tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40223092011-07-30T15:12:23.915-07:00To be or not to be, that is the question; An age be, I shall not be in want; On second thoughts, I shall use a pen instead.<P> Just Amleth.Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comBlogger1021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-10378029767534463252009-10-04T09:19:00.001-07:002009-10-04T09:33:02.411-07:00

I seem to be eating lots of rotten stuff. My latest addition is moldy bread. After a long cycling trip, I had become really hungry and just grabbed some wholemeal bread from the kitchen. The first slice of bread was delicious and really warmed the stomach. I started on the second piece, which happened to be the bread at the end of the loaf with the crust. It tasted quite good initially. After

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-14453984447524252952009-10-04T09:08:00.001-07:002009-10-04T09:15:32.825-07:00

After learning about the Padang Earthquake, I really pray that the many lives will be saved, and that the survivors of the earthquake will be able to overcome the new challenges in their lives.I just learnt that Hotel Ambacang, the hotel I had stayed in at Padang about a month ago has collapsed due to the earthquake. If I had been there only a month later, I could've been part of the statistics

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-51071779356177039342009-08-04T04:01:00.000-07:002009-08-04T04:12:24.986-07:00

I was just reading an article about the property market in Singapore when I learnt that once again, the property market has risen to stratospheric highs.$810 psf for a 99-year leasehold property in Tanah Merah ?? $1100 psf for a 99-year leasehold property in Ang Mo Kio? Now all they need is to find someone else who will buy it from them at $1200 psf. Come on .... it sounds like 1999 all over

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-77648856001226388332009-06-21T08:38:00.000-07:002009-06-21T08:48:14.137-07:00

I read this book last year, and as far as I recall, it was one of the bleakest books I have ever read. Heck, even the cover page alone looks depressing.Here's a short review I wrote about it in Facebook:Probably one of the most bleak and depressing books I have ever read. The book describes a father and son (both unnamed) who are travelling through the wastes of post-apocalyptic America. On the

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-81131709905544335092009-06-10T11:39:00.000-07:002009-06-10T11:58:41.872-07:00

I happened to hear this song as I was surfing around ... This drama is called 一剪梅 or One Plum Blossom (not to be confused with the Korean drama Iljimae!).I think it was 25 years ago, when I was still a kid. My grandmother was still alive then, and she would watch this drama series which was showing on Malaysian TV. I don't remember the details of the drama, but I can never forget the song ...

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-85072806886716606262009-02-12T02:36:00.001-08:002009-02-12T03:31:02.730-08:00

I was doing some research on the Internet when I came upon a treasure load of archives from Time Magazine. Wow!! I never knew that you could actually read old news articles in Time Magazine, all the way back to the early 20th century. Imagine the research value, not to mention how fascinating it is to be able to see how people think all the way back to the 1930s!The way news was reported in Time

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-78280558079063078252008-11-16T07:44:00.000-08:002008-11-16T08:34:38.896-08:00

6 Nov 2008My kind brother Jun Ming has already done a very excellent writeup (much better than what I can ever write) about what we did in Cambodia, so I am not going to write about it again! You can read it here.What I am going to do however is to add my own thoughts on top of what Jun Ming has already written.As we had to leave our homes by about 4am in the morning, I decided not to sleep. Thus

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-41959645049894713242008-11-13T08:36:00.000-08:002008-11-13T09:04:45.828-08:00

I have always had a heart for Cambodia ever since I watched the film The Killing Fields when I was eleven years old. Although I vaguely remember the movie, the horrors and the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge against their own people is something that was permanently etched into my young mind. The Khmer Rouge was a Cambodian communist party that ruled Cambodia from 1975 - 1979. One in four

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-5688056866402326412008-06-05T09:02:00.003-07:002008-06-05T09:28:39.334-07:00

I know this is a small thing, but still I must thank God for it. It so happened that I had misplaced my mobile phone (I have no idea where lost it). I realized it when I got home. Immediately, I got down and prayed to God, asking Him to help me recover the phone, and just trusting Him with it.I tried calling my mobile number -- it was not even on. So I figured it was probably gone forever ....

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-31956534390685991962008-06-05T09:02:00.001-07:002008-06-05T09:12:32.395-07:00

It has been almost a year since I've updated this blog. So much has happened in the last year! I laughed. I cried. I loved. I hated. I was filled with joy. I was filled with deep sorrow. God has blessed me abundantly. God has humbled me. God has refined me through trials -- I have gone through the valley of the shadow of death.But God has never abandoned me. Even in my darkest days, He was with

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-47507429593386443582007-07-22T05:01:00.001-07:002007-07-22T06:03:45.629-07:00

I caught Empire of the Sun during my days with Citrix in some hotel somewhere. The movie is about a British boy in Shanghai, who is separated from his parents during the chaos of World War II. He is later captured by the Japanese and sent to the Soochow Creek Internment Camp, where the European prisoners of war are held. The war is portrayed from the perspective of the boy, and how he deals with

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-2166312552513061072007-07-11T07:37:00.000-07:002007-07-11T07:48:25.177-07:00

As I was reading CNN Money, I came across the following statement:Delivering a speech to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Fed chief said "changes in energy [and food] prices should have relatively little influence on 'core' inflation, that is, inflation excluding the prices of food and energy."I am sure there must be some hidden meaning in this seemingly obvious statement -- but for

