Tuesday, November 21, 2006

thinking about some things, reflections

tranquil, azure blue waters,
only to be shattered as tzen goes wild at the wheel
while shiv,
with wind in his hair and a smile on his face , strangely arrives at atman. if u dunno what atman is...go read your siddharta. tzen and elsa are tzena and elsa
and the guys are guys..and love a boat to themselves.
well here are a few things to consider, as i evolve into the cold hard administrator that i sought never to become. i think certain happenings this year have caused me to arrive at this state. pvc, who wants to think about that, but hey hey, the very warped programme helped me understand how to deal with these kind of people who we're bound to meet in the future. i can so imagine the...'empowered' fanatical overly enthusiastic ever willing to practice their life skills lessons male/female in the work place. i think whats interesting to note was my reaction to pvc this year, as a student, as a thinking human,as a feeling human, and as vice president.
i think since then, the way i view work, has become a little bit more task oriented, ever analytical, abit more harsh and sparing less time for other thought. i think thats a product of the pvc episode which had us subject to strange teachings that one cannot agree with and subsequently having to deal with handling and getting these people out.
i think thinking through this will help me understand myself better too.
i guess i reacted in such a way because i couldnt stand theyre nature of imposition, the content of the imposition which we all couldnt agree with, and the fact that they demanded a response of commitment. plus all the emotional twisting and turning that happened throughout. so in a sense, it was time to hit back, i would not let someone impose their views on me, forcing us to believe what they believe with some emotional manipulative crap. if sometimes cold hard administration was best and was what was needed to get them out of our system, then sure thing. the mind of the administrator was, understand and believe that what was best was to get them out, so make sure it happens.
but i think that probably stemmed from something deeper as well. there was a strange sense of protectionism towards people u care about and not letting their imposition get any further, thats when the harsh curtness in dealing with them kicked in. when you and the people u care about are assaulted, thats the time to step in, and step up. so the curt intolerance was necessary, i mean yeah i do feel bad about the implications it had on that lady, but it was necessary, and i guess the severity outweighed the care and concern sometimes.....i think...and i think as i calm down and try to look at it from the larger picture, you cant keep letting people like that have a hold on you. you must let them go, of course i wish the manner neednt have been like that, but we were already too much absorbed by them that the reply couldnt just have been a 'sorry, but no'. yes sure i feel bad sometimes. at other times glad that we exerted power in such a way. other times wondering whether this decrease in tolerance and to the point-ness in the way i view work is correct, as i walk down my path to becoming and administrator.
who says ive got to end up as an unfeeling administrator. maybe thats just a temporary stop....and i learn to become a feeling administrator after that..which knows the ground...i dont know...maybe when im 55...and grey haired with sharp spectacles.
well, from wanting to sleep early, to wanting to blog about my strange discoveries of my relatively new attitude towards people and work, i have arrived at mostly talking about the learning curve of the pvc episode. one day, i shall evaluate the moral struggles of such a cold hard administrator, and whether such a path is right. does right dictate best? hmmm maybe, i dont know.
it is better to be strong and wrong, than right and weak. said bill clinton once.
there is no right or wrong, there is only a yes. says my interpretation of mr warped man's philosophy.
'however the lack of wrong or right does not remove the irrefutable fact that you have been put through an eye opener to uglyness, whether the uglyness is justifiable or not.
said hans once, on a completely different subject.
think about it...life, or the human condition and what we subject ourselves to is so complicated, that right may not mean best, and beauty or the lack of it is in a completely different realm from moral dilemma but yet seems so closely linked. and of course,ugly is never always equal to wrong. what then is correct? what then is good, necessary, right, fulfilling? and finally...which one do you want? something to think about..

Sunday, November 19, 2006

to a great friend and teacher, the cultured man...haha






If you take a look around his book shelves, u'd realize that everything is either about cooking, art, philosophy, chinese philosophy or visual design. on one of the shelves theres even a picture of his former jamaican looking colleague and her son. i think what i learnt from him was a world view, a perception that was constantly accepting, in allowance,questioning, in search of something, knowing that the soul needed to be developed, needed to have some form of freedom...and its always fun to meet someone like that. and yes the attachment of a good friend, great company, very funny episodes and nice talks would always be remembered..so...all the best tham! hope u find great happiness in ny! take care and God bless....and dont forget to invite us back for christmas. =)

