Subscribe to RSSArchive for December, 2006:
R.I.P. James Brown
The Godfather of Soul is dead.
none of us are free
A Trail of Diamonds
My pet topic. A photo essay by Kadir van Lohuzen.
It takes only weeks for a diamond, once uncovered in an African mine, to travel to India to be cut and polished and land in the showrooms of Paris or New York. The journey reveals some of globalization’s greatest fault lines—inequality, child labor, and outsourcing—and the people who too often fall through the cracks.
***
Nike’s dilemma: Is doing the right thing wrong?
A soul-searching debate is now coursing through the country: Child labor is universally condemned, but is it fair for multinationals to cut and run when incidents arise of children working? Or do corporations have an obligation to work to fix these problems themselves?
The nature of the beast unfortunately. Just like how the American manufacturing industry lost ground due to companies outsourcing production overseas, we see the pattern repeating in the countries they moved to. Labour getting too costly in Indonesia (for example)? Move to Vietnam. It’s unfortunate that in order to prevent the use of child labour (really an issue of Nike not being associated with child labour rather than their concern over conditions of their workforce I think) they have to consider a cut and run strategy. It’s also why I think boycotts don’t necessarily work, and making companies that operate in the developing world responsible for the communities in which they operate a much more sensible solution at this point.
Technorati Tags: diamonds, nike, sweatshop, outsourcing, child, labour, labor
Sex! What is it good for?
I hope everybody participated in the Global Orgasm for Peace Day.
Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Internal Excellence
Looks like I was wrong.
The Beastie Boys will be headlining next year’s inaugural Good Vibrations Festival Singapore with constant collaborators Money Mark and Mix Master Mike. Early bird tickets for $40 from HMV while stocks last.
Technorati Tags: beastie boys, good vibrations, singapore
the new theme
I’ve decided it’s enough of this minimalist bullshit. What I really need is a blog with lots of flash animation, little stars that trail the cursor, jiwang music that can’t be switched off and I will sTArT tYp1Ng LyK DiZzZ. VeRy kEwLZZZ u nOeZ.
thought @ work
Perception: Hard at work, Reality: visiting Hypebeast
This week has been incredibly hectic. A colleague has been out sick for the past week, and with another on maternity leave it’s been up to everybody else to pick up the slack. There are two new additions (besides myself, one of them is semi-new) to the office but with the workload it’s not really been getting any easier. It’s been crazy, working almost non-stop, leaving the office at eleven, etc (not as bad as some of the people I’ve talked to, I realise). Besides learning the ins and outs at the office, I also regularly have to run around the CBD. I think I’m building well developed thighs and ass, as well as an intimate knowledge of buildings in the CBD.
And the problem is, I’m actually quite liking it here. The work environment is good (albeit cramped.. you have to squeeze past when somebody’s using the photocopier in the hall), I’m learning a lot, I like my colleagues as well as the people I’m working under and it feels good to have something to get up to do in the morning. But WOW it’s tiring. I’m actually managing to get quite a bit of reading done (especially since I like to read on public transport, don’t ask why) but I don’t know whether I’ll be ready for the numbers I want to see when I get the results back from my exams in May. Also, I still have my driving test to look forward to in the last week of January. I booked a whole bunch of driving lessons next month, but they were based on the assumption that I wouldn’t be working then. Also, I don’t think one class a week is enough to make up for my complete and utter lack of driving skills and practice.
So anyway, enormous amount of work on my plate this past week. This covers most of what I still have to keep in mind I think.
I feel like I’m House MD.
Peace.
Technorati Tags: work, studies, driving
“the contribution is clear, you add water to bone…
…and get the Jurassic 5 on the microphone.”
From Juice Magazine this month: Los Angeles based fan favourite hip-hop group Jurassic 5 will be at the Good Vibrations Festival Singapore on the nineteenth of February next year(the second day of Chinese New Year). Turntable assassin Cut Chemist is no longer in their lineup sadly, but word has it that the organisers are trying to bring down Mix Master Mike and the Beastie Boys for the event. Don’t keep your hopes up for that though.
Jurassic 5 official page
Jurassic 5 MySpace
Good Vibrations Festival Singapore
Technorati Tags: jurassic 5, singapore, j5, good vibrations
where women glow and men plunder
Honestly I don’t know how I ended up being Karen Page instead of Matt Murdock. I’m just hoping Colin Farrell doesn’t show up to kill me with my lover’s weapon.
The job is alright so far, and emerging from Raffles Place station today there was a slight breeze and the sun was out, making the skyline; even with the Supreme Court’s mothership hovering over the Parliament (Funkadelic) building like it was about to pick up Elijah Muhammad and WD Fard, look rather gorgeous. It made me think of Boston actually, and walking to the harbour to catch the boat out for whale watching.
I think I enjoy being busy. Slacking unfortunately breeds more slacking and being up on my feet, running around and learning new things keeps me fresh. As per my school days, I actually get a lot of my reading done on public transportation and since I have to run out for errands that involve a disproportionate amount of waiting I get to read during work hours as well. It’s tiring though, and I’ve been sneaking in micro sleep whenever I can just to recharge for the day. I doubt I can survive without intakes of caffeine and sugar as well.
Thanks to Moiz and Lily.
And why am I writing this when there is actual work for me to do?
…
Blame it on Cain, don’t blame it on me.
laugh now, fry later
Cousin’s wedding last week.
My brother’s taken to asking me when I’m getting married. It’s strange for me because we never really talked about such things, meaning girls and relationships and their ilk. I mean, he’s my brother. And he offered to set me up. His primary offers being my sister(in-law)’s relatives and my ustaz’s daughter. I sense a severe lack of imagination, among other things.
***
Speaking of which, I almost laughed out loud while I was praying one time last week. The ustaz whose classes I normally go for teaches another class at a mosque near my workplace, and one time I went there to pray while he was having his lessons.
Apa itu yakin? Cuba kalau dengar kat Boat Quay ini kita dengar ada pontianak. Kita yakin nak mempertahankan diri daripada pontianak. Kalau ada pontianak, nak bawa apa?”
Somebody answers.
***
“Nak kena bawa paku. Apasal ni nak kena bawa paku? Alat alat lain tak boleh? Bawa screwdriver ke tak boleh?”
It was all I could do to stop myself from laughing.
*what is faith? Suppose you hear that there is a pontianak** at Boat Quay. We need something that we can have faith in to keep away the pontianak. What is supposed to keep away the pontianak?”
“You need to carry a nail. Now why in the world do you carry a nail? What about other tools? Why not a screwdriver?”
** A pontianak is a female vampire of sorts in Malay folklore. And yes, it’s one of those things that you had to be there to really find funny.
