gravity

according to xkcd, you could escape Deimos' gravity with a bike and a ramp.

imagine having a device that captures smell, in a way that cameras take pictures. or a camera that captures smell and adds it to the scene.

i've been playing scrabble against the computer, and scored three successive bingos (playing all seven tiles in a turn) in a game last night. READERS, CAMEOING and THISTLE. particularly happy with the last one. and i still lost by one point...

as for the sailing. the key word is,

patience.

teenage kicks

i was in the right place and time to snap a shot of this girl walking pass some scribbling on the floor of one of king's cross' back roads. teenage kicks.

Teenage dreams so hard to beat

Every time she walks down the street

Another girl in the neighbourhood

Wish she was mine, she looks so good

I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight

Get teenage kicks right through the night

I'm gonna call her on the telephone

Have her over cos I'm all alone

I need excitement oh I need it bad

And its the best, I've ever had

I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight

Get teenage kicks right through the night

'teenage kicks' was one of dj john peel's favourite songs - so much so that the only words he wanted on his tombstone, aside from his name, was the opening line from the song, 'teenage dreams, so hard to beat'.

taking the plunge.

on monday night i'll head to sydney for a long training stint. sail sydney regatta is 5-8 december. over to melbourne where i'll be doing sail melbourne, 14-19 december. back to singapore for christmas, before leaving for adelaide for the laser nationals, 27th december till 4th january.

sail melbourne's the critical isaf grade 1 event in which i can qualify for the snoc's olympic pathway programme by finishing in the top 10. it's a big ask, but it'd be great if i can make my mark at that event.

hmm when's chinese new year? ah, february 14. then i'm supposed to move into shalom college on the 21st with my mate kwong. doing nanotechnology at the university of new south wales. sail in sydney harbour. all very exciting.

this must be the first time i've revealed so much about my life on the internet!

so - set up an aussie phone line, a bank account, settle student visa, consider a car, get a bike, get a sweet guitar, get a sweet boat, get a sweet suite,

get a life.

nah i didn't mean to end on a note like that. sure i'll be missing home and people and food. but i'm longing for a different experience, and the time is about right.

hello, starting block. good to see you.

oh, f*** me.

65daysofstatic in singapore.

i'll be in sydney.

that just beggars belief.

slow show/patience

tuesday, 3 nov 2009.

0614hrs: all is dark, not a soul stirs, not a sound.
0615: the sound of the phone alarm pierces through the air, silenced quickly by an outstretched hand.
0616: all is dark.
0617: he sits up, retrieves his specs and watch, gets on his feet and slowly heads to the throne.
0618: suddenly remembers that he wanted to write this thing. dang.
0621: finishes his business and trudges back into his room to fetch his notepad and begins scribbling with a pen that smudges all over the pages.

Standing at the punch table swallowing punch
Can't pay attention to the sound of anyone
A little more stupid, a little more scared
Every minute more unprepared

0625: done writing. exit bedroom into the hallway. "hello" to the lady of the household. she gets up to0 early in the mornings, he reflects. commence breakfast.
0630: cereal with milk and yogurt complemented with headlines of the day.
0640: he reconsiders this crazy idea about writing about every minute detail of his day.
0658: puts on some clothes. the sun is rising, light streaming in through the windowpane. he'd better hurry or risk getting caught in the morning jam.
0711: took his own sweet time, but out the door now. shirt, jeans, gym shoes, rucksack, water bottle, car keys, notepad with pen that smudges all over the pages. car park.
0714: long drive ahead. start engine. handbrake off. drop the clutch, first gear, big left turn, seat belt on before it starts beeping, a quick nod at the security guard before pulling into mt. faber road. music is the mars volta.
0744: lower delta road. ayer rajah expressway. clementi avenue 6. pan island expressway. bukit batok road. brickland road, with the irritating traffic lights that stay green for about 30 seconds. a short stint on kranji expressway, up choa chu kang way, turn into lorong kebasi, pass the newly painted entrance to the detention barracks. why have they painted a red stripe on the white chinese stone lions? that looks horrible. cut the engine, open the door to the sound of a whistling... sparrow, just 5m away on the ground. hi there.
0745: trudge to the camp gates.
0748: note to self, use a different pen, this one smudges too badly.
0758: smile to the camp guards, familiar and unfamiliar faces. shall i go by the back? he shows better judgement and heads for the rear stairs. good thinking, first parade is underway, not a smart time to appear in front of everyone. four flights of stairs, almost there, open the door, flick the fans on, put away paraphernalia, remove socks and shoes, he makes himself at home. it's hot.
0803: bari walks in, ignores his greeting, plonks down on his own bed, just alongside. "did warrent dick say anything this time?" facing the opposite direction, with a pillow pressed to his ear... no reply from bari. oh well. no biggie.
0816: rest of the gang comes waltzing in. talk about ord, what else. song wei paces up and down the bunk.

