Sunday, June 21, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
A MINDEF is a Terrible Thing To Waste
Most Singaporean males will look at, think about, speak of, and otherwise see the above-mentioned acronym and shudder and swear. How many of us have given our time, our blood, sweat and tears to this faceless entity that claims to operate for the benefit of us all?
I'll take some time to speak briefly about certain people who strut around proudly proclaiming their antics in the arts of malingering and beign admitted into a mental institution. You're partially the reason the rest of us good folk have to work as hard as we do. Fucktards.
When I enlisted so very long ago, I was given a "low" medical status due to a shoulder condition, and I shared a bunk with people lacking a lung or sternum. Seriously. I will openly admit that I was fortunate in being assigned the relatively "easy" status I was, but I thought to myself that I'd repay it by doing my best when I was given whatever tasks I was. And I would say I did.
I've regretted many things in life. For a long time I regretted royally fucking up my studies when I was younger, before the army beckoned. Now, with life in University looking particularly rosy from amny aspects, I feel like I've been given a second, albeit expensive, chance to make things right.
And then the army calls us back.
Don't get me wrong. I actually think that National Service is a great benefit to a nation. It's just that the way things are run and done now, all the government is nuturing is a growing resentment (from the youths they've trained to fire rifles) towards those in power. The whole experience probably made me a better person, though it also introduced me to the happy world of swearing and cursing.
And what really sets me on edge is the fact that the army seems to revel in messing up your life.
I know a guy studying abroad now who was denied the opportunity to go overseas for a degree in Medicine because the army didn't let him leave the country, with the threat of exile looming large. I saw him every single fucking day. All he did was lounge around an air-conditioned office (with me) and make fun of sleepy logistics personnel (Travers, among them). Was that so important that they had to deny this guy a chance at realising a dream?
Today my brother was supposed to enlist. It's a day most guys never forget. So he made his way, with my parents who took days off from work, to go to the military settlement of Pulau Tekong, only to be told after several hours that his date was going to be pushed back due to him losing some weight. He was also instructed to make the journey from Pulau Tekong (via ferry to Pasir Ris) to CMPB (which is nowhere near Pasir Ris). All this so that someone could check a box in a form.
In an age where bluetooth and iPhones are as common as anything else, and where "our army" boasts technology that would put James T. Kirk to shame, was this really neccesary?
No, that was fucked up.
I, and a few others in school, have recently been told by our friends at MINDEF that our deferment applications have been rejected. Effectively, they are saying "Ha, fuck you and your education! You need to come back to camp, and pretend to get ready for the war that will happen anytime we push the button!"
WHAT BUTTON?!?
Do we really think that (a) there is a war that Singapore will be part of in the near future and (b) our stores of faulty weaponry and unmotivated individuals will even stand a chance against anything but a platoon of schoolgirls? Trust me, we'd be better off fighting with spears and shields than the spectacular crapfest that is the SAR-21.
So here I am trying to think of a way where I won't miss a full third of my semester because some lazy bastards behind a computer screen decided that anyone not in NUS/NTU/SMU isn't worth the trouble of accomodating for.
The Singaporean government has, for a long time, tried to promote a sense of patriotism and love for our country and all that our forefathers have fought and died for. I get that. But by fucking with a generation of pissed off youth, do you honestly think that anyone is going to bother giving a flying fuck about a country that has strived to hinder their own lives?
Fuck no.
I should go to Buffalo and not come back.
I'll take some time to speak briefly about certain people who strut around proudly proclaiming their antics in the arts of malingering and beign admitted into a mental institution. You're partially the reason the rest of us good folk have to work as hard as we do. Fucktards.
When I enlisted so very long ago, I was given a "low" medical status due to a shoulder condition, and I shared a bunk with people lacking a lung or sternum. Seriously. I will openly admit that I was fortunate in being assigned the relatively "easy" status I was, but I thought to myself that I'd repay it by doing my best when I was given whatever tasks I was. And I would say I did.
I've regretted many things in life. For a long time I regretted royally fucking up my studies when I was younger, before the army beckoned. Now, with life in University looking particularly rosy from amny aspects, I feel like I've been given a second, albeit expensive, chance to make things right.
