Clips from BornFire 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
Flashpoints
So Mickey and me decided to catch BornFire 2006 at the Waterfront@Esplanade
(Es-pler-nayd?) before the England match. I put my new digital camera to good use, picking up some helpful tips from Wendy. We then had to take a bus outta town (cuz most of them were hiding somewhere waiting for helpless people like us to book them) and hailed a cab to Changi Village to experience watching the World Cup in the heartlands.
The atmosphere was very relaxed there, with groups of fans (betting ones?) gathered around the 2 large projection TVs ordering food and drinks while waiting for the match to start. Even if one were to drink himself silly here, it's still better than blowing hard earned money at some upmarket pubs/clubs. Plus you get to go in shorts and slippers.
As expected, England didn't win too convincingly against Ecuador. Good 'ol Beckham, master-bender-of-balls, stepped up to score the only goal of the match. He then proceeded to puke on the pitch before being substituted. A funny incident happened when the goal went in. Whilst the crowd at the kopitiam cheered mildy when he scored, more wolf whistles were heard when the camera panned to Mrs Beckham jumping off her seat in celebration. I'm sure there are some who wished they replayed THAT shot over and over and over again...
The 2nd match was watched with much anticipation. After all, Portugal V Holland is a mouth watering encounter. What turned out in the end, however, made many see red ( namely Boulahrouz, van Bronckhorst, Costinha, and Deco) . To say that the referee kayu is but putting it mildly. I lost all repect for Luis Figo when I saw him headbutt Mark van Bommel behind the ref's back, then went on to wayang when he was elbowed in the face byBoulahrouz. If I were Heitinga, I'd have played the ball too regardless of sportsmanship. Basket, the ref thew that out already when he lost control of the match. Should've let our very own Shamsul Maidin officiate the match, he'd have been able to take the high temperature better and dealt with the fracas with a straight face. From Singapore one leh, mai siao siao...
(Es-pler-nayd?) before the England match. I put my new digital camera to good use, picking up some helpful tips from Wendy. We then had to take a bus outta town (cuz most of them were hiding somewhere waiting for helpless people like us to book them) and hailed a cab to Changi Village to experience watching the World Cup in the heartlands.
The atmosphere was very relaxed there, with groups of fans (betting ones?) gathered around the 2 large projection TVs ordering food and drinks while waiting for the match to start. Even if one were to drink himself silly here, it's still better than blowing hard earned money at some upmarket pubs/clubs. Plus you get to go in shorts and slippers.As expected, England didn't win too convincingly against Ecuador. Good 'ol Beckham, master-bender-of-balls, stepped up to score the only goal of the match. He then proceeded to puke on the pitch before being substituted. A funny incident happened when the goal went in. Whilst the crowd at the kopitiam cheered mildy when he scored, more wolf whistles were heard when the camera panned to Mrs Beckham jumping off her seat in celebration. I'm sure there are some who wished they replayed THAT shot over and over and over again...The 2nd match was watched with much anticipation. After all, Portugal V Holland is a mouth watering encounter. What turned out in the end, however, made many see red ( namely Boulahrouz, van Bronckhorst, Costinha, and Deco) . To say that the referee kayu is but putting it mildly. I lost all repect for Luis Figo when I saw him headbutt Mark van Bommel behind the ref's back, then went on to wayang when he was elbowed in the face byBoulahrouz. If I were Heitinga, I'd have played the ball too regardless of sportsmanship. Basket, the ref thew that out already when he lost control of the match. Should've let our very own Shamsul Maidin officiate the match, he'd have been able to take the high temperature better and dealt with the fracas with a straight face. From Singapore one leh, mai siao siao...
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Will the real footballer, please stand up??
Just sat/yawn/cursed/ thru the Saudi v Spain match. Spain decided to field most of their reserves for this match, whose result was inconsequential as they are already into the last 16. Still I expected some value for my money when the kick-off whistle blew.
Yes Raul was starting, yes Fabregas and Reyes got their run out onto the first 11. Yet it took a corner, headed in by a defender to get on the scoresheet. The rest of the time Spain came close but blew their chances left, right and above the goal. When it did get onto target, Saudi's 'keeper Jaidi did his job well and made some fine saves.