Looking for somewhere to stand and stay
I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away

0841: upsy-daisy. he's off to get signatures now. ord clearance form. just a few left. trudge out the door.
0845: a bit of patience while waiting for warrent dick to sort out the mess in the station. no problem. "armskote sign already?" "yessir." (edit: wonder who on earth came up with that word. pretty sure it is unique to the s'pore army. armskote. closest one i can find is this english village.)
0850: hey, nice one. as he steps out into the carpark, there's the oc opening his car. last time getting oc to sign papers for him - he's been nice to him in the past, in that respect.
"ippt?"
"gold."
"oh both times?"
"ya."
"oh you're the one who everytime go for your, what ah..."
0853: trudge across to hq, past the canteen, up one flight of stairs. final signature. slight indecision between entering QM or GS branch. settle on QM.
0855: found warrent idris. upon approach he gives a queer look, but finally relents and signs. work done.
0900: he considers getting breakfast at the canteen, but horrors, he still has zero cash on him.
0905: a visit to the mess, get on the internet, reply an email. type out a fairly long email to his warwick friend. whom he still thinks of particularly often.

You were always weird
but I never had to hold you
by the edges like I do now
You were always weird
but I never had to hold you
by the edges like I do now

Walk away now
and you're gonna start a war

0940: why do people play facebook games? 3 of them whiling away at the computers. 1 of them remarks, "hey, the other people playing this game are all mostly girls." snigger.
1028: back in the bunk now. from here he's just waiting for the time to pass by, so he can have lunch at the cookhouse near noon. bari's still dozing. song wei's not happy about something, he's going on about something, about doing more blitz, so much unhappiness pouring out, concealed by the silly grin on his face which never quite goes away. he finds a better pen and begins writing.
1040: chatter about blogging, about girls, secondary school life. takes his mind off things. the blades on the fan go round and round.
1059: from here on he's just waiting for the time to pass by.
1060: for the time to pass by.
1061: to pass by.
1063: by.
1112: never ceases to amaze how people can sleep right through the entire morning. you awake no fresher than when you first fell asleep.
1130: dons the greens for one last time, them boots that have long ceased to shine. prepares to trudge to the cookhouse.
1230: western food was met with distinct disapproval. urgh. accompanied by two of singapore's brightest young soccer talents for lunch, during which they tried to conceal the lack of an armband from a training school commander. middle-aged men, tall, short, thin, stout, share a grim look upon their features as they form a queue that drags along the side of the hall. reservists.
1238: he shares conversation with the kayaking friend and his schoolmate, the classical guitarist. they talk about weird classmates and about ord, what else.
1254: goodbye kayaking friend, wish you best of luck for when you cross over to the next world.
1257: open the door on bunk 4-14. same number as his sec 4 class. ha.
1301: afternoon nap. he doesn't want to nod off again while driving to the gym. no point going early anyway.
1356: theres an eery silence in the bunk. hmm, everyone's gone. he packs his things, slowly. hangers and clothes.

We expected something,
something better than before.
We expected something more
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe
behind a painting, lock it up and leave
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe
behind a painting, lock it up and leave

Walk away now
and you're gonna start a war

the hangers didn't really want to fit into the rucksack, they put up a real struggle.
sigh. no one here to say goodbye to. goodbye.

Whatever went away I'll get it over now
I'll get money, I'll get funny again
Whatever went away I'll get it over now
I'll get money, I'll get funny again

Walk away now
and you're gonna start a war

1450: i sit in my car now, parked at the national sailing centre, listening to the national. matt's voice gives the music a bleak, sombre tone, but it really isn't all that gloomy, their music is full of optimism, hope, it has potential, it holds promise for a better future.

I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up

i've finished my writing for now. it's a lot of scribbling for one day, the pages are pretty full. i hope i've done enough to prove my point. have a banana.

all lyrics from 'slow show' and 'start a war'. by the national.

. . .

reporter: what sort of life lessons have you learned from your time in the army?

interviewee: well, you can argue that it teaches you toughness and the value of teamwork...

...but then not really, because these things i sorta learnt from before ns, and even then you only really go through such things during bmt, which is just the first 3 months.

if i could complete my answer to that interview now, i'd say, in hindsight,
ns teaches you lots of wrong things. but there is one major life lesson.

i learnt about patience. over and over, time and time again. you wait, and time ticks by, and you wait, withholding your frustrations.
from day 1, you patiently await ord.

but thank god you're up now

had a eventful morning today. almost overslept and missed my skype interview for shalom college. to think that i did actually wake up earlier to grab some water, and that i'd totally forgotten about it and gone back to bed. happened to look at my phone while i was lying in bed some time later and thats when the realisation hit.

and in the end when i actually managed to get onto skype i almost appeared on video without my shirt on. woah! rushed back into my room to grab a shirt. nice preparation there colin.

so i'm lucky that i've been offered my place in shalom college. whoopee.

anyway, it's a great performance of one of my favourite songs this one.

Did you have that strangest dream
Before you woke?
`Cause in your gown you had
the butterfly stroke.
Did it escape you
Like a half-told joke
When you reached for
Your plume of smoke?

And it`ll haunt you
My honey bee,
Anyone who`s anyone
Has that same dream.
Were you falling,
Were you flying,
Were you calling out
Or were you dying?

