How far we've come

The title speaks for itself.

How Far We've Come

Matchbox 20

Been a long journey, met loads of people, kept in touch with some and lost touch with others (as it always is in life). Almost the end now, I think I can see a ray or two of flight streaming in from the end of the tunnel. After this, life truly begins (well after NS but you know what I mean). To those who've graduated good luck on getting a job. To those who are nearing the end as well end it in style. And for those with a year or two to go or have yet to begin, enjoy whatever you can while it lasts, 'cause when it's gone, it's gone. And to not end this post on a depressing note, TIME FOR ZOUKOUT PEOPLE! (well almost in anycase)

Older, and hopefully wiser

Just a short one before I turn in. Thanks a lot guys, really appreciate everything. For someone with a rather large vocabulary the only word which comes to mind now is "speechless". Thanks a bunch again.

None too cryptic

Had another nightmare last night; which in itself is nothing special, been hard to get a peaceful nights sleep over the past few weeks. Probably due to the late nights I've had to pull since it's the tail end of the semester and there's an assignment or test due every other week, all a prelude to the finals in mid-November. But something about last night's dream unsettled me more than usual. "What is it?" you might ask. Well, I dreamt of reality. And I think it has gotten a bit more colder in here.

Take Me To Eden: Reveal The World

Sounds like a hymn, could be a hymn and should be a hymn. And I'm sure no one expected this song to be an insert in an anime, called Eden of the East, which coincidentally enough also has Falling Down by Oasis as it's opening theme. Fantastic anime, brilliant plot and a brilliant soundtrack. It's a bit of a political anime and definitely gets your brain thinking of all the "What if's" and I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for an anime with substance.

Reveal the World

"Please continue being a Messiah"

Love song to nobody

Simply marvellous song by May'N. Brilliant lyrics, emotional, heavy; frankly no words can even begin to describe the feelings you experience when you hear the song and understand the lyrics. I'm really not fond of mushy emotional stuff but just this once, I'll make an exception. So listen, and remember, love lost. Because deep down that prickly expletive laced exterior, is a good ole' fashioned romantic.

Diamond Crevasse

"Better to have love and lost than to have not loved at all."

ANIME! Bakemonogatari

Just gotta post the third opening and the ending themes to Bakemonogatari, this new anime which Andrew introduced to me. It's a strange show to say the least, dealing with supernatural events. While it's overall a funny show it does have it's serious moments. Well designed characters and an interesting plot I'll say that it's one of the "must watch" anime's of the season.

Kaerimichi (isn't it just SOOOO cute! And NO I am NOT a lolicon.)

Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari

Idle Musings: Damn you Apple, and you too Creative

Remember when I lost my Zen a month ago and almost immediately went to get the Zen X-FI as a replacement for it? I based my decision on getting the X-FI instead of other models based on its value for money as it offered much more than any other MP3 player at the $229 range. So as befitting my splendid luck Apple has now come up with the new iPod Nano which not only comes with all the wizz-bangs in the Creative (except of course the X-FI system) but also comes with a video camera. Priced at $228 for the 8gb model it trumps my X-FI for value and also happens to be the first iPod with a similar capacity to a Creative to be similarly priced. And I hardly need to state that the iPod is more attractive as it is a fashion statement of sorts. But that's not all, Creative have now released the X-FI 2, which comes with touch-screen interactivity instead of the clumsy buttons on the original X-FI, which I own. Damned, maybe I shouldn't have rushed to purchase a replacement after all.....My X-FI, new, and obsolete.

Master Chef.....NOT!

Tried to cook a chicken burger for dinner today and since I was too lazy to break out the frying pan I decided to chuck the thing into the microwave and set it for two minutes. The result? Chicken biscuit.....well it's still chicken.....So after lamenting over that wasted piece I decided to persevere and chucked another one in at one minute. It came out hot (undoubtedly) but was kinda soft (like nua nua) so it was back in for another 20 seconds. This time it came out marginally better with a more edible taste but I thought "what the heck, another 20 second shot of radiation". Came out kinda hard this time, first signs of "microwave burning" as I call it but still edible all in all. Next time I think I'll just throw it in for a whole one minute 30 seconds and see what happens.....or I could just get a new frying pan and do it the proper way (the previous owners frying pan looked somewhat careworn with mysterious white stuff flaking off it). Another point I'd like to make, frying stuff with a sauce pan which is not non-stick is not the brightest thing to do.....

"Fly Away From Here"

Ya know sometimes ya just feel like lettin' everythin' go and leavin' on a jetplane to fly away from here, anywhere but here. Now wouldn't that be nice?

Fly Away From Here

By Aerosmith

"Ain't nothin' gonna change, if we stay 'round here"

MANIFEST 09! PICTURES!