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1427073550046855902007-07-05T08:03:00.000-07:002007-07-05T08:38:11.907-07:00

Anyone here remembers "V"? It was 1985, when the series first started showing in Malaysia. It was one of those TV series that scared the heck out of kiddy lil' me, especially the part when Mike Donovan first revealed the lizards for who they are. You can find the entire series in YouTube by searching for "V - the original miniseries", and "V - the final battle".Here's another scene that freaked

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-58188760627658663482007-06-11T05:15:00.000-07:002007-06-11T05:29:58.191-07:00

It was the Perfect Cut. For reasons we shall never know, it was cut from the Final Cut. A fantastic scene from The Last Samurai. Enjoy.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-80288314143231100282007-06-08T08:43:00.000-07:002007-06-08T09:41:58.377-07:00

This morning, a friend sent me an article describing my fortune in 2008. For those who don't know Chinese, the gist of the article is this -- 2008 is going to be a really, really, really bad year for me.If I had not believed in God, this article could have pretty much spoiled my day. Most likely, it will cause my non-Christian, horse year compatriots a lot more harm that it would me. Not in the

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-20908122737593771272007-06-07T10:11:00.000-07:002007-06-07T11:47:29.897-07:00

Full Metal Alchemist Festival 2005 - Anastasia and Veronika Golovina - BratjaWhat a surprise! I would never have known the singers of Bratja were two Russian girls until I saw this video (all the while I had thought it was sung by a boy's choir, e.g. the Viennese Boy's Choir). And who would have known that Edward and Alphonse Elric were voiced by two .... ladies? This song is a recurring theme in

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-2968625814295156352007-05-05T22:45:00.000-07:002007-05-06T01:07:04.074-07:00

Disclaimer: Note that this article is not meant to be taken seriously. Read it only if you have an open mind. If you do not have an open mind, please do not proceed any further. You have been warned.With Bush wringing his hands for an answer to his Iraqi woes, the answer has never been clearer to me. In this article, I list a few simple solutions the Americans can adopt to find a resolution to

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-9023521080762097602007-03-06T05:48:00.000-08:002007-03-06T06:10:44.027-08:00

I was in the 34th storey in my Suntec office today, and I felt the ground beneath me moving. Yes, I was one of those who experienced the minor tremors due to the earthquake that happened in Sumatra, 430km away from Singapore (you can read about it here). "We have an incident in the building. Please remain calm. We are currently investigating the incident.", blared the PA system.Huh? What incident

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-29471694438910289552007-03-05T02:29:00.001-08:002007-03-05T02:34:22.394-08:00

Annyang haseyo!I have returned from my trip to Seoul, and have finally gotten down to blogging about it after a loooooooong time. But boy, what a trip it was! It was in Seoul where I had the best kimchi, kimbap, bibimbap, bugolgi, galbi ... you name it ... nobody does Korean food better than the Koreans themselves. It was also one of the best new year celebrations I've ever participated in. It

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-62230917365013740712007-03-04T22:18:00.000-08:002007-03-04T23:00:43.070-08:00

The PreludeIt all began on the night of the 6th day of the Lunar New Year (23 Feb 2007) when I was back home in Ipoh, and could not get to sleep. It was frustrating just lying down on your bed with your eyes closed, willing yourself to sleep, only to discover an hour later that you are still as mentally alert as ever. Never shall I drink two cups of coffee again in a single day.Anyway, since I

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1162645926593522212006-11-04T04:32:00.000-08:002006-11-04T06:06:46.080-08:00

The flight back from San Francisco to Singapore was uneventful, except that I was quite surprised to learn that I had to transit at the Seoul-Incheon airport in South Korea -- and all this while I had thought it was a direct flight! Oh well, at least I get to say that I have stepped on South Korean soil.The plane started from the San Francisco International Airport, headed north into Alaska,

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1162350851879955862006-10-31T18:56:00.000-08:002006-10-31T19:18:56.026-08:00

What's with all these disclaimers in San Francisco? Is the entire city filled with dangerous chemicals? In almost every restaurant in San Francisco I would see the sign:Warning: The Foods and Beverages in this Establishment Contain Chemicals Known to the State of California, to Cause Cancer and Birth Defects or Other Reproductive HarmEven the hotel that I am living in, the Marriott at San Mateo

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1158075481885889152006-09-12T08:37:00.000-07:002006-09-12T08:47:02.623-07:00

Ok! Now that I have just gotten back from India, I feel I should blog about it lest I forget about this episode of my life forever. Then again, nothing in India is truly forgettable. Like the Islamic Haj, it is a pilgrimage that everybody should make at least once in their lifetime, just to experience the other side of life.So what is memorable about Delhi? One Big Public Toilet.  Need to relief

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1146938513058661882006-05-06T10:36:00.000-07:002006-05-06T11:47:45.016-07:00

I have had a phobia for Mahjong for more than three years. Most of my encounters with Mahjong usually result in three very happy friends, as I usually enrich them in the game. In those days, if you were to play Mahjong with me, you could pretty much leave home without money, cos' after playing with me, you will most likely return home with lots of money. My last encounter with Mahjong in early

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1138605385474322912006-01-29T22:56:00.000-08:002006-01-31T23:45:41.943-08:00

