Week's Wick: 2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict

2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict

War is ugly.
Lives are lost.

He lost his friend.
She lost her love.
They lost their children.
Everyone lost their peace.

War is ugly.

Tags: Blogs, Current Affairs, Israel-Lebanon Conflict, Memes, War, Weeks Wick

Funny Math

I was browsing through Tomorrow when I saw Spicebears' post on "Jus for Laughs". In it was this funny picture on expansion in Math.

(Taken from: Spicebears)

That inspired me to look for more funnies in Math. The pictures below show the result of my search. Enjoy :D

(Taken from: CollegeHumor)

(Taken from: Ad Astra Per Aspera)

(Taken from: Ad Astra Per Aspera)

(Taken from: Ad Astra Per Aspera)

(Taken from: Ad Astra Per Aspera)

It's interesting how Math is able to drive people to do funny stuff.

Tags: Equations, Funny Math, Funny Pictures, Mathematics

Email From Steph

I was checking my blog a few minutes ago when I saw this.


There's a new email from Steph! That's weird. First, I didn't send any emails. Second, the sender has exactly the same name as my MSN name. Third, his/her display picture is the same as mine.

How's that for a little dose of weirdness in the morning.

Tags: Blogs, Emails, MSN Messenger, Steph, Teddy Bear

The 10th Dimension

We know that the first dimension is just a point. The second would be a line; there's a width and length. The third would be the world we live in; width, depth and height all in one world. But what about the 10th?

If you are curious enough, you can click here and listen to an explanation of the 10th dimension. May sound technical to some, so be prepared.

Here's an excerpt from the site:

In string theory, physicists tell us that the subatomic particles that make up our universe are created within ten spatial dimensions (plus an eleventh dimension of "time") by the vibrations of exquisitely small "superstrings". The average person has barely gotten used to the idea of there being four dimensions: how can we possibly imagine the tenth?

When you reach the site, move your cursor to "Navigation" (the right side) then click on "Imagining the Ten Dimensions".

Tags: 10th Dimension, Interesting Stuff, Physics, Science, String Theory, Superstrings

Week's Wick: Procrastination

Procrastination

Mom: Procrastinating won't bring you anywhere in life.
Son: Just wait and see.

Tags: Blogs, Family, Memes, Procrastination, Weeks Wick

Giving Your Seat In The Bus

I was in the bus 502 going towards Orchard when I saw this family of three boarding. There was a kid (around 4 years old), his mother and his grandmother. I was standing along the railings at the side of the bus, waiting to see if anyone in the bus would give their seat up for this senior lady.

They walked along the aisle towards the back. There was an empty seat. The mother told the grandmother to sit, however, she declined and asked for the kid to sit instead which he did. In the end the mother and grandmother stood up. Interestingly, or should I say sadly, no one gave their seat to the grandmother. The commuters around seemed busy staring in space.

Anyway, there was this stop where someone alighted. The grandmother sat on it. The mother sat on the kid's seat with the kid on her lap. Before the grandmother could warm the seat, there was an old lady, more senior than her who took the bus. Surprisingly, no one gave their seat. In the end, she (the grandmother) had to give her seat up for this old lady who was more senior than her. Sad huh? The only comforting thing was that both senior ladies were of different races. The act of giving her seat was both an act that displayed civic-mindedness and racial harmony in society.

So what was I doing? I was leaning against the railing looking at this whole event. I had no seats to offer.

A few stops passed. There was this stop where someone boarded the bus. What's interesting about that person is that he looks normal except for the fact that he was wearing a denim skirt. Upon closer look, I finally realised that "he" was a "she".

From today's bus trip, I can conclude that we live in a very interesting society where people doze off automatically when a senior citizen stands beside them, ladies who look like guys yet still wear a skirt and how far Orchard is from Jurong.

Tags: Bus Stories, Family, Happenings, Racial Harmony, Singapore, Society

Vote For Me For "The Best Of Blogs Awards 2006"

There's a "Best Of Blogs Awards 2006" competition and I've participated in it hoping to bag an award. If you think my site's great and cool, please vote for me. If not, let me know and I'll sit in one corner and cry.

