AND THE GERMAN JUGGERNAUT ROLLS ON!
UNSTOPPABLE!
Was watching the Germany vs Argentina match last night with Jacob and DVA at Changi Village.
I was rooting for Germany, Jacob was rooting for Argentina, and DVA was rooting for a super goal fest.
In the end, DVA was the most disappointed.
But oh well.
The referee's decisions helped the hosts a lot. Should have been at least one red card for the Germans. There really is a connection between the refereeing and the host nation's progression to the later stages of each World Cup.
And it was a deadly mistake for Jose Pekerman to take off Riquelme for a holding midfielder. He should have at least brought on a striker like Messi! Then Germany would have been in deep shit. Putting defensive midfielders on when you're one nil up sounds like something the Germans would've done, not a joga bonito side like Argentina.
And, its never a wise choice to try to defend against opponents you can't defend against in the first place. I mean look at Germany's superiority in the air, and how the short little Argentianians couldn't cope with the towering Deutsch! (Even though the first goal was by a tall Argentinian defender) It was a blinking double header that sealed the equaliser. Whats the point of bringing on defensive midfielders when the Germans can simply pump high balls and free kicks over them as if they were not there? Might as well bring in more attacking talent and kill the game off ASAP.
Pity about Argentina, they play like Arsenal, and that should be the way to play the World Cup. But I support Germany because I hate that fat slob Maradonna. And Germany has an Arsenal player, whereas Argentina has none. And its not like the Germany in this tournament is like the Germany of the last one; instead of playing boring Chelsea-type soccer, they have a much more interesting style of high-powered attacking football. They have attractive tactics; and though admittedly they are not as fascinating as Argentina, they still look pretty good and are fun enough to watch. Plus, Deutschland is a much cooler country than Argentina.
But who cares?
Once again JENS LEHMAN saved the day!
What a hero!
Good old Jens!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
ARGH! I LOST MY PHONE!
Bloody hell!
Its been the third time in two years!
Its the stupid army pants pockets I tell you they're too shallow.
Anyway the manner of the loss was quite strange.
It wasnt like those other times when it fell out unnoticed onto a taxi seat and I didnt find out until I'd gotten out of the cab by which time it was too late.
On the other hand, when this one fell out, I noticed it, but failed to catch it in time.
And it went straight down the bottomless pit of an Armoured Fighting Vehicle engine compartment.
Just like that! The damn thing disappeared below the behemoth engine.
It was massively maluating because at that time I was squatting over the engine hatch explaining the engine air filters to a recently-commisioned officer cadet. And when I moved, the bloody handphone slipped out of my pocket, and down into the engine hatch. So damn embarassing!
Of course I tried reaching down to pick it up. No use. The bloody engine compartment is so deep and the engine so damn big even my skinny spindly arms could'nt touch the bottom, let alone get near the phone.
So I tried accessing it throught the drainhole at the vehicle bottom, but when I reached in all I felt was a big steel partition-wall. And a lot of grease.
So I was left with an arm coated with thick black grease and a bunch of sniggering officers.
I tried calling my phone, to try and sense where exactly in the black hole it was.
There came a faint buzzing sound from deep within those metal bowels. Too deep for hope of recovery.
The chief instructor said that the only way to retrieve it would be to take out the entire engine. But that wouldnt be happening anytime soon because the vehicles wouldnt be needing any maintainence for a long time.
Nuts!
At least my phone was on vibration mode, not some gay spastic ringtone.
If Id called it then, the whole workshop wouldve been filled with this gay spastic ringtone emanating from the engine depths of a 23 ton Armoured Vehicle.
That wouldve been damn funny, if the phone wasnt mine.
Crap!
Now I gotta rebuild my phonebook.
Its been the third time in two years!
Its the stupid army pants pockets I tell you they're too shallow.
Anyway the manner of the loss was quite strange.