Wow! What a trip! This trip to Japan is actually the first true overseas holiday trip I've ever made (company trips do not count), and it was really nice to be able to travel with a bunch of friends, if only for a short while. On the whole, it was an enjoyable trip, although at this point in time, I must confess that I am suffering a little from temple-fatigue -- I must have seen like twenty or

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1136989595366268922006-01-11T05:56:00.000-08:002006-01-12T02:21:22.366-08:00

My room has just been repainted due to the wear and tear it has been subjected to in the last two years. Now there is a strong smell of paint in the room. I have spent all of last night enjoying the fragrance of the paint in my room. I've heard that sniffing paint can cause brain damage, and I really don't want that to happen to me! Still, since we are all going to get senile one day, why prolong

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1135611010950504332005-12-26T06:19:00.000-08:002005-12-26T15:31:02.296-08:00

I've just discovered that Mervyn has a grand uncle who is a national Sabahan hero! Apparently he (Mervyn's uncle, not Mervyn) sacrificed his life to save a Sabahan village from massacre by marauding Japanese soldiers during World War II. Just how cool is that?John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". When I was in my early teens,

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1135079157284497892005-12-20T03:45:00.000-08:002005-12-20T03:45:57.293-08:00

This is a really funny article I came across in a local Australian newspaper:Two Lebanese men carrying 800 ml of petroleum were caught by police in a bus on the way to Bondi Beach. One of them said he wanted to sniff petrol (you mean that is actually allowed in Australia?), and another said he wanted to help a mate in Bondi Beach who had run out of fuel.I think the sniffing petrol excuse is

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1134290281559174422005-12-11T00:37:00.000-08:002005-12-11T04:55:17.783-08:00

As usual, my first day (Thursday) in Melbourne was spent in a state of being both awake and asleep at the same time. "We understand that you guys probably are tired, so it is ok with is if you left earlier," said our customer. We worked till 7pm anyway.On Friday night, I went to check out the Crown Casino. I was planning to lose up to AUD 50 that day, but somehow I won AUD 65 without really

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1133707890877461182005-12-04T06:35:00.000-08:002005-12-04T09:26:10.340-08:00

I had a chat with Mervyn today, when we started talking about his new idea (which I shall leave him to tell you, if he so chooses to). The topic changed to my writing style -- he remarked that he could not judge my writing style because he had yet to see any serious articles from me. I protested, telling him that my earlier articles dating back to April 2003 were serious, but that those articles

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1133359208463759672005-11-30T05:50:00.000-08:002005-11-30T06:01:20.886-08:00

I was half expecting to fall sick today after consuming so much "protein", but surprisingly I did not. Coming to think of it, yesterday was the second time I was eating it. I ate the same stuff about two weeks ago, and nothing happened to me. I guess whatever those creatures were, they must have been digested and absorbed into my body. Either that, or I have good resistance against germs and

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1133280018478536032005-11-29T07:40:00.000-08:002005-11-30T05:50:13.423-08:00

Discovering that my BMI was in the overweight range really bugged me, and I felt I had to do something about it. I am concerned about my weight, mainly from a health perspective, in case a certain somebody decides to tell me that guys should not worry about their weight. Let's just say -- I want to live a good long life, and fats usually get in the way.My job has turned me into a monster, causing

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1130697883674680312005-10-30T10:32:00.000-08:002005-10-30T10:54:47.510-08:00

It's Halloween! What is Halloween without a little bit of scaring? As I was surfing Yahoo Finance, the last thing I would have expected was an article about the spookiest places in the world. Most of them do not sound that spooky at all, with the exception of two locations in Italy - an Abbey with evil monks who engage in horrible atrocities (the first slide in the slide show), and a sadistic

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1130092556129368552005-10-23T11:19:00.000-07:002005-10-23T11:53:24.396-07:00

Ok ok, so Pris is now chasing me to write something in my blog .... now, that I'm sitting down and starting to write, I realize that what I want to write about has already been written in Priscilla's blog, so everybody just go and read that article, and you will know what I am trying to write. Thanks Pris, for saving me time :D.On another note, I'm sick and tired of losing cameras. After losing

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1130091458620498182005-10-23T10:57:00.000-07:002005-10-23T11:17:38.626-07:00

A curse or a blessing, I shall never know. My parents have given me a name that is longer than most others, and very different from the way it is normally spelt too. I love it nevertheless, for the way it is spelt is far more refined (with a touch of class, I must add) than the other mundane spellings (or shall I say, mis-spellings?) which people would normally attribute to my name. This is

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1126536673769240522005-09-12T06:06:00.000-07:002005-09-12T07:51:13.813-07:00

I'm truly grateful to the people I have met in Sydney, people like Kai and the members of her caregroup. I was quite surprised to learn that most of the people in the caregroup were only in their early 20s (or late teens). In fact, I was the oldest person there. I still remember a few years ago, when I was the youngest person wherever I went, whether it was in school or at work. It is quite a

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1125327753661391352005-08-29T07:56:00.000-07:002005-08-29T08:45:51.793-07:00

I first heard about the Spiritual Disciplines from a pastor in Melbourne. After doing some research, I've found the spiritual disciplines very meaningful and helpful to me.You can read about it here. While it is not exactly a new idea, it has struck a chord within me in a way that few other sermons have. It is time for me to reflect upon my life and my relationship with Him.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1124721297396665392005-08-22T07:08:00.000-07:002005-08-22T08:22:24.366-07:00