Here's an excerpt from BloggyAward for some self-promotion:

The tag line reads “Looking at things from a unique point of view”…but before you dismiss this as “another teen blog”, give this one a chance. A student in Singapore, Stephen is quick to point out that he is not a Stephanie, and although there really isn't anything very unqiue about Steph's point of view, his writings reveal something honest, insightful and delightfully quirky. From a list of things one can do on a bus to reflections on the definition of beauty and even his belief in God, each of Steph's posts is worth reading.

Overall Experience - 7

Interesting and full of fresh material, this young man tackles his daily intersts with such thought and gusto ( always with links), his blog crosses over from being a typical teen read, to one with somewhat more substance (albeit humorous). If not for anything else, those in need of a good chuckle should definitely swing by Steph’s.

Here's the link you can click where you'll be redirected to a site to rate my blog.



Once again, thanks for your support :D

Tags: Blogs Awards, Blogs Competition, Best Of Blog Awards 2006, Singapore

World's Youngest Professional Drummer - Ethan Ong

He may look like your average primary school kid but when he's given a pair of drum sticks and a drum set, you better get ready to be impressed.

This guy is definitely amazing! He plays the drums very well and smoothly. I am a drummer myself but looking at him (mind you he's only 7) play the drums makes me feel small. I started learning at the age of 10 but he started at 2! I must say that he's definitely talented in the drums.

Good thing that I found a clip of him performing so that you can listen to what I am talking about.

Ladies and gentleman, his name is Ethan Ong.



Can you believe it? A 7 year old played that! I was stunned at his drumming skills when I saw this video. The sticking and fills were precise and smooth.

Can you hear the girls scream and people clapping for him? When I play, my brother would scream for me to quiet down. But seriously, playing in front of a large crowd of people ain't easy, even more if you are a 7 year old trying to blast on the drums, but he did it.

Here's an excerpt from his website on his first drumming experience - his father's shoulders:

"Yup, that’s right. Ethan’s first ever drum set was the ever present, ultra mobile shoulders of mine. During church services (especially the fast paced songs), Ethan would readily bounce along in my arms and drum on my shoulders when he was somewhere between the age of 1 to 2. Before long, we noticed that he had a very natural sense of rhythm and was rather precise in his groove and crashes (on the “cymbals”). Needless to say, he looked forward to every worship service!

During the weekdays, Ethan would drum on my lap and palms whether we were in the car or on the MRT. We would either be listening to music from the car stereo or I would be singing, with him drumming along to practically any tune or groove."

I am impressed. Are you?

(Picture taken from http://www.ethanong.com/index.html)

Tags: Christian, Drums, Ethan Ong, Prodigies, Singapore, Youngest Professional Drummer, YouTube

Week's Wick: Nothing Is Impossible

Nothing Is Impossible

Father: Son, if you put your mind and effort into doing something, nothing is impossible.
Son: Can you gargle with your mouth closed?

Tags: Blogs, Family, Funny, Memes, Nothing Is Impossible, Weeks Wick

Are You Jimmy?

I was on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) when I heard this guy (in his 40s or 50s) talking over the phone.

(The dialogue below will be one-sided only as I could only hear him and not the other person.)

"Hello? I am returning a missed call."
"Yah?"
"Jimmy is that you?"
"Is your mother in?"
"Is your father in?"
"Are you divorced?"
"When were you divorced?"
"Are you Jimmy?"
"Sorry, wrong number."
"Bye."

I was like huh? I totally couldn't understand the logic of that conversation. It may not make sense but at least it killed some journey time.

Tags: Conversations, Jimmy, MRT, Singapore

Bus Story: A Sad Family

They have been in the same bus for quite some time. Every morning as I board 157 to work, there's this family who would sit at that same spot. The mother with child in her arms near the exit door and father on the other seat over the aisle. No it's not because they are sitting apart that makes it sad. It's the child in her arms.

The child seems to be a 4 or 5 year old boy. He was skinny to the bones. His face looked like that of a 70 year-old and all I could hear from him are groans. His head would fall back as his mother carried him under his neck an knees. His eyes were droopy and mouth opened. It was a sad scene. They would alight at the same spot everyday. His father brought a baby pram along. I presumed that his child is too weak too walk, hence the pram. His legs do look skinny. It's sad to say it but he looked paralysed.

How would the parents feel with such a child? Sad? Depressed? I feel sad for them as they seemed to be burdened. Their face showed no joy nor was there any smile at all. It was a very sad and depressing scene.

