white nights
May. 12th, 2011 03:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
methrowrockIt has been nearly two weeks since the end of finals. And what a wonderful fortnight it has been. The Cheongs lead insanely exciting lives. On a typical weekday night, you would witness my brother slaying dragons on the PS3, as my sister and I battle it out for the computer, because we both have an imaginary kingdom to rule. On even more adrenaline-pumping nights, we would sit behind silver screens and ogle+goggle+giggle at adorable tufts of fur and dimpled gurgles. That is how time should be spent right? With people you love, doing the little things that you enjoy. Weaseling out of cumbersome outings to catch a (free) movie and ponder about the source of its popularity (Thor. Granted, Loki was magnetic.) Or walk around Orchard with nothing to do and wanting to do everything, and stumbling across a gorgeous shop, with rows and rows of vintage toys and ludicrously painted paperweights. Or simply, hovering over the other's shoulder, commenting about the city layout in Emperor or instinctual high fives when Mongo the next Dogwoggle levelled up to be Level 16 Paladin, with Grandmaster Archery. I am a homebody through and through.
The weather has created a perfect incubation environment. Last week, temperatures fluctuated around the 30-36 degree Celsius range. What does that mean in empirical sense? It felt like there was a smouldering iron hanging heavily in the atmosphere, pressing us down and coating us with heat. Itis a money-back guarantee that you would break into perspiration within five minutes of setting foot outdoors. Fringes felt like they harboured colonies of micro-inhabitants, if you know what I mean. Wearing black was a foolish choice to be laughed derisively at. Exposing 50% of skin of more was compulsory, not advised. I have a predilection for hyperbole, but when you are hot and irritated, you just want to vent and have the whole world agree on how pitiful you are. So last week was pretty much spent enjoying the creature comforts of home and the phantastical korean-drama land. What could possibly feel better than squealing over a kute Korean actor, with snacks by your left hand and drinks by the other? Oh right, squealing over kawaii Japanese actors after the Korean drama is done. Duhhh. The days reek of vapidity, I know, but hey, it is a guilty indulgence (though I partake in it too often). Other than running around to settle the SEP application, things moved at a placid pace, which felt great, after the frenzied cramming of the previous week.
Of course, General Elections 2011 was THE water-cooler talk. The night of Polling Day was so exciting. Everybody was camping on facebook, releasing torrents of status updates and comments after each result. Yam Ah Mee became an overnight celebrity, gathering thousands of fans. Hahaha he was so adorably stilted. I had to stay up all night on Cooling Off Day, because there were more people than beds, and voters were more important than non-voters. Hahahah whuuut. On a more serious note, the debates and rhetoric were intense and heated during the preceding weeks, and you can see passive-aggressive wars sprouting on facebook. The 'Like' button is a goldmine for social media analysis. Imagine this: Person A updates her status with a passionate affirmation of PAP. Person B rebuts her with the need for more checks and balances by the opposition. Person C disagrees with B, by slamming the opposition party mentioned. There are no more comments after that. But these three actions have sparked a proxy war via the 'Like' button. It was amusing to see the 'likes' on B's comment matching C's comment, 'like' for 'like'. The best and worst of people, their biases and privileges, their intellect and analysis, come barrelling out in the open. There were so many inflamed opinions whizzing around that, being the insipid person that I am, ducking for cover seemed like a wise option. After all, given the differentiated life experiences and priorities that each person possesses, it is impossible to reach a consensus that is satisfactory with everybody. (Is a consensus necessary for the proper functioning of a system? Simple or supra majority? Who decides?) Given the attacks and defenses of both the PAP and the opposition being well-demarcated and repeated, it seemed as if there was a fundamental bifurcation of opinions and interests that cannot be reconciled. At one point, it appeared that people were simply nitpicking and acknowledging only a one-dimensional portrait of the other. Then, there was the underlying notion of politics of stability versus the politics of freedom. And does agreeing with a certain opposition party, but not voting for the opposition because the contesting party in your ward was different, hypocritical? So many questions that engender an infinite configuration of answers. How does one decide? To me, an niggling bugbear were the obscenely high salaries of the ministers, that were out-of-place with the median salaries. It is public office, serving the people, serving the greater good, for a reason, isn't it? Since young, we have also been moulded to deride welfare states and socialism, because that would generate inertia and inefficiency. We have been inculcated free trade and internationalism unequivocally, and that meritocracy is a plus. But how do we know that it works for everyone? Must it work for everyone to be successful? What is the tipping point, or is there even one? Hahahhaa every time I think of something, I shoot it down with questions that I don't have answers for. I know I know very little and that the privilege of the middle class is invisibly enabling and highly blinding, so subjectivity is in-built. In the end, I have come no further from where I have started. (But is there a destination that I must arrive at? Is there even an Absolute Truth?) This could go on and on, and I am tired...