It wasnt like those other times when it fell out unnoticed onto a taxi seat and I didnt find out until I'd gotten out of the cab by which time it was too late.
On the other hand, when this one fell out, I noticed it, but failed to catch it in time.
And it went straight down the bottomless pit of an Armoured Fighting Vehicle engine compartment.
Just like that! The damn thing disappeared below the behemoth engine.
It was massively maluating because at that time I was squatting over the engine hatch explaining the engine air filters to a recently-commisioned officer cadet. And when I moved, the bloody handphone slipped out of my pocket, and down into the engine hatch. So damn embarassing!
Of course I tried reaching down to pick it up. No use. The bloody engine compartment is so deep and the engine so damn big even my skinny spindly arms could'nt touch the bottom, let alone get near the phone.
So I tried accessing it throught the drainhole at the vehicle bottom, but when I reached in all I felt was a big steel partition-wall. And a lot of grease.
So I was left with an arm coated with thick black grease and a bunch of sniggering officers.
I tried calling my phone, to try and sense where exactly in the black hole it was.
There came a faint buzzing sound from deep within those metal bowels. Too deep for hope of recovery.
The chief instructor said that the only way to retrieve it would be to take out the entire engine. But that wouldnt be happening anytime soon because the vehicles wouldnt be needing any maintainence for a long time.
Nuts!
At least my phone was on vibration mode, not some gay spastic ringtone.
If Id called it then, the whole workshop wouldve been filled with this gay spastic ringtone emanating from the engine depths of a 23 ton Armoured Vehicle.
That wouldve been damn funny, if the phone wasnt mine.
Crap!
Now I gotta rebuild my phonebook.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Ponderous Ponderings
I really dislike quite a few American musicians and their compositions.
Like that one by Daniel Powter- "Bad Day"- Bad Song, that.
Can't stand the ones by Simple Plan (should have themselves renamed Simpletons) or Avril Lavigne, as well as their hordes of retarded punk fans.
Of course not all American music is bad. I'm addicted to the music by Linkin Park, Nickleback, Staind, and Bruce Springsteen, but most of today's American pop is rubbish. I mean, look at the absolute bullocks idiots like Britney "TITney" Spears keep churning out!
The world of modern pop music should be ruled by the Brit musicians like Coldplay and Oasis and Travis and Robbie Williams and Franz Ferdinand.
But enough about that, taste is always subjective.
In the meantime, I was thinking about the debate over fundamentalist Islam.
It is true that not all Muslims are suicide bombers (an obvious fact that is amazingly overlooked by some people), but it is equally true that all suicide bombers (at least in the modern terrorist context) are Muslim. At least that's how I see it.
I mean, even the ETA Basques and IRA Irish and Marxist Cubans dont load themselves with plastic explosives and board a schoolbus and blow themselves up just to prove a point, but it seems to be a mundane everyday thing in the Arab world- or the Muslim world, for that matter.
I know my words sound incendiary, and I admit that I am not an authoritative source on Islam, having never read the Quran, but from what I know of its history and the present world it seems that this religion has certain flaws that most of its believers refuse to admit.
I am not saying Islam is inherently violent, from what I know it is a religion of peace. My Muslim friends go to mosques that teach tolerance and the struggle against the sinful self, not how to skin and behead the oil-plundering infidels. Theoretically speaking, Islam is a force for good. And in any case, every other religion out there has been manipulated by power hungry politicans to create great evil- any history student worth his stuff can tell you about the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Imperialism that was justified by Christianity and resulted in the spilt blood of millions. Mind you, it was conquistadors supposedly bearing the name of Christ that invented exquisite tortures previously unbeknowest to humanity- and it was Bible-bearers who plundered massives amounts of gold and silver from the South Americans (after massacring them, of course). I feel for the real Muslims in the streets when they see madmen chanting Quranic verses and blowing up children and chopping off he heads of aid workers. It could happen to anyone's religion. I'm pretty sure in the 16th century there were quite a few Spainairds who went round quoting Biblical passages and mutilating Latin American genitals at the same time. Indescribable evil.