So Manifest 09 has come and gone like a quick breeze. It's quite possibly the last time I attend it for a few years as I will be taking my leave from Melbourne sometime in July next year. While not permanent I guess where I end up after National Service very much depends on which way the wind takes me. Which means that it might be my last Manifest. And in some ways this year's Manifest while enjoyable as usual felt a bit melancholic. The crowd was fantastic as usual, cosplayers everywhere but for some reason it felt that the crowd got smaller. Well, since this years Manifest wasn't at Melbourne Uni but at the Showgrounds instead I guess only those with an interest in all things anime bothered to make their annual pilgrimage to Manifest. A bit disappointed with the traders this year as the latest products which I expected to see and probably blow my budget on didn't materialise. Well one of the traders did say that new stuff filters down to Australia real slowly due to it's location "down under" so I guess that's that. If you're on the hunt for brand new merchandise Australia is not the place to be. Damn, and I was all hyped up about getting some K-ON merchandise. Well I did get a few decent buys but all things considered not much, well not much when you compare it to the previous two years in any case. Well enough talk, time for some pictures, which I did not take much of this year too. Here are some of the highlights (don't expect too much as all pictures were taken with my swanky but dated N76 which I bought solely because of look not function and only has a 2mp camera).

Mio from K-ON!

Lucky Star Cheerleaders

Hatsune Miku and dude in Shinsengumi uniform

Random Kimono girlsCardcaptor Sakura and Random Maid Random girls in loli dressRiku from Final Fantasy-X and Yoko from Gurren Lagann

Chi from Chobits and Konata from Lucky Star!

Ouka the Divine Fist from .hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet

Mio from K-ON! (again....but it's a good shot so what the hell)

DEFINITELY NOT an Idle Musing: Manifest 2009

Eh wa lao Manifest 2009 is like tomorrow la. KNN lucky I saw the bloody event on Facebook on Monday if not GG already. Basket this year the bloody thing not at Melbourne Uni must travel to Melbourne Showgrounds instead, CCB must buy train ticket again. As though the bloody entry not expensive enough, $50 for three day pass. But nevermind, since confirm my last time going for it for a few years I will take the effort to wake up extra early on one of my free days, will sacrifice the cash to go there and hopefully enjoy myself until sui sui. This year I will definitely take a lot of pics one and post here post there. Shit now must see if my camera got battery or not.....

Not-So Idle Musings: Affirmation

I've realised that I tend to harp on a lot of the negatives which occur in my life, that the foul sequence of events which plague me are more than coincidences. Who else can lose an MP3 player and have his PC crash within a week? And if that's not enough what if I said that the exact same thing happened almost exactly a year ago? What else is there to blame but your own bad luck. I guess you could say that with all the shit happening in my life I've become rather paranoid. A very very sarcastic, cynical and dark humoured person. But I'll try to change that now, no don't expect me to start smiling broadly and stop cussing my ass off, but maybe I'll tone down the cynicism and sarcasm a little (not to mention the knn's and ccb's). It's time to get up and dust myself off. To get moving forward once again. And not to look back.

The Untitled Track

You know, things change as time goes by. Either that or it was never what you thought it was, merely an illusion created by oneself. At the end of the day what you think is yours alone, inference, quite possibly a ways away from the truth. But what is the truth? Everyone has their own version of it. What you believe is not fact, it's personal. That doesn't mean it's false, it's true alright, because you believe it. The same goes with rights and wrongs, black and white. I won't go so far as to say it's all grey, but what's black and white to me may be purple and green to you. I guess what I'm trying to say is "to each his own". We've all got our own problems, but we tend to forget that everyone else has them as well and while you might think your problem is greater than the person next to you that's just what it is, it's only what you think. But don't worry, because he has exactly the same thoughts as you, for he is thinking his problem is greater than yours. While I try to preach understanding in my haphazard way I am of course guilty of being a hypocrite as well. Sure I may say I try to be as impartial as I can my judgement and reasoning will always be based on what I know, what I have experienced. Which is exactly what it is, my experiences, not yours, mine. Now how impartial can that be? As people come and go there are a select few who will always be there. Family, brothers, friends. I don't have any close relatives here so for me down under my family are my friends. Sure it's a dysfunctional family at best but we make do with what we have. Being totally frank had our paths crossed in another time at another place the previous me would have scoffed at the idea of hanging out with these people. People who were afraid to get their hands dirty when they needed to, people who didn't know how it was to work long shifts at manual jobs, people who have never had to scringe and save for the things they wanted, their next meal. It might sound tough but you do what you have to do. Sure I didn't have to do some of the things I did but self-sufficiency has always been high up on my list. No sense in impressing chicks with my parents cash. My parents are closer to 60 than 55, they don't run businesses but instead work for people. They could do with fewer burdens. But as I said before this is my situation. Since coming here I've learned to temper my views. Learnt to see past the surface and to a certain extent become a milder version of my old self. Everyone has got their points, you've just got to see them. Although there might be a great many differences there are equally as many if not more similarities. If we all didn't have our differences something would be very very wrong. We're bound to have our scuffles, disagreements and the like. But what makes people friends is their ability to see past that. There is no taking without first giving. While it might seem like you are always doing the giving, the time will come for others to give too, and for you to receive. And although things may change as time goes by I hope that one thing will always stay the same. That friends, brothers, family will always remain that way.

