Kennyster

Sunday, July 31, 2005

March of the Penguins

So the movie will waddle its way to our sunny Singapore shores after all!

According to yesterday's edition of Life, March of the Penguins will open in Singapore on the 25 August.

I have actually heard of the movie quite some time back, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be shown here as it was an independant movie and it only had a limited release in the States.

Judging from the trailer and the reviews, March of the Penguins promises to be a really wonderful documentary not to be missed.

Just about everyone thinks penguins are silly and cute, but what most people don't know is the hardships they endure just to survive. A few years ago, I read a really heart-warming tale of the life of a penguin.

Every year before winter, packs of penguins set forth to march some 70 miles inland where they all meet at the same mating grounds SDU-style. Males and females pair off and mate.

Once the egg is laid, the female will pass the single egg onto the male to shelter from the cold by making a pouch between their claws and belly. If the egg is exposed even for a minute to the cold, it will not survive.

She then waddles 70 miles back to the ocean to feed, while the males pack in tight clusters to share body warmth and protect the eggs as they go food-less for 3 months.

Just as the egg hatches, the females return with full tummies and food for their offspring. Now it's the males, who have by then lost up to 1/2 of its body mass, who march back to feed. And the cycle continues for 4 years.

It is a miracle of life. So many things can go wrong. And so many things do.

Some females won't make it back, killed by leopard seals. Some males won't make it through the harsh -30deg conditions. And some eggs fall and touch the ice, causing it to freeze.

If one thing goes wrong, all the work is for nothing. There's no consolation prize, just a long wait for another year.

Thenceforth, after reading the article, I had a newfound respect for the penguins' determination and endurance.

Afterall, arguably no other species on Earth endures so much just to produce a single offspring.

Kennyster @ 12:01 PM

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Watson

On a trip to the moors, Holmes and Watson were lying in a field looking at the stars.

"Let us test your observational powers, Watson," said Holmes. "What do you see?"

"I see the stars in the beautiful summer sky," said Watson. "What do your observational powers tell you, Sherlock?"

"My observational powers tell me, Watson," said Holmes, "that someone has stolen our tent."

Kennyster @ 11:51 PM

Monday, July 25, 2005

Got Hack?

People blog for a myriad of reasons.

For myself, blogging is a hobby. Managing an infinitesimal space on the web where I could doll up and publish my own works. A community where I could keep in touch with friends, find out what they have been up to, and of course, to bitch.

I'm sure most bloggers fall into the same category as me. However in recent months, many Singaporeans seem to be using their blogs to gain cyber-fame and/or notoriety. But that shouldn't come as a surprise.

After all, Blogger has been to publishing what Napster was to music.

Online diaries are flooded with quips and arguments that only months ago were the near-monopoly of established news outlets like the Straits Times. One only has to look at the NKF saga to see the colossal amount of influence that blogging possess.

Thenceforth, it is no wonder many people see blogging as a lucrative pursuit. A consummate example would be Xiaxue. She leveraged her popular blog to get T-shirt endorsements and a weekly newspaper column.

I have no issues with that. I respect and admire her achievements as a blogger.

But what irks me is the things popular bloggers like Xiaxue would do to see their hit counters jump exponentially. SarongPartyGirl bared more than her feelings to pretty much the whole world. Sandralicious advertised online for a blind-date.

That's cheap marketing really.

But the final straw came when I visited Xiaxue's blog a couple of days after reading that her blog has been hacked.

Initially, I was pretty sympathetic, but I got pretty amused and amazed when I saw her posting pictures of herself posing happily at the police station where she filed the hacking crime.

WHY ON EARTH WOULD SOMEONE BRING A CAMERA TO TAKE PICTURES AT A POLICE STATION WHILE REPORTING A CRIME??!!!

You may say that that's her way of showing the hacker and readers that she is back stronger than ever. BUT the impression which I get is that bloggers like her lead a pretty sad life.

They are secretly happy that something unfortunate has happened because this actually gives them something juicy to write about. They go out so that there's something "bloggable" to blog about. They take pictures so that they can post them on their blogs...

That is quite sad isn't it?

Blogging is supposed to allow you to let out your exhibitionist tendencies without fear of embarrassment. You should be more honest because you are one step removed from from the face to face interaction process of everyday life.

Yet, these bloggers seem to be pressured to live the lives fitting of their blog personas.

Well, here's my 2-cents worth: Blogging is actually alot like going to school.

There are two reasons why people go to school. Some people go to school because they want to get an education and do well in exams.

But others go to school for the sake of going to school.

Do you blog for the sake of blogging?