The point here I am trying to make is that Islam has key flaws which distinguish it from other religions. First, the Prophet spread his religion through force and conquest, whilst Jesus never advocated the use of violence, and was slain in the most painful way imaginable, and then resurrected. Siddartha Gautama, as far as I know, didnt hurt even a fly. The vastly differing origins of these religions did set in place differing levels of tolerance towards violence. Second, Islam places too much power in the hands of human leaders, unlike the Bible which asserts that only God and not man has the real authority (why else did God refuse the Israelites a human king at first?). Buddhism avoids the concept of power entirely (doctrinally speaking).
It seems that Islam has a greater propensity towards violence. While I say that it is NOT a religion of violence, I can only conclude that it is more easily subverted by madmen than the other major world religions.
More on this later, if the ISD doesnt lock me up.
Like that one by Daniel Powter- "Bad Day"- Bad Song, that.
Can't stand the ones by Simple Plan (should have themselves renamed Simpletons) or Avril Lavigne, as well as their hordes of retarded punk fans.
Of course not all American music is bad. I'm addicted to the music by Linkin Park, Nickleback, Staind, and Bruce Springsteen, but most of today's American pop is rubbish. I mean, look at the absolute bullocks idiots like Britney "TITney" Spears keep churning out!
The world of modern pop music should be ruled by the Brit musicians like Coldplay and Oasis and Travis and Robbie Williams and Franz Ferdinand.
But enough about that, taste is always subjective.
In the meantime, I was thinking about the debate over fundamentalist Islam.
It is true that not all Muslims are suicide bombers (an obvious fact that is amazingly overlooked by some people), but it is equally true that all suicide bombers (at least in the modern terrorist context) are Muslim. At least that's how I see it.
I mean, even the ETA Basques and IRA Irish and Marxist Cubans dont load themselves with plastic explosives and board a schoolbus and blow themselves up just to prove a point, but it seems to be a mundane everyday thing in the Arab world- or the Muslim world, for that matter.
I know my words sound incendiary, and I admit that I am not an authoritative source on Islam, having never read the Quran, but from what I know of its history and the present world it seems that this religion has certain flaws that most of its believers refuse to admit.
I am not saying Islam is inherently violent, from what I know it is a religion of peace. My Muslim friends go to mosques that teach tolerance and the struggle against the sinful self, not how to skin and behead the oil-plundering infidels. Theoretically speaking, Islam is a force for good. And in any case, every other religion out there has been manipulated by power hungry politicans to create great evil- any history student worth his stuff can tell you about the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Imperialism that was justified by Christianity and resulted in the spilt blood of millions. Mind you, it was conquistadors supposedly bearing the name of Christ that invented exquisite tortures previously unbeknowest to humanity- and it was Bible-bearers who plundered massives amounts of gold and silver from the South Americans (after massacring them, of course). I feel for the real Muslims in the streets when they see madmen chanting Quranic verses and blowing up children and chopping off he heads of aid workers. It could happen to anyone's religion. I'm pretty sure in the 16th century there were quite a few Spainairds who went round quoting Biblical passages and mutilating Latin American genitals at the same time. Indescribable evil.
The point here I am trying to make is that Islam has key flaws which distinguish it from other religions. First, the Prophet spread his religion through force and conquest, whilst Jesus never advocated the use of violence, and was slain in the most painful way imaginable, and then resurrected. Siddartha Gautama, as far as I know, didnt hurt even a fly. The vastly differing origins of these religions did set in place differing levels of tolerance towards violence. Second, Islam places too much power in the hands of human leaders, unlike the Bible which asserts that only God and not man has the real authority (why else did God refuse the Israelites a human king at first?). Buddhism avoids the concept of power entirely (doctrinally speaking).
