The Lyrics

Went to VJCosiety and happened to see this video. It's a game show whereby contestants sing along till a point where the lyrics go missing, and they have to fill in the blanks. Rather interesting. And this guy can sing rather well.

I won't post all 4 parts of the episode here, so just use the related videos function to get the rest.

And for those who are more interested in screwed up lyrics, check these out. I guess these people tried to put them into speech-recognition software. Just for laughs. Oh, mildly obscene.

I was bored.
Enjoy.

"Last Supper" Superimposed.

Pretty sure everyone still remembers the whole story behind The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. It has been about three years or so since the book was published and a movie was already filmed based on the same story, and most of us should have read some of all the debates and discussions on forums and blogs all over the world. Well, we all thought this whole craze has somewhat ended. Not till today when I came across an article on Yahoo.

Here's an extract of the article.

MILAN (Reuters) - A new theory that Leonardo's "Last Supper" might hide within it a depiction of Christ blessing the bread and wine has triggered so much interest that Web sites connected to the picture have crashed.

The famous fresco is already the focus of mythical speculation after author Dan Brown based his "The Da Vinci Code" book around the painting, arguing in the novel that Jesus married his follower, Mary Magdelene, and fathered a child.

Now Slavisa Pesci, an information technologist and amateur scholar, says superimposing the "Last Supper" with its mirror-image throws up another picture containing a figure who looks like a Templar knight and another holding a small baby.

I tried to visit the links they provided for the superimposed image, but the websites are down after they recieved too much traffic and decided to upgrade their servers. I figured that something like this would be easy to reproduce using Photoshop CS2, so here's the picture, original and superimposed, along with the rest of the article.

"In the superimposed version, a figure on Christ's left appears to be cradling a baby in its arms, Pesci said, but he made no suggestion this could be Christ's child.

Judas, whose imminent betrayal of Christ is the force breaking the right-hand line of the original fresco, appears in an empty space on the left in the reverse image version.

And Pesci also suggests that the superimposed version shows a goblet before Christ and illustrates when Christ blessed bread and wine at a supper with his disciples for the first Eucharist.

The original Da Vinci depicts Christ when he predicts that one among them will betray him."

For those who want to read more, here's the article.

Negarakuku.

My dad just showed me this video earlier. I think he is becoming a YouTube addict.



Damn. That is something you will never find in Singapore.

Harry Potter.

Watched the movie on Saturday night. For someone who did not read the book, I already felt as if the movie was very chopped up. Can understand why all the Potter fans around me are lamenting over the missing portions from the book.

Then again, I do believe that trimming the story down into a 140-minute movie is not at all easy, and at least the director did a rather good job with the chaning of scenes. Still quite sudden, but not at all disruptive.

Then again, watching a movie while knowing the storyline is rather different. A whole different set of expectations. And considering that each reader would have their own expectations of scenes from the book, it is really impossible to please everyone. But I guess no matter how disappointed those fans are, I do not think anyone would have hated the movie.

Now, let us wait for the next movie.

Oh, someone please tell me the last story? I am simply too lazy to read.

Exhibition.

Was helping out at my dad's booth over the weekend at Ngee Ann City Civic's Plaza. Managed to snap a few shots. Take a look here.



Enjoy.

Updates

Been helping out at dad's exhibition outside Ngee Ann City. Watched Harry Potter yesterday, hung out with the group today.

Very tired now. Will post again soon. Pictures coming.

Sonorous passion.

The trip up to Pattaya has stirred up alot of emotions within me. I thought I had gotten over the whole leaving-the-choir(s) thing. It's either that Pattaya managed to invoke a revival of such strong emotional attachments, or that I was just masking my yearnings and unwillingness to let go. Let us just assume it is a little bit of both.

It is really ironic how this trip seemed so fufilling while re-creating this vast emptiness within me after the end of it.

(Gosh. My mind is in a total whirl at this point in time.)

Back to where I was, yes. This emptiness. I would like to assume that this is just some form of a withdrawal symptom. Cold turkey? Perhaps.

I need to get a hold on myself before I let this whole thing eats me up. As ridiculous as it may sound, it hurts so badly that I start to tear when I start to reminisce. An indulgence? I hope it stops there. Then again, do I?

I am so lost in my thoughts now, it is hardly possible for me to type an entire sentence without pausing to think if I am typing what I am really feeling inside. It may not seem as if there is anything to consider or feel lost about, but there is. Somehow, there is.

The more I ponder over the issue, the more painful I realise it would be to be severed from the Choral scene in Singapore. Not that I have been very active in it, or not that I had any achievements to boast of, but the mere thought of not having a choir to sing with and feel comfortable around, especially with closer friends, really makes me think twice about leaving this island for five years.