Idle Musings: Weapon of Choice

Another share from the Mr.Brown show, and remember people once you go armed forces you can never go back. Bloody civvies.....

the mrbrown show: army fighting language

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Idle Musings: Le Kua Simi

Rough week, won't elaborate much more than the age old adage "shit happens". Well gonna put it past me and bulldoze straight through, no way but forward as they say. Well the good stuff will come eventually so I'll just keep looking for it, either that or it'll find me first. So I leave you now with a music video from the Mr.Brown show.

Le Kua Simi?

Idle Musings: Oops, time difference

Really funny mistake it is, I just returned to 1939 Nazi Ger.....whoops....er.....I meant Australia, Melbourne yesterday, the 9th of August (Majulah Singapura.....yeah right.....). Didn't get much sleep one the plane, barely an hour or two by my estimates and I couldn't sleep in the afternoon because I had to clean up my place and unpack. As a result I was damn tired at night and promptly went to sleep after setting my alarm. Small problem there, as bloody Australia is two hours ahead and I forgot to reset my phone and MP3 (yes my new X-FI comes with a speaker which means I've got one more alarm in my arsenal) I woke up two hours later than I wanted to which resulted in me missing my first class of the semester. And since the sudden change in climates is making me feel lethargic I decided to give my lecture in the evening a miss too and spend the whole day lazing around.

Idle Musings: The Replacement

Well sure enough no one stepped forward to return my missing Zen so I had no choice but to buy a new one. Already expecting this to happen due to my cynical view of society and life I already came up with alternatives and replacements for my missing MP3 and settled for a new one in the end. So I'm now saddled with a Zen X-FI, another Creative MP3. My main reason for going Creative is of course the price, which is much cheaper than comparable Apple or Sony models. Well as much as my credit is feeling the burn of having to shell out another $229 due to my momentary lapse of vigilance it has taught me a few valuable lessons. The first is that you can never be too careful with your things and the only way to prevent it from happening again is CONSTANT vigilance, if you're not sure about something check and double check again. The second one is that if you do this and still lose stuff then someone up there or somewhere has something against you, in which case good luck. And lastly the age old adage "shit happens". And here's a shout out to Morg, don't waste your money on an iPhone, look at how fast they churn out new models, first the iPhone, then iPhone 3G and now the 3Gs, it's a damn gimmick I tell you. Besides both your handphone and MP3 player are still new and in very good condition. Save that $879 (price from the Apple shop) for something else.

Idle Musings: Domestic competition

Had a COD 4 marathon with Bowen and the lads on Saturday night where we played from 12 am to 6 am. And I must say I am quite impressed with his level of skill in the game; in fact I'd go so far as to say that he is either as good or better than I am. Although I was fatigued by LAN overload from playing on Friday night as well as Saturday afternoon at the behest of James, I'll admit that his skill is HGF level. In fact I'd go so far as to say he could go toe-to-toe with our leader "BRUNO!" (his new nickname, the faggoty gay SM bastard with his equally fagotty and gay non-competition-regulated mouse). His skill with sub machine gun classed weapons far exceeds my own and his stealth work with a silenced Uzi makes him almost impossible to detect. Well since he IS a commando I'd expect nothing less from his well-honed reflexes and concentration. Another one to note is Arthur, and while his skill with ranged weapons is mediocre at best, his knife skills could possibly rival those of Simply Red in a head-on knife fight. The final tally of the night was of course a draw, both of us having won and loss roughly the same number of matches, although I did manage to triumph him in levels. It was a good experience taking him on and I relish the chance where I can square off against him again, hopefully being at my peak level the next time we meet.

Idle Musings: You lose some, and....er....lose some again?

Shit, I lost my mp3 player again. Bloody hell and I just bought my Zen a year ago after I lost my old Zen Neeon which served me reasonably for a good four years. Can't believe it; I'm usually quite careful with my things, always checking and double checking to see if I left anything anywhere, and on the days I let my guard down just a tiny bit it comes back to bite me in the backside. Can't I just get a break from this foul streak or have I used up all my luck for this lifetime? (For a humorous take on this read "Love Hina" book 9; in fact read the whole bloody series, fantastic stuff) Well I just hope that some kind soul finds it in the cinema and hands it over to the lost and found so that I can collect it tomorrow. Here's to optimistic thinking and a little miracle. I don't want to waste money and have to buy a replacement again, not to mention transferring all the songs is going to be a real pain.

"What to do, life is like that."

