timoland

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:33:00 +0000

Wow.

Been a while. Things have been moving forward. 4th year med. No more playing around. No more fooling around. You need to know your stuff, have your wits about you. No more procrastinating and sleeping late. Gotta get up at 6.30 to make it to the hospital by 7.30am for grand rounds. Yes, I drive.

Okay i have a rant here. I think I've been spoilt by Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, Captain Slow etc, and their beautiful car reviews. I just read the Life newspaper review of my 2009 Ford fiesta, and I feel very... annoyed, to say the least. I guess I understand, I was speaking with KL, that's how newspapers are run. You can't use big words, like humongous, splendiferous, you know, easy stuff. You can't write about the spirit and dynamism of a car, you've just got to cut to the chase. It's more than a bit annoying to see your car described as sluggish. Although that's not wrong, at 1.4L it's not going to win any races, it's not that much of a slouch either. You can really feel all 100 horses in that engine working to bring you to where you want to go, and the engine note has a really nice sporty timbre, a really cute growl. It's like seeing a fierce baby tiger that's never going to grow up. it's got the instinct but not the tools. That's how the ford fiesta feels like to me. But the handling, oh the handling. It's got that new hydro-electric power steering that lets your car turn on a dime when you're practically stationary, yet feel heavy at high speeds. It's got a nice stiff suspension that tricks you into believing you're in a large continental car when the truth is you're just in a little tiddling 1.4L. And you've got that sporty tip-tronic-like semi-automatic gearbox that lets you have the best of both worlds. As borat would say, very nice. You've got a car with an NCAP rating of 5, yet small enough to park in the shadow of an SUV, yet feel spacious and large enough to fool your senses. It's got all the electronic gadgetry you need, input jacks for your ipod, phone charger, that sort of thing. It's got a spoiler. It looks absolutely gorgeous next to the honda jazz, the mazda2, the hyundai getz, the toyota yaris, the small cars of its class. Fantastic noise reduction and although the tyre roar is a bit too much, but I put it down to the crappy australian roads. For a little car, it doesn't feel like a tin can or a little girly plaything. It's very much a drivers' car. Not for the economic buyer or for the uneducated consumer looking for the cheapest buy.

All in all, the fiesta isn't going to win any drag races with it's 11sec 0-100km performance, but it'll handily win the slalom, the beauty pageant and the driver's heart.

Anyway, rant over. Tutoring starts tomorrow. Yay?

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:53:00 +0000

The End of Dogs

Dogs used to be wolves, you know. They had dignity once. They had an aura once, a presence. They used to be tough, wiry, vicious animals, with a healthy dose of heart - they were bred for hunting, for companionship. For protection. For tracking. They were manly dogs, doing manly things. In their dreams, they still dream of those days in the wild - hunting in a pack, terrorizing the country-side. In their dreams, they are the hunters, the thundering of hooves behind them, the warm cloying scent of blood teasing them just ahead. Dogs are meant to be dogs. In their dreams, they eat meat, and drink from the river. They piss where they want, marking their territory. They snap at each other. They obey an order to maim, to kill. They were dogs.

The dogs these days - they aren't dogs. They're toys. Little, inbred toys with genetic defects. You like your little toy pomeranians, shih tzus, your poodles. You think they're cute. A few years down the road when they throw a fit, when they go blind, when they get paralyzed... you'll be crying and putting them down. Minutes later, you'll want a new one. And for every cute dog you buy... for every cuddly, beautiful, cute looking dog... at least a couple in the litter had to be killed because of their hideous deformities. Oh yeah, the price of cuteness. Sure. you get a totally emasculated, tiny... midget of a dog who'd be eaten up by rats.... has no function at all except to look cute... you dress the dog up, you humanize him. Can't stop you.

Stop the inbreeding. Stop the genetic horrors, the good genes being lost for all time... stop the recessive genes from being expressed. Wake up and smell the awful truth about inbreeding. Look. I have nothing against dressing dogs up - i mean, if you buy a toy, you would want accessories, right? But i have everything against treating dogs like toys. Mass producing them, customizing them, making them weaker, sicker, lesser creatures... just so they can look cute. And the dog clothing culture stems from that. It's all a package.

Yeah, "true dog lover." Sure. You wouldn't love dogs if they were actually dogs still. Wolves. Animals. Not toys. Not accessories. But proper dogs.

Sigh. As ever, the pleas will fall on deaf ears.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:52:00 +0000

Wow.

After the torrid affair with Ladymelissa, i'm tempted to jump into another one with the Great high priestess of blogging herself, as she likes to call herself the morning star (lucifer anyone), miss wendy cheng. but because i know all the shit i'll get into if i do... i'll just do it in the relative privacy of my blog. because no one ever reads this anyway.

i've got a few points to make and I'll be brief.

1. wendy cheng THINKS she's smart. she's not as smart as she thinks she is. connecting my opinion about ladymelissa, i don't really like her either. call me conservative, but she's loud and rude and arrogant and brash. very much like ladymelissa but without the supposed cambridge education. just because you read something somewhere that sounded vaguely smart makes you smart too? for example, she recently bashed obama on her blog. okay, no qualms with that if you make smart comments, like, I disagree with obama's economic policies, he's too idealistic, i think he's not experienced, he's not qualified, mccain deserves it more, etc etc. But too quote from other blogs like she did? hold on a second. i have a feeling that those aren't really her own opinions but opinions that she's aping and copying just to be all "counter-culture" etc. you know me. I love to go against the grain. everyone raved about the dark knight, i was sort of cool towards it. everyone raved about quantum of solace, i went ho-hum. No, i'm not influenced by popular opinion. but everyone is raving about barack? yeah, i have to give it to him to. he had me at "yes we can". it's not the popular opinion, but it's that feeling, that vibe i get from him. watching his speeches and his interaction with people - it's the feeling. like i complain about books and movies, yes, technically perfect, technically excellent. but where's the heart? where's the feeling? you know?