"No man is an island."
And for five years, I might have to cope with being in a faraway land, away from the people I have been singing with for years. Distanced from something that played a huge role in my life, that influenced me so greatly since my accidental encounter with it in secondary school.

"The power of music, the power of song."
There was hardly any time for the current members of EBChoir and me to bond together considering we only met for 2 hours or so a week. Yet, we eventually got quite close together while in Pattaya. I guess that is what we all choristers love about singing in a choir.

"i thank You God for most this amazing day."
Yes, thank you. Thank you also to all members of EBChor and VJChoir who have created such a huge impact in my life, for being such wonderful friends. For the efforts you have put in, for the time and energy you committed to making every performance a success.

"And for those special moments, those times that we recall,"
For the times we shared, the outings, the dinners, the simple and quiet moments. Everything.

"Takes one last breath, and leaps."
A leap of faith. I guess I will just have to cope with everything for now. Afterall, it is too early to make judgements. Whatever the case, I shall make a promise to myself to make myself available for the next Voyage of Songs, wherever it may be held in 2009. And while I am there, get myself involved in their local choral scene to gather more experience and exposure to the international choral scene. Perhaps, things much just change. For the better.

Gosh, I am starting to sound extremely emotional. I just need to let it all out.

Right now, even listening to Whitacre's pieces makes me tear.
The power of music.

"hope, faith, life, love, dream, joy, truth, soul."

Photos for VoS Pattaya.

Here are the photos from the recent trip to Pattaya.

A Voyage Of Songs, Pattaya
Awards@Pattaya
EBC@Pattaya
VJC@Pattaya

For those who want the scores for all choirs in each category, please leave a tag as I did not want to post all the scores up online.

A Voyage Of Songs 2007, International Choral Festival - Pattaya, Thailand.

13/07/2007 - Friday
Arrived at Bangkok at 1.30am on Friday morning after a 2hr20min flight with Air Asia. Not too bad, at least we got comfortable seats at the front. Really quite blur when we first got there, but luckily we mangaged to find a transfer service to our hotel in Pattaya shortly after walking out of the baggage claim area. 2400 baht. We were a little worried we got cheated, but it turns out that it's quite a normal amount. At least we got driven to Ambassador City Jomtien in a Volvo. Heck if it were old. It moves. And thank goodness we arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Cannot imagine being caught in the infamous Bangkok traffic.

Got to Tower Wing at about 3.30am, but the check-in service started only at 6am, so we had to loiter around the lobby and sleep there for a few hours. Checked in at 6, got the room keys at 6.30am, and unpacked by about 7am. Then, off to meet the boys at the Garden Wing.

Took a break after lunch, and had practice in the afternoon. Some games after that with the boys. They seemed to enjoy themselves at least. After games, off to dinner, then back to practice from 8pm-9pm. Long day.

14/07/2007 - Saturday
Woke up rather early for breakfast. Breakfast at Tower Wing was quite good. Definitely better than what the others had. Maybe that was why we had to pay more anyway. Then again, the room was not that fantastic afterall. Let's not talk about the toilets.

EBChoir was in the Open Mixed Cat, and we were up at about 10am. After everything was over, the boys were more relaxed. Everyone went to change and do their own stuff. Went to watch some of the choirs in their own Categories. Not too bad. The Philippines had really good choirs around. Singapore was represented by the same few, and there was an Aussie choir from Melbourne. Not too bad actually.

'A quick Spring day...' Stupid song still stuck in my head.

Announcement of results was done in the evening. Well done to all choirs who took part in this year's A Voyage Of Songs. This is the third time VoS was held, and I must say that the standards of participating choirs have risen tremendously, and competition has gotten alot tougher. Not totally please with our own results, but hey. It's still something to be proud of. At least for the boys.

15/07/2007 - Sunday
EBChoir left for home at about 11am. Went to join Gabriel, Daniel, Genrong and Debbie for a short while. Met up with Jonathan Velasco and heard a little of what he had to say about both VJChoir and EBChoir. Saw Dr. Goh around too.
Christo Burger looks so different. Meng Da Peng was quite the same. Never saw the Thai or Italian adjudicators before, so no comments.

Went on a 'tour' with VJChoir in the afternoon, which was essentially a bus-ride to a shopping centre in Pattaya, and back. No shopping done. Do not expect me to go to Thailand to buy Adidas, Guess, or other stuff I can get back home. Ended up eating at Oishi Ramen with Dan Cheow Martin Genrong Debbie. Coffee at Starbucks too.