So I run. Into the accepting and welcoming embrace of fantastic-elastic worlds. I borrowed my first non-fiction, non-school-related book from the library last week: Cultural Industries in Northeast Asia, which is an anthology of essays focused on the popular, visual, media industries of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. It has been immensely interesting thus far. Globalization, regionalization, internationalism, re-centering, and reinforcement, it is fascinating to learn about how they interact in the contemporary commercial market. After rediscovering how wonderful it is to read, I headed to Kinokuniya on Tuesday and bought "Everything is Illuminated" and "I Capture The Castle". Sat down at TWG with my sister, as we pored through the pages and sipped fragrant overpriced tea in porcelain cups. Ah, bliss. Toured the Biennale at Old Kallang Airport with my sister as well. There were quite a few interesting installations, although most were too obtuse and flew over my head. One of our favourites was the seemingly unremarkable desk, because once you lifted the desktop, you peered into a sparkling projection of crystal waves and ivory froth. It was like the treasure chests you see on tv that bathes people in gold illumination when they are opened. Another favourite was the interactive installation that uses radiowaves. My sister and I contorted ourselves endlessly and danced around horrendously to see the interplay between our bodies and the intangible sound waves. Then, there was the visually jarring barn in the disused hangar. It was an overwhelming sight: the inorganic and sprawling desolation of the hangar, filled with iron bars and metal chains, housing the brightly painted barn, that seemed transposed from a countryside in Germany, complete with rakes, plaid shirts, leather saddles, bales of hay, and (funnily) a calendar of cheerful and nude British farmers. I loved the industrial and aged feel of the hangar. The gravelly ground, populated by sparse tufts of grass, and rusting pillars gave off an aura of surreality. I liked the video of Singapore's waterways and canals as well. Of course, there was also the control tower with winding stairs and nondescript markings. It was a quaint and humorous piece. What was more memorably was that we picked up an ipod off the ground. The owner of the ipod is my musical soulmate, which made me acutely curious as to whom he/she might be. Everybody does it, don't they? Judging the character of a person or whether you would like them by their music libraries. Insanely superficial, but hell, I wouldn't mind meeting this person. Maybe it's something like the social information processing theory, where the lack of f2f cues leads us to seek out and interpret the scant cues that serve as substitutes of nonverbal communication. Hahaha. But this person had Chinese, English and Korean music that I listened to. Think of the potential fangirling hahaha. Oh well. Anyway, the Biennale was a great day spent. If only I brought my camera, ahhhhh.
Tired of typing and itching for some kingdom-ruling. Had my first day as a phone surveyor yesterday, and I am hoping that it would be the last. If my other applications don't work out, I'd be content to be cooped at home, catching up with reading. Then again, I should earn some money. Decisions, decisions, we'll leave them to later, as always. Going to be without Internet for the next two weeks, because I am hoping that good karma will be equivalent to good CAP and will be lending it to my brother as he traipses around Japan. So long, farewell, till June.
The weather has created a perfect incubation environment. Last week, temperatures fluctuated around the 30-36 degree Celsius range. What does that mean in empirical sense? It felt like there was a smouldering iron hanging heavily in the atmosphere, pressing us down and coating us with heat. Itis a money-back guarantee that you would break into perspiration within five minutes of setting foot outdoors. Fringes felt like they harboured colonies of micro-inhabitants, if you know what I mean. Wearing black was a foolish choice to be laughed derisively at. Exposing 50% of skin of more was compulsory, not advised. I have a predilection for hyperbole, but when you are hot and irritated, you just want to vent and have the whole world agree on how pitiful you are. So last week was pretty much spent enjoying the creature comforts of home and the phantastical korean-drama land. What could possibly feel better than squealing over a kute Korean actor, with snacks by your left hand and drinks by the other? Oh right, squealing over kawaii Japanese actors after the Korean drama is done. Duhhh. The days reek of vapidity, I know, but hey, it is a guilty indulgence (though I partake in it too often). Other than running around to settle the SEP application, things moved at a placid pace, which felt great, after the frenzied cramming of the previous week.