And then the army calls us back.
Don't get me wrong. I actually think that National Service is a great benefit to a nation. It's just that the way things are run and done now, all the government is nuturing is a growing resentment (from the youths they've trained to fire rifles) towards those in power. The whole experience probably made me a better person, though it also introduced me to the happy world of swearing and cursing.
And what really sets me on edge is the fact that the army seems to revel in messing up your life.
I know a guy studying abroad now who was denied the opportunity to go overseas for a degree in Medicine because the army didn't let him leave the country, with the threat of exile looming large. I saw him every single fucking day. All he did was lounge around an air-conditioned office (with me) and make fun of sleepy logistics personnel (Travers, among them). Was that so important that they had to deny this guy a chance at realising a dream?
Today my brother was supposed to enlist. It's a day most guys never forget. So he made his way, with my parents who took days off from work, to go to the military settlement of Pulau Tekong, only to be told after several hours that his date was going to be pushed back due to him losing some weight. He was also instructed to make the journey from Pulau Tekong (via ferry to Pasir Ris) to CMPB (which is nowhere near Pasir Ris). All this so that someone could check a box in a form.
In an age where bluetooth and iPhones are as common as anything else, and where "our army" boasts technology that would put James T. Kirk to shame, was this really neccesary?
No, that was fucked up.
I, and a few others in school, have recently been told by our friends at MINDEF that our deferment applications have been rejected. Effectively, they are saying "Ha, fuck you and your education! You need to come back to camp, and pretend to get ready for the war that will happen anytime we push the button!"
WHAT BUTTON?!?
Do we really think that (a) there is a war that Singapore will be part of in the near future and (b) our stores of faulty weaponry and unmotivated individuals will even stand a chance against anything but a platoon of schoolgirls? Trust me, we'd be better off fighting with spears and shields than the spectacular crapfest that is the SAR-21.
So here I am trying to think of a way where I won't miss a full third of my semester because some lazy bastards behind a computer screen decided that anyone not in NUS/NTU/SMU isn't worth the trouble of accomodating for.
The Singaporean government has, for a long time, tried to promote a sense of patriotism and love for our country and all that our forefathers have fought and died for. I get that. But by fucking with a generation of pissed off youth, do you honestly think that anyone is going to bother giving a flying fuck about a country that has strived to hinder their own lives?
Fuck no.
I should go to Buffalo and not come back.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Comic Relief #208
And another debut. Angeline, this time in that Superman T-shirt or top that she seems to like (it's the first random photo of her I saw on Facebook).Saturday, May 30, 2009
Terminator, Salivation
Those closest to me would have heard the iconic theme from the Terminator series either from my phone or randomly hummed by me at inappropriate times. I just got back from watching the latest installment, and I must say, well, I have a few things to say.
Firstly, Christian Bale. Come on. Bruce Wayne and John Connor? How cool is that? Hugo Weaving is V, Megatron, Smith and Elrond, but Bale is quickly catching up. Gun Kata doesn't count, but a point to note: Chris Pine, who played James T. Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek movie, is reported to be playing the Green Lantern too. But back to Connor, who sounds surprisingly like Batman in "McG's" blockbuster. That and the fact that the movie also casts someone by the name of Moon Bloodgood is epic. She's not a bad looker either.
As far as the plot goes, it's always difficult to do any story involving time travel without tripping over your own feet. Back To The Future aside, the aren't too many which do a great job for whatever reason. This one works though, reclaiming the credibility of the series after James Cameron's classic sequel. To those of you who are watching this just to see Christian Bale, however, be prepared. He isn't on-screen for long periods of time in the first half of the movie, but it all plays out very nicely.
If you've never seen Terminator 3, you haven't missed much. Most people pretend it never happened anyway, like how Eric Bana was never Bruce Banner in the Hulk movie that never happened. The first and second Terminator movies, however, are essential in fully enjoying the experience of this one. The moment "Kyle Reese" was mentioned in the film, I was silently hopping with glee. Most of the classic lines from the earlier films are also revisited, and not stupidly, with a few more really cool movie moments thrown into the mix as well. Fans of the series might also be able to identify a few more things which carry over to the future/past/earlier movies. You know.