But thank god you`re up now,
Let`s stay this way,
Else there`ll be no mornings
And no more days.
`Cause when we`re dreaming
The babies grow,
The sun it shines
And the shadows flow.
Time flies,
The phone rings,
There is a silence
When everybody tries to sing.

the sun is burning

there was this tune that popped into my head some days back. a simple tune. i couldn't figure out the name of the song, or even the words - all i knew was that it was simon & garfunkel. doesn't that just frustrate you?

so anyway luckily i found it soon enough. originally penned by ian campbell. it's got some horrifying lyrics. 

The sun is burning in the sky

Strands of clouds go slowly drifting by

In the park, the lazy bees

Are droning in the flowers among the trees

And the sun burns in the sky

Now the sun is in the west

Little kids go home to take their rest

And the couples in the park

Are holding hands and waiting for the dark

And the sun is in the west

Now the sun is sinking low

Children playing know its time to go

High above a spot appears

A little blossom blooms and then draws near

And the sun is sinking low

Now the sun has come to earth

Shrouded in a mushroom cloud of death

Death comes in a blinding flash 

Of hellish heat and leaves a smear of ash

And the sun has come to earth

Now the sun has disappeared

All is darkness, anger, pain and fear

Twisted, sightless wrecks of men

Go groping on their knees and cry in pain

And the sun has disappeared

back to camp tonight to join my batch mates. one last parade under the blazing morning sun.

sigh, war. sigh, national service.

cats, dogs... and birds?

cat power plays at esplanade on jan 13. that's pretty sweet.

tonight i saw a cat upon returning to my home club csc for dinner. apparently she returns there every night. pretty tabby.

part of my job requires me to work hand in hand with the mp k9 unit, so we do use dogs to help with our search duties. to the chagrin of the muslims.

elliott smith - kiwi maddog 20/20

one of my favourite e. smith songs. whammy bar and multiple guitar lines surfing all over the place.

and finally, andrew bird plays esplanade on jan 26 as well. woah! i'm liking this.

guitar+piano+sax+2 glasses of whiskey

i noticed something strange on friday.

i've hardly been in starbucks but... since when did they know to please mine ears by playing elliott smith tunes? weird.

then they followed it up with bob marley stuff. haha. cool.

i noticed something strange today.

walking past an optimist dinghy, i saw the word 'ache' stuck nicely on its side. huh?

then i realised traces of letters that had been peeled off. the original name was 'rachel', the owner's name i guess, but someone had, perhaps, played a prank and removed the first and last letters.

hmm. the name rachel has the word 'ache' in it. hmm...

jammed til my fingers ached on saturday. my ears are happy.

dawn and bun if you're staring at this too we should compile a list of songs to play and find a studio soon, whether or not they are in 6/8 time. else it's never gonna happen is it.

phobia 2

watched 'phobia 2' for my platoon cohesion today.

now, hold your horses (what a saying), treasure this moment. never will that sentence, in its entirety, be uttered ever again. i hope.

let me explain the two key subjects of the sentence.

'phobia 2' refers to an anthology of five thai short films of the horror genre. this is genre that i fail to understand. it's a movie designed to get hearts racing and to shock the viewer, which is unpleasant enough to sit through, but what i cannot stand is the scare tactics employed by every horror film i know (admittedly few). horror films simply cannot get past the cliched screeching soundtracks and dead people's faces slamming against windows and popping up behind the victim etc, just like how reality shows cannot do without 'knockout' stages and personal interviews with contestants for them to reveal how afraid they are of being the ones chosen to pack their bags for home. then again the last of the five short films was at least original and a bag of laughs to watch.

'platoon cohesion' refers to a social event where a bunch of army guys get a chance to dress up in civilian clothes and pick something civilian to do as a group, once every month. in short, an excuse.

i do have a fear though. which i've revealed twice recently, once for an interview, once, over a siglap chicken rice dinner.

i have a genuine fear of being holed up in an office room cubicle from 8 to 5, typing away at a computer screen, doing paperwork, wearing an itch-inducing office shirt and uncomfortable leather shoes, getting caught in the evening traffic jam, coming home stressed, exhausted but restless. this is why i'm in no hurry to get a degree and start working.

that imagery is more scary to me than any horror film.


which is why a bus ride through shenton way in the evening scares me to no end.

the little kid who's pretty good at guitar.

After all the jacks are in their boxes
And the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
Footsteps dressed in red
And the wind whispers mary
A broom is drearily sweeping
Up the broken pieces of yesterdays life
Somewhere a queen is weeping
Somewhere a king has no wife
And the wind, it cries mary

fun fact

for the movie 'the boat that rocked',

"The ship used for filming was the MV Timor Challenger, and much filming, both day and night scenes, was done in Portland Harbour (venue for the 2012 Olympics sailing) near Weymouth. "


where i've just been sailing the last couple of weeks.

we should have that thing as our race committee boat. with loudspeakers blaring chill-out tunes over the racecourse.

movies about music

i've watched a couple of them recently.

1. the soloist

so so. story was interesting but in the end wasn't really engaging. acting was pretty great. cello/violin playing was quite exquisite but 1 dimensional and not particularly rewarding.

