Tables turned

The immensity of this feeling is too unbearable. I feel it now, but it's too late. The tables are turned and there's no returning. It's too late...

Where art thou

Heart,
Not there.
Strength,
Absent.

A swimmer who peaked too early,
finds not his resolve.
Missing the drive when needed most,
for all that mattered.

Torn to pieces,
it's hard to put it all together.
When the cheer is gone,
Crushed,
Broken.

Unstoppable young hearts

The men in the room stopped in their tracks, dropped what they were doing, and turned their gazes to the television. In those few moments, they were detached from reality, disconnected from the present, and united as one. They were looking at their dreams, their hopes, and their future.

One day, some of them in that room might just be making the next Discovery.

Show.down

It was time. The curtains were raised. Seated in their carefully chosen positions, they looked almost stately in impeccable garb. Such a veneer of perfection, the last for the night.

The lack of harmony between them was hard to disguise. There was no salvation, and the performance had to continue even as no one played their part. Intermission offered anything but respite from the tension. Untamed and unreasoning, the beasts lashed out at each other backstage. On stage, it was grueling agony without a pretty end in sight.

When performance is such pernicious pain, is it time to part with preciously possessed perfection?

Tart

Treasure trove restrained -
No longer by my midnight pangs.

Tempting from within -
Unfinished nuggets of buttery gold.

Satisfaction uncontained -
A thousand pieces of sweet surrender.

My heart unlocked -
So warmed by an enduring love.

Life imitates art imitates life

A scene from the movie The Devil Wears Prada goes something like this...
Miranda: "Emily...Emily..."
Nigel, hovering near the desk of the oblivious new assistant Andrea: "That would be you."

I witnessed such a scene at work last week, involving a greenhorn, a colleague and a not-so-nice superior. Life imitates art imitates life.

Prematurely, thanks for the memories

"Through the morning cacophony of a school canteen, I caught up with a familiar face from one of the courses attended last year, 'How have you been?...'

The conversation flowed easily and floated around various topics relevant to these 2 years. Out of the blue he mentioned that he was from a certain school. It has become second nature to me to find a topic of common interest, and I could not resist asking if he knew XXX, thereby opening up another avenue of conversation. At that moment of mutual recognition, the sound of a shrill whistle broke the joviality and we parted abruptly. What followed was a collective flurry; the canteen cleared of its users who in lightning speed had formed up in neat, precise rows in the parade square outside.

At this point I found myself seated comfortably against a wall, detached from the proceedings with an omniscient viewpoint. Agents of command, whose primary role was to enforce the novel concept of 'discipline', had descended upon their fearful prey like hawks upon frigid mice. This was not all too unfamiliar, as I was joined by a buddy in recognizing the faces: there was the one with a monosyllabic name on his uniform (Bill), there was the one adept at 180 degree changes in emotion and tone of voice (Ou), goofing around with the unassuming one whose name was spelt 'Jye'... . My buddy and I reminisced the lighthearted moments, having been fortunate to share the trails and tribulations together from one school to the next.

Amongst them an unfamiliar figure emerged. The man looked almost satirical, an air of arrogance hung about him as he trod around with slow, calculated steps. Seniority was evident, not just from his greying mop - the front of his shirt crowded with glistening badges and pins of the highest merit. All it took was a fleeting glance from him before my buddy and I anxiously roused Jin, snoozing nearby. After all, civilians we may be but we were ever-respectful of dignified ceremonies and glorifying parades, having stood in those boots before ; )"

I awoke at 0530, the dream still vivid in my mind. While I still have some weeks to go before my prescribed 22 months come to a conclusion, I find myself prematurely recollecting the memories of these many months past. Not saying that the others do not matter as much, but to those aforementioned characters, you sure made an impact to be representative of each phase of my service, and I thank you for the memories.

exerpt from the closing speech of the ideological disambiguation party

"...After a meaningful and fulfilling week, it is with much regret that I have to announce that our gathering has come to a close...Before the party began, we set out with the sole aim of unifying conflicting ideologies across our vast organisation...Today, I am proud to announce that the ideological disambiguation party has been a resounding success, having exceeded expectations. Apart from promulgating unified ideologies and aligning ourselves to our ethos to excel, we have broken new grounds and established new procedures...I would now like to thank all of you for gracing the ideological disambiguation party with your most esteemed presence and generous contribution of visionary ideas, which I look forward to implementing for continued success of our infallible organisation!" (speaker receives thunderous ovation) "...Without further ado, let us adjourn to the dining hall for light canapes and vintage house pours..."

All the boys and all the girls are begging to ______

My friend recently introduced me to a video and I found that I could not resist analysing it with a critical eye...

The video is filled with vivid choreography and suggestive dance moves, but it isn't just another music video. What makes this video stand out is its underlying overtones of indignation and deception. The video begins and ends with a brief mock news flash that blatantly outlines the triumph and indignation of the artiste in producing the piece of work which treads a thin line. The last 'news flash' is ironic, given that the headlines spell out what it is about yet the newscaster does not seem to understand the hidden message. For a viewer who still does not get the message at the end of the video, the end punchline "Doesn't make sense, does it?" is thought-provoking and leads to a closer viewing of the video. Indignant the artiste must be, for the seemingly-innocent song has managed to get past our local censors to be played on air. Indeed I was surprised that a song which spells out an expletive would be allowed on 987. Maybe the censors merely read the lyrics and did not get a chance to hear it.

Deception is another theme of the video which ties in with the song. The artiste, first portrayed in a provocative black outfit, is shown later changing into a nondescript pink blouse and white skirt. She emerges from (what seems like a house of debauchery on the inside) a typical American house with her family and a freshly baked tray of apple pie. This ending reiterates the age-old saying "do not judge a book by it's cover", as the innocent family scene betrays the apparent mass debauchery that goes unnoticed from outside the house.

This piece which has managed to dodge (some) censors bring to mind the case of the Mandarin "Grass-Mud Horse", an innocent video imploring the plight of the titular creature. However, for those who understand Mandarin, the lyrics take on a vile and profane turn. The creators of the "Grass-Mud Horse" video must have been indignantly triumphant that their work has escaped strict censorship, appeared on the Internet and is a statement in itself.

I am sure there are many other examples of dodging censors, especially in our humble island, but there's no need to list them. The point of my rambling, is that there will always be those who try to test the system and succeed. As long as most are kept in check and do not vilify our perfectly uncorrupted minds, we'll be free from evil! ; p

Happy Ox Year

Happy New Year!
Congratulations and may you prosper!
May you be bestowed with good health!
May you achieve success in 10, 000 endeavours!
May your heart's desires be fulfilled!
May your every step bring you to greater heights!

See if you can guess the Chinese New Year greetings. Have a good one this year ; D