Let me start my series of Melbourne pictures with .... my dream home. Alright, to be precise, it is one of my dream homes. This is a house I saw beside a park near my aunt's house. Don't you think the garden looks beautiful? The cherry blossom trees and the withered flowers on the grass are truly a sight to behold.But hey, I live in Singapore. What garden am I thinking of?Allnute Park, McKinnon,

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1124034019995720502005-08-14T06:36:00.000-07:002005-08-14T08:55:50.806-07:00

Spent the last week in Brisbane on yet another project with an Australian bank. However the highlight was my weekend trip to Melbourne, in the southern part of Australia. Ever since I was a kid (about six years old), my aunt had invited me to Melbourne, and I had promised her I would visit her some day. I would have gone there last September, if not for unexpected changes in my career that forced

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1121535447519977442005-07-16T10:14:00.000-07:002005-07-16T10:48:20.080-07:00

After watching Der Untergang (also known as Downfall), a movie about the last ten days of Hitler in his underground bunker in Berlin, I became fascinated with Hitler's background. What kind of life has this person lead for him to make such horrible decisions as the Final Solution in his lifetime?Anyway, it turns out that Adolf Hitler's father, Alois Hitler, was originally named Alois

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1121273194317787692005-07-13T09:06:00.000-07:002005-07-13T10:00:50.190-07:00

Nation States is a cool little website recommended to me by a colleague. If you have always dreamed of running a country of your own, here's your dream come true! Want to run a Republic? You can do it here. Want to be the ruler of a Holy Empire? You can do that here too.Creating your nation is part of the fun. You can choose from one of several styles such as "Sensible", "Liberal", "Conservative"

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1120868592377818942005-07-08T16:54:00.000-07:002005-07-08T18:19:45.353-07:00

This was one of the most stressful projects I have ever had since joining my company. I was scheduled to work at Canberra from Tuesday to Friday. This was complicated by the fact that I had to fly overnight from Singapore to Canberra (disrupted by a stopover at Sydney), and as you know, the airplane seat is not exactly very conducive for sleeping. Moreover, as the notice period was so short, I

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1120470311334836262005-07-04T01:46:00.000-07:002005-07-04T02:45:11.376-07:00

Alright, looks like my Germany trip was cancelled at the last minute (I was forced to reschedule all my personal matters to the early part of the week, and now I'm told that it was all in vain). Grrrrr ....So I went to work this morning, and again I was called into my manager's office."Hey, I need you and XXXXX to travel to Australia.""Ok, but we have training next week. So I suppose it will

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1119877544979659122005-06-27T05:47:00.000-07:002005-06-27T06:11:19.496-07:00

Ahhhh!! I'm really fat!! So fat that when I wear some shirts, I look like George Clooney wearing his batsuit. Argh!!!Solutions to the fat problem:1. Eat normal portions when I travel (in other words, eat only 50% of what I normally eat when I travel).2. Run at least twice a week (no excuses!)3. Try the hoola hoop (saw it at Punggol CC yesterday). I am told that it would help one reduce one's

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1119874578908715432005-06-27T04:32:00.000-07:002005-06-27T05:25:02.223-07:00

This morning, I went to work happily, thinking it was going to be an uneventful day. Little would I have known that I would be packing my bags right now, planning to go to some place across the world!At about 12:30pm today, my manager told me that I might have to go to Germany. Germany? I thought to myself. Last week, I had been told that I had to go to India, so I went to the Indian High

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1119270680267803822005-06-20T05:22:00.000-07:002005-06-20T05:39:52.320-07:00

Gone are the days when calling yourself an IT professional was hip. In fact, it looks like the situation is not going to get any better. I've observed this trend for quite a while, and the article Programming Jobs Losing Luster in US confirms that it is an irreversible trend.Changes in the last few years have meant that IT professionals must posess multi-faceted skills. It is no longer enough to

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1119189039043330042005-06-19T06:28:00.000-07:002005-06-19T07:12:05.173-07:00

Before I continue, I must confess that I was initially rather reluctant to watch Batman Begins. Part of this reluctance stems from my experience with the earlier Batman releases, all of which had rather cheesy storylines. For example, Batman and Robin had that combination of action and comedy that seemed more appropriate for Jackie Chan movies. Poison Ivy and the Iceman hardly seemed like a

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1112024447255237702005-03-28T07:31:00.000-08:002005-03-28T07:50:14.880-08:00

Got this cool link off INK's page, who apparently got it from another friend. The site can be accessed at create your own visited country map. The red sections are basically the countries I have been to before.I'm shocked to see that the map is not awash in red. The European section is glaring back at me, begging me to fill it with red. Oh well, at least it is considerably redder than INK's map,

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1111839054956287422005-03-26T03:09:00.000-08:002005-03-26T04:10:54.956-08:00

Ok, ok, I will still trust the Lonely Planet on nice tourist sites. However, I'm going to ignore the Lonely Planet when it comes to food and restaurants.I went to several "top five" restaurants (e.g top five in Tsim Sha Tsui, top five in Central, top five in Wan Chai etc) recommended by the Lonely Planet. With the exception of the Peak Lookout, I cannot rate any of the restaurants I've been to so

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1110647890045357142005-03-12T09:11:00.000-08:002005-03-12T09:18:10.046-08:00