Of course, General Elections 2011 was THE water-cooler talk. The night of Polling Day was so exciting. Everybody was camping on facebook, releasing torrents of status updates and comments after each result. Yam Ah Mee became an overnight celebrity, gathering thousands of fans. Hahaha he was so adorably stilted. I had to stay up all night on Cooling Off Day, because there were more people than beds, and voters were more important than non-voters. Hahahah whuuut. On a more serious note, the debates and rhetoric were intense and heated during the preceding weeks, and you can see passive-aggressive wars sprouting on facebook. The 'Like' button is a goldmine for social media analysis. Imagine this: Person A updates her status with a passionate affirmation of PAP. Person B rebuts her with the need for more checks and balances by the opposition. Person C disagrees with B, by slamming the opposition party mentioned. There are no more comments after that. But these three actions have sparked a proxy war via the 'Like' button. It was amusing to see the 'likes' on B's comment matching C's comment, 'like' for 'like'. The best and worst of people, their biases and privileges, their intellect and analysis, come barrelling out in the open. There were so many inflamed opinions whizzing around that, being the insipid person that I am, ducking for cover seemed like a wise option. After all, given the differentiated life experiences and priorities that each person possesses, it is impossible to reach a consensus that is satisfactory with everybody. (Is a consensus necessary for the proper functioning of a system? Simple or supra majority? Who decides?) Given the attacks and defenses of both the PAP and the opposition being well-demarcated and repeated, it seemed as if there was a fundamental bifurcation of opinions and interests that cannot be reconciled. At one point, it appeared that people were simply nitpicking and acknowledging only a one-dimensional portrait of the other. Then, there was the underlying notion of politics of stability versus the politics of freedom. And does agreeing with a certain opposition party, but not voting for the opposition because the contesting party in your ward was different, hypocritical? So many questions that engender an infinite configuration of answers. How does one decide? To me, an niggling bugbear were the obscenely high salaries of the ministers, that were out-of-place with the median salaries. It is public office, serving the people, serving the greater good, for a reason, isn't it? Since young, we have also been moulded to deride welfare states and socialism, because that would generate inertia and inefficiency. We have been inculcated free trade and internationalism unequivocally, and that meritocracy is a plus. But how do we know that it works for everyone? Must it work for everyone to be successful? What is the tipping point, or is there even one? Hahahhaa every time I think of something, I shoot it down with questions that I don't have answers for. I know I know very little and that the privilege of the middle class is invisibly enabling and highly blinding, so subjectivity is in-built. In the end, I have come no further from where I have started. (But is there a destination that I must arrive at? Is there even an Absolute Truth?) This could go on and on, and I am tired...
So I run. Into the accepting and welcoming embrace of fantastic-elastic worlds. I borrowed my first non-fiction, non-school-related book from the library last week: Cultural Industries in Northeast Asia, which is an anthology of essays focused on the popular, visual, media industries of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. It has been immensely interesting thus far. Globalization, regionalization, internationalism, re-centering, and reinforcement, it is fascinating to learn about how they interact in the contemporary commercial market. After rediscovering how wonderful it is to read, I headed to Kinokuniya on Tuesday and bought "Everything is Illuminated" and "I Capture The Castle". Sat down at TWG with my sister, as we pored through the pages and sipped fragrant overpriced tea in porcelain cups. Ah, bliss. Toured the Biennale at Old Kallang Airport with my sister as well. There were quite a few interesting installations, although most were too obtuse and flew over my head. One of our favourites was the seemingly unremarkable desk, because once you lifted the desktop, you peered into a sparkling projection of crystal waves and ivory froth. It was like the treasure chests you see on tv that bathes people in gold illumination when they are opened. Another favourite was the interactive installation that uses radiowaves. My sister and I contorted ourselves endlessly and danced around horrendously to see the interplay between our bodies and the intangible sound waves. Then, there was the visually jarring barn in the disused hangar. It was an overwhelming sight: the inorganic and sprawling desolation of the hangar, filled with iron bars and metal chains, housing the brightly painted barn, that seemed transposed from a countryside in Germany, complete with rakes, plaid shirts, leather saddles, bales of hay, and (funnily) a calendar of cheerful and nude British farmers. I loved the industrial and aged feel of the hangar. The gravelly ground, populated by sparse tufts of grass, and rusting pillars gave off an aura of surreality. I liked the video of Singapore's waterways and canals as well. Of course, there was also the control tower with winding stairs and nondescript markings. It was a quaint and humorous piece. What was more memorably was that we picked up an ipod off the ground. The owner of the ipod is my musical soulmate, which made me acutely curious as to whom he/she might be. Everybody does it, don't they? Judging the character of a person or whether you would like them by their music libraries. Insanely superficial, but hell, I wouldn't mind meeting this person. Maybe it's something like the social information processing theory, where the lack of f2f cues leads us to seek out and interpret the scant cues that serve as substitutes of nonverbal communication. Hahaha. But this person had Chinese, English and Korean music that I listened to. Think of the potential fangirling hahaha. Oh well. Anyway, the Biennale was a great day spent. If only I brought my camera, ahhhhh.
Tired of typing and itching for some kingdom-ruling. Had my first day as a phone surveyor yesterday, and I am hoping that it would be the last. If my other applications don't work out, I'd be content to be cooped at home, catching up with reading. Then again, I should earn some money. Decisions, decisions, we'll leave them to later, as always. Going to be without Internet for the next two weeks, because I am hoping that good karma will be equivalent to good CAP and will be lending it to my brother as he traipses around Japan. So long, farewell, till June.
