Amidst the clutter of council merchandise, tactics, tissues, posters, large "billboards", pleas, take a step back. I'm telling you not to get carried away by the glaring campaign messages and sloppy taglines. Take a short break from all these gimmicks staring you in the face. And think. Who exactly will you vote for? Only approximately half will eventually make it to council. You wouldn't want to see someone who'll make such a good councillor not make the cut.
Offhand I can think of a few names. In no particular order and by no means exhaustive:
1. Aaron Tiong
2. Li Yan
3. Lim Fang Yi
4. Long Chuan
5. Joshua Tung
6. Jun Sheng
7. Yushi
8. Jocelyn
9. Jeremy Sia
10. Hui Yao
11. Alison
12. Yong En
13. Marcus Teo
These people deserve to be in. They've demonstrated great leadership. They're friendly and approachable, enthusiastic about school, and want to make major contributions to the student body.
You can choose not to vote these people I've endorsed. But you must think hard. Yes, council IS overhyped. But better to vote people than to waste votes on gimmicks.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Aaron's house
Aaron and Wenjie are mad. They do crazy things. They play LF2 and Sol Calibur for at least 2 hours. They take turns to disturb people on msn, posing as one another by using the other's email address. They do basic research at a very very fast pace; Wenjie has a very good memory, while Aaron has very good mnemonic cum memorisation techniques.
(In the above paragraph, I am referring to Aaron and Wenjie as "them" instead of us. I am trying to distance myself from their madness so as to appear perfectly rational.)
I joined them. We are mad.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
fun
Nice video; apparently from NFL... but these guys sound like despo players scrambling to be picked for national team. but it's all 4 fun anyways.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
informalising
ben ooi (the charmer) n many other guys say my blog too boring n essayish. rly? i've always been talking abt trivial stuff 1 thing or another; just dat i've frased it in such a way dat seems intelligent... but no; it's not intelligent; it's abt my life. it's mundane, sometimes fun, sometimes not. if i ever sound essayish to u, i'm sorry n i'm incoherent.
yes, math/ physics/ chem/ bio/ lit/ cl lit/ hist/ geog/ econs/ gp/ ki/ pw/ china studies/ french/ german/ japanese/ malay etc can be tough, sickening, and deserving of hate. but dat's not what i tink. i like my pcme subject combi. so de blog won't be filled with such complains which like characterise a blog so much.
conflicts. turmoil in emotions. mood swings from happy to sad to angry to hungry to tired to awake to bored to happy to sad to... u get de drift. i don't dwell on those. when i go to de net, facebook, email, wikipedia's in order; i'm in my self-contained ideal cyber-environment... in de 1st place, i don encounter this often; n in de 2nd place the net is too fun n mood-stabilising... it's almost impossible to get worked out arnd here.
reference gaby (again): a blog's either 4 info or 4 vanity. 'vanity' has bad connotations; but yes, this blog's mainly me, myself, and i. just like other blogs. even if this blog's boring, it can't be more boring than any other blogs, which makes it, on the scale of blogs, interesting.
ok, grammer part true... i may be too pedantic. but u can be gramaticaly corect n hav a damn good blog (yes referring to hobbit n noogeroo).
in any case, this (b***hy) post proves u wrong dudes. :)
yes, math/ physics/ chem/ bio/ lit/ cl lit/ hist/ geog/ econs/ gp/ ki/ pw/ china studies/ french/ german/ japanese/ malay etc can be tough, sickening, and deserving of hate. but dat's not what i tink. i like my pcme subject combi. so de blog won't be filled with such complains which like characterise a blog so much.
conflicts. turmoil in emotions. mood swings from happy to sad to angry to hungry to tired to awake to bored to happy to sad to... u get de drift. i don't dwell on those. when i go to de net, facebook, email, wikipedia's in order; i'm in my self-contained ideal cyber-environment... in de 1st place, i don encounter this often; n in de 2nd place the net is too fun n mood-stabilising... it's almost impossible to get worked out arnd here.
reference gaby (again): a blog's either 4 info or 4 vanity. 'vanity' has bad connotations; but yes, this blog's mainly me, myself, and i. just like other blogs. even if this blog's boring, it can't be more boring than any other blogs, which makes it, on the scale of blogs, interesting.
ok, grammer part true... i may be too pedantic. but u can be gramaticaly corect n hav a damn good blog (yes referring to hobbit n noogeroo).
in any case, this (b***hy) post proves u wrong dudes. :)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
sports
Gaby’s blog just too imba… koped this from him:
The 20 things I love about sports
1. The silence before the storm.
2. The lust for competition.
3. The art of balance.
4. The cool of skaters.
5. The furrowed hero.
6. The face of battle.
7. The passion of the insane.
8. The Swiss at stylish work.
9. The unveiling of greatness.
10. The music of competition.
11. The element of surprise.
12. The moment of promise.
13. The revealing of character.
14. The smell of history.
15. The hero on the hunt.
16. The possibility of redemption.
17. The Tiger giving stick.
18. The chase for glory.
19. The glue of worship.
20. The slice of luck.
This sums it all: art, style, skill, strategy (thought), blind passion, excitement, competition, heroism, determination, anticipation, luck, fun, history, human spirit, human nature.