In fact, the last 20 minutes the Saudis were getting into a fine rally. I was in fact willing them to score the equalizer, if only to jolt the Spainiards outta their complacency. The match ended 1-nil, with Spain topping the group, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure Aragones has a few choice words for the team too.
Then there's the England team, whose idea of mojo comes in the form of their wives, girlfriends, partners(what's the diff??). Yet no amount of wrestling in bed can bring out the best in any of the players. Heck, I suspect even Sven is having difficulty coming up with the right formation rather than the right position in bed with his lover!
The Brazilians are not having it easy too, labouring their way thru the group stage. Perhaps being based in Europe has softened the samba in them. They wanna get another star on their jersey, they better start getting in step man...
So far I think the Argentina, Holland, South Korea and to a certain extent, Portugal have got it right. They are playing football without all the fancy trappings, without their woman getting into the tabloid headlines, and with a lot of heart.
It'll be interesting to see how far these 4 progress in the knockout tournament.
My bet is on a Argentina v Brazil final.
Yes Raul was starting, yes Fabregas and Reyes got their run out onto the first 11. Yet it took a corner, headed in by a defender to get on the scoresheet. The rest of the time Spain came close but blew their chances left, right and above the goal. When it did get onto target, Saudi's 'keeper Jaidi did his job well and made some fine saves.
In fact, the last 20 minutes the Saudis were getting into a fine rally. I was in fact willing them to score the equalizer, if only to jolt the Spainiards outta their complacency. The match ended 1-nil, with Spain topping the group, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure Aragones has a few choice words for the team too.
Then there's the England team, whose idea of mojo comes in the form of their wives, girlfriends, partners(what's the diff??). Yet no amount of wrestling in bed can bring out the best in any of the players. Heck, I suspect even Sven is having difficulty coming up with the right formation rather than the right position in bed with his lover!
The Brazilians are not having it easy too, labouring their way thru the group stage. Perhaps being based in Europe has softened the samba in them. They wanna get another star on their jersey, they better start getting in step man...
So far I think the Argentina, Holland, South Korea and to a certain extent, Portugal have got it right. They are playing football without all the fancy trappings, without their woman getting into the tabloid headlines, and with a lot of heart.
It'll be interesting to see how far these 4 progress in the knockout tournament.
My bet is on a Argentina v Brazil final.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Youth Power?
What's wrong with our teenagers today? Are they really so deprived of attention that they have to resort to violence against their peers?
I just got hold of a clip where up to 4 teenage girls are attacking a 13 yr old girl, to the extent of stripping her half naked. You'd have definately came across the story in the papers. So, they have since apologised to the victim's family and the police are not taking any action until "someone files a report". WHAT THE FOOK?!!!
Who are we to blame for these kinds of behaviour from our so called future leaders of the nation? Society? Family? Internet? The teenagers themselves?
I own a DVD, a Japanese movie titled Battle Royale. It tells the tale of how in the future they send group of teenagers onto an island to kill each other off so that only one survives. This was done as, in the fictional future of Japan, adults cannot control their children any longer and resort to this tactic so that they need not live in fear of their own flesh and blood.
When I first watched it, I was just sucked in by the story. Indeed, most of these traits are already present in modern day Japan now. One sees teenagers roaming the shopping districts; smoking, joining gangs, checking into love hotels, engaged as part time lovers to old men, there teenage lolitas send out naked photos of themselves for wads of cash, pre-teens killing each other off... Many are not interested in their own families, what of society at large.
I once told a friend that the day will come when teenagers here engage in similar type of activities such as above. Correction. THEY ALREADY ARE! Who's not came across the infamous Tammy videos, who hasn't seen groups of boys behaving badly, teenage lolitas whoring themselves over the internet, girls who set themselves up with sugar daddies in order to own an expensive bag/ipod/mobile phone, or even just to party at the latest hip joint in town. They've grown up quickly in the internet age, having access to so much more information than I did donkey years back.
Worried I am, for the future...
