Make a whole new religion

The Flag of Singapore consists of two horizontal halves, red above white. Red symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of man; white stands for pervading and everlasting purity and virtue. In the upper left corner, a white crescent moon and five white stars form a circle. The crescent moon represents a young nation on the rise. The five stars stand for the ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

National Pledge (written by Mr Sinnathamby Rajaratnam)
We, the citizens of Singapore
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society,
based on justice and equality,
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

我们是新加坡公民，
誓愿不分种族、言语、宗教，
团结一致，
建设公正平等
的民主社会，
并为实现国家之幸福、繁荣与进步，
共同努力。

National Anthem (composed by the late Encik Zubir Said and sung in Malay)
MAJULAH SINGAPURA
Mari kita rakyat Singapura
Sama-sama menuju bahagia
Cita-cita kita yang mulia
Berjaya Singapura
Marilah kita bersatu
Dengan semangat yang baru
Semua kita berseru
Majulah Singapura
Majulah Singapura

ONWARD SINGAPORE
Come, fellow Singaporeans
Let us progress towards happiness together
May our noble aspiration bring
Singapore success
Come, let us unite
In a new spirit
Together we proclaim
Onward Singapore
Onward Singapore

前进吧，新加坡！
来吧，新加坡人民，
让我们共同向幸福迈进；
我们崇高的理想，
要使新加坡成功。
来吧，让我们以新的精神，
团结在一起；
我们齐声欢呼：
前进吧，新加坡！
前进吧，新加坡！

National Flower
Vanda Miss Joaquim
Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen as Singapore's national flower from among 40 other contenders, including some 30 orchids. It was selected particularly because of its hardy and resilient qualities and its ability to bloom throughout the year. These are characteristics which reflect Singapore's quest for progress and excellence in all aspects of life.


Important people of Singapore:
Yusof bin Ishak, the first President of Singapore.
Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares, the second President of Singapore.
C V Devan Nair, the third President of Singapore.
Dr Wee Kim Wee, the fourth President of Singapore.
Mr Ong Teng Cheong, the first directly-elected President (1 September 1993).
Dr Sellapan Ramanathan, the sixth President of Singapore.

MM Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore.
SM Goh Chok Tong becomes the second Prime Minister of Singapore on 28 November 1990.
PM Lee Hsien Loong becomes the third Prime Minister on 12 August 2004.

Important Events in Singapore:
1942 - 1945 - Japanese Occupation of Singapore
1967 July - The first batch of the army is drafted for national service.
1981 July 1 - Changi International Airport starts operation.
1986 March 15 - The Hotel New World collapses, killing 33 people.
1990 July 6 - The East West Line of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is completed.
1990 November 22 - Changi Airport Terminal 2 begins operation.
1999 - Singapore slips into recession during the Asian financial crisis.
2001-2003 - Economic recession in Singapore.
2005 August 17 - S R Nathan returns for his second term as President, following a walkover in the Singapore presidential election, 2005.

Important Dates:
1965 August 9 - Singapore becomes independent.

Singapore Infomap

Wikipedia: Singapore

Labels: Come Grow With Me

I'm 24. Maybe it will be a little too embrassing if I'm totally ignorant of what's going on in my own country. And to my fellow Singaporean friends reading my blog. If you are like me. Let's start with these.

Offical Elections Webpage

Wikipedia: Singapore General Elections

Labels: Come Grow With Me

Nine Emotions
Shot during the Koovagam festival in Villipuram, Tamil Nadu, the film tells the story of people belonging to the third gender (or Aravanis) who Hindus believe are the reincarnation of Lord Krishna. Seen through the innocent eyes of Sweta, a 13-year old girl, the film throws light on the mindset of such people, their agonies, and their ecstatic moments at Koovagam. Santosh Sivan takes you on a journey into the world of eunuchs. In Nine Emotions all the characters belonging to the third gender play themselves. The film has bagged several awards including the Public Award in the New Asian Cinema Section at the 11th Lyon Asian Film Festival.

Director: Santosh Sivan
Country: India
Duration: 95min
Year: 2005

~
What a great start. My first Film Festival Film is very nice. It took me almost 5minutes to find my seat. But it was worth it. Thanx to Winston! You got me a centre seat. hee
I liked how the film had introduced its main theme. The little girl, Sweta, had her first menstruation and the whole family celebrated her womanhood.

But how does a boy know when he will become a man?