Idle Musings: The King of Pop

I still remember the songs which I listened to way back. The first which come to mind are La Bamba by Ritchie Valens, Mrs Robinson by The Beatles and of course every one of MJ's songs. Back in the day he was THE thing on every one's high-fi and Walkman. My cousin is probably his greatest fan I know, in fact he used to have this Michael Jackson game they had on the ancient Sega console and LD's of all his albums. Heck I can even remember the Michael Jackson movie, now THAT'S how old I am! He was and is THE quintessential performer. While a flawed and eccentric character as all true geniuses are, his musical talent and supremacy at his art was undeniable. Watch his moves on the dance floor and I'll bet even Kim Jong Il will be mesmerised and forget to flick the switch on that nuke he's about to launch. The way he danced wasn't human, it was that of a well-oiled fluid dancing machine, his moves clinical, smooth and precise. His sudden passing was a real shock, and I'll admit that the thought of getting tickets to his comeback concert did occur a while back. Well guess this takes care of that little dilemma. His passing is a real loss to the art and I would go so far as to say that with his passing the last great performer from my era has gone. While many might focus on the more onerous aspects of his life I feel that we should remember the man for what he was, which is the greatest performer ever to grace the dance floor, not what he was accused of. In a way he lived a sad life devoid of a childhood and was taken advantage of by those who just wanted extra spending money. So I pray, that he has finally achieved the peace he so deserves.



This is probably my most favourite song of his. Brings me right back to my childhood where Power Rangers were still based on dinosaurs and ruled Saturday morning television and kopi was only for people older than me. Oh and milk was still served in a bottle. I guess I especially like the video because it has the romantic feel of the ole' American gangster era with their tailored suits and "Tommy" guns. Fantastic.

Idle Musings: Link

I've always thought of my Grandparents and their home as a constant and a link to my past, when things were much simpler. As a place I could turn to to get away from the hectic pace of my life, a sanctuary. Having been brought up by them and staying at their house for a good 10 years before returning home I've always treated them with the utmost respect and care and I'm not ashamed to say that I treat them leagues better than my parents. I can still remember the times when my Grandfather thought me how to take the bus and MRT, how he brought me back from school if I fell ill during class or after extra lessons. How my Grandmother would cook lunch and would either get my Grandfather to bring it to my place after class or deliver it herself. How I would spend my Saturday mornings at their place (Yes that's the only time I would bother to wake up at 8am on a free day and walk all the way from Balestier to Toa Payoh just to have breakfast with them) having breakfast with them, how my Grandmother would always prepare coffee and snacks which my Grandfather bought for tea at 4pm, how there would always be food waiting for me whenever I turned up. But that's all in the past, my Grandmother has been bedridden and unable to speak due to a stroke four years ago and my Grandfather suddenly passed away last year due to a fall. I can still remember my Grandfather calling me at least once a month (well I tried to call back at least once a week in any case) while I was in Australia, to check up on me and make sure I was fine and how my aunt would scold him sometimes for calling me too many times. At the time of his passing I truly felt that the last link to my past had gone. I now go back to visit an empty and quiet home. Where once the sound of loud conversations in Cantonese and Malay can be heard all that's left is silence. I still visit regularly whenever I'm back home but it'll never be the same again, it's still warm though, that's one feeling that will never change. I'll always miss the conversations and time I spent with my Grandmother watching the latest dramas on show on television and my Grandfather recounting his experiences during the Japanese occupation. Well knowing that you can never go back to the past is progress in itself, it would however be nice if I could go back to those simpler times one more time.

Idle Musings: Thoughts

This marks the beginning of posts titled "Idle Musings" which are a summarised version of what's been on my mind recently. I'll try to make them as short as possible unlike the other full length posts. OK, lets begin shall we. I've realised that deep thinking is the best way for doubts and insecurities to ferment in your life. The more you think of a matter the more you feel that a better decision could have been made, that you've made the wrong one, that the other one would've been infinitely better. You start thinking things like "Why is this happening to me?" or like good ole' Charlie Brown's "When do the good things start?", all very much depressing thoughts to plague yourself with. I guess that's why I tend to drink a tad too much and indulge in smoking off and on as a way of ridding myself of such thoughts, albeit temporarily. Such thoughts usually haunt me, a life which has steadily been full of regrets. What else can you do when you don't have anyone to voice these problems to, I mean they sure as hell can't be posted to the blog, what with them being sensitive and possibly confrontational. How do you find a place to channel these thoughts or do you keep them under lock and key for eternity?

Until You're Over Me

Great song by Maroon 5, well most of their songs are nice in any case, although their subject content is all rather similar. And since I haven't got the time to post anything for awhile I thought I might as well put this up, don't want the site to start smelling like stale sardines the next time I decide to post some real content.

Until You're Over Me

And to all you folks sitting for the dreaded end of semester exams, I bid thee Good Night, and Good Luck.

