RANDOM QUOTES, RANDOM THOUGHTS



Tuesday, November 25, 2008

TICKLE MY BONES! 周笔畅



What's not to love about this Bibi?
These pics made my day!
I sure wish to meet her in person one day.
These songs still remain on my mp3 playlist and likely to remain for a long long time:
为了认识你
天使之城
傻瓜的天才
梦想在望

Saturday, November 22, 2008

AN EPIPHANY FROM A SPINNING TOP


The SINGAPORE I see in a good ol' spinning top.
A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.- Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt could not have been more right about politics and it probably is the same everywhere, not only in America. Politics is a vice, it screws people's lives. Power is a dangerous drug and add to that, money - and you have a potent combination that makes anyone thinks HE is above everyone else! At the end of the day, what you did will be judged many times over.
Back to the spinning top analogy of Singapore today. What is happening in Singapore is that the TOP is getting too HEAVY and the bottom is bone-bare thin. What do you do then? You keep the country spinning for as long as it can to support the heavy top. However nothing defies gravity and one day the spin will be gone and everything will stop and fall apart. If you look beyond the surface, problems are already brewing over the years ever since the open-door policy to attract so-called foreign talents to our shores and arrest the falling birth rates. Any Tom, Dick or Harry with a basic post secondary education will be able to become a permanent resident in Singapore, that is how desperate our so-called leaders have become all these years, starting with blaming the outflow of talented Singaporeans overseas as being quitters.
Falling birth rates? Funny how not a shred of mention of the "STOP AT TWO" child policy ever got printed on papers or highlighted by any ministers as the start of this falling birth rate problem.
Singapore is just 43 years old and yet somewhere along the way, nation building went down the drain in favour of relentless economic pursuits.
True-blue Singaporeans have become like 2nd-class citizens as citizenships are given out like nobody business that it degrades the pink Identity Card that we hold. Question: WHAT IS THE VALUE OF BEING A SINGAPOREAN?
Can anyone begrudge those who had the opportunity to migrate to other places?
Singapore no longer feels like a country, it has no Soul to call its own.
Take the MRT, walk around your HDB estates and you will know what I mean. The next person you see you don't even know where they are from! Definitely not local born and bred true blue Singaporean.
I wonder if all the ministers should really read THE PLEDGE everyday before they start work, I sure hope they look really deep into their hearts (if they have a Singaporean one to begin with!) and wonder if they had upheld it in the best interests of True-blue Singaporeans (the imported ones do not count!).
Our Pledge
We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity
and progress for our nation.

The Pledge - Guidelines
1. The National Pledge is recited in schools during assemblies, during SAF Day, during the National Day Parade, and at National Day Observance Ceremonies.
2. Individuals reciting the Pledge shall clench their right fists to the left side of their chests as a gesture to symbolise loyalty to the nation.
3. The Pledge shall not be used for any commercial purposes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the way, I don't see the point in reading this meaningless pledge and singing or hearing the Majulah Singapore ANYMORE! I don't feel Singaporean about it even though I am a Singaporean. Give me a good ol' spin top and I find more meaning and pleasure with it!

Friday, November 21, 2008

BEST PLACE TO STAY IN LHASA

When I went to Lhasa in March this year, I stayed at probably the most traditonal and most authentic of places to stay in Lhasa:
Doekyilzur & Beijing Tsongkhang House (多吉苏和北京从康历史文化院落酒店)
(the name itself is already quite a mouthful, both in ENGLISH and in CHINESE! once inside though you will still be in a mouthful - a mouthful of "WOW!!!!")

This hotel sits right smack in the heart of Bakkhor Street in the Old Quarters of Lhasa and just behind Jokhang Temple. The courtyard 3-storey house dates back to the 7th century and was rebuilt in 1850.

THIS IS THE PLACE TO STAY IN LHASA (in my opinion), it feels more like a home than a hotel! The ancient architecture is simply breathtaking and it is the most amazing place I have stayed among the different places and countries I have been - both the house and its immediate vicinity.