The ending of the film really got to me. Sweta's uncle, who wants to live as a woman was driven out of the house. But he called a year later to say "Happy Birthday" to her. She asked him if he had found a job, but he only laughed. So Sweta ended by saying that she has hope for the future. And she knows that everything will be alright. But in the last scene, we found out that her uncle is still homeless (The third genders are rejected and no one will offer them a job or rent them a place to stay.)
Then it occurred to me that we are all like Sweta. So full of hope. Because the troubles are far away from us. Sometimes we are hopeful, other times we complain about our busy lives, or our inconsiderate friends, or our lack of sleep, or anything.

We sympathize with the homeless, or the people with kidney problems, or the
malnutrition children on TV. But once we switch the TV off, our lives are back
to normal.

I know we have our own problems. But if you can read this from where you are, I firmly think that you are lucky. Let's stop all our nonsense and start living.
Because there are many in the world who don't have this luxury.

_

_

Tori

Tori is the directorial debut of successful actor, musician and artist Tadanobu Asano. It is a visualisation of dreams through live action and animation in five seamless episodes. With Bird as a starting point, it spreads its wings and flies on and on, beyond time and space. In Sword Of Mind, a samurai’s sword keeps cutting people down against his will. ATO is a visual poem depicting graffiti art and skateboarders. In Eternal Duo, a comic duo is captivated by a beautiful living thing. In the last episode, or, a bird puts on the costume of a beast, and dances in the air.

Director: Tadanobu Asano
Country: Japan
Duration: 50min
Year: 2004


Sorano

Poet, artist, musician and cult actor-turned-director Tadanobu Asano concedes that life would be dull if he just acts in movies. This documentary analyses the processes and creative energy that compel him to visualize the sketchy images of his dreams into Tori: five distinct worlds of live action and animation. It discusses the joy and artistic freedom in filmmaking and suggests that the reserve in Japanese culture translates into an unusual freedom in the depiction of art.

Director: Nobutaka Yamaoka
Country: Japan
Duration: 80min
Year: 2005

~

Tori is a strange. Though I loved the comic duo and the last dance is beautiful. I like the lighting.
And the documentary Sorano had no subtitles. Too bad, cause it would have helped me understand Tori more.

_

Look Both Ways
Set over a hot weekend, seven people confront mortality as they try to deal with unexpected events. Nick, a reporter, was told he had cancer. He meets Meryl at the site of a train accident returning from a funeral. They develop a relationship and so does a host of other concentric stories, including a woman widowed by the train accident, the train driver, his family, Nick’s colleague Andy, and Nick’s family. A humorous look at death, interspersing live-action with animation, this is director/ animator Sarah Watt’s debut feature. Winner of five awards including Best Film and Best Director at the 2005 Australian Film Institute Awards.

Director: Sarah Watt
Country: Australia
Duration: 100min
Year: 2005

~
I was honestly hoping that this film will be dark and cruel. But it wasn't.
Same message about Death.
Live Life to the Fullest. Greet Life before you think about greeting Death.

I'm not saying that it's a bad message.
But I really want a cruel film about death.

Something like Dancer in the Dark. So cruel that it shocks you.
Not cruel because its characters are being tortured, but cruel because reality is not longer sugar coated like what we see in Hollywood movies.

_

Blue Cha Cha
With two love affairs gone awry, ex-prison mate Yu-hua seeks solace in a cabin overlooking the harbour. Director Cheng Wen-tang’s Blue Cha-Cha is a refreshing take on the resilience of the human spirit and explores the camaderie and sisterhood between women in a fun, light-hearted manner. Love and hope spring eternal if only you open your mind to possibilities you have never even noticed before. Yup! Life may be hard, but let’s cha-cha-cha when things go wrong. Best new director at Venice in 2002.

Director: Cheng Wen-tang
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 108min
Year: 2005

~
Typical. Didn't care for it. You shouldn't too.

_

This year's film festival is fun. Hopefully it won't clash with my exams next year :)

Labels: Films

Justin sent me this song (Thanx. You don't happen to have the original version do you? Mine was in cassette form). And it reminded me of the time when the Chinese Pop Music Industry was still making good music. It was back in 1996.
I thought to find it's lyrics but found a big surprise. This music band, dMDM, which only released one album is made up of 李雨寰 & 苏娅。I don't know why 杨乃文 is linked to them. dMDM's music style is electronica with dance and remixes. And I remember all the opera vocals because 苏娅 is an opera singer. (Wow. I am campy all along :p)
杨乃文 later became a big solo act. I didn't really like her style as a solo.
Then there is 李雨寰, 周世源 & 林炜哲。 These people will later work with 陈珊妮。
Wow. So dMDM didn't disappear. They only went to do other things. hee. Found a missing part of me today.