2. almost famous

i've shared a curious relationship with one of my sergeants who has just ord-ed this past week. we both listened to some similar stuff, and talked about music often. i still remember a morning after a restless ops vl night in the vehicle in the deserted changi airshow area, he was playing reckoner and house of cards off his phone, and my morning didn't feel so fucking horrible anymore. heh. thanks 3sg suhardi and happy ord.

so anyway on my last tuesday in camp before leaving for weymouth here, he'd brought 'almost famous' for us to watch. or for me, re-watch. but i remember having liked it, and in particular i remember the kid's sister's quote, something about listening to rock n roll records with the light's off and a candle burning.

rewatching i realised that the sister was actually zooey deschanel. and i spotted the reference to pink floyd when the 'dark side of the moon' cover appeared momentarily on the windscreen of penny's car. heh.

i like the movie. the music's cool. the quotes are cool.

william: I'm glad you were home.
lester: I'm always home. I'm uncool.
w: Me too!
l: The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool.

penny: I always tell the girls, never take it seriously, if ya never take it seriosuly, ya never get hurt, ya never get hurt, ya always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.

[Finally getting his interview with Russell Hammond]
william: So Russell... what do you love about music?
russell: To begin with, everything.

anita: It's unfair that we can't listen to our music!
elaine: That's because it's music about drugs and promiscuous sex.
a: Simon and Garfunkel is poetry!
e: Yes it's poetry. It's poetry of drugs and promiscuous sex. Honey, they're on pot.

and that quote i was talking about.

Listen to Tommy with a candle burning, and you'll see your entire future. -anita miller

3. the boat that rocked

damn cool movie la. and damn cool music. referred to jimi hendrix as 'this little kid who's pretty good at guitar'.

patrick watson is playing live at the esplanade 19 january!

ok i'll get off the internet now and hope that someone will let me into the house cuz it's getting late.

colin went to the laser worlds

hurricane bill went to the laser worlds.




brett went to the laser masters worlds.


colin is going to weymouth for skandia sail for gold.

ok this is getting ridiculous, this is starting to look like some facebook notification page where everyone speaks in the third person.

chase butterflies.

go barefoot.
nap often.
ignore all but your favourite people.

-a cat.

i've got a scrabble word checker named after me.

sort of. and it's now in the sidebar. hehe.

this saturday i'll be at marina square with my mate bob dylan for my first ever scrabble tournament. hope we don't get slaughtered too badly. 25 minutes to play 12 words means about 2 minutes a turn, which is really different to what we've been doing, taking 10 minutes or so trying to find 7, 8 letter words and constantly referring to my outdated scrabble dictionary. wow how are we going to survive without it! i can't even remember all the 2 letter words. aa ab ad ae ag ah ai al am an ar as at aw ax ay aargh.

holy crap i just typed aargh into the word checker and it's a word. holy crap.

who knows. i might have undiscovered potential in this sport. yeah scrabble should be an olympic sport.


now you know how i'll be spending my time while waiting for hours for my turn to shoot some figure 11 targets tomorrow. sian. it's good to have bob dylan with me. he can play his anti-war songs to the tune of exploding gunpowder in the backdrop. heh. if only. cuz i've yet to actually hear the dude sing yet.

honeymoon's over

showers. cold shower after a run, warm shower after a cold day's sail, there's always a sense of comfort and relief standing in the shower. slowly you collect and review your thoughts. and somehow engulfed by water all the shit that happened in the last few hours overwhelms you.

this laser worlds was one of the toughest things i've ever done. tougher than getting your head around philosophical questions, tougher than vo2 max tests, tougher than staying awake through a lecture (ok maybe not that, that's real tough), but then my life hasn't really been too tough.

brett said wow, fog again eh, and reminded me of a special radiohead song called fog (again). heh.

There's a little child
Runnin' 'round this house
And he never leaves
He will never leave

i'm longing to get home and sink my fingers into the fretboard and drift into a minor-induced heaven. please may the journey home be peaceful.

there's a first time for everything

first laser worlds,

first time representing the laser blogging team (makes me really not want to let the team down, and i hadn't even known i'd been recruited),

first hurricane,

first time qualifying for silver fleet,

first time sailing in a fog, let alone race in one,

first time being pressured by another blogger into posting something.

i'll try not to make the tillerman wait from now on for fear of losing my place on the team.

wow i've found a new purpose in life. good times.

colin goes to the laser worlds

and finds himself too exhausted to finish this senten

day 9

i had two interesting conversations today.

kwong sent me a link to a youtube video of a song that brett and i had heard on the radio earlier this trip. we had both liked it. but kwong didn't know that. dire straits - sultans of swing. brilliant song, and a brilliant coincidence.

the only person in the world that calls me froggy raised a point.

she says:
don'tyou feel bored when people ask you about races
like i'ld want people to tell me about their non-whateveri'mdoing life

well it's true. sometimes. it does depend.

hmm. i think if i ever got bored telling people about my races, i'd be bored of racing. if i ever got bored of racing, well that would be the sad day that i stopped racing i think. so, no, i don't feel bored. keep asking.

isn't it amazing that after many years of sailing, sailors can still converse about sailing endlessly? that, really, there is still so much to learn, so many stories to be told, and retold? this blog i found recently is an example.

sometimes it's also about who you're talking to. and how long it has been since you talked.

so you think you can think?

let me outline the differences between cruising through canadian top-gear-supercar-video-worthy countryside scenery and singapore.

besides driving on different sides of the road... you don't see traffic lights for ages.