Anyway i'm digressing and it's still my first point. Basically she linked to this site called the American thinker, which basically said that obama divided the nation like never before. Hello. the nation was already divided in the first place. imho, it was palin's hardcore hate words. and mccain's strategy of fear. obama never harped on the fact that he was black, he merely pointed it out like, once or twice? to say that he nursed greivances against white is natural and honest. how is that divisive? i think all he did was to illustrate, yes, there's a divide and we must bridge it! how is that divisive? basically, the blog author said that barack's divisive, because his worshippers and zealots don't permit other people to bash him. hello? that's normal? mccain supporters would stop other people from bashing him. what if i said, hey, so what if mccain was a war hero. no biggie. the internet mccain supporters would stomp me too. so ARGUMENT fail!

2. Wendy, if you want the fame and adoration, prepare to get some hate. i thought you were doing so well dealing with it. Why suddenly so petty?

3. wendy, you're not that hot. get over it.

4. i think people know my feelings about SPGs. She's sooooo one. unrepentant and unabashedly.

5. I find her blog entertaining... in a sense that i'm laughing all the time not because of her humour, but when she tries to act smart. not saying that i'm smart, because i'm not, i'm stupid, it's just that she's stupider than I are. :P and that's all on purpose - you know.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:36:00 +0000

I shamelessly stole this questionnaire of Crystal's blog. But put my own answers in.

1. Have you ever been awake at dawn?

Yes. More often than any reasonable person should have been.

2. Would you be different if you’d been given a different name?

Yes. Imagine if I were called... Jennifer. Or Angelica. Or John. John is just as bad.

3. If a nut falls to the ground in the middle of a dark wood when no one is there, does it make a sound?

What kind of nut is it and is it edible? If it's a very soft and fluffy nut, then perhaps it wouldn't make much sound at all.

4. What is the meaning of a flower?

Transient beauty that soon bears fruit.

5. Why do people like the sea so much?

Because we can swim but we can't fly.

6. Have you been taught how to sew?

Not yet, but I will learn how to suture eventually.

7. Is the sound that the wind makes in the trees a kind of talking?

Yes, and the voices, they speak to me. They whisper all sorts of secret things to me.

8. What sort of bird can fly in the air, walk on land and swim underwater?

A penguin with a jet-pack.

9. What does the smell of cinnamon do to you?

It reminds me of homely little cafes and well-brewed coffee.

10. What happens at the bottom of the sea?

You eventually get crushed by the incredible pressure.

11. What sort of treasure could you fit into a very small box?

A very small treasure?

12. For whom does the bell toll?

I want to say Hemingway as well, but in the spirit of originality I will say Robert Jordan.

13. Why is gold valuable?

Because the amount of gold is finite. And it comes from the exploding hearts of stars light-years away. You and I are stardust as well.

14. Do you like storms?

Yes, when I'm indoors.

15. How many seconds of music can you hold in your head at one time?

I'm not sure if you would call it "music".

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:07:00 +0000

Somehow, I will find a way to procrastinate.

I've got a rant. Why are there so many famous female bloggers out there and not male bloggers? Cuz we're more boring? We don't cam-whore? We don't natter on about our hair and make up?

Hmmm.

Anyway.

Bimbos are shallow. another awesome timolosophy.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:06:00 +0000

OBAMA! EPIC WIN! :P woooot.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:30:00 +0000

Thanks! I'm going to try get published again. 3rd time lucky. :P Renaissance publishing house. But more than a little worried. I found this on their website.

"Work with a distinct local flavor; with lingo, settings, storylines, satires, or references that will only tickle or make sense to the local market are not what we are interested in."

I got this quote off the Renaissance websites "Author's wanted" section, and I have a quibble with it. Hwee Hwee's Mammon Inc was a best seller, and Daren's Heartland is now required reading for Literature students. Those novels are chock-full of local flavour.

However, there has since been a dearth of good Singaporean literature. I feel it's precisely because of this sort of attitude from publishing houses, and not just Renaissance.

If you look at other great authors and books, such as the Indian authors - Naipul, Rushdie, Desai, Roy - all their books were about India. It's all Indian references. Look at the latest winner of the Man-Booker Prize. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - it's all about India. The Pulitzer Prize winner? The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz? All about the Dominican Republic. In fact, it's written in spanglish. History of the Ned Kelly Gang? Australia. Look at the success of Tash Au, a Malaysian writer who wrote the Harmony Silk Factory, a story set in WWII Malaya. His book reached the Long List of the Man-Booker prize. Why can't, why shouldn't a Singaporean book about Singaporeans achieve such prestige?

The point I'm trying to make is that as Singaporean writers, we SHOULD champion local literature, we SHOULD write with a distinctly local flavour, and we should write it well enough so that it can have a world-wide appeal. However, what we gain in authenticity, we lose out in commercial value. After all, who's going to pick up a book about short stories set in Singapore? Or a novel set in Singapore? That's what people and publishers perceive.

The ordinary consumer would much rather buy a self-help book or the latest thriller/fantasy novel. But honestly, although I believe there is a place for the thriller and the fantasy novel in high art, discerning readers will smell contrivance and artifice a mile away. The problem is that thrillers and fantasy have been done to death. Eragon? Harry Potter? Dan Brown? If this is the sort of Literature that we are encouraging Singaporeans to aspire to achieve, I can only shake my head in futility.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:30:00 +0000

"Work with a distinct local flavor; with lingo, settings, storylines, satires, or references that will only tickle or make sense to the local market are not what we are interested in."

I got this quote off the Renaissance websites "Author's wanted" section, and I have a quibble with it. Hwee Hwee's Mammon Inc was a best seller, and Daren's Heartland is now required reading for Literature students. Those novels are chock-full of local flavour.

However, there has since been a dearth of good Singaporean literature. I feel it's precisely because of this sort of attitude from publishing houses, and not just Renaissance.