爱上你只是我的错 still remains one of my favorite songs of all time. (Justin, we have similar music taste) And if anyone finds this CD. Please get it for me. I've been looking for it for as long as I can remember.


爱上你只是我的错
作词：李雨寰/周世源 (英文) 杨乃文　
作曲：李雨寰
编曲：李雨寰/林暐哲/李奕青　
演唱：李雨寰/苏娅/杨乃文

爱上你只是我的错　爱情是一种无止尽的痛
不愿再为谁等候　不愿让你拆穿我的冷漠　哦

昨日的梦纷扰依旧　害怕承受太多的伤痛
酒后的我有些寂寞　不知有谁真正在乎我　哦
台北夜色依然缤纷闪烁　沉默的我只是匆匆走过　哦
心中的话不想再说出口　DON'T WANNA SAY ANYMORE , OH BABY

爱上你只是我的错　爱情是一种无止尽的痛
不愿再为谁等候　不愿让你拆穿我的冷漠

( YOU LED ME IN OH BABY , THEN LET ME OUT
INTO MY EYES DON'T TELL ME LIES OH
BABYUNDERSTAND　PLEASE GIVE US JUST ONE MORE TRY)

爱上你只是我的错　爱情是一种无止尽的痛
离开我现在　你就走　我宁愿寂寞　直到天明
(YOU LED ME IN OH BABY , THEN LET ME OUT
INTO MY EYES , DON'T LEAVE ME )

Labels: Music

After writing about the 5 people I meet in Heaven, I thought of the incidents that changed my life.

There was the time when I was maybe 9 years old. Friends were teasing about Lisun and me. I was very angry and wanted everyone to stop. I think I was crying even. And Lisun was telling me to ignore them but I didn't. She got so annoyed that she forced my head to turn to face her and said, "Stop it!"
I realised the meaning of having a best friend. He/ she doesn't leave you behind.

I had participated in all sorts of swimming competitions. I win some, I lose some. But the race that established my confidence as a competitive swimmer wasn't the time when I got 6 or 7 gold medals, nor was it the time when I won a bronze despite competing against faster and more well-trained swimmers. It was the training sessions I had when I was 10 years old. I was training with the senior boys who are twice my size. At first they won me by half a second. So I told myself the next time we swim, I'll be as fast as they are. And when I achieved that, I had to win them by half a second.
Lessons learnt:
^ Mere physical training does nothing for competitions. It's the mental strength that matters.
^ If you don't want, you will never get.

Then there was the time when I was about 18 years old, my sister asked me, "You have a choice, right?"
I realised that we like to play victim too much.
"He took advantage of me!"
"She made me buy this useless junk."
I realised that even when I had let a bad thing happen to me, it was my choice.
So no whinning, no tears on the shirt. And get to work! hee.

Then there was national service.
It was no fun. But I think boys really become men.
I always think the army wasted me away. Boys go in and come out fitter.
I came out with an injured leg, learnt tons about office politics and shelved the swimmer-gage away.

The next turning point would be NTU Sports Club. Discovered the people-gage. As many know, I never have much energy to invest in small talks. "Hi, How's the party so far?", "I'm Gage, blah blah blah of Sports Club. Would you like me to show you around?" Never knew how to do these before being a part of Sport Club.

My parents' divorce. It got me thinking a lot about partnerships and marriages. Still don't know how much I'll need it. But I'm definitely not looking forward to it. Seems to me that the end will be very messy and troublesome. But if I will have a family eventually, we will have separate saving accounts. Money always bring out the worst in people.

Finally, the drinking session at Happy Dayz when I was back from Thailand to renew my working visa in October 2005.
I had been a bitter gage for a few years. Didn't seem to find love around. Now that I see it, I was too blind. Love has always been around. Jayna told me that I am happier now compared to years before. And I teased her, "Then I have to thank friends like you." She said, "I always knew that that was a phase. You will be alright in the end."
I never am good in the love department. But I wanna thank Lisun, Wenqiang, Jiahui aka Jayna, CK, Sze aka Gareth, Vicky, Adrian, Yingkai, Qijin, Xiushan, Peishan, Cherng Yang aka James and Julian. In a way you guys are my lovers all along. Through the good and bad times. You guys never gave up on me. Thank you all.