Got back to Ambassador City at about 6 plus, got changed, and went down for the prize presentation ceremony. Once again, well done to everyone. I'm sure everyone benefited from this trip in some way.

EBChoir did relatively well, scoring 81.43 pts in the Open Mixed Choir Category, attaining an Gold C. Well done boys. Although I know that you guys are pretty much disappointed over the results, I'm sure you all have done your best. Try again next time.

Anyways, here are some of the results.

Cat. A - Open Mixed Choir, 18 Participants :
1. Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore. 88.84 pts, Gold B.
2. STA Teresita Parish Chorale, Philippines. 87.17 pts, Gold B.
3. Mapua Concert Singers, Philippines. 86.71 pts, Gold B.

Cat. B - Open Equal Voices, 5 Participants :
1. Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore. 87.45 pts, Gold B.
2. Chiang Kai Shek University Choir, Philippines. 85.37, Gold B.
3. Shantell Vocal Ensemble, Indonesia. 82.75, Gold C.

Cat. C - Children's Choir, 3 Participants :
1. Tanjong Katong Secondary School Choir, Singapore. 82.75 pts, Gold C.
2. Karangturi's Choir, Indonesia. 78.49 pts, Silver A.
3. Santa Laurensia, Indonesia. 78.17 pts, Silver A.

Cat. D - Youth Equal Voices, 6 Participants :
1. Young Voices Of Melbourne, Australia. 89.23 pts, Gold B.
2. Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore. 88.20 pts, Gold B.
3. Campanella Olomouc Choir, Czech Republic. 85.65 pts, Gold B.

Cat. F - Folklore, 20 Participants :
1. Young Voices Of Melbourne, Australia. 87.08 pts, Gold B.
2. STA Teresita Parish Chorale, Philippines. 86.20 pts, Gold B.
3. Mapua Concert Singers, Philippines. 85.72 pts, Gold B.

Awards Given :
Gold A : 0
Gold B : 11
Gold C : 17
Silver A : 9
Silver B : 5
Silver C : 6
Bronze A : 1
Bronze B : 3
Bronze C : 0
Total Awards : 52

Other Awards :
Most Promising Choir : Chiang Kai Shek University Choir, Philippines.
Best Conductor : Mr. Mark O'Leary, Young Voices Of Melbourne, Australia.
Jury Prize : Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore.
Grand Prize : STA Teresita Parish Chorale, Philippines.

Back.

Yes everyone, I'm back. Landed at about 10 in the morning.

In the process of uploading some of the photos and editing them, so do stay tuned for more photos from my trip to Pattaya.

More updates coming later. In the meantime, check this out. A little old, but who cares.

Boarding.

Waiting to board now. Apparently there is a flight delay. Figured that I could leave a final post before disappearing for a couple of days. So here am I sitting at Pacific Coffee Company, surfing the net, blogging abd sipping my Rocky Road Chillino. Still prefer Coffee Bean's Ultimate Ice-Blended. Ahh.

All packed and ready to go. My first time travelling to Thailand, and first time doing so with just another friend. Hmm. Got my (Sister's) camera with me, and yes, ready for the trip. Had a little bit of trouble with the packing today.

Shucks. I can't think of what to write about already. Guess I shall sign off now and head off to the boarding room after I'm done with my Chillino. Will try to drop by while in Pattaya if the hotel offers internet service.

Goodbye Singapore.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Well, not really. Everything is out of the cupboard, but lying all over my bed. Going to shove them all into the pathetic luggage bag later on. Screw budget.

This trip should be fun. Although I doubt there would be much shopping to do, that is if time permits, I doubt I'll get bored. At least I will have my book with me.

Ok, back to packing. Got to check if everything's in. Will be back on Monday morning.

Dinner photos.

Smiles.

Here's the link to the entire album: 04S45 Dinner. My apologies if the photos are of rather low quality. It's either the camera or me. Probably the latter anyway.

Anyways, dinner was quite nice. Food was not too bad, and rather reasonably priced. I guess everyone was just feeling lazy after dinner, so we ended up loitering around the area, and finally settling down in some quiet area in some mall. Well, at least it's a chance for everyone to see each other. Even if we did not get to talk much, I guess we still had some fun together.

So, when's the next outing?

Updates on Playlist.

Just updated the 'default' playlist on the blog. Figured that the songs there were getting a little stale. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Anyways, I'm in the midst of uploading a couple of photos from the 04S45 class gathering, as well as a some photos from Car-nival held at Singapore Expo over the weekend. Stay tuned!

Find me something please.

I've been rather addicted to CoH.

Hmm. Oh well.

Ahh. Dinner with 04S45 today at an Indonesian restaurant near Clarke Quay.

