On Inorganic Objects and A Splitting Headache

Inorganic objects that have entered my mouth this morning:

1) Scalpel
2) Chisel
3) Hammer
4) Clamp
5) Miniature wrench
6) Files
7) Gouge

And people wonder why I have been a right old grump.

It's Not Over Tonight

Having paid a good one dollar per minute to listen to Adam Levine and Co at the indoor stadium on Tuesday night(and these were the cheapest tickets, mind), I honestly felt a little cheated that i was out of the stadium by 945pm. To be fair however, the concert was an absolute ABSOLUTE blast while it lasted. The moment the band played up Sunday Morning while Gina and I were making our way out our seats to dance and groove along to the song, i knew that the 75 bucks i paid was worth it, right there. Anyway, what was perhaps almost as important as listening to Levine's hair-raising falsetto, would have to be the company of this lovely person, right here.

Right, mushiness and over-enthusiasm of hanging out with a dear old friend aside, here are some other pictures of the concert that Mr Levine exercised absolute mastery over with his black skinnies and scruffy white t-shirt.

It was an absolute pity that they did not play the song that I am currently hooked on to-Infatuation and Better That We Break, which was what Gina was hoping to hear. But having danced along to hits like This Love, Sunday Morning and Harder To Breathe, one can hardly call it a waste of time and money, especially so when the 75 bucks paid served as a guilt offering for the infringement of multiple intellectual property rights.

Easter Dinner, Hand Cooked

While some highly fortunate people were able to head over to Boston for its insane restaurant week and some down to Maine for fantastic lobsters and seafood, what was someone left in dreary(fine, not so dreary) old Singapore to do but to whip out, or rather attempt to whip out, a finger-licking-licious Easter dinner? Here is what was on the menu last night.

1) Scallion and Asparagus Salad

2)Soft Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Ricotta and Chives

3)Risotto with Spicy Sausage and Wild Mushrooms

4)Roasted Lamb Shoulder(agnello De Latte Arrosto)



I don't think many(or any) pictures were taken, but here's a sample picture of what the food looked like, or was supposed to look like from epicurious.com.

In all honesty, the lamb DID look somewhat like this! The pseudo-ricotta eggs on the other hand, were an utter embarrassment. Why the use of the word pseudo earlier? Well, that was because double brie was used in place of ricotta as The Marketplace did not carry the creamy Italian cheese. The cuts of meat for the lamb were a little too thin, but other than that, the gravy and broth that underlay the meat was most definitely decent.

Mother of course, was a great help after she came back from church in the evening. And many thanks had to go to Father as well, for calling it a "simple meal" as he said grace. SIMPLE MEAL!? The meal for which i had spent the past 3 days worrying over was a SIMPLE MEAL?!?! Oh well.. That's father for you, but he is much loved nonetheless. Oh, and I am most thankful for the generous souls who brought with them the bottles of merlot and cabernet sauvignon. It was most yummy. Thank you.

Without Which We Have No Hope

Most glorious Lord of life, that on this day,

Didst make Thy triumph over death and sin,

And, having harrowed hell, didst bring away

Captivity thence captive, us to win.

-Edmund Spencer "Easter Morning"

On Thoughts After A Long Run

I was running along the beach today when i happened to run past the playground at Pasir Ris Park. It would be of no suprise that most of the structures have changed since the days of my childhood, but looking at the old trusty spiderweb brought back memories of climbing and climbing, but lacking the guts or sufficiently long limbs to get to the peak, succeeding which, one gained immortality and the right to incessantly taunt those below him.

How often is it, that one experiences a seemingly perfect union of both physical and mental states- the feeling that you are on top of the world, with your position of power established with every taunt and kick you deal to the poor soul below you.

Peculiar how some behavioural patterns don't seem to change over time as we supposedly mature and learn what it means to be people of stature and dignity.

In The Revolt of the Masses, 1951, Gasset states that civilisation is nothing else than the attempt to reduce force to being the ultima ratio. That might very well be the ideal goal of civilisation, but I posit that in an imperfect human society that strives to reach this ideal of civilisation for no reason other than because non-conformity, or the choice to pursue barbarism would result in absolute condemnation and the diminishing of one's status from that of person to animal, we have all just become masters at manipulating and creating facades that disguise the different kinds of force that we exercise.

How depressing it is then, to realise that from the womb to the grave, we remain equally inclined to being the basal subjects of our pride and human nature. There is then an acute need for a Savior if we wish to truly attain this ideal.