and so about school. i think we're moving at too fast a pace. its quite upsetting sometimes, taxing to say the least. but thats where we're heading i guess. of course this one was a long time coming, but thats in another direction. life sometimes seems so planned for us. the framework, the grid is already outlined infront for us to follow. i dont quite agree with it sometimes...but what to do? the good thing about these grids however, is that most of the time theyre very broad, so on the ground level u could have some space to readjust certain elements to suit your liking. of course the real track is still too fast, and we end up getting dragged and swept along at the same time. sigh, one more year of mixed feelings about the school i guess. i think in the end the positives outweigh that which is negative. hopefully we can have a good talk about direction some time soon...and make the best out of our small grid, at least make it something to remember, meaningful, and worth while. not just party organizers, lets get down to business.

last thing on my mind today. heard so much of the bickering...each..without any prior knowledge would have been immense un-credible bitching. sigh i guess i didnt fit the personality. whats more, the additional outlooks on life,on council, were sometimes stressful, sometimes pissing off...sometimes terribly dissapointing..sometimes worrying..sometimes scary. selfish, i think so, im wondering if its on my part too. what to do? work from here, remember and enjoy the good times. dont care about the rest...and have good friends...who are far and few between.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

You give me an answer, God

and he sat on the steps thinking
realizing that he was quite reclused.
knowing that there was only one thing in the world he wanted to do
which was to walk slowly through this open field
dotted with purple flowers,
slightly dried, slightly thistled,
with the mountains in the distance.

its nearing winter, and the air is drying
its getting bleak,
but the sky stretches out,
with masses of clouds above, in a huge swirl.
and then you're on your own,
trudging through, with a blue jacket, camera in hand
sling bag on shoulder.

he also knows why hes reclused.
sometimes things are a little too hard to revisit.
its hard to arrive at any other disposition
when theres no solution
and the hardest point in your life hasnt been what other people subject you to,
but things sometimes God cant seem to answer
of course i asked why, i still ask why, sometimes.
but can you reach any other nature?
give me an answer first, or anything i see,
seems somewhat bleak. i dont try, it happens.
when it happened to my uncle this year,
it brought it back. i mean how else could you see things?
until i get an answer.
until i get an answer.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

common sense thoughts that i never wrote down







For those of you who have heard We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel..i wonder what he was thinking when he wrote it. but hey hey..heres one brought to you by hossan leong..and we certainly know what hes thinking about. heh i know im quite slow in viewing it..but for all you who are equally slow...heres a good laugh. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myqyKZsknmw

It is interesting kind of humor a centrally managed state gives rise to, considering that such a sentiment has become a big laughing point in local performances. what then caught my attention was how such a surpressive personality echoes heavily with the clamping down on blogs, protest venues, election periods, yet seem completely absent from the arts scene.

i mean thats a great thing, but theres got to be an explanation for it. the first time i attended a performance and heard these political jokes i had a good time but was rather surprised. it seemed that the lack of allowance that we subject ourselves to in the working/education world was inconsistent with that in the theatre. I guess its because you've got to give a certain degree of allowance in the unimportant areas while clamping down in more important areas which grant you a greater depth of control.Also, if we we'rent allowed to make political jokes in the arts scene people would just shrivel up and die from a severe severe inability to express. small avenues aid in the veil of acceptance. perhaps even let the system be laughed at to keep your slightly apathetic upper stratum audience satisfied. This group knows the surpression exists, but is probably self reliant and successful enough to not care. the collective identity of making money also keeps them satisfied and detached from political affairs, so as long as those needs are met, noone complains loud enough.

Central command can then be worked out efficiently, bringing the state to prosperity and stability.i dont think those seemingly positive effects can be denied...and after all, that is the ultimately vision. nice strategy eh..but whats lost in exchange? a people's culture. we have a top down directive, but we have no culture belonging to the citizen. the liberty to speak ones mind, the attitude of the bold outspoken creative, unconventional citizen is never created. and so top down initiatives are what our culture shall be.

the question then is, is this exchange a worth while one? the philosophy of progression and prosperity through central command versus the freedom of people's beings through the pluralistic liberalism of state control. the bargain, the trade off. this is probably the core difference in ideology, which manifests itself in complaints of why our government disallows so many practices. so the trade off, is it worth while?

central command may not be that bad...
after all, i have believed in being a bolshevik since sec 3....and based on personal ideology....i honestly found lenin's politburo exciting...but to have someone else do it on u...now thats different...but i guess now..its still more than livable.