CONnex you've done it again

Have you ever wondered why terrorists never bothered to attack the Melbourne train line, but took the effort to hit the London, Madrid and if some of you can remember the Indian ones? No it's not that they found the Kangaroo's, Koala's and Wallaby's cute but a rather more insidious and diabolical reason. It's because Connex itself is a terrorist organisation. That's right the truth is out, CONnex and Al Qaeda are in bed together. In fact I have reason to believe that the Al Qaeda terror network is so impressed by CONnex that they have sent over some operatives to train with them and maybe pick up a thing or two on how to torture civilians while not getting shot at. This is state sponsored terrorism at it's height, forget Iran and North Korea for the enemy is right at our doorstep. Terrorists did indeed plan to attack the Melbourne rail system but after scouting the place out they realised that by bombing CONnex trains they'd be striking a blow for justice instead of their own insidious ends. They'd be helping the pagan infidels they swore to annihilate. Instead they marvelled at how CONnex could get away with crimes against humanity by providing the most shit transportation service ever known to man and charging commuters an arm and a leg. That's right, the service which CONnex provides is so bad it's considered terrorism. In CONnex, Al Qaeda found an ally, a kindred spirit, a mentor of sorts. And there lay CONnex's true mission, to destroy the lives of normal hard-working people, to rob them of their hard earned money and most important of all their life's blood, time. Forget the lies of technical faults and a lack of competent staff for it was all calculated and intentional. First they steal your money through the exorbitant fares, then they waste your time by delaying all their trains and making them stop at random places for no reason and finally they destroy your social and working life by making you late for every appointment. Bad service? No. Terrorism? Undoubtedly. There were days when not only did you not get to your destination, but is instead brought somewhere else. Like the Jews who thought they were going for a shower but ended up a statistic and a chapter in the history books. And it almost happened to me today, and this is what happened. I woke up at 5:50am to get to my 8:30am class this morning. I arrived at Melbourne Central station on time and promptly took the 6:50am Lilydale train. As usual it stopped at Flinders Street station but today however something strange happened. Unknown to me CONnex had changed the destination of this train, it was now going to Glen Waverly instead with the train on the next platform going to Lilydale. The only hint of this was the strange warbling sound over the PA system which strangely sounded like some secret Nazi code. Besides there are always announcements due to the hideous service provided by CONnex where something is always screwing up and delaying passengers. The only warning I had that they changed the trains was when I saw the train passing by had the word Lilydale on the LED sign at the back. You can already imagine the torrent of obscenities and hellish rage about to be unleashed by my being. I promptly went to ask the nearest CONnex staff what was going on and predictably enough he told me he had no idea and promptly went back to having verbal sex with his gay partner next to him. I sure as hell wasn't going to take this lying down so I went over to the service counter and unleashed hell on the two unfortunates there for the half hour needed to wait for the next train. I can safely say that CONnex is the most fucked up rail system in the world, it's so bad that it should be considered terrorism and crimes against humanity. We should get Jack Bauer here to kill and torture the lot of the fuckers for all the torment they put us commuters through. Actually after careful consideration I think CONnex are more than petty terrorists, instead they're a remnant of the Nazi party, waiting for the time when they can catch the civilised world off guard and strike back with a vengeance. I have a sneaking suspicion that their ruler is also a strange man with a disturbing mustache and one testicle, like his infamous predecessor..

Civiility at it's basics, It feels like 1939 again

Time for another lesson in civility. So here's the situation, our glorious Team HGF leader and his mistress were both fined for resting their feet on the seats of a train a few weeks back, a whopping $180 each (if I remember the going rates for fines by Connex correctly, I myself having been fined by those money swindling bastards once, rat turd arseholes the lot of them, I of course managed to weasel my way out of paying the fine as usual, TAKE THAT BITCHES!) which amounts to a combined $360. So now he's trying to get ole' Sibu AngKau and I to help him weasel his way out of this mess by helping him with his appeal letter. I mean $360 can be better spent elsewhere then donating it to the shit bags at Connex, like using it as toilet paper or rolling it up to smoke, anything other than paying it to them. Because paying a public transport fine in Australia is like saying you love Hitler and would love to have his children, that you're a swine of a Jew hater and the biggest racist this side of the universe, that you love to prance around with a armband with a swastika on it and engage in incestuous activities. It could also mean you're into SM and a whole host of other sexual deviance's, but I think we'll leave it as that for now. But try as I might for once I have to concede that even I may not be able to help ole' Navy slither his way out of this one. I mean sure I could talk my way out of why I had a concession ticket with me instead of a bloody full fare one; but explain my way out of why I'm propping my legs up on another seat? I think not. For one even the insidious use of the English language cannot disguise the fact that you purposely put your legs on another seat, which is of course against the law on public transports. Another compounding factor is the fact that there are bloody signs all over the place telling you that you're not supposed to do that. Anyway why would you prop your feat up anyway? I for one find it rather uncivil, I mean you're dirtying the seat for God's sake. Sure you could reason that since Connex are providing such crap service and charging such a high price I should be able to do as I please (and mind you that is a very good reason) you should not forget the fact that the poor chap next to you on the train is suffering the same problems as you. I mean everyone who takes the train is in this together, so by dirtying the seats you are not inconveniencing Connex you're just irritating other passengers. You think Connex gives a shit if their trains are in a good condition? The bloody things are late half the fucking time and they stink like the dogs food the day after. So remember, don't think of it as following the rules when it is actually the practice of civil consciousness at its basics. Spitting in public, making a mess in public places, and basically inconveniencing others is something an unlearned and discourteous lout would do. People with a modicum of civility should steer clear of such behaviour. Remember "Do unto others as you would have done unto you".