Everytime I travel, I seem to rediscover my passion for blogging. Maybe it is because I am always occupied by something when I am in Singapore, and I have a lot more time when I am travelling. Nevertheless, in the coming weeks, I shall be blogging with a fury. Stay tuned.Anyway, I have changed the appearance of my website for two reasons:1. The white background is aesthetically pleasing and

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1110646131880576672005-03-12T08:16:00.000-08:002005-03-12T09:09:23.413-08:00

Brrrrr .... the weather in Hong Kong was sooooo cold today. Temperatures fell below 10 degrees in the evening. Walking along the streets of Kowloon, my hands turned white and began to hurt from the chill. Still, it is fun to be in cold weather.Anyway, speaking of the Lonely Planet, it is truly a gem of a book for the road warrior. It is filled with interesting nuggets of information such as

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1110613103275779172005-03-11T23:31:00.000-08:002005-03-11T23:38:23.276-08:00

Why is it that we get sunny weather on weekdays, and rainy weather on weekends? The weather has not been too friendly to the road warrior, who can only enjoy the wonders of Hong Kong during the weekends. Looks like I will be spending most of my time in the hotel today. If it is any comfort, temperatures have fallen to about 13-14 degrees, which certainly has a nice cooling effect.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1110612619476725762005-03-11T23:22:00.000-08:002005-03-11T23:30:19.476-08:00

The biggest news around town appears to be Tung Chee Hwa's resignation. Although I do not really know him, from all accounts he appears to be a decent and honest guy. Alas, good character and good governance are two very different things, I must suppose. The prevailing mood in Hong Kong appears to be that he is not competent enough to handle the job. Let's not be too harsh on him. It is a

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1110562415234033982005-03-11T09:57:00.000-08:002005-03-11T23:22:12.936-08:00

On the streets, many Hong Kongers wear extremely thick clothing, so thick that you would be forgiven for thinking they were living in sub-zero weather conditions. As a matter of fact, it proved to be a warm night, with temperatures hitting 23 degrees Celcius. Methinks the Hong Kongers are using the "cold" weather as an excuse to dress up in winter clothing. Don't they feel warm in there? It's

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1110482380482392122005-03-10T11:56:00.000-08:002005-03-11T01:50:27.956-08:00

Wherefore this turmoil within me? I cannot help but get down on my knees and pray:O God, you are my God,earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no waterI have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1110532540995886992005-03-07T00:49:00.000-08:002005-03-11T03:23:06.790-08:00

Of all the places I have been to so far, Hong Kong is still my favourite. Calcutta was an "interesting" experience, but it is the kind of place that you will want to visit once in your life, but not any more than that. Brisbane was modern and clean, but unfortunately, there is really nothing much to do down there. Downtown Brisbane is dead on weekends. You can walk along the streets in downtown

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1106047236708397342005-01-18T03:17:00.000-08:002005-01-18T03:31:38.800-08:00

Wow! If only I were at the receiving end of the prenuptial agreement. I hope this won't set a precedent for marriages ..... Just like the WorldCom shareholders, Porter has lost everything, too. "I've been wiped out," he says. "And it is not so easy to go and find at job at 61. I am not sure what I will do right now." Porter can perhaps count on Willa, 43, his fourth wife, to pay for groceries.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1105976829891242452005-01-09T07:22:00.000-08:002005-01-17T08:24:28.560-08:00

Tangra. Otherwise known as Chinatown. I am told that no Indian in Calcutta would be able to tell that I am a foreigner. They would think I'm from Chinatown. Besides, the people who live in northeastern India, in places such as Assam or Manipur have Mongoloid features like the Chinese. They can only tell I'm a foreigner from my English accent. During most of the trip, whenever I see someone who

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1105974292363774482005-01-08T07:43:00.000-08:002005-01-17T08:27:38.883-08:00

I know it's a Saturday today, but I have to return to work. The customer apparently wanted Elton (who is more senior than I am) to conduct some sort of a demonstration to his big bosses, so I had to come in as well. It won't look too cool if Elton were at work and I were by some beach sipping pina colada, would it? After that, I went to run on the treadmill, determined to get rid of the fats I

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1105972573179917012005-01-07T06:34:00.000-08:002005-01-17T06:36:13.180-08:00

What's with the quality of the air today? There is a heavy smoky smell of soot all over Calcutta. Not that Calcutta isn't already polluted, but today the smell is especially bad. Want to know how bad it is? It is so bad that I think the smell of rubbish (like that huge pile of crap dumped beside my client's office) is better. My nose has now been seasoned to the corrupt, sweet smell of rotting

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1105972626038138862005-01-07T06:15:00.000-08:002005-01-17T06:37:06.040-08:00

My client suggested that at the end of our stint with his company, we go to one of his company's branch offices at Mumbai to have a look. I'm not sure if Mumbai will be much fun, but I'm sure it would be a nice change from Calcutta. While I found Calcutta a very unique and interesting city, I am not exactly in a hurry to come here again.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1105972671616714352005-01-07T05:37:00.000-08:002005-01-17T06:42:19.133-08:00

I finally understand how the cab fare system in Calcutta works. Apparently, there are two different kinds of meters - the electronic meter, and the older mechanical meter. Unfortunately, changes in cab fare schemes are not programmed into the meters, and the cab driver will have to calculate the fare depending on which meter he has. For the electronic meter, you would take the meter's reading and