Interestingly, I have concluded that the only way to make a good Terminator movie is to feature a fight scene in a factory setting where at least one Terminator is destroyed.
Invariably, because of the nature of many movies these days and also because I am spectacularly anal about these things, there are a few things I either don't quite get or didn't agree with.
Firstly, it seems that for all the "cold, calculated logic" that the machines possess, they are quite adept at failing to get things done. Kill John Connor? Stop throwing him around, and just snap his neck! Kill someone else? Then why put him in a holding cell?
The ending, where one character sacrifices something for the life of another, could be seen coming the moment the little love angle played out as well.
Also, Katherine Brewster goes from being an assistant to a vet to a heart surgeon?
All in all though, I really don't have any heavy criticism for the movie, and a ton of praise. I wish there were a few more mentions and little snippets of things that would lead to the "future" that others have mentioned or alluded to in previous movies, but there are plenty already. It's definitely better than the third movie. Better than the second? No. But it's way better than, say, Wolverine. Better than Star Trek? No. For those who want to watch Salvation, don't go in expecting something akin to Terminator 2. It's a great movie, but not a mind-blowing epic like that one, and better than the third by leaps and bounds. Would I watch it again?
Yes.
Firstly, Christian Bale. Come on. Bruce Wayne and John Connor? How cool is that? Hugo Weaving is V, Megatron, Smith and Elrond, but Bale is quickly catching up. Gun Kata doesn't count, but a point to note: Chris Pine, who played James T. Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek movie, is reported to be playing the Green Lantern too. But back to Connor, who sounds surprisingly like Batman in "McG's" blockbuster. That and the fact that the movie also casts someone by the name of Moon Bloodgood is epic. She's not a bad looker either.
As far as the plot goes, it's always difficult to do any story involving time travel without tripping over your own feet. Back To The Future aside, the aren't too many which do a great job for whatever reason. This one works though, reclaiming the credibility of the series after James Cameron's classic sequel. To those of you who are watching this just to see Christian Bale, however, be prepared. He isn't on-screen for long periods of time in the first half of the movie, but it all plays out very nicely.
If you've never seen Terminator 3, you haven't missed much. Most people pretend it never happened anyway, like how Eric Bana was never Bruce Banner in the Hulk movie that never happened. The first and second Terminator movies, however, are essential in fully enjoying the experience of this one. The moment "Kyle Reese" was mentioned in the film, I was silently hopping with glee. Most of the classic lines from the earlier films are also revisited, and not stupidly, with a few more really cool movie moments thrown into the mix as well. Fans of the series might also be able to identify a few more things which carry over to the future/past/earlier movies. You know.
Interestingly, I have concluded that the only way to make a good Terminator movie is to feature a fight scene in a factory setting where at least one Terminator is destroyed.
Invariably, because of the nature of many movies these days and also because I am spectacularly anal about these things, there are a few things I either don't quite get or didn't agree with.
Firstly, it seems that for all the "cold, calculated logic" that the machines possess, they are quite adept at failing to get things done. Kill John Connor? Stop throwing him around, and just snap his neck! Kill someone else? Then why put him in a holding cell?
The ending, where one character sacrifices something for the life of another, could be seen coming the moment the little love angle played out as well.
Also, Katherine Brewster goes from being an assistant to a vet to a heart surgeon?
All in all though, I really don't have any heavy criticism for the movie, and a ton of praise. I wish there were a few more mentions and little snippets of things that would lead to the "future" that others have mentioned or alluded to in previous movies, but there are plenty already. It's definitely better than the third movie. Better than the second? No. But it's way better than, say, Wolverine. Better than Star Trek? No. For those who want to watch Salvation, don't go in expecting something akin to Terminator 2. It's a great movie, but not a mind-blowing epic like that one, and better than the third by leaps and bounds. Would I watch it again?
Yes.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Comic Relief #192
And the long awaited debut of Syikin/Maria comes at the expense of her beau.Note: The weird cheeks were his idea.
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