is sent to xueying@sph.com.sg. She is the writer for the article "A fiery NMP gets her baptism of fire" featuring Dr Thio Li-ann.

------------------------------------

Dear Xueying,

This email is in response to the article "A fiery NMP gets her baptism of fire" published last Friday 2 November 2007 in Straits Times.

Yee-wei

--------------

I read with great concern regarding Dr Thio Li-ann's worldview on how her take on morality issues is decidedly and openly christian based - and the fact that she is using them as basis for an argument as an NMP to push for a law in our very own country. I would like Dr Thio to kindly leave her religion at the doorsteps of the parliament in future before stepping in. Whatever her stand may be for the S377A issue, please let it be one preached not on the basis of her own religion. While I respect her dramatic telling of how she converted to a Christian from a staunch non-believer, I think it only lends credence as a story to convert other non-believers to her faith, and adds nothing to the strength of her argument or moral standing on the issue of S377A.

Dr Thio believes that religion should have a part to play in public policymaking, and I shudder to know how many in our government share this view. This is because I do not wish my country's policy's to be swayed towards a certain religion or be determined based on a certain religion's view of what's moralistic or not. There should be a separation between religion and state politics. And if she thinks it is inevitable, then she should consider changing her job from a politician to that of a preacher. A fair politician should realise that in order to keep it fair amongst people of different race and religion, he/she has to be objective about how he/she tackles policymaking for all without discrimination and not tainted by his/her evangelical movement to save people their way. I do not want a day to come where we are arguing in parliament about what is allowable by the standards of Buddha versus that of Jesus Christ. Please keep your Gods at your own churches and temples and let your conscience, objectivity and common sense be your guide.

As she proudly wears her own religious beliefs as a badge to champion a moralistic view in parliament, has she given a thought to how people of other race/religion will swallow it? Her using of evangelical christianity as a basis for public policymaking could evoke discord amongst people of different races and religion within the country, and wouldn't that be considered an act of sedition?

Dr Thio and her religion

On Friday Nov 2 2007, there was a special article on Straits Times about Dr Thio Li-ann entitled "A fiery NMP gets her baptism of fire". Let me quote a few portions of the article that I found rather disconcerting.

On why she thinks religion should have a part to play in public policymaking:
"Every public policy issue has a moral basis and religion does influence the morality of many people. People could argue atheism influences morality as well, so we're going to go back to the whole issue of which morality. I am tired of arguing "Thou shalt not legislate morality". That is a red herring. As all laws are based on morality of some sort, the question really is: What morality should we legislate?"

According to her "S377A is immoral" and "Repealing 377A is the first step of a radical, political agenda which will subvert social immorality, the common good and undermine our liberties!"

Now let's look at Section 377 Act again: Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years. Gross indecency is a broad term which, from a review of past cases in Singapore, has been applied to mutual masturbation, genital contact, or even lewd behaviour without direct physical contact.

My greatest concern here is one of the thought that we have a NMP here, who's openly supporting the integration of her religion with the country's affairs. The key operative here is "her religion". We should be aware that Dr Thio is evangelical Christian, and she's very openly so. But when she starts asserting her religious morals as basis for a country's laws, something is very wrong here. Does she remember what's in the Singapore's pledge? "We the citizen of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people. Regardless of race, language or religion." But here, she's making the country take a stand on what is fundamentally based on what she thinks her religion thinks is morally correct or not. She asks "what morality should we legislate?" Is she suggesting that morality based on her religion is exclusively all-encompassing for use as a standard for all other religions too? So if christian faith should be the one to determine how laws are to be made, would the day come when every household should remove their "idols" because it would be "against the morally correct laws" to do so even if you are not a christian? I think our NMP here have to realise that to incorporate religion into public law making, she cannot just use her own religion as a standard, but also that of others. By using her religion to influence policy making, would that be considered "an act which could cause discord amongst other races/religious groups" and thus be at the risk of breaking the "sedition act"? (Sedition Act - any act, speech, words, publication or other thing shall not be deemed to be seditious by reason only that it has a tendency to point out, with a view to their removal, any matters producing or having a tendency to produce feelings of ill-will and enmity between different races or classes of the population of Singapore ). I as a buddhist, is finding it an act of ill-will that a christian is using her religion to set government laws that might be deemed unconstitutional or against our national pledge. Can I sue her for sedition then?

Ok here are some more questions:
1) Dr Thio is tired of the argument of "Thou shalt not legislate morality". But christianity does not have a monopoly on what is deemed as proper morals. Abortion is not moral according to Christianity, does it mean that you are going to enacting a law against it? What if non-christian Singaporeans disagree with you?

2) Oddly, S377A is specifically targeting male homosexuals, not the females. But the biggest problem with s377A, is that it criminalizes any indecent sexual act between 2 males specifically, when the indecency act which does not specify it to be any of any gender should be sufficient to cover the grounds. The specific criminalizing of male gays in the s377A is what causes the outrage. The act in itself then appears to be discriminatory in nature. And when Dr Thio rails against the homosexuals and their immorality, wouldn't that make her behavior to be one of discriminatory nature as well?

3) Given the indecency act covers what needs to be covered morally(regardless of religion), wouldn't 377A be redundant as it seeks to re-emphasize the same point but in a discriminatory angle against a minority homosexual group whom are males?

A NMP who argues well, doesn't mean she argues right. And I can only wish that readers and the general public on the whole can see the truth from well-packaged deliveries. Here's my hope that people can learn to see things not by the cover of the book, but through the substance of the text written.