If you look at other great authors and books, such as the Indian authors - Naipul, Rushdie, Desai, Roy - all their books were about India. It's all Indian references. Look at the latest winner of the Man-Booker Prize. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - it's all about India. The Pulitzer Prize winner? The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz? All about the Dominican Republic. In fact, it's written in spanglish. History of the Ned Kelly Gang? Australia. Look at the success of Tash Au, a Malaysian writer who wrote the Harmony Silk Factory, a story set in WWII Malaya. His book reached the Long List of the Man-Booker prize. Why can't, why shouldn't a Singaporean book about Singaporeans achieve such prestige?

The point I'm trying to make is that as Singaporean writers, we SHOULD champion local literature, we SHOULD write with a distinctly local flavour, and we should write it well enough so that it can have a world-wide appeal. However, what we gain in authenticity, we lose out in commercial value. After all, who's going to pick up a book about short stories set in Singapore? Or a novel set in Singapore? That's what people and publishers perceive.

The ordinary consumer would much rather buy a self-help book or the latest thriller/fantasy novel. But honestly, although I believe there is a place for the thriller and the fantasy novel in high art, discerning readers will smell contrivance and artifice a mile away. The problem is that thrillers and fantasy have been done to death. Eragon? Harry Potter? Dan Brown? If this is the sort of Literature that we are encouraging Singaporeans to aspire to achieve, I can only shake my head in futility.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:09:00 +0000

I must tell everyone of three amazing webcomics that SMASH pvp AND penny-arcade -

Sinfest, XKCD and the perry bible fellowship. Best comics ever. esp XKCD.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:36:00 +0000

I'm cringing because Sarah Palin is an idiot. I'm watching all her gaffes. How can people actually really actually want her in the White House? I'm cringing. She is so terribly educated - she doesn't know what Roe v Wade is, she doesn't know the Bush Doctrine, she can't name a news paper or magazine she reads. GGGGAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Rage.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:15:00 +0000

I recently engaged in a little argument with some famous blogger, from http://theladymelissa.blogspot.com ... anyway, I've got nothing against her except her obvious bigotry. Basically she thinks most heartlanders are peasants etc etc... well, at least anyone who disagrees with her or is less educated etc. Now in a previous blog she wrote that she loves standing up for the underdog, who in this case, was Dawn Yang, who was getting attacked by xiaxue and basically the rest of the world. I understand that. I don't mind dawn, too. Now, later on, she wrote in another post that the mob had tried to take on the establishment and they had failed miserably, because you can't beat the establishment. I'm paraphrasing here, but this is the main gist. Anyway, this really galled me a little bit, because I was feeling all revolutionary and inspired by Barack Obama - YES WE CAN! and I just felt that, you know, the establishment MUST be taken on, I mean, isn't that what the french did in the french revolution? They pulled down the aristocracy? And the Americans did in the american war for independence? And Gandhi's sacrifices? And Martin Luthor King Jr?

So, being in the mood for a good "discussion", I commented on her post. Here is the exact replication of what later took place over a few days. Anyway, read on, and prepare to be entertained. I think I sounded quite dumb at some points, but I think she are much dumberer than I is. (read:humour here) :P

I mean, who here reading this won't understand that when I say oxford and cambridge are essentially the same things I'm actually making a generalization? Goodness.

Anonymous said...
"In fact, the Lady Melissa loves fighting for underdogs, the oppressed and the trampled-upon." - yourself.

Hold on a sec. First you perpetuate elitism and claim to be royalty. And you say the mob must not be allowed to rule.

You come from a position of strength, you talk about belonging to the establishment - how does that make you or dawn an underdog?

I've got nothing against either of you, just your pride-blinded prejudice and blimp-sized ego. Pedigree? Royalty? Never seen royalty so eager to jump into a pile of shit, honestly.

- Tim
August 25, 2008 11:55 PM

emm said...
Tim, I believe the term underdog refers to someone who is expected to lose. Royalty or Peasantry has no bearing on it.

Sometimes someone who is royalty gets dragged into the proverbial shit, and regardless of position, I have no doubt a true friend will do what they can to help this person, even if it means that they have to step off their diamond encrusted pedestal and walk on dung.

Anonymous said...
Hey em,

Underdog does refer to someone who is expected to lose. But Mel was talking about the mob taking on the establishment, and the establishment would be expected to win. And she refers to herself as part of the establishment. So who's the underdog here?

And you're right in saying that "royalty" can be dragged into shit, but honestly, I think with proper etiquette, respect and decency, that said "royal" could come away smelling like roses.

And what's this presumptuous "royalty" b.s about? Honestly. It's unbelievably childish to assume that mere status and wealth can afford someone the right to call themselves royalty. And don't tell me it's a joke, because it certainly doesn't seem to me to be one. Diamond encrusted pedestal my aunt fanny.

-Tim
August 27, 2008 6:26 PM

emm said...
Hi Tim,

I think there have been many instances in history where the establishment was the underdog. Likewise there are other instances where the mob was the underdog. I don't think position or stature affects who the underdog is. It is simply whoever is expected to lose.

I also don't quite know how royalty is supposed to smell like roses when they are still being pelted with poo. Maybe when the saga ends, we shall find out.

For your last question, I can't answer for melissa, but why are you getting all riled up about the royalty bit? By her standards I'm a peasant too, but it doesn't matter to me. It's just a label on a container. It's the ingredients that count!

Anonymous said...
Emm,

Look, you really should start thinking for yourself for a change. Eloquence doesn't mean she's right. Anyway, I shan't belabour that pt about underdogs further if you can't grasp a simple concept.

Also, if you don't understand what a metaphor is, I can't really help you on that one. Poo. lolz.

I think I have a right to get riled up about any opinion I give two shits about. Why am I getting riled up? It's the presumptuousness of it all. Why must there be a differentiation between royalty and peasant? Are you gladly throwing away the sacrifices of so many lives in the different revolutions over the years to restore a monarchy/theocracy? People have laid down their lives in civil rights movements, fighting for freedom, and here you are, trampling upon their history with your happy return to prejudice and discrimination. How would you feel if mel were blogging just as articulately and eloquently about how one race is superior to another race? This is the same thing! Think about it.