Tuesday, November 07, 2006

woah..check out this fellar

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=234409
http://willowsblower.blogspot.com/ (blog of the guy who took the shots in first link..hope he doesnt mind..heh)

This guy just has great sports and nature shots, fantastic skill and amazing composition. He must be super seasoned...heh..nice character in his photos too.


http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

the author of this site travels round big cities like New York, Paris,London, taking pictures of people who he thinks dress well..and...if im not wrong was spotted by vogue magazine and now shoots for them. He's made quite a name for himself. some good stuff man. Its quite a mood lifter, updates very frequently and checking out what fashionable people he shoots is really interesting... I have it bookmarked!

and...
http://singaporesnakes.blogspot.com/
these fellars shoot snakes. Maybe technically not as good all the time but i bet its really hard. Dont think you'd quite enjoy it if you hate snakes.

oh well..sports photography and nature when taken well can be really really nice. but the technical skill, equipment and of course composition have got to be really top notch. gah..wish i could shoot like that, amazing stuff...i have a feeling mrs elaine lee's nature photography is really pro as well. oh well have fun viewing!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

I've figured out why i dont like shooting in singapore

it feels so stifling shooting here!

When u capture photos you're looking to bring out a certain theme, event or feeling that the place gives you. You're trying to play on it, naturally or manipulatively in order to achieve your desired feel. Thats scenario one, when you kinda understand the place you're in and you're thinking about your shots. This happens most of the time when you're shooting for events, performances, parties, where shooting is very deliberate..the feel is already probably there and you're just trying to capture it. Thats where the skill and technical comes in..haha.Cambodia this year was exactly like that. i had in mind what i wanted to shoot, had no idea how to use an slr, went for the trip with my uncles 350d, shot everything in manual but absolutely loved it. Of course the editting after that was hell, considering that almost every single shot was over exposed. Even until now i dont know how to meter properly, and yes so my technical sucks, but thats not the heart of photography! i try to defend myself against the rampant bombardments of techies john and zong jie.

Scenario two is when you walk into a place with no prior assumptions, and you're open to shooting whatever catches your eye...which is often very good cause you enter open minded..But of course as you begin to spend more time in the place and if you enjoy it, scenario one naturally develops sub consciously, and u joyfully gallop through that town/city/countryside and just love shooting in that place. You're not thinking too much, you're exploring the new sights but when something catches your eye, you go in and frame the shot. thats very enjoyable=) That was perth in June, first trip on my d70s, din quite know what to expect besides nature and nice vineyards and azure blue seas, actually thats pretty much everything...but the place was nasty beautiful. even in 'winter'.(place, not trip..good photography trip..but normal dont like some people holiday)

and so...back to the point of why i dont like shooting in singapore. As i mentioned when u shoot, u look for a feeling to capture, you do this either consciously or if ure enjoying yourself so much u dont even know ure looking for those good shots. and sad to say, shooting in singapore captures no feeling. or rather it captures the culture- of no culture. of iron steel buildings, unfeeling, with the random religious festive activity. shenton way shenton way. little india little india. cliché of clichés! there is no singaporean feel that i am proud of or can enjoy. and so it just doesnt come out in photos.Even our poetry is a reflection of our lack of culture. gerh 'no other city'. Exact same story. And so i've figured that enjoyment appears in the sub communities, family, close friends, entertaining events. These are nice to shoot. But in terms of the national identity? naah....i dont want to go to boat quay and capture the brown statues of boys jumping into the river. or of shenton way. eh?

of course this isnt to say that u cant capture good photos in singapore, i've seen some amazing shots of little india from some really talented guys. And in a sense to me thats more out of art sake, theyre just really really good. maybe the feel u get from the teh and curry man can be quite interesting, but that still a very isolated case. very individualized, to capture the identity of that man and his store, that character, but other than that, i dont see anything in singapore that is worth shooting.

so anyway, yes i dont like shooting along our streets. very boring. dont like the feeling it evokes, the singaporean feel. so suck. oh well..so late already...have to wake up at 7 to go back to school and hand up report book -.- and its 3.20 now. and yes theres still a tennis party to plan with some people not responding as fast as what would be greatly appreciated. which is just ass irritating.....but nvm..thats for tomorrow to worry about. gah..holiday..and life is stressful. im ignoring the cynical bitter and pissed off part. sounds so happy.