Kennyster @ 1:21 AM

Sunday, July 24, 2005

"WOMEN, or so it seems to me, have a great deal in common with racehorses. Both breeds are expensive, excitable, fun to watch, and there isn't a man alive, regardless of experience, who can tell which ones will disappoint and which ones will come through for you."
-- Kinky Friedman

Kennyster @ 6:36 PM

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Research Reinvented

Everyday, across 5 continents and 24 time zones, 4000 smart people driven by endless curiosity, go to work at Synovate, the world's most dynamic global market intelligence company.

I am one of them!

Haha, okay. Not quite, I am just a temp. staff there la.

But it seems like a very good job thus far. Very flexible hours (girlfriend strolled into office after 1.30pm yesterday), and the pay is quite good.

If my maths doesn't fail me, I think I earned $450 last week in wages and commission.

Money oh money! The root of all purchases!

Kennyster @ 10:53 PM

Monday, July 18, 2005

Dogs and us

Ever wonder why dogs are such obedient pets to humans?

I think I may have the answer.

This morning, I was sitting in the car outside Ang Mo Kio's NTUC, waiting for my mum to buy some groceries. There was a young lady waiting with her dog outside the supermarket as well.

Five minutes later, a man (presumely the lady's dad) exits NTUC with 3 bags of poultry. The dog sniffs at the bag, looks up at its owner, and follow him dutifully.

Do you get what I am trying to say/imply?

I mean, here we come back from a supermarket with the most amazing haul; packed chicken, sliced meat, fish, and even half a pig...

They must think we are the greatest hunters on earth!

***
The National Kid-Me Foundation

The news of the week isn't it?

Shocking relevations of the CEO's pay, overexaggeration of its need for more donations, its misuse of public donations...

Personally, I don't think it is such a big deal that the CEO is earning $600000 anually. Afterall, aren't our ministers among the highest paid people in the country? And aren't they paid from the hard earned money of Singaporeans as well? And since both the government and the NKF serve the public, what's wrong with its CEO earning high wages?

NKF isn't SPCA. NKF is not a simple non-profit organization. Rather, it is more of a corporate charity business. Making use of media celebrities to capture the public's attention, using condo units and cars as baits for more 'donations', you got to accept that NKF isn't run by a group of salary-less volunteers who are passionate for their cause.

They are employees who get paid more as they garner more donations. Love it or hate it, although a portion of your money goes into their pockets and golden taps, a portion of it still goes to the kidney patients.

Who still needs your donations.

Kennyster @ 12:29 AM

Saturday, July 09, 2005

How like a Woman

There’s this pretty enthralling Taiwanese program shown on Channel U on Saturdays 1.30pm where the hosts would be private investigators (PI) for the week and help callers who request them to spy on their friends/spouses etc. because of their abnormal behaviors.

Previous episodes have shown the typical problems such as infidelity and bad social influences.

This week’s episode was on spousal abuse, which was pretty tragic.

The aunt, who called the TV station, had noticed bruise marks on her niece’s body. On the outside, friends and family members have known them to be a loving couple. But this affectionate appearance hides the ugly secret of spousal abuse.

How like a woman, to be pathetically loyal to the author of her misery.

It has always puzzled me as to how a wife/girlfriend could tolerate an abusive partner. A man, who could be bad-tempered and abusive one moment, and lovey-dovey the next.

Is it because women are drawn to such men because of their need to be responsible for and nurture someone who has problems? And time after time the man promises to change and she clings to such hopes?

Or is it because they see themselves as dutiful wives, who should be nurturing, submissive to the man, (who’s the head of the household)?

But whatever the reason is, spousal abuse is certainly heart-rending and deplorable.

(at Sentosa Asian Village)

Probably the easiest money-making job which I have gotten this holidays. Helped out an events management company for $50 in conducting an amazing race competition on Sentosa and all I had to do was to station myself at Asian Village for 4 hours and wait for teams to come to me!

But the most interesting part was after reaching home, I found out from a friend that the abandoned Asian Village was supposedly haunted.

According to the Singapore Paranormal Investigators website, the story has it that when the Asian Village was still operating, the staff had heard eerie noises and the security guards complained about the Viking and the carosel moving by themselves at night. Other strange things happened as well but were kept hush because of it being a tourist attraction.

The management then engaged a few monks from Thailand who commented that there were many spirits in the bamboo forest beside the village. Hence, there is a statue of the heavenly kings holding a white rope to prevent the spirits from entering.

Hmmm. To think me and lilin were sitting inside the abandoned Asian village by ourselves playing bingo and entertaining ourselves with some song-and-dance routines the entire afternoon... haha.

Kennyster @ 4:07 PM

Saturday, July 02, 2005

A lot like Love

(inspired by a Heineken Elevation'05 poster)

Happy 5 months Lilin. =)

Kennyster @ 1:27 AM