a sad sad day for league *sobs*

this has got to be the best piece of news all year: sonny bill williams has officially converted to rugby (union that is).

let me give you some analogies just to show you the magnitude of this unexpected piece of good news: sonny bill converting to union is akin to dan carter moving over to play league; or in the soccer world, it would be like cristiano ronaldo suddenly deciding he wanted to play futsal for a living.

now, a little rugby tidbit for those unknowing fools: the rugby universe exists as the rugby dichotomy. there's rugby union (the real deal) and then there's rugby league (or league in short, the not-so-real deal, ymmv).

if you must know more, here's a short lesson highlighting the main differences:


i never got how the league people think of themselves as THE only thing out there. they seem to think that rugby union doesn't exist. and somehow it is always okay for league to poach players from union, but the reverse is considered a taboo.

what the league fanatics don't realise is that besides the odd handful of them, no one really cares about rugby league, or have even heard of it. with rugby union being the international game it is, at least it has the potential to take on soccer, and crush league on the way to achieving that.

grow up, league lovers. go have a drink at your local pub and laugh yourselves silly at the six tackles rule. that's like calling your mommy when you can't win a fight fair and square. and what's with the stoppage every time a tackle is made? need to make sure you look goodie-two-shoes on tv?

now if you'll excuse me, i need to go play some rugby 08. oh i'm sorry, i totally forgot, it's union only.


+listening to: slow dancing in a burning room by john mayer

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the world grinds on

north korea will soon be taken off united states' terror list:
score 1 for the yanks, nil for kim jong-il

the US supreme court overturned a ban on handguns in washington d.c.:
score 1 for the gun-loving rednecks, nil for rest

how ironic then that while the united states has finally succeeded in getting one of the "axis of evil" to give up its nuclear program, it hasn't come to terms with the interpretation of its own constitution regarding the right to bear arms.


a lot of times, things happen that don't make any sense at all. and then there are other times that our prayers seem to be answered. i don't get the most heavily armed nation in the world and its obsessions with guns. on one hand they seem to advocate justice and equality for all throughout our civilized world while on the other hand propagating its ideals and expanding its interests by all means necessary, including violence.

and once in a while when the clear and present call to arms does come knocking in genuine situations such as the occurrence of some of the most atrocious crimes against humanity in recent history, the world's only superpower had repeatedly turned into the benevolent creature who rather pressed for passive diplomacy instead. the images of rwanda, darfur,burma... need i say more?

don't get me wrong, i'm not against america per se. but the headlines piss me off sometimes. it's the notion that in the land of the free, people can do as they please as long as they deem the acts justifiable. even with the explicit separation of powers, where the three estates of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches are designed to create checks and balances, events can be allowed occur that defy all common sense.

and so we're left with the fourth estate: the press. thank god that the freedom of press is still guranteed under the constitution. or... is it? in this day and age journalists seem to have a penchant for turning a blind eye (or at least a partially blind eye) to the moral compass that is supposed to guide them in reporting on the most pressing and relevent issues with the utmost integrity. ethics then have at times played second fiddle to fame, ratings and profits while newspapers reported on stories that would be guranteed to sell.

darwin might have come up with the theory of gentic evolution, but what he didn't forsee is the invisible but certain de-volution of morals. what will become of us in a million years? call me cynical, or a hypocrite or whatever you like. i'm just another brick in the wall of this ongoing de-volution.


+listening to: bombay vindaloo by dream theater

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is there an option C?

as i opened google reader this morning, several identical news flashes were at the top of the pile of the latest updates. and the title reads: CBS Poll: Race, Age Are Issues For Voters.

i secretly chuckled to myself. has america ever been presented with a more atypical electoral dilemma like this before? even in the lead up to the official announcements of candidacy by both parties, the bizarre and eclectic mix of a blac... pardon me, african-american, a woman, an old hack/former POW, a mormon among other interesting characters in the primaries were enough to make many people's head spin in circles.


thus it is no surprise that the final duo of the strongest nominees both present major points of contention. one guy "has got a funny name, and did i mention he is black?" while the other seems to think that the correct answer to the question "what should america be looking for in our next president?" is "certainly, someone who is very, very, very old."

the only thing that's certain is that i'm not amused by the humour of either.

so the question on many people's mind remains: the black dude or the 71-year-old? it's really a tough call. the cbs poll shows that 30 percent of voters admit to having racial prejudices and find john mccain's age to be problematic.