Oh and on the one other thing that doesn't change regardless of which stage of life you might be in - Mother worrying her head off and dealing out an interminable chain of advice as she sees you make your way to the top of the spider web.

Periphescence

One rarely comes across something that is both this asthetically pleasing and functional, no, not just functional, but downright aggressive at the same time. I have never been a great fan of Alfa Romeos. If one were to plot a chart showing the number of times an alfa would have gotten you to your destination vs. the number of times your alfa would have broken down attempting to get you to your destination, it would look something like this:

We're talking about percentage figures of course. HOWEVER, before we get carried away by highly biased and inaccurate statistics, let me draw your attention once more, to the picture of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competezione which begins this entry. If this lovingly crafted sculpture of metal(fine, carbon fibre) and leather fails to get you into a state of periphescence, i don't know what will. With a monstrous 4.7 litre, 450 horsepower furnace that propels you from 0 to the 60 in under 4 seconds, Alfisti* all over the world are heralding the advent of the new chosen one that will once again reinstate the pride that came with the glorious racing days of old.


*Alfisti-a term denoting the fanatical followers of the Italian marque

On Happiness and Retards

And so begins this indescribably sweet period of my life as a soldier - the block off. There are a few things that i'll have to settle during this period though.

1) Getting my new passport done

2) Going down to the American embassy to get my student visa approved

3) Making sure there are openings for me to teach at either barker or st hildas primary


Other than those trifle(fine, not so trifle) matters, this would describe the way i'm feeling now.

To all you nasty people out there, no, I don't feel particularly dopey or defective. I. am. just. insanely. happy. after two of the most inane years of my life.=)

If I wanted to claim the label of being the resident retard, I would have put up a picture that looked something like this.

Ok. Now run.

A Whole New Breed of American Menswear Designers

On another note altogether,


Exciting aren't they?=)

Enjoyablest Weekend Ever

While most of you will be enjoying the upcoming weekend, here's what a poor lonely soul(me) who will be confined from saturday morning to monday morning for the sake of his beloved nation will be up to.

1) Catching up on my reading. With minimal distractions, I hope that I'll be able to finish up

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David Landes. I"m currently on page two hundred and something, so that leaves me with four hundred plus pages to go before i can seriously consider saving the world.

(It's quite a good read, really. Landes does a wonderful job of explaining the disparities in wealth between nations, looking at it from geographical, social and religious standpoints. Highly exhaustive, this book.)

2) With all the heavy reading and hopes for saving the world going on, one(myslef included) might start to wonder if I lead a truly dull life. My response and solution to such depressive thoughts? GQ. I haven't gotten down to finishing this months issue of GQ from cover to cover, but i must say that what I have read so far easily justify the 12 bucks that i pay for it every month. This month's highlight: A quiz on the 2008 US Presidential Campaign.

Question 12) Fill in the blank: If elected, McCain would be the ____ president in American History.

A: Angriest

B: Gassiest

C: Oldest

D: Vietnamiest

Hilarious stuff.

3) Lastly, mr depressive here will be relying on the wonders of modern technology to keep himself sane from loneliness and boredom. Presenting to you, the next most important export to come out of Japan after green tea, The Nintendo DS! With 48 hours to spare, I shall indulge in the juvenile joys of massacring helpless chickens and beating animated ninjas till they beg for mercy. This i hope, will keep me mentally and emotionally stable during bouts of discontentment that might arise as boredom forces me to reflect on why the hell I am sitting in an empty office on a weekend.
On the other hand, I'll be able to save a ton of cash if i don't have to spend any money this weekend. Quite prudent too, considering that expenditure will shoot sky high in the coming week. Phonecalls are most welcome. Thank you.

Of Water and Uncanny Common Sense

Now, this is something that everyone should have a look at. It might look like something that you made mum and dad throw out of the house the moment you turned eight in favour for a REAL bicycle that would make you look like one of the big kids instead of mumsie's little boy that you actually were(and that we all still are to some extent), but the IDEO aquaduct seems fully capable of bringing salvation to those who need freshwater the most.

With the help of a peristaltic pump that is ingeniously connected to the pedals, the bike( with the help of a pedalling rider of course), draws water from a storage tank and pumps it through a filtration system. Newly cleansed water is further propelled forward and into the tank down the front! The filtration system and bigger storage tank obviously, account for the shapely behind of the tricycle. Now, find me a derriere that looks as inviting while being able to save entire populations from malnourishment and poor sanitation at the same time. http://www.ideo.com/