Look, I think everyone should be able to express their opinion, however dim-witted they are. Call me idealistic, but I think people should all be treated equally and fairly, and not be euthanized, as mel puts it. So Mel has the right to express herself, I have the right to disagree with her, and you have the right to suck up to her, no problem. I'm not here to say I'm right, I'm here to express myself.

Honestly, you're coming off as some sycophant who should really grow a spine. Don't be dazzled by flowery words or mere articulateness. You say you're a peasant, according to mel, but you secretly think you aren't, you want to join the royalty too, dontcha. Anyway, your pandering to the public opinion simply betrays your peasantry - so... keep trying babe.

And this is my opinion that I have the right to express, even if it hurts. Sorry. Didn't mean to offend. Not really.

-Tim

The Lady Melissa said...
Tim,

It is not a why. It is an IS.

There is a distinction. It is obvious. Better to live with it, deal with it than to gloss over it with PC idealism.
Anonymous said...
... and that just sums it up. The capital IS. Accept it for what it is, said the white man, said the catholic church, said the Nazi, said the Man. We are superior, and let's not get PC about it, let's celebrate it, said the royal, said the dictator, said the Empire. Our ways are higher than your ways, our thoughts are greater than your thoughts, said Saul before Damascus, said the Pharisee, said the Inquisitor.

Call me melodramatic, if you will. It fits the mood of this blog perfectly.

The true royalty of the earth, the great men and women of the age are not great because of their wealth, power or money, honey, but because of their great works and deeds borne out of their humility.

-Tim
August 29, 2008 3:31 PM

The Lady Melissa said...
Bad analogy. Whether one race is superior to another is a matter of debate - it is not a matter of fact.

That there are distinctions in the material well-being, educational levels, mentality of human beings is not a matter of debate, but a matter of fact.

By recognising there are class differences, one can help the downtrodden.

Incidentally, I also think there are racial differences. White people for example are more susceptible to skin cancer because of the smaller amount of melanin in their skins. If we say there are no genetic racial differences and ignore this, it is to our detriment. Similarly, sub-saharan africans are more vulnerable to sickle cell anaemia. We know this, recognise this and treat it.

So let's recognise the real differences and not gloss over it.

Do not be simple minded and confuse this with bigotry.
August 29, 2008 4:33 PM

Anonymous said...
How is it a bad analogy? Please read more carefully. I don't fully understand your response because it doesn't really respond to what I wrote. I never said one race is superior to another.

I do agree that there are distinctions in wealth, education and intellect - it is a fact. But I'm asking if those factors make a human being more valuable, more important than another? A statement that you strongly espouse. Your writing reveals that you think your life as a so-called royal is worth more than a life of a mere peasant. This is bigotry, plain and simple.

I do recognise class differences, but you celebrate them. How does one help the downtrodden by constantly demeaning their existence?

And yes, I'm a medical student, so you don't have to explain the genetics of different races to me. I never said that there are NO differences in race, I said, despite their differences, they should be treated equally. That was a pretty redundant point you made there.

I'm not glossing over any differences here. You can think I'm simple-minded, but ultimately, you've been indulging in bigotry, plain and simple. I suggest strongly you spend some time with these so-called peasants. You may have to hold your nose at times, get a little dirty at times, but you should learn to appreciate these lives you want to euthanize. Ultimately, you should really engage in some serious soul-searching and make good on your desire of creating a better society, instead of engaging in an inane conflict with netizens.

I believe in you, mel - you seem like a smart girl who honestly desires change, but change always comes from within first.

-Tim
August 30, 2008 12:59 AM

The Lady Melissa said...
Go read my post Peasants and peasants. You clearly have failed to understand my point.
August 30, 2008 2:14 AM

Anonymous said...
I love it how we always say the other has clearly failed to understand our point in an argument, while we clearly have, but choose to ignore it.

Bring out the caps again - a simple change of case exonerates you from all accusations of bigotry, eh? I read it, I agree with you on that issue, but I think the matter still goes deeper than that.

When you write about Peasants and peasants, you can't expect everyone to understand your simple change of case changes the context - it's like talking about a black man and a Black man, you know? I can mean a different thing, but people aren't going to realize that. And in the end I still propagate the same prejudices and the same discrimination.

-Tim
August 30, 2008 9:56 AM

The Lady Melissa said...
Ah. So you DO think the difference between Peasant and peasant is simply a change in case. At least I confirmed that. From now on, I won't have too high expectations of your understanding then.
August 30, 2008 12:20 PM

Anonymous said...
Oh dear.

If that's what you think, I really can't help you. I had such high expectations of you, Cambridge girl. I don't see how my reply led you to believe that I think the difference between Peasant and peasant is simply a change of case. Didn't I say I understood your context but some don't, and you still encourage the same sort of discrimination when you use such a similar word?

It's beyond baffling how you reach your conclusions.

How disappointing! What a profound exercise in futility trying to engage you in an intelligent discussion when you probably couldn't pass a comprehension test. Did you even study PPE? Because you definitely didn't read law or literature.

By the way, "From now on, I won't have too high expectations of your understanding then." - Understanding is a singular noun in this case. It should be "I won't have too high an expectation of your understanding, then."

-Tim
August 30, 2008 8:06 PM

The Lady Melissa said...
1. Why would I care whether people understand me? If they don't understand me, they are fools like you, and shouldn't be on my blog.

2. You can't do PPE at Cambridge. Only at Oxford. I read SPS. Ignoramus u are.

3. Understanding is a group noun.

Just like team. I say Manchester United ARE a good team. I bet you say is ;)

Is there an understandingS?

Have you ever heard the "your undertstandingS of this matter". LOL. Fool.

4. And yes, I encourage discrimination. You are a Peasant and a Fool. As opposed to me, a
Noblewoman and a Genius.
August 30, 2008 8:58 PM

The Lady Melissa said...
Now worship me.