Suddenly, I feel like I need to do something productive now. Weird.

Sleepless.

Well, it's another sleepless night. Just cannot get myself into the sleeping mood.

Sigh. Sometimes, I think sex is overrated. Just sometimes.

Okay, random.

Sign here and sell me your soul.

Talking about signing on.

Friend: Has it ever crossed your mind?

Me: Hmm... Yeah. I guess so?

Friend: Then?

Me: Crossed my mind. Never stayed in there.

Frankly speaking, there had been really weird thoughts about signing a 10-year contract. Of course, assuming I had the ability (and will) to go through OCS, which I doubt I'll even survive after the first few weeks.

Honestly, despite all the bullshit thrown at me, I quite enjoy my job. Perhaps the job scope is quite enjoyable. Only the external factors that sort of ruin my overall impression of things. Of course, I'm not suggesting to anyone to sign on in my vocation, simply because a two-year stint and a twenty-year career is a vast difference.

I do not mind attending meetings to discuss issues. I do not mind having discussions to sort things out.

I just cannot stand the inefficiency of those you often require help from. They are known as 'The Superiors', who are to a large extent, more inferior to anyone else you will ever meet in your life, no matter how pathetic you might percieve it to be.

They seem to have alot of work to do. Their work schedules consist of visiting the smoking point, the canteen, the air-conditioned offices, and they seem to have to travel between camps very often, resulting in them being unable to help us out at work. They have alot of meetings, projects and discussions. They are always using the computer to check for new mails as they are hot hunks who have a large fan site, and their inboxes flood every ten minutes.

They are paid about a hundread a day to do all these. And I am paid less than twenty miserable dollars to do the actual work.

Who should be the one to sign on?

Impressions.

I'd like to play a game...

World Wide Web. Really.

And only a decade ago, we had to bear with the noisy modem. 56k. It amazes me how fast we have advanced.

Look at what you have now:

You get bored one day at home. You on your PC, log on the internet (or maybe your computer now logs on automatically), and access the internet. You click on your Internet Explorer, open it, and your default page, Yahoo.com, opens. You glance through an article featured on the main page, and want to find out more. You go to Wikipedia.org and start searching for an article about music. The articles are highly informative, and while reading through the articles, you visit Dictionary.com to check out some words you do not understand. After an hour of reading, you finally decide that you want to get hold of some music scores and books, so you head off to Amazon.com to get your books. Just as you are about to make payment via your credit card, you recall your friend mentioning about Ebay.com. Off you go to see if the books you are looking for may be selling at a cheaper rate there. Finally, you find what you want, and you realise that you can use your account on Paypal.com to make payment. After two hours or so, you are finally done with your shopping, and start your webcam service on Skype.com to inform your friend about your wonderful online shopping experience.

What next?

Gathering, the blog, and alot of bull.

This is so cool. A VJ class outing after such a long while. It seems that there would be quite a few people attending. Quite exciting I must say. Hope to see everyone there. Got to grab a camera too.

That aside, I think I'm changing. Not sure if it's for the better or not, or maybe it's simply too early to tell anyway. At least it looks good for now. Let's just keep it this way.

I'm glad this blog's still considerably active. Only that I seem to run out of topics quite frequently. Alot of fillers. I think I need to start to come up with something more concrete. A theme perhaps? Or let's just keep this as random as it is. Haphazard? But not aimless at least.

I guess blogging can be quite fun. Put the whole fame thing aside, (I'm not into professional blogging) I guess it's quite nice to have a group of readers who drop by once in awhile to take a look. And for friends to keep themselves updated on what's happening in each others' lives. Look, it's not as if we are all that free (Oops? Lousy excuse again.) to meet up and talk that often, and even if we do, we cannot possibly share everything. So yes, let us all start blogging more often!

I used to use my blog for myself. I mean I still do of course, but I think it would be more interesting to be a little more open about my own life rather than to keep everything overly secretive. I'm sure the older readers would remember those posts that never did make sense. But hey, when I look back at the older posts, I can still remember the exact (well, almost?) same emotion I had when I typed in the entry. And I can remember what exactly 'inspired' me to post.

Memories. How nice if they were all meant to be sweet. Then again, who said that we had to remember everything bitter? Let's not start quoting the "life's like that" cliché.

At least I know I'm quite happy in this point in time. Dissatisfied, perhaps. But not unhappy with life as it is. Grateful in fact.

I officially started this blog on the 25^th Mayand it has been a month or so. Hope that this blog can last me longer than the previous. This shall me my main communication channel with many of you when I'm studying overseas.

Gosh, I'm starting to sound as if I'm leaving tomorrow. I wish I could.

Then again, do I?