I just got hold of a clip where up to 4 teenage girls are attacking a 13 yr old girl, to the extent of stripping her half naked. You'd have definately came across the story in the papers. So, they have since apologised to the victim's family and the police are not taking any action until "someone files a report". WHAT THE FOOK?!!!
Who are we to blame for these kinds of behaviour from our so called future leaders of the nation? Society? Family? Internet? The teenagers themselves?
I own a DVD, a Japanese movie titled Battle Royale. It tells the tale of how in the future they send group of teenagers onto an island to kill each other off so that only one survives. This was done as, in the fictional future of Japan, adults cannot control their children any longer and resort to this tactic so that they need not live in fear of their own flesh and blood.
When I first watched it, I was just sucked in by the story. Indeed, most of these traits are already present in modern day Japan now. One sees teenagers roaming the shopping districts; smoking, joining gangs, checking into love hotels, engaged as part time lovers to old men, there teenage lolitas send out naked photos of themselves for wads of cash, pre-teens killing each other off... Many are not interested in their own families, what of society at large.
I once told a friend that the day will come when teenagers here engage in similar type of activities such as above. Correction. THEY ALREADY ARE! Who's not came across the infamous Tammy videos, who hasn't seen groups of boys behaving badly, teenage lolitas whoring themselves over the internet, girls who set themselves up with sugar daddies in order to own an expensive bag/ipod/mobile phone, or even just to party at the latest hip joint in town. They've grown up quickly in the internet age, having access to so much more information than I did donkey years back.
Worried I am, for the future...
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Rock a-bye Baby
I'm sure it has happened to many of us.
You go to sleep, then enter dreamland. The dream is so vivid that you don't wanna wake up (in the case of nightmares, it's subjective, really) . Usually when that thought enters your head, you are lulled back into a blurry reality. You quickly try to go back to sleep, usually failing miserably.
Then you spend quite some time going over the dream again and again over in your head, without much success cuz you've forgotten it the moment you wake up.
Of course, some studies have shown that actually one only dreams when the body is not at a complete rest.
Those champion who can sleep through the whole night are a lucky bunch.
You go to sleep, then enter dreamland. The dream is so vivid that you don't wanna wake up (in the case of nightmares, it's subjective, really) . Usually when that thought enters your head, you are lulled back into a blurry reality. You quickly try to go back to sleep, usually failing miserably.
Then you spend quite some time going over the dream again and again over in your head, without much success cuz you've forgotten it the moment you wake up.
Of course, some studies have shown that actually one only dreams when the body is not at a complete rest.
Those champion who can sleep through the whole night are a lucky bunch.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Bull run?! Klose enough.
Ok, even though my friends Kevin and Daniel are doing a pretty good job (on top of their day job!) of covering the World Cup, I gotta write something about it too eh.
I stopped by at the neighbourhood S11 after my flight to buy a late dinner, and what do I see on the screen? Spain 2 Ukraine 0, in the first 20min. Either Spain is getting into gear early, or Ukraine really is a one man team. I strolled back home thinking that the match was all wrapped up. The Spanish had other ideas though. 2 more goals came their way, one from the very exciting Fernando Torres, sealed up the Ukrainians' day out on the pitch. Can you hear Arsenal banging on his door now??
Skipped the Tunsia and Saudi Arabia match, ended 2-2. I'd decided to take a nap before waking up for the Germany v Poland match. The Germans were going all out into this match, wanting to book their place into the last 16 quick, fast and in a hurry. Klose came...well, close on a number of occasions. Ballack's skill as an attacking midfielder was not needed as Germany had enough strikers to give Poland a horrid time. The Polish had other ideas though, and from the 2nd half it looked like they were playing a 6-4-0 (5-4-0 after the red card) formation!! That and some splendid time wasting from their goalkeeper meant it was down to the wire.
At this point I was willing ANYONE to score, if only to justify my climbing outta bed in the dead of the night. On the 90th min, the Germans did it. Oliver Neuville, who's been drifting offside since he came on as a substitute, finally got onside and slid in the only goal of the night.
Heng ah, else tomorrow have to tell people I stayed up till 5am to watch 20 men kick a ball around for nothing...