Anonymous said...
you know what i mean about SPS and PPE. oxford and cambridge are basically the same things. And oxford>>>cambridge. whatever. Understandings, schmunderstanding, Manchester United IS a SHIT team. Grammar is debatable. I'm obliged to say that as an Arsenal fan, and I don't care how many trophies they won. but I digress.

anyone who disagrees with you is a fool, eh?

meh. I rather be a fool than agree with some of the utter shit you spew on your blog. Man. It's like looking at a really big dump you took - you can't take your eyes off it.

geez. This is turning into a dirty gutter-brawl. royalty my ass, babe. ya ain't no royal, ya jus' sum slum 'ho who wears princess hot-pants and likes pink, an' talks with fancy airs.

rawr.

-Tim
August 31, 2008 12:30 AM

Anonymous said...
meh. you can have the final say. I may be disappointed at how this turned out but I must say I was extremely entertained and amused by our discourse. Ciao.

-Tim
August 31, 2008 12:52 AM

The Lady Melissa said...
LOL. I point out that you are wrong and you say grammar is debatable? Grammar is NOT debatable - your lack of a proper education is.

Cambridge and Oxford are NOT the same thing. Maybe to peasants like you who have no chance of stepping into their hallowed halls it may be, for both are as mystical and out of reach to you. But we are two very distinct universities with 800 years of fierce rivalry.

And SPS and PPE could not be more different. SPS is Social and Political Sciences, whereas PPE os Philosophy, Politics and Economics. The only similarity is the politics part.

Uneducated, ill-informed peasant you are.
August 31, 2008 12:54 AM

The Lady Melissa said...
I don't think you are a fool cos you disagree with me. Lots of people disagree with me intelligently. I think you are a fool because you are unintelligent and badly educated.
August 31, 2008 12:55 AM

Anonymous said...
I wasn't going to post but... ZOMG. ffs, you're impossible. You're that sort of little girl in school who covers her ears and throws a tantrum. The Cambridge education must be as crappy as their rowing team nowadays if their graduates can't pick up simple sarcasm or irony in writing.

Unlike yours, my education is an asset to be hidden, not a frickin' crutch to boast about. Hallowed halls my ass... you really do take this too seriously. Oh well.

yeah, yeah. Unintelligent and uneducated peasant. How cliche. How passe. More originality please. Why so serious? Why so literal? (hint hint: this is irony.)

I have a good idea of the limited extent of your education (which is not as impressive as you would like to think, honestly), you have no idea how unintelligent and uneducated I am.

-Tim

August 31, 2008 2:07 AM
The Lady Melissa said...
Go get yourself educated on irony.

Trying to correct someone else's grammar and getting it wrong is not irony.

Saying "PPE at Cambridge" is not irony.

Saying Oxford an Cambridge is not irony.

These are ignorant mistakes pure and simple.

August 31, 2008 1:24 PM
Anonymous said...
Irony is wasted on the stupid.

-Tim
August 31, 2008 11:29 PM

The Lady Melissa said...
Yes because the stupid don't understand irony :)
September 2, 2008 12:58 AM

K said...
well, i'm on team Tim. he makes more sense, argues more coherently, understands irony, has humor, poetic rhetoric, and most importantly, humanity.

Tim, i think i have a crush on you. omg. email me at thelady.mondegreen@gmail.c

om if you please :)
September 4, 2008 1:40 AM

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:48:00 +0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2631338

Wow. I rarely embed videos but this is a must watch. Man... you know how I hate weepy emotional videos. but this... pretty amazing.

Anyway, yeah, read the above line. Father son team, runs marathons, completed ironmans together. A father's love, alright.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:19:00 +0000

"There will be no pictures in this blog - only words. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words - if you are a retard, illiterate or a chimpanzee. If you are any of these, this blog is not for you. If you prefer Newsweek to The Economist, this blog is not for you. If you prefer Marvel Comics to Thomas Hardy, this blog is not for you. If you did not understand this paragraph, this blog is also not for you."

quoted from http://theladymelissa.blogspot.com/
-

you know, i think being elitist is very in vogue now. Well, elitism has always been in vogue. Why, who would want to see themselves as part of a rabble, a common man? Except for a politician of course, and we all know they are the biggest elitist hypocrites of them all. But I digress. The above paragraph is taken from the blog above. She was educated in Cambridge, of course.

what's with british school and all that elitism, hey? all that snootiness. She is positively frothing with snootiness. You know, I rarely criticize people. (It's true I tell you.) I rarely have negative things to say about other people, and I'm generally amazingly tolerant of other people's bullshit. But one thing I can't stand is someone trodding all over another person - and that's what elitism is. Intellectually trampling over people. The uneducated and the poorly-educated. FFS, can you please pick your battles with worthy opponents? I'm not presuming to be one, you know, but honestly -

i think my biggest problem is the legions of sycophantic fans she has. It's ridiculous, when you read the comments left on her blog. It's as if people have just allowed her to think for themselves - i'm sure they go around spouting clever quotes and ideas taken from her blog. Oh goodness. She's just perpetuating the cycle of idiocy which I'm currently getting into as well, but only for this post. I have to rage. As H so succinctly puts it, i'm raging.

and i'm raging because she's dissing marvel comics, because she's dissing newsweek, and she's dissing art and pictures.

How can a picture not be worth a thousand words? Of course, not inane, ridiculous pictures, but thoughtful, artistic pictures are certainly worth more than a thousand. I wrote "the tattoo" and that was two thousand words and it was based on a picture. And although I know marvel is one of the weaker publishers, despite being the most commercially successful one, I've been a comics zombie for 10 years now, so you don't ever diss comics. She's obviously never read the watchmen, or sandman, or the dark knight etc etc. Thomas hardy my aunt fannie. And although newsweek is not my fav, economist is definitely not either.

from all this intellectual posturing, I can safely declare this wannabe princess an intellectual poseur with poor taste, and too much pride to admit she's just as normal as anyone else.

honestly. Why do people keep insisting they're so much more special than other people?

and her fans should get a life because they're the ones she's dissing on a regular basis. Retarded masochists.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:29:00 +0000

After watching The Dark Knight, I slumped back in the comfortable movie seat chair. I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to think. Batty-goodness was oozing out of my ears, Heath Ledger's (may God rest his soul) Joker's maniacal laughter ringing in my head. It would have been more poignant if he had his joker say to batman, I don't know how to quit you!

