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I’m just happy to see you…
What I carry around in my pockets with me…
(A) My handphone pouch. It deserves a whole entry to itself because it’s lasted the lifespan of four phones, all of which remarkably fit perfectly in the pouch.
(B) Nokia 6230i. It’s got a lot of functions, but I’m not much of a mobile phone guy. I use it for calls and SMSes, and occasionally taking photos, but that’s about it. There are some MP3s in there, but I don’t really use it for that either. Internet connectivity is wasted on me.
(C) I’m a recent convert to the ways of Muji. This rather unremarkable black mesh pouch serves as my wallet. I was previously using a nice black number from the Wallet Shop to carry around my cash, but I’ve stopped putting my wallet in my backpockets and wanted something slimmer for the sake of unsightly bulges in my jeans (there should be only bulge, and it isn’t unsightly… or at least it shouldn’t be). Inside there’s a plastic card folder thing for my cards, and that keeps things pretty much fuss free. As yet no credit or debit cards, just my IC, ATM card, EZ Link, Cash Card and Club Fitt gym membership card, along with a calender, several discount/ loyalty cards and a schedule of prayer timings.
(D) Coins/keys pouch, also from Muji. The Stussy pin is there to help me tell which way is up so my change doesn’t end up tumbling onto the ground when I unzip it.
(E) Keys with Stussy keychain. I wouldn’t call myself a really big Stussy fan, but I somehow ended up adding quite a bit of Stussy to my wardrobe over the past few years. It was between this and a leather X-Large keychain, and this was smaller, cheaper and it looks like a dogtag.
(F) My mum made me carry around a handkerchief when I was younger. I stopped doing so when I was a teenager since it wasn’t terribly stylish to do so I think, but when I was maybe 19 or 20 I started carrying one again. My mum said a it’s one of the it’s something a gentleman carries around with him, and I think she may have a point. Plus it’s very useful.
some thangs
The reason why I don’t simply defer my ICT training (which is where I’ve been for the past two weeks) is that simply put I actually enjoy doing it. I was a supply assistant (read storeman) for the two and a half years I was doing my national service (currently two years, the only thing I’m actually upset about really) and I never got to do things like running around carrying big guns and digging holes in the middle of nowhere. I’ve probably mentioned that I think my two years back at unit during my NSF days was among the most fun I’d ever had in my life, in spite of the stupidity but also because of it. I think I was coming out from a pretty sheltered environment when I was eighteen or nineteen and it was necessary that I broadened my scope of things. Trying to live on the straight and narrow is all well and good, but naivete isn’t. Still, I think that in the case of my current unit mates at least it’s a relationship best kept to the annual ICT.
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Attending the book club for Sufi poetry that I’d mentioned earlier was less of an eye opener than I’d thought it would be. Maybe it’s just that coming from a background in literature it wasn’t like attending Mr J’s lectures and it wasn’t very enlightening on a religious level either. I don’t know whether to give it another chance though.
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Wilderness first aid course. Okay, but next to people with far more experience in this area than me (ie Moiz, Joyce, Yvonne) I felt completely out of my league. Unlike for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Tarrell there are mountains that are high enough, thank you very much.
***
I am debating taking Kim up on her recommendation of an NAC internship over the summer… in Venice. Maybe I will suffer the same fate as Gustav von Aschenbach. Or maybe not.
***
The plan so far.
Post-colonial
Chinua Achebe
Tsitsi Dangarembga
Hanif Kureishi
Modern American
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ernest Hemingway
Maxine Hong Kingston
Charles Johnson
hair… it’s not just a musical
Two months ago…
Now…
Had to take a passport sized photo (you know, not a photo that’s the size of a passport, a photo that’s of an appropriate size for using in a passport). I was out without having combed my hair, so I bought a $3.95 jar of Gatsby Power Fibre Type Styling Wax! from Guardian Pharmacy. First time using hair wax really, it takes a bit of getting used to, and I still really hate putting products in my hair (I didn’t realise for years that you didn’t have to cover every inch of your hair with gel to keep it in place, for example).