there aren't any macdonald's or burger kings in sight.

you wind down the windows because the air is fresh and cool (and to avoid the smell of petrol in the boot).

you wind down the windows because the view is simply breathtaking.

there isn't a single building more than 2 storeys tall.

you travel at a stately speed of 70km/h because there are twists and turns, because the view is simply breathtaking, because the engine frankly isn't comfortable above that, not to mention that the lorry ahead of you is doing 70, probably because of the same reasons.

and in singapore, when you encounter another vehicle in a situation like that, you flash your high beam to get him out of your lane. in these parts, you lower your high beam.

the radio djs aren't annoying.

you travel for half an hour to dine at a restaurant called lefty's because there isn't a single hawker centre around selling rice and leafy vegetables and toufu and noodles and wanton soup.

it is stress free. so you think more. all the time.



last few days sailing have been splendid. i believe i'm beginning to understand steering the laser on a new level. i've long heard and read about 'letting the boat sail itself' repeatedly, indeed i thought i already knew how to apply the technique. yet now i know 'not steering' doesn't mean keeping the rudder centered, it means letting it do its own thing. there's a difference.

this is now week 2. 15 knots forecast today.

over the past few days:
les paul passed away.
insane boat was absolutely usain.

gossip in the grain

now for the real surprise find. ray lamontagne.

first heard appearing on r.yamagata's 'duet'. thumbs up.

folk, singer-songwriter. but genre names are never of much help. the first song really throws you off because you won't hear another tune as unabashedly joyful until another 7 songs in.

i find it amazing how he feels at home whether he's singing uptempo stuff like 'you are the best thing', touching on country in 'hey me, hey mama', or sounding lovelorn on, well, most of the tracks.

9 very listenable songs out of 10 here. that's truly impressive.

right now the one i'm in love with the most is the ethereal 'i still care for you'. bass, chords and surreal slide guitar chasing a rolling drumbeat, storm clouds brewing in the distance. and the bridge, which seems to swirl around you and your lonely thoughts. morbid as they may be. ha.

the hours grow
heavy and hollow
cruel as a grave
open
me and you'll find only
bones burnt to glass

peggy's cove lighthouse, nova scotia.

oh my gawd

how can you open a song with those words? sigh. 'augustine'.

ok now for the good songs of inland territory.

vienna has another strong album opener here. just a most beautiful piece, 'the last snowfall'. i like the grainy sounding drumbeats, and the subtle 5/4 beat.

st. stephen's cross is impressive. it's kinda post-rockish, but i do like the sound effects in the middle, and the 6 and 9 beat times.

antebellum is classic vt - swelling, uplifting piano scales. lovely tune. the two-part melody towards the end is probably one of the best things alex and vienna have ever done, even if alex sounds a bit weak.

i like kansas. just for the tune. love the brassy in another life. stray italian grayhound would be even greater if the bridge didn't sound like a jap anime theme with the cliched strings. it's good.

grandmother song was really impressive on the first couple of listens. the gypsy feel, handclaps, lyrics flowing straight out of alicia keys' 'a woman's worth' into the bridge. on repeated listens it sounded abrasive and i switched to beirut instead. sorry.

and i'll say right here and now that 'no gringo' deserves a post by itself. it's a gem.

day 3

for 'the rescue', explosions in the sky spent eight straight days writing and finishing one song each day. the songs were imaginatively titled day 1, day 2, day 3...

very tired la. tomorrow then write.

inland territory

it's taken me a long time to think about how to go about writing about vienna teng's latest album. reason is i still can't quite decide whether to love it or to be disappointed.

i remember it was earlier this year when i was standing for my midnight sentry duty, rifle in hand and radio turned to lush 99.5, that i heard the dj gush about 'inland territory' while putting 'white light' on. hearing the words 'vienna teng' jolted me out of my drowsy state, the same reaction i had had when i had heard the same station play 'street spirit (fade out)' on some other previous lonesome mowbray night. 'wow i'd better hear this...' only difference was, i knew 'street spirit' well enough to play it blindfolded; i've never heard any of vienna's new songs yet, let alone this one.

i'd loved how vienna has these enchanting piano-driven melodies, often intertwined with vocals, or, more rarely, some other sweeping melody. cases in point: blue caravan, now three, gravity, harbour, homecoming and recessional. she's ventured into bringing strings, drums, choral voices and oh guitars into the picture, but for most part it's always been about the piano and her. and always so soothing, so mellow.

my first taste of this album via 'white light' was thus a disappointment. a bass groove, synths all over the place, effects-laden guitar, a plodding drum beat, and what's this? an unimpressive tune. it also can't help but remind me of another wilco song, 'what light', which was quite a dud. oh dear, i thought, this might be it, she's lost the plot.

well i got hold of the album anyway, and here's what i think. it's a mishmash of all sorts of different sounds, which can be done well (OK computer!), but here it comes off rather harshly. it is also makes it difficult, and a tad unfair, to treat the album as an entirety, because after averaging between superb songs like 'antebellum', 'no gringo' and 'st. stephen's cross' and stomach-turning ones like 'augustine', 'white light' and 'radio song' in particular, you get, well, an average score. which is harsh on the good ones. sad, because i'm all for treating albums as one piece of work and listening to them in the order the artist had intended, as opposed to the hit-single-driven discs being put out in the mainstream.