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1105972706617267342005-01-06T06:38:00.000-08:002005-01-17T06:38:26.616-08:00

I'm horrified at how unhealthy I have become. For the first time in several months, I went to the weighing machine. It appears that I have gained 6kg in the two months I have joined this company. Just a few weeks ago, I was able to run on the treadmill at a steady pace of 13.6 km/h for about 10 minutes. Today, I could only last 5 minutes. The only explanation for this is that I am tired, or my

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1103570042515330242004-12-20T09:57:00.000-08:002004-12-20T11:14:02.516-08:00

A draft of cool Indian air greeted me as I stepped out of the aircraft. After queueing for about 45 minutes, I finally cleared the customs and stepped out into Mumbai. I was greeted by a mass of humanity at the airport. My boss had instructed me to take a taxi to the J.W. Marriot, so I looked for a respectable-looking counter and placed an order for a cab. I was lead to a

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1100973789796109172004-11-20T10:03:00.000-08:002004-11-22T11:04:41.210-08:00

My favourite spot in Hong Kong is Lantau Island. It is a place with truly breathtaking scenery. I was here in Sep 2002, and I made it a point to return to Lantau Island again this trip. Lantau Island is a very hilly island, marked with two peaks - Sunset Peak and Lantau Peak at 869m and 934m above sea level respectively. It is still a relatively undeveloped part of Hong Kong, with only Tung Chung

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1100971479057182462004-11-20T09:24:00.000-08:002004-11-20T09:59:12.380-08:00

These are some of the pictures I took in Saikung. It only shows a very small section of Saikung, and it is probably not even the most beautiful area of Saikung. The last time I went to Saikung two years ago (sometime in Oct 2002), I was quite amazed that there were such nice beaches in Hong Kong. The sand was fine, and the water relatively clean. Alas, I was not able to make it to the beach this

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1099934455415049372004-11-08T09:18:00.000-08:002004-11-08T09:28:09.026-08:00

The alarm bell in my room in the Excelsior Hotel rang loudly, shaking me out of my sleep. "This is an emergency situation. Please evacuate the building immediately," said a lady's voice on the PA system. It was 5:00am in the morning. I was in a daze, and ignored the bell for a while. However, the bell was persistent. Then the enormity of the situation hit me, as though someone had emptied a

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1096598985170341172004-09-30T19:03:00.000-07:002004-09-30T19:49:45.170-07:00

This is the script I wrote for a skit that was played out during Joel's birthday celebration. Joel is the group leader of the cell group I am currently attending. The purpose of the skit was to highlight how good and effective Joel had been as a leader. Narrator: Once upon a time, in a far, faraway land, there lived a bunch of sheep. They lived in a fertile land, a land flowing with milk and

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1094926342998491612004-09-11T10:48:00.000-07:002004-09-11T11:12:22.996-07:00

It's time for me to do something for God and for society. With that in mind, I volunteered my services to provide tuition for the poor and the needy. To me, an education is a very important ingredient in almost any recipe for success. If I can help these kids improve their academic results, perhaps in future, I could indirectly help the family break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. I've just

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1094924722618894772004-09-11T10:24:00.000-07:002004-09-11T10:47:57.906-07:00

I now declare that I am the proud owner of an Olympus C-460. It has been two weeks already, and I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'm dying for the opportunity to use it ..... the feeling is kind of like buying a new car and then leaving the car in your garage for two weeks. Buying the camera itself was a tough decision. It was at the Olympus booth, during the COMEX show that I bought the

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1088618230147369432004-06-30T10:32:00.000-07:002004-06-30T21:18:29.773-07:00

A two-hour blackout strikes Singapore, and Channel Newsasia does a half-hour coverage on it. You can read all about the blackout here. It is a subtle compliment to Singapore's near-perfection that such innocuous incidents command such high levels of attention from her citizens. We, the long-suffering Malaysians have come to terms with such disruptions in our lives. Back in Ipoh, blackouts are

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1087382115705657092004-06-16T03:30:00.000-07:002004-06-16T03:53:30.943-07:00

For the last one month, my work has taken me to a new location in the city (Tanjong Pagar actually). The project site is located in a state-of-the-art building that has escalators which are intelligent enough to turn itself on when a person approaches, and turn itself off when the person leaves. Heck, even the window blinds are state-of-the-art. In fact, the window blinds are so intelligent that

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1087356327807821692004-06-15T20:17:00.000-07:002004-06-16T03:30:09.280-07:00

Two days ago, I picked up a book titled the The Case for Faith. I picked it up on a whim, hardly knowing what to expect, after hearing many praises about this book from my friends in church. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the book is an attempt to address various questions that challenge the Christian faith. These were questions that I have been contemplating with for

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1085025104100983972004-05-19T20:41:00.000-07:002004-05-23T05:52:02.730-07:00

Time passes too quickly. It has been three months since I had written anything in my blog. Yet it feels just like yesterday. It is frightening to think about how quickly the months go by, even though you are not consciously aware of its passing. I would enter my thirties, unaware that I am at the halfway point in my journey through the natural human lifespan. When I was young and carefree, I was

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1077037929277154332004-02-17T09:12:00.000-08:002004-05-19T20:30:18.243-07:00

