boot shopping & music

okay so the o' cleats have given up on me. well not completely, but everytime i tried to fill the gap between the outsole and the shank with glue, it only made the gap even larger. i guess its life's coming to an end, after all it's been a year already. most boots of mine last about half a year.

so out of necessity i had to go to queensway to shop for some spanking new boots. i was pretty shocked by their outdated inventory. and it's not just a couple of the shops, the problem seemed universal to all the shops there. most of them are still stocked to the brim with last season's stuff. new boots that came out at the end of last year were pretty rare sights.

i was equally shocked to see weston stocking predator rugby's and almost the entire range of adidas rugby boots. i was so tempted to just grab a pair of predator rugby's and head home. but i just couldn't stand the styling of the new predator powerswerve, it's gotta be one of the ghastliest looking incarnations in the entire history of predators. the bloke who designed this horrendous looking thing must have lost his marbles.

so i settled for a pair of adiPure's. not for the faint hearted. in fact i think most people would think it looks really "dated". well it was supposed to have modern performance with classic looks, i just wanted something comfortable, low key and relatively cheap. besides i'm getting sick of predators, been wearing them since i could remember so it's about time for a change.


also, i haven't been playing music for a while and tomorrow there's gonna be the first real jam since last year if i remember correctly. i just hope that i haven't lost all my chops. all i have been doing lately is just strumming aimlessly and trying to come up with something musical.

anyways i doubt there will be anything inspiring tomorrow. the setlist speaks of different kinds of music from what i'm into normally. i shall just go with an open mind.


and er a little fashion tip to the old uncle i saw on the bus with bleached hair (dressed in black n' white striped top and maroon corduroy pants, sporting a purple velvet belt with a gold buckle): next time best leave the maroon cords and purple velvet at home. it makes you look kinda... erm transie?


+listening to: evacuation by pearl jam

» Read the Full Post of " boot shopping & music "...

we can solve it? really?

i'm not a person who assumes a clear-cut stand over political issues at the blink of an eye. i don't like being force-fed ideas. in fact i'm skeptical towards most of such "campaigns", anti-global warming included.

i'm not anti-global warming per se (though i still do my bid to conserve the environment), neither am i an advocate of wasting away precious energy resources. for that you have to look to petrol-heads like jeremy clarkson on top gear going "POWERRRRR" every other episode. he ought to have a conspiracy theory or two of his own about what global warming is all about.

now al gore, the former US vice president and author of an inconvenient truth (i've seen the movie, which proves my point), and his nonprofit climate group have begun what they say will be a three-year $300 million advertising blitz to recruit 10 million advocates to seek laws and policies that can cut greenhouse gases. check out their initiative at http://wecansolveit.org.


while i applaud their spirit to change the world, i think $300 million dollars over a period of 3 years is simply too little, too late, and for too short a time. guess how much pepsi or coke spends annually on promoting their brand name in hopes of swaying the population towards each of their own product? over $1 billion EACH. they call it "brand preference". that is the kind of money you need to have even the slightest impact on people's awareness.


just imagine what kind of money and effort is needed to suddenly influence the population to become environmentally conscious. personally i have my doubts. but then again what do i know? the last time i checked i had the intelligence of a 6-year-old and the intuition of a door knob. so i guess nothing is impossible as adidas would put it. i didn't think people were gonna really turn off their lights during Earth Hour, neither did i expect to see people wear green for the Live Earth weekend. both happened, in fact i saw some kid in green from head to toe (yea that includes shoes) on a bus.

and finally on a totally unrelated note: have you often been feeling tired lately? or experiencing temporary blurry vision? maybe it's time to get your eyes checked. xD




+listening to: any fule kno that by deep purple

» Read the Full Post of " we can solve it? really? "...

pièce de résistance

tourney season's finally started!

no. not turkey season, tourNey season. the time of year when thousands of people of all shapes and sizes decide in unison that they've had enough of whatever shit they were in and just took to running around in some quite enormous pools of mud all around the country trying to murder each other, i kid you not.

some would agree that only sex ranks better (in fact some say it's better than sex), others would simply stare at you like you've just arrived from pluto in a gigantic penis shaped spaceship. all a bit mad quite frankly.

so after tuition today i ran down to saint andrews school to watch the boys play. imagine the first thing that i saw when i arrived there was some player from the other school being stretchered off the field - i couldn't be happier.

even though the boys lost, i think they played outstandingly well. it was really just unlucky, especially that second try that never was. but it's the experience that ultimately counts, they were the clear winners in my books even though the scoreline might say differently.

well since i'm keeping with the theme of rugby for today, here's something that is immensely humorous:

it's a series of videos from this site called Alternative Rugby Commentary. check it out for the signature kiwi style subtle humour at full tilt.

sorry if some of the non rugby-heads can't seem to grasp what the video's talking about. well, um too bad i guess. for the rest of you nut-jobs out there who do have an idea, right on!