On to my next matter, who in the world would want to be a tram/train officer? I mean you've got to have the most pathetic life in the world, either that or you love SM. That and as I've mentioned before you're an anti-semitic Nazi. For one you're not a police officer (or the gestapo as they're otherwise known), I mean you're just an overweight turd with a very strange looking badge, the kind that kiddies have when they get their first cowboy and indians play set. I've seen drunken imbeciles making a mess out of a train/tram before and harassing fellow commuters but not once have I seen a tram/train officer be around to stop them. I have on the other hand seen these "officers" terrorising paying customers by going around and demanding that you show them that you're actually dumb enough to pay for what is an overpriced and deplorable service and that you're helping them to maintain their trains because they themselves can't be fucked to do so. I'll bet my scrawny ass that these people have a bloody quota which they must meet once a month. If they fail to meet it they'll get their asses fired and thrown back onto the streets and Connex will demand a "stimulus" package from the government because their finances went down the tube. I have a theory that all tram/train officers are people who have taken and failed the test to be a cop(/gestapo) and as such settled for the next best thing; which is being a train/tram(/SA/SS) officer. I mean every time a train officer comes up to me and demands to see my ticket I feel like I'm getting mugged. Or about to be sent to a gas chamber. You'd think that these people will be prancing around with sadistic glee's on their faces but no, they always give you that constipated look, like they've been holding it in for the better part of a century which might explain why they're so full of it. So to all these unfortunates I say GET A REAL JOB! In fact GET A REAL LIFE! Not to mention a couple of boxes of laxatives as well.

Falling Down, by Oasis

Damn it I love this song; it's "Falling Down" by Oasis, simply brilliant. I first heard it when I saw Eden of the East, a new anime series recently released a few months ago, and it's quite a good show too, gets you thinking about the problems which affect society.



Falling Down
By Oasis

The summer sun, it blows my mind
Is falling down on all that I've ever known
Time will kiss the world goodbye
Falling down on all that I've ever known
Is all that I've ever known

A dying scream makes no sound
Calling out to all that I've ever known
Here am I, lost and found
Calling out to all

We live a dying dream
If you know what I mean
All that I've ever known
It's all that I've ever known

Catch the wheel that breaks the butterfly
I cried the rain that fills the ocean wide
I tried to talk with God to no avail
I Call Him up in and out of nowhere
Said "if You won't save me, please don't waste my time"

All that I've ever known
All that I've ever known
It's all that I've ever known

Catch the wheel that breaks the butterfly
I cried the rain that fills the ocean wide
I tried to talk with God to no avail
I Call Him up in and out of nowhere
Said "if You won't save me, please don't waste my time"

The summer sun, it blows my mind
It's falling down on all that I've ever known
Time will kiss the world goodbye
Falling down on all that I've ever known
Is all that I've ever known

Justice, Ethics, Life, Death

"Terrorists and criminals should be treated in a humane and ethical fashion when judgement upon them is passed down. As such the death penalty and torture should be abolished as it goes against the rights of man" Pure bollocks if you ask me, this matter of humane treatment for the scum of society. It's something the hypocritical people in a number of western nations and states have been advocating for some time. I am an extremely strong supporter of capital punishment and the torture of terrorists.