17 Feb 2004 9:00pm. A middle-aged man sporting a gold tooth took the seat next to me. He wore a 60's style short-sleeve striped shirt tucked out and a pair of brownish-black pants that looked like it needed pressing. A foul-smelling scent (like a dead cockroach) wafted into my lungs. I held my breath, willing the smell to go away, but it would not. I could feel my life ebbing away as the foul

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1076862536112759252004-02-15T08:28:00.000-08:002004-05-19T20:28:33.686-07:00

To be honest, I have not watched American Idol, and thus have had to learn about William Hung's fame through friends and the newspapers (which is hard to miss, especially since he's given front-page prominence). However, it speaks a lot about how far and wide his fame has spread, when even people who have little interest in the entertainment scene (such as me) are acquainted with his existence.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1076861866616290922004-02-15T08:17:00.000-08:002004-02-15T08:20:19.200-08:00

At first glance, the title Hung up on money on the Straits Times website appears to suggest that William Hung wants money in exchange for interviews. However, after reading the article, that does not seem to be the case. It is a good thing the reporter had printed the reply given by William Hung, for we would otherwise have unwittingly made some not-too-flattering assumptions about his character.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1076346074641879022004-02-09T09:01:00.000-08:002004-05-19T20:29:04.746-07:00

Over the last century, humanity has been fascinated with the possibility of extraterrestial life. There are institutions in our world today like SETI (short for Search for Extraterrestial Intelligence) whose sole purpose is to seek out sentient beings in other worlds. In the search for intelligent life, some people even go through the trouble of informing the extraterrestials of our existence, so

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1076001668004382162004-02-05T09:21:00.000-08:002004-05-19T20:29:33.533-07:00

This article predicts the destruction of the earth due to particle physics experiments at the large collider being built in CERN. Will such an incident ever come to pass? Who knows. Research in particle physics is infamous for generating lots of pure science that is rarely, if ever, able to be used for the benefit of mankind. Still, when the first studies on radioactivity were made, who would

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1074783054392344562004-01-22T06:50:00.000-08:002004-01-22T06:52:54.640-08:00

It was still several hours before dawn. I was sound asleep in my bed, in the midst of a pleasant dream. All was quiet, with not a soul to be heard (while it would not be too accurate to say that I knew that in my sleep, I think it shouldn't be too far from the truth). Alas, this tranquility was not to last. Without warning, loud explosions pierced through the silence! The loud explosions were

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1074014898619521292004-01-13T09:28:00.000-08:002004-01-13T10:08:23.936-08:00

Uh oh! I am not quite sure why, but apparently the folks at the Straits Times do change their online news articles every now and then. In an earlier article, I had indicated that the Straits Times published an article titled Hundreds turn out for Anita Mui's funeral. For reasons I will probably never know, the very same article at the very same link has been recently changed to Thousands turn out

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1073913088760471662004-01-12T05:11:00.000-08:002004-01-12T18:12:28.420-08:00

Tens of thousands turn up for Anita Mui's funeral So screamed the headlines of a local Chinese tabloid (can't remember whether it's Lianhe Wanbao or Xinming Ribao, but it does not matter) a fellow MRT passenger was carrying. I was impressed by the numbers. What a popular singer Anita Mui must have been, I thought! Hours later at work, during one of my breaks, I dropped by the Straits Times

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1072841905913460052003-12-30T19:38:00.000-08:002003-12-30T19:39:56.843-08:00

My friend lysiithea has finally rediscovered her literary abilities after several months of limbo. So if you have the time, do check out her blog. If there is enough interest in her blog, I'm sure she would be inspired to write even more! PS: I don't think I look like Hammie in Baby Blues at all, and I'm not sure if it's even a good thing to look like him. But, for her sake, I'll try to treat it

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1072765458228785552003-12-29T22:24:00.000-08:002003-12-29T22:40:14.670-08:00

Wenjie and Li's marriage At long last, on the 29th Dec 2003, Wenjie is happily married to Li. After so many years of drifting in the wilderness (ok, ok, so I am exaggerating a little), I am really happy to see that he is now settled down with a lovely wife. The wedding took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Scotts Road. Wenjie looked elegant in his black, bowtie suit, and Li had an exquisite

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1067840747165312022003-11-02T22:25:00.000-08:002003-11-02T23:01:37.780-08:00

Eating hamsters - Part III To all hamster lovers out there: I'd like to emphasize that the essence of the article is not just about the eating of hamsters described in graphic detail. The theme of this article is the redemption of humanity -- my redemption. As with all struggles in the history of humanity, the path to redemption is fraught with peril, and many lives (hamsters, that is) have to

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1067307792241156672003-10-27T18:23:00.000-08:002003-10-27T18:27:45.936-08:00

Eating hamsters - Part II This continues from the immediate aftermath of the events described in Eating hamsters - Part I. After eating the dwarf hamster, I was hit by a pang of guilt. I had just taken the life of a cute little creature, albeit a carnivorous one who had tried to eat me. Did I really have to eat the hamster, delicious as it might be? Was that the only option available to me then

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1066871940647246162003-10-22T18:19:00.000-07:002003-10-26T18:01:40.436-08:00

Eating hamsters - Part I I do not quite know how to begin this, how I can relate this strange experience without creating a sense of disbelief among my friends. Yet, bizarre as it is, it had happened to me as surely as the sun rises from the east. Perhaps I should begin from the time I returned home. It was about 1:00am in the morning. I had just returned from work that night. As usual, I got

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1066212363306770602003-10-15T03:06:00.000-07:002003-10-15T19:04:20.076-07:00

Conversations with a Cabby II - Never underestimate the cabby Since we are on the topic of cabbies, perhaps I should record another incident, while it is still fresh on my mind. This incident occured on yet another late night, at approximately 1:00am, while I was taking a cab on my way home. "Holland Village. Take the AYE and exit at Clementi Road." "Ok." I laid back and stretched my arms.