The Kallang Wave post 2
THE KALLANG WAVE is the story of Singapore told through the dreams and pain of the nation’s footballers and the fans and staff who stand behind them. Glory, frustration, and a mounting sense of despair colour an impassioned debate about the heart of sport and the realities of economic prosperity. From interviews and match footage to history and coverage of significant events, THE KALLANG WAVE gives a voice to the people behind the scenes, and tries to give credit to the unsung heroes of Singapore’s football legacy, whom after years of tearful effort now find their values and achievements abandoned by the new generation of Singaporeans. THE KALLANG WAVE is a film about passion, pride, identity, priorities, and a society coming to grips with its place in a cold and unfamiliar new world….
Kallang Wave review @ MovieXclusive
The Kallang Wave movie
The Kallang Wave
The shortfall of our passion, the future of our pride
Not a football or a patriotism person, but I’ll promote this for a friend. From the trailers it looks to be a pretty well made documentary about football in Singapore. Premiering next weekend (March 25th), and then regular showing from April 14th.
Mr Lye and Mr Chia
I suppose I can’t take a visit to Sentosa seriously without thinking of Chia Thye Poh, placed under virtual house arrest on Sentosa even after he’d been released from imprisonment and after Sentosa had been reimagined as a tourist attraction. I wonder if back in the day anybody visited Sentosa with the intention of paying him a visit, or if there were safeguards in place that prevented any wandering tourists from having a conversation with him.
Also, I remember an episode of VR Man (yes, yes… BTW if anybody can find me a good photo of James Lye in his VR Man costume I’d be much obliged) where a group of student geniuses were confined to a building where they were being cultivated to do God knows what. The only glimmer of hope in their lives came from a pamphlet they had for Sentosa, and naturally when Inspector Mike/ VR Man himself rescued them they wanted to visit Sentosa. I mean, Sentosa’s never been that great of a theme park but I suppose if you’ve been locked up all your life anything would be good.
I wonder if the writers were taking a dig at the education and/or political system with that episode (I wouldn’t put it past them to do so), or whether it was just one of life’s little ironies. And yeah this post makes a connection between political prisoners and James Lye. Cos that’s how I roll, son.
Singapore’s Gentle Revolutionary
40 years of independence, but not for Asia’s Mandela
Chia Thye Poh ? The Man Himself
Asiaweek: A Man Who Never Gave In
Peace.
waiting-room.co.jp
When in Rome…
Reflection Eternal - The Blast
This is, to me, the perfect rainy day music video. Kweli and Hi Tek just kickin’ it in the rain. Classic.
Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek on a new one, More or Less from the (still) upcoming album Eardrum. It’s not a terribly good sign when you’ve got two singles and no definite album release date in sight, but I’ll assume these are the breaks Kweli has to face when he’s finally trying to get his Blacksmith label off the ground. Even with a more commercial angle Kweli seems to be going for (among the featured artistes on this album are Norah Jones of all people) he’s hit the right “sound” so far I think with the singles he’s released so far (“Listen” and “More or Less”).
What is interesting to me is that Kweli’s actually becoming very street artiste, with all sorts of mixtapes that don’t necessarily get a widespread commercial release but are easily as interesting (and in the case of the Beautiful Struggle and the Beautiful Mixtape, are actually better than the commercial releases). Case in point is his Madlib collaboration from earlier this year, Liberation. Available for download for a short while earlier this year, this is really good. Madlib’s production is on point and has this balance between the old school soul and hard beats that are the perfect match with Talib Kweli’s raps. Kweli also seems to have finally found a good balance between the non-stop battle rhyming of his earlier records and the more sparse, song oriented emceeing to be found on the Beautiful Struggle. Worth hunting down.
Madlib and Talib Kweli - Liberation
Rating: 
Technorati Tags: talib kweli, hi tek, madlib, eardrum