As usual, after the movie, the fantastic four - G, JR, BK and me went down for some sweet eats and the post movie discussion. JR, having watched the movie twice, then asked a very important question. Which was better? Iron man, or Batman? Now, G and BK immediately said of course, Batman, it was so much more adult, much smarter, the acting better - why, heath ledger's joker!

But i contemplated the question. I looked JR in the eye. he knew my dilemma. He told me he had stayed awake all night thinking how to answer that question... Iron man was new and shiny, and batman, a rehash, a sequel.

I said, Iron Man is better. Of course, that lead to a frantic debate and argument. But no matter what, I say Iron Man is better. Because no matter how good the Dark Knight was, I found so many flaws and weak points with it, while I couldn't think of a wrong move that Iron Man made. Iron Man was a simple origin story, well-executed, well-filmed. Well-acted. There was no fat on the movie. After the movie ended, you pumped your fist and said, yes! what an awesome movie! Batman was like a very big meal, very good, very nice, but too much. You came out feeling bloated. Zhong. I said. full. A little sick, even. I thought it could have done a lot better with the editing work, and the two-face story was a little rushed. Too much, too late. And what's up with that boat dilemma? that's just stupid. Very uncharacteristic of the Joker.

Anyway. Not everyone feels this way. Most of you will like the Dark knight a lot more to iron man. just because it's "Smarter" and "darker". But not everything that is smarter and darker and grittier is better. There's a lot to be said for being shiny and new. For being tight. For editing, for cutting. And for having your main character as the main character. The film should have been called "The Joker". honestly.

I read a very, very well-written and fantastic article that smashes the Dark Knight, written by Brendon Connelly on Comic book resources.com. I reproduce it here, in all it's critical glory. Be warned, Dark Knight fans. It doesn't spare any punches.

-

THE DARK KNIGHT REGURGITATES

Brendon Connelly, good friend of the column and founder of Film Ick disagrees with the entire world and didn’t like “The Dark Knight." He tells us why. Nervous souls should look away now;

I’m not really in the mood for writing film reviews at the moment, and this one didn’t even get started until today, the day of publication, yet, simply put, I felt that I really should write it. You see, not only did I find The Dark Knight to fall somewhat short of its hyped up reputation, I recognized it for what it truly was -- an honest to goodness piece of trash. Junk. Bilge. Garbage. Drivel. Hogwash. Indeed, it’s not entirely unlike Batman Begins, just even more over-extended.

This is probably going to be read as a kill piece, so l might as well just go for it and make with the knife wounds in quick succession. Here is a heap of bullet points, each of them a serious fault in this godforsaken mess of a film -- but even in total only serving as an introduction to my criticisms. As I said, I don’t want to spend all day on this, I just think there needs to be some sense spoken about this ridiculous film. I’ll keep each flavour criticism to a single example.

The dialogue is excruciating, pretty much top to bottom. For one thing, it is laden with countless slabs of pointless exposition -- for example: a shot of a mobile phone inside a man’s skin is effectively titled by the line “It’s a mobile phone". And it keeps happening. This film spells out so many of it’s images it often feels more like an episode of Dick Barton than, say, a good Batman film (you know -- like the one from the 60s, or the two Burton made).
Great wedges of this dialogue are heaped into tiresome “refresher scenes" -- for example, the press conference -- in which the would-be subtext is spelled out for us, effectively rendered text. Sub, sure -- but not subtext. Just sub-par.
And the clichés in the dialogue and delivery were sometimes beyond insulting -- listen to the entire bank robbery sequence for a microcosm of how tin eared the Nolan brothers have proven to be.
Nolan doesn’t have the first idea how to film cinematic space. The action scenes are jumbled in the extreme and there’s any number of problems in even the dialogue sequences. Watch the interrogation room sequence with Big Ears and the clown -- hideous. Even worse is the dangling Joker scene, in which he’s been flipped the right way up. Thinking for a moment about the processes by which we read and interpret images on the screen, this sequence is so disconcerting for the mind of the viewer, and to no useful end, that I have no idea how or why Nolan and his cronies came up with it.
The whole IMAX scenes farrago is fuel for a dozen bullet points in itself but, suffice to say, Nolan is not up to the task of composing images in multiple aspect ratios simultaneously. Why this has gone unreported, I have no idea but I’ll kick in. Nolan pretends to have composed images in IMAX that work perfectly for the purpose of the shot needed at that moment -- and then, that a scope-shaped slice can be taken out and that will work just as well. More stupidly still, the image is to be recomposed again for the eventual Blu-Ray release. Masterful image composition is not about point-and-shoot, nor is it about making pretty pictures -- it is about balancing the elements of the frame to create the desired relationships between them and the most effective emotional or psychological effect on the viewer. If you reckon Nolan can do this thrice in a single shot set-up then you’re either incredibly gullible or don’t understand the issue in the slightest.
And that’s saying nothing of the sideshow gimmick of the IMAX version cutting to a different aspect ratio anyway. Not the choice of a filmmaker looking to immerse his audience in a hermetic and fully dimensional diegesis.
The plot makes little sense for most of the time, and no sense at all at several junctures. The Joker seems capable of accomplishing incredible feats in incredibly short spaces of time, for one thing -- though I can swing with that, to a degree - but there are any number of holes, Batman leaving a penthouse full of innocents with the Joker and his cronies being one particularly disturbing example.
The technology is somewhat reminiscent of CSI, from the bullet reconstruction to the city-wide Sonar scanner. And that is, I think, about the harshest damnation I can pour on any scene revolving around scientific principles without evoking Heroes.
The anti-Chinese drive is head-shakingly pathetic if not outright offensive (the mention of buying American in the courtroom scene pushes it beyond an incidental factor of the Hong Kong gangster plotline).
This film does not take place in any kind of universe where dressing up as a Bat and putting on a hilariously silly voice makes even a drop of sense (unless as an adolescent power fantasy, which for many viewers I suppose it is). Indeed, much of the film does not belong in the world Nolan seems desperate to ground it in, particularly the biological details of Two Face’s disfigurement. All of this could have seemed at home in a universe that played by these rules -- another lesson to be learnt from the Burton films.
The “tension inducing" soundtrack is crassly simplistic.