research have also shown that white voters are less likely to reveal their racial prejudices in polls before the actual election. this may seem advantageous to mccain riding on a less-than-stellar performance in the primaries and lagging behind hugely in campaign funding donations to obama. on the other hand, is america ready for the oldest first term president in its history? and then there are the fundatmental questions of the merits of electing either. will obama pay more attention to the neglected poor and the african-american community because of his background? will mccain show more concern for the ailing health care system taking into account his age? there's only questions and no real answers.

in fact, some have resorted to discussing about the prospect of alternative theories: what if the nominees hadn't been these two? what then? the answer is pretty straight forward actually and could be presented in the form of another question: would you have preferred a woman and a mormon? those choices aren't exactly no-brainers either.

i think it's high time that the american people stop living in a bubble. the reality is that the whole world is evolving. and with changing times, the civil prejudices that have dogged them in the past like race, gender, religion, etc. cannot continue to be the sole impetus or the deciding factor of the outcomes of major choices that concern their own fate. but having said all that, do i think that race and age will be the defining crossroad of this election? MOST DEF.

come november i'll be eagerly waiting for the result in obama's home state of illinois. seeing all the events unfold is much like watching a circus - you never know what's going to come next.


+listening to: hideaway by freddie king

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make knowledge not war

finally got everything ready (i hope) for the student visa application. it was really a huge sigh of relief because everything seemed so confusing. and the amount of paper work is staggering, with all sorts of preposterous forms and fees.

and so as i was finally able to enjoy some moments of self-satisfaction, i was also equally and utterly shocked while reading the story on how the united states withdrew 7 fullbright grants from gaza because israel refused to grant the students permission to leave.


i've always been neutral on the subject of the israeli-palestinian crisis. to me, the middle-east peace roadmap is about as significant/symbolic as me having an occasional constipation - in other words, i just don't give a shit. honestly, i put more thought into which finger i'd use to pick my nostrails.

but today something stirred inside me. the actions of the israeli government not only seem extremely discriminatory, but it's also truly a step backwards in building a more cordial relationship with palestine. and you wonder why the roadmap never seem to point to anywhere, maybe it's because one of the parties responsible for drawing it up is really a cock and has no sense of direction at all?

the claim on the israeli's part is that that education has no relations to humanitarian concerns in gaza and hence it would be pose too much of a risk to the israeli soldiers. too much of a risk for what? that the soldiers would inadvertently soil themselves upon letting 7 students out of gaza? or that letting 7 students past the checkpoint would make them seem a bit weak and homosexual?

it's quite pointless to continue the argument knowing there's nothing anyone can do to change the israelis' mind, because obviously the israeli government has got its head stuck so far up its ass that it would be akin to telling a cow to milk itself - wishful thinking. peace is an ideal, and education can help to inculcate and spread that ideal to the masses and nurture people who cherish that ideal. so apparently it's not peace that the israelis want?

now you know why people often express their frustration towards certain irrational individuals with the phrase "(someone) is being so jewish". in the case of the israeli government, i can't help but snicker at the irony of the double whammy there. classic.


+listening to: jesus just left chicago by gov't mule

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a day of mourning, remember may 12

the shockwaves came,
no one knew.
excited, the kids screamed,
damned if they thought it was cool.
how could they have known,
of the creature beneath.
with malice it came,
but who do we blame.

only when the walls fell,
bricks, more bricks, they knew.
frantic, panic,
water in your eyes, hearing more acute.
the exit, where's the exit,
too late.
the walls, the walls,
where are they.

nothing, void, the abyss,
mommy, where are you.
is anyone out there,
somebody help please.
the smell of death,
premonition of doom.
kids, hang in there,
just a little while longer.

they're coming my dear.
they're coming.





if you'd like to make a donation to the victims of the earthquake:
please visit redcross.org.cn OR text 1 or 2 to (+86) 1069999301, text messages are 1 or 2 rmb respectively.