ok i've finally decided to do it this way. i shall focus on the spectacular songs. after i finish this bit. i appreciate when artists try to show their ambitions and push the envelope by trying new styles and sounds. it's a good thing! sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. no one said meshing strings, horns, bass, drums, guitar effects and chamber sounds was going to be easy, but no one said you had to. i think it's at it's worst in 'white light' and 'radio song'. the tune suffers. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, the tune suffers, and you decide to scrap it and put in that other haunting piano piece or live 'fields of gold' cover instead. or so i wish.

right now i'm listening to porcupine tree's 'a smart kid', and there's a smart way of merging several musical ideas together seamlessly. i like how at the root of the song there is a nice and simple tune, yet it is a complex piece with several layers overlapping each other. it helps too that i've always admired steven wilson's guitar work and solos. fascinating song.

i'll wait till tomorrow to write about the other inland territory songs. zzz

day 1

after roughly 30hrs+ of travel, i've finally settled down at clifty cove motel, my home for the next 17 days. and yes, traveling round and about north america was rough for both of us - we're still awaiting both our tiller bags from the airport. it's a pretty place nevertheless. here's the view from the room with a view.

thiscomfort

this weekend's pesta sukan regatta was both comforting and an abrupt wake-up call. comforting because things were, for a moment, like 3 years ago; cai and sl, serving as coach, sparring partner and companion all at once. comforting to be able to bounce ideas off each other and to have a post-race discussion seconds after crossing the finish line. comforting to be, perhaps belatedly, pulled out of my comfort zone.

a wake-up call because hey! sl, credit to him, stepped into the laser after being out of it for a year and, following a few sailing sessions, promptly out-sailed me on saturday and more. because i still can't tell how to prioritise current - certainly wasn't as much of a factor as i had made it out to be. i was happier with sunday's performance, where i made decisions that seemed to justify themselves, even though it wasn't a mistake-free day either.

my dad's a champion cuz he did a 3hr triathlon in the morning, cycled to nsc and sailed the last race of the day, winning his first ever regatta in the laser radial, albeit without any other radials around (he did hilariously mistake one of the standard rigs for a radial).

countdown.

so the days are speeding by, and there are 2 events which are round the corner. first is the laser worlds. while i prepared for kieler woche by visiting the gym multiple times a week, cycling hard on saturdays and heading to sydney for not one but two week-long training stints, this time preparation consisted of army half marathon training multiple times a week, standing still for long hard hours on saturdays and heading to the hr branch not once, but twice, to instill some sense of urgency into our friendly staff. i wonder what the average speed of the paperwork was as it made it's way to our camp - let's say it did, what 40km? in about 4 weeks, which is 28 days +/-, hmm... 40/672 works out to be about 0.06km/h. you'd think i'd have a reason to be worried and upset; surely the tirade wasn't necessary, ma'am, cuz it's not you that i'm pestering. but that's just you. thanks for your time.

but gratefully it looks like it'll be settled soon, so i can start thinking about halifax with much more seriousness.

the other event is my approaching ord date on 9th november. sure, it'll be a relief, but i guess i'll have mixed feelings. ns has taught me things, some good, some bad, some downright wrong i think. i've grown (in more ways than one) and changed somewhat, i think i've made 3 lasting friendships, especially in the last month or so. somehow i behave very differently around them, not like how i am with anybody else.

above all i believe i'll be looking back on 08-09 as my most carefree years ever. sure, for most part it was pretty darn boring, but it was bearable.

coming up! 2 album reviews! and a closer look into the things i'm doing in preparation for the biggest race i've ever sailed yet.

Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats

photo of the week

"Okay, okay, you can stay. But only if you promise to move just a little quicker in the roll tacks..."
(Photo: Glennon Stratton)

also, currently enjoying the adventures of post-humorous boy, screwed up boy, unremarkable boy and lifeless creature. episodes every saturday! last episode was mostly about watermelon, but i shouldn't reveal too much before you go and catch it for yourself.

big bird in a small cage

thoughts, extrapolated from my frustration at being in a no.3 uniform shirt that's so tight i can't put my elbows within 10cm of each other, various items tugging at my belt which constricts around my waist, sore feet trapped and blistered by leather, chinstrap and earpiece grabbing at my head, lack of ventilation where i'm standing, 1m away from the air-conditioned lounge.

but, being the person i am, i don't voice my frustration, i try to enjoy myself and the company around me, have a good laugh, come home and have a good sleep, go sailing the next day, and then i come back and blog about something entirely different.

well, not entirely.