Essentially, what I’m saying is that The Dark Knight is, almost without exception, a series of incredibly bad filmmaking choices strung together over an unbearable running time. About as far from a masterpiece as I’ve seen in the cinemas in a couple of years at least. On the other hand, I think Gary Oldman was incredible and Eckhart, Ledger and just Gyllenhaal fine. I look forward to their next projects -- Ledger’s in particular -- with keen anticipation.

And you’re back in the room.

-- I personally feel the Heath Ledger comment was very unwarranted and very unnecessary. How very disrespectful and distasteful. Don't speak badly of the dead.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Mon, 19 May 2008 08:08:00 +0000

WOOOOT!!!!!

praise GOD!!!!!! for everything! esp the grades and the advanced creative writing!!!! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:08:00 +0000

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!

it's over! it's over it's over!!!

and i'm done for. hahahah.

but it's okay.

Osces:

first station was musculoskeletal history and hand examination. I looked for everything except scarring and i forgot to do a practical functionality test.

second was cardiovascular history and examination of the praecordium. He cut me off halfway into the history... and then asked me to go straight into examination. then he told me i missed out a very important risk factor for MI... and i was like what???.... and when i was leaving he told me, "smoking!" COME ON!!!! how was i supposed to cover smoking if you didn't let me finish my history???

3rd station was a routine check up, blood pressure temperature and pulse... the sphygnomometer cuff didn't have velcro or markings. first time i've seen this type of cuff. So i looked like an idiot trying to put it on.... took two tries to get the blood pressure it was actually pretty low... 100/65. Everyone else said they couldn't get it, so they said 110/70... HMPH!!!!

4th station was Otitis media/sore throat history and pediatric history and ear exam.... when i reported back i realized i didn't ask her AGE!!!! and didn't ask about functionality of her ear!!!!!!!! I wanted to die right there and then. GRAAAHHHHH

5th station was respi hx and teaching patient how to use peak flow... was pretty okay and uneventful.

6th station was headache hx... WOW it was a long and complex past med hx...in 1994, blah blah blah, 1998, blah blah.... so on and so forth forever.... i was regretting not writing anything down. hahah. but pretty uneventful. when reporting back i just said patient has rich history of cerebrovascular disorders and psychiatric disturbances.

GARRRRRRR

okay. Pracs.

1) Physiology. First question about the rat's menstrual/reproductive cycle!!!! 2nd question about reading and interpreting ECGs... 3rd question about EMG.... muscle. ballistic or feedback? 50/50. 4th question was about the protonation of acid/basic drugs in stomach/intestines and kidneys... GARRR... 5th question was about drug response and drawing a log graph which i just bombed.

2) anatomy. first one was the femur... 2nd was forearm. 3rd was GIT. 4th and 5th were neuro. 6th was head and neck. 7th was heart... 8th was heart. can't remember 9th and 10th.

3) Histology/histopathology. GIT of large colon, blood vessels, one more i forgot. pathology was MI, asthma, and another I can't remember....

4) Microbiology. First up was neisseria gonorrhoea... 2nd was microbiology diagnosis. 3rd was DNA testing and genetic lineage family tree. 4th was titration, cholesterol readings and levels. 5th was necrotizing fascilitis... which i got WRONG.

I think that was it....

For the MCQs... had one careless mistake... another 2 or 3 which i think i was wrong... another 5/6 unsure.... so dunno lah.

Otherwise.

EXAM IS OVERRRRRRRRRRRRR

woot. Anyway. I woke up AGAIN at 3pm. after a luxurious shower the phone promptly rang... and my friends demanded i play dota. so i did! and then after that i watched a movie... then halfway the phone rang and my friends said lets have dinner! so they came to fetch me and we went up to have dinner at their place... steamboat and hot pot! Shiok lorrrrr.... then play taiti. and loser have to do pushups... did like 130 push ups... but BS had to do 200 plus... hahaha. and i won with shit cards most of the time so not bad lah. then after that planned an impromptu road trip for thursday. SO FUN!!!!! probably to kiarma and jervis bay. Going with R, BS and M.

then popped by IH. shot pool and played table tennis with the other guys.

wed is dinner with the guys, then L's Bday party and then EOP party at king's cross. Then thurs is road trip. Friday is church and relax. Sat is CMDFA dinner.

Okay. That's all for now. Going to the gym tomorrow and swimming. borrowing some books. then doing some writing. School starts monday.

I'm applying for my extra fac. Gen eds i'm doing drawing. Extra facs i'll probably do chinese... in worse case... applying for english see if i can do it... and if worse come to worse i'll do movie criticism... hahaha

ok later.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:33:00 +0000

i want to know how to stop wanting things.
i want to stop wanting things.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:18:00 +0000

here's a list of things i want.

I want to get published again.
I want to write a book AND get it published.
I want the book to be a novel.
And I want my collection of short stories to get published too.

I want inspiration.

I want to do well for my exams.
I want to study hard and know all my stuff and more, and better than my colleagues.
I want to take the USMLE.
I want to train in the States.

I want to be a good doctor.

I want to play the bass well.
I want to be able to play crazy riffs and solos.
I want to support and belong to a great band.
I want to play the keyboard well.