I know of some parents who are faced with abnormal children. No doubt it may have hit them hard when after 9 months, they discovered that their baby is not normal. Some have decided to abort, afraid that their child may be handicapped after birth. Is it right to do so? I don't know and I can't judge.

I know of one person though. During her pregnancy, she had an issue of blood. She went for a check and her doctor told her that her baby may be born handicapped - a mental handicap. It struck her. She was given a choice to abort or keep the baby. She cried and prayed. In the end, she decided that she would keep her child as she believed that her child is from God. After 9 months, the day came...

Everything seemed okay. The baby was a healthy baby boy. He grew up in no time. However, as he grew up, his speech was slurred and he could not communicate with the people around him. To others he seemed "weird", but to his mother, he was special. She took great pains to nurture him. She brought him for therapy, tried to place him in a normal school where he could mix with society. It was a tough period in her life. The result?

She's the first woman whom I've seen in such a situation who displayed an extraordinary kind of love for her son. Now, he's a healthy kid, running about and mixing with people of his age. Had the mother listened to the doctor's advice, she would have lost a beautiful child.

Another example would be Mr Brown. His love and faith towards his daughter is truly inspiring. His daughter is autistic yet special to him. He brought her for therapy and looked at the brighter side of things. His daughter's name? Faith.

Coming back to the scene in the bus, I just simply felt pity for the family. The child they had seemed to be in a much worse condition than the one in the example above. I guess this is one of the factors Singaporeans are afraid to have children - the fear of having an emotional burden.

Tags: Bus Stories, Children, Family, Handicapped Children, Mr Brown, Singapore, Society

Zidane's Headbutt

If you think Zidane's headbutt was crazy, wait until you see this:



Aren't you just glad that soccer ain't played like that?

Tags: Headbutt, Soccer, Weird, YouTube, Zidane

We May Not Be Courteous But At Least We Are Honest

In a survey done by Reader's Digest, Singapore was ranked 31 out of 35 cities. How's that for the Green City? It's true that there are some of us who are not courteous, yes I am talking about the guy who just shoved his way into my queue, but at least some of us are honest.

Recently, my friends and relatives from Indonesia came to Singapore for a holiday. Today, I brought them to Bugis Junction (it's a shopping mall) to have their lunch. One of them ordered drinks while the others ordered their food. However, after ordering drinks, she forgot to take her wallet. The queue for drinks was quite long, so you can imagine how dim the chance was to get her wallet back. When she remembered that she had misplaced her wallet she panic! She asked the auntie at the drinks stall where her wallet was. The auntie replied that she had passed her wallet over to the manager and the manager was at his office then. She asked me to accompany her to the office as a translator.

We knocked on the door before entering.

Manager: Yes, what you want?
My friend: (looks at me)
Me: We are here to claim a missing wallet.
Manager: Really?
(Of course it's for real!)
My friend: (nods her head)
Manager: So what's the size and colour of your wallet?
Me: (translates into Hokkien)
My friend: (motions her hands to form a rectangular shape) Brown.
Manager: Is it this one?
My friend: Yes. Thank you.
Me: Thanks.

After our meal, my friend told me that Singaporeans are very honest. If it was in their country, the wallet would have been gone. She told me that there are some people who would take all the money, inform you that your wallet has been lost (phone number through your identity card), and asked for a "service fee" (usually it's a hefty sum, kind of like a ransom for your wallet). I just smiled at her.

So if you lose your wallet here in Singapore, most of the time, you could find it back through one of the 4 million smiling Singaporeans :)

Tags: Bugis Junction, Courteous, Honest, Indonesia, Readers Digest Survey, Singapore

Week's Wick: He Who Laughs Last...

He Who Laughs Last...

He who laughs last, thinks slowest. ~ Troy Anderson

Tags: Blogs, Laughs, Memes, Slow, Weeks Wick

Peace And War

He was eating his lunch in one of the roadside stalls. He ordered for a simple chicken burger. A large shadow came over that spot in the road. He looked up and saw a cargo plane making its way to the nearby runway...

"Tim, you sure we'll be back alive?"
"Aw Zack, I've promised Betsy that I'll be there for her and Mike."
"You better keep your promise."
"Haha, how about you and Carol?"
"..."
"I've a feeling my sis has a torch for you. Relax, it doesn't burn."
"That's the worst joke ever."

His order came. He looked at it for awhile before tasting it. It was somewhat familiar...