I went in the low season and there were only myself and another couple living in the whole place during the 3 days I was in Lhasa. I absolutely loved this place to bits. The bed was by far the most comfy I have slept on in all my life! I got a very good deal and got the signature room in the entire place - directly overlooking Bakkhor Street out in the window and the rooftop was only a short flight of ladder away. The rooftop is amazing too! One can see Potala Palace from there. I suspect due to the age of the building, the roof was terribly under-utilised!! I swore if I had a lazy chair, I could just bask on the rooftop all day long sipping Tibetan butter tea or sweet Tibetan tea during the day and downing beers in the evening! The courtyard could be viewed from the rooftop in its full glory.

This was one of 2 places which I had earmarked from the chinese guide book which I picked up in Chengdu a day earlier prior to arriving here. I was glad I took the extra effort to locate this place instead of the crowded International Youth Hostel. From my room on the 3rd floor, you could hear and see pligrims doing the rounds around the Jokhang Temple from as early as 5 a.m. in the morning and as late as midnight. That did not trouble me one bit, in fact I quite like the sounds of the pilgrims stretching their bodies and limbs on the pavement along the Jokhang circling route. Quite possibly you will not get this anywhere else in the world.

A slideshow of the hotel. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

When Innocence is Forever Lost.....Knowing That I'm Losing You

Measuring a summer's day
I only find it slips away to grey
The hours they bring me pain.

Tangerine, Tangerine
Living reflection from a dream
I was her love, she was my queen
And now a thousand years between.


Thinking how it used to be
Does she still remember times like these?
To think of us again?
And I do.

(Tangerine - Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin)


Sunday, November 16, 2008

TV Ad I Like -- It's INDIA!


Sony Bravia "Domino City" from Film Construction on Vimeo

The scenery is captivating and captures a snippet of everyday life in India, the music is by Rob Barbato of LA Indie band, Darker My Love, not sure about the song title though but the words..."right in our own backyard" sort of resonates and bring back memories of my trips to India over the years!

the song snippet goes something like this:

careful not to delay
these things that I've said
I've got a feeling and I've been thinking
we can work hard
right in our own backyard
sailing on
sailing along

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

LIFE IS.......A NEVER ENDING ROAD

NEVER-ENDING ROAD (AMHRÁN DUIT)
(Music and lyric: Loreena McKennitt)
http://www.quinlanroad.com/explorethemusic/printversion/anancientmuse_print.asp?id=564


The road now leads onward
As far as can be
Winding lanes
And hedgerows in threes

By purple mountains
And round every bend
All roads lead to you
There is no journey’s end.

Here is my heart and I give it to you
Take me with you across this land
These are my dreams, so simple and few
Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

Deep in the winter
Amidst falling snow
High in the air
Where the bells they all toll

And now all around me
I feel you still here
Such is the journey
No mystery to fear.

Here is my heart and I give it to you
Take me with you across this land
These are my dreams, so simple and few
Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

The road now leads onward
And I know not where
I feel in my heart
That you will be there

Whenever a storm comes
Whatever our fears
The journey goes on
As your love ever nears

Here is my heart and I give it to you
Take me with you across this land
These are my dreams, so simple and few
Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

(1987)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I came across this beautiful song by Loreena on her Nights From The Alhambra concert DVD and CD set. It has remained stuck in my mind for the longest time since and very likely will forever reside at the back of my mind.

Life is a Never Ending Road that we set off, not knowing where or when is the end destination. In between, there will be the positives and the negatives, the good and the bad, the merry and the sad, the pinnacles and the despairs.....
The End is a certainty, no one escapes it and we all get the same. It is the journey itself for each to find its own. As the saying goes, it matters not how many breaths you take but in how many times it takes your breath away that truly matters. The main Rule to remember is that everything is relative, you can be rich or you can poor but finding your own feet and dancing to your own beat is the single most important thing.
The following verse by Loreena is deeply etched in my mind:

ALL ROADS LEAD TO YOU
THERE IS NO JOURNEY'S END


For me these 2 lines will serve as a constant reminder, whether you are at the heights of a high or at the very depths of despair, just remember everything starts and ends with YOU, and only YOU. There is really no Journey's End, Life remains a NEVER-ENDING ROAD...............until your time is up!