It seems that Islam has a greater propensity towards violence. While I say that it is NOT a religion of violence, I can only conclude that it is more easily subverted by madmen than the other major world religions.
More on this later, if the ISD doesnt lock me up.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Ascension- 20 Weeks, Singapore Idol, and the World Cup
Life has never been better, ironically.
With 20 more weeks left, the end is finally in sight.
Its still to early to begin the celebrations and jubilations, but there is a scent of an inevitable victory, a triumph of all that is good and free over the impersonal machinations of real world politics and the systems of oppression it spawns. NS is just one of them.
In the meantime, Singapore Idol has re-commenced and I have decided to boycott this season because a very promising Gayle Nerva was kicked out in place of the not-as-good Jasmine, who got through only because of the sheer number of friends she had.
I'm beginning to tire of this farcical Idol show on local TV. I once thought it was a great way for allowing those with true talent to gain the skills and confidence needed to develop that talent and give the rest of the island a refreshing emergence of new entertainment. I'd also respected a few finalists for their courage to dream and brave attempts to perform in the face of the relentless scrutiny of the public eye and the retarded judges who seemed (and still seem) keen only on imitating their counterparts from the US. Taufik was indeed a worthy champion, unlike his arch-rival Bengster lowlife who was so popular among his fellow Bengland lowlifes.
Having said that, this new season has altered my perception deeply. There are thin lines dividing honourable courage from sheer stupidity on one side and greedy, self-worshipping, ego on the other. Many of the contestants seem to fall on the wrong sides of the two lines. They're mostly either half-witted imbeciles who keep bashing their heads on a brick wall (mostly the sort who didnt even make it to last season's finals, and still tried to enter this season's); or else vainpots seeking cheap popularity, at best, and arrogant bastards and bitches who think they're going to win the title because they are just too good for the competition, at worst. You can read it in their posturing, their struttering on stage.
Then there are the judges. The judges! What a misnomer! As if they had the originality of personality and character to qualify themselves for their job. Instead they preen and pose and play-pretend to be the figures judging American Idol- the worst of the lot being Ken who tries ever so hard to make himself Simon Cowell but fails ever so miserably. Watching his painfully pathetic attempts at mimicking Cowell simply makes me cringe- an experience that becomes more excruiciating the more he tries to frown and mutter biting comments. If there ever were pirated personalities as there are pirated VCDs and computer games, these people are prime examples.
But nothing earns my contempt more than the fans. The fans epitomize the problem with the show, the way it emphasizes fickle popularity in place of appreciation of true vocal talent. Just look at the hordes of brainless, air-headed screaming fans! These bird-brains are worse than poseur judges attempting to mimic their Western counterparts. Its the fans that really piss me off. They do nothing but scream and wail and screech and vote for who is popular and not who has true talent. Look at the amazing number of votes Sylvester won last season. None for true musical talent, all for his Bengster appeal to all the lowlife Lians in the heartlands. Empty-headed bimbotic shitters.
But not all is lost, because the World Cup 2006 has kicked off in Deutschland!
Germany was awesome in the Group Stages, having 8 goals in the opening matches. Incredible. But the best match in my opinion was either the Great Australian Comeback against Japan or the Holland versus Cote d-Ivoire game. The Argentines' spanking of Serbia was too surreal to be enjoyed, though Cambiasso's goal was wicked sick. Speaking of goals, the best were probably Fring's sorcher against Coasta Rica, Kaka's against Croatia, van Persie's stunner free kick, and Rosicky's guided missile against the Americans. Pity about the Czechs though, I liked them. And Ronaldo the Bald Fatty was damn funny to watch. The spitting image of a clown. Just like Barthez.
Which brings me to the one match I didn't like, the France-Korea one. All the Koreans did was to run around and gang up on opposing players on the pitch, and make lots of ugly fan noise off the pitch. And they still grabbed an undeserved draw against France and King Henry's sweet goal, via Park's lame-ass flick. Its bad enough that the squint-eyed shit plays for Manchester United, its worse that the goal he scored was retarded and totally un-football-like in its entirety. If his finish had some class I would have applauded, but it was so scrappy I felt like turning off the TV.