"Hey Zack! You eating your rations again?"
"Yes. Sad that there isn't any chicken burgers though."
"And I thought only chickens eat chicken burgers...haha."

It was his favourite. Chewing his burger, he looked at the traffic in front of him...

"Thats the enemy right in front of us! Zack"
"Oh please why now? It's still so dark."
"What?"

He stopped for awhile. Staring into space, he was lost in his thoughts.

"Tim! Harry's gone! The sentry post has been overtaken!"
"Of all the post, why ours? Fall back!"

Part of the burger was in his mouth. His handphone vibrated. He came back to reality. Carol's meeting him later to fetch their kids. His appetite was lost due to the horrible memories he had.

He limped towards the school across the road while his burger was left there on the table where a crow came over and ate it.

Tags: Army, Peace, Soldiers, War

It's Just A Test

My blog looks different. Don't worry, my blog's not hacked or whatever, I am just trying out something. Hopefully this simple outlook will improve the loading time of my blog. However, I would still like to keep my previous template...argh...I guess it's a hard decision to make. Either a nice looking blog or one that loads faster. Looks or Speed. Which will you choose?

*Update: Saturday, July 08, 2006 - 20:58

I will revert back to the previous template. The blank white one is simply too plain. Also, I've put a lot of effort on this (the one you are seeing) template.

So here it is, the same old template.

Tags: Blog, Different

Pjotro - The Man With The Musical Suit

I was Stumble!-ing when I came across this. I must tell you that this is way cool. It's a flash website so expect some loading time.

What you need to do is "compose" some dance sequences for Pjotro to dance. You can even save the sequence you've created!

So what are you waiting for? Go over and see Pjotro!

Tags: Internet, Musical, Musical Suit, Pjotro, Stumble Upon

Week's Wick: Perseverance

Perseverance

By perseverance the snails reached the ark.
~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Tags: Ark, Blogs, Memes, Perseverance, Snails, Weeks Wick

Bus Stories

If you have been reading my blog, you would know that I will post "Bus Stories" every now and then. After a long hiatus, I have 2 "Bus Stories" here. "Bus Stories" are observations or events during my travels in the bus which are blogworthy. Maybe I should start another meme for this.

1. The Old Fart
I was in the bus stop the other day, waiting for my bus early in the morning. While waiting, there was this senior citizen who walked past me and leaned against one pillar. I didn't really take notice of him as I was still half-asleep.

Then suddenly, without any warning, there was this very loud fart. It lasted for a foul 3 seconds. If you think 3 seconds is short, take a break and try to count for 3 seconds. The early morning silence was broken by what sounded like a semi-automatic M16. Needless to say, it was very loud. All eyes were on him. I looked at him. He looked around as if someone else did it, digged his nose before taking the bus. Talk about being getting attention.

2. Old And Young
When the bus stopped, there was this senior citizen who alighted. He looked frail and skinny. His face did not show any signs of happiness or joy. It was just a sad frown. Quite a pitiful sight. He walked along the aisle before sitting on one of the seats.

A few stops later, there was this mother who took the bus. She brought along her baby girl (about 6 months old?) into the bus. The baby was placed on a pram. It was quite difficult moving about in the narrow aisle. A lot of "Excuse me" and some "Sorry" would be needed to push the pram through the aisle. That was what she did.

It was then that I noticed his expression. The senior citizen gave a smile. It was quite a warm smile. He looked at the baby girl and smiled. He made some actions, trying to relay some messages to the young one. Somehow that scene looked like a bridge between the senior and junior members of society. The mother didn't really bothered about him. It may be due to his appearance that made the mother cautious. The mother pushed the pram over to the rear part of the bus before sitting down. The old man turned his head to the back with a last smile before switching back to his sad face.

My reflections? Babies are truly innocent and cute group of people. They are able to bring a smile across your face, magically fade that tired day of yours away and call you "daddy" and "mummy". The baby was cute. Her mother must be proud of that fact. What's sad is the old man. I guess he felt rejected when the mother pushed the pram, no, the baby in the pram, away. I guess humans judge others by their appearance.

As for the first story, I guess strange things do happen when you least expect it.

Tags: Appearances, Babies, Bus Stories, Happenings, Singapore, Society

The Army

It's nice to know that there are people out there training to protect the country.



What's sad is that they can only survive by eating KFC.


(The son is agitated that the drumlets offered were not from KFC.)

Tags: Army, KFC, Singapore, Videos, YouTube