Lets begin with my case on capital punishment. In recent years the Australian government has had to deal with a number of cases where some of their idiotic citizens have crossed the boundaries of law in another country, usually in the South-East Asian region. Their crime? Drug trafficking, which I find one of the lowest criminal acts around. Drugs bring ruin to people who use them, what awaits them is a fate worse than death as they develop an addiction to it. An addict won't die if he can't afford to consume the drug anymore, he'll just live a life of unbearable pain. Drugs not only affect the user, it affects society as well. An addict needs cash to feed his habits, and when it comes to drugs he needs lots of it. As these people can barely keep their lives in check they obviously don't have jobs, so where does their funding come from? First they leech off their relatives, and when that has reached its limit they then enter a life of crime. Theft, robbery and murder. And this is why I believe drug dealers are murderers, worse, they are anarchists, they live to take in the chaos which consumes the world. Now most SE Asian nations impose the ultimate penalty on drug traffickers, the death penalty. As such the Australian government, and society which is strongly against the death penalty have been furiously trying to get their criminal exports off the hook. Their claim against the death penalty? Its inhumane, and that man does not have the right to take the life of another. Pure bloody hypocrisy on the part of the Australians. Do we not remember what happened during the trial of the Bali bombers? A good many Aussie's were screaming bloody murder and demanding the death penalty for all involved. So one view for their citizens and another for foreigners? This is the extent of their moral ethics? Then it is sorely lacking indeed. Drug trafficking is in a way terrorism in its own right, didn't the poppy fields of Afghanistan provide the funding needed to raise and maintain the armies of the Taliban? But instead of a sudden and violent death for the innocents (I use the word very loosely here because is anyone truly innocent?) it slowly bleeds them out, attacking at the fringes of society until one day it hits you right in the face. And what of the terrorists, murderers and rapists? Do we chuck them in prison for a decade or two and then spit them back into society where a good many of them will revert to their old ways, or do we finish them off with a length of rope, a cocktail of nerve agents or good ole' brass cartridges. I of course vote for the latter. Imagine this, these crims are living a decent life in prison, they have heating in the winter, three meals a day, a bed to sleep on, sanitary facilities, medical facilities and depending on the prison a host of other recreational activities. Heck it's like a resort for criminals. And who pays for the upkeep of these facilities? Tax payers; the victims or families of the victims. It's like a slap in the face to these people and I ask you now "Has justice truly been served?" If you ask me we should just impose the death penalty on the lot of them, society is better off and much safer without scum like these around. Besides the death penalty serves as a deterrent to all those would-be drug dealers and crims out there, if you want to enter a life of crime be prepared to forfeit your life. Give them a chance those so-called human rights groups say, but were any of their victims given a chance?

On to my second case, the use of torture to extract information from terrorists. There's been great condemnation around the world when it came to light that some American agencies have been using torture on terrorists during interrogation sessions. To the Americans I say good job, to the rest of the world? Lets see if you still feel the same way after terrorists fly planes into your buildings. In my view terrorists are debased sub-human creatures who only deserve swift and violent death. Attacking army personnel and law enforcement personnel is one thing, but innocent civilians? Women, children and the aged? Now that's just repulsive. Which is why I say, if you can get your hands on someone with definite information on terrorist activities grill the shitbag with every method at hand until he spills everything he knows. Break his fingers slowly and at every joint, throw him on a metal bed frame and hook up a couple of car batteries to it, water board him, use any and every method at hand until you have the information you need. This information can save the lives of hundreds; or even thousands of civilians. What use is moral ethics and humane treatment if it only results in the death of hundreds. Besides these are terrorists, not military combatants from another army and as such the rules of war do not apply to them. I'm sure that many would-be terrorists would think twice if torture was legalised. Death the crazed zealots can handle, but pain? I highly doubt it.

"Only the living can speak of morals and ethics, but of the dead their voices cannot be heard."

Headlines

From the sergeant's mouth

No, it's not me but from 3SG (NS) NYH. Just read his blog and all I can say is it's truly awesome and I seriously recommend it to students living overseas and on a budget (or who just want to be savvy with their spending). While his blog might be fresh and new and as such a little light on content his first two posts are rather brilliant. They cover his experimentations with his weekly food expenditure and I must say his research is rather thorough covering their weight, cost and nutritional value. Frankly speaking it's the most interesting thing (I mean it makes much more sense and is infinitely more useful than any of my ranting down here) I've read for a long time and I plan on implementing some of his lessons during the Easter break. You can get it here at http://yh89.wordpress.com. Good job NYH, I'm looking forward to more money saving tips from you!

Team HGF

Just a little something to wile my time away before I go to bed. Now team HGF hasn't been active for awhile now, but during our little jaunt on CoD 4 online today we still managed to wreck merry havoc and predictably top the charts. Now what is team HGF you might ask? Well it's a bunch of crazy asses with nothing better to do with their free time than to sit around LAN shops and busting peoples asses open no matter the game (except DotA, which frankly speaking is meant for people with the social life of a frog, about to be flung into a boiling vat of porridge, yum). From the prehistoric period of Counter-Strike to Battlefield 2, Dawn of War, Age of Empires 3, Command & Conquer Zero Hour and finally to the game which set our legend in stone, Call of Duty 4. We weren't fantastic when we started, but we learnt from every loss, every mistake (although sibu angkau's lack of improvement is still one of the wonders of the world) and finally managed to destroy the competition outright. I remember the days of the pitched battles where we fought tooth and nail (or keyboard and mouse) just to stay a kill ahead, the glorious and adrenaline packed victories by a scant kill or two, or the frustrating defeats by one foolish mistake at the last second. We learned, we adapted and we kicked ass, lots of it. But that's all in the past, eventually the thrill of the kill disappeared, the opposition drifted away as they felt their struggle futile and HGF was left unopposed. Hardly anyone plays CoD 4 at the cyber cafes now, for fear that a HGF personnel or two might be around to turn their hour or two of enjoyment into sheer misery. So finally we took our fight online expecting something of a challenge, we even busted ourselves back to level one, only to realise that we sorely overestimated the opposition. We topped the tables in out first online debut, our measly levels putting the rest of the level 55 players to shame. Our kills did not just overshadow them, it humiliated them, usually doubling the closest rival. And our deaths were much lower. HGF isn't made up of a bunch of solo operators, each member plays an important part (even angkau has one, he's the bait) and the failure of one could spell failure for all. Praise goes not to one, but to all. We have reached the peak, where no challenger could oppose us. And it's very lonely at the top.