There was a house halfway 'round the world
And I was invited in for a small taste of gin
There was a hallway a thousand birds long
But the biggest one of all was in a
Cage too small

I asked the caretaker 'cause he owns an acre
Looked at me and laughed took another sip from his glass and said
Open up your ears and heart

You put a big bird in a small cage it'll you a song
That we all love to sing along
To the sound of the bird that longs

-Patrick Watson

freedom of movement. freedom of speech, eye contact, fidgeting, nuances, standing positions when in a group, feelings, happiness, stream of consciousness.

the future, the elastic quality of time as experienced by people, words and how shops/brands/multinational corporations pick their names, taglines. humour, James May's humour, scrabble. Niall O'Sullivan's essays for the Wimbledon website.

ridiculousness, especially. rain, and water, for that matter. that moment when a band first steps onto the stage (i've withheld this long to mention something music related).

cobbled streets, autumn leaves, winds in your face, open lawns, winding roads, undiscovered eateries. long walks and adventures and generally making a fool of yourself.

what fascinates you?

postcards from around the world.

i've been anywhere but home this month. now my passport is emblazoned with sydney, frankfurt stamps. it's still hard to believe this sort of life i'm living, escaping from the humdrum doldrum of ns to put on a zhik wetsuit, go for a sail, feel like i'm improving and ending up doing better than i'd ever hoped to do at kiel.

another one of brett's pics from sydney:


haha somehow the zhik lycra top makes me look faster than in the ronstan top.

the opera house, again. lit up for the luminous festival, curated by brian eno.

my week long sydney stint was the best, great fun on the water sailing with more people, great fun off the water, seeing three performances and meeting people, staying over at scott's place. the save fbi concert was a bit strange, for reasons other than the music, and then the music itself wasn't really something to write home about in a postcard.

walked into the opera house one night and sneaked a peek at some of the events happening during the festival. jumped at the chance to see 'food court' the same night, partly so i could have a look at what the place is like from the inside, partly for the sense of adventure in seeing something i had no clue about, partly for the jazz trio. it was a rather hardcore, avant-garde (to me) piece of theatre, especially since i don't watch plays at all. the necks played something between drone and jazz, repeating the same motif over and over, gradually expanding on it and exploring it in great length and detail over the entire hour or so, providing the score to the visuals on stage.

the play was interesting too, but it was only after the event, when i stayed for the Q&A with the director and the necks and one of the actors, sarah, did i realise that sarah had a certain disability that affected her movement and speech. she had certainly displayed it during the play, but i had thought that she had simply been playing her role. she walked unsteadily, and talked in starts and stops, one or two words at a time, while her right hand tremored trying to make gestures. parkinson's? she's about 30 i would say. anyway that was really startling and i thought it was amazing. her disability wasn't written anywhere in the program sheet or pamphlets, so it was left to the audience to deduce sarah's condition themselves - i certainly would not have realised if i hadn't stayed for the Q&A.

13th june's a special day. i left new collage village feeling a bit guilty for leaving so quickly and not really saying a proper goodbye, but well, i was walking to coogee bay for a one night only experience with the band oceansize. pretty pumped. at first i was a bit concerned that because they were the supporting act for a sydney band 'cog' (which i can't stand), i was afraid they would be playing a short set of 20mins or so, which would be really disappointing. i needn't have worried - how can a manchester band travel so far just to play a few songs?

what a treat it is to see a band you've liked for 4 years or so, in the flesh, and on top of that they play almost all your favorite songs. the charm offensive. a homage to a shame. trail of fire. commemorative t-shirt. unfamiliar! such a great track, specially the last 1.5 minutes. the last wrongs! i left before cog came on, a very happy fanboy. it just amazes me how their songs can be so captivating, different to anything else i've heard.

in kiel i seemed to play more soccer than i have for the rest of 2009 so far. wonderful how it loosens up the muscles.

like what the print on one of my shirts says, kiel week was a real eye-opener, perhaps not as startling as it could have been had the wind been less kind on me. placed 26th out of 150 odd boats. as good as it was, i'd still call it a mixed result, because of the bfd in the last race. yet again. but what do you do when you're in the middle of the line, holding your lane, unable to see the pin, moving up the line together with the group of boats? i'm surprised brett didn't talk to me about it further. certain that these ocs's will come back to haunt me in the future, it's happened before haha. nice to have peter to talk about these things to.

still, my highlight was the 3rd race. executed my plan for the 1st beat perfectly, started in the middle with room to tack, tacked early and was one of the faster boats out to the right, where most of the fleet was going. patience, patience, patience, the right will come, the right will come in, it comes in! tacked, near the layline already, cross bows, went behind mr. goodison by 2 boatlengths - at which point i was going whoopee! sweet.

now to chase goody.

no wait, now to book in. give me a moment, goody.

let's be sociable.

back from sydney, perhaps not for long. we'll see.

it's hard not to enjoy the refreshing air and the cool temperatures that sydney has to offer. i envy them sydney-siders walking the streets, knowing that they won't be miserably drenched in sweat. can't say as much about sunny singapore! i wouldn't dread booking in to mowbray camp so much if i didn't know that i'd have to ascend 4 floors of stairs, then enter a stale, oven-like bunk, soaked in sweat, geez what a bright way to start the day! geez, why does the air in our bunk feel so lifeless anyway? it's almost as though there's some work of evil in the room, sucking the life energy out of anyone who enters.

the opera house and the harbour bridge are truly impressive, appealing from every angle. like bill bryson said, they seem to peek into every view you take in from all the nooks and crannies in port jackson, like some dude playing a prank by walking into the background of every group photo taken at a party. what a joy it is to sail here, and to be able to sail right up to such an icon.






i must say the sky and the lighting was exceptional on the afternoon that we had off. and i really like the last shot of the tall masted ship, Young Endeavour's the name. as though some angel is sitting atop the mast keeping a watchful eye on the goings on below.