I stopped by at the neighbourhood S11 after my flight to buy a late dinner, and what do I see on the screen? Spain 2 Ukraine 0, in the first 20min. Either Spain is getting into gear early, or Ukraine really is a one man team. I strolled back home thinking that the match was all wrapped up. The Spanish had other ideas though. 2 more goals came their way, one from the very exciting Fernando Torres, sealed up the Ukrainians' day out on the pitch. Can you hear Arsenal banging on his door now??
Skipped the Tunsia and Saudi Arabia match, ended 2-2. I'd decided to take a nap before waking up for the Germany v Poland match. The Germans were going all out into this match, wanting to book their place into the last 16 quick, fast and in a hurry. Klose came...well, close on a number of occasions. Ballack's skill as an attacking midfielder was not needed as Germany had enough strikers to give Poland a horrid time. The Polish had other ideas though, and from the 2nd half it looked like they were playing a 6-4-0 (5-4-0 after the red card) formation!! That and some splendid time wasting from their goalkeeper meant it was down to the wire. At this point I was willing ANYONE to score, if only to justify my climbing outta bed in the dead of the night. On the 90th min, the Germans did it. Oliver Neuville, who's been drifting offside since he came on as a substitute, finally got onside and slid in the only goal of the night.
Heng ah, else tomorrow have to tell people I stayed up till 5am to watch 20 men kick a ball around for nothing...
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Made in Xin Jia Po
K so I came across this from my Sis blog and have been trying to see any of the webisodes online. Apparently, it has exceeded it's bandwidth many times over so it has to be good, somehow.
Why I took this long to unleash it onto you people? I finally got to see the trailer today and spotted my Sis in it! Fwaaahhhh!
Check it out and see if you can spot her...
Click here to go to trailer (move your mouse over to the TV set)
World...yawn...Cup
From what I've seen, or slept through these past 2 days, the World Cup is taking it's time to warm up to me.
As usual it's the unearthly hour that we have to get up to watch a good match up. After all the previews, the pre-match interviews, the analysis, the "expert opinions", it's pretty disappointing to see a result like England 1 Paraguay 0.
Of course it's still the early stages, and some teams are "still getting used to the heat". Dammit they should hold it in Winter for these teams next time.
Basket, I paid extra $10 to watch this kind of matches...
As usual it's the unearthly hour that we have to get up to watch a good match up. After all the previews, the pre-match interviews, the analysis, the "expert opinions", it's pretty disappointing to see a result like England 1 Paraguay 0.
Of course it's still the early stages, and some teams are "still getting used to the heat". Dammit they should hold it in Winter for these teams next time.
Basket, I paid extra $10 to watch this kind of matches...
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Newfound Jealousy@Esplanade
So you've heard my Sis sing with her band The UnXpected at Bala(thumbs down) or Wala(2 thumbs up!). Some have heard her at some performances at the Esplanade(Es-pla-nard??) or when she opened for Jason M'raz when he was here. They like her so much they are asking her to go back and do it again!! This time though, it's a solo concert
Click here preeease!
So if you free for an hour on the 28July and have $25 to spend, I'll see you at the Esplanade(Es-pler-nayed??)!!
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Murphy's Law
Well, typical of Singaporean administrative clowns, they've went and done it again. What was supposed to be a well laid plan for me has just blown up in my face.
The association wanted to invite a V-V-Vip to open this year's races. I wonder why they didn't plan this from LAST year and had to wait till a month before to inform all the teams that the race has been moved to a weekend later- 1st & 2nd July. Now this will not bother most of the school teams much, but to corporate teams like ours it's hell.
Many of us, other teams as well, have already sacrificed time off from work in order to make the original dates. Now we are scrambling to make changes to our rosters here and there. We are all cursing and swearing loudly about this but thankfully, most of us are not gonna let 4 months of hard training go to waste. Immediately when it was known to us the change of date, most were already on their phones checking their rosters and getting it changed in order to participate on that day.
For me it means shortening my holiday abroad and also making changes to my roster. So far no one has stepped up to take my flights yet, and I am getting anxious. Mickey is also stressing over this but we are keeping our fingers crossed the Japan trip will happen. We already have the tickets and need to get the dates changed soon.
Nabeh... Murphy's Law... Suay man
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