Let me add a few more to the list:
21. Physical pain/ strain =pleasure in the mind. You feel good after sports- "Pleasure" hormones like dopamine permeates throughout (That's why sportmen face withdrawal symptoms when they quit sport). You ache everywhere. Yet you know that you've played as hard as you could; you are satisfied with your performance; you can rest well. You feel pain. The rational mind says ouch but the bigger masochist says awww, that's wonderful.
22. Health. Self explanatory.
23. The fights: occasional brawls, a flurry of muscular arms and legs, a lost of control, a wave of emotions, the descend to the realm of ruffians... pure entertainment, but don't try this at home.
24. The blunders: A rugby player knocking on (dropping the ball) just before reaching the tryline with no one in sight, baseball player missing a catch, Beckham missing a penalty... players being tricked, being blur as a sotong, performing badly. Unfortunate? maybe. Deserve it? Maybe. Nevertheless, you watch compilations of them on youtube again and again, laughing derisively at blunders you think you'll never commit.
25. Role models larger than life: sportsmen are legend. They're revered as the epitome of life: mastery, passion, determination... all in one. Of course, many aren't because of steroids or extra-sports clandestine activities.
26. The rallying point. Sports is an amazing rallying point for a school or a nation; in supporting one's own team, commonality is established, bonds are forged, cohesiveness is achieved.
27. The protocol for sports. Ideals of coorperation, brotherhood. Olympic values. No politics? Sports for sports sake. Usually, differences are at least temporarily set aside for sports itself.
I doubt this list can be exhausted. There is just so much to sports, more than what many critics can imagine or foresee. It is plain, it is repetitive, it is overhyped, but it is a perennial favorite. People watch sports again and again, some train for countless hours the same thing again and again. You've got to marvel at sports: its hype, its influence, its ability to enrapture man from time immemorial.
(Separate note: wishing you good luck in all your endeavors Zaf. Dubai is definitely a very interesting place to be in. Thanks for being such a nice og mate:))
The 20 things I love about sports
1. The silence before the storm.
2. The lust for competition.
3. The art of balance.
4. The cool of skaters.
5. The furrowed hero.
6. The face of battle.
7. The passion of the insane.
8. The Swiss at stylish work.
9. The unveiling of greatness.
10. The music of competition.
11. The element of surprise.
12. The moment of promise.
13. The revealing of character.
14. The smell of history.
15. The hero on the hunt.
16. The possibility of redemption.
17. The Tiger giving stick.
18. The chase for glory.
19. The glue of worship.
20. The slice of luck.
This sums it all: art, style, skill, strategy (thought), blind passion, excitement, competition, heroism, determination, anticipation, luck, fun, history, human spirit, human nature.
Let me add a few more to the list:
21. Physical pain/ strain =pleasure in the mind. You feel good after sports- "Pleasure" hormones like dopamine permeates throughout (That's why sportmen face withdrawal symptoms when they quit sport). You ache everywhere. Yet you know that you've played as hard as you could; you are satisfied with your performance; you can rest well. You feel pain. The rational mind says ouch but the bigger masochist says awww, that's wonderful.
22. Health. Self explanatory.
23. The fights: occasional brawls, a flurry of muscular arms and legs, a lost of control, a wave of emotions, the descend to the realm of ruffians... pure entertainment, but don't try this at home.
24. The blunders: A rugby player knocking on (dropping the ball) just before reaching the tryline with no one in sight, baseball player missing a catch, Beckham missing a penalty... players being tricked, being blur as a sotong, performing badly. Unfortunate? maybe. Deserve it? Maybe. Nevertheless, you watch compilations of them on youtube again and again, laughing derisively at blunders you think you'll never commit.
25. Role models larger than life: sportsmen are legend. They're revered as the epitome of life: mastery, passion, determination... all in one. Of course, many aren't because of steroids or extra-sports clandestine activities.
26. The rallying point. Sports is an amazing rallying point for a school or a nation; in supporting one's own team, commonality is established, bonds are forged, cohesiveness is achieved.
27. The protocol for sports. Ideals of coorperation, brotherhood. Olympic values. No politics? Sports for sports sake. Usually, differences are at least temporarily set aside for sports itself.
I doubt this list can be exhausted. There is just so much to sports, more than what many critics can imagine or foresee. It is plain, it is repetitive, it is overhyped, but it is a perennial favorite. People watch sports again and again, some train for countless hours the same thing again and again. You've got to marvel at sports: its hype, its influence, its ability to enrapture man from time immemorial.