i'd also like to thank facebook for allowing me to meet up with xin hui and her mates at a time when i was feeling pretty bored and lonely and yearning for something to do. such a joy to see familiar/singaporean faces in a faraway foreign land. heh.

these funding changes with the new opp and various nonsense makes me want to be even more determined and resolute to really prove my worth at the up and coming kiel week and whatever else i'm going to be allowed to go for. i'm starting to get in the mood for racing. beginning with next week i guess.

crikey mate! pt 2

suddenly the flight details are changed, i'm so lucky i packed this morning. now i'm flying at 8pm instead of 12 midnight! funny that i had to find this out from my gym coach, of all people. dissemination of information, now what organisation does that remind you of?

oh, the air is thin.

who are you, taking coffee, no sugar,
who are you, echoing street signs.

crikey, mate

hehe.

394 watts! surprised myself by impressing a cycling coach. how's that!

schindler's list

i finally watched the much heralded schindler's list yesterday. i'd admit that i found it profoundly moving and certainly disturbing, even when i was mentally prepared for the horror beforehand. yet it was still fascinating. the story, the characters, the black-and-white film. the faces, the accents, the scenes. fear, horror, hysteria, joy, sadness. the girl in the red coat. that theme by john williams. that theme, played by itzhak perlman, it's such a thing of beauty.

i'll probably have to watch it again.

"...the war. which brings out the worst in people. never the good, always the bad.

always the bad."

oh and here's another one.

Stern: We've received an angry complaint from the Armaments Board. The artillery shells, tank shells, rocket casings, apparently all of them have failed quality-control tests.

Schindler: Well, that's to be expected - start-up problems. This isn't pots and pans. This is a precise business. I'll write them a letter.

Stern: They're withholding payment.

Schindler: Sure. So would I. So would you. I wouldn't worry about it. We'll get it right one of these days.

Stern: There's a rumor you've been going around miscalibrating the machines. They could shut us down, send us back to Auschwitz.

Schindler: I'll call around, find out where we can buy shells, pass them off as ours.

Stern: I don't see the difference. Whether they're made here or somewhere else.

Schindler: You don't see a difference? I see a difference.

Stern: You'll lose a lot of money, that's the difference.

Schindler: Fewer shells will be made. Stern, if this factory ever produces a shell that can actually be fired, I'll be very unhappy.

i'm going to sydney! finally!

tomorrow... i prepare to meet my maker. haha! should i salute?
tomorrow, v02 max test.
tomorrow i start packing.

swine flu

pigs fly.

i hope all this doesn't stop me from flying to places this year. there are many places.

cog is short for 'change-of guard'. been doing it pretty often already.

cog is also a sydney based band that will be playing with oceansize in june.

oceansize!

cmon bman can i go.

i owe bman muchly for everything.

hi.

hello.

thumpthumpthumpthump.

smile. (laugh. laugh!)

bye.

happy monday!

skinny love

it's funny how i'm listening to all these songs about heartbreak.

i wanna talk about bon iver's album. for emma, forever ago.

man, i'm finding it hard to find the words. but i'll try.

some musicians sound more impressive with a stage and an audience to work with, with dazzling lights and awesome sonic acrobatics and stuff. i'm thinking cinematic orchestra here.

yet i can't imagine justin vernon playing a live show to top his recordings. his songs will chill you to the bone, leave you breathless. it demands your full attention.

because here is an album that is as much about the story behind it as it is about the quivering falsetto, the emotions and the atmosphere. "Justin Vernon secluded himself to a cabin in northwestern Wisconsin for three months planning to "hibernate." Three months of solitude resulted in the creation of For Emma, Forever Ago. "All of his personal trouble, lack of perspective, heartache, longing, love, loss and guilt that had been stock piled over the course of the past six years, was suddenly purged into the form of song."

From his interview:

Pitchfork: You don't strike me as the type of person that would be sick of it, but the cabin. I'm sure everybody talks about it.

JV: Everybody. That's the first question most ask.

Pitchfork: Are you thinking eventually in the future it's not going to be such a hot topic?

JV: Well, I don't know. Maybe. It makes sense that that's part of the story and everything, but that's part of any story of any record-- where was it record and how long and what were the people doing. I think people want to know where these events are made. That's why I like the word "record." I'm quoting Jackson Browne quoting Leonard Cohen, but it's a record of events. That's why they call it a record. And I like that because it's like it's what it is man-- it's a collection of songs, but it's not just the songs. Fleetwood Mac-- Rumours . Everyone was having sex with each other and doing cocaine-- a part of that made the record. I think that's an important part for people to understand-- the internal back story. But I'm over it. I just lived there [in the cabin]. It's not a big deal.

which is a bit sad, because it seems unlikely that justin will ever 'record' songs as haunting as 'flume', 'lump sum', 'the wolves', 'blindsided', 're:stacks' or 'skinny love'.

would you really rush out, for me now?

i do hope rachael yamagata proves me wrong. about the making the quiet heartfelt heartbreak songs work well live thing. cuz i don't like her louder stuff on the new album.

isn't it funny how this is just turning into a music blog? pretty.

mosaic's gone

zai jian.