Oh well its quite a decent show for Arsenal on the whole. 5 goals thus far, 1 from van Persie, 1 from Thierry Henry, 2 from Rosicky, 1 from Freddie Ljunberg. Master Wenger will be well pleased. But I think he should get another defender to replace Campbell. William Gallas looks like a good choice. He should also get red-hot Fernando Torres too!
That about sums up the weeks in June. I'm beginning to prepare for my applications to Oxford, so I guess more of my posts will have a political flavour to them.
With 20 more weeks left, the end is finally in sight.
Its still to early to begin the celebrations and jubilations, but there is a scent of an inevitable victory, a triumph of all that is good and free over the impersonal machinations of real world politics and the systems of oppression it spawns. NS is just one of them.
In the meantime, Singapore Idol has re-commenced and I have decided to boycott this season because a very promising Gayle Nerva was kicked out in place of the not-as-good Jasmine, who got through only because of the sheer number of friends she had.
I'm beginning to tire of this farcical Idol show on local TV. I once thought it was a great way for allowing those with true talent to gain the skills and confidence needed to develop that talent and give the rest of the island a refreshing emergence of new entertainment. I'd also respected a few finalists for their courage to dream and brave attempts to perform in the face of the relentless scrutiny of the public eye and the retarded judges who seemed (and still seem) keen only on imitating their counterparts from the US. Taufik was indeed a worthy champion, unlike his arch-rival Bengster lowlife who was so popular among his fellow Bengland lowlifes.
Having said that, this new season has altered my perception deeply. There are thin lines dividing honourable courage from sheer stupidity on one side and greedy, self-worshipping, ego on the other. Many of the contestants seem to fall on the wrong sides of the two lines. They're mostly either half-witted imbeciles who keep bashing their heads on a brick wall (mostly the sort who didnt even make it to last season's finals, and still tried to enter this season's); or else vainpots seeking cheap popularity, at best, and arrogant bastards and bitches who think they're going to win the title because they are just too good for the competition, at worst. You can read it in their posturing, their struttering on stage.
Then there are the judges. The judges! What a misnomer! As if they had the originality of personality and character to qualify themselves for their job. Instead they preen and pose and play-pretend to be the figures judging American Idol- the worst of the lot being Ken who tries ever so hard to make himself Simon Cowell but fails ever so miserably. Watching his painfully pathetic attempts at mimicking Cowell simply makes me cringe- an experience that becomes more excruiciating the more he tries to frown and mutter biting comments. If there ever were pirated personalities as there are pirated VCDs and computer games, these people are prime examples.
But nothing earns my contempt more than the fans. The fans epitomize the problem with the show, the way it emphasizes fickle popularity in place of appreciation of true vocal talent. Just look at the hordes of brainless, air-headed screaming fans! These bird-brains are worse than poseur judges attempting to mimic their Western counterparts. Its the fans that really piss me off. They do nothing but scream and wail and screech and vote for who is popular and not who has true talent. Look at the amazing number of votes Sylvester won last season. None for true musical talent, all for his Bengster appeal to all the lowlife Lians in the heartlands. Empty-headed bimbotic shitters.
But not all is lost, because the World Cup 2006 has kicked off in Deutschland!
Germany was awesome in the Group Stages, having 8 goals in the opening matches. Incredible. But the best match in my opinion was either the Great Australian Comeback against Japan or the Holland versus Cote d-Ivoire game. The Argentines' spanking of Serbia was too surreal to be enjoyed, though Cambiasso's goal was wicked sick. Speaking of goals, the best were probably Fring's sorcher against Coasta Rica, Kaka's against Croatia, van Persie's stunner free kick, and Rosicky's guided missile against the Americans. Pity about the Czechs though, I liked them. And Ronaldo the Bald Fatty was damn funny to watch. The spitting image of a clown. Just like Barthez.