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1066143835215593632003-10-14T08:03:00.000-07:002003-10-14T22:09:27.943-07:00

Conversations with a Cabby As some of you might know, I often work late nights. Thankfully, it is quite easy to get a cab at my customer's office, so whenever I leave the office after a certain time, I will often hop on a cab home. On the cab, the first thing I want to do is to close my eyes and rest after a long day at work. Unfortunately, it appears that many cabbies I encounter do not quite

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1065622548667288382003-10-08T07:15:00.000-07:002003-10-15T19:03:01.110-07:00

We live in a day and age where cancer has become very prevalent in our lives. In the last one year alone, I have heard of no less than ten friends, relatives of friends or friends of friends who have either passed away or have been diagnosed with cancer. Some of these people are only in their 30s! It is quite a tragedy when one meets an untimely end due to the ravages of cancer. In these days, I

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1065620879766583912003-10-08T06:47:00.000-07:002003-10-08T06:47:59.263-07:00

CANCER - INVALUABLE FACTS Compiled by www.ximnet.com.my 1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1064586101096027862003-09-26T07:21:00.000-07:002003-09-28T22:50:11.656-07:00

Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress Cixi's residence - Chang Chun Gong (Palace of Eternal Spring), Forbidden City, China It is quite typical for most Singaporeans to dismiss the Singaporean arts scene as a cultural wasteland. We consume large quantities of American, Hong Konger and even Taiwanese cultural products and find ourselves generous with our praise to these artists. There appears

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1064541117844992612003-09-25T18:51:00.000-07:002003-09-25T19:46:29.663-07:00

I am told by some of my friends that my last article on Germany is very "cheem" (Hokkien slang for complex). Upon examining the article, I think it is not so much that the article is "cheem". However, I might have inadvertently made several assumptions concerning the reader's knowledge of European history while penning the article. I will thus endeavour to write my articles with less assumptions

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1064470759920382982003-09-23T18:13:00.001-07:002003-09-26T03:14:52.373-07:00

Castle Hohenzollern, Germany "She weeps, but takes just the same." - Frederick the Great, on Maria Theresa's participation in the partition of Poland I've always had a fascination for German history. After all, it was the Germans who started the two world wars that happened in the last century. Yet, as recent as 150 years ago, there was no such entity as Germany. In those days, Germany was a

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-1057865057729889052003-07-10T12:24:00.000-07:002003-07-10T12:49:35.600-07:00

Lilya 4-ever My fourth movie for the Singapore Film Festival was Lilya 4-ever. We read it in the newspapers all the time -- about girls in remote villages tricked by promises of a job in the city; about girls who are kidnapped and later forced to sell their bodies. However, few are truly aware of the extent of the anguish that the victims of the sex industry experience. Loosely based on a

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-935474522003-04-30T12:05:00.000-07:002003-04-30T12:17:32.000-07:00

Dial History My third movie for the Singapore Film Festival was Dial History. This is an irreverent documentary about airplane hijacks all over the world. The movie is a compilation of all the news clips about various hijacking incidents, interspersed with little cartoons of houses crashing into planes, planes crashing into the ground and exploding, cartoon characters making phone calls etc,

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-935459652003-04-30T11:36:00.000-07:002003-07-10T12:29:31.393-07:00

The Gospel According to St. Matthew My second movie for the Singapore Film Festival was The Gospel According to St. Matthew, directed by the famous Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Pasolini is a well-known Marxist homosexual who had an illustrious, but highly controversial career in film-making. For that, he suffered a mysterious and violent death at the age of 53. My interest in the

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-931048972003-04-23T03:57:00.000-07:002003-04-23T03:57:17.566-07:00

Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in our Times This is my first movie for the Singapore Film Fest (I gave Chihwaseon a miss after discovering that tickets cost SGD 21.80!). Power and Terror is not so much a movie, but a documentary about Noam Chomsky and his views. For those of you who are not already in the know, Noam Chomsky is a linguist professor from MIT. He is also a political activist who is

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-930624042003-04-22T12:01:00.000-07:002003-04-22T20:28:53.000-07:00

Some of you have complained that my articles were too long, so I have decided to write shorter articles from now on. Also, this Blogger appears to give some trouble when I'm writing long articles, so there is definitely a strong incentive to cut down on the size of my articles. :)

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4022309.post-930623762003-04-22T12:00:00.001-07:002003-04-22T19:51:46.000-07:00

The Hours (Part 3) This may all sound rather surreal, but the story it tells is very real. I recall walking along HDB 1-room apartment blocks, where the old folks live, and see many old folks sitting around, doing absolutely nothing, whiling their time away. Where are their children? It appeared as though life no longer held any surprises for them. They were simply waiting to die. What meaning

Amlethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305771984590773001noreply@blogger.com