Health Matters

OK here's the deal, for this module of mine, Workbased Industry Learning, my team member and I have got to go out and inflict ourselves on a group of very unfortunate brats (I think they're year 10 kids but brats all the same). But that's not the worse part, we've got to supervise them on their project of adolescent health, now that, is the worse part. I mean you know you're in trouble when you've got a business student giving you health tips (like ole' Sibu Angkau rousing me from an afternoon nap and asking me if Teflon is a plastic, which it is if anyone is interested). I mean I'm most certainly no paragon of virtue, I drink (a lot), I smoke (on occasion, and when I do I usually go through a pack) and I don't go to sleep early (not much of a choice in that matter, sleep tends to become very elusive once you enter uni). I do however try to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible and to keep myself well hydrated. I mean the extent of my knowledge in adolescent health is to eat right, exercise right, don't drink, don't smoke and don't do drugs. So we've got a long overdue meet with the very elusive liaison from Boronia Heights High tomorrow (what a splendid way to spend my free day, like having your toilet back up while you're still sitting on it) where my team mate and I will grill the damn teacher for as much information as she can provide so that there won't be any spots in our report which we have to frakkin' hand up next Thursday. We will then meet those pesky kids on subsequent Friday's after the Easter holidays to supervise them on their work (and like that my free Friday just went up in smoke). All I can do now is hope to God that they that won't be an ill-disciplined and imbecilic rabble as their screw ups might be seen as my screw ups which would of course not do very much for my grades.

Faith and Politics- a brief look

Was watching a documentary on the American elections and how the evangelical Christian vote played a part in it while I was having dinner and all I can say is that I am utterly disgusted. I have always tried to maintain a fair and unbiased view on the other more radical Christian denominations but my opinion of them has hit rock bottom after watching that documentary. Pastors endorsing candidates? Now that's one step too far. In my view religion has always been a beacon for the people, something which stays true and steadfast through good times and bad. Something the masses can go to, to seek refuge from their troubles whenever they need to. Something free from the fallibility of men. Religion should never be mixed in with the deceit and half-truths of politics as doing so would sully its purity and purpose. It should always maintain a neutral view in the world of politics, only making its voice heard when matters of faith and morals are in jeopardy. It should not seek to show support for one party, but seek the understanding and cooperation of both parties to further the cause of God's will. And politicians should also pay heed and not use the word of God to their advantage. I realised that in Obama's speeches, he invoked the name of God so many times that he would have done any half-baked pastor proud, in fact his rallies usually sounded like those hippie meets which some Christians pass off as "praise and worship sessions" (although it all sounds like a karaoke party on steroids to me). I'm not saying I don't support President Obama, I have great respect for the man and feel that under his leadership the United States would be a much more reliable nation. All I'm saying is that we shouldn't sound as though we're all doing the will of God, I mean does anyone out there actually know what God's will is? At the end of the day we are all doing whats best for our interests no matter how noble we try to make it sound, so the least we could do is not drag religion into it.

For such a large matter this is a rather short post but as I am trying to get the ole' gears to start working properly again after such a long hiatus you'll have to bear with me while I try and get up to speed on my writing again. As usual no offense to any Christians (by 'Christians' I mean everything else after the Roman-Catholic faith, of which I am proud to be a part of) reading this, everyone is entitled to their own views and I am simply making mine known. Of course if you want people to take what you preach seriously maybe you could try taking yourselves seriously too instead of just singing rock songs and making merry.

The beginning of the end

I'm back after an extremely long hiatus and I'm not particularly thrilled about it. For people wanting to know why this site hasn't been updated for the better part of four months its due to the fact that I was back home and felt that it was too much of a hassle to stay sober long enough to post something up. So we're finally at the doorstep of the end chapter of the university part of my life (for the moment at least, until I decide to go get a masters degree in any case). My exit permit ends at the end of July next year and after that its off to national service (NS) for me. The first week of the new semester has come and gone with the promise of heaps more of work to come. My timetable is as messed as ever as I've got late lectures at 17:30 on both Mondays and Tuesdays which end at 19:00. This means that I usually reach home at 20:00. But the worst part is the two classes on both Tuesdays and Thursdays which start at 08:30, this means that I have to wake up at fucking 05:30 to catch the 06:50 train to butt-fucking Lilydale which is like the arse end of the God-forsaken train line. I guess the only redeeming factor is the fact that I'm free on Wednesdays and Fridays. Not for long from what the blasted unit outline for all of my subjects are telling me. The only thing keeping me going now is the fact that this is my last year here, not like NS is anything to look forward to but at least I've completed one hurdle on this journey we call life, or something like it.