I want to have music in my life.

I want to dance well.
I want to be able to take the follow on a journey they won't forget.
I want to have my own unique style and look good.
I want to know the music and dance to it.

I want to move.

I want someone to dance with.
I want someone to share my writing with.
I want someone who will understand a doctor.
I want someone who will want me.

I want someone to inspire me.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:34:00 +0000

STUDY STUDY STUDY!!!! RAWWWWRRRRRR!

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:31:00 +0000

busy week. just studying, tennis, music practice and church. tired. need to study.

oh oh oh.

story time. i went to my friends party on sat night, becky's, the salsa girl... her 28th b'day... really tall beautiful etc. anyway it's at this place called the eastern. the theme was sleek and stylish.

so i was wearing my freshly dry-cleaned dinner jacket, a black round-neck polo.... like a t-shirt with buttons. nice energie jeans with a button fly and a superman belt.... and a newboy hat.

got to the line, with my other friends. the bouncer asks for my id. i was with some pretty girls, right?... and porshee... anyway he asks for my id. i show it. no problem. then he says, i'm going to have to ask you to leave, mate. i'm not allowing you in with that hair cut. i'm like. what???? my hair cut?

btw my hair cut is EXACTLY the same as it was b4 i left. short in the front, with a small small rat's tail behind. like, to my collar. but if you look at me from the front, it's like super short and clean. anyway. you can check my recent photos on facebook.

He says, we have a policy against mullets here, we don't allow mullets in the club. I said, you're joking. You're having me on, in my best aussie accent. and he says, no mate, i'm being dead serious here, you can't go in with that hair style.

Immediately, i square up to him. he's a big, muscular bloke, the bouncer. I square up and say, are you being racist here? is there something discriminatory going on here? Because I think my hairstyle is definitely not a mullet, it's a rats tail at best.

He comes in close to me and stares me down. Don't you accuse me of being discriminatory or racist, but this is door policy. Do you want me to call my manager down to explain it to you?

I said, yes please, please ask your manager down. I'd like to hear it from him.

So my friends get in, easy no problem. the guys hair is all spiked up, some with longer hair than me, no problem. they get in. And i wait for the manager. He comes. Hi, my name is Liam, he tells me. I shake his hand, Hi Liam, your man tells me that you don't allow mullets in the club. First he says, I want to make things clear with you, we aren't racist or discriminatory. I said, I'm very glad to hear that. He says, but we have a door policy of not allowing mullets in. I said, does this look like a mullet to you?

This is NOT a mullet.

(picture removed)
THIS is a mullet.

Anyway. I said, why do you have this policy? he says, we don't want to promote gangsterism, and we don't want gangsters in the club. I said, do i look like i'm a gangster? I'm a medical student, and I wear this hairstyle to the hospital without any problem, I've worn this hairstyle to the Establishment, to the opera bar... etc. (obviously i haven't because i haven't gone out in ages.) but yeah. He looked a little nervous. And then he said, well, you seem like a nice guy and you ARE well dressed. so i'm going to make an exception and let you in.

And i said, thank you very much. So he told the bouncer, he seems like a nice guy and he's well dressed, so let him in.

I said thank you. the bouncer refused to make eye contact. whatever. I hope he gets his bonus that night and that he will have a great night. Anyway, i get up to the counter. Timothy, I tell them. I'm on the guest list. Sorry, the door bitch says, no Timothy on the guest list. I say, you're kidding me. she says, just pay me 20 bucks.

I say no way.

just then becky makes her entrance, after being called on by Liz, she's all togged up in a tiny backless dress with 5 inch stilletos which make her even taller. She says, he's with me, and she hugs me, and she says, i gave you a new list, look there. And lo and behold there's a new list! And i'm on it.

So we go up and we party happily ever after.

The end.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:29:00 +0000

The View outside my window

Makes it all a little worth it huh.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:44:00 +0000

HAHAHAHAHHA look what I GOT!!!! I HAS GOTS LIGHTTTTTT!!!!

and the Lord said, "Let there be light" and there was light. And the Lord said it was GOOOOOD!!!!!

WOOOTTT!!!

Now compare to the picture of the old dim room. Sweet.

And look what I've got! An awesome lamp! courtesy of FMS fund (father-mother scholarship fund)

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:07:00 +0000

The singaporean bunch at the beach! whooo!

Got back from camp on monday afternoon.... here's some pics to keep you'all entertained!

Sublime lookout. We came here by accident. Really beautiful. Always is. Would have burst into song and poetry if not surrounded by the public.

Some of the guys. Truth be told, I only knew 3 of them.

My best koala impersonation. Welcome to australia, mate!

The beach. This girl was my batch in RJ... but studying for her PhD. Probably going to get married by end of next year. Tsk.

Photo-whoring at the beach.

More photo-whoring. Don't we ever get sick of it?

The cave we went to explore at the beaches. Disappointed it wasn't a cave. But it was an adventure getting there.

Planning some inane group game as usual... i could've been studying!

Mucking around in the audi.

This is ivan's baby Sophia. I'm her god-father. No, just kidding.

This was the beach. I want to get a house near here next time... just kidding. I probably could afford a single outhouse.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:25:00 +0000

SIGH. STUDY STUDY STUDY!!!!!!!!

sitting at the books swotting away
sitting til my bum is rotting away
and giving me
DVT
So i eat maggie mee
and fruit bars
and dream of the girls and nice cars
that will come if i succeed
and if i pass the exam indeed
i will be very very happy
and it would have been worth getting DVT
as long as it doesn't become a pulmonary embolus.
and thus
this poem is getting out of hand
and i wanna just play in a band

i guess this has to end.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:11:00 +0000

wow look what i have look what i got!

this is my new chair, courtesy of J. thanks man. I think it's going to ruin me because it's so comfortable. I was thinking of getting a standing lamp to put next to it so i can sit in it and read. hmmmm but standing lamps are outrageously overpriced... at least $100 plus for one.

see how lah.