(Separate note: wishing you good luck in all your endeavors Zaf. Dubai is definitely a very interesting place to be in. Thanks for being such a nice og mate:))
Friday, March 6, 2009
degrees of geniuses
Cornell University mathematician Mark Kac once made a well-known distinction when he describes Feynman:
"There are two kinds of geniuses: the "ordinary" and the "magicians". An ordinary genius is a fellow whom you and I would be just as good as, if we were only many times better. There is no mystery as to how his mind works. Once we understand what they've done, we feel certain that we, too, could have done it. It is different with the magicians. Even after we understand what they have done it is completely dark. Richard Feynman is a magician of the highest calibre."
To some, this distinction hits the mark. For them, the ordinary genius is an understandable genius whereas the "magician" has an unfathomable mind.
I have not gone that far. From my experience, there are 2 types of geniuses: reachable geniuses and unreachable geniuses. Reachable geniuses are people whom I can strive towards. They are role models; my best possible outcome, attainable only if I put in the extra hours, the extra effort, and possibly giving everything else up (e.g. other commitments, CCAs, interests). I may or may not be able to achieve their level of practice and mastery, but my "infrastructure" is there. I can actually become like one of them, though it is likely that I cannot achieve this eventually.
And then there're the unreachable geniuses. These geniuses are totally out of my league, way above my maximum potential. Even if I give everything up, strive to achieve what these geniuses have achieved, I can never ever do so. In terms of understanding and applying newly-learnt concepts, they require just a click or a brainwave, but I would have to mull for days on end on what the concept is about and how it is used. These people are fundamental betters; trying to catch up is futile.
It is when we recognise all these that we realise the realm of competition. When we compete against others, we only pit ourselves against reachable geniuses, not unreachable geniuses. Ignoring the rest, we try to outwit, outperform, outlast our "equals". We are only minions, clawing and gnawing amongst our puny, Laputian selves, amusing the Brobdingnagians who stand, laughing, at our over-inflated pride and contemptible character. 勾心斗角。Even if say, I win, I'm only the winner of that narrow spectrum, myopic, ignorant of the larger world, the bigger picture. This is the nature of competition.
But it is this realisation of the nature of competition that leads to the transcendence of competition. There is no more incentive to compete. Then comes the drive to enrich oneself, to have fun, to share what one has learnt. There is willingness to view the world larger than oneself, and not oneself larger than the world.
Competition fades into the background, the humdrum of the modern existence, like the constant whirr of a ceiling fan-- observable but hardly significant.
The following text has nothing to do with the above text. non sequitur.
Math soc presentation was great today. Our PTM (peer teaching module) group had 6 people, but 4 didn't come i.e. wasn't involved, leaving Ding Feng and I to scramble to find a suitable topic and present it to Math Soc in 4 days time. We contemplated doing many, many topics, but in the end, decided to do Philosophy of Math, something no one would have expected or have experience in. The presentation was smooth. Apparently no one was listening, but Ding Feng and I talked and talked, telling lame jokes, alluding to the Math pros, asking for participation in discussions. Great job Ding Feng for coming up with the powerpoint and the entire "beauty in mathematics".
Astro club had Amyas lecturing. After that I went for dinner with astro people, talked about KI with Amyas (philo of math :), sang a bit of chinese songs. Jie Liang, Daniel, Kevin and I. We were sitting around talking about random stuff. Aaron got tickets for drama feste so away he goes..
I realise that Ivan Loh is actually very nice and helpful if you ask him about Math, and if you're not deterred by his fast explanations. He didn't mind my incessant "obvious" questions, answering and rephrasing again and again until I get it. Perhaps he might be my "confidant" in Maths in the future.
"There are two kinds of geniuses: the "ordinary" and the "magicians". An ordinary genius is a fellow whom you and I would be just as good as, if we were only many times better. There is no mystery as to how his mind works. Once we understand what they've done, we feel certain that we, too, could have done it. It is different with the magicians. Even after we understand what they have done it is completely dark. Richard Feynman is a magician of the highest calibre."
To some, this distinction hits the mark. For them, the ordinary genius is an understandable genius whereas the "magician" has an unfathomable mind.
I have not gone that far. From my experience, there are 2 types of geniuses: reachable geniuses and unreachable geniuses. Reachable geniuses are people whom I can strive towards. They are role models; my best possible outcome, attainable only if I put in the extra hours, the extra effort, and possibly giving everything else up (e.g. other commitments, CCAs, interests). I may or may not be able to achieve their level of practice and mastery, but my "infrastructure" is there. I can actually become like one of them, though it is likely that I cannot achieve this eventually.