Labels: Gage'sWritings, Thoughts

I just finish reading Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven. It's not an amazing book I must say (although it made the long travelling hours back home from school more meaningful). But it got me thinking who will be the five people I'll meet in heaven.
In the short span of 24 years, I've got many life turning points. Actually, thinking back, I cannot believe it myself too. But it happened. I am grateful to each person or event at my every turning point. Some make me smile, some make me sad, others make me feel ashamed. But each of them tells me the same lesson - That I am stronger than what I think.

The people who I'll mention below are the people who I know consciously who impacted my life. I'm sure there are many people who curves my life-path in ways that I do not know and so I cannot correctly write about them here. I promise I'll say my love everytime we spend time together, and I'll thank you again when we meet in heaven (or hell).

Mrs Lim Sia How. My primary school teacher. She always carries her little blue notebook around. Fierce looking but kind hearted. She taught me that hard work always reap results. And I was a shy 12 year old boy with lots of silly questions about the world. She taught me that there's nothing in the world too stupid to ask. I'm grateful for her.

Mr Leong. My swimming coach. Suave and Handsome. I never knew if I can swim faster than him (maybe I can) because he was always standing by the pool screaming at us. My first experience with masochism. He taught me that when someone screams at you, it doesn't mean that he doesn't love about you. And when I finally left him to swim for SASA (Singapore Amateur Swimming Association), he says to me,"Finally! Long overdued. Come back swim when you are free." I never told anyone, but ever since I realised that he's no longer teaching at Toa Payoh Swimming Pool, I will feel down when I go there.

Miss Annette Kwan-Terry. My GP tutor. Never loses her cool. I remember the first day she walked into the class and I thought that she seems cold blooded. But she taught me that no one can trap you within a boundary unless you allow them to. She had her restrictions when she was teaching us. But she showed us a X-Rated movie, her back-packing pictures, taught us public speaking and many life lessons that the school accidentally left out in the curriculum. She showed me that being cool is really sexy and one should never stop wanting to grow. From six years ago, I never stopped to want to grow up to be like her.

These three people are no longer in my life, but I sure would want to see them again somewhere. Ask them if they remember me and thank them for changing my life.

Then, there is Tawfiq Kassir. But I still see him around. So there's no need to write about him now. hee. But I am really thankful that he is in my life now. Really.

And Hiro. The one who showed me all the colors in life. Much of my temper and likings are shaped by this one person. If there is a second chance, I'll go through everything again. No second thoughts. But if we will never see each other again on Earth, I hope we wouldn't meet in heaven. Because it will only remind me of the distance that forever separated us.

Labels: Gage'sWritings, Thoughts

050406:
Woke up late as usual. I like to laze in bed.
But I didn't oversleep because I made it to my Heat Transfer Lecture. In fact I reached early so I had time to listen to Saint Etienne's Teenage Winter on my CD player.
Had a quiz after that lecture. It was 1330 already. JacQ and Siew Sze and me had lunch after. It must have been 1500. Then we got to do our MP3011 project where we are required to design a passenger boarding bridge for the new A380 plane. dreadful.
We worked til around 1900 and I got back to my room. Had dinner and watched a couple of episodes of Will and Grace.
Then Siew Sze got back from home and we went to JacQ's room to continue with the project. I forgot to bring the printing paper. It was 2230. Engineering work is not too fun.

060406:
It must have been past midnight when I decided to go back to my room to get the printing paper and my laptop. I walked back listening to Teenage Winter. We played the songs in my play list after I got back. JacQ and Siew Sze went to the toilet once. Other times, we were working hard. dreadful. At 0645, I noticed the sky lighting up. That gave me an excuse to lie on the floor for one minute. I finally reached back around 0900, charged my handphone, stripped and fell onto my bed. I woke up late. It was 1150. shit. We have to meet at 1200 to finish up the report.
We skipped lunch.
Too bad, the tutor didn't like our report. So we continued to do our engineering drawings in the computer room. 1700. I started to feel hungry. And the drawing refused to generate. The second before I decided to give up, I figured another drawing method. So we stayed on. Although with another method, I still had no results at 1930. We decided to eat. I had Chicken Chop and Mee Rebus. I stuffed food into my mouth; had no time to chat.
It was 2100 when we finished dinner. And I thought I wouldn't have strength to study. So I went to the Art School to edit my film. Left the classroom at 2355 and my film is far from finished.

070406:
Showered. Switched on my iBook. Listening to Tori Amos as I type in my blog.
After this, I should go sleep. Haven't seen Him in the last 24 hours.

Labels: Thoughts