+listening to: hymn to the fallen by john williams

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soothing

awesome news! youtube is down. i don't mean to be a saddist but i can't really stand 90% of the stuff that people put up on youtube. since its outtage about an hour ago, i think the global online community has enjoyed its few precious moments of "silence".


i'm sure there are some very grateful parents out there who pray really hard before they go to bed every night that something like this will happen, so there you go, an answered prayer (finally). mind you it doesn't happen that often. last time something like this happened was in 2006 if i remember correctly. so do make it a point to note down the schedule in your diaries/planners so you can pray/make your sacrificial offerings accordingly. no gurantees though.

today was... soothing. had lunch with a few old mates of mine. it just feels so liberating to be able to say anything, ANYTHING without having to worry about being rude /overbearing /a*hole /insensitive /loud /coarse /ungentlemanly or whatever man. i needed this a long time ago. it's like back in the days in high school. i thank god pat myself on the back everyday that i went to an all guys high school. i dunno what kind of an oppressed being i might have ended up otherwise. you just have to let it all out, freely and without giving a damn about what other people think.

revitalized, peaceful, now all i need is incessant wealth. next time it rains, let it be money please.



edit: youtube is up again at around 10:15pm... the chaos continues, so should your prayers...


+listening to: primal cuts by steve morse band

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the things people do

one of the more bizarre things i've come across lately: a priest went flying and disappeared. act of god? maybe.


apparently he set off in a bunch of helium filled party balloons and tried to fly to another city to raise funds for charity. while i must applaud his courage, his stupidity amuses me.

it's simply the stuff you dream of as a child, not actually carry out as an fully grown adult. what was he thinking? but then again, it's still pretty cool. i never thought it was possible! the inner child in me is dying to give it a try. seriously i'd give a leg to have a go if it can be guranteed that i come back in one piece. yeah i know, a bit paradoxical.

and on the now full-blown personal war against boredom front, i've also just finished the first 2 seasons of the wire. pretty good drama. hbo is always spot on in making their tv series look incredibly "real", something that other networks haven't been able to do. shows with too much special effects are kinda lame, i'll take the heavy on character types anyday. like the sopranos, which still remains my favourite show of all time, even though i'm heavily biased towards them gangster themed ones.

and facebook has a new chat feature! don't get me wrong i have not gone facebook mad, neither have i swallowed an elephant. i just find it quite a coincidence that right after i complained about starting a conversation with someone on their wall, they came up with an ingenious idea. kudos to facebook.


+listening to: under the bridge by red hot chili peppers

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see ya Mr. Heston

Charlton Heston died today. i think it's about time.

of course most people around my age don't know who the hell he is (or was), and no one really seem to give 2 cent about it.

except... well, he sorta looks familiar, hmm... "where have i seen him before?" some of you might ask. well i'm sure an awful lot of you have seen the documentary Bowling for Columbine. if thou hath not, give thyself a big ol' slap across thy face and repeat after moi: thou shalt go to bittorrent and download it NOW.


so now... does the name ring any bells?

"OOH!" you exclaim. that's right. he's the president of the N.R.A. in the U.S. of A. who went to columbine to hold a major gun rally just 7 days after the shooting took place. the N.R.A. or National Rifle Association frankly has very little to do with rifles per se. it generally promotes gun ownership. yep, that includes your assult weapon types too: those PARAs you got in your basement, uh huh, those are included. some Kalashnikovs stowed away in your daughter's room? sure, those too. oh i see you've got some Carbines hanging on the wall, looking good eh... what? you've got bazookas as well? sweet.

you see my logic now? i'd like to think it's pretty irrefutable. gun violence simply will not stop if you've got an organisation full of rednecks who just love to see things get all shot up. or people for that matter. and to make matters worse. they have a renowned oscar winning ex-movie star rooting for their "cause"? gee, charlton must have had some real anger issues as a kid.

so, i guess see you in hell then Mr. Heston.


+listening to: jeremy by pearl jam

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The world as we know it... post armageddon?

While aimlessly hopping through stories of prince harry's adventures in afghanistan, now that it's literally splashed everywhere (i wouldn't say i'm a fanatic of the british royal family, but i have always been curious about the establishment) i came upon a rather interesting article in the new york times dated Feb 29th.

pretty cool entrance to the global seed vault huh?

It seems that scientists and other concerned individuals really have put in some serious thoughts about the possibility of a post armageddon world, and they've already started stockpiling seeds from around the world at the Global Seed Vault, bored into the middle of a frozen arctic mountain topped with snow, buried 500 feet under the permafrost and the entrance tunnel to the seed vault is designed to withstand bomb blasts and earthquakes. The editor dubbed it the "Fort Knox of Food" (in case you don't know Fort Knox is where the US treasury department houses its gold). Apparently the vault’s goal is to store and protect samples of every type of seed from every seed collection in the world. And it's got a digital monitoring system to maintain stable temperature. Does that sound serious or what.