+listening to: back in black by AC/DC

» Read the Full Post of " pièce de résistance "...

just do it!

nono, this is not a commercial spot for nike. i hate nike: overpriced, shitty design, poor build quality. but that's besides the point.

now the idea i want to put forth is how this slogan has become such a platitude that it's bordering on making whoever blabbers it seem a bit senile - much akin to a moose taking a huge crap. that's if you even know what a moose taking a huge crap sounds like. i must admit that i haven't the faintest idea. so you get my point? obviously not.

anyways here's some very apt embodiments of how the ubiquity of this hackneyed catchphrase epitomises human naiveté (no i am not using a thesaurus so eat my shorts) and makes for some pretty hilarious sights:

classic, self explanatory

now this one... look closely at the sign above the ad

you see what i mean? so while i was looking through some adverts, some anti-smoking campaign ideas caught my eyes, which i thought were pretty cool and much more creative than just rubber stamping grosteque images of rotting human body parts on cigarette packages:


and finally one of the must see random adverts. happiness guranteed:

p.s. to clément: good luck for the piano recital! the way you played the 2nd piece was amazing, so i think it's the right choice! you really gotta thank me for swaying your mum's opinion. now... who's da man?


+listening to: shine by slash's snakepit

» Read the Full Post of " just do it! "...

can i have a nice day, upsized, please?

life is retarded.

i fell asleep in front of my computer last night trying to get the 'live' stream of hong kong rugby sevens on TVB Pearl to work. can you imagine waking up to the alarm tune of "Uncle Fucka" in front of your computer and thinking "where the F@#% am i???", quite. and don't you dare diss my alarm tone, it once won the Best Musical Performance at the MTV Movie Award.

godamnit i could have been there (this previous post explains why)! okay if i'd heeded my dad's call to maybe go back home for a while after A's, i would have known when the tickets would have been on sale. then i would have stayed until the thing opens or maybe come back to singapore and just go back for the weekend to watch it and then come back again. argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


and the most agonizing thing is that the 'live' stream is crap. i get approx. 3 seconds of live footage every 2 minutes. i can only wish i am in hong kong now.

it's about 3 hours away from stelly's party/class gathering. and i'm sitting here like a moron staring at my computer screen trying to catch some 'live' action. i came all the way home from school from a whole morning of the scorching sun just for this shit.

but as a whole i'm pretty satisfied with this morning. the new guys are learning fast. and hopefully i've taught them well enough. i really want to see them do well this year, hands on heart.

let's hope tonight is just as fun. can't wait for the gathering later. what i need now is a much desired cool shower to get into the chilling mode.


update: okay only took 1 picture, while we're preparing the cocktail. there's just too much to do (okay, eat...) to waste time on taking pictures. heh.

salut!


+listening to: my guitar wants to kill your mama by frank zappa

» Read the Full Post of " can i have a nice day, upsized, please? "...

misc

feeling really random at the moment. so i shall transform into "intellectual" mode and do what intellectuals do best: when in doubt, make a list.

ok so here are the things i'm quite glad about at the moment:

1. found a live online stream that shows HK Sevens for this weekend!!! hopefully it stays live...
2. my cough seem to be getting better.
3. it did not rain today.
4. reliable sources say rj camp labels hc a major threat for group stages??? apparently my batch gave them quite a scare last year, for which i'm deeply flattered.

now to things that i'm not really satisfied with:

1. i'm still hungry after lunch.
2. my knee is acting up again for no good reason.
3. the sole on my boots are coming off. damn it, just when i don't need another new pair of boots.
4. my hair is out of control, majorly...
5. can't seem to find a live stream for supersports anywhere. the server seems to be down or something. that means no super 14 until it comes back. which also illustrates the age-old principle of life that good things never last.
6. i need a real girlfriend job

edit: it DID rain today... so damn jewish.