And then there're the unreachable geniuses. These geniuses are totally out of my league, way above my maximum potential. Even if I give everything up, strive to achieve what these geniuses have achieved, I can never ever do so. In terms of understanding and applying newly-learnt concepts, they require just a click or a brainwave, but I would have to mull for days on end on what the concept is about and how it is used. These people are fundamental betters; trying to catch up is futile.
It is when we recognise all these that we realise the realm of competition. When we compete against others, we only pit ourselves against reachable geniuses, not unreachable geniuses. Ignoring the rest, we try to outwit, outperform, outlast our "equals". We are only minions, clawing and gnawing amongst our puny, Laputian selves, amusing the Brobdingnagians who stand, laughing, at our over-inflated pride and contemptible character. 勾心斗角。Even if say, I win, I'm only the winner of that narrow spectrum, myopic, ignorant of the larger world, the bigger picture. This is the nature of competition.
But it is this realisation of the nature of competition that leads to the transcendence of competition. There is no more incentive to compete. Then comes the drive to enrich oneself, to have fun, to share what one has learnt. There is willingness to view the world larger than oneself, and not oneself larger than the world.
Competition fades into the background, the humdrum of the modern existence, like the constant whirr of a ceiling fan-- observable but hardly significant.
The following text has nothing to do with the above text. non sequitur.
Math soc presentation was great today. Our PTM (peer teaching module) group had 6 people, but 4 didn't come i.e. wasn't involved, leaving Ding Feng and I to scramble to find a suitable topic and present it to Math Soc in 4 days time. We contemplated doing many, many topics, but in the end, decided to do Philosophy of Math, something no one would have expected or have experience in. The presentation was smooth. Apparently no one was listening, but Ding Feng and I talked and talked, telling lame jokes, alluding to the Math pros, asking for participation in discussions. Great job Ding Feng for coming up with the powerpoint and the entire "beauty in mathematics".
Astro club had Amyas lecturing. After that I went for dinner with astro people, talked about KI with Amyas (philo of math :), sang a bit of chinese songs. Jie Liang, Daniel, Kevin and I. We were sitting around talking about random stuff. Aaron got tickets for drama feste so away he goes..
I realise that Ivan Loh is actually very nice and helpful if you ask him about Math, and if you're not deterred by his fast explanations. He didn't mind my incessant "obvious" questions, answering and rephrasing again and again until I get it. Perhaps he might be my "confidant" in Maths in the future.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
sleeping now
Sleeping quite late every day. There always seems to be something to do, some more to do. Today's been a long long long day. At NUS at 10 for SRP aptitude test (not so good, +studying since the night before), piano at 12+ (late), rugby match at 3 (didn't play, haiz), astro talk by Prof Jocelyn Bell at 6 (no stargazing session after that because of inclement weather, sadly). And I make lots and lots of resolutions: 1. to be able to interpret questions fast and do more physics, 2. practise more piano, 3. train myself for rugby, 4. study more astro to prep for NUS-NTU astrochallenge. I realise that I'm actually already trying to do all of this... but I guess I would have to prioritize.
I was mistaken for a person who hails from China yet again.
And Bb is top in the house standings. Impossible. Incredible.
Analysis:
1. Buckley is RI's traditional last.
2. Buckle isn't doing so well either in RGS.
therefore BB is currently top in the house standings.
Disgust and dismay for being the last in RI release the oppressed spirited fire when we reach RJ, the land of opportunities, the place with a clean slate, with a renewed hope. And here we are, top.
1. There was once when Buckley was/ is last, Buckle was last.
2. That batch of Bb-ians went to RJ
3. They won the house championships.
4.
Therefore, BB will ??? the house championships? Maybe.
Meanwhile, congrats to gaby for winning writer's guild. Told you that your writing style's stellar!!... You deserve to win (though I haven't seen your poem/ prose).
OG still very alive, meeting in school before assembly. Have mugging sessions. Do things together. You guys are great.
Random. Maybe just plain Sleepy. 前后呼应。goodnite.
I was mistaken for a person who hails from China yet again.
And Bb is top in the house standings. Impossible. Incredible.
Analysis:
1. Buckley is RI's traditional last.
2. Buckle isn't doing so well either in RGS.
therefore BB is currently top in the house standings.
Disgust and dismay for being the last in RI release the oppressed spirited fire when we reach RJ, the land of opportunities, the place with a clean slate, with a renewed hope. And here we are, top.
1. There was once when Buckley was/ is last, Buckle was last.
2. That batch of Bb-ians went to RJ
3. They won the house championships.
4.
Therefore, BB will ??? the house championships? Maybe.
Meanwhile, congrats to gaby for winning writer's guild. Told you that your writing style's stellar!!... You deserve to win (though I haven't seen your poem/ prose).
OG still very alive, meeting in school before assembly. Have mugging sessions. Do things together. You guys are great.
Random. Maybe just plain Sleepy. 前后呼应。goodnite.
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