Now i'm not ususally a pessimist, but it really got me started thinking, where would i be if there really was an armageddon in my lifetime. It could result from anything: the impending fuel crisis, a global pandemic, food shortage, war, or hell a giant meteor. We have seen tell-tale signs of what those things can do. People rioting over fuel price hikes, SARS, mass starvation in third world countries, the world wars, etc.

Just a case in point: did you know that all the bananas that you eat everyday, in every corner of the world are identical genetically because they are of a single species from india. and now there are no longer any wild specimens left because of deforestation. that means its gene pool has literally dried up. Even the seed vault wouldn't have helped because if you still remembered the stuff you learnt in primary school, bananas don't produce seeds, they reproduce by grafting. which also means if some unforeseeable "disease" were to strike bananas, the whole world would literally all go bananas because there wouldn't be any bananas left! what'll happen next? I don't know.

you know what, i am kinda thirsty now, i better go grab myself a banana milkshake before they become all extinct...


See more photos of the Global Seed Vault: The Photo Slideshow

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Singapore outbids Moscow

People in Singapore must be delighted today. After all this is not something that comes often. Hosting the Youth Olympics would even be bigger than F1 and practically anything else that's gonna happen.


Interestingly though they have to build a 5000 bed "Olympic Village" in NUS, which i seriously cannot imagine in anyway possible that they are gonna find the space for, not to mention four new sports venues and a place specially built for equestrian, that'll be the old turf city i guess.

But looking at the state of the present sports venues available i'm starting to have doubts. All the fields that come to mind are either too small or too dodgy for sports like soccer. and what about sports like diving and figure skating and stuff? where the hell would that be held? downtown east? jurong east entertainment centre? oh well i'm sure they'll work something out. they've only got one shot at making it right and i don't think anyone would want to screw it up.

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INfidel WE TRUST

If you haven't heard the best/worst piece of news for a long time, Fidel Castro has finally decided to throw in the towel. It does come as a surprise though, considering how everybody thought that old fart (pardon the french) would never give up.


but in all fairness he had been a symbol of hope for quite a few dozen people over the years. he was the one who started the revolution, transformed cuba into a marxist-leninist state modelled on the soviet union, and probably had a role to play in the cuban missile crisis that nearly started world war 3, not to mention the driving force behind perpetuating the gloomy state of the economy.

We must thank him however for jacking up the world's cuban cigar prices, without him there would probably have been a few billion more cuban cigars floating around in the market, and it probably wouldn't be treated like the precious gem it is today. Oh and not forgetting kudos to him for giving us mortals hope, that immortality really exists and can be sought. When's the last time you heard that old fidel was dead? 10 years ago? 5 years ago? last year? yesterday? Don't you find it exciting/mortifying that time and time again he has risen from the dead and proven us wrong?

For some of us it's a beacon of shining hope on the hill of horse crap of a world today that miracles do occur. For others, such as employees of CIA, FBI, and a dozen other dodgy organizations who call themselves by alphabets and are living under the illusion that it's pretty cool, it's a case of chronic migraine - imagine having to haul yourself out of bed in the morning and the first thing that comes out of your mouth is "Oh Cock! Fuck me. He's still alive."


Yet it's his precise eccentricity that has charmed millions of us. People worshiped fidel, he was a hero in many people's eyes. Some say he shits bricks and that his eyes can blink horizontally, all we know is that he's called fidel. There was always an air of mystique around him wherever he went and whatever he said. So we ought to give it to the old man for at least having some charisma, charm, and that elusive ability to not mince his words even when he knows whatever he's saying is complete rubbish - such enduring qualities (especially the last one) that George W. Bush could never even dream of having in his lifetime or thereafter.

And our dear leader's last words before retirement?

"I will not aspire nor accept - I repeat I will not aspire or accept - the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief"

published today in the now probably more than 50 years old Cuban Communist Party's daily publication aptly named Granma.


Fidel, you did the right thing. now enjoy life and go shack up some grannies already.


Read More: Fidel Castro Resigns Cuban Presidency After Half-Century in Power

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