+listening to: fall to pieces by velvet revolver

» Read the Full Post of " misc "...

die another day = live everyday (until then)

i've realised this morning that i've become quite narcissistic.

i was actually blog hopping around looking for interesting reads, and i inevitably ended up on my own again. i never used to do that. things were that i'd blog about what was on my mind at the spur of the moment and forget about it.

nowadays i keep going in circles in my own mind. all these free time is becoming unhealthy. and i'm feeling tired ALL the time, for not doing anything. life was infinitely more interesting when you have tonnes of worries/obligations/responsibilities/homework.

i thought going out would have helped. i used to enjoy strolling around town or whatever random places by myself. not that i detest it now, it's just not as interesting as it seems to be anymore. and it used to be that i'd walk into a bookstore like kinokunya or a cd shop like gramophone and just hang around for AGES, because everything seemed interesting and fresh.

somehow all the colours around me seem to have taken on a darker shade. maybe it's just pre-college blues, maybe it's got something to do with adulthood? i long for the day when i'll be FAR, FAR away from home but then again the definition of home has never been deeply rooted in my mind. i'm not a home-ly person. as long as i have a little room with a bed, a desk and internet access, i'll be more than happy.

something is missing and i don't know what. it's not something that i can put a grasp on. if only i knew what it is.

i'd love to read about all the stuff that i've blogged about for the past 5 years, the enoumena.net and bo0.com days before i couldn't be bothered to pay for a domain and moved to blogger. it'll be like traveling back in time. unfortunately the backup database was lost when my old external hdd died on me unexpectedly, argh. i want to relive those moments.


+listening to: the great gig in the sky by pink floyd

» Read the Full Post of " die another day = live everyday (until then) "...

a walk around town

i forgot all about the morning rush hour traffic as i was inevitably stuck in that sticky situation again. getting rubbed shoulder to shoulder, jammed in an mrt train bound for the city.

my intended visit to the canadian high commission was the 2nd time in 2 days. i was there yesterday too, only unaware of something called an "easter monday" for which the high commission had kindly decided to shut its doors to the general public.

don't be fooled by the seemingly intimidating name of a high commission. it's really just a leased space in an office building with 1 counter and 2 police guarding it, much to my surprise/dismay. i would have thought such a vast country like canada could have afforded to fork out some money to at least get their own little building.

and i saw this extremely funny framed poster on the wall. it's entitled "picture perfect", with what i suppose is the french translation underneath it. can't really remember how it's spelt, i can only imagine it'll be something like "lé picturé pérfrénchzsúçkz". anyways it shows various right and wrong examples of passport photos of random people. i can see obviously why some of those are deemed unacceptable: people wearing beanies, sporting sunglasses, head tilted sideways, weird coloured backgrounds, underexposed photos, etc.

and so one of the examples really made my day: it shows this nice lady in a perfectly proportioned photo that looks pleasing to the eye. so i asked myself "what's wrong with this one?" then i looked at the correct example beside it. the only visible difference i can spot is that in the wrong one she's got a gentle smile on and in the correct example she's got this retarded stern shit-face look. puzzled as i was, i read the caption of the photo that explains to you what's the problem. and get this: it says "non neutral expression". i almost laughed out loud. how stupid can these regulations get. i mean so what if you smile on your passport photo? it's not like they can hope to pick out potential terror threats by judging who looks the most shit-faced while looking "neutral". i so wanted to take a picture of it but then i realised they took my phone and mp3 player away before they let me in. only if i had one of those mp3 player embedded t-shirts, i'd love to see how they would try to take that away from me and leave a half naked man running around in the high commission.

but anyways just some random photos:

the elevator in the building is really cool. it glows red for going down, and green for going up! and a cool ceiling to boot!

a water feature outside the building, i thought it was cool as the water is flush with the sides without overflowing so it looks like a huge piece of glass

this is the building where the high commission is at: one george street (that's the actual name of the building and it's also its street address)

so this is what we see from afar that makes up the skyline of downtown

another water feature outside the OCBC building, it also looks a lot cooler in real life

a very cozy street called market street. it really reminds me of the days in hong kong. there's also a great many restaurants along the street, shall go try some before i leave here

i was bored and didn't want to go home so i went to sit by the river. it's really tranquil in the morning because there's virtually no one besides a handful of tourists

clarke quay and its many shophouses

the sun shining right over fullerton hotel

after a while i decided to walk all the way to cityhall because it seemed like a nice sunny morning for a walk. oh boy was i wrong. the sun was absolutely scorching but never mind that, i discovered something really interesting:

here's the shot i took at the padang of the cityhall area:


and here is the official johnny wilkinson desktop wallpaper taken from the adidas website:



now compare the two side by side:

can you say: "WOW"

doesn't it look REALLY similar minus and wide-angle lens and difference in angles? when did johnny wilkinson come to singapore? oh well...


+listening to: another kind of green by john mayer

» Read the Full Post of " a walk around town "...