Which brings me to the one match I didn't like, the France-Korea one. All the Koreans did was to run around and gang up on opposing players on the pitch, and make lots of ugly fan noise off the pitch. And they still grabbed an undeserved draw against France and King Henry's sweet goal, via Park's lame-ass flick. Its bad enough that the squint-eyed shit plays for Manchester United, its worse that the goal he scored was retarded and totally un-football-like in its entirety. If his finish had some class I would have applauded, but it was so scrappy I felt like turning off the TV.
Oh well its quite a decent show for Arsenal on the whole. 5 goals thus far, 1 from van Persie, 1 from Thierry Henry, 2 from Rosicky, 1 from Freddie Ljunberg. Master Wenger will be well pleased. But I think he should get another defender to replace Campbell. William Gallas looks like a good choice. He should also get red-hot Fernando Torres too!
That about sums up the weeks in June. I'm beginning to prepare for my applications to Oxford, so I guess more of my posts will have a political flavour to them.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Review
So you have chosen
And all my efforts are for naught
And all hope has evaporated
And my earnest endeavour in vain
So, so.
Many have accused me of excessive melodrama.
Let them!
I care not for the opinions of others- I have heard enough of the opinions of others, and frankly, they disgust me. And anyway I cannot change who I am, what I was born to be.
Life in the material world has improved by leaps and bounds. I have been posted to Higher HQ, away from the dirt and sweat and pain of front-line combat. In any case I would never have made a good soldier. All my fond memories of armour training belie the fact that I was always one of the slowest and clumsiest in the unit, slow of finger-finesse and lacking in forceful fury. Amazing that I find these remembrances fun and funny. It must have been the adrenalin rushes, nothing else.
In any case it's like the Israelites being delivered out of Egyptian hell- thanks be to God.
And on another plane, life remains as inscrutable and opaque as it always was. You cant really see through to the other side; there's just this woozy stream of golden bubbles against an impenetrable obsidian surface. Indecipherable, unreadable, moving in random and indiscernable patterns, always elliptical and never forthright. Games played through the splintered glass lenses of minds' eyes, games that are disorientating in the extreme. All fun and games, like Edward Albee's absurdist theatre pieces, swimming in alcohol under the brilliant jazz lights of joy. The whole damn thing is just a game-each toying with the other just for the sheer amusement and thrill.
But what happens when the fun ends?
As it seems, I am about to find out.
And all my efforts are for naught
And all hope has evaporated
And my earnest endeavour in vain
So, so.
Many have accused me of excessive melodrama.
Let them!
I care not for the opinions of others- I have heard enough of the opinions of others, and frankly, they disgust me. And anyway I cannot change who I am, what I was born to be.
Life in the material world has improved by leaps and bounds. I have been posted to Higher HQ, away from the dirt and sweat and pain of front-line combat. In any case I would never have made a good soldier. All my fond memories of armour training belie the fact that I was always one of the slowest and clumsiest in the unit, slow of finger-finesse and lacking in forceful fury. Amazing that I find these remembrances fun and funny. It must have been the adrenalin rushes, nothing else.
In any case it's like the Israelites being delivered out of Egyptian hell- thanks be to God.
And on another plane, life remains as inscrutable and opaque as it always was. You cant really see through to the other side; there's just this woozy stream of golden bubbles against an impenetrable obsidian surface. Indecipherable, unreadable, moving in random and indiscernable patterns, always elliptical and never forthright. Games played through the splintered glass lenses of minds' eyes, games that are disorientating in the extreme. All fun and games, like Edward Albee's absurdist theatre pieces, swimming in alcohol under the brilliant jazz lights of joy. The whole damn thing is just a game-each toying with the other just for the sheer amusement and thrill.
But what happens when the fun ends